11-18-25 Hour 3 of Broncos Country Tonight

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
A lot to get to here. I look the rest

(00:01):
of the schedule, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
This game turned a corner for me mentally, and looking
at this thing where I'm like, all right, to Broncos
are a contender. Now, you know, You've You've done everything
you need to do. You've beaten good defense, beat good offenses.
You've beat the last two teams to be in the
Super Bowl. You've got plenty of fourth quarter comebacks, actually
lead league in it. You've handled business against bad teams.
You only real blemishes on the record or the early

(00:26):
game losses to the Chargers and goals, and those were
barely losses. This thing is starting to tilt toward this
team is really a contender.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
And the rest of the schedule doesn't, you know.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
I mean, it looked difficult two weeks ago, but it
doesn't look difficult now.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
No, it doesn't.

Speaker 4 (00:41):
And the idea and it's cliche been but I'm gonna
say it anyway. It's one game at a time, and
it's not getting too high, not getting too low. And
we've seen this happen to teams in the pass where
you look at that team's record heading into the final
weeks of the season, teams are in great position, then

(01:01):
all of a sudden, there's somewhat of a letdown. And
I'm not projecting your Broncos letdown, because I know when
you talk to anyone over in the organization, they are
excited and they're giddy about what's happening, and they don't
want to look too far down the row.

Speaker 3 (01:20):
But it's hard not to. Right.

Speaker 4 (01:22):
We're all people, and when we all look at the
teams that they're facing, and you're looking at the games
like we all did at the beginning of the season
when the schedule came out, saying okay, well, which one
of these games of winnable games? And with the team's
sitting at nine and two, they have surpassed a lot
of theories as far as those.

Speaker 3 (01:43):
Early season predictions.

Speaker 4 (01:44):
As far as what we thought the rector would be
at this particular point. So the team is playing with
a lot of confidence going into the buy and you're
at the Commanders, you're at the Raiders, and then you're
back against the Packers and the Jaguars, and you finish
up the season with the Chiefs and the Chargers. I mean,
the road is right now. Pay for the Broncos to

(02:06):
pretty much write their own story to kind of book
in the season a little different than how the season
actually started.

Speaker 3 (02:16):
So yeah, I don't think.

Speaker 4 (02:18):
Anything is wrong with talking about the obvious. We talked
about Vans Joseph and the potential to move on if
someone offers him another job. But we still can start
having at least we can't they're not going to do
it over at the facility. Start talking about what does
this look like if this team were to get the

(02:40):
first round by and what happens beyond. I think it's
okay because you're acknowledging that the team in the organization
has turned the corner.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
Yeah, I don't think it's getting too far out in
front of your skis to start talking about that, because
it's within the realm of possibility now right. Yeah, you know,
talk about three weeks ago was a little ludicrous, but
as you do it right now, it's within the realm
of possibility. We could have a situation where we K
teen could be for all the marbles against the Chargers.
We could have a situation where we K eighteen could
be a de facto arrest your starters. And if you've

(03:10):
already got a first round by, I mean you could
have two weeks to get healthy there for most of
your starters, and that's.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
Kind of what you want.

Speaker 4 (03:17):
I mean, you don't want to get rusty from sitting,
you know, will you don't, But listen, I would rather
the Broncos get to that point and we have that
conversation and that may be a little concern or whatever
opposed to not right, because that's where you ultimately want
to get to, where you want that number one seed,

(03:37):
where people are having a conversation like, well do you
start some of the players as you get close to
the end of the season, knowing as that you've already clinched.
And for me, that's great because the Broncos have a
bunch of young players on both sides of the ball,
mostly on the defensive.

Speaker 3 (03:53):
Side of the ball.

Speaker 4 (03:54):
That gives an opportunity to give those individual guys who
did not have time doing the rect the season an
opportunity to play to develop that skill set that is
going to be needed if the Broncos.

Speaker 3 (04:08):
Are to get to where they once were.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah, I think you know, and if it were me
and we're getting that much time off, if this were
to play out, and there's a lot of ifs here,
but if it were to play out, they get the
number one seed, they get the rest week eighteen against
I probably am resting starters against there, I'm rest them
and having that bye week, so it's like a three
week stretch there where you're gonna have time off.

Speaker 1 (04:29):
And what we would do is we would I mean,
we'll get.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
The players off, We're gonna have the week eighteen will
be the backups, and then as as we have that
bye week there, it's going to be an every other
day sort of practice thing. So we keep keep guys going,
but we also keep guys healthy, you know, and then
have a regular game week for uh, you know, for
that initial playoff game. To me, that's the way you
would do it. You get you get that, you get
everybody healthy at the right time. I mean, all of

(04:52):
a sudden, you got a heck of an advantage playing
here at Mile High in the playoffs, in the in
the in the dead of winter. That's a that's a
pretty big home field advantage that late in the season.

Speaker 3 (05:02):
It is.

Speaker 4 (05:02):
And here's what I'm hoping you mentioned in the home
field advantage and we still haven't really seen. What I'm
about to describe right now is truly using the altitude
as an as our ally. And I can tell you
on the summer day, you know it's in September, you're

(05:25):
running around. Altitude is still a factor for opponents. Now
you throw them in the winter and you're sucking in
that cold air. Talk about hurting. It hurts your chest.
It feels like an elephant. It's sitting on your chest.

Speaker 1 (05:40):
It's different sucking in that cold air. Man, It's just different.

Speaker 3 (05:43):
Yes, And that's kind of what you want.

Speaker 4 (05:46):
And that's something that I've been a part of in
my time here as a player, and I've witnessed with
Peyton Manning being here and being able to bring that
back to this fan base. Right, It's almost like you're
hitting their rewind button at the same time paying homage
to the pass but also setting different presidents about the

(06:11):
team and where they can be moving forward.

Speaker 1 (06:14):
Yeah, I you know, I'm looking forward to this.

Speaker 2 (06:16):
I think as we look at the schedule, I think
there's you know, there's three games that worry mean I
said I'd be the Packers game or miss. They just
they've got a good defense there, but they're still hit
or miss. And then you got a short week Kansas
City game against the on Christmas in Arrowhead.

Speaker 3 (06:32):
By that time, Kansas City is out of it, or they.

Speaker 1 (06:35):
Might be ramping back up. They might just might have
been a wake up call for them, just something something to.

Speaker 2 (06:39):
Keep her eye on over the next couple of weeks,
you know, something to keep her eye on, the next
couple weeks. The last thing you want, you know, is
to wake them up out of their slumber.

Speaker 1 (06:46):
This this be the game. And then you turn around
and and.

Speaker 2 (06:49):
You know, then you get that Christmas game and then
you get them again in the playoffs, and you know
you don't you don't want to play a three team
team three times in a year.

Speaker 4 (06:56):
Listen, obviously, you know the the alcome on Sunday was
something that Kansas City didn't write in the script, so
it was a little different. So for them, they're like, Okay,
well we're not gonna get win the AFC West, so
what that's wise? But they're thinking, okay, well win enough
games to get in. Yeah, And and that's where they're

(07:17):
thinking that they would have their ultimate revenge. Because it
reminds me of remember last year when Ryan Day lost
to Michigan and everyone was saying, oh I fire Ryan
Day and whatever they get into the college football playoffs,
run the table and win the whole damn thing.

Speaker 1 (07:32):
This is.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
You know, that's one of those things teams that back
door their way in can still can still do that.
We've certainly seen teams get hot down the stretch and
that's the last thing he was.

Speaker 1 (07:39):
Can't see do that.

Speaker 2 (07:40):
So you know the game, the games that were the Packers,
you get that, you get that Kansas City game in
Arrowhead on Christmas.

Speaker 1 (07:47):
That's that's gonna suck.

Speaker 2 (07:49):
And then the Chargers set for whatever reason, Sean Payton
can't beat him Harball.

Speaker 1 (07:53):
He's done it one time in his entire career.

Speaker 2 (07:54):
It was a last second field goal back when he
was in New Orleans against the San Francisco forty nine ers.
He just he's other than that. He's and it's the thing.
Sean Payton owned Andy Reid when he was in New Orleans.
He was four and one against Andy Reid when Reid
was with Philly. Now that flipped a little bit here
in Kansas City, but he Shay has just never had
Jim Harball's number.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
Harball has always had Sean Payton's.

Speaker 4 (08:15):
No that it's going to be different Ben this time
it's gonna be different this time.

Speaker 3 (08:20):
And here's why.

Speaker 4 (08:21):
When you look at the number of injuries that the
Chargers have sustained on the office side of the.

Speaker 3 (08:27):
Ball, it's almost like.

Speaker 4 (08:30):
Justin Herbert is out there playing by himself eleven on one.

Speaker 1 (08:35):
So now we.

Speaker 4 (08:36):
Get to the bottom half of the season, the Chargers
are beating down. I mean this kicking off the new year,
because now it's like, you know what, twenty twenty five
wasn't our year. We're gonna focus on twenty twenty six
and they're not gonna really care about what's gonna happen
in that game, and the Broncos are gonna run rough
shot over him.

Speaker 1 (08:54):
We'll see as it sits right now now. I reserve
the right to change my mind as we get closer.

Speaker 2 (08:59):
Could see the Charge just crater after the injuries and
all that kind of stuff as it hits right now today,
those would be the three I'm worried. I'm not worried
about the Raiders. I'm not worried about the Jags. Uh
and the Commanders. I mean kinda, but they're out of it.

Speaker 1 (09:12):
They might Commander they get Jaden Daniels, if they.

Speaker 4 (09:16):
Get him back, you said if they get Daniels and.

Speaker 2 (09:19):
They're trying, they're they're trying to have different casts on
his elbow to try to get.

Speaker 4 (09:22):
Him back, chances are if I'm dan Quinn, I'm not
trying to run the risk of that because have you
seen how the Broncos front hunt.

Speaker 1 (09:33):
I mean, that's why he wants that mobility.

Speaker 3 (09:36):
I don't want him in that game.

Speaker 2 (09:38):
Well, I think that's why Washington would want him in
that game, is the mobility, Like you would want him
in there just because you need somebody. Mariona's uh, let's
just try to find an adjective I can use her
MARIONI is, well, not good is probably the best way
I could just put that. Like I try, I'm trying
to come up with something nice, and he's not good.

Speaker 1 (09:54):
I mean, he's not and and so that's sort of
the problem. You look at the uh, the NFC and the.

Speaker 2 (09:58):
Playoff picture there, and you know, the Washington's not out
of it over there in the playoff side. On the
on the NFC, they're not not in great position at
three and eight, but they're they're far from out of it,
and so you know, they they you know, they win
eight of their last few games here, they get eleven games,
they win seven of eight, and you're at ten and eight.

(10:19):
You know, they're they're they're on the verge of being
out of it. They pretty much have to win out.
But you know, the rest of their schedules not horrible.

Speaker 4 (10:29):
So okay, after the Broncos, at the Vikings, at the Giants.

Speaker 1 (10:33):
Yeah, those are winnable games. The Eagles games.

Speaker 2 (10:36):
There is the tough one twice, but the rest of
those games are winnable games.

Speaker 1 (10:41):
You look at that.

Speaker 2 (10:42):
You know, you got a Broncos game on Sunday night
if you win that one. The Vikings and Giants games
are winnable for them. Well now, and now, all of
a sudden, you're a six and eight football team, you know,
with three games to go.

Speaker 3 (10:50):
I'm not trying to risk it, man.

Speaker 4 (10:52):
I mean, listen, well, we've experienced this here in Denver, Colorado,
trying to find your quarterback of the future, and it
appears as though the Commanders have their quarterback of the future. Yeah,
he injured his non throwing elbow. Okay, well, we're not
willing to sacrifice Jayde and Daniels long term for the

(11:13):
slight possibility And I say slight sitting at three and eight,
thinking that you're going to somehow, I don't know, run
the table. I mean, you got the Eagles twice in
a three week period. It's like, come on, chances are
you're not going to make that deep of a run
to win that many games. It puts you back in
the conversation. So I wouldn't risk it.

Speaker 2 (11:35):
I mean, but I mean, what are you risking with
Jayden Daniels. If he goes down, your season is wiped anyway,
And you get what do you mean.

Speaker 1 (11:42):
He's not listened the championship game last year.

Speaker 4 (11:46):
Okay, we saw Dan quinn put Jayde Dames in the
game or leave him in the game against Seattle, right,
they were moving the ball down the field. Is going
to be his last drive. Freak, his accident, unfortunate, he falls.

Speaker 3 (12:00):
On his non throwing elbow.

Speaker 4 (12:03):
And you just should have seen the vitriol from those
who cover the team in Washington.

Speaker 3 (12:09):
Former players, former guy, former players were quarterbacks.

Speaker 4 (12:12):
He should have taken him out, he said, they were
ready to fire him dead.

Speaker 2 (12:17):
I mean, which is stupid, and that's why, Yeah, that's
why you don't pay attention to fans.

Speaker 1 (12:21):
This is stupid.

Speaker 2 (12:21):
There's the same fans, he's the same fans in Kansas
City want to fire Andy Reid after the game this
this Sunday.

Speaker 1 (12:25):
I'm like, yeah, please do, please do fire Andy Reid.
Make it, but pave the way for the Broncos the
next one.

Speaker 4 (12:31):
But what I'm saying is, then James Dan's get hurt
in the Seattle game, he sits out, he comes back,
and then you throw him in the game against the Broncos,
against that rowdy bunch, he gets injured again. Yes, they're
gonna be saying dan Quinn has no idea what he's doing,
even though I don't agree with it, but.

Speaker 2 (12:48):
That, but he gets injured again and you're coming back
starting from scratch next year. You just say, Okay, we tried,
We're gonna get healthy.

Speaker 5 (12:54):
This Offseyeon both right. Actually, I wouldn't put him in.
I wouldn't risk it. And I also even if you
did get hurt again, dan Quinn would keep his job.

Speaker 1 (13:03):
You're winning four with Mariota, like your only chance to
wins with Jayden Daniels.

Speaker 4 (13:07):
That your only chance, Okay, But they're sitting at three
and eight. You say, you're Jayde Daniels, I'm with you.
He gives them the best opportunity to win games. But
being three and eight, well, they win enough games to
even get into the conversation. And I'm gonna say no,
So I'm not I'm not I'm not risking against the Broncos.

Speaker 3 (13:27):
I'm not gonna do.

Speaker 2 (13:27):
If you win against the Broncos, you're in you're in
position because you got two game again, you got Vikings
and Giants, Uh, that are winnable games. And you got
two games at home against Philly and Dallas that you know,
I mean you're at home. Uh, and then you end
the season and failed, you're you're prime. If you beat Denver,
you're primed, and you're coming off of bye in that game.
Now never's coming off of bye two. I'm not saying
that they're going to beat Denver, but I'm just saying like, yeah,

(13:49):
you're looking at this, it's like, we got an opportunity
to win this thing. This is about the only opportunity
we got to win this thing.

Speaker 4 (13:54):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (13:54):
The defense, our defense was playing horrible.

Speaker 2 (13:56):
All of a sudden, they came back against Miami, started
playing well, you know, maybe maybe we got out here.

Speaker 4 (14:02):
See Okay, I'm gonna speak your language for a second.
Here see the odds would say I have a I
don't know, fifty to fifty sixty forty seventy thirty chance
of making wagers on any of any particular game.

Speaker 3 (14:15):
Right, what chances are I can't.

Speaker 4 (14:17):
I can win big, but I can lose big at
the same time.

Speaker 1 (14:20):
You're losing bigger.

Speaker 3 (14:21):
He gets hurt, he's gonna be back next year.

Speaker 1 (14:23):
He those dicks. He's gonna be.

Speaker 3 (14:24):
Back next year either way.

Speaker 4 (14:25):
Once again, that's not knowing what type of injury he
could sustain go to keep him up for a period
of time. I don't want to risk it against the
Broncos defense. Have you seen that Alan sack quarterbacks?

Speaker 2 (14:38):
Yeah, and I think you need Jaydon Daniels to get
away from him instead of Marcus. Mariona's gonna stand there
and need NFL six pack we come back. Milton from
Kroger Delivery dropped my grocer's offsprint it over there during
the break. I'm like out of gas now.

Speaker 4 (14:52):
First of all, Okay, you mentioned one word that I
don't even believe is in your lexicon.

Speaker 3 (14:58):
You say it's sprint.

Speaker 1 (15:00):
Okay, Well, it was uh a very brisk walk.

Speaker 5 (15:03):
If you weren't a big enough hurry to take the stairs,
still waiting on the elevator.

Speaker 1 (15:07):
Well, I mean it came right up.

Speaker 2 (15:09):
If during business hours here like I would, I would
have done the stairs.

Speaker 3 (15:14):
He said, just just came.

Speaker 2 (15:16):
He's out of nobody else in the building right now,
So I could, I could, you know, the elevators came
right up.

Speaker 1 (15:19):
But yeah, no, Yeah, Milton was over there.

Speaker 2 (15:21):
I got my groceryes delivered, got him putting the fridge fast,
and came sprinting back over here. So I wanted to
shout him out from Uh he's been here three years
from Chicago once said, sport Stock ready was his dream too.

Speaker 3 (15:30):
So job milk.

Speaker 1 (15:31):
Yeah, no, it was good people. So with for the ADO,
let's get to an NFL six pac It's time for
the NFL six path.

Speaker 5 (15:37):
I'm going to trade a lot of beer insight that
inside information you can't find anywhere else.

Speaker 4 (15:43):
I know.

Speaker 1 (15:44):
The top six NFL headlines what.

Speaker 5 (15:49):
Apparently Brian Kelly has not been officially fired by l
s U and is now suing the university, who is
attempting to terminate him for a cause to avoid pain
his full buyout. LSU claims that former athletic director Scott
Woodward did not have the authority to terminate Kelly and
that grounds for cause termination exist, but a lawsuit filed

(16:11):
by Kelly's team argues against these positions. This legal battle
obviously centered it around that fifty four million dollar buyout.
Kelly is owed. What more can he tell us about this?

Speaker 2 (16:21):
Ben Well, Brian Kelly would be owed the full fifty
four and his legal team's pressing them for something in
writing with termination.

Speaker 1 (16:28):
Because he hadn't gotten any writing and anything in writing.

Speaker 2 (16:31):
The problem for LSU is the Scott word was empowered
to make these decisions at the time it was made,
and so.

Speaker 1 (16:37):
You're gonna have to figure something out here at the
end of the day.

Speaker 2 (16:40):
Technically, right now, Brian Kelly is still employed by LSU.
It is like a fifty four million dollar janitor or
whatever at this point. Until until they figured that out,
he's going to try and get him for every penny
against Brian Kelly.

Speaker 1 (16:52):
He's gonna get him every penny that he can get
him for.

Speaker 4 (16:54):
Well, me, I think that you should if not was
the use of signing contract and putting certain languish into
stay contract. But how sophisticated can has actually been in
the fact that Eli shoe is trying to get from
one of this contract, but I saying, well, we fired
you for call, so we don't have to pay you
the other back half man.

Speaker 3 (17:13):
That's dirty ball. That's thirty ball.

Speaker 4 (17:18):
Two.

Speaker 5 (17:22):
As we talked about earlier in the week eleven recap,
Josh Allen ran for three touchdowns and Sunday's win over
the Bucks. The next time he runs for a touchdown,
he'll have more rushing touchdowns than any quarterback in NFL history.
That record has been held by Cam Newton, who retired
with seventy five career rushing touchdowns. Allen scored his seventy third,

(17:42):
seventy fourth, and seventy fifth rushing touchdowns on Sunday. Allen
runs for a touchdown on Thursday night against the Texans,
I think I'm taking that bet. He'll have seventy six
rushing touchdowns in his career and sole ownership of the record.
He already has the all time rushing touchdown lead for quarterbacks.
If playoffs are included. He has seven playoff rushing touchdowns

(18:04):
for a total of eighty two in his career. Behind
Newton on the list is Jalen Hurts and third with
sixty one regular season rushing touchdowns and seventy one counting
the playoffs. Is Josh Allen the best dual threat quarterback
we've ever seen in NFL history?

Speaker 2 (18:20):
No, up there, certainly, but no, I mean Jalen Hurts
is going to wind up passing him on the rushing
touchdowns thing. I mean, Jalen Hurts when I played eighty
seven games, Allen's played one hundred twenty one to get
that number.

Speaker 1 (18:30):
So I think Jalen Hurts winds up passing him.

Speaker 2 (18:32):
But to me, I think if you're going with the
best of both worlds, you gotta say Steve Young. But
I think Josh Allen is in that top five conversation.

Speaker 3 (18:41):
He's definitely in that conversation for sure.

Speaker 4 (18:43):
But here's what I think about when Graham was reading that.
Remember we were told that rushing quarterbacks can't win Super
Bowls and that has been the book. Now, can Josh
Allen do it mean to submit himself? That is something
that we have yet to see. But what it tells
me is like the league continues to evolve, We're seeing

(19:04):
more mobile quarterbacks than your traditional statue as quarterbacks. So
if you want a quarterback of the future, he better
be able to move.

Speaker 5 (19:12):
It's almost like a requirement now, right, Like you want
someone that can move.

Speaker 2 (19:15):
I mean yeah, Like these three guys are heading shoulders
above them, but Alan Newton and Hurts are head and
shoulders above everybody else. Because the gap from third, the
gap from first to second is seventy five to sixty one, right,
the gap from third to fourth Jaala Hurts at sixty
one is Steve Young with forty three. Like, there's twenty
touchdowns in between those.

Speaker 1 (19:35):
Three and the next tier. And that next tier is.

Speaker 2 (19:38):
All packed because you got Steve Young at forty three
down to like Russell Wilson, who's twenty first all time
with thirty one.

Speaker 4 (19:46):
See, not every coach wants that grant because some coaches
called it backyard football. I called it just updated NFL.
Then you need these guys to win.

Speaker 2 (19:55):
If I told you that Tom Brady was in the
top twenty five overall rushing touchdown quarterbacks, which you believe
because he is. He's twenty fifth with twenty eight minus
one fewer rushing touchdown.

Speaker 1 (20:04):
The Donovan McNabb.

Speaker 4 (20:06):
Wow, I would have seen that one coming.

Speaker 1 (20:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (20:10):
Three Well, speaking of quarterbacks, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has
a fractured risk, but coach Mike Tomlin has not closed
the door on Rogers playing on Sunday at the Bears.
The Steelers nevertheless preparing for the possibility that Rogers won't
be available. On Tuesday, the Steelers worked out quarterbacks Jason
Bean and Tayner Mordecai.

Speaker 1 (20:33):
Neither was signed.

Speaker 5 (20:34):
Either would ostensibly serve as the third string quarterback if
Rogers doesn't play.

Speaker 1 (20:38):
The Steelers currently.

Speaker 5 (20:39):
Have no quarterbacks on the practice squad, as Will Howard.

Speaker 1 (20:43):
Was called up to the active roster.

Speaker 5 (20:45):
Do you think Aaron Rodgers is done? Do you think
he plays and tries to this weekend? And could we
see Will Howard playing for the Steelers this year?

Speaker 1 (20:53):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (20:54):
I think you will see Will Howard play at some point,
just because they want to quarter sort of see what
they've got there.

Speaker 1 (20:57):
They've been excited about what they've seen in practice from him.

Speaker 2 (21:00):
I think you get anything out of Mason rudolphich you
didn't already have, So if they get out of contention,
I think he turned to Will Howard. I don't think
Rodgers is playing this week. I think you're going with
Mason Rudolf. Will see, but as the week rolls along.
I think they're playing games right now because you know, you,
the less prep anybody does for Mason Rudolph, the better
off you are as.

Speaker 3 (21:17):
Still as though, sitting at six and four.

Speaker 4 (21:19):
So obviously their playoff hopes ride on Aaron Rodgers being healthy.
But once again, then this is a tough part of
the season where the weather gets cold, and if you
have someone somewhat of an injury, it makes things really
difficult for you. But seeing Will Howard and at some point,
if you're still this fan, you want to see that

(21:39):
because he could be your quarterback of the future.

Speaker 5 (21:42):
Big Ben two point zero possibly, who knows. I was
a lot higher on Will Howard than a lot of
people coming out of the draft.

Speaker 1 (21:48):
Same here.

Speaker 2 (21:48):
I talked to his quarterback coach when he was training
for the draft and all that kind of stuff, and
he was like, yeah, sneaky, this guy's up there with
the guys.

Speaker 1 (21:56):
That I've trained. He's not. This guy's going to make
himself some money in the league.

Speaker 5 (22:00):
Four well, staying on the injury train, Truba Hubbard injured
his calf in Week five and the two weeks Hubbard
missed his back up. My fantasy Star of the season,
Rico Dowdle ran for three hundred and eighty nine yards
and had four hundred and seventy three yards from scrimmage
and back to back wins. Hubbard returned in Week seven
and now knows it was a mistake to rush back,

(22:23):
he said, And I think in all honesty, I'm a competitor,
and when I came back for my calf, I maybe
wasn't quite ready and where I wanted to be. Obviously,
in this league, you're never gonna want to You're never
gonna be one hundred percent. I just want to be
there for my team. So maybe rushed it back a
little sooner than I should have, which is my own
doin I mean, I'm bad at that.

Speaker 1 (22:44):
I always have been.

Speaker 5 (22:45):
And Hubbard's first four games back, he had only thirty
four carries for ninety six yards and a touchdown and
three catches for twenty five yards. Is Rico Daddle cemented
as the clear number one there in Carolina now? And
you think Carolina could sneak to the playoffs this year?

Speaker 2 (23:01):
Look, Donald's already the number one guy down there, Chub,
but coming back, just you know, it just took away
carries from them.

Speaker 1 (23:08):
Donald's averaging five a carry down here for Carolina, and
he was catching the ball pretty well too.

Speaker 2 (23:13):
If it's me, I mean we're rolling with Donald a
little sprinkle tremor at the end and if he needs
a break, But ric O'donald's you know, having a bit
of a resurgence there. As far as the rest of
it goes, yeah, I mean, you know, if Bryce Young
could stay healthy. The Panthers are all one with Dalton,
but six and four with Bryce Young, they got a
good chances any especially with that division being as weak
as it is.

Speaker 1 (23:31):
I mean, you got Tampa and that's really it.

Speaker 4 (23:34):
Hey, considering the fact that Carolina is right, they're nipping
at the heels of the Bucks and they don't play
them to the end of the season like it's like
over a three week period they play the Bucks twice.
So as far as Rico down, I mean, listen, he
is your your bag. But I understand what Tubert Herbert
to try to come back. I've been in that situation.

(23:55):
You don't want to lose your job, even though people
tell you Westar doesn't love their job. To Andrey, yes,
you do. And this is one definitely one of those cases.

Speaker 5 (24:02):
Five Brian Schottenheimer says he is very much in favor
of keeping George Pickens long term. He could see why
in his performance last night against the Raiders. The Cowboys
traded for Pickens without giving him an extension. They have
a bargain this season, paying Pickens only three point six

(24:23):
million dollars. He is a team leading eighty three receptions
for nine hundred eight yards and seven touchdowns, sorry, the
second most yards and the most touchdowns Pickens has had
in his career. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones louded pickens performance
and the win over the Raiders on Monday night, when
the wide receiver made nine receptions for one hundred and
forty four yards and a touchdowns and a touchdown. Pickens,

(24:46):
though is scheduled for free agency in March, and Cowboys
coach Brian Schottenheimer made it clear that he wants Pickens
there beyond this season.

Speaker 1 (24:54):
He said, sign me up. I mean what you.

Speaker 5 (24:56):
Say, these those two guys, Pickens and cd LA. I
just love their relationship, man, I love the firepower that
they give us. Do you think they're the best receiving
duo in the NFL right now? And do you think
Pickens is there next year.

Speaker 1 (25:11):
I do what I do. That's a tough team, man.
And I'll tell you what.

Speaker 2 (25:14):
Clayton Adams and bron shann ever got that offense, hume,
and they started to get defensive pieces finally, then maybe
they'll get that defense shoring up next year and they'll
be a real threat. But between Pickens, lamb Jake Ferguson,
the resurgence of Javonte Williams, and even the role player guys.
They've got guys like Flerinoy, Tolbert, Cavanti, Turpin, They've They've
got a heck of an offense there. And I would
be shocked if they did not find a way to

(25:35):
pay George Pickens.

Speaker 4 (25:36):
See I like the skill players that seatten Hemmer has.
But we've seen this movie before because Jerry has a
propensity not to pay certain players. And wait till the
last second, I'm hoping that he doesn't make that same
mistake because Pickens is a great addition for that offense
and just proven to be that guy with CD was
out at.

Speaker 1 (25:56):
The beginning of the season six. This one's for you, Brian.

Speaker 5 (26:03):
As we know here in Colorado, coach Dion Sanders, in
his third year on the job, for the Buffs has
not been a good one. The Buffs are three and
seven with two games to play, but on Tuesday, Dion
emphasized that he should still continue to be the head
coach of the program.

Speaker 1 (26:19):
You've got the right.

Speaker 5 (26:20):
Man, Sanders told reporters, I promise you you do, and
I'm going to prove that to you. Just give me
an opportunity and a little more time, and I'm going
to prove that to you. Colorado doesn't really have much
of a choice. The great second season last year earned
Sanders a five year, fifty four million dollar extension, putting
the Hall of Fame cornerback under contract through twenty twenty nine,

(26:42):
making the parting of ways pretty expensive. Sanders has dealt
with various health challenges this year, and as we know,
the school's athletic director, Rick George, leaving at the end
of the current academic year. Do you think that Dion
is in it for the long haul at CU and
will it be his choice if he is or not?

Speaker 4 (27:02):
Well?

Speaker 1 (27:03):
Right now it is.

Speaker 2 (27:03):
I mean, see, he's making too much money in the buyouts,
too much for him, so.

Speaker 1 (27:07):
Right now it's his choice.

Speaker 2 (27:09):
He'll definitely be around next year, you know, Lewis looks
like he might be something as a quarterback.

Speaker 1 (27:14):
He's come in, he looks like he might have something
to him. We'll see.

Speaker 2 (27:18):
You're gonna have to keep guys like Amario Miller around
and figure out a way to develop a run game.

Speaker 1 (27:22):
And you got to find an offensive coordinator that works.
It's not freaking Pat Shermer. You know.

Speaker 2 (27:28):
Once you get those things down, I think I think
you'll be better off.

Speaker 1 (27:30):
They tried Kat and Salis, or they tried Ryan Stall.

Speaker 2 (27:32):
None of that stuff works. So you're on to uh
the juju Lewis, Yeah, I think to be fine. And
again you're talking about expectation. You're a team that was
dead before it got here, So this is there's gonna
be some bumps in the road. I don't think he
can do three win seasons two three years in a row,
but I think he can. He can get one if

(27:52):
he gets back into Bowl contention.

Speaker 4 (27:54):
This all goes back to who the next athletic director is,
and that's gonna be a conversation.

Speaker 3 (28:00):
We know how this works.

Speaker 4 (28:01):
Matt Russell, I don't know. Matt Russell possibly former Buff himself.
But once again, it goes back to how do they
view themselves. We've seen programs kind of jump start and
make poor decisions. Think about Penn State letting James Franklin go.
Penn State thought that they were to say yes, and

(28:25):
Pence State thought they were at a certain level and
the Big Ten that they're not, so they let go
one of the better coaches and they're in team's history.
So CU has to realize that, hey, you got a
lot of popularity last year, but you're not exactly where
you want to be.

Speaker 3 (28:40):
Now. You give Dion maybe.

Speaker 4 (28:42):
Two more season to remedy the situation because you lose
Shadora Sanders, you lose Javonte Western, you lose you know,
Travis Hunter, you lose a great number of offensive guys.
So you have to give the coach an opportunity to
kind of reclaim what he was able to bring, you know, season.

Speaker 3 (29:00):
So two more years.

Speaker 1 (29:01):
I believe, Yeah, I think so.

Speaker 2 (29:03):
And if he gets them into Bowl contention, that continues
to buy some See you ultimately at the four year mark,
if you're a bowl team, that that that's a good
You need to start challenging, you know, get incrementally better
from there, but you need to be a consistent Bowl
team by that time. By four years, you've been enough
time to build it up and get the culture in there.

Speaker 4 (29:17):
If this, if the Buffs decided to somehow move on
from Coach Prime after this season or even after the
twenty twenty sixth season, to me, they put themselves in
the tight squeeze because remember where this team was before
Coach Prime came back. I mean, they were putting your mild.

(29:39):
They were on the defibrillator right. They needed CPR and
he provided it. So let's just see what happens. Give
him the opportunity, and hopefully, if it is in fact
Matt Russell, then maybe they develop a relationship and he
gives him a longer I guess runway for him to
remedy the situation.

Speaker 2 (29:59):
Yeah, and it'll be, uh, you know, it'll be fascinating
to see how that goes. No, no word on the
I checked with the Browns. They are not planning on
retiring Shador's number after.

Speaker 1 (30:07):
That that start the other day. Man just just just
beat by the way the go ahead Nick.

Speaker 4 (30:13):
That was because that was how do you not give
your backup young quarterbacks?

Speaker 1 (30:20):
No words to the starters, I do I get you
spun up on that one.

Speaker 3 (30:23):
That makes absolutely no sense, man, I.

Speaker 1 (30:25):
N I get you spun up on that one.

Speaker 5 (30:27):
By the way, new college football playoff bracket is out
first round number twelve, two Lane at number five, Texas
Tech number nine, Notre Dame at number eight, Oklahoma after
their big win over Alabama, number eleven, Miami at number six,
oh Miss number ten, Alabama at number seven, Oregon, with
Ohio State, Indiana, Texas, A and M and Georgia getting

(30:48):
the first round bys those first teams on the outside
looking in Utah, b YU, Miami, Vanderbilt, USC and Nick
Selmatter Georgia Tech.

Speaker 4 (31:01):
Yeah, man, Haines King, Man, let's just keep keep the.

Speaker 1 (31:05):
Train moving forward.

Speaker 2 (31:06):
Texas Tech too, well, they're they're a good football team.

Speaker 1 (31:12):
You gotta get Vandy in there too. You gotta get
Vandy in there.

Speaker 3 (31:15):
I'm room for Indiana.

Speaker 2 (31:17):
Yeah, I think everybody kind of for so many, but
you gotta get Vandy in there. You tall being on
the outside looking in that that's weird. That's just that
they're putting Texas in there. Stupid at this point. That's
that's just that's just pandering to a I mean, I'm
saying you get Vandar's more deserving than Texas at this point, yes,
but if.

Speaker 3 (31:37):
With the last name man, he's so, I'd rather.

Speaker 2 (31:40):
Have Pavia I win a game right now, I gotta
Pavia Prophos Country night back into this.

Speaker 1 (31:48):
Pipe. You got away from that fight.