1
00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:05,800
Speaker 1: This is the Colts Free Agent Tracker, a look at

2
00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:09,399
Speaker 1: some key in house free agents this offseason. Hey, welcome

3
00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,480
Speaker 1: to another Colts Free Agent Tracker podcast. This is where

4
00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:14,920
Speaker 1: we're looking at key free agents in the offseason for

5
00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,919
Speaker 1: the Colts with NFL free agency fast approaching. I'm Matt

6
00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:23,520
Speaker 1: Taylor joined by JJ Stangovitz and Bill Brooks on today's podcasts.

7
00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:25,840
Speaker 1: And we've already looked at Eric Fisher at left tackle,

8
00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:30,080
Speaker 1: and we've examined pass rushers Taekwon Lewis and Kamoca Terrey

9
00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:33,120
Speaker 1: last week as well. Both of those podcasts are still

10
00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:35,800
Speaker 1: available if you missed them on the Colts Audio Network.

11
00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:39,320
Speaker 1: And today we're examining the free agency stock of Zach

12
00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,000
Speaker 1: Pascal at wide receiver and tight end mo Alie Cox

13
00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,320
Speaker 1: as well. So, fellas, let's start off first with Zach

14
00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,560
Speaker 1: Pascal coming off a season with three hundred and eighty

15
00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,479
Speaker 1: four receiving yards, which was good for number two on

16
00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,640
Speaker 1: the team in that regard. And this comes after posting

17
00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:59,160
Speaker 1: at least forty catches and six hundred yards receiving in

18
00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:03,800
Speaker 1: ten touchdowns the previous two seasons, so obviously his production

19
00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:05,959
Speaker 1: of the passing game tailed off a little bit, and

20
00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,080
Speaker 1: in his final seven games he only had eight catches

21
00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,039
Speaker 1: for sixty five yards. So, Bill Brooks, it's natural to

22
00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:14,840
Speaker 1: start with you given that's the position that you played,

23
00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:16,800
Speaker 1: a wide receiver, and you are in the Colts Ring

24
00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:19,399
Speaker 1: of Honor at that position doing it as well as

25
00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,160
Speaker 1: you did. What do you think led to Pascals drop

26
00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:26,320
Speaker 1: off at least in production numbers wise this past season, Well, Matt,

27
00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:28,120
Speaker 1: I think it could have been a couple of reasons,

28
00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:30,560
Speaker 1: and one of those reasons could have been Jonathan Taylor.

29
00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:33,360
Speaker 1: If you look at it, in his first ten games

30
00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:36,640
Speaker 1: of the season, Jonathan Taylor averaged about sixteen carries per game.

31
00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:39,880
Speaker 1: In the last seven games he averaged about twenty four

32
00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:43,560
Speaker 1: carries per game. Increases by eight carries per game. So

33
00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:48,040
Speaker 1: naturally that takes away from some of the passing game

34
00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,760
Speaker 1: and some of the opportunities you have to catch the football. Also,

35
00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:56,760
Speaker 1: I think affected pascalness catching the number of balls was

36
00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:01,400
Speaker 1: the Coats also struggled down the stretch of getting first downs,

37
00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:03,640
Speaker 1: and you don't get first downs and keep the chains

38
00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:08,040
Speaker 1: moving have more opportunities to you know, run the ball,

39
00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:10,880
Speaker 1: pass the ball. Whatever, It limits your opportunities as far

40
00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:13,880
Speaker 1: as what you can do on the football field, as

41
00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:17,239
Speaker 1: well as Michael Pittman stepped up big time last year.

42
00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,080
Speaker 1: He had a great year last year, he played well,

43
00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:22,160
Speaker 1: So I think a lot of that had to play

44
00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:26,560
Speaker 1: into what Pascal's numbers reflected in the last part of

45
00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:30,000
Speaker 1: the season last year. So I think, you know, Pascal's

46
00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:33,280
Speaker 1: a talented young guy, a guy that's physical, guy goes

47
00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:36,680
Speaker 1: out there and plays well, plays hard, respected by his teammates.

48
00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:39,720
Speaker 1: So I think that was part of the reason why

49
00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:42,440
Speaker 1: his numbers went down last year. End of the season,

50
00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:46,799
Speaker 1: you talk about the totality of the season, JJ production

51
00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:49,399
Speaker 1: fell down to thirty eight catches, three hundred and eighty

52
00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:51,960
Speaker 1: four yards, like we said, But a reason why I

53
00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:54,120
Speaker 1: asked the question. Philip Rivers had a great year in

54
00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:58,919
Speaker 1: twenty twenty, but Jacoby Brissette was Pascal's quarterback in nineteen

55
00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:01,480
Speaker 1: and Pascal still able to put up a six hundred

56
00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:03,520
Speaker 1: yards season. But I think Bill is exactly right. I

57
00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,080
Speaker 1: think the dynamic of the Colts offense, the way they

58
00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,360
Speaker 1: wanted to play, the emergence of Jonathan Taylor, the emergence

59
00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:11,760
Speaker 1: of Michael Pittman junior all kind of factored into that

60
00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,120
Speaker 1: as well. Let me go a different direction. If t

61
00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:17,480
Speaker 1: Y Hilton retires and he's a free agent as well,

62
00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:20,560
Speaker 1: so the likelihood of him not coming back is very real.

63
00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:23,680
Speaker 1: How does that affect how the Colts treat Zach Pascal

64
00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,320
Speaker 1: and free agency? Do they need to resign him for

65
00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,000
Speaker 1: his veteran presence inside the locker room if t Y

66
00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:32,040
Speaker 1: Hilton is not physically back on the team next season. Well,

67
00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:36,000
Speaker 1: I just real quick on this map because this is interesting.

68
00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,800
Speaker 1: So Zach Pascal, Yes, his catches were down, his yards

69
00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:42,480
Speaker 1: were way down, but seventy two targets in nineteen seventy

70
00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:45,800
Speaker 1: one targets in twenty sixty nine targets in twenty one,

71
00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,360
Speaker 1: so his targets weren't down all that much. He actually

72
00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:52,280
Speaker 1: played a higher percentage of the snaps this season on

73
00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:54,200
Speaker 1: offense than he did in any previous year. He was

74
00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:57,520
Speaker 1: at eighty three point six percent of the Colts offensive snaps.

75
00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:01,920
Speaker 1: So it's a really interesting dynamic of why Zach Pascal

76
00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:04,840
Speaker 1: didn't have the kind of season we are accustomed to

77
00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:07,880
Speaker 1: him having. But you know, as it relates to t

78
00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:11,040
Speaker 1: Y Hilton, you know, if you do let you know,

79
00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,720
Speaker 1: if t Y does retire or he does, you know,

80
00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:17,560
Speaker 1: go elsewhere in free agency and you let Zach Pascal go,

81
00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:20,560
Speaker 1: you know, then all of a sudden, you're you're losing

82
00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:25,359
Speaker 1: your two most veteran receivers in that room. And you know,

83
00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:27,360
Speaker 1: Zach Pascal is gonna be twenty eight next year. He

84
00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:31,520
Speaker 1: has plenty of experience. The one thing I would say,

85
00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,080
Speaker 1: just on Pascal and t why just you know, obviously

86
00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:37,800
Speaker 1: they're different receivers, but they accomplished different things in this

87
00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:39,800
Speaker 1: offense as it relates to, you know, to kind of

88
00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:41,599
Speaker 1: tie back into what Bill is talking about with with

89
00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:46,839
Speaker 1: Jonathan Taylor, Whenever you asked any player about the mentality

90
00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:48,880
Speaker 1: of the Colts wide receivers when it came to run

91
00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,520
Speaker 1: blocking and how important that was for Jonathan Taylor, they

92
00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:56,040
Speaker 1: all pointed to Zach Pascal leading that mentality, leading that

93
00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:59,160
Speaker 1: charge as that physical run blocker. You know, t Y

94
00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,560
Speaker 1: Hilton's kind of that that veteran voice in there. But

95
00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:06,200
Speaker 1: the mentality, that physical mentality that Zach Pascal brought to

96
00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:10,520
Speaker 1: that room did play a significant role in Jonathan Taylor's

97
00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:14,600
Speaker 1: breakout season last year. So, you know, definitely a lot

98
00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:19,280
Speaker 1: to get to. I'm not sure team wise decision impacts

99
00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:23,680
Speaker 1: how the Colts are going to view Pascal necessarily, but

100
00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:25,800
Speaker 1: I do think that you know, again, if you lose

101
00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:27,960
Speaker 1: both those guys, then all of a sudden you're talking about,

102
00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:31,719
Speaker 1: you know, Paris Campbell being the most senior quote unquote

103
00:05:31,760 --> 00:05:35,039
Speaker 1: receiver in that room. Him and Ashton Doolin, two guys

104
00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:37,680
Speaker 1: who have played sparingly over the last couple of years. Well,

105
00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:39,600
Speaker 1: if you look at it, you know, bigger picture when

106
00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:41,760
Speaker 1: you take a look at the Colts, you know, wide

107
00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:44,760
Speaker 1: receiver corps heading into next season and what it can

108
00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:47,280
Speaker 1: be or what it could be. You know, last year

109
00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:49,400
Speaker 1: the Colts were the only team in the NFL did

110
00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:52,000
Speaker 1: not have two players with at least three hundred and

111
00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:55,159
Speaker 1: eighty five receiving yards, first time that occurred for the

112
00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:58,760
Speaker 1: Colts franchise since nineteen eighty eight. Also, last year, if

113
00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,400
Speaker 1: you look at the receiver number, the Colts ranked twenty

114
00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:05,280
Speaker 1: seventh and receiving yards twenty ninth and yak thirteenth in

115
00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:10,160
Speaker 1: receiving touchdowns, and twenty seventh in receiving first downs, which

116
00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:13,400
Speaker 1: you talked about Bill earlier. So with that said, with

117
00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:17,040
Speaker 1: those numbers, how much more firepower does this offense need

118
00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:21,440
Speaker 1: at wide receiver? Bill next season with maybe a different quarterback. Well,

119
00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:23,880
Speaker 1: I'm going by with Chris ballas said and also my

120
00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:26,880
Speaker 1: personal experience, you can never have too much fire at

121
00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:30,280
Speaker 1: wide receiver. The more fire problem you have, the better

122
00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:32,560
Speaker 1: off you are. I mean, you look at Cincinnati Bengals

123
00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:37,040
Speaker 1: with Jamar Chase and Higgins and Boyd, and then you

124
00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:39,599
Speaker 1: look at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers two years ago when

125
00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:43,640
Speaker 1: they had Evans and Godwin and Brown. You can always

126
00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:47,680
Speaker 1: use more firepower at wide receiver. That way, you're you're

127
00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:52,320
Speaker 1: spreading the field, keeping the defense off balanced them not

128
00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:55,839
Speaker 1: knowing who you're going with one game, one guy is hot,

129
00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:57,880
Speaker 1: one game, next guy is hot. You just never know.

130
00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,360
Speaker 1: So you can never have too much firepower. And then

131
00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:03,760
Speaker 1: also if you have Jonathan Taylor in the backfield, I mean,

132
00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:05,800
Speaker 1: that says a lot about your offense. It would be

133
00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:08,560
Speaker 1: very difficult to stop this offense. So I think if

134
00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:11,840
Speaker 1: they can get someone to step up and get someone

135
00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:14,880
Speaker 1: free agency or through the draft that can come in

136
00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:18,040
Speaker 1: and step up and be that guy for the coach,

137
00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:21,040
Speaker 1: that would add another dimension to the coach wide receivers

138
00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:23,800
Speaker 1: and another dimension to this offense. All right, let's transition.

139
00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:27,640
Speaker 1: Let's talk about Mo Aali Cox. Let's talk about tight ends, JJ,

140
00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:30,680
Speaker 1: what did you make of Moley Cox's season in two

141
00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:33,120
Speaker 1: twenty one. If you look at the role numbers, twenty

142
00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:36,840
Speaker 1: four catches, three hundred and sixteen yards, four touchdowns. Most

143
00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:39,400
Speaker 1: of those came, you know, the first half of the season,

144
00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:42,520
Speaker 1: if you will, before you know, the month of November.

145
00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,680
Speaker 1: But just eleven of those catches came in the final

146
00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:48,520
Speaker 1: ten games. So when you talk about Mo Aali Cox's

147
00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,480
Speaker 1: you know, free agency stock, if you will, what immediately

148
00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:53,960
Speaker 1: comes to your mind? I mean, it's it was a

149
00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:56,760
Speaker 1: very up and down season from mo You know, you

150
00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:00,160
Speaker 1: can even drill down a little bit further for him,

151
00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:04,320
Speaker 1: and thirteen of his receptions, thirteen of his twenty four

152
00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:08,040
Speaker 1: receptions came between weeks two and seven. All four of

153
00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:11,120
Speaker 1: his touchdowns came in that stretch, and one hundred and

154
00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:13,240
Speaker 1: seventy seven of three hundred and sixteen yards came in

155
00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:16,400
Speaker 1: that stretch. And it, you know, it's interesting kind of

156
00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:18,560
Speaker 1: how he you know, at that point. I remember I

157
00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:21,640
Speaker 1: talked to him before I believe it was before the

158
00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:23,520
Speaker 1: forty nine Ers game for a story I did on

159
00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:25,680
Speaker 1: Colts dot Com, and I was talking to Moe and

160
00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:27,520
Speaker 1: he said, you know, his goal for the season was

161
00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:31,120
Speaker 1: four touchdowns, and he hit it the week after and

162
00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:35,079
Speaker 1: then just kind of, you know, for whatever reason, sort

163
00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:37,880
Speaker 1: of faded, you know, toward the end of the year.

164
00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:41,600
Speaker 1: You saw an uptick again in his production. You know,

165
00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:44,160
Speaker 1: the last three weeks of the season, he was pretty productive,

166
00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:48,040
Speaker 1: but just that that level of consistency, you know, especially

167
00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:51,960
Speaker 1: if Jack Doyle does wind up retiring, you know, the

168
00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:53,920
Speaker 1: decision on mo Aali Cox is going to be really

169
00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:57,560
Speaker 1: interesting one. Do the Colts value what upside he still

170
00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:00,480
Speaker 1: may have. Do they look at him as a you know,

171
00:09:00,559 --> 00:09:02,640
Speaker 1: a guy who's a good run block or someone who

172
00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:05,760
Speaker 1: can help out in that aspect, or do they say, well,

173
00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:08,560
Speaker 1: you know, you know, it's been four years and we've

174
00:09:08,559 --> 00:09:11,360
Speaker 1: got a lot out of a guy who had never

175
00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:14,040
Speaker 1: played football before. But maybe it's time to look at

176
00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:17,840
Speaker 1: a playmaker at tight end in free agency, of which

177
00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,480
Speaker 1: there are plenty this year. So a lot of really

178
00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:22,959
Speaker 1: interesting decisions coming up on Cox. And I'll tell you

179
00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:26,160
Speaker 1: this much too, The Colts front office really likes Mola Cox.

180
00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:29,360
Speaker 1: The coaching staff really likes mo Aali Cox, just the

181
00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:32,439
Speaker 1: person he is, the way that he works, the perseverance

182
00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:35,040
Speaker 1: he has had to get to this point. And you know,

183
00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:38,120
Speaker 1: for him, the other thing is, you know, he's kind

184
00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:40,439
Speaker 1: of a guy you're rooting for to get paid, whether

185
00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:42,520
Speaker 1: it's by the Coults or by someone else. Just again,

186
00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:46,120
Speaker 1: given that journey he's had, you know, you kind of

187
00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:48,679
Speaker 1: hope he gets a pay day. It just you know, well,

188
00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:50,400
Speaker 1: we'll see if it's from the Colts or not, no

189
00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:52,760
Speaker 1: doubt about it. And you know, he's a really tough guy.

190
00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:55,560
Speaker 1: He's played through injuries, he's played through pain, you know,

191
00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:57,600
Speaker 1: things that we don't even know about until the end

192
00:09:57,600 --> 00:09:59,760
Speaker 1: of the season. You know, he's gutting through it to

193
00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:02,120
Speaker 1: be available for the Colts and to answer the bell

194
00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:05,280
Speaker 1: every single Sunday Bill. If you look at how much

195
00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:08,080
Speaker 1: he played last year in terms of just usage, about

196
00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:10,720
Speaker 1: fifty four percent of the snaps last season. If he

197
00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:13,920
Speaker 1: does come back in free agency, what's his role next

198
00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:17,040
Speaker 1: season inside this offense? Well, I think his role can

199
00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:19,960
Speaker 1: be multiple things. I think his role, for one, it

200
00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:22,840
Speaker 1: would be a veteran on that veteran in that locker room.

201
00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:25,320
Speaker 1: And then two, I think on the offense, I think

202
00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:28,680
Speaker 1: it's someone that is athletic, very talented, can run routes,

203
00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:33,360
Speaker 1: get open position as a body well against the defender,

204
00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:36,240
Speaker 1: and the definitely can jump. Being a former basketball player,

205
00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:39,439
Speaker 1: so he can't kind of command the middle of the field,

206
00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:42,000
Speaker 1: which I think would be valuable for the Coats. Someone

207
00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:44,400
Speaker 1: that can go over the middle catch the ball, and

208
00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:46,680
Speaker 1: someone that can be kind of like a security blanket

209
00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:49,040
Speaker 1: for a quarterback. A quarterback that knows where you're going

210
00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:52,280
Speaker 1: to be, a quarterback that can count on you be

211
00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:54,520
Speaker 1: at the right place at the right time, and a

212
00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:58,520
Speaker 1: big body. When you have that big body and so

213
00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:02,240
Speaker 1: athletic as Ally Cox is and has to have a

214
00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:04,120
Speaker 1: long reach, right, there are a lot of things you

215
00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:07,680
Speaker 1: can do in regards to being over the middle, and

216
00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:09,600
Speaker 1: especially in the red zone. I think in the red

217
00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:12,280
Speaker 1: zone is someone that can use a buyer to defend

218
00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:16,120
Speaker 1: off defenders and to catch some balls in the tight

219
00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:18,880
Speaker 1: windows there down in the goal line area. So I

220
00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:21,680
Speaker 1: think he would be very, very valuable over the middle,

221
00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:25,640
Speaker 1: a tight end that can be a security blanket for

222
00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:29,960
Speaker 1: a quarterback, and someone that can really really excel in

223
00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:32,760
Speaker 1: the red zone, which will help the Coats out definitely

224
00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:35,480
Speaker 1: scoring touchdowns. Yeah, he was a red zone target at

225
00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:38,600
Speaker 1: the beginning of the season. To JJ's point, JJ, has

226
00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:41,120
Speaker 1: Mo reached his full potential yet? Is there more in

227
00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:44,080
Speaker 1: the talent tank to get out of Moldy Cox or

228
00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:46,920
Speaker 1: is he what we have seen his role to be

229
00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:49,640
Speaker 1: to this point in a Colts uniform. Well, it's it's

230
00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:51,680
Speaker 1: an interesting question, Matt, because you look at some of

231
00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:56,320
Speaker 1: Mo's numbers prior to this year. You know, twenty twenty

232
00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:59,800
Speaker 1: he had fewer targets, yet more catches and more yards,

233
00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:02,880
Speaker 1: you know, and he played fewer snaps in two thousand

234
00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:05,120
Speaker 1: and twenty. This year, you know, he goes from thirty

235
00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:07,679
Speaker 1: one receptions in two tho twenty to twenty four. This year,

236
00:12:07,679 --> 00:12:11,120
Speaker 1: he goes from three ninety four yards to three sixteen yards.

237
00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:14,400
Speaker 1: This year he does get four touchdowns, which doubled his

238
00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:18,199
Speaker 1: career total. But I think there could still be more

239
00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:20,160
Speaker 1: potential in him. You know, again, if you just kind

240
00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:22,400
Speaker 1: of look at what he did and it is an

241
00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:25,800
Speaker 1: age twenty seven season in two thou twenty, you know,

242
00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:27,840
Speaker 1: and I think a lot of people were expecting, all right,

243
00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:29,960
Speaker 1: you know, he's going to continue to take that step forward.

244
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:33,400
Speaker 1: This year, we didn't quite see that. But you know,

245
00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:35,720
Speaker 1: whether or not he can, I think is the question

246
00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:38,200
Speaker 1: the Colts are going to answer in the coming weeks,

247
00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:40,080
Speaker 1: you know, do they believe that he can take that

248
00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:41,760
Speaker 1: next step forward, the one that I think we were

249
00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:45,319
Speaker 1: expecting this year, you know, and certainly the Colts. You know,

250
00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:47,240
Speaker 1: it's kind of like Matt would we're talking about with

251
00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:50,200
Speaker 1: Eric Fisher the last podcast I was onto these where

252
00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,160
Speaker 1: it's like, you know, Okay, the Colts know why Eric

253
00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:56,480
Speaker 1: Fisher had kind of this down season in two thousand

254
00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:59,160
Speaker 1: and twenty one. They also know why Moley Cox kind

255
00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:02,959
Speaker 1: of had a not a down season but didn't take

256
00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:08,040
Speaker 1: that step forward in two twenty one. And if they

257
00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:10,080
Speaker 1: come out of that with an answer that says, yeah,

258
00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:11,880
Speaker 1: we think we can get that step forward in two

259
00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:14,600
Speaker 1: twenty two, you you can expect Moala Cox to be

260
00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:17,200
Speaker 1: back on the Colts next year. If they believe he's

261
00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:19,120
Speaker 1: reached his full potential and they want to have a

262
00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:23,360
Speaker 1: full kind of do over in the tight end room,

263
00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:25,600
Speaker 1: you know, then maybe they let him walk. But it's

264
00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:29,040
Speaker 1: going to be a really interesting decision, you know, And

265
00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:32,240
Speaker 1: it's one of these that when you look at what

266
00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:34,520
Speaker 1: the Colts have, you know, we're just talking about Pascal

267
00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:37,199
Speaker 1: and t Y Hilton. You know what that receiver room

268
00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:39,360
Speaker 1: might look like you need to loop the tight ends

269
00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,760
Speaker 1: in with that as well, because that's a room that

270
00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:44,760
Speaker 1: could have some pretty substantial turnover as well. I think

271
00:13:44,760 --> 00:13:46,520
Speaker 1: there's something left in the tank with MOA as far

272
00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:49,679
Speaker 1: as the potential is concerned. Um, I think MO can,

273
00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:52,600
Speaker 1: you know, do some things differently. As far as route running,

274
00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:55,680
Speaker 1: you always you always, every wide receiver, every tight end

275
00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:58,400
Speaker 1: can always improve in route running and being more precise

276
00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:01,640
Speaker 1: and getting in and out of the rakes and coming

277
00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,640
Speaker 1: off the ball and things like that. And also you

278
00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:07,560
Speaker 1: can get better in blocking. Blocking is nothing but technique

279
00:14:07,559 --> 00:14:10,080
Speaker 1: and continue to do it over and over and over again.

280
00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:14,839
Speaker 1: So I think in all aspects there's areas MO can

281
00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,199
Speaker 1: improve on and get better. Not that MO had a

282
00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:19,400
Speaker 1: bad year in any of those areas as far as

283
00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:22,360
Speaker 1: catching the bar, running routes, or blocking, but you always

284
00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:25,640
Speaker 1: look to improve on every area of your game each year,

285
00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:27,680
Speaker 1: in each off seam. So I think he can improve

286
00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:29,840
Speaker 1: and I think he will be very valuable for the

287
00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:33,000
Speaker 1: team if you know, he does improve and gets better him.

288
00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,920
Speaker 1: Jack does not come back, as JJ said, you know,

289
00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:39,640
Speaker 1: he's a veteran in the locker room right now, veteran

290
00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:41,560
Speaker 1: in that room, in that tight end room. So I think,

291
00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:44,560
Speaker 1: you know, if if mo Ali does come back, that's great.

292
00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,760
Speaker 1: If for whatever reason that Moli decides to leave, they

293
00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,280
Speaker 1: need a veteran presence in that room as well. I'm

294
00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:53,960
Speaker 1: big about having a veteran presence in a room, especially

295
00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:57,320
Speaker 1: in all the rooms that someone they can people can

296
00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:00,880
Speaker 1: rely on and kind of lean on for information and

297
00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:02,960
Speaker 1: when things get hard, because things are going to get

298
00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:06,160
Speaker 1: hard during the season and you have to overcome those

299
00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:09,560
Speaker 1: those barries at times. So I think having a veteran

300
00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:12,000
Speaker 1: presence in the locker room be very valuable for the

301
00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:14,480
Speaker 1: team and definitely valuable in the tight end room. Well,

302
00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:16,120
Speaker 1: I want to stick there as we close out, and

303
00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:18,720
Speaker 1: then JJ you can piggyback on your thoughts as well.

304
00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:21,760
Speaker 1: But but Bill, going off something you just said, Let's

305
00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:25,800
Speaker 1: say hypothetically Jack Doyle retires, you know, ten minutes after

306
00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:30,640
Speaker 1: we're done doing this podcast, does that change the importance

307
00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:33,720
Speaker 1: the Colts have or the priority the Colts have in

308
00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:36,360
Speaker 1: bringing back Moileycocks in free agency because of what you

309
00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:38,440
Speaker 1: just said, Well, I think a lot of it depends

310
00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:40,640
Speaker 1: on who else is out there, and and with other

311
00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:43,840
Speaker 1: priorities you have as far as looking at the other

312
00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:47,280
Speaker 1: positions you might need or in free agency, if someone's

313
00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:50,040
Speaker 1: out there that you value that can help you in

314
00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:53,600
Speaker 1: a different position, that's a need for you. I think

315
00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:55,240
Speaker 1: you have to look at that and how much you're

316
00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:57,280
Speaker 1: gonna spend. I think we've talked about it before with

317
00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:00,320
Speaker 1: the Coast. You know, the Coats aren't gonna and history

318
00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:02,400
Speaker 1: has shown that the coach do not spend a lot

319
00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:04,960
Speaker 1: of money and free agency, So is there someone out

320
00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:08,840
Speaker 1: there that you value that can help this team and

321
00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:12,920
Speaker 1: that you can pay but not overpay and mcguards to

322
00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:15,920
Speaker 1: free agency. And then also if you get a young guy,

323
00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:19,080
Speaker 1: you know what you just you just you know, you

324
00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:22,080
Speaker 1: need that veteran presence there. So um, you know, I

325
00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:24,400
Speaker 1: think mo Ali Cox would be a valuable person to

326
00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:26,600
Speaker 1: have on the team, someone that understands the offense and

327
00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:30,400
Speaker 1: knows the offense and is I think is a good

328
00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:32,640
Speaker 1: athlete that can help him at the tight end position.

329
00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:35,040
Speaker 1: One other thing to note about mo as it just

330
00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:37,480
Speaker 1: as it relates to Jack. So you know, you look

331
00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:39,640
Speaker 1: at last year, I got pulled up in front of

332
00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:42,400
Speaker 1: me Pro Football Focus the run blocking grades for tight

333
00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:46,400
Speaker 1: ends and among players who played fifty percent you know,

334
00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:48,800
Speaker 1: we'll call it about two hundred and seventy a snaps

335
00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,200
Speaker 1: run blocking. Jack Doyle was the second best run blocking

336
00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:54,120
Speaker 1: tight end in the NFL, and then there's mo Alie

337
00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:57,320
Speaker 1: Cox he was sixth best. So we're talking about there

338
00:16:57,360 --> 00:16:59,160
Speaker 1: were only six tight ends Leicester who had a Pro

339
00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:02,520
Speaker 1: Football Focus blocking grade over seventy. The Colts had two

340
00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:05,760
Speaker 1: of them. And that that right there, Matt, I think,

341
00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:08,800
Speaker 1: you know, as it relates to Jack, if Jack does

342
00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:11,159
Speaker 1: decide to hang up the cleats, you know, keeping mo

343
00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:14,280
Speaker 1: Aali Cox around is that big bodied, y tight end

344
00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:17,120
Speaker 1: who can really stick it in the run game exactly.

345
00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:20,240
Speaker 1: You know that that's important in mo Aley Cox. Over

346
00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:22,800
Speaker 1: his four years in Indianapolis, his run blocking grade has

347
00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:26,000
Speaker 1: gotten better every single year and he's gotten more snaps

348
00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:28,840
Speaker 1: in that in that aspect of the game every single year.

349
00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:31,199
Speaker 1: So again, you know, you were we talked a lot

350
00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:33,159
Speaker 1: about the receiving numbers and how they were down, but

351
00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,280
Speaker 1: the run blocking numbers were up. And I think that

352
00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:38,320
Speaker 1: when you look at the y tight end in this

353
00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:43,040
Speaker 1: in this offense, that inline guy that's so important for

354
00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:45,520
Speaker 1: what the Colts want to accomplish running the football, that

355
00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:49,120
Speaker 1: if you do move on from mo and Jack. Now

356
00:17:49,119 --> 00:17:52,240
Speaker 1: you have to replace not only do you need that

357
00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:55,600
Speaker 1: pass catching ability, especially inside the twenties that mo Aley

358
00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:57,960
Speaker 1: Cox has, but now you need to Now you need

359
00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:00,040
Speaker 1: to find a couple run blockers. And it's not the

360
00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:02,280
Speaker 1: easiest thing. Like I said, there are only six regular

361
00:18:02,359 --> 00:18:06,040
Speaker 1: tight ends last year who had good run blocking grades

362
00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:08,880
Speaker 1: according to Pro Football Focus. So if you let both

363
00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:11,560
Speaker 1: of them go, can you really find that? You know,

364
00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:14,280
Speaker 1: we heard so much about again, we talked about the

365
00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:16,320
Speaker 1: wide receivers and the importance of Zach Pascal there, but

366
00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,280
Speaker 1: the tight ends were incredibly important in getting Jonathan Taylor

367
00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:22,560
Speaker 1: to over eighteen hundred yards last year. So that's going

368
00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:25,760
Speaker 1: to be a really significant consideration. And as you kind

369
00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,439
Speaker 1: of look at it, you see the trend going If

370
00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:30,399
Speaker 1: you see the trend going up from Moley Cox, if

371
00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:34,439
Speaker 1: the Colts, if their internal evaluations of him line up

372
00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:36,480
Speaker 1: with Pro Football Focus, that would seem to be pretty

373
00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:40,119
Speaker 1: good news for Moley Cox sticking around Indianapolis. Yeah, and

374
00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,200
Speaker 1: kyl And Granson is not that guy, right, He's more

375
00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:46,160
Speaker 1: of an athletic tight end, a pass catching tight end,

376
00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:48,880
Speaker 1: and he had a little bit of a down roll

377
00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:51,280
Speaker 1: as far as I'm concerned. Last year, I thought he

378
00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:54,480
Speaker 1: would play a more prevalent aspect of this offense, but

379
00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:56,920
Speaker 1: he is not the in line blocker to the extent

380
00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,399
Speaker 1: of Jack Doyle and Moley Cox for sure. Great work, fellas.

381
00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:03,480
Speaker 1: That's a look at the pass catchers free agency wise

382
00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:05,920
Speaker 1: for the Colts. We've got Zach Pascal and mo Alie

383
00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:09,200
Speaker 1: Cox on this Free Agent Tracker podcast. And the Colts

384
00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:11,720
Speaker 1: also have a key free agent in t Y Hilton

385
00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:15,000
Speaker 1: who we talked about and he's contemplating retirement, so we'll

386
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:17,439
Speaker 1: talk about that in depth as we go on and

387
00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:19,880
Speaker 1: get closer to his vignette in the coming week, says

388
00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:23,000
Speaker 1: we get closer to the start of NFL free agency. Also,

389
00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:24,960
Speaker 1: later this week, we're gonna take a look at Xavier

390
00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:28,040
Speaker 1: Rhodes at the cornerback spot. He just wrapped up his

391
00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:30,040
Speaker 1: second year with the Colts and he is a free

392
00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:32,600
Speaker 1: agent once again. And also this week, we're gonna have

393
00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:35,240
Speaker 1: a ton of content coming out of the Combine and

394
00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:38,760
Speaker 1: we'll also continue our inside the Draft series on Thursday

395
00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:43,560
Speaker 1: as well with more NFL Draft insiders. As always, please subscribe, rate,

396
00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:47,040
Speaker 1: and review the podcast for JJ Stangevitz, Bill Brooks I'm

397
00:19:47,119 --> 00:19:49,600
Speaker 1: Matt Taylor, and we'll have more on the free agent

398
00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:52,640
Speaker 1: tracker later on this week on the Colts Audio Network.