Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS -2/03- Super Bowl Predictions; Prop Bets; Fixing the Pro Bowl & More

Episode Date: February 3, 2017

For our Friday conversation Matt brings on Michael Ernest (our first local sponsor) to run through the #SuperBowl, some of the more interesting prop bets and they discuss how to fix the Pro Bowl and more. #Colts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

That's for my crazy day. My packed commute. All those unread emails in my inbox. But I'm getting stronger, faster, and pushing myself further every day. I don't care if I'm not like everyone else. This punching bag is the best way to end my day. Fearless is knowing yoga isn't your style. That's the power of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Federal Employee Program.

Learn more about our healthy benefits at fepblue.org slash getmore. No, I'm not for sale. You are lockeded On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back to Locked On Colts, ladies and gentlemen. I am your host, Matt Dainley, and thank you for joining me here on our Friday show for February 3rd. And tonight, we've got a special guest on the show tonight. I've got our very first sponsor on the show joining us tonight,

Mike Earnest from Century 21 Sheets in Indianapolis. Michael Earnest, how are you, man? I'm good, Matt. Thanks for having me on. Absolutely. I wanted to thank you first and foremost on behalf of myself and the Locked On Podcast Network for sponsoring the show. It was really good to be able to have a local guy come forward. It was nice. The one weekend we were able to go sit down and eat dinner together and just kind of hang out and just kind of shoot the breeze a little bit about the Colts and everything else. So I wanted to bring you on just kind of as of a thank you for sponsoring the show.

And it's just been phenomenal. I truly appreciate it. Well, it's likewise, Matt. I appreciate it also. I'm a big fan of the show, really have enjoyed watching it grow to what it's become today. And I think you and the entire Locked On team is just doing a fantastic job, and I'm more than happy to be a sponsor of it all.

We certainly appreciate it. I certainly appreciate that personally. And so how has the sponsorship, did it work out well for you? I mean, this is kind of a weird thing to ask on the air, but did it work out for you? Did you have anybody, you know, kind of mention the show or anything like that when you would get a phone call for, you know, a prospective client or anything like that? Yeah, and it's a great question. You know, being a realtor in the Indianapolis market, one thing I really wanted to do this year is kind of branch out and do some marketing that's outside the box.

You'll see it. People get postcards in the mail from realtors. You'll hear radio spots and stuff on print ads and all that. But I really wanted to kind of touch base with a market that's similar to mine. And having heard your podcast and becoming a fan of it, it seemed like a really good fit. Since we started doing our radio spots together, I know I picked up two clients. One was they were selling their house.

So I listed their house up on the north side of Indianapolis and got it sold relatively quick, and then helped them buy another house more in the heart of the city. They wanted to be a little bit closer to downtown and one of the older neighborhoods that had been revitalized. And then I picked up a client that was actually moving out of town. They had me list their house out by Eagle Creek, and I put that on the market and got it sold. And they were able to move out west to the west coast where the husband was getting relocated for work. So just in a few short times, yeah, to answer your question, picked up two clients, and I've had some other folks reach out to me as well to kind of learn more about what I

can do for them, especially with the spring selling season coming right around the corner. Nice. That's awesome. I also saw that you were a, was it a rising star for this past month? Is that what they called you? Yeah, that's funny you saw that. Yeah, that is true. So I was obviously honored to have that. Century 21 Sheets is one of the largest real estate brokers here in Indianapolis. We have nearly 400 realtors on staff throughout almost seven offices now located throughout the city and downtown, of course. But yeah, starting out the year on a bang. Had a great first month of the year, which obviously has my business on track for a very successful year. So it was a great honor to get from my company,

recognizing the great start to a new year. Awesome. That's cool. So obviously now you guys know why you need to go visit Mike and, uh, if you're buying or selling your home. So, uh, let's get into the podcast, Mike, I wanted to talk to you a little bit. First of all, what are your thoughts on Pat McAfee retiring? Well, you know, Matt, I think like a lot of Colts fans, when I, when I woke up this morning and saw the headline on TV. Truth be told, I thought it was an early April Fool's joke knowing Pat and his system of humor that he likes to have.

But no, I think it became evident really quick that it was a decision that he didn't take lightly. And obviously it seemed like he put a lot of thought into it. You know, as an average Colts fan, yeah, it was a tough pill to swallow. You know, I can't think of a time that a punter has had such an influence on a team. You know, you go to game day on Sunday, and the amount of number one jerseys you see out there, it's just remarkable. And I don't know if a punter in the history of the NFL has really had that kind of an impact on not only his position,

because he is a great player, but just as a teammate and a member of an organization like that has. So for all that, as a fan, I was saddened to see it. But more, as I learned more kind of about his thought process and was made aware of some of his injury history that he's had to his knee over the last few years, which, to be honest with you, I wasn't really aware of. You know, I didn't realize that he's had, I think it was three knee surgeries here in just the last four years.

Yeah, I don't think a lot of people were very aware of that, to be honest with you. Yeah, absolutely. You know, and you start thinking about it like that. And here's a guy who, yeah, he, he walked away from what, what two years left on his contract. So, you know, he's, he's definitely walking away from more money than what most, uh, most, most folks are ever going to make. Um, but you know, he, he's also made a lot of money for himself and I'm sure in this day and age, he's surrounded himself by the right people who's invested that money wisely for him. And he's set it for the rest of his life.

So, you know, I don't think it was a financial decision for him. It was obviously, I think part of his decision had to do with his long-term health. But I think a lot of it just had to do with him being happy. And he's obviously really passionate about the things he's been doing outside of football. With the Barstool team, it seemed like he was just an absolute great fit for him. The fact that he gets to stay in Indianapolis, from what I understand, they wanted him to move out to New York, but now he's getting to stay in Indy, and they're going to have a studio for him downtown to do all that.

He's going to continue representing Indianapolis and being part of this fan base for years to come. I'm ecstatic for him. I'm happy for him. And quite frankly, to have the convictions that he's had to walk away from that kind of deal at such a young age, it's admirable. So I praise him for it. Yeah, I agree. I agree to an extent. I didn't, I was not, I mean, I was aware that he had had some surgeries. I wasn't aware that it was affecting, affecting him as much as it was,

you know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. Knee surgeries can be, uh, virtually pain free depending on what you have done. But you know, if it's a cleanup, it's one thing, you know, after a few months, I've had that on both of my knees and for him to have three and four years, you know, it kind of makes you wonder, was one a little more serious than maybe people had thought. But I thought, I'll be honest with you, I thought it was a little, I thought it was a little, it was something that took me by surprise. But he's getting a lot of kickback from this. I'm going to play something for you guys here.

This was PTI today. And they're not so enthused with Pat McAfee retiring at 29. The 29-year-old two-time Pro Bowl punter for the Indianapolis Colts is quitting the NFL. He's giving up $2.75 million a year and joining a website called Barstool Sports, where he will write, here's McAfee's explanation,

quote, whenever you're a creative person, whenever you can make somebody laugh, that is real fulfillment. I'm getting a chance to really follow something I'm passionate about. I'm sure people are going to think i'm nuts unquote will von is he nuts as we used to say in the old days nutty is a fruitcake as my parents would say yes a blog and we used to call that a column you didn't get that you because i know you with no punting skills no particular football skills i think barcelona is a little bit better than that. Really?

I think so, yeah. Whatever it is, he can get that. He can get that on the off day. He can get it next year. Every time, and I've heard you do this and I've done this, every time we talk to soon-to-be former players who are nearing the end, they're a lot older than this. I'm thinking about taking this job with the network

and this job. Play as long as you can. Make them tear the uniform off of you. So they're not too enthused about him, for sure, doing it. And I knew that there was going to be some people like that because I don't think a lot of people understand Pat. But at the same time, man, who cares? What do they care? I mean, you know what I'm saying? What do they

care? Yeah, Matt, you know, and that's kind of my thoughts with it too. You know, it's, those talking heads, they get paid a lot of money to have that shock value. But at the end of the day, something else to consider, I think it was Wilbon there, he made the point on most players, you have to tear the uniform off of them. Yeah, you know what, that might've been true back in the day, but I think we're seeing a different type of NFL player nowadays. You know, you're seeing players now that are putting their health first, and it's not all about the money.

You know, and at what point is enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life? I'll tell you what, you give me or anyone one year of Pat McAfee's salary, and I'll never have to work a day in my life again. So think about it along those lines. So I think it's because, especially with the concussion issues that we've seen over the last several years in the NFL, I think today's NFL players, especially the younger ones, they're not like the players of the past where they were going to play until they were carried off the field. These guys have more opportunities post-career, post-playing career than at any time in history.

And if they can walk away financially secure with their health intact, and in Pat's case being able to go off into a new chapter in his life where he can do something that he's really passionate about, that's what we're seeing. We're seeing it more and more, and we can criticize it. Folks can criticize it all they want, but it's just the fact and the matter. And at the end of the day, it's Pat McAfee's decision. It's his life. It's his career. And he's the one that's got to live with it. And I think he's, you know, hearing him speak about it, it seems like he's

made the decision that he's comfortable with. Yep. I think he has too. And I knew, like I said, I knew there was going to be a little bit of blowback, but at the same time, it is a different league. He, he, it wasn't like he played like three years and was like, you know what, I'm just going to go right for some goofy comedy blog. You know, I mean, he got more than his share of what he wanted to do. And his legs were starting to tear him up. And even it said that, you know, he had made a comment that the days that he kicked, which I would assume he means after the games,

that he felt like a 90-year-old man because of the way his legs feel. Yeah, yeah. No, and I saw that too, you know, and it reminds me of Jerome Bettis when he finally retired. I saw a TV interview with him where it was a Monday after a Sunday game, and I mean, the guy could barely walk down his own stairs. You know, it took him two, three days after a game to get back into it. Now, that's a running back. When we think NFL, we think those type of

issues, we tend to think those type of guys, the running back or the linemen or the linebackers. But here's a guy that's a punter who basically getting paid every day to go out there and swing his leg over time, over the course of not just an NFL career, but a college career,

a high school career. And I saw somewhere he played soccer almost his whole life. You know, your joints just start taking a beating. You know, and he was at that age. I remember when I was 29, about to turn 30. You know, that's when it seems like things started breaking down a little bit quicker than what they used to. So I'm sure he's experiencing some of that too. Yep. And not only that, but he's not going to be getting paid minimum wage for bar school sports. No, absolutely not. You know, so, yeah, it goes back to what I think I said previously.

You know, some folks are going to be upset by it. Some are going to think he's turning his back on the team. And they're welcome to that opinion, but it's a business at the end of the day. Um, and Pat made a business decision and he made a personal decision. So whether you like it or not, you know, um, I, I wish them all the best. Um, I hope he stays around Indy for, for years to come and plays a part in everything. And, you know, I hope Barstool blows up in Indianapolis, and Pat's a big reason for it. I think it'll be a good time because now when I go down to camp, hopefully he'll be one of the media members.

That'd be awesome, yeah. You know what I mean? That'll be fun. It'll be a fun time, I'm sure. Well, here's another one. We'll get off of McAfee for the rest of the show, but I wanted to talk to you about the Pro Bowl. Do you watch the Pro Bowl? I'm curious. I have completely turned it off from my schedule every year. I have no the week after the Super Bowl. It's been several years that they've changed this format,

and I still haven't really bought into it. I'll tune in just here and there, but it's definitely not regular schedule programming for me. They kind of went back to the normal AFC, NFC this year, I believe. Yeah, it seemed like they did. I caught a couple of series with Drew Brees under center, and I was, you know, growing up watching Drew over at Purdue. I'm always paying attention to what he's doing in his career. So, you know, when I saw him playing, I tuned in for a little bit. But yeah, that's really about it. It really has not a whole lot of interest for me personally

these days. No, I don't either. And I've come about a year ago, I wanted to come up with a way to make the Pro Bowl, which wouldn't be called the Pro Bowl, but the Pro Bowl, make it worth watching. Something in between the championship weekend and Super Bowl weekend, something that would give people a reason to watch football on that Sunday. And basically what I think they should do is if you make the Pro Bowl, then they just send you on vacation with all the other guys. And you go and you do something and you all go to Hawaii or whatever it is. You just go on vacation. That's your reward for making the Pro Bowl. Now, what they need to do, in my opinion, is turn this into an NFL Futures weekend.

These guys, now here, let me get this. There would have to be some sort of an eligibility scale, obviously, okay? So randomly, there's 320 practice squad players throughout the league and a ton of other guys that are on the 53-man roster that are kind of like those, the 49 through the 53rd guy who don't get hardly any playing time. Some of those guys, you know, are on one-year contracts for, you know, whatever, league minimum type stuff, and a lot of them don't see any more than 20% of the season snaps. That's your, that's your group right there. Bring all those guys in. Those guys all have something to prove. Those guys all want to prove that they're worthwhile. I mean, you see it all the time. A nobody on one team go

get goes and gets coached by another team when they just happen to get picked up in the offseason or right before camp or something like that, or somebody adds them to their 53 or their practice squad or something like that, and they end up doing really well in the league. They don't always blow up or anything like that, but there's a lot of people, a lot of players who end up doing well in the league after that. Nobody's proved to come out of nowhere these guys desperately have something to prove there'd be no limit to the field to 86 or anything or even 106 players for either team you basically roll these guys in and out all the time

easily these two rosters could consume 70 to 88 players aiece without any problem. And even that, you just do whatever you want, drafting format or however you want to do it, but just split these guys up. This would give all these guys an opportunity to prove their worth in the league. Nobody back up quarterbacks, guys who don't take hardly any snaps in camp or the whole season because they're the third string quarterback. For example, for the Colts, Stephen Morris, third string quarterback, who, you know, what snaps is he seeing throughout the season? Nothing.

Not during the, not in any games, that's for sure. And even in practices, Scott Tolzien's getting any backup snaps. You know, he's not getting anything. He might do a scout team something on when they have a mobile quarterback, if they're going up against a guy who's got some wheels, like a Dak Prescott or something like that, just to be able to, you know, play the role of a guy. But these guys could go in there and really prove their worth. I mean, he could go in there and legitimately just tear it up against these guys. And if there's somebody that's in the need for a backup quarterback that doesn't have

one or a number four wide receiver on their team and they don't know who to choose from, this is another scouting tool for teams as well. You know what I mean? You bring in these guys who are young, begging for a roster spot, fighting for under a million dollars a year. And then you give them this opportunity to basically put on another show for all 32 teams all over again with an opportunity to make the 53-man roster and show that they have some sort of willingness to be a part of the team, that they can actually contribute towards the team and their success level. I mean, what are your thoughts on that at all? I mean, that was a lot to digest, but I mean, does that sound even like something that you would, would you be, would you watch that? Let

me ask you that. Yeah, I think I would definitely tune in and at least give it a shot and see how it played out. Now, if it turned into another preseason basic, you know, type game, you know, the fourth game of the preseason, um, you know, I, I think fans might lose interest pretty quick, but I think if you had more of a festive atmosphere for it, um, you know, I, I wonder if you, even if you took a game like that, maybe coincided it on, on the weekend, uh, of the senior bowl, you know, and made it cause – because the Senior Bowl, I think, and the Pro Bowl are one weekend apart, if I'm not mistaken. And maybe just do the whole thing on one weekend and have this as like a whole, hey, this is the future of the NFL kind of format. Yeah, I think that might draw some attention.

Right. And think about it this way. These guys aren't going out there like it's preseason. These guys are going out there wanting to blow people up you know what i'm saying yeah you know they're wanting to prove that they can light dudes up yeah oh no i i agree 100 i think kind of playing along those lines a little bit um as a as a kid i'm sure you remember i'm going to date myself here and i know matt you and i are about the same age uh but i remember watching the skills challenges where you had, like, Dan Marino and Boomer Sison and those guys out there slinging the ball around.

You know, that's something I think that's kind of gone away, or at least I haven't tuned in enough to really see it if they're still doing it. But I always enjoyed that. You know, maybe do, like, the battle of the practice squads. You know, AFC versus NFC, the battle of the practice squads, you know, AFC versus NFC, the battle of the practice squads, who's got the best practice squad and let them go out there and do all kinds of challenges. That might be something kind of fun to watch as well. Yeah. I just thought it would be better than the Pro Bowl. I mean,

Yeah, the Pro Bowl just doesn't work. It never has worked. It's not going to work. It's a fun concept on, yeah, we've got all these stars together from the best of the NFL, but anymore the true stars aren't even playing in it. So you've got backup number four and five out there starting, and that kind of takes away from it. And that's another thing. That's exactly to my point too.

You have people who make the Pro Bowl, and they're the fourth option, and they end up going because one guy's in the Super Bowl, the next guy's hurt, the other guy has a surgery set up or something or just whatever. Not only that, but it would end the BS fourth and fifth guys being named to the Pro Bowl. You'd actually have it more of like an all-pro guys being named to the Pro Bowl. You'd actually have it more of like an all-pro roster being named to the Pro Bowl. I mean, guys from the Super Bowl can be named to the Pro Bowl. They just don't have a game to play. They just get a vacation after the Super Bowl.

Yeah, I think it eliminates the Kirk Cousins of the world walking around saying he's a Pro Bowler. I like Kirk Cousins. I do like me some Kirk Cousins, but come on. He's no Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady or Andrew Luck or any of those types of quarterbacks. It's just, yeah, give the guys a shot. Make it a fun atmosphere. Get rid of a fake game that no one really cares about anyways

and actually put some meaning back into it. Will it work? Will it not work? Who am I to say? But I know I would tune into that over what's currently out there, that's for sure. Yep, and think about it this way. Those Pro Bowler guys, they get, what, 60 and 30-some thousand

for a win or a loss. Give that to those guys that are begging for more money. Absolutely. You're giving it those guys that are begging for more money. Absolutely. You're giving it to guys that are in their second and third contracts making $6 million, $7 million a year, and they're going to go out and risk getting hurt in the middle of their second contract for $60,000? Yeah. I mean, that's just stupidity to me.

It just doesn't make any sense to me. Not only that, but you risk some of the better players in the league actually getting hurt. I don't see how the league or these young guys who have already proved themselves to be studs in the league can benefit from that. It just doesn't make any sense to me. No, I tell you, if it were me, there's no way I'd put my body on the line if I had that much at stake, that's for sure. Nope, me either. All right, Mike, let's get into the Super Bowl here. Patriots, Atlanta Falcons, very good offense here from both teams.

The Atlanta Falcons are actually historically fantastic. Their team offense, I don't know how much you pay attention to football outsiders, but they have this statistic called the DVOA, and it's basically all things encompassed with situational gameplay and stuff, and they rank the teams first through 32nd, obviously, with offense and defense. And Atlanta's ranked number one in total offensive DVOA, and New England is ranked number two. So you've got two really good offenses here, but you've got, like I said, a historic offense with Atlanta. Now, when you look at the team defenses, though, that's a completely different story here. The New England's defense is ranked 16th in the league, whereas Atlanta's

is 27th in the league. But, you know, Atlanta has come alive as of late, but New England's has been fairly steady throughout the season. There's a lot of really cool matchups in this game. A lot of, you know, Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis Colt, is in this game and has actually had a pretty good... Yeah, how about that? Yeah, it's awesome for him. I'm so excited for him, to be honest with you. And I hope that he gets a good sack, at least, or two. I mean, there's so many, you know, Julio Jones in this game, Tom Brady, Matt Ryan. I mean, the running backs for Atlanta, you know, Mohamed Sanu is one of the most underrated number two wide receivers in the league. When they come into this year, before Atlanta grabbed him,

a lot of people were just downplaying Mohamed Sanu's gameplay and his importance to the Bengals last year. And he's been fantastic. He's, he's taken so much pressure off of Julio Jones, uh, in that offense that allows them basically to play better and win more games when Julio Jones doesn't have a monster game. Uh, in fact, I believe there is a stat out there that says when Julio Jones is under 42 or 41 yards receiving, which is crazy, then the Falcons are 6-0. Anything over that and they've at least lost a game or two or three or just whatever the case is. Then you look at the other side. You've got Brady, Edelman, Amendola. They're without Gronk, but they've got Bennett.

They've got Hogan. They've got a ton of LeGarrette Blount. Just so many weapons on that offense as well, and their defense is really good too. Their secondary is so quality. They've got a ton of talent in their front seven. One of the best probably all-around defenses I think that New England has had in a long time, and I would say that just as across the board. There's not a real weak spot in that New England defense. So, I mean, give me like your

first take on this game. What's the very first thing that sticks out to you? And I'm going to tell you something that will bring you back to 2006 here in just a minute, but I want to see what your first thought is on this matchup. When somebody says who you got in the Super Bowl, what's the first thing that you think about? Man, the first thing I think about is, you know, why New England again? And that's the Colts fan in me coming out. But you look at the consistency of that organization, and, yeah, as a Colts fan, I ain't seen it. I wish it was us. But you've got to tip your hat to them.

You know what you're going to get with New England. You know, Tom Brady's going to go out there and swing the ball around. Blunt's going to run the ball hard at the middle. They're going to be a force to be reckoned with. They're going to have a solid defense. But the one thing that really jumps out of my mind is just the deadliness of that Atlanta offense right now. Julio Jones, my God.

I mean, I'm sure everyone saw the reception over the middle that he made that he turned into a 50- or 60-yard touchdown a few weeks back. Just remarkable. And if they can come out and utilize him and get Coleman and get Freeman running the ball hard and keeping that New England offense off the field, I think they have a real shot to shock some people. But then again, it's off to New England. So, you know, they're going to be in it until the final second,

and I think this is going to go down as a fantastic game personally. Yeah, I do too. You always hear the people say New England's definitely going to take, you know, X team's best weapon away or whatever. Isn't that the idea behind every game plan, to take their best weapon away? It doesn't matter who's playing. Yeah, any sport. I think that's the goal.

Shut down the guy who scores the most points. Right. And this time, I honestly think, and this is just totally Belichick crap and I hate it, but the first thing that came to mind when I was thinking about that is, if I'm Bill Belichick their slot or whatever, because Julio's been running out of the slot a little bit more than usual this year as opposed to being a boundary receiver. But I think that what they should do is just kind of, I'll obviously allow him to just go free, but if you can send a guy on him that's going to give help to somebody else, take away all the other options because those two guys out of the backfield

are going to be deadly if they get into this game plan in any kind of a way. I mean, if you can say Julio Jones is going to beat us or we're going to win, I mean, I think that you got pretty good chances of winning this game. That's just my opinion that if you allow Julio, whatever you do, whether you're doing some sort of a zone attack on him, whereas you're a man across the board everywhere else, however they can kind of dial that up. I'm definitely no defensive coordinator, but if you allow him to take a lot of those underneath routes and then you converge on him, but you take all the guys like Tyler Gabriel, who is a guy who can stretch the field

for Atlanta. Keep those guys out of the picture. Don't let them beat you. Let Julio Jones get all the catches and take all the other options away. Then you've got a very predictable offense late in the game that you can design around to take away Julio Jones, and that's how you end up with a late turnover, in my opinion, to seal the game. Now vice versa, go ahead. Yeah, I was going to say that's where desperation obviously would start setting in for the Atlanta offense, and just to that point, that's where a turnover is going to happen or a drive's going to stall.

I think an absolute key for New England's defense, and I think you mentioned it just a second ago, is shutting down the running game of Atlanta. If Atlanta gets that running game going, they're going to control the field all day long. Because then, just like anything else, it's going to open up a passing game. You know, and that's, knowing Bill Belichick, you know he's planning for that. So, it'll be interesting to see for sure. Yeah, and then when you, if you look on the other side of the field there, just trying to, you know, because Brady has no problem

with Dinkin' and Duncan at 5, 6 yards at a time. And then when he, you know, then they design something like they did with the, you know, the lateral pass or whatever it was that got Chris Hogan wide open, the flea flicker or whatever, a couple weeks ago. That's how they ended up just tearing your heart out and stomping on it on the floor is they dink and dunk you, get three, four yards per rush, and they're going to be successful on those plays.

And then they're going to hit you over the top because you're too eager to come up and make a big play. Absolutely. That's the way they set you up. They set you up because they let you think you got them right where you want them, and then you start getting absent-minded. You don't read your keys defensively, especially in a safety look, and then you just get beaten and embarrassed.

Yeah. I remember that little flea flicker play. As it happened, I was watching it, and the moment I saw that little flea flicker play. As it happened, I was watching it. The moment I saw that running back pitch that ball back to Brady, you knew it was a touchdown. Yep, immediately. Immediately. I didn't even have to see what was going on downfield.

I knew they had it. Yeah, if Atlanta allows that to happen, it's going to be a long day for Atlanta. But ultimately, it's just like anything. It's going to be a long day for Atlanta. But ultimately, it's just like anything. It's going to come down to possessions, I think. It's going to come down to who's going to score touchdowns versus who can force the other team to kick a field goal. And I know that's a very simplistic way to break down a big game like this, but I think both offenses are going to put points on the board. I think New England has the edge on the defense,

but I wouldn't put it past Atlanta to surprise some people on the defensive side of the ball. Just like you said, Dwight Freeney. Dwight Freeney may get himself a little bit of Tom Brady this weekend. I'll be rooting for him, that's for sure. But yeah, if they can get to Tom Brady a few times or if they can force a turnover here and there or limit a drive or two to some field goals, it's anybody's ball game. Yeah, they have so much speed on their defense. And this is where I was going to tell you,

I'm going to bring you back to 2006 real quick. The AFC Championship game, Colts-Patriots in 2006. That's what this game, matchup matchup wise reminds me of so much yeah you're absolutely right the past two or three games that I've been watching Matt Ryan he that offense the way it was just clicking on all cylinders the way he could just manipulate the pocket just enough in order to get a guy six, eight yards downfield with a lot of open space in front of him. Matt Ryan's done a great job of that. I don't think that people really are giving him the credit that he deserves for turning his game into something special, especially late in the season. And something that people forget, maybe not people don't forget it, but back then the Colts were in a typical Tampa 2 style defense.

Atlanta runs more of a cover three from back in the Seattle days there. Basically what a Tampa 2 is also has notes of a cover three in it. When the Colts would bring Bob Sanders down into the box to do something, ultimately now you've got that single high safety and you've got your two corners playing, you know, thirds. And that turns into a cover three at some point. And I think that if these two teams were wise, the Patriots – or, I mean, the Atlanta Falcons would go watch the last – the second half of that 2006 AFC Championship game

because there is absolutely the blueprint on how to beat the Patriots in that with the Colts' comeback. And then vice versa, the Patriots need to re-watch that game and see how they dismantled the Colts in the first half because that's how you get rid of a Tampa 2 or a Cover 3 defense or primarily a zone defense with a lot of speed on it. And that's one thing that the Colts did have was a lot of speed and a primary zone defense. That game right there is something I think that we'll end up seeing this year, and I

think that's what's going to make this a close game. So if you're Bill Belichick, you have to say to yourself, note to self, do not go for it on fourth and two on your side of the field. Not only don't go for it on fourth and two, but don't throw zero yards on fourth and two. Yeah, absolutely. But no, so you brought up a good point just a second ago. We're sitting here talking about every player that's going to be an impact on this team all the way down to Dwight Frady. And the one person we're not even talking about is Matt Ryan. I think the season he's had, I mean, he's had an MVP caliber season.

In my opinion, he is the MVP of the league this year. And just watching him, watching his maturation, I mean, he's the best of them out there right now. You know, he's the top quarterback in this league that's literally brought his team this far. And I don't think that can be understated. I think he's mature, he's smart, he's making good throws, he's making good decisions.

And that's going to be a big factor as well, obviously. I absolutely agree with you. I definitely don't disagree with that i think matt ryan's definitely proven himself to be uh one of the most accurate uh and like i said simple things like manipulating the pocket just enough to get that extra half second to where his guy can come out of that dig open and and give himself you know something uh some extra yardage after the catch. Yeah, absolutely.

So, I mean, there's just so many things that he's done. And with Tevin Coleman back there with him and Devontae Freeman, those guys in the backfield give them so many different options, and they run so many different packages and setups that they're, I mean, they're just a crazy offense, and New England's got their hands full. I don't think this could, this is going to be a blowout, but I mean, I think either team here could be on blowout alert if they don't take care of the first half, you know what I mean? Oh yeah, I think anytime you have a team with Tom Brady at quarterback, and you have a team

like Atlanta with such an explosive offense, there's always that probability where one team just doesn't show up and the other one just has a field day. I don't think that'll be the case. I think both teams are going to show up ready to go. You know for sure Atlanta's hungry. And you know Belichick and Brady are going to be ready to go. So it's just a matter of do they get another ring

or do they go home with their tail between their legs. I hope it's the second one there, but we'll see what happens. So what's your pick for the game? Well, honestly, putting my Colts fandom aside, I'm going to roll with Atlanta on this one, Matt, to be totally honest with you. Yeah. I just think they're hungry, they're ready, and man,

I'm telling you, when I watch that offense click on all cylinders, if they can show up playing at that kind of level that they've been playing at recently, I just don't see a way that New England's going to be able to come out on top. Yeah.

I think that, man, if this game was anywhere further north than it is currently, I'd be picking the Patriots. Absolutely. But being that it's in the south, Atlanta is going to have – I mean, people go to the super bowl from all over the place so it's not like it's a a necessarily a demographic area here that's specific but i definitely think that the uh atlanta is going to have a stronger fan base there that's just my assumption although patriots fans are crazy they'll'll come from everywhere. But I just think that Atlanta's going to have some version of a home field advantage,

and I see that offense playing well. But that defense also reminds me of that Indianapolis Colts defense of 06, where they didn't have a great season throughout the majority of the year. And then once they got into the playoffs, they were holding teams to virtually nothing on the ground, were flying around the ball, intercepting, turning over teams like crazy in the playoffs, and went on to win the Super Bowl. And I just really feel like this Atlanta team is that team reincarnated almost, to be honest with you.

That's what I see in them. Yeah, I agree 100% with you on all those points. And like I said, I'll go back to what I said. I just think they're the hot team at the moment. New England is what New England always is. And look where that's gotten us for Bulls. How many

have they lost and how many have they been to? I don't know. I'm never off the top of my head, but it's getting pretty close to being even now, I think, at this point, isn't it? Yeah. We'll see um but yeah you're exactly right you know houston or i'm sorry you know uh atlanta's fans are going to show up in droves down there in houston uh it's going to be beautiful weather um you know so let me ask you this and i think i know the answer so i may be a little ignorant on this but that's a retractable roof stadium. So I'm assuming it's a Super Bowl.

They're going to have that roof closed, even if it's a nice 65-degree evening down there. Yeah, you would assume so. I would assume so too. They'll want it to be as loud as possible, whatever acoustics does that. I've heard of some stadiums that have those retractables that they say that the acoustics work better with the roof open. Whether that's true or not, I don't know, but I would assume that they'll want that Super Bowl

just to be going crazy. But at the same time, you have to keep in mind about the halftime show, fireworks. They will probably open it if it's above 50-60 degrees. To my knowledge, I know it's in the 60s down there this time of year at night. So it could be a pleasant game-time temperature if they open that roof. But knowing the NFL, as I think they do, they'll want to sterilize the game as much as possible. They'll want no possible weather, wind,

nothing to have any impact on the outcome of the game so uh my my assumption is it'll be closed whether or not they open it during halftime who knows but um yeah that's true too i mean so so yeah if if it is closed um weather's obviously not going to be a factor um but i i just keep going back to the Atlanta offense right now. I just think they're solid as can be. I know New England's got a great defense, but I just don't see them being able to completely shut down Atlanta the way that they need to in order to come out with a win in this one.

Yeah, I agree. I'm going to go with 33-27 final score. Patriots come up empty, driving to take the lead and win the game, but I think that Atlanta holds them off 33-27. 33-27. You know, I'll do 28-24 Atlanta. There you go. I like that. That's a scary situation, too, four points. That's hard, too. That's something that could bring up some decision possibilities there. So let's get in. Go ahead. I was just going to ask, what's the over-under for this game right now? Do we know? Oh, it's in the 60s. I'm not sure exactly what it is currently, but I know it's in the 60s. Yeah, I'd be curious what the odds maker has to say about our point spread difference there.

Yeah, you know what, that's true. We may have to look into that. So there's some really interesting prop bets for this year's Super Bowl. I mean, there always is. But there's just a ton of these things. And I'm going to go through a couple of these with you, and I want to kind of gauge what you think on them. Total rushing yards for LeGarrette Blount over under 57.5.

What's your thought? 57.5 for LeGarrette Blount? He's going to get more than that, I would think. So, yeah, I'll go with the over on that one. I think I'm going to too. Atlanta's defense isn't exactly a good run-stopping team. At least they haven't been typically this year. But I think that he'll probably get, I don't think he'll get a bunch more than that, but I think that'll be right. I mean, that's a pretty good line in my opinion,

57 and a half. I would guess him around 60 to 65, just off the top of my head. Who scores the first touchdown? Now, there's a lot of different odds on here. Basically, everybody's got huge odds, and you'd be surprised at some of them, I think. Devontae Freeman, 17-2. Julio Jones is 15-2. Tevin Coleman, 14-1.

There's a lot of different odds on here. Who would be your guy on either team who would score the first touchdown of the game? Just because I would think one of the Atlanta running backs, but just because I know that's a popular choice, I'll think outside the box on it. I'll go with New England scoring the first points, and it'll be Bennett tied in for New England. Bennett. His are 12-1. His odds are 12-1.

Really? Okay. Yeah. Yep. That'd be a nice little payout. I'm going to go with Tom Brady, 22-1. And I'm going with Brady because I can see him sneaking his little Weasley butt in there on a sneak from the one-foot line,

and I have no doubt in my mind that that's how it's going to go down. I have no doubt whatsoever. He'll spike that ball in typical Tom Brady fashion. Will a two-point conversion be successful in the game? No. I agree with you on that one. Longest successful field goal, 47.5, is the over-under. I'm going to go with the over on that one.

Over? Yeah. I think that it will be, too, because I think if there's any kind of a field goal that determines the game, I think it will be further than that, to be quite honest. Again, going back to the whole is the roof going to be closed question, if that roof is closed, which I believe it will be, those guys can make 47 all day long.

I think you're looking at something in the low 50s probably. Yep, I would have to agree. Total QB sacks, over-unders, four. This is both teams combined. I'll go with the under on that one. Under? I'm conflicted, I'll be honest with you. Four for the entire game.

I'll stick with the under. That's the one I know I'm probably going to be wrong on, but I'll go with the under. See, I cheated a little bit on this one because I looked up with the under. That's the one I know I'm probably going to be wrong on, but I'll go with the under. See, I cheated a little bit on this one because I looked up Super Bowl history in the sacks, and there's three Super Bowls since 2007 that have had under four sacks. All the other ones have. The only ones that have had under four sacks are the Colts and Bears in 06,

or, well, it would be the 07 Super Bowl. The Colts in what was the 09 season with New Orleans, that one had less than four sacks. And the other one is the Super Bowl with the Broncos and the Seahawks in the 2013 Super Bowl with the Broncos and the Seahawks in the 2013 Super Bowl. Which would have been in February of 2014. But all three of those had Peyton Manning

under center. I thought that was interesting. That is interesting. All the rest of them have had more than four sacks or more. And some of them have had several more. So I'm going with the over on this one. I think that's just normal. You've got two defenses here that have really good pass rushes, I think.

I don't think that Atlanta is going to be able to get home a whole bunch, but I think they're going to be able to stunt and get in passing lanes a lot, which could cause Brady to double clutch, and if Brady double clutches, Brady goes down. That's almost a give-up. I agree. Yeah, like I said, out of all the ones we've done so far, this is the one I'll regret my answer to.

That's all right, though. All right, let's get into some of the funner ones now. How many times will J.J. Watt be mentioned on TV during live broadcast? Oh, God. What's the over-under? Go ahead. The over is 1 and 140, and the under is 1 even. For the over is 1 negative 140, and the under is 1, and they're even on it. So it's basically 5 to 7, and then 1 to 1.

Yeah. I think it's going to be more than what we can even possibly imagine, so I'll go with the over. I think he'll be shown on the broadcast more than they'll actually say his name. I just think he'll just want to be in everything. I think he'll end up being in an Atlanta huddle at some point or another and just come out flexing in the middle of the game. You may see him on stage with Gaga at halftime. Who knows? Yeah, flipping tires and

stuff. Speaking of Lady Gaga, what color will Lady Gaga's hair be when she comes on stage for the halftime show? Blonde is 1 and 4, and any other color is 5 and 2. I'll go with any other color. I think I will too. Yeah. Blonde is just too

normal for her. Even if it's a normal color, like maybe even an auburn or a dark brown or anything like that, I still think that blonde is just too vanilla for her. I just don't see that often. She'll have some crazy wig on, and that's all you'll see. She'll have a green wig with a meat suit or something like that that she's wearing. Yep. All right, here's a good one. What will Luke Bryan, who is a country singer, be wearing when he starts singing the U.S. national anthem? Blue jeans is 1-2, and any other pants or shorts is three to two. I'll go with any other pants or shorts.

I think the fact, you know, he's a country boy singing the National Anthem, I think he'll dress it up a little bit. Yeah, but what's he going to come out in? I mean, if he doesn't come out in blue jeans, what could he possibly wear on stage? I don't know Leather pants? Is that still a thing for...

Oh, jeez. I hope not. Oh, my God. I hope that he comes out in some painter's pants or something like that. You know, some all-white painter's pants. Right. I don't know if he has a song that has anything to do with that, but that would be great. How many times will Trump be said on TV during the broadcast?

The over-under is one and a half. Oh, it'll be over that. For sure. You think so? I think Lady Gaga's performance alone is going to have probably a whole segment dedicated to anti-Trump stuff, I'm sure. Oh, you know what? That's smart, dude.

I wouldn't have even thought about that. The whole third quarter, that's all they're going to be talking about. Alright, how many times will Deflate or Deflategate be said on TV during the live broadcast? The over is one and a half or one and a half

and the under, the over-under is one and a half. I don't care what the over-under is on, one-and-a-half. I don't care what the over-under is on that question. It's going over every single time. That will be the number one thing that's talked about this entire game. Every time you see a picture of Roger Goodell, that's what they're going to talk about. Anytime Tom Brady does something, that's what they're going to talk about.

If they end up winning, I want to see what that looks like. Does Goodell, is he handing Tom Brady the Super Bowl MVP trophy? Or Belichick or Rocker Craft the Lombardi trophy? You know that's going to be storyline number one. Yep, I tend to agree. I think it's going to be crazy interesting to see how that ends up turning out. I can't wait to see it. I don't want to see them win, so hopefully it doesn't come up, but we'll see. Who will the Super Bowl MVP mention first? God, 2-1. Team or

teammates, 2-1. Coach, family, and owner are all 9-1, Donald Trump 20-1, does not mention anyone above 5-2. That's Donald Trump. That's funny. I don't expect that one. Yeah. I'm sure it's going to – I'll go with God. That seems to be the popular answer.

Anytime you get an athlete in front of a camera, they all of a sudden, that's got to be their go-to bit. It is. It is absolutely the go-to, thanks. I mean, it most certainly is. All right, last one here. What color will the liquid be that is poured on the winning coach? Clear 3-1, lime green 3-1, orange, yellow are both

3-1, red 6-1, blue 15-2, purple 12-1. What would it be if it's clear? Clear Pepsi? Certainly not going to be water. Pepsi clean or whatever it was.

Pepsi clear. You know what? So I've got to explain my reasoning here. I'm going to go with blue only because I absolutely – or I'm sorry. I just screwed that up. I'm going to go with purple because I absolutely love the Chappelle show, and any time I hear the word purple, I think of purple drink. And I think that's what they're going to go with.

There you go. That's a big payout, too. So if you would be right and you were a betting man, you'd make some money on that one for sure. I think I'd have to go blue. It just seems normal, I guess. Red gives me a stomachache any time I have that red Gatorade. Blech. Yellow and orange are maybe too typical. Uh, red, red gives me a stomach ache. Anytime I have that red Gatorade, blech. Yeah.

Uh, yellow, yellow and orange are maybe too typical. Lime green. I don't see that happening. I certainly don't see clear. I mean, unless somebody's dumping like Dixie cups of water on top of them and that's not going to happen. Yeah. I think I'm going to go blue. You're probably right, but, uh, we'll, we'll see if,'ll see if my inner Chappelle wins out on that one or not.

I hope you're right because that would be great. Well, Mike, that about wraps us up for this Friday show of Locked on Colts. I can't thank you enough for coming in and shooting the breeze with me a little bit here. We covered a bunch of topics, covered the Super Bowl, covered all kinds of things, Pro Bowl. I appreciate you coming on. It was great to have you on chat for a little bit, man. Hey, man. I appreciate it, brother.

You know, this is something new for me to do, but I certainly had a great time. And, again, congrats on all the success that you and your lockdown team is doing. And I'm looking forward to see it continue to grow and expand in the years to come. I appreciate that, and we all appreciate that as well. But real quick before we get off here, Mike, can you tell everybody where they can catch your stuff on Twitter and anything else that you've got going on? Absolutely, yeah.

You can find me on Twitter at MyRealtorMike. You can find me on Facebook. My business page is Mike Ernest Real Estate. And again, that's also at MyRealtorMike on Facebook. Kind of follow me, see some of the stuff I'm doing locally in and around the Indianapolis area. You can also shoot me an email. It's mernest at c21sheets.com.

Or, honestly, the best way to shoot me a text or give me a call, my phone number is 317-285-9691. I would love to talk to you and see what I can do to help you buy or sell a house. And that's Mike Earnest from Century 21 Sheets in there in Indianapolis. Make sure you guys are giving him a call. Great dude. He's doing big things there in Indianapolis. Make sure you guys are giving him a call. Great dude. He's doing big things there in Indianapolis, getting people homes sold,

and he's helping you find your dream house. Plenty of people that I've seen on his post. So thank you, Mike, once again. All right. Thanks, Matt. Thank you all for listening. As always, get out there and subscribe to the podcast. Give us a rating and review on iTunes.

Those are always so helpful. I hope you guys all enjoy the Super Bowl. I hope that none of you are driving afterwards. If you are, make sure you guys have a friend or your wife or a girlfriend or somebody who is not drinking. Everybody be careful, be safe, so that you can wake up with your hangover safe and sound at your house on Monday. Thank you all for listening. And I'll talk to you guys all next week 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.