Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: Strengths & Weaknesses at Quarter-Season Mark | Alec Pierce Returns to Practice

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Indianapolis Colts offense might be getting a major boost in week five as two starters return to practice on Wednesday. Let's get to it. You are locked on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the your team every day. Thank you all for tuning in and making. us your first listen of the day. This is your daily podcast for your European Apple is cold. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network,

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Starting point is 00:00:50 Hello, everyone. My name is Zach. My name is a resident film nerd of course, huddle.com. And my partner, Jake Arthur, is our credentialed boots on the ground over at Round Table Sports. make sure you're checking that out.

Starting point is 00:01:01 We're going to dive into the injury report now. There's some good, some bad, like a typical injury report, but it does look like this Colts offense is getting a little bit healthier going into week five. And then we're at the quartermark of the season, or roughly the quarter mark of the season. We have one month in the books. So we're going to talk about the strengths and weaknesses of this Colts team through the first award. But Jake, we have our big injury report on Wednesday. obviously it's the first injury report of the week and notable did not participate today

Starting point is 00:01:33 zire franklin with an ankle injury he he's looked like he's come up lame like the last two weeks on a couple plays so it doesn't shock me too much that he missed to practice i would be kind of shocked if he missed a game because he's just an iron man type of player that like you know it's kind of like in that de force buchner type of realm where it's like if he's in a if he's breathing still he's going to be out there on sunday so sure Yeah, so I expect him to be out there on Sunday, but Tyler Goodson at running back, he missed with a groin. Xavier and Howard missed with a personal reason. Kenny Moore is still out with that Achilles injury and safety, Daniel Scott, missed with a knee.

Starting point is 00:02:15 But good news is McInsolves return to practice as a limited participant with his toe injury and a full participant for Alec Pierce with that concussion. He appears to be in the very final stages of passing concussion protocols. So we do have some concerns to the top there, Jay. but Gonzalves and Pierce back at practice, that has to get everyone excited going into week five. Yeah, without question. And, you know, we've got to work on Shane's verbiage of things because, again, we asked if Matt Gonzalez was going to practice, and he said, we'll see, we're going to work him out and then see how the week goes. That's a practice, buddy.

Starting point is 00:02:48 Like, he has patted up practice. Same thing happened with a lot of weeks ago. But no, that's good. I mean, obviously, an offensive lineman, if, you know, If they're practicing, typically they're going to play. And, I mean, Dalton Tucker, not the greatest game in the world against the Rams. I'm not going to give really any of the offensive line in a blue ribbon for that one. But Gonzalez is obviously a starter for a reason.

Starting point is 00:03:12 He has been one of your best offensive linemen, period, throughout this young season so far. So great if he's able to play. They'll obviously need everything they can take against Max Krosby. And the up-and-coming, Joan Oahu, who is really good on for the Raiders. And the Colts are going to hope that it doesn't haunt them this weekend. So that's great for Gonzales. Pierce, obviously, people were begging to donate their heads and brains to Pierce after the game last weekend when he had his issues. So Pierce, if he's following the same kind of trajectory that Traverse Ward did a few weeks back, no practice throughout the first week with the concussion, return on the first day of practice the next week as a full participant.

Starting point is 00:03:58 spent. I think what they'll do is probably keep him in the protocol, you know, and see if he can get through an entirety of practice and then get that clearance from an independent neurologist afterward before the game and then, you know, totally wipe him off the injury report. So fingers crossed, that's how that goes. But Zeyer, like you mentioned, they also, they might be just being cautious with that. Don't know yet if it's the same ankle, he had a procedure on in the offseason. but if it is, they're probably just going to kind of tread lightly with that and maintain him a little bit like there with the Forrest Buckner's back. So probably just playing it safe with that.

Starting point is 00:04:34 We spoke to him today before practice, before we knew he was going to miss practice. And it didn't come up, it didn't seem like a thing at the time. Goodson, now he left the game last week with that groin, left briefly came back, seemed to reagravate it, and then just did not come back into the game. So I'm a little curious if that's going to affect his availability this week. We'll certainly see they've got, you know, Ulysses Bentley and Amir Abdullah on the practice squad. They need to call anybody up. And then Howard would we ask about that one.

Starting point is 00:05:07 That could run the gamut of things. Obviously, could just be like a personal thing you have to take care of for a day or, you know, there's just anything that could be. So we'll keep an eye on that one, see if he returns to practice. Obviously, we have been discussing whether he should be playing or not regardless. So we'll see how that one goes. Kenny Moore, yeah, we should expect him to not be practicing this week, I would imagine. Now, Shane did say he's progressing. So that's always good.

Starting point is 00:05:39 But when it's the Achilles, I would just absolutely love to take it a little bit lightly with that one and make sure he's 100% before he returns, especially with how Mike. Hilton was playing on Sunday. Just really hit the ground running for them. And then our boy, Daniel Scott, hopefully that's just a little bit of maintenance and a little bit of precaution because he is, after all, a special team standout for them. So, yeah, lots of names on the list today, but they definitely got some good news with Gonzalez and Pierce, a couple of offense starters getting back out there.

Starting point is 00:06:11 Yeah, for sure. And I think a big thing, too, with just getting that Gonzalez back. And also, Alec Pierce, I mean, this Colts offense was on fire. the first three weeks of the season, and it's like, you know, it's like we saw it kind of take a big step back this past week. And it's not only because of, you know, just those two guys missing. It's not just going to be attributed to those two guys having the week off. But, like, you know, you want to get back to everything that was working in those first couple weeks and just getting the full healthy offense back out there. Look, the defense is going through

Starting point is 00:06:45 their issues with all the injuries right now, regardless. But the offense, if you can get those guys back out there, get Consolves with his inability to allow pressures this year, only two pressures in the three games that he played allowed this year, Alec Pierce, with how he's played down the field in the vertical game and just overall in general. I just think getting healthy on offense is going to be a huge boost for this team. And also, you know, coming back home is going to be a big thing for this team.

Starting point is 00:07:14 So we'll monitor what the defense looks like. Obviously, Zaire Franklin being dinged up could be a bit of a concern. But I think overall, like this is a big win for the Colts on this Wednesday injury report. We don't have too many like major injury additions like we had with Matt Gonzalez last week. But getting Gonzalez and potentially pierced back, I think those will be huge for this Colts offense. So as long as the offense is full strength and they're back in their home dome, I think it's going to be tough to, corral this team. And I think we could see them get back up to that high 20s, low 30s point total that we saw them reach in those first three games. Yeah, without question. And we saw with

Starting point is 00:07:55 Pierce in particular, when he was out on Sunday, like that his niche never stopped being a part of the offense that they wanted to execute that deep ball. They tried it a couple times, really three times with AD Mitchell. So you get a guy in there like Pierce, who obviously is going to do all the little things like the blocking, the intentionally pulling defenders away from the ball and where the target is actually supposed to go, all those little nuances, but then also just winning the 50-50 balls, you know, converting those deep ball, those deep balls opportunities and, you know, executing it at a high level. That was sorely missed last week. I mean, for what A.D. Mitchell, you know, gave up a little bit, obviously. I thought he had a couple

Starting point is 00:08:42 nice plays out there. But Alec Pierce was was clearly missed. Yeah, you know, because when you have Pierce out there, you have the full force of this like role player offense that the Colts have. You know, and with an AD Mitchell, it throws a wrench in it where, yes, you could get this huge great play. But Pierce, you kind of know what you're getting day in and day out. And you know what his overall start is going to be for the offense. Where again, Mitchell, it could be a 74-yard reception, but it could be dropping the ball at the one-yard line. It could be, a hold on a on what could be a game winning touchdown late so um yeah i think just getting pierce in for that stability for that consistency for all the little things he does i think it's going to be a big boost

Starting point is 00:09:23 for the offense uh and then again with gonsalves like i had faith in dalton tucker going to this past week uh i i wish it wasn't misplaced faith because he had a really rough showing uh so getting back to gonzavis who's been just a fantastic pass blocker to start the year i think it'll just add back to what this offense has done well all season, which is start strong with the passing game and then lean into that run in the second half. When you have Gonzávez and Pierce back, it lets you throw for those 200 yards in half one like they have been, and then they can get back to just feeding Jonathan Taylor and half two. So I'm feeling good about this offense getting back on track here in week five, especially with this latest injury report, feeling really good about potentially getting some guys

Starting point is 00:10:04 back. But coming up, guys, we're at the quarter mark of the season. We're looking at how the Colts They're sitting at three and one through one month, probably their best first month in the Chris Ballard era. And we're going to dive into some of the strengths with this squad and why they are sitting at three and one right now through the first month of the year. Mazda crafts cars for those who do more than simply move. From footwork to breathwork, athletes sweat all the details,

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Starting point is 00:11:02 All right, welcome back every dayers. We are now getting into the biggest strengths and weaknesses of this Colts team. through the first month of the season. They sit three and one. Could just as well be four and no. But between them and Daniel Jones, they're really one of the, like, good stories, the biggest positive surprises of the NFL season.

Starting point is 00:11:24 And yeah, I mean, Zach and I both have publicly taken our Ls on Daniel Jones. You know, we got to give credit where credit is due. The guy is playing at a very, very high level. He is not just like a cog in the, machine. I think he very much is pulling the strings of this offense and executing what Shane Steichen is is wanting out of him at a very high level. So great stuff from Daniel Jones. Now, Zach, one of the biggest strengths I've got to say about this entire team right now is that synergy between Shane Steichen and Daniel Jones, marrying the play calling with not only just

Starting point is 00:12:04 the passing game in general, but Jones' ability to like identify. pre-snap pressure, where the protection needs to move, identifying, like, even in the run game where things might need to be adjusted as well? What do you see in there? Yeah, we can talk systematically where Jones and Stuyken have just been a really good match. You don't want to say like a match made in heaven because the deep ball could be better for Jones to start the season. But I think it's been a very good match between these two, just in terms of Stikin mashing that easy button for Daniel Jones in terms of, hey, we're going to do a lot of play action. We're going to do a lot of pre-snap motion.

Starting point is 00:12:40 We're going to set things up to where Jones can just hit that first read, gets it with the back step of his drop, and get that ball out accurately and on time. And Jones has done a really good job of just understanding what he needs to do to get the ball out and in rhythm in this offense. But I think another part of this that has been really effective is just Jones's individual like increase in play, individual improvements in play. because I think on Sunday was a great example of this where a lot of things went wrong for the Colts on Sunday.

Starting point is 00:13:14 They were off their intended path of offense. They couldn't throw the ball well early. They weren't able to stay ahead of the sticks. They weren't able to do a lot of their pre-stant motion because they had a lot of penalties that just made the whole process pretty ugly. And there was a lot of pressure up front with the offensive line getting its butt kicked by Jared Verst and Byron Young and all those guys up front that the Los Angeles Rams have, and Daniel Jones didn't just revert into being New York Giants

Starting point is 00:13:41 Daniel Jones. You know, we didn't see him drop down to being a 60 or 50% passer. We didn't see a ton of turnovers until it was pushing the ball vertically, which again, that is certainly an issue with him. But I thought he performed well under pressure. I thought he moved the offense when he needed to, went down in the fourth quarter with a fantastic drive and got the Colts ahead in that game. So, you know, part of it really is like Shane Stuyves.

Starting point is 00:14:06 and just scheming up a lot of things that benefit Daniel Jones and make life a lot easier for him. But another part of this, too, is just Daniel Jones feeling much more comfortable here in Indy and performing like a different level quarterback than he really ever did with the New York Giants. So you have to give credit to both of these guys where, again, Stuyken's doing a lot of things that help Jones, but Jones is also taking big strides forward as a player. And it's led to the Colts having, I think by pretty much all accounts, are like a top five offense in football right now through one month. And Daniel Jones, in terms of EPA per play and success rate,

Starting point is 00:14:40 has been a top five quarterback to start the season. That's, I mean, I don't know if that's going to sustain the whole year, but I think he's going to be like in that conversation for top 10 throughout the course of the season with how this offense is formed. So, yeah, Daniel Jones has played some really good football. And it's not all credit to Shane Steichen. There's some good credit that needs to go to Jones as well. Yeah, for sure.

Starting point is 00:15:02 like he's certainly hitting guys accurately with open shots that are there and everything but he has been more aggressive than i think we ever expected him to be like the intermediate and some of the deep stuff that he is hitting now like they just go balls down the sidelines those obviously could use some work that's always going to be an area where he struggles a little bit but like the corner routes and some of the posts and stuff like beyond 15 20 yards some of those have been pretty crisp so i've been playing pleasantly surprised with him. This next one, I don't, I don't want to just crown the offensive line in general, but I will say the run game, Jonathan Taylor, his ability to read his, his blockers, and the blocker's ability to open up run lanes. What do you think of that? Because we've seen a couple instances now against the really good defensive fronts that the offensive line could struggle a little bit.

Starting point is 00:15:56 Like, I think they're going to be good. They're going to take advantage of the weaker opponents, but when they go up against well-known, strong defensive lines, they're going to have some struggles. But overall, like the run game in particular has been really good. Yeah, I think the whole process on offense is working really well in terms of when to run, when to pass. And because they stick with the run and their ability to just rely on Taylor-Laten games, I think is why the run game is working.

Starting point is 00:16:24 Because we're seeing at a lot of these instances where the Colts are coming out and running for two or three yards of carry throughout the first half on like eight carries, six carries seven carries and it's not looking great but their ability to just stick with the run in the second half of these games and their ability to wear down defenses and jonathan taylor's ability just to be jonathan taylor has led to a lot of success on the ground game this year so yeah they're they have the leading rusher in the league right now through four games and and a lot of that is jonathan taylor just being superhuman but another part of that again is passing a lot early to set up the run later and and making sure that taylor doesn't get out of the game plan at all so

Starting point is 00:17:01 as long as the Colts can get an early lead in a lot of games, Taylor is going to go crazy in second halves. And I think that that's kind of the overall plan of attack for this offense. So I think that's worked really well for them. And for the offensive line, a lot of it is just staying on the path. You know, if you have struggles early, leaning into just things that work, a lot of their inside zone runs, and then building off those zone runs with similar looking concepts that are working in the second half of games. So yeah, a lot of it is just the ability to stick with it and where down defensive lines and then rely on Jonathan Taylor to beat Jonathan Taylor. All right.

Starting point is 00:17:37 So this next one, I'm scrapping the last offensive one because I don't want us to just heap all this praise on the offense. So defensively as strength, I'm going to say, like the veteran additions, some of them to the secondary, Charverius Ward and Cam Bynum, that's working really well there. Like there have been some blown plays where those guys. guys are there on the end result, but it wasn't necessarily their issue. Like Charveris Ford giving up that touchdown to Devante Adams, I'm pretty sure, like him and Nick Cross got mixed up somewhere along the line.

Starting point is 00:18:14 There was supposed to be something that happened, and it didn't. And then Cam Bynum, the Rams wanted to poke him because of his comments about crowd noise or whatever, but obviously Mackay Blackman tripped on that play for 2-2-at-well. And there also was only 10 players on the field. So that's not on Bynum. He's just the last guy trying to get out well down. But those two specifically have been, I think have been awesome for the team. Ward, we saw a great example of him not out there against Denver, and it was not good with him out there.

Starting point is 00:18:43 So he's been really strong. Even if he does give up a reception, he's right there to make the tackle. Or he's putting in maximum effort to harass the ball or the receiver on every play. It seems like. So I've been thrilled with what he's bringing. and then Bynum interceptions in his first two games. He is also going after the ball. I think he has policed the deep end very well also.

Starting point is 00:19:08 So those two guys specifically, I think, have been huge positives for the defense. Yeah, I think we're actually even downplaying the overall defensive performance through four games because the offense has just been so good. I mean, this Colts defense, by all accounts, is the top 15 defense in football so far. Now they've played to Bo Nix, Cam Ward. and now Stafford. So three middling to below average quarterbacks and then a top five to seven quarterback in Matthew Stafford,

Starting point is 00:19:36 and Stafford had his way with them. So I can understand where there's some pessimism with this defense. But I think they have a lot of the goods in place right now with Bynum, with Charverius Ward, with Laotou, Latu figuring things out, DeForest Buckner having a career game on Sunday. I think there's a lot of good things with this defense. I think Louana Rumo is a really good defensive coordinator, his overall coverage concepts

Starting point is 00:19:59 and what he brings to the defense is working really well for the team and they're taking the football away at a pretty decent level right now. I mean, even on Sunday, again, you're playing against a very good offense with Matthew Stafford at the helm and Sean McVeigh calling the plays.

Starting point is 00:20:13 They still got a big turnover that if it wasn't for an OPI would have put them ahead by 11 points with like six minutes left in this game. So I thought the defense played pretty well on Sunday for the most part, just a couple gaffes here and there and they're really close to turning the corner. there's going to be a game here soon where they really do just turn the corner and they do figure

Starting point is 00:20:32 this stuff out and they clean up a lot of this stuff. I think a lot of the ingredients are in the right place. It's just about putting all those ingredients together and getting the final piece of the puzzle that they're looking for. But I think the defense overall has been pretty solid. There are some things that we're going to like nitpick in the final segment. But Charverius Ward and Cameron Bynum have been the biggest parts of this. And I would throw Kenny Moore in there as well because we saw what happened when he wasn't out there this Sunday with past coverage and just communication. I think having a Kenny Moore out there would have been pretty big. But yeah, a lot of the secondary guys are playing fairly well.

Starting point is 00:21:05 I think the pass rush came alive this past game. And then I think Franklin's been better than expected as well. So yeah, I think the defense is in a decent place. They're just really close to getting to where they need to be. There's just a couple things missing, which we'll talk about in the final segment. So that'll be my segue here, Jake, into our final segment where we just talked about all the positives with this Colts team, a three and one Colts team through one month of the season. But what are some of the negatives that are holding them back and what changes could be made

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Starting point is 00:23:31 Use code locked on NFL at Monarchmoney.com in your browser for half off of your first year. That's 50% off of your first year at Monarchmoney.com with Locked on NFL. All right, Zach, let's talk weaknesses of which there haven't been many. on this team. Again, they are 3-1, could very well be 4-0. They're in the driver's seat of the AFC South. They certainly look like the most impressive team there so far. So there are some weaknesses still. And I think, interestingly enough, a couple of their biggest ones have been on the offensive side of the ball. And, you know, they're one of the top scoring teams in the league. However, when you get into the red zone, when you really need to score points and turn

Starting point is 00:24:18 threes into sevens, they're near the bottom of the league. They're there are 25th right now in red zone offense, uh, only scoring touchdowns on 47.4% of those trips. Spencer Schrader is getting a workout in the 35 yards or less field goal category. Uh, it's crazy. Like I in the first few weeks, it felt like he was going out for a lot of like 27, 30 yard field goals, uh, because the Colts are just not, they're finding ways not to put the ball in the paint, essentially. There's been penalties. There's been missed opportunities where you could say a flag could be thrown on, you know, throws going into the end zone and things like that.

Starting point is 00:24:57 But at the end of the day, they're just not scoring enough touchdowns, which makes you think, like, better days are on the horizon because they've obviously got the horses in place to score points. They just have to figure out how to do it in that condensed area. So, yeah, when you see their issues in the red zone, what's kind of the common themes there? Yeah, I think they've been much better in the last two weeks in terms of getting to the red zone and finishing in the red zone. It's just a lot of that number comes from that Denver Broncos game where I think they were two for six in that Broncos game, which is crazy. They got to the red zone six times against an elite defense with the Broncos.

Starting point is 00:25:36 But, you know, you have to have a negative there where it's like the only reason that game was closest because they kicked four field goals. in the red zone against that Broncos defense. So, yeah, I think they've found something that works a little bit better in recent weeks. Like one thing that you mentioned in those first two games is there was like three opportunities where there maybe should have been a pass interference called on the defense. But ideally you don't want to be in those situations where you're forcing the flag to bail you out because you're throwing a jump ball into the end zone. Like you want to scheme up open shots.

Starting point is 00:26:06 You want to be able to punch that ball in and get close to the goal line. And so the Colts in recent weeks, I think, have done a good job of just when they get within the high red zone. They are just slowly just eating away to get into that low red. And once they get into low red, they've been much better, especially in terms of running the football, getting Tyler Warren involved, getting Jonathan Taylor involved, sneaking it with Daniel Jones. And then we even saw the play action throw to Michael Pittman Jr. this past week in the low red. So I think they are figuring out the red zone offense a little bit. It's been a lot more promising the last two games. I think they are, what, four for their last six in the red zone, I believe.

Starting point is 00:26:44 And one of those, I think, was the end of the Titans game where they just ran the game out. So basically four for their last five. I think they've been a lot better at getting that ball in the end zone, which is good because four for their last five over the last two games, you didn't get there as many times you got in that Broncos game alone. So you have to convert touchdowns if you're not going to get into the red zone as much. And I think they've done a lot better at the last two games in that regard. Yeah, the Tyler Warren OPI last week was another missed opportunity as well, because they certainly were marching down to score and touching on that one. Now, this one hasn't been like a consistent issue, but penalties, like 11, 11 penalties last week was crazy business.

Starting point is 00:27:23 So that was obviously a problem that I'm confident we'll get cleaned up in general because some of these crews are very, very, very flag-affy. you know what i mean uh there was like the instance in week two or howard had three on one drive that's pretty rare that's not going to happen a lot uh but still penalties are very much something that can change change the tone of a game or just like totally screw you out of opportunities and the war and one was a great example and then we've again we've had some on defense where you're like holding inside inside your own 15 10 years yard line or so and it just it gives new life or it takes your offense's life away so just cleaning that type of stuff up i i think will be big in general i think they're a pretty

Starting point is 00:28:15 disciplined team i don't think they've been super penalized under shane stiking but that's definitely an area it's the first thing Shane said when he was asked about today is like what's probably the biggest area you guys think you could clean up through the first quarter of the season he said penalties yeah especially timely penalties because like you mentioned a lot of the red zone issues come from getting penalties in that high red and then you're getting a first and 20 from your own 30 or from the 30 going in and that's just difficult to convert for a first down when the the field is just so condensed at that point so uh yeah timely penalties i think is a big thing they need to get better with yeah all right so defensively the the run they have not yet been totally trucked in the

Starting point is 00:29:00 run game, but you can kind of see the groundwork there. Like, if a team really wanted to commit to it throughout a game, it might be able to happen. Oddly enough, they improved in yards per carry allowed after this last week, despite Kyron Williams having a pretty good game. It's just everyone, not Kyron Williams, didn't have a good performance for the Rams. But in general, we've seen J.K. Dobbins have had success. Devon H. Ham did a little bit. Kyron Williams. They have Ashton Genty this week, so let's not pretend like they have this

Starting point is 00:29:33 awesome run defense. Is it the run fits and guys just not clogging up the lanes that you're seeing? Because I've also seen like some guys just not getting off blocks. And then the linebackers maybe just not filling the gaps properly. But what have you seen in the run defense that's leaving them a little vulnerable? Yeah, they're just really hot and cold right now in run defense, where it feels like every run is either a seven plus yard carry or it's a one yard carry or a negative one yard carry. There's not many where they're holding guys to like two or three yards on a carry. So it's really just about getting back to what works on those run stuff that they're getting

Starting point is 00:30:11 and cleaning up whatever the one issue is on a lot of these ones that are breaking free. Because that's typically what it is. It'll be a couple of these like third down runs that have been like third and ones that break for like 30 yards. There was one against the dolphins and one against. against the Titans, it was a defensive end just freelancing too much and not containing the outside. A couple of these power runs at the middle of the linebackers are just really struggling with their keys and not getting where they need to be. And then some other issues as well. I mean,

Starting point is 00:30:38 and also Kyron Williams and Devon, A. Chan, I think, are probably two of the top five, like, pure rushers in football. Like, we're just talking like pure running back ability. Those guys are just fantastic players. So I think it'll look a lot better when, you know, Gentie this week will be tough, but the Cardinals game, you and I might be running for them in that game, Jake, with all their injuries at running back. Yeah. So I think it will look a lot cleaner then, but I think like a lot of issues on defense, it really just comes down to they're going to, they're going to have to adjust to this new system, you know, they're a 90 plus percent nickel and dime defense right

Starting point is 00:31:11 now. It's very difficult to fit the run from that kind of defense. So they're just going to have to get better at their peas and cues with it and get more comfortable with this new type of system. But there are some good foundations there. I mean, heck, by EPA per play, they were the number two run defense in football this past week in terms of EPA per play because they forced that big fumble and got the fourth downstop in run defense. So yeah, I think there's some good elements there to the run defense. It's just getting to those couple things that work and cleaning up a couple of the issues that they've had. Gotcha. My last one, my last couple ones here before we go. So pass rush inconsistencies, which it does look like they got a lot better.

Starting point is 00:31:55 This last week was a pretty tough test because L.A.'s line isn't all that great that Stafford gets for the ball really quickly. So when you kind of bring Loua and Rumo's coverage, you know, his mixtures of coverage with guys actually winning some matchups up front that has led to an improved pass rush. Lattu's really coming on in the last couple weeks. you're finding kind of an X-factor in the second wave with Tommy out of Boire. Like you got guys kind of stepping up here. And then my other one is Xavier and Howard, obviously.

Starting point is 00:32:27 So he right now is across the entire NFL. He's allowing the 13th highest pass rating, which is 139.2. He is allowing just a hair under 73% completions. And then Pro Football Focus has him ranked as the 120, out of 113 qualifying cornerbacks. So it gets some more Jonathan Edwards in there, gets some more Mackay Blackman in there. Yeah, that's kind of an area for opportunity, I think.

Starting point is 00:32:58 Yeah, I'll kind of lump in all this where I think a lot of the Colts issues have just come down to the lack of talent at three spots or the lack of talent where it needs to be at three spots. One is the second edge rusher role where Sanson Ebukom, Quiti Pei, Taiquan Lewis, those guys have not lived. lived up to what they're getting paid this year, and the Colts Pass rush is suffering because they don't have that other threat off of the edge. And I think the biggest thing here is just Ebukom was paid $10 million this year to be

Starting point is 00:33:27 that kind of guy. And not to the surprise of us, but he hasn't been that guy coming off that Achilles injury. So they need more juice to that edge rusher spot. The other one is linebacker two, which we talked a little bit about with the run fits for that second linebacker spot. Again, Jake, you and I might be one snap away from playing out there because they just picked up Buddy Johnson off the Cowboys practice squad and waived Cammer Grown, who was essentially the second starter for the first two weeks. But his play was so poor that they've gone

Starting point is 00:33:56 to Chad Mummo. They've gone to Joe, I mean, Joe Bachi's been there since the beginning of the year, Austin Ajake, who was on the practice squad. And now Buddy Johnson, I'm sure we'll get some early down run. So yeah, they are just trying everything they can there. And then Xavier Howard at cornerback too, where the drop off between him and Ward is so massive, where I would almost considered just leaving Ward and lock coverage on an island with wide receiver one and then having everybody else cover the other side of the field to protect Xavier and Howard because Ward is playing at such a high level right now. So I think those couple issues are holding back this defense from being what they can be. And the big test going forward will be if those guys

Starting point is 00:34:35 can either improve or the Colts can find somebody else who can go in there and play over those guys and really solidify those spots. So we'll see going forward. But overall, again, the Colts 3-1, a plus 40-point differential, 3-0 in the AFC, sitting pretty on top of the AFC South right now, as much a great first month as you can hope for with this Colts team. And hopefully they can move to 4-1 this upcoming weekend. So we want to thank you guys for making Lockdown Culture first listen today and every day. The NFL season is finally here. So for your next listen, get a double dose of the Lockdown NFL podcast.

Starting point is 00:35:08 Tyler, the Madman Rowling, gives you a shot of espresso to start your football day. while Tony Wiggins gives you all the info and it takes you into the barbershop with the smoothest breakdowns to end the day. Find locked on NFL on YouTube or wherever you're listening to your podcast. If you guys want to become a Lockdown Colts Insider and chat with a direct link

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