Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Entry tonight.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
I am film Alani filling in for Benjamin Albright, hanging
out here is studio with my good friend Nick Ferguson.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Nick. How are you doing, sir?
Speaker 3 (00:08):
I'm doing well, Phil.
Speaker 4 (00:09):
I'm glad that you have on a polo collar shirt.
Usually the guy to my right dresses in all black.
But yeah, man, it's good to have you back in.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hey light blue shirt at summertime. You know, it's you
gotta keep things light a little, you know.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
Well, I mean Ben tries to keep things light, but
sometimes he doesn't do it as well because I've been
giving him some crap about this silk and windhound.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
See do you know, okay, fill me in.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
So silk and wind hound is somewhat of a grey
home type dog and it has very long hair. And
once a couple of weeks ago, Ben was saying that
he was going to get a silken wind hound, which
I had no idea what that is.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
But that tells you how light Ben likes to keep things.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
That's what the conversation went.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Hey, this is technically the slowest sports week of the
entire year. You know, when the MLB goes to the
All Star break, it's sort of supposed to be all quiet,
but today quite a bit of news around the NFL
and including right here in Denver where a second round
pick running back RJ. Harvey reportedly agreeing to a deal,
a four year deal, our friend Mike Cliss reporting north
(01:25):
of seven million dollars Nick. And this of course happening
just as Broncos rookies report to training camp. So a
good deal to get this thing done before too much
football gets underway.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Yeah, it was very, in my opinion, very vital and
important to make sure that RJ.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Harvey was in training camp.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
And once again, let's be totally honest, this was one
of those contract disputes where we're talking about a large
amount of money. A lot of the second round picks
want more of the guaranteed money. Now they're not going
to get guaranteed money like a proven event.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Like a TJ. Watt issue received from the Stellers.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
But I can understand knowing the nature of the football
and how it works out the business of football more importantly,
and then being a running back, a position that has
been devalued over the years. So I'm all for RG
Harvey getting his money. But here's the best part about it.
When the Broncos start camp, he's going to be in uniform.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Yeah, I mean we know that all too well around here.
Looking at a guy like Joontay Williams. He comes in,
has a great rookie year. You think this guy's gonna
become a you know, one of the faces of the team.
He's gonna be his bright star in the NFL. One
injury later, and you know, all of a sudden, you're
out the door and now.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
He's in Dallas.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Exactly. It just changes, yeah, exactly. So whenever you have
any leverage as a player, you got to take advantage
of it. And look, this happens a lot where one
team out there or a couple of players will fight
for something and they'll get it from a team and
then everybody else.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Is like, okay, we gotta do it with that. What
happened there.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
So this was the case with a lot of second
round picks here trying to get more guarant heed money
in that third year of their deal. Mike Cliss reporting
that Harvey is getting forty seven point seven percent guaranteed
in year three of the deal. So yeah, this is
a good deal for Harvey. Get your money, get it done,
(03:16):
and now let's focus on football, and look, the Broncos
are going to rely a lot on Harvey. I mean,
he might be a rookie coming in here, but there's
some decent expectations for this guy to come in and
play right away.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
Well, those expectations sore because the Broncos, I guess.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
They underachieved from the run game last year.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
And I know Javonte Williams is no longer here took
the brunt of that and people criticized him, but I
watched these games. It wasn't solely his fault. But when
the team is not performing well from that position, you
just say, Okay.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Well he didn't do his job.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
But when you look at the fact with bo Nicks,
you know, I think he had an extraordinary rookie year.
And when you look at the average number of attempts
per game, I mean that means, hey, you know, the
head coach offensive coordinator wants play quarterback, right He's like
a surgeon. Surgeons want to cut, so those guys want
to throw the ball. So that kind of nullified what
(04:14):
the Broncos gonna do from a running standpoint.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
But I mean, even with the running backs that the.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Broncos have still it was just kind of not where
they needed to. Here's the reason why they have RJ.
Harvey and JK. Dobbins on his roster. So as you say, well,
what's gonna happen, You're gonna see both of those guys
get a bulk of the carries. Now we have to
wait to see in training camp which guy emerges as
(04:39):
RB one. But the question becomes what happens to all
just guessimate? How does he fit into this?
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Hold the question, Oh yeah, I mean that's an interesting deal,
right because he is. He comes on, has a couple
of nice moments. This happens a lot with some guys
where they have a couple of nice moments, maybe they burst,
you know, onto the scene training camp, they have a
couple of nice they do something in a preseason game,
people expect a lot out of him, and then for
whatever reason, they just don't get that playing time Nick,
(05:07):
And then you know, estimate what he was inactive for
that Buffalo Bills game in the playoffs, and you're like, wow,
what's going on there?
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Man?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I'll tell you this, Nick, and you know this as
a former player. Whenever they go out in the offseason
and bring in a bunch of guys at your position.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
That's not a good side for you.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
No, it's not a good sign. But here's the thing
for Audrick Estime.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
If there could be a silver lining here, none of
these running backs were drafted in the first round.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
That's true, right, So now.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
The ideas we'll find out what kind of competitor Audi
Estimate is. But at the same time, it is not
totally in his hands because the coaches dictate who gets
what reps with the first team, and until the Broncos
get to I believe that Arizona game.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
I think it's gonna be a joint practice.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
I'm not sure, but we have to wait till we
get to the joint practice to truly tell who is
going to be that guy where Audre Estumy is. And
the reason I say that is because the NFL is
not what it used to be.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Based on the collective bar in agreement.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
The guys wanted less practice times, so that means less contact. Now,
I don't know how you prepare for a contact sport
by not having contact.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Please explain that to me.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
It's hard because he's not going to get those reps
and so whenever he's out there he's gonna do something.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
And that's the hardest part because when you look at
a script and they just say it's broken down into
like twenty plays, right, first team five sec a team
five and then they go four to three whatever. How
many plays are you actually getting in a given practice.
In the plays that you're in, it may not be
a run play. You can be pass protected. Yeah, exactly.
(06:53):
So how when George Peyton and the scouts and the
coaches go upstairs after the practice and watch, what are
we evaluating?
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:02):
I can evaluate they didn't give you the ball.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
Yeah, So it makes it a little difficult for Audi
guestimate and all the backs that are behind him.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Yeah. But you know, talking about R. J. Harvey here
with JK.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Dobbins, that is going to be interesting to see how
they use those guys. Because Dobbins, when he's been healthy,
he's been pretty good. You know, but that's the key
word is when he's healthy. You know, last year for
the Chargers, he was having a great season. You know,
misses some time there, and you know, now he's with
the Broncos, So you know, I do think that at
some point in the season you have to just sort
(07:34):
of assume that maybe Dobbins is going to be unavailable
and then it's going to be all on Harvey.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
I think for me, you know, Phil, it starts right
now because even though knowings though the Broncos have a
stable of running backs, the idea is that what you
said is very important.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
JK.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
Dobbins has had it, you know, health issues, yeah, right,
but he's still the hell of a player. He can
want it, you can catch it. This is where now
you take care of him in practice, right, So like
when I played with Mike Shanahan, he would give vet days,
so there was a two day practice, even though there's
no true two day practice. Now, maybe coach Payton would
(08:15):
give him a VET day.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
I don't know on that day.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
I know it's different because he's old school. But at
the same time, you.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Gotta think, why did you bring JK. Dobbs in here? Right?
Speaker 4 (08:27):
It's sort of like a philosophy that I saw both
Mike Shanahan and Kyle Shanahan do have.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
A stable of running backs. Let them do it out
in training camp, and.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
Then you know, because it's a long season, not sixteen
weeks anymore, it's seventeen weeks, you're gonna need every single
runner back. So maybe you take a little off JK.
Dobbins because you won him fresh for week one, Right,
and then this gives all the other running backs, you know,
the day chance is it Beday or which one?
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Now?
Speaker 4 (08:59):
Because you know he changes his name like a donot
box in a windstorm.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
If it were me, I'd say, I'm bad.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
I'll tell you Maddie Beday, whatever it is. And then
you have an estimate.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
And I mean, Juli McLoughlin, I mean for me, if
coach Peyton gives those running backs some days off or
reps off, that's an opportunity for you to showcase what
you can do.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, And to me, Jaleel brings something that those other
guys don't have. He's got that extra gear, that little
burst where he you know, he did this last year
where he caught the ball in the flat there and
a couple of times it was just a sprint to
that pyelone and more often than that he made it.
You know, he got an end zone where I was like,
there's no chance.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
See and back in high school Miami, my coach would
call that a scatback or jitterbug.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Right.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
You need a guy who once you get him in space.
He is quick, he's elusive. He may not be as
big as you want, but his ability to make himself smaller,
and I know that goes not saying because he's not
a large man, but reduce the contact surface. That's something
about Jelil McLoughlin that I've enjoyed and I've been impressed
(10:08):
with him since he's been in the Broncos uniform.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Yeah, he's got that, and he's got the work ethic
in the mindset, you know, Jalil's a great guy.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
I love Jalils.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
So yeah, it's going to be an interesting competition.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
At that running back spot, you know.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
And I think that we all know that Rji Harvey
can run the ball, right. He had a lot of
playing time there at Central Florida, what twenty two touchdowns
last year, sixteen touchdowns a year before that, so he's
played quite a bit of football. Here's my question, though, Nick,
how hard is it going to be for him to
learn the other parts of playing that position, the pass protection,
(10:44):
catching the ball out of the backfield in Champagne's offense.
How much of that is going to be a learning
experience for him at the NFL level.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
I mean, it's all going to be a learning experience.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
But once again, I mean you talk about a skill
set that he's coming and with, and let's not forget
I mean RJ. Harvey was once a quarterback before he
played running back, so he's familiar with ball security, right,
and he knows being a running back, you gotta have
ball security. And I can tell you this, Sean Payton
knows this because both of us are quite familiar with
(11:15):
Bill Parcells. If you have a running back who puts
the ball on the turf, he's no longer your running back.
He's usually someone else's running back, right, So he's going
to have that president of mind. And don't be surprised,
Brocco's country that if we don't see a couple of
plays maybe tested on training camp of preseason where RJ.
Harvey lines up at the quarterback position for kind of
(11:36):
like one of those design runs where we saw in
the New Orleans game that Bow kind of rushed for
like sixty five yards.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Or something like that.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
We can see Harvey do that.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
Now, the evolution to that would be if he can
pass the ball. Now, that would give the Broncos offense
a different wrinkle that none of the running backs have
and once again, that's how you make yourself valuable to
an organization.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Is that asking too much of a rookie though.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
No, it's listen, man, Phil in the game of the NFL.
And I will say this about any of the job,
it's the more you can do right, the more you
can do that keeps you on the field, it keeps
you producing, and most importantly, it keeps.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
You around job security.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
There you go, yes, exactly, So this is gonna be
really interesting. But far as picking up on some of
the other things as far as the blocking, right, that's
a huge part of the Broncos offense that uh Javonte
Williams supply last year regards you can said whatever you.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Want to say about my game or whatever.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
He did an excellent job stepping up there blocking for
bon Nick. So these running backs, no matter whomever it is,
you're gonna have to do that because Jared Stenham is
a backup and I don't know too many people in
Broncos country that want to see him right away.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
I want to see him right away, exactly.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
I mean, if you're Harvey and you're back there, you
miss the blitz ferk up and your star quarterback gets hit,
that's you're gonna be off the field.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
You know his one.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
He's gonna be really interesting. It's funny as I was
thinking about it, if you miss a block and it's
bow behind you, you need the first your first thought,
you're gonna look to see it.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Bo's okay. The next person you're gonna look at as
a head coach.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
Now, let's just say if Stidham is a quarterback and
you miss the block, whatever, it's fine. You know no, no, no, no,
say it on Stidham. But we know this is how
it works.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
So do you think a rookie running back can come
in and play all three downs right away?
Speaker 3 (13:36):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (13:37):
Running backs now are different than what they were years ago.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
Right now.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
I can't say this about every single back, but it
depends on what system you're coming out of. What is
the level of responsibilities they gave you on the collegiate level.
This is why you know more more players needs from
a running back standpoint, need to work on those fundamentals.
And when you're when you're blocking, you have to know, okay,
well where's the blister coming from? Where's the extra guy?
(14:05):
And nine times out of ten is usually the a
and bcapp. Sometimes it may come off the edge, but
if they come off the edge, you have time.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
So this is why some running backs like.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
To wear shields so you can't see their eyes scanning.
And sometimes as a defender, you can tell a scary
running back when you look into his face and he's
just kind of constantly check it. But stepping up, you know,
come into balance with both feet and using your hands.
And sometimes if you go back and watch tape, some guys,
(14:34):
upon contact, the first thing they do, just like a
defender tackling, drop their head. If you drop your head,
you can't see the guy that you're blocking. So the
ideas when you see you know who you're gonna block,
identify that guy and then right away say okay, when
I step to him, where do I want to make contact?
Am I hitting him in his chest? Or I'm trying
to hit somewhere else? Because that rusher is trying to
(14:57):
go half a man because he's trying most like he's
trying to swim.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Now, if you watch.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
Film Phil, you can catch him, you know, fake at him,
let him swim and then dumping or worst case for
a defender, you get a helmet right in your chin,
that's a certified concussion buddy certified. No, I can't because
you know what, when when I play in Larry Coy's defense,
(15:24):
they rarely blitz me.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
So I can't. You would have to ask John Lynch
about that because he blitsed the most.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
But what is it like when you did have that
opportunity where you like just licking your chops.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
Yeah, because the thing is once again, because they never
blitched me that much. Understanding what the blocking scheme is
for the opposing team, do they block down, how do
they count you in the count or not?
Speaker 3 (15:46):
But for me, anytime.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
I did blitz, they never count me, even if I'm
lining up in the AARB gap because I never come,
which is a surprise to them when I actually do.
So you have to watch the opposing team, watch how
a guy's blocking, especially if he's a tackle of guard
or running back, and if he may be a guy
that you can fake like you're gonna swim and just
(16:08):
just bull him and put him back into a quarterback.
And for me, that works a lot with a lot
of running backs, even veteran running backs, because they're not
really thinking about those guys are thinking that since you
may not blitz that often that you don't know or
you don't have a lot of move This is why
in training, in training camp, you have to drill this right,
(16:30):
which brings us back to what we're talking about contact.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Yeah, you're gonna have it in the game.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
And if you don't practice it once you get one
of these defenders coming, you know, blitzing, they're not gonna
know what to do and then they're gonna get concussed.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Yeah, yeah, you gotta you gotta practice the game situations.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
Now.
Speaker 4 (16:49):
I don't think the Bronco is gonna have any problems
with Jones and Lufunga because those two guys they know
how to blitz.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Yeah, is crazy.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
I mean, look, man, a coach once told me to
play this game and play the safety position, you gotta
have a little a hole in you. Yeah, you gotta
have a bunch of scruzles because they're gonna ask you
to do things from twelve to fourteen that most people
can't or would be unwilling to do.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Yeah, you gotta have absolutely no fear when you step
on that field.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Yeah. Look, man, earlier on in my career, even later
on my career, my motto was if something happens to me.
I want it to be where they have to take
me off the field, like like those Spartans take me
off on my shield.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
It was that type of mentality.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
But that's the mentality that you have to have at
the safety position, and that's what we're going to see
with the Broncos through safeties this year.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Okay, before we take a break here, what would be
a good season for Harvey?
Speaker 1 (17:49):
How many yards?
Speaker 4 (17:51):
Ooh? More than well, he's gonna be splitting carries if
he's able to get to six twenty five.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Ooh, that's good.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
You think that's good? Okay, of course, Okay, one thousand
is out of the question. That used to be sort
of like a good mark for like a.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Great running again, but you're going to be splitting carry.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Now, if you get two running backs doing that, that
would be great.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
But here's the problem.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
That means Sean Payton's guy bo nicks his let's touches
for him.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
That's less touches and Sean, no, that's not how this works.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
But maybe that means you're playing with the lead a
little bit more. Maybe, you know, maybe you're setting the
tone a little bit more with the running game.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
If that is the case, Phil, Sign me up.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
That's what you're looking for.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Sign me up?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
All right, All right, Well, we'll see what happens here
is the Broncos rookies have reported for training camp here,
but we're gonna take a quick break.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
When we come back.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
We're gonna talk a little bit about Courtland Sutton and
his his perception around the NFL. That's next on Broncos
Country tonight, hanging out in studio with Nick Ferguson. Nick,
let's talk about Courtland setting in these Broncos wide receivers
for a little bit. We spent the last segment talking
(19:06):
r J Harvey and saying, hey, the more times the
Bronco's hand the ball off, that's less opportunity for bow
Knicks to let that thing rep And you expect another
big season here from Cortland Sutton.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
Well, yeah, I'm expecting a big season for Cortland and
it may not look the same way that we may anticipate.
And the reason I say that just kind of look
at the addition. I mean, Evan Ingram is here for
a particular reason. He's going to be for me, that
short yardish guy when Bowl is out on the perimeter,
which I think. I felt as though Bowl was one
(19:42):
of the better quarterbacks in the league last year throwing
on a move. But now you have a kind of
first down outlet, sort of like what Patrick Mahomes has
with Travis Kelcey, and you hope that it develops in
that particular way where Evan Ingram becomes that reliable. But
because of that, that's gonna take a couple of targets
away from Courtland sudden, And when you think about it,
(20:03):
you say, Okay, well, is it ever going to be
more of a third down threat or red zone threat
for me?
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Both of those.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
Guys, You're gonna need to utilize balance to make sure
that you keep opposing defenses, honest. So I'm expecting both
of those guys to at least starting out having like
five red zone touchdowns.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
And for Courtland, when you think about the league.
Speaker 4 (20:28):
And I was reading something earlier, and it's thirty two teams,
so I think Courtland, let me take a look at this,
and I think Courtland. They have Courtland listed near you know,
the bottom as far as rating wide receivers, like Courtland
has listed to thirty one of the thirty two teams
is Pro Football Focus and they put it into tiers, right,
(20:51):
and where he is is Tier six. So where he's listed,
you have Deebo Samuel at thirty, Coughtland at thirty one,
and Jamison Williams from Detroit Lions at thirty two. Now
do I agree with that, No, But I understand why
they put those numbers there because there's some talented.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Wide receivers in this league.
Speaker 4 (21:11):
And do I view calling as a Tier six wide receiver.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
No, I don't.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
But there's certain things that I would like to see
in this Broncos offense this year that I did see
last year. Because to give you an idea of what
I'm talking about, I knew just knowing defense, right, when
Corlin Sutton has moved inside the numbers and he has
a minus split, right, there's only so many routes that
(21:38):
you can run.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
And the biggest route that he ran last year was
a deep over route.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
And I could never figure out why opposing defense didn't
figure out all that defender on the opposite side. He
didn't drop back, but through excellent game planning and scheme,
they were able to pull that opposite defender by putting
someone in the flat. But to me, I said, what
that that's a problem. Let's do a couple of things different.
What I mean by that getting three x one formation,
(22:05):
Put Courland backside by himself. Let the big guy work,
work the back, show the throws, work the fifty to
fifty balls.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
He's a large wide recess, that's what he is. Yes,
give him some opportunities.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
Now if things change in the scheme of the play calling, yes,
calling something numbers go up. Because last year he was
a little over a thousand yards last season, I believe
that he can go a little higher than that this year.
That all depends on the scheme in the play calling.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Yeah, I think what this is the eighth season here
for Corland Sutton. I think at this point we kind
of know what were what they expect.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
From him, right.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
He is that big body, wide receiver. He's gonna go
up and get those tough catches. He's that deep ball thread,
you know, and he's a guy that both can look
for on the third down if he's, you know, in trouble,
he could throw it up to Corlan Sutton and trust
him to come down with it. That's sort of what
Corland Sutton is now. I think that we know he's
(23:03):
not always going to be that guy who can you
run a crazy sharp route and break away from the
defender and be wide open. That's just like not sort
of what he is. And I don't know why do
you think it is that Corland doesn't get that respect
around the league.
Speaker 4 (23:18):
Well, it has to do with the number of targets
and where those targets come from as far as based
on field position.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Right, those things.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
Are key because as defenders, we know, okay, well on
first down there, especially after a certain change, teams are
thinking about taking a shot. Now, Carlin is not the
fastest receivers on the Broncos roster, but he still can
go yeah, So you're not going to look to him
right away because of that, and I think that's why
when individuals evaluating him, they look at him in that
(23:49):
way and then you look at Okay, when go to situations,
go to situations.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
Is he the go to guy? Now?
Speaker 4 (23:56):
You may say, well, he's a go to guy maybe
by default because you had some young receivers, guys who
are still working their way into understanding this offense. But
you want to be a go to receivers like AJ
Brown is with Philadelphia, right, and when we in a
tight spot, that's where we're going. It's sort of like
if you watch any of the Colorado Buffalo's games of
(24:18):
the last two years, you.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Knew where twelve was going. Yeah, you knew where was
going in the tight situation.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
He was finding Travis Hunter, right, And that's what I
expect callting the kind of treatment for calling to get
into this offense.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Yeah, it's started interesting.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
They just he's like, he's made some incredible plays over
the years, you know, like I think back to that
Buffalo game a few years ago where Rush just threw
it up to him and he's tiptoeing on the side.
I mean, he makes those kind of plays, but for
whatever reason, around the league, he's just like not thought
of as like one of those elite guys.
Speaker 4 (24:54):
And once again, the reason he's not because when you
look at some of the other receivers that are around
the league and how many targets that they received and
the big catches in primetime games, all of a sudden,
in my opinions, capable of doing those things. I'm glad
you brought up the catch that rushed through to him,
you know, got his feet up, bounced. He is capable
(25:17):
of doing so many different things. The ideas trust him,
trust him until he does something where you feel as
though you can't trust him anymore. Right, but you got
to maximize your wide receivers, your big time wide receivers
in that particular way.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Yeah, one hundred and thirty five targets last year for Courtland,
that's the most of his career, eighty one receptions, most
of his career, touchdowns eight second most of his career.
So he had a great year last year relative to
the rest of his career. So you know, another thing
is that Courtland has been relying on whoever's playing quarterback
(25:52):
back there. So now he's got Bo. Second year with Bo,
you expect those numbers, Steven go go up another notch.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Well, the reason for me because is watching Bow and
it bugs the hell out of me because so many
people want quarterbacks to play from the pocket, and it's like, well,
he has to show that he can make plays from
the pocket. I'm like, that's as old school as it comes.
That that's our very arcadic When you look at Lamar Jackson,
(26:20):
where's he making plays, Josh Allen, where's he making plays?
Kyler Murray on the perimeter. Because it's so difficult to
defend guys. When those quarterbacks escape the pocket, the linebacker's
got to think, Okay, well I'm i gonna stand in coverage.
I'm gonna run and go get the quarterback. If you
come to get the quarterback, now I throw it. If
you don't, now you run with it. And utilizing BOE's
(26:41):
ability to make plays on a perimeter will work because
now you're getting the stuttering goes right, and I mean
corners a big wide receiver.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
If you can't go up.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
And get the ball on the fifty to fifty ball,
to me, that's a problem.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Yeah, what he does, that's what he does.
Speaker 4 (26:57):
He does so just like the running backs is thank you,
Elliott would often do you guys can't see me because
you're driving the car and I'm in the studio, But
just feed me when that guy is making plays. And
right now we're talking about Courtland, let's just say it's
Troy Franklin, which would be everyone would love feed that guy.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
Don't limit his receptions.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Okay, let me ask you this, where do you see Courtland?
What tier is he in?
Speaker 4 (27:26):
You know I would put or I'll say this Carling
could be in that tier three, tier two group, right,
I truly believe that.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
But it's based on.
Speaker 4 (27:39):
The big catches, right, and those big time games because look,
say what you want to say, Like we saw Jerry
Judy come here, and Jerry Judy had a game for
the ages as far as his career is concerned. When
you have games like that on primetime, when with the
primetime audience, that's how you get on the map. And
usually in a lot of primetime games, we see Cortland
(28:00):
and go out. He does well, but he doesn't have
that game where he's just kind of going crazy. Yeah,
think about Marvin MiBBs in a Cincinnati game.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
Yeah, he went crazy.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
Courland is capable of having those types of games.
Speaker 4 (28:13):
That's why I'm so excited about what this Broncos offense
could could be.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Okay, Okay, I'm going to go through a list of
guys here in just a second, and I want you
to tell me where Corland fits in. Hanging out with
Nick Ferguson during that little break there, we were talking
about this Broncos offense and you know, Nick, you want
to see more targets to Courland something, But there's only
(28:39):
one football and there's a lot of guys. Suddenly for
Bonnicks to distribute the ball.
Speaker 4 (28:44):
To listen, man, I've watched a lot of offensive teams
that have a lot of players, and he found ways
to distribute the ball.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
And usually that's kind of the excuse.
Speaker 4 (28:55):
Well, there's only one ball, yeah, just like in basketball
is one ball. But I mean, Nikole Yog's gonna shoot it,
Jamal Murr's gonna shoot it right, find a hot hand
and set them up. So for me, that's a problem
that you want to have and I'm not. I don't
subscribe to that one ball. We can't get everyone involved
because it's seventeen weeks. Other defensive groups are gonna watch
(29:19):
you from an offensive standpoint and try to take things away,
and it's gonna open it up for someone else this week,
like cold and may get off week one, Week two,
could be eving Ingram, Week three and four, it could
be JK. Dobbiz RJ Harvey. It doesn't make a difference.
It's just are you sticking to the script. Are you
willing to change? Are you stubborn? And you're just like,
(29:39):
I'm just gonna stick with this and somehow.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
Is gonna no. I mean, and when.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
You think about Philadelphia, they found a way to make
it work.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
When you think about kids, you need more guys. They
found a way to make it work.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
You want more guys, that's right, you want more guys,
not less guys.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Well, what Courtland is sort of the outlier here in
this room because you think about all these young guys,
Marvin Mems, Pat Bryan Detroit, Franklin, uh Von Bailey, they're
all young guys, and then all of a sudden, you
got Corlin Sutton here. He's sort of like the dad
lead in the group.
Speaker 4 (30:13):
Let's see if I'm Courtland, and even though we're teammates,
we're still competing your jobs. So he is at the
top of the heel right now. If you want it,
come get it. That's the way that we work defensively.
If you want it, come get it. And here's what
that may sound like, very arrogant, and it should, right,
(30:35):
But also that mentality is going to make everyone else
better because they're going to see Courland competing at a
high level, so they have to elevate their level of play,
which is going to make the defense have to elevate
their level play. And guess what now the Broncos in
the playoff again. Yeah, exactly, yes, it's that's simple.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Yeah, they need they need offensive weapons, and you know
that internal competition is only going to make everybody better.
So I'm interested, where do you think Courtland ranks here?
Because like for example, ESPN's done this list at each
position here over the last few days. Here just talking
about guys and where they rank, and it's like execs
(31:13):
and coaches and other players ranking these guys. Courtland Sutton
got some vote, he was in the category of also
receiving votes, but he wasn't in the top ten. He
wasn't honorable mention like for example, DK Metcalf was honorable mention.
Do you think that Courtland is in that same Is
(31:36):
he like a DK Metcalf.
Speaker 1 (31:38):
Or not quite?
Speaker 4 (31:40):
Yeah, he is based on size, and I would put
Courtland above DK because as long as DK's been in
this league, DK can't run every route on the road street.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
He can't.
Speaker 4 (31:54):
Right, he can run straight he can do that really well, yeah, right,
straight line speed. But it was quick out as quick slants,
the dig routes, all of those things, the comebacks where
you have to sink your hips and not have a
wastele step and come back to me.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
I give the edge to Courtland sudden.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
The only thing once again with Courtland is making his
mark in those big time games and the way you do.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
It that you have to be consistent.
Speaker 4 (32:19):
We're talking about multiple games where you're having over one
hundred yards or eighty yards or you're doing something and
everyone at home.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
Is going on out of my mind to just see
what he did.
Speaker 4 (32:30):
And we know that Courtland has the capability to track
the ball well in the air and pull down those
big catches.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
We just haven't seen them as much.
Speaker 4 (32:39):
As we've seen like a guy like Justin Jefferson or
Jamar Chase.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
But you think he's capable of that, say, because right
now the NFL is rich at the wide receiver position.
There's a lot of talent at that position. Like Jarrett
Wilson just got a huge deal. He's number ten on
this list. That Mike Evans is nine, Nico Collins, Malik
Neighbors Aman, the Ross, Saint Brown. I mean, there's a
(33:05):
lot of good guys and a lot of those guys.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
When you look at route running, the routes that they
are running, the targets that they are receiving, this.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
Is kind of why. And then when you look at
Courtland court.
Speaker 4 (33:17):
I think it's sixteenth this last year as far as yours,
But when you look at touchdowns, that's where they try
to measure wide receivers.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
I mean, he was ranked thirteen.
Speaker 4 (33:28):
Now if he can get that number up once again,
more people are talking about now he can take the
stums and point to the.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Name on the bat instead of the name on the front.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Yeah, that's what we'll see. I think PFF is way
off on that one there. Recorded they are clearly more
valuable than that. So excited to see what he does
this year for Bo Nicks and year two of that chemistry,
see how that continues to evolve. So we're going to
take a quick break here, but when we come back,
we'll talk about how another big extension out there in
(33:58):
the NFL with impact, what the Broncos do with Nick Padino.
That's next on Broncos Country tonight
Entry tonight.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
I am film Alani filling in for Benjamin Albright, hanging
out here is studio with my good friend Nick Ferguson.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Nick. How are you doing, sir?
Speaker 3 (00:08):
I'm doing well, Phil.
Speaker 4 (00:09):
I'm glad that you have on a polo collar shirt.
Usually the guy to my right dresses in all black.
But yeah, man, it's good to have you back in.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hey light blue shirt at summertime. You know, it's you
gotta keep things light a little, you know.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
Well, I mean Ben tries to keep things light, but
sometimes he doesn't do it as well because I've been
giving him some crap about this silk and windhound.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
See do you know, okay, fill me in.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
So silk and wind hound is somewhat of a grey
home type dog and it has very long hair. And
once a couple of weeks ago, Ben was saying that
he was going to get a silken wind hound, which
I had no idea what that is.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
But that tells you how light Ben likes to keep things.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
That's what the conversation went.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Hey, this is technically the slowest sports week of the
entire year. You know, when the MLB goes to the
All Star break, it's sort of supposed to be all quiet,
but today quite a bit of news around the NFL
and including right here in Denver where a second round
pick running back RJ. Harvey reportedly agreeing to a deal,
a four year deal, our friend Mike Cliss reporting north
(01:25):
of seven million dollars Nick. And this of course happening
just as Broncos rookies report to training camp. So a
good deal to get this thing done before too much
football gets underway.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Yeah, it was very, in my opinion, very vital and
important to make sure that RJ.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Harvey was in training camp.
Speaker 4 (01:44):
And once again, let's be totally honest, this was one
of those contract disputes where we're talking about a large
amount of money. A lot of the second round picks
want more of the guaranteed money. Now they're not going
to get guaranteed money like a proven event.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Like a TJ. Watt issue received from the Stellers.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
But I can understand knowing the nature of the football
and how it works out the business of football more importantly,
and then being a running back, a position that has
been devalued over the years. So I'm all for RG
Harvey getting his money. But here's the best part about it.
When the Broncos start camp, he's going to be in uniform.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Yeah, I mean we know that all too well around here.
Looking at a guy like Joontay Williams. He comes in,
has a great rookie year. You think this guy's gonna
become a you know, one of the faces of the team.
He's gonna be his bright star in the NFL. One
injury later, and you know, all of a sudden, you're
out the door and now.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
He's in Dallas.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Exactly. It just changes, yeah, exactly. So whenever you have
any leverage as a player, you got to take advantage
of it. And look, this happens a lot where one
team out there or a couple of players will fight
for something and they'll get it from a team and
then everybody else.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Is like, okay, we gotta do it with that. What
happened there.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
So this was the case with a lot of second
round picks here trying to get more guarant heed money
in that third year of their deal. Mike Cliss reporting
that Harvey is getting forty seven point seven percent guaranteed
in year three of the deal. So yeah, this is
a good deal for Harvey. Get your money, get it done,
(03:16):
and now let's focus on football, and look, the Broncos
are going to rely a lot on Harvey. I mean,
he might be a rookie coming in here, but there's
some decent expectations for this guy to come in and
play right away.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
Well, those expectations sore because the Broncos, I guess.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
They underachieved from the run game last year.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
And I know Javonte Williams is no longer here took
the brunt of that and people criticized him, but I
watched these games. It wasn't solely his fault. But when
the team is not performing well from that position, you
just say, Okay.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Well he didn't do his job.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
But when you look at the fact with bo Nicks,
you know, I think he had an extraordinary rookie year.
And when you look at the average number of attempts
per game, I mean that means, hey, you know, the
head coach offensive coordinator wants play quarterback, right He's like
a surgeon. Surgeons want to cut, so those guys want
to throw the ball. So that kind of nullified what
(04:14):
the Broncos gonna do from a running standpoint.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
But I mean, even with the running backs that the.
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Broncos have still it was just kind of not where
they needed to. Here's the reason why they have RJ.
Harvey and JK. Dobbins on his roster. So as you say, well,
what's gonna happen, You're gonna see both of those guys
get a bulk of the carries. Now we have to
wait to see in training camp which guy emerges as
(04:39):
RB one. But the question becomes what happens to all
just guessimate? How does he fit into this?
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Hold the question, Oh yeah, I mean that's an interesting deal,
right because he is. He comes on, has a couple
of nice moments. This happens a lot with some guys
where they have a couple of nice moments, maybe they burst,
you know, onto the scene training camp, they have a
couple of nice they do something in a preseason game,
people expect a lot out of him, and then for
whatever reason, they just don't get that playing time Nick,
(05:07):
And then you know, estimate what he was inactive for
that Buffalo Bills game in the playoffs, and you're like, wow,
what's going on there?
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Man?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I'll tell you this, Nick, and you know this as
a former player. Whenever they go out in the offseason
and bring in a bunch of guys at your position.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
That's not a good side for you.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
No, it's not a good sign. But here's the thing
for Audrick Estime.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
If there could be a silver lining here, none of
these running backs were drafted in the first round.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
That's true, right, So now.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
The ideas we'll find out what kind of competitor Audi
Estimate is. But at the same time, it is not
totally in his hands because the coaches dictate who gets
what reps with the first team, and until the Broncos
get to I believe that Arizona game.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
I think it's gonna be a joint practice.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
I'm not sure, but we have to wait till we
get to the joint practice to truly tell who is
going to be that guy where Audre Estumy is. And
the reason I say that is because the NFL is
not what it used to be.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Based on the collective bar in agreement.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
The guys wanted less practice times, so that means less contact. Now,
I don't know how you prepare for a contact sport
by not having contact.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Please explain that to me.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
It's hard because he's not going to get those reps
and so whenever he's out there he's gonna do something.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
And that's the hardest part because when you look at
a script and they just say it's broken down into
like twenty plays, right, first team five sec a team
five and then they go four to three whatever. How
many plays are you actually getting in a given practice.
In the plays that you're in, it may not be
a run play. You can be pass protected. Yeah, exactly.
(06:53):
So how when George Peyton and the scouts and the
coaches go upstairs after the practice and watch, what are
we evaluating?
Speaker 1 (07:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:02):
I can evaluate they didn't give you the ball.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
Yeah, So it makes it a little difficult for Audi
guestimate and all the backs that are behind him.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Yeah. But you know, talking about R. J. Harvey here
with JK.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
Dobbins, that is going to be interesting to see how
they use those guys. Because Dobbins, when he's been healthy,
he's been pretty good. You know, but that's the key
word is when he's healthy. You know, last year for
the Chargers, he was having a great season. You know,
misses some time there, and you know, now he's with
the Broncos, So you know, I do think that at
some point in the season you have to just sort
(07:34):
of assume that maybe Dobbins is going to be unavailable
and then it's going to be all on Harvey.
Speaker 4 (07:40):
I think for me, you know, Phil, it starts right
now because even though knowings though the Broncos have a
stable of running backs, the idea is that what you
said is very important.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
JK.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
Dobbins has had it, you know, health issues, yeah, right,
but he's still the hell of a player. He can
want it, you can catch it. This is where now
you take care of him in practice, right, So like
when I played with Mike Shanahan, he would give vet days,
so there was a two day practice, even though there's
no true two day practice. Now, maybe coach Payton would
(08:15):
give him a VET day.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
I don't know on that day.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
I know it's different because he's old school. But at
the same time, you.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Gotta think, why did you bring JK. Dobbs in here? Right?
Speaker 4 (08:27):
It's sort of like a philosophy that I saw both
Mike Shanahan and Kyle Shanahan do have.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
A stable of running backs. Let them do it out
in training camp, and.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
Then you know, because it's a long season, not sixteen
weeks anymore, it's seventeen weeks, you're gonna need every single
runner back. So maybe you take a little off JK.
Dobbins because you won him fresh for week one, Right,
and then this gives all the other running backs, you know,
the day chance is it Beday or which one?
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Now?
Speaker 4 (08:59):
Because you know he changes his name like a donot
box in a windstorm.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
If it were me, I'd say, I'm bad.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
I'll tell you Maddie Beday, whatever it is. And then
you have an estimate.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
And I mean, Juli McLoughlin, I mean for me, if
coach Peyton gives those running backs some days off or
reps off, that's an opportunity for you to showcase what
you can do.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, And to me, Jaleel brings something that those other
guys don't have. He's got that extra gear, that little
burst where he you know, he did this last year
where he caught the ball in the flat there and
a couple of times it was just a sprint to
that pyelone and more often than that he made it.
You know, he got an end zone where I was like,
there's no chance.
Speaker 4 (09:41):
See and back in high school Miami, my coach would
call that a scatback or jitterbug.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
Right.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
You need a guy who once you get him in space.
He is quick, he's elusive. He may not be as
big as you want, but his ability to make himself smaller,
and I know that goes not saying because he's not
a large man, but reduce the contact surface. That's something
about Jelil McLoughlin that I've enjoyed and I've been impressed
(10:08):
with him since he's been in the Broncos uniform.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
Yeah, he's got that, and he's got the work ethic
in the mindset, you know, Jalil's a great guy.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
I love Jalils.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
So yeah, it's going to be an interesting competition.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
At that running back spot, you know.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
And I think that we all know that Rji Harvey
can run the ball, right. He had a lot of
playing time there at Central Florida, what twenty two touchdowns
last year, sixteen touchdowns a year before that, so he's
played quite a bit of football. Here's my question, though, Nick,
how hard is it going to be for him to
learn the other parts of playing that position, the pass protection,
(10:44):
catching the ball out of the backfield in Champagne's offense.
How much of that is going to be a learning
experience for him at the NFL level.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
I mean, it's all going to be a learning experience.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
But once again, I mean you talk about a skill
set that he's coming and with, and let's not forget
I mean RJ. Harvey was once a quarterback before he
played running back, so he's familiar with ball security, right,
and he knows being a running back, you gotta have
ball security. And I can tell you this, Sean Payton
knows this because both of us are quite familiar with
(11:15):
Bill Parcells. If you have a running back who puts
the ball on the turf, he's no longer your running back.
He's usually someone else's running back, right, So he's going
to have that president of mind. And don't be surprised,
Brocco's country that if we don't see a couple of
plays maybe tested on training camp of preseason where RJ.
Harvey lines up at the quarterback position for kind of
(11:36):
like one of those design runs where we saw in
the New Orleans game that Bow kind of rushed for
like sixty five yards.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Or something like that.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
We can see Harvey do that.
Speaker 4 (11:45):
Now, the evolution to that would be if he can
pass the ball. Now, that would give the Broncos offense
a different wrinkle that none of the running backs have
and once again, that's how you make yourself valuable to
an organization.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Is that asking too much of a rookie though.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
No, it's listen, man, Phil in the game of the NFL.
And I will say this about any of the job,
it's the more you can do right, the more you
can do that keeps you on the field, it keeps
you producing, and most importantly, it keeps.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
You around job security.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
There you go, yes, exactly, So this is gonna be
really interesting. But far as picking up on some of
the other things as far as the blocking, right, that's
a huge part of the Broncos offense that uh Javonte
Williams supply last year regards you can said whatever you.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Want to say about my game or whatever.
Speaker 4 (12:40):
He did an excellent job stepping up there blocking for
bon Nick. So these running backs, no matter whomever it is,
you're gonna have to do that because Jared Stenham is
a backup and I don't know too many people in
Broncos country that want to see him right away.
Speaker 3 (12:55):
I want to see him right away, exactly.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
I mean, if you're Harvey and you're back there, you
miss the blitz ferk up and your star quarterback gets hit,
that's you're gonna be off the field.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
You know his one.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
He's gonna be really interesting. It's funny as I was
thinking about it, if you miss a block and it's
bow behind you, you need the first your first thought,
you're gonna look to see it.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Bo's okay. The next person you're gonna look at as
a head coach.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
Now, let's just say if Stidham is a quarterback and
you miss the block, whatever, it's fine. You know no, no, no, no,
say it on Stidham. But we know this is how
it works.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
So do you think a rookie running back can come
in and play all three downs right away?
Speaker 3 (13:36):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (13:37):
Running backs now are different than what they were years ago.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
Right now.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
I can't say this about every single back, but it
depends on what system you're coming out of. What is
the level of responsibilities they gave you on the collegiate level.
This is why you know more more players needs from
a running back standpoint, need to work on those fundamentals.
And when you're when you're blocking, you have to know, okay,
well where's the blister coming from? Where's the extra guy?
(14:05):
And nine times out of ten is usually the a
and bcapp. Sometimes it may come off the edge, but
if they come off the edge, you have time.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
So this is why some running backs like.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
To wear shields so you can't see their eyes scanning.
And sometimes as a defender, you can tell a scary
running back when you look into his face and he's
just kind of constantly check it. But stepping up, you know,
come into balance with both feet and using your hands.
And sometimes if you go back and watch tape, some guys,
(14:34):
upon contact, the first thing they do, just like a
defender tackling, drop their head. If you drop your head,
you can't see the guy that you're blocking. So the
ideas when you see you know who you're gonna block,
identify that guy and then right away say okay, when
I step to him, where do I want to make contact?
Am I hitting him in his chest? Or I'm trying
to hit somewhere else? Because that rusher is trying to
(14:57):
go half a man because he's trying most like he's
trying to swim.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Now, if you watch.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
Film Phil, you can catch him, you know, fake at him,
let him swim and then dumping or worst case for
a defender, you get a helmet right in your chin,
that's a certified concussion buddy certified. No, I can't because
you know what, when when I play in Larry Coy's defense,
(15:24):
they rarely blitz me.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
So I can't. You would have to ask John Lynch
about that because he blitsed the most.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
But what is it like when you did have that
opportunity where you like just licking your chops.
Speaker 4 (15:34):
Yeah, because the thing is once again, because they never
blitched me that much. Understanding what the blocking scheme is
for the opposing team, do they block down, how do
they count you in the count or not?
Speaker 3 (15:46):
But for me, anytime.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
I did blitz, they never count me, even if I'm
lining up in the AARB gap because I never come,
which is a surprise to them when I actually do.
So you have to watch the opposing team, watch how
a guy's blocking, especially if he's a tackle of guard
or running back, and if he may be a guy
that you can fake like you're gonna swim and just
(16:08):
just bull him and put him back into a quarterback.
And for me, that works a lot with a lot
of running backs, even veteran running backs, because they're not
really thinking about those guys are thinking that since you
may not blitz that often that you don't know or
you don't have a lot of move This is why
in training, in training camp, you have to drill this right,
(16:30):
which brings us back to what we're talking about contact.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Yeah, you're gonna have it in the game.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
And if you don't practice it once you get one
of these defenders coming, you know, blitzing, they're not gonna
know what to do and then they're gonna get concussed.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Yeah, yeah, you gotta you gotta practice the game situations.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
Now.
Speaker 4 (16:49):
I don't think the Bronco is gonna have any problems
with Jones and Lufunga because those two guys they know
how to blitz.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Yeah, is crazy.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
I mean, look, man, a coach once told me to
play this game and play the safety position, you gotta
have a little a hole in you. Yeah, you gotta
have a bunch of scruzles because they're gonna ask you
to do things from twelve to fourteen that most people
can't or would be unwilling to do.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Yeah, you gotta have absolutely no fear when you step
on that field.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Yeah. Look, man, earlier on in my career, even later
on my career, my motto was if something happens to me.
I want it to be where they have to take
me off the field, like like those Spartans take me
off on my shield.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
It was that type of mentality.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
But that's the mentality that you have to have at
the safety position, and that's what we're going to see
with the Broncos through safeties this year.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Okay, before we take a break here, what would be
a good season for Harvey?
Speaker 1 (17:49):
How many yards?
Speaker 4 (17:51):
Ooh? More than well, he's gonna be splitting carries if
he's able to get to six twenty five.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Ooh, that's good.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
You think that's good? Okay, of course, Okay, one thousand
is out of the question. That used to be sort
of like a good mark for like a.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Great running again, but you're going to be splitting carry.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Now, if you get two running backs doing that, that
would be great.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
But here's the problem.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
That means Sean Payton's guy bo nicks his let's touches
for him.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
That's less touches and Sean, no, that's not how this works.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
But maybe that means you're playing with the lead a
little bit more. Maybe, you know, maybe you're setting the
tone a little bit more with the running game.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
If that is the case, Phil, Sign me up.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
That's what you're looking for.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Sign me up?
Speaker 2 (18:36):
All right, All right, Well, we'll see what happens here
is the Broncos rookies have reported for training camp here,
but we're gonna take a quick break.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
When we come back.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
We're gonna talk a little bit about Courtland Sutton and
his his perception around the NFL. That's next on Broncos
Country tonight, hanging out in studio with Nick Ferguson. Nick,
let's talk about Courtland setting in these Broncos wide receivers
for a little bit. We spent the last segment talking
(19:06):
r J Harvey and saying, hey, the more times the
Bronco's hand the ball off, that's less opportunity for bow
Knicks to let that thing rep And you expect another
big season here from Cortland Sutton.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
Well, yeah, I'm expecting a big season for Cortland and
it may not look the same way that we may anticipate.
And the reason I say that just kind of look
at the addition. I mean, Evan Ingram is here for
a particular reason. He's going to be for me, that
short yardish guy when Bowl is out on the perimeter,
which I think. I felt as though Bowl was one
(19:42):
of the better quarterbacks in the league last year throwing
on a move. But now you have a kind of
first down outlet, sort of like what Patrick Mahomes has
with Travis Kelcey, and you hope that it develops in
that particular way where Evan Ingram becomes that reliable. But
because of that, that's gonna take a couple of targets
away from Courtland sudden, And when you think about it,
(20:03):
you say, Okay, well, is it ever going to be
more of a third down threat or red zone threat
for me?
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Both of those.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
Guys, You're gonna need to utilize balance to make sure
that you keep opposing defenses, honest. So I'm expecting both
of those guys to at least starting out having like
five red zone touchdowns.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
And for Courtland, when you think about the league.
Speaker 4 (20:28):
And I was reading something earlier, and it's thirty two teams,
so I think Courtland, let me take a look at this,
and I think Courtland. They have Courtland listed near you know,
the bottom as far as rating wide receivers, like Courtland
has listed to thirty one of the thirty two teams
is Pro Football Focus and they put it into tiers, right,
(20:51):
and where he is is Tier six. So where he's listed,
you have Deebo Samuel at thirty, Coughtland at thirty one,
and Jamison Williams from Detroit Lions at thirty two. Now
do I agree with that, No, But I understand why
they put those numbers there because there's some talented.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Wide receivers in this league.
Speaker 4 (21:11):
And do I view calling as a Tier six wide receiver.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
No, I don't.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
But there's certain things that I would like to see
in this Broncos offense this year that I did see
last year. Because to give you an idea of what
I'm talking about, I knew just knowing defense, right, when
Corlin Sutton has moved inside the numbers and he has
a minus split, right, there's only so many routes that
(21:38):
you can run.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
And the biggest route that he ran last year was
a deep over route.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
And I could never figure out why opposing defense didn't
figure out all that defender on the opposite side. He
didn't drop back, but through excellent game planning and scheme,
they were able to pull that opposite defender by putting
someone in the flat. But to me, I said, what
that that's a problem. Let's do a couple of things different.
What I mean by that getting three x one formation,
(22:05):
Put Courland backside by himself. Let the big guy work,
work the back, show the throws, work the fifty to
fifty balls.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
He's a large wide recess, that's what he is. Yes,
give him some opportunities.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
Now if things change in the scheme of the play calling, yes,
calling something numbers go up. Because last year he was
a little over a thousand yards last season, I believe
that he can go a little higher than that this year.
That all depends on the scheme in the play calling.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Yeah, I think what this is the eighth season here
for Corland Sutton. I think at this point we kind
of know what were what they expect.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
From him, right.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
He is that big body, wide receiver. He's gonna go
up and get those tough catches. He's that deep ball thread,
you know, and he's a guy that both can look
for on the third down if he's, you know, in trouble,
he could throw it up to Corlan Sutton and trust
him to come down with it. That's sort of what
Corland Sutton is now. I think that we know he's
(23:03):
not always going to be that guy who can you
run a crazy sharp route and break away from the
defender and be wide open. That's just like not sort
of what he is. And I don't know why do
you think it is that Corland doesn't get that respect
around the league.
Speaker 4 (23:18):
Well, it has to do with the number of targets
and where those targets come from as far as based
on field position.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
Right, those things.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
Are key because as defenders, we know, okay, well on
first down there, especially after a certain change, teams are
thinking about taking a shot. Now, Carlin is not the
fastest receivers on the Broncos roster, but he still can
go yeah, So you're not going to look to him
right away because of that, and I think that's why
when individuals evaluating him, they look at him in that
(23:49):
way and then you look at Okay, when go to situations,
go to situations.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
Is he the go to guy? Now?
Speaker 4 (23:56):
You may say, well, he's a go to guy maybe
by default because you had some young receivers, guys who
are still working their way into understanding this offense. But
you want to be a go to receivers like AJ
Brown is with Philadelphia, right, and when we in a
tight spot, that's where we're going. It's sort of like
if you watch any of the Colorado Buffalo's games of
(24:18):
the last two years, you.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Knew where twelve was going. Yeah, you knew where was
going in the tight situation.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
He was finding Travis Hunter, right, And that's what I
expect callting the kind of treatment for calling to get
into this offense.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Yeah, it's started interesting.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
They just he's like, he's made some incredible plays over
the years, you know, like I think back to that
Buffalo game a few years ago where Rush just threw
it up to him and he's tiptoeing on the side.
I mean, he makes those kind of plays, but for
whatever reason, around the league, he's just like not thought
of as like one of those elite guys.
Speaker 4 (24:54):
And once again, the reason he's not because when you
look at some of the other receivers that are around
the league and how many targets that they received and
the big catches in primetime games, all of a sudden,
in my opinions, capable of doing those things. I'm glad
you brought up the catch that rushed through to him,
you know, got his feet up, bounced. He is capable
(25:17):
of doing so many different things. The ideas trust him,
trust him until he does something where you feel as
though you can't trust him anymore. Right, but you got
to maximize your wide receivers, your big time wide receivers
in that particular way.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Yeah, one hundred and thirty five targets last year for Courtland,
that's the most of his career, eighty one receptions, most
of his career, touchdowns eight second most of his career.
So he had a great year last year relative to
the rest of his career. So you know, another thing
is that Courtland has been relying on whoever's playing quarterback
(25:52):
back there. So now he's got Bo. Second year with Bo,
you expect those numbers, Steven go go up another notch.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Well, the reason for me because is watching Bow and
it bugs the hell out of me because so many
people want quarterbacks to play from the pocket, and it's like, well,
he has to show that he can make plays from
the pocket. I'm like, that's as old school as it comes.
That that's our very arcadic When you look at Lamar Jackson,
(26:20):
where's he making plays, Josh Allen, where's he making plays?
Kyler Murray on the perimeter. Because it's so difficult to
defend guys. When those quarterbacks escape the pocket, the linebacker's
got to think, Okay, well I'm i gonna stand in coverage.
I'm gonna run and go get the quarterback. If you
come to get the quarterback, now I throw it. If
you don't, now you run with it. And utilizing BOE's
(26:41):
ability to make plays on a perimeter will work because
now you're getting the stuttering goes right, and I mean
corners a big wide receiver.
Speaker 3 (26:50):
If you can't go up.
Speaker 4 (26:51):
And get the ball on the fifty to fifty ball,
to me, that's a problem.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
Yeah, what he does, that's what he does.
Speaker 4 (26:57):
He does so just like the running backs is thank you,
Elliott would often do you guys can't see me because
you're driving the car and I'm in the studio, But
just feed me when that guy is making plays. And
right now we're talking about Courtland, let's just say it's
Troy Franklin, which would be everyone would love feed that guy.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
Don't limit his receptions.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Okay, let me ask you this, where do you see Courtland?
What tier is he in?
Speaker 4 (27:26):
You know I would put or I'll say this Carling
could be in that tier three, tier two group, right,
I truly believe that.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
But it's based on.
Speaker 4 (27:39):
The big catches, right, and those big time games because look,
say what you want to say, Like we saw Jerry
Judy come here, and Jerry Judy had a game for
the ages as far as his career is concerned. When
you have games like that on primetime, when with the
primetime audience, that's how you get on the map. And
usually in a lot of primetime games, we see Cortland
(28:00):
and go out. He does well, but he doesn't have
that game where he's just kind of going crazy. Yeah,
think about Marvin MiBBs in a Cincinnati game.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
Yeah, he went crazy.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
Courland is capable of having those types of games.
Speaker 4 (28:13):
That's why I'm so excited about what this Broncos offense
could could be.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Okay, Okay, I'm going to go through a list of
guys here in just a second, and I want you
to tell me where Corland fits in. Hanging out with
Nick Ferguson during that little break there, we were talking
about this Broncos offense and you know, Nick, you want
to see more targets to Courland something, But there's only
(28:39):
one football and there's a lot of guys. Suddenly for
Bonnicks to distribute the ball.
Speaker 4 (28:44):
To listen, man, I've watched a lot of offensive teams
that have a lot of players, and he found ways
to distribute the ball.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
And usually that's kind of the excuse.
Speaker 4 (28:55):
Well, there's only one ball, yeah, just like in basketball
is one ball. But I mean, Nikole Yog's gonna shoot it,
Jamal Murr's gonna shoot it right, find a hot hand
and set them up. So for me, that's a problem
that you want to have and I'm not. I don't
subscribe to that one ball. We can't get everyone involved
because it's seventeen weeks. Other defensive groups are gonna watch
(29:19):
you from an offensive standpoint and try to take things away,
and it's gonna open it up for someone else this week,
like cold and may get off week one, Week two,
could be eving Ingram, Week three and four, it could
be JK. Dobbiz RJ Harvey. It doesn't make a difference.
It's just are you sticking to the script. Are you
willing to change? Are you stubborn? And you're just like,
(29:39):
I'm just gonna stick with this and somehow.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
Is gonna no. I mean, and when.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
You think about Philadelphia, they found a way to make
it work.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
When you think about kids, you need more guys. They
found a way to make it work.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
You want more guys, that's right, you want more guys,
not less guys.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Well, what Courtland is sort of the outlier here in
this room because you think about all these young guys,
Marvin Mems, Pat Bryan Detroit, Franklin, uh Von Bailey, they're
all young guys, and then all of a sudden, you
got Corlin Sutton here. He's sort of like the dad
lead in the group.
Speaker 4 (30:13):
Let's see if I'm Courtland, and even though we're teammates,
we're still competing your jobs. So he is at the
top of the heel right now. If you want it,
come get it. That's the way that we work defensively.
If you want it, come get it. And here's what
that may sound like, very arrogant, and it should, right,
(30:35):
But also that mentality is going to make everyone else
better because they're going to see Courland competing at a
high level, so they have to elevate their level of play,
which is going to make the defense have to elevate
their level play. And guess what now the Broncos in
the playoff again. Yeah, exactly, yes, it's that's simple.
Speaker 2 (30:51):
Yeah, they need they need offensive weapons, and you know
that internal competition is only going to make everybody better.
So I'm interested, where do you think Courtland ranks here?
Because like for example, ESPN's done this list at each
position here over the last few days. Here just talking
about guys and where they rank, and it's like execs
(31:13):
and coaches and other players ranking these guys. Courtland Sutton
got some vote, he was in the category of also
receiving votes, but he wasn't in the top ten. He
wasn't honorable mention like for example, DK Metcalf was honorable mention.
Do you think that Courtland is in that same Is
(31:36):
he like a DK Metcalf.
Speaker 1 (31:38):
Or not quite?
Speaker 4 (31:40):
Yeah, he is based on size, and I would put
Courtland above DK because as long as DK's been in
this league, DK can't run every route on the road street.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
He can't.
Speaker 4 (31:54):
Right, he can run straight he can do that really well, yeah, right,
straight line speed. But it was quick out as quick slants,
the dig routes, all of those things, the comebacks where
you have to sink your hips and not have a
wastele step and come back to me.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
I give the edge to Courtland sudden.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
The only thing once again with Courtland is making his
mark in those big time games and the way you do.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
It that you have to be consistent.
Speaker 4 (32:19):
We're talking about multiple games where you're having over one
hundred yards or eighty yards or you're doing something and
everyone at home.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
Is going on out of my mind to just see
what he did.
Speaker 4 (32:30):
And we know that Courtland has the capability to track
the ball well in the air and pull down those
big catches.
Speaker 3 (32:37):
We just haven't seen them as much.
Speaker 4 (32:39):
As we've seen like a guy like Justin Jefferson or
Jamar Chase.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
But you think he's capable of that, say, because right
now the NFL is rich at the wide receiver position.
There's a lot of talent at that position. Like Jarrett
Wilson just got a huge deal. He's number ten on
this list. That Mike Evans is nine, Nico Collins, Malik
Neighbors Aman, the Ross, Saint Brown. I mean, there's a
(33:05):
lot of good guys and a lot of those guys.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
When you look at route running, the routes that they
are running, the targets that they are receiving, this.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
Is kind of why. And then when you look at
Courtland court.
Speaker 4 (33:17):
I think it's sixteenth this last year as far as yours,
But when you look at touchdowns, that's where they try
to measure wide receivers.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
I mean, he was ranked thirteen.
Speaker 4 (33:28):
Now if he can get that number up once again,
more people are talking about now he can take the
stums and point to the.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
Name on the bat instead of the name on the front.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Yeah, that's what we'll see. I think PFF is way
off on that one there. Recorded they are clearly more
valuable than that. So excited to see what he does
this year for Bo Nicks and year two of that chemistry,
see how that continues to evolve. So we're going to
take a quick break here, but when we come back,
we'll talk about how another big extension out there in
(33:58):
the NFL with impact, what the Broncos do with Nick Padino.
That's next on Broncos Country tonight
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.