Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: What's Wrong and How It Can Get Better

Episode Date: September 21, 2022

After an 0-1-1 start, what are the biggest issues on offense and defense for the Indianapolis Colts, and how might they get resolved? The guys also look ahead to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Ch...iefs.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!Today’s episode is presented by LinkedIn. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!NugenixNow get a complimentary bottle of Nugenix Total T when you text NFLto 231-231. Text now and get a bottle of Nugenix Thermo, their most powerful fat incinerator ever, with key ingredients to help you get back into shape fast.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 Because we are the eternal optimists that you guys know us to be, we're going to identify the main issues plaguing the Colts on the field and tell you what can be done to turn things around. 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. Thank you. Colts fans for tuning in and making this your number one lesson of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.
Starting point is 00:00:59 Today's show is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs, which helps you find the candidates that you want to talk to faster. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. This is Jake Arthur alongside Zach Hicks, and you know the two of us from horseshoehuddle.com. On today's show, we're going to put on our detective shields and identify the crimes that are causing Colts football to be such a rough neighborhood these days. Yeah, I can't believe you called us optimistic. It's not even going to be that optimistic, Jake. I mean, it's going to be. No, that was purely facetious. That had, there was no seriousness to that. Yes. Afterwards, we're going to look in,
Starting point is 00:01:35 we're going to look ahead to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs coming to town this Sunday as they probably look to commit some crimes of their own inside the Soil Stadium. Oh man. I've ruined your really cool little thing that you're doing there. I jumped in and ruined your whole segue. Everyone got it.
Starting point is 00:01:51 This is actually going to be an entire crime related podcast. It's going to be Colts meets true crime. I want to say this art. We're going to, we're not really wearing the right clothes, but we're not wearing like the black clothes. And I actually do have a detective shield under this it's gonna give me a lot of trouble there you go anyways offense Zach what is the root issue of the
Starting point is 00:02:14 Colts offensive issue so far it's been two games very pedestrian they came alive in the fourth quarter of week one but that's obviously too late. The Texans defense is okay, but not that great. The Jaguars defense, Washington shredded them the week before featuring Carson Wentz. And then the Colts literally could not breathe at all in week two against them, a complete shutout. What's going on? Yeah, no, the biggest issue on the Colts offense right now, it's the offensive line. And I feel like I'm kind of, this is a family podcast, I'm eating crap right now. When it comes to, I mean, I felt pretty confident about the Colts offensive line going into this year. I felt at right guard, they had downgraded. I certainly thought Danny Pinter was a downgrade from Chris Reed and Mark Lewinsky. I just thought those two guys were better than Danny Pinter, but I thought it would be at least fine there. And then at left tackle, I thought they upgraded for sure, because how much worse could it be from Eric Fisher from last season? Eric Fisher, as I've said multiple times this offseason, was a traffic cone at left tackle. And while I do think Matt Pryor has been marginally better than Eric Fisher from last
Starting point is 00:03:25 year, it has not been good at all. And those aren't the only guys too. I don't want to just single out Matt Pryor and Danny Pinchot right now because Quinton Nelson, I think has been solid, but he hasn't been all pro Quinton Nelson. I think Ryan Kelly's been below average through two weeks and Brayden Smith's been arguably the worst link on this offensive line through two weeks. So right now you have an entire offensive line that's playing so disjointed, that's playing so – I mean, I think Marcus Brady talked about today that these guys aren't playing five-man football.
Starting point is 00:03:58 And offensive line play, it's a connected unit. It's the most connected unit in all of football, where if one guy struggles, it could tear down the entire unit. But right now, we're not just getting one guy struggling. We're getting guys across this entire line struggling. And when you have the highest paid offensive line in all of football, that's a huge, huge issue. So right now, if I had to point out the root issue of the colts uh offensive woes right now it's that offensive line because i mean there were there were times this past weekend where yes the receivers were not getting open and the receivers were an issue because they were down their top two guys
Starting point is 00:04:33 but matt ryan couldn't get to his first read on a lot of these plays uh jonathan taylor had no room to breathe whatsoever until the fourth quarter when it was garbage time like there was nothing going up front the colts lost the trench trench battle from minute one of this game, and they were just getting blown off the ball the entire game. And again, this is the highest paid offensive line of football, and it's the root issue of a lot of the mistakes on offense right now. Yeah, it was a typical Colts-Jaguars game. You can follow a script for it like every single time.
Starting point is 00:05:06 Just to give even some more backstory to this, I was looking through Pro Football Focus, which their metrics aren't gospel by any means, but it can give some general context to things. Right now, the Colts are 25th. Their offensive line is 25th in pass protection, graded just 55.3, which is well below average Braden Smith. And again, these are in pass pro specifically Braden Smith ranks 45th out of 61
Starting point is 00:05:33 qualifying offensive tackles, uh, in pass protection. Matt Pryor is 51st and Danny And Danny Penner is 55th out of 62 guards. So all three of those guys are, they're beyond among the worst starters. They're among the worst starters and the rotational guys that are coming into play for them. Like it's bad. And you mentioned Quentin Nelson has been adequate, but not himself. I was thinking about that. I think a lot of it has to do with how the guys around you were playing too. I think in order for Quentin Nelson to enter God mode, like we're used to seeing him in, he has to have really good play around him. He's always going to be good himself, but it takes a group for him to reach that other level, which is totally understandable.
Starting point is 00:06:22 And speaking of Quentin, he's the only one on the offensive line who is even remotely close to being rated as an above average run blocker. He ranks sixth among all NFL guards right now in run blocking grades. So right now, no one's, other than Quentin, really no one is receiving favorable grades in things. And we, a big thing this week has been, well, do you make any changes? It's a really tough spot because the offensive line, we've talked about this before, offensive line play early in the NFL season is pretty rough across the board in general, especially when you're plugging in two new starters. There's a lot of chemistry and things like that that go into it and some meshing together. But I think at a certain point you can identify when some guys just ain't it.
Starting point is 00:07:10 And so it does beg the question, you know, Matt Pryor, do you pull him for Bernard Ryman? They've already been rotating him, which I'm not an enormous fan of rotating offensive linemen. That messes with the chemistry already. But Ryman's getting some snaps in there every so often on certain drives. And then Danny Pinter getting him pulled out at right guard and plugging Pryor in there at right guard or Will Fries.
Starting point is 00:07:38 You know, there's a lot of shuffling that can be done. And Marcus Brady, the offensive coordinator, was asked about that today, and he basically said, right now, no, they're not doing that. But if they do, we'll see. So it could randomly come up two weeks from now we see one or two new starters on a game day. And we won't even know about it. Yeah, no, we promised you guys that we would identify the issue and talk about some solutions. And Jake mentions one right there where, you know, you could just change the personnel.
Starting point is 00:08:02 But again, the Colts traditionally have not done that. I mean, even early last year, Julian Davenport got way too many games and what he should have, you know, and one game was too many. I think he got a couple others to it, right tackle before they inserted Matt prior into that lineup. Eric Fisher down the stretch.
Starting point is 00:08:17 We knew that he could not handle the left tackle jobs and Matt prior was playing well in reserve and they kept giving Eric Fisher the snap. So the Colts just really don't make too many changes because, again, at the end of the day, this is a group of five. This is about chemistry. And even if you have a better player on the bench in Bernard Ryman or Will Fries, they didn't have that whole offseason with the starters. The mistake was there in the offseason, potentially,
Starting point is 00:08:39 where they didn't get those first-team reps, and you're kind of behind the eight ball. So I don't know if or when we'll see a change at right guard or at left tackle, but I do think it is something that's a possible fix to this. Another possible fix is making a change at offensive line coach. I know a lot of people have talked about that. Chris Stroster, I think 2020 was a phenomenal year under his tutelage, but since then this offensive line has really not been all it's been hyped up
Starting point is 00:09:04 to be. a lot of players have regressed uh so is chris strasser the guy that you kind of get rid of for that that is one way they could go about i think it would take a couple more really awful showings for that to happen but i wouldn't rule that out in season uh you know again the colts typically don't fire head coaches in season but positional coaches i think you know it's kind of fair game uh and the last the last one and this is the one I think is the most important. These guys just need to play better. Like that's the solution to this. These guys need to play better. They need to develop chemistry. And again, they need to start playing like the top paid
Starting point is 00:09:37 offensive line in football. That's what they are. And again, Ryan Kelly has been solid. You want to see him be better, but whatever, he's been fine. Quentin Nelson has been good you want to see him be better but whatever he's been fine Quentin Nelson has been good not great but good Brayden Smith's the big one here you need Brayden Smith to play like Brayden Smith like he like he's been terrible this year you need him to at least be above average with that contract he's getting so I mean there are a lot of ways that this offensive line can better itself but I think at the end of the day the one that we're gonna have to hope happens is that these guys just start playing up to their talent level i know that's not the us coming up with this amazing solution or anything like that but that's really what we gotta bank on right now is these
Starting point is 00:10:18 guys getting back to their talent level and actually playing good football like they're capable of doing because right now through two weeks we have not seen that and the schedule gets a lot harder in terms of pass rushes they're going against yeah absolutely and just some more detail on it like if you're wondering you know what about them isn't working obviously they're missing routine stuff and it was again something else marcus brady talked about like twists and stunts and stuff like that's not just a physical thing that's diagnosis and like seeing things develop and three of the five guys on this line are really really experienced and matt prior he's maybe a newer starter but he's played plenty of all danny pinter doesn't still
Starting point is 00:10:58 doesn't get a pass because he's played plenty as well um i mean he's obviously the youngest as a player in the group but but yeah, they're missing routine things that are fundamental parts of offensive line play. Right. Yeah. So, so far this week, there's been a lot of talk about the potential for people to be changing jobs in the Colts organization. But if you are planning to change jobs or looking to fill some of your own vacant positions, you ought to hit up LinkedIn jobs. As you gear up for fall, you need the right people on your team to help your small business fire on all cylinders. LinkedIn Jobs is here to make it easier to find the people you want to talk to faster and for free. Create a free job post in minutes on
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Starting point is 00:12:16 Did you know every week nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn? That's a lot of people. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. All right, guys, the Colts finally have some sort of home field advantage this Sunday. Week three, they have their first home game against the Chiefs, and you too can have a home field advantage, especially if you go to homefieldapparel.com and check out their new Colts collection. That's right. The apparel company out of Indy has their new six-piece Colts collection that's red hot right now and flying off the digital shelves. They've got two
Starting point is 00:13:00 shirts, a hoodie, a crew neck, a pair of joggers, and a pretty slick jacket. Zach and I actually enjoy our new merch so much that we've gone back and checked out the collection ourselves for some of our friends and family. Go to homefieldapparel.com and get your items for 15% off at checkout by entering the promo code LOCKEDONCOLTS. All right, Zach. It's not just been offense that's been a little bit of a bummer. It's also the defense. And like Marcus Brady spoke today, so did Gus Bradley kind of answered for some of the issues. There's a few things you can point out here. You know, obviously the pass rush hasn't been great. There's probably some reasons for that, but we'll get to. It's a brand new scheme in general. We're two games into it. Some players have pointed at that. They just need to get used to things. But overall, what is your biggest issue with the defense right now that you think is causing these problems? Yeah, I know. I think the root issue right now
Starting point is 00:13:54 on defense is just, it's kind of been ugly, this change to this scheme right now. And to a degree, I think we kind of expected this. I just, for me personally, I expected the talent on this defense to kind of hide that a little bit early in the season. Obviously Shaquille Leonard is out and that's a huge difference, but I expected the talent in the trenches and the talent in the secondary to kind of hide that a little bit. And we really haven't seen that. Now, as of right now, we have defensive linemen, even the defensive ends are kind of getting whopped in the run game a little bit. They're kind of knocked around the run game where you want to see them more aggressive and more attacking.
Starting point is 00:14:31 Going to the linebackers, they're missing so many assignments. I mean, the middle of the field is just wide open right now with these linebackers. And again, when Shaquille Leonard comes back, it's going to change a little bit. But Zyra Franklin and EJ Speed and even Bobby Okereke a little bit too have just not looked comfortable whatsoever in matching and in their zone drops and the depth that they're supposed to get. I mean, the linebackers have been the root issue. Honestly, we're talking to position group, but again, this is a bigger issue.
Starting point is 00:14:59 The safety play has not been good. The safeties are not adjusting to where they're supposed to be on the field. They're not making plays in the ball. Julian Blackman dropped an interception in this past game. And then the corner play, you know, the corner play, I think Brandon Faison has been fine. Like, he's been perfectly fine. And honestly, I think overall, Stephon Gilmore has been okay. He had a weaker week two than he had in week one. But I think for the most part, he's been fine. It's just Kenny Moore, a guy who has traditionally been in that cover two scheme with Matt
Starting point is 00:15:30 Iberflues. Now he's transitioning to more of that cover three scheme with, with Gus Bradley. And it's been a tough transition for him. So I think overall, all these guys who are kind of transitioning to a brand new scheme, they've never been in before. It has just been a very, very ugly transition.
Starting point is 00:15:46 Outside of Grover Stewart. Grover Stewart's been awesome. But outside of Grover Stewart, it has been an ugly, ugly transition, and the talent on this defense has not really covered up for that transition yet. And I'm not even saying this to, you know, let Gus Bradley off the hook. There are some things I really think Gus Bradley needs to be better at,
Starting point is 00:16:04 like rotations on this defense. Why is Isaiah Rogers Sr. and Dio Dangbo, why are they not getting more snaps? They need to be out there a little bit more, keep your starters fresh, and get these talented guys on the field. You know, and why are they dropping so far off the ball on a lot of these situations?
Starting point is 00:16:18 Again, these players should be reading the quicker pass and coming down from their cover three zones and stuff like that and their drops, but it's still still something like why don't you adjust to more cover one more man coverage so i i think it's just kind of in an ugly ugly mesh right now of talent not playing up to their ability the scheme not being great and also the players not adjusting to the scheme so i i would still circle the the root issue is that just an ugly melding of those things right now uh which i guess isn't a nice way of saying it's a lot of things but i do think overall the defense i actually saw this going around a lot from a lot of beat
Starting point is 00:16:57 writers even a lot of people think the defense is closer than the offense and i i think on offense, it's really, for me, it's just, if the offensive line can protect, I think the offense can be a lot better. On defense, you've got to see these guys starting to adjust better to the scheme, and I think that's a tougher hurdle right there. And when you face a tougher offense, like the Kansas City Chiefs, like we're about to talk about, I think you're really going to see some issues exposed on this defense. So again, maybe Shaq Leonard comes back this week
Starting point is 00:17:27 and it looks a little bit better. But right now the talent's not kind of holding up that floor on the defense while the defense is trying to figure things out in this new scheme. Yeah, I think you're right. And that part of it alone should get better, like as guys just get more comfortable and learn where their teammates are supposed to be this and that because again a lot of these guys have been around in this system for
Starting point is 00:17:49 matt iberfus's entirety or you know a few years at least so they're totally used to something else but the the rotation part you mentioned that's a really good point because it was after the first unit it was really hard to keep track of the depth chart during training camp because there was so much rotation so you naturally assume okay they're doing this because there's going to be a ton of rotation during the season there's none there's almost none no rotation like it and it's weird because i get not rotating corners or like linebackers and defensive backs play almost 100% of the game. So that makes a lot of sense. But your defensive linemen, like, how are you not rotating your defensive line? Like that's been something Chris Ballard has talked about since the day he got in
Starting point is 00:18:37 Indianapolis. It's something that Gus Bradley's always done too. Gus Bradley's always done it. I don't know. I don't know. Do they hate their depth guys? Like I don't, that's gotta be it. I mean, I I'm not going to say they hate their depth guys, but like if they had trust in anyone other than Tyquan Lewis, you would think guys would be getting snacks because every team rotates their defensive line. So I don't really understand that as far as Isaiah Rogers. I don't know if that's a comfortability thing with the scheme. I mean, obviously his main competition was Brandon Faison. You know, Gus Bradley's had Brandon Faison, what you said, four years, I think. He's had him for a long time.
Starting point is 00:19:16 So obviously there's a comfort level there. So that probably poses a decent roadblock for Rogers getting on the field. Bradley today basically said, you know, he's doing great in practice, but awfully good. He said he's doing awfully good. And it freaked me out when I read it, because I thought he was saying that he's been awful in practice. I was, dude, I was so panicked for a second. He's been awful good in practice. And I'm like, can you,
Starting point is 00:19:39 can you use a different word than awful good? Right. Yeah. A little misreading there but i mean they he said there's a possibility for him to get more playing time this week with a more spread out offense that deploys more receivers like the chiefs do but man i don't good players got to get on the field man and he's one of your best he's one of your best ball hawks like yeah yeah i don't know i think the last thing i want to add to this segment because again we said we were going to identify issues and talk about potential ways to fix it i think getting shaquille leonard back will help a lot and i do think deforest buckner kind of becoming deforest buckner again yannick nagakwe
Starting point is 00:20:19 being what he's capable of will help a lot but i think at the end of the day this defense is just going to take time uh it's going to take a lot of time. And I do think there will be some issues that persist throughout the whole season. Like we talked about a lot in the offseason, Gus Bradley's scheme is far from perfect, and there's going to be some issues. But it really is a time thing. I talked to a coach, a defensive coach not too long ago, who is experienced, obviously, with cover twos and cover threes.
Starting point is 00:20:44 And it's really hard to get your mindset into the matching system when it's kind of your first time exposed to it so there's going to be some ugly moments and this Sunday might be one of them but I do think with time this defense will kind of figure it out at least become more average and or more like above average and rather than kind of what we've seen these first two weeks. But, you know, we all know that opposing quarterbacks right now have the potential to be money against the Colts while they're still figuring things out. And you can make some money of your own by looking at this week's matchup
Starting point is 00:21:15 between the Colts and Chiefs. The Chiefs are only 6.5 point betting favorites in this one. And the over under is 49.5. So, I mean, if you're pretty confident in the Colts losing big to the Chiefs, or if you're really confident in the Colts covering, you know, whatever way you want to go with that, we're not going to influence your decision. You know, be happy in what you do. But BetOnline.net is your number one source for all your pro and college football
Starting point is 00:21:42 betting needs and sports info this season. Find all the latest football league developments, including game matchups, is your number one source for all your pro and college football betting needs and sports info this season. Find all the latest football league developments, including game matchups, news, and podcasts, including this year's week three slate of games. BetOnline is also your continued source for all your sport wagering information, including live betting, esports, and scores. The fastest and easiest way to check in on all your favorite sports and events, including MLB, MMA, boxing, and even golf.
Starting point is 00:22:09 You like the font on that? I see, I see. You changed it. There you go. Head to the website today or use your mobile device to learn more about the trends in action. BetOnline, where the game starts. Alright, do we want to talk about the chase a little bit today? Do we want just a little bit? We're going to be talking plenty about them, so let's start. We're going to have a crossover on the next show, so let's dive into Chiefs week a little bit.
Starting point is 00:22:34 Let's do it. Now, let me start with something somewhat optimistic for the Colts before it becomes all pessimistic and sad. I went back and watched a little bit of that Thursday game with the Chiefs. And I don't think their offense looks as scary as it has. Without Tyreek Hill, it's a big relief. And Asante Samuel Jr. could have made Pat Mahomes' stat line look atrocious in that game. If he just comes down with a couple more interceptions.
Starting point is 00:23:03 I mean, he dropped a lot of them. So I do think this chief's offense is a little more volatile than in years past uh but now getting more to the pessimistic side so that was literally the only thing i could say the chiefs are really good and they have an alien quarterback and we saw with matt eberfluss defense again gus bradley's defense might be a little we saw with Matt Ibrafluse's defense, again, Gus Bradley's defense might be a little different. But with Matt Ibrafluse's defense, whenever the Colts went against a real quarterback, like a legit quarterback, it got ugly. And again, this is a different defense. But from what we've seen through two weeks,
Starting point is 00:23:38 it might get pretty ugly against the alien that is Pat Mahomes. And something I want to throw out there is Pat Mahomes in two games last year against Gus Bradley's Raiders defense, the Chiefs scored 90 points combined in those two games for an average of 45 points per game. Pat Mahomes was electric in those two games. That's so much. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:24:03 So, you know, I mean, again, having Shaq Leonard back might help, but the Colts are in for a tough – if the Colts thought Trevor Lawrence and Davis Mills were pretty tough, I think Pat Mahomes is going to be a little bit tougher, just slightly tougher this week. He's literally a monster. Yeah, I mean, we're talking about, like, a a guy who, if he retired right now, he'd probably be a Hall of Famer.
Starting point is 00:24:28 He's got an MVP. He's got a Super Bowl MVP. He's got a Super Bowl championship. We're talking about a freaky, freaky quarterback. He's not without some faults or whatever, but Pat Mahomes is top-tier quarterback with a really good offensive line, some weapons on offense and, and honestly a defense that I think has been kind of underrated throughout
Starting point is 00:24:48 this, this little chiefs. I don't want to call it dynasty, but it's a little chiefs success window of the last couple of years, you know? Yeah. This is obviously a game where they're going to have to catch a couple breaks. And I think the opportunity is there. I mean, you look at like Marquez Valdez scaling, he's dangerous and can stretch the field,
Starting point is 00:25:05 but he has been known to have the drop sees every now and then you look at, I think Trey Smith gave up, you know, a couple good plays to opponents on the offensive line last week. Or maybe it was combined the last couple of weeks, but regardless, he's a, he's a rookie i believe um but yeah you're gonna need some things to break your way because i mean the chiefs are obviously two and oh they have a their top five offense and yards and scoring defensively they're middle of the road pretty much everywhere so i think the colts will be fine on offense like as long as they're it's
Starting point is 00:25:40 such a tough thing because it's like as long as you do your job, you'll be fine and quit making all the mistakes. But no, seriously, as long as the Colts aren't imploding on inside themselves again, they should be fine on offense. Really the only thing that the Chiefs are even close to really exceptional at is they rank sixth on third down defense. Which is one of the most important metrics. It is, which to me reads like they get nice pressure on third downs is what that sounds like.
Starting point is 00:26:12 So it's probably, you know, I'd probably rely pretty heavily on Jonathan Taylor in this one. More than nine touches or whatever it was last week? In the first half, yeah, in the first half. But, I mean, they do have a couple guys that can get after it. 10 touches or whatever it was last week. In the first half, yeah. In the first half. But, I mean, they do have a couple guys that can get after it. So, like, the Colts' offense, again, should be fine, but it's not going to be scot-free.
Starting point is 00:26:35 Like, Chris Jones and Michael Dane are both doing a really good job. Chris Jones, he seems to get left out of the conversation among high-end interior guys, but he's very much in the conversation. Yeah, they're a pretty good team on offense. It's probably more balanced now that you don't have Tyree kill. They're very dependent on that type of stuff. So now you have to spread the ball around more, but it's very much Travis Kelsey. Juju Smith Schuster is really good. McCall Harmon can do some things.
Starting point is 00:27:07 I like that running back group, though. Clyde Edwards, Alaric, Jarek McKinnon, Isaiah Pachico, or however you say his last name. He looked nice in week one. So they've got guys, obviously, in spots all around. But it could be a bloodbath, but I think it's more likely to be closer to a shootout than it is going to look like the first three quarters of week one or the entirety of week two. I think the Colts could get up into the high twenties or maybe even 30 and points.
Starting point is 00:27:40 They might get the high teens this week, guys. They might get to like 17 points and we'll be. Yeah. I mean, you see that personnel and you know, they're capable of it. I mean, maybe it's, I don't know. It's crazy to think that they couldn't put up some sort of points. I mean, the, the chiefs defense is not, you know, they're not a juggernaut by any means.
Starting point is 00:28:00 Let me end this podcast this episode. Cause we've been so negative this week. Let's let me end this on a positive thing about Colts, about Frank Reich era, I guess kind of the Chris Ballard era as well, is, and I kind of said this I think yesterday's podcast, where you have the Colts traditionally with this regime, with this coaching staff, with this GM, with these players. They are terrible when they're expected to win.
Starting point is 00:28:24 They're terrible when they're expected to win they're terrible when they when the expectations are there but when they're the underdogs and they're counted out and you have the fan base railing against them calling them terrible and and they look awful that is when they typically come out to play uh we saw it in 2019 when they came out and beat the chiefs shorthanded which could be set now i'm not saying that there were not a lot of things going the Colts' way. There were factors. There were factors. But, I mean, again, we saw last year, too, against the Cardinals
Starting point is 00:28:52 when they had no players really healthy in that game. They came out and won. Against the Packers, I think, in 2020 with Phillip Rivers, they came out in the second half and had that huge comeback to win that game. Now, this team, again, for all the issues that we've been talking about with the way it's been constructed and with the coaching and all that, they are a never-die type of team. And that's why I don't think they'll bottom out.
Starting point is 00:29:15 And I'm not saying that they're going to come out and beat the Chiefs. But, yeah, it wouldn't shock me if they came out and threw a couple good haymakers in there because, again, they're that kind of team that just is never out of it. They they're always throwing punches back. So again, I don't see a way they win this game. I really just, I think across the board, the chiefs are just a better,
Starting point is 00:29:36 better team and just better coached and more together right now. But is that a lawnmower outside my house? I think so. Anyway, I think that the Colts could throw some punches in there and make it a little competitive. But, yeah, that's something positive to say after this week of not much positive from us. Yeah, I don't think they'll win, but I do think people will feel a little better about them after next week
Starting point is 00:30:02 because I think all they need to do is show signs of life. Honestly, like do something productive early and show signs of life throughout the game. And don't just get completely smothered. If they do that, then they'll look a lot better. Honestly,
Starting point is 00:30:18 again, they don't even have to win. No one expects them to, but there are, there are some, some chiefs people I've seen that have this marked as a trap game which that makes sense that's when you know you're a bad team when people call you the trap game yeah yeah like the jack the jags and houston were both trap games for the colts
Starting point is 00:30:37 until we realized the colts are their own trap game right oh yeah yeah i think that's it for us everyone uh before we go zach and i just wanted to shout out the clothing company Homage. They were nice enough to send us these shirts featuring one of the Colts' true stars, Jonathan Taylor. It's kind of an arcade NFL Blitz-style design. If you like that shirt, head to H-O-M-A dot G-E forward slash Colts and grab this shirt or any of their other several Colts themed items that they've got. I was on there earlier checking out. It's pretty cool. They've also got a pretty nice jacket as well. But shoot, yeah.
Starting point is 00:31:17 I mean, people, you guys are sending us your shirts. If you're listening and you want us to to model our your beautiful shirts on our beautiful bodies i mean clothing brands clothing brands make this body your your easel or whatever you can yeah not not just a guy that wrote daryl on a white shirt and sent it to us we no no no no no i will wear that if you send it to me i will wear daryl i'm not wearing that, no. I will wear that. If you send it to me, I will wear whatever. Daryl, I'm not wearing that. Daryl, I will wear your shirt. I feel like that's a personal experience that you got there.
Starting point is 00:31:53 No, I just like to paint a store with my words. Be sure to follow us on social media, at JackArthurNFL, at ZachHicks2, and at LockedOnColts on Twitter. Also, subscribe to the show on YouTube. Again, the comment sections have been lively in recent days. As the kids say, it's bussing in there, guys. You're too old for this, man. I am.
Starting point is 00:32:24 And wherever you listen to the podcast, make sure you rate, review, and subscribe. And thanks for making Locked On Colts your first listen every day. Now make your second listen to Peacock and Williamson NFL show. Brian Peacock and former NFL scout Matt Williamson give you the expert NFL analysis in less than 30 minutes. It's free and available wherever you get your podcasts. We'll see you tomorrow.

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