Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 9/17/19: Recapping the Colts' 19-17 victory over Tennessee

Episode Date: September 17, 2019

On today's episode, we're back to go over the Colts' 19-17 win over Tennessee moving their record to 1-1 on the season.Starting out with the elephant in the room, what's going on with Adam Vinatieri? The Colts are sticking by their 46-year-old kicker, but how long will it last? This week against Atlanta will tell us plenty if Vinatieri will get out of his mental hurdle.Also, diving in on the offense, we go over notes on the rushing attack, Jacoby Brissett, playmaker distribution, and Frank Reich's play-calling. Is it time to finally open up the playbook for Brissett heading into Week 3? I believe so, as does Zach.Finally, we go over notes on the Colts' defense before the biggest keys to the Week 3 tilt against the Atlanta Falcons. We will know plenty about this roster soon enough, and this win in Tennessee was pivotal to rebounding from their loss in LA. 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 guest is Evan Sider, I'm joined by our special guest host on Mondays and Tuesdays, Zach Hicks of Stampede Blue. Zach, how are you doing today? Pretty good. I mean, I wish NFL Game Pass was working. Hopefully it's working by the time this podcast goes up. But other than that, no complaints. You know, big win for the Colts this weekend, so no complaints at all. Yeah, absolutely. It was a great win for the Colts this weekend so no complaints at all yeah absolutely it was a a great win for the Colts on Sunday even though it kind of was a little too close for comfort there Zach 19 to 17 was the final score we might as well get to the the biggest topic here

which is Adam Vinatieri and we'll dive into some more notes later on but we talked about this this time last Monday and it's Tuesday now the 17th you said on the podcast that Vinatieri had a couple more misses it's time to get a new kicker. I was right there with you. I agree with you. But according to Frank Reich himself and Vinatieri, he is going to be the kicker next week after missing two more extra points this week. How much of a concern is this now for you? Is this like DEFCON 9 levels or where are we at? Well, you know, at the end of the day, it is just a kicker. And by saying just a kicker, you know, it's not a quarterback or and and by saying just a kicker it's not you know it's not a quarterback or anything like that or a left tackle issue but it's important you know it's a position

that gets you points it's a difference between uh you know it's a three to four to five and what we saw in the first week it's a seven points length sometimes uh having a good kicker or having a kicker kicking this poorly uh and you know i know a lot of people want to stick by him i mean he's he's out of venetaria he's the greatest I mean, he's out of Benetary. He's the greatest, you know, he's one of the greatest, if not the greatest kicker of all time. But at the end of the day, you just have to look at how he's kicked these first two weeks.

I mean, he's 40% on extra points. He's like 33% on kicks. That's just not sustainable. That's just hurting your team. I mean, we're at the point where he went from a consistent kicker to, you know, he's missing a few here and there to now he's just a major liability. And, you know, no matter what your feelings are on Vinny from his first 20 years in the NFL to what he is now, it's hard to stick by it. It's hard to stick by a guy who's consistently

costing you points. I mean, the first game, the Colts lost by six, and he missed two field goals and an extra point, which was a seven-point swing. And then in this past game, the Colts won by two, and we're talking about a completely different storyline here if the Titans get 10, 15 more yards there on that last drive, which the Titans never should have had that opportunity

if he just made two extra points. So it's a big issue. It's going to be the issue between winning and losing games at times. We saw it week one, and we almost saw it here in week two. So I really hope that by sticking with him, he kind of gets rid of the hits, and he can kick a little bit better these next few weeks and at least make some extra points. But it's a big issue. I mean, sticking with the kicker who's kicking this terribly i could could definitely be the difference between winning and losing the game so i hope they know

what they're doing i'm not really one to to really question chris ballard and frank weig too much but uh definitely is a head scratcher for me right now now hypothetical scenario here zach because i know venetary kicks better at lucas will, but, I mean, we're on the same page, I think, as far as last week goes. We thought he might have been replaced if he had the game he played on Sunday, but now if he does it again on Lucas Willow Stadium in a controlled environment on a domed turf, what's that say about Vinatieri, you think? I would say that either, I mean, I don't know. Physically, he doesn't look like he's lost anything.

It looks a lot to be mental, which is crazy. I mean, we're talking about the guy who kicked some of the most difficult kicks ever. You know, he's won two Super Bowls with game-winning kicks. He's won the tuck rule game with one of the hardest game-winning kicks maybe in the history of the NFL. This guy was supposed to be the kicker who never got the gifts, but, I mean,

he's got it right now. He's got no confidence. So I don't, I don't think it's anything physical. I think it's all mental. And, you know, I want to say that he's going to come out this weekend and, and make all his kicks and because he's back at home in front of the home crowd, but there's just very little confidence right now. His last three games have been some of the worst kicking performances in the league. I mean, he's just missing extra points now confidence right now. His last three games have been some of the worst kicking performances in the league. I mean, he's just missing extra points now.

Right now, it's not even a 50-50 chance if he's making extra points. It's less than a 50-50 chance. And you just can't have that. So we'll see. Hopefully he gets over this mental hurdle once he gets home. I mean, this is going to be his first home game since having this kicking issue. So maybe just getting back at Lucas Oil and he'll have his confidence back. But, you know, right now I'm not super optimistic just because these last three games have been, you know,

and a lot of people have been saying this. You know, when I put on Twitter yesterday about how risky this decision is for Frank Reich and Chris Ballard, a lot of people saying, like, you just had a couple bad games. These aren't bad games, you know, and kickers aren't, you know, positions like the rest of the NFL where there's a lot of nuance to what they're doing and there's a lot of different aspects to it. It's simply are you making your kicks or are you missing them?

And he's not just having bad games. He's having terrible games. Like these are bottom-level horrible games that can cost teams wins. And I just don't think that's sustainable. And I really hope that he comes out and kicks well at Luke Soil. But we'll definitely see. My confidence isn't super high, but I believe in Frank Reich. I believe in Chris Ballard.

And for the most part, I believe in Vinny throughout most of his career. So we'll see if he can turn around this weekend. Yeah, definitely something to monitor here. If we're including the playoff game last year in Kansas City, Zach, seven missed kicks in his last three games. And hopefully that changes, like you mentioned there, and a controlled environment with the solo stand, which hasn't happened here in a little bit.

So maybe that will get the yips out of him. We'll have to obviously follow that and see. But let's transition on here to the next topic we're going to discuss, which is the running game, Zach. Once again, another great game for the rushing attack. I know Marlon Mack only averaged 2.6 yards per carry, but Jordan Wilkins kind of saved the day here, getting a 55-yard run that broke it open,

and helped Jacoby Brissett get that touchdown pass to T.Y. Houghton in the red zone there. 82 yards on five carries for him, 167 total yards on 34 carries for the Colts. The first team since 2012, the Buffalo Bills, to have 370 yards in their first two games. What's your impression of the running game so far? I feel like this personally is sustainable for the Colts if they can keep up, just running behind Quentin Nelson

and those guys. Yeah, and, you know, I love the commitment to it. You know, the other day Marlon Mack really wasn't having his best rushing performance. I don't really think it was on him. I think that the Titans just did a really good job at limiting his rushing lanes and getting him down on first contact. But they saw that – you know, we saw all game that they were really

sticking with it and that they were really sticking with it and that they were really committed to establishing that run game. And it paid off. Late in the game, Jordan Wilkins was able to break through a, you know, a decent little hole there up the middle and take it for 55 yards down to the four-yard line and then Brissette threw the game-winning touchdown. So I think that, you know, I like the commitment to the running game, even when it's not working.

You know, Marlon Mack's averaging two yards a carry. Just being committed to that running game, even when it's not working. Marlon Mack's averaging two yards a carry. Just being committed to that running game, kind of establishing it and pounding it down the opponent's throats, I think that's sustainable. And I think that even though Marlon Mack didn't have the greatest statistical game, I think he had a good game as well because he was just grinding that defense down. So I really like the commitment. I really like how they were able to break one off late in the game just from wearing down that defense. I really like the game plan so really like how they were able to break one off late in the game just from wearing down that defense.

I really like the game plan so far with the running game this year. I thought I'm mistaken, Zach. I think you were a fan of Jordan Wilkins when he was drafted by the Colts. What do you like most about Wilkins? I know you didn't play the first two games, but now with him getting a little bit of a share and getting a big run, do you think we'll expect a little bit more touches from him or do you think this is just kind of heat-related

in a Nashville where it's 95 degrees? No. Yeah. Jordan Wilkins was one of my favorite running backs that year. I think I had a third round grade on him. I absolutely loved his tape. You know, and when you watched him in college, and even when you watched him in the pros, we kind of saw it on that big run.

He's not a great athlete. And by that, I mean, he's not super explosive. He's not going to be a guy who breaks away and and and finishes off runs with this blazing speed he's not gonna that kind of guy but he has some of the best vision I've ever seen and I don't mean that lightly I mean he he's up there with guys like Arian Foster and Matt Forte just that they're very smooth runners with great vision very decisive runners I mean we saw this I mean, the second he sees a crease, there's no hesitation from him. He's bursting through that crease and he's making all the yards he can out of it. I think he was great last year, even when he played a little

bit. The fumbles were definitely an issue, but I think going forward, if he can limit those fumbles from last year and he can build off this performance, there's no reason he can't be RB2 in this team. And I love Naeem Hines. I would love him as more of a gadget-type guy, more of a, you know, you kind of put aside 15 or 20 plays for him for a game. But I really like having Marlon Mack as your bell cow and Jordan Wilkins as kind of your guy who can spell him a little bit and bring something different to the table.

They can really be like a thunder and lightning type of combination going forward. And I really like what both of them bring to the team. So hopefully they can continue this kind of one, two punch. And Wilkins can be a steady contributor as that kind of sub running back. Week two, Jacoby Bursette, Zach, he was 17 of 28 for 146 yards, three touchdowns and interception also had a fumble. That was just kind of inexcusable there just slipped out of his hand there. And again, it could have flipped the momentum there, but the Colts defense step stepping also had a fumble. That was just kind of inexcusable there, just slipped out of his hand there in the game. He could have flipped the momentum there,

but the Colts defense stepping up there a little bit. What was your impression of week two, Jacoby Brousseau? So I still want to see the film, and that's where my complaint against game pass kind of comes back. But I really want to see the film before I make any lasting judgments on this game. I do think just from watching the broadcast here and watching the game live, I do think just from watching the broadcast here and watching the

game live, I do think he struggled with getting the ball out quick enough and not that his arm was there or he wasn't decisive. I just think that the Titans had really good coverage on his first reads. And that's what would kind of been the thing with him is he's very much a first read guy. He kind of struggles to kind of go through his progressions. And I think the Titans kind of knew that and they were kind of hanging on his first read most of the game. They were taking that away. You know, the first time he looked at a player, I think they were jumping routes.

And I think they just did a really good job of taking it away. And, you know, the Titans have a really good defense. Their secondary is legit. They got Kevin Byard back there, who was one of the top three or four safeties in the league. Then they got a couple good quarters on Logan Ryan, Malcolm Butler, Dory Jackson. They got some good players in that secondary. So I think they understood that they have the talent

to kind of lock down these Colts receivers and also kind of jump them on Brissette's first read. So I think it was just kind of a bad combination of events there. But I really want to see the film and see how the game really transpired for Brissette. But I think he looked you in the red zone. I think he did a couple things well with his poise and confidence in the pocket. And I think he did a really good job of eluding sacks. But I think getting that ball out quick and confident and going through his progression is going to be the next step for him going forward. I think the one critique that I had as far as not even Brissette's fault here,

it might be a little bit of Frank Reich as well, but are you surprised by how little they're kind of using? I mean, Paris Campbell is also a part of this as well, but they're not really running, landing, like, short routes over the middle of the field. It's mostly just on the boundary. Has that surprised you so far that it seems like there's not really much over the middle as far as the play action or even passing concepts go so far?

Well, so they did have it a little bit in week one against the Chargers because the Chargers are really weak in their linebacker core. So maybe Frank Reich was a little hesitant to call those over-the-middle plays against the Titans because the Titans don't have just two good linebackers. They have three good linebacks in Westwood, Woodard, J.M. Brown, and Rashawn Evans. They have three pretty solid linebackers. They're probably one of the better linebacker groups in the league, so that might have been an issue why Reich was avoiding those play calls to the middle of the field but yeah no it's definitely something to look at uh you know that continues this next week against uh the falcons i would definitely take more concern to it but i want to see if it becomes a trend before i kind of

take that as an issue right now on the offense paris campbell zach he had one catch for 12 yards that was his only touch of the game. What was your impression of him? And do you think he's kind of earned a spot now as far as, like, maybe he gets more snaps from Chester Rodgers? I believe at 28 snaps, Rodgers dead and Campbell at 18. Do you think that's going to slowly but surely creep in Campbell's fair the next couple weeks? Yeah, no, I would love to see the more explosive guys get more action

in this offense. You know, I think Deion Kane and Paris Campbell combined for two targets this week. I would love to see that number go up, you know, just from, you know, even if it's over to middle passes, to deep passes, to red zone touches. I want to see these guys either get, you know, just get involved a little bit more. I think that they bring a lot more to the table than guys like Paschal and Rogers. And, you know, people who know me know that I'm a big fan of those two players. I think those are two really good players to round out your receiver group.

But I want to see these explosive guys get some touches. I want to see these guys get some plays because they are really the guys who can turn the tide of games, not really your Paschals or your Rodgers. They can be a little consistent. But Campbell and Kane, those are your two guys who can kind of blow up a whole defense there. So I really want to see Wright kind of going forward, going against the Falcons, the Raiders, the Chiefs, kind of weaker defenses to really use those guys either down the field

or in scheme touches to kind of open the game up. So we'll see if he takes advantage of these weaker defenses doing that. One other note I've had from this game, and it might change, of course, because it's only two weeks into the season. September's kind of a mirage as far as consistency goes for some teams but what do you think about how Bursette's targeting the wide receivers it feels like compared to Andrew Luck who loved his big body playmakers maybe Devin Bunchesby not played a factor in this as well but it seems like he's really emphasizing those outside boundary receivers like T.Y. Holt and they really have a

connection right now three touchdowns in two games talk about also guys like Chester Rars who had three catches it feels like Bursette favors more of the wide receiver speedy guys than the big body guys right now. Yeah, it's tough to say though, just because the Colts don't really have many big body guys now with punch. I mean, your biggest body receiver is what Zach Paschal on the outside. He's not really a guy who I would describe as a big body player on the outside. I would love to see him use the tight ends a little bit more. But yeah, so favoring, you know, a guy like T.Y. Hilton when T.Y. Hilton is your best overall player on the

offense. So we'll just have to see going forward. He hasn't really thrown the ball very much. He hasn't thrown for that many yards. So it's kind of hard to really gauge where his preferences are as of right now. Or, you know, we haven't seen many win and doubts who he's going to outside T.Y. Hilton uh so I think he has good rapport with T.Y. I think and there's good reason to it because T.Y. Hilton is such a good receiver but we'll have to see who those you know second and third and fourth favorite targets were because last year it was Eric Ebron on third downs for Andrew Lux but we'll see if if Brissette develops those same tendencies. Mack Weldon is better than whatever you're wearing right now.

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You play, you win, and you get paid. Flipping over to the other side of the ball here, Zach, because all 22 is probably going to tell us a lot more about Bursette than just the eye test count and the broadcast. But before we dive into that, Darius Leonard's in concussion protocol. Looking at the concussion guys last year, I believe Kevin Bowen had an article around 107.5 The Fan. 35% of the guys who were in concussion protocol last year for the Colts played. So it's kind of just an up-in-the-air kind of status right now for Darius Leonard.

How big of a loss would that be going against Atlanta in that high-powered offense? It'd be pretty big. You know, Darius Leonard is a big part of this defense. I know a lot of people are seeing these first two weeks that he's had some, you know, some up-and-down plays and some missed assignments here in the first two weeks. So I understand the concern there.

But, you know, we're still talking about Darius Leonard, the defense rookie of the year, first-team All-Pro last year. It would be a big loss. You know, I feel more confident about their depth this season than I did last year. You know, if Leonard missed a game last year, we were talking about Sky Moore or Ahmad Thomas being out there. Now we're talking about third-round pick Bobby Okereke.

So I feel a little bit more confident about that. But, you know, it would still be a pretty big loss for the defense. But I would be excited to see what Okereke and maybe even EJ Spieth could do but yeah it would be a huge loss especially against a team like Atlanta who has a lot of playmakers. Speaking of that defense how did you feel that they graded out on Sunday because you haven't seen the film of course yet Zach but just off the broadcast alone what's dealt the most to you about the defense? I feel like compared to last week against Phillip Rivers they really got to Marcus Merritt this time around. Yeah, I think they adjusted very well.

I think starting with the defensive line, I think they played really well. I think that they got after Mariota without really having to bring too much pressure. They were kind of allowing the defensive backs to sit back in seven or six or even sometimes eight guys back there in coverage. And they were still able to get to Mariota and kind of pressure them so I think they did a really good job with that but I think overall the whole defense kind of buckled down really well after that first half I think they struggled a little bit with Derrick Henry and a little bit of the Titans running game in that first half but you know second half I think the secondary kind of locked down the receivers I thought

Kari Willis looked excellent all day I think Malik Hooker was really good over the top as well so yeah I think I think the secondary had a really good bounce-back game, which they really needed. I think the linebackers, even though, again, there was still a couple of missed tackles here and there, I think they bounced back. And I really liked the defensive line, even without Kamoku Ture and Zubal Sheard were able to get pressure all day,

even just rushing four or five guys. So I think it was an overall really positive experience and a very positive just game for the defense. Yeah, speaking of that defensive line Zach four sacks again on Sunday eight total in two games it feels like this might be a script flip there as far as what's happening right now with this defensive line because last year we talked often about not getting up pressure on them but now with Justin Houston you have Kamoka Ture I imagine coming back here next week it seems like this defense and its defensive line at Danico Autry especially who had two sacks on Sunday, this defensive line is really fun to agree with right now.

Yeah, no, I love it. Especially, again, like I said, no Toure, no Sheard, but they're still kind of making – they're still getting pressure back there. Even guys like Grower Stewart, Al-Qaeda Mohammed, those guys are getting pressure when I don't think either of them had a sack in the regular season last year. So it's a big step seeing these guys – you know, the guys who were here last year progressing forward and then seeing, you know, your guys like Justin Houston and Ben Bonnegut getting

some sacks as well. So I think it's a good start for the defensive line. It's definitely against two injured offensive lines and two offensive lines that aren't at full strength and aren't really the best right now. But, you know, that's kind of how the NFL is. The NFL doesn't have many great offensive lines. I mean, going forward, they have the Falcons who have struggled in the offensive line. They have the Raiders who, even though they have, I think, the least amount of sacks allowed so far, their offensive line isn't great either. And then also the Chiefs who have a couple injuries on their offensive line.

So it's just kind of how the NFL is with offensive line play. You can't really pick your battles. You can just do what you can do best against these matchups. And I think the Colts are really taking advantage, and the defensive line looks really good so far. So I'm really proud of everything that, you know, from the top of the depth chart guys to the bottom of the depth chart guys. I think this defensive line is looking really good.

I think one position battle we should watch. Before we close out here, we're going to go into our Atlanta talk here in the next segment. What's your impression of Kari Willis on Sunday, Zach? Because he had seven tackles. Clayton Gathers only had three and 20 more snaps. You'd be like, this might be a position battle here where Kari Willis keeps playing like this

the next couple weeks. Maybe the bye week could be a time where they maybe switch out Gathers here for Kari Willis. Because I think just personally on my end, it seems like Clayton Gathers and the the injuries are kind of taking a toll on him he's kind of slowly reacting to things now and he's getting just a little step or two behind where he thought he was last year and carrie willis on the other hand is super explosive yeah you know i don't want to talk too much on this just because i am going to be writing a film room on carrie willis once game pass eventually works but i think car willis was outstanding uh this this weekend and you know all 22 will definitely tell me a little bit more of the story

but i love his explosiveness coming downfield and again we're talking about a guy who his senior year in high school didn't play safety he was a running back in high school i was over a 2 000 yard rusher i think he had like 30 touchdowns rushed as well uh so he's an explosive he's a fast guy and uh he definitely showed it this past weekend. Coming down from that deep safety role, he made a lot of great tackles. And in an interview that I talked to him before the draft, before the Colts took him, he told me that he values, you know, those sound tackles before the sticks. He values those over interceptions even, because it's just so important to get those offenses off the field and get your offense

back out there. And we definitely saw this past weekend. He made a lot of big tackles before the sticks, forced the Titans to punt the ball when they kind of had a little bit of momentum. So I really loved his play. And I think going forward it's going to be tough for the coaching staff to play Gathers over him. I think even by week five, week six, I think we could see Willis take over as a starting strong safety.

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in agreement with you there, Zach. I think Curry Willis is well on his way to getting that starting role eventually, but let's dive into our Atlanta preview for a second, Zach. It's on a Tuesday afternoon. The game is on Sunday. Luke's still listening at one o'clock. The one thing that stands out to me, I think it's going to decide this game. I know we always talk about the trenches here, but this is a big test, especially if there's no period this year on Sunday. He's clutched right now with the Bone Brews. Rockiest seems to be one-on-one against Julio Jones, Quincy Wilson one-on-one against Calvin Ridley, vice versa. It seems like that could be an area where Matt Ryan's going to target

early on offense against those young defensive backs. What do you think is going to have to happen there for them to really corral those two guys? You know, this is where the advantage of playing a lot of zone defense kind of comes into play because we don't have to rely on, you know, Quincy Wilson against Julio or Rockiest in against Calvin Ridley it can be a lot of mixed match coverages a lot with Willie Cooker helping over the top but I do think whenever they do go man or even when they are in these zone coverages you got to have that safety over the top because they can take the defense

they can take the top off the defense I mean Calvin Ridley was one of the best route runners in his past draft class and he's definitely shown it this season and Julioley was one of the best route runners in his past draft class, and he's definitely shown it this season. And Julio Jones is one of the biggest freaks who has ever played a receiver here in the league. So it's going to be a tough task. Those are two outstanding receivers. I think Julio is definitely a top five or top three, top one receiver in the league. And Calvin Ridley is well on his way to get up that way as well. So it's going to be a tough matchup.

But I think that Rocky Sin and Quincy Wilson have played well so far this year, and I think that they're up for the task. But it's going to be a lot of, you know, scheming for Malik Hooker to kind of be over the top and take that away and let these guys play with the ball in front of them. I mean, the biggest takeaway that you have to just kind of say from these corners going into this week is, you know, you're not going to stop them. You can contain them, but you're not going to stop them. So as long as the corners have that mindset of, hey, as long as we can limit them and, you know, keep them out of the end zone, we don't have to win every single rep against these guys.

We don't have to make the big play. As long as we can keep them out of the end zone and let our offense do their thing, I think we're going to be okay. And I think that's the mindset they're going to take into this game. Flipping to the other side of the ball here, Zach, when I watched Atlanta play Philadelphia on Sunday, they just remind me so much of the Colts defense because they're all these young into this game. Flipping to the other side of the ball here, Zach, when I watched Atlanta play Philadelphia on Sunday, they just remind me so much of the Colts defense because they're all these young athletic linebackers.

They fly around the ball super fast. What do you think the Colts need to do offensively to go against this Atlanta defense, who's inconsistent at times, but I think they kind of mimic what the Colts want to do a little bit. I feel like this might be the week, especially against a high-powered offense in Atlanta, where I think Frank Reich might need to open up the playbook a little bit and let guys like Campbell and Kane take a few deep shots.

Yeah, no, I'm completely with you. I think they have a good linebacker group. I even think that they have a couple of decent pieces on the defensive line and secondary. But, you know, outside of a guy like Grady Jarrett, they don't really have too many superstars. Deion Jones is also another one. But they don't have too many superstars on this defense

that are really going to hurt you. You know, we just came off of matchups against Melvin Ingram, Joey Bosa, and then going into Week 2, Kevin Byard, Terrell Casey. I mean, those are some really talented defenses from front to back, whereas the Falcons, they have good linebackers. They have one or two good pass rushers, but overall, their defense, you can take advantage of it. I would really like to see them attack downfield this week.

Either it be Deion Kane, Paris Campbell, T.Y. Hilton. I really want to see the offense kind of spread out, let Jacoby kind of take some deep shots and really stretch this defense. I think that that would be the key to this weekend is getting those explosive plays, those quick scores, and I think Frank Wright's going to take advantage of that. Before I let you go here, Zach, what are your big three keys to the game? I know you'll probably know more once you see the film, but what would be your two or three keys to the game on Sunday against Atlanta

and maybe your final prediction for us? Yeah, so number one, always, it's going to be this pretty much every single week, is limit the turnovers. You know, you've got to win the turnover battle, especially against a team like Atlanta with a good quarterback in Matt Ryan. Matt Ryan's done five picks already in two games. Jacoby Brissett's only turned the ball over twice, counting his fumbles. So just win that turnover battle.

Don't make too many mistakes to give Atlanta an edge over you. Number two is do what they've been doing these first two weeks. Control the line of scrimmage. Control the ground game. Win the rushing attack. And then number three is just win the explosive plays. I mean, the Falcons have some really good receivers. They're going to hit some big plays,

but if the Colts can hit some more explosive plays, they can get those quicker scores. I think they have a good chance of winning. But I feel really good about this week. I think the Colts are a better overall team. I think the Falcons are kind of struggling. I think Matt Ryan's having a rough start to this season, even though they just got that big win against the Eagles team

that was really hampered by injuries. So I think that the Colts can win this game. I'm going to go 30-21. Colts offense kind of steps up big in their first game at Lucas Oil this year. I like it. I think it will be a high-scoring game. I think the Vegas has it right now as a two-and-a-half point favor for the Colts in the over-unders 44. So I could see them definitely going over there. But if you want to follow Zach on Twitter, go ahead and do so. Add ZachPigs2. Look forward to reading his film piece as well on Kari Willis later this week on Stan P. Blue. Zach, thanks again for your time. Be talking to you again next week as we recap the Falcons game.