Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 5/11/20: Crossover Special with Locked On Browns

Episode Date: May 11, 2020

On today's episode, Jeff Lloyd of Locked On Browns joins for our newest Crossover week as AFC South vs. AFC North takes center stage.Diving into the Browns' offseason, what were the biggest takeaways? Also, how much pressure is on Baker Mayfield in 2020 with another new coaching staff? Cleveland also aced their draft as well.Onto the Colts, we dive deep into what happened with Andrew Luck. Plus, how much of an impact will all the new additions have on their 2020 outlook? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everybody. Welcome back into your latest episode of our Locked On Crossover Specials. This week, though, is the AFC North versus the AFC South. And for our Monday episode, I am joined by Jeff Lloyd of Locked On Browns. I am Evan Seger of Locked On Colts. Jeff, how are you doing today? We're doing good. You know, for everybody out there that it applies to, we're recording on Mother's Day. So all you moms out there, you know, continue to keep up the great work here, which is probably the most difficult situation that any parent can be placed in. But, you know, keep rocking out, moms.

You're doing a fantastic job. Absolutely. Definitely agree with the words you say there, Jeff. We're going to dive in the first part of today's show. Listen, we're going to talk about the Cleveland Browns, and we're going to dive into the last second of our show for our crossover. We're talking about the Annapolis Colts here, but let's start off with the Cleveland Browns, Jeff.

Let's take things back in the time machine just for a second, looking back to last offseason. A lot of hype around this Browns team. Just what went wrong last season for them? Because a lot were pegging them as far as a really dark horse team to make a big run last year. It was – look, I think last year was a lot of chasing names, chasing guys based on what they had done as opposed to what you're seeing so far.

This year a lot of it is fit and scheme, and you're hearing these words. John Dorsey sacrificed a lot of the future of this franchise, and whether or not he – oh, I don't think we're essentially going to contend in 2019. You don't make the moves you made in 2019 without thinking you were going to contend. You don't give up a lot of your draft to get Odell Beckham Jr., a player like Olivier Vernon. You just don't make those splashes unless you truly think you're in it. I think what it was is they figured they were just going to go ahead

and amass a lot of talent. And maybe where the issue was was obviously with what they chose to lead said talent. Freddie Kitchens, and look, we're all guilty of it. I was guilty of it, the work he did towards the end of the 2018 season. We were all kind of, hey, why not Freddie Kitchens? And I think part of it was is we didn't necessarily want somebody to just say, oh, yeah, I'll go coach the Cleveland Browns,

where if they had been asked any offseason for 10 years before, it would have been like, no, in the world, I won't even interview with the Cleveland Browns. So he gave Freddie the job. It showed quickly and apparently that he was over his head. It certainly didn't help that, you know, Odell was injured, Jarvis was injured, and these guys were really only essentially practicing on Fridays.

Then you get to the point with the defense. The defense did a pretty good job. You go to week four, you know, the big win down at Baltimore. They were able to, you know, contain Lamar to the point where they were able to take the run, get away from him. That looked impressive. But then you look at the fact that they were missing their cornerbacks, both of them together at the same time, is the same amount of time, well over a month of action. Then you get to Miles Garrett and obviously the suspension that led to six games. Olivier Vernon missed a ton of time. This team was extremely, extremely deep.

They had eight safeties on the roster. But by the time you got down to late November and December, this team was playing safeties number six, seven, and eight. So the top five safeties were out there. Just a lot of injuries, you know, a lot of not being led, not being taught, you know, the game planning, whatever game planning was put in, it was essentially scrapped once the game got going and the bullets started flying. They scripted plays. First couple of series or so looked pretty good.

Then after that, it was a lot of off the cuff. Didn't really know what they were doing. You look at some of the talent that Baker exceeded with in 2018, whether it was a Duke Johnson, whether it was a Rashard Higgins, whether it was a David Njoku. David Njoku and Rashard Higgins combined for 99 receptions in 2018. They combined for nine in 2019. These were two of Baker's keys. Guys, he had to start learning to play with other guys. It didn't work.

You know, Baker himself obviously had a big, you know, had to fall off after a tremendous 2018 rookie season. Just, you know, everything, and it certainly didn't help the pressure, and it certainly didn't help. Like, they were essentially anointed. And then when they got themselves into, you know, some times where, you know, they took a couple of shots during the game, they just weren't able to get up off the campus and respond.

It just, you know, as great as it looked on paper going into it, you know, once you got into it and you just saw the way it was working and the offense was stale and lackluster, and it never really got an identity to it other than Nick Chubb. Just a real tough season all around. Speaking of Baker Mayfield, I want to hit really quickly on how big of a year this is, entering year three for him. And with his Browns team, of course, they've improved a lot in the draft.

I'm going to ask you about it in your next question, because I think they had a really great draft class they put together here. But for Baker Mayfield specifically, how do you believe 2020 is going to be for him? Because I think it's a year where he's going to prove a lot on the, on the table for people out there. Well, I mean, you look at it this way, you know, Rashard Higgins, David Njoku, two players who were essentially, you know,

obviously Njoku was injured for a ton of, you know, 19. They picked up his fifth year option. They, you know, this franchise, you know, in this front office, the way it's set up, they want David Njoku to be a part of this thing, which is good. Baker had a great relationship. Rashard Higgins. Baker's best relationship with any skilled player on this team is Rashard Higgins. They just have this hidden language, the yin to the yang.

One knows what the other one's doing. Higgins really only played a consequence last year in 2019. They called his number. They needed a touchdown to beat Buffalo. Boom, called his number. It happened. You know, Odell, the health is already there. He's working out like a madman. There's been videos out here where he looks, in my opinion, looks thicker than I think he ever has in a NFL career. Jarvis Landry, we're going to have to wait on a little bit, you know, as far as, you know, his, you know, recovery from injury is probably going to last,

you know, a good amount until the summer. Yes, there's a lot on Baker because, look, Kevin Stefanski is coming in here. And if it doesn't work, it could be an issue. And Kevin Stefanski maybe wants to put his eyes somewhere else. I do think that he has a feeling that Baker Mayfield is going to fit what he wants to do well. Baker's great with the play action. Kevin Stefanski loves tight ends. Whether you go to Oklahoma or you go to the rookie year, you know, Baker's rookie year in the NFL, Baker throws well to tight ends.

He loves working with the tight ends. So that should bode well for him. You have a strong running game. You're going to get a full season of Kareem Hunt. You know, Kareem's the better receiver than Nick Chubb. Nick Chubb probably can work every day of his life and he'll just never have the natural instinctual ability as a receiver that Kareem Hunt does.

There's a ton of weapons, but they've done the most important thing here, and that's solidify the offensive line. Left tackle, right tackle. It was a major, major issue. Chris Hubbard isn't big enough, wasn't physical enough. Greg Robinson, you know, God bless Greg Robinson for what he did in his career. I mean, to shake off the bus label, to get to the point where 2018, he was a respectable name at the tackle position, but you were asking him to go out and play, you know, even better than

he did in 2018, which was the best football he'd ever played in his life. Natural regression for him. You know, the pass rushers kept coming. It's all on Baker, and there's no way around it. The 21 interceptions, he's owned up to it. He's talked about how his footwork was issues. He's talked about how he, you know, wasn't taking his drops correctly. And I think part of it was, is a constant changing of the skill position that was on the field. Hopefully that won't be so much the key here. But I just think, and the thing with Baker is, Baker's never really taken it on the chin. His college career at Oklahoma is fairly easy. You walked into the NFL, you took an 0-16 team to 7-8-1. So we had a lot of success. And then all of a sudden now you walked into the NFL, you took an 0-16 team to 7-8-1. So we had a lot of success.

And then all of a sudden now you're on, you know, the circuit, you know, where, you know, the beloved darling and to his own credit, maybe, you know, he bought into it much more than he should have. And now he's, you know, had to basically humble himself and get back to work and work harder. He's thrilled about what this situation brings. He's already talked about, you know, he's noticing a huge difference between what Kevin Stefanski is bringing as a first year head coach, as opposed to what Freddie Kitchens did. And as far as his communication and detail, and there's, you know, questions and it's not just, we'll do this because I'm the coach, you know, Kevin Stefanski is an intelligent enough man that he understands the intelligence level of kids these days. And he can't just use the, oh, we're going to do this because I'm the coach.

These kids are smart enough. They want to know why. They want to see what you're seeing, or at least they want a vision. They want to see the vision of what you're saying. And I have a lot of faith that Baker's going to bounce back. And Baker Mayfield just, for me, he's the type of guy that, you know, he always carries that chip. But when there's that reason and the fact that he's been essentially maybe knocked down a peg he's a guy man comes really really hard to think you're

going to bet against yeah i definitely agree with you there on that sentiment jeff and it's gonna be a big 2020 for not only the browns but baker may feel himself here before i let's let you go here for the first time and talking about cleveland browns let me on the draft real quick because i think the draft class was really really good you know You had Jedrick Wills at 10 overall, who I think was the best tackle in the draft. You got Grant Delphi. It was a top 10 pick in the preseason. He slipped all the way down to 44 to do his performance last year. Then you added Jordan Elliott of Missouri as well.

It seems like the first four or five picks are going to be day one stars for this Browns team, Jeff. Well, I love the way it went, and it worked out really well. I mean, that was the thing. Like, you know, we had so much debate between the fans and everybody. You know, I want this tackle. I want this tackle. I was like, guys, look, we're talking about four solid players.

Look, just give me one of them. They got into a great situation at 10 where there were still three of them available, so that worked out beautifully well. You know, they can say whatever they want. You know, the one I had heard, I personally believe that Andrew Thomas was their number one overall. You can't complain. He went four. It wasn't an option.

They really like Jedrick Wills. They like what he can do on the run game. And as far as his fit with this wide zone scheme that Kevin Stavansky loves, they love the pass blocker that he's developing into. His footwork is good enough that even if he gets slightly beat, it's not over. I'm like, there's times where he can still adjust and get himself back engaged. Are you still going to have some hesitation about him?

And the fact that he's never played the left side. Sure. It's natural. It makes a ton of sense, but they're thrilled to have them. And you look at it and you know, he's going to come into this room with Conklin with JC shredder with Joel Batonio.

There's guys here with, you battle-tested in the NFL. So even if Jedrick Wills has a question or there's something he's not doing right and he's not exactly sure what to do, there are solid veterans here that he can go to and say, hey, guys, what's going on here? What am I doing wrong? Is it technique? Am I reading something wrong? Am I not seeing something right?

So he just comes into a great, great room. And Joe Batonio, J.C. Tritter are great guys willing to help younger guys. Joe gets that mentality from Joe Thomas who did the same thing with him. So it's not just a great player. It's just not a great fit. He's walking into a great room here. And these guys on this offensive line, these guys, they want this franchise to succeed.

Joe Batonio signed here long-term. J.C. Tretter just signed an extension. He didn't have to do that. J.C. Tretter's developed himself to one of the better centers in the NFL. He could have said, you know what, I want to go to Greenier Pastures. I'd like to go somewhere. These guys are happy, extremely happy here. Grant Talbot, this was the one after round one ended.

You know, I'm sitting there for about, you know, 16 hours in between the end of round one to round two. This is the guy. This is the guy. This is the guy. Man, if they can somehow get this guy. Then all of a sudden, you see the trade. Indianapolis Colts jump up to 41. And for me to still get Grant Delpit at 44 and add an extra selection, like you said,

and it's similar to Greedy Williams, who they drafted in 2019. He was a guy that was considered a top 10, can't miss. Then, you know, high ankle sprain. Had three weeks of subpar play. Subpar play as far as Grant Delpit is concerned. Not necessarily subpar as far as some other players are concerned, which had him in the second round here. You bring him in here.

Now this is five LSU players into the room. He's got the big ego. He's played all the big games. You're ready for this guy to be part of this team. Jordan Elliott is just a great fit here because the way this defensive tackles are constructed for the Browns, you have Billings on a one-year deal who you just signed. Sheldon Richardson, essentially his contract could be up after 2020.

Larry Ogunjobi does not have a contract beyond 2020. So you possibly could have Jordan Elliott as the only defensive tackle on your roster going into 2021. He excels both ways. He's very, very good as a pass rusher. And the thing for him is the numbers weren't there at Missouri. Yes, guess what? He was their best player on defense.

You're playing these SEC teams. What did they say? All right, if we're going to get beat, it ain't going to be the dude. Jordan Elliott's not going to be the one to beat us. But he also excels in the run game. His quickness, his strength, he gets into the backfield. He's a great, great two-way player. The thing I love here is you do not have to rely on him, and it wouldn't be strange if you drafted a defensive tackle in the third round and said, day one, automatic starter. He comes in here as maybe the fourth defensive tackle, so you get a nice chance to audition him,

get his feet wet, and just see where you are for 2021. If you're going to move on from a guy or two, you know, and how much piece of the pie you want to give him for 2021. He's another guy that comes into a great room. It doesn't have to have a bunch of expectations on him, even though he should for where he's drafted, but great player, functional as far as run defense and pass rusher, just a solid job. And they really did a nice job. And I think the thing that impressed me most is they went into this draft with seven selections. And their last pick was supposed to be late in round seven. They were done by pick 183 and still made seven selections,

got themselves a couple more picks. Now they have ten picks in the 2021 class. It was a really, really great job by a first-time front office and GM Andrew Berry of setting yourself up for today, but also setting yourself up for tomorrow. Before we go on to segment two of our show, talking about the Indianapolis Colts,

to remind you guys, we have not already to start to locked on Browns and locked on Colts and locked on NFL network. Me and Jeff bring you guys daily analysis money through Friday and give you guys really a lot of fun analysis too. And I know Jeff, that's a fun time of the year, especially for post draft or looking ahead to the season.

So if you haven't already, go ahead and do so. Go to scratch locked on Browns and locked on Colts. We'll be back to you guys in just a second. All right, Jeff, let's dive in now to segment two of our show, talking about the analysis Colts. I will give you the floor here if you have any questions. All right, well, here's where we want to start, sir. Last year, last summer, me and my family, we go on vacation.

Browns, Browns dress rehearsal, week three preseason game. It's on a Friday night. Next morning, we drive down to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. I get settled there. One of the people we're staying with, I just got a text that Andrew Luck retired. Huh? Andrew Luck retired. And you go and you start to see all this.

Where, in your opinion, did it put the franchise? Like what was that feeling that night and then the season that it subsequently rolled on through? Like just how crazy was that whole scenario? Because, I mean, this team was looking prime. It was looking really, really prime. And the key to it all, obviously, was number 12. And then all of a sudden on one Saturday night,

it was almost like the whole almost like the lights got shut off for the 2019 season yeah it really was just like outside of lux retirement after that night i was just feeling a hopelessness for a little bit in the colts fan base because you obviously lose your mvp contender your best player on the team but i was actually in the building that night luke solo stadium jeff and the people were getting react notification on their phone from adam shepherd he's the one who broke the. And it was just a crazy experience in the building there. Just fans openly just walking out, taking their luxuries off some of them, just out of just pure, like, shock and despair.

And it just seemed – it was such a surreal scene, honestly, because just seeing a player retire. And, of course, it wasn't how luck wanted to break it. He wanted to break it to his team after the game and have it pressed hard until the next day. But Adam Schefter broke it during the game. And seeing the reaction of the fans was just, I think, a little disappointing, of course, to somewhere booing him.

But an incredible just scene because who would have thought that Andrew Luck at age 29 is going to retire from the NFL. And what that did the rest of the season, Jeff, was just you had Jacoby Brissett. You had to give him an extension and boosted up the locker room a little bit. But as we saw later on in the year, as teams got more and more fill in Jacoby Brissett, it was a really slippery slope from there. It got really awful at some points of the year, late in the year, where they were just a power first run team.

It was like the 1970s all over again. It just was not going to be sustainable. And I think that's why the Colts went on to do it. They did this offseason because Andrew Luck was such a good quarterback, but going down from Luck to Brissett was such a steep downgrade where they had to find something in the middle there. Yeah, and it was, I mean, for anybody, even NFL-wise, because I know when we were doing our talks, you know,

during the offseason, man, the Colts, this is going to be something to watch here this year. And then just to see a way, you know, it unfolded. And maybe not totally strange just for the type of kid Andrew Luck is, highly intelligent, you know, knew the amount of money he made, for the type of kid Andrew Luck is. Highly intelligent. Knew the amount of money he made. Knew the pressures of the game. And obviously dealing with the injuries.

But it was just like, wow, here's a guy that fought like hell to get himself right and get himself back on the field and then just feel uncomfortable to just essentially walk away from it all here. Now, as we go into 2020, I think they did a really, really great job of beefing this team up. Obviously, the move for DeForest Bunker, fantastic, ridiculously good interior player, special, special talent. But I want to get to Phillip Rivers here. Look, with Phillip, with Ben Roethlisberger, with Eli retired, obviously all three of these guys, tremendous careers,

all part of that same draft class. What's to make people think that what we saw of Phillip Rivers in 2019 is going to be so much better with what Phillip Rivers, the version we're going to see here in 2020 with the Indianapolis Colts? I think the Colts are selling their fan base, and really they've said a lot to the media, too, just about the offensive line, how big a difference it's going to make. Rivers was the bottom five offensive line last year. Now he's arguably stepping into the best offensive line in the NFL.

So for a statuette quarterback like Rivers, going behind an offensive line is not going to really help Rivers was the bottom five offensive line last year. Now he's arguably the best offensive line in the NFL. So for a statuette quarterback like Rivers, going behind an offensive line is not going to really help him get hit that much. It's huge for him. And especially with his arm strength kind of dwindling down,

that's a really huge asset. And you have playmakers on the outside too. And in the power run game, I know the Chargers have some playmakers like Keenan Allen, Mike Williams,

but the power run game I don't think really was that good in Los Angeles with Austin Eckler. You had Melvin Gordon being more of a complimentary back, I feel like, and now he's doing that in Denver this year. But you have Jonathan Taylor, then you also have Marlon Mack in the building, and I think that's a really lethal one-two punch there.

Almost reminds me sort of like Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram back in the day with New Orleans. I know it's not maybe as potent as that was, but I think it's close on that level, and having that power run game is going to take a lot less pressure off Phillip Rivers to the point where he might not throw it more than 30 times in the game at some weeks. And it's going to be a lot of run first football and a lot of – Phillip Rivers kind of being a game manager, so to say. And there's too much pressure on Rivers last year in L.A.,

but now with the Neapolis Colts, there's so many pieces around him on the outside and with the power run game on the offensive line that I think the expectation should be that there will be less pressure on him and the mistakes he made last year, 20 interceptions, a career high for him, those will go down a little bit. Yeah, I mean, I do like the fit. And I give him credit for the – you know, for Eli, it could have been a similar path.

You know, nobody ever thinks you'll see Ben Roethlisberger in another uniform. Phillip, look, he gets to close the gap, you know, halfway closer to home. Obviously, you know, he's got plans for 2020. It looks like he's, you know, going to go off and, you know, pump a high school through, what, 12, 13 of his kids that he's going to pump through that high school. So obviously, some familiar faces in that locker room. But I like to see it. And the thing with Phillip Rivers is that nobody has ever doubted in his entire career is the competitor. I mean, we're talking about this guy who played a playoff game on a blown ACL.

Just a special, special guy. And his love, commitment to the game is the competitor. I mean, we're talking about this guy who played a playoff game on a blown ACL, just a special, special guy. And his love commitment to the game is big time. And for him to say, you want to know what I want one more run at this. And if it's not going to work out here, I'm not going home on a, with a sour taste in my mouth. I think Philip wants more, once one more battle, you know, once we say one more January game, a little more comfortable where he can say, you know what, I'm at ease with this now. I can walk away and go on to the next chapter of my life. Draft-wise here, we talked about Michael Pittman to start. Michael Pittman, that was the fun thing about this wide receiver group. I think everybody was pretty content with where they felt the top one, two, three, four wide receivers were in this group.

But when you got to that five to maybe even 15 range, I think everybody kind of you know the variety or what you were looking for as far as what fit your team as far as these wide receivers switch Pittman I love the player love the game I love you know the contested catches you know big time I mean his Utah game still was probably one of the greatest you know prospect films I watched from the 2019 season Jonathan Taylor I mean enough mean, enough said there. Like you said, you're going to put him behind this offensive line, which I know very well. Quentin Nelson, a graduate from my high school here in New Jersey, so know Quentin, know his family really well.

Really solid people here. And then, please, just talk on those two. And I also want to hear what your thoughts were on Jacob Eason. I was a big Jacob Eason fan, and the fact that he went in the fourth round, I mean, I can kind of understand why. Maybe it's a little bit in me, the sucker, that I am still for the big, big arm. But, you know, look, those are the guys I'd rather work with on the little stuff. Look, you can't teach everybody to just have, you know,

the 99-mile-an-hour fastball. You know, sometimes I'd rather work with that as opposed to you're not going to develop velocity. Sometimes you can work on a guy's off-speed stuff, so to speak. But give me a thought here on a couple of these big rookies that Cole's drafted. Yeah, starting with Michael Pittman there. It's a huge pick. I think Pittman getting a game at 34. And you see Phil Rivers' history with big wide receivers. Vincent Jackson, Malcolm Floyd, Mike Williams. He's the next lineage in this.

Michael Pittman's going to be. And he's going to be a guy who Rivers is going to trust right away. He had the best drop rate in the NCAA last year. Only 2.8%, so very sure-handed. Like you mentioned, big-body target, 6'4", 223. He's going to be just the player that Phil Brewer's going to chuck up those deep balls to, and he's going to trust Pittman to go get it. More often than not, like you mentioned, that Utah tape, Jeff, that was an incredible performance. He just contested catcher to contested catcher

to contested catch, just winning them consistently. And that's, I think, an elite skill in this League of Warriors series. I think Pittman right away is going to come in and be a really very key asset to this offense and complementing T.Y. Hilton too I think that's a really fun duo and you add in Paris Campbell of Ohio State too that is a fun tree you put Campbell in the slot you put Pittman the X you put Tilton at the Z there I think that's a really interesting mix of just strengths and weaknesses there as far as a lot of those guys cover their strengths with the other guys weakness and I think I think that's just a beautiful blend that they have at wide receiver.

They're a pitman. I think it's going to be a player who comes in right away and maybe is their leader in touchdowns this year because they love the big wide targets. They love those in the red zone too. But Jonathan Taylor, I think that's my favorite pick of the draft, honestly. I wasn't honestly expecting him to go running back at all because I thought they would sign Marlon Mack in extension.

But getting Jonathan Taylor at 41 overall tells us all we need to know about Marlon Mack's long-term future with the Colts. But getting Taylor behind this offensive line, a player who never goes down first contact, it is a beautiful fit because the power run game that the Colts have and the offensive line that they have, there's building a bully, I think, on the offensive side with Taylor and Quentin Nelson and these players. And I think that's just a really – like scheme-wise and identity-wise,

what the Colts want to do. I think Taylor's a perfect fit for that. And then going on to Jacob Eason in the fourth round, I wouldn't have been a fan of taking Eason if it was in the second or third round, but I think fourth round at 122 overall, with the value they got him at, was a steal. Just because, like you mentioned, Jeff, he has the arm talent. I think the best arm talent in this draft.

Look at the velocity, the types of throws he can make. 65 yards, a frozen rope. Some core ranks don't make that in this draft class. Currently, Jake Fromm for a second it's like polar opposite there and i think having eason as that type of talent then frank reich as a quarterback guru mold him for a little bit maybe you do pay off if phil burris does play let's say two more years he's an eason entering his age 24 season has two years to learn behind phil burris and frank reich i think you might as well roll a dice and one two overall because if easason doesn't hit, you don't really lose much

with a fourth-round pick. Exactly. And the other thing would be is, you know, even if you're still not sure, you know, with Philip Rivers moving on, it puts you in the spot where one of these, you know, free Asian quarterbacks, if you like the fit, you can jump all over it. Or, you know, if it's something you've got to draft, you're pretty deep everywhere else.

So if you've got to go, even if you're going to have to give up some capital to move up, because most likely the team is not going to be drafting top 10 or 13 or 14 this season. So, you know, they'd be able to drop back. I mean, move up, you know, chase down a guy here. Now, you know, I think everyone can pretty much say, you know, Jacksonville, whatever Jacksonville is, is a year or two away. But you look at Houston, you look at Tennessee here. Now this is, you know, a difficult spot here.

You're in a division here where you already have two returning playoff teams from the season before. I think you've done a really, really nice job closing the gap. Are you confident with that? I mean, Houston, it's really hard to say where they are. You know, some things they did, and I think they drafted well. The whole DeAndre Hopkins thing, you know, I'll up at night, and I'm not even a Texans fan, wondering what in the world happened there.

Tennessee just kind of looks more like, hey, we're just going to run it back, essentially, which I guess. How confident are you that this is a true three-way race for the AFC South title this year? Personally, Jeff, I only feel like it's a two-team race. It's what Houston did this offseason. Whatever Bill O'Brien's trying to do there, I feel like it's really tanking the value of their team, at least for 2020.

Deshaun Watson's going to have a washed-up David Johnson behind him, and he's not really had much peace around him outside of that. They have Kenny Stills still in the building, but they don't really have a true number one wideout right now. And that just really confuses me as far as what their plan is for 2020. And you're going to have a frustrated Deshaun Watson if they don't do well this year. So I think Houston's going to regress pretty badly

without DeAndre Hawkins in the building. So I think they're not going to be in it much in the end as we're talking in December. So I think it's going to be really between the Titans and the Colts here. And I feel like Tennessee didn't really do much this offseason. They actually lost, I feel like, more than they added here. And losing Jack Conklin to Cleveland was a huge loss for them because now they have either

Isaiah Wilson, a rookie, or they have a backup, a true backup last year entering into that starting right tackle there. So I think with how much they lost on Tennessee's side, you have Ryan Tannehill, of course, we don't know if he's going to regress or progress. Derek Henry has an awful lot more trail ties of a big run last year. I think Tennessee is more of a 500-type team, like 8-8, 9-7. But I feel like this Colts team, with the moves they made on both sides of the ball, Phillip Rivers to Forrest Buckner, they brought in also Xavier Rhodes as a corner to see if he could last a few years left. I think this team has really not only closed the gap,

I think they've leaped for all these other teams. But I feel like this Colts team, if all goes well, should be an 11-1 team. I'm pretty confident in it. With Tennessee, it's hard to see that. For me, it's the Tannehill thing. It really is. He was hot when he needed to be in the regular season, and then they kind of got to the playoffs.

And similar to San Francisco, it was like, well, we're going to do anything we can to pray to God our quarterback doesn't have to throw the football. And eventually it's just going to be, hey, here's 10 in the box before, you know, he's not beating us. 22 is not beating us. That's the way this is going to work out. So you're going to have to, you know, make some throws Houston again. Look, you know, I just, I'm not sure that they are a better team than they were last year.

You know, I don't know how you subtract, you know, DeAndre Hopkins away from that and feel that you're just a better franchise. So that's a really, really, really difficult one for me. So, you know, just with the way that and the way it was constructed, I just don't get it. But I do love what Indianapolis has done here. And I do think with that veteran and that fire that Phillip Rivers brings, and it's not just a game day.

This is the guy he is. It's just the way he's wired. It's the same duty on Tuesday that he is late in the fourth quarter on game day. You don't turn that on. You can't fake it. It's just who you are, and Phillip Rivers is definitely that guy, and I think that could certainly, certainly aid that franchise. Yeah, definitely agree.

I think Phillip Rivers is not only on the field and off the field. It's going to make a big difference for this sport moving forward. But, Jeff, I appreciate the time and you coming on. You guys, once more, can go follow Locked on Browns on all your stream platforms. Go follow Locked on Colts on your stream platforms. Appreciate the time, Jeff. Oh, always a pleasure, Evan. And, obviously, I guess we'll talk somewhere in October.

Fingers crossed, hopefully.