Touring The AFC South- Let’s Talk Colts (Ft. ESPN.com’s Stephen Holder) #ForTheShoe #NFL

ESPN.com Indianapolis Colts reporter Stephen Holder joins the show. We talk Colts OTAs, minicamp and more on this edition of Touring The AFC South.

#ForTheShoe #NFL

[Music] welcome to another episode of touring the AFC South I am your host Mike Patton and on this episode we’re going to be talking to little Indianapolis Colts and I thought none other than Stephen holder would be the right person to bring on to talk about the Colts and what all is going on what’s going on Stephen I’m doing great how about you what’s going on there doing great doing great hanging in there hanging in there but um you know of course we’re going to get into the Colts and all the different questions and thoughts and things like that around the Colts going into this season but like we do every episode we start with the get off your chess segment and you know honestly reading something that you and James Boyd put out there Stephen kind of got me thinking about a few things and it made me shake my head just a little bit and it’s about journalism so for those that aren’t aware I did not go to school for journalism I I readily admit that but I do however treat the field with the utmost respect that it deserves I do my homework I study I talk to different people and I try to pick up and emulate and um do do things the right way however there is a nice group of people especially people on social media that really don’t take journalism very seriously get facts wrong uh basically I know it’s an opinionated I know people do opinionated pieces however you you basically you know you’re kind of misle people with the the words you’re using or the the comments you’re using or the context of pictures or quotes and that’s not real journalism that is almost like clickbait pretty much so you know to me I want to talk to all the people that think they’re a journalism journalist I think you need to actually study people like a Steven holder like a teron davenport like um you know just throwing journalism out some journalists out there I mean Jamal Hill uh I mean just throwing names out there but anyway you know of course James boy of course but you know I think you need to study those people and understand what really journalism is as opposed to thinking that hey I’ve got a pen or I’ve got a computer I can type something out and I’m G throw something out there and see if it sticks that’s not journalism that is clickbait material there is a difference people take the time learn watch grow that’s kind of how it goes not type see who who reacts no so I I just had a bone to pick with uh some of the bad journalism I’ve saw I’ve seen and it just it just boggles my mind I’m like and and a lot of people buy into this stuff because it feeds into what they want to hear as opposed to thinking um you know maybe this person has an agenda perhaps you know so I mean I know you got some thoughts on this one yeah I mean I think one of the realities we have to understand is that look it’s fine everybody has a voice now and that’s fine right we we’ve been on social media for a long time now and it has changed everything about the world and that’s okay but there is a responsibility that comes with both the the person producing the content and the person uh that is taking in the content um the provider the Creator excuse me and the the audience that there’s a responsibility on both sides and sometimes that responsibility or many times that responsibility is lost on on both ends of the spectrum so all I would say is that look there’s certainly a responsibility on people creating content on social media whether it’s a tweet whether it’s an Instagram post uh a YouTube video whatever it is there’s a responsibility on that person uh just because you have a platform doesn’t mean that you know what the hell you’re talking about number one that’s first thing then so you have a respons to get your fact straight number two you as the consumer have a responsibility to at least not you don’t have to do a a book report on everything you read I’m not saying that but uh you you have to at least be smart enough to perceive when something doesn’t sound right or you know or just do your homework you know and and make sure that if you if you question it if you have questions about what you’re hear in the reading they’re probably for a good reason so go across references somewhere else I’m sure there’s a legitimate journalist out there asking hard questions uh all right I’m not going to give a speech but I I’ll just leave leave it at this there is there’s opinion that’s great that drives a lot of interest uh and then there’s generally what I do someone like myself who I’m the person in the locker room asking the questions making phone calls uh the things that AI for example can’t do right the AI can’t call uh an agent and and get and build a relation ship and and learn what’s really happening with that person’s client uh AI can’t build a rapport with a player in a locker room and get insight for what that player is going through those kinds of things so anyway my job is to ascertain that information and to convey it and so that’s an important part of the process that we have to remember so anyway that’s your speech for today all right well yeah definitely uh you know got a lot of uh folks calling themselves journalists but really are just uh I guess babbling I should say I’ll add one quick thing you you said that there’s there’s there’s often times going to be an agenda with that person here’s something to keep in mind there’s a lot of aggregation happening right now particularly on on X or Twitter uh a lot of those accounts are looking for engagement why are they looking for engagement because they’re making money so it’s simple so they take stuff that myself and others report and sensationalize it and and it becomes something that is not even close to what we actually reported so so that’s that’s kind of the reality we’re dealing with I can’t do anything about it all I can do is say hey we’re going to do what we do and hopefully that’s what resonates with people right right you know Pap people you got to get the facts straight go to the source go to the source don’t leave don’t listen to the horse I should say because the horse would just be spitting out everything with list to list the actual Source first but uh I don’t know where I came up with that one from but hey it kind of plays into what we’re talking about today which is the Indianapolis Colts you know the Horseshoe so uh so you know of course the Indianapolis Colts make it to the last game miss the playoffs just because know of course the Texans win that game they go on to win a wild card game lose to the Ravens but you know this off season not a lot of change happens basically the the theme is we’re going to bring everybody back and run it back and then of course you know add different pieces through maybe the draft um one of those rooms that I looked at and I thought maybe could need uh need probably a little bit of change would be the cornerback room however you know they really didn’t address that quite as much as I thought they should have so they have what they have basically now and you know one guy that I’m looking at in this second year in terms of the quarterback room in the quarterback position to kind of be the guy is Juju Brin Juju Brin is a big guy at corner he’s 63 corner and I mean he definitely kind of fits the mold of a gust Bradley Corner if you want to go back to the Richard Shermans and and guys like that so so far going from like your one to year two kind of how is he how is he kind of I guess handling himself or or looking so far in the the OTAs and the mini camps and things like that so the the first thing I would say is that last year was really tough for ju guu he he he really wasn’t available for much of the offseason he missed almost the entirety of training camp uh with I believe it was a an abdominal injury assorted injuries frankly and that I can’t tell you how much that sets you back you know as a rookie it just it’s really really tough and when he finally got in the lineup he made some isolated plays but he also had lots of moments that were like oh boy this this is tough right I mean so in retrospect now that we take a step back in the moment you’re kind of like I don’t know about this guy when you take a step back and you breathe and you kind of take stock of what happened all of that makes sense right I mean what did we expect I I don’t think that you can without a foundation really expect a guy to come in under those circumstances uh Midstream because it was I think in week two or three when he finally actually got out there I don’t think you can expect a consistent production so what we saw were flashes but we never saw any consistency from him you know so UPS Downs UPS Downs that’s life in the NFL for rookie for most rookies honestly if you think about it right we we celebrate the ones that that do well those are the outliers generally ups and downs are part for the course for rookies so in that respect he was kind of like a typical rookie uh but again his circumstances were such that like he had a lot of things working against him he just he just wasn’t out there didn’t have a foundation so I think what the Colts are hoping and what they’re banking on frankly is that the on the job experience last year will pay dividends now you know whereas last year if had he had a whole offseason training camp and really built up some a reservoir of experience there that maybe would have paid dividends like in the back half of the Season he didn’t have that he was starting from scratch when the season started so so now hopefully those lessons start to take hold and when we start to see a return on them um he’s healthy that helps and they also have um Jaylen Jones you know who they have back there in their in their secondary he’s also a seconde player he played a lot more than he was ever supposed to play last year uh they have other um other veterans or Young Veterans you know coming back like Dallas flowers who who tore uh his his Achilles tendon excuse me uh last season so I mean they had I would say three guys at least three guys were significantly impacted by injuries last year so so the cornerback situation from last season in Indianapolis really has no bearing on this year because it’s going to look completely different know now that does not mean that they should or should not have made a move because what they don’t have is is proven guys and so they are still taking a leap of faith here there’s no doubt about it but uh there’s no doubt that Juju Brent he has he has the physique he has the tools um he does like you said you know look like a guy you know and particularly uh the type of guy Gus Bradley has had success with in the past so it’s all there you know he but you got to do it you got to do it and there’s no you know we don’t make assumptions we don’t we don’t give trophies on potential you know in this in this league so we’ll see the the clock is ticking though right I mean people don’t wait around in the NFL this is a big year for Juju Bren and in the Colt secondary in general I think definitely definitely and uh you know of course uh you know like you mentioned a few other Corners like you mentioned the Jaylen Jones you mentioned the Dallas flowers um you know how they kind of looked so far and is you know Kenny Moore kind of taken more of like a leadership role in the secondary uh going into this season more than you would probably say last year uh well I’ll answer the Kenny Moore question first I I think that last year I think he took a big step last year in terms of leadership frankly and that’s continuing uh he he is a guy who’s he’s been a veteran presence for a long time but but I think a couple years ago he was kind of going through some things um he he kind of struggled in my opinion as they transitioned to the new defensive scheme which would have been in uh 2022 now everybody struggles in 2022 Co swon four games but he personally uh it was coming on the heels of him kind of wanting or seeking a contract extension that didn’t come so there was some there was some bitterness there with the team uh lingering animosity maybe I don’t know but he you know he showed up and he played it’s fine um but he had had a tough season he didn’t make the big plays that we were used to him making uh it just didn’t look like him so I think last year to his credit he made a big shift I think mentally and and and just kind of embraced his situation and said all right look you know what it is what it is it’s a contract year I’m GNA do what I got to do and it’s about me so and he made it you know he he kind of shut out the uh the the variables and just focused in on on what he had to do and and finding a way to be effective within this scheme he played in the scheme initially in Indianapolis that that really accentuated his strengths this one maybe did that to a lesser degree so it’s up to you right to find out how you can be effective within the system they’re playing and then it’s also on the coaches to to set you up to do that so I think both parties did a better job of that last year and then you saw him step forward and have a much more impactful season he had that game with two pick sixes for example up in in Carolina we didn’t see that kind of impact from Kenny Moore in 2022 so all that is positive and I anticipate now that he has himself back here contract extension by the way which is Big right this is a third contract with the Colts I mean he’s basically a Colts lifer at this point you know he could finish his career here that’s a that’s a really a hell of a thing to be able to say so you have that business is taken care of uh everybody’s happy there uh he bought his mama a house right I mean like that’s the gold standard right so you have made it from that perspective the other thing now is uh what’s your legacy going to be right you know go win some and so I think that’s what his motivation is now and and he is really I think starting to assert himself as a leader to your original question because he he kind of has has migrated past that sort of you know tumultuous time in his career and he’s in a much better place now and I I think the results will show on the field they they tend it tends to work that way right when things are good off the field with your situation with the team uh as long as you still have the talent you know it tends to show up on the field so I I think he’ll have I anticipate him having a good season and further finding ways to EST aish himself in this scheme um the other part of your question I think was about um how flowers and Jones are kind of looking so I think it’s it’s funny actually I’m I’m with you I I think a lot of people have asked about why aren’t they doing more why haven’t they signed anybody look I mean lerus was out there right and or wanted to be moved and and and the Colts could have done that potentially um they declined um they declined to to really pursue that you know where he ended up obviously and so right I understand those questions and and they are very fair uh but I think what I’ve seen so far in in OTAs it’s interesting I I didn’t see a lot of overt uh plays that that made me kind of cringe like oh but they might be in trouble here now what they do in OTAs is not necessarily going to carry over to to the regular season right nobody’s hitting anybody I mean you don’t have pads on we get all that but the passing and catching part of OTAs is the most realistic thing that they do don’t ask me about a left tackle in OTAs okay I can’t tell you but I can tell you about receivers and and defensive backs a little bit right you can glean something from that uh were there some big plays offensively yes but the thing that’s interesting is I felt like the passing game uh I don’t think it it was not a free-for-all like there was some really competitive play um on the other end of those things and you know guys were not wide open and there was there were um the passes were were being contested so what I saw I I think was promising you don’t want either side to to dominate there was not that it was a lot of back and forth I thought between the offense and the defense from pass catching perspective in OTAs so that says to me that guys are competing and and and they’ll continue to grow I think that they they also we believe you know will have a fairly productive pass rush that’s only going to help you know so yeah I think the I think the the justification for their optimism like I don’t think it’s crazy okay I’m not I am not making any promises because I haven’t seen enough of these guys to to make any promises all I’m saying is I get where I get why I should say the Colts are somewhat optimistic about the guys that they have in the secondary and then so now it’s it’s up to them to to prove uh the team in the front office right right right well I do have some more wether questions for you about uh lat to latu and of course the wide receiver room but first we’re going to take a quick commercial break we’ll come back and address those goes on touring the AFC South ebo beard butter and ebo beard washer to of the best beard groming products are in worldwide help promote growth keep your beard moisturiz and soft and enhance your overall upkeep of your facial hair and with the new promo code MP asc10 you can get 10% off of these products just go to www.etsy.com shop ebo beard butter again that’s www.etsy.com shopo beard butter and again the promo code MP afc1 again MP afc1 where you can get 10% off any products except for Beard boxes so treat your beard better today I going to get this ebo the ebo beard butter beard [Music] wash all right and we are back on touring the AFC South and before we left off for the commercial break I did have some uh I did think about you know the Rookie of course the first round draft pick out of UCLA I almost said USC UCLA um that’s latu latu I mean of course you know everybody’s talking about the tattoo you got the little horseshoe on the side of his shoulder and all those different things um you know with him what is your what is your just I you know I know you can’t see a lot of OTAs from you know the trenches things like that but what is just your kind of initial thoughts on his impact uh and potentially the additional pressure he puts on quiddy pay to have a a great season this year so I’ll start by saying my initial takeaway like the moment they made the pick was kind of like huh okay you know I I was thinking a little bit more in terms of a a cornerback because they had their pick of them at number 15 uh and you know for the reasons we just outlined and so I was mildly surprised at first but then in talking to the team officials I I think that I understood where they were coming from and really what it boils down to is their philosophy whether you agree or not is you know some fans will agree some will feel differently but the philosophy is clear the philosophy is that we will always go with with upfront versus the back end particularly on defense it’s true on on on offense to a degree too but I mean they’re I’m not saying like offensive line over quarterback but what I mean is like they are going to prioritize the front lines on both sides that is that is never going to be compromised in their in their view once they’ve got that together then they worry about everything else that is the philosophy and they have stuck to that now you could argue a they haven’t woned the division in years so where where has that gotten them well the truth is though that their strengths are offensive line and defensive line and when you have that in place then you can Tinker with the rest of the lineup in other places right and and try to win matchups in other areas but if you don’t win those matchups then the rest of that stuff don’t matter anyway and so that’s the philosophy right and there’s a lot of Merit to that so I I actually have embraced that philosophy to a degree and I actually get it it’s up to them to to be proven right but I understand and what they did here is they got what I think is a very polished pass rusher this guy you mentioned us you know almost by mistake there and it’s interesting if you go back and you watch UCLA USC last season I went back and I watched it after the draft you will get an Eiffel this guy terrorized Caleb Williams I mean terrorized him now Caleb had a big day because that’s what he does but the those snaps where he didn’t make a play it was generally because Leu latu was in his face I mean and what I what I took away was this the all right he gets off the ball he’s he’s fast he quick he bends on the edge he he has all that but in addition to that he has like a whole array of pass rush moves like he can go to different things in his toolbox uh for a guy who’s you know I think 22 years old and you know a rookie in the NFL they don’t tend to come into the league with that much to work with they’re trying to develop that normally this guy already has it and and I think that is going to go a long way for the Colts they’re they’re gonna put him in position to succeed because I I think he’s gonna play maybe a fewer snaps than you might anticipate for a number one a number one pick but that’s strategic they have a lot of depth on their defensive line so what they’re trying to do is number one keep guys fresh they’re going to rotate a lot they can also put him in Optimum situations so where is he going to be best he’s going to be best in second and long third and long just third down generally right passing situations put him in there where he’s got the best chance to go get the quarterback and do what he does you know they don’t they have that luxury frankly you know if they didn’t have a lot of bodies up there or talented players they would have to probably play this differently but they have a luxury where they can use him and as a targeted player you know you talked about quiddy pay they like quiddy pay they’ picked up his fifth year option so he’s now under contract through 2025 there was some doubt about that and I thought that uh making that decision after the draft send a signal that no we’re all in on this defensive line now it’s certainly you know quy pay still has to uh earn a contract extension in the future but at least in the short term it says to him know you’re a part of this and we want all our guys so I I like what they have I mean there’s no reason they can’t have um one of the top defensive lines in the NFL in fact I think if they don’t that is a disappointment when you have the forest pman you got Rover Stewart as good of an interior tandem as you will find literally anywhere in the NFL those two you have that and then you have these pieces on the edge some are inside outside pieces Dio he was a nille guy played at Vander bolt so man had 10 sacks of Vander okay I’m just saying so so he’s a guy I’m very excited about he’s in a contract year I believe as well so um they have lots of reason to be optimistic about that line and lot of I think the biggest reason I think he can be successful is because they’re not going to ask much of him his job is step in here and just go get the quarterback uh in an Optimum situation so I mean they are rolling out the red carpet for him to have a big gear I mean on paper right so right what he’s made of but I I think his F between his first step which is incred quick and his pass rush moves and he’s got he has an assortment of them he has what it takes he has everything in his Arsenal to have a good season and I I think there’s a lot of optimism and justifi so yeah it definitely is going to be interesting just to watch him and see how things develop uh you speaking about a lot of moves and things like that that he has uh it kind of you know while you said that my mind kind of flashed to thinking of maybe a bigger Dwight Frey with all the different moves perhaps but uh you know that’s where my mind kind of was going to as well especially I I talked this week in fact oh you did I because going into the Hall of Fame so uh the the timing of that comment is is actually perfect and uh not to Sidetrack it but I mean it’s it’s fascinating talking to him because I I I talked to him about his his spin move and and that was the thing that he said was that when you perfect a move it’s all they’re worried about right the the offensive tackle and he said that he said oh ultimately though he says I would normally just kill him with with my speed off the edge he says but but they were also worried about me spinning so he says I want them to be thinking about that because then I’m just coming with my speed and so look Leu latu is no Dwight Frey okay we got a long way to go but definitely when you have other Moves In Your Arsenal that they have to to to beware of it I think it makes you more dangerous as a speed rusher because that’s your bread and butter ultimately when you have that first step you know that’s the easiest thing to do is to rush off the edge if they give it to you so if you can mix some moves in that have some success and now they’re thinking about that it gives you I think a little bit higher chance of success just winning straight up off the edge so we’ll see I mean it work for Dwight Frey so I think that he’s a good person to follow right right um yeah I’m kind of got to run down you know I had some wide receiver questions but I’m got to kind of go down to the burning questions I had because uh you know of course you know there’s there’s uh a couple players that are definitely on my mind when it comes to that um the first one of course is Anthony Richardson uh of course missed most of last season uh shoulder injury head surgery is back now um first how is he looking so far I think there have been a lot of promising moments for him in in OTAs um you you’re starting to see like the dynamic potential of the offense you know where if there’s a shot down the field to take he will take it and uh there have been some moments where you can see where his legs are going to be a factor like the the dynamic uh potential of the offense just cut returns when you have his playmaking ability now the reality is there has been some ups and downs for him too and I think that’s to be expected one of the things that that I’ve tried to impress upon people is that because people ask this all the time right how is he look I’m like well first of all there’s two things to consider uh physically he looks great like his shoulders good I know he had the the soreness at the end of the mini camp and that was a little bit of a big story because he missed the final day but he he missed a 45 minute practice on the final day of mini camp that’s what he missed um I have no reason to believe that there’s any lingering issue there other than the man had surgery seven or eight months ago his shoulder was so he told him sit now you know what I mean like that’s that’s a very plausible and believable scenario so until I have reason to believe otherwise I’m I’m fine with that so okay so in that regard he’s great he’s doing great um and he has taken a lot of workload on that Shoulder Through the last two months without any issue so that’s all great now the reality is that when you miss a lot of time you gotta get your timing back you gotta you gotta get the rust off you gotta you know just kind of get back in the groove that’s still happening I also think that is normal so that doesn’t worry me that much um like it’s to be expected you know he played four games last year and I’m not saying that that what he showed was was like a huge concern I’m just saying you just want the consistency every single play and he hasn’t got there yet but again no one should have expected that you know this guy he didn’t throw to a a teammate until I guess maybe late maybe mid May or something you know what I mean so like what are we talking about you know what I mean we’re talking about a month or so of him actually throwing to his teammates um after not having done that for for you know 6 months s months right so that is something you just have to take into account it’s just reality so it’s fine uh I think what you as long as you can see the trajectory going up and when they get to training camp I anticipate that will happen uh they will they being the the quarterbacks and the wide receivers and tight ends are supposed to get together on their own here in the coming weeks as well well maybe in California you know just for a couple days of you know continued work together so I love the initiative and Anthony Richardson will absolutely be a part of that so uh everything’s pointing in the right direction I think what this really does is the biggest thing is this puts their head coach Shane Sten this puts him back in the driver’s seat know they had they had a top 10 offense in terms of efficiency last season uh despite Gardener MSU starting 13 games I mean that no say the Garder minu okay no say but he is a player who his his skill set is what it is right I mean we know what he is har got Anthony Richardson and his skill set is like this right I mean the range of things that he can do is totally different Gardner’s going to go out there and execute he knows where to go with the ball the man is sharp knows the offense better than anybody all those things he has that’s how he succeeds Anthony Richardson may not have that what he does have though is he got some stuff that God gave him that nobody else has so now you give that to Shane styken who I I will admit not knowing a lot about him when he got hired but I can tell you now haven’t been around him for over a year Shane styken has it that guy is brilliant he knows ball he is he’s a gifted play caller he understands the flow of the game and and the interplay between the offense coordinator and defense coordinator the man I’m telling you he he’s only scratched the surface and he has been in the lab for the past couple of months coming up with some stuff and he’s gonna have that combination of Anthony and Jonathan Taylor which they did not have last year they had one or the other because Taylor started off the season on uh off the field or should say he was not on the field so MH you you really did not have those guys play together by the time Taylor got back Richardson gets hurt and so they never have them together now you have one of the most dynamic back fields in football and that just plays right into the play caller hands so we’ll see I mean you know they could all fall in its face but I love what it looks like at least on paper yeah it definitely is uh looking pretty interesting another interesting scario is the wide receiver room of course uh you know the Colts drafted ad Mitchell of course you know he’s from C rdge maybe about 10 minutes from where I’m I actually live uh so he he graduated from there and uh of course from University of Georgia and University of Texas they had him in the second round uh previous year added Joshua DS um to go along with Michael Pitman Jr and the guy I want to mention that is Alec Pierce now he’s going into his third season the first couple Seasons he you know he you know he had a okay Seasons first season second season kind of looked like he kind of regressed a little bit a little bit more of those receptions and yards went to Joshua DS so now they bring in another guy that’s Dynamic and could probably outshine him so how much pressure do you think is actually on him going into his third season uh to try to improve and get better and things like that despite the upgrade in the wide receiver room around him so it’s interesting I I think that first of all there’s a lot of pressure in my view on Alec Pierce I actually think number one that’s a good thing because you can almost get too comfortable sometimes I’m not saying he did I have no idea but but but this will ensure that that does not happen okay there’s no question about it he can’t he can’t be L fair about this because this man is coming for your snaps M okay let’s just call it what it is AD Mitchell ad Mitchell had a very good spring okay tell you now again I don’t know if it carries over I’ve seen a lot of OTA Superstars over the years okay it don’t mean nothing in the grand scheme but I have that’s all I have with ad Mitchell that’s all we got so far and and he did what was asked of him he showed up he made plays he made some really impressive ones in fact so I can’t say that from from Alec piis I can’t say he consistently did that so AB Mitchell is putting pressure on him that pressure is being applied as we speak now in Alec paris’s defense some of what some of his situation is not his fault uh I feel like the first season he he had here he had a quarterback Carousel with Matt Ryan and Ellinger and Nick Foles and I mean what even was that I don’t know uh so some of that was not his fault but he also he did contribute he he did manage to contribute that year I think over over 40 catches I believe and or 30 30 some OD catches 40 catches uh over 400 yards he contributed right and right what happened last year the numbers declined but I also don’t think it was his fault uh I think he has a very defined role he is their deep guy he’s the the Deep threat in the offense and most a lot of his routes at least you know took him down the field they didn’t take those shots last year they just did not you know we talked about minu his game is basically going to be short and intermediate you know he’s not taking the Deep shots and and really where a guy like Alec Pierce really pays dividends is when you take those two or three shots to him and he gets one or two of them you know and turns them into a 30 yard play I mean if you do that a couple times a game people will pay you to do that for 10 years you know so right that’s just the league right those are the plays they’re looking for so if you can give him one or two of those you’re making the club so he didn’t have those opportunities he was out there he just didn’t get the football and and I can tell you from watching the film there were times he should have gotten the football now here’s the thing uh he has to he he had a very defined role so now here’s a guy in ad Mitchell who can also do that so Alec Pierce had that defined role well now here’s somebody else who can do that and also run a lot of other routes has the has the potential to run a lot of other routes so one thing to know about about Mitchell is he comes from Texas Steve sarkeesian at Texas the Colts really loved him the reason for that and a lot of people in the NFL the reason for that is because his offense has a ton of NFL Concepts so the off offensive players come into the NFL ready to roll and they know what’s going to be asked of them and they are finding that ad Mitchell is just like so they were able to really get a lot of Intel from sarkeesian and his staff about like hey can he do this can he do that does he know this does he know that and the answers were yes largely so uh so they think that while Alec Pieris has definitely established himself as a guy who get deep make deep plays there are questions I think still about whether he can run the short and intermediate routes with success and consistency I don’t think he has displayed that yet now he hasn’t been asked to do it as much but you got to do you got to run the whole thing you got to run the whole tree and AD Mitchell has clearly done that to a degree already in college so so that I think is going to be the question um does that Trump what Alec Pierce has going on so it it’s a fascinating thing and look those guys they’re going to go out of the training camp and they’ll both play I believe because they’ll find a role for them but the question is Alex I I don’t anticipate him playing nearly as many snaps as last season that would shock me um and I think he’s going to have to fight for the snaps that he does get yeah it’s definitely going to be interesting uh you know I remember when he got drafted and a lot of people were talking about him and talking about how uh he could be this or he could be that and you know I kind of was trying to see it and now I’m kind of seeing what I thought might would happen uh but you know it’ll be interesting just to see how things develop there um of course we’ve reached the the end of the show but of course we do have uh the game uh the uh five questions uh two answers and one choice I’m going give you a second to get ready for that when we going to take a quick commercial when we come back we’ll do that a shift a shift is something that happens and changes the Dynamics and that’s what happened when Garrett Logistics was born after 10 years as a salespro in the logistics world of Sporting Goods John Garrett decided to Pivot to the world of freight and start a brokery so you’re saying to yourself why trust Garrett Logistics well Garrett Logistics helps shippers improve 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Garrett Logistics where the model is it’s not just freay to us it’s your [Music] business all right and we are back and like I mentioned before the commercial break it’s game time five questions two answers and one choice stepen holder are you ready I think so I better be all right this one we’re going uh gotta go some some uh some some 90s or some some old school rap okay we got uh they remin over you with of course Pete Rock C smoke love it and or we going lini Campo which song are you taking oh man I I I I love the remnance over you Troy man that I I I remember I mean that’s like literally my my wheelhouse at my age I think I was about to graduate from high school when when that was out and um I I can remember hearing it for the first time I still remember hearing it for the first time so yeah that’s an iconic song for me man like yeah I’m um that whole album really so yeah I’m I’m all about that one yeah that that song right there just I mean the way they rode the beat on that one it just yeah there’s nothing like that song there is nothing like that when still to this day and a Hidden Gem I think on the Same album is straighten it out if anybody remembers that one okay all right all right we’ll look that one up okay we’ll do we’ll do now I’ve got one for you with uh Mr Wesley Snipes I’ve got Sydney dean of white man can’t jump or Simon Phoenix from Demolition Man which character did you like that he played the most oh I I think I I think um White Men Can’t Jump um I mean you know Wesley SNES I don’t know when’s the last movie he made that I actually cared about but but but that man had a run uh I guess what 80s and 90s or so uh where I mean you talking about some Classics right I mean I don’t again I don’t know what happened to him he had that whole tax evasion thing going on if I recall and uh he haven’t heard from a lot since then but but let’s give him let’s give him his flowers Right Wesley Snipes did his his thing and yeah he he definitely he definitely put on the show for a couple of decades there I would say yeah definitely yeah white man can’t jump that was always interesting man I I still uh remember the line from Kadeem Hardison we’re going sis we G wi I remember that line exactly those are the lines that standard test of time definitely definitely I ain’t seen a Sizzler in about 20 years but you know it’s still that line still brings true all right you got Jonathan Taylor or saquin Barkley which one do you think will have the better 2024 season that is interesting uh you know they both have similar situations I think you know with quarterbacks uh who I think help the running game so it’ll be interesting I I think that sequan has had a little bit of impact I think his his injuries that he’s had over the years I’ve started to see a little impact residual effect there I mean I’m just splitting here so maybe a little bit but just trying to separate them Jonathan Taylor the way he finished last season uh I think I’m going to go with Jonathan Taylor I just saw a guy there who I think separated himself from from the other guys at his position generally speaking maybe with the exception of obviously Christian mcaffrey but um he would be next on my list frankly in terms of like go-to running backs the question though I’m leaning toward Taylor but I will admit he has to stay healthy he he had certainly uh he started to play well he had you know was it a hold out did he have an ankle injury whatever we can debate that later um it’s in the eye of the beholder but let’s take that out of the equation he also had uh the uh wrist surgery um or thumb surgery I should say late in the season Miss missed three games there at a really critical time and their offense was was certainly affected by that things happen it is what it is all I’m saying is he he has had a run of injuries that you know is somewhat concerning so that’s life as a running back I guess right right okay you got to pick one wide receiver are you gonna take Michael Pitman Jr or you gonna take Brandon auk of the 49ers that is interesting um you know I still can’t really I I still don’t know what Michael pitman’s ceiling is and and I think it’s because I haven’t seen him in an ideal situation now I think if you took Michael Pitman and you put him in the 49ers offense man I mean this guy do right I that’s a tough one I I just think you’re you’re comparing two guys with completely different situations but I I would say this what I like about Michael Pitman is it’s not just his production he is production but I think he he brings an edge that that not every receiver does uh he has this ability to to get out there and and make blocks that spring his running backs I think he he adds a demeanor uh to that offense that that I think gives everybody a lift think they have to take that into account with him I really do um you know you’d like to see a few more big plays like downfield plays but that’s not really his game uh but Michael Pitman just the consistency with him and you can go to this guy uh you know 10 11 times in a game he’s going to catch nine of them you know take it to the bank I I like that about him I mean am my bias here maybe I mean I cover the guy I’ve dealt with him for four or five years um so I admit that that but I just like his consistency man he’s he’s he’s really tough he’s got an edge to him and I think he’s going to get better this year with Anthony Richardson pulling the trigger okay well just to give you a little bit of context uh definitely Michael Pitman Jr uh has more receptions over the last two years but Brandon IA does have more yards and touchdowns for sure for sure but you know you know it like you said different situations can you know produce different results of course for sure yeah Pitman has not had the same quarterback in any of his Four Seasons which is I think just an incredible thing to to to digest so so we’ll see this is a put up this is a year where he you know he’s got a new contract extension he has to produce this year at a an expected level I think he will I’m just saying like this is the year for him to take it to the next level right right and the last question two alltime greats in singing Patty or gladus Knight which singer are you taking well you’re GNA piss people off no matter who you pick here uh I think I I think I go with Patty leel uh just because like she’s everybody’s grandma and you know I mean look you can’t you’re talking about you’re talking about um choc right I mean you know um do I have to choose can I have both right but um but I I think that there just we also we have a little bit of a a connection to her just because of how she’s kind of carried herself over the years you feel like you know her you know I never met the lady but I feel like I know her so I can’t say no to her so she gets the vote just uh off of the uh off of the the grandma Vibes you know I gotta give her that now the funniest things I will say about pay La bill is every time she’s done like a tribute or a couple times when she’s done a tribute like you remember I don’t know if you’ve seen this old clip where she’s supposed to be singing the song but she doesn’t know the words she’s like I don’t know the words I the words yeah she’s doing that and then she did the same thing at the BET Awards singing and then I think that was she had no sh about it either she was like look it is what it is I don’t know the words y’all G going to listen to me anyway that was hilarious I still remember that but you also got to remember also she had a song from The bever Hills Cop movie uh she also had a song from the James Bond movie uh I mean she was on some pretty good soundtracks along with doing some of her own work so right you know definitely gotta show love to Miss Pat leel all of what she’s got to be like in her either 70s or 80s at this point yeah good gracious but career definitely that’s five questions two answers and one choice you’re off the hot seat uh again Stephen holder espn.com want to thank you for coming on talking about the Colts with me giving me some nice information giving the people that listen to touring and listen and watch touring the AFC South some great and wonderful information if you can tell everyone when they can find you on uh social media and then also anything things that you may be working working on yeah so uh I am certainly on Twitter at uh holder stepen uh h o l d r s t p h n it’s spelled the right way um so anyway there uh Instagram but uh you know you Google me you’ll find it it’s not that hard um and then what else obviously espn.com covering the Colts I also cover lots of uh NFL coverage broader NFL coverage as well so uh got a couple uh summer projects coming up that I’m excited about so we’ll see how those turn out uh one of them uh as we go into the offseason we I have a project with another reporter that will come out soon about uh some of those summer activities they should watch out for like we don’t want any skydiving or jet skiing going on here as uh as training camp approaches but you know guys get tempted sometimes so anyway we we’ll get into some of that and um you know what guys do in the offseason and what they should and should not do as the NFL quiet period begins so that’s coming soon right they you know what they say when you’ve been in Camp and and football and all that stuff during the season and off season I mean being me being a former college football player of course you’re under all that structure during the season but when that offseason hits that’s when you see people getting in trouble or doing this or doing that because they’re not used to all that free time so that’s right you know I definitely understand the offseason and it’s definitely it’s it’s plight that it could present yes stick my advice would be stick to chilling on the beach with a cold drink there we go that that’s the best that’s the best thing to do just be somewhere and sit down yeah but uh yeah yeah you can definitely find me uh I’m your host Mike Patton I’m the host of touring the AFC South you can find me on the artist for me know this Twitter word the prince at Mike pad 82 that’s m p T n82 of course you can find me on Instagram at threads atth that’s th ha not torgen NP toward in the ASC South you can find on all listening platforms whether it be Spotify Apple podcast Google podcast iHeart Radio Amazon music You Name It We Are there and we’re also on YouTube uh for your visual pleasure okay uh thank you all for tuning in to this episode of touring AFC South with your host Mike padon we’re out peace he [Music] oh