Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Go as Anthony Richardson Goes, with Derek Schultz

Episode Date: July 17, 2024

The Indianapolis Colts are heavily dependent on the play (and health) of Anthony Richardson in 2024. Can the young passer step it up in training camp? ALSO, Derek Schultz joins the show to discuss what moment in Indy-era Colts history he would change if he could go back in time (excluding the New Orleans Saints Super Bowl).  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/LockedOnNFL Follow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOnFN! Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Make Every Moment More. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY! That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FanDuel.com/ to get started! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!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.BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply.FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY! That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON and add a big win to your summer bucket list!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)

We've got company today to help us not only prepare for Colts training camp, but also to rewrite history. 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. All right. Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All right. 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. And today's show is brought to you by FanDuel. Make every moment more. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or bonus daily. That's right. There's something for everyone, every day, all summer long. Just visit FanDuel.com to get started.

What is up, everybody? This is Jake Arthur and Zach Hicks of HorseshoeHuddle.com, your resident media member and your resident film expert. And today we are joined by someone who is probably an ideal candidate. If either Zach or I were to die tomorrow, a terrific replacement for us. It is Derek Schultz, one half of query and Schultz. You can also see his musings about the Colts and other indie sports on Indiana business journal and Indie Monthly. Derek, welcome back. It's your triumphant return, buddy.

Yeah, it's great to be here. It's funny that you say that because when Jake and I got let go in early 20, one of the first phone calls I got was somebody from the Locked On Network. I'm being totally serious that wanted to talk about this show. And I said, you know, we had a non-compete. So not only did they fire us, they hold you to a non, they say you're fired and you can't work and do any sports stuff at all for

six months. So that kind of quickly ended that conversation, but it's probably the best thing that ever happened to the lockdown network that it instead ended up going to you guys eventually after that, because I listen all the time. This is a much better show than the crappy show that I would have put on because I'm not an expert or a media member anymore. So I don't even know if they could use me. It was a winding road to get to us.

We'll say that. But, you know, we're looking past that because today we're talking current Colts. Talking, you know know training camp starts next week the colts report uh we're going to talk about the biggest story lines who's going to come out victorias and some of the position battles and then we are going to dive into the colts archives for some help for this current team uh so yeah derek it's uh like we were talking about earlier if you know the 2023 colts you you definitely know the 2024 Colts. Pretty much spent all the offseason restocking their cupboard, waited until the draft to really bring in anybody from the outside that's going to play a prominent role.

At least we hope so. So, you know, some of these biggest storylines here, someone who kind of feels like a newcomer is Anthony Richardson. You know, we got four games worth of him last year, and I think there was plenty of flashes in there for people to get excited about this. I think we're all kind of still waiting to put the stamp of he is the franchise quarterback out there. But what are you most looking forward to when it comes to Anthony Richardson putting the helmet back on and getting out there at Westfield? Yeah, I mean, first and foremost, seeing him out there

is the thing that I'm most looking forward to, and seeing him out there for more than 10 quarters would be a nice thing too because you're right. He flashed not only that, but when he was on the field, generally speaking, he was performing at at least an expected, if not a high level. There wasn't as large of a uh a steep i guess i should say as a learning curve as i think a lot of people nationally expected for

somebody like that i thought he came in and performed well i mean that game in houston he was the most dynamic player on the field until dot dot dot um he ends up leaving the game and then you know obviously cj stroud became what CJ Stroud came and, and, you know, we can't rewrite the history. 2023 ended up being what it was, but just seeing him out there in a Shane Steichen offense and, and having that experience, you know, yeah, you're right. Four games, 10 quarters.

It's not a lot, but it's something it's, it's not, you know, the whole season wasn't, wasn't washed out. So I think even those reps were pretty valuable, a healthy Jonathan Taylor as well. We're um to be a part of that too um you know that's what i'm just most excited about um once somebody is kind of anointed as the next thing i i eagerly anticipate that uh coronation happening so so hopefully we end up i don't know if we're going to see that in the course of 2024 but hopefully we see that coming up here down the line because it was a drawback of otherwise what was a, um, I think a surprisingly competent to good and fun Colt season last year. The big drawback was the fact that Anthony Richardson didn't get to be a part of 75 to 80%

of it. Yeah. Yeah. And Derek, one thing I wanted to ask you, cause you might have a better, you know, pulse for how the fan base is, is feeling about this season, how the, the team is and all that stuff going into this year when it comes to Anthony Richardson, you know, training camp, obviously again, seeing him out there with Jonathan Taylor, seeing him out there with Shane Steichen is one thing, but I guess in your opinion, do you think it's more important just that week one game? Like, like we're going to just sit here on eggshells basically all off season. I'm thinking like even in training camp where it's like it doesn't really matter what happens in training camp as long as he's healthy because yeah we got to see him get through that week one game

you know yeah and even i think a lot of fans will be having that same apprehension and feeling you know eggshells feeling in week four and in week 14 and you know, I don't know if that's going to go away. That's something that I think is going to follow certainly for this year and hopefully doesn't follow him for the rest of his career, because that's what what tends to happen with guys that we label as injury prone is that that's always kind of in the back of your mind. Every time Anthony Richardson takes a hit, people are going to be thinking about it. Every time that he's slow to get up, people are going to be thinking about it. Every time that he fights for an extra yard, you're going to have 58 people on ex-Twitter complain about how he's not protecting himself. That's just going to come with the territory kind of moving on. But you're right. There is something.

I think it's very simplistic because football, as you guys know, it's, it's this very complex thing. There are lots of factors to winning and losing, but it just feels like Anthony Richardson healthy. And there is such a big part of how this season is going to result for the Colts that it somewhat overshadows everything else. You know, there's, there's an old saying in baseball ball, go far, team go far. And part of me feels like Anthony Richardson, good, Colts good. You know what I mean? Anthony Richardson bad or hurt, Colts bad as far as this season.

And I know that that's a really stupid way of looking at it, but I can't help it. That's I think how much is somewhat on his shoulders this year for this team to kind of take that next step after just being kind of hanging in the middle here for the last, really the better part of the last five seasons. I'm right there with you. It almost seems like nothing matters if he's not part of it. Like last year, they were knocking on the door of the playoffs, and it's like,

ah, that's cool, but it's like Anthony's not the quarterback under center. So how much does it really matter? So obviously the Colts offseason approach kind of seemed like they were putting a lot on Anthony's shoulders. They weren't bringing a ton of outside help. You know, again, we talked about they just they're running it back basically. So it seems like they think, you know, adding Anthony back into the mix is, you know, the biggest X factor. But talking about some of those those newcomers one of them is someone who already kind of has shown a little chemistry with anthony during the off season that's a.d mitchell uh and then the first round pick layout to lotto so two guys who i think everyone can say if all goes well factors factor into the team long term but neither of them have like an

immediate spot to you know they're not necessarily going to start right away you know lots who has quitty pay samson nebby commies he's going with and ad mitchell is is there with uh alec pierce obviously so when you look at these two guys what what are your short and long-term views of them? Well, what I kind of like about both of them is I hope that they're going to push the other people that were them before they were them. And what I mean by that is Latu comes into the equation, so maybe that unlocks Quidipe a little bit more. Mitchell comes into the equation, so maybe that pushes Alec Pierce a little bit more. Not that those guys are lazy or anything that pushes Alec Pierce a little bit more, you know, not that those guys are lazy or anything like that. It's just that, you know,

originally you were thinking a couple of years ago that, you know, we were talking about Pierce and before him, Paris Campbell as being kind of that dynamic, you know, home run kind of threat. Oh, he's got a lot of potential in that whole deal. And now, you know, Mitchell is the next guy in line after those guys have somewhat disappointed disappointed and even pay, even though in the pass rush in general has been productive. It's been kind of a sum of its parts sort of thing, like everybody's been pretty good. And that's fine. That's better than not having a good pass rush, I guess. But you're really hoping to get like that kind of dynamic player at that spot that, uh, that keeps other teams up at night and the Colts don't really have that guy. So, um, I, I, I always caution, uh, I, I almost become, you know, cautious to the point where I'm

pessimistic about receivers because God, we just, we, we really freaked out about Campbell and a lot of what happened to him here was not his fault. And it was, you know, the football gods. And we talked about Richardson with the injury prone stuff. I watched games with Campbell and every time that, you know, he came up slow or got hit, I was like, Oh God, here we go again. Here's another, you know, 10 weeks or something like that. So I think he had to kind of go through it here too um but with mitchell um i i do think that there's obviously potential to unlock but there's also a reason that 10 teams passed on him um so i think you have to kind of take that into uh the equation but i i like the fact that um the colts are kind of, I think fans want to present this as, well, they drafted Mitchell, so bye Pierce, or they drafted Latu, so bye, you know, everybody else that's behind him.

And I don't think the Colts are or should be viewing it that way. I think you should be viewing it as, okay, maybe this guy helps enhance the other people that are around him. And, you know, barring, you know, you don't hope for the worst case scenario but let's say that Pierce is still not a productive player and they're for whatever reason he doesn't fit there they don't think that he's going to be the player that they thought he was or ditto for pay then you at least have kind of that that other option that next person I'm not going to say next man up I make a rule of that never ever utter those words in Minneapolis um but you have that next person so I I think overall, the Latu thing, some people had a problem with it

because it wasn't a quote-unquote position of critical need, I guess, because the pass rush had been productive. But I think the more good players, the merrier. And I like to think that Mitchell will help Pierce and vice versa, and I hope the same for that pass rush room. Yeah. So coming up here, there are position battles we've discussed all offseason. Starting next week, we are finally going to start to see maybe some conclusion to him.

I love sports. I love them so much that I never want them to stop. You know, the NBA and the NHL are done for the year. The fever season is on its back half as well. I mean, Zach's hurting too. When he's not showing the film who's boss, he's diving into college football 25 to absolutely ruin the day of nine-year-olds everywhere

while not like us players in the background. Because that's our game. It's not the new generation. However, FanDuel lets us keep the sports going whenever we want. The Olympics are right around the corner. The NFL preseason will be here before we know it. And all we have to do is open up the app and conjure our bets anytime that we are in the mood.

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is programmed for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all that screaming. Locked On Sports Today brings you can't miss analysis, opinions, and news streaming 24-7 on YouTube or on the free Amazon Fire TV channels at part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. All right, Locked On Colts every day as we are back with Derek Schultz, one of the premier names in the indie media market. You guys know him. You love him.

And he's here talking Colts camp battles. And I think the one I really want to start off with here, I know we have a couple listed out here. Jake put a great outline in front of me here, but I'm just going to venture down the line a little bit with it. You and I, Jake, we talked earlier in this offseason about the tight end room. We talked about how Moelle Cox, Kylan Granson, top of the tight end depth chart, like always, getting all the snaps in training camp or in the mini camp so

far. And we kind of both made the opinion that like, if this is the same thing by the end of August, it's a major failure with the Colts tight end room. If Moelle Cox is a starting tight end again, like what's going on with Jelani Woods and all these other players, Derek, I want to ask your opinion on that. If Moelle Cox is not only on this team next year, but he's getting,

you know, 50, 60, 70% of the snaps again at tight end. What does that say about the other guys in the room there? Yeah, that the Colts were wrong, right? The Colts were wrong, right?

The Colts were wrong on Woods and some of these others, and Granson, et cetera. Or there's been a rash of injuries, and yeah, that's a problem. Look, no offense to Molly Cox, but I think we've kind of figured out he's been with the Colts now, what, 14 years? And we've kind of figured out in that time what he is and what his limitations are. So you hope that he's not anything close to a TE1.

I don't necessarily have an issue with him. I guess if he was good enough, they felt like he was good enough to make the roster, then fine, whatever. But playing a prominent role and just making the roster, I think, are two different things. But yeah, you looked around at the NFL playoffs last year and the teams that went really far and what they offered at tight end. And I think a lot of Colts fans probably were green with envy, right? Because you're like, man, I want that. I becoming a really dynamic playmaker for them. But I think this is a big year for a lot of the guys in that tight end room to show what they are. You know, Mo'Ali Cox, we already know what he is,

but I'm not entirely sure what Woods is yet or maybe Granson is yet to varying degrees. We know a little bit about them. But that's a spot that I think the Colts need to find some dynamic production from because that seems to be the blueprint for the NFL in 2024 and moving forward to, you know, get dynamic level production from the tight end spot. And, and I like to think that Shane Steichen can, can unlock that and, and having a healthy Richardson will help and having the run game with a healthy Jonathan Taylor,

you know, it's kind of like all these other factors that kind of move into it. But I am absolutely intrigued to see if there is a runaway winner there. And I hope there is, because if there's not, and you're just kind of like, okay, well, Woods is the one by default because he was the least bad,

then that's a big red flag going into September and when the season starts. Yeah, I believe with Shane Steichen's career as an offensive play caller, it started in 2017 with the Chargers. I think last year was the only time he didn't have a tight end that was top 10 in targets or top 10 in receiving yards and catches and all those things. So he's been a guy who's fed the tight end position. Last year, it was all the guys combined were 900 yards receiving, which is fine, but he had Dallas Goddard putting up those numbers by himself in Philly. So we got to see somebody kind of emerge in that room there. Jake, where do you want to go with this next one here?

Do you want to go to corner or do you want to go to free safety? I feel like this is something that obviously all the Colts fans want to talk about right now. So we talked about this a little yesterday, cornerback, and that one at least has guys we know can play a bit. But what's your temperature on safety, Derek? Because it feels like it's been a minute since the Colts have had a position where someone just has to win it.

Normally when there's camp battles, it's literally, you know, may the best man win. But this one, it's like, we're just going to give guys a chance to be next to Julian Blackman who, oh yeah, hasn't played a full season in his career. Like, did they drop the ball on this one? Cause like, at least when it comes to cornerback, they defend their cornerback room to the death.

They haven't really taken that same stance at free safety. Yeah, I think they're relying on everything going perfectly. And if you followed the Colts for any number of years, you know that particularly in the defensive secondary, when it comes to health, it never goes perfectly. Seemingly, there are always injuries that pop up over there. So I think going into last year, maybe you could defend their stance and sitting on the guys that they were, and then Dallas Flowers gets hurt, and then it's kind of like a house of cards, right? And I worry that it's kind of a house of cards again. Can they get by with what they have on paper right now?

Probably. But if an injury pops up or underperformance pops up, then that's a big problem. I mean, you look at some of the guys that are on there and you're right that we at least know of them, but Rodney Thomas at times seemed like he forgot to play football last year. You know, I think that's just assuming because somebody is young that they're automatically going to get better. that doesn't always happen. There's not always linear progression with guys where every single year, okay, they get a little bit better, a little bit better, a little bit better, a little bit better. I think you want that and you hope for that, but it doesn't always kind of work out that

way. And a lot of these guys that they're investing in are low round or UDFA level draft picks. Now, obviously we've seen UDFAs succeed and have great careers, and the Colts have one in that room, and Kenny Moore, right? But the upside of some of these players, I think, kind of leaves some question marks about how good can they really be. So if I'm intrigued by the tight end room, it's more that I'm almost bracing for impact

with the defensive secondary. I'm hoping for the best because you always hope for the best, but it's kind of like I've got both of my hands over my eyes and I'm just kind of looking through like that because I'm very worried that this is going to be as good at times as Chris Bauer has been in team building, as much as people are going to disagree with that when they hear that

because there's that anti-Bauer crowd. And I've been a Bauer critic. I think one issue where you can absolutely criticize him is having seemingly an annual blind spot at a certain position where the Colts are dug in and they're banging their fists on the table and they're saying, we are fine here. We like the guys that we have. And then the season starts and they are completely not fine at that spot.

And everybody's saying, see, we told you what happened. And, you know, they did it at receiver a couple of years ago. They've done it at pass rush. And they did it, I think, last year in the defensive secondary as well. So, you know, it's kind of a cop-out answer to say we'll see. But they have put a lot of eggs into the basket of guys like Cross and Flowers, and they're going to have to get out there and A, be healthy, and B, perform, or else they're going to run into a lot of the same issues that they ran into

that ultimately they bumped their heads up against the glass ceiling against Houston largely because of failures in the defensive secondary. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's again, there's no excuse why Ronnie Harrison should be starting at safety in a playoff game late in the season. But then again, we've said that about the Colts of the past. Who started that Chiefs playoff game back in 2018 at safety? Do you remember there was a guy they brought off the street? J.J. Wilcox because I forget who the backup was. I forget who the backup was, but I was screaming for them. But it was like J.J. Wilcox that started that game against Patrick Mahomes. Jeez.

Yeah, I didn't actually remember that. All I remember about – what I most remember about that game is Quentin Nelson shirtless in the snow at Arrowhead in warm-ups. And I was like, Colts are winning by 40 and then of course the game started and it didn't end up going that way they did not win by yeah no ultimately did not wasn't Finitari still out there hitting uprights and stuff and kicking it wide left I think in 2019 2019 yeah 2019 was the nightmare season. Okay. Okay. But I thought I remembered him missing several kicks in that Kansas city game. Maybe,

I mean, ultimately it didn't matter. Right. Probably. But I thought I might've. Good preface for, for the season to come. Right. Right. Yeah. All right. So coming up here in a minute, we, like I mentioned, we're going to be rewriting history and we're going to be putting each other on the spot a little bit. When you're hiring for your small business, you want to find quality professionals who are actually right for the role. And that's where you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs. It's got the tools to help you find the right professionals for your team faster and for free. You know, when it comes to finding a job, for me, sometimes I like to roll up my sleeves and rely on a good old fashioned case of nepotism, but that always isn't an option. The best place for any of us to put in the effort to actually find the right job with a little bit of integrity is LinkedIn jobs. LinkedIn

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So hire professionals like a professional on LinkedIn. LinkedIn knows that small businesses are wearing so many hats and don't always have the time and resources to actually do the hiring, but LinkedIn is always finding new ways to make the process easier. And that's why two and a half million small businesses use LinkedIn for hiring. So 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 guys we are back talking fun topics here look we can't have derrick on the show without you know going away from the typical offseason stuff we're gonna have some fun what if, some scenarios of the past,

a couple that I came up with, a couple that Jay came up with. But I think you guys know me well enough to know that this first one is obviously all me because I don't care for the Pro Bowl players. I don't care for the All-Pro players. We want the diamonds and the rough players. So Derek, I want to ask you,

one former non-Pro Bowl player from the Colts that you can add to the current team i didn't add this stipulation i told you but if you are taking a player who's not a pro bowler like it can't be like oh andre johnson didn't make a pro bowl with the colts we're taking prime andre like i mean like a guy who like if you want to take him with the colts you can but you get andre johnson with the colts if you want to go with that there for this scenario, Hakeem Nix with the Colts. Yeah, no, I'm going to Darius Hayward Bay with anybody. Yeah, no, I won't go down that road. It's a great question. And there were actually some that I was like, Oh,

I would take him. And then I looked and I was like, he made a pro bowl. Wow. Jack Doyle, Jack Doyle for me. I forgot all about Doyles and I forgot all about Joseph Adais. I forgot that he made the one Pro Bowl. I was so excited about that one. I looked up Adai before that. So I actually went a little bit of a different route.

I think when you're looking, you know, we were just talking about defensive secondary and having a veteran presence. And I actually didn't look if this guy made the pro bowl or not but he popped into my head about an hour ago when i was talking with jake again um i always kind of liked kelvin hayden yeah i doubt it at least not with the colts yeah that's a super bowl hero yeah yeah uh a play that is completely overshadowed right because how many franchises can really say that their most prominent win and most memorable play both came in a non-Super Bowl win? And I think the Colts can do that because it's the Jackson interception and the AFC Championship game is the biggest win in Colts history.

The Bears' Super Bowl was almost like a coronation. It was an afterthought. That was a guarantee that that was going to happen. But Hayden had the clinching play in what was just a god-awful game. Not for anybody in Indianapolis, obviously, but a rainy, sloppy, messy night in Miami. So Hayden came to mind. The other one for me, and this is because the Colts' running back depth is a little bit in question. And this guy had a lot of injury issues,

but I think he did kind of a lot of, I just enjoyed watching him play. I liked his attitude and he did a lot of things. Well, was Ahmad Bradshaw was another guy that I thought of. Nice. That's a good one. You know,

not a pro bowl player, but, but could make big plays at times and, and, and fit in. Well, he was, he was a really effective player when he was healthy. He just had basically two bad feet. but could make big plays at times and fit in well. He was a really effective player when he was healthy. He just had basically two bad feet, and that ultimately was a big issue for him.

But Hayden and Ahmad Bradshaw were the two relatively recent ones that came into mind for me. I'm in love with those answers. The two recent guys I came up with, and these are very recent because again i've mostly been around the colts since like 2017 uh but the first one was carrie willis really popped into my head just to have that kind of presence back there i know he's not the most rangy guy but just that presence and julian blackman go back to free safety and we could be good back there at safety or better at safety uh but the other one is just the craziest guy to never make a pro ball and like look i know the Colts are fine at this position,

but I'll just take them and we'll figure it out. And that's Anthony Costanzo. Just bring them back. Yeah. Bring back prime Anthony Costanzo. We'll, we'll figure out what the brain Smith back at guard. We'll put Ryman at,

at bright tack, like whatever. We'll figure it out. Bring back a Stanzo somehow never made a pro bowl. And that is crazy. It's a, it's really kind of a travesty that he never made a pro. I don't even know how that's possible. I really, I mean, now, now Dallas Clark made a

pro bowl, but it almost seems like that, like routinely one of the best guys at his position, but there was always like five other guys, a little bit better, you know, Clark was with Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates and all that. But yeah, Costanza was, was really dependable and the Colts found that out the hard way after he retired. For me, I'm going with the era that Derek was talking about. Again, this guy would probably actually complement the current Colts backfield really well. I'm going Dominic Rhodes. I mean, they need a hero.

I mean, that guy, you know, he could catch the ball like no other. He was a really good kickoff returner as well. If I remember correctly, he was pretty decent in pass protection. So, I mean, the guy could run the ball. He ran for a thousand yards when Edron James got hurt. So that's a guy who easily could be your RB2. And we wouldn't have to say like, is Trey Sermon good enough? What happens with Evan Hull and Tyler Goodson? Like Jonathan Taylor and Dominic Rhodes. That would be really fun. And then Derek, Zach and I did something somewhat similar recently, but I said plugging in Stefan Gilmore to this current corner room would be

really good. Like the year they had the Colts had him not necessarily like 34 year old Gilmore now or however old he is, but like the year 2022 Gilmore in this group, I think would be really good. Yeah. One of the few bright spots. Dom Rhodes, one of my favorite overlooked plays in Colts history, 2008, the year the Steelers won the Superbowl Colts who never beat the Steelers went

to Heinz field and won that game. And it was clinched on a long screen pass to from Manning to Rhodes. Yeah. That 2008, remember they they they started three and four Manning had the Bursa sack we found out what a Bursa sack was and they won nine straight to end that season and one of the nine straight was at Heinz Field against the Steelers that was uh that was a really fun team that ultimately ran into um Cyphers and Sproles and the eight and eight Chargers in a game that we won't rehash on. I'm pretty sure the Colts only just last year beat the Steelers

for the first time since then, too, so that was cool. Yeah, it had been a while. Billy Volick. Never face Billy Volick again. That's the Colt killer right there is Billy Volick at quarterback. Yeah, I'll say we're going to push this episode long, Zach. Let's do our last one here. All right, so one more question before we get out of here for the day is if you could change one Indy era moment to a different result.

So, I mean, you could pick game if you want. You could pick individual moment within a game that obviously would have an effect on the result. Whatever you want to change from any of the Indy era, Derek, what are you going back in time and changing and making things better for all of us? But remember the caveat, it can't be Colts-Saints-Superbowl. No Colts-Saints-Superbowl, that's too obvious. By the way, if you gave me the choice, I would not take the basket onside kick.

The moment that flipped that game was Garcon dropping a sure touchdown pass. It was 17-3. It would have been 17-3 at that point. Colts win that game by two touchdowns easy. We'll leave 2009 and 2009. 2007, Dwight Freeney's season-ending Liz Frank injury. I think it happened in a mid-season game in San Diego where Adam Vinatieri actually missed a 24-yard field goal

that would have put the Colts ahead, manning through six interceptions, if you guys remember that game. Cromartie had four. I kind of teased this uh 2007 to me me and like four other people on Colts Twitter believe this the 2007 Colts fully healthy were their best team uh Bob Sanders was the DPOY that year and Freeney was having a great year too it was I think they were number three in total defense that year. And the other thing, I know people argue 05.

The division in 07 was much better than it was in 05. 05 had the Texans and the Titans were two of the worst teams in the league. I think they had two and four wins. In 07, every team in the division had an 8-8 or better record. The Colts, three losses that year were a 10-point lead that they lost at home in the fourth quarter to the 16-0 Patriots. That San Diego Chargers game where Vinatieri missed an under 30-yard field goal and a laydown game against the Titans in week 17.

Those were their three losses that year. And they're completely overshadowed because the Patriots had an historic, and I get it, an historic 16-0 team. So the result that I would change is the Freeney injury because I did think that that zapped them a little bit but ultimately Zach mentioned Billy effing Bullock right um last game at the RCA Dome divisional Colts were 10 point favorites they had zero business losing that game Drew Bennett yeah they kicked like two or three onside kicks in that game too the Titans did no i mean the the tomlinson um injury tomlinson injury happened in that game rivers got hurt in that game gates got hurt in that game and still

like the b team for the chargers ended up beating them and i think in hindsight the patriots were kind of running on fumes in the postseason remember they didn't particularly play well in the uh divisional or the championship game against the Chargers. And I think that 07 Colts team, you know, they would have had to go to there, you know, to New England, which is tough to do in an AFC championship game. But I think they could have beaten the Giants. And that's a result that I would change. I'm always banging my fist on the table about that. But I think the 07 team was the best team.

But yes, really, with the caveat of 09, 09 changes a lot of things. You'll never convince me otherwise that the Colts weren't the better team but yes really with the caveat of 09 uh 09 changes a lot of things i i i'm you'll never convince me otherwise that the colts weren't the better team they had should not have lost that game and of course they did because everything went wrong at the end of that first half sequence and the start of the second half and it just changed the dynamics of things yeah yeah i think it's so funny because when you think of the peton Manning era, there are so many almost moments, you know, there's missed kicks, there's unlucky moments, there's defense blowing this, whatever,

like Peyton throwing a pick or, you know, whatever it is, like you could, if you could change the Superbowl, you could even change the interception in the Superbowl to, to Tracy Porter. Like you could change so many things in this.

And I think the most obvious one that comes to mind, obviously is the shoelace tackle with, against the Steelers. Yeah. I mean, Harper. Yeah. I mean, just go mean Harper yeah stabbing him the night before it had to happen it's just like go anywhere else you know like just keep running to the sideline like whatever and the Colts you know potentially in the Super Bowl that year too so there's just so many moments to change I think personally for me though just

from my time covering the Colts because I don't want to infringe on your guys' era of watching the Colts, just because I wasn't a Colts fan then. But just from my time covering the Colts, almost anything about that Colts-Bills playoff game in 2020 with Phillip Rivers. I mean, the missed short kick, the offsides penalty by Kamoku Ture before halftime. I believe there was a throw out the back of the end zone on a fourth down to Michael Pittman Jr. that barely went over his hands. I mean, there's just a dozen.

The toss play at the goal line. Remember Rykel and the toss play at the goal line? Yeah, there's so many moments. And the Colts lost by three to the two seed. Wouldn't that have been the first seven seed to be a two seed since we've brought the seven seed in? That was the first year, yeah, of the seven seed, I think, right i think right yeah and they took the bills to the wire and josh allen was playing well like this is josh allen's great playoff quarterback like like the colts took

him to the wire and i'm not saying they go to the super bowl that year by any means but like that colts team had it they had some juice man like they they had some serious juice uh and i think they could have won i mean they could have been in the championship game that year, in the AFC championship game that year. That was the year the Bengals went, and it wasn't a particularly strong AFC season. No. But I'm going to go with one,

and I'll have to do some explaining with it too. My moment I would change is back in 06, Washington versus Colts, Phillip Daniels just simply sacking Peyton Manning like a normal human being. It's always Washington. Always Washington. Causing the neck injury that a few seasons later would eventually, you know, cause the entire derailment of that whole era.

I don't regret a single second of the Andrew Luck era. I wish things would have gone differently. That's a whole nother thing, though. But, you know, Peyton Manning never having that neck injury that caused him to miss that season that caused the two and 14 season and him just simply being wrapped up by the shoulders and brought down or something, you know, that neck injury never happening. You don't know how differently things could have been because, I mean, Peyton, there were times where he didn't look 100% after that leading up to the season ending neck injury. So who knows what kind of chain of events that could have set off.

And a lot of people do argue, like, look at what Peyton did with the Broncos. The Colts would have won those Super Bowls and everything. No, because the Broncos had a generational defense while Peyton was doing all those things. But, I mean, maybe they would have got another one out of it. You know, they could have had another Super Bowl win in that window in between, you know, when they actually won the Super Bowl against the Bears. And then when, you know, let's say 2014 or so about the time Peyton was finally done. But yeah, I think just simply making that a normal sack would have changed a lot of

things. I do like Zach's answer though. I mean, if I'm being honest, the only scenario that I think guarantees a Superbowl is the Harper play because the league sucked that year guys like Jake plumbers, Broncos, like who is standing in their way,

but that, that, that off-brand Seahawks team that nobody remembers or cares about. Like the 05, the Colts were so clearly the best team in the league that year in 05. Whereas 07, you know, you had Ramos Cowboys and Favre and the Packers were really good. And obviously the Patriots. I mean, you had a lot of good teams that year. But yeah, there's something about the Colts history, particularly

that you know, what if, and, and all, all franchises have what ifs, but I feel like the Colts Peyton era specifically has a whole mess of those moments. Yeah. And I'll, I'll hit this one really quick. So I know we got to get out of here in a second, but the biggest, what if for a lot of people, if you're really using hindsight bias and and I'll ask you guys because you guys both have been Colts fans through all this. The choice on moving on from Peyton Manning to go to Andrew Luck, using all the hindsight bias that you can right now. Do you trade that first overall pick for a ton of picks and just one last ride with Peyton and maybe win a Super Bowl or two? Or do you still do the same thing the Colts did? I'll give my quick answer

before letting Derek explain his, but I say no. The Colts do it all the same. Not necessarily everything after drafting Andrew. You were to Gregson maybe a little earlier. I would have done the same exact thing. Yeah. Yeah, it was defensible

and they made the right decision at the time. But if you're offering me the gift of hindsight and you're telling me three and a half more all pro MVP level seasons from Peyton Manning, plus a draft pick package for number one for a generational level quarterback that I'm taking the ladder. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah. Jake's right about the Broncos defense and the scenarios. And there's no guarantee that they would have replicated that here, but you'd have three and a half MVP level seasons with Manning. And I'll leave the rest up to, I'll take my chances with that.

It is enticing for sure. It's not like a layup, but yeah. I mean, look at 2014 Colts, even with all the issues, building teams with a young quarterback and Andrew Luck, they still went to the AFC championship game,

right? Wasn't that the 2014? So like, yeah, who knows? I think that's all like a huge, what if they championship game, right? Wasn't that the 2014? So like, yeah, who knows? I think that's all like a huge, what if they're obviously, but you guys let us know in the comment section,

what are your biggest? What if moments, not only from the Peyton era, but you can do from the Ballard era too. Like what if they don't let Bobby O'Kara K walk? Is their linebacker group feeling a lot better right now? You know, what if,

what if they draft AJ Brown over Rocky Sin or you guys can do all your, what ifs that you want as well in the comment section. Please let us know. Before we get out of here, though, I do want to remind you guys that Locked On has launched that first ever National Sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube and is now also available on Amazon Fire TV app in the free Fire TV channels app. 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 five and locked on

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