Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Marlon Mack Out For Season With Torn Achilles + Three Keys vs. Vikings

Episode Date: September 15, 2020

On today's episode, Zach Hicks of Stampede Blue joins to recap the Colts' season opening loss in Jacksonville. Also, it's time to look ahead to the Minnesota Vikings as well.Even though it was a shock...ing loss, there was plenty of positives to parse through. From Philip Rivers, Parris Campbell, and Nyheim Hines, this trio had a solid debut in 2020. However, it was overshadowed by losing Marlon Mack to a torn Achilles tendon. Mack, the Colts' bell cow RB in 2019, will now miss the 2020 season.What's next for the Colts' backfield with Mack's injury? Expect a heavy dose of Jonathan Taylor plus Hines in the passing game.What should Indy do with their defense? Should their be more exotic looks by DC Matt Eberflus moving forward? The simple answer is absolutely.Finally, Evan and Zach look ahead to Minnesota providing the three biggest keys. Should this be a game controlled in the trenches or by Rivers' right arm?All of this, plus so much more, in a jam-packed episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello everybody, welcome back into your latest episode of Locked On Colts, Hello, everybody. Welcome back into your latest episode of Locked on Colts, probably Locked on Podcast Network. Today's audience is your host, Evan Sutter. And you might have already discussed today's episode. To recap more of the Colts' stunning week one loss in Jacksonville,
Starting point is 00:00:38 Zach has a stampede blue. We'll also preview later on in the show the Minnesota Vikings game week two, the Colts' home opener in Indianapolis. Zach, how are you doing today pretty good man I mean obviously we would like to see a win in week one but I think there were a lot of promising things to take away from that game even though obviously it wasn't what we all wanted to see but uh you know doing all right football's back and even though it wasn't a great result week one I can't complain you know we get to talk and cry and complain about football a little bit. Yeah, been a long time coming with this offseason with COVID-19
Starting point is 00:01:08 and no preseason football, so they jumped right into it week one. The Colts did lose in Jacksonville, the team that was expected to be tanking this year. 27-20 in TIA Bank Stadium as Gardner Minshew was 19-20. We'll get hit on that later on, though. I think the biggest story of today, which is confirmed via MRIs from Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, is that Marlon Mack, Zach, is lost for the year towards Achilles. Looking back on the history of running backs with Achilles
Starting point is 00:01:33 injury, it's a really bleak outlook for Marlon Mack if he's ever going to return to his form that he was in throughout his career. What's your reaction just to hearing the news confirmed that Marlon Mack is out for the year with a torn Achilles, an injury that really can be debilitating for running backs? Yeah, it's really upsetting because, you know, obviously we're all super excited about Jonathan Taylor, and we're all excited about, you know, the future of, you know, not having to pay a running back, even though Marlon Mack's coming off a very good season last year. But, yeah, it's just upsetting. You know, you see a guy who had a really good season
Starting point is 00:02:05 and was really looking like a legit running back in this league last season. And then, you know, his first game this year, I think he had eight touches for like 60 yards. I mean, he was one of the best things about the offense. Early on, he was getting some catches, had a couple of big runs as well. And yeah, it's really upsetting to see a season
Starting point is 00:02:21 end the way it did. And, you know, it's not obviously, it's obviously not like a career ending injury, but it definitely hurts not only his outlook with this team, but also with future teams and also, you know, the money he's going to make this next season. I mean, he's going to go into free agency. You know, we're going to assume he's going into free agency.
Starting point is 00:02:39 We don't know what the Colts are going to do, but, you know, he's going to go into free agency coming off of, you know, a career where he hasn't stayed healthy throughout any season that he's played. He hasn't played a full 16 games. And, you know, obviously you can't really fault the guy for it. It's just unfortunate that that's happened to him. And, you know, in a league that doesn't pay running backs that much, seeing a guy go down with this kind of injury in a contract year, you know, again, when he hasn't been able to stay healthy his entire career, it just really sucks. You know, it, it's kind of just the cruel nature of the business. So,
Starting point is 00:03:09 you know, the first thought that really came to mind is, you know, obviously it sucked for the season with the Colts, but it's really, really unfortunate for a guy like Marlon Mack. And he's a guy by, by, from everything I've heard, everything I've seen with him, you know, he's, he's a great personality. He is always optimistic and positive about everything so I'm sure you know he's he's doing better about than most people are right now but it really is a bummer for a guy who who had a great season last year and had a great start in this game as well yeah looking back on that play Phillip Rivers hit him on a dump on a dump out route really close to the line of scrimmage it was a non-contact injury Marlon Mack planted his feet into the
Starting point is 00:03:44 ground and he tried to cut when he got the ball, and then it looked like from the back his Achilles did. It looked like it popped a little bit, and that's just a really bad sign. Hopefully, for this Colts offense, they're able to rebound from this because in week one, they really did struggle once Mack went out of this game. Zach, how do you expect the Colts offense to look post-Marlon Mack this year without him being back for the rest of the 2020 season? Of course, Jonathan Taylor was stepping into a bell cow role.
Starting point is 00:04:06 Naeem Hines will be in that scat back role. Do you expect to see Jordan Wilkins, too? Like, how do you expect this running attack to look the rest of the year? Yeah, you know, for the Colts this year, it obviously does hurt because Marlon Mack, I think, is a really good running back, you know, probably top 15 back in this league. So, yeah, it definitely hurts a bit. But, you know, obviously they just spent the second round pick on Jonathan Taylor, who was one of the most, you know, prolific college running backs in the history of the sport. So I don't think the drop off is gonna be too much. Obviously, it
Starting point is 00:04:34 relies on how well the offensive line can block and the running game, which they didn't do a great job of on Sunday. But you know, overall, this is still a really good, you know, running backfield. I mean, they have Jonathan Taylor, like I just said, he's great coming from the college game. He looked pretty good. You know, obviously the running between the tackles was a little bit of an issue, but every time he got the ball in space, he looked excellent. Naeem Hines had a great game in the passing game
Starting point is 00:04:56 and also had a nice couple runs. And, you know, Jordan Wilkins, we talk about him all the time on here and everywhere, most yards per carry in the NFL over the last two years with the minimum of 100 carries. So, you know, he's a guy who can just step into that kind of situational running back role like he did the last two seasons and be really solid for this team. So overall, I don't think it hurts the Colts that much. You know, they're not going to have that two-headed monster that we were all talking about all
Starting point is 00:05:20 offseason, which kind of is a bummer. But they'll have Jonathan Taylor as a lead guy. Wilkins will mix in and be really productive like he always has been. And, you know, if Naeem Hines can kind of keep up what he did this past Sunday, he's going to have a huge season. I mean, he's on pace right now for like 70 catches. Had a couple touchdowns as well. Even though he got stuffed in that fourth and one,
Starting point is 00:05:38 he looked pretty good running the ball, I think, when he got some opportunities. So, yeah, I'm not too worried about the Colts' backfield this year. Obviously, it takes a little bit of a hit, but it's kind of insensitive to say, but this is kind of the one place that they could afford an injury like this because they have so much depth in the running backfield. So, it sucks. Obviously, the running game is not going to be as great, but it's still going to be pretty good this year when they get things going.
Starting point is 00:06:04 Yeah, like you mentioned, Jonathan Taylor probably steps into that Marlon Mack type role. Naeem Hines will be in that really heavy pass-catching role. We saw yesterday he had eight receptions, led the team. He's on pace at least to week one, Zach, 100-plus receptions. Then we know how much Phillip Rivers loves running backs in the passing game. Hines is poised for a big year as well. They also worked out Lamar Miller today, the former Texas running back.
Starting point is 00:06:24 He was injured all of last year as well, so we'll have to keep a monitor year as well. They also worked out Lamar Miller today, the former Texas running back. He was injured all of last year as well, so we'll have to keep a monitor on that situation. But moving forward here, Zach, we want to have some positives, so we're going to close on the negatives, which is obviously the defense from week one. But looking at the positives for a second, Zach, Harris Campbell and, like you mentioned, Naeem Hines were – I mentioned this in yesterday's episode, instant reaction to the game.
Starting point is 00:06:42 The people we talked about throughout the offseason here, Hines and Campbell being really big beneficiaries from Rivers arriving as the quarterback and really was proven in week one so far Zach Campbell had a big impact so did Naeem Hines what do you expect from those two moving forward here in the passing game yeah I mean starting with Campbell I mean this was everything that I was I mean I was hyping on this all off season I mean you just knew right when Phillip Rivers was coming in that Campbell was going to be a type of guy who could really feast. And the really big reason was, you know, it really wasn't too much to do with either player.
Starting point is 00:07:10 It's just that there were times last year where there were opportunities, you know, one-on-ones in the slot with off-man coverage where Campbell was beating his guy. But the chemistry wasn't there at the preset or the trust wasn't there at the preset. And there were other times where there was run-after-c catch opportunities with Campbell and Brissette was just late and really limiting what Campbell could really do when you get a guy like Rivers who's been this league for 100 years and knows how to get the ball to these guys and he knows how to find guys who are open you just kind of saw that that ability was really going to show for Campbell and I'm glad that he had such a big game I mean he was probably I would say outside of Rivers kind of slinging a little bit even though he had the two picks I think was, he still had a very positive game overall. But
Starting point is 00:07:48 outside of that, I would say he was the most positive thing in the entire game for the Colts was seeing the second year receiver have a really good game and look like a legit number two receiver in this offense behind T.Y. Hilton. So it was awesome just to see him healthy out there and also making some plays. And then Naeem Hines is a guy who, you you know all offseason people have been kind of quiet about because again the two-headed monster of Marlon Mack and Jonathan Taylor but you know when I talked to Hines and from all indications that we got Hines was still going to be his same role he was going to get a couple carries here and there he's going to get some playing time he was going to get the end of the half work the end of the game work he was going to get a lot of catches and yeah the Colts didn't go away from that we definitely saw that a lot and Hines was able to make the most of the game work, he was going to get a lot of catches. And, yeah, the Colts didn't go away from that.
Starting point is 00:08:25 We definitely saw that a lot. And Hines was able to make the most of his opportunities, you know, scored on a touchdown run, had a really nice spin move on the run before that touchdown, too, to get them – or I think to get them in the red zone. And then he had a really nice touchdown on the screen play as well. So Hines is going to be a big factor this year. The Colts really, really wanted to unleash him in 2019 with Andrew Luck. You know, they really wanted to get him more involved in different ways, but those plans kind of derailed with Andrew
Starting point is 00:08:49 Luck's retirement. So now that they have a player like Rivers, that quarterback right now, who can get the ball to running backs and really trust his running backs and isn't late with it, they can get those kind of skiing plays to him. I think that it's just going to be a really good match. So I think Hines and Campbell are going to have really big seasons, and week one was just kind of the start of that. Between never-ending laundry cycles and incoming emails, you've got plenty on your to-do list. Give yourself one less thing to worry about
Starting point is 00:09:13 and let DoorDash take care of your next meal. DoorDash is the app that brings you food you're craving right now right to your door, and ordering is easy. Open the DoorDash app, choose what you want to eat, and your food will be left safely outside your door with a new contactless delivery drop-off setting. With over 300,000 partners in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, and Australia, you can support your local go-tos or choose from your favorite national restaurants like Chipotle, Wendy's, and the Cheesecake Factory. Many of your favorite local restaurants are still open for delivery.
Starting point is 00:09:37 Just open the DoorDash app, select your favorite local restaurant, and your food will be left at your door. DoorDash deliveries are now contactless to keep communities we operate in safe all the time. Right now, our listeners can get $5 off and zero delivery fees on their first order of $15 or more when you download the DoorDash app and enter code LOCKEDON, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N. That's $5 off your order and zero delivery fees on your first order when you download the DoorDash app in the App Store and enter code LOCKEDON. Don't forget to code LOCKEDON, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N, for $5 off your first order with DoorDash. Talking about erectile dysfunction isn't easy. Usually we just brush it off or blame ourselves for things like, I just lost my mojo. Or we avoid it altogether with excuses like, I had a long day at work, or sorry honey, I'm just not feeling it.
Starting point is 00:10:14 But with Roman, it's easy to talk about it. With a real healthcare professional who can prescribe real medication, it's simple, safe, and totally discreet. With Roman, you can get a free online evaluation and ongoing care for ED all from the comfort and privacy of your home. A healthcare professional will work with you to find the best treatment plan. If medication is appropriate, Roman will ship it to you for free within two days. The whole process is straightforward, simple, and discreet.
Starting point is 00:10:36 Getting started is simple. Just go to GetRoman.com slash LockedOnColts and complete an online visit. A rectilis function used to tackle Roman, but that is Roman. Complete an online visit today to connect with a healthcare professional and complete an online visit. A reptile is a function used to tackle Roman, but that is Roman. Complete an online visit today to connect with a healthcare professional and take care of it.
Starting point is 00:10:49 Go to GetRoman.com slash LockedOnNFL today. If approved, you get $15 off your first order. Moving on to the quarterback here, Zach, Phillip Rivers, who even though some will say might have been a negative from this game with his two interceptions, I think he was a huge positive. 36-46, 363 yards, one touchdown. Those two interceptions will hit on in a few minutes here, Zach. But overall, I mean, very efficient game from Rivers.
Starting point is 00:11:10 He took no sacks. He was very effective in the offense, quick decision-making, unlike what we saw last year with Jacoby Bursette. Was able to take risks, too, which I think Colton's been asked for for years, Zach, ever since Andrew Luck did retire last year. I think outside of those risks that we saw, those really bad decisions by Phillip Rivers, trying to have T.Y. Hilton double coverage, trying to have Paris Campbell over the top, I think,
Starting point is 00:11:30 a double coverage too as well. Those are just the throws we're going to see with Phillip Rivers throughout his career, and it's going to come to Indianapolis, and it's not going to wash away overnight. I think that was a prototypical Phillip Rivers game on stuff that we saw on Sunday. It wasn't too bad. Also, those costly mistakes did kind of rub them the wrong way in the end.
Starting point is 00:11:47 The thing with Rivers that we've been saying all offseason, at least I've been saying all offseason, is if you're going into the season expecting Rivers to be this top-tier guy, he's not going to be that for the Colts. I think some people may have had that expectation, but the expectation shouldn't have been the Colts are getting a top five or even a top ten quarterback. That was not the goal even when signing Phillip Rivers. The goal was just to upgrade. You know, they went from a guy like Brissette, who was probably a bottom-tier starter last year.
Starting point is 00:12:16 I mean, I would probably say 29th to 35th in the league in terms of starters. I mean, that's me being maybe a little generous even. It was a rough season last year. The ball was not moving. Going to a guy like Rivers, who's maybe the 13th to 17th ranked quarterback in the league, was a huge upgrade. You know, he's not a top-tier guy, so he can't carry this team. You know, he's not Andrew Luck. He's not Andrew Luck where when everything else is failing, you know, when the defense isn't getting any stops, when the run game's not working, when the offensive line's not getting a push up front, when he's having drops, he's not Andrew
Starting point is 00:12:47 Luck where he's going to will a team to victory. And, you know, obviously we would like to see him be that, but that's not what he is. You know, he's going to make some mistakes trying to push late in games and try to get some things going. But overall, he's going to be a really positive impact for your team. And I think for the most part, he was a positive player for this team. I mean, every single drive the Colts had, they got the ball down the field. I mean, they had the fourth and one they got stopped on. They had a missed field goal, missed chip shot field goal that people aren't talking about, which also took points off the board. And then his two picks, you know, they didn't punt once the entire game. So I think it was an overall really positive first
Starting point is 00:13:21 game for Rivers. I mean, he came out slinging. The passing game that was completely dead for all but two games of last season looked super alive. I mean, again, Paris Campbell got going. Naeem Hines got going. Jack Doyle looked great in the passing game. And T.Y. Hilton was getting some outside passes as well. So, you know, I saw a wide-open passing game offense. Obviously, they threw it a little bit too much for, I think, anyone's liking.
Starting point is 00:13:43 But I think if anyone comes away from this game thinking Rivers was the main problem or even one of the biggest problems, I think that they just watched a different game. I mean, he did everything he could to win this game. Obviously, he had a couple bad picks. But at the end of the game, he had them right there in the red zone, ready to tie the game up. And then he had some drops on the outside by T.Y. Hilton. So, yeah, overall, I just think it was a really positive performance in Phillip Rivers and I think anyone
Starting point is 00:14:08 who is taking away some bad things from it is just looking at intercept touchdown interception ratio which is what got us in hot water last year with Jacoby Brissett so uh yeah I think Phillip Rivers had a really promising first game and you know going up against this really really bad Vikings cornerback group next week I think we could see him with another big passing output yeah that'd be awesome to see if Rivers is able to repeat this performance maybe cut down the turnovers a little bit but I could see it this if this is the consistency from Rivers in 2020 and Frank Reich's offense this passing out it's going to be a lot up on the watch sack well let's hit on the negatives here before we go
Starting point is 00:14:41 into the Vikings preview in a little bit obviously we, we should hit on the big topic here, which is the defense, the passing defense especially. Gardner Minshew was 19 of 20. Outside of an incompletion in the first quarter, Kenny Moore batted down. Minshew did not see a single ball hit the ground after that. This is something I brought up in yesterday's episode, Zach, is that at what point do the Colts talk, or maybe they sit down to themselves, or Ibracluse like an epiphany that we can't keep playing this soft zone coverage 80% of the snaps like we saw in the two good games they've had defensively in past coverage Kansas City
Starting point is 00:15:15 last year against Patrick Mahomes and Houston in 2018 Wild Card game when they went in there and really dominated on both sides of the ball being exotic on defense too when will Zach when will they start mixing up more on defense? Because I think teams are starting to figure out around the NFL, will there be Jacksonville, like a lowly team like them, or even the elite teams like New Orleans last year, where Drew Brees went 29 of 30. If you leave these zone coverages open for them,
Starting point is 00:15:35 they're going to exploit that every single time. You know, here's how I'll start this. You know, the thing is, I'm not a huge proponent of the cover two. I don't think there are many people are. You know, obviously it's a big Tony Dungy, Rod Marinelli, you know, all these type of guys. And it kind of trickled down to Matt Eberflus. And that's where he's got this team from. So, you know, he's a big cover two guy.
Starting point is 00:15:58 I'm personally not a huge cover two guy. So I understand the complaints with it. Obviously, it gives up a little too much. There's always high completion percentage, but the biggest reason why it struggles and why the Colts have had struggles, you know, early in the season, even like this game and in last year, the start of the season is the big thing that the cover two relies on is, is stopping the run and enforcing second and long third and long situations. And the main issue with the game that we saw was that the Colts were not forcing those second and third and long situations.
Starting point is 00:16:29 You know, say everything you want to say about the scheme and giving up those first downs when they got to third and short and still doing cover two. I think that was outrageous as well. But you shouldn't be putting yourself in this situation. So just to start off this whole point here, I think the people who just want to slap the scheme as the issue are trying to deflect the problem that we saw up front with, you know, the defensive line was not getting penetration whatsoever.
Starting point is 00:16:54 And again, that's a huge element of the cover two and the effluxus scheme. The linebackers were misreading holes all day. I mean, I don't think I saw a linebacker, you know, make a run stop at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield once in the entire game. So I think those were just big issues as well that we need to talk about and not really throw everything on scheme. But, you know, going to the scheme, I'm with you. You know, the big thing that they really need to do is I don't think they need to go completely away from the cover two. I just think they need to do like, you know, they need to show more, you know, blitz a little bit more, show some cover three every now and then,
Starting point is 00:17:25 switch in some man. I think just going to cover two, 60%, 70%, 80% of the game is a little tough, and I think that it's kind of a very passive defense. So, you know, I agree with you overall. I think that they do need to switch it up a little bit and throw some more scheme in there. But to kind of go back to this past game, anyone who really wants to just slap scheme as the main issue and slap that as the issue for every one of these Colts losses where guys are
Starting point is 00:17:49 getting toasted, you know, you got to put some of this on the players. They know the scheme. They know what their assignments are supposed to be, and, you know, quite frankly, scheme is not, you know, scheme's not the reason why Malik Hooker is getting beat on a slot option route in the red zone. Scheme's not the issue why TJ carries jumping underneath route when he has the quarters coverage on the outside and in the red zone. So at the end of the day, a lot of this falls on the players, you know, they weren't getting those stops on, on first and second down early in the, in the drives.
Starting point is 00:18:17 And it led to third and short situations where they could just pick it up by throwing it underneath. So, yeah, again, I think that the scheme definitely needs to diversify a bit and play a little bit more aggressive. But I don't want to take the blame off of some of the players here, and I'm sure none of them are taking the blame off their own shoulders as well. I mean, it was an all-around effort in this past game. Let's hail in the defensive backs for a second, Zach,
Starting point is 00:18:38 before we dive into the trenches here then. How worried are you? Obviously, week one overreaction, we don't want to do that too much, but no pre-set in action. We weren't really able to see much clips from practices or anything like that. How worried are you about this secondary moving forward here, especially a guy like Xavier Rhodes who really plateaued last year, really went down a huge hill in Minnesota.
Starting point is 00:18:57 They let him go. They waved to him. He really got consistently torched yesterday on Sunday by whether it be DJ Chart, LaVisca Chanel, whoever, maybe Keelan Cole as well. How worried are you about Xavier Rhodes in 2020 if this continues? It's a little early, I think, to be super worried. Obviously, it's game one. And, you know, to be completely fair, I don't think this secondary really didn't get tested
Starting point is 00:19:19 too much because a lot of what they were getting hit on was his underneath passes. And the biggest issues that we really saw was, again, the first touchdown was complete miscommunication between TJ Carey and Kari Willis, which having no preseason and having a new player in TJ Carey definitely will do that. And then the Chenault one was just a completely bad read by Malik Hooker, which obviously you don't want to see. And the third one was Xavier Rhodes just misreading a play,
Starting point is 00:19:43 which, again, it's a new player in a new scheme. But the biggest thing with the Colts, again, I don't think that the secondary really had a horrible game. I just think that the scheme let the Jaguars march down the field a little too much. And when the scheme really does show off, when the scheme is actually really good, is in red zone defense. But that's when the defensive backs need to understand their assignments
Starting point is 00:20:04 and be in the right spot. And for two of those three touchdowns they were not in the right spot they didn't understand their assignments so I do think that's going to clean up going forward I mean we're talking about two touchdowns if the Colts hold them to field goals in those two plays instead of two touchdowns Colts win the game so those are big impact plays and that's the biggest part of the cover too it's a bend don't break defense and you want to you know stand strong in the red zone so I'm not going to be too too concerned obviously the pass interference was bad from Rhodes and and the miscommunication on the red zone touchdown but again I think it's early it's it's hard to really throw everything against the wall and say this is terrible we need to change it all up we need to fire all these guys but you know it's
Starting point is 00:20:42 something to monitor I mean we're going to go against better passing offenses, but we're also going to go against passing offenses that are going to try to throw the ball down the field a little bit more where the Colts are, you know, typically stacking their guys and covering. So we'll see what kind of happens with that. But, yeah, it's definitely something to monitor going forward. I don't think Rhodes had this atrocious game, but there were definitely a couple moments where it was a detriment to the team.
Starting point is 00:21:05 Last negative here is that core damage to the Vikings preview. How surprised were you by the trenches on both sides, offensive line, defensive line, where the Jaguars really kind of won on both sides of the ball in that aspect? Obviously, it's surprising because the way that the Colts dominated the Jaguars in Indy last year, you know, they had the 260 yards rushing on offense, and they were able to get after Nick Foles a couple times. So, you know, that was definitely surprising.
Starting point is 00:21:27 But, you know, week one is weird. Week one is weird every single year. I mean, the Colts the last two years have lost to the Chargers, who finished, I think, 4-12, and I think the Bengals who finished like 4-12 or 5-11 or something like that. Week one is always weird. It's hard to, again, really say this is going to be a theme going forward. But, you know, I don't want to say that it's a good thing,
Starting point is 00:21:48 but we have seen this offensive line, for instance, for the Colts have bad games like this. You know, like Miami game last year, for instance, you know, Brian Horat quarterback, the Colts kind of came in expecting to dominate up front, and they were kind of punched in the mouth by a Dolphins offensive line that we didn't expect would do that. Then they came back the next week with a vengeance and ran for 260 on the Jaguars.
Starting point is 00:22:08 So we'll see if the offensive line can bounce back next week. I'm not terribly concerned about them. They were still great in pass protection. Defensive line is definitely a little worrisome. I think that they had some really good moments when they actually got into those second and third and long situations. You know, D.C. Autry had a couple good moments. Justin Houston had a sack.
Starting point is 00:22:25 Buckner had, I think, two tackles for a loss. And, you know, I don't think he got charted with a hurry, but I think there was one that should have been a hurry. So I think they were okay. But the thing is, you know, this defensive line shouldn't be okay with the talent they have. With D'Nico Autry on the outside, with DeForest Buckner, with Justin Houston, and then also with Grover Stewart in the run game.
Starting point is 00:22:44 The run defense shouldn't be as bad as it is when you have all those guys up there either. So, you know, I think those are both areas that need to improve going forward. Offensive line, I'm not terribly concerned about whatsoever. I think they'll be fine. But the defensive line definitely needs to step up and take the pressure off this secondary that's not as strong.
Starting point is 00:23:01 Colts fans, Bilt Bar is the best-tasting protein bar ever. They have so many new flavors, like Caramel Brown cherry barcia and carrot cake with the 12 original flavors as well. They're covered in 100% chocolate and they're soft and easy to chew. The Bilt Bar is great for a health conscious guy as well. You can lose or maintain weight while indulging in a delicious treat. The bar is a low calorie, low sugar, high protein, and high fiber and great for a keto diet. For example, the coconut almond Bilt Bar is 18 grams of protein with 180 calories with only 5 grams of sugar and 5 grams of net carbs. That is a great tasting snack to tidy up throughout the day.
Starting point is 00:23:32 With a free cooler with purchases here at Bilt Bar to help you guys get it while supplies last, the code is LOCKEDON at BiltBar.com. You can get $10 off your next order. Use promo code LOCKEDON, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N, for $10 off of BiltBar.com. Again, that's LOCKEDON at BiltBar.com, B-U-I-L-T-B-A-R.com. Looking ahead to Minnesota now, week two, home opener for the Colts in Indianapolis at the Casolo Stadium on Sunday. What are your three keys, so to say, Zach, if you were going to look ahead to this game on Sunday? Because after that week one disappointment, the Colts have to bounce back here.
Starting point is 00:24:09 Yeah, so the number one key is just winning the trenches and particularly on the defensive side of the ball you know Kirk Cousins is a guy who operates really well when everything is going perfect but when you can get in his face and you get some pressure and force him into some mistakes you know that that's when he's at his worst so I think just having you know DeForest Buckner Justin Houston and even Grover Stewart you know Grover Stewart has to be a big part in that run defense too but DeForest Buckner, Justin Houston, and even Grover Stewart, you know, Grover Stewart has to be a big part in that run defense too, but DeForest Buckner and Justin Houston need to be constant with their pressure. Maybe even get Ben Banigou out there a little bit more. He only played seven sacks in week one. So just getting more pressure up front would be the first key.
Starting point is 00:24:37 Second key would just be throw it on these poor corners that the Vikings have. The Vikings have some very, very young, inexperienced corners right now who just got shredded for, I think Rodgers threw for like 350 and like five touchdowns last week. So you definitely got to throw it on these young corners and just throw it often and really test them with guys like Paris Campbell and T.Y. Hilton. And then third is just get Jonathan Taylor going.
Starting point is 00:25:01 You know, I don't think it's going to be all of the middle runs like we saw in week one. I think they're going to, you know, stretch the sideline a little bit more and get him out in space. But just get Jonathan Taylor going and then kind of make this more of a balanced attack on offense instead of, you know, 46, I think 50 passes, whatever they had in week one. So yeah, those are the three keys, you know, just dominating the defensive line, throwing the ball in these poor corners, and then just keeping that balanced attack and getting Jonathan Taylor going. If you had to just have a prediction here, Zach, would you say if you were Frank Reck
Starting point is 00:25:29 and Nick Sirianni, would you try to air it out like you mentioned, like we saw Aaron Rodgers on Sunday in Minnesota really torch them in the secondary, or would you maybe try to grind it out here and let the offensive line dictate this game a little bit? Oh, I'd be aggressive. You know, again, they're coming off of a really bad game, and you know that with cornerback play, you know, I play corner in high school, I'm not gonna say I played well, or I played a long time, but I played a lot. And I've and I've talked to a lot of corners, I know how their headspace is. And these are guys who especially young guys, I mean, these guys are really young, they get in their own head pretty early and often we saw with Quincy Wilson
Starting point is 00:26:02 here in in Indy, I mean, these guys get in their head after a bad game and, you know, where they just got shredded in week one after a long offseason, their confidence probably isn't going to be great. So I throw it out a little bit more. You know, I go after them. You know, I wouldn't test the safeties because Harrison and, well, Anthony Harris and Harrison Smith are great safeties, but I'd really test those corners on the outside boundaries and really make them have to make some plays. Yeah, I think I would just, you know, kind of air it out, but then work that run game in slowly after, you know, they're backing up and waiting for that pass.
Starting point is 00:26:33 Zach, always enjoy talking with you, man. Looking forward to talking with you weekly throughout the Colts season. You're, of course, a disappointment for the Colts in week one as they did lose in Jacksonville 27-20. But you guys can go follow him on Twitter, at Zach Hicks, too. Go read his work, as always, at RonStampPBlue. Zach, appreciate the time, and we'll talk to you next week. Awesome, man. Can't wait.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.