Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 8/26/19: Moving on from the Andrew Luck era

Episode Date: August 26, 2019

On today's episode, it's time to move on from the Andrew Luck era. Less than 48 hours later, the sting is still there but with two weeks before the opener it's time to pass the torch to Jacoby Brissett.How will Frank Reich scheme the best opportunities for Brissett, and what does Indianapolis have in him? With all the talent still on the field, all the pieces are in place for Brissett to prove Reich correctly that he's indeed a top 20 quarterback. Brissett is a great deep ball thrower, but what other elements of his game can be developed under Reich's tutelage?What's the ceiling and floor for the 2019-20 Colts? Personally, I believe it's 10 (ceiling) to 6-7 (floor). What say you?One underrated element now is how the Colts' defense will respond. Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus has a big task ahead of him.Finally, we close the show on preseason battles for the final roster spots before analyzing what Indianapolis should do at backup QB while Chad Kelly is suspended the first two weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everybody. Welcome back into Locked On Colts, probably Locked On Podcast Network. Today's audience is Evan Sutter, and we're joined by a very special guest today. He's our weekly Monday guest now, Zach Hicks, Stampede Blue. We both recorded a podcast on our own podcast. You were on the Coral 45 podcast, on the Blue Wire Podcast Network. I did one yesterday evening. I just want to get your initial thoughts, Zach. Where were you on Saturday when that news broke by Andrew Luck retiring from the NFL?

Yeah, so I was actually watching, I believe, a movie with my girlfriend or with my fiance. I really don't watch much preseason football the night of the games just because the commercials and all that. It just it's really boring to me. So I rewatched the games afterwards on Game Pass. So I really wasn't watching. I wasn't even near my phone. And yeah, I walked to my phone like, you know, halfway through the movie and then I saw my phone just exploded with the news. So yeah, I mean, I definitely was like an hour late looking,

seeing it on the news there. But yeah, I was definitely shocked. I mean, if you guys want to see my response, it is over on the Colt 45 podcast page over on iTunes, Spotify, whatever. So that was my initial, like, 12-minute response. I recorded it, like, that night after we heard the news. But, yeah, I mean, it was definitely shocking. You don't ever expect to hear, you know, the team that you cover's top five quarterback in the NFL is retiring from the game. So it was definitely shocking, to say the least.

Yeah, it really was. I was actually at the game so it was definitely shocking to say the least yeah it really was I was I was actually at the game and about luckily I left before the news broke actually about 10 minutes after or 10 minutes before it broke and I wasn't a stadium to see the booze but just what what was your thoughts on just that whole situation how it broke down because obviously it leaked out before Andrew Luckett told his own teammates Adam Schefter had to do his job there and get the report done. But, I mean, it's just stunning to say. I mean, we saw Barry Sanders retire early.

We saw – I mean, we want to get super throwback here. Jim Brown retired early at the age of 29. Calvin Johnson. But, Zach, this has to be the most shocking retirement in NFL history, right? I mean, for me, it definitely is. I think it has to just because the age of social media we're at right now, even when Calvin Johnson retired, just social media wasn't really where it is right now. And I think that kind of adds to it along with it being, you know, we're not talking about like no offense to Calvin Johnson or Barry Sanders, but those are arguably the two of the best players ever at the position. But

a top five player who was a quarterback in this league coming off one of the best seasons in the league, I think that that really took the whole league by surprise. And you could definitely tell looking at Twitter and looking at all the responses from players and media members around the league. Yeah, I mean, I think this has to be the most shocking. I mean, I remember the Calvin Johnson one, but I don't remember it being near as shocking as this, especially with the timing too, where it came two weeks before the regular season. I think when you put all that together, the social media aspect, along with the timing of the announcement, I think that this has to be the top one of all time.

Yeah, we covered it pretty well in both our podcasts here about what the injuries were and what they do moving forward here. But the last thing I want to ask you about Luck is obviously the Colts moving on here from Luck. And unfortunately, we're going to have to do the same here with Andrew Luck pretty soon as far as moving on into the

future without him but just relaying just the past of Andrew Luck how good he was I don't think maybe five years from now maybe people aren't gonna be talking about enough just how talented of a quarterback he was just off talent alone Zach I feel like he was probably one of the five most talented quarterbacks we've seen in our lifetime yeah definitely in our lifetime I know you and I aren't the the oldest guys in the world, so we can't talk about, you know, the John Elways and such that way. But, I mean, just from what I've seen in football, I started watching football in the early 2000s.

Yeah, I can't think of five better quarterbacks that I've seen. You know, there's definitely guys up there like Peyton and Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre towards the end of his career. But just the way that he extended plays, his pocket presence, his – that ice gene that he has and that he could always just – like you never really thought that we were out of a game, especially, you know, the Dolphins game last year. I always bring this up because I think it was one of my favorite moments of last season is going into the fourth quarter of that Dolphins game. Some random NFL reporter, I don't I think it was one of my favorite moments of last season is going into the fourth quarter that Dolphins game some some random NFL reporter I don't know who it was I can't even

find a tweet honestly now but going into the fourth quarter the Colts were down by I believe 10 points or 14 points and the reporter guy said Andrew Luck eats that you know like he just can do that in his sleep he can eat that for breakfast he'll finish up the comeback here and he'll win and then sure enough the Colts go down the field multiple times and come back and win the game. And that was always the expectation with Andrew Luck. Even when we were getting killed by the Texans last year in that first matchup when they brought him all the way back to overtime, you never thought you were out of the game with a guy like Andrew Luck. And I think that's going to be the biggest aspect that is missed here is just that ability to always claw his way back in the games

and just always have hope with him on the field because he's that good. So, yeah, not only Colts fans and everybody kind of, you know, not just Colts fans will be upset about this. I think the whole league should be upset about this retirement because we're definitely getting robbed of a couple years of a great quarterback. Yeah, just as he was entering his prime here Andrew Luck retired from the game just due to the litany of Andrews he suffered and as he let us know on Saturday it was a posterior ankle impingement a high ankle sprain and a calf strain so it just

seemed like his body was just breaking down from all the wear and tear over the years in his first four years in the NFL but we have to transition on here Zach to the next man up so to say and it's Jacoby Brissett. And Frank Reich has said throughout the last year or so, and really in fact over the last three or four months, that Jacoby Brissett is a top 20 quarterback in this league. I think it's unfair to the greatest 2017 tape because the offensive line was so bad, the team's entirely different, a whole new coaching staff.

But do you think Reich is on the money there as far as maybe he is a top 20 quarterback? I mean, it's time to prove it now. Of course, he has a little piece around to maybe do it. You know, if anyone's more qualified to give that opinion, it's Frank Reich and Chris Ballard. I mean, I really can't say anything about Jacoby Brissett because we just haven't seen anything meaningful football from this guy since 2017 and even 2017 you can argue really wasn't that meaningful because he was thrown into a season with no preparation with one of the worst rosters in the league and with a coaching staff that was on its way out I just don't think that's a fair amount of information to grade him on and

even if you are grading him off that film he's definitely saw some aspects of his game that you could like but you know we just don't know what he is right now. So if a guy like Frank Reich or Chris Ballard, guys who are proven talent evaluators and guys who've got this team back up to where, you know, they're a winning football team, say that he's a top 20 quarterback, I mean, who am I to say that they're wrong?

I really don't have anything to go off of outside of a couple of preseason snaps, which, as we all know, is not real football. It's not. Preseason football is, is really nothing. I mean, there's no communication offensive line. There's no defensive scheming. There's no, there's really nothing to grade off of in preseason. It's just how confident guys are throwing the football and if guys are making catches.

So I think grading him off of that or even grading him off of OTAs, that what we're hearing from reporters, it's just not fair. And even 2017 film is just not fair to grade him off of. So right now I have no clue if he's a top 20 quarterback. I don't know if he's a top 10 quarterback. I don't know if he's a bottom five quarterback out of the 200 that are in the league. He could be the worst thing ever. He could be the best thing ever.

But all we can really do right now is just kind of wait for the season to start and see what we got in him. Because I mean, there's obviously some aspects that we like coming out of college. I mean, he was a third round pick from the Patriots. There were some aspects they liked in him and the Colts liking him. But I mean, right now as a fan or as an analyst, I mean, there's really not much to go on. So I'm just gonna have to to take Frank Reich and Chris Ballard's word for it right now. Yeah, that's a good point to bring up there, Zach. And it's obviously, I think, a slight drop-off or even a steep one if you go off that. Just an MVP candidate, a top three, top five quarterback in Andrew Luck.

Now you're going to go to maybe a top 20 quarterback in Jacoby Brissett. Frank Reich's probably the best guy who can handle this as far as a coach because he led Nick Foles back up to the Super Bowl and won against New England when Carson Wentz tore his ACL late in the season. If you're Frank Reich, what would you do to maximize Jacoby Brissett's strengths this year? So from everything I've seen of Jacoby and everything that we kind of know at this point, again, it's really not much, but he's definitely a rhythm passer from everything that I've seen from his college game and I guess from what we can infer from practice. He's much of a rhythm passer from everything that I've seen from his college game.

And I guess from what we can infer from practice, he's much of a rhythm passer. If he is, you know, if he has to sit back in that pocket and think too much, you'll hold on to the ball and he'll take some sacks. But if you can get some quick options, some quick passes for him and really get into a rhythm, I think he can be an effective quarterback. So I think a lot of those quick hitters and, you know, the Colts did a really good job with the quick hitters last year. They definitely got the ball out of luck's hands fast, and that was another reason why they were one of the best offensive lines in the league is that ball was just getting out quick. So I think kind of keeping that same philosophy, getting the ball out of Brissette's hands quick,

don't make him think too much. Don't make him have to read too much on the field. Make life a little bit easier for him. Get it into the playmaker's hands like T.Y. Hilton, Paris Campbell, Devin Funches, Eric Ebron. There's a lot of playmakers. Get the ball out quick. Let them make some plays.

And don't make him do too much in the pocket. I think that would be the best thing for him. And, yeah, I just think that you can take the occasional deep shots with him because you have the offensive line, and he's also a very sturdy player in the pocket. He can kind of withstand some rushes but overall I think just getting that ball out quick getting him in a rhythm and get him confident with what he's seeing and get those completions up I think that'll be the best route to take with Jacoy Brissett. Yeah it's certainly

going to be interesting to watch with him because it's almost a blank slate at this point a whole new system compared to 2017 an entirely different team I talked about this with Kevin Bone believe two weeks ago at this point and I'm curious to your thoughts on this Zach because we're just doing a hypothetical scenario where if Andrew Luck did indeed miss like four or five weeks of the season to the bye week what they would be at and their first five weeks if listeners want to know again it's the Chargers and it's also the Titans Falcons Raiders and Chiefs what would you say as far as the possibilities for the Colts there the first five weeks of the season with a record of possibly heading into that bye week? You know, it's tough just because from one year to the next, teams change so much and everything changes. I mean, I know in the NFL, it's always crazy to think because you go into

the year, you're like projecting the teams who made the playoffs last year to make it again. But I believe the number is over 50% of teams that made the playoffs from the year before don't make it the next year. So it's just really hard right now to say who's going to be the good teams. But I think, you know, four of those games are winnable. I mean, even the Chiefs aren't unbeatable. But I definitely think they can win four of those games. I would probably say three and two right now just because the Chargers are

losing so much. I mean, the Colts lost a quarterback, but the Chargers lost their best defender, their best playmaker on offense, and then Keenan Allen might also be out and their left tackle is out. Then you go to the Titans and their left tackle is out as well, along with their really shaky quarterback too. And then I think that, you know, the Falcons are a good team. I definitely think they can lose to the Falcons there, but I really think they can win three of those first five games going into the bye week, and I think that'll be a good start for them under Jacoby Brissett. Let's pivot over to the other side of the ball real quick,

because I haven't seen this take really talked about much out there. But I feel like with Andrew Luck now gone, I feel like the most important piece of this team might be actually Matt Eberfluss, defensive coordinator, because we saw how good he was last year with the scheme and just did so much zone with how little talent he had. They implemented all this young talent into the team again this year with Malik Cooker, Darius Flynn, or Anthony Walker, etc. A lot's on their shoulders now defensively, Zach. I feel like if the team's going to overachieve this year, so to say, maybe make the playoffs, it's going to be on

mostly, I think, Matt Eberfluss' shoulders. Yeah, I mean, he can't afford to start slow. Last year, the defense and kind of him he kind of started slow last year with what he was doing with his scheme but i think as he got on as they progressed throughout the season and he was mixing up his blitz packages he was mixing up his coverages i think he did a really good job later on in the season and that's what really helped them you know get to where they were where they were you know a playoff team and shutting teams down down the stretch uh but he can't afford to start slow, and the defense can't either, because, you know, you're not going to have that elite quarterback

on the other side of the ball who can kind of carry the team's fit. But, yeah, I agree with you. I think that a lot kind of rests on his shoulders, and I think he's ready for it. I think that they have the talent on defense, and I think that he has the ability as a defense coordinator to really draw up some good schemes and really help out this offense now. I know it's hard to take out the quarterback out of this scenario here

because the quarterback is the most important position in the NFL, but if you just take it out for a second, Zach, and you look everywhere else on offense and defense, playmakers, skill positions, where would you rank the Colts as far as if you just take out the quarterback position, where are they ranking the NFL as far as teams go? You know, I haven't really evaluated almost every other team in the league, but I think they have to be top 10. I mean, if you look at every other roster in this league,

just about all of them have holes. And I really don't see the holes with the Colts. I mean, maybe a little bit of depth issues. And there's some other areas where they could definitely get a little bit better. But overall, I mean, on offense, you got one of the best offensive lines, you got one of the better receivers in the league. You got a running back who was on pace to be one of the better running backs last year. And then you got one of the deepest tight end groups. And then on defense, you know,

you have some great pass passers in the D'Nego Autry and Justin Houston, along with some youngsters in there. Then you have an all pro linebacker. And then you have a secondary that's really good. I mean, you got the highest paid slot corner in the league. You got another good corner in Pierre Desir, and then a young safety who can cover a lot of ground. I don't really see many weaknesses,

so I think anybody would be crazy to say they're not a top-10 team in terms of talent aside from quarterback in this league. I'm right there with you, Zach. I think you're riding the money as far as top-10 goes, and maybe even top-5 if Bursette can at least steer the ship and just be an average quarterback I feel like this team can still make a push for the playoffs this year and let me ask you this because that's a tough schedule this year of course and factoring in swapping out Andrew Luck, Virgilio Bursette what do you think is the ceiling and floor for this team this year I feel like the ceiling obviously from my end is probably

a 10-win team hosting a playoff game on the wildcard weekend. The floor is probably a 6-7-1 team. What would you think as far as your ceiling and floor goes? Yeah, the best way I can put it is from Andrew Luck to Jacoby Brissett, you go from a team that absolutely has to be in the playoffs or will be in the playoffs to a team that can be in the playoffs. And I think that's a very clear distinction is, you know, instead of kind of expecting playoffs this year, you're hoping for them. But Brissette can definitely get them to the playoffs. I mean, we are in a league right now where Blake Bortles, Keith Keenum, Nick Foles even have gotten teams to the playoffs and even gotten them to the Super Bowl.

So if Jacob Brissette can even be, you know, just the 20th best quarterback in the league, they can definitely still get to the playoffs. So I'm kind of right there with you, though. I think that that 10-win team is definitely their ceiling, maybe 11 wins, depending on how the rest of the teams in our schedule perform on the year. But six or seven is probably the low. I don't feel like they're going to go less than six. Their team's just too talented for that.

I don't want to get too ahead of myself here. I know Lewis and I probably don't want to talk about it too much either since we just – Andrew Luck just retired and Jacoby Brissett's the man for this year. But it's tough not to think about what could be next year for 2020. Just a quick synopsis, Zach, if you've had a chance to look at any quarterbacks for 2020, who's caught your eye so far?

I know you reported – you heard from a source at camp that Jordan Love might be a guy of interest for the Colts. Yeah, I mean, it was kind of a throwaway line. Someone just told me that when they kind of asked Ballard about next year's draft class, he just brought up two quarterbacks that he thought were good players, which were Jordan Love and Justin Herbert. But, yeah, he likes both those guys. They're both seniors.

They both have good arms. They're both very mobile guys. So, you know, you never know how this year is going to go. So it's really hard to kind of say it again, like this year, if those guys are going to be top guys, especially the quarterbacks, a guy could be the number one pick all off season and be a fifth rounder come the draft. But Herbert's actually kind of interesting because he's a lot like Andrew Luck

where he's a very smart guy, very quiet guy. Went back for his senior year, even though he was probably going to be a top five pick in this past draft. So I was kind of entertaining the idea in my head that that would be a really funny pick if they went from, you know, kind of a quiet, smart guy to another quiet, smart guy. But I also like Jordan Love a lot. He's very mobile, has a big arm, a little inconsistent with his Utah State. You know, the coaching staff and the talent there isn't amazing, but he's also a really good player. So I like both those guys. I also like Tua out of Alabama. So there's a lot of interesting quarterbacks.

And then we all know the year after that, there's Trevor Lawrence. So there will be a lot of good quarterbacks coming out these next few years. And I have no doubt, you know, Ballard has been stocking up these draft picks. If he really wants one of them, he'll do whatever he can to get it if Persepp's not the guy. But we'll just have to wait and see at this point. Yeah, absolutely. I feel like the Redskins pick especially now is just going to be so interesting

to follow with because if Washington's bad this year, that's another top 35 pick. There's a possibility the Colts could have three picks in the top 50 this year, and that's an awful lot of ammunition if Chris Bauer wants to use it moving forward. But let me ask you this, Zach. We can close out the show over the next five or so minutes here talking about the roster battles and what you've seen so far. There's really only a couple of spots still remaining on this team.

Hale Hentges at tight end four versus Ross Travis. From what you saw against Cleveland, Hale Hentges had a good game even though he fumbled the ball. I don't know why they listed it as an error, especially for Chad Kelly on that play. But Hale Hentges fumbled the ball there. Ross Travis did all right in that game. Where do you lean now a week later as far as that battle goes? Yeah, I would still kind of lean Travis. I still just think that he brings the dimension that Hentges doesn't have, which is that speed, athleticism, and quickness. And they kind of

even need that more now with which Cobra second to be in there. They're going to need guys who can make plays after the catch. And I think Ross Travis just brings that more than Hentges. But again, I really like Hentges. I think that they have a good chance to sneak him onto the practice squad. And if there's any injury to any of the tight ends throughout the year, they can bring him up. But I would still lean Ross Travis right now. Yeah, I think that's going to be a really fun battle to watch. And I think Thursday is going to actually be an interesting game

as far as watching Hentges and Travis go. But the cornerback position, I feel like it's starting to get a little solidified here as far as that goes at cornerback five and six. I feel like Chris Millen's almost a lock for this team because he's a very good special teams player where do you where would you lean on Nate Hairston and Marvell Tell? So I would still lean Tell just because I like the upside that he brings and and honestly I think they're deep enough at corner where they don't really need to keep a guy like Hairston as that like I wouldn't say veteran depth because he's only been in the league a couple years, but as a guy who kind of knows what he's doing, you know.

Marvell Tell just kind of has that athleticism, length, and the ability to be a really good project for this team long term. And I don't want to lose that on the chance of trying to sneak him to the practice squad. So I would go with him, and I would probably look to trade Hairston for, you know, maybe a guy who's going to miss the roster on some other team that might make it here with Indy or something like that. I would kind of shop around Harrison. But I just prefer Tell with his upside and athleticism over a guy like Nate Harrison.

I remember missing something to ask you about this guy, Zach. He drew a lot of buzz Saturday, but the Andrew Luck news broke and got swept under the rug here. But I thought Chad Kelly had another great game. What have you seen so far out of Chad Kelly? I know he's suspended for the first two games. Do you think there's a real chance he's the backup moving forward this year or maybe even beyond? So, yeah, the biggest issue with Chad Kelly,

and it might hurt him kind of long-term with this team, maybe not other teams, but with this team for sure, is the first two weeks they need a backup quarterback and Phillip Walker is not the guy and Chad Kelly can't be the guy because he's suspended. So the team really wants to get a backup quarterback and they go out and get, you know, whoever it is. It could be a guy who gets cut or maybe they trace or, you know, maybe a guy like Kyle Oletta or something like that.

A guy who was drafted a couple of years ago, but just isn't going to make the team that he's on right now. You know, they can like that guy more than Jack Kelly, because Kelly's just not going to be available for those first two weeks. So it's definitely interesting to see what they're going to do with the backup quarterback. But I like what Jack Kelly's been doing. I think a lot of people are getting way ahead of themselves with him, though. Again, I need to remind people that the preseason really is not football.

I mean, I think the Pro Bowl probably offers more scouting opportunities in the preseason, especially when it comes to guys playing with the ones or twos. Just because there's no scheming going on. There's no hiding anything. There's no – you're not really reading anything as a quarterback. You're just kind of standing against one-on-ones and seeing what happens. And I do like what Kelly's doing out there. I like that he's being very decisive.

He has good arm. He gamed the ball out quickly. But again, you know, saying that he should start at percent, I know a lot of people are saying that right now. It's not really feasible and it's not going to happen unless Persec gets hurt and Kelly is the backup after week two. But, you know, to kind of bring it back to a positive note, I do like what Chad Kelly's been doing. And I think that he very well could be the backup quarterback after week two but you know to kind of bring it back to a positive note I do like what Chad Kelly's been doing and I think that he he very well could be the the backup quarterback

after week two but it all really depends on you know if they bring a veteran in the backup reset or if they bring in like another young guy that they're really high on it all really depends on upon those things but I do like what he's been doing this offseason yeah I feel like I've seen the same takes as you, Zach. The Kelly over Bursette takes are a little hot takey for me and also I think a little asinine because we've seen how Bursette played in 2017 and he's a legit quarterback. We haven't seen enough of Chad Kelly yet to even prove any of that. Like you said, Precy and Snaps are a little meaningless right now.

But I feel like we should also hit on a couple players. I know Paris Campbell is back today from his hamstring injury about four weeks ago. But one player who's really exploded on the scene against Cleveland and Chicago was Deion Cannon. I feel like he's really starting to get on his own, Zach. And he's one of the guys I'm really excited about. His role, I think, might be even more with a guy like Brissette on the team. Yeah, I mean, they need those explosive playmakers. And that's what he's kind of proven to be this offseason.

We all kind of saw it in college. We saw it last year and before season started that he can be the explosive playmaker. So, you know, if he's wide receiver four, wide receiver five, you know, the Colts like to sub the receivers in quite a bit. So he'll still get some meaningful snaps here. But I'm really excited for him. I think that whatever role they use him in, even if it's a guy, he'll only get 10, 15, maybe 20 snaps a game.

I think that he's going to, you know, have quite a bit of an impact on this team. So I really like what he's been doing, and he's put together some really good games and really good practices this offseason. It's just great to have him back, and having another weapon with that kind of explosion, I think is going to be a lot better for this offense than it was last year. Yeah, I'm really excited for what Deion Kane could do this year and beyond.

And I wanted to ask you as well, this cut happened about an hour ago. I've seen some fans react to it. I feel like overreactions is a really good word for this one because I didn't think he was going to make the team anyways. But Matthias Farley was cut today. I think he was the fifth, sixth, maybe seventh safety on this team. He was playing in the fourth quarter of last night or on Saturday's game, so that should tell you where he was on the dead chart there.

But for a guy who I guess was a fan favorite to the team, I feel like, honestly, we already have the four safety set with Gathers, Hooker, Odom, and Corey Willis, but what did you think about Farley? So, Farley I love. I mean, anyone who's watched the Colts the last couple years, you absolutely love a guy

like Farley. Just does all the little things. Very cerebral player. Can play both safety spots. Does it all on special teams. Very well liked in the locker room. But at the end of the day, the team is getting faster, more athletic. Just doing all those kind of things that is needed for the new NFL. And he just doesn't fit the new NFL that well. He's just not the most athletic guy in the world. And he's coming off a major injury as well. He doesn't really have a place in this team.

I hope he finds it with another team, at least as a special teamer, or maybe even comes back halfway through the season like they did last year with, you know, like Mike Mitchell. They brought him in halfway through the year. So maybe they're opening the door for him to come back later, but, you know, he had a great career here in Indianapolis, and I hope that he has another great career. You know, he continues his great career with somebody else

because I really like him as a person and a player, but he just didn't really fit this team with the youngsters and the speed they already have on the back end. A couple more notes I have for you before I let you go, Zach, and one more for me is from Kenny Moore. I guess he showed up in the cast to Saturday's game, and it turns out, according to Joel Erickson, the Indy star, he broke his thumb.

How has that impacted – I know he's probably going to play at the club on, I assume, but how has that impacted defensive back like Kenny Moore, who has to maybe play with a club the first month or so or more of the season? Yeah. I mean, I will say broken thumbs, they, they hurt like hell. I will definitely say that I played basketball with a broken thumb before when I was like a senior in high school, I think maybe a year out of high school. And that really hurt. So, I mean, I commend him for playing through that. But, you know, overall, I think it doesn't really affect too much, maybe from a point of like, you know, picking passes

off or whatnot. But besides that, it's really not a huge deal. He'll still be able to tackle guys. I mean, he's a damn good player. He'll make do with it. But I mean, it definitely is a little bit of a hindrance, but I wouldn't say it's like overall really going to affect his game too much yeah I think Kenny Moore we saw last year he can do a lot more than pick off pass he is one of the better tacklers on the team he's a a really exotic player in Matt Ibrafluse's system I'm really curious to see how Ibrafluse even lets him go more this year but the final note I had for you on today's show Zach I've seen this take flown around a little bit. It doesn't make sense to me. I wanted to see if it made sense to you.

With that Chad Kelly situation, he's going to be suspended the first two games. Phillip Walker is not the answer there. I feel like he's going to get cut in a week or so. What do you think is going to happen with that position? I've seen some people say trade for someone like a Teddy Bridgewater, for example, which I don't think makes any sense. Or maybe another guy like for draft capital is what I'm getting at, Zach. I feel like Chris Bauer for a two-week bridge isn't going to trade any draft capital away if anything it's going to be a player for player swap like you mentioned like a Marcus Johnson

or a Krishan Hogan for a quarterback yeah it doesn't make sense it really doesn't why why bringing a guy like Teddy Bridgewater who's making that big salary who wants to be a starter he's kind of in line to be the starter down there in New Orleans. Why trade, you know, I think New Orleans traded like a third round pick for him last year. What would be the point in trading it for a backup for, you know, at the very minimum could be like two week backup. I don't think that makes sense.

I saw Taysom Hill thrown at me the other day. And overall, I don't even think Taysom Hill is a good quarterback. So I don't know why that one was thrown at me, especially when I think when someone told me that they would trade a second round pick for Taysom Hill. That's insane to me. But, you know, again, just roll with Brissette this year. They obviously like what they have in him. I think Reich said today in his press conference that he's taken 1,200 snaps with them this past offseason with the starters and such, which is more than you would even take in a whole season as a starting quarterback. So he's been practicing a lot with the ones. He's been going with the ones.

There's no need to bring in a guy that you would have to trade draft picks for. Maybe it's like a conditional seventh for like a Taylor Heineke or whatever his name is from Carolina or Kyle Allen from Carolina or C.J. Beathard maybe from the 49ers, maybe if it's like that kind of trade. But, you know, just wait and see, you know, if it's cut or maybe even coach like a veteran quarterback who's either near retirement or at retirement right now to come out and just, you know, stand back there behind Brissette. But, you know, it's not – it's really not feasible to trade for somebody else

when they like Brissette, especially using a draft capital that might be very valuable in this next draft if Brissette doesn't work out. Certainly a lot's changed in the last week as we talk, Zach, and hopefully nothing else drastic happens. I'll talk to you again next Monday. I appreciate you coming on. Yeah, of course, man. Thanks for having me on. Guys who are listening, please make sure that you check out Colt45 for my reaction to this.

It wasn't as emotional, I'm sure, as other people were, but it's definitely heartbreaking to lose a guy like Andrew Locke. So check out my thoughts over there on Colt45. And Evan, thanks as always for having me on today's show. No problem at all, Zach. And listeners, I'll talk to you again tomorrow for our next episode.