Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts' Anthony Richardson Returns Alongside Jonathan Taylor vs. Denver Broncos

Episode Date: August 11, 2024

Indianapolis Colts QB Anthony Richardson returned to the field at Lucas Oil Stadium vs. the Denver Broncos and was flanked by superstar RB Jonathan Taylor. How did the offensive and defensive starters... look, who starred on the day, and who needs to go back to the drawing board? Become a Locked On Colts insider! Ask your burning questions and get prompt answers from someone who's around the team every day! Get special access from the locker room, practice field, and press box! 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.BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month.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)

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Starting point is 00:00:00 A.R.A.D. J.T. Latu. We're going to see some new Colts football today, and we've got lots to talk about. 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. All right.
Starting point is 00:00:26 Thanks for tuning in and making us your first post-game listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And today's show is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs, which helps you find the qualified candidates that you want to talk to faster. Just post your job for free at linked LinkedIn.com slash locked on NFL. That's LinkedIn.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply.
Starting point is 00:00:55 What is up party people? This is Jake Arthur and Zach Hicks of horseshoehuddle.com. I'm your resident credential media member reporting to you here live from Lucas Oil Stadium. Zach is the film crunchinest film guy in the world. World-renowned. And we're here to talk to you guys today about the Colts 34-30 preseason week 1 loss to the Denver Broncos. I almost don't even care to mention who won or lost or the score. But honestly, it was kind of a high-scoring, entertaining preseason game, Zach.
Starting point is 00:01:27 But yeah, we got to see the starters out there for two drives, offensive and defensive. The Colts got through all five quarterbacks. Some of the lower-level guys that we like to talk about with some regularity did some nice things too. But let's go ahead and talk about these starters because, of course, the Colts didn't really add a ton of newness to the team this offseason, not until really the draft, but it almost feels like a new team. Anthony Richardson is back out there. He's got Jonathan Taylor by his side. Everyone for the most part, you know, besides like Josh Downs is healthy. So Zach, what did you see out here? Let's, you know, with the offense, they had two drives, not really fruitful. They just totaled 30 yards and possessed it for three
Starting point is 00:02:10 minutes and 17 seconds on seven plays. But I mean, you got to see a little bit of action out there. Yeah. I mean, we, I think we got a little bit more from the defense than we did from the offense in this one. So we can probably do most of the talk here on the defense, for the offense it felt like really just getting that rust off especially for Anthony Richardson kind of moving the legs a little bit uh wasn't the crispest day for uh Anthony Richardson but um you know it wasn't like a horrible day or anything like that I mean he had the one really errant pass to Kylan Granson where the two of them just were not on the same page. He had the other one to Kylan Granson on third down, where he should have got there just a tick sooner.
Starting point is 00:02:50 If he gets there just a tick sooner, you turn that into a first down, you continue that drive. Good throw to Morale Cox. And then the other one to, I believe it was to Michael Pittman Jr., was just the blitz was in his face. So it wasn't a bad day or anything like that. Just got his legs out there under him, got to see the football field again,
Starting point is 00:03:07 and then got to call it a day. And that'll be all we get from him in preseason football action until the last preseason game, because I don't think they're going to play this next game because they have the joint practices. But it was just nice to see him out there. Nice to see Anthony and JT on the field together.
Starting point is 00:03:21 Nice to see who the starters were and which guys were kind of subbed out of the game early and not put back in there with the backup. So you can kind of see, you know, a little bit of clarity when it came to those rotations. But outside of that, when it came to the offense, you know, I don't think there was too much to write home about because I don't want to say sloppy, but it wasn't crisp. It wasn't, it wasn't horrible, but it just wasn't super crisp. And you only got to see a couple of snaps from them. Yeah. I don't really, I don't expect perfection or honestly, even much productivity in the first preseason game. Like you said, it was just good to see those guys out there again, a couple of handoffs between Anthony and Jonathan. You know, I asked
Starting point is 00:04:00 Anthony about that after the game and like by now, luckily for them, it's like old hat because they've been doing it in practice. But to do it in a game and for him to acknowledge he had some nerves going into this one, he could just get that first return performance at Lucas Oil out of the way. And now it's just kind of business as usual. Like you mentioned, probably not going to play next Saturday because they have the two joint practices with Arizona. But no, that was good to see. Like you mentioned, I feel like there's a little bit of clarity on some starting positions, or at least like primary rotational ones that I don't see changing drastically between now and the regular season.
Starting point is 00:04:39 Like tight end, for example, Mo Alleycox, Kylan Granson, and Drew Ogletree being the top three feels really firm at this point. Jelani Woods is working his way up the depth chart. Will Mallory has kind of got to get out of his own injury way. But other than that, the top three seem pretty settled. And then Jelani and Will will just kind of have to figure out where they fit in from there. But yeah, on the defensive side of the ball, just to preface going into the game, DeForest Buckner and Juju Brents, they were held out of practice Friday for rest, but Juju does have a little bit of a shoulder issue. However, if this would have been a real game today, he would have been out there starting. It's no concern. They were just resting him and being cautious.
Starting point is 00:05:26 You know, same thing with Buckner. Buckner doesn't have any injury designation or anything like that, but they did not play today. In Buckner's spot, it was Taven Bryant at the three-tack, and then in Juju's spot, it was Dallas Flowers, who we'll discuss more in our third segment among guys who maybe didn't have the strongest days in the world. But what did you think about the defense? Like you mentioned up top, they kind of had a little bit
Starting point is 00:05:49 more productive day than the offense did. Yeah. I mean, obviously they had the big play of the day when it came to starters on either side of the ball, and that was the interception by Kenny Moore. Now they got a favorable bounce, obviously, from Samajde Pirine bouncing the ball up in the air. And it was still a great play by Kenny to track it down and catch it and spin his body as he's catching it to make sure there's just no doubt that ball's going to hit the ground. That's just a guy who's done that, you know,
Starting point is 00:06:14 for years now knows what he's doing and made a veteran play. So it was great to see them come up with that big play right there. I mean, only 11 plays on defense and they came away with a turnover. That's what you want to see from this defense this year. It doesn't matter if you give up a couple more yards, but as long as you're getting those turnovers, that's great to see. I think the front seven was fantastic in this. I mean, you can go Taequann Lewis, I thought was phenomenal. Taequann Lewis was living in the backfield. Garrett Bowles thought so too.
Starting point is 00:06:41 Yeah. No, Taequann Lewis, man, it was, whew. I thought he looked like the best player on the field when he was out there. Multiple QB hits and QB pressures, really good showing from him. Leatu Latu when he was getting out there with the starters was super disruptive. I know Quidipe had a couple pressures. Like, we only saw, what, 10, 15, 20 snaps out of these guys on defense at most. I mean, I think Latu probably had like 15 or something, but these guys were productive in that pass rush.
Starting point is 00:07:10 They didn't get a sack, but they were forcing a lot of things out. And I think if this were like a real regular season game where you have longer developing routes, you know, not a lot of the quick hitters and just getting the ball out, I think you would have seen more sacks or more QB hits. But yeah, the defensive line looked good. Linebackers played well. Kenny got that pick. Jalen Jones had a pass breakup. I thought Nick Cross looked fine out there. So overall, I mean, I'm not too concerned about the defense off of this showing. Now,
Starting point is 00:07:34 given this is the Denver Broncos, not the best offense in the world, you know, Jarrett Stidham is starting quarterback. So we're not talking about, you know, going against the best of the best here, but it was a very positive showing, I think. And I think the biggest thing you can take away is Laatu Latu and Taequann Lewis against Garrett Bowles, who's a pretty solid starting left tackle. Those two look fantastic against him. I thought they made some really good things happen out there.
Starting point is 00:07:57 Yeah, Laatu already getting double teamed at least a couple plays in a row. Like he hadn't even made his footprint in the NFL yet but they like right away knew that this guy was going to be a handful and the defensive ends kind of kind of like the tight ends that we mentioned like there's not really a set group of like set starters it's more of a group effort so expect to see a lot of Latu, Coity, even Dio throw him in there he didn't really get a ton of work because he's missed a lot of time during the preseason. But no, I'm really happy with what we saw from the front seven. Personnel-wise, again, it was Nick Cross getting the start there of free safety with Julian at strong.
Starting point is 00:08:42 And yeah, I mean, personnel-wise, probably not a lot of surprises. Again, I think Zaire Franklin is doing some positive things this summer in the passing game. He's not a big interception guy, probably never will be, but I feel like he is getting his hands into passing lanes more often, disrupting targets more often. Like what we saw out there today
Starting point is 00:09:04 has become somewhat common during training camp too. So, you know, we've said all offseason that Colts needed some help and pass defense in the middle of the field. And again, maybe that's something that's never going to be like a big strong suit of Franklin's. But considering he's a 100% snap guy, if he can be a little better against the pass like he's showing, then I think that'll be a pretty big deal for for the colts defense yeah and then another thing to mention too with the defense i mean we saw some good things out there from them and them getting that turnover out there too but we got to remember that we're missing two of their better
Starting point is 00:09:36 players out there deforest buckner and juju brents and and i think this defense looks a lot better or a lot different with those guys out there because the drop off from DeForest Buckner to the guy who started in place of him is pretty massive yeah and and we even saw in this game the drop off from Juju Brents to the guy who started in place of him might be pretty massive as well from what we saw in this game so I think when you get those guys back out there and you get like a defensive coordinator that's actually trying because again preseason you're calling a lot of shell stuff and just kind of chilling out there and you get like a defensive coordinator that's actually trying because again preseason you're calling a lot of shell stuff and just kind of chilling out there and letting guys kind of move or just move their legs around um i do think that this defense can be much better even than what we saw today but again at the end of the day it comes down to that defensive line
Starting point is 00:10:17 and what we saw from the defensive line even without deforest buckner was very positive to me so i i i think just looking at the starting defense, I'm feeling pretty good. Yeah, same here. All right. So coming up, we're going to talk about some guys whose stock is on the rise after they did some pretty nice things out here on the field. When you are hiring for your small business, you want to make sure that you find quality professionals who are actually right for the role that you have to offer. And that's why you get to check out LinkedIn Jobs, which has the tools to help find the right professionals for your team faster and for free. LinkedIn isn't just a job board either.
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Starting point is 00:11:40 And thank you guys for making Locked On Culture your first listen today. And for your second listen, enjoy the Locked On Fantasy Football Podcast. Get daily insight into the best fantasy draft strategy so you can win your league this season. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All right, Jake, we're going to talk about Stock Up, guys.
Starting point is 00:11:57 And I think we're going to rename this section the Micah Abraham section because when you're thinking Stock Up in this game, holy crap, what a game by the rookie. rookie I mean that was fantastic from out there I know it wasn't like super flashy in terms of like pass defense but he had a huge tackle for a loss I think late in the third quarter and then he obviously made the play of the game which was the the strip uh force fumble that he returned for a touchdown I didn't even see it on broadcast because they were on broadcast. They were interviewing Anthony Richardson when that fumble happened. So I thought somebody else hit the running back and the ball popped out to him.
Starting point is 00:12:33 But then when they showed the replay, you see him come from behind, rip it out, take it and turn it up the other way for a touchdown. That was very Kenny Moore like of him. And when you're competing for that backup slot corner spot and you're making a play like that happen you're beating that playmaker that that position demands that's how you make a roster right there you know this wasn't like I had some people commenting like oh this is like the Darius Rush touchdown last year where he still didn't make the roster when he had a preseason touchdown but it's like no this was him making the play Darius Rush it was
Starting point is 00:13:02 a dude dropped a screen pass into his hands and then he returned it for a touchdown this was him making the play. Darius Rush, it was a dude dropped a screen pass into his hands, and then he returned it for a touchdown. This was Micah Abraham making a play. Like, this was a regular run stop, comes from behind, rips it out, turns up the field for a touchdown. And for a guy that they drafted for his playmaking ability on defense, he showed it. Like, day one, this was the ultimate outlier for Chris Ballard
Starting point is 00:13:23 in terms of size and athleticism. But he said, hey, we trust the ball skills. That translates. First preseason game, the ball skills show out there and he makes a huge play. So I wanted to start this segment just by shouting out Micah Abraham because that is what the preseason is for right there. For plays like that, fantastic play. And that's how you make a roster when it comes to preseason football. Without question.
Starting point is 00:13:46 And you, me, and Shane Steichen all had the same reaction of like, oh, wow, is he scooping it up and scoring? Only to later find that he's the one who forced the fumble because I asked Shane about that. By the way, it's always good when you can ask the really important people who are part of a team about a lower level guy that means they're doing really good stuff you know we talked to Shane about it Kenny Moore about it uh even Anthony like when you're asking that high profile of guys about a play you're you're
Starting point is 00:14:16 turning heads and so everyone was really impressed with that and I can't even tell you like internally Shane has to have such strong feelings about that because, again, it's not just a pick six or you scooped up the fumble and returned it. The fact that he stripped it and picked it up and ran it, that's a big deal. Like, I can't really undersell that. It's a huge deal. That is a playmaker. That's a huge playmaker stamp right there. And so that's going to be really good for his chances.
Starting point is 00:14:46 There's three nickels on the roster, but the Colts might have to just bend and do it anyways. Or Mike Abraham gets his spot back from Chris Lamont. We'll see. We'll move on to some other guys. We're not talking an entire episode about Mike Abraham. But I mean, him,
Starting point is 00:15:01 Kenny Moore, and Chris Lamont, all slot defenders making plays today Just saying Yeah, we had what? An interception, a fumble recovery Then a fumble recovery and touchdown by the other one So big day by the slot defenders in this one That's absolutely true
Starting point is 00:15:15 So the Colts got through all five quarterbacks And I thought all five of them had some good things That they put out there Obviously we talked about Anthony Joe's day was fine i thought i think his ball placement on short passes in particular short rhythmic passes is really good sam ellinger is just a pre-season god up until he throws that interception which i mean he was being hit at the time yeah but keaton slovis did some i thought he he threw with
Starting point is 00:15:41 anticipation uh he had i forget who the receiver was up the left side. Will Mallory. Will Mallory, yep. Yep. But I thought that play was good. And then Jason Bean, after a terrible fumble that he lost, came back to lead a touchdown drive. And I thought that was the best passing I've seen from him all summer.
Starting point is 00:16:00 Again, he doesn't get a lot of reps during practice, but he does get some occasionally. But out on a field against a different team, that's the best I've seen Bean all summer. Again, he doesn't get a lot of reps during practice, but he does get some occasionally, but out on a field against a different team, that's the best I've seen Bean all summer. Yeah, no, for sure. Slovis and Bean, I thought had had a good days out there getting out there and ripping the ball around a little bit. Slovis just missed that touchdown in the back of the end zone, which I think would have given him a better day than Bean. He was real late on that. Yeah, yeah. But Bean got the touchdown pass in there. It looked really good. So it was really fun seeing those guys. And I think one of Bean or Slovis will be the practice squad quarterback
Starting point is 00:16:29 for the Colts this offseason. Moving to running back, though, we have two running backs that are competing for that RB3 spot, Evan Hull and Tyler Goodson. And I don't know what the Colts are going to do with this one. They both look pretty good out there. I mean, Hull a little bit better as a pass catcher. Goodson a little bit better as a runner.
Starting point is 00:16:47 Goodson punched one in for a touchdown. Holt redeemed all of Colts Nation by catching a fourth and short swing pass from an accurate throw from a quarterback. So, yeah, Evan Holt and Tyler Goodson. I don't know how to break down that battle right now because from what I saw in this game, they look pretty even to me. Yeah, they're just different players. I mean, they have some similar strengths, but they're just different players.
Starting point is 00:17:10 I think it'll come down to who can you trust. If they had to start a game, who can you trust more? You know, like things like pass protection. And I don't know. I was impressed by Goodson. You know, I think he's very sudden at times. Like he's very shifty. Hull has more behind his pads when it comes to short yardage stuff, though.
Starting point is 00:17:30 So that'll be a fun one. I think we'll see a ton of both of those guys probably really the next two games, but probably in particular, especially with Trent Pennix having a groin injury. Probably see them a lot next Saturday. Will Mallory, that's a guy who you just wish he would stay healthy because he catches everything, whether it's short, intermediate, downfield. Like, I love seeing Will Mallory out there play tight end, but you just got to stay healthy, man.
Starting point is 00:18:00 And I think that's the only thing standing in the way of him and, like, a pretty big role as a tight end on the team. Yeah, yeah, for sure. I thought he had a really good game. The really nice catch down the sideline, like you mentioned, had a couple other ones that were underneath as well. Will Mallard did pretty well. D.J. Montgomery had a really nice big catch from Sam Allinger.
Starting point is 00:18:19 I know he had that drop late, but D.J. Montgomery, I thought, had some good moments in this one. Linebacker Austin, I want to say Ajiake. I always say Ajiake just in my head, but I think the PA announcer in the press box said Ajaki. Ajaki, okay. He had a good game, though. He looked really solid out there.
Starting point is 00:18:39 I thought he separated himself from some of the other linebackers lower on the depth chart, especially with Jalen Carlisle out in this one. So I thought he had a really solid game. And then two pass rushers, Isaiah Land and Adetomi Adebore. I mean, those two were disruptive as hell in this game. And Tomi, I mean, he was out there on special teams. He was doing the rundowns on the kick coverage. I know Joel Erickson was messaging me about that
Starting point is 00:19:01 because we always joke about putting him at gunner. But yeah yeah they have him out there covering kicks he had two qb hits in this game as well looks strong as an ox out there in the passing game wish it would translate a little bit more to run defense which we'll talk about in our final segment for sure but uh tommy and and isaiah land i think those are two guys that you keep on your bottom of your roster and you keep developing and if there are games where like you know guys are hurt in front of them, you have two solid guys who can come off the bench and pass rush.
Starting point is 00:19:30 I'm really intrigued by the potential of those two players. And I think they can be productive sub pass rushers in this league for sure. Yeah, I think it's big for Adetomi because, you know, Laulu is a project like I think he's probably a couple-year project for them, but you're still waiting for an Eric Johnson to do something. And so when you're looking at the depth defensive tackles, this was a good performance for him. It was very on-brand for him.
Starting point is 00:19:58 I saw him chasing down everything. He always seemed to be at the ball by the end of the play, whether it was on the sideline or what so uh good performance by him along with a jockey i'll throw in cam mcgrown as well had the forced fumble so the two guys i can never tell apart 58 and 59 who like wear the same exact things good days from those guys but coming up we'll talk about some of the guys who maybe have a little bit of things to work on. Passion, drive, and patience. The formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive. eBay Motors has everything that you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance. Superchargers,
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Starting point is 00:21:22 of people have circled for guys who have some rebounding to do. Dallas Flowers sticks out pretty hard for me. So he had the two defensive pass interference penalties, which penalties will get you killed every time. Just look at Darrell Baker from last year in that Browns game. But he also played a part in something that I think a lot of people are probably going to point the finger at Nick Cross. So there was the early touchdown from Bo Nix to Marvin Mims, that short little out route, just like inside the five yard line. So we will probably need to ask either Gus or the guys themselves. But it looked like Nick Cross identified what the what the Broncos offense was doing and was trying to switch off coverage with Dallas Flowers, but there was just a disconnect there.
Starting point is 00:22:12 Flowers just may not have been picking up what they put down. So Cross was like, all right, I'm going to have to do it. And then it was just a little late. It was too far away and wasn't able to get there in time, and there was a touchdown. So although Nick Cross is kind of a common dog pile at the moment, like it's, you know, that you could probably throw that just as much on Flowers plate for the day.
Starting point is 00:22:35 Yeah. So the Colts were in banjo coverage there. It's on the goal line. So communication is huge because any misstep on the one yard line like that, if they are throwing the ball leads to a touchdown, like we saw, Nick Cross was half a second late to getting there. But yeah, those two defenders were in banjo. You have to communicate because it depends really how you do banjo. If, like, hey, the guy up in press, you're getting the first guy, which I think is what Flowers thought, was, hey, you're up in press, you're getting the guy that you're pressing. And then Cross is just working over top of any rubs and getting on that.
Starting point is 00:23:04 But sometimes the way that teams work banjo is guy up front gets first guy inside guy back gets first guy outside or vice versa so it really comes down to how that communication was and like we heard all last year from this defensive coaching staff like we've heard throughout all of training camp whoever's going to win these battles in the secondary it comes down to communication who's talking to each other? Who's figuring things out? Who's making sure guys aren't going to be wide open? Because any slight miscommunication can lead to a touchdown like we saw there. So I don't know who to pin that on exactly. In my head, I would say it's kind of on both guys. We're not communicating who's getting where there. And as a result, it led to the half second off,
Starting point is 00:23:42 and Bo Nix threw a really great pass to Marvin Mims but just aside from that play I do think you know Dallas Flowers a guy we talked about a lot this offseason as a guy who could push for that cornerback two spot I looked really good in his final game last year before he got hurt and he just doesn't look confident out there it just didn't look confident I mean you really saw it on the pass interference calls where it's like not getting his head around grabbing guys because when they're coming out of breaks, he doesn't trust himself yet out there. But even on some of these other ones where the Colts are like blitzing, and I think Venturi did a really good job mentioning on the broadcast, but when the Colts are blitzing and the guy that you're covering is doing like a quick out or
Starting point is 00:24:21 like a quick in or something, you got to drive on that. You know, you're blitzing. You know, the ball's coming out hot. The ball's coming out quick. You can't be sitting back on those being scared of a double move when they're blitzing. If you get beat by a double move when your defense is blitzing, that's not on you. That's on your blitz for not getting home. So you take that chance when you're a corner,
Starting point is 00:24:40 when your team is blitzing, because you have to trust your blitz. So if you're not trusting the blitz and not trusting your own ability to crashing because that's, you have to trust your blitz. So if you're not trusting the blitz and not trusting your own ability to crash downhill, that's a problem. So there were a couple of plays like that from Flowers where it looked really concerning. And I think, you know, the one thing that I really came away with was, yeah, Jalen Jones is absolutely cornerback too after this game. Maybe, I mean, again, it's preseason. It's hard to really put too much stock in one game, but that was just not the game you wanted to see from Dallas Flowers out there yeah yeah so we'll go ahead and not beat a dead horse so so to speak uh let's go on to you know a linebacker who maybe
Starting point is 00:25:16 didn't have the greatest day and it's a big bummer for me uh Liam Anderson had a couple plays that weren't so great uh he had one play where he took a poor angle, uh, to, to the runner and it resulted, I believe in a first down. And then he, did he fall down in coverage on a deep play? Yeah, it was a pick play really good design by the Broncos. It was a, a little hook route by the receiver. And then the running back was running a wheel rubbing off that hook route. And Anderson was in the the running back was running a wheel rubbing off that hook route and Anderson was in man coverage and he just got caught up on the on the hook route so he ran into the design the offense threw at him but he legit got knocked over by it which
Starting point is 00:25:55 led to the running back being wide open yeah a couple other poor plays too from Liam Anderson I thought he was Trevor Denbo for a second out there and I was like why is Denbo playing linebacker would Trevor would never. Well, it's like similar numbers, and then they both are the same size too. I didn't realize Anderson's kind of small out there. But, yeah, in a game where Ajake played really well and some of the other linebackers, Cameron Grone had a really good game, and then Carlisle, even though he wasn't in this game, he's going to make the team.
Starting point is 00:26:24 When you have that competition stepping up like it's it's a tough showing yeah for for that there another guy that i wanted to mention though and the guy that we it's kind of like the dallas flowers where it's like a pre-season battle we were talking about but the colts are trying to figure out who their swing tackle is going to be i feel pretty comfortable saying it should be Matt Gonsalves after this game because oh man Blake Freeland it looked like last year it looked like the exact same player as last year yeah which you know he can still get in the way at times of pass rushers but we saw in the Sam Ellinger interception you know that that was what Jonah Ellis or whoever Ellis uh that he that was rushing against him I think I think it was Jonah Ellis,
Starting point is 00:27:05 the rookie. And it was just an easy pass rush win for him where he hit Sam and Sam ended up throwing a pick. And that's a possession lost right there because your tackle couldn't hold up. And there were multiple other plays. Yeah. And there were just multiple other plays where he's just getting beat badly
Starting point is 00:27:19 and pass probably still is dropping his head. He's still stopping his feet on contact and he's getting beat around the corner with ease. And it's like, we have another tackle who is not having that issue on the other side who they just took in the third round. So for me personally, I'm feeling pretty good about Mack and solve this after this. I'm feeling good about Dalton Tucker too at right guard. We didn't mention him in the last segment, but he looked really good.
Starting point is 00:27:41 But Blake Freeland, man, that was just a really brutal showing from him out there. Do you think it's a matter of he can only play on the right side? Or do you feel equally as poor whether it's right or left? I still do maintain that the Colts set him back a little bit by making him jump back and forth so much as a rookie. Because you just, muscle memory, you have to switch your steps and your punches and everything is inverse as you keep moving back and forth so much as a rookie because you just muscle memory you have to switch your steps and your punches and everything is inverse as you keep moving back and forth so maybe if he just exclusively plays at left tackle and doesn't do anything at right tackle anymore maybe it's better but oh man let's let's hope the next game is better for him out there before we get out of here though i did want to mention a couple other guys that caught my eyes for
Starting point is 00:28:25 lowlights. The backup defensive tackle situation, especially in the run game, is so putrid still. We need Raekwon Davis out there so bad because Dave and Brian, who got the start out there, getting driven off the ball. Adetomi, I think one-on-one, he's
Starting point is 00:28:41 strong and sturdy, but he's just not a run stuffer when he's taking like double teams and stuff. Eric Johnson, it was bad out there. Jonah Lawaloo has great energy and motor, but I don't think he has the technique down yet, but man, you were, I mean, I'm sure you saw from the box too, Jake, like every run play that Broncos had outside of the, when Grover was out there, it was like,
Starting point is 00:29:03 they had four or five yards given to them in the trenches it looked a lot like last year yeah it's it's a i mean you hate that rick one davis plays such an important role in this for a guy who has taken zero practice reps with them yet but i mean all they all we can do is pray i mean hope hope, hope that Tommy is a hit and that he keeps getting better and that Laulu maybe even shows enough that they want to sneak him onto the roster. Maybe. I don't know. Is there a 350-pound man out there who just wants to sit in the middle of the Colts defense?
Starting point is 00:29:39 I'm willing to eat my way to that role. Like, I know they want to be a gap shooting Aggressive run defensive team Where they stop the run on the way to the passer And stuff but like sometimes you just Need that one tech or that zero tech Who just doesn't move Off the snap like I don't care if you're getting
Starting point is 00:29:58 Penetration just like don't get driven Back and I'm cool You need a Keith trailer. That's what you need. Yeah, like, I'm tired of 290-pound Taven Bryan being the one tech, or Eric Johnson, who's 290 or 300 pounds, and then Adetomi, who's 280. Like, these guys are getting knocked off the ball with ease.
Starting point is 00:30:17 Like, maybe we need to go get, like, a 340-pound guy. I know Raekwon Davis is supposed to be that guy. But, like, come on. Let's go back to old-school football a little bit bit, you know, like let's get it out there. Cut down weekend is going to be big for the Colts. I think they really have had their eyes open to the fact that some of the holes that we thought they had exist. Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully, but that's all we have for today, guys. Don't worry. We'll have a lot of coverage on this game and obviously previewing the next game coming up this week.
Starting point is 00:30:48 And then Jake will be out there at practice. When's the next practice, Jake? Is it Monday, Tuesday? No, so Wednesday and Thursday are the final two practices at Grand Park. They will both be with the Arizona Cardinals. And then training camp isn't technically over after that. They have one joint practice with the Bengals the next week, the Tuesday after.
Starting point is 00:31:10 And then they have their preseason finale with the Bengals that Thursday. So three total training camp practices left. Perfect. Perfect. Let's go back in time, guys. I'll tell you on draft night that Marvin Harrison Jr. will be in Grand Park Central practicing on this Wednesday and Thursday. And you guys would have been pumped.
Starting point is 00:31:26 Before we get out of here, I want to thank you guys for making Locked On Culture your first listen today. Now go listen to the Locked On Fantasy Football Podcast. Get daily insight into the best fantasy draft strategies so you can win your league this season. Part of the Locked On Podcast network, your team every day. And if you guys don't already, make sure you're following at LockedOnColts, at JakeArthur, NFL, at ZachKicks2, all on Twitter.
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