Latest / The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views / OPPOSITION TERRITORY: Indianapolis Colts

Transcript

OPPOSITION TERRITORY: Indianapolis Colts · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Welcome to opposition territory. Here at the Philadelphia Sports Table
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: podcast show, the longest running weekly Philly sports podcast show
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: in the world, twelve years strong. We've got a great
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: discussion coming your way with regard to the Indianapolis Colts.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: We've got a great guest. It has been some time
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: since we have had him on, but it's good to
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: talk ball with him. We've got Zach Hick. Zach, buddy,
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: how are you, my friend?
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: I'm doing all right, doing all right. I mean, I'm
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: imagining you guys are doing a little bit better considering
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: where you. You know, the shirt I'm seeing that you're wearing.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Yes, yes, yeah, yeah, I.
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: Wish that was the team I was covering. But it's cool,
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: it's cool. We love the Colts. Eventually, you'll get out
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: of the base right exactly.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: You can't fall out of a basement window. The Colts
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: are going to get back to some sort of respectability.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: And I use that in quotes at some point in
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: the foreseeable future, I think, so I guess to get
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: us started off here, Zach, you know it. I mean,
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: it has been a while, of course since the Indianapolis
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Colts have been a real threat and contender in the AFC,
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: And I do want to start off our conversation here
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: with this team where they're going by just getting into
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: how this organization is now being run of course Jim
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Mersey passing away this offseason, and really what the vision
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: of this team and organization really is for the future.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: I mean, when you look at this recent off season
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: and where the team and his team and organization really
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: do want to go, how do you see the vision
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: really manifesting itself for the Indianapolis Colts with regard to
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: the team, the organization, and its growth for the future.
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I would say as of right now, it still
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: just kind of feels like like they're waiting for a
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: hail Mary to hit in a way, because you know,
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: you're in this really weird spot where you just took
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: a quarterback in the top five of the draft a
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: couple of years ago, and it hasn't been great for
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: the couple of years that you've had them. But you
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: don't really get that opportunity very often to have a
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: quarterback that you draft that high, you know, so you
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: have to like ride it out and just see what
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: happens with it, and then if it crashes and burns.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: Then you start again. You do it again, because this
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: is such a quarterback driven league, like even your team,
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: the Philadelphia Eagles. Here, you guys have one of the
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: best rosters in football, but you still had to have,
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: you know, a top ten quarterback in the league to
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: carry it to the promised Land. You know, you have
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: to have that quarterback. And that's what you know. It
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: brings hope, it brings promise, It brings everything that you're
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: looking for with your team. And with this Colts team,
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: you know, we can look through the roster and say, look,
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: they got a good receiver room, all pro running back,
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: pretty good offensive line with a future Hall of Famer
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: at left guard. Defense gets Louis and Rumo, plus a
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: couple of big name additions there on that side of them.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: But the end of the day, this thing is going
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: to go as far as the quarterback is going to
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: take them. Yeah, and when you're rolling out a former
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: top five pick who just has not played up to
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: the standard that you want him to play, even though
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: you knew he was going to be a project, it
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: still hasn't really gone the way that you expected. And
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: then Daniel Jones, a guy who just got run out
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: of the New York Giants, and he had some decent
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: moments a couple of years ago, but he's still never
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: probably going to be like a legit franchise guy. So
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: it kind of just puts a dampener on everything that
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: you're doing here where it's like you can look at
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: all the processes and say, like, you know, we draft
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: pretty well, we did some good things in free agency.
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: Typically they do well with trades, but until you hit
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: on quarterback, it doesn't matter. And that's why they like
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: it's hard to stay with the Colts because they're not
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: a basement team. Like they're not a basement team. They
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: are a just Jeff Fisher esque middle of the road team,
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: and that's where they've been, right, I mean, they've been
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: there since Andrew Luck retired and then they had the
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: one season in twenty twenty two where they crashed out
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: and just completely hit the bob. But besides that, they've
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: been a fringe playoff team every single year. And that's
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: almost worse than being a bottom feeder, because the bottom
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: feeder you get chances to drag yourselves out. When you're
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: in middle of the road team, you guys have to
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: be perfect and get lucky at quarterback and they just
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: haven't been lucky yet. And this is where we are
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: with this team, So I don't know where the long
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: term projection is here. Chris Bower is going on year
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: nine with the team at general manager.
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: Well, that's where I wanted to go next, to be
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: honest with you, Zach, because you know, without Jim Mersay,
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: they're anymore, you know, and you know feel bad for
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: his family losing him. The guy struggled during the latter
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: part of his years with a lot of different things,
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: and I wonder if that vision is going to be
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: there with regard to the front office, with regard to
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: the you say new ownership, but I believe it's his daughters,
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: Jim her Say's daughters who are really in charge of
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: the organization and running it at this point in what
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: the general manager and the guy who's really making the
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: decisions after nine years, like, is it working? And I
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: wonder where that vision is going to end up going
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: or where he needs to be for the Colts really
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: to get over that hump and become contenders.
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: No, I completely agree, and I will say, with all
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: due love and respect for Jim Irsay, one of his
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: biggest faults as an owner was treating the Colts like
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: a small business, like a local family, like mom and
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: pop shop, where like there is this undying loyalty to everyone.
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: Players get too long a leash, general managers get too
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: long a leash head, coaches get too long a leege.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: Because he had that success in the early two thousands,
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: so we always kept thinking, like everything I do is
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: eventually will work out because I trust these people and
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: I have respect for these people, and that can be
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: a good thing in the NFL. Is actually a refreshing
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: take on this cutthroat league that we have here. But
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: sometimes you do need to make changes, and that's what
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: we've seen the Colts struggle with over time, is making
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: those like legit wholesale changes. It took them too long
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: with Pegano and Grigson. It's taken him too long with Ballard,
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: even the Frank Reich thing, when he moved down from
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: Frank Reich, he went right back to someone he knew,
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: which was Jeff Saturday, you know, like, which was a
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: crazy situation that way crazy. Yeah, So with Jim he
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: had his faults. My understanding with Carly Arsay, who is
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: taking over as more of the football operations side is
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: she's been getting ready for this since she was in
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: her early twenties. You know, she's been working in different
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: aspects of the NFL, of the Colts. She's been the
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: head of the team a couple times when Jim was
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: going through some of his issues, and she's ready for this.
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: And my understanding is she's a little bit more cutthroat
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: than Jim. You know, she's going to view this more
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: as a business not you know, it's not like a
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: business thing where she's not going to be investing in
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: this because with the Colts, this is where they make
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: their money is with the team. They don't have side
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: businesses like a lot of other owners, so they are
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: fully invested emotionally, physically, everything in this team. But I
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: do think she's going to be a little bit more
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: cutthroat than Jim. Where Jim it was such a like
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: buddy buddy thing with everybody. Carly, from my understanding, is
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: really taking this season serious, seeing what's gonna be on
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: the field with Chris Ballard, Shane Styke and Anthony Richardson.
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: And if she has to make a move, I certainly
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: think she will. But she's a really smart football. Mind,
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: I haven't had the chance to talk to her yet,
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: but I'm really excited for her tenure as the owner,
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: and I think that this could be a turning of
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: the page for the Colts where they get away from
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: the small business type of Gimmer say, Everyone's getting a
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: long leash, where Carly comes in and does kind of
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: change things and is a little bit stricter with wanting results.
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: You better get Carly on the podcast, for sure. It'd
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: be great to actually hear that. Absolutely, And I'd be remiss,
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: folks if I didn't say where Zach Hicks here is
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: from the Locked On Colts podcast. I completely forgot that
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: right off the bat, So yes, Zach is from the
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: Locked On Colts podcast. You know, we love our locked
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: on community here at the PSD podcast show loved Locked
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: on Eagles, Locked On Jaguars, Locked on Falcons. We've had
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: various guests on from the locked On network here and Zach,
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: let everybody know where they can find you online if
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: they want to follow you on social so they can
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: hear what you're talking about.
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, on socials, it's like at Zach Hicks two across
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: the board, so you guys can find me anywhere there. Yeah,
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: locked on cold. So then if you want to see
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: any of my written workover at Horsehoe Huddle dot com
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: the lead analyst over there.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: All right, very good again, Like and subscribe here to
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: the PST podcast show if you are watching on YouTube.
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: If you're listening on any other podcast platform, head on
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: over to YouTube search out the Philadelphia Sports Table Again,
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: like and subscribe to us. And we also have some
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: social sites ourselves here. If you're on YouTube, you'll see
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: him in front of you right now. We are on Instagram, Twitter,
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: I am over on TikTok at mister Jeff Warren. No,
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: I'm not always talking about sports, as some of you
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: may know. Also Facebook, you can like our page there.
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: We're on threads and also Eric and I are on
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: Blue Sky at Jeff Warren over there at brickpollt for Eric.
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: And with that being said, we got to get into
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: our next topic here because the quarterback position is so
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: important for where this team is going to go. As
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: you were mentioning, Zach, I mean, there's definitely some uncertainty
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: here with this position arguably one of the most important
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: in the NFL, even in sports, whether it's this battle
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: we're seeing in camp between Anthony Richardson Daniel Jones. So
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: I'm wondering, first, how are you looking at this quarterback
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: battle here during camp? Then I got a follow up
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: question for you after that. So how are things going
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: here in camp with regard to the quarterback talent?
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's kind of been what was expected
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: when it comes to these two quarterbacks, where you know,
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: Richardson's still so young to where you're gonna see this
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: incremental progress yeah from him.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: You know it.
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: Progress isn't linear, so you're not always gonna get this
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: big jump. But I think we have seen incremental progress
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: in terms of the mechanics getting better, in terms of
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: the field position getting a little bit better. But I'm
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: not sure if that's still where it needs to be
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: for this team to be a playoff team right this year.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: That's why you bring in a guy like Daniel Jones,
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: where the way I've been describing on the podcast is like,
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: on a scale of one to ten, he's gonna be
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: consistently a five. You're just gonna consistently get that middle
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: of the road, that baseline quarterback every single day. It's
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: going to take take a lot of checkdowns the ball
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: is going to get out of his hand pretty quick,
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: and he's not going to do anything flashy or spectacular,
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: but he can move your offense in neutral to positive situations.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: He might struggle in third and ten, but if you
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: can get him into second and two, second and three,
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: where you have that run pass option at all times,
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: then he can be an effective NFL quarterback. And that's
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: kind of where we're at with these guys where you
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: have to really see if the Colts want to pick
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: between more of the game manager, the just guy who's
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: going to run your offense and not really do much else,
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: and maybe that can get you to your eight nine
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: ten wins, or you go boom or bust with Anthony Richardson,
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: this young player that you've invested in, this player that
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: you took really high, and go boom or bust where
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: you might win five games with him, but if it
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: clicks for him like it did for so many of
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: these raw quarterbacks, you could be a team that can
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: actually throw some punches in the AFC. So I think
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: it's more of an easy decision for us sitting at home,
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: where it's like, look, boom bust is positive regardless, right
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: because we win twelve thirteen games, or we win four
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: or five, and we're gonna be in a good situation
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: there where the worst case is you start Daniel Jones
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: and win seven or eight middle of the road, starting
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: over with the middle of the road. But when you
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: are a bunch of people fighting for their jobs, a
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: bunch of people fighting for their jobs on the roster,
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: sometimes that that bare minimum is pretty good to have.
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: So yeah, I think overall, with how these guys have
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: performed in camp, it is kind of giving what we expected.
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: I do kind of grade both them on a curve
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: where like Richardson, you want to see the little things
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: being done, you want to see him act more like
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: a professional quarterback in terms of taking the checkdowns, where
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: Daniel Jones you want to see more of the big plays.
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: You want to see more of him pushing the ball
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: down the field. And that's a difficult concept for some
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: people to grasp, is grading two players on different curves,
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: But they have different things that you want to see
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: from them to take that next step. So you know,
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: I wouldn't say it's been a bad camp from either guy.
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: I just don't think it's been like stellar. Again, Yeah,
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: you're not seeing Josh Allen out there. You're not seeing
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: Malmes out there. Dalen hurts like you're not seeing those
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: guys out there. You're seeing you know, no average to
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: below average quarterback play.
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's gonna be interesting to see how this all manifests,
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: for sure. And folks, we are gonna take a quick break.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: But again we're talking to Zach Hicks from the Locked
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: on Colts podcast. Great, great podcast. Subscribe on whatever podcast
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: platform you are listening to us on, and you can
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: also watch show on YouTube as well. Again, we're gonna
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: take that quick break. We're gonna be back in just
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: a bit with more Colts Talk. All right, we are
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: back and we got more Colts Talk. Come in your
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: way here on opposition territory. I have to say Zach
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: is a Penn State fan.
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: As a Penn State fan, I cannot wait to see
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: what Tyler Warren is able to do during his rookie
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: season here in the NFL. But again, again that depends
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: on who's gonna be throwing him the ball. How do
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: you see Tyler Warren's impact on this team this season
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: and well into the future. What are your thoughts here?
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think regardless of who the quarterback is gonna
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: be this year. So much of what makes Tyler Warren
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: great is the ability with the ball in his hands. Yeah,
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: you know you want to get the ball in his
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: hand because he is a bulldozer after the catch. He
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: is an enforcer after the catch, and he's a guy
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: who just like every time the ball touches hand, he's
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: already in a running position to keep going. You know,
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: he's going to create so many yards. I mean, you
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: look at this Colts offense. The last couple of years,
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: they were like in the bottom five, bottom ten. I
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: think in the entire chance site in ten, you're so
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: far in creating yards after the catch. Part of that
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: is the quarterback, but the other part is just not
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: having the playmakers that can make those things happen with
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: the ball in their hands. So when you add a
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: player like Tyler Warren who has all this great upside
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: as just a legit pass catcher at all three levels,
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: but especially in the short passing game, and Adam with
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: a guy like Josh Downs who can create separation at will,
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: I think you have a really really good potential for
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: underneath passing that can again make things work. You don't
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: have to have the Anthony Richardson averaged up the target
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: fifteen yards down the field where you can throw a
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: tight end screen to Tyler Warren and create those fifteen
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: yards naturally, even the.
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: Intermediary routes too, because Ryler Warren's fantastic on the intermediate routes.
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think we're going to see a lot of
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: tight end options type stuff where like we need to
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: get back in the play, We're going to get a
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: little tight end option to Warrant and get him those six, seven,
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: eight yards that he can create after the catch. I
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: think he's just going to be really good for establishing
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: rhythm with these quarterbacks this season, is helping them get
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: into positive situations, getting into again third and manageable and
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: make life easy for these quarterbacks. And then we're talking
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: long term. I mean, this is this is a guy
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: who took in the top fifteen of the draft at
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: tight end. You know, you have to have the expectation
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: of him being a Pro Bowl or even better type
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: tight end, and I certainly think he can get there.
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: I mean, I think when it comes to the draft,
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: we really do over react to a lot of things,
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: you know, where we micro yeah, we micro analyze these
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: guys and say, like, Wow, he doesn't turn exactly the
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: way I like, or he doesn't block the exact way
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: I like, or his usage was a little weird. But
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: sometimes guys are just dominant forces coming to the league.
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: And I'm not saying Warren's going to be like George
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: Kittle or like these tops tier tight ends. But I'm
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: not saying he's not going to be that. This was
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: the focal point of a Penn State who was a
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: playoff type team. Yeah, this past year, he was a
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: focal point of their offense. Everyone knew where the ball
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: was going at all every minute of every game. And
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: he still was able to put out just a fantastic
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: season last year. And I think there's a lot of
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: merit to that.
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: So we got to wait and see how he develops.
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: We do, right, you know, that's the name of the
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: game in the NFL, you're a specific talent in college football,
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: you get drafted by a team, you have to develop
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: and it takes time. Sometimes you can't be just dominant
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: right out of the gate, going from one level of
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: play to another.
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think he's going to be a good player.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: I mean, he's got the right mindset, he's got the physicality,
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: He's got a really good baseline to start out, where
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: like worst case scenario, if he doesn't develop, he's still
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: going to be a really good run after catch guy
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: that you can use in the short passing game and
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: a pretty good blocker. I think the blocking was a
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: little overanalyzed in this draft cycle, and I think he
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: can be a pretty good blocker in the NFL. So
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: he's going to be a big impact this season, and
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: then we'll see what happens at the quarterback position going forward,
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: like if there's changes there and how big of an
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: impact he's going to be with the future at that position.
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: But I'm really excited for him. I think there's gonna
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: be some fun packages with him. I think they're gonna
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: use him at fullback sometimes this year as well. They're
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: gonna use them, you know, wildcat quarterback. I don't think
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: is off the table because we saw how much they
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: did last year at Penn State. He's gonna be all
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: over the formation in the Colts offense this year, and
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: I think it's gonna be a fun season for him.
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: He is an offensive talent for sure, and another gentleman
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: who is certainly an offensive talent that is going to
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: be critical to this Colts offense. Is Jonathan Taylor such
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: a special talent as one of the premiere running backs
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: in the National Football League, And I have a feeling
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: a lot of this offense is going to be on
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: his shoulder, Zach for much of this season. I mean,
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: I think that's how a lot of us are seeing
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: it on the outside of Colts Nation here at this point,
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: How do you see the offense moving forward really in
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: terms of balancing out the rushing attack and the passing
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: attack and passing game this year? What are your thoughts here?
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think regardless of which quarterback they start, they're
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: gonna have to have a good running game, you know,
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: especially like Daniel Jones is out there his one like
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: really successful season. They had like the fourth best rushing
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: offense in football with the New York Giants se Kwon
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: Barkley hitting thirteen hundred yards, hitting seven hundred yards that season.
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: So for him to be that neutral to positive game
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: flow quarterback for you, you're gonna need a Jonathan Taylor
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: to be a just a really effective running back. But
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: even with Anthony Richardson, you know, you don't want him
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: backed up in third and fifteen, third and sixteen, like
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: get that run game going, get into third and short,
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: and then bring his legs into the equation on every
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: single play. So he's gonna be just massive for keeping
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: these quarterbacks in a rhythm, keeping them in situations that
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: you want them in. But then just talking about Jonathan
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: Taylor himself, you know, I do think he's lost a
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: step compared to where he was in twenty twenty one.
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: He's not the same like full speed, just monster that
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: he was. But because his vision is so good, because
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: his anticipation as a running back is so good, this
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: is still like a top five to seven running back
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: in the league. Like he is just so good at
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: what he does. He can create yardage and it's not there,
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: and he can make places happen. So regardless of which
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: quarterback starts, they're gonna have a big influence of zone reads,
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: read options, and pulling defenders out of the box. And
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: that's where a player like Jonathan Taylor can really take
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: advantage and make things happen. So I think the expectation
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: for him is gonna be like twelve hundred plus yards
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: this year. The way he finished last year was like
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: seven hundred yards rushing in the final month of the season.
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: Like he finishes so strong in December, and he you know,
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: he gets out to pretty good starts as well. So
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: as long as he can stay healthy throughout the year,
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: keep his legs going with these two quarterbacks, I mean,
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: he's he's a top tier running back in the league
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: and just one of the best overall players that the
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: Colts have had these last few years.
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: Keep him in mind for fantasy football folks. He's definitely
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: up there for sure. I know I'm gonna be targeting
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: him within the first round or two in my fantasy leagues.
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: But Zak I wanted to move over to the defensive
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: side of the ball as well, because the Colts were
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: ranked twenty ninth in total yards allowed last year. They
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: were one of the worst defenses in the NFL. But
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: I'm wondering, what are some of the key aspects of
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: this defense that we really need to keep our eyes
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: on as the season starts and as this defensive unit
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: really looks to dramatically improve from last year's performance. What
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: are your thoughts here?
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, the biggest thing is the change from a static
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: defense to more of a dynamic defense. This year. So
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: throughout all of Chris Ballard's tenure with the Colts, they
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: have gone from Matt Eberflus, who is a Tampa two
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: like just cover two Tampa two type of style guy,
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: to Gus Bradley, who was at Seattle Cover three, where
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: we're not changing too much pre and post snap. They
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: know what we're going to do, We're going to do it.
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: Our goal is to be as good in our technique
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: as possible in limit players, limit offenses that way. Yeah,
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: with Loui an Arumo, there is no one style with him.
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: That's always been the calling card of Louanna Arumo is
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: We're gonna shift pre and post snap. We're going to
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: make things difficult for quarterbacks, keep their completion percentage down,
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: keep their turnovers high, take the ball away, be a
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: good passing defense, and go from there. It's kind of
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: what we're seeing with like the Vic Fangio style of
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: defense going around the league, is the more that you
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: can do pre and post snap to confuse quarterbacks, the
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: better your defense is going to be. And Ana Rumo
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: was one of the guys at the beginning of this
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: whole process. When the Bengals went to the Super Bowl
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: a couple of years ago with him, So that's going
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: to be the biggest change with this Coals defense is
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: going from this very static, sit back We're going to
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: be a good run defense. We're going to be a
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: passive pass defense that comes up in tackles to now
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: being a nickel based defense that we might struggle a
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: bit in the run defense because we're going to always
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: have just speed on the field, but our goal is
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: to take away the ball in the passing game. Our
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: goal is to limit those passing windows, make things difficult
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: for quarterbacks, and just kind of create have it pre
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: and post snap. So it's going to be a drastically
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: different defense. But with the additions of Tarvarius Ward with
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: Cameron Bidam coming in as well, they do have the
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: dogs to run this type of system they're looking for,
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: especially when you factor into Forrest Buckner All Pro, last
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: year's Im Franklin at linebacker, and layout to Latu, a
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: former top fifteen pick getting his second year with the team.
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: So they have all the things you're looking for to
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: be a good defense this year. It's about how well
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: they adjust to this very new style they're bringing, how
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: good the run defense can be and if any corner
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: on this roster can stay healthy through training camp work. Right,
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: Corners three through five have all gone down with injuries.
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: Justin Wally, the guy they took in the third round
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: is out for the year of the torn ACL. There
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: are other two corners that were competing for the outside
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: are out with hamstring injuries. So as long as that
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: second outside corner spot can get somebody healthy in there,
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: I think this can be a good defense. But I
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: think there's a lot of good things on paper with
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: this defense to at least be better than twenty nine.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: Absolutely.
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, Again, this is true basement talk right here. You
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: can't fall out the basement window here when it comes
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: to defense.
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, it's going to be a better defense for sure.
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: I don't look, I don't know what that ranking is
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: going to be. We don't have a crystal ball, but
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: I am sure just based on what you were just saying,
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: the analysis of where the defensive line is going to be, linebackers,
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: and if these corners can stay healthy, if the secondary
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: can stay healthy, they're gonna be a lot better than
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: they were in twenty twenty four. So Zach is where
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: we are going to be ending our conversation here, I've
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: been asking all our guests on our Opposition Territory podcasts
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: every week a two part question about the team in
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: terms of the biggest concern and what you're least concerned
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: about in terms of the Colts heading into this twenty
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: twenty five seasons. So let's first start off with your
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: biggest concern for the team heading into this season. What
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: would that be and why?
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: Well, I think we have to say the quarterback position,
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: all right, concern. It's just so volatile with these two
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: guys back there. Where with Daniel Jones, you need everything
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: to be perfect, to be like above average. You know,
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: we saw with that Giants team. I know people make
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: a lot of excuses for him with that Giants team
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: when they made the playoffs, but aside from offensive line,
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: had a great play caller, one of the best rushing
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: attacks in football, one of the best teams that creating
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: after the catch, and they were still nine to seven
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: and one, and they want a playoff game against the
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: paper Tiger and then they lost the next round after that.
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: I think that's kind of the peak of what you're
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: going to get out Daniel Jones, which is a fine
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: quarterback to have, but that's not a franchise quarterback. Then
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: you go to Anthony Richardson and from play to play,
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: from down to down, the series of series, you have
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: no clue what you're getting from him. You could be
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: a seventy year or touchdown pass. It could be the
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: worst pick six you've ever seen. So I think there's
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: a legit concern there on like what these guys can
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: be this year and how far this team can go
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: with it, because again, the roster's pretty good. It's just
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: can these quarterbacks elevate it or at least get it
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: to where they need to be. And then when I
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: would say least concern, man, I mean I guess kind
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: of the pass catchers on offense and not really being
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: started with them, Like when you add Tyler Warren, it
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: was kind of like the missing piece, you know, because
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: they had Josh Downs, who has like one hundred and
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: fifty catches through two seasons with the Colts. Fantastic slot
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: receiver Alec Pearce emerged as one the best deep threats
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: in football last season average twenty two yards per catch, Yeah,
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: which is insane. Michael Pittman Junior is healthy. Really good
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: to see Ady Mitchell as this boomer bust, explosive receiver
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: thread at number four behind them, and then you're throwing
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: Tyler Warren in there, this do it all guy coming
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: from the college game who was just awesome at Penn
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: State and again an offense where everybody knew where the
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: ball was going. Yes, I'm still produced last year. So
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: I think just that passing game is like, if these
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: quarterbacks can just get the ball to them, I think
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: this can be a really good passing game. So I
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: have a lot of hope and trust in these past catchers.
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: It really just comes down to what can these quarterbacks
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: look like and can they elevate this team past that.
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: Jeff Fisher esques seven to eight wins that they've been
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: the last couple of years.
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: Again, folks, he is Zach Hicks from the Locked on
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: Colts podcast. Check out everything they have going on. Search
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: them out online again the Locked on Colts Podcast. Zach, Buddy,
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: it was great talking to you. Thanks so much for
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: taking the time to jump on here. Always great talking
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: to you. Let's talk at some point down the road.
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: I'd love to talk more ball with you, my friend.
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, when the cults are you know, at six and
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: six late in the season, we'll definitely come back on
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: and talk all about their mediocre team that they are.
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: That's gonna do it for us here on Opposition Territory
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: this week. Please share our podcast with your friends and
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: family members who are Philly sports fans or sports fans
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: in general. We thank you our listeners for being part
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: of this online community with us and within this space.
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: Make sure to check out our website, Philadelphia Sportstable dot
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: com for all of our podcasts, and follow us on
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: our social sites. You can follow the show on Twitter
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: at Philadelphia PST, on threads at Philadelphia Sports Table, and
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: over on Instagram as well at Philadelphia Sports Table. Take care,
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: we will catch you next time.