Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Spits bent all right.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Nick Ferguson in for Ryan Edwards and Dave Logan today
they've rested the voice getting ready for this football season,
and Ryan Edwards is taking what I believe we call
a diva day around here, where he's just entitled to
take random days off and whatever it is that he wants.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
That's what I'm That's what I'm being told here on
this sheet of paper.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
I was.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
I was just handled. I tried to I try to
set Nick up for the diva thing. We were doing
the meeting with the Burnown people earlier.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
I was like, you know what, Nick, Nick and his
rider gets a peanut eminem bowl with no green eminem's
in it.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Make sure that's there and some organic honey. Nobody was
falling for it.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
Well, see, I didn't missing any of those things. All
I asked for was Martinelli's.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
That was it.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
It's the k We coms through the hotline and bring
on our guy, Nick Cosmider of the Athletic.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Nick, how you doing this evening?
Speaker 3 (00:51):
I'm doing great, guys. Good to be with you, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Good to be with you too.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Were on the cusp on the eve of training camp,
as it were, your two of bo Nicks with Sean Payton,
and you know, Nick posed a question earlier about some
of these contract extensions, you know, Zach Allen or Nick
Benito always through Courtland Sutt in the mix. If you
can only pick two of three, which of those two
are you most interested in the Broncos doing?
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Well, that's a that's a really good question, you know,
for me, I think that it would be Zach Allen
and Courtland Sutton just based on kind of the totality
of what they bring to the field, you know, just
in terms of both snaps played, locker room leadership sort of,
they're kind of anchors on either side of the ball.
(01:37):
Now to say that to leave somebody out of that
group is obviously a tough thing to do in general,
and Nick Benito very well could be on the kind
of ascent to where he is going to become one
of the league's premier pass rushers. But you do get
into this situation where you kind of have to, you know,
you kind of have to make some of those decisions.
(01:59):
So it's going to be really seeing in these in
these coming days, weeks, you know, months. However, it ends
up you know, kind of falling out to see what
they prioritize, you know, and some of the reasoning behind
how they do stack these contracts, because certainly, I think
you look at all three of those guys worthy and
you can throw John Franklin Myers in that mix as well.
But as you're trying to continue to be flexible around
(02:21):
a young quarterback on a rookie contract and kind of
looking toward the future, obviously you've got to be kind
of balancing you know, uh, present and a future vision at.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
The same time.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
And that becomes the challenge that the proverbial good problems
to have.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Well coming into this season.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Obviously, you know, we go back to that Buffalo game
and knowing as though a lot of the changes that
the Broncos have made have been doing part to what
took place in that Buffalo game. Moving forward, is training
camp is only days away from these guys reporting how
important because we always talk about the offensive side of
the ball, how important is it that this defense fans
(03:00):
continues to get better even with the latest additions, and
be even much better this year in order for the
Broncos to have a lot of success and success meaning
another piots in the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Yeah, I think it's critical nick to to sort of
them being able to potentially reach whatever this feeling that
this that this roster has. It's going to be that
defense a having guys who sort of you know, reach
another level based on where they were or in some
cases kind of replicate a season that some might have
not thought that they could produce last year. You know,
(03:36):
that has to be a part of the formula. They
have to be deeper, right because, look, this is a
team and we've talked about it that has benefited from
you know, good, good injury outcomes right now.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
A lot of that is the.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Way that they've kind of revamped how they do player health.
But frankly, a lot of it, you know, tends to
be luck sometimes. Right it's a violent game and you
have to have some of that fortunate you know, things
go your way. They can't necessarily count on that to
the degree that they've had it the last two years.
Speaker 5 (04:05):
And last year especially, so is that depth on that
side of.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
The ball going to get better? It's why you know,
they didn't kind of rest on that sort of defensive.
Speaker 5 (04:14):
Performance that they had a year ago.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
They went out and they used their first round pick
on John A. Barron. They go and get tal No
Hufanga and Drake green Law to bolster some of those areas.
And by doing that, now you're pushing guys who were
starters into into kind of key reserve roles. So that
kind of strengthens the depth. But I absolutely believe that
they have to be good. They have to be a
top kind of top five unit in this league, I think,
(04:38):
in order to get where they ultimately want to go.
Because as much as this offense is going to improve this.
Speaker 5 (04:42):
Year, you're still talking about a quarterback in.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
This second year, You're still talking about some young playmakers
who are trying to develop. You know, you're talking about
a tight end that they've added who he's going to
have his first year in this system. And so I
just think that this defense is going to have to
continue to carry that even though again this is bo
Nix's team. He's going to continue to progress. But but
you're absolutely right, Nick, that unit's got to be nailed
(05:05):
for them, basically all year long.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
In the cosmido of the athletic One of the things
that I've said is that it would be entirely possible
for this team to be improved from last year and
be much better than they were last year and still
come away with a ten and seven record, just based
on the strength of the division around them, improving the
schedule that they have, which is kind of brutal down
the stretch.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
What do you what do you think about that statement?
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Yeah? I agree, and and look a lot of that
too is Okay, what kind of close game variants are
they are they going.
Speaker 5 (05:38):
To have this year? Right?
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Like they they you know that they kind of won
the game that they were supposed to win a year ago.
But some of those one score games, i e. You know,
Cincinnati the first, the first chief game.
Speaker 5 (05:52):
You know, can you come up come up.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
With a few more of those? Because you know, to
your point about the schedule, you're playing good football teams,
You're going to be in those kind of games. So
what does that sort of look you know, what does
that sort of look like? I definitely think they could
be better and still have the same record, hey, because
the division is going to be better, right The Chiefs
are who they are. You know, the Chargers tend to
(06:15):
get always like a little bit over HP to this
time of year.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
And yet I still do think they're.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Obviously going to be, you know, a really good football team.
Speaker 5 (06:23):
And the Raiders they're going to take some time with.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Peak care, but they will be a more competitive outfit
than they were a year ago.
Speaker 5 (06:29):
And so just the division you're not playing the.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
NFC South this year, you know, just a lot of
those things to where it's like your your margin for error,
especially if you have a little bit of stumble at
some point in the season, can really diminish quickly. So yeah,
you're you're gonna have to You're gonna have to be
efficient in those close games, and you're gonna definitely have
to take care of, you know, some of these games
(06:52):
like Week one Tennessee, you need to go on the
road and beat a Colts team in Week two and
have that kind of start that they haven't had the
last two years.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Think as you look at this wide receiver group, Obviously
we know that coltland Sun his elder statesman in the room,
Marvin Maham showed a lot of upside last year, especially
on those deep throws, and Ben is having his bromance
with de von Valley. And as we look at this group,
who is it that you want to see? As we
(07:21):
get started with training camp, started to take those foundation
of steps to make this offense much better in twenty
twenty five.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Yeah, it's a great question. I'm really fascinated by this
group for and there's a couple couple of reasons. How
much did they spend time this offseason kind of looking
at Marvin Mims's final third of the year in which, yes,
he got some chemistry of Bonix on some of these
deep routes. They ran some really good kind of deep
dig concepts that got him the ball in those sort
(07:51):
of electric ways. They obviously did stuff.
Speaker 5 (07:53):
With him around the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
That got him to the edge and as Sean Payton said,
put him in that, you know, kind of of being
a returner on offense. How much did they look at
that and say, okay that this has to be an
even bigger part of what we do. We have to
get even more creative with this. So really kind of
interested to see how much of that from the end
of the year they can extrapolate with him and make
him more of just a consistent presence. Troy Franklin is
(08:17):
one with me where you know, how how much better
is he gonna get tracking the ball deep? You know,
I've been reading some of the stuff about Quinton Johnson
having a good start to their to their camp with
the Chargers because they started earlier since they're.
Speaker 5 (08:29):
Going to Canton, uh and and a big thing with him.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
That he struggled with early, similar to Troy Franklin, was
you know, tracking the deep ball and.
Speaker 5 (08:37):
Sort of being confident, calm in that moment.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
You know, we saw Troy come up with the obviously
the touchdown against the Bills, but can he be more
consistent in that way? And then what does Pat Bryan
bring to the table. You know, a guy that they
like his toughness, but a third round pick who is
you know, behind a guy like Devon Veley who you know,
it's sort of the untalked about guy that that certainly
I think can take another leap, especially if he's a
little bit healthier than he was last year. So yeah,
(09:03):
it's it's a really interesting group. I think we know
a lot about this team, but that's one area where
you say, hey, young guys, you know some coaching challenges
slash opportunities to have with that group. So yeah, that's
one that I'm really eager to watch as we get rolling.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Here talking it Cosmini the athletic, he know, you could
have just told Ferguson.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
The answer was, but that it's so consistent already as
a rookie, right, like a thirty two year old rooie
last year. So you know you would just expected already,
Like that's kind of the vibe that he has.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Yeah, I was just you know, he's weird watching him
get his his rookie jersey and his ARP card at
the same time.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
I uh.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
But on that note, on that note, what what player
this year has got to have a great season in
order for this team to get where it's going in
And let's let's set aside the obvious answer in bo Nicks,
What what player besides the quarterback has got to have
that kind of season for this team to achieve the
heights it wants to achieve.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
I think there's a couple when that comes to mind.
Speaker 5 (10:01):
Is Riley Moss.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
I think he needs to take another.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
Step from where he was last year. Obviously.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
I think the way his general competitiveness in sort of
you know, short memory. I think there were a lot
of things that you liked about, you know, the toughness
that he brought to a position that had been in
flux quite frankly ever since passer Tan got drafted. They've
been looking for somebody consistent on the outside. But I
still think he can look back and say, hey, there's
(10:26):
areas where he can get better, obviously being healthy throughout
the whole season. He's been nicked up a little bit.
I think he needs to have a big season because
if he does, I mean, you're just running out of
places to attack this defense. Right if Riley Moss takes
another step, you have Jade Baron or you know, Jawan
McMillan kind of manning that that Nickel.
Speaker 5 (10:44):
Role, that dime roll.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
You know, hopefully you have a Drake Greenlaw and Alex
Singleton healthy on the inside. You know, you start to say,
how do we even really attack this unit? And that
would bring me to my other guy green Law. I
think he really needs to be a guy that is
obviously healthy. That's the biggest question mark because if he is,
I think he brings an element of you know, Mike
mcglinch kind of mentioned it today, like a feel right
(11:08):
like when he's done making plays, you feel Dre green Lie.
Do think that's something that they've missed at times, as
good as the defense has been, just kind of having
that player where you're just like, man, this guy is
going to be a headache for the next sixty minutes.
Like that I think is important. And then offensively, whether it's R. J.
Harvey or JK. Dobbins, like they just need somebody like
that to give them a consistency they just didn't have
(11:31):
last year when they're top back with more or less
playing on one leg. They just need a consistent answer
out of the running back position this year.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Nick depth is always a thing that teams struggle with
and they don't realize how important it is until god
start going down. And this is going to be a
tough season for the Denver Broncos, as it is for
everyone else in the league. But for me, I think
we don't hear a lot about those second and third
tier of players. And the guy that comes in mind
is DeAndre Tillman, guy who played in the USFL and
(12:01):
at one point I guess he paid to be a
part of the developmental league. But how do you see,
you know, his skills said fitting into what Van Joseph
wants to do defensively.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
Yeah, Tillman's story is great. I got to report on
it a little bit back in the spring because I
hadn't realized that, right. We knew that he had played
in the in the UFL or USFL, but when he started,
they had that thing called the Spring League, which.
Speaker 5 (12:26):
Is basically kind of like a.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Trial run experiment type league that was going to ultimately
lead into you know, the USFL. And you know, so, yeah,
paid like I think twenty five hundred bucks or whatever
it was to be able to kind of get the
exposure in that league, and then that leads into three
years in a spring league, which is basically an eternity
for a guy trying to get to the NFL. But
(12:50):
he's a guy, you know. I think one of the
more interesting comments of the spring was when Sean Payton
was talking about Nick Benito and he says, Hey, this
is a guy we really got to watch his snapcount.
Speaker 5 (12:58):
I think that's something that we have to be honest enough.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
And at first you're like, oh, well, this is a
guy who had seven of his thirteen and a half
sacks in the fourth quarter.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
But Benito himself the other day said, yeah, my.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Body I felt like was breaking down a little bit
at the end of the year. So that's kind of
a focus for them, is just having everybody a little
more fresh by the end of the year, and part
of that is playing a guy like Filman Moore. I
think he's ready for it. He didn't have to play
a spring season this year, which for him was new.
You know.
Speaker 5 (13:23):
Jonah ellis obviously dealing with.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
The shoulder injury that he's coming back from from the
Buffalo game. And then yeah, Hugh Robinson is a guy
that again topped during during the offseason program. You know,
caveats with with the the the contact and all that aside,
he looks like a guy that is you know, you
could see why they're high on him. Yeah, it's going
to be critical and you look at that and they
(13:46):
again that front seven has has really benefited from, you know,
really good injury outcomes, Like can they do that again?
And if not, yeah, who are going to be those
guys that give you a little bit because you can't
you can't afford to have a big falloff, you know,
from your first to second guys. And I think they're
finally at a place now.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
You know.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
I thinks a lot of the work George Peyton has
done and Sean coming in here is just like, hey,
we don't have this dramatic falloff even drafting a guy
like Savion Jones. I think now on the defensive line,
you know that that's that's not it's fall a far
of a falloff when you're when you're talking about potentially
if you have to be without JFM or Zach Allen
for some kind of period of time.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
So when Nick cosmidor or the athletic you know Nick,
it's a kind of an interesting position for this Broncos team.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
As some of the betting data was released over the
last couple of days.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
The Broncos are the largest favorite in Week one against
the Tennessee Titans and are the most bet team of
any division to win their division. Sort of an optimism
surrounding the never Broncos that hasn't existed in nearly a decade.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Yeah, And I think that's probably why we we got
a little bit more of a surly version of Sean
Payton during the offseason season program. I think he knows
that this is a team that you know, has a
real chance to be good. But but he is the
term last year. You know, you have those rock in
the shoe days where you know the coaching staff.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
He kind of gets on them to get on you know,
the team a.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Little bit more. So That's one of the things that
I'm that I'm curious about because he was the one
that the Super.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
Bowl, you know, that says, hey, you know, we're.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Going to be a problem, and so he kind of
sets this all in motion and now, you know, the
rest of the hype train is is kind of catching
up to that, and so now he's got to be
the one to kind of stand in front of it
and say all right, hey, we haven't we haven't done it,
we haven't done squat yet.
Speaker 5 (15:33):
And but you can you can understand why again, I
just looked.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Down that defensive roster and you know, I got asked
the other day, like, you know, how did that not
go well for them? And really, outside of injury, which
is always such a huge part of this sport, like
I just really like what they've done, what they have,
you know, the continuity part of that. And then if
Bonix is who they think he is, like they're they're
(15:56):
going to be able to to be to have more
just to have more answers, to have more rebuttals to
what teams are trying to do on both sides of
the ball. That I think all adds up to a
lot of optimism.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
What's that optimism?
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Nick?
Speaker 1 (16:12):
I mean, where are you really on this team?
Speaker 4 (16:14):
And for me, I don't like to get into grades
and trying to predict this season will outcome. But if
you had to say, okay, well, what makes this season
a successful season for the Broncos. Don't feel pressure to
give me a record. But what needs to happen in
order for you to say, okay, well it was a
(16:36):
successful season.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Yeah, I think you just need to see more, Like Mark,
I think it's a start in the rate of season.
I think I just think you need to see more
marquee victories, right, Like some of those games like last
year you look at obviously Tampa Bay. You know, Denver
was owing to Tampa Bay was two and zero. The
Buccaneers ultimately did become a playoff team like that.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
That was a game that you kind of went and you.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Said, hey, this was this was the heck of a victory.
Really got them rolling against a good team. You take
that away. They just really didn't have a lot of
those those wins, right. Obviously had the great chance in
Kansas City. You know they're in week nine or week ten,
you know, but getting one of those games against the
Chargers or you know, beating a team like Baltimore. I
(17:19):
just think that's what you kind of need to show, right, Like,
you need to show that you're not just some team
that is is you know, scrappy and trying to stay
in these games till the end and then giving yourself
a plinter's chance. You need to show that you can
stand toe to toe with a couple of those teams.
So that's what I'm eager to see would be number one.
And then you do need some sort of playoff outcome,
whether that's you know, being able to host the game
(17:40):
because you went and won the division for the first
time since twenty fifteen, or because you were a wild
card and you were able to win a game like
I think that would be you know, a big mark
of a step forward. Now are their outcomes where you
have a really good season, you do some good stuff,
and the playoff thing doesn't happen. I mean, look at Detroit.
I don't necessarily think that like Lions fans are completely
(18:02):
just you know set up or thinking that that team
is still not on a good trajectory. But I just
do think you need to see some progress one of
those things that's as much record as it is like
just seeing that this is a team that's a little
bit tougher, for a little bit more physical, and a
little more feared from other teams in the league.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Nick cosmid Or the Athletic look forward to catching up
with you out there tomorrow and getting that first practice in.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
Man.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
Let's do it.
Speaker 5 (18:28):
Thanks guys, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Absolutely. Take care of Nick cosmid Or the Athletics. You
can find him on Twitter at Nick Cosmidor.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
Come back.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
We're gonna get into this NFLPA stuff with Nick we
alta show me the money later.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
You listen to k wait Sports right here on Kawe
Spits bent all right.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Nick Ferguson in for Ryan Edwards and Dave Logan today
they've rested the voice getting ready for this football season,
and Ryan Edwards is taking what I believe we call
a diva day around here, where he's just entitled to
take random days off and whatever it is that he wants.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
That's what I'm That's what I'm being told here on
this sheet of paper.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
I was.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
I was just handled. I tried to I try to
set Nick up for the diva thing. We were doing
the meeting with the Burnown people earlier.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
I was like, you know what, Nick, Nick and his
rider gets a peanut eminem bowl with no green eminem's
in it.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Make sure that's there and some organic honey. Nobody was
falling for it.
Speaker 4 (00:36):
Well, see, I didn't missing any of those things. All
I asked for was Martinelli's.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
That was it.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
It's the k We coms through the hotline and bring
on our guy, Nick Cosmider of the Athletic.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Nick, how you doing this evening?
Speaker 3 (00:51):
I'm doing great, guys. Good to be with you, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Good to be with you too.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Were on the cusp on the eve of training camp,
as it were, your two of bo Nicks with Sean Payton,
and you know, Nick posed a question earlier about some
of these contract extensions, you know, Zach Allen or Nick
Benito always through Courtland Sutt in the mix. If you
can only pick two of three, which of those two
are you most interested in the Broncos doing?
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Well, that's a that's a really good question, you know,
for me, I think that it would be Zach Allen
and Courtland Sutton just based on kind of the totality
of what they bring to the field, you know, just
in terms of both snaps played, locker room leadership sort of,
they're kind of anchors on either side of the ball.
(01:37):
Now to say that to leave somebody out of that
group is obviously a tough thing to do in general,
and Nick Benito very well could be on the kind
of ascent to where he is going to become one
of the league's premier pass rushers. But you do get
into this situation where you kind of have to, you know,
you kind of have to make some of those decisions.
(01:59):
So it's going to be really seeing in these in
these coming days, weeks, you know, months. However, it ends
up you know, kind of falling out to see what
they prioritize, you know, and some of the reasoning behind
how they do stack these contracts, because certainly, I think
you look at all three of those guys worthy and
you can throw John Franklin Myers in that mix as well.
But as you're trying to continue to be flexible around
(02:21):
a young quarterback on a rookie contract and kind of
looking toward the future, obviously you've got to be kind
of balancing you know, uh, present and a future vision at.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
The same time.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
And that becomes the challenge that the proverbial good problems
to have.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Well coming into this season.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Obviously, you know, we go back to that Buffalo game
and knowing as though a lot of the changes that
the Broncos have made have been doing part to what
took place in that Buffalo game. Moving forward, is training
camp is only days away from these guys reporting how
important because we always talk about the offensive side of
the ball, how important is it that this defense fans
(03:00):
continues to get better even with the latest additions, and
be even much better this year in order for the
Broncos to have a lot of success and success meaning
another piots in the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Yeah, I think it's critical nick to to sort of
them being able to potentially reach whatever this feeling that
this that this roster has. It's going to be that
defense a having guys who sort of you know, reach
another level based on where they were or in some
cases kind of replicate a season that some might have
not thought that they could produce last year. You know,
(03:36):
that has to be a part of the formula. They
have to be deeper, right because, look, this is a
team and we've talked about it that has benefited from
you know, good, good injury outcomes right now.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
A lot of that is the.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Way that they've kind of revamped how they do player health.
But frankly, a lot of it, you know, tends to
be luck sometimes. Right it's a violent game and you
have to have some of that fortunate you know, things
go your way. They can't necessarily count on that to
the degree that they've had it the last two years.
Speaker 5 (04:05):
And last year especially, so is that depth on that
side of.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
The ball going to get better? It's why you know,
they didn't kind of rest on that sort of defensive.
Speaker 5 (04:14):
Performance that they had a year ago.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
They went out and they used their first round pick
on John A. Barron. They go and get tal No
Hufanga and Drake green Law to bolster some of those areas.
And by doing that, now you're pushing guys who were
starters into into kind of key reserve roles. So that
kind of strengthens the depth. But I absolutely believe that
they have to be good. They have to be a
top kind of top five unit in this league, I think,
(04:38):
in order to get where they ultimately want to go.
Because as much as this offense is going to improve this.
Speaker 5 (04:42):
Year, you're still talking about a quarterback in.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
This second year, You're still talking about some young playmakers
who are trying to develop. You know, you're talking about
a tight end that they've added who he's going to
have his first year in this system. And so I
just think that this defense is going to have to
continue to carry that even though again this is bo
Nix's team. He's going to continue to progress. But but
you're absolutely right, Nick, that unit's got to be nailed
(05:05):
for them, basically all year long.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
In the cosmido of the athletic One of the things
that I've said is that it would be entirely possible
for this team to be improved from last year and
be much better than they were last year and still
come away with a ten and seven record, just based
on the strength of the division around them, improving the
schedule that they have, which is kind of brutal down
the stretch.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
What do you what do you think about that statement?
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Yeah? I agree, and and look a lot of that
too is Okay, what kind of close game variants are
they are they going.
Speaker 5 (05:38):
To have this year? Right?
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Like they they you know that they kind of won
the game that they were supposed to win a year ago.
But some of those one score games, i e. You know,
Cincinnati the first, the first chief game.
Speaker 5 (05:52):
You know, can you come up come up.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
With a few more of those? Because you know, to
your point about the schedule, you're playing good football teams,
You're going to be in those kind of games. So
what does that sort of look you know, what does
that sort of look like? I definitely think they could
be better and still have the same record, hey, because
the division is going to be better, right The Chiefs
are who they are. You know, the Chargers tend to
(06:15):
get always like a little bit over HP to this
time of year.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
And yet I still do think they're.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
Obviously going to be, you know, a really good football team.
Speaker 5 (06:23):
And the Raiders they're going to take some time with.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Peak care, but they will be a more competitive outfit
than they were a year ago.
Speaker 5 (06:29):
And so just the division you're not playing the.
Speaker 3 (06:31):
NFC South this year, you know, just a lot of
those things to where it's like your your margin for error,
especially if you have a little bit of stumble at
some point in the season, can really diminish quickly. So yeah,
you're you're gonna have to You're gonna have to be
efficient in those close games, and you're gonna definitely have
to take care of, you know, some of these games
(06:52):
like Week one Tennessee, you need to go on the
road and beat a Colts team in Week two and
have that kind of start that they haven't had the
last two years.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Think as you look at this wide receiver group, Obviously
we know that coltland Sun his elder statesman in the room,
Marvin Maham showed a lot of upside last year, especially
on those deep throws, and Ben is having his bromance
with de von Valley. And as we look at this group,
who is it that you want to see? As we
(07:21):
get started with training camp, started to take those foundation
of steps to make this offense much better in twenty
twenty five.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Yeah, it's a great question. I'm really fascinated by this
group for and there's a couple couple of reasons. How
much did they spend time this offseason kind of looking
at Marvin Mims's final third of the year in which, yes,
he got some chemistry of Bonix on some of these
deep routes. They ran some really good kind of deep
dig concepts that got him the ball in those sort
(07:51):
of electric ways. They obviously did stuff.
Speaker 5 (07:53):
With him around the line of scrimmage.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
That got him to the edge and as Sean Payton said,
put him in that, you know, kind of of being
a returner on offense. How much did they look at
that and say, okay that this has to be an
even bigger part of what we do. We have to
get even more creative with this. So really kind of
interested to see how much of that from the end
of the year they can extrapolate with him and make
him more of just a consistent presence. Troy Franklin is
(08:17):
one with me where you know, how how much better
is he gonna get tracking the ball deep? You know,
I've been reading some of the stuff about Quinton Johnson
having a good start to their to their camp with
the Chargers because they started earlier since they're.
Speaker 5 (08:29):
Going to Canton, uh and and a big thing with him.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
That he struggled with early, similar to Troy Franklin, was
you know, tracking the deep ball and.
Speaker 5 (08:37):
Sort of being confident, calm in that moment.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
You know, we saw Troy come up with the obviously
the touchdown against the Bills, but can he be more
consistent in that way? And then what does Pat Bryan
bring to the table. You know, a guy that they
like his toughness, but a third round pick who is
you know, behind a guy like Devon Veley who you know,
it's sort of the untalked about guy that that certainly
I think can take another leap, especially if he's a
little bit healthier than he was last year. So yeah,
(09:03):
it's it's a really interesting group. I think we know
a lot about this team, but that's one area where
you say, hey, young guys, you know some coaching challenges
slash opportunities to have with that group. So yeah, that's
one that I'm really eager to watch as we get rolling.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Here talking it Cosmini the athletic, he know, you could
have just told Ferguson.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
The answer was, but that it's so consistent already as
a rookie, right, like a thirty two year old rooie
last year. So you know you would just expected already,
Like that's kind of the vibe that he has.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Yeah, I was just you know, he's weird watching him
get his his rookie jersey and his ARP card at
the same time.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
I uh.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
But on that note, on that note, what what player
this year has got to have a great season in
order for this team to get where it's going in
And let's let's set aside the obvious answer in bo Nicks,
What what player besides the quarterback has got to have
that kind of season for this team to achieve the
heights it wants to achieve.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
I think there's a couple when that comes to mind.
Speaker 5 (10:01):
Is Riley Moss.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
I think he needs to take another.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
Step from where he was last year. Obviously.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
I think the way his general competitiveness in sort of
you know, short memory. I think there were a lot
of things that you liked about, you know, the toughness
that he brought to a position that had been in
flux quite frankly ever since passer Tan got drafted. They've
been looking for somebody consistent on the outside. But I
still think he can look back and say, hey, there's
(10:26):
areas where he can get better, obviously being healthy throughout
the whole season. He's been nicked up a little bit.
I think he needs to have a big season because
if he does, I mean, you're just running out of
places to attack this defense. Right if Riley Moss takes
another step, you have Jade Baron or you know, Jawan
McMillan kind of manning that that Nickel.
Speaker 5 (10:44):
Role, that dime roll.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
You know, hopefully you have a Drake Greenlaw and Alex
Singleton healthy on the inside. You know, you start to say,
how do we even really attack this unit? And that
would bring me to my other guy green Law. I
think he really needs to be a guy that is
obviously healthy. That's the biggest question mark because if he is,
I think he brings an element of you know, Mike
mcglinch kind of mentioned it today, like a feel right
(11:08):
like when he's done making plays, you feel Dre green Lie.
Do think that's something that they've missed at times, as
good as the defense has been, just kind of having
that player where you're just like, man, this guy is
going to be a headache for the next sixty minutes.
Like that I think is important. And then offensively, whether it's R. J.
Harvey or JK. Dobbins, like they just need somebody like
that to give them a consistency they just didn't have
(11:31):
last year when they're top back with more or less
playing on one leg. They just need a consistent answer
out of the running back position this year.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Nick depth is always a thing that teams struggle with
and they don't realize how important it is until god
start going down. And this is going to be a
tough season for the Denver Broncos, as it is for
everyone else in the league. But for me, I think
we don't hear a lot about those second and third
tier of players. And the guy that comes in mind
is DeAndre Tillman, guy who played in the USFL and
(12:01):
at one point I guess he paid to be a
part of the developmental league. But how do you see,
you know, his skills said fitting into what Van Joseph
wants to do defensively.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
Yeah, Tillman's story is great. I got to report on
it a little bit back in the spring because I
hadn't realized that, right. We knew that he had played
in the in the UFL or USFL, but when he started,
they had that thing called the Spring League, which.
Speaker 5 (12:26):
Is basically kind of like a.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Trial run experiment type league that was going to ultimately
lead into you know, the USFL. And you know, so, yeah,
paid like I think twenty five hundred bucks or whatever
it was to be able to kind of get the
exposure in that league, and then that leads into three
years in a spring league, which is basically an eternity
for a guy trying to get to the NFL. But
(12:50):
he's a guy, you know. I think one of the
more interesting comments of the spring was when Sean Payton
was talking about Nick Benito and he says, Hey, this
is a guy we really got to watch his snapcount.
Speaker 5 (12:58):
I think that's something that we have to be honest enough.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
And at first you're like, oh, well, this is a
guy who had seven of his thirteen and a half
sacks in the fourth quarter.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
But Benito himself the other day said, yeah, my.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Body I felt like was breaking down a little bit
at the end of the year. So that's kind of
a focus for them, is just having everybody a little
more fresh by the end of the year, and part
of that is playing a guy like Filman Moore. I
think he's ready for it. He didn't have to play
a spring season this year, which for him was new.
You know.
Speaker 5 (13:23):
Jonah ellis obviously dealing with.
Speaker 3 (13:25):
The shoulder injury that he's coming back from from the
Buffalo game. And then yeah, Hugh Robinson is a guy
that again topped during during the offseason program. You know,
caveats with with the the the contact and all that aside,
he looks like a guy that is you know, you
could see why they're high on him. Yeah, it's going
to be critical and you look at that and they
(13:46):
again that front seven has has really benefited from, you know,
really good injury outcomes, Like can they do that again?
And if not, yeah, who are going to be those
guys that give you a little bit because you can't
you can't afford to have a big falloff, you know,
from your first to second guys. And I think they're
finally at a place now.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
You know.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
I thinks a lot of the work George Peyton has
done and Sean coming in here is just like, hey,
we don't have this dramatic falloff even drafting a guy
like Savion Jones. I think now on the defensive line,
you know that that's that's not it's fall a far
of a falloff when you're when you're talking about potentially
if you have to be without JFM or Zach Allen
for some kind of period of time.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
So when Nick cosmidor or the athletic you know Nick,
it's a kind of an interesting position for this Broncos team.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
As some of the betting data was released over the
last couple of days.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
The Broncos are the largest favorite in Week one against
the Tennessee Titans and are the most bet team of
any division to win their division. Sort of an optimism
surrounding the never Broncos that hasn't existed in nearly a decade.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Yeah, And I think that's probably why we we got
a little bit more of a surly version of Sean
Payton during the offseason season program. I think he knows
that this is a team that you know, has a
real chance to be good. But but he is the
term last year. You know, you have those rock in
the shoe days where you know the coaching staff.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
He kind of gets on them to get on you know,
the team a.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
Little bit more. So That's one of the things that
I'm that I'm curious about because he was the one
that the Super.
Speaker 5 (15:17):
Bowl, you know, that says, hey, you know, we're.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Going to be a problem, and so he kind of
sets this all in motion and now, you know, the
rest of the hype train is is kind of catching
up to that, and so now he's got to be
the one to kind of stand in front of it
and say all right, hey, we haven't we haven't done it,
we haven't done squat yet.
Speaker 5 (15:33):
And but you can you can understand why again, I
just looked.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Down that defensive roster and you know, I got asked
the other day, like, you know, how did that not
go well for them? And really, outside of injury, which
is always such a huge part of this sport, like
I just really like what they've done, what they have,
you know, the continuity part of that. And then if
Bonix is who they think he is, like they're they're
(15:56):
going to be able to to be to have more
just to have more answers, to have more rebuttals to
what teams are trying to do on both sides of
the ball. That I think all adds up to a
lot of optimism.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
What's that optimism?
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Nick?
Speaker 1 (16:12):
I mean, where are you really on this team?
Speaker 4 (16:14):
And for me, I don't like to get into grades
and trying to predict this season will outcome. But if
you had to say, okay, well, what makes this season
a successful season for the Broncos. Don't feel pressure to
give me a record. But what needs to happen in
order for you to say, okay, well it was a
(16:36):
successful season.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
Yeah, I think you just need to see more, Like Mark,
I think it's a start in the rate of season.
I think I just think you need to see more
marquee victories, right, Like some of those games like last
year you look at obviously Tampa Bay. You know, Denver
was owing to Tampa Bay was two and zero. The
Buccaneers ultimately did become a playoff team like that.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
That was a game that you kind of went and you.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
Said, hey, this was this was the heck of a victory.
Really got them rolling against a good team. You take
that away. They just really didn't have a lot of
those those wins, right. Obviously had the great chance in
Kansas City. You know they're in week nine or week ten,
you know, but getting one of those games against the
Chargers or you know, beating a team like Baltimore. I
(17:19):
just think that's what you kind of need to show, right, Like,
you need to show that you're not just some team
that is is you know, scrappy and trying to stay
in these games till the end and then giving yourself
a plinter's chance. You need to show that you can
stand toe to toe with a couple of those teams.
So that's what I'm eager to see would be number one.
And then you do need some sort of playoff outcome,
whether that's you know, being able to host the game
(17:40):
because you went and won the division for the first
time since twenty fifteen, or because you were a wild
card and you were able to win a game like
I think that would be you know, a big mark
of a step forward. Now are their outcomes where you
have a really good season, you do some good stuff,
and the playoff thing doesn't happen. I mean, look at Detroit.
I don't necessarily think that like Lions fans are completely
(18:02):
just you know set up or thinking that that team
is still not on a good trajectory. But I just
do think you need to see some progress one of
those things that's as much record as it is like
just seeing that this is a team that's a little
bit tougher, for a little bit more physical, and a
little more feared from other teams in the league.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
Nick cosmid Or the Athletic look forward to catching up
with you out there tomorrow and getting that first practice in.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
Man.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
Let's do it.
Speaker 5 (18:28):
Thanks guys, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Absolutely. Take care of Nick cosmid Or the Athletics. You
can find him on Twitter at Nick Cosmidor.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
Come back.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
We're gonna get into this NFLPA stuff with Nick we
alta show me the money later.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
You listen to k wait Sports right here on Kawe
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