Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts' Week 1 X-Factors: Parris Campbell to Shine Against Houston Texans?

Episode Date: September 7, 2022

It's all about the Indianapolis Colts' X-Factors on today's episode. Can wide receiver Parris Campbell provide a big impact in his return to action? Does All-Pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner main...tain his dominant run against the Houston Texans? Can left tackle Matt Pryor hold up in his first start of 2022?Destin Adams (@TheDestinAdams) of Stampede Blue and the Saddle Up Podcast fills in for Jake Arthur and joins Zach Hicks!Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQ🎧 Apple https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/id1151621306🎧 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/6meP450baAtjX4rTENZ5ij🎧 Audacy https://www.audacy.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts-daily-podcast-on-the-indianapolis-colts-21701🎧 Google https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vUFBZODk1ODUyODkyNQ🎧 Megaphone https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/lockedoncoltsFollow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, and @LockedOnColts!This episode is brought to you by BriteCo Jewelry and Watch Insurance. BriteCo brings you comprehensive, fast, and affordable jewelry insurance for as low as 5 dollars per month. Check out your special offer for locked-on listeners and Get covered in under two minutes at brite dot co forward slash locked on – that’s Brite dot co forward slash locked on.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!BriteCoThe guys at BriteCo Jewelry Insurance made buying insurance for your engagement ring, your watch, or whatever so easy you can get covered in 2 minutes on your cell phone. You won't find a better deal on coverage that's so affordable. Go to https://brite.co/lockedonPrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONTuroDitch boring rental cars and find your drive at Turo.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 It is all about the X factors, guys. Here on Locked On Colts, we are going to be talking about all the X factors that need to step up for the Colts to get the dub this Sunday. All that and much more on today's episode of Locked On Colts. You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Colts fans, thank you so much for tuning in and making us your number one listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering the Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. This episode is brought to you by Brightco Jewelry Watch Insurance.
Starting point is 00:00:55 Brightco brings you comprehensive, fast, and affordable jewelry insurance for as low as $5 per month. Check out our special offer for Locked On listeners and get covered in under two minutes at bright.co forward slash locked on. That's bright.co forward slash locked on. I am Zach Hicks and today I'm not joined by Jake Arthur. Jake had some family things going on. So I went to, you know, I didn't go to my backup. I didn't go to my backups backup. I went to my backups backups backup in Destin Adams. So Destin, how does it feel to be, you know, like my fifth choice for this? Hey, I mean, I think this should just be a triumph for all those kids out there listening that are the fifth string point guard, fifth
Starting point is 00:01:37 string quarterback that are smiling on the bench, waiting for their chance to get in. And it happens, guys. I mean, this is a testament to patience and just flat out being ready for the opportunity. It works, man. Yeah, Destin right now is like those Duke guards or whatever at the end of the bench you get in when it's a 50-point blowout and they get those guys out there, the six-year seniors. That's Destin right now. He's coming here to play. So if you guys are unfamiliar with Destin Adams,
Starting point is 00:02:08 he was one of the co-owners with the Blue Stable until recently. He is now going to go to Sampy Blue with our friend Shad Guinness, who was on the other day. Destin and Shad, I think it's going to be the Saddle Up podcast, I believe is what you guys are going to be hosting over there? Yeah, it'll be Saddle Up with Shad and Destin every Tuesday and Thursday. Sweet, man. Sweet. So yeah, you guys definitely check them out. Jake and I highly, highly recommend everything Stampede Blue, especially now with Destin and Shad over there.
Starting point is 00:02:36 Jake and I got our starts at Stampede Blue, so we can't say enough good things there about Stampede Blue. And like I said at the beginning of this podcast, guys, we are talking X-Factors today. Destin and I both have our list of X-Factors for the Colts offense and the Colts defense for them to get the dub this Sunday. But before we get into X-Factors, we have some news and notes from the Colts. Not too much because a lot of this stuff will come out tomorrow. One thing that is coming out tomorrow, or as you guys are listening, it's today, Wednesday, when you guys are listening to this podcast uh the Colts are going to announce their team captains uh nothing I don't think we're going to see anything like too surprising you know Matt Ryan
Starting point is 00:03:11 will probably be a captain you know the Colts always have their quarterbacks but Destin do you think Zyre Franklin makes this three years in a row as the special teams captain I mean he probably has to right I mean right there's just no staple that you can give it to. I mean, there's no venetary, old reliable waiting in the winds here. I mean, Zaire's kind of become that old reliable for the Colts in a way. Right. Because do we know if Dillon's going to be the every down gunner this year? We don't know.
Starting point is 00:03:38 You can't give it to Hot Rod even if you want to talk about how he won the kicking job this year and I mean I think they like Matt Heick a lot but uh it seems a little early to give him a captain sticker right right so yeah I think Zyra Franklin I put my money down you know if we had you know the betting sites covered who would be captains for the Colts I think Zyra Franklin is a good bet for you guys another thing that's gonna be releasing here on Wednesday again when you guys are listening to this podcast is the Colts uh I think it's their first injury report of the season. So that's going to be super interesting to see where guys like Shaquille Leonard, which will be a huge one for the Colts, and Isaiah Rogers Sr. See if he lands on that injury report.
Starting point is 00:04:16 I know he's kind of been back in action a little bit lately, but we'll see where those guys' statuses are. So we'll talk about that probably on tomorrow's show. Something that did release today, though, is the Colts' first unofficial, kind of official, depth chart of the entire season. Nothing too surprising on this depth chart. Something that I wanted to point out, and we'll have Destin here react to them, is Nick Cross is the starting strong safety. Now, we kind of saw this coming. Super, super strong camp from Nick Cross.
Starting point is 00:04:45 I mean, the rookies looked really good. But, Destin, if I told you right after the draft that Nick Cross would be the team starting strong safety going into week one, that would have been a little crazy, right? Yeah, I mean, I would have had to go to bat for my boy, Kari Willis, day after the draft, right? I mean, if that was announced. But, I mean, I feel like Nick Cross earned it. I mean, in training camp, I had the privilege of being out there at Grand Park multiple times throughout. And the kid just looks different.
Starting point is 00:05:11 He's fast. He moves well. You didn't often see him out of position like some young guys out there. And he just really looked perfect for what Gus Bradley wants in that safety position opposite of Julian Blackman. I mean, I wasn't shocked to hear it at all. Yeah, no,
Starting point is 00:05:28 I think he's, I think he's ready for this. And one of the youngest players in the league too. I think he's 21 years old or I think he's 20 or 21. So I thought he was only 20 years old, at least in the last preseason game, that was all the commentators could talk about. But then this past week,
Starting point is 00:05:43 everyone had been saying like 21year-old Nick Cross. I don't know if we have a confirmation on when his birthday is, but unless it happened here recently, I thought he was still 20. Okay, so Nick Cross maybe could be drinking right now. We don't know. We don't know if he's drinking legally or not. So we'll have to have you guys correct us here in the comments. I'm sure you guys will.
Starting point is 00:06:04 You guys are always great about that. Some other news and notes I had from the first unofficial depth chart was we didn't see Dallas Flowers listed as one of the kick returners, which to me kind of says he's going to be a healthy scratch for the foreseeable future. You know, as of right now, they had Isaiah Rogers Sr. as the starting kick returner. And then they had Ashton Doolin as the backup. You know, obviously, if Isaiah Rogers Sr. misses this starting kick returner, and then they had Ashton Doolin as the backup. Obviously, if Isaiah Rogers Sr. misses this week, Dallas Flowers probably steps up. But were you kind of surprised a little bit by that,
Starting point is 00:06:30 that Dallas Flowers wasn't listed as a kick returner or something? I was shocked just because it felt like if there was a reason he earned the fifth corner spot, in my opinion, through preseason and training camp, it was because they just see a very high ceiling in the returning field. And I'm not saying Flowers can't be a solid corner down the line maybe, but from what we saw in training camp and preseason, he did not look like the fifth best corner out there during the 85-man roster, 80-man roster.
Starting point is 00:07:01 So I was shocked for sure. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think he's a really interesting developmental player and I think I could understand him making the team because you don't want to lose that. You know, they do have those healthy scratch spots for a reason, but I was a little shocked by that. Again, it kind of points to me saying like, okay, he's probably going to be a healthy scratch going forward. I think the only other thing I really had of note was Kylan Granson listed as a co-starter alongside Moalik Cox.
Starting point is 00:07:26 Kylan Granson, which I'm going to get to here in a second with something else that we're going to talk about, had a really strong offseason. I mean, if he just calmed down the drop sees and I think he's going to have a really, really strong season for the Colts. But I mean, no shocks there with Kylan Granson being the co-starter. Yeah, I mean, to me, that second tight end in most offenses is another starter um so i've always just looked at it as the guy behind mo alley at the end of training camp was going to be a starter as well especially with how frank uses tight ends um the thing i'm shocked about is you didn't share the biggest shocker of the entire depth chart i mean sam ellinger is not quarterback one come week one are Are we kidding right now?
Starting point is 00:08:10 Look, look, our YouTube commentators are classy, okay? We don't get much Sam Ellinger QB1 here. We did get a lot of stuff. Sam Ellinger was listed as QB1 or QB2, QB3 on the opening depth chart, and he's going to be there for the foreseeable future. The last little news and notes that we have to talk about here is the Colts coordinators, Gus Bradley and Marcus Brady, both talked today. I didn't really find too much in there
Starting point is 00:08:35 that we haven't really talked about before. Something with Gus Bradley is Shaquille Leonard was mentioned as someone who, Gus Bradley kind of said he's been involved in a lot of the game planning.'s been involved in a lot of the game planning he's been in a lot of meetings with them they are trying to get him up to 100% mentally before he's 100% physically I don't know if he'll be ready for week one but it seems like they're anticipating him potentially being ready as early as as week one you know yeah I mean for
Starting point is 00:09:01 me if I was making decisions which I never never get to, I don't know why. They don't ever call my line to give me the choices here. I just don't see why you throw him out there if he's not 100% because a guy like Shaquille, you're not getting a snap count. I mean, trying to pull him off the field is just going to be a battle and a half. So if they don't think he's 100% and ready to just go out there and play, i don't see why you throw him out there i mean he's kind of mentioned it multiple times like he felt like last year when he was playing injured he felt like he was playing below his standards and was letting the team down and he doesn't want to do that again and for me if he's not at 100 and you throw him out there that's not owning what that statement says to me um i would just
Starting point is 00:09:44 have him not play this first week, let him be more prepared for week two and keep going. I mean, early in training camp, the big one for me is I hope he's out there by week three. Right, right. Yeah, because they're going to need him for that week three game against the Chiefs. Although he might be the bad luck charm.
Starting point is 00:09:58 The Colts are undefeated against the Chiefs without Shaquille Leonard in the lineup. And you know, Jaguar fans will bring that up if he doesn't play week two. They'll move on from, oh, the Colts haven't beat us since 2014, to, no, now Shaquille Leonard hasn't beat us since 2014. True, true, true, true. Coming up, guys, we are going to talk about our X-Factors on offense and defense for the Colts. But before that, we've going to talk about our X-Factors on offense and defense for the Colts.
Starting point is 00:10:25 But before that, we got to talk about Brightco. I was over at Bright.co earlier. I saw the video of a failed marriage proposal where two people were out on a little rowboat on the lake and does not look warm out, mind you. Anyway, one of them shifts too quickly and flips the boat while the other guy is getting the ring out. Long story short, it's hard to pose with the ring when it's flips the boat while the other guy is getting the ring out. Long story short, it's hard to pose with a ring when it's at the bottom of the lake and you and your loved ones are running around your north faces. Here's the lesson. You don't want to be that guy, and you certainly don't want it splattered all over the Internet.
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Starting point is 00:11:46 Home Field is known for being an outstanding collegiate apparel company, but the Colts recognize the local talent. And as Home Field is based out of India, they wanted to work together. The line launched a couple weeks ago and features a hoodie, a crew neck, two different t-shirts, a pair of joggers, and a jacket. New customers can get 15% off their first purchase from Home Field with code LOCKEDONCOLTS at checkout at homefieldapparel.com. All right, Destin, let's talk some X factors.
Starting point is 00:12:13 Now, earlier today, you asked me, you know, are we looking for guys who are going to be that we think are going to have a huge game or guys that their performance kind of impacts the score? You know, those kind of low-key guys and when I was looking at the two players I picked for offense I kind of had like a road to El Dorado moment if you got if you know that movie it's like both both yeah both is good both is good so we're kind of going with both of those things that Destin was asking for me to clarify so we'll start with kind of your stud your bigger name guy who is like that bigger name guy that needs to have a big game
Starting point is 00:12:46 for the Colts to come out victorious? Yeah, I mean, I'll start with the obvious one that everyone back home is saying. Oh, they wouldn't say this. It's obvious. But Matt Ryan, it's his first game as a Colt, and it's going to set the tone for what this offense can look like this year. It's another new quarterback. It's something Colts fans aren't shocked to see.
Starting point is 00:13:05 It's another quarterback that the team is probably very comfortable with at this point of a new quarterback. So seeing Matt Ryan go in against the Texans this week, I think the big thing is it's going to show you what Frank Reich's offense can look like because he tinkers it a lot to the quarterback that's playing. So I'm very interested to see what that looks like. But also just showing that the Colts, you can't just stop the run and beat the Colts this year. Whereas last year, that was the case to where I feel like the Texans could sell out a few times and we just got
Starting point is 00:13:34 to see Matt Ryan beat those plates. And I'm excited to see what that comes to Saturday, Sunday, because I don't, I think he's an X factor because he's important, but I think he's going to be an X factor because I think he's going to go out and he's going to show it. Right. I mean, obviously the quarterback is the right choice always when it comes to stuff like this. But, you know, Frank Reich did say the other day that the Colts really weren't showing much of their playbook in the preseason. So for anyone who's trying to, you know, say, oh, the Colts offense is going to suck this year because they didn't look good against backups in the preseason. Chill. Take a chill pill. So, you know, getting to my X factor, my star player who I think is going to have a big game and is going to be really big when it comes to the overall score of this
Starting point is 00:14:13 game is none other than the team's MVP last year in Jonathan Taylor. Jonathan Taylor has obviously been effective against almost anyone in his career and his very productive two years in the NFL, but against the Texans, he's been a different animal. I actually pulled up the stats earlier today. In his four games that he's played against the Texans, you know, all four wins for the Colts, mind you, he has 86 touches for 535 yards and six touchdowns in four games, four games over 100 yards a game, a little over 20 touches a game, and over one touchdown a game. So, I mean, if you guys are having him fancy, I know you're going to be starting him regardless. But I think it all comes down to, you know, the Colts last year went as far as Jonathan Taylor took them.
Starting point is 00:14:55 I don't think that's going to be as much the case this year. But we're still talking about one of the best skill position players in all of football. You know, Jonathan Taylor is going to have an impact. He's had an impact on this matchup in the past. It's all about how he's going to be used. You know, they could go with a lot of what they did last year and more zone runs and misdirection. They could go with what they did two years ago and a lot more duo and power, or they could go with kind of what we're expecting where maybe more passes out of the backfield to him because Matt Ryan is capable of doing that. I think however you break it down though, he's going to have a big impact on this
Starting point is 00:15:24 game and that's why he's my X factor. But jumping to our other X factor, you know, a guy who is maybe a little bit under the radar, but his performance might make or break the day for the Colts. Destin, who do you got for this one? Yeah, I mean, for this guy, the big drop off here and why I asked my question earlier was because I don't know if I can say I'm confident that he will go out and be an X factor with his play, but the importance of this position is just off the charts. I'm going to go Matt Ryan's blindside protector in what will be Matt Pryor this Sunday. And I think Pryor, where I think his game does excel is I think he is a significantly above average run blocker. I think he's able to push very well, and I think he is a significantly above average run blocker I think he's able to push very
Starting point is 00:16:05 well and I think he can make a impact in this game for sure in the run game the big thing is you just cannot be you don't want to hear your name called on pass pros you just don't I don't need to see him pancaking guys but I don't need to see Eric Fisher moments where we have fumbles that lead to scores for the other team because I mean mean, let's flat out say it. The Colts are the better team in this game. The Colts are the team that are favored. They have the largest favor. If you are a betting person listening to this,
Starting point is 00:16:36 they have the largest spread line for this week and week one. And I believe it's an eight and a half point favorite. And the reason for that is just the skill difference. And the ways you can lose these kind of games is those kind of plays that we saw from Eric Fisher last year where he got blown up at the line of scrimmage and a sack fumble would occur lead to seven points for the other team three points for the other team and Matt Pryor can't be the cause of that come Sunday we need to limit those plays as much as possible. So I'm going to be watching Matt Pryor a lot on Sunday and not just because I'm the leader of the Bernard Ryman. I do think Matt Pryor, you know, I think he had a solid off season. I wouldn't say it was anything special or is this amazing off season. Like you said, I do think he's a very strong run
Starting point is 00:17:20 blocker. And I do think there, there are some good things in pass protection. At least I feel better about him in pass protection than I did about the traffic cone that was Eric Fisher last season so I'm feeling kind of optimistic but I do think he is like you mentioned a huge x factor because if we get like an Eric Fisher type performance from him it could be a long day because even though I you know I kind of said it yesterday's on yesterday's show and some Texans fans kind of go after me I like the Texans pass rush I just don't think it's one that when you look at the landscape of the NFL it's one that should scare you because later on the schedule they have the Chargers they have the Eagles they have uh the Chiefs obviously with with Chris Jones and stuff like that too they have all these
Starting point is 00:17:58 superstars they're going against if you're scared of you know all the a decent group that doesn't really have that much star power then that's worrisome for the rest of the year so Matt Pryor I think is a great x factor the guy I'm going to go with is none other than Chris Campbell this is the guy who had a huge game against the Texans last year unfortunately it was his last game of the season now he's he's coming back for yet another opportunity to to kind of show his worth to the team. And one reason I really wanted to point out Harris Campbell is when you look at this Texans defense, obviously it's a lot better than what it was last year. They're adding Derek Stingley.
Starting point is 00:18:33 They're adding Jalen Petrie. They have more talent this year. But if we are kind of comparing it to kind of what they put out there last year, the biggest area that you could beat that Texans defense in 2021 was deep down the field and through the air. I actually have the numbers right here. The Texans defense last season was 29th in air yards per pass attempt allowed, which means depth of target was over eight yards per attempt, you know, 8.5 yards per attempt down the field. They were allowing those bigger plays. If you actually just look at their air yards in total they allowed last season, it was 2,597. So they allowed that many passing yards last season without players even falling forward after the catch. If they just caught it where they were targeted, that's how many passing yards that they allowed last season. This Texans defense was susceptible down the field, and we
Starting point is 00:19:18 saw that in the Colts' first matchup where Carson Wentz averaged over 10 yards in the 10th. So for the Colts to kind of maintain that success they had against the Texans last season, a guy like Paris Campbell is paramount, you know, to having success down the field. But that's who we – offensive X-Factors. You guys leave in the comments below who you think the Colts X-Factors are this week, especially on offense, because we feel good about the Colts defense, obviously.
Starting point is 00:19:43 You know, it's a lot of the same faces, but this Colts offense could be very different. So make sure you guys leave that below. Before we get to our defensive Xts defense, obviously, you know, it's a lot of the same faces, but this Colts offense could be very different. So make sure you guys leave that below before we get to our defensive X factors. You know, guys, I'm, I'm feeling a little bit picky right now. A good, a good example of kind of what I'm mulling over this weekend is a hundred point five rushing yards for Jonathan Taylor against the Texans. I just said about the success that Taylor has had in recent years. So I don't know how I'm going to pass up this opportunity to make some money. The whole thing is so easy
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Starting point is 00:21:26 worry guys i'll get better we'll keep kicking dick off more so i can practice a little bit more but get into i thought sign up for now sounded good i mean it made me feel like i had to do it right now sign up for now you don't have to keep it forever yeah sign up for now. Yeah, very laid back. Just for now. Yeah, I said it very aggressively for laid back. Sign up for now. Guys, we're getting to some defensive X factors now. I'm going to kick off this segment because it's something I've kind of been talking a lot with Jake, and I'll probably write an article on it just because you guys know how I am. I like to write a lot.
Starting point is 00:22:02 But DeForest Buckner has been so effective against the Texans the last two seasons. The last two seasons in four matchups, again, all four matchups that the Colts have come out on top, DeForest Buckner has six sacks, three QB hits, and 11 hurries in just four games. So over a sack a game, almost a QB hit a game over two hurries per game. He's been a very effective player. And we've talked all off season about how DeForest Buckner is going to have this great season with Gus Bradley, getting back to a defensive scheme.
Starting point is 00:22:34 He's had efficiency with, he's got more pass rushers on his side, you know, second year, Quitty pay Yannick Nagakwe's perennial threat. So this is the time for DeForest Buckner to really show what he's about now this is Texans offensive line is improved from what they did last year but I do think this is this is a prime game for DeForest Buckner to come out week one and establish that
Starting point is 00:22:55 he's you know one of those top tier players in the league which we have seen the last couple years but we're going to see that taken to another level so my my big time stud x factor for this weekend on defense is none other than DeForest Buckner. But Destin, who do you got as your kind of well-known big name X factor for this upcoming game? Yeah, for my big time X factor for this one is a guy that I think his success is going to lead to DeForest Buckner success this game and down the season. And that is someone you just mentioned in Yannick and Gawkway. I think Yannick just has the level of pass rush that we've just been missing in Indy for so long.
Starting point is 00:23:30 Whether we're changing the pass rush mantra around here with the new coaching staff and everything like that, but adding this level of pass rusher just already is going to add a different element that offensive coordinators and coaches just haven't had the game plan for. I mean, not trying to talk ill the the dead in a way of colts but i mean quidi pay and al-kudim muhammad didn't have the same you know that doesn't strike fear into anyone um and if you're a bears fan listening for whatever reason i'm sorry um but yannick is just a guy that you have to game plan
Starting point is 00:24:05 for. You're going to have to see double teams. He was dominant through training camp. I think he showed even glimpses in the preseason of his ability to win reps in multiple different ways. And I'm excited to see him in live game action as a Colt. And I'm just excited for pass rush to be back in Indy, Zach. If I could just say my big-time one is just Pass Rush, I would have. Yeah. But I'll give it a name, and the name is Yannick. Yeah. No, I think a big part of that, too, is the Colts.
Starting point is 00:24:31 I mean, don't get me wrong. Kamoku Ture, when he had some good moments, did have some good moments against Loremi Tunsil, but they really have never had anyone to challenge him off that side. You know, like, again, Quidipe had some moments. Kamoku Ture had some moments. Kamoku Dre had some moments. Yannick Nakoi is going to be a real test for the Remington. So, you know, even if he doesn't get home and doesn't get a sack in this one, just having an actual threat off the blind side, it's going to be huge for the Colts for not only this upcoming game, but for the entire season.
Starting point is 00:24:59 Now, my kind of under the radar X factor that I think needs to have a big game is probably the guy where, if you look across the whole Colts defense, you would probably say this is the only guy who's either not like a young player or not like an above-average player at their position. This is the quote-unquote kind of weak link of the defense, I guess, even though I think he's a solid player. But Brandon Faison is going to be the other outside corner for the Colts in this game. And again, I don't think he's a bad player by any means, but if you look at this entire Colts defense, you either got young players or, or above average players in the position Faison's kind of, kind of a guy, you know, big lengthy corner bring coming over from the Raiders had a good off season. He effectively won that second outside corner spot, even though we will see a lot of Isaiah Rogers senior Brandon Faison is probably going to get the start. I think he just needs to have a solid day. You know, I don't think he needs to come out and get two picks or something like that, that huge X
Starting point is 00:25:54 factor, you know, we're expecting from these studs, but I need him to come out, be steady on that backside, be steady on the strong side, wherever side he's on, and not give up anything down the field. You know, he had a couple issues last year with pass interference calls. He did have some issues in the red zone last season with the Raiders. You want to see that cleaned up and just be a steady presence. You know, it doesn't have to be as good as Stephon Gilmore. It doesn't even need to be as good as Rocky Sin was last year, because Rocky Sin was awesome on the outside last year. He just needs to be a steady player that doesn't get beat deep and doesn't get huge penalties, and I'm calling that a huge win. So that's why Brandon Faison is my X Factor on defense.
Starting point is 00:26:32 Who do you got as your kind of under-the-radar X Factor here on defense, Destin? I liked the call for Faison, by the way. I'm just really interested to see what it's like in live game action just because it just felt like all training camp. The biggest shock to me in the first step chart was that he was over isaiah rogers just because i felt like rogers had looked good in training camp and i'm interested in the matchup the face on is going to get whether it's cooks at times whether it's nico collins at times it'll just be an interesting test for the colts defense and i'm going to go a very different route with mine we saw in preseason the Colts run defense at times just didn't look the same it didn't have the same push you didn't have the same
Starting point is 00:27:12 energy now it was the preseason and things are different but I'm really interested to see what that run defense looks like for the Colts this year with everything shifting and if that's something that's gonna fall behind a little bit and the guy that I kind of have kinged as the leader of the run defense is Grover Stewart. So I think Grover Stewart's a guy that I'm going to be watching because I just want to see what this new stop the run on the way to the passer mantra that the Colts are going to live by on the defensive line, how it affects their ability to stop the run because they've been better than
Starting point is 00:27:43 good. They've been better than great. They've been among the elite at stopping the run over the past couple of years at Indy. And I am excited for the pass rush. I'm excited for the change in the defense a little bit, but I don't want the run defense to falter to a level to where a team can just run over us. And we're going to see it this year, this game. I mean, they have a very young running back in Houston and Damian Pierce. I mean, if you're listening and you're a fantasy person,
Starting point is 00:28:07 you may even hoping he has a good day and we still win on Sunday. But for me, we were able to beat the Texans pretty handily last year. I believe it was over 60 points to three in the two games combined last year. I would like to continue that type of dominance if possible and that includes stopping the run so i'm watching big grove um for sunday yeah uh just to add some stats what you're saying here the colts last season uh were obviously dominant against the texans almost every phase uh in run defense though they did they were a little bit leaky especially in that first match up uh the texans had i have the numbers right here i think yeah 161 yards rushing on 40 carries which is a little over four yards a carry
Starting point is 00:28:49 in those two matchups uh but the colts did have 18 run stops so stops within two yards of the line of scrimmage on those 40 attempts so it was a lot of the colts stuffing them they just had a couple big leaky runs at certain times which i i do remember that quite a bit in the first matchup. But yeah, Grover is a great call out there because, again, the run defense didn't look great in the preseason, but Grover the Destroyer did look great whenever he played against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, especially on that one drive. I mean, he had like all the run stops. So I feel good about the Colts run defense as long as they have Grover. And again, Grover the Destroyer is my name for him. So you guys can take that whenever you want. But that's all we have for today, guys.
Starting point is 00:29:31 We'll be back with you tomorrow. And hopefully Jake will be back. I don't want to put anything firm on that, but I believe Jake will be back. As we cross over with the locked on Texans, guys, to learn even more about the Colts week, what opponent. And fill them in on the Colts as well. Destin, I really appreciate you jumping on with me. You can follow Destin on Twitter at the Destina Dumbs is what it is right there.
Starting point is 00:29:53 At the Destina Dumbs is what it says right there. As long as you spell it right, the follow will work either way, no matter how you pronounce it. You guys follow Destin over there at Stampede Blue as well. Again, highly recommend everything Stampede Blue does, especially now with Destin and our guy Shad over there. You guys can follow our work at HorseshoeHuddle.com. You can follow me and Jake on Twitter as well at ZachHicks2,
Starting point is 00:30:18 at JakeArthurNFL, and subscribe to our YouTube channel here. We're a little over 1,100 subscribers now. We just did a live Q&A to celebrate over 1,000 subscribers. If you guys want to do challenges like that for fun, Q&A stuff, stuff that make me change my Twitter profile picture, random stuff, whatever, send me some messages on Twitter. My DMs are open. We can have fun with it.
Starting point is 00:30:40 We can goof around. Because at the end of the day, know we are an official colts podcast you know a local colts podcast but we're not the most professional people we'll have some fun with it so make sure you guys you guys need to get on it you guys need to get on it and you guys need to force zach i mean i'm gonna throw this out here um you guys need to do some sort of challenge here that makes it to where on the halloween day episode of locked on colts that zach it to wear on the Halloween day episode of Locked on Colts that Zach has to come in with a hot rod jersey. He has to wear goggles. He needs to be in full attire on the Halloween episode of Locked on Colts.
Starting point is 00:31:15 Look, if you guys want to raise a GoFundMe to get me a Rodrigo jersey, I will do it if we hit a certain amount of subscribers. So, yeah, there you go. Destin's already thrown it out there. You guys start raising the money now. Fifth string quarterbacks come in and he's got to make an impact long-term. Okay. This could be the only time I get on the field.
Starting point is 00:31:32 I had to make some sort of field. We got Steve Young at BYU here, the eighth string quarterback guy here throwing bombs. So again, you guys follow Destin on social media. He's awesome. And I know he's going to do a great job with the Saddle Up podcast with Sean. Thanks again for making Locked On
Starting point is 00:31:47 Colts your first listen every day. Now for your second listen, go check out the Ultimate Pro Football Preview 2022, an eight-episode extravaganza to get you ready for the NFL season. The local team experts of Locked On Podcast Network, plus betting angel from Lee Sterling of Locked On Bet, all combining
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