Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: Jonathan Taylor, Grover Stewart Players to Watch vs. Green Bay Packers

Starting point is 00:00:00 the Indianapolis Colts square off with the Green Bay Packers tomorrow afternoon. And we got one last segment to cover, and that is the Hicks picks for the 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. Thank you all for tuning in and making this 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. Today's mini episode is brought to you by FanDuel.

Starting point is 00:00:39 Now through September 22nd, all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get three-week free trial of NFL Sunday ticket from YouTube on YouTube TV. Visit FanDuel.com to get started. Hello, everyone. I am Zach Hicks, your favorite film nerd over at HorseshoeHuddle.com, and we're introducing a new series here for the channel, and that is the Hicks Picks. So for you guys who are just tuning in, I think this is the first one we've ever done. Every Saturday afternoon, I'm going to give you three players to watch for the Indianapolis Colts in the upcoming matchup that is coming on Sunday. I believe every Colts game this year is on Sunday, so we should be good to do this on Saturday afternoon all year long. Now, the three players we're going to highlight today are always going to be the same kind of format every single week.

Starting point is 00:01:23 It's going to be the player who's going to go off for the biggest game or the biggest star of the game. We're going to talk about one player that needs to bounce back and then one surprise player that could have a big, big impact in this upcoming game. So without further notice, we're going to jump into this mini episode real quick and talk about the players just set to have a huge game, and that is running back Jonathan Taylor. Now, I know our friends over at PrizePix have set Jonathan Taylor's rushing line at, let me see real quick what I have it at here, 79.5, and that might seem a little high after Jonathan Taylor's lackluster performance against the Houston Texans, but it's a new week here,

Starting point is 00:01:59 and this is not the Houston Texans the Colts are going against. This is a Green Bay Packers team that gave up quite a few yards on the ground last week to the Philadelphia Eagles. And I think something really interesting about that is the Philadelphia Eagles run system is very, very similar to the run system that the Indianapolis Colts deploy. A lot of inside zone, a lot of working out of the shotgun, working out of short gun with pistol type stuff and getting downhill and attacking the middle of the defense. Now, last week, the Philadelphia Eagles had 16 carries for 99 yards up the middle last week. So really attacking that A gap and those B gaps there of the Green Bay Packers defense. And that's where Jonathan Taylor has made his bread and butter in his career. Now he wasn't effective on those last week against Houston Texans who had their linebackers flying downhill, had really good nose tackle play. But when you look at this Green Bay

Starting point is 00:02:48 Packers defense, they seem a lot more susceptible to those type of runs up the middle. So I think we're going to see a lot of Jonathan Taylor on these inside zone runs. We're going to see some effectiveness from him, and I expect a couple of big plays from him. I could totally see him going over 100 yards in this game, getting some rushing touchdowns of the Colts getting close. And I think we're going to see some good play from Jonathan Taylor. So Jonathan Taylor is my player that I'm expecting to have a big impact for the Colts and really break out and get this Colts offense over the precipice of where they're at right now, which is like right on the edge of being a really good offense. I think he's going to get them over the top this week and have a monster week with Anthony Richardson as his

Starting point is 00:03:27 quarterback. Now we're looking at a player that needs to bounce back this week. And you know, this isn't particularly a player who had a bad week one against the Houston Texans, but it is a player that you expect more of, especially when the Colts just gave him a really big extension this past offseason. And that is nose tackle Grover Stewart. Now, I know the on-off splits. Last week, I believe when Grover Stewart was on the field last week, the Colts allowed just four yards per carry, which is perfectly fine, maybe a little bit high, but overall perfectly fine. When he was off the field, it was around eight yards a carry.

Starting point is 00:04:00 So, again, it's hard to put too much of that rushing performance on Grover Stewart last week. But if the Colts are going to win this game, they need to force negative plays. They need to get a lot of run stops in the run game and they need to win their matchup up front. And that begins and ends with Grover Stewart. Grover Stewart needs to have a dominant game this week and he's got a prime matchup against a center that is clearly the weakest link on a pretty good offensive line for the Green Bay Packers. And that is Josh Myers. Josh Myers, I think he's a fine starting center in football, but he's obviously the area that you can really exploit on this Packers offensive line. So if Grover Stewart wants to get back this week and really get back to Grover Stewart form, I think he needs to win that matchup, win that matchup clearly, really get some penetration

Starting point is 00:04:43 early in his reps there and get some drive into the backfield and do some good things. But I think he's going to have a really good matchup against Josh Myers. Myers, not the strongest player, like more of a zone type center. And I think Grover Stewart's going to be able to get him off his spot and really get some penetration up the field to stop the run game. So again, this game on defense comes down to the Colts forcing negative plays, getting Malik Willis or an injured Jordan Love, whoever is starting, just uncomfortable in those early down sets and forced third and longs. And Grover Stewart winning his matchup in the trenches is a big part of that. So for a player who had a couple solo tackles last week, that's what Grover

Starting point is 00:05:19 Stewart had, and not many run stops, I do expect this to be a bigger game for him. I can envision three to four run stops in this one. And looking like Grover Stewart that we all know and love against Josh Myers in this Green Bay Packers rush offense, that is likely going to run the ball quite a bit. So again, if the Colts got a win, it's going to come down to Grover Stewart and how well he wins that matchup against Josh Myers. I'm expecting a big bounce back week from the big

Starting point is 00:05:45 player up in the middle of this defense. Now, the one more player that I really want to talk about today, you know, and I know last week, you know, if you look at the Colts unheralded players that were nearly heroes last week, you got Ashton Doolin and Saguna Luby, Luby blocking the punt, Ashton Doolin having the big 50 yard touchdown pass or touchdown catch. I'm not looking at players that are that low on the roster for this week. But again, that's more of a preview for maybe future weeks. But the player I'm really looking at this week, I think is going to have a big game against the Green Bay Packers. And maybe a player we're not talking enough about this week is linebacker EJ Speed. Now EJ Speed was one of the lone players on the Colts defense who had a pretty solid week one, particularly in

Starting point is 00:06:23 coverage was targeted seven times in coverage last week and allowed 11 yards total in coverage. So pretty fantastic for a linebacker, especially in this system that's asked to do a lot. His length is really coming along. His length looks great and his coverage overall is really coming along as a linebacker, but also just the way that he triggers downhill and gets after it in the run game. I think he's going to be a big impact in, again, getting that Packers offense behind the sticks, forcing them into third and nines, third and tens, third and elevens to where Malik Willis or a hampered Jordan Love has to make plays on those money downs with an obvious passing

Starting point is 00:07:00 situation. Another aspect that I'm really looking at with EJ Speed is, you know, with backup quarterbacks when it comes to the Colts, the teams, when like traditionally the last couple years, teams like to lean on the screen game against the Colts with their backup quarterbacks. That's where the Colts have been susceptible in the past. EJ Speed with his recognition ability, his speed, his closing speed. I think he's a player that can really blow up those screen plays and make some good things happen for the Colts. So I'm really looking at EJ Speed to be a screen killer in this one, a guy who can get downhill and stop the run game, but also in the pass game, take away some of those easy layup opportunities underneath and force Malik Willis or injured Jordan Love again,

Starting point is 00:07:37 not too sure exactly who it's going to be, but force that player to make more downfield progressions, stay in the pocket a little bit longer, and let that pass rush get after it. So EJ Speed, you know, I'm going to go out on a limb and project him to have 10 plus tackles in this one. I know he was at nine last week, so nothing too crazy there. But I'm going to say 10 tackles in this one, really active in the run game. And I'm going to say he comes away with a turnover in this game. It could either be a fumble forced in the run game or an interception off of a bad pass or a bad pass or something like that. I'm expecting EJ Speed to be a big impact player for the Colts this week. He has game record potential on a defense that doesn't really have many game records right now. So EJ Speed needs to be that player. It doesn't have to be a Shaquille Leonard

Starting point is 00:08:19 type of impact where it's punching the ball out and making these superstar plays. But in a game where the Colts really need to be active in the run game, force negative plays, and capitalize on mistakes, a player like EJ Speed, who has that go-get-the-ball mentality, I think he's a guy who can have a really big week for the Indianapolis Colts. But those are my Hicks Picks of the Week. Again, Jonathan Taylor to dominate on the ground against the Green Bay Packers. Grover Stewart to have a bounce back against Josh Myers in this offensive line. And linebacker EJ Speed to really step up and show that he is the best linebacker on this team.

Starting point is 00:08:54 Before we get out of here, though, I do want to remind you guys that this show is sponsored by our friends over at FanDuel. So if you guys have heard us talk about FanDuel a bunch, they're America's number one sports book. Well, we have something a little different for you guys than about FanDuel a bunch, they're America's number one sportsbook. Well, we have something a little different for you guys than typical FanDuel stuff too. Now through September 22nd, all FanDuel customers can bet $5

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Starting point is 00:09:39 bets. Profit Boost will be live starting Thursday, 9-12. View it from your account page now to learn more about your boost. Just visit FanDuel.com and download America's number one sportsbook. All right, guys, that's all we have for this week. Hicks picks are in, so make sure you are doing everything you can to capitalize when it comes to this Indianapolis Colts team. And enjoy the matchup with the Green Bay Packers guys. If you guys don't already make sure you're following at locked on Colts at Jake Arthur and fell at Zach Hicks too on Twitter.

Starting point is 00:10:11 Also we're on Tik TOK and Instagram. Have some fun and join us over there. Also subscribe to us on YouTube where we list your podcasts. We'd love your guys' ratings reviews and Jake and I will join you guys tomorrow night after the game.

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Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: Jonathan Taylor, Grover Stewart Players to Watch vs. Green Bay Packers

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