09-06-24 Hour 2 of Broncos Country Tonight

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Five, six, six, nine Zeros text line had to go

(00:01):
wash my mouth out with soap during the break from
seven one to nine says we need to put pineapple
and carrot cake.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
And how dare you, sir, bro have you ever tried
carrot cake? That will live on in infamy?

Speaker 1 (00:13):
I think I appreciate it what Stacy from Utah and
that that SoundBite will live on in infamy forever. Guys
this football season, when the Broncos are on the road,
join Kaway for the Orange Blue Brunch. It's presented by
Don Julio Tequila. Soft Jay joined myself Nick Ferguson from
eleven to one Scooter Sports Bar and Girl at Alameda
Avenue and Aurora and entered to win a trip for
two to Kansas City for the Broncos Chiefs November tenth.

(00:35):
And then of course we've got the guys who are
gonna be at Sporty Pickle on Monday, and you guys
qualified there. In addition to that, there's also a Javanti
Williams jersey, it's autographed Patzer Tan helmet, lots.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Of memorabilia merchandise. We got a lot of good.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
Giveaways this season, so looking forward to meet I'll with
you guys at some of these locations and so these
great businesses around town. Let's jump right on out to
the ka Common Sparell hotline and bring on our good
friend Ryan Michael at the Ryan Michael on Twitter.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
And Ryan, we've debated changing my user.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
Handle from Albright and NFL to at Albright Wett Blanket.
Since I'm picking against both the cu Buffs and the
Denver Broncos this weekend, what is your confidence.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
Meter in the Denver Broncos this weekend?

Speaker 3 (01:19):
I think we both have to be changing our handles
because as much as I'm hopeful to see bo Nicks
play well, to see our rookies play well, Seattle is
a good football team and there's a reason why I
believe we're six point underdogs. So my confidence level is
a coin flip. If I had to pick one. I
do think Seattle does have a slight advantage overall. Nevertheless,

(01:39):
I am hopeful, so it's a very winnable game.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
Yeah it is, but a lot of that hinges on
rookie quarterback Bonix and I don't think I've seen this
level of optimism around a Broncos quarterback since you know,
Peyton Manning was brought here, and at the time that
was a giant, unknown commodity. Manning was brought here, there
was jokes about him being one sneeze away from being
a quite a alegic with the next surgery and all
that kind of stuff. I have not seen these levels

(02:03):
of enthusiasm and optimism for somebody to wit Bo Hicks
was named a team captain as a rookie.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
How how significant is that?

Speaker 3 (02:14):
It's incredibly significant then, given at the last time that
happened was in nineteen sixty seven running back Floyd Little,
who would go on to become a Hall of Famer,
one of the greatest players in our franchise history. So
you know, if you look around the league, then I've
spoken to players outside of Denver who have been on
teams that have drafted a first round quarterback. They've slapped

(02:35):
the captain's patch on the jersey. They've tried to almost
force it, for lack of a better phrase, and that's
not the culture here in Denver. So when you consider
the fact that this has not happened for any position,
much less quarterback, in fifty six years, it's incredibly significant.
Sean Payton doesn't give out honors like that easily, and
I think both earned it.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
Yeah, I mean, you know, these are voted on by
the players.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
Obviously Russ was voted last year, although there were some
people that felt like that that was due to some
coaching machinations. I don't know if this the coaching got
involved to push the bow next portion of it, but
certainly the players voted on him. Bo has a lot
of experience He's coming into this. I talk about him
being a rookie, but this might be the most experienced
rookie of all time. When you look at how many

(03:21):
starts he's had in NCAA history, you know.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
How that goes.

Speaker 1 (03:25):
That should be a factor in a positive way for
the never Broncos agreed.

Speaker 3 (03:30):
And I think he's very mature, both in terms of
onfield experience and the way he carries himself in the
locker room and off the field. I mean, his sixty
one starts at quarterback are the most in the history
of the NCAA. To give you an idea of how
long Pope played, he competed against Joe Burrow at LSU,
and he competed against Caleb Williams at USC, so he's

(03:54):
been a college quarterback for a minute, and that maturity
I believe has trickled to his attributes outside.

Speaker 4 (04:01):
Of the locker room, off the field. The way he
carries himself at press conferences. He doesn't act like a rookie.
He doesn't talk like a rookie. And although the preseason
is just the preseason, we have the stress that he
was playing against backups. So far, he doesn't play like
a rookie either.

Speaker 1 (04:16):
Yeah, it'll be interesting to see if that carries over.
That's been my caveat I think with buying in if
I believe, as it were, I feel like seeing the
Denver Broncos ones beat up on guys that are that
you know that wore a jersey for the Packers and Colts.
But let's be honest, most num are selling insurance now
doesn't really doesn't really do it for me. I need

(04:37):
to see. I need to see the live fire. And
if he goes out there to torches Seattle, hey, I'm
all in at that point. And you guys can clown
me for me late to the party if that's if
that's the case, but I need to see it at
a live fire Seattle allowed Stadium. Rookie quarterback obviously, but
I think there's an advantage and I talked about it
with Nick ferguson UH just on the on the phone
call we did just a minute ago, and that is
the the secondary for Seattle is that defense is transitioned

(05:02):
to a new defense. And the thing about the Michael
McDonald defense, while it is very good, it's very effective,
it's also quite complex and the complexities of that I
don't believe are going to be mastered through one install,
one preseason and no games thus far. So the Broncos
the Bonis may have an advantage in that regard going
up against maybe a defense that hasn't jailed yet.

Speaker 3 (05:23):
You know, I think both our offense and their defense
are going to face similar challenges in that regard. Obviously,
given what we've seen in the preseason. An undefeated preseason
has nothing to see that. And although his performance was
against backups, I've been saying that bough Knicks would be
my pick. If there were such a thing for NFL
preseason League MVP, I would give it to him. He

(05:45):
led us the points on six or seven drives. There
was a fumble in the one drive where we didn't
produce points, and he really was everything that we saw
in Oregon and then some in an NFL atmosphere. Is
it realistic to expect anything close to that in the
regular season. Of course not. He's still a rookie quarterback.
He's still going into one of the most difficult stadiums
in the league to play. So I think his level

(06:07):
of performance will be somewhere between what you would expect
from a rookie quarterback who's going to struggle and the
greatness that we saw in the preseasons, all somewhere in between.

Speaker 1 (06:17):
I always say, scout the player, don't scout the helmet.
We've seen litany of Ohio State quarterbacks fail until CJ. Stroud,
you know, came into the league. People have talked about
Oregon's lack of success at the NFL level with the
quarterback position. If history is an engaged what can you
tell us about Oregon quarterbacks and how they fared in
the NFL.

Speaker 3 (06:36):
Well, it's a very different discussion, both pre and post
Mariota and Justin Herbert and the chart that I posted
to Twitter earlier today, what I did was I took
every Oregon quarterback who attempted two hundred or more attempts,
so spot duty doesn't really mean much to me. I
left that out of the conversation, and I ranked them
by adjusted net yards per attempt plus, which is a

(06:59):
metric per Pro Football Reference. Adjustinate yards per attempt accounts
for sacks, touchdowns, interceptions, and yards per passing attempt, so
it's a fairly all encompassing statistic, and the plus metric
adjusts it for ERA, where one hundred is league average,
so one hundred is not good, one hundred is league average.
And I ranked all nineteen qualified seasons by all Oregon quarterbacks.

(07:22):
You believe it or not, you have Marcus Mariota in
twenty sixteen in first place at one hundred and fourteen.
That's a very high number for adjustin ate yards per
attempt plus Justin Herbert with two above average seasons one ten,
one away three. If you count one oh four and
you go to the bottom of the charge, you'll see
Achilles Smith in two thousand produced to sixty eight aj

(07:43):
Feely with the Dolphins in two thousand and four seventy six.
If you average it all out, even including the highs
of Justin Herbert and that one really good season for Mariota,
you get an average of ninety two point three. That's
not good. Kenny Ticket produced a ninety one last year.
So it's the average from what seeing from all of
Oregon quarterbacks is what we saw from Kenny Pickett last year.

(08:04):
It's not exactly a history of success, but it is
trending upward.

Speaker 1 (08:10):
Are there any Are there any trends to be observed
among the Oregon quarterbacks even with sample sizes this this small.

Speaker 4 (08:18):
Statistically, I wouldn't say so. You know, when I coached
in the Indoor Football League for the Quad City steam Wheelers,
we had a quarterback Mike Irwin in our quarterback room,
and he shared a quarterback room with Justin Herbert and Oregon.
And I was texting him the other day and he
was really just talking about the way Justin prepared for games,
the chalk talks, the breakdowns in the film room, the

(08:38):
way he studied defenses. He told me he was very professional,
very sincere, a very good teammate that helped might get
better at his position. And so I think there is
a growing culture of preparation at Oregon. That certainly was
the case with Bonnicks as well. If you look at
Herbert and Bonnicks. To me, They're two very different quarterbacks.
Herbert's strengths obviously, you have the strengths. He can drop

(09:01):
passes over the defense. He has fantastic vertical range.

Speaker 3 (09:04):
He also has a little bit of a slow trigger.
He only averaged six point eight yards per attempt over
the last two years. I'd argue he lacks touch. Sometimes
we see a lot of passes bat of the line
of scrimmage, which is weird for a guy who's six
ft six, and he sometimes throws the ball too hard
on short routes, so assistency in that regard certainly is
a struggle. Nicks is a guy also high football IQ study, habits, pocket.

Speaker 4 (09:29):
Peasants, sack of wing ands, and pass accuracy.

Speaker 3 (09:32):
Are his strengths.

Speaker 4 (09:33):
If I'm worried about anything, it's the fact that Oregons
spams screens and RPOs and simplified things for him a
little bit.

Speaker 3 (09:39):
But from what we're.

Speaker 4 (09:39):
Seeing in the preseason, it's trending upward. The only thing
I could take away from Oregon in terms of recent
history is the culture of preparation. I think that justin Herbert,
that's one of the most underrated aspects of his game.

Speaker 1 (09:51):
Shame for Bonix talking with Ryan Michael, pro Football Hall
of Fame contributor at the Ryan Michael on Twitter, what
are your projections.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
For Bonicks this season?

Speaker 1 (10:01):
Because I've said one of the hottest bets that I
can make is the Bnicks rushing prop over I think
he looks to take off a little bit. But what
are you looking at in terms of season long numbers
for Bnicks?

Speaker 4 (10:14):
You know, for Bonicks, I would say a worst case scenario. Certainly,
I'm a little bit nervous about him getting injured on
a rushing attempt because they do believe if we overdo that,
we're going to be exposing him to some hits his
body might not be ready for.

Speaker 3 (10:27):
So we don't want to end up in a JJ
McCarthy situation either. Anything that takes him out of the
starting lineup is going to be a problem for us.
So knock on wood say that doesn't happen. A best
case scenario, realistically, I think would be something comparable to
what Marcus Marizota did in twenty sixteen one Tennessee. There
are different styles of quarterbacks, but Mariota had twenty six

(10:48):
touchdowns to nine interceptions. He averaged seven point six yards
per ten that's pretty good. Four point nine thack percentage
that is very good. So mike projected stat line for
both provide that he plays all seventeen games and doesn't
get injured along the way. I have him completing three
hundred and fifty two of five hundred and fifty passes
at sixty four percent for three nine hundred and sixty yards.

(11:12):
He'd be averaging about seven point two yards per At
ten twenty four touchdowns fourteen picks I do expect for
in the throw picks, you'd be looking at a rating
of eighty nine point three. I have him carrying the
ball sixty five times two hundred and eighty six yards
four point four yards per carry, three touchdowns. The stet
that I'm most excited to see how it plays itself
out over the seventeen games pen is going to be

(11:33):
sack percentage. I have him getting packed twenty nine times,
and over a sample size this big as five hundred
and fifty passing attempts, that would be five percent. That
would be top ten in the NFL last year. So
I'm hoping to see if he can take a lot
of the success he had avoiding sacks over in Oregon
and carry it over to Denver because that was a
big problem with Russ last year for US.

Speaker 1 (11:53):
Yeah, I think if you sacked that much, Sehn, Payton's
gonna be disappointed. I recognize that's top ten, but given
the way has getted out mentality works, I think Sean
Payton would be upset if he were to get sacked
to that that many times.

Speaker 3 (12:06):
Well, you're going from coaching Drew Brees, who is probably
the third most difficult to sack quarterback in the history
of the NFL, Payton, Manning and Dan Marino or a
deadlock for number one, the best act percentage of all time,
But Drew Brees is right on up there with the
One of the most underrated aspects of his game was
that quick release was running the offense in structure and
avoiding sacks. So I'm sure he would love to see that.

(12:28):
But it could Drew Brees over a decade to cultivate
that strength.

Speaker 2 (12:32):
So we'll see if we uh, what would that work
out to.

Speaker 1 (12:36):
By the way, on a per game yardage basis, Like,
I can't do that kind of math in my head
without my abacus in front of me.

Speaker 3 (12:43):
Oh my goodness, I gotta crack out the calculators. They
I don't really think about passing since statistics as far
as per game, but you'd be looking at about two
hundred and thirty five passing yards per game.

Speaker 1 (12:51):
Okay, that's yeah, I see, that's totally feasible. I feel
like that's a nice round number. I would you know,
if you were to put me in a per game
number for him, I say two to forty five. There'll
be games where he gets closer to the three hundred
gas where he has like one to eighty, but I
would say two twenty five to two thirty is a
nice round number.

Speaker 2 (13:04):
None of those are, you know, outside the l of possibility.

Speaker 1 (13:07):
You look at the props at the betting places right
now and they had him, say them, sitting on twenty
one hundred passing yards for the season, which I felt
was absurdly low.

Speaker 5 (13:15):
I do.

Speaker 3 (13:15):
I also, I also think that's low. That's not the
way Sean's going to run this offense. So of course,
you know, for factoring in and banking on the fact
that he's going to be healthy enough to play seventeen games,
I'm confident to go over there for sure.

Speaker 1 (13:27):
All right, Brian, what what are you predicting for this
game it's Seattle on Sunday.

Speaker 3 (13:33):
I'm going to predict a score in the ballpark of
twenty eight to twenty four Seattle. I hope to be wrong,
so we'll have to fact check each other next week.
But I think it's going to be a competitive game.
Regardless who ends.

Speaker 1 (13:45):
Up winning, it's going to be It's retally gonna be
an interesting matchup and I'm looking forward to it obviously
right here on on KOA, I, uh so you've got
the Broncos covering.

Speaker 2 (13:54):
But not winning exactly. Okay, all right, we can roll
with that.

Speaker 4 (13:58):
Ryan.

Speaker 1 (13:59):
We appreciate it as always and look forward to getting
a chance to talk to you next week after we.

Speaker 2 (14:03):
Get some some game under a belt.

Speaker 3 (14:06):
Let's do it.

Speaker 2 (14:06):
Let's do it that.

Speaker 1 (14:07):
Ryan's Ryan Michael at the Ryan Michael on Twitter Pro
Football Hall of Fame Contributors. But a coach obviously was
a coach there at the Indoor Football League in the NFL,
they're not the NFL.

Speaker 2 (14:17):
Eure up in the.

Speaker 1 (14:18):
European League, excuse me, with Barcelona, So we always appreciate
what he brings to the table and the statistical breaksdowns
he does on this stuff.

Speaker 2 (14:25):
Be nice to get some some bo Nix action in.

Speaker 1 (14:28):
Live fire so that he can really break down the
data for us as well. Five six six nine zero
is the text line, you guys want to get involved
in the conversation.

Speaker 2 (14:39):
I'm again pineapple is part of carrot cake.

Speaker 1 (14:41):
Is not not something we're doing here on this show ever.

Speaker 4 (14:45):
Wet blanket, All right, Yeah that's me.

Speaker 2 (14:48):
That's that's that's who I am. And you know what
I wear it. I wear this wet breaket proudly. I
want to hear a two minute breakdown of CEU versus Nebraska.
I mean I could, I could do it right now.

Speaker 1 (14:57):
Yeah, there's a true freshman quarterback son of an offensive lineman,
has been better than expected right off the top. Matt
Rules put a lot into the offensive line there last year.
The big problem with Nebraska wasn't that they didn't have
the personnel or the talent. It was the quarterback position
and turnovers. They had so many turnovers. A guy couldn't

(15:18):
stop fumbling. He was he was an athletic cressman. I
couldn't stop fumbling. They've they've gotten rid of that. Nebraska.
I would not be sleeping on just because the Buffs
beat him last year. You're going into Nebraska. It's a
tough play place to play. Already, you've got some some
defensive issues from that North Dakota State game that.

Speaker 2 (15:35):
I saw that there are a problem.

Speaker 1 (15:37):
And you've got a quarnerback who looks like and looks
like the coming the second coming of Patrick Mahomes up
there in Nebraska. He's young, he's true freshman, so I
might try to get some exotic looks going early. But
that really feels to me like a trap game for CEU.
I was Nebraska favorite of that one by six. I
think if it's the Lycouver sent me a line earlier
today because we had to do for show me the money,

(15:58):
and I took Nebraska and the over in that one.
I don't think that this is going to be a
defensive matchup. I do believe it's going to be a
bit of a boat race, and I think that plays
in to see you his hands a little bit. But
I'm not sure they're gonna have to get turnover because
I'm not sure that defense can get stops.

Speaker 2 (16:13):
They're gonna have to get turnovers in order to in
order to make this in order to make it a game,
Nebraska favored by six. Yeah, that's that's what I thought.

Speaker 1 (16:19):
I took Nebraska in the over in that one, so
I just you know, I don't have a lot.

Speaker 2 (16:24):
Of faith in this one. I think if the more
scoring it is, the more that favors see you.

Speaker 1 (16:29):
But I think Nebraska is better defensively, and I think
Rayola is a heck of a quarterback. Sleep on Tom
at your your own risk. I think Nebraska's offensive line
is gonna be the key in this one if they
can keep him clean. You guys, listen to Broncos Country
tonight we come back. We go a previous Seahawks game
right here on Kiawa five six, six nine zero is
the text line, guys this football season with the Broncos
are on the road, John Kaway for the Orange Blue Brunch.

(16:51):
It's presented by Don Julio Tequila, myself.

Speaker 2 (16:53):
Nick Ferguson. From eleven to one.

Speaker 1 (16:55):
It's Scooter Sports Bar and Grill on Alameda Avenue and
Aurora commuted to win a trip for two to Kan's
City for the Broncos Chiefs November tenth game. Before to
seeing you guys out there, Let's go right out to
the Ukawa Common Spirital hotline and bring on Curtis Crabtree
at Curtis Underscore Crabtree on Twitter with Fox there in Seattle, Curtis,
how you doing this evening?

Speaker 2 (17:14):
I'm good.

Speaker 4 (17:14):
How's it going?

Speaker 2 (17:15):
It goes?

Speaker 1 (17:15):
It goes here interesting times here in Broncos Country. Is
the optimism for quarterback bo Nicks and his rookie debut
has reached a crescendo. But me being wet blanket albright
that I am, I am a little bit concerned about
a rookie on the road in one of the loudest
stadiums in the NFL, up against a complex defense like
Mike McDonald and like he wrights to.

Speaker 2 (17:37):
Run in his debut.

Speaker 1 (17:39):
How are and what is Seattle's optimism with his game?

Speaker 4 (17:44):
I think the Seahawks should feel pretty optimistic with it
heading into the game. I mean, I think they have pretty,
you know, pretty reasonably high expectations for this year, given
the weapons that they have, their skill position pieces, their
their secondary pieces on defense, and you know, if their
season is gonna go the way they want it to go,
this is a game you need to weigh. And I

(18:04):
mean just playing and simple and yeah, with a rookie
quarterback coming in making his very first start on the road.
I remember, now Bonus is better than this guy. But
don't get me wrong, but I remember when Max Hall
made his first career start with Arizona here and see
it was very ugly. Now, Max Hall's not got the
upside that bon Nicks does, but it's not a friendly

(18:24):
environment to step into for your first career NFL start
for sure.

Speaker 2 (18:27):
Now that was a better.

Speaker 4 (18:28):
Defense at the time, and all of those sorts of
caveats apply. Max Paul is't as good as Bonus, but
it's a big task for him to come in here.
I think you can get a win this weekend against
the defense. The defensive scheme at least that was very,
very good in Baltimore last year.

Speaker 2 (18:42):
Yeah, it's a bit of a complex defense, and there
is some concern.

Speaker 1 (18:45):
I mean, you saw it if you're watching the game
to night between Green Bay and Philly, where Philly's adjusting
to what Vic Fangil runs. Anything that's complex on the
back end, you tend to ask some early hiccups and
it takes a couple of weeks for to fully jail it.
Maybe something that the Broncos, I don't know if they're
banking on that, but something you're sort of hoping for us.
It seems being six point dogs on the road is

(19:05):
a tough task. How is Seattle adjusting to the new regime.
I mean, obviously you had Pete Carroll there. It was
a cover three, ground and pound team for a long time.
Now you've got Ryan Grodd, the architect of the penis
offense there in Washington. You've got Michael McDonald, who comes
off the p's tree, and we saw what he did
in Baltimore last years. How is the team adjusting to
that entirely different regime.

Speaker 4 (19:26):
Yeah, I think in retrospect, it feels like the coaching
coaching change needed to happen. It just kind of felt
like things had been stale under Pete Carroll. It's not
the discredit Pete as a coach, because I still think
he's a very good coach. You just needed to shake
something up, and they did with the change to Mike McDonald.

Speaker 5 (19:41):
And yeah, it's definitely a big change for them to go,
you know, from having one.

Speaker 4 (19:45):
Head coach for fourteen years to making these pretty sweeping changes.
That's a bit of an adjustment for sure. And look
just like you would expect, growing pains from Bonnicks as
he adjusts.

Speaker 2 (19:53):
To the NFL.

Speaker 5 (19:54):
This coaching staff is the first time head coach.

Speaker 4 (19:57):
And Mike McDonald the first time offensive coordinated at the
NFL level, and Ryan Grubb at first time NFL defensive
coordinator at the NFL level, and at dr Day. There's
gonna be some you know, there's gonna be some growing
pains from that unit as all.

Speaker 2 (20:08):
Too.

Speaker 4 (20:08):
This is a staff that doesn't have a lot of
familiarity working with each other either, and they've had to
get us to speed with that collectively throughout camp as well,
So there'll be some hiccups along the way on that front.
But I think the defensive scheme that they're going to
bring in here, I think there's gonna be aspects that
they're going to be able to really highlight to kind
of get some you know, get some improved play, particularly
in their run defensive area. I think they're better on

(20:29):
the defensive interior than they were a year ago. The
secondary in particular should be pretty good for Seattle. And
on the offensive side of the ball. You take a
Washington offense that had Roma jons Day, Jalen McMillan, Jalen
Polk and Michael Penis and put up the offense that
they kind of did became Metcalf, Jackson.

Speaker 5 (20:44):
Smith and Jig but Tyler Locke, Ken Walker. It seems
to be fitting into those roles pretty good year.

Speaker 4 (20:48):
I think there's a lot of potential for that offense
if the offensive line can protect and open up holes
enough for them. So I think there's there's plenty of
optimism for them to have. You can see where the
pitfalls may be and it makes us, you know a
little bit of an other certain starts of the season,
but I think there's reason for thoughts that the upside
could be pretty high for them as well.

Speaker 2 (21:05):
So Bronco's connections there as well.

Speaker 1 (21:08):
At a Colorado connection, Leviska Chanalt, you've got to Noah Fans,
who I know is dealing with a tow issue.

Speaker 2 (21:12):
Is that behind him?

Speaker 1 (21:13):
And then Draymond Jones who appears to be playing a
new position sort of for him there in that Michael
McDonald defense.

Speaker 4 (21:21):
Yeah, I fully expect no one know who's going to
play and start for them this weekend. He wasn't on
the final injury report here. He was limited throughout the week,
but practice fully today. He should be good to go.
Draymont Jones same boat on that front. He's been pretty
limited throughout training camp, which is kind of a nagging
hamstring injury, and you know, those can obviously be a
little bit worrisome because you're trying to manage those sorts
of things. But you know, I think in general, he's

(21:42):
going to start Draymont that is, it's going to start
out kind of playing the same kind of tech and
kind of spot you're pretty familiar with. But I think
they feel like he has the versatility to move inside
and occasionally play a wide position for him too if
they need him to be, so they will.

Speaker 5 (21:56):
They want their defensive lineman to have some.

Speaker 4 (21:57):
Versatility to be able to bounce around. He used the
looks for opposing quarterbacks, and I think that's where that
scheme fit from. Mike mcgoal's going to kind of show up.
They're going to try to make those looks a little
bit disguised and.

Speaker 5 (22:09):
Have you know, guys moving around before the snap.

Speaker 4 (22:11):
And trying to keep things a little bit multiple and
all that sort of stuff too. So I think that's
kind of how Dreymont will fit into the mix for
them when they get going. But as we said, we
haven't seen them much in training camp because he's been
sitting on the sidelines.

Speaker 1 (22:21):
Is Leviskus Chunel getting any run up there? He was
a sensation here at Colorado, but hasn't really done a
whole lot in the pro game. I think he's been
a bit miscast, probably closer to a quarterall Patterson role.

Speaker 2 (22:31):
What is his role up there? And is he getting
any run with the Seahawks.

Speaker 4 (22:35):
Yeah, he's probably their number five receiver, but he'll be
their primary kick return guy and they'll certainly have him
mix in on their offensive sets as well.

Speaker 5 (22:44):
But I think, you know, Jake Bobo is a guy
that I think they really like, is an offensive piece
for them.

Speaker 4 (22:48):
In addition, behind the three guys that we talked about
a minute ago, she all had a very nice preseason
for them. I mean, you know how you know he's
a pretty big body wide receiver too. I think that's
the first thing I didn't realize when I talked to
him for the first time. It's just kind of you've
got some size to him. And it's funny you mentioned the.

Speaker 5 (23:02):
Cord of All Patterson said thing.

Speaker 4 (23:04):
I think he said that one of the other teams
that wanted to sign in the soft season when we
talked to him was Washington, and that's the role they
were looking for him to kind of be, is that
they wanted to move him to running back and he
wasn't healing that particular move at this point in his career,
so that's why he signed Seattle. So yeah, I think
there's a role for schnaulton what they want to do,
and they definitely signed him with a thought looking ahead

(23:24):
to this kickoff return rule change and being a part
of what they want to do on that front. So
he'll definitely contribute there on the special team. Heence for sure.

Speaker 1 (23:30):
Talk with Curtis Crabtree Curtis Underscore Crabtree on Twitter with
Fox up there in Uh yeah, well you mentioned the
wide receivers.

Speaker 2 (23:37):
Let's talk about that a little bit. The Broncos.

Speaker 1 (23:39):
Everybody knows pats Er Tan on the one side, they've
got ja Quon McMillan and the nickel. I think people
are getting familiar with a very good nickel, but a
giant unknown commodity at the other corner in Riley Moss.
They're going to be up against this triumvirt of receivers.
Three head of Jabberwaukee. If you want to call it
that of DK, Metcalf, Jackson Smith and Jacob and Tyler Lockett.
I know the Lockett's been a little banged up. What
is the overall health of this unit and who's going

(23:59):
to be the other wide wide receiver in this scenario
that's gonna be going to be matched up with Riley Moss.

Speaker 4 (24:05):
Yeah, I think they're gonna all move around, maybe a
little bit more than they did in previous years. But
Lockett I think should be fine this week. He's been
dealing with a little bit of a thigh injury injury
the last couple of weeks, but he he's listed as questionable.
Mike McDonald told us today he's expected to play. So
I fully expect them all to be out there this week.
As we said, Jake Bobo can rotate in and he

(24:26):
just finds the way to make plays. You know, he's
certainly not the fastest receiver out there, but he can
kind of help them from time to time as well.
But yeah, DK, as you know, is gonna probably be
your ex primarily, and then lock It and Jack and
Smith and Jigmick can kind of switch between the flat
roles and the z roll out there and mix things
up a little bit, and I think jackins prime for
for a pretty big year. He's had some really big

(24:48):
days in training camp for him. Looks so much more
comfortable this year. And that being said, I thought he
kind of came on pretty good the end of last
season as it was anyway, and this offense should be
able to cater him to him pretty nicely. And you know,
I think the last time we talked two years ago
before the Denver opener here, like you know, I don't
think I realized how good Gino Smith could be given

(25:09):
the run.

Speaker 5 (25:10):
That he's been able to have the last couple of years.

Speaker 4 (25:12):
He throws a really pretty ball, a very catchable ball
for them, and I think he might be prime to
have his best season two again with the caveat of
cannas offensive line protecting, which is.

Speaker 2 (25:22):
A big uncoun Well that that is the question.

Speaker 1 (25:24):
We're again, we're talking with Curtis Crabtree from Fox up
there in Seattle, and can this offensive line do that.
There's there's names on here that I like, Uh, you know,
Charles Cross obviously drafted to be that guy like it.
Thomas is a guy I like, although he hasn't performed
up to the level that I originally envisioned for him
when he was when he was coming out.

Speaker 2 (25:41):
There are guys on this this offensive Line's like, okay,
there's there's talent here.

Speaker 1 (25:45):
Uh is this what has been the issue with the
protections of Gino? Because what a what a great story
comeback story for him and you guys, you know you
had Drew Lock up there and Drew was in for
the game and Gino was celebrating with him when he
was doing all that kind of Gino's just you know,
it's such a great story and it's one of those
things that I think everybody kind.

Speaker 2 (26:02):
Of roots for him.

Speaker 1 (26:04):
You don't want him to beat your team, but you're
kind of rooting for him all the time. Anyway, What
is the issue with getting him extended long term and
with protecting him with this line?

Speaker 4 (26:12):
Yeah, I think we'll talk about the line first. You know,
them bringing in Connor Williams could be a very, very
big deal for them, assuming he can play healthy enough
to be the Connor Williams he was the season ago
in Miami when he was healthy. That could be a
big deal for them because the last two years with
Austin Blythe and Evan Brown at center, Evan just really
wore down as the season went on a year ago,
and blythe just you know, had his ceiling to him

(26:34):
two seasons ago. They've really struggled in that position the
last couple of years. They're gonna miss Abe Lucas for
at least the first four weeks in the season on
the pup list as he deals with an ongoing knee injury.
They're not exactly certain when he's going to come back.
That's another issue they've got to deal with. But if
the center spot in particular can kind of come together,
as you mentioned Laken Tomlinson a very capable vetter and
if not, if not reaching the ultimate ceiling that you

(26:56):
thought he might have had coming out of college, Anthony
Bradford I think has from upside to him.

Speaker 5 (27:01):
In addition to their third round pick Christian Hands to fill.

Speaker 4 (27:03):
That right guard spot. Ryperd's got a little bit of
a mean streak to him that I think they can
kind of use there as well. So there's just a.

Speaker 5 (27:10):
Lot of questions as to what they're going to get there.

Speaker 4 (27:12):
George Fans will be the starter at right tackle while
while Abe Lucas is on PP and such. But we
just haven't seen it. Williams hasn't you know, been able
to play in the preseason. He signed late, obviously got
up to speed late, so that that's why that unit
is so unknown. I do think Charles Cross is in
for in for his best season. He looks very good in.

Speaker 5 (27:30):
Training cap to transition to GENO Now.

Speaker 4 (27:33):
I think that the hesitancy is probably just the fact
he is on the north side of thirty and I
think they just want to see it a little bit
more to see what he can give them on that
front and what his feeling ultimately can be if they
are able to protect them that little bit more. I
think they want to see him, you know, rain the
emotions in maybe on the sideline that little bit extra
to make sure he keeps, you know, a level ahead

(27:54):
and doesn't get two out of sorts at times. But
in general, what his play on the field, it's a
lot better.

Speaker 5 (28:01):
There's a lot higher floor to.

Speaker 4 (28:03):
His play than I thought when he came in to
take that starting job two years ago. He's been very,
very solid to it. Moved a little bit of a
rough start to last season, but then I thought he
played very well the last ten games.

Speaker 5 (28:14):
Or so for them.

Speaker 4 (28:15):
And we saw what he did in twenty twenty two
for the full season was a very nice play given
the pieces they had in that offense. I think he
could have a very very good season for them this
year if they can protect them.

Speaker 1 (28:26):
Talk without Curtis crabtrade from box up there in Seattle, Kurts,
I want to ask you a little bit about Russell Wilson,
because when that trade was made, it was interesting. You
had a lot of people up there in Seattle talking
about fleeting the Broncos. You know, he comes to Denver.
There's all kinds of optimism nationally. The Broncos were going
to be something with Russell Wilson, their Super Bowl contenders,
all this kind of stuff.

Speaker 2 (28:45):
It fell flat with a net Nate Hackett pairing.

Speaker 1 (28:47):
He bounced back last year and played considerably better, especially
in the fourth quarter, and they kind of catered to
what it is that he did.

Speaker 2 (28:54):
He moves on to Pittsburgh.

Speaker 1 (28:55):
He's got the CAF tight as justin fields may start
Sunday his the I felt like that there was almost
an enmity towards Russell Wilson when he left Seattle.

Speaker 2 (29:04):
Has that abate it at all? Or am I was?
I out of my mind to begin with.

Speaker 4 (29:09):
No, I think that that was probably fair given you know,
the way that he left Seattle and basically kind of
engineering a trade to get out and go there. I mean,
he had pulled no trade protection, and if he didn't
want to leave Seattle, he certainly didn't need to approve
a deal. And I think he was looking for an
opportunity to you know, let Russ cook that he felt
like he wasn't getting with Seattle.

Speaker 5 (29:29):
And I think when we talked ahead of that opener
two years.

Speaker 4 (29:32):
Ago, it was very much like, Look, I didn't well,
first I didn't expect Russell to have go as badly
as he did in Denver. But I was trying to
say that there's some warts to Russell that you're bringing
in there that is part of the reason that he
got traded, you know, from the his his crew to
his agent, you know, like you to talk to everybody
and complain about this thing or that thing, to you know,

(29:54):
the Jay Keaps aspect of it, and having his his
personnel around the building and all of them. There's a
things with Russell that were a real legitimate thing here
that you know, got to the point where they they
wore out each other's welcome and they needed a fresh start.

Speaker 5 (30:07):
And that being said, this is a very some somewhat
insecure fan base in general across all the sports up here.

Speaker 4 (30:14):
Feeling like they're tucked away in the corner of the
country and want to have, you know, more recognition about
the teams here and all of that. And I think
when somebody says they want to leave, just like Alex
Rodriguez got handed forever.

Speaker 5 (30:25):
That's still a thing when he signed the massive.

Speaker 4 (30:27):
Deal with Texas back in the day, you know.

Speaker 5 (30:31):
Turning their back on you know, Seattle.

Speaker 4 (30:33):
And leaving to go somewhere else is something that can
rub fans here very harshly. And I think that kind
of played into it as well. So it's it's not
any one aspects of the number of things that kind
of led.

Speaker 5 (30:43):
To that feeling with Russell and things.

Speaker 4 (30:46):
Needing to go that the way that they did.

Speaker 5 (30:47):
But Seattle is certainly feeling very.

Speaker 4 (30:50):
Very very nicely about the trade now, given the pieces
as they've been able to add with those draft picks
and not to be saddled with that contract moving into
the future.

Speaker 1 (30:57):
Is there is there any abatement to the the sort
of uh you know, anger towards Russ as it word,
is there a fondness? I mean, Russ Wilson's gonna be
a Hall of Famer when all said and done. I mean,
the last two years done a lot of damage, but
he's sill gonna be aholl of Famer. Is there any
any abatement to maybe that that sort of sentiment.

Speaker 4 (31:15):
Probably a little because he's been so bad. Yeah, Like
I mean, if you like, if you went somewhere and
truly excelled and be like, well, you know, look at
this guy. He left us, and you know, now he's
going to you know, do this great stuff elsewhere, But like,
can you really like to be that mad about it
when he's you know, had the two pretty poor seasons
he did in Denver.

Speaker 5 (31:32):
It's not like you're gonna be like totally mad about it.

Speaker 4 (31:35):
I think they, I think Fancier in particular, were really
happy to see him struggle the first year, so the
draft picks that they were getting from Denver, we're going
to be better.

Speaker 5 (31:42):
But I don't.

Speaker 4 (31:42):
I don't think the personal ANIMs is carried over beyond
that to that extent. So I think that that might
kind of play into the feeling there a little bit too.

Speaker 1 (31:52):
All right, Curtis, what if you had to nail this
thing down, Seattle wins, if what Denver wins it what?

Speaker 2 (31:57):
And what's your ultimate prediction for the game on Sunday.

Speaker 4 (32:01):
Yeah, I'll pick the Seahawks to win, because again, the
home opener against a rookie quarterback, that's the game just
on paper. From those particulars, you feel like you probably
should win that. I'll say something like twenty seven sixteen
kind of range. Seattle will win if their offensive line
can hold up. And they're one other area we haven't
talked about their linebacking.

Speaker 5 (32:22):
Off ball linebackers are a little bit of.

Speaker 4 (32:23):
A concern just because Jerome Baker hasn't practiced much of
the preseason at all, and so he's gonna run out
they're pretty cold on Sunday alongside Tyrell Dods, and that's
a holy linebacker cour for him. The first time in
basically like twelve years a linebacker not named Bobby Wagner,
kJ Ryder, Jordan Brooks is lining up for him. Pretty
big change there on that front for them. Denver will
win if they're able to I think they need to

(32:44):
run the ball in this game in particular.

Speaker 5 (32:46):
Seattle's run defense.

Speaker 4 (32:47):
Has been pretty huge for the last two seasons, and
so if their offensive line, which is pretty good, is
able to create some holes for Javonte Williams and get.

Speaker 5 (32:56):
Some real assistance for Bonnicks.

Speaker 4 (32:58):
On the ground, I think that could be their me
while finding a way to win up here. But like
I said, I'm pretty high on the Seahawks offense if
the old line is competent enough to keep him up right,
and I think there's enough pieces on Seattle defense for
a home opener against syretsy quarterback that they should be
able to get this one done this weekend.

Speaker 2 (33:13):
Well, Curtis, we appreciate you.

Speaker 1 (33:14):
Can find him at Curtis Underscore Crabtree on Twitter looking
forward to the battle on Sunday. I too and picking
the Seahawks in this one. But I think you're absolutely right.
It comes down to the Broncos run game and whether
or not they're able to do that. We saw some
holes in Michael McDonald's defense in Baltimore against the run
as well, so we'll see how that goes.

Speaker 2 (33:32):
But I appreciate you taking the time tonight, No problem
to take care, Absolutely take.

Speaker 1 (33:36):
Care, Curtis Grattree from Fox there in Seattle. Yeah, I'm
taking the I'm taking the Seahawks as well. I know
everybody hates to hear it, but this season to me
is about building boat X up, setting the table for
him for next year. I want to see good things
out of bow. I hope they win, but I'm picking
Seattle in this one. Grant you you have a prediction

(33:57):
on this one while we're getting out of here.

Speaker 2 (33:58):
Seahawks twenty four.

Speaker 1 (34:00):
There you go, all right, I had Seahawks twenty eight seventeen.
We'll see how it goes. You can get that game
right here on KAWA on Sunday. Don't forget to join
Nick and myself down there at Scooters.

Speaker 2 (34:10):
You know, Aurora eleventh of one, set the Broncos Country
to night right here on KWA. Say you at the AA.
I'm ninety four on FM new Stock sports Bro.

Speaker 4 (34:18):
Have you ever tried carrot cake wet blanket? All right,