July 22, 2025 • 24 mins
Today’s Best of Features:
(00:00-09:46) – Jake compares what Chris Ballard had to say today to what he has said seemingly every year since Andrew Luck’s retirement. Eddie asks Jake if his voice is starting to become white noise to the fanbase and that they’re just tired of him because of all the talking and lack of success.
(09:46-24:36) – ESPN.com’s Stephen Holder joins the program as he makes his drive home from Grand Park to share his thoughts on what Chris Ballard had to say today heading into the start of Training Camp. He evaluates if Ballard went out of his way to frequently mention Anthony Richardson over Daniel Jones and accesses how soon will we start over analyzing the snap count between the two in camp.
Support the show: https://1075thefan.com/query-and-company/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Okay, I need an audience participation poll here because I
have a legitimate question that I'm curious about, and I
thought about it last night and today, and it's going
to sound like I'm trying to create some sort of divisiveness.
I'm not. I'm usually you know, I'm all encompassing type thing.
(00:22):
But here is my Colt's question for the masses. This
is for the most part, and we've been lucky in
this town because we really have not had long periods
of complete void of excitement from a sports standpoint. Usually
(00:44):
between the two major sports franchises in town, one of
the two is playing at a very high level if
the other is not. For a long time, when the
Colts were finding their footing in the NFL, the Pacers
were rising and were really good. Then the Pacers had
a long period of mediocrity, at which point the Colts
(01:04):
were at their zenith. And then for a while there
they were both clicking at a very high rate. And
then obviously it became especially coming off of the Manning
era and then into luck. I mean, this, without question
was an NFL Colts town. This had transferred to and
(01:27):
I don't know that it was ever first and foremost
an NBA town, but it was certainly a basketball town,
maybe collegiately more than By the way, that cluster truck
you got smells fabulous. What did you get exactly, Ady?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Korean barbecue salmon, Jacob, that's been your go to, right,
I've had it twice now in the last three weeks.
I had the case of DL last week. What body
of water in Korea do you think they find that salmon?
Are there a lot of streams in Korea?
Speaker 3 (01:53):
No?
Speaker 2 (01:53):
No, no, no, Jake, it's the barbecue sauce. Is a
Korean barbecue sauce. The salmon is the salmon.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
The salmon, No, it's it's it's a it's a barbecued
Korean salmon. Right, it's salmon with barbie. So where in
care So? Where in Korea are they getting the barbecue? Said?
North or South?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Looks like there's pepper and salt in some jasmine rice.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Very good stuff, all right. So here's my question. Now
that the Pacers did what they did and got within
a whisker of an NBA title, Okay, does that in
any way, shape or form alter the enthusiasm that fans
(02:38):
have for the Colt season. I'm not saying that it's shifted,
and I'm not trying to create divide. There is somewhat,
I think a rivalry between the franchises locally, at least
competition for the headlines. And I know that they support
one another, and I know that Jim Mersey, like his
final tweet was about the Pacers playing the Knicks, and
I get all that, and I know that everybody wants
(03:01):
both franchises to do well. But does your excitement for
the Colts season get tempered in any way, shape or
form or altered in any way, shape or form because
of the high that you're coming off of for the
Pacers and how close the Pacers were to a title,
(03:22):
and then the reality of knowing how far the Colts
theoretically are away, because from the Pacers standpoint, like they
made it to the top of the mountain and then
instantly like they let go of the tow rope and
slid back down to you know, Camp base two, and
you know that it's going to be a while before
(03:42):
they get back up there. But nonetheless, they were there
and it was magical. But it's a reminder and it
makes you instantly realize how far away the Colts might
be and then it reinforces or it recreates the reality
in your mind of like, man, look how far it
is to go because they're I mean seemingly they're in
(04:05):
a division that is there for the taking. I mean,
I know, Houston is we think going to be good,
but are they We don't know how good I mean.
And I'm just curious if the season seems to have
win taken out of its sales because of the recency
(04:29):
bias of how good the Pacers were. Did it almost
make the Colts? Did it deemphasize the excitement? I think
for a long time the Colts camp and the Colts
getting back on the playing field, we were super stoked
about it because it had been you know, oftentimes three
to four months before we've seen pro sports in this town,
(04:50):
and that was say a first round exit or a
miss of the playoffs by the Pacers. Now there's so
much interest and intrigue about the Pacers. Has that taken
away from what today is a report day?
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Like people are dreading the start of the Cult season
because they have low expectations.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
And yeah, I don't dreadgs probably the wrong word, but
yes to an extent, right, does it feel like a
more an even more arduous task because you're like, oh man,
you know, in other words, you when you think about
the injury, and then you really stop and you're like,
oh my gosh, they were so close.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
And think about everything that had to happen, and talking
about Tyresee's injury. Yes, okay, and you're like, and you know,
they were so close and to be that close and
then realize and it takes like three or four revisits
in your mind to reinforce and realize that their timeline
(05:46):
was thrown off that much. And now all of a sudden,
you're like, oh man, so the Pacers got to kind
of pick up the pieces and then move forward. And
then you compare that to the Colts, and you're like,
wait a minute, they were never even there to begin with,
and they've kind of been doing any I think you
made a very good point there, the white noise of like,
(06:08):
in all honesty, the Chris Ballard press conference today, same
old bleep, different year. If we put a pulled up
the recording of that from twenty nineteen, would it have
been how different would it have been? The names would
have been different, but would the line, the company line
have been different. It would have been like the same
old thing, right, And so does it feel like because
(06:32):
we finally saw a breakthrough progress on one side of downtown,
does it feel like you're stuck in the mud with
the other one?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
I mean, the players certainly should be in the mindset of, hey,
look what this city did for the pacers and how
they backed them and surrounded them and supported them. Like,
if they're willing to do that for them, they can
certainly do that for us. We've got to, you know,
we got to get our bleep together for the fans
(07:00):
and for the city.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Okay, let me ask you this question. I asked somebody
this earlier. In your kitchen. Right now, I want you
to envision your kitchen. Okay, visioning Heck, I can pull
it up right now. If you're lying, how many we've
got a camp? How many? How many kitchen drawers do
you have? Five? Uh? Six? Okay? Six? Okay, now I
think the far left. You open that up. That's you
(07:21):
got utensils in one of them, right, you're you're far right, okay,
far right. The next to that one, okay, you open
that up. What's in there? Maybe an oven mid or two?
Next to that one? Um, yeah, okay. Then then give
me the third. What's in a third one? I think
(07:41):
we've got the like a container lids? Okay, I'm very organized, Jake. Okay.
Then the fourth what do you have that would be, uh,
the containers okay? And then fifth if we're last or
seven words bags like plastic bags, that type of stuff.
Now here's here's where I'm getting with this. Okay. Then
you get to number six. When you open that drawer
(08:03):
and it probably squeaks half the time. It doesn't open
because something is like higher up than it needs to be.
And you open it up and you look in that
drawer and it's got two sharpies. It's the giant drawer,
a tape measurer, a roll of tape, some random band aid,
and like a phone charger from a phone you had
three generations ago. Right, It's just like eclectic crap thrown
(08:27):
in there, and it feels like in the NFL. The NFL,
that's what the AFC South is, right, eclectic crap. The
AFC South is the junk drawer of the NFL. Right, Yeah,
to the rest of the league. You open it up
and you're like, this is this jaguar And then the Texans.
(08:47):
They're like an expansion, but they're kind of not. They've
been around a while, but they can't get it in
the right direction. And then the Titans, I don't know
what they're doing. And then there's the Colts. And yet
with that division, with the in being in the junk drawsion,
nobody in that division when they win the division and
gets into the playoffs, none of them do anything. I mean,
the Titans went randomly to an AFC title game with
(09:09):
Ryan Tannehill cool. The Jaguars randomly went to an AFC
title game with Blake Bortles cool. Outside of that, each
of them get their turn of the rotation. They get
picked out of the crowd, and the price is right
to come down and spin the big wheel, and they
they spin it and they get on ninety five cents
and instead of taking that, they'd spin it again and
they hit ninety five cents again.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Done.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Drew carries like, thanks for playing, You're gone right every time.
And yet with that, every other team in the division
has won the division twice since Indianapolis last won it.
So is there a feeling for the fan base of
what are we doing here? You gonna find out what's
going on out at Grand Park with Stephen Holder, who
(09:51):
joins us and has surrendered his personal life as he
knows it for the next four months. Joins us. Now
on the guests line, I can hear the Are you
at the Masters? It sounds like you're at Augusta Nationals.
I heard Bertie's chirping. Sounds very peaceful, Stephen.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Oh no, not even close. I wish, well, what's still fine?
It's fine.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
So you're still at Grand Park? Is that right?
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Just left, just left, just round the corner.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah, okay, fair enough, All right, let's begin with this
early well from a health standpoint, and obviously I'm going
from afar because I got in here right as things
were kind of getting both you know, settled in from
report day and then Chris Ballard speaking. But from what
I was able to tell, there were no reports of
(10:40):
significant injury or miss time, although Zire Franklin is going
to be a spectator for a while. Anything else that
I missed.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
No, that's the encouraging thing I'd say. Anthony Richardson first
off is obviously the big one. You know, as I,
as I said or wrote last week, are indicated he's
he's good. To go. According to Chris Ballard, there may
be some restriction on him in terms of how many
throws they're going to chart his throw so that you know,
(11:10):
they don't have any setbacks there, but they don't have
any concerns according to their evaluation, so that's good. Sire
Franklin is the one I think to watch. He has
had an off season ankle surgery and he's still not
cleared to practice, but Chris Ballard said it won't be
very long, so we will see how that goes and
(11:32):
and see if that.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Proves to be true.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Otherwise, they're they're pretty good. They're in good shape and
Nobode's gonna go on the the puplist. They won't have
any of those and they normally have at least a couple.
They won't have that this year. Sampson epucom at defensive end.
He missed last season as you know with the.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
The Achilles tier. Uh.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
He's cleared, so they feel good about that as well.
So yeah, that's the that's the good news.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
On Day one, Stephen Chris Ballard spent about thirty minutes
answering questions talking with the media. Admittedly, and I'm a
little I go back and forth on this Stephen. I
think he's in a tough spot to an extent in
terms of set out that it's his goal to satisfy
media or fans. But if he comes out and says, look,
I think I'm thrilled about our roster. I think we're
(12:21):
gonna be great. I'm ready for the year. We're gonna
be competitive, we're gonna be tough, then everybody's gonna go
what is this guy talking about? He says the same
thing every year, and yet he comes out and I
thought was a little more humble, a little more realistic
than in years past. And so then we want to
torch him for saying he knows his team in very good.
(12:41):
So it's a little bit of a double edged sword.
Your interpretation of I guess the mood and the approach
from Chris Ballard versus years past was what.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Well, first of all, what I think the thing to
point out is I satement fear. I think the thing
to point out is I think he knows and I
would agree with this. I think he believes Chris Pallor
that they have a good roster, a top the bottom.
I think that's been true for quite some time. Better
this year than last year. I thought last year he
(13:13):
left too many holes on defense. But generally speaking, they
have a strong roster, and they have for quite some time.
The problem is they just can't get it together at quarterback. Well,
what distinguishes your team from the next NFL it's the
freaking quarterback.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Right.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
So now that is a tough thing to navigate when
you're asked, well, why aren't you guys winning more? Well,
the answer you want to be honest and say, well,
because we've sucked at quarterback, But that also oversimplified it,
and it sounds like you're trying to dodge responsibility when
you say that. Right, So he is in a tough
(13:49):
spot sometimes, there's no question about that. I think he
understands that, and he's very perceptive, Chris Pallard. He gets
it like he knows, he understands, he knows how to
read a room, all those things. He's very smart. So
he was very careful in what he says. I would say,
in terms of difference between this year and in the past,
(14:11):
I think that not a ton of difference, except to
say I think that there was more attention paid by
him and his players today to the fact that they
haven't been in the postseason for too long. He even said,
he said, this is the longest in my career I've
gone without being in the playoffs in anywhere he's worked
(14:32):
as a GM or not. I'm talking about throughout his career,
even as a scout. So it's very it's very top
of mind for him, and like, even if he doesn't
talk about it all the time, it's hitting him in
the face every single day. And I think he understands that.
And I thought he shed a little bit of light
on that with that comment. So that was interesting and
(14:52):
I thought notable.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
You know, when you when you look at the Anthony
richards and Daniel Jones situation, I thought he spent more
time Chris ballor did And maybe it's because it's the
guy he knows more so to speak, and he brought
in both. But I thought he he was asked for
about Richardson. I get that, but he seemed to go
far more and more in detail about expectation and et
(15:16):
cetera of Anthony Richardson than Daniel Jones. But you were there.
Am I misinterpreting what I heard?
Speaker 3 (15:24):
No, I think that's fair. And I would also add
he was asked far more questions about Anthony Richardson because
I do think that there are That's where the questions exist, right,
I mean, can Anthony Richardson figure this out and hold
on to his job? Daniel Jones, Well, there are questions
about how it's going to go with him. I think
(15:46):
it's more I think people have an expectation in their
mind of how he'll perform and what he'll be, and
with Anthony Richardson, it's a little more wide open, I guess,
you know. So the questions were certainly more geared toward
Anthony Richardson, no question about that, and so the feedback
was as well. I would also say, though he certainly is,
(16:08):
I think he could argue Chris Ballace more invested in
Anthony Richardson. Frankly, they all are. I mean, if Daniel
Jones comes in and wins the job and play is
sort of like just okay, they're not accomplished anything.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Right.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
If Anthony Richardson wins the job and plays at a
decent level, that actually is something to hang your hat on,
because that's progress.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Right.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
So I just think they there's an understanding, certainly by
Chris Ballard, whose job as GM is to look at
the big picture. There's an understanding that like, if they're
going to figure out the quarterback situation, Anthony Richardson having
a good season could be a step toward that, right,
So anyway, I just I just imagine that's kind of
some of the thoughts that that kind of go through
(16:52):
his head and are informing his answers.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
You know, Stephen, I was asking his earlier and I'm
your thought on it. Does the success of the Pacers
in any way take away wind out of the sales
of the Colts season? Because it's in other words, we
see one team in town that was at the top
of the mountain, and the whole city falls in love
(17:16):
with it, and everybody loves the Colts too. It don't
get me wrong. I mean, you know, I'm not saying that.
But then it it the contrast because it's in such
an immediacy, because we're coming right off of it. Does
it make it difficult Do you think for the fan
base to push all in this early, knowing how far
away the franchise may be based on what they just saw.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
That's an interesting question. I I would say, I would
say this, though. The first thing I'd say is that
watching that Pacers run and being there for some of
it and experiencing it and watching how the city embraced them,
it was a reminder for me as someone who covers football.
It was a reminder for me just how long it's
(17:59):
been since the Colts provided any of that. Okay, it's
been a long time, and that's just a really hard
thing to swallow. If you're a Colts fan, you know,
you invest a lot of emotion, a lot of time,
a lot of money in cases into that team and
to not get anything out of it those feelings that
(18:22):
you go searching for as a fan, that's a hard
thing to swallow. So I guess that's where I come
down on it. It's just like you want a return on
investment for what you put into as a fan. And
I'm not even talking about money. Even if you never
buy a ticket, you're still investing your heart and your
emotions in that team, you know, because you give something
(18:45):
of yourself to support your favorite team and you've got
nothing to show for it. If you're a Colts fan
and a very long time, that's a tough thing, man,
That's a very tough thing. So I just think that
the Pacers offered a reminder of what it's like to
get a payoff for that, and if you're a Colts fan,
you're wondering, well, where's the where's the payoff for me?
(19:07):
So that's what that's what I say about it.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
How far off do you think they are? Well, you know,
I think they are.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
They are a team in the AFC that is kind
of middle of the pack, and the question on whether
they can go further than that is a quarterback question, right,
and the quarterback has to elevate the team beyond what
it currently is. And in any team, right, I mean,
(19:40):
if you take the top quarterbacks off of their teams,
then what kind of team are they? What are the
Buffalo Bills If you take Josh Allen off and replace
them with Daniel Jones, Well, they're just probably a middle
of the pack team, you know, And I think that's
that's just where they are. And so when you ask
me where do they stand and where are they? You know,
(20:01):
what is the end game for the Colts? I think
they're a team that's that's in the middle of the pack.
You can't go five hundred anymore because of the unbalanced
schedule at seventeen games, But They're essentially a five hundred
team that can be more depending on the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Steve, it just feels so many reasons. I mean, they're
in it. I mentioned in earlier they're in a division
that's basically the drunk the junk drawer of the NFL.
Speaker 5 (20:25):
Right, yeah, yeah, it's not good enough. Look, I'm not
saying it's good enough. It's not, but that's what they are.
They're a five hundred team, roughly a five hundred team
that could be better if they have better quarterback play.
But the odds of them having that elevated quarterback play
they aren't good, right, because neither quarterback has done that.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
Neither of the two quarterbacks they have have done that.
So where does that leave them? That leaves them eight
and nine, nine and eight and sitting at home in January.
And that's not good enough.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Stephen Holder is our guest ESPN dot com, where you
can read his work, and of course you'll see you
on ESPN as well. All right, tomorrow ten o'clock, everything
gets underway. How long Stephen into the camp do we
go before we start really taking a hyper look at
exactly who's getting the most snaps at quarterback?
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Oh? Tomorrow. I mean, well, I'm exaggerating a little bit,
but there's gonna be a lot of scrutiny. We are
going to be looking at every indicator. And to that end,
Chris Ballard said today, he says everything matters, every rep,
every practice, every game snap, every preseason game snap. He
(21:43):
was very clear, it all matters and it will all
factor into the decision. So I will take my cues
from the general manager and pay attention to all of these.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
How much of it comes into Steven? How much will
factor in just on for example, if they invested a
first round pick Tyler Warren and we know he's going
to be or expect that he's going to be a
very good player right away. Let's say Anthony Richardson is
hitting Ady Mitchell and Alec Pearson stride on every play,
but he can't hit Tyler Warren in the intermediary to
save his life. How much of who it is that
(22:16):
he is able to help or hurt goes into the
factor in the decision, if you will. If Daniel Jones,
for example, is spoon feeding Tyler Warren on the regular
but can't go over twenty four yards with accuracy, you
see what I'm saying there, like, is there one player
that they go but we need to prioritize this guy
(22:38):
in involvement. I don't think that'll.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
Be a basis for the decision now I would say no,
but I do think the scenario you pointed out, the
scenario you painted is not out of the question. You know,
how they evaluate all that we will see, But I
do think that's a reality when you have two quarterbacks
are different. The one thing I'd say Chris Powler did
(23:03):
make this statement, and I tend to agree. He said
their quarterbacks this season are a little more similar than
in the past. So for example, last year you had
Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco. They have nothing in common. Okay,
in terms of stylistically, they don't have anything in common.
I think if you go back to Anthony and Gardner
(23:25):
Minshew for example, right, what do they have in common?
Practically nothing? Right, So this year, while I know we
don't think of Daniel Jones in that way, he is
a guy who can use his legs and uses athleticism,
get out of the pocket, can do quarterback runs. So
they have some commonalities this year, so maybe it'll be
(23:48):
less so when it comes to the disparity between how
they play. But I do think they are different in
terms of explosiveness, There's no question about that. And Daniel
Jones is that guy in his career.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
All right, Tomorrow ten until eleven o'clock practice underway. We
will be out there live tomorrow, by the way, from
twelve until three. Steven Holder will have it all covered
as well as well. Obviously the morning guys, Kevin and
James be out there as well. Steven appreciate it as always,
all right, enjoy the by the way, apened, Is it
really hot outside? Is it gonna be It's gonna be
hot tomorrow, right, plenty of liquids.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
Today was nice. Today was nice, but it's it's gonna
be burning up later this week.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
So welcome, welcome, okay, I got that to look forward
to it, all right, Steven, appreciate it. All right, you go,
Steven Holder joining us on the program.
Okay, I need an audience participation poll here because I
have a legitimate question that I'm curious about, and I
thought about it last night and today, and it's going
to sound like I'm trying to create some sort of divisiveness.
I'm not. I'm usually you know, I'm all encompassing type thing.
(00:22):
But here is my Colt's question for the masses. This
is for the most part, and we've been lucky in
this town because we really have not had long periods
of complete void of excitement from a sports standpoint. Usually
(00:44):
between the two major sports franchises in town, one of
the two is playing at a very high level if
the other is not. For a long time, when the
Colts were finding their footing in the NFL, the Pacers
were rising and were really good. Then the Pacers had
a long period of mediocrity, at which point the Colts
(01:04):
were at their zenith. And then for a while there
they were both clicking at a very high rate. And
then obviously it became especially coming off of the Manning
era and then into luck. I mean, this, without question
was an NFL Colts town. This had transferred to and
(01:27):
I don't know that it was ever first and foremost
an NBA town, but it was certainly a basketball town,
maybe collegiately more than By the way, that cluster truck
you got smells fabulous. What did you get exactly, Ady?
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Korean barbecue salmon, Jacob, that's been your go to, right,
I've had it twice now in the last three weeks.
I had the case of DL last week. What body
of water in Korea do you think they find that salmon?
Are there a lot of streams in Korea?
Speaker 3 (01:53):
No?
Speaker 2 (01:53):
No, no, no, Jake, it's the barbecue sauce. Is a
Korean barbecue sauce. The salmon is the salmon.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
The salmon, No, it's it's it's a it's a barbecued
Korean salmon. Right, it's salmon with barbie. So where in
care So? Where in Korea are they getting the barbecue? Said?
North or South?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Looks like there's pepper and salt in some jasmine rice.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Very good stuff, all right. So here's my question. Now
that the Pacers did what they did and got within
a whisker of an NBA title, Okay, does that in
any way, shape or form alter the enthusiasm that fans
(02:38):
have for the Colt season. I'm not saying that it's shifted,
and I'm not trying to create divide. There is somewhat,
I think a rivalry between the franchises locally, at least
competition for the headlines. And I know that they support
one another, and I know that Jim Mersey, like his
final tweet was about the Pacers playing the Knicks, and
I get all that, and I know that everybody wants
(03:01):
both franchises to do well. But does your excitement for
the Colts season get tempered in any way, shape or
form or altered in any way, shape or form because
of the high that you're coming off of for the
Pacers and how close the Pacers were to a title,
(03:22):
and then the reality of knowing how far the Colts
theoretically are away, because from the Pacers standpoint, like they
made it to the top of the mountain and then
instantly like they let go of the tow rope and
slid back down to you know, Camp base two, and
you know that it's going to be a while before
(03:42):
they get back up there. But nonetheless, they were there
and it was magical. But it's a reminder and it
makes you instantly realize how far away the Colts might
be and then it reinforces or it recreates the reality
in your mind of like, man, look how far it
is to go because they're I mean seemingly they're in
(04:05):
a division that is there for the taking. I mean,
I know, Houston is we think going to be good,
but are they We don't know how good I mean.
And I'm just curious if the season seems to have
win taken out of its sales because of the recency
(04:29):
bias of how good the Pacers were. Did it almost
make the Colts? Did it deemphasize the excitement? I think
for a long time the Colts camp and the Colts
getting back on the playing field, we were super stoked
about it because it had been you know, oftentimes three
to four months before we've seen pro sports in this town,
(04:50):
and that was say a first round exit or a
miss of the playoffs by the Pacers. Now there's so
much interest and intrigue about the Pacers. Has that taken
away from what today is a report day?
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Like people are dreading the start of the Cult season
because they have low expectations.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
And yeah, I don't dreadgs probably the wrong word, but
yes to an extent, right, does it feel like a
more an even more arduous task because you're like, oh man,
you know, in other words, you when you think about
the injury, and then you really stop and you're like,
oh my gosh, they were so close.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
And think about everything that had to happen, and talking
about Tyresee's injury. Yes, okay, and you're like, and you know,
they were so close and to be that close and
then realize and it takes like three or four revisits
in your mind to reinforce and realize that their timeline
(05:46):
was thrown off that much. And now all of a sudden,
you're like, oh man, so the Pacers got to kind
of pick up the pieces and then move forward. And
then you compare that to the Colts, and you're like,
wait a minute, they were never even there to begin with,
and they've kind of been doing any I think you
made a very good point there, the white noise of like,
(06:08):
in all honesty, the Chris Ballard press conference today, same
old bleep, different year. If we put a pulled up
the recording of that from twenty nineteen, would it have
been how different would it have been? The names would
have been different, but would the line, the company line
have been different. It would have been like the same
old thing, right, And so does it feel like because
(06:32):
we finally saw a breakthrough progress on one side of downtown,
does it feel like you're stuck in the mud with
the other one?
Speaker 2 (06:38):
I mean, the players certainly should be in the mindset of, hey,
look what this city did for the pacers and how
they backed them and surrounded them and supported them. Like,
if they're willing to do that for them, they can
certainly do that for us. We've got to, you know,
we got to get our bleep together for the fans
(07:00):
and for the city.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Okay, let me ask you this question. I asked somebody
this earlier. In your kitchen. Right now, I want you
to envision your kitchen. Okay, visioning Heck, I can pull
it up right now. If you're lying, how many we've
got a camp? How many? How many kitchen drawers do
you have? Five? Uh? Six? Okay? Six? Okay, now I
think the far left. You open that up. That's you
(07:21):
got utensils in one of them, right, you're you're far right, okay,
far right. The next to that one, okay, you open
that up. What's in there? Maybe an oven mid or two?
Next to that one? Um, yeah, okay. Then then give
me the third. What's in a third one? I think
(07:41):
we've got the like a container lids? Okay, I'm very organized, Jake. Okay.
Then the fourth what do you have that would be, uh,
the containers okay? And then fifth if we're last or
seven words bags like plastic bags, that type of stuff.
Now here's here's where I'm getting with this. Okay. Then
you get to number six. When you open that drawer
(08:03):
and it probably squeaks half the time. It doesn't open
because something is like higher up than it needs to be.
And you open it up and you look in that
drawer and it's got two sharpies. It's the giant drawer,
a tape measurer, a roll of tape, some random band aid,
and like a phone charger from a phone you had
three generations ago. Right, It's just like eclectic crap thrown
(08:27):
in there, and it feels like in the NFL. The NFL,
that's what the AFC South is, right, eclectic crap. The
AFC South is the junk drawer of the NFL. Right, Yeah,
to the rest of the league. You open it up
and you're like, this is this jaguar And then the Texans.
(08:47):
They're like an expansion, but they're kind of not. They've
been around a while, but they can't get it in
the right direction. And then the Titans, I don't know
what they're doing. And then there's the Colts. And yet
with that division, with the in being in the junk drawsion,
nobody in that division when they win the division and
gets into the playoffs, none of them do anything. I mean,
the Titans went randomly to an AFC title game with
(09:09):
Ryan Tannehill cool. The Jaguars randomly went to an AFC
title game with Blake Bortles cool. Outside of that, each
of them get their turn of the rotation. They get
picked out of the crowd, and the price is right
to come down and spin the big wheel, and they
they spin it and they get on ninety five cents
and instead of taking that, they'd spin it again and
they hit ninety five cents again.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Done.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Drew carries like, thanks for playing, You're gone right every time.
And yet with that, every other team in the division
has won the division twice since Indianapolis last won it.
So is there a feeling for the fan base of
what are we doing here? You gonna find out what's
going on out at Grand Park with Stephen Holder, who
(09:51):
joins us and has surrendered his personal life as he
knows it for the next four months. Joins us. Now
on the guests line, I can hear the Are you
at the Masters? It sounds like you're at Augusta Nationals.
I heard Bertie's chirping. Sounds very peaceful, Stephen.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Oh no, not even close. I wish, well, what's still fine?
It's fine.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
So you're still at Grand Park? Is that right?
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Just left, just left, just round the corner.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah, okay, fair enough, All right, let's begin with this
early well from a health standpoint, and obviously I'm going
from afar because I got in here right as things
were kind of getting both you know, settled in from
report day and then Chris Ballard speaking. But from what
I was able to tell, there were no reports of
(10:40):
significant injury or miss time, although Zire Franklin is going
to be a spectator for a while. Anything else that
I missed.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
No, that's the encouraging thing I'd say. Anthony Richardson first
off is obviously the big one. You know, as I,
as I said or wrote last week, are indicated he's
he's good. To go. According to Chris Ballard, there may
be some restriction on him in terms of how many
throws they're going to chart his throw so that you know,
(11:10):
they don't have any setbacks there, but they don't have
any concerns according to their evaluation, so that's good. Sire
Franklin is the one I think to watch. He has
had an off season ankle surgery and he's still not
cleared to practice, but Chris Ballard said it won't be
very long, so we will see how that goes and
(11:32):
and see if that.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Proves to be true.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Otherwise, they're they're pretty good. They're in good shape and
Nobode's gonna go on the the puplist. They won't have
any of those and they normally have at least a couple.
They won't have that this year. Sampson epucom at defensive end.
He missed last season as you know with the.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
The Achilles tier. Uh.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
He's cleared, so they feel good about that as well.
So yeah, that's the that's the good news.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
On Day one, Stephen Chris Ballard spent about thirty minutes
answering questions talking with the media. Admittedly, and I'm a
little I go back and forth on this Stephen. I
think he's in a tough spot to an extent in
terms of set out that it's his goal to satisfy
media or fans. But if he comes out and says, look,
I think I'm thrilled about our roster. I think we're
(12:21):
gonna be great. I'm ready for the year. We're gonna
be competitive, we're gonna be tough, then everybody's gonna go
what is this guy talking about? He says the same
thing every year, and yet he comes out and I
thought was a little more humble, a little more realistic
than in years past. And so then we want to
torch him for saying he knows his team in very good.
(12:41):
So it's a little bit of a double edged sword.
Your interpretation of I guess the mood and the approach
from Chris Ballard versus years past was what.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Well, first of all, what I think the thing to
point out is I satement fear. I think the thing
to point out is I think he knows and I
would agree with this. I think he believes Chris Pallor
that they have a good roster, a top the bottom.
I think that's been true for quite some time. Better
this year than last year. I thought last year he
(13:13):
left too many holes on defense. But generally speaking, they
have a strong roster, and they have for quite some time.
The problem is they just can't get it together at quarterback. Well,
what distinguishes your team from the next NFL it's the
freaking quarterback.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Right.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
So now that is a tough thing to navigate when
you're asked, well, why aren't you guys winning more? Well,
the answer you want to be honest and say, well,
because we've sucked at quarterback, But that also oversimplified it,
and it sounds like you're trying to dodge responsibility when
you say that. Right, So he is in a tough
(13:49):
spot sometimes, there's no question about that. I think he
understands that, and he's very perceptive, Chris Pallard. He gets
it like he knows, he understands, he knows how to
read a room, all those things. He's very smart. So
he was very careful in what he says. I would say,
in terms of difference between this year and in the past,
(14:11):
I think that not a ton of difference, except to
say I think that there was more attention paid by
him and his players today to the fact that they
haven't been in the postseason for too long. He even said,
he said, this is the longest in my career I've
gone without being in the playoffs in anywhere he's worked
(14:32):
as a GM or not. I'm talking about throughout his career,
even as a scout. So it's very it's very top
of mind for him, and like, even if he doesn't
talk about it all the time, it's hitting him in
the face every single day. And I think he understands that.
And I thought he shed a little bit of light
on that with that comment. So that was interesting and
(14:52):
I thought notable.
Speaker 1 (14:53):
You know, when you when you look at the Anthony
richards and Daniel Jones situation, I thought he spent more
time Chris ballor did And maybe it's because it's the
guy he knows more so to speak, and he brought
in both. But I thought he he was asked for
about Richardson. I get that, but he seemed to go
far more and more in detail about expectation and et
(15:16):
cetera of Anthony Richardson than Daniel Jones. But you were there.
Am I misinterpreting what I heard?
Speaker 3 (15:24):
No, I think that's fair. And I would also add
he was asked far more questions about Anthony Richardson because
I do think that there are That's where the questions exist, right,
I mean, can Anthony Richardson figure this out and hold
on to his job? Daniel Jones, Well, there are questions
about how it's going to go with him. I think
(15:46):
it's more I think people have an expectation in their
mind of how he'll perform and what he'll be, and
with Anthony Richardson, it's a little more wide open, I guess,
you know. So the questions were certainly more geared toward
Anthony Richardson, no question about that, and so the feedback
was as well. I would also say, though he certainly is,
(16:08):
I think he could argue Chris Ballace more invested in
Anthony Richardson. Frankly, they all are. I mean, if Daniel
Jones comes in and wins the job and play is
sort of like just okay, they're not accomplished anything.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Right.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
If Anthony Richardson wins the job and plays at a
decent level, that actually is something to hang your hat on,
because that's progress.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Right.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
So I just think they there's an understanding, certainly by
Chris Ballard, whose job as GM is to look at
the big picture. There's an understanding that like, if they're
going to figure out the quarterback situation, Anthony Richardson having
a good season could be a step toward that, right,
So anyway, I just I just imagine that's kind of
some of the thoughts that that kind of go through
(16:52):
his head and are informing his answers.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
You know, Stephen, I was asking his earlier and I'm
your thought on it. Does the success of the Pacers
in any way take away wind out of the sales
of the Colts season? Because it's in other words, we
see one team in town that was at the top
of the mountain, and the whole city falls in love
(17:16):
with it, and everybody loves the Colts too. It don't
get me wrong. I mean, you know, I'm not saying that.
But then it it the contrast because it's in such
an immediacy, because we're coming right off of it. Does
it make it difficult Do you think for the fan
base to push all in this early, knowing how far
away the franchise may be based on what they just saw.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
That's an interesting question. I I would say, I would
say this, though. The first thing I'd say is that
watching that Pacers run and being there for some of
it and experiencing it and watching how the city embraced them,
it was a reminder for me as someone who covers football.
It was a reminder for me just how long it's
(17:59):
been since the Colts provided any of that. Okay, it's
been a long time, and that's just a really hard
thing to swallow. If you're a Colts fan, you know,
you invest a lot of emotion, a lot of time,
a lot of money in cases into that team and
to not get anything out of it those feelings that
(18:22):
you go searching for as a fan, that's a hard
thing to swallow. So I guess that's where I come
down on it. It's just like you want a return on
investment for what you put into as a fan. And
I'm not even talking about money. Even if you never
buy a ticket, you're still investing your heart and your
emotions in that team, you know, because you give something
(18:45):
of yourself to support your favorite team and you've got
nothing to show for it. If you're a Colts fan
and a very long time, that's a tough thing, man,
That's a very tough thing. So I just think that
the Pacers offered a reminder of what it's like to
get a payoff for that, and if you're a Colts fan,
you're wondering, well, where's the where's the payoff for me?
(19:07):
So that's what that's what I say about it.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
How far off do you think they are? Well, you know,
I think they are.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
They are a team in the AFC that is kind
of middle of the pack, and the question on whether
they can go further than that is a quarterback question, right,
and the quarterback has to elevate the team beyond what
it currently is. And in any team, right, I mean,
(19:40):
if you take the top quarterbacks off of their teams,
then what kind of team are they? What are the
Buffalo Bills If you take Josh Allen off and replace
them with Daniel Jones, Well, they're just probably a middle
of the pack team, you know, And I think that's
that's just where they are. And so when you ask
me where do they stand and where are they? You know,
(20:01):
what is the end game for the Colts? I think
they're a team that's that's in the middle of the pack.
You can't go five hundred anymore because of the unbalanced
schedule at seventeen games, But They're essentially a five hundred
team that can be more depending on the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Steve, it just feels so many reasons. I mean, they're
in it. I mentioned in earlier they're in a division
that's basically the drunk the junk drawer of the NFL.
Speaker 5 (20:25):
Right, yeah, yeah, it's not good enough. Look, I'm not
saying it's good enough. It's not, but that's what they are.
They're a five hundred team, roughly a five hundred team
that could be better if they have better quarterback play.
But the odds of them having that elevated quarterback play
they aren't good, right, because neither quarterback has done that.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
Neither of the two quarterbacks they have have done that.
So where does that leave them? That leaves them eight
and nine, nine and eight and sitting at home in January.
And that's not good enough.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
Stephen Holder is our guest ESPN dot com, where you
can read his work, and of course you'll see you
on ESPN as well. All right, tomorrow ten o'clock, everything
gets underway. How long Stephen into the camp do we
go before we start really taking a hyper look at
exactly who's getting the most snaps at quarterback?
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Oh? Tomorrow. I mean, well, I'm exaggerating a little bit,
but there's gonna be a lot of scrutiny. We are
going to be looking at every indicator. And to that end,
Chris Ballard said today, he says everything matters, every rep,
every practice, every game snap, every preseason game snap. He
(21:43):
was very clear, it all matters and it will all
factor into the decision. So I will take my cues
from the general manager and pay attention to all of these.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
How much of it comes into Steven? How much will
factor in just on for example, if they invested a
first round pick Tyler Warren and we know he's going
to be or expect that he's going to be a
very good player right away. Let's say Anthony Richardson is
hitting Ady Mitchell and Alec Pearson stride on every play,
but he can't hit Tyler Warren in the intermediary to
save his life. How much of who it is that
(22:16):
he is able to help or hurt goes into the
factor in the decision, if you will. If Daniel Jones,
for example, is spoon feeding Tyler Warren on the regular
but can't go over twenty four yards with accuracy, you
see what I'm saying there, like, is there one player
that they go but we need to prioritize this guy
(22:38):
in involvement. I don't think that'll.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
Be a basis for the decision now I would say no,
but I do think the scenario you pointed out, the
scenario you painted is not out of the question. You know,
how they evaluate all that we will see, But I
do think that's a reality when you have two quarterbacks
are different. The one thing I'd say Chris Powler did
(23:03):
make this statement, and I tend to agree. He said
their quarterbacks this season are a little more similar than
in the past. So for example, last year you had
Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco. They have nothing in common. Okay,
in terms of stylistically, they don't have anything in common.
I think if you go back to Anthony and Gardner
(23:25):
Minshew for example, right, what do they have in common?
Practically nothing? Right, So this year, while I know we
don't think of Daniel Jones in that way, he is
a guy who can use his legs and uses athleticism,
get out of the pocket, can do quarterback runs. So
they have some commonalities this year, so maybe it'll be
(23:48):
less so when it comes to the disparity between how
they play. But I do think they are different in
terms of explosiveness, There's no question about that. And Daniel
Jones is that guy in his career.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
All right, Tomorrow ten until eleven o'clock practice underway. We
will be out there live tomorrow, by the way, from
twelve until three. Steven Holder will have it all covered
as well as well. Obviously the morning guys, Kevin and
James be out there as well. Steven appreciate it as always,
all right, enjoy the by the way, apened, Is it
really hot outside? Is it gonna be It's gonna be
hot tomorrow, right, plenty of liquids.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
Today was nice. Today was nice, but it's it's gonna
be burning up later this week.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
So welcome, welcome, okay, I got that to look forward
to it, all right, Steven, appreciate it. All right, you go,
Steven Holder joining us on the program.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com