September 13, 2023 • 15 mins
Voice of the Colts Matt Taylor and Marc Vandermeer discuss what to watch out for as Indy comes to NRG Stadium in Week 2.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
All right, Texans, it's Colts week. Let's go. We're gonna
hear all about them. What they've got to offer from
Matt Taylor. How does Anthony Richardson? Look, what's the running
game like without Jonathan Taylor? It was not good at
all in the opener, But there they were in the
second half with the lead over the defending AFC South
champion Jacksonville Jaguars. So how did they get it? What
(00:26):
are the Texans to be concerned about in this matchup?
There's a lot to go over as far as Houston's
side of things goes. You looked at the game against
Baltimore and saw a lot of encouraging things. Got to
get the running game going, but the passing game got
clicking for a while. Obviously, have to find a way
into the end zone. And defensively, Johnny Harris has been
(00:47):
talking about this all week, some really good stuff on
defense against the Ravens, and you need that to continue
and get better against the Indianapolis Colts. Harassed Richardson Minshew
whoever they throw out there there, running game like the
Jags did, and take your chances. Hopefully get some good
field position out of takeaways or special teams plays. Whatever
(01:09):
you can do, let's catch up with them right now.
The voice of the Indianapolis Colts, Matt Taylor Mac great
to catch up with you. How did it go for
you on Sunday? Which is like saying, other than that,
how is the play, missus Lincoln? But what did you
think of the team's performance despite the loss on Sunday?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Matt, Well, I thought it was fun. I mean, first,
it was fun just to have regular season football back
for the first time in nine months, and certainly after
a very eventful offseason for the Colts with their search
for a new head coach and a rookie quarterback. You know,
something that you guys and Houston, you know, you went
through the exact same thing. So it's like, you know,
talking to a guy in the mirror here. But you know,
(01:47):
I thought it was a very entertaining game for the Colts.
You know, I thought it was a game the Colts
you know, could have won, you know, upset the AFC
South champions right out of the gate, but they fell
by ten points primarily because you know, there was a
they got a two minutes stretch there in the fourth
quarter for the Colts. That was just disastrous. You know,
they were up twenty one to seventeen. They gave up
(02:07):
a big punt return to Jamal Agnew that set up
the go ahead score for the Jaguars. They retook the
lead by three with about five minutes to go. Two
plays later, Anthony Richardson, you know, throws a pick two
plays later after that, the Jaguars running in from about
twenty five yards away. So the Colts go from up
(02:27):
with twenty one to seventeen to down thirty one twenty
one in a blink of an eye, and obviously just
were never able to you know, overcome that. Not enough
time left in the game. But I thought the team fought.
I thought Anthony Richardson looked really good at times. There
were times where the offense really struggled, especially in the
second half. I think there was a five player or excuse me,
(02:51):
a five series stretch there in the second half where
the Colts didn't even record a first down in that stretch.
So a lot of things to work, I thought. Defensively,
I think they're way ahead of schedule from where they
were this time last year in year number one under
gust Bradley. Most of that defense is back for year
two in the same scheme, So defensively, you know that
(03:12):
that's the unit that's going to have to definitely pull
their weight and keep the Colts in games as the
offense goes through some speed bumps with a rookie quarterback.
But all in all, I thought the Colts team fought
and we're in a position to win that game in
the fourth quarter on Sunday, But unfortunately, their fourth quarter
struggles that were prevalent all of last season kind of
reared their ugly head right out of the gate for
(03:34):
the Colts in Week one.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Matt, how would you define the Shanesdiken offense here? What
would you say are some of the key components? I
know you don't have Jonathan Taylor. Obviously, the running game
is probably well definitely not where you want it to
be overall. But how would you define it?
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Yeah, I would define it as as very aggressive. I
would say it's very creative. You know, they want to
use a lot of personnel groups. You know, they rely
heavily on tight ends and the running games, certainly in
the passing game as well. I think the biggest thing
that you could use to describe it as just very
RPO heavy. You know, the last couple of years in Philadelphia,
(04:13):
the Eagles in twenty twenty one, in twenty twenty two,
I don't know what the numbers were marked, but they
led the NFL and number of RPOs called in each
of the last two years. And you know, we're seeing it,
you right, The college football game is trickling up, if
you will, to the National Football League. All of these
guys that come from major college football, like CJ. Stroud
(04:34):
and Bryce Young and Anthony Richardson, that's what they're doing
very well on Saturdays, and now they're bringing it with
them here on Sundays and college here, excuse me, offensive
coordinators and play callers in the NFL are taking advantage
of it. And so Anthony Richardson is really comfortable running
RPOs and he's really comfortable obviously with the football in
his hands. You know, he had ten carries the other day,
(04:56):
not all of them were design runs, but you know,
he very much can run the football very effectively. And
we saw it in the preseason. We saw in a
Week one where he's you know, trucking guys out of
bounds and turning a five yard loss into a fifteen
yard scramble for a first down, and he's very aggressive.
Shane Stikeen, very very aggressive. The Colts went forward on
(05:19):
fourth down five times, you know. I mean that's obviously
not news to those that follow the NFL the last
two years and when he was with the Eagles, you know,
Philadelphia ran that you know, whatever you want to call it,
the quarterback sneak, the push push play, or the offensive
line and the running backs are pushing the quarterback up
the field with the quarterback sneak. Colts tried to do
that a couple of times on Sunday, weren't as successful
(05:42):
as the Eagles were the last couple of years, so
that's something to work on. But a very aggressive play caller.
Guy's very very intelligent, high football IQ. Loves the ball,
just kind of lights up when he talks, talks X
and o's and schematics. So very very bright, young guy.
Getting to be a you know, an a first time
head coach in the NFL with the Colts, kind of
(06:03):
bringing those, you know, same innovations that he had in Philadelphia.
With the Colts. Obviously, the personnel is way different, you know,
certainly I don't think the Colts are as dynamic, you know,
personnel wise as the Eagles were the last couple of years.
They're trying to get to that point with the rookie quarterback.
But Shane Stikeen is very, very aggressive, and you know
he's going to mix up the run. In the past,
(06:24):
he said in his introductory press conference that you know,
we're going to pass the score, we're gonna throw the score,
and we're going to run to win. Unfortunately that didn't,
you know, come to fruition in week one. But you know,
Shane Styken thinks that he's got the necessary pieces to
be dynamic within the offense and obviously it kind of
hinges on the growth of a rookie quarterback.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
With Anthony Richardson, Matt, what about the defense, we see
some very familiar faces like the Forest Buckner who had
that big play last week and Shaq Lawrence. Of course,
what excites you about this defense? What's different about it?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Well, what honestly what excites me about it is that
it's it's not different. There's a lot of continuity. Maybe
it's different in the sense that they're trying to get
better in all of the major pothole areas from last year.
I mean the Colts defense I mean, if you break
it down statistically, at the beginning of last year, they
were a good defense, not a great defense, but they
(07:19):
were certainly again you know, holding up their weight or
they're into the bargain to keep the Colts in games.
And they were good enough to win more games in
the first half of the season last year than they did.
But they completely fell off a cliff last year when
the Colt season got squirrely with you know, fir and
head coaches and offensive coordinators and bringing in Jeff Saturday
and the quarterback carousel. I mean, everything just sort of
(07:42):
plummeted last year. Red zone defense, they were dead last,
third down, they were not very good. The takeaway numbers
last year dropped off dramatically from the year before in
twenty twenty one, when they were the number two team
of the NFL at taking the football away. Obviously losing
Shaq Leonard last year. He only played in three games,
but he just wasn't healthy. He only played seventy four
(08:04):
snaps last year, dealing with a back injury and a
lower leg injury. Trying to find out what's going on
with his nerves in the back. They just could never
pinpoint it and so thus he just didn't have, you know,
an impactful season, and the takeaway numbers just fell off
dramatically because their takeaway machine, which Leonard is, just wasn't
out there quite frankly. So it was good to see
(08:26):
that part of the game come back in week number one.
I know it's a small sample size, but you know
that the peskiness of the Colts defense was definitely prevalent
in Game one. They had seven tackles for loss, they
had three force fumbles, they had two takeaways, they had
a defensive touchdown. In fact, they had they had two
more takeaways taken away from them after official reviews. So
(08:49):
I mean that part of the defense, that's the hallmark
of the Gus Bradley defense of just when you have
an opportunity to take the football away, you gotta do that.
The Colts didn't do that last year. The pass rush
showed up. You know, the Cults are asking a lot
from their third year guys that they drafted in rounds
one and two in twenty twenty one, and Quitty pay
(09:10):
and Dio at Dangbo, they're asking a lot of those guys.
They needed them to take big jumps. I think Quitty
pay is capable of that. Dio at Dangbo, I think
it's capable of that as well. But certainly Quitty is
off to a really good start, really good camp preseason.
Had a SAC in Game number one. Obviously, DeForest Buckner
and Grover Stewart one of the best defensive tackle tandems
(09:33):
in the National Football League. Leonard's back healthy. Zaire Franklin,
you know, I just is just an emerging star that
I don't think a lot of people across the country
know his name yet, but he is one of the
best linebackers in the NFL. Eighteen tackles in Game one
set a franchise record for tackles in a single season
last year. He's back. You've got Anny Moore in the secondary,
(09:55):
Julian Blackman in the secondary. They're very young at corner,
Mark I will tell you, very young at corner. Dallas
Flowers on the outside, Darryl Baker Junior on the outside.
Both of these guys were, you know, rookie undrafted free
agents last year and they are taking on enormous roles
comparatively speaking from from a year ago. And so you
know that's something to monitor. But I think defensively they're
(10:18):
in good shape. That's the strength of the team so
far to this point. But they've got Pro Bowl players
and Pro Bowl caliber players in all three levels of
that defense, and they're definitely gonna again have to pull
their way early on in the season.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Matt, what about the Jaguars. You were right there with
them on able to pull it out. But has your
opinion of them changed at all? How good are they?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
No, it hasn't changed. I mean, I still think they're
probably the best team in the division from a talent standpoint,
from an overall roster construction standpoint. Trevor Lawn, I mean,
I know the Texans always you always feel like there's
these guys or these teams that always play well or
play their best against the Texans. You can definitely say
that about the Jaguars. They seem to always play their
(11:02):
best against the Colts. Trevor Lawrence always seems to bring
his best for the Colts. He's now played in five
games against Indianapolis, and in three of those games he's
over at least seventy percent completion percentage, and he looked really,
really good. I mean, you can just tell he's beaming
with confidence and is in a good spot, you know,
mentally with Doug Peterson and Press Taylor and you know
(11:25):
the guys you know, kind of pushing his buttons a
little bit going into year number three. The touchdown pass
he had to Zay Jones was a tremendous throw. Calvin
Ridley's there now. He was over one hundred yards in
his first game and a Jaguar uniform coming over in
a trade last year. They're just stacked on offense with
Kirk and Ridley, like I mentioned, and Ingram. You know, defensively,
(11:47):
their front seven is really really good. They played that
you know, not to get two overlease camatical, but they
played that kind of like double sync defensive tackle. Look
that bear front defense where it's hard to run against them.
You mentioned the Colts running game. Colts running backs on Sunday,
they only managed twenty five carries. Excuse me. They managed
twenty five yards on sixteen carries. All right, that's just
(12:08):
not gonna win. I mean, I know they're without Jonathan Taylor,
but you're not gonna win many football games when you're
not rushing you know, more than two yards per carry.
So I think Jacksonville is really really good. But that's
the thing I think that gives the Colts confidence is
that they were right there. I mean they outside of
an Anthony Richardson turnover late in the game. You know,
you could argue the Colts were in a position to win,
(12:30):
argue they could have won, should have won. So I
think the Colts are coming in with confidence knowing that
they can play with just about anybody. But they've got to,
you know, shore some things up and get you know,
some more offensive consistency. Especially in the second halves of
these games where the Colts only put up fourteen points
on offense, they had the defensive touchdown. That's just not
gonna cut it. I don't care who you're playing nowadays.
(12:53):
It used to be it used to be all right,
if we can get you know, twenty four to twenty
five points, were in a good position to win, you know,
with teams like the Jaguars and the Bills and the
Bengals and the Chiefs. Now you've got to be up
close to thirty points I think to be in a
comfortable position to win every Sunday.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Matt, what about the Titans they lost at the Saints.
Where do you think they're headed right now? As we
talk about our AFC South foes.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Yeah, it's a great question. I mean, obviously you start
with the quarterback position and you know, it's it's it
seems like this might be the final you know, push
for for Ryan Tannehill. Don't know what they're going to
do going forward with with those two young guys they
drafted Levis. I'm starting to read some stuff on Derrick
Henry's usage and kind of dialing him back a little
(13:39):
bit to save him, you know, with all the wear
and tear that they've put on his body over the years,
with all those carries. You know, defensively, I think they're
going to be pretty darn good. I mean I think again,
you know, the strength of their team at least as
of right now, is probably their defense to keep them
in games. Obviously, the play action game for Ryan Tannehill
with Derrick Henry, that's always going to be a front
(14:00):
and center. But you know, offensively on the outside, I mean, Mark,
you know it, they just don't. They don't scarey a ton,
you know, outside of Hopkins. So I think this division's
pretty much wide open, I really do. I think the
Colts and Texans can can make a push, but you
know it all starts in this game. Obviously in week
number two for the Colts in Houston, you know, got
(14:21):
to get a win. And you know, the Colts trying
to figure out the AFC South, which is weird to
say around here because they were so successful for so
long within the within the division, dating back to two
thousand and two. But if you go back to last year,
the Colts, what are now one five and one in
the AFC South. You know they were one four and
one last year. Obviously the tie came against the Texans.
(14:43):
It's just, you know, trying to trying to win your
first division title. If you're the Colts trying to win
your first division championship since twenty fourteen, you know, that's
a tough pill to swallow for a franchise that dominated
the division. Houston's won it twice. In fact, every team
won it twice since the Colts last won it. So
Tennessee I think is still right there. But certainly I
(15:06):
think this is kind of like their last push with
their main pieces in place at quarterback and running back
before they have some big decisions to make in the
offseason coming up.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Well, never a dull moment, Matt, It's gonna be great
to see you on Sunday. Looking forward to an exciting
game at NRG. Thanks for joining us.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Yep, my pleasure, Mark as always.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
All right, there's our friend Matt Taylor, voice of the
Indianapolis Colts. Now Noon Kicks Sunday. We're White, Liberty White.
Got to do it on opening day, right, It's going
to be a packed house and it's going to be electric.
Let's get ready. See you Sunday from the booth. It's
live on Sports Radio six ten, The Bull one hundred
point three FM, and the Texans app Odyssey app Sirius XM,
(15:45):
so many places affiliates all around the state. Check the website.
Have a great day, Go Texans.
All right, Texans, it's Colts week. Let's go. We're gonna
hear all about them. What they've got to offer from
Matt Taylor. How does Anthony Richardson? Look, what's the running
game like without Jonathan Taylor? It was not good at
all in the opener, But there they were in the
second half with the lead over the defending AFC South
champion Jacksonville Jaguars. So how did they get it? What
(00:26):
are the Texans to be concerned about in this matchup?
There's a lot to go over as far as Houston's
side of things goes. You looked at the game against
Baltimore and saw a lot of encouraging things. Got to
get the running game going, but the passing game got
clicking for a while. Obviously, have to find a way
into the end zone. And defensively, Johnny Harris has been
(00:47):
talking about this all week, some really good stuff on
defense against the Ravens, and you need that to continue
and get better against the Indianapolis Colts. Harassed Richardson Minshew
whoever they throw out there there, running game like the
Jags did, and take your chances. Hopefully get some good
field position out of takeaways or special teams plays. Whatever
(01:09):
you can do, let's catch up with them right now.
The voice of the Indianapolis Colts, Matt Taylor Mac great
to catch up with you. How did it go for
you on Sunday? Which is like saying, other than that,
how is the play, missus Lincoln? But what did you
think of the team's performance despite the loss on Sunday?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Matt, Well, I thought it was fun. I mean, first,
it was fun just to have regular season football back
for the first time in nine months, and certainly after
a very eventful offseason for the Colts with their search
for a new head coach and a rookie quarterback. You know,
something that you guys and Houston, you know, you went
through the exact same thing. So it's like, you know,
talking to a guy in the mirror here. But you know,
(01:47):
I thought it was a very entertaining game for the Colts.
You know, I thought it was a game the Colts
you know, could have won, you know, upset the AFC
South champions right out of the gate, but they fell
by ten points primarily because you know, there was a
they got a two minutes stretch there in the fourth
quarter for the Colts. That was just disastrous. You know,
they were up twenty one to seventeen. They gave up
(02:07):
a big punt return to Jamal Agnew that set up
the go ahead score for the Jaguars. They retook the
lead by three with about five minutes to go. Two
plays later, Anthony Richardson, you know, throws a pick two
plays later after that, the Jaguars running in from about
twenty five yards away. So the Colts go from up
(02:27):
with twenty one to seventeen to down thirty one twenty
one in a blink of an eye, and obviously just
were never able to you know, overcome that. Not enough
time left in the game. But I thought the team fought.
I thought Anthony Richardson looked really good at times. There
were times where the offense really struggled, especially in the
second half. I think there was a five player or excuse me,
(02:51):
a five series stretch there in the second half where
the Colts didn't even record a first down in that stretch.
So a lot of things to work, I thought. Defensively,
I think they're way ahead of schedule from where they
were this time last year in year number one under
gust Bradley. Most of that defense is back for year
two in the same scheme, So defensively, you know that
(03:12):
that's the unit that's going to have to definitely pull
their weight and keep the Colts in games as the
offense goes through some speed bumps with a rookie quarterback.
But all in all, I thought the Colts team fought
and we're in a position to win that game in
the fourth quarter on Sunday, But unfortunately, their fourth quarter
struggles that were prevalent all of last season kind of
reared their ugly head right out of the gate for
(03:34):
the Colts in Week one.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Matt, how would you define the Shanesdiken offense here? What
would you say are some of the key components? I
know you don't have Jonathan Taylor. Obviously, the running game
is probably well definitely not where you want it to
be overall. But how would you define it?
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Yeah, I would define it as as very aggressive. I
would say it's very creative. You know, they want to
use a lot of personnel groups. You know, they rely
heavily on tight ends and the running games, certainly in
the passing game as well. I think the biggest thing
that you could use to describe it as just very
RPO heavy. You know, the last couple of years in Philadelphia,
(04:13):
the Eagles in twenty twenty one, in twenty twenty two,
I don't know what the numbers were marked, but they
led the NFL and number of RPOs called in each
of the last two years. And you know, we're seeing it,
you right, The college football game is trickling up, if
you will, to the National Football League. All of these
guys that come from major college football, like CJ. Stroud
(04:34):
and Bryce Young and Anthony Richardson, that's what they're doing
very well on Saturdays, and now they're bringing it with
them here on Sundays and college here, excuse me, offensive
coordinators and play callers in the NFL are taking advantage
of it. And so Anthony Richardson is really comfortable running
RPOs and he's really comfortable obviously with the football in
his hands. You know, he had ten carries the other day,
(04:56):
not all of them were design runs, but you know,
he very much can run the football very effectively. And
we saw it in the preseason. We saw in a
Week one where he's you know, trucking guys out of
bounds and turning a five yard loss into a fifteen
yard scramble for a first down, and he's very aggressive.
Shane Stikeen, very very aggressive. The Colts went forward on
(05:19):
fourth down five times, you know. I mean that's obviously
not news to those that follow the NFL the last
two years and when he was with the Eagles, you know,
Philadelphia ran that you know, whatever you want to call it,
the quarterback sneak, the push push play, or the offensive
line and the running backs are pushing the quarterback up
the field with the quarterback sneak. Colts tried to do
that a couple of times on Sunday, weren't as successful
(05:42):
as the Eagles were the last couple of years, so
that's something to work on. But a very aggressive play caller.
Guy's very very intelligent, high football IQ. Loves the ball,
just kind of lights up when he talks, talks X
and o's and schematics. So very very bright, young guy.
Getting to be a you know, an a first time
head coach in the NFL with the Colts, kind of
(06:03):
bringing those, you know, same innovations that he had in Philadelphia.
With the Colts. Obviously, the personnel is way different, you know,
certainly I don't think the Colts are as dynamic, you know,
personnel wise as the Eagles were the last couple of years.
They're trying to get to that point with the rookie quarterback.
But Shane Stikeen is very, very aggressive, and you know
he's going to mix up the run. In the past,
(06:24):
he said in his introductory press conference that you know,
we're going to pass the score, we're gonna throw the score,
and we're going to run to win. Unfortunately that didn't,
you know, come to fruition in week one. But you know,
Shane Styken thinks that he's got the necessary pieces to
be dynamic within the offense and obviously it kind of
hinges on the growth of a rookie quarterback.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
With Anthony Richardson, Matt, what about the defense, we see
some very familiar faces like the Forest Buckner who had
that big play last week and Shaq Lawrence. Of course,
what excites you about this defense? What's different about it?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Well, what honestly what excites me about it is that
it's it's not different. There's a lot of continuity. Maybe
it's different in the sense that they're trying to get
better in all of the major pothole areas from last year.
I mean the Colts defense I mean, if you break
it down statistically, at the beginning of last year, they
were a good defense, not a great defense, but they
(07:19):
were certainly again you know, holding up their weight or
they're into the bargain to keep the Colts in games.
And they were good enough to win more games in
the first half of the season last year than they did.
But they completely fell off a cliff last year when
the Colt season got squirrely with you know, fir and
head coaches and offensive coordinators and bringing in Jeff Saturday
and the quarterback carousel. I mean, everything just sort of
(07:42):
plummeted last year. Red zone defense, they were dead last,
third down, they were not very good. The takeaway numbers
last year dropped off dramatically from the year before in
twenty twenty one, when they were the number two team
of the NFL at taking the football away. Obviously losing
Shaq Leonard last year. He only played in three games,
but he just wasn't healthy. He only played seventy four
(08:04):
snaps last year, dealing with a back injury and a
lower leg injury. Trying to find out what's going on
with his nerves in the back. They just could never
pinpoint it and so thus he just didn't have, you know,
an impactful season, and the takeaway numbers just fell off
dramatically because their takeaway machine, which Leonard is, just wasn't
out there quite frankly. So it was good to see
(08:26):
that part of the game come back in week number one.
I know it's a small sample size, but you know
that the peskiness of the Colts defense was definitely prevalent
in Game one. They had seven tackles for loss, they
had three force fumbles, they had two takeaways, they had
a defensive touchdown. In fact, they had they had two
more takeaways taken away from them after official reviews. So
(08:49):
I mean that part of the defense, that's the hallmark
of the Gus Bradley defense of just when you have
an opportunity to take the football away, you gotta do that.
The Colts didn't do that last year. The pass rush
showed up. You know, the Cults are asking a lot
from their third year guys that they drafted in rounds
one and two in twenty twenty one, and Quitty pay
(09:10):
and Dio at Dangbo, they're asking a lot of those guys.
They needed them to take big jumps. I think Quitty
pay is capable of that. Dio at Dangbo, I think
it's capable of that as well. But certainly Quitty is
off to a really good start, really good camp preseason.
Had a SAC in Game number one. Obviously, DeForest Buckner
and Grover Stewart one of the best defensive tackle tandems
(09:33):
in the National Football League. Leonard's back healthy. Zaire Franklin,
you know, I just is just an emerging star that
I don't think a lot of people across the country
know his name yet, but he is one of the
best linebackers in the NFL. Eighteen tackles in Game one
set a franchise record for tackles in a single season
last year. He's back. You've got Anny Moore in the secondary,
(09:55):
Julian Blackman in the secondary. They're very young at corner,
Mark I will tell you, very young at corner. Dallas
Flowers on the outside, Darryl Baker Junior on the outside.
Both of these guys were, you know, rookie undrafted free
agents last year and they are taking on enormous roles
comparatively speaking from from a year ago. And so you
know that's something to monitor. But I think defensively they're
(10:18):
in good shape. That's the strength of the team so
far to this point. But they've got Pro Bowl players
and Pro Bowl caliber players in all three levels of
that defense, and they're definitely gonna again have to pull
their way early on in the season.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
Matt, what about the Jaguars. You were right there with
them on able to pull it out. But has your
opinion of them changed at all? How good are they?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
No, it hasn't changed. I mean, I still think they're
probably the best team in the division from a talent standpoint,
from an overall roster construction standpoint. Trevor Lawn, I mean,
I know the Texans always you always feel like there's
these guys or these teams that always play well or
play their best against the Texans. You can definitely say
that about the Jaguars. They seem to always play their
(11:02):
best against the Colts. Trevor Lawrence always seems to bring
his best for the Colts. He's now played in five
games against Indianapolis, and in three of those games he's
over at least seventy percent completion percentage, and he looked really,
really good. I mean, you can just tell he's beaming
with confidence and is in a good spot, you know,
mentally with Doug Peterson and Press Taylor and you know
(11:25):
the guys you know, kind of pushing his buttons a
little bit going into year number three. The touchdown pass
he had to Zay Jones was a tremendous throw. Calvin
Ridley's there now. He was over one hundred yards in
his first game and a Jaguar uniform coming over in
a trade last year. They're just stacked on offense with
Kirk and Ridley, like I mentioned, and Ingram. You know, defensively,
(11:47):
their front seven is really really good. They played that
you know, not to get two overlease camatical, but they
played that kind of like double sync defensive tackle. Look
that bear front defense where it's hard to run against them.
You mentioned the Colts running game. Colts running backs on Sunday,
they only managed twenty five carries. Excuse me. They managed
twenty five yards on sixteen carries. All right, that's just
(12:08):
not gonna win. I mean, I know they're without Jonathan Taylor,
but you're not gonna win many football games when you're
not rushing you know, more than two yards per carry.
So I think Jacksonville is really really good. But that's
the thing I think that gives the Colts confidence is
that they were right there. I mean they outside of
an Anthony Richardson turnover late in the game. You know,
you could argue the Colts were in a position to win,
(12:30):
argue they could have won, should have won. So I
think the Colts are coming in with confidence knowing that
they can play with just about anybody. But they've got to,
you know, shore some things up and get you know,
some more offensive consistency. Especially in the second halves of
these games where the Colts only put up fourteen points
on offense, they had the defensive touchdown. That's just not
gonna cut it. I don't care who you're playing nowadays.
(12:53):
It used to be it used to be all right,
if we can get you know, twenty four to twenty
five points, were in a good position to win, you know,
with teams like the Jaguars and the Bills and the
Bengals and the Chiefs. Now you've got to be up
close to thirty points I think to be in a
comfortable position to win every Sunday.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
Matt, what about the Titans they lost at the Saints.
Where do you think they're headed right now? As we
talk about our AFC South foes.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Yeah, it's a great question. I mean, obviously you start
with the quarterback position and you know, it's it's it
seems like this might be the final you know, push
for for Ryan Tannehill. Don't know what they're going to
do going forward with with those two young guys they
drafted Levis. I'm starting to read some stuff on Derrick
Henry's usage and kind of dialing him back a little
(13:39):
bit to save him, you know, with all the wear
and tear that they've put on his body over the years,
with all those carries. You know, defensively, I think they're
going to be pretty darn good. I mean I think again,
you know, the strength of their team at least as
of right now, is probably their defense to keep them
in games. Obviously, the play action game for Ryan Tannehill
with Derrick Henry, that's always going to be a front
(14:00):
and center. But you know, offensively on the outside, I mean, Mark,
you know it, they just don't. They don't scarey a ton,
you know, outside of Hopkins. So I think this division's
pretty much wide open, I really do. I think the
Colts and Texans can can make a push, but you
know it all starts in this game. Obviously in week
number two for the Colts in Houston, you know, got
(14:21):
to get a win. And you know, the Colts trying
to figure out the AFC South, which is weird to
say around here because they were so successful for so
long within the within the division, dating back to two
thousand and two. But if you go back to last year,
the Colts, what are now one five and one in
the AFC South. You know they were one four and
one last year. Obviously the tie came against the Texans.
(14:43):
It's just, you know, trying to trying to win your
first division title. If you're the Colts trying to win
your first division championship since twenty fourteen, you know, that's
a tough pill to swallow for a franchise that dominated
the division. Houston's won it twice. In fact, every team
won it twice since the Colts last won it. So
Tennessee I think is still right there. But certainly I
(15:06):
think this is kind of like their last push with
their main pieces in place at quarterback and running back
before they have some big decisions to make in the
offseason coming up.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Well, never a dull moment, Matt, It's gonna be great
to see you on Sunday. Looking forward to an exciting
game at NRG. Thanks for joining us.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Yep, my pleasure, Mark as always.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
All right, there's our friend Matt Taylor, voice of the
Indianapolis Colts. Now Noon Kicks Sunday. We're White, Liberty White.
Got to do it on opening day, right, It's going
to be a packed house and it's going to be electric.
Let's get ready. See you Sunday from the booth. It's
live on Sports Radio six ten, The Bull one hundred
point three FM, and the Texans app Odyssey app Sirius XM,
(15:45):
so many places affiliates all around the state. Check the website.
Have a great day, Go Texans.
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