Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts' Jonathan Taylor Needs to Put Offense On His Back to Make Playoffs

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Colts are still very much in the thick of the AFC playoff picture, but here are some of the most important factors in them actually getting into the postseason. 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. What's up, everybody? 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,

Starting point is 00:00:44 your team every day. And today's show is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs, which helps you find the qualified candidates that you want to talk to faster. Just post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. What's up, everybody? I am Jake Arthur of HorseshoeHuddle.com, your resident local credentialed member of the media, bringing you the scoop from the facility and from the stadium on game days. And today we are going to talk about this final stretch of games that the Colts have to play. They're coming off their

Starting point is 00:01:21 bye week. They got seven games left. They are in a very crowded AFC playoff picture, and the majority of the teams are going to be facing the rest of the way. They've got stuff to play for as well. So today we're going to go over the three most important games left on their schedule. Three of their most important offensive players that they really need to step up, and then three of the most important defensive players as well. We'll obviously not factor in the most obvious of players, but we'll bring you the reasoning for all those. But starting off with the most important games. So currently the Colts are 5-5, and if the playoffs started today,

Starting point is 00:02:01 they'd be knocking on the outside. They are currently sitting at ninth out of seven spots in the AFC. The remaining seven games are at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, at the Tennessee Titans, at the Cincinnati Bengals. I'll be at that one as well, not just home games for me this year. I'll be out in Cincinnati. The next week, they'll be back at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers, at the Atlanta Falcons, and then they close'll be back at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Atlanta Falcons.

Starting point is 00:02:26 And then they close out the season at home against the Las Vegas Raiders and a big one at home against the Houston Texans. So first and foremost, I'm going to start out with week 14 at the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals are also 5-5 right now. They're currently the 11th seed, so they are also on the outside looking in. And things looking pretty bleak for them because they just lost Joe Burrow for the season with his wrist injury. That apparently is going to cause him to have some season-ending surgery. So the Bengals, they're in it as well. They have the same record as the Colts, even though they're a couple spots behind. But Joe Burrow may not be in this game, but that's a very talented roster. Just a couple years removed from being in the Super Bowl.

Starting point is 00:03:13 They've obviously got high picks across that roster. A talented defensive front. Veterans who are there and know how to win. An offensive line that has been shaky for the vast majority of Burrow's time there, but has also had times where they've kept him pretty clean. There's some talent on that line as well. So there's good players throughout their roster. Obviously, Joe Burrow was not the only thing that got them to the Super Bowl. Jamar Chase is someone who I would still be very worried about going against this Colts secondary.

Starting point is 00:03:45 T. Higgins as well. So that's a big one. This now becomes a game almost similar to the Panthers and Patriots where there's almost no excuse for the Colts to lose that one. It was one they were never going to be favored to beat the Bengals on the road. But it was still kind of a winnable game for them. I mean, look at the records. Again, they were never going to be favored to beat the Bengals on the road, but it was still kind of a winnable game for them. I mean, look at the records. Again, they're the same. But now that there's no Joe Burrow for the Bengals,

Starting point is 00:04:12 the Colts have to win that one. Again, it's an AFC game against a team with the same record going for the same things as them at the end of the season. They really have to win that one. Now, it was one, when you kind of check off the remaining schedule, you said, okay,

Starting point is 00:04:29 they're probably going to lose, you know, this one, this one, and this one, the Bengals one was one. You said they were probably going to lose, but now if you flip that to a win,

Starting point is 00:04:38 you know, it's very much favorable for them to make the post season. So while they still could, essentially, that's one of the few they can maybe afford to lose the rest of the way. At this point, now that it's so winnable, I don't think you put that in that category anymore. Okay, looking up next is against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Steelers are just, they always find a way to be floating above 500 even you know even if they're not clicking on all cylinders they're just not a team that goes down in the dumps and is losing all the time now the vibes are not great right now uh just ask Najee Harris after after their

Starting point is 00:05:17 latest loss but Steelers six and four they're the seventh seed right now they'd be the final AFC playoff team if the season ended now. And again, I look at these two teams and I say the Colts should beat them. And I know past performances don't matter, but sometimes in sports, weird things just go on. And the Colts have actually lost eight straight games to the Steelers. They haven't beat them since like 2008 or something like that. But yeah, they've lost eight straight. And I think this is finally the year ends. They really shouldn't have let the Steelers beat them at home last year. Kenny Pickett is just, he gets hot in spurts, but he

Starting point is 00:05:57 is just one of the least productive starting quarterbacks in the NFL. That's a guy that you've, I mean, he can keep things pretty clean. This isn't a team that turns over the ball a ton, but I just think you have to take advantage of this unspectacular offense because the defense is going to give you problems enough with TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith, Cam Hayward is now back. But this is another one where, again, the Steelers are only narrowly better than the Colts in the standings. And if you hope to, you're going to have to beat some of these teams that are ahead of you that are presented to you on your schedule. And this is one of them. So again, I think this is, this was kind of like the Bengals game where you could give them a loss on this one, but I think it

Starting point is 00:06:45 is critical that the Colts win this one. Again, the Colts aren't going to win the AFC South, and the Texans are very possibly going to be ahead of them. So if the Colts want to be that third AFC South team that perhaps gets into the playoffs, they're just going to have to try and find a way to win ones like this. I honestly don't love that it's at home. The Colts do not perform very well at home. They go long stretches of time without wins. They just lost to the Steelers at home last year.

Starting point is 00:07:16 But again, Steelers, I think this is a very, very winnable game for the Colts, especially if health starts to turn back in their favor a little bit. If Juju Brents is out there, Jalen Jones is still playing at a high level. Kenny Moore obviously stays healthy. That would be great because Pickens kind of went off against them last year, late in the game. It just turned out that the Steelers had a little more left in the tank than the Colts did. So I think we all know based off last year's loss, the Colts are very well capable of winning this one. This is obviously a better team now than it was last year. So that's definitely one I would put in the column as the Colts have to win that one.

Starting point is 00:07:58 And then last, this one kind of goes without saying, it's a division game. And yes, the Texans are six and four. One of their four losses are to the colts the colts really got on top of them early and now granted that was with anthony richardson going nuts uh early in that game but week 18 with the houston texans at lucas oil stadium that is huge again texans six and four they're the sixth seed right now so they'd be in the playoffs if the season ended today. CJ Stroud just playing out of his mind. I had a few picks on Sunday. So, I mean, he does, he does have some weak spots in that armor sometimes, but still an incredibly talented player, easily the offensive rookie of the year and down on the list an MVP candidate as well. That guy is for real.

Starting point is 00:08:49 They're going to just... This could be a tough one for the Colts because it suddenly went from week two against the Texans being a lowly team that just wasn't any good to... The Texans are kind of a team now that even the best teams in the NFL probably don't want to see on their, on their schedule. So again, this is a matchup in week 18, that's going to be between two teams where one of them, this firmly, you know, it secures their playoff spot. And for the other one, they're probably out. I can't imagine three AFC South teams making it. So I think this one is going to be for all the marbles in terms of making the postseason very, very entertaining. I think it's going to be, and I think we all

Starting point is 00:09:31 would have loved it to have been Anthony Richardson versus CJ Stroud for a playoff spot. But also if Anthony Richardson had been healthy to this point, the Colts may not be at five and five. They might have a couple more wins under the belt, but nonetheless, let us, let us know in the comments what you guys think the three most important games remaining are for my money, this stretch here near the end of the season. It's, it's going to be very, very critical. So coming up next, you know, games obviously are incredibly important on their own, but I mean, the players have to show up and knock this thing out of the park as well. So we'll talk about the three most important defensive players.

Starting point is 00:10:14 But next is the three most important offensive players. These days, every new potential hire can feel like a high stakes wager for your small business. You want to be 100 percent certain that you have access to the best qualified candidates available. That's why you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the right people for your team faster and for free. Add your job in the purple hashtag hiring frame to your LinkedIn profile to spread the word that you are hiring. Simple tools like screening questions make it easy to focus on the candidates with just the right skills and experience

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Starting point is 00:11:41 All right, guys, I expect this one to generate plenty of discussion as well. So I'll just put the caveat out there that yes, Gardner Minshew and how he performs is critical. But as far as offensive players goes, I think we all know what to expect from Gardner at this point. It's not going to be terrific. At times it can be pretty efficient and the ball can get out quickly and he'll spread it around. But in general, the stats aren't going to be gaudy. The game is never really going to be one on his shoulders.

Starting point is 00:12:13 It's going to be pretty limited downfield. There will be some occasional shots, but overall, this thing has to go through the run game. And that is why I say Jonathan Taylor is the first or first up, at least that we're going to mention, most important offensive player. So regardless, Minshew is what he is. But if Taylor turns up, then the tandem of he and Zach Moss could really help boost the Colts into the postseason. We've seen it in 2021. The quarterback situation was similar, I guess you could say, to what it is now with Carson Wentz. Now, the Colts really hit Carson Wentz a lot in that second half of the 2021 season.

Starting point is 00:12:54 You know, if he had to make a throw, it really didn't seem like they wanted him to do it. They gave him the opportunity a couple times. It just didn't really work out. It was very, very heavy on Jonathan Taylor. I think Shane Steichen has probably given Minshew a little longer of a leash than Wentz had at times in 2021. But still, I think if this is going to go anywhere and they're actually going to make the playoffs, it's going to have to be based on Jonathan Taylor and Zach Moss. So far, Taylor, he's played six games, but in the last five of them, he's averaging 85.2 yards from scrimmage, which is pretty good.

Starting point is 00:13:33 We're still waiting on that marquee showcase performance that we're used to seeing from him in his first few years. But still, I think he's shown plenty that indicates that guy is still there. He's had some bursts. He's done some nice things with the ball in his hands after the catch particularly you guys have heard me mention that a lot I want to see him with the ball in his hands out in space get him the ball more as a receiver I think that'll be very very important because if you get it if you get him out there with lead blockers like he knows how to take care of the rest more often than not, in my opinion, it works not just to quit dump offs that are like non sacks essentially, but get him design plays.

Starting point is 00:14:16 I think that would be really critical. Next up, Alec Pierce. Now it's been pretty clear that he's just not going to be a huge part of this passing game. Like he's out there just as much as everybody. He plays a ton of snaps. He doesn't get the ball a lot. But I think for his role, if it's able to expand or just become, if his hit rate gets a little higher, then I think that can bring an element to the offense that's just needed. I think if he can get them a chunk player two per game, you know, maybe draw a defensive pass interference call, which he's been pretty good at throughout his career, that'll be really helpful. Again, it's, it's, he's not going to have these huge stats. He's not going to be the guy that's

Starting point is 00:15:02 having a hundred yards receiving per game. He's not going to have these huge stats. He's not going to be the guy that's having 100 yards receiving per game. He's not going to have these two touchdown games. But if he could just do a little bit more, and it's not been all on him. It's obviously Gardner Minshew is not the most prolific downfield passer either. There's been times where Pierce has just killed his defender and his quarterback is not looking his way. It's just a little bit, it's on Pierce and it is on Minshew. It's on both of them. Now I do like that lately they have been finding new ways to use Pierce in the passing game.

Starting point is 00:15:33 Like the, the, you know, mid range slants and things like that. Like the guy can catch the ball over, over the middle. He could do more than just run a go route. Like I do like what Shane Steichen has done recently and 15 of,

Starting point is 00:15:48 of 15 of Pierce's 18 receptions this season have gone for first downs. So in terms of success rate, when he's actually catching the ball, it's gone pretty well. So just keep doing that again. There's not going to be some flitch switch that flips and he's going to start putting up huge numbers. That's just not going to happen. But if the efficiency of his targets could get a little better, I don't know if that's just something where they get him the ball quicker in the drop or whatever they can figure out.

Starting point is 00:16:24 I think his role could be a little more valuable than it is right now without it having to be some huge thing. And then the last guy I'm going to mention here is Braden Smith. This year, you will not be surprised to hear it's ranking, if you go off pro football focus standards, it's ranking right up there among his best seasons. He's really ranked highly according to their grades throughout his career. And this one is just right up there among

Starting point is 00:16:53 his average seasons. He's been really good. He has not allowed any sacks this year, but he is about to enter a really, really tough stretch. So coming up, he's got TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith, even though Watt is going to be lined up over Smith the vast majority of the time. So TJ Watt, Max Crosby, Will Anderson, Shaquille Barrett, and Calais Campbell. Now I know Calais Campbell is as old as the game of football itself, but he's still productive. So Smith is not going to get a break in these final seven games. He's got ferocious pass rushers. He's going to be going against each and every single week, just about. So hopefully he got rested up. I know he's been banged up quite a bit lately, but the Colts are going to really need him to step up and protect a quarterback that, you know, as we've seen, can struggle at times identifying the blitz before the snap.

Starting point is 00:17:49 And, you know, just his peripheral vision isn't always all that. So Braden Smith's role is going to be really important. We obviously know on the left side, Bernard Ryman has really stepped up as well. So the Colts offensive tackles are going to play a big, big role in the team's offensive success coming up. So here after this, we will talk about who are the three most important defensive players. Whenever the game clock stops, that means it's time to order in with DoorDash. Why root for your favorite team on an empty stomach? Order on DoorDash and save on all of your football watch party favorites. Get 50% off up to a $10 value when you spend $15 or more on your first order.

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Starting point is 00:19:47 All right, so let's talk about defense. So the first guy I'm going to mention is someone who has not been around lately and won't be still for another couple weeks, but that's Grover Stewart. So he has obviously had the six game PED suspension and in his absence, it's really shown a light on how critical he is to the Colts defensive line and their ability to stop the run. So the Colts have been really, really vulnerable in that time, regardless of the opponent, whether they can run the ball or not. They've given up 154 yards per game on the ground in the four games that stewart has missed if you extrapolate that over a whole season that would rank 31st of 32nd in the league just in front of the denver broncos so the colts would be arguably the worst run team in the league if this

Starting point is 00:20:41 happened throughout the entire season so they obviously can't let that happen. You're fighting for a playoff spot. As I mentioned, most of your upcoming opponents are also still fighting for a playoff spot. So if you're letting them trample you on the ground, that's just not going to work out in your favor. So Grover Stewart's return is going to be big. There's only one remaining opponent on the Colts schedule who is in the top 10 of Russian. That's the Falcons who rank seventh with 130.4 yards per game on the ground. So after he returns,

Starting point is 00:21:14 they should be able to stop the run much, much better. And if you let a bad running team dictate things on the ground, that's just going to be a recipe for disaster, and you're going to lose more often than not. So again, they've only got one really good running team upcoming, and that's the Falcons, and that's a team that doesn't love to use B. John Robinson that much. So Grover Stewart, that should be a really, really good addition, re-addition into their defensive front. Next guy, another defensive lineman, Quidipe. So only four sacks and three tackles for loss on the season, but he's kind of a beyond the box score type guy. You just have to watch him play. The way he affects the opponents, particularly their run game, whether he's making the tackle or not on his own, he is often

Starting point is 00:22:05 influencing where the play runs, what hole the running back is actually going to hit. So he's done well, but I still think for a team's top edge defender, you need to see more. You need to be getting more production as a pass rusher. Earlier this year, he went four weeks without a sack. After having a sack in three straight games, he went pretty quiet with four weeks without a sack. After having a sack in three straight games, he went pretty quiet with four weeks without a sack. He also has only had one tackle for loss in the last six games. Combined, that's just not enough. Again, he's not been silent, and he is still influencing the game,

Starting point is 00:22:43 but he needs to be finishing a little more. Like, those need to become, you know, instead of influencing the game, but he needs to be finishing a little more like those need, those need to become, you know, instead of influencing their play, it needs to become third and 12. Now, after a result of the big play that he has successfully finished and made, uh, now he is heating up a little bit more lately. He's got one and a half sacks in his last two games. Uh, so definitely a guy, they really need to crank up the heat. Um of their remaining opponents rank in the bottom half of the league in sacks allowed, so he's coming up on a stretch of the schedule that's really advantageous for him. So if he keeps that hot streak up, you know, they just came off the bye a little bit more well-rested,

Starting point is 00:23:20 then that is definitely something he should be able to do. The last guy is someone you can really mention as the Colts defensive MVP for this season. He's at least very much on the short list, and that's Kenny Moore. Within a very, very young cornerback group, young and inexperienced, even a lot of the veterans haven't really played much throughout their careers. Kenny Moore has been a constant. He's obviously turned it up to Kenny Moore of 2020, 2021, when the guy was just playing at a whole different level.

Starting point is 00:23:58 The opponents that the Colts are coming up against, they don't throw a lot of interceptions, but five of the remaining seven teams will have a quarterback that is either a rookie or it's a team that has swapped quarterbacks at some point this season. So they either have a brand new quarterback from this year or their quarterback situation has been in flux. That's five of the seven teams. The other two are Baker Mayfield and Tampa just started being their quarterback this year and has kind of bounced around the league a little bit. And then Kenny Pickett, who we've already

Starting point is 00:24:32 addressed. And, you know, there's a lot of Steelers fans who would love maybe a change of senior air to see someone else out there. So you're not facing any Tom Brady's, Drew Brees's, Aaron Rodgers. You're not, you don't really have anything like that coming up. Uh, so between, especially I'll lump Quitty into it. So Quitty Payne, Kenny Moore, uh, that's two guys who, if they step up over this final seven stretchy games, um, that could be huge for the Colts. And it's, it's all right there waiting for them. Um, especially with Kenny Moore, I look at this and again, it's teams that don waiting for him, especially with Kenny Moore. I look at this, and again, it's teams that don't throw a lot of picks.

Starting point is 00:25:10 But Kenny is kind of a chestnut checkers type of guy. He's a defender that can manipulate offensive players and kind of bait quarterbacks into making bad plays. And I think if he's able to do that and make a couple of these upcoming opponents do some make some uncharacteristic mistakes we know how quickly an interception or just anything like that can change the tide of the game and be the difference especially with an offense like the Colts that isn't incredibly productive overall at least not with the passing game I mean we saw Kenny Moore basically won the Carolina game by himself with his two pick sixes. So yeah, that's that. So we've covered the three most important games left on the docket, the three most important players and three most

Starting point is 00:25:54 important defensive players. Again, I would love to hear from you guys what you think, who are your most important players? What are your biggest red circled games left on the on the calendar? So definitely throw that in there, YouTube, or, you know, leave a review and mention that in a Apple podcasts or Spotify, wherever you're listening.

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Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts' Jonathan Taylor Needs to Put Offense On His Back to Make Playoffs

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