Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS -6/9- Luck Healing "Tremendously"; Listener Q&A's

Episode Date: June 9, 2017

#Colts owner Jim Irsay says Andrew Luck is healing tremendously, but what does a rehab specialist think his return time table could be? Questions about the running back corps, and listener questions answered to round out the week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No, I'm not for sale. You are Locked 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'm your host, Matt Dainley. Thank you for joining me again here on Friday. It's good to be back. Glad that you guys enjoyed the past couple shows this week.

Glad that you guys have been enjoying a lot of these shows actually during the offseason. And I enjoy doing them as well. We're having some great guests on, obviously. George is both a favorite of mine and of yours. Jake's been more than gracious with his time as well, and we'll try to get some more people on as well just to keep this interest growing. So thank you guys again for all that you guys have been doing out there, all the listeners.

You guys have been fantastic. Get to a little bit of news and notes here before we get into a couple listener questions. Colts wrapped up OTAs today. So that's all in the books for now. Now it's kind of the waiting game. And just to hope that some of the news, as we talked about with George on Wednesday, that some of the news that we get out of Colts camp and Colts headquarters is not bad news. Granted, there's going to be a few cuts probably, maybe not a ton, but a few, I think. And this is something that we go through every year, a couple solid months of no information until we get to training camp or until we get close to training camp. And this is really the dead period for NFL teams, of course. But other than that, that's pretty good for your favorite sport and your favorite team to be busy,

at least have something to talk about for a good solid nine and a half, 10 months out of the year. So there's good news out of the town hall meeting. Jim Ursae spoke about Andrew Luck's shoulder. And this is always good news. We haven't heard a lot. There's been a lot of questions at OTAs from the media. And basically everything is there's no timetable and stuff like that, which is still somewhat the issue or the situation. But Ursae said that Andrew's healing tremendously.

The surgery was positive, not a negative or anything like that. Said that basically he was struggling going through the process of being ready to play each week last season, which obviously has led to him deciding to get surgery. He said that it wasn't that complicated of a surgery. It was a simple labrum repair and that there's a lot of other things that could have been involved with this surgery that weren't. So that's good. I mean, it tells you that aside from just the simplicity of the surgery

itself, there weren't any, uh, I guess, outside situations with his shoulder that caused further repair or there were no, you know, I mean, we would have heard, I think if there was any infections or anything after the surgery. So none of that, there was no other injuries inside of there. So that's a good thing as well. I mean, so we've got good things to talk about with that. So that, you know, also there was another person, I believe CBS had a piece on that said that they wouldn't be surprised. I think it was a rehab specialist said he won't be surprised if Andrew Luck is ready for camp. That's a good thing, obviously. Like I said, I've told you guys this in the past, and it's just my own personal opinion. I don't think there's anything to worry about if he's not there at camp. I think that it's possible still that he misses a game or two. It's nothing

to be worried about. I mean, granted, we would want him here for every game, but it's not something that we need to worry about if he's not. This is not going to be a season, in my opinion, where the Colts are Super Bowl or bust. Granted, you want him in there for each and every snap if you can at all possible, but there's no point in rushing him back is more along the lines of what I'm getting at. So that's good to hear that he would be ready, although I wouldn't count on him necessarily being ready for camp. I think that he could be throwing by camp for sure. I think that he could be doing some of that. I don't think that he'll be doing anything with any of the 7-on-7, 11-11s, or anything like that that are going to be happening in camp.

You certainly won't see him get touched. I mean, they may have him in bubble wrap throughout camp and stuff like that. So that's a good thing as well on the outside of that. It was a simple surgery and they assume that it's possible that he could be ready by camp. That's both good things. A former Colt is in the news a little bit. Dwayne Allen apparently has been struggling at Patriots minicamp. And I guess the story was something about he was having issues catching the ball and stuff in camp, which one of the reasons that a lot of us weren't too upset that he was gone. And apparently Bill Belichick said something about, hey, this isn't Indy.

You know, I mean, if that rubs you the wrong way, it shouldn't because it doesn't have anything to do with where he's playing. It had everything to do with who he is as a player and his downfalls ultimately as it came down to it. He couldn't catch the ball. He was struggling to get open. He wasn't blocking like he had earlier in his career. And the outside of that is that that's basically Belichick just trying to get under his skin, being like, hey, we don't do that here. You know, it is simple motivation, just like it would be for any coach. So now without further ado,

we're going to get into some listener questions and get these answered for you guys. I got one on Twitter from Ryan Jackson. His question is, what's up with the running back situation? Is Gore still starting? This is something that's been addressed a little bit in the media and some of it hasn't been, but ultimately Gore is the unquestioned starter at this point. Gore would have to be terrible coming in when he gets back from Florida. I mean, out of shape, you know, really not looking good at all, looking like he's his own age, which he hasn't yet to this point. He'd have to look like he was basically ready for retirement in order to not earn the starting

job as far as I'm concerned. I mean, yes, everything is an open competition, but that's Frank Gore first of all. And second of all, Frank Gore always takes care of himself, always has himself ready to play. And you're going to get the same thing from Frank Gore day in and day out, week in and week out, game in and game out for sure. I mean, so until Frank Gore either looks terrible behind this line

or comes in and just looks sloppy and out of shape to camp or whenever the team and Gore meet up next, that would be the only thing that would cut into his snaps or even threaten cutting into his snaps, to be quite honest. I definitely think that you're going to see somewhat of an ongoing transition between Turbin and Marlon Mack to see kind of where they fit as a unit, as a running back core. And then you've got Christine Michael in there as well.

So that's interesting to see if he's going to bring anything at all to this. If nothing else, he brings some added experience to the backfield. And this will allow them to kind of just go at their own pace as far as the rest of the group. I mean, they'll use Turbin predominantly for third down opportunities. Mack will get a lot of possibilities in and out of early and late downs, I think for sure. And Michael will be there if Mack's not ready to go any earlier. So, I mean, they have a nice thick backfield now. I think as we spoke about the other day,

I think this kind of puts Ferguson on notice a little bit to, you know, you've got to prove that you belong on this team, that you're necessary, that the team needs you for some reason or in some capacity in order to keep his job because he really isn't that great at returning kicks. And the Colts have other options at that, especially Bray and, you know, some other guys that they've brought in that are undrafted guys. So if that doesn't happen, then I think you can pretty much see a legitimate option for Ferguson being gone this year. Thanks, Ryan, for your question.

Let's get on to the next question. This is from Brian out of Indianapolis. Hi, Matt. This is Brian from Indianapolis. I have a two-part question for you, if you don't mind. Love the show, by the way. Great for my daily commute. Number one, wondering why everyone's talking about Brandon Williams being the number three tight end.

I know we have Daryl Daniels out of Washington that a lot of people compare as a hybrid. Someone that can get a few mismatches. He's got a similar body size to Brandon Williams, so I don't think there's any reason he shouldn't grow into a good blocker. So I was wondering if anyone's heard anything about him around any of the practices. And then number two, I was wondering, do you think, now that we have some defensive talent on the defensive side of the ball, that we're actually going to see a game plan for certain teams other than the Packers and the Minnesota Vikings? Great to hear from you.

Thank you, Brian, for the question. Great questions there. I'll start off with the first part of that. And as far as the tight end position goes, I think that Williams is being placed in that third role simply because he is already an established blocking tight end in the league. Now, he doesn't get a lot of opportunities as a pass catcher and hasn't in the past with the Seahawks, so that is obviously going to limit some of his abilities

and his role. As far as Daryl Daniels goes specifically, he hasn't been, and the only reason I think that people aren't saying that he's a blocking tight end is because to this point, when he was at Washington, he wasn't a tight end. There's other options. In fact, George the other night on Wednesday, that show, he was talking about how he looks like more of a wide receiver as far as body build. Then Bug Howard is a guy who kind of looks more of like a tight end. Now, I don't think he doesn't mean that as far as how they're playing or anything like that. But Daniels, as far as talking about him, we have to assume that for him to be overtaking that number three role, that he has to be basically come into camp

and has to have already wowed some people in his blocking ability, thinking that he can develop really well in that category. As far as him to be a pass catcher as well, he has some work still left to do. And this is obviously just going off of his tape, his college tape from what I saw earlier. What he looks like now, I can't speak on that. But I think that there is a very valid reason why Williams is number three, and that's simply because he has been an NFL tight end up to this point and when you kind of look at the Colts tight end core in the past there was always at least a pass catcher

and a predominant blocker and now Doyle was significant was basically that guy as the third tight end behind Fleener and Allen after he came into town. And then, you know, Fleener was not a blocker, an awful blocker. And then Allen was the blocking tight end. And Doyle was the tight end who may catch a couple passes, but he's predominantly going to be a blocking type guy. As this wore on and Fleener, you know, was gone, it was those two. Those two were the top tight ends. And then their third tight end would have been typically a blocking tight end as well. However, with Swoop, it was a little different. Swoop was predominantly a receiving tight end. And that came in the fact, I think, that as the season wore on, that you saw less and less blocking ability out of Dwayne Allen

and less and less receiving ability out of Dwayne Allen and less and less receiving ability out of Dwayne Allen. They knew what they had in Jack Doyle, so then they had to kind of alter their placement with that. When you have now Doyle and Swope being the top two tight ends on the roster right now, you understand that you have decent receiving ability out of Williams, even though he hasn't done it a bunch. But you've got good blocking ability out of him, and that's what they really think that they need. I think that that is what they feel that they need. Now, if Daniels can grow into that as a significant blocker, then game on. I mean, the competition is on for sure. So, I mean, I like Daniels. I

thought he was a really interesting guy coming in. He was somebody that I thought would have an opportunity to make this roster. I think that if they go with four tight ends, he definitely does. I think that's, you know, maybe a little wishy-washy as far as whether they were to or not. I think he's definitely a candidate for a practice squad at a minimum that opens up the door for him ultimately going forward. But I think ultimately he's going to have to be a phenomenal blocker come camp and prove that he can catch the ball in open spaces and get some separation as well as a receiver in order for him to do. He's going to have to do one or the other really, really well to do it because Williams is a good blocker and an okay receiver. Daniels in order, or anybody else

for that matter, they're going to have to be really good at something and good at something else, I think, to overtake Williams just because Williams has experience in the NFL in that regard. Now for the second part of that question with the Colts defense, yes, I agree with you. I mean, you know, if we call it a game plan, I think I know what you mean is that the Colts have beaten the Packers and a couple other teams, you know, outside of the AFC a couple times over the past several years. But there hasn't been a whole lot of that. So I think that what you're getting at is that the Colts look like they have a team that they can game plan with. And I agree with that. The defense is going to be super interesting this year.

That defensive line is going to be, as far as I'm concerned, and George, as far as I know, agrees, at least that's what I think he said on Wednesday, is that this defensive line, for the most part, is stacked right now. And the linebacking core is interesting, and they've got some ability. The cornerback group is a little better than last year, I think, and you have to account for Vontae Davis being a better corner than he was last year. You've got the safety group, which is bolstered with Malik Hooker. You know, you're hoping that you're getting some sort of improvement out of TJ Green, but you've got Darius Butler back there as well, who's got experience in the secondary. He's a guy who can play in multiple positions. I think this Colts defense right now is probably, when you look at experience and potential, you have to assume that this defense

is at least better than last year's. I mean, this defense was awful last year, guys. I mean, even the year before when Minuski, this is something I'm writing about right now, about the difference between Minuski's 2015 season that he was kind of scapegoated out of and fired afterwards to Ted Monachino coming in for his rookie year as a coordinator in the NFL at any capacity. Minuski's defense was significantly better than last year's, and there's basically no way to get around that. And when you look at the opposing situation with that, how Andrew Luck was only in there for seven games in 2015, he played all but one last year, you get the same record. I mean, you look at those two things and you look at what if the defense was significantly better last year? I mean, because according to Football Outsiders, the Colts defense was right around the middle of the pack. You give

the Colts a middle-of-the-pack defense last year, and I think that the Colts make the playoffs. Not to mention, you think about the simple games that they lost. They lost that late comeback to the Texans, and they lost a bunch of other ones late in games as well. Those misses. Now, the Colts weren't a great team overall last year, but if you give them a 16th, 17th ranked defense overall amongst the league, that defense can compete in the playoffs too. I mean, the Colts were a top 10 offense last year, and you basically got the same group coming back this year. I think this group right now is back just in, like I said, potential and skill-wise. I think you've got a better group than last year for sure, and I think you're closing in on closer to what 2015 was. 2015 wasn't a great defensive team, but they were significantly better than what last year's squad was.

So, yeah, I agree with you. I think this team has a lot more ability, a lot more. Now, this all falls on Monachino's shoulders, to be quite honest with you, to be unique and to be a guy who can put people in the position that they need to be in. They need to blitz more. They blitz 10% less than they did in 2015 last season. I mean, a lot of that, and not only that you're not getting any pass rush on the outside out of your front three or plus one, but you need to find a way to blitz more and be creative with that. And Monachino's yet to do that.

He's up for a big season this year. Like I said, I'm writing about that right now. That'll probably be out on Sunday on FanRag. So I think that defense is exciting. So I think that everybody should be excited about it until we see otherwise because one of the things that I can't wait to get to camp for is just to see, like George said the other night, like those pass rush drills, seeing those guys work together,

see how fluid they are just in simple secondary drills, and just to see these guys actually go at it. This is a hungry group. It's a group with some experience, and it's a group with a lot of potential in the young guys, and I'm really excited to see it. Thank you, Brian, for the questions. Excellent ones.

Let's go to our next question from Ivan. Hello, Matt. This is Ivan from India. Long-time listener of the podcast. Absolutely love it. Required listening every morning. Now, this may get me kicked out of Colts Nation, but looking at this roster, I think this team compares a lot to those early 2000 Patriots teams,

right when the dynasty began. This team is going to be younger, faster. The defense, it won't be a Baltimore-style score and totally dominate it, but they won't make mistakes. And by not making mistakes, they're going to put pressure on the other team's offense. I would love to get your thoughts or whatever guests you have on the show today. Keep up the amazing work, and go Colts. Thank you, Ivan, for that.

Again, I agree with a lot of what you're saying. That is really interesting comparing this defense to, or this team, to the beginning of the Patriots' kind of dynasty role. Like I said just moments ago to Brian's question, you know, you get a top 10 offense and you get a defense that's structurally, physically, and skill-wise better than as far as I can, I mean, just on paper that we've seen in a while. I think that a lot of what the Colts are going to do that's going to impress people is they're going to be significantly better against the run. And that in itself is going to help a lot that's going to allow them to to attempt to get to the passer a lot more that's going to allow them to

be more creative i mean on on paper like i said now monachino doesn't draw up any blitzes and he's not unique and creative with his defense then all that's going to go out the window but stopping the run first is going to help tremendously. Then they're going to, you know, if teams decide to go to the air against our secondary, we've got more playmakers on this team now than we did last year. The Colts have not had a good number two corner on this team since Luck's been here.

I mean, and probably even, you know, a few years before that, I mean, it was very hit and miss. And now we've either, A, got Rashawn Melvin stepping in at number two to begin the season until Quincy Wilson is ready. But Quincy Wilson's a playmaker. Quincy Wilson's long ball skills, exciting. Malik Hooker on the back end there being able to rotate, being able to drive on each side of the field and make plays.

I mean, guys, this is a defense that offers a lot of potential. The offense, if they're anything like last year, which we expect them to be, should be phenomenal. And they were talking today at the town hall meeting as well, and they were talking about how Howard Mudd says that he thinks that the Colts offensive line is fixed. Guys, I mean, can you imagine what this offense will look like if it is actually fixed? If everybody stays healthy, if the offensive line comes through, protects Andrew Luck, and plays as well in the running game as they did last year, helping the running backs get those extra yards that they aren't even earning on their own, so to speak,

being able to get those linemen to the second level and open them up for a few more yards, that's critical to the running game. Being able to pass protect, being able to get Mack in there and teach him how to protect correctly, nothing better than Frank Gore being able to help him do that. Turbin's a physical guy back there as well. You know, Christine Michael, I can't really speak on him too much, to be quite honest with you, not real familiar with his pass protection game. But a lot of this is exciting, and there's a lot of reason to be excited. Now, if this team is anything close to the beginning of the Patriots' role as that, there's a lot of other factors that have to come into play and not just skill. I mean, if you remember any team,

basically, who's ever won the Super Bowl or even been to the Super Bowl or made a significant playoff run, their coaching staff was a major part in that at some point in time in the season. There's been various moves by coaches to help move this team to the next level when they get a little bit stagnant, almost get some players block in there. And when that happens, if Chuck Pagano, if Ted Monachino, if Chudzinski, if those guys all three have good seasons coaching and they use their players to their ability and they design plays and defenses and schemes and offenses around the talent that they've got, this Colts team could be a very competitive team this year. I mean,

the potential is there. Whether it happens or not is very much yet to be decided. Like I've told you guys in the past, I just don't see it happening in the first year just because there's so many new pieces. There are a lot needs to gel for all this to come together. But by next year, I mean, you've got a lot of things in place, barring any major overhaul as far as coaching staff or anything like that. Not much could really set the team back. If Pagano shows growth in his coaching ability, if Monachino shows a massive growth from year one to year two in his position. If Chudzinski can continue to be unique and creative as an offensive coordinator and put those guys in places they need to be and to make plays, then this Colts team is going to shock a lot of people. I mean,

not just the defense, the offense, everybody. A lot of that also falls on special teams. That's taken a bit of a setback this past year without Pat McAfee. So a lot of that's going to be a situation where the back end of the roster have to be headhunters, and we've got to have a punter back there who can at least maintain a quality average and be able to put the ball inside the 10 to 15, 20-yard line with some sort of consistency and not set us up for failure throughout the season. And Vinatieri's got to be good. I mean, Vinatieri's got to be able to pluck three points in there whenever he needs to be. I mean, he's getting

older, but he's showed consistency throughout. And we don't expect him to take a major drop or anything like that, but all this stuff, every little piece of it comes together. So that is high praise as far as I'm concerned about comparing them to the Patriots' beginning of their role. But anything's possible with this, guys. I mean, this could be just as much a major, one of the best off-seasons a team's ever had if the team comes out and plays really well in this 2017 season, but it could also be a massive bust if there's injuries and players don't live up to their contracts,

even on the one-year deals, on the good contracts. If they don't play and they don't play well, then a lot of that doesn't matter because a lot of it's going to be a disappointing season if that comes to fruition. But I agree with you on the excitement completely. It's something that's always going to be exciting until we get to actually see the product on the field.

So thank you guys. A little bit longer of a question and answer, but sometimes you only need a couple questions to get my long-winded mouth going. So thank you guys for listening today. Continue to call in 574-516-2881. You can see that on the Locked on Colts, at Locked On Colts on Twitter. Profile page, the phone number's up. You guys want to use it and call in. Just like these two, Brian and Ivan, we'll have your voicemails live on the show, and I'll answer them and do this whenever we get a chance.

Tonight, that's just about what we got for the evening. Not a whole lot going on. So I will check you guys out 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.