Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts' AD Mitchell Starts Making Big Plays On Day 3 of Training Camp

Episode Date: July 29, 2024

Indianapolis Colts QB Anthony Richardson and WRs AD Mitchell and Josh Downs took center stage on Day 3 of camp practice, as Richardson and Downs' bond got stronger and Mitchell made his biggest plays ...of camp. Julian Blackmon had a big day on defense. Join the Locked On Colts Insider Program to find out what's going on with the team from someone who's there to watch them every day! Jake and Zach will respond to questions and spark conversation about your team! JOIN HERE: https://joinsubtext.com/lockedoncolts Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOColts?sid=YouTube📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL Follow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOnFN! LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn Dot Com slash LOCKEDONNFL. That’s LinkedIn Dot Com slash LOCKEDONNFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply.FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY! That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON and add a big win to your summer bucket list!FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 The Colts pass catchers are finally starting to look like a group of studs in camp and they have a young improving playmaker delivering them the ball. Let's get to it. You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Thank you all for tuning in and making us your first listen of this evening. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel.
Starting point is 00:00:37 Make every moment more. As the playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily. That's right. There's something for everyone every day all summer long. Visit Fandle.com to get started today. Hello, everyone. I am Zach Hicks, your resident film nerd over at HorseshoeHuddle.com. And I'm joined, as always, by Jake Arthur, the boots on the ground, the credentialed member of HorseshoeHuddle.com, and I'm joined, as always, by Jake Arthur, the boots on the ground, the credentialed member of horseshoehuddle.com.
Starting point is 00:01:08 He is there at training camp like he is every single day this offseason, giving us the lowdown of what happened at camp. If you guys want to become a Locked on Colts insider just like Jake and chat with us directly and get that inside scoop, follow the link in our show notes. But today, Jake is going to give us the breakdown of everything he saw and heard and just everything at training camp. The Colts practiced this Sunday afternoon. I believe it was from, what, 4 to 5.30 today, Jake? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:01:33 A lot of 11-on-11, a lot of one-on-one, some really fun stuff. I saw some clips out there on Twitter. So even me in Virginia was able to enjoy it. But, Jake, before we get to the fun stuff and talk about our quarterback, Anthony Richardson, there were a couple injuries of note. Braden Smith returned to practice today. That's obviously the best news that we could ever hope for. But a couple of pass rushers were also held out of practice with calf injuries.
Starting point is 00:01:58 Or, I'm sorry, one of them got hurt in practice today. So what can you tell us about the status of those two players? Yeah, so starting with Braden, he was back today, but they're working him in slowly. He only worked with positional stuff today during the 11 on 11s. It was still Blake Freeland at right tackle. Dayo Edengbo was the only player going into the day that was practiced who were injured, who wasn't on one of the injured lists. After practice, Shane Steichen said he had a calf injury, as does Samson Ebucom, who left one of the sessions of 11 on 11s early. It looked a little more serious maybe than a calf thing,
Starting point is 00:02:37 but, I mean, you and I talked off air. Calf strains can suck, and it can hurt no matter what. I mean, if that's what it is and that's great and you know hopefully it's it's nothing serious uh but yeah going down two of your better pass rushers and it doesn't luckily it doesn't feel like it's the end of the world because you know luckily you use that 15th pick on uh wow too lots of you still got Pei. So you hate to not be with those guys for X amount of time. But I mean, shoot, that's what you got depth for. Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Starting point is 00:03:10 And also we got some fisticuffs out there tonight, a little bit of some Sunday night fights. What did you see out there between the Colts' first big fight of training camp? Yeah, so it's going to be really, really shocking to everybody that Michael Pittman Jr. got the party started. Now, to his credit, he's been good for like a year and a half. I don't think he got in any fights last year, but it popped off, you know. So it was during the one-on-ones, and Jalen Jones held him downfield on the target.
Starting point is 00:03:43 And, I mean, it got penalized, but Pittman really didn't like what happened. So we started John and then it kind of escalated from there. They, you know, locked up, they, you know, started tussling and I kind of thought they were just messing around until Pittman started throwing haymakers into the midsection. And then, you know, they went to the ground. I think Pitt ripped his helmet off maybe. And then, you know, players and coaches started getting in there to try to separate them. But got to get that first one out of the way. It happened before pads even came on, though. So that's interesting.
Starting point is 00:04:15 Yeah. No fights happen at training camp. We've seen it with Michael Pittman Jr. in the past, especially during the, you know, the mixed practices with other teams. So we'll see that later in the offseason for sure. Before we run out of time in the first segment, though, we do have to talk about Anthony Richardson because that's the man of the offseason, the one that you guys all tune in to hear about. Looks like he had a good day completing passes today.
Starting point is 00:04:34 You have him as 10 of 14 here and completing a good bit of passes. So what can you tell me about Anthony Richardson's day out there at practice? Yeah, so it's been a really sharp start for him through these first three practices was four or five on Thursday for a four on Saturday and then 10 or 14 today completed his first seven today. Um, until, you know, the, the streak breaker wasn't interception, a really impressive one by Julian Blackman. Um, but no, what I'm most impressed with is that he's spreading the ball around. Like these receptions are going to all different guys. He's not just dumping it off either. It's happening at all areas of the field,
Starting point is 00:05:13 red zone, middle of everywhere, different receivers. It's just like, he's looking very, very polished with it. Now he, of course looks better in 11 on 11s thans than the 7-on-7s,
Starting point is 00:05:26 which I've discussed before, but I think that's improving as well. He looks more decisive, and I don't want to say confident. I don't know if it's a confidence thing, but he's just more sure of what he's seeing, just getting rid of the ball a bit quicker. So, you know, of course, through his first pick today, but I keep seeing growth from this guy all the time. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:05:48 And, you know, interceptions and training camp are at the end of the world. I mean, defenders are paid big money, too. I mean, Julian Blackman is one of the Colts best overall players in the back half of the defense. Obviously, he's going to make some plays out there and he's been known to be a ball hawk in the NFL. But something that you put of note in here and what I've seen a little bit on social media, which seems like a big departure from last year,
Starting point is 00:06:09 is from last year in training camp, Anthony Richardson, a lot of checkdowns, a lot of getting it out underneath, just kind of feeling the offense and then dumping it down. It seems like this year he's taking more shots down the field. I mean, you put that note specifically in here, but have you seen a more aggressive Anthony Richardson so far in training camp? Yeah, without question. I mean, now during one-on-ones and stuff, it's designed to do that, but we're seeing it in seven-on-sevens and 11-on-11s. He had a nice connection with Alec Pierce today, getting it to the left boundary while Pierce was
Starting point is 00:06:41 sliding towards the sideline. They got that down. He's hit Josh Downs in consecutive days on big plays. He had Pittman on a 40-yard bomb yesterday. During seven on a sevens, he went to DJ Montgomery over the middle of the field for about 25 yards. So that comes with more confidence, more preparedness and chemistry and trust with the guys you're throwing the ball to. Um, so you're, you're just seeing a lot of really natural progression from him and you're, you're right. Like even through this spring, it was a lot of dinks and dunks and just looking like he's trying things out and trying to make his, you know, little progressions through things. But now he like, he's ripping it now.
Starting point is 00:07:28 Yeah. And I thought that was his big issue too. Also in the games last year, like the couple of games that he did play outside of that Titans game, where he started to be a little bit more aggressive and more decisive. It felt like those first couple of games, especially the Jaguars game and in the Texans game, I know the concussion obviously dealt with that and that game too,
Starting point is 00:07:44 but you could kind of see, and we talked about this on the podcast where he was going through his game and in the Texans game I know the concussion obviously dealt with that and in that game too but you could kind of see and we talked about this on the podcast where he was going through his progressions kind of fast in those first couple games you know it was starting deep like you're supposed to and then working back down but it was like boom boom boom like I need to keep going through my progressions because that's what the call sheet says and it wasn't really letting those deeper routes develop and and taking advantage of oh, the deep safety did not take a step back on this post. I should be waiting for it to open up. Instead, it's, oh, the deep safety is back there.
Starting point is 00:08:11 Let me just get my dump off here. So seeing him take that progression, even if it's just camp and saying, hey, let me let things develop down the field and rip it down the field. That feels like a big step for Anthony Richardson's development as a passer. Yeah, and another part of that, another layer to it, is he's throwing with some better anticipation now too. You know, throwing guys open, you know, throwing to a spot early in the read and letting that route runner get to the ball. We're seeing a lot of that stuff as well. So the interception stuff that's going to happen,
Starting point is 00:08:44 I don't really view that as a big deal. even after practice was like in the moment that's where my eyes went to to throw that ball to Julian just made a great play which I'll get more into that on the defensive side so we have more defensive players to talk about uh but yeah I mean that stuff's going to happen I don't care do it in training camp I love what I'm seeing out here though yeah I mean as long as you're not throwing like inter't care. Do it in training camp. I love what I'm seeing out here, though. Yeah, I mean, as long as you're not throwing, like, interceptions on checkdowns in training camp. Like, if there are interceptions that are happening down the field,
Starting point is 00:09:12 all right, whatever. It's training camp. Get those out. And honestly, I'd rather – like, I think touchdown-interception ratio is such an overrated thing anyway. Like, just get the ball down the field. Force the action. Move the offense. If you throw some picks, you throw some picks.
Starting point is 00:09:22 Andrew Luck was a great quarterback for the Colts. He threw a ton of picks here in Indy. He sure did. Yeah, it's just part of the offense. If you throw some picks, you throw some picks. Andrew Luck was a great quarterback for the Colts. He threw a ton of picks here in Indy. It's just part of the game. So I'm perfectly fine with it. Picks happen as long as you're moving the ball down and hitting those explosive plays. That's all that matters. But don't worry, guys.
Starting point is 00:09:35 We're going to still talk about the rest of this offense around Anthony Richardson coming up in our next segment. But first, Locked On Every Dayers. I love sports. I love them so much I never want them to stop. But as the playoffs wind down, we get On Every Dayers. I love sports. I love them so much I never want them to stop. But as the playoffs wind down, we get fewer and fewer games. And the sports aren't sporting like I want them to. But FanDuel lets me keep the sports going whenever I want.
Starting point is 00:09:55 All I have to do is open up the app and dream up bets anytime I'm in the mood. And this summer, FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or bonus daily. That's right. There's something for everyone every day all summer long. So head to FanDuel.com and start making the most out of your summer. FanDuel, official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball. And are you guys watching Fox Sports or ESPN or TV all day? You have to turn down the volume with all that shouting.
Starting point is 00:10:22 Make the switch to Locked On Sports today, a free 24-7 sports streaming channel. It's programmed for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all that screaming. Locked On Sports Today brings you can't-miss analysis, opinions, and news streaming 24-7 on YouTube or on the free Amazon Fire TV channels. That part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All right, Locked On Colts every day as we are here talking Colts training camp. Our boots on the ground. Jake Arthur was there on this Sunday evening practice,
Starting point is 00:10:51 watching everything unfold. A little bit of a longer practice, right? 4 to 5.30, not too bad out there. Getting some things going in the 11 on 11s. What can you tell me about this Colts offense aside from Anthony Richardson? Who really stood out to you so far? Yeah, so the biggest thing so far was yesterday practice was really sloppy uh some pre-snap penalties uh just guys not being in the right spots uh there was a couple like bad snaps it just was
Starting point is 00:11:16 really sloppy like even just like drops in routes on air yesterday like it really started from the beginning um they were determined to get all that stuff corrected and come out here a lot crisper and that was the case i didn't really come away with with many things where i thought it was too messy uh but they were really aggressive through the air um it wasn't just anthony there was big plays pretty much everywhere even in the one-on-ones you know they take those downfield shots but they they were coming up clean on them uh flacco had a couple connections i think sam had a couple as well um i'd say anthony gould is a thing like it wasn't just with joe flacco yesterday like i think sam
Starting point is 00:11:59 hit him on something yesterday like anthony gould is not just going to be the gadget player that we thought he might be. He's going to be pretty involved downfield because like I I've seen him be targeted downfield a bunch since like OTAs and everything. I think I've only seen one incompletion no matter who's stoned in the ball. So he is coming up really well. DJ Montgomery seems like a guy who is like not going to go quietly into the night. He's probably at minimum a practice squad guy. I think they really like him.
Starting point is 00:12:32 He'll just probably be a victim to the numbers game. But in terms of receivers, Pitt was Pitt, as always. I was really impressed with Josh Downs and A.D. Mitchell in this one. Mitchell had his biggest day so far. If it wasn't for Ashton Doolin, he would have had the catch of camp so far in the one on ones. Anthony hit him on a deep shot down the right sideline for about 40 yards. And it was Dallas Flowers in coverage and they were kind of battling for it. And as AD was falling to the ground, he caught the ball, his helmet popped off, the crowd roared, he got super psyched and ran over the crowd and
Starting point is 00:13:11 was like pumping everybody up. So that was, that was one that kind of injected a lot of energy onto the field. But the Doolin one, I got to mention that because that was the play of camp. And I know you talk about Doolin making the routine look difficult, as you like to joke. But this one was wild. So it was against Daryl Baker Jr. Same setup. It was during the one-on-ones running the deep go route down the right side.
Starting point is 00:13:37 He climbs Baker like a ladder and straddles him like he's a cowboy and brings the ball in as they're falling to the ground. And it was, it was, it was beautiful. The biggest part about that is of course, Ashton hasn't been able to do that for a year. You know, he had the ACL injury this time last year and this, this kind of stuff we saw him doing before he got hurt. So you love to see it. Yeah. It feels like, you know, again, we talked about this all off season and it's not us being hyperbolic to hype up the Colts, because you guys know us, we like to be generally, we'll kill them when it when stuff sucks. Like, yeah, we'll be honest, we covered the Jeff Saturday era of Indianapolis Colts football. And we mean the coaching just Saturday era of
Starting point is 00:14:18 Indianapolis Colts football. So you guys know how we are. But we said multiple times this offseason that this receiving group and I again I know it's not the biggest thing to compare it to is by far and away the most talented top to bottom that Chris Ballard has built in Indy because we're not talking like like if Alec Pierce is your wide receiver four that's really strong if if Ashton Doolin is your wide receiver six like that's a productive player if Anthony Gould is coming in and giving you some good snaps and and I'm glad that you mentioned his downfield ability, because again, I still think he can be that like Pez Watkins type player in Shane Steichen's offense. And then you're obviously looking at AD Mitchell,
Starting point is 00:14:54 you're looking at Josh Downs, Michael Pittman Jr. Like this is a good wide receiver room. And I know they're not competing against all pro cornerbacks out there but they can perform their roles pretty well out there I don't think this is like an elite wide receiver group but I think it's by far and away the best we've seen in Indy in a long time and they have a lot of guys who can produce I mean with Downs and Pittman you have two guys who could be thousand yard wide receivers and Mitchell maybe one day as well like I'm not saying they're all going to be that same time but Mitchell obviously has that potential and then Pierce is a solid player too. Like I think this wide receiver room is pretty underrated compared to like
Starting point is 00:15:30 where people are viewing it league wide. And I think it's a really solid just group of players. Yeah. And I think health permitted, you can throw the tight ends in there as well as pass catching weapons. Cause everyone's been, everyone's been healthy so far knock on all the wood, but I mean,
Starting point is 00:15:45 Will Mallory has made some really impressive catches like he'll catch the ball that you know a ball that's behind him and he's falling and like it literally just looks like he got sucked into the matrix like it it just he catches everything just like we knew but making the difficult ones too like it's great to catch all the routine stuff um ogle trees making things look very like everything just looks smooth and natural with him. Kylan Granson of course had like a 40 yard catch yesterday. So, I mean,
Starting point is 00:16:16 everyone's doing their part. Everyone looks like they're getting at least a little better. And I mean, we know tight ends can be just as valuable as, as the receivers receivers but this is i think hands down i mean it's early in camp but we know the potential of all these guys but the fact that they're starting to like look like the part a little bit like i think it's the deep the deepest group of pass catchers they've had yeah yeah for sure and i did want to ask you you know
Starting point is 00:16:42 are the pads come on yet or are we good to talk about the offensive line of the pads still off right now? No, that's Tuesday that they'll come on. I think it's, you know, the collective bargaining agreement rules. They have to get through a few of them first. But they they had their last, you know, shorts and shirts today. Some of them had, you know, the leg pads on, I think. But then off tomorrow, Tuesday, they'll go full pads. Okay, so we don't really need to talk about the offensive line too much now because, again, what you're getting in those sessions right now without pads on is really just kind of nothing. So I do want to fill the last bit of this offensive segment, though,
Starting point is 00:17:18 on a player who I've seen so many good things about. I know that you've talked about him and singled him out a little bit, but just want to hyper-focus on him real quick. Josh Downs, it seems like he's having a pretty good camp. That chemistry that we saw with him and Anthony Richardson in the couple games that Richardson played last year seems to be carrying over to this training camp. And I know this is a player
Starting point is 00:17:39 that we were hyping up all offseason. I was saying he goes for 1,000 yards this year. What are your thoughts on Josh Downs so far in training camp watching Downs is all it feels almost like the NFL version of like watching an Allen Iverson mixtape like how smooth and seamless everything looks and like he can cut on a dime you know he's getting he's getting a lot of work done downfield as well. He's made two or three catches that have been at least 20, 25 yards. But how smooth he is is wild. Like, he's able to catch a ball and already be making his move to make the defender miss. Like, while he's catching, it's like his body moves different than everybody else's.
Starting point is 00:18:22 I don't know. He's catching everything. He's working every area of the field. Like, he has aced everything. Like, this has been a perfect camp. I mean, again, it's three practices, but it's the first quarter of training camp, and he's looked awesome.
Starting point is 00:18:37 Yeah, he is the type of receiver where everything looks like a senior bowl rep, a senior bowl one-on-one rep, where he's doing all these crazy routes. And it's like, Oh, that'll never work in an NFL game. And then we see a whole season of it actually working in NFL games.
Starting point is 00:18:51 It's like, well, maybe it will work in an NFL game. And luckily he's in an offense where Shane Steichen gives him the freedom and the Liberty to do those things that he does. You know, the, Hey,
Starting point is 00:19:00 you're running this option route. You can break out, you can break in, you can break vertical, do whatever the heck you need to do to get open in there, and he will. He will do it, and he will be successful. I asked Downs about that yesterday, the importance of him and Anthony studying and being prepared ahead of time for those option routes and being inside each other's heads and knowing
Starting point is 00:19:20 what they're going to do. That is something they work on a lot. And to see how good Josh is doing they work out or work on a lot. And to, to see how good Josh is doing, just go to Kenny Moore's Twitter. That's the guy who faces him the most. Very big fan right there. Those two,
Starting point is 00:19:33 that's a really, really fun battle to watch. Yeah, certainly something to watch the all training camp. And speaking of Kenny Moore, we're going to transition over to defense. Now the defense, you know,
Starting point is 00:19:41 they made some plays out there, so it's time to give them some love in our final segment on today's show. But first, guys, baseball season is in full swing. And I know there's no team out in Indianapolis outside of the minor league team. But you guys, you know, you travel out to Cincinnati, travel to Chicago. For me, I'm traveling to Washington to see my below 500 Nationals lose some games. It's a great time. We love baseball.
Starting point is 00:20:04 And the best place to get your baseball tickets is GameTime. GameTime is an authorized ticket marketplace of Major League Baseball, which makes getting tickets easier and faster. Prices on the GameTime app actually go down the closer it gets to that first pitch. You guys get some really cool things with GameTime, like last-minute deals. You can save up to 60% off buying last minute for sports, comedy, theater, whatever is near you. You get the zone deals. You can save even more when you choose a section and let game time choose the seats in that section. And you get the lowest
Starting point is 00:20:34 price guarantee or game time will credit you 110% of the difference. Also, you get the game time ticket coverage. Your purchase is covered with the most flexible customer service policy in the ticketing industry. I know it's great for all of you guys with kids because, look, kids happen. Kids happen. Jake knows. He's nodding over there. Take the guesswork out of buying MLB tickets with game time. Download the game time app.
Starting point is 00:20:59 Create an account and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off. Download game time today. Last minute tickets. Lowest price guaranteed. All right. Locked on Colts every day as we are back covering training camp.
Starting point is 00:21:21 Jake Arthur, our boots on the ground, was out there again today, making sure to keep an eye on everything that's happening. is our our eyes in the sky eyes on the ground eyes everywhere there on training camp and we already talked about the injuries on defense so that's the you know the harsh reality of the world taken out of out of that there but we do have to talk more about julian blackman's interception now from the defensive perspective because now we're all in love with the defensive interception you know we got it out of the way in the Anthony Richardson segment saying oh man interceptions happen but Julian Blackman making the first big play of training camp for the defense pretty great sign for one of the few playmakers the Colts have in
Starting point is 00:21:57 the secondary yeah really special play by him and he did like if I would have seen this on his college film like he would have been my safety one because i fall in love with the type of stuff he did today so you know obviously he's a strong safety he's closer to the line of scrimmage he's in the box you know he noticed there was no route runner in the in the area he was supposed to be checking out he looked and read anthony richardson and saw that he was eyeing josh the middle, you know, backpedaled sprinted back towards the middle of the field. Anthony had already let it go and boom, he was right there to make the play.
Starting point is 00:22:31 And, you know, Shane Steichen afterward talked about like how he thinks he's going to have a huge year. That makes probably like five or six people we've talked to say that Julian's going to have a huge year. So I think everyone's really excited about him. He's just kind have a huge year. So I think everyone's really excited about him. He's just, Kenny Moore, they're a step ahead of the average player.
Starting point is 00:22:49 They have a special playmaking ability, not only because they're athletic and all that good stuff, but they're smart. They're smarter than a lot of the guys they're going up against. And so for his high football IQ and just his instincts and stuff like that, that's just huge. It's going to be a norm. You know,
Starting point is 00:23:06 we talked about our five most critical Colts players. You had Julian up there. I mean, I wanted to have him up there too, but it's because of, you can't afford to lose that. You don't have much else, but his playmaking ability is,
Starting point is 00:23:19 is enormous for a team after Shaquille Leonard really kind of struggled to create turnovers. But no, he, he made a really big play. He really downplayed it. I mean, I talked to Ron Milas, Joel Erickson, and I talked to Ron Milas after practice and, you know, we've relayed some of that information and he downplayed it. I was like, dude, like you can talk yourself up a little bit, but no, I like that's Milas's quarterback. You know what I mean? Like what, what Julian can do, that's going to be really big. And Julian is very routinely a summer star. Like, I don't think he's ever had a bad training camp.
Starting point is 00:23:54 Yeah. And you know, I think something to really make note of too, with Julian Blackman, I know this is third year in the Gus Bradley system, but it's his second year in at strong safety, you know, cause that first year he was at free safety, but it's a nickel stuff. He missed a lot of time with injury. But last year he made the transition at strong safety and it was a really great transition for him.
Starting point is 00:24:13 But something that we've seen with Gus Bradley and we've seen just with this system is it's a very difficult system for secondary, secondary players to get ahold of. So you really see that second year in place where, where players take more of a jump. We saw it with Kenny Moore last year, his second year in nickel in the Gus Bradley system, he looked like Kenny Moore again. And I'm not saying Julian Blackman didn't look like Julian Blackman last year, but I'm thinking that there could be another step in his game with a full
Starting point is 00:24:37 year under his belt, playing strong safety, being more used to the box, being more used to reading routes from that linebacker, like hybrid linebacker type spot, that robber type spot, I think we could see a pretty big jump from him in terms of how he breaks off routes, how he goes from covering grass to matching routes, and just doing some really good things there. So yeah, Julian Blackman is so vital to this defense this next season. It's actually insane, and hopefully he can finish his first NFL season playing all 17 games. But you mentioned Ron Milas. That's one of my guys, obviously the guy that when I was out there at training camp last year, I talked to him for 20, 30 minutes off, off camera. He was, he was impressed. He was impressed by you. I'll say,
Starting point is 00:25:19 yeah, that's my dude right there. But you, you mentioned him. Let's talk about the competition at his other, at the other safety spot. We talked about strong safety. What about free safety? What did Ron Miles have to say about free safety? Does he feel good about the position? What's his overall thoughts on that spot right now? Well, I don't think he really gave away his temperature on the position, but Gus Bradley told us recently, I asked him, what is the X factor you're looking for? Because obviously you've got athletic, talented guys there, but that's not, you know, if that's what it took, they would already be the starter essentially. But he said, you know, consistency
Starting point is 00:25:58 and really the guys in front of them trusting what's going on behind them with that free safety we obviously saw that communication was a big issue last year which led to a an uncharacteristic amount of big plays allowed and i kind of took that question to to coach myles as well and he preached consistency day after day because it's like you are getting flashes of each of these guys we've seen flashes from Nick Cross has made big plays Ronnie Harrison has I mean more so at linebacker Rodney Thomas led the Colts and interceptions as a rookie but you can't just have you can't just have two strong days at practice and then you get cooked and you it's like your head isn't in it and you're not communicating well. That's why they're so reliant on veterans is because the veterans do everything the right way every single day.
Starting point is 00:26:51 And it seems like coach speak into an extent it is, but like whoever is going to be the most capable and responsible player, I think is going to be the one that wins it out. It may not be the sexiest player. I think we all would like it to be Nick cross, but if Ronnie Harrison is the one giving up the fewest big plays or communicating better with Julian and the corners, it's,
Starting point is 00:27:14 it's going to be whoever is the most trustworthy player talent and athleticism is not going to be a factor. I don't think. Yeah. I think that's a big part of this too, because I mean, I can't name many times where the secondary where guys were getting flat out beat. Like, for instance, that Week 18 game against the Texans
Starting point is 00:27:31 where it looks like Brents is getting straight up beat by Nico Collins, but that was supposed to be quarters coverage. There was supposed to be a safety over the top. You look at all those plays against the Saints where they're just all coverage. That's a perfect example of what they're talking about. Yeah, like all the coverage blown against the Saints, all the're just all covered. That's a perfect example of what they're talking about. Yeah, like all the coverage blown against the Saints, all the wide-open touchdowns. I mean, outside of Darryl Baker Jr. occasionally losing at the catch point,
Starting point is 00:27:52 it feels like none of these guys were getting actual beat at the catch point. Juju Brents wasn't getting beat at the catch point last year, but any time they scored a touchdown on him, it was a blown coverage. So I'm full agree with what you said there. Real quick before we get out of here, though, Jake, anything else stand out about the defense? Any players really catch your eye on day three of practice? Lots is just different. Okay, so we want to see more of lots who of course, the Colts kind of had to like decide things on the go today as a become went out with
Starting point is 00:28:21 his his calf injury. Taekwon Lewis is who stepped up and replaced him, which, of course, we've talked about him recently having an incredible win rate with his pass rushes. But I don't know how long Ebukam's going to be out. If he is, we'll probably see more of Latu. We'll probably see more Taekwon as well. But, God, Latu's fun to watch, dude. Only thing is I need to ask him if he's going to plan on putting gloves on
Starting point is 00:28:46 at some point because so far through camp, he has been anti-glove, and that can be really hard for me to come to terms with. See, I actually love the players without the gloves. It reminds me of when I was in high school, the gloves became a big thing for everyone to wear, and I was the only one in the wide receiver room not wearing gloves because I just didn't like them. Zach with absolutely zero drip on the field. Dude, look at me.
Starting point is 00:29:11 Look at me. I'm a balding white guy in my late 20s. Of course, I have zero drip. But that's all we have for today, guys. We'll be back with you tomorrow to kind of wrap up these first three days of camp or the first quarter of camp. Maybe we'll have a surprise guest on here as well. We'll see. We're going to hit those phone lines. But if we're not back tomorrow or something happens Tuesday, we have full padded practice. And we'll just talk all offensive line and defensive line because that's what I've been
Starting point is 00:29:37 waiting for. Look, you guys love the flashy. I love the big boys up in the middle. That's my favorite right there. We'll be talking about them, obviously, on Tuesday, all Tuesday episodes. Make sure you guys are subbed to the channel and you guys are watching out for Lockdown Colts content. Before we get out of here, though, I do want to remind you guys that Lockdown Sports Today is here for you 24-7, covering the top sports stories of the day with the local experts of Lockdown, plus our national shows covering every single league. Find Lockdown Sports Today now available on the free Fire TV channels app. And if you guys want to become a Locked On Colts insider like Jake Arthur here
Starting point is 00:30:08 and chat with us directly and get that inside scoop, follow the link in our show notes. If you guys don't already, make sure you're following at Locked On Colts, at JakeArthurNFL, and at Zach Hicks2 all on Twitter. Also, subscribe to us on YouTube, wherever you list your podcasts. We love you guys, raise your views, and we'll catch you guys back here tomorrow afternoon.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.