Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Award Season: MVP, Players of the Year, and More!

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's time to get warm and fuzzy today on Locked On Colts as we dig into awards season. Who's been the best of the best on the team and why? 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. And today's Crossover Thursday is presented by our friends at PrizePix.

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Starting point is 00:01:43 I'm doing good, doing good. I mean, you don't have Zach. I don't have Rashad. I guess as doing math here, I guess we still equal one show if we do the minus. It's kind of a crossover, kind of just a substitution for the day. Yeah, exactly. It's the Colts bye week, so we don't have a crossover with anyone in network. So we said, hey, we're getting Destin and Rashad back, a.k.a. just Destin.

Starting point is 00:02:10 I won't roast you as bad as Zach did the last time you guessed it, though. I promise that much. I rolled with it. I'm okay. I'm okay with it. All good. All right. So today it's the Colts bye week, like we just mentioned.

Starting point is 00:02:23 But with 13 weeks under their belt, we know plenty about this Colts team. We're going to break out the yearbooks and declare some superlatives and award winners for the team. Things like MVP, rookies of the year, and ultimately the biggest things that we're looking forward to in the final four games. Now, obviously this has been a very disappointing season. So guys who you would have thought would have been particular award winners, that's not going to be the case. Dustin and I were actually just talking off air before here that some of these were pretty tough choices. We're going to go with the bigger awards first.

Starting point is 00:02:56 I just really want to know who your MVP is so far. I'm expecting that we're going to have some duplicates. Some of these, like you said, some of these were hard to pick. The MVP wasn't one of the ones for me. I think the most consistent high-performing player on this Colts team this past year, for the MVP, usually for MVP you see a quarterback. Usually for MVP you see an offensive player. I couldn't go that route on this Colts team. And I went Grover Stewart.

Starting point is 00:03:33 I think Big Grove has just been consistently the best player on this Colts team this season. I think he consistently has shown up. He's consistently making plays. And on top of that, I just feel like this has been a career year for Grover. And I don't know if I can say that for many other Colts players this year. There are a couple others, but Grover is going to get the MVP for me. I so much love that pick. And because it's so it's normally an offensive award, a quarterback award. You just can't do that this year. Like there's no one on the office. I'm like, oh, yeah, they would.

Starting point is 00:03:59 The Colts, the Colts couldn't live without them because really the Colts have been losing all year because their offense. So they've had to live without multiples of them. Exactly. Guys have missed games. So I also had Grover Stewart, but I actually have co-MVPs like McNair and Peyton Manning. It's Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner. I couldn't, I couldn't outweigh one versus the other. So Grover Stewart, for all the reasons you mentioned, but DeForest Buckner, I don't think either of those guys, they're both tremendous elite players, but I think they bring out the best in each other. You know, they need each other right there next, you know, side by side.

Starting point is 00:04:36 DeForest Buckner has had, like, you probably can't count his amount of injuries on two hands, but he hasn't missed a game. He had one game where he was like on a small snap count, but he's been there through it all. We've seen how bad it can look before when he's not in the lineup and he's been out there regardless of the injury, neck, ribs, wrist, elbow. He's playing with that giant JJ Watt thing. You know, he had that illness that has been knocking some guys out lately. So I couldn't decide between the two my MVP the defensive tackles moving on to offensive player of the year I'm curious if we both wound up with the same one on this one too who was yours I went Jonathan Taylor at the end of the day Jonathan Taylor

Starting point is 00:05:19 has the most single yards whether it's a receiver or running back amongst the team, as well as even though only scoring four times, that's still tied, I believe, for the most individual touchdowns on the season as well. So I went ahead and went Jonathan Taylor for Offensive Player of the Year. And this is an award you sometimes see a running back win, just because they won't give Offensive Player of the Year and the MVP to the same person. Yeah, so mine came down to Taylor versus Michael Pittman Jr. Taylor's missed some time this year.

Starting point is 00:05:54 You know, they've won a game without him. They beat the Broncos. And he's had some bad moments. His fumble issues have come back this year. And he's had some really untimely ones. Michael Pittman Jr., he missed just the one game, I think, against the Jaguars. He, too, has had one or two bad moments. He had that drop against the Patriots.

Starting point is 00:06:16 But I had to say Pittman Jr., you know, for the most part, his hands have been bear traps. He comes away with the toughest catches on the team, it seems like. He goes over the middle. No receiver gets hit as hard as consistently as he does, and he tends to hang on to the ball. So my offensive player of the year, Michael Pittman Jr., on pace for another career year after kind of breaking out last year. So Pittman Jr. and Jonathan Taylor are players of the year, as I'm sure most of you guys would probably agree. Moving over to the defensive side of the ball, who is your defensive player of the year? Of course, we already picked our favorite defenders as the MVP,

Starting point is 00:06:53 so is there someone else that you got there? So you mentioned DeForest Buckner as your co-MVP. I didn't end up going him for defensive player of the year just because I didn't want to go to interior lineman guys. I ended up going Stephon Gilmore at the cornerback position. I just think there was a lot of up in the air about can Gilmore still play at a high level after coming off his stint in Carolina, where he was a little up and down after his New England stint. And I think just Stephon Gilmore has shown that he still has it in the tank. I think he has gone out there for the most part. He has been as

Starting point is 00:07:31 advertised as a free agency signing for the Colts. And I think on the back end, he has just led a very impressive group as enduring pass coverage against good quarterbacks this year. He's had big plays against big guys. And I think Stephon Gilmore has just elevated this defense to a level that we hadn't seen in years past. And that's why I went ahead and gave him defensive player of the year. And he's won the real thing before. So he's used to it. Exactly.

Starting point is 00:07:57 Yeah. That's, that's nothing new for him. That was my, that was my pick as well. He, he totally, he didn't have a poor image coming into the Colts, but people were starting to think, getting older, getting injured, he's not the same guy. He looked a lot closer to the perennial pro bowler that he was in New England this year than he has the banged up guy in Carolina.

Starting point is 00:08:19 So that was my pick as well. He's been very valuable. You could have made a case for him as MVP as well. He has been the clincher in at least three of the Colts' wins, forced the pick against Kansas City, had the pick in the past breakup against Denver, had the one a couple weeks ago. So, yeah, he's been so important.

Starting point is 00:08:43 And there's a few games I don't know that they win without him. For sure, Denver. Yeah, Denver they probably don't win without him. The Chiefs, you've got to think Mahomes can march them down the field and get a score. The Raiders, you know, he played Devontae Adams pretty well. He's been involved in some pretty big moments. And I can't imagine if the whole season

Starting point is 00:09:06 would have gone and it was kenny moore isaiah rogers brandon face on as the guys instead of gilmore i think they would have been a lot worse shape there nothing against all these guys as a group you said brandon face on his name so someone somewhere has turned off the podcast if i had to guess um but also i mean we're saying all these things, all these wins that Stephon Gilmore has himself been a big part of. So now the tank community in the Colts nation, they may not like Gilmore as much after this. They're like, man, three of these four wins come back to Stephon Gilmore himself. Exactly.

Starting point is 00:09:39 They could only have one win under their belt outside of him. And then here's a big one, comeback player of the year. I have a feeling we're going to be very similar places on this one as well. I went Paris Campbell. I think this is a comeback player of the year that is multiple years in the running, in a sense, where it wasn't just an injury last year that he was coming back from. He's just had an injury-plagued career that he was coming back to form, and it's on a contract year.

Starting point is 00:10:10 Paris Campbell had no guarantees on where he would play next year, and if it would be anywhere, if he gets hurt again, who knows what that next opportunity is if there is one. And I think Paris Campbell has shown that he can be a reliable piece in a receiving room and Paris Campbell's numbers this year would have been receiver number two on last year's Colts team. So I think that warrants Paris Campbell being the comeback player of the year.

Starting point is 00:10:36 I also, he does have the second most touchdowns of any Colts offensive player on the team this year with three only behind Jonathan Taylor. Angelani Woods. Oh. Angelani Woods. Oh, Angelani Woods. My bad. No, yeah. Again, that's my pick too.

Starting point is 00:10:52 Paris Campbell, second on the team in receptions and targets. If he was ever thrown the ball downfield, he would be second on the team in receiving yards as well. He's only 13 behind Alec Pierce, and Alec Pierce gets the ball downfield almost exclusively. So really, Paris Campbell has firmly been wide receiver two throughout the season. He's been able to stay healthy. That's obviously been the biggest thing because, I mean, after a while you get tired of hearing everyone talk about his injuries. The guy can't post anything on Twitter without being called Mr. Glass or anything. So this has been awesome. It's kind of like seeing Malik Hooker have that great game against the Colts last week. Like

Starting point is 00:11:28 guys who just were kind of dealt a bad hand and they're rebounding now. And for Paris Campbell, this is going to make a difference between millions of dollars. So that's exciting for him. He's now got every reason to be able to come back to Indy if he wants to this offseason. And before we move on and look at some of the younger guys in the awards that they're going to clean up with, today's episode is sponsored by Audible. Audible is releasing a slate of new football podcasts that we're sure you're going to love. That's why you'll be able to find a sneak peek of Block Forever, available on Locked On NFL right now. Block Forever is a brand new podcast from former NFL All-Pro Ryan Khalil and Audible.

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Starting point is 00:12:39 All right, so, Destin, this one's kind of a two-horse race, but I think the winner is fairly obvious. Offensive rookie of the year. I went Alec Pierce. I'm a big Alec Pierce guy. I've kind of coined the phrase Alec freaking Pierce every time he makes a big play. Okay.

Starting point is 00:12:56 So, I'm a big Alec Pierce guy. I think he gets the edge over a guy like Jelani Woods, who I have coming in second for me, just because of how often he is used. I think you could even throw in arguments for other guys, or at least a other guy that I don't want to say a name just in case you do pick him. But I think there's multiple opportunities for this offensive group to be good down the road and make this where you look back on it, like who was the best offensive player from this class of rookies for the Colts,

Starting point is 00:13:27 and it's a harder decision. But I think Alec Pierce has just seen such bigger usage. He has the game winner against Jacksonville. It's going to be the biggest moment of maybe any of the rookie class members outside of if you put up Rodney Thomas' breakup against Patrick Mahomes as a rookie moment. But, yeah, I went ahead and went receiver out of Cincinnati, Alec Pierce. I like it.

Starting point is 00:13:48 That was my pick as well, and I lied. I guess it's actually a three-horse race. Pierce, Woods, and Bernard Ryman, you could throw him in there as well. He's the new starter at left tackle. And outside of some, like, not-so-great moments, he's played pretty well overall. He's gotten consistently better. Given them hope that maybe he could at least be their starter next year anyway.

Starting point is 00:14:10 Who knows where Bernard Ryman is if he starts week one and has those learning curves and just starts growing instead of just being thrown in week 10. There's a lot of question marks that we'll have to come back to eventually. But Bernard Ryman, I'm happy that he's starting to get more consistent and get some more reps under his belt. That's how you want to find your starter, right? Because everyone else is so bad that you just have to fall into someone else. Perfect formula. No flaws in that.

Starting point is 00:14:37 Oh, yeah. So Alec Pierce, honestly, the hard work has stood out to me. He's worked relentlessly with Reggie Wayne during the summer. You were there at training camp as well. You saw so much work against Stephon Gilmore, and they really brought this guy around well. His chemistry with Matt Ryan still has to get better because they essentially have no chemistry short to intermediate. It's all downfield stuff. So that part of his game, we don't know if it's developed yet because he's just not on the same page with matt ryan arm strength is part of it and i think

Starting point is 00:15:10 rookies understanding spacing and just small nuances like that is is probably part of it but moving on defensive rookie of the year and i don't know about you but my pick is someone who i absolutely would not have thought before the season. Yeah, I'm going to guess this is a similar one. I went ahead and put Rodney Thomas, a guy who has played significantly more reps than I think anyone would have predicted, probably even himself looking back at training camp. I remember all through training camp, the guy that everyone wanted to mention from this class, maybe overall, was Nick Cross and just how good he looked in training camp and how much they thought they were going to use him. And outside of that first couple of weeks, you just haven't heard Nick Cross's name. Part of the reason being that Rodney Thomas has played so well when Julian Blackman went down, had that big play, like I mentioned earlier, against Patrick Mahomes, the little tipped pass that kind of set up some bigger things down the road

Starting point is 00:16:07 where you end up winning that game. And I think Rodney Thomas out of Yale has just played himself into a long-term role with the Colts in just one year, and that's super impressive. Yeah, Rodney Thomas for me as well, and it's just about the only option. Like you said, Nick Cross just has not been a factor. For my money, I actually just published something on the only option. Like you said. Nick Cross has not been a factor. For my money. I actually just published something on this.

Starting point is 00:16:28 At horseshoehuddle.com I have Cross as one of my young guys. That I really want to see more from. In these last four games. But yeah. Rodney Thomas stepped in. When no one on the outside really expected anything. In the preseason I saw.

Starting point is 00:16:42 This guy is a really good tackler. And if nothing else, he's going to be able to bring guys down. But in Yale, he missed a season due to COVID. He was a cornerback for a while. He was a linebacker for a while. And then he gets to the NFL and is now playing safety. So not only did he acclimate to the NFL quickly, he acclimated at a different position than he was previously used to playing. So awesome job by him. Free safety of the future, I would imagine. If the Colts look at it five years from now,

Starting point is 00:17:11 they probably want it to be Rodney Thomas and Nick Cross as their starting safeties. Thomas is just blown away, expectations. The last one we'll cover for this, and we might finally have a difference on this one, breakout player of the year. Yeah, so this was one of the options where it was hard to pick somebody because there were so many options that i think you could have went with so hopefully we don't go the same person here

Starting point is 00:17:34 i went zire franklin i think zire franklin has just put himself into the man this is a starting caliber linebacker in the nfl whereas years past people would use the word special is a starting caliber linebacker in the NFL whereas years past people would use the word special teams ace special teams leader vocal leader can play in spot play when Shaquille isn't isn't able to make it the Colts defense in years past you could tell when Shaquille Leonard wasn't on the field and when he was you know because this level of play would just drop significantly weeks that he couldn't make it out there and for a guy like Shaquille who's missed so much time over the years like that is not sustainable so to see this season where essentially you don't have Shaquille Leonard the entire year almost Zaire Franklin and Bobby O'Kerrick who I should mention as well, has blown away those expectations

Starting point is 00:18:25 and just been a solid linebacker duo themselves without the notable star linebacker in the room. And Zaire Franklin is going to end the year in that top five of tackles. I believe he's third right now. He's second in solo tackles in the league. So I'm happy for Zaire. There's very few better people on on NFL roster than Zaire Franklin. I've had,

Starting point is 00:18:48 we both had the privilege of speaking with Zaire multiple times as well, but super excited for Zaire's future career. And that contract they gave him this off season is looking like a discount. I don't know about you, Jake. Yeah, no doubt. And maybe this team is a little more predictable than we thought,

Starting point is 00:19:03 because that's my guy, too. It kind of another guy came down to is Isaiah Rogers. But I just don't think he has the total body of work for me to say like he's had a breakout star year this year. I think he could be, you know, if given the opportunity to play extensively. But no, what Zaire Franklin has done has been really impressive before the season, you know, before we knew that Shaquille Leonard season was going to be totally derailed with all this, uh, the back stuff.

Starting point is 00:19:32 If you would have said that Zaire Franklin was going to be the starting Mike all year, I would have been like, eh, it's a little, I would have maybe got shades of, you know, some 2010s Colts with,

Starting point is 00:19:42 you know, John Bostic and Dequal Jackson, those guys in there. But that has not been the case. He's taken some small lumps. There's been a couple plays he's given up. But when you look at the growth of like him and Bobby O'Kerrick and EJ Speed, really, from the beginning of the season and Gus Bradley's scheme to now, it's night and day. It looked very much like a work in progress early on but these guys have almost mastered the system it seems like to the point where Zach and I talked multiple times on here that when Shaquille Leonard was getting back into the lineup it's like man you really

Starting point is 00:20:16 don't want to see them take Zaire or Bobby off the field because they've both been playing at a really high level like you mentioned Franklin will be top five in tackles. He's right up there, number two or three right now. He's been a really good run defender, especially, which was not going to be surprising to us. But I've just been pleasantly surprised at his whole body of work. I haven't watched him play and be like, God, they've got to get someone else in there.

Starting point is 00:20:43 That just hasn't been the case. It's really funny to look back on that training camp scuffle between Zaire Franklin and Jamal Williams, where both, for lack of better words, were calling each other trash. And they both would go on to have career years. Who would have known? Yeah, Jamal Williams with a zillion rushing touchdowns this year in Zyre. Yeah, so Jamal Williams probably can lead the league in rushing touchdowns. Franklin could lead in tackles.

Starting point is 00:21:11 No one would have thought that in August. So, yeah, that's a good point. Apparently we need more training camp scuffles, apparently. Yeah. Well, shoot. Hopefully you guys made a bet on one of those things before the season because this episode is brought to you by BetOnline. BetOnline is your number one source for sports betting info, stats, news, and analysis.

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Starting point is 00:23:10 Okay. Awards are out the door. We're moving on to some new stuff. Four games left on the season. The NFL, for whatever reason, decided to put the Colts on national TV once again. So now they have two nationally televised games in their final four.

Starting point is 00:23:25 They are at the Vikings next weekend on NFL Network. That's Saturday at one o'clock. They then got the Los Angeles Chargers at home on Monday Night Football. They then traveled to New York to take on the Giants, and then they finish off at home against the Texans. So again, this is an optimistic episode. So Destin, let's, you can start one. We'll go, you know, kind of riff off each other here. What is something that you were looking forward to seeing in these last four weeks? I'm pretty excited for just these young guys just to kind of get more experience either way. I'll be a little bit more specific though. I'm going to look at the tight end room. I think Jelani Woods and Colin Granson both have the ability to be difference makers now and the future. I think when you see Jelani Woods get the ball in space, like big things just happen. And

Starting point is 00:24:14 when you target Jelani Woods, good things happen. I have been a big Mo Alleycox guy in the past, and I understand why they signed him this offseason I was I even agreed with it at the time but I think the time has come especially with where this year is where the snaps in the tight end room need to be dominated by Jelani Woods and Kylan Granson especially when Wiley Cox isn't blocking well either so I'd rather at least get Jelani Woods more accustomed with the blocking side of it and just start getting those two as the duo in the tight end room of the future. If that's how you see it, then I think it's time that you make that decision now. Yeah. I mean, when you got the young Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez duo in

Starting point is 00:24:55 the house, you just got to go with that, don't you? No, not that far. But I mean, you're right. I mean, I just, again, it's something I just wrote about. You know, they lost Jack Doyle and I think they hoped Mo could be a diet version of that. And it just really hasn't worked. His blocking has not been up to par, especially his run blocking. And I mean, Woods' grades there are just as bad. They're even a little worse, so it's like if you got one guy who is far surpassed in the receiving game and the blocking is relatively the same, just throw the guy out there that's the physical freak

Starting point is 00:25:38 with still a ton of room to grow, so I would definitely put Woods out there as, I don't know. So he got 20% of the snaps against last week. And I just don't get that. So they've got to beef that up. He needs to be playing quite a bit. Granson as well. I don't think they've made either of those guys enough of a priority in certain games.

Starting point is 00:26:02 And we need to see a tight and heavy offense moving forward uh something i said i was looking forward to in these final four games there's some fun matchups against opponents in this one uh you've got justin jefferson coming up justin herbert you're gonna have a whole game with him saquon barkley so there's some potentially fun ones here uh especially saquon Barkley, for example. Jonathan Taylor versus Barkley, that just seems like a really fun matchup. They're guys that can do some similar things. They're both powerful, really elusive, and I just think that's going to be a fun slate to watch. I mean, we're not expecting wins anymore, so it's like, why not just have fun watching some of the opponents as well?

Starting point is 00:26:46 We're not just not rooting. It's like we're not even rooting for wins anymore. It's just a whole entire different mindset on it. But some of the matchups are fun, unless you have Saquon Barkley in fantasy, because I believe that one's going to be right in the fantasy playoffs. So Barkley going against Grover Stewart in this run defense. If you have Barkley in your lineups, I'm praying for you. But you have to have him out there.

Starting point is 00:27:16 I mean, fantasy championship, you can't not. Yeah, you can't bench him. Yeah. So this also is a good time since the team's not really going to be winning to stat watch. You got Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman Jr. both knocking on 1,000 yards again. This also is a good time since the team's not really going to be winning to stat watch. You got Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman Jr. both knocking on 1,000 yards again. Taylor's at 861 rushing yards, so he just needs 139 more. In four games, if he doesn't get that, that would just be outlandish.

Starting point is 00:27:42 Michael Pittman Jr. sitting at 755. Now, he should get it, but his is a little more risky because the passing game has just been doo-doo lately, and he's had some low performances as well. Not individually, but just statistically. You know what I mean? Not that he's had bad performances, but the numbers just haven't been there because the passing game is just rough. So, yeah, looking forward to seeing those guys get a thousand again.

Starting point is 00:28:06 Another one I think that I'm looking forward to this last four is there's a lot of notable free agents on this team that are either going to play their way elsewhere or maybe play their way onto this team. I mean, there's a lot of question marks through this last four of who's even going to be making the decisions roster wise next season for the Colts. So a lot of question marks there. But, I mean, just to read off a few of these free agents, I mean, we have Yannick Ngakwe

Starting point is 00:28:32 is going to be a free agent this offseason after the trade that sent him here, sending away Rakia Sin. Everyone's favorite tackle-slash-guard Matt Pryor is going to be hitting the market. Same with fan-favorite corner Brandon Faison. But then, in all seriousness, multiple key guys this season. Rodney McLeod has been a pretty solid signing for the Colts this past year who could move into the younger safety area. They'll have three on the roster next year

Starting point is 00:28:58 that are a little bit younger than Rodney McLeod. Rodney McLeod has played himself another contract elsewhere or here. Ashton Doolin has had some bright moments this year. Paris Campbell, who we mentioned earlier, is on a contract year where he's not been able to stay healthy up until this season, which has been in many ways a contract year. And then the guy who's probably going to warrant the most money on the open market of any of our free agents, we have Bobby Okereke, who I don't know about you Jake but I have been back and forth countless times on how are we going to keep him yeah and if you're wondering why it seems obvious you would want to keep him Shaquille Leonard is already tied into 20 plus million per year and Okereke is going to sniff $12 million, $15 million.

Starting point is 00:29:46 He's a very productive player, a young player, still ascending. So he's going to be handed a boatload of money, I'm sure. And to have that much money tied up into a linebacker group, because the linebackers are kind of known as a non-essential position group. They can be playmakers and difference makers, but you don't really win and lose because of them. So to have that much money tied into that position group would be a little iffy. So how can you bring back both players with that big of a cap hit between them is the big issue. And that's just going to be so tough. And man, you don't want to see Shaquille

Starting point is 00:30:23 Leonard really go anywhere, but like his health might dictate that for him. If the Colts have a new general manager in the house, that might make the decision-making easier. Because, I mean, Chris Ballard is emotionally tied to a lot of these guys, and he's not going to want to just send off guys for nothing. So that would be something to monitor. Something else I had. Final four games, you got a healthy Quidipe now, by week hitting at the perfect time. His race for 10 sacks, he's at five right now, but he's been really productive. Considering how much time he's missed to have five sacks, he could really flip the switch and turn it on. Four games to get five more sacks and hit 10 on the season. I really – I hope he gets at least one in this next game

Starting point is 00:31:09 so we can start the counter. It would be interesting. I mean, because then if he can get to 10 and then Yana can get to 10, this would be the first time in a long time that the Colts have two players with 10 sacks on the season. I mean, getting one player with 10 sacks has been difficult over years past. Yeah, that's been a chore. And Ngakwe is, of course, an 8.5.

Starting point is 00:31:33 So he's had, what, six or seven games with at least a half? So he should get there. My final point was week 18 is against the Texans at home and not the Jaguars. That is a big one. That is a big one to make note of. Also, for all the tank enthusiasts, by that week, you would think Houston has indeed locked up that number one pick. So it would be interesting to see a team in Houston that hasn't... I don't want to say

Starting point is 00:32:04 they're actually tanking because who knows in the NFL anyway, but they will have no incentives to not win that game. So we should get a Houston team that is fully motivated and fully ready and wanting to build onto next season. So that should be a more competitive game than people think. Yeah. and for fans who are anti-tank and they want to see the Colts win still, that could be a good game for you too because the recipe is there for the Colts to house that game. It's at home. Week 18, they've done some really nice things in Week 18 before. Very weak opponent.

Starting point is 00:32:41 Texans are arguably the worst team in the league. So that could be one where the Colts actually wiped the floor with an opponent for once this year. So that will be something good to see. Anything else you got for us today? Nothing that I can think of specifically. I would say that the thing to watch for that I, that I had wrote down that we didn't mention for the last four weeks is,

Starting point is 00:33:02 I don't know if anyone's heard, but the Colts may or may not have an opening at the head coach position at the end of the season. A lot of notable names across the league that you can be watching these last four and then multiple that could even see the playoffs. I would suggest watching that Philadelphia team. They're going to have a couple of candidates that people could be seeing through the market.

Starting point is 00:33:21 Detroit Lions have an officer coordinator named Ben Johnson that I think is going to get a lot of traction this offseason. One, Ken Dorsey, who has, if you've probably seen the video, where he has a little bit of an attitude when things are going wrong there in Buffalo as the offensive coordinator. Lots of guys just to watch across the league and just start to build in a little bit of names in your head of people you'd like to be the head coach of Indianapolis next year. I'm glad you mentioned that because Zach actually just wrote a master list of 12 really intriguing head coaching options for the

Starting point is 00:33:55 Colts to look at. So I expect that to be kind of a high traffic item for the next month or two until the Colts find their guy. So horseshoehuddle.com. Again, Zach put out a dozen candidates for you guys. And with that, I think that's it for us today. Stay tuned this week because we've still got more great guests on tap for you. Zach will be back with us as well. Make sure to follow Destin at TheDestinAdams on Twitter and subscribe to the Saddle Up podcast wherever you listen to your shows. They put out episodes every Tuesday and Thursday, yeah?

Starting point is 00:34:27 Yep, every Tuesday and Thursday. Recording one that will be out the same day this one's coming out. Oh, perfect. Okay. Yep, so go ahead and follow them and follow us at LockedOnColts, at JakeArthurNFL, and at ZachHicks2 on Twitter. Also subscribe to LockedOnColts on YouTube and wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Starting point is 00:34:46 We'd also love your ratings and reviews as well if they're nice. If they're mean, just don't worry about it. Just stay home. And thank you guys for making us your first listen of the day again. For your next listen, check out the Locked on Sports Today podcast. That's the biggest stories of the day, plus instant reactions, big game recaps, and the take of the day, available on the Odyssey app, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Starting point is 00:35:09 We'll see you guys tomorrow.

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