Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Crossover Special with Locked On Ravens

Episode Date: October 8, 2021

On today's episode, our latest installment of our Locked On Crossover Special featuring Locked On Colts x Locked On Ravens. We get you ready for a huge matchup on Monday Night Football going in-depth on both sides!What are the biggest keys to the game? What are the biggest storylines from the Colts and Ravens so far this season? All of this, plus so much more, in a jam-packed episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello everybody, welcome to your latest Locked On NFL CrossFootball special. I am Evan Sidery, the host of Locked On Colts, joined by Kevin Ostriker, the host of Locked On Ravens, here for a Monday Night Football matchup coming up here on Monday in Baltimore between the Indianapolis Colts and the Baltimore Ravens. Kevin, how are you doing tonight? I'm doing well, Evan. I'm excited for this game. I think it'll be a good one. Prime time, the Ravens' third prime time match

been their first five games, so they're getting used to it already. But this should be a game that I think will be a little better than some people think it'll be. Yeah, I'm there with you. I think the spread last I saw was six and a half points. I think it's going to be pretty close to that. And the Colts and the Ravens usually play each other pretty well. We saw a good matchup last year for the Ravens,

kind of opened it up in the second half. But I think this Colts team is a little underrated right now. They got off to an 0-3 start, but we'll obviously talk about the Colts in a little bit. I'm going to start off the show asking you some Ravens questions first, Kevin. Obviously, the big question I want to hit on first is the progression of Lamar Jackson. What does he look like so far this year? Because he has had a 300-plus yard game passing the ball in Denver. Obviously, he's one of the best running quarterbacks in the NFL we've seen in a very long time. But it seems like Lamar's kind of taken the mini leap, so to say, as far as the quarterback 101 aspects, the mental aspects of the quarterback position. What's been your takeaways from Lamar so far this year?

Yeah, I think it's been a great year for him so far. You know, some of the box score stats won't show it. You know, he'll go 16 to 32 or like 18 to 37 or something. And people look at that and they'll say, oh, well, he's not completing a ton of his passes. But he's done a great job. His deep ball accuracy still needs a bit of improvement. But he's hitting on some of those shots. But he looks a lot more calm in the pocket, a lot more poised than we've seen him.

His arm, I think, throwing to the outside has been a lot better, and he's grown. What I wanted to see out of Lamar Jackson, especially early on, was just growth. I don't expect him to be perfect. No quarterback, no player is in this league, but he's playing with a lot more confidence, I think. Overall, it's been a really nice thing to watch because over these past two weeks against Detroit and against Denver, those two defenses have keyed in on the run game for the Ravens. And I think a lot of people, you know, all these narratives that have surrounded Lamar Jackson and surrounded the Ravens has been, oh, if you key in on the run game and if you stop the run game, all of a sudden you beat the Ravens. But Lamar Jackson has thrown the ball. He's thrown it well and effectively.

The Ravens have thrown the ball more than they've run it over those last two weeks, and they've still won both of those games. So that narrative, I think, has been kind of dead for a while. But Jackson overall, he now has weapons around him, such as Sammy Watkins, a rejuvenated Marquise Brown, obviously Mark Andrews and Rashad Bateman may be coming back for this one as well. So he now has the weapons around him. The offensive line has been better for him this year. So it's setting up for a nice year for Jackson. It already has been a nice year. And honestly, he's put himself in the MVP conversation, at least early on in the season so far. Yeah, I'm right there with you. Lamar's actually looked really good so far this year as a passer. And that's really awesome to see because I love Lamar.

He's obviously, you know, Kevin, one of the more entertaining players to watch in the NFL as far as his flair and the way he runs around. But let's hit on the running backs for a sec, because I know Colts fans are probably wondering, who in the heck is the running back for the Ravens now with all the injuries happening over the last couple of weeks? And we saw Latavius Murray get the start last week. Tyson Williams started the season.

He's a healthy scratch all of a sudden. What's going on with the running back rotation in Baltimore? It seems like it's changing almost every single week. Yeah, it is. It definitely is. The Ravens lost every single carry yard touchdown from running backs on their roster in 2020 in a span of like a week and a half. J.K. Dobbins goes down with a season-ending ACL injury.

Gus Edwards goes down with a season-ending ACL injury. Justice Hill as well. Mark Ingram now in Houston. So the Ravens have to pivot. They signed Latavius Murray and they signed Devonta Freeman, Le'Veon Bell. They have Tyson Williams as well. If we're going off of the most recent rotation, Tyson Williams, who actually is averaging 6.1 yards per carry this year, wasn't an active, a healthy scratch for this team. They brought up Le'Veon Bell from the practice squad. The running game hasn't been as effective this year. I think part of that has to do with

the fact that the Ravens are just trying to figure out how these running backs fit. It was so late into the off season and so soon before the regular season started when these guys started getting injured and injuries have been such a huge factor for both the offense and the defense, but the Ravens are, they're using the Tavius Murray right now in like a Gus Edwards role. Devonta Freeman seems like a justice Hill type player and, and Tyson Williams and Le'Veon Bell seem like the wild cards right now. The Ravens, I think, are really high on Le'Veon Bell. They really raved about him in interviews and they really like what he's done in practice. So I think that we might see another Le'Veon Bell call up this week. It wouldn't surprise me. Tyson Williams has had a bit of issues fumbling the football and it's been reported by athletic

reporters that he hasn't really impressed the Ravens with his running style right now so and it's really you know Tyson Williams hasn't really impressed the Ravens with his running style right now in particular it's been reported so I think overall the Ravens you know they have a bunch of pieces but it's now a matter of can they actually go and and get the right guys in the right places over the course of the rest of the year? Yeah, that's the big question, because honestly, I love the Latavius Murray signing. He's a really good piece in New Orleans last year with Alvin Kamara. You get him in that kind of role we're seeing now in Baltimore. I love the fit

between him and Lamar in the backfield. So if the Colts for them, they're going to shut down Latavius Murray, Lamar Jackson, the running game on Monday, because that's going to be the big engine of their offense. But let's dive to the defense for a second Kevin because this Ravens defense consistently has been a top defense throughout really my whole lifetime it seems like there's always up there in the top 10 or so it floating around there what's been your assessment of this defense so far this year because it's been a little hit or miss I would say but this past week against Baltimore or excuse me it's Denver a little hit or miss, I would say, but this past week against Baltimore, or excuse me, against Denver, they really shut things down.

Teddy Bridgewater went on the game, even when Drew Locke came in, they still shut things down with the Broncos' attack on offense. What's been your assessment of this Ravens' defense so far this year? Because it feels like they're kind of fighting their groove right now. Yeah, that's all I'd say it is, Evan. They're definitely, I think, still trying to figure out what life is like without Marcus Peters. Peters also went down with an ACL injury.

He's done for the year. Peters is a huge part of what they do on defense. Very high football IQ takes gambles that pay off most of the time. Sometimes they don't, and he can get beat pretty badly, but you know, he's a leader on their defense. Him and Marlon Humphrey are a really good duo together.

And that's where I think the Ravens are trying to find their groove. They, they ranked in the bottom part of the league and past defense over the last few weeks, or at least the first couple weeks of the year, they've gotten better. You know, the last two weeks against Detroit and against Denver, the defense is starting to finally find their groove, as you just talked about there. They need to, I think, get better at tackling. Tackling has been a huge issue for them over the first four weeks, the first month of the season. They're in the top five in missed tackles this season.

I think that the pass rush is getting there. Adafi always been a huge bright spot for this team. They're rookie out of Penn State. Had no sacks in 2020 for Penn State. That was a big thing for a lot of people. He already has two so far in his rookie career through four games. So he's been great. Marlon Humphrey is Marlon Humphrey. He's one of the best corners in the NFL Chuck Clark, great start to the year for him. He wears the green dot for the Ravens. He's been

amazing. So they have talent. Clay's Campbell's looked great as well. You know, he looks rejuvenated even though he's getting up there in age. So Baltimore has talent on the defense. Just a matter of, again, finding out where guys fit because of the injuries that they've suffered and sustained, and just trying to figure out who goes where, and does this guy go there? And once that happens, I think they can continue to improve and get back to what I think a lot of people were expecting from them this year. We know what the Colts defense going against the Ravens offense, we saw it last year. If you can at least try to contain Lamar Jackson, you have a chance in this game, but I want to hit on the Colts offense versus the Ravens defense

from the last question here in the segment for a dive over to you asking me some Colts questions here. What would the Colts offense need to do against this Ravens defense in your opinion? Because I feel like the Ravens, they're really underrated in both aspects against the run and the pass. I think it's more so of a game where if you had to pick one weakness on this Ravens defense, is it more so the passing defense or the rushing defense where the Colts could try to exploit that? You know, right now I think it is the pass defense just because they're still getting better in that aspect, but they're again dealing with a lot of injuries.

Anthony Averitt is the corner who's taken over for Marcus Peters. And while he's played great, they're still kind of fighting with injuries to Sean Elliott as a quad injury. He's their starting safety. That moves. Jimmy Smith, who is kind of like a matchup guy on tight ends, he's had to play more of a safety role for them. The run defense, I think, has been generally good.

It hasn't been as good as last year. But with Claes Campbell in there and Brandon Williams, who's great, just a matter of week, they have a great front seven, who really are thumpers against the run. I think if the Colts are looking for a place to exploit the Ravens, it's more in the short passing game. The Ravens are a bend, don't break defense where they trust their red zone defense to get it done. So they'll give you short stuff sometimes. And that can include screen passes or just like five yard outs or something like that. So the Ravens can be

exploited through screens a little bit. They've gotten better at defending them, but it is still a weakness sometimes. And sometimes they don't generate pressure. What even when blitzing, this is a high blitz defense. They will blitz you from every single angle. So, you know, if Carson Wentz can maneuver that, I think the Colts can have some success. But if he starts to get routed under that pressure and starts to force some throws, it could be a long night for the Colts. Great stuff there from Kevin talking about the Baltimore Ravens. We're going to go ahead and dive over to asking me some Colts questions before we end the show, talking about our predictions and our biggest matchups to watch. I want to talk about our sponsor today, Shida, which is Rock Auto. With the ever-increased

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Again, write LOCKEDON, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N, in the How's Your Boss box, so know that we sent you over there again, right? Locked on L O C K E D O N. And how'd your boss box? So no, we sent you over there. We returned here. Our second segment of this crossover between both locked on Ravens and locked on Colts, Kevin on shocker of locked on Ravens here with Evan Sidery of locked on Colts and Evan, again, this will be a good matchup for these two teams that I know want to ask you a bit about this Indianapolis Colts team.

A bit of a slow start, you know, off things considered. The Colts have been dealing with some things. But I want to first start off with, I think, the biggest question, which is about Carson Wentz, the new quarterback that Indianapolis acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles. He's been dealing with some injuries already so far this year. You know, looking at his his stats 63.8 completion percentage 920 yards five touchdowns just one interception how has the Carson Wentz era in Indianapolis gone so far for you when comparing it to maybe what you thought it would be coming into the year

I would say honestly adding in the caveat like you mentioned there Kevin that he is playing on two sprained ankles which is just so typical Carson Wentz. It's from what we know throughout his career, just always getting banged up. But even with that being said, he's definitely performed over expectations. If you would have told me four games in that Carson Wentz would have a 5-1 TD to interception ratio, I'd say the Colts would be undefeated. I think that just says a lot about the way Carson Wentz is playing right now. He's not really testing the ball deep down the field.

I think Frank Rick's got into his year where he's not playing hero ball. He's not pressing right now. He had seven interceptions at the same point last year. Now it's down to one in Indianapolis. He's just taking the smart play where he needs to. He's really developing a rapport with Michael Pittman Jr., the Colts' number one wide receiver with T.Y. Hilton being out. I think even with T.Y. coming back in a couple weeks, Pittman's that new

number one receiver. The running game's a little bit slow right now, but I think the biggest issue with his offense has been the offensive line. Quentin Nelson will not be playing on Monday Night Football because of his sprained ankle. He is actually on short-term injury reserve. He should be back in a couple weeks, but I would say really the big issue has been the offensive line, just that inconsistency

and really a lack of chemistry between that unit so far. I think three of the five guys have been out so far due to injury, and I think all four or five were out throughout training camp too. It's just been a really banged up year for this offensive line that's been healthy throughout their careers. But Carson Wentz has definitely not been the issue for the Colts. I think it's more so the Colts holding Carson Wentz back at this point. He's been excellent so far.

I'd say he's easily been at least an average to above average quarterback so far, and that gets it done most weeks. They just had a really daunting start to the season going against the Seahawks, the Rams, and the Titans. They get a big win against the Dolphins, who look to be one of the worst teams in the league. But this is really going to be a true litmus test on Monday night for Carson Wentz. If he can actually play good against the Baltimore Ravens, that's going to say a lot about his improvements. Yeah, I think so too. And Evan, you mentioned the offensive line there and Quentin Nelson in particular. I just want to

talk about, you know, the Ravens have had their fair share of injuries, obviously the one of the most injured teams in the NFL, but losing a player such as Quentin Nelson for any amount of time, whether it's just one game, three games a season, it's a huge blow considering what you've talked about with the other injuries on this offensive line. How big of a loss and what does Quentin Nelson bring to this team that the Colts are going to be missing on Monday night? Quentin Nelson is, he's a team captain this year. He's about a team captain for the first time in his career, but he just brings the nastiness to this offense. He just sets the tone and that's something that the Colts are desperately going to miss on and off the field. He's just a no-nonsense kind of guy. He'll put you into the ground. He's one of the rare offensive line

that we've seen in our time, Kevin, where he can make viral highlight mixtapes for an offensive lineman. He's just one of those guys where just a generational talent. He can put you in the dirt consistently, snap after snap, and just make you mentally give up. Not having Quentin Nelson out there is definitely going to hurt. It's actually hurt Eric Fisher so far

this year, our new left tackle from the Kansas City Chiefs. they signed him for agency. He just has not looked himself the last couple weeks to come back from the Achilles injury. Even when Quentin Nelson's been out, he's looked worse. And that's going to be obviously a big blow because whoever plays next to Quentin Nelson at left tackle is going to look better. And when he's not playing, they're going to look a lot worse. So Quentin Nelson, he helps gel the entire offensive line. He gets the nastiness going in the run game too.

And that's just a big thing. The Colts are built for their offensive line. He gets the nastiness going in the run game too. And that's just a big thing. The Colts are built for their offensive line. They're built through the trenches. Quentin Nelson's a foundational piece. And not having him against a team like Baltimore, where you're going to have to set the tone early and often and keep the ball in Lamar Jackson's hands, it's a massive blow for the game on Monday.

Yeah, it definitely is. And so both teams, the Ravens and the Colts, will be without some of their key contributors in this one who are on injured reserve at this point, whether it is season ending or just a couple weeks, short-term stuff. But Evan, looking at the Colts' past catching weapons, it's definitely been the Michael Pittman Jr. show, Zach Paschal, Naheem Hines, Jack Doyle, those types of guys. You mentioned D.Y. Hilton, not back yet. Paris Campbell's missed a couple games.

Who have you been most impressed with Carson Wentz's weapons so far? And who are some players who Ravens fans should keep an eye on who might be flying under the radar there? Yeah, I'll give you the number one option, which would be Michael Pittman Jr. He's on pace for 140 targets this year. He's looking like a true number one wide receiver in his second year, which is the leap. Every Colts fan was hoping to see Chris Bauer bet on him to make a leap this year

because he did not go out and get a veteran free agent. He just brought back T.Y. Hilton and that was it. They didn't do anything else in the draft or in free agency. They just bet on Pittman to take that leap and he certainly has so far. He just brings a really awesome style of football to that wide receiver core they've been missing. Just a lot of toughness, yards after catch. He never goes down first contact. So he's a really fun guy to watch.

He's going to easily be Wentz's number one target, I think, throughout this season, especially Monday night in a game in Baltimore, where I think he's going to be utilized very early and often in short passing concepts. Zach Paschal, like you mentioned, is really reliable too, but he's not really on the same level as Pittman. But I think an underrated guy to me is Mo Ali Cox, who's actually the tight end too for this Colts team. He had two touchdowns in the red zone last week against the Dolphins, six foot six, played basketball at VCU a couple years ago. He's just a big mismatch nightmare who they're going to throw the ball up to

and see if he can go get it. So he's a jump ball specialist. He did it twice last week against Miami. I think Molly Cox, if the Colts do get in the red zone, he could be a guy we can throw it up to and help get those red zone woes that the Colts have had off their backs a little bit, because he did help them in that red zone last week against the Miami Dolphins. I think Molly Cox is that underrated guy to watch, where if the Ravens aren't really focused on him, he could have a game where he has one or two touchdowns

again. Yeah, and speaking of tight ends, the Ravens have had an absolute gauntlet of tight ends so far this year. Week one, they have Darren Waller week two Travis Kelsey week three TJ Hawkinson week four Noah Fant now the week five combo of Jack Doyle Moelle Cox in there as well but Evan Jonathan Taylor was a part of I think really talented running back room you know at least a couple of guys obviously Marlon Mack has not been involved this year Naheem Hines I talked about but he was in the same draft as Ravens runner, J.K. Dobbins, who is unfortunately not playing this year. And a couple other guys as well, DeAndre Swift. Have you been impressed with him so far

throughout his second season or were you expecting a little bit more? Yeah, I don't really, I think I'm kind of a mixed bag right now, Jonathan Taylor. He definitely, he looked like a superstar the last half of his rookie season. And I think a lot of the reason why he's been off to a slower start than expected was due to the offensive line.

It's just been so beat up up there. Taylor doesn't have a lot of room to run, so I'm not going to put a lot of blame on him there. But over the last two weeks, he has averaged over six yards per carry. So I think the old John Taylor that we saw the last couple months of last season is officially back. And that's going to be the game plan on Monday. If they can get John Taylor established, if he's averaging five to six yards per carry every single time, that's a perfect way to get Lamar Jackson,

that Ravens offense off the field and make it just a slugfest, ugly game. And I think it's the only way the Colts are going to win this game is if that happens. So if John Taylor can get established and going early and often in this one, it's going to help out a lot. I would say the issue so far this year with Taylor is mostly the offensive line. Just because Quentin Nelson's been out. Eric Fisher missed the season opener.

Ryan Kelly's banged up on the elbow injury. Braden Smith has missed the last month with a foot injury as well. So this offensive line is an elite unit. When they're not together, it just falls off a cliff. And it's a big downer for a guy like Jonathan Taylor who needs that running lane. So he needs those space. He's getting a lot better as far as creating his own holes when needed, but he definitely misses guys like Quentin Nelson out there. Yeah. You know, for an offense, the offensive line is so important because it's

not just all they're playing while they're not playing a lot of effects, the run game and the pass game in a huge way, sometimes more than people think it does. But here, Evan, before we head into our final break, I do want to talk a little bit about this Colts defense because they have plenty of talented playmakers on there. I mean, there are so many. I probably won't be able to list them all here. Bobby Okereke is really good. Darius Leonard, obviously one of the best linebackers in the NFL. You have DeForest Buckner.

I mean, again, so many guys. Julian Blackman in there as well. What are some strengths and weaknesses that you've seen so far of this Colts defense through the first month of this year yeah it's been really interesting I feel like this Colts defense has not been as great as we saw last year it's been really inconsistent maddeningly inconsistent I mean Xavier Rhodes looks like he has fallen back off that cliff again that we saw in Minnesota so that's not a good sign for this Colts secondary who bet on Xavier Rhodes he looks like he's back to the 2019 version of himself after a really strong year last year.

Rakia Sen is an unproven guy in the secondary as well. Curry Willis has not really improved this year at strong safety. Julian Blackman's looked really good at free safety. But I think the obvious way I'm going here is the secondary needs a lot of work next offseason. And that's probably where if the Ravens want to have a game where they can just go out and score 30 plus points, Lamar Jackson should feel confident enough to test his secondary because I think they're not going to win the matchup against these Ravens weapons. So Mark Andrews, Sammy Watkins, if Rashad Bateman plays on Monday, he could have a big game as well.

So I think that's definitely something to watch out for there. Darius Leonard is actually playing hurt right now. He had ankle surgery in the offseason. He has not looked the same so far this year. He's getting better each week, it looks like, but he's still playing with a heavy tape on his ankle, so he's not the same old Darius Leonard that we've seen so far throughout his career. But I think the big X factor here is the front four.

Kamoko Ture, Quidi Pei, if he plays on Monday, too, after a hamstring injury. DeForest Buckner, of course. I think the front four is going to control this game for the Colts if they want any chance to go against this Ravens offense. Get pressure on Lamar Jackson, funnel him outside the pocket a little bit, and try to have Okereke and Leonard stay on him on the outside if he does scramble a little bit. That's probably their best chance of winning this game. So Buckner and in the edge presence of Ture and Pei, if they can get going and really establish themselves against this Ravens offensive line, that's really going to make me maybe change the game a little bit for both

sides. Yeah. The Ravens offensive line is definitely going to have to step up in this one. It'll be interesting to see if Ravens current left tackle Alejandro Villanueva can go in this one. If not, they'll probably have to roll out Andre Smith at left tackle,

a former Cincinnati Bengal first round pick who has not looked amazing over the last couple of seasons. But you know, this defense really keyed in and stopped the Ravens offense for a good bit of the first half of the last time these two teams matched up, Evan. And then, you know, we were kind of talking about it off screen, the Chuck Clark play where he hurdles over Phillip Rivers into the end zone for a touchdown, kind of literally turns the tides of that game and gives the Ravens all the momentum where it seemed like

the Colts have had it all at first. So we'll be talking about matchups here, final score predictions in our final segment. So we'll head into our final break. So stay tuned for our predictions and we will be back soon, but we are back and better than ever. All eyes are on the grid iron as teams are back on for another football season. As always, BetOnline is your number one spot for all the pro and college football action this season. With a new updated site and interface, even more odds, props, and contests, BetOnline continues to be the number one source for everything football.

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BetOnline, where the game starts. We are back for our final segment here. Evan Sidery, Locked On Colts, and Kevin Ostreicher, Locked On Ravens for our crossover special preview. Monday Night Football, I think it's going to be a really entertaining matchup on Monday night between the Colts and the Ravens. We're here for our final segment, talking through our predictions, our key match Monday Night Football. I think it's going to be a really entertaining matchup on Monday night between the Colts and the Ravens. We're here for our final segment, talking through our predictions,

our key matchups to watch. So let's start off with the matchups, Kevin. I'll throw it your way first. What's one matchup from the Ravens side? Do you think that you're excited to watch as far as Ravens versus Colts go? You know, honestly, I think it's going to be two stars. I'm going to say Lamar Jackson versus Darius Leonard.

Yes, Leonard is playing hurt right now, but the way we kind of talked about it at the end of the second segment, the way that the Ravens offense was stifled by this Colts defense for some of that game in 2020, that was a game that if, if that Chuck Clark play doesn't happen, I think the Ravens lose it because the Colts defense had everything figured out. They were forcing a lot of stuff that the Ravens weren't comfortable doing and kind of getting in Lamar Jackson's head a little bit. Now, these are two different teams, obviously, but the chess match that I think is going to go on between those two players, Lamar Jackson and his improvement, Darius Leonard, obviously, even when he's hurt,

still one of the best and highly instinctive players in all of football at his position. Those are two players who could be the X factors. Obviously Lamar Jackson is a huge X factor. Darius Leonard is somebody who can make or break a game for the Colts defense. If Leonard could come up with a couple of big plays and put his guys in position to make plays, you know, with a good week of study on this Ravens offense, maybe they can make some noise. And on the Ravens side of things, Lamar Jackson and this Ravens offense, getting the run game established will be key for them, but obviously continuing to throw the ball effectively will be good.

And they'll have to do that against, you mentioned kind of a suspect Colts secondary, but still with Leonard in there and his leadership, it's no given that they can get yards on the Colts defense that did stifle them last season. Evan, your opinion on this though, I'm interested to hear about it and also hear about what your big matchup for this night is. Yeah, it's a big one that's actually going to involve a former Colt who's now a Baltimore Raven. It's going to be Justin Houston and Odafe Owe going against Eric Fisher and potentially Julian Davenport at right tackle, which I think is a huge mismatch for this Colts offense. Davenport's been a turnstile at right tackle so far this year. Eric Fisher's still coming back from his Achilles injury so if Houston and Owe can collapse that pocket on

Carson Wentz who's taken already 10 sacks this year it's going to be a really long night for this Colts office trying to get any sort of chemistry going down the field their 29th this Colts offensive line is in past block win rates so far this year one of the worst in NFL just a massive regression what we've seen the last couple years of this Colts offensive line. We don't know if Braden Smith's going to play on Monday night, even if that's the case. Smith's going to be really rusty, missing the last three games with a foot injury. So it's going to be that bookend matchup, left tackle, right tackle

against Justin Houston and Odafe Owe. I loved Owe coming out of the draft, even though, like you mentioned, he had zero sacks. Just a rare physical freak of an athlete. 4'2 speed for a guy that's 260 pounds. That's just unheard of in today's league. He's a perfect guy to throw in this Ravens defense. Calais Campbell, we all know, is an established guy in the middle as well.

He'll be going against potentially Chris Reed, the left guard. He'll be Quentin Nelson's replacement in this one as well. So if the Colts' offensive line can hold up a little bit, I like the Colts' chance to keep him this close. If they don't, I think it's going to be a really, really long night for this Colts team to try to get down the field against this Ravens team where it feels like to me, honestly, if Baltimore gets above 20 points, they probably win this game just because how much this Colts offense has struggled to gain a rhythm so far this year. Yeah. And I think kind of building off of that, Evan, final score predictions are really fun to

do. And you mentioned the above 20 points factor. Do you see Indianapolis scoring 20 points? Do you think Baltimore can put up more than 20 points to, as you said, beat the Colts in this situation? Yeah, I do think the Colts get to 20 points, but right on the nose of 20 points. I don't think it's any more than that against this Ravens team. I'm going to go 24-20. The Ravens win. I think it's going to be actually a really close entertaining game. I think the spread right now

is six and a half points. I think that's too much right now because these Colts and Ravens matchups are always really close. They never play to like a big blowout type of performance. I'd be stunned if the Ravens win by a lot on Monday just because this Colts team is so talented on paper. They should stay close. I think the only reason if they do lose by double digits is because of a really bad game from Carson Wentz, which we haven't seen yet so far this year for the Colts. So I'm going to go 24 to 20. The Ravens beat the Colts. And I think it's going to be a really entertaining game where probably Lamar Jackson has a really

monster numbers as far as rushing and passing the ball. Yeah, I'm right in that ballpark, Kevin. I think the Colts also hit 20 on the nose. I'm going 27 to 20 though. So, you know, not, not a huge blowout, but I think the box score in the box score, actual final score might be a bit further away from how the game actually was. You know, maybe there's a late field goal by Justin Tucker and the Colts have to drive down the field for a touchdown and they can't something like that, where it's a really close game, hard fought by the offense is going up against tough defenses but again they're both

talented offenses the Ravens still have one of the top rushing attacks in the NFL the Colts have Jonathan Taylor they have all these pass catching weapons and obviously Carson Wentz who even though he is playing on those sprained ankles still can make some magic happen if the Ravens defense lets them and with the way they've kind of been working through their past defense struggles, if they can't get on board and figure them out and continue to improve, it could be a long night for them. But I do think the Ravens will edge out the Colts here at 27 to 20.

Again, a very close entertaining game, as you mentioned, but one that I think the Ravens come out on top of him and they, in this case would move to four in one. But Evan, I think that's all that we have here. I was happy to talk to you, talk about this game, and hopefully we are in for that fun and entertaining game that we think it'll be.

Yeah, I sure hope so. It's a disappointment we're not going to be seeing Peyton Manning on the Manning broadcast with Eli Manning doing this because that would have been a lot of fun to see a former Colt diagnose how this team is doing so far, potentially on a 1-4 start. But, Kevin, as always, appreciate the time. And this is a lot of fun. Yeah, absolutely.

That's all that we have for you here today on both Locked on Ravens and Locked on Colts. We'll be back with our respective shows tomorrow. So stay tuned for that. And we will see you tomorrow.