Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 11/18/19: Colts bounce back with dominant win over Jaguars

Episode Date: November 19, 2019

On today's episode, Stampede Blue's Zach Hicks returns to help analyze how the Colts were able to throttle Jacksonville to the tune of 33-13 on Sunday. Behind a flawless attack rushing the ball coupled with another strong defensive outing, Indianapolis finally put together their first true dominant showing of the season.Marlon Mack and Jonathan Williams carried the way toting the pigskin, but Mack is now out for 3-4 weeks with a fractured hand. How will the Colts respond, and when will T.Y. Hilton return to help offset all of these injuries piling up?After diving into the Colts' big win, we look ahead on a short week to the biggest game of the season Thursday in Houston. If Indianapolis wins, they control their own destiny for the AFC South crown. What are the biggest keys to a victory, and do we expect the horseshoes to walk out of NRG Stadium with a W in 72 hours? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everybody. Welcome back into Locked On Colts, pretty locked on podcast network. Today's audience is Evan Seder and joined by our weekly guest, Zach Hicks of Stampede Blue. How you doing, Zach? Pretty good, man. Definitely feels better after Colts win, getting back on the win column here. So, doing pretty good today. Yeah, it was a must win for the Colts on Sunday. 33-13 was the final score against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Zach, how good did it feel, at least from our perspective?

I know the first nine games of the year was nip and tuck, but to finally have one of those statement kind of games where you kind of, after the first 10 minutes of this game or really the first half, it felt like it was kind of over because the Colts had momentum on all sides of the football. What was your thoughts on that game and the way they executed it? Yeah, no, it definitely feels great, especially for the heart rate. You know, you don't have to be stressed in the game uh you know all afternoon you can kind of relax there in the

third quarter when the teams start going off uh but yeah it was a great overall game i mean they they executed their game plan they knew how to get to nick foals on defense and limit that offense and then on the other side i mean it was just pound the rock i mean they ran the ball super well all second half and a lot of the first half as well. And I think Marlon Mack had almost 100 yards in the whole first half. But, you know, Jonathan Williams in the second half, Marlon Mack in the first half.

And just overall, the whole game, I mean, I think the running backs played well. I think the offensive lines had one of its best games of the year. And our defense, they locked it down. So I think overall, it was just a great game. They stuck to their game plan, and they dominated a division so I think overall it's just a great game they stuck to a game plan and and they dominated a division opponent I think it was just a great Sunday and and yeah it felt really good not having to uh you know stress most of that game it felt really good yeah Brian Hoyer played the last series of that game taking a couple knees so I kind of showed you how the game went for the end for Colts yeah winning again 33-13 on this one

let's start off with the running game though, Zach, because 264 rushing yards. We're going to have on Marlon Mack and his injury in a second here. But Marlon Mack, 14 carries, 109 yards. Jonathan Williams, 13 carries, 116 yards. Those two guys dominated throughout the day, Zach. And I'll give you the floor here for a second about Jonathan Williams because we talk about him a lot when we were talking in training camp in July and August that he might be a guy to watch for if he ever gets the opportunity

to crack rotation. He definitely took advantage of that on Sunday, getting again 116 yards, only 13 carries, nine yards per carry. Oh, yeah, for sure. And anyone listening who is familiar with me or my work at Stampede Blue has known that I've been a big fan of Jonathan Williams for a long time now. I mean, I really liked him when he was a draft prospect back in the day, but after the Colts signed him this past year and they kind of kept him around, even though he was on the active

roster for this whole year and was barely getting any playing time. You just knew this guy was ready for when a guy's name caught up. You know, I interviewed him in the offseason. I talked to him at Colts training camp a couple times. Really, really good dude, and this couldn't have happened to a better person. So I said on Twitter the other day I mean I think it's the proudest I've ever been for an NFL player just because you know this is the first guy I've really known and knowing him like I do and and uh you know just seeing him kind of take advantage of that opportunity I think it was great and and yeah he's a really talented player and we saw it on Sunday so hopefully going forward with Max's big injury and uh he can you know operate in a really good timeshare

with Jordan Wilkins and Nightmind and keep this running back field on pace. I think the one thing I noticed about Williams and his running style, we haven't seen it much, of course, because I haven't had the time to play much, Zach, but I think just how aggressive he is with going through the tackles and really just the yards after contact, especially, just being

an aggressive runner. I feel like that's kind of an element that Colts rushing attack has been missing for a little bit I know Marlon Mack's an aggressive runner himself but I feel like Jonathan Williams takes that takes to another level himself just the way he's able to run that ball what's your thoughts on the way he runs the ball Zach because I feel like he's kind of a an element that I kind of like and after seeing what he did on Sunday I kind of hope that even moving forward once Mack is healthy we continue to see Williams in his rotation yeah certainly you know back to his college days or even early in the NFL when he was playing a little bit, he's never really been the greatest athlete.

You know, he's never going to be a long-speed guy, which we kind of saw when he got caught in his long run. He's never really been a long-speed guy. He's never going to be the quickest player even. But he has great vision, and he runs with, you know, some of the best power in the league even. I mean, maybe not in the league. That's a little bit of a stretch.

But he's a very strong player. You know, he puts his head down, he gets low to the ground, and he runs through contact. He's not afraid of mixing up in there. And that's kind of what you get out of these bomb-of-the-roster type running backs and players. You know, they're not afraid of contact, and they're going to fight for every inch.

And we kind of saw, you know, a couple times, especially towards the goal line, I think he had an eight- or nine backs and players. You know, they're not afraid of contact, and they're going to fight for every inch. And we kind of saw, you know, a couple times, especially towards the goal line, I think he had an eight- or nine-yard run near the goal line that set the Colts up pretty well for a one-yard touchdown, where he ran through, like, multiple guys. I just think he's a really powerful runner. He's got great vision and burst, and he keeps his body low to the ground.

And he's also a really good pass blocker, which I think will come into play a lot these next couple weeks so we'll see how his role kind of comes into fruition here the next couple weeks with Marlon Mack out but this past weekend I mean that that was as good as you're going to get I mean if he can even give you you know half of that every single week then you've got a really good player on your hands so yeah I think he brings a new dynamic to this roster I did talk about that a lot in the offseason, how they never really had that power back. Even though Wilkins is a hard runner as well,

they haven't had that power back in a while. So having him kind of on the bottom of the roster for that role, that power back with good vision, I think that he's definitely going to carve out a role for himself. I think he's a good player, and he definitely deserves snaps. Yeah, speaking of that Marlon Mack injury, Zach, really unfortunate timing for this because Merlin Mack has a fractured hand, the carrying dominant hand he

uses to run the ball. He's going to be out at least a couple weeks from what it sounds like. Definitely going to be out Thursday against the Houston Texans. What kind of blows to the Colts offense here? Mack's been the bell cow the last two months of the year, getting almost 20 touches per game over that span. What do you think is going to happen to the Colts' offense now, Zach,

with Mack out probably for the next three or four weeks? And do you think Jonathan Williams and Jordan Wilkins can handle that load? Yeah, so I do want to preface this by saying I think Marlon Mack has been having an outstanding season. I think that, you know, he's been a fringe top ten running back this year because he's just been creating so much yardage for himself. Even when the play really isn't necessarily there, he's been making plays happen. He's been excellent all season, and hopefully he can get healthy and be ready for the late playoff push

here because the Colts really need him back. But that being said, I don't really see too much of a drop-off in the Colts' running game. We've seen it this whole year. Jordan Wilkins is a very talented runner. He has great vision, some of the best vision I've even ever seen out of a drop-off in the Colts running game. I think, you know, we've seen it this whole year, you know, Jordan Wilkins is a very talented runner. He has great vision, some of the best vision I've even ever seen out of a running back. I mean, I'm not even going to say that lightly. I mean, he always finds a hole at the seams, and he's got phenomenal vision. But other aspects, you know, he's a very quick player, he's a shifty player, he runs hard. And same with Jonathan Williams, you know, he runs hard, he hits the hole, and he's powerful to run through contact. I really like these two running backs, and I't think it's going to be quite at the level quick runs or anything like that, he's really talented. So I think Chris Fowler's done a great job building up the depth behind Marlon Mack to where they can survive him being out for a couple weeks with an injury.

So, you know, hopefully they get back Marlon Mack. He's been outstanding this year. He's been a Pro Bowl running back, you know, fringe top 10 player in his position this season easily, in my opinion. But I do think these three guys they have behind them are all capable of the task, and I think they're going to be, you know, more than ready for this. I think they're going to fill in just fine.

Yeah, pivoting for a second, Zach, over to the offensive line, because they definitely had a lot to do with the rushing attack on Sunday, the 263 yards that Mack and Williams and the rest of the guys put up on Sunday. What was your overall opinion of the offensive line's performance on Sunday in rushing the ball and passing? Because it seemed like Mark Lewinsky kind of had his moments, Brayden Spith had his moments of inconsistency too. But the rushing attack, I feel like that's been the one solid thing this year

is that this Colts rushing attack, the offensive line, they've gotten a lot better at run blocking over the last year or so, it seems like. Yeah, you know, they look very inspired, and they look back to their kind of mean, nasty mentality they were at last year. I'm not saying that they weren't like that for most of this year either, but

you know, the past couple weeks just wasn't great for this offensive line. So seeing them kind of come out with this emphasis on running the ball, moving really well on their pulls and getting out in space, and also just running through a pretty talented Jaguars defense. Obviously, they're not as great as what they were a couple years ago, but it's a pretty good Jags defense.

The Colts were able to kind of just mow right through them with this offensive line, this running attack. So I think they were great in that department. And then in pass blocking, it wasn't outstanding. But I think, again, overall against a pass- pass rushing unit that features Josh Allen, Klyas Campbell, Yannick Ngokwe I think that's you know that's a pretty good pass rush so I think only giving up two sacks and a couple hurries for them overall is a pretty good day so I think that they did all right in pass blocking but you know getting back to the roots last year and being

phenomenal and run blocking and paving the way for those 264 yards on the ground. I think just an outstanding day for the offensive line. They definitely needed this to get back on track after those past couple weeks. the color blue. Blue Chew brings you the first chewable of the same FDA-approved active ingredients as Viagra and Cialis so you know they work. You can take them anytime, day or night, even on a full stomach. And since they're chewable,

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for all your latest information on Blue Chew. Oh, that's for sure, especially over the last three or four weeks where it's kind of been a hit and miss with the offensive line

where they've been as far as elite goes. I think they're an elite offensive line group in this league, and they proved that for sure on Sunday. But I wanted to ask you about Jacoby Berset, your Zach, and the way you played on Sunday. I know it didn't really show much in the box score there. Went around 150 passing yards.

Didn't really do much outside of the system. But a couple reps I saw was him taking some deep shots outside, probably a secondary option there. I think for both those were Zach Paschal. I think T.Y. Hill, when he goes out there, probably makes both those catches. But is it a promising sign, Zach, that they're kind of taking some more deep shots? Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, I wouldn't call myself the biggest detractor of Jacoby Brissett

by any means, but I think I'm one of those people who's wanted to see a little bit more from him. I think there's definitely been some areas where he could really improve from being, you know, an average game manager type quarterback. And, and even though this game wasn't phenomenal from him in any way, I think this was one of his better games this season, just because we saw him confidently attacking downfield, like doing the things that he was also doing well, you're, you know,

moving well in the pocket and finding his check downs quickly. But when you add in that he was being aggressive downstairs or down, downfield, he was being confident as well in the pocket, outside the pocket. I think he did a lot of things this week that even his biggest attractors were saying that he wasn't doing well. You know, it doesn't matter if you complete every single deep shot, you know, the guy doesn't need to be wide open. Just, you know, show a defense that you're willing to throw the ball down the field and throw it down confidently and accurately. And those two deep

shots to Paschal were that. I mean, even though one of them was intercepted, it was just, you know, a freak play by that cornerback. It hit the back of his hand and went right to the safety. But I like that he was being aggressive downfield. And, and you know you got to be okay with interceptions at that point because it it's kind of the the push pull with being aggressive quarterback plays about mixing conservative plays with being aggressive and and I like that he was able to take some shots in this one even though it didn't really work out for big plays so hopefully going forward when he gets Paris Campbell and Devin Funches and T.Y. Hilton back he can keep that aggressiveness and kind of take those shots on the field

because I think they're going to work out more with those guys. But I really liked what he did. You know, the touchdown at the one-yard line was great on fourth and one, and a couple other plays he did were great out there. But I really liked that he was attacking downfield on this one. Let me ask you this, Zach, because I think now we're officially at the halfway mark, what Jacoby said. This is not eight full games he's played this season for the Colts.

They're a starting quarterback. And the more I watch him, the more I see Frank Reich in the science talking to Jacoby Brissett. I feel like Frank Reich's completely bought into Jacoby Brissett as this future quarterback if he wants to. Chris Bauer, we've heard him talk about him before in the past, how much he likes Jacoby. I saw Jim Irsay tweet today about Jacoby Brissett, a quote that video up in the locker room, that speech he had. Our locker room leader, he said in the tweet, do you feel like at this point, Zach, that if the Colts, I mean, it kind of showed on Sunday they can win in that kind of style,

running the ball like they've been talking about all year, but do you feel like through eight games that this Colts team, if we had this eight-game sample size, that they would confidently build around Jacoby Brissett? Or what do you think they'd do as far as that goes, through an eight-game sample size? If I think what they're going to do, I definitely think they believe in Jacoby Brissett. I mean, from everything they've told us,

and honestly, you know, I know a lot of people complain about the Colts for being secretive at some things, which they are, but for the most part, when you compare it to most other organizations, this Colts organization is pretty open with their fan base. You know, obviously they have to keep some things from the fans, but for the most part, they're pretty open. So I think when they say, you know, Jacoby's our guy going forward

and they believe in Jacoby and they hype him up every week and they release videos of him, you know, I really do think that this isn't just, you know, a way to sell tickets. I think that they truly do believe in this guy. So, yeah, I think going forward, at least in their minds, I don't think that they're going to plan on replacing him anytime soon. I do think they're going to probably take like a senior bowl quarterback in the mid rounds of this next draft, just to develop behind him in case,

you know, an injury were to happen to him or in case he has like a major aggression. But I think, I think they believe in his ability to get better. I think they believe in what he's doing right now. And I think they believe that he's the guy who can win games for him. And honestly, you know, again, I've had my doubts with Jacoby Brissett at times this year, but at the end of the day, the team is performing under him. So obviously I think that he can be better, but there's no reason that he can't get better. So I think going forward, I think the Colts believe in him and if they believe in him there's no reason not to so hopefully he can again be more aggressive take

more shots down the field and get more big plays but for right now I mean the Colts are winning under him and he's playing some decent football so yeah I completely understand why they would want to go forward with him as their quarterback yeah it's certainly going to be something to watch moving forward throughout the rest of the season and throughout the offseason here, as Brissette might be eligible for a contract extension if he had purchased the Colts. I'll be curious to see what they do there. But let's pivot over, Zach, to the defense from the Sunday's game

because, once again, they had a really good performance, 13 points to lag against the Jaguars, and the Colts came back, didn't really do much against the team outside the burst drive where we had D.J. Turk on the touchdown. What's your thoughts on those Colts' defense, Zach? Because if you take out those turnovers from Brian Hoyer and Brissette, those unlucky ones, I would say as far as turnover luck goes, they're only allowing 15 points per game over the last six weeks.

They're really hitting a groove right now ever since the Kansas City game. What do you think that is? And do you think that's going to maintain the rest of the season now? Because I feel like this Colts team, if the offense can maintain here and actually put some points on the board, I think their defense has shown now consistently that they can keep them in games. Yeah, no, the defense has been outstanding. I mean, just overall, you know, and it's funny because they don't really have that big time difference maker. You know,

Justin Houston has done a good job getting a lot of sacks this year and racking up some pressures as well. Darius Leonard has made some timely plays. Kenny Moore and Malik Hooker have also had some timely plays as playmakers, but they don't really have that superstar difference maker this year. With Darius Leonard not playing as well as he did last season, they don't really have that superstar difference maker, and they're not creating a ton of turnovers. But the area that they're just really doing great is just getting off the field on third downs and red zone defense. And I think that, you know, anyone who follows the NFL will tell you those are those are the two biggest areas for a defense. You know, you don't have to win the

turnover battle every game with defense. You don't need to really win any other area. Just get them off the field on third down and stop them in the red zone and give your offense a chance. And this defense has done a great job the past couple weeks. I mean, I think since that Kansas City game, they've had five of those six games that held the opponent under 20 points. And that's not saying they've been perfect. You know, obviously against Denver, there was a lot of penalties on the defense. You know, and other games as well, they had their moments where they gave up some big plays.

But they know when to buckle it down, when to force a three and out, or when to get off the field. And they know when to shut it down in the red zone. i think overall i think when you add that stuff together along with timely plays from justin houston and darius leonard and kenny moore i think it's been a really good unit these past five or six weeks they really buckled down since the early season struggles and yeah hopefully they can carry it forward uh you know for the rest of the year they got a couple tough matchups you know they have the texans this week on a short week with a lot of injuries, and they also have the Saints coming up later in the year.

But definitely a big test for them the rest of the season to see if they're legit or not. But right now, especially these last six weeks, they've been the top ten defense in football. So you can't really complain too much about what they're doing. They've really turned it around. They've been excellent these last five or six weeks. I wanted to hit on, before we go into our Texans preview

and really talk about the injuries as well, because they're really decimating the Colts right now from all angles. We have about 10, 11 guys in the injury report. We could miss Thursday's game, which is an incredible number. But you look at this Colts defense, and Kenny More than was a star on Sunday, Zach, because the game he had eight tackles, one tackle for loss, one pass deflection, a quarterback hit in the sack. All in the box score there, of course, and just all-around impact from Kenny Moore.

I think that was the best game from Kenny Moore this year. I think that kind of game showed why Colts fans, or why Chris Bauer paid Kenny Moore and made him the highest-paid slot corner in the NFL. Oh, yeah, for sure. And, you know, early in the year, even I, the biggest Kenny Moore supporter in the world, I mean, I've talked about this guy since early last season as one of the best players on the team and one of my favorite players on the team. But, you know, early this year, he really wasn't having quite the impact

that he had last season. I'm not saying that he was bad by any means, but he was not really making the plays or being the difference maker that he was last year. But these last five or six weeks, he's been outstanding, and he's really returned to form and been that difference maker. I think he's got two sacks, one interception, a couple pass breakups, a couple tackles for a loss.

I mean, he's one of the most reliable tacklers in the league as a corner. So when you add all that together, I think he's just been great this year. And I think that he's one of the most irreplaceable players on this team. I mean, this team, especially his defense, just does not function the same without him. So seeing him kind of return to what he was doing in 2018 with all the plays he was making, I think that was big for this defense and a big reason why they got the win on Sunday.

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And for away promo code, use the promo code locked on, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N. Now, before we go into the Houston game, Zach, I think it's the biggest game of the year, of course, with the division invitation on the line. And really the winner of this game controls the destiny for the AFC South in a home playoff game in January. But I'm going to go through today's injury report for a second, Zach, because you have Molly Cox on the injury report,

Anthony Costanzo, Eric Ebron, Clayton Gathers, who's resting, T.Y. Hilton, Marlon Mack, George Odom, Shaq Taylor, Jordan Wilkins, Kari Willis, Rakia Seen, Paris Campbell, and Pierre Desir. That is not a novel I read. That is the Colts injury report because that's a lot of players and a lot of important ones. What do you think about this, Zach? Because it seems like they're going to be very shorthanded Thursday,

and especially without Marlon Mack up there. I think this team desperately needs T.Y. Hilton Thursday. Yeah, you know, and I don't know if we should hold our breath for that because he still hasn't even practiced yet since the injury happened. So, yeah, it's going to be a tough week. I mean, almost the whole team's injured. I think, you know, when you look at that, you can take a couple guys off. You know, I think Anthony Costanzo and Jordan Wilkins, you know, playing gatherers.

I think a lot of those guys go. But, yeah, I mean, it would be great to get either Desir or Campbell back. But overall, it's going to be a tough week regardless. I mean, that's a lot of injuries, a lot of key players. So we'll see what happens going forward. But hopefully we can get a couple of these guys playing this week because it's a really big game, and you'd like to have as many guys as possible.

You don't want to have active players that are injured like that Patriots game last year. Yeah, both teams, the Colts and Texans, were 6-4 at the moment, Zach. They played Thursday night, primetime, only game on, so national TV audience for everyone to watch this one. I think for the Colts especially, this is a huge game because if you win this one, Zach, you're going to control your destiny, and the Texans play the week after this, the New England Patriots, so you can go in if you beat the Texans, then the Titans the next week after that. You're entering December with a two-game lead over everyone else in the AFC South.

So I think this game, if the Colts can pull it off, Zach, I think it really puts into not nailing the coffin, so to say, but it really puts them in a driver's seat for the AFC South. Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, they kind of need that because they blew a perfect opportunity with the Steelers game and the Dolphins game to really get that big lead. So not saying the season was over when they lost to the Dolphins and the Steelers, but you kind of have to win these tough games against divisional opponents.

So, yeah, it's definitely on their shoulders now to win those games and really put themselves in the driver's seat for division for sure. Now, what do you think, Zach, as far as this game goes, the Texans, they have a high-powered offense. Their defense is now without JJ Woff in the first meeting. They got shut down in Baltimore on Sunday. What do you think needs to happen for this team to move to 7-4 on the year and really play a dent in the Texans' playoff chances?

Well, the biggest aspect is the defense needs to play like they've been playing these past few games, and maybe even better. I mean, I don't even know if they can give up as many points as they did to the Texans the first time around. Even though they had a really good game against the Texans, I would like to see it a little bit tighter than they were in that first matchup. But offense, I think the offense just needs to come alive again like they did last time. You know, we were saying before that first Texans matchup,

we don't want to get into a shootout with the Texans. But, you know, I want to see the offense kind of come alive a little bit. I know that they might be a little bit hampered without, you know, Paris Campbell, Devin Funchess, and T.Y. Hilton. But, you know, open up the offense, attack down the field a little bit, and you can rely on that running game a bit. So I hope they can take advantage of this Texans defense that has been pretty poor since J.J. Watt left, or since J.J. Watt got injured, I should say.

But, yeah, I think it's going to be a tough game. But I think that the Colts definitely have the firepower, even with all these injuries, to compete and even win. What would you say, Zach, before I let you go here, your prediction for this game? Because, of course, it's a must-win game for the Colts. They want to win the AFC South here. But I think this is one of those games, of course, outside maybe New Orleans, too, where you could drop a game here and still be in the playoff race thickly throughout the rest of the season.

What's your prediction now for the shorthanded team going into Thursday? So my prediction probably is not going to make many people happy just because, again, with all the injuries they have right now, I just think it's going to be tough, especially on a short week against a team that's not really great. I'm not saying the Texans are that great of a team, but, you know, on the road against a divisional team with one of the better quarterbacks in the league, I think that's just a really tough matchup,

especially with all the injuries. So, you know, if I had to say right now, I'd probably say something like 24-20 Texans. That can definitely change if the Colts get some good news on the injury front. You know, maybe T.Y. Hilton or Paris Campbell or Pierre Desir play. Even one of those guys play, or two or three of them even, I think that could change. But as of right now, I'd say like 24 to 20 Texans in this one. I totally actually agree with you there, Zach. I was going to say 24, 20 Texans in myself. I feel this is one of those losses that the Colts can take because they have

the ability of dropping another one. But they definitely don't have a lot of room here because they lost to the Dolphins and the Steelers. So you can't really afford to lose another game here. But I think it's going to be a close one. I think Deshaun Watson could be the difference maker here. But if T.Y. Hilton does play on Thursday and they get maybe a running game from Jonathan Williams and Jordan Wilkins going again, no turnovers. I could really see the Colts winning this one. But I think it's going to be a close loss for them 24-20. But as always, guys, you can follow Zach on Twitter,

add Zach Hicks too. You can read his work over at St. Pete Blue as well. Zach, appreciate your time as always. Yeah, man. Thanks for having me on as always.