05-16-25 Hour 2 of Broncos Country Tonight with Zach Segars

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Post Rockies edition of Broncos Country Tonight. Even though we
might be in a bit of the dead period for
the NFL schedule, we've got a great show for you
guys tonight. Might have heard Grant Smith breaking it down
earlier with Bremastis and Rick Lewis for you now in
the late night in Chunk. We've got plenty to talk about.

(00:21):
Of course, the schedule recently came out just earlier this week,
and the Broncos actually made a few moves today that
I think are worth discussing, at least in brief. Reed Berkhart,
he's been around almost as long as George Payton, joined
the front office. In Peyton's second season with the team,
has been promoted to assistant general manager, replacing Darren Mujie.

(00:45):
And I think that's going to be important because looking
at the moves the Jets have made this offseason, I
think Mujie was a valuable voice in Denver's front office.
They've made some great moves. So Berkhart is up to
the challenge of replacing that valued voice in the front
office in the draft war room. I'm honestly a little
surprised that didn't go to Cody Rager. Just considering he's

(01:06):
Sean Payton's guy, I think this might point to the
power George Payton still has, at least on the personnel
side of things, that this is a Peyton guy, a
pre Sean Payton guy getting the nod. Another longtime Bronco.
This guy has been inside the Broncos front office for
twelve seasons, coming up on his thirteenth now as the

(01:27):
co director of player Personnel. Following his promotion is a J. Derso.
You curious to see what he does now. It's co
director because he'll be sharing that title with Cam Williams,
who the Denver Broncos hired away from the New England Patriots.
You know, and I get maybe some trepidation with that.
The Patriots have struggled in recent years, but their drafts

(01:48):
have been pretty impressive since Belichick left and kind of
lost his authoritarian control over everything. They've done a good
job drafting players, you know, finding value above the consensus
boards and whatnot. So I think that's a nice addition.
The other addition they've made is Jordan Design from the
Philadelphia Eagles. He was a national scout for them. He

(02:11):
will be the Broncos director of Pro Personnel, So Williams
and Derso overall director of player personnel that's both college
and pro design, will be the head of the pro
half of that equation. So curious to see what he
can bring. And I think those are good organizations to pilfer.
You know, we don't know what exactly these guys were

(02:33):
bringing to Philadelphia's war room, to New England's war room,
but we know those organizations we're doing a good job
in recent years, and so, you know, stealing some ideas
from those front offices I think is good. I think,
you know, as far as where do you want to
be looking to backfill after you've lost some guys Philadelphia, Baltimore,

(02:54):
you know, and honestly, New England under Elliott Wolf, I
think would all be near the top of the list.
Elliot Wolf, who's the GM in New England, son of
maybe the most legendary GM in NFL history, Ron Wolf.
So again we're talking about some great pedigree the Broncos
are getting to steal from other news of the day,

(03:14):
not Broncos related, but it ultimately will affect the team
in a few years once bo Nix is up for
a contract. And that's Brock Purdy and the San Francisco
forty nine ers finally agreed on a deal. It's a
five year deal worth two hundred and sixty five million
dollars one hundred and eighty one million in total guarantees,

(03:37):
with one hundred and sixty five of that in the
first three years, meaning it's pretty locked up. Honestly, I
think this is a great deal for Perdy. I think
it's a solid deal for the forty nine ers too.
Do I think Purdy is worth this amount of money
in a vacuum, No, But I do think he's a
meaningful upgrade on what they had with Jimmy Garoppolo and

(03:58):
some of those quarterbacks of the past and Shanahan's system.
He can get more out of that offense, has a
little ability to create outside of structure, and the deal
is cheaper than you know, the Trevor Lawrence deals, the
Jared Goff deal, and the Tua deal when you're adjusting
for cap inflation. So even in that regard, it's a
bit of a bargain. You know. Say what you will

(04:19):
about Brock Purty, think he's certainly more talented than Tua.
I think he looks to be a better quarterback than Tua,
And even if you want to debate those points, there's
no debating the fact that he has way fewer health
concerns long term and short term. You know, you feel
pretty confident Bert perty might play all seventeen games for
you and be ready to go in the postseason. That's

(04:41):
tough to know with Tua. Beyond that, he seems to
regularly be considering retirement, and with good reason. But that's
not a concern you have when signing Purty. So the
fact they're getting him under that value. Even a guy
like Jared Goff, who you know doing a great job
in Detroit, but we know what he is, we know
his limitations. I think still has some untapped potential in

(05:03):
a way GoF doesn't. So also more ability to create
out a structure than GoF. So getting him under those
two numbers again, when you're adjusting for inflation, I think
it's good business by the forty nine ers. Now, the
big thing to watch is will brock Purdy with less
of surrounding talent, because a lot of that money is
going to be going to him now rather than his

(05:24):
supporting cast. Will he be good enough to justify having
his contract be restructured. Now, this is a nerdy point.
It's not widely discussed yet, but it's a very important one.
Most people have probably heard of the rookie contract window
and how valuable that is for quarterbacks. Right, bo Nicks

(05:44):
is making something like four or five million dollars against
the cap this year. Compare that to Kyler Murray, who
is making forty nine and a half million against the cap.
That means if bo Nix is producing quarterback play comparable
to Kyler Murray, which maybe was a little behind that
last year, but not by two too much, he's creating

(06:07):
forty five plus million dollars in surplus value. That's how
you can take on fifty million dollars in RUSS deadcap
and survive it and still be a competitive playoff team
because it's being negated by some of the value you're
finding at other points of the roster. Now, the rookie

(06:28):
window is where this is most discussed because the gap
is the widest. Right rookie quarterbacks JJ McCarthy making less
than four million, bo Nicks making a little under three
point four, Drake May at six point seven. You know,
even Jayden Daniels is under seven million, dollars. He's definitely
given you something better than what Kyler Murray's giving you.
That's forty two million in surplus value. That said, the

(06:52):
categories aren't just expensive veteran quarterback and quarterback on a
rookie deal. There's a third category, or really that first
category is broken up into two. You have expensive veterans
who aren't restructurable and expensive veterans who are restructurable, and

(07:13):
the difference is incredibly important. Restructuring contracts for people who
don't know, is where you take some of the salary,
turn it into guaranteed money, and that allows you to
kind of backload it on the deal. Now, this benefits
the team because it allows them to free up some
cap space, make some more moves in the immediate short
term while pushing the cost down the road to win

(07:37):
the cap is much higher and those costs are more affordable.
It benefits the player because it makes the team more
committed to the player long term because that money is
now guaranteed. If you have a player like Tua who
has these retirement concerns, these injury concerns, these frankly these
play concerns as well, how much can he elevate the

(07:59):
town around him. You might not want to commit to
him for the lifespan of that four or five year
veteran quarterback extension simply because you want to protect yourself. However,
that lack of certainty, that lack of confidence is incredibly
costly right compared to it to even a quarterback who

(08:23):
you know, not elite by any means, but his team
feels more confident in him. With Jalen Hurts, right, Tua
is going to have a cap hit of nearly forty
million dollars this year thirty nine. Jalen Hurts in twenty
twenty five is going to be at a mere twenty

(08:45):
one million. That's almost double now average. On average, Tua's
only making fifty three million. Jalen Hurts is only making
fifty one. So generally speaking, the contracts are very similar.
Because the Eagles have more confidence in their guy, they're
able to play with the contract differently than Miami is

(09:09):
able to. As a result of that, the Philadelphia Eagles
are going to have nineteen million more dollars to surround
Jalen Hurts with talent than Tua's going to have. That's
as much as All Pro tackle Rashaun Slater is making
this year. Don't you think Tuha would like to have
an All Pro tackle helping support him? You know what,

(09:31):
would you rather have Jalen Hurts and an All Pro
tackle or Tua? The answers Jalen Hurts, right, even it
doesn't matter if you like ta better. They're close enough
that that's a much better deal. And Stephen Ross is
an incredibly wealthy owner. The difference there is an ownership,
it's confidence in the quarterback. And this isn't a one

(09:53):
year thing either, right, twenty twenty six, Tua is set
to have a caphit of fifty six and a half million. Meanwhile,
Jalen Hurts in twenty twenty six is just at thirty
two million. Again, that's twenty four million dollars. That's another
all pro level player. And of course it doesn't just

(10:15):
have to be one player either, it can be three
quality starters. Would you rather have Jalen Hurts in three
quality starters or Tua? Everyone in their right mind is
picking Jalen Hurts in that scenario. There's a threshold a
quarterback crosses where all of a sudden they become much
more affordable. Patrick Mahomes, Yeah, he's of you know, fifty

(10:35):
million or whatever it is every year. That doesn't really
matter because the Chiefs have no problem pushing that money
down the road. Now, yes, the bill becomes due eventually,
but if we're talking about a guy like Patrick Mahomes
who probably is going to spend his entire career in
Kansas City, they can just keep pushing that money and
pushing that money and pushing that money, and maybe eventually

(10:59):
they have a huge cap hit when Patrick Mahomes retires
in ten years, fifty whatever it is. But as a
result of maybe that one two year rebuild pain which
might never come with how fast the cap is exploding,
maybe it's a manageable hit by the time Mahomes retires
and the bill comes due. That's kind of part of
the gamble here. But even if it is painful, Okay,

(11:23):
we've we now have to be bad for a year
or two, which might help us find our next quarterback,
and in exchange, we were a consistent contender for ten
fifteen years. That's the tradeoff, and it's a dang good tradeoff.
But it's only open to you if you have a
good enough quarterback. And now that we know Boonix belongs

(11:45):
in the NFL. Here's where it affects the Broncos. Does
he cross that threshold and it might have looked like
you did in year one, It doesn't matter. Mac Jones
crossed the threshold in year one. Once he got hit
with a CounterPunch. He wasn't able to keep building on it, right,
Not that bo Nicks will go that way, but we
have to see him continue to grow, continue to build,

(12:06):
prove Hey, I'm a guy who is adaptable, and again
I think everything we've seen from Bonick suggests he is.
But he needs to continue to demonstrate it. So you go, hey,
I feel good not only locking this guy up and
not only pushing that money down the line for three
four years, but pushing it down the line in perpetuity
because he ain't going anywhere. We're not letting him out

(12:28):
of Denver. We're going to keep him as one of
the highest paid quarterbacks in the league for a long
long time. And let's just keep pushing that build down
the road. We've got the richest ownership in the league,
and let's contend for championships. If bo Nicks holds up
his end of the bargain with a hyper aggressive head coach,
a GM who's strong in the draft and incredibly ownership.

(12:52):
The Broncos are better positioned to take advantage of that
market just about anyone in the NFL. Again, it's the
difference between having the fifteenth best starting quarterback in the
league and having the eleventh best starting quarterback of the
in the league plus three quality members of that supporting cast.

(13:14):
That's why quarterback purgatory is so costly, because you're forced
to pay for the expensive veteran and you can't use
any of the financial tools at your disposal to try
and make ends meet. The forty nine ers are actually
going to be a fascinating test case for this, because
they have so many talented players they're going to want
to pay over the coming years. How are they able

(13:37):
to do that while paying a quarterback like brock Purty
all this money. Is he good enough where they can
restructure him and then they can continue to bring this
incredible supporting cast of his. It's going to have to
get a little worse. But if he's good enough, you know, again,
that's twenty extra million they can throw around to make
the team around him a little better. Is he good

(13:59):
enough to make them feel comfortable? Doing that or does
it go off the rails entirely they're looking for a
way to get out of the contract and now all
of a sudden the surroundings get really rough for him.
With that in mind, also, what do the Broncos have
to see from bow Nicks over the next three seasons

(14:19):
to feel good about making him one of the league's
highest paid quarterbacks, because there really isn't a mid level
market right now. It's either you're paying him at the
top of the market. Are you able to restructure it
or not? Is the big question. And to feel confident
that you can make that super long term commitment to
bo Nicks, you have to see him consistently elevate the

(14:43):
talent around him. And that doesn't have to be a
media in year two. Again, they've got years to make
the contract decision. And it's not what the rookie year
was about. The rookie year was about proving he belonged
in the NFL, making sure he was able to swim
and not sync. Now that he's swimming, it's time for

(15:03):
him to demonstrate how good of a swimmer he is,
that he doesn't need the water wings to stay above water,
that he can do it on his own. We'll see
that in the true quarterbacking moments late in games, you know,
late late and then first half, even true dropback situations,

(15:25):
you know, no play action, third and eight, got to
have it. Everyone knows you're throwing the ball. What can
bo Nicks do in that moment? Offensive line's been really good,
But what happens when the line gets blown up and
all of a sudden Nix is scrambling for his life?
What does he do on those plays? Is he able
to still make it into a positive play or you know,

(15:46):
does he just avoid disaster, which still is value, but
it's all on a gradient. I think those are the
things you have to consider when trying to figure out
is this guy a superstar or is this guy just
a starting quarter back? Right now, though, I think Broncos
country should feel pretty optimistic that things are trending in
the right direction. We've got to hit a break right here.

(16:09):
But coming up next, we're going to look at the
six must watch games or must listen to games on
eight fifty KOA on the Denver Broncos twenty twenty five schedule.
And you know what other moves this Denver Broncos front
office might need to make before the twenty twenty five
season rolls around. Stay tuned for more Broncos Country Tonight

(16:32):
coming up on eight fifty am ninety four to one
FM to our post Rockies late night edition of Broncos
Country Tonight, once again filling in for Benjamin Albright. You've
got Zach Segers here and you know, little dare election

(16:54):
of duty on my part forgot to bring up an
incredible Nuggets game from last night in the price segment.
I mean, what a time to be a Nuggets fan,
to be a Denver sports fan. You've got the Broncos
on the come up, the Avs are still really competitive,
Rockies are rough, but maybe some brighter days around the corner,

(17:14):
honestly resulting from this being such a painful year. And
then you got the Denver Nuggets with one of the
greatest players of all time, and with a win on Sunday,
they'll be closer to cementing his legacy as one of
the greatest players of all time. Truly. I mean, we

(17:37):
see how national media tears down Jokich. Wow he's still playing,
and wow he's putting up Wilt Chamberlain Knight like numbers
on a nightly basis. Can you imagine how forgotten he'll
be ten years after he retires. How it's easily they'll
handwave his accomplishments. If he only has one ring, he

(17:59):
gets a second to go along with those three MVPs.
Forget the MVP that's probably going to Shay. He gets
another ring to go along with the three MVPs. It
would complete a five year run where every single year
he's either winning the individual MVP or a team championship.
That's something you can't just hand wave away, and it

(18:22):
would cement him as one of the fifteen greatest players ever.
The players on that list with multiple MVPs and finals
MVPs are Michael Jordan, Lebron, James, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar,
Larry Bird, and Bill Russell. Yogish would be the seventh

(18:44):
on that list. At that point, you're having top ten
debates about him. The top twenty discussion is over. It's
is he a top fifteen player of all time or
a top ten player of all time. One who wants
to drag him lower than that is out of their

(19:05):
dang mind. And I think you know, if you're a
Nuggets fan, you feel solid going into game seven. Game
seven is always winner take all. Okay, so he's got depths,
ag got banged up at the end of the game.
That's a huge factor, something to be worried about. But
the Nuggets have been the better team in each of
the last three games or four games rather now it's

(19:31):
depressing they only managed to win two of those games,
but that doesn't change the fact that they were the
better team for four games in a row. And you know,
if they end up having to go home, those blown
leads in Game four in Game five will loom large.
But they've outplayed the Thunder for the majority of the

(19:54):
last four contests. Game one, you know, the Nuggets won it,
the Thunder were the better team. Game two, Thunder blowout,
clearly the better team. But games three, Games four, Games five,
now Game six, but all of those the Nuggets were
the superior team in they go two and two. Again,
you want them to do better than that, but that's

(20:17):
incredibly meaningful. They seem to have to an extent cracked
the Thunder, and the Thunder's youth and inexperience keeps popping up.
The Nuggets have to finish the job, and you know,
being tired because of how limited their rotation is was
a factor in them blowing those fourth quarter leads. But

(20:38):
they've proven even going into Oka See they can control
that floor. So this game seven figures to be incredibly exciting,
incredibly meaningful for the legacies of everyone involved, and should
also just be a great game. But I think Nuggets
Nation should generally feel pretty confident going into it. Now.

(21:00):
You might have missed it yesterday because of the Nuggets game,
but I dropped an article a new article on AOA
colorado dot com. Make sure you go check it out
about the Denver Broncos and the twenty twenty five schedule release.
I ranked the six must listen to. I'll say games
of the season. Coming in at number six, I've got

(21:25):
the New York Giants coming to town. Now the face value,
it's the New York Giants. They're tied for the lowest
projected win total in the league at five and a half.
They figured to be a pretty low wattage team. Why
do they crack the top six? Why are they in
the upper third of Broncos games this year the most

(21:46):
anticipated because of the Russell Wilson revenge factor. We never
got to see it last year, lots of talk all
off season, what's gonna happen Peyton versus Russell Wilson. It
never came to fruition because of the CAF injury. This
time around will likely finally get that Peyton versus Russell
Wilson matchup, and it should be a dang good one.

(22:07):
I am very excited to see that because, in case
you forgot, we saw those two sides really sparring through
the media, out in public over several months of that
twenty twenty four offseason. I'm sure both and rightfully so,
both probably have some animosity towards the other. I think

(22:31):
we get maybe the best version of both, the best
version of Peyton for that game, the best version of
Russ for that game. Unfortunately for Russ, he's going to
be going against an unbelievable defense, and I imagine some
of those defenders would also like to take down their
former starting quarterback. So I think the revenge aspect of
that one makes it very exciting, potentially very therapeutic, with

(22:53):
it happening in front of Bronco's country to cracks the
listed number six five here I went with Broncos at
Raiders in week fourteen. Now, that final stretch for the
Broncos is a doozy. It is a brutal stretch to
close the season. Over the final seven games, the Broncos

(23:19):
played the Chiefs twice, the Commanders, the Raiders, the Packers,
the Jaguars, and the Chargers. The only teams that didn't
make the playoffs last season in that bunch are the
Raiders and the Jags, and both figure to be much
much improved in twenty twenty five. There's not a gimme

(23:41):
down the stretch there for the Broncos, which is quite
different from last season when Denver put themselves in commanding
control of the final wild card spot with a pretty
easy schedule down the stretch. They won't have that this year.
They're going to have to close with strong play through
December and through January. Nonetheless, the Raiders should be one

(24:04):
of the weaker opponents on that slate. If the Broncos
are going to make the playoffs, they're going to have
to take advantage of those easier opponents when they come
and this won't be an easy spot for them to
do so. Late in the season. You figure Pete Carroll's
got his version of the Raiders rolling, and that game's

(24:24):
in Vegas right after the Broncos have a brutal Sunday
night matchup against the Washington Commanders. It's a huge trap
game opportunity, and the Broncos cannot afford to fall victim
to that trap. Of course, you also have the Broncos
Raiders' rivalry angle. We'll get to see the new look
Raiders with Ashton Gentgeno Smith Pete Carroll running the show.

(24:47):
As a result, that comes in at number five, number four,
I went with the game that's going to lead right
into that Raiders matchup with the Washington Commanders in Week
thirteen Sunday Night Football. This is the bow Knicks Versus
Jade Daniels game. Two best rookie quarterbacks from a season ago.

(25:07):
Both had their teams load up around them this offseason.
Both are primed for big sophomore Leaps who is going
to reign supreme In the first meeting of these quarterbacks.
It might be the first of many who takes that
opening lead. Another little angle to this. The last year

(25:28):
both these guys were in college, twenty twenty three, Jayden
Daniels won the Heisman with bow Nicks as a Heisman
finalist again, Nicks hasn't gotten the chance to play Daniels
and maybe settle whatever competitive rivalry might be there on
the field. Lost hardware to him twice with the Heisman
and then the offensive Rookie of the Year. Maybe he

(25:48):
exacts some revenge come week thirteen. Of course, you also
have the coaching angle there. Broncos hired Sean Payton, but
as our very own Benjamin has reported consistently, dan Quinn
was regularly a finalist for that job and at points
even considered the shoe in to replace Nathaniel Hackett, and

(26:11):
was one of the front runners to replace Vick Fangio
when that move was made too. He has a very
great relationship with George Payton now right now, both sides
are happy. But dan Quinn's going to have a little
opportunity to maybe show the Broncos why he should have
been the choice at not Sean Payton. I meanwhile, Peyton's
going to have the opportunity to demonstrate why the Broncos

(26:31):
made the right call. I think that's another little intriguing
subplot to this game. Even though the high end young
quarterback battle is going to be what grabs all the
headlines at number three. Here, I've got the Denver Broncos
week for Monday night football matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. Now,

(26:54):
I'm honestly surprised this one isn't higher, But the Broncos
schedule slate is. I think just that good. You've got
a lot of exciting games. Helps that the team is
so exciting now, But I think Bengals Broncos should be
a great game. It was one of the games of
last season, even though the Broncos came up just short.
You know, a thrilling overtime shootout. Saw some of the
best of Bo Nicks in that game, some of the

(27:15):
best of Joe Burrow and t Higgins and that incredible
supporting cast Jamar Chase versus Patrick's Ertan. That is a
matchup that you know, you could just watch on Loop
twenty four to seven, three sixty five. It's so dang good.
And with the Bengals keeping that offense intact not really
doing much to the defense, this one projects to also

(27:37):
be a pretty exciting shootout. And who doesn't love a
good old fashioned shootout. Make it matters even better, it's
on Monday Night football. It's going to be a primetime game.
We saw what that atmosphere was like for the Broncos
Browns game on Monday Night Football last season. I'm sure
this one will be excellent too. Can't wait to see
that matchup. Adding to the must watch nature, must listen

(28:02):
nature of that game is the fact that these are
likely to be two of the AFC's wildcard teams. Now,
of course, the Bengals are going to try and win
that division crown, as will the Broncos, but the Chiefs
are currently heavy favorites in the AFC West, and the
Baltimore Ravens are the heaviest favorites of any of the
division front runners in the AFC to win their division.

(28:22):
As a result, the Bengals and Broncos might find themselves
as two of the teams battling over three wildcard spots
in a very crowded AFC. The Jags the Colts also
figure to be battling for those spots right The Steelers
are always in the wildcard hunt. The Patriots are expecting
to make a play there. The Dolphins seemingly if they
don't make the playoffs, they're going to be out of

(28:43):
jobs next year, so you know they're going to be
in the hunt. And then, of course you've got the
Chargers in the Broncos own division, and hey, Pete Carroll's
not going to be here for long. He's going all
in right now. He wants to make the playoffs. So
you're going to have a lot of teams competing over
just three spots. Every little tiebreaker is going to matter

(29:04):
down the stretch. Can the Broncos take advantage of a
Bengals team that typically starts the season slow in Week
four on prime time to put themselves in great position
early to earn a spot in the playoffs. Next up
here you have the Week eighteen home matchup with the

(29:25):
Los Angeles Chargers. These top two, you really could have
flipped them either way. It's so dang close, but the
Chargers game falls in second through no fault of its own.
Unlike last year's Week eighteen game. Both teams will likely
be playing for something here, whether it be the division title,

(29:45):
wild card spot, or even just playoff seeding and positioning,
and what that first round matchup will be beyond that.
Of course, the Chargers are hated division rival and one
that's gotten the better of the Broncos under Sean Payden's reign,
Peyden has given the Chiefs a great run for their money.

(30:06):
Chargers swept him last year. You imagine he doesn't want
that happening against Jim Harbaugh guy he had a bit
of an NFC rivalry with last decade. Not only will
Peydon want to even things up, but the Broncos will too,
as again, these are two teams likely to be jocking
for wild card position in the AFC and potentially an

(30:28):
AFC West crown. The Chiefs are widely expected to fall
back to the pack a little this year, and even
if they remain AFC West favorites, the Broncos and Chargers
are nipping at their heels and now could be the
time to make a push for first place in the
AFC West. With the Broncos playing the Kansas City Chiefs

(30:50):
in Week seventeen. Also, there's a great chance that these
are the last two teams standing. At the very least,
the Broncos will have control of their own destiny in
that regard. Speaking of that Week seventeen Christmas Day, prime
time Thursday night matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, we've
got that game coming in at number one on the list,

(31:12):
and was there ever any doubt, Could there be any doubt?
This has to be the most anticipated game, the most
exciting game on the Denver Broncos twenty twenty five slate
for starters. You've got the Broncos returning to Arrowhead, trying
to rectify the game that was robbed from them on
the blocked kick the Alex forsythe game. You know that

(31:34):
lostung these players, and you know they're going to want
to get it back. Beyond that, this is going to
be the Broncos last opportunity to make up ground, maybe
even win a tiebreaker against the Chiefs as they jockey
for playoff positioning and more likely battle for the AFC
West Crown. This game also comes on Christmas Day, which

(31:55):
it's only recently become an NFL holiday, but it's quickly
becoming one of the most watched days on the NFL calendar.
This is probably the most watched Broncos game of the
entire season, even more than playoff games unless the Broncos
advance all the way to the Super Bowl. That makes
this bo nix in the Denver Broncos' best opportunity to

(32:16):
announce their presence to the NFL landscape and demonstrate that, Hey,
you know, this might have been the Chiefs Conference for
a while, this might have been the Chief's Division for
a while, but there's a new, up and coming squad
that is ready to compete in a loaded AFC. One

(32:37):
last scheduling note, I want to hit on quick. Outside
of those you know, highly anticipated games, I've seen a
lot of Broncos country worried about the travel coming back
from London and not having that immediate bye week. I
don't think you should be worried about that. I think
you should be glad it broke down that way. The
New York Giants are tied with the Tennessee Titans with

(32:58):
five and a half projected wins. They're expected to be
jocking for the first overall pick in the draft. One
of the worst teams in football. You don't need to
waste a bye week getting ready for that game. You
might need a bye week getting ready for the Week
thirteen battle with the Washington Commanders, and that's when the
Broncos have it. Their bye week also falls almost directly

(33:18):
in the middle point between Week one and the bye
week that falls the conference championships. If this team wants
to make a contending run, The buy couldn't be more
perfectly set up. Now they'll need to watch out for
jet lag, but I think that's a favorable way for
the schedule to break for them. Speaking of some things

(33:40):
in the National Football League, you might have to watch
out for the San Francisco forty nine ers and Brock
Purdy agreed to a new contract this year. How is
that going to affect the Denver Broncos because it should
have a pretty big effect on them. And well, who's
did the Denver Broncos make today? They overhauled some things
in their organize and it should have some pretty big

(34:02):
effects on the field. What moves did they make? And
how will that bronc pretty contract impact them. We'll look
at that after the break with more Broncos Country tonight
on KOA A fifty AM ninety four one FM.