Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Underdogs Without Anthony Richardson vs. Lamar Jackson, Depleted Baltimore Ravens

Starting point is 00:00:00 We're going to find out a lot about the Colts and head coach Shane Steichen this Sunday against the Ravens. 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. All right, what's up, everyone? Thanks for joining in and making us your first listen of the day. Maybe your final listen of the day if you're here on Friday. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts,

Starting point is 00:00:43 part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And today's show is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last-minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. Again, welcome to the show. I am Jake Arthur of horseshoehuddle.com. You know me as the resident credentialed media member of the website, bringing you the latest from the facility and all that, latest from the stadium. Thank you everybody for your patience this week, especially Zach. You've probably noticed I've been pretty MIA all week, taking care of some stuff here at home.

Starting point is 00:01:23 My dog has been going through some things this week, but we're on the up and up. So luckily, things should go back to normal for me. Being with you guys on the daily with Zach again, starting right now. So again, thank you guys on today's show. I've been playing some catch up on what's going on with the Colts and what's going on with the Ravens this week. And so I'm going to just share with you guys some of the stuff I'm thinking now after digesting so much stuff over the last couple of days. We'll go over a good bit of injuries and news that's been going on because this game, I think, is going to be pretty dictated by the injuries on both sides of things. Obviously, very high profile

Starting point is 00:02:05 injury with the Colts and Anthony Richardson, but the Ravens also ruled seven players out on Friday, so they're going to be pretty snakebitten as well. We'll then move on to some of the keys to the game. Some of the things I think are going to be most important for the Colts to beat the Ravens after I've watched the Ravens games this year. And then last, I'm going to respond to some of the questions you guys sent in on Twitter. And ultimately, I will give you my game prediction for what I think is going to go down on Sunday. So first off, first off, just catching up on some of the news and notes here. The Colts this week signed center Dakota Shepley to the practice squad. and they also placed cornerback Isaac Taylor Stewart on the practice squad injured list.

Starting point is 00:02:50 That is obviously reflective of Ryan Kelly being declared out with his concussion. They actually signed him before Kelly was ruled out, so I'm sure they kind of had the writing on the walls there. So Shepley, like I mentioned, replacing Kelly. Kelly and Anthony Richardson have been ruled out with concussions for the Colts. That's the only players that have been ruled out so far. But the Colts are dealing with some injuries to a position group that really doesn't need to have them. Dallas Flowers and Kenny Moore are both questionable.

Starting point is 00:03:25 Two of the three starting corners, Flowers with an ankle, Kenny Moore with a knee. Moore has been in and out of the lineup throughout practice this week. They may be just maintaining him, so we'll see how that goes. Flowers popped up on Friday, so that definitely bears monitoring. Quentin Nelson is questionable as well, so we'll see how that goes. He wound up playing with it last week, kind of followed the same script. But for the Ravens, they're down a lot. Running back Justice Hill, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., starting offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum, Ed Drusher,

Starting point is 00:04:02 Odafi Owe, cornerback Marlon Humphrey, and safety Marcus Williams. I thought Jonas Schaefer of the Baltimore Banner put perfectly on Twitter earlier. He said, so the Ravens will be without two of their top three running backs in J.K. Dobbins and Hill. Dobbins was, of course, placed on IR with his Achilles injury. Their most experienced wide receiver in Beckham, their best pass blocker in Ronnie Stanley, their most experienced wide receiver in Beckham, their best pass blocker in Ronnie Stanley, their best run blocker in Linderbaum,

Starting point is 00:04:33 their top edge rusher in Owe, their best cornerback in Humphrey, and their top ball hawk in Marcus Williams. But no big deal, right? Despite all that, the Ravens are actually still eight-point favorites. Last I checked, I looked on ESPN just before hopping on here. So not a lot of love for the Colts on that. So the Ravens are obviously out with just a huge amount of important players, but the players that the Colts are going to be without is apparently the nail in the coffin for the betters out out there i get it um i can't say that a gardner menchie led colts team is going to strike fear in in uh teams as much as an anthony richardson

Starting point is 00:05:13 one would and it does it does suck because it feels like we're kind of getting robbed at the anthony richardson lamar jackson battle uh which we all kind of had that one circled as soon as the schedule came out. But still, we'll get to this more in a little bit about what I think Gardner Minshew can do to lead the Colts to victory or at least make this a really close, really interesting game. But overall, you know, I think the Colts are being wise here with kind of being cautious with Richardson because it is his rookie year. It's only a couple weeks into it. If they want to hold him back and not have him dive right into practice, I get it.

Starting point is 00:05:56 Zach and I talked earlier in the week about this isn't necessarily – you don't need to push the envelope right now. He's a rookie quarterback going against a tough defense, and he was going to be on an abridged version of practice anyways all week, whether he cleared the protocol quickly or not. So this is a matchup where you want the guy to have a full week of practice first, and that just wasn't going to be the case. So hopefully he can come back here, you know, next week, week four against the Rams. We shall see, but you know, him and Ryan Kelly being out, it's, it's not the end of the world. It's going to make things probably a little less interesting from, from a game

Starting point is 00:06:39 watching standpoint. But again, there, there are things to gain there. Minshew can get the ball spread around. He can get the ball into his receivers. So probably the most interesting thing of this all, with it being Minshew and not Richardson, is the game is supposed to be pretty sloppy. Weather's going to be kind of butt. There's like a tropical storm or something going into the Baltimore area throughout the weekend.

Starting point is 00:07:03 So that is expected to kind of have an impact in this matchup. Probably a game where you would want to run a ton, you know, with your quarterback who you could run 15 or so times, you know, Zach Moss, that whole thing. But we'll see. Probably still going to be a heavy, heavy game plan on the ground. Lots of the short passing game, but we'll get to that here in a second but first buying tickets to your favorite event shouldn't be stressful game time is the fast and easy way to buy tickets for

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Starting point is 00:10:46 All right, everybody. And football season is here, and Locked On is kicking up our coverage with Locked On NFL Kickoff Live. Each Friday, Locked On will go live from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern on every Locked On NFL YouTube channel. You've probably noticed it on here. The views haven't been that bad.

Starting point is 00:11:01 It looks like you guys have been digesting some of the non-colts material that's coming your way again on our channel every friday every locked on nfl channel hosts tanitra batiste jarvis davis and kyle crabs will break down every game on the nfl slate to get you ready for your team's matchup your fantasy lineups your betting angles and more plus get the in-depth local analysis from our stable of NFL hosts across the country who know these teams better than anyone else. Again, that means you're probably going to be seeing me and Zach on there every now and then,

Starting point is 00:11:34 especially as the Colts get a little more interesting. Find Locked on NFL Kickoff live every Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. on any Locked on NFL YouTube channel. All right, everyone. So you've probably been hearing all week about how the Colts can't beat the Ravens, regardless of all these guys that they've got out this week. But you know what? I don't think that's necessarily true.

Starting point is 00:11:59 The Colts have played the Ravens pretty well before. And I mean, this is a totally different team, but it's really not a totally the Ravens pretty well before. And I mean, this is a totally different team, but it's really not a totally different Ravens team. Lamar Jackson is still the truth. I've come away more impressed watching his play this year. You know, I've, I've watched both Ravens games. I've come away really, really impressed. Like he is just truly an elite quarterback. Like the athleticism, everyone knew about it, but he really does not get enough credit as a passer. He can pass from all arm angles. He has zip on the ball.

Starting point is 00:12:31 He can bomb it out of his hand all the way downfield. There's really not much the guy can't do as a passer. For how much potential everyone thinks Richardson has as a passer, Lamar Jackson is already like way ahead. He just, since he's such a good athlete and Richardson kind of falls into the same camp, people just don't think they're as good of passers,

Starting point is 00:12:53 but Lamar has shown against the Colts specifically before. Don't count him out. Like that's ridiculous. So for me, it's not anything they're going to be able to do to stop him. Like regardless of the weather. Because we know if the weather is bad enough to where the passing game isn't going to be existent, he's the best running quarterback in the league as well.

Starting point is 00:13:14 So I'll just start from a Colts defensive perspective and what they can do against Jackson and the Ravens offense. They're going to have to keep up that pressure because he is very sackable and he can cough up the ball. I've seen him fumble. He doesn't have the best ball security when it comes to all that. Doesn't, you know, hold it high and tight and everything. So the Colts have eight sacks through two games.

Starting point is 00:13:36 You know, we've talked about it. They could very well by the season's end break the Indianapolis era single season franchise sack record of 46 sacks already on pace to do that but you know through two games they've actually looked really consistent quitty pays look great deforest buckner grover stewart just playing out of their minds samson abukim has i mean again it's only two games but he's he looks like he's going to be earning that contract that he signed in the offseason. Dio Dangbo is looking good. This Colts defensive front is just looking awesome so far. The Ravens are going to be without Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum.

Starting point is 00:14:19 The Colts have the edge there. When it comes to the trenches, the Colts have the edge in this one. They have a quarterback in Jackson who can be sacked. He escapes as well as anybody, but he can be sacked and he can cough up the ball. So keep up that pressure. Keep after a guy like Lamar Jackson. Don't get demoralized if, if, you know, you pressure him three, four times and he gets away every time. Cause like it'll'll break you'll get to him eventually and again you can cause a fumble on on a lot of those instances as well and then the other thing I think when facing the Ravens offense is going to be limiting the yards after catch and I'm particularly looking at Zay Flowers on this one this one will be tough for the Colts because

Starting point is 00:15:01 Dallas Flowers and Kenny Moore both banged up. But you know, Lamar Jackson is going to do his thing and he's got some talented pass catchers. Just don't let them kill you after the catch. Like you're probably going to give up some catches. That's fine. It's whatever. Jackson is a very,

Starting point is 00:15:20 very talented passer. Just end it there. Like make the tackle. Don't worry about doing anything extravagant. Once the ball is caught, just kill it right there. Like just end of the play. That's it. I mean, that can be easier said than done. Guys like Zay Flowers are explosive players. They're great after the catch, but that's just going to have to be a priority. There's, you're, you're not going to totally stop these guys. That's just a way you can contain them. So looking on the other side of it,

Starting point is 00:15:50 going to the Colts offense again, no Anthony Richardson. Um, so it's going to be Gardner Minshew. This is just going to have to be kind of a Gardner game. Take what the defense gives you, but that's going to also include some shots downfield, which in training camp, he was a little more apt to do that. And I think this one, I'm interested to see what the Ravens will do because they're pretty shorthand. So I don't know if they'll go more zone or more man. If they go in more man coverage, that could mean Gardner taking shots to like an Alec Pierce, finally, like maybe Pierce opens up a little bit this week in in man coverage so that's something to look out for um very curious about the run game as well because

Starting point is 00:16:32 so far the Colts have done a pretty good job at least last week running the ball Zach Moss brought a spark you know as 80 something yards um if, if by some chance the run game isn't working, don't just bail on that whole concept altogether. Use the short passing game as, as an extension to it. You know, Roquan Smith, Patrick Queen, those linebackers are going to be, they're, they're always very aggressive. And then if they're occupied rushing the passer, cool, that opens things over the middle. So Josh Downs can get open over the middle a little bit. Kylan Granson, same thing right there. But, you know, Zach Moss can catch the ball. Deion Jackson, I know he's in the doghouse right now with fans and, I mean,

Starting point is 00:17:16 perhaps even the coaching staff. He didn't really play last week, but those are guys you can use in this matchup to catch the ball and be an extension of the run game just by using that short passing game. So I think that is going to be really critical. Again, the weather might dictate a lot of this, but you don't have to do anything crazy. Just take what the defense gives you. That's what they did last week in their big win against the Texans. And the offense looked really good doing it. Like they didn't reinvent the wheel or anything.

Starting point is 00:17:46 They just capitalized on what was available there based on what the Texans defense was offering. And the last thing, just don't beat yourselves. Ball security, that includes dropped balls. That hasn't really been a big issue so far. Like there's been some here or there, but nothing that's been overly concerning. Deion Jackson obviously had the two fumbles in week one but they're making up for that he didn't really play last week um so yeah don't I mean just focus on the drops most times drops are concentration based anyways and then ball security especially if it's going to be rainy

Starting point is 00:18:23 cover up with both hands when you're going through because against a team like this with the Ravens, they're going to be able to take advantage of anything you give them. Again, they're very short-handed, but Lamar Jackson is Lamar Jackson. He is still that dude. He is still an MVP candidate for every reason in the world. He has not lost a step whatsoever. And again,

Starting point is 00:18:50 if you're not, you know, if you're at the game, I know our Andrew Moore is actually going to be at the game from horseshoehuddle.com. Whether you're watching or listening, whatever, again, catch the game Sunday at 1 Eastern. Every snap of the Colts hometown broadcast is going to be on Sirius XM on the SXM app. Search Colts and you will get right there. You will hear everything locally, exactly how it ought to be. And then coming up here, I'm going to take some of the, I'm going to answer some of the questions that you guys had for us over on Twitter. But first, testing my skills on prize picks this football season is the most exciting way that I have found to play daily fantasy sports.

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Starting point is 00:20:16 Again, go to prizepicks.com slash locked on NFL and use code locked on NFL for our first deposit match up to $100. PrizePix, daily fantasy sports made easy. and use code LOCKEDONNFL for a first deposit match up to $100. Prize picks. Daily Fantasy Sports made easy. All right, friends. So we heard from some of the friends of the show, the fan favorites around here with the questions. I'll go ahead and give the floor here first to our guy, Kenan.

Starting point is 00:20:41 He asked, I hear there's a major storm forecasted to hit Baltimore this Sunday. How many sacks do you reckon? So I don't think the Colts pass rush is just going to automatically disappear. I think they've got the players to do it. Those guys have had high intensity in these first couple of weeks. And again, the Ravens, they're prone to give up some pressure and they've got two of their best offensive linemen down this week. So I'm going to give the Colts four again, as much as I'd love to give them like five or six, four is still a high number. And,

Starting point is 00:21:12 you know, I just think because of what the Ravens are missing, because the field is probably going to be sloppy and what the Colts defensive front has shown they're capable of doing. Like they have eight sacks because they have good players right now. It's not a fluke uh they're they don't have this disappearing act where they're not even touching the quarterback in a game i think it's a legit group uh so i'm gonna give them four guys who i'm pretty confident will get there i think a book and we'll get there and i think buckner will get there at least once for those guys. So two of the four will go to those guys.

Starting point is 00:21:45 Maybe a blitz like EJ speed or Shaquille Leonard gets in there. We'll see. All right. Next question. Another, another friend of the show Colts fan Cole, what are the odds that Trey sermon gets up to the active roster this week, next week,

Starting point is 00:22:00 et cetera. So this is a good question. A lot of it, you know, kind of hinges on Jonathan Taylor's availability, but if they like what they see out of him on the practice field, then that could threaten the status of, you know, Dion Jackson, for example, you know what I mean? Like Jackson has shown that he's not, he's not like an iron clad member of the roster right now.

Starting point is 00:22:22 Like I think they were confident with him going into week one and it just did not work out how they expected. Trey Sermon is a veteran as well. You know, been in the league a couple of years, has seen some action. He's not a bad player. He can catch the ball.

Starting point is 00:22:37 He can run between the tackles as well. Actually looked pretty good when the Eagles and Colts played in the preseason looked good early on before the Colts just started smothering it. But no, that's, they, they didn't, in my opinion, they didn't just bring him on to keep him on the practice squad. I think he will be a member of the active roster at some point. Probably not, you know, probably doesn't get called up yet, but I'll say next week,

Starting point is 00:23:05 if I'm just guessing, just a total guess, I'll say by next week, running backs are usually able to transfer over and show some things pretty quickly. And I'm, I'm sure there's enough of Shane Steichen's offense that he's familiar with that, uh, that he should be able to get in. I'm going to say next week. Now, how big of a role he'll have, we'll see, because I think special teams will play a pretty decent part in it, but we'll see. I am interested to see what Trey Sermon can bring to it, but again, if Jonathan Taylor comes out by week five, week six,

Starting point is 00:23:40 and he looks good, he's probably going to dominate the backfield. Zach Moss isn't a household name, and he played pretty much every snap going to dominate the backfield like zach moss isn't like a household name and he played pretty much every snap for the running back position last week uh so if jonathan taylor comes back and he gets rolling it's going to be very dominant uh from taylor and then zach moss will obviously pick up scraps from there which would make trey sermon kind of kind of a fallback option. Let's see. And then one more question from C.L. Dyer. Anthony Richardson brings the excitement,

Starting point is 00:24:11 but this has always been the history of the mobile QB1. What is your take on the long-term future of Richardson? How does Shane harness Richardson's potential? So I think kind of what this question is getting at is these mobile guys, they're kind of always forced at some point to dumb it down a little bit and not have to rely on their athleticism as much because they get hurt and everything. And a lot has been made of Richardson getting hurt in each of his first two games. He had the ankle in the knee in week one,

Starting point is 00:24:41 got fully recovered for that for week two, but then after the first quarter, got a concussion. So all of those things happened as a result of him running the ball. That's just that's how it happened. At a certain point, you know, you drafted him to be this multifaceted player, though. Because the whole reason they brought him in in like if they wanted a statuesque pocket passer they would have waited and taken something like that i think the only thing that really needs to change here is richardson be a little more cognizant of you know his impact and him missing playing time because like it's gonna's going to be a big deal if he starts missing more and more playing time

Starting point is 00:25:27 based on his play style and taking big hits. Now the play with the concussion, uh, where he got hit going into the end zone to me, that's just kind of a freak play. The defender probably shouldn't have gone as hard as he did, but I could tell from his perspective, Richardson was not quite there yet. And he probably thought he could dislodge Richardson from the ball by the time the

Starting point is 00:25:54 whistle was blown and, and touched and touchdown was considered there. But I mean, that's, that's tough. Richardson probably could have curled a little bit and, you know, shown his back, but that's just kind of freak stuff that's going to happen. And I don't think the Colts really want to curtail that. I do think they want him to protect himself a little better though. There's going to be times here, here he does run out of bounds plenty, but if he's running over the middle of the field or something, there's really no shame in just like crumpling down. We we've seen mobile quarterbacks do it before. You don't have to jump up and do the helicopter just to get a first down or something. You can do that stuff when you're younger, but if you suffer some huge injury or something like

Starting point is 00:26:42 a Robert Griffin III, it can derail everything. So Richardson's going to have to be careful. I don't think it's going to be as big of a deal long-term as some people think it is now. Because, again, it doesn't look great with injuries in each of his first two games. But, again, that's just kind of stuff you've got to live with when you've got a guy who's able to do those type of things. But, you know, there are going to be instances where Richardson probably should protect himself

Starting point is 00:27:10 a little bit more. All right, everyone. So I'm going to go ahead and move on to my prediction for this game. This is a tough one because I do want to give the Colts a lot of credit. I think they're capable of being competitive with really any team. But ultimately, the only reason I'm not going to give them the win in this one is because they're going to be missing Anthony Richardson and Ryan Kelly. That middle of the offense led by Richardson and Kelly looks a lot different than it does being led by Gardner Minshew and Wesley French. So because of that, I'm still going to give it to the Ravens 23 to 20. Again,

Starting point is 00:27:46 I've seen too much Lamar Jackson in these first two weeks to bet against him. But yeah, a Colts team without Anthony Richardson is just not quite enough dynamic firepower. So I'm going to give it to the Ravens reluctantly 23 to 20. Again, probably just going to be too much Lamar Jackson. I think he has the kind of play style where even if things are breaking down around him, you know, he's not going to have Beckham. He's not going to have those two starting offensive linemen. He'll find a way. This could be a game where Mark Andrews has like 10 catches, but that's his security blanket.

Starting point is 00:28:22 So we'll see. I do think it'll be a really close one. I think the Colts will make it competitive the whole way. I really like what their defense is going to be able to do. Again, I'm going to give them probably about four sacks, maybe a fumble recovery or two, but I'm not, I'm not going to say the Colts can't win because they definitely can. And I won't be surprised if they do, but if I'm putting my name on it and predicting it, I'm going to say it's the Ravens and the narrow one. surprised if they do, but if I put my name on it and predicting it, I'm going to say it's the Ravens and the narrow one.

Starting point is 00:28:47 So if you guys don't already follow at locked on Colts at Jake Arthur, NFL, and as Zach X two on Twitter, also subscribe on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts, we would love your ratings and reviews as well, because that helps us move up the charts. And with that, we will see you guys right after the game on Sunday.

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Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts Underdogs Without Anthony Richardson vs. Lamar Jackson, Depleted Baltimore Ravens

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