Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS -1/05- Identifying The Indianapolis Colts Offseason Needs

Episode Date: January 5, 2017

The Indianapolis #Colts obviously have a plethora of holes in their roster and need to fill them rather quickly. Today we'll identify each position of need on each side of the ball and look ahead to solutions at these glaring voids as the Colts look ahead to 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Welcome back to Locked On Colts, ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host, Matt Dainley. And we are here on a Thursday, January 5th. And I appreciate you guys for coming back and joining me today. Sorry about the no show yesterday. I had some technical difficulties that would not allow me to get the show recorded, but today we are here identifying the needs for the Indianapolis Colts in the offseason, whether it be draft or free agency. But there are some glaring needs, obviously, on this Colts roster, and we're going to go through those today. And then on subsequent shows this week and next week,

we're going to bring on some guests that are some draft guys, and they're going to go through some possibilities with them, who they could pick up in a free agency, and then who could they grab possibly out of the draft. Some guys who delve quite a bit into that and that'll be good for us to kind of hear some names and get a little more acquainted. You know, some guys that you can go look up yourself. Probably some that they could give you better than I could. I typically tend to stick to quarterbacks as far as my draft process, but it's getting into that time. They're going to give us some guys to go check out,

and I'll be checking them out as well. But I haven't started my process. These guys have already gotten into it quite a bit. So we got a lot of people in line for you guys, especially over the next several weeks. And it should be a good time. So we'll get into that here in just a second. But I want to tell you guys about SeatGeek. Obviously, the regular season has ended. But if you guys have an opportunity to get to a playoff game, I suggest it. And if you're going to use anything to get yourself some tickets, save yourself some money and use SeatGeek. Guys, got to download this app. It is the easiest and smartest way to find tickets for football games that you want to see up close and in person this season.

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as far as getting any kind of constant pressure on the quarterback. In fact, they've been in a constant decline. After that 2014 season where they had 41, they've gone down to 35 last year and 33 this year. It's an obvious hole in the Colts defense. They've got to find pressure. I mean, not only from the front in any direction, but they've got to have some guys get on that edge. Robert Mathis isn't the same guy, obviously wasn't year he's gone he's going to retire he's retiring Eric Walden was the Colts most consistent pass rusher and he's not even a pass rusher this year the one year the Colts had Jonathan Newsome and then he kind of fell off the face of the earth

not only that but he wasn't much you know the field as well, had some issues and such. So the Colts really have a lot to replace on that edge. I would love to see the Colts do a little bit of both here, some in free agency and some in the draft. I'd like to be in a position where the Colts have Eric Walden as depth. Are they going to bring him even back? I think that they probably should. I don't think that he's going to be a high-price guy in, you know, a free agency. He's just not that good as far as bringing in high-dollar guys. But, you know, he's going to require probably a little bit more than what he was making, which was about $4 million a year. And that's only because the salary cap has gone up so

significantly since he was signed originally. But that edge rush is the most glaring need, as far as I'm concerned, on the defense. Also, the Colts need some guys up front. The Colts have had some good performances from T.Y. McGill, Henry Anderson. Hopefully, he's back to his former self next year. Arthur Jones was pretty much worthless. You know, just did basically nothing for the Colts since he's been here. Can't stay healthy. Had a few games where he's been efficient and effective, but other than that, mostly nothing. David Perry, he's a guy who's young still. We've kind of yet to see what he's going to bring to the table. He is definitely a depth guy, I think, also for Zach Kerr.

As far as that goes, he should be a depth guy as far as what we need up front. That front seven has got to be significantly upgraded in a few different ways, that's for sure. So if they can find anything along the front four there and get some edge rushers, whether it be through free agency or the draft, they're both absolutely necessary. And that front seven basically needs a complete rebuild. It needs completely reconstructed for the most part they need some guys at inside linebacker too DeQuell Jackson getting older wouldn't be surprised if he was a casualty pretty soon getting cut he'll save the Colts some money and then other than that they have Antonio Morrison you know we saw Edwin Jackson get some time McNary he'll get some time too

I would not like this I would like to see it to where Josh McNary's not on this team next year. I don't think that he's a quality linebacker at all, really. I don't think there's any doubt that Antonio Morrison turned some eyes a little bit when he got some playing time, but he also kind of fell back from grace there in week 17, especially in the first half and didn't really do much. Edwin Jackson also kind of plateaued, didn't really have a high upside as far as I'm concerned. He's a quality inside linebacker, but he's a depth guy as well. He's not a full-time starter, and the Colts just really need that guy who can do both,

and they don't really have one right now that can both fill gaps, be a run stopper, and be a force in the passing game, you know, in coverage, and they just don't have that. Staying on the defense, the Colts need another corner. Is Vontae Davis going to hold up? We don't know. Patrick Robinson, he wasn't healthy this year. We can't get a second corner healthy. I mean, we deal with the Greg Toler experiment,

and then now we have Patrick Robinson. We don't know if he's ever going to stay healthy. We don't really know what he brings, you know, when he is healthy, for that matter. He had a pretty good couple of seasons there in San Diego. He looked like he was quality. But then when he comes to the Colts, you know, this is kind of how the story goes anymore it seems. We just really don't know what he's going to bring. I think that he'll be on the team next year. I think he's a guy that they at least need to figure out where he's at

and what he's going to bring to the organization. They also have Darius Butler. I don't think Darius will come back as a corner necessarily. He might. I think he may have kind of shown that he's just not physical enough to be any kind of an enforcer in the secondary, and that's really not what he'd be used for, but that does occur at that position.

He does have to come up and try to jar a ball loose like you saw when he got hurt. Concussions, shoulder separations. I mean, there's a lot of injuries that are going to happen, especially at his size, you know, from coming up and trying to make some plays out of that safety role. The fact that he can be back there and be a nice ball hawking option for the Colts, I think he needs to come back. I don't know what the price tag would necessarily be for him, but I think he needs to come back. And then they have TJ Green and Mike Adams. We don't really know what Mike Adams is going to be. The guy is ancient by football standards, yet he's stayed

fairly healthy and has been pretty productive while he's been in Indianapolis. A pleasant surprise, I might add. So we don't really know where he's going to be, what he's going to bring to the team holistically if he does come back, if he's re-signed. We just don't know that. They basically need somebody at each position on this defense, and that's a scary thought because, you know, you can't hit on all your draft picks. We know that for sure. It doesn't matter how good of a GM you are, you're not going to hit on every single draft pick.

And, I mean, we've got some quality depth, I guess, at corner. Rashawn Melvin, I think, really proved that he can be a guy that can stick around too, but they still need a new one. I mean, as far as I'm concerned, they need a guy who can come in and be a starter. And that wouldn't hurt my feelings if they did that early in the draft, or if they found a way to do that in free agency, get a guy young enough who can make an impact. It's not an injury-riddled guy. That would be something that the Colts need. Daryl Morris also played fairly well. He's young. You know, those guys are young. Melvin's 27 and Morris is 26. Butler, you know, he's 30. But like I said, Davis is 28, but he plays and gets hurt like he's 31, 32 years old. So we really don't know.

I mean, the good thing about the front was we got a guy like Hasan Ridgway up there who really looks like he could possibly be a huge addition up there. It would be nice to see him just break out and be great. Nice to see him and Anderson and Kendall Lankford, if he comes or him coming back next year with T.Y. McGill, maybe that front four isn't going to be so bad. But I think that they still need to implore options. They've got to see what they can get out of just about every position on defense.

If we're looking at the offense now, I mean offensively, the Colts need a running back. What are we going to get out of Frank Gore next year? We don't know. This offensive line showed that they were a better run-blocking team than they were a pass-protection team. You know, Frank Gore, we just don't know. He's an older guy. He's a guy who can be physical.

He makes himself very skinny and very small. Cutting through holes, you see him kind of almost, it seems like sometimes he dies for a couple more yards in between defenders' legs or something. You never him kind of almost, it seems like sometimes he dies for a couple more yards in between defenders legs or something, you know, you never know how it gets that low, but they do need a guy that, you know, there's guys on the roster that are in the backfield that are just not the answer. I mean, plain and simple,

Josh Ferguson should not be on this roster next year. He's not a viable running back option. I don't necessarily think Jordan Todman will be. He could be depth. You just never know if they were to keep four. But I'd like to see Robert Turbin come back. He's 27. He proved that he could be a solid guy, you know, a solid backup guy.

He got 47 carries this year, had seven touchdowns. I mean, he's a good short yardage guy. He got 47 carries this year, had seven touchdowns. I mean, he's a good short yardage guy. And, you know, that ultimately is, you know, Frank Gore can double in that position as well, but we just don't know where he's going to be. I mean, some of these guys on this roster are so old that, I mean, if football old, we just don't know what they're going to bring. We don't know how they're going to play. You know, if they're going to play very long, we don't know if they're going to make it past week one. We don't even know if they'll make it out of training camp, to be quite honest with you. And that's just the way it goes. So the Colts have to draft for preparation in all of these areas. You know, do the Colts spend a draft pick

on an offensive lineman? Sure. But, you know, the Colts don't have 10 draft picks this year, so they're going to have to be really smart about it if they do. I mean, it's got to be a home run, if anything, but they've got depth now. I don't see it as being absolutely necessary to do that. I'd rather see them try to shore some of that up in free agency if they need some depth of some kind or something. We don't know if the Raven Clarks answer at right tackle. We don't know if Joe Heggs actually, you know, who we think he could be. We don't know Denzel Good, whether he's going to be a quality backup guy or whether he could maybe produce into a starter at right tackle, right guard. Just whatever, you know, Jonathan Harrison's there for depth as well at center and guard. And, you know, basically the Colts need an option for left

tackle if Casanzo's ever to go down. And I don't think Joe Reitz is the answer anymore. You know, he's just getting nicked up and stuff, and he's just that way. I don't think that finding a depth guy at tackle is a bad idea. You know, the Raven Clark there, Denzel Good can play tackle, and then Joe Hague's proven that he can play tackle. So they've got three guys that can really play there that are, you know, definitely coming back next year. So, you know, we don't want them to spend a high draft pick on that. The Colts need defense bad and in the worst way. This defense has been consistently getting worse, especially since 2014. There's not a whole lot of offensive needs. If the Colts were to do something wide receiver-wise, I think that would be pretty

strange. I think Chester Rogers is a very, very quality depth guy. I think they obviously know what they've got in T.Y. Hilton. They're really going to plug this Philip Dorsett train and try to make something out of him and Dante Moncrief, you know, hopefully he can come back and stay more healthy next year. But you know, if he doesn't, then the Colts are going to eventually have to look at trying to really finding a number two or number three option, whether it be in free agency or the draft. And I don't mean this year, but I just mean in the future. Because if you can't stay healthy, you can't be, I mean, you can't be on the field, then it doesn't matter how good you can be if you're never on the field. But I'd like to see Chester Rogers get that opportunity. He proved that he's a heck of a ball player, I think,

in limited opportunity that he's gotten, especially for a rookie guy that went undrafted. So, and at 22, he's got plenty of speed. He caught the ball really well. And, you know, he caught 34, or he caught 19 of his 34 targets. A lot of those were not catchable targets, we'll say that. And, you know, I can recall at least four or five overthrows of him deep. But the Colts are set at tight end. I think for right now, the Colts are set at wide receiver. I think the Colts are set at tight end. I think for right now the Colts are set at wide receiver. I think the Colts are largely set at offensive line. Now that doesn't mean they don't need to get better because they weren't good this year.

My point is that they've got the young talent that it looks and appears that they're going to get better. Now I have faith in this offensive line getting better. What I don't necessarily have faith in is that this coaching staff is the unit to improve them all that much. I hope I'm wrong. I hope Philbin can work some wonders here in the next year. But, you know, we just don't know.

Is he going to be there? Is he not? We don't know. But running back is the real need on offense. And I think they can do that one more year in free agency, and then they're not going to have much of a choice. They're going to have to draft one, and they're going to have to draft one high. So we'll see what goes on. But those are what we need. Basically, everything on the defense and a running back. We're going to have some guys in here to talk to you about all these positions, who's a good option, what round they would be more likely to

fall into, and where the Colts would be at in that draft, in that pecking order. So we'll get through all this. Thank you guys for coming back. As always, I appreciate your questions and comments. Thank you guys for getting with me on Facebook, the email, LockedOnColts on Twitter, on Facebook, everything. You guys are fantastic. I really appreciate it. I love hearing your guys' thoughts on the show. Also, if you guys get a chance, give me your thoughts on iTunes.

That helps the show grow tremendously, especially now that we're in the offseason. Trying to gain this Indianapolis Colts fan base would be a huge help. So if you guys get on iTunes, give it a rating and review, whatever you think is fine. Uh, five stars always helps, you know, that, that brings, uh, people to the podcast and then we can kind of get this baby growing the way it should. We've got one year together. We started just a couple weeks before training camp, and I think we've done a pretty good job so far. So get those ratings and reviews

in. Also, you can check it out on Stitcher or any other place where you guys find podcasts. Thank you guys again for coming back, and I'll talk to you all tomorrow right here on Locked on Colts. You are Locked on Colts, your daily podcast on the Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.