September 2, 2026 • 34 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Zach Seeger's back there behind the glass.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
56690, the text line, by the way, the person who
did not call their mother was Pat from Monument.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
He went on to say that he got knocked over
the foam pad to the other side. Said, Pat from Monument,
I was a junior, he was a senior, I was
a starter, he was not. I think he was a
little fired up. We were tackling drills. There's a big
foam pad. You stand there with the football, the guy
comes at you, hits you with a full run, and
he knocked me over the foam pad to the other side.
But he didn't tell mom. But he didn't tell mom.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
God love him.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
With that, let's go out to the KWA Common Spear
Health Hotline and bring on our friend Nick Edwards, covers
the CU Buffs and the Buffs beat.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
We always love having her on during the season. We're
one day away from the game. CU taking on Georgia
Tech right here on KOA.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
And, you know, Nicky, you know, my good friend Barry
Marion is running the offense now up there at CU,
and I'm expecting big things. What's the buzz as we're
about 24, a little less than 24 hours out from
the game?
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Yeah, I think Buffs fans and all of us are
also expecting big things. We've been hearing this entire offseason
about the go-go offense, and now we get to see
it in a Power 5 system. I'm so excited to
see what... Brendan Marion does with Julian Lewis, how he
can stretch this field vertically while also incorporating the run
game more. Colorado has been begging for some semblance of
(01:25):
a run game, even five yards, 10, let's get these
running backs going. And Colorado has some really good backs
with the Kalen Taylor, Michael Welch and Damien Henderson. They
have the weapons within the offense to, to, really capitalize
at Georgia tech this tomorrow. I'm so, so excited to
see what Brennan Mary can do. And I'm just so
excited for the football season in general. There are so
(01:47):
many moving parts of this offense. And finally, now is
I've been emphasizing with you guys and just with everyone
that They did what they need to do this off
season and hire a comparable and creative offensive coordinator with
Brendan Marion. And I'm really excited to see how he
can develop Julian Lewis, get him a little bit more
ability on the ground while also really capitalizing his accuracy
(02:10):
in the past game. I think what I want to
see out of Julian Lewis, at least it's, We don't
need 300 yards. We don't need four touchdowns. We need efficiency.
We need to see him take care of the ball.
He's a young quarterback. This is his first time to
really prove himself in this role. I'm really excited to
see what Brendan Marion does with him and the entirety
of the offense.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
Well, Nikki, you know, when we look at this game,
obviously it is definitely a big game because it's the
CU Buffs opening on the road. We know what the
results were last time when Georgia Tech came to Boulder.
And the defense could not stop Jamal Haynes and Haynes
King because Georgia Tech rushed for a godly amount of yards.
We're talking about the CU Buffs and their ability to
(02:52):
run the ball, but the defensive guy in me was like, okay, well,
how is it that Chris Marv's defense actually stops the run?
Speaker 4 (03:02):
And that is a fair question. That's definitely one of
Colorado's biggest weaknesses coming into this game. They've just had
some interesting news with Ezra Christensen, who is going to
be a veteran presence. He's not able to play on
the team. Same with Balansama Kamara. He has been ruled ineligible.
He is doing some legal process right now to figure
(03:22):
out if he has that sixth year of eligibility left,
but that is still to be determined. So now you
have a defensive front where guys have to step up
and they're As you mentioned, as we all saw last year,
they cannot contain the run. So it's going to be
so interesting to see what this defensive front can do
against probably one of the best running back duos in
(03:44):
college football. They got a guy from Michigan, Justice Haynes.
He's a Big Ten honoree, 857 yards, 10.
Speaker 6 (03:52):
Touchdowns last season.
Speaker 4 (03:54):
And Malachi Hosley, ACC selection, honorable mention, 13 games, and
697 yards with seven touchdowns. This is a running back
duo that has the ability. And also, Georgia Tech, they
have a new offensive coordinator, and he runs a run-heavy offense, so...
(04:14):
This is going to be one of those games where
it's going to be so decided on how the defensive
front can contain and what the second level can do
to manage when the defensive front flips up.
Speaker 6 (04:26):
Will they be able to.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Get to their spots? Will they be able to have
their assignments unlocked? Because I know Colorado and Coach Prime
know that this is going to be a very, very
run-heavy game, and this is a defensive front that... has
yet to prove themselves. It's a handful of guys from
a group of five programs that are getting their start
in a Power 5 program and now a Power 4 program,
(04:50):
I should say. And it's going to be one of
those things where We've got to hope for the best.
It's game one. We're all excited for the season, but
this is where Colorado is going to have to really
brush up and really hold themselves accountable because Georgia Tech
has the upper hand on the run game for sure tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Georgia Tech, a six-and-a-half point favorite in this. Is this
a make-or-break season for Coach Brown? I mean, you look
around college football in Florida State, it's probably a make-or-break
season for Mike Norvell. Um, prime is, you know, in
season four, he's 11 to 21 and P four games,
Colorado three and nine last season, one, just one big
12 game.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Uh, how much is this a make or break season
for this program?
Speaker 4 (05:30):
Yeah, I was at the press conference on Tuesday and
we were all kind of talking about it year four.
We had success with Shador and Travis and I guess
the glory days were quickly over and you just see
a three and nine season and kind of asked what happened,
just completely seeing a team that wasn't on the same page.
(05:50):
Everyone slightly kind of gave up at the end of
the season. It was just not the football Colorado, Colorado
wanted to play. And I think this season is definitely
coach prime has to prove himself and prove that he
can bring in these new rosters and really bring these
guys together and win football games. I think they're, this
(06:11):
is going to be such a awesome game for Colorado
to start off with because Both of these teams have
two new coordinators. Both of these teams have quarterbacks that
are trying to prove themselves. It's really evenly matched, and
despite Georgia Tech having the upper hand, the favorite, I
think it's still going to be a really tight game.
And just looking throughout the season... The Big 12 is
(06:32):
constantly a conference where the underdog can still win. It's
not the Big 10. It's not the SEC. There is
room to knock Texas Tech off, to knock BYU off,
but those are the really good teams. But there's room
for teams like Colorado and ASU and Utah and everyone
else in the Big 12 to really make a name
for themselves and win. The Big 12 has this, like,
(06:54):
flexibility to it where there isn't that like blue blood
that you know is going to be dominant every season
there's always the.
Speaker 6 (07:00):
Underdogs in a win so colorado has that.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
Opportunity and coach brian's going to do it with an
entirely new team i'm looking at colorado's starting off and
starting defense from that georgia tech game and there's only
three returning starters on offense defense Everyone's gone offense. The
only guy who, I mean, Julian Lewis didn't start last
season was Caden Salter, but it's an entirely new team,
(07:25):
new coordinators. And this is going to be a really,
really pivotal season for coach prime to show that he
can run a football team and he can get to
a nine win season. He can get to a bowl game.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
For me, being a defensive guy, I mean, I love
secondary play.
Speaker 5 (07:44):
And it's seldom that a guy has the ability or
coaches have the belief in them where they can play
both sides of the ball. Obviously, Travis Hunter was one
of those guys. But it seems as though CU has
another guy who could be.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Not Travis.
Speaker 5 (07:57):
not Travis Hunter level, but at the same time could
play offense and defense, and that's the transfer, Boo Carter,
who came over from Tennessee. How do you think that
he factors, not just into week one matchup tomorrow against
Georgia Tech, but how does he factor into the success
defensively for Chris Marv moving forward?
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Oh, he's going to be very, very huge for Colorado.
I talked to him during fall media days, and he's
ready to work. You know, he didn't have the most
successful time at Tennessee. And now this is his opportunity
to show that he can be the crucial corner that
Colorado needed. I mean, last year they didn't have DJ McKinney.
He was injured and there was just so many injuries
(08:40):
across the defense, but Boo Carter was someone that coach
prime mentioned that he could potentially, he's not ready quite yet,
but he can potentially play both sides of the ball.
Speaker 6 (08:50):
I really liked Boo Carter's game.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
Boo Carter was someone that coach prime was recruited back
in 2022 or 23 and they always had eyes.
Speaker 6 (08:59):
On him they always had a relationship with him.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
Because coach prime always knew that he can be a
really really elite corner and i think he's going to
be pivotal tomorrow yes georgia tech's going to run the
ball a lot but they do have some vertical threats
there is a young wide receiver core but i think
this matchup with boo carter and this young wide receiver
core that georgia tech's presenting this is going to be
a really opportunistic, pivotal game for Boo Carter to show
(09:25):
what he's capable of, show fans that he has the
skills to be an elite corner. I mean, Colorado really
wanted to get Boo Carter and Cree Thomas, and both
of those guys standing opposite sides of each other tomorrow
is going to be a really fun watch in the secondary.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Talking with Nicky Edwards covers the CU Buffs up there. Nicky,
what is the strength of this Colorado football team?
Speaker 4 (09:49):
I think as of now, I think something they also
did a really good job of addressing this offseason is
their linebacker room. They brought in a guy from Texas.
They brought in some guys. from Group of Five programs
that are really, really effective. I think something that Colorado
lacked last season was just communication from the linebackers' room.
There was confusion you saw at times with plays, just
(10:12):
guys just going off on a huge run, and there
just was no containment there. There was no communication, and
I feel like now... there is more of a semblance
of a veteran presence within that linebacker room to communicate
plays and make sure everyone is on their assignments and
they're not letting offenses manipulate them as much. And I
(10:33):
think that's going to be huge. Also, I think on
the offensive side of the ball, the wide receiver room
is stacked, is full of talent. Danny Scudero, he led
the country in receiving yards last year. DeAndre Moore from Texas,
he's a veteran presence. Cam Perry is very quick. He's
(10:55):
a young guy. Joseph Williams, ready to prove himself. He
played last season. He had a couple plays. But, of course,
I mean, under Pat Shurmur's offense, it was just very
mundane overall. And I think this wide receiver core is
going to be so, so fun to watch. And there
are going to be, hopefully, more touchdown scores, too. I
(11:15):
really like the running back room, too. And also, I
think something Coach Prime mentioned over fall media days was
that he has eight or nine guys in the offensive
line room that are ready to play. They have starter quality.
And protecting Julian Lewis this season is going to be
the most important thing Colorado can do because their backup
(11:36):
is Isaac Wilson, little brother of Zach Wilson. And they
need him to stay healthy to have success this season.
So hopefully they can provide him that protection. And hopefully
Georgia Tech's defensive line, which is also, I may note, very, very,
very stacked. They've built that. They have like three deep
(11:58):
in each position. So the trenches are going to be
another fun watch tomorrow. But I'm really excited to see
how this offensive line can keep Julian Lewis safe. throughout
the season, and yeah, I'm so excited to finally, finally
get the season started and to see what Colorado has
been building this offseason.
Speaker 5 (12:16):
Well, you know, there's been a lot of build-up to
this point to open a week, but also it has
been dealt with a lot of controversy, if you will,
with the whole situation with Shiloh dating back years ago,
and I have to ask this question, and obviously.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
I don't want to be that dude, but I have
to do this.
Speaker 5 (12:37):
Do you think this whole thing about Coach Prime being
subpoenaed September 4th, does that somehow take away from his
team or become somewhat of a distraction? Or better yet,
do you think that news kind of galvanized the team
to go down to Georgia and try to get a
win against Georgia Tech?
Speaker 4 (12:59):
I mean, I think Coach Prime has always been someone
to handle business, and there is a very... big business
tomorrow in Georgia and Atlanta, and he's focusing on this game.
I think Coach Prime is someone that's always dealt with
drama in his life, whether it be his sons and people.
Speaker 6 (13:19):
Poking at his family. And this is a very, you know,
this is.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
A serious legal issue for sure. But in terms of
distractions and Coach Prime not being focused on the task
at hand tomorrow, I don't think Shiloh Sanders.
Lawsuit is going to affect his coaching style tomorrow. And,
you know, maybe it does galvanize the team.
Speaker 6 (13:42):
I don't know necessarily if it would, it.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
Just seems like it's just one of those things that
coach prime has to handle on the side and then
figure it out along the way. But I think, I
think we've seen just through coach prime health and everything
he's went through that he's a really resilient person. And,
Even though this does come back to his family, he'll
be able to navigate both Shiloh Sanders' lawsuit as well
(14:08):
as coaching his team because he has two really competent
coordinators to help him out during hard times, and they're
all there to lift each other up. I don't think
this will be too much of a distraction for Coach
Prime tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
We're talking with Nikki Edwards, who covers the buffs up there. Nikki,
last one for me. Do you think the lack of
a special teams coordinator is going to hurt this team
at all?
Speaker 4 (14:31):
Yeah, it's good that you mentioned that because when we
talked with Coach Prime on Monday, he said that the
battle for their field goal kicker is still to be determined.
Speaker 6 (14:44):
So they're still deciding on who's going.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
To kick the field goals. And in a tight game
like this, you don't want to roll the dice on
a guy who can't kick it out from behind. 35,
you know, 40, you know, you need someone with accuracy
and someone who's able to kick those field goals in
tight games like this and not having a special teams coordinator.
I think that does affect it. I mean, coach finds
(15:08):
them mentioning, you know, how, how long snappers are doing
very well. And I think that the operations of the
special teams will be something to certainly watch tomorrow, making
sure that the receiver, the punt returner is accurate. on
their P's and Q's, not dropping the ball. I think
overall tomorrow, making sure that they play clean football. And
(15:29):
I think we've seen last season how much special teams
affected them in certain situations, whether I've been losing the
football or missing the field goal, they were just off
by these really small margins at the beginning of the
season where they were in close one score games, but
they weren't able to finish in special teams. did play
a role in that. So that'll be something certainly to
(15:49):
watch tomorrow. And, you know, having special teams coordinator, I'm,
you know, I got to say it, it will have
some sort of impact and especially.
Speaker 6 (15:57):
On a few days before your first game.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
They don't know who's going to kick the field goal. That's,
you know, raises some question marks for sure.
Speaker 7 (16:05):
That it does.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Nikki, we appreciate the time this evening. Look forward to
checking with you again here in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
Yeah, for sure. Thank you for having me on.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Take care. Nicky Edwards covers the CU Buffs up there.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
He's the owner of Yahoo and covers the Buffs up
there and on the Buffs feed. Does a great job.
You know, Nick, they're up against your alma mater. Do
you have a conflict of interest in terms of who
you're rooting for here?
Speaker 3 (16:27):
I would like to say, no, I do not.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
You are absolutely rooting for Georgia Tech. Of course. And
your own water.
Speaker 5 (16:38):
I am looking forward to this being a good game.
And like Nikki said, you got two new office, two
new office of coordinators, one in George Gossie, who has
some NFL experience at Georgia Tech. And then you have
Brendan Murray, your guy, who everyone's wanting to see what
does this go-go offense truly look like when you are
(16:58):
playing in the big-time game. And then Chris Marv, who
comes over from Virginia Tech. And you factor in, when
you look at CU Buffs roster, there's a lot of transfers.
And you wonder, can you get those guys to collectively
play together and and be, you know, one body, one mind.
And then Andre Hart, who's their linebackers coach, he said
(17:21):
to himself, Carlos Townsend, and Nicky brought.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Up too, can you communicate? And we've seen.
Speaker 5 (17:26):
This defense get gashed because guys are not in the
right gap. Guys are not communicating pre-snap. So now you're
going down on the road where it's going to be
really loud for Juju Smith.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
And can he overcome that?
Speaker 5 (17:40):
Now, Georgia Tech has the issues of their own because
they have Alberto Mendoza coming in.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
What do we expect from him?
Speaker 5 (17:50):
We don't expect a Fernando Mendoza type of performance. And, oh,
by the way, he's playing with a bunch of young
wide receivers. So I think at the beginning of the game,
each coordinator is going to try to get a feel
for the other. And we're going to see the game
start off pretty slow. But I'm thinking maybe by halftime,
one team or the other will start to separate themselves
(18:10):
because they will start to gel. And I'm going to
lean more towards Georgia Tech because things are always better
when you're at home.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Yeah, it's interesting because the CU on offense.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
It's mostly upperclassmen. You got the two guards and the quarterback,
but everybody else is upperclassmen. So it's going to be interesting.
We got an NFL six-pack. We come back in Broncos
country tonight. I mean, no, tomorrow night we will have
the CU Buffs taking on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
(18:40):
Nick's hoping Georgia Tech gets a win. We here in
Colorado are rooting against Nick Ferguson, as we often do.
That sounds about right coming from you.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Then let's get to the NFL six pack. It's time
for the NFL six pack.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
I'm going to drink a lot of beer tonight.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Insight and inside information you can't find anywhere else.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
No.
Speaker 5 (19:03):
Six.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
The top six NFL had won.
Speaker 7 (19:10):
Starting off with the NFL top 100 list so far.
In this year's iteration, the top 10 looks like this.
Pat Sertan at number 10. Jameer Gibbs at number nine.
Micah Parsons at number eight. Puka Nakua at number seven.
Christian McCaffrey at six. JSN at five. Matt Stafford at four.
(19:31):
Bijan Robinson at three. And there's just two players left.
Josh Allen and Miles Garrett.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Who should be ranked number one?
Speaker 7 (19:39):
And which element of that top 10 do you most
disagree with so far?
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Let's see here.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
I think Puka Nikut shouldn't be in the top 10.
Parsons at eight feels weird, even because he missed half
the season, or at least a third of it. JSN
should probably be higher. He was ridiculously dominant. Stafford should
probably be higher. I think Myles Garrett should go number one,
Josh Allen number two, but I'll probably be wrong on that.
Speaker 5 (20:06):
I would say Myles Garrett, number one, and Josh Allen,
at this point, number two. Because, I mean, think about
what we've seen from Myles Garrett. Broke Michael Strahan's sack
record at single season. Josh Allen, we saw him play
against the Denver Broncos, five Buffalo turnovers. I think he was,
I guess, giving credit.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
For like three of those.
Speaker 5 (20:27):
So I know he's a darn good quarterback, but Myles
Garrett goes before him. I would agree Jackson Smith and
Jigba is down far too low. And Michael Parsons, great player,
but injuries plagued him and he missed a significant amount
of time. But Myles Garrett, number one.
Speaker 7 (20:45):
I'm with you on Miles Garrett. What do you make
of the gap between Bijan and Jameer Gibbs here? I
feel like they're so often lumped together as the one
and two at running back in the league right now.
This is Christian McCaffrey between those two and, you know,
six spots between them.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
I did odd.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
I would probably have Bijan the highest, but Gibbs is
no slouch.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
I mean, you can't, I don't think you can go
wrong either way. McCaffrey. I mean, I don't know. He
gets dinged for the injuries and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
But if they get rid of that substation, he's a substation.
Speaker 5 (21:16):
This is another way that they don't want to put
running back so high because if you rank them too high,
that means now you've changed the narrative.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
There it is.
Speaker 7 (21:28):
In NFL Network's award predictions, Josh Allen is the heavy
favorite to win MVP, earning six votes. He's followed by
Joe Herbert, sorry, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, who are
tied for second, each earning three votes apiece. Lamar Jackson
and Dak Prescott right behind.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
Them with two votes apiece.
Speaker 7 (21:47):
And then Patrick Mahomes, Brock Purdy and Caleb Williams round
out the bunch, each getting one vote per. What do
you make of those predictions or that list of MVP frontrunners,
and are you surprised to see Bo Nix not receive
any votes from this panel?
Speaker 3 (22:04):
This is a great lineup of quarterbacks.
Speaker 5 (22:06):
Josh Allen is pretty high based on a lot of hype.
He's a hell of a player, but When it comes
to some of those top moments that close out the season,
he hasn't done well as far as Bo Nix not
being on this list. I think they look at it as, hey,
Bo Nix had a significant amount of fourth quarter comebacks
last season, but at the same time, he had a
lot of fourth quarter comebacks, and that tells you that
(22:29):
the offense wasn't great in the times that they needed
to for four quarters.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Yeah, I'm with you on that. I think people don't believe.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
In Bo simply because they don't believe the Broncos are
going to have the same magic this year.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
I think that's why he's not on that list. There's
some bigger names, some bigger.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
production certainly Alan Burrell Herbert I'm surprised to see Herbert
that high I thought I was the only one that
high Lamar Dak I get that Mahomes you know all
that kind of stuff I think everybody gets that not
surprised to see the both thing what I will say
is I don't know if you guys watch this but
the NFL and Fox did their preseason predictions for all
the all the things Nick Benito.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Won preseason pole position for defensive.
Speaker 7 (23:04):
Player of the year I see that it'd be cool
if Benito ended up winning that in real life again
I think is a common point of discussion here on
koa bonix has had some good success especially statistically but
hasn't gotten that national recognition yet what do you think
it'll take for him to finally get that prize I
(23:25):
think you've got to have.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
A standout season in which you score a bunch of
points and you do it early. It's not last-second type stuff.
You just have a consistently near-dominant season where you're putting
up 28 points a game, something like that. You're consistently
capable of doing that instead of being hit or miss
and playing down to the level of.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
The Raiders or the Claricell-Ludakin-Helmed Chiefs. You can't have stuff
like that and still be taken seriously.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Three.
Speaker 7 (23:53):
The Las Vegas Raiders have named Kirk Cousins the starting
quarterback for their week one game, meaning Fernando Mendoza will
begin his career on the bench. What do you make
of that announcement? And how long until we see Mendoza
start for the Raiders? At least until they're out of contention.
It could be all year.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
What I will say, not surprised if you've been listening
to this show, you knew Kirk Cousins was going to
be the starter. That was always the plan. That was
always the way they were going to do things. They
want to slow bring along Mendoza. This is a building
year for the Raiders. They know that. This is about
establishing the culture, finding out who can play, and building
up stuff around them. They don't want to David Carr
him by throwing him out there and making him put
(24:32):
the franchise on his shoulders and not be able to
handle it when the team's not ready to compete.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
So, not surprised.
Speaker 5 (24:38):
I think this is a smart decision with Tom Brady
and that organization. He knows that rookie quarterbacks need a
little time to grow and blossom.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
And what better person to learn from.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
Than Kirk Cousins, a guy who's excelled in the Clint Kubiak,
Mike Shanahan-type offense.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
And to answer the question as far as.
Speaker 5 (24:56):
When will we possibly see exchange of these quarterbacks, it
all depends. If the defense comes along and they can
force turnovers and Brock Bowers and National Genting are healthy,
then we're not going to see Fernando Mendoza coming in
until late in the season.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
I think I don't know if I think I don't
know anything. I don't have sources.
Speaker 7 (25:15):
I'm hoping we see him sooner rather than later. And
I think there's a decent chance of it. You know,
this wide zone Kubiak scheme demands some mobility from the quarterback.
Cousins was just in one of these schemes and they
couldn't do any under center stuff because he just can't
move like that anymore after the Achilles tear. And Mendoza
at a point like you can't lose the locker room.
(25:35):
You got to be putting the guy out there who
these guys believe gives them the best chance to win.
And at a point, it's going to be hard to
believe that's Kirk Cousins. Maybe I will say that the
plan is Cousins until it can't be. So I would
suggest that to temper your optimism on Mendoza unless Cousins
get hurt. The 49ers are on their way to Australia
(26:00):
for their week one game against the Los Angeles Rams. Meanwhile,
the Rams are planning to arrive mere hours before the
game following a strategy they implemented last year in route
to a 35-7 London victory over the Jags. Who do
you think has the better strategy here in regards to
the international travel? And do you think we'll see more
teams start adopting this unique Ram strategy?
Speaker 5 (26:24):
No more teams are not going to start to adopt it.
And I think Sean McVay and the Rams kind of
get the nod because they were able to do this
in London, right? And now you're flying to Australia and saying, well,
you're playing against someone you know already and Kyle Shanahan
in that office because Sean McVay runs a kind of
version of it.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
And they have a proven strategy.
Speaker 5 (26:46):
I don't know what it is that Sean McVay lets me,
what they're doing, but they probably feel as though they
have a veteran team. They understand well And they practice
before they go over. And since they haven't had any issues, we're.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
Not going to have any issues.
Speaker 5 (27:01):
So until they have any issues, I think this is
a big nothing burger.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
I'm going to go the other direction with it. I
think the Niners absolutely have an advantage here. I think
the Rams are making a huge mistake and basing it
on data from London, which is a minuscule flight compared
to this.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
This is an incredibly long flight. Guys are going to
be cramped in their seats. You're going to get out.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
They have your body and you're going to have muscular
atrophy from 24 hours.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Of sitting in No, man.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
You can do high knees in the aisles.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
Yeah, we already saw people get made fun of for that.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
You know, the science on this is irrefutably clear.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
You need one to one.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
And a half days per time zone cross to be
a peak athletic efficiency. Yeah, your body clock is going
to be the same because it's 24 hours, so you're
going to be thinking.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
It's a regular kickoff time instead of morning.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
But your physical body is going to be more atrophied
from that really lengthy flight. We've got 40, 50 years
of data on jet lag stuff and athletic performance, and
I think the Rams are making a huge mistake.
Speaker 5 (27:54):
If the Rams go and they have a repeat performance
like they did in London, every other NFL team is
going to try to figure out what they're eating, what
they do on their flight, and try to adopt it.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
Bet that.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
OK, I'm just saying there's the best study on this.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
The jet lagging athletes study from Lee in 2012 is
probably the best one to cite on this. But typically
there's a 72 hour protocol, you know, and to get
the body back to being right.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
I don't know. We'll see. Maybe I'm maybe I look
like an idiot, but I think the Rams are out
thinking themselves on this one. I'm for it.
Speaker 7 (28:32):
You know, I think they'll have better traveling accommodations than
you and I both have, especially going to Australia. And
I think the idea of trying to fool your brain
rather than having to overcome jet lag, don't deal with
any of the jet lag. Just, hey, let's roll out.
We're playing at 6.30 p.m. Yeah, the sun might be
in a different place in the sky. Don't worry about that.
(28:54):
It's 6.30 p.m. You guys do that all the time.
You know how to play in primetime. Let's go out
there and roll. Meanwhile, the 49ers not only have to
deal with the jet lag, they're doing a week of
practices in a country without football facilities. Like, that's something
that's not only going to mar them this season, but
future season. Or not, sorry, this week, but future weeks.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
Lots of movement.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
We'll see.
Speaker 5 (29:16):
I just.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
For me, you can adjust your mentality. There's some things
you just can't physically change. You can't physically change muscular
atrophy from sitting for 24-plus hours on a flight.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Russell Wilson method. And we saw how well that worked
out for him.
Speaker 4 (29:33):
Five.
Speaker 7 (29:36):
Ryan Pools told the media this week that he's not
sure if Bears star Nick O'Kyler Gordon will ever play
for the team again. What's the latest with Gordon as
far as you know it? And do you think we'll
ever see him play in.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
The NFL again? Well, yeah, I think you will.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
They say he's not progressing as fast as he needs to. Obviously,
he's on the pups. He's going to miss the first
four games of the season no matter what. He missed
spring practices, all of training camp with a calf injury.
You know, he's been on social media doing some drills,
calf lunges, jumping drills, and even a full-blown sprint in
(30:13):
one of them.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
So, you know, it's one of those things.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
I mean, polls said he hoped that Gordon would play
for the Bears again, but said he didn't really know.
I suspect he will. I suspect he'll be toward the
back half of the season. The recovery just has not
been as quick as everyone had hoped.
Speaker 5 (30:28):
Sometimes with the recovery, you never know how it's going
to go. Sometimes the doctors try to predict how long
a player is going to be out, but you don't
know how the body is going to react to the rehab.
And sometimes you may have a guy that suffers some
kind of setbacks.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
And anytime you.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
Have lower leg injuries, it's a little difficult sometimes to
come back from.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
So I wish him all the best in the world
and hopefully he can rebound from this.
Speaker 7 (30:52):
What are your expectations for that Bears defense this year?
Last year they kind of struggled outside of the turnovers,
led the NFL in takeaways, but we know that can't
always be sticky year to year. They then lost a
lot of the guys who created those takeaways with.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Bayard and Wright leaving.
Speaker 7 (31:09):
And then they've got Kobe Bryant, or I think Kobe
Bryant going down during practice. They're just a beat-up group.
You've also got this injury now. With Kyler Gordon, what
are your expectations for that defense?
Speaker 2 (31:24):
Well, I mean, Dennis Allen knows how to coach defense.
Whatever else you think, I mean, the man knows how
to coach defense. And, you know, that line is pretty decent,
led by Montez Sweat. They added Devin Bush at the
middle backer spot, got a little bit more athletic there
in the offseason.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
I think they're going to be a good defense.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
I don't, you know, they also added Jack Sanborn the
other day from Dallas.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
So, you know, they've got some bodies there. I think
they'll be all right.
Speaker 3 (31:51):
I think they're going to be a.
Speaker 5 (31:52):
Good defense, but they're not going to be as good
as they were last year because that was the biggest
catalyst for the Bears' defense.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
They forced a lot of turnovers.
Speaker 5 (32:01):
Sometimes the ball bounces your way, and other times it
bounces someone else's way. So very competitive, but not statistically
from a turnover standpoint as they were last year.
Speaker 7 (32:11):
Broncos get some better turnover luck this year. That could
help catalyze them into being number one defense in the league.
Speaker 6 (32:16):
Who knows?
Speaker 3 (32:18):
Six.
Speaker 7 (32:20):
Falcons GM Ian Cunningham defended the team's choice to keep
Tua Tagovailoa, Michael Penix, Jack Strand, and Cooper Rush all
on their 53-man roster, calling carrying the four quarterbacks an
insurance policy. That said, what do you guys make of
teams carrying four quarterbacks on their 53-man roster, and which
Falcons quarterback will start a start a game this season?
(32:45):
Will it be just Penix and Tua, or do you
think all four have a chance?
Speaker 3 (32:48):
I think it's just going to be Penix and Tua.
Speaker 5 (32:50):
This just tells you that they haven't really figured out
their quarterback situation, and neither guy really stepped it up
for them to evaluate and say, well, we're going to
pinpoint these two guys as being our lead dogs.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
So it puts them in a very difficult situation.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
I don't think Cooper Rush will play for them. I
think Jack Strand could. If they get out of contention late,
I think he could. Tua may not be there at
the end of the year. Cooper Rush may not be
there at the end of the year. Pennix will get
every opportunity, and they want him back as quick as possible.
Tua's been a disaster for him so far. So Penix
will get the most, and then from there, you know,
(33:23):
you figure it out if there's injuries or whatever else.
Keeping four quarterbacks with two guys that are hurt all
the time and one guy who they couldn't waive Strand.
He played too well in the preseason. He'd been picked
up by somebody. So, you know, when you look at this,
I get what they're trying to do. I think Strand
could get some starts if they get eliminated early.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
He could get some starts late in the season.
Speaker 7 (33:44):
To that point, do you think Tua's just keeping the
seat warm for Penix until he's.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
Cleared and ready to go? If Penix is ready to
go week one, it'll be Penix.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
If Penix is ready to go, Tua's done.
Speaker 5 (33:56):
They've already kind of. The operative word that Ben said
was if, right? And also, we're going back to what
we talked about earlier, predeterminism, right? If you have your
eyes and your mind set on a guy, your guy's
going to be your guy no matter what.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
I would not be surprised if they traded for Dylan
Gabriel midseason.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
Either.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
Five quarterbacks. Well, they'd move.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
Yeah, they'd move several.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Either Cooper Rush or Tua Tagovailoa or both.
Speaker 7 (34:22):
A roster being, what, 20% quarterbacks would be fine.
Speaker 5 (34:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
They're going to run the wing tee with all quarterbacks.
Super duper option.
Speaker 3 (34:32):
Oh, that would be hilarious.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
I'm here for it. Broncos country tonight. Back after this.
Zach Seeger's back there behind the glass.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
56690, the text line, by the way, the person who
did not call their mother was Pat from Monument.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
Oh, okay.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
He went on to say that he got knocked over
the foam pad to the other side. Said, Pat from Monument,
I was a junior, he was a senior, I was
a starter, he was not. I think he was a
little fired up. We were tackling drills. There's a big
foam pad. You stand there with the football, the guy
comes at you, hits you with a full run, and
he knocked me over the foam pad to the other side.
But he didn't tell mom. But he didn't tell mom.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
God love him.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
With that, let's go out to the KWA Common Spear
Health Hotline and bring on our friend Nick Edwards, covers
the CU Buffs and the Buffs beat.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
We always love having her on during the season. We're
one day away from the game. CU taking on Georgia
Tech right here on KOA.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
And, you know, Nicky, you know, my good friend Barry
Marion is running the offense now up there at CU,
and I'm expecting big things. What's the buzz as we're
about 24, a little less than 24 hours out from
the game?
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Yeah, I think Buffs fans and all of us are
also expecting big things. We've been hearing this entire offseason
about the go-go offense, and now we get to see
it in a Power 5 system. I'm so excited to
see what... Brendan Marion does with Julian Lewis, how he
can stretch this field vertically while also incorporating the run
game more. Colorado has been begging for some semblance of
(01:25):
a run game, even five yards, 10, let's get these
running backs going. And Colorado has some really good backs
with the Kalen Taylor, Michael Welch and Damien Henderson. They
have the weapons within the offense to, to, really capitalize
at Georgia tech this tomorrow. I'm so, so excited to
see what Brennan Mary can do. And I'm just so
excited for the football season in general. There are so
(01:47):
many moving parts of this offense. And finally, now is
I've been emphasizing with you guys and just with everyone
that They did what they need to do this off
season and hire a comparable and creative offensive coordinator with
Brendan Marion. And I'm really excited to see how he
can develop Julian Lewis, get him a little bit more
ability on the ground while also really capitalizing his accuracy
(02:10):
in the past game. I think what I want to
see out of Julian Lewis, at least it's, We don't
need 300 yards. We don't need four touchdowns. We need efficiency.
We need to see him take care of the ball.
He's a young quarterback. This is his first time to
really prove himself in this role. I'm really excited to
see what Brendan Marion does with him and the entirety
of the offense.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
Well, Nikki, you know, when we look at this game,
obviously it is definitely a big game because it's the
CU Buffs opening on the road. We know what the
results were last time when Georgia Tech came to Boulder.
And the defense could not stop Jamal Haynes and Haynes
King because Georgia Tech rushed for a godly amount of yards.
We're talking about the CU Buffs and their ability to
(02:52):
run the ball, but the defensive guy in me was like, okay, well,
how is it that Chris Marv's defense actually stops the run?
Speaker 4 (03:02):
And that is a fair question. That's definitely one of
Colorado's biggest weaknesses coming into this game. They've just had
some interesting news with Ezra Christensen, who is going to
be a veteran presence. He's not able to play on
the team. Same with Balansama Kamara. He has been ruled ineligible.
He is doing some legal process right now to figure
(03:22):
out if he has that sixth year of eligibility left,
but that is still to be determined. So now you
have a defensive front where guys have to step up
and they're As you mentioned, as we all saw last year,
they cannot contain the run. So it's going to be
so interesting to see what this defensive front can do
against probably one of the best running back duos in
(03:44):
college football. They got a guy from Michigan, Justice Haynes.
He's a Big Ten honoree, 857 yards, 10.
Speaker 6 (03:52):
Touchdowns last season.
Speaker 4 (03:54):
And Malachi Hosley, ACC selection, honorable mention, 13 games, and
697 yards with seven touchdowns. This is a running back
duo that has the ability. And also, Georgia Tech, they
have a new offensive coordinator, and he runs a run-heavy offense, so...
(04:14):
This is going to be one of those games where
it's going to be so decided on how the defensive
front can contain and what the second level can do
to manage when the defensive front flips up.
Speaker 6 (04:26):
Will they be able to.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
Get to their spots? Will they be able to have
their assignments unlocked? Because I know Colorado and Coach Prime
know that this is going to be a very, very
run-heavy game, and this is a defensive front that... has
yet to prove themselves. It's a handful of guys from
a group of five programs that are getting their start
in a Power 5 program and now a Power 4 program,
(04:50):
I should say. And it's going to be one of
those things where We've got to hope for the best.
It's game one. We're all excited for the season, but
this is where Colorado is going to have to really
brush up and really hold themselves accountable because Georgia Tech
has the upper hand on the run game for sure tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Georgia Tech, a six-and-a-half point favorite in this. Is this
a make-or-break season for Coach Brown? I mean, you look
around college football in Florida State, it's probably a make-or-break
season for Mike Norvell. Um, prime is, you know, in
season four, he's 11 to 21 and P four games,
Colorado three and nine last season, one, just one big
12 game.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Uh, how much is this a make or break season
for this program?
Speaker 4 (05:30):
Yeah, I was at the press conference on Tuesday and
we were all kind of talking about it year four.
We had success with Shador and Travis and I guess
the glory days were quickly over and you just see
a three and nine season and kind of asked what happened,
just completely seeing a team that wasn't on the same page.
(05:50):
Everyone slightly kind of gave up at the end of
the season. It was just not the football Colorado, Colorado
wanted to play. And I think this season is definitely
coach prime has to prove himself and prove that he
can bring in these new rosters and really bring these
guys together and win football games. I think they're, this
(06:11):
is going to be such a awesome game for Colorado
to start off with because Both of these teams have
two new coordinators. Both of these teams have quarterbacks that
are trying to prove themselves. It's really evenly matched, and
despite Georgia Tech having the upper hand, the favorite, I
think it's still going to be a really tight game.
And just looking throughout the season... The Big 12 is
(06:32):
constantly a conference where the underdog can still win. It's
not the Big 10. It's not the SEC. There is
room to knock Texas Tech off, to knock BYU off,
but those are the really good teams. But there's room
for teams like Colorado and ASU and Utah and everyone
else in the Big 12 to really make a name
for themselves and win. The Big 12 has this, like,
(06:54):
flexibility to it where there isn't that like blue blood
that you know is going to be dominant every season
there's always the.
Speaker 6 (07:00):
Underdogs in a win so colorado has that.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
Opportunity and coach brian's going to do it with an
entirely new team i'm looking at colorado's starting off and
starting defense from that georgia tech game and there's only
three returning starters on offense defense Everyone's gone offense. The
only guy who, I mean, Julian Lewis didn't start last
season was Caden Salter, but it's an entirely new team,
(07:25):
new coordinators. And this is going to be a really,
really pivotal season for coach prime to show that he
can run a football team and he can get to
a nine win season. He can get to a bowl game.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
For me, being a defensive guy, I mean, I love
secondary play.
Speaker 5 (07:44):
And it's seldom that a guy has the ability or
coaches have the belief in them where they can play
both sides of the ball. Obviously, Travis Hunter was one
of those guys. But it seems as though CU has
another guy who could be.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Not Travis.
Speaker 5 (07:57):
not Travis Hunter level, but at the same time could
play offense and defense, and that's the transfer, Boo Carter,
who came over from Tennessee. How do you think that
he factors, not just into week one matchup tomorrow against
Georgia Tech, but how does he factor into the success
defensively for Chris Marv moving forward?
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Oh, he's going to be very, very huge for Colorado.
I talked to him during fall media days, and he's
ready to work. You know, he didn't have the most
successful time at Tennessee. And now this is his opportunity
to show that he can be the crucial corner that
Colorado needed. I mean, last year they didn't have DJ McKinney.
He was injured and there was just so many injuries
(08:40):
across the defense, but Boo Carter was someone that coach
prime mentioned that he could potentially, he's not ready quite yet,
but he can potentially play both sides of the ball.
Speaker 6 (08:50):
I really liked Boo Carter's game.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
Boo Carter was someone that coach prime was recruited back
in 2022 or 23 and they always had eyes.
Speaker 6 (08:59):
On him they always had a relationship with him.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
Because coach prime always knew that he can be a
really really elite corner and i think he's going to
be pivotal tomorrow yes georgia tech's going to run the
ball a lot but they do have some vertical threats
there is a young wide receiver core but i think
this matchup with boo carter and this young wide receiver
core that georgia tech's presenting this is going to be
a really opportunistic, pivotal game for Boo Carter to show
(09:25):
what he's capable of, show fans that he has the
skills to be an elite corner. I mean, Colorado really
wanted to get Boo Carter and Cree Thomas, and both
of those guys standing opposite sides of each other tomorrow
is going to be a really fun watch in the secondary.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
Talking with Nicky Edwards covers the CU Buffs up there. Nicky,
what is the strength of this Colorado football team?
Speaker 4 (09:49):
I think as of now, I think something they also
did a really good job of addressing this offseason is
their linebacker room. They brought in a guy from Texas.
They brought in some guys. from Group of Five programs
that are really, really effective. I think something that Colorado
lacked last season was just communication from the linebackers' room.
There was confusion you saw at times with plays, just
(10:12):
guys just going off on a huge run, and there
just was no containment there. There was no communication, and
I feel like now... there is more of a semblance
of a veteran presence within that linebacker room to communicate
plays and make sure everyone is on their assignments and
they're not letting offenses manipulate them as much. And I
(10:33):
think that's going to be huge. Also, I think on
the offensive side of the ball, the wide receiver room
is stacked, is full of talent. Danny Scudero, he led
the country in receiving yards last year. DeAndre Moore from Texas,
he's a veteran presence. Cam Perry is very quick. He's
(10:55):
a young guy. Joseph Williams, ready to prove himself. He
played last season. He had a couple plays. But, of course,
I mean, under Pat Shurmur's offense, it was just very
mundane overall. And I think this wide receiver core is
going to be so, so fun to watch. And there
are going to be, hopefully, more touchdown scores, too. I
(11:15):
really like the running back room, too. And also, I
think something Coach Prime mentioned over fall media days was
that he has eight or nine guys in the offensive
line room that are ready to play. They have starter quality.
And protecting Julian Lewis this season is going to be
the most important thing Colorado can do because their backup
(11:36):
is Isaac Wilson, little brother of Zach Wilson. And they
need him to stay healthy to have success this season.
So hopefully they can provide him that protection. And hopefully
Georgia Tech's defensive line, which is also, I may note, very, very,
very stacked. They've built that. They have like three deep
(11:58):
in each position. So the trenches are going to be
another fun watch tomorrow. But I'm really excited to see
how this offensive line can keep Julian Lewis safe. throughout
the season, and yeah, I'm so excited to finally, finally
get the season started and to see what Colorado has
been building this offseason.
Speaker 5 (12:16):
Well, you know, there's been a lot of build-up to
this point to open a week, but also it has
been dealt with a lot of controversy, if you will,
with the whole situation with Shiloh dating back years ago,
and I have to ask this question, and obviously.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
I don't want to be that dude, but I have
to do this.
Speaker 5 (12:37):
Do you think this whole thing about Coach Prime being
subpoenaed September 4th, does that somehow take away from his
team or become somewhat of a distraction? Or better yet,
do you think that news kind of galvanized the team
to go down to Georgia and try to get a
win against Georgia Tech?
Speaker 4 (12:59):
I mean, I think Coach Prime has always been someone
to handle business, and there is a very... big business
tomorrow in Georgia and Atlanta, and he's focusing on this game.
I think Coach Prime is someone that's always dealt with
drama in his life, whether it be his sons and people.
Speaker 6 (13:19):
Poking at his family. And this is a very, you know,
this is.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
A serious legal issue for sure. But in terms of
distractions and Coach Prime not being focused on the task
at hand tomorrow, I don't think Shiloh Sanders.
Lawsuit is going to affect his coaching style tomorrow. And,
you know, maybe it does galvanize the team.
Speaker 6 (13:42):
I don't know necessarily if it would, it.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
Just seems like it's just one of those things that
coach prime has to handle on the side and then
figure it out along the way. But I think, I
think we've seen just through coach prime health and everything
he's went through that he's a really resilient person. And,
Even though this does come back to his family, he'll
be able to navigate both Shiloh Sanders' lawsuit as well
(14:08):
as coaching his team because he has two really competent
coordinators to help him out during hard times, and they're
all there to lift each other up. I don't think
this will be too much of a distraction for Coach
Prime tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
We're talking with Nikki Edwards, who covers the buffs up there. Nikki,
last one for me. Do you think the lack of
a special teams coordinator is going to hurt this team
at all?
Speaker 4 (14:31):
Yeah, it's good that you mentioned that because when we
talked with Coach Prime on Monday, he said that the
battle for their field goal kicker is still to be determined.
Speaker 6 (14:44):
So they're still deciding on who's going.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
To kick the field goals. And in a tight game
like this, you don't want to roll the dice on
a guy who can't kick it out from behind. 35,
you know, 40, you know, you need someone with accuracy
and someone who's able to kick those field goals in
tight games like this and not having a special teams coordinator.
I think that does affect it. I mean, coach finds
(15:08):
them mentioning, you know, how, how long snappers are doing
very well. And I think that the operations of the
special teams will be something to certainly watch tomorrow, making
sure that the receiver, the punt returner is accurate. on
their P's and Q's, not dropping the ball. I think
overall tomorrow, making sure that they play clean football. And
(15:29):
I think we've seen last season how much special teams
affected them in certain situations, whether I've been losing the
football or missing the field goal, they were just off
by these really small margins at the beginning of the
season where they were in close one score games, but
they weren't able to finish in special teams. did play
a role in that. So that'll be something certainly to
(15:49):
watch tomorrow. And, you know, having special teams coordinator, I'm,
you know, I got to say it, it will have
some sort of impact and especially.
Speaker 6 (15:57):
On a few days before your first game.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
They don't know who's going to kick the field goal. That's,
you know, raises some question marks for sure.
Speaker 7 (16:05):
That it does.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Nikki, we appreciate the time this evening. Look forward to
checking with you again here in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
Yeah, for sure. Thank you for having me on.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Take care. Nicky Edwards covers the CU Buffs up there.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
He's the owner of Yahoo and covers the Buffs up
there and on the Buffs feed. Does a great job.
You know, Nick, they're up against your alma mater. Do
you have a conflict of interest in terms of who
you're rooting for here?
Speaker 3 (16:27):
I would like to say, no, I do not.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
You are absolutely rooting for Georgia Tech. Of course. And
your own water.
Speaker 5 (16:38):
I am looking forward to this being a good game.
And like Nikki said, you got two new office, two
new office of coordinators, one in George Gossie, who has
some NFL experience at Georgia Tech. And then you have
Brendan Murray, your guy, who everyone's wanting to see what
does this go-go offense truly look like when you are
(16:58):
playing in the big-time game. And then Chris Marv, who
comes over from Virginia Tech. And you factor in, when
you look at CU Buffs roster, there's a lot of transfers.
And you wonder, can you get those guys to collectively
play together and and be, you know, one body, one mind.
And then Andre Hart, who's their linebackers coach, he said
(17:21):
to himself, Carlos Townsend, and Nicky brought.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Up too, can you communicate? And we've seen.
Speaker 5 (17:26):
This defense get gashed because guys are not in the
right gap. Guys are not communicating pre-snap. So now you're
going down on the road where it's going to be
really loud for Juju Smith.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
And can he overcome that?
Speaker 5 (17:40):
Now, Georgia Tech has the issues of their own because
they have Alberto Mendoza coming in.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
What do we expect from him?
Speaker 5 (17:50):
We don't expect a Fernando Mendoza type of performance. And, oh,
by the way, he's playing with a bunch of young
wide receivers. So I think at the beginning of the game,
each coordinator is going to try to get a feel
for the other. And we're going to see the game
start off pretty slow. But I'm thinking maybe by halftime,
one team or the other will start to separate themselves
(18:10):
because they will start to gel. And I'm going to
lean more towards Georgia Tech because things are always better
when you're at home.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
Yeah, it's interesting because the CU on offense.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
It's mostly upperclassmen. You got the two guards and the quarterback,
but everybody else is upperclassmen. So it's going to be interesting.
We got an NFL six-pack. We come back in Broncos
country tonight. I mean, no, tomorrow night we will have
the CU Buffs taking on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
(18:40):
Nick's hoping Georgia Tech gets a win. We here in
Colorado are rooting against Nick Ferguson, as we often do.
That sounds about right coming from you.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Then let's get to the NFL six pack. It's time
for the NFL six pack.
Speaker 3 (18:57):
I'm going to drink a lot of beer tonight.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Insight and inside information you can't find anywhere else.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
No.
Speaker 5 (19:03):
Six.
Speaker 1 (19:04):
The top six NFL had won.
Speaker 7 (19:10):
Starting off with the NFL top 100 list so far.
In this year's iteration, the top 10 looks like this.
Pat Sertan at number 10. Jameer Gibbs at number nine.
Micah Parsons at number eight. Puka Nakua at number seven.
Christian McCaffrey at six. JSN at five. Matt Stafford at four.
(19:31):
Bijan Robinson at three. And there's just two players left.
Josh Allen and Miles Garrett.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Who should be ranked number one?
Speaker 7 (19:39):
And which element of that top 10 do you most
disagree with so far?
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Let's see here.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
I think Puka Nikut shouldn't be in the top 10.
Parsons at eight feels weird, even because he missed half
the season, or at least a third of it. JSN
should probably be higher. He was ridiculously dominant. Stafford should
probably be higher. I think Myles Garrett should go number one,
Josh Allen number two, but I'll probably be wrong on that.
Speaker 5 (20:06):
I would say Myles Garrett, number one, and Josh Allen,
at this point, number two. Because, I mean, think about
what we've seen from Myles Garrett. Broke Michael Strahan's sack
record at single season. Josh Allen, we saw him play
against the Denver Broncos, five Buffalo turnovers. I think he was,
I guess, giving credit.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
For like three of those.
Speaker 5 (20:27):
So I know he's a darn good quarterback, but Myles
Garrett goes before him. I would agree Jackson Smith and
Jigba is down far too low. And Michael Parsons, great player,
but injuries plagued him and he missed a significant amount
of time. But Myles Garrett, number one.
Speaker 7 (20:45):
I'm with you on Miles Garrett. What do you make
of the gap between Bijan and Jameer Gibbs here? I
feel like they're so often lumped together as the one
and two at running back in the league right now.
This is Christian McCaffrey between those two and, you know,
six spots between them.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
I did odd.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
I would probably have Bijan the highest, but Gibbs is
no slouch.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
I mean, you can't, I don't think you can go
wrong either way. McCaffrey. I mean, I don't know. He
gets dinged for the injuries and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
But if they get rid of that substation, he's a substation.
Speaker 5 (21:16):
This is another way that they don't want to put
running back so high because if you rank them too high,
that means now you've changed the narrative.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
There it is.
Speaker 7 (21:28):
In NFL Network's award predictions, Josh Allen is the heavy
favorite to win MVP, earning six votes. He's followed by
Joe Herbert, sorry, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, who are
tied for second, each earning three votes apiece. Lamar Jackson
and Dak Prescott right behind.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
Them with two votes apiece.
Speaker 7 (21:47):
And then Patrick Mahomes, Brock Purdy and Caleb Williams round
out the bunch, each getting one vote per. What do
you make of those predictions or that list of MVP frontrunners,
and are you surprised to see Bo Nix not receive
any votes from this panel?
Speaker 3 (22:04):
This is a great lineup of quarterbacks.
Speaker 5 (22:06):
Josh Allen is pretty high based on a lot of hype.
He's a hell of a player, but When it comes
to some of those top moments that close out the season,
he hasn't done well as far as Bo Nix not
being on this list. I think they look at it as, hey,
Bo Nix had a significant amount of fourth quarter comebacks
last season, but at the same time, he had a
lot of fourth quarter comebacks, and that tells you that
(22:29):
the offense wasn't great in the times that they needed
to for four quarters.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Yeah, I'm with you on that. I think people don't believe.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
In Bo simply because they don't believe the Broncos are
going to have the same magic this year.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
I think that's why he's not on that list. There's
some bigger names, some bigger.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
production certainly Alan Burrell Herbert I'm surprised to see Herbert
that high I thought I was the only one that
high Lamar Dak I get that Mahomes you know all
that kind of stuff I think everybody gets that not
surprised to see the both thing what I will say
is I don't know if you guys watch this but
the NFL and Fox did their preseason predictions for all
the all the things Nick Benito.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
Won preseason pole position for defensive.
Speaker 7 (23:04):
Player of the year I see that it'd be cool
if Benito ended up winning that in real life again
I think is a common point of discussion here on
koa bonix has had some good success especially statistically but
hasn't gotten that national recognition yet what do you think
it'll take for him to finally get that prize I
(23:25):
think you've got to have.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
A standout season in which you score a bunch of
points and you do it early. It's not last-second type stuff.
You just have a consistently near-dominant season where you're putting
up 28 points a game, something like that. You're consistently
capable of doing that instead of being hit or miss
and playing down to the level of.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
The Raiders or the Claricell-Ludakin-Helmed Chiefs. You can't have stuff
like that and still be taken seriously.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Three.
Speaker 7 (23:53):
The Las Vegas Raiders have named Kirk Cousins the starting
quarterback for their week one game, meaning Fernando Mendoza will
begin his career on the bench. What do you make
of that announcement? And how long until we see Mendoza
start for the Raiders? At least until they're out of contention.
It could be all year.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
What I will say, not surprised if you've been listening
to this show, you knew Kirk Cousins was going to
be the starter. That was always the plan. That was
always the way they were going to do things. They
want to slow bring along Mendoza. This is a building
year for the Raiders. They know that. This is about
establishing the culture, finding out who can play, and building
up stuff around them. They don't want to David Carr
him by throwing him out there and making him put
(24:32):
the franchise on his shoulders and not be able to
handle it when the team's not ready to compete.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
So, not surprised.
Speaker 5 (24:38):
I think this is a smart decision with Tom Brady
and that organization. He knows that rookie quarterbacks need a
little time to grow and blossom.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
And what better person to learn from.
Speaker 5 (24:49):
Than Kirk Cousins, a guy who's excelled in the Clint Kubiak,
Mike Shanahan-type offense.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
And to answer the question as far as.
Speaker 5 (24:56):
When will we possibly see exchange of these quarterbacks, it
all depends. If the defense comes along and they can
force turnovers and Brock Bowers and National Genting are healthy,
then we're not going to see Fernando Mendoza coming in
until late in the season.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
I think I don't know if I think I don't
know anything. I don't have sources.
Speaker 7 (25:15):
I'm hoping we see him sooner rather than later. And
I think there's a decent chance of it. You know,
this wide zone Kubiak scheme demands some mobility from the quarterback.
Cousins was just in one of these schemes and they
couldn't do any under center stuff because he just can't
move like that anymore after the Achilles tear. And Mendoza
at a point like you can't lose the locker room.
(25:35):
You got to be putting the guy out there who
these guys believe gives them the best chance to win.
And at a point, it's going to be hard to
believe that's Kirk Cousins. Maybe I will say that the
plan is Cousins until it can't be. So I would
suggest that to temper your optimism on Mendoza unless Cousins
get hurt. The 49ers are on their way to Australia
(26:00):
for their week one game against the Los Angeles Rams. Meanwhile,
the Rams are planning to arrive mere hours before the
game following a strategy they implemented last year in route
to a 35-7 London victory over the Jags. Who do
you think has the better strategy here in regards to
the international travel? And do you think we'll see more
teams start adopting this unique Ram strategy?
Speaker 5 (26:24):
No more teams are not going to start to adopt it.
And I think Sean McVay and the Rams kind of
get the nod because they were able to do this
in London, right? And now you're flying to Australia and saying, well,
you're playing against someone you know already and Kyle Shanahan
in that office because Sean McVay runs a kind of
version of it.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
And they have a proven strategy.
Speaker 5 (26:46):
I don't know what it is that Sean McVay lets me,
what they're doing, but they probably feel as though they
have a veteran team. They understand well And they practice
before they go over. And since they haven't had any issues, we're.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
Not going to have any issues.
Speaker 5 (27:01):
So until they have any issues, I think this is
a big nothing burger.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
I'm going to go the other direction with it. I
think the Niners absolutely have an advantage here. I think
the Rams are making a huge mistake and basing it
on data from London, which is a minuscule flight compared
to this.
Speaker 1 (27:15):
This is an incredibly long flight. Guys are going to
be cramped in their seats. You're going to get out.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
They have your body and you're going to have muscular
atrophy from 24 hours.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
Of sitting in No, man.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
You can do high knees in the aisles.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
Yeah, we already saw people get made fun of for that.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
You know, the science on this is irrefutably clear.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
You need one to one.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
And a half days per time zone cross to be
a peak athletic efficiency. Yeah, your body clock is going
to be the same because it's 24 hours, so you're
going to be thinking.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
It's a regular kickoff time instead of morning.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
But your physical body is going to be more atrophied
from that really lengthy flight. We've got 40, 50 years
of data on jet lag stuff and athletic performance, and
I think the Rams are making a huge mistake.
Speaker 5 (27:54):
If the Rams go and they have a repeat performance
like they did in London, every other NFL team is
going to try to figure out what they're eating, what
they do on their flight, and try to adopt it.
Speaker 3 (28:06):
Bet that.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
OK, I'm just saying there's the best study on this.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
The jet lagging athletes study from Lee in 2012 is
probably the best one to cite on this. But typically
there's a 72 hour protocol, you know, and to get
the body back to being right.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
I don't know. We'll see. Maybe I'm maybe I look
like an idiot, but I think the Rams are out
thinking themselves on this one. I'm for it.
Speaker 7 (28:32):
You know, I think they'll have better traveling accommodations than
you and I both have, especially going to Australia. And
I think the idea of trying to fool your brain
rather than having to overcome jet lag, don't deal with
any of the jet lag. Just, hey, let's roll out.
We're playing at 6.30 p.m. Yeah, the sun might be
in a different place in the sky. Don't worry about that.
(28:54):
It's 6.30 p.m. You guys do that all the time.
You know how to play in primetime. Let's go out
there and roll. Meanwhile, the 49ers not only have to
deal with the jet lag, they're doing a week of
practices in a country without football facilities. Like, that's something
that's not only going to mar them this season, but
future season. Or not, sorry, this week, but future weeks.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
Lots of movement.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
We'll see.
Speaker 5 (29:16):
I just.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
For me, you can adjust your mentality. There's some things
you just can't physically change. You can't physically change muscular
atrophy from sitting for 24-plus hours on a flight.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Russell Wilson method. And we saw how well that worked
out for him.
Speaker 4 (29:33):
Five.
Speaker 7 (29:36):
Ryan Pools told the media this week that he's not
sure if Bears star Nick O'Kyler Gordon will ever play
for the team again. What's the latest with Gordon as
far as you know it? And do you think we'll
ever see him play in.
Speaker 1 (29:50):
The NFL again? Well, yeah, I think you will.
Speaker 2 (29:53):
They say he's not progressing as fast as he needs to. Obviously,
he's on the pups. He's going to miss the first
four games of the season no matter what. He missed
spring practices, all of training camp with a calf injury.
You know, he's been on social media doing some drills,
calf lunges, jumping drills, and even a full-blown sprint in
(30:13):
one of them.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
So, you know, it's one of those things.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
I mean, polls said he hoped that Gordon would play
for the Bears again, but said he didn't really know.
I suspect he will. I suspect he'll be toward the
back half of the season. The recovery just has not
been as quick as everyone had hoped.
Speaker 5 (30:28):
Sometimes with the recovery, you never know how it's going
to go. Sometimes the doctors try to predict how long
a player is going to be out, but you don't
know how the body is going to react to the rehab.
And sometimes you may have a guy that suffers some
kind of setbacks.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
And anytime you.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
Have lower leg injuries, it's a little difficult sometimes to
come back from.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
So I wish him all the best in the world
and hopefully he can rebound from this.
Speaker 7 (30:52):
What are your expectations for that Bears defense this year?
Last year they kind of struggled outside of the turnovers,
led the NFL in takeaways, but we know that can't
always be sticky year to year. They then lost a
lot of the guys who created those takeaways with.
Speaker 1 (31:06):
Bayard and Wright leaving.
Speaker 7 (31:09):
And then they've got Kobe Bryant, or I think Kobe
Bryant going down during practice. They're just a beat-up group.
You've also got this injury now. With Kyler Gordon, what
are your expectations for that defense?
Speaker 2 (31:24):
Well, I mean, Dennis Allen knows how to coach defense.
Whatever else you think, I mean, the man knows how
to coach defense. And, you know, that line is pretty decent,
led by Montez Sweat. They added Devin Bush at the
middle backer spot, got a little bit more athletic there
in the offseason.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
I think they're going to be a good defense.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
I don't, you know, they also added Jack Sanborn the
other day from Dallas.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
So, you know, they've got some bodies there. I think
they'll be all right.
Speaker 3 (31:51):
I think they're going to be a.
Speaker 5 (31:52):
Good defense, but they're not going to be as good
as they were last year because that was the biggest
catalyst for the Bears' defense.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
They forced a lot of turnovers.
Speaker 5 (32:01):
Sometimes the ball bounces your way, and other times it
bounces someone else's way. So very competitive, but not statistically
from a turnover standpoint as they were last year.
Speaker 7 (32:11):
Broncos get some better turnover luck this year. That could
help catalyze them into being number one defense in the league.
Speaker 6 (32:16):
Who knows?
Speaker 3 (32:18):
Six.
Speaker 7 (32:20):
Falcons GM Ian Cunningham defended the team's choice to keep
Tua Tagovailoa, Michael Penix, Jack Strand, and Cooper Rush all
on their 53-man roster, calling carrying the four quarterbacks an
insurance policy. That said, what do you guys make of
teams carrying four quarterbacks on their 53-man roster, and which
Falcons quarterback will start a start a game this season?
(32:45):
Will it be just Penix and Tua, or do you
think all four have a chance?
Speaker 3 (32:48):
I think it's just going to be Penix and Tua.
Speaker 5 (32:50):
This just tells you that they haven't really figured out
their quarterback situation, and neither guy really stepped it up
for them to evaluate and say, well, we're going to
pinpoint these two guys as being our lead dogs.
Speaker 3 (33:00):
So it puts them in a very difficult situation.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
I don't think Cooper Rush will play for them. I
think Jack Strand could. If they get out of contention late,
I think he could. Tua may not be there at
the end of the year. Cooper Rush may not be
there at the end of the year. Pennix will get
every opportunity, and they want him back as quick as possible.
Tua's been a disaster for him so far. So Penix
will get the most, and then from there, you know,
(33:23):
you figure it out if there's injuries or whatever else.
Keeping four quarterbacks with two guys that are hurt all
the time and one guy who they couldn't waive Strand.
He played too well in the preseason. He'd been picked
up by somebody. So, you know, when you look at this,
I get what they're trying to do. I think Strand
could get some starts if they get eliminated early.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
He could get some starts late in the season.
Speaker 7 (33:44):
To that point, do you think Tua's just keeping the
seat warm for Penix until he's.
Speaker 1 (33:49):
Cleared and ready to go? If Penix is ready to
go week one, it'll be Penix.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
If Penix is ready to go, Tua's done.
Speaker 5 (33:56):
They've already kind of. The operative word that Ben said
was if, right? And also, we're going back to what
we talked about earlier, predeterminism, right? If you have your
eyes and your mind set on a guy, your guy's
going to be your guy no matter what.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
I would not be surprised if they traded for Dylan
Gabriel midseason.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
Either.
Speaker 1 (34:17):
Five quarterbacks. Well, they'd move.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
Yeah, they'd move several.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Either Cooper Rush or Tua Tagovailoa or both.
Speaker 7 (34:22):
A roster being, what, 20% quarterbacks would be fine.
Speaker 5 (34:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
They're going to run the wing tee with all quarterbacks.
Super duper option.
Speaker 3 (34:32):
Oh, that would be hilarious.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
I'm here for it. Broncos country tonight. Back after this.
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