12-12-25 Hour 2 of Broncos Country Tonight with Zach Segars

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm filling in for Ben so he can celebrate his
birthday in fashion, adjoining us to break down this game.
Help break down this huge Broncos Packers game this weekend.
We've got Patrick Coyote of Believe in Broncos.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Pat, how are you doing tonight?

Speaker 3 (00:19):
I'm doing pretty good, man. I'm a little sad that
you know, Ben's not there. I was going to sing
him Happy Birthday all on Marilyn Monroe style, but I
guess I'll have to wait for the private dms.

Speaker 4 (00:30):
But yeah, whoa waiting?

Speaker 5 (00:33):
Patrick?

Speaker 4 (00:33):
Did you just say that you were going to sing
Happy Birthday the band and Marilyn Monroe style?

Speaker 3 (00:40):
Oh yeah, yeah, you know, you know there's a good
old drawn out, you know, happy, but you know he's
not here, so it wouldn't fly. But it's a big
game coming up. Man, I'm pretty I'm pretty stoked.

Speaker 4 (00:55):
Well, here's what you can do to say happy birthday.
Just kind of get a uh wet blankert and just
throw it out there on the street.

Speaker 5 (01:03):
Just throw it out on the street.

Speaker 3 (01:05):
Yes, team teams, My goodness, let the man celebrate his
birthday in peace.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
Honestly, this is going to be a happy birthday for
Ben because now he gets the FaceTime of the Marilyn
Monroe song from from Kiyoti, and that's that's really what
what he's after.

Speaker 4 (01:22):
Kat.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
I know you focus a lot on the Broncos offense.
The Packers seem like they're going to be a tough matchup,
though line might be a little beat up for the
Broncos that that Packers pass rush is fierce, uh Broncos.
Bo Nicks has generally struggled against zone coverage relative to
mand coverage. This year, the Packers play zone at one
of the higher rates in the league, and they're pretty

(01:44):
darn good at it. If you were Sean Payton, how
would you go about attacking this Packers defense with bo
Nix and co.

Speaker 3 (01:52):
Yeah, this is going to be a tough matchup specifically
for for that reason. You know, bow under pressure is
not one of the better quarterbacks in the league.

Speaker 2 (02:01):
The ranks in the bottom the.

Speaker 3 (02:03):
Bottom quadrant for a lot of metrics when he's facing pressure.
But you know, if I'm if I'm facing a team
that he is going to bring a lot of pressure,
I want to make sure that you know I'm calling
plays where I know that I have a good hot
route option so if if we get pressure immediately, both
can can find that hot that hot option and get

(02:27):
the ball to him quickly and in space. And if
that's a if that's a guy like r J. Harvey,
who's shown that he can be a pretty damn good
receiver out of the backfield, I think that's a good
way to go. You know, just also finding other ways
to get guys like Evan Ingram involved when you know
you're facing pressure, especially with the looks that they give,

(02:48):
they do a lot of pretty unique things to kind
of confuse offensive line protections. So you know, maybe they'll
they'll show a look that forces the offensive line to
slide one way and then they're actually going to bring
pressure from the other side, so they're getting a free rusher.
It's just those types of things that you're going to
have to deal with this team. Over the last three games,

(03:11):
they're averaging three sacks a game, fourteen pressures a game.
Haven't had less than than twelve pressures in the last
three games, had sixteen in the last game, So they're
getting after it. But the one thing I will say
too is this team is not They are definitely susceptible
to the long run over those last three games, they've
given up eight explosive runs, averaging about three games. So

(03:35):
if you can get some of those out of this,
out of this offense, I think you're going to I
think you're going to be in a decent spot to
at least put points on the board in every drive.
That would be the big goal.

Speaker 5 (03:47):
Right.

Speaker 3 (03:47):
They're averaging seventeen points over those last three games, so
they're going to give up some yards. They're going to
give up some points. But you know, the offense just
has to be on their p's and qs figuring out
which plays are gonna work best against these pressure looks.
And I think Sean has a pretty good idea of

(04:08):
which plays he wants to roll with.

Speaker 5 (04:11):
So pout when you look at r J. Harvey and
I'm glad you brought him up. He has nine.

Speaker 4 (04:16):
Touchdowns on the season as a rookie running back. Five
of those happened to be rushing touchdowns. With those five
rushing touchdowns, that does that change any perception or any
perception that anyone should have about the Broncos running game
and ability to run inside the red zone.

Speaker 3 (04:36):
No, I think that he's He's done a fantastic job
and He's actually surprised me quite a bit with how
he's performed in the red zone. He's, you know, he's
not the biggest guy, and he's he's definitely had some struggles,
you know, bouncing runs outside, but man, when he gets
in the red zone, he just he finds those little

(04:59):
creases or he'll just behind an offensive lineman and drive
those big legs and just trying to get into the
end zone. I love his effort and his patience in
the red zone. Specifically last week against Vegas, they ran
a play that they had run earlier in the game
and the hole wasn't there, and so he kind of

(05:20):
had to go back the other way. There was nothing outside,
So what does he do. He just puts his head
down and gets behind his three offensive linemen and drives
into the end zone. I really like what this kid
has been able to do in the red zone. I
think that he's become a really good threat just overall
in the run game. Last week was an awesome performance.
You know, the game against Washington, he had a couple

(05:40):
of runs that he probably wants back. But I think
he's still he's still learning, he's still growing. So along
with those you know the rookie growth and all that stuff.
He's still got to be patient with this kid. But
every week it seems like he's getting a little more.
Twenty touches last week, so he's a fishtually hit the JK.

(06:02):
Dobbins workload. I think we're only going to see him improve. Now.
Is he going to have the same type of game
that he had last week against the Raiders? I don't
think so. But if you can just get him going
for four yards of carry, four or five yards of
carry like he was just consistently keeping those drives alive,

(06:24):
I think his confidence is an all time high, and
I think if he starts to perform against this defense,
I think it'll only boost his confidence more and more.
So I'd like to see them keep feeding him the ball.

Speaker 1 (06:35):
Talking with Patrick Coyote of Believe in Broncos at Patrick
Goody on Twitter, Pat, we're looking at the special teams
some in this game and how the Bronxs have just
been in better or in general been playing better over
the last month or so in that third phase of
the game. I know you used to be a special

(06:57):
teams coordinator for high school team up there in Oregon.
Why do you think the Broncos have been playing better
in that phase of the wall. Where do you think
they're playing better in that third phase down the stretch here?

Speaker 3 (07:11):
I think they are. From a few games ago, I
would say that they've improved. They've they've like last year,
they carried over some guys, excuse me, in some of
the special teams units. But really what it comes down
to is just the technique that these guys are using
and their effort on every special teams every special teams unit,

(07:37):
specifically on punt and punt return. These guys are doing
a really good job covering the field, staying in their lanes,
saying disciplined, forcing other teams into costly penalties, but also
covering very well. We saw last week and also in
the Kansas City game, you know, the blocking of some

(07:58):
of these guys typically. I want to say this specifically, J. L.
Skinner is probably the best special teamer that we have
had in Denver since I mean, it's gonna be wild
since David Bruton. He is this team's David Bruton. If

(08:19):
they can play him on defense a little bit, I mean,
he'll really fit that mold. But like he plays with
the same level of effort and intensity on every single
special teams that he is on, and he's just out
there making plays each and every week. We saw it
in Kansas City he had a massive block, a massive
clean block, mind you, to open up Marvin Mims for

(08:42):
his big return in that game. And then he made
the key block last week against against the Raiders to
spring Marvin Mims for that touchdown. I think this unit
is just playing a lot cleaner. We saw early in
season preseason, even it was a little messy guy, we're
not doing a good job of containing. They had a

(09:02):
big gunner problem just to start out this season. They
got that figured out. But I really like the direction
that this team is going. It's such an important phase
of the game of football. It's for me, it's equally
as important as offensive defense because you can you can
gain or lose points based on how you play your

(09:24):
special teams unit. And each week Denver has gotten better
in that area. I love the blocking. I love the
effort of this team, you know, and they've cleaned up
some things along the field goal units, so we're not
getting those gross blocking attempts like we had last season,
and it's it's allowing them to kind of play the

(09:46):
field position game. Even more, Jeremy Crosshaw is having a
fantastic year as a rookie Hunter. Who would have saw
that coming? I don't know, but I really like where
the special teams unit is going. So let's keep the
trajectory please.

Speaker 4 (10:01):
All right, So no Pat Bryan expected for this game
on Sunday due to a lower league injury. So that
means that Jordan Humphrey, who's been elevated, you know, and
he's played a couple of games. How does this kind
of work out for the Broncos offensively from a receiver standpoint?
And the reason I asked that question because when we
think about Marvin Mims, who's been here a long time

(10:24):
and we know what he does on special teams, he
hasn't really been involved with the offense as much. And
the Jordan Humphrey had three targets in the game against
the Raiders, that's all of Marvis targets in two games.
So how do you see this working as far as
ball distribution, as far as the wide receivers are concerned,

(10:44):
as far as Sunday.

Speaker 3 (10:46):
Yeah, I think the targets that LJ got in that
Raiders game, it was really more about his role in
this offense. Like he he was brought back for a
very specific reason. He was brought back to be a
blocker on the perimeter and to help out in kind

(11:07):
of some of those like slow zone run, you know,
play action plays, and that's where he got the majority.

Speaker 5 (11:15):
Of his targets.

Speaker 3 (11:17):
And you know what, He's only going to get a couple.

Speaker 2 (11:19):
Of them a game.

Speaker 3 (11:20):
And that's fine. But you know, him and Pat Bryant
kind of similar Bill, they're both bigger receivers. Not having
Pat for this game is honestly really disappointing. He has
turned out to me to be one of the better
receivers in this room because he's so verstile, because he
can play so many roles. So I just I don't

(11:43):
think that him and Marvin, you know, they just don't
play similar roles. They're not. Marvin's not the guy that
you're going to bring in motion to kick out and
end or a backer and run you know, split zone with.
He's not the guy that you know you're gonna ask
to block on the perimeter. He's the guy that you
want to get the ball in his hands right for Kat,

(12:05):
you know, he's a bigger receiver. You can use some
of those quick play actions and get him the ball
quickly off the line. But I think maybe they use
Little Jordan more in that role. Maybe we see Troy
Franklin take some of those snaps. I would fully expect
them to bring up Elijah Moore and maybe try to,
you know, use him in some way in this offense.

(12:25):
But I just don't think they can plug and play
Marvin in that same spot. So it's got to be
little Jordan.

Speaker 5 (12:33):
It's got to be.

Speaker 3 (12:33):
Court playing in that role. Ideally, you would like to
have another big body out there. So where's where's at
Perry at? What is what is at Perry doing?

Speaker 1 (12:44):
Uh?

Speaker 3 (12:44):
Maybe maybe he can be a guy that they bring
up this week and and try to fill some of
that gap. But it's really gonna be hard not having
Pat out there. He has been awesome to watch. He
is a high effort blocker out on the he loves
to mix it up in the run game, and you're
a guy that is going to fight for the sticks

(13:06):
whenever he has the ball in his hands. So really
going to miss him out there. But I think Marvin's
contributions to this team are better suited in the special
teams game. Where he can make a really true impact.

Speaker 1 (13:20):
Last one for you here, Pat, we got about a
minute or two left. Is this the biggest test for
the Broncos so far this season?

Speaker 2 (13:29):
And who do you think wins on Sunday?

Speaker 1 (13:31):
Once again, I just want to say, this is Patrick
Keoty of Believing Broncos. Make sure you're checking out that
show with him and friend of a VCT Brie Mastis.
But Pat, is this the biggest test for the Broncos
and who do you think wins Sunday?

Speaker 3 (13:44):
Absolutely? I think it is. This is a team that
has a very comparable offense and a really good defense.
I do think though Bronco's playing at home, you've got
the home crowd, and you've got the home crowd factor.
Jordan Love is even worse than Bonnick under pressure, so
that's a good thing. And this team loves to bring pressure.

(14:05):
So I think that this is going to be a full,
you know, a full knockout fight. Whoever throws that last
blow is going to be the winner. And I think
it's going to be Denver twenty one coming out on top.

Speaker 2 (14:22):
Music to my ears.

Speaker 1 (14:22):
Pat, thank you so much for the time and look
forward to talking to you again.

Speaker 2 (14:27):
Here soon. I hope you're right on that score prediction.

Speaker 3 (14:31):
Hey, thank you so much. I gotta go FaceTime. Ben
all right, really quick, guys, thank you.

Speaker 2 (14:37):
Love to hear that from Pat.

Speaker 1 (14:39):
Make sure you're checking them out over at Patrick Cuty
and believe in Broncos.

Speaker 5 (14:45):
Nick.

Speaker 2 (14:45):
I don't think I've asked you yet. Do you have
a score prediction figured out yet for this upcoming game?

Speaker 5 (14:50):
I sure do.

Speaker 2 (14:51):
Is it going to be a surprise until Sunday?

Speaker 5 (14:53):
That's right, I'm not telling you now.

Speaker 1 (14:56):
All right, perfect, Let's build some anticipation. I've been talking
about it for a couple of segments. You've been teasing it.
That is, after this break, we're finally going to get
into how that elite Broncos defense is going to go
about trying to stop that high powered Green Bay Packers offense.

Speaker 2 (15:13):
Cut them next right here on Broncos Country tonight.

Speaker 1 (15:15):
On KOA eight to fifty AM, ninety four one FM.
One of the biggest Broncos games of the year with
the Green Bay Packers coming to down that.

Speaker 2 (15:30):
Packers team that's red hot. Right now.

Speaker 1 (15:32):
They're at nine to three and one the I think
the two seed in the NFC Web. I mean double
check that they are the two seed in the NFC
at nine to three and one, just half a game
behind the Rams, and the Rams got a tough test
in the lines of this week. They could easily overtake
them if they managed to beat the Broncos, but that's
going to require their offense having a strong performance against

(15:54):
this Denver Broncos defense.

Speaker 2 (15:56):
And Nick I wanted to share this that with you.

Speaker 1 (15:59):
Jordan Loved this year is the best quarterback in the NFL.
He's got a eighty nine QBR on a scale of
one to one hundred versus man coverage. No one else
has it better. If you're the Denver Broncos. We know
how much fans Joseph, especially with the talent he has
in this secondary, loves to play man coverage. Is your

(16:21):
mindset kind of what Nate Jackson was laying out in
KOA Sports. Hey, we're just better than the teams you've
played before. We're not changing what we do. We're doing
what we do best and you gotta beat it. Or
do you see how proficient Love and company have been
against the man coverage and try and throw him a curveball.

Speaker 4 (16:41):
Well, you got to do what you do and the
game is about making adjustments. You do what you do
and then if you have to adjust your coverage, then
you go ahead and do that. But where I come from,
they say scared money, don't make money, and you can't
go into the game scared and petrify. Now you're gonna

(17:01):
see a couple of explosive plays when the Broncos play,
they can't see the Chiefs. I said that the Chiefs
were gonna have at least three to four explosive plays,
and they had three to four explosive place.

Speaker 5 (17:15):
The only difference was there was no.

Speaker 4 (17:18):
Connection between Patrick Mahomes and his wide receiver. So whether
it's zone coverage, whether it's man coverage, you're gonna have
an opportunity to beat coverage on either side, whether the
Broncos trying to beat the Packers or the Packers offensively
trying to beat the Broncos. The idea is king your
cash in when the guy is open.

Speaker 5 (17:39):
That's the thing. Can you cash in?

Speaker 4 (17:41):
And that's where the Broncos defense they're gonna have to
be special. They've been extraordinary off season long. And I
know those two words sound the same, but they're not.
The Broncos are gonna have to be special because you're
playing at home against a team statistically that can take
the shots down the field, and they can connect on
those shots down the field.

Speaker 5 (18:02):
Because when you look at Jordan Love.

Speaker 4 (18:04):
Of the past couple of games, he hasn't been sacked
more than three times, and the one game that he
was actually sacked more than once that that was.

Speaker 5 (18:13):
A Philly game where the score was ten to seven. Right,
So I look at this.

Speaker 4 (18:19):
Game and say, well, keeping Jordan Love contained is going
to be so important.

Speaker 5 (18:25):
You cannot lose the edge like.

Speaker 4 (18:28):
The Broncos loss against Marcus Mariota two weeks ago. You
can't do that because if you do, he's got the
arm strength to whip the ball downfield and he has
the speed in athleticism to run right past you. So
you're dealing with a two headed monster. But the way
you do it, you do it with all eleven players.
And what I mean by that is it's going to

(18:49):
be loud. Sean Payton, bo Nicks and PS two. They
talked about it this week about the fans and getting
them involved and making.

Speaker 5 (18:57):
This a playoff atmosphere.

Speaker 4 (19:00):
Right, But here's what I can tell you, as a
former player that played in power field, right, it was
called something it's called Invesco field at the time, but
still the same thing is that when the crowd gets
cracked up and down, then you can be like two
feet away from me, Zach, and you still won't hear me.
So the Broncos we're talking about scheme here, right, and

(19:22):
that's important, but it's communication that's going to be important
for them.

Speaker 5 (19:27):
And if I'm telling Totle Fungo.

Speaker 4 (19:29):
And I'm talking to PS two or I'm talking to Roley.

Speaker 5 (19:31):
Moss, do you actually hear me? That's the thing that's
going to be an issue.

Speaker 2 (19:36):
That was something that Sir Tan talked.

Speaker 1 (19:38):
About earlier with KOA Sports, talking about how you know,
they've had to use a lot of nonverbal communication and
be very careful with it at home because that crowd
can get so loud. And obviously you love that for
the problems it causes opposing offenses, but definitely adds a
wrinkle of complexity for defense, especially in coverage too. That

(19:59):
coverage unit is going to have their hands full this
week with Christian Watson, he's on a tear. Jaden Reid
appears to probably be back in the lineup. Romeo Doves
has had a breakout season for the Packers. They're on
tight end too, but Luke Musgrave looks pretty darn good.

Speaker 5 (20:14):
I mean they got melted, they got.

Speaker 2 (20:15):
Wigs, melted wicks.

Speaker 4 (20:17):
They're getting contributions from so many people on their offense.
And for me, look, Melafloor was a coach when I
was with the Houston Texans and Adam Stenovich their oc.
He was on that same team, right, So I've seen

(20:39):
the offense before and I know what it is capable
of doing. But for the Broncos is can you be disruptive?
Because that's what you have to do. You have to
be disruptive. You have to find a way to rattle
Jordan Love. And we've seen you advanced with the simulated
pressures where it looks like everyone's at the line of scrimmage.

Speaker 5 (21:00):
Guys drop out, right.

Speaker 4 (21:01):
I think John Franklin Myers got an interception, right, Justin
Schrenaud got an interception of running plays like that right.

Speaker 5 (21:10):
So the idea is that can you run.

Speaker 4 (21:12):
Those simulated pressures, try to put Jordan Love in a
situation where he's a lulu confused because that's a design
of it, and have him to throw or make an
airor throw right, you do that. Now, we could and recrease,
as my mom would say. But the idea is that
doing it on a consistent basis, because here's what I

(21:32):
know about Adam Cinevish, the OC and Matt Lafleur, those
who are very patient, they're on the same page, and
they don't abandon plays just because it was a negative
play that was incompletion.

Speaker 5 (21:46):
No no, no, no, no no, they don't abandon plays.

Speaker 4 (21:49):
They're gonna look at it, they're gonna see what they
did rollo when they're coming back to it. So now
it's going to force the defense to make sure once
again communication being the operative word for Sunday. And then
can shut and Payton kind of turn this into a
track meet, right, to make it a game of who
can get to forty the fastest, right, because if you

(22:10):
get to forty the fastest, that other team that relies
on their run game and Green Bay does a better
job at running the balls into Denver Broncos because they're
level commitment. Now you force them to come out of
that game plan. Now they have to pass the ball
forty five times and it.

Speaker 1 (22:25):
Might be easier to knock them out of that game
plan because right now it seems like Josh Shacobs isn't
super likely to play for this game. It looks like
you're probably getting Emmanuel Wilson, who's a solid back, but
he you know, Broncos Country is very familiar with the
problems Josh Shacobs can cause a defense. If you're facing
Emmanuel Wilson, it should be that much easier to force

(22:47):
them to get into a really uncomfortable place with.

Speaker 2 (22:50):
This passing game. And what you're saying is absolutely true.

Speaker 1 (22:52):
You know, you look at these boat Knicks box scores
that Broncos Countries used to seeing thirty five forty passing
attempts at a game in Green Bay. They have not
been doing that, like all year long. There's been a
stretch here or there where Love has had thirty plus
passing attempts in the game, but they rather would have
him in that twenty to thirty mark. And you know,

(23:13):
the thirty attempts he has, they're going to be deadly.
He's looking for chunk plays, he's firing downfield. I think
it's going to be critical that Riley Moss in particular,
but the entire secondary avoids those DPI calls because.

Speaker 2 (23:26):
Like we saw against KC.

Speaker 1 (23:27):
The Packers are going to be throwing them downfield and
you don't want to give him any freebies with some
of those pis. We've seen the Broncos called for so
much this year, but I think that that Josh Jacob's
absence is critical.

Speaker 5 (23:42):
Okay, So here's a little stat line for you. Like
we talked about RJ.

Speaker 4 (23:45):
Harvey and what he's done from a running perspective and
being able to have positive yards all first down, So
you obviously add the rates of stats to that.

Speaker 5 (23:55):
So when you look around the league, RJ.

Speaker 4 (23:58):
Harvey is like the third guy in the league at
twenty nine point three percent when it comes to percentage
of rushing on first down with success. You know who's
right behind him the Packers and Manuel Wilson. Interesting, so
that tells you they're gonna run the ball. The Bronco's

(24:19):
gonna have to be really dow Dan as far as
stopping it right. And you can't commit any of the
guys out of the secondary to do that because if
you do, now there's one on one matchups and these
receivers and not like I'm trying to blow them up,
but facts are facts. They can be and they've shown
them they can be man to man coverage.

Speaker 1 (24:41):
What did you make of the Packers fans today saying
that PS two can't match up with Christian Watson because
of Christian Watson's size and speed.

Speaker 4 (24:48):
Oh, I like the conversation. It's great for a conversational peace.

Speaker 2 (24:52):
Right.

Speaker 4 (24:53):
That's about hit right, because if I'm not mistaken, PS
two is the reigning defensive player of the year, is
he not?

Speaker 2 (25:04):
Last time I checked that that was true.

Speaker 5 (25:05):
Okay, last time I checked.

Speaker 4 (25:06):
Now, I know anyone can get beat in this league, right,
I've seen it happen to Champ Bailey. But then I
also seen him come back and get a pick six,
So that's a little bit different. So as they would say,
everybody can get got, it's a possibility. But I like
PS two because he just like twenty four Champ Bailey.

(25:27):
PS two wins at the line of scrimmage, right, and
winning at the line of scrimmage. The ideas when you
play man coverage you is the fact that you give
the pass rushers an opportunity to get to the quarterback
because everything is thrown on time and in rhythm, not
the only problem is when you start playing like drop
coverage when you're playing off and you're reading routes. Guess what,

(25:49):
that's a lot of time for those guys to get
home because the quarterback has time to sit back in
the pocket, servey the feel identify his matchup and they say, okay,
well is my guy open and opening the NFL is
a guy in your hip pocket and I throw him
open right just for our listeners.

Speaker 5 (26:07):
So it is going to be a challenge for.

Speaker 4 (26:10):
The Denver Broncos from a personnel standpoint, but also go
back to what I said earlier a communication standpoint as well.

Speaker 1 (26:18):
Yeah, I'm curious to see how these two matchups. Sir
Tan was saying he felt very confident in the secondary
and how it matched up with that Green Bay Arsenal weapons.

Speaker 2 (26:28):
We were just talking about how do.

Speaker 1 (26:30):
You think that matchup looks, and how do you think
you would go about deploying certain if you were in
vj is shoes?

Speaker 2 (26:36):
Are you having him follow Christian Watson all over the field.

Speaker 1 (26:39):
Or because they've got so many different ways to attack you,
are you just kind of leaving him on a side.

Speaker 4 (26:44):
Oh you're gonna play left, You're gonna play right. Darren
Williams played on the left chap baby played.

Speaker 5 (26:50):
On the right. Yep, right.

Speaker 4 (26:52):
You have to man up, right, that's what the name
of the game. You have to man up. And if
something is happening where certain receivers are having a better
day as far as production, then you have that in
your arsenal world.

Speaker 5 (27:04):
You can say, Okay, well, here's what we're gonna do.

Speaker 4 (27:06):
We're gonna eliminate Christian Watson and remove him off the chessboard.
But here's the counter to that offensively, So you say
you're gonna.

Speaker 5 (27:15):
Follow him man to man. What we're going to do in.

Speaker 4 (27:17):
Those situations, that's when you take your receiver and put him.

Speaker 5 (27:20):
Off the ball. So if he's off the ball, you
can't jam it.

Speaker 4 (27:24):
So we're gonna find a way to run those picks
and rubs to free him up. And what we've seen.
You go back to the Chargers game, you go back
to the Coast game. Those are the two teams that
did it well against the Broncos defense. Where they didn't
hide it, they showed it. But the Broncos were in
trail position. Because when you play man the man you have,

(27:47):
depending on whether receivers align, you take that coverage, you
take that outside alignement. So any inside low breaking rounds,
the only person can help you is the middle linebacker.

Speaker 5 (27:58):
That's the only person.

Speaker 4 (27:59):
Now, somehow they make that middle linebacker step up. There's
no one in that five to six yard radius. And
I don't care who you are, you could be you
saying both a guy can run away from you running
from right to left or left to right. I'm gonna
take you back really quickly to let you know how
crazy things can get. Remember PS two first year, the

(28:20):
Broncos were playing against I think it was the New
York Giants, and I can't remember who the receiver was
that they ran a crossing route away from PS two
and all I saw immediately on social media.

Speaker 5 (28:33):
Oh he got burned. And I'm like, those are stupid people.

Speaker 4 (28:36):
They don't know football, which is in man coverage, you
plan outside leverage any breaking route. Once again, let me
say it again, six to eight yards you normally have
the linebacker. Anything deeper than that ten to fifteen normally
it is the free safety. But if you occupy his
vision with the post route, guess what you by yourself?

Speaker 5 (28:58):
Right, So that these are all all the.

Speaker 4 (29:00):
Things that the Broncos defense have to keep on in mind.
Once again, communication is a huge part of what they're
going to have to accomplish or breakthrough on that. If not,
and you can have wide receivers running wide.

Speaker 1 (29:14):
Open, and I think that's going to be most critical
on third downs. I mean it always is, but this
matchup in particular, I think that's the key to this
game is who wins those battles on third down between
the Packers offense and the Broncos defense. The Packers tops
in the league right now on third downs. They're converting
over fifty percent of their attempts. Theyre at fifty point

(29:36):
six percent right now. The Broncos defense that is opposite
end of the spectrum. They're limiting teams to just a
thirty point nine percent conversion rate on third downs.

Speaker 2 (29:47):
That's by far the best in the league.

Speaker 1 (29:48):
And that's even inflated a bit because of some of
those those critical penalties they well, and I want to.

Speaker 4 (29:53):
Make sure that those who are listening to us, they're
not thinking, Okay, well, Nick is being Debbie Downer and.

Speaker 5 (29:59):
I'm on this defense.

Speaker 2 (30:01):
You're not a wet blanket.

Speaker 4 (30:02):
No I am anything, but because I'm the one that's
been advocating for this defense to get their recognition to
players and the defensive coordinator, and I'm the one that
started calling them a guy because how well they played
in clutch moments. I'm just being realistic and being a
football a former football player, and a former football coach
and letting you know the pros and cons of.

Speaker 5 (30:24):
Certain things that you're doing.

Speaker 4 (30:26):
Now. Players making plays on the field, they change all
of this. But I'm just being real and keeping it
a buck with everyone telling you what the difficulties are
when you play man and when you play zone.

Speaker 2 (30:39):
Yeah, there's many ways to do. That's why there's no
right answer.

Speaker 1 (30:43):
You don't have any team playing one hundred percent man.
You don't have any team playing one hundred percent zone.
Everyone's going about it their own way and finding their
own solution to the problem, and VJ has found some
pretty good solutions so far. Going to get more into
this matchup coming up also, so I want to break
down that Philip Rivers return and you know what would

(31:04):
a Broncos return, What if a Broncos legend were to
help this playoff push. That'll all be coming up in
the next segment. You're listening to Broncos Country tonight right
here on koa