Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: Daniel Jones Deserves to Be in MVP Convo, Jonathan Taylor Leader for OPOY

Episode Date: October 13, 2025

Indianapolis Colts QB Daniel Jones deserves to be in the discussion for NFL MVP, while RB Jonathan Taylor and HC Shane Steichen are currently the betting favorites for NFL Offensive Player of the Year... and NFL Coach of the Year, respectively. Become a Locked On Colts insider! Ask your burning questions and get prompt answers from someone who's around the team every day! Get special access from the locker room, practice field, and press box! JOIN HERE! Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-nfl/ Follow Jake's written work on roundtable.io/sports/nfl/colts/ and Zach's on si.com/nfl/colts/, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, and @LockedOnColts! This episode is brought to you by Mazda. Like our players, we sweat every detail. Because when you make every move count, pulling off the unexpected is only the beginning. Stay tuned later for highlights in this week's "Moving the Game Forward.” Mazda. Move and Be Moved. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Mint MobileReady to say yes to saying no?Make the switch at https://MintMobile.com/LOCKEDONNFLUpfront payment of $45 required (equivalent to $15/mo). Limited-time new customer offer for first 3 months only. Speeds may slow above 35GB on Unlimited plan. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.BetterhelpThis episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at https://BetterHelp.com/lockedon.BILTTurn your rent into rewards and start earning points around your neighborhood by going to https://joinbilt.com/lockedonnfl.Supply HouseJoin the free TradeMaster program today and score serious perks like priority shipping, lower prices, and a dedicated support line. Visit https://SupplyHouse.com to sign up for free and use promo code SHNFL5 for 5% off your first order.PelotonLet yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com.RugietReady to level up your confidence in the bedroom? Head to https://www.rugiet.com and use promo code LOCKEDONNFL for 15% off your first order.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars, and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire 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)

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones deserves to be in the MVP conversation through six weeks. Let's get to it. You are Locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Thank you all for making Locked On culture first.
Starting point is 00:00:28 Listen today and every day. we're part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every single day. This episode is brought to you by Mazda. Like our players, we sweat every single detail because when you make every move count, pulling off the unexpected is only the beginning. Stay tuned later for highlights
Starting point is 00:00:42 and this week's moving the game forward, Mazda move and be moved. Hello everyone. My name is Zach Hickshaw, resident film nerd of horseshoe huddle.com. And my partner, Jake Arthur, is the credential of boots on the ground for roundtable sports. Today we have a big conversation piece
Starting point is 00:00:57 coming to you guys, talking about the Colts players and coaches being in award discussions through six weeks. The Colts are sitting at five and one. One of the best teams in football, the best offense in the league currently. And there is a lot of credit that is deservingly here to be thrown out at some of these people. So we're going to talk about Daniel Jones in the MVP race. He doesn't really have the highest odds right now. And Jake in particular is very passionate about pushing back against that.
Starting point is 00:01:26 Then we're going to talk about two other award races that. seem to be better chances for Colts players, Jonathan Taylor and the offensive player of the year race and Shane Steichen in the coach of the year race. But yeah, guys, I know it's early. We're only six weeks into this thing. But just think of this conversation more so about giving credit to these guys
Starting point is 00:01:44 and talking about how well they've played through six weeks rather than like us declaring that they're going to win these awards and stuff like that. And let's kick this off with Daniel Jones, Jake, where, you know, Daniel Jones, I think you can put him up there with among the best quarterbacks in the league this year. I don't know, again, I don't know what else he needs to do this year to show that he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league in 2025.
Starting point is 00:02:07 He's second in total EPA, tied for second and EPA per play was 0.29, first in QBR, third in completion percentage, seventh and yards, fifth in yards per attempt. Again, if you told me that before the season, that he would have an 8.3 yards per attempt, I would have called you crazy and tied for the least sacked quarterback in the league. And look, sacks are as much a quarterback stat as they are an offensive line stat. So Daniel Jones has just been fantastic through six weeks. And he's also played two very good defenses in the Cardinals and the Denver Broncos. So it's not like he's only beating up on the bottom of the league.
Starting point is 00:02:42 So Jake, why is he ninth on Fanduel in MVP race of odds or whatever right now? Real quick, Zach, because some news just broke as we were doing our intro and I don't wanted to get totally buried. The Colts just placed Anthony Richardson on IR because of his orbital bone fracture, which is kind of to be expected. Uh, they also to make, or to fill that spot, they claimed safety, Rubin Lowry from the Ravens. Never heard of him. We'll look more into him. Maybe you've heard of him. Uh, but yeah, a little bit of news happening at the very tip top of the show there. Uh, but yeah, so let's talk about Daniel Jones real quick. Uh, Fandall has his odds at plus 3,300.
Starting point is 00:03:24 He's tied for ninth. Basically a bunch of other quarterbacks ahead of him who, you know, they're quarterbacking really, really good teams, but those teams don't have the record the Colts do. Colts currently have the number one record in the entire league right now. And again, Zach mentioned this at the front. This is not me pushing for Jones to be the MVP. I just think he deserves to be higher than tied for ninth.
Starting point is 00:03:49 as the quarterback of the top team in the NFL right now. And just like the most basic bare naked criteria for NFL MVP is usually the quarterback for the top team right now. And so even just by that, I think, pushes him right in there. But you mentioned all those stats. The guy statistically is meeting the mark and then some. He has exceeded expectations. even for those who were optimistic about him coming to the Colts did not expect this. Even at the beginning, the first couple weeks, you and I were like, you know,
Starting point is 00:04:25 it looks like he is doing some things that he looks legitimately good, but we don't expect this level of productivity every week. Well, guess what? We're wrong because he has been productive each and every week. I think he's met 70% completions in all but like one game. I think he's been above 100 passer rating in pretty much every game, except for one, the guy has been as consistent as it gets. For me, you know, he's got the two fourth quarter comebacks as well,
Starting point is 00:04:54 which another knock on him was, you know, you better get a lead early with him because I don't think he's going to be winning shootouts or I don't think he's going to be bringing this team back. And this is a very well-rounded offense. It has not been just him, but this is a lot of guys, with the exception of Tyler Warren, all of these guys have been here for a while. you know what I mean and this is not how it's looked they finally got a quarterback though that can
Starting point is 00:05:21 make it look like this and he's meshing very very well with Shane Steichen it's a very good marriage here you know Daniel Jones deserves a ton of credit for how this thing looks right now and I just think you know you put let's say Richardson wins the quarterback competition I mean you and I have already admitted that we were wrong there but if Anthony Richardson wins this I don't think this team is having the same success as if Daniel Jones, if he was not doing what he's doing. So I think, you know, he's got to keep it up. I think people dog on the Colts strength of schedule and the teams that they beat and this
Starting point is 00:06:00 and that, but it's like, should they not have done that? Like, what would you be saying about the Colts if they would not have won those games or if they would not have killed those three teams by 21 plus points? You know, it's, I just think it's weird because a lot of people, are talking about Daniel Jones, but somehow he is a bit too low for me in these odds. Yeah, well, to push back on the strength of schedule thing real quick, the Colts have a harder strength of schedule than the bills right now, and the bills are awesome. But just because we expected the bills to be good, we don't jog on it too much.
Starting point is 00:06:32 But, yeah, the Colts have a harder strength of schedule. They have a more quality loss. I mean, look, the Patriots are a fine football team, but they have the easiest strength of schedule in football where the Colts lost on the road to the Rams, you know? So I'll table that for another discussion, obviously. But yeah, I think the problem with Daniel Jones right now is he's getting the Jimmy Garoppolo and Brock Purdy treatment. Where look, Brock Purdy, the year that Lamar Jackson won his MVP, his second MVP, Brock Purdy had every single statistical thing over, like pretty much every statistical thing over him in terms of EPA per play,
Starting point is 00:07:04 yards per attempt, like every single thing pointing to him being the MVP. But it's all a narrative award. MVP is not a performance award. It's a narrative award. And the narrative there was the skill position players around Brock Purdy and the play calling around him was the reason why he was so successful. It wasn't him where Lamar Jackson got the benefit of he's a special player and it's time that he gets one or gets another one, I guess,
Starting point is 00:07:29 because he already got his one that he deserved in 2019 or 2018, whatever it was. So I think Daniel Jones is getting a little bit of that treatment where a lot of people are acknowledging, oh, Shane Steichen's awesome. He took the Eagles to the Super Bowl. Oh, Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs, Alec Pierce, Tyler Warren, this offensive line. They're all awesome. So it's like a way to discount Daniel Jones. But to your credit, Jake, this Colts offense has never been this good with any other quarterback but Daniel Jones.
Starting point is 00:07:54 You know, so how can we discount what Daniel Jones is doing for the Colts this year? I understand one to give the credit to Shane Stike and other players on this offense because I don't think Daniel Jones is reinventing the wheel this year. You know, he's not doing these superhuman aspects. every single Sunday, but he's just playing really good football. And I think the thing that separates him, even from like a Garoppolo and to a degree of Purdy, I think Purdy's pretty solid as a quarterback as well. But Daniel Jones has performed so well under pressure this year, so well under pressure, under duress.
Starting point is 00:08:25 So whenever he's been asked to do more than what the system asked him to do, he's been fantastic for the Colts. All three of his interceptions have come from clean pockets. You know, they haven't come from the muddy pockets. The muddy pockets, he's been great. the two fourth quarter drives like you mentioned jake to to win games have been great so yeah i don't know what the issue is right now and and i think it's because it's a narrative award i think it's more narrative based why do why is jordan love above daniel jones to start this year you know
Starting point is 00:08:53 pat pat pat patrick mom yeah yeah holmes just went up to number two after that and didn't they start like oh and two or so they and he's having a fine season he's he's having a fine season but like Daniel Jones has been the better quarterback this season, this year, in terms of how he's performing. So, yeah, I mean, look, if it were purely based off of performance, we would be talking about Brock Purdy having an MVP,
Starting point is 00:09:16 and we'd be talking about Lamar Jackson having one last year. But it's not about performance. It's about the narrative. Whose turn is it this year? And the narrative right now is all around Baker Mayfield. Baker Mayfield has the narrative. Josh Allen, I guess, kind of has it as the reigning guy as well, but those
Starting point is 00:09:32 are your front runners. Because the narrative. I think it would take Daniel Jones doing some special things in primetime games to get him up there. But I do want to just use a segment to say again, if you're not a believer in what Daniel Jones is doing with the Colts so far this year, I don't know what else you need to see. Again, I was as out as you can be on him coming into the year, but I've seen all I need to see to at least say this is a good starting quarterback in a great spot and he's playing confident and comfortable with the Colts. I'm bought in on him the rest of the season and hopefully he gets extended if he continues this play.
Starting point is 00:10:06 So regardless of MVP, all pro pro bowl talk with Daniel Jones, I think he's been playing some great football this year. And I'm excited to celebrate that. And I'm hoping it continues. If he can get the Colts into the biweek at 7 and 3 or 8 and 2, this is going to be a playoff season for the Colts. And we're going to be looking at Daniel Jones is the guy who got the Colts in the playoffs.
Starting point is 00:10:26 And that's reason to celebrate. Yeah. And arguably two of the biggest reasons why people aren't talking about Jones at. as much for the MVP conversation is because of Shane Steichen and Jonathan Taylor, both of whom are actually leading their odds for a couple of certain awards. And we'll talk about that in just a moment. You know the saying look good, feel good? Well, the problem is that most dress clothes only check one of those boxes.
Starting point is 00:10:54 They look sharp, but they feel stiff, hot, and they're high maintenance. But that's why there's Mizzen and Maine. Mizan and Maine makes classic men's wear with performance fabric so it's effortless to look sharp and feel comfortable. They actually invented the performance fabric dresser over 10 years ago, and they've perfected it ever since. Their shirts are stretchy, moisture wicking, wrinkle resistant, and machine washable. No ironing, no dry cleaning. I love that you can go from the office to dinner or even out on the golf course and still feel comfortable all day. It's the feel of athletic wear, but the look of professional men's wear.
Starting point is 00:11:27 if you're like me, you don't go to many nice events or, you know, I work from home or at the Colts facility or the stadium. I don't have to get all gussied up all the times. It's very rare. So sometimes I'm not caught up on what my wardrobe needs to be. But when you got stuff like Mizn and Maine, it does check those boxes. You don't have, it's not all stiff. So you hop in your car and worry that it's going to be all wrinkled. It's not super hot. It's breathable. You don't feel like it's just constricting you with a tucked in shirt like it's all very very legit and right now mizzen and main is offering our listeners 20% off of your first purchase at mizzen and main com with promo code locked on nfl 20 that's mizzen spelled m i z z and main and ma m a m a iin dot com
Starting point is 00:12:15 promo code locked on nfl 20 for 20% off and if you'd rather shop in person you could find mizzen and main stores in select states This episode is also brought to you by Mazda's moving the game forward. For those who believe it's not just about playing the game, it's about redefining it. There are moments that are more than just put the points on the board. They move crowds, move culture, and keep moving the game forward. This week's moment that moved the game forward for the Indianapolis Colts was obviously their game-winning touchdown by Jonathan Taylor. Late in the fourth quarter, the Colts sell the quarterback sneak, pitch it out wide to Jonathan Taylor,
Starting point is 00:12:49 and he's able to walk into the end zone off a great block by wide receiver Michael Pitman, Jr. year that moved the game forward and move the Colts record forward to five and one this past weekend. And when you guys follow what moves you, the unexpected is only the beginning. And just like there's more to every highlight, there's more to a Mazda vehicle. Mazda, move and be moved. All right, locked on Colts every dayers, we are back with our conversation about Colts being in award conversations. I never would have thought I would have had this conversation. I never thought I would lead a show in the offseason saying that Daniel Jones should
Starting point is 00:13:24 be in the MVP conversation after six weeks, but here we are. And another player who I think deserves his flowers and has a much better chance at winning his award is Jonathan Taylor for Offensive Player of the Year. Now, this was a two-man race until this past weekend because Puka Nakua was doing some record setting stuff with the Rams. Ironically, the last time Jonathan Taylor was in the conversation for offensive player of the year, he got beat out by historic Rams wide receiver in Cooper Cup back in 2021. but right now he's the odds-on favorite to be the offense player the year.
Starting point is 00:13:55 He's number one in rushing by over 100 yards, number one in rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns, 5.2 yards per carry. If you look back at his last 11 games, he's got 1,300 yards rushing going back to late last season over his last 17 games, it's almost 1,800 yards rushing. The current version of Jonathan Taylor is the best version we have ever seen. And he's not only doing it as a rusher. he is catching the ball exceptionally well. There was a pass blocking clip from this past weekend.
Starting point is 00:14:25 I know this has happened all year long with him, but from this past weekend where he decleted Budapaker, carried him three yards, turned around and caught the ball and nearly got a first down on third seven. And I'm just watching this guy saying, this is the best version of Taylor I've ever seen. And he was already on a Ring of Honor slash Hall of Fame trajectory before this year.
Starting point is 00:14:46 So I don't know what training regiment he did prior. to the year. But Jonathan Taylor, I think as of right now, like, again, if he stays healthy and keeps this up, it's not only offensive player of the year award. Like, I think he's going to get MVP votes. Like, he won't get the MVP, but I think he'll get votes if he continues this play. He's going to have, like, 2,000 total yards, the pace he's going. And he's playing just exceptional football. Without question, like going into last week, he was already on pace for a career high in receptions per season. I think he was on pace for 52. He added four more, which, is now more than he's had in each of the last two years he his catch is rolling the teens
Starting point is 00:15:25 the last couple years but now he's already broken that uh very well rounded like you mentioned his past pro is as good as it's ever been which is it's refreshing because a guy with those physical skills and he's a smart football player like you wanted him to be better in past pro you wanted him to have better hands which some guys never developed that but it's just like magically over the offseason, he became this incredibly well-rounded three-down player. But yeah, to your credit, like, this is the best we've seen him. And it's not just he was winning with like explosion and just beating guys on foot races back in 2021. But he is fighting his way through garbage like right now.
Starting point is 00:16:10 Like he's getting good blocking, but he is finding the smallest creases to power and high step through and get. through and he's a tireless worker like he adds stuff every like new off season and a big influence of his has been frank gore and i'm starting to see that in his game a little bit frank gore was he was kind of a shorter guy like jonathan taylor is as well able to get through those tiny creases and make yourself so small and just you you find holes you create yards and that's the difference between effective running backs and special ones as they create their own yards And Jonathan Taylor has done that since he came into the league, but he's doing it in a whole different way now.
Starting point is 00:16:51 And yeah, he's right now the odds on favorite for offensive player of the year, plus 150 odds. So it's like you're not even going to make anything off of that. The next closest is Jackson Smith and Jigba at plus 430 now that Naku is hurt, like you mentioned. So he's comfortably the favorite there. He's also comfortably the leading rusher by 127 yards. He's got the most rushing touchdowns and the most total touchdowns in the NFL. He has eight.
Starting point is 00:17:18 The next closest has six. That's Josh Jacobs. So, yeah, the dude is on a terror. And he's getting fed the ball. He's getting, you know, he's getting over 20 touches per game, especially again, now that he's catching like four or five balls per game as well. He's just such an enormous part of the offense. You hope they can keep it up and that, you know, there's no, like, significant wear and tear as the season goes.
Starting point is 00:17:42 on but right now he is he's not carrying the offense again because there's so much other positive things going on but he is their recipe for winning games you've mentioned it all year they're softening things up in the first half with jones peppering guys and getting everyone involved and then by the second half defenses are just not ready to take 12 carries from jonathan taylor as he barrels his weight eight yards per carrier so each each run in the second half and that's the that's the thing is he is getting better as the games go on and just overwhelming defenses when they are at their most vulnerable it's it's like a cheat code for them yeah no i think the most fascinating part of this is he's not the entire offense like he wasn't like 2021 for most of the year he was the entire offense
Starting point is 00:18:30 for sure the colts this year he is the most important complementary piece but he's not the entire offense the offense is built around setting him up to dominate the second half of games but it doesn't start strong with him. The Colts take the ball when they get the opportunity and they come out throwing to put points on the board early. And then once they have you in a tide situation or a neutral situation in the second half, you get the Jonathan Taylor treatment. And like you said, he's averaging like 80 yards rushing per second half. But he's averaging only like 15 to 20 yards rushing in the first half because they're not using him as a runner in half one. He had 65, I think, in the first half on Sunday, and that was the most he's had in the first half, and he's had however many
Starting point is 00:19:12 hundred-yard games so far. Right, right. So he's the most important complimentary piece of the offense, but he's not the entire offense, which makes me think it's sustainable. And as the Colts get into more games where they're trailing or not in neutral situations, his carry load will lessen. He's been carrying the ball a lot because they've been killing teams in all these games. But one aspect I really want to compliment him on is I saw an interview that he did prior
Starting point is 00:19:35 to the season. I want to say it was with colts.com to give credit there, but I have to look at it. What he said that the most important thing that he was focusing on coming to the year was not having negative carries, was making sure that every carry was falling forward and getting positive yards. And if we look at him through these first six games, he's the best among all starting running backs and run stuff percentage. It's only like 8% on the year.
Starting point is 00:19:58 Like the next closest running back, it's like 11 or 12%. And you can see it on Sundays. There are plenty of plays where, look, a Colts blocker will, miss a block. They've been exceptional this year, but occasionally they miss a block and he sidesteps them or puts two hands on that ball and just drives his legs forward and gets seven yards on a play that should have got one, should have got zero. He has been just a superstar. Like this is another level. Like this is different from even his Wisconsin days, his 2021 day with the Colts. Like, you know, we say so much this is a very different Daniel Jones we've seen this
Starting point is 00:20:32 year but honestly to me this is a very different Jonathan Taylor we've seen this year as well and he deserves all the credit this I mean I can't say a negative thing about him this year he has just been absolutely fantastic and I could do entire episodes talking about Jonathan Taylor's play this year but we have more to talk about on this one here we're going to talk about Shane Steichen a coach that was on the hot seat coming into the year I think he was the odds-on favorite to be the first coach fired coming into this season now it looks like the easy coach of the year choice for the league. And we're going to talk about how that's exactly happened for him this season.
Starting point is 00:21:09 When the opening whistle blows on a new repair, get your crew moving forward with supply house. Order today and see parts on your doorstep tomorrow. Over 280,000 plumbing, HVAC, and electrical items from the most trusted brands in the business. Their real-time inventory and honest lead times keep you from punting projects while their industry-leading customer service always has your blind side. covered. If you need new parts fast for a project, then Supply House has next day delivery.
Starting point is 00:21:37 Talk about a game changer. The Part Finder tool and 3D schematics can save you hours on jobs wherever detail matters. Their trademaster perks like priority shipping and dedicated support make the whole process super smooth. So join the free Trademaster Program today and score serious perks like priority shipping, lower prices, and a dedicated support line. Visit Supplyhouse.com to sign up for free and used promo code S-H-NFL-5 for 5% off of your first order. That's supplyhouse.com, real people, real service. And guys, the NFL season is here, and Fanduil has an offer that you don't want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $500 in bonus bets if you win.
Starting point is 00:22:21 That's right, pick a bet, put down five bucks, and if it hits, you'll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. It just makes watching football so much more exciting when you got a little bit on the action. I mean, that London game was dreadful to watch this past weekend, but Fandul could have made it something worth watching or tuning into at 9 a.m. To watch some of the ugliest offensive football in the history of the sport. Whether you're a casual fan or love diving into the stats, Fandul makes the game day experience so much better.
Starting point is 00:22:50 So what are you waiting for? Visit fandul.com to download the Fandul app today and get started. All righty, locked on Colts everydayers. I just lambasted the Jets and the Broncos for their horrible offensive performance this past week. But you know who hasn't been horrible on offense this year? The Indianapolis coast, they have been fantastic in every single game. They're averaging, what, 32.3 points per game this season, just a casual 32.3 points per game this year. 33 and a half points per game at home this year.
Starting point is 00:23:23 They lead the NFL in total points and obviously points per game. And, you know, all this comes with the offensive head coach, Shane, that, again, was the leading candidate to be fired in season by a lot of betting sites coming into the year. But at least for us here, Jake, even when we talked about firing Shane Steichen, it was like always with a heavy heart, you know, because we were very big Shane Steichen guys. And a lot of our Shane Steichen criticism and like, if he needs to be fired was more so they just need to restart this thing after whiffing on Anthony Richardson and just, you know, restart
Starting point is 00:23:56 everything here after the season. but now that he has a quarterback, we're seeing what the offense can look like. So the ascension of Daniel Jones has meant the ascension of Shane Stuyken back into our good graces. And, you know, we always believe that this guy could be the coach for the Colts. And we are seeing what his offense looks like when he has someone like Daniel Jones. And it's pretty darn good. So, yeah, I think as of right now, Shane Stuyken needs to be the front road for Coach of the Year. I think there are a couple other really good coaches that, like, Liam Cohen's doing a great job with the Jaguars,
Starting point is 00:24:27 who were just a bottom-tier team in the league. I think Todd Bowles is doing great with Baker-Mayfield and that really banged-up Buccaneers team and even McDonald over there in Seattle is doing a great job too. But what Shane Steichen has done with a quarterback that only two teams wanted this off-season, Daniel Jones only had two offers from the Vikings to be a backup and the Colts to compete for a starting job,
Starting point is 00:24:50 and he's turning him into an MVP candidate that we just spent a whole segment raving on at the top of the show. So I think Shane Steichen is the clear. your favorite as of right now. And if they continue this thing and they win 11, 12 games and win the division, I think he's a shoe win for that award. Yeah, they typically give this award out to just the coach on the best team, if there's like a team that's head and shoulders above the rest, or the head coach for kind of a turnaround team. And that's what we're seeing here. And I think we're seeing the Shane Steichen now that Chris Ballard and Jim Ursay envisioned
Starting point is 00:25:23 when they hired him, the offensive whiz, you know, but he's, They have finally given him the tools to be that offensive whiz. I mean, it's worked out on the offensive line. That was going to be kind of a question point because you're bringing in two new starters and Borderline and Gonzalez, you know, Braden Smith returns from his hiatus last year. And then Daniel Jones, that was a huge leap of faith. And Shane Steichen, just, you know, looking back over it and just the clues I missed or overlooked all offies, and I think this is what Shane Steichen wanted to work with Daniel Jones the whole time
Starting point is 00:26:03 because the reasons he picked him were were things that Anthony could have never really done by the end of training camp. And you can see they are won as a brain on the field. You know, I fully feel like they are seeing and thinking the same things. And from talking to both of them and from watching them on the field and everything, it's just been a perfect marriage. And for people who, you know, boohoo Daniel Jones for being a system quarterback, well, welcome to the system.
Starting point is 00:26:33 If you are anti-Daniel Jones and you kind of have to be pro Shane Steichen here, you know, Shane Steichen was given a dynamic tight end for the first time with the Colts, a quarterback who could just raise the quarterback play to a baseline level of at least average. And it's looking really good. It's looking more than that because Daniel Jones has given you, upper crust quarterback play so far. And then I think another big part of being the coach, it's not just necessarily stuff on the field, but the accountability.
Starting point is 00:27:05 You know, we've seen, I mean, they've got more competition in the building so they can kind of afford to do this now. But when guys make big mistakes that like cost the team or they're just not holding up there into the bargain or whatever it is, they're now facing repercussions for that. And that's something that they just weren't necessarily doing before. I mean, they got, we questioned them endlessly about it in the second half of last year. Like, we didn't make it fun for Shane Stuyken to come to media availability last year. But now, I mean, things have changed.
Starting point is 00:27:40 And Shane Stuyken has remained consistent from the day he got in Indy. But I just think they have everybody around. They have all the right pieces in place from the coaching staff to the players who are bought in and moving in one direction because I continuously hear about the brotherhood and togetherness of this team, the message and consistency from Shane. If you ask any players big picture questions, especially the veterans about why this team feels different, I'm pretty sure every single one of them has tied it back to Shane and his message, his consistency, and his expectations.
Starting point is 00:28:16 So not only there are the Colts like the top team in the league right now, which may or may not remain the case throughout the season, but he is an enormous reason why this, you know, 53-man roster in the practice squad, coaching staff, all of it is going together in one direction. Yeah, no, for sure. And just to stick with the offense side of the ball real quick, to give him the full credit with what's going on, just the chameleon aspect of what he's doing. This is why we were so high on him when the Colts hired him was, you know, he had the
Starting point is 00:28:49 success with Hertz and with Justin Herbert for two very different quarterbacks. But if we look at what he did with both Richardson and Hertz, right, his two prior quarterbacks. And even Gardner-Minchie, we can lump into this as well. None of those quarterbacks really like pre-snap motion. They didn't really, I mean, they liked RPO's, but they didn't really love play action as much either, turning their back to the defense and reading it. And what we've seen with Daniel Jones this year is a vastly different offense.
Starting point is 00:29:14 They're like one of the best teams in the NFL at terms of pre-snap motion on passing. place nearly 60% this season. They're second in the NFL and play action usage, like true play action usage, which I think is right up there with the Detroit Lions and with the Los Angeles Rams as the top teams in the league of play action usage. So he has revamped his defense. He has changed what his typical easy buttons are for his quarterback, where with Hertz, with Minshu, and even with Richardson, a lot of it was empty personnel and like QB runs
Starting point is 00:29:46 and RPO stuff. we do still have some RPOs this year, but it's mostly play action and pre-snap motion with those guys this season. And it's working for Daniel Jones. So he found new easy buttons for his offense. He's added completely new personnel groupings. He's never had a 13 personnel grouping in his time with the Colts.
Starting point is 00:30:05 They have a 13 personnel grouping this year. They've barely done any fullback stuff in the past going back to any of his days in the NFL. They have a whole fullback package that keeps expanding week over week. They ran eight fullback plays. this past weekend with Tyler Warren in the backfield. And they're just so diverse in what they're doing. And Shane Steichen just came into this season very prepared with Daniel Jones.
Starting point is 00:30:27 And both of them are operating at such a high level. And you give a lot of credit to what Steikin's been able to do. Again, with the quarterback that the whole league was ready to cast off, that we were ready to cast off on this show as well. They've just been fantastic. So Shane Steichen, like you said, for everything, Jake, like just being a head coached, winning the days on. Sunday, getting everyone on the same message, holding guys accountable, I've been great.
Starting point is 00:30:51 But Shane Stike and the offensive whiz kid that he was hired to be has very much come to fruition this season. He is maximizing the talent around Daniel Jones. He's maximizing Daniel Jones himself, and they're leaning into things that work. And they're, I mean, they're putting up 33 points a game in the NFL. Like. Yeah, number one scoring. And this is with, again, their starting offense has not played in three fourth quarters
Starting point is 00:31:13 this year. They have three fewer quarters played than any other. other starting offense in the league right now outside of teams that have had their buy weeks. So like it could be even bigger. They could be averaging 40 points a game if they kept their starters out there in games that they had to. So yeah, this offense is clicking and Shane Steichen is a huge part of it. And I think he deserves his flowers. But that's all we have for our overly positive show today, guys, our extremely positive show, using award conversations to give rightful hype to Daniel Jones, Jonathan Taylor and Shane Steichen. We'll be back with you
Starting point is 00:31:45 guys tomorrow afternoon to talk about potential trades that's a juicy piece of the puzzle here and this might be one of the first times i guess since 2020 when they traded a player away that we think the colts could be active at the trade deadline so tomorrow's episode it's going to be all about the trades because i think one could be coming for the colts here in the next week or two or at least two i mean they have plenty of needs on defense and we're going to talk about that on upcoming shows but thank you guys for making locked on culture first listen today and every day this NFL season is finally here. So for your next listen, get a double dose of the locked on NFL podcast.
Starting point is 00:32:18 Tyler, the Madman Rolling, gives you a shot of NFL espresso to start your football day while Tony Wiggins takes you into the barbershop for the smoothest breakdowns to end the day. Find Lockdown NFL on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast. You guys want to become a Lockdown Colts insider and chat with us directly and get that insider scoop for all the link in our show notes. And if you don't already, make sure you're following at Lockdown Colts at Jake Arthur, NFL and at Zach Hicks to all on socials. Also subscribe to us on YouTube or wherever you list to your podcast.
Starting point is 00:32:43 we love your guys ratings reviews and we'll catch you guys back here tomorrow afternoon

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