Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: Can Team Overcome Inner Demons in Jacksonville?

Episode Date: September 15, 2022

It's a Locked On Colts-Locked On Jaguars crossover! The Indianapolis Colts have yet to win in Jacksonville in the Frank Reich Era. Can this team finally be the one to overcome those inner demons? In today's Locked On Crossover, we dive into the key storylines, matchups, and give our score predictions for the game.Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQ🎧 Apple https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1151621306🎧 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/6meP450baAtjX4rTENZ5ij🎧 Audacy https://www.audacy.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts-daily-podcast-on-the-indianapolis-colts-21701🎧 Google https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vUFBZODk1ODUyODkyNQ🎧 Megaphone https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/lockedoncoltsFollow Tony Wiggins (@ShopTalkingWigg) and @LockedOnJaguars for more Jaguars content.Follow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, and @LockedOnColts!Today’s episode is presented by PrizePicks. PrizePicks is daily fantasy made easy. Pick 2-5 players and if they score more or less than their PrizePicks projection you can win up to 10x your money on your entry. First-time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDON.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds, and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!BriteCoThe guys at BriteCo Jewelry Insurance made buying insurance for your engagement ring, your watch, or whatever so easy you can get covered in 2 minutes on your cell phone. You won't find a better deal on coverage that's so affordable. Go to https://brite.co/lockedonPrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONTuroDitch boring rental cars and find your drive at Turo.comAthletic GreensTo make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1-year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/NFLNETWORK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are crossing over. Today, Locked On Colts and Locked On Jaguars go over the already pivotal early matchup between these AFC South foes. 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. What's happening, good people? This is Shop Talkin' Wig, my man T-Wig, along with Zach Hicks. We're doing a Thursday crossover because of this week's matchup

between the Indianapolis Colts and your, well, I can't say your because it's half of this broadcast, the Jacksonville Jaguars. Before we get going, I want to remind you that Crossover Thursday is presented by our friends at PrizePix.

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First-time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match of $100 with the promo code LOCKEDON. That's one word, LOCKEDON. That's prizepix.com, promo code LOCKEDON. You can also download the app. It makes it easier. It made it easier for me last week, even though I didn't win anything and the Jaguars

didn't win anything, but the Colts played a game and they didn't lose, but they didn't win anything either. Hey, division leading Indianapolis Colts. We are tied for that division lead right now. We're rocking. Right. So we got some big matchups this weekend in this game.

Zach, first of all, welcome to the show with us and glad to have you. You're not necessarily a rival. Like, I think you and the Titans, we both hate the Titans. Can we say that? Oh, yeah. Yeah, for sure.

Our rivals, honestly, when it comes to playing against the Jaguars, as someone who's covering the Colts, our biggest rivals in this matchup is our own inner demons because we just cannot beat you guys in Jacksonville, and that's what we have coming up this week. Yeah, and that's part of what scares me because we keep beating y'all here,

and now that we need a victory, we're going to need to be able to pull it out. From the Colts' perspective, what's the key to winning this week's game? Again, I think the biggest key for the Colts is really just getting over those inner demons of at Jacksonville. It's so weird. Every single time the Colts are going against Jacksonville. I mean, in the Frank Reich era, you know, we can go all the way back to 2018. The Colts, after their abysmal start to that season, went on a tear the rest of the season. They beat everybody they played down the stretch, beat the Texans three times that year.

They were just killing everybody. And then they had a 6-0 loss in Jacksonville. That just didn't make sense to anyone. And then 2019, obviously, at the end of the season, the Jaguars beat them. 2020 opening week, all the excitement with Phillip Rivers. Jaguars foiled that again in Jacksonville. And then last year, obviously, we can't forget that the Colts needing a win to get into the playoffs. And the one win, Jacksonville Jaguars beat them in Jacksonville to spoil their hopes at the playoffs.

And honestly, it's never been that these Jaguars teams have been the better team in the matchup, maybe in 2019, because the Colts were not very good that season. But it's never been that the Jaguars were this juggernaut team that the Colts can't beat. It's just they keep killing themselves in this matchup, especially in Jacksonville. I don't know what it is, and the Colts players obviously all know this. They talk to each other throughout the week saying this is one they want to win, but we're going on multiple years where they've said the same exact thing about this matchup. So when I'm looking at this matchup, I'm not really looking at it in terms of, you know, what matchup in the game needs to win or what the Colts need to come out and do. They just need to get over themselves and they need to find a way to win this

game because I don't know what it is. I don't know if there's some kind of voodoo stuff going down there in Jacksonville, but the Colts cannot win in Jacksonville. I mean, this even goes back to the Peyton Manning era. There were some games in Jacksonville. I think the infamous 400-yard rushing game the Jaguars had with Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones Drew, I think that came in Jacksonville as well. So this is just something that the Colts have always struggled with, and this is an opportunity. Again, they technically are the division leaders right now, but to start off the season with two non-wins in the AFC South,

when you have the Chiefs coming up in week three, that would be a complete disaster. So the Colts need to find a way to finally get over their own inner demons in this matchup. Right now for Jacksonville, we don't want to think it was demons because eventually those things go away, right? Luck, at some point your luck runs out. We know that luck definitely ran out for us. Right. So, but for us here in Jacksonville, this is the best team that they've had since 2017. So,

you know, with more talent, more structure, better coaching, it's not the time to lose now, right? So we don't want to put it on luck we want to actually put it on tangible things that's on on the field and i do believe that something's set up well for jacksonville and we'll talk about that in the second segment with key matchups but i do think that mentally the jaguars have to also get over their recent history of not being able to win what happened with the coach in the past won't help them. It won't score one point for them, right? Because if that's the case, if you think that's going to help you,

then you haven't beaten anybody else for the most part. So that means when you play these other teams, that that same mojo is going to be in effect, that nothing you do now is going to help you because you're depending on some sort of black magic, if you will. I do think though, the Jaguars let one go last week. So what they have to do now is let go of the fact that they let one go because

they were running up and down. Even though Washington outplayed them. I'm not saying that that didn't happen, but what I am saying is the Jaguars took control of the game and had the lead in the fourth quarter. And that's where you have to hold on to it. They forced the Colts into making – I mean, I'm sorry. They forced the Commanders into making more mistakes than they did.

You win the turnover battle, you usually win the game, right? And the Jaguars won the turnover battle, but they lost the game because the Colts – I mean, the Commanders were very, very opportunistic where they needed to be. I keep saying Colts. I know. You're ready. You are ready for this matchup.

Yeah. So the thing is, is what Jacksonville has to do is mentally get over last week. And sometimes that's hard for a young team that's trying to win. But we will go on the field with it here in a second. What we're going to do is focus on key matchups here in segment two. Key matchups. And I'm going to let Zach go first and tell me the key matchups here in segment two. Key matchups, and I'm going to let Zach go first and tell me the key matchups that he believes

will win the game for the Colts. And then I'll follow that here on a crossover on a Thursday between the Colts and the Jaguars. And we'll do it in segment two in just a second. Yep. And before we get to segment two, guys, I really want to let you know about Turo. Turo is the world's largest car sharing marketplace.

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I got some I want to talk about, but I'm going to let you go first since you're the visitor here. Go ahead and let us know what some of the key match-ups are in your opinion, and I'll tell you what mine are, and we'll see if they bump heads. Yeah, we'll see if they bump heads. So you're going to let me go first just to set the stage for you. I get it. I really appreciate it.

You're a very gracious host here. Right. But the number one thing I'm looking at is, you know, I was watching a little bit of this game this past week, and I couldn't help but notice a former Colts quarterback kind of lighting the Jaguars up. I mean, Carson Wentz came out through four touchdowns, kind of got over his own demons of that last game last season,

had that big touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin down the sideline near the end of the game. And I'm thinking this is a perfect game for the Colts passing offense to find some rhythm. Now, this past game against the Texans, the Colts did throw for 351 yards. Matt Ryan, I think, is currently second in the NFL in passing yards. So they did have a pretty good week throwing the football, but a lot of that came in the second half when they kind of were down to the wire and they needed to throw the ball. I want to see that be consistent throughout this whole week.

You know, Michael Pittman Jr. established himself last year and already in week one as one of the better receivers in football. Now you want to see that just carry over to this week two game against the Jaguars. I think on paper the Jaguars have a pretty decent secondary. I do like their cornerback duo, and I like a lot of what they do there in the secondary. But I do think this is a matchup the Colts can't expose and really get their receivers going because we saw last week, again, a commander's offense with a new quarterback and a lot of young pieces was able to move the ball pretty well through the air so that's my biggest matchup and then if I'm looking at the Colts defense I really think it's this Colts defensive line that really needs to step

up against the Jaguars offensive line I watched I watched a little bit of that game because again I'm from the DMV area so I'm watching a little bit of the Washington football team and down the stretch when the Jaguars needed to go down the field, they needed to tie that game up or take the lead. The Washington Commanders defensive line really stepped up and put some pressure on Trevor Lawrence. And I think, you know, Colts defensive line where I'm not going to say they were terrible in week one, but they weren't great, you know, and they got a lot of big money in there. They got Yannick Ngakwe, who is playing in his first game against his former team, you team, the team that drafted him. He's going to come out ready to play.

DeForest Buckner did not have as productive a week as he wanted to in week one. Quidipe was pretty productive. He had two sacks in week one. So you want to see that obviously carry over to week two. But I think this is a prime opportunity in an AFC South Divisional game for this defensive line to get on track. And again, I kind of like this Jaguars offensive line. They put some money on that O-line.

But week one, I was a little shocked by how much pressure Washington was getting. I think the Colts can really take advantage of that and get some pressure here in week two on Trevor Lawrence. Well, you should be tripping on the offensive line because it's been one of the things that I thought was an Achilles heel for this team for a long time. And I still believe that. I think they have some good players. but we know with offensive line play all it takes is for one guy to be out

of step it's like just imagine the temptations and one guy going the wrong way it makes the whole thing look bad and i think that's what the jaguars are suffering from and i think they struggle at the left guard position that means that they have to find a way to block deforest buckner yeah and yannick actually has played against him he did with the ravens and he got two sacks but this is his first game with the colts playing against the jaguars in the division and um that you know that that's a little bit of an issue that's a bit of an issue for the jaguars. The difference is Washington was able to blitz. Yes. And they always had a spy and they sent someone.

I don't know if Leonard is going to play. I was going to call him Darius, but his name is Shaquille. Shaquille. Yeah, I don't know if he's going to play. Of course, the middle linebacker is someone that has to be watched out for, too. I think on the edges, the Jaguars can block the ends. I don't know with the Colts' new defensive coordinator if they're willing to send blitzes to get Trevor a little bit off schedule,

but I think that part doesn't worry me. What worries me is last week they didn't have to worry about a straight-ahead rusher like the one they're going to face with the Colts, obviously. But the guys from Washington were space guys. They really – I called it last week, I called it Kyrie Irving. They Kyried them in space, whether it was Curtis Samuel, whether it was Gibson or Jahan Dotson or Terry McClung.

They had a lot of guys – G.A. McKissick. They had a lot of guys who get in one-on-one situations in the open field and make those bigger players miss tackles because the Jaguars front seven is a big front seven. Their outside linebackers are 270 and 275. So the thing is, is I don't think the Colts have that, but they do have Jonathan Taylor, who I think is the best running back in the league right now.

And that's a formidable problem yeah matt ryan being a statue helps the reason why carson wentz was able to get away with a lot of stuff last week against washington i mean against jacksonville is because he was mobile and he was able to scramble he he got hit for a couple of times that looked like sacks and he was able to move around in the pocket, escape, and actually throw the ball on the run. That's not Matt Ryan. I'll throw the ball better on the run than Matt Ryan can. So I think the key for Jacksonville is this.

Force Matt Ryan off of his square. I plan some that they plan some twists. They're going to come up the middle to knock him off of his pass point to where he's throwing the ball from an uncomfortable position. And then I don't think that they plan some twists. They're going to come up the middle to knock him off of his, his, his past point to where he's throwing the ball from an uncomfortable position.

And then I don't think they're going to be worried about missing tackles because actually your receivers are kind of the big guys and you don't, you don't have to worry about the little jitterbug stuff. So I kind of believe that what the coach, who they are and how they're constructed on both sides of the ball will give Jacksonville a good chance to have some success this week in the game.

So I know the difference a little bit from the way you feel about it. And I get it and I totally understand. But for me, the Jaguars will have a better situation and a better understanding of what they got to do. They just got to get rid of those little bugables. All right, what we're going to do is we're going to give you some score predictions of the game this week, and then we'll wrap it up and sort of recap what we have talked about today here on the show.

But I'll tell you what's going to come first. What's going to come first is I'm going to tell you guys about BetOnline. BetOnline, you know, is the place for you to go for all of your wagering needs when you are putting in wages for this week's game. It's your number one source for all of your pro and college and football betting needs and sports info this season. I didn't do a very good job last week, and the reason. I didn't do a very good job last week, and the reason why I didn't do a very good job last week

was because I didn't follow the advice of the folks at BetOnline. But you should do that, and the way that you do it is you need to head to the website today, use your mobile device to learn more about the trends and the action. Now, it's the fastest and easiest way to check in on all of your favorite sports and events, not just football, even Major League Baseball, judge, trout, who's going to win the MVP, right? Boxing, golf, all of that, because BetOnline is your continued source for all your sporting, waging information.

Live betting is included, esports, and scores. BetOnline is where to go because BetOnline is where the game starts. Segment three here along with Zach Hicks, Locked On Coats. Salute to your partner too, man. Shout out to him. I know he didn't join us today. You scared him off, Tony. You scared him off. We had a preview show. I thought

I was going to have to jump through and choke y'all, but it's all good. I always want to choke the Titans and the Texans, but I kind of want to choke y'all too a little bit. Look, we're very cordial here. We're very professional sometimes. And, you know, we like to keep it nice. We like to keep it nice on the park.

We got that Midwestern hospitality. Yeah, you do. You do. At least we don't have to deal with this mayonnaise stuff that we have to deal with those people over in Tennessee. However, I'm going to go ahead and give you my score prediction. It's a tough one for me, but I'm going to go 23-21 Jacksonville. I'm going to pick us to win the game, obviously.

I think being at home will make a little bit of a difference. I believe the Jaguars actually think that they left points on the table last week, which they did. They rallied and took the lead. From the second and third quarter, they actually, I would say the second half of the second quarter through the third quarter and the first half of the second quarter, they look like a playoff team.

I think they're going to try to play more like that and eliminate the mistakes, the dumb penalties, the missed tackles, and win a close game. And the difference will be the fact that Matt Ryan can't scramble and get away. Okay. Okay. My score prediction, honestly, a lot of my explanations can be similar to yours is I'm going to go, I'm going to go 28, 24 Colts. They finally get over the hump that is at Jacksonville.

And I think it's a lot of the same things that you just said about the Jaguars. You know, the Colts last week, if you look at every single metric had no excuse to lose there to tie that game, almost lose that game, but tie that game. They outgained the Texans by over 200 yards. They were in the red zone multiple times. They just couldn't get it done at the end of the day. And I think coming into week two, they know what's riding on this game.

Again, you can't go into Kansas city with two non-wins against your division opponents. Then you have the Kansas City and then you have Tennessee right afterwards. You know, you can't drop this game against the Jaguars before going into that. So they know what's on the line. And obviously they always know what's on the line at Jacksonville and they haven't been able to pull it off in the past. But I think this is a different Colts team. I think Matt Ryan's going to get them moving like he was in the second half of last week's game. And honestly, again, Jonathan Taylor and Naeem Hines are going to be able to roll with those guys because what you told me about those outside linebackers kind of being the bigger boys, I'm like, you know what, let's just throw it to

Jonathan Taylor and Naeem Hines every single play then. Let's let them get in space against those big guys. So I think the Colts are going to come out with a good game plan and, you know, it's going to be a tough one because every game against Jacksonville is a tough one, but I think the Colts are going to come out with a good game plan. And, you know, it's going to be a tough one because every game against Jacksonville is a tough one. But I think the Colts are finally able to get over those inner demons this week. All right. So let's go over the biggest stories. We're going to talk about the biggest stories, key matchups, and then give you those score predictions. Jaguars hosting the Colts. Biggest story for the Jaguars, in my opinion, is overcoming the fact that they left points on the table last week and they did not pull out the victory. The pressure that they're going to put on them.

Don't worry about the witchcraft. Don't worry about the fact that you've beaten the Colts so many times in the past. Focus on the things that are in front of you and are in your face right now. And what that is is winning every single play, getting off to an early start. The Jaguars are better when they can get to the sub packages and get the other team in long second and third down, long down in distance. They're better that way because now they can go hunting. That is my biggest story for the Jaguars.

It's partly mental, but a lot of it is physical on the field. You have to get over what happened last week and move on to this week. What's your biggest story? I would say, Tony, you're taking all my storylines here because my biggest storyline kind of has to do with that witchcraft that you were just talking about. For whatever reason, the Colts have this inner demon when it comes to playing at Jacksonville. And, you know, again, a lot of it's mental. Some of it's physical. You've got to overcome it somehow.

Again, you can't go into week three with another non-win. And this Jacksonville game is as must-win as it gets early in the season. So the Colts need to come out with their A game after kind of a dud performance last week. And they need to show that they are better than this Jacksonville team. And that they can overcome the at-Jacksonville curse. So the biggest storyline is, will the Colts finally get that win in Jacksonville? That's something that not only we've been talking about since last week, but also since the last game of last season.

Key matchup for me. I think the key matchup is going to be the Jacksonville Jaguars being able to stop the run on first down and get to the aforementioned subset or sub substitutions on their defense they have to stop Jonathan Taylor and then they have to be able to tackle both Jonathan Taylor and Naheem Hines in the open field because those are the two guys that have that wiggle that can put that stinky leg on them and I think if they can do that you have to hit people and stop them wherever you make contact. That's going to be, in my opinion, the key matchup for Jacksonville

because I think everything else is going to be a little bit even. But to me, the key matchup is tackling in the open field and winning early, not just winning on the scoreboard, but winning early in each possession for Jacksonville. Yeah, I think the biggest matchup for the Colts on offense, I think, is just the pass catchers continuing the success they had last week, and also continuing the success that the commanders kind of showed that they had against the Jaguars last week. Again, Carson Wentz and those receivers were able to put up quite a few points on this Jacksonville Jaguars defense, especially when they weren't turning the ball

over. So I think Matt Ryan and the Colts pass catchers can really build off that and they can kind of find that similar success. And then on defense, again, the commanders had a lot of success rushing the passer last week against this Jacksonville Jaguars team. I think that the Indianapolis Colts can kind of mirror that success. They have the talent up front. They just need to show it in this game against Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Score prediction for me is 23-21 Jacksonville. I think they still struggle a little bit when they get in the red zone, but instead of going for it on fourth down so many times, Doug Peterson is going to take those field goals. He's going to put that money in the bank

while he's in the bank because we play in TIA Bank Field. You liked the way I did that. He's going to put the money in the bank while he's in the bank. And I think the Jaguars are going to do enough. I don't think they're going to have to kick the field goal to win the game walking off. I think they're going to kick it, be up, and have to hold on the way they did not hold on last week. And I think they're going to beat the Colts 23-21. Yep, and I got the Colts taking it 28-24. They finally overcome their inner demons. And they actually do put together a full performance.

Again, it's going to be a tough one. The Jaguars are always a tough out for this Colts team, no matter if they're the Super Bowl Colts or if they're the winless Colts. The Jaguars are always one of the toughest matchups for this team, but I do think that ultimately they are able to get over their inner demons, and they don't have to actually make a kick in their game. I hope they don't, because last week they ended up with a tie because they had to try to kick a game-winning kick. The Colts don't have to make any field goals in this one. 28-24, Indianapolis Colts over Jacksonville Jaguars. All right, I think the difference is going to be the heat. I don't think they're used to it. It's going to be 100 degrees on the field, and Jaguars are going to

pull it off. But we thank you for making Colts locked on Jaguars crossover your first listen. But we also would like you to know that to make your second listen to Peacock and Williamson NFL show, Brian Peacock and former NFL scout Matt Williamson give you the expert NFL analysis in less than 30 minutes. It's free and available wherever you get your podcast on every single platform.

Listen, this has been fun. It's been cordial. We were nice to each other. We were. Locked on Jaguars, locked on Colts. Make sure you lock in to both. Subscribe. You can see him at ZachHicks2, the number two. And you can check me out on Twitter

at ShopTalkingWig. Until next time, you guys take care of each other and we'll see you on our postcast on Sunday. Locked on Colts and locked on Jaguars.