Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: Anthony Richardson, Josh Downs Set For Another Big Week vs. Detroit Lions

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Indianapolis Colts could play spoiler this week with another great Anthony Richardson performance, plus a little extra help. 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 the day. 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 GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off of your first purchase. Hello, everyone. My name is Zach Hicks, your favorite and your favorite resident film nerd here at HorseshoeHuddle.com.

Starting point is 00:00:48 And my partner in crime, Jake Arthur, is our credentialed Crocs on the Ground for the site as well. Yeah, Crocs on the Ground. Do you wear Crocs, Jake? Is Crocs your thing? You know, I don't, but Anthony, I think, said has like 60 pairs of Crocs.

Starting point is 00:01:02 So like it's within the Colts theme. Okay, cool. Perfect. We'll eventually figure out what shoes you wear and I'll put that into 60 pairs of Crocs. So like it's within the Colts theme. Okay, cool. Perfect. Perfect. We'll eventually figure out what shoes you wear and I'll put that into the open. Mostly none. Barefoot foot on the ground,

Starting point is 00:01:12 whatever it is there. But today guys, we have fun show in store. We're going to give you our final predictions for Colts versus lines in this heated week 12 matchup. And we're also going to dive into how the defense needs to have a Shaq Leonard type of performance to survive this lion's offense offense but first we're going to discuss Anthony Richardson this Colts offense and how they can stay on track despite another week with a hampered offensive

Starting point is 00:01:34 line so before we get into the entire offense here Jake the Colts did announce and a starter on the offensive line is out yet again Bernhardt Ryman going to miss another week with that knee injury. The Colts have said he's week to week. Do you have any other update? Like does Shane Steichen say anything positive about, you know, how he's progressing or anything like that? Shane's kind of buzz phrases are like, he's progressing. He's, he's getting there.

Starting point is 00:01:58 Like we'll see. But the guy hasn't practiced in two weeks. Maybe he starts to log a limited session next week. He physically, from what I've seen, though, looked better just walking around this week than he did last week. Last week, I knew right away he wasn't practicing because he had like a knee brace on and he was limping while he was walking around. But like Shane said, I think he's progressing. We'll see if he starts with a limited session sometime next week. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:02:27 And, you know, the Colts need to get him back because he is a fringe pro bowler, if not more than that type of caliber player at left tackle. And when you're already starting Tanner Bortolini at center, already starting Dalton Tucker at right guard. And even if they eventually make that move from Dalton Tucker to a Mark Lewinsky, it's still not a strength right there is having a Lewinsky out there when you had Will Fries early in the season playing at a Pro Bowl level. So a tough matchup this week. I know the Detroit Lions don't have Aiden Hutchinson anymore this season, but Aileen McNeil, DJ Readers, Adarius Smith, this is still a pretty good defensive line. They do have some guys.

Starting point is 00:03:04 Yeah, being down Barinhart Ryman is still a pretty big deal for this Colts team. No, it definitely is. And it just affects the way that the Colts are going to have to attack things. Like Shane Steichen is not going to be, he's going to have to have in the back of his mind when he's calling this game, what they're capable of producing because of the fronts we've already seen the run game has suffered even with Anthony Richardson back out there they've got two awesome interior defenders I am a member of the Aleem McNeil fan club and I have DJ Reader right there next to him who is just as good as Grover Stewart and just as underappreciated. Like, they've got a – the teeth of their defense is tough.

Starting point is 00:03:47 If the Colts can get to the second level and to the linebackers, like maybe the run game can flourish a little bit, but it's going to be tough. I think we're going to have to see a lot of 12 personnel again. They're probably going to – they might try to go run heavy at some point, but I don't know. They're probably going to want to establish the run, but this I almost see as the inverse of last week where they probably won't start rolling offensively until they attack through the air.

Starting point is 00:04:16 They'll probably try and establish the run just to see if it can happen, but when was the last time we saw them be able to run the ball through four quarters? Yeah, and a big part of establishing the run, too, is not getting behind negative game script. And you have the Detroit Lions offense on the other side of the field who are probably going to score pretty fast and furious in this game. So you can run the ball all you want, but if you're down 14 in the first quarter or down 10 in the first quarter,

Starting point is 00:04:41 it's hard to stick with the run the rest of the way. But let's get to this matchup between the Colts offense and the Lions defense. A big aspect of this game, the Lions run man coverage more than any other team in football this year. Typically, that works out in your favor when you have a mobile quarterback, but Anthony Richardson is not really like the scrambling archetype of mobile quarterback. So it's a little push and pull there. Like it is still beneficial when you have a player like Richardson, but it's not as beneficial as it would be like a Lamar Jackson or Jane Daniels where they scramble so much and can make man coverage really pay. Another big aspect of this matchup, the Lions blitz on third down higher than any other team

Starting point is 00:05:19 in the NFL this season. Where has the Colts offense struggled the most this year? Facing the Blitz especially on third downs we saw issues against the Minnesota Vikings uh so this will be a big litmus test for Shane Sykes and see how much he grew from that Vikings game where they couldn't do anything on third down against that Brian Flores Blitz heavy approach will they be able to throw the ball against Blitzes on third down in this one I'm expecting a lot of mesh a lot of mesh calls you know if you're going against a team that runs a lot of man and Blitzes on third down in this one I'm expecting a lot of mesh a lot of mesh calls you know if you're going against a team that runs a lot of man and blitzes on third down you're going

Starting point is 00:05:49 to get into a lot of mesh you're going to run A.D. Mitchell and those run away from them routes on on mesh and and hopefully he can have a couple big gains again but I think this is really the big not not necessarily the big problem area for the Colts offense in this game but the big like litmus test for this Colts offense. Can they overcome early season woes when it comes to third downs facing the Blitz? Yeah, and you mentioned the man coverage thing, which I think is going to be really important because this Lions defense, probably because they play so much man,

Starting point is 00:06:21 they are susceptible to giving up some big plays in the passing game as well. And we know Anthony will do that. Like if, if he sees single coverage or he thinks his guy can, can get downfield or even those, you know, those layered balls over the middle, like I, he might be willing to do that, especially in this matchup and be successful at it because there won't be any ghosts out there that he doesn't see waiting to take advantage of his throws. So I do think that's important. You mentioned again with how can Shane adjust. They were, I mean, the scrambling is part of it, but they may still go ahead and go ahead with these designed runs.

Starting point is 00:07:00 It felt more aggressive last week for sure. You know, at times it feels like they've coddled Anthony and not wanted to go, you know, full bore into his abilities. But I think they're a little more willing to do that. We talked to Alex Tanney today, and I asked about, you know, there was talk about self-reflection and everything. It's like while Anthony was sitting, how did you guys as coaches reflect on if this guy gets back on the field, we'll do X, Y, Z differently with him when he gets back out there. And, you know, he admitted, you know, we, we've got to put guys in the best position to use their best abilities.

Starting point is 00:07:35 And we're trying to grow and evolve as an offense as well. And at this point, I think it's, it's time to, to take off, you know, any restraints. Like it's, it's time to take off any restraints. It's time to let this guy go. And if he gets hurt, he gets hurt, whatever. But you're at least trying to do what's best for the offense. Yeah, and I think ultimately when it comes down to what I'm looking at for the Colts offense in this game to get the win or at least be productive on offense in this one,

Starting point is 00:07:59 is one, you've got to have a little bit more rush success this week than last week. It's one thing to continually call the runs to soften up a defense, but you'd like to gain a little more traction than they did last week against New York Jets. So at least get some traction in the run game, and then kind of simplify the passing offense to a sense of lean on those rub routes, lean on isolation routes. If you know you're facing a lot of man coverage,

Starting point is 00:08:29 get Josh Downs isolated against a player that you think he can beat get him isolated against a linebacker and just target josh downs you know like it doesn't have to be this over complicated okay go first read second read third read and then get the ball out if your first reads open get the ball to your first read so attack these linebackers and coverage they got backup linebackers out there they injuries to their top guys um out fans alone he's out which is big right so get josh downs isolated there and then use your your mesh concepts and stuff to create traffic and then again also with the simplified game if you see that the lines are going to blitz and they don't have a deep safety just find alec pierce or find ad mitchell one-on-one with the corner and don't be afraid of the go ball.

Starting point is 00:09:07 Just throw it up to a jump ball down the field. I'm not saying that's the 100% perfect play, but it's a simplified play that gets the ball out of your player's hands and gets it in a good situation where Alec Pierce can win a ball down the field. So when it comes to the passing game, be simplified with it. Attack matchups, isolate what you want to isolate, and get those big plays that way. And then the run game, whatever you have to isolate and get those big plays that way and then the run game whatever you have to do to get some traction there maybe don't run anthony richardson up the

Starting point is 00:09:29 middle over and over again yeah um but if you can get some traction with jonathan taylor and maybe some outside runs with anthony richardson i think they can have a you know a way to success in this game when it comes to um offensive football and avoid the big turnover that's really the big thing keep your keep your hands on the ball and avoid the big turnover. That's really the big thing. Keep your, keep your hands on the ball and avoid the big turn. Cause that's where the Detroit lions defense is great. I think they're number two against the past this season because they have 14 interceptions as a defense, which leads the NFL. You know, we're, we're in week 12, they have 14 interceptions. They're a very good defense.

Starting point is 00:10:01 Yeah. Safety group is nuts. So when you're attacking those matchups, avoid those two players, you know, more of the corners and the linebackers avoid those crazy safeties. But yeah, I think there is a path for the Colts offense to find some success in this game, but next up guys, we're going to switch over to the Colts defense. And again, I'm saying that the Colts defense needs to take a Shaq Leonard approach to this upcoming game. We're going to talk about that here in just a second.

Starting point is 00:10:28 This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. This month is all about gratitude, but sometimes there's another person we don't get to think enough, and that's ourselves. It's sometimes hard to remind ourselves that we're trying to, trying our best to make sense of everything. You know, adulting is very hard, especially this time of year when things get really picking up. It seems like there's one thing after another. But, you know,

Starting point is 00:10:49 trying to make sense of everything, it's not easy. So here's a reminder to send some thanks to the people in your life, including you. You know, whether you want to be thankful for your co-workers like Zach, I'm so thankful for you, buddy, or, you know, your family at home, what have you. Again, don't forget yourself it's things are hard enough you know give yourself a little bit of grace and uh you know give yourself a break sometimes because you know we're all just out here trying our best if you are having a tough time or you're thinking of starting therapy give better help a try it's entirely online designed to be convenient flexible and suited to your schedule.

Starting point is 00:11:28 Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapists at any time for no additional charge. Let the gratitude flow with better help. Visit better help.com slash locked on today to get 10% off of your first month. That's better help. H E L P.com slash locked on. All right, guys, it's fall slash winter in Indiana. And that means basketball. The Pacers are going. College basketball is, you know, there's basketball to watch in the state of Indiana right now.

Starting point is 00:11:57 And whether you're watching, you know, a high school game or you're out in the pros and you need tickets, hit up Game Time. They have a new feature called Game Time Picks that makes getting tickets to see your favorite teams play even easier. GameTime Pick filters out all the fluff to show you only the incredible deals on great seats so that you don't have to waste all your time picking and choosing through all the just red tape that it feels like comes with buying tickets to live events. PricePix also has the lowest price guarantee, which means they'll credit you 110% of the difference if you find better tickets at a competitor in the same area. That's how confident they are that you're going to get the best price there. They've also got the game time ticket coverage,

Starting point is 00:12:38 which means your purchase is covered with the most flexible customer service policy in the entire ticketing industry. So take the guesswork out of buying tickets with GameTime Picks. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-N-F-L for $20 off.

Starting point is 00:13:01 Download GameTime today. What time is it? Game time. That's right. Almost caught you slipping. All right, everybody. So defense, everyone is kind of on board with thinking the Colts offense can do a

Starting point is 00:13:18 little something, but the defense, that's the one that I think it's going to have a little bit of a tough time with this Detroit offense. That's really just on a historic pace dropping 50 burgers on everybody but Zach you know you left us off with that last one saying they need to take a Shaq Leonard approach what do you mean there yeah so when I think of Shaq Leonard who unfortunately at this point is kind of going to just going to be a Colts legend in our heads and not anymore like a current player for the Colts.

Starting point is 00:13:45 It's unfortunate how his career panned out. But during Shaq Leonard's prime, the way that I would classify it is maybe on a down-to-down basis, it wasn't perfect with him, but the flash was always there. The flash, the takeaways, the high points of play were always there.

Starting point is 00:14:01 So when it comes to a big game against the Detroit Lions, I don't need the Colts defense to be perfect. I don't need them to be suffocating. I don't need them to hold the lines to four yards of pass and two yards of rush. It'd be awesome if they did something like that, but I just don't need that to happen. I don't foresee it happening. But what we need is the Shaquille Leonard type of game where you're, you're, you know, you're making your tackles, you're not missing tackles and you're forcing missing tackles, and you're forcing turnovers. Force turnovers. That's how you win this game.

Starting point is 00:14:30 We talked about in the first segment how the Detroit Lions defense has 14 interceptions this year, number one in the NFL. The Colts defense, 13 forced fumbles this season. I believe that's number one in the NFL. It might be number two in the NFL. It's in top two in the NFL. 13 forced fumbles this season as a defense. Regardless of how you make the takeaway happen, it can be a punch out.

Starting point is 00:14:51 It can be a forced fumble. You know, Shaquille Leonard was the punch out guy back in the day. It could also be an interception. I don't care how it is. It could be a fourth down stop. We will certainly take those as turnovers in my book as well. However it is, they got to force turnovers in this game because you're not going to stop that Detroit Lions offense for 60 minutes. You're not going to stop them from start to finish in this one.

Starting point is 00:15:10 They're going to get theirs. They're going to get their points. Jameer Gibbs, Dave Montgomery, Sungod, Amon Ross, St. Brown. These guys are too good. You're not going to stop them for the entire game. But if you can force some timely turnovers, give the short field back to your offense a couple times, then you have a chance to play upset. And I think that's the big key for this Colts defense is anytime you got the first

Starting point is 00:15:29 tackler in there and the ball carrier is standing up, second guy come in punching the ball. If you have a chance to make a play on the ball for an interception, do whatever you can to make that play. The Lions are going to score their points, but if you can get some takeaways, you have a chance to beat them on Sunday. That is exactly right. And I'm probably going to be speaking ignorantly toward any NFL coach, but I do think your game plan here, just you have to resign to the fact that you're going to give up yards and probably points. The emphasis is on diagnosing the gifts that that opposing offense gives you and taking advantage of that. Just like you said, you know, I think when I watched the lions, I see, you know, Jared golf, you know, a lot of those crossing routes and everything.

Starting point is 00:16:10 He does a lot of stuff over the middle of the field and middle of field might be a little open with how the Colts linebackers play at times, but Nick cross and Julian Blackman, I think could play a big role in this. These guys keeping your eyes on what Jared Goff is doing, I mean, when available, you're going to have other things. You have other keys you have to point in on. But I think the safeties over the middle of the field could be big in this one.

Starting point is 00:16:37 You might see one where Julian Blackman historically has been able to do this. It hasn't really happened this year. But the guy's good at watching quarterbacks, getting one step ahead of them, and then jumping the route and picking off an interception and getting an interception over the middle of the field. I think that would be huge. We've been waiting on something like that for that guy all year. But I think also just simply the pass rush has to work. Houston, when they were rattling Jared Goff and forcing him into more interceptions than he has in completions on a normal game, they were able to make him

Starting point is 00:17:10 uncomfortable. DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart get some push up the middle. Tyquan Lewis, we'll see if he's back. He's questionable, but he was able to practice all week. I think him just being able to give some juice in the second wave of the defensive line would be big. But it's a tall task against an offensive line that's the best in the league. But the Colts got some dogs on the defensive line, too. Like they are more than capable of getting into the backfield. But you just cannot let Jared Goff sit back there and have a picnic because he is he's a 70 75 completion guy right now the guy is unreal when it comes to taking what the defense gives you so you have got to speed his clock up a little bit yeah the biggest thing I want to say too about this Colts defense

Starting point is 00:17:56 and I say this with love I love how this Colts defense has played for the second half of the season even last week's game I think was a little bit of an aberration with the short fields for the Jets offense. I think the Colts defense has been gearing up for a game like this all season. And when I say that, I mean, regardless of opponent this season, the Colts defense has given up like 400 total yards of offense,

Starting point is 00:18:19 tons of yards passing, you know, a buck 50 on the ground, pretty much every game. It doesn't matter who you're going against. It could be the worst quarterback in football. It could be Josh Allen. They will give up yards. The games where the Colts defense has been a net positive, though, are the games where they've stood tall in the red zone and forced turnovers.

Starting point is 00:18:35 Those are the biggest things for this defense, because if they're not doing that, they're bending and breaking. If they're doing those things, though, their bend don't break, which gives your offense a chance to win. So they didn't really do it too much against the Jets, and that's where we saw the Jets put 27 points on this Colts defense. But the other games before that, the games against the Buffalo Bills, the games against the Minnesota Vikings, the game against the Houston Texans,

Starting point is 00:18:58 it wasn't a perfect defensive effort, but they were bending and not breaking. They were standing tall in the red zone. They were getting sacks. They were forcing turnovers. That is where you can win games with this defense. So they need to be on their A game when it comes to forcing those turnovers. It's a very tough task this week, a very, very tough task, where the Colts' run defense, especially between the tackles,

Starting point is 00:19:17 has allowed the most yards per carry in the NFL this season. And you get Montgomery and Gibbs this week who are, I mean, if you had to do top 10 running backs in football, they're probably both in the top 10 and maybe both in the top five. They're both very, very good running backs. So the Colts have to stop the run first and foremost. I did see the Detroit Lions are number one in the NFL in play action rate with nearly 40% rate. They can, they can do it when you run the ball. Right. So if you're getting gashed in the run game

Starting point is 00:19:45 and you're being, you know, like you're being passive in the pass rush because of that, that'll allow the Lions to hit you over the top of that play action. So it's a tough task this week. Keep things in front, punch the ball out, force turnover, stand tall in the red zone, and you have a chance. But if the Colts go this whole game without forcing a turnover with just miscommunications in the red zone, the Colts offense, no matter how they look, are not going to be able to keep up with this Lions offense. So Colts defense, again, doesn't need to be perfect.

Starting point is 00:20:12 Just get the ball back to the offense a couple of times. Get off the field when you can and have some positive moments in this one. So the Colts offense has a chance to keep pace. Yeah, absolutely. So coming up here next, guys, we're going to get to your hot takes and what we think is going to happen in this game. All right, listen up, runners. Have you ever felt like you're just stuck in this loop of rent payments, just watching

Starting point is 00:20:37 your money vanish into thin air? Well, it's time to turn that rent game around and start earning some serious rewards. And that's where Built Rewards comes in. Built is breaking ground as a neighborhood rewards program that hooks you up with points on your rent every month, pay rent and watch the bill points roll in. You know, that's incredibly frustrating when, you know, as someone who's rented before, you're just paying this money month after month. You're like, what is this going towards? I'm not, I don't have a house. I'm not paying this towards a mortgage bill helps you actually get rewards back. Like you don't have that question of what is this going towards anymore? Use your points to jet

Starting point is 00:21:12 off on a dream vacation. Put your points toward a flight or hotel stay with 500 plus airlines and over 700,000 hotels and properties. You can also use your points to book fitness studio classes or even redeem them towards a future rent payment. They're designed to meet your lifestyle. Pay rent hassle-free through the Built Rewards app. Your rent game just got a major upgrade. Built points have been consistently ranked the highest value point currency by the Points

Starting point is 00:21:38 Guy and Bankrate. So earn points by paying rent right now when you go to joinbuilt.com slash locked on NFL. That's J-O-I-N-B-I-L-T dot com slash locked on NFL. Make sure to use our URL so that they know we sent you. Joinbuilt.com slash locked on NFL to start earning points with your rent payments today. All right, y'all. So we're going to go ahead and start with some hot takes. We love this one. And in a matchup like this, that's all we have to cling to, I think, is the hot takes. Because again,

Starting point is 00:22:12 you got a team that's under 500 of the Colts and you got a team in the Lions who, for my money, is the best in the league. So a lot of people think the Colts have no business winning this one, but we know otherwise. So here's one from our guy, Kenny out in Ohio. He says, Anthony Richardson will have his highest rushing production of the year in attempts and yards, which again means the Colts are letting them loose. More of his yards will be from scrambles than design runs, Zach. So you think, you know, that's like you mentioned, that's the way to take advantage of that man defense. Yeah, I think we would see Richardson's scramble rate jump up in this one if the Colts are down early,

Starting point is 00:22:48 because then you get Richardson more into that fourth quarter mindset. You guys know the fourth quarter mindset with Anthony Richardson. It's when the Colts need – and we saw this past week when they were down eight in the fourth quarter. When the Colts need points late in a game, regardless of how the first three quarters look, Richardson turns it up to a different level. In the fourth quarter, he opens up more of the scrambling.

Starting point is 00:23:08 He gets more aggressive throwing the ball down the field. So if the Colts find themselves in a hole early in this game, like, you know, 21-0, 17-0, which could happen, very well could happen this week, then I think we could see the scramble game really open up for Richardson because he'll be in a little bit more desperation. There might be more turnovers as a result, but I do think we would see the scramble game really open up for Richardson because he'll be in a little bit more desperation there might be more turnovers as a result but I do think we would see him kind of up some different aspects of his game if the Colts find themselves in an early hole yeah and this person may be watching right now this was from YouTube Indiana Pacers Colts fan Richardson throws for 350 yards and four touchdowns Josh Downs has 150 of those yards. Jonathan Taylor has 60 yards

Starting point is 00:23:45 rushing. And then Anthony throws in 65 yards rushing. Laiatu Latu has a sack. Quiddie Paye gets a sack. Buckner gets a sack. Moore has a pick. So he stat sheet stuffing. But you know, we said this was going to have to be a big play defense for this thing to come through. And there was a lot of things that I said, but if you looked at the box score that's not like totally insane you know latu and pay both out of sack last week like buckner might have as well but he does on a normal week um but yeah all those things together i think that bodes well for the colts in that instance uh but yeah that's if you're going to pick one of those things to be most realistic zach what do you think i think the josh downs one for one I know 150 it seems like a pretty high number for him but

Starting point is 00:24:29 he has this tendency to when there's a break in coverage to just be the guy wide open we saw it against the Houston Texans this year we saw it multiple times last year I think against Browns Raiders in the Browns last year in the the Indiana Knights uniforms, which they'll be wearing on Sunday. There we go. So I think the sneaky one is downs at like 150, especially because I think the Lions have struggled this year with slot receivers. They bring Brian Branch down a couple of times

Starting point is 00:24:55 to kind of mug them and attack them a little bit. But for the most part, the Lions have struggled against slot receivers. I might've said Browns there. The Lions have struggled against slot receivers this season. So I do think there could be a couple plays where Downs really breaks free in this one. 150 might still be a little bit high for that, but look, Josh Downs is playing some great football right now. He is their go-to player on third downs. Anthony Richardson clearly loves him. That is his guy. I could see it. I could totally see it happen. I also want to say that if

Starting point is 00:25:23 half of those predictions are correct, we're going to give that guy the Nostradamus Award and do a bunch of fun things with that because that is putting it all out there. Maybe this guy's from the future. That'd be great if all that happened. But no, I do like the Josh Downs having a big game prediction for sure. All right.

Starting point is 00:25:40 We'll do one more here before you and I give our own predictions. So we had a couple in here that were intertwined with the recent podcast beef. So both of these basically involve the defense getting a takeaway or a pick six or something with Zyra Franklin involved, going down for the photo opportunity right in front of Pat McAfee's suite, and then things starting to heat up from there. And, you know, I, I gotta be honest, you know, Pat McAfee suite is right down there in one of the end zones.

Starting point is 00:26:15 If the Colts defense gets a turnover and that's the end zone they go to for the pictures, that could create an interesting moment. Pat McAfee and Zyre Franklin, there, there's no love lost in the last week or so between those two. Pat McAfee was very publicly outspoken about that today. That one is spicy and we like to get spicy on the show. So I definitely wanted to mention those. I don't know if either of them would be too upset in that situation just because it would

Starting point is 00:26:41 be a Colts positive thing happening. But hold on, Colt crime, you know? Yeah. Whatever's happening with that podcast beef or whatever with McAfee and Franklin, I hope it irons out here going forward. Maybe we're not in it's all I know, but keep it kind of close. And maybe that, maybe it irons out in this guy. I don't know. I don't know, but we'll see. That's, that's a fun one though. All right. So how are you feeling about this one?

Starting point is 00:27:03 We'll obviously have our round table coming out on horseshoe huddle this right, so how are you feeling about this one? We'll obviously have our roundtable coming out on Horseshoe Huddle this weekend, but how are you feeling about this matchup? I mean, here's the way I view it, really, with this one. This game doesn't really matter too much for the Colts' attempt at the playoffs. I mean, they have six games left. They have to win five of them. And the two that you could kind of lose are either this one or the New York Giants game because they're NFC games.

Starting point is 00:27:30 They don't factor into a lot of tiebreakers. All that to say they have one buffer game in these final six and you're going against the best team in football this week. Now, as a team, you never come out and say like, oh, this game doesn't matter. Who cares if we win? But I do think that it kind of lessens the pressure on me it lessens the pressure on these players even to a degree though it's like you go out there and it's kind of like we're going to give our best shot to this top team our best we're going to throw as many punches as we can at them maybe mix in some trick

Starting point is 00:27:57 plays and and really throw the kitchen sink at this team so it's kind of like a game where like you know you probably don't feel great about winning but I think you feel great about the Colts you know just just doing something different in this game I don't think it's going to be a win for the Colts but I do think it's gonna be a competitive hard fought game and I even think we'll be sitting here in like the third quarter being like okay the Colts are kind of running with these guys a little bit again I don't think they win I think the the Lions are just too much of a buzzsaw on both sides of the of the field right now like offense and defense they're a very very good football team with Super Bowl aspirations and they're playing like it this year but I do think the Colts are

Starting point is 00:28:34 competitive in this one and I think it's going to be a closer game than some people expect seven and a half actually feels pretty decent though for the line so I can even do a hot take with that but I do think you know this could be like a one score game going into the fourth or kind of late in third quarter where people are like, oh, the Colts are, you know, throwing some punches with the Lions. And we'll see. I do see many ways where this could go bad for the Colts. But I do think they come out in this one with a chance to experiment a little bit and throw some punches with the top team. And hopefully they're able to step up to that challenge because after this, regardless of what happens in this game, they have five games they got to win the rest of the season. I mean, even if you win this one, you want to keep that momentum and win the last five.

Starting point is 00:29:15 If you lose this one, then you definitely have to win the last five if you want to make the playoffs. So it's playoffs for the Colts after this week, regardless. So get all your punches in this week, and then we go from there. Yeah, I mean, you might as well yellow it. You got the bye week coming up soon. No, I think in typical Colts fashion, this is going to be a very big play-based game. Like the in-between and all the routine stuff, probably going to be clunky or unproductive.

Starting point is 00:29:44 But points will come because of big plays on both sides of the ball. But just some, some hidden kind of X factor things to my eye, when I've watched the lions on TV this year, their defense is very aggressive, very physical and sometimes very grabby in particular, Terry on Arnold, that in a man coverage situation like this, where we know Anthony Richardson is aggressive and will go downfield, you could have one or two DPIs or holding calls that really play a big role in the Colts putting some points on the board.

Starting point is 00:30:18 So I think that's kind of a hidden X factor there. I think ultimately, you know, the Colts offensive line is super banged up. I mean, they're going to have three rookies out there again. That's really tough. I mean, the, the Detroit defensive line is maybe their only vulnerable area of the team, but it's like, have the advantage in this one, you know? So I, I do, I'm going to give the Colts the benefit of the doubt and say that they can do some things either by what you said, you know, put some creative wrinkles in there to make enough big plays on offense to trade some shots with the Detroit offense. I have Detroit winning 34 to 31.

Starting point is 00:30:59 I think it'll be an exciting high scoring game. But ultimately, I just don't, I don't have anything in me that says the Colts are going to win this one. Cause it's like, is, is there an avenue for it to happen? Sure. But I think it's up to the lions, whether or not the Colts win, like the Colts could do everything right. And still not outscore the lions. So I think the lions would have to have a lot of mistakes in this one to lose.

Starting point is 00:31:26 They're just really good guys. Like I, I'm usually pretty optimistic and I have a, an avenue for the Colts to win, which of course they can, but the lions are really good. Like they're probably the best team in the league. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:31:39 I got lions 38, 28 in this one. I just, again, I think this lion's team is, is just on, on a new level right now. And again, I think the Colts keep this competitive into the third quarter,

Starting point is 00:31:48 like late third quarter. But at some point, the talent discrepancy does come out to play. And the Lions are just that stacked. But I think the two key metrics will be turnovers for both teams, obviously, and red zone efficiency. How often these teams are converting red zone trips to touchdowns. That'll be the story of this game. I know I sound like an old ball coach talking about that

Starting point is 00:32:07 because that applies to every game, but especially in this one. If the Colts are very, very good in the red zone and they force turnovers on defense, they have a chance in this game. I don't know if they have much of a chance outside of that, but we'll see. It should be an interesting game. And again, it's kind of like a no pressure game this weekend for us, at least as fans and as people watching, because unless they get absolutely trounced like the Jaguars did last week, which again, it could happen.

Starting point is 00:32:30 I hope it doesn't, but it could happen. But unless that happens in this game, it's kind of like, OK, cool. Our last little break before the playoffs start for the Colts, which is the final five game stretch. So enjoy this one. Enjoy. Hopefully the Colts throwing some wrinkles out there and doing what they can to throw punches. And hopefully we see a good Anthony Richardson and Colts offense because that would make it a game worth watching for sure on Sunday. We want to thank you guys for

Starting point is 00:32:55 making Locked on Culture first listen today. Now for your second listen, go find the new Locked on NFL now with two shows every day. First, the Madman Tyler Rowland kicks off your morning with a double shot of NFL espresso and then stop by the barbershop with Tony Wiggins for some real NFL talk. Find Locked on NFL on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcasts. And if you guys want to become a Locked on Colts insider

Starting point is 00:33:13 and chat with us directly, follow the link in our show notes. And if you don't already, make sure you're following at Locked on Colts, at Jake Arthur NFL, at Zach Hicks too, all on Twitter. Also subscribe to us on YouTube, wherever you listen to your podcasts. We love you guys, ratings, reviews, and we'll at Zach Hicks to all on Twitter. Also subscribe to us on YouTube. I released your podcast. We love you guys.

Starting point is 00:33:25 Rain's reviews. And we'll catch you guys back here Sunday after the game.

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: Anthony Richardson, Josh Downs Set For Another Big Week vs. Detroit Lions

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