Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: Will Anthony Richardson, Jonathan Taylor Play vs. Jacksonville Jaguars?

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Colts' backfield could look way different than normal on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a place where the Colts just have not won in forever. So let's get to it. You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. All right. Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day.

Starting point is 00:00:32 This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. And today's show is brought to you by FanDuel. Place your first $5 bet and you'll get started with $200 in bonus bets guaranteed. Visit FanDuel.com to get started. What's up friends? This is Jake Arthur and Zach Hicks of HorseshoeHuddle.com. I'm your resident media member for the site and Zach is your resident film nerd for the site. Cranking out stuff. Just had a nice little Samuel Womack film

Starting point is 00:01:02 piece drop today. But today, man, I feel like when you're talking about the Colts, you kind of have to start with the injuries. And so that's what we're doing today. Really looking at three of the most glaring positions affected by injuries. At least, you know, the biggest questions heading into Sunday. So at quarterback, is it going to be Anthony Richardson or Joe Flacco? Running back, is it going to be Jonathan Taylor or some mix of Trey Sermon and Tyler Goodson. And then at defensive end, we already know Taequann Lewis has been put on IR. Is Quiddie Paye going to be able to return and play? Is Laotu Laotu going to get his first start?

Starting point is 00:01:35 What's that going to look like? And that doesn't even really mention Zach guys like Ryan Kelly, does Tanner Bordellini make another start? Kenny Moore still wasn't playing today. So there are a lot of big what ifs, but we're really going to start with this backfield with quarterback. Yeah, it's a really big difference when it comes to quarterback because the styles of these two quarterbacks are vastly different. And this isn't to say Joe Flacco can't throw the ball down the field. Like I would argue he can't throw it down there

Starting point is 00:02:02 the same way that Anthony Richardson can. And I know some people will disagree, but I feel like that's a pretty common opinion to have right now at this point in their career Joe Flacco is a good arm for an older quarterback but it's just not the elasticity that Richardson has in the in the velocity that Richardson has but it is still just a drastically different playbook you look with Anthony Richardson the Colts are doing a lot of shotgun play action stuff they're doing a lot of Yankee concepts down the field, a lot of high depth of target things to get this big arm quarterback ripping the ball, stepping in the throws down the field and getting this offense moving in chunks. With Joe Flacco, you probably

Starting point is 00:02:37 see a little bit more of the Gardner Minshew offense, which is we're going to go to empty more often. We're going to feed Josh Downs. We're going to feed running backs on these little angle routes out of the backfield. We're going to feed Michael Pittman Jr. on quick hitters over the middle and probably go more to RPOs even just because Joe Flacco is a little bit more decisive on those types of throws, and it kind of puts defenses into a bind that he can take advantage of. So it's a very, very different offense regardless of which quarterback starts between Richardson and Flacco. The good news with Anthony Richardson is it does –

Starting point is 00:03:09 I think we're going to see the official injury report here in a few minutes or in like 20 minutes or whatever, but it does feel like he was limited today, I believe, Jake. You can go more on that. But he was limited today, which is a great sign that he's probably going to get a full practice in here by Thursday or Friday. And then I would guess that he goes on Sunday. So this whole conversation might be a little bit moot because of that.

Starting point is 00:03:31 Like, it does seem like he's trending in the right direction. But, you know, again, it's something you have to kind of keep in mind that he might not be 100, 100 percent for this game on Sunday, even if it is a relatively minor injury. Muted, of course. No, so he was limited today. So initially there was some confusion because when we talked to him in the locker room, he said they were holding him out and that he wasn't practicing. He doesn't really speak the media vernacular yet of like, here's what I need to tell them to report it this way.

Starting point is 00:04:01 So after he said that we were like, he's not practicing today, he meant he's not practicing in a team portion. So he went out there and did the positional stuff, you know, the stretching and all that, all that. But as far as like seven on sevens and 11 on 11s, he didn't, you know, he didn't participate in that. So he will probably be officially considered limited when it comes out again in like 20, 30 minutes. That is good, of course, that he's already getting in a limited session and it's not a DNP because to me, I think that leaves like a ton of mystery up to it. He doesn't really necessarily have to super ramp up to it. But I am curious how much the Colts look at this matchup

Starting point is 00:04:41 and like if they feel really, really good about what they could do with Joe Flacco in this matchup, do they just give it another week to rest? Because a big portion of this is Anthony is still sore and acceleration is still a big question mark. And when it comes to running the ball, you know, that's obviously a huge thing. Like we,

Starting point is 00:05:03 we saw it on that second play, he got injured or, you know, aggravated obviously a huge thing. Like we, we saw it on that second play, he got injured or, you know, aggravated at whatever he went to go take off. And it was kind of like dead on arrival, you know, it really didn't go anywhere. So do they want to trot him out there as a one dimensional quarterback where he really doesn't have much of a threat to run? I think if, if they clear him to play and he's going to be able to run. But to me, I do think game planning could come into play a little bit. This Jacksonville pass defense is right at the doormat of the league. I think they're 31st out of 32. They're not really getting sacks. I don't think they have any turnovers. They've given up a bunch of touchdown throws.

Starting point is 00:05:43 So do they just let Anthony sit another week until he's like closer to truly a hundred percent because they, they can get a good game plan with Joe. I don't think it's a, I don't think it's a matter of like holding Anthony back because they have momentum with Joe Flacco. I think it's more of, this is a game where we don't have to force Anthony out there if he's not 100%.

Starting point is 00:06:06 I think my stance on this would be if Richardson is cleared to go. And again, maybe not taking into account 100% because which NFL player is 100% right now. I mean, our whole show today is dedicated to injuries on this Colts team. So nobody's 100% obviously. But I think for me, as long as Richardson's cleared to play and there's very few limitations in terms of his movement and what he can do, I think you need to get him out there for the reps.

Starting point is 00:06:32 I really think you need to get him out there. Let's say Joe Flacco gives you a better chance at winning this week, which I'm not necessarily sure that's true. But let's just say that Joe Flacco gives you a better chance at winning this game. To me, that isn't as important as getting Richardson the reps. Like, yes, you want to win every single game in the NFL. Don't get me wrong.

Starting point is 00:06:52 But getting Richardson the reps, throwing the ball and seeing NFL defenses is going to be better for your team in the long term. So even if you're saying like we can win this game with running just mesh concepts with Joe Flacco, and that's a better chance of victory than Richardson trying to do them because he struggled with those this year. I don't really care too much, I guess. Like I would rather have Richardson throwing 40 passes in this game from the pocket and having no runs than having it be Flacco. Even if Flacco would give you better success rate because it's more important for the development of Anthony Richardson. Now I will say this, an interesting aspect of this is if he is good to throw the ball, but not 100% when it comes to the quarterback run game,

Starting point is 00:07:35 and that has to be taken out of the playbook or, or scaled down a little bit in this, it is kind of like putting a muzzle on what makes Anthony Richardson special. What makes him special is the threat of his legs and the ability of his legs and what he can do with that in that regard. So you do have to kind of change up your run scheme regardless, I think, this week. I mean, if you don't want to run him too much, maybe do more under center type stuff, maybe do more of like traps and whams and stuff rather than doing just inside zone with the threat of Richardson pulling it kind of to, to take away that backside defensive end.

Starting point is 00:08:08 I do think there are ways they can change this up, but for me, I think as long as he's cleared to go, like maybe you do have to scale back to QB running a little bit, but I'd rather have him back there in the pocket, throwing the ball. Like hopefully he doesn't have to throw the ball 40, 50 times.

Starting point is 00:08:21 Hopefully it's like a 20 pass game plan because the Colts have a favorable, you know, game script going in game flow going. But I would rather have Richardson out there. I think it's just better for his long-term development and, and getting him to, you know, again, see more defenses. This is a very different defense than most NFL defenses. They play a lot of press man coverage, a lot of man coverage. And this is a defensive coordinator that really beat the crap out of Steichen last year. Ryan Nielsen was with the Atlanta Falcons last season, and that Falcons

Starting point is 00:08:50 defense probably had the most answers for anything Steichen was doing out of any team the Colts played last season. So I think this is a big game for Steichen to showcase that he can overcome this style of defense, this press heavy defense, but also just, again, Richardson seeing a different style of defense. They've seen, you know, the crazy, not even crazy, but they've seen, you know, like with the Texans, they're running a lot of like cover four and kind of doing the D'Amico Ryan's like attacking scheme in the front. He got to see that a little bit. He got to see a little bit of the Steelers who are a little bit more static on defense, but they rely on that defensive line. I think it's good for him to just see multiple defenses this year and what's essentially his first year starting. So yeah, even if he's not

Starting point is 00:09:32 a hundred percent, even if you feel better that Flacco could like win you the game, I would still rather see Richardson get the snaps and get the experience and get, you know, just more eyes on more defenses in this kind of first year of play for him. Yeah, I mean, you want to win, of course, but winning with Anthony, of course, is the ultimate goal, getting him that exposure at the same time, like you said. So coming up, who is he going to be handing the ball off? We don't know, but it's starting to feel like that Pittsburgh game from last season. Guys, you can now win up to 100 times your money on price picks with as little

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Starting point is 00:11:16 That's code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. PricePix, run your game. All right, so this is all fine and dandy with quarterback so far. It's either going to be Anthony Richardson or Joe Flacco. Looks a little more optimistic that it might be Anthony, but who he's handing the ball off to, I think that's a bigger mystery. Jonathan Taylor was not out there today. We knew he wasn't going to be. Shane Steichen outright said he would not be out there today. What was it? A mild high ankle sprain, whatever that is to me. I know that high ankle sprains can be more four to six weeks, so hopefully it's not

Starting point is 00:12:00 that long. There was no plan to put them on IR as of after the game. So, I mean, they must feel pretty optimistic, but it feels like with a high ankle sprain, no matter the severity, if it's a high ankle sprain, it's probably going to be more week to week than it is day to day. So gun to my head with Jonathan's history of ankles, because it's the same one he injured in 2022 that cost him six games. He had the procedure on it the following offseason.

Starting point is 00:12:32 That obviously was a whole mess, and it bled in to cost him four games at the beginning of 2023. So with his history of ankle injuries, they obviously felt good enough not to put him on IR. But at the same time, does he come back and not even miss a game? I would be shocked if he played this week. That's what I'm saying. I'm not a doctor.

Starting point is 00:12:54 So, you know, maybe reach out to Max Houghton or someone like that. Don't reach out to me. Reach out to somebody else on Colts Twitter, baby. But I do think, you know, when it comes to high ankle sprains, even if it's a mild one, a big issue with that is going to be swelling. It's going to be the swelling. It's going to be just how much pressure you can put on there. And a big part of Jonathan Taylor's game is that patience, patience, patience, plant the foot and go, you know, it's like that Le'Veon Bell style of running that he's been perfect with this year. He's been great with this year for the Colts. And I just wonder how effective he can be in that style

Starting point is 00:13:27 without a working ankle or with an ankle that's at 50% or at 25%. I don't know exactly what it's going to be at, but it just seems like just way too much risk for, I mean, look, it's an important divisional game, but an early October game in a season where you play into mid-January or early January, there's no real reason to push him to play in this one. This is not a playoff game. This is not a season-defining moment for the Colts team.

Starting point is 00:13:55 Heck, they made the playoffs a couple times in the last nine years, but they never won this game. So maybe it's not that huge of a deal to get him out there for this one. But obviously you would like to have him out there. He's been a big, big part of this Colts rushing game. Again, his patience has made runs that any other running back in football would have had for like a two to three or four yard gain. He's turned them into 20 to 30 plus yard gains with his great patience. So it would be a massive loss for this Colts offense.

Starting point is 00:14:23 I don't think it's one that completely shuts down the entire offense, but it is a pretty big one. We'll see if it has the same importance as like, again, the Michael Pittman jr. Absence against Atlanta last year that led to the Colts offense doing nothing against Ryan, Ryan Nielsen. I do think this one's not as important,

Starting point is 00:14:41 but again, the drop off from Jonathan Taylor to a Trey Sermon or Tyler Goodson maybe not like those guys are like unplayable but it's a pretty steep drop from one of the best running backs in football to serviceable backups you know so this definitely has an impact on this upcoming game but I would be shocked if Taylor played like I can't see him getting through a high ankle sprain, regardless of how mild it is to play here on this Sunday. Yeah. And again, this kind of a game plan thing, you know, if, if you want to attack Jacksonville through the air, obviously Jonathan has proven to be not the

Starting point is 00:15:17 guy they want to do that. They'll throw him a few balls, but you're probably much better off going with Trey sermon and Tyler Goodson sermon for the pass protection and Goodson for the receptions. If you need to, you could call up Evan Hull for this game. They just brought back Trent Penix, our darling from the summer. So they got dudes that can catch the ball. And, of course, Trey Sermon can pass protect. Whatever they want to do with this game, it feels a little bit on the nose and obvious to do, you know,

Starting point is 00:15:44 going through the air but like how long are you going to try to establish the run if you don't have your your mobile quarterback and you don't have your star top five rusher you know yeah so i mean you it might just be obvious you know occam razor, just attack them with their obvious weakness. And without Jonathan Taylor, maybe it's a decent week to not, I don't want to say not have him around. It's never good for your offense to not have Jonathan Taylor, but if you're not going to have him for any matchup, this might be an okay one to be without him. Yeah. And I will say, if you look at Shane's history with the running back position, I mean, Jonathan Taylor is really the first superstar he's had. I think he was over, I think he overlapped with Eckler a little bit with the Chargers, but this is before Eckler became Austin Eckler.

Starting point is 00:16:33 You know, he's never really had a superstar at that running back position prior to Jonathan Taylor. You know, it was always these committee approaches that he had, especially in Philly, a a very very committee approach at that running back position so he's no stranger to rolling out a committee of like say they bring up Evan Hull for this game going Trey Sermon for 10 to 15 early down carries Tyler Goodson for another 5 to 10 ish and then Evan Hull for you know 0 to 5 and a lot of pass down work like he's no stranger to that kind of system with his running backs. Again, it's a big drop off from Jonathan Taylor.

Starting point is 00:17:08 Jonathan Taylor just adds a new dynamic to what Shane Steichen wants to do on the ground game. But this offensive line is one of the best in football right now at blocking for the run. They've been doing some really good work there up front in the trenches. And I think, you know, a Trey Sermon type,

Starting point is 00:17:22 if he has 10 to 15 carries in this game, I wouldn't be shocked for him to turn out a good 50 to 60 yards on it. It's not a perfect, but like, you know, a Trey Sermon type, if he has 10 to 15 carries in this game, I wouldn't be shocked for him to churn out a good 50 to 60 yards on it. It's not perfect, but like, you know, good, you know, four-ish yards per carry. Like, I could totally see that happening. It won't have as many explosives as a Jonathan Taylor, but he can churn out some positive yardage in this game. And that's kind of how I fully expect the Colts to approach this. But for me, it's actually kind of interesting. I kind of want Goodson to get more snaps, you know?

Starting point is 00:17:47 He's had like no work. I want to see something from him. I mean, you kept him over Evan Hall. I mean, you obviously wouldn't have done anything with Hall either. Yeah, the thing with Goodson is he's just very, very explosive, you know, at the running back position. And I just think that having that explosive element in a game where you don't have your starter would be, you know, just, just it adds more like a dynamic to that backfield. So for me personally,

Starting point is 00:18:15 I would probably start Tyler Goodson at running back and then have Trey Sermon still in his pass protection role and third down role. But I think the Colts would just be comfortable throwing sermon out there and doing like you mentioned at the top of this segment, the Pittsburgh Steelers thing game from last year, where it was a lot of sermon, a lot of sermon, and then a couple of snaps for Goodson coming in and,

Starting point is 00:18:36 and getting some of that, that work as well. I think it'll be more like that kind of strategy, maybe not as run heavy because they were very much in protect the lead, run it down the Steelers throat late in that game last year. But I do think it'll be like a similar snap split between Sermon and Goodson. And maybe Hull gets in for a couple if he gets called up for this game as well. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:18:55 And of course, the reason we would have optimism that any of this would work without either of these guys is that offensive line that's performed so well this year. Obviously, Braden Smith, I don't think practiced today either. Ryan Kelly did not, but we've seen what Tanner Bortolini could do. That's another guy he just did a film piece on. So regardless of Kelly and or Smith are or are not in there, I think there's plenty of optimism for guys that we know could step up. Smith, I think this is probably just going to be part of his normal maintenance

Starting point is 00:19:26 now week to week throughout the season. He's dealt with this knee for a while. He's not really a guy that needs to be at practice every day. If you need to rest him up a little bit and let him play, then let him play. But coming up, we're going to go with, God, one of the most snake-bitten groups on the entire team. That's defensive end and the defensive line as a whole. Hey, NFL fans, you can start the season with a big return on FanDuel,

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Starting point is 00:20:13 for the Colts in this upcoming one. I've got to imagine the line's going to move on this one as we learn more about the Colts injuries, the over-under is going to move. Obviously, stat projections and everything. So, FanDuel would probably love to be able to firmly tell you what they think is going to happen in this one. But that's for Friday to tell you. But that's FanDuel.com.

Starting point is 00:20:38 All right, everybody. So, Tyquan Lewis got hurt on Sunday. Got an elbow injury, which landed him on IR. I don't think anyone thinks this is season ending. And Shane Steichen said he's not putting a timetable on it, which, you know, that alone says, you know, it's not season ending. But, you know, can't say it's only going to be like four games for him, essentially. So, of course, Tyquan Lewis was replacing Samson Ebucom, who blew his Achilles in the summer. Quiddy Paye has been banged up.

Starting point is 00:21:10 You know, he had the quad. This could mean Laiatu Latu gets in there for his first start. I mean, you would think Dayo Adengbo is going to be a big part of that. Isaiah Land is going to be a big part of this. But yeah, it's, I mean, this is a game where they can probably afford to be banged up on the front defensively, but I'm, I'm pretty worried about the, the run game of Jackson. We've, we've seen that punch them in the mouth before, you know, Bigsby and Etienne. And I know the Jags are winless,

Starting point is 00:21:43 but like we've seen Trevor Lawrence just slaughter the Colts with a really quick strike approach where they were never able to get a finger on them. Yeah. I will say that I have budding confidence in this run defense, not great confidence, obviously still, cause I don't think it's a great run defense, but just more confidence and you know, the two linebackers are playing some really good football right now. Zyra Franklin, EJ speed. Uh, they're doing a lot of cover three stuff on the early downs which is dropping nick cross more into the box and with more nick cross in the box we've seen a lot better run defense from this from this defense because nick cross i think he's like pro football focus is like

Starting point is 00:22:17 third or fourth highest rated run defending safety in football right now uh which if you watch the colts defense you could totally see it. He's feeling really well against, against the run and doing some good things there. So yeah, it's, I think this run defense is figuring it out. I don't think it's great by any means, cause they are missing a lot of guys up front still. But I do think it is figuring things out. So I'm not as concerned there. I'm just more concerned that, you know, you're looking at this defensive end group right now, a defensive end group where coming into the season, if you're looking back in June or July, you're saying,

Starting point is 00:22:50 man, we got Samson Ebukom, we got Liatu Latu, Quidi Pei, Dayo Adangbo, and then Taequann Lewis, maybe he'll get a couple snaps here and there, but whatever, it's fine. Now we're looking at a group that's going to be Dayo Adangbo and Liatu Latu, which thankfully they were deep enough at the position group where you still have those two guys as starters when you have three guys going down with injury in front of them but behind them it's Isaiah Land will Jannard Avery get dressed this week I'm not too sure and then Adam Gostis I guess is playing some

Starting point is 00:23:20 defensive end first time in his career he's ever played defensive I did I actually asked him that today I was like hey man like have you ever been an end before because like your whole history essentially says tackle and you're 290 pounds he said really not since his early days in Denver has he played around the line and played at the end so we're rolling back the clock on this 32 year old defensive line right right so it's just like man this pass rush group is just especially on the edge I mean on the interior they still have mostly everybody oh except for their all pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner but they at least kind of have some bodies there but yeah it's it's just such

Starting point is 00:24:02 a battered group when it comes to rushing the passer I mean thankfully they're going against Jacksonville Jaguars offensive line that really has struggled to protect Trevor Lawrence this year and Press Taylor's our offensive coordinator so I don't expect them to do much good game planning on that side of the ball Doug Peterson would disagree look man we know how the Press Taylor thing goes here in Indy. So that's basically it always goes the same way. Not good. But, you know, it's just tough when you lose so many bodies. Like, thankfully, Dayo Dengbo and Laotu Latu are playing some really good football right now. Dayo Dengbo is coming off one of his best career games.

Starting point is 00:24:38 Eight pressures, one and a half sacks. Laotu Latu, I think he had like five or six pressures in this past game as well. They do need to do a better job of getting the quarterback on the ground with all these pressures. But at the end of the day, these two are playing well. I think Adetomiwa Adebore is playing pretty well. Grover Stewart's playing good football. So it's not terribly concerning, but like it is upsetting that they went from, wow, this is the deepest defensive line that Chris Ballard has ever put together with the Colts. And now we're at the point where it's like, you kind of have to test that depth, you know, because all the starters

Starting point is 00:25:09 are hurt across the entire defensive line. But hopefully Quidi Pei can give it a go this week. I believe he had a limited practice last week. He didn't practice today, but I do think that's at least some kind of positive sign that maybe later in this week he could be able to go. But if he's not able to go, then yeah, Dio Dangbo and Laotu Laotu, come on down and please keep producing because I don't know who else can besides you guys on this defensive line right now. Yeah, I feel like this is like the third year in a row where Dio has had to become a starter for some extended period of time because someone gets banged up. So luckily he produces in that scenario. He really does. I mean, we thought at one point he was going to go north of 10 sacks last year.

Starting point is 00:25:52 But Dio Odengo on a heater is a scary thing for offenses. I mean, look at last year. It was like Carolina, New England. Like he just went nuts in that stretch. So, again, I don't want to say there are super bad teams that the Colts can beat every week because I don't think the Colts have earned that benefit of the doubt yet to say that they can beat everybody. There are two weeks in a row with a win, but this is in Jacksonville after all against you know a team that does still

Starting point is 00:26:27 have talent on it I mean Trevor Lawrence isn't playing like Trevor Lawrence but like we see an instance every year where this team made up of a lot of these same guys that will be out there Sunday has torched the Colts it's not always close yeah yeah it's going to come down to coaching big time in this game especially in the game where i mean look as of right now we're talking on wednesday qb1 is practicing on a limited basis rb1 is out of practice and probably not going to play center one right tackle one not practicing today we don't know if they're going to go you go over to defense defensive end one two and three are all injured right now uh defensive tackle one is IR. Linebacker one didn't practice today with an illness. That's Zyra Franklin. Cornerback one and slot cornerback one are not practicing.

Starting point is 00:27:12 Juju Brent's on IR. Kenny Moore is still not practicing. So this is a really beat up team right now. And that's the last thing you ever want to say about the Colts going into a cursed game at Jacksonville. So by all, by all means, we are not going to speak on this podcast on like, this is a guaranteed win by any means, even if this weren't the cursed week, like, and this was just a regular Owen 14, you're playing. If you go into any team in the NFL with this many injuries, it's a tough, tough matchup. Um, cause all NFL teams are at least somewhat close to each other. It's not like college where you're playing an FCS team and you're Alabama. You can have 10 injuries and still be fine.

Starting point is 00:27:49 So it's really a game where it's going to come down to coaching and game planning and these backups stepping up. And look, last week, a lot of these backup players did step up. We talked about Dio Dangbo. He stepped up last week, had a great game. Samuel Womack at outside corner, really strong game. Chris Lamont's forced a fumble that changed the game in this past one. Joe Flacco coming off the bench and doing some good things,

Starting point is 00:28:11 doing good enough to get the Colts a win. These backup players are in the NFL for a reason. So it comes down to these guys stepping up and performing in their maybe one opportunity that they're going to get or a couple opportunities they're going to get in the season. the coach is having a good game plan and and just kind of taking the soul from this jacksville team that is kind of down and out right now it's not an unwinnable game aside from the curse aside from the curse with all these injuries it's not like completely unwinnable game it's just a lot of things need to go right still, even though this is an 0-14 that they are facing.

Starting point is 00:28:54 And of course, you know, winning this game eliminates the curse finally, which no one on the current team truly cares about. But what it does even more so is it really helps cushion that race for the AFC South and just even a wildcard berth. Because, I mean, Tennessee, I think you said they're on a buy. You obviously will be putting another nail in Jacksonville's coffin. And then we'll see what happens with Houston this week. But you could really turn it into a two-horse race, so to speak. You know, no pun intended. But, no, this is a big game. I mean, even if there was not a curse going on,

Starting point is 00:29:22 this is a big one for the Colts to win if they can do it. Yeah, these next three to four games are massive for the Colts. Three divisional games in these next four, and then a game against Miami, who I don't think is going to have Tua in that game. So very, very winnable four games here. I know I'm including Houston in there, but like divisional games, you have to win.

Starting point is 00:29:40 You know, you have to at least be competitive in. So four games where if you come out of this next four game stretch three and four you know heaven forbid four no in this you're looking at a prime spot to make the playoffs especially with that final five game stretch the colts have but if they flounder this opportunity if they you know go two and two i mean two and two is fine but if you go two and two one and three or oh and four in this four game stretch it's probably the end of your season. You're not because then you got the most brutal stretch of the season after that with Detroit, Buffalo, New York Jets. And there's another Vikings in there, too, who look like the best team in football. So, yeah, they might be playing three of the four best teams in football in that

Starting point is 00:30:18 next game stretch. So you really got to take advantage of these upcoming four games with three divisional opponents and then a really hampered Miami Dolphins team. But that's more future talk right there. We're focused on Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Jaguars curse. Hopefully the Colts can break it this weekend. We want to thank you guys for making Locked on Colts your first listen today. Now for your second listen, go find new Locked on NFL,

Starting point is 00:30:40 new Locked on NFL now with two shows every day. First, the Madman Tyler Rowland kicks off your morning with a double shot of NFL espresso and then stop by the barbershop with Tony Wiggins for some real NFL talk. Find Locked on NFL on YouTube or relist your podcast. And if you guys want to become a Locked on Colts insider and chat with us directly and get the inside scoop, follow the link in our show notes. And if you guys don't already, make sure you're following at Locked on Colts, at JakeArthurNFL, and at Zach Hicks to all on Twitter.

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