Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: Josh Downs, Matt Gay Out with Injuries, AD Mitchell to See First Career Start?

Episode Date: September 4, 2024

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs missed practice with an ankle injury on Wednesday. If he is unable to go against the Houston Texans, could AD Mitchell start in his first career game with t...he Colts? Become a Locked On Colts insider! Ask your burning questions and get prompt answers from someone who's around the team every day! Get special access from the locker room, practice field, and press box! JOIN HERE! Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-nfl/ Follow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOn_SI, as well on TikTok and Instagram! Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Now through September 22nd, ALL FanDuel customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get a THREE-WEEK free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit FANDUEL.COMto get started. For your next listen, check out the Locked On Fantasy Football podcast. Get daily insight to the best Fantasy draft strategies so you can win your league this season. Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!PrizePicksGo to https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL and use code lockedonmlb to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game. BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelNow through September 22nd, ALL FanDuel customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get a THREE WEEK free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

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Starting point is 00:00:00 The Indianapolis Colts could be without their starting kicker and their second leading wide receiver this Sunday. Let's get to it. You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Thank you all for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Now through September 22nd, all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a three-week free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTubeTV. Visit FanDuel.com to get started.
Starting point is 00:00:48 Hello, everyone. I am Zach Hicks, your favorite film nerd over at HorseshoeHuddle.com. My typical partner co-host, Jake Arthur, is not here today. Don't worry. We have a really great show in store for you. We're going to be talking all about the latest injury updates. The Colts released their first injury report of the season. And thankfully, thankfully, it's not too long yet. I know it looks like a CVS receipt later in the season, but as of right now, only two names on that list. So we'll talk about the news and notes, including that injury report. And then we'll talk about the ramifications of the injury report, like does a young rookie on offense potentially get a start this weekend?
Starting point is 00:01:28 We'll talk about that in segment two. And then we'll close it out by getting into our pre-week preview of this first game against the Houston Texans. Jake Arthur is doing the crossover this week. He's going to be doing that tomorrow with Cody from Locked On Texans. So I'm not going to get too in detail with my breakdown of what's going to happen this weekend. But I did want to give you guys a little bit of a, you know, a little bit of a pregame
Starting point is 00:01:52 going with that one there. So we'll talk about that in segment three. But let's get off with the segment one. Let's talk all about our news and notes that happened today. Only two players, again again on the injury report right now, which is great news for the Colts. Usually, you know, regardless of what week it is with this team, we are looking at a laundry list of players on this injury report, but only two players, but they are two massive players. Obviously one of them is kicker Matt Gay, one of Chris
Starting point is 00:02:22 Ballard's biggest free agent signings to date, which is kind of sad in its own right right there. But Matt Gay is dealing with a hernia and underwent surgery, which is what he confirmed to reporters today. He did not practice Wednesday. The Colts have not made any kind of corresponding move with, you know, placing him on IR or doing anything like that or even calling him out for this weekend. I think logically we can look at this as, okay, this guy just had surgery on a hernia. It's unlikely that he plays this weekend, but we don't know the status as of right now because the Colts haven't really announced too much. So we'll have to keep, you know, a close eye on that. Does Matt Gay eventually go to IR with this injury? Is it something that
Starting point is 00:03:05 he can be back for in the next couple of weeks? They don't need to put him on IR, but it is certainly something to monitor. The one thing I will say about this when it comes to the kicker injury, because you guys know me, I don't like to talk about kickers too much anyway, but it is good at least that this is an injury they found out in practice before a game started, because we have seen enough times with the Colts in the past where kickers have suffered injuries mid-game. I know Matt Gay struggled with a groin injury last year, and I believe it happened in the middle of one of the games.
Starting point is 00:03:38 I remember an infamous Rodrigo Blankenship game where he got injured halfway through a game, and it cost the Colts, I want to say, a game against the Ravens a couple years back. And then obviously Adam Benetary, some of his injury concerns late in his final season with the Colts. So, you know, if a kicker is going to get injured, you'd rather it figure it out before the game actually starts. So if we're looking for any silver lining, at least finding out about this hernia issue, getting it taken care of here before the first game. And hopefully when he's able to return at whatever point this year, he can be fully healthy instead of that injury flaring up in the middle of
Starting point is 00:04:15 a game. So I don't want to say they dodged a bullet here because anytime you have a starter go down with any kind of injury, it does suck. But hopefully this can square up some of his issues that he's having here. Hernia is no joke, obviously. I'm glad he got the surgery taken care of with that, and we'll just have to keep an eye on his status throughout the season, but it does look like Spencer Schrader will likely be the Colts kicker on Sunday. We'll talk more about what that means for the Colts in segment two, or at least kind of talk about it. I'm not an expert on kickers by any means, but we'll talk about a little bit there. Another massive injury update though, is wide receiver Josh Downs did mispractice with that
Starting point is 00:04:53 knee ankle injury. I think it was an ankle injury. Actually I have his knee injury here, but I think it's the ankle injury that he suffered when Nick Cross tackled him in practice about a month ago. Josh Downs has not practiced in any capacity really since the injury took place. He was doing some light jogging on the field. I saw our good friend James Boyd talking about that on Twitter today. So, you know, they're doing some good work with him off to the side, but for my speculation, just my guess here, I doubt he's going to be ready to play this Sunday. So the Colts are likely to be down their second leading pass catcher from a year ago. Their second leading guy in catches and in receiving yards.
Starting point is 00:05:32 Really strong player for this Colts team. Luckily, they have a young player who can step up in his place. But yeah, Josh Downs is certainly going to be a massive loss for this team if he does not play this Sunday. Now, again, the Colts have not ruled him out, but unless he has two full practices the rest of this week, which I don't think it's trending that way with Josh Downs, I would say it's more likely we see him in week two or maybe week three than actually see him here in week one against the Houston Texans. But again, it's certainly something
Starting point is 00:06:01 to monitor when it comes down to it. We don't know if he's going to be out right now. So, you know, we can only speculate basically from what we saw with the injury report. But wide receiver Josh Downs still progressing from that injury there. Some good news, though, on the injury report is more so like who wasn't on the report. I mean, rookie Tanner Bordellini, the team's backup center, backup guard, whatever you want to list him as, he was dealing with a toe injury for the final week of the preseason and the final week of practices. He was not limited in any capacity, so he seems to be good to go. Backup running back Trey Sermon, who missed a good chunk of training camp with a hamstring injury,
Starting point is 00:06:42 he was back out there, no limitations whatsoever. So he appears ready to go. And then outside corner Dallas Flowers, who appears to be the next man up if any of the other outside corners were to go down with an injury. He's been dealing with a hamstring injury as well, but he appeared to be all good to go. No limitations either with him. And then starting cornerback Juju Brents, who's been dealing with a broken nose the last couple weeks, he had no limitations. So the only two players that even popped up on the injury report at all were Josh Downs and Matt Gay. Now that could change, obviously, in the next couple of days.
Starting point is 00:07:14 We could have some flare-ups and some guys be limited in practice. But it appears all things look good to go with every player who was dealing with some minor scrapes and bruises outside of Downs and Gay. So again, this is going to be our most generous injury report of the season for the Indianapolis Colts. It's going to turn into CVS receipts from here. But as of right now, only two players projected to miss this week or potentially miss this week. We could see a miracle and see one of these guys go.
Starting point is 00:07:40 But overall, can't be too upset about this injury report because again, it's going to get worse as the year goes along. One more thing I did want to mention here with the news and notes because it does pertain to one of the Colts leaders on the team. And I think it's a really cool cause that he's being a part of here. But linebacker Zyre Franklin, it was announced today that he's going to be donating $44 per tackle this season to the Midwest Food Bank of America, and Coca-Cola will match every dollar. I didn't read in the report if it was for every half tackle as well, but I'm assuming it's just every tackle in general. So, you know, when you see his end of the season stuff, I don't think it's just solo tackles. I think it's going to be total tackles
Starting point is 00:08:19 for him. And if you guys know how Zyra Franklin plays out there, as long as he's healthy this season, this is going to be a good chunk of change because with Coke matching every single dollar, that's going to be $88 per tackle. And Zyra Franklin's a guy who's been on pace for 200 tackles at the halfway point each of the last two seasons. He's just been a little bit banged up for the final half of each season. So if he can stay healthy and really take you know, take his game to another level,
Starting point is 00:08:45 we could see 200 plus tackles this year, which would be, I mean, just off the top of my head, like $17,000 or so, $17,500, something like that. Really, really good number going to that Midwest Food Bank of America. And, you know, just to add something on top of this, Zyra Franklin has been a fantastic leader for this team, a great community member when it comes to the Indianapolis Colts since his time started here with the Colts. You just love seeing a guy grow every single year, not just grow as like a player, but also just see him take more and more leadership responsibilities with the Colts. You know, being a perennial captain every single year, being a guy that other players look up to, being a player who people in the community are really connected to
Starting point is 00:09:29 and cheer for, Zyra Franklin, one of Chris Ballard's greatest finds, a great person, great player on the field, and really, really fun to cover a guy like Zyra Franklin. So, hey, if you guys want to get involved on that too, Midwest Food Bank of America, I'm going to try to look into getting involved with that as well, because I think it's a great cause. But Zyra Franklin donating $44 per tackle this season at Midwest Food Bank of America.
Starting point is 00:09:51 It's going to be a pretty nice donation there from our guy, Zyra Franklin. But coming up, guys, we're going to transition talking about the news and notes and talk about kind of the ramifications of this injury report. And hey, maybe the Colts young rookie receiver gets a start in a very unusual place. But first, you guys have heard us talk a lot about FanDuel, America's number one sports book. Well, we have something a little bit different for you. Now, through September 22nd, all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a three-week free trial of NFL Sunday ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Then, with a YouTube TV-based plan, you'll be able to watch every single regular season,
Starting point is 00:10:29 Sunday afternoon, out-of-market game. All you need is a Google account and a current form of payment, and you can cancel at any time. FanDuel currently has the Houston Texans as 2.5-point favorites at Lucas Oil Stadium with a total point over under a 48.5. Look, guys, I'm not guaranteeing a Colts win or anything this weekend, but when the market is all leaning one team, especially in a week one matchup, you've got to play the odds and bet against what the market is leaning because week one can be kind of crazy. So put some money down on your Indianapolis Colts. Look, it's going to be a fun time. Let's do it, guys. Let's put some money down on the Indianapolis Colts.
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Starting point is 00:11:46 you get your podcast. All right, guys, we're continuing our talk about what to kind of expect with this Colts Week 1 game in light of these injuries. Obviously, the quick one to talk about here is a rookie kicker. Now, the Colts and just teams in general have had very, I guess, varying results, very varying results when it comes to rookie kickers. You know, it doesn't really matter where these guys are drafted, where you find these guys, you know, kick rookie kickers and just kickers in general are very volatile things when it comes to the NFL. So it's not like another position where throwing out an
Starting point is 00:12:23 undrafted rookie at like corner could be a massive, massive letdown for your team. Throwing out an undrafted rookie kicker could be even better than your starting kicker because who knows with kickers, it's really all down to confidence and whatever black magic is going on with kicking. But Spencer Schrader, by all accounts, had a good preseason with the Colts. They signed him back to the practice squad because Matt Gay was dealing with some injuries. So look, I know there's potential for this to really backfire for the Colts because again, it's a kicker, but hopefully he can just carry over that momentum that he had in the preseason. I'm not going to
Starting point is 00:13:00 have super high hopes because again, it's a kicker. It's just what happens with these things. But we'll see. I have whatever hopes you can have for a kicker in Spencer Schrader, and I hope that he can just get the job done. And, you know, I want to knock on wood when I say this, but at least it can't be as bad as Blankenship, right, two years ago in 2022 when the Colts literally tied the Texans because Blankenship could not make a field goal and was kicking kickoffs out of bounds. So as long as he can beat that standard, I will give this kid
Starting point is 00:13:30 a hug and tell him that he did a great job out there. So Spencer Schrader, if he ends up being the kicker this weekend, the bar is low, just surpassed that really low bar, and we're all good, buddy. We're all good right there. The more notable thing and maybe the easier thing for me to talk about, because as you guys can tell, talking about kickers just hurts my insides quite a bit. A.D. Mitchell could be getting his first career start in a really unorthodox way this weekend. You know, when the Colts selected A.D. Mitchell in, I think it was what, 51st overall in this past draft class, you know, the expectation was for him to come in,
Starting point is 00:14:05 compete with Alec Pierce for that X wide receiver spot and potentially replace him either before the season or at some point in this season at the X wide receiver spot. And I don't want to say that he outright lost that battle to Alec Pierce because, you know, I think Pierce had the advantage when those two were competing, but I don't think it was anything like Pierce was just blowing it away and for sure is going to be the guy. But I really think that the battle just changed perspectives when Josh Downs went down
Starting point is 00:14:36 with his injury. A.D. Mitchell transitioned more to being the slot receiver for the Colts and Pierce kind of locked up that X-wide wide receiver spot so with Downs likely set to miss this game on Sunday again I don't want to say anything for sure but it seems likely that Downs does not play this weekend we're gonna we could potentially see A.D. Mitchell get his first career start in the spot that we did not expect whatsoever when he was the Colts draft pick in this past draft so A.D. Mitchell might be getting some looks in the slot. I'm really intrigued by this. I never would have guessed slot wide receiver for A.D. Mitchell, and it's really not because of anything in his game in particular. Like,
Starting point is 00:15:18 yes, I would like to see him be more decisive off the line of scrimmage, and that could help with slot play. But overall, like, he's got the but overall like he's got the quickness he's got the feet he's got the awareness he's got the athletic ability to win in the slot and and I just would have thought the Colts would have gone with more of an Anthony Gould who fits the archetype a little bit more or maybe a Michael Pittman Jr. because he's just a veteran player who knows what he's doing there. But if they think A.D. Mitchell is the best way to exploit matchups and get a really talented athletic wide receiver on linebackers and in ideal situations, then I'm all for this. I mean, we saw a glimpse of this against the Cincinnati Bengals in that final preseason game, and A.D. Mitchell looked pretty
Starting point is 00:16:01 good. He uncovered wide open down the field on a third down where Richardson missed him. Had another rep where he was off in his communication with Richardson. That could have been better. But then they, you know, obviously had the mesh touchdown as well to A.D. Mitchell on the first drive of that game. So overall, I think it could go pretty well. I'm more so intrigued by this than anything. Like I'm not going to project that AD Mitchell goes off for like an eight catch a hundred yard performance or anything like that. But I am fascinated to see how he looks in this completely foreign role to him,
Starting point is 00:16:35 because even at Texas, he really wasn't used in any other way outside of being an outside wide receiver that could beat press and maybe catch some RPO stuff off of some quick looks. But he really hasn't been a slot receiver at any point in his career. So this is an opportunity for him to really shine in a new role. And I think that's a fascinating thing to do with a rookie, where it's like we're giving you a chance to go out there and earn snaps in maybe this really unorthodox way, but see what he can do out there. So yeah, it'll be really interesting to see how
Starting point is 00:17:05 it fits. You know, the Colts like to use their slot wide receiver on a lot of motion looks, a lot of orbit type stuff just to kind of move the defense. So I'm curious to see if that's where AD Mitchell comes into play or maybe Gould gets out there for some of that stuff. They like to use their slot receiver obviously on one-on-one situations and be that quick winner, especially on empty personnel on the backside. You're going to have that guy on a linebacker or on a safety. So if they get A.D. Mitchell on an island versus a linebacker, you probably have to take that, right? I know downs is maybe even a better separator,
Starting point is 00:17:39 but Mitchell's no slouch in that department. So I think it's going to lead to some really cool things for this Colts offense if they fully commit to it. But overall, I think it's going to be a really fun showing. I'm really excited to see how he looks in that role. And again, it might be like the results, like with the rookie kicker, like there might be some good and some bad and it could lean bad, but I'm optimistic. We're going to week one, guys. We can't be pessimistic here. So we're going to be optimistic about it. And it's going to be fun to see the rookie get on the field because I really thought he was going to be more of a rotational guy until like halfway point of the season.
Starting point is 00:18:11 But now it's looking like, look, he could be a starter from week one with this Josh Downs injury. So A.D. Mitchell, let's see what you got, buddy. Let's see what you can do out there against a really good Houston Texans team. But coming up, guys, we are going to talk about that Colts and Texans game. Now, I'm not going to go super in-depth with this breakdown because, again, we got tomorrow's episode where Jake's doing the crossover, talking about it, and also Friday's episode, which is like our official pregame. But I do want to give you guys a little bit of a pregame taste of what I
Starting point is 00:18:39 think the Colts should do to get the victory on Sunday against the Houston Texans. But first, passion, drive, and patience. The formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive. eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance. Superchargers, roof rack, exhaust kits, LED headlights, and more. Whether you're into speed, power, or style, eBay Motors has got you covered. With over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die, you'll always find exactly what you're looking for. And with eBay Guaranteed Fit, your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your
Starting point is 00:19:15 money back. Because with eBay Motors, you're burning rubber, not cash. With all the parts you need at the prices that you want, it's easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins. Keep your ride or die live at ebaymotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusion supply. eBay guarantee fit. Only available to U.S. customers. All righty. Locked on Colts every day as we are back with our early breakdowns for week one. Colts Texans, the rematch from week 18 of last year and again this is not a full breakdown this is going to be your little appetizer before the real thing these next two days but I did want to give some early thoughts on what I think the Colts path to victory is on both offense and defense when it comes to offense obviously the biggest thing run the dang ball run
Starting point is 00:20:01 the dang ball I know I'm saying that to the cringe of all the analytics guys out there. I look, I love me some analytics too. I know throwing the ball is more effective, but in a week one game where they're facing an opponent, where they have the advantage in the trenches, they have the ability to run the ball like they did last year against the Houston Texans. And they have a quarterback who maybe has to shake off some rust, lean on that run game, lean on the RPO game and keep things moving forward and get into manageable third and shorts. If you get into any of those third downs in general.
Starting point is 00:20:31 So I really do think leaning on the run game is going to be vital in this game. Last year in two games against the Houston Texans, the Colts ran the ball 60 times for 353 yards and four touchdowns. And while Zach Moss was a big part of that, Jonathan Taylor had nearly 200 total yards against the Texans last year. Anthony Richardson had, what, three carries for 35 yards and two touchdowns in his first matchup against this team. So Colter still returning
Starting point is 00:20:58 a good, what, 230, 240 yards of rushing offense that came against this Houston Texans team last year. I really do think though, on top of the run game, really mixed in those RPOs and those RPRs, get the Texans and some uncomfortable looks, make their linebackers second guess everything that they're seeing and just make these guys move a little bit. Whatever you can do to limit the box that is upfront against Jonathan Taylor to make things easier for him. I do think that's going to open things up because we saw last year, especially in that second matchup. I know the Colts didn't run, you know, they didn't have like the read option game or the
Starting point is 00:21:35 RPR game too much with Gardner Minshew, but they did have the RPO game. And what we saw in a lot of those big runs that Jonathan Taylor had is the Colts were just pounding them with RPO, RPO, RPO, every single run concept. Even if it was like a split zone run concept where the tight ends coming across and blocking, it still looks like an RPO because the Colts do so many RPO looks out at that. Just because it is a designed run, if you have a wide receiver doing a quick button hook or doing a quick hook or something like that, or breaking off into the flat, it makes that RPO, it makes it look like an RPO on top of it. And you're making linebackers commit to certain things that aren't that run game. And it opens things up for Jonathan Taylor. I mean, in every sense of it, that final game that the Colts had against the Texans last year
Starting point is 00:22:19 was the all-encompassing look of what Shane Steichen can do for Jonathan Taylor and what Jonathan Taylor can do for Shane Steichen. So I kind of want them to lean on that again in this game. The Colts have a fantastic offensive line. They have a quarterback who has a rocket arm, who has big legs, and has the ability to just dictate what a defense is really going to be showing you and doing against you. So I want you to use that to your advantage and really pound the rock in this game with Jonathan Taylor. I'm not saying that Taylor needs to get 40 carries in this game by any means, but I do think they need to lean on that run game early and often to open up more things later in
Starting point is 00:22:57 the game. When it does come to the passing game, you know, again, RPO is a big part of that, but really, really do things that are more in Richardson's comfort level. Richardson at this point in his career, I don't think he's the super developed passer because he has some mechanical issues. But where he's at his best is when he has to fit things into tight windows, when he can just one-two read and just rip it down the field. A lot of seam shots, a lot of shots in between zone coverages, quick screens and stuff. So we can just get the ball out quick. I do think there is some opportunity for, you know, again, that layups and three pointers offense this year, where you can rip some seam shots, rip some vertical balls,
Starting point is 00:23:35 but also keep it short with the quick game, the RPO game, the screen game, and just keep again, keep things moving on this offense, you know, get Richardson into third and threes because what do you do on third and three against a 250-pound quarterback who can run the ball and pull the ball out quick and throw it on those RPOs with such great timing and anticipation and velocity? But you have to get into those third and threes for them to matter. So I think that's really the game plan for the Colts
Starting point is 00:24:02 on offense in a very generalized standpoint. Lean on that run game, lead on Jonathan Taylor, get some RPOs and get the ball moving a little bit, and just stay ahead of the sticks. It's really about getting into those third and three, third and fours, because the more you get into third and nine, third and 10 with a quarterback like Richardson, you see more miscommunications, you see more mechanical issues, you see things just not fitting the way they should. But if you get into a point where his legs are always a threat, then you're going to see much more advantageous stuff on offense. So the Colts can really keep up with this Texans offensive firepower if you're
Starting point is 00:24:35 staying ahead of the sticks and leaning on the run game. So I think that's going to be the big part on offense. When it comes to defense, you know, it's funny. We talked about the Colts offense, how you can keep up with this Texans offense while on defense, it's really just mitigate the damage. You know, again, I don't want to say CJ Stroud is in that level of quarterback of like a Josh Allen or Pat Mahomes where it's like, Hey, they're always going to get theirs. You know, they're always going to get theirs. Just make sure you stay on top of it and keep the point total low. But to a degree, when you have a secondary, like the Colts have, I do think that kind of rings true a little bit in this matchup where just stay on top of these passes, make sure you're sitting deep, make sure you're not allowing touchdowns on the big
Starting point is 00:25:16 completions or the big plays. Or, you know, if Stroud rips a 19-yard, you know, in-breaking route against you, make sure you're making that tackle and limiting it to the 19 yards and not missing a tackle and making that turn into a 35 yard gain or something like that. I think that's really the big thing for the Colts. It's like this defense does not need to be perfect in this game. Like it does not need to be perfect. I don't need, I don't need Stroud to be throwing, you know, completing 50% of his passes and
Starting point is 00:25:44 throwing three picks for the Colts to win. He can still have a massive game. He can still go off for 70% completion percentage and 300 yards passing. Just keep them out of the end zone. Just stay on top of these balls. Limit the damage after the catch. And if you can force turnover here and there, that'd be big. But just make sure that these issues don't compound into bigger ones.
Starting point is 00:26:06 If they're completing a chunk play over the middle of the field, make the tackle. So it doesn't become a bigger chunk. It's kind of the Matt Eberflug style of defense where it's like, make these guys march up and down the field. Don't let them kill you in three, four or five play touchdown drives. If they're going to score a touchdown, you make it a 15 play drive. Like again, I know that's not sexy. That's not the best thing to say for a defense, but I think that's the plan of attack with this Colts team. You know, you look at CJ Stroud last year,
Starting point is 00:26:34 I believe it was just him and Brock Purdy were the top two in the NFL, an EPA per play and just efficiency on deep balls last year. Just fantastic deep ball throwers. I think Stroud was number one i'll have to double check on that but stroud was a super effective almost outlier like style effective on deep passes last year and when you go to more of the underneath stuff it wasn't as effective or as outlier ish it was more middle of the road when it came to stroud so make him have to pick those battles make him have to take the short ball sit sit on the deep stuff, take away the deep stuff, make them march up and down the field because then mistakes can happen. Then you can draw holdings and you can get bad snaps that turn
Starting point is 00:27:12 to second and 20 and get off the football field. He could still have 300 yards passing at the end of the day. It could be like that week two game last year where he threw the ball for 380 yards or whatever it was. And it didn whatever it was and it didn't matter like it didn't matter it wasn't even a close game the Colts won in blowout fashion so I do think there is a path to winning without taking away everything Strout does it's just mitigating the damage that he's going to create because he is a good quarterback the one thing I do think the Colts can take a lot of advantage of in this game though is the matchup in the trenches and and this again kind of goes back to
Starting point is 00:27:45 that week two matchup from last year where the Texans were missing a lot of guys on their offensive line and the Colts certainly made them pay in that first half I mean the Colts got off to a massive lead in that game because their defensive line was just beating the crap out of the Texans they were stopping the run they were getting in Stroud's face they forced to fumble early they had like four sacks by halftime that was the key to victory in that game, which made it out of reach late in the third quarter for when Stroud was able to pile up all those stats late in that game. I think a similar path can happen this year, even with the Texans being healthy on the offensive line. You know, like Loreme Tunsell is a fantastic left tackle, but the Colts are going to be having a very healthy defensive line.
Starting point is 00:28:26 You know, Quidipe hopefully taking another step up from where he was last year. You know, a young rookie phenom, Leatu Latu coming in here. You got Tyquan Lewis looking good, DeForest Buckner, Grover Stewart's back to stop the run game. If the Colts can really stop the run game again in this one and get some early pressure on CJ Stroud, you can get their offense a little discombobulated early and lead to good things. I mean, I know we're looking at the Texans offense as this juggernaut right now, but in two games against the Colts last year, they averaged a little over 21 points a game. Like that's not like they were like, they weren't bludgeoning the Colts for like 50 points and 700 yards of offense. So we'll see. I'm not saying that the Colts defense is bound to stop this Texans offense, but there are ways to do it and that are not like illogical to think about.
Starting point is 00:29:13 Win the battle up front in the trenches and mitigate the damage on those couple Stroud throws where he's going to, you know, he's going to rip a laser that looks perfect and looks like the greatest throw ever. Make sure you mitigate the damage and actually make a tackle on those plays. And I think the Colts have a good chance of coming out victorious in this one. But again, this is just the appetizer for talking about Colts and Texans. Jake will be back tomorrow with the crossover with Cody from Locked on Texans.
Starting point is 00:29:38 That'll be a fun time. And then obviously on Friday, Jake and I will be back together talking about our expectations, our breakdown, and what we think happens with this Colts and Texans game as well. So it should be a fun time. Make sure you guys are tuning in to Locked on Colts for that. And if you guys want to become a Locked on Colts insider and chat with us directly and get that insider scoop, follow the link in our show notes. And if you guys don't already, make sure you're following at Locked on Colts, at Jake
Starting point is 00:30:01 Arthur, NFL, and at Zach Hicks too, all on Twitter. Also subscribe to us on YouTube, wherever you list your podcasts. We love your guys' ratings and reviews, and we'll catch you guys back here tomorrow with a Locked On Crossover.

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