Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Need Anthony Richardson, Jonathan Taylor to Take Over vs. New England Patriots

Starting point is 00:00:01 If you've been concerned about the Colts, I've got good news. They've got a get-right game sitting right in front of them if they want it, and then they get to coast right into the bye week. 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. Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day.

Starting point is 00:00:31 This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And today's show is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off of your first purchase. What's up, everybody? This is Jake Arthur of HorseshoeHuddle.com, Brownsburg resident, home of the 2024 6A Football State Champion Bulldogs. First time in 40 years. No big deal. No big deal. Congratulations to the Bulldogs. But today we are here to put a wrap up on our coverage of the Colts and Patriots. If you didn't already check out my crossover Thursday episode with Mike debate of locked

Starting point is 00:01:13 on Patriots, be sure to check that out. But this is a big one for the Colts. Number one, because pretty much they're in win now mode. They have to win pretty much everything over their final five games if they want to get into the postseason. If they can get a win this week, they get to go into their bye week next week, feeling fine, getting a little bit of rest. And the rest is key because they definitely need it right now. So in terms of injuries, we'll start with the good news. They get Bernard Ryman back for the first time in a couple weeks, so that's good. But then, let me tell you everybody who's banged up. So guys who are out this week,

Starting point is 00:01:49 wide receiver Josh Downs, who has essentially been the team's leading receiver ever since he really started to hit his stride early in the season, leading the team in receptions there. Ashton Doolin is also out. Questionable is Alec Pierce. So your second and third technical receivers behind Michael Pittman Jr. on the depth chart, those guys are either out or questionable. Alec Pierce was able to practice Friday, and he's been on the injury report a couple times during the season. So I'm not overly concerned about him since he was able to practice on Friday. But obviously you'll see an increased role for A.D. Mitchell in this one. He has been Josh Downs' direct replacement any time that Downs has been off the field

Starting point is 00:02:38 at the slot receiver. With Doolin out, so you're probably going to see Anthony Gould active for this game, I would imagine. And then either Laquan Treadwell or DJ Montgomery pulled up from the practice squad. So Treadwell got the nod earlier in the season when Michael Pittman Jr. was out. So that might be the move, but it really depends. We saw DJ Montgomery come in a bit late last season. So it just seems like stylistically in the game plan, whatever they're trying to accomplish is probably what they'll go ahead and do with either of those guys. Offensive line, again, I mentioned Bernard Ryman is in,

Starting point is 00:03:16 but it gets a little bit worse with the injuries. So you're looking at starting center Tanner Bortolini is out with an injury. He'll be replaced by Danny Pinter. And then Braden Smith has a personal matter. So he is going to be out as well. He missed some practice time last week with that too. But yeah, he'll be out. So you got to imagine it might be Matt Gonsalves on the right side.

Starting point is 00:03:42 We have seen Blake Freeland get the nod at the right side before, but now that Bernard Ryman is back, maybe they kick Gonzalez over to the right side. Gonzalez certainly has been more favored by the team and the coaches when it comes to being that swing tackle and the next guy up. So my guess is it's going to be Matt Gonzalez. But we've also been kind of anticipating a change at right guard this week. So let's just assume Dalton Tucker is not the right guard this week. I think the Braden Smith situation and the Tanner Bortolini situation probably muddies things for the Colts a little bit. Because obviously if you're shuffling around the offensive line,

Starting point is 00:04:23 you want to have everybody healthy so that you can actually put together the top five that you want to. We kind of thought it might be Gonsalves at right guard if Ryman was back, but with Braden Smith being out, it kind of forces your hand a little bit. So maybe it's Matt Gonsalves at right tackle. Maybe they call up Mark Glowinski later today, Saturday, for this one. We'll see what they want to do. Maybe this is just the week they decide they don't want to mess with it because there are other guys banged up.

Starting point is 00:04:51 We'll see. Tanner Bortolini, after Ryan Kelly comes back, hopefully in a couple weeks from being on IR, there was just a lot of things they could do that I don't know if they'll want to mess with it quite yet. But certainly if you kind of read between the lines how Shane Steichen's been speaking really ever since Sunday postgame last week, I would anticipate a change coming at right guard as soon as this week. It makes all the sense in the world.

Starting point is 00:05:19 Without him just outright coming out and saying it, I think that's probably going to happen. And then, so the keys to this one, this to me feels like a game where if the Colts can run the ball, I certainly think they're going to. They seem hell-bent on trying to get it done. Shane Steichen on Wednesday said that's like a huge focus of them is really getting the run game going this week. It seems like an opportunity for Anthony Richardson and Jonathan Taylor to just team up and take this thing over. It might be a low scoring game. It might be a thing where the Colts, you know, it's a, it's a quick game because they just run the ball 40 times, whatever. But I'm, I just feel like this is going to be a really run-heavy approach. I'm feeling optimistic that if they do make the change on the offensive line this week,

Starting point is 00:06:10 that they can get the run game going. Again, it's going to be very difficult without two of your other normal starters in there. So we'll see how it goes. But I think they definitely want to run the ball. If they can do that, I think the passing game, big plays can be kind of birthed off that through play action. When you establish the run, you kind of keep New England's defense on their toes, get some play action stuff. If A.D. Mitchell plays a much bigger role, Alec Pierce, if he's out there, I think those are some guys that can maybe be beneficiaries downfield in this one.

Starting point is 00:06:44 So I think the Colts should do can maybe be beneficiaries downfield in this one. So I think the Colts should do a heavy dose of running the ball. Very curious to see what it looks like now that A.D. Mitchell is replacing Josh Downs, because we've seen him get an increased role when Michael Pittman Jr. was out. So we'll see what his usage was. He responded last time with the biggest game of his career. So this is certainly an opportunity for him. I don't really want to put anything on the tight ends right now, because I think if the tight ends were capable of really being used heavily in the passing game,

Starting point is 00:07:13 it would have happened by now. So Michael Pittman Jr., if this is a physically good game for him, we'll see. You never really know. He doesn't really ever know going into game day, but A.D. Mitchell being a healthy guy in this one seems like someone who could be, you know, maybe he notches 70, 80 yards again. But yeah, I think if the Colts can have some sort of semblance of a run game, now mind you, New England did just get Christian Barmore back recently, but I'll get into it in a minute.

Starting point is 00:07:48 They've got a million guys banged up as well. This just feels like in late season situations when there's a ton of injuries, your star players really can take over a game. It's a bad team in the New England Patriots against a team that I don't want to call the Colts a bad team, but they've not been good or great, but they have the better players in this one. And it just feels like Jonathan Taylor and Anthony Richardson, just a heavy dose of them in the run game. If they can get some things going on the outside, that'd be great because they're, they just keep trying to run them into the teeth of the defense, and it hasn't been working because that offensive line cannot create any space in the run game.

Starting point is 00:08:29 So if they can get some things going on the outside, great. You know, Kyle Duggar banged up in this one. Jabril Pepper is coming back from the commissioner's exemplus, but he's on the injury report as well. They've got a ton of guys in the defensive front seven on the injury report. Again, I'll get into the specifics of that in our final segment. Um, but yeah, the, how banged up the Colts are, it makes me feel better that the Patriots are arguably even more banged up, uh, in, in terms of my optimism for what the Colts want to achieve.

Starting point is 00:09:00 So, uh, that's about, that's about it for the offense in this one. We just got to hope that they can finally establish the run, that's about it for the offense in this one. We just got to hope that they can finally establish the run. Coming up next, we're going to discuss the defense and what that looks like against New England's, you know, young stud rookie quarterback. All right. Football season is still with us. And if you're watching me, then I can assume that you have tried to get out to a football game either this year or recently. It's just really fun. I obviously have a bird's eye view every home game for the Colts up there at the press box. So don't totally get the fan experience like you guys.

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Starting point is 00:12:02 GameTime. All right, let's talk about this defense. Okay, so I just seriously don't know what to think about this defense after the Lions game. We know how good the Lions are. They proved it again on Thanksgiving, even though they almost tried to give it up against the Bears. But no, this is like a historic scoring offense that the Colts were up against last week. Held them to 24 points, which is awesome. In a vacuum, that's awesome. It honestly gives you a fighting chance to win that game if your offense shows up as well. But despite giving up 24 points, it could have been even better.

Starting point is 00:12:47 So PFF had the Colts with 15 missed tackles in that one, which resulted in 175 yards after the catch for the Lions and 110 rushing yards after first contact. So the Colts gifted them an entire game of offensive yardage just based on missed tackles, essentially. So obviously the New England Patriots offense is not the Lions offense. Drake May is an exciting player. He's very creative. He can get out and keep you alive when your offense is just lifeless because, again, he can buy time with his legs. He keeps his eyes downfield. He can make guys miss.

Starting point is 00:13:28 As long as his receivers are out there and running their routes and coming back to the quarterback, Drake May can make something happen. But the problem for them is they can't block to save their lives. And they have guys banged up on the offensive line this week. PFF has New England rated as second to last in the league in pass blocking, 49.4. So they give up sacks. The Colts with that defensive line with DeForest Buckner back, they get sacks. They've been doing pretty well. So I think this is a simple recipe.

Starting point is 00:14:00 To me, this does not seem like a complex game plan or like this is going to be some crazy game I think as long as the Colts show up and take care of business and just like eliminate the mental mistakes and are fundamentally sound again I hate sounding like a coach in this but the Colts don't they don't check off those boxes week after week like all the stuff that coaches try to pound in your head, they just don't do it. The fundamentals are not always there. We saw sloppy.

Starting point is 00:14:28 They were with penalties last week, 10 penalties, eight of them on offense. That's the kind of stuff that costs you wins. Maybe you don't beat the lions last week, but you don't get absolutely wiped off the field. Like you wound up being, you could probably afford more of those mistakes in a game like this

Starting point is 00:14:45 against the Patriots, but if you are just fundamentally sound, you just are where you're supposed to be, and you do what you are supposed to do, this game should not be close remotely. The Colts have the better players. They should be able to win by multiple scores. Again, I'm not trying to say the Colts are some good team, but they have the better players. They have the better matchups in this one. Again, the,

Starting point is 00:15:12 the defensive line that the Colts have, which is about as healthy as it's been all year right now against an offensive line, this bad in new England, which might be the worst one in the entire league. There's no reason that the Colts should not comfortably take care of business in this one. You know, their receivers are not all that great to write home about.

Starting point is 00:15:33 Demario Douglas is one of their top receivers. He's banged up in this one. Hunter Henry is probably the biggest thing to worry about, which he's their top pass catcher against the most vulnerable area of the Colts defense, but they need to know that going in. I mean, the middle of the field for the Colts is where they're most vulnerable. Their linebackers don't cover particularly well, and sometimes they're not where they're supposed to be, and that has resulted in some decent performances by tight ends, and they're ripe for this one.

Starting point is 00:16:06 But again, any sort of film study shows them that that is where New England should attack, so hopefully they'd be prepared. Hopefully this is a game where Gus Bradley really turns it on. There's the blitzes, lots of movement, disguising coverages like he's been so good at getting better at all throughout the year because obviously nationally Gus Bradley is kind of known as a stubborn, non-blitzing cover three guy, and he's really changed that this year. I think the Colts, as long as they don't take their opponent lightly,

Starting point is 00:16:39 which they cannot afford to do because, again, they're in the playoff hunt but not really super close right now. They're under.500. They cannot really afford to be because, again, they're in the playoff hunt, but not really super close right now. They're under.500. They cannot really afford to be taking anybody lightly. This has to be all gas, no brakes in this one, offensively and defensively. But coming up, guys, we're going to talk about final thoughts, look at just how banged up New England is. I'll give you my score prediction,

Starting point is 00:17:02 and I'll just let you know how I think this one is going to turn out. Get ready to tackle the NFL action with FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook, because right now new customers can bet $5 and get $150 back in bonus bets if you win. The FanDuel sportsbook app gives you everything you need to place live bets on the NFL all in one place. So when you get a hunch in the middle of the game, you can check out the latest stats. You like play by play and so much more on the same page where you place your bets. The end will has the Colts has two and a half point favorites in this one

Starting point is 00:17:34 total point over under at 42 and a half. And then they're kind of getting the vibe as well, that this is kind of a low scoring toss up game. Me, I'm definitely taking the Colts with the points in this one. I think I might even go above the 42 and a half over under. We'll see. But whatever you guys think, just visit FanDuel.com to join today and place your bets.

Starting point is 00:17:57 You'll get started with $150 in bonus bets if you win that first $5 bet. That's FanDuel.com. Never waste a hunch and make every moment more with FanDuel, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. All right, so final thoughts. Before you guys make your final thoughts on this one, I'm pleased throughout the day, drop them in your comments. Let me just tell you how banged up New England is.

Starting point is 00:18:21 They've only got one guy officially ruled out, offensive lineman Cole Strange, one of their high picks from recent years. Here's everyone that's questionable. Wide receiver Demario Douglas, he's near the top of the depth chart. Safeties Jabril Peppers and Kyle Duggar, offensive lineman Badarian Lowe,

Starting point is 00:18:38 linebacker Sione Takitaki, defensive end Dietrich Wise, linebacker Anthony Jennings, linebacker Christian Ellis, and defensive tackle, it's either Jaqueline Roy or Jacqueline Roy. But yeah, that's a lot of guys. And a lot of them are guys they depend on for quite a few snaps. So again, to me, this has a feel of a game.

Starting point is 00:19:00 It's late in the season. These teams are really banged up. You know, game plan be damned. It's just the best players that step up and win this game. And sometimes it winds up being handily. I don't feel like this time of year there's a lot of, like, crazy results that happen in the NFL. It's usually the best team wins, especially if the teams are really banged up.

Starting point is 00:19:23 With how Anthony Richardson has been performing as of late, I know the Colts lost last week and the stat line of 11 to 28 is ugly, but we've told you all week how we don't really think that that box score was indicative of his real performance. Receivers weren't where they were supposed to be. They were dropping balls. The offensive line was atrocious. Anthony was getting rid of the ball quickly still. So I think in this one, he continues to progress against a defense that's not going to be performing as well as the Lions one was. I can't say the offensive line for the Colts is going to be performing much better because of how much they're missing. They're down to their third center now. Danny Pinter will be the starting center. At right tackle, we'll see probably Matt Gonsalves or Blake Freeland because Braden Smith's

Starting point is 00:20:09 out. Bernard Ryman's back. That's great. And then we'll see who's going to be your right guard. Again, the injuries everywhere kind of muddy the waters a little bit. It doesn't allow me to speak confidently to what I think is going to be the lineup out there. But still, I mean, if you know you can't run the ball, which the Colts, we've seen them pull the ripcord. We know they'll abandon the run if they don't feel like they can do it. I like them to be able to run the ball better as a game plan than passing the ball. Again, their safeties are hurt with Peppers and Duggar, even though Peppers has been suspended. But Christian Gonzalez is a really good player there in the secondary I think it just totally dependent on if this is a game where guys show up catch the ball run the

Starting point is 00:20:55 right routes at the right depth and are on the same page as Anthony Richardson that's just not something we have been able to you know dependably rely on happening. And Anthony has caught a lot of flack for it, even though it's very much a group issue. We'll see how they can do that. On offense, I think the clear recipe is to run the ball. Again, heavy dose of Jonathan Taylor. Keep it going with Anthony Richardson.

Starting point is 00:21:22 I like that they've incorporated more design runs for him. I think at this point, after you benched him and brought him back, you know, the trading wheels have got to be taken off. You got to use him like you drafted him to, you got to run him. You got to set up all those things. And I don't think there's any coincidence why it's looked better from him in the past couple of weeks. Obviously it's looks like he's taken the steps to really advance his preparation for game time.

Starting point is 00:21:52 So that's part of it. But again, I think the way they use him has definitely helped as well. Defensively, it just all starts up front. DeForest, Buckner, Grover, Stewart, Quidi, Pei, Laiatu, Laiatu, Dayo Dayo Adango This is the kind of game where they feast Think back to the Panthers game last year Think back to the Patriots game last year This line's worse this year for the Patriots Think of how ugly and low scoring it was last year But the Patriots defense is worse now

Starting point is 00:22:24 Their offense is relatively the same it's been bad but the Colts offense should be better so while they can hold New England maybe not to the same low score because Drake May is better than than Mack Jones and Bailey Zappi the Colts offense I think should be much more productive than what Gardner Minshew is able to do I think I'm going to give the Colts my last bit of confidence on this one before they let me down on my picks. I'm going to say they win comfortably. I've got the Colts 27-13, a win on the road going into the bye week, a game under.500, gearing up for their final four games.

Starting point is 00:23:02 Luckily, they get the Broncos, which is their toughest remaining game. Broncos currently 7-5. They get them coming off the bye, but the Broncos are off the bye as well. But still, if they can manage to win that game, the other four games are very – or the other three games are very, very winnable. We're not throwing in the towel on them this season. The playoffs are still very doable. All the other AFC teams in the chase don't seem to be interested in really grabbing the reins either.

Starting point is 00:23:30 So the AFC is just a someone's got to win it type of thing. So why not the Colts? I know that seems far-fetched. But again, look at what the rest of the AFC is doing. It is possible. So that's it for us today, everybody. Thank you for making Locked on colts your first listen today now for your second listen go check out the new locked on nfl now with two shows every day uh

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Starting point is 00:24:36 And with that, you guys have a great day. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving break and we'll see you again Sunday after the game.

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Need Anthony Richardson, Jonathan Taylor to Take Over vs. New England Patriots

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