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Speaker 1: Football is about the Jimmy's and Joe's, and x's and o's.

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Speaker 2: Nice writing numbers, three jets, Spielberg, I'm one.

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Speaker 1: All right, aast big fly, Turbot, Selda fourteen, Diablo.

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Speaker 2: Wid out a bunch right, Roberts de Niro. It's time

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Speaker 2: to get out the chockboard and diagram some plays.

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Speaker 1: Hey, sure you get enough dep like twelve yard, fourteen yards,

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Speaker 1: break on everything. This is Inside Football with former Colts

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Speaker 1: and NFL coach Rick Venturie. All Right, one final time

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Speaker 1: here in twenty twenty five. This is the last dance

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Speaker 1: version of Inside Football the podcast here on the Colts

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Speaker 1: podcast channel. I'm Matt Taylor, joined as always by the

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Speaker 1: legendary Rick Van Turrey, and we now know the Colts

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Speaker 1: will not make the playoffs here in twenty twenty five,

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Speaker 1: so this is our last podcast here in the regular season.

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Speaker 1: We're still talking Colts, We're still talking about the upcoming opponent,

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Speaker 1: but we're just not talking about playoff scenarios any longer

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Speaker 1: for the Colts as they close out the regular season

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Speaker 1: down in h and Rick venturi That is a sad reality,

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Speaker 1: my friend. It's now five years in a row for

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Speaker 1: the Colts missing out on the postseason. How tough is

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Speaker 1: that still to hear a few days later after the

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Speaker 1: Colts were eliminated from postseason contention last weekend.

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Speaker 2: You know, Matt, I think it was worse than all

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Speaker 2: the other we've had collapses. We've had some really bad decembers.

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Speaker 2: You know the nine and six year where we lost

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Speaker 2: the last two and played ourselves out of it. You know,

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Speaker 2: that was really tough. This one was tougher. I mean,

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Speaker 2: you know, when we all came back from Berlin, I

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Speaker 2: mean my metal frame was we're gonna play home games

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Speaker 2: in January and Lucas Oil. I'll be honest with you,

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Speaker 2: I was captured like everybody else. I you know, I

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Speaker 2: certainly I didn't see this coming, and it's just hurt worse,

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Speaker 2: I think, you know, the absolute craziness of it having

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Speaker 2: been eight and two, seven and one whatever, and then

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Speaker 2: be eliminated with two games to go. It's just absolutely nuts.

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Speaker 2: But I don't think anything anybody saw. The other part

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Speaker 2: of it was that, yeah, they just can't lose. They've

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Speaker 2: just come on and they're just really good teams. I mean,

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Speaker 2: you know, they've you know, they've gotten well in the

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Speaker 2: right spots. They've got great coaching jobs in both groups.

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Speaker 2: But yeah, I mean it's just, you know, I don't

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Speaker 2: think anybody's saw that coming. But in the end, it's

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Speaker 2: it's very, very difficult, There is no doubt about it,

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Speaker 2: because we're in it to win it, and that's all

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Speaker 2: that really matters in this league. Effort is important, but

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Speaker 2: results are all the matters.

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Speaker 1: No question about it. I mean, yeah, Casey and I

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Speaker 1: on radio yesterday, we were on the air lamenting the

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Speaker 1: fact that, you know, we don't know what's wilder. The

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Speaker 1: fact that the Colts and I know they've played some

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Speaker 1: really stiff competition down the stretch here. There's no question

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Speaker 1: about it. They've lost six straight games, So I don't

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Speaker 1: know if if that's wilder or the fact, like you

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Speaker 1: just mentioned that the Texans and Jaguars have combined to

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Speaker 1: win fifteen straight games. I mean, who saw that coming.

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Speaker 1: I means, it's.

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Speaker 2: Crazy, it's crazy. And you know, Houston and we'll talk

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Speaker 2: about this as we go today has established themselves as

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Speaker 2: one of the best defensive teams that we've seen in

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Speaker 2: a long long time, you know, and then Jacksonville's offense

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Speaker 2: has just come you know, they've come a mile all

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Speaker 2: of a sudden, that receiver corps got really good. The

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Speaker 2: quarterbacks playing out of his mind. I mean, and it's

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Speaker 2: a it's about fifteen fluke straight. It's you know, it's

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Speaker 2: good football. So yeah, we got some work to do

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Speaker 2: because you know, those elements are going to be around

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Speaker 2: for a long time by the coaching staffs in Jacksonville

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Speaker 2: and Texans and the quality players on both teams. So yeah,

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Speaker 2: we got some work to do.

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Speaker 1: We really do all right, Well, I don't think we

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Speaker 1: need to spend a ton of time on this last

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Speaker 1: game aginst the Jacksonville Jaguars as we get ready for

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Speaker 1: the new year. The Colts battle in that game, but

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Speaker 1: they came up empty and just didn't make enough plays.

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Speaker 1: In the fourth quarter, the offense generated just a hair

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Speaker 1: over two hundred yards, and it also appears that Philip

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Speaker 1: Rivers may have started his last game this season and

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Speaker 1: maybe his last game for his career. The Colts are

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Speaker 1: reportedly turning the offense over to a rookie quarterback, Riley

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Speaker 1: Leonard here in the regular season finale. As we tape

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Speaker 1: this right now, we have not heard definitively on that

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Speaker 1: from head coach Shane Steichen. We're taping this on Wednesday.

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Speaker 1: He's gonna talk, you know, in just a couple hours

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Speaker 1: after we get done with our conversation right here. So

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Speaker 1: it's not real clear on, you know, what the quarterback

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Speaker 1: depth's gonna be for Sunday's game. The Colts on Monday

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Speaker 1: added quarterback Seth Hennigan to their practice squad. He spent

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Speaker 1: four weeks on the Jaguars practice squad earlier this season,

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Speaker 1: and he could theoretically be added to the active roster

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Speaker 1: for Sunday's game. So we'll see how it goes. So

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Speaker 1: let's talk about the quarterbacks going into Sunday. What do

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Speaker 1: the Colts get from Riley Leonard at that spot rick

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Speaker 1: and how much do they they need this sample size

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Speaker 1: out of him to see if he's a viable option

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Speaker 1: for early next season. If hypothetically, if Daniel Jones is

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Speaker 1: re signed but not able to play Week one in

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Speaker 1: September as we know him coming off in Achilles Stare.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, let me just digress for one second, you know,

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Speaker 2: I mean, I think a move by Chris and by

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Speaker 2: Shane uh to try to win with Rivers was absolutely

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Speaker 2: the right. I completely agree it wasn't It wasn't popular,

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Speaker 2: but you know, he basically gave us a chance. Uh.

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Speaker 2: He energized us. I don't think people realized how demoralized

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Speaker 2: we were, uh in that loss at Jacksonville, you know,

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Speaker 2: and having lost Danny. Uh, it was bleak, and he

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Speaker 2: brought in you know, that kind of juice and emotion. Uh.

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Speaker 2: The story is unbelievable, great human interest story. And see

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Speaker 2: your citizens everywhere who will be inspired by that one.

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Speaker 2: But you know, the limitations, the physical limitations, end up

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Speaker 2: being fatal. You just can't make You can't you can't

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Speaker 2: generate enough offense to win. You know. I I think

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Speaker 2: you go with uh, you know, and I'm I don't

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Speaker 2: know if they will for sure, but I think you

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Speaker 2: do go with Riley here. I think there's you know,

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Speaker 2: several reasons. I think number one, as you chronicled, you know,

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Speaker 2: the first thing is you want to come out of

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Speaker 2: this season, now that we're not in the playoffs. You

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Speaker 2: you want to come out with a much clearer feel

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Speaker 2: for what you have in Riley. I personally like him

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Speaker 2: a lot, and I think he has a future. I

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Speaker 2: mean there's things that he's going to have to clean up.

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Speaker 2: I think, you know, developing Sunday accuracy is number one.

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Speaker 2: But I think he has the tools and the temperament

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Speaker 2: to do that because he's a great competitor, he's smart,

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Speaker 2: he has a little bit of that it factor. I

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Speaker 2: don't think anything's too big for him. His past will

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Speaker 2: prove that. But we want to come out of there

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Speaker 2: after Sunday and say, you know, eventually we're gonna play

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Speaker 2: with this guy and you know how fast or how

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Speaker 2: long you know, I think we'll have a better idea.

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Speaker 2: And you know the thing. The thing about that is,

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Speaker 2: you know you're not going to ever find that out

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Speaker 2: in the second half of a preseason game, you know,

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Speaker 2: or any time in a preseason game, because it's just

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Speaker 2: not the same. The speed of the game isn't the same,

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Speaker 2: the sophistication isn't the same. You play a lot of

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Speaker 2: backup guys today. So this is an opportunity, you know,

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Speaker 2: to get him out here against a you know, a

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Speaker 2: top flight defense who has stuff to play for this week.

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Speaker 2: You know they've got an outside chance and so you know,

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Speaker 2: he's going to look at the best defensive team in

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Speaker 2: the National Football League, you know, so you're going to

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Speaker 2: get a good look at that and as I said,

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Speaker 2: you know, not not just our evaluation, but also a great,

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Speaker 2: great opportunity for him in sixty minutes to develop a

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Speaker 2: vision and to see what this game really is all about,

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Speaker 2: and for him to get some development under fire. You know.

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Speaker 2: I think he brings some things to the game that

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Speaker 2: can help you. I think he's got a little bit

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Speaker 2: better deep arm, certainly than Philip does. Right now. I

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Speaker 2: think he can push the ball deep. I think you

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Speaker 2: can get big plays on laster, so I think arm

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Speaker 2: strength is important to get it deep. I think he

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Speaker 2: gives you, you know, he potentially gives you some of

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Speaker 2: the NCAA Saturday football, which you know, maybe you run

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Speaker 2: his own read and option and maybe that slows those

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Speaker 2: great rushers down, you know. I mean, that's an element

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Speaker 2: that certainly can use against that rush. He has avoidance,

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Speaker 2: you know, he can make people miss, you know, and

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Speaker 2: at the end of the day, really and this is

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Speaker 2: where his legs may help us. One of the I

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Speaker 2: think one of the big keys to win this game,

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Speaker 2: because I think both teams have really struggled if you

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Speaker 2: look at statistics on them the whole season, in on

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Speaker 2: us in the seven losses is both teams have struggled

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Speaker 2: to run the ball mat and so I think one

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Speaker 2: of the key issues in this winning game is which

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Speaker 2: one of those teams can establish the running games. So,

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Speaker 2: you know, maybe his legs really help us. But I

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Speaker 2: think it's all good here, you know, I really do,

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Speaker 2: and I think it's the why. I think it was

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Speaker 2: the wise choice and it is the right choice today.

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Speaker 1: All right, Well that's the state of the Colts quarterback

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Speaker 1: situation heading into Week eighteen. Leonard will become the third

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Speaker 1: starting quarterback for the Colts this season. He's appeared in

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Speaker 1: four games on the year. He saw extensive action, as

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Speaker 1: you said, Rick, back in what was that December the

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Speaker 1: seventh at Jacksonville after Daniel Jones towards Achilles against the Jaguars.

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Speaker 1: Leonard becomes just the thirteenth rookie quarterback to start for

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Speaker 1: the Colts in franchise history, in the first since Anthony Richardson,

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Speaker 1: of course, back in twenty twenty three. Not surprisingly, this

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Speaker 1: is coming from the great Mike Chappell, who's been on

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Speaker 1: the Colts beat since nineteen eighty four. He had this

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Speaker 1: great nugget the other day. Colts rookies are three to

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Speaker 1: nine in their first career start. The last one to

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Speaker 1: win his debut Chris Chandler back in nineteen eighty eight.

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Speaker 1: Rick Venturrey, I'm sure you've got a front row seat

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Speaker 1: to that bad boy there. Leonard will be the sixth

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Speaker 1: Notre Dame rookie to start an NFL game, and just

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Speaker 1: a fun bit of trivia, the last Notre Dame rookie

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Speaker 1: to win an NFL start Jimmy Clawson, who beat the

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Speaker 1: Arizona Cardinals nineteen to twelve December nineteenth, twenty ten as

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Speaker 1: a member of the Carolina Panthers. So we'll see what

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Speaker 1: is in store on Sunday in the last game of

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Speaker 1: the season for Riley Leonard and this Colts offense. All right,

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Speaker 1: let's transition now into the final game of the season.

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Speaker 1: We know the Colts are out of the playoffs for

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Speaker 1: the fifth straight year, but there's still a game to

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Speaker 1: play and it's a reason to stop a six game

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Speaker 1: losing skid here to close out the year. The Colts

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Speaker 1: are looking to avoid joining the twenty twenty two in

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Speaker 1: the nineteen fifty three Colts as the only teams to

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Speaker 1: lose seventh straight to end the season in franchise history.

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Speaker 1: But it's not gonna be easy. They got to go

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Speaker 1: on the road to battle the eleven to five Houston Texans,

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Speaker 1: who have won an NFL best eight straight games. Houston

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Speaker 1: will mark the sixth straight Colts opponent that's won at

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Speaker 1: least eleven games to this point in the season. They've

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Speaker 1: clinched a playoff berth for the third straight year, and

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Speaker 1: last week became just the seventh team in NFL history

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Speaker 1: to rebound after an OH to three start to go

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Speaker 1: on to make the postseason. They are eleven and two

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Speaker 1: since that dreadful OH to three start, and this turnaround

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Speaker 1: is primarily in thanks to their top ranked defense, but

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Speaker 1: the offense around third year quarterback CJ. Stroud has really

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Speaker 1: begun to catch it stride as well. And like you

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Speaker 1: said too, Rick, there's a chance they can win the

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Speaker 1: AFC South for the third straight year, but they're gonna

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Speaker 1: need some help. They got to beat the Colts on Sunday,

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Speaker 1: and they also have to see the Titans upset the

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Speaker 1: Jaguars in Northern Florida in Week eighteen, so the Colts

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Speaker 1: have nothing to play for, whereas you know, the Texans

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Speaker 1: will be playing all of their starters knowing there's a

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Speaker 1: chance that Sunday could be a hat and T shirt

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Speaker 1: day for him at NRG Stadium. So Rick, I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: stop right there on the setup on the Texans going

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Speaker 1: into the last game of the season. My question for

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Speaker 1: you is, I mean, just how impressed have you been

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Speaker 1: with the Texans turnaround and their eight game winning streak

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Speaker 1: and their journey back to the playoffs for the third

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Speaker 1: straight year.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, they they've done a great job. You know, they

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Speaker 2: didn't panic at oh to three. They've had great resiliency.

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Speaker 2: You know, Demiko, you know, Demiko has done a great

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Speaker 2: job with the Texans. I mean, this is his first

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Speaker 2: three years as a head coach, and this will be

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Speaker 2: the third year he's in the playoffs. And he also

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Speaker 2: has two playoff wins, you know, in his first two years.

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Speaker 2: So you know, you can't say it really enough about

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Speaker 2: him him and what he's accomplished. I think the best

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Speaker 2: thing they've done, you know, as you said as you

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Speaker 2: chronicle number one, they are superbly talented on defense. I

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Speaker 2: mean they're they're talented really at every level. They're as

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Speaker 2: good as I've seen talent wise in a long time.

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Speaker 2: But I think what they've done a really good job

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Speaker 2: as a coaching staff and as a team is they

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Speaker 2: really know who they are. They don't try to get

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Speaker 2: in a lane that isn't theirs, and it really what

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Speaker 2: their success is really, you know, triggered on is basically

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Speaker 2: three things. Okay, Number one, they play great defense. Number

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Speaker 2: one in scoring you know at sixteen point six, and

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Speaker 2: they're led by the best to the best edge the

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Speaker 2: best edge duo in football with Anderson and a Hunter,

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Speaker 2: no doubt about that. But great defense to start with.

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Speaker 2: Number two, they don't give the ball up, but they

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Speaker 2: take get away. I mean, they're amazing. They're number two

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Speaker 2: in the league plus fourteen turnover ratio and then number three.

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Speaker 2: Even though their offense isn't great by any stretch, they

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Speaker 2: do ball control. You they're number three in time of

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Speaker 2: possession and it just seems like Stroud and Collins do

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Speaker 2: just enough to win their sixteenth in scoring, which isn't impressive,

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Speaker 2: but with that great defense and taking care of the football,

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Speaker 2: they really have a method to win week in and

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Speaker 2: week out, which tells you something. So, you know, I

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Speaker 2: think on offense, I think you know they struggle to

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Speaker 2: some degree. I mean, you know, their twentieth in total offense.

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Speaker 2: You know, after the quick two touchdowns last Sunday, they

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Speaker 2: got those two bombs right off the bat. Then the

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Speaker 2: Chargers held them to six points for the rep you know,

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Speaker 2: the rest of the game three and a half quarters,

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Speaker 2: but we know they're led. Stroud is a really good quarterback.

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Speaker 2: He's number ten in QBR, so he's in that upper third.

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Speaker 2: He's really accurate, he's got enough extension and he doesn't

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Speaker 2: make unforced airs. He plays pretty smart. Now, what those

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Speaker 2: Chargers exposed and what I've seen all along with them,

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Speaker 2: is they really struggle with Blitz. I mean, he struggles

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Speaker 2: and the entire team struggles. So you know, if you can,

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Speaker 2: if you can get ahead of the count, you you've

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Speaker 2: got a way to stop him, There's no doubt about it. Now,

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Speaker 2: along with Stroud, you've got to stop Collins. We've had

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Speaker 2: three regimes, three defensive regimes in here, and up until

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Speaker 2: this game, and I hope tomorrow chains it, we have

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Speaker 2: not had an answer because that guy's tremendous. He's ambient.

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Speaker 2: You know, he's got forty three hundred plus yards fifteen

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Speaker 2: average totally. This is career twenty four tds and he

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Speaker 2: has been a Colts killer. There was a time going

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Speaker 2: into this season, we're like twenty twenty nine percent of

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Speaker 2: his production has been against the Colts. So he's got

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Speaker 2: to be the stopper. Uh, you know, no matter what,

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Speaker 2: They're gonna get it to him, no matter what. Uh.

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Speaker 2: And he even scored on a reverse against US marks

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Speaker 2: his back he missed the game. He's the good young kid.

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Speaker 2: He's a slasher. He came back and played. You know,

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Speaker 2: Chubb is there kind of as the banger. And then

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Speaker 2: this Juwan Jordan has really come in and give him

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Speaker 2: kind of fresh legs. They're actually they played him a

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Speaker 2: lot more than they did Chubb last year.

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Speaker 1: He had two years ago.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and he's four or five. He's four point five.

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Speaker 2: And then we we've seen this guy with about one

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Speaker 2: hundred teams. Og and Biwally you know, will play a

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Speaker 2: lot on third down for protection. The others that are

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Speaker 2: that are reliable players, good players, not to the level

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Speaker 2: certainly of Collins, but Sultz is a really reliable guy.

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Speaker 2: Lot of catches high volume receiver stover as they're blocking

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Speaker 2: tight end, and also he runs the tush push for

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Speaker 2: the fans. Kirk outstanding slot receiver possession guy third and three,

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Speaker 2: a lot of second and longs where they want to

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Speaker 2: get back, they'll throw quick stuff to him. He's a

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Speaker 2: guy you got to defend in those shorter yardage situations.

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Speaker 2: And then they've got a couple of rookies who really

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Speaker 2: showed up last week and they've been pretty solid all year.

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Speaker 2: But Higgins, Higgins reminds me of Collins. He's the ze,

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Speaker 2: he's the flanker, and he caught that first one to

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Speaker 2: give him the lead, the bomb last week, he got

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Speaker 2: wide open, and a lot of that happens because people

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Speaker 2: will pull the coverage to Collins and these guys are

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Speaker 2: getting one on one. And then his college teammate, Noel

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Speaker 2: also caught the second bomb, you know, and he's more

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Speaker 2: of a quick twitch, slot, good return guy, you know,

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Speaker 2: but he got he gave him that second touchdown to

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Speaker 2: give him a little distance, you know, basically. You know, again,

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Speaker 2: I think their offensive line is subpar. If you get

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Speaker 2: ahead and the count, and they certainly looked at they

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Speaker 2: certain they they got a lot and you know, charge's

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Speaker 2: a lot of pressure. If you can stay ahead in

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Speaker 2: the count, it can be a disaster for them. I

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Speaker 2: really believe that they But the one thing you gotta

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Speaker 2: know is they don't turn it over, and they do

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Speaker 2: eat some clock defensively. As you said, they just light

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Speaker 2: up the scoreboard. They light up the stab board. I

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Speaker 2: mean number one in the score number one total, you know,

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Speaker 2: five sacks, four third. I can keep going on and

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Speaker 2: on and on. Now, I think and these aren't bad statistics,

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Speaker 2: but where they drop off a little, okay, I think

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Speaker 2: you can hit them with direct runs. They are eleventh

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Speaker 2: and rush per and in the red zone they're number sixteen.

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Speaker 2: So those aren't elite things. And I think when you

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Speaker 2: look at that, that's the areas you gotta win. You know,

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Speaker 2: they reflect Tomko. They're not real complex, but man, they

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Speaker 2: are sound and tough and they just go. They swarm

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Speaker 2: and they choke you off. And then if they get

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Speaker 2: you backed up, which they do a lot, then the

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Speaker 2: nuance comes on third down. As you said earlier, the

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Speaker 2: defense keeps them in the games. And almost all their

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Speaker 2: games are one possessions because they don't they won't they

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Speaker 2: won't mess around with the ball. They'll let their defense

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Speaker 2: win it. And you know, just their loaded talent wise,

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Speaker 2: you know, Anderson thirty sacks, Hunter hundred and thirteen and

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Speaker 2: a half. Barnett, You forget about Barnett. He's got thirty two.

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Speaker 2: And then Audrey who was with us, has sixty three

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Speaker 2: and Rankins thirty two and a half. I added them

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Speaker 2: all up. I think he came up to one hundred

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Speaker 2: and seventy one and a half. So you got some

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Speaker 2: guys that can rush the pass with The one thing

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Speaker 2: you don't want to do is get behind any count

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Speaker 2: al Shire and really speed the You know our former colts,

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Speaker 2: they're really good stack guys. They can just really fly,

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Speaker 2: you know. And then you know real goods back end.

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Speaker 2: Three top back end players in Singletary at left corner,

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Speaker 2: Petrie outstanding at the nickel, and then Bullock is outstanding

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Speaker 2: in the in the back end. I mean, those guys

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Speaker 2: are playmakers. And you know, so if you want to

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Speaker 2: work on a couple guys, you want to work on

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Speaker 2: the right corner Lassiter and I'll get into that in

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Speaker 2: the must in their strong safety Bryant, because that's about it.

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Speaker 2: Because the rest of that team is good. Is really

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Speaker 2: they're elite. They're not just pretty good, yeah, you know,

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Speaker 2: like I said, not really complex until they get into

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Speaker 2: third down special teams. We know they can kick it,

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Speaker 2: they kick it. Well, they have struggled on some coverage.

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Speaker 2: I thought our special teams was great last week, you know,

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Speaker 2: and we should be able to win that one. All right.

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Speaker 1: Well that's the big picture set up on the Houston

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Speaker 1: Texans eleven and five of their records. Let's talk about

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Speaker 1: how the Colts can get a win to close out

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Speaker 1: the campaign. And there's a world of difference, as you know,

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Speaker 1: Rick Ventury, believe it or not, between nine and eight

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Speaker 1: and eight and nine. So let's set things up here.

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Speaker 1: When the Texans have the ball. The Texans offense, certainly

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Speaker 1: they've been aided by that defense, but Houston, I mean,

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Speaker 1: they're just flat out finding ways to win close games,

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Speaker 1: unlike the Colts. Houston beat the Chargers last week twenty

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Speaker 1: to sixteen, and they have now won six straight games

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Speaker 1: that have been decided by one score. This Texans offense

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Speaker 1: is kind of hard to describe. It's tough to kind

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Speaker 1: of put your finger on it because they're only scoring

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Speaker 1: twenty two points per game and they've been over twenty

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Speaker 1: points in just four games during their eight game winning streak,

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Speaker 1: so their overall numbers won't blow you away, but it's

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Speaker 1: an offense that's filled with timely playmaking. I think that's

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Speaker 1: the best way to describe it. Because CJ. Stroud is

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Speaker 1: turning into a clutch quarterback and he's got really good

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Speaker 1: receivers to get the ball to. He's got the emerging

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Speaker 1: superstar and Nico Collins and rookies Jaden Higgins and Jalen

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Speaker 1: Nol Dalton Schultz one of the more underrated tight ends

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Speaker 1: in the AFC. They also have rookie running back Woody

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Speaker 1: Marx who has a very high ceiling. And the Texans

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Speaker 1: do a couple of things really well. They don't turn

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Speaker 1: the football over and they ball control you. They have

401
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Speaker 1: twelve turnovers on the season, second fewest in the NFL.

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Speaker 1: In fact, they only have five giveaways during their eight

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Speaker 1: game heater, and they rank third in the NFL in

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Speaker 1: time of possession. This season, they've won time of possession

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Speaker 1: in twelve at a sixteen games, and in the twelve

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Speaker 1: games they've won time of possession, they've won ten of

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Speaker 1: them outright. Last week, the Texans got off to a

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Speaker 1: blistering hot start. Stroud completed touchdown passes of seventy five

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Speaker 1: and forty three yards on the first two drives. Of

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Speaker 1: the game, and he already ranked in the top four

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Speaker 1: in franchise history in passing yards and completions. And Nico

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Speaker 1: Collins now has recorded his third consecutive season of one

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Speaker 1: thousand plus receiving yards. He joins Andre Johnson and DeAndre

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Speaker 1: Hopkins as the only players in franchise history to reach

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Speaker 1: that milestone in three straight seasons. And he's a Colts killer,

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Speaker 1: as we always chronicle. He has at least ninety eight

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Speaker 1: receiving yards in each of his last four games against

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Speaker 1: the Colts and then Schultz. This season, he has set

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Speaker 1: a new franchise record for the most receptions by a

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Speaker 1: tight end in single season history with seventy eight, and

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Speaker 1: he's also on pace to join Owen Daniels as the

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Speaker 1: only tight ends in club history to lead the team

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Speaker 1: in catches in a single season. So, Rick, I'm gonna

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Speaker 1: freeze it right there. On the Texans offense, again, they're

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Speaker 1: not prolific, but it's a clutch offense that finds ways

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Speaker 1: to make timely plays when they need to.

427
00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:26,040
Speaker 2: No, that's exactly right. That's a great way to put it. Clutch.

428
00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:29,960
Speaker 2: I think time lee is even better. You know, as

429
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,920
Speaker 2: you said, you know, I mean, there's negatives. I mean,

430
00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:38,359
Speaker 2: you know, they're twentieth in total offense, their rush per

431
00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:43,000
Speaker 2: is their twenty eighth, and worst of ball, their thirtieth

432
00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:44,919
Speaker 2: in the red zone. So it's you know, it's not

433
00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,040
Speaker 2: like they're road grade new But at the end of

434
00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:51,400
Speaker 2: the day, the other news, the bad news is they

435
00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:54,359
Speaker 2: don't give the ball up, so they protect their defense.

436
00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:57,320
Speaker 2: They don't give the ball up, and they manage to

437
00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:00,560
Speaker 2: eat some clock. And then what they do is they

438
00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:06,320
Speaker 2: get good plays, really good plays, timely plays from Stroud

439
00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:11,320
Speaker 2: to Collins number one, and then and then Schultz number two.

440
00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:14,840
Speaker 2: Those two guys are really really good players. I think

441
00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:18,439
Speaker 2: Collins is an ambient superstar, and I think and and

442
00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:22,399
Speaker 2: I think Schultz's top tier. Now, they're fairly simple. They

443
00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:25,360
Speaker 2: would like to run the ball. They haven't done it effectively,

444
00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:29,600
Speaker 2: but with Marx and Chubb and Jordan and they're very simple.

445
00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:33,640
Speaker 2: They run a pretty much a zone offense with tosses. Now,

446
00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:37,080
Speaker 2: what they really like to do is play action on

447
00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:40,720
Speaker 2: first down. And when they play action, they will block

448
00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:45,119
Speaker 2: everybody up and run you know, Higgins on the cross.

449
00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:48,159
Speaker 2: But what they want to do is isolate Collins on

450
00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:52,000
Speaker 2: the weak side and work him deep, working on those

451
00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:55,560
Speaker 2: fades sometimes, working on those deep digs. Let him get

452
00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:58,800
Speaker 2: back in there and get it. If they get behind

453
00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,400
Speaker 2: in the count, then it's always get back. It's get

454
00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:04,800
Speaker 2: back time then. And I'll talk about this in the

455
00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:08,760
Speaker 2: must Then they're gonna throw quick. They're gonna throw it quick.

456
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,960
Speaker 2: They're gonna move Stroud and all they want to do

457
00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:16,000
Speaker 2: is get a five yard completion or six yard completion

458
00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:19,560
Speaker 2: and they get back into that third and medium and

459
00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:23,439
Speaker 2: stay out of big, big trouble with their offensive line. Again,

460
00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:27,200
Speaker 2: at the end of the day, it's Collins, Collins, Collins

461
00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:30,000
Speaker 2: on the big play, even though they got some big

462
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:33,639
Speaker 2: plays last week, but overall, it's Collins, and they're gonna

463
00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:37,200
Speaker 2: move him around, no question about it. Uh, They're gonna

464
00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:41,159
Speaker 2: give you a stacks and bunches. And Stroud is a

465
00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:44,040
Speaker 2: you know, Schultz is a favorite. He's a really good

466
00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:48,000
Speaker 2: route guy, possession guy. He has enough speed to get

467
00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:52,560
Speaker 2: down the seam, he really does. And now where Kirk is,

468
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,399
Speaker 2: you gotta be careful with kirk Is. He's that Edelman

469
00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,359
Speaker 2: type guy. He's that when you know, like I said,

470
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:02,159
Speaker 2: second in low, he's going to run a little stop route.

471
00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:06,600
Speaker 2: Third and three to five those type downs they're gonna

472
00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:08,960
Speaker 2: get They're gonna get him the ball. He's really good

473
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:13,960
Speaker 2: at route running underneath stuff, and he's a situational player.

474
00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:16,760
Speaker 2: And then the other two role players, as you said,

475
00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:20,520
Speaker 2: Higgins and Noel, they gave they gave him big plays,

476
00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:24,080
Speaker 2: which is unusual, that is, that's not the norm. Those

477
00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:26,760
Speaker 2: guys are more role players. But they did give him

478
00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:31,520
Speaker 2: big plays because the coverage was so set for Collins.

479
00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:35,119
Speaker 2: You know, they had no clue last week, no clue

480
00:26:35,119 --> 00:26:39,760
Speaker 2: whatsoever in terms of of the blitz protection versus the Chargers.

481
00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:44,439
Speaker 2: They really didn't. And Stroud is smart, he's outstanding. He

482
00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:49,600
Speaker 2: plays best when he's in rhythm and historically his production,

483
00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:53,399
Speaker 2: his production has fallen off with blitzing and presser. And

484
00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:56,480
Speaker 2: it was really their last week. He was only sixteen

485
00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:59,600
Speaker 2: for twenty eight, but he had two interceptions and he

486
00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:02,720
Speaker 2: was for eleven on third down. So in the end,

487
00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:06,000
Speaker 2: you take away the running game and please stop, you know,

488
00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:09,760
Speaker 2: please stop Chris Stroud in Collins. I think our blueprint

489
00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:13,800
Speaker 2: number one we must stop the runners. We can't. We

490
00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,840
Speaker 2: can't let Marx, Jordan and Chubb. You know, they're twenty

491
00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:19,520
Speaker 2: eighth and we got to validate that we can't if

492
00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:22,240
Speaker 2: we If we don't, then Stroud in those play accidents,

493
00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:24,960
Speaker 2: he's gonna he's gonna play in a rocking chair and

494
00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:27,439
Speaker 2: he'll shred it. So you know, got to be alert

495
00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:30,200
Speaker 2: for a little bit more twenty one personnel and they

496
00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:34,400
Speaker 2: use some jumbo uh using the other tackle. Uh they've

497
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:38,399
Speaker 2: used Kingston now number sixty three. They were using Fisher,

498
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:42,560
Speaker 2: but Fisher's now the starting left tackle. These guys are slashers.

499
00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:45,440
Speaker 2: We got to control the line of scrimmage, drive them

500
00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:48,680
Speaker 2: back and don't allow them to bleed yard is And

501
00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:53,160
Speaker 2: this Jordan kid is amazing. He's he's really energized them

502
00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:55,600
Speaker 2: a little bit. But you want to put pressure on

503
00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:59,960
Speaker 2: their second and third down. Gotta control Collins, you know, fourth,

504
00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:03,959
Speaker 2: three hundred and forty seven, all those stats, Cole Killer.

505
00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:08,359
Speaker 2: He's the one true ambient on their offense. They're gonna

506
00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:13,040
Speaker 2: do everything possible to get him the ball, weak side isolation,

507
00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:15,840
Speaker 2: get him at number two, get him on a safety

508
00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:20,600
Speaker 2: crossing big corner routes. Ran the reverse against us in

509
00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:23,679
Speaker 2: the red zone. He's huge in the red and orange

510
00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:27,679
Speaker 2: zone with the fifty to fifty ball stopping him is

511
00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:31,680
Speaker 2: a must. And I'll say it straight up. It's if

512
00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,680
Speaker 2: you don't have a specific plant. If you just play

513
00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:38,160
Speaker 2: him head up, then that's malpractice. Know what the other

514
00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:41,800
Speaker 2: guys do. Again nowhere, Shultz is tough. Schultz is also

515
00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:44,840
Speaker 2: tough around the red zone. He's also a good little

516
00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:50,400
Speaker 2: option route runner, much like Kirk underneath those two guys

517
00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:54,200
Speaker 2: right there. And again, no, we talked. We talked about Kirk.

518
00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:56,800
Speaker 2: You know, I talked about all those guys in their

519
00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:01,360
Speaker 2: Higgins and those guys and defend the other after you

520
00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:04,680
Speaker 2: defend Collins, make the other guys beat you. I think

521
00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:07,960
Speaker 2: we can dominate their offensive line as long as we

522
00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:10,800
Speaker 2: keep them. And that's why I think ahead in account.

523
00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:13,800
Speaker 2: If we could establish the lead and stay ahead of

524
00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:17,000
Speaker 2: the count, I think we can win the game because

525
00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:20,560
Speaker 2: I think their offensive line in their backs, they showed

526
00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:24,280
Speaker 2: their weakness last week they are below average. Our edge

527
00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:26,920
Speaker 2: guys have to find it this week. We got to

528
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:31,280
Speaker 2: out athletic them. They're vulnerable to blitzes, they struggle with

529
00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:36,120
Speaker 2: inside games. Their right side can't handle stunts. You know,

530
00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:39,440
Speaker 2: just stay ahead in the count and get after them.

531
00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:42,600
Speaker 2: And then finally, and you know, as important, probably along

532
00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:46,640
Speaker 2: with Stopping Collins is disrupt stroud. You know, he's tenth

533
00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:51,160
Speaker 2: in the league for a reason. At QBR smart accurate. Again,

534
00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:55,200
Speaker 2: he can extend, We've seen that, but he plays best

535
00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:58,480
Speaker 2: in rhythm. You got to pressure him with blitzes, get

536
00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:02,520
Speaker 2: him off that spot. Historically, this goes even back to college,

537
00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:08,959
Speaker 2: when heavily pressured performance diminishes. They were awful versus the charger.

538
00:30:09,080 --> 00:30:11,160
Speaker 2: Pressure must break his rhythm.

539
00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:14,440
Speaker 1: All right, that's Rick Vonturi. Those are the blueprints for

540
00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:17,960
Speaker 1: when the Texans have the ball on offense. This is

541
00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:21,000
Speaker 1: inside football. I'm Matt Taylor. Let's switch things over now

542
00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:24,120
Speaker 1: to the Texans on defense, and as we all know,

543
00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:27,480
Speaker 1: this is a unit worth talking extensively about. We saw

544
00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:30,800
Speaker 1: this unit about a month ago and it's just as good,

545
00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:33,080
Speaker 1: if not better. Here late in the season, they have

546
00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:36,440
Speaker 1: allowed just sixteen points six points per game. They're on

547
00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:38,920
Speaker 1: pace for the least points allowed per game in a

548
00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:44,080
Speaker 1: single season in Texans history. Fourteen of the sixteen opponents

549
00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:46,880
Speaker 1: they faced have been held to twenty one points or fewer.

550
00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:50,480
Speaker 1: That's the most in the NFL. This season, they ranked

551
00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:53,240
Speaker 1: first in the league in total yards allowed per game

552
00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:56,520
Speaker 1: at two seventy two and fourth and yards allowed per

553
00:30:56,600 --> 00:30:59,840
Speaker 1: play at four point seven. And then on top of that,

554
00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:03,600
Speaker 1: they ranked second and opponent passer rating at seventy four

555
00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:07,959
Speaker 1: third and opponent completion percentage just fifty nine percent. And

556
00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:10,800
Speaker 1: it all starts up front. Their front seven is loaded.

557
00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:14,959
Speaker 1: They've got great edge rushers daneil Hunter and Will Anderson Junior,

558
00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:19,000
Speaker 1: and since becoming teammates in twenty twenty four, they've got

559
00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,000
Speaker 1: the most combined sacks of any duo in the NFL

560
00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:25,760
Speaker 1: in that span at forty seven and a half combined sacks.

561
00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:29,120
Speaker 1: As a group, they're awesome on third down, allowing just

562
00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:32,840
Speaker 1: thirty five percent, and they've also forced a league leading

563
00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:36,240
Speaker 1: fifty one to three and outs on the season, and

564
00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:38,800
Speaker 1: they boast three Pro Bowlers on that side of the

565
00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:42,760
Speaker 1: ball this year. Linebacker is He's al Shire Anderson Junior,

566
00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:45,920
Speaker 1: like we chronicled, and they also have cornerback Derek Stingley

567
00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:49,240
Speaker 1: al Shires their leading tackler with over one hundred stops

568
00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:52,280
Speaker 1: on the season, Anderson in year three ranks eighth and

569
00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:56,520
Speaker 1: sacks fifth, and tackles for loss, first in quarterback pressures

570
00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:01,040
Speaker 1: and second in quarterback pressure rated over twenty percent this season,

571
00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:03,320
Speaker 1: and then in the back end, Stingley one of the

572
00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:06,280
Speaker 1: best corners in the game. He's the only player in

573
00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:09,240
Speaker 1: the NFL to have at least ten picks and forty

574
00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:12,600
Speaker 1: pass defense over the past three seasons dating back to

575
00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:16,360
Speaker 1: twenty twenty three. So, Rick, this is less than ideal

576
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:19,239
Speaker 1: to have a rookie quarterback make their first start on

577
00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:22,520
Speaker 1: the road against this defense. But that's the task at

578
00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:26,040
Speaker 1: hand on Sunday for young Riley Leonard for the Colts.

579
00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:29,680
Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, the sixteen to six is just unbelievable, you know,

580
00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:32,600
Speaker 2: as far as being number one in points given up

581
00:32:32,600 --> 00:32:35,560
Speaker 2: at sixteen, you know, and that allows that offense to,

582
00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:38,840
Speaker 2: as I said before, to be efficient, to not take

583
00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:41,440
Speaker 2: a lot of chances. And it helps, you know, because

584
00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:43,440
Speaker 2: it allows them to take care of the ball because

585
00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:46,040
Speaker 2: when in doubt, they'll just punt it and play defense,

586
00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:48,120
Speaker 2: get the ball back. I mean, yeah, and get the

587
00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:50,800
Speaker 2: ball back. And you know you talked about this. I

588
00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:52,960
Speaker 2: think the thing that just crazy is crazy to me.

589
00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:56,640
Speaker 2: They have that great duo of Anderson, you know, with

590
00:32:56,760 --> 00:32:59,640
Speaker 2: thirty in his first two years, and Hunter with a

591
00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:02,920
Speaker 2: career of one hundred and thirteen in the sets, and

592
00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:06,120
Speaker 2: then you throw in Barnett who has thirty two. He

593
00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:08,280
Speaker 2: has been a good edge guy in his career. He

594
00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:11,360
Speaker 2: had two last week, and then Audrey was sixty three

595
00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:14,400
Speaker 2: and Rankins thirty two and one half. So you don't

596
00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:16,360
Speaker 2: want to get behind this team. You don't want to

597
00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:19,479
Speaker 2: get behind the chains because if you add those five together,

598
00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:21,720
Speaker 2: he got two hundred and seventy one and a half.

599
00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:24,440
Speaker 2: So sixteen six and two seventy one and a half

600
00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:27,239
Speaker 2: is enough to get my attention, that's for sure. And

601
00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:31,080
Speaker 2: you're right, they're talented everywhere. Al Shire and Speed are

602
00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:34,600
Speaker 2: outstanding in the stacks in the second level, and then

603
00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:37,080
Speaker 2: that back end is one of the best back ends.

604
00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:41,360
Speaker 2: Singletary's tremendous player. He always is on the left. That's

605
00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:44,280
Speaker 2: one advantage. You know where he's going to be. Bullock

606
00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:47,400
Speaker 2: is a ballhawk at free safety, and t Tree is

607
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:51,040
Speaker 2: one of the best all purpose players. He's kind of

608
00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:55,120
Speaker 2: a Swiss army knife. He can play safety, very very

609
00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:57,959
Speaker 2: good at the nickel, very tough. He can get the

610
00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:01,920
Speaker 2: ball away from you. You know, Like I said, I

611
00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:06,200
Speaker 2: don't think they're necessarily bad players, but relatively, if you're

612
00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:08,600
Speaker 2: gonna go after somebody, you want to go after Blaster

613
00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:11,960
Speaker 2: at the right corner and you want to go after

614
00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:15,799
Speaker 2: strong safety Bryant. You know, they're basically in terms of tactics,

615
00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:20,120
Speaker 2: they're an over forty three team. Uh, they will play

616
00:34:20,160 --> 00:34:23,880
Speaker 2: some big bear. If you give them heavy personnel, they'll

617
00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:27,839
Speaker 2: play some heavy defense in that situation. They're gonna give

618
00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:30,200
Speaker 2: you a ton of eight man front on first down.

619
00:34:30,239 --> 00:34:33,319
Speaker 2: I mean, they don't conceal a lot. Uh. You know,

620
00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:36,200
Speaker 2: the safeties are gonna be down h They're gonna they're

621
00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:39,080
Speaker 2: gonna hit you hard to stop the run. They bring

622
00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:41,840
Speaker 2: a lot of what I call fires, that single blitzes.

623
00:34:42,200 --> 00:34:44,959
Speaker 2: They'll bring one of the linebackers, or they'll bring pe Tree,

624
00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:47,239
Speaker 2: or they'll bring a safety off the edge. They want

625
00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:50,080
Speaker 2: to disrupt you on first down. They want to they

626
00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:52,400
Speaker 2: want to shut Jonathan Taylor down. They just want to

627
00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:55,439
Speaker 2: shut him down on first down and get you into

628
00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:58,439
Speaker 2: that second and long and then third and long where

629
00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:01,279
Speaker 2: they can really rush the pass. You know, as the

630
00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:06,480
Speaker 2: down and distance goes up. Now there's more nuanced. I mean,

631
00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:11,840
Speaker 2: they'll give you more matchup coverage, real tight matchup. They'll

632
00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:15,279
Speaker 2: give you some free safety. They'll give you some cover eight,

633
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:20,319
Speaker 2: Cover four, which are quarters variations. They'll change that up.

634
00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:25,799
Speaker 2: Their NASCAR package is deadly. It's really deadly because they've

635
00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:28,400
Speaker 2: got all those rushers when you get behind an account

636
00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:31,920
Speaker 2: and they will they will move them around. They're not

637
00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:35,800
Speaker 2: totally sophisticated. You'll get the mugs and the single mugs

638
00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:38,840
Speaker 2: and all that bluff and blitz like everybody does. But

639
00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:42,360
Speaker 2: what they do that is really more effective is they'll

640
00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:46,600
Speaker 2: switch Walker and they'll switch Anderson at the last moment.

641
00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:50,600
Speaker 2: And you know, rather than be an outside rusher. I mean,

642
00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:53,400
Speaker 2: one of the beggest things they did against us is

643
00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:55,480
Speaker 2: and they've done it now every week is all of

644
00:35:55,520 --> 00:35:59,560
Speaker 2: a sudden, Anderson gets over your center, and particularly if

645
00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:02,279
Speaker 2: it's the little bit lighter like we are, he will

646
00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:04,880
Speaker 2: just bull that center. He'll take that center right back

647
00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:07,239
Speaker 2: into the quarterback. If you remember what he did to

648
00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:10,000
Speaker 2: Bordolini in that first game, it was it was deadly.

649
00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:13,600
Speaker 2: He will bullet and again and third down. You'll get

650
00:36:13,640 --> 00:36:17,319
Speaker 2: a lot more variants. First and second, straight up, eight man,

651
00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:21,080
Speaker 2: front fire, single fire, try to get you and then

652
00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:23,880
Speaker 2: they you know, now the bad news for them. The

653
00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:27,600
Speaker 2: couple areas that I think and these are relatives a

654
00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:31,759
Speaker 2: little bit like Lasseter is relative to singletary is their

655
00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:35,680
Speaker 2: rush PERR is eleventh. It's not elite. And I will

656
00:36:35,719 --> 00:36:38,600
Speaker 2: talk about this in the MUSS. And then the other

657
00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:42,440
Speaker 2: area that they struggle. They're not terrible, but they're sixteenth

658
00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:45,160
Speaker 2: in the red zone. They're they're not great in the

659
00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:48,680
Speaker 2: red zone, they're everything else. Fourth quarter defense number two.

660
00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:53,080
Speaker 2: So the offensive blueprint to me is number one. You

661
00:36:53,239 --> 00:36:56,640
Speaker 2: have to run right at the A gap, find it

662
00:36:56,760 --> 00:36:59,920
Speaker 2: and rip it. Jonathan. You got to hit them quickly.

663
00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:01,560
Speaker 2: That's why I say the A gap. You got to

664
00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:04,640
Speaker 2: hit them quickly because they can pursue and they can

665
00:37:04,719 --> 00:37:08,480
Speaker 2: run like help. Second thing is you want to power

666
00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:12,359
Speaker 2: the edges where you're running right at a hunter, even

667
00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:15,600
Speaker 2: if you're not effective. What that does is it just

668
00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:19,640
Speaker 2: gets keeps them off balance a little bit from the rush.

669
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:25,200
Speaker 2: I also think misdirection, you know gadget types things. Maybe

670
00:37:25,239 --> 00:37:28,680
Speaker 2: you use dueling on that because you want to attack

671
00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:34,120
Speaker 2: anything where they're really running and pursuing, which they really do. Again,

672
00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:37,360
Speaker 2: if you had to make a determination, I think they're

673
00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:40,480
Speaker 2: more athletic than purely physical, so you've got to be

674
00:37:40,520 --> 00:37:43,080
Speaker 2: able to pound. If we could establish a running game here,

675
00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:46,760
Speaker 2: we could make life a lot easier for the quarterback JT.

676
00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:49,520
Speaker 2: You know that has had big games there. So you

677
00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:52,560
Speaker 2: know the Colts really are built from the offensive line

678
00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:55,759
Speaker 2: to JT to pound it. And this is the day

679
00:37:55,800 --> 00:37:58,319
Speaker 2: you got to scheme it up. Number two. And this

680
00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:01,839
Speaker 2: goes without saying. You got to protect the edges and

681
00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:05,319
Speaker 2: the inside. I mean this is best duo on in

682
00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:08,280
Speaker 2: in football. And and as I said, all those guys

683
00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:11,680
Speaker 2: that they they can throw in there, I'm not gonna

684
00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:15,359
Speaker 2: be afraid of a little max man max protection this week. Uh.

685
00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:20,960
Speaker 2: Certainly screams. Uh, certainly, quick rhythm, those are musts. And

686
00:38:21,160 --> 00:38:23,840
Speaker 2: you know, got to protect speed in al Shire on

687
00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:28,360
Speaker 2: those blizzers and and Autrey and Rankings can bring it inside.

688
00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:31,000
Speaker 2: So you know, at the end of the day, and

689
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:34,240
Speaker 2: and again, so much of it is determined by staying

690
00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:36,880
Speaker 2: out of those second and lungs and third and longs.

691
00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:41,280
Speaker 2: If you can be effective on first down, because protection

692
00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:46,919
Speaker 2: basically will determine production. Uh. I think you can work underneath. Uh.

693
00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:49,760
Speaker 2: They'll play zone on early downs and then they'll match

694
00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:54,160
Speaker 2: hard run those meshes where you cross people outs on

695
00:38:54,239 --> 00:38:58,759
Speaker 2: that cover four options jerks underneath. You know, get that

696
00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:02,000
Speaker 2: ball underneath there to downs, get it underneath to warn

697
00:39:02,960 --> 00:39:05,960
Speaker 2: and then I think you got to try some big plays,

698
00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:10,480
Speaker 2: go strong left, because they never protect the strong side corner.

699
00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:12,880
Speaker 2: If you go strong left, you're gonna get Laster and

700
00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:15,319
Speaker 2: Brian over there. And you want to work on those

701
00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:19,560
Speaker 2: two guys. You want to get pierced deep. I would

702
00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:23,040
Speaker 2: play Pierson Doolan and get those two guys on the

703
00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:26,279
Speaker 2: outside so that we have maximum speed. And if we

704
00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:28,879
Speaker 2: can get a big play, you get it. And then

705
00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:31,560
Speaker 2: occasionally you put it. You put those two guys together

706
00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:35,120
Speaker 2: and get speed at that number two receiver. And when

707
00:39:35,120 --> 00:39:37,920
Speaker 2: they play that cover four, you can isolate Brian with

708
00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:41,120
Speaker 2: some certain kinds of technique what I call wolf routes,

709
00:39:41,160 --> 00:39:43,240
Speaker 2: where you run the deep out or the deep curl

710
00:39:43,560 --> 00:39:45,560
Speaker 2: and then you run a corner behind him or a

711
00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:49,120
Speaker 2: post behind him, and you end up isolating Bryant. But

712
00:39:49,200 --> 00:39:51,120
Speaker 2: at the end of the day, we want to get

713
00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:56,080
Speaker 2: our fastest guys on Bryant at strong safety, and we

714
00:39:56,160 --> 00:39:59,600
Speaker 2: want to get our fastest guys on Laster or right corner,

715
00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:02,840
Speaker 2: no doubt about that. I think some just some general things.

716
00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:06,000
Speaker 2: You got to play clean for sixty minutes. The other

717
00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:08,640
Speaker 2: thing that they're not a little shaky on is there

718
00:40:08,760 --> 00:40:11,840
Speaker 2: highly penal loosed. They're number twenty, so you have the

719
00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:15,560
Speaker 2: advantage here if you stay disciplined, they do take it away.

720
00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:20,080
Speaker 2: So ball security is gonna be huge again. I'll go

721
00:40:20,160 --> 00:40:23,319
Speaker 2: back to it. We need to dominate first down on

722
00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:26,719
Speaker 2: both sides of the ball. If you can dominate first down,

723
00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:30,400
Speaker 2: you keep their rushers quiet. I think you're going to

724
00:40:30,440 --> 00:40:33,719
Speaker 2: have to pound the rock to win, protect and then

725
00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:36,880
Speaker 2: score points in the red zone. They're sixteenth, they're not great.

726
00:40:37,520 --> 00:40:40,160
Speaker 2: The only area they're not is that red zone. So

727
00:40:40,520 --> 00:40:43,960
Speaker 2: pound it, protect and score in the red zone. All right.

728
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:47,160
Speaker 1: Those are the final blueprints from Rick Venturrey here in

729
00:40:47,200 --> 00:40:50,080
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five to wrap up the regular season for

730
00:40:50,120 --> 00:40:53,760
Speaker 1: the Indianapolis Colts. The outline for success for the Colts

731
00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:56,800
Speaker 1: to get a win and snap this six game slide

732
00:40:56,840 --> 00:40:58,839
Speaker 1: to end the season. The Colts are looking for their

733
00:40:58,880 --> 00:41:02,359
Speaker 1: first winning season, by the way, since twenty twenty three.

734
00:41:02,480 --> 00:41:04,960
Speaker 1: So Rick, the only thing left to do now is

735
00:41:05,040 --> 00:41:08,279
Speaker 1: give them hell inside this locker room. Let's transition now

736
00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:11,920
Speaker 1: into your final instructions and that lasting message to the

737
00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:14,440
Speaker 1: Colts in the final game of the season, the regular

738
00:41:14,520 --> 00:41:17,920
Speaker 1: season finale is here. We'll have plenty of time, seven

739
00:41:17,960 --> 00:41:20,239
Speaker 1: months in fact, to talk more about you know what

740
00:41:20,360 --> 00:41:23,240
Speaker 1: went wrong down the stretch of this season. But Sunday

741
00:41:23,719 --> 00:41:26,160
Speaker 1: is all about the hear It's all about the now.

742
00:41:26,239 --> 00:41:29,560
Speaker 1: The Colts need to finish the season with success and

743
00:41:29,800 --> 00:41:32,359
Speaker 1: send a message to the AFC South here to end

744
00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:32,840
Speaker 1: the season.

745
00:41:33,239 --> 00:41:36,240
Speaker 2: As we close the curtain on the two to twenty

746
00:41:36,280 --> 00:41:40,319
Speaker 2: five roller coaster, there will be plenty of time for autopsy.

747
00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:44,480
Speaker 2: What is important in the now, in the immediate now,

748
00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:49,000
Speaker 2: is to finish this thing with success and send a

749
00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:54,640
Speaker 2: division message. It has to be said, you remember best

750
00:41:54,800 --> 00:41:59,800
Speaker 2: what you did last, particularly versus the playoff bound rifle.

751
00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:03,880
Speaker 2: You get no do overs. You can only finish strong.

752
00:42:04,719 --> 00:42:08,640
Speaker 2: One thing I know in the NFL, a winning season.

753
00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:13,760
Speaker 2: Nine and eight. Verses eight and nine are galaxies apart

754
00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:18,920
Speaker 2: and can be job savers. When you sign an NFL contract,

755
00:42:19,600 --> 00:42:23,279
Speaker 2: you sign to give your best, your best performance from

756
00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:29,360
Speaker 2: beginning to end, all seventeen weeks and nowhere, absolutely nowhere

757
00:42:29,920 --> 00:42:33,960
Speaker 2: does it state only when times are good or only

758
00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:37,799
Speaker 2: when you're in contention. You play because you are a

759
00:42:37,840 --> 00:42:41,920
Speaker 2: prideful warrior and you fight to the death no matter

760
00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:47,120
Speaker 2: the odds. NFL teams always change and this is the

761
00:42:47,280 --> 00:42:51,080
Speaker 2: very last time you will play with this band of brothers,

762
00:42:51,760 --> 00:42:54,719
Speaker 2: and you owe it to one another, with all you've

763
00:42:54,760 --> 00:42:59,000
Speaker 2: been through, to empty your bucket for the guy next

764
00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:03,600
Speaker 2: to you. In combat, soldiers don't just fight for their country,

765
00:43:04,239 --> 00:43:07,120
Speaker 2: They really fight for that guy in the foxhole next

766
00:43:07,120 --> 00:43:11,680
Speaker 2: to them. From an individual standpoint, what you put on

767
00:43:11,719 --> 00:43:16,680
Speaker 2: this tape is your resume. You can't spin it, you

768
00:43:16,760 --> 00:43:22,040
Speaker 2: can't bury your performance. Your play defines exactly who you

769
00:43:22,120 --> 00:43:27,520
Speaker 2: are for everyone to see. I am reminded of a

770
00:43:27,560 --> 00:43:32,560
Speaker 2: baseball story which kind of defines this. Back in the fifties,

771
00:43:33,280 --> 00:43:36,120
Speaker 2: it was the last game of the season. The New

772
00:43:36,200 --> 00:43:40,840
Speaker 2: York Yankees, who were superior back then, had cinched the

773
00:43:40,920 --> 00:43:44,200
Speaker 2: pennant for weeks, and there was a line drive hit

774
00:43:44,239 --> 00:43:47,960
Speaker 2: to the gap and the great center fielder Joe DiMaggio,

775
00:43:48,760 --> 00:43:53,200
Speaker 2: he ran and he dove for the ball. After the game,

776
00:43:53,920 --> 00:43:57,719
Speaker 2: the reporters asked him, why, Joe, why that effort? This

777
00:43:57,880 --> 00:44:02,719
Speaker 2: was a meaningless game, and Joe simply replied, you know what,

778
00:44:03,680 --> 00:44:07,839
Speaker 2: there may be someone watching this game today that has

779
00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:11,839
Speaker 2: never seen me play, and he must see me at

780
00:44:11,880 --> 00:44:16,160
Speaker 2: my best. This must be your best effort.

781
00:44:16,040 --> 00:44:19,719
Speaker 1: Best effort indeed, and great mentality right there. That's the

782
00:44:19,760 --> 00:44:23,080
Speaker 1: approach we all must take here in our daily lives.

783
00:44:23,080 --> 00:44:25,640
Speaker 1: Anything we're doing is we're doing right. To quote another

784
00:44:25,680 --> 00:44:28,760
Speaker 1: baseball icon of the great Jimmy Dugan played by Tom Hanks,

785
00:44:28,760 --> 00:44:30,880
Speaker 1: and to flick a league of their own, you're gonna

786
00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:32,840
Speaker 1: play the game, you might as well win it. And

787
00:44:32,880 --> 00:44:34,920
Speaker 1: the Colts will be looking to give their best effort

788
00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:38,440
Speaker 1: on Sunday, and we receive Rick vent Turrey's best efforts

789
00:44:38,480 --> 00:44:41,440
Speaker 1: all season long here on this podcast. I can guarantee

790
00:44:41,480 --> 00:44:44,239
Speaker 1: you that and RV I say it every year, but

791
00:44:44,280 --> 00:44:46,840
Speaker 1: I truly truly enjoy this show with you on a

792
00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:51,200
Speaker 1: weekly basis. Thanks for all the long talks, all the breakdowns,

793
00:44:51,239 --> 00:44:54,359
Speaker 1: all the knowledge and the education, and we so thank

794
00:44:54,400 --> 00:44:56,680
Speaker 1: you for putting in so much work and the game

795
00:44:56,760 --> 00:44:59,680
Speaker 1: plan for these I've had so many people tell me

796
00:44:59,760 --> 00:45:03,240
Speaker 1: they watch the game like a coach through your eyes

797
00:45:03,400 --> 00:45:07,239
Speaker 1: by listening to this podcast, so on behalf of so

798
00:45:07,360 --> 00:45:10,800
Speaker 1: many people and so many fans. Thanks again for another

799
00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:13,440
Speaker 1: great season and can't wait to do it periodically in

800
00:45:13,480 --> 00:45:16,759
Speaker 1: the offseason coming up, and of course again in twenty

801
00:45:16,840 --> 00:45:19,880
Speaker 1: twenty six once training camp fires up again for the Colts.

802
00:45:20,200 --> 00:45:22,880
Speaker 2: Well, Matt As I tell everyone you are the best

803
00:45:22,880 --> 00:45:26,440
Speaker 2: in the business and you're a great friend. I enjoy

804
00:45:26,560 --> 00:45:29,879
Speaker 2: every second of it. As you know, we're gonna get

805
00:45:29,920 --> 00:45:34,160
Speaker 2: some knees fixed. This winner, yep, get get some rehab.

806
00:45:34,200 --> 00:45:37,080
Speaker 2: This will be a winner of rehab and then hopefully

807
00:45:37,120 --> 00:45:40,399
Speaker 2: by Midsummer we'll be ready to go and I'll beat

808
00:45:40,400 --> 00:45:43,480
Speaker 2: myself again, but again, every day, every time I do

809
00:45:43,560 --> 00:45:44,840
Speaker 2: something with you, I enjoy it.

810
00:45:44,960 --> 00:45:48,880
Speaker 1: Yeah, Rick Vventury. His new Year's resolutions include two new knees,

811
00:45:49,320 --> 00:45:52,080
Speaker 1: fire that bad boy up. Mobility is back in the

812
00:45:52,200 --> 00:45:55,520
Speaker 1: new year. Wonderful job as always, Rick, have a great

813
00:45:55,560 --> 00:45:57,120
Speaker 1: rest of the week, and we'll talk to you one

814
00:45:57,160 --> 00:45:59,720
Speaker 1: final time here on the pregame huddle coming up on Sunday.

815
00:46:00,120 --> 00:46:01,879
Speaker 2: All right, man, Happy new Year, budd you.

816
00:46:01,880 --> 00:46:05,000
Speaker 1: Too, Mary, New Year to everybody out there on this

817
00:46:05,400 --> 00:46:08,080
Speaker 1: holiday season. Going into the final game of the season,

818
00:46:08,160 --> 00:46:10,719
Speaker 1: Rick vent Turrey right there, and that'll do it for

819
00:46:10,800 --> 00:46:14,480
Speaker 1: this final edition of Inside Football, and the Colts need

820
00:46:14,520 --> 00:46:16,400
Speaker 1: to win to stop the bleeding and we'll see if

821
00:46:16,400 --> 00:46:19,160
Speaker 1: they can avoid that season sweep of the Texans here

822
00:46:19,640 --> 00:46:22,600
Speaker 1: in Week eighteen coverage, by the way, Sunday starts at

823
00:46:22,600 --> 00:46:25,880
Speaker 1: ten am Colts pre game huddle. Kickoff slated for one

824
00:46:25,920 --> 00:46:29,719
Speaker 1: o'clock at NRG Stadium down in Space City, and all

825
00:46:29,760 --> 00:46:32,640
Speaker 1: the coverage can be heard in Indianapolis ninety three to five,

826
00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:34,879
Speaker 1: one oh seven five the Fan, ninety seven to one

827
00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:38,319
Speaker 1: Hank FM, and of course all over Colts Country on

828
00:46:38,360 --> 00:46:41,640
Speaker 1: the Ascension Saint Vincent Radio Network. Thank you again so

829
00:46:41,760 --> 00:46:44,880
Speaker 1: much for listening all year. Everybody here on the Inside

830
00:46:44,920 --> 00:46:48,040
Speaker 1: Football Podcast with Rick Van Turrey. Happy New Year again

831
00:46:48,120 --> 00:46:51,360
Speaker 1: for Rick. I'm Matt Taylor. This has been Inside Football

832
00:46:51,480 --> 00:46:53,279
Speaker 1: the Colts podcast channel so long.

833
00:46:53,320 --> 00:47:00,880
Speaker 2: Everybody,