Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Control Their Destiny in Crowded AFC Playoff Race

Episode Date: December 19, 2023

The Indianapolis Colts are in the middle of a heated AFC playoff race following a big win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. No matter what happens in the rest of the league, the Colts just need to take ca...re of business in these next three games to punch their ticket to the dance.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/LockedOnNFLFollow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOnFN!Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DoorDashGet 50% off up to $10 value when you spend $15 or more on your FIRST order, when you download the DoorDash app and enter code LOCKED23. Subject to change. Terms apply.PrizePicksGo to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code lockedonnfl for a first deposit match up to $100!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed.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.FanDuelScore early this NFL season with FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR MONEYLINE BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your team wins! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Whether or not the Colts make the playoffs is up to them, but a couple of bulls up front might make a huge difference. 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. Hello, hello, hello. Thanks 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.
Starting point is 00:00:43 And today's show is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. What is up, everybody? I am Jake Arthur, and he is Zach Hicks. You know the two of us from horseshoehuddle.com. And today we're here to discuss the Colts' playoff chances. They got
Starting point is 00:01:07 three games left, but there's also a couple somewhat silent superstars on the defensive side of the ball that have been a huge catalyst for this team at points when they're there on the season, but they're also going to carry a lot of weight in these last few games as well. But let's just look at the Colts as a whole right now. In the thick of the AFC playoff race still at 8-6, it has thinned out a little bit. But they're tied with the Jaguars and the Texans right now. A little log jam there in the AFC South. And when there's this many teams still in it,
Starting point is 00:01:39 there's several teams still within a game of them, you just have to worry about yourself. You can't score a board watch right now. The Colts do have the sixth easiest remaining strength of schedule in the AFC. According to Tankathon, their opponents have a 476 winning percentage, and they're within one game of four of those other five teams. The Chiefs, the Bills, the Broncos, and the Jaguars all have slightly easier schedules. So the Colts just got to kind of focus on themselves when it comes to Atlanta, the Raiders, and the Texans. Zach, how are you feeling over this final month? Yeah, you know, the whole reason why we wanted to start this show with that exact statement right there, where the Colts need to
Starting point is 00:02:21 focus on themselves, because Sunday did not go the the Colts way whatsoever in terms of helping them. I mean, there was a, there was a five minute span where the Houston Texans kicked a game winning field goal in overtime, just as the bears failed on a hail Mary against the Browns. So all the help that the Colts could have gotten on Sunday, like within a five minute span, completely evaporated. And those two teams remained at, you know, eight and six for the Texans. And I believe the Browns are nine and five right now. And they also have that head to head on the Colts as well. So it doesn't look like the Colts are catching the Browns anytime soon whatsoever. But, you know, if we're looking at this remaining schedule,
Starting point is 00:02:58 the Colts just need to take care of business. You know, we can scoreboard watch every single Sunday. Every time the Colts win, we can scoreboard watch other teams. But the Colts, as it sits right now, according to New York Times projections for the playoffs, the Colts have a 99.9% chance of making the playoffs if they win out. So if they win all three of these games, it's like a 99.9% chance of making the playoffs. And then even if they lose this week to Atlanta and they win their last two games, it's a 93% chance, I believe, through the New York Times model.
Starting point is 00:03:27 So the Colts need to take care of business. If they're going to lose any of them, they can lose this weekend. But again, just take care of business. Leave no doubt. Win all three of these games. Get in the playoffs. Escape that log jam or any of those crazy tiebreakers by taking care of business against these bad teams. And look, the Colts have been doing this all year
Starting point is 00:03:45 when it comes to teams below 500. I mean, every single loss they have this year has been to a team at 500 or above 500. So these next two games against Atlanta and against Vegas are two teams below 500 where the Colts, as of right now, are undefeated against those type of teams this year. They need to take care of business. The Falcons are coming off of a brutal loss to the Carolina Panthers,
Starting point is 00:04:06 obviously the worst team in football. Vegas is coming off a really weird two-week stretch, like a really, really weird two-week stretch where they lost 3-0 and then won 63-21 against the hapless Chargers. But those are two winnable games still for the Colts. Like those are two teams that the Colts need to beat to get ready for the big showdown in week 18 against Houston Texans but they can't just look ahead to that matchup again they got to take care of business these next two weeks just to get to that matchup
Starting point is 00:04:33 but no an 11 win season is is on the horizon for the Colts but it's all it all comes down to them taking care of business they can't have a big letdown game like they did against the Bengals two weeks ago or like they did against the Saints earlier in the season. These next two games, they need to show up, they need to play, they need to take care of their own destiny and not leave it up to chance by dropping one of these final games. It has to be, you know, win out. Every single game has to be a playoff game for the Colts going forward for them to make the actual playoffs here in the next couple weeks. Well, another part of that is winning the AFC South has become more and more of a possibility.
Starting point is 00:05:11 So not only could they get into a wildcard spot, but winning the division will get you a home game as well. Yeah. I mean, they don't need to win the division. I mean, Jacksonville still has Carolina and Tennessee on their remaining three. And Tampa. And Tampa, too.
Starting point is 00:05:27 So it's unlikely to win the division, but there's a possibility. But at the end of the day, all the Colts can do right now is win out. You can win out, and you can leave the rest up for chance. It doesn't matter what happens with the rest of the league around you. The Colts just need to win out. Win all these games. Take it one game at a time. Say, okay, we need to beat Atlanta. Okay, we need to beat Vegas. Okay, we need to beat this big matchup against Houston. And then whatever happens around the league happens. You know, it doesn't really matter. Just get into
Starting point is 00:05:55 the dance, whether it's a wild card, whether it's a seven seed, whether it's a four seed or three seed, you know, it doesn't really matter as much as get into the dance and take care of business and win out. I think this Colts team is ready for it. I mean, what they did after that first quarter in that Pittsburgh game tells me that they are ready for this challenge in front of them. But it's just still about putting pen to paper and actually getting it done. But they very well can do it. I mean, again, the schedule looks nice for them. It matched up well with each of these three teams. So I think they can do it but you know we've seen Colts teams in this position before so hopefully Shane Steichen can can uh break the break that curse
Starting point is 00:06:30 like he did with the Steelers curse this past weekend yeah yeah and like like you mentioned 11 wins is very possible you know that'd be the first time since the first few years of Andrew Luck era and this isn't exactly the team you would have picked to do it either, this edition of the Colts. But still, 10 wins seems probable. You know, like you mentioned, all three games winnable. Atlanta, 6-8, 19th offensively, 10th defensively. Their defense has been, but don't break date, they're capable of making some big plays there, some timely plays.
Starting point is 00:07:03 Both their offense and defense. Offense has scored less than 14 points in four games. Defense has given up less than 14 points in four games. So do with that what you will. Defense obviously outweighing there. Las Vegas, like you mentioned, very, very weird team. Still ranks 29th offensively, 17th on defense. Where are they?
Starting point is 00:07:26 Are they the team that lost three to zero? Was it, I forget who it was. Vikings. The Vikings or the team that absolutely killed the chargers. Now the chargers team probably had checked out and just, they didn't really look ready to play at all. But 63 points in the NFL,
Starting point is 00:07:43 63 points. That kind of, I'm, I'm kind of glad that the Col But 63 points in the NFL, 63 points. I'm kind of glad that the Colts see that in the upcoming opponent because it gives no opportunity to take a team lightly that scored 63 points. And then Houston is just really solid, 10th offensively, 6th defensively. They've got a decent pass rush. Willie Anderson is a terrorist when it comes to right tackles. And C.J. Stroud is obviously the offensive rookie of the year. And even without Tank Dell, Noah Brown stepping up.
Starting point is 00:08:17 And Nico Collins stepping up. Nico Collins had a huge game against the Colts in week two. So that's the toughest one. And honestly, I think everyone is really looking forward to that one because that's a playoff game right there. Week 18 is a playoff game. So that'll be a fun one. I really think everyone wants to see a win-and-you're-in scenario
Starting point is 00:08:36 for either of those teams. Yeah, but again, at the end of the day, we can view that game as a potential playoff game, but every game is a playoff game for the Colts until the actual playoffs. There's no room. Again, they can maybe afford to drop this next one to the Falcons, but
Starting point is 00:08:50 what does that do to you going into the last two if you lose to a team that just lost to the Panthers? You have to take care of business this week. Every single game the rest of the way is a playoff game. You have to view it like you're losing your out down the stretch here, or you're just not going to have the mentality to make the playoffs.
Starting point is 00:09:08 I think this Colts team is going to be ready, but they just can't afford to be off their A game in any of these last three games. They got to take care of business, get to 11 wins, and the rest is, you know, whatever happens around the league happens. They just got to get into the playoffs with those 11 wins and go from there. Yeah, one surefire way to lose these type of must win games is not being able to stop the run. So next we're going to talk about a big reason why the Colts are now able to
Starting point is 00:09:34 stop the run. Once again, buying tickets to your favorite events should not be stressful. Game time is the fast and easy way to buy tickets for all the sports, music, comedy, and theater near you with killer deals on last minute tickets and their best price guarantee, stop stressing over the tickets and start getting hyped for the fun that you're actually going to
Starting point is 00:09:53 have. I personally love game time because if I feel like being spontaneous or going to a show or something on a whim, I can go right there and find the best options. Cheapest price, best views, whatever. My wife and I have started talking about some of the concerts we're going to go to next year. You don't have to go to everything short term. You can go months out and GameTime is still going to have the best options for you. It's the fastest growing ticketing app in the country for a reason. Get images of your seat before you buy so you know exactly what to expect when you arrive. Buy tickets in a matter of seconds. Two taps and you're all set.
Starting point is 00:10:28 The tickets are sent directly to your phone as well, so you don't have to fumble in a long line and you start getting a cold sweat because you're getting anxiety everyone's bearing down on you. Don't worry about it. They're already on your phone. Snag the tickets without distress with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off. Download game time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. All righty, and Locked On Colts listeners, remember Locked On has launched the first
Starting point is 00:11:01 ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube. Locked On Sports Today is here for you 24-7 covering the top sports stories of the day with the local experts of Locked On, plus our national shows covering every single league. Go to Locked On Sports Today on YouTube and subscribe to the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel. Now, Jake, obviously going into this second segment where we talk about some trench players on the Colts defense side of the ball. I mean, I think it's a great time to talk about the Colts trench players because they're coming off a game where I feel like every single player up front was simply dominant. I mean, I can't think of a single player who didn't show up in this game, even even Quiddy Pay, who was kind of quieter than most players.
Starting point is 00:11:39 And this still had a couple of tackles for a loss and a couple of hurries in this game. DeForest Buckner was all over the place. Taequann Lewis had a great game as well. Samson Ebukom had a couple of tackles for a loss and a couple of hurries in this game. DeForest Buckner was all over the place. Taequann Lewis had a great game as well. Samson Ebukam had a couple of sacks. Like this Colts defensive line just abused the Pittsburgh Steelers. But I wanted to focus in this first segment here about on a player that came back from suspension and drastically changed the entire scope of the Colts defense. Now, obviously, they had the blowout against Cincinnati Bengals. But in these prior two games with Grover Stewart back in the lineup,
Starting point is 00:12:09 the Colts are back to allowing just 3.4 yards per carry. You can obviously see the difference on the field. I mean, when he's on the field, teams are not running the ball like they were during his absence, those six games that he was out. And I mean, it's such a huge, I've never seen a player, especially even defensive player like this, where the on-off splits are so massive. Like we, we all went into like the Tennessee game or, or other games like that being like, oh gosh, we don't have Grover Stewart. They're going to run all over us. And it's not like the Titans have this potent rushing attack. I mean, Derek Henry just had 20 touches for 10 yards against the Texans this past
Starting point is 00:12:45 week. But when he played against the Colts without Grover Stewart, it was back to being King Henry. But now you get Grover Stewart back in the lineup in two games against the Bengals and the Steelers, 3.4 yards per carry. I believe it's 51 carries for 177 total yards rushing by running backs the past two weeks against the Colts. I mean, the on-off splits with Grover Stewart are just massive. And I know his agent is going to be bringing that into contract negotiations this offseason because he's such a core piece of this defense. And you could see it. Like, there's proof right in front of us.
Starting point is 00:13:16 With Grover Stewart, without Grover Stewart, this Colts run defense and just defense in general is drastically different. Yeah, and I mean, he occupies blockers. He allows things to flow for his teammates everywhere. I mean, the proof is in the pudding with him and the lineup, the Colts allow 108.3 yards per game on the ground over the whole course of the season. Right now that would rank 13th in the NFL without him. They give up 153 yards on the ground, which is dead last, comfortably dead last. So that just goes to show you that's a huge margin. That's upper half of the NFL versus easily the worst.
Starting point is 00:13:55 And it's obvious. I thought against the Steelers, he really looked comfortable and he really looked back. There were times against the Bengals where I was like, he's getting there, you know, but against the Steelers, he looked like Grover Stewart again. And pro football focus has taken notice as well. They've given him a 74.3 this season, which is the best of his career. He's only got the half sack on the year,
Starting point is 00:14:20 but he's got 10 pressures and 20 stops, which is a statistic they made up to essentially say this player forced a failure of a play against the offense. So, I mean, only half the season basically, but he's doing really well. And they're going to need that sort of dominance, not just from him, but the effect he has on the whole front seven. Cause you could see EJ speed played out of his mind as well. And that's gotta be a big help.
Starting point is 00:14:50 So in these next few games, if they got to take care of business, like we mentioned at the top, then having someone who's able to be a linchpin against the run, that's going to be huge. Yeah. I'm glad you mentioned EJ speed. Cause that's really where I wanted to go with this segment too, is, I mean, during his six game absence, I felt like the Colts linebackers' overall play took a big step back.
Starting point is 00:15:09 And I'm not saying that they were all horrendous, like the worst players ever. They were still having really good games here and there. But for the most part, the Colts linebacker play and just the linebacker impact was not what it was when Grover Stewart was in the lineup early in the season. You saw Zyra Franklin's tackles drop. You saw EJ Speed have a couple of outings. I mean, he had a really rough game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his first game starting.
Starting point is 00:15:31 And then against Tennessee Titans, he's had a couple of missed tackles as well. Now you flash forward to what he just did on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and EJ Speed looked like a superstar. I mean, he was crashing down the line super hard. He was getting in the backfield. He had multiple tackles for a loss. He had the forced fumble. He had a lot of run stops in this game.
Starting point is 00:15:49 EJ Speed looked like a fantastic, fantastic starting linebacker. And he was playing with so much speed and aggression and just confidence because you have a Grover Stewart in there. You know that you're not going to get reached by a lineman. You know that you have the freedom to fly in there and make these big plays in the backfield. So just having Grover Stewart out there, I mean, it's great to have his impact and not getting driven back every single play at the nose tackle position, but just what it does for these linebackers. It gives them confidence. It gives them the aggression that you need to play the position. And that's what leads to more of these run stops. It's not
Starting point is 00:16:21 necessarily Grover Stewart doing it all by himself himself but just because he is on the field you see the impact on ej speed you see the impact on zyra franklin you see the impact on deforest buckner too like deforest buckner was basically like his run his run grade was going down every single week without without grover stewart in there he was making a couple flash plays here and there but he was getting driven back too because he was facing more double teams with grover stewart back in the lineup you're seeing DeForest Buckner make those splash plays but also be strong in his assignment and be sturdy up front and allowing those linebackers to come in as well so Grover Stewart just has this big ripple effect on that front seven and he's the missing piece that puts it all together now obviously you're not getting
Starting point is 00:17:02 much as a pass rusher from him but in in the run defense, and what really puts this whole run defense together is Grover Stewart's impact. And we saw it this past weekend against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Colts dominated the trenches against the pass and against the run in this one, but I don't think they get it done against the run if Grover Stewart is not in the lineup. So just having him back, man, it's a big reason why they won that game. It's a big reason why they shut out the Steelers after that first quarter in this past game, because they have Grover Stewart's impact to keep the Steelers in second and long, third and long, keep them behind the sticks. And it's all over from there. I mean, the Colts' pass rush did the rest after that, but I don't know if the Colts get it done without Grover Stewart in this past game.
Starting point is 00:17:43 Yeah. And we were talking about, you know, at the top games that, you know, if you can lose one, it's the Atlanta game, but you really can't lose any. But Atlanta's a pretty productive ground team. You know, they've got B. John Robinson, obviously, is the flashiest player there, really productive. But you're going to need this in order to combat them you know same with with las vegas they're not all that productive but we know what they can do um but you're you're just gonna need that stuff and that's the pass rush as well to disrupt desmond
Starting point is 00:18:18 or taylor heineke whoever it's going to be they don't know yet uh but in order atlanta stands no chance if they're not able to establish the run because i really don't think that desmond ritter or again taylor heineke is just going to paint the secondary of the colts if if there's no ground game so grover being back is huge and it's going to should help the colts get that bonus win. You know, the one game they can afford to lose, if they get that win, then I mean, shoot huge feather in the cap towards the postseason chances. Right, right. Exactly. Now coming up, guys, we're going to keep our focus on the Colts defensive trenches and talk about a certain hurricane that has been crashing offensive lines over the past couple of weeks. And I really think there's some superstar potential
Starting point is 00:19:04 in this player. We're going to talk about him here in just a second. But first, when you're hiring for your small business, you want to have as many top tier candidates as possible to interview. That's why you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs, which has the tools to help you find the right professionals for your team faster and for free. Now, guys, I have been on both sides of the hiring process, and I know as someone who's had to make hires for business, LinkedIn is the perfect place to find the qualified candidates that you need. But LinkedIn isn't just another job board. They have a vast network of more than a billion professionals, which makes it the best place to hire. Hiring is easy when you have that many quality candidates.
Starting point is 00:19:38 So easy, in fact, that 86% of small businesses get a qualified candidate within 24 hours. LinkedIn knows that small businesses are wearing so many hats and might not have the time or the resources to hire. Thankfully with LinkedIn, the process is intuitive, quick, and easy. They even just launched a feature that helps you write job descriptions,
Starting point is 00:19:58 making the process even easier and quicker. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. All righty, Jake. We've been putting this big topic off for way too long. The breakout of Dayo Odengbo. I mean, it has been something to watch this year.
Starting point is 00:20:25 I'm not saying it's happening every single week. I'm not saying that he's getting, you know, two sacks. You know, he's had the big explosive gains, but it's not been every single game. But when he has those explosive gains, he is an absolute game wrecker. Dio Odengbo this past weekend had one and a half sacks. He had one sack taken away as well
Starting point is 00:20:42 for a defensive holding penalty. I believe PFF said he had a 27.4% win percentage, win rate in this past game as well. Honestly, if you're watching the film, especially in the second half, it feels like it's like a 70% win percentage. I mean, he is in the backfield every single play. And this isn't the first game we've seen him be an absolute game wrecker like this. We saw it against the Patriots.
Starting point is 00:21:04 We saw it against the Carolina Panthers as well we've seen it in flashes here and there we saw it last year obviously against Zach Martin in that Cowboys game too but now we're at the point where we're looking at the accumulative stats of Dio Dangbo through 14 games this year and you're looking at eight tackles for a loss eight sacks 16 QB hits two forced fumbles two fumble recoveries I mean he, he's a big part of this Colts pass rush. He's second on the team in sacks right now behind a starter. I mean, Samson Ebukom is an every down player. Dio Dangbo kind of rotates in a little bit. He's not an every single down player. He's a substantial piece to this team. Don't get me wrong. He's not coming
Starting point is 00:21:41 in for just 20% of the snaps, but he's not an every single down player and he's second on the team in sacks and he's being really productive whether he's rushing from the edge or the interior i really think i mean when you look at the flashes and you look at what he's able to put together in totality this year i think the sky is the limit for this young player like he's not even near what he can be. But when you see those flashes, when you see him, you know, slow his, his, his explosion off the,
Starting point is 00:22:09 off the line to kind of just add that extra dimension to his rush. And then hit a dude with a cross chop and turn the corner. And then you see him rush from the inside and overpower a guy with, with a bull rush. And then you see a nice little rip inside move to finish for a sack. It's like, this guy really can be like a 15 16 sack player i mean he's at eight sacks this year and realistically could get to 10
Starting point is 00:22:31 without being an every down player and with him still scratching the surface of what he can be what's he going to be in the next year or two i mean i feel like we have to like this isn't even just homerism right now i mean just looking at dio dangbo's film this year it's like this is next level stuff like this can be like this adarius smith or a preston smith type player uh here in the nfl and i'm so excited about the few i mean i i was always kind of sold on dio but this year man oh my gosh i am very very sold because when he wins as a pass rusher he wins quick it's like boom boom, he is past that player, and he's getting to the quarterback. So Dio Dangbo, man, I just had to have this kind of segment
Starting point is 00:23:10 after this past game he had, but he's been doing this for the whole, like for the last like six, seven weeks. So he's just been on fire for this Colts team. Yeah, and I really don't think it's a stretch to say that we're looking at the start of something really, really productive long-term, because this is not coming up randomly he went from a player who used to just win with effort and hustle and chaos to now he's winning in a variety of different ways with a plan and he's being really productive that way and consistent. There's not like long stretches, three, four games apart
Starting point is 00:23:48 where he's having big performances. Like they're coming more and more consistently. And from guys we've talked about, you know, Eddie McGilvray is someone we've talked to multiple times, you know, guy who coaches Quiddy, Dio, and Ebicom. From what he says, from what other people who train with dio say they have seen this coming like the guy is moving around differently when he's out there training and it was just a matter of time until this began to happen so this is not
Starting point is 00:24:19 random that and again this is what year three the first year was a red shirt year essentially because the achilles this is right on time. Like he's becoming a really, really significant part of the Colts defense. And I, one of the biggest parts to me, what makes him more important is that he's part of that second wave. Like he's being this productive behind guys who are already productive. So what Chris Ballard always dreamed his pass rush would be, Dio is why.
Starting point is 00:24:48 Because Quitty and Ebicom, Ebicom's first, Quitty is third on the team in sacks, I believe. And then Dio's right there second with the second wave of pass rushers. Like the plan is working because they've got really, really good players and Dio might wind up being the best of them all. Yeah, no, that's really where I want to go with this. I mean, when you look at Dio Dangbo, there's not many, like, I'm not trying to say that he's not an effort player, but there's not many that are like low quality sacks that are like effort sacks, you know,
Starting point is 00:25:16 where you run down the guy and he steps out of bounds one yard short of the line of scrimmage and you get that sack, you know, or the quarterback slides down because he's feeling some pressure and they chart it to the, to the player, you know, he's not getting those sacks. His sacks are high quality wins. They are sacks where he is beating a guy within half a second and the quarterback's getting leveled because they're just not expecting it to happen. I mean, he's had, I think two or three sacks to taken away by defensive penalties this year as
Starting point is 00:25:43 well. Like it's, he's constantly disruptive. And when he's getting these sacks, they are high quality sacks to taken away by defensive penalties this year as well. Like it's, he's constantly disruptive. And when he's getting these sacks, they are high quality sacks. So if you give him more snaps and he's just out there more and he starts getting more of those, like, you know, those cheapo effort sacks, you know, like, like Josh Allen in week one against the Colts, where two of his three sacks against Anthony Richardson came on Anthony Richardson, just not throwing the RPO and running out of bounds one yard short. Yeah. You know, if he starts getting some of those too, again, I think a 15, 16 sack season is
Starting point is 00:26:09 realistic for him because he's doing this right now without those kind of sacks. Like, again, I don't mean to talk. I don't mean to compare the players too much. Like Quidipe, a lot of his sacks are crashing the pocket, getting the effort sack, running through guys while he's crashing his side and then just finishing the play but Dio Dingbo it's clean beat up front within one second two seconds and make your way to the quarterback like there's just some high level stuff on film from Dio that makes me think that this is just scratching the surface I mean he's what 23 years old too he's only two years removed from that major Achilles injury.
Starting point is 00:26:45 We've seen the production increase every single year. He went from one sack in year one, five sacks last year, eight sacks this year. Where's he going to be by this time next year? You know, when he's a bigger part of the defensive line, the bigger part of the pass rush, another year of development, hitting that 24 where he's still growing as a young man, like you, like you have to be excited about this like again I'm not trying to be too homery here but like this is not normal what you're seeing from this kind of young player the flashes you're seeing him cleanly beating
Starting point is 00:27:16 Broderick Jones constantly with cross chops as a 285 pound edge rusher like he's sitting in the wide nine coming off the edge and hitting cross chops on a first round tackle like that's not normal like this is not normal whatsoever i'm like i'm seeing him turn the corner on cross chops and and and dip moves at 285 pounds and i'm like what am i watching here this like it's one thing if this were quitty pay or samson abucom doing this but again this is a 285 pound player who plays a lot of three tech for the Colts. This isn't normal whatsoever. He was winning off the edge in this past game and with speed and power.
Starting point is 00:27:55 So, I mean, when you watch the kind of game that Dioding just had, it's hard not to envision a future superstar there. Like he still has some rough moments around the edges. Like his PFF grade is low because he's not a great run defender right now. He has good moments of run defense, but it's not all the way there yet. But if you're going to give me this as a pass rusher, I don't care about your run defense. Like just come in for the,
Starting point is 00:28:16 you know, Quidi Pei is a fantastic run defender. Keep him out there for run defense. Give me all the dial snaps as a pass rusher, because if he keeps doing what he did on Sunday or on Saturday and he does what he did you know against Carolina and against New England I mean we could be looking at a star player like I am I am fully sold on what this player can be because I just don't see players move like this and he's really putting it together in terms of what he wants to do on every snap uh Dio Dangbo I mean again on Saturday the film was so good
Starting point is 00:28:44 that I just can't come away from that thinking that he's going to be anything less than the star player for the Colts. Yeah, I mean, the context everywhere for him is positive because I believe when the Colts drafted Quitty and Dio, Jim Irsay told them, you know, we envisioned you guys like Freeney and Mathis getting those sacks on third and and mathis getting those sacks on third and fourth down getting those sacks with the last two minutes of the game and that's happening like these big plays even if it's not a sack the qb pressure the qb hit all this stuff they're getting a lot of those in crunch time or critical situations so like
Starting point is 00:29:19 again when you look at the context of everything they're doing, the trio, just him, whatever, it's all good. But like you mentioned, still ascending. The ceiling is crazy. What does it look like next year? Shoot, three games left, 12 sacks. I mean, that's five more in the next three games. But, I mean, the Texans have had games where they've given up a million sacks i mean atlanta and las vegas aren't the best offensive lines in the world like
Starting point is 00:29:51 this could be a pretty eye-popping season for him nationally like people are gonna have to pay attention when they see his final stat line like they're gonna see big sacks from the tj watts miles garrett's and everything but when they see this reserve lineman from the colts with 10 11 12 sacks they're like wow where did this come from and he's going to start getting more attention for it yep yep and then again i think next year is going to be this insanely explosive year for dio dangbo but again we're focused on this year guys we're going to keep covering this colts push to the playoffs it starts with the atlanta falcons this week but again we gotta're going to keep covering this Colts push to the playoffs. It starts with the Atlanta Falcons this week, but again, we got to keep going from there.
Starting point is 00:30:27 Before we clock out here today, guys, remember to check out the Locked On Sports Today YouTube channel, which is the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube. If you guys don't already, make sure you're following at LockedOnColts, at Jake Arthur, NFL, at Zach Hicks, too, all on X. Also, subscribe to us on
Starting point is 00:30:44 YouTube, wherever you list your podcast. We'd love your guys rings reviews, and we'll see you guys back here bright and early tomorrow morning.

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