Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts THANKFUL for Final 5-Game Stretch

Episode Date: November 27, 2024

The Indianapolis Colts are in playoff mode for their final five games, but luckily, each matchup is winnable as the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, and Jackson...ville Jaguars lie ahead. 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! You can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Skylight FrameGet $20 off a Skylight Frame when you go to SkylightFrame.com/NFL. Hillsdale CollegeAll of Hillsdale’s courses are self-paced so that you can start whenever, and tune in wherever. Plus, you can go deeper with readings, quizzes, discussions - or just enjoy the lectures. Go right now to hillsdale.edu/lockedon to enroll. There’s no cost, and it’s easy to get started.PrizePicksDownload the app and use code lockedonnfl to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.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 The Indianapolis Colts should be thankful that they get a fairly easy final stretch to the season. 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. This show is sponsored by our friends over at FanDuel. You can start the season with a big return on
Starting point is 00:00:40 FanDuel. New customers can place a $5 bet and you'll get started with $150 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet. Visit FanDuel, new customers can place a $5 bet and you'll get started with $150 in bonus bets. If you win your first $5 bet, visit FanDuel.com to get started. Hello, everyone. My name is Zach Hicks, your favorite film nerd over at HorseshoeHuddle.com. And my partner, Jake Arthur, is our credentialed boots on the ground for the site as well. Up in the sky box during the games, giving us all of the info that we need come game day and throughout the week. Today, guys, we are going to have a fun show that's based around what we're
Starting point is 00:01:10 thankful for. And the biggest thing that we're thankful for right now with this Colts team is the fact that this final stretch is pretty easy, all things considered, all things considered. So we're going to talk about how the defense can take advantage of this very thankful final stretch, how the Colts offense can rebound a little bit in this final stretch. But first, let's talk about the stretch itself, Jake. So the Colts season, these next five games to finish the year, they get a game at New England against New England Patriots. That, you know, again, it's a road game in late November, early December. It's not always a given, but against the three and nine
Starting point is 00:01:45 Patriots, it could be harder, I guess, for your team. Then the Colts finally get that bye week. They finally get a chance to take a break and relax a little bit. And then coming out of the bye week, they get what is essentially going to be a playoff game for this Colts team at the Denver Broncos. We will know the fate of the Colts playoff hopes when they play against the Broncos. And then to finish it off, though, they get a fairly forgiving stretch with a home game against the Tennessee Titans. They go at New York against the Giants, and they play at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars. And their opponent's records, I mean, aside from the Broncos, their opponent's records to finish this season are what,
Starting point is 00:02:26 let me do some quick math here. It's 10 and 26, 10 and 35. Those other four teams, 10 and 35. And I know nothing is, is a given when you're a five and seven team in the NFL. Like we're not talking about this Colts team.
Starting point is 00:02:41 Like they are, you know, a playoff bound team for sure. And they're perfect or anything like that, but it couldn't really finish any easier for this Colts team like they are, you know, a playoff bound team for sure. They're perfect or anything like that, but it couldn't really finish any easier for this Colts team. You get one tough one against the Denver Broncos, especially that's a road game against Denver, but you get the bye week and you get four teams that are competing for a top pick. I mean, if the Colts want to finish this season strong, finish strong with their quarterback
Starting point is 00:03:03 and finish strong with their roster, this is the schedule you want here and you got to take advantage of it. Yeah. Everything throughout the season has kind of been handed to the Colts on a silver platter to take advantage of their opportunities to make the post season. They just haven't done it. You know they, they have by and large taken care of bad teams for the most part. But you know, Houston doesn't, they're, they're not grabbing the reins of the division and there's just an enormous log jam in the AFC outside of a few teams.
Starting point is 00:03:35 So everything seems to wind up pretty good for them. And you really can't ask for a better final stretch here. You get an incredibly late bye week, which is, you know, the latest one possible, essentially. And you do that at a time that you're already pretty healthy right now, like at least the defensive line, for example, that dealt with a lot of issues in the beginning of the season. It's probably the strength of the team. And, you know, they're going to be rejuvenated even further. Like the bye week is coming at the perfect time for the stretch that they really need it to. But it also is going to
Starting point is 00:04:10 let you learn a little bit about your team as well. You get to, you get to throw Anthony Richardson out there in scenarios that he should flourish in. You're going to get some guys on defense who really need some of these opportunities to rebound as well. I think the key to getting these linebackers back on track is probably going to be this stretch too. I mean, they, they are who they are, they're veterans, but at the same time, if the defensive line is able to get a push and wreak havoc on these pretty crappy offensive lines,
Starting point is 00:04:42 that's going to give the linebacker space to go and, you know, make plays in the backfield and do the things where we know their strengths are accentuated because you get them out in space on the second level, it's not going well. But if you can allow them to attack, then I think that'll really help some of these guys play at their best. So from the Colts, thank you to the schedule makers, because this is a nice little stretch here. Yeah, and I do actually want to push back a little bit what you just said there. Thank you to the schedule makers, because the schedule makers have made this a tougher season for the Colts than what it could have been, potentially.
Starting point is 00:05:21 I mean, we're looking at where the Colts are at right now. This season, they're 5-7, not a very good football team on paper. And I'm not even going to argue off paper. They're a very good football team. They've had their struggles this season, but they're five and seven. They're one in six against teams that are going to finish above 500 or at least at 500. Like they're one in six against the not bad teams in the NFL, I guess is one way I would put it. They are four and one against the bottom feeders in the NFL, I guess is one way I would put it. They are 4-1 against the bottom feeders, the teams that are going to finish well below.500,
Starting point is 00:05:49 and their only loss being the cursed loss at Jacksonville. That doesn't count. That's not a real football game. So they're 4-0 against games that actually have voodoo magic over top of them. Then when you also look at this Colts team, they have had three games this season against teams coming off of their bye week. They don't even get the advantage against the Denver Broncos of playing them after the Colts get their bye week because the Broncos also have their bye week in the same week
Starting point is 00:06:14 as the Colts. So it's like it's an even game right there where the other ones, the other teams were advantage against the Colts because they got that week of rest and week of preparation. Then you go to other games too, like the Jets were coming off a mini bye going against the Colts because they got that week of rest and week of preparation. Then you go to other games too, like the Jets were coming off a mini-bye going against the Colts. I believe the Vikings were going off of a mini-bye coming into the Colts. Like there was a lot of things going against the Colts with this schedule up until this point. And really the message, we even said this before the season, we were like reviewing the Colts schedule, was survive until this final stretch. Survive until these final five games and you have a
Starting point is 00:06:49 chance to make the playoffs. Now, the Broncos have surprised this season, and I think they are a much more formidable opponent than what we kind of expected coming into the year, but the other 14s haven't. If anything, the Jaguars have surprised in the other direction than what I expected coming into the season. So the Colts have a very favorable final stretch. Defenses that, again, aside from the Broncos and maybe the Titans, who knows what they're going to be like at this point. These are probably going to be the weakest defenses that Richardson has faced all season. I think that offensive line-wise is going to be the weakest offensive lines the Colts have faced all season.
Starting point is 00:07:26 So this is a very, very advantageous final stretch of the season for the Colts. And if they can steal a victory against the Broncos, they'll be in the driver's seat to make the playoffs as that seventh seed. So for as awful as it looks right now, five and seven, I think they've lost four of their last five games. Their only win being a last minute win against the New York Jets. It doesn't look amazing for this Colts team. They can really right the ship in these final five weeks and just take care of business against teams they need to take care of business against. In the Shane Steichen era as head coach, the Colts are seven and two
Starting point is 00:07:58 against teams that have finished below 500, if we're counting last year's games and games this year where teams are probably going to finish below 500. The Colts are 7-2 in those games. They take care of business for the most part. So if they can just stay the course and take care of business in those four other games and then steal the game against the Broncos, they're right there at the seventh seed and they're going to make the playoffs. Yeah, another small factor. I mean, not for nothing. I mean, the playoffs being the goal this is also we're entering the stretch of the season where teams just start shutting guys down
Starting point is 00:08:31 for minor injuries too like if if a team's out of it and they have a important player that's dealing with something that's not necessarily super serious but not worth risking like they'll shut them down so the colts could run into a couple scenarios here where they're going up against incredibly depleted teams just because they're not really playing at full strength so when you look at it the quality of opponent already is bad i mean the colts don't really deserve to be referred to as like the the better teams in all these scenarios but they are the record is what they say they are except for the broncos um but yeah luckily as you mentioned in
Starting point is 00:09:11 shane steichen's tenure they do beat the bad teams and i mean you you've got to really clean the table if you want to get to the playoffs but if if you think they can afford one more loss, then, I mean, this is a way to rebound through all of it. They can maybe do one more loss based on how, like, Houston and some of these other racers in the AFC are performing. But Houston's not got a great schedule. They've kind of got a crappy cluster coming up. But, yeah yeah there's a lot of just little teeny tiny factors that go into it that could give the colts these small advantages yeah well their one loss can't be against the broncos that's
Starting point is 00:09:54 what we will say cannot be against the broncos no that's a that's a team they are like directly competing with for one of the final spots yeah yeah but coming up guys we're going to go a little bit more micro with this conversation talk about both sides of the final spots. Yeah, yeah. But coming up, guys, we're going to go a little bit more micro with this conversation, talk about both sides of the ball, starting with the offense. How can the offense get on track against this very favorable schedule coming up? Do you struggle to find the perfect gift during the holidays? Maybe gift-giving isn't your love language.
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Starting point is 00:13:50 LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. Again, use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. Prize picks. Run your game. All right, everybody. Welcome back. All right, so we're going to talk about, again, this final five game stretch for the Colts. Offensively, what it means for Anthony Richardson, Shane Steichen, and the group. So the Patriots, we know just from last year, that was a really tough, low-scoring game. The Colts came out on top in Germany, but this ain't the same defense. They are struggling.
Starting point is 00:14:27 They might get Jabril Peppers back this week, but overall it's just not been the same Bill Belichick defense that we've known before. Broncos pretty good, if I'm not mistaken. They lead the league in sacks, so that's one where you have to have Anthony Richardson and not Joe Flacco in it. Titans have been ranked near the top of the league in past defense throughout the year,
Starting point is 00:14:47 but LeJarius Sneed, you know, the big acquisition over the offseason, he's on IR. He's missed what feels like most of the season. The Giants are in the tank. The Jaguars are in the tank. So, Zach, this is an awesome opportunity for Richardson to continue showing all that growth. These are situations where if the, if the Colts don't find themselves playing from behind all the time and they can actually set the tone and play the game plan, they would like to,
Starting point is 00:15:17 you know, get a score. Maybe you're up by one score. You can maintain the run game. If it's working, you know, maybe at least enough to get play action opportunities. We know that Anthony Richardson can do that. But then, I mean, the defensive side of the ball, we'll talk about it.
Starting point is 00:15:32 You know, you can kind of pin your ears back and get after the passer and make it a complete effort. But really, I think this stretch, when you throw the bye week in there as well, which gives them an opportunity to self-scout. This, you know, it suits up really well for the Colts offense, especially now that you're dealing with an issue with Josh Downs and that shoulder, you know, Shane Steichen said today, it's, it could be tough for him to return this week already. But if you've got this game in the bye week, then you've got this, you know, final stretch that hopefully he can be back for. Yeah. And I think the big thing, too, is, again,
Starting point is 00:16:05 when you look at Anthony Richardson's struggles this season, and he's had his fair amount of struggles, don't get me wrong, a lot of them have come against defenses that have been in the top half of the NFL in terms of just past defense in general or EPA per play and all those advanced stats that we love to quote. I mean, the Houston Texans have been brutal for most opposing quarterbacks. I know the Titans, I got after them this past week, but the Texans, two games that Richardson has started and finished for the Colts this season, have been getting after quarterbacks
Starting point is 00:16:34 and Richardson struggled in those games. You look at the Miami Dolphins game. Miami Dolphins, one of the top pass defenses. The Detroit Lions, who we all would say that he had a better game than what the stats show this past week, but the Detroit Lions are like number two in EPA per play this season among all past defenses he has been going against a murderer's row of past defenses this season and this final stretch I mean the only one that's really really concerning on paper is the Denver Broncos and luckily for the Colts and Shane Steichen and Anthony Richardson, they get one extra week to prepare for that matchup.
Starting point is 00:17:07 They get that bye week, and they can really scout that Broncos film and get ready for what they're going to see from that Broncos team. So, again, this is very, very favorable for this Colts offense that needs to find some traction in the final bit of this season. I mean, the one bad pass defense that we've seen Richardson going against this season was the New York Jets. And we would all say, I think any, even the biggest Richardson detractors will say that was a very strong game from him. And it was arguably his best start of his entire football playing career. I mean, we can go back to college and say it was
Starting point is 00:17:40 better than any of his college starts. It was just a fantastic start from him. So hopefully he can take advantage of these poor defenses here and get some momentum going into either the playoffs or the offseason, whatever it ends up being for the Colts. But even going away from Richardson and talking about the other important parts of this team, wide receiver, you know, no Josh Downs this week, most likely. And who knows how much longer he's going to be out. It's pretty advantageous to go against a team like the Patriots who have struggled to stop the pass. You know, a week where you have to rely on Pierce and the hobbled Pittman and whoever they're going
Starting point is 00:18:13 to put in the slot, whether it's Adonai Mitchell or someone else, you'd like it to be against more of a porous pass defense. These teams have struggled against the run by and large, most of these teams here. So again, this is a very big opportunity for this Colts offense to find their rhythm and especially figure out what's going on with the offensive line. You know, these are not, aside from the Broncos, again, all these are aside from the Broncos.
Starting point is 00:18:35 These are defensive lines that haven't been perfect this season. I know they all have some star players in their own right, the Patriots with Christian Barmore, the Giants with Dexter Lawrence the Titans with Jeffrey Simmons but these aren't like the top pass rushing units of the league like we've seen in recent in past weeks and especially not like blitzing wise either you know these are teams that like to get after it with four rushers and let those star players do their things so
Starting point is 00:18:59 it's a big week for you know maybe the Colts can get Mark Lewinsky at right guard or if Bernhardt Ryman starts back at left tackle you the Colts can get Mark Lewinsky at right guard, or if Bernhardt Ryman starts back at left tackle, you can get Matt Gonsalves over at right guard and maybe fix some of these issues that are popping up on the offensive line and get right in a lot of ways against these, these poor defenses. So that's a big part of this man is, is, you know, we can look at it just from a schedule wise, but even even then like these defenses on paper are not that great of defenses the Colts still need to execute but this is a way this offense can finally get on track with Anthony Richardson is feast on some defenses that other teams have been feasting on
Starting point is 00:19:35 yeah and we we all know what this offense looks like when the offensive line is not hitting it gets really clunky and just scatter shot, and it's not efficient. I think it's about to start getting figured out in the next couple weeks. Just reading between the lines, it sure sounded to me this week from Shane Steichen Monday and today, they're going to make a change at right guard. I would be shocked if Dalton Tucker is their starter at right guard this week. So they'll probably make a move there. Bernhard Reimann might be back.
Starting point is 00:20:03 He was technically listed as a limited participant today. First time he's practiced in a few weeks now. Ryan Kelly is eligible to come back after the bye. This is the last game he's got to miss. So you might be getting your center back and then your left tackles back. And then, you know, with Bernhardt Reimann back, maybe you can move Gonsalves to right guard or Bortolini. It just gives you much more flexibility to move quality players around your line,
Starting point is 00:20:29 and you don't have to just move forward with the bits and pieces of who's left. So if the offensive line is back and figuring it out, that'll be huge for Anthony and the run game. Jonathan Taylor is too good for the run game to be this unproductive. Someone who's very reliant on patience and vision nowadays, Taylor's too good for the run game to be this unproductive. I just, he doesn't, someone who's very reliant on patience and vision nowadays, he still has explosiveness, but he's been really big on that patience and reading his blocks. To be behind a line like that, he just doesn't look the same. And he, like his performance is dipping as well.
Starting point is 00:21:02 Not just statistically, but he just doesn't look comfortable and not making the reads you normally would think he does so they really need the offensive line to be getting back to playing effective football so that everybody can get back to operating like a well-oiled machine yeah yeah for sure and and we're going to transition this conversation now to the Colts defense where again this defense has played better in the second half of the season but they really need to finish it off strong against a very, very favorable schedule in these last five weeks. Get ready to tackle the NFL action with FanDuel,
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Starting point is 00:22:21 Never waste a hunch and make every moment more with FanDuel, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. Let's talk defense, Zach. So we're going against a bunch of young, who is that quarterbacks here, kind of, some of them. So you got Drake May coming up, very talented player. He brings a lot of stuff to the table that Anthony Richardson does. The Patriots offensive line is terrible at best, and the Colts defensive line is going to have him on their heels.
Starting point is 00:22:53 But because Drake May is the quarterback back there and can do so much on the move, it gives you some hope of some life on offense if you're a Patriots fan. With the Broncos, Bo Nix and Sean Payton have started to form that one-mind type of thing, so that's kind of scary for the Colts, but Bo Nix is a rookie, kind of started 712 games in college, so is he really a rookie? Titans' Will Levis, that's the Will Levis experiment. He's not the same wild type of stallion guy he was early in the year he's calmed down a little bit uh but he's far from a perfect quarterback who's gonna play for the
Starting point is 00:23:31 giants is it tommy devito is it gonna be drew lock by that point and then the jaguars are they gonna shut trevor lawrence down for the season or not they probably should they have nothing to play for they paid him a trillion dollars this this offseason So will it be Mac Jones? Will it be Trevor Lawrence? We don't know. But the most important positions in football for these teams, they're not all necessarily in great spots. Yeah, and I think a really big part of this final stretch for the Colts is going to be the performance of their defensive line. It is going to hinge on the performance. I would go as far as to say, aside from Anthony Richardson, the Colts defensive line is the single most important thing about this final five game stretch.
Starting point is 00:24:13 They need to be utterly dominant, at least in the other four games, aside from the Broncos, the Broncos game. Again, I want you to be dominant in that one as well. But the Broncos game, that's a good offensive line. The other four games though, will be won or lost dominant in that one as well. But the Broncos game has a good offensive line. The other four games, though, will be won or lost by the Colts defensive line. The last time the Colts played the Jaguars, they did not get pressure on Trevor Lawrence, and we saw what happened in that one. But when you're looking at this statistically, you're looking at the Patriots offensive line,
Starting point is 00:24:38 arguably the worst offensive line of football, might be one of the worst offensive lines we've seen in years. It is a truly dreadful offensive line this season when you have guys like DeForest Buckner healthy you have Leatu Latu, Quidi Pei, Dayo Adangbo you need pressure on the quarterback this week you go to the Tennessee Titans their offensive line has struggled quite a bit this season New York Giants even when Andrew Thomas was healthy they were struggling on the offensive line this season you really got to take advantage of there so these are offensive lines the Colts D-line even when Andrew Thomas was healthy, they were struggling on the offensive line this season. You really got to take advantage of there.
Starting point is 00:25:06 So these are offensive lines. The Colts D line needs to take advantage of, and then going to the quarterback aspect that you mentioned, Jake, you know, these quarterbacks might not be the best in football, but at least when you're talking, talking about the next two games that the Colts are playing,
Starting point is 00:25:20 Drake may and Bo Nix, they are both very good scramblers, very good at escaping pressure and scrambling they have been deadly with their scrambles this season and the one thing the colts have struggled with this season they've been pressuring quarterbacks at a very high rate but they have not been getting quarterbacks on the ground they are struggling to finish sacks and get these quarterbacks on the ground so again when i talk about this defensive line how big they are for the colt success these next two weeks, or these next five weeks, six weeks, whatever it is,
Starting point is 00:25:47 it really comes down to getting pressure and finishing plays. Get Drake May on the ground. Get Bo Nix on the ground. Get Will Levis on the ground. You know, these are quarterbacks you've got to get on the ground because if they can get out of the pocket, they can make some big plays happen. And that's really the only way that they are a beating team.
Starting point is 00:26:02 I mean, Bo Nix has been really good on schedule, too. Again, the Broncos are kind of the exception to all this here, but talking about the other players here, like the Colts got to beat the poor offensive line in front of them, and they got to finish these plays against these quarterbacks because that's really the only way they're going to create explosives and create big plays against you is if they can get out of these sacks, which, again, the Colts' defense has struggled with this season.
Starting point is 00:26:23 So big test for the defensive line in terms of can you produce to the level we are expecting in this final five because the defensive line needs to carry the way on defense the rest of the week I don't I don't want to be complaining about the secondary these final five games in any way because that means the D line wasn't getting the job done so it really comes down to again beat the guy in front of you and make some plays happen and finish the sacks. I'm expecting big things from Laatu Laatu, DeForest Buckner, even Quidipe and Dayo Dango out there. They need to make things happen in these final five games, and that's where the Colts' playoff hopes will really rest is, can those guys produce? Yeah, big things I'm looking for. So obviously the defensive line performing well, that'll be huge because like I mentioned, I also think that'll open up things for the linebackers to actually be put in situations where you're kind of having to, you know, hand feed them good situations right now layout to lot who's heating up
Starting point is 00:27:25 quitty pay is heating up like guys are really getting going dio dangbo has always killed terrible offensive lines like dio really performs well against these type of lines um but the other thing i'm looking for is literally just it's fundamental it's just wrapping up and tackling last week against uh the lions they pff ding them for 15 missed tackles and that resulted in the lions getting 175 yards after the catch and 110 yards rushing after contact all of that is because they were not tackled at first contact um essentially so if if the first or even second man like swarmed to the ball do anything to get guys down but like the tackling that they they probably
Starting point is 00:28:14 wouldn't have beat the lions but it would not have looked as bad if the tackling wasn't as poor they held the lines of 24 points and and those statistics still popped up and they held them to 24 points like what can they do against young quarterbacks and offenses that really struggle in offenses with bad offensive lines like you should win that as long as you just are like checking off the easiest of boxes yeah and one thing I will say is like last year's defense I think was around this if anything last year's defense was maybe worse than this year's defense. I guess we could have a debate on that one day, if last year's defense was better or worse than this year's defense. I mean, around the same, but I would
Starting point is 00:28:52 argue this year's defense has shown a little bit more in terms of containing top opponents and not letting the floodgates open up. But last year's defense, when they played against teams like these coming up, when they played against the Patriots last year, they held the Patriots to six points. They played against the Panthers last year. They held the Panthers to 13 points. When they played, I think the Raiders scored 20, but it was still like, for the most part, the Raiders weren't really moving the ball that much in that game either. So for the most part, when they played against teams like this, they were able to shut it down, create turnovers, and make it so their offense didn't really have to do too much in those games let's let's get some shutting down performances here by this Colts defense to finish the season I don't need every
Starting point is 00:29:34 single game to be like a like a six-point game like that's not what I'm trying to say like hold every team under 10 it's difficult to do that in the NFL against anybody but let's get some games where you hold some teams into the teens make it so the Colts offense if they can just that in the NFL against anybody, but let's get some games where you hold some teams into the teens, make it so the Colts offense, if they can just get in the twenties, they can finish off some of these games. Like really like, again, I don't think points allowed per game is the most important metric for a defense because there's a lot of things that go into that from short fields to turnovers and stuff like that can really factor that. But when you're looking at what the Patriots are going to be rolling out their own offense,
Starting point is 00:30:08 what the Titans are going to be rolling out their own offense, especially with their banged up offensive line, the Giants with whoever they're going to start at quarterback and the Jag wires might be starting Mac Jones in that final game, depending on Trevor Lawrence's health. These are games where your defense cannot be allowing 20, 24, 20,
Starting point is 00:30:24 you know, like 20 plus point games. You know, you got to give your chance. You got to give your your offense a good chance to win by suffocating these bad offenses that you're playing. So it's kind of like a I don't want to say like a like a litmus test for this defense. But I feel like they kind of passed the big test in the middle of the season where they were pretty competitive against top offenses they were very physical against Detroit if they just finished some of their tackles they might have held Detroit to their lowest point total under Dan Campbell since they were like a bad team in the early part of his career um I think they were competitive against the Bills they forced two Josh Allen interceptions in that game they were they passed
Starting point is 00:31:01 the test in a lot of ways the Vikings game the only reason the Colts were in that is because of their defense. They passed so many tests in that stretch. Now you got to just take that momentum from those games and just really put a beating on these teams that are not even close to the same offense, you know, really make it so the Patriots feel like a different opponent than the Buffalo Bills and finish off these games. So for this Colts defense, show that you're like a solid defense, man. Like don't revert back to being a below average defense against below average offenses, because then we'll be looking so much more negative on the season from this Colts defense. So it's a really big opportunity for them to finish strong, just like the Colts offense
Starting point is 00:31:39 has the opportunity to get on track. This Colts defense has an opportunity just to solidify who they are in these final five games. Yeah, and if they can perform like that, I would like to see the offense answer in a similar fashion for being their counterparts, because we haven't seen a ton of higher team efforts. You mentioned the Carolina game and the New England game.
Starting point is 00:32:00 The offense was so unproductable, and it lacked production in those games. Kenny Moore put up essentially all the points in the carolina one and then gardner minchu was able to find josh downs on a miracle which saved that game essentially so like if the offense can do its part and the defense does what it's supposed to against these offenses we might get a total team effort where the Colts actually beat a team handily by multiple scores. It could happen. It hasn't happened many times in the last couple years, but it could happen this year. They certainly have four opportunities. I don't think the Broncos are going to be a pushover by any means, but they have some chances to make
Starting point is 00:32:41 something big. Yeah, and that is ultimately what we're talking about. We're thankful that the Colts have the opportunity to do the right thing in these final five games. That sounds like therapy talk. Yeah, right. It did sound like I was starting BetterHelp there. Yeah, and BetterHelp.com now. That's kind of what it is. But they have the opportunity to finish this season strong.
Starting point is 00:33:01 Will they take advantage? Will this 5-7 team finish with nine, maybe 10 wins? We shall see. It's all in the Colts. You know, they have been delivered the opportunity of a lifetime to get there. Will they do it?
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