Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: Jonathan Stewart Joins to Discuss Carolina Panthers, Colts Running Back Duo
Episode Date: November 3, 2023Former Carolina Panthers star running back Jonathan Stewart joins the show to discuss Colts-Panthers and to give his opinion on the Indianapolis Colts' running back duo of Jonathan Taylor and Zack Mos...s.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!This episode is brought to you by PrizePicks. The easiest and most exciting way to play Daily Fantasy Sports. Go to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code all lowercase lockedononfl for a first deposit match up to $100Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DoorDashGet 50% off up to $10 value when you spend $15 or more on your FIRST order, when you download the DoorDash app and enter code LOCKED23. Subject to change. Terms apply.Jase MedicalGet $20 off these lifesaving antibiotics with Jase Medical by using code LOCKEDON at checkout on jasemedical.com.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 at eBayMotos.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.FanDuelScore early this NFL season with FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR MONEYLINE BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your team wins! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
Discussion (0)
The Colts need to get right performance in the worst way,
but there's an old familiar face standing in their way this week.
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 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 PrizePix, which is the easiest and most exciting way
to play daily fantasy sports.
Go to prizepix.com slash locked on NFL and use code all lowercase locked on NFL for a
first deposit match up to $100.
Welcome to the show, everybody.
I am Jake Arthur and he is Zach Hicks, of course.
You know the two of us from HorseshoeHuddle.com.
And we're joined by a very special guest today.
He's a former pro bowler, first-round pick, the Panthers' all-time leading rusher,
and the owner of one of the best running back aesthetics in NFL history.
It is Jonathan Stewart.
Welcome to the show, man.
Thanks for joining us.
Oh, man. Thank you, man. Thanks for having me on despite the Panthers season so far,
but I think we're in alignment right now. Yeah, I think both sides are going through. The Colts,
it's not going super great either. Obviously, a lot of familiarity there, though. So far,
about midway through the season, what's your impression of, of the Frank Reich led Panthers team?
You know, I think, you know, for the most part, I think a lot of people that are, you know,
smart football fans understand what the process is like when you have a new coaching staff, new,
I don't care what you say about, you know, drafting a number
one, you know, pick, especially a quarterback, there's, there's a learning curve. And, you know,
you know, I think the offensive coordinating situation is now, you know, set. But with that,
you know, there's, there was a learning curve there for everyone. Your scheme and things you want to do,
you might not necessarily have all the pieces that fit your scheme.
So you're having to figure out what it is that actually works
for the guys that are on your squad and the guys that are healthy.
Talk about depth issues throughout the whole entire season.
I mean, I feel like a lot of teams have depth issues now that you think about it.
But I think, you know, as a football fan, you have to hit the reset button.
And if you do that, you know, one in six isn't so bad, especially if you're in this division.
At the end of the day, you're two games out,
and you still got a lot of games left to play, including some division games.
So you rally some games together, and you stay positive, and you show up to games as a fan and continue to cheer these guys on and just be positive about what's going on with the coaching staff.
I mean, this coaching staff, I think they're doing a great job.
I think last game showed a lot of what is to come.
Being able to win tough games like that, it's hard.
It's easier when things are going well from one side of the ball
and then to find the momentum at some point in the game,
but to never find any momentum on any side of the ball.
And then to be able to take a six minute drive down on offense and
win a game that,
that strikes me as a team that is being coached well.
Cause that's all about execution.
Yeah.
No,
I want to get back to this Panthers team obviously here in a second,
but since we have you on the show,
it's such a unique perspective when it comes to running back play.
The Colts have a really interesting dynamic going right now in their running
backfield. They have Jonathan Taylor who they just gave a really interesting dynamic going right now in their running backfield.
They have Jonathan Taylor who they just gave a big extension to one of the
best running backs in football.
And then they have Zach Moss.
Who's the second leading rusher in the NFL,
a really,
really good one to punch famously.
You were part of one of the best one,
two punches in NFL history.
What is that dynamic?
Like when you have two running backs that are playing at such a high level
and two really good running backs?
How does that dynamic work with the other guy next to you?
Obviously, you want your carries, but it's productive for the offense.
Yeah, man.
I think as long as the offense is driven to produce in the running game.
I mean, my first couple years, our offensive coordinator, Coach Davidson,
he, you know, was all about running the ball.
I mean, it would be fourth and five or third and ten running draw
and just make something happen.
It's either a draw or we're doing a smoked smitty.
But, you know, as long as you're committed to the run game,
that means there's going to be carries available for both.
And not that, you know, there's like a, oh, I want the carries type of mentality. But as a running back, you want to make an impact.
Especially considering the fact that Zach Moss proved himself to be worthy of having some carries. And so now if this was the other way around where Zach Moss was on the bench
and Jonathan Taylor was playing in the beginning of the season
and we never got a chance to see Zach Moss, we wouldn't be saying,
oh, we should be giving both of them carries, right?
But in this case, now you have two guys that are fresh.
You've got two fresh backs that give a defense a different taste.
Defenses don't like that, especially the types of backs they are.
I mean, they're solid big backs in consideration to the rest of the league.
Guys that know how to run downhill, make one plant, get upfield,
but also know how to make guys miss in the secondary and stuff like that.
So, you know, I think what they got is something special.
They can build on that for sure.
If I were them, I would just, you know, stack that offensive line
and just continue to get some depth there,
find you a nice um addition to Pittman and you're not far away on offense yeah um not defense that's another story oh yeah that
defense is tough we had kind of a whole roast session about it throughout the week uh you kind
of alluded to this earlier you know when you've got a young team, new coaching staff, it's a process. So from the outside on the face of it, you know,
the Panthers one and six, it looks like they're not a very good team. And Bryce Young has been
underwhelming. The Colts have seen a lot of that as well. You know, Anthony Richardson, rookie got
banged up. Not everything was super flashy. What what how can you dispel some of the myths
that maybe people from the outside who don't know better are saying about the panthers i mean
you see you see these types of teams every year um it reminds me of the miami dolphins like
um three years ago or four years ago.
But, you know, everyone, you know, said, oh, here's the same old Miami.
They got a new draft pick and they're not good.
Draft picks don't make you good immediately.
You have to build your team, especially like I said, you have a new offensive coordinator.
You have a new defensive coordinator, new scheme on defense even.
You're running a 3-4 now.
But I think right now the guys that are on that defense,
as they continue to get healthy,
you're seeing a defense that's actually pretty strong.
That's one of our strong points right now as the Carolina Panthers. But, I mean, these are guys that are learning how to win at depth,
learning how to win games that, you know,
guys are put in situations that seem impossible almost.
And so we haven't been out of a lot
of, like the first, I think the Atlanta game we could have won.
You know, just a couple plays, a couple hiccups there.
But, you know, this is a team that's not
been getting blown out by any means by every team
that they've lost to.
So what they're doing in the locker room, man,
it's definitely some growing pains, right?
And you need that if you're going to be a good team down the road.
Because at the end of the day, once you learn what it feels like to lose
and you learn how guys respond under pressure, that's when you
really learn how to win games. Yeah, I think on paper, this isn't a super exciting matchup. I
think between the Colts and this Panthers team, I think there's potential there for it to be a
pretty good matchup. But Jonathan, thanks again so much for taking out some of your time to talk with us.
Catch him on the Believe in Panthers podcast and on Twitter slash X and Instagram at JonathanStewer1.
No T. JonathanStewer1.
Thanks again.
Prize Picks is the largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America.
They're the easiest and most exciting way to play DFS.
It's just you against the numbers.
Instead of battling thousands of other players, including pros and the Sharks,
you pick more or less for stat projections on two to six players and watch the winnings roll in.
They got some really cool stuff going on as well. With basketball season
here, you can now pick combo projections across football and basketball from the Specials League.
I know there's a lot of people out there, Zach included, that watch both the NFL and NBA pretty
religiously. This is a league that's created specifically for combo projections that include
two or more players from different sports or leagues. Just for example, LeBron James and Travis Kelsey
at a 10.5 combo of three-pointers made and receptions.
That is a really, really cool thing that I definitely am excited to get more into.
PrizePix even offers a reboot policy so that your entries stay in play
even if one of your players gets injured.
For football and basketball games,
if you have a player who exits the game in the first half
and they don't return in the second,
then that player is rebooted.
Price Picks is the only DFS platform
with an injury insurance policy.
This week for the Colts,
I'm really intrigued by this one
because they have Jonathan Taylor
with a more or less than 95 and a half rushing yards
against the Panthers.
Obviously the Panthers rank near the bottom of the league in rush defense,
but they're probably going to sell their souls to stop Taylor and Moss.
So, I mean, is the Colts blocking going to overcome that,
or do you have the confidence to go with it?
I don't know.
You guys are better than me if you're going to go ahead and guess on it.
Go to prizepicks.com slash locked on NFL and use code locked on NFL for a
first deposit match up to $100.
Again,
that's prize picks.com slash locked on NFL and use code locked on NFL for a
first deposit match up to $100 prize picks daily fantasy sports made easy.
And guys,
football season is here and lockeded On is kicking off our coverage
with Locked On NFL Kickoff Live.
Every Friday, Locked On will go live at 2 p.m. Eastern time
on every Locked On NFL YouTube channel.
Hosts Tanitra Batiste, Jarvis Davis, and Kyle Krabs
will break down every single game on the NFL slate
and get you ready for your team's matchups, your fantasy lineups,
your betting angles, and more.
Plus, get the in-depth local analysis from our stable of NFL hosts across the country
who know these teams better than anyone else.
Find Locked on NFL Kickoff live every Friday at 2 p.m. Eastern time
on any Locked on NFL YouTube channel.
Jake, getting into our segment tour and talk about this matchup between the Colts and the Panthers.
Obviously, the Colts' offense is riding, you know, I'm not going to say a super high high right now, but it's riding a much higher high than the Colts and the Panthers. Obviously the Colts offense is riding a, you know, I'm not going to say a super high, high right now, but it's riding a much higher high than the Colts defense.
And then when you're looking at the Panthers, their whole team is riding a pretty good high
after getting their very first victory, despite their offense having a really bad season,
their defense not having the greatest season either. I know on paper, this is a boring matchup,
like you said, when we were talking with Jonathanathan there but i don't know i think that we could see some fireworks just because these defenses are so
bad and you have the panthers offense finding a little bit of a groove and then the colts offense
playing fairly well as well yeah i'm getting real colts browns vibes like now the panthers defense
is not what the browns was but like no one expected those offenses to do what they did. And I really think that, like you said, I think there's a chance for
some fireworks here for both sides to kind of get right. Cause I know Bryce Young hasn't really,
you know, he's been a little underwhelming as well compared to when Anthony Richardson was out there
and what CJ Stroud has done. But yeah, real opportunity. The Colts are kind of open for business defensively,
just kind of letting everybody do their thing right now.
I think when you look at it, you obviously have to look at the Colts' run game.
It's an opportunity for them to kind of – they don't think they did anything wrong,
but kind of correct abandoning things in the second half last week.
It's what was working, and it's the clear area to attack the panthers defense so i mean shane
steichen seems to be the type of guy who is going to identify the weakness and attack it for as long
as it's able to be done um so that's kind of the big x factor for me here is it seems so obvious that will the
Panthers just give up everything to take away the run and make Gardner beat them because
that hasn't gone well so far this season.
Yeah, well, the Colts are really running into an issue with opposing defenses is these opposing
defenses when it came down to like the Jaguars game, for instance, they were in base defense
for pretty much that entire game.
They were daring the Colts to throw the ball and it didn't work out. You go to this past game
against the Saints, the Saints were in base defense all game, but they were dropping their
strong safety into the box on every single snap. They were having their nickel corners,
playing the run really aggressive. So it was like they were in base defense for the whole game. So
rightfully so, the Colts will transition into a passing heavy attack but Gardner Minshew's
not that kind of guy it is kind of funny though that we're so that you know we had this whole
conversation all week about how the Colts abandoned the run this past game where they had finished
the game I think with like 23 carries for it was like 160 yards rushing it was around 160 yards
rushing 23 carries a good amount for your running backs but because the Colts have run the ball in
some of these games 30, 35, 40 times,
we're expecting it to hit that kind of marker every single time they have some success.
But I do think, going away from that tangent there,
I do think that they are in a good position this week to get back to that running game,
get both of these running backs 15-plus carries, hit the ground running,
and just kind of rely on your offensive line to win up front in the trenches yes the panthers will probably come out and base
defense a lot yes they'll probably bring their safety down and you're going to have to throw
them out of that at times in this game but i wouldn't hate the colts to try to attack strength
with strength at times in this game that's the one thing i really had against shane steichen with it
like again i'm opposed to running into a brick wall constantly like they were in last week's game.
But sometimes you do have to attack strength with strength and just rely on your guys winning that matchup.
Now, if it leads to third and eights and third and nines, then you have to go away from it.
But until they show they can stop it, keep, you know, keep running it.
So I think this is gonna be one of those games where, like, if the running game is getting going early like it was last week keep leaning on it keep relying on it don't turn to
gardner minchu too early because we just know who he is uh and especially in a matchup like this
where it might come down to whoever turns the ball over a few amount of times it's gonna win
and when you're looking at this panthers defense they have six takeaways this whole season
gardner minchu has given the ball away more times the last like two games than the Panthers have all year. So it really comes down to can the Colts play within control and keep
things just moving on offense and not turn the ball over? Because again, I think the Panthers
offense is going to score a little bit in this game, but I do think they're going to have the
Colts defense going to have a little more success this week than what they did last week. Hopefully,
hopefully. Yeah, they're they're a real interesting defense because again 29th against the run and that includes a true 28th in yards
per carry they're giving up four and 4.7 but they're 30th in scoring they give up 28.4 like
you mentioned only six takeaways but both them and the colts are really good at getting off the
field on third downs but they're also not getting very many sacks.
They rank near the bottom of the league in sacks as well, I think.
So they're just a really interesting group, you know,
kind of swarming as Euro Evero knows what he's doing there.
So real interested in that,
regardless of whether or not the Colts are going to be able to run Gardner
taking care of the football is like 0. a one b one c like I don't think
this is a matchup where they're going to be able to afford those the there are certain ones where
Miles Garrett comes from your blind side yes you're going to fumble nine out of ten times
but the careless ones are like they're real unnecessary ones are just things they're going
to have to avoid yeah yeah one more thing I want to throw out though about the Colts defense versus the Panthers offense is these two little snippets
with that kind of matchup. One is the Colts have really been getting killed by the quarterbacks who
get the ball out quickly and know how to attack the middle of the field, especially at the
intermediate level. Even last week with Derek Carr, I know that that was a little bit of an
outlier because that was just Tony Brown getting abused in the passing game. But there were a lot of situations in that game where the Panthers were just getting
what they wanted over the middle of the field especially with Alvin Kamara out the backfield
you go back to earlier matchups in the season CJ Stroud just killing them on those dig routes over
the middle Matthew Stafford killing them with dig routes over the middle those were the quarterbacks
that really kill the Colts defense those precise precise, accurate quarterbacks. I'm not saying Bryce Young isn't that,
but Bryce Young is still in like a beginner's phase, I guess,
in his development.
You know, he's not as precise.
He's not as on time or in rhythm as some of these other quarterbacks
they've played.
And we've seen Gus Bradley's defense have more success against those types.
You know, Lamar Jackson back in week three,
you go back to what the Titans game against Ryan Tannehill.
Ryan Tannehill was able to get the ball out a little bit,
but it still wasn't very effective or productive yards overall.
So I think when you have the quarterbacks who are struggling or whatever,
going into the Colts matchup and struggle with their accuracy and getting the
ball out in rhythm, the Colts defense has played a little bit better.
And then one more thing I did want to throw out there too,
for the Colts defense is when Gus Bradley was hired to be the Colts defensive coordinator a big part of that
was because Frank Reich was terrified not terrified of playing against him but hated playing against
Gus Bradley's defenses absolutely hated them uh throughout his whole career the like the biggest
reason why he wanted Gus is because when they put when Carson Wentz and the Colts played against the
the Raiders the year before they gave the Colts offense a lot of fits.
So it's something that Gus that Gus Bradley's always kind of had a little bit of success against Frank Reich and those offenses.
So we'll see how that matchup goes.
Obviously, Frank knows that defense well because he was around it all last season.
But Gus knows Frank really well, too.
So it could go the other way as well.
So we'll see if the Colts defense can bounce back.
We'll talk about that again in our final segment here. But it's going to be an interesting one. It's such a big game for this
Colts defense. They need to bounce back in this matchup or it might be donezo for them this whole
entire season. Yeah, this is definitely one of those ones they really have to win because
everything on paper says they should. I mean, the statistics, I think, for the Panthers are a true reflection of it.
You know, 27th on offense, 25th in scoring.
They're giving up a lot of sacks, tied for 26th,
31st in passing yards per attempt at 5.8.
That was a Frank Reich key passing metric that he always said needed to be much higher.
That's one way he measures passing game success,
and that's not reflective of his offense right now. So, yeah, that's going to be much higher. That's how one way he measures passing game success. And that's not reflective of his offense right now. So yeah, that's gonna be really interesting. So guys,
we got more for you coming up here in a minute. We're going to give you our final predictions,
let you know what we think is going to happen. Folks, I have a problem that I have zero intention
of getting help with and that is ordering food all the time.
And for that, I use DoorDash, whether it's cabin coffee for my weekend coffee, El Rodeo number five, whenever I need my Mexican fix or Portillo's when Zach's in town and I need to get any of the numerous Chicago style food restaurants that we've got around here.
DoorDash is the dial up. And with
that, you get 50% off up to a $10 value when you spend $15 or more on your first order. When you
download the DoorDash app and enter code locked 23 subject to change terms apply. And I cannot
stress enough again, for someone like me who orders just constantly dash pass is so, so clutch.
I suggest that even if you don't order all the time
but it just makes things cheaper and that stuff really adds up again for me who is ordering
weekend coffee all the time i am most likely ordering tonight uh my daughter i think wants
some chicky nugs so i mean i can't make them as good as the restaurants do so why not dial up our friends over
at doordash so again don't forget to use code lock 23 for 50 off up to a 10 value on your first order
when you download the doordash app and spend 15 or more subject to change terms apply all right
zach so this one again i think it's going to be more entertaining than what it is on its face right now.
It's just like kind of two middling teams with unspectacular, just unspectacular on either side of the ball.
But we know the Colts and we know that this game is going to have points from both sides because the defense has just been very generous lately.
So I'll open the floor to you first.
What do you see the outcome here?
And to get there, when you look at your crystal ball and you get your final score here, what
has happened to lead to that?
I think it really just comes down to which offense gives up fewer sacks and turns the
ball over a few amount of times.
And again, when you look at the stats on the year, the Colts defense has been better at
generating turnovers than the Panthers defense.
The Colts defense has been better at getting sacks than the Panthers defense.
And I think that's going to be a huge aspect in this game.
So when I'm looking at my crystal ball and looking at how the Colts got this victory
is what I'm predicting the Colts getting the victory this weekend.
I think if a lot of it comes down to that, I think these offenses are going to move the
ball steadily.
It's not going to be gigantic gash plays unless it's on the ground.
Cause I just don't think either of these passing offenses are really like that explosive.
They have, you know, two explosive running games or what could be explosive running game
for the Panthers.
Cause the Colts don't have defensive tackles right now.
So I think it's going to be one of those games where it's going to be three
yards in a cloud of dust,
four yards of the cloud dust for these offenses.
And we're going to be just ripping our hair out,
watching these defenses,
try to get any kind of stop whatsoever.
But I do think it's going to come down to those few drives where,
Oh,
the Colts got a sack here.
The Panthers are facing a third and 12.
They're not going to get that third and 12.
They're going to throw some wide receiver screen and get stuff for a two
yard gain.
And then on the other side, again, again if if Gardner Minshew has like
two or three fumbles and the Panthers are starting in plus territory then obviously they're going to
get some more points there but I think ultimately the Colts are going to come away with this game
with more sacks a couple more turnovers with their defense and that's going to be the deciding
factor I do think it's going to be like a big high scoring game I have 31 to 27 Colts in this one
but I do think ultimately, again,
the Colts are gonna be able to run the ball really well.
Their passing game is going to be efficient and effective
for the most part.
It really comes down to just don't turn the ball over
and don't have negative yardage plays.
Keep everything going forward.
Keep your defense fresh on the other side of the ball
and good things can happen.
But yeah, you know,
I don't think this is a matchup between two great teams.
Obviously, this is two teams that are struggling right now,
but I do think the Colts are the better team with more talent
and honestly the better coaching staff right now too.
So hopefully they can get it done this weekend,
but I do think ultimately it's going to come down to those sacks
and those turnovers.
Yeah, I agree.
I like your – you said 31-27 on the crossover.
Is that right?
Right.
Okay, so I have 31-24.
I think I really liked your score prediction,
but I'm going to give the Colts defense just like a smidge more credit,
I guess, and keep a field goal off the board there.
But, no, I agree.
I think the Colts run game will be able to be pretty effective,
and when you can do that, that opens up play action.
That gets you up early on the down and distance. We know Gardner likes to get those quick shots going. If Kylan Granson is back, that would be really big for them. I think him and Josh
Downs over the middle of the field creating yards after catch opportunities, I think that'd be big.
And then I think one of the biggest things that we're going to have to see,
and you mentioned it, is the sacks,
because it's just not been there for the Colts lately.
They still have the guys there, but I think you're also kind of seeing
the effectiveness and presence of Grover Stewart
and how that plays into it, him not being there.
I know off the tackles, the Panthers have kind of struggled
keeping pressure off the tackles they've kind of, the Panthers have kind of struggled keeping pressure off the quarterback. I like
Ebucom to come back with another sack this week.
Quiddie Paye has been kind of dry lately as well, so I can see another sack for him.
It's going to have to come off the edge. I mean, DeForest Buckner is going to do his thing.
Whether or not he'll be able to get a sack, we'll see, but I really am
counting on the edge guys to get back into it and be a little
more productive than they have been the last few weeks.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I think a big thing too,
in this game for the Colts is getting ahead early and,
and kind of establishing yourself as the better team early in this game.
Because one thing I did want to devote a whole segment to this week,
but we just didn't have enough shows was Gardner Minshew is so game flow
dependent at quarterback.
And it's been so obvious these last couple of weeks where when the Colts are
ahead and when he's able to be that quarterback with the lead,
which actually it goes back to those two games that he came in for Anthony
Richardson, he came into those games with leads.
And those are probably his two best games of the entire year where he just
didn't turn the ball over.
We was able to keep everything kind of contained and in front of him.
And he had really good football games against both the Titans and the Texans.
Now, when you go to these other games where he's starting from start to finish and he's
the guy from from the minute one of the game and you have the ebbs and flows of an actual
game, you have the times your team is losing the times where your team needs a quick drive
here to get back into it.
He's not really that quarterback, you know, like like he's not like again, I know the Cleveland game. He was able to get back into it he's not really that quarterback you know like like he's not like
again I know the Cleveland game he was able to get some things going a lot of those were
on all sides by the defense you know getting the ball down the field and getting things going that
way but for the most part he's such a game flow dependent quarterback to where if his team's ahead
and he's in the team's rolling he can play more contained he can play more get the ball out okay
we can be a little more conservative and I can take my shots every now and then, but when that game flow is going
against him, when the team is losing, when on the other side of the ball, his defense is getting a
stops. That's when you get, when you start seeing like the happy feet, that's when you see the
inaccuracies. That's when you see him forcing some throws him, you know, when a sack is about to
happen, him still holding onto the ball and getting hit from behind. That's where you see a lot of those things happen.
The mistakes happen when he feels like he has to make plays.
So if the Colts can come out early in this game,
score early, score once or twice early,
get that lead and make Gardner Minshew,
the game manager, easy game flow type of quarterback,
then they have a good chance of winning it.
But if it gets into a game,
like it's been the last couple of weeks
where it's a shootout,
where he needs to score 30 to 40 points in order order to win that's when you're going to see more
mistakes and that's where the turnovers happen so hopefully the colts can get ahead of it early and
they can just keep him in cruise control the rest of the game and that's how they can win this
football game against the panthers i like it cruise control that's going to be the tag on this episode
uh but no i i mean i'm looking for this one they need it bad three and six is not going to be the tag on this episode uh but no i i mean i'm looking for this one they need it bad
three and six is not going to be a good look fall into a team that was one and six coming into it
uh again they've got a really important stretch they got the patriots in germany they've got the
buccaneers coming up the bi-week sandwich in there as well so really important stretch coming up from
them they need the win we both think it's gonna happen yeah yeah i definitely think uh
you got this is i don't want to say must win obviously because we're at the point in the
season where every game is a must win but yeah they have to finish strong going into the buy
obviously you want to go 2-0 going into the buy at least get one of these going into the buy so
you can convince yourself that there's brighter days ahead uh but just get healthy like going
into the buy get some positive momentum going into it and roll after that but
every day is don't worry but back with you guys on sunday after the game it's gonna be a bit of
a later show because i believe the colts play at four this weekend right jake i think they play i
would have to look i'll be honest i have not looked yet i believe they play at four this weekend so
guys will be with you after the game and if you guys don't already make sure you're following
at locked on colts at jake arthur nfl and at zach kicks to all on twitter also subscribe to us on youtube where we list your
podcasts we'd love you guys bringing us reviews and we'll see you guys back here on sunday after
the game