Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: Sam Ehlinger vs. Taylor Heinicke Could Be Fun, Chaotic Matchup
Episode Date: October 27, 2022The Indianapolis Colts host the Washington Commanders in this week's Crossover Thursday. It's not Matt Ryan vs. Carson Wentz like we originally thought but Sam Ehlinger vs. Taylor Heinicke could be mu...ch more fun. Can the Colts' big tight ends and outside receivers have success against Washington? Plus, why this game could be anywhere from a low-scoring struggle to a shootout.Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQ🎧 Apple https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1151621306🎧 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/6meP450baAtjX4rTENZ5ij🎧 Audacy https://www.audacy.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts-daily-podcast-on-the-indianapolis-colts-21701🎧 Google https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vUFBZODk1ODUyODkyNQ🎧 Megaphone https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/lockedoncoltsFollow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, and @LockedOnColts!Cross-over Thursday is presented by our friends at PrizePicks. PrizePicks is so much fun and it’s easy to play – no competing with other players - just you vs. the projections available. Pick 2-5 players and if they score more or less than their PrizePicks projection you can win up to 10x your money on your entry. It can literally take less than 60 seconds to enter, it’s that easy. We love PrizePicks and we know you will too. First-time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; 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.BirddogsTHE most comfortable shorts, pants, and sweatpants with built-in liners. Go to birddogs.com, use promo code “LOCKEDON” and boom, a free Birddogs Rope Hat with your pair of Birddogs.BlueNileMake your moment sparkle with Blue Nile. Go to BlueNile.com and use code lockedon to save fifty dollars on your purchase of five-hundred dollars or more.BetterHelpThis episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at Betterhelp.com/LockedOn and get on your way to being your best self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
Discussion (0)
It's time to cross over once again today as we chat about the Indianapolis Colts and Washington
Commanders, but it's not Matt Ryan vs. Carson Wentz that we're going to be seeing on Sunday.
What's up with that?
Well, let's get to it.
Thank you all for tuning in and making us your number one listen of the day.
This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts and Washington Commanders, part of the
Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.
Crossover Thursday is presented by our friends over at PrizePix.
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That's prizepicks.com, promo code LOCKEDON. This is Jake Arthur alongside David Harrison,
who covers both the commanders
and Tampa Bay Buccaneers for us here at the Locked On Podcast Network and he also tackles
both teams for Fan Nation as well just like Zach and I do you know doing doing some double dipping.
David is actually another longtime friend that I I've got here and man we first crossed paths
about 10 years ago over at pro football spot and david's
honestly the reason i'm here at lockdown to be honest with you guys so it's it's good to be with
you brother absolutely man i've been looking for it ever since the schedule came out i was like you
know you know players players circle dates on the calendar for other reasons i circle dates on the
calendar because not only do it did i know i get to do this crossover but i'm also making the the trip to indianapolis my first trip actually to see an nfl game like i've been there for
combines i've been there for uh one of the big 10 championship games but now i get to actually cover
an nfl game in lucas oil which is the whole purpose of it existing in the first place so
it'll be nice to be able to do that finally yeah of course a good sports town to uh to be in and i
met your buddy james yarcho from the Bucks
When he was out here earlier for preseason
But yeah, so today we're going to just totally digest Colts and Commanders
In this week 8 matchup
And the wackiness that it truly is
Like when the season began, I don't think any of us thought this was what it's going to look like
But sure enough, David, I will roll out the guest
carpet for you. What, what's the biggest storyline you're looking at from a commander standpoint?
It's, it's Taylor Heineke, right. And, and I mean, I know it's quarterback driven league,
you know, it's a passing league. So we all know all that stuff, but Taylor Heineke specifically
with this team, not just because he plays quarterback, but because of what he kind of
embodies within the roster and within the fan
base, like this fan base, no matter who the starting quarterback is,
to be quite honest with you, as long as Taylor Heineke is the backup,
there's always going to be kind of this below the surface simmering desire for
the fans to see number four, take the field. Cause he's just,
he's such a fighter, you know,
he kind of embodies the underdog kind of mentality. I mean, honestly, like you could probably write a movie script about Taylor Heineke's story.
And, you know, you got movies like Rudy and I can't remember the one about the guy from Philadelphia, like the title of it.
But like you have some of these stories.
What was it?
I think it's Miracle.
Yeah, absolutely.
And, you know, it's like his movie.
You would probably actually end when he dives for the pile on against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But we all know the story doesn't actually end there.
But, you know, he just he embodies so much about the underdog mentality.
I think we talk about football.
That's kind of what football fans really love seeing is not just the competitiveness, but
the thrill of victory and the fact that anything can happen.
Any given Sunday is a cliche for a reason.
And Taylor is kind of the quintessential any given Sunday guy.
Yeah.
Honestly, it's very eerie, similar circumstances for the Colts because Sam Ellinger is now the quarterback that we're seeing.
Again, great story, just like with Heineke coming out of Texas,
sixth-round pick, had some tragedy going on.
You know, several years ago, his father passed.
And there was like a day or so after he was drafted by the Colts,
his brother passed away as well.
He earned the backup role as a rookie last year,
backup quarterback behind Carson Wentz.
And now this year worked his way from third behind Nick Foles and Matt Ryan
to backup. And now eight weeks in, midway through the season, he's the starter. this year worked his way from third behind Nick Foles and Matt Ryan to back up.
And now eight weeks in, midway through the season, he's the starter.
Probably a little nudge from ownership to help that come along.
But honestly, just looking at how he played in, especially this preseason,
like he was really, really good this preseason.
But honestly, it kind of meshes with how poorly the Colts offense has been,
or at least how inconsistent, because the offensive line has just been, it's just had so
many holes, very leaky, free rushers coming all the time. And honestly, that's how the Colts
offense was in the preseason. You know, you don't expect an offensive line to do well during the
preseason, but under constant duress, he took sacks, but he's a very
mobile guy. He's able to extend those plays, keep the play alive, and then find something downfield
and make big plays. So he had a crazy high completion percentage, several big plays.
And so if the Colts offensive line is going to have as many holes in it during the regular season that it did during the that it did during the preseason shoot why not see what this guy's got to offer because I mean
Matt Ryan's not a statue in the backfield but he's not you know he's not the guy that's going
to roll out and keep things alive he can manipulate the pocket plenty but someone like Sam Ellinger
is much more capable of making something happen out of a
broken play just because of that mobility so you know it's a story of two backup backups basically
at some point that we're going to be seeing and honestly it may it may be cause for a more
exciting game initially than carson wentz versus matt ryan might have been yeah i mean honestly
there's there's a school of thought here in Washington that, you know,
you'd almost rather go against Matt Ryan. I mean, you know, most,
most interceptions in the NFL, most sacks in the NFL,
most fumbles in the NFL,
I think tied for most sacks are being sacked the most,
obviously in the national football league.
Like that's the kind of trend you want to go up against.
If you're an opponent,
not bringing in the new guy who is drawing Taylor Heineke comparisons,
like you
said but you know i think as long as this as long as they get what they got out of taylor uh last
weekend's green bay packers this team feels like they should be fine and you know overall 20 for
33 201 yards two touchdowns the interception to pick six obviously and then just two carries four
yards but that threat of the run was always there and really affected the green bay packers uh
defense but really when you break down into it,
and this is kind of what we've all been focusing on,
is you want that second half Heineke.
So first half Heineke was only 7 for 17, had the one touchdown to pick six.
Second half, though, he's 13 for 16, 161 of his 201 yards
and another touchdown.
And in the second half, Jake, Heineke got the commander's offense
into scoring position on 75% of their possessions.
First half it was 43, which honestly, anything around 50, I think you're okay with.
But 75%, obviously much better.
And you don't give away a drive that ends an opponent's score.
So that's really all the difference.
And we saw some wrinkles in the second half against the Packers that we didn't see in the first half.
I asked Taylor about that on Wednesday.
And he mentioned that's a little bit of Scott Turner, the offensive coordinator, catering to what he does best,
but also it's a little bit of him being with Scott Turner for so long.
They go back all the way to Carolina days, and so Heineke has been in this playbook,
in this system for so long that even though they're going to their backup quarterback,
they're actually able to unlock more of their playbook than they had with Carson Wentz
because Heineke knows it so much better.
Yeah, absolutely, and that's, again, kind of similar with Sam Ellinger. He's
been a sponge, you know, if, if he wasn't ready to play physically in either of these last two
years, they at least knew he was going to know this system. That's what, you know, as a six
round rookie, again, he earned the backup role last year, and that was behind a guy in Carson Wentz who had been known as injury prone.
So very comfortable in the system.
I think the biggest thing is going to be what does the offense look like
with a totally different style of quarterback.
The Colts have been looking for more diversity in their passing game
and for the run game to open up.
I think it creates both opportunities.
For the passing game it
shouldn't just be dink and dunk like i think that will happen uh he's gonna find those shorter
routes but he's shown himself to be a little more aggressive in finding guys downfield especially
when those plays break down and then as for the run game it opens up those rpo opportunities a
lot more than someone like matt ryan could do and, you know, Jonathan Taylor has yet to really have that Jonathan Taylor moment this year.
He had a big game in week one, but nothing much since then.
This could help that a lot.
You know, the RPO, just get things back to where it was last year with Carson Wentz.
And maybe that brings out another comfort level with Jonathan Taylor.
Now, part of it's been the offensive line, a big part of it.
But still, schematically, if you get things back to how it was last year,
maybe Ellinger can help them with that.
We'll see.
But it could make things better for the offense.
It remains to be seen.
Absolutely.
Getting more athletic never hurt, right, as long as you use it the right way.
Exactly, exactly.
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All right, David.
So we're looking at specific matchups now, just beyond the storylines. For me, one area I'm hoping that Sam Ellinger kind of gets the Colts rolling in and gets
more consistently is the tight end usage.
I mean, we've seen that these guys can be really dangerous.
Week four in their first matchup with the Titans, the Colts tight ends as a group had
the most productive day of any tight end group in the NFL in this season to date.
Moelle Cox had 80 yards, 85 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Jelani Woods got involved.
Kylan Granson got involved.
But on a week-to-week basis, you just never know if any of these guys are going to have 15 receiving yards.
So Sam Ellinger now settling in and probably making things a little simpler.
It seems like this is a good opportunity for the Titans to get more involved.
So one thing I wanted to ask you about is what is Washington's middle of the field?
Like, like how do they play against tight ends?
Yeah.
So when you look over in the middle of the field, you're really looking at linebacker
Cole Holcomb and their Buffalo nickel, Derek Forrest.
And that's kind of where the
commander's defense gets a little bit more interesting is uh you know obviously they have
their sub packages just like everybody else but in their base package you know they run what you
know four or three is what you would call it but they don't have three linebackers on the field
they have that hybrid safety linebacker Derek Forrest but they'll also drop Cam Curl into the
box depending on the matchups and the looks they're getting from the offense and let Derek play the more traditional kind of higher up, still strong
safety type of, you know, higher up in the formation. So it's really going to be dependent
on how Jack Del Rio wants to attack the Colts offense. And then once they look at what the
Colts offense is doing, how they want to adjust moving forward. So if Cam is getting bodied by a
bigger tight end, you might see them switch and Derek comes down,
but they're using more,
more of that kind of slower or the faster method of trying to attack the
middle part of that field.
You might see Cam curl,
be the guy that comes back down in the box.
And then Jamin Davis is starting to become more of a kind of a roamer
clicking close on the screen,
you know,
set the edge on,
on the outside run,
try to sack the quarterback type of deal.
I think that fits his,
his skillset a little bit more.
The thing about Cole Holcomb, though, is he missed practice on Wednesday
with an injury.
I honestly didn't even see him out there for warm-ups or stretching,
and that's where you guys really get a little bit concerned.
It's one thing if a guy goes through stretches,
goes through some of the individuals, doesn't complete the practice,
but it's another thing when you don't even see them out there
because it means they're probably getting treatment inside the building while everybody else is
even stretching. And so that's going to be a concern because not only is Cole that type of
player, but he's also one of the team captains of the defense and a guy who's really been growing
into his role as well. Yeah, it sounds like the Colts tight end size could be a little advantage
there then because between Mo Ali Cox and Jelani Woods, they've got basketball size Woods, six,
seven, Mo Ali Cox, six, five. So hopefully that's, that's an area that the Colts can get rolling
again. What's something that you kind of thought looking at the Colts roster, you might be
interested in looking at for the commanders. Yeah, it's going to be the commanders running
game versus the Colts run defense. And I know that there's some conversation that, you know,
I mean, the Colts run defense isn't the greatest in the league.
So the commanders possibly get some, some ground there.
I'm not even so much worried about exactly how much they do against the cultural defense. That might sound kind of weird. So last, last week,
the Washington commanders were 50% run 49% pass, which is pretty balanced.
But to be honest with you,
going back through their four game win streak last year during the middle of of the season with Taylor Heineken quarterback they were much more run heavy
and that's kind of how Scott Turner I think would like to do it and if it wasn't for the fact
that the commanders came into the second half trailing the Packers I think you would have seen
that more that approach earlier on in the game even still by the end of it all Brian Robinson
the rookie running back who's really still kind of this is his fourth game back so this is kind of
like his last preseason opportunity from the old school preseason guys that remember the
full four games so he's still kind of getting up to full speed obviously looking pretty good but
he's at he had 20 carries last week 73 yards Antonio Gibson chipped in 10 more carries for
59 yards which you know three three 30 carries 160 or so yards is a good stat line not a explosive
stat line necessarily but each running back had carries for 20 yards or more,
and that's really kind of where the key is.
They like to kind of hit you with those jabs and the body blows
and then try to get the big one, and then when you're stacking the box
to run it or to stop the run, that's where they hit you with the play action
and hit a guy either running free like Curtis Samuel
or they try to take that deep shot to Terry McLaurin
like they did last week on Jair Alexander.
Yeah, I was wondering how that transpired,
kind of how I heard things when Heineke started out slow
and that McLaurin dagger was just really something else.
Yeah.
All right, so another area I was curious about Ellinger capitalizing on
is during these preseason games,
he showed that he does like these big Colts outsider
receivers during the preseason is primarily Mike Strawn and Desmond Patman. He loved going to those
guys. There's another thing where the plays broke down. He loved finding them downfield and utilizing
their size in those matchups. And so now during the regular season, that's Michael Pittman Jr.
and Alec Pierce. Pittman Jr. hasn't really been used downfield as much as he was with Carson Wentz.
Carson really liked to find him anywhere on the field.
Alec Pierce has been a chunk play, a big play receiver.
So curious as to how Washington's boundary corners are able to play against those guys who have clear size matchups typically.
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, two of my favorite receivers coming on their respective drafts.
I mean, I wanted either team I covered to take either one of those guys and they end
up both in Indianapolis.
So I'm going to be I'm looking forward to seeing them in person for the first time as
NFL players.
And I think it really might.
The question for me is going to be, can Benjamin St.
Juice still maintain a consistent play
that he's been playing or the level he's been playing at?
And I think it's almost starting to feel a little disrespectful,
to be quite honest with you.
So Benjamin St. Juice in his second year out of Minnesota
was an outside corner last year, kind of a depth outside perimeter defender,
but had a lot of concussions or three concussions in his rookie season
that kind of held him out.
Coming into this year, they wanted to make him their nickel, move him inside.
He was doing okay, adequate, right?
He was holding his own.
But William Jackson III, who they signed away from the Cincinnati Bengals
two years ago, was really struggling.
So he has since been benched.
You don't have to color it any other way.
He's been benched.
Benjamin St. Juice moves outside.
Rashad Wild Goose moves into the nickel.
And Benjamin St. Juice has been locked down. I mean, he's, he's given up some plays and all that, but he's been one of the
better cornerbacks I think in the league since he's made that transition. And a lot of people
aren't really talking about it. So the more he plays, the more consistently he plays, the better
you kind of feel about him. But I still kind of wonder if there's just going to be that game that
young guys tend to have, where there's just one game where they just get got. And, and like you
said, Alec Pearson and Michael Pittman Jr.,
they both kind of bring equal potential, just separate styles.
And if the Colts can find one of those styles that works against Ben
more than the other, then it could be a long day for him.
And then on the other side, I look at Kendall Fuller,
who is much more of a zone type of corner, not really very physical,
doesn't have a lot of imposing physical traits.
And I think I'm worried about Alec Pierce running right by him
or hitting him on a double move and burning him.
I'm also worried about Michael Pittman Jr. just bodying him.
But at the same time, we've seen Kendall Fuller get bodied by Devontae Smith.
So, you know, if Devontae Smith with his small stature can body him,
it's, you know, it could be a lot of things.
What was really weird to me last week, Jake, is that Aaron Rodgers only targeted
the two
commanders perimeter defenders in in less than a quarter of his passes taylor heineke targeted
jair alexander and eric stokes two of what is considered the better cornerbacks in this league
on 33 of his attempts one quarterback won the other quarterback didn't so i wonder if the culture
looking at that and saying you know what this is a six-round quarterback here like let's be honest
if sam goes out there and struggles a little bit it's not like the world is going to be falling
down around him right if people are gonna be okay he's a six-round pick second year first start
give him a ton of credit so there's really not a reason to not be aggressive and i'm a little
bit concerned that if they're aggressive early towards kendall fuller and these receivers start
winning some of this stuff against them that things could go downhill very quickly for the captain of the cornerbacks over there.
And that could be where the Colts find their biggest payday there.
Yeah, I do think it's a good opportunity to just let it rip.
We actually talked about that on our latest episode,
is what do you have to lose with letting this sixth-round quarterback just let it fly?
You know, Alec Pierce and michael pitman jr arguably
both of their best traits in one-on-one matchups is the ability to win 50 50 balls so it sounds
like that is a pretty good opportunity if that's something the coaches have identified uh is there
any other areas that you were looking at yeah for me i mean the front four pass rush versus the
colts offensive line and this bleeds into exactly what you were just talking about you know this
every every person that watches football religiously knows this the better pass rush versus the Colts offensive line and this bleeds into exactly what you were just talking about you know this every person that watches
football religiously knows this the better
pass rush you can get with your organic
guys on the front line the better off you're
going to be in pass defense so if
Duran Payne, Jonathan Allen, Montez
Sweat and the rotation at the other defense
men's spot James Smith Williams
whoever's going to be playing in there and then that rotation
can get pressure on
Ellinger making him get out of the ball,
maybe get the ball out sooner than he wants to.
So you can't take advantage of some of those downfield potential
opportunities,
help stop Jonathan Taylor and whoever else is contributing to the run game
early.
Then it frees up those linebackers.
It frees up those corners and safeties to not have to provide that frontline
support and play better in coverage.
And you know,
that's,
that's what every defense wants.
So,
but for this one specifically with this matchup, I think you need it a little bit more than you do in some
other weeks yeah i'm quite confident in the abilities of washington's defensive front to
make at least a couple things happen in this matchup a lot of people are but you know hey man
yeah like we said right any given sunday i'll say it like a fourth time today i'll say it
for sure i mean the colts offensive line has really only had like one solid performance and even that they were like
at an average level so i would be so very surprised if if washington didn't get the check mark on that
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All right, Dave.
The moment is here.
It is time to figure out who's going to win this game.
I don't know about you, but I truly don't know either way.
But I will give you the floor and tell us what you think the score is going to be.
Yeah, you know, I've made a habit this season of if I think it's going to be close,
I go with the Commanders just because they're a team I see every day.
I see the work they're putting in.
I see the potential because you can see what they're trying to work on,
trying to do, so it's easier to kind of feel confident in that angle, obviously.
I'm sure it's the same way with the colts um three point spread the
colts are favored right now which you know typically the home team gets a field goal so
really the bookmakers kind of tell you it's a push but we're going to get the colts benefit
the doubt uh because they're home and i think it's kind of a smart way to do it because you
know sam's making his first start taylor is kind of a box of chocolates because you never know what
you're going to get from a drive to drive uh perspective and honestly taylor's on the injury report right now now he was a full participant and
jack del rio was asked about you know whether or not uh there's any concern about him starting he
kind of brushed it off and was like he practiced he's out there there's nothing else to say which
of course that's you know that's what you're going to get um but you know this thing could
be interesting i'm curious to see how this line moves over the week because Commanders fans are feeling a little confident about this matchup,
and it might be a little bit of underselling on Ellinger.
But, like, if a lot of people start betting Washington,
you know how the bookmakers go.
They're going to start raising those.
They're going to start shifting that line a little bit
to make up for those bets that are coming in.
I do have the Commanders winning, though.
I got them 27 to 20.
So I've got the Commanders, you know, take the points,
don't take the points, whatever you want.
The Commander's going to win outright.
That's the way I see it.
My biggest thing, honestly, Jake,
and this is going to be a little unfair from me towards Ellinger
because I haven't seen him since the Senior Bowl, right?
Like, I know he played in the preseason,
but I don't evaluate the Colts, especially in preseason.
He had that really long windup coming out of Texas,
and I just look at a potentially suspect offensive line,
a defensive line that's really getting after the quarterback,
plus a long windup.
Typically, you're leading the sacks, you're leading the strip sacks,
and you're just leading to a lot of problems.
Now, I'm sure the Colts, Frank Wright especially as head coach,
they've tried to coach that out of him.
I just wonder if the bullets start flying faster and for real,
if those old habits don't creep back up.
Yeah, I have noticed mechanically.
I think he's pulled in that arm a little bit,
and his release does seem quicker than it did as a rookie
because I know exactly what you're talking about with that long release,
and that can be definitely problematic.
So for me, I definitely have it as more of a lower scoring affair.
The Colts' defense is a pretty good unit. And as long as
there's not a pick six or the offense isn't just gifting the opponent points, the Colts can usually
hold hold them low. So I have the Colts winning 14 to 10. I guess kind of a snoozer for the normal
viewer in this one. I don't really want to give Sam 20 points yet because I just don't know what
it's going to look like. But, you know, they have Jonathan Taylor. They have guys for him to throw
to. I'll give them a couple touchdowns. And I think the defense will step up and hold firm.
They honestly, they did pretty well against Tennessee last week, but the offense just kept
giving them, they just kept putting the defense in opportune situations. And ultimately Tennessee broke through. Derrick Henry racked up his yards
like he does. But as long as Sam and the Colts offense isn't just totally screwing over the
defense, I do think they will hold firm. I'll give them a close win, 14-10. Again, I just want to see what Sam can do in these situations that seem logical.
Big outside receivers, athletic, big tight ends.
You have this run game.
You can use the RPOs.
So that's kind of where I'm at.
Yeah, absolutely.
And look, I mean, if it is a little bit of a snooze fest for those watching the game,
at least I think you could be satisfied knowing that both of these teams
are in the top half of the league in time of possession,
which usually indicates that they like to run the ball,
which usually means you're shortening the game.
So it might be a little bit of a boring game,
but also it might be a little bit of a shorter game because of it.
But look, last week the Commanders and Packers had a nearly two-hour first half
due to some officiating issues, some reviews.
Yeah, it was a very, very long first half of football.
So as long as we don't get that, I think everybody will be okay.
Yeah, no kidding.
I mean, the game could be as long as it wants, whether it's overtime, whatever.
But officiating stuff is something the Colts fans don't want to see
rear its head again this week.
So, in summation, it's Sam Allinger versus Tyler Haneke time.
I mean, what is this new Colts offense going to look like with Allinger?
What's the run game going to look like?
Is he just going to dink and dunk to death,
or is he going to be the aggressive guy we saw in the preseason?
Matchup-wise, really interested in seeing the Colts' size
and whether or not that makes any difference against
Washington's defense, which it sounds like, you know, from, if I'm reading from what David is
saying, you know, the Colts could have the advantage there in a couple areas. And then,
you know, something I hadn't added yet, but the Colts defensive ends got to break through a little
bit. They got to put some pressure on, on Henneke because he's another guy that can, that can move
around a little bit. Ultimately Colts 14 commanders 10 for me. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's,
it's a matchup of two quarterbacks and not a lot of people know of, I think more know of Taylor
Heineke made mainly because of that playoff performance and all that stuff. But I think
a lot of people know about that, but yeah, it's going to, it's going to come down to
honestly, which defense can frustrate and stifle, which quarterback, inexperienced quarterback, relatively speaking, the most,
and especially, I think, early on.
And then, you know, can Washington lean on their run game?
And can they keep it a game situation where you're allowed to lean on the run game
with the Colts?
You know, everybody wants to start fast, but in this game especially,
the faster you start on either side of the ball,
the more you force that quarterback to throw the ball,
the better it works for your angle.
And, you know, it's supposed to be a close one i've got the commanders 27 20 um you
know we'll see a relatively low score on either side usually 25 26 is kind of the expectation
for many team but this the season's been weird man so i mean i can see your score prediction
coming true just as much as i can see mine yeah it, it's going to be a fun one, no doubt. Honestly, I'm looking forward to this one more now
than if it would have been Matt Ryan versus Carson Wentz.
It honestly might be more entertaining.
Yeah, see, that just seems like sloppy chaos
where I feel like this matchup could be like big play.
It's going to be chaotic, I think, still,
but it could be fun and big play chaotic.
So I think that's it for us today, everyone.
Zach and I will be back with you on Friday.
Also, make sure you guys check out David there.
We're all going to give you our final thoughts on commanders.
Follow at DHarrison82 on Twitter, as well as at LOCommanders and LOBucks for all of David's content there, as well as at Jake
Arthur NFL, at Zach Hicks 2, and at Locked on Colts on Twitter.
Also, subscribe to both shows on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts.
And then thanks again for making Locked on Colts and Locked on Commanders your first
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