Lucas Oil was built with the combine in mind. They ran fiber optic lines underground from Lucas Oil to the hospital so 600+ MRIs and 1,200+ X-Rays can be viewed in real time. It’s centrally located within walking distance of medicals, hotels, restaurants, the convention center, with skywalks connecting it all. Not to mention it’s smack dab in the middle of the country making it an ideal place for everyone to travel to. Moving it would be pretty silly.
Honestly the Colts being even middle of the road in pass defense was a miracle. Gilly requests a trade out, Rodgers gets his ass suspended, Brents misses 1/2 the year, Flowers tears his Achilles week 4. Not many teams can survive getting tested that much at CB. We were really starting Darrell Baker and a 7th round rookie out there with Kenny Moore for a good chunk of the year. It was brutal
Then they lose one of the best run stoppers in the league in Grover Stewart for 6 games to suspension in the middle of the season on top of it. Their D had a rough go of it last year.
Darrell Baker played two of the worst games ive ever seen from a CB. He was much better (still not great) later in the year, but my god those games were hard to watch.
My realistic Colts predictions this year: Colts start 1-0 for first time in 11 years Final Record 16-1 (We still lose in @Jacksonville) Win the division Win a playoff game Win Superbowl AR - MVP, CPOY, 56 TDs, 20 Rushing TDs, 1000+ yds rushing, 5500 Passing yds JT - OPOY, 2000 yds, 32 TDs AD - OROY Laiatu Latu- DROY, 25+ sacks DeForrest Buckner - DPOY, 30+ Sacks I'm gonna stop doing crack AD, MPJ and Josh Downs all have 1000+ yards My dad will come home Shane Steichen- COTY I hope I'm not coming off too negative here. I'm just trying to temper my expectations.
Colts fan here. First time watching. I respect our AFC South brother here telling it like it is. Got a new subscriber outta me. Gonna be fun watching our boys play twice a year.
The best thing about Brett is that he IS bias for his favorite team, understandably. But he doesn't let that bias trickle into his analysis. Colts blue looks great on you.
Awesome analysis. As a Colts fan, and I'm sure for both you guys as a Texans and Bears fan respectively, it sucks when people want to not talk about your team and sleep on them when they truly have an extremely talented roster. So many media personalities and fans alike somehow miss the nuance of football, and everything that goes into it. This podcast was probably the most accurate and honest assessment of the current Colts team that I have heard, and I thank you for that. I think the Colts and Texans are about to have a fun decade of back and forth for the South crown and I'm here for it. Both super talented young rosters with great young coaches and quarterbacks. Thanks again for great content backed up by analytics and not pure bullshit.
The Colts missing Grover Stewart for however many weeks due to some dumb PED thing REALLY hurt them. That defense was noticeably struggling against the Run game for all of those weeks. Once he was back, their Run D was a lot better at keeping big runs from popping off. And then on top of that, all of our young Corners that we had strong belief in were injured for either the whole season or most of it.
@@123shoshan Not every team was missing one of the best and most premium interior lineman in the League. The Colts didn't have a quality backup to take his place. That's why they signed Raekwon Davis as insurance. The Colts just could NOT stop the run as well as they normally do when they were missing Big Grove. Nobody talks about Grover Stewart (Brett has mentioned him here and there though), but that dude is really damn good, and that's why the Colts paid him damn good money.
@@zackhurwitz9441 he mentioned Q at least once while talking about Bortolini, even just in passing while talking about his short shuttle time. I think the only other starter not to be mentioned by name was Raimann. Just funny considering how big of an offensive role JT will play
@123shoshan yea but they don't have to happen to franchise altering positions nor do they need to be injuries that take them out for the whole season. Lol I'm just praying we stay healthy. Who hurt u?😂
From a Colts fan: Great video! Love making you wear an Andre Johnson Colts Jersey Two notes: You mentioned it in passing, but Gould will presumably be used as a returner, which is why he was drafted in the 5th. We don’t have a definite guy that constantly took those snaps. Jaylon Carlies will be playing a lot of LB, probably as a hybrid role we showcased last year. We needed some athletic upside outside of our top couple guys, so he kinda fits in there.
A few notes: - Trent Pennix actually switched from TE to RB, which is fun. - Holy balls, the Colts need to sign one of the veteran safties. Thomas III was god awful last year, and they haven't added anyone. - Relatedly, neither players drafted at Safety is playing at safety. Carlies is an LB and Simpson is playing CB. - Raekwon Davis was a huge signing, since the Run Defense went from bordline top 5 (on a YPC basis) to bottom five in the league when Grover Stewart went out.
They have a plan. They were NEVER going to sign a safety before training rookie mini camp and OTAs - that is when the evaluate the player's offseason work, physical and mental. They want to see if the young guys have advanced mentally since the prior season. IF they become concerned with our FS room, they would sign a vet. But, there is no real reason to sign that vet until training camp, because the players are off anyways and there is no competition. So, do they need to sign a safety? If they think they do, they will sign one before or early in training camp. Ballard is using that time to sweat the price down, trust me. Based on how you express yourself, I'd consider you a fairly informed fan. But bear in mind that the smarter media members and insiders know the dynamics of what I just said, and they would not expect any FS signings before training camp. So, why do they NOT mention that but instead keep harping on these unsigned safeties still out there, or "oh my god, what is Ballard thinking?" type crap? The reason is that they are not there to inform or entertain. By pretending that there is something unusual or stupid going on, they provoke people into paying attention and getting them clicks. That's all is it. Content no longer even has to be good, it just has to exist and then they write a click-bait headline. And why is so much out there aimed at the stupid fan? Because there are more of them, so more potential clicks. And the stupid are easily fooled. But why wouldn't the media be more invested in educating the average fan? Well, stupid people are easier to control. Smart people avoid click-bait. So, what is their incentive to make fans more informed? Advertisers used to get much better demographic information and would pay more for a show or webpage that catered to higher quality / higher earning people - and those people prefer smarter, better quality information / media. But advertisers have a LOT more trouble getting that information now - at least reliably and cheaply. So, they go more on raw engagement numbers now. Raw numbers can't tell the difference between a homeless person and a dude with three Rolls. So, until that changes, the media will be empowered and incentivized to cater to the lowest common denominator and also incentivized to keep them dumb and manageable. This is the shitty world we live in now.
Of course right when the Texans are back to being contenders, the AFC south is looking like a potential gauntlet for the next few years lmao. Poor Brett
Jaylon Carlies is being moved to Linebacker, and Jaylin Simpson is being moved to Cornerback. Obviously those roles aren't set in stone, but that is just where the Colts are trying them out at first. Both of them have the bodies and athleticism to fit those roles well, or at least the Colts seem to believe so. And both of them have that flexibility to go back to playing Safety if need be.
Anthony Gould (WR-Oregon State) was drafted as a kick returner, under the theory that the kick off return play is going to be more important in 2024. Ballard picked up the pick to take him from the hapless Carolina Panthers by trading back 3 spots in the 2nd Round - still getting his guy, AD Mitchell, but also the bonus piece. It was a masterful little bit of draft-GMing.
As a Colts fan much respect for the non biased takes on the team. Ball knowers can will recognize good players and rosters regardless. I think the colts have a slight edge in the trenches while the Texans have better skill/QB combination. Gonna be fun!!
This Colts fan just wants the Colts to make the postseason. I don't care if we get smoked in the Wild Card. This is progress. Anything more is a nice bonus.
Not a colts fan, but I have a lot of TH-cam related self esteem hinging on the success of Richardson. Chris Ballard is the most likeable GM in the league, so seeing y'all them with a "put the league on notice" kind of season would be dope.
Great video. I love how you guys went IN DEPTH on the schematics behind everything because on the surface this team remained somewhat the same, but after some digging we see the stars aligning to make this team greater than the sum of its parts.
As a colts fan i never really realized how brutal it was/is having your rival QB be a genuinely nice person. Weve always had Watson who just made it so so easy to hate you guys hahaha! CJ is a stud though I hope AR stays healthy and we have a great rivalry for years to come. Cheers
You didn't even name all the s*** that went wrong. Last year for the Colts, Jonathan Taylor outmost of season, both outside starting corner backs out for the season. Well, once suspended, one injured all the back up. Running backs getting hnot to mention the stuff. You did mention Anthony getting hurt.
@@scudrunner79 agreed, BUT that secondary was bad cause the starters were at from the start of the season. but its hard to know all the facts unless ur a fan of the team. just like they talking about Woods, but woods hasnt played hardly at all, Also we have 5 TEs, same as last year. we was never drafting a TE. not ever! even if dude was there at our pick, it was Latu as long as Latu was there. Woods has never been the maain guy, thats Moe and Grandson. then i think it was this vid, they said grandson wasnt a pass catcher, there was a point in the season Grandson was the only player without a drop. Dude has hands, every QB we have had love him for a reason
Honest question. But am I missing something w/ Richardson? B/c coming out of college he had like 1 seasons as a starter and just showed absurd athletic traits, and was the 3rd or 4th best prospect on a down year for QB prospects. Then in the NFL his stats were VERY pedestrian. Not to mention that now he's extremely injury prone. Just seems to me that he is a projection's projection. And people are crowning him to be borderline if not top 10 when he hasnt proven ANYTHING yet. And btw this is not me throwing shade a Brett or EJ. I freaking LOVE the work you guys do. And I respect the hell outta yall. I just don't get the AR hype
I agree with you on the pre crowning being dumb…. But watch the film on AR the only way to describe it is electric. The hype is coming from how good the offense was with a backup QB.
If you watch the videos breaking down his season, he was the top rookie until his injury and was the OROTY favorite. Plus he had a ridiculous comeback against the Rams that really showed next level reads and improvisation. Guys that did film review explain why the hype was there and how he wasn't making the same mistake twice. Plus when he ran, he was averaging 14 yards a carry.
@@cloud2900 maybe im just a scarred Bears fan... But JF1 was also electric, and a stupid good athlete w/ a helluva highlight reel. But it didnt work out
@@scottbryant6349 maybe I should give his tape another look. Ive always seen the potential b/c of the redonculous athleticism. And I hope he does live up to the potential. Just not against my Bears pls
His game last year against the Rams shows exactly why everyone is so high on AR. I was told that he's gonna be a turnover machine because he's such a raw prospect.. that wasn't the case at all. He's way ahead of schedule and he is such a student of the game. He doesn't just have insane talent and size. He has amazing character, amazing work ethic, insane confidence, and a massive desire to be great. If he stays healthy, he'll before elite. That's all there is to it. Btw in his 1st 4 games he outplayed Strouds 1st 4 games, and beat him head to head. And be basically only played 11 quarters and put up 7 combined TDs and only 1int. Having Shane Steichen as his head coach is gonna be the real key to him reaching his ceiling.
The Colts were down to starting outside corners.Both their starting corners, the only corner they had starting healthy was Kenny.Moore flowers got an injured in pre season.I think it's Achilles gone for the year.Rogers got suspended and fired for gambling Right as the season started, so there you go and they were down a starting safety.So that tells you why they were so bad.On the explosive plays, they had no starters.They had to start rookies
I fully believe if the colts sign Justin Simmons it will turn this defense into a top 10 unit. Our safety room is by far our weakest position, so signing Simmons would greatly help. He could help provide a veteran presence int he locker room, while also providing great play on the field. Him and Julian Blackmon would be one of the best safety duos in the league. Together they would help provide support to the young inexperienced corners. The secondary being improved would also provide more time for the front 7. Our front 7 is already very good. improving the secondary would put the defense over the top. The offense might be the most talented this team has been since the manning era. 4 promising young WRs, a good Oline, complimentary pieces at tight end, a top 5 running back, the most physically gifted quarterback ever, and an Offensive genuis at head coach. It all depends on AR. The pairing of AR and JT in the backfield could very well be the most talented backfield in the league purely forma rushing standpoint. AR's arm will open up the passing game. Alec pierce is a good deep threat, Downs is prolific on his routes, Pittman is great in 50/50 balls, and AD has the talent to do all of that. Jelani Woods is an athletic freak who can provide a safety net for AR, especially in the red zone. Not to mention our O line is one of the best units in the league. Shane Steichen will scheme ways to use all of this talent, and take some pressure off AR as he continues to develop. I believe this team has the potential to have a top 10 defense and could have a top 5 offense. It all depends on if AR can stay healthy and continue to develop. I know i ama biased colts fan, but i genuinely believe we are a dark horse to make a deep playoff run if everything goes right.
The Colts were 20th ranked in run defense with their run stopper, Grover Stewart, doing a six game suspension for PEDs. And this year they've added Raekwon Davis so they have a competent reserve.
Ballard reminds me of Chris Polian when it comes to building through the draft. I think that is what Irsay likes about him, and it's why he likely still has his job. Its time to start seeing the playoff success now.
Lucas oil is such great stadium. My only experience there was doing a marching band show and spraining my ankle pretty badly. Ended up getting wheelchairs through the concourse to a medbay. That was a fun tour 😂
The overall stat of their run defense took a massive hit when Grover Stewart went out for 6 games. Now, they also have Raekwon to remedy that if one of the big dawgs goes down. And now Latu as well. They should be extremely tough to run against this year.
I believe the Colts are a very well coached team with a badass GM who picks guys with the highest RAS every damn time lol 😂 Ballard is so predictable I nailed both his first two picks when they were on the clock. It's entirely different than the Lions - they go by tape and forget 40 times... (Brian Branch, Terrion Arnold, etc ...) Lions are my favorite team but this Fort Wayne Hoosier loves the Colts second best! Colts are gonna surprise many but not you guys - you know... They are damn good and should have a great season.
Loved the talk around Cover 3 and its inherent safeguards due to structure in theory! Also, idk if anything has ever been more absolutely busted than Tyreek's Crossing Routes were with Kelce being a bowling ball mismatch for linebackers...like how tf was the league supposed to stop that? 🤣
I’m not a fan of any AFC South team but man I’m excited to watch their games over the next few years w their young QBs. Just really hope AR can stay healthy from now on, which seems unlikely so far
Did these guys really do an in depth 1 hour plus analysis of the Colts roster without even mentioning Jonathan Taylor? A healthy JT is easily a top 4 or 5 RB in the league. Enjoyed the video but that was a glaring oversight.
Great show, but two things. 1, DB was a huge need and I'm still really worried about CB. I'm surprised that it wasn't mentioned much (it even ties into explosive plays etc). That sounds like something Brett would have enjoyed. 2, From the looks of it Jaylon Carlies will be a convert to LB. So the usual pipeline stuff the Colts love to do there.
Just curious about the Bootleg schedule because we do have a Bears fan in the house, wondering about the North Saga? EJ, what's Caleb's upside as a rookie ya think? It will be a CANNOT MISS episode!
I think if AR comes out and has a great year my colts truly could (key word could) compete with Houston for the south. They were close to sweeping them last year and I believe this roster has gotten better. Just happy to be excited about playoff chances for the first time in what feels like forever honestly 😂
I don’t get this *could* thing. They literally did it last year. This isn’t like a 5-12 team maybe taking a big jump, they are right at the top of the division already.
@@briankrosky3567 honestly only reason I say could is because: 1.) this years schedule is far more difficult than last year. NFC North and AFC East. 2.) needing to see for sure that AR will be healthy for at least most of the year. I think the injury stuff is overblown but I still wanna see. 3.) Houston getting so much hype. Not undeserved either, they should be good. I just generally like seeing things before declaring it but I do think this team is right there in the division for sure.
The biggest question really is if AR can play a full healthy season. Which also means he's less inclined to lower his shoulder when he has to run the ball. He really needs the reps at the pro level and if he can't get that due to little things putting him in the sidelines, its on him for setting himself back.
Just an FYI....Colts brass have publicly stated they intend to play Jaylon Carlies at Linebacker. He's gonna be the super athletic coverage type for the freaky TE's and such.
Colts fan, appreciate the comments! I'm a little more negative on my team than you two, I mean 11 or 12 wins ceiling sure... but I'm seeing 7 wins baseline, less if Flacco can't be decent after AR goes down. I see no reason to believe AR will stay healthy. See I don't think of the Colts' success in WINS I see their success hinging on if AR can stay healthy for over or under 8 games. They'll win 10+ if AR stays upright, but if not they won't see playoffs again. Nevermind the fact that they still have NO secondary,, you say they're solid OTHER than one little thing! And yeah, agree 100%! But you'd think if you need something fixed you'd see ADDITIONS in the offseason. If there's one thing the Colts didn't do this offseason, it was NOT fixing anything. They still don't have a safety, still a VERY young defense that will struggle to wrap up, they also lost and didn't replace theyr RB2 behind a very injury prone Jonathan Taylor. They have chosen to rely on Trey Sermon for that! I believe in Steichen, but once again he's gonna have to coach his ass off to keep us competitive.
Brett, Lucas Oil was built in ‘08, not even past the 10 youngest still! Believe it or not! It's the 7th newest still. Don't feed the Colts’ ownership delusion that they need a new stadium by the end of the decade😂
As nice as the Colts went 9-8 last season, I think Steichen just wants a healthy full season with AR (along with the reps). Steichen can always scheme the deep ball routes well. He just needs ARs arm to make it count often enough to put pressure against defenses.
The Colts got the family back together for this season and it's starting off well this off season. No fights at the family barbecue. All the family seems good. No drama or holdouts. A second year with Steichen good. JT healthy will be bringing it in the running game. Some nice additions with rookies that should contribute early in the pass rush and receiving game. Anthony Richardson needs to stay on the field and build his game. He will add to the run game so Zack Moss loss shouldn't be that bad. Colts should be solid and get at least 10 or 11 games. Playoff spot perhaps.
Colts have a secondary that is bottom 3 in the league it’s scary but what’s also scary is the colts are usually always relevant so if AR stays healthy lookout that Johnathan Taylor ,Anthony Richardson RPO game is scary as hell
as a part time colts fan im so excited for the division (i was born and raised in indiana watched a lot of them growing up in the manning era) should be fun 2-3 years until jaxonville returns to irrelevance. funny you say indianapolis is walkable. its ranked one of the worst for walkability in the country and id have to agree with the rankings. if you have wheels its great though.
brb gonna go watch Peyton throw four picks in the 2003 AFC Championship to make myself feel better
Ty Law still gives Peyton nightmares
Make sure you watch the Texans cheifs playoff game after that ❤
When are the Texans unveiling the Jack Easterby statue outside of NRG?
Why don't u just watch the Texans Super Bowl win to make u feel bett...oh wait my bad🫢
While your at it watch Albee Haynesworth destroy Matt Schaubs foot in 2011
Lucas Oil was built with the combine in mind. They ran fiber optic lines underground from Lucas Oil to the hospital so 600+ MRIs and 1,200+ X-Rays can be viewed in real time. It’s centrally located within walking distance of medicals, hotels, restaurants, the convention center, with skywalks connecting it all. Not to mention it’s smack dab in the middle of the country making it an ideal place for everyone to travel to. Moving it would be pretty silly.
Honestly the Colts being even middle of the road in pass defense was a miracle. Gilly requests a trade out, Rodgers gets his ass suspended, Brents misses 1/2 the year, Flowers tears his Achilles week 4.
Not many teams can survive getting tested that much at CB. We were really starting Darrell Baker and a 7th round rookie out there with Kenny Moore for a good chunk of the year. It was brutal
But yeah that also helps to explain the huge chunk plays given up
Then they lose one of the best run stoppers in the league in Grover Stewart for 6 games to suspension in the middle of the season on top of it. Their D had a rough go of it last year.
Darrell Baker played two of the worst games ive ever seen from a CB. He was much better (still not great) later in the year, but my god those games were hard to watch.
@amarvelouscalm and Leonard not being able to properly come back to even a playable level after his injury. So sad, man
@@amarvelouscalmdude every team loses guys
My realistic Colts predictions this year:
Colts start 1-0 for first time in 11 years
Final Record 16-1 (We still lose in @Jacksonville)
Win the division
Win a playoff game
Win Superbowl
AR - MVP, CPOY, 56 TDs, 20 Rushing TDs, 1000+ yds rushing, 5500 Passing yds
JT - OPOY, 2000 yds, 32 TDs
AD - OROY
Laiatu Latu- DROY, 25+ sacks
DeForrest Buckner - DPOY, 30+ Sacks
I'm gonna stop doing crack
AD, MPJ and Josh Downs all have 1000+ yards
My dad will come home
Shane Steichen- COTY
I hope I'm not coming off too negative here. I'm just trying to temper my expectations.
56 is crazy. He’s at least throwing for 60
May this TH-cam like I give you heat the spoon that fills you with hopeium 🙏
AR gets an honorable or retroactive rookie of the year!
1000 rushing yds?? more like 2500+
My hope every year is we play Jags week one @ Jacksonville so we can get the two curses out of the way at the smae time
That jersey looks good on Brett, he should wear it more often. If anything, I’ll get him a titans one as well.
I will jump
@@BootlegFootball Well, if that's the case, I'll send you a Matt Milano jersey and you can make that jump through a flaming table.
@@BootlegFootballwith joy, I assume?
@@maroc-al-helmidiwith burben and a chaser, more than likely.
Titan way down, gross
Colts fan here. First time watching. I respect our AFC South brother here telling it like it is. Got a new subscriber outta me. Gonna be fun watching our boys play twice a year.
The best thing about Brett is that he IS bias for his favorite team, understandably. But he doesn't let that bias trickle into his analysis. Colts blue looks great on you.
Absolutely. When you love the game the way these guys do, jersey color doesn't blind you from good ball.
Shout out to the mods with the fattest W of 2024
🫡
a dubs if you will
Awesome analysis. As a Colts fan, and I'm sure for both you guys as a Texans and Bears fan respectively, it sucks when people want to not talk about your team and sleep on them when they truly have an extremely talented roster.
So many media personalities and fans alike somehow miss the nuance of football, and everything that goes into it. This podcast was probably the most accurate and honest assessment of the current Colts team that I have heard, and I thank you for that.
I think the Colts and Texans are about to have a fun decade of back and forth for the South crown and I'm here for it. Both super talented young rosters with great young coaches and quarterbacks.
Thanks again for great content backed up by analytics and not pure bullshit.
The Colts missing Grover Stewart for however many weeks due to some dumb PED thing REALLY hurt them. That defense was noticeably struggling against the Run game for all of those weeks. Once he was back, their Run D was a lot better at keeping big runs from popping off.
And then on top of that, all of our young Corners that we had strong belief in were injured for either the whole season or most of it.
Literally you can name players on every team that had injuries
every team has same injuries
That's why we got Raekwon Davis.
He was out six weeks and there was no reserve. Now Big Grove is back and Ballard brought in Raekwon Davis as the backup nose tackle.
@@123shoshan Not every team was missing one of the best and most premium interior lineman in the League. The Colts didn't have a quality backup to take his place. That's why they signed Raekwon Davis as insurance. The Colts just could NOT stop the run as well as they normally do when they were missing Big Grove.
Nobody talks about Grover Stewart (Brett has mentioned him here and there though), but that dude is really damn good, and that's why the Colts paid him damn good money.
Surprised you didn't mention Sparano when talking about the coaches. The O Line has been so much better since they brought him in.
How did you make an entire episode and not once mention Jonathan Taylor, that's honestly impressive
Zack Moss reference and not a peep about a JT 🤣 had to rewind to make sure lmao
He's a known commodity of the team. He didn't mention Q, or really the offensive line outside of how bad Freeland was.
@@zackhurwitz9441 he mentioned Q at least once while talking about Bortolini, even just in passing while talking about his short shuttle time. I think the only other starter not to be mentioned by name was Raimann. Just funny considering how big of an offensive role JT will play
shows you how much young and exciting talent this team has
@@Braylenc123 no doubt! The AR hype is very real, just wild there was never even a mention
Colts fan here. I'm just praying we stay healthy.
Stop injuries happen to every team every year
@123shoshan yea but they don't have to happen to franchise altering positions nor do they need to be injuries that take them out for the whole season. Lol I'm just praying we stay healthy. Who hurt u?😂
Me too
From a Colts fan:
Great video! Love making you wear an Andre Johnson Colts Jersey
Two notes:
You mentioned it in passing, but Gould will presumably be used as a returner, which is why he was drafted in the 5th. We don’t have a definite guy that constantly took those snaps.
Jaylon Carlies will be playing a lot of LB, probably as a hybrid role we showcased last year. We needed some athletic upside outside of our top couple guys, so he kinda fits in there.
As a Gator fan, I need Richardson to be an all-pro to shut up the stupid fans that criticized him for leaving
Alec Pierces off-season workouts consist of running 9 routes on air and pulling ghost safeties. #WorkYourCraft
That's a little harsh....don't be surprised if he responds to the challenge....he'll find a role
16:11 - E.J.: "Nineteen - it's a Colts thing. I feel like we need a 19 Colts jersey."
19 Colts jersey = Johnny Unitas. Retired number.
They should unretire 19 considering Johnny Unitas disowned the Colts after moving to Indy.
@@dustinwagner1776 I vote no on that one bud.
A few notes:
- Trent Pennix actually switched from TE to RB, which is fun.
- Holy balls, the Colts need to sign one of the veteran safties. Thomas III was god awful last year, and they haven't added anyone.
- Relatedly, neither players drafted at Safety is playing at safety. Carlies is an LB and Simpson is playing CB.
- Raekwon Davis was a huge signing, since the Run Defense went from bordline top 5 (on a YPC basis) to bottom five in the league when Grover Stewart went out.
Regarding FS, there’s a ton still out there. It matches with our needs.
They have a plan. They were NEVER going to sign a safety before training rookie mini camp and OTAs - that is when the evaluate the player's offseason work, physical and mental. They want to see if the young guys have advanced mentally since the prior season. IF they become concerned with our FS room, they would sign a vet. But, there is no real reason to sign that vet until training camp, because the players are off anyways and there is no competition.
So, do they need to sign a safety? If they think they do, they will sign one before or early in training camp. Ballard is using that time to sweat the price down, trust me.
Based on how you express yourself, I'd consider you a fairly informed fan. But bear in mind that the smarter media members and insiders know the dynamics of what I just said, and they would not expect any FS signings before training camp.
So, why do they NOT mention that but instead keep harping on these unsigned safeties still out there, or "oh my god, what is Ballard thinking?" type crap? The reason is that they are not there to inform or entertain. By pretending that there is something unusual or stupid going on, they provoke people into paying attention and getting them clicks. That's all is it. Content no longer even has to be good, it just has to exist and then they write a click-bait headline.
And why is so much out there aimed at the stupid fan? Because there are more of them, so more potential clicks. And the stupid are easily fooled. But why wouldn't the media be more invested in educating the average fan? Well, stupid people are easier to control. Smart people avoid click-bait. So, what is their incentive to make fans more informed?
Advertisers used to get much better demographic information and would pay more for a show or webpage that catered to higher quality / higher earning people - and those people prefer smarter, better quality information / media.
But advertisers have a LOT more trouble getting that information now - at least reliably and cheaply. So, they go more on raw engagement numbers now. Raw numbers can't tell the difference between a homeless person and a dude with three Rolls.
So, until that changes, the media will be empowered and incentivized to cater to the lowest common denominator and also incentivized to keep them dumb and manageable.
This is the shitty world we live in now.
@@scottbolander8137lol relax
The fact that the Colts got my 2 draft crushes last year AND this year in Brents and Mitchell. GM can draft man.
Of course right when the Texans are back to being contenders, the AFC south is looking like a potential gauntlet for the next few years lmao. Poor Brett
It’s like Lions fans up in the North I think God just hates the Lions & Texans 😂
Ahhhh poor guy. Have to have some competition. As a colts fan I have to say respectfully. F*ck you back. Whiny armchair qb. Gtfo.
"My comp for him _[Jelani Woods]_ is a moose who can catch a football"
he played power forward in college you can see it
Ceiling/floor win prediction seems fair,... even a compliment, considering how active other AFC South team were in Free Agency.
Jaylon Carlies is being moved to Linebacker, and Jaylin Simpson is being moved to Cornerback. Obviously those roles aren't set in stone, but that is just where the Colts are trying them out at first. Both of them have the bodies and athleticism to fit those roles well, or at least the Colts seem to believe so. And both of them have that flexibility to go back to playing Safety if need be.
Anthony Gould (WR-Oregon State) was drafted as a kick returner, under the theory that the kick off return play is going to be more important in 2024. Ballard picked up the pick to take him from the hapless Carolina Panthers by trading back 3 spots in the 2nd Round - still getting his guy, AD Mitchell, but also the bonus piece.
It was a masterful little bit of draft-GMing.
Hey, that's what he does. That's why we love him.
As a Colts fan much respect for the non biased takes on the team. Ball knowers can will recognize good players and rosters regardless. I think the colts have a slight edge in the trenches while the Texans have better skill/QB combination. Gonna be fun!!
Let’s gooo - been waiting for this video to drop & title already got me hyped up.
This was unbelievably well done. Extremely extremely knowledgeable conversations and great hangs. Great work!
This Colts fan just wants the Colts to make the postseason. I don't care if we get smoked in the Wild Card. This is progress. Anything more is a nice bonus.
I want to be able to go to a home playoff game because it's been almost a decade. Been too long since we've won the division
Not a colts fan, but I have a lot of TH-cam related self esteem hinging on the success of Richardson. Chris Ballard is the most likeable GM in the league, so seeing y'all them with a "put the league on notice" kind of season would be dope.
Thanks for the Colts content!!
Thanks for showing the Colts some love! Hearing someone say that LOS is now one of the older stadiums made my bones turn to dust😂
Huge fan of u Brett ever since your Quenton Nelson scouting report in 2018 ‼️
Great video. I love how you guys went IN DEPTH on the schematics behind everything because on the surface this team remained somewhat the same, but after some digging we see the stars aligning to make this team greater than the sum of its parts.
You guys are great!!!
Love the analysis. Keep up the great work.
As a colts fan i never really realized how brutal it was/is having your rival QB be a genuinely nice person. Weve always had Watson who just made it so so easy to hate you guys hahaha!
CJ is a stud though I hope AR stays healthy and we have a great rivalry for years to come. Cheers
Appreciate the content fs. Keep it up
LETS GO THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR
Hey Brett, the dead sea called and wants it's salt back. 😂
Solid analysis guys 👍🏼
yall snapped
I will buy some homage now, you got me more pumped than I previously was bout the blue Stampede
Been waiting for this one!
Tanor Bortolini: DAWG
You've got a new fan in me. Listened to Around the NFL for 11 years, hope you'll fill my sadness hole. Love it so far! Respect to Texans.
Welcome!
@@BootlegFootball I'm excited to compete with Jags and Texans for a decade or so... suddenly a really good division!
Huge colts fan, this is the first video ever watched from this channel. Excellent job gentlemen
Glad you enjoyed!
Brett didn’t mention drinking in this video early enough for considering the punishment his Mods did for him 😂
You didn't even name all the s*** that went wrong. Last year for the Colts, Jonathan Taylor outmost of season, both outside starting corner backs out for the season. Well, once suspended, one injured all the back up. Running backs getting hnot to mention the stuff. You did mention Anthony getting hurt.
This was a positive video.
@@scudrunner79 agreed, BUT that secondary was bad cause the starters were at from the start of the season. but its hard to know all the facts unless ur a fan of the team. just like they talking about Woods, but woods hasnt played hardly at all, Also we have 5 TEs, same as last year. we was never drafting a TE. not ever! even if dude was there at our pick, it was Latu as long as Latu was there. Woods has never been the maain guy, thats Moe and Grandson. then i think it was this vid, they said grandson wasnt a pass catcher, there was a point in the season Grandson was the only player without a drop. Dude has hands, every QB we have had love him for a reason
Lucas Oil Stadium is one of the newer stadiums in the league. State Farm Arena (Cardinals) and Lincoln Financial Field (Eagles) are older.
I don't play fantasy football, but AD Mitchell at 57 is a crazy value. He's the burner on this team and also the best route-runner, I am guessing.
I live for these deep dives
Counting eggs a little early with Richardson
Honest question. But am I missing something w/ Richardson?
B/c coming out of college he had like 1 seasons as a starter and just showed absurd athletic traits, and was the 3rd or 4th best prospect on a down year for QB prospects.
Then in the NFL his stats were VERY pedestrian. Not to mention that now he's extremely injury prone.
Just seems to me that he is a projection's projection. And people are crowning him to be borderline if not top 10 when he hasnt proven ANYTHING yet.
And btw this is not me throwing shade a Brett or EJ. I freaking LOVE the work you guys do. And I respect the hell outta yall. I just don't get the AR hype
I agree with you on the pre crowning being dumb…. But watch the film on AR the only way to describe it is electric. The hype is coming from how good the offense was with a backup QB.
If you watch the videos breaking down his season, he was the top rookie until his injury and was the OROTY favorite. Plus he had a ridiculous comeback against the Rams that really showed next level reads and improvisation. Guys that did film review explain why the hype was there and how he wasn't making the same mistake twice. Plus when he ran, he was averaging 14 yards a carry.
@@cloud2900 maybe im just a scarred Bears fan... But JF1 was also electric, and a stupid good athlete w/ a helluva highlight reel. But it didnt work out
@@scottbryant6349 maybe I should give his tape another look.
Ive always seen the potential b/c of the redonculous athleticism. And I hope he does live up to the potential. Just not against my Bears pls
His game last year against the Rams shows exactly why everyone is so high on AR. I was told that he's gonna be a turnover machine because he's such a raw prospect.. that wasn't the case at all. He's way ahead of schedule and he is such a student of the game. He doesn't just have insane talent and size. He has amazing character, amazing work ethic, insane confidence, and a massive desire to be great. If he stays healthy, he'll before elite. That's all there is to it.
Btw in his 1st 4 games he outplayed Strouds 1st 4 games, and beat him head to head. And be basically only played 11 quarters and put up 7 combined TDs and only 1int.
Having Shane Steichen as his head coach is gonna be the real key to him reaching his ceiling.
The Colts were down to starting outside corners.Both their starting corners, the only corner they had starting healthy was Kenny.Moore flowers got an injured in pre season.I think it's Achilles gone for the year.Rogers got suspended and fired for gambling Right as the season started, so there you go and they were down a starting safety.So that tells you why they were so bad.On the explosive plays, they had no starters.They had to start rookies
Love it first bootleg vid that popped up for me yesterday my colts let's go
This pod just exists for Brett to find new rabbit holes.
I fully believe if the colts sign Justin Simmons it will turn this defense into a top 10 unit. Our safety room is by far our weakest position, so signing Simmons would greatly help. He could help provide a veteran presence int he locker room, while also providing great play on the field. Him and Julian Blackmon would be one of the best safety duos in the league. Together they would help provide support to the young inexperienced corners. The secondary being improved would also provide more time for the front 7. Our front 7 is already very good. improving the secondary would put the defense over the top.
The offense might be the most talented this team has been since the manning era. 4 promising young WRs, a good Oline, complimentary pieces at tight end, a top 5 running back, the most physically gifted quarterback ever, and an Offensive genuis at head coach. It all depends on AR. The pairing of AR and JT in the backfield could very well be the most talented backfield in the league purely forma rushing standpoint. AR's arm will open up the passing game. Alec pierce is a good deep threat, Downs is prolific on his routes, Pittman is great in 50/50 balls, and AD has the talent to do all of that. Jelani Woods is an athletic freak who can provide a safety net for AR, especially in the red zone. Not to mention our O line is one of the best units in the league. Shane Steichen will scheme ways to use all of this talent, and take some pressure off AR as he continues to develop.
I believe this team has the potential to have a top 10 defense and could have a top 5 offense. It all depends on if AR can stay healthy and continue to develop. I know i ama biased colts fan, but i genuinely believe we are a dark horse to make a deep playoff run if everything goes right.
Does that 2 x 2 metric only for distribution of the players on the field and not inclusive of personnel?
Curious if personnel affects this distribution
Josh Downs have the most receptions as a Colt's rookie receiver.Evor and we've drafted some pretty good ones.Josh downs is gonna be a fucking monster
Need a patreon vid where Brett just let's his inner thoughts about Indy fly.
EJ, 19 is Johnny Unitas. Would be a great grab for a non-Colts fan
The Colts were 20th ranked in run defense with their run stopper, Grover Stewart, doing a six game suspension for PEDs. And this year they've added Raekwon Davis so they have a competent reserve.
Ballard reminds me of Chris Polian when it comes to building through the draft. I think that is what Irsay likes about him, and it's why he likely still has his job. Its time to start seeing the playoff success now.
Lucas oil is such great stadium. My only experience there was doing a marching band show and spraining my ankle pretty badly. Ended up getting wheelchairs through the concourse to a medbay. That was a fun tour 😂
love this show.
Nice way to start the morning.
Afc south is gonna come down to roster health
Grover Stewart getting suspended in the middle of the season hurt the run defense.
As a colts fan, the best thing in our organization at this moment is 1005% Shane Steichen thank god for him
I love love your guys content... I guess I can deal with Texan rivalry stuff.... it could be worse... im in NNY ... and surrounded by pats fans...
The overall stat of their run defense took a massive hit when Grover Stewart went out for 6 games. Now, they also have Raekwon to remedy that if one of the big dawgs goes down. And now Latu as well. They should be extremely tough to run against this year.
Brett: Whistling in the dark with thumbs even: +AR5, +full year of Big Grove, +Latu, +AD Mitchell..... HA HA!!!
Nine to 11 wins is about right.
I believe the Colts are a very well coached team with a badass GM who picks guys with the highest RAS every damn time lol 😂 Ballard is so predictable I nailed both his first two picks when they were on the clock. It's entirely different than the Lions - they go by tape and forget 40 times... (Brian Branch, Terrion Arnold, etc ...) Lions are my favorite team but this Fort Wayne Hoosier loves the Colts second best! Colts are gonna surprise many but not you guys - you know... They are damn good and should have a great season.
Maybe you mentioned it and I missed it, but on top of the injuries, RB Jonathan Taylor did not play most of the year.
Matt Tanney, his other brother is the Athletic Director at Wabash College!
16:11 For all I know EJ may have been intentionally referencing this but that would put you in the market for a Johnny Unitas jersey!
I was born in raised in Houston and my dad is from INDY so whenever the Colts and Texans face each other I win no matter what
Loved the talk around Cover 3 and its inherent safeguards due to structure in theory! Also, idk if anything has ever been more absolutely busted than Tyreek's Crossing Routes were with Kelce being a bowling ball mismatch for linebackers...like how tf was the league supposed to stop that? 🤣
I’m not a fan of any AFC South team but man I’m excited to watch their games over the next few years w their young QBs. Just really hope AR can stay healthy from now on, which seems unlikely so far
Man, the Colts/Texans rivalry is gonna be great this year. Can't wait.
Did these guys really do an in depth 1 hour plus analysis of the Colts roster without even mentioning Jonathan Taylor? A healthy JT is easily a top 4 or 5 RB in the league.
Enjoyed the video but that was a glaring oversight.
Overlooked Derek Slywka in a big way. D3 DB who got signed off of him minicamp performance as a WR prospect
As a Jags fan, I can let the jersey slide, too. Anyone who gives Cortland Finnegan the what-for is a hero in my book.
Great show, but two things.
1, DB was a huge need and I'm still really worried about CB. I'm surprised that it wasn't mentioned much (it even ties into explosive plays etc). That sounds like something Brett would have enjoyed.
2, From the looks of it Jaylon Carlies will be a convert to LB. So the usual pipeline stuff the Colts love to do there.
Alec Pierce is going the be the post on a lot of the quarters-beaters. Mitchell may take over those reps to some degree.
Just curious about the Bootleg schedule because we do have a Bears fan in the house, wondering about the North Saga? EJ, what's Caleb's upside as a rookie ya think? It will be a CANNOT MISS episode!
I think if AR comes out and has a great year my colts truly could (key word could) compete with Houston for the south. They were close to sweeping them last year and I believe this roster has gotten better. Just happy to be excited about playoff chances for the first time in what feels like forever honestly 😂
I don’t get this *could* thing. They literally did it last year. This isn’t like a 5-12 team maybe taking a big jump, they are right at the top of the division already.
@@briankrosky3567 honestly only reason I say could is because:
1.) this years schedule is far more difficult than last year. NFC North and AFC East.
2.) needing to see for sure that AR will be healthy for at least most of the year. I think the injury stuff is overblown but I still wanna see.
3.) Houston getting so much hype. Not undeserved either, they should be good.
I just generally like seeing things before declaring it but I do think this team is right there in the division for sure.
The biggest question really is if AR can play a full healthy season. Which also means he's less inclined to lower his shoulder when he has to run the ball. He really needs the reps at the pro level and if he can't get that due to little things putting him in the sidelines, its on him for setting himself back.
Some very significant audio desync here.
Just an FYI....Colts brass have publicly stated they intend to play Jaylon Carlies at Linebacker. He's gonna be the super athletic coverage type for the freaky TE's and such.
Blessed be the day they talk about my team 🙏
Brett channels Tom Grossi being a Texan fan at 0:59
Colts fan, appreciate the comments! I'm a little more negative on my team than you two, I mean 11 or 12 wins ceiling sure... but I'm seeing 7 wins baseline, less if Flacco can't be decent after AR goes down. I see no reason to believe AR will stay healthy. See I don't think of the Colts' success in WINS I see their success hinging on if AR can stay healthy for over or under 8 games. They'll win 10+ if AR stays upright, but if not they won't see playoffs again. Nevermind the fact that they still have NO secondary,, you say they're solid OTHER than one little thing! And yeah, agree 100%! But you'd think if you need something fixed you'd see ADDITIONS in the offseason. If there's one thing the Colts didn't do this offseason, it was NOT fixing anything.
They still don't have a safety, still a VERY young defense that will struggle to wrap up, they also lost and didn't replace theyr RB2 behind a very injury prone Jonathan Taylor. They have chosen to rely on Trey Sermon for that! I believe in Steichen, but once again he's gonna have to coach his ass off to keep us competitive.
Im drafting a ton of all 3 wrs but downs I think is answer
7:41 except it’s not a town…. It’s the capital… and city.
Brett, Lucas Oil was built in ‘08, not even past the 10 youngest still! Believe it or not! It's the 7th newest still. Don't feed the Colts’ ownership delusion that they need a new stadium by the end of the decade😂
As nice as the Colts went 9-8 last season, I think Steichen just wants a healthy full season with AR (along with the reps). Steichen can always scheme the deep ball routes well. He just needs ARs arm to make it count often enough to put pressure against defenses.
The jags made trevor the highest paid player just to finish 3rd in the division😬
The Colts got the family back together for this season and it's starting off well this off season. No fights at the family barbecue. All the family seems good. No drama or holdouts. A second year with Steichen good. JT healthy will be bringing it in the running game. Some nice additions with rookies that should contribute early in the pass rush and receiving game. Anthony Richardson needs to stay on the field and build his game. He will add to the run game so Zack Moss loss shouldn't be that bad. Colts should be solid and get at least 10 or 11 games. Playoff spot perhaps.
Colts have a secondary that is bottom 3 in the league it’s scary but what’s also scary is the colts are usually always relevant so if AR stays healthy lookout that Johnathan Taylor ,Anthony Richardson RPO game is scary as hell
58:36 Unless you’re Jonathan Taylor. Then getting paid is a nightmare.
He brought that on himself by trying to get paid a year early.
Shoutout to PNW colts fans !!
Backatcha!
@@carrite you live over here too? That’s awesome dude I was born and raised in Indy along moved out here 6 yrs ago
❤❤@@AdreAnna-fn8ke
as a part time colts fan im so excited for the division (i was born and raised in indiana watched a lot of them growing up in the manning era) should be fun 2-3 years until jaxonville returns to irrelevance. funny you say indianapolis is walkable. its ranked one of the worst for walkability in the country and id have to agree with the rankings. if you have wheels its great though.