Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Must Lean On Anthony Richardson, Jonathan Taylor vs. Tennessee Titans

Starting point is 00:00:00 Whether it's for pride or some long shot hopes for the postseason, the Colts need to show up today and handle their business against the Titans. 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. Good morning, every dayers. 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, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:39 And today's show is brought to you by FanDuel. You can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a $5 bet and you'll get started with $250 in bonus bets. If you win your first $5 bet, visit FanDuel.com today to get started. What is up, everybody? Welcome to the show. Doing things a little differently today. This would normally be our Friday pregame show.

Starting point is 00:01:01 We're bringing it to you game day morning. Just me, of course, JakeArthurofHorseshoeHuddle.com. Your boots on the ground there at the Colts facility throughout the week. I, of course, will be there at Lucas Oil Stadium later for you guys to bring you all the updates and what's going on from there. Obviously, Zach and I will come to you right after the game with our postgame show. But today, we're just kind of taking one final look at this matchup. It's changed a little bit throughout the week. The Titans have made a quarterback change,

Starting point is 00:01:30 but ultimately I'll let you know what I think is going to happen in this one. We'll look at what the Colts defense might be facing with the Titans offense featuring new quarterback Mason Rudolph. But first we're going to kick it off and you know, what do we expect with this Colts offense? Now, as we all know, week to week, you don't know what to expect. They, the Colts very rarely play complimentary football. You don't know if it's going to be a good offensive day, good defensive day. It's almost never both in the same day. You never know quarter to quarter what's going to go on. But, you know, you are your body of work and what the stats say.

Starting point is 00:02:04 And, you know, there's going to be injuries. But you are your body of work and what the stats say, and there's going to be injuries that dictate in this one. So let's just go ahead and without further ado, we'll hop into it. So injury-wise with the Colts offense, wide receiver Alec Pierce is out with a concussion, was able to get a limited session in on Friday. So hopefully things will be looking up for him next week, but he suffered that concussion late in the game last week and was not able to come back in, was barely able to practice. So the Colts will not have their top deep threat in this one. You've got to thank A.D. Mitchell's probably in the next one that steps in. He has been, you know, the fourth receiver this year, obviously much maligned. Last week, the kind of the latest thorn for him didn't even really

Starting point is 00:02:48 have anything to do with being a receiver, being a deep threat. It was because Shane Steichen entrusted him with a trick play that went obviously very, very poorly as the Denver Broncos returned it for a pick six slash fumble recovery, however you want to call it. But yeah, A.D. Mitchell looks like he'll get another opportunity to make something happen, hopefully just as a receiver this week. Questionable for the Colts, kicker Matt Gay with a neck. He was able to get into practice on Friday. Now, I think they only kick one day a week.

Starting point is 00:03:18 So he was listed as a DNP two days this week. So that just may be the nature of being a kicker, but Matt Gay is questionable. He's been really, really, really good this year after the rough ending to last year and kind of the rough start to the summer. Excuse me. A tight end Mo'Ally Cox, questionable with a hip injury, And then Ashton Doolin is questionable with an ankle. Doolin has missed some time lately with that ankle. Finally was able to practice a little bit this week. So we'll see how that goes there.

Starting point is 00:03:53 Center Ryan Kelly is back from injured reserve finally. He had a knee injury that had knocked him out for, I think it was five games. He was able to come back to practice last week, but was not quite ready to go. He's ready to go now. His injury designation for the week has been lifted as well. So he'll regain the starting role there at center. Interesting choices by the Colts lately. Tanner Bortolini had been the backup for Ryan Kelly throughout the season.

Starting point is 00:04:23 He suffered a concussion, which opened up a door for Danny Pinter. Even after Bordellini was back and ready, the Colts still went with Danny Pinter, and it did not go well, especially last week against a really tough Denver defensive front. Again, this week, the Colts elevated right guard Mark Glowinski for this game, so you could probably expect to see him at right guard again. You know, it's odd that they seem to be committing to him being the right guard, but haven't called him up to the active roster permanently yet. They just keep making him a game day designation. And then as far as Colts offense slash Titans defense injuries go, Titans linebacker Kenneth Murray is questionable with a hamstring injury,

Starting point is 00:05:06 but he has not practiced this week. That's a big deal. Murray's a really good player. He's the type of linebacker that flies all over the field. So injuries will definitely be interesting in this one from both sides. So for the Colts offense, they're facing a Titans defense that, on paper, it's hard to know what to make of them. They rank second in yards, 297.4 per game,

Starting point is 00:05:29 but 29th in scoring at 27.1 points per game. So their offense obviously does not do a good job of keeping the ball away from the other team. And the Titans may not give up a lot of yards, but the points, they come by the end of the game. They are against the pass. They are tied for third in yards per attempt at 6.6. But they don't really get after the pass or they're tied for 26th in sacks, which is 28.

Starting point is 00:05:57 This is interesting for Anthony Richardson because he obviously, even if they were really good at getting after the quarterback, he doesn't get sacked very often at all. Anthony Richardson, obviously one of the best quarterbacks in the league, avoiding sacks. So that's not really an issue in this one. But his yards per attempt has definitely been dwindling. Since he returned from the benching, the big plays and the passing offense have not been as prevalent as they were earlier in the season. Now, of course, they lived and died on the big play through the passing game earlier in the season. But this is perhaps going to be a tough one for the Colts. The Titans obviously have really good safety play. So yeah, they do not give up a lot of big plays through the air. On the ground,

Starting point is 00:06:44 it's also pretty productive as well. They're tied for fifth in yards per carry, allowed just 4.1. This is a big one for Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor to need to do things on the ground. Jonathan Taylor has strung together a couple solid games on the ground the past couple weeks, but obviously had that all-time gaffe where he dropped the ball before crossing the goal line last week. No one's really besmirching his name, if not for that, because otherwise it was a really good game. You know, 100-yard game would have had the 41-yard touchdown. So Taylor, outside of that awful, awful play, has been on a little bit of a roll lately and historically hasn't done well against the Titans.

Starting point is 00:07:30 So Anthony Richardson, Jonathan Taylor, what can they do as a tandem against a really tough Titans defense, no matter how you cut it against the, you know, on the ground and through the air, not a lot of big plays through the air. And also they don't give you a lot of room to work with up the middle. Obviously, Jeffrey Simmons, one of the preeminent defenders in the National Football League. That makes a lot of sense. Now, the Colts have struggled at times to get to the red zone. I think it was last week, just one trip to the red zone. But if they get there, the Titans defense ranks 28th in red zone defense.

Starting point is 00:08:06 So if they allow you in the red zone, they're probably going to give up a touchdown. That'll be big because historically Anthony Richardson, especially in this back half of the season, since he's returned from his benching and Jonathan Taylor, they are both highly effective in the red zone. If you've got both of those guys, one of them's probably getting in the end zone.

Starting point is 00:08:26 So if you can get there, you're probably going to score a touchdown in this one. So overall, how this one looks offensively for the Colts, hopefully Anthony Richardson can find some sort of, you know, bridge the gap between, you know, the peaks and valleys. Since returning from the benching, I thought last week was the only bad game he's had. Obviously, he had the two game winning drives in fourth quarters.

Starting point is 00:08:52 The stats were not good. Like his stats since coming back are bad, just kind of like they were throughout the season. But I think we can all acknowledge like, it looks better on the field, the product does, even though the stats aren't there. Obviously, guys have to show up and catch the ball, be in the right places where they're supposed to, things like that. So we'll see how that goes. I think the Colts need to try and establish their own. Kenneth Murray being perhaps not able to play in this one, I think, is a big deal. We'll see if they can get any big plays in the passing game. The recipe certainly isn't helpful for that with Alec Pierce being out

Starting point is 00:09:33 and having to rely on A.D. Mitchell. Josh Downs being there is certainly helpful. We'll see what Michael Pittman Jr. can do. Obviously, you don't know week to week what he's going to be able to give you because of the back. So hopefully the offensive line can play better because they were pretty bad last week with Danny Pinter and Mark Lewinsky right next to each other. But Ryan Kelly will be back and healthy. Mark Lewinsky, hopefully a little bit of a comeback opportunity for him. It's probably not going to be great against the pass, but hopefully

Starting point is 00:10:05 he can at least provide some push in the run game so that Jonathan Taylor can get going. So again, this is not a terrific matchup for the Colts, but this Titans team, it seems like a team that, you know, it's late in the season. They're well under 500. You know, they're not even close, you know, three wins. Maybe they're packing it in a know they're not even close you know three wins maybe they're packing it in a little bit we'll see um the colts even though it's not a great matchup if this offense doesn't perform well inexcusable you know that they they have got to do something sometime and they need to save a lot of jobs with the last few games and this is one of them i mean the titans are three and you know three and eleven for a reason so how can this offense perform anthony richardson this

Starting point is 00:10:49 is a big opportunity for him again this is a division game you know this is not dressed up well for the colts to have much success through the air so this needs to be anthony richardson and jonathan taylor taking over creating yards on their own with their legs, and just setting the tone for the entire game. Coming up, what about the Colts' defense? They actually did pretty well last week. Can they carry it into another week? That's been hard to do at times, but we'll find out a little bit more coming up next.

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Starting point is 00:12:11 lineup. That's right, $50 instantly when you play just $5. Price Fix, run your game. All right, so the Colts have their own, you know, notable things going on injury-wise defensively. EJ Speed, he was out this week from practice. He's got a knee injury. He's had that knee injury off and on throughout the season. He is out for this one. Juju Brents, who returned to the practice field this week from the knee injury that he suffered back in week one. He was able to get some practice time in, but he's not quite ready to return yet.

Starting point is 00:12:51 He's been left on IR for now and has been deemed out for this matchup. That'll be interesting if he can come back for the last two games. You got the Giants, you got the Jaguars, so maybe make a little something out of his season. Give a little room for optimism heading into the off season. But still, unfortunately for him, that's a guy who has not been a hundred percent at any point in his career with the Colts. If he could show some good things these last couple of weeks, that's terrific, but they do need to account for the fact that he is hurt quite a bit. They still need to make some moves at cornerback, but nonetheless, I don't think many of us thought he might be able to come back this season

Starting point is 00:13:27 just because, again, the litany of injuries throughout his career, it's like, do you take the chance? But he's apparently getting closer. They did activate Jalen Carlisle, rookie linebacker from IR. He had the fibula and the shoulder injury. To make room for him on the roster, they waived safety Darren Hall. This one's a big one because we've kind of talked a lot in the last two, three weeks about the fact that the three linebackers that the Colts have been having to play, Zyra

Starting point is 00:13:55 Franklin, EJ Speed, and Grant Stewart, they are all run stoppers who have kind of struggled with missed tackles. They're all primary run stoppers who struggle in coverage. So you got three linebackers with the same strengths and weaknesses, which is not great. Now, to Zaire Franklin's credit, he has been better in past coverage in recent weeks, especially from a mental aspect. He's not just necessarily showing up in the right place at the right times.

Starting point is 00:14:24 He's got the couple of interceptions, but mentally he's putting himself in the right places. He is diagnosing and recognizing things the offense are doing and getting to the right spot to make the play. Last week was a good one where he just jumped the route over the middle of the field and got the interception. So Franklin's getting better there, but it's still not enough to like hang your hat

Starting point is 00:14:45 on it. Meanwhile, Jalen Carlisle has been the Colts top rated linebacker and coverage throughout the year. Now, obviously he was on IR, so he missed a huge chunk of the year. So not a great sample size, but I think this is a really good, I don't know how long EJ speed's going to be out, maybe just this week, but you're looking at Zyra Franklin, who you know is going to be a starting linebacker for you next year. There's a lot monetarily tied in him, but you kind of get a couple of weeks to see if Jalen Carlisle can step up and, you know, give you confidence that maybe he can be Zyra Franklin's running mate next year because EJ Speed is a free agent this offseason. So this is really good timing for Carlisle to get back.

Starting point is 00:15:30 He provides them an area they need help in and coverage over the middle of the field. And, you know, this is this is an opportunity for him to show, hey, I could be your starting will linebacker next year. Next is Zyra Franklin at Mike. So big opportunity ahead for him. I mentioned, you know, offensively, the Colts called up Mark Glowinski for this game from the practice squad. They also called up cornerback Trey Flowers from the practice squad for this one. As far as Titans injuries go, running back Tony Pollard, who had one of the easier, it looked difficult, you know, because he had some skill involved in it.

Starting point is 00:16:07 But the Colts made it look like one of the easiest touchdown runs you're ever going to see back in that week six Colts win. Pollard was questionable with an ankle injury. He missed a lot of practice time this week, but reports say he is expected to play. So TyJ Spears had a big game last week. He's done some really big things in Tony Pollard's absence, but it does look like Tennessee is going to have Pollard and Ty J Spears available in the backfield for them. This is a big one, kicker Nick Folk. He's questionable with an abdomen injury. He's truly a game-time decision for them. He's been automatic this season. I think

Starting point is 00:16:46 he's only missed one or two kicks, made all of his extra points. The Titans did call up Brayden Narveson from the practice squad just in case folk can't go. So this does seem like a true game time decision. They won't know until about game time whether folk will be able to kick or not. So they could be without their really, really good kicker, which could play a role. Obviously, the Colts do not run away with games. This very well could, if they win or lose, could be a one score game. So Tennessee not having their kicker or having him hobbled could be a big deal. So looking at this Titans offense, they're making the switch from Will Levis, who's been benched, moving on to Mason Rudolph. Rudolph is one and two as a starter this year.

Starting point is 00:17:31 Levis missed some time earlier this year with a shoulder injury. Rudolph is one and two this year, 63% completions, seven total touchdowns, six total turnovers. As a passer, 6.6 yards per attempt which is fine 81 and a half rating Rudolph is giving you fine backup quarterback play like he hasn't been awful he has not been great like he's moving the ball a little bit taking what the defense gives you he's been fine he's kind of giving you a little more middle ground to the wild peaks and valleys that Will Levis gives you. So not a total sloucher pushover by any means. The Colts defense can't take him lightly, but they do need to get after him.

Starting point is 00:18:18 You know, they do need to take advantage of any errant throws or poor decisions that he makes, which last week they did a great job. They picked off Bo Nix three times. It was a huge defensive performance by the Colts. They basically held Denver's offense to the lowest output that they had all season. Now, as we know with this Colts team, like I mentioned at the top of the show, offense, defense, whatever, you never know quarter to quarter what they're going to give you, let alone if they can build momentum on any side of football in consecutive games. So the Colts defense has a much better matchup in this one than the Colts offense does.

Starting point is 00:18:51 The Titans offense is 27th overall, just 301 yards per game. They're also 27th in scoring, just 18.1 points per game. They give up a lot of sacks. They're near the bottom, bottom five. They're 27th. They've been up 46. And their second-to-last in interceptions was 17. Obviously, Will Levis is a big factor in these things. So Mason Rudolph, again, smooths things out a little bit, but he's not been without fault because, like I mentioned, he has six of his own turnovers this year. Tennessee is also 22nd on third downs,

Starting point is 00:19:25 just 36.6%. 25th in red zone scoring at 52.6%. And they're dead last in turnovers. So this offense is bad. They're best factors. They're middle of the road, you know, running the ball, they're middle of the road. They're an average run team. Obviously the Colts made them look much better than that in the week six matchup. But if the Colts defense doesn't step up at home at Lucas Oil Stadium, build some momentum from last week, it gets a much, much, much better offense in the Denver Broncos. I just won't know. I won't know what to tell you. This kind of comes back to the basics again. I hate to sound coach-speaky, but when the Colts' defense has been bad this year, it's been kind of a breakdown in fundamentals. Not wrapping up and tackling, not being able to get off blocks, overrunning in pursuit, taking poor angles. It's been stuff that coaches makes them pull their hair out.

Starting point is 00:20:25 Gus Bradley doesn't have any hair, but if he had hair, he'd be pulling it out at some of just the lack of execution that the Colts defense has had in these matchups, notably the week six matchup, which they could have easily lost if not for some heroics from Joe Flacco and Michael Pittman Jr. So this one, I'm looking for the Colts defense to just take care of business. Again, they have the better line

Starting point is 00:20:49 than the Titans offensive line. Get after Mason Rudolph. I mean, he's not a mobile quarterback by any means. He could pick up a second two, second three if he needs to, whatever. But that's a guy who you can bring him down. Again, the Titans give up a lot of sacks they turn the ball over a lot they're they're okay at running the ball even though they've

Starting point is 00:21:11 ty jay spears and obviously tony pollard have had their their positive moments but they're not productive as passers um you know without will levis they're probably going to lose a good amount of the explosive element of their passing offense. So by no means can you let this offense push you around. I don't know that it's capable of pushing you around. The run game can be pretty effective, but if you miss tackles and you let Pollard and Spears, you know, kill you over the middle between the tackles, and then you let Mason Rudolph have play action opportunities off based off of that, then that'd be totally just,

Starting point is 00:21:52 that wouldn't even be the Titans winning. That would be the Colts laying over and dying and allowing the Titans to beat them. So play with a little pride today. When, and these clear advantages that you have because they don't always do it um i hate to sound like debbie downer but i i think we're all a little jaded after you know the the broncos debacle um but yeah you've got the clear you've got the clear advantages in this one take advantage of them and just you know show some pride and give the fans that are going to

Starting point is 00:22:23 be there today lucas oil stadium a reason to cheer because you know, show some pride and give the fans that are going to be there today in Lucas Oil Stadium a reason to cheer. Because, you know, great for them that they're coming out and watching. You know, they don't have to do that. You know, it's cold outside. They're not watching super winning football. Give them something to be happy about. So coming up next, what's the, you know, what's the final verdict? Are the Colts going to win this one?

Starting point is 00:22:43 What do we think is going to happen? We'll get to that in a moment. The NFL playoffs are almost here, but it's not too late to get in on the regular season action with FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook, because right now, new customers can finish the season strong with $250 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. FanDuel has so many ways for you to pick up the W. Personally, I love betting on which players will score a touchdown, how many points each team will score.

Starting point is 00:23:11 It's thrilling when you actually hit. So in this game, FanDuel has the Colts' 3.5-point favorites with a total point over under a 42.5. What do I think will happen? We'll get to that here in just a moment. But as for you, just visit Fanandle.com to join today. And that's Fandle.com for your chance at $250 in bonus bets. Make every moment more with Fandle, an official sports bet partner of the NFL.

Starting point is 00:23:38 All right, guys. So what do we think is going to happen? Flood the comments now with your score predictions. We're not going to happen. Blood the comments now with your score predictions. We're not going to talk about playoffs because I think it's a lot needs to happen. You know, the Colts need to win out and they need a ton of help. They need a ton of Christmas gifts, so to speak. But no, so I reluctantly will give the Colts the win here. I have them going 21 to 13. I think on paper, you know, you guys know me, I'm willing to be a lot more optimistic on my score predictions for them. I'm willing to give

Starting point is 00:24:13 them, you know, upper 20s and that they can hold opponents to, you know, under 15, 16 points. I do have them winning 21 to 18 again. I think they could score even more. They could score 24, 27, 28 points, but I'm going to cap them at 21 here. I do think Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor bounce back. Anthony needs his pass catchers to do the right thing. Now, it's not all on him, but with how downfield-based they are, it's not a passing offense that is rhythmic and, you know, keeps the chains moving or anything like that. That's not how the passing offense, this one, works. It's totally based on chemistry

Starting point is 00:24:59 downfield beyond the sticks between the quarterback and the pass catchers, and it's just often not there. I do think Josh Downs plays an important role in this one, of course. Hopefully, fingers crossed, they really needed him in this one. So Josh Downs bounced back. Anthony Richardson bounces back. Jonathan Taylor, let's give him another 100-yard game. Again, he doesn't normally do very well against the Tennessee Titans, but I'm going to give him another hundred yard game. I'll give him a touchdown or two as well. You know, I haven't scored three touchdowns. Obviously we'll give him one or two of those. So the Colts win the defense does enough against the Titans offense. They clearly are the better unit there. It's just, do they show up and perform well or not? I say they're going to do it. So, again, everybody, comments, what do you think?

Starting point is 00:25:46 Who's going to win? Stay tuned with us after the game. Obviously, Zach and I will be live with you afterwards. I'll be down on the field after the game giving you my quick report, and then we'll get a full-length episode for you. Follow along on Twitter throughout the day for live updates. And, you know, after this, thank you for making us your first listen of the day. After this, go find locked on NFL.

Starting point is 00:26:15 First, you're going to get the madman Tyler Rowland, who kicks off your morning with a double shot of NFL espresso and then stop by the barbershop with Tony Wiggins for some real NFL talk. Find Locked on NFL on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Remember, if you want to become a Locked On Colts insider and chat with us directly, get the inside scoop from the locker room, from the press box, from the facility throughout the week, then follow the link in our show notes. If you don't already, please follow at Locked On Colts, at JakeArthurNFL, and at ZachX2 on Twitter. We're also on TikTok and Instagram.

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Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Must Lean On Anthony Richardson, Jonathan Taylor vs. Tennessee Titans

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