Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Sam Ehlinger, Jelani Woods Set to Shine Against Arizona Cardinals

Episode Date: August 16, 2024

The Indianapolis Colts and the Arizona Cardinals face off this weekend in preseason game two. Sam Ehlinger will get the start while tight end Jelani Woods looks to fight his way into the starting line...up. 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 Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. 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!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.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.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply.FanDuelFanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. As playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up ALL CUSTOMERS with a boost or a bonus, DAILY! That’s right, there’s something for everyone, every day, all summer long! Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON and add a big win to your summer bucket list!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 Even though the Colts starters will not participate this weekend, we still have some Indianapolis Colts football to cover. 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 GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase.
Starting point is 00:00:40 Terms apply. Hello, everyone. I am Zach Hicks, your favorite film nerd over at horseshoehuddle.com. My better half Jake Arthur is not here today. He will be back tomorrow night after the Colts preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals. For those of you who do not know, the Colts play the Cardinals tomorrow night, 7 p.m. I'm not sure which station that's on, but 7 p.m. is where the Colts are playing the Cardinals. We will be live streaming after that game to cover everything that happens. So tune in at like 1 a.m.
Starting point is 00:01:07 if you guys are up at that time to catch all of the post-game action. But guys, Colts, Cardinals, the starters are not playing in this one. So we don't have the big money clicks, the clicks drivers and stuff like that of Anthony Richardson playing in this game. But we do have some players to talk about and some players in some really interesting
Starting point is 00:01:28 roster battles to really discuss going into this game. So this will be our Arizona Cardinals preview episode today. But again, it's going to be a little bit of a condensed episode because we don't really have the Richardsons and the AD Mitchells, Leotu Latus to really talk about. We're going to be talking more about the bottom of the roster guys, which you guys know, that's my specialty. But you know, I understand how it is for a lot of people, but don't worry, we're going to make it fun. We're going to make it fun. Let's start with the biggest storylines heading into this second preseason game. And these are some storylines concerning some guys who, you know,
Starting point is 00:02:01 I'm not saying that these guys are going to get cut or they're in jeopardy, but guys who just kind of either need a bounce back game or need a big game or just, again, big storylines heading into this one. And I think the biggest overall one is tight end Jelani Woods. Now, this is a player who's a former top 100 pick, a player the Colts have had a lot of faith in over the years, a guy that they took, what, back in 2022 and had high expectations for, had a really promising rookie season. Not a great rookie season by any means, but there were some really promising flashes in that disastrous, you know, 2022 season from him.
Starting point is 00:02:35 And there was a lot of hype going into what he was going to be last year before that unfortunate hamstring injury in camp that held him out for the entirety of that 2023 season. So he's coming back into camp this year, still a fairly young tight end. I think he's 25 years old, so still fairly young. And the Colts had some expectations that maybe he could move up the roster and supplant to Kylan Granson as the receiving tight end at the top of the roster. Maybe he could maybe surpass Will Mallory and be that tight end three or four, who is also a wide receiver type tight end that can make some plays in the passing game. But at this point in
Starting point is 00:03:10 training camp, it feels to me like Jelani Woods is tight end five on the roster. Now, keeping five tight ends is a little difficult for an NFL team to really maneuver around. Now, last year, they were able to technically go into the regular season with five tight ends on the roster. But to make that happen, they only had three wide receivers initially. And then they made the corresponding moves to put Jelani Woods on IR and bring in Isaiah McKenzie back off the practice squad. So, you know, they were able to make some maneuvers to make that work there. But it's not a thing that a team typically does. And we saw in this past preseason game, you know, the three starting tight ends on this team are probably Drew Ogletree, Kylan
Starting point is 00:03:50 Granson, and Mo'Ally Cox. Like, I don't expect to see any of those guys play this weekend because the Colts view all three of them as like part-time starters. Those are the three guys they trust the most in this tight end room. And then it really comes down to Mallory and Woods for that final tight end spot if they're going to keep four. And while Woods has the pedigree of being a higher draft pick, Mallory had a really good rookie season last year and has done a lot of good things in the passing game. So I'm not sure what's going to happen with this tight end room. Obviously, the ideal situation would have been releasing Marley Cox, you know, the older tight end in the room, the ideal situation would have been releasing Mo'Ali Cox, you know, the older tight end in the room, keeping all these young kids and seeing what they could do.
Starting point is 00:04:29 But it looks like the team feels pretty confident in what Mo'Ali Cox brings as a blocker and just his overall versatility and reliability on the field. I'm not saying that for my sense. I'm saying that for the team's sense. I know how some of you guys are going to feel about that there. So Jelani Woods is a really interesting, you know, perspective to see where he fits on this roster. I mean, he was playing into the late third quarter in the first preseason game where, again, guys like Ogletree and Granson and Allie Cox
Starting point is 00:04:57 were out of the game by the halfway point of the first quarter. And then when it came to, I think Mallory was still out there with Woods as well, but I think Mallory might've come out a little bit earlier as well. So yeah, it's tough, man. I want to add a little bit of context here too. I mean, Stephen Holder, who covers Indianapolis Colts for ESPN, he made a tweet today when I'm recording this here on Friday saying, I'm not making any predictions for now on what happens with Jelani Woods. But as I mentioned in the story, which is the story that he wrote, you guys can check that out over on ESPN. He has been thoroughly underwhelming in
Starting point is 00:05:29 this camp. It's been very disappointing given the high hopes. We'll see what happens. He's still very young. And that's the thing, like he's still a young player and we could see the Colts not want to give up on him, but he really needs to make some waves in these next two preseason games to avoid being on that roster bubble. So I'm not going to make a prediction and say Jelani Woods is certainly going to get cut or anything because it is difficult to give up on that athletic profile and the draft pedigree of being a top 100 pick just two years ago. But at this point, it feels like this coaching staff has three, maybe four guys above him on the roster. And for a position group that typically only keeps three to four, it's difficult to see that guys above him on the roster. And for a position group that typically only keeps three to four, it's difficult to see that path for him making the team. So we'll see
Starting point is 00:06:10 what he can do on Saturday. He's going to get a bunch of chances to really showcase his development as a blocker and as a pass catcher. And he needs to make things happen if he wants to make this team or have a role this year with the Indianapolis Colts. Two players who were underwhelming, to say the least, in the Colts' first preseason game last week against the Denver Broncos, left tackle Blake Freeland and cornerback Dallas Flowers. I'm really curious to see how those guys bounce back this weekend and if those concerns can kind of be mitigated a little bit that we saw in week one, I think for Freeland, it just looked a lot like his rookie season where big imposing body type and, and a great athlete.
Starting point is 00:06:51 But when he encounters contact and when the passwords are getting close, you see the feet freeze up too much. You see him drop his head too much. You see the struggles with his anchor in his, in strength. And, you know know I think my guy Colts Film Room said it really well on Twitter the other day it's like it's like a guy who's just like a quick diet away from being a tight end trying to play left tackle and you can kind of
Starting point is 00:07:14 see it and how he plays with his strength and overall anchor out there so we'll see if he can bounce back hopefully he can bounce back because he's still a fourth round pick from a year ago. He got better as the year went along last year, but it just wasn't a great rookie season for a guy who played as much as he did. And now he's got some in-house competition in Matt Gonsalves, who has a good chance to win that swing tackle spot. So Freeland, I'm not saying he's on the roster bubble. I think he's going to be safe, but he really needs to bounce back. Dallas Flowers, a guy who we thought was going to compete for starting snaps
Starting point is 00:07:47 on the outside, that competition really hasn't happened. He was thoroughly picked on against the Denver Broncos. But if he wants to solidify himself as that third outside corner this year, he really needs to have a bounce back game because Darryl Baker Jr. has had a pretty good camp. And Darryl Baker Jr. is a guy who his coaching staff really likes. So if Daryl Baker Jr. continues to do some good things, Flowers might find himself as cornerback four or five when it comes to that outside rotation and kind of out of the rotation completely come regular season time. Another player who I think,
Starting point is 00:08:19 this player I do think is on the roster bubble, and that is safety Rodney Thomas, a guy two years ago, seventh round pick, who had a fantastic rookie season. We were all really excited about his potential in the league. It all came crashing back downhill last year, and it just wasn't that great a year. He missed a lot of tackles. He just did not look at home at free safety, and by the time the season came to a close, he was essentially benched for a guy who was moved from linebacker to safety midseason. You know, Ronnie Harrison essentially took his job in those final two games, even with Julian Blackman out due to an injury. And we haven't really heard too much about Ronnie
Starting point is 00:08:56 Thomas here in camp either. So for Thomas to make the team, he really needs to have a great preseason here. He needs to have, you know, two games in these last two games that really stand out and show that he still has that potential to be a starter in the NFL or be a guy who can play NFL football. I don't know if he's going to do that because it's just difficult to make those plays that safety in the preseason. But Thomas, man, this is now or never for Rodney Thomas. He needs to get out here and show that he can be a player
Starting point is 00:09:24 worth keeping on the roster or the Colts are just going to needs to get out here and show that he can be a player worth keeping on the roster or the Colts are just going to have to reset with that death behind him. And then one more player I want to discuss here. I don't think this player is on the roster bubble at all, but I think when it comes to biggest stories, we do have to mention him slinging Sammy Ellinger, a guy going out there for what his fourth preseason with the Colts.
Starting point is 00:09:40 We love Sammy Ellinger. He's been having a really good preseason, obviously this year and every year with the Colts. And I'm excited to see him out there on Saturday. So I'd expect that he gets the whole first half and then it'll be, you know, Slovis gets a third quarter. Jason Bean gets the fourth quarter. I'm assuming that's how the Colts are going to do it. So all you guys that are big Sam Ellinger fans, this is going to be a great weekend for all of you, including myself.
Starting point is 00:10:03 So those are the guys that you really want to keep an eye on for being like on the roster bubble or just need to have bounce back games or big games. And then obviously Sam Ellinger leading the way in this one in terms of just feeding players and making them look good out there. Bet the over in this game, obviously with Sam Ellinger back there at quarterback, but coming up guys, we're going to transition to bottom of the roster guys who could impress or guys that showed out in preseason game one and need to carry that momentum into this one if they want to turn their outside shot to make the roster into a full-fledged roster position this offseason. But first, game time is an authorized ticket marketplace of major
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Starting point is 00:12:28 All right, guys, we're transitioning to talk about bottom of the roster guys or just young players who have had a good offseason so far, but need that one more little jump there if they either want to make it to the roster or maybe just secure a practice squad spot here in the final days of training camp and in of the offseason in general the first two players I want to mention and I don't think either of these two players are you know in jeopardy of not being on the team but their players certainly to mention here because they had strong first games that is Adetomi Adebore and Isaiah Land pass rushers obviously up there in the trenches Adetomi I thought was fantastic against the Denver Broncos in week one of the preseason. I think Jake mentioned a couple times on the podcast this offseason about Adetomi looking really good in one-on-ones and pass rush drills and just doing everything he could this offseason
Starting point is 00:13:16 to take that next step. And I think if he continues to showcase this power that he's showing, this ability to disengage up in the trenches, I think he can earn himself a spot in the pass rush rotation rather than being just that guy who is a healthy scratch every weekend. I think another important thing with Adetomi too is I think he was sixth on the team in week one of the preseason in terms of special team snaps. He did a ton of work on the kick teams, the kick coverage teams, the blocking for the kick teams. And while he didn't record many stats or like do anything fantastic, just the ability to showcase that he can be out there on those special teams units goes a long way to making
Starting point is 00:13:54 a roster and being active on game day. So Adetomi is doing everything behind the scenes to be active on game days. And then he's also showcasing the ability to rush the passer, which will get him some snaps on defense as well. So Adetomi Adebore, love what we're seeing from him this offseason. Hopefully he can continue that this weekend and have another great game. Isaiah Land, I'm really intrigued by the potential with his ability in run defense, with his natural pop in his hands, his finesse off the edge. I really, really like him as a developmental pass rusher.
Starting point is 00:14:25 And with Samson Ebukam going down for the year, the Colts opened up that roster spot at the bottom of the roster for a developmental edge to continue to work with, obviously, throughout the regular season. So I think Isaiah Land should be that guy who makes the team and the Colts continue to work with him because there's certainly something there. And I hope that he can show out yet again this preseason game because he had a couple of pressures late against the Denver Broncos, which I was really excited about. So Isaiah Land, I think he's going to be another guy where we see some really good things this weekend. Two more quarterbacks.
Starting point is 00:14:57 Obviously, look, we mentioned Sam Ellinger in the first one. Sam Ellinger is going to get a lot of the snaps in this. He's going to make our receivers and tight ends look really good on offense. But Jason Bean and Keaton Slovis, I think those guys are kind of competing to see not only if they can maybe supplant Sam Ellinger as QB three, I don't think that's going to happen, but maybe like there's an outside chance. But I think both these guys are really working to see who's going to be the practice squad developmental quarterback for the Colts this next season. Who's going to be that guy that can keep on, keep around the system, keep in the roster, just system in general, and maybe be a guy that they can call up if an injury
Starting point is 00:15:36 happens or a guy they trust enough to work with for years, because this will likely be Sam Ellinger's last season with the team as his contract expires. So, you know, Jason being keen, slow. I think we saw some good things from them in that week one preseason game. I think in the little bits that we've seen in training camp, it's been pretty positive. I think Greg Doyle for Indy star wrote an article about how with Jason being the Colts expected to move him to wide receiver at this point in camp, but he's been impressive enough at quarterback to where they've kept them at
Starting point is 00:16:04 the quarterback position. So Jason being keen,vis, I'm excited to see what those guys can do. You guys know how I am with Jason Bean. I want to see as much Jason Bean as possible out there. And I'm really excited to see some more from him, obviously, this weekend. Another undrafted free agent, though, that I want to mention, and this is actually a guy who, you know, by the time you guys are listening to this, I would have posted an article for horseshoehuddle.com about him, but undrafted free agent Dalton Tucker has been working with the second team offensive line all training camp. He's the natural backup to Will Fries at this point. And I think he's a really interesting guy to keep an eye on because, you know, the Colts had that 22, 22 year streak of an undrafted free agent making the opening
Starting point is 00:16:46 day roster 22 years in a row. I think Hale Hentges or whatever was like the last guy to do it. Or maybe it was a kicker. I think it was Rodrigo Blankenship was actually the last guy in that streak, but the Colts have kind of gotten away from it the last couple of years. I mean, if you even look at their undrafted free agent class this year of the seven guys they signed after the draft, only five of them still remain on the roster. And Dalton Tucker, to me, is the guy who has the best chance at making it. Second team right guard right now, similar size and athletic profile to Will Fry's, very explosive, 6'6", 307 pounds, really long arms, so good length as well. And he had a really good preseason day one. I mean, his first
Starting point is 00:17:25 game of the preseason, he had 26 pass blocking snaps, only allowed one pressure in that game, had some decent snaps in the run game as well. So I don't think Dalton Tucker is a favorite to make the roster at this point, but for my money, I would keep him over Josh Sills as that 10th offensive lineman or that final interior offensive lineman to back up Will Fries. I think he's shown enough so far to where I'd keep him, but we'll see what the Colts do with him there. I'm excited to see if he can earn a roster spot. That'd be great to start a new undrafted free agent streak here for the Indianapolis Colts. Another player to watch, D.J. Montgomery, with Ashton Doolin missing some time these last couple weeks of practice. D., DJ Montgomery has been getting a lot of reps with the ones and the twos, and he's been
Starting point is 00:18:09 really showing out. Preseason game one, he had a couple of really big catches. I know he had a bad drop towards the end, but a couple of really big catches in that game as well. And he's a player where again, if Ashton Doolin is not healthy to start the season, DJ Montgomery could easily be wide receiver six for this team. They really, really like him. So I'm excited. I'm expecting to see some really big things with him and Ellinger in that
Starting point is 00:18:31 first half on Saturday. And then a couple other players here who I think one of these guys is probably not making the team, but maybe it can be a practice squad guy. And that's Craig young undrafted free agent out of Kansas. Did some really good things in coverage in week one that I really liked. And then the two drafted cornerbacks, Jalen Simpson and Micah Abraham. Abraham obviously had the big flashy touchdown last week on the fumble recovery. Really big things from him. Jalen Simpson, I think was a little more up and down, but those guys are
Starting point is 00:19:00 competing for roster spots right now. Abraham has to surpass Chris Lamans in the slot. And then a guy like Jalen Simpson has to pass either Dallas Flowers or Darryl Baker Jr. Who have had, you know, I mean, at least Baker Jr. has had a pretty good camp. So we'll see if those guys can make their way on the roster as well. Big thing will be special teams with those guys. Hopefully they can get out there and get some special team snaps. But they'll get their chance this weekend. This is what this game is for.
Starting point is 00:19:25 It's for these type of guys I just mentioned, the Dalton Tuckers, the DJ Montgomery's, the Jalen Simpsons, the Micah Abrahams. They're going to get a majority of this game. And if they can make some plays, they can showcase that, hey, we deserve to be on this roster more so than these late 20-year-olds,
Starting point is 00:19:40 like early 30-year-old vets that you're keeping ahead of us. So big, big weeks for all of these guys here to see if they can either make the roster or make their way to the practice squad at the very least, especially with those quarterbacks I mentioned earlier. But to finally close out this pregame episode, we got tons of questions from you guys. It was like 70 questions from you guys on Twitter when we asked the other day. So I'm going to run through a couple of the questions that we missed and really close things out before we get to this game on
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Starting point is 00:20:52 Look guys, I've been on both sides of the hiring process. LinkedIn is obviously the best place to go about all of that there. So post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free terms and conditions apply. All right, locked on Colts every day as we're back with some of your burning questions heading into this second preseason game. And some of these obviously pertain to the preseason game and others pertain to just
Starting point is 00:21:20 this Colts team in general. First one here from Ethan O-Ring. I hope I said your last name correctly there, Ethan. He asked, with Samson Ebukom out for the year, who's most likely to lead the defensive line in pressures or in sacks? I actually have a weird one for this, and I'm going to say the leader in sacks this year is none other than Quidipe. And I'm not saying that he's going to lead the team in pressures. I think it's either going to be Laatu Laatu or DeForest Buckner that leads the team in pressure.
Starting point is 00:21:46 So hear me out for my reasoning here. The big thing with how the Colts defensive line rushes the passer is your Leo, which is Laatu Laatu. He's going to be in that wide nine 24-7 crashing downhill. And while yes, he obviously is going to be, you know, asked to contain on his rushes and keep quarterbacks in the pocket, he's more so trying to bend the edge, get around the corner, and create that disruption, that havoc in the pocket. And same with the Forrest Buckner on the interior. You're going to get the swim moves.
Starting point is 00:22:16 You're going to get that disruptive force from the interior. But with Quidi Pei on the backside, what they ask that backside defenseman to do is really get upfield with a strong bull rush, maintain pocket integrity, and then disengage if you have to and create pressure or create havoc that way. Now, there's obviously times where they just let him go to work and unleash him. But for the most part, it's a lot of contained rushes from that backside defensive end. So when I'm thinking about how this season is going to look with rushing the passer, I think you're going to have very productive rushes from Leotu Latu that causes quarterbacks to move to their right. You're going to get productive rushes from DeForest Buckner, which causes quarterbacks to move to the right. And then you're going to get Quidipe,
Starting point is 00:22:58 who gets to that right position, which is a couple yards back in the pocket, holding off his right tackle. And then he's going to have a quarterback run right into his arms because layout to lot to is creating pressure into force buckner is is taking away that escape lanes to stepping forward so i think quitty pay could realistically get up to like 10 to 12 sacks this year and maybe only three or four of them are ones that he created for himself i think he can realistically lead this team in sacks purely because Leatu, Latu, and DeForest Buckner run quarterbacks into him. We saw that with Dayo Dengbo last year,
Starting point is 00:23:30 had quite a few sacks last season where quarterbacks were running to him. Same with Quidi Pei, obviously, with Ebukam doing his work on the other side. So yeah, I think Quidi Pei has a chance to get to like 10 to 12 purely from quarterbacks running into him, which look, at the end of the day, a sack is a sack. I will take, I don't care who gets it, get that quarterback
Starting point is 00:23:48 on the ground. And I think Quiddie Paye could end up leading it. That's my weird prediction for that there. You guys can let me know in the comment section, what you think. Another question that Ethan had here though, is with how young the secondary is, Kenny will have to be the de facto leader in that room. Will there be a new lead dog in the secondary by the halfway mark of the season? Now, I think Kenny is still going to be the guy. He's had a fantastic training camp. He showcased a lot, obviously, in that first preseason game. And look, it's Kenny.
Starting point is 00:24:17 You know, this is Pro Bowl Kenny. This is Kenny who just makes a lot of plays, a player that, you know, the guys gravitate towards. So I think it's going to be Kenny this whole season, but I think Julian Blackman could be up there as well. Julian Blackman had a fantastic year a season ago. I think he's a guy who just gets things done. He's a playmaker.
Starting point is 00:24:37 I think he's all over the place. And if you can turn more of those flashes into more consistency, then yeah, I think Julian Blackman could be that top guy this year for sure. So yeah, I wouldn't count out Julian Blackman whatsoever taking a step and hopefully being a Pro Bowl caliber guy, but just being, you know, a very consistently good player out there in the secondary. Another question here from at HitchRoute asks, in your opinion, what are your thoughts on the cornerbacks? Should we sign a vet or should
Starting point is 00:25:04 we just roll with what we have? This has obviouslybacks? Should we sign a vet or should we just roll with what we have? This has obviously been a burning question for a long time. And look, when it comes to the safety room, I would like to bring in just some vets to secure the backups there with safety because I just don't think they have the communication or the reliability at safety depth. I'm fine with them being fairly young at the cornerback position. You know, I think there's going to be some growing pains, obviously, but this is not a team that I really particularly thought being like a Super Bowl contender this year or anything like that. So I think I do think there is some value in getting snaps on the field for a Juju Brantz, getting snaps for a Jalen Jones and seeing what these guys can do. I would have been more
Starting point is 00:25:51 comfortable with a third corner, maybe signing just like a reliable third corner. Like when, like a Rocky Sin was out there, get him in the building just so you have another guy you can trust. But you know, from where we're at right now, I think I'm fine with the two young guys starting and then hopefully like a Baker Jr. can be a little bit better with his tackling or Dallas Flowers can trust his Achilles a little bit more and maybe they can solidify that room. But, you know, at this point, we're kind of where we're at when it comes to the cornerback room. You know, it's going to be Jalen Jones. It's going to be Juju Brents. Kenny's going to be Kenny. We're going to see what happens. So I think, you know, my confidence isn't super high by any means in this cornerback room, but I understand going young at corner. Again, I would have gone a little bit bigger at
Starting point is 00:26:34 safety, but I understand going young at corner going into this year and just seeing what you have in those young kids. Another question here from Hooftalkpodcast or at Hooftalkpod. If you were Ballard, how would you look at the backup swing tackle situation? If he is the better swing tackle, would you switch him from left tackle to right tackle like Friedland last year? I think that's talking about Gonsalves. So would you have Gonsalves be the swing tackle that plays both left and right tackle? Or would you have one guy stay at one spot and one guy stay at the other? That's a really interesting question because I think personally for me,
Starting point is 00:27:08 the ideal situation is have one guy work exclusively at left tackle and one guy work exclusively at right tackle. But if Gonsalves is looking much better than Blake Freeland, which he did in that first preseason game, I would prefer just to have Gonsalves be that backup swing. And I think that's the way the Colts typically do it, is they like to have one guy be that pure swing behind the two starters. So we'll see. I don't love doing it like that with offensive linemen, just because you're constantly switching their footsteps
Starting point is 00:27:38 and constantly switching their entire process back and forth. And I think it did kind of hurt Freeland a little bit last year. But if Gonsalves is that much better than what Freeland looked like last week, then you kind of have to go with Gonsalves as the main switch backup, the main swing backup behind the two starters. So that's the way I'm leaning right now is probably have Gonsalves just be the swing guy and then Freeland be the fourth tackle. But personally, if they were both up to snuff, I would say Freeland stay at left tackle and
Starting point is 00:28:11 Gonsalves be the right tackle. I think that would be a really good rotation to have if an injury were to happen. But that's obviously speaking of just a perfect world right there. One final question. This one's just about podcasting in general. So, you know, it's kind of about the Colts, but not too much. Our guy at Keyblade asked, what advice would you give to someone who seeks a heavily coveted Colts journalist podcast role who wants to get into this for fun or turn into something
Starting point is 00:28:36 serious? How do you script? How do you avoid rambling and stay on topic? As you guys know, you guys are big fans of Locked on Colts. If you're listening this far in the podcast, we do struggle with rambling quite a bit. We struggle with staying on script. We're not too bad at it. But, you know, I do want to shout out Locked On for giving us a lot of the tools to be successful here.
Starting point is 00:28:56 They give us a lot of graphics. They give us, you know, number marks in our show that we have to hit and stay on topic. And we have, you know, times timing that we have to keep the show under to keep it a part of the brand. So that really helps with us. In terms of how do we script Jake and I are polar opposites here, Jake will put entire sentences in the notes, and I just put one word and I'm like, Oh, cool, I had to talk about Jason Bean. Let me go talk about Jason Bean. And I just put bean in the notes where Jake will write out everything he needs to say about Jason Bean. So my biggest advice is find someone that you connect with
Starting point is 00:29:29 well. Find someone that you work with well, like me and Jake, and share the load, share the workload, and really just build that chemistry and build that vibe. You guys can let us know in the comment section what you think about me and Jake's vibe, but I think we do a fun job on this show and really enjoy what we do. And you guys, I hope, I think we do a fun job on this show and really enjoy what we do. And you guys, I hope can tell that we're genuinely friends on this show. I think that's the biggest part right there. But about turning it from something fun
Starting point is 00:29:54 into something serious, just record, man. Just have fun with it. Do your recording, learn SEO and have a blast with it. So if you're still listening at this late in the show here, Keyblade, that's my biggest advice to you right there. Hopefully you can make it happen and roll with it there on your own show. I'd love to listen when you get your show up and running.
Starting point is 00:30:13 But thank you guys for making this episode today your first listen today and every day because that's what you guys are to Locked On Colts. Now for your second listen, go listen to Locked On Fantasy Football Podcast. Get daily insight into the best fantasy draft strategies so you can win your league this offseason. And guys, we will be back with you tomorrow night
Starting point is 00:30:34 after the Colts and Cardinals preseason game at like 1 a.m. So make sure if you guys don't already, you're following at Locked On Colts at JakeArthurNFL or at ZachHicks2 on Twitter. We're also on TikTok and on instagram jake runs those accounts so if you want to see us tiktok dancing really get that follower account those follower counts up on those two platforms also subscribe to us on youtube or every list of your podcasts we love you guys ratings reviews and we'll catch you guys back here after the game tomorrow night

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