September 3, 2025 • 48 mins
Today’s Best of Features:
(00:00-13:46) – CBS football analyst Charles Davis joins Jake Query to preview Sunday’s game between the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins. Charles admits that he loves the offensive playmakers that the Colts have, believes that this will be a season for Daniel Jones to prove that he can be a starting quarterback in the NFL, and states that Anthony Richardson’s injuries the last two years have put the Colts in this position.
(13:46-25:29) – Scott Agness from Fieldhouse Files joins Jake Query to preview the current WNBA Playoff Picture for the Indiana Fever with four games left on the schedule. Scott still believes that Caitlin Clark will play before the end of the regular season for Indiana. Plus, he comments on where Tyrese Haliburton is at in his recovery from his torn achilles with a video of him shooting free throws being released.
(25:29-48:37) – Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame makes his first appearance on the show this NFL season to chat with Jake Query about his expectations for the Indianapolis Colts with Daniel Jones at quarterback and what it would take for the Colts to realistically trade Anthony Richardson. Finally, the two discuss which team could be surprisingly good, a team that could be bad despite high expectations, and a team that will be a total dumpster fire this season.
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):
All right, let's get right to it. The year gets underway.
Of course for the Colts coming up this Sunday against
the Miami Dolphins Lucas Oil Stadium on the microphone for
that with the NFL on CBS. He is a friend
of this radio station, always good with this time. Charles
Davis will be on the call for that game. Charles,
I appreciate the time. Let's get right to this as
(00:20):
you have started to kind of break down and at
the beginning of the year, you know, we kind of
don't know what teams are and who's going to be who.
But when you look at Indianapolis, what jumps out of
you is perhaps an area that surprised you of either
more efficient or more deficient than what you expected before
you really broke into who they are.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Oh that's a great, great question. I think surprise isn't
the proper word, but I think maybe a realization again
once more being reintroduced to the fact that this offense
has plenty of talent on that side of the ball.
And I think they've done a nice job over the years.
You know, I know Chris Baller catches a lot of
(01:01):
grief for different things, you know, how it is as
a GM, right, But if Ryan Kelly is going to
be gone, and Will Fryes, who came on and played
so well before getting hurt, is also gone, who.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Do you have?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Well they've drafted in recent years, HANNERBORDERLINI ended up winning
the center job before Danny Pintry even got hurt. And
you know, Matt is it Gonzalez? I want to make
sure I get this rrect does Yeah, thank you. I'm
trying to remember for my draft days, all right, But
Matt Gonzalez, he will have to prove that he can
play guard because he's been a tackle, but they like
his potential. And Braden Smith is kind of my north
(01:36):
star for this. Many thought he was in tackle. Everybody
thought he was a guard. He's done quite well at tackle.
So I think the culture, I think they're doing a
really nice job evaluating these positions. So I really like
this offensive lines potential going in and then all the
people on the perimeter drafting Tyler Warren, having Jonathan Taylor.
(01:57):
So of course it comes back to everything that we
always talk about, right, I mean, there's just no getting
around it, is there. What kind of quarterback play will
they get with Daniel Jones becoming their new starter.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Yeah, and that's the you know, here's what I mentioned earlier, Charles,
and I want you to tell me if this is
the dumbest sports talk radio armchair quarterback thing you've ever heard, Okay,
and that is that you know, Daniel Jones is perhaps
a quarterback that has a more defined ceiling and a
very clear understanding of that ceiling. But I think they
(02:30):
if they know that going in, they can cater an
offense around what he can do and actually be reliant
on the playmakers to make plays as opposed to the quarterback.
And they get in danger a little bit a year
ago with Anthony Richardson of waiting for the light to click,
and there was just too much inconsistency. So you may
not have the highs with the Daniel Jones, but you
(02:53):
have a better understanding of keeping it within what the
governor wants and just letting it naturally flow. And that's
what they're going to be reliant upon for him.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Well, but before I get into my answer, let me
just start with this. We've we've talked time, you know
a number of times over the years. Dumb has never
been a part of your game. Okay, Thanks and it's
and it's not starting now. I think what you laid
out is a very good blueprints the wrong word road
(03:26):
maps the wrong word now until proven differently. But let's
call the supposition, all right, this is how it could be.
Here's where I think the Colts fans are sitting on
the edge of their seats and thinking to themselves, could
it be more? Because I think with Daniel Jones, we
(03:46):
keep coming back to hey, he doesn't push it downfield.
Look at his yards for completion or yards for attempt.
Its really low. And you know, even though Anthony Richards
didn't complete a lot of passes when he threw it,
he threw a downfield and blah blah blah blah blah.
I think to go back and look at who he
was throwing to with the Giants, Malice Neighbors wasn't.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
There, all right? It wasn't that type of a wide
receiver unit.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
And he made the most of what he could. He
has more than enough arm. So if all of a
sudden you look up and Alice Pierce has pierced the defense,
see what I did there?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Well?
Speaker 2 (04:22):
And if you look up and Tyler Warren is stretching
the scenes right and Josh Downs has shaking someone and
maybe good have the little wheel and gone up field.
There's plenty of arm there. We might see a little
more of Daniel Jones than maybe people expected to see.
And I do believe if that happens, Jonathan Taylor will
(04:43):
be in heaven because now things the field opens up
even more for him and that's what he needs.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Is it possible, Charles, that the Colts finally said to
themselves because of it? And I don't mean this as
a knock on Anthony Richardson, but let's just say, because
of the young inconsistency of Richardson, is it possible that
they needed to do a redirect at the quarterback position
to simply be able to itemize properly who they have offensively?
(05:08):
Because if Michael Pittman Junior is going to be a
long term receiver in the league, if Pierce is actually
a consistent deep ball threat, if Ady Mitchell can get uncorked,
you've got to be able to consistently get them the football.
And this allows them to actually find out what they
have everywhere else as opposed to the quarterback position. Is
there a possibility that's the thought process?
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Sure, there's a possibility in that I think more. I'm
leaning more towards I don't care what you're doing yards
per completion wise, If you're the low fifty percent in
this league throwing the football in twenty twenty five, it's
just not sustainable. It's just not Tim Tebow was the
(05:53):
one mold breaker for a season where he ran Denver
into a playoff spot and hit one of the better
throws you're ever going to see in the playoffs when
he hit Jamarius Tomas across the middle against Pittsburgh. But
all in all, with his completion percentage, it's a hard slog, right,
It's hard to go like, you know, I'll make it
(06:15):
a general comment here because I don't have the stats
in front of me. I'm pretty sure Tim was around
fifty percent. Is a thrower, Okay. It's hard to win
every week in this league if your quarterback is five
of seventeen going into the fourth quarter. Now, Tim Tebow
had a magic to him. We know that. I think
he'll possess until it's all over for him. There's a
(06:38):
magic to him as a person just to match him
as a player. But you can't go into the fourth
quarter expecting, hey, this is going to snap together and
he's gonna put together this drive. And he did it often,
so he started to think that that's just how it was.
There isn't a coach alive, a head coach alive, and
there's not enough pepto bismal tombs and whatever else you
want to use, may lox whatever that they can live
(07:00):
seventeen games on that high wire act because you're putting
too much pressure on the defense. Unless you have the
two thousand Ravens or the eighty five Bears or pick
your defenses out there consistently, that's just not going to
work for you over time. And that's what people knew
because remember Denver, you know, hey, we've made the playoffs.
That's gat we got get a quarterback and we got
Peyton Manning, you know, I mean, it's just kind of
(07:23):
how that has to work for Anthony Richardson. All of
that is there. I firmly believe that they thought by
now in year three, he would have played enough that
they could have gotten past a lot of things. But
because of his injuries, that plan got shot. Does that
make sense to Yeah, because because he was supposed to
(07:44):
play himself into understanding how to play the position because
the only thirteen starts at Florida. But when you're missing
most of your seasons. You see where I'm going with this.
They did not get that experience they expected to get
in terms of on the job training, and so now
he has to retool. I'm like Chris Ballard, I'm not
counting him out. Is too young, he's too talented. We've
(08:04):
seen too many guys bounce back. You're crazy if you don't.
We're not even talking about guys who came back as veterans,
Doug Williams, Jim Plunkett. Those guys want Super Bowls. So
let's not count him out at all. But for right now,
I can understand why the Colts made the move.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
They did forty seven point nine percent completion percentage for
Tim Tebow in his career. I think Richardson's like right
at fifty one. If I'm not so very similar, yes,
and similar prototype of body, athleticism, etc. Charles Davis is
our guest. He'll be on the call Colts and Dolphins
coming up week one. Charles, I want to get to
this real quick before because I know you're busy. I
(08:42):
always ask this at the beginning of the year it's
one of my fun subjects. I'm going to give you
three categories, and when I do, I just need you
to tell me what team most comes to mind. Okay.
Category one the team that we don't talk a lot about.
There hasn't been a lot of hype and expectation. They
don't jump off the page at you. But around Halloween
(09:02):
into November, all of a sudden, we're gonna go, are
they good? They're like six and three. Now, we haven't
talked about them at all, and I think they might
be good. This is last year's version of say the
Washington Commanders. That team this year could be who Seattle? Okay.
Number two is the opposite of that. This is the
team that we've talked a lot about. There's some praise,
(09:23):
there's a little bit of hype about them, some buzz,
and all of a sudden, we may say, is it
not going to take off for them? Like, I don't
know what's going on, but they're sucking the mud?
Speaker 2 (09:32):
That team would be who Oh, that's a great one.
San Francisco potentially okay.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
And then lastly, now this is my favorite one. This
is the what in the heck? I just got an
alert that Sam Ellinger is the starter for the rest
of the year, and Jeff Saturday's gonna coach. No, no, no,
I'm not saying literally if you go back to that
season when that happened with the Colts every every year,
so this is that honorary year. In other words, the
team that all of a sudden, just every door they
(10:11):
try to turn, the knob on is locked and the
year just goes haywire and there's turmoil and who in
the world expected this? But man, this is just NonStop
drama that team is going to be. And you can't
say the Dallas Cowboys because this.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Is because yeah, that's that's just that's just natural, right, correct, ooh,
NonStop drama. Everything's just kind of gone haywire. The whole
thing's kind of gone out of whack. Cleveland's too easy.
You can't do that.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
Sorry.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
How about the Chargers?
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Okay, okay, I can kind of see that because.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
And I don't and I don't really truly believe it,
but it's got that type of a you know, if
anything is going to go haywireing crazy because what they
did last year was really rested with a lot of
one year contracts, right, a lot of bedroom guys. But
they still have a totally solid cap yet, and it
made a lot of moves that looked pretty good. But
I'm telling you, ver Shaun Slater's injury, now you're bounced
(11:12):
in all. Now you've got to play Trey. You see
where I'm going with this, and that division is abs
because the Raiders are now going to be a legitimate squad. Okay, Carroll,
there's no.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Stands The Raiders was. The Raiders was my pick for
what you said about Seattle. Like I just I feel
like the Raiders are one of those that I like it,
you know, and I like Gino Smith. I don't is
he you know, is he Doug Williams? Perhaps not? Is
he Joe Montana perhaps not? But I think that he
can be a perfectly sufficient you know.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
I like him.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Right, I'm with you.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
And the reason you and I think have landed on
it is Pete Carroll is proven understands how to win.
The teams got a got a good GM with him
in John Spytech. They they're they're locked in like he
was with John Schneider, and there's a there's better talent
there than people know. And I like the additions of
what they did. Listen drafting genty, I can hear people
don't drift the back, They'll draft the back. I get it. Okay, fine,
(12:03):
but guess what the way they're going to play draft that?
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Yeah, it softened some things up elsewhere, right, It gives
you like that, it draws things in there all right. Lastly, Charles,
in your opinion, and I know that it's very early here,
but if you look at it, and this is always
of course saying and assuming that that health is not
a concern, the ceiling for Indianapolis, in your opinion, is.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
What eleven wins. Okay, yeah, eleven wins. It's a division
that you know, everyone looks at and thinks that they
can get right. I think it's a tougher year to
get right because I think Houston last year was ripe.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
To be had.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Remember they had the rollicking roller coaster of that first year,
just so much fun, right, And the second year everybody
challenged them and they were floundering for a while, took
an eight count and came back and finished the season
and won a playoff game. I think that they're now
battle tested. So if you're gonna go get you got
to go truly get them now like I think they're
(13:02):
in that echelon now. Of Hey, we're pretty good and
we know it and we know how to handle some bumps. Well,
let me tell you what the vision that people can
jump up and go get people. I really believe that
Daniel Jones plays well. I think this is a very
talented roster in Indianapolis.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Okay, go out and get yourself a hat and gloves,
because if they win eleven games, we'll put you in
the parade in January down Meridian Street.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
Right now. No, hey, no one wants to see me.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
Faris Buellery.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
There we go a little twist and shout Charles, appreciate it, man.
I know you're busy. We look forward to the call
on Sunday, and I appreciate you squeezing in some time
for us.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Thanks for having time for me. Always great to talk
with you. You take care of yourself.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
I appreciate Charles Davis joining us again Colts Dolphins Sunday,
Lucas Oil Stadium. He will be on the call. But
let's talk about ODU and Indiana and what was good
or bad for the Hoosiers if we can even determine either.
Joining us now on the always busy and available for
your company to sponsor guest line. He is with the
(13:59):
blooming In Herald Times. I know that it's not the
telephone bloomten held Times. Our friend from Bloomington, Mike, joins
us on the program. Mike, let's begin right away with that.
And that is when you were able to assess this
Indiana team. What was a question that you had going
in that you felt like you got a better answer
on after game number one?
Speaker 4 (14:22):
An interesting question.
Speaker 5 (14:23):
I mean I thought, look, the veterans all kind of
acclimated and there was no sort of I mean you
talk about giving the first big run and you know
there was no panic. This is a very related team.
And even though I think they struggled, this wasn't a
team that kind of lost itself like they were. You know,
they respotted each time, right the punt return. You know,
(14:46):
they had the run zone struggles, but they still put
together long drives like nothing snowballed. Yeah, it didn't look great,
didn't look perfect, but I think you saw kind of
the leadership. You saw sort of all the veteran presidents
on both sides of the ball that look, we're going
to get this. Even though maybe it doesn't look quite
as pretty.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Do you if there was an area Mike that an
open disclaimer, I didn't see the game live, right. I
went back and I watched highlights of it and looked
at the box score and et cetera. A little bit dangerous,
I realized. But I was working a race this weekend.
But I saw the vast majority of it. And it's
easy to say, well, I mean, yeah, they gave up
(15:23):
a big run right at the beginning. This idiot's going
to say the run defense. Look, but it seemed like
they were susceptible to at times chunk yardage plays. Now
does that mean nitpicking from Afar or is that an
accurate area of concern?
Speaker 5 (15:37):
Well, it was too basically a book under the game
with the long runs. I think what's concerning about it
is that, you know, the lasting image of the last
game last year was the long run they gave up.
I know that wasn't a quarterback, but Jeremy Love obviously
with the touchdown run. That sort of changed that complexion
of that game. And you know you can do it
right at the start in week one. That's a concern.
And then the other part of it is that you're
(15:58):
going to face mobile coquarterbacks here, you know, five or
six times this season. And so with all those guys
on your schedule, when your quarterback run defense shows some
significant issues, even though you know, you know, really relegated
to two plays, I do think it's a concern.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
You got to get it cleaned up.
Speaker 5 (16:16):
You got to get it fixed just because of what
you've you know, you've now shown those teams kind of
on your schedule like, hey there's an opening here. We
got to prove that we can can stop those things.
You'll get another chance this weekend against Kennesaw State, but
I mean you have a couple of those in the
Big Ten as well, and so you got to be uh,
you know, Ry Leonard really hurt them last year. They
couldn't you know, get them down and then and then
(16:36):
obviously they allowed the big run. But I just think
it's a you don't want it to be a symptom
of a larger problem. And you know, obviously you can't
be happy when you give up to you know, look
was as many seventy plus yards as they gave up
all last season.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
So you know, not great in one game.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
What did you think of for Nanda Mendoza.
Speaker 5 (16:55):
Uh you know, you saw he made He makes the
beautiful throw to Omar Cooper Junior, you know, fifty plus
yards effortless and you know Cooper drops. It doesn't help
him out, but I mean in that moment you kind
of saw like, oh yeah, this guy can make all
these throws. I think what you also saw was a
quarterback that maybe he's getting used to having time in
the pocket. You know, how many times did he get
(17:16):
to his fourth option last year at Cal when he
was sacked forty times? You know, he was taking one
read to read quick quick outs, you know, and doing
a lot of those things, better aggressions getting the ball
to his targets. I think he saw start in the
third quarter a little bit. You know, he got people
involved because I mean everything in the first quart first
half really was to EJ. Williams, you know, five or
five catches and Sarat didn't have any. And so, you know,
(17:39):
I think it's a work in progress a little bit.
I kind of assumed, you know, look, yes he has
you know, basically a season and a half of experienced
but Curtis Rore came in with like five years of
practice under his belt and multiple years of starting beyond
just just you know, one full season, like he was
a more fully formed product. I think Mendoza has the
higher ceiling with his arm, but I do think of
(18:00):
you know, these are almost like a preseason here, ramping
up until we get to Illinois, and I think it's
good experience he gets in this offense, and I think
he'll look better here.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
And you know, three weeks, three four weeks.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
But I kind of maybe expected a little bit of
what we saw, just because you know, this was a new,
you know, completely new system for him, new offensive line.
He's got to get used to. You know, you pick
up some bad habits when you're run for your life
every snap.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Do you more commonly refer to yourself as Michael or
Mike Mike? Because I noticed your bylines, you know, your
professional things are Michael. I wanted to be respectful of
which way you prefer to be addressed.
Speaker 5 (18:38):
It's it's it's I really don't nitpick, but Mike is
probably more common. But yes, everything on my bylines is Michael.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Again, Michael, better known as Mike to his friends and family,
which we consider ourselves. Both from the Herald Times in Bloomington,
talking about Indyana football here on the guest line, Mike,
when you look at the Big Ten in general, because
I think, you know, it's just so fascinating now with
college football right out of the box, you've got you know,
in Clemson and LSU. You know that one of a
(19:06):
top five team is going to lose. That happened to
be Clemson, Ohio State, Texas, same thing, Texas. On the
short end, Notre Dame, Miami. Notre Dame's down one. But
yet with the twelve team playoff now you already here
in September, start keeping an eye on it. The Big
Ten has kind of power played this of creating the
narrative of multiple Big Ten teams and et cetera. How
(19:28):
many this year do you think the Big ten? Really?
What is the number? I don't mean the teams. What's
the number you think the Big Ten could get in?
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Four? Yeah, I mean that's that's the number I believe. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Okay, So those four you're looking at it and you say,
I mean, Ohio State pretty safe, Penn State pretty safe
barring disasters here, right, I think you'd say Oregon, Right, Yeah,
Indiana's right in that mix. So they going into it,
they may be approaching things differently psychologically than a year
(20:05):
ago in what way because a year ago, I don't
know that anybody was talking Indiana college football. Maybe church
signetti behind closed doors, but nobody nationally was how is
Indiana handling that sort of a national diskinson attention or microscope.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Well, I think they were.
Speaker 5 (20:20):
I mean, they were basically in that eye of the
storm at the end of last year when people kind
of uh, you know, kind of Michigan on were kind
of every week.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Well I know, but I mean, but just in terms
of the outset of the season, I mean, like this
particular year, this September looks different than last September.
Speaker 5 (20:35):
How But my point is I think that prepared them
from being like they've literally been the topic of discussion
since then, right, and so they've kind of had to
deal with all of that, and so they had to
play under that, and obviously, you know, responded beat Michigan
and then crushed Purdue to even get in the playoffs.
So I think you saw a little of that and
it hasn't sort of stopped, and so like, I don't
(20:55):
think they are foreign to it. And also, you know
them you kids were ten and zero, I believe the
year before. So, like I mean, the core of this,
I think team has dealt with a little bit of that,
and obviously you brought some transfers that, you know, Pat
Kugan had notre dame guy that knows how to play
sort of under that spotlight and expectations. So I do
think that this team is probably more prepared than they
(21:18):
were maybe even even last year as they sort of
faced that, because you know, there was a lot to
put on a team. But now they've sort of had
the run up and I think there's mostly sort of
turned it off. I know a lot of the guys
talks about kind of deleting social media, they kind of
ignoring all that that conversation and not paying any attention
to it, and I think they've used it more as
fuel in terms of like, look, because most of the
(21:39):
stuff has been questioning whether Indiana blongs right and people
saying they they don't. I don't think it's been flowers
they've been getting for being part of the playoff picture.
It's been quite the opposite, Like people question their schedule,
people calling them a fluke, and these are a lot
of guys that weren't heavily recruited, you know, felt ignored
for by power for teams, and they've sort of added
this to be like, look, we need to prove them wrong.
(22:00):
And so, you know, I don't think that the auto
even performance, I don't sort of attribute to that part
of it, like dealing with expectations, like I think that
part they'll be fine. I just think this was a
new team that you know, obviously didn't get anything right
in week one, but it's gonna you know, come back
and try to get it fixed. But no, to your point,
I think it's a team that will be able to
sort of handle the spotlight when it comes, you know.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
I think that it's gonna be huge that Illinois Indiana
game on the tour twentieth.
Speaker 5 (22:26):
I mean that'll be a real big point, you know, uh,
get talked up because Illinois obviously is getting cut of
some of the you know chatter about being the next Indiana.
Then in two weeks after that, the Organ game. Those
are big moments that I think they'll be able to handle.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Hey, what kind of dude is Kurt Signetti. I mean
we know what he's like as a coach, you know,
but what, like I assume you've been around him a
little bit. What kind of dude is he?
Speaker 5 (22:46):
I mean, he is what he is, right Like, I mean,
I don't think anything that he does is for show,
right like I mean, like it's he's the you're getting
the genuine article when he's at the podium. And this
is basically I mean from what I've been told, how
he's been his entire career. And you know, I know
people have covered him in the past and you know,
(23:07):
we said he's a film guy. Like he's not lying.
Like when I've I've interviewed him, sat down and he
you know, kind of pulled up his computer and showed
me what he was doing, and it's like film like
it's it's it's just you know, he goes through it
and sorts all this stuff and spends hours on it.
Speaker 4 (23:21):
I mean, that's just that's what he is.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Hey, what do you think of the Mike Nideck as
our guest from the Bloomington Herald Times, what did you
think of the Bison? It's the debut of the Bison.
Your thoughts.
Speaker 5 (23:34):
I mean, it did a nice job with the production
of it. I'm with the plane. I don't know if
you saw the you know, the the replay of him
flying on the plane.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Right.
Speaker 5 (23:45):
Yeah, And so you know, one of the things it
ties back to, honestly, what Kurtzy and he said about
improving the atmosphere and giving people you know, he chotted
the fans for leaving it halftime, but the idea of
giving people a reason to stay, giving kids a reason
to stay, all that ties in. You're trying to you know,
improve the you know, be with the big boys and
and and you know, it seems silly that a mascot
(24:06):
would be part of that, but it is. It's it's
the atmosphere making it, you know, getting fans the reason
to come and and and get loud and do things,
and that just adds all to it.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
You know, kids can join the Who's Your Buddies? Uh,
the Who's Your Bison Buddies Club? Eddie, would you like
to join the Who's Your Bison Buddies Club? I'm not
a kid, I know, as much as like I think
I am, I know, but I'm a big fan of
mascots and like they give out T shirts and the
whole deal. You think I could rig it? Just sign
up for it and be a I'd like to be
a Hoo's Your bison buddy, Mike, do you have kids?
Are there? Who's your bison buddy?
Speaker 4 (24:37):
I do have kids. They're not. Who's your bison buddies yet? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Oh yet? Yes, Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
We'll see.
Speaker 5 (24:43):
We'll see what the bison does. We'll see how he does.
They're gonna wait. You gotta look at them films.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
The bison's here for the long haul though, right they're not.
They're not packing in early on the bison. He's here
for good.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
We'll see. I well, if they had lost that game,
I don't know. Does he go right around the plane.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Like in like in like seventy eight or whatever it was.
They brought the bison out for like three weeks. He
had a big nose ring, and then all of a
sudden he went back to whatever band he was with.
We never heard from you.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
You never know.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
He's that he could change his mind.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Apparently he liked a roam. Well, we get a life
bison at one point, that'd be awesome, but Colorado's Colorado's
kind of got the market on that, unfortunately. But that's
a buffalo, not a bison, right, all right, Mike, we
appreciate the time as always, man look forward to talking
to you again.
Speaker 4 (25:22):
Absolutely, guys, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
Mike Nisilik joining us from the Bloomington Herald Times. As
I mentioned earlier, I don't know what to think of
the fact that in our time together, that's the best
audio Eddie Garrison can come up with to commemorate the
fact that it is, in fact, like a completely meaningless birthday.
I mean, I don't every birthday is meaningful, but fifty
(25:45):
three doesn't rank where like fifty or sixty or you
know that. I'm at the point now where it's just
the decades only. But in fact, thank you to everybody
who has wished me a happy birthday. It is greatly appreciated.
And I am well aware of the fortunes you know
of kind of living the dream truth be told and
with me, that's right, that's the biggest fortune ever. It
(26:07):
is the why win the one billion power ball where
you can spend a day with me every day? Yeah, well,
I can tell you, not that I've done the numbers,
but it would be three hundred and twelve million dollars
after taxes that you walk away with. And that would
probably mean that Eddie, you're hosting on Wednesday or Thursday
or whatever day after the drawing. But nonetheless, I do
(26:28):
appreciate everybody listening to this show and making that every
day possible for us. Joining us now on the program
on the always busy guest line, of course, he is
with Sports Illustrated. We talk a lot of football with him,
and he is a huge fan of the Taco Bell Cantina.
We've talked about that downtown. Matt Verderam joining us on
the show. Matt, how are you?
Speaker 3 (26:49):
I'd be better if I wasn't a Taco Bell CANTEENA
but I'm fine. How are you doing?
Speaker 1 (26:52):
We're good? Thank you. Listen. I'm going to begin right
right out of the box with this. I'm very curious
of the national perspective here because I feel like, and
I fear, and I want you to tell me if
I'm wrong. I worry that the Colts have actually become
this franchise that you know, we put in the same
(27:14):
category as like the Arizona Cardinals or the shar or
the Carolina Panthers, like if you, if you weren't in market,
they're kind of nationally obscure and anonymous. Is that where
Indianapolis is now?
Speaker 3 (27:30):
Yeah? I mean to be honest, to be brutally honest, Yeah,
I think I think a lot of it is just
the quarterback situation, and you look at it and go,
all right, what is the realistic feeling for that team?
Like if everything reasonable, you know, good health, no, no
crazy dad luck? Like what if it is the division?
(27:53):
The division is sexy, Like nobody in that division stands out.
I mean cam Ward is a number one picking the draft.
He's a quarterback. I can't think of a quarterback because
the numb one picking the draft has been talked out
last cam Warden. It feels and you barely exist nationally.
Jacksonville is not a team that Audill spend a lot
time talking about. Thank Houston last year had buzz this
year at the opposite. But the culture's just no. I
(28:16):
was at camp, I saw them. They were a part
of the tour. And I think the roster is good,
like I really do like the roster. But when you
look at those quarterbacks, I think from a national perspective,
you just go, well, yeah, we're in a conference with
Mahomes and Borrow and Allen and Lamar and Shroud and
Herbert and the sober They're not going to be relevant
to have a quarterback, You know.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
The matt I keep going back to this and at
the quarterback position. I'm weighing back and forth, and I
want you to tell me because you have a better
perspective here, because you you look around and you cover
multiple franchises. You know we're pigeonholed a little bit to
our understanding, being Indianapolis, you have a better barow of comparison.
(29:02):
Do you believe that Daniel Jones has been selected by
Shane Steichen as the starting quarterback because they really feel
that Daniel Jones could be getting a second lease here
and with a better roster, can be a better quarterback
than what we saw in New York at no fault
of his own, or do you believe it simply is
because they just don't think they can go with Anthony Richardson.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
So I think it's a combination of a few things.
And look, one of them is I remember the Dad
was there. It was about a hundred degrees, but it
was I remember I was there with Jeremy Fowler of ESPN,
Zach Kiefer of course, of the Athletic, and then there
was another gentleman from USAFA's getting his name. But we
were in a breakout group with Anthony Richardson and at
(29:47):
one point, I've got which one was asking the question.
He was talking in a powerphrase. He essentially said, we know,
I've just learned that I've got to stop slacking all
he said that. We all just kind of looked at
each other, like that's that's a hell of a quote
from a coat. I let my camp report with it.
That is, maybe wants to check it out and read
you can read the deck. And I remember walking out
(30:07):
of it. I thinking, this guy's not gonna win this show.
There's just no way, Like I mean, even if that's true,
and he's totally bought in and he's one hundred, like
you've been here, this is a third year you've been here,
and like that's your that's like where you're at right now,
Like you've got a try hard I just I And
maybe he meant it another way. Who knows, I'm not him,
But the way he said that, that's that's alarming. And
I think look last year when he pulled himself out
(30:29):
of game in Houston. I know the Colts tried to
downplay that. Anybody who's ever been in the locker room,
that's a hard thing come back. You're the quarterback. You
don't play yourself out of the game unless you're dead
or you told to come out of the game. But
that's I mean, there is just no other way. And
so I think part of it was that tall I
did to go Jones. The other part of it is
Psyching looks at Daniel Jones and she's a guy who
(30:51):
has mobility, who completes a high percentage of his passes
and who doesn't throw interceptions. And I think he looks
at that and says, if he can just do that
well for thirty five hundred yards and eighteen touchdowns, but
he plills five picks, I can win with that guy.
We can play better DEFENSEI we've played a year ago.
We can run the heck out of the ball, we
(31:11):
can let our playmakers make plays, and we can we
can go nine and eight and be competitive in this division,
maybe even somehow sneak it out. I think that thirty
seasons Jones where Oliga richardson and go, he might complete
forty nine percent of his passes until fifteen picks. That
you can't win like that in the NFL. I think
that was ultimately the decision.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
Do you think Matt. You know Chris Ballard publicly, I'm
not saying that I believe this, but publicly and I
understand it, Chris Ballard still stands by Anthony Richardson and says,
and I know Anthony Richardson's young. I don't think he's
a bad guy, you know whatever. Do you think the
rest of the league feels that way? If if Arizona
or Caroline, I mean in certain name of franchise, if
(31:52):
somebody said to them, hey, you can have Anthony Richardson
for a fifth round or right now, would they be
tempted by that or do you think the rest of
the league thinks no, thanks.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
I think that for that kind of a compensation, yes,
I think they would have a lot of suitors. But
if I'm in Danapolis, I'm sitting there going, look, Daniel
Jones is a guy long term. I mean, let's just
face it, like he's another guy and Colts fans don't
want to hear because they've had one guy after the
next and Danduel Luckert hired. But Daniel Jones is a
bridge to hopefully not another bridge, hopefully the actual the
(32:22):
actual guy. So I think the culture sitting there going,
look if he trade Richardson, what do we do, Like,
what if Jones is terrible for the first month of
the season, what'd be awful and we're gonna go back
to Richardson. Now, Look, that might be between the rock
and hard place at that point. But you know, I
actually wondered if like a team like the Saints would
(32:45):
call the Colts up and say, hey, look, we'll give
you We'll give you a third round pick for him,
well you know, third fourth round, you know, and they
don't have their fourteenth traded the Bailey fifty Denver Bailey,
but like, we'll give you a third you know, And
maybe maybe it's one of these things where hey, look
it's conditional, like he becomes over here and he plays great,
that like you'll get like a Day three pick two
down the road or something. And I thought they if
(33:06):
a co team like New Orleans did that, like maybe
at that point we're indo, You're like, okay, look, their
third round pick is basically like a late second. But
it's tough. There's just there's a lot going against Richton
right now. He has not been good. He has also
been injured. There's also questions about like committed are you
and then there's also the other side of it two
where it's like, look, you just got benched for Daniel
(33:26):
Jones by a team that's like your fourth overall a
couple of years ago. Like they didn't mention him because
they signed Aaron Rodgers, right, they benched it for Daniel Jones,
who's on a one year contract, who's on the Vikings
practice squat last year. Like, it's just really hard to
get any value for a guy who's in that kind
of situation.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
Yeah, and I think he's also in this real danger zone, Matt,
And you correct me if I'm wrong here. Where the
part of the stigma with Richardson is this point is
the fact that it's between the years. And I don't
mean to say that his lack of intellect, but his
last I mean, there've been very very good, sharp, excellent
TV analyst guys that when the arrows are flying past
(34:07):
him at the quarterback position, just simply could not process.
And that's I think that's the biggest danger is the
narrative is that he can't process. And am I correct
in saying that's a real hard thing to get away from.
Speaker 3 (34:21):
It's a death sentence. I mean, if you can't do that.
There's no there's no fixtion that you're not just all
of a sudden I learned how to. I've always compared
the NFL quarterback position to standing on a freeway. I mean,
it's basically like trying to play quarterback on a freeway.
And you've got to be able to stand in there,
read the progressions, understand. And I think this is the
(34:43):
most underrated thing with fans. You've got to understand what's
going on pre snap. You got to get out of
the huddle and to the line of scrimmage fifteen or
so seconds on that clock and understand, okay, reading the safety,
I'm getting a single high look. I now know that
my ex receiver he's going to be open on this
on this curl route, and I've got to make sure
I hold the safety and then like and you've got
to do all that in the stand up about seven
(35:04):
eight seconds, maybe ten if you get to the line
quick enough. And then if you're wrong, you've got to
be able to adjust. If you're right, you've got to
be able to execute what you know you've got to
do and do all that. Well, you've got four or
five guys who are running a four or five or
two hundred and sixty pounds coming at you like it's
it's hard. There's a reason in the NFL how many
(35:27):
quarterbacks are truly elite players correct six seven. It is
mentally difficult.
Speaker 1 (35:35):
Who's the best in the league at that. I mean,
I know that Alan and Mahomes are outstanding at improvising
when the arrows are flying once they're in the freeway, right,
But give me a guy that doesn't maybe get his
proper due for it. But you're like, man, that guy
is the computer is going the second he breaks the.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
Huddle, I would say it's Burrow, like I think. I
think Burrow when you he very rarely makes a mistake.
I mean he he'll drawing the police on anybody else.
He very rarely does he just throw a ball or
it shouldn't go. I mean, he's he's very, very smart
that way. I do think Mahomes is underrated in that
(36:16):
regard because he's so spectacular post step. But there are
a lot of times with Mahomes where you watch him.
I mean, heck, the game when he's driving against the
Nyers in the Super Bowl is mass I mean, if
you watch the mic up of that He's telling the
guys before they're even breaking the huddle for even sees
their defense, I'm coming to you. I'm gonna throw the
ball right here, I mean there. And that comes with experience.
(36:36):
There are certain guys where just the brain works the
right way. They're they're brilliant attic. Manning, of course, I mean,
you could argue he was the best ever at at
where he would just he was his own offensive coordinator, right,
you know, he was really the last guy to just
call his own plays and and the truly great one.
The Manning's the Brady. Even the Mahomes is like Montana,
those guys they win the play before it even starts.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
But does that I mean, doesn't that even even for
a Manning. I mean, and listen, I covered Peyton Manning's
career from the time, you know, the entire time, right,
even for a Manning, it felt like it took twenty
starts before it started to hit it before it was
finally on the people mover at the airport right where
it's just moving automatically. And that's the chat I mean
(37:23):
to me. And that's the challenge with Richardson is at
some point you also didn get to a point where
you're too far gone right enough times past.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
And that's the thing, like, and that's why I was
curious to shit. I thought after they signed Johns's they playing.
But there was a part of me that held off
writing that because as well, if you're the cult that
you just say, the hell of it, we're gonna play him.
We're gonna play, you know, as long as he's healthy
seventeen games and we're just gonna see did he learn
as he goes And by the end of the year
he's a lot better. Now, apparently they just don't feel
(37:53):
that that's GOP. Look, and this is not just not
Anthony Richardson, Like I'll give you another example in the
league right now that's going to be talked out a
lot more of this year because they're gonna be on
national TV starting Week one. Cale Williams and the Bears,
I mean, that is a thing. Like he got sacked
sixty eight times last year and their offensive line was
not good. The part of that was kle Williams is
(38:13):
just hold on to the ball.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
And get crushed. And if you go back and you watch,
there are times you're.
Speaker 3 (38:18):
Like, man, that ball's just got out. That guy's opened
five yards in front of you, and it's first intent,
like you've got to just get rid of it. And
the games fact at times, and I was at OTA's
with the Bears. I was, I was at training camp
during the joint practice at the Bears, and but he
hit from million nice plays. There were also times I
stood next to a four NFL player during one of
the practices and sitting there talking to him and you know,
like those guys will do he break the huddle. He's like, Okay,
(38:40):
this play, he's got to go here, and that's exactly
what it should have happened. But she's hold the football
and it's like, look that ball. If you're holding the
ball for three plus seconds in the NFL, that's death.
You're either gonna get crushed or something bad's probably gonna
happen onfield. And I think for Richardson, the thing that's
really hurt him is just he has got an experience.
(39:01):
He's been hurt, been out of the lineup, he didn't play.
I mean, he didn't have a thousand pass attempts between
high school and college. It's hard. It's really hard that
the mass or something when you're.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
Not doing it, you know, Matt. I remember Matt verder Rams,
our guest from Sports Illustrated. I remember when going back
to Manning and Tom Moore, and it's a famous story
around here probably, but early in Manning's career he was there.
They're going through live simulations and Manning holds onto the
football and Tom Moore says, what do you doing. You
(39:31):
got to get rid of the ball. And Manning said, well,
nobody was open, and Tom Moore said, that's where you're wrong.
Everybody on that field was NFL open. They're not SEC open,
but they're NFL open. And Manning talks about how you
had to learn that, right. The window is a third
of what it is in terms of the college time.
And I think being able to recognize that, Matt, is
(39:53):
what is so hard for guys, right, and even the best,
even the best, Yeah, I think it struggles to learn.
Speaker 4 (39:59):
That, right.
Speaker 3 (40:01):
It's no, it's so true. Look, you know, I was
actually talking to college about all this stuff the other
day about quarterbacks, and you know, look, it's it's when
you're playing like let's just say, take Richardson tut so, Okay,
you're playing best team if you're playing Alabama playing Georgia,
that team might have defensively speaking, three to four NFL
starters on it, and the rest of those guys are
(40:23):
by NFL standards, are guys like you can throw the
ball past the linebackers here, you can throw on that corner.
That safety runs a four to seven, Like that guy's
not closing in time you get to the NFL. I
don't care who you are. If you're in the NFL
and you're playing, you're not a four to seven safety,
you're running a four, four to five. You can drive
on the ball you are. You're breaking on a ball
(40:46):
based on the nation and knowing, Okay, this guy split
his X, I know that based on that spit, he
can run these two routes. And I know that guy
runs out the one route three times more than he
runs the other out. And I'm going to break before
he even throws the football. And that's that's the game
within the game that college doesn't exist. The other part
of it is if you watch the college game this Saturday,
(41:06):
we'll get the hash marks on the field, how wide
they are when the balls on one side of the field.
I thought the coaches about salot recently. When the balls
on one side of the field. That other side, that
wide side is huge. I mean there's acres of space
to just flip the ball out there that doesn't exist
in the NFL. Right, There's no easy little foot throw
(41:26):
for eight yards in the NFL. There's no wide side
like that. So it's the openness that you get on
ten fifteen throws in college football every game that doesn't
exist at the NFL level.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
Okay, Matt, I'm gonna I'm going to introduce you to
this little game we've done. In conclusion, I appreciate your
time at verte Ram because I know you're a busy guy,
especially this time of year. But we've been doing this
all week. I'm going to give you three categories. I
want you to tell me for each the team that
immediately comes into the head of Matt verde Ram. Okay,
I'll describe the team for this season, and then you
(41:59):
tell me which one it matches. Okay, Team number one.
This is the team that you haven't thought a lot about.
You haven't written a lot about him, there's not a
lot of conversation about him. But late October early November,
all of a sudden, you're gonna go, are they good?
Like they're six and three now, and I think they
(42:20):
might actually be good and they just kind of become
that team that you're like, yeah, they had a nice year.
They're the Washington Commanders of this year, like Washington did
last year. That team for you this year is most
likely to.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
Be who they won't go as far as Washington, But
I think it's New England. I think New England's gonna
make the playoffs because I think May is good. I
think it'd be really good. McDaniels is a terrible head
coach because a go offensive coordinator, and Rafels a very
good head coach. They added a lot in free agency.
I love their draft. I think all four of the
first guys they took to fighting Henderson's gonna be real
good immediately in the backfield. I don't think they're going
(42:54):
to challenge Buffalo to win the division, but I think
they're a nine or ten win team.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
Okay, team number two. This is one that you know,
there's usually some talk about them, some conversation. They're kind
of slotted as a playoff potential team, and yet all
of a sudden around November, you're gonna go. I don't
think this is gonna get footing for them this year
that they're just stuck in neutral and they're this year's Bengals,
And I don't know what's going on. That's who the Niners.
Speaker 3 (43:22):
I just don't. I don't. I don't see it, Like
maybe I'm dead wrong. I've hurt Kittles older. McCaffrey is
not older for a running back. He's getting older and
he's hurt a lot. Williams is older. Defensively, it's it's
it's two guys. It's Warner and it's Bosa and it
is nobody else. I just I don't know. I think
that's I would not be shocked if they finished starting.
(43:44):
I think they're like a second okay.
Speaker 1 (43:46):
And then lastly, not named the Dallas Cowboys, the franchise
that after a month or so, it's like, here comes
the drama. There was a fight in the locker room.
Supposedly this guy is unhappy. There's tension with the coaches,
and it's like, you know what, this is the Colts
bringing in Jeff Saturday midyear level total dysfunction and it's
(44:10):
just a year that is wasted.
Speaker 3 (44:11):
That franchise, the team that will be in Indianapolis on Sunday,
not named the coult. I. I just I look at
the Dolphins and I'm not a big like Vibes guy.
I kind of gets over it. That team has been
a disaster this summer. If anything could go, I feel
like we're like a half a football way from Tyreek
hilt is like openly asking to be traded during halftime, like.
Speaker 1 (44:34):
Brown's right, yeah, yeah, I think they're.
Speaker 3 (44:36):
Gonna go to like Evan Washer and whoever the hell's
in the sideline fack game with Tyreek Kilts just told
me he wants to be traded, Like, I just I
don't know. You look at them, like their first two
games of the Colts and their home to Miami, their
home to New England in Miami, and then by the
building on a Thursday night in week three in Buffalo.
It builds like they've better win those first two games,
and I don't think they're gonna But if they do,
(44:57):
like that might be it solved for them a little bit.
If they start out onto it and they're going to Buffalo,
I feel like Mike McDaniel's looking at his job in
like the middle of October. But yeah, I just I
don't see it at all with them. I'd be shocked.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
If they're good, Eddie, you haven't had the breaking news.
Cunder this just in things starting to look up towards
the Colts perhaps winning their first season opening game in
eleven seasons. Matt, do you want to buy?
Speaker 3 (45:25):
I'm them?
Speaker 1 (45:27):
Do you want to guess? If you get this right?
Matt verde Ram, I will actually go down right now.
I will have Eddie finish the show. I will walk
down to the Taco Bell cantina by you gift cards
and a box and ship it out east to you
right now. You ready, if you get this right? The
starting quarterback of the opposition. The last time that the
Indianapolis Colts won a game in Week one was who.
Speaker 3 (45:48):
Oh my god? We was like eleven years ago.
Speaker 1 (45:52):
AFC West AFC.
Speaker 3 (45:54):
All right, I mean I'll throw a dar here and say,
got them?
Speaker 4 (46:00):
Who was it?
Speaker 3 (46:01):
Was it? Manning? No? It was a looking man now, okay.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
I mean got it was it was a good that's
a good. Guess was it?
Speaker 3 (46:10):
Did they beat the Raiders?
Speaker 1 (46:11):
They did?
Speaker 3 (46:12):
Okay, it's just some clown who is a car?
Speaker 1 (46:16):
Some clown? He says it's a raider.
Speaker 3 (46:18):
It's a Raider. They've been atrocious for twenty five years.
It could have been anybody.
Speaker 1 (46:22):
The ar change position. The Raiders, by the way, are
my pick, Matt. For what you said about the Patriots,
I think the Raiders this year are going to be
surprisingly good. Not I'm not saying great, but I think
they're going to be competent. How's that?
Speaker 2 (46:33):
But I mean they could be.
Speaker 3 (46:35):
The hard thing for them is just that position. But
on the flip side, I don't think the Chargers are good,
So maybe the Raiders are better than the Chargers. I mean,
be interesting, you.
Speaker 1 (46:44):
Know, for the answer. What if I told you free
tattoos in college? Oh my god, he switched positions. Yeah,
he was in the pros. Correct, he became a receiver
prior prior, baby.
Speaker 3 (47:01):
Yeah, I gotta tell you, I I don't know if
I'm hanging the banner of that one.
Speaker 1 (47:04):
If I'm the Colts, that counts as half a win.
But we take it.
Speaker 3 (47:09):
Well, I said when I when you said it was
the Raiders, I'm like, it's it's gonna be something ridiculous.
I mean, there was a there was a playoff getting
still like Connor Cook or something like. There's some ridiculous
thing that your car got hurt. Matt mccloye.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
I forgot about that. Yeah, he had a hot girlfriend,
that guy. They kept showing her in the crowd. I
remember that much.
Speaker 3 (47:26):
The game wasn't working.
Speaker 1 (47:27):
Okay, lastly, Matt, are you going to watch the Dolphins
Colts game from Club Applebee's I'm actually.
Speaker 3 (47:34):
Gonna watch it?
Speaker 2 (47:35):
No, thank god, no the answer.
Speaker 3 (47:37):
I am gonna watch it from New York, flying out there.
I'm gonna be out there for the weekend, see a
little family, and then work from out there and then
come back and cover Vikings Bears and then Packers Commanders
on Thursday. And uh no, I am gonna. I'll be
keeping an eye though the Colts. If they lose to
the Dolphins, every alarm bell.
Speaker 2 (47:55):
In the world should go off, But that they have
to win.
Speaker 1 (47:57):
That game they opened the Colts. Do they open a
home with two of them? The Dolphins and the Broncos,
two teams, as I mentioned that, they may well be
if they are hoping to be a wild team. You
know what I mean, they gotta win one, if not
beath of them.
Speaker 3 (48:10):
You gotta win those those games like they counted a
game and a half. You're right, you're talking about you know,
I mean it's Look, I don't think Miami is gonna
be there, but if you're the coult that's gonna be,
have to win and then Denver like it's not like
Denver's offense is unbelieved, go out there and wins seventeen.
Speaker 1 (48:24):
Thirteen with Daniel Jones. That's the game plan, right, that's it, Matt.
We appreciate it, Man as always, safe.
Speaker 3 (48:32):
Travels to you, all right, Hey, thanks a lot to
take care of.
Speaker 1 (48:34):
All right, Matt verde Ram, who is NonStop energy. Guy's
great
All right, let's get right to it. The year gets underway.
Of course for the Colts coming up this Sunday against
the Miami Dolphins Lucas Oil Stadium on the microphone for
that with the NFL on CBS. He is a friend
of this radio station, always good with this time. Charles
Davis will be on the call for that game. Charles,
I appreciate the time. Let's get right to this as
(00:20):
you have started to kind of break down and at
the beginning of the year, you know, we kind of
don't know what teams are and who's going to be who.
But when you look at Indianapolis, what jumps out of
you is perhaps an area that surprised you of either
more efficient or more deficient than what you expected before
you really broke into who they are.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Oh that's a great, great question. I think surprise isn't
the proper word, but I think maybe a realization again
once more being reintroduced to the fact that this offense
has plenty of talent on that side of the ball.
And I think they've done a nice job over the years.
You know, I know Chris Baller catches a lot of
(01:01):
grief for different things, you know, how it is as
a GM, right, But if Ryan Kelly is going to
be gone, and Will Fryes, who came on and played
so well before getting hurt, is also gone, who.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
Do you have?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Well they've drafted in recent years, HANNERBORDERLINI ended up winning
the center job before Danny Pintry even got hurt. And
you know, Matt is it Gonzalez? I want to make
sure I get this rrect does Yeah, thank you. I'm
trying to remember for my draft days, all right, But
Matt Gonzalez, he will have to prove that he can
play guard because he's been a tackle, but they like
his potential. And Braden Smith is kind of my north
(01:36):
star for this. Many thought he was in tackle. Everybody
thought he was a guard. He's done quite well at tackle.
So I think the culture, I think they're doing a
really nice job evaluating these positions. So I really like
this offensive lines potential going in and then all the
people on the perimeter drafting Tyler Warren, having Jonathan Taylor.
(01:57):
So of course it comes back to everything that we
always talk about, right, I mean, there's just no getting
around it, is there. What kind of quarterback play will
they get with Daniel Jones becoming their new starter.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Yeah, and that's the you know, here's what I mentioned earlier, Charles,
and I want you to tell me if this is
the dumbest sports talk radio armchair quarterback thing you've ever heard, Okay,
and that is that you know, Daniel Jones is perhaps
a quarterback that has a more defined ceiling and a
very clear understanding of that ceiling. But I think they
(02:30):
if they know that going in, they can cater an
offense around what he can do and actually be reliant
on the playmakers to make plays as opposed to the quarterback.
And they get in danger a little bit a year
ago with Anthony Richardson of waiting for the light to click,
and there was just too much inconsistency. So you may
not have the highs with the Daniel Jones, but you
(02:53):
have a better understanding of keeping it within what the
governor wants and just letting it naturally flow. And that's
what they're going to be reliant upon for him.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Well, but before I get into my answer, let me
just start with this. We've we've talked time, you know
a number of times over the years. Dumb has never
been a part of your game. Okay, Thanks and it's
and it's not starting now. I think what you laid
out is a very good blueprints the wrong word road
(03:26):
maps the wrong word now until proven differently. But let's
call the supposition, all right, this is how it could be.
Here's where I think the Colts fans are sitting on
the edge of their seats and thinking to themselves, could
it be more? Because I think with Daniel Jones, we
(03:46):
keep coming back to hey, he doesn't push it downfield.
Look at his yards for completion or yards for attempt.
Its really low. And you know, even though Anthony Richards
didn't complete a lot of passes when he threw it,
he threw a downfield and blah blah blah blah blah.
I think to go back and look at who he
was throwing to with the Giants, Malice Neighbors wasn't.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
There, all right? It wasn't that type of a wide
receiver unit.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
And he made the most of what he could. He
has more than enough arm. So if all of a
sudden you look up and Alice Pierce has pierced the defense,
see what I did there?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Well?
Speaker 2 (04:22):
And if you look up and Tyler Warren is stretching
the scenes right and Josh Downs has shaking someone and
maybe good have the little wheel and gone up field.
There's plenty of arm there. We might see a little
more of Daniel Jones than maybe people expected to see.
And I do believe if that happens, Jonathan Taylor will
(04:43):
be in heaven because now things the field opens up
even more for him and that's what he needs.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Is it possible, Charles, that the Colts finally said to
themselves because of it? And I don't mean this as
a knock on Anthony Richardson, but let's just say, because
of the young inconsistency of Richardson, is it possible that
they needed to do a redirect at the quarterback position
to simply be able to itemize properly who they have offensively?
(05:08):
Because if Michael Pittman Junior is going to be a
long term receiver in the league, if Pierce is actually
a consistent deep ball threat, if Ady Mitchell can get uncorked,
you've got to be able to consistently get them the football.
And this allows them to actually find out what they
have everywhere else as opposed to the quarterback position. Is
there a possibility that's the thought process?
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Sure, there's a possibility in that I think more. I'm
leaning more towards I don't care what you're doing yards
per completion wise, If you're the low fifty percent in
this league throwing the football in twenty twenty five, it's
just not sustainable. It's just not Tim Tebow was the
(05:53):
one mold breaker for a season where he ran Denver
into a playoff spot and hit one of the better
throws you're ever going to see in the playoffs when
he hit Jamarius Tomas across the middle against Pittsburgh. But
all in all, with his completion percentage, it's a hard slog, right,
It's hard to go like, you know, I'll make it
(06:15):
a general comment here because I don't have the stats
in front of me. I'm pretty sure Tim was around
fifty percent. Is a thrower, Okay. It's hard to win
every week in this league if your quarterback is five
of seventeen going into the fourth quarter. Now, Tim Tebow
had a magic to him. We know that. I think
he'll possess until it's all over for him. There's a
(06:38):
magic to him as a person just to match him
as a player. But you can't go into the fourth
quarter expecting, hey, this is going to snap together and
he's gonna put together this drive. And he did it often,
so he started to think that that's just how it was.
There isn't a coach alive, a head coach alive, and
there's not enough pepto bismal tombs and whatever else you
want to use, may lox whatever that they can live
(07:00):
seventeen games on that high wire act because you're putting
too much pressure on the defense. Unless you have the
two thousand Ravens or the eighty five Bears or pick
your defenses out there consistently, that's just not going to
work for you over time. And that's what people knew
because remember Denver, you know, hey, we've made the playoffs.
That's gat we got get a quarterback and we got
Peyton Manning, you know, I mean, it's just kind of
(07:23):
how that has to work for Anthony Richardson. All of
that is there. I firmly believe that they thought by
now in year three, he would have played enough that
they could have gotten past a lot of things. But
because of his injuries, that plan got shot. Does that
make sense to Yeah, because because he was supposed to
(07:44):
play himself into understanding how to play the position because
the only thirteen starts at Florida. But when you're missing
most of your seasons. You see where I'm going with this.
They did not get that experience they expected to get
in terms of on the job training, and so now
he has to retool. I'm like Chris Ballard, I'm not
counting him out. Is too young, he's too talented. We've
(08:04):
seen too many guys bounce back. You're crazy if you don't.
We're not even talking about guys who came back as veterans,
Doug Williams, Jim Plunkett. Those guys want Super Bowls. So
let's not count him out at all. But for right now,
I can understand why the Colts made the move.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
They did forty seven point nine percent completion percentage for
Tim Tebow in his career. I think Richardson's like right
at fifty one. If I'm not so very similar, yes,
and similar prototype of body, athleticism, etc. Charles Davis is
our guest. He'll be on the call Colts and Dolphins
coming up week one. Charles, I want to get to
this real quick before because I know you're busy. I
(08:42):
always ask this at the beginning of the year it's
one of my fun subjects. I'm going to give you
three categories, and when I do, I just need you
to tell me what team most comes to mind. Okay.
Category one the team that we don't talk a lot about.
There hasn't been a lot of hype and expectation. They
don't jump off the page at you. But around Halloween
(09:02):
into November, all of a sudden, we're gonna go, are
they good? They're like six and three. Now, we haven't
talked about them at all, and I think they might
be good. This is last year's version of say the
Washington Commanders. That team this year could be who Seattle? Okay.
Number two is the opposite of that. This is the
team that we've talked a lot about. There's some praise,
(09:23):
there's a little bit of hype about them, some buzz,
and all of a sudden, we may say, is it
not going to take off for them? Like, I don't
know what's going on, but they're sucking the mud?
Speaker 2 (09:32):
That team would be who Oh, that's a great one.
San Francisco potentially okay.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
And then lastly, now this is my favorite one. This
is the what in the heck? I just got an
alert that Sam Ellinger is the starter for the rest
of the year, and Jeff Saturday's gonna coach. No, no, no,
I'm not saying literally if you go back to that
season when that happened with the Colts every every year,
so this is that honorary year. In other words, the
team that all of a sudden, just every door they
(10:11):
try to turn, the knob on is locked and the
year just goes haywire and there's turmoil and who in
the world expected this? But man, this is just NonStop
drama that team is going to be. And you can't
say the Dallas Cowboys because this.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Is because yeah, that's that's just that's just natural, right, correct, ooh,
NonStop drama. Everything's just kind of gone haywire. The whole
thing's kind of gone out of whack. Cleveland's too easy.
You can't do that.
Speaker 4 (10:38):
Sorry.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
How about the Chargers?
Speaker 1 (10:46):
Okay, okay, I can kind of see that because.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
And I don't and I don't really truly believe it,
but it's got that type of a you know, if
anything is going to go haywireing crazy because what they
did last year was really rested with a lot of
one year contracts, right, a lot of bedroom guys. But
they still have a totally solid cap yet, and it
made a lot of moves that looked pretty good. But
I'm telling you, ver Shaun Slater's injury, now you're bounced
(11:12):
in all. Now you've got to play Trey. You see
where I'm going with this, and that division is abs
because the Raiders are now going to be a legitimate squad. Okay, Carroll,
there's no.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
Stands The Raiders was. The Raiders was my pick for
what you said about Seattle. Like I just I feel
like the Raiders are one of those that I like it,
you know, and I like Gino Smith. I don't is
he you know, is he Doug Williams? Perhaps not? Is
he Joe Montana perhaps not? But I think that he
can be a perfectly sufficient you know.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
I like him.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Right, I'm with you.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
And the reason you and I think have landed on
it is Pete Carroll is proven understands how to win.
The teams got a got a good GM with him
in John Spytech. They they're they're locked in like he
was with John Schneider, and there's a there's better talent
there than people know. And I like the additions of
what they did. Listen drafting genty, I can hear people
don't drift the back, They'll draft the back. I get it. Okay, fine,
(12:03):
but guess what the way they're going to play draft that?
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Yeah, it softened some things up elsewhere, right, It gives
you like that, it draws things in there all right. Lastly, Charles,
in your opinion, and I know that it's very early here,
but if you look at it, and this is always
of course saying and assuming that that health is not
a concern, the ceiling for Indianapolis, in your opinion, is.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
What eleven wins. Okay, yeah, eleven wins. It's a division
that you know, everyone looks at and thinks that they
can get right. I think it's a tougher year to
get right because I think Houston last year was ripe.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
To be had.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Remember they had the rollicking roller coaster of that first year,
just so much fun, right, And the second year everybody
challenged them and they were floundering for a while, took
an eight count and came back and finished the season
and won a playoff game. I think that they're now
battle tested. So if you're gonna go get you got
to go truly get them now like I think they're
(13:02):
in that echelon now. Of Hey, we're pretty good and
we know it and we know how to handle some bumps. Well,
let me tell you what the vision that people can
jump up and go get people. I really believe that
Daniel Jones plays well. I think this is a very
talented roster in Indianapolis.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Okay, go out and get yourself a hat and gloves,
because if they win eleven games, we'll put you in
the parade in January down Meridian Street.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
Right now. No, hey, no one wants to see me.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
Faris Buellery.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
There we go a little twist and shout Charles, appreciate it, man.
I know you're busy. We look forward to the call
on Sunday, and I appreciate you squeezing in some time
for us.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Thanks for having time for me. Always great to talk
with you. You take care of yourself.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
I appreciate Charles Davis joining us again Colts Dolphins Sunday,
Lucas Oil Stadium. He will be on the call. But
let's talk about ODU and Indiana and what was good
or bad for the Hoosiers if we can even determine either.
Joining us now on the always busy and available for
your company to sponsor guest line. He is with the
(13:59):
blooming In Herald Times. I know that it's not the
telephone bloomten held Times. Our friend from Bloomington, Mike, joins
us on the program. Mike, let's begin right away with that.
And that is when you were able to assess this
Indiana team. What was a question that you had going
in that you felt like you got a better answer
on after game number one?
Speaker 4 (14:22):
An interesting question.
Speaker 5 (14:23):
I mean I thought, look, the veterans all kind of
acclimated and there was no sort of I mean you
talk about giving the first big run and you know
there was no panic. This is a very related team.
And even though I think they struggled, this wasn't a
team that kind of lost itself like they were. You know,
they respotted each time, right the punt return. You know,
(14:46):
they had the run zone struggles, but they still put
together long drives like nothing snowballed. Yeah, it didn't look great,
didn't look perfect, but I think you saw kind of
the leadership. You saw sort of all the veteran presidents
on both sides of the ball that look, we're going
to get this. Even though maybe it doesn't look quite
as pretty.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Do you if there was an area Mike that an
open disclaimer, I didn't see the game live, right. I
went back and I watched highlights of it and looked
at the box score and et cetera. A little bit dangerous,
I realized. But I was working a race this weekend.
But I saw the vast majority of it. And it's
easy to say, well, I mean, yeah, they gave up
(15:23):
a big run right at the beginning. This idiot's going
to say the run defense. Look, but it seemed like
they were susceptible to at times chunk yardage plays. Now
does that mean nitpicking from Afar or is that an
accurate area of concern?
Speaker 5 (15:37):
Well, it was too basically a book under the game
with the long runs. I think what's concerning about it
is that, you know, the lasting image of the last
game last year was the long run they gave up.
I know that wasn't a quarterback, but Jeremy Love obviously
with the touchdown run. That sort of changed that complexion
of that game. And you know you can do it
right at the start in week one. That's a concern.
And then the other part of it is that you're
(15:58):
going to face mobile coquarterbacks here, you know, five or
six times this season. And so with all those guys
on your schedule, when your quarterback run defense shows some
significant issues, even though you know, you know, really relegated
to two plays, I do think it's a concern.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
You got to get it cleaned up.
Speaker 5 (16:16):
You got to get it fixed just because of what
you've you know, you've now shown those teams kind of
on your schedule like, hey there's an opening here. We
got to prove that we can can stop those things.
You'll get another chance this weekend against Kennesaw State, but
I mean you have a couple of those in the
Big Ten as well, and so you got to be uh,
you know, Ry Leonard really hurt them last year. They
couldn't you know, get them down and then and then
(16:36):
obviously they allowed the big run. But I just think
it's a you don't want it to be a symptom
of a larger problem. And you know, obviously you can't
be happy when you give up to you know, look
was as many seventy plus yards as they gave up
all last season.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
So you know, not great in one game.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
What did you think of for Nanda Mendoza.
Speaker 5 (16:55):
Uh you know, you saw he made He makes the
beautiful throw to Omar Cooper Junior, you know, fifty plus
yards effortless and you know Cooper drops. It doesn't help
him out, but I mean in that moment you kind
of saw like, oh yeah, this guy can make all
these throws. I think what you also saw was a
quarterback that maybe he's getting used to having time in
the pocket. You know, how many times did he get
(17:16):
to his fourth option last year at Cal when he
was sacked forty times? You know, he was taking one
read to read quick quick outs, you know, and doing
a lot of those things, better aggressions getting the ball
to his targets. I think he saw start in the
third quarter a little bit. You know, he got people
involved because I mean everything in the first quart first
half really was to EJ. Williams, you know, five or
five catches and Sarat didn't have any. And so, you know,
(17:39):
I think it's a work in progress a little bit.
I kind of assumed, you know, look, yes he has
you know, basically a season and a half of experienced
but Curtis Rore came in with like five years of
practice under his belt and multiple years of starting beyond
just just you know, one full season, like he was
a more fully formed product. I think Mendoza has the
higher ceiling with his arm, but I do think of
(18:00):
you know, these are almost like a preseason here, ramping
up until we get to Illinois, and I think it's
good experience he gets in this offense, and I think
he'll look better here.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
And you know, three weeks, three four weeks.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
But I kind of maybe expected a little bit of
what we saw, just because you know, this was a new,
you know, completely new system for him, new offensive line.
He's got to get used to. You know, you pick
up some bad habits when you're run for your life
every snap.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Do you more commonly refer to yourself as Michael or
Mike Mike? Because I noticed your bylines, you know, your
professional things are Michael. I wanted to be respectful of
which way you prefer to be addressed.
Speaker 5 (18:38):
It's it's it's I really don't nitpick, but Mike is
probably more common. But yes, everything on my bylines is Michael.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Again, Michael, better known as Mike to his friends and family,
which we consider ourselves. Both from the Herald Times in Bloomington,
talking about Indyana football here on the guest line, Mike,
when you look at the Big Ten in general, because
I think, you know, it's just so fascinating now with
college football right out of the box, you've got you know,
in Clemson and LSU. You know that one of a
(19:06):
top five team is going to lose. That happened to
be Clemson, Ohio State, Texas, same thing, Texas. On the
short end, Notre Dame, Miami. Notre Dame's down one. But
yet with the twelve team playoff now you already here
in September, start keeping an eye on it. The Big
Ten has kind of power played this of creating the
narrative of multiple Big Ten teams and et cetera. How
(19:28):
many this year do you think the Big ten? Really?
What is the number? I don't mean the teams. What's
the number you think the Big Ten could get in?
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Four? Yeah, I mean that's that's the number I believe. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Okay, So those four you're looking at it and you say,
I mean, Ohio State pretty safe, Penn State pretty safe
barring disasters here, right, I think you'd say Oregon, Right, Yeah,
Indiana's right in that mix. So they going into it,
they may be approaching things differently psychologically than a year
(20:05):
ago in what way because a year ago, I don't
know that anybody was talking Indiana college football. Maybe church
signetti behind closed doors, but nobody nationally was how is
Indiana handling that sort of a national diskinson attention or microscope.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Well, I think they were.
Speaker 5 (20:20):
I mean, they were basically in that eye of the
storm at the end of last year when people kind
of uh, you know, kind of Michigan on were kind
of every week.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Well I know, but I mean, but just in terms
of the outset of the season, I mean, like this
particular year, this September looks different than last September.
Speaker 5 (20:35):
How But my point is I think that prepared them
from being like they've literally been the topic of discussion
since then, right, and so they've kind of had to
deal with all of that, and so they had to
play under that, and obviously, you know, responded beat Michigan
and then crushed Purdue to even get in the playoffs.
So I think you saw a little of that and
it hasn't sort of stopped, and so like, I don't
(20:55):
think they are foreign to it. And also, you know
them you kids were ten and zero, I believe the
year before. So, like I mean, the core of this,
I think team has dealt with a little bit of that,
and obviously you brought some transfers that, you know, Pat
Kugan had notre dame guy that knows how to play
sort of under that spotlight and expectations. So I do
think that this team is probably more prepared than they
(21:18):
were maybe even even last year as they sort of
faced that, because you know, there was a lot to
put on a team. But now they've sort of had
the run up and I think there's mostly sort of
turned it off. I know a lot of the guys
talks about kind of deleting social media, they kind of
ignoring all that that conversation and not paying any attention
to it, and I think they've used it more as
fuel in terms of like, look, because most of the
(21:39):
stuff has been questioning whether Indiana blongs right and people
saying they they don't. I don't think it's been flowers
they've been getting for being part of the playoff picture.
It's been quite the opposite, Like people question their schedule,
people calling them a fluke, and these are a lot
of guys that weren't heavily recruited, you know, felt ignored
for by power for teams, and they've sort of added
this to be like, look, we need to prove them wrong.
(22:00):
And so, you know, I don't think that the auto
even performance, I don't sort of attribute to that part
of it, like dealing with expectations, like I think that
part they'll be fine. I just think this was a
new team that you know, obviously didn't get anything right
in week one, but it's gonna you know, come back
and try to get it fixed. But no, to your point,
I think it's a team that will be able to
sort of handle the spotlight when it comes, you know.
Speaker 4 (22:22):
I think that it's gonna be huge that Illinois Indiana
game on the tour twentieth.
Speaker 5 (22:26):
I mean that'll be a real big point, you know, uh,
get talked up because Illinois obviously is getting cut of
some of the you know chatter about being the next Indiana.
Then in two weeks after that, the Organ game. Those
are big moments that I think they'll be able to handle.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Hey, what kind of dude is Kurt Signetti. I mean
we know what he's like as a coach, you know,
but what, like I assume you've been around him a
little bit. What kind of dude is he?
Speaker 5 (22:46):
I mean, he is what he is, right Like, I mean,
I don't think anything that he does is for show,
right like I mean, like it's he's the you're getting
the genuine article when he's at the podium. And this
is basically I mean from what I've been told, how
he's been his entire career. And you know, I know
people have covered him in the past and you know,
(23:07):
we said he's a film guy. Like he's not lying.
Like when I've I've interviewed him, sat down and he
you know, kind of pulled up his computer and showed
me what he was doing, and it's like film like
it's it's it's just you know, he goes through it
and sorts all this stuff and spends hours on it.
Speaker 4 (23:21):
I mean, that's just that's what he is.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Hey, what do you think of the Mike Nideck as
our guest from the Bloomington Herald Times, what did you
think of the Bison? It's the debut of the Bison.
Your thoughts.
Speaker 5 (23:34):
I mean, it did a nice job with the production
of it. I'm with the plane. I don't know if
you saw the you know, the the replay of him
flying on the plane.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Right.
Speaker 5 (23:45):
Yeah, And so you know, one of the things it
ties back to, honestly, what Kurtzy and he said about
improving the atmosphere and giving people you know, he chotted
the fans for leaving it halftime, but the idea of
giving people a reason to stay, giving kids a reason
to stay, all that ties in. You're trying to you know,
improve the you know, be with the big boys and
and and you know, it seems silly that a mascot
(24:06):
would be part of that, but it is. It's it's
the atmosphere making it, you know, getting fans the reason
to come and and and get loud and do things,
and that just adds all to it.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
You know, kids can join the Who's Your Buddies? Uh,
the Who's Your Bison Buddies Club? Eddie, would you like
to join the Who's Your Bison Buddies Club? I'm not
a kid, I know, as much as like I think
I am, I know, but I'm a big fan of
mascots and like they give out T shirts and the
whole deal. You think I could rig it? Just sign
up for it and be a I'd like to be
a Hoo's Your bison buddy, Mike, do you have kids?
Are there? Who's your bison buddy?
Speaker 4 (24:37):
I do have kids. They're not. Who's your bison buddies yet? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (24:40):
Oh yet? Yes, Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 4 (24:42):
We'll see.
Speaker 5 (24:43):
We'll see what the bison does. We'll see how he does.
They're gonna wait. You gotta look at them films.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
The bison's here for the long haul though, right they're not.
They're not packing in early on the bison. He's here
for good.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
We'll see. I well, if they had lost that game,
I don't know. Does he go right around the plane.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Like in like in like seventy eight or whatever it was.
They brought the bison out for like three weeks. He
had a big nose ring, and then all of a
sudden he went back to whatever band he was with.
We never heard from you.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
You never know.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
He's that he could change his mind.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Apparently he liked a roam. Well, we get a life
bison at one point, that'd be awesome, but Colorado's Colorado's
kind of got the market on that, unfortunately. But that's
a buffalo, not a bison, right, all right, Mike, we
appreciate the time as always, man look forward to talking
to you again.
Speaker 4 (25:22):
Absolutely, guys, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
Mike Nisilik joining us from the Bloomington Herald Times. As
I mentioned earlier, I don't know what to think of
the fact that in our time together, that's the best
audio Eddie Garrison can come up with to commemorate the
fact that it is, in fact, like a completely meaningless birthday.
I mean, I don't every birthday is meaningful, but fifty
(25:45):
three doesn't rank where like fifty or sixty or you
know that. I'm at the point now where it's just
the decades only. But in fact, thank you to everybody
who has wished me a happy birthday. It is greatly appreciated.
And I am well aware of the fortunes you know
of kind of living the dream truth be told and
with me, that's right, that's the biggest fortune ever. It
(26:07):
is the why win the one billion power ball where
you can spend a day with me every day? Yeah, well,
I can tell you, not that I've done the numbers,
but it would be three hundred and twelve million dollars
after taxes that you walk away with. And that would
probably mean that Eddie, you're hosting on Wednesday or Thursday
or whatever day after the drawing. But nonetheless, I do
(26:28):
appreciate everybody listening to this show and making that every
day possible for us. Joining us now on the program
on the always busy guest line, of course, he is
with Sports Illustrated. We talk a lot of football with him,
and he is a huge fan of the Taco Bell Cantina.
We've talked about that downtown. Matt Verderam joining us on
the show. Matt, how are you?
Speaker 3 (26:49):
I'd be better if I wasn't a Taco Bell CANTEENA
but I'm fine. How are you doing?
Speaker 1 (26:52):
We're good? Thank you. Listen. I'm going to begin right
right out of the box with this. I'm very curious
of the national perspective here because I feel like, and
I fear, and I want you to tell me if
I'm wrong. I worry that the Colts have actually become
this franchise that you know, we put in the same
(27:14):
category as like the Arizona Cardinals or the shar or
the Carolina Panthers, like if you, if you weren't in market,
they're kind of nationally obscure and anonymous. Is that where
Indianapolis is now?
Speaker 3 (27:30):
Yeah? I mean to be honest, to be brutally honest, Yeah,
I think I think a lot of it is just
the quarterback situation, and you look at it and go,
all right, what is the realistic feeling for that team?
Like if everything reasonable, you know, good health, no, no
crazy dad luck? Like what if it is the division?
(27:53):
The division is sexy, Like nobody in that division stands out.
I mean cam Ward is a number one picking the draft.
He's a quarterback. I can't think of a quarterback because
the numb one picking the draft has been talked out
last cam Warden. It feels and you barely exist nationally.
Jacksonville is not a team that Audill spend a lot
time talking about. Thank Houston last year had buzz this
year at the opposite. But the culture's just no. I
(28:16):
was at camp, I saw them. They were a part
of the tour. And I think the roster is good,
like I really do like the roster. But when you
look at those quarterbacks, I think from a national perspective,
you just go, well, yeah, we're in a conference with
Mahomes and Borrow and Allen and Lamar and Shroud and
Herbert and the sober They're not going to be relevant
to have a quarterback, You know.
Speaker 1 (28:37):
The matt I keep going back to this and at
the quarterback position. I'm weighing back and forth, and I
want you to tell me because you have a better
perspective here, because you you look around and you cover
multiple franchises. You know we're pigeonholed a little bit to
our understanding, being Indianapolis, you have a better barow of comparison.
(29:02):
Do you believe that Daniel Jones has been selected by
Shane Steichen as the starting quarterback because they really feel
that Daniel Jones could be getting a second lease here
and with a better roster, can be a better quarterback
than what we saw in New York at no fault
of his own, or do you believe it simply is
because they just don't think they can go with Anthony Richardson.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
So I think it's a combination of a few things.
And look, one of them is I remember the Dad
was there. It was about a hundred degrees, but it
was I remember I was there with Jeremy Fowler of ESPN,
Zach Kiefer of course, of the Athletic, and then there
was another gentleman from USAFA's getting his name. But we
were in a breakout group with Anthony Richardson and at
(29:47):
one point, I've got which one was asking the question.
He was talking in a powerphrase. He essentially said, we know,
I've just learned that I've got to stop slacking all
he said that. We all just kind of looked at
each other, like that's that's a hell of a quote
from a coat. I let my camp report with it.
That is, maybe wants to check it out and read
you can read the deck. And I remember walking out
(30:07):
of it. I thinking, this guy's not gonna win this show.
There's just no way, Like I mean, even if that's true,
and he's totally bought in and he's one hundred, like
you've been here, this is a third year you've been here,
and like that's your that's like where you're at right now,
Like you've got a try hard I just I And
maybe he meant it another way. Who knows, I'm not him,
But the way he said that, that's that's alarming. And
I think look last year when he pulled himself out
(30:29):
of game in Houston. I know the Colts tried to
downplay that. Anybody who's ever been in the locker room,
that's a hard thing come back. You're the quarterback. You
don't play yourself out of the game unless you're dead
or you told to come out of the game. But
that's I mean, there is just no other way. And
so I think part of it was that tall I
did to go Jones. The other part of it is
Psyching looks at Daniel Jones and she's a guy who
(30:51):
has mobility, who completes a high percentage of his passes
and who doesn't throw interceptions. And I think he looks
at that and says, if he can just do that
well for thirty five hundred yards and eighteen touchdowns, but
he plills five picks, I can win with that guy.
We can play better DEFENSEI we've played a year ago.
We can run the heck out of the ball, we
(31:11):
can let our playmakers make plays, and we can we
can go nine and eight and be competitive in this division,
maybe even somehow sneak it out. I think that thirty
seasons Jones where Oliga richardson and go, he might complete
forty nine percent of his passes until fifteen picks. That
you can't win like that in the NFL. I think
that was ultimately the decision.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
Do you think Matt. You know Chris Ballard publicly, I'm
not saying that I believe this, but publicly and I
understand it, Chris Ballard still stands by Anthony Richardson and says,
and I know Anthony Richardson's young. I don't think he's
a bad guy, you know whatever. Do you think the
rest of the league feels that way? If if Arizona
or Caroline, I mean in certain name of franchise, if
(31:52):
somebody said to them, hey, you can have Anthony Richardson
for a fifth round or right now, would they be
tempted by that or do you think the rest of
the league thinks no, thanks.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
I think that for that kind of a compensation, yes,
I think they would have a lot of suitors. But
if I'm in Danapolis, I'm sitting there going, look, Daniel
Jones is a guy long term. I mean, let's just
face it, like he's another guy and Colts fans don't
want to hear because they've had one guy after the
next and Danduel Luckert hired. But Daniel Jones is a
bridge to hopefully not another bridge, hopefully the actual the
(32:22):
actual guy. So I think the culture sitting there going,
look if he trade Richardson, what do we do, Like,
what if Jones is terrible for the first month of
the season, what'd be awful and we're gonna go back
to Richardson. Now, Look, that might be between the rock
and hard place at that point. But you know, I
actually wondered if like a team like the Saints would
(32:45):
call the Colts up and say, hey, look, we'll give
you We'll give you a third round pick for him,
well you know, third fourth round, you know, and they
don't have their fourteenth traded the Bailey fifty Denver Bailey,
but like, we'll give you a third you know, And
maybe maybe it's one of these things where hey, look
it's conditional, like he becomes over here and he plays great,
that like you'll get like a Day three pick two
down the road or something. And I thought they if
(33:06):
a co team like New Orleans did that, like maybe
at that point we're indo, You're like, okay, look, their
third round pick is basically like a late second. But
it's tough. There's just there's a lot going against Richton
right now. He has not been good. He has also
been injured. There's also questions about like committed are you
and then there's also the other side of it two
where it's like, look, you just got benched for Daniel
(33:26):
Jones by a team that's like your fourth overall a
couple of years ago. Like they didn't mention him because
they signed Aaron Rodgers, right, they benched it for Daniel Jones,
who's on a one year contract, who's on the Vikings
practice squat last year. Like, it's just really hard to
get any value for a guy who's in that kind
of situation.
Speaker 1 (33:44):
Yeah, and I think he's also in this real danger zone, Matt,
And you correct me if I'm wrong here. Where the
part of the stigma with Richardson is this point is
the fact that it's between the years. And I don't
mean to say that his lack of intellect, but his
last I mean, there've been very very good, sharp, excellent
TV analyst guys that when the arrows are flying past
(34:07):
him at the quarterback position, just simply could not process.
And that's I think that's the biggest danger is the
narrative is that he can't process. And am I correct
in saying that's a real hard thing to get away from.
Speaker 3 (34:21):
It's a death sentence. I mean, if you can't do that.
There's no there's no fixtion that you're not just all
of a sudden I learned how to. I've always compared
the NFL quarterback position to standing on a freeway. I mean,
it's basically like trying to play quarterback on a freeway.
And you've got to be able to stand in there,
read the progressions, understand. And I think this is the
(34:43):
most underrated thing with fans. You've got to understand what's
going on pre snap. You got to get out of
the huddle and to the line of scrimmage fifteen or
so seconds on that clock and understand, okay, reading the safety,
I'm getting a single high look. I now know that
my ex receiver he's going to be open on this
on this curl route, and I've got to make sure
I hold the safety and then like and you've got
to do all that in the stand up about seven
(35:04):
eight seconds, maybe ten if you get to the line
quick enough. And then if you're wrong, you've got to
be able to adjust. If you're right, you've got to
be able to execute what you know you've got to
do and do all that. Well, you've got four or
five guys who are running a four or five or
two hundred and sixty pounds coming at you like it's
it's hard. There's a reason in the NFL how many
(35:27):
quarterbacks are truly elite players correct six seven. It is
mentally difficult.
Speaker 1 (35:35):
Who's the best in the league at that. I mean,
I know that Alan and Mahomes are outstanding at improvising
when the arrows are flying once they're in the freeway, right,
But give me a guy that doesn't maybe get his
proper due for it. But you're like, man, that guy
is the computer is going the second he breaks the.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
Huddle, I would say it's Burrow, like I think. I
think Burrow when you he very rarely makes a mistake.
I mean he he'll drawing the police on anybody else.
He very rarely does he just throw a ball or
it shouldn't go. I mean, he's he's very, very smart
that way. I do think Mahomes is underrated in that
(36:16):
regard because he's so spectacular post step. But there are
a lot of times with Mahomes where you watch him.
I mean, heck, the game when he's driving against the
Nyers in the Super Bowl is mass I mean, if
you watch the mic up of that He's telling the
guys before they're even breaking the huddle for even sees
their defense, I'm coming to you. I'm gonna throw the
ball right here, I mean there. And that comes with experience.
(36:36):
There are certain guys where just the brain works the
right way. They're they're brilliant attic. Manning, of course, I mean,
you could argue he was the best ever at at
where he would just he was his own offensive coordinator, right,
you know, he was really the last guy to just
call his own plays and and the truly great one.
The Manning's the Brady. Even the Mahomes is like Montana,
those guys they win the play before it even starts.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
But does that I mean, doesn't that even even for
a Manning. I mean, and listen, I covered Peyton Manning's
career from the time, you know, the entire time, right,
even for a Manning, it felt like it took twenty
starts before it started to hit it before it was
finally on the people mover at the airport right where
it's just moving automatically. And that's the chat I mean
(37:23):
to me. And that's the challenge with Richardson is at
some point you also didn get to a point where
you're too far gone right enough times past.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
And that's the thing, like, and that's why I was
curious to shit. I thought after they signed Johns's they playing.
But there was a part of me that held off
writing that because as well, if you're the cult that
you just say, the hell of it, we're gonna play him.
We're gonna play, you know, as long as he's healthy
seventeen games and we're just gonna see did he learn
as he goes And by the end of the year
he's a lot better. Now, apparently they just don't feel
(37:53):
that that's GOP. Look, and this is not just not
Anthony Richardson, Like I'll give you another example in the
league right now that's going to be talked out a
lot more of this year because they're gonna be on
national TV starting Week one. Cale Williams and the Bears,
I mean, that is a thing. Like he got sacked
sixty eight times last year and their offensive line was
not good. The part of that was kle Williams is
(38:13):
just hold on to the ball.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
And get crushed. And if you go back and you watch,
there are times you're.
Speaker 3 (38:18):
Like, man, that ball's just got out. That guy's opened
five yards in front of you, and it's first intent,
like you've got to just get rid of it. And
the games fact at times, and I was at OTA's
with the Bears. I was, I was at training camp
during the joint practice at the Bears, and but he
hit from million nice plays. There were also times I
stood next to a four NFL player during one of
the practices and sitting there talking to him and you know,
like those guys will do he break the huddle. He's like, Okay,
(38:40):
this play, he's got to go here, and that's exactly
what it should have happened. But she's hold the football
and it's like, look that ball. If you're holding the
ball for three plus seconds in the NFL, that's death.
You're either gonna get crushed or something bad's probably gonna
happen onfield. And I think for Richardson, the thing that's
really hurt him is just he has got an experience.
(39:01):
He's been hurt, been out of the lineup, he didn't play.
I mean, he didn't have a thousand pass attempts between
high school and college. It's hard. It's really hard that
the mass or something when you're.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
Not doing it, you know, Matt. I remember Matt verder Rams,
our guest from Sports Illustrated. I remember when going back
to Manning and Tom Moore, and it's a famous story
around here probably, but early in Manning's career he was there.
They're going through live simulations and Manning holds onto the
football and Tom Moore says, what do you doing. You
(39:31):
got to get rid of the ball. And Manning said, well,
nobody was open, and Tom Moore said, that's where you're wrong.
Everybody on that field was NFL open. They're not SEC open,
but they're NFL open. And Manning talks about how you
had to learn that, right. The window is a third
of what it is in terms of the college time.
And I think being able to recognize that, Matt, is
(39:53):
what is so hard for guys, right, and even the best,
even the best, Yeah, I think it struggles to learn.
Speaker 4 (39:59):
That, right.
Speaker 3 (40:01):
It's no, it's so true. Look, you know, I was
actually talking to college about all this stuff the other
day about quarterbacks, and you know, look, it's it's when
you're playing like let's just say, take Richardson tut so, Okay,
you're playing best team if you're playing Alabama playing Georgia,
that team might have defensively speaking, three to four NFL
starters on it, and the rest of those guys are
(40:23):
by NFL standards, are guys like you can throw the
ball past the linebackers here, you can throw on that corner.
That safety runs a four to seven, Like that guy's
not closing in time you get to the NFL. I
don't care who you are. If you're in the NFL
and you're playing, you're not a four to seven safety,
you're running a four, four to five. You can drive
on the ball you are. You're breaking on a ball
(40:46):
based on the nation and knowing, Okay, this guy split
his X, I know that based on that spit, he
can run these two routes. And I know that guy
runs out the one route three times more than he
runs the other out. And I'm going to break before
he even throws the football. And that's that's the game
within the game that college doesn't exist. The other part
of it is if you watch the college game this Saturday,
(41:06):
we'll get the hash marks on the field, how wide
they are when the balls on one side of the field.
I thought the coaches about salot recently. When the balls
on one side of the field. That other side, that
wide side is huge. I mean there's acres of space
to just flip the ball out there that doesn't exist
in the NFL. Right, There's no easy little foot throw
(41:26):
for eight yards in the NFL. There's no wide side
like that. So it's the openness that you get on
ten fifteen throws in college football every game that doesn't
exist at the NFL level.
Speaker 1 (41:39):
Okay, Matt, I'm gonna I'm going to introduce you to
this little game we've done. In conclusion, I appreciate your
time at verte Ram because I know you're a busy guy,
especially this time of year. But we've been doing this
all week. I'm going to give you three categories. I
want you to tell me for each the team that
immediately comes into the head of Matt verde Ram. Okay,
I'll describe the team for this season, and then you
(41:59):
tell me which one it matches. Okay, Team number one.
This is the team that you haven't thought a lot about.
You haven't written a lot about him, there's not a
lot of conversation about him. But late October early November,
all of a sudden, you're gonna go, are they good?
Like they're six and three now, and I think they
(42:20):
might actually be good and they just kind of become
that team that you're like, yeah, they had a nice year.
They're the Washington Commanders of this year, like Washington did
last year. That team for you this year is most
likely to.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
Be who they won't go as far as Washington, But
I think it's New England. I think New England's gonna
make the playoffs because I think May is good. I
think it'd be really good. McDaniels is a terrible head
coach because a go offensive coordinator, and Rafels a very
good head coach. They added a lot in free agency.
I love their draft. I think all four of the
first guys they took to fighting Henderson's gonna be real
good immediately in the backfield. I don't think they're going
(42:54):
to challenge Buffalo to win the division, but I think
they're a nine or ten win team.
Speaker 1 (42:59):
Okay, team number two. This is one that you know,
there's usually some talk about them, some conversation. They're kind
of slotted as a playoff potential team, and yet all
of a sudden around November, you're gonna go. I don't
think this is gonna get footing for them this year
that they're just stuck in neutral and they're this year's Bengals,
And I don't know what's going on. That's who the Niners.
Speaker 3 (43:22):
I just don't. I don't. I don't see it, Like
maybe I'm dead wrong. I've hurt Kittles older. McCaffrey is
not older for a running back. He's getting older and
he's hurt a lot. Williams is older. Defensively, it's it's
it's two guys. It's Warner and it's Bosa and it
is nobody else. I just I don't know. I think
that's I would not be shocked if they finished starting.
(43:44):
I think they're like a second okay.
Speaker 1 (43:46):
And then lastly, not named the Dallas Cowboys, the franchise
that after a month or so, it's like, here comes
the drama. There was a fight in the locker room.
Supposedly this guy is unhappy. There's tension with the coaches,
and it's like, you know what, this is the Colts
bringing in Jeff Saturday midyear level total dysfunction and it's
(44:10):
just a year that is wasted.
Speaker 3 (44:11):
That franchise, the team that will be in Indianapolis on Sunday,
not named the coult. I. I just I look at
the Dolphins and I'm not a big like Vibes guy.
I kind of gets over it. That team has been
a disaster this summer. If anything could go, I feel
like we're like a half a football way from Tyreek
hilt is like openly asking to be traded during halftime, like.
Speaker 1 (44:34):
Brown's right, yeah, yeah, I think they're.
Speaker 3 (44:36):
Gonna go to like Evan Washer and whoever the hell's
in the sideline fack game with Tyreek Kilts just told
me he wants to be traded, Like, I just I
don't know. You look at them, like their first two
games of the Colts and their home to Miami, their
home to New England in Miami, and then by the
building on a Thursday night in week three in Buffalo.
It builds like they've better win those first two games,
and I don't think they're gonna But if they do,
(44:57):
like that might be it solved for them a little bit.
If they start out onto it and they're going to Buffalo,
I feel like Mike McDaniel's looking at his job in
like the middle of October. But yeah, I just I
don't see it at all with them. I'd be shocked.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
If they're good, Eddie, you haven't had the breaking news.
Cunder this just in things starting to look up towards
the Colts perhaps winning their first season opening game in
eleven seasons. Matt, do you want to buy?
Speaker 3 (45:25):
I'm them?
Speaker 1 (45:27):
Do you want to guess? If you get this right?
Matt verde Ram, I will actually go down right now.
I will have Eddie finish the show. I will walk
down to the Taco Bell cantina by you gift cards
and a box and ship it out east to you
right now. You ready, if you get this right? The
starting quarterback of the opposition. The last time that the
Indianapolis Colts won a game in Week one was who.
Speaker 3 (45:48):
Oh my god? We was like eleven years ago.
Speaker 1 (45:52):
AFC West AFC.
Speaker 3 (45:54):
All right, I mean I'll throw a dar here and say,
got them?
Speaker 4 (46:00):
Who was it?
Speaker 3 (46:01):
Was it? Manning? No? It was a looking man now, okay.
Speaker 1 (46:06):
I mean got it was it was a good that's
a good. Guess was it?
Speaker 3 (46:10):
Did they beat the Raiders?
Speaker 1 (46:11):
They did?
Speaker 3 (46:12):
Okay, it's just some clown who is a car?
Speaker 1 (46:16):
Some clown? He says it's a raider.
Speaker 3 (46:18):
It's a Raider. They've been atrocious for twenty five years.
It could have been anybody.
Speaker 1 (46:22):
The ar change position. The Raiders, by the way, are
my pick, Matt. For what you said about the Patriots,
I think the Raiders this year are going to be
surprisingly good. Not I'm not saying great, but I think
they're going to be competent. How's that?
Speaker 2 (46:33):
But I mean they could be.
Speaker 3 (46:35):
The hard thing for them is just that position. But
on the flip side, I don't think the Chargers are good,
So maybe the Raiders are better than the Chargers. I mean,
be interesting, you.
Speaker 1 (46:44):
Know, for the answer. What if I told you free
tattoos in college? Oh my god, he switched positions. Yeah,
he was in the pros. Correct, he became a receiver
prior prior, baby.
Speaker 3 (47:01):
Yeah, I gotta tell you, I I don't know if
I'm hanging the banner of that one.
Speaker 1 (47:04):
If I'm the Colts, that counts as half a win.
But we take it.
Speaker 3 (47:09):
Well, I said when I when you said it was
the Raiders, I'm like, it's it's gonna be something ridiculous.
I mean, there was a there was a playoff getting
still like Connor Cook or something like. There's some ridiculous
thing that your car got hurt. Matt mccloye.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
I forgot about that. Yeah, he had a hot girlfriend,
that guy. They kept showing her in the crowd. I
remember that much.
Speaker 3 (47:26):
The game wasn't working.
Speaker 1 (47:27):
Okay, lastly, Matt, are you going to watch the Dolphins
Colts game from Club Applebee's I'm actually.
Speaker 3 (47:34):
Gonna watch it?
Speaker 2 (47:35):
No, thank god, no the answer.
Speaker 3 (47:37):
I am gonna watch it from New York, flying out there.
I'm gonna be out there for the weekend, see a
little family, and then work from out there and then
come back and cover Vikings Bears and then Packers Commanders
on Thursday. And uh no, I am gonna. I'll be
keeping an eye though the Colts. If they lose to
the Dolphins, every alarm bell.
Speaker 2 (47:55):
In the world should go off, But that they have
to win.
Speaker 1 (47:57):
That game they opened the Colts. Do they open a
home with two of them? The Dolphins and the Broncos,
two teams, as I mentioned that, they may well be
if they are hoping to be a wild team. You
know what I mean, they gotta win one, if not
beath of them.
Speaker 3 (48:10):
You gotta win those those games like they counted a
game and a half. You're right, you're talking about you know,
I mean it's Look, I don't think Miami is gonna
be there, but if you're the coult that's gonna be,
have to win and then Denver like it's not like
Denver's offense is unbelieved, go out there and wins seventeen.
Speaker 1 (48:24):
Thirteen with Daniel Jones. That's the game plan, right, that's it, Matt.
We appreciate it, Man as always, safe.
Speaker 3 (48:32):
Travels to you, all right, Hey, thanks a lot to
take care of.
Speaker 1 (48:34):
All right, Matt verde Ram, who is NonStop energy. Guy's
great
Popular Podcasts
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
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.