Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 12/18/19: Understanding why the Colts' season spiraled out of control with Kevin Bowen

Episode Date: December 18, 2019

On today's episode, Kevin Bowen of 1070 The Fan returns to go over the Colts' horrendous stretch the past two months. Also, we look ahead to a very important offseason for GM Chris Ballard and Co.First up, how did Indianapolis even get in this position after 5-2? Simply put, their winning ways weren't sustainable. Especially with a below-average QB, the margin for error is nearly nonexistent.How about Jacoby Brissett? Wow, there's a lot of ground to cover with this stunning regression. He isn't the Colts' long-term answer, that's been cemented. Bowen believes the Colts should be aggressive in the 2020 Draft to find their new QB.This is an episode you won't want to miss, Colts fans. Tons of ground covered in this one with one of the best in the local market in Kevin Bowen. 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 guest is Evan Setter and Joe Bay. Our guest on the show, a very special guest. He's been on last month, and you should know him from Kevin's Corner. You should know him from 1070 The Fan, 1075 The Fan. You can also go to the Colts games, too. You'll actually see him in the program, surprisingly enough.

I actually saw last night, Kevin. The local celebrity, Kevin Bellenheit, into that. I totally forgot about the program ad. Yeah, thank you to my colleagues at 107.5thefan.com for getting me in that program. So doing great, Evan. Always enjoy hopping on with you, man, and glad we're able to do that here to kind of wrap up the regular season.

Yeah, appreciate the time, Kevin. And the last time we talked, we were just talking about off the air before we started here. I appreciate the time, Kevin. And the last time we talked, we were just talking about it off the air before we started here. I believe that it was the Pittsburgh game the last time we talked, going into that one, or maybe right after that. They were 5-2 or 5-3. And after that, they've won one game since then over the last seven weeks,

a 1-6 stretch. And the season's just gone completely off the rails for this team, Kevin. If you had to point out a couple things, what's stood out to you so far over this stretch where at one point you were talking about maybe a first-round bye for this Colts team. Now they're officially out of the playoffs now. Yeah, obviously crazy how everything can change in a hurry. You know, going into that Pittsburgh game at the start of November,

you're feeling really, really good and everything unraveled. And, you know, if you go back to that Pittsburgh game specifically, you continue to have kicking issues. Jacoby Bursette gets hurt. T.Y. Hilton, you know, gets hurt. And I just don't think that when you combine kicking issues with this team having to rely on more of a depth roster-wise, they just haven't been able to play winning football with those things continuing to factor in. And it's disappointing to see because Pittsburgh's dealing with its own injuries. I don't care who you're playing. You can play 10 practice squad guys.

You should still be able to beat Miami at home the week after that. And then when you started to face some tougher teams, you know, I think defensively you started to get exposed a bit. You know, the big plays against Houston, great balance that Tennessee was able to achieve against you. And then the last two weeks, your past defense has just been absolutely shredded. Then once Jacoby's gotten back, you know, you've obviously had the inconsistent quarterback play there.

So, I mean, those are some of the factors that we point to. When you were five and two, you were surviving. Maybe a couple of those areas that you saw a yellowish red flag kind of flare up. But I think what we thought, or at least what I thought at the start of the year, is this team was maybe a 500 footballfootball team, maybe a game below, and that kind of turned out to be what's happened here through the first 14 games. I was just about to ask you that, Kevin.

Glad I brought that last point because the point differential for this team through the first seven games is only plus seven, and that's a very low margin for a team that's had a 5-2 record. But since then, over the last seven games, it's at minus 33. Do you feel just this team wasn't sustainable with the way they were winning early on in the season, just the way they were just clawing these wins out against inferior opponents, not really blowing teams out, doing the little things to really not make mistakes, and after that just kind of did the exact opposite there?

I feel like just the way the season started, and you look back on it a little bit more, I feel like maybe it just wasn't sustainable. Yeah, I could not agree more with that. I actually wrote an article on 107.5 thefan.com I'm pretty sure after uh after the five and two start you know is this team playing with fire a bit with all these one possession games and where is that fine line and saying oh you're finding ways to win and you didn't do that early last season which is true but then also saying hey hey let's pump the brakes yes they're finding a to win, but that doesn't mean this is a team

that's going to contend in the month of January. And, you know, obviously, as it's turned out, they won't even get to the month of January. So it was a question that I definitely had. I just didn't feel like we saw what we needed to see from this football team early in the year to make me think they were a legit January contender. Now, did I expect them, with two games to go in the regular season, to be officially eliminated from the playoffs and virtually eliminated last week?

Not at all. It's definitely fallen off a cliff a lot faster than I thought it would. But I did think when this is a 5-2 team, if you looked at past NFL history, teams that start with so many one possession games, they rarely are able to sustain those winning ways or even, you know, flip the script and turn into teams or turn into a team that starts kind of blowing teams out. So when you haven't had,

or you didn't have any of that evidence early in the year, I think there was reason to be skeptical. But again, having said that, I never thought they'd lose, you know, 6 of 7. Really, in a schedule that, yes, New Orleans is a great team. But, you know, I think entering the New Orleans game, you played like the 26th or 27th easiest schedule. So it hasn't been anywhere near as daunting of a schedule as we thought it would be. Let's get to the guy himself, the Pro Bowl alternate, actually,

which shocked me when I saw it last night. But Jacoby Brissett, over his last five games, has really gone off a cliff here. 202 yards per game, only four touchdowns, three interceptions. A gross 6.4 yards per attempt, too. Just doing the front office itself, I don't know if you've had the chance to talk to anyone there, but also that and your own personal opinion,

just how much has Jacoby Brissett kind of stained his first six weeks of the season and that maybe the Colts now are looking more towards the draft than ever or maybe free agency for a quarterback? Because at this point, I just don't know how they aren't looking at options now, Kevin, because, I mean, he has a very good start to the season, of course, no turnovers and a lot, but this is just like 2017 to me, Kevin. He's regressing really horribly down the stretch here. I think, guys, more teams get more tape on Bursette in this system.

They're really just daring him to beat him on the outside, and he just can't do that. Yeah, and certainly Monday was his worst performance, you know, missing some throws that you just can't miss, particularly in that environment. So I think the Colts are looking into the 2020 quarterback class, you know, in a much more deep manner than they have in previous years. And then I think when the season ends, you'll explore other options, free agency trades, things like that. And you have to do that. If you didn't do that, it'd be an extreme malpractice handling of the situation. So their public comments about Jacoby Bursette, while they do really, really like him, and I believe a lot of what Frank Reich has said,

don't think for one second that Frank Reich's going to all of a sudden say publicly, yeah, we need to start looking into 2020 quarterbacks. Frank Reich in the regular season could not be more in tune with his current situation, his current football team, only worried about that game coming up every Sunday. Like, Frank Reich doesn't need, I'd be shocked if Frank Reich has watched 2020 draft quarterback tape. You just, you can't do that. You're gonna have plenty of time to get a hold of that after the season ends. So I'm not, you know, I know people are freaking out about the Booger McFarlane comment after the game or during the game on Monday night about Jacoby Bursette.

But I don't expect much different, you know, publicly from what the Colts are going to say. This is more on Chris Bowden and his scouting staff to present, you know, what their findings are in the quarterback group once the offseason arrives. And then it'll be on Frank Reich and Nick Sirianni to join in that evaluation process. So having said all that, I think the Colts definitely like Jacoby Brissett more than the public opinion likes him, or at least what I think the public opinion is on him. But still, I don't think that all of a sudden means, oh my gosh, you're not going to draft a quarterback to the seventh round, or they're going to, they feel good about Jacoby Reset, Brian Hoyer, and Chad Kelly going into next year with all three of them under contract. I don't think it means that at all. You've got to do some intense homework, the most intense homework you're going to do for probably any

move you will make in the Chris Bauer and Frank Reich era. And that is an all-encompassing decision with probably Jim Irsay's input as well that will greatly shape the next five to ten years of this franchise. If you're looking for a last-minute fun sports gift for the holidays, go to BreakingTea.com slash LockedOn. Breaking Tea makes sports t-shirts around teams' passionate moments. It's great for all fans. Go to BreakingTea.com slash LockedOn and feel free to search the site

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B-L-U-E-Chew.com the promo code LOCKEDON L-O-C-K-E-D-O and to try it absolutely free. BlueChew is the better, cheaper, faster choice. Anything for sponsoring the podcast. Yeah, let me ask you, Kevin, because we have three months of tape on Jacoby Bursette, 12 full games so far, and we have two more

to go here. Just from what you've seen on tape and from what you've seen in person at the games, just do you think that you have any confidence that if the Colts, let's say, draft, go all-in on wide receivers and playmakers in the draft and free agency and build an offense around Jacoby Brissett, do you have confidence in Jacoby Brissett to lead this team deep in the playoffs when you see Deshaun Watson, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, these all young mid-20s guys, 22 to 24? Do you think there's any chance to clear Bursette

if you try to build an offensive round, can actually go toe-to-toe with those kind of guys? I don't have that confidence, and I don't have that confidence when you're talking about sustaining that sort of success over a five-ish, 10-year period. You know, think about skilled positions in the NFL. You know, for the most most part there's about a three to five year cycle with that skill group some guys might stay longer but some guys might get hurt or

Michael Elser I mean think about how much turnover the Patriots have had at their skill positions around Tom Brady over the years I mean you will very rarely find a wide out that's been there for a long long period of time or even a consistent core you know that's been there for a long, long period of time, or even a consistent core, you know, that's been there for that long. Certainly the running back group seemingly changes every year for the Patriots. So I think it puts so much pressure on the rest of your team when you have to get all those other elements perfect, or at least close to perfect, and then you're hoping to rely on, you know, solid quarterback play to get you to make those runs. Obviously, you know, you're trying to build the most balanced roster on every side of the football and have an elite quarterback to go with that. That is certainly the ideal scenario. And,

you know, I think what we have to acknowledge is this, trying to find the next Mahomes or the next Watson that is really really hard to do I mean it's it's you know nearly impossible it's not impossible but it's it's difficult it is really really difficult it's why the teams so many teams around the league have been searching for quarterbacks for eons and And so that's what the Colts, I think, have to acknowledge. This is going to be difficult. But just because it's going to be difficult doesn't mean that we can sit here and stand pat. That's how I kind of have to look at this situation, in my opinion.

Because when you're talking about needs for this team, do I think there's a nice kind of solid amount of depth? Certainly. But I think that there needs to be more quality depth. And especially, I think there needs to be a couple more kind of high-end players. You know, when you look at, you know, for example, pro bowlers for the 2019 Colts, obviously you see Nelson and Leonard very deserving. But, you know, outside of that, I just don't know who else you would say. I think Kenny Moore deserved a little bit more recognition than he got. You know, Justin Houston maybe, but he's not going to be here, you know,

for the next, you know, three or four years. It's not like he's a long-term piece for you. So that's why I kind of look at it's something what Houston has done well. Houston might not have the overall depth, 1-53, but, you know, in DeAndre Hopkins and Deshaun Watson, they've got two flat-out studs at key spots, and when J.J. Watts healthy, you know, obviously he is that as well. So I think that's how the Colts have to view quarterback here in the offseason. This is an interesting question for you, Kevin, just because I feel like Chris Bauer was preaching this after they retired Andrew Luck, and I know it's a very sudden change to go from him to Jacoby Brissett,

but a top three quarterback to a top 20, top 25 quarterback, but he said very often after that that they had an elite roster they could still compete in, and I think it's been proven so far this year without an elite quarterback, they just can't be a playoff contender. We saw with New Orleans this year how good of a roster they have. Teddy Bridgewater steps in for five games, they go undefeated over that stretch. How close do you think the Colts are to actually having an elite roster, Kevin? Because I just feel like you see teams like New Orleans, Kansas City, New England, all these elite rosters that can sustain injuries.

And when the Colts had a couple injuries happen to them this year, it kind of went off the rails there. So what do you think the Colts can do to really build out this roster a little more? Yeah, it's definitely a good question, Evan. I think when – maybe I said this on your podcast I've certainly said on mine you know I felt like okay when this question was asked to me you know late off season I felt like the Colts were maybe in kind of like the 8 to 12 range roster wise like not and that was probably with with Andrew Luck I just didn't think there was enough of that talent.

Again, you go back to pro bowlers. I mean, Baltimore has 12 pro bowlers, and that is an insane amount. You could maybe make the case for the Colts to have one or two more, and that is really stretching it. So I think that when you talk about a higher-end talent on your roster, certainly the receiver position is an area. You look at defensive tackle and defensive end. Defensive tackle probably more than end, needs some help, you know, corner. And really, I think the secondary in general has been a disappointing position group for you this season. But when you play the scheme that you do, if you

don't have impactful defensive talent, you're going to get exposed. And the Colts have been exposed here over the past month or so. Offensively, you could throw another tight end in the room alongside Jack Doyle. You know, the O-line could maybe use another body, albeit, you know, how important is that other body is probably a bit debatable just because you have other more pressing needs. But I mean, those are some of the areas that I point to on this defense that could use, I think, a little bit more than, I guess, really defense and offense that could use a little bit more significant resources put into those respective positions. I think also, Kevin, just how intriguing this option is going to be

for Chris Ballard is really on the top of my mind here because he's a guy who's all draft, doesn't really want to spend much in free agency. But I think Andrew Luck retiring really changes the whole team's timeline just because I don't see a lot of free agents that they have on their team coming back this year. Outside of maybe a guy Jabal Sheard or maybe Anthony Costanzo for sure, I think everyone else is probably going to walk this year in my opinion just because they can really reap the benefits and just reload and really change their window overall because Andrew Luck is not going to be walking through our door anymore,

I don't think. But I really wonder how important this offseason is to you, just from your vantage point, Kevin, for Chris Bauer, because I feel this might be a year where his philosophies might have to change a little bit. Well, it's the most important offseason he'll ever have as a general manager. You know, rightfully so or not, you are shaped or you are viewed as a GM is probably what you've done in the quarterback position. You know, there are other

moves that are critical, but, you know, John Schneider, for all the success he's had in finding other talents outside of Russell Wilson, drafting Wilson in the third round is the reason why Seattle's had the success it has had and why they are viewed as probably the best personnel department in the NFL. So I think, you know, obviously finding guys like Leonard, finding guys like Nelson, that is huge. But if you don't have a quarterback, you're probably not going to be lasting too, too long. So this is a massive, massive offseason. You know, if there's a nice benefit to things from a contractual standpoint, if you're able to find the Watson, the Mahomes, and the Jackson type of guy, and again, that's an incredibly high bar, but more so what I mean by that is,

can you find a starting quarterback that's on a rookie contract? You're going to have plenty of money in free agency over the next, you know, five or six off seasons until you have to pay that quarterback a second contract. So that should allow you to continue to have a large amount of cap space. You know, Chris Ballard found some success with Justin Houston this offseason. You know, obviously the Devin Funchess injury, very unfortunate there. But I think he's got to continue to look at free agency, realize if you evaluate well and you find the right fit, don't hesitate to pay, you know, premium dollar.

Because as you look at the draft and you realize, oh boy, if I have to move up for a quarterback and that takes away this and that pick, and that pick, then all of a sudden, you don't have the same sort of draft capital and resources to be able to go out and, you know, cross off, you know, 80% of your needs in the draft, and also, I think what we're seeing as well is Chris Bauer's a really good drafter, but there's been some definite misses, and it's difficult to just routinely hit on draft picks. You know, Quincy Wilson, you know, if you look back at that 2017 draft, I mean, two of your first three picks are pretty much bust. And Lee Cooker, there was a question about him, you know, earning a second contract here in Indianapolis. You know, 2018, obviously Leonard Studd, Nelson

Studd, Braden Smith, really good find. You know, Torres had the injuries. Taequann Lewis, you don't really know just yet. In 2019, it's probably too early, but there hasn't been, you know, I think, you know, you haven't seen necessarily like Pro Bowl caliber talent in year one, which, again, I know it's very, very early, but just goes to show you, it's really, really early, but just goes to show you, it's really,

really hard to find draft picks and have them come in here and immediately contribute for you. So that's why I think free agency cannot be viewed as just this, oh my gosh, no, that is a terrible avenue to go down to explore. I think if you want to build a championships caliber football team, roster building has to include both the draft and free agency. The original Casper mattress combines multiple supportive memory foams for a quality sleep service for the right amounts of both sink and bounce. Give 100 hours off towards select mattresses by visiting casper.com slash lockednfl at checkout.

Terms and conditions may apply. If you can't visit Casper right now, you can find this and all their offers from Locked On Sponsor, lockededOnPodcast.com slash offers. But in the meantime, if you have the time, go ahead and go to Casper.com slash LockedNFL for a new mattress. This is a hypothetical question for you, Kevin. I'm putting the GM hat on you for a second here because I just think it's this tricky possibility for the Colts on draft night here. If they do lose out, I don't know if they will or not. It could be a top 10 pick.

7-9 probably gets you top 15. Let's say, for example, Tua Tagovailolo is slipping on the board a little bit because of his hip injury. Do you think the Colts would consider trading up in that scenario just because the quarterback is such a big need for this team in my opinion, I think in your opinion as well. What do you think the Colts should do in that scenario? Let's say a top quarterback is slipping on that board.

Chris Bowers should go out of his laurels and trade some assets away because we haven't seen him do that yet. No, we haven't. But, again, having said that, finding a quarterback is totally different than finding any other player or position. Like, you do everything you can. If you fall in love with a quarterback, you cannot sit there and expect that quarterback just to fall to you.

Like, you've got to make sure. Because you never know. I mean, you know, there was a lot of talk I think in New Orleans that they were going to take Patrick Mahomes back in that 20 was it 2017 draft um I think that's when they took Marshawn Lattimore I mean can you imagine how much that would have changed the two franchises in Kansas City and New Orleans. So you never know which other team has scouted that quarterback and fallen in love with that player. Having said that, I think when you look at Tua, it's just such a medical thing.

I mean, from an accuracy standpoint, he certainly checks the box, and Frank Reich loves that trait more than anything for an elite-level quarterback. But I'd have to be sold on that medical you know and resold and resold and resold because we've seen the injury history at Alabama you know he's a guy that does make some plays with his legs so certainly you know he's exposing his body a little bit more um and you just went through you know even late in the Peyton Manning years but in the Andrew Luck years as well some significant injury situation so that would be my hesitancy

there but I I don't think Chris Ballard would be scared to move up they I deep down I think he realizes what it means to have a quarterback and he also knows that if you think that guy's going to get to you don't be so sure because nowadays I think people look at what Houston did look what Kansas City did look what Baltimore did and think and I should say primarily Kansas City and Houston and think wow they took a risk and it paid off let's try and take a risk ourselves totally agree with in that point Kevin I think the Colts need to take some sort of risks this offseason, especially that quarterback position. But I wanted to ask you as well, because of the show,

I appreciate the time as always, Kevin, about Frank Wright. Because I know I've seen some really unwarranted criticism, my opinion about Frank Wright this year. I know some of it is due to him. I know especially that Monday night game was special on him for not having that team ready. But I feel like offensively, a lot of the play calling issues, I'm noticing it more and more each week.

I don't know about you, Kevin, but it just seems like he knows that his quarterback is an issue for this offense. So that's why he's being so conservative offensively with his play calling issues. I'm noticing it more and more each week. I don't know about you, Kevin, but it just seems like he knows that his quarterback is an issue for this offense, so that's why he's being so conservative offensively with his play calling. What's been your thoughts on Frank Reich this year and his offensive play calling? Yeah, you know, I do think he knows the personnel that he has, and that's played into even probably a little bit more of a run emphasis. And, you know, I couple this with the wide receiver injuries as well having said

that I still think there's been some shots down the field you know maybe we didn't see it as much against New Orleans but you know obviously Tampa Bay was probably a little bit more down the field than they've thrown um there's been other times where they've dialed up those sorts of things um and I I don't think it's as much of a play-calling thing as it is just Jacoby's kind of lack of, you know, pumping it or wanting to pump it 15 to 20 yards down the field. I mean, if you look at, you know, Hilton's yards per reception, I mean, it's at like 10.

I mean, he usually is like a 16 or 17-yard guy. So I think it's more so to do with, with the quarterback. Cause I think Frank Reich has been very adamant that when you do find success running the football, that means that you should be able to open up a little bit more from a play action standpoint. And I just, the Colts just haven't been able to really tap into that at all. So, yeah, I mean, you could have questions about, again, Monday Night Football and how ready was that team to execute

in that environment because they weren't. And I think at times we only kind of classify Frank Reich into the play caller. Well, he's also the head coach. Yes, he gives Matt Eberfuss tons of responsibility and Bubba Ventrone tons of responsibility as well. But, you know, you're delegating those things out to those guys, but ultimately you oversee your entire operation. So I think that's why I expected better out of a Frank Reich football team

on Monday night because none of those units showed up in a must-win game. And that's disappointing to see for, again, the head coach of this football team. I think, Kevin, when we first started talking on this podcast back in August, just we were thinking, oh, Andrew Luck's going to be back in a couple weeks and he's going to lead the Colts. And a crazy season indeed happened. Andrew Luck's not here anymore. He retired after that.

All the injuries that happened to this team. Is this the weirdest season you've ever covered for the Colts, Kevin? Oh, boy. I would say yes, just based off the abruptness of Andrew Luck's retirement and then how much we talked about the damn kicking situation. I mean, it was just like every single week we continue to talk about this future Hall of Fame kicker and whether or not he's a kicker or not. So I think when you talk about that and luck, then yes, you know,

2015 was a really, really weird season with all the different quarterbacks who played for this team late that year. Obviously, 2012, you just had the shocking aspect of Chuck Pagano and diagnosed with leukemia. You know, 2011, you had Manning hanging on that 53-man roster for so, so long. And, you know, some people thinking he'd play the month of December. So there are elements of every NFL season that make it the reason why we love the NFL so much. But this one probably takes the cake.

Yeah, I definitely agree with you there. I think just the way it's gone has been incredible. It's been an absolute roller coaster. Five and two start, no Andrew Luck. Now one and six the last seven games. But I'm putting you on the spot here, Kevin, before I close this show, just because I feel like it's an important one to close out on, just because I feel like offensively, defensively, special teams-wise,

it's been a little inconsistent all year. The coaching, maybe a little bit as well. What would be the overall letter grade if you were a teacher and you had to give this Colts team for this year? Oh, I'd probably give it about a C, maybe a C-. Again, before the start of the year, I thought, you know, 8-8, 7-9, and it looks like they're going to finish right around there. So I guess that would be – on my grading scale,

it would be the equivalent to about an average season, about what I expected. So, yeah, that's probably where I would go. You know, the run game has had its moments for sure. The defense has had, you know, a couple games span here or there where they've played particularly pretty good football um but you've had the disaster that is the kicking game and then the quarterback play has been inconsistent the wide receiver play even when healthy that group has struggled to create its own playmaking you can make the argument how much of that is on them or

how much of that is on the quarterback and then then lately we we've really seen this defense, you know, start to, start to sputter a bit. So yeah, I'd probably go C, C minus. You know, again, the question coming into the season was, could this team without an elite quarterback have a roster that was playoff caliber and it hasn't been there. So I don't, I don't see how you can give anything better than about an average to slightly below average grade. This has been fun, Kevin. You guys can follow Kevin on Twitter at KBowen1070.

Read his content always over at 1075and1070thefan.com. And also subscribe to Kevin's Corner, which is I think one of the best Colts podcasts out there. He goes very in-depth with Julie Monaro. It's a very fun listen. So do that every time you can. Listen to Kevin's Corner as well. And also, like I mentioned at the top of the show, time you can listen to Kevin's corner as well. And also,

like I mentioned at the top of the show, if you guys want to grab a program at the next game on Sunday and make sure to tag. Make sure you get a picture of that. Cause he looks like a superstar. So appreciate the time. Evan, Merry Christmas.

Happy new year. If I don't talk to you before then, and thank you for the kind words, man. No problem. Have a good one.