Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Q&A: When Will Indianapolis Colts Extend Daniel Jones, Alec Pierce's Contracts?

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Indianapolis Colts are set to break the bank for Alec Pearson Daniel Jones this offseason. Let's get to it. You are Locked-on Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello, everyone. My name is Zach Hickshaw, Resident Film Nerd of HorsuHuddle.com. As always, I'm joined by Jake Arthur, the boots on the ground for round table sports. Welcome to Lockdown Colts, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network around.

Starting point is 00:00:42 Today's episode is sponsored by prize picks. Download the prize picks at today and use code a locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Hello, everyone. We are here with a bonus episode for you guys. We got so many questions from you all over the past couple weeks. especially yesterday when Jake put out that call for our Q&A episode on Wednesday that we like to do for you guys. So we decided to roll over some of these questions into a full-length episode.

Starting point is 00:01:11 Just again, we had so many that we wanted to talk to from big picture stuff to in-season stuff to upcoming matchup with the cheese. So many questions that we're going to get rolling here. So Jake, to kick it off here, I'll start off with the first question and then we can kind of flip like we usually do to you kind of reading the questions. But should the Colts keep winning this year, do we see Indy becoming more of a free agent destination? That's from our guy, DJ Batson, over there on socials. The Colts become a free agent destination. That would be a new one there, wouldn't it, Jake? Yeah, I think so.

Starting point is 00:01:47 With that, I think there are three huge ingredients to a particular place being a free agent destination for the offseason. Obviously winning, like winning in the quarterback, the quarterback is always kind of paramed. amount but also what financially what can they offer like i think a lot of people would like to think the financials isn't as big of a deal as it is but it is like if a team is going to offer the most or like the most guaranteed money what have you they're going to land most of the players they want unless they're just a dreadful destination but when you have that mix of the quarterback which we think the colts probably will and daniel jones then we'll get into that more in a little bit coming off of a winning record.

Starting point is 00:02:34 They're almost certainly going to be in the playoffs. We'll see how far they get. So you have those two really optimistic things. And then as long as it's there, which I think the Colts will probably find a way to create even more cap space and probably liquid money going into throughout the off season. I think, you know, Carly or say Gordon's going to be willing to spend. So I think the Colts are going to probably have those three huge factors checked off. And with that being the case, I would say, yeah, the Colts are probably going to be able to pull in whatever free agents they want for the most part.

Starting point is 00:03:09 Like, I don't think Chris Ballard is just going to throw caution to the wind and totally turn over New Leaf and just spend like crazy. But like the guys who they didn't used to be able to close on because of those other factors, I think maybe can probably sway their way a little bit. Yeah. And the one thing we got to keep in mind, though, is the cap space. how much are the cults going to have to actually spend after this season? I don't think there's going to be that much room to make outside additions. I think a lot of this two-year window that we talk about is the rest of this season and the next season. And I don't think it's much more adding in the sense of outside numbers or outside people because they made their big addition in Sauce Gardner.

Starting point is 00:03:49 So, yeah, when we talk free agent destinations, the number one factor always is financials is how much you're getting offered as a player. the only time that destination comes into play or like other factors is if you have multiple offers around the same money mark. You know, like DeNeil Hunter, for instance, a couple years ago with the Colts versus Texans, Colts offered a little bit more. But when it was that close, he decided to go back home to Houston and the rest is history there. So, yeah, the Colts could certainly become a free agent destination for, you know, when players have that like either or choice picking the Colts over the other destination like we saw with Hunter. But at the end of the day, financials are the biggest part, how much you're willing to offer. We saw that with Mooney Ward and Cameron Bynum this offseason.

Starting point is 00:04:34 In the past, it's not that those guys wouldn't choose the Colts. If the Colts would actually offer deals that were competitive and close the deal, Chris Bowdo is able to close the deal. Both those guys got here in Indy and the rest is history there. Yeah, without question. So it's going to be an interesting off season, but like you said, I don't think they're going to be, there's not to be a ton of big fish necessarily. But, you know, guys who they want to land, they could probably be a little more persuasive with that. So this next one, we've got two of them based around Daniel Jones. The first one here is from Louise Martinez, and the other one is from, again, DJ Batson.

Starting point is 00:05:13 So Louise said, what's the Daniel Jones plan? Are we going to go the Sam Darnold route? Or will the Colts be going more like a Kirk Cousins route, yearly high salary, but not committed long term? and then DJ Batson said, depending how the Chiefs game goes, looking at the turnovers in the last two games from the QB, through the Colts pause long-term contract talks with Daniel Jones. So let's kind of combine this. I guess are you sold on going ahead and going to the negotiating table

Starting point is 00:05:42 and locking in Jones? I mean, you can't now because on a one-year deal, you have to wait until the regular season is up, but you can have conversations, obviously. So, like, how sold would you be, I guess, on Jones? being the guy in 26, and would you go one year deal, two year deal, three, how would that look for you?

Starting point is 00:06:01 Yeah, I mean, I'm pretty sold on him being the guy. I mean, the turnovers have been rough the last couple weeks, but I'm assuming that's just regression too far. The other way, we'll find a middle ground, and he'll end the season at a pretty decent number there. So I'm not terribly concerned about the turnovers. We'll see if they continue. But, yeah, I'm assuming he's going to be the 2026 quarterback,

Starting point is 00:06:21 probably past that as well. when it comes to the negotiation table, you know, there's been a lot of speculation on, what is it, a lot of these, like, talk show guys saying that he could take the Colts to town or whatever in these negotiations because he has all the leverage after the Colts traded for Soss Gardner. They have no other way to get a quarterback. In reality, I think when you see this, like, yes, he's going to get his fair pay. Like, he's a quarterback in the NFL having a good season. He's going to get a lot of money. That's just how this works. But NFL teams know. kind of what he is and know the stigma around him. You know, when Baker Mayfield was a free agent after a really good season with the Buccaneers, he didn't get this Pat Mahomes-esque deal, like this $60 million per year deal. When Sam Darnold had his resurgence last year, he didn't get this break the bank $60 million per year deal.

Starting point is 00:07:15 They both got these kind of relatively like high end middle of the road type deals on three-ish-year deals, three-ish-year contracts and stuff. So that's kind of what I think we're looking at here with Daniel Jones. It'll be around that. And then if he proves it on a three-year deal, then he could probably get that massive contract again after that because teams are always so star for quarterbacks. But, yeah, I'd expect the Sam Darnold Plus deal. I've talked about that all season long where Darnold, I think, got three for 105.

Starting point is 00:07:45 I still expect Jones to go like three for 115, three for 120 maybe. be, so roughly around $40 million a year, which is a ton, but I expected to be more around that rather than like the new going rate for quarterbacks, which is like $70 million a year in some of these cases. Yeah, I expect the mutual interest to be intent, you know, for both sides, obviously. The Colts finally have a guy quarterback that they can rely on and isn't. I mean, it got interesting the last couple of games, but they're winning with him and they're not losing because of him like they have a guy so i imagine the colts will want him back and then jones

Starting point is 00:08:24 sure he has leverage but at the same time is he he's not going to want to go to the jets he's not going to want to go to the browns like i think he realizes this is a very good relationship here with him and chain stike and he's probably not he's going to want what's fair for him but i don't think he's going to want to stray from that it's all about again it comes down to if the money is at least close you'd rather pick the situation it's like yes financials are the biggest part of free agents so if the browns come in and offer him 60 million dollars per year and the colts are only willing to go up to 40 per year yeah he'll pick the browns like i would pick the browns in that situation that's a lot more money uh but i don't anticipate him on the open market getting much more

Starting point is 00:09:06 than like that 40 per year even at like maybe a team goes up to like 42 per year 43 per year i think he'd stay with the colts around 40 because there's better earning particular for his future and he knows the situation, knows the system, and knows they're committed to winning, which that's the number one way to get paid as a quarterback is winning football games. It doesn't matter how good you are. It matters how much you win as a quarterback to get paid. So, yeah, I think he'll get paid fair, but I think it'll be here in Indy for sure. Without a doubt. All right, so I want to get one more quick one in on this top of the show segment. And we've touched on this one a little bit, so we'll kind of speed through it. This one's from

Starting point is 00:09:43 Dude McFarland. Have you heard anything in the building about these Lou Aniromo Giants rumors. If that did end up happening where the Giants select Lou is their new head coach this offseason, who would make sense as a replacement, given the defense is mostly handpicked by Lou. So I expect Lou and maybe even Jim Bob Cooter to get some level of interest in the head coaching cycle this offseason. But Joe Shane and Lou Aniromo have a connection from their days, I believe, in Miami. So like that's going to be, it would not be surprising whatsoever for the Giants to reach out to the Colts and see if they could interview Anoromo. So like that could happen. I mean, they're probably

Starting point is 00:10:29 going to cast a wide neck because they need to get this thing right. But Zach, who would you look at, because like this is a pretty specific defensive plan they've had going on, who would you look at to replace Lou in the event that he went to the Giants or elsewhere? Yeah, I'll be real quick at this because we're almost out of time in this segment. But yeah, internally, Chris Hewitt or Jerome Henderson seem like great options. They've been fantastic for the Colts this year, coaching up that secondary. If you go outside the building, though, DeNard Wilson with the Tennessee Titans, if he's let go after the season, would be a good one for them. Anthony Weaver down in Miami, their defensive coordinator, if he's let go after the season, would be one I think they'd

Starting point is 00:11:08 be interested in. And then one outside the box is Jim Leonard there from the Denver Broncos from Wisconsin fame or whatever. So Chris Ballard obviously had his eye on him, but he's an ascending young coach who's in line to get a defensive coordinator job. I think those would be their five guys they would really look at. Yeah, absolutely. All right, so we've got more questions to go here in just a moment. This episode is brought to you by price picks. You and I make decisions every day, but on price picks being right can actually get you paid. Whether you're following the NFL, NBA, or both, there's no better time to jump in on the action. If you haven't tried it yet, prize picks is the simplest way to play.

Starting point is 00:11:47 Just pick more or less on at least two player stats. And if you get them right, you win. It takes less than 60 seconds to make your lineup. And you can play anywhere that prize picks operates. That includes California, Texas, and Georgia. We've been using prize picks during both football Sundays and NBA tip-offs. It keeps every game exciting. And the new stacks feature is a total game changer. That means, like, if you're going in the NBA, for example, you can pick and combine a play. players points, their threes, and their assists all in the same lineup. Plus, if one of your players leaves early with an injury, then the injury reboot option

Starting point is 00:12:20 saves your lineup from a loss. So download the Price Picks app today and use code Locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That's code Locked on NFL for $50 in lineups after your first $5 lineup. Price Picks. It's good to be right. All right. Thank you for making Locked on Colts your first.

Starting point is 00:12:42 to listen of the day every dayers and thank you for making locked on the number one sports podcast network in the galaxy all right so let's turn our attention back to this q and a here zep will we'll speed it up a little bit because we're we're got a lot of questions to get to we'll put it that way uh so how are the colts going to go how long are the colts going to go before resigning alec pierce to a new deal that one's from rich southwood and unlike daniel jones they can do that one right now. Yeah, they can do that one right now. And Michael Pittman, Jr. had a really fun quote in his last press conference saying, every second you don't sign him, the price goes up. And I do tend to kind of agree with that. And I'm typically not someone who thinks that. I think there's usually

Starting point is 00:13:25 like a point where a guy doesn't really get much more money. Like, there's always a cap to how much they can earn in season. But if we look at what Alec Pierce has done this year, he's on pace for over a thousand yards. He's still leading the NFL in yards per target and yards per se. And yards per reception, doing a lot of really good things for this Colts team. And yeah, it might be one of those situations where you might want to get unlocked up here in season. He's going to cost a ton of money regardless. You know, it's really what's going to happen here. So if I were the Colts, I'd be really inspired to go to the negotiation table right now. I don't know how much Alec Pierce's representation, though, would want to go to the table at this moment. Because he's going to be so

Starting point is 00:14:08 valuable this offseason for so many teams he might want to make that a bidding more and we'll see i do think the colts internally have kind of locked in to paying him but we'll see just how enthused pierce's representation is to hit the market and the offseason and make that more of a bidding war than what it would be if he were just to get re-upped here in indy yeah i think it would have to come down to alec just being like hey get it done because otherwise like you mentioned the representation has all the all the desire in the world to want to get this other teams involved to get the bidding war going. But for the Colts, kind of like when they signed Michael Pittman, Jr., you know,

Starting point is 00:14:45 they sign him and then all these other deals get done where they wind up kind of getting things on the cheaper side. All right, this next one, this is more for you, really. How does Jalen Carlis fit into Luce scheme once he's back? That's from Darth Carnivore, and we had another one based on Jalen Carlis as well from the Insider program. assuming that Jalen Carlis can get back to full strength, is there a better defensive back seven in football

Starting point is 00:15:11 than the Colts against the past or in general? I mean, I don't even need to put Carlize in there to say about the front seven back there. I don't know if there's many better because, I mean, if you think about the two outside corners that are going to roll out there, I mean, you probably have two bona fide top 10 to 12 corners in football. I don't think there's another team in football

Starting point is 00:15:31 that can really say that. I mean, these guys are all pros in their past. and they've been playing at a high level this year as well. Then you factor in Kenny Moore, who's always been a fantastic slot corner. You factor in Nick Cross, who's been a fringe pro bowler the last couple years, Cameron Bynum, who might be a pro bowler this year as well. I think they have a very, very good secondary, even with some of the issues in coverage at linebacker.

Starting point is 00:15:55 And I don't know if Carlyse really fixes too much of that there. But speaking of Carlis, in terms of his fit, you know, I think the fit felt a lot cleaner in the offseason when he was still kind of in good graces with the coaching staff and was getting those number one team reps. We saw before his injury, he was kind of moved down to like a third team linebacker. So I'm not sure how much he's going to fit into this system. But I think he's going to compete with Austin Ajake to be like that rotational passing down

Starting point is 00:16:23 guy, get out there for three, four, five snaps a game. And we'll see what he can do. But yeah, I think, and just in terms of his back seven, though, I think that this defense is in a really good place going forward. No, they're legit. As far as Carlis, we'll see what the defensive role becomes, but I think initially he'll be kind of a big special teamer until we see further.

Starting point is 00:16:46 This next one is from Ethan Callahan. He said, I'm curious about Rodney Thomas. Seems like he was on the way out, but then he's been playing meaningful snaps for Lou and looks more like his rookie self than the last couple years where he was really kind of shaky. Is that just because he's not being asked to do a lot because he fits the scheme much better or he's not being asked to do a lot or he just fits

Starting point is 00:17:08 this scheme better. Yeah, no, I think the biggest thing with Ronnie Thomas the last couple of years, like his biggest issue has been run angles and support and tackling and just rallying to the football. And what we've seen with Lou Aniromo this year is they've kind of limited a lot of what his responsibilities have been. You know, instead of being an early down safety who has to come up and fit against the run or a guy who's going to be, again, like playing some strong safety reps and coming up, he's really only getting out there for their three safety dime reps, and he's playing like a deep, deep safety role and maybe getting a little bit of man coverage reps in there as well. And I think anything that you can do to get him away from

Starting point is 00:17:46 run defense is productive for him. And that's kind of what we've seen this year, where we're not really seeing many situations where he has to come up and tackle somebody, where he has to be physical, but he can be good in the coverage aspect. We've always seen him be a pretty good cover guy. the issue has always been in his run defense and tackling. So Lou Anirmo has done a really good job of just letting him be the best possible version of himself. And as a result, we are seeing a Ronnie Thomas that's pretty, you know, helpful for this defense for the first time in a couple years. So credit to Anarumo for finding that role for him because like you, I was sitting here saying like, okay, it's time to move on from Ronnie Thomas. Let's get a different safety in here who can do a couple more things for the defense.

Starting point is 00:18:27 Instead, it's more so been when we get to these three safety, dime looks, these big dime looks, we're just going to have Thomas camped out deep down the field and use Cross and used Bynum as more playmakers underneath, like Cross coming up in blitzing, Bynum coming up and robbing the middle of the field, and it's worked out really well for this defense. So they found a role for Thomas. As long as he doesn't have to tackle anybody, he's a pretty good safety. And I think Aneromo has kind of figured that out this year. Yeah, I never really noticed him being like a big issue downfield on passing downs, but it was when he would have to get physical or stop the run where his biggest gaps came up.

Starting point is 00:19:04 And yeah, like you mentioned, that's just been kind of taken away from him having to worry about it. And as a result, we're not really noticing him as much, which is good. Like, for me, if I don't have to notice a guy at all, like, I assume they're doing a decent job. This last one here for the segment is run defensive concern for the rest of the season. That is from, now I didn't want to try and break this name down because I don't know how it's organized, but it's i s a k a l-l-e-n i didn't want to mispronounce whatever i say kalan i don't know but yeah i don't want to do that yeah i don't know i don't know but yeah i think run defense is certainly a concern the rest of the way you know de force bachner is such a force player in the run game

Starting point is 00:19:44 next to grover stewart i don't think it's like a major major concern because they do have the ingredients to at least limit the explosive runs i know there were some concerns against the falcons but we got to keep in mind uh the falcons have a really really good two-headed monster there when it comes to running the football. And they're an exceptionally well-coached run team over there with Bajon Robinson as their start running back. So, yeah, I have to see it against other run teams. Like if the Chiefs run for 100 plus yards this week when the Chiefs are a really bad

Starting point is 00:20:15 rushing offense, then I'll be a little bit concerned about the run defense going forward. But I think that they'll do a good job of limiting explosives, which is the most important thing in the run game. the key is just standing tall in the red zone with that run defense. That's where we saw the issues against Atlanta where they allowed too many rushing touchdowns and like rushing yards in the red zone last time we saw this team. If they can keep that contained, I think they'll be fine on the run game. At least fine enough to like win games is the key here, obviously.

Starting point is 00:20:45 Yeah, there's been points of the season where, I mean, you've heard me say I've been worried about particular matchups because, you know, you're worried the other team's going to be able to establish the run and stick with it throughout the game. And that just hasn't, it hasn't been the case yet. So I'm not going to say I'm not concerned whatsoever, but the concerns I have had throughout the year have not really rear their ugly head or caused huge issues so far. So I'm going to say it's, sorry, not to interrupt, but the biggest key to having a great run defense is your offense on the other side of the ball.

Starting point is 00:21:15 If your offense of those other ball scoring points, you don't have to worry about run defense. So as long as the Colts offense is scoring 30 plus, I'm fine with the run defense being below average because you're not going to face many runs the rest of the way yeah well i mean with with with the steelers game like they turned the ball over what was it like six times but they held the steelers run game to like 1.7 yards per carry yeah so like the steelers offense had all the opportunity in the world to establish the run they really couldn't so uh we've got more questions coming up here including one draft nerd from the insider program who is already asking about april and honestly i don't mind not one bit

Starting point is 00:21:54 NBA is back and there's no better place to get in on the action than Fandul, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you miss the start of the game or you want to ride the hot hand, Fandle has live bets on everything, from who's going to score next to if someone's going to come up with a fourth quarter comeback. Plus, you can even combine all your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a much bigger payout. It keeps every game exciting when you don't necessarily have a dog in the fight when it comes to your fandom, especially when your team is making that late push. Right now, Fandul is giving your new customers 300 bucks in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So head to Fandle.com to sign up and play your game with Fandul, the official sports

Starting point is 00:22:36 betting partner of the NBA. All right, welcome back, everybody. We continue to take your Q&A today in this bonus runover episode because you guys just, again, made it rain questions on us this week, which we love and we wanted to answer all of them. So this one here, again, the Colts are having the best season since the Peyton Manning days, but we got someone asking about April, and we love it because we haven't gotten to talk about the draft enough yet. So this person, again, from the insider program, said, never too early to think about April. Given how the roster will now look with Daniel Jones and the Soss Gardner contracts,

Starting point is 00:23:13 what position priorities should be focused on in the draft with the second and third round picks. This person said I'm partial to edge and a right tackle or swing tackle, but given the history of neck injuries and into you might have to start looking pretty seriously at defensive interior as well yeah i mean i think just in general the april plan for the colts is like when you're looking at this team they're very very good at the skill positions wide receiver running back tight end now is a strength for them on defense cornerback is a big time strength of them at the moment we never know how long corner is going to last as a strength for this team but corner looks

Starting point is 00:23:47 great going forward safety is really good um and then you know on the defensive line their strength is a lot of older players, though. So I think you really want to look trenches still. You want to keep bolstering the offensive line, keep bolstering the defensive line for the future. So I do completely agree with like edge in a right tackle or a swing tackle is typically where I would lean. In terms of defensive interior, you know, the Colts going forward with this two-year window that we keep talking about to really compete, after 2026, it's going to be a lot of regrouping and trying to find young contributors to replace their 30-plus-year-olds that are on. on expiring deals, and DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart are going to be part of that

Starting point is 00:24:27 conversation, like how much of those guys still have, especially if Buckner is dealing with neck injuries right now. So yeah, I mean, some of these picks are going to be for those future years and guys who can step up and replace a Buckner or replace a Grover Stewart. So if there's a really good defensive interior player there that you think, hey, we can pair this guy with Atatomi while going forward and have a good interior still, then that's something that they need to consider for sure. But yeah, I think just in general, I would lean trenches. I don't care where it is on the trenches, but with those picks in April, keep adding to the trenches, add more bodies up front, more big bodies up front and roll from there because they have the skill position players,

Starting point is 00:25:07 especially if they re-sign out of Pierce. They have the skill position players that are in a really good place and locked up long term. Let's get some of these younger guys up front and keep developing talent there. So we have a healthy rotation going forward. Yeah, I'm immediately drawn to the drawn to the defensive front seven. I would have been fine with them taking an interior guy last year. Like Walter Nolan was a guy mentioned I liked quite a bit. DeForest and Grover, I believe, are both going to be 32. Both of them when the season starts next year.

Starting point is 00:25:38 Obviously, you got to start looking at life beyond them. At edge rusher, you still don't have that irreplaceable guy. Like, we like layout too lots. You want to keep building with him and everything. But you can never have too much pass rush. You got to keep looking. Quitty pay, there's a good chance he's not back. It's going to be a free agent.

Starting point is 00:25:56 And another team might want to give him a big deal that the Colts might not be willing to do. So you could be losing a starting defensive end. Samson Ebukom is on the wrong side of 30. And he has, he's been hurt most of this year, was hurt all last year. Same thing with Typhon Lewis. So the only edge defender you can have confidence in right now beyond the season is Latu. And then however you want to factor JT, Tuam, Lowe, into it as well. I also look at linebacker, like at this,

Starting point is 00:26:25 Zyre Franklin is perfectly fine. Jermaine Pratt, I think is probably a one-year rental. But if like an Edrin Cooper or Carson Schwessinger or a Jehad Campbell, if a type like that falls in your lap, like go ahead and finally pull the trigger because you haven't done that. Like Shaq Leonard was the last one where they invested kind of a high pick and a linebacker like that. O'Kareke was a third rounder, but even still a third round linebacker that's a little bit of a the swing so defensive front seven for me and then yeah if you want to go ahead and grab another offensive tackle or just do kind of what the eagles do where you just kind of take anyone from

Starting point is 00:27:02 the offensive line and shell them away for you don't need them for another year or two i think that wouldn't be a a bad approach either always draft offensive line always draft you if you have the picks eligible to him take an offensive line in the top 100 every year if you have the if you have the resources colts are a little bit tough because they don't have that first round pick but if you have the resources, take an offensive lineman high every year. It's so valuable to have them. Yeah, without a doubt. All right, this next one, you'll love this.

Starting point is 00:27:30 Any chance the Colts kick the tires on Rodrigo Blankenship or any other kicker? That's from Tim Cole. So, real quick on Rodrigo, no, that one will not ever happen again. I did ask Shane if they were going to look at kickers throughout the biweek, and he said no. And then Brian Mason also gave his stamp of confidence on, Michael Badgeley as well. Now that's if it continues going down this way where you're missing extra points or 53 yarders are immacable, especially when they said he was making them in pregame.

Starting point is 00:28:02 Like if that keeps happening, yes, you do have to look at other kickers, especially when your aspirations for the season are what they are. But currently right now, no, they're not going to look at another kicker. No. And Brian Mason feels like me every time I read his quotes there when it comes to missing extra points because he's like, we just can't miss those. And I'm like, I agree. I agree. So I think if there are a couple more misses. It's why they're called extra. Yeah. I think if we do see some more misses on the extra points, we could see more kickers worked out. But as of right now,

Starting point is 00:28:30 the money badger is still in there. Hey, he made the game tying fuel goal. Well, come on. I would have rather him made that one than the other ones that he met. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, I don't think the nerd goggles guy is going to be coming back. He's great for Instagram and TikTok, but I don't know if he's going to get a shot in the NFL again anytime soon. So Lego fanatics in the indie market, it's not ended well. Rodrigo Blanketship and Miles Turner. It's, you can't do it again.

Starting point is 00:28:57 That's true. You know what I mean? Like there was a time where it went really well, but it ends in disaster. So the next one, do we expect any game time flexes and any upcoming games? So I know there was talk of the Texans one, the first Texans one that's not going to happen. Obviously, Chiefs isn't going to happen. Seahawks makes all the sense in the world. That's a 420.

Starting point is 00:29:19 five kick that you can make later and then week 18 in houston that already is a flex game that game does not have a date or time so that one will be later determined yeah i think that one will certainly be flexed if you see the way the texans are keeping in the playoff hunt that'll certainly be moved around a little bit seahawks is a good one to circle maybe the at jacksonville well at jacksonville is the first one right so i think the home game against jacksonville late in the season is another one to circle week 17 i think Yeah, yeah, because if the Jags keep winning and this is like a one or one and a half game race here, like late in the season, I think we could see like that kind of get flexed to more of like a primetime spot, maybe get moved the day before like we've seen in years past. But those are probably the games that later Jacksonville game, Seattle, and certainly that week 18 game is going to be like some kind of prime time spot because it looks like the Texans are going to be in that playoff hunt for sure.

Starting point is 00:30:17 Yeah, I mean, they have week 16 Monday night football at home against the 49ers, but that's, you want to see an AFC game with a lot of weight to it in a more prominent, more prominent audience. All right, this last one here is from Ryder Cop. That last one was from Woe-O Domino, by the way, about the flexes. So Ryder Cop says, I know he probably won't, but can Jonathan Taylor win MVP? Or is it just going to go to Matthew Stafford? It's going to go to a quarterback.

Starting point is 00:30:46 Like, look, I think that Jonathan Taylor is making a better case than any running back has made since Lodany and Tomlinson. And that's even more so than the guy who won it in 2012 with Adrian Peterson. I think Taylor has a better case even than Peterson had that year. But ultimately, it's just not, analytics are just too prevalent now. It's a quarterback-driven league. Because that V word is in there, that valuable word, technically there's nothing more valuable than a quarterback. So it's going to be a quarterback. is going to be Stafford.

Starting point is 00:31:17 It's going to be Drake May. It's going to be one of those guys. But Jonathan Taylor is going to rightfully be in that top three to four conversation for it. If he finishes fourth, I will freak out. It will have no consequence, but fourth would be nuts. Jake, I'm going to say this right now. There's a better chance of him finishing outside the top five than him finishing third. It's just not a thing, Jake.

Starting point is 00:31:41 Running backs can't get the award anymore. I'm telling you. um so i'm telling you you're going to see more votes for josh allen you're going to see more votes potentially for sam darnald or someone like it's just not how the award is voted anymore um but throw up right now yeah but but taylor it does feel like a lock at this point as long as he stays healthy to be the first team all pro to be the offensive player of the year i know jackson smith and jigba is right there he's having a special special season and jonathan taylor can never escape one of these NFC West receivers having a superstar season.

Starting point is 00:32:15 Seahawks receivers. Cooper Cups with the Seahawks. Oh, yeah, Cooper Cup is there too now. But, yeah, no, I think he's on pace still to have. I mean, it's still going to be one of the historically great running back seasons. So there's nothing to take away from Taylor. It's just running backs can't win that award, man. Like, I wouldn't put it.

Starting point is 00:32:33 I wouldn't put money on Taylor winning that award. So let's do this, though. Like, 2000 rushing. yards and 30 touchdowns is within reach. Like at his pace, it's within reach. I, like, I think that MVP award almost becomes a farce at that point. If you have a running back hit 2,000 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns in a season, because he's already, he's going to get 2,000 yards from scrimmage.

Starting point is 00:33:00 Like, that will happen. That would be nuts for him, for him to not win it, because you may never see that again. The only case you would have is that the Colts with a one seed. And the quarterback play was similar to what it was when Lamar won it two years ago, where Lamar kind of won it by default because he was like, he had a good quarterback season, but it wasn't like this historically significant quarterback season. But if he were like competing against like last year's MVP's, right,

Starting point is 00:33:27 Lamar Jackson, who was the runner up to MVP, had one of the greatest seasons we've ever seen from a quarterback. And Josh Allen still had a very good season when he won it. This year, it looks like Stafford's going to have one of the best seasons. we've ever seen from a quarterback, especially at his age. So I just, I don't think there's anything Taylor can do to take that from him as long as he finishes the pace that he's on. I mean, I think Stafford's on pace for 4,000 plus yards, like 40-something touchdowns,

Starting point is 00:33:53 and like five picks. Like, Taylor could run for 3,000 yards. I don't think they're going to not give it to a quarterback. He's starting to Pooka Nakua and Devante Adams. I'm just saying, it's just how it goes, man. It's how it goes. Taylor's running behind Quentin Nelson and having Daniel Jones win. games. I don't know. That's just

Starting point is 00:34:11 I don't know, but that's just how the award is. But you guys let us know in the comments section below. I would love for Jonathan Taylor to win an MVP. It's just it's the NFL now. It's how we roll now. Thank you guys, though, for making Lockdown Colt, your first listen of the day of the NFL season's in full swing.

Starting point is 00:34:28 So for your next listen, get a double dose of the lockdown NFL podcast. Tyler the Madman rolling gives you a shot of NFL espresso to start your football day. Well, Tony Wiggins takes you into the barbershop for the smoothest breakdowns to end the day. Find locked on NFL on YouTube or wherever you list of your podcast you guys want to become a locked on Colts insider and chat list directly and get that insider scoop follow the link in

Starting point is 00:34:46 our show notes and if you don't already make sure you're following out Locked on Colts at Jake Arthur and at Zach Kix 2 all on socials also subscribe to us on YouTube or wherever you list to your podcast we love you guys range views and we'll catch you guys back here later today for crossover Thursday and tomorrow for a final preview of Colts Chiefs

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Q&A: When Will Indianapolis Colts Extend Daniel Jones, Alec Pierce's Contracts?

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