October 16, 2022 • 17 mins
On this episode of "The Snap," Sydney Jones is joined by Chargers team reporter Hayley Elwood to discuss her expectations for Justin Herbert vs. Denver’s defense, what the mood has been like in the Chargers’ locker room this week and how Chargers running back Austin Ekeler will look to build on his previous performance. Elwood also talks about the Chargers’ defense and this being a must-win game for both teams. Want more of "The Snap"? Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn, Stitcher or wherever you find your podcasts. Make sure to leave a rating and review.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, this is Bradley Chub. Are you listening to this now? Hey?
Scored a sudden. Hey, this is Tim Patrick and you
listening to The Snap with Sydney Dones on Broncos Podcast
Network Year. What's the Broncos Country? Welcome back inside the
uc Hell Training Center for this week's edition of The
Snap team reporter and host Sydney Jones here, and it's
week six of the regular season. The Denver Broncos are
(00:22):
back on prime time as I. You're said to face
the Chargers in Los Angeles on Monday and Night football.
So joining me on today's episode of The Snap to
take a look at this matchup is a Chargers team
reporter Hailey Ellwood. Haley is so wonderful to see you again.
Thanks so much for joining me today. Absolutely thanks for
having me. It wouldn't be Broncos Chargers without this, right,
(00:43):
I know it is. I love it, Hailey. Week six already.
I can't even believe I'm saying that. How's the season
been going for you so far? It's flying by over here,
flying by. That's the craziest thing. We're always in training
camp going gosh. These days just drag and you're in
the zon days of camp and granted we're not the
ones actually like doing like physical work out there, but true,
(01:06):
it goes on and on and then all of a sudden,
Week one hits and you blink and you're here in
week six, and it's just like it's so hard to
explain for those people who don't work in the NFL
what this is like. In a weird way. Sometimes it
feels like it goes slow and fast simultaneously. Every year.
It doesn't matter, you're always at this point. You're like, man,
it's all already week six, We're already a quarter of
(01:29):
the way done. Whatever that math is with this the
week out. But um, but you know it's good. We're
grinding and here we are. Yep, exactly. Well, Hayley, I
know the Chargers they're heading into this matchup on a
two game win streak, you know, both wins on the road.
What's the mood over there in the building, what's the
vibe in the locker room? Yeah? You know, I think
(01:50):
after that Jacksonville Jaguars game when the team was one
and two, I said this on another podcast that I
was on, that this was uncharted territory for the Brandon
Staley Air era of coaching the Chargers. That team had
never been under five hundred before, and so seeing how
they were going to respond was going to be really,
really huge. And I think the one word that I
would use as resilience. They've shown a lot of resilience
(02:12):
over these last two games, and you can attribute that
to a lot of different things. Resilience in a way
of overcoming some of the really severe injuries that they
have accrued over the course of the season. I mean
Ussa losing rashawns Later at left tackle both in that
same game it happened. It felt like a double whammy
at that point, and how are you going to overcome this?
(02:33):
And you've seen production, you know, defensively from Chris Romp,
Kyle Vannoy at times even maybe Derwin James, and then
offensively with Jamari Sally you're filling in for Rashon's later.
They've also gotten some things going in their advantage and
one of those is being able to start running the
ball efficiently, and that is just something that I think
they had to work through over the beginning of the season.
This is a team that they're starting offense and defense,
(02:55):
didn't play in the preseason and so when you look
at that and you think, here we are in week six,
sometimes you feel like maybe it should have clicked already.
But I think at some point it just might. Certain
things might take time, and Brandon Staley has said that
the more that these groups played together, the better that
they're going to be. And I think you are seeing
some positive production specifically from that run game that offense forward,
(03:20):
but I think overall, I would just say that it's
a resilient group right now that's been kind of battle tested.
And I forget who it was. I think it might
have been Austin Ekeler, who a few weeks ago said, hey,
maybe it was good that some of this adversity that
we faced happened so early, only that you're not just
kind of rolling and cruising and then oceanhoe or oh shoot,
you loose later, or you know, we always kind of
(03:42):
now forget that Herbert's even still dealing with the fractured
group cartilage as well, even though it doesn't look like
he is. I know, it's crazy he bounced back so
fast from that. I know, I know it's it's bananas,
But you know, maybe it is good to a point
that it hit them early where they could kind of
correct it early on and while they are still sort
of trying to figure out the identity of who they
(04:02):
are versus haven't happened later in the season for sure.
I think kind of the same thing applies for this
Broncos team too. I think back to last season, we
were three and o to start the season, and obviously
we know how that ended up last year. But this year,
you know, our our fans are so upset because you know,
we're two and three right now and this offense doesn't
look that the way that they want. But I think
(04:22):
it's good that they're having this adversity so early on
so that maybe in the later half of this seven
season this offense really clicks and gets going better to
be better later on. Yeah. Yeah. And you also, I
think can look to some of the guys and both
of these teams locker rooms, and obviously on the Broncos,
I can't speak for you, but just Russell Wilson for
so many years, in the leadership quality that he brings,
(04:45):
it just is hard for me, and I've said this before,
it's hard to me to count this Broncos team out.
As you know, as we trend in for six. Just
can't see that happening. No, definitely, Well, Hayley, you know,
I know Justin Herbert and company. They've been putting up
lot of points. You know this, That offense ranks second
in the league, I think in passing yards per game.
Kind Of, what are your expectations for him Monday night
(05:07):
going up against this defense that's playing at a really
high level right now. This Broncos defense is incredible. And
I'm gonna give you guys props for a second, because
when when I was doing my research for the game,
the first thing that stood out to me was the
fact that the Denver that the Broncos have the number
one ranked red zone defense, and I believe the Chargers
are in the twenties and red zone offense. So I
feel like something's got to give their specifically from the
(05:30):
Chargers offensive perspective, if they want to have success against
Denverse defense. When it comes to the offense in general,
I think you might see kind of what you saw
last week against Cleveland, and that's maybe just really taking
advantage of the short passing game. It's something that Justin
Herbert did really really well and kind of had to
knowing that you had Myles Garrett and Jadavian Clowney on
the edges at one so I think. And the other
(05:52):
thing too is being able to run the ball effectively,
which is something that, like I said, they really kind
of have started to get in their groove and find
their groove over these last two games. Joe Lombardi today
talked about it and he said, look, it's encouraging, but
we can't always you know, every week is a new
week in the NFL, and we can't guarantee anything for
the future. But the more that you sort of stack
(06:14):
some of these performances on top of one another, you
hope that gets going. So I think the a combo
of maybe some of the short passing game coupled with
hopefully getting that run game going, and then Chargers fans
always want the deep shots. They always want justin too, right.
We'll see if that's the case. Um, we don't know
the status of Keenan Allen as of this point as
(06:34):
you and I tape this, but you know, Mike Williams
has certainly just been such a consistent player for this
Chargers offense, and Brandon Staley has said when he touches
the ball, it's really, really good for us. So you
hope to see as a Chargers fan for him to
get involved as well. Heyley mentioned the run game a
couple of times. Now I know Chargers running back Austin Akler.
You know he's coming off a career high hundred and
(06:55):
seventy three yard game versus the Browns. Do you mentioned
this run game really clicking? Would you think was it
last what was it last week that really clicked for them?
I think it comes down to sort of what Austin said,
which was just them sort of trying to find their
rhythm and again they also it goes back to some
of the attrition that they faced along the offensive line
(07:15):
as well. Lombardi has said it's not just one guy,
it's a combination group of everyone on the offensive line,
the quarterback, the running back to be able to get
that going effectively. And so when you look at it,
Austin Ekeler goes, look, we're practicing great, things are going
well in practice, but for some reason in the game
it just wasn't really working out. But now you're seeing
(07:35):
a click, you're seeing it come together. He specifically talked
about maybe moving some of their run schemes to complement
some of the new additions that they have on that
offensive line. So instead of running outside the tackles, you
run inside through the A gap, through the B B gap,
try to sort of find those mismatches and those things
that really really help you become a more effective run
(07:56):
game and rushing offense. And as Lombardi said, Eckler though
he was in the zone on Sunday, and when that
guy gets going, he's a huge fantasy football nut vias
every week, and people were really down on him, and
I know he was kind of telling people, hey, keep
the faith, we got this. He got it going last
week against Cleveland, and now that he's sort of found
that groove again, it's just being able to sort of
(08:17):
keep it going. But I think it comes down to
just everyone sort of executing, and that's a word we
hear all the time in the NFL, and and you know,
making sure that people are executing properly. But I think
it finally just started to work. And again I'll go
back to just sort of the lack of preseason reps.
They didn't really have them, and this offensive line didn't
really play together either, So working with some of those
(08:39):
new pieces, get everyone everyone on the same page. I
think he's voted really well for that group. Hey, I
know you mentioned Keenan Alier or Keenan Allen a little
bit earlier. Not sure if his dad is for the game. Yeah,
I know. He's been out for the past four games
for the hamstring injury, but has been limited at practice,
So positive sign for you guys. What do you think
it would really mean if he does return on Monday night,
(09:00):
alongside you know, Mike Williams, who's just been having such
success this season. What do you think it will mean
for this Broncos secondary, who is a little bit banged
up now that Ronald Darby's on injured reserve. I think
it just means everything in terms of this Chargers offense
being able to add that number one receiver dynamic, which
again Mike Williams has done a fantastic job filling in.
(09:22):
But when it comes to Keenan, he's an established veteran
in this league. He just sort of, you know, it
sounds dumb to say, but like gets it at this
point in his career, and it's so easy for him
and Storebol for him to get out there and find
those mismatches on the field. I'm sure he'd love to
be back for this game, just knowing the divisional aspect
of it in that regard, But I just think he
(09:44):
adds that, um, that extra dimension and that comfort that
he has with Justin Herbert and the fact that those
two they've only been together for you know, to going
on three years now, but that report is so natural.
And for those of us who are around Keenan during
the Philip Rivers era, and I started with the Chargers
Keenan's second season in the league, so I saw a
(10:05):
lot of it, and you saw that same sort of
just natural vibe that the two of them had. And
now he harried that over to finding that rapport with
Justin Herbert. So I just think he adds that extra dimension,
that extra little for this offense. And and it's also
you know, when you flip it to the Broncos defense
having to account for him and Mike, you know, having
(10:27):
to account for both of those, yeah, which is just
super huge, um And you know, it's kind of like
a pick your poison at that point for sure, Haley.
I know Chargers head coach Brandon's Daley praised this Broncos
receiving corps this week during one of his press conferences
saying just how tough they are to cover, and just
overall the offense is dangerous. I know maybe this record
(10:49):
doesn't show that, but I know him and the rest
of the Chargers scene, they're not overlooking what Russell Wilson
and this offense can do. But you know, looking at
this Charger secondary, you guys are legit. I mean, Derwin James,
Bryce Callahan, someone we know so well. It's gonna be
gonna be tough matchups all around, tough matchups all around.
(11:09):
And I think that's exactly what you know, He's not
obviously playing defense with someone that Austin Ekeler said this week.
He's like, we're not looking at the Broncos for the record,
We're looking at them as a team. You know, there
are a lot of people who think Denver could be
five and oh at this point, it's just been a
play here. They are little things that just haven't gone
necessarily the team's way. But you know, it's a it's
(11:30):
a good matchup in that regard. There's some you know,
question marks and and just sort of some interesting things
that happened with this Charger secondary last week. For instance,
a Looie Gilman getting the start at safety over and
the seer Adderie. Is that something we see continue into
this week. But the impact of Derwin has just been
so big, and when he is healthy, you know, which
is something that he struggled with earlier in his career,
(11:52):
he's really been able to kind of come into his
own over these last couple of years. He's just such
a commanding presence on that field and he does f rething.
I mean, he is literally everywhere. Sometimes he'll play you know,
in a season, he can pick up five different positions
or so just being moved around all over the field.
So I think, you know, when you when you look
at those matchups, it's tough overall, but it should be
(12:15):
a good game. And I think it is one of
those games though that you just throw the records out
the window and you just play. You know, I said this.
I had a times on my podcast earlier today. When
the a f C. West plays in primetime, it's always weird,
something something crazy happens, Something crazy happens. We saw Monday
Night with the Chiefs and the Raiders. Always really strange.
(12:37):
So I think it's just gonna be one of those
things that this team is certainly gonna have to be
on their p's and ques because they are not taking
Denver lightly at all. Yeah, lately, a couple more here
for you. You know, Clil Mac and just this Chargers defense.
They failed to record a sack versus Brown's last Sunday.
But you know, how do you think they'll rebound and
how do you think the past wretch will fair going
up against you know, a Broncos offensive line a little
(13:01):
bit beat up right now, especially being without left tackle
Garrett Bowls who was placed on i R a little
bit earlier this week. Yeah, when you look at that
game last week against Cleveland, Brandon Staley had said it
was he called it a tough, rugged game for those
outside linebackers edge players on this Chargers team. That they
had their hands full obviously with the Cleveland run game,
(13:21):
and so being able to get pressure was just really
difficult for them because they were just kind of having
to go at it on the edge all game long.
So when you look at that matchup though, against an
offensive line that you mentioned is dealing with some attrition
right now, I think someone like Cleil Mack is probably
licking his chops at that just being able to hopefully
that that going. Losing Joey Bosa against the Jaguars was huge,
(13:45):
and there are reports that he could be back at
some point this season, which would be fantastic and phenomenal,
but they are needing to sort of get extra edge
help from that guy on the other side, opposite of Max.
So the thing is, as I've said before, you can
double team Kalil Mac if you need to in order
to be able to sort of mitigate his presence. I mean,
all offseason long, you're talking about the edge rushers on
(14:07):
these teams in the a f C West, and you're
talking about Bosa and Mac and so when you have
fifty percent of that, it's easier to account But at
the same time, when you're dealing with some attrition and
when you're having maybe some new bodies in there that
aren't is familiar, I think that's maybe where the veteran
presence of Khalil Mack can come into play and sort of,
you know, on our perspective, hopefully have a day against
(14:30):
As I say this very nicely, but um yeah. But
I think I think if you you look at that
from that perspective, and you know, it'll be one of
those matchups that will just kind of wait and see
what happens. But um, but it should be good. Yeah, Well, Hayley,
last one here for you. You know, obviously the Chargers
are three and two, Franco's are two and three. I
know both sides are saying this is a must win
(14:52):
game for each team. I'm gonna put you on the
spot here. What's your game prediction? What do you think
is going to happen Monday night? Like I'm telling you said,
weird stuff happens. I know, it's always it's always fun
when the Chargers was fun. And here's what I have
said about the Broncos in general. This is a team
that the Chargers have pretty much split with over the
last few years. So true that you know, I'll say
(15:16):
this and you don't have to make any sort of comments,
but maybe had some subpart quarterback play when you compare
maybe a Drew Lock to a Russell Wilson, the Super
Bowl winning quarterback that we know him to be, might
not be currently at that level, but again, I think
he's going to figure it out. I just have this
feeling that they will. So maybe they will against the
Chargers this Monday. Yeah, I think when you look at
(15:38):
this matchup. I just don't necessarily again think that it's
one that you can look at the records and go, hey,
this is the better team. Of course, I think the
Chargers there, I think health kind of seems to be
getting on their side at this point in the season.
Losing players excluded, but maybe some of these guys, you know,
maybe someone like Keenan is back, which adds that extra
element to the offense. I just think though that one
(15:59):
of the biggest keys for this game from the Chargers
perspective is going to be stopping the run and needing
to stop that run. And I know someone like Melvin
Gordon is going to want to have that game against
the Chargers, as he always tends to have the last
couple of years. So that is something though that when
you look at this Chargers defense, they haven't done particularly well,
and Brandon Staley has sometimes called that group a work
(16:20):
in progress. They're still kind of working through things. So
I think that will be a huge focal point of
this game. Can they stop the run, Can they stop
Melvin Gordon? Can they stop this Broncos offense on the ground.
In terms of maybe that being something that might take
some pressure off of Russell Wilson on the flip side.
So I think when you look at it, that's sort
of a key that I'm gonna be watching on Monday night.
But overall it should be a lot of fun. It's
(16:43):
always great. I love it when these two teams made
in prime time too, because it's an extra little added
element off and should be just really really exciting for sure.
And this will be the first prime time game for
the Chargers at so far, right, yep, at so far
so they played week two and can the City and
this is the first one, um yeah, yeah, first one
(17:04):
at home this season yep. So that'll be a lot
of fun too. That this is a game where I
get there just extremely early, eally be stuck in traffic,
oh my gosh. Yeah, especially on a Monday night. Yeah,
it's like this is how we're going to get there
at like noon that you know, five fifteen or whatever.
It is kick off for sure. The more exciting, you know,
the more hype build up, the more exciting it is,
(17:26):
I get, the better. Yeah. Well, Haley, I appreciate your
insight and your time so much. Thank you for joining
me today. Thanks, Tony, so happy to be here. Well,
that'll do it for this week's episode of The Snap,
Broncos Country, Thanks so much for tuning in, and thank
you again to Hayley Ellwood for being this week's guest.
Make sure to follow the Broncos Podcast Network on Twitter
to stay up to date on The Snap's latest episodes.
(17:48):
We'll see you all right back here next week for
another edition. Have a great weekend.
Hey, this is Bradley Chub. Are you listening to this now? Hey?
Scored a sudden. Hey, this is Tim Patrick and you
listening to The Snap with Sydney Dones on Broncos Podcast
Network Year. What's the Broncos Country? Welcome back inside the
uc Hell Training Center for this week's edition of The
Snap team reporter and host Sydney Jones here, and it's
week six of the regular season. The Denver Broncos are
(00:22):
back on prime time as I. You're said to face
the Chargers in Los Angeles on Monday and Night football.
So joining me on today's episode of The Snap to
take a look at this matchup is a Chargers team
reporter Hailey Ellwood. Haley is so wonderful to see you again.
Thanks so much for joining me today. Absolutely thanks for
having me. It wouldn't be Broncos Chargers without this, right,
(00:43):
I know it is. I love it, Hailey. Week six already.
I can't even believe I'm saying that. How's the season
been going for you so far? It's flying by over here,
flying by. That's the craziest thing. We're always in training
camp going gosh. These days just drag and you're in
the zon days of camp and granted we're not the
ones actually like doing like physical work out there, but true,
(01:06):
it goes on and on and then all of a sudden,
Week one hits and you blink and you're here in
week six, and it's just like it's so hard to
explain for those people who don't work in the NFL
what this is like. In a weird way. Sometimes it
feels like it goes slow and fast simultaneously. Every year.
It doesn't matter, you're always at this point. You're like, man,
it's all already week six, We're already a quarter of
(01:29):
the way done. Whatever that math is with this the
week out. But um, but you know it's good. We're
grinding and here we are. Yep, exactly. Well, Hayley, I
know the Chargers they're heading into this matchup on a
two game win streak, you know, both wins on the road.
What's the mood over there in the building, what's the
vibe in the locker room? Yeah? You know, I think
(01:50):
after that Jacksonville Jaguars game when the team was one
and two, I said this on another podcast that I
was on, that this was uncharted territory for the Brandon
Staley Air era of coaching the Chargers. That team had
never been under five hundred before, and so seeing how
they were going to respond was going to be really,
really huge. And I think the one word that I
would use as resilience. They've shown a lot of resilience
(02:12):
over these last two games, and you can attribute that
to a lot of different things. Resilience in a way
of overcoming some of the really severe injuries that they
have accrued over the course of the season. I mean
Ussa losing rashawns Later at left tackle both in that
same game it happened. It felt like a double whammy
at that point, and how are you going to overcome this?
(02:33):
And you've seen production, you know, defensively from Chris Romp,
Kyle Vannoy at times even maybe Derwin James, and then
offensively with Jamari Sally you're filling in for Rashon's later.
They've also gotten some things going in their advantage and
one of those is being able to start running the
ball efficiently, and that is just something that I think
they had to work through over the beginning of the season.
This is a team that they're starting offense and defense,
(02:55):
didn't play in the preseason and so when you look
at that and you think, here we are in week six,
sometimes you feel like maybe it should have clicked already.
But I think at some point it just might. Certain
things might take time, and Brandon Staley has said that
the more that these groups played together, the better that
they're going to be. And I think you are seeing
some positive production specifically from that run game that offense forward,
(03:20):
but I think overall, I would just say that it's
a resilient group right now that's been kind of battle tested.
And I forget who it was. I think it might
have been Austin Ekeler, who a few weeks ago said, hey,
maybe it was good that some of this adversity that
we faced happened so early, only that you're not just
kind of rolling and cruising and then oceanhoe or oh shoot,
you loose later, or you know, we always kind of
(03:42):
now forget that Herbert's even still dealing with the fractured
group cartilage as well, even though it doesn't look like
he is. I know, it's crazy he bounced back so
fast from that. I know, I know it's it's bananas,
But you know, maybe it is good to a point
that it hit them early where they could kind of
correct it early on and while they are still sort
of trying to figure out the identity of who they
(04:02):
are versus haven't happened later in the season for sure.
I think kind of the same thing applies for this
Broncos team too. I think back to last season, we
were three and o to start the season, and obviously
we know how that ended up last year. But this year,
you know, our our fans are so upset because you know,
we're two and three right now and this offense doesn't
look that the way that they want. But I think
(04:22):
it's good that they're having this adversity so early on
so that maybe in the later half of this seven
season this offense really clicks and gets going better to
be better later on. Yeah. Yeah. And you also, I
think can look to some of the guys and both
of these teams locker rooms, and obviously on the Broncos,
I can't speak for you, but just Russell Wilson for
so many years, in the leadership quality that he brings,
(04:45):
it just is hard for me, and I've said this before,
it's hard to me to count this Broncos team out.
As you know, as we trend in for six. Just
can't see that happening. No, definitely, Well, Hayley, you know,
I know Justin Herbert and company. They've been putting up
lot of points. You know this, That offense ranks second
in the league, I think in passing yards per game.
Kind Of, what are your expectations for him Monday night
(05:07):
going up against this defense that's playing at a really
high level right now. This Broncos defense is incredible. And
I'm gonna give you guys props for a second, because
when when I was doing my research for the game,
the first thing that stood out to me was the
fact that the Denver that the Broncos have the number
one ranked red zone defense, and I believe the Chargers
are in the twenties and red zone offense. So I
feel like something's got to give their specifically from the
(05:30):
Chargers offensive perspective, if they want to have success against
Denverse defense. When it comes to the offense in general,
I think you might see kind of what you saw
last week against Cleveland, and that's maybe just really taking
advantage of the short passing game. It's something that Justin
Herbert did really really well and kind of had to
knowing that you had Myles Garrett and Jadavian Clowney on
the edges at one so I think. And the other
(05:52):
thing too is being able to run the ball effectively,
which is something that, like I said, they really kind
of have started to get in their groove and find
their groove over these last two games. Joe Lombardi today
talked about it and he said, look, it's encouraging, but
we can't always you know, every week is a new
week in the NFL, and we can't guarantee anything for
the future. But the more that you sort of stack
(06:14):
some of these performances on top of one another, you
hope that gets going. So I think the a combo
of maybe some of the short passing game coupled with
hopefully getting that run game going, and then Chargers fans
always want the deep shots. They always want justin too, right.
We'll see if that's the case. Um, we don't know
the status of Keenan Allen as of this point as
(06:34):
you and I tape this, but you know, Mike Williams
has certainly just been such a consistent player for this
Chargers offense, and Brandon Staley has said when he touches
the ball, it's really, really good for us. So you
hope to see as a Chargers fan for him to
get involved as well. Heyley mentioned the run game a
couple of times. Now I know Chargers running back Austin Akler.
You know he's coming off a career high hundred and
(06:55):
seventy three yard game versus the Browns. Do you mentioned
this run game really clicking? Would you think was it
last what was it last week that really clicked for them?
I think it comes down to sort of what Austin said,
which was just them sort of trying to find their
rhythm and again they also it goes back to some
of the attrition that they faced along the offensive line
(07:15):
as well. Lombardi has said it's not just one guy,
it's a combination group of everyone on the offensive line,
the quarterback, the running back to be able to get
that going effectively. And so when you look at it,
Austin Ekeler goes, look, we're practicing great, things are going
well in practice, but for some reason in the game
it just wasn't really working out. But now you're seeing
(07:35):
a click, you're seeing it come together. He specifically talked
about maybe moving some of their run schemes to complement
some of the new additions that they have on that
offensive line. So instead of running outside the tackles, you
run inside through the A gap, through the B B gap,
try to sort of find those mismatches and those things
that really really help you become a more effective run
(07:56):
game and rushing offense. And as Lombardi said, Eckler though
he was in the zone on Sunday, and when that
guy gets going, he's a huge fantasy football nut vias
every week, and people were really down on him, and
I know he was kind of telling people, hey, keep
the faith, we got this. He got it going last
week against Cleveland, and now that he's sort of found
that groove again, it's just being able to sort of
(08:17):
keep it going. But I think it comes down to
just everyone sort of executing, and that's a word we
hear all the time in the NFL, and and you know,
making sure that people are executing properly. But I think
it finally just started to work. And again I'll go
back to just sort of the lack of preseason reps.
They didn't really have them, and this offensive line didn't
really play together either, So working with some of those
(08:39):
new pieces, get everyone everyone on the same page. I
think he's voted really well for that group. Hey, I
know you mentioned Keenan Alier or Keenan Allen a little
bit earlier. Not sure if his dad is for the game. Yeah,
I know. He's been out for the past four games
for the hamstring injury, but has been limited at practice,
So positive sign for you guys. What do you think
it would really mean if he does return on Monday night,
(09:00):
alongside you know, Mike Williams, who's just been having such
success this season. What do you think it will mean
for this Broncos secondary, who is a little bit banged
up now that Ronald Darby's on injured reserve. I think
it just means everything in terms of this Chargers offense
being able to add that number one receiver dynamic, which
again Mike Williams has done a fantastic job filling in.
(09:22):
But when it comes to Keenan, he's an established veteran
in this league. He just sort of, you know, it
sounds dumb to say, but like gets it at this
point in his career, and it's so easy for him
and Storebol for him to get out there and find
those mismatches on the field. I'm sure he'd love to
be back for this game, just knowing the divisional aspect
of it in that regard, But I just think he
(09:44):
adds that, um, that extra dimension and that comfort that
he has with Justin Herbert and the fact that those
two they've only been together for you know, to going
on three years now, but that report is so natural.
And for those of us who are around Keenan during
the Philip Rivers era, and I started with the Chargers
Keenan's second season in the league, so I saw a
(10:05):
lot of it, and you saw that same sort of
just natural vibe that the two of them had. And
now he harried that over to finding that rapport with
Justin Herbert. So I just think he adds that extra dimension,
that extra little for this offense. And and it's also
you know, when you flip it to the Broncos defense
having to account for him and Mike, you know, having
(10:27):
to account for both of those, yeah, which is just
super huge, um And you know, it's kind of like
a pick your poison at that point for sure, Haley.
I know Chargers head coach Brandon's Daley praised this Broncos
receiving corps this week during one of his press conferences
saying just how tough they are to cover, and just
overall the offense is dangerous. I know maybe this record
(10:49):
doesn't show that, but I know him and the rest
of the Chargers scene, they're not overlooking what Russell Wilson
and this offense can do. But you know, looking at
this Charger secondary, you guys are legit. I mean, Derwin James,
Bryce Callahan, someone we know so well. It's gonna be
gonna be tough matchups all around, tough matchups all around.
(11:09):
And I think that's exactly what you know, He's not
obviously playing defense with someone that Austin Ekeler said this week.
He's like, we're not looking at the Broncos for the record,
We're looking at them as a team. You know, there
are a lot of people who think Denver could be
five and oh at this point, it's just been a
play here. They are little things that just haven't gone
necessarily the team's way. But you know, it's a it's
(11:30):
a good matchup in that regard. There's some you know,
question marks and and just sort of some interesting things
that happened with this Charger secondary last week. For instance,
a Looie Gilman getting the start at safety over and
the seer Adderie. Is that something we see continue into
this week. But the impact of Derwin has just been
so big, and when he is healthy, you know, which
is something that he struggled with earlier in his career,
(11:52):
he's really been able to kind of come into his
own over these last couple of years. He's just such
a commanding presence on that field and he does f rething.
I mean, he is literally everywhere. Sometimes he'll play you know,
in a season, he can pick up five different positions
or so just being moved around all over the field.
So I think, you know, when you when you look
at those matchups, it's tough overall, but it should be
(12:15):
a good game. And I think it is one of
those games though that you just throw the records out
the window and you just play. You know, I said this.
I had a times on my podcast earlier today. When
the a f C. West plays in primetime, it's always weird,
something something crazy happens, Something crazy happens. We saw Monday
Night with the Chiefs and the Raiders. Always really strange.
(12:37):
So I think it's just gonna be one of those
things that this team is certainly gonna have to be
on their p's and ques because they are not taking
Denver lightly at all. Yeah, lately, a couple more here
for you. You know, Clil Mac and just this Chargers defense.
They failed to record a sack versus Brown's last Sunday.
But you know, how do you think they'll rebound and
how do you think the past wretch will fair going
up against you know, a Broncos offensive line a little
(13:01):
bit beat up right now, especially being without left tackle
Garrett Bowls who was placed on i R a little
bit earlier this week. Yeah, when you look at that
game last week against Cleveland, Brandon Staley had said it
was he called it a tough, rugged game for those
outside linebackers edge players on this Chargers team. That they
had their hands full obviously with the Cleveland run game,
(13:21):
and so being able to get pressure was just really
difficult for them because they were just kind of having
to go at it on the edge all game long.
So when you look at that matchup though, against an
offensive line that you mentioned is dealing with some attrition
right now, I think someone like Cleil Mack is probably
licking his chops at that just being able to hopefully
that that going. Losing Joey Bosa against the Jaguars was huge,
(13:45):
and there are reports that he could be back at
some point this season, which would be fantastic and phenomenal,
but they are needing to sort of get extra edge
help from that guy on the other side, opposite of Max.
So the thing is, as I've said before, you can
double team Kalil Mac if you need to in order
to be able to sort of mitigate his presence. I mean,
all offseason long, you're talking about the edge rushers on
(14:07):
these teams in the a f C West, and you're
talking about Bosa and Mac and so when you have
fifty percent of that, it's easier to account But at
the same time, when you're dealing with some attrition and
when you're having maybe some new bodies in there that
aren't is familiar, I think that's maybe where the veteran
presence of Khalil Mack can come into play and sort of,
you know, on our perspective, hopefully have a day against
(14:30):
As I say this very nicely, but um yeah. But
I think I think if you you look at that
from that perspective, and you know, it'll be one of
those matchups that will just kind of wait and see
what happens. But um, but it should be good. Yeah, Well, Hayley,
last one here for you. You know, obviously the Chargers
are three and two, Franco's are two and three. I
know both sides are saying this is a must win
(14:52):
game for each team. I'm gonna put you on the
spot here. What's your game prediction? What do you think
is going to happen Monday night? Like I'm telling you said,
weird stuff happens. I know, it's always it's always fun
when the Chargers was fun. And here's what I have
said about the Broncos in general. This is a team
that the Chargers have pretty much split with over the
last few years. So true that you know, I'll say
(15:16):
this and you don't have to make any sort of comments,
but maybe had some subpart quarterback play when you compare
maybe a Drew Lock to a Russell Wilson, the Super
Bowl winning quarterback that we know him to be, might
not be currently at that level, but again, I think
he's going to figure it out. I just have this
feeling that they will. So maybe they will against the
Chargers this Monday. Yeah, I think when you look at
(15:38):
this matchup. I just don't necessarily again think that it's
one that you can look at the records and go, hey,
this is the better team. Of course, I think the
Chargers there, I think health kind of seems to be
getting on their side at this point in the season.
Losing players excluded, but maybe some of these guys, you know,
maybe someone like Keenan is back, which adds that extra
element to the offense. I just think though that one
(15:59):
of the biggest keys for this game from the Chargers
perspective is going to be stopping the run and needing
to stop that run. And I know someone like Melvin
Gordon is going to want to have that game against
the Chargers, as he always tends to have the last
couple of years. So that is something though that when
you look at this Chargers defense, they haven't done particularly well,
and Brandon Staley has sometimes called that group a work
(16:20):
in progress. They're still kind of working through things. So
I think that will be a huge focal point of
this game. Can they stop the run, Can they stop
Melvin Gordon? Can they stop this Broncos offense on the ground.
In terms of maybe that being something that might take
some pressure off of Russell Wilson on the flip side.
So I think when you look at it, that's sort
of a key that I'm gonna be watching on Monday night.
But overall it should be a lot of fun. It's
(16:43):
always great. I love it when these two teams made
in prime time too, because it's an extra little added
element off and should be just really really exciting for sure.
And this will be the first prime time game for
the Chargers at so far, right, yep, at so far
so they played week two and can the City and
this is the first one, um yeah, yeah, first one
(17:04):
at home this season yep. So that'll be a lot
of fun too. That this is a game where I
get there just extremely early, eally be stuck in traffic,
oh my gosh. Yeah, especially on a Monday night. Yeah,
it's like this is how we're going to get there
at like noon that you know, five fifteen or whatever.
It is kick off for sure. The more exciting, you know,
the more hype build up, the more exciting it is,
(17:26):
I get, the better. Yeah. Well, Haley, I appreciate your
insight and your time so much. Thank you for joining
me today. Thanks, Tony, so happy to be here. Well,
that'll do it for this week's episode of The Snap,
Broncos Country, Thanks so much for tuning in, and thank
you again to Hayley Ellwood for being this week's guest.
Make sure to follow the Broncos Podcast Network on Twitter
to stay up to date on The Snap's latest episodes.
(17:48):
We'll see you all right back here next week for
another edition. Have a great weekend.
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