September 10, 2025 • 50 mins
Today's best of features:
(0:00-12:44) IndyStar Colts beat reporter Joel Erickson joins the show to discuss the health of the cornerback room and questions surrounding Johnathan Taylor’s rest he recieved last week. Also, what were the biggest differences between a Daniel Jones offense and an Anthony Richardson offense?
(12:45-35:24) – Jake relates fantasy football teams to how the Colts are having to operate in their cornerback room. Shane Steichen gave voice to the questions surounding the position group today and Jake reacts to his commments. Jake also combs through Steichen’s “coach speak” and how reading between the lines of his quotes is important.
(35:25-50:35) – Indiana Fever TV analyst Debbie Antonelli joins the show to give an update on how the team is examining their regular season before they head into the postseason. Jake also presses on the challenges of coaching in the professional ranks in today’s game and how down to the detail head coach Stephanie White needs to be for the Fever to be successful. Kelsey Mitchell wrapped up an incredible regular season last night and Debbie examines why she deserves more praise for it. Lastly, Debbie explains what she expects the Fever to adjust heading into the playoffs and explain Unified Sports and how it brings special needs students with other students.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Joining us now in the program, and I'm sure thrilled
to be doing so. He is with the Indianapolis Star.
He is covering the Colts and hears Joel ericson Joel,
let's get right to the meat of the matter, and
that is the corner situation. What more do we know
other than Jalen Jones out for a while.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Sarmirius Ward is in the concussion protocol, and you know,
all they can really say on that is we'll see.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
But I would say if you go back and look at.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
The recent history of Colts in the concussion protocol, it's
much more likely that he misses this game against Denver
than not. You can't predict these things, but usually they
give that player a week before they come back.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
So with that, and I was just discussing this Joel,
and I don't know, you can add to this or
you can discuss whether or not Shane Steichen has talked
about this. To me, the corner position is the one
area where it's good. And I give Chris Ballack credit
because they've built themselves some depth there. But if there
is one area that you've got to plug guys in
(01:02):
and just kind of air drop them in, like like say,
you know, you're talking about players, as we just mentioned
at the corner, that have not been with this franchise
a long time and did not go through a lot
of camp in some cases. Do you agree with the
statement that that is the one area where you can
perhaps most mask newcomers without having to have the solidarity
(01:24):
of unit like you would have an offensive line or
defensive line.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, I think so. I think, especially especially the way
Anaumo plays defense maybe more than anybody else, because you
can you can reduce their responsibility of one specific matchup.
Like Makai Blackman played last week. I think it was
was pretty significant. He played twenty two snaps defensively, and
Anna Rumo said he's essentially the guy that they match
(01:49):
up with speed guys. They feel like he's the guy
who can who can take away some of that or
at least, if not tac take away at least run
with you know, guys like Tyreek Hill, those fast guys
like you look at this Broncos team coming up. Courtland
Sutton is kind of a bigger bodied receiver that that
feels like an Xavier Howard matchup to me black Man
if he has to start. That's that's that's more of
(02:11):
the other guys. That's Franklin, that's Mims, and and then
you know, if you need somebody else, it'd be our guy,
Jonathan Edwards, who we saw in preseason.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Yeah, Jonathan Edwards is We had him on the show
last week and great, I mean, totally fun interview. But
at the same time, you know, as an undrafted free agent,
are they ready to go that route? I mean, if
they had to put him in there, Joel, do they
feel that he is ready right now?
Speaker 3 (02:38):
I think that, you know, they would have to. They're
gonna have to help him. They're gonna have to help
him if he has to go in there. I don't
think he's gonna play.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
A lost night, especially against you know, when you're going
into a matchup against Sean Payton, who hunts matchups as
well as anybody. But I also think that they probably
feel better with Edwards as an un jefterd free agent,
having spent you know, three weeks or four weeks of
training camp playing essentially a starter role and against you know,
(03:06):
the Michael Pittmans and Alex Pearce's of the world, versus
you know, playing mostly.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
With the twos.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Were there any other injuries that popped up, or any
other situations. Shane Steichen has discussed where we may see
a surprising face or somebody that gets slotted in maybe
even gets a look that we did not anticipate.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
So so far, it sounds like they came out the
rest of it came out healthy. We'll find out though,
when we get to practice.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Because Wednesday is usually the day.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
For us to kind of find out about guys who
are maybe dealing with something that won't keep them out
but could be could be an issue, you know, like
he's he hasn't really said anything about Jonathan Taylor being hurt.
He keeps saying he's fine without saying what it was.
But they did keep him on the bench for you know,
a quarter and a half there in the second half.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
And Joel, you kind of read my mind there because
because and typically if there's supernatural powers between two people,
only one of the two people gets them. And we
know that I have the supernatural power of being a
a beer fairy, so I don't know that you have
the supernatural powers of having read my mind. Rather, it
(04:15):
was just such an obvious storyline, and I'm talking about
that Johnathan Taylor situation because you know, certainly, if that
was a twenty eight, twenty seven game, maybe he's on
the field, right, I mean, they didn't need him in
that situation. But do we not have kind of a
PTSD with Jonathan Taylor of these things lingering and then
we find out that there is more there And that's
(04:37):
why to me, that's why I am skeptical about Taylor's health.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Well, I want to I don't love that I don't
know what it is. I don't I don't love that
I don't.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Know what was bothering him.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Well, do we know that something was bothering him?
Speaker 2 (04:55):
It feels like it, But I don't know that we
know that for sure, because all you know, Shane has
mostly just said he's good. So I'm kind of waiting
on the injury for it to see if it says something.
You know, if it says Ankle that all of a sudden,
my concern level will get a lot higher.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Here's the thing. I don't disagree, but I like, there's
something intriguing about watching Giddon's run and then obviously what
you're doing is you're ready to unleash the beast and
ulyssuspently the fourth when that number gets called. But I
do think that Giddons does give them. Yes, it's a
different style of run, but I think that they can
still kind of do some of the things they want
(05:30):
to do with Gidden's back there. Am I way too
naive bullish on a rookie, No.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
I think I thought the lesson of maybe not playing
Taylor was that in that it was was that, you know,
maybe maybe you couldn't give Jonathan Taylor a break on
a couple carries earlier in the game. I know, it
seems like it's been a long time since anyone wanted
to do that.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Usually when Taylor, even when Zach Moss was here.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
If you go back and look when Taylor was healthy,
Taylor got almost all of the carries.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
And I get it.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
It's Jonathan Taylor. You want him on the field as
much as possible, but also I want him on the
field as much as possible. Maybe give him a rest
every once in a while. It looks like the rookie
can handle some of that stuff. You know, it doesn't
that be a lot, but you know, I think he
had fifteen carries in the first.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Half on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
We four of those go to DJ Giddens and then
maybe Jonathan Taylor feels a little bit.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Better heading in the second half.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Do you believe that Shane Stiken called that game the
same way with Daniel Jones that he would have with
Anthony Richardson.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Nope?
Speaker 1 (06:30):
In what way was it different?
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I think it's probably a more complex game plan. I
would guess that the protection, especially against a team that
blitzes as much as Miami did, I would guess they
probably felt like they could do it more from a
protection standpoint. We saw a couple of plays that where
Jones changed the protection, they were very good against the blitz.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
I think it expands what.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
They can do, and people usually think of that in
terms of sort of concrete things that are easy to see,
like you know they they well, no, they couldn't expand
it because they didn't run.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
The ball as much with the quarter ex position. That's
not what I'm talking about.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
I'm talking about options for plays that to us look
like just a regular old pass play, but it's actually
something that targets something that Miami does. And it's harder
for you know, us to see because Richard's or because
Richardson maybe doesn't handle the same expanded playbook that Jones does.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Joe, how many of these Dog and Pony Show interviews
do you think you and I've done over the last
three years? Two years, three years? What would you guess
twenty twenty five?
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Yeah? Probably, maybe more than that, yeah, probably.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
And what percentage of the time when you get done
and I know you got to get going here in
a second to get in the locker room, but what percentage,
especially in this situation where you you hang the phone
up and then you are immediately air dropped in with
all of your media brethren, right, and guys that were
way ahead of me and academic class rank. What percent
of the time when that happens, do you say you're
not going to believe what Querry just has me? And
then you guys commserate over the dumb question that I asked.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
I here On the one hand, On the one hand.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Yes, we do talk sometimes with what I could talk about.
But if you make it sound like it's a negative,
I think of it as a.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Positive because it makes you sound smarter that.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Sometimes I'm no, sometimes I'm like, I'm like, I got
to talk about bourbon for fifteen second for two questions.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
I enjoyed that.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Well, here is why I'm going to ask a question
that I'm going to give you the green light to
then tell me if it's just an incredibly dumb, ill timed,
stupid question and et cetera. You ready, Okay, how is
Anthony Richardson doing? And I mean that sincerely, I truly
mean that with In other words, how do you think
(08:44):
It's one thing to be told that the other guy's
the starter. It's another to then have to sit back
and watch the team play well under that guy and
here for a week about how wonderful it was to
have competency and stability at the quarterback position. And you
are a young guy that allegedly, and I'm using that
in air quotes, the team still believes in. But how
(09:05):
do you think he's doing?
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yeah, that's a that's a good question. I don't I
don't know that I have any insight on it. I
think your instincts makes sense to me. I think if
I was in his position, it would be a little
bit tough. You see stuff from like, uh, I was
just reading a story about like fired coaches or whatever,
and that it's hard for them to turn on the
(09:29):
game of the team that they were coaching before they
were fired. Uh, and and it's probably I mean, it's
got to be a little bit true if you were
the quarterback and then somebody else is a quarterback, right Yeah,
except that you have to be there and you have
to stand there on the sideline, right all.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
I mean, you know, I I know, you got to
be the team guy and you got to be the
team player. But at the same time that there's That's
why the reason I say it, Joel, is because that's
why it feels to me like when you take a
quarterback from the starter back to the like we're going
to put him on the sidelines and let him learn
(10:06):
that's a real difficult thing to come back from.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Yeah, yeah, I agree with that.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
I agree with that, and especially if especially if you
see you know, success from the person that replaced you.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
That's what I mean.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
A lot of times, a lot of times, a lot
of times you have these guys like what you know,
they Bryce Young got benched and then the Caroline Panthers
are still a mess.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
You know.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
That's that's different than watching them go out and score
on all seven possessions.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Yeah, and again, it's interesting that you say that you
thought that Shane Steiken might have called the game even
more complex, because there's part of me that wondered if
they didn't make it even more simplistic to keep within
what they believe to be the ceiling for Jones. And
just as I keep talking about having them hit the
layups and Tyler Warren being a big piece of that,
but maybe maybe in fact they were able to spread
(10:57):
it around. Does that make sense? I mean their offense
might have been even more versatile, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Yeah, I think how they I think it's how they
get to the layups. It's how they you know, all
of the different ways we saw the hes, Tyler Warren,
the all of the like options. Essentially, you get to
the line and you have options to change the play,
and maybe that play just leads to a five yard game,
but it's it's a play that you wouldn't have had
if you stuck in that. I think that's where it expands.
(11:24):
It is they've got more options to get to those
layups than they would have had before.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Joel, here's the bottom line. Before you go back in,
I need to let you know this. It is not
until January.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
No.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
I took that back December second week in December when
I do my annual weekend trip to Milwaukee, we do
our pre Christmas trip to Milwaukee, Shannon and I. That
means that when the beer faery made his delivery to you,
you've got to ration things off and pace yourself. I wondered.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
I wondered, and and I wondered, and I may have
gone out, and you know, the next time I was
at the grocery store, I was like, you know what
I need. I need to get myself a three Floyd's
variety pack so I can face out these I can
space out this Wisconsin stuff for appropriate time.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
That's right, or as they do in Wisconsin. You know,
I gotta take care of that until next Wednesday. You
know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (12:17):
That's pretty good accent, that's pretty good.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
I mean, listen, I don't know if you know this
or not, but I'm a man of many talents. We
haven't found necessarily what most of those are, but allegedly
I am right. All right, Joel, Well you get back
to it. I appreciate it. What's that?
Speaker 3 (12:32):
I thought that was a pretty good one. That's pretty
good Wisconsin.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Thanks. You know, I'm gonna do what I can, hey, daughter,
I do what I can all right, appreciate the time, Joel.
As always, you.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Bet we'll see up.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
By the way, I always and I always love this one. Jake,
you don't know what you're talking about because you don't
have kids. Okay again, I mean I get that, But
at the same time, the it's my understanding the woman
was getting the ball that laid right before because she
wanted to give it to wait for it her kids.
And secondly, my entire like point about baseball games is
(13:11):
based upon it being for kids. Right, Like you you
let kids wear a glove to the game. You wear
a glove to the game. If you're with a kid.
When you get to a game and you look around,
you find it. And if you are an adult that
is there without children, you look around for the kid
(13:32):
that you would give the ball to if a foul
ball comes to you.
Speaker 5 (13:37):
Yeah, I think that's just common courtesy, right, I mean,
if you were a kid, make your day, make your
mond course.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
I mean, yeah, you're soaking the glory for it. Now,
I will admit it changes the dynamic a little bit
if it is in fact, like you know, if you're
there and it's Kyle Schwarber's five hundredth career home run.
I mean, I get it. There are elements of that
that you know, you start getting in a monetary value.
Shane Steiken talked earlier today with the Colts about the
(14:05):
Colts situation upcoming with the Miami Dolphins, and I'm going
to go back to what I said off the top
of the show, and that is when you look at
game number one, I'm sorry, getting set for the Denver
Broncos and coming off the Miami Dolphins, if you look
at that game against Miami, and I don't know the
answer to this. I don't and I don't know that
(14:27):
we'll know it in maybe until late October. But it
happens every year. It happens every year in the National
Football League where we have over reaction Monday. All you
have to do is look at, for example, our Chicago's
Pizza Quarry and Company Fantasy football league. Myself, I went
(14:51):
out immediately yesterday and picked up two players off free
agency because I'm like, uh, oh, big week one for
that guy, I gotta go get him. Oh this guy
didn't perform for me. I got to drop him. It's
one week, but I'm guilty of it. And fantasy football
to a great extent is responsible for two things in
(15:13):
the NFL. Number One, it's responsible, I think, for widening
an already huge fan base because of the fact that
it allowed for people that normally weren't diehard football fans
to get invested and all of a sudden, now they
had a reason to watch games and whatever else because
(15:34):
they wanted to make sure that they won their league
or beat their husband's team, or their wife's team, or
their co workers team, whatever it might be. That's thing
one that fantasy football has done. Number two that fantasy
football has done is it has allowed, I think to
an extent, and this is true of fantasy basketball, baseball, whatever.
Fantasy sports in general. Has allowed for us to see
(15:56):
the challenge that teams have because you are you're allowed
so many wide receivers and then wait a minute, I
need to pick up a running back and well, wait
a minute, this running back got hurt. And now what
am I gonna do? Because I was playing, my team
was doing great, and now I've got And yes, it's fantasy.
It's not reality. There's nothing about it that's real except
(16:18):
for the perspective that it offers, and it does somewhat
offer a real perspective as to the challenges that go
into a team, including overreaction. So maybe we overreacted about
Week one against Miami. Maybe we overreacted to this defense
(16:39):
looks amazing under Lou and Roumo. Maybe we overreacted to
Daniel Jones is going to have a Sam Darnold Baker
Mayfield lease on life, situation of energy pumped into him
and now a confidence bolster that comes with new surroundings,
(17:00):
new offense, new technique, et cetera. Maybe we overreacted to that,
or maybe we will look back in October and say
Miami was terrible, that's the worst team in the league.
Or it could be that we're overreacting to that narrative
(17:20):
and that Miami actually is a decent team and the
Colts made them look bad. And the pump the brakes
is where we are overreacting because we need to keep
it at the same level of acceleration of build on this.
We don't know the answer to many of those things.
What we do know is this, and you learn this
(17:44):
in fantasy sports. You learn that each week you've got
to look at your roster and you're like, oh, my gosh,
what happened my fantasy team, Like I was doing great
and then I completely spaced my tight end was on
a B and I didn't get a change made, and
so I lost eleven points and then guess what, my
(18:04):
team got beat by nine. Okay, And so you learn
that having to monitor all the time, all areas of
your team are important, and that is, of course true.
That is one of the offerings that gives us a microcosm,
and I mean it's a microcosm of the realities of
the NFL. But each usually Tuesday and Wednesday, depending on
(18:29):
the which availability it is, how much information they have,
how many injuries they have, The head coach meets with
the media and gives updates on status of players. And
for the Colts themselves, you have I think for the
most part, they came out of Week one in pretty
(18:50):
good shape. Now and I'm you know, Jonathan Taylor, is
there something going on there? Well, they haven't said anything.
And he did not finish the game, but he didn't
need to. So it is he a little bit dinged
up because he got dinged up on a play and
then didn't return. I don't know. That hasn't been clarified.
(19:11):
I personally think that we're going to look back and say,
you know what, we didn't realize this, but now we
can tell you that this was going on. Okay, and
you know he's gonna We're gonna lighten the load whatever
it might be. But let's get to the defensive backfield situation.
If you look at the defensive backs, you look at
(19:32):
the secondary for the Colts, I think pretty good unit.
Matter of fact, a testament to the equality of the
unit is the fact that Juju Brnce and I know
that that was a health issue, but Juju Brince didn't
make this roster. And I think Juju Brnce is a
big athletic guy that they would have loved it, but
there just wasn't. They ran out of time on that
(19:53):
and obviously he was claimed, so other teams do see
that he has some potential about him. But if you
look at the second derry for the Colts as it
stands going into the year, okay, and what you would
anticipate given every single week being your fantasy lineup as
it is healthy and everybody good to go. In that situation,
(20:16):
your corners are Shaverius Ward, who is an experienced, upgraded,
proven player on one side, of course, and then Xaviing
Howard on the other side, with Jalen Jones being a
guy that can spell either way. Well, now you're in
(20:36):
a unique situation. Kenny Moore is your nickel. Okay, so
you're in a unique situation. And then you got blackman
coming in and helping out Kenny Moore. But here is
Chris Ballard earlier when answering the question about the availability,
for example, of Sharverius Ward who went into the concussion
(20:57):
protocol and then Jalen Joe Zones, who we knew was
nursing a sore hamstring, one injury that had already plagued
him at the beginning of camp. But listen closely, because
he's asked about Shaverius Ward is Shane Steichen and he
answers that question, and in terms of information, it's a
buy one, get one.
Speaker 6 (21:18):
He will not he'll be in the protocol and we'll
see the week ghost Zon Zones while yeah, he's going
to be out for a while. I don't have a
timetable on it, but he'll be out for a while.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
Okay. That was James Boyd asking that follow up question
about Jalen Jones. So now you look at it. Ward
in concussion protocol. Let's say he's not able to go
Jones out for a while, not able to go Xavian Howard,
you would feel pretty good about. But we'll get to
(21:47):
that because there's something to be said there as well. Okay,
and then you have black been that for example, if
Kenny Moore is now all of a sudden going to
have to play, you know, and fill in at one
of the corner spots, Blackman's got to move up a
spot as well, right, And this becomes kind of that
domino effect of what takes place with having to move
(22:10):
guys around. So let's talk about Blackman and whether or
not he is ready. Then if his number is called
and Kenny Moore gets more reps on primary everyday downs,
Blackman then has to slide into the nickel role or
play perhaps depth at one of the corners. Question is
this is a guy that they basically got at the
(22:31):
end of camp. They made a trade for him at
the end of camp, came from Minnesota. And here is
Shane Steichen on whether he thinks Blackman's ready to go.
Speaker 6 (22:39):
Yeah, No, I thought he did a great job coming in.
He put in the time, put in the work. He
was always in with the dB coaches. Jerome Henderson, he
spent a lot of time with him. I walked ust
to his office when he signed him. He was in
there all day, every day learning the system. So credit
to him. Credit to Jerome and Chris getting him up
to speed as fast as possible.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Okay. And when he's talking about Chris, by the way,
they've got a couple of defensive back coaches, and Chris
Hewett is another one that works within the secondary. He's
the overall secondary coach. And then Jerome Henderson there that
you heard that works with corners. Okay. Now, so then
the question becomes with this room that we thought was
a room where they had good depth and now all
of a sudden it's a little bit depleted. Steichen's thoughts
(23:20):
on the cornerback room in general good.
Speaker 6 (23:22):
I mean, we got guys in there that we feel
confident in. Whoever's on that field, we got faith in,
and they got to be ready to go. You know,
if he's not able to go, we got to those
other guys step up.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Now, I get it, and I believe him when he
says that, because I do think that credit to Chris Ballard.
Chris Ballard has done a good job of building depth
at this position, but it's already being tested. And the
thing to me that is curious is this the guys
that we just mentioned. Jonathan Edwards, undrafted free agent, didn't
know where Westfield, Indiana was three months ago except for
(23:55):
the fact that he played at Indiana State, so he
probably had some friends from Westfield. Okay, Xavien Howard again
not on the roster, not one that you expected at
the end of last year was going to be a
part of this defensive backfield black Men we just talked about,
and Jalen Jones who has been dinged up with injury
and is still out for a while now. My point being,
(24:16):
this is a unit that, while I give them credit
and thank goodness, they've built some depth within it, it
is still faces and names that are relatively unfamiliar overall
with the grand scheme of things. But you have a
defense with a coordinator that is new. Lou An Arumo
is new to everybody. His defense is new to everybody,
(24:38):
and how you work off of your teammates within your
particular unit also new to everybody. And corner is one
spot that I think you can most airdrop a guy
in and on short preparation, he can play at a
pretty high level compared to say, if you were to
(25:01):
put in a right guard or a tight end or
a receiver, just because I think the language, the lingo,
the responsibilities. In terms of how much you are reliant
upon what your other teammates are doing, you are more
on an island as a corner than probably any other position.
But the other thing that I can appreciate, and I've
(25:22):
grown to appreciate this over time, Shane Stikeen has a
unique ability to answer questions without saying anything. Caleb, I'm
gonna give you the task here. I want you to
ask me a question about anything in life, and I'll
answer it like Shane Stikeen. Anything going on in the world.
Let's not keep it political, but or let's not go political,
(25:42):
but anything in the world going on, sports wise, other teams,
whatever going on. Just ask me a question of something
going on in the world right now that's topical. I'll
answer it like Shane Steikeen. Uh.
Speaker 5 (25:52):
Hey, coach Shane stike In caleb'suverer of one oh seven
five of the fan, Uh, what are your thoughts on
the Cowboys missing Michael Parsons? Do you think it's a
good trade, bad trade.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
What do you think? Yeah, good trade, good player. You
know obviously those guys, you know, they they know what
they got to do. That's got energy, I mean, gets
in their mixed plays, you know, and and and and
they're gonna know what's best for their program. I think
he's a great player. I think Green Bay got a
great player there. But at the same time, you know,
Dallas they got a lot of depth, and you gotta
trust the process. And I think they trust the process.
They know, and they've done their work, They've done their homework,
(26:22):
and uh, I think it works have both teams. Okay,
I asked me something else that that's not to do
with football.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
And.
Speaker 5 (26:28):
Let's see here, Uh what do you uh can I
still stick with sports anything in the world?
Speaker 1 (26:35):
Anything? Just go ask question boom.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
Go uh chainstike in what's your favorite uh state capital
in the United States?
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Well, good question. Lots of them to choose from, you know,
and obviously you know they all got all got highs,
all got lows. I mean, you know, you look at Cheyenne,
windy like the wind, you know, Cheyenne and and the
high plateau there, and then you know, Tallahassee, big building.
But you know, we got to look at it. I mean,
I've been a lot of them, not not to all
of them. So we got to look at it. And and
we'll take a look at that. And but you know,
i'd say Indianapolis. I mean, we're here in Indianapolis, like
(27:04):
Indianapolis State Capitol, beautiful building right next to our building,
and you know we look to pack it like he
is the master. He is the master and answering the
coach speak one on one, but you you have to navi.
So what I'm saying is with that, you have to
then tiptoe through and navigate and find little things where
he's giving you a little information. And where we aired.
(27:28):
Where I aired was so I'm not going to throw
everybody else under this bus. Where I aired was the
fact that when if you look at each time he
was asked about the quarterback situation, he told you everything
(27:49):
you needed to know. He didn't say the names, but
he told you everything he needed to know you needed
to know. And when he is saying right there, for example,
he was asked about Ward and he just said he's
in the protocol. And that's it. I mean, I get
that he probably doesn't know much more than that at
this point. But when he's asked about Blackman and he
(28:13):
starts and I go back to this. I just think
this is such a critically important aspect of when Shane
Steichen says things he does. He gives you the coach
speak one oh one, but there is consistency in sometimes
the narrative of what he is saying. And when he's
talking about Blackman there and when he's talking about the
(28:35):
defensive backfield there, what does he keep going back to preparation,
the room, the film room, reps, commitment. He keeps saying
those things, and he doesn't say that about every player,
(28:55):
So when there are players that he doesn't say it about,
you can read between the lines. And I know that
he was very high on the physical attributes of Anthony Richardson.
And I know that he was vociferous through the draft
process apparently or allegedly within the room of the intrigue
(29:17):
of Anthony Richardson. And I know that he managed to
kind of reinvent Jalen Hurts. And I know that he
actually I think, got a pretty decent contract for Gardner Minshew.
(29:39):
And I think now Shane Steiken is looking at and
somebody sent me this yesterday, Ron sent me this. I
think it was and it's a brilliant point. By going
with Daniel Jones, Shane Steiken is gambling not on Daniel
Jones and not against Anthony Richardson, but Shane Stiken is
gambling on himself because he knows the time is ticking
(30:02):
for him, and he knows. He looks at it and
he says, I've got to go with the quarterback here
that I feel I have the best opportunity to awaken
and to jumpstart and to get going. And in doing that,
I've got to go with the quarterback that I'm the
(30:23):
most comfortable with. And what defines comfort for Shane Steichen
in the room, working with coaches, commitment, see him in
the hallways, and what does he keep telling us? And
what did he keep telling us about Anthony Richardson? He
kept saying to us, not even necessarily as an indictment
(30:48):
on Richardson, but in the praise elsewhere, Well, the thing
about Jones or the thing about this quarterback competition. I
want somebody that it's part of the entire operation. I
want somebody that sees all of this in terms of
everything from the huddle to the room to the hallway
to being the first in and the last out. And
(31:08):
it's one thing, sure we all know people like this.
They punched the time clock and then nobody knows where they.
You know, everybody worked at that grocery store in high
school where there's the one guy that's like, yeah, did
you hear You know John was punching the time clock
and then going taking a nap in the paper towel
rolls in the stock room and then coming back at
four hours later and punching out and nobody knows he
(31:28):
wasn't there. You know, that kind of thing. You get
people to go through the problem, just go through the
motion of it. And I think Steichen has basically been
telling us now that that's what that he didn't feel
Richardson was doing those other things, and he's utilizing that
now it's seeped into him explaining to us with other
(31:50):
players what it is that he likes. He is screaming
the message to us, and I aired and not hearing
the message because I got caught up in all the noise,
right and I wasn't just listening to the core message.
And now what you have is I think The message
(32:10):
that now we shift to is now that we know
that it's Daniel Jones. He is saying to us, I
need somebody that is all in on the process and
being a leader from in all areas and aspects, because
I Shane Steichen was brought here to be a quarterback whisperer,
(32:35):
and if as a quarterback whisperer, I'm still speaking too
softly for the quarterback that I was thought to be
awakening to hear it, then I have to go with
the guy that actually at least has hearing aids and
can figure out what I'm saying. And I believe that's
Daniel Jones. And I believe that Daniel Jones will give
me the best opportunity to call a game that benefits
(32:57):
the quarterback, that utilizes the weapons that we have, that
allows us to win games, and allows me to keep
my job. I'm not saying his job this year is
like right on the razor's edge, but I think he
knows the NFL stands for not for long. And if
you look at that game against Miami and you look
(33:19):
at the way Shane Steiken strategized that game, he offered
for us the blueprint and the blueprint is you come
out in a game, you establish Tyler Warren, you get
him going, You make it very clear this is the
guy that we're going to punch you in the mouth with.
And then once you adapt your defense to take away
(33:43):
that middle area where Tyler Warren is roaming around, then
we're going to take advantage of the areas where you
just softened yourself. And we're going to utilize Jonathan Taylor,
and we're gonna utilize Michael Pittman, and we're gonna utilize
even Alec Pierce and even Adie Mitchell. That's what the
(34:04):
game plan is. And then we're going to once we
get a lead. And yes, it's a lot easier to
maintain and hold on to a lead theoretically with Miami
or maybe even Denver than it's going to be if
you're playing Kansas City or Baltimore Buffalo. I get that,
but in these games, I mean, hoon, does Houston have
an offense that blows you away? Does Tennessee have an
(34:26):
offense that blows you away? Does Jacksonville have an offense
that blows you away? You want to win your division
games first, and you're seeing the blueprint right now. He
is spelling it out for you, because that's what Shane
Steiken does. He speaks coach speak, and he says the
same thing over and over. But the message is there,
and that message is sort through and find the finite
(34:50):
message of what I'm saying, and that is that the
blueprint of how we're going to play is we are
going to be a team that is winning organizationally. And
what you say against Miami is exactly that they went out,
they did what they needed to do, they got the lead,
and then once they did, you let lou Anarrumo turn
that defense loose, You roll with it, You hold onto
(35:12):
that lead, and you keep your offense in such a
fashion that Miami never was able to get back in
that game. And I think they're going to try to
do the same thing against Denver. A favorite guest of
the program Debbie Antonelli. Of course, you see her television
work when it comes to the w NBA and the
Indiana Fever Fever in the playoffs. Now the regular season
(35:33):
wrapping up, They ended with a strong win over the
Minnesota Links last night. Debbie Antonelli joining us on the
always busy and shockingly unsponsored guest line. Debbie I'm going
to begin with this. You thought I was bringing you
on to talk about the fever, and we're going to
get to that. You thought I was going to bring
you on to talk about the WNBA. We're going to
get to that as well. But the most important topic
(35:55):
at hand is this, and that is the last time
that we talked, we had talked about and I had
you on along with John Wheeler, our friend from just
to the southeast of here that is a special Olympic
basketball player, won a national championship representing Indiana with a
game winning shot years ago, and now was trying to
put together a package to get himself to Minnesota. And
(36:18):
you did a phenomenal job of spearheading a fundraising effort
for that. We got listeners involved as well, and it
is my understanding that he in fact will be on
his way to Minnesota. Is that correct, Jake.
Speaker 4 (36:32):
That's part of the reason why you're one of my
heroes in Indiana. I just love that you lead with
this because yes, he will be a part of the
team delegation representing Indiana playing basketball and coaching basketball in
Minneapolis next summer. So yes, it's very exciting. Or thank
you for your help. I want to thank the listeners
that helped out John who made enough money and raised
(36:53):
enough money so that he can go.
Speaker 1 (36:54):
I just love it. I love everything about it. And
as I told him, you know, look, I know he
wants to win, and you know, these are competitors, right,
They're athletes like the rest of us, and they want
to win. But at the same time, there's a little
victory even before they go out, and what a win
that is to be able to They're already starting out
one to zero in my book, you know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (37:14):
Yeah, you know what that particular game Minnesota playing, not
last night, but the last time Minnesota played. I said,
twenty dollars for every three that Indiana and Minnesota made combined,
it was so fitting that it was Minnesota and that's
where he wanted to go. Those teams made twenty two threes.
I threw four hundred and forty bucks in a bucket and.
Speaker 1 (37:33):
A bucket for John's That's the best money you spent
in a while, That's right, you know. All right, Debbie,
let's get to this. And I was talking about this earlier,
and I want you to from a basketball standpoint, kind
of enlighten with this and that is this particular Fever team.
I have been so impressed with the resiliency that they've
(37:54):
had to show with roster, just based on in particular
their backcourt attrition. And you know, and it goes beyond
Caitlin Clark's injury. I mean Sophie Cunningham's you know, a
great player, and you know they've lost a lot of
key pieces over the course of the season, and yet
they put themselves in position out of the postseason. How
do you, as a coach or a player either one
(38:17):
fight against that being complacency and saying mission accomplished when
in fact, now there's a new mission before you.
Speaker 4 (38:24):
Well, first of all, you have to understand all the
advanced work the front office does to be able to
put Stephanie White in this position, to be able to
lead these women, right. So you've got to put the
right pieces together. And it's not just skill set, it's character,
it's personality, it's all of it. Experience matters, especially when
you get into the playoffs and then Stephanie. You know,
(38:46):
in basketball, Jake, pretty much everybody runs the same stuff.
You might change your concepts a little bit, you might
tweak or change something, but nobody really runs anything that's
much different than what another team may run. But so
now is how the things change on the floor. And
Stephanie White and her staff have done an outstanding job
(39:06):
plugging in pieces that work, changing rotations, still learning about rotations.
You don't have to worry about complacency. You're never going
to stay the same. You either going to get better,
you're going to get worse. And I think right now,
when you get into the playoffs, this is not a
team that's just happy to be there. The format has changed.
One game on the road, the second game the Fever
will play at home. You know, can you imagine the environment.
(39:29):
I mean, this is a team that's hungry to win,
So I wouldn't put anything past them at this point.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
You know, Stephanie White and I talked about this a
little bit, Debbie, but I want to get your perspective
on it. The conventional wisdom is that with basketball, you know,
it used to be that depending on and I'll speak
it from a college level. You know, Bob Knights Indiana
team goes out, you know you're going to see the
motion offense, and they're playing against North Carolina and Dean
(39:55):
Smith's going to run like the four corners, and you know,
then you go against UNLV and you know they're going
to play obviously, you know, or Nolan Richardson teams are
going to trap, you know, I mean all the different
ways is has basketball become more i'll say homogenized for
lack of a better term, because of the influence of
the Summer Aau style of play and thus, as a result,
(40:19):
it's become more positionless and less strict in terms of
an offensive set that is being run. Is that the
overwhelming drive and influence on why it is now? The
way that you speak.
Speaker 4 (40:34):
Positionless, Jake, you know, perimeters and posts, that's pretty much
the way you describe it now. And I think what
you see is the it's not coaching basketball, it's coaching people. Okay,
so you're moving obviously it's coaching basketball, but you're moving
pieces around on your team to be able to put
them in the best possible ways to highlight their skill set. Look,
(40:58):
Kelsey Mitchell can score in any action, Okay. Stephanie White
can almost predict or dictate what time on the clock
she wants Kelsey in that single side ball screen action
with Aleah. Okay, because you got to get a ball
reversal to get it back to Kelsey. So these are
the things that make Stephanie really good at what she does.
There is such a high level IQ and thought process
(41:20):
that goes into moving these pieces around these individuals and
then getting them to work together and sink in a
twenty four second shock lock. And the game is fast,
so this decisions are coming fast, angles are coming fast.
Space is changing quickly.
Speaker 2 (41:37):
And you've got to have the ability.
Speaker 4 (41:39):
To move people into the right spots and set them
up for success. And that's what Stephanie and the staff
have done really well based on positional lists, perimeters and
posts like you described it.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
We just saw Kelsey Mitchell complete a season with the
highest single season scoring average in Fever history. If I'm
not mistaken, I believe she surpassed Tamika in that regard.
And yet if you look at this roster, I don't
think you know there are sometimes Debbie as you know
that somebody you know, you look at a team and
(42:10):
you go, well, somebody's got to score on that team.
And you know, twenty twenty five guys. As I always
say to me, this is very situational scoring. And it
has come for Kelsey Mitchell in ways that she's been
able to score in different ways and in different times
when it is needed. What has most impressed you about
(42:30):
her that you would say to people that look at
it and just assume that she's a volume scorer and
not a situational score if that makes sense.
Speaker 4 (42:38):
High IQ incredible teammate, wants to win more than anything
else and would be willing to sacrifice a few shots
if it meant they could finish the playoffs at the end, right,
like go all the way to the end, and to
the end for Kelsey because she's in the moment is
forty minutes, it's the next play. It's what you love
(42:59):
about her. She's never going to take a playoff. She's
going to guard the best offensive player on the perimeter
on the other team. She is going to do it
without complaining. She's not going to say anything to the officials,
and if she does, then she's probably right because that's
been her demeanor all season. I absolutely loved Kelsey Mitchell.
Now I can say this about a lot of players, Jake,
(43:20):
and this is true. I've been watching them all since
they were in college. I saw Kelsey play when she
was an AAU player out of Cincinnati. Okay, I knew
Kelsey and I've known her for a long time. I've
got Kelsey Mitchell's Ohio state jersey. I've been waiting to
wear it. I'm gonna wear it everywhere I go. Now.
I'm so proud of what she's become, who she is,
how she reps Indiana Fever, and what she means to
(43:42):
the WNBA. Right now, there's not a better guard in
the league than Kelsey Mitchell, and she should be getting
her due. She deserves it, She's earned it, and now
she's got a one year of playoff experience from last year,
and I expect her to be really good next week.
Speaker 1 (43:57):
You know another style, Debbie Antonelli is our gad. We're
talking about the Indiana Fever here another with every team
in Debbie, I want you to tell me, I mean,
feel free to tell me you've seen this team far
in greater detail than have I. So I may be
wrong in this, okay, but I always like players that
can score for you without it having to be designed
(44:19):
for them to score. So in other words, they're opportune scorers.
But players that from one game to the next can
redefine what it is that they do based on what's
needed on that particular night. Now you tell me if
I'm wrong. But for this team, the player that has
really impressed me in that regard from what I've seen
is tash Howard and the fact that she doesn't need
(44:41):
to be a frontline scorer and star, but on certain
nights she can be that if need be, or she
can help in other areas. I am I giving? Am
I misreading that?
Speaker 3 (44:51):
No?
Speaker 4 (44:51):
And I think that's another testament to Coach White and
their staff. They don't put Natasha Howard in situations where
she can't be instinctive. She is a very instinctive go
to the glass, drive hard, cut hard, you know, rebound,
run the floor. Those are the reasons why the front
(45:12):
office brought her to Indiana, and she has three w
NBA championships. She knows what it takes to win, she
understands it, and I know she's going to have a
strong voice. She's very well respected by her teammates, and
I expect that she will will turn it on because
it's when she needs to and she understands that.
Speaker 1 (45:31):
Debbie. Do they in any way, shape or form the
fever change schematically anything in the postseason. Do we see
in the postseason typically, whether it be pacing or the
way or wrinkles that you're trying to do. Do we
see any change from regular season to postseason or is
it pretty much push in on who you are?
Speaker 4 (45:53):
I think based on how their roster looks now, based
on the amount of reps that they've been able to
have together, how Stephanie White and her staff have simplified
things so that you can plug and play and you
can stay ready and just not be overwhelmed. I do
think having some time now today, they have off Tomorrow,
(46:13):
they'll practice Friday, they'll practice Saturday, they'll go travel somewhere.
They're gonna have a couple of days to work on themselves.
I know Stephanie White's gonna bring something, and you've better
be ready to figure it out. If I get to
call the Indiana Fever playoff games, I'm going to be
looking for that subtle thing that Stephanie will do. It
could be maybe they're going to trap more Boss Greens.
It could be maybe they're gonna do some sort of
(46:36):
isolation with personnel based on who they're playing. They'll be
ready and they'll be a tweak or a change because
you can't get to the playoffs without stepping up your level.
And I know this group of players having a couple
of days to practice together, which I don't think they've had,
will give them a chance to be ready on Sunday. Hey.
Speaker 1 (46:51):
Lastly, Debbie, when when your son Frankie was in school,
we've talked a lot about him on the show. Did
they have and I don't know if this is something
that's in all states. I know in Indiana, I don't
know how long it's been around. But did they have
unified sports when your son was in school?
Speaker 4 (47:08):
They did, And unified sports is something that I championed
a lot. It gives your peers a chance to compete
with the athletes. So I've been a unified partner. I've
played basketball and golf with Frankie. We have. Actually the
last time I played basketball with Frankie, Jacob put a
GoPro on his head and turned it on and let it.
Just had fun watching it afterwards. I wanted to see
(47:29):
what he was doing, what he was seeing, you know
why I was playing hoops. It's pretty fun. Yeah, they
have it, and I highly encourage anybody to get involved.
It's a great way to make friends.
Speaker 1 (47:39):
Well. And here's the thing, and this is why I
wanted to bring it up. I've got a friend whose
daughter is a cheerleader at Carmel in unified sports. She's
a special needs student. And here's what I've noticed, and
I've noticed this in other people whose children have been
involved in this, and this is partnering special need students
with those that are I hate say non special needs.
(48:01):
That comes off the wrong way, but you get what
I'm saying. The student athletes and the cheerleaders and whatnot,
puts them together on the same team. I want to
encourage Debbie. For people that are listening who don't have
a child that's in a special education program or a
special Olympics program, and who are just going through everyday
life at school, those are the ones that I think
(48:23):
benefit almost more from unified sports because I see it
with these kids that are going out there and working
with teammates and they're getting almost as much, if not more,
out of it. And that's not to say it's not
a huge benefit for Frankie and his friends, but for
all of them to work as the same team together,
that to me, people that are listening right now that
(48:46):
think that it isn't for their student at school, it
is for every student in school. And I think it's
an awesome, awesome program.
Speaker 4 (48:53):
We have gone past the error where the special education
kids and that part of your school are hidden away
down a hallway where nobody goes. They You only see
him at lunch. Maybe you might see him at pe.
That's not where we are now in public school education
or any education. Quite honestly, my son is working, living
(49:14):
independently with support. He has down syndrome, and he is
functioning really well. As a member of society, You're going
to see people with special needs everywhere you go, in
every walk of life now, and if you might as
you might as well learn now to get along and
figure out a way that you can become friends and
get involved. It's fun. It's I'm going to tell you
something my mother told me a long time ago, Jake,
(49:36):
and I use this as one of my attitudes when
I'm thinking about all the opportunities I have to share
this message. That is, I don't have Frankie in my
life because I did something wrong. I have Frankie because
I did something right somewhere. And if you think about
getting involved with somebody at your school. There's nothing wrong
with them. There's something right about them, and if you
(49:58):
get involved with them, you're going to find out what
that right is and you're going to enjoy it and
it's going to be pure joy and it's going to
give you ten times more than the time that you're
going to spend.
Speaker 1 (50:08):
Debbie, I love it, and you know I always enjoy
seeing those stories and you know, seeing the smiles and
like I said, all those kids on both sides and
unified sports are starting out one to oh before the
season even begins, But Fever want to start out one
to oh in the postseason. We shall see who it
is that they're playing when everything gets underway. And certainly
look forward to talking to you again, Debbie. I know
it's been a busy time for I appreciate the time today.
Speaker 4 (50:30):
You're the best, Jake, Thanks so much. Let's go, Fever.
Joining us now in the program, and I'm sure thrilled
to be doing so. He is with the Indianapolis Star.
He is covering the Colts and hears Joel ericson Joel,
let's get right to the meat of the matter, and
that is the corner situation. What more do we know
other than Jalen Jones out for a while.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Sarmirius Ward is in the concussion protocol, and you know,
all they can really say on that is we'll see.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
But I would say if you go back and look at.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
The recent history of Colts in the concussion protocol, it's
much more likely that he misses this game against Denver
than not. You can't predict these things, but usually they
give that player a week before they come back.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
So with that, and I was just discussing this Joel,
and I don't know, you can add to this or
you can discuss whether or not Shane Steichen has talked
about this. To me, the corner position is the one
area where it's good. And I give Chris Ballack credit
because they've built themselves some depth there. But if there
is one area that you've got to plug guys in
(01:02):
and just kind of air drop them in, like like say,
you know, you're talking about players, as we just mentioned
at the corner, that have not been with this franchise
a long time and did not go through a lot
of camp in some cases. Do you agree with the
statement that that is the one area where you can
perhaps most mask newcomers without having to have the solidarity
(01:24):
of unit like you would have an offensive line or
defensive line.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, I think so. I think, especially especially the way
Anaumo plays defense maybe more than anybody else, because you
can you can reduce their responsibility of one specific matchup.
Like Makai Blackman played last week. I think it was
was pretty significant. He played twenty two snaps defensively, and
Anna Rumo said he's essentially the guy that they match
(01:49):
up with speed guys. They feel like he's the guy
who can who can take away some of that or
at least, if not tac take away at least run
with you know, guys like Tyreek Hill, those fast guys
like you look at this Broncos team coming up. Courtland
Sutton is kind of a bigger bodied receiver that that
feels like an Xavier Howard matchup to me black Man
if he has to start. That's that's that's more of
(02:11):
the other guys. That's Franklin, that's Mims, and and then
you know, if you need somebody else, it'd be our guy,
Jonathan Edwards, who we saw in preseason.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Yeah, Jonathan Edwards is We had him on the show
last week and great, I mean, totally fun interview. But
at the same time, you know, as an undrafted free agent,
are they ready to go that route? I mean, if
they had to put him in there, Joel, do they
feel that he is ready right now?
Speaker 3 (02:38):
I think that, you know, they would have to. They're
gonna have to help him. They're gonna have to help
him if he has to go in there. I don't
think he's gonna play.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
A lost night, especially against you know, when you're going
into a matchup against Sean Payton, who hunts matchups as
well as anybody. But I also think that they probably
feel better with Edwards as an un jefterd free agent,
having spent you know, three weeks or four weeks of
training camp playing essentially a starter role and against you know,
(03:06):
the Michael Pittmans and Alex Pearce's of the world, versus
you know, playing mostly.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
With the twos.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Were there any other injuries that popped up, or any
other situations. Shane Steichen has discussed where we may see
a surprising face or somebody that gets slotted in maybe
even gets a look that we did not anticipate.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
So so far, it sounds like they came out the
rest of it came out healthy. We'll find out though,
when we get to practice.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Because Wednesday is usually the day.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
For us to kind of find out about guys who
are maybe dealing with something that won't keep them out
but could be could be an issue, you know, like
he's he hasn't really said anything about Jonathan Taylor being hurt.
He keeps saying he's fine without saying what it was.
But they did keep him on the bench for you know,
a quarter and a half there in the second half.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
And Joel, you kind of read my mind there because
because and typically if there's supernatural powers between two people,
only one of the two people gets them. And we
know that I have the supernatural power of being a
a beer fairy, so I don't know that you have
the supernatural powers of having read my mind. Rather, it
(04:15):
was just such an obvious storyline, and I'm talking about
that Johnathan Taylor situation because you know, certainly, if that
was a twenty eight, twenty seven game, maybe he's on
the field, right, I mean, they didn't need him in
that situation. But do we not have kind of a
PTSD with Jonathan Taylor of these things lingering and then
we find out that there is more there And that's
(04:37):
why to me, that's why I am skeptical about Taylor's health.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Well, I want to I don't love that I don't
know what it is. I don't I don't love that
I don't.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Know what was bothering him.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Well, do we know that something was bothering him?
Speaker 2 (04:55):
It feels like it, But I don't know that we
know that for sure, because all you know, Shane has
mostly just said he's good. So I'm kind of waiting
on the injury for it to see if it says something.
You know, if it says Ankle that all of a sudden,
my concern level will get a lot higher.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Here's the thing. I don't disagree, but I like, there's
something intriguing about watching Giddon's run and then obviously what
you're doing is you're ready to unleash the beast and
ulyssuspently the fourth when that number gets called. But I
do think that Giddons does give them. Yes, it's a
different style of run, but I think that they can
still kind of do some of the things they want
(05:30):
to do with Gidden's back there. Am I way too
naive bullish on a rookie, No.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
I think I thought the lesson of maybe not playing
Taylor was that in that it was was that, you know,
maybe maybe you couldn't give Jonathan Taylor a break on
a couple carries earlier in the game. I know, it
seems like it's been a long time since anyone wanted
to do that.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Usually when Taylor, even when Zach Moss was here.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
If you go back and look when Taylor was healthy,
Taylor got almost all of the carries.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
And I get it.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
It's Jonathan Taylor. You want him on the field as
much as possible, but also I want him on the
field as much as possible. Maybe give him a rest
every once in a while. It looks like the rookie
can handle some of that stuff. You know, it doesn't
that be a lot, but you know, I think he
had fifteen carries in the first.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Half on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
We four of those go to DJ Giddens and then
maybe Jonathan Taylor feels a little bit.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Better heading in the second half.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Do you believe that Shane Stiken called that game the
same way with Daniel Jones that he would have with
Anthony Richardson.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Nope?
Speaker 1 (06:30):
In what way was it different?
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I think it's probably a more complex game plan. I
would guess that the protection, especially against a team that
blitzes as much as Miami did, I would guess they
probably felt like they could do it more from a
protection standpoint. We saw a couple of plays that where
Jones changed the protection, they were very good against the blitz.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
I think it expands what.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
They can do, and people usually think of that in
terms of sort of concrete things that are easy to see,
like you know they they well, no, they couldn't expand
it because they didn't run.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
The ball as much with the quarter ex position. That's
not what I'm talking about.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
I'm talking about options for plays that to us look
like just a regular old pass play, but it's actually
something that targets something that Miami does. And it's harder
for you know, us to see because Richard's or because
Richardson maybe doesn't handle the same expanded playbook that Jones does.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Joe, how many of these Dog and Pony Show interviews
do you think you and I've done over the last
three years? Two years, three years? What would you guess
twenty twenty five?
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Yeah? Probably, maybe more than that, yeah, probably.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
And what percentage of the time when you get done
and I know you got to get going here in
a second to get in the locker room, but what percentage,
especially in this situation where you you hang the phone
up and then you are immediately air dropped in with
all of your media brethren, right, and guys that were
way ahead of me and academic class rank. What percent
of the time when that happens, do you say you're
not going to believe what Querry just has me? And
then you guys commserate over the dumb question that I asked.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
I here On the one hand, On the one hand.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Yes, we do talk sometimes with what I could talk about.
But if you make it sound like it's a negative,
I think of it as a.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Positive because it makes you sound smarter that.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Sometimes I'm no, sometimes I'm like, I'm like, I got
to talk about bourbon for fifteen second for two questions.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
I enjoyed that.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Well, here is why I'm going to ask a question
that I'm going to give you the green light to
then tell me if it's just an incredibly dumb, ill timed,
stupid question and et cetera. You ready, Okay, how is
Anthony Richardson doing? And I mean that sincerely, I truly
mean that with In other words, how do you think
(08:44):
It's one thing to be told that the other guy's
the starter. It's another to then have to sit back
and watch the team play well under that guy and
here for a week about how wonderful it was to
have competency and stability at the quarterback position. And you
are a young guy that allegedly, and I'm using that
in air quotes, the team still believes in. But how
(09:05):
do you think he's doing?
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Yeah, that's a that's a good question. I don't I
don't know that I have any insight on it. I
think your instincts makes sense to me. I think if
I was in his position, it would be a little
bit tough. You see stuff from like, uh, I was
just reading a story about like fired coaches or whatever,
and that it's hard for them to turn on the
(09:29):
game of the team that they were coaching before they
were fired. Uh, and and it's probably I mean, it's
got to be a little bit true if you were
the quarterback and then somebody else is a quarterback, right Yeah,
except that you have to be there and you have
to stand there on the sideline, right all.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
I mean, you know, I I know, you got to
be the team guy and you got to be the
team player. But at the same time that there's That's
why the reason I say it, Joel, is because that's
why it feels to me like when you take a
quarterback from the starter back to the like we're going
to put him on the sidelines and let him learn
(10:06):
that's a real difficult thing to come back from.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Yeah, yeah, I agree with that.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
I agree with that, and especially if especially if you
see you know, success from the person that replaced you.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
That's what I mean.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
A lot of times, a lot of times, a lot
of times you have these guys like what you know,
they Bryce Young got benched and then the Caroline Panthers
are still a mess.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
You know.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
That's that's different than watching them go out and score
on all seven possessions.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Yeah, and again, it's interesting that you say that you
thought that Shane Steiken might have called the game even
more complex, because there's part of me that wondered if
they didn't make it even more simplistic to keep within
what they believe to be the ceiling for Jones. And
just as I keep talking about having them hit the
layups and Tyler Warren being a big piece of that,
but maybe maybe in fact they were able to spread
(10:57):
it around. Does that make sense? I mean their offense
might have been even more versatile, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Yeah, I think how they I think it's how they
get to the layups. It's how they you know, all
of the different ways we saw the hes, Tyler Warren,
the all of the like options. Essentially, you get to
the line and you have options to change the play,
and maybe that play just leads to a five yard game,
but it's it's a play that you wouldn't have had
if you stuck in that. I think that's where it expands.
(11:24):
It is they've got more options to get to those
layups than they would have had before.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Joel, here's the bottom line. Before you go back in,
I need to let you know this. It is not
until January.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
No.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
I took that back December second week in December when
I do my annual weekend trip to Milwaukee, we do
our pre Christmas trip to Milwaukee, Shannon and I. That
means that when the beer faery made his delivery to you,
you've got to ration things off and pace yourself. I wondered.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
I wondered, and and I wondered, and I may have
gone out, and you know, the next time I was
at the grocery store, I was like, you know what
I need. I need to get myself a three Floyd's
variety pack so I can face out these I can
space out this Wisconsin stuff for appropriate time.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
That's right, or as they do in Wisconsin. You know,
I gotta take care of that until next Wednesday. You
know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (12:17):
That's pretty good accent, that's pretty good.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
I mean, listen, I don't know if you know this
or not, but I'm a man of many talents. We
haven't found necessarily what most of those are, but allegedly
I am right. All right, Joel, Well you get back
to it. I appreciate it. What's that?
Speaker 3 (12:32):
I thought that was a pretty good one. That's pretty
good Wisconsin.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Thanks. You know, I'm gonna do what I can, hey, daughter,
I do what I can all right, appreciate the time, Joel.
As always, you.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
Bet we'll see up.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
By the way, I always and I always love this one. Jake,
you don't know what you're talking about because you don't
have kids. Okay again, I mean I get that, But
at the same time, the it's my understanding the woman
was getting the ball that laid right before because she
wanted to give it to wait for it her kids.
And secondly, my entire like point about baseball games is
(13:11):
based upon it being for kids. Right, Like you you
let kids wear a glove to the game. You wear
a glove to the game. If you're with a kid.
When you get to a game and you look around,
you find it. And if you are an adult that
is there without children, you look around for the kid
(13:32):
that you would give the ball to if a foul
ball comes to you.
Speaker 5 (13:37):
Yeah, I think that's just common courtesy, right, I mean,
if you were a kid, make your day, make your
mond course.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
I mean, yeah, you're soaking the glory for it. Now,
I will admit it changes the dynamic a little bit
if it is in fact, like you know, if you're
there and it's Kyle Schwarber's five hundredth career home run.
I mean, I get it. There are elements of that
that you know, you start getting in a monetary value.
Shane Steiken talked earlier today with the Colts about the
(14:05):
Colts situation upcoming with the Miami Dolphins, and I'm going
to go back to what I said off the top
of the show, and that is when you look at
game number one, I'm sorry, getting set for the Denver
Broncos and coming off the Miami Dolphins, if you look
at that game against Miami, and I don't know the
answer to this. I don't and I don't know that
(14:27):
we'll know it in maybe until late October. But it
happens every year. It happens every year in the National
Football League where we have over reaction Monday. All you
have to do is look at, for example, our Chicago's
Pizza Quarry and Company Fantasy football league. Myself, I went
(14:51):
out immediately yesterday and picked up two players off free
agency because I'm like, uh, oh, big week one for
that guy, I gotta go get him. Oh this guy
didn't perform for me. I got to drop him. It's
one week, but I'm guilty of it. And fantasy football
to a great extent is responsible for two things in
(15:13):
the NFL. Number One, it's responsible, I think, for widening
an already huge fan base because of the fact that
it allowed for people that normally weren't diehard football fans
to get invested and all of a sudden, now they
had a reason to watch games and whatever else because
(15:34):
they wanted to make sure that they won their league
or beat their husband's team, or their wife's team, or
their co workers team, whatever it might be. That's thing
one that fantasy football has done. Number two that fantasy
football has done is it has allowed, I think to
an extent, and this is true of fantasy basketball, baseball, whatever.
Fantasy sports in general. Has allowed for us to see
(15:56):
the challenge that teams have because you are you're allowed
so many wide receivers and then wait a minute, I
need to pick up a running back and well, wait
a minute, this running back got hurt. And now what
am I gonna do? Because I was playing, my team
was doing great, and now I've got And yes, it's fantasy.
It's not reality. There's nothing about it that's real except
(16:18):
for the perspective that it offers, and it does somewhat
offer a real perspective as to the challenges that go
into a team, including overreaction. So maybe we overreacted about
Week one against Miami. Maybe we overreacted to this defense
(16:39):
looks amazing under Lou and Roumo. Maybe we overreacted to
Daniel Jones is going to have a Sam Darnold Baker
Mayfield lease on life, situation of energy pumped into him
and now a confidence bolster that comes with new surroundings,
(17:00):
new offense, new technique, et cetera. Maybe we overreacted to that,
or maybe we will look back in October and say
Miami was terrible, that's the worst team in the league.
Or it could be that we're overreacting to that narrative
(17:20):
and that Miami actually is a decent team and the
Colts made them look bad. And the pump the brakes
is where we are overreacting because we need to keep
it at the same level of acceleration of build on this.
We don't know the answer to many of those things.
What we do know is this, and you learn this
(17:44):
in fantasy sports. You learn that each week you've got
to look at your roster and you're like, oh, my gosh,
what happened my fantasy team, Like I was doing great
and then I completely spaced my tight end was on
a B and I didn't get a change made, and
so I lost eleven points and then guess what, my
(18:04):
team got beat by nine. Okay, And so you learn
that having to monitor all the time, all areas of
your team are important, and that is, of course true.
That is one of the offerings that gives us a microcosm,
and I mean it's a microcosm of the realities of
the NFL. But each usually Tuesday and Wednesday, depending on
(18:29):
the which availability it is, how much information they have,
how many injuries they have, The head coach meets with
the media and gives updates on status of players. And
for the Colts themselves, you have I think for the
most part, they came out of Week one in pretty
(18:50):
good shape. Now and I'm you know, Jonathan Taylor, is
there something going on there? Well, they haven't said anything.
And he did not finish the game, but he didn't
need to. So it is he a little bit dinged
up because he got dinged up on a play and
then didn't return. I don't know. That hasn't been clarified.
(19:11):
I personally think that we're going to look back and say,
you know what, we didn't realize this, but now we
can tell you that this was going on. Okay, and
you know he's gonna We're gonna lighten the load whatever
it might be. But let's get to the defensive backfield situation.
If you look at the defensive backs, you look at
(19:32):
the secondary for the Colts, I think pretty good unit.
Matter of fact, a testament to the equality of the
unit is the fact that Juju Brnce and I know
that that was a health issue, but Juju Brince didn't
make this roster. And I think Juju Brnce is a
big athletic guy that they would have loved it, but
there just wasn't. They ran out of time on that
(19:53):
and obviously he was claimed, so other teams do see
that he has some potential about him. But if you
look at the second derry for the Colts as it
stands going into the year, okay, and what you would
anticipate given every single week being your fantasy lineup as
it is healthy and everybody good to go. In that situation,
(20:16):
your corners are Shaverius Ward, who is an experienced, upgraded,
proven player on one side, of course, and then Xaviing
Howard on the other side, with Jalen Jones being a
guy that can spell either way. Well, now you're in
(20:36):
a unique situation. Kenny Moore is your nickel. Okay, so
you're in a unique situation. And then you got blackman
coming in and helping out Kenny Moore. But here is
Chris Ballard earlier when answering the question about the availability,
for example, of Sharverius Ward who went into the concussion
(20:57):
protocol and then Jalen Joe Zones, who we knew was
nursing a sore hamstring, one injury that had already plagued
him at the beginning of camp. But listen closely, because
he's asked about Shaverius Ward is Shane Steichen and he
answers that question, and in terms of information, it's a
buy one, get one.
Speaker 6 (21:18):
He will not he'll be in the protocol and we'll
see the week ghost Zon Zones while yeah, he's going
to be out for a while. I don't have a
timetable on it, but he'll be out for a while.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
Okay. That was James Boyd asking that follow up question
about Jalen Jones. So now you look at it. Ward
in concussion protocol. Let's say he's not able to go
Jones out for a while, not able to go Xavian Howard,
you would feel pretty good about. But we'll get to
(21:47):
that because there's something to be said there as well. Okay,
and then you have black been that for example, if
Kenny Moore is now all of a sudden going to
have to play, you know, and fill in at one
of the corner spots, Blackman's got to move up a
spot as well, right, And this becomes kind of that
domino effect of what takes place with having to move
(22:10):
guys around. So let's talk about Blackman and whether or
not he is ready. Then if his number is called
and Kenny Moore gets more reps on primary everyday downs,
Blackman then has to slide into the nickel role or
play perhaps depth at one of the corners. Question is
this is a guy that they basically got at the
(22:31):
end of camp. They made a trade for him at
the end of camp, came from Minnesota. And here is
Shane Steichen on whether he thinks Blackman's ready to go.
Speaker 6 (22:39):
Yeah, No, I thought he did a great job coming in.
He put in the time, put in the work. He
was always in with the dB coaches. Jerome Henderson, he
spent a lot of time with him. I walked ust
to his office when he signed him. He was in
there all day, every day learning the system. So credit
to him. Credit to Jerome and Chris getting him up
to speed as fast as possible.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
Okay. And when he's talking about Chris, by the way,
they've got a couple of defensive back coaches, and Chris
Hewett is another one that works within the secondary. He's
the overall secondary coach. And then Jerome Henderson there that
you heard that works with corners. Okay. Now, so then
the question becomes with this room that we thought was
a room where they had good depth and now all
of a sudden it's a little bit depleted. Steichen's thoughts
(23:20):
on the cornerback room in general good.
Speaker 6 (23:22):
I mean, we got guys in there that we feel
confident in. Whoever's on that field, we got faith in,
and they got to be ready to go. You know,
if he's not able to go, we got to those
other guys step up.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
Now, I get it, and I believe him when he
says that, because I do think that credit to Chris Ballard.
Chris Ballard has done a good job of building depth
at this position, but it's already being tested. And the
thing to me that is curious is this the guys
that we just mentioned. Jonathan Edwards, undrafted free agent, didn't
know where Westfield, Indiana was three months ago except for
(23:55):
the fact that he played at Indiana State, so he
probably had some friends from Westfield. Okay, Xavien Howard again
not on the roster, not one that you expected at
the end of last year was going to be a
part of this defensive backfield black Men we just talked about,
and Jalen Jones who has been dinged up with injury
and is still out for a while now. My point being,
(24:16):
this is a unit that, while I give them credit
and thank goodness, they've built some depth within it, it
is still faces and names that are relatively unfamiliar overall
with the grand scheme of things. But you have a
defense with a coordinator that is new. Lou An Arumo
is new to everybody. His defense is new to everybody,
(24:38):
and how you work off of your teammates within your
particular unit also new to everybody. And corner is one
spot that I think you can most airdrop a guy
in and on short preparation, he can play at a
pretty high level compared to say, if you were to
(25:01):
put in a right guard or a tight end or
a receiver, just because I think the language, the lingo,
the responsibilities. In terms of how much you are reliant
upon what your other teammates are doing, you are more
on an island as a corner than probably any other position.
But the other thing that I can appreciate, and I've
(25:22):
grown to appreciate this over time, Shane Stikeen has a
unique ability to answer questions without saying anything. Caleb, I'm
gonna give you the task here. I want you to
ask me a question about anything in life, and I'll
answer it like Shane Stikeen. Anything going on in the world.
Let's not keep it political, but or let's not go political,
(25:42):
but anything in the world going on, sports wise, other teams,
whatever going on. Just ask me a question of something
going on in the world right now that's topical. I'll
answer it like Shane Steikeen. Uh.
Speaker 5 (25:52):
Hey, coach Shane stike In caleb'suverer of one oh seven
five of the fan, Uh, what are your thoughts on
the Cowboys missing Michael Parsons? Do you think it's a
good trade, bad trade.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
What do you think? Yeah, good trade, good player. You
know obviously those guys, you know, they they know what
they got to do. That's got energy, I mean, gets
in their mixed plays, you know, and and and and
they're gonna know what's best for their program. I think
he's a great player. I think Green Bay got a
great player there. But at the same time, you know,
Dallas they got a lot of depth, and you gotta
trust the process. And I think they trust the process.
They know, and they've done their work, They've done their homework,
(26:22):
and uh, I think it works have both teams. Okay,
I asked me something else that that's not to do
with football.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
And.
Speaker 5 (26:28):
Let's see here, Uh what do you uh can I
still stick with sports anything in the world?
Speaker 1 (26:35):
Anything? Just go ask question boom.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
Go uh chainstike in what's your favorite uh state capital
in the United States?
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Well, good question. Lots of them to choose from, you know,
and obviously you know they all got all got highs,
all got lows. I mean, you know, you look at Cheyenne,
windy like the wind, you know, Cheyenne and and the
high plateau there, and then you know, Tallahassee, big building.
But you know, we got to look at it. I mean,
I've been a lot of them, not not to all
of them. So we got to look at it. And and
we'll take a look at that. And but you know,
i'd say Indianapolis. I mean, we're here in Indianapolis, like
(27:04):
Indianapolis State Capitol, beautiful building right next to our building,
and you know we look to pack it like he
is the master. He is the master and answering the
coach speak one on one, but you you have to navi.
So what I'm saying is with that, you have to
then tiptoe through and navigate and find little things where
he's giving you a little information. And where we aired.
(27:28):
Where I aired was so I'm not going to throw
everybody else under this bus. Where I aired was the
fact that when if you look at each time he
was asked about the quarterback situation, he told you everything
(27:49):
you needed to know. He didn't say the names, but
he told you everything he needed to know you needed
to know. And when he is saying right there, for example,
he was asked about Ward and he just said he's
in the protocol. And that's it. I mean, I get
that he probably doesn't know much more than that at
this point. But when he's asked about Blackman and he
(28:13):
starts and I go back to this. I just think
this is such a critically important aspect of when Shane
Steichen says things he does. He gives you the coach
speak one oh one, but there is consistency in sometimes
the narrative of what he is saying. And when he's
talking about Blackman there and when he's talking about the
(28:35):
defensive backfield there, what does he keep going back to preparation,
the room, the film room, reps, commitment. He keeps saying
those things, and he doesn't say that about every player,
(28:55):
So when there are players that he doesn't say it about,
you can read between the lines. And I know that
he was very high on the physical attributes of Anthony Richardson.
And I know that he was vociferous through the draft
process apparently or allegedly within the room of the intrigue
(29:17):
of Anthony Richardson. And I know that he managed to
kind of reinvent Jalen Hurts. And I know that he
actually I think, got a pretty decent contract for Gardner Minshew.
(29:39):
And I think now Shane Steiken is looking at and
somebody sent me this yesterday, Ron sent me this. I
think it was and it's a brilliant point. By going
with Daniel Jones, Shane Steiken is gambling not on Daniel
Jones and not against Anthony Richardson, but Shane Stiken is
gambling on himself because he knows the time is ticking
(30:02):
for him, and he knows. He looks at it and
he says, I've got to go with the quarterback here
that I feel I have the best opportunity to awaken
and to jumpstart and to get going. And in doing that,
I've got to go with the quarterback that I'm the
(30:23):
most comfortable with. And what defines comfort for Shane Steichen
in the room, working with coaches, commitment, see him in
the hallways, and what does he keep telling us? And
what did he keep telling us about Anthony Richardson? He
kept saying to us, not even necessarily as an indictment
(30:48):
on Richardson, but in the praise elsewhere, Well, the thing
about Jones or the thing about this quarterback competition. I
want somebody that it's part of the entire operation. I
want somebody that sees all of this in terms of
everything from the huddle to the room to the hallway
to being the first in and the last out. And
(31:08):
it's one thing, sure we all know people like this.
They punched the time clock and then nobody knows where they.
You know, everybody worked at that grocery store in high
school where there's the one guy that's like, yeah, did
you hear You know John was punching the time clock
and then going taking a nap in the paper towel
rolls in the stock room and then coming back at
four hours later and punching out and nobody knows he
(31:28):
wasn't there. You know, that kind of thing. You get
people to go through the problem, just go through the
motion of it. And I think Steichen has basically been
telling us now that that's what that he didn't feel
Richardson was doing those other things, and he's utilizing that
now it's seeped into him explaining to us with other
(31:50):
players what it is that he likes. He is screaming
the message to us, and I aired and not hearing
the message because I got caught up in all the noise,
right and I wasn't just listening to the core message.
And now what you have is I think The message
(32:10):
that now we shift to is now that we know
that it's Daniel Jones. He is saying to us, I
need somebody that is all in on the process and
being a leader from in all areas and aspects, because
I Shane Steichen was brought here to be a quarterback whisperer,
(32:35):
and if as a quarterback whisperer, I'm still speaking too
softly for the quarterback that I was thought to be
awakening to hear it, then I have to go with
the guy that actually at least has hearing aids and
can figure out what I'm saying. And I believe that's
Daniel Jones. And I believe that Daniel Jones will give
me the best opportunity to call a game that benefits
(32:57):
the quarterback, that utilizes the weapons that we have, that
allows us to win games, and allows me to keep
my job. I'm not saying his job this year is
like right on the razor's edge, but I think he
knows the NFL stands for not for long. And if
you look at that game against Miami and you look
(33:19):
at the way Shane Steiken strategized that game, he offered
for us the blueprint and the blueprint is you come
out in a game, you establish Tyler Warren, you get
him going, You make it very clear this is the
guy that we're going to punch you in the mouth with.
And then once you adapt your defense to take away
(33:43):
that middle area where Tyler Warren is roaming around, then
we're going to take advantage of the areas where you
just softened yourself. And we're going to utilize Jonathan Taylor,
and we're gonna utilize Michael Pittman, and we're gonna utilize
even Alec Pierce and even Adie Mitchell. That's what the
(34:04):
game plan is. And then we're going to once we
get a lead. And yes, it's a lot easier to
maintain and hold on to a lead theoretically with Miami
or maybe even Denver than it's going to be if
you're playing Kansas City or Baltimore Buffalo. I get that,
but in these games, I mean, hoon, does Houston have
an offense that blows you away? Does Tennessee have an
(34:26):
offense that blows you away? Does Jacksonville have an offense
that blows you away? You want to win your division
games first, and you're seeing the blueprint right now. He
is spelling it out for you, because that's what Shane
Steiken does. He speaks coach speak, and he says the
same thing over and over. But the message is there,
and that message is sort through and find the finite
(34:50):
message of what I'm saying, and that is that the
blueprint of how we're going to play is we are
going to be a team that is winning organizationally. And
what you say against Miami is exactly that they went out,
they did what they needed to do, they got the lead,
and then once they did, you let lou Anarrumo turn
that defense loose, You roll with it, You hold onto
(35:12):
that lead, and you keep your offense in such a
fashion that Miami never was able to get back in
that game. And I think they're going to try to
do the same thing against Denver. A favorite guest of
the program Debbie Antonelli. Of course, you see her television
work when it comes to the w NBA and the
Indiana Fever Fever in the playoffs. Now the regular season
(35:33):
wrapping up, They ended with a strong win over the
Minnesota Links last night. Debbie Antonelli joining us on the
always busy and shockingly unsponsored guest line. Debbie I'm going
to begin with this. You thought I was bringing you
on to talk about the fever, and we're going to
get to that. You thought I was going to bring
you on to talk about the WNBA. We're going to
get to that as well. But the most important topic
(35:55):
at hand is this, and that is the last time
that we talked, we had talked about and I had
you on along with John Wheeler, our friend from just
to the southeast of here that is a special Olympic
basketball player, won a national championship representing Indiana with a
game winning shot years ago, and now was trying to
put together a package to get himself to Minnesota. And
(36:18):
you did a phenomenal job of spearheading a fundraising effort
for that. We got listeners involved as well, and it
is my understanding that he in fact will be on
his way to Minnesota. Is that correct, Jake.
Speaker 4 (36:32):
That's part of the reason why you're one of my
heroes in Indiana. I just love that you lead with
this because yes, he will be a part of the
team delegation representing Indiana playing basketball and coaching basketball in
Minneapolis next summer. So yes, it's very exciting. Or thank
you for your help. I want to thank the listeners
that helped out John who made enough money and raised
(36:53):
enough money so that he can go.
Speaker 1 (36:54):
I just love it. I love everything about it. And
as I told him, you know, look, I know he
wants to win, and you know, these are competitors, right,
They're athletes like the rest of us, and they want
to win. But at the same time, there's a little
victory even before they go out, and what a win
that is to be able to They're already starting out
one to zero in my book, you know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (37:14):
Yeah, you know what that particular game Minnesota playing, not
last night, but the last time Minnesota played. I said,
twenty dollars for every three that Indiana and Minnesota made combined,
it was so fitting that it was Minnesota and that's
where he wanted to go. Those teams made twenty two threes.
I threw four hundred and forty bucks in a bucket and.
Speaker 1 (37:33):
A bucket for John's That's the best money you spent
in a while, That's right, you know. All right, Debbie,
let's get to this. And I was talking about this earlier,
and I want you to from a basketball standpoint, kind
of enlighten with this and that is this particular Fever team.
I have been so impressed with the resiliency that they've
(37:54):
had to show with roster, just based on in particular
their backcourt attrition. And you know, and it goes beyond
Caitlin Clark's injury. I mean Sophie Cunningham's you know, a
great player, and you know they've lost a lot of
key pieces over the course of the season, and yet
they put themselves in position out of the postseason. How
do you, as a coach or a player either one
(38:17):
fight against that being complacency and saying mission accomplished when
in fact, now there's a new mission before you.
Speaker 4 (38:24):
Well, first of all, you have to understand all the
advanced work the front office does to be able to
put Stephanie White in this position, to be able to
lead these women, right. So you've got to put the
right pieces together. And it's not just skill set, it's character,
it's personality, it's all of it. Experience matters, especially when
you get into the playoffs and then Stephanie. You know,
(38:46):
in basketball, Jake, pretty much everybody runs the same stuff.
You might change your concepts a little bit, you might
tweak or change something, but nobody really runs anything that's
much different than what another team may run. But so
now is how the things change on the floor. And
Stephanie White and her staff have done an outstanding job
(39:06):
plugging in pieces that work, changing rotations, still learning about rotations.
You don't have to worry about complacency. You're never going
to stay the same. You either going to get better,
you're going to get worse. And I think right now,
when you get into the playoffs, this is not a
team that's just happy to be there. The format has changed.
One game on the road, the second game the Fever
will play at home. You know, can you imagine the environment.
(39:29):
I mean, this is a team that's hungry to win,
So I wouldn't put anything past them at this point.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
You know, Stephanie White and I talked about this a
little bit, Debbie, but I want to get your perspective
on it. The conventional wisdom is that with basketball, you know,
it used to be that depending on and I'll speak
it from a college level. You know, Bob Knights Indiana
team goes out, you know you're going to see the
motion offense, and they're playing against North Carolina and Dean
(39:55):
Smith's going to run like the four corners, and you know,
then you go against UNLV and you know they're going
to play obviously, you know, or Nolan Richardson teams are
going to trap, you know, I mean all the different
ways is has basketball become more i'll say homogenized for
lack of a better term, because of the influence of
the Summer Aau style of play and thus, as a result,
(40:19):
it's become more positionless and less strict in terms of
an offensive set that is being run. Is that the
overwhelming drive and influence on why it is now? The
way that you speak.
Speaker 4 (40:34):
Positionless, Jake, you know, perimeters and posts, that's pretty much
the way you describe it now. And I think what
you see is the it's not coaching basketball, it's coaching people. Okay,
so you're moving obviously it's coaching basketball, but you're moving
pieces around on your team to be able to put
them in the best possible ways to highlight their skill set. Look,
(40:58):
Kelsey Mitchell can score in any action, Okay. Stephanie White
can almost predict or dictate what time on the clock
she wants Kelsey in that single side ball screen action
with Aleah. Okay, because you got to get a ball
reversal to get it back to Kelsey. So these are
the things that make Stephanie really good at what she does.
There is such a high level IQ and thought process
(41:20):
that goes into moving these pieces around these individuals and
then getting them to work together and sink in a
twenty four second shock lock. And the game is fast,
so this decisions are coming fast, angles are coming fast.
Space is changing quickly.
Speaker 2 (41:37):
And you've got to have the ability.
Speaker 4 (41:39):
To move people into the right spots and set them
up for success. And that's what Stephanie and the staff
have done really well based on positional lists, perimeters and
posts like you described it.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
We just saw Kelsey Mitchell complete a season with the
highest single season scoring average in Fever history. If I'm
not mistaken, I believe she surpassed Tamika in that regard.
And yet if you look at this roster, I don't
think you know there are sometimes Debbie as you know
that somebody you know, you look at a team and
(42:10):
you go, well, somebody's got to score on that team.
And you know, twenty twenty five guys. As I always
say to me, this is very situational scoring. And it
has come for Kelsey Mitchell in ways that she's been
able to score in different ways and in different times
when it is needed. What has most impressed you about
(42:30):
her that you would say to people that look at
it and just assume that she's a volume scorer and
not a situational score if that makes sense.
Speaker 4 (42:38):
High IQ incredible teammate, wants to win more than anything
else and would be willing to sacrifice a few shots
if it meant they could finish the playoffs at the end, right,
like go all the way to the end, and to
the end for Kelsey because she's in the moment is
forty minutes, it's the next play. It's what you love
(42:59):
about her. She's never going to take a playoff. She's
going to guard the best offensive player on the perimeter
on the other team. She is going to do it
without complaining. She's not going to say anything to the officials,
and if she does, then she's probably right because that's
been her demeanor all season. I absolutely loved Kelsey Mitchell.
Now I can say this about a lot of players, Jake,
(43:20):
and this is true. I've been watching them all since
they were in college. I saw Kelsey play when she
was an AAU player out of Cincinnati. Okay, I knew
Kelsey and I've known her for a long time. I've
got Kelsey Mitchell's Ohio state jersey. I've been waiting to
wear it. I'm gonna wear it everywhere I go. Now.
I'm so proud of what she's become, who she is,
how she reps Indiana Fever, and what she means to
(43:42):
the WNBA. Right now, there's not a better guard in
the league than Kelsey Mitchell, and she should be getting
her due. She deserves it, She's earned it, and now
she's got a one year of playoff experience from last year,
and I expect her to be really good next week.
Speaker 1 (43:57):
You know another style, Debbie Antonelli is our gad. We're
talking about the Indiana Fever here another with every team
in Debbie, I want you to tell me, I mean,
feel free to tell me you've seen this team far
in greater detail than have I. So I may be
wrong in this, okay, but I always like players that
can score for you without it having to be designed
(44:19):
for them to score. So in other words, they're opportune scorers.
But players that from one game to the next can
redefine what it is that they do based on what's
needed on that particular night. Now you tell me if
I'm wrong. But for this team, the player that has
really impressed me in that regard from what I've seen
is tash Howard and the fact that she doesn't need
(44:41):
to be a frontline scorer and star, but on certain
nights she can be that if need be, or she
can help in other areas. I am I giving? Am
I misreading that?
Speaker 3 (44:51):
No?
Speaker 4 (44:51):
And I think that's another testament to Coach White and
their staff. They don't put Natasha Howard in situations where
she can't be instinctive. She is a very instinctive go
to the glass, drive hard, cut hard, you know, rebound,
run the floor. Those are the reasons why the front
(45:12):
office brought her to Indiana, and she has three w
NBA championships. She knows what it takes to win, she
understands it, and I know she's going to have a
strong voice. She's very well respected by her teammates, and
I expect that she will will turn it on because
it's when she needs to and she understands that.
Speaker 1 (45:31):
Debbie. Do they in any way, shape or form the
fever change schematically anything in the postseason. Do we see
in the postseason typically, whether it be pacing or the
way or wrinkles that you're trying to do. Do we
see any change from regular season to postseason or is
it pretty much push in on who you are?
Speaker 4 (45:53):
I think based on how their roster looks now, based
on the amount of reps that they've been able to
have together, how Stephanie White and her staff have simplified
things so that you can plug and play and you
can stay ready and just not be overwhelmed. I do
think having some time now today, they have off Tomorrow,
(46:13):
they'll practice Friday, they'll practice Saturday, they'll go travel somewhere.
They're gonna have a couple of days to work on themselves.
I know Stephanie White's gonna bring something, and you've better
be ready to figure it out. If I get to
call the Indiana Fever playoff games, I'm going to be
looking for that subtle thing that Stephanie will do. It
could be maybe they're going to trap more Boss Greens.
It could be maybe they're gonna do some sort of
(46:36):
isolation with personnel based on who they're playing. They'll be
ready and they'll be a tweak or a change because
you can't get to the playoffs without stepping up your level.
And I know this group of players having a couple
of days to practice together, which I don't think they've had,
will give them a chance to be ready on Sunday. Hey.
Speaker 1 (46:51):
Lastly, Debbie, when when your son Frankie was in school,
we've talked a lot about him on the show. Did
they have and I don't know if this is something
that's in all states. I know in Indiana, I don't
know how long it's been around. But did they have
unified sports when your son was in school?
Speaker 4 (47:08):
They did, And unified sports is something that I championed
a lot. It gives your peers a chance to compete
with the athletes. So I've been a unified partner. I've
played basketball and golf with Frankie. We have. Actually the
last time I played basketball with Frankie, Jacob put a
GoPro on his head and turned it on and let it.
Just had fun watching it afterwards. I wanted to see
(47:29):
what he was doing, what he was seeing, you know
why I was playing hoops. It's pretty fun. Yeah, they
have it, and I highly encourage anybody to get involved.
It's a great way to make friends.
Speaker 1 (47:39):
Well. And here's the thing, and this is why I
wanted to bring it up. I've got a friend whose
daughter is a cheerleader at Carmel in unified sports. She's
a special needs student. And here's what I've noticed, and
I've noticed this in other people whose children have been
involved in this, and this is partnering special need students
with those that are I hate say non special needs.
(48:01):
That comes off the wrong way, but you get what
I'm saying. The student athletes and the cheerleaders and whatnot,
puts them together on the same team. I want to
encourage Debbie. For people that are listening who don't have
a child that's in a special education program or a
special Olympics program, and who are just going through everyday
life at school, those are the ones that I think
(48:23):
benefit almost more from unified sports because I see it
with these kids that are going out there and working
with teammates and they're getting almost as much, if not more,
out of it. And that's not to say it's not
a huge benefit for Frankie and his friends, but for
all of them to work as the same team together,
that to me, people that are listening right now that
(48:46):
think that it isn't for their student at school, it
is for every student in school. And I think it's
an awesome, awesome program.
Speaker 4 (48:53):
We have gone past the error where the special education
kids and that part of your school are hidden away
down a hallway where nobody goes. They You only see
him at lunch. Maybe you might see him at pe.
That's not where we are now in public school education
or any education. Quite honestly, my son is working, living
(49:14):
independently with support. He has down syndrome, and he is
functioning really well. As a member of society, You're going
to see people with special needs everywhere you go, in
every walk of life now, and if you might as
you might as well learn now to get along and
figure out a way that you can become friends and
get involved. It's fun. It's I'm going to tell you
something my mother told me a long time ago, Jake,
(49:36):
and I use this as one of my attitudes when
I'm thinking about all the opportunities I have to share
this message. That is, I don't have Frankie in my
life because I did something wrong. I have Frankie because
I did something right somewhere. And if you think about
getting involved with somebody at your school. There's nothing wrong
with them. There's something right about them, and if you
(49:58):
get involved with them, you're going to find out what
that right is and you're going to enjoy it and
it's going to be pure joy and it's going to
give you ten times more than the time that you're
going to spend.
Speaker 1 (50:08):
Debbie, I love it, and you know I always enjoy
seeing those stories and you know, seeing the smiles and
like I said, all those kids on both sides and
unified sports are starting out one to oh before the
season even begins, But Fever want to start out one
to oh in the postseason. We shall see who it
is that they're playing when everything gets underway. And certainly
look forward to talking to you again, Debbie. I know
it's been a busy time for I appreciate the time today.
Speaker 4 (50:30):
You're the best, Jake, Thanks so much. Let's go, Fever.
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