Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts, Jonathan Taylor Set to Take Out Frustrations On New Orleans Saints?

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Colts are in a position to bottle up all that anger from last week's narrow loss and unleash it on the visiting New Orleans Saints this Sunday. But will it work? Let's get to it. You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Lock this is your daily podcast covering both your indian Colts and New Orleans Saints. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:49 And this Crossover Thursday episode is brought to you by PrizePix, which is the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports. Just 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 today, everybody. I am Jake Arthur of Locked On Colts, and I've got Ross Jackson of Locked On Saints here. And you also know the two of us from Fan Nation. I'm over at the Colts site.

Starting point is 00:01:20 He's the Saints site. So you might get sick of us by the end of this. But yeah, we're going to, we're going to take you through this journey that is going to be Colts and Saints this week. Two teams kind of reeling at three and four and just really looking for a rebound. So we'll take you through what are the biggest storylines? You know, what are the biggest points of focus for each fan base? Really? What are the biggest match matchups who's going to be the most important player that's going to make the difference in winning and losing and then ultimately who is going to win because at this point neither of us are probably willing to slam our cards down

Starting point is 00:01:54 yeah i think that's really true this is going to be one of those well i can see it kind of going either way kind of games but it should be a lot of fun. Yeah. So Ross, for you guys down in New Orleans, again, same record as the Colts, but I don't know what the vibe is. Like what's everyone talking about? What's the biggest storyline going into this one? Oh goodness.

Starting point is 00:02:15 Throw a dart, man. We can easily find a big storyline out here. I think there's a couple of different things. So obviously like right now, news wise, there's a lot of folks talking about the Chris Olave arrest and all that stuff.

Starting point is 00:02:26 Don't worry about it. There will probably be nothing that's going to impact Chris Olave's availability for this game or availability moving forward. Not that big of a deal. So I wouldn't expect anything there. The communication between the offense is another big one. So I think the way that I would really, really put this down

Starting point is 00:02:42 is that this game right here against the Indianapolis Colts begins a really, really important stretch for the New Orleans Saints. They've got the Colts. They go back at home to host the Bears, which who knows who the Bears are right now? Like nobody really knows what to expect from this team. And then you look at and then they've got the Minnesota Vikings who just knocked off the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night football. So it's a big stretch and probably the most important stretch. This could be the ones where everybody kind of goes, Oh, that's it. That's the end of the season. If things don't go well over the course of the next three games, or it's the three game stretch that get breeze a lot of life back into this new Orleans saints team. So I think that that's the big thing for this team right now.

Starting point is 00:03:22 And for this fan base is that they're looking at this Indianapolis Colts game as the first biggest must win that they've really, really come across so far this season. Yeah. Colts are kind of in a similar boat, you know, for the first few weeks they were there and controlled the AFC South, but now they're third. You know, the Jaguars are really taken off, and Houston has – it looks like they're finding their identity there. But the Colts are hitting a stretch here where they've got a handful of winnable games, and they can't drop these. Like, after what happened, you know, last week where they should have beat Cleveland, they can't keep dropping those.

Starting point is 00:03:58 They're about to basically go through their NFC South slate, and then they have Germany in there. They have the bye week. So it's all very important yeah so other than that like the fan base the city the team there's a lot of anger and frustration right now after what happened on sunday the the officiating obviously the two bad calls at the end of the game that ultimately took away a game-winning play from the Colts when they were already up. You know, Jim Irsay went on Twitter, X, whatever you want to call it, and admitted that the league told him they were wrong.

Starting point is 00:04:36 But for me, again, and I took a lot of crap for this after the game, it's the turnovers that's causing this. You don't want the game to be decided by just two calls by the referees on one drive. They turn the ball over four times, Gardner Minshew specifically, four times each in the last two games, and their opponents scored 17 points off of those turnovers. Again, in each game, the Jags beat them by 17.

Starting point is 00:05:03 There's your difference. The Browns beat him by 17. There's your difference. The Browns beat him by one. There's a direct correlation between the Colts just shooting themselves in the foot and giving away wins. Yeah, I think there's something similar to that here in New Orleans, too, this past week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, as you kind of mentioned. The Saints forced two turnovers in the first quarter. So they ended up getting the ball back. They miss a field goal. Then they recover a fumble. They go three and out after that.

Starting point is 00:05:32 Then Jacksonville muffs that punt. So it basically just kind of becomes a big field move for the Saints. And then they get a field goal out of it. So they walk away with three points out of three possessions, including two extra possessions in the first quarter. So the inability to start early, then you get to the end of the game. Boston row drops a touchdown on third and goal in the back of the end zone, heart crushing drop and heart crushing post game interview.

Starting point is 00:06:00 Like, you know how tough it can be sometimes to interview guys in those situations. But obviously with everything that Boston row has been through this offseason which is kind of magnified a little bit uh or quite a bit and people kind of wanted to go after Fossum Rowe for dropping the touchdown or what could have been the touchdown that tied up the game and it's like no you don't want to be in that situation in the first place you wanted to score the two touchdowns early on that you got the extra possessions and opportunities to get like it was a ripple effect that led to that moment not just the one individual moment at the very end yeah and i think it really showed the potential of a

Starting point is 00:06:34 colts offense missing anthony richardson and what it can even do with gardner minchu because yeah scoring 38 points and giving the ball away four times, like they easily could add 40 or 50 points. Yep. So time shocker when you can walk away with that. Yeah. I was going to say that that scoreboard got melted and what was supposed to be a really low over under, but no,

Starting point is 00:06:55 I I've got it here that new Orleans, I mean, they're what tied for fifth and takeaways with 12. So, I mean, again, this it's already a huge point of emphasis to take care of the ball, but New Orleans has been a defense that's been able to cause those mistakes.

Starting point is 00:07:09 So never more critical than in this one for the Colts. Yeah, and it's funny. You can flip that around, right? Indianapolis' offense fifth most giveaways with 12 as well. But the biggest thing has been can the Saints' offense make good on what the defense is creating for them? That's where the struggle has been so far for New Orleans. Yeah, for sure.

Starting point is 00:07:27 So here in a second, we're going to go ahead and talk about the biggest matchups in this one. Whether it's groups or an individual, that's just going to hold an absolute vital level of critical nature to this outcome. But first, a word from our sponsors. Everyone, it's time to pull out your lucky charm jersey and order your favorite apps and snacks on DoorDash because it's football season again, baby. Why root for your team on an empty stomach?

Starting point is 00:07:56 Order on DoorDash and save on football watch party favorites. Get 50% off up to a $10 value when you spend $15 more on your first order. That's when you download the DoorDash app and enter code LOCKED23, subject to change terms apply. Order pizza, wings, burgers, whatever you were jonesing for without missing the game. Me personally, I'm pretty much almost every day-er like you guys are, but with DoorDash.

Starting point is 00:08:24 I had to buy dash pass at the beginning of the pandemic because like, I just, I regret not buying stock in DoorDash. I mean, the last thing I really, really liked that was new. There was a place called Chile y Limon and they've got, it's obviously obviously you know uh Hispanic food and everything I got this burrito that was like every time I go to Chipotle and I wish my burrito was bigger Chile y Limon was like I got you this thing was huge I'm a big guy and I couldn't even finish it uh but from that like we we order coffee every Saturday morning from cabin coffee over in Avon guys. I'm on the West side.

Starting point is 00:09:06 So, um, whether you're here listening from Indy or you're coming in for the saints game, like Ross, like there's some really good options here for you. So get 50% off up to a $10 value. When you spend $15 or more on your first order, when you download the door dash app and enter code locked 23 subject to change terms apply. or more on your first order when you download the DoorDash app and enter code LOCKED23. Subject to change, terms apply. Don't forget to use code LOCKED23 for 50% off up to a $10 value on your first order when you download the DoorDash app and spend $15 or more.

Starting point is 00:09:36 Subject to change, terms apply. And like we mentioned, football season is here and Locked On is kicking up our coverage with Locked On NFL Kickoff Live. Each Friday, Locked On will go live at 2 p.m. Eastern on every single Locked On NFL YouTube channel. Locked On Colts, Locked On Saints catch it every Friday afternoon. Your hosts, Tanitra Batiste, Jarvis Davis, and Kyle Krabs will break down every game on the NFL slate to get you ready for your team's matchup,

Starting point is 00:10:05 whether it's you want your fantasy lineups, your betting angles more, whatever it is. Plus get the in-depth local analysis from our stable of NFL hosts across the country who know these teams better than anyone else. Thank you. Looking here. Locked on NFL kickoff live every Friday at 2 p.m.

Starting point is 00:10:22 Eastern on any locked On NFL YouTube channel. All right, Ross. So looking at this matchup, whether it's your comfort level with the Saints or what scares you about the Colts, what are you looking at as the biggest matchup in this one? Yeah, I have a slightly esoteric answer for this one. And then I have another answer for this one too. The esoteric answer, which I think And then I have a, and then I have another answer for this one too. The esoteric answer, which I think is really the most important thing for New Orleans is that it's them versus themselves. It's not really them versus the Indianapolis Colts this

Starting point is 00:10:54 week. It's them versus their standard. It's them not getting in their own way. It's them not shooting themselves in the foot. It's them as we have listed here, not enduring the self-inflicted wounds, which you hear from Dennis Allen all the time. The New Orleans Saints head coach talks about self-inflicted wounds getting in the way, whether it's penalties, turnovers, slow starts, three and outs, red zone woes. They're 28th in the NFL right now in red zone, just barely over 30%. They're 26th in the NFL right now in third down conversion percentage. They are not good in situational football. So for me, the biggest thing, the biggest competitor to the New Orleans Saints in this game,

Starting point is 00:11:32 no disrespect to the Indianapolis Colts, who are a good team in Gardner-Minchu-Shane-Steichen. They have that chemistry from when they were with Philly last year. The Saints faced the both of them as quarterback and play caller last year. But the biggest, biggest competition that New Orleans Saints has, the biggest matchup is the one that they have with themselves, particularly Derek Carr versus Derek Carr in some cases, in terms of not being the guy that everybody is trying to say that he is, and instead proving to be the guy that everybody hoped he would be. I feel like I say that same thing about the Colts all the time. It feels so cheap because it's so rarely when the Colts lose a game does it feel like the other team just totally outplayed it. It's like the Colts weren't prepared at all,

Starting point is 00:12:16 which luckily hasn't been a big issue with Shane Steichen. But, man, those turnovers, they're 3-4 right now, but they could have two of those as wins so easily by just taking care of the football. So I'm right there with you in terms of just quit beating yourselves. But looking at it otherwise, I'll give you guys something specific here, though, because there is something that kind of worries me, and that is the Colts cornerbacks versus a really nice stable of saints

Starting point is 00:12:46 pass catchers uh because the colts are already really thin at corner and then their top outside corner juju brance goes down with a quad injury during sunday's game and he did not practice on wednesday and i mean it doesn't look super optimistic for this weekend either so an already very young inexperienced Colts secondary going against a very talented group led by Chris Olave where he said it doesn't seem like it's going to be a big issue the arrest Michael Thomas um even Rashid Shaheed yeah that guy is a playmaker and so the Colts have generally been pretty good in terms of like limiting big plays and like not getting absolutely murdered in the past game. But this really, this really worries me. I'll be honest.

Starting point is 00:13:33 Yeah. I mean, that's, that's huge. That's, that's a big thing because that's, that's where the New Orleans Saints want to be right now. Like they want to be that team that's able to win through the air and they want to be able to run the ball. And I think that that's a, I mean, they want to be able to run the ball, but they want to be able to, to win through the air and they want to be able to run the ball. And I think that that's a, I mean, they want to be able to run the ball, but they want to be able to, to win through the air. And they're a team right now. That's ready to come into Indianapolis,

Starting point is 00:13:49 potentially for the first time this season with an entire compliment of weapons, all three of their top wide receivers, healthy, all three of their top running backs, my Alvin Camara, Jamal Williams, and a rookie Kendra Miller should be healthy going into this game.

Starting point is 00:14:03 Alvin Camara missed Wednesday's practice, but it was with illness. We'll see if he's able to go. I'm sure that he probably will be. Juwan Johnson, the Saints' top tight end, he's working his way back. Juwan Johnson, Fosmero, Taysom Hill, Jimmy Graham, all should be good to go this weekend if Juwan Johnson continues to trend in the right direction. It's going to be the first time we really get to see this offense

Starting point is 00:14:21 with all those weapons. And if the Indy secondary is struggling, and if the indie secondary is injured that's gonna be a big thing that new world is gonna be looking to take advantage of uh let me give you the the less esoteric answer to to the question too for new orleans and it's the new orleans needs to run defense particularly their their down lineman against jonathan taylor right that's got to be that's got to be the biggest thing because new orleans just like they want to win on the offensive side through the air they want to win on the defensive side through the air but in order to do that you have to take away a run game it's going to be very very hard to take away this

Starting point is 00:14:57 indianapolis colts run game uh because the saints have been kind of this team so far this year that has not allowed a lot of rushing yards but have been allowing them on a per carry clip to a concerning amount. Right. So I think that that's the thing that you're kind of looking at is they're able to be able to steer teams away from the run game, but haven't necessarily been able to limit the run game when it's working. So I think that this downline of, you know, particularly the interior with Colin Saunders and your rookie Brian Brzee, Nathan Shepard, Malcolm Roach, all these guys on the interior, along with the, the outside edge defenders, uh, have to be able to try to limit this Indianapolis Colts run game as best as possible so that they could try to operate to their strength, which is their past defense. And that parlays me beautifully into what I think are going to be the most important players for the Colts. Number one, it's Gardner Minshew. And that parlays me beautifully into what I think are going to be the most important

Starting point is 00:15:45 players for the Colts. Number one, it's Gardner Minshew. And just, you don't, you don't have to be anything crazy. Like just do your thing. And whether it's taking a check down or throwing it away or whatever, like just don't make those stupid interceptions. Cause we've seen a game where it was fumbles. We've seen a game where it was interceptions. So just like, even if you turn the ball over twice, like that's reasonable, I think, but just four is too much. Yeah. And on the same page, I think he's going to have to rely on Jonathan Taylor a lot because I think now that Taylor's back, I think it's going to be game four. Uh, we've seen his usage increase each week, about 15 to 42%. Uh, it was a split 50 split 50 50 last week Zach Moss was on the injury

Starting point is 00:16:26 report Wednesday didn't practice uh so I think I mean they're if they're both healthy they're still both going to have a role but we're going to see Jonathan Taylor at some point be like I don't think he's going to totally dominate the touches in the backfield but he's going to be heavily favored in his direction and we saw that in 2021 where the second half of the season they had to hide Carson Wentz in the passing game right and Taylor took advantage and went to the stratosphere and had the best season of Colts running back ever has yeah and he's looking like his old self as of last Sunday there's burst there's you know eliveness. He can break the tackles.

Starting point is 00:17:05 They're using him in the passing game really well. So that guy is starting to catch fire. And I have this circled in red as a potentially huge Jonathan Taylor game. Yeah. Yeah. I would circle that in red to red for concern. I would put that right there as well. Yeah, man, he's so good. I think that the players that I'm watching to have the biggest impact in this game are, of course, Derek Carr, but specifically Derek Carr's communication with his receivers. He said that he's had a bunch of different conversations, a bunch of different phone calls with players, some uncomfortable conversations, coming to terms and holding everybody accountable, being accountable himself, all those things. So hopefully that, and that it's led to productive conversations and productive work and togetherness

Starting point is 00:17:48 in, in, in practice. We'll see if that translates to results on the field. It's great to have those conversations. It's great to hear the content of those conversations, all that, but it's the results of those conversations that are most important. So we'll see what direction that goes. And so I think that becomes most important thing. And I think another guy that really has that opportunity

Starting point is 00:18:06 to really change this game is Paul Sinodivo, the cornerback opposite Marshawn Lattimore. So instead of the top corner, who is going to look to play a clean game, try to limit as much as they can from these talented receivers, talented pass catchers, the thing I'm looking for is Paul Sinodivo because what he tends to do

Starting point is 00:18:25 sometimes is that he has these games where he gets to that big interception but then also has that big pass interference penalty down the field at a crucial situation that gives new life to the opposing offense and stuff like that those are the things that you're going to want to really watch the balance up i think he leads the nfl right now in defensive pass interference calls with four uh through just five games played. Not going into his eighth game. This will be his sixth game going into here because he missed a couple with injury. So I think that becomes a really big factor to watch in this game as well.

Starting point is 00:18:54 Number 29 over on the Saints defense. Well, maybe the Colts can get a good look at him because they might be in the market before the trade deadline for a veteran corner. Didn't go great with Darryl Baker and Juju Brent's absence last week. So maybe they could use a corner like that. Yeah, maybe, maybe. He has been tied to some of those conversations quietly in the past. So we'll see how,

Starting point is 00:19:16 we don't know who knows how real those conversations were, but maybe with the trade deadline there's an opportunity there at the right price. So coming up next, who's going to win this one? We will let you know. And today's episode is crossover Thursday brought to you by our friends at FanDuel. FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook and our official sports betting

Starting point is 00:19:39 partners here on the Locked On Podcast Network. You like the Indianapolis Colts in this one, favored 1.5 points. Or you like the New Orleans Saints as road dogs over-under set at 43.5 points. Is this going to be another one of those barn burners, like what you saw unexpectedly between the Colts and the Browns? Are we going to see things kind of tamper down here? I think I might be taking the under on this one, Jake, but we'll see. So if you want to go and get in on that and much more,

Starting point is 00:20:05 and if you haven't used FanDuel before, let us hook you up right quick. Because right now, if you're a new customer, you can get $200 in bonus bets guaranteed win or lose simply by placing your first $5 bet. That's a $200 set of bonus bets win or lose. So if you've been thinking about joining FanDuel, now's absolutely the time to get it done. a $200 set of bonus bets, win or lose. So if you've been thinking about joining FanDuel, now's absolutely the time to get it done.

Starting point is 00:20:31 You can do so by visiting fanduel.com slash locked on and get that all started right now. That's fanduel.com slash locked on. FanDuel, official partner of the NFL. Today's episode also brought to you by our friends at Jace Medical. Listen, I live here in New Orleans. We deal with hurricanes. We got a whole season dedicated to them, all that. You want to be prepared. You want to be prepared for your worst because it's better to be prepared than to not be prepared, right? Better to have and not need than need and not have. And that's one of the

Starting point is 00:21:00 reasons why I love Jace Medical because they give you the opportunity to go and grab their Jace case. Let me tell you about the Jace case. Five different potential life-saving antibiotics that can help you out in over 50 different infections. So if you're in a situation to where it's a natural disaster or a natural storm or you're going to be without power for a little while, whatever it might be, you want to be prepared. And the Jace case is something you should absolutely add to your kit. So we're going to help you out. Go to jacemedical.com and enter the promo code LOCKEDON, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N, at checkout. It's going to get you a $20 discount on your order, Jace case included.

Starting point is 00:21:39 Once again, that is promo code LOCKEDON at J-A-S-E medical.com. All right. So I don't know how much better I feel about the Colts in this one or not. Yeah, I'll put you on the spot first. I mean, what do you think? Are the Saints good road warriors or anything? Because I know the Colts are not good at defending their home turf. Yeah, it's been really interesting.

Starting point is 00:22:04 The New Orleans Saints recently have been a much better road team than they have been a home team, which that did not used to be the case in New Orleans. Superdome used to be this very, very fearful place to come and play and all that. It has not been that here recently. At no fault to the fans in attendance, but very much because the team hasn't been defending their home turf, as you observed with the Indianapolis Colts.

Starting point is 00:22:27 So they have been pretty good on the road. They've not been necessarily great on the road as road dogs, however. So it's a little bit of a different thing there. So I think that when I look at this, what I see is two teams that need to figure out how to get out of their own way before they could even start playing against the team that they play with. So I'm expecting that they're playing it. So I'm expecting these two teams to go out there and play the songs that they know. I expect the Colts defense to do the thing that they feel that they're strong at,

Starting point is 00:22:50 the Saints offense to do the thing that they're strongest at, and vice versa, right? That they just go out there and play their best notes and hope that they come out on top in that matchup. And I think that that is a way that everybody says that they go about playing a, a way that everybody says that they go about playing football, but not always the way that they go about playing football. And so I'm very, very interested to see the way that this goes. I think this will be a low scoring game. I originally picked the new Orleans saints to lose this game. Cause I expected them to be going up against Anthony Richardson. I do feel a little bit better with it being Gardner Minshew only because that's

Starting point is 00:23:23 no, that's no shot at Gardner Minshew, but only because the Saints saw Minshew and Steichen last year with, with like better receiving weapons in particular and AJ Brown and, and, and Devonta Smith, two of the best. How dare you? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. But it's like, it's one of the best pairs. One of the best duos in the entire NFL. Right. So I think like, so, and the Saints did fared extremely well against him. I've also noticed that when Gardner Minshew starts a game or plays majority of snaps in a game and scores more than 30 points the next week, those scores have looked like 13 points, 10 points and 22 points. And so, and that included last year when he started in place

Starting point is 00:24:01 with Jalen Hurts, they scored 30 points in the previous game. Then they went up against New Orleans Saints and only scored 10. And so the consistency concern for Gardner Minshew is one that I'm watching. I think the Saints can win this game, but I could see them lose this game too, Jake. It's so tough. I had them projected as being four and four after this game, after a loss in this game in in my like preseason projections, I'm going to take the saints to win this one. I'm going to take it to, to, to maybe get it

Starting point is 00:24:31 started a little bit, but to me, the most important thing for new Orleans is not, can they win this game? It's can they remain consistent if they win this game? So really, I could see this one go either way, but for the voodoo of it all I'll pick the Saints 24 to 14 over the the Indianapolis Colts but this can go either way okay okay so I think like you want to win every game obviously but this game carries so much weight I think and there's so many things that the Colts want to get right and fix yeah like you had Michael Pittman Jr. kind of disgruntled about his usage after the game which he has later clarified you know I'm not I'm not a good loser you know like I want sure I want to help the team win but still and good by the way yeah oh yeah good and he's been

Starting point is 00:25:18 what his bread and butter coming out I mean part of his game coming out as a rookie was his yards after catch. And that has been on full display this year. Yes. So he's had several games where he's had 10 plus targets. I expect that again. I think Gardner is going to try and feed him as long as it's there. They're not going to force it.

Starting point is 00:25:36 But again, I think this is also going to be a big Jonathan Taylor game. Yeah. And we've seen when the Colts are able to control things and he's on fire, they do very well. And I trust the coaching and the people around Taylor more than I did back in like 2021. I just think this is going to be a really potent team when he's on fire. I haven't winning narrowly 23 to 21. There you go. Yeah. I really think it's that kind of game here like yeah it's a total toss-up last week i i made an argument for each one episode i i called the browns the other one i called the colts i i gave compelling arguments for both it didn't turn out the way any of us

Starting point is 00:26:17 talked they did that game did not turn out the way anybody thought it was going to turn out i think pj walker and gardner minchu were were surprised about the way anybody thought it was going to turn out. I think PJ Walker and Gardner Minshew were surprised about the way that game was going. Those two melting the scoreboard. Yeah, those guys putting up about 80 points on the scoreboard was pretty unexpected. That was awesome. Everyone, be sure to

Starting point is 00:26:38 I mean, obviously, if you're in Indy, if you're watching on your TV, great. You can also catch it on SiriusXM. Just go to your SXM app, search for Colts, search for Saints. You'll get your local broadcast. You'll get every snap of the action there. And with that, I think it's going to put a pin in it for us. We'll see you guys again.

Starting point is 00:26:56 Obviously, Friday, we'll come to you guys after the game as well. Be sure you check in with us. We'll give you all of our thoughts surrounding everything. If you don't already, follow at LockedOn don't already follow at Locked on Colts, at Locked on Saints, on Twitter, X, social media, subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts for free on YouTube and everything. And with that, we will see you guys tomorrow.

Your Ad Here

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts, Jonathan Taylor Set to Take Out Frustrations On New Orleans Saints?

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.