Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'll go go right out to the Kwait Commas Breath
(00:01):
hotline and bring on our guy. Vinnie Bettedetto had v
Benedetto on the Twitter machine, he said, Nuggets beat for
the Denver Gazette, Vinie, how's it going, buddy?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Doing pretty well? Guys, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Absolutely. Nuggets out to a pretty good start this season.
Seventeen and six on the year, number one scoring offense
in the NBA, number one most efficient scoring offense too
in terms of field goal percentage. As we look at
this version of the Denver Nuggets, it kind of feels
like there's a little bit of early season buzz that
(00:33):
this team might have a little bit of something to them.
I know, when they traded away Michael Porter Junior, we
kind of thought, Okay, who's going to pick up the
scoring slack here? I know they brought in Johnson, but
he's not nearly that prolific. But it's funny. I think
they've recreated it in the aggregate between Tim Hardaway and
Jamal Murray, especially picking up the slack. What have you
seen out of this early team and what do you
(00:54):
think in terms of their long term prospects for the season.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yeah, I mean looking back at the schedule, and you know,
they're they're seventeen and six, and it's hard to identify
one of those six losses as a game you know
that they they weren't in it, they didn't have a
chance to win. So, you know, as good of a
start as it has been, I think it's you know,
also pretty easy to look back and say, uh, you know,
Oklahoma City is kind of you know, putting some distance
(01:20):
between themselves and the rest of the West. But you
know a few of these Nuggets games go the other way,
and some of those losses probably should have gone the
other way. And and they're really in you know, contention
for leading the Western Conference at this point in the season.
And yeah, to your point, I mean, it's not just
losing mic on offense. They're they're doing this, you know,
without Aaron Gordon and Christian Brown for significant stretches.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
So you know, I think the main.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Takeaway on that front is as long as Nikola Jokic
and Jamal Murray are playing at this kind of level,
the offense is not going to be anything the Nuggets
are gonna have to worry about. Whereas you know, the
the defense is certainly taking a hit without without Aaron
and encryption around. So you know, I don't think either
of those guys will be back for the Christmas game,
(02:02):
maybe not until around the new year, but yeah, that'll
be That'll be the one thing to watch for me
in the in the next month or two is if
getting those two guys that kind of helps shore up
some of the issues on the defensive end, because the
way they've guarded.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
The last the last few weeks might might.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Work in the in the regular season, but it doesn't
doesn't seem sustainable in the postseason.
Speaker 5 (02:24):
Kinny, what does this say about the Denver Nuggets Because
they're eleven and two away from ball Arena and six
and four at home, and usually the Nuggets are known
for having a good home record because obviously you have
the altitude as your friend. But now they're winning games
away from ball Areina. What does that say about the
connection and how these guys are playing together.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yeah, I mean there are a lot of new pieces,
you know, uh, to to Bend's previous point, you know,
Tim Hardaway coming in it. I think it just says
that this team has been able to you know, gel
pretty quickly and kind of come to an understanding because yeah,
most of these these road winds have been you know,
pretty professional performances, outside of the first half in Atlanta
(03:07):
when they had to erase a twenty point twenty three
point deficit. So yeah, I think it feels like, you know,
the guys are brought in there, you know, taking this seriously,
which you know, oddly enough, doesn't feel like it's always
been the case for when this corp has been around.
It feels like they've kind of messed around and let
some games go. And you could say that about you know,
(03:27):
some of those home losses, but you know, what they've
done on the road is certainly pretty encouraging.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
As we look at this thing you mentioned Okase put
in the distance, Is there anybody that can solve OKAC
this year because they look just absolutely incredible.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Yeah, and it's currently constructed and I'm watching them put
a beating on the Suns right now. You know, it's
hard to say, you know, but there's a lot of
time for things to change. But you know, they're just
they're they're so young, they're so deep, they're so versatile.
They can play too big, they can go small, they
can you know, kind of do it all. So you know,
(04:04):
at the start of the season, I probably would have
said the just the challenges that come with being defending champions.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
You know, getting.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Everybody's best shot on a on a nightly basis. Uh.
You know, I would have predicted that would have been
an issue for for a young team. But you know,
they're they're coming out and they're taking it seriously and
it looks like they're gonna have a pretty good shot
to uh not only win the nd season tournament, but
become the last team and the last you know, seven
eight years to go back to back.
Speaker 5 (04:34):
Now, most teams you don't want to be without your
your started players. And we know what Aaron Gore and
supplies from a defensive standpoint, and Christan Brown supplies as well.
With these guys expected to be out, you know past
this Christmas game, how's this benefited other guys on the
roster who ordinarily wouldn't get a lot of playing time?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah, I mean, uh, you know, Peyton Watson has been
thrust into a larger role. Same with Spencer Jones. You know,
those are the two guys who have filled out the
starting lineup. And those two guys have not only just
had to like jump into the starting lineup, they've had
to jump in and start defending some of the most
prolific scorers in the NBA because they're being tasked with
stuarding the opponents, you know, got two perimeter scoring options
(05:17):
for much of it. So those guys are you know,
certainly getting extended run to you know, figure out playing
alongside Nicole Yogic and developing chemistry with the starters. And
I think kind of a nice thing about that is
it has allowed the Nuggets to still kind of keep
that that bench unit that was so new, keeping that
(05:38):
group largely together with with Tim Hardaway Junior and Jonas
Valanciunas and Bruce Brown with with with help from one
of the two starters. So uh yeah, I think it's
been really good for Peyton and Spencer just kind of
to have to jump into the deep end and learn
how to tread water on the.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Fly is uh secretly, you know, I don't want to
call him the MVP, but his ability to put quality
minutes on the court and allow the actual potential MVP
and Jokic, has that been the biggest addition this team
has made.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Yeah, I think so. I mean, Tim Hardaway would be
another easy shout just because of you know, when Tim
has it going, he he has the ability to change
the game quickly.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
But just on a night to night basis the.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
The fact that there are times when when David Adelman
talks about, oh he probably let Jokers sit for too
long that he like got stiff on the bench because
of Jonas Alan Chunis group made such a run, you
know that that feels like a conversation that hasn't been
had around the Nugget to end quite some time, probably
since DeMarcus Cousin's short stint here.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
But yeah, I think back to to.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
That Atlantic game again, it's that that group I think
it was Bruce, Tim, Jonas, Cam Johnson and maybe Jamal
That was the group that went on that twenty to
nothing run in early in the fourth quarter that kind
of flip that game around.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
So yeah, just the.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Studying presence has been massive, and then just having another
body that big. You know, if if you know, Jokers
able to get the opposing center and foul trouble and
then they have to deal with Jonas, dealing with whoever
they put in behind their starter. It just it's asking
a lot of questions of opponents and one thing David
(07:23):
Alman mentioned today at practice is, you know, these these
injuries have prevented him from experimenting much. That's something he's
kind of wanted to do more of it, and it
sounds like there's still going to be some two big
lineups with with Jonas and Nicole out there together once
once they get healthier and you know, have a little
bit more liberal room with the rotations.
Speaker 5 (07:43):
When the Nuggets moved away from Michael Porter Junior and answered,
you know, Cam Johnson into the foe, I mean everyone
here in Denver was really excited. But having a couple
of games at this point of season to watch him
and seeing how he's kind of fitting in with the group,
how would you assay us uh, his style of play
with some of the Corow guys, Nikole Yaks, Jamal Murray.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Yeah, I think he's he's certainly capable of it, and
I think, you know, unfortunately for Cam, he the shot
just wasn't fallen for the first few weeks of his
time here, and you know, since then, he's he's kind
of ebbed and flowed again. But I think it's and
it certainly hasn't helped, you know, for for people just
comparing the two players that you know, Michael Porter Junior
has had the freedom, uh to to explore his game
(08:28):
out in Brooklyn and is doing a really nice job
and producing at a really high level. Uh. You know,
I think that kind of hurts Cam in the in
the one to one comparison, But Cam also does a
lot of a lot of the smaller things that don't
that aren't as loud when you're watching in terms of
he can he can initiate a pick and roll and
read the defense. He's a smarter defender than Michael Porter
(08:51):
Junior is, you know. So while while the shooting has
kind of coming gone, I think he's a confident enough
shooter and and the numbers over a long long enough
careers say that, you know, by the end of the season,
he's going to be shooting north of thirty five percent
from three, And I think that's also just kind of
a byproduct of the role. You know, Cam put up
big numbers in Brooklyn. He's being asked to do different
(09:12):
things in Denver than he was with the Nets. So
I think part of it is just a poorly timed
shooting plump to start the season, coupled with figuring out
you know, what his role is going to be, where
his shots are going to come from, and what it's
truly like to play alongside Nicole Yokisch and Jamal.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Talking with Vinie Benedetto at v Benedetto on Twitter, and
I think that's I think that's the thing. I think
there are some unfair I think get the nail on
the head, there's some unfair comparison. You know, Porter is
the primary option out there in Brooklyn now where he
was going to always going to be the tertiary option here,
you know, behind behind Murray and Jokic. As we look
at Jamal Murray and the way that he's elevated these
games this year, is that a direct response to a
(09:50):
challenge laid out by Adelman? Is that just him growing
up showing up in shape? What do you attribute the
early season Jamal that we you know, we've got to
grow accustom to seeing later in the year.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Yeah, there were conversations between you know, David Adelman and
other members of the organization with Jamal about kind of
shedding that label of being a slow starter. And I
asked Jamal earlier this year if that kind of narrative
had bothered him and he admitted in his own way
that you know, it wasn't his favorite thing to hear.
(10:21):
So yeah, I think part of it is.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Figuring out what.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Kind of shape he needed to be in. And you
look back at the last couple of postseason and it's
easy to come up with excuses. You know, Summer of
twenty twenty four, he I think suffered a castring in
the playoffs, played through it, got ready for the Olympics
that didn't go how he would have liked, unsure, and
then you know, had a short for the regular season.
(10:49):
The year before that, Nuggets win the championship. You go
back a couple more years and we're dealing with, you know,
the ACL. So I think the most important thing Jamal
did this season was just kind of reset physically and
mentally and just.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
Kind of.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Come to a better understanding of what it means to
be ready for an NBA season, because I think it
has maybe more to do with being fresh than it does,
you know, being in the best shape of your life.
Because if you you know, you spend the entire offseason,
you know, running yourself into the ground, you know, what
kind of shape are you then in to start the season,
go through an eighty two game slog and then what
(11:29):
the team hopes is going to be another long playoff from.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Any betteredetto from the Gazette ed v betadetto on Twitter.
We appreciate your time as always, Bud, absolutely have it.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
No one guess yep, take care.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Any better data. Yeah, I think you have had a
great point about comparing Johnson to Michael Porter Junior. Though,
I mean, Porter is the primary option in Brooklyn. They're
a bad team, and he just gets to jack up
all the shots he wants out there as the primary scorer,
who's going to slide up tick and his rebounding and
assists and a noticeable jumping is scoring and roughly the
same minutes played. But that's because he's not deferring to
Yokichen Murray anymore.
Speaker 5 (12:00):
Well, I mean, anyone who is in mpja's court would
just say, hey, listen, see what my capabilities were if
I was given more touches. And obviously I wasn't able
to do what was required because I wasn't really or
fully involved in the offense. So I mean, look, some
(12:20):
Nuggets fans are probably looking at it and saying, okay, well,
things could have been a lot better if he was
giving those opportunities. But I'm happy for Michael Porter Junior
where he can go to Brooklyn and he's in a
situation he's in. Obviously, you want to be supported by
other guys around you. But now he's in a position
where he can now showcase what he feels though his
true ability.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Is Yeah, and he's averaging twenty six points a game
out there, twenty five pointy eight points a game out
there in Brooklyn in thirty two minutes of play, whereas
he was doing thirty three minutes of play per game
for the Nuggets last year. It's not like it's it's
less efficient. Really, he went from fifty point four to
forty nine point six on the field goal percentage, thirty
nine point five to thirty nine point two on the
front throw percentage, and it's give me three point and
(13:02):
his free throw percentage went up to eighty two percent.
So he's it's not like it's this higher volume is
making him appreciably less efficient. He's just the same guy
he always was, just getting maximum amount of shots because
he's not again third in the rotation behind behind Murray.
And you know the League of VP, I.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
Listen that makes it really difficult no matter you know
which team you're on. I mean, we've seen the same
thing as we discussed this with the Nuggets. You can
look at the Abs and say this with the Broncos.
It's just the fact that sometimes you have a lot
of mouths to feed and you try to figure out
how do you incorporate and get the best out of
every single player and night in night out, especially talking
(13:39):
about the Nuggets. You know, the ball is going through
in Nikola Jokich without it down, no matter how great
Jamal Murray is, and he's coming off a fifty two
point game against the Hornets. But the idea is that
Nikola jokicch the buck stops with him, and you have
to be willing to take a back seat if you
want to be a part of with the Nuggets or doings.
(14:00):
I go back to the idea. Maybe things worked out
and the best way they can with MPJ being in
a space where now he can knock down open shots
and then everyone can look at him and say, Okay,
well he's the guy.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Yeah, And I think the Nuggets are better for I
think this is a win win for everybody. You know,
it's better for Porter in his career. It's better for
the Nuggets because, as Vinnie pointed out in the aggregate,
you get the scoring back between Jamal picking up his game,
Tim Hardaway, some these other guys. But also you've got
a better defender out there in Cameron Johnson, and that
that makes all the difference in the world when you've
(14:32):
got you know, with all due respect to Michael Porter,
who's a more impressive basketball player that I could even
dream of being. His defense is more like defense because
there's not any d happening.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
Well, I say, the best thing for the Denver Nuggets
is having Nikola Jokich. But also with Nikola Jokich being
a big guy who distributes like a point guard, and
he tries to get everyone involved with the game. Now
if not gonna want, something wants to happen to him
with stumbled or injury. Now you have to wonder, Okay,
what where does do those extra assists actually come from? Now,
(15:03):
valchun is, I'm not expecting that from him.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
He's a pretty good pastor for a big man.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
Well he is, I mean, I mean, but no one's
like Nicolay No, of course, of course, Nicolas like Magic Johnson,
I mean you know, well, I mean Magic was better
off the dribble.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Than passing the bats Man.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
Well, everything I'm saying, I am validated and acknowledging the
big man Nikola yok ability to pass the ball.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
But when you do, you think all time players, Joki
is going to go down in history better than Magic
John's I mean probably, but Magic was I mean, like
if you say it better, like I'm looking at him
in terms of, like, you know what they did the
skill set. I'm like, Magic was better off the dribble
than find Yokiski is a big man. He's used to
be an incredibly phenomenal passer. It was probably a better
passer than Magic. Magic was up there.
Speaker 5 (15:53):
Well, you go to say that because there are not
too many centers in the NBA over the history that
ed kiper Booe's dual Whennicole Yolks is doing. But come on, man,
we have.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
To come back to this. We have to go ahead this.
We got to have a break. We got Aaronnagler talk
about the Packers.
Speaker 5 (16:08):
We come back.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Bring on my guy, Aaron Nagler from a chiefs Head
TV breakdown the Packers erin how you doing this.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Evening we're doing well. Thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Yeah, absolutely, man, good to hear your voice. Green Bay
has been an interesting team this year. Bronco has been
an interesting team this year. We get into this thing,
we start to wonder a where where we've We've rattle
off the wins, But are we any good? The green
Bay Packers nine to three and won. The record's good,
but you got losses to the Browns and home against
the Panthers, barely wins against the Cards and Giants. The
same questions I think that are bound here in Denver,
(16:39):
a bound a little bit there in Green Bay. What
is this Green Bay team this year? And now are
they just finally hitting their stride?
Speaker 3 (16:47):
They really are. Yeah. Over the course of I would
say the last three four games, they've come into their own.
They're finding their self on offense, and that's kind of
you know, been because of changing certain ways of operation,
but it's also personnel wise. They've switched things up along
the offensive line, some due to performance, some due to
the injury. Getting Christian Watson back has meant an entirely
(17:10):
different approach in the passing game, and look you get
you look at the defense. The way they've been playing.
They've been pretty damn good all year long. That's the
one side of the ball that has been pretty consistent.
Uh yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
There were rough parts of the season.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Uh definitely. That loss to the Brown still stings, and
the Panthers lost at home was brutal. But you know,
you sit here, this is all you can ask for
the fact that you got what four games left, You're
in first place. You want to be playing your best
ball at this time of year, adding into the home stretch,
getting ready for a playoff run. That's what the Packers
they're doing.
Speaker 5 (17:48):
And when the Broncos are coming in with eleven two record,
playing with a lot of confidence. They'll be hosting the
Packers on Sunday. And when you think about what both
Nicks has accomplished over the past couple of weeks, after
having some early stumbles and experiencing some outside criticism, what
have you seen from him that the Packers and Jeff
Hafley are going to have to do to kind of
(18:09):
slow down the Broncos offense.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
I mean, I don't think it'll be too different than
what they've been doing that they you know, Hapley's not
a big pressure guy. He's not going to send numbers.
He's going to do a lot of things to try
and probably sow some feeds of doubt in the quarterback's
mind free and post snap. I don't think they'll be,
you know, having anything outside of the ordinary when it
comes to what they've done approaching any quarterback. I don't
(18:35):
think it's going to be too hyper specific to Nicks,
but I mean they do a very good job of
kind of making you doubt yourself as a quarterback. They've
done a lot of stuff as far as building up
what they did last year where they were, you know,
just starting to kind of figure out Happley's system this year,
especially Evan Williams and Xavier McKinney, they really work well
(18:56):
together whatever the offense is trying to do with motion
and trying to get their kind of advantage. These guys
have got a really good rhythm in a way of
working where they present too high and then all of
a sudden they're an old robber and you know they
have one guy dropping down and all of a sudden,
the other guy's flying back at the snap of the
ball to be the middle deep safety. You thought he
was coming on the blitz. It's things like that that
(19:18):
it's not necessarily just game plan specific for Denver. I
think that's stuff they've been doing all year and that's
probably what they'll continue to do. On Sunday Talk with.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Aaron Eigeler from Che's Head TV. Of course, you got
the great dynamic duo there, Michael Parsons in Rashaan Gary.
How effective have those two been working with each other
now since the Parsons acquisition?
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Interesting you ask that because just did our live show
a little while ago tonight and kind of this, you know,
a bit of a narrative going on in Green Bay
right now is a bit of a disappearing act from
Rashaun Gary. You know, Rashawn really came on earlier this
season when kind of Michael is just new on the
scene and drawing all this attention, and Rashan Gary came
out of the gates smoke and he was He had
(20:00):
seven sacks the first four games something like that, and
that has completely fallen off to the point where now
he's almost splitting snaps. He's played about the same amount
of snaps as Kingsley and a bare who is a
former fifth round pick. Heading you know, he's in his
last year of his rookie deal and any Barr has
been playing pretty darn well. But with rashwan Is, the
(20:21):
production has certainly kind of dipped. And it's a bit
of a mystery what's going on there because he's still
playing hard. It's not like he's, you know, some slouch
out there, but he's not able to take advantage of
the one on one opportunities that having Micah Parsons across
from him has presented him, and that that's been a
bit of a mystery I think for everyone around Green Bay.
(20:44):
Matt Lafleur was asked about it. You know, he said,
he's never been a high snap guy, and you know
there's certain things that are happening with chips and slides
and all this stuff. But to your point, when you've
got Micah Parsons opposite you, you're gonna get opportunities, and
right now he has just not delivered on those.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
Aaron, when you think about the fact that Christian Watson's
only played seven games this season, but when you look
at the yards, he's a mass over that time. That
puts him in third right now as far as receiving
yards for the Packers. How important. I know you mentioned
him before. But how important is his presidence on the
field or how could that pay dividends for Drew and
(21:22):
Love on Sunday?
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Oh yeah, it changes everything. It has changed everything. And
you mentioned, you know, all the time he missed. What's
crazy is he's still on pace to have a career
year even half he missed all that time. It's nuts, man.
And the fact that they were really struggling on offense.
I mean, you go back to the Monday night game
against the Eagles was probably the low point where they
(21:44):
only scored seven points in that game. And ever since then,
really since the Giants game, Watson has become the focal
point of the passing game and he just changes everything
as far as how defenses have to play them. You
saw it against you know, the Bears on Sunday where
they get them in that three receiver set to the right,
(22:05):
Jordan Cees one high safety says, thank you very much,
just makes an adjustment at the line, runs a little slant,
and he's gone, that's a fifty yarder. You know that
they do that kind of thing with Watson quite a bit,
where all they need is just a little bit of room,
get them, get them green grass and he's gone. So
defensive coordinators obviously know this, and they're still gonna roll
(22:26):
coverage and they're still go to want the safety over
the top. But Lafleur has done a phenomenal job of
finding ways to get get him in space and get
the ball in the chain, because after that happens, he's
a touchdown waiting to happen. So that I think will
continue to perplex defenses and that should open things up
for some of these other guys. You saw don Tavian
Wicks have a big night or a big day on Thanksgiving,
(22:48):
you know, but then you go to the Bears game.
The guy had I think played five snaps, you know,
barely played it all. And that's the thing if you're
the defensive coordinator. Watson doesn't just you know, present albums
as far as his own productions, you never know who
else is going to hurt you. So the way they've
kept defenses off balance while they're worried about Watson, it's
(23:09):
been really fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Tyler Eronegler at Aaron Negler on Twitter. She said, TV,
you know, it was interesting because when Tucker Craft went down,
he was such a big part of that offense. You're
looking at this and you're like, oh, no, you know,
these guys are in trouble. But the reality is, I
think it's it's sort of gotten better in a way,
or at least come together more in a way post
that injury. You know, how has that affected what this
(23:31):
team wants to do on offense and why are they
experiencing a sudden surge when one of their best players
ostensibly is not out there.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
Yeah, it's interesting because I think it really forced the
Floor to change what he was trying to do and
his entire approach. Really, because so much of what Tucker
did and it was effective as hell. I mean, he
was producing was yards after the catch. A lot of
it was Forzontal, a lot of getting him in space
in the flat and then just letting him go to
town and run over defensive back. But since Kraft went
(24:01):
down and then you saw kind of like the.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
Bit of a struggle there.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
But after that Pittsburgh game when he got hurt, or
I'm sorry, the Carolina game where he got hurt, you know,
they really kind of couldn't figure it out on offense.
But then they get Watson back, and then this past
week they get Jayden Reid back. You know, they've really
kind of found a way of working, and I don't
think any of that happens without the work up front,
and I think that's the biggest key. You know, they
(24:27):
were really really inconsistent along the offensive line, and since
Elton Jenkins went down and they put in Sean Ryan
at center and then decided finally to kind of essentially
bench Jordan Morgan the right guard. They put in the
rookie Anthony Belton, who is a mountain of a man,
losts to work on, still a lot to grow and
(24:49):
developed there, but that change has really solidified them upfront
and has allowed Matt to do some of the stuff
that I don't think he was able to do because
they couldn't hold up upfront. So it's kind of twofold,
you know. It's like, yes, they lost Tucker and they've
really kind of changed some of their approach, but they've
been able to do that because the offensive line play
(25:10):
has been notably better.
Speaker 5 (25:12):
You know, it's funny you bring up the off of
the line play because that's the direction I was going.
Bow Nick's only been sacked sixteen times a season, and
Jordan Love only eighteen times this season. Obviously, the damn
has got to break for either one on Sunday. But
what would you say about the freen Bay Packers' offensive
line as to why they've only surrendered eighteen sacks.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Well, I mean they've played well at times, like I said,
more recently, definitely more so than earlier in the season
when things were really inconsistent. I think that's mostly a
quarterback stat I think that at least in Green Bay.
You know, Jordan just has such command of the offense.
He knows exactly where his outlet is, he knows exactly
how you know, he's got to get the ball out
(25:56):
of his hands in certain situations, especially when teams have
tried to blitch him. It's certainly been, you know, again
getting better as far as holding up in past protection.
Zach Tom is back to being Zach Tom. He is
absolutely a racing dudes. I mean, I don't know if
you watch the game on Thanksgiving, but he completely shut
down Aiden Hutchinson. I mean they had it, set it
and forget it. So having that obviously helps. But I
(26:20):
think mostly it's Jordan Love's command of the offense. He
has done a phenomenal job of just knowing exactly where
the answer is anytime there's pressure. I'm sure you've seen
some of the stats what he's blitzed. He has been outstanding,
He's been on fire. So you know it is, you know,
a testament to the line and the work they do.
But really big time. I think a lot of the
(26:41):
credit goes to Jordan Loves talking with.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Aaron Nagler from She's Head TV. Josh Jacobs has been
a foreign in the Broncos side for a long time
when he was here with the Raiders. You know, as
we look at this run game from Green Bay and
what Laflora wants to do, how do they attack people?
Is this you know he comes off the Shanahan tree.
Is this is this straight up you know, outside zone
(27:05):
and boot back or what is this in terms of
its rushing attack?
Speaker 3 (27:10):
You know, it's funny? Is I wish it was more
of that, but it is not. With Jacobs, it's been
a lot more power, a lot more between the tackles.
Interestingly enough, little nugget here that he did not practice
today dealing with a knee injury. Now we don't know
how serious it is. Hopefully he's back out there tomorrow.
We got to hope it's precautionary. He was rehabbing off
to the side at practice, but obviously that would be
(27:33):
a significant blow for the Packers if he's unable to go.
But you did see, you know, a couple of weeks
ago when he wasn't able to go against the Vikings
and Manuel Wilson stepped in there. They didn't miss a beat.
Wilson was excellent, And yeah, the majority of their stuff
has been kind of power oriented between the tackles, but
Listener has gotten into a bit more of this, you know,
(27:55):
wide zone stuff and then booting Jordan Love out of
there and finding receivers downfield. He's gotten into some more
multiple tight end sets. We've seen a bunch of that
basically that again started during the Giants game. We saw
it last week against the Bears. So I do think,
you know, they'll continue to mix it up depending on
what they think they can take advantage of. But you know,
(28:17):
I don't think it's any mystery that they're not gonna
I don't think they're gonna make great hay against this
Denver front. But they're gonna have to commit to it.
They're gonna have to stick with it. This is not
a game and I'm sure you guys are in agreement here.
If you're an opposing quarterback going into Denver, the last
thing you want your guy doing is dropping back forty
times right, forty five times. This is a game where,
(28:39):
even though whatever the results are, if you're only chipping
away two three yards a time, Matt Laflor has shown
he's he's gonna be patient with it, and I think
for good reason. The last thing you want to do
is sit at you know, third and nine against this defense.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
Yeah, they'll see all funny. I think there was the
thing Kingsbury kind of showed a little bit of the
blueprint on how you have to attack it. You got
to use some trap, you got to use the power
run game and have those power backs keep you un
manageable situations. They just weren't able to do that with
Mariota or Mariotaz Collinsworth was calling him that night, Aaron,
I appreciate the time to night and look forward to
to chopping it up again here.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
So absolutely, thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Man absolutely take care of Aaron. Chiefs had TV at
Aaron Neigler on Twitter. Guy's got the inside knowledge on
all things Green Bay as far as that kind of
stuff goes, and this team does percent a unique problem.
They are hitting on all cylinders right at the right time,
and fascinatingly enough, a lot of this came about right
when tight end Tucker Craft went down. You look at
(29:36):
the remaining schedule for the Broncos, and I think a
lot of people would circle this game and say this
might be the toughest one remaining.
Speaker 5 (29:42):
I can understand that because there's a lot of balance
with the Packers' offense. And I love what Aaron said
there about Matt Lafloor, the head coach officsive coordinator. He's
very patient. He's going to be patient with the run
game because he knows that you cannot just drop back
forty times and throw the ball, even though some coordinators
(30:06):
love to do that. But this is where Matt leans
on his early coaching influence, and that being Mike Shanahan.
See Mike Shanahan runs the ball to set up play
action and having your quarterback under center pays dividends because
the defense doesn't really know what you're gonna do at
that particular point. And then knowing as though you can
(30:28):
get the run game going even if it's only two
point five yards a clip. That is going to keep
the Broncos defense conn is to make sure they can
take those shots down the field.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
And they distribute the ball all over. They have so
many different pass catchers there. Romeo Dobbs has been the
big targeted guy this year, but we mentioned Tucker Kraft.
Jacobs is prevalent in the past game, don Tavian Wicks,
Christian Watson, the rookie, Matthew Golden. They've got little Muskray
the other tight end Saveytt Williams, has been out there
at times this year. They've got without getting into Jade
(31:00):
Reed who got hurt, you know, early in the year.
They got a ton of pass catching weapons and options
there in Green Bay, but he hit the nail on
the head. They don't like to drop back forty times again.
Matter of fact, they average thirty drop backs per game
twenty nine point eight. I believe in terms of what
they do, you know, every game, they want to run
the football. They want to keep you fairly balanced, they
(31:22):
want to keep you guessing. And this is going to
be a tough game. This is going to be an
interesting matchup. A real metal tester here for the for
the Denver Broncos, as you head down the final quarter
the backstretch before you got to take on Jacksonville here
and then head to Kansas City at Arrowhead. This is
this is a tough gateway game to the last quarter
of the season.
Speaker 5 (31:39):
Well, yeah, when you look at the backup running back.
If Josh Jacob somehow starts and not doesn't finish, Maayel
Wilson five ten, two hundred and twenty six pounds, and
when I say he comes downhill looking to blow things up,
that's exactly what he's looking to do. So the Broncos
will face an excellent challenge, especially if the goal is
(32:02):
to get that number one seed. You want to make
sure that you pressed now and you press at this
particular point. So whatever corrections you need to make on
either side of the ball, you make those corrections, and
those corrections are solid and they stick because if you
don't now, Jacksonville is now looking at it and Travis
Etn has been running well as of late. So you
(32:25):
don't want any of the Broncos remaining opponents to feel
as though, you know what, they have a great defense,
were still go win the game by running the ball.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Well, you don't want anybody to, Yeah, you definitely don't
want any future opponents to look at what happened specifically
at Washington and say there's a blueprint.
Speaker 5 (32:44):
But then what we saw And I mentioned this when
when I watched the Washington game, I say, well, even
though Marcus Mariot is not one of the premier quarterbacks
in the league, look at what he was able to do.
And then to follow week, you start Geno Smith on
that first drive, move the ball down the field, and
the idea is, Okay, we're not going to allow the
(33:06):
Denver Bronco defense to disrupt any of our flow, on
our rhythm. Get the ball out of your hands less
than I guess two point five seconds.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
Quick hitters and quick tramp game power running quick hitters.
Speaker 5 (33:17):
And I can tell you being a defensive player, you
get pissed off when teams are getting those short passes
and they're moving the ball down the field methodically. And
guess what you start doing. Because the Broncos they're not
known for creating a lot of turnovers, you start pressing,
you try to jump stuff, and there comes a double move.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
Well, Mom always said it's better to be pissed off
than pissed on Roncos Country Night Back after this
I'll go go right out to the Kwait Commas Breath
(00:01):
hotline and bring on our guy. Vinnie Bettedetto had v
Benedetto on the Twitter machine, he said, Nuggets beat for
the Denver Gazette, Vinie, how's it going, buddy?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Doing pretty well? Guys, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Absolutely. Nuggets out to a pretty good start this season.
Seventeen and six on the year, number one scoring offense
in the NBA, number one most efficient scoring offense too
in terms of field goal percentage. As we look at
this version of the Denver Nuggets, it kind of feels
like there's a little bit of early season buzz that
(00:33):
this team might have a little bit of something to them.
I know, when they traded away Michael Porter Junior, we
kind of thought, Okay, who's going to pick up the
scoring slack here? I know they brought in Johnson, but
he's not nearly that prolific. But it's funny. I think
they've recreated it in the aggregate between Tim Hardaway and
Jamal Murray, especially picking up the slack. What have you
seen out of this early team and what do you
(00:54):
think in terms of their long term prospects for the season.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yeah, I mean looking back at the schedule, and you know,
they're they're seventeen and six, and it's hard to identify
one of those six losses as a game you know
that they they weren't in it, they didn't have a
chance to win. So, you know, as good of a
start as it has been, I think it's you know,
also pretty easy to look back and say, uh, you know,
Oklahoma City is kind of you know, putting some distance
(01:20):
between themselves and the rest of the West. But you
know a few of these Nuggets games go the other way,
and some of those losses probably should have gone the
other way. And and they're really in you know, contention
for leading the Western Conference at this point in the season.
And yeah, to your point, I mean, it's not just
losing mic on offense. They're they're doing this, you know,
without Aaron Gordon and Christian Brown for significant stretches.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
So you know, I think the main.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Takeaway on that front is as long as Nikola Jokic
and Jamal Murray are playing at this kind of level,
the offense is not going to be anything the Nuggets
are gonna have to worry about. Whereas you know, the
the defense is certainly taking a hit without without Aaron
and encryption around. So you know, I don't think either
of those guys will be back for the Christmas game,
(02:02):
maybe not until around the new year, but yeah, that'll
be That'll be the one thing to watch for me
in the in the next month or two is if
getting those two guys that kind of helps shore up
some of the issues on the defensive end, because the
way they've guarded.
Speaker 4 (02:16):
The last the last few weeks might might.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Work in the in the regular season, but it doesn't
doesn't seem sustainable in the postseason.
Speaker 5 (02:24):
Kinny, what does this say about the Denver Nuggets Because
they're eleven and two away from ball Arena and six
and four at home, and usually the Nuggets are known
for having a good home record because obviously you have
the altitude as your friend. But now they're winning games
away from ball Areina. What does that say about the
connection and how these guys are playing together.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yeah, I mean there are a lot of new pieces,
you know, uh, to to Bend's previous point, you know,
Tim Hardaway coming in it. I think it just says
that this team has been able to you know, gel
pretty quickly and kind of come to an understanding because yeah,
most of these these road winds have been you know,
pretty professional performances, outside of the first half in Atlanta
(03:07):
when they had to erase a twenty point twenty three
point deficit. So yeah, I think it feels like, you know,
the guys are brought in there, you know, taking this seriously,
which you know, oddly enough, doesn't feel like it's always
been the case for when this corp has been around.
It feels like they've kind of messed around and let
some games go. And you could say that about you know,
(03:27):
some of those home losses, but you know, what they've
done on the road is certainly pretty encouraging.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
As we look at this thing you mentioned Okase put
in the distance, Is there anybody that can solve OKAC
this year because they look just absolutely incredible.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Yeah, and it's currently constructed and I'm watching them put
a beating on the Suns right now. You know, it's
hard to say, you know, but there's a lot of
time for things to change. But you know, they're just
they're they're so young, they're so deep, they're so versatile.
They can play too big, they can go small, they
can you know, kind of do it all. So you know,
(04:04):
at the start of the season, I probably would have
said the just the challenges that come with being defending champions.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
You know, getting.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Everybody's best shot on a on a nightly basis. Uh.
You know, I would have predicted that would have been
an issue for for a young team. But you know,
they're they're coming out and they're taking it seriously and
it looks like they're gonna have a pretty good shot
to uh not only win the nd season tournament, but
become the last team and the last you know, seven
eight years to go back to back.
Speaker 5 (04:34):
Now, most teams you don't want to be without your
your started players. And we know what Aaron Gore and
supplies from a defensive standpoint, and Christan Brown supplies as well.
With these guys expected to be out, you know past
this Christmas game, how's this benefited other guys on the
roster who ordinarily wouldn't get a lot of playing time?
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah, I mean, uh, you know, Peyton Watson has been
thrust into a larger role. Same with Spencer Jones. You know,
those are the two guys who have filled out the
starting lineup. And those two guys have not only just
had to like jump into the starting lineup, they've had
to jump in and start defending some of the most
prolific scorers in the NBA because they're being tasked with
stuarding the opponents, you know, got two perimeter scoring options
(05:17):
for much of it. So those guys are you know,
certainly getting extended run to you know, figure out playing
alongside Nicole Yogic and developing chemistry with the starters. And
I think kind of a nice thing about that is
it has allowed the Nuggets to still kind of keep
that that bench unit that was so new, keeping that
(05:38):
group largely together with with Tim Hardaway Junior and Jonas
Valanciunas and Bruce Brown with with with help from one
of the two starters. So uh yeah, I think it's
been really good for Peyton and Spencer just kind of
to have to jump into the deep end and learn
how to tread water on the.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Fly is uh secretly, you know, I don't want to
call him the MVP, but his ability to put quality
minutes on the court and allow the actual potential MVP
and Jokic, has that been the biggest addition this team
has made.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Yeah, I think so. I mean, Tim Hardaway would be
another easy shout just because of you know, when Tim
has it going, he he has the ability to change
the game quickly.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
But just on a night to night basis the.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
The fact that there are times when when David Adelman
talks about, oh he probably let Jokers sit for too
long that he like got stiff on the bench because
of Jonas Alan Chunis group made such a run, you
know that that feels like a conversation that hasn't been
had around the Nugget to end quite some time, probably
since DeMarcus Cousin's short stint here.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
But yeah, I think back to to.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
That Atlantic game again, it's that that group I think
it was Bruce, Tim, Jonas, Cam Johnson and maybe Jamal
That was the group that went on that twenty to
nothing run in early in the fourth quarter that kind
of flip that game around.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
So yeah, just the.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Studying presence has been massive, and then just having another
body that big. You know, if if you know, Jokers
able to get the opposing center and foul trouble and
then they have to deal with Jonas, dealing with whoever
they put in behind their starter. It just it's asking
a lot of questions of opponents and one thing David
(07:23):
Alman mentioned today at practice is, you know, these these
injuries have prevented him from experimenting much. That's something he's
kind of wanted to do more of it, and it
sounds like there's still going to be some two big
lineups with with Jonas and Nicole out there together once
once they get healthier and you know, have a little
bit more liberal room with the rotations.
Speaker 5 (07:43):
When the Nuggets moved away from Michael Porter Junior and answered,
you know, Cam Johnson into the foe, I mean everyone
here in Denver was really excited. But having a couple
of games at this point of season to watch him
and seeing how he's kind of fitting in with the group,
how would you assay us uh, his style of play
with some of the Corow guys, Nikole Yaks, Jamal Murray.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
Yeah, I think he's he's certainly capable of it, and
I think, you know, unfortunately for Cam, he the shot
just wasn't fallen for the first few weeks of his
time here, and you know, since then, he's he's kind
of ebbed and flowed again. But I think it's and
it certainly hasn't helped, you know, for for people just
comparing the two players that you know, Michael Porter Junior
has had the freedom, uh to to explore his game
(08:28):
out in Brooklyn and is doing a really nice job
and producing at a really high level. Uh. You know,
I think that kind of hurts Cam in the in
the one to one comparison, But Cam also does a
lot of a lot of the smaller things that don't
that aren't as loud when you're watching in terms of
he can he can initiate a pick and roll and
read the defense. He's a smarter defender than Michael Porter
(08:51):
Junior is, you know. So while while the shooting has
kind of coming gone, I think he's a confident enough
shooter and and the numbers over a long long enough
careers say that, you know, by the end of the season,
he's going to be shooting north of thirty five percent
from three, And I think that's also just kind of
a byproduct of the role. You know, Cam put up
big numbers in Brooklyn. He's being asked to do different
(09:12):
things in Denver than he was with the Nets. So
I think part of it is just a poorly timed
shooting plump to start the season, coupled with figuring out
you know, what his role is going to be, where
his shots are going to come from, and what it's
truly like to play alongside Nicole Yokisch and Jamal.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Talking with Vinie Benedetto at v Benedetto on Twitter, and
I think that's I think that's the thing. I think
there are some unfair I think get the nail on
the head, there's some unfair comparison. You know, Porter is
the primary option out there in Brooklyn now where he
was going to always going to be the tertiary option here,
you know, behind behind Murray and Jokic. As we look
at Jamal Murray and the way that he's elevated these
games this year, is that a direct response to a
(09:50):
challenge laid out by Adelman? Is that just him growing
up showing up in shape? What do you attribute the
early season Jamal that we you know, we've got to
grow accustom to seeing later in the year.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
Yeah, there were conversations between you know, David Adelman and
other members of the organization with Jamal about kind of
shedding that label of being a slow starter. And I
asked Jamal earlier this year if that kind of narrative
had bothered him and he admitted in his own way
that you know, it wasn't his favorite thing to hear.
(10:21):
So yeah, I think part of it is.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Figuring out what.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Kind of shape he needed to be in. And you
look back at the last couple of postseason and it's
easy to come up with excuses. You know, Summer of
twenty twenty four, he I think suffered a castring in
the playoffs, played through it, got ready for the Olympics
that didn't go how he would have liked, unsure, and
then you know, had a short for the regular season.
(10:49):
The year before that, Nuggets win the championship. You go
back a couple more years and we're dealing with, you know,
the ACL. So I think the most important thing Jamal
did this season was just kind of reset physically and
mentally and just.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
Kind of.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Come to a better understanding of what it means to
be ready for an NBA season, because I think it
has maybe more to do with being fresh than it does,
you know, being in the best shape of your life.
Because if you you know, you spend the entire offseason,
you know, running yourself into the ground, you know, what
kind of shape are you then in to start the season,
go through an eighty two game slog and then what
(11:29):
the team hopes is going to be another long playoff from.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
Any betteredetto from the Gazette ed v betadetto on Twitter.
We appreciate your time as always, Bud, absolutely have it.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
No one guess yep, take care.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Any better data. Yeah, I think you have had a
great point about comparing Johnson to Michael Porter Junior. Though,
I mean, Porter is the primary option in Brooklyn. They're
a bad team, and he just gets to jack up
all the shots he wants out there as the primary scorer,
who's going to slide up tick and his rebounding and
assists and a noticeable jumping is scoring and roughly the
same minutes played. But that's because he's not deferring to
Yokichen Murray anymore.
Speaker 5 (12:00):
Well, I mean, anyone who is in mpja's court would
just say, hey, listen, see what my capabilities were if
I was given more touches. And obviously I wasn't able
to do what was required because I wasn't really or
fully involved in the offense. So I mean, look, some
(12:20):
Nuggets fans are probably looking at it and saying, okay, well,
things could have been a lot better if he was
giving those opportunities. But I'm happy for Michael Porter Junior
where he can go to Brooklyn and he's in a
situation he's in. Obviously, you want to be supported by
other guys around you. But now he's in a position
where he can now showcase what he feels though his
true ability.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Is Yeah, and he's averaging twenty six points a game
out there, twenty five pointy eight points a game out
there in Brooklyn in thirty two minutes of play, whereas
he was doing thirty three minutes of play per game
for the Nuggets last year. It's not like it's it's
less efficient. Really, he went from fifty point four to
forty nine point six on the field goal percentage, thirty
nine point five to thirty nine point two on the
front throw percentage, and it's give me three point and
(13:02):
his free throw percentage went up to eighty two percent.
So he's it's not like it's this higher volume is
making him appreciably less efficient. He's just the same guy
he always was, just getting maximum amount of shots because
he's not again third in the rotation behind behind Murray.
And you know the League of VP, I.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
Listen that makes it really difficult no matter you know
which team you're on. I mean, we've seen the same
thing as we discussed this with the Nuggets. You can
look at the Abs and say this with the Broncos.
It's just the fact that sometimes you have a lot
of mouths to feed and you try to figure out
how do you incorporate and get the best out of
every single player and night in night out, especially talking
(13:39):
about the Nuggets. You know, the ball is going through
in Nikola Jokich without it down, no matter how great
Jamal Murray is, and he's coming off a fifty two
point game against the Hornets. But the idea is that
Nikola jokicch the buck stops with him, and you have
to be willing to take a back seat if you
want to be a part of with the Nuggets or doings.
(14:00):
I go back to the idea. Maybe things worked out
and the best way they can with MPJ being in
a space where now he can knock down open shots
and then everyone can look at him and say, Okay,
well he's the guy.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Yeah, And I think the Nuggets are better for I
think this is a win win for everybody. You know,
it's better for Porter in his career. It's better for
the Nuggets because, as Vinnie pointed out in the aggregate,
you get the scoring back between Jamal picking up his game,
Tim Hardaway, some these other guys. But also you've got
a better defender out there in Cameron Johnson, and that
that makes all the difference in the world when you've
(14:32):
got you know, with all due respect to Michael Porter,
who's a more impressive basketball player that I could even
dream of being. His defense is more like defense because
there's not any d happening.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
Well, I say, the best thing for the Denver Nuggets
is having Nikola Jokich. But also with Nikola Jokich being
a big guy who distributes like a point guard, and
he tries to get everyone involved with the game. Now
if not gonna want, something wants to happen to him
with stumbled or injury. Now you have to wonder, Okay,
what where does do those extra assists actually come from? Now,
(15:03):
valchun is, I'm not expecting that from him.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
He's a pretty good pastor for a big man.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
Well he is, I mean, I mean, but no one's
like Nicolay No, of course, of course, Nicolas like Magic Johnson,
I mean you know, well, I mean Magic was better
off the dribble.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Than passing the bats Man.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
Well, everything I'm saying, I am validated and acknowledging the
big man Nikola yok ability to pass the ball.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
But when you do, you think all time players, Joki
is going to go down in history better than Magic
John's I mean probably, but Magic was I mean, like
if you say it better, like I'm looking at him
in terms of, like, you know what they did the
skill set. I'm like, Magic was better off the dribble
than find Yokiski is a big man. He's used to
be an incredibly phenomenal passer. It was probably a better
passer than Magic. Magic was up there.
Speaker 5 (15:53):
Well, you go to say that because there are not
too many centers in the NBA over the history that
ed kiper Booe's dual Whennicole Yolks is doing. But come on, man,
we have.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
To come back to this. We have to go ahead this.
We got to have a break. We got Aaronnagler talk
about the Packers.
Speaker 5 (16:08):
We come back.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Bring on my guy, Aaron Nagler from a chiefs Head
TV breakdown the Packers erin how you doing this.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Evening we're doing well. Thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
Yeah, absolutely, man, good to hear your voice. Green Bay
has been an interesting team this year. Bronco has been
an interesting team this year. We get into this thing,
we start to wonder a where where we've We've rattle
off the wins, But are we any good? The green
Bay Packers nine to three and won. The record's good,
but you got losses to the Browns and home against
the Panthers, barely wins against the Cards and Giants. The
same questions I think that are bound here in Denver,
(16:39):
a bound a little bit there in Green Bay. What
is this Green Bay team this year? And now are
they just finally hitting their stride?
Speaker 3 (16:47):
They really are. Yeah. Over the course of I would
say the last three four games, they've come into their own.
They're finding their self on offense, and that's kind of
you know, been because of changing certain ways of operation,
but it's also personnel wise. They've switched things up along
the offensive line, some due to performance, some due to
the injury. Getting Christian Watson back has meant an entirely
(17:10):
different approach in the passing game, and look you get
you look at the defense. The way they've been playing.
They've been pretty damn good all year long. That's the
one side of the ball that has been pretty consistent.
Uh yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
There were rough parts of the season.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Uh definitely. That loss to the Brown still stings, and
the Panthers lost at home was brutal. But you know,
you sit here, this is all you can ask for
the fact that you got what four games left, You're
in first place. You want to be playing your best
ball at this time of year, adding into the home stretch,
getting ready for a playoff run. That's what the Packers
they're doing.
Speaker 5 (17:48):
And when the Broncos are coming in with eleven two record,
playing with a lot of confidence. They'll be hosting the
Packers on Sunday. And when you think about what both
Nicks has accomplished over the past couple of weeks, after
having some early stumbles and experiencing some outside criticism, what
have you seen from him that the Packers and Jeff
Hafley are going to have to do to kind of
(18:09):
slow down the Broncos offense.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
I mean, I don't think it'll be too different than
what they've been doing that they you know, Hapley's not
a big pressure guy. He's not going to send numbers.
He's going to do a lot of things to try
and probably sow some feeds of doubt in the quarterback's
mind free and post snap. I don't think they'll be,
you know, having anything outside of the ordinary when it
comes to what they've done approaching any quarterback. I don't
(18:35):
think it's going to be too hyper specific to Nicks,
but I mean they do a very good job of
kind of making you doubt yourself as a quarterback. They've
done a lot of stuff as far as building up
what they did last year where they were, you know,
just starting to kind of figure out Happley's system this year,
especially Evan Williams and Xavier McKinney, they really work well
(18:56):
together whatever the offense is trying to do with motion
and trying to get their kind of advantage. These guys
have got a really good rhythm in a way of
working where they present too high and then all of
a sudden they're an old robber and you know they
have one guy dropping down and all of a sudden,
the other guy's flying back at the snap of the
ball to be the middle deep safety. You thought he
was coming on the blitz. It's things like that that
(19:18):
it's not necessarily just game plan specific for Denver. I
think that's stuff they've been doing all year and that's
probably what they'll continue to do. On Sunday Talk with.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Aaron Eigeler from Che's Head TV. Of course, you got
the great dynamic duo there, Michael Parsons in Rashaan Gary.
How effective have those two been working with each other
now since the Parsons acquisition?
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Interesting you ask that because just did our live show
a little while ago tonight and kind of this, you know,
a bit of a narrative going on in Green Bay
right now is a bit of a disappearing act from
Rashaun Gary. You know, Rashawn really came on earlier this
season when kind of Michael is just new on the
scene and drawing all this attention, and Rashan Gary came
out of the gates smoke and he was He had
(20:00):
seven sacks the first four games something like that, and
that has completely fallen off to the point where now
he's almost splitting snaps. He's played about the same amount
of snaps as Kingsley and a bare who is a
former fifth round pick. Heading you know, he's in his
last year of his rookie deal and any Barr has
been playing pretty darn well. But with rashwan Is, the
(20:21):
production has certainly kind of dipped. And it's a bit
of a mystery what's going on there because he's still
playing hard. It's not like he's, you know, some slouch
out there, but he's not able to take advantage of
the one on one opportunities that having Micah Parsons across
from him has presented him, and that that's been a
bit of a mystery I think for everyone around Green Bay.
(20:44):
Matt Lafleur was asked about it. You know, he said,
he's never been a high snap guy, and you know
there's certain things that are happening with chips and slides
and all this stuff. But to your point, when you've
got Micah Parsons opposite you, you're gonna get opportunities, and
right now he has just not delivered on those.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
Aaron, when you think about the fact that Christian Watson's
only played seven games this season, but when you look
at the yards, he's a mass over that time. That
puts him in third right now as far as receiving
yards for the Packers. How important. I know you mentioned
him before. But how important is his presidence on the
field or how could that pay dividends for Drew and
(21:22):
Love on Sunday?
Speaker 3 (21:24):
Oh yeah, it changes everything. It has changed everything. And
you mentioned, you know, all the time he missed. What's
crazy is he's still on pace to have a career
year even half he missed all that time. It's nuts, man.
And the fact that they were really struggling on offense.
I mean, you go back to the Monday night game
against the Eagles was probably the low point where they
(21:44):
only scored seven points in that game. And ever since then,
really since the Giants game, Watson has become the focal
point of the passing game and he just changes everything
as far as how defenses have to play them. You
saw it against you know, the Bears on Sunday where
they get them in that three receiver set to the right,
(22:05):
Jordan Cees one high safety says, thank you very much,
just makes an adjustment at the line, runs a little slant,
and he's gone, that's a fifty yarder. You know that
they do that kind of thing with Watson quite a bit,
where all they need is just a little bit of room,
get them, get them green grass and he's gone. So
defensive coordinators obviously know this, and they're still gonna roll
(22:26):
coverage and they're still go to want the safety over
the top. But Lafleur has done a phenomenal job of
finding ways to get get him in space and get
the ball in the chain, because after that happens, he's
a touchdown waiting to happen. So that I think will
continue to perplex defenses and that should open things up
for some of these other guys. You saw don Tavian
Wicks have a big night or a big day on Thanksgiving,
(22:48):
you know, but then you go to the Bears game.
The guy had I think played five snaps, you know,
barely played it all. And that's the thing if you're
the defensive coordinator. Watson doesn't just you know, present albums
as far as his own productions, you never know who
else is going to hurt you. So the way they've
kept defenses off balance while they're worried about Watson, it's
(23:09):
been really fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Tyler Eronegler at Aaron Negler on Twitter. She said, TV,
you know, it was interesting because when Tucker Craft went down,
he was such a big part of that offense. You're
looking at this and you're like, oh, no, you know,
these guys are in trouble. But the reality is, I
think it's it's sort of gotten better in a way,
or at least come together more in a way post
that injury. You know, how has that affected what this
(23:31):
team wants to do on offense and why are they
experiencing a sudden surge when one of their best players
ostensibly is not out there.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
Yeah, it's interesting because I think it really forced the
Floor to change what he was trying to do and
his entire approach. Really, because so much of what Tucker
did and it was effective as hell. I mean, he
was producing was yards after the catch. A lot of
it was Forzontal, a lot of getting him in space
in the flat and then just letting him go to
town and run over defensive back. But since Kraft went
(24:01):
down and then you saw kind of like the.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
Bit of a struggle there.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
But after that Pittsburgh game when he got hurt, or
I'm sorry, the Carolina game where he got hurt, you know,
they really kind of couldn't figure it out on offense.
But then they get Watson back, and then this past
week they get Jayden Reid back. You know, they've really
kind of found a way of working, and I don't
think any of that happens without the work up front,
and I think that's the biggest key. You know, they
(24:27):
were really really inconsistent along the offensive line, and since
Elton Jenkins went down and they put in Sean Ryan
at center and then decided finally to kind of essentially
bench Jordan Morgan the right guard. They put in the
rookie Anthony Belton, who is a mountain of a man,
losts to work on, still a lot to grow and
(24:49):
developed there, but that change has really solidified them upfront
and has allowed Matt to do some of the stuff
that I don't think he was able to do because
they couldn't hold up upfront. So it's kind of twofold,
you know. It's like, yes, they lost Tucker and they've
really kind of changed some of their approach, but they've
been able to do that because the offensive line play
(25:10):
has been notably better.
Speaker 5 (25:12):
You know, it's funny you bring up the off of
the line play because that's the direction I was going.
Bow Nick's only been sacked sixteen times a season, and
Jordan Love only eighteen times this season. Obviously, the damn
has got to break for either one on Sunday. But
what would you say about the freen Bay Packers' offensive
line as to why they've only surrendered eighteen sacks.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Well, I mean they've played well at times, like I said,
more recently, definitely more so than earlier in the season
when things were really inconsistent. I think that's mostly a
quarterback stat I think that at least in Green Bay.
You know, Jordan just has such command of the offense.
He knows exactly where his outlet is, he knows exactly
how you know, he's got to get the ball out
(25:56):
of his hands in certain situations, especially when teams have
tried to blitch him. It's certainly been, you know, again
getting better as far as holding up in past protection.
Zach Tom is back to being Zach Tom. He is
absolutely a racing dudes. I mean, I don't know if
you watch the game on Thanksgiving, but he completely shut
down Aiden Hutchinson. I mean they had it, set it
and forget it. So having that obviously helps. But I
(26:20):
think mostly it's Jordan Love's command of the offense. He
has done a phenomenal job of just knowing exactly where
the answer is anytime there's pressure. I'm sure you've seen
some of the stats what he's blitzed. He has been outstanding,
He's been on fire. So you know it is, you know,
a testament to the line and the work they do.
But really big time. I think a lot of the
(26:41):
credit goes to Jordan Loves talking with.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Aaron Nagler from She's Head TV. Josh Jacobs has been
a foreign in the Broncos side for a long time
when he was here with the Raiders. You know, as
we look at this run game from Green Bay and
what Laflora wants to do, how do they attack people?
Is this you know he comes off the Shanahan tree.
Is this is this straight up you know, outside zone
(27:05):
and boot back or what is this in terms of
its rushing attack?
Speaker 3 (27:10):
You know, it's funny? Is I wish it was more
of that, but it is not. With Jacobs, it's been
a lot more power, a lot more between the tackles.
Interestingly enough, little nugget here that he did not practice
today dealing with a knee injury. Now we don't know
how serious it is. Hopefully he's back out there tomorrow.
We got to hope it's precautionary. He was rehabbing off
to the side at practice, but obviously that would be
(27:33):
a significant blow for the Packers if he's unable to go.
But you did see, you know, a couple of weeks
ago when he wasn't able to go against the Vikings
and Manuel Wilson stepped in there. They didn't miss a beat.
Wilson was excellent, And yeah, the majority of their stuff
has been kind of power oriented between the tackles, but
Listener has gotten into a bit more of this, you know,
(27:55):
wide zone stuff and then booting Jordan Love out of
there and finding receivers downfield. He's gotten into some more
multiple tight end sets. We've seen a bunch of that
basically that again started during the Giants game. We saw
it last week against the Bears. So I do think,
you know, they'll continue to mix it up depending on
what they think they can take advantage of. But you know,
(28:17):
I don't think it's any mystery that they're not gonna
I don't think they're gonna make great hay against this
Denver front. But they're gonna have to commit to it.
They're gonna have to stick with it. This is not
a game and I'm sure you guys are in agreement here.
If you're an opposing quarterback going into Denver, the last
thing you want your guy doing is dropping back forty
times right, forty five times. This is a game where,
(28:39):
even though whatever the results are, if you're only chipping
away two three yards a time, Matt Laflor has shown
he's he's gonna be patient with it, and I think
for good reason. The last thing you want to do
is sit at you know, third and nine against this defense.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
Yeah, they'll see all funny. I think there was the
thing Kingsbury kind of showed a little bit of the
blueprint on how you have to attack it. You got
to use some trap, you got to use the power
run game and have those power backs keep you un
manageable situations. They just weren't able to do that with
Mariota or Mariotaz Collinsworth was calling him that night, Aaron,
I appreciate the time to night and look forward to
to chopping it up again here.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
So absolutely, thanks so much for having me.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Man absolutely take care of Aaron. Chiefs had TV at
Aaron Neigler on Twitter. Guy's got the inside knowledge on
all things Green Bay as far as that kind of
stuff goes, and this team does percent a unique problem.
They are hitting on all cylinders right at the right time,
and fascinatingly enough, a lot of this came about right
when tight end Tucker Craft went down. You look at
(29:36):
the remaining schedule for the Broncos, and I think a
lot of people would circle this game and say this
might be the toughest one remaining.
Speaker 5 (29:42):
I can understand that because there's a lot of balance
with the Packers' offense. And I love what Aaron said
there about Matt Lafloor, the head coach officsive coordinator. He's
very patient. He's going to be patient with the run
game because he knows that you cannot just drop back
forty times and throw the ball, even though some coordinators
(30:06):
love to do that. But this is where Matt leans
on his early coaching influence, and that being Mike Shanahan.
See Mike Shanahan runs the ball to set up play
action and having your quarterback under center pays dividends because
the defense doesn't really know what you're gonna do at
that particular point. And then knowing as though you can
(30:28):
get the run game going even if it's only two
point five yards a clip. That is going to keep
the Broncos defense conn is to make sure they can
take those shots down the field.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
And they distribute the ball all over. They have so
many different pass catchers there. Romeo Dobbs has been the
big targeted guy this year, but we mentioned Tucker Kraft.
Jacobs is prevalent in the past game, don Tavian Wicks,
Christian Watson, the rookie, Matthew Golden. They've got little Muskray
the other tight end Saveytt Williams, has been out there
at times this year. They've got without getting into Jade
(31:00):
Reed who got hurt, you know, early in the year.
They got a ton of pass catching weapons and options
there in Green Bay, but he hit the nail on
the head. They don't like to drop back forty times again.
Matter of fact, they average thirty drop backs per game
twenty nine point eight. I believe in terms of what
they do, you know, every game, they want to run
the football. They want to keep you fairly balanced, they
(31:22):
want to keep you guessing. And this is going to
be a tough game. This is going to be an
interesting matchup. A real metal tester here for the for
the Denver Broncos, as you head down the final quarter
the backstretch before you got to take on Jacksonville here
and then head to Kansas City at Arrowhead. This is
this is a tough gateway game to the last quarter
of the season.
Speaker 5 (31:39):
Well, yeah, when you look at the backup running back.
If Josh Jacob somehow starts and not doesn't finish, Maayel
Wilson five ten, two hundred and twenty six pounds, and
when I say he comes downhill looking to blow things up,
that's exactly what he's looking to do. So the Broncos
will face an excellent challenge, especially if the goal is
(32:02):
to get that number one seed. You want to make
sure that you pressed now and you press at this
particular point. So whatever corrections you need to make on
either side of the ball, you make those corrections, and
those corrections are solid and they stick because if you
don't now, Jacksonville is now looking at it and Travis
Etn has been running well as of late. So you
(32:25):
don't want any of the Broncos remaining opponents to feel
as though, you know what, they have a great defense,
were still go win the game by running the ball.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Well, you don't want anybody to, Yeah, you definitely don't
want any future opponents to look at what happened specifically
at Washington and say there's a blueprint.
Speaker 5 (32:44):
But then what we saw And I mentioned this when
when I watched the Washington game, I say, well, even
though Marcus Mariot is not one of the premier quarterbacks
in the league, look at what he was able to do.
And then to follow week, you start Geno Smith on
that first drive, move the ball down the field, and
the idea is, Okay, we're not going to allow the
(33:06):
Denver Bronco defense to disrupt any of our flow, on
our rhythm. Get the ball out of your hands less
than I guess two point five seconds.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
Quick hitters and quick tramp game power running quick hitters.
Speaker 5 (33:17):
And I can tell you being a defensive player, you
get pissed off when teams are getting those short passes
and they're moving the ball down the field methodically. And
guess what you start doing. Because the Broncos they're not
known for creating a lot of turnovers, you start pressing,
you try to jump stuff, and there comes a double move.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
Well, Mom always said it's better to be pissed off
than pissed on Roncos Country Night Back after this
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Brothers Ortiz
The Brothers Ortiz is the story of two brothers–both successful, but in very different ways. Gabe Ortiz becomes a third-highest ranking officer in all of Texas while his younger brother Larry climbs the ranks in Puro Tango Blast, a notorious Texas Prison gang. Gabe doesn’t know all the details of his brother’s nefarious dealings, and he’s made a point not to ask, to protect their relationship. But when Larry is murdered during a home invasion in a rented beach house, Gabe has no choice but to look into what happened that night. To solve Larry’s murder, Gabe, and the whole Ortiz family, must ask each other tough questions.