Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts' Nick Foles Move Coming at Perfect Time

Episode Date: December 23, 2022

The Indianapolis Colts' decision to bench starting quarterback Matt Ryan for Nick Foles is coming at a perfect time for the team at this point of their schedule. Jake explains what to expect from Foles and the Colts' offense and why the Los Angeles Chargers, New York Giants, and Houston Texans are perfect defenses for them to face in the final three weeks.Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOColts?sid=YouTube📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFLFollow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com (@ColtsOnFN), and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, and @LockedOnColts!This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. It’s not a crisis line, it’s not self-help, it’s professional therapy done securely online, available to people worldwide. And they have a special offer for our listeners: get 10% off your first month at better help dot com slash LOCKEDONSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds, and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!PrizePicksFirst-time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONSimpliSafeWith Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnNFL to learn more.TuroForget boring rental cars and find your drive at Turo.comAudibleHead over to Locked On NFL for a sneak peek of Block Forever or catch the full series available anywhere you get your podcast. Available everywhere now!NHTSADrive high, get a DUI. Click HERE to learn more.Ultimate Football GM To download the game, just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores.  Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They say that the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Well, the Indianapolis Colts now have a third quarterback of the season. Should we expect anything differently than the ugliness that we've seen all season? We'll dive into that and more on today's episode of Locked on Colts. Let's get to it. You are Locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast 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. This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. It's not a crisis line. It's not self-help. It's professional therapy done securely online, available to people worldwide. And they have a special offer for our listeners. Get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com slash locked on. This is Jake Arthur solo again today. Zach has his annual Christmas time illness, but he wanted me to assure you guys that he

apologizes for his absence this week and he misses you all dearly. Of course, you know the two of us from HorseshoeHuddle.com, so he's still been able to put out content over there. So if you guys haven't been keeping up with us this week, go over to HorseshoeHuddle.com and check out what we've been putting out for you. Today, I'll discuss the Indianapolis Colts switch at quarterback from Matt Ryan to Nick Foles, why the Colts are doing it, what it means for the team moving forward in these last few weeks, and we'll also get into why this is actually happening at the perfect time. So first looking into it from a Matt Ryan point

of view, obviously the Colts offense has been ugly throughout the season they're near the bottom middle or bottom of the league in pretty much any meaningful statistical category total offense scoring you know third downs red zone what have you everything that's important they are not being very efficient at it. Matt Ryan has the most turnovers in the league individually. He's got 18 and 12 games. That's more than one of a game and that is not great. I think it's 13 interceptions and five fumbles lost. So obviously you can't do anything in football if you just keep turning the ball over, giving the opponent the ball back all the time. We've seen it affect the Colts defense in recent weeks. That defense has been top five most

of the season, but we've seen when things go really wrong, it's because they're on the field way too much because the offense is either sputtering out or turning the ball over. So that's a big part of it. You just cannot turn the ball over at the rate this is happening. We've seen when games start to go down the tubes, we just see these weird, almost punt interceptions, basically just throws that never had a chance. Ryan, his arm strength just looks totally out of it. You know, I've got some friends that are Falcons fans, and I hear from them regularly how it's just sad to see the guy that's out there now compared to the guy they all grew up loving. Ryan has the lowest touchdown rate of his career, the second highest interception rate. It's a bottom five yards per attempt season for him.

It's his second lowest quarterback rating as well. So all things considered, you look at his rookie season, which wasn't very productive. This is his worst season in the NFL in his 15 years. You can get a pass for being a rookie, but now 15 years in, it just looks like the end of the road here. The Colts also, this is a smart financial decision for them to move on. Ryan is signed into next year, but his contract goes for $35 million next year. That's his cap hit. So if he were to get hurt in these last few games or anything where he couldn't play next year or anything, you don't want to be on the hook for that money. So getting him off the field now,

allowing yourselves to cut ties this offseason without that enormous financial hit, that's a big thing. Because I think it was 2020, they had Phillip Rivers and Jacoby Brissett taking up over $30 million of space. Over $40 million, I think, between the two of them. If you're trying to rebuild this thing and you've already got some bloated contracts that don't look great right now

due to guys either being hurt or just not performing up to snuff, if you've got a guy who you don't even intend to play and he has no part in your future plans, taking up $35 million of your cap space. That's obviously something that you would love to avoid. So a lot of fans have been calling for this move for weeks. And one guy they've been calling for is Sam Ellinger. He's got two starts this year, went nowhere. It was the Commanders and Patriots games. That's still when the Colts were trying to figure things out on the offensive line, and it was just ugly, ugly, ugly, basically.

He never had a chance, really. However, it may look better now because the offensive line has been figured out a little bit. They've got their starting five. They're performing a little better. Some of these young guys like Bernard Ryman and Will Fries are developing pretty well. They've got their warts and their bad moments in the spotlight, but overall those guys are getting better. But really, Nick Foles, they haven't seen him yet this year. They know what it looks like with Matt Ryan. They've seen it with Ellinger. Nick Foles gives them an opportunity to have the veteran presence and, you know, mental

Rolodex that someone like Matt Ryan has, but he's a little more nimble. He's not, he's not a big scrambler by any means, but he's going to be a little more fleet of foot than Matt Ryan was. And I think he's going to push the ball downfield a little more. He's got some gunslinger to him and his arm strength is arguably his best attribute. So I'd be shocked if we didn't see this open things up downfield. We've seen just the Colts dink and dunk things to death. The defense knows it's coming. They can eliminate that. They can load up the box with those guys in there loaded up again against Jonathan Taylor in the box.

They don't have to go far, you know, to defend those short passes. So this is, this is really the best move just to get them out of this season. Honestly, Nick Foles, relatively safe throughout his career. He's had his bad moments. There's the weird Jacksonville era. It wasn't always awesome in Philadelphia, but he has had some really, really good stretches of play throughout his career. We don't really know what that's going to look like right now. But for his career, he's a 62% completion passer, so relatively efficient. He'll often take what the defense gives him. Only 1.7 sacks per game throughout his career, so he's going to take some sacks. That's one thing I kind of anticipated coming. The sacks per game throughout his career, so he's going to take some sacks. That's one thing I kind

of anticipated coming. The sacks aren't going to disappear. He's still probably going to take some because, again, he's going to hold on to the ball a little bit and look for some things downfield. He's not got that escapability that someone like Sam Ellinger has, so I anticipate there being at least a couple sacks per game in these next few, but turnovers has been something huge as a benefit for him, not even averaging one per game throughout his career. And he's only been a full-time starter for small stretches of his career. So he generally takes care of the ball. Now, with that said, we've seen him in the preseason and training camp.

Again, he does have some gunslinger to him now, especially now that he's not going to be counted on to be the starter throughout the season. It's just kind of, let's see what happens these last few games. Push the defense. Let's just have some fun. So I kind of do anticipate that he'll turn the ball over a little bit. I don't think fumbles will be much of an issue. They haven't been throughout his career. I mean, knock on wood, we said that about Matt Ryan as well, but I do think there are going to be some picks coming. The Chargers, for example, have a pretty good secondary coming up this Monday night. But yeah, biggest things I see with this change, I still think the sacks will be there. Turnovers, probably not to quite as as high of a rate but I think it'll open up

the offense a little more you know with Jonathan Taylor going on IR and it being Deion Jackson and Zach Moss and Jordan Wilkins moving forward I think there's just going to be a lot of passing and you know honestly if they just run things into the ground and give either of these guys you know 20 carries a game that's just going to be a real shame because that's not how their remaining personnel really is built right now. It's just really not. Before we discuss why this move is actually coming at a perfect time for the Colts, let me tell you about our sponsor, Turo. Turo is the world's largest car sharing marketplace.

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I think it falls right into Semaphore's strengths. So they're following three opponents, the Chargers this Monday, and then they have the Giants, the Texans in the final two games. These are three of the worst run defending teams in the league. The Chargers rank 28th, the Giants are 30th, and the Texans are 32nd, dead last. For the Chargers, they've actually allowed an individual opposing runner to reach 100 yards in four of their last five games. I don't see any one Colts player, Zach Moss, Jordan Wilkins, Deion Jackson. I don't see any one of them doing that,

but I think it'll be a good group effort where they'll be productive. You know, as a team, get 120, 130 yards per game. I think we know those guys are capable of doing it. I don't see any superstar performances. They don't have Jonathan Taylor out there. But with that said, you establish the run a little bit, you know, let the Chargers know that we're going to be able to run the ball when we want to. Then that's going to open up things in play action. You already, you make them respect the run.

They got to put guys in the box. That thins out the secondary a little bit. You know, you fake it, you fake with the play action. You've got Alec Pierce downfield. Michael Pittman Jr. can do some things downfield. We saw that with Carson Wentz last year. Jelani Woods, I think we all want to see that train keep rolling. He's a downfield threat as a tight end.

But man, I just think it's a recipe for some success here. Now, the Chargers, I think, are going to be their toughest matchup defensively of these last few games. Because their secondary is pretty good. Cornerback Michael Davis is playing really good ball. They could be getting safety. Derwin James back is arguably the best safety in football. But one guy they might be able to attack, though, is Asante Samuel Jr., the young guy. He is credited with allowing six touchdowns this year. If you caught our Crossover Thursday episode with David Droegemeier, I did ask him about that. He said it's not as bad as it looks. However, Asante Samuel Jr. is 5'10 and below.

Alec Pierce, 6'4. Michael Pittman, 6'4. Jelani Woods, a million feet tall. You put out any of these guys and try to create a mismatch, at some point size is just going to win. And especially with Alec Pierce, highly athletic, as athletic as anyone out there on the field. So I think that is a matchup I'd really try to exploit.

And I think play action would be the perfect opportunity for it. Looking again at the Giants, again, they rank 30th against the run. You try to get that, establish that run game a little bit. Their pass rush, you know, someone like Kayvon Thibodeau really does worry me a little bit, though, because he's able to wear different hats. He's really able to make things difficult for opposing offenses. That one is a little worrisome the one we should all look at as a let's have fun game i don't care like run it up hopefully they score 40 50 points the texans week 18 at home again they rank 32nd against the run um you know both them and the giants are middle of the road and pass defense and they're also the two worst defenses in the league, according to Pro Football Focus and pass coverage. So you can exploit that. The Texans specifically,

that's an AFC South game. That's one every team should have circled those final division games. The two teams tied in week one, and it really just kind of set the tone for a crappy rest of the year for the Colts. They have no business losing that game at home. They have no business not scoring 25, 30 points. So with Foles pulling the strings, again, he's a veteran. He knows that running the ball is important, and I think he's going to be able to capitalize on that play action. I'm really looking forward to that.

I think he'll take what the defense gives him a little bit, though. But he'll realize there's opportunities there to take shots downfield. He's been sitting here through 15 weeks so far on the sidelines, looking at things, seeing what Matt Ryan has and hasn't been able to do, seeing what Ellinger was and was not able to do. He should have his own mental plan by now of what his teammates are going to be capable of, these receivers and tight ends, and what he might be able to do differently. It's no secret that the downfield passing game has not been there at all. They finally have a guy with a strong arm and who has a little bit of aggressiveness

to him. And at this point in his career, this point of a lost season, why not? Like just exploit your individual matchups. I think that is going to be the best way for it moving forward. Now, the Colts might make you guys want to forget some things, but be careful how you do it. Did you know that driving high is considered driving under the influence? That's right. Driving under the influence of marijuana is against the law in every state, even the ones where marijuana is legal. That means driving high could get you a DUI. And if you think law enforcement officers can't tell when you're driving high, you're absolutely wrong. Your friends can tell, your co-workers can tell, even your parents can tell, everyone can. So what makes you think that a law enforcement officer

would not be able to tell? Driving under the influence of marijuana can slow your response time and change how you perceive time and speed. So even if you think you're fine to drive when you're high, you're not. Because the bottom line is, if you feel different, you drive different. And driving high is driving under the influence. So remember, drive high and get a DUI. for by nhtsa all right that is it for us everyone zach is planning to rejoin us for a pre-game show on monday uh you haven't guys haven't heard his thoughts yet on this matchup what the colts might be able to do where the chargers can be exploited things like that so we'll give you our final thoughts give you a little pre-game wrap-up i'll head to the stadium to have more coverage for you live at Lucas Oil Stadium right after that.

And then, of course, we'll have a postgame show right after as well. It'll be late, but we'll be there with you guys. You can follow at LockedOnColts, at JakeArthurNFL, and at ZachHicks2 on Twitter. Also subscribe to LockedOnColts on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts. We're getting really close to 2,000 subscribers on YouTube, so we really appreciate telling your Colts fans friends about us and making sure they're subscribed.

Ratings and reviews online, especially on Apple Podcasts and things like that, that really helps us get up the charts. We definitely appreciate that. Before we let you go, I want to make sure you guys know that this episode of Locked on Colts was brought to you by our friends at BetOnline. Get the latest odds and trends for every professional and amateur league out there. From pro football to college bowl season to basketball and the World Cup, we've got it all at BetOnline.net. If you love sports podcasts, you can even find those at BetOnline as well. We're always the fastest and easiest way to get your betting info. Head to the website today or use your mobile device to learn more.

BetOnline, where the game starts. This, of course, is our last show before Christmas, so we want to wish you guys all a Merry Christmas, of course, to those that celebrate. Happy holidays overall to everyone. We want to make sure you guys all have a great weekend. And kick your feet up. Take a little bit of relaxation. I know those of us from divorced families or those of us with kids, it's about to be hectic over these next couple of days.

So hang in there, you guys and gals. I am thinking of you guys for sure. Thank you guys for making us your first listen. For your next listen, check out the Locked on Sports Today podcast. That's the biggest stories of the day, plus instant reactions, big game recaps, and the take of the day. Available on the Odyssey app, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts. We'll see you guys on Monday.