Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - The Indianapolis Colts Weren't Supposed To Be Here...

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Indianapolis Colts were not supposed to be here. Almost universally predicted to be a bottom five team before the season began, the Colts are now just one win away from punching their ticket to the postseason. 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. All right, all right. Thanks for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day.

Starting point is 00:00:45 This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. And today's show is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app. Create an account and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off of your first purchase. What's up, everybody? This is Jake Arthur from HorseshoeHuddle.com. And today we're doing a little reflecting.

Starting point is 00:01:03 We're doing an appreciation show, I guess you could say, for what the Colts have done so far this season. One game left, it ain't over. But safe to say at nine and seven, a lot of us did not expect this. I will say, you know, before the season started, I thought, you know, seven, eight wins max, probably not going to make the playoffs, maybe sniff wildcard contention. But here we are again, they have one regular season game left. And if they win it, they're in the playoffs. If they win and the Jaguars lose their AFC South champs.

Starting point is 00:01:35 Again, people around here, around Indy, even we didn't really expect that people nationally, especially didn't expect that. So we're just going to kind of go over, you know, how they defied the odds to get to where they are today. So again, 9-7 record. They secured a winning record last year, not so much, 4-12-1. It was a disaster last season. As we all remember, you guys hung with us strong throughout that entire mess. I mean, Jeff Saturday was the interim head coach. He had thousands of people on a petition begging

Starting point is 00:02:12 Jim Irsay not to hire him. They had the nice win against the Raiders when he first came on board, but that was it. They had the historic collapses against the Vikings and the Cowboys. It was not good times. Jim Ursae was the meddling owner, really got kind of a stain on his name for a while that, you know, his public reputation is still kind of being rehabilitated from that, but it was not good this time last year. And then by the time the season wrapped up, Chris Ballard was the GM who avoided to or managed to avoid termination.

Starting point is 00:02:49 I know Frank Reich was obviously dismissed, but Chris Ballard was retained. You know, he was not let go, but all assumptions were that he was on thin ice and that the seat was very hot. During the offseason, they kind of they took a big step. Number one, they had an exhaustive search for a head coach, finally getting Shane Steichen. They went over a dozen candidates on their list. They interviewed pretty much all those players except for D'Amico Ryans, who they'll be facing off with this weekend.

Starting point is 00:03:18 They had second rounds of interviews, third rounds of interviews, just a huge exhaustive search that ran basically to the Superbowl. But they, a big, a big step they finally took was finally conceding that they were not just one proven veteran quarterback away from being back in the post season, back competing for a deep playoff run. They took a look in the mirror and realized they were not that close. So whether you want to call it a retool, rebuild, whatever, it was the biggest changeover we've seen

Starting point is 00:03:52 from this team in quite some time since they shifted over from, you know, Chuck Pagano to Frank Reich and kind of switched systems everywhere. But, you know, a couple things they did that really reflected that was they allowed Stefan Gilmore, uh, to be traded out of there to go to a more advantageous situation. Uh, he went to Dallas, you know, a contender, they obviously have a Superbowl aspirations. Uh, Chris Ballard had to kind of convince DeForest Buckner to believe in the process, you know, they, they let Gilmore go, but they really wanted to keep, you know, some of that veteran presence around.

Starting point is 00:04:28 So Ballard basically told Buckner, you know, just trust me, trust the process there. But they got their – they did all that. They got their head coach in Shane Steichen, who they basically referred to as an offensive genius, an offensive wunderkind. They knew they were going to have to go young at quarterback as well. Finally, they were not going to be able to play around with the position.

Starting point is 00:04:49 They needed to find that long-term answer, ultimately drafting Anthony Richardson number four overall. And he did get hurt early in the season, ended the season prematurely, yes, but I think everyone can say that he was further along than a lot of people anticipated, was better as a passer, obviously showed off how dynamic he could be as a runner, but still, all those things, there were really no expectations, especially from the outside. CBS Sports and the 33rd team projected them with a 4-13 record this year. Fox Sports had 5-12. ESPN and Pro Football Focus both ranked the Colts

Starting point is 00:05:34 29th in their preseason power rankings. Right there, bottom five team, bottom of the league. NFL.com and Sports Illustrated, same thing. They said 27th. So even though people closer to Indy probably had a little higher expectations knowing some of the talent that was still on the roster, really no one expected them to be where they are today. But again, now they're here. They've already secured that winning season again at 9-7. They're one win away from the postseason for the first time since 2020. If they do win, it'll be the third time just since 2018. So this is a big deal.

Starting point is 00:06:12 They haven't won the AFC South either since 2014 with Andrew Luck. So Saturday is a big game, arguably the biggest game for the Colts in a couple years. But I think there's reason to be more optimistic this time around. Back in 2021, where they had a couple win-in-your-end scenarios for the playoffs, but choked on both of those, those teams did not have great momentum, really. You could see the cracks. Guys were getting injured. There was a lot of COVID fallout there. This feels totally different. So again, kudos to this team and what they've done to this point from ownership, Jim Irsay,

Starting point is 00:06:53 Chris Ballard, Shane Steichen especially, and the guys on the field. They're the ones that have to make it happen. So here in a minute, we're going to dig into, first we're going to get into more of the mess. We're going to root into the problem and see how ugly it was before ultimately seeing what went right and how they got here. Buying tickets to your favorite events should not be stressful. Game time is the fast and easy way to buy tickets for all the sports, music, comedy and theater near you. With killer deals on last minute tickets and their best price guarantee, you can stop stressing over the tickets and start getting hyped for the fun that you're actually going to have.

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Starting point is 00:08:45 If you just hang tight after this, it's actually going to redirect you right there. So let's relive some drama and some things that made us want to hide under a blanket in the dark because it was not always chill times being around the Colts just a year ago, really. You know, let's fast forward. We kind of took you through the Jeff Saturday stuff, the exhaustive head coaching search and into the draft. You've got this optimism going into training camp, but there's this big cloud, the Jonathan Taylor drama hanging over the team.

Starting point is 00:09:18 So he is dissatisfied with his contract. He's going into the final year. Running backs are underappreciated and he needs some security. Upset that the Colts really haven't even come to the table for contract negotiations. The Colts' stance is basically we won four games last year. We have a new head coach. Let's evaluate our roster before we're going in and signing guys to new long-term deals. So two sides just really stuck in their ways and unwilling to move. Obviously got ugly. There was, you know, traded words back and forth between Jim Irsay and Jonathan Taylor's agent,

Starting point is 00:09:53 Malky Kawa. And the whole thing just, people, everyone had to kind of run wild with it, essentially, because, I mean, this whole time there's rumors and reports coming out about the situation and Taylor just won't talk a lot of people talking on his behalf making reports about what's going on but he just won't come out and clear the air eventually you know he reports back to the Colts with the the ankle injury that lingered and lingered for months longer than it was expected to. He did start the season on the physically unable to perform list, missed those first four games, but he came back and the Colts decided to work with him. Three years, $42 million contract. It all just seemed to kind of erase itself within the matter of a couple of days,

Starting point is 00:10:45 the whole drama, everyone kind of saying Kumbaya and here he comes back. So again, he did miss the first four games and he's missed seven altogether. Cause he did have to have that, that procedure on his thumb recently. But that was, that had to be something that had Shane Steichen pulling his hair out because we in the media, we had to ask him about it all the time. We had to get regular updates about it because that's, you know, other than Anthony Richardson, that's really all anyone could talk about or, or, or ask because it was the biggest mystery on the team. So you have that the season starts, Anthony Richardson is your starter. You see the potential of the offense, how dynamic it can be. He has a couple big performances early on. He has the first quarter against the Texans.

Starting point is 00:11:31 He has the two 15-plus yard touchdown runs. He has the game against the Rams where he's making all these incredible, improbable throws. But then the game against the Titans, he is tackled on his shoulder onto the Lucas Oil Stadium turf and suffers an AC joint sprain that requires a season-ending procedure. So a promising rookie year pretty much done before it even fully gets started. I think him and Jonathan Taylor were on the field together for a grand total of like two snaps, I think it was. So you draft Anthony Richardson and then you extend Jonathan Taylor, dreaming of pairing them together for the long term. And then they're, you know, the whole the whole dream is dead right there before it really gets going.

Starting point is 00:12:18 Injuries in general have been a problem this year. So Richardson, obviously on IR, Jelani Woods was a big breakout candidate this year. So Richardson, obviously on IR Jelani Woods was a big breakout candidate this year. You know, a lot of people thinking what can Shane Steichen do with a physical freak like Jelani Woods? Woods hasn't played a snap this season and isn't going to unless something happens in the playoffs and he magically starts coming along. He had a hamstring injury that has nagged him since the offseason. So hopefully that guy can get right and come back strong next season. But definitely one of the most disappointing what-ifs of this season, I think, to this point.

Starting point is 00:12:56 Ashton Doolin would have been like wide receiver five, but probably your best special teamer at the same time. He tore his ACL, I believe it was during the preseason, so he was not able to see the field this year. Dallas Flowers came out there. You have this Isaiah Rogers stuff, which we haven't even mentioned. Isaiah Rogers gets suspended indefinitely for sports betting before the season begins, so it forces Dallas Flowers into a starting role at outside cornerback, someone who only

Starting point is 00:13:26 played a couple games on defense last year and looked real bumpy, to say the least. He comes out and plays pretty solid, plays like a confident, capable cornerback, but then he tears his Achilles and goes out for the year as well. And then Julian Blackman just recently, a couple weeks ago, injures his shoulder and goes on IR. So season-ending injuries to important players has been something that Colts have really had to overcome. You look at Shaquille Leonard. He was back, but is he really back? Never really quite looked like himself. This guy who is always so dynamic, so good at creating the big plays that no one else could force on the defensive side of the ball. But in nine games, he had 65 tackles and two for loss. Normally for him, you'd see at least a few forced formals, a couple interceptions, some pass breakups, multiple sacks. We didn't see that from him.

Starting point is 00:14:26 There was a couple times where he would sniff a play out in the backfield, maybe a screen pass or something, and got to it early. But overall, he just never really looked like the maniac. And for guys making nearly $20 million a year, the Colts ultimately had to make a decision. They were going to sit him for the remainder of the year, make him inactive, but decided to, you know, wave him, let him go and catch on somewhere else. And he did ultimately go and pair up with the Eagles' Nick Sirianni,

Starting point is 00:14:55 the former offensive coordinator here. So hopefully things go better for him in Philly than they did this year with the Colts. But that was an abrupt end of a relationship that I don't think anyone thought would come so soon. So that's pretty surprising. It's suspensions galore this year. Mentioned Isaiah Rogers already. You've got Tony Brown and Isaiah McKenzie.

Starting point is 00:15:17 They got suspended for conduct detrimental to the team. Al-Kadhi Mohammed, PEDs. Grover Stewart was the biggest one, though. Six games for performance-enhancing substances, and the Colts suffered without him greatly. In those six games that he was gone, they allowed over 150 rushing yards on the ground per game. They managed to kind of weather that storm, but it was not pretty without him out there. Teams knew exactly where to go, and they did it effectively. So that's a guy coming into free agency this coming offseason. He was suspended, but I think the Colts stuck up for him,

Starting point is 00:15:54 and I think they really saw the value of him. That's a guy who, in his absence, really seemed to see his value increase, just like a Michael Pittman Jr. against the Falcons earlier this year. So that was a big one. Six games right in the middle of your season, that could be a really, really rough stretch to kind of weather, but the Colts managed to do it. The cornerback group in general, I mentioned Isaiah Rodgers, I mentioned Dallas Flowers, but one of the biggest injuries they had this year was rookie Juju Bretts. He came in after the first one or two games of the season and really started to get into his own, became a starter, was playing really, really solid football. And then against

Starting point is 00:16:36 the Browns, he got a quad injury that lingered longer than I think the Colts expected it to. I think he was out like maybe six, seven weeks, wound up being five or six games. And the Colts struggled initially without him. That next game against the Saints, they had Tony Brown fill in on that outside slot, and the Saints smelled blood in the water. They went and attacked Tony Brown, and it's one of the biggest reasons they won.

Starting point is 00:17:01 I don't know that the Colts would have won with Juju out there, but I don't think it would have been as ugly because the Saints really, really controlled that game. Things did settle down after that with, you know, the Colts kind of found their footing, had some advantageous matchups after that Saints game. But the Juju Brents injury in the middle of the season turned out to be a really rough one as well. And then the offensive line, you know, when Shane Steichen came in, he, you know, expected to have Jonathan Taylor. He knew he was getting a top five pick they could use on a quarterback and an offensive line that really started to look a lot better in the second half of last year. But again, you fast forward to now and the offensive line has been really, really good this season. But the normal starting five of Bernard Ryman, Quentin Nelson, Ryan Kelly, Will Fries, and Braden Smith has barely played together this season.

Starting point is 00:17:55 Just a few games, it seems like. So you've got Ryman has missed two games, Kelly has missed three games, and Smith has missed seven games. Smith just finally came back from an extended period where he was gone for a few games. So, again, the Colts, I don't want to say dodged a bullet because they've made sure their offensive line is pretty good and they've got good players on it. But it could have been a lot, lot worse. There have been some poor offensive line games, but in general, it's been a strong part of the season. But yeah, for their starting five to barely play together this year and to not be an absolute disaster of an offensive line like they were early last season, that's really, really been a blessing for them.

Starting point is 00:18:36 So now that we've kind of painted the picture of ugliness, here in a minute, we'll go ahead and get to what has gone right. How have they been able to overcome all of that junk? The NFL regular season is wrapping up, but there's still time to get in on the action with Vandal, America's number one sports book. Right now, new customers, you guys get $150 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place a $5 bet. That's 150 bucks in bonus bets, win or lose. The app is super easy to use, and there's a ton of different $5 bet. That's 150 bucks in bonus bets, win or lose. The app is super easy to use and there's a ton of different ways to bet.

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Starting point is 00:19:58 So all that adversity has really created a team that has learned how to win by any means necessary. You look at their nine wins, and it feels like none of the nine are the same. The recipe for how they did it. has really created a team that has learned how to win by any means necessary. You look at their nine wins, and it feels like none of the nine are the same. The recipe for how they did it, it does not seem the same whatsoever. Hard, easy, pretty, ugly field goals, defensive touchdowns, special teams touchdowns, no defense at all, and it being all offense. They've won in such a variety of ways it seems we've learned that head coach shane steichen is legit he is coaching a team right now of prepared mentally tough players which looking at the previous year and a half before that

Starting point is 00:20:39 the colts really became a team that totally just kind of wilted and floundered. You had all those no-shows. It started at the end of 2021 when they had those two win and end games that they just totally melted down. The Raiders and Jaguars at the end. And then they had, you know, the beginning of 2022, the Jaguars. We know how the beginning of 2022, when it went so poorly, got Frank Reich fired. But that was a team for that year, year and a half that just was routinely undisciplined

Starting point is 00:21:16 and did not show up to play. And this group led by Steichen just seems totally different this year. Now, when they lose, they seem to lose big. You know, they do have the games like the Bengals game, the Falcons game, the Jaguars game. There have been some games where they've just been totally outplayed. But it's very rare and few and far between that it's a team that just doesn't get off the bus, if you guys know what I mean.

Starting point is 00:21:42 So that's really refreshing to see. And that is how they are here. Again, it's a team that's learned to win in a variety of different ways, and when you get to January, that's really going to matter because let's say you're a strong run team and that's really how your bread is buttered, but then you get to January and a team loads up the box and stops you. You know you have other things to lean on and other ways to win.

Starting point is 00:22:06 Again, this team is really resourceful. They were a top 10 scoring team for the vast majority of the season up until recently. They were the last team in the league to score at least 20 points in each game. That went several weeks, well into halfway of the season. They've had three overtime games this year. They're two and one in those games, and they're 6-2 in one-score games. So it's not really a team that can climb back from a big deficit. We've seen that. The Anthony Richardson team, probably. We saw that with the Rams.

Starting point is 00:22:37 The Rams had a big lead that Richardson was able to nearly bring them back to. But if you get far ahead on this team, Gardner Minshew ain't really bringing you back, which is why they've had so many of their wins have been close games, and they've been able to take advantage of those ones. But some things that have really helped this year, we talked about the Jonathan Taylor drama. Zach Moss had his own injury issues coming into the season, missed the first game of the year because he broke his forearm in training camp. But he came in and just went off early.

Starting point is 00:23:11 It was just insane to see, considering the offensive line wasn't proven yet. There was no Jonathan Taylor. Anthony Richardson was in and out of the lineup. But through the first 10 weeks of the season, Zach Moss was the number two rusher in the league behind only Christian McCaffrey. And that seems insane to say. So with Jonathan Taylor out

Starting point is 00:23:32 and then getting re-acclimated in, they had Zach Moss to lean on, which was huge. And then again, what went right? Jonathan Taylor, that situation got resolved. Again, three-year, $42 million deal. Money seems to repair all relationships when it comes like that in sports. Gardner Minshew is not Anthony Richardson. He has his bumps, but I think he's gotten better in some key areas lately. I don't feel like he's taking as many

Starting point is 00:23:58 just insane sacks. You can still blitz him and get home on him but like i feel like he's getting out of pressure a little better and he's not turning the ball over nearly as much as he was early in his stint as the starter uh he appears to be one of the better backups in the league if not the best which still that's not that's not what you want like for a full-time starter but he's doing his job the colt starting quarterback went down and he is now your primary player. He's putting up adequate numbers. He's averaging about 200 yards per game passing, and he has 18 total touchdowns to 14 total turnovers.

Starting point is 00:24:39 If you've got a strong roster outside of that, you can weather that. You can get to 9-7 like the Colts are now. So it makes you wonder what would they look like if they actually had a dynamic offense with Anthony Richardson? Sure. Probably another win or two, perhaps. But 9-7 is great. You're knocking on the door of the playoffs. And Gardner Minshew has done his job. Minshew is definitely something that's gone right for the Colts. Because if you lose your starting quarterback, a lot of time your season is done.

Starting point is 00:25:12 But teams like the Browns, teams like the Colts have been able to kind of weather that storm. The depth at several positions that was thought to be perhaps weak or got injured throughout the season, the depth there, some of the unexpected depth has been really refreshing. On the offensive line, I mentioned the injuries to guys like Ryman Kelly and Braden Smith, but Wesley French has been really solid filling in for Ryan Kelly this year. And then Blake Freeland, you don't really expect the rookie offensive tackle to play as much as he had, but I think the guy started like eight or nine games this year, primarily on the right side for Smith. He hasn't been great. Like he's definitely been better as a run blocker than a pass blocker.

Starting point is 00:25:53 But I mean, you weren't expecting to play him much this year. He wasn't supposed to be a finished product yet. So he's been playable. He's shown signs that he could definitely be your swing tackle of the future when either of your guys go down. But he's been playable. It's been fine, okay? And then you got tight end as well.

Starting point is 00:26:17 This group looked like it was going to be stupid deep if everyone was healthy. You know, Jelani Woods, Drew Ogletree, Moe Alleycox, Kylan Granson, Will Mallory, the rookie. It just has not panned out that way. We obviously know Drew Ogletree has been in and out of the lineup with injuries, and now he has the arrest for the domestic violence. And that's turning the page on that, it certainly seems. Kylan Granson has been pretty steady.

Starting point is 00:26:42 Will Mallory has picked up definitely more and more as the season's gone on. Other injuries to other tight ends has lent itself to him playing more, and he's really responded well. We talked about him recently. He catches everything, and he's been the most consistent, solid tight end for the last several games, it seems. So Granson and Mallory have definitely been big. Mo Alleycox doesn't catch everything,

Starting point is 00:27:07 but he has improved himself as a blocker compared to last year, and he's made several big plays this season. So, you know, is his contract still too big for his level of performance? Yes, but he's turned himself back into being a positive player again. So the depth there has really stepped up because they've needed each guy to kind of pick up something extra at some point this season. Cornerback has been a really bizarre situation and it completely seemed to flip over from last year. Again, Gilmore traded to the Cowboys.

Starting point is 00:27:41 Dallas Flowers goes down. Isaiah Rogers gets suspended. Now he's with the Eagles. You're looking at a seventh round rookie in Jalen Jones. He's had to start all year. Daryl Baker Jr., who was, you know, like a second year undrafted free agent. He was one of the darlings of training camp, but then got off to a really rocky start at the beginning of the season, smooth things out midway through and has been a decent player overall.

Starting point is 00:28:06 Daryl Baker Jr., Jalen Jones, those guys really stepped up during the Juju Brents injury that I mentioned. So you've got to give those guys a round of applause. Juju Brents himself has been very worthy of his draft selection, second-round pick, a really, really solid player there and is now your best outside cornerback which is what you hope to see uh pairing him with kenny moore has been a really positive development for the colts and then it's safety so this this is not how you expected it to go

Starting point is 00:28:37 this year rodney thomas seems to have kind of taken a step back in performance and he was recently uh benched in the starting lineup for uh i guess you could call it Nick Cross now the Colts kind of got weird with their their safeties so Julian Blackman injures his shoulder goes on IR Nick Cross had been rotating with Rodney Thomas in recent weeks Gus Bradley decided to kind of pull things out Blackman goes out new strong safety is Ronnie Harrison at least for what we just saw in this last game. Nick Cross is your new free safety. So the depth there has been surprisingly good as well. Nick Cross has been a very good player, built on what was a really solid training camp for himself. So that was been good. We mentioned the Shaquille, Shaquille Leonard stuff.

Starting point is 00:29:30 He was not himself, but luckily EJ speed came in and has become a really, really, really solid linebacker already last year, playing in a limited role as the Sam linebacker. He was one of the best run stopping linebackers in the NFL. And now 89 tackles on the season. He's led the team in tackles a few weeks in a row. I just got 10 for loss, which is tied for the team lead. Three forced fumbles on the season. And then pro football focus has credited him with 43 stops, which is basically a forced failure of the offensive play. So really big season for him to pair with Zaire Franklin, who is someone who has broken out and broken the team's single season tackle record two years in a row now.

Starting point is 00:30:07 So the Colts are it's been a pleasant surprise that you lose a guy like Shaquille Leonard, how you did. And then you've got these two other guys that have stepped up so well. And then last thing with the Grover Stewart absence, you know, six game stretch. They allowed everyone and their grandma to run on them again, over 150 yards on the ground. But they actually went four and two in that stretch without him. They actually suffered one of their worst losses of the year in his return against the Bengals. But they, again, they weathered that storm four and two without him. They found other ways to win. And then they really buttoned things up since his return. Now that he's back, the average yards per game is way down,

Starting point is 00:30:47 closer to 100 than it was 150. So all those things together, like I mentioned, adversity just created a really tough, mentally tough, physically tough, scrappy team that just knows how to win now, knows how to fight and doesn't give up. They have far less games where they just don't show up. So no matter how this week 18 game, week 18 game goes, winning their end, losing their out Colts, Texans, perhaps for the AFC South championship. They've had a really, really solid season. If it ends at nine and eight and no playoffs, whatever. But if it goes to 10 and seven and they get had a really, really solid season. If it ends at 9-8 and no playoffs, whatever.

Starting point is 00:31:25 But if it goes to 10-7 and they get in the playoffs as division champs or wildcard team, they host a playoff game, this was a wild success. And it's going to breed really, really high expectations going into 2024. So from the top down, Jim Irsay kind of taking a step back again and delegating once again to Chris Ballard they hired Shane Steichen everyone has really exceeded expectations this year and you know from people around Indianapolis but as well as the outside media as well so thanks for listening to my little appreciation pod for the day I rambled a lot and I'm really looking forward to drinking some water.

Starting point is 00:32:07 So after this, remember to check out locked on sports today on YouTube, the first ever 24 seven national streaming channel on YouTube. If you guys don't already follow at locked on Colts at Jake Arthur, NFL, and as that kicks to on Twitter, also subscribe on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts, we would love your ratings interviews as well.

Starting point is 00:32:27 That helps us move up the charts always about that movement. And with that, we will see you guys tomorrow morning for crossover Thursday with locked on Texans.

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