Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts' Jonathan Taylor Joins the Show!

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's time to review the tape, but we're going to have one of the Colts stars from Sunday help us out. We'll get to all that and much more on today's episode of Locked On Colts. 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. How are you doing Colts fans? Thanks so much for tuning in and making us your number one listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:51 Today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs, which helps you find the candidates you want to talk to faster. Post your job for free at linkedin.com forward slash locked on NFL. I am Jake Arthur, joined by my guy Zach Hicks here. You know the two of us from HorseshoeHuddle.com. We got a good one today. Today we're going to review the tape of the Colts-Texans 2020 tie, and Jonathan Taylor is going to tell us more about it. We spoke with the NFL's reigning Russian king about his partnership with Campbell's Chunky Soup, as well as how it actually helped inspire him when

Starting point is 00:01:25 he was a kid watching NFL stars out in Jersey. Plus, he's going to tell us how things went down in Houston, what the offense is like now with Matt Ryan, you know, same play caller, but new quarterback, things are different. And then what the Colts need to do in Jacksonville to actually escape with a win for the first time since 2014 I won't mess with you guys any uh any more on this one let's go ahead and get to the interview all right Colts fans we've got Colts all pro running back Jonathan Taylor for you today and we're here thanks to the good people at Campbell's thanks for joining us Jonathan no thank you I appreciate you guys taking the time out today. Yeah, of course. Same to you. And these guys were nice enough to hook us up with your go-to soup, the spicy steak and potato. It's pretty good, man. I tried some earlier.

Starting point is 00:02:17 I'm trying to tell you that the new spicy steak and potato is actually one of my new favorites. Before, I was a big spicy chicken noodle guy which is also very good but then i had the spicy steak and potato and and i think that just one up i don't know how they keep one upping everything that they do but campbell's trunky continues to to one up every single flavor um i think it's i think i believe it's the new chipotle adobo in there um i think that's what just gives it that little kick uh that's just perfect it's, I think, I believe it's the new Chipotle Adobo in there. I think that's what just gives it that little kick. That's just perfect. It's not too much.

Starting point is 00:02:48 It's not too light. It's just perfect. But spicy steak and potato is definitely my number one right now. A hundred percent. I'm there with you. I'm not big on real spicy. I can't always handle it, but it was good. I was, I was able to get that going.

Starting point is 00:03:00 That was, that was nice. Now, not all endorsements are created equal. Being a spokesperson for Campbell's Chunky Soup is a big deal. I mean, I remember these commercials when I was a kid. You've had some other Hall of Fame running backs before you on this, you know, Terrell Davis, Jerome Bettis, LaDainian Tomlinson. What does that mean to you to be someone who's viewed as worthy of being a spokesperson for this brand? Man, it's humbling. And I actually spoke about this to a couple people.

Starting point is 00:03:29 My very first interaction with the Campbell's Chunky commercial was actually with Donovan McNabb. So for me being from South Jersey, being an Eagles fan growing up, being a kid, I'm eating Campbell's Chunky. But I see Donovan McNabb eating Campbell's Chunky. It almost made me feel like I was an adult, you know, like Donovan McNabb eats Campbell's Chunky, like I'm eating grownup food. So just to be able to be mentioned with those guys, to be in a position that those men were in, it's humbling because Campbell's Chunky entrusted me to continue to add on to their legacy and continue on their work. And I'm just so proud to be partnered with Campbell's Chunky. Absolutely. That's really cool. And it's obviously a testament to what you've been able to do on the field.

Starting point is 00:04:17 This is your three for you with the Colts after an incredible first couple of years. You already got the party started last Sunday. You're right there near the top of the charts and rushing it with 161. You guys, of course, tied with the Texans 20 to 20. While it's not a loss, it's also not a win. How does this one feel now, just a couple days later? Like you mentioned, that was kind of the conversation

Starting point is 00:04:42 that I had with a few players was it's not a loss, but it's not a win, you know, especially my first time being in a tie. So just asking guys, you know, what does that mean? How does that affect us? And I got an example that last year the Steelers entered the playoffs due to a tie. So I'm guessing in some cases it can be beneficial, but then, of course, I guess in some cases it can be detrimental. So it's kind of something that we won't know until later on down the line. We always wish that you just came away

Starting point is 00:05:13 with a flat-out win, so you don't have to worry about that. So I think the best thing for us is to lock in and prepare for this week in order to come out with a win and make sure we have a W in that column. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, if you guys are thinking about it, it's your best start in, you know, almost a decade.

Starting point is 00:05:30 So, you know, we got a glass half full there. But talking about your game in general, you know, I'm a big nerd when it comes to just running scheme and preference and stuff like that. And Frank Gregg, I think, does an amazing job with how he utilizes so many different types of running styles, powergg, I think, does an amazing job with how he utilizes so many different types of running styles, power runs, zone runs, gap runs, I mean, everything. Were you kind of prepared to come into such a diverse running scheme from Wisconsin? Or did

Starting point is 00:05:54 it take kind of a little bit for you to get kind of used to this offense? I was definitely I was definitely prepared, I will say, especially towards my final year at Wisconsin. And we started to do a lot. We did pretty much a lot of the same things, but we started to add in a lot more wrinkles my last year at Wisconsin. But I know primarily we ran a lot of gap scheme in college. But now coming here to Indianapolis, it's actually made me a better back now to be able to run a multitude of different schemes efficiently. So just being in this system, I'm actually excited because now, no matter what we may have, no matter what run scheme we may have, I feel comfortable. I feel great running the scheme. So it's actually a great place for me to be in order to develop as a player.

Starting point is 00:06:45 Absolutely. Now we're talking about the scheme. The team's nucleus is largely the same. A lot of you guys have been there for three, four years, but there's still plenty of newness. There's some new marquee players there. Frank Reich is still calling the plays, but how do you see the offense evolving throughout the year now with a new quarterback and Matt Ryan, who's so cerebral and studies so much?

Starting point is 00:07:06 Like you mentioned, it's funny you mentioned that. I was just talking to someone about how cerebral Matt Ryan was. I mean, everything is so methodical and so detailed. So when him, Coach Frank, Marcus, everyone is in that meeting and they're planning and preparing each and every single week matt is so in tune to hey maybe i've played this team before i've had success running these three schemes or these kind of concepts and coach and they're working together and collaborating so much so that matt is able to go out there and be completely comfortable and it's all it's up to us it's on us as an offense to make sure that we execute. If Matt's comfortable, he's able to go out there,

Starting point is 00:07:49 place the ball exactly where it needs to be, get us in the call, whether it be a run or a pass. And I just think that having that dynamic, when you have a quarterback, I mean, similar to Phillip Rivers, we have a quarterback who's played so much ball. I mean, they're able to get us in the correct call that we need to be in.

Starting point is 00:08:04 Then it's on us to execute. Yeah. And talking about some of your teammates here, you know, when you talk about the Colts running back group, it's not just you. You know, there's another really prominent player, and that's Naheem Hines. And you guys always seem to mesh really well, just both on the field and off the field. But how has that relationship with Naheem been for you these last couple of years in the NFL? Oh, it's been awesome, especially my first year. Naheem, as well as Jordan, Marlon, they were all so receptive to answering any questions that I may have had. I mean, I learned everything virtually,

Starting point is 00:08:37 a whole new system virtually. And, you know, of course, I'm bound to have questions coming in when it's finally time to put things on action on the field but Naheem has been a tremendous help and then when we have him on the field especially at the same time I got to make sure I stay locked in and focused because a lot of times I'm on my assignment and I'm looking over Pika and trying to see what he's doing because I know the play may be coming to if the players coming to him he may do something amazing and I don't want to miss it so a lot of times when we're on the field at the same time i have to try and find myself to refocus but he's a dynamic player um and he's also helped me grow as a player being a running back in this league um so he's just been a huge help yeah having you having you both

Starting point is 00:09:20 back there and wherever you're lined up slot outside backfield, wherever it's obviously a good idea to have you guys both out there at once. And you know that, you know, taking competition lightly in the NFL is no longer a thing. You guys have been on the right and wrong end of it. And Jacksonville isn't considered a juggernaut by any means, but you guys, you guys know how serious that can be, especially in Jacksonville. The Colts haven't won there since week three of 2014. You play there every year. What can you guys do against Jacksonville this week to take care of business, especially since your last game against them was two regular season

Starting point is 00:09:55 games ago? What's something you can change up to kind of change the narrative there? Well, number one, we definitely have to go out there and start fast but we also have to kind of have that that killer instinct you know no matter similar to this past game if we're down you still have to have that killer instinct you still have to be able to have your foot on the gas pedal and then vice versa if you're up two or three touchdowns you still have to have the killer instinct we know this is the n. Anything can happen, any possession. So you have to make sure no matter you're up or down, everybody is on their P's and Q's.

Starting point is 00:10:33 There cannot be any slightest chance of relaxation at all in the NFL because any given Sunday, we know what can happen. So it's on us. It's on us as a team to make sure that one, we get a great week of prep. And then two, when it's time to actually go and execute on Sunday, that we remember every single rep we had in practice so that we're able to replicate that on Sunday. Absolutely. Absolutely. Guys, I think that's all we got for this. JT, I want to thank you again for jumping on with us. JT is up for FedEx Ground Player of the Week Award this week, everyone. So make sure you get over to NFL.com and vote for a

Starting point is 00:11:10 guy. But thanks again, Jonathan, for your time. And thanks for the suit, man. It's the first ever gift I've gotten from a player. So I'm pretty pumped about that. No, thank you guys so much. I appreciate you guys taking the time out. I hope you enjoy the soup. Just a little gift. Just please enjoy it. Every single bite, please. We'll do. We appreciate you. Thanks again so much to Jonathan Taylor for his time.

Starting point is 00:11:36 And congrats to him on his partnership with Campbell's. It's actually a pretty big deal considering some of the people who came before him. Just a long list of Hall of Famers. You know, Jonathan's job seems pretty safe with the Colts, but the same can't be said for everyone. As you gear up for fall, you need the right people on your team to help your small business fire on all cylinders. LinkedIn Jobs is here to make it easier to find the people you want to talk to faster and for free. Create a free job post in minutes on LinkedIn Jobs to reach your network and beyond to the world's largest professional network of over 810 million people, which seems impossible, but it's not. Then add your job and the purple hashtag hiring frame to your LinkedIn profile to spread the word that you're hiring so your network can help you find the right people to hire. Simple tools like screening questions

Starting point is 00:12:21 make it easy to focus on candidates with just the right skills and expertise so you can quickly prioritize who you would like to actually interview and hire. It's why small businesses rate LinkedIn Jobs number one in delivering quality hires versus leading competitors. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to faster. Did you know every week nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn? Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash LockedOnNFL. That's LinkedIn.com slash LockedOnNFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Guys, I know you've heard us talk all about Home Field by now.

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Starting point is 00:13:26 The collection has been out for a few weeks now, and you don't want to wait any longer. New customers can get 15% off their first purchase from home field with code locked on Colts, a checkout at home field apparel.com. All right, Zach. So this,

Starting point is 00:13:42 this episode each week is always going to be your specialty. It's, it's the grinding the tape episode. We're going to get you guys into the offensive side of the ball from Sunday's game here in a second. But first, there. The Colts did waive him today. He had some mistakes on Sunday, but it was just kind of the tip of the iceberg. It was the latest and kind of a downward spiral for him. The Colts felt they needed to move on, so they did so. They replaced him. They added a couple guys on the practice squad. Chase McLaughlin, who is a familiar face. He was here in 2019 into 2020. And then Lucas Haversick. He was here as a rookie minicamp tryout this spring. He's an undrafted rookie this year. So we really don't know anything about him. From what I read up on him, big leg, iffy accuracy, which is kind of the same thing with McLaughlin. So literally the polar opposite of Blankenship. Hey, I mean, if you're going to have iffy accuracy, you might as well just have the

Starting point is 00:14:50 big leg as well. That's kind of what the Colts are probably thinking here. Like, hey, with Blankenship, we were already getting the iffy accuracy. Let's just get a big leg in there instead. Yeah. Give me a chance from 60 yards out. I think if I remember McLaughlin's career long, it's like 57 yards or something. But so they had some other corresponding moves. They elevated cornerback Tony Brown to the active roster, which they did last weekend as well. But now being during the week, I think this is a permanent one. They also signed cornerback Daryl Baker Jr., safety Henry Black, and a pair of kickers to the practice squad so they had to release some guys

Starting point is 00:15:25 from the practice squad that was guard arlington hambright safety will redmond and cornerback chris wilcox um probably won't devote much time to all that we'll see how any of that goes we'll go ahead and let zach get into the tape here uh let's just start from the top after your rewatch what did you see from matt ryan was it more impressive than we initially thought, or what was your first impression of his regular season debut? I thought it was a really strong game overall. I wouldn't go as far to say, obviously, the numbers are gaudy. The 352 passing yards, that looks awesome.

Starting point is 00:16:01 I do think a lot of that was because they were trailing for a lot of the second half, but I do think it was a really strong game overall there yes there were some miscues i don't know what's going on with that qb center exchange and i have no clue who to blame it on it's so weird it's the weirdest thing ever uh obviously there were some some cadence things there were uh there was like a handoff to donson taylor where they were just not on the same page in the first half there was the interception on the screen. So there was some sloppy elements to this game. And Matt Ryan was at the center of some of those. But I do think overall, Matt Ryan played a really strong game. Even in the first couple quarters when the Colts weren't scoring like they were in the fourth

Starting point is 00:16:37 quarter, he was moving the ball quite a bit. It's just, again, the sloppiness kind of derailed those plays. But I think he made some big-time throws. I really love how he operated against this Texans. I don't want to call the Texans like a cover-two defense, but they did do a lot of zone defense. And Matt Ryan was very comfortable hitting those dig routes in the middle of the zone between the safeties and linebackers. Did a really good job looking off the linebackers,

Starting point is 00:17:02 looking off the safeties, and staying in the pocket. And he had big gains to Pittman Jr., Doolin. I think Strawn had one on a dig route down the field. So I really do think Matt Ryan played really strong. You know, I think after the game, I said I'll give him like a C for this just because, you know, in the reaction after the game, the game didn't feel great. But I would say after film review, I'd probably give him a B or a B plus for this game. I think it was a strong game from him, and he was definitely one of the players that came to play for this game, unlike some of the other guys we're going to talk about.

Starting point is 00:17:32 It was literally one of the most bizarre performances I've seen, because normally if a guy is making those kind of mistakes, the whole game or him throughout the game just seems so off. But he never seemed off. It just seemed like he was making those really weird mistakes. If you just don't see a 15 year guy doing that. Let's move on to skill position guys. Jonathan Taylor, 161 yards. I think Naheem had six catches as well.

Starting point is 00:17:57 What'd you see from, from the skill position players? Yeah, I feel good about the two starting running backs. I'd probably want to see a little bit more of Naheem Hines in the ground game. Just, you know, Jonathan Taylor getting 31 carries is something we don't want to see every single week. Obviously, this game plan was a little different. They were trailing. You want to get the ball in your star player's hands. So I get the abundance of carries.

Starting point is 00:18:17 But, yeah, you would like to see Naheem Hines used a little bit more. But I did think both players played really well. Naheem Hines had a couple really nice catches. The one from the slot on the linebacker had a really nice catch. Made some things happen on a screen play in the second quarter, I think. So Naeem Hines played well, and then obviously Jonathan Taylor was the star of the game for the Colts. So I can't say anything negative about him.

Starting point is 00:18:41 Even when you watch the film, you can see just how good he looked. I mean, he was patient. He was quick. He was fast. He was strong. I mean, he's just a superstar, and he played like a superstar on Sunday. Yeah, I like how you said he would have been like fifth or sixth in the NFL in rushing so far, yards after contact, which is exactly how it was last year. I will say that number was a tad disingenuous because Barkley would actually be fifth in the NFL still in yards after contact. So Jonathan Taylor is second right now in the NFL in yards after contact. But it didn't fit my narrative, so I had to leave that out of the tweets.

Starting point is 00:19:15 But no, yeah, Jonathan Taylor had a great over 100 yards after contact. If you guys didn't see my tweet on Twitter. Pass catchers, receivers, tight ends. I know there were some ups and downs there obviously michael pitman jr was a stud yeah i didn't really have too many issues with the past catchers i mean again alec pierce that drop uh you don't want to see that uh dueling could have made that deep catch but again the ball's a little more inside i think it's a little easier for him but again you want to see him come down with that maybe the one in the end zone too that you could

Starting point is 00:19:43 make an argument that he should have caught that. Kylan Branson had a couple that he probably should have caught, should have brought down. So I do think there were some things to clean up from the pass catchers, but I mean, Michael Pittman Jr. looks like a bona fide superstar. He looked smooth. He looked quick. He looked strong. Everything timing wise was perfect. I mean, him and Matt Ryan have such a great chemistry and I thought that him and and Carson Wentz had a lot of good chemistry last year but this looks like it's at a different level so I'm really excited about what I saw from Pittman Jr. I think Paris Campbell and Ashton Doolin did a couple little things that were pretty good but I do want to see them take the

Starting point is 00:20:17 next step but the one I really want to point out that I just want to see him out there more is Mike Strong I mean yeah Mike Strong looked good. I know it was 11 snaps, but on those two catches, he looked smooth. He looked quick. He looked confident. And he made those catches look really easy. So I think this next week I do want to see Strong's snaps maybe climb up from like 11 to in the 20 somewhere.

Starting point is 00:20:40 You know, like when you have obvious passing situations, I think I want him out there. So, yeah, I think he played really well. And, yeah, I think of all the skill position players, that's the guy that I want to see get more snaps going forward. Yeah, at the very least, I'd love to see him in a red zone package. I just, I mean, I think Matt Ryan could find him on a fade easily. Offensive line, that's definitely one of the groups we talked about

Starting point is 00:21:01 right after the game. What did you see after watching again? Slightly more optimistic than what I was after the game, but still not where you want to be. Yeah, still not where you want to be, though. I do think the offensive line started to clean it up a little bit down the stretch in that game, just like the whole team did. Braden Smith still had his issues throughout the whole game,

Starting point is 00:21:20 and you want to see him correct that. But I do think the interior offensive line, Pinter had his ups and downs, but the interior offensive line played pretty well. Ryan Kelly looked a lot better in the second half than he did in the first half, looked really good in the run game in the second half. And honestly, Matt Pryor was fine for the most part. I really didn't have many issues at all with Matt Pryor in this one. I think Quentin Nelson had, I think he had one bad pressure that he gave up, but he looked really good as well. So, you know, I do think they have some issues up front, some communication issues,

Starting point is 00:21:48 some things that are going to need some ironing out. But right now the biggest thing for me is, like, can Braden Smith just level out his play? Because he was the weakest link, I think, on Sunday off of the preview, and I just want to see that ironed out a little bit. Yeah, I saw a really thought-provoking tweet earlier about him moving back into guard. I forget who posted it. It was interesting, probably a topic for a different day, but you've got Bernard Ryman out there getting snaps too. Does the Galaxy brain,

Starting point is 00:22:19 do you want to mess with getting into that? I mean, again, topic for a different day. Could you imagine paying your starting guards like $38 million a year? Oh, for the love of God, no. I don't know. I think I'm firmly against moving for him. I would not bet on him getting moved to the inside. But guys, if you are into betting, betonline.net is your number one source for all your pro and college football betting needs and sports info this season. Find all the latest football league developments, game matchups, news, and podcasts, including this year's opening week's games. BetOnline is also your continued source for all your sport wagering information, including live betting, esports, and scores.

Starting point is 00:22:59 The fastest and easiest way to check in on all your favorite sports and events, including MLB, MMA, boxing, and even golf. Despite the tie in being on the road this week, the Colts are actually four-point favorites this Sunday against the Jaguars in Jacksonville, too. According to BetOnline, head to the website or use your mobile device to learn more about the trends and action. BetOnline, online the game starts all right getting into the defense um i guess i'll just start off by saying you know what was go position position again i think the defensive ends were okay like not great but yeah i think they were okay i would like to see them get a little bit better in the run game i think yannick nagako struggled a lot in the run game.

Starting point is 00:23:46 I think Pro Football Focus also made a big note of that. Which is to be expected from him, to be honest. Right, right. I think Quidipe was fine in the run game, but you would like to see a little bit more. Now, his energy was awesome in the run game. He made a lot of tackles, but you want to see him be a little sturdier.

Starting point is 00:24:02 It was in the pass rush department that, again, I think it was just below average average which you don't want you want you want this to jump up to above average or are really good that's what you brought in all these guys for uh but yannick nagakwe couldn't really do anything against uh against tonsil and quitty pay didn't really show up until late in the game i think the biggest thing for me is i want to see more Dio and Taequann Lewis out there. Let's get more of a rotation going. I know Gus Bradley mentioned that in his press conference today, but I want to see more rotation. Dio, I think he had like five snaps and he had a pressure in those five snaps.

Starting point is 00:24:38 I was shocked at how few, he had been banagued snaps basically. I was like, wow, I was surprised. Yeah, no, I want to see Dio out there a bit because again at the end of the day he's just so ferocious that even if he's not getting it done he's just going to be prepped he's going to be a force in there so uh I want to see more rotation I want to see more production from from Yannick Ngakwe but I do think this upcoming week we will see a little bit more from him with a better matchup and against his former team that he hasn't played against yet yeah yeah that's I mean shoot that's that's what you hope for the the rotation in general I mean maybe playing fewer snaps will help them to not

Starting point is 00:25:16 be so gas and I I feel like Houston played kind of heavy throughout that game to kind of a power approach so we'll see how things change. I think Jacksonville is a much different team. So that would definitely be to the benefit. Defensive tackle-wise, again, there's not much to talk about outside of DeForest, Buckner, Gerber, Stewart, because really no one else played. Yeah, yeah.

Starting point is 00:25:39 I would have liked to see a little bit more from Buckner rushing the passer, but I think he was fine. Like there was no real issues there with Buckner he still looked like Buckner from majority of the game uh was good in run defense was was fine in the passing game but again you want to see more uh but Grover Stewart was a superstar uh Grover Stewart is so so good uh just so powerful so agile so quick uh in this scheme it just works better for him because he can just get up field in such a hurry and if he's one-on-one i mean he's gonna just overwhelm whoever's trying to block him one-on-one so i do think grover stewart is in for a career year this year and you could tell it you could

Starting point is 00:26:13 just tell watching this first game it's like this is a different grover stewart it kind of reminds me of how when he came into camp uh and then started the season in 2019 after his rookie year it was like okay this is or i think yeah yeah 2019 after his rookie year, it was like, okay, this is, or I think, yeah, yeah, 2019 after his rookie year. Yeah, he came in and just looked like a completely different player, like weight-wise and how quick he was. It looks like he's kind of doing that again this year at another level because he was already really good the last couple seasons. It looks like he's even taken that to another level.

Starting point is 00:26:40 So I really think Grover Stewart deserves to be mentioned among the NFL's elites when it comes to one text and zero text. I think he is one of the best run defenders in football. I'm glad you mentioned that because I was just about to say, I think this is probably fine. As long as the Colts have some success, I think this is the year people start to recognize Stewart a little more. Maybe if he's able to put up more stats that will catch people's eyes often because he hasn't been a box school guy previously really at all. Moving back behind those guys to linebacker, I know kind of the biggest issue we saw initially was the spacing and not chasing tight ends up the seam and things like that.

Starting point is 00:27:19 And, you know, with single high safety, he's supposed to be the last line of defense, not the only defense. So was there any change to what you saw from there? Straight disaster. Straight, straight disaster. That's not that's not what we hope for, because it's been those guys all summer. Like Shaq Leonard hasn't been out there at all. It's been those guys the whole time. Yep. Yeah, it was bad. It was really bad. And honestly, we'll talk about we get to safeties as well it was really anyone when it came to matching vertically in the slot or matching

Starting point is 00:27:51 vertically at tight end or matching vertically uh in 12 personnel you know the two tight end sets and stuff like that like these guys were just struggling and they were struggling to diagnose routes behind them and honestly like don't get me wrong i understand that there's going to be some issues with that because when they played with Matt Iraflus, it didn't happen very often where they had to diagnose what was going on behind them. Bobby Okereke did it a little bit.

Starting point is 00:28:14 But none of these linebackers had to really understand what was going on behind them. It was just get your landmark and watch what's in front of you and attack in front of you. With Gus Bradley, linebackers have to have eyes in the back of their head that's that's part of the entire you know the way this scheme works it's how you take away these vertical routes uh but I saw way too often on film you know guys were struggling to robot to get back to to crossers behind them and stuff like that I mean on on Quiddy Paye's first sack in overtime Davis Mills if he were a better quarterback and could have

Starting point is 00:28:43 slid a little bit out of there that should have have been like a 30 yard game because Zyra Franklin and EJ speed just did not get back to their landmarks. That that's one thing that when you go against Pat Mahomes in week three, or maybe even Trevor Lawrence here in week two, that's going to be a huge game against you, you know? Right, right. But then you get to the, the seam route. I mean, those ends up that you're literally having nobody carry these tight ends up the seam, and you're putting your free safety in a really bad bind. I mean, on the second touchdown, Bobby Okereke just did not pick up that alert at all. He did not move with his tight end.

Starting point is 00:29:16 That was clearly his man. If you look across the board, this was clearly cover three match, and you had the slot corner carrying his guy vertical. You had the outside corner carrying his guy vertical. Everyone was carrying their vertical routes but Bobby O'Kerrick just did not turn and run with and I don't know where the miscommunication came in came in there but it just it just didn't work and and as a result the Texans scored and again it's one thing for this to be week one against the Texans but when you get to week two another divisional game you can't just be giving up the scenes like that when you when you Pat Mahomes in week three, if you're doing these things and you're having these mistakes, he's going to drop 60 on you.

Starting point is 00:29:51 Like he did it against the Cardinals here in week one. He dropped over 40 without even breaking a sweat. So there's a difference between journeyman OJ Howard and all-world Travis Kelsey. That'll be a big problem. Right. So they absolutely need to figure this out. I'm not, I'm not pushing the panic button yet, but right now these linebackers are concerning me. And I do think they need to, they need to kick it in the gear pretty soon because again, they have some tough opponents coming up in games that they can't afford to drop. And you can't, you can't be allowing offenses go up and down the field

Starting point is 00:30:23 when, when you play against better quarterbacks. Now now so it sounds to me like a lot of the issues and coverage kind of stemmed from at least with the big plays kind of stemmed from from the linebackers did the secondary did they do better than you thought initially I mean I know we both thought Stefan Gilmore was pretty good Julian Blackman you know he he bit hard on that flea flicker, but that was maybe the only egregious thing that we saw from him. Yeah, Blackman could have been better. I do think he missed a couple of tackles, but honestly, I think it was like a missed tackle on a screen play that I was more upset with than any other play that he made in the game. So I don't think his game was that bad. And I do think pro you know, like pro football focus was a little rough

Starting point is 00:31:05 on his overall grade and stuff this week, especially because I think they gave him – they said the first touch not allowed was on him, and I vehemently disagree with that. I don't think it was his fault whatsoever. So I do think the secondary play, and I remember, I mean, Kenny Moore needs to step up his play. He allowed just way too many receptions.

Starting point is 00:31:21 And obviously the two defensive pass interference calls were a little tough like little little weak but you can't put yourself in position to get called on those so he needs to bounce back but stefan gilmore i thought was awesome uh nick cross was fine you know he had a couple miscues on seam routes as well but uh i think he was fine and brandon face on was like an inch away from a couple pass breakups. You want to see him make those plays, but he was okay overall too. So I'm not too concerned about the secondary right now. My biggest concerns right now are linebacker. And I don't know if Shaquille Leonard stepping in to, again, this new scheme that he didn't really practice all offseason.

Starting point is 00:31:58 I don't know if that's going to fix this, just putting him out there. So, again, my panic level with this defense is kind of high, and it's mostly because of linebackers right now. Yeah, well, it doesn't get much easier on Sunday against a guy in Trevor Lawrence who absolutely shredded them in Week 18. So on that note, I think that is all for us today, everyone. Check in with us tomorrow as we cross over with Tony Wiggins of the Locked on Jaguars podcast.

Starting point is 00:32:24 We're going to chat all about this upcoming game. He's going to tell us about the Jaguars and what the Colts should be worried about that we didn't already just discuss. Yep, and be sure to follow us on social media, at jkathrenfl on Twitter, at ZachHicks2 on Twitter, and at LockedOnColts on Twitter. Also subscribe to the show on YouTube. I think we're at like 1,200 subscribers, so keep bumping those numbers up.

Starting point is 00:32:46 It's been awesome. And wherever you guys listen to your podcasts, rate, review, and subscribe. We love all the comments, and we try to get to them as much as we can, but please keep leaving the comments. And thanks again for making Locked On Culture your first listen every day. Now make your second listen to Peacock and Williamson NFL Show. Brian Peacock and former NFL scout Matt Williamson give you the expert NFL analysis in less than 30 minutes.

Starting point is 00:33:08 It's free and available wherever you get your podcast. We will see you guys tomorrow.

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