11-21-25 Hour 1 of Broncos Country Tonight

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Men's basketball edition. It's been all right here with you.
I hope you all are doing well on the weekend
here before Thanksgiving. We'll have an updated schedule for you guys.
Broadcast schedule. We're broadcasting Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday next week. We'll
have that out for you shortly. I hope you guys

(00:23):
having fun during the bye week, enjoying your downtime as
you get to look through all the iterations of what
helps out the Broncos this coming weekend. Obviously, I think
everybody's focused on KC and Indy, and it's fascinating to
me because online I've got everybody you know, trying to
gate keep the fandom and say you got a root
for Indy because never root for the Chiefs or whatever.

(00:44):
But I'm a pragmatist and I'm just not wired that way.
The math here is, you want you want the Chiefs
to beat the Colts. It's very clear on that, like
you very much want Kansas City to beat the Colts.
Here extremely clear.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
The likelihood of the Broncos earning the one seed goes
up dramatically if the Colts lose this weekend, and I
think people are overlooking the importance of the one seed,
because I see you know, who cares if they get
the one seed or not. It's more important that the
Chiefs aren in the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
No, getting the home field advantage throughout plus an extra
bye week is absolutely vital.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
And now only the one seed gets the buy since
they went to that format where only the one seed
gets the buy in twenty twenty, we've had five Super
Bowls since thence we've got a ten team sample size.
Of those ten teams, five were the number one seed,
four were division winners that earned a different seed, one
was a wildcard team. The odds of you making the

(01:37):
Super Bowl as the one seed are better than the
odds of the two seed, the three seed and the
four seed combined. You want that one seed desperately. Who
cares if the Chiefs sneak in it as the seven
seed or not?

Speaker 1 (01:49):
Yeah, that's the thing. And at this point you don't care.
And it's funny because out of one side of your
mouth you've got a fan base saying, well, we're not
scared of anybody, and out of the other side, you're
trying to keep a who cares if Kansas City gets
in as a wildcard anymore?

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Who cares they gotta come here. We already saw what
happened exactly. You beat up on them. I think pretty
to sound like that was a pretty complete game from
the Broncos, don't.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
I know.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
They trailed for a second in the fourth quarter, but
they led almost the entire game. I think that game
was much more on their script than it was Kansas City's.
I feel pretty good about picking them going into Casey
with PS two back, and I feel pretty good about
them defending a home field once again. If they have
to come to playoffs with a healthier, more fully loaded roster,

(02:32):
I'm not terrified about them.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Seeing the Chiefs in that game. Yeah, I mean, I
think to go to lose that Thursday night football game Kansasity,
But who cares? Like that's at this point. Your only
focus at this point should be on that acquiring the
number one seed. That should be your focus, and whatever
math it takes to acquire that. The rest of that,
the chips will fall where they may. And that means
everybody has to come here. That means you're going to
get a second bye week. You're getting a bi week
right now. That means you get a second bye week

(02:55):
here in a couple of weeks that's going to it's
going to wind up helping you get help again before
taking on any of these guys. Here, if the.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Chiefs lose this game, they'll still have a thirty three
percent chance of making the playoffs, right, Like, this isn't
going to eliminate them. The Colts right now have a
thirty three percent chance of getting the one seed, to
everyone undermining that possibility, like, even with a Chief's loss,
there's a very healthy chance they make the playoffs. With
a Colts loss, you are in the driver's seat in

(03:25):
the conference. And again since twenty twenty, since this new
playoff format, being in the driver's seat of your conference
means you're very likely to reach the super Bowl.

Speaker 1 (03:33):
It does. And let me put this in a perspective
that everybody can understand, like how run down the human
body is at this point a football season. The Denver
Broncos could theoretically, assuming again Kansas City wins this game,
you could theoretically close everything out by the Jags. You
could have a Christmas game where you're barely playing your

(03:55):
starters in Kansas City. Ten days later, a Chargers game
where you're barely playing starters in that one if at all,
and then a bye week. You have the opportunity if
you get the number one seed, to do what to
sit here and get guys pick and choose how you
want to rotate guys out there for about a month
over the course of two games that you're going to
have in there, just to get to the point where

(04:17):
you get in the playoffs.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
And also, the Broncos control their own destiny on the
Casey front, the Indie front, completely out of their control.
You right, you need some help there. If the Colts
win out, they'll be the one seed and the Broncos
are going to have to play on wild Card weekend.
The chief situation, Man, if the Broncos win that game,
that's going to be as much of a blow to
the Chiefs as this Colts loss will be. They play

(04:39):
quality opponents on the stretch. They got the Cowboys till
they got the Texans. Still, I just man, trust the
Broncos to take care of business in that game and
hope they get the one seed.

Speaker 1 (04:49):
I get the rivalry over ruling that for.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
Some people, the operating out of fear or trying to
talk yourself into the idea that no, it's actually better
if the Chiefs lose this game, like the math is
overwhelming ron what's better for the Broncos this week?

Speaker 1 (05:04):
And it's and it's very and is look look at this.
I mean, let's assume you know, you got the Commanders game.
If Jane Daniels is in there, it's probably a conversation.
If he's not, you're gonna win that. You're at the
Raiders the following week, December seventh, You're gonna win that.
You get the Packers here in Denver. Don't know which
Packers team shows up. If the good Packers show up,
could be a game the regular you know, if the
weird o Packers show up that have been losing weird

(05:24):
games this year, you win that one. JAG's coming here
the twenty first, you're gonna win that game. Then you
go to Kansas City on Christmas. At this point in time,
you could have won three, maybe full four of those games.
They could be thirteen and two. You could be thirteen
and do at that point and not care. I mean
like you could you could have I'm serious, you could
have a de facto buy from December twenty first, all

(05:48):
the way through to the second round of the playoffs
in mid January, and even if you don't on that
Thursday night game, and let's say they do have to
try and win that one whatever, depending on how the
chips fall in week seventeen, with with everyone else playing
on Sunday or Monday or whatnot, you might have at
the very least a Week eighteen game where you don't
have to play starters, preceded by a ten days off,

(06:12):
ten days off, a bye after it if you're in
the number one seat and go from there, and that
should be the only thing any fan is thinking about.
I'm not God, I don't want a gate keep fandom. Okay,
how you fan as your is entirely your deal. But
if you are rooting for the Broncos, then the math
on this is abundantly clear.

Speaker 2 (06:30):
Is it more important to you that the Broncos find
success or that the Chiefs find failure?

Speaker 1 (06:36):
Right, And that's exactly what it is. You're not a
Broncos fan, You're a Chief's hater at that point, exactly
like you could change. There is an overlap here, but
there are also two different things.

Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yes, the Cults losing is just better for the Broncos
are near any way you want to slice it, The
Chiefs losing is worse for the Chiefs, and that's it. Also,
it's worse for the Broncos, but it's definitely worse for
the Chiefs. If that's what you want to prioritize, you know,
the more power to you. But that is what you
are prioritizing. You're cutting off your nose despite your That's

(07:06):
exactly what it is. And that's what I've been trying
to get me into a call.

Speaker 1 (07:08):
Ben. You're a chief fan, which is like a fun bit,
but the reality is, like, I haven't been a cheap
I was twelve years old when I lived in Kansas City.
I've been a Chiefs fan. I turned forty five next month.
Guys have spent a long time, all right. My introduction
to one of my favorite things, my favorite moments had
made football football for me was seeing at Water hit
a Koyer. You know, at that point in time, I

(07:28):
was like, oh, oh, this is fun, you know, and
that so like I don't I mean, you're talking about
thirty something years ago. As far as that kind of statement.
I'm a football fan, right, I'm a football I have
to I get to cover the Denver Broncos and I'm
now it's get to it used to be had to
for a couple of years while we were you know,
we all saw the Nate Hagita. But I like, I

(07:52):
can't understand, like the pragmatis to me, just cannot understand
this uproar online about no, I want the Chiefs to Oh, like,
that's the more important thing. Okay, So you're willing to
shoot yourself in the foot for no reason because you
want to see that guy not succeed. Like if there
had been a deflate gate situation where Mahomes was suspended.

(08:12):
Let's say like the first five six weeks of the
season or something, and the Chiefs got off to a
one in five, you know, zero to six, terrible start,
and now they were spritten down the track to five
and five and they looked red hot and anyone who
got in their way was getting mowed down. That'd be
a different conversation.

Speaker 2 (08:31):
Okay, Yeah, maybe let's hope that team, you know, that's
getting hot at the right time, doesn't reach the playoffs.
The Chief's last few games are like and not even
like last five or so, it's losing to the Jags,
shelling the Raiders.

Speaker 1 (08:45):
Good on you for doing that.

Speaker 2 (08:47):
Losing to the Bills and losing to the Broncos, Like,
this doesn't look like some jugger, not that. Oh oh
my god, you let them get into the dance and
they might go all the way. They are one in
five against playoff teams this year. They're winless against AFC
playoff teams this year.

Speaker 1 (09:01):
I what are you afraid of Kansas City for? We're
probably gonna lose on that Thursday because it's a short week,
going to Kansas City on Christmas, Like, we'll probably lose
that game just because, But who cares if you look
at the rest of this If you look the rest
of this stuff, the road is paved. And if Kansas
City loses that game, you know they're not invested in.
But if they win that game, man, it puts the

(09:24):
Colts down a pig. And now all of a sudden,
you don't have to worry about as much that tiebreaker
that the Colts have on us.

Speaker 2 (09:29):
Yeah, it's just and again, the Colts are the only
team with a tiebreaker on you. If the Broncos and
Patriots win out the rest of the way, Broncos are
the one seed, Patriots or the two seed, not so
long as the Colts lose a game somewhere along the way,
the Colts is the only team you need help with,
not the Chiefs, not the Bills, no one else. They
only need help with the Colts, and the Chiefs can
provide that this week.

Speaker 1 (09:49):
That's what I'm saying, Like, there's only two teams you
need help with at all for any reason, really, and
it's the Chargers and it's the Colts because right now
both those teams have the tiebreaker, the only one within
biting distance. That's it. So you know, as you sit
there like that, again, I'm not going to gate keep
you and tell you who to root for, but I
will tell you that it makes a lot more sense
if you're a Broncos fan for Kansas City to win

(10:11):
this game that it does for Indy and then that
it does for them to lose, And it puts you
in the driver's seat for the things you want to
be in the driver's seat for going down the stretch.

Speaker 2 (10:22):
Yeah, and also, you just don't know who you're even
going to see in the playoffs, like who the sixth
wile or seed is, or you know, the third wild
card team is in the seventh seed. It probably isn't
that terribly important for the Broncos, like, yeah, maybe you
end up seeing them in the divisional round, but very
very good chance you don't. Seventy five percent chance you
don't see that team in the next round. Yeah, I

(10:44):
just don't get Like, getting the one seed is very concrete,
very tangible, and we know it is a tremendous power
up in terms of trying to chase a Lombardi Trophy.
The Chiefs maybe not see the playoffs are maybe being
the sixth seed probably won't even affect the Broncos. Odds

(11:04):
are even if they do make the playoffs, they lose
in the wild card round and or I guess would
just be or they play the other team in the
divisional round, like the odds are just you're not going
to see them, just like it's more likely than not
the Broncos don't see the Bills in the playoffs. They could,
but odds would suggest they don't. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (11:23):
One of the Texters suggested that New England's also nine
and two, Well, yeah they are, you know, that's I
don't think with the Broncos vibe virtue of how the
tie breakers are right now are actually number one yep.
And the Patriots would be would be number two, and
they'll lock that up with a win over the Raiders.

Speaker 2 (11:39):
Well, the last common opponent remaining and that's the tiebreaker
they're down to at this point is the Raiders, and
I think everyone would expect the Broncos to beat the Raiders. Ye,
Broncos win that game, they've locked up the tiebreaker against
the Patriots, assuming you know, they take care of business
the rest of the way, right, And so.

Speaker 1 (11:52):
That's why we're saying that. So you don't really have
to do the condescending. Maybe do a little homework. Tag here,
we've done the homework. I was just assuming you had.
So there you go. See, Brian says, what happened to
the Broncos coasting in nineteen ninety six? What was that?
The was that the Jets that would have been the
Jats lost. I don't know if they were coasting that year,
I don't know. And also, you don't have to coast, right, Like,

(12:13):
I'm not talking about coasting, I'm talking about resting, but
also and resting like you don't have to rest starters.
You could, but it's affording yourself the option if they lose,
if they don't get help, they're going to have to
be playing starters in week eighteen. Maybe you want them
to play starters anyways, Well, I think you want a
couple of series. I think you start treating those games
like preseason games where you put them out there for

(12:34):
a quarter and a half and then you.

Speaker 2 (12:35):
Let saw that happened to some of the Manning's Colts teams,
And I think there's merit to that. But the idea
that like, well, I don't know if we want them
to get the one seed and be rested or like
be in position to rest starters because maybe that hurts it.

Speaker 1 (12:46):
You don't have to do it. It's good to win games.
You have the option. Yeah, it's good to win games,
So you have options exactly.

Speaker 2 (12:51):
You don't want to be backed into a corner where,
oh my god, we need our starters because we desperately
need to win this game. It's nice if it's like
this game's gravy, it really doesn't matter.

Speaker 1 (12:59):
To us all. See sevene to nine Indy Kansas City game.
It's win win. If the Chiefs win, we're still number one.
If Indy wins, I don't mind seeing the Chiefs lose.
That's probably the attitude if you're a Broncos fan that
most I think Broncos fans have. But if you have
an active rooting interest is what I'm trying to get at. Profit,
do not chew her for a revision rival unless it
helps a Broncos playoff bid, which this distinctly helps a

(13:19):
Broncos playoff bid.

Speaker 2 (13:20):
And I will say profit diehard fan and also thoughtful
with his commandments, like he holds those up at the
Broncos game. They are well thought out, good guidelines for
being a fan. And there's a reason why he has
that qualifier in that commandment.

Speaker 1 (13:32):
Yeah. And I mean, and this is as obvious as
it gets, soone. And I definitely want the Chiefs to lose,
but generally want the Chiefs to win. But if they lose,
it does not hurt my feelings. Yeah, I mean, that's
that's basically. You know, any which way you're gonna be
happy is a Broncos fan out of this, You're just
gonna be happier if Kansas City beats the Golts.

Speaker 2 (13:49):
Hey, how about this best of both worlds. Let's get
to tie. That would knock the chief or knock the
Colts down that half game, and it would make the
Chiefs and the chiefs considerably less likely to make the player.

Speaker 1 (14:00):
Yeah, I just I don't know. I'm one of those
get the full win and be done with it. See
here seven six. On a different note, of Buffalo were
to move on from their head coach Sean McDermott, any
chance Vance Joseph would get any run there, they may
move on from Sean McDermott. I believe they'd go after
an offensive coach there, though I believe it would be.

(14:21):
I just I really believe it would be an offensive coach.
I'll just leave it at that, and I don't want
to put a name out there yet, but I do
believe that they have a coach that would be in mind,
and it would be This coach is a previous head coach,
so it be an offensive It would be an offensive
mind there. Just just what I've heard that their priority
would be there. I don't think that's surprising.

Speaker 2 (14:40):
Especially when you have Josh Allen, you might want to
just pair him with an offensive mind that can run
the show for the rest of his career. I will say, though,
if I was a Bills fan, I might want them
to hire Vance Joseph. Like the problem with the Bills
not reaching the Super Bowl and not getting far enough.

Speaker 1 (14:54):
Hasn't been the offense.

Speaker 2 (14:56):
It's been that defense that's been good some years, not
so good other years in the regular season, is consistently
trash in the playoffs and gets torched by Mahomes famously
or most famously, I should say, in the thirteen second game.
I think you get Vance Joseph in there and tighten
up the ship, the guy who built this Broncos defense
with the goal of toppling the Chiefs and toppling Mahomes,

(15:17):
and I think maybe he is the missing ingredient for
the Bills getting by that that obstacle.

Speaker 1 (15:23):
Maybe, And I do believe they need to change what
they do on defense. It's got its roots in the
Tampa two and there was a little resurgence of that
with guys like McDermott and Matt Eberfluss getting some jobs
there for a minute. But you know, we've kind of
seen how that's that's gone by the wayside Eberflus, the
course down there in Dallas has one of the worst
defenses in the league. And you see, you know, you
see what Sean McDermott, you know, in them do, especially

(15:44):
when key cogs are out. If you're missing your athletic
linebacker in that Tampa two. You're host like you're just
hosed and they don't have one.

Speaker 2 (15:51):
I just they got to change something in Milanov is
the guy that made that engine run when.

Speaker 1 (15:55):
He was in his prime, when he was at his best.
And that's that's really been, really been sort of the problem.
They're not natosis. I wouldn't give up on Kansas City. Well,
you know, I'm not saying they're dead in the water,
but I'm just saying I just feel like having, you know,
having the tiebreaker, having the math is pretty clear on
the outcomes of the scenarios here. So yeah, they're not dead,
they're just dead er. Yeah, it's about how it goes. Guys.

(16:17):
This is the Broncos Country tonight, right here on Kaylen

(16:41):
here with you. I appreciate you guys been wrong for
the Rye the Short Show and the see You Buffs post,
See You Buffs Men's Basketball edition. We did get some
uh some Broncos news today as Will Lutz has signed

(17:02):
a three year extension. I don't know the financial details
of that in front of me, but Bronco's locking up
their kicker. Lutz has been one of the most effective
kickers in in Broncos history. Good buddy Ryan Michael put
out some stats on that in terms of Broncos history

(17:24):
highest field goal percentage, and it is Will Lutts, by
the way, at eighty eight point six percent. He's hit
seventy eight to eighty eight field goals. Matt Prater at
eighty two point nine percent would be second, Brandon mcmatus
at eighty one point four percent would be third, Jason
Elam at eighty point six percent would be fourth. LUTs
of course, coming off AFC Special Teams Player of the

(17:47):
Week honors after going five of five with the game
winner against the Chiefs, leads the NFL with four game
winning kicks this year. Broncos of course, wouldn't be nine
and two without him. Otherwise. Yeah, I don't know the
financials on that. He was already the ninth highest paid

(18:07):
kicker prior to signing this extension. I will tell you
that he was already already up there in terms of
salary prior to getting this getting this extension. So we'll

(18:28):
see when the numbers come out. But I do not
have those numbers in front of me to get you guys,
to get those to you some other things going on
around the the the league. You know we've talked about
and obviously Zach and I talked about it in the
last segment the Patrick Mahomes Conversations. The Chiefs take on

(18:49):
the Colts, and if the Chiefs do lose, Pat Mahomes
would for the first time in his career have lost
three games in a row. If the Colts do win,
including postseason all time Homes won eleven and thirty two,
but this would be the first time that they would
have ever lost three games in a row. And they

(19:13):
are still technically alive for the AFC West Crown, but
I mean it would take a bizarre melt down from
both the Broncos and the Chargers for that tab, but
plus them winning out, so technically alive even if not
realistically alive there. I don't know how many of you

(19:35):
guys watched the Bills Texans game last night and Texans
and rusher Will Anderson, I mean, I had the game
of his life. Six tackles, twits, sacks, three quarterback hits,
a pass defense was nearly an interception, a just a
great game from Will Anderson and one of his sacks

(19:59):
of Josh Allen. They've got the GPS chips and you
know on these uniforms now one of the sacks, Anderson
actually ran fifty one point seven yards, so basically fifty
two yards chasing Josh Allen, and that s per next
Gen stats. That is the longest distance traveled for a
sack since Week two of twenty twenty three, and of

(20:23):
course higher than any Texans defender in the last ten years.
Alan lost eighteen yards on the play. Is Anderson nearly
sacked him at the beginning of the play before he
spun out of it. And then Anderson got up and
chased Allen left and then back right and then finally
tackled him. Anderson was talking with our good buddy Aaron

(20:45):
Wilson of KPRC down Aaron Houston. He said, he just
goes back to the relentless rush. I think coach really
hit it on the head this week, said, man, whatever
it takes to get him down, you're going to miss him,
pop back up and get him again. And our goal
is to be relentless in everything we do this week.
And they were, uh and and what a what a
win for what a win for Houston. Calen Bullock got

(21:08):
three takeaways in the twenty three to nineteen win just
you know, just fascinating work from a very good Houston
Texans defense. Is the Broncos, well, no played against him,
but uh, just uh and they continue to find ways
to win with Davis Mills back there as quarterback, which is, uh,
which is fascinating to me because that's been that's been

(21:29):
one of those things where I think, as I look
at it, I didn't think he had the goods, but
he's just continued to prove to crank out wins ever
since the Broncos game for the Houston Texans, and you know,
my hat's off to him. One of the other things
we talked about is Jackson Dart who's remaining in the

(21:51):
concussion protocol. Javis Winston found out today saying he just
found out, uh this afternoon that he would be starting
a second consecutive game in place to Jackson Dard. Winston,
who made his Giants debut ian last week's twenty seven
twenty lost to the Packers, completed ten of twenty nine
passes for two hundred one yards with an interception and
of course that final play fumble. Winston said, I prepare

(22:14):
every single week you're saying, the life of being a
backup is the life of being an NFL quarterback, staying
ready so you don't have to get ready. A bunch
of Winstonian cliches and turns of phrases. As it were
Winston who began the season as the number three quarterback
but was leaped frog or Russell Wilson on the death chart.
A few weeks ago, Winston said, I believe I'm ready

(22:36):
regardless whatever the team needs me to do, I'm ready
to do it. So he's just preparing for whatever. Russell
Wilson would be the backup quarterback. And you know, with
Dart still going through the concussion protocol, the biggest injury

(22:57):
to come out of the night in THURSD ten football.
And I shouldn't be laughing, but I am. Referee Adrian Hill,
who was carted off the field with an injury. He's
believed to avoid a major injury, may be able to
return this season. There were concerns that he had suffered
a season ending achilles injury, but the tendon is intact,

(23:20):
and so while he's out, the officiating crew down a
man for the rest of the game. The NFL only
has backup officials available to step in during the playoffs,
not the regular season. Umpire Roy Ellison put on Hill's
white hat and served as the head referee for the
rest of the game, and that really it really led

(23:44):
to kind of a question about the depth overall of
you know, officiating in the NFL, and everyone saw in
real time that the league doesn't really have a viable
back up plan for the unexpected departures in this case

(24:05):
of the chief of the officiating crew. Well, they have
a plan, it's just not viable. Roy Ellison took the
white hat and the microphone and it became the umpire
referee for the rest of the game, which is two
important jobs in one, especially for a game it's got
playoff implications, and so now you got two eyes instead
of four watching four action behind the line of scrimmage.

(24:26):
Ellison missed an obvious illegal touching violation in the fourth
quarter when a desperation throw by Josh Allen clearly struck
one of his linemen. There may have been other far
less you know, obvious in real time issues, holding fouls,
illegal hands, the face hits that to Allen that may
have been roughing, which those fall squarely in the referees

(24:46):
perview and not the umpires, and they may not have
been spotted. In the postseason, the NFL assigns five alternate
officials to the Wildcard round A divisional games, and then
for conference championship with the super there's an eight person
crew that has eight on site alternates, and so for
two hundred and seventy two regular season games and injury
results in the crew shrinking by even one member and

(25:08):
someone else taking the assignment of two officials. But the NFL.
This comes back to a long standing gripe that many
of us have had with the NFL and continue to
have with the NFL, and this is at a time
when the NFL should absolutely be implementing full time officials.
The absence of any alternates at regular season games is

(25:30):
I mean, it's jarring, and with the proliferation of wagering,
from which the NFL handsomely profits, some of the millions
the league is making should be directed to having extra
officials on site for every game that counts. Ideally, each
member of the crew would have an understudy. At minimum,
there should be one extra official who can step in

(25:51):
if and when an injury happens, and frankly, I mean,
to be fair, it's amazing it doesn't have more. Often
artificial turf is unforgiving. Middle aged and older officials are
exerting themselves to keep up with the action, and at
times scamper are away from a trampling a torn achilles,
which more or less seems like what happened to Hill
should happen. You know, it happens all the time to

(26:12):
regular aging bodies, even when not trying to accelerate on
cement covered by plastic grass. So you know, I don't
I mean, I don't expect the NFL to change anything.
For one reason, the league just views the entire officiating
function as a cost that does not need to become
more costly. In twenty twelve, the commissioner justified a lockout

(26:37):
of the officials by insisting the replacements would be just
as effective. Spoiler alert they were not. But there's no
way to force the NFL to do it. No one's
going to boycott games because officials are part time employees,
or because there's no extra official to step in, so
short of Congress insisting on a significant increase in the
officiating budget. As a broader look at the NFL's UH

(27:00):
safeguards for protecting against the integrity of legal wagers. That's
that's not ever going to happen, even though it definitely
should have years ago. The idea that officials are part time,
and we see what happens with a lot of you know,
with a lot of this stuff. It's just it's it's frustrating.
It's frustrating to watch because you know that the game

(27:24):
could have a greater integrity to it and they just don't.
And so that's that's the problem, you knows, as it were,
with it with everybody looking at these these guys as
part timers and continuity to do that, it's just frustrating. Well,
of the bigger stories of the day was the things

(27:45):
have gotten ugly between the Niners and wide receiver Brandon Ayuk.
Reporting out there from Diana Rassini that says that Ayuk
has failed to attend meetings declined to participate in team
activities in recent months. The Niners have increasingly frustrated with
his lack of communication, and the Niners responded by voiding
the guaranteed money in Ayuk's contract for twenty twenty six,

(28:08):
asserting that the absences amounted to a failure to fulfill
his contractual obligations. Ayuk, according multiple solis, told the NFLPA reps,
he did not want to fight the move via an
official grievance, which would clear the way for his expected
release at season's end. Ayuk was due twenty seven million
guaranteed in twenty twenty six, which was the final year

(28:30):
of guaranteed money on his deal, so this is a
stunning change. Just over a year after the Niners and
Ayuk agreed to a four year contract worth up to
one hundred and twenty million. There were reports of buyer's
remorse from the Niners almost immediately after inking Ayuk to
the contract, and his performance to open the twenty twenty
four season after holding in for virtually the entire preseason,

(28:52):
led to questions about his viability as a long term
piece of the forty nine ers, receiving corps A catastrophic
knee injury into his season in Week seven last year,
and the report from the athletic helps explain why the
club hasn't activated him from the pup list, which is
where he's been since reporting to training camp back in July.
Looked like after twenty twenty two that Ayuk was a
rising star be a key piece of their future, made

(29:15):
a final commitment the following year back that idea, and now,
after playing in just seven games on his new contract,
it looks like he's just out of their plans. Ayuk
was the twenty twenty first round pick by the Niners.
Played in sixty nine games, sixty seven starts, two hundred
and ninety four passes caught, forty three hundred and five yards,
twenty five touchdowns, went over one thousand yards twice, including

(29:37):
a career best thirteen hundred and forty two yards back
in twenty twenty two, when he hold in seventy five
receptions seven touchdowns on his way to a second All
Pro NOD, second Team All Pro NOD, the second Team
All Pro NOD. This is this is a fascinating story,
and it looks like, you know that the the Niners

(30:01):
will clear all this money going forward, and for a
team that was a little bit strapped, you know, as
far as that goes, it's sort of fascinating to watch

(30:22):
how they're going to open up money here. Ricky Piersoll
has turned into a bona five receiver for them. Of course,
they've got Kittle, but they need to they need other receiver.
Now they're gonna have a ton of they're gonna money
to be able to do this. Whereas before they were
under a little bit of a crunch and you wondered
if Rock Perdy was going to be the one they
moved on with Mac Jones playing pretty well, uh there
in as a as a replacement when he was injured,

(30:43):
and you sort of wondered, if, you know, if the
Niners are gonna do that. But as it's it's I mean,
they don't. They don't have to, and now you can
figure out something for uh, you know Mac Jones, who
you know, might suddenly becomes a tradable asset and all
that kind of stuff, and you know, the Niners, this
situation is gonna work out. I think, I think incredibly

(31:05):
well for them. I mean, this is this is one
of those things that you know, I I think the
Niners are are going to be better off for this.
I know everybody looks at this as shocking. I know
everybody looks at it as something that's like, hey, Niners,
but he's not the same player that he was. They've
been fine without him, and so that's one of those

(31:25):
things I think as as we look at this thing
going forward to the Niners are just going to be
better off with this, with this going forward, And I
don't know where I goes Pittsburgh. Maybe I was a
team that was sniffing around him, uh for a while,
and they're looking for somebody who can work the intermediate

(31:46):
parts of the field. You know, maybe maybe that's that's
where that winds up. We already talked about Jackson Dart
being out, with Jameis Winston being in. You know, with
this week with the Bengals, a lot of people thought
maybe Joe Burrow. But I don't know, man. I mean

(32:07):
the way Zach Taylor's been talking, it sounds a lot
like it's going to be Joe Flacco. There. I will
see with the Bengals, they're up against the Patriots, We'll
see how that goes. And so as we continue to
look at that, I mean, Taylor has said that he's
not made a decision, but you know, he's trying to

(32:31):
trying to look at this thing. And I think most
people who look at the verbiage on this know that
it looks or it feel like it looks like Joe Flacco.
Now the Bengals have they've got until Saturday at two
pm Our time four pm Eastern to move Joe Burrow

(32:51):
to the active roster and they can list him as
questionable until then, and so that's that's really where it's
at with with that, we'll we'll figure that out. Dan
Campbell confirmed that tight ends samb Laporta has surgery on
his back and said the chances of him returning this
season are very, very slim, and that's I don't think

(33:13):
a surprise to anybody as far as that goes. The
Bucks will probably get Chris Godwent back, but it'll probably
be next week for Bucky Irving. Todd Bowles came out
and talked about that a little bit today. So again,
if you're a fantasy footballer, you know something to keep
your on. Broncos fans might might want to keep your

(33:33):
eye on this. Jayden Reed is practicing for the first
time since Week two. He had foot in color bone
surgeries after the Commander's game and his twenty one day
windows open, so he's probably back for the Broncos game.
So just something to keep your eye on. With Kreem
Bay there, Daniel Jones off the injury report for the
Colts against the Chiefs. We already talked about that one.
Patriots Mike Rabel said that the reminder Stevenson will play

(33:56):
after his toe injury that he responded to practice, So
I want to keep your eye on Lamar Jackson was
briefly on the injury report. US off of it now
and good to go. So across the league, guys, guys
getting healthy, and Ken Walker in Seattle should be good
to go as well. Appreciate you guys. Listen Roccos Country
tonight right here on ko Wa