Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - X-FACTORS: Indianapolis Colts' Tyler Warren, Cam Bynum CRITICAL to Team's Success in 2025

Starting point is 00:00:00 Indianapolis Colts newcomers Tyler Warren and Cameron Biden are critical to the team success in 2025. 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. Thank you all for tuning in and making us to at first, listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every single day. Today's episode is brought to you by Fandul.

Starting point is 00:00:38 Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you'll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Hello, everyone. My name is Zach Hickshaw, resident film nerd of horseshoe huddle.com. My partner, Jake Arthur, is our credential boots on the ground for the site. Today, we're going to kind of call this our last off-season episode of the year.

Starting point is 00:00:57 We're in transition fully. into pre-week-1 coverage starting tomorrow. But because we don't really have like a previous game to talk about, let's finish up this off-season of talk, Jake, by going into our X-Factors for the season. We each were lame our biggest X-Factor on offense, our biggest X-Factor on defense, and then talk all about early thoughts on Colts and Dolphins.

Starting point is 00:01:21 Again, just kind of mixing the off-season along with week one preview as well here. So let's get into these X-Factors, Jake. I mean, obvious one is quarterback. We're going to say quarterback is obvious for both of us, but aside from the quarterback, who do you have as the biggest X factor on this Colts offense for 2025? Yeah, I think my disclaimers are going to be obviously quarterback because no team can overcome awful quarterback player generally. I'm also going to disqualify Jonathan Taylor as well because their offense obviously

Starting point is 00:01:48 has to run through him this year. So with that being the case, I'm going with Tyler Warren. I think this addition in the passing game, not only just the passing game, but just everything he's going to bring to the offense. I think everything he's going to do is just really going to unlock things, not only for his teammates, but Shane Steichen as well. We got very brief glimpses of it in the preseason, just simple stuff that we were not accustomed to seeing look routine for tight ends.

Starting point is 00:02:18 Like there was a few things that he did in a couple of those games. You know, there was, he had the downfield shot down the left side from Jones in the Packers game, I think, that was, you know, made it look quite easy, even though he could have gotten killed on that play. He had a couple good plays in the Ravens game as well, and he just makes it look so easy. And I don't think that's just, that's not an aberration. Like, that's something we saw from him in training camp every single day. He doesn't fight the ball when he catches it. Like, it just magnetizes right into his grasp. Like, he is a real legitimate tied in and they haven't really had that since jack doyle dallas clark you know uh even jack

Starting point is 00:03:02 doyle was limited athletically like he's going to catch the ball and then that was the end of the story there eric ebron was kind of a wild card you didn't know what was going to happen when the ball got to him uh but yeah i mean Dallas clark really i i see it they're they're different stylistically but when people said like that's the kind of impact this guy will have on the offense. I see it. Things just look easy. So we've talked about, I think we talked about it on the squad show. It allows the other tight ends to just sink into the roles they're supposed to have and you don't have to piecemeal things and kind of come up with this tight end plan every single week because you know what you're going to get. But the things he provides in the red zone,

Starting point is 00:03:45 he's very dynamic down there, running, passing, and receiving. I think we're going to see him do it all. but yeah just threatening the middle of the field is another big one as well he's not just going to be a tight-in that gets five-yard dump-offs and these little comeback routes like his route tree i think is going to be pretty diverse he i think will be able to take advantage of linebackers that don't excel in coverage and really exploit things downfield and over the middle of the field like i just mentioned uh so yeah this is i think this is going to be huge we know they have good receivers already but they have not had that tight-in that complements the receivers until now.

Starting point is 00:04:25 So I think if you have the quarterback situation you have, you might as well have a really good tight-in like this. Yeah, no, for sure. I think when it comes to Tyler Warren, the biggest impact he's going to bring are in the areas that the Colts need to be dominant in this year to be successful. They need to run the ball well.

Starting point is 00:04:42 They need to create yards after the catch and they need to finish in the red zone. And I think Tyler Warren is pivotal to all three of those in terms of how he's going to be used as a run blocker, how he might even be used in the run game as a wildcat type of quarterback. I think his ability to create up to the catch is the best on the team. Aside from, you know, Josh Downs is really good at getting like a four-yard gain into 10 yards,

Starting point is 00:05:03 but Tyler Warren can turn a four-yard gain into 20 yards with his ability to run through tacklers and run through defenders. And then in the red zone, the Colts have struggled in the red zone in recent memory for a long time, even before Shane Steckin with Frank Reich, they struggled in the red zone quite a bit. And I think having a weapon like Tyler Warren certainly helps. So, yeah, I think he's going to be a big X-factor.

Starting point is 00:05:24 You know, he was drafted to be the final piece on this offense and the kind of the piece that was missing the last couple years. And I think that's what the Colts are expecting out of him. And they're going to want to prove their investment right on day one of this season. They're going to want to get him involved as much as possible. And I think Tyler Warren's going to be a big part of this offense. Going to the trenches, though, for my guy, I'm going with Tanner Bordellini. And again, we're excusing quarterback from this because the whole segment would just be about quarterback if we were taking every position into account.

Starting point is 00:05:55 And I think besides the quarterback, you know, the most important player for communication and in terms of controlling what's going on is that center. And Tanner Bornellini is stepping into a pretty huge role this year, going from a rookie fourth round pick last year to now being the starting center on a line that features some pretty good players. and you could kind of even break it down as like the how much how is successful this offensive line is going to be this year comes down to a player like Borgolini we're going to need his protect protection calls to be up to point we're going to need his communication and his ability to spot stunts and loopers just at a really high level and also in the run game if the Colts want to really be this this effective running team that relies on zone runs like Shane Stike and has done we're going to need Bordellini to be a guy who can get out in space and do

Starting point is 00:06:43 what he's done so far in his career. And I think he can certainly do all that. I think the preseason was a great step forward for him. As a run blocker, he looked really, really strong, especially again on those outside zone runs, getting into space, torquing defenders out of run gaps and just paving the way for his running backs.

Starting point is 00:07:02 And then in past protection, we're still seeing this guy grow, but I think we're seeing some really good flashes from him. So, you know, Tanner Bordellini, there's a lot on his shoulders this year because being a young starter on the interior the offensive line, especially at center, is a difficult task for a player. But, you know, the Colts have full belief in him.

Starting point is 00:07:20 Tony Sparano Jr. It's one of his favorite players in football right there is Tanner Bordellini. Since the pre-draft process, Parano Jr. has been really, really high on him. And I think he's going to be a really good player for this Colts team. Our friend Ben Solac wrote in his ESPN piece that Bordellini is kind of the X factor on this offense in terms of, again, getting the run game going on those zone runs the the Colts want to do. And then the key to pass protection aside from the quarter.

Starting point is 00:07:43 is that center. Yeah, I think Bordalini is going to be a really big piece for this Colts team, and I think he's going to have a pretty big year. Like, I'm not going to say Pro Bowl caliber season, but I think we're going to see him kind of fill that void left by Ryan Kelly a lot better than what most young players would do in this kind of opportunity. Yeah, I think I'm probably the most excited to see a new starting lineman in the Colts lineup since Quentin Nelson and Bordalini for totally different reasons like quentin's obviously just like a bear and that's exactly how he played coming into the league and everything i'm excited to see bordelini like on the move like getting to the outside getting to the second level and something you mentioned that really stuck with me recently

Starting point is 00:08:28 was you know one of the upsides to having daniel jones as the starter is their communication and their ability to form chemistry when it comes to past protections and all those things like now that you know those two are your starters like their work in those past pro meetings and the protection meeting and stuff has already started um and you know i don't think it's going to take long maybe even week one where jones is going to be able to have the freedom to make checks and get them out of different things at the line and and call audibles and that's going to be able to teach bordellini a lot of stuff too is like slide the protection this way or this way and so I'm really excited to see how Bordolini grows and how having a veteran quarterback like that really

Starting point is 00:09:17 helps him in his development because as athletic as this guy is, I think the thing I've heard Tony Sparano Jr. and Shane Stuyken and Bordalini's teammates comment on the most is his mental acumen. So I think that being kind of a feather in his cap, I think it'll definitely help. and I really want to see how freely he plays probably by about midseason. Yeah, and one more thing I want to add with him as an athlete, just watching preseason. Again, it's preseason. You can't take too much away. But the couple moments we saw with him and Quentin Nelson and even Berenhart-Rimon on that left side of the offensive line, getting out to space and on those zone runs and just, again, getting to the second level, getting and cutting off the one tech or cutting off a three tech and turning them out of the hole.

Starting point is 00:10:04 it looks special and I am extremely excited to see what the zone running game looks like with those three on the left side the right side more power running but left side when they get into those zone run calls there I think it could be quite special with them especially with how borderlini moves from that center spot it's a big upgrade from where kelly was this past season as an athlete Kelly's still a great athlete don't get me wrong but he had taken a step back from his early years. Bordellini is a next level one-of-one athlete. And as long as that anchor is good in past protection,

Starting point is 00:10:36 I think it's going to be a really good season for him. But guys, coming up, we're going to shift over to the defensive side of the ball, where we're kind of going with some traditional picks here, but maybe for some different reasons than expected. This episode is presented by Yahoo! Fantasy. The NFL season is right around the corner. It's pretty much here, and you can feel the buzz, Fantasy football season is here.

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Starting point is 00:12:15 like and answer questions about our advertising so go to locked on podcast.com slash survey to get started. Everyone who completes a survey will be entered for a chance to win one of 10, $100 Amazon gift cards. Again, that's locked on podcast.com slash survey. You can also find the link in the show notes below. Thank you guys for helping us out. All right, Zach, so let me roll out the red carpet for you. The defense just has gotten a complete facelift this year, from the coaching staff to all three levels of the team. We've got some new faces in there. So who's your X factor for this. Again, if we're disqualifying everyone, we can't say Lou Anaruma, that's obvious. But who's your biggest X factor here? Yeah, I had a short list of guys that I debated here because

Starting point is 00:12:58 obviously like a DeForest Buckner is so big in both the run and past game. Grover Stewart's going to be so big just for a team that's going to be a nickel 90% of the time. You're going to need his ability to stop the run. I even toyed with putting Joe Botchy in there because he's the seeming weak link on a defense and I thought he's coming off a really great offseason. But I ultimately went with Cameron Bynum, and it's kind of for a different reason than what we expect, because when you talk about Louis and Rumo, you talk about the free safety being such a vital piece of this defense, and you think of like the Jesse Bates style of free safety, where this is going to be your single high guy, your guy over the top that prevents the deep pass and, and kind of protects

Starting point is 00:13:35 the corners that are going to be on an island more so in this coverage system than in Gus Bradley's scheme. But I think with Bynum, you get a different element back there at free safety. And the element is a guy that just helps you disguise everything, a guy who helps so much with your pre-and-post-snap movement to muddy the water for opposing quarterbacks. A great example in the preseason, we saw this moment against, I want to say it was against the Green Bay Packer.

Starting point is 00:14:01 Yeah, Green Bay Packers, where the Packers motioned guide to the left side and the Colts were shifting into a cover three Mabel call. And traditionally, what you would do is you would bring the slot corner over to that side of the field, rotate the safeties down and have that strong safety take the running back and have that slot corner travel with the receiver that's moving. What the Colts did to kind of disguise their coverage a little bit

Starting point is 00:14:24 is they kept that slot corner on the back side and had Cameron Bynum come down and act as the slot corner on the strong, on the play side, on the strong side where the zone coverage is going to be. And that again, muddied the waters a little bit, had the quarterback second guessing and it ended up being a throwaway in the back of the end zone because, again, you don't really see that very often where the lot corner is essentially playing as that backside player and you're not moving them to this play strength side. But when you have a player like Cameron Bynum who has cornerback experience,

Starting point is 00:14:53 you has strong safety experience, who has free safety experience, you can disguise coverages and move coverages around a lot more freely than you can with most safeties back there. And I think that, you know, Nick Cross kind of factors into this as well because Cross can play a little bit over the top as well. And they can move a lot with the safety. So all this is to say the Colts may not be getting a Jesse Bates level impact from Cameron Bynum, but what you get instead is this player who just contributes to everything that you want to do in past defense in terms of, you know, dropping safeties down, rotating safety is late, moving them over the top.

Starting point is 00:15:26 And then from a communication standpoint, Bynum has seen it all and done it all at this point in his NFL career. He's coming over from one of the most complex defensive systems and one of the most demanding defensive systems in Brian Flores had with Minnesota. So he's going to know all the coverage checks and he's going to know exactly how to get these guys into place. So I think Cameron Biden is going to be a massive part of what the Colts are doing this year. He's also a playmaker.

Starting point is 00:15:49 He's made a lot of big time plays in his career up to this point. So just all in all, just from a disguise standpoint, from a playmaking standpoint, from a communication standpoint, I think Cameron Bynum is a huge part of this defense. One of the newcomers this offseason, and I think, you know, the Colts, when they showed that investment that they made in him in free agency, I think it's because they realize how important he's going to be to this process on defense. So yeah, I think if we're going away from kind of the defensive line where, again, a lot of things on defense begin and end with the defensive line, the most important player on the back end is Cameron Bynum. I agree. That's

Starting point is 00:16:27 another one where I'm going to applaud his football IQ. That's the guy who he is known for the celebrations and then making all the big plays and everything. But what goes into that is his preparation all throughout the week and his ability to recognize what offenses are doing. but also be able to take on more and more of what his defensive assignments are. You mentioned he comes from Brian Flores' defense. That's the most chaotic defense, one of them out there, very multiple asked to do a lot of things. And now here, Cam Bynum comes to a guy who's nicknamed the Mad Scientist and Lou Aniromo, again, for all the things that he can do. And I think we saw a very small snippet of it throughout the preseason, how good the Colts past defense was in those three games.

Starting point is 00:17:10 I think they, I mean, it's preseason, so take stats for what they are. But I think they led the NFL in that past defense in preseason. And that's like all coaching because that's so many different guys in and out. The thing that remains the same is the coaching and lose ability to move guys around and disguise things. I will slightly say, though, Jake, they only play backup quarterbacks the whole preseason. That is another big part of it. But I do agree with you. The coaching was very good in the preseason.

Starting point is 00:17:38 I do very much agree with you there. that's the point is like the only constant is that in that is the coaching but my other counter to you is this the colts defense we're talking about they make backups look like pro bowlers they played like 10 backup quarterbacks last year and they were still like the 29th ranked defense so tusha to that point it's a really good thing yeah so with that um Bidenham has already kind of described himself as needing to be the quarterback of the defense uh so as far as his communication to the rest the guys in the secondary goes i think that's going to be that's going to be huge and he's a guy who's like yeah i'm known for my celebrations and everything but you have to earn the right to celebrate

Starting point is 00:18:20 you have to work your ass off basically all week in order to make the big play and earn the right to celebrate on game day so i think he's going to be a really good example for a secondary that's seeing a ton of new bodies in and out of it some young guys as well and then just from what i've seen from him in practice over the last month, like, he's made a lot of big plays. I can't recall any interceptions, maybe one, but a bunch of pass breakups, not only as the deep safety, you know, patrolling deep, but his ability to close on the ball when it's thrown in front of him. And like, let's say you got like a seven to 10 yard comeback route.

Starting point is 00:18:59 The guy's going to fly up and make it difficult for that receiver to come down with it. I saw him probably four or five times have past breakups that way. So that's a guy who is going to be able to patrol things deep, but also swat away things that's happening in front of them as well. Just a complete, really good in past defense safety. And we'll talk about this more in the next segment. But I really like that coming up against the dolphins because, I mean, Tyree Kill and Jalen, well, that terrifies me. So we had the perfect one there for Cambina because I barely got time to talk about my guy. But I'm going with Liaatu here.

Starting point is 00:19:34 So two years ago, the Colts top five in sacks, and it really showed the defense had some teeth to it. Last year, it did not. It was around bottom five in sacks. They only had 36 compared to 51 the year before. And I think they're banking pretty significantly on Latsu taking a big leap here because they haven't done much. I mean, they lost Iowa Dengbo, and he was replaced with a rookie and JT. To Molo, who we both like, but we're not expecting world beating numbers from. him, you know, like, I think if he gets four sacks this year, that would meet expectations

Starting point is 00:20:08 for what your fifth defensive end is supposed to do. So you're having to replace a guy there in Dioa, Dengbo. And, you know, we've talked about Samson Ebukom, how much you're going to be able to rely on a 30-year-old coming off in Achilles to get back to that nine and a half sacks he had two years ago. Tyquan Lewis is good in a vacuum for five sacks or so. Quitty pay is a seven-eight sack guy. they're really relying on Latu taking that jump and getting to that 10 plus sacks. And just today, Lou Anirumo, who doesn't just hand out compliments readily, we have found out, like, he's not going to be like a backhand compliment type of guy, but he's very much

Starting point is 00:20:51 temper your expectations. I think Latu is maybe the guy I've heard him speak the highest of, and especially in terms of forecasting his season. and he said today he thinks he's going to have a hell of a season. And again, from what I have digested about Louana Rumo so far this offseason, that has to be like the highest compliment he can give a guy. So they're expecting big things from Latu. He's a starter now, so he's going to be playing way more than he did last year.

Starting point is 00:21:21 And they're just banking on him finishing those close opportunities that he had last year. And we think the secondaries can be pretty good. You know, we can agree with the new additions, but that's got to work in concert with the pass rush, which again, that's going to have to kind of fall on Latu. Yeah, I've said it a lot this offseason. I think this Colts defense lives and dies with what La Jatsu Latu does. When I ranked my five most important Colts earlier this offseason, I had him as number three. You know, that's with the quarterbacks being number one and the offensive tackles being number two, or Ryman and Jones, I guess, now that we're looking at him. I had Latu the third most important Colts.

Starting point is 00:22:00 He needs to live up to that 15th overall status this year. He needs to emerge as a legit star pass rusher in his age 25 season, or at least take positive steps in that direction for this Colts defense to improve upon last season. But coming up, guys, now that we're moving past the X-Factors, past the off season, and we're going to start previewing the Dolphins Colts game a little bit here in our final segment to close out today's show. The NFL season is here and Fandul is making sure that you're ready for kickoff with a can't miss offer. All right. Check it out right now.

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Starting point is 00:23:56 account, PayPal, or an e-gift card for Amazon and other brands. Do not let this offer drive on by. Download the free Upside app now using our limited time promo code touchdown for a limited time 25 cent per gallon bonus. That's promo code touchdown. Offers vary by user and location. Go to upside.com for terms and conditions. Welcome back every dayers. All right, Zach, so there's a lot for us to learn about Colts Dolphins still this Sunday. However, we've both dipped our toe a little bit into our research into this matchup. We still got injury reports and all that good stuff to learn. But what's your initial vibes on Colts Dolphins?

Starting point is 00:24:38 The Colts, I believe, still are favored. I do still see people picking them, even though they may not love how the Colts are going to fare this year. I think the general vibes around the Colts is that, you know, they're a narrow favorite in this one. How do you see it going? Well, Jake, I know who you have to pick in this because you had it in your bowl predictions earlier in the off season that they were going to break both their curses. So I know who you're picking this week. But two factors that I'm really looking forward to in this game, I guess is a little bit

Starting point is 00:25:06 of a precursor for our coverage this week of Colts Dolphins is how does the Colts passing offense look against this Dolphins past defense and how does the Colts run defense look against this Dolphins rushing attack. So starting with on the offense side of the ball, you know, Shane Steichen has struggled in his career as a play caller against. non-static defenses. I guess we can call it dynamic defenses, defenses that change the look pre and post-snap defenses that muddy the windows and make quarterbacks have to react. Now, he has his veteran quarterback in place that he clearly believes in and Daniel Jones,

Starting point is 00:25:41 and that'll certainly help. But again, Stuyken, even going back to his Herbert and Hertz days, these are the types of defenses that have given him the most struggle. You know, he's been able to dominate the Steelers defense, for instance, his entire career as a play caller. But when he's gone up against Luana Rumo type trees of defenses, the Baltimore Ravens trees of defenses, his passing offense has never been good regardless of quarterback that he's had out there. And we'll see if Daniel Jones is able to kind of change that tune a little bit. I'm sure that this is a matchup they've been scouting all offseason

Starting point is 00:26:14 on how they can get some free plays and get some wins here for his offense. But that's going to be a huge thing for me. Because, again, Shane Steichen's offense, it's really good against static defenses, but defenses that change the look pre-imposed snap, defenses that make your quarterback have to second-guess things. Sikin's offenses have really struggled even going back to his best years as a play caller. And then on the other side of the ball, I think we can agree that the Colts past defense is going to be fairly decent this year,

Starting point is 00:26:42 but their run defense does concern us, especially with them going to be like this 90, 95 percent nickel defense this upcoming season. And when you look at the Miami Dolphins, they're an explosive running game. and the key to run defense is you need all 11 guys active, involved in participating in their run fits, filling holes, and getting involved. And I think the two players I'm really nervous about are Laotu, Latu, and Xavier and Howard

Starting point is 00:27:07 in fitting against the run. Latu, not as much as Howard, but I think the dolphins are going to do everything they can to run it right at Xavier and Howard and really test this new Frasian signing to see how physical he wants to be in this matchup, how active he wants to be in his run fits, and just how aggressive he's going to be. So I think it's going to come down to those factors there in run defense where I'm not too concerned about Bachi. I'm not too concerned about Franklin a little bit because he has a bit of a risk taker. But I think Xavier and Howard, they're going to run at him quite a bit in this game. And I'm curious to see how good he's going to be in run defense coming

Starting point is 00:27:45 off of a year and a half away from football. Is he going to be, you know, what you want out of a starting corner in a nickel defense where you're going to ask the starting corner to fit a lot against the run. Can he step up to it or do the Colts have to make a change because A. Chan is just running all over him and beating him to his side. So those are the two big factors for me is how can Stuyken, you know, show some new adjustments to facing a dynamic defense that he has struggled against in the past? And then on the other side of the ball, can the Colts run defense contain the explosive Miami Dolphins running attack? Yeah, that was kind of my concern as well. well, you know, I think if the dolphins attack this on the outside with Devon A. Chan, like,

Starting point is 00:28:30 with the draw the draws and the screens, like the ones where you have to wait a beat and let them develop and kind of let the Colts front seven over pursue a little bit, that could bite them really bad, especially with a guy like Devon A Chan who can score on any single play. And he looks like he's in line to be able to play this week. he's been having to nurse a little bit of an injury. But then we also talked about like Tyree Kill and Jalen Waddle. That's obviously an issue. Last year in this matchup,

Starting point is 00:28:59 Jonu Smith absolutely dominated the Colts. So totally different defense. I mean, Mike McDaniel had that cooked up against Gus Bradley. Don't know if that's going to necessarily work with Darren Waller now. So we'll see how it goes. But honestly, yeah, I think the run game, especially to the outside, with a guy as incredibly agile and mobile as H.N. is, that definitely worries me.

Starting point is 00:29:26 Yeah, and then on the other side of it, I showed the Colts passing attack, you know, you mentioned it's not a great matchup, but on the same time, Miami secondary has just been hammered throughout the summer, just like the Colts has, but to a worse degree, I would say. I mean, they got Mika Fitzpatrick in, which should help a little bit. That's another guy that's kind of a quarterback of the defense and the secondary. But it's not like he's coming off his strongest season either there in Pittsburgh. So I would like to think the Colts passing game for as skeptical as we are about it can take advantage of an opponent that's limping a little bit right now.

Starting point is 00:30:01 Because that pass rush, I mean, it's got some guys out there, Jalen Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Siler, like they've got some players out there. So I don't know. I could just smell it. It's a Spencer Schrader game, you know. Yeah, I was going to say, Just real quick. I think Jonathan Taylor is the key to it if they can get this going.

Starting point is 00:30:22 Miami was when I was doing my research, surprisingly good against the run last year. So, you know, establish Jonathan Taylor as much as you can. And Spencer Schrader, they may need you, bud. Like this might be one where the spotlight is on the kicker. Yeah, it's hard to run against the Dolphins. Zach Seiler is one of the best players in football. He is awesome to watch. And if you had a spotlight, one player on that Dolphins defense, he's probably the guy.

Starting point is 00:30:46 but I think the key for this game is just again Daniel Jones your quarterback you know you're not going to be throwing 40 vertical balls and honestly that's not what the kind of game the Colts want to play this year I think the key is just going to be get the ball out in space quickly and make these corners tackle you know make these guys who you know they're not household names they are relying on backup in depth corners make them have to tackle Tyler ward in space make them have to tackle Michael Pittman Jr. in space you know Josh Downs in the open field I think that that's going to be the key. for this Colts team, especially, again, when you're going to have so many different looks pre and post-snap, I think if you're getting Jones just getting the ball out hot, getting the ball to a player that can create an opening in the slot or create an opening on an RPO bubble or RPO screen and just get that ball out in space, make these guys tackle, make them take on blocks and make them be a physical team. We had a lot of reports this offseason where the Dolphins complained about physicality and joint practices.

Starting point is 00:31:43 Now, I think they're going to want to come out early in this game in pretty. that they're a more physical team than that. But again, that early momentum can only last so long. Make them be a physical team that they probably don't want to be and make these corners tackle. You know, get Tyler Warren out in space against one of these backup corners and see what they can do. So, yeah, I think there is certainly a process for the Colts to win this game.

Starting point is 00:32:05 They need to play a controlled game. And then on defense, it's just Xavier and Howard, come ready to fit the run, baby. That's going to be, you know, get ready to run with Tyree Kill and then turn around and fit the run. You know, it's going to be a huge game for Xavier and Howard. He might be the true X factor for week one. But we'll talk about that, obviously, later more this week.

Starting point is 00:32:24 But we do want to thank you guys for making Lockdown Culture first listen today. And every day, this is only our precursor to Colts Dolphins. We have three more shows coming your guys way where we really talk about this matchup in depth and in detail. But for your next listen, check out Lockedon NFL season previews on Lockedon NFL. Every Division winner, Breakout Stars and Super Bowl Contender, an eight episode series about everything you want to know about the NFL season. Find Lockdown NFL on YouTube, where we list to your podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every single day. And if you want to become a Lockdown Colts insider and chat with us directly and get that insider scoop, follow the link in our show notes. And if you don't already, make sure you're following at Lockdown Colts at Jake Arthur, NFL, and at Zach Hicks, too, all on socials.

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