August 10, 2026 • 36 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, Broncos Country, and welcome to another summer edition some
late night post Colorado Rockies Broncos Country Tonight. Training Camps
in the air, preseason football returning this week for the
Denver Broncos. I just can't wait. It's been a long
time coming. And you know, just a few years ago,
(00:22):
as exciting as football season would be, there was a
hint of dread of oh man, another quarterback debate, or
another failed head coach, or another this or another that.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
This year, it's all hope.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
You know, since for the first time since I'd argue
twenty fourteen, I think then to twenty fourteen, you started
to see the Manning decline, and going into twenty fifteen,
there was a lot of fear of man, did they
miss their window? I think for the first time since
twenty fourteen, this city is going into a season expecting
to be playing in a super Bowl, and it's just
(00:55):
so exciting. I think there's a lot for us to
talk about. I'm going to be talking with bre Mast
about training camp everything. She's seem great friend of the show,
She's always got some great insight.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
But first I want to take you.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Through what I believe are the three biggest stories of
the day so far, or or this past weekend, try
and catch you up what's going on now as we
turn our eyes forward and start focusing on that preseason game.
This past weekend, for those who weren't aware, was the
Hall of Fame Enshrinement. Drew Brees, Sean Payton's most successful,
(01:31):
most famous protege, or you know, student, however you want
to phrase it, was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
And I think you know that was really cool to see,
not only because you know, Champagne became the first former
or the first coach of a quarterback to be the
one to introduce that quarterback at his Hall of Fame enshrinement.
(01:54):
It speaks to the bond that he and Breeze had
and that was further underlined by Breeze during his lengthy
twenty five thirty minute speech. His love for Sean Payton,
an admiration for Sean Payton, and the value their relationship
had on his career was really highlighted throughout. Here's a
listen to what Drew Brees had to say about that.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
To Sean Payton.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
I miss our dot meetings coach the night before every game,
talking through every play, every situation, every matchup, in the
greatest of detail. I would literally ask Sean, hey, coach,
when do you think you'll call this play? He would
squint his eyes and purse his lips. You know that
look second quarter across midfield, probably forty seven yard line,
(02:46):
second and ten left, hash left middle. Maybe they'll never
expect it. Precise, instinctive, Coach, You were brilliant. I saw
myself as an extension of you on that field. I
always had some to to prove to you and always
wanted to make you right, and I know you trusted me,
and that allowed us both to be great.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Drew Brees talking about his relationship with Sean Payton, and
I just think that is so awesome to hear, powerful
to hear. Obviously, there's there's a lot of emotion in
his voice as he says it, but I think it
also underlines I know this market. My good colleague Benjamin
Albright can be a little lower on Sean Payton at
times for reasons that truly mystify me. But I think
(03:30):
you hear things like this, and it's that's what you hope.
Sean Payton and bow Nicks, You're able to forge now
it's unlikely bo Nix at some point in his career
has the all time record for passing touchdowns or yards
like Drew Brees had. Right, I'm not saying bo Nix
is going to be Drew Brees, but you like, just
listen to what Brees said about the trust he had
at him, the collaborative ability to work together and figure
(03:53):
out how to dissect a defense together. You know, that's
something you want to see bo and Sean Payton forge
together and continue to build. Also say, I'm fairly certain
there's already an element of that at play.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
You know.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
I don't think it's pure coincidence that Sean Payton shows
up and immediately the Broncos solved their decades long quarterback
problem with a prospect that a lot of people, including myself,
didn't love entering the draft, but Sean Payton did and
he saw what he needs in his quarterback.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
And I think for the most part.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
That relationship has really gelled. But you know, there are
some I guess maybe not even cause for concern, but
question marks that have been raised over the past year.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
You know, with the whole.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Injury situation, there's obviously the occasional flare ups on the
between the two on the sideline that you know, were
may be just a product of competitive individuals trying to
work together, but you know, maybe it is more than that.
So I think there's at least some reason for concern.
And now, of course, Davis Webs the play caller, how
does that change things up in spite of all that,
(05:02):
I think it just gives you hope that man, if
they can, if the ankle situation or whatever else, if
none of this ends up being damaging to the relationship
in the long term. I think hearing Drew Brees talk
about that relationship with Peyton gets you excited about what
bo and Peyton could continue to forge together. I just wonder,
(05:23):
if you know, Peyton at sixty some years old, instead
of you know, late forties, early fifties and bo Nicks
being you know, of gen z or millennial whatever, he's
around that cusp point, you know, are those styles going
to mesh. We've seen a lot of the more successful
(05:44):
coaches now, whether it be a McVeigh or whoever else,
be a little more you know, player focused. When Peyton
was hired by the Broncos, it was a big point
of conversation of could his kind of gruffer or old
school style find success in today's game, and it has.
There's there's that's not a debate anymore. I think the
(06:04):
question that was raised then that still remains now is
will it wear people thin? And if not, man, you
can build something great between Peyton and Bow. I just
I think that's something to continue to monitor. But I
am hopeful, and I think those those comments from Breeze
make you even more hopeful. Getting the most out of
Bow is also going to come down to the Davis
(06:26):
web of it all. What does Davis Webb look like
as a first time play caller. I think we had uh,
you know, there's just there's nothing we can project there
except for the rest of the league thinks very very
highly about this guy. The rest of the league thought
very highly about Josh McDaniels out of point, you know,
the the rest of the league thought very highly about
(06:48):
Aaron Glenn. Aaron Glenn's been hyped up as a as
a future head coach for a long time, much like
you know, Davis Webb might end up being. And then
he gets his chance and it looks frankly pretty dreadful.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
So who knows. But the hype is certainly there.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
I think now you know, we're starting to see him
call some plays a training camp practice, the rubber is
at least closer to the road, even if it hasn't
hit it, and we're starting to hear I think some
really promising signs about Davis Web the play caller. Here
was his counterpart Vance Joseph talking about what he's seen
out of Davis Web.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
I think it's really exciting.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
First of all, he's smart. He's so smart. You know,
he understands defenses and the best play callers in this
league understand defenses. So he's not just calling play as
to call plays. I can tell you know, when he
knows the coverage, he is calling the exact beat or
he should call. That's the first time for a play
card in this league in my opinion. And he has
got great energy. Man, he's pushing the guys to get better.
(07:45):
He understand running the football is going to be you know,
our calling card. But he's calling plays that makes the
defense work. The shifts and motions, you know, that makes
us work. He's got a bunch of like you know,
wide open concepts and practice because the shifts in motion.
So he's worked very hard from the spring to now
to put it all together, man, and it looks really good,
you know. And it's hard every day to kind of
(08:07):
not game plan but kind of just get ready for
the things he's given us because it's a lot. But
it's so good for offense to kind of show us
at all, but the shifts and motions and a window
dressing the pre snap has been good for all of
us to see.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Hearing those words from Vance Joseph, I think is so
tremendous because this Davis Web situation, I really think is
the biggest.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
X factor surrounding this Bronco season.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
You know, there's maybe some smaller things like Bonick's staying healthy, right,
and you could say that for every team starting quarterback,
but you know, out of like practical predictable things that
change and offensive play caller is the biggest determinator for
what happens for the Broncos this year. Are they able
to get over the hump? Do they regress and maybe
(08:55):
go back to being a wildcard team or really disappointing
and missing the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
The thing with probably the.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Single most weight towards swaying that towards one extreme or
the other is this Davis Web situation, right, if he
is everything he's made out to be, which is this
is the next dude, the next Ben Johnson, the next
Sean McVay, et cetera. It could really it could be
(09:22):
what wins the team the super Bowl, Right, this team,
if you give him the Ben Johnson offenses of the
past few years, if you give them a Sean McVay
offense from these past few years, you know something that's
one of the five best attacks in the league. You
pair that with this defense, they win a Super Bowl,
or at the very least they're heavily favored to win
a Super Bowl. They've got a great chance to win
(09:43):
it all. Luck based game, single elimination, anything could happen.
But if you have a top five offense, top five defense,
excellent chance you win it all. On the flip side
of that, right, this could, I think understandably and fairly
easily derail things this season. Right if you know what
(10:06):
if getting the plays in a little faster, you know,
doesn't cancel out the gains you're getting from just Sean
Payton's pure experience and being you know, a great offensive
play caller for twenty five years now. Vance Joseph highlighted
in there. You know Web kind of doing a great
job of finding the answers to the test, right knowing, Hey,
(10:30):
this looks like cover four. Let's run the cover four
beater they're going to run this year. Let's run the
beater for that. You know that, and that's good. I
think that is, like Vance Joseph said, the first big
box you need to check, or the first big hurdle
you need to clear as an offensive play caller in
the NFL. I think arguably the more important part is
(10:50):
less scientific. Right, the you have this problem, there's this
remedy for it. Right, that's fairly. You know two plus
two equals four. Oh, they're running cover four. We'll run
the cover forward beater.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Right.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
That's it's a lot more scientific, a lot easier, a
lot more straightforward, and plenty of guys can't do it.
It's not to you know, take Web out at the
knees or anything. That's an important step. The other important
one and one I don't think we're going to know
until he's facing a defense where you know, he knows
Vans Joseph very well. He's practiced against Vance Joseph. Even
(11:25):
as the quarterback coach for a long time for several years. Now,
what happens when it's you know, Steve Spagnolo, you know
or you know, fill in the blank defensive coordinator. Is
he able to still feel those things? Is he able
to set up a sequence of plays over the course
of the game where I'm running this play in the
first quarter. You know, I don't think it's a bad
(11:47):
player anything, but less so for what it's going to
do for me now, and more so I can set
up the haymaker in the fourth quarter.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Right, does he have that feel for it?
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Because that's another piece, you know, Sean Payton, we can
say it's it's well, he's a great designer.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
We don't know about the sequencing.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
The reason you see, you know, on those excellent designed plays,
a Courtland Sutton or a Marvin Mims wide open with
a zip code to themselves downfield is because of the sequencing.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Right, those plays.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Aren't just call play get a wide open receiver in
the end zone, buttons if they were you to do
nothing but that, Right, It's like those old of anyone
who played like NCAA football before they revived it, there
used to be the setup plays where like if you
ran one play enough, you could run the counter off
of it and the defense would bite super hard. There's
(12:40):
and that's obviously a video game cartoon, extreme arcadeized version
of that concept. But you don't just still like these
incredible designer bespoke plays that Peyton draws up. Yes, it's
a credit to his ability on a whiteboard. It's also
a credit to his ability as a sequencer to get
(13:02):
the defense to take the cheese in the way they do.
And so I do think, you know, how does.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Web do that?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
How ready is Web to pick up some of these
other details, so the offense is elevated by it and
not you know, like the Lions last year, right, even
when they went back to Dan Campbell, there were issues
with that offense that they couldn't quite resolve, and that
could I don't think it happens this year, right, But
(13:31):
that is the risk with this change to Davis Web.
There's a chance you just can't play the guitar, you know,
that's that play calling feel is something he doesn't have.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
And then now you're maybe in some.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Sort of weird power struggle or Peyton's having to wrench
it back and you're having to mid season, change your
whole style offensively, and it could also fall somewhere in
the middle. You know, web could smooth some things out
with you know, just getting the play in faster and whatnot,
and then and you know other things he's trying to do,
could you know, ding him the other way? Like the
(14:06):
lack of motion, right, that's something that I know Ben's
railed on a lot. Again, I don't think it's as
simple as well. Motion equals good. You dial up the motion,
that's good most if you want to look at the
teams in the league who don't run a lot of motion,
who typically don't run a lot of tempo. Jane Daniels
is an exception to the tempo rule. But quarterbacks and
(14:28):
teams not running a lot of tempo, not running a
lot of motion are young quarterbacks because it puts a
lot on them. Motion can give utels on the defense.
It also muddies the picture and creates a lot more
moving pieces for that quarterback to decipher as opposed to
a stagnant picture. Like Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurtz don't
(14:49):
want a lot of motion. They want the stagnant picture
so they can go up there see what it looks
like and go about their business the way they go
about it. Right, We also talk and again web cleaning
up some of this. By he's going to be calling
the plays. We all think the play calls will get
in faster. Something working against that will be the motion, right.
(15:10):
Every you know, a play call is pretty much a
series of words that tell everybody what route they're running
or what job they're doing on a given play. You know,
these wordy, lengthy combinations of words. It's like every piece
of it is saying offensive line, this is the protection plan.
(15:30):
X receiver you're running this, Z receiver you're running this,
and so on. Well, motions have to be part of that.
Motions are part of the play call. So if I'm
telling this player to motion here, in this player to
motion here, those are two additional sentences or bundles of
words phrases that have to be added on to what
(15:50):
we already know is extensively long play call in these
Sean Paigne offenses. So again, people mad, there's not enough motion.
Last year, also mad, the play calls coming in too slow.
If you add motion, the play call gets longer and
it's coming in even slower. And then you have even
less time to operate the motion. Point being, I think
(16:12):
there's a lot of things Web can do to improve
this offense, but it's I just don't think it's going
to be cut and dry. Oh you dial this knob
and this knob and everything gets better. I think it's
going to be interesting to see how that balance is
struck and how he strikes that balance, I think could
be the biggest factor in determining is this a you know,
legitimate super Bowl contender or is it you know, not
(16:35):
quite that level? Is it what they what we saw
last year where this team is just knocking on the
door but can't quite get over the hump. And then
I think the last factor in that is, can't the
Broncos start getting some better injury luck? It has been
insane so far the number of soft tissue injuries they
continue to incur. You hope this gets better soon. It's
(16:57):
gotta If this carries into the season, that could be
what you know, no pun intended hamstrings their super Bowl hopes.
If they get health like they have these past few years,
it's an incredible competitive difference maker. And I am anxious
about the soft tissue injuries. You know, one it starts now,
and yes, you've got plenty of time before the season,
(17:18):
but it starts now. Maybe that nags throughout the season.
Maybe it's a strain now that becomes more of a
tear later on. It's just, you know, the greatest indicator
for future injuries is past injuries. So these things flaring
up is, even if it's not major, still a concern
to me. And then I also think there's the element of, yes,
(17:41):
the Broncos have had great injury luck these past few years.
They haven't had a slog like they did last season
though in a long time, not only the extra games
going to an AFC Conference championship, but also like those
games you had to grind them out. There weren't a
lot of easy fourth quarters, like it was down to
the why I are grinding it out a whole sixty
(18:01):
minutes of one hundred percent effort for you know whatever,
nineteen weeks. I wonder if that and also then your
boss season shortened just by the nature of playing later,
I worry about that impacting the health and injury side
of things as well. Got more Broncos Country Tonight coming
up for you after this. Stay tuned on KOA. Hello,
(18:28):
Broncos Country and will welcome to some more late night
post Colorado Rockies Broncos Country Tonight Action. Nick Ferguson's got
the day off today. We've got Ben filling in on
KOA Sports, so you've got a little bit.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Of me tonight filling.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
In the last segment, we talked about everything going on
with you know, the Broncos right now, soft tissue injuries,
you know, that headache and concern, some of the Hall
of Fame stuff, as well as of course, you know
the really signs we're hearing about Davis Web and with
(19:03):
that in mind, some of the Davis Web stuff, I
think that's you know, the part of the season we're
starting to weigh into, right looking at the actual games.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
It's not all just on paper right now.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
We're in a hyper controlled, you know, fairly unrealistic practice setting,
right We're going to start seeing some live bullets fly
here soon, and I think that's really exciting. And so
considering that, what should we be watching for, right What
are the biggest storylines in this preseason game to monitor
(19:34):
for starters? Obviously the play calling situation hit on some
of that in the last segment, but that's going to
be an incredibly impactful element of this upcoming season for
the Denver Broncos. And you know, I think a lot
of their high range outcomes, like winning a super Bowl
and what not, depends on how that goes. This will
(19:54):
be a good chance to see, you know, how strong
of a sequencer web really is. Beyond that, I think
just the depth at some certain key positions, because this
Broncos roster is really well set up to I think
absorb injuries, you know, in some different places. But there
(20:15):
are a few problem areas that I think have to
prove themselves in this preseason action or during this preseason action,
you know, linebacker. I know there's a lot of consternation
about Sternad and Singleton they'll be starting again. I think
it's it's, you know, it's a below average but fine
starting tandem. I wish they did a little more to
(20:36):
upgrade on it. But I think the big concern it
isn't so much that they're starting. But okay, Sternad was
your depth piece in that room for a while and
a reliable one one where you know, when Alex Singleton
went out two years ago, you could trust him to
just pop right in next to Cody Barton and hold
down the fort and then last year with the Drake
(20:57):
Greenlaw situation, pops in, you know, holds down the fort.
I get why they wanted to keep him around, make
him that starter. I think he earned that role, but
it leaves avoid now behind him. I'm very excited about
Red Murdoch and I think Torrian York has potential to
be a UDFA that actually makes the final roster, but
(21:20):
we really don't know right now. You can get, you know,
some of that stuff in these practice settings, but it's
going to be a lot easier to evaluate these linebackers
and you know, how quickly is the game coming to them?
How well are they seeing it all? Can they knock
off Lavelle Bailey or Karene Reid, who've you know, these
udfas who've kind of held down that role the past
(21:41):
few years. I think they can. But preseason is when
we'll get a really good read on that. And it's
also important because teams are going to be trying the
Broncos linebackers this year. A lot of teams are getting heavier,
you know, the Chargers are one of them in division,
get heavier, getting more big bodies on the field and
(22:02):
forcing the opponent to put more linebackers on the field.
And the Broncos don't have a nicky man Worri. You know,
both Nichols, including John de Barron, are average to slightly
maybe undersized, so you're not having that. We can play
Nickel against everything because we've just got this freak athlete
(22:23):
who's a defensive back the size of a linebacker. Right,
the Broncos don't have someone like that. Maybe you can
drop a Hufanga down and try and do some of
that stuff. He's certainly violent enough, but the safety depth
is another big question mark, and that's the next thing
I'd highlight. PJ Luck has played a very important role
for this defense the past few years. You can't pay everyone.
(22:44):
I get why they let.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Him go to Dallas.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
I get why Pjluck wanted to be reunited with Christian
Parker in Dallas. I think it makes sense for everyone.
But it does turn what has been a strength for
the Broncos since you know, the Simmons Jackson days on
the back end, which is safety depth, and it's really
cutting it out. You know, we've heard all training camp
(23:07):
long about these big explosive plays against the defense and
I talked about it, you know, on here with Nick
Ferguson before, but I think I think that's probably connected
to the lack of safety depth all of a sudden.
So even if you want to try and get Hufung
on the field to try and cover up some of
the linebacker shortage, now you're opening up a new can
of worms. There's there's a different problem to to worry
(23:29):
about your you know, Robert robbing Peter to pay Pauls
as the expression goes. So I think it's very interesting
to see, you know, what, what does the depth look
like at that linebacker spot, at that safety spot. You know,
not only because oh it's a void, and how are
these pieces going to change? How is the roster going
(23:50):
to turn over? But also because it will dictate how
the Broncos play defensively this year and how they match
up against the modern trail, the way the league is headed.
So I think that'll be a fascinating watch and then
one that doesn't have that, you know, bigger picture, it'll
change the whole way the defense operates. But is you know,
(24:13):
the most important loss, really the only major loss the
Broncos have to address.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
What are they doing?
Speaker 1 (24:19):
You know, replacing John Franklin Myers Wasriku is getting rave
reviews in camp as his own, Yetam sounds like Savion
Jones has had some good moments too. I think when
you look at how each of those guys have been
utilized in their career, you can kind of see a
vision for how they'll try and replace JFM. You know,
(24:40):
Saveon's more of that edge, defensive lineman hybrid type, so
he might take some more of those wider set snaps
that JFM did, and then when JFM would kick inside,
I think those are going to be more of the
waza rike snaps and Wazirika I think will take the
Lion's share. But I think they You've got Savon Jones
(25:01):
and Onetam as something that's a little closer to that
edge body type and you can maybe kick outside if
you want that extra size on early downs. But the
Andros Riquez earned that spot. It seems like he's the
leader in the clubhouse. He's going to get the overwhelming
majority of the snaps. It's clear how they're going to
use him, in my opinion, as that kind of more
(25:22):
interior replacement for JFM. But I think the jones On
Yadam Battle is fascinating. Vance Joseph obviously we all know
he doesn't love playing rookies, But on the defensive line,
I feel like it might be different, just because the
asks are different. You know, we saw Ellis get on
(25:42):
the field a fair bit as a rookie. We saw
Hugh Robinson get on the field a fair bit last year,
even despite how loaded that edge room is, they made
sure to find a way to get him on the field.
And you know, when you're on that defensive front, there's
not like, yes, there's stunts and games and twists and whatnot,
But I think that's a lot different than trusting a
(26:03):
rookie safety to you know, prevent the deep ball, or
a rookie cornerback to prevent the deep ball, or you know,
those those areas where a single mistake can create a
thirty yard explosive play and just crack open an entire game.
I think, and again I haven't talked to VJ, but
I'm assuming just thinking about what I've heard from other
(26:26):
defensive coaches about their mentality, I think you hate the
idea of giving up the big play, and you hate
the idea of that happening on a busted coverage or
some discommunication or some rookie not knowing where they're.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Supposed to be.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
That is, and obviously there's gap discipline and all that stuff,
but it's less of a factor on the defensive line,
and so I think there is a better chance for
o y Adam to break through as a rookie than
some other pieces. And also, save on Jones, we just
haven't seen much of him.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
You know.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
He had some moments last year, he had had the
fumble last year, you know, but barely got on the field.
And even now it seems like he's clearly taken a
second back seat to Jasurique as as he like owns
that room. And you look at Onyadam getting rave reviews
(27:20):
in training camp, just people have been so impressed by him.
You look at his college utilization at Iowa State and
his snap breakdown in terms of where was he lining
up almost identical to JFM. There's really no one else
on this Broncos defensive line who was used the same way.
You know, some guys have were used outside a lot
more than JFM, some more inside, some more right, It's
(27:44):
no one really projects to be that perfect analog for JFM.
Who can replace the entirety of his role, and I
don't think Onadam could do that as a rookie.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
But he can't.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
He projects to be able to do that eventually, and
so I wonder if that's something they start exploring or
experimenting with, especially if he has a strong preseason. So
I think that on the defensive side, those are some
of the top stories. The last one. And I can
hear Ryan grumbling and shaking his head at me now,
(28:21):
but I'm getting a little worried about Jade Barn, you know.
And I'm not going to.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Use the B word or anything.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
I'm not trying to make it a bigger deal than
it is, but I think we should be real about
where things are at. At the end of last year,
his role on defense shrunk. It didn't grow when they
were in the playoffs, you know, needing to win games,
(28:48):
no time to mess around with rookie development. Now his
role shrank over a two game stretch. It with some
of the lowest utilization he saw all year, shrink as
the year went on. You'd think, again, rookie learning the ropes.
Joseph doesn't trust him, you know, eases him into things,
but then he earns his stripes and that role inflates
(29:11):
it was the opposite. And then we get to the
trade to the off season, and I thought, honestly, the Broncos'
actions demonstrated some some faith in Baron. You know, they
haven't re upped long term with either JQM or Riley Moss,
which I think demonstrates they're they're willing to maybe move
(29:33):
off of or likely probably move off of one of
those two this offseason and Baron can can slot in there.
But then we get into camp and it seems like
the Riley Moss Baron competition lasted all of two days,
maybe three, and there there's no competition anymore with JQM.
(29:57):
That just seems cemented. Yeah, you know solid. I know
they haven't been experimenting with him at safety yet, but
I wonder if they if they should. You know, when
you consider the depth concerns you maybe have at safety,
and you know his ability to play that spot he
played it in college. I also wonder if it's his
best projection at this point. I think when you watch
(30:21):
his film last year and even in college, great zone awareness.
I think his eyes, his ball skills are really impressive.
A Rangy player in zone, but I think he can
struggle to contest the catch point or create tight windows
in man coverage, and this is a defense that runs
(30:42):
a lot of man coverage. I think you can protect
him from some of that at safety. You know, last
year he got his most playing time kind of as
this tight end stopper, and I think that worked so
well for him because you know, the tight ends weren't
as able as your standards lot receiver to you know,
maybe expose some of those man coverage concerns. But now
(31:06):
we're in camp and we're hearing fairly unanimously. I know
Ryan said it. I know more people from other stations
have been saying it too, But Abram's drain is out
playing John A. Barron from everything we're hearing right now.
And again, not the end of the world, but that
is concerning. Like, I think it's fair to say we've
(31:26):
reached the point where that's not what it's supposed to be.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
You know, he was a.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
Top twenty pick in older cornerback prospect too, who you know,
played a lot at Texas, had four years at Texas.
He was supposed to be pretty pro ready. And it's
one thing when the room's just stacked and a man,
there's just no way this guy can break through. And
maybe it is ultimately that, but oftentimes in those cases,
(31:53):
like with Nicki min Worry last year in the Seahawks,
for example, it's wow, this guy is so awesome. We
got to find a way to get him on the field.
Let's find a role for him, whatever it is. How
can we get this guy on the field more? And
it doesn't seem like the Bronco staff is approaching it
that way. And you pair that with again like Abrams
Drain out playing him, which I don't think is all
(32:15):
that surprising considering what we saw from Abram's Drain, Considering
last year we saw, you know, Abrams Drain kind of
share that role with Baron when PS two went down
with injury. And I think Abrams Drain is really the
reason the Baron pick is so questionable in hindsight. You know,
Abrams Drain had played you know, limited, but had played
(32:38):
looked good filling in for Levi Wallace looked like you
had a real find there. And he's continued to demonstrate that.
He looks like an awesome depth cornerback, the guy who's
probably going to get paid pretty well by another team
to get a start shot at starting or at least
a larger role once his rookie contract comes up. And
(33:00):
despite having that guy, you still draft a cornerback. And
I hate the you can't have too many cornerbacks thing.
Everyone's been saying that since the jah D Baron pick.
And while it's true, right everyone would love to have
five great cornerbacks in the NFL. Everyone has a budget.
There's a budget of draft picks you have, there's a
(33:20):
budget of cap space you have. You only have so
many resources to address certain problems. Starting tackle, for example,
Garrett Boles and mcglinchy are both up there, and you
don't have an air apparent. That's an area where drafting
that that guy would have made a lot of sense.
You know, Linebacker, we just talked about all that. That
(33:41):
would have made a lot of sense. Safety Malachi Starks,
that would have made a lot of sense. John Campbell
Carson's questioner. Some of the best young linebackers in the game, right,
would have made a lot of sense. Marion Hampton changes
the how worried we are about this running back room,
the stability of it, everything. If they do that at
twenty and seve that, and so it's not, oh, no,
(34:03):
one needs five cornerbacks. No, having five cornerbacks is great.
You know, it's better than having a reliable cornerback five though,
having a reliable starting running back, having a reliable starting linebacker. Right,
it's a luxury at a point, it's the opportunity cost.
If I'm spending my first round pick on having a
great fifth cornerback, I can't spend it on getting bow
another awesome weapon. I can't spend it on fixing a
(34:26):
tight end room that's been a problem for over a
decade now. I can't spend it on finding the future
on the offensive line or the future on the defensive line. Right,
it was, this isn't even going to be the first
man off the bench or the future. You had Patrick
Sartan and then three talented corners on cost controlled contracts.
(34:51):
You don't have a thirty year old you need to
replace on the horizon. It was a luxury pick. Much
like you know, it reminds me of like the he's
taking Clyde Edwards a laire. It's like, oh, it's fine.
You know, this roster's so good they don't even need
to They can spend it on Clyde Edwards a Laire
and then you find out, oh no, no, they needed
(35:12):
some more line help, They needed a little more defensive help,
some some more edge rushers, some help at cornerback, and
then they invested in the defense. And you know, obviously
they go on their little dynasty run. But I think again,
you just it's a luxury and that's not the end
(35:34):
of the world. It can still turn around. He's got
plenty of time. But we're looking at, you know, two
years of a top twenty pick for a team trying
to win a Super Bowl, and that top twenty pick
isn't really contributing to those Super Bowl goals. Last two
Super Bowl champions Seahawks Eagles, massive massive rookie contributions fed
(35:56):
those championship runs. Cooper dejen Quinny and Mitchell Nicki min worry,
raised Abel. If the Broncos want to get over the hump,
they need those types of contributions, and they kind of
painted themselves into a corner on this one. More Broncos
Country Tonight coming up after this
Hello, Broncos Country, and welcome to another summer edition some
late night post Colorado Rockies Broncos Country Tonight. Training Camps
in the air, preseason football returning this week for the
Denver Broncos. I just can't wait. It's been a long
time coming. And you know, just a few years ago,
(00:22):
as exciting as football season would be, there was a
hint of dread of oh man, another quarterback debate, or
another failed head coach, or another this or another that.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
This year, it's all hope.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
You know, since for the first time since I'd argue
twenty fourteen, I think then to twenty fourteen, you started
to see the Manning decline, and going into twenty fifteen,
there was a lot of fear of man, did they
miss their window? I think for the first time since
twenty fourteen, this city is going into a season expecting
to be playing in a super Bowl, and it's just
(00:55):
so exciting. I think there's a lot for us to
talk about. I'm going to be talking with bre Mast
about training camp everything. She's seem great friend of the show,
She's always got some great insight.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
But first I want to take you.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Through what I believe are the three biggest stories of
the day so far, or or this past weekend, try
and catch you up what's going on now as we
turn our eyes forward and start focusing on that preseason game.
This past weekend, for those who weren't aware, was the
Hall of Fame Enshrinement. Drew Brees, Sean Payton's most successful,
(01:31):
most famous protege, or you know, student, however you want
to phrase it, was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
And I think you know that was really cool to see,
not only because you know, Champagne became the first former
or the first coach of a quarterback to be the
one to introduce that quarterback at his Hall of Fame enshrinement.
(01:54):
It speaks to the bond that he and Breeze had
and that was further underlined by Breeze during his lengthy
twenty five thirty minute speech. His love for Sean Payton,
an admiration for Sean Payton, and the value their relationship
had on his career was really highlighted throughout. Here's a
listen to what Drew Brees had to say about that.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
To Sean Payton.
Speaker 3 (02:26):
I miss our dot meetings coach the night before every game,
talking through every play, every situation, every matchup, in the
greatest of detail. I would literally ask Sean, hey, coach,
when do you think you'll call this play? He would
squint his eyes and purse his lips. You know that
look second quarter across midfield, probably forty seven yard line,
(02:46):
second and ten left, hash left middle. Maybe they'll never
expect it. Precise, instinctive, Coach, You were brilliant. I saw
myself as an extension of you on that field. I
always had some to to prove to you and always
wanted to make you right, and I know you trusted me,
and that allowed us both to be great.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Drew Brees talking about his relationship with Sean Payton, and
I just think that is so awesome to hear, powerful
to hear. Obviously, there's there's a lot of emotion in
his voice as he says it, but I think it
also underlines I know this market. My good colleague Benjamin
Albright can be a little lower on Sean Payton at
times for reasons that truly mystify me. But I think
(03:30):
you hear things like this, and it's that's what you hope.
Sean Payton and bow Nicks, You're able to forge now
it's unlikely bo Nix at some point in his career
has the all time record for passing touchdowns or yards
like Drew Brees had. Right, I'm not saying bo Nix
is going to be Drew Brees, but you like, just
listen to what Brees said about the trust he had
at him, the collaborative ability to work together and figure
(03:53):
out how to dissect a defense together. You know, that's
something you want to see bo and Sean Payton forge
together and continue to build. Also say, I'm fairly certain
there's already an element of that at play.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
You know.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
I don't think it's pure coincidence that Sean Payton shows
up and immediately the Broncos solved their decades long quarterback
problem with a prospect that a lot of people, including myself,
didn't love entering the draft, but Sean Payton did and
he saw what he needs in his quarterback.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
And I think for the most part.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
That relationship has really gelled. But you know, there are
some I guess maybe not even cause for concern, but
question marks that have been raised over the past year.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
You know, with the whole.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Injury situation, there's obviously the occasional flare ups on the
between the two on the sideline that you know, were
may be just a product of competitive individuals trying to
work together, but you know, maybe it is more than that.
So I think there's at least some reason for concern.
And now, of course, Davis Webs the play caller, how
does that change things up in spite of all that,
(05:02):
I think it just gives you hope that man, if
they can, if the ankle situation or whatever else, if
none of this ends up being damaging to the relationship
in the long term. I think hearing Drew Brees talk
about that relationship with Peyton gets you excited about what
bo and Peyton could continue to forge together. I just wonder,
(05:23):
if you know, Peyton at sixty some years old, instead
of you know, late forties, early fifties and bo Nicks
being you know, of gen z or millennial whatever, he's
around that cusp point, you know, are those styles going
to mesh. We've seen a lot of the more successful
(05:44):
coaches now, whether it be a McVeigh or whoever else,
be a little more you know, player focused. When Peyton
was hired by the Broncos, it was a big point
of conversation of could his kind of gruffer or old
school style find success in today's game, and it has.
There's there's that's not a debate anymore. I think the
(06:04):
question that was raised then that still remains now is
will it wear people thin? And if not, man, you
can build something great between Peyton and Bow. I just
I think that's something to continue to monitor. But I
am hopeful, and I think those those comments from Breeze
make you even more hopeful. Getting the most out of
Bow is also going to come down to the Davis
(06:26):
web of it all. What does Davis Webb look like
as a first time play caller. I think we had uh,
you know, there's just there's nothing we can project there
except for the rest of the league thinks very very
highly about this guy. The rest of the league thought
very highly about Josh McDaniels out of point, you know,
the the rest of the league thought very highly about
(06:48):
Aaron Glenn. Aaron Glenn's been hyped up as a as
a future head coach for a long time, much like
you know, Davis Webb might end up being. And then
he gets his chance and it looks frankly pretty dreadful.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
So who knows. But the hype is certainly there.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
I think now you know, we're starting to see him
call some plays a training camp practice, the rubber is
at least closer to the road, even if it hasn't
hit it, and we're starting to hear I think some
really promising signs about Davis Web the play caller. Here
was his counterpart Vance Joseph talking about what he's seen
out of Davis Web.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
I think it's really exciting.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
First of all, he's smart. He's so smart. You know,
he understands defenses and the best play callers in this
league understand defenses. So he's not just calling play as
to call plays. I can tell you know, when he
knows the coverage, he is calling the exact beat or
he should call. That's the first time for a play
card in this league in my opinion. And he has
got great energy. Man, he's pushing the guys to get better.
(07:45):
He understand running the football is going to be you know,
our calling card. But he's calling plays that makes the
defense work. The shifts and motions, you know, that makes
us work. He's got a bunch of like you know,
wide open concepts and practice because the shifts in motion.
So he's worked very hard from the spring to now
to put it all together, man, and it looks really good,
you know. And it's hard every day to kind of
(08:07):
not game plan but kind of just get ready for
the things he's given us because it's a lot. But
it's so good for offense to kind of show us
at all, but the shifts and motions and a window
dressing the pre snap has been good for all of
us to see.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Hearing those words from Vance Joseph, I think is so
tremendous because this Davis Web situation, I really think is
the biggest.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
X factor surrounding this Bronco season.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
You know, there's maybe some smaller things like Bonick's staying healthy, right,
and you could say that for every team starting quarterback,
but you know, out of like practical predictable things that
change and offensive play caller is the biggest determinator for
what happens for the Broncos this year. Are they able
to get over the hump? Do they regress and maybe
(08:55):
go back to being a wildcard team or really disappointing
and missing the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
The thing with probably the.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Single most weight towards swaying that towards one extreme or
the other is this Davis Web situation, right, if he
is everything he's made out to be, which is this
is the next dude, the next Ben Johnson, the next
Sean McVay, et cetera. It could really it could be
(09:22):
what wins the team the super Bowl, Right, this team,
if you give him the Ben Johnson offenses of the
past few years, if you give them a Sean McVay
offense from these past few years, you know something that's
one of the five best attacks in the league. You
pair that with this defense, they win a Super Bowl,
or at the very least they're heavily favored to win
a Super Bowl. They've got a great chance to win
(09:43):
it all. Luck based game, single elimination, anything could happen.
But if you have a top five offense, top five defense,
excellent chance you win it all. On the flip side
of that, right, this could, I think understandably and fairly
easily derail things this season. Right if you know what
(10:06):
if getting the plays in a little faster, you know,
doesn't cancel out the gains you're getting from just Sean
Payton's pure experience and being you know, a great offensive
play caller for twenty five years now. Vance Joseph highlighted
in there. You know Web kind of doing a great
job of finding the answers to the test, right knowing, Hey,
(10:30):
this looks like cover four. Let's run the cover four
beater they're going to run this year. Let's run the
beater for that. You know that, and that's good. I
think that is, like Vance Joseph said, the first big
box you need to check, or the first big hurdle
you need to clear as an offensive play caller in
the NFL. I think arguably the more important part is
(10:50):
less scientific. Right, the you have this problem, there's this
remedy for it. Right, that's fairly. You know two plus
two equals four. Oh, they're running cover four. We'll run
the cover forward beater.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Right.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
That's it's a lot more scientific, a lot easier, a
lot more straightforward, and plenty of guys can't do it.
It's not to you know, take Web out at the
knees or anything. That's an important step. The other important
one and one I don't think we're going to know
until he's facing a defense where you know, he knows
Vans Joseph very well. He's practiced against Vance Joseph. Even
(11:25):
as the quarterback coach for a long time for several years. Now,
what happens when it's you know, Steve Spagnolo, you know
or you know, fill in the blank defensive coordinator. Is
he able to still feel those things? Is he able
to set up a sequence of plays over the course
of the game where I'm running this play in the
first quarter. You know, I don't think it's a bad
(11:47):
player anything, but less so for what it's going to
do for me now, and more so I can set
up the haymaker in the fourth quarter.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
Right, does he have that feel for it?
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Because that's another piece, you know, Sean Payton, we can
say it's it's well, he's a great designer.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
We don't know about the sequencing.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
The reason you see, you know, on those excellent designed plays,
a Courtland Sutton or a Marvin Mims wide open with
a zip code to themselves downfield is because of the sequencing.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Right, those plays.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Aren't just call play get a wide open receiver in
the end zone, buttons if they were you to do
nothing but that, Right, It's like those old of anyone
who played like NCAA football before they revived it, there
used to be the setup plays where like if you
ran one play enough, you could run the counter off
of it and the defense would bite super hard. There's
(12:40):
and that's obviously a video game cartoon, extreme arcadeized version
of that concept. But you don't just still like these
incredible designer bespoke plays that Peyton draws up. Yes, it's
a credit to his ability on a whiteboard. It's also
a credit to his ability as a sequencer to get
(13:02):
the defense to take the cheese in the way they do.
And so I do think, you know, how does.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Web do that?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
How ready is Web to pick up some of these
other details, so the offense is elevated by it and
not you know, like the Lions last year, right, even
when they went back to Dan Campbell, there were issues
with that offense that they couldn't quite resolve, and that
could I don't think it happens this year, right, But
(13:31):
that is the risk with this change to Davis Web.
There's a chance you just can't play the guitar, you know,
that's that play calling feel is something he doesn't have.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
And then now you're maybe in some.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Sort of weird power struggle or Peyton's having to wrench
it back and you're having to mid season, change your
whole style offensively, and it could also fall somewhere in
the middle. You know, web could smooth some things out
with you know, just getting the play in faster and whatnot,
and then and you know other things he's trying to do,
could you know, ding him the other way? Like the
(14:06):
lack of motion, right, that's something that I know Ben's
railed on a lot. Again, I don't think it's as
simple as well. Motion equals good. You dial up the motion,
that's good most if you want to look at the
teams in the league who don't run a lot of motion,
who typically don't run a lot of tempo. Jane Daniels
is an exception to the tempo rule. But quarterbacks and
(14:28):
teams not running a lot of tempo, not running a
lot of motion are young quarterbacks because it puts a
lot on them. Motion can give utels on the defense.
It also muddies the picture and creates a lot more
moving pieces for that quarterback to decipher as opposed to
a stagnant picture. Like Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurtz don't
(14:49):
want a lot of motion. They want the stagnant picture
so they can go up there see what it looks
like and go about their business the way they go
about it. Right, We also talk and again web cleaning
up some of this. By he's going to be calling
the plays. We all think the play calls will get
in faster. Something working against that will be the motion, right.
(15:10):
Every you know, a play call is pretty much a
series of words that tell everybody what route they're running
or what job they're doing on a given play. You know,
these wordy, lengthy combinations of words. It's like every piece
of it is saying offensive line, this is the protection plan.
(15:30):
X receiver you're running this, Z receiver you're running this,
and so on. Well, motions have to be part of that.
Motions are part of the play call. So if I'm
telling this player to motion here, in this player to
motion here, those are two additional sentences or bundles of
words phrases that have to be added on to what
(15:50):
we already know is extensively long play call in these
Sean Paigne offenses. So again, people mad, there's not enough motion.
Last year, also mad, the play calls coming in too slow.
If you add motion, the play call gets longer and
it's coming in even slower. And then you have even
less time to operate the motion. Point being, I think
(16:12):
there's a lot of things Web can do to improve
this offense, but it's I just don't think it's going
to be cut and dry. Oh you dial this knob
and this knob and everything gets better. I think it's
going to be interesting to see how that balance is
struck and how he strikes that balance, I think could
be the biggest factor in determining is this a you know,
legitimate super Bowl contender or is it you know, not
(16:35):
quite that level? Is it what they what we saw
last year where this team is just knocking on the
door but can't quite get over the hump. And then
I think the last factor in that is, can't the
Broncos start getting some better injury luck? It has been
insane so far the number of soft tissue injuries they
continue to incur. You hope this gets better soon. It's
(16:57):
gotta If this carries into the season, that could be
what you know, no pun intended hamstrings their super Bowl hopes.
If they get health like they have these past few years,
it's an incredible competitive difference maker. And I am anxious
about the soft tissue injuries. You know, one it starts now,
and yes, you've got plenty of time before the season,
(17:18):
but it starts now. Maybe that nags throughout the season.
Maybe it's a strain now that becomes more of a
tear later on. It's just, you know, the greatest indicator
for future injuries is past injuries. So these things flaring
up is, even if it's not major, still a concern
to me. And then I also think there's the element of, yes,
(17:41):
the Broncos have had great injury luck these past few years.
They haven't had a slog like they did last season
though in a long time, not only the extra games
going to an AFC Conference championship, but also like those
games you had to grind them out. There weren't a
lot of easy fourth quarters, like it was down to
the why I are grinding it out a whole sixty
(18:01):
minutes of one hundred percent effort for you know whatever,
nineteen weeks. I wonder if that and also then your
boss season shortened just by the nature of playing later,
I worry about that impacting the health and injury side
of things as well. Got more Broncos Country Tonight coming
up for you after this. Stay tuned on KOA. Hello,
(18:28):
Broncos Country and will welcome to some more late night
post Colorado Rockies Broncos Country Tonight Action. Nick Ferguson's got
the day off today. We've got Ben filling in on
KOA Sports, so you've got a little bit.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Of me tonight filling.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
In the last segment, we talked about everything going on
with you know, the Broncos right now, soft tissue injuries,
you know, that headache and concern, some of the Hall
of Fame stuff, as well as of course, you know
the really signs we're hearing about Davis Web and with
(19:03):
that in mind, some of the Davis Web stuff, I
think that's you know, the part of the season we're
starting to weigh into, right looking at the actual games.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
It's not all just on paper right now.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
We're in a hyper controlled, you know, fairly unrealistic practice setting,
right We're going to start seeing some live bullets fly
here soon, and I think that's really exciting. And so
considering that, what should we be watching for, right What
are the biggest storylines in this preseason game to monitor
(19:34):
for starters? Obviously the play calling situation hit on some
of that in the last segment, but that's going to
be an incredibly impactful element of this upcoming season for
the Denver Broncos. And you know, I think a lot
of their high range outcomes, like winning a super Bowl
and what not, depends on how that goes. This will
(19:54):
be a good chance to see, you know, how strong
of a sequencer web really is. Beyond that, I think
just the depth at some certain key positions, because this
Broncos roster is really well set up to I think
absorb injuries, you know, in some different places. But there
(20:15):
are a few problem areas that I think have to
prove themselves in this preseason action or during this preseason action,
you know, linebacker. I know there's a lot of consternation
about Sternad and Singleton they'll be starting again. I think
it's it's, you know, it's a below average but fine
starting tandem. I wish they did a little more to
(20:36):
upgrade on it. But I think the big concern it
isn't so much that they're starting. But okay, Sternad was
your depth piece in that room for a while and
a reliable one one where you know, when Alex Singleton
went out two years ago, you could trust him to
just pop right in next to Cody Barton and hold
down the fort and then last year with the Drake
(20:57):
Greenlaw situation, pops in, you know, holds down the fort.
I get why they wanted to keep him around, make
him that starter. I think he earned that role, but
it leaves avoid now behind him. I'm very excited about
Red Murdoch and I think Torrian York has potential to
be a UDFA that actually makes the final roster, but
(21:20):
we really don't know right now. You can get, you know,
some of that stuff in these practice settings, but it's
going to be a lot easier to evaluate these linebackers
and you know, how quickly is the game coming to them?
How well are they seeing it all? Can they knock
off Lavelle Bailey or Karene Reid, who've you know, these
udfas who've kind of held down that role the past
(21:41):
few years. I think they can. But preseason is when
we'll get a really good read on that. And it's
also important because teams are going to be trying the
Broncos linebackers this year. A lot of teams are getting heavier,
you know, the Chargers are one of them in division,
get heavier, getting more big bodies on the field and
(22:02):
forcing the opponent to put more linebackers on the field.
And the Broncos don't have a nicky man Worri. You know,
both Nichols, including John de Barron, are average to slightly
maybe undersized, so you're not having that. We can play
Nickel against everything because we've just got this freak athlete
(22:23):
who's a defensive back the size of a linebacker. Right,
the Broncos don't have someone like that. Maybe you can
drop a Hufanga down and try and do some of
that stuff. He's certainly violent enough, but the safety depth
is another big question mark, and that's the next thing
I'd highlight. PJ Luck has played a very important role
for this defense the past few years. You can't pay everyone.
(22:44):
I get why they let.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Him go to Dallas.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
I get why Pjluck wanted to be reunited with Christian
Parker in Dallas. I think it makes sense for everyone.
But it does turn what has been a strength for
the Broncos since you know, the Simmons Jackson days on
the back end, which is safety depth, and it's really
cutting it out. You know, we've heard all training camp
(23:07):
long about these big explosive plays against the defense and
I talked about it, you know, on here with Nick
Ferguson before, but I think I think that's probably connected
to the lack of safety depth all of a sudden.
So even if you want to try and get Hufung
on the field to try and cover up some of
the linebacker shortage, now you're opening up a new can
of worms. There's there's a different problem to to worry
(23:29):
about your you know, Robert robbing Peter to pay Pauls
as the expression goes. So I think it's very interesting
to see, you know, what, what does the depth look
like at that linebacker spot, at that safety spot. You know,
not only because oh it's a void, and how are
these pieces going to change? How is the roster going
(23:50):
to turn over? But also because it will dictate how
the Broncos play defensively this year and how they match
up against the modern trail, the way the league is headed.
So I think that'll be a fascinating watch and then
one that doesn't have that, you know, bigger picture, it'll
change the whole way the defense operates. But is you know,
(24:13):
the most important loss, really the only major loss the
Broncos have to address.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
What are they doing?
Speaker 1 (24:19):
You know, replacing John Franklin Myers Wasriku is getting rave
reviews in camp as his own, Yetam sounds like Savion
Jones has had some good moments too. I think when
you look at how each of those guys have been
utilized in their career, you can kind of see a
vision for how they'll try and replace JFM. You know,
(24:40):
Saveon's more of that edge, defensive lineman hybrid type, so
he might take some more of those wider set snaps
that JFM did, and then when JFM would kick inside,
I think those are going to be more of the
waza rike snaps and Wazirika I think will take the
Lion's share. But I think they You've got Savon Jones
(25:01):
and Onetam as something that's a little closer to that
edge body type and you can maybe kick outside if
you want that extra size on early downs. But the
Andros Riquez earned that spot. It seems like he's the
leader in the clubhouse. He's going to get the overwhelming
majority of the snaps. It's clear how they're going to
use him, in my opinion, as that kind of more
(25:22):
interior replacement for JFM. But I think the jones On
Yadam Battle is fascinating. Vance Joseph obviously we all know
he doesn't love playing rookies, But on the defensive line,
I feel like it might be different, just because the
asks are different. You know, we saw Ellis get on
(25:42):
the field a fair bit as a rookie. We saw
Hugh Robinson get on the field a fair bit last year,
even despite how loaded that edge room is, they made
sure to find a way to get him on the field.
And you know, when you're on that defensive front, there's
not like, yes, there's stunts and games and twists and whatnot,
But I think that's a lot different than trusting a
(26:03):
rookie safety to you know, prevent the deep ball, or
a rookie cornerback to prevent the deep ball, or you know,
those those areas where a single mistake can create a
thirty yard explosive play and just crack open an entire game.
I think, and again I haven't talked to VJ, but
I'm assuming just thinking about what I've heard from other
(26:26):
defensive coaches about their mentality, I think you hate the
idea of giving up the big play, and you hate
the idea of that happening on a busted coverage or
some discommunication or some rookie not knowing where they're.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Supposed to be.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
That is, and obviously there's gap discipline and all that stuff,
but it's less of a factor on the defensive line,
and so I think there is a better chance for
o y Adam to break through as a rookie than
some other pieces. And also, save on Jones, we just
haven't seen much of him.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
You know.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
He had some moments last year, he had had the
fumble last year, you know, but barely got on the field.
And even now it seems like he's clearly taken a
second back seat to Jasurique as as he like owns
that room. And you look at Onyadam getting rave reviews
(27:20):
in training camp, just people have been so impressed by him.
You look at his college utilization at Iowa State and
his snap breakdown in terms of where was he lining
up almost identical to JFM. There's really no one else
on this Broncos defensive line who was used the same way.
You know, some guys have were used outside a lot
more than JFM, some more inside, some more right, It's
(27:44):
no one really projects to be that perfect analog for JFM.
Who can replace the entirety of his role, and I
don't think Onadam could do that as a rookie.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
But he can't.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
He projects to be able to do that eventually, and
so I wonder if that's something they start exploring or
experimenting with, especially if he has a strong preseason. So
I think that on the defensive side, those are some
of the top stories. The last one. And I can
hear Ryan grumbling and shaking his head at me now,
(28:21):
but I'm getting a little worried about Jade Barn, you know.
And I'm not going to.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Use the B word or anything.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
I'm not trying to make it a bigger deal than
it is, but I think we should be real about
where things are at. At the end of last year,
his role on defense shrunk. It didn't grow when they
were in the playoffs, you know, needing to win games,
(28:48):
no time to mess around with rookie development. Now his
role shrank over a two game stretch. It with some
of the lowest utilization he saw all year, shrink as
the year went on. You'd think, again, rookie learning the ropes.
Joseph doesn't trust him, you know, eases him into things,
but then he earns his stripes and that role inflates
(29:11):
it was the opposite. And then we get to the
trade to the off season, and I thought, honestly, the Broncos'
actions demonstrated some some faith in Baron. You know, they
haven't re upped long term with either JQM or Riley Moss,
which I think demonstrates they're they're willing to maybe move
(29:33):
off of or likely probably move off of one of
those two this offseason and Baron can can slot in there.
But then we get into camp and it seems like
the Riley Moss Baron competition lasted all of two days,
maybe three, and there there's no competition anymore with JQM.
(29:57):
That just seems cemented. Yeah, you know solid. I know
they haven't been experimenting with him at safety yet, but
I wonder if they if they should. You know, when
you consider the depth concerns you maybe have at safety,
and you know his ability to play that spot he
played it in college. I also wonder if it's his
best projection at this point. I think when you watch
(30:21):
his film last year and even in college, great zone awareness.
I think his eyes, his ball skills are really impressive.
A Rangy player in zone, but I think he can
struggle to contest the catch point or create tight windows
in man coverage, and this is a defense that runs
(30:42):
a lot of man coverage. I think you can protect
him from some of that at safety. You know, last
year he got his most playing time kind of as
this tight end stopper, and I think that worked so
well for him because you know, the tight ends weren't
as able as your standards lot receiver to you know,
maybe expose some of those man coverage concerns. But now
(31:06):
we're in camp and we're hearing fairly unanimously. I know
Ryan said it. I know more people from other stations
have been saying it too, But Abram's drain is out
playing John A. Barron from everything we're hearing right now.
And again, not the end of the world, but that
is concerning. Like, I think it's fair to say we've
(31:26):
reached the point where that's not what it's supposed to be.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
You know, he was a.
Speaker 1 (31:33):
Top twenty pick in older cornerback prospect too, who you know,
played a lot at Texas, had four years at Texas.
He was supposed to be pretty pro ready. And it's
one thing when the room's just stacked and a man,
there's just no way this guy can break through. And
maybe it is ultimately that, but oftentimes in those cases,
(31:53):
like with Nicki min Worry last year in the Seahawks,
for example, it's wow, this guy is so awesome. We
got to find a way to get him on the field.
Let's find a role for him, whatever it is. How
can we get this guy on the field more? And
it doesn't seem like the Bronco staff is approaching it
that way. And you pair that with again like Abrams
Drain out playing him, which I don't think is all
(32:15):
that surprising considering what we saw from Abram's Drain, Considering
last year we saw, you know, Abrams Drain kind of
share that role with Baron when PS two went down
with injury. And I think Abrams Drain is really the
reason the Baron pick is so questionable in hindsight. You know,
Abrams Drain had played you know, limited, but had played
(32:38):
looked good filling in for Levi Wallace looked like you
had a real find there. And he's continued to demonstrate that.
He looks like an awesome depth cornerback, the guy who's
probably going to get paid pretty well by another team
to get a start shot at starting or at least
a larger role once his rookie contract comes up. And
(33:00):
despite having that guy, you still draft a cornerback. And
I hate the you can't have too many cornerbacks thing.
Everyone's been saying that since the jah D Baron pick.
And while it's true, right everyone would love to have
five great cornerbacks in the NFL. Everyone has a budget.
There's a budget of draft picks you have, there's a
(33:20):
budget of cap space you have. You only have so
many resources to address certain problems. Starting tackle, for example,
Garrett Boles and mcglinchy are both up there, and you
don't have an air apparent. That's an area where drafting
that that guy would have made a lot of sense.
You know, Linebacker, we just talked about all that. That
(33:41):
would have made a lot of sense. Safety Malachi Starks,
that would have made a lot of sense. John Campbell
Carson's questioner. Some of the best young linebackers in the game, right,
would have made a lot of sense. Marion Hampton changes
the how worried we are about this running back room,
the stability of it, everything. If they do that at
twenty and seve that, and so it's not, oh, no,
(34:03):
one needs five cornerbacks. No, having five cornerbacks is great.
You know, it's better than having a reliable cornerback five though,
having a reliable starting running back, having a reliable starting linebacker. Right,
it's a luxury at a point, it's the opportunity cost.
If I'm spending my first round pick on having a
great fifth cornerback, I can't spend it on getting bow
another awesome weapon. I can't spend it on fixing a
(34:26):
tight end room that's been a problem for over a
decade now. I can't spend it on finding the future
on the offensive line or the future on the defensive line. Right,
it was, this isn't even going to be the first
man off the bench or the future. You had Patrick
Sartan and then three talented corners on cost controlled contracts.
(34:51):
You don't have a thirty year old you need to
replace on the horizon. It was a luxury pick. Much
like you know, it reminds me of like the he's
taking Clyde Edwards a laire. It's like, oh, it's fine.
You know, this roster's so good they don't even need
to They can spend it on Clyde Edwards a Laire
and then you find out, oh no, no, they needed
(35:12):
some more line help, They needed a little more defensive help,
some some more edge rushers, some help at cornerback, and
then they invested in the defense. And you know, obviously
they go on their little dynasty run. But I think again,
you just it's a luxury and that's not the end
(35:34):
of the world. It can still turn around. He's got
plenty of time. But we're looking at, you know, two
years of a top twenty pick for a team trying
to win a Super Bowl, and that top twenty pick
isn't really contributing to those Super Bowl goals. Last two
Super Bowl champions Seahawks Eagles, massive massive rookie contributions fed
(35:56):
those championship runs. Cooper dejen Quinny and Mitchell Nicki min worry,
raised Abel. If the Broncos want to get over the hump,
they need those types of contributions, and they kind of
painted themselves into a corner on this one. More Broncos
Country Tonight coming up after this
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