August 3, 2026 • 34 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, Broncos Country, and welcome back to another post Rockey's
post training camp edition of Broncos Country. Tonight, we've got
Ben out as he was covering for Mandy earlier today,
but we've still got Nick Ferguson in the house. Nick,
how are you doing?
Speaker 2 (00:16):
I'm doing spectacular. Man. Hey, I have to tell you,
Denver normally doesn't get to that hot. That's the one
thing that we can celebrate about Denver. It's not like
a Houston, it's not like a New Orleans. But I
have to say, man, this summer is different. It's been right.
I don't know what's going on, but it's a little
hot now. I don't know if it's an indication of
(00:39):
what can we expect far as the winter is concerned.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
It's gonna be a harsh winter. It sounds like I
think we're gonna get a diamar.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I hope that's not the case.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Gonna be like that AFC Championship game every day.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Well, you have to be careful about bringing that up
because that is a source subject for certain people, and
to bring up the whole weather it just kind of
brings up the conversation. Well, the Broncos, not no was
gonna the weather was going to turn that the way
that it turned, And I would like to think, Zach, yeah,
(01:12):
they knew. Yeah, there's a weather forecast and there are
people who it is their job to figure those things out.
So we're not going to talk about cold weather, not
in that regard. As far as newing the game, I
guess around here for a while.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
No, we're on the other extreme of the spectrum now.
But I think this was, if not the first time
the whole team was back in pad since that game,
pretty darn close to it. Today. You know, you've been
out there throughout the summer, the different stages of offseason preparedness.
What did you see different today? What stood out to
you now that the pads are finally coming on.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Well, the thing that with the pad and you think, okay,
like let me put it back this way. It's football,
so nothing should change. Yeah, theoretically, theoretically that's a lie, right,
that's a bold faced lie, because when you are in
shorts and jerseys T shirt Olympics, you know, sometimes either
(02:06):
side can get away with certain things. Case in point,
the offensive line is like, how can you really evaluate
the offensive line when they're going against Tyler ode Adam
or DJ Jones or Zach Allen when there are no
pads on and the offensive lineman, even though Zach, they
will tell you I don't care who they are, whether
(02:26):
they play now fifteen years ago, they will tell you
offensive linemen don't hold yes, they do right, And once
the pad comes on, it allows them to really get
up inside the chest of a guy and really grab
onto the breastplate. So technique they're taught, well, yeah, that's
the technique that they're taught. That they cannot do it
(02:48):
when they're no shoulder pads. Be When it comes to
the interior play, it's about foot where you put your
feet in hand placement, and when you don't have as on,
it changes what you can do with your hands. So
now there's a little more tug of war pull pull
back and forth, and usually that's when things get a
(03:10):
little intensive front with a lot of the guys. But
when you put the pads on, there is a difference.
You hadn't worn them in a while, but just think
about it. The last time this team wore these pads
that Cold Winter game that you referenced earlier, that that's
where the Broncos experience so it's a different type of
feeling walking and carrying around pads. And then also when guys,
(03:35):
when pads come on, the intensity of practice actually picks up.
And as a coach, you wanted to be competitive, I mean,
excuse me, you wanted to be competitive, not combative. But
that's when guys get a little more physical, they get
a little more froggy, if you will, thinking that they
can be a little more aggressive, and you'll see guys
(03:57):
on the ground, and you don't want to see too
many guys on the ground.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Definitely, that's just you know, keeping guys healthy. This team's
got high aspirations this year. You can't be losing guys
before even the preseason starts with that trench warfare heating up,
you know there, maybe even if it is holding, we
know they're holding during the regular season too, So maybe
a more accurate reflection of what in game blocking will be.
Did you see anything from the run game today? Obviously
(04:22):
a small sample, but anything stand out to you there
with the backs.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
You know, it's kind of too early because once again,
even though the pads come on, the coaching philosophy and
I'm sure the guys were had a swift talking to
last night before this morning's practice.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Hey, listen, we're putting the pads on, so you know
what that means.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
You know, everyone wants to go a little extra because
of the safety of the pads, but you have to
remember we have to protect our guys. And usually you're
thinking when the pads come on, it's more physicality that
may have been in the time when I played in
years before, but this is a different NFL. So it's
all about getting in the right position, allowing the running
(05:02):
back to get through the whole, and make sure that
you are in a good tackling position to present yourself
Like if this was a live game, I would have
made that tackle. The problem with that, Zach, is that
there's not a lot of contact on the running backs itself. Yes,
so we always talk about and Sean Payton talks about
(05:22):
the two at times about building up callous and you
want to make sure that you're running backs who are
going to be expected to run between the tackles on
the perimeter that they're used to contact. Yes, and you're
not really getting that physical body on body contact and
these types of practices.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
What do you make of the pinky promise situation? I
heard Nate Jackson another former player taking issue with it,
a feeling like Jk's kind of tempting the football gods there.
Do you have any issues with it.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Or how do you feel?
Speaker 2 (05:53):
No, well, I don't, to be totally honest, I'm happy
that he said it. The only pullback for me is
we haven't seen it. Yes, right, that's my only pullback.
We haven't seen it. And the discussion goes for me
is if that were to happen with his pinky swear,
he's saying that for predicting that he would lead the
(06:15):
league in Russia, right, that was his idea. Now, in
order for that to happen, the Broncos will have to
do something they haven't.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Done around here in years, commit to the game.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
There. So, if you're telling me that David's web is
going to do total one eighty and do the total
opposite of Sean Payton and run more, okay than JK.
Dobbins When he was healthy, he had a lot of
explosive play. So you're suggesting also there's going to be
(06:46):
more explosive plays from a run game standpoint, Okay, But
then what happens with those other two running backs? R? J.
Harvey who I mean, May has made a name for
himself and Jonah Coleman that you know, the team seems
to be really high on on.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
So how do you lead the league in Russian.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Known as though you have two other running backs and
the Broncos need to run the ball to make sure
number ten is healthy? Yeah? Do that? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (07:12):
I think hopefully with Davis Webb calling the plays, you
get more of that. And I think what I'd say
is it might not have to be a one to
eighty switch. You know, bo Nicks last year led the
league in passing and over the last two years combined
has led the league in passing attempts. That is there
is so right now the bar is on the floor.
(07:32):
It's thirty second in the NFL in terms of I
guess that commitment to running the ball, at least in
a volume sense, why not?
Speaker 2 (07:40):
You know?
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Have bo Nick's attempted the third most passes in the NFL?
You know, And I'll be in a little tongue in cheek,
you'd want it to go down a lot more than
that to find balance. But even a small step in
that direction should give I don't know a little more,
put a little more meat on the running backs.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Plates I get it, and I totally understand, and it
would be great if JK. Dobbins were able to do that.
But I know what this league is, Zach. You know
what this league is. We always hear about this a
quarterback driven league. So because of the quarterback driven league,
guess what a lot of these offensive coordinators want to do.
(08:19):
They want to throw. It's just like you go to
school for eight years to be a surgeon, right, I mean,
what do you want to do? You want to cut,
you want the school to cut. So these guys have
been led by the people that they've been coached under,
and they want to throw. That's like looking at Sean Payton,
He's he's a former quarterback. Guess what Drew Brees did
(08:44):
down in New Orleans. He threw the guy darn ball
and one of the best quarterbacks we've seen.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
You know, that's going to further push you down that
path in a sense, if you land with a Hall
of Fame quarterback, a guy who ultimately ends up leading
the having the record for most passing touchdowns, most passing
yards in a career before Brady passed him, having a
passing game that prolific, and a quarterback that successful. If
(09:11):
you're in that atmosphere for fifteen years, you're going to go, hey,
let's just always pass the.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Ball because this is what I know. And I mean
to even accelerate that forward. I mean, I guess was
it Thursday this weekend? I mean, Drew Brees is going
into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That's evidence that
you're saying it works. Yeah, But in this case with
the Denver Broncos, nah man, nah fam, you have to
(09:37):
run the ball. You have to put bow knicks on
the center. If JK Dobbins can do this, fine, but
I don't think it's going to be possible because that's
going to be a lot of carries for him, and
he's proven that he can't be healthy. And I think
you're going to need need to lean on some of
these other younger running backs to actually make sure that
(09:57):
JK Dobbmins Why he may not need the league rushing.
He may finish the season I don't know, maybe nine thirty. Yeah,
I think that's that's a good number before I think.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
He could get over a thousand if he's healthy, which
again is a huge if in all of this, but
last year, you know, at the halfway point when he
went down, he was fourth in the league in rushing
and granted, not as many guys get over that one
thousand point now, but I feel, you know, and Coleman
and Harvey will be more involved this year. But I think,
you know, somewhere in that one thousand to eleven hundred
(10:30):
range I think is achievable if he looks like the
guy we saw last season.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Here's what happens too. So if there's a guy who's
coming in the game and he is in that top four, five,
Bijon Robinson, Walker or even Jonathan Taylor, teams already know
they've seen film on you.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
They know what your team wants to do. They want
to run the ball.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
So what what is it that opposing defensive coordinators think
we have to stop the run.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
And they load up the box. And I think that's
such an important thing to hit on because you know,
I think Broncos country, generally speaking, is a little worried
about the depth of that tight end room. And you know,
you see the Rams with a million different tight ends
and some of these different teams that can you know,
get that heavy personnel on the field and kind of
dictate the defensive looks that way, you know, base defense,
it's easier to get those explosive passing plays against. How
(11:23):
do we get them into base defense. Let's get a
lot of tight ends on the field. Well, if you
can have such a prolific running game even with you know,
you're eleven personnel looks, this team so good at wide
receiver that they're probably going to stay lighter. But if
they can still run it out of that, if they
can create a dependable, scary, explosive run game like you're
(11:44):
kind of laying out, then it forces the defense to
drop that safety into the box, load things up a bit,
and then you start getting those juicier looks on the
back end that hey, webs maybe calling the plays, but
you can lean on Peyton's design expertise, and bone is
a great ability with the deep ball and all that.
I think there's a good path there.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
If this is to happen. This is wet.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
I want to talk about it and layers and I
don't want to cast. You know, the spurs is on anyone,
but I have to tell things the way it is.
If Dobbin's pinky squear is in fact able to come true,
the other thing that we would need to see and
improvement in is perimeter blocking. The Broncos have not done
(12:33):
well on the perimeter blocking front of them. That's wide receivers,
that's not all the wide receivers, some of them, and
then we're looking at the tight end group. Like Adam
Trutman is like the guy that the Broncos say, well,
this is our bona fide blocking tight end. So when
he's in a game, you play on defense, you see
his number, what you're thinking it's a run play.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
And beyond that, if it's a run play, it's coming
that way running behind him, right.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
So if you if you watch film and you know that,
then you're gonna like, well, we can shut that down.
And then it's like also watching Adam Trupman, he's had
his moments where he's been good, not great.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
He's not an elite player.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
He's not an elite blocker, yes, but if he improves
and he blocks with intention, things will now change. But
now the other wrinkle you add to it when he
comes in the game to throw opposing defenses off and say, well, no,
this is not just a run play.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Now you have to turn him into a pass catching
tight end.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Off a play action, yep, But you tell me the
last time you've seen that here.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
And then with any sort of effectiveness that's more than
like him is a little checkdown guy.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Tell me I'll wait because I don't recall it.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
And that's I think the hard thing with this room
right now. And don't get me wrong, some of its
call play calling and coaching and utilization, but it feels
like and hopefully and maybe Bentley can help remedy this time.
But you've got a lot of guys who you're on
the field to do this, Like Evan Ingram. You're on
the field to catch passes we don't know, and run routes.
(14:10):
We don't know if we like you doing the other things.
Adam Troutman, I don't know if we love you catching
the ball. You're here to block Nate Adkins. We don't
love you in line. We don't love you going deeper
passing routes. You're kind of this weird fullback tight end
hybrid flex position guy. Everyone's got their niche skill set
and no one's really developed beyond that. And I think
(14:31):
it was a problem you had in a lot of
different facets last year, like little Jordan Humphreys on the field.
They're doing this. R. J. Harvey's on the field. It's
probably a pass. You had so many players with one
niche specialty and it created a lot of tells.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
You're absolutely right, which is why I'm going to ask
you this question to see if I can get you
to answer right.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I think I know where you're going.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Okay, Well, now we talked about niche players doing one
thing right and giving things is a way. I think
about a wildcard, right, not a junker wildcard? So why
not bring Taysom Hill in? Why not? Now you're not
bringing him in to be a backup quarterback. You have
(15:15):
Ellinger and Standham competing for that spot, But why not
bring him in as a wildcard that It just throws
a question mark in for the defense. We don't know
why it is here. What are they planning on doing
with him? But you know your block. You know, if
you throw it to him on the slip screen, that's
a five, that's five yards, could be a big play.
(15:37):
You know. If you put him in at running back,
that's a big play. You know, if you put him
in at fullback to lead for either of the running backs. JK. Dobbins.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Guess what I mean that's gonna help the offense.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
But also you can build play action off of because
you start running the ball. You start running the ball
and they're thinking, okay, they're gonna run the ball again.
He slips out and he's a better player in that
case than any of the Broncos is that we currently have.
But I want I want you to answer, would you
do that and see value in a guy like Taysom Hill.
(16:11):
I was a hard no.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
You kind of sold me a little bit. You have
a compelling case. And I'll tell you one more thing
that that Taysom Hill it brings to this team. If
Taysom Hill was on the Broncos last year, probably playing
in the Super Bowl, You're not asking bo Nicks to
do those quarterback run plays that put all the torque
on the ankle that broke the ankle. You're asking Tasom
Hill to probably do those for you.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
And remember the fourth and one play with the Broncos
called the time out, came out and need to convert it.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
They should have kick the field goal, right, But if
you had a Taysom.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Hill type guy, even if you didn't give it to him,
you could use him as a distraction they didn't want
a a the defense give it to someone else.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
They didn't want to do the Tousch push with bow
last year, understandably, so that would provide an option there.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
I'm just saying that, I don't know if the team's
gonna do it, but I'm just presenting my case. That's it.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
I think it's a good case. That said, I'm going
to bring us over to the defensive side of the ball.
We've been too offensive this first half. We'll get more
into how the defense is looking out there at training
camp practice next coming up on Broncos Country Tonight. Hello
Broncos Country, and welcome back to some more post training camp,
(17:23):
post Colorado Rockies action Bronco's Country Tonight. Sitting down with
Nick Ferguson. It's Zach Seegers filling in for Ben Alright
after his stint on Mandy Connell earlier today. Nick, we
got a lot into the offensive side of the ball.
I know you've been annoyed how heavy the coverage has
been on that side of the ball, with them maybe
(17:45):
getting more cheers from their fan base so far and
maybe more attention from the media. Who do you think
is winning the early camp battles and what do you
think that says about this too?
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Well, right now, I would say the highlights have been
big on the offensive side. Right So, I guess if
you want to say who's winning or whatever at this
particular moment, it is offense. And I would only say
that because they're being celebrated more right and rightfully. So
we've seen a lot of explosive pass plays and the
(18:20):
first couple of days of training camp a lot more
than we've seen in years prior, and the fans love it. Man.
And I know it sounds like I'm being Debbie down
and I'm not, but I want to see the Broncos
bill confidence and that's what I would like to call this, Zach.
They're building confidence and you can see it every every
(18:41):
single day and the whole idea when you go out
to practice, you want to compete. So I'm not one
of these guys that are big into who won the
day type of thing. It's like, okay, well, in what
area of the game did the team get better? I'm
more leaning towards that side because we know, from day
to day, from play to play, you're gonna go offense,
(19:02):
you're gonna go defense. You may get five plays in
a row from a defensive side point, and then all
of a sudden there's an explosive play and everyone just
remembered the explosive play.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
But I always try to temper my expectations.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
And here's why. Even when pass do come on, because
the league has changed, you are not allowed to get
around the quarterback, and rightfully so, bows coming off this injury.
I don't care who you are, Nick Benito, Q Robinson,
Johnny Cooper, you're when number ten is there, you stay
(19:34):
at least five feet. Now you can say on tape, coach,
I got the sack. Usually when you when when the
pass come on, guys will get around the quarterback and
they just raise their hands. You'll see it. Yeah, they
raise their hand and say, well that that was kind
of a sack. But so far, a lot of the
explosive plays have been on the offensive side of the ball.
(19:55):
Rightfully so, because no one's really counting the sacks or
almost st And also from a defensive standpoint, you may
be in great position and you may bat down the ball,
but that's not celebratory for fans who are at practice
or media members. I don't care about the damn bad
at ball. They want explosive play. So there's been a
number of explosive plays and I'm hoping that it builds
(20:17):
enough confidence in this offense that they take more shots
down the field.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Are there any concerns with the explosive plays though, because
one of the few areas of this roster that did
experience some changes this offseason was that safety group. You know,
Anderson coming in, Miles Scott coming in, PJ. Locke exiting,
Brandon Jones is coming off at injury at that towards
the end of last season that seemed to impact his
play a little bit. You're asking Devon Key to step
(20:44):
up into that third safety role, and now all of
a sudden you're seeing all these explosive plays on the
back end. Does that make you at all worried for
you know, this defense keeping up this elite level of
play for a third consecutive season.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
You know what Zach see see You're thinking unlike a
lot of people in this market, right, but I was
thinking the same thing as I'm.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
Watching practice and everyone's.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Going ooh, look at the sighty new toys and look
at explosive plays. That was going like, oh, we got
some depth issues right, That's the first thing that I
thought defensively, because the first unit is going to be
the first unit, yes, right. The expectations for Brandon Jones,
you know you got, I mean, and PSU Roley Moss,
(21:33):
you expect those guys to do what they're gonna do
when it gets to that second and that third level.
As far as your second during your corners, things get
a little different because Tyson Anderson, he's giving up some explosives.
Jay Eel Skinner a guy who really needs this training cap.
I mean, he needs this like a well needs water,
(21:57):
right desperately. You cannot give up explosive plays in practice
because Robert Livsson is now in the passing game, coordinated,
taking over for Jim Lennard. When he sees that and
now he's seeing it with fresh eyes, he's going like,
hey man, this has happened way too many times, and
once the coach loses confidence in you, man, it is
hard to get it back. So that's kind of one
(22:20):
of my concerns is like, what does that death look like? Now?
I'm not concerned about Devin Key. I am not concerned
about him.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
That's good, dear.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Everyone else concerned.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Well's big question marks after Devin Key. You know what,
Miles Scott the rookie. You got Tyson Anderson who never
really played a lot of defense for the Bengals. In
the next a jail Skinner who you know, special teams
Ace hasn't got a lot on the field on defense
for the Broncos when you watch it. But you also
mentioned Livingston though, and I think that's an interesting angle
because Jim Leonard was one of these more hyped up
(22:53):
assistant coaches expected to be a defensive coordinator eventually maybe
even a head coach. He leaves of this new past
game coordinator and we're seeing these huge plays downfield. Do
you think it's more of the lack of depth of
talent or do you think there's busted coverages or maybe
something underlying going wrong?
Speaker 3 (23:13):
To us chematically, it is not schematics.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
It is busted coverage.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
It is guys being on the same page.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
And that's the one thing that's a difference between are
you a starter or you're on second team? At thirdeen?
Can you process information? Can we all see the same
things at the same time. And one of the issues
that the Broncos had last year was the fact that
communication was a problem sometimes even with some of the starters,
(23:42):
but with the backups. Now you're seeing a different variety
of plays coming at you full speed. And if there's
no conversation pre snap, what do we have Because the
first thing I'm doing, Zach, when I'm on the field,
and let's just say, I'll put you out. I'll call
you John Lynch in this situation, right, I'll take the compliment.
(24:04):
So we're looking at down the distance. Then we're looking
at personnel. How is that person that's lining up? And
as a safety, the first thing you have to recognize
where are my threats. I don't think these guys are
doing that in practice right, because they're just lining up
and they're not really talking. Now you will see a
guy point, but he's not saying anything, So who you
(24:25):
talking to? So this is what happens when you get
to the second and third unit. There's a breakdown in
communication because they're not communicating. The guys are not talking
about what it is that they see. If you in
there and you have Evan Ingram and the Jordan Humphrey
in the game and they're both on the same side,
just so happens Evan Ingram is on the ball, the
(24:48):
Jordan Humphrey is off the ball. That's a different formation
because that's not how they line up. Now we have
to talk what do you see? Who is our threat?
And they're not recognizing their threat. And for me, they're
so hard up about making your play that their eyes
betray them because they're looking at the first play that
(25:08):
they think is going to take place, because they're trying
to anticipate them giving you air quotes here, so they're
they're they're jumping certain things while not paying attention to
another guy. Because on Saturday, Jail Skinner, there was a
they ran two post routes right and they kind of
hit them. They hit the second one and he went
to the first one. Evan Ingram came off his backside
(25:30):
with an explosive. You have to see that because Raheem Morris,
remember that guy. You got to be the deepest of
the deepest. I don't need you trying to make plays
that you don't need to make. And we all know
what happened to the Broncos. Then could you imagine Jail Skinner,
even in the preseason game, giving up a play like that.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
Oh, everyone will will melt down. And I think it's
important to highlight too, because right now, you know, listen
to what Ben Jonson's telling the media or Sean Payton
or Sean McVay. Explosive plays are the name of the
game right now because they're so hard to come by.
If you're able to manufacture those, or on the flip side,
if you're giving a lot of them up, it's concerning.
(26:14):
And we're talking about a safety group that currently has
given up a lot of those in practice and a
starting tandem of safeties Brandon Jones and Tallanoa Hufungo, who
have both had injury problems throughout their career. It feels like,
so what does that mean that I think this is
one of the bigger concerns with this roster.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Yeah, he think about it. When we were on the
off season, we kept talking about the running backs, linebackers,
missing JFM. We didn't talk about this. We didn't talk
about what happens if Brandon Jones and telling no funger
they get injured. And remember Brandon Jones on expiring deal
after this season.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
And Miles Scott. I'm a big Miles Scott fan. I
think his story is fascinating. Converted receiver who quickly earned
the green Dot playing for that ALIGNI defense.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
But he was one of the.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
You know, last, very last picks of the NFL draft,
you know. I if he ends up being that you know,
great fourth option, it'd be a pleasant surprise. But counting
on it is a whole different ballgame. It just seems
very dubious right now, especially because Sean Payton commented today,
(27:27):
you know, and pointed out that it was a media
hallucination that John A. Barron was playing safety, which aligns
with her lines up with it was a media hallucination,
one member's hallucination. Okay, I've at least from what I
can gather asking around, it sounds like Baron's played no safety.
He's only played some dimebackers, some different cornerback roles. Do
(27:50):
you think they should be experimenting with him at safety
at all? Though, considering this depth concern.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Hew to the yeah, not held to the now, Hell
to the yeah. Because here's what we know. The season
is tough. The first couple of games out of the
gate are very physical opponents from the NFC West, Right.
Them dudes can go and they can beat you up
physically with the way they played, the style they played
(28:19):
played the game and all.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
It takes is an injury here and there.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
Fortunate, I mean for the Broncos, they haven't experienced that.
There's other teams around the league that have. And the
Broncos were able to do what they did last year.
Why they were healthy, right, we saw what happened not
having both. Could you imagine this team having three, four
five injuries? Right? That changes the complexity of what you
(28:46):
can do. You have depth, but guess what, you can't
run the same things anymore, right because the mental acuity
of those guys are not as high as your starters.
If it were, they would be starters. Yes, right, then
leticism be factor in And it's not me trying to
insult any of these guys, but just knowing the game
that the way I know it and seeing practice the
(29:07):
way I see it. You don't want to have any
early injuries because it's going to force certain guys into
action who are not really ready. Now, could this Could
these guys get better and be ready by the time
week one? That's a strong possibility, But we can only
talk about what we see right now. What we're seeing
right now or what I'm seeing, something better improve? You
(29:31):
ready to get better with your eyes. If you need
to go get your eyes checked, go get them checked.
But guys are putting their eyes in a wrong place
trying to force the issue and make plays. And no
difference that than having a quarterback who's pressing. You're going
to make mistakes.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Yeah, and how does the coaching staff respond to this?
Speaker 2 (29:51):
Now?
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Kind of to your point, is it, let's give these
guys to week one. Do we see them slow play things?
I think that would speak to a level of confidence
and the guys they have, liking the guys they have
as they have been seeing all off season. Or do
they start working out different safeties that are out there
on the market, some udfas or some VET guys that
are still unsigned, because that might point to them seeing
(30:13):
what we're seeing and not having confidence that it's going
to get remedied by the start of the season.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
Well, I'm sure the way the Broncos will work.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
They have their scouts looking around the league and they're
looking for heavy and light. And what I mean by
that heavy means that a team is really deep at
the safety position and maybe there's some value there. So
you know they're going to release some guys. You look
to see what those guys' numbers were what was it
about them you like or dislike? And pull out those
(30:43):
evaluations because you're not going to go to a team
that is light at the position, because those teams are
not going to give up safeties. And now you're talking
about trading for a guy. But this, once again, this
is where Johnny Barron comes in. Everyone wants him to
be a starting corner, but we have to respect that.
Even though with the holding calls last year with Roley Moss,
(31:04):
he's still a damn good corner.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
He is, and he was getting a lot of praise
today for a strong performance telling No Hufunga said he
was one of the most athletic cornerbacks he's ever seen,
and just rave reviews all around for having a good
first showing in passes that line up with what you saw.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Yeah, because the one thing he has is long speed, right,
and that's what you need at the corner position to
be able to run and stretch out. Roley's issue is
winning at the line of scrimmage. Now, what was the
receiver last year?
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Was it DeVonta Smith or A J. Brown in that Eagles?
Speaker 2 (31:37):
No? No, No, the Chargers?
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Was it Quinn Johnston.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
No, no, it's not Lam McConkie. There was another receiver
that I can't remember his name right now, but anyway,
he gave him a speed release and it was so
fast that Riley didn't expect it.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
Darius Status.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
I think maybe it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
This guy was white and it shocked him because even
Riley Moss had in this frame of mind, white receiver,
He's not gonna run pass me. Dude, ran right pass him,
just ran right pass him speed at least right pass him.
And if he improves that part of his game, we
(32:28):
will start talking about him as one of the better
corners in the league. Obviously, we're not talking about him
in that kind of you know, uh, Derek Stingley or
PS two, We're not talking about him like that. But
he has a chance to put himself in the conversation
to say, well, listen, he's one of the better corners
in this league. So you're not going to if you're
(32:50):
Johnny Barron as a rookie guy, you're not gonna overcome that.
So if you know that, then the team you got
to think about what other ways can we get in
the most out of him, And that may be at
safety and if you see him at safety or you
see him in a dime position, don't get upstand saying
you know what, he's not a starting corner. That tells
you that your corners that you do have are quality
(33:13):
corner So that's nothing to be said about.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
Yeah, And are the coaches really looking to get him
on the field or are they maybe trying to keep
him off the field. I think that can be telling.
Are you playing a lot of dime because man, we
got to get this guy as many snaps as we
can or are you are you shying away from it?
Tyler Onyadam the other most recently highest drafted Bronco, He
had a great day today. It sounds like first day
(33:37):
in pads. Was making some big plays in the against
the run. Jasa Rique and Savian Jones have also been
getting some good reviews right now from your defensive lens,
How do you feel the Broncos are doing replacing that
JFM presence?
Speaker 2 (33:52):
It is a work in progress. You see each guy,
Savan Jones, Waza Rique and Tyl Lodiana making some progress,
but it's going to be just that. It just got
to be a wait and see, especially when we have
more pads but I think the guy who's going to
show up more Tylode.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
That's just that's just my perspective. That's what I'm hoping
steps up.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
Him popping this quick, I think is really telling. Like
it's it's it's hard to earn those rookie opportunities in
vance Joseiff's defense, but it seems like if someone's going
to do it, it really could be him.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
It's going to be him.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
Yes, I like it.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
And if you look at you know who most closely
matches up with how JFM was used, it's actually on
Yadam back at Iowa State. It was almost identical with
that kind of big edge, little kick inside, like the
five tech role.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
I'm just saying, I like the prediction.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
We've got more Broncos country tonight coming after coming up
after this right here on eight to fifty koa
Hello, Broncos Country, and welcome back to another post Rockey's
post training camp edition of Broncos Country. Tonight, we've got
Ben out as he was covering for Mandy earlier today,
but we've still got Nick Ferguson in the house. Nick,
how are you doing?
Speaker 2 (00:16):
I'm doing spectacular. Man. Hey, I have to tell you,
Denver normally doesn't get to that hot. That's the one
thing that we can celebrate about Denver. It's not like
a Houston, it's not like a New Orleans. But I
have to say, man, this summer is different. It's been right.
I don't know what's going on, but it's a little
hot now. I don't know if it's an indication of
(00:39):
what can we expect far as the winter is concerned.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
It's gonna be a harsh winter. It sounds like I
think we're gonna get a diamar.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
I hope that's not the case.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Gonna be like that AFC Championship game every day.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Well, you have to be careful about bringing that up
because that is a source subject for certain people, and
to bring up the whole weather it just kind of
brings up the conversation. Well, the Broncos, not no was
gonna the weather was going to turn that the way
that it turned, And I would like to think, Zach, yeah,
(01:12):
they knew. Yeah, there's a weather forecast and there are
people who it is their job to figure those things out.
So we're not going to talk about cold weather, not
in that regard. As far as newing the game, I
guess around here for a while.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
No, we're on the other extreme of the spectrum now.
But I think this was, if not the first time
the whole team was back in pad since that game,
pretty darn close to it. Today. You know, you've been
out there throughout the summer, the different stages of offseason preparedness.
What did you see different today? What stood out to
you now that the pads are finally coming on.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Well, the thing that with the pad and you think, okay,
like let me put it back this way. It's football,
so nothing should change. Yeah, theoretically, theoretically that's a lie, right,
that's a bold faced lie, because when you are in
shorts and jerseys T shirt Olympics, you know, sometimes either
(02:06):
side can get away with certain things. Case in point,
the offensive line is like, how can you really evaluate
the offensive line when they're going against Tyler ode Adam
or DJ Jones or Zach Allen when there are no
pads on and the offensive lineman, even though Zach, they
will tell you I don't care who they are, whether
(02:26):
they play now fifteen years ago, they will tell you
offensive linemen don't hold yes, they do right, And once
the pad comes on, it allows them to really get
up inside the chest of a guy and really grab
onto the breastplate. So technique they're taught, well, yeah, that's
the technique that they're taught. That they cannot do it
(02:48):
when they're no shoulder pads. Be When it comes to
the interior play, it's about foot where you put your
feet in hand placement, and when you don't have as on,
it changes what you can do with your hands. So
now there's a little more tug of war pull pull
back and forth, and usually that's when things get a
(03:10):
little intensive front with a lot of the guys. But
when you put the pads on, there is a difference.
You hadn't worn them in a while, but just think
about it. The last time this team wore these pads
that Cold Winter game that you referenced earlier, that that's
where the Broncos experience so it's a different type of
feeling walking and carrying around pads. And then also when guys,
(03:35):
when pads come on, the intensity of practice actually picks up.
And as a coach, you wanted to be competitive, I mean,
excuse me, you wanted to be competitive, not combative. But
that's when guys get a little more physical, they get
a little more froggy, if you will, thinking that they
can be a little more aggressive, and you'll see guys
(03:57):
on the ground, and you don't want to see too
many guys on the ground.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Definitely, that's just you know, keeping guys healthy. This team's
got high aspirations this year. You can't be losing guys
before even the preseason starts with that trench warfare heating up,
you know there, maybe even if it is holding, we
know they're holding during the regular season too, So maybe
a more accurate reflection of what in game blocking will be.
Did you see anything from the run game today? Obviously
(04:22):
a small sample, but anything stand out to you there
with the backs.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
You know, it's kind of too early because once again,
even though the pads come on, the coaching philosophy and
I'm sure the guys were had a swift talking to
last night before this morning's practice.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Hey, listen, we're putting the pads on, so you know
what that means.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
You know, everyone wants to go a little extra because
of the safety of the pads, but you have to
remember we have to protect our guys. And usually you're
thinking when the pads come on, it's more physicality that
may have been in the time when I played in
years before, but this is a different NFL. So it's
all about getting in the right position, allowing the running
(05:02):
back to get through the whole, and make sure that
you are in a good tackling position to present yourself
Like if this was a live game, I would have
made that tackle. The problem with that, Zach, is that
there's not a lot of contact on the running backs itself. Yes,
so we always talk about and Sean Payton talks about
(05:22):
the two at times about building up callous and you
want to make sure that you're running backs who are
going to be expected to run between the tackles on
the perimeter that they're used to contact. Yes, and you're
not really getting that physical body on body contact and
these types of practices.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
What do you make of the pinky promise situation? I
heard Nate Jackson another former player taking issue with it,
a feeling like Jk's kind of tempting the football gods there.
Do you have any issues with it.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Or how do you feel?
Speaker 2 (05:53):
No, well, I don't, to be totally honest, I'm happy
that he said it. The only pullback for me is
we haven't seen it. Yes, right, that's my only pullback.
We haven't seen it. And the discussion goes for me
is if that were to happen with his pinky swear,
he's saying that for predicting that he would lead the
(06:15):
league in Russia, right, that was his idea. Now, in
order for that to happen, the Broncos will have to
do something they haven't.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Done around here in years, commit to the game.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
There. So, if you're telling me that David's web is
going to do total one eighty and do the total
opposite of Sean Payton and run more, okay than JK.
Dobbins When he was healthy, he had a lot of
explosive play. So you're suggesting also there's going to be
(06:46):
more explosive plays from a run game standpoint, Okay, But
then what happens with those other two running backs? R? J.
Harvey who I mean, May has made a name for
himself and Jonah Coleman that you know, the team seems
to be really high on on.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
So how do you lead the league in Russian.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Known as though you have two other running backs and
the Broncos need to run the ball to make sure
number ten is healthy? Yeah? Do that? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (07:12):
I think hopefully with Davis Webb calling the plays, you
get more of that. And I think what I'd say
is it might not have to be a one to
eighty switch. You know, bo Nicks last year led the
league in passing and over the last two years combined
has led the league in passing attempts. That is there
is so right now the bar is on the floor.
(07:32):
It's thirty second in the NFL in terms of I
guess that commitment to running the ball, at least in
a volume sense, why not?
Speaker 2 (07:40):
You know?
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Have bo Nick's attempted the third most passes in the NFL?
You know, And I'll be in a little tongue in cheek,
you'd want it to go down a lot more than
that to find balance. But even a small step in
that direction should give I don't know a little more,
put a little more meat on the running backs.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Plates I get it, and I totally understand, and it
would be great if JK. Dobbins were able to do that.
But I know what this league is, Zach. You know
what this league is. We always hear about this a
quarterback driven league. So because of the quarterback driven league,
guess what a lot of these offensive coordinators want to do.
(08:19):
They want to throw. It's just like you go to
school for eight years to be a surgeon, right, I mean,
what do you want to do? You want to cut,
you want the school to cut. So these guys have
been led by the people that they've been coached under,
and they want to throw. That's like looking at Sean Payton,
He's he's a former quarterback. Guess what Drew Brees did
(08:44):
down in New Orleans. He threw the guy darn ball
and one of the best quarterbacks we've seen.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
You know, that's going to further push you down that
path in a sense, if you land with a Hall
of Fame quarterback, a guy who ultimately ends up leading
the having the record for most passing touchdowns, most passing
yards in a career before Brady passed him, having a
passing game that prolific, and a quarterback that successful. If
(09:11):
you're in that atmosphere for fifteen years, you're going to go, hey,
let's just always pass the.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Ball because this is what I know. And I mean
to even accelerate that forward. I mean, I guess was
it Thursday this weekend? I mean, Drew Brees is going
into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That's evidence that
you're saying it works. Yeah, But in this case with
the Denver Broncos, nah man, nah fam, you have to
(09:37):
run the ball. You have to put bow knicks on
the center. If JK Dobbins can do this, fine, but
I don't think it's going to be possible because that's
going to be a lot of carries for him, and
he's proven that he can't be healthy. And I think
you're going to need need to lean on some of
these other younger running backs to actually make sure that
(09:57):
JK Dobbmins Why he may not need the league rushing.
He may finish the season I don't know, maybe nine thirty. Yeah,
I think that's that's a good number before I think.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
He could get over a thousand if he's healthy, which
again is a huge if in all of this, but
last year, you know, at the halfway point when he
went down, he was fourth in the league in rushing
and granted, not as many guys get over that one
thousand point now, but I feel, you know, and Coleman
and Harvey will be more involved this year. But I think,
you know, somewhere in that one thousand to eleven hundred
(10:30):
range I think is achievable if he looks like the
guy we saw last season.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Here's what happens too. So if there's a guy who's
coming in the game and he is in that top four, five,
Bijon Robinson, Walker or even Jonathan Taylor, teams already know
they've seen film on you.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
They know what your team wants to do. They want
to run the ball.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
So what what is it that opposing defensive coordinators think
we have to stop the run.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
And they load up the box. And I think that's
such an important thing to hit on because you know,
I think Broncos country, generally speaking, is a little worried
about the depth of that tight end room. And you know,
you see the Rams with a million different tight ends
and some of these different teams that can you know,
get that heavy personnel on the field and kind of
dictate the defensive looks that way, you know, base defense,
it's easier to get those explosive passing plays against. How
(11:23):
do we get them into base defense. Let's get a
lot of tight ends on the field. Well, if you
can have such a prolific running game even with you know,
you're eleven personnel looks, this team so good at wide
receiver that they're probably going to stay lighter. But if
they can still run it out of that, if they
can create a dependable, scary, explosive run game like you're
(11:44):
kind of laying out, then it forces the defense to
drop that safety into the box, load things up a bit,
and then you start getting those juicier looks on the
back end that hey, webs maybe calling the plays, but
you can lean on Peyton's design expertise, and bone is
a great ability with the deep ball and all that.
I think there's a good path there.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
If this is to happen. This is wet.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
I want to talk about it and layers and I
don't want to cast. You know, the spurs is on anyone,
but I have to tell things the way it is.
If Dobbin's pinky squear is in fact able to come true,
the other thing that we would need to see and
improvement in is perimeter blocking. The Broncos have not done
(12:33):
well on the perimeter blocking front of them. That's wide receivers,
that's not all the wide receivers, some of them, and
then we're looking at the tight end group. Like Adam
Trutman is like the guy that the Broncos say, well,
this is our bona fide blocking tight end. So when
he's in a game, you play on defense, you see
his number, what you're thinking it's a run play.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
And beyond that, if it's a run play, it's coming
that way running behind him, right.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
So if you if you watch film and you know that,
then you're gonna like, well, we can shut that down.
And then it's like also watching Adam Trupman, he's had
his moments where he's been good, not great.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
He's not an elite player.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
He's not an elite blocker, yes, but if he improves
and he blocks with intention, things will now change. But
now the other wrinkle you add to it when he
comes in the game to throw opposing defenses off and say, well, no,
this is not just a run play.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Now you have to turn him into a pass catching
tight end.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
Off a play action, yep, But you tell me the
last time you've seen that here.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
And then with any sort of effectiveness that's more than
like him is a little checkdown guy.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Tell me I'll wait because I don't recall it.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
And that's I think the hard thing with this room
right now. And don't get me wrong, some of its
call play calling and coaching and utilization, but it feels
like and hopefully and maybe Bentley can help remedy this time.
But you've got a lot of guys who you're on
the field to do this, Like Evan Ingram. You're on
the field to catch passes we don't know, and run routes.
(14:10):
We don't know if we like you doing the other things.
Adam Troutman, I don't know if we love you catching
the ball. You're here to block Nate Adkins. We don't
love you in line. We don't love you going deeper
passing routes. You're kind of this weird fullback tight end
hybrid flex position guy. Everyone's got their niche skill set
and no one's really developed beyond that. And I think
(14:31):
it was a problem you had in a lot of
different facets last year, like little Jordan Humphreys on the field.
They're doing this. R. J. Harvey's on the field. It's
probably a pass. You had so many players with one
niche specialty and it created a lot of tells.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
You're absolutely right, which is why I'm going to ask
you this question to see if I can get you
to answer right.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
I think I know where you're going.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Okay, Well, now we talked about niche players doing one
thing right and giving things is a way. I think
about a wildcard, right, not a junker wildcard? So why
not bring Taysom Hill in? Why not? Now you're not
bringing him in to be a backup quarterback. You have
(15:15):
Ellinger and Standham competing for that spot, But why not
bring him in as a wildcard that It just throws
a question mark in for the defense. We don't know
why it is here. What are they planning on doing
with him? But you know your block. You know, if
you throw it to him on the slip screen, that's
a five, that's five yards, could be a big play.
(15:37):
You know. If you put him in at running back,
that's a big play. You know, if you put him
in at fullback to lead for either of the running backs. JK. Dobbins.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Guess what I mean that's gonna help the offense.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
But also you can build play action off of because
you start running the ball. You start running the ball
and they're thinking, okay, they're gonna run the ball again.
He slips out and he's a better player in that
case than any of the Broncos is that we currently have.
But I want I want you to answer, would you
do that and see value in a guy like Taysom Hill.
(16:11):
I was a hard no.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
You kind of sold me a little bit. You have
a compelling case. And I'll tell you one more thing
that that Taysom Hill it brings to this team. If
Taysom Hill was on the Broncos last year, probably playing
in the Super Bowl, You're not asking bo Nicks to
do those quarterback run plays that put all the torque
on the ankle that broke the ankle. You're asking Tasom
Hill to probably do those for you.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
And remember the fourth and one play with the Broncos
called the time out, came out and need to convert it.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
They should have kick the field goal, right, But if
you had a Taysom.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Hill type guy, even if you didn't give it to him,
you could use him as a distraction they didn't want
a a the defense give it to someone else.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
They didn't want to do the Tousch push with bow
last year, understandably, so that would provide an option there.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
I'm just saying that, I don't know if the team's
gonna do it, but I'm just presenting my case. That's it.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
I think it's a good case. That said, I'm going
to bring us over to the defensive side of the ball.
We've been too offensive this first half. We'll get more
into how the defense is looking out there at training
camp practice next coming up on Broncos Country Tonight. Hello
Broncos Country, and welcome back to some more post training camp,
(17:23):
post Colorado Rockies action Bronco's Country Tonight. Sitting down with
Nick Ferguson. It's Zach Seegers filling in for Ben Alright
after his stint on Mandy Connell earlier today. Nick, we
got a lot into the offensive side of the ball.
I know you've been annoyed how heavy the coverage has
been on that side of the ball, with them maybe
(17:45):
getting more cheers from their fan base so far and
maybe more attention from the media. Who do you think
is winning the early camp battles and what do you
think that says about this too?
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Well, right now, I would say the highlights have been
big on the offensive side. Right So, I guess if
you want to say who's winning or whatever at this
particular moment, it is offense. And I would only say
that because they're being celebrated more right and rightfully. So
we've seen a lot of explosive pass plays and the
(18:20):
first couple of days of training camp a lot more
than we've seen in years prior, and the fans love it. Man.
And I know it sounds like I'm being Debbie down
and I'm not, but I want to see the Broncos
bill confidence and that's what I would like to call this, Zach.
They're building confidence and you can see it every every
(18:41):
single day and the whole idea when you go out
to practice, you want to compete. So I'm not one
of these guys that are big into who won the
day type of thing. It's like, okay, well, in what
area of the game did the team get better? I'm
more leaning towards that side because we know, from day
to day, from play to play, you're gonna go offense,
(19:02):
you're gonna go defense. You may get five plays in
a row from a defensive side point, and then all
of a sudden there's an explosive play and everyone just
remembered the explosive play.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
But I always try to temper my expectations.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
And here's why. Even when pass do come on, because
the league has changed, you are not allowed to get
around the quarterback, and rightfully so, bows coming off this injury.
I don't care who you are, Nick Benito, Q Robinson,
Johnny Cooper, you're when number ten is there, you stay
(19:34):
at least five feet. Now you can say on tape, coach,
I got the sack. Usually when you when when the
pass come on, guys will get around the quarterback and
they just raise their hands. You'll see it. Yeah, they
raise their hand and say, well that that was kind
of a sack. But so far, a lot of the
explosive plays have been on the offensive side of the ball.
(19:55):
Rightfully so, because no one's really counting the sacks or
almost st And also from a defensive standpoint, you may
be in great position and you may bat down the ball,
but that's not celebratory for fans who are at practice
or media members. I don't care about the damn bad
at ball. They want explosive play. So there's been a
number of explosive plays and I'm hoping that it builds
(20:17):
enough confidence in this offense that they take more shots
down the field.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Are there any concerns with the explosive plays though, because
one of the few areas of this roster that did
experience some changes this offseason was that safety group. You know,
Anderson coming in, Miles Scott coming in, PJ. Locke exiting,
Brandon Jones is coming off at injury at that towards
the end of last season that seemed to impact his
play a little bit. You're asking Devon Key to step
(20:44):
up into that third safety role, and now all of
a sudden you're seeing all these explosive plays on the
back end. Does that make you at all worried for
you know, this defense keeping up this elite level of
play for a third consecutive season.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
You know what Zach see see You're thinking unlike a
lot of people in this market, right, but I was
thinking the same thing as I'm.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
Watching practice and everyone's.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
Going ooh, look at the sighty new toys and look
at explosive plays. That was going like, oh, we got
some depth issues right, That's the first thing that I
thought defensively, because the first unit is going to be
the first unit, yes, right. The expectations for Brandon Jones,
you know you got, I mean, and PSU Roley Moss,
(21:33):
you expect those guys to do what they're gonna do
when it gets to that second and that third level.
As far as your second during your corners, things get
a little different because Tyson Anderson, he's giving up some explosives.
Jay Eel Skinner a guy who really needs this training cap.
I mean, he needs this like a well needs water,
(21:57):
right desperately. You cannot give up explosive plays in practice
because Robert Livsson is now in the passing game, coordinated,
taking over for Jim Lennard. When he sees that and
now he's seeing it with fresh eyes, he's going like,
hey man, this has happened way too many times, and
once the coach loses confidence in you, man, it is
hard to get it back. So that's kind of one
(22:20):
of my concerns is like, what does that death look like? Now?
I'm not concerned about Devin Key. I am not concerned
about him.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
That's good, dear.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Everyone else concerned.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Well's big question marks after Devin Key. You know what,
Miles Scott the rookie. You got Tyson Anderson who never
really played a lot of defense for the Bengals. In
the next a jail Skinner who you know, special teams
Ace hasn't got a lot on the field on defense
for the Broncos when you watch it. But you also
mentioned Livingston though, and I think that's an interesting angle
because Jim Leonard was one of these more hyped up
(22:53):
assistant coaches expected to be a defensive coordinator eventually maybe
even a head coach. He leaves of this new past
game coordinator and we're seeing these huge plays downfield. Do
you think it's more of the lack of depth of
talent or do you think there's busted coverages or maybe
something underlying going wrong?
Speaker 3 (23:13):
To us chematically, it is not schematics.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
It is busted coverage.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
It is guys being on the same page.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
And that's the one thing that's a difference between are
you a starter or you're on second team? At thirdeen?
Can you process information? Can we all see the same
things at the same time. And one of the issues
that the Broncos had last year was the fact that
communication was a problem sometimes even with some of the starters,
(23:42):
but with the backups. Now you're seeing a different variety
of plays coming at you full speed. And if there's
no conversation pre snap, what do we have Because the
first thing I'm doing, Zach, when I'm on the field,
and let's just say, I'll put you out. I'll call
you John Lynch in this situation, right, I'll take the compliment.
(24:04):
So we're looking at down the distance. Then we're looking
at personnel. How is that person that's lining up? And
as a safety, the first thing you have to recognize
where are my threats. I don't think these guys are
doing that in practice right, because they're just lining up
and they're not really talking. Now you will see a
guy point, but he's not saying anything, So who you
(24:25):
talking to? So this is what happens when you get
to the second and third unit. There's a breakdown in
communication because they're not communicating. The guys are not talking
about what it is that they see. If you in
there and you have Evan Ingram and the Jordan Humphrey
in the game and they're both on the same side,
just so happens Evan Ingram is on the ball, the
(24:48):
Jordan Humphrey is off the ball. That's a different formation
because that's not how they line up. Now we have
to talk what do you see? Who is our threat?
And they're not recognizing their threat. And for me, they're
so hard up about making your play that their eyes
betray them because they're looking at the first play that
(25:08):
they think is going to take place, because they're trying
to anticipate them giving you air quotes here, so they're
they're they're jumping certain things while not paying attention to
another guy. Because on Saturday, Jail Skinner, there was a
they ran two post routes right and they kind of
hit them. They hit the second one and he went
to the first one. Evan Ingram came off his backside
(25:30):
with an explosive. You have to see that because Raheem Morris,
remember that guy. You got to be the deepest of
the deepest. I don't need you trying to make plays
that you don't need to make. And we all know
what happened to the Broncos. Then could you imagine Jail Skinner,
even in the preseason game, giving up a play like that.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
Oh, everyone will will melt down. And I think it's
important to highlight too, because right now, you know, listen
to what Ben Jonson's telling the media or Sean Payton
or Sean McVay. Explosive plays are the name of the
game right now because they're so hard to come by.
If you're able to manufacture those, or on the flip side,
if you're giving a lot of them up, it's concerning.
(26:14):
And we're talking about a safety group that currently has
given up a lot of those in practice and a
starting tandem of safeties Brandon Jones and Tallanoa Hufungo, who
have both had injury problems throughout their career. It feels like,
so what does that mean that I think this is
one of the bigger concerns with this roster.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Yeah, he think about it. When we were on the
off season, we kept talking about the running backs, linebackers,
missing JFM. We didn't talk about this. We didn't talk
about what happens if Brandon Jones and telling no funger
they get injured. And remember Brandon Jones on expiring deal
after this season.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
And Miles Scott. I'm a big Miles Scott fan. I
think his story is fascinating. Converted receiver who quickly earned
the green Dot playing for that ALIGNI defense.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
But he was one of the.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
You know, last, very last picks of the NFL draft,
you know. I if he ends up being that you know,
great fourth option, it'd be a pleasant surprise. But counting
on it is a whole different ballgame. It just seems
very dubious right now, especially because Sean Payton commented today,
(27:27):
you know, and pointed out that it was a media
hallucination that John A. Barron was playing safety, which aligns
with her lines up with it was a media hallucination,
one member's hallucination. Okay, I've at least from what I
can gather asking around, it sounds like Baron's played no safety.
He's only played some dimebackers, some different cornerback roles. Do
(27:50):
you think they should be experimenting with him at safety
at all? Though, considering this depth concern.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
Hew to the yeah, not held to the now, Hell
to the yeah. Because here's what we know. The season
is tough. The first couple of games out of the
gate are very physical opponents from the NFC West, Right.
Them dudes can go and they can beat you up
physically with the way they played, the style they played
(28:19):
played the game and all.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
It takes is an injury here and there.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
Fortunate, I mean for the Broncos, they haven't experienced that.
There's other teams around the league that have. And the
Broncos were able to do what they did last year.
Why they were healthy, right, we saw what happened not
having both. Could you imagine this team having three, four
five injuries? Right? That changes the complexity of what you
(28:46):
can do. You have depth, but guess what, you can't
run the same things anymore, right because the mental acuity
of those guys are not as high as your starters.
If it were, they would be starters. Yes, right, then
leticism be factor in And it's not me trying to
insult any of these guys, but just knowing the game
that the way I know it and seeing practice the
(29:07):
way I see it. You don't want to have any
early injuries because it's going to force certain guys into
action who are not really ready. Now, could this Could
these guys get better and be ready by the time
week one? That's a strong possibility, But we can only
talk about what we see right now. What we're seeing
right now or what I'm seeing, something better improve? You
(29:31):
ready to get better with your eyes. If you need
to go get your eyes checked, go get them checked.
But guys are putting their eyes in a wrong place
trying to force the issue and make plays. And no
difference that than having a quarterback who's pressing. You're going
to make mistakes.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Yeah, and how does the coaching staff respond to this?
Speaker 2 (29:51):
Now?
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Kind of to your point, is it, let's give these
guys to week one. Do we see them slow play things?
I think that would speak to a level of confidence
and the guys they have, liking the guys they have
as they have been seeing all off season. Or do
they start working out different safeties that are out there
on the market, some udfas or some VET guys that
are still unsigned, because that might point to them seeing
(30:13):
what we're seeing and not having confidence that it's going
to get remedied by the start of the season.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
Well, I'm sure the way the Broncos will work.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
They have their scouts looking around the league and they're
looking for heavy and light. And what I mean by
that heavy means that a team is really deep at
the safety position and maybe there's some value there. So
you know they're going to release some guys. You look
to see what those guys' numbers were what was it
about them you like or dislike? And pull out those
(30:43):
evaluations because you're not going to go to a team
that is light at the position, because those teams are
not going to give up safeties. And now you're talking
about trading for a guy. But this, once again, this
is where Johnny Barron comes in. Everyone wants him to
be a starting corner, but we have to respect that.
Even though with the holding calls last year with Roley Moss,
(31:04):
he's still a damn good corner.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
He is, and he was getting a lot of praise
today for a strong performance telling No Hufunga said he
was one of the most athletic cornerbacks he's ever seen,
and just rave reviews all around for having a good
first showing in passes that line up with what you saw.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Yeah, because the one thing he has is long speed, right,
and that's what you need at the corner position to
be able to run and stretch out. Roley's issue is
winning at the line of scrimmage. Now, what was the
receiver last year?
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Was it DeVonta Smith or A J. Brown in that Eagles?
Speaker 2 (31:37):
No? No, No, the Chargers?
Speaker 3 (31:39):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Was it Quinn Johnston.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
No, no, it's not Lam McConkie. There was another receiver
that I can't remember his name right now, but anyway,
he gave him a speed release and it was so
fast that Riley didn't expect it.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
Darius Status.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
I think maybe it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
This guy was white and it shocked him because even
Riley Moss had in this frame of mind, white receiver,
He's not gonna run pass me. Dude, ran right pass him,
just ran right pass him speed at least right pass him.
And if he improves that part of his game, we
(32:28):
will start talking about him as one of the better
corners in the league. Obviously, we're not talking about him
in that kind of you know, uh, Derek Stingley or
PS two, We're not talking about him like that. But
he has a chance to put himself in the conversation
to say, well, listen, he's one of the better corners
in this league. So you're not going to if you're
(32:50):
Johnny Barron as a rookie guy, you're not gonna overcome that.
So if you know that, then the team you got
to think about what other ways can we get in
the most out of him, And that may be at
safety and if you see him at safety or you
see him in a dime position, don't get upstand saying
you know what, he's not a starting corner. That tells
you that your corners that you do have are quality
(33:13):
corner So that's nothing to be said about.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
Yeah, And are the coaches really looking to get him
on the field or are they maybe trying to keep
him off the field. I think that can be telling.
Are you playing a lot of dime because man, we
got to get this guy as many snaps as we
can or are you are you shying away from it?
Tyler Onyadam the other most recently highest drafted Bronco, He
had a great day today. It sounds like first day
(33:37):
in pads. Was making some big plays in the against
the run. Jasa Rique and Savian Jones have also been
getting some good reviews right now from your defensive lens,
How do you feel the Broncos are doing replacing that
JFM presence?
Speaker 2 (33:52):
It is a work in progress. You see each guy,
Savan Jones, Waza Rique and Tyl Lodiana making some progress,
but it's going to be just that. It just got
to be a wait and see, especially when we have
more pads but I think the guy who's going to
show up more Tylode.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
That's just that's just my perspective. That's what I'm hoping
steps up.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
Him popping this quick, I think is really telling. Like
it's it's it's hard to earn those rookie opportunities in
vance Joseiff's defense, but it seems like if someone's going
to do it, it really could be him.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
It's going to be him.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
Yes, I like it.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
And if you look at you know who most closely
matches up with how JFM was used, it's actually on
Yadam back at Iowa State. It was almost identical with
that kind of big edge, little kick inside, like the
five tech role.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
I'm just saying, I like the prediction.
Speaker 1 (34:44):
We've got more Broncos country tonight coming after coming up
after this right here on eight to fifty koa
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