Behind Enemy Lines: Intel on the Colts

all right joining us now here on Texans radio it’s Matt Taylor voice of the Colts Matt great to see you as always how’s it going uh likewise Mark great to see you life is good enjoying some time here in the summer before the chaos of training camp begins but uh life life is good enjoying some hot weather here well we’re opening the season at Indianapolis and I’m hoping the pool is cleared out by then because we’ve been watching the US swimming trials that has to be bizarre I mean they built a swimming pool on the surface of Lucas Oil Stadium very impressive and and I’m sure you’ve seen the images uh you know in in the highlights of the races um it it looks Mark it’s it’s unbelievable it looks like the pool was there this entire time I mean it looks like the place was built for uh an atorium if you will I mean it’s it the the job they did was absolutely seamless and you know I know you and I have talked about these types of things before but Indianapolis just does an unbelievable job at hosting big events and thinking outside the box so you know leave it to the movers and shakers here in Indie uh to to turn an NFL stadium into an atorium in a big siiz Olympic siiz pool uh it’s it’s absolutely unbelievable I saw I saw the pool I didn’t I I haven’t been yet to a um an event but I’ve seen the pool I was able to get in the stadium and actually see it and witness it for myself it’s unbelievable yeah and you’re right about Indianapolis because I know that when the schedule comes out it’s always tough for our guys to book the hotel rooms for the team because there’s always a convention or something in Indianapolis it’s like the Vegas of the Midwest or something I don’t know why and you know I actually talked to uh the president of the Indiana Sports Corp about that a couple of weeks ago before uh the swimming trial started um you know you you’ve been to Indianapolis several times but I mean you’ve got the Indianapolis 500 you had the allstar game here you got the big 10 championship game you have the Big 10 Basketball Tournament that’s routinely here Pacers Colts now the fever are rolling with Caitlyn Clark in town uh I mean it’s just a great place to be anyways but Sports has always kind of defined the city Matt Taylor voice of the Colts joining us okay biggest off season story with the Indianapolis Colts in your opinion what is it man that’s a good one uh it’s it’s probably got to be just the return and the health of Anthony Richardson at quarterback um I mean obviously they missed him for 13 games last year and it all kind of came to a head there in that week 18 game against the Houston Texans obviously that was the win in your in game and Texans won the Colts are kind of have to they have to deal with that uh this entire off season um but Anthony Richardson’s return and getting to watch him here in the spring Mark he looked look like the biggest takeaway from me as it relates to him is he just doesn’t look like a quarterback that’s coming off of offseason shoulder surgery the arm strength was really good velocity I thought was even better compared to last year believe it or not and you know the buzzword that you’re hearing with him as it relates to the coaching staff here in the spring was accelerated Vision uh knowing where to go with the football getting the ball out faster you know he was going to the right places with theall but now it’s just being delivered uh even more timely to The Playmakers on offense so that they can go make plays um so all of the mental things that he was left to process uh just by watching last year kind of kicking in and I think you’re going to see big time growth from year one to year two with Anthony Richardson plus him understanding better the nuances of the NFL uh knowing basically how to play the football game in terms of intensity right knowing when to push it when to slide when to get out of bounds when to throw it away I think the Colts are going to be much more intentional about design runs with him if I had a gut about that Mark I would probably say it’s going to be more like Lamar Jackson right inside the Red Zone in the fourth quarter games on the line put the ball on your your put the ball in the hands of your best playmaker playmaker that’s what I think you’re going to see out of the Colts as it relates to Richardson being smart with him but also not taking away why you drafted a guy of his athleticism and skill set fourth overall a couple years ago they had him on a bit of a pitch count or adjusted schedule right in the offseason program uh believe it or not not not really I mean towards the end of many Camp you know he dealt with some soreness in that right shoulder right the the the surgically repaired shoulder and they were actually surprised that he hadn’t had more soreness up until then um you know obviously they’re going to do right by him and they’re going to make sure that they don’t push it when they don’t need to right kind of understanding where they are in terms of the calendar right at that point it was late May early June um but they did say that you know if this was a Sunday right if you know they had a mini camp on Wednesday and Thursday if they had a game on Sunday he would have been been able to play so that that’s good news so obviously going into training camp you know the next thing or the next questions going to be what what does he look like you know does he need days off can he be able to consistently throw three four days in a row at camp and what are things going to look like when you take that that red non- contct quarterback jersey off once the bullets start flying for real as you said week one against the the Houston Texans all right I think the Colts are undervalued by some and Jonathan Taylor’s a huge reason for that I mean this guy is one of the best running backs in the league and I think it’s not like people forget about him but maybe he’s underappreciated around the NFL the kind of Weaponry that the Colts have starting with him I mean we could talk about Richardson and Pitman all day long but Taylor is really the straw that stirs the drink no yeah I agree with you and I think maybe there’s a national forgetfulness regarding Jonathan Taylor the last two years just because of how the seasons have gone for the Colts I mean 22 was a disaster 23 was up and down you know no no Richardson for majority of the Season you know Taylor was uh dealing with the off the- field stuff uh with the contract drama then he started the year on pup so there was a lot of like stopping and starting of Jonathan Taylor these last two years and you know when you look at Richardson and Taylor together Mark believe it or not those two guys played two snaps together the entire season that was it two snaps the entire year last year on the game field um wow so I think this is a big time you know Fresh Start for both guys and kind of a a new beginning of an era in the back field between Richardson and Taylor and you know you mentioned Pitman and Josh DS that receiver I really think Mark in order for this offense to kind of take the next step and to really compliment Anthony Richardson they’ve got to be better outside right there was just times last year and this I think it’s probably more of like the gardener mchu effect more than anything you know there were just times last year where it felt like the Colts were playing on like a 15 to 20 yard field you know they just didn’t have a lot of Pop outside the numbers and vertically to push the ball down the field um so I thought it was imperative for the Colts to address that here in the off season and I think they did really adequately um you know Josh DS is coming back for year number two Michael Pitman uh gets a big time deal in free agency but you draft Adonai Mitchell in the second round mark I think that’s a big- Time steal for the Colts given his skill set um his value in where he was picked up in the draft I’m sure you can agree uh with that you know I’m sure John Harris had really high s on him during the draft process he he looks like he can kind of fix some of those ailments for the Colts in that regard so that’s a longwinded way of saying if the Colts can be more of a threat outside and down the field that’ll really open up the running game with Jonathan Taylor and and and Anthony Richardson I mean I think it’s going to be huge in the design runs but also the read Zone uh the Zone reads um in in the RPO game that’s really going to help the Colts be able to be more efficient on offense and you’ve seen it too Mark I mean these two guys Richardson and Taylor that they can take a little bit of a crease and turn it into a home run a 6070 yard Gallop by both of those guys with their speed and their athleticism so as long as the passing game complements the running game in this sense for the Colts I think those two guys have the best chance to be the best quarterback running back duo in the NFL given their athleticism wow Matt Taylor voice of the Colts joining us all right tell me about Joe flacko a little bit here because mchu played the bulk of the Season you hope flacko doesn’t but what about the addition of him after having the fine season he had in Cleveland I know it didn’t end well for him but he brought them to the playoffs no absolutely I mean it was all going well until he played the Houston Texans right in in the playoffs um but he he he’s a remarkable guy I got I got a chance to just kind of you know shoot the blank with him a couple of weeks ago before a mini camp practice I mean Joe’s a cool dude he’s down to earth and he’s just gonna shoot you straight tell it tell it like it is um and I think he’s perfect for Anthony Richardson in in the sense that you know Joe has this ability I don’t know if this is going to make sense to you you you’ve seen enough of his games over the years Mark he just has this ability to not over complicate the game and I think you know obviously quarterbacks have a lot of stuff on their plate I’m not downplaying that with Joe flacko in mind but he just has this ability to just take what the defense gives him and uh I think both guys Richardson and and flacko believe in the chunk play The Deep ball they both throw a very good deep ball and they believe in being efficient in that part of the offense but I I think that Flaco’s gonna come in and help Richardson um you know simplify the game a little bit you know it’s it’s okay to check it down or throw it away or uh you know T take five yards to set yourself up for third and two instead of going for the big play so that’s that’s what I’m really excited to see and you know there’s this debate around here in terms of the depth at quarterback because the Colts also too have Sam Ellinger who they drafted a couple years ago guy that played in your state at the University of Texas um and they’re still high on him and there’s this debate is there going to be a quarterback competition between flacko and Ellinger I just find it hard to believe that you know a a Super Bowl champion a guy that’s thrown for over 44,000 career yard yards uh is going to be you know holding the clipboard and running down the the practice squad so but Sam Ellinger is a great player too I mean every time he comes in good things happen typically but I think Joe Flaco is a guy that if he has to play the Colts still can push the ball down the field with with that Weaponry that I talked about plus Flaco’s ability to still be able to get it done like he showed last year throwing for over 300 yards in four straight games at one point last season Matt you know I like to ask questions like this give me one or two Colts that aren’t getting a lot of attention that you expect maybe not huge things from but exciting things from and they’re going to be valuable contributors in 2024 guys who aren’t getting the ink well a guy that maybe Texans fans forget about because he literally played zero snaps last year for the entire season uh is galani Woods uh the tight end they picked him up in the draft in 2022 had a pretty good rookie season kind of up and down but he had some breakout moments uh but last year he dealt with nagging hamstring injuries multiple hamstring injuries for the entire season and never saw the field and the Colts are really high on him and that they believe that he can maybe be part of that puzzle that helps push the ball down the field a little bit more he’s kind of the closest thing the Colts have to you know a Travis Kelce or a George KD and that’s that’s being generous they’ve got a good skill set of of tight ends in the room but nothing close to those Dynamic playmakers that I just mentioned but Woods I think is a guy that can be a mismatch he’s a former quarterback former basketball player in high school good athleticism he’s got great you know measurements about him height in weight um really good footwork he’s a willing blocker maybe he can you know uh Supply some big plays uh in the middle of the field up the scam so don’t don’t sleep on him and then on the other side of the ball I mean obviously everybody’s talking about latu latu it was the first round pick for the Colts the 15th overall selection and and and also too the the first defensive player off the board so the Colts feel like you know they they got their guy on the defensive side of the ball U with that 15th selection a big time steel there with all those quarterbacks that went to the top of the draft um but I I just think in general you should be talking about this Colts pass rush last year they had 51 sacks as a defense which was a franchise record but Mark they weren’t always the most uh timely sacks right at at times last year you know the sack numbers look good but in big moments right I go back to that week 18 game against CJ strad he was all too comfortable uh in big moments of that game in the fourth quarter if you’re a Colts fan um so they want to see more consistency out of the overall quarterback hurries the pressures and the sack numbers should be pretty good but they just want to see more disruptions that lead to errant throws and takeaways by the defense so I think that the secondary is going to benefit from that and hopefully you’re going to see a much improved uh pass rush because of latu latu and all the core pieces that are coming back I mean the 51 sacks being a franchise record kind of blows me away considering the players that you’ve had in Indie like Robert Mattis Dwight Frey you’re dealing with that and that was a franchise record on last year I know it was a winning season but that’s pretty amazing well what what had happened in years past to your point you’ve got matthys and Frey as as the book in defensive ends and that was the Hallmark for the Colts I mean the Colts would get up by two scores in the fourth quarter and then that defense could just go right they could just pin their ears back and that’s when the strip sacks came those gamechanging or game sealing plays happened with those two Bass Brothers but I think you’re going to see or at least what you saw last year you saw four different guys for the Colts with at least eight sacks uh including DeForest Buckner Samson eoms coming back quiddy pay uh just got his option picked up so they’re high on him still but but I’m telling you mark they really think that latu latu is g to be that missing piece right and it it goes back to what I said before like in big games and crunch time it’s all about just winning your one-on-one matchup and getting to the quarterback and I think the Colts think that he’s going to be their version hopefully sooner than later of the Bosa brother or TJ watt they think he can be that good and they need him to be that good pretty early on in his career based on how they’ve built this team Matt Taylor voice of the Indianapolis Colts joining us Matt let’s talk about the people who are not in the room that would be the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans first with the Jags what do you think here in 2024 they just signed Lawrence to the extension they lost some guys but they have a lot of good players and this is a winning team two years in a row I know they melted down last year but what are your thoughts on the upcoming campaign I think the Jaguars are going to be really good I think the AFC South in general Mark I think it’s GNA be a dog fight I really do I I don’t see any teams like the the Jags last year falling off a cliff right when they lost five of the last six games to end the season I don’t see that happening I mean Trevor Lawrence just got solidified with the big deal um you know I I know they’re kind of switching the play calling I don’t know if it’s going to be press Taylor again this year or Doug Peterson’s going to take on those roles again but I think the Jaguars are going to be really stinking good and I’m actually much higher on the Titans than most people are I think will Levis is going to be really good too and they’ve had a deceptively productive and complimentary off season especially on offense around will Levis going into the season so I think the AFC South is going to be one of the more competitive divisions in the NFL and we say it every year it’s cliche it’s hyperbole yes but this year I really do think it’s it’s accentuated that every single one of these games Mark is GNA have so much magnitude and if you look at the Colts in the Texans right away in week one and then you get them at the end of October so the Colts and Texans rivalry is going to be done before the halfway part of the Season like selfishly I think that sucks I think that sucks but that’s the way it goes you got to play all the games and doesn’t matter they all count the same but I would like to selfishly see some of these division games a little bit more spread out as it relates to the Colt schedule but that’s what they’ve had to deal with the last couple of years and that just means the first half of the Season you got to bring it because if you lose those games man they count as two they count as double and your margin for err in the second half of the season it’s going to be razor razor thin I can’t wait for it yeah there’s no question being done so early is a bummer this is the earliest the series will have been completed ever I went back and tracked it 2010 was really early but it wasn’t this early so it’s just strange but that’s the way it is like you said Matt Taylor voice of the Colts joining us all right so what do you think of the Texans from your seat Matt same thing I think the Texans are great I I mean I I credit to that entire organization the front office and the vision and obviously you know the new head coach there with Coach Ron uh I mean he’s got those guys huming and I think their offseason was splashy I thought a lot of their moves made a whole lot of sense the trade for Diggs I thought was really really Savvy um I know it’s he’s kind of on a on in a prove it situation if you will long term but uh you know it’s scary for the rest of the division that CJ strad has even more Weaponry to throw the football to and if you’re a Colts follower that’s terrifying because you know he basically got it done with one guy last year that was Nico Collins in that week 18 game you I know Dalton Schultz had a nice game too uh but in terms of the outside weapon wise it was really one guy and the Colts had a hard time slowing that down and now Stroud’s got even more uh you know pieces of the puzzle to to work with so I think it’s going to be a great rivalry I do I mean I think both places both stadiums both fan bases are just topnotch um I I can’t wait for it I I I think Mark and I think you would probably expect this I I think that first game of the season week one it’s going to feel like a playoff game because I think both fan bases are smart enough to know what they’re looking at they’re looking at you know the future of these franchises that I don’t think are going anywhere anytime soon because of the head coaches the core that’s been built and certainly the quarterbacks one more Matt what’s the circle that one on the calendar game for you out of the division for the Colts and maybe for you personally too if it’s not the same thing it’s yeah it’s probably the second game to be honest with you I think it’s at Lambo you know just because you play the Packers once every four years you go to Lambo once every eight years because of the NFC breakdown um but it’s another great barometer game for the Colts I mean selfishly I’m excited to go to the historic Lambo field I’ve never called a game there before so that part is I’m looking forward to kind of checking off but I mean I’m looking at the schedule right now Mark you’ve got Houston at Green Bay Chicago Pittsburgh for the Colts to start the season so three out of your first four games are at home that’s good but also three of your first four games to start the season are against teams that made the playoffs last year and that wild card within that group are the Bears and you don’t know what they’re going to be they could be you know way more improved uh with with Caleb Williams at quarterback so you don’t really know how to gauge that game um early on in the season so I I’m I’m just excited to see how the Colts navigate the first part of the schedule selfishly excited to go to Lambo field but I’m also hoping and I know you would disagree with this but hoping the Colts can get off the schneide for week one uh hopefully they can beat the Texans the Colts Mark they have not let me ask you this a little bit of a trivia question when was the last time you think when was the last time you think the Colts won a weak one game oh this is this goes back a long way doesn’t it it’s like 2014 or something ridiculous like that it’s it’s even more ridiculous it’s 2013 uh and it just to give you perspective they beat the then Oakland Raiders right the Raiders hadn’t even moved yet um so that’s that’s kind of everybody around here is sick of that storyline and and trying to get off to a good start and Anthony Richardson coming back and a lot of hype there hopefully you know it’s it’s a little bit more manageable to start the month of September and the Colts aren’t in a hole which has kind of been a theme for them the last you know four or five years going back a little bit going to be fun thanks so much for joining us have some fun time off if you can and looking forward to week one it’s going to be here thanks Mark

Texans Voice Matt Vandermeer went 1-on-1 with Indianapolis Colts play-by-play voice Matt Taylor. The two discussed QB Anthony Richardson, how Indy will look to disrupt the AFC South and much more.

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