Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 12/19/19: Crossover Special with Locked On Panthers

Episode Date: December 20, 2019

On today's episode, we're joined by Locked On Panthers to go in-depth on this Sunday's game at Lucas Oil Stadium between the Colts and Panthers. Who holds the edge, and where?First up, we talk through an interesting season for Carolina and what could happen next for them during their important offseason. What will happen at quarterback? Plus, Christian McCaffrey could have a field day against this Colts defense.Then, we spend some time on the Colts and what has gone wrong for them lately before diving into our prediction for Sunday. Who will out-tank who this weekend as both teams are sliding badly? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everybody. Welcome back into Locked On Podcast Network. This is your crossover special for the week. I am Evan Sidery of Locked On Colts. I'm joined by Bill Rossetti of Locked On Panthers. How are you doing there, Bill? Good, Evan. How are you, buddy? Good to be here. Yeah, I appreciate the time. I know our listeners always enjoy our crossover specials each week,

and this week is no different. The Colts and the Panthers, unfortunately, for both teams, Bill, they're just going in opposite directions here. Both teams at the same time just going down south very fast. I wanted to ask you, first we're going to start with some Panthers talk, then go to the Colts and close out some predictions here over the next 15, 20 minutes. And for those wondering out there, what's happened this year at the Carolina Panthers and how have they stumbled so badly the last two months?

Yeah, it's just a collection of things. I think really the entire team as a whole really took a step back. Obviously, the injury to Cam Newton at the beginning of the season really hurt this team and really set them back. Even when Cam played in the first couple weeks, you could tell he was just so limited by his injury and it really limited the Panthers' offense. And then while Kyle Allen started pretty strong those first couple games,

he's just been pretty bad, to say the least, to put it bluntly, over the last, say, month or so. Struggling to take care of the football, throwing a lot of interceptions, fumbling a few times, just really hurting the offense and really been hurting their chances to win. And then on the defensive side of the ball, they can't stop the run. They've really struggled in that aspect, which is really surprising with the talent they have on paper. But they've just been gashed week in and week out by opposing running backs. And the secondary has been very inconsistent. It's been a rocky year, especially for Dante Jackson, who I think definitely took a step back or definitely

regressed a bit. He had a really nice rookie season, but he struggled the last few weeks, particularly in the second Atlanta game. We saw him get burned for a couple touchdowns. Last week, he struggled. It's just been a disappointing effort all around. You have a couple of bright spots, obviously, in McCaffrey and DJ Moore, but overall, it's just been frustrating to watch this team just fall apart, really,

in front of our eyes. Yeah, they also fired their coach, Ron Rivera, a couple weeks ago as well. Did that surprise you at all, Bill? It seemed like David Tepper wants to go in a new direction with the entire front office there. What's your raw thoughts on them firing Ron Rivera? Yeah, I was more surprised at the timing when it first happened. I had a feeling it was going to happen. The Panthers, of course, were obviously on the losing streak at the time, and they're still on a losing streak. And I said before the season, if the season goes south,

he is likely out of a job, or at least out of Carolina. And sure enough, that's what happened. That was more Tepper just wanting to be fair with Ron Rivera. He's basically came out and said he's already looking at coaching candidates and he didn't want Ron Rivera to kind of be a sitting duck. He just wanted to be honest with him. So he felt that time was the best time to just move on for all parties. It was just that level of respect that he had for Ron Rivera toa to just say hey i'm gonna go in a different direction i'm not gonna keep you here till the end of the year knowing that i'm gonna let you go i'm just gonna let you go now so

that's just kind of a mutual respect thing and you can just tell how much ron rivera meant to that community you know you saw like the video video clips and the audio clips of all the players just paying their respects to Rivera, not just for what he did on the field, but off the field. Him and his family just did so much for the Carolinas and the Charlotte area. So it was definitely tough to see him go, but there's no question that David Tepper is absolutely moving this team in a different direction.

He wants his hands kind of all over every aspect of this franchise. So it's really going to be interesting to see who he actually brings in as the next head coach. It'll be interesting to see what Ron Rivera happens next for him. I do believe he'll be a head coach in 2020, whether that's with the Giants or whoever the case may be. But I do believe he'll be back in 2020, whether that's with the Giants or whoever the case may be. But I do believe he'll be back in 2020. Moving on here to an interesting subject for Colts fans.

I know they'll be playing them on Sunday. Will Greer is the starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers this Sunday after benching Kyle Allen. Is this surprising to you as well, Bill, because it seemed like Kyle Allen, like we talked about at the start of the show, has really regressed in the last few months. And getting Will Greer at third-round draft pick, you have to see what you have there,

at least until maybe you have to take a quarterback yourself again in 2020. That's exactly what this is, Evan. This is all about evaluation. This is just about seeing what you have. I would say it's not just the quarterback position. They've got to do it across the entire team, really. There's a lot of players that I'd like to see get more reps. But absolutely, Will Greer, you invested a third-round pick in him. You've got to see what you have because you've got a big decision coming in 2020,

whether you go one more year with Cam Newton or whether you feel – and, of course, this is without knowing who the new coaching staff is, so anything's possible. But they've got to see whether they're going to go forward with Cam Newton one more year, or do they feel comfortable with Will Greer or if they're going to have to draft a quarterback pretty early in next year's draft, whether that's a Justin Herbert or whether that's a Jacob Eason,

Jalen Hurts, whoever, whatever the case may be, but you've got to at least give the kid a chance to put some film out there so that the new coaching staff can look at that and say okay we're gonna go in this direction or that direction and you know at least it gives him a fair shot because i mean teams five and nine kyle allen's been struggling there's really no reason at this point not to play will greer you know even if they lose these next two games at least uh i would say at this point not to play Will Greer. You know, even if they lose these next two games,

at least I would say at this point Greer at least gives you a better chance to win. You know, it's just the unknown upside, I guess we'll put it, because Kyle Allen, we know what we have in him now. Kyle Allen is a guy that he's kind of a career backup, really, if you want to put it that way. He's struggled the last few weeks. He had his good moments early in the season, but I think he's kind of regressed to where his career trajectory

is probably going to be. So absolutely, no doubt in my mind, this is a good move to start Will Greer. Christian McCaffrey's obviously had a really good season for the Panthers, and he's honestly at the Panthers' stone contention, probably a top good season for the Panthers, and he's honestly, if the Panthers were still in contention, probably a top MVP candidate with Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson. The guide numbers he's put up this year are in such a high volume. He's only about 150 receiving yards away, I believe, from getting 1,000 and 1,000 for the season.

Just how good is Christian McCaffrey, Bill? Because you have the chance to watch him every Sunday, and he's just an incredible running back to watch. I feel like somehow, some way, he's underrated in this league. It's been a joy to watch Christian McCaffrey. We watched him come into the league a couple of seasons ago, and the biggest question was, could he run between the tackles? Because really all he was being used as was kind of your outside guy

and maybe a little bit of pass catching here. Of course, he was mixed with Jonathan Stewart for a little bit but never never became the guy until year two and again the big question was could he be that featured back could he run in really any play you give him and he proved that without a shadow without last year and he's taken that I think to an even higher level this year I mean to the way the Panthers have used him in the passing game and have just been pounding the rock with him, I mean, the kid barely comes off the field. He plays like almost 100% of the snaps every week.

So, like I said, it's just a joy to watch him. And he's a stud in this league. And I think the only reason he's not an MVP candidate obviously is the fact that the team's 5-9. Other than that, it's definitely an MVP caliber season. Let me ask

you as well, Bill, about Cam Newton because you were talking about earlier in the show. What's your thoughts on Cam Newton next year? Do you think he's in a Panthers uniform or not? If not, what do you think the Panthers do at on Cam Newton next year? Do you think he's in a Panthers uniform or not? And if not, what do you think that Panthers do do at the quarterback position next year? I mean, I do believe Cam ends up being the starting quarterback next season. You look at the, the,

the contract that Cam has coming into next year. It's kind of a bargain. I mean, he's only going to be paid like 18 million dollars for next season and you compare that to some of these other quarterbacks you compare it to a guy like Nick Foles who now isn't even starting for the Jaguars he's averaging 22 million a year so I think he's definitely affordable especially with the the salary cap up. I think he's only going to count like not even 10% of the salary cap next season. So I think the new coaching staff gives him one more season and you kind of see what you have. And then from there, you know, you make your decision in 2021

or if the injuries affect him. But it wouldn't surprise me if they keep Cam Newton as well as draft a quarterback next season in April. So it's, it's going to be fascinating to watch them throughout this off season. I think it's going to be a long, but it's going to be one of the more interesting off seasons. The Panthers have had in recent memory and, and one of the more interesting ones across the Panthers have had in recent memory and one of the more

interesting ones across the league. Last question I had for you, Bill, before we go on to some Colts talk, just if you had David Tepper, if you were in his shoes for a second, where would you go with the head coach for next year? Because obviously you have a head start now over a lot of teams firing Ron Rivera that early in the season. Where do you think Bill Tepper leans in this direction? Also, if you were running the team, what would you do? Yeah, that's a good question. I know there's been some chatter about Mike McCarthy. You know, he – the whole analytics thing,

they've been talking about how David Tepper kind of wants an offensive-minded guy and people are already starting to peg Mike McCarthy as kind of the guy. I mean, he had a year away, and it seems like he's been kind of building himself up. We saw that piece that they did. It was whether it was NFL Network, ESPN, whichever the two did that feature on Mike McCarthy. I think the Panthers, I think a guy like David Tepper

might go with a younger guy. I'm curious if he gives one of these, or at least makes an effort for one of these college coaches, whether that's Lincoln Riley, whether that's Matt Rule. I think Matt Rule would be a really intriguing option. I mean, you saw, we've obviously seen the turnaround he had at Baylor, and he wants to come in the NFL. I think it's pretty well known at this point that he was getting ready

to become the head coach of the Jets going into this season, but backed out because the Jets wouldn't let him choose his staff. If he gets that freedom, and I would think David Tepper would let him have that freedom with the Panthers to kind of choose his own staff. So I think Matt Rule would be a really intriguing choice for this franchise. You know, a young up-and-coming coach, but definitely a strong offensive mind. He's already got the pieces to work with. You've got McCaffrey, you've got Moore, and you could even still have your quarterback in Cam Newton.

So it's not like it's a full rebuild. You've got pieces in place. You just got to work around that. And I think Matt Ruhle would be an interesting coach to kind of further that rebuilding. Certainly a lot of interesting choice for the Panthers this offseason, a very intriguing one, just like the Colts are. I think both teams are in a very similar situation right now, trying to find a quarterback, possibly trying to find really a new identity for themselves. But before we go on to our final segment of the crossover Wednesday, talking about the Colts and giving our key predictions of the game,

I want to take a quick break to talk to our sponsors. If you're a Spotify listener, use Spotify Wrapped to show us your top Locked On podcast for the year. Take a screenshot and tag us at LockedOnLive and also at LockedOnColts on Twitter. We'll be sure to share and retweet for you all. Also want to remind you guys, if you haven't already, please subscribe to LockedOnColts. I know our Twitter account at LockedOnColts is doing very well, but it's really not correlating to our listenership, which is really confusing me. So if you guys would appreciate it, if you're our new listener, please subscribe to the show. It really helps us out. And also, if you follow us on listener, please subscribe to the show. It really helps us out.

And also, if you follow us on Twitter, please go ahead and subscribe. It really helps us out. Appreciate the time, as always. All right, Bill. I'll give you the floor here if you wanted to ask a couple Colts questions here. What's on your mind as far as the Panthers' next opponent on Sunday? Yeah, so I think one of the first things that comes up with the Colts is just what's happened.

Why has this offense seemingly regressed? You know, Jacoby Brissett obviously started off really strong at the beginning of the season. It seems like he's kind of tailed off. Has there been, you know, just something wrong with Brissett? Has there been, is it, you know, what's been going on with this offense? It seems like they're not as explosive as they were last season and even the first half of this season. It really reminds me a lot of 2017 when Jacoby Perseus was starting quarterback. Of course, it was a whole different roster, a whole different coaching staff back then.

But Jacoby has really regressed over the course of the season. As teams get more film on him, teams really are just daring the Colts to pass on them and Jacoby can't beat them, which is just a sad fact at this point in time. And I think it's proving over the last few months, Bill, that he's just not a starting quarterback in the NFL, in my opinion. Just a lot of misread and regressions. Over his last few weeks, he's had four touchdowns, three interceptions, and only completing about 60% of his passes.

Really, 59.1% of his passes the last few months. And that's not going to cut in the NFL, in my opinion, especially in Frank Reich's system. So a lot of it falls in the quarterback, but also a lot of it revolves around injuries, too. T.Y. Hilton's been hurt the last few months. Devin Bunches has only played in three quarters of the season, got hurt in the opener of that game. The YRC record's been really bad, but I think a lot of it is on Jacoby Brissett because, honestly, Andrew Luck had the same quarter last year, and they did fine.

So I think a lot of it's the quarterback position, and I think that's probably the biggest need, honestly, for the Colts' offseason. And, I mean, if the Colts are looking at quarterbacks, who are some of the – whether it's free agency or if they're looking in the draft, who do you think are some of the draft quarterbacks that you think might best fit what Frank Reich wants to do with this team? I think a couple really stand out to me as far as the draft prospects go. I think that's where the Colts will go if they do go outside Bursette, because I think if they do try to go

free agency, it will just be for a backup over Brian Hoyer. But with the draft, I think Tua Tagovailola makes a lot of sense if he somehow slips outside the top five. I can see the Colts trading up if they do land that 12 to 14 range. They had the assets this year, the extra second round pick, but a lot of connections, a lot of smoke over the last few months has been about Jordan Love, the Utah State quarterback. Chris Bauer reportedly has really infatuated Jordan Love, and it makes a lot of sense because he's a really high-tool prospect. If he does hit and he does have a good development situation, he could be a really good quarterback in the NFL.

I think he does make a lot of sense for the Colts in round two, maybe even possibly the end of round one if they want to trade back and get the fifth-year option there. I'd say Jordan Love and possibly Justin Herbert too. I think those few quarterbacks there make a lot of sense for this team. I think there would be upgrades over set as well. And just a quick follow-up on Jordan Love. Does the recent news of his arrest give you any kind of cause for concern

or is this something that you think is easily avoidable, especially now that he's committed to the senior bowl? He's going to get a chance to talk to these scouts, get a chance to kind of explain his actions and show that he's grown from it. Yeah, I think the Senior Bowl will tell us, honestly, a lot about that, Bill, because Chris Bauer loves taking guys from the Senior Bowl.

It's been, I think, 40% of his draft picks for the last three years are from the Senior Bowl, so he definitely loves that event. And I imagine the Colts will go over him with a fine-tooth comb because you see a guy like Jordan Love, he has the tools and the upside. We don't know about his personality traits yet or all of his leadership abilities,

but if they find out in a room with him that he's a quality quarterback and a guy who can lead a room, I think Chris Bowers could be all over Jordan Love here just because I think the upside is too much in my opinion because I've watched film with Jordan Love and I think he's going to be a really good quarterback. But also I could see him going a different direction too because Chris Bowden really does talk an awful lot about

character in the locker room sense. I think it's going to be really interesting how it really goes next month or so for Jordan Love. I agree. I think that's going to be a big week for him. I'm looking forward to seeing him live. I want to touch quick on the defense too for you. We talked obviously about

Christian McCaffrey in the tremendous season he's having but the Colts are a top 10 rush defense so what is going to be the plan for the Colts to try to slow down Christian McCaffrey this week it's it's so tough to say because I think at this point he's almost like Michael Thomas where you can't stop and you don't have to contain him I think McCaffrey's going to do a lot of damage at this point. I think a lot of it's going to come from, honestly, just swing passes. I imagine Will Greer in his first career start is going to be doing a lot of double passes to McCaffrey, get him out in space. And trying to avoid really guys like Justin Houston on the edge.

I know he's been quiet the last few weeks, but when Houston's on, he's really good. So I imagine they're probably going to run up the middle a couple times. The middle is very vulnerable for this defense. They have Grover Stewart in the middle. Danico Autry has been really disappointing this year for them. I could see that if the Panthers can establish to run McC the middle a couple times. The middle is very vulnerable for this defense. They have Grover Stewart in the middle. Danico Autry has been really disappointing this year for them. I could see that if the Panthers can establish to run McCaffrey early on and get some swing and dump passes out to him and get him in a lot of open space, I think it could really cause trouble

for this Colts defense because they've never come against a running back Christian McCaffrey so far this year. They avoided Melvin Gordon in week one due to his holdout. Austin Eckler did his damage even though Gordon was out. So I think McCaffrey is like a very souped up version of Austin Eckler who torched him week one. So if McCaffrey gets going early on, I could see this getting really ugly for this Colts defense. My bookie is already one of the most trusted and reputable sports books in the industry. And this holiday season, they're getting into the spirit of giving

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You've got Pierre Desir, you've got Malik Hooker in the deep middle there. Rocky Sin seems like he's been having a really good rookie season. So how does this Colts secondary, how have they been in general in your eyes, you know, leading up to this point? And how do they match up with these Panthers receivers? They match up pretty well, but I think DJ Moore is going to have himself a good day, too, because if you look at the Colts the last few weeks, you've seen Chris Godwin go off, Mike Evans go off before he got hurt in the game. Michael Thomas went absolutely off Monday night in New Orleans. The secondaries really regressed the past few weeks, to be honest, and they

are lying over 80% completion percentage over the last two weeks to Jameis Winston and Drew Brees. I know Wilger is making his first career start, but if they can get him some open space and get some open reads for him, the secondary hasn't proven at all this year to really be much of a factor. Pierre Desir has been hobbled throughout the year with a hamstring injury.

Rocky Hacine is having his rookie bumps and bruises that we expect from rookie cornerbacks. And also Malik Hooker has not shown much this year outside of week one. He had a flash interception then, but outside of that, he hasn't really done much in the run game. Hasn't done much deflections. Only three deflections for Hooker through 14 games this year,

which isn't going to cut it at all. And I really wonder if this could be a bounce back game for the secondary, if Wilbur tries to get aggressive and maybe test Hooker a little bit, maybe he gets an interception himself. But I think DJ Moore could be set up too because honestly if this year's not 100% which I don't think he is it could be a long day for the secondary too good good stuff it's I that's how I feel too I think it's going to be a really tight game I think this is uh you know this feels like a coin. I said on the pod the other day, this is a tough call.

I think this is going to be – obviously, these teams aren't playing for much, but I think it can be a really intriguing game. Yeah, I totally agree with you there, Bill. I think it's going to be a very close game. I saw the spread was Colts 7.5. I don't think the Colts are going to cover that spread. I think the Panthers are going to keep this one really close. And I'm actually going to go with – if we want to dive into our keys

and predictions here, I really think we've gone going to keep this one really close. And I'm actually going to go with, if we want to dive into our keys and predictions here, I really think we've gone over McCaffrey and DJ Moore. I think they're going to be very, very key weapons for the Colts to stop. I don't know if they can contain them though. So that's the thing. And if they can't establish the run, which the Colts have really struggled with the past couple of weeks, I really can see the Panthers win this one, Bill. I'm actually going to go with the Panthers 20 to 16 over the Colts.

The Colts offense has been sparring the past two months. I think Christian McCaffrey gets a couple big plays. DJ Moore gets in the space a couple times. I think Will Greer shocks the world a little bit and beats the Colts in his first start. And I'm going to agree with you. I think the Panthers win this one as well. It's tough for the Panthers. It's on the road.

But I think this is the week they snap their losing streak, and that's basically the reasons you said. I think Christian McCaffrey keeps going. I think it's another good week for DJ Moore. You get Greg Olsen back. So how many times do we say when we watch young quarterbacks with tight ends, is their best friend? Well, now he's going to have his two best friends out there

because Greg Olsen's back in the lineup, and I'm sure you'll still see Ian Thomas sprinkled in there because eventually he's going to take over the reins full-time but having Greg Olson for a guy like Will Greer I think is going to be really key and you talked about how they're kind of vulnerable in the middle so maybe Greg Olson takes advantage of that so I'm going to give a similar score I'm going to say something like 24 to 20 Carolina wins this one. Yeah, it's unfortunate. I feel like both teams, just to close this one out, Bill,

I feel like it's just really odd how the seasons have gone the last two months for both these teams. The Colts were 5-2, now they're 6-8. They lost 7 in the last eight. The Panthers were in the thick of it in October. All of a sudden, now they're completely out of it. Just a very odd season for both teams, for sure. Yeah, absolutely. think of it in October all of a sudden now they're completely out of it just a very odd season for both teams for sure yeah absolutely I mean if you're five and three through the first half of the season and all I kept preaching was how the Panthers needed a good first half because of how

difficult this second half was going to be and sure enough it's completely blown up on them they go from five and three to five and nine very Very likely at this point to have a top 10 pick. So, you know, just like last season, it's really surprising to see them start with a good record in the first half and then end up with a near top 10 pick. And like I said, they may end up with a top 10 pick because they're in a

group, a big group of 5-9 teams. Two of them play each other this week. Another one has a couple of winnable games over the last two weeks. So I think you're very likely going to see a top 10 pick. So yeah, definitely a weird season for both teams. Colts coming off a playoff win and they beat the Chiefs earlier this season. I mean, they looked like they were really starting to, but they were my pick to win the AFC South. I'll be honest with you. I really thought even after the Andrew Luck retirement,

I said, this is still a strong roster. I believe this team will win the AFC South. And now here we are two weeks left and they're already out of the playoffs. So really, really strange. But, you know, Frank Reich's been a really good coach. I know he's been taking a little bit of heat the last couple of weeks, but I think he can, if he gets his quarterback, if he gets this offense right again, I think he's going to build this team right back up. Yeah, changes are coming for both sides here. Carolina already kicked things off with Ron Rivera being gone and changing a quarterback with Kyle Allen.

But this will do it for today's crossover. I appreciate the time, Bill. You can follow Bill on Twitter, if you haven't already, at Bill underscore Rossetti. Appreciate the time as always, Bill. Hey, I was glad to talk to you, Evan. Good to do this again with you. And, yeah, thank you for the time, buddy.