05-20-25 KOA Sports Hour 2 with Shelby Harris

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Dave Logan, Ryan Edwards, Shelby Harris five six six nine
zeros or KWA common spirital text line if you want
to interact with our program, Fun First Hour. If you
ever missed any parts of our show, check it out
on the podcast at kacollar out of dot com or
on the completely free and totally awesome iHeartRadio app, which
is now of course redesigned like you have in your car.
So set us as a preset like you have in
your car, and away we go. This was kind of

(00:21):
a fun moment. Pat Bryant, rookie wide receiver for the
Denver Broncos, is on with Kate Adams and she was
asking about developing chemistry with bow Nix, and here's what
he said, Well, we actually.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
All taken like a quarterback and receivers retreat so we
can go like on vacation together.

Speaker 3 (00:36):
But we still don't go out there.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
You know what I'm saying, workout, we get somewhere out
saying get something.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Of course, how soon did.

Speaker 4 (00:42):
He hit you app?

Speaker 2 (00:43):
I mean he called me the night like the same
night at the draft, and then I think like three
four days later we all was in a group chat
and he was just telling us all right, bet we
all want to take.

Speaker 3 (00:51):
Like a quarterback receivers retreat.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
So I'm pretty excited to get you know what I'm saying
getting around the guys. I hear they like golf a lot,
so I gotta get my golf skills up. No, yeah,
not even a bit o the mind. Yeah. Yeah, I'm
gonna be like the music the speaker.

Speaker 3 (01:04):
Are you hearing this?

Speaker 1 (01:06):
I like that. I'm gonna be the DJ. Well we're
all golfing. That's pretty funny. Well, first of all, Botic's
reaching out to draft picks free agents come. Is that
a big deal?

Speaker 3 (01:17):
Is?

Speaker 1 (01:17):
Like, I mean from a player standpoint, is that a
sure deal?

Speaker 3 (01:20):
Absolutely? Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:21):
I mean he's the starting quarterback, and I mean that's
I think it's a draft choice or or even a
college free agent. That's you feel like you're part of it.
When when the starting quarterback reaches out and says, hey, listen, man,
we'd love to have you join us. We're gonna be
we're gonna be here wherever it's gonna be, It's like okay,

(01:42):
and and you damn sure go right. So yeah, I
think it, Uh, I think it shows a lot of
leadership on bo's part, especially for a young cat, right.
I mean sometimes that's not always the case. They kind
of grow into it. But yeah, I I love that.
I think it's a huge deal. I think it's a
huge deal because as young players come into this organization.

(02:05):
You know, when you have a quarterback like you, I
think your quarterbacks is your big name guy, he's the
face of the team. You have a guy that reaches
out to you instantly, it's like, hey, we're doing you know,
come to be part of this team.

Speaker 6 (02:18):
All it does is make the younger player more comfortable.
And when younger players are comfortable, they end up learning more,
they end up playing better, and also it makes it
that they want to play for you. And so I
just I love it. I think all it does is
build chemistry and it just it gets you ahead of
where you know, what you would be without it. So
I think it's a great it's a great move, and

(02:38):
it's a great as a young guy. That's a great
veteran presence, you know what I mean. That's a vet
move right there.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
Right, I mean again, just a young guy, I mean
not young as far young. It is a time in
the league, right, he's only twenty five years old, so
he's young anymore. I agree. I think sometimes I always
want to check with you guys and stuff like that
because I think from fans, we go, oh, that is
so cool, that is really cool that he's doing, Like,
for example, this getting the receivers together. I think fans
love that stuff. We eat that stuff up. But I

(03:06):
don't know for players, like, do you think that this
is like a necessary thing. I've heard both sides of
that from a players standpoint of or we should get
together and have our own separate thing in the off season.

Speaker 5 (03:17):
When you say necessary, I think it's I think there's
more positive than not anytime you can get your guys,
the skill position guys together to get some work throwing routes.
Obviously you're gonna hear the terminology because Bo knows the offense,
so he's gonna he's gonna be calling plays and you're

(03:38):
gonna familiarize yourself with what terms you need to listen to.
So yeah, the timing of it, you know, outcuts even
though you're running on air or maybe maybe there'll be
some dbs there. I don't know, but the outcut, the
five step drift route that I mean, the timing of
those things is everything to a receiver a quarterback. So yeah,

(04:01):
I mean absolutely, I think it's outstanding.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
Yeah, I just anything for a defensive lineman or I mean,
I know that Vaughan does his pass rush came.

Speaker 6 (04:10):
Yeah, and that's pretty much for us. It's more of
a collective. You know, we'll collectively have like a D
line summit, go somewhere and work together like all the
D tackles in the league, all the d ns in
the league. You know, it's and it's you know, being
on the defensive side of the ball, it's just different
because all of what we do is based off what

(04:30):
the offense does, and so there's only so much that
we can do without an offense on the field. You know,
we can talk through if a receiver does this, if
a receiver does that, but that's not that's not really.

Speaker 3 (04:40):
Ball, you know what I mean.

Speaker 6 (04:41):
You have to see the whole picture in order to
really you know, clarify it. So on the defensive side
of the ball, it's different. But you know, the things that
defensive players will do, they will go work out together,
they will you know, do little things like that where
you still get the camaraderie of getting to know somebody
and hanging out. But and then still you just still
talk football. But you're not going to get a retreat

(05:04):
where the team, like you know, the quarterback takes the
receivers out to go do that is that doesn't really
do much for the defense.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
No, I mean, would imagine did you guys do that? Dave?
When when you played? Did you guys did Bryan Site,
for example, did he get you guys to.

Speaker 3 (05:16):
Get the train out be a stage coach? Coach? No?

Speaker 5 (05:23):
I mean one thing, there's a little bit difference in money, right,
you have jobs the off season, Yeah, you were, you
worked a second job, you went back from any canda,
but you didn't see a lot a lot of guys.
We didn't see each other until like May following the
end of the season. So different different times for sure.

Speaker 1 (05:48):
I mean, do you I don't know, just a curiosity.
Do you wonder what it would have been like, Like
how different maybe your career or the career of some
of those players if you didn't have to be like
an insurance salesman or a real estate an agent or
we do those kinds of things in the offseason.

Speaker 5 (06:06):
You you do think about what what Shelby said, right,
I mean, listen, and I've said this so many times before.
I'm happy for these young dudes on how much money
they make.

Speaker 3 (06:15):
I'm not one of those ex players.

Speaker 5 (06:17):
It's like, well, damn, I mean really because the game,
the game has changed, the game has evolved, and now
players are paid much more fairly than guys in the
past that said we you know, we didn't have.

Speaker 3 (06:31):
It's like when you see when you see.

Speaker 5 (06:33):
Guys that played, let's say back in the eighties and nineties,
you just say, like, I'm in I don't know if
those guys could have played now. Well, there's an advantage
players have now because they can literally train all year
long and they have personal trainers, and they work on
specific skills. I mean, guys, even even after I played,
and guys that played in the nineties really didn't. You

(06:55):
tried to stay in shape and you'd work out at
the facility, but you didn't have you know, you didn't
work specifically on like with Shelby, like hand placement and
leverage and steps, and you just didn't. So no, I
think it's I think it's great in terms of players
making as much money as they can.

Speaker 3 (07:15):
The game is really hard.

Speaker 5 (07:17):
I have such respect for the game, and the game
is not long for guys, and Shelby is atypical as
he goes into his I think twelfth year. But more
times than not, you got to make what you can
as fast as you can because your career is just
not gonna be a long one.

Speaker 6 (07:32):
That's enough money out there for everybody. And once you,
once you look at it like that, things get a
lot easier for you because a lot of players have
a problem with pocket watching. You know, they look at
somebody else, look a look at the cars, look look
at the house, but they don't see the work that
it takes to get there. Now, as I tell people,
just run your own race and you'll be fine. It's
like the tortoise and the hair. Well like literally like

(07:55):
that's it, Like, don't be worried, don't worry about the hair,
Just keep on in your slow race.

Speaker 1 (08:06):
On the sex side, five six six, night zero. Going
back to the earlier conversations about injuries, if you guys,
if the guys get together with Bow, are they covered?

Speaker 6 (08:15):
They're not not at all, not at all, like, nahhat
at all. It's literally the same as if you were
just you know, working out on your own and got hurt. Well,
you know, Bronlos Country knows about the obviously the Juwan
James injuries from what was twenty twenty nineteen and then

(08:36):
Dayshat Hamilton, Uh, he got hurt away from the facility
and then he got released and got no contract guarantees
or anything like that. So it's it's a scary time
obviously when you want to go do something like that,
Lady Ryan Clayty, yes, Achilles like, and it's you know,
we're not allowed. We don't get the protections that other
sports get with the fully guaranteed contracts because we saw

(09:00):
I remember the Warriors when play Thompson got hurt and
like what almost damn thear three seasons in a row.
He got a heavy pity of that contract no matter
what because of the guaranteed deals. And so it's tough
for football players because yeah, we have to train extremely
hard for our jobs in the off season, and you know,
God forbid if you get hurt doing it. Now, I

(09:23):
got to figure out if you're going to take my
contract away or not know how I provide for my family.
So it's a tough situation.

Speaker 1 (09:30):
No, I mean it certainly is, you know, Dave, I
guess I think about it. It's funny in terms of
I asked you in the previous about the previous era
and how you oftentimes couldn't do a lot of that
training right in the off season because you had other stuff,
you had to work, you to do other jobs. And
so now you fast forward here and it's like, Okay, well,
now you're allotted enough money to be able to take

(09:50):
care of your body, to be able to do those
kinds of things, to be able to work out in
the offseason. But it does come with that stipulation. I
guess when it comes to these players organized workouts with
the quarterbacks and receivers, you just take every precaution you can.
I mean, you're just not you're not running hard. I
mean you're certainly not going as contact anyways, right, I mean,
so no, you're running.

Speaker 5 (10:11):
Hard though, I mean you're if they're gonna get good work.
A lot of the timing things that I talked about
being really important in a situation like that cannot be
achieved if you don't have guys running full speed. So
your receivers are gonna be running full speed, but as
you said, they're not, they're not gonna be work. I
don't think it gonna be working against defensive backs. Maybe

(10:33):
they maybe they're gonna get taped. I would imagine though,
they'll all have their ankles taped stuff like that.

Speaker 3 (10:38):
So it's I think.

Speaker 5 (10:40):
I think one of the beauties of the league today
is that guys make enough money to where they can
they can really do a good job, make it a
priority to take care of their body.

Speaker 3 (10:53):
You know, whether it's you. You get body.

Speaker 5 (10:56):
Work during the off season, you get body work during
the season. And also there's a lot of really smart
people out there in terms of how do I become
stronger or how do I become faster?

Speaker 3 (11:08):
Right?

Speaker 5 (11:08):
Whereas back in the day, even back in the eighties
and nineties, after I played, I mean that that was
not the case. You were you were as fast as
you were. Yeah you, I mean, nobody really taught you
how to run. You just ran right, nobody really, I
mean honestly you. When I think about the weight conditioning
program this is in the NFL, I mean, it was

(11:31):
it was archaic as you compare it to what these
guys have now in terms of like sports rehab, sports science,
sports rehab, rehabbing for for an injury. It the doctors
were doing as best a job as they could. But
the knowledge in terms of sports science, sports medicine that

(11:52):
has been gained over the last you know, twenty thirty
forty years is astronomical.

Speaker 6 (11:57):
Yeah, and that's the best part know about the next
era is they're going to find a way to you know,
to heal you better. And acl used to be a
you know, a death sentence back in the NFL, you know,
I mean, UCL Tommy John used to be a death
sentence in MLB, you know what I mean. And that's
the beautiful things about science. And that's why you know,

(12:19):
we you know, we invest so much in sports science
and and paying attention to all that is because you know,
we wanted someone wants to be the next one who
who fixes an injury. I bet you know, give it
some time. With achilles becoming as prominent as they are,
you might find someone who finds a way to do it.
When you were covering four months now it's just like

(12:39):
little things like that where it's back in the day
it was unheard of, but now it's it's just science.
And so that's the exciting part about science. Though it's
going to continually just keep getting better.

Speaker 3 (12:51):
And better. That's fascinating stuff.

Speaker 1 (12:52):
And yeah, man, it's it's a bit of a bummer
the way that it's it's designed right now, specifically as
we're talking about how excited to think of fans were
when they heard, Hey, but Nick is going to organize
these guys. But then there's the other side of that
and certainly the protections It will come back. I want
to ask you, guys, because last year the Broncos defensive
line and offensive line sort of took a pretty significant

(13:13):
step forward. I wonder if it's the same conversation for
another position on the team. We'll get to that next.

Speaker 6 (13:23):
So the fray I went to the concert of Summerfest
and you know, how to save a life, how to
save line.

Speaker 1 (13:32):
We'll hear that again.

Speaker 6 (13:33):
Oh yeah, that one weird brother nod about.

Speaker 3 (13:38):
Yeah. I used to love the fray I still do. Okay,
that's what you grew up in Wisconsin was saying.

Speaker 6 (13:44):
Then, do you remember when ESPN had those clips of like,
you know, my wish or whatever, and it was radcical
flats like my yeah, that was.

Speaker 3 (13:51):
My racal flats too. What hurts close? Yeah, Hey, you
know I have range range.

Speaker 1 (14:08):
Brother, range, It's like Brian Carrey and Shelby Harris Man. Well,
I'll tell you right now, we got back to back
outstanding text before we get to our conversation about the
positions for the Broncos. This one, Hey, Shelby, I understand
what the terms skilled position player means in professional football
running back, wide receivers.

Speaker 3 (14:25):
Tight end.

Speaker 1 (14:26):
But as a defensive tackle you have specialized skills. They
put that in quotes, by the way, So wouldn't you
consider yourself a skilled position player too? That's from Andy,
Like d.

Speaker 6 (14:39):
Lineman, we already know we're probably the most skilled in
the floor, on the man on the field. So that
and that, yeah, most skilled in terms of what do
you okay, that has to get off the ball, watch
the ball, get off the ball and then make contact,
fight that contact to stay in your gap?

Speaker 3 (15:00):
What what do you have to do that?

Speaker 1 (15:02):
What?

Speaker 3 (15:02):
What do you? What do you? What are you? Guys?
The most skilled?

Speaker 7 (15:04):
That just out of curiosity, hands, that's hands we've already.

Speaker 1 (15:10):
Establed versus catching the ball.

Speaker 7 (15:15):
Hey, hand everybody, everybody that everybody is about to hit you,
first of all, is like a foot away from your foot,
two feet lesson may maybe two feet and you see.

Speaker 3 (15:31):
All of them.

Speaker 5 (15:32):
There's probably in a in a trap maybe one time,
maybe maybe once during the game where you get cocoa
butted and you never see it coming.

Speaker 6 (15:43):
You want to hear some grad Actually there is one
time playing It was here Denver playing the New York Giants.
I think it's twenty eighteen. It was a Sunday night
football game. We started off three now and I lost
that game. Yeah, I had something going on with my
asthma where I couldn't take a deep breath that game.
So I'm over here dying and I'm an abstitute altitude two.

(16:03):
They run a trap. The guard clown comes and cleans
my clock. I'm talking about you never saw him coming.
I was just trying to catch my breath. So all
the all them drills you worked. When the lineman disappears,
you gotta look inside, right, No, So it's like it
was like oh and then by the time I was looking,

(16:24):
sounds like oh crap, Like oh crap, I feel it tough,
and then that.

Speaker 1 (16:29):
Was that was the bad doesn't sound of a skill position.

Speaker 3 (16:32):
Hey, hey, everybody gets gotten in this league. Don't don't.

Speaker 6 (16:36):
Don't get it twisted just because I can come up
and be honest about the times I got got, Like
everybody gets got in this league.

Speaker 3 (16:43):
Everybody supposed to be the best of the best.

Speaker 1 (16:45):
Well from one skill position player, I guess to another, Dave,
is he a skill position player defensive tackle?

Speaker 3 (16:51):
He's very he's very skilled at his job.

Speaker 6 (16:54):
Yes, skill position is you know, I don't, And it's
you know, I'm gonna say skill position, I don't. You
probably should only be d line.

Speaker 5 (17:01):
Oh wow, see I throw your bone. Very skilled ahead,
very skilled at his job. That's a but he didn't
answer to the bone. What was the question, Is it
a skilled player?

Speaker 3 (17:15):
No? Exactly, No, not a skilled player.

Speaker 2 (17:20):
No.

Speaker 5 (17:21):
Now, listen, I I I spent years trying to stay
away from guys and look like him.

Speaker 3 (17:25):
But I mean, you know, you know, the worst thing is,
I'm happy they took it out the ca the crap bag. Yeah.

Speaker 6 (17:32):
Man used to come down and take out the tackens,
and it was to be like they just be sitting
there and like, oh of God, and the next you know, wow,
helmet about to flay off, the helmet off the head.

Speaker 1 (17:43):
So that's another text here. This is great for your
original segment, for anyone that doubts Dave logan isn't the
best hands in the studio. Shame on you watch the
Cleveland game against Dallas and Pittsburgh, a one handed touchdown
grab on YouTube clips. Freaking fantastic. Hands probably haven't changed
much from.

Speaker 6 (18:02):
Dislocated finger wrapped around the ball. That's my cousin, my
cousin in Texas for.

Speaker 3 (18:09):
Real, though.

Speaker 1 (18:10):
We we just we measured the hands here in the studio.
Then Dave did that thing with the thhone that was uh.

Speaker 3 (18:15):
A little freaking little well, you know, I didn't. I
wasn't born with that. You've heard that.

Speaker 5 (18:21):
I heard that one. Yeah, the thumb goes in all
sorts of different directions. Well, but defens the lineman's hands
are jacked up too. You ever see an offensive lineman
Like I've.

Speaker 6 (18:31):
Been lucky with My hands actually are pretty smooth, so
I know, yeah, that's what I'm saying. That's why said
I've be prett lucky. Knock on wooden. But I just
think it's just wild, Like I see some dudes that
were pinkies will be damn in the ninety degrees and
and all these dislocated the fingers and stuff, and that's
you know what receivers have to do. But when you're
hand fighting in the trenches, you know you're liable to

(18:53):
get a finger clipped or something like that. And then
you look next players like I have my finger kind
of hurts. You looked and it's completely dislocated.

Speaker 1 (18:59):
Yep, Okay, I'm good.

Speaker 3 (19:02):
It happens.

Speaker 1 (19:03):
So I want to ask you a question. I was
thinking about this earlier yesterday.

Speaker 6 (19:07):
Why didn't I get in the singing? You know, when
I was younger, my mom told me play football.

Speaker 1 (19:10):
We just have some texts on that said wow, she
always got a voice on him, and somebody else said
that was something.

Speaker 3 (19:16):
I would agree that something.

Speaker 1 (19:18):
It was definitely something earlier. So so last year, the
Broncos saw their defensive line I think take probably the
biggest step forward on the defensive side of the ball.
We can discuss this whether you agree with that sentiment
or not, but I thought the defensive line took the
biggest leap on that side.

Speaker 3 (19:36):
Of the ball.

Speaker 1 (19:36):
In the offensive line, I thought took the biggest leap
on the offense side of the ball. So for this year, Dave,
I'll start with you, position group that has a chance
maybe to take a step forward, a significant step forward.
Would you think that it's maybe the same conversation about
the trenches or tight end room running back. What do

(19:56):
you think, Dave Hunter?

Speaker 5 (19:59):
I would say, I would say running back I think
will be better. I think the room will be better
and more productive.

Speaker 3 (20:10):
Hmm.

Speaker 5 (20:13):
I think the back end of the defense with with
Pat with Moss, with the Funga Jones and Brandon Jones.

Speaker 3 (20:26):
That yeah, I think.

Speaker 5 (20:27):
I mean, I think the back end of the Broncos
defense is going to be formidable.

Speaker 3 (20:31):
Okay, how about you, Shelby. You know.

Speaker 6 (20:37):
I'm going to say, you know, I'm gonna say quarterback. Really,
I think bo Nix is going to take a big
step this year compared to last year. And you know,
I think it's gonna be a hugetep where you're going
to start thinking that did.

Speaker 3 (20:50):
You think it was overrated last year? Was that you
it was? Okay? Well, so you think going from overrated
to what.

Speaker 5 (20:58):
Worth rated worse rated worth a worse he's worth I'm
not even sure what that means.

Speaker 6 (21:04):
I don't either, but I made it up. So his
worth rate is that he's he's worth it, and I
think he's going to make a big step of you know,
a lot of my criticisms of him last year when
we played was that he didn't make the easy throw.
He just kind of threw it up a lot of
You know, I think he's going this year. He's going
to do a lot more, a lot better job of
protecting the ball.

Speaker 3 (21:23):
You wish you're heading back there. I know you can't answer.
I'm just trying to all the guys that we have.
You a damn liar. You are lying out your face
right now. You know.

Speaker 6 (21:35):
I'm really happy with all the guys we have. I
think we got something the special going on. But I
just believe.

Speaker 7 (21:40):
That you know that who's going to be the starting
quarterback week one? Just out of curiosity? It might be
Jesus Christ for all you know, Seriously, who is it
going to be? If I had the guess week one?
I would say Joe Flacco? Okayafe bet, you know, safe bet,
because what it's going to take is one of the
young guys to really show that he's going to be

(22:00):
be there guy. So I think Joe's, you know, the
guy you're thinking with Kenny Pickett really the two and
then you have the other guys ready to fight. Now now, Brandon,
I have not talked to anybody there. Like, I don't
know the quarterback order or anything what they're doing. That's
just my opinion. But I think both next is really
going to take a step. He's gonna be a lot
more efficient. I think he's gonna use his legs a

(22:21):
little bit more. I just think he's going to his
game's going to evolve, and all those inefficiencies I was
talking about when we played them, I think he's gonna
get he's gonna take some of those out of his game.
So he's going to be, you know, a lot. I
feel like he's gonna be a lot better this year.

Speaker 1 (22:34):
Well listen, I think if that is true, if that
ends up being the case, then the brothers are in
for a really special season. I mean, if we're being honest,
if the quarterback really does take a step for and
he had a spectacular year last year. I know that
you had your use and flaws about his game, but
the fact is, like by the numbers, he had a

(22:55):
really good year in a really really strong year.

Speaker 3 (22:57):
So so did Aaron.

Speaker 6 (22:59):
Rodgers by the numbers. So that's and that's where the
numbers are are tricky. I'm not saying bout Nicks didn't,
but I'm just saying when you say things like buy
the numbers, even quarterbacks that we will talk about how
they didn't really do that good last year. They still
had good numbers. It's just the efficiency and when you
got these numbers was the issue. And so people, you know,

(23:20):
we talk about Aaron Rodgers an example, Aaron Rodgers. Actually,
if you look at numbers, not a bad season. Russell
Wilson when he was here last year. Year he was here,
not a bad season, but we saw a different product
than what the numbers showed on the field.

Speaker 1 (23:35):
I don't know if I buy that. I mean, I
I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna try to confirm what
you're saying there, but I don't there's a little bit
of an eye test. I mean, obviously by the number,
I guess you're right. I mean Aaron Rodgers it was
top eight in passing yards, but he also he threw
you can keep you.

Speaker 3 (23:51):
Can stop trying to prove it wrong and just admit that,
you know.

Speaker 4 (23:53):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (23:54):
Actually they're pretty similar numbers because he got and Aaron Rodgers,
now that I think about it, to look at this thing,
he's like Aaron Rodgers at thirty eight hundred pass and
yards twenty eight and eleven. Bonix had thirty eight twenty
nine to twelve. Was a rookie though one is oh
my god, I mean, is this acknowledgements.

Speaker 6 (24:12):
Yeah, And that's why you can't look at the numbers
because the numbers are with the how much teams throw
the ball, the numbers will be skewed. It's about efficiency.
It's about you know, who's who's actually getting the most
first downs and who's actually you know also and wins. Obviously,
wins are not just a quarterback stat but by the numbers.

(24:34):
Like I said, Aaron Rodgers had a great year for
going sud and that's why you have to actually watch
the tape to actually see how these guys are doing.

Speaker 1 (24:41):
Sethick had a Wickersham had an interesting comment about Bonicks
on Kay Adams podcast earlier, and I thought this was
fascinating because sometimes we talk about the reason why quarterbacks
specifically are chosen by the coach or the organization that
they went to. This was interesting that he here.

Speaker 4 (25:00):
What I get into with bo Nicks is I have
a lot of interesting insidery detail about the scouting process
that led Sean Payton to want him, and it touches
on a lot of things from I don't want to
give away too much at the moment, but like it
touches on a lot of things from like analytics and
moneyball in the NFL to personality type.

Speaker 3 (25:19):
And I think that.

Speaker 4 (25:22):
Losing out on Patrick Mahomes was something that haunted Sean Payton.

Speaker 3 (25:26):
You know Sean very well. I mean that has haunted Sean.

Speaker 4 (25:28):
Payton's career, that he's had his eye on Mahomes and
that the Chiefs traded up right before he was due
to pick him and got him. And I think that
the scars from that led to him creating a system
to evaluate quarterbacks that led to Bo Nicks.

Speaker 1 (25:45):
So do that almost immediately reminded me of what he
said at the combine last year, Remember that twenty twenty four,
the NFL Combine, when he said, well, we're pretty good
at this evaluation of quarterbacks thing, and thank goodness, a
lot of other teams aren't.

Speaker 3 (25:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (25:59):
I I don't know that I would say, matter of fact,
I would not say that Seth when he said, after.

Speaker 3 (26:08):
Sean Payton missed.

Speaker 5 (26:09):
Out on Mahomes that he created this sort of quarterback
material that allowed him. I think Sean has had that forever.
It's one of the things that led him to that,
and desperation that led him to Drew Brees. Right, I mean,

(26:31):
so Drew Brees. When you think about it, getting Drew
Brees and I and Drew Brees was a good player
with the Chargers, not a great player. He became a
great player in New Orleans with Peyton and others, Right,
But getting Drew Brees I think did more to shape
how Sean Payton views the quarterback position by far than

(26:56):
missing out on Patrick Mahomes like you missed out on
Patrick Mahomes and then going to reshape. What I took
for the comment was he came up with this way
to grade quarterback he already No, he already had he
had that way. He had great success with Drew, and
so he's looking for similar qualities to what Drew had

(27:17):
and he thinks and I would say based on the
first year, he's right. He thinks he's found that guy
in bon Nick's.

Speaker 6 (27:24):
And is that simple. He had Drew Brees, a Hall
of Fame quarterback. He won a Super Bowl with Drew Brees.
So you know he's trying, like he we've had guys
when the Saints come, like little Jordan Humphrey like you've had.
He wants to Drew Brees and he got himself a
Drew Brees like quarterback.

Speaker 1 (27:41):
So I mean, what do you make of that Patrick
Mahomes thing, Because he's brought that up before too. He's
brought up the memory and the feeling of missing out
on a quarterback that he deemed as a generational guy
that was right in his left. Again, they took a
lot of more there, so it's not like they got
a bad draft.

Speaker 3 (27:54):
I'm not saying he wasn't going to take Mahomes. I'm
not saying that at all.

Speaker 5 (27:58):
But I don't think he went back and re evaluated
how he looks at quarterbacks after he failed to get
Patrick Mahomes because the Chiefs, you know, engineered to trade
and moved up and took Mahomes.

Speaker 3 (28:10):
I mean, his his view of.

Speaker 5 (28:13):
The quarterback position, I think almost one hundred percent as
now that's wrong, that's wrong.

Speaker 3 (28:20):
I think he in his in his years in the league.

Speaker 5 (28:23):
I mean he's worked, you know, he's worked with other guys,
but his view of what his quarterback needs to be
is Drew Brees and it's to me, it's it's that's
just how it is.

Speaker 6 (28:37):
Tough, tough, moves around the popular football, get rid of
the ball.

Speaker 3 (28:41):
You know, doesn't have any I mean basically his love.
I mean family, okay, but football is one. Football is
number one for him.

Speaker 6 (28:51):
And that's why you get a guy like that, because
it will be no distractions. It will be football first,
and it will be a guy who's really going in
and just trying to win and and all those qualities.

Speaker 3 (29:01):
I I said, those are Drew Drew Brees's qualities.

Speaker 1 (29:04):
Back to what you were saying earlier, Dave about the
secondary taking a step forward, I mean they were good
last year, right, I mean it wasn't good, but it
felt like as the season war on, we start to
see some cracks specifically there. So if the secondary is
good and the defensive line, I again, we're talking about
an on paper thing, I don't I don't see how
they take a significant step back. I guess that leaves

(29:25):
the question for the inside linebackers, doesn't it a little bit.

Speaker 5 (29:30):
I mean, I think you would probably look to improve
at the linebacker spot. But I mean, playing good defense
is a collective right. It's it's being able to communicate
and being able to get lined up right and being
able to adjust to either reduce splits or motions.

Speaker 3 (29:50):
There's just there's just so much. I mean for Broncos.

Speaker 5 (29:53):
Fans or if you have a chance to go to
any NFL camp and really if you're close in augh,
if you can hear when they have some team work,
there's a lot of communication going on. It's primarily with
the defense. So yes, you look for better linebacker play.
They got injured there. You hope Singleton's able to come back.

(30:16):
It looks like he's on track to come back. You
hope that Greenlaw is able to overcome that quad injury.
You know, it looks like they're going to have him
back and he's going to be a full go too.
But it's about how they mesh together and who becomes.
You can have more than one voice, you can have

(30:37):
a couple of voices, but who becomes those that voice
or those two voices as they communicate with what they
see and getting guys lined upright and getting guys up
front to understand like hey, the tight ends you know,
to the right strength call and all those things. You
never have a good defense if when the offense breaks
the hub them you come to the line of scrimmage,

(30:58):
it's quiet.

Speaker 6 (31:00):
You're not wrong, David. And that's actually one position. You know,
you're talking about what position improved. One position would be
worried about is linebacker because of you have two guys
coming off injuries. You have Drake Greenlaw coming off the quad,
Alex Singleton coming off to a cl You know, it's
just you don't feel comfortable with the health of that room.
And the linebacker room is one of the most important

(31:21):
rooms really on your team, because they're they're the mouthpiece
of the defense, like Dave said, they're the ones communicating.
They're the ones telling people left right line up and
it's the left call, it's the right call. Oh, it's
trips on the left. Oh, you know we're going to
smoke smoke smokes no cover three over here. Like, the
linebackers have such an important job, and so that's one position.

(31:42):
I wouldn't be surprised if you add a veteran linebacker
just in case for safety, you know what I mean,
It's just for the safety aspect because of how important
it is to the defense and like you losing, like
if the forty nine ers lose. Fred Warner. Their defense
would be m different, dramatically different. That's how big the

(32:03):
linebackers are. And so you got to put a really
you really got to focus on it.

Speaker 1 (32:07):
I'm curious for a defensive line, I guess you want
it all to be good, right, you want a great secondary,
you want great linebackers. What's what's more imperative to the
success of your job?

Speaker 6 (32:17):
Oh, I was a definite linebacker. But also if you're
talking about past rushing, it's dbs, you know what I mean.
But we always have we have to sing in Cleveland
Russian coverage. And then so if I when I say
Russian coverage, you're gonna say work together, you know what
I mean, because they do work together because you know,
dbs don't get sacks. I mean you dbs don't get interceptions.
If if the d line sight Russian d linemen don't

(32:39):
get sacks and the DB's aren't covering. So it's it's
it's a it's a hand in hand partnership. Now, in
the run game, linebackers just very important. And actually one
of your safeties is very important because they come into
the box and and and they have one of the
gaps in the box and So when you have in
a run game, you have a linebacker you gotta trust,
especially running the fourth three like we do in Cleveland,

(33:01):
the linebackers have to come downhill and take those double
teams off off of the d tackles. Those are your
best friends. At that point. You have a linebacker that's
coming downhill and makes it a double go to a
single block. Your life's a lot easier.

Speaker 5 (33:13):
Because he's what he's saying that the linebackers have to
get there in a hurry because the quicker they get there,
it eliminates the double to. The double team has to
come off because they have to account for the linebacker.
If if your linebacker is hesitant or too deep or
doesn't come downhill quick enough, that defensive tackle like Shelby

(33:34):
gets about six hundred and seventy five pounds on him
for an extra two and a half sec.

Speaker 6 (33:39):
And that's the whole thing. You're trying to hold your
ground against the double team. So that means you really
want them to get off as quick as possible. And
so for in a four to three defense, your run
defense is predicated on your linebackers coming downhill, trying to
make the play and freeing up your D Lineman