Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - LOCKED ON COLTS 9/4/19: Crossover Wednesday with Locked On Chargers

Episode Date: September 5, 2019

It's Crossover Wednesday on the Locked On Podcast Network, which means Locked On Colts x Locked On Chargers for your week one coverage! On today's episode, David and Daniel join Evan to talk about the Colts and Chargers from all angles.Their reactions to the Andrew Luck retirement, plus the dramatic improvement of their offensive line. Why the running game will be a huge emphasis for the Colts on Sunday. Also, are we underrating the Colts' playmakers like Parris Campbell?From the Chargers' point of view, we dive into Philip Rivers, Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, plus Melvin Gordon's odd holdout. How will LA handle having a weak offensive line, one of the worst they've witnessed in the Rivers era? It certainly sets up well from the Colts' point of view in the trenches.Finally, we close the show with our final keys to the game and score predictions. If you're a betting person, go Colts +6.5. Everyone throughout the week, including Locked On Chargers, believe the Colts will cover the spread. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, everybody. Welcome into this special edition Wednesday episode here of Locked on Colts. And we're joined by the Locked on Chargers hosts, David Droegemeier and Daniel Wade, for our first crossover Wednesday episode of the season. How are you guys doing today? I'm doing good, man. It's good to be here. These are always our favorite shows of the week. I mean, it's anytime you can get over and see the other side of the football and see how the other teams and other people covering the teams are thinking about this matchup it definitely is eye-opening for both fans because both fan bases just because they usually only get all chargers and you guys only get all colts so this is always a good opportunity to see the other side i just love the perspectives man i

just love to hear how you as a host of the opposing team and the fans kind of feel about the Chargers and what your concerns are. That's always the most interesting part for me. Yeah, absolutely. It's going to be a really intriguing game to watch. It's 4.05 Eastern Time, 1.05 Pacific Time on Sunday on CBS if anyone's interested in watching, as we all will be. Let me ask you guys this before we dive into the Colts' keys. We're going to start off with the Colts, then go to the Chargers, then wrap up with our analysis and final predictions of Sunday's

game, but let me ask David first and then Daniel. What was your reactions? Because I know you guys were talking about it. The Andrew Luck retirement suddenly happening 15 days before the regular season started. Just how did that reaction from your guys' point of view happen? Because, David, I mean, you think about Andrew Luck's top five quarterback in the NFL, and now

it drastically changed not only the Colts but also their opponents this season yeah no I mean the first initial reaction just shock I mean I think that's the reaction we all have just like really I mean he's in his physical prime only been in the league seven years had probably one of the most prolific starts for a quarterback in his first seven years in NFL history. I didn't know that the injuries were getting to a point that it affected him to that degree. I mean, I guess he went through some injuries throughout his career and said, hey, if I have to go through this grueling rehab process again, I'm going to call it quits. And I guess he was a man of his word.

And yeah, I just was just blown away I mean I felt kind of bad for the Colts and the organization and their fans because man you're two weeks before the regular season and your quarterback that you were depending on that had a great season last year is gone and on the Chargers side of it just seeing that and knowing that instead of Andrew Luck, you're playing Jacoby Bursette week one is a big difference. I didn't like the Chargers chances when Andrew Luck was the starting quarterback. And you were just wondering if he was going to be out just for week one, because those

were the reports. He was going to be questionable for the start of the season, but they kept downplaying it. The injury seemed to keep changing along the way, and it was just a really confusing experience. And it reminds me a little of Joe Thomas, who retired right before the Browns could really reap the benefits of having a good team. He was on so many terrible teams, and he was so awesome for them.

And now Andrew Luck has the offensive line and a playoff defense and a team that is ready to make a deep run and all of that gets cut short. The trajectory of the franchise is dramatically altered and it was just really a mind-spinning experience over here and that's from the Lockdown Chargers. I can only imagine how the Lockdown Colts fan base is taking this. Yeah, it was certainly shocking. I had an episode, an emergency one on on that Saturday evening, early Sunday morning, and

it was a lot. They took us about probably three or four days to cope over it as far as the fan point of view, and then you have to look ahead to Jacoby Burset, you have to believe that what Frank Wright and Chris Ballard are saying, that he's a top 20 correct in the NFL, and if that's the case, then I guess they can keep this train moving forward. But let me ask you guys this, diving into the game preview, though, because Andrew Luck, unfortunately, is out of the NFL now and won't be involved in this game and moving forward.

But from the Colts versus Chargers point of view, I'll start with Daniel on this one. The big key from the Colts side, I think, is the trenches, which is where most of the NFL games are won nowadays. The Colts offensive line is one of the best in the NFL. Also, I've been hammering this point home throughout the week here on Locked on Colts. That defensive line, especially the edge rushes of Nick Bosa and Melvin Ingram, just scared the crap out of me.

So what do you think is that matchup going to be like for as far as the offensive tackles of Anthony Costanzo and Braden Smith versus Bosa and Ingram? Well, it's going to be nice to see both of them out there to start the season. Joey Bosa last year obviously dealt with an injury that kept him out 10 weeks, and Melvin Ingram was stuck with the lion's share of the attention from opposing offensive linemen. And this year with the Chargers is going to be a lot different, I think, because last year they won a lot of games despite the work in the trenches. They were pretty weak on the defensive interior line,

and they were weak on the interior of the offensive line and at right tackle. Basically, their whole offensive line, they were able to get away with it I think this game is going to change a lot of that I think the Chargers need to stop the run if they're going to really have a good chance of running away with this game I think you have to make the Colts one dimensional in that aspect because right now the interior of the Chargers defensive line Justin Jones was a third round pick from last year who didn't play very much and didn't do very much when he was on the field. He's the starter. There's been rave reviews for him right now at defensive tackle. Brandon Meebane is okay in the middle, but this is not a defensive

line that's going to blow you away on the interior. And I think when you move that out to the edge rushers, it's a lot harder to get pressure when Jacoby Brissett has the option to step up into the pocket hopefully Jerry Tillery is the guy that can come in and get some interior pressure but that hurts them a lot on the outside no matter how good they are they're going up against a pretty good bookend tackle set between the two of them and Smith and Costanza. So I think the Chargers could have some success, but they're going to have to push the pocket a little bit too. It can't all be from the outside. David, what's your expectations about that duo,

but also the rookie Jerry Tillery, who we were talking about in the spring, who was one of the Colts' most intriguing targets. There's a guy who I really like for them in the draft, but they have passed on him, traded back, and got Rocky seen at number 34 overall. What have you heard and seen from Jerry Tillery so far that gives you high hopes for his rookie season? So Jerry Tillery kind of worked his way in midway through the preseason

and made his presence felt immediately. I mean, he got in there, immediately got a sack. He didn't really do it with power. He's just slippery. I mean, he gets through. I mean, for a big guy, 6'6", 300-plus pounds, he has some great hand technique and just sheds right through the offensive line and got to Zach.

And obviously you've got to keep in mind the level of competition. But I think in the preseason it's more about, you know, just skill sets and what you see more so than, you know, actual results. So you saw some raw pass rush moves that really gives you some very, very good things to look forward to seeing him install throughout the season. And as far as Bosa and Ingram, they complement each other, but also when they're both on the field together, it's hard enough blocking one of them.

But when you're blocking both of them, most of the time one of them is going to get free. And one of the things you're probably going to see in this game a couple of times is them rushing them both from the same side. So when that happens, it's definitely a terror for opposing offensive lines. Yeah, that Chargers defensive line looks really tough and could be one of the most formidable ones in the league this year if they can round out in the form here.

One interesting point from the Colts side, I think, is that Frank Reich's been pounding home this entire offseason and really booting into Week 1. They want to be a top-five rush team in the NFL, so they're really going to try, I think, Week 1 to establish the run without Andrew Luck out there and Jacoby Brissett in his place. A lot of play-action passes. How do you think that secondary and that defensive line is going to hold up in case of that running

and play-action pass scheme, Daniel? Because I think Bursette has a cannon arm. He's probably going to test the Chargers deep a couple times, and Derwin James isn't going to be out there for Week 1. Yeah, and Derwin James was a guy that played sometimes in center field, but most of the time he was in the box, and he was very useful in the running game, especially at limiting big damage and being that last line of defense right now you have ray sean jenkins who's never started at free safety

on the back end and adrian phillips is going to be the starting strong safety both of those guys are really strong safeties at heart this will be the first year ray sean jenkins is even playing the free safety position so i expect the colts to definitely try to test him. I mean, there's no corner that can really keep up with T.Y. Hilton one-on-one. So if he runs that go route, you're going to have to try to trust these guys. Rayshon Jenkins, who is an athletic freak but is playing out of position, to go and make a play. And I think that's going to be a big thing in this game because if the Chargers can't stop the run, which I think they're going to have a hard time with

with the offensive line of the Colts, I think that's pretty well-renowned as a top-five offensive line last season. So I think if the Chargers can get bullied on the inside and open themselves up for deep shots on play action, that's where I think the biggest weakness is for the Chargers right now is, yes, you might be able to stop the run occasionally, but the Colts are just going to keep bringing it at you over and over again, and they're going to shorten the game.

And when you have such a short game, mistakes are spotlighted and magnified way more. And I think right now that's the big thing for this game is, can the Chargers stop a team and the Colts that are going to try to run the ball down their throat? Yeah, that's the thing. I think the running game is going to be huge for the Colts side of things because Marlon Mack, they're really hyping up this year as a guy who can take a leap, maybe get 1,200 yards rushing, maybe 9 or 10 touchdowns. He had 9 last year in 14 games.

David, what do you expect as far as the Chargers' defense against this Colts offense? Because I know Jacoby Brissett's going to be his first start in two years. I know he started 15 games in 2017 with a really bad roster round, but it's a completely different story now. Do you expect a lot of Chargers defenders to blitz at Brissett when on pass situations? I'm expecting them to try to rattle him at first. Oh, absolutely.

I mean, I think they're going to be sending the house as often as possible. I mean, you've got a guy who has limited starting experience and who just got the keys to the car. So I think the Chargers are going to be sending Bosa, Ingram, and Chenna Nwosu, probably send Desmond King a couple times on a corner blitz. I would expect them to try to make Jacoby Brissett as uncomfortable as humanly possible.

And I think a big key to this game for the Chargers defense is going to be the linebacker play. I mean, we have, we got Thomas Davis and Kaiser White coming back from injury. There's a couple of guys that, you know, Drew Tranquil that as a rookie, you know, a couple of guys that can make an impact, but we have to see him out there in the defense against a real team. So it's going to be a big test against that really good Colts offensive line. I'm excited to see how it goes.

And Evan, I also want to just throw in, I think that in this game, one of the most important things is going to be tackling. Because when you have a quarterback like Jacoby Brissett, you're going to probably have him try to get rid of the ball quickly on most plays. And when you have a guy like T.Y. Hilton, who can just make one man miss and be gone, the Chargers had a lot of struggles last year at linebacker. They have a new revamped linebacking core with a couple of draft picks and Thomas Davis.

Tackling is going to be so key because you can tell me, but I saw a lot of short passes and things like that last year, even when it was Andrew Luck. So you definitely have to think that's going to be part of the game plan. Absolutely. I think with Paris Campbell, he's going to be one of the underrated guys to watch for in this game. They're a rookie. I think he's 43rd overall in the draft they picked him at. He's a speedster. He's a 4'3", 1 speed. He's a 6'1 wide receiver. He's going to be playing that Wes Walker type

role in this offense. He's getting a lot of bubble passes and a lot of open looks to get yards after a catch, and that's something that's been missing from the Colts offense a lot. Before we close out this segment, I'm going to start with Daniel and go to David after he speaks. What's your guys' biggest concerns from the Chargers point of view going against the Colts? I think for me the biggest concern is how are all these pieces going to add up defensively? You have a lot of guys in new positions.

Thomas Davis is a new position. Michael Davis is going into his first year as the starter. And then Rayshon Jenkins is in his first game as a starting free safety. And you add that with a new starter at defensive tackle with Justin Jones, I think are the Chargers going to be able to buckle down early and keep the Colts' offense bottled up and not have to try to play from behind where the Colts can really play from an advantage of being ahead and really trying to grind this game out. If they can stop the Colts early and really make them have to throw and make them take some chances

that they don't necessarily want to because I think it's going to be pretty conservative besides a few deep shots. I think that plays into the Chargers favor the most because the last thing you want is for the Colts to be ahead with a mauling offensive line just trying to grind this game out and tie you out by the time the fourth quarter runs around. David, where would you land on that as far as maybe your biggest concerns of the game from the Colts going against the Chargers? Yeah, so I think from the offensive side, from the passing game, you can't let T.Y. Hilton beat you. I think Jacoby Brissett is going to look for him deep a couple of times in this game,

and it's going to be up to those back-end defenders to make sure that those plays get bottled up or they prevent them from happening altogether. But I think the most important thing in this game is stopping the running game. I think if you can make the Colts offense one dimensional, I think that is going to be the biggest key for success. I mean, you got to put all of the onus and all the emphasis on stopping the run and making Jacoby Brissett beat you with his arm. I think that is the recipe for success. And if the Colts run all over the Chargers, it's going to be a very long day. The opening week of the NFL is brought to you by Mack Weldon.

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or $15 or more when you download the DoorDash app and enter a promo code LOCKEDON. Again, that's promo code LOCKEDON for $5 off your first order or $15 or more on the DoorDash app. Alrighty, guys. On to our next segment here. We're going to be diving into the Chargers' keys to the game. We went over the Colts and how they might exploit the Chargers here.

But I'm curious to hear, before we dive into that, Phillip Rivers is a guy who's been a thorn in the side of a lot of Colts fans over the years. He's won a game on a torn ACL. Billy Volk won a game in the playoffs against them, I believe, in 07, when LaDain Tomlinson also was hurt in that game as well. Had some bad memories for Colts out there. But what do you guys think as far as Phillip Rivers, the quarterback? I feel like he's one of the greater quarterbacks in this modern era,

but he's so underrated. I'll give you the floor first, Daniel. What's just your thoughts on Phillip Rivers, the quarterback overall? Do you think he is underrated in NFL circles? I think Phillip Rivers is a guy that was really underrated for a long time. But now it seems like he's getting proper recognition. You know, when you see people talking about a guy that deserves a ring, I mean, it's impossible to have that conversation without Phillip Rivers.

And I think Phillip Rivers felt the same way about having to be in the same conference as Peyton Manning a lot of times, too, even with those games. There's still some definitely heartbreaking games, sometimes by the Colts and sometimes by the Broncos. But Phillip Rivers is a guy that his playoff record is going to be talked about when things are all said and done he's won one more game than he's lost but that's not the type of record that you're looking by looking at for a quarterback who's in the hall of fame so I think with Phillip Rivers playoff success is what he's going to be ultimately judged by. He's going to be up there in basically every statistical category.

He's already in the top 10. But at the same time, fair or not, quarterbacks are judged on how far they can take their teams. And Phillip Rivers hasn't been able to get his team to the Super Bowl. And I think that's outside of Chargers fans. That's how people look at it. Yeah, but as far as a Chargers fan and a Chargers analyst, I think Phillip Rivers is definitely a Hall of Fame quarterback. It's not the Hall of Champions, it's the Hall of Fame.

And his stats, like you mentioned, Daniel, are in the top ten of every major statistical category for a quarterback, not to mention his otherworldly toughness. The guy played through a torn ACL, has played in over 200-plus consecutive starts, is the current active Ironman in the NFL. And I think, yeah, a couple years ago, the Chargers have always been in the small market. They're not in the small market anymore. So obviously everything in the L.A. area is magnified.

And I think Philip Rivers is finally, after 16 years in the league, getting some of the credit that he deserves. He is absolutely one of the best quarterbacks in the league and one of the best quarterbacks of this generation. Let me start off here with David, and we'll go to Daniel on this one because I'm really curious. We talked about this before we went on the air for a few minutes, David. Are you concerned at all about this Chargers offensive line this year?

I feel like they might be. When you look at the talent, one through five there, just going across the line there, I feel like it's a lot worse than it's been in the past. Where do you rank this Chargers offensive line? Are you kind of worried going against this Colts defense with guys like Justin Houston? They have young guys like Kamoko Ture, Ben Vannegu might flash a little bit.

Darius Leonard at linebacker as well. Is there any concern as far as week one and moving forward, this offensive line? There's a concern with this offensive line in every single week of this entire season. So, yes, the Chargers offensive line is the weakest group on this team. I think that's not a secret. Russell Okung being out for the first six weeks because of a pulmonary embolism, because of blood clots. He's the most talented offensive lineman.

He's not going to be there. You've got a couple of unproven guys on the outside with Trent Scott and Sam Tevey. You've got some promise at Mike Pouncey, who's an all-pro, who has been a pro bowler multiple times. But the guard play is very inconsistent. You don't know what you're going to get. Hopefully, you know, Forrest Lamp, who will be able to work his way into the offensive line and be able to help a little bit.

But, yeah, I mean, this offensive line is very, very concerning, and especially going against a guy like Justin Houston, who has had Phillip Rivers' number throughout his career. That's always a personal concern of mine. But, yeah, I mean, they're definitely not going to leave this offensive line out on any type of islands. I expect them to add tight ends to the side, chip with running backs. They're going to do everything they can to give their 37-year-old quarterback

more time because if he has time, I think we all know he can slice any single defense in the NFL up. Yeah, I would agree with that. For me, I think that with Phillip Rivers and with this offensive line, I think the Chargers are putting too much pressure on Phillip Rivers to make it work regardless of the offensive line. He's been pretty good at being able to throw the ball away and avoid pressures. Two years ago, his sack number was really low,

but it wasn't taking into account how many drives were stalled just by him having to take a two-step drop and throw the ball out of bounds because pressure was getting in his face so quickly. We have big questions about this offensive line before Russell Okung was out. I mean, even with Russell Okung, who's been very good for the Chargers, we had huge question marks, and it still already might have been the weakest link of the team. And now you're missing the offensive line's best player.

And another one of their decent offensive linemen, Forrest Lamp, the Chargers just decided that he is not going to be a starter when the season rolls out. And he was their best offensive lineman in the preseason. And basically every one of their starting offensive linemen outside of Mike County played in that preseason. So there's almost no faith from this fan base right now in the offensive line. And I think in a sobering moment with Phillip Rivers, he would tell you that he also has

no faith in the offensive line right now as it's currently constituted. Daniel, let me ask you about that position. I know Russell Okung's out the first six weeks and maybe longer. Who knows what his blood clot issue is. But are you surprised? I know the Redskins have been saying they're not really taking calls on Trent Williams. I feel like the Chargers are that kind of team where if they feel like they're close to a cerebral, which I think they are if they get the right pieces in there, I'm surprised

they haven't really backed up the Brinks trick like the Texans did for a guy like Trent Williams. Yeah, I've wondered that as well, because even with the rumors that you see circulating, it's not the Chargers that are usually in the mix. I mean, you hear about them when a guy like LaShawn McCoy becomes available, but when there's a franchise-changing left tackle on the market, they don't go and at least try to kick the tires on that. It doesn't make a lot of sense i think one reservation would be who plays right tackle in that scenario

this was obviously before we knew you know russell clings to be out the first six weeks so you deal with that when that problem comes if you're the chargers but yeah i don't think either one of those guys would want to play right tackle but if you're the chargers you can't worry about that if you have a guy of that caliber and you can go get him and try to make a Super Bowl run you go do it and I think a lot of Charger fans are kind of jealous of what the Rams were able to do you know trading for a guy like Brandon Cook spending big money on Indomitian Sioux last year they did everything they could to try to put a Super Bowl roster together and the Chargers didn't have those resources they were pretty strapped financially but it's hard to believe that they couldn to try to put a Super Bowl roster together. And the Chargers didn't have those resources.

They were pretty strapped financially. But it's hard to believe that they couldn't try to at least approach a trade for a guy that, I mean, if you're being honest, before Derwin James, the Chargers might have been a tackle away from making a really serious Super Bowl run. So it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. But, you know, fans always would love that trade. And I think in this case, they might be right. It probably would have been a good trade for the Chargers because they haven't had a tackle like Trent Williams in a long time, maybe 30 years, 40 years.

So I think they should have absolutely done whatever they could to bring a guy like that in. Yeah, it's certainly going to be interesting. I feel like the Chargers are one move away from really being an elite, sustainable contender in the next couple of years. But I think one interesting topic we haven't hit on yet, we'll close out this segment with it. We'll get both of your guys' thoughts on it as well. The Melvin Gordon holdout, which I just find really interesting. I don't know why he's holding out for this much money when you see Ezekiel get $15 million, Todd Gurley $14 million.

He's not going to get that. So, David, I'll start off with you first. What's the update you've heard so far from the Melvin Gordon situation? And do you think this is going to be resolved anytime soon? David? Sorry, I thought the mic was on. My bad. Gordon situation is concerned, the Chargers reached out to Melvin Gordon's representation and said, hey, we are giving you permission to go seek trades. But obviously, you know, that's because Melvin Gordon is not getting the money from the Chargers that he was looking to get in a contract. And, you know, because of that, the Chargers basically said, hey,

you know, we're going to table contract negotiations until after the season. We are not going to negotiate any further. You either sit out or you come in and play on your fifth-year option, about $5.6 million. So those are your choices. For me, I think Melvin Gordon is not going to miss the entire year. I don't think he's going to get traded because the Chargers have put the asking price at a very high astronomical level if reports are accurate from what they are looking

for, which I've heard or seen out there, a first round pick and a later round pick, which I mean, I think is, like I said, really high. But I think they put it that way because I don't believe they have any actual aspirations to trade Movin Gordon. I think they want him to come back into the building and play. And, you know, for him, he's going to have to come back at some point or his contract will toll over to the next year. So, unfortunately for Melvin, he doesn't have a whole lot of leverage in this situation. The Chargers hold all the cards and they are now tightening the screws, basically. And, you know, the financial implications of him sitting out are quite large.

I mean, he could get fined $30,000 per missed day of training camp and the equivalent of a game check for each preseason game missed, which is a little over $300K, and, of course, regular season games missed. So the more games that he misses, the more money he's going to lose out on, and he hasn't made a whole lot of money off his rookie deal. So that money is going to start hurting very, very soon. It's time to celebrate. Football is finally back.

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Enter my code LOCKEDON to get a free shot at $1 million with your first deposit. That's code LOCKEDON, only at DraftKings, and Melvin Gordon is no closer to coming to the charge right now. The latest reports are there was a team interested, and that's really the caveat in this whole thing. Melvin Gordon, you can go try to find a trade partner, but they're going to have to meet our demands, which, like David said, is reported to be either a first-round pick next season or, in 2021, a first and a fifth in 2020. So that's a pretty high asking price for a running back. No one is going to go with Bill O'Brien's method of trading and just really give away the farm and just give up pretty much every draft pick for the next three seasons.

But it doesn't seem like Melvin Gordon's coming back. And he has let everything out there on social media to believe that he is not coming back. There was a comment from him on Twitter the other day, basically him talking about how mad he is that he switched his number from 28 to 25 because he doesn't think he's going to wear that jersey. And for all the fans out there that say the Chargers were 4-0 without Melvin Gordon, because the fan base has been very quick to kind of say, see you later. We have a couple guys that are ready to play. The last year when Melvin Gordon was out, they were 4-0, but they only averaged 83 rushing yards per game, which would have ranked last in the NFL. So I think whether

or not they should sign him is a different conversation, but his impact will be felt week one as well as however many games he misses. Daniel, how confident is this Chargers team and Austin Eckler and Justin Jackson? Because, I mean, from all indications, Melvin Gordon's been sitting out a pretty long time. Maybe he pulls a Le'Veon Bell here, who knows? But how confident are they in the Eckler-Jackson duo? They sound very confident. Phillip Rivers was under hot water saying he was very happy with the two guys they had at camp which was not melvin gordon and was justin jackson and austin eckler

and the team has been saying all the right things and they have to in this situation because you can't discourage these guys that are going to be playing you have to take their side because they're actually in camp i think the charges are high on them i think when all things are all said and done i think justin jackson is actually the one out of the two of them that could be the workhorse type of back even though it will be a committee i think he is more of the the guy that can carry the load and he's done it in the past but i think both of these guys are not true workhorse running backs they're not guys that you can just hand it and run behind center and get you five yards at chunk plays like that. They're guys that need to get it on the outside, find a crease, make a couple guys miss to make big plays. They're not necessarily just lowering the shoulder on

people and doing the dirty work. And the other thing is, Evan, is that neither one of these guys has had to carry a full season's workload. So that might not impact week one, but it's definitely something to keep an eye on because both of these guys were used in an auxiliary role last year, and now they're being thrust into the limelight and to a bunch of carries and a bunch of touches they didn't have in the past. But all reports out of Chargers camp, and one even said that Anthony Lynn didn't really like Melvin Gordon as much

and liked Austin Eckler much better as a player so things have been pretty wild around this situation but they do seem to be very high on the other two guys they have yeah that's certainly gonna be interesting because I think if Eckler he kind of reminds me a little bit of Darren Sproles and Darren Sproles obviously has given Colts fans nightmares over the years when he was with the Chargers and yeah that was a really bad moment for them in that playoff game where he just went off against them. So maybe we see something like that on week one. Eckler might go off.

I think he's a guy that Colts meant to really watch for in this situation. But we should dive in now to our final keys and our final predictions for today's game. I'll start off with you, David. Where do you lean as far as maybe your biggest keys to watch for from the Chargers' point of view and also your prediction for the game on Sunday? So, keys to the game on the defensive side is obviously stop the run. I mean, I said it earlier, that's the most important thing. I think that's what the Colts are going to try to do.

They're going to try to establish that run early and often. So, I think it's definitely stopping the run. On the offensive side, I think it's going to be looking for Hunter Henry in the middle of the field. I think it's going to be extending drives with Keenan Allen I think you're going to see a good running game but I think it's going to be more extension of the running game via short passes to the running back so I think Austin Eckler and Justin Jackson both excel out in open space and I think you want to get the ball in their hands in open space as often as possible So I expect to see them move the ball down the field in those manners.

And as far as prediction is concerned, I think the Colts are going to keep things close with the running game. But I think the difference in talent on the defensive side is what is going to ultimately decide this game. And I think the charters are going to end up winning this game and it's going to be 27-21. I like that. Daniel, what about you?

Yeah, I like a lot of what David said there. I think if you're the Chargers, you have to try to stop the Colts from really dictating this game to you and playing into their hands, shortening the game. A lot of running plays by the Colts. You have to be able to stop them. Put Jacoby Brissett into third and eights, third and tens, and make him have to make throws with pressure in his face and let the pass rushers really get upfield. Because with the type of running plays that the Colts run, it's going to be hard for the Chargers defensive line to stay back and not get too far upfield at

times because that hurts teams a lot. It creates that crease. And a guy like Marlon Mack can explode through it and be 10 yards through by the time you see him. So I think for the Chargers, the other thing offensively is how is this offense going to evolve without Melvin Gordon? And how are you going to evolve without Melvin Gordon, without Tyrell Williams? How are you going to deploy this offense? I think the Chargers are going to struggle initially to run in this game. And I think penalties and sacks could be a big problem as well.

But I think if the Chargers can evolve, use some short passes, find a running game, they should be okay in this game with big play guys like Mike Williams and Keenan Allen and having Hunter Henry back. So I think this game is really, really tough for me to pick. I think it's going to be much closer than a lot of people think because I think you could see a very sloppy game for the Chargers offensively. And I think the Colts have enough on the offensive line and with the weapons around Jacoby Brissett

to make that 4-11 record that he had in 2017 seem crazy. So I'm going to go with Chargers 23, Colts 21. These all seem really close. I've seen the spread beforehand when we went on the air here. It was six and a half Chargers. So I think if you're a betting man out there. I wouldn't take it. Yeah, that's a really tough one.

I would do Colts plus six and a half. Even if they lose this game, I think they're going to cover the spread at least. But from my point of view, I'm actually going to go with the Colts on this one, guys. I really think that there's a motivational factor here that's underlying as far as Andrew Luck retiring. The team's being counted out. They've been talking about it all week that they love being underdogs now. They're kind of angry that they're being underdogs, that they're in the situation they are in. They're really riding behind Jacoby Brissett. They got his extension two years, $30 million. For now, he's the guy. I think that they have enough weapons on this team with Paris Campbell, T.Y. Hilton. You have Eric Ebron, Jack Doyle,

Marlon Mack in the offensive line. I feel like the offense is going to move the ball a little bit better than people expect, but it's going to be about the trenches. I think if they can contain Bosa and Ingram, it's going to be a lot easier for them to do what they're doing on offense. But defensively is where I'm really worried about. It's Mike Williams, Keenan Allen, those types of playmakers on the outside against Pierre Desir, Rak Yassin, Quincy Wilson, Kenny Moore, those types of quarterbacks.

They can hold up. I think the Colts have this. And I'm actually going to go with a low-scoring game. I think the first team of 25 is going to win this game anyways. I'm going to go 24-17, which is a really low-scoring game for this one. But like you said, Daniel, I think it's going to be a really sloppy game

and one where it could be the first one that 25 or so win this game. So I'm going to go with the upset here. Colts 24, Chargers 17. What do you guys think? Well, I think with that i think it's what chargers team are you going to see because from 2015 to 2017 this team could not be worse in one score games last year they only lost two one score games they won seven so this is a team right now that is playing good when it matters the most but they were a few bounces away from not having that 12-4 record.

And I think this will be a one-possession game. And Charger fans know that whether the Chargers are better or not hardly factors into which team wins on Sunday. It's the Chargers going to get in their own way. And I think that's absolutely a factor here. And I think this is really a letdown game for the Chargers. The Colts have everything to play for. They have that big chip on their shoulder.

And the Chargers could be letting out a deep breath because Andrew Luck's not playing. I think it has all the makings for a disaster game by the Chargers. So I don't think it's crazy at all for you to pick them to win. Yeah, I mean, I can see that there's a possibility where the Colts could win here, but I just think that, like I said, the difference on the defensive side and the difference in the pass rushers specifically,

I think that it's going to be a close game. Yeah, I can see that, but I think just the difference in the quality of defenses is going to be a huge key in this one, and that's why I think the Chargers are going to be a huge key in this one. That's why I think the Chargers are going to pull it out. I think the Colts have a very talented roster. It might take them a couple weeks,

but they could definitely be scary later on in the year. As you guys can hear there, David took the Chargers, Daniel took the Chargers, I took the Colts. I think all the spread there at 6.5, if you're a betting man out there, I would maybe do Colts plus 6.5. It's going to be a really tough one because, like you said, it you said it's a one score game maybe it might be more than that but it's gonna be I think one of the more intriguing games of week one as far as all the storylines as far as the talented teams go but if you guys haven't already go ahead and follow David and Daniel on Twitter and also follow our

Locked on Chargers Twitter account at Locked on LAC. You can follow David on Twitter at DDR0619. You can follow Dan on Twitter at DanTalkSports. Appreciate it, guys. Hey, man, it was awesome doing this with you. I mean, hey, you never know. If the Colts can really have a Cinderella season and get behind Jacoby Brissett, we might have to do another crossover episode in the playoffs.

Absolutely. That'd be fun.