09-12-24 Ryan Michael with Broncos Country Tonight

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're going to head right on out to the Kaway

(00:02):
COMMISPERI the hotline. The I'll bringing our guy Ryan Michael
at the Ryan Michael on the Twitter machine. Ryan still
still reeling from a Best Denver Media account loss, so
we got a rashim about that since Nick and I
are still in still in the polling. Nick and I
are still in it, but we're we're there fighting for you, Ryan.
We're carrying on your name and your honor.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
I appreciate that, you know, I would say, you know,
it feels good to be nominated to make the top
sixty four. I got through one round down to the
top thirty two, so I'll keep pegging away at it.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
Next year.

Speaker 1 (00:30):
He'll be a sweet sixteen guy. He's building the program.
He's building the program. It's so we're doing. I always
love having Ryan on get a chance to talk about,
you know, the data, what's going on with the quarterbacks. Right,
of course, the contributor to the Pro Football Hall of
Fame and his has worked with professional football teams before.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
Ryan.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
As we look at this this first game, I didn't
think it was particularly flattering for the Broncos offense on
several levels. Before we get into What was your initial
impression of the Broncos against the Seahawks.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Well, my initial impression is that it was disappointing. I
believe I had Seattle at winning twenty eight to twenty four,
so you know, twenty six twenty was close. I think
your prediction was even closer. So although the final score
was in the ballpark, very much of what I was anticipating,
I don't think any of us will expecting the offense
to struggle as much as it did, so I feel

(01:20):
a little deflated on that end. But it's only one game, So.

Speaker 4 (01:23):
Yeah, Ryan, it's only one game, but there was a
lot of expectation based on what so many fans saw
bo Niggs in the preseason. Do you think the criticism
that he experience after Week one is fair?

Speaker 2 (01:40):
Not at all. The box score numbers were horrific, Nick,
so there's really no way to skate around that when
you adjusted for context. One of my favorite stats is
per Ben Baldwin. His Twitter handles at Ben b Baldwin
is adjusted EPA per play, and that's defined as EPA
adjusted for pass protection, receiver drops, dropped interceptions, luck on

(02:03):
interceptible passes, fumble recoveries, and interception returns given credit for
expected yards after the catch only, not accounting for the
defensive faced and by that metric, bo came in twentieth place,
bad but not horrific, and the adjustment relative to the
support of his teammates was the second biggest adjustment upward.

(02:24):
Only Will Levis had had a greater adjustment needing a
tougher playing situation. So the box score numbers were horrific.
Even the adjusted numbers are still below average. But it's
one game, so there's not much to read into it.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
Were there any statistical standouts for the Broncos in that
supporting cast?

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Now, there were some highlights. Certainly Devon caught eight receptions
off of eight targets. Didn't put up a lot of yards,
but I think twenty two of them were yards after
the catch. Josh Reynolds had five catches for forty five yards,
three of them were first downs what's connected, three or
three on field goals, and one to one on the
pat One of my favorites was Ryley Moss twelve total tackles,

(03:02):
which is the second highest mark in Denver Broncos franchise
history for a cornerback. Only Tamp Bailey on one occasion
had produced thirteen tackles, so that was certainly good to see,
and of course Alex Singleton with an interception, nine total
tackles and a tackle for a loss. There were some
standouts and it was a competitive game, so I think
it's important not to lose out of those.

Speaker 4 (03:23):
Well, once again, going back to bow because obviously the
topic conversation has a lot to do with the quarterbacks,
since he is the guy who's supposed to character team forward.
Were there any statistical numbers that you can say throw
out there that make fans change their mind about what
they think about bo right now?

Speaker 2 (03:45):
I don't know if there were any nick from the
game against Seattle that by themselves is going to get
anybody too jazzed up right now. I would say, if
you're digging for positives, I would note that he was
better in the second half than he was in the
first half. He completed twelve to twenty two passes and
took two sacks in the first half. He really turned
it around in the second half, completed fourteen of twenty
although they were very short completions and he didn't take

(04:07):
any stacks, and that's something that we've been talking about
over the past few months is his proficiency in avoiding facts.
He was sacked twice on forty four dropbacks. That puts
him at around four and a half percent sack percentage.
That's ninth in the NFL for one week. And sack
percentage is a statnic that I always look to as
an indicator of quarterbacks with high football IQ and good instincts.

(04:28):
Trevor Lawrence, who had a disastrous box score rookie season,
still finish in the top ten and sack percentage. He's
continued to do that every year of his career. So
if you're looking for something positive, look at sack percentage,
look at the completion percentage going up in the second half.
And I know Ben's been touting his wheels and the
mile prowur. There was some number that he had posted. Ben,
I don't remember exactly what it was, but there's a

(04:49):
few positives for sure.

Speaker 1 (04:50):
Yeah, Bodix had the second fastest carry in the NFL
a highest top speed second HIGT top speed. I believe
it was behind Tank Dell. Dell had a CA that
went slightly faster, but over twenty miles an hour. Bonies
can run, and you know something that bothered me a
little bit was how much we did not exploit that
in that game. It felt like, you'd, I understand not
want to put a quarterback out there and getting hurt,

(05:12):
but I also understand what to get him out there
and getting comfortable and make the defense respect them, respect
those legs.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
Agreed, and you know, we didn't see a lot of it,
but when he did take off, he produced I believe
it was a twenty three yard run in the first
play of that final drive there. Then there was an
incompletion and then four passes completed in a row before
the touchdown runs. So hey, that put us within six
and it's good to see that with the game on
the line, and then the way we wanted it to
didn't have a chance to touch the ball again, but
it wasn't a bad way to close out the game.

Speaker 4 (05:41):
Well, does it give you a little optimism to know
that most of the quarterbacks who were drafted in the
first round and the first week, whether they played on
a row or they played at home, they did really
fare that well as far as passing yards. So is
that another bump statistically heading into Sunday against the Steelers

(06:04):
that Broncos fans can say, you know what, bow Knicks
could be primed for a breakout game against the Steelers.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
I don't know if I would I would go as
far as to say breakout game. I think it's going
to be better. But passing yardage totals across the league
were abysmal, and I think a lot of that is
the function of the lack of camp and preseason reps.
So you're gonna get a little bit sloppy football in
Week one, a little bit sloppier than maybe it should be.
But that wasn't just Bonicks. That was a number of quarterbacks,
some reputable quarterbacks across the league. So I think it'll

(06:36):
jump up as the week's carry on.

Speaker 1 (06:39):
It's almost a diametrically opposite philosophy that Bo's going to
be up against. You're looking at you, you know, the
kind of the zone that that Seattle was running and
this is more of an attacking man type defense out
of Pittsburgh.

Speaker 3 (06:52):
Does that benefit a young quarterback? Is it? Is it
a detriment? Is it neutral? When when rolling this out
and rolling them out the second start.

Speaker 2 (07:01):
It's really going to depend on how efficiently they execute
that game plan. And you know, Sean Payton's offense is
really predicated upon timing pass accuracy. We're not going to
see bo Nick stretch the field. And you know, one
of the things I'd mentioned on Twitter earlier tonight is
just what the precedent of Drew Brees has done for
expectations in a Sean Payton offense, because Drew, by the

(07:24):
latter third of his career developed what I've described as
absolute superhuman processing, pocket presence, accuracy skill set. The combination
of those things has never been seen by any quarterback
in the NFL outside of Peyton Manning, and the way
that Drew executed it was a bit different because the
system he ran with Sean Payton was very different from
what Peydon Manning ran in Indianapolis and later in Denver.

(07:47):
I think people have to understand, for Drew, before the
Labram injury, he already had elite football IQ prestat processing
speed and above average pass accuracy, but that Torren Labram
forced to into a situation where you're taking what was
a below average arm and you're making it almost unusable.
And I don't think people appreciate just how much preparation

(08:10):
and all the work that he put into that comeback.
I'm talking twelve months a year of obsessively refining his
reaction time, his pasth accuracy. He widened his base to
shorten his pass release. He methodically just reinvented himself to
lean on the strengths that he already had, but to
compensate for the weaknesses that he dealt with physically. And

(08:30):
now from what what I'm hearing, he doesn't even throw
ball in the backyard with his kids using his right arm.
But he was still through to the end of his
career routinely completing seventy five percent or so of his passes.
So when you see that precedent, that skill set, even
with a weak arm, is something that would have been
a favorable matchup for a defense similar to what Pittsburgh
is running. I'd been calling bon Niz a poor man

(08:52):
screw Brees, but we're really comparing in the Superman, and
I think we need to take the foot off of
the gas pedal a little bit and not box him
into that comparison. Specifically, it's going to be a struggle,
and I expecting the struggle against Pittsburgh. I just think
it's going to be a little bit better than what
we saw in Week one.

Speaker 4 (09:08):
Well, let's talk about things that could help Bow not
struggle against Pittsburgh. And two of those things, am I opinion,
have to do with getting Marvin Mimms more involved, but
also Josh Reynolds, who the team acquired from his time
in Detroit. Is there a way in your mind, because
I know I have one that they can get these

(09:28):
two guys involved that would actually take the pressure off
Bow and allow him to get some more plays down
the field. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (09:37):
I think both of them have the skill set to
be able to deliver in those situations. We even saw
it for a play with Josh Reynolds in the season opener.
I think the trouble is going to be establishing the run.
You know, do we have the scheme, the blocking, and
the personnel and the commitment to actually execute an effective
running game, because that's what's going to open up holes
for Bo to be able to nail people in some

(09:58):
man to man situation, to be able to do that
with consistency, to walk away after four quarters and say
this rookie quarterback's produced well and had a good game.
That means to be seen. But I don't think that
we're going to be able to facilitate it without finding
greater balance and execution in the running game.

Speaker 1 (10:16):
So what is the answer for the Broncos to bounce
back in this game against the Steelers. Does it start
with the run game and establishing that. Is it creating
something different where what bo Nix is doing in the
passing game isn't as predictable and short? Is it a
combination of things? What would be the first thing you
would address with this offense.

Speaker 2 (10:34):
It's all the above, And with a rookie quarterback, it
never hurts to lean on a running game, but that's
going to be on our blockers and our running backs
to really gain positive yardage. There's nothing more frustrating to
me as an analyst than seeing first down plays go
for negative one zero one yard. When that happens, you're
forcing your quarterback into second and long and oftentimes third

(10:56):
and long situations that just put too much pressure on
a rookie quarterback to execute. But I would say for
bow he needs to walk away from the pressure. There
were a number of Snaps's debut where he was drifting
towards the pressure and they didn't necessarily result in sacks,
but they definitely resulted in offensive place that didn't go anywhere.
It's just going to be a matter of refining those

(11:16):
skills and executing with more consistency. I mean, I know
these are platitudes that don't really mean much until he
actually see them. It's a lot easier to say that's
what they should do. It a lot more difficult to
go out there and execute.

Speaker 4 (11:27):
Well. I know we've talked to Linz about the office
side of the ball and bowl knicks, but let's take
a turn and talk about the defense. Because the Broncos
defense did play much better in that second half. And
you brought up Riley Moss and the number of tackles
that he's made, but also the guy who is the
king of swing and the king of tackles, and Alex Singleton.

(11:49):
He was a guy that once again was in the
mix again.

Speaker 2 (11:53):
Howard Singleton is phenomenal and to see everything that he did,
from hauling in the interception to just tackle everybody to
the site and I didn't want to. I wasn't sure
if I was even going to mention this on the air, Nick,
because this might be a little bit sore. So I
hope that you can take it with grace. But I
just happened to be browsing the Broncos all time list
of solo tackles, and I'm seeing Alex Singleton at two

(12:15):
hundred and thirteen. I'm seeing you at two hundred and nineteen.
So if he keeps playing the way down that list,
my friend, Oh wow, come on, Ryan, God, it's tougher
for dbs to get those taxs. Y.

Speaker 3 (12:32):
It should be graded on a curve. Linebacker right should
be should be graded on a curve? Obviously. Do you
have to send him a cake?

Speaker 2 (12:37):
Though?

Speaker 4 (12:37):
Is there some kind of congratulatory Not that I'm moving
I'm aware of, but I mean, to my credit, Listen,
if I'm leading a team in tackles, that means our
defense is really awful. That means offensive running backs are
getting twelve to fifteen yards downfield. So listen, I'm okay
if I'm going down the list in this particular way.

Speaker 1 (12:57):
Okay, Well, we'll keep an eye. We got to fir
watch on the tackles. We have four watch. We'll get
some theme music behind that crawler on the chiron. Make
that happen Ron upcoming game against the Steelers. You have
justin fields on the other side. I'm not been a
big fan of his. I think it's a better outcome
for the Broncos to be facing off against him the
Russell Wilson. We don't know necessarily that Wilson won't play

(13:18):
in that game. He's obviously practiced last too days. But
as you look ahead to this thing, how good a
chance you have the Broncos winning the home opener? Here?

Speaker 2 (13:26):
You know, I have Pittsburgh twenty four to seventeen. But
just as they said last week, it's going to be
a very winnable game. And Ben, you know my thoughts
on justin Field. So if we have a choice between
the old man version of Russell Wilson or a fresh
justin Field, I'd rather face the fresh justin Fields because
I don't think very highly of him as a quarterback.

(13:46):
I think he is a tremendous playmaker. I think he
was a very good college football quarterback, but I just
don't see the processing speed and ability to execute anything
resembling the structured offense. So I hope he gets the start,
and I hope that we play well. We'll see.

Speaker 3 (14:02):
Do you see any weaknesses?

Speaker 4 (14:04):
I know we're going into week two, but do you
see any weaknesses from your film watching that the Broncos
could possibly exploit when it comes to the Pittsburgh still
is defense.

Speaker 2 (14:17):
You know, as far as their defense, it's a very
different kind of matchup. As Ben had said earlier, I
think it's really going to be fleshing out that identity
and not changing the game plan at halftime. It's really
going to be about establishing that running game and then
executing the passing game. It's not about maintaining a pretty
completion percentage, because that doesn't mean anything if you're completing

(14:39):
a bunch of passes for one or two yards. But
it is important to be able to execute the offense
with consistency. And I think the completions build the confidence
of young quarterbacks. So if we can open things up
with a run game, I think it's going to open
up some opportunities for gonicks in the middle of the field.

Speaker 3 (14:54):
Well, Ryan, we appreciate it. As always.

Speaker 1 (14:56):
You guys want to find Ryan on Twitter at the
Ryan Michael, Give him some give him some follow give
him some love. And next year he's getting to the
Sweet sixteen of the media the Media Poll.

Speaker 2 (15:06):
Oh jeez, thanks man.

Speaker 3 (15:07):
This is what I this is what I do for you.

Speaker 4 (15:09):
Man.

Speaker 3 (15:09):
We're building the brand, we're building the program here. This
is what I'm doing. I'm getting these recruits. They're hearing
us now, we're getting them in.

Speaker 2 (15:14):
I'm here for it.