Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: How Anthony Richardson Can Build Off Strong Week 1

Episode Date: September 15, 2023

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson had a strong debut against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1. The next step is building off of that game and cleaning up some of the minor details. S...haad McGinnis joins the show to discuss how the young franchise QB can do exactly that.Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOColts?sid=YouTube📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFLFollow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOnFN!Catch the Locked On Colts pregame show at Nevermore at Union Station before every Colts home game! Info here: https://www.tailgateplanet.com/indianapolis-colts-tailgatesDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Jase MedicalSave more than $360 by getting these lifesaving antibiotics with Jase Medical plus an additional $20 off by using code LOCKEDON at checkout on jasemedical.com.BetterHelpThis podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. If you’re thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. Visit BetterHelp.com/Lockedon today to get 10% off your first month.PrizePicksGo to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code lockedonnfl for a first deposit match up to $100!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.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.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Right now, NEW customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get TWO HUNDRED in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Anthony Richardson should be able to build off a strong week one performance against the Houston Texans this week. Let's get to it. You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast 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. This show is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your
Starting point is 00:00:50 first purchase. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. I am Zach Hicks, your guys' favorite co-host here over at Locked On Colts. And today I'm not joined by Jake Arthur yet again. Me and Jake have been apart all week. Our schedule's just been a little hectic trying to line up, but don't worry. I brought in an expert to talk everything Colts here.
Starting point is 00:01:10 I've brought in my colleague from horseshoehuddle.com, Rashad McGinnis. You guys know him. You love him over on social media at Rashad McGinnis. One of the best Colts minds out there. And we've always been happy that we were able to poach him for horseshoehuddle.com. So Rashad is going to drop some info today with me on Anthony Richardson, minds out there and we've always been happy that we were able to poach him for horseshoehuddle.com. So Shad is going to drop some info today with me on Anthony Richardson, what we can expect from him in week two and what we want to see for him to build off that strong week one performance.
Starting point is 00:01:35 And then we're going to dive into this matchup with the Houston Texans. You know how the Colts can get some pressure on CJ Stroud and really force the rookie on the other side into more mistakes than our rookie on our side of the field. And then we're going to talk about our overall expectations for this Colts team in week two and kind of, you know, we're going to learn a lot about this Colts team this week. Are they going to be a bottom feeder and be at the very bottom of the league because they can't beat this Houston Texans team here in week two or can't even compete with them? Or are they the type of team that can really, you know, make a good run against some strong teams like we saw last week? But getting into the search
Starting point is 00:02:09 segment, talking about the man of the hour, Anthony Richardson. Obviously, this whole season is about rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson, the most important storyline of the entire year for the Indianapolis Colts. And his week one, man, it was impressive. I know I did a show on it the other day. I did a whole solo show where you guys were watching where I really talked about how I had been the biggest, like most ardent Anthony Richardson supporter throughout this whole process,
Starting point is 00:02:35 even before the Colts drafted him, and even, you know, especially after the Colts drafted him with Shane Steichen, but what I saw in week one was much, much better than what I could have ever hoped for in week one from him. I think the biggest fear now, though, is when you have this quarterback who's so far ahead of schedule from what you perceived, the fear is, will he take that step back to what you expected here in week two, or can he continually build off that and maybe be the quarterback we all hope for by the end of
Starting point is 00:03:05 year one by the halfway point of year one you know shod yeah and one thing about anthony richardson what we saw in the past you know typically quarterbacks do fluctuate with performances some highs a lot of highs a lot of lows but with anthony richardson you know when you show him something one time you know he tends to not make those same type of mistakes again. That's probably been one of the most impressive aspects. Even when you go back and watch him at Florida, he was the same thing. Like he'd get fooled once. He was not going back down that road again. In fact, it became a strength. He kind of exploited it whenever you decided to go back to it.
Starting point is 00:03:39 And so I kind of see the season maybe in similar fashion, hopefully by him being so ahead of where we thought he'd be coming into week one, that he continued to build on some of those mistakes that he did make, which there were a few naturally. But overall, the growth he's shown, even from just preseason to where he is now, you know, I think speaks volumes about where he has come and how far Shane Steichen has got him prepared for these situations. And to think that, you know, you look back now and it's almost a joke that we was actually considering even starting Gardner Minshew over Anthony Richardson. It's clear to see that the right decision was made in Indianapolis and this kid needed to play and he was ready to play. Yeah. You know, it's funny. Cause I think the way I would really break down that first week from him is he wasn't comfortable yet with the NFL,
Starting point is 00:04:29 but he was very comfortable in this offense. Like if you're watching him in this offense, the reads are smooth. He's really progressing through, you know, he was mostly given half field reads, but he was progressing through those half field reads. Uh, he was really confident setting his feet and throwing it to windows. He ripped a couple passes into really tight windows over the middle of the field. They really liked to see, but there were just a couple moments where he just wasn't comfortable with the NFL yet.
Starting point is 00:04:54 He got a little skittish in the pocket. He threw that interception. He tried to layer it over a corner that probably works at the college level. It does not work in the NFL there, especially over Tyson Campbell. Yeah. That's the difference. Yeah, you're not getting that over one of the best young corners in the entire league there. And then other ones, you know, there was a coverage sack early where Josh Allen chased him down from behind.
Starting point is 00:05:14 In college, he runs away from that and gets the first down. In the NFL, you're getting tracked down by that backside defense, Ben, because he's that fast. There's a lot of read option plays and RPO plays where he's reading the wrong conflict defender and making the wrong read as a result. So when you're watching him in week one, it's like he's so comfortable in this offense and he looks so smooth and just so much better than what you could have expected. But there's still a ways to go because he's not comfortable in the NFL. So really what you want to see in week two is just a little more comfortability in the NFL. So really what you want to see in week two is just a little more comfortability in the NFL game itself. Yeah, because when you notice, and even when you look at the first game, it's not the normal, it's the elite athletes that's making the plays on Anthony
Starting point is 00:05:57 Richardson. We're talking about guys like Josh Adams chasing him down, Tyson Campbell. If these are regular guys in these situations you know maybe Anthony Richardson does make that play or maybe he does go for a few extra yards but I don't think he's caught up to the speed of the elite guys at the NFL level you know it's so much baseline play in college where every guy's pretty much you know is what it is and even elite athletes in college are not more athletic than Anthony Richardson not even not more athletic than Anthony Richardson, not even equally as athletic as Anthony Richardson. But some of these guys he's going to encounter on a week-to-week basis, you know,
Starting point is 00:06:31 are just freakish athletes as well in their own right. But I think, like, as far as the technical things, like I told you earlier, I was more concerned about how he was going to look in the quarterback aspects, like the drop-back passing game. I was afraid the Colts go down. You know, will he be able to kind of lean away from the RPO? And when he's asked to do traditional quarterback thing, he was fine in those regards.
Starting point is 00:06:55 I mean, the completion percentage stuff that everybody harped on, you know, at one point in the game, it was 15 for 19, I believe. Like, you can put that stuff away. It was the simple RPO reason. Like you said, that's something that's easily fixable. You know, reading the right guy, learning which guy to react to is something that you can easily show them. And it's only so many ways you can defend the RPO as well. So it's not like you can just, you'll be asked to read multiple different guys in certain situations.
Starting point is 00:07:23 It's only a couple of guys that, you know that you have to watch out for in those situations. And I think once he gets those things under control, that he'll be a lot more efficient. The stuff he did do well, though, you can see the feel in the pocket. It's just as good as it was when he was in college. The stuff you really like about him is there, the athletic ability, the Superman run. I know people opt on him for not
Starting point is 00:07:45 protecting his body enough i mean but outside a couple of plays in my opinion what was maybe the early run the first one in the beginning and the one at the very end you know you like to see him take better take better hits take better care of his body but other than that i thought he was fine you know i know people are panicking saying they shouldn't run him anymore. I don't think you can strip that away from you. A guy is like asking, you know, Superman to not fly or whatever, taking his super power away. But I think he'll be fine moving forward. Like you said, the big parts, the things that we thought he would have issues with, he's actually way ahead of the curve in that area. And I can't wait to talk about C.J. Stroud as well because I think Anthony Richardson outshined him in some facets of the game that I thought C.J. Stroud would be way ahead of him on.
Starting point is 00:08:32 Yeah, and then real quick here before we get out of the segment here, Shad, you and I, let's talk about kind of what we want to see from Richardson in Week 2 to make this a successful Week 2 like it was a successful Week one here a week ago. I think the biggest thing for me is really him just still looking that comfortable in the pocket. So looking comfortable within the game plan and the offense, but then just adding a little bit more aggressiveness,
Starting point is 00:08:58 a little bit more aggressiveness to be more confident ripping those passes down the field. Cause we saw it on, I mean, it was probably a handful of plays where he layered it over a linebacker, ripped it past them for a good intermediate completion. We didn't really see any downfield shots,
Starting point is 00:09:12 even though there were a couple opportunities where he maybe could have taken a shot. I just want to see him more confident in that anticipation, more confident in that aggressiveness. And you know what? If he throws an interception doing that, that's fine. That's part of learning. That's part of this. I want to see just a little bit more aggressiveness. And you know what, if he throws an interception doing that, that's fine. That's part of learning. That's part of this. I want to see just a little bit more aggressiveness
Starting point is 00:09:28 and obviously some improvement in the RPO and read option game. But as long as he does that and still builds off what he just did in week one, I'm feeling incredible about this young quarterback. Yeah, those are two of the things I'm looking forward to as well. And kind of to expound on your first point, you know, that's a strong point of a guy like Alec Pierce, you know, and people wonder why he wasn't targeted as much. And he said he disappeared. It's because they didn't go down the field, which is, you know, really, I don't want to say he's a one-trick pony at this point of his career,
Starting point is 00:09:58 but that's his best ability is to track the deep ball and go up and make a play, especially in one-on-one situations. And I think there was a couple there when you go back and watch, but Anthony Richardson just kind of didn't want to pull the trigger on them for whatever reason. You know, probably first game, you know, I want to be safe. Let's not mess it up. And I think he's still thinking about that as far as just going out there
Starting point is 00:10:21 and just playing football, which is natural. It's his first game. I mean, the kid has, what, 19 starts since high school? I mean, it's a ridiculous thing that we're even asking this much of him, but we are because he's shown the ability to be able to do it. And I think that's the most impressive part about it. You know, you can put more things on his plate as long as he's handling it just fine, and I don't think he's struggling to add anything to his plate.
Starting point is 00:10:44 But if he continues to push the ball downfield, that's one of his best attributes as well. Not only is that a strength of Alec Pierce, Anthony Richardson throws one of the best deep balls in college football last season. And I think that that's a skill that can translate at this level. I think he should just trust his arm, give his guys a chance to make plays down the field. Pierce, Pittman, those guys are big body ball winning winning type guys I know Pittman's a little more versatile than that but Alec Pierce is that specifically right now and I think that's something you need to take advantage of and I think he'll have his chances in I guess the Texas yeah I think so too I think so too we'll talk about that more in our final segment. We're talking about expectations for this next week.
Starting point is 00:11:25 But first, we have to dive into C.J. Stroud and how the Colts can attack him. So coming up, we're going to talk all about the other rookie on the other side of the field. But first, a word from our friends over at Game Time. Buying tickets for your favorite events shouldn't be stressful. Game Time is the fast and easy way to buy tickets for all sports, music, comedy,
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Starting point is 00:12:33 But we'll be back with you guys on Sunday to break it all down and hopefully a very promising game from Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson. Yeah, I'm looking forward to that. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. So, Shad, we're diving into this next segment here. We're going to switch to the Colts defense. Again, Colts defense is not getting as much love lately as what they should because it's all Anthony Richardson right now. But the Colts defense, I think had a very solid debut game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It's just
Starting point is 00:13:00 Trevor Lawrence is a Greek God right now. he's just he was he made what I think NFL next-gen stats released like their 10 most improbable completions of the week and he was like five of them yeah it was just it's just kind of how the game goes sometimes so you're really hoping for a bounce back game from the Colts defense in terms of just making sure those are incomplete passes. But now on the other side of the field, instead of getting this third year emerging superstar in Trevor Lawrence, they're getting rookie CJ Stroud in his second week. What do you think about the Colts defense going into this matchup? This is a matchup that you absolutely have to take advantage of, especially with the way they
Starting point is 00:13:43 just played recently. The Texans' offensive line is just decimated right now by injuries. They had trouble, a lot of trouble, protecting C.J. Stroud. I believe he was sacked four or five times, I think it was, in week one against Baltimore. Baltimore, while they do have a great front, it's not an elite pass rushing group. So if they was able to crank out five sacks, the way the coach pressured Trevor Lawrence in the first game, if they come out and play half as well as they did, if they do in the second game,
Starting point is 00:14:14 then I think you can see C.J. Stroud on his back a lot. And we all know how C.J. Stroud plays when he's pressured. You know, that was one of the big concerns that we all had when we were evaluating him as a prospect, you know, is how he responds to pressure. I know he had the one outlier game, you know, where he plays lights out, you know, in the college football playoffs. But other than that, he's not responded to pressure really well at all. And I think that should be imperative in a coach's meeting and a point that they're driving home that, look, if you guys just do the same thing that you did in the first game you'll have a lot more success this week because you're not going against an alien at quarterback yeah I think my big takeaway from watching a little bit of their first week game and you can correct me if I'm wrong here because you watched even more of
Starting point is 00:14:59 that game but I think my plan for the Colts this week would be sit back in your zones you know just attack everything underneath on first and second down, and try to get them into third and long as much as possible, which I know that's the goal for every defense every week, guys. So please don't come at me in the comments being like, well, duh, that's what you want. But I think especially with C.J. Stroud, get him in those third and longs and then blitz.
Starting point is 00:15:22 Come after him. Get after him. Get as much quick pressure as possible take away his ability to throw that touch ball or that anticipation pass speed up his internal clock and make him have to drive a pass out of his hands on blitz pickups i think that's really the biggest way to attack him yes he's a really smart quarterback and there will be times that he will find that hot read and get it out but i think that's the alternative is him sitting back there and releasing the ball with touch and anticipation down the field, wherever he wants to go with it.
Starting point is 00:15:48 If you can get him off his spot, speed up his internal clock and make him have to think quicker. Basically, I think that is a recipe for success against a quarterback like CJ Stroud. He's at his best sitting in the pocket and just picking apart you all day without being touched. If you really have to speed up his internal clock, that's where the issues come. And I think, you know, Gus Bradley's not much of a blitzer. He doesn't really do it too much. I think this is the type of game, though,
Starting point is 00:16:15 where especially if you get him in third and six plus, you have to come after this guy. You have to bring Zyre Franklin. You have to bring Shaquille Lannister. You have to bring Kenny Moore on those blitzes. Maybe bring down the safety on a blitz. Like, get quick, quick pressure on C.J. Stroud, or he's going to sit back there and he's going to pick you apart with those touch passes and anticipation throws. Yeah, because the Colts can challenge these receivers at the line of scrimmage. They're not going against Calvin Ridley, Christian Kirk,
Starting point is 00:16:40 Zay Jones, Evan Ingram. They're not going against those type of pass catchers. So if you get on the line of scrimmage and challenge these receivers, that'll buy your defensive line just that much more time to get home to the quarterback. What you're trying to do with a quarterback like like C.J. Shroud is disrupt timing. Everything is timing and anticipation with him, you know, because he doesn't have one of the stronger arms in the league. He needs everything to be on schedule and the second is not you know he gets chaotic he gets frantic and that's exactly what you want to do uh as a as a as a defense the way these cornerbacks and safeties played in game one i actually saw them more at the line of scrimmage than i probably did all season last year so it's obvious gus is willing to adjust i mean we saw it last year with So it's obvious Gus is willing to adjust.
Starting point is 00:17:25 I mean, we saw it last year with the way he called the defense. He was a little more varied in what he was doing on the back end. So if he continues to do those type of things and disrupt that timing, I think you'll see CJ Stroud that shows signs of just he's a bit, I don't want to say skittish, but he gets erratic, you know, when he's being pressured. And the best thing about him is his accuracy. And that's no longer a skill set of his when he's under pressure. Yeah. And again, CJ Stroud, phenomenal young quarterback. I thought he had a really solid game in week one, but the Texans offensive staff kind of wants to be like
Starting point is 00:18:03 the way the Colts staff was in week one, where it's like, they want to protect their rookie from making too many mistakes early on. So it's a lot of scheme touches. It's a lot of getting the ball out of his hand quick and, and letting the pass catchers do their thing. Yes, there were moments where he was releasing the ball with touch and accuracy down the field. I'm not saying he didn't do that at all, but like Richardson, that the average depth of target was much lower than other quarterbacks around the league. Cause they're just trying to get that ball out. So I think the biggest thing the Colts can do is don't give the Texans yards after the catch, make every single completion.
Starting point is 00:18:36 That Stroud is like every single time that he's completing a pass, make sure the ball is stopping there. Be ball stoppers in this game. I don't care if he completes 70 80 percent of his passes in this game I don't care if it's Matt Eberflues type game from the defense where you know he's completing almost every pass but as long as the ball is stopping when it's getting out of his hand and you're eliminating those yards after catch that's how you're going to stop this offense right now because again they're really relying on the run game which they couldn't do in week one because they were trailing and then the quick game the wide receiver uh screen game the the quick little mesh routes
Starting point is 00:19:09 over the middle that's what they're kind of relying on right now so if you can be ball stoppers and force that into a third and seven third and eight and then bring the blitz i think that is the recipe for success against cj stroud good young quarterback not saying anything bad about him at all but he's not trevor lawrence he's not trevor lawrence he's not Trevor Lawrence. He's not Trevor Lawrence. He's not a guy who is going to drive a 300-mile-per-hour ball in between two zone defenders that are crashing into each other. That's just not what C.J. Stroud is because there's like three guys like that in the NFL.
Starting point is 00:19:37 Even Anthony Richardson's not that right now because he doesn't have that kind of placement or timing yet. So, like, you're not playing against Trevor Lawrence. You've got to play this game a little bit different. But I think if the Colts defense plays as well as he did last week and they're as tight in their zones as they were last week, those balls won't be flying by them to receivers. They'll be able to knock them away or maybe make some plays to the balls.
Starting point is 00:19:58 Yeah, man, this week is all about being patient. The guy's going to give you one. You know, if you continue to give pressure on him, he's going to give you a couple, actually. You know know it's just who he is as a player right now and it's just due to inexperience once he gets more comfortable he's going to be a cerebral type of guy moving forward you know in his career for him to have success he's going to be dissecting guys he's going to be in the joe burrow back, you know, the type of way he wins with his arm. You know, ball placement is going to be freakishly good. But that's not until he gets a lot more comfortable than what he is right now.
Starting point is 00:20:33 And you have to take advantage of that experience. The same way Jacksonville did to Anthony Richardson in some passes. You know, you want to do the same thing to C.J. Stroud. And the more pressure you get on him, because I do think you'll be able to get pressure with four, but in those, like you said, those third and seventh, third and eighth situation, if you can send an extra guy just to have him think that much more or hold on
Starting point is 00:20:53 to the ball one second longer to give your guys a chance to get home, then I think that's something you have to exploit and something you have to do in these situations because he's not going to be able to handle it, at least not now. Maybe, who knows? We're having a different conversation by the time these guys play again. But for right now, I think it's pretty safe to say that the more you pressure C.J.
Starting point is 00:21:15 Stroud, the more likely it is for him to give you a turnover or make an errant pass. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Now, coming up, guys, we're going to talk about our overall expectations for this next week you know we talked about the two young quarterbacks but do the Colts come away with a win in this one we'll find out here in just a second but first this show is sponsored by BetterHelp I don't know if I've actually ever told you guys on this show before but for a couple years there from the time I was 18 until I was 20 I was an insomniac I I did not sleep much at all. I slept like 20, 25 hours a week. Like it was a really, really unhealthy, terrible time.
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Starting point is 00:24:08 with our new shiny toy that the Texans gifted us in Anthony Richardson. So what are your expectations going into this game? Do you think the Colts are able to get on top in this one? Do you think the Colts are still just too young for this type of matchup? What do you expect from the Colts this weekend? It's funny that the Texans will probably have Bryce Young right now and the Colts may have Will Levis. They probably would have Will Levis right now.
Starting point is 00:24:32 Yeah, you're right. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. The Colts probably have Will Levis and the Texans probably have Bryce Young. How different would we be talking about? And the Seahawks have Anthony Richardson. They were absolutely ready to take him. That's the crazy thing. But as far as this game goes, man, the Colts coming into the season, I was expecting, you know, I wasn't expecting too
Starting point is 00:24:53 many wins. You know, I didn't even care really about the win-loss aspect. I just cared about the big picture here, which is Anthony Richardson, clearly. But seeing where he is week one, you know, some of those bottom feeding teams that you see on the schedule, you may start to expect some wins. And I'm probably going to shock a couple people. I'm expecting the Colts to win this game coming up. I think the Colts will score a little bit more than they did last week against Jacksonville.
Starting point is 00:25:20 And I just don't think they'll be going against as good of a defense as the Jaguars is. And I don't think the Jaguars is some world beater on defense by no means. I just think the Texans are still trying to figure a lot of things out on that side of the ball. I know they have a new defensive mind. They had coach with Demico Ryan. It's a guy I have a tremendous amount of respect for. And he brought over a couple of veterans. And he got some intriguing young players, you know, Derek Stingley.
Starting point is 00:25:52 But I just think the Colts will be able to build on what they've done last week. After all, they scored 21 points. Their run game was abysmal, like basically nonexistent outside of it. It was it was one of the worst rushing games, like from a team. If you take away the quarterback run, like one of the worst rushing games from a team if you take away the quarterback run. One of the worst rushing games from a team in the last 20 years. I think one of our friends of the show, Josh, I think Bokey, I think Bokey. Oh, yeah, yeah. I don't know how to say his last name. It was like a negative 0.7 estimated points added per running back run in this game. Negative?
Starting point is 00:26:22 Like, you just fall forward for two yards on every run. It's a better EPA per play was it was a train wreck it was an absolute train wreck last game for sure yeah it was pretty bad i think zach moss coming back was going to help that a bit and i think some anthony richardson making some of those right reads in the rpo situation i actually think would be a benefit in the run game as well you know so if you just get like you said a boost as far as that goes he'll make some strides i think in the passing game as far as reading out some of those situations and as long as he continues to look decent in the drop back passing game which blew my mind that he looked as good as he did week one i think this offense
Starting point is 00:27:03 is going to score more points i don't think it'll be a bunch of dry spells like they went through. I know they had about five drives, but it was just empty drives. I don't think you see that this week. On defense is where I think the Colts really dominate this football game. I think they'll take advantage of a Texans offense that's still trying to figure out their identity. A lot of things they try to do as far as using Damian Pierce on first and second down in his own run game just wasn't working. The Ravens guarded it pretty well. I think the Colts would do
Starting point is 00:27:30 the same. And like you said, with the passing game, it's all about getting pressure on C.J. Stroud. And I think the Colts find a way to do that. I think the Colts end up winning this game 27-17. Okay. Yeah, I think the Colts win this game too. And as you guys know, last year, every time I picked the Colts to win, they lost. And every time I picked them to lose, they also lost. I was about to say, bro. I was trying to see where you was going with that one. Yeah, I was about to say.
Starting point is 00:27:55 At least in the scheme. I think I started picking them to win every game late in the season just as a joke because of – Oh, okay, yeah. But then once the Jeff Saturday thing came in, it was just like, are losing every game like no matter what but anyway getting back to it I think the Colts with this game uh just because I think their team is just in a more cohesive place right now than the Texans the Texans have a ton of talent and I think they're going to be ones to watch here in the next couple years Stroud, Will Anderson, Jonathan Grenard, Derek Stingley on
Starting point is 00:28:23 offense Mechie and Nico Collins. They have a lot of good talent on this team that's just not as far along as a DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart, Zyre Franklin, Michael Pittman Jr., Quentin Nelson, Brayden Smith, those types of guys. I think the Colts just have more veteran talent that's just ready to be effective right now. And then also Anthony Richardson looked good. So if Anthony Richardson would look very volatile and and, and bad, I guess in week one, then I would say the Texans probably have the edge here, but because he came out and looked good in week one, you know, the expectations have
Starting point is 00:28:55 to be pretty high going into this week two game. Now, again, they can have a letdown game. They had a lot of letdown games over the Frank Reich era. They had a lot of letdown games last year too. And you never know with a young quarterback like Richardson, he could take a big step back this week. And then we have to go from there, but I expect him to continue what he's been doing. I expect there to be a lot of good things from this Colts offense. And, you know, at the end of the day, they were winning in the fourth quarter against a playoff bound Jacksonville Jaguars team last week. And that was with them going, what, two of 12 on third down on offense one of five on
Starting point is 00:29:26 fourth downs in that game and I believe they had like a 64 percent of their drives were three and outs like their offense was not good last week at all despite the positive flashes it was not good and they still were leading that game going into the fourth quarter against a really good Jaguars team so yeah I think something like 27 17 works I'll I'll say 27-20 Colts in this game. I think they'll have, you know, it'll be like a one score game late, but I do like the Colts in this matchup. And I think this will be a great first win
Starting point is 00:29:55 for Anthony Richardson. But you guys let us know in the comment section, do the Colts get their first victory of Anthony Richardson's career this weekend? Let us know there. And every day, again, we'll be back here on Sunday after the game talking all things Colts, Texans, and hopefully, again, celebrating the Colts' first victory of the year.
Starting point is 00:30:13 Shad won't be here, unfortunately, but, Shad, I do appreciate you joining the show today. If you guys don't already, go follow him on social media, at Shad McGinnis. He's doing some great work for us also at HorseshoeHuddle.com. And you guys can also follow our show here at LockedOnColts and at ZachHicks2 and at JakeArthurNFL, all on social
Starting point is 00:30:30 medias. Also, subscribe to our YouTube channel or wherever you list your podcasts. We love your guys' ratings and reviews. We'll see you guys back here on Sunday after the game.

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