Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: Why Have Shane Steichen's Teams UNDERWHELMED in Big Games?

Episode Date: December 3, 2025

Indianapolis Colts HC Shane Steichen's teams have come up short in several critical games during his tenure. Why is that, and what can be fixed?The Week 14 injury report is out. Get the latest on QB D...aniel Jones and CB Sauce Gardner.The Colts made a move at kicker, waiving Michael Badgley and replacing him with Blake Grupe. Become a Locked On Colts insider! Ask your burning questions and get prompt answers from someone who's around the team every day! Get special access from the locker room, practice field, and press box! JOIN HERE! Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-colts/📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-nfl/ Follow Jake's written work on roundtable.io/sports/nfl/colts/ and Zach's on si.com/nfl/colts/, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, and @LockedOnColts! Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. If you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit FanDuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Aura FramesFor a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting https://AuraFrames.com to get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames - named #1 by Wirecutter - by using promo code LOCKEDON at checkout.FanDuelIf you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit FanDuel.com and place your NFL livebets all season long. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Stuyken has been a major letdown in divisional games in his coaching career. 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. Hello, everyone, my name is Zach Hickshaw Resident Film Nerd of Force You Huddled. com. I'm joined as always by Jake Arthur, the boots on the ground for round table sports. Welcome to Lockdown Colts, part of the Lockdown
Starting point is 00:00:37 Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network around. Today's episode is brought to you by Fanduel. If you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit Fanzwell.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. Today, we're going to dive into the Shane Steichen of it all.
Starting point is 00:00:54 We're going to talk about the overall concerns with his play calling, but maybe a bigger concern, which is how the Colts keep coming up short in these like one score games versus playoff caliber teams. We're going to talk about that at length in segment one. We're going to talk about the latest injury report for Wednesday heading into this big matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars with the AFC South Division lead on the line. And then we're going to talk about the kicker change.
Starting point is 00:01:18 You guys know I love talking kickers. We're going to have a whole segment talking about special teams and kicker kicker mechanics maybe, Jake. We'll get into all that. It's so much fun. So stick around to a segment. three for like the most fun segment of the year right there. But Jake, there has been a lot of dialogue, a lot of discussion this week in Colts fandom, national media, everyone on this Colts offense and Shane Steichen, where this
Starting point is 00:01:44 offense got up to such a hot start early in the year. They played some better defenses of late. They've kind of sputtered. And there's been, again, a lot of discussion about play calling, about overall performance. And Steichen's gotten a lot of that brunt of the criticism there. let's start this off by talking about the overall play calling I guess this past month or so and then we'll go into the bigger discussion I want to have here Jake personally I don't think the play calling's been that big of an issue with the Colts I think there are certainly some moments
Starting point is 00:02:14 here and there but I think a lot of it is kind of revisionist history where it's like oh why did they try to go for it with that sneak with Tyler Warren on fourth of one kick a field goal in a close game it's like yeah but it was like a 90% conversion chance with a sneak and like if they convert it. No one's saying a thing. You know, so I think a lot of that is revisionist history. Yes, there are some times where it's like you want to run the ball. There's some times where maybe throwing it would be smarter. But by and large, I think the play calling has been fine.
Starting point is 00:02:42 Guys just haven't been executing at the same level. As of late, some of the offensive linemen have struggled. Michael Pittman Jr.'s gone quiet. Tyler Warren's gone quiet. Josh Downs had some really weird drops in this past game. So I think that's more at fault for the Colts offensive struggles of late than like play calling. but I think play calling is kind of the easy out in a lot of situations. But what are your thoughts there, Jake?
Starting point is 00:03:05 Yeah, I think if they execute the play calls, that it's a totally different discussion. You know what I mean? I do think execution has probably been a bigger issue. You know, when you look at the past catchers, I think they've struggled to get separation. But at the same time, I do think perhaps the cults have become a little predictable, especially since Jones injury.
Starting point is 00:03:28 Now, you and I have discussed, we don't really think Jones himself is the problem right now, but his lack of mobility certainly has made the Colts offense less diverse, and it's taken away a lot of the stuff that made them successful early on. So I do think teams are keying in on just the most basic of it all to me is load up to stop Jonathan Taylor and make Daniel Jones, who has had to become a drive. drop back pocket passer essentially make him beat you. And when you're bringing pressure and stuff in the passing situations, it's becoming successful for the defense. So part of it for me with Shane is I do think you have to recognize your shortcomings and be quicker to act about it. Because there's been a lot of times in games where we ask him in a postgame presser,
Starting point is 00:04:23 why this, this, this. And he's never going to throw anyone under the bus. but I think he just expects everybody to execute at the highest level, which you should, obviously, but sometimes it's a trend and like it's not just like an isolated incident of someone not executing. You know what I mean? Like the offensive line hasn't been doing all that well in the last month, for example. So I just think you have to be real about the issues you have and be quicker to, I can't say correct them because if you could correct every issue right away you would, but like try and find a way around it and adjust to what your issues are
Starting point is 00:05:00 and knowing where defenses are going to attack. Yeah, I think they can do a better job of finding different easy buttons because a lot of their play action boot game, easy button is gone right now because of the injury at quarterback. So they do need to find some other easy buttons. Maybe it's more quick screens. Maybe it's more just getting the ball out in the flats, getting it out quicker to guys.
Starting point is 00:05:19 But overall, I think the play calling hasn't been a big issue. There were plenty of chunk plays that were opened up in this past. game and Daniel Jones did a great job of hitting them and that's when the Colts move the ball. It's just there were a couple times where the Texans just went straight up man coverage and guys couldn't get open and that's where plays were dead on arrival. And it's just hard to really like say like that's on the play caller where it's like, look, against man coverage, sometimes your guys just need to make a play and get open and they just weren't getting open.
Starting point is 00:05:48 And that goes back to like the Pittman and Warren discussions where they really had a rough game on Sunday, both of those guys in particular. particular. But the bigger conversation I want to have about Shane Steichen, though, Jake, because again, I don't think the play calling is a massive issue. People can disagree in the comments that they want. But we do have a legit concern here, I think, with Stuyken in terms of the team's performance in a lot of these big games. And this is kind of where we're getting to the tough discussion of, like, vibes, momentum, motivation, and stuff like that. Because there's no, like, analytics to really throw this out. But coaches like D'Amico Ryan's,
Starting point is 00:06:23 Mike Vrable, you know, these raw, raw motivator coaches, they don't really come up short in a lot of these big games. Like, yeah, they're not, they haven't won Super Bowls or anything like that. But their teams are ready to play. They're playing violent, physical football. And you rarely see those teams lay down, especially in divisional games. Those are huge for these types of coaches. And I think Shane Steichen's teams the last couple years with the Colts have come up short
Starting point is 00:06:47 way too often in these like must-win situations. Obviously, go back to 2023 and what happened in that final game. of the year, a win-in-in-in-type game, and they just weren't able to get it done, even on the backs of Jonathan Taylor having a career performance, and that one, they still couldn't get it done. Stuyken in his career with the Colts is two and seven against Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans. And that's, I don't think either of those teams have been like, you know, number one-seed,
Starting point is 00:07:12 amazing, perfect football teams. Like Houston's been a comfortable playoff contender the last couple years in the playoff team from the AFC South. Jacksonville's been hit or miss if they're going to be good or bad. there but the culture two and seven against those two teams there now his overall divisional record is what eight and seven because he's beaten up on the titans six times uh but against the two teams where like you've got to make some progress in this division if you want to win this division they've come up short and i think that's a bigger issue for shane
Starting point is 00:07:41 stike and then um than anything play calling or offensive related it's like his teams and these are all one score games essentially like outside of 2023 at jacksonville they've all been one-square games. They've just been on the wrong end of these one-score games. And we can talk about variance in one-score games. But at the end of the day, the difference between keeping your job and getting fired in the NFL is winning games like this and winning divisions and getting in the playoffs and constantly coming up short against your division, especially in your divisional home games like we just saw this past Sunday. I think that's a bigger issue for a head coach than anything X's and O is related. I would agree because, I mean, you look at the NFL and any division
Starting point is 00:08:21 team the best versus the worst the outcome could be you just never know you think about like the bills and patriots back in the day like the dolphins and patriots the worst team in a division can be the best team in a division on any Sunday you know what I mean and it's like these are the teams you know the most about and should be able to figure out or get some sort of edge and yeah like these teams that the Colts are losing to in the division have not been juggernauts whatsoever they've been fine. Like you mentioned, Houston has been a playoff contender each year. But it seems like the Colts are losing against teams that are just winning kind of a crappy division. Now, the division is better this year. Don't get me wrong, other than the Titans, but they're losing a lot of
Starting point is 00:09:09 winnable games. You know, you go back to 20, 2023 and 24, but even this year, you know, the Rams should have won that. Fourth, you had a lead in the fourth quarter. A lot of it gets put on A.D. Mitchell, of course. But Pittsburgh, you know, all the turnovers, and it's like the Steelers scored 24, their 27 points on turnovers.
Starting point is 00:09:32 Houston, Kansas City, the problem I'm seeing is a lot of just like a lack of discipline and bone headed mistakes and like pre-snap penalties and stuff that you're not like, I forget which game it was, but like they had illegal formation or like, they had their
Starting point is 00:09:51 the receivers were not lined up correctly, like twice on the same door, just stuff like that. So elementary. And I feel like it's so many undisciplined, self-inflicted wounds that really do them in in these close contests. Yeah. And one thing I really want to throw in there is we had a comment here about how, like, in this past game, the extra point, the refs, all that stuff kind of came into play in
Starting point is 00:10:12 this past game. And I agree if it's like a one game sample size with Shane Steichen's teams or we can say, you know what? Yeah, that's what happens here. but like that kind of sloppiness and that kind of variance and taking points off the board and giving points to opponents and stuff has been a constant theme in these big time games against divisional opponents i mean heck we go back to that 2023 game against um against Houston to decide who goes in the playoffs and minchu leaves that pass a little short goodson is unable to scoop it up and is unable to get that first down and they end up losing that game that's just one example where look i i'm not saying that the coach is responsible for everything that a player does but when you see constant mistake like this from your players when the other teams guys are making those big plays to win these games that does ultimately fall on the head coach so again this was a one game sample size or one season sample size i'm i'm fine with just lumping in that way but it's kind of like the
Starting point is 00:11:06 james franklin effect at penn state right where it's like you can only have so many losses against ranked teams before we have to move on because it's just not happening under you so look Shane's got, what, three more games against AFC South guys, those two and seven, he has a chance to turn that into five and seven, or a chance to turn that in two and ten by the end of the season. I think we'll have a very clear picture of how it looks against these divisional teams, but ultimately, your head coach, you need to find a way to win these games. You had to get these guys need to be prepared, they'd be ready, they need to execute on Sundays, and when they don't, it falls on you. It falls on you as a coach is the same way it falls on a manager if your employees are struggling out there. So they need to get it done. This weekend is a big step, but also those other remaining games in the AFC South,
Starting point is 00:11:51 because to have as big a lead as they've had in this division all year, they can't blow it now. They have to turn it up, and it's on Stuyken and the rest of these guys to get it going. But that's all we have for a staying stiking conversation. We will certainly have more of these conversations the rest of the way. But it's game week. We're getting ready for the Jacksville Jaguars. So coming up, we're going to talk about the first injury report of the week
Starting point is 00:12:12 and how there's some notable names on both sides going into this big game. All right, guys, the holidays are officially here, which means gift hunting season is on. And if you want something meaningful, personal, and guaranteed to get a reaction, Aura frames is the gift that delivers every time. It's not just something you wrap. It's a way to share memories because Aura isn't just your average picture frame. You can preload the frame with photos before gifting it. So when they plug it in, the memories are already there.
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Starting point is 00:14:03 We are talking Colts week 14, and that first injury report has come out. And it's not terrible, but some interesting names coming up on the list. We've learned to tamp down expectations for Wednesdays because they can look pretty violent. And then Thursday comes and then everyone's worries are quelled a little bit. So let's go through the D&Ps today that did not participate. Josh Downs was out with a hip and a knee. Sauce Gardner, as is expected, had the calf.
Starting point is 00:14:37 He was out. Tyquan Lewis ankle. That's another new one and Kenny Moore, illness and ankle. So Taekwon, Kenny, and Josh Downs, those are the new ones. Daniel Jones was full. And then Jalen Carlyse was also full. So for Carlyze, this is his final week of his 21-day window. So the Colts are either going to have to keep him on IR or activate him this week.
Starting point is 00:15:02 It's the fork in the road time for him. So he's either going to start playing or they're just going to keep him on IR. but he is practiced in full for three weeks now. So I've got to assume he's going to be activated, Zach. Yeah, and notably, too, with Carlize, the Colts have one open roster spot as of right now because of the release of Michael Badgley. So technically, that spot is already right there for him to be activated.
Starting point is 00:15:26 I'm assuming we'll see him activate in the next couple days. I mean, like you said, Jake, he's been practicing fully for the past like three weeks now. If he's good to go, get him out there. If he's not, just shut it down. I don't know what more you need to see. think a lot of it was just acclimating him to the defense and acclimating him because, you know, he hadn't early August, but now he should have his conditioning in the right place and be ready to go. And I'm curious to see what it looks like in terms of his playing
Starting point is 00:15:52 time because this should be his season debut this upcoming weekend. Does he have a role on defense? Is it all special teams? I'm very curious to see what his overall snaps look like. But aside from that, nothing too crazy. Kenny, I expect we'll see a full practice tomorrow. the ankle is what he's been dealing with all year, the ankle on Achilles, and then the illness is probably why he just didn't practice today. Tyquan, you said to new injury with the ankle. Was his past injury, not an ankle?
Starting point is 00:16:18 What was his last injury? His was groin. The one that kept him out a few weeks was a groin. Okay, so we'll see with Tyquan, Lewis. You can never count on it with him. Sauce Gardner, not going to play this week. We already kind of know he's not playing. The interesting one is obviously Josh Downs with the hip and the knee.
Starting point is 00:16:34 How serious is that? He's dealt with a lot of leg injuries in his career. rear thus far. So we'll see how serious that one is because now with Adonai Mitchell out in New York, the receiver depth is a bit limited in terms of who the Colts have to throw out there. So Doolin's on IR as well right now. So is it going to be just all gould? Do we get Coleman Owen finally up?
Starting point is 00:16:56 I've been calling for it all. You have been wanting that one bad. What do we see if Downs is unable to go this week? But we'll have to see obviously the rest of the week because like you said, Jake, Wednesday is kind of the toughest day to really get a gauge for Sunday because anyone with a scratch is being held out, especially when they said it was a walkthrough today. And this was kind of like their estimation. Yeah, get used to walkthroughs on Wednesdays, probably through the rest of the year.
Starting point is 00:17:19 If I'm not mistaken, Shane's been doing that at least last year too. So walk through Wednesdays, that's a new theme. The Jaguars actually had a handful of pretty important guys not practice today. Starting, I think, left tackle Walker Little was out with a concussion, edge rusher Trayvon Walker with a knee. Now, he's been out. Wide receiver, Parker, Washington, who's really been turning on as of late. He had a hip injury.
Starting point is 00:17:46 And then safety, Andrew Wingard was out with a concussion today as well. So Jaguars could be without at least a couple pretty important pieces in this matchup. Yeah, no, those are four pretty big pieces. They're little, I think, either went out early this past game or was out already in this past game. so we'll see if he's able to move through that concussion protocol. Trayvone Walker has been out for a minute, very important player. So if he's able to get back out there for them, that would be vital for the Jaguars. But I'm really curious about Parker Washington with that hip injury because he's been really under the radar good.
Starting point is 00:18:20 Yeah, he's been under the radar, just good, consistent. I think Jaguars are up there among the league leaders and drops. But Washington is one of the few players who hasn't dropped the football this year for the Jaguar. So if he's unable to go, it kind of leaves like this volatile mess of wide receiver room for them. And then you mentioned Andrew Wingard. He's kind of been to Thorne in the Colts side the last couple years. I vaguely remember, I want to say he got an interception in that 6 to nothing Colts lost at Jacksonville back in. No, maybe it wasn't that one.
Starting point is 00:18:51 He's got one before. Yeah, maybe it wasn't the 6 to nothing game. I know he's gotten a couple interceptions in those at Jacksonville games against the Colts. It might have been against Rivers in that week one in 2020. but I think he did, yeah. He's had some good games against the Colts in the past. So some notable players for Jacksonville in this, you know, big division bout this weekend. Yeah, so let's just real quick run down with like Jones and Sauce Gardner.
Starting point is 00:19:19 So with Jones, the Colts do expect the fibula injury to get better as the season goes on. So like he's playing through it and everything, but they're confident that there's not like a high risk. of, you know, more severely injuring that. And, again, they think it's going to heal on its own. So I hope they start to sprinkle in more and more things from earlier in the season on the playbook. Now, I think the last thing to come will probably be the quarterback sneak. Like that one, that one may not, we may not see that until they deem him 100%.
Starting point is 00:19:54 But more bootlegs, things like that. And then when it comes to Sauce Gardner, IR is not anything being considered right now. So I've got to imagine we're going to see him be out probably two to four weeks, more likely three, if I had to guess. So at some point, maybe we see Buckner and Soss Gardner on the field at the same time and Mooney Ward. God, I cannot talk today. Mooney Ward, if he can kind of rebound and gather himself back together, the Colts defense could be pretty formidable by weeks 1718. As we've been saying all year, it's been the Overton window, I guess, has kept being pushed, pushed and pushed. I guess it's not the right term, but the windows been pushed over and over where it was like, oh, yeah, the second half of the year, the Colts defense full health.
Starting point is 00:20:41 And then it was like, okay, after Buckner gets back, week 14 on, now it's maybe week 17, they'll be full help. I am fully anticipating every single defender on this Colts team to go down with an injury by week 17 now. Week 18 will be critical. It's, we don't know, like, week 18 could. be for the division it's at houston maybe by week 18 you get everybody you need out there at least on the defensive side of the ball we can only pray we don't pray yeah and the last thing i'll add to is when you said no more qb sneaks um they better only be practicing all week tyler warren fielding that under center thing because if you can't you have to have a qby sneak in your playbook in
Starting point is 00:21:20 in 2025 you have to have to have it so i don't care if it's worn i don't care if you have to bring riley leonard out there i don't care if you just snap it to mo alley cox because no one's getting him for half a yard on there like whoever you have to snap it to make sure there is a qb sneak in your playbook because i'm so tired of them turning around and handing the ball off on third and one and fourth and one just to get stuffed like you need to just fall forward with your quarterback that is the most give me play and having it be a fumble like it was in this past game was just embarrassing but coming up guys we have my favorite segment i'm not trying to run this segment long so i don't have to talk about it we're going to talk all about kickers the colts made a big change at kicker uh
Starting point is 00:21:58 And Jake has been just giddy to have us as a whole segment. So coming up, we're going to talk about the Colts kicker situation. NFL Sundays move fast. One big play, and suddenly everything feels different. That's what makes live betting with Fandall so exciting. You're not just watching the game. You're reacting to it in real time. With Fandle, you can place bets as the action unfolds, every drive, every momentum swing, every
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Starting point is 00:22:44 It keeps you locked into every snap, every drive, every possibility. This weekend, it's pretty much it's awesome. The Colts are one and a half point favorites in Jacksonville, again, where they have not won since 2014. They're on the heels of a division loss, so take your pick. The total over-under is 47 and a half points. So, but accordingly, let us know what you think you're going to do. But, yeah, if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season,
Starting point is 00:23:12 visit fandle.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. Bandwool, the game moves fast, and so can you. All right, welcome back every dayers. There was a monumental picker move. made by the Colts. No, but I will give the Colts credit. Like, rarely does fan outrage match up with what happens in reality so quickly. But when Michael Badgley missed his third extra point in the last seven games on Sunday against Houston,
Starting point is 00:23:48 I think everyone was pretty much done. And the coaching staff, no one could really defend it anymore. You know, because at the end of the day, you can miss 50. plus yard field goals and have a little lenience on it, but if you're not going to miss extra points, it's crazy. And Shane Stuyken downplayed the decision-making afterward, but so you miss the extra point, and then late in the game, you're down four instead of three. You now need a touchdown to go ahead and win it rather than strategically trying to get a field goal to tie it and send it to overtime. It changes things. When you miss gimmies like that, it changes the plan
Starting point is 00:24:27 in the future. Whether the Colts are willing to consider that or not, like, that was the reality of the point differential you were facing. So Badgley is out. He was 10 of 11 on his field goals. His only miss was the 53-yarder in Berlin that was short and right via 18 of 21 on extra points. So on Tuesday, the Colts worked out Blake Groupie, Justin Tucker, and Maddox Trujillo. they ultimately wound up signing Groupie to the practice squad. So they'll probably just call him up two, three times, see how he kicks. If he's a disaster, they may move on to someone else. But he's on the practice squad for now,
Starting point is 00:25:06 and he'll be a game day call up for the foreseeable future until they can't anymore. So here's the caveat with him. He was so bad in New Orleans this year that he got cut himself. He missed eight field goals this year. And like, by golly, it's only the beginning of December. So there's that. He does make his extra points, though.
Starting point is 00:25:31 I still miss two of them, though. Yeah, in his career. Oh, okay, okay. He's a 79.8% field goal kicker for his career, which is bad. C plus. C plus. No, I think it's, if you look at the leaders right now, that's probably quite bad, I would have to guess.
Starting point is 00:25:51 Again, he missed eight this year, which affects that total. but he is a career essentially 98% kicker on extra points again only in this two and three years so it's just going to be a wild ride maybe the Colts go for it more more on fourth maybe they go for more two point conversions which is good like maybe more aggressiveness but yeah the kicker situation is not great I just don't understand why kickers exist but anyway talking about Blake groupie here I will defend this decision one way and it's in the mosaic way ever when it comes to kickers. Nobody knows how a kicker is going to wake up one day
Starting point is 00:26:28 and just if they can kick or not. Nobody knows. You could have the greatest kicker in the history of football. One day, just wake up and be like, you know what, I don't know how to do this anymore. And you could have the worst kicker, a guy who's missed eight this year and all of a sudden never miss a kick ever again. It's just, it's all about how it rolls. It's all about the mind of a kicker, which is just you can't quantify. It's the most irrational thing in the history of the world is the mind of a kicker. So I don't care about the past history whatsoever when it comes to kickers because nobody can project the future with them.
Starting point is 00:27:02 They're all bad. They all suck at all times. They're all the worst things that happen to football. But yeah, the gold certainly had to make a move at kicker. You just can't miss extra points. And I think the final like nail in there was just that missing it in a dome situation at home, like there's no excuse like you can maybe like hand wave away the Steelers one road environment I think it was his first kick of the year too was that one the one against Atlanta was overseas
Starting point is 00:27:32 with that really disgusting turf so maybe maybe those two you can hand wave away but at home in a dome and to shank it like that especially when the other kicker was allowed to miss an extra point and his counted like you have to at least find some way to get yours to count like like the other kicker did but yeah no I they had to make a move. I'm glad they made the move. You could tell it was coming when Shane said, like, I'm going to leave that to Chris Bowdo instead of defending his kicker on Monday. But yeah, we'll see what Blake Grupy can do. He's been atrocious this season. But again, past history has no no vibes when it comes to kicking. It's just all about up in their head. So if he has a good night sleep or something
Starting point is 00:28:13 before the game, he might make 20 kicks in a row. Like it just, what was the kicker? There was like a kicker who got cut earlier this year and then his next game he has like six of six from field goals like it doesn't matter with kickers they will it really just comes up like what side of the bed they slept on the night before if they're going to make kicks or not um so we'll see we'll see you guys the only thing that i can really guarantee is once he misses a kick i will be uh yelling about him because that's me with kickers if we're going to put out a little shred of hope though Brian Mason, Brian Mason had him at Notre Dame in 2022. So maybe there's something there where he can unlock, he can unlock that consistency in him.
Starting point is 00:28:56 And I mean, I don't make them instead of missing them, like make sure you make kicks. Yeah, he's like, he goes up. He was like, hey, kick it through the upright. Through the upright. Oh, I didn't even realize. I was trying to hit the upright all year long. I didn't even realize. Hey, before you go out there, let's have a good kick.
Starting point is 00:29:15 You know, stuff like that. Oh, man. The high end of coaching. That's the full extent of a kicker conversation we could have on this channel. But I will say to bring it back to special teams that I actually like talking about. The special teams needs to be better this weekend than what it was in this past game. Not only the kicking, but the kick coverage, the kick returning, the punt coverage, the punt returning. I'm very concerned about the lack of Ashton Doolan, honestly, going forward for the punt game.
Starting point is 00:29:39 Now, I don't want the Colts to ever punt again because I want them just to be scoring on every offensive possession. but the punt coverage left a lot to be desired. And I think that's the first time all year I've really said that. The punk coverage has been number one in the NFL every single week except for this past week. So the loss of Doolin was massive out there. You want to see it just kind of pick up
Starting point is 00:29:59 and be a little bit better. Rigoberto Sanchez also had just a dreadful punt before the half where he kicked it like right into the end zone from the 40-yard line. That has to be inside the 10. It just can't happen. So overall, the whole special teams unit needs a bounce back week because that whole,
Starting point is 00:30:15 entire unit did not show up on Sunday against the, against the Texans. No, special teams in general was just a disaster, which again, that sucks because they have been the most consistent unit all year, but in a close four-point game, if they would have performed better, who knows how much, if at all, that would have affected the outcome? Probably not, but you never know. I mean, well, no, 100% if the special teams reforms better, they are arguably in overtime, because just the kicking performing better. They're in overtime.
Starting point is 00:30:46 I discount the actual field goal and kicking portion of it, but like the coverage and, you know, what are for for? Right. No, I mean, who knows with some of these other things? But yeah, for sure. The Colts special team, maybe that's a good way to loop it around to our first segment again, Jake, is teams that win these big time divisional games
Starting point is 00:31:05 don't have these kind of down performances from key units on their team. And that's ultimately what comes back down to your head coach, the CEO, the manager of your football team. So we'll have more conversations like this going forward. Join us again tomorrow for the crossover Thursday with Lockdown Jaguars. Tony is always a blast to talk to. And also tonight for the Lockdown Colts squad show, Jake will be hosting yet again as Derek is in paradise, I think, somewhere across the globe.
Starting point is 00:31:33 But yeah, we'll be having a fun show. Alan think it will be joining us as always. So thank you guys, though, for making Lockdown Colt your first listen today and every single day. For your next listen, get a double dose of Locked-on NFL podcast. Tyler Madman, Tyler the Madman Rowland, gives you a shot of espresso to start your football day. Well, Tony Wiggins, the aforementioned Jaguars co-hosts there,
Starting point is 00:31:53 or host over there, takes you into the barbershop for the smoothest breakdowns to end the day. Find Locked on NFL on YouTube, wherever list to your podcast. If you guys want to come on Lockdown Colts insider and chat with us directly and get that insider scoop for all the link in our show notes. And if you don't already, make sure you're following out Lockdown Colts at Jake Arthur, NFL, and at Zach Hicks to all on socials. Also subscribe to us on YouTube
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