Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Broncos Country Tonight, I am film Alani filling in for
Benjamin al right here in studio, chopping it up with
my guy Nick Ferguson. Nick, let's talk a little bit
more about this Broncos defensive. We were just talking about
Vance Joseph.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Yeah, and let's let's talk about this Dan Broncos defense.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
What do you think about it? I mean the job
that Vance has done this year. He deserves a lot
of credit for the turnaround that they've made from last
year to this year.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
And I don't know if you're familiar with this what
I'm about to say to this particular show to make
this reference. I tell Ryan there was this all the time,
much to his chagrin, but I said, basically, the Broncos
defense land under Vance Joseph. They've been like mcgiver, Oh yeah,
you know, let's he finds everything and he can kind
(00:54):
of give himself out of a tight situation.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
And for me, it's always.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Been about the defense coming through when the Broncos needed
a play. And I don't say that to try to
create division between offensive defense. It is just stressing the
importance of what the guys have done under Vance Joseph
leadership because there are not too many first rounders on
this defense. It's just Pat and Pat allow his advance
(01:24):
to do a number of things. But so does Riley Moss,
so does DJ Jones, so does Jonathan Cooper, who I'm
so proud.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Of Coop because.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Coop coming out of Ohio State, he was just kind
of undermined by the draft policy process because.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Of his heart issue. Yep.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
But if you were to talk about measuring a guy's
heart like that, I mean, you cannot measure this dude's
hard and to know that how he came into the league,
to know he just got this big payday about a
month ago, that says a lot about who he is yep.
(02:08):
And for me, that says a lot about the attitude
and the culture of the Denver Broncos. And I would
be remiss if I didn't mention Jim Leonard as well.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Oh yeah, based on what he has been able to do.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
So, I mean, I know everyone talks about the head coach,
the quarterback, and rightfully, so Bo has been brilliant. I
think he's going to get better. He's not a finished product.
But oftentimes when we talk about things within this league,
we always just talk about those two things. And for me, Phil,
(02:43):
because I'm a defensive guy through and through, I am
not going to let it pass without giving the defense
some freaking love. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
I mean, just so many guys came in to fill
some holes and they've played outstanding this and a lot
of guys have had career years, you know, like it's
just been that that part of it, that particular part
of this defense. It's been amazing just to see all
these guys really playing at the peak of their potential.
(03:13):
And I think that a lot of that credit has
to go to Vance, you know, just because the way
that he coaches these guys, the connection, the bond that
he builds with them. You know, you hear so much
about Vance's leadership. That was like sort of the big
thing when he was the head coach. Coming in, everybody
was talking about, you know, this leader of men, and
(03:35):
you know, his his ability to really build that connection
with the team. I think that you're seeing the fruits
of that more with him as a coordinator this time around,
just because he's got so much more time to just
spend with the defensive guys, He's able to like really
lead those meetings and build that connection and you're seeing
(03:56):
that now.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
I know most people say, well, certain coaches are not
built for certain positions, and sometimes it takes that first
opportunity totally.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
To learn, to grow and even to make mistakes.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
That's why, like when someone applies for a job on
any particular level and they're like, well, we can't hire
you because you don't have experience, and they're like, well, hawna,
hell am I supposed to get experience if you never
give it to me, right?
Speaker 3 (04:25):
I need a chance.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
And this is kind of a second opportunity for vance
here in this market with this fan base. But I
do have to as we talk about the defense, definitely
putting spotlight.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
On a couple of players. I mean, after Justin.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Simmons didn't come back with the different Broncos signed.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
With the Foul Becons, after staying out on the.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Market for so long, we were all wondering, well, what
was Brandon Jones going to bring you to the secondary?
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Amazing?
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Amazing, And I have to say that he has performed
admirably in the role that he was in, and it's
being able to find guys like that, being able to
put those guys in those positions to make plays, but
also those guys rewarding the coordinators for having confidence and
faith in them.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
Yeah, most definitely.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
And you know, it was good to hear Sean Payton
really back Vance this week talking about how Vance is
gonna interview for that job with the Jets. And I
do think that the first time around, you learned so
much about the role. There's so much to being a
head coach that you don't really realize until you're in
those in that seat. You know, all the scheduling, all
(05:35):
the things, all the little details that take place in
the building. There's no way to have that experience unless
you start doing it.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Well, let me put it in there in the world.
I know you understand.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Grant hasn't gotten there yet, but eventually he will. Like
your father too, right, think about where Phil mulaney was
mentally before two kids he is now?
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Yeah, night and day.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Yes, Were you prepared for number two?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
No? Right?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
So are you prepared for number two being in the
mix right now?
Speaker 4 (06:06):
With oh? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
The first time around, you're just like, I don't know
what I'm doing here, Like I hope this thing, this
this kid just survives, you know, And then the second
time around you're like, oh, yeah, that's okay. You know,
you're a lot more chill, but yes, you learn and
that experience.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
You can't get it any other way.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
And I think that that's why you see a lot
of head coaches struggle that first time and then boom
the second time they really take off, is because you
learn so much and you learn from mistakes. That's the
best way to learn, you know, trial by fire. You learn, Hey,
and you know what, I shouldn't have done this. I
didn't like that it didn't turn out well. Second time around, boom,
you have that experience and you know what works. That's why,
(06:49):
like a lot of times you're like, man, if in
certain situations, it's good to go out and just hire
a guy who's done it before. You know, just it
is hard to get that experience. But you know, like
if you're a team out there looking for a head coach,
to me, you're like, I'm going to try and find
a guy who's done it before, just because it is
so hard to learn that first time.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
It is so hard, But how do you get once
again get that experience?
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Yeah, and I know some fans and some owners are like, well,
I don't want your first time to be in my
organization and we have to watch you fail. But in
order to move forward, you have to fail. Let me
bring it full circle. So this Broncos organization being on
the hiatus from.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
The playoffs for nine plus.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
Years, that way to put it. Yes, they.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
They know what it is to miss the playoffs. They
know what it is to fail. So now they're kind
of yielding the fruits of their labor and they're in
the playoffs for the first time, and they're hoping to
make the sorrows of yesteryear be the glories of tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
That's what their whole Yeah, and.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Sometimes you have to lose to know how much winning means.
And this is why I don't know about you feel,
but I freaking hate participation in trophies.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Oh yeah, I hate you gotta feel the anguish of defeat. Yes,
that motivates you to work harder to get back.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
It's hold to. Yeah, it's opposed to.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
And that's where the Broncos find themselves right now. And
that's where this Broncos defense finds themselves because things haven't
always been where everyone hoped they would be.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Go back to the Baltimore game.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Yeah, I mean, I was gonna get to that just
even down the stretch there.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
Nick.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
You look at like some of these games that they play,
you know, the Browns they give up thirty two points
to Jamis Jerry Judy goes off. That Colts game, they
only score thirteen points, But that could have been a
totally different game if Jonathan Taylor doesn't fumble that ball
at the goal line. The Chargers score thirty four, the
Bengals thirty, and then of course they whooped up on
(09:02):
the Chiefs backups. But like, did they right enough of
what was going wrong there against the Chiefs to now
feel confident going into this Bells game.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
I'm not gonna say they corrected everything, but it does
instill some confidence in them. Obviously they understood that who
they were playing against, what was at stake or wasn't
at stake for Kansas City, But it was just about
them going out there and them being the Broncos defense,
go out and execute. Now here's the way that I
look at it from. You know, my football viewpoint is
(09:37):
that you know, most fans, we look at time and possession, right, Okay, well,
who dominated time in possession?
Speaker 3 (09:42):
Sometimes that could.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Be a little misleading but after the Bengals game there
was a lot of negativity about the Broncos defense.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Riley Moss and Vance.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Chose him and I said, well, let's take a look
at this with full vision, pull strip down your emotions.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
The game is a team game.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
And then and then obviously the defense had moments when
they want to feel a long period of time, but
it goes back to the offense being able to sustain
drives to keep them off the field. Balance it out
because we all when we talk at football, we always
talk about offensive balance, running the ball, passing the ball,
but rarely do we speak about team balance. There you go,
(10:26):
and that's what they're going to need if they are
able to shock the world and go into Buffalo and
come away with the win.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Yeah, like you don't want to get into a shootout
in this game, No, you know, let's slow it down,
limit possessions, you know, run the football on offense.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
If they can do that, can we.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Just redefine that?
Speaker 2 (10:46):
What does it mean instead of just saying because it
just kind of sticks in my crawl when I when
I hear that, oh, just just just run the ball
and and and just the phrase itself sounds so simple.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
Yeah, just do it.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Just just handed to him, let me run it. And
it's like, well, no, it's not it's not that easy.
So my idea is being a little creative.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Like on the game on.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Sunday we saw the Broncos running somewhat like Power where
where they they pull bin powers no pun intended and
quit minors. Right, run more of that, get outside of
the pocket. That's this is what I mean when I
said earlier when Steve was in here, about breaking your tendencies,
(11:30):
doing something unexpected but that plays in the framework of
your scheme and plays to your player's skill set.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
Yeah, you gotta do.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
You got to mix something up where hey, we didn't
see this for those first seventeen games.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
You see it, you know, let's uh a.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Little wrinkle here, maybe a different look, maybe a little
trick trick play or something.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
Here and there.
Speaker 5 (11:52):
We don't want we don't want to go gadget crazy.
Don't go get go go go Gadget crazydget. Yes, you know,
but you know, maybe it's just a wrinkle. Maybe give
you know, a couple of players a little some extra
think about.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
You know, maybe you're maybe you're doing stuff earlier in
the game. And then you're sending it up for later
in the game. I mean your guy Mike Schanna and
Houston that all the time.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Yeah, I mean Mike was one of the best in
the league at the time at improvisation.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Yeah, he's gonna.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Take where some coaches will have a negative play and
they would bail on it and we won't go back
to it, Mike said, We'll say that, we'll come back
to it another quarter, but we're gonna change it up.
We're gonna make it look different. We're gonna run the
same thing, make it look differ, we're gonna fit the formation,
or we're gonna make it look different to see if
they are paying attention, right, And that is the brilliance
(12:44):
of coaching that I'm blessed that I had an opportunity
to be around as a player and practice against it,
but also be around it around as far as Kyle
and Mike McDaniel's were concerned in San Francisco too, well,
I'm sitting there watching him, you know, come up with like,
I don't know if that's gonna work. But then, and
(13:05):
that's the whole thing. It was the trust you did.
You trust and I can tell you this Phil being
in San Francisco around Kyl and Mike mcdame's. You know,
coaches have long hours, and there's a reason why those
dudes were like mad scientists. They were just kind of
thinking stuff up, just bouncing it off one another. But
(13:27):
that's kind of, in my mind, the evolution of the game.
And this is why I'm saying for the Broncos. Adding
another reason why for the Broncos to be successful on Sunday, they're.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Going to have to do that. They're gonna have to
reinvent the wheel.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
And you kind of saw like bow with the pitch.
You know, hey, what did you come from? Yeah, you know, like, hey,
let's you've seen the Detroit Lions kind of scheme.
Speaker 4 (13:52):
Up some of those things.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Ben Johnson, Ben.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Johnson, Travis Kelsey has tried to, you know, pitch the
ball a few times here, just mix it up, get
a little creative out there.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
Who knows.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
I'm all for being creative field, but there's got to
be a level of confidence and.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
You have to talk to players.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Right now, I'm thinking, based on what we saw, even
though the Fishers called it back and I don't agree
with it, that more players will be attentive because think
about it, we talk about about bo and his improvisation
on the spot, think about Javante if Davante, if he
(14:35):
wasn't paying attention right, so hopefully Pheel. In my mind,
this makes every single receiving option pay attention.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Now, yeah, most definitely. But the reason I say that
is because this Broncos team, both sides of the ball,
defense and on offense, they like to play with fire
a little bit.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
They the home run ball is.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
A big part of what they like to do, you know,
those men's deep shots. And then on defense too, like
they like to send an extra guy. They like to blitz.
They like to make that big the pick six. You know,
that's been the bread and butter for this team all
year long.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
You know where if it.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Works, that's how you go and you shot a team
like Buffalo. You know, hey, there's a couple of plays.
There's a pick six, there's a fumble, scoop and score,
there's that bomb. You know, that's how you upset a
team as you hit on a couple of those types
of plays.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
This is why I say where anytime Josh Allen is
running with the ball right, play with any confinements of
the rules hit him.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
Yeah, he just make him think a little bit more
about it.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
That's all we want. Just have a fire by, Just
run run by and real fast that what could have
got you.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
That's all you have to do.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
This is obviously a young Broncos team, not a lot
of playoff experience. We're gonna take a quick break here,
but when we come back, I want to get Nick's
thoughts on just how much things go up and note
it was from the regular season to the playoffs. That's
next year on Broncos Country Tonight, hanging out here with
(16:10):
Nick Ferguson looking ahead to this big wild card matchup
between the Broncos and Bills. Nick, take us inside that
locker room before a playoff game. What's the vibe like,
what's the intensity like? Because just so many of these
Broncos they've never experienced this, they never experienced how things
(16:31):
go up and it's that much more intense. What's it
like before that game? What was it like for you
before that first playoff game?
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Well, it's different, Phil, because you hit on two different things.
An experienced team versus a team that doesn't have a
lot of experience. For that experienced team is like well.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
We've been here before. We know what it's going to take.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Now, we just can't verbalize it and it just kind
of happens by because most people say, well, think about
it manifested that it's gonna happen. That's not how it works.
You actually have to have boots on the ground and
you have to actually make it happen. So it's everyone
going through their typical routine to get themselves ready for
the game and going into the game's sun and you're
(17:18):
gonna constantly hear this. We're gonna treat this like it's
a regular game. Yeah, let me tell you that's bs
because anything about a regular game. The idea is that
you approach it the same way as far as your
level of preparation, but also you have to change, like
I've been talking about from a coaching standpoint, based on
what you do with certain down in distances and personnel groupings.
(17:40):
But once the ball, once the ball is kicked off,
you're gonna realize, okay, this is now for real.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
For inexperienced team, the idea is to.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Go through your original routine like you normally would do,
but once you go out there, you realize, just.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Like that experienced team.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
That is not a regular game, right and there's not
another game that you're going to play after this one.
This is it, So you cannot have that many mistakes.
Like experienced teams know okay, well, they know these strengths
and weaknesses. If we make this mistake, we know that
we are well equipped to battle back from this. An
(18:21):
experience in an inexperienced team.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
They don't know that.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
They really don't because they haven't been pressed to that
point yet.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
They don't know what the threshold is. They think they do.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
There's another level and that's why the cream rises in
to the top in the playoffs. You have to be
able to take your game to a whole different level.
No matter what the coaching staff has done for the
Broncos thus far doesn't make a difference. It doesn't make
a difference what you did as a player, whether you're
a pro bowler or not, No one really cares. This
(18:57):
is where you make a name for yourself in the postseason.
And this is why I constantly talk about the Standard.
It seems like it's just a just two words put together,
the Standard.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
No, it is because this organization for.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Years have been known as a mainstay in the playoffs
and the reason why that has been the case because
there has been the belief and the expectation like this
is supposed to happen. Yeah, yeah, and then the other
part is you have to go make it happen.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
I always looked at like the playoffs kind of are
like a season like this, there's a preseason before the game,
everybody's loose, relaxed, whatever, it's just a preseason game. Then
you take it up to the regular season, a little
bit more intense, a little bit more locked in, everybody's
ready to go. Then you take it up to the playoffs,
everything's a little tighter. Feeling in the building is a
(19:54):
little bit tighter, everybody's sort of.
Speaker 4 (19:56):
More locked in.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
And then like the super Bowl is a whole different one,
more notchup where everybody's it's just like that's the only
thing that matters on this earth. And so like it always,
I feel like there's like stages to what you're able
to do as a team and how you're able to
push yourself down much further, like Nick for you guys,
like I think about like that Patriots game, like the
(20:19):
buzz around the city that week, the feel that hey,
the Patriots are coming. This is they've never lost the
playoff game. You know, it's just different than a regular
season game. Nothing compares to it. And so like when
I'm trying to think about like guys like Sudden Bulls,
they've never experienced this. This is gonna be a little
(20:40):
bit different for them because things just are up, Like
there's the pep rallies in town and there's you know, hashtags,
the climb continues. Things are just like much different around
a playoff week than just like, hey, we're getting ready.
It's week you know, it's week seventeen. Week got the Bengals. Yeah,
(21:01):
that's a big game, but this is different.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Well yeah, and coach Payton has said it before or
on the season that hey, the Bengals game, that's a
big game. And he was doing a little foreshadow and
when he said, okay, well we're going to play in
bigger games and right now, this is.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
The first step to.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Where the Broncos need to get back to as an organization.
And the idea is, don't overthink this. Don't overthink it
because you're going to have to deal with distractions.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Even more so, being.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
A professional athlete comes with its distractions and when you
get to the playoffs, and you move further into the
playoffs closer to the super Bowl, the distractions only increase, right,
more media obligations, more people want to talk to you,
and looking at where this team started to where they
are now.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
They beat Buffalo, things are only going to go up.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Ye people from national media who were not here at
the beginning season, who said negative things about certain coaches,
the players of the team, guess what they're knocking on
their door?
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Hey man, let me hoihl at you for a second.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Right, So it's being able to manage that part, and
an inexperienced team could have difficulties with that.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
If the veterans.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Who've never been to this position in themselves in bowls
and sudden, if they don't try to tell them because
once again they don't know themselves.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
They don't know, but they.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Have to say, Look, we're going into a hostile environment.
The only way for us to get out of the
Lions then alive, we're gonna have to count on every
single guy having attention to detail like they've never had before.
Because that's what you need. That's what you need, Phil.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
But how do you think that that's going to impact
a guy like bo because all year long he's been
like very calm and cool and like it hasn't felt
like anything's.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
Been too big for him, you know what I mean, there.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Are like like at least like just the way he's talking,
like in the media and everything, he's like felt like
he's presented himself that way.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
Like, hey, right, okay, so Boa is playing the role
as a quarterback because that's what you're supposed to do
if you had the face of the franchise, and you're
never supposed to show cracks in your armor, even if
there is.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
A slight disbelief.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Yeah, right, exactly.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
But but I think for him is that he's played
in big games because.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Because I go back to this, even.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Though his Oregon teams did not beat Washington and Michael
Pennock's team, but to know that he's played in those
big games, for him, it's just like, Okay.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
I dealt with the hype.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
I dealt with it. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Yeah, it's just Josh Allen on the opposite side, right,
But I had two weeks ago, I had Joe Burrow.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
Yeah right, I mean even I.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Mean Patrick Mahomes didn't play on Sunday, but he was
watching but I go back to when the Broncos loss
to Kansas City and Mahomes and this is me paraphrasing,
he said something to the fact to Bo like you
know what, hey, man, you did a good job. Yeah,
(24:17):
we're going to see each other lot.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Yeah exactly, yeah, like you got one or you know,
something like that to that effect.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Right, But think about what that did for the confidence
level of Bo to have Patrick.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
Mahomes say that to him, Yeah, I should do.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
This, no matter what his father said to him, no
matter what Sean has said to him.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Mahomes said, your opponent the best quarterback in the world.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Yes, hey, I'm looking forward to this many years to come.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
Yeah. Yeah, that does give you a lot of confidence.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Yes, And this is why the guys have a lot
of confidence because they have confidence in bowl. Yeah, and
they're gonna lean need to lean on him to show
that leadership. But also he's gonna need to lean on
them for them to do their jobs so he can
go out and excel.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
I'm trying to think about who they can go to,
who has playoff experience on this team, Like mcglinchy's been,
there been powers.
Speaker 4 (25:19):
With the Ravens.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
There's just not a lot of guys like Will LUTs
With the Saints.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
They don't have a lot of guys.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
So here's here's what I would recommend to the Broncos
and Sean Payton, not to say that they would do this,
but I would recommend highly. Feel I would recommend this
since you have a lot of guys in that building
who have not been to the playoffs and you mentioned
(25:48):
a couple Will Lutts or whatever. But guess what, see,
Will Lutz has never been well, he hasn't been in
this Broncos organization for a long period of time. Yeah,
he doesn't understand in my opinion, that Broncos long history
guy you got doing, right, who do you go to? Well,
I mean, obviously if you can bring in eighteen, but
(26:11):
I'm not just bringing in eighteen right, a lot of.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
Guys I'm bringing it.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
I'm bringing in Steve Atwater, An McCaffrey, I'm bringing in
Rod Smith. I'm bringing in those guys because it's great
to have guys who have had success on this team. Well,
let's talk to that that nineteen ninety sixteen that lost
to Jacksonville.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
And I know, yes, and I know.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
That most people in Broncos country. They don't like it.
Mike doesn't like it, Steve doesn't like it. Every guy
on that team. They don't like it. But they need
to tell those guys what it's like because tomorrow's not promised.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
You think just because you got to the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (26:53):
This season, you're going back forever now?
Speaker 2 (26:55):
No, No, And have those guys tell tell the stories
of how they prepare, what it was like when they.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Lost to Jacksonville. Yeah, right, to see the look on
their face, real emotion.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Yeah, and let those people, Let those players have that
sink in.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
Yeah, why this organization is so important?
Speaker 2 (27:17):
To eat in one of those players and hopefully the
message sinks in and you plan to see that those
guys know, these are the shoulders that you sit on. Yeah, right,
how close you can be to your goal, it still
fall short.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
It is crazy that what the playoffs mean, Nick, Like,
just like you know you talk about making your name
and your legacy and everything, this is what the playoffs
are about.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
Taking it up that notch.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
When you think of guys you think, like you mentioned
all these old guys, you think of them from their
playoff games, You know what I mean? It like, maybe
there's like a plank here or there, like really stands
out from a player's career from the regular season. But
when you think about guys, you really are thinking about
these types of moments, these types of games, you know,
(28:10):
where they pulled off a miracle and they won the game.
That's where you think about these guys. Like when I
think of Rod Smith, the very first thing I think
about is that Atlanta touchdown in the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
Yes, you know what I mean, Like, yes.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
These are like the moments are like Steve, of course
there's a Coyer hit, but I think about that Super
Bowl thirty two. You know when he hits far you know, like,
those are the moments where you build your legacy and
the type of player that you're remembered as.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
You know, that's exciting for these.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Young Broncos guys, like they've got opportunity now to really
make a name for themselves. Hey, remember when DT caught
that pass against the Steelers. This is where you build
that It's in these types of moments.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
You're absolutely right, Phil, and I'm glad you brought that
up because in the regular season, obviously it is filled
with moments, but it is those moments where there's only
a handful of teams who were playing rights two games
on Saturday, two games on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
And we know who moved on and who lost.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
We know which player made that game changing play for
his team, and we know which guy who didn't.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Either you're gonna be the hero or you're.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Gonna be the go And then I don't mean go
in the sense of greatest.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
All the time. No, no, no, no, no no, Yeah, you're
gonna be yes. Yeah, you're gonna be Billy go.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Gruff, right, the one that all the fans are going like, Man,
that guy ruined for me.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
And that's the great thing about the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
And I learned this as a player who was undrafted
and coming into this league. And for me during my time,
it was Pat summer raw and John Mann called in
games and I remember the first time Madden mentioned my
(30:07):
name is on a Monday night football game against the Raiders. Dude,
my phone blew up, It blew up, yeah, and it
was It was never the same for me. So these
players have to understand that playing in this playing this
game changes your life. But playing the game of football
in the playoffs, it's going to change so much for
(30:30):
you and you and you can't allow the fall, the
opportunity to fall through your hand, like saying, because the
guarantee you're gonna be here next year.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
And there's some guys who they take their game to
that next level, and then there's other guys that that
pressure they start thinking about it and it gets in
their head, you know. Like I always remember Vaughn that
Super Bowl week going into that Carolina game. The look
on his eyes. You could just tell like this guy
is in a different world. It means something to yeah,
(31:00):
like he was in a different zone. You know, like
there was no question he was going to go out
there and do something insane, like in my mind. I
mean it's easy to say that now, but I do
remember thinking that week like this guy is, like I've
not seen him like this.
Speaker 5 (31:15):
You know.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
It carried it like on from that Patriots game and
what he did against Brady in them, but like you
could just tell like he went to a different place,
and you know you talk about like like even like
lay you know, like all the miracle things he did.
The knock on him was that he wasn't able to
win that big one. But now you're like, oh yeah,
eh wait, back to back super Bowls. You know that
(31:37):
that's what you'd remember him for. But for a long
time there during his career, he was the guy who
couldn't win the big one, you know, So like these
are the moments that really start to define.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
And this is where Josh Allen now finds himself.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
Yeah, exactly. He can't beat Patrick Mahomes, can't beat him.
He's amazing in the regular season, but he can't beat that.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
You know, that's season quarterback. So if I'm the Broncos players,
I'm gonna use that.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
You're using that against him. You're talking, Oh.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
Yeah, I'm talking all we call the cash money.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
We're talking all.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Kind of cash money crack to Josh Allen.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Oh yeah, get inside his head a little, yeah, because
that you're talking about the playoff hurt.
Speaker 4 (32:18):
The Bills have gone through that.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
You know, you talk, you talk about that, and you
know we'll get into more of that here coming up
after the break. You're listening to Nick Ferguson in FILMLNI
here on Broncos Country Tonight.
Broncos Country Tonight, I am film Alani filling in for
Benjamin al right here in studio, chopping it up with
my guy Nick Ferguson. Nick, let's talk a little bit
more about this Broncos defensive. We were just talking about
Vance Joseph.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Yeah, and let's let's talk about this Dan Broncos defense.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
What do you think about it? I mean the job
that Vance has done this year. He deserves a lot
of credit for the turnaround that they've made from last
year to this year.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
And I don't know if you're familiar with this what
I'm about to say to this particular show to make
this reference. I tell Ryan there was this all the time,
much to his chagrin, but I said, basically, the Broncos
defense land under Vance Joseph. They've been like mcgiver, Oh yeah,
you know, let's he finds everything and he can kind
(00:54):
of give himself out of a tight situation.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
And for me, it's always.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Been about the defense coming through when the Broncos needed
a play. And I don't say that to try to
create division between offensive defense. It is just stressing the
importance of what the guys have done under Vance Joseph
leadership because there are not too many first rounders on
this defense. It's just Pat and Pat allow his advance
(01:24):
to do a number of things. But so does Riley Moss,
so does DJ Jones, so does Jonathan Cooper, who I'm
so proud.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Of Coop because.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Coop coming out of Ohio State, he was just kind
of undermined by the draft policy process because.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Of his heart issue. Yep.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
But if you were to talk about measuring a guy's
heart like that, I mean, you cannot measure this dude's
hard and to know that how he came into the league,
to know he just got this big payday about a
month ago, that says a lot about who he is yep.
(02:08):
And for me, that says a lot about the attitude
and the culture of the Denver Broncos. And I would
be remiss if I didn't mention Jim Leonard as well.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Oh yeah, based on what he has been able to do.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
So, I mean, I know everyone talks about the head coach,
the quarterback, and rightfully, so Bo has been brilliant. I
think he's going to get better. He's not a finished product.
But oftentimes when we talk about things within this league,
we always just talk about those two things. And for me, Phil,
(02:43):
because I'm a defensive guy through and through, I am
not going to let it pass without giving the defense
some freaking love. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
I mean, just so many guys came in to fill
some holes and they've played outstanding this and a lot
of guys have had career years, you know, like it's
just been that that part of it, that particular part
of this defense. It's been amazing just to see all
these guys really playing at the peak of their potential.
(03:13):
And I think that a lot of that credit has
to go to Vance, you know, just because the way
that he coaches these guys, the connection, the bond that
he builds with them. You know, you hear so much
about Vance's leadership. That was like sort of the big
thing when he was the head coach. Coming in, everybody
was talking about, you know, this leader of men, and
(03:35):
you know, his his ability to really build that connection
with the team. I think that you're seeing the fruits
of that more with him as a coordinator this time around,
just because he's got so much more time to just
spend with the defensive guys, He's able to like really
lead those meetings and build that connection and you're seeing
(03:56):
that now.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
I know most people say, well, certain coaches are not
built for certain positions, and sometimes it takes that first
opportunity totally.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
To learn, to grow and even to make mistakes.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
That's why, like when someone applies for a job on
any particular level and they're like, well, we can't hire
you because you don't have experience, and they're like, well, hawna,
hell am I supposed to get experience if you never
give it to me, right?
Speaker 3 (04:25):
I need a chance.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
And this is kind of a second opportunity for vance
here in this market with this fan base. But I
do have to as we talk about the defense, definitely
putting spotlight.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
On a couple of players. I mean, after Justin.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Simmons didn't come back with the different Broncos signed.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
With the Foul Becons, after staying out on the.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
Market for so long, we were all wondering, well, what
was Brandon Jones going to bring you to the secondary?
Speaker 4 (04:53):
Amazing?
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Amazing, And I have to say that he has performed
admirably in the role that he was in, and it's
being able to find guys like that, being able to
put those guys in those positions to make plays, but
also those guys rewarding the coordinators for having confidence and
faith in them.
Speaker 4 (05:13):
Yeah, most definitely.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
And you know, it was good to hear Sean Payton
really back Vance this week talking about how Vance is
gonna interview for that job with the Jets. And I
do think that the first time around, you learned so
much about the role. There's so much to being a
head coach that you don't really realize until you're in
those in that seat. You know, all the scheduling, all
(05:35):
the things, all the little details that take place in
the building. There's no way to have that experience unless
you start doing it.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Well, let me put it in there in the world.
I know you understand.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Grant hasn't gotten there yet, but eventually he will. Like
your father too, right, think about where Phil mulaney was
mentally before two kids he is now?
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Yeah, night and day.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Yes, Were you prepared for number two?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
No? Right?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
So are you prepared for number two being in the
mix right now?
Speaker 4 (06:06):
With oh? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah exactly.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
The first time around, you're just like, I don't know
what I'm doing here, Like I hope this thing, this
this kid just survives, you know, And then the second
time around you're like, oh, yeah, that's okay. You know,
you're a lot more chill, but yes, you learn and
that experience.
Speaker 4 (06:24):
You can't get it any other way.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
And I think that that's why you see a lot
of head coaches struggle that first time and then boom
the second time they really take off, is because you
learn so much and you learn from mistakes. That's the
best way to learn, you know, trial by fire. You learn, Hey,
and you know what, I shouldn't have done this. I
didn't like that it didn't turn out well. Second time around, boom,
you have that experience and you know what works. That's why,
(06:49):
like a lot of times you're like, man, if in
certain situations, it's good to go out and just hire
a guy who's done it before. You know, just it
is hard to get that experience. But you know, like
if you're a team out there looking for a head coach,
to me, you're like, I'm going to try and find
a guy who's done it before, just because it is
so hard to learn that first time.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
It is so hard, But how do you get once
again get that experience?
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Yeah, and I know some fans and some owners are like, well,
I don't want your first time to be in my
organization and we have to watch you fail. But in
order to move forward, you have to fail. Let me
bring it full circle. So this Broncos organization being on
the hiatus from.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
The playoffs for nine plus.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
Years, that way to put it. Yes, they.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
They know what it is to miss the playoffs. They
know what it is to fail. So now they're kind
of yielding the fruits of their labor and they're in
the playoffs for the first time, and they're hoping to
make the sorrows of yesteryear be the glories of tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
That's what their whole Yeah, and.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Sometimes you have to lose to know how much winning means.
And this is why I don't know about you feel,
but I freaking hate participation in trophies.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Oh yeah, I hate you gotta feel the anguish of defeat. Yes,
that motivates you to work harder to get back.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
It's hold to. Yeah, it's opposed to.
Speaker 4 (08:22):
I agree.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
And that's where the Broncos find themselves right now. And
that's where this Broncos defense finds themselves because things haven't
always been where everyone hoped they would be.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Go back to the Baltimore game.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Yeah, I mean, I was gonna get to that just
even down the stretch there.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
Nick.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
You look at like some of these games that they play,
you know, the Browns they give up thirty two points
to Jamis Jerry Judy goes off. That Colts game, they
only score thirteen points, But that could have been a
totally different game if Jonathan Taylor doesn't fumble that ball
at the goal line. The Chargers score thirty four, the
Bengals thirty, and then of course they whooped up on
(09:02):
the Chiefs backups. But like, did they right enough of
what was going wrong there against the Chiefs to now
feel confident going into this Bells game.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
I'm not gonna say they corrected everything, but it does
instill some confidence in them. Obviously they understood that who
they were playing against, what was at stake or wasn't
at stake for Kansas City, But it was just about
them going out there and them being the Broncos defense,
go out and execute. Now here's the way that I
look at it from. You know, my football viewpoint is
(09:37):
that you know, most fans, we look at time and possession, right, Okay, well,
who dominated time in possession?
Speaker 3 (09:42):
Sometimes that could.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Be a little misleading but after the Bengals game there
was a lot of negativity about the Broncos defense.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Riley Moss and Vance.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Chose him and I said, well, let's take a look
at this with full vision, pull strip down your emotions.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
The game is a team game.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
And then and then obviously the defense had moments when
they want to feel a long period of time, but
it goes back to the offense being able to sustain
drives to keep them off the field. Balance it out
because we all when we talk at football, we always
talk about offensive balance, running the ball, passing the ball,
but rarely do we speak about team balance. There you go,
(10:26):
and that's what they're going to need if they are
able to shock the world and go into Buffalo and
come away with the win.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Yeah, like you don't want to get into a shootout
in this game, No, you know, let's slow it down,
limit possessions, you know, run the football on offense.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
If they can do that, can we.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Just redefine that?
Speaker 2 (10:46):
What does it mean instead of just saying because it
just kind of sticks in my crawl when I when
I hear that, oh, just just just run the ball
and and and just the phrase itself sounds so simple.
Speaker 4 (10:58):
Yeah, just do it.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Just just handed to him, let me run it. And
it's like, well, no, it's not it's not that easy.
So my idea is being a little creative.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Like on the game on.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Sunday we saw the Broncos running somewhat like Power where
where they they pull bin powers no pun intended and
quit minors. Right, run more of that, get outside of
the pocket. That's this is what I mean when I
said earlier when Steve was in here, about breaking your tendencies,
(11:30):
doing something unexpected but that plays in the framework of
your scheme and plays to your player's skill set.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
Yeah, you gotta do.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
You got to mix something up where hey, we didn't
see this for those first seventeen games.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
You see it, you know, let's uh a.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
Little wrinkle here, maybe a different look, maybe a little
trick trick play or something.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
Here and there.
Speaker 5 (11:52):
We don't want we don't want to go gadget crazy.
Don't go get go go go Gadget crazydget. Yes, you know,
but you know, maybe it's just a wrinkle. Maybe give
you know, a couple of players a little some extra
think about.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
You know, maybe you're maybe you're doing stuff earlier in
the game. And then you're sending it up for later
in the game. I mean your guy Mike Schanna and
Houston that all the time.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Yeah, I mean Mike was one of the best in
the league at the time at improvisation.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Yeah, he's gonna.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Take where some coaches will have a negative play and
they would bail on it and we won't go back
to it, Mike said, We'll say that, we'll come back
to it another quarter, but we're gonna change it up.
We're gonna make it look different. We're gonna run the
same thing, make it look differ, we're gonna fit the formation,
or we're gonna make it look different to see if
they are paying attention, right, And that is the brilliance
(12:44):
of coaching that I'm blessed that I had an opportunity
to be around as a player and practice against it,
but also be around it around as far as Kyle
and Mike McDaniel's were concerned in San Francisco too, well,
I'm sitting there watching him, you know, come up with like,
I don't know if that's gonna work. But then, and
(13:05):
that's the whole thing. It was the trust you did.
You trust and I can tell you this Phil being
in San Francisco around Kyl and Mike mcdame's. You know,
coaches have long hours, and there's a reason why those
dudes were like mad scientists. They were just kind of
thinking stuff up, just bouncing it off one another. But
(13:27):
that's kind of, in my mind, the evolution of the game.
And this is why I'm saying for the Broncos. Adding
another reason why for the Broncos to be successful on Sunday, they're.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Going to have to do that. They're gonna have to
reinvent the wheel.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
And you kind of saw like bow with the pitch.
You know, hey, what did you come from? Yeah, you know, like, hey,
let's you've seen the Detroit Lions kind of scheme.
Speaker 4 (13:52):
Up some of those things.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Ben Johnson, Ben.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Johnson, Travis Kelsey has tried to, you know, pitch the
ball a few times here, just mix it up, get
a little creative out there.
Speaker 4 (14:03):
Who knows.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
I'm all for being creative field, but there's got to
be a level of confidence and.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
You have to talk to players.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Right now, I'm thinking, based on what we saw, even
though the Fishers called it back and I don't agree
with it, that more players will be attentive because think
about it, we talk about about bo and his improvisation
on the spot, think about Javante if Davante, if he
(14:35):
wasn't paying attention right, so hopefully Pheel. In my mind,
this makes every single receiving option pay attention.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Now, yeah, most definitely. But the reason I say that
is because this Broncos team, both sides of the ball,
defense and on offense, they like to play with fire
a little bit.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
They the home run ball is.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
A big part of what they like to do, you know,
those men's deep shots. And then on defense too, like
they like to send an extra guy. They like to blitz.
They like to make that big the pick six. You know,
that's been the bread and butter for this team all
year long.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
You know where if it.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Works, that's how you go and you shot a team
like Buffalo. You know, hey, there's a couple of plays.
There's a pick six, there's a fumble, scoop and score,
there's that bomb. You know, that's how you upset a
team as you hit on a couple of those types
of plays.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
This is why I say where anytime Josh Allen is
running with the ball right, play with any confinements of
the rules hit him.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
Yeah, he just make him think a little bit more
about it.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
That's all we want. Just have a fire by, Just
run run by and real fast that what could have
got you.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
That's all you have to do.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
This is obviously a young Broncos team, not a lot
of playoff experience. We're gonna take a quick break here,
but when we come back, I want to get Nick's
thoughts on just how much things go up and note
it was from the regular season to the playoffs. That's
next year on Broncos Country Tonight, hanging out here with
(16:10):
Nick Ferguson looking ahead to this big wild card matchup
between the Broncos and Bills. Nick, take us inside that
locker room before a playoff game. What's the vibe like,
what's the intensity like? Because just so many of these
Broncos they've never experienced this, they never experienced how things
(16:31):
go up and it's that much more intense. What's it
like before that game? What was it like for you
before that first playoff game?
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Well, it's different, Phil, because you hit on two different things.
An experienced team versus a team that doesn't have a
lot of experience. For that experienced team is like well.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
We've been here before. We know what it's going to take.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Now, we just can't verbalize it and it just kind
of happens by because most people say, well, think about
it manifested that it's gonna happen. That's not how it works.
You actually have to have boots on the ground and
you have to actually make it happen. So it's everyone
going through their typical routine to get themselves ready for
the game and going into the game's sun and you're
(17:18):
gonna constantly hear this. We're gonna treat this like it's
a regular game. Yeah, let me tell you that's bs
because anything about a regular game. The idea is that
you approach it the same way as far as your
level of preparation, but also you have to change, like
I've been talking about from a coaching standpoint, based on
what you do with certain down in distances and personnel groupings.
(17:40):
But once the ball, once the ball is kicked off,
you're gonna realize, okay, this is now for real.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
For inexperienced team, the idea is to.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Go through your original routine like you normally would do,
but once you go out there, you realize, just.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Like that experienced team.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
That is not a regular game, right and there's not
another game that you're going to play after this one.
This is it, So you cannot have that many mistakes.
Like experienced teams know okay, well, they know these strengths
and weaknesses. If we make this mistake, we know that
we are well equipped to battle back from this. An
(18:21):
experience in an inexperienced team.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
They don't know that.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
They really don't because they haven't been pressed to that
point yet.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
They don't know what the threshold is. They think they do.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
There's another level and that's why the cream rises in
to the top in the playoffs. You have to be
able to take your game to a whole different level.
No matter what the coaching staff has done for the
Broncos thus far doesn't make a difference. It doesn't make
a difference what you did as a player, whether you're
a pro bowler or not, No one really cares. This
(18:57):
is where you make a name for yourself in the postseason.
And this is why I constantly talk about the Standard.
It seems like it's just a just two words put together,
the Standard.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
No, it is because this organization for.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Years have been known as a mainstay in the playoffs
and the reason why that has been the case because
there has been the belief and the expectation like this
is supposed to happen. Yeah, yeah, and then the other
part is you have to go make it happen.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
I always looked at like the playoffs kind of are
like a season like this, there's a preseason before the game,
everybody's loose, relaxed, whatever, it's just a preseason game. Then
you take it up to the regular season, a little
bit more intense, a little bit more locked in, everybody's
ready to go. Then you take it up to the playoffs,
everything's a little tighter. Feeling in the building is a
(19:54):
little bit tighter, everybody's sort of.
Speaker 4 (19:56):
More locked in.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
And then like the super Bowl is a whole different one,
more notchup where everybody's it's just like that's the only
thing that matters on this earth. And so like it always,
I feel like there's like stages to what you're able
to do as a team and how you're able to
push yourself down much further, like Nick for you guys,
like I think about like that Patriots game, like the
(20:19):
buzz around the city that week, the feel that hey,
the Patriots are coming. This is they've never lost the
playoff game. You know, it's just different than a regular
season game. Nothing compares to it. And so like when
I'm trying to think about like guys like Sudden Bulls,
they've never experienced this. This is gonna be a little
(20:40):
bit different for them because things just are up, Like
there's the pep rallies in town and there's you know, hashtags,
the climb continues. Things are just like much different around
a playoff week than just like, hey, we're getting ready.
It's week you know, it's week seventeen. Week got the Bengals. Yeah,
(21:01):
that's a big game, but this is different.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Well yeah, and coach Payton has said it before or
on the season that hey, the Bengals game, that's a
big game. And he was doing a little foreshadow and
when he said, okay, well we're going to play in
bigger games and right now, this is.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
The first step to.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Where the Broncos need to get back to as an organization.
And the idea is, don't overthink this. Don't overthink it
because you're going to have to deal with distractions.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Even more so, being.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
A professional athlete comes with its distractions and when you
get to the playoffs, and you move further into the
playoffs closer to the super Bowl, the distractions only increase, right,
more media obligations, more people want to talk to you,
and looking at where this team started to where they
are now.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
They beat Buffalo, things are only going to go up.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Ye people from national media who were not here at
the beginning season, who said negative things about certain coaches,
the players of the team, guess what they're knocking on
their door?
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Hey man, let me hoihl at you for a second.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Right, So it's being able to manage that part, and
an inexperienced team could have difficulties with that.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
If the veterans.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Who've never been to this position in themselves in bowls
and sudden, if they don't try to tell them because
once again they don't know themselves.
Speaker 3 (22:31):
They don't know, but they.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Have to say, Look, we're going into a hostile environment.
The only way for us to get out of the
Lions then alive, we're gonna have to count on every
single guy having attention to detail like they've never had before.
Because that's what you need. That's what you need, Phil.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
But how do you think that that's going to impact
a guy like bo because all year long he's been
like very calm and cool and like it hasn't felt
like anything's.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
Been too big for him, you know what I mean, there.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Are like like at least like just the way he's talking,
like in the media and everything, he's like felt like
he's presented himself that way.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
Like, hey, right, okay, so Boa is playing the role
as a quarterback because that's what you're supposed to do
if you had the face of the franchise, and you're
never supposed to show cracks in your armor, even if
there is.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
A slight disbelief.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Yeah, right, exactly.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
But but I think for him is that he's played
in big games because.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Because I go back to this, even.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Though his Oregon teams did not beat Washington and Michael
Pennock's team, but to know that he's played in those
big games, for him, it's just like, Okay.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
I dealt with the hype.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
I dealt with it. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Yeah, it's just Josh Allen on the opposite side, right,
But I had two weeks ago, I had Joe Burrow.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
Yeah right, I mean even I.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Mean Patrick Mahomes didn't play on Sunday, but he was
watching but I go back to when the Broncos loss
to Kansas City and Mahomes and this is me paraphrasing,
he said something to the fact to Bo like you
know what, hey, man, you did a good job. Yeah,
(24:17):
we're going to see each other lot.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
Yeah exactly, yeah, like you got one or you know,
something like that to that effect.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Right, But think about what that did for the confidence
level of Bo to have Patrick.
Speaker 3 (24:31):
Mahomes say that to him, Yeah, I should do.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
This, no matter what his father said to him, no
matter what Sean has said to him.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
Mahomes said, your opponent the best quarterback in the world.
Speaker 3 (24:45):
Yes, hey, I'm looking forward to this many years to come.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
Yeah. Yeah, that does give you a lot of confidence.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Yes, And this is why the guys have a lot
of confidence because they have confidence in bowl. Yeah, and
they're gonna lean need to lean on him to show
that leadership. But also he's gonna need to lean on
them for them to do their jobs so he can
go out and excel.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
I'm trying to think about who they can go to,
who has playoff experience on this team, Like mcglinchy's been,
there been powers.
Speaker 4 (25:19):
With the Ravens.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
There's just not a lot of guys like Will LUTs
With the Saints.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
They don't have a lot of guys.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
So here's here's what I would recommend to the Broncos
and Sean Payton, not to say that they would do this,
but I would recommend highly. Feel I would recommend this
since you have a lot of guys in that building
who have not been to the playoffs and you mentioned
(25:48):
a couple Will Lutts or whatever. But guess what, see,
Will Lutz has never been well, he hasn't been in
this Broncos organization for a long period of time. Yeah,
he doesn't understand in my opinion, that Broncos long history
guy you got doing, right, who do you go to? Well,
I mean, obviously if you can bring in eighteen, but
(26:11):
I'm not just bringing in eighteen right, a lot of.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
Guys I'm bringing it.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
I'm bringing in Steve Atwater, An McCaffrey, I'm bringing in
Rod Smith. I'm bringing in those guys because it's great
to have guys who have had success on this team. Well,
let's talk to that that nineteen ninety sixteen that lost
to Jacksonville.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
And I know, yes, and I know.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
That most people in Broncos country. They don't like it.
Mike doesn't like it, Steve doesn't like it. Every guy
on that team. They don't like it. But they need
to tell those guys what it's like because tomorrow's not promised.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
You think just because you got to the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (26:53):
This season, you're going back forever now?
Speaker 2 (26:55):
No, No, And have those guys tell tell the stories
of how they prepare, what it was like when they.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Lost to Jacksonville. Yeah, right, to see the look on
their face, real emotion.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Yeah, and let those people, Let those players have that
sink in.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
Yeah, why this organization is so important?
Speaker 2 (27:17):
To eat in one of those players and hopefully the
message sinks in and you plan to see that those
guys know, these are the shoulders that you sit on. Yeah, right,
how close you can be to your goal, it still
fall short.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
It is crazy that what the playoffs mean, Nick, Like,
just like you know you talk about making your name
and your legacy and everything, this is what the playoffs
are about.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
Taking it up that notch.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
When you think of guys you think, like you mentioned
all these old guys, you think of them from their
playoff games, You know what I mean? It like, maybe
there's like a plank here or there, like really stands
out from a player's career from the regular season. But
when you think about guys, you really are thinking about
these types of moments, these types of games, you know,
(28:10):
where they pulled off a miracle and they won the game.
That's where you think about these guys. Like when I
think of Rod Smith, the very first thing I think
about is that Atlanta touchdown in the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
Yes, you know what I mean, Like, yes.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
These are like the moments are like Steve, of course
there's a Coyer hit, but I think about that Super
Bowl thirty two. You know when he hits far you know, like,
those are the moments where you build your legacy and
the type of player that you're remembered as.
Speaker 4 (28:39):
You know, that's exciting for these.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Young Broncos guys, like they've got opportunity now to really
make a name for themselves. Hey, remember when DT caught
that pass against the Steelers. This is where you build
that It's in these types of moments.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
You're absolutely right, Phil, and I'm glad you brought that
up because in the regular season, obviously it is filled
with moments, but it is those moments where there's only
a handful of teams who were playing rights two games
on Saturday, two games on Sunday.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
And we know who moved on and who lost.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
We know which player made that game changing play for
his team, and we know which guy who didn't.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Either you're gonna be the hero or you're.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Gonna be the go And then I don't mean go
in the sense of greatest.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
All the time. No, no, no, no, no no, Yeah, you're
gonna be yes. Yeah, you're gonna be Billy go.
Speaker 2 (29:38):
Gruff, right, the one that all the fans are going like, Man,
that guy ruined for me.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
And that's the great thing about the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
And I learned this as a player who was undrafted
and coming into this league. And for me during my time,
it was Pat summer raw and John Mann called in
games and I remember the first time Madden mentioned my
(30:07):
name is on a Monday night football game against the Raiders. Dude,
my phone blew up, It blew up, yeah, and it
was It was never the same for me. So these
players have to understand that playing in this playing this
game changes your life. But playing the game of football
in the playoffs, it's going to change so much for
(30:30):
you and you and you can't allow the fall, the
opportunity to fall through your hand, like saying, because the
guarantee you're gonna be here next year.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
And there's some guys who they take their game to
that next level, and then there's other guys that that
pressure they start thinking about it and it gets in
their head, you know. Like I always remember Vaughn that
Super Bowl week going into that Carolina game. The look
on his eyes. You could just tell like this guy
is in a different world. It means something to yeah,
(31:00):
like he was in a different zone. You know, like
there was no question he was going to go out
there and do something insane, like in my mind. I
mean it's easy to say that now, but I do
remember thinking that week like this guy is, like I've
not seen him like this.
Speaker 5 (31:15):
You know.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
It carried it like on from that Patriots game and
what he did against Brady in them, but like you
could just tell like he went to a different place,
and you know you talk about like like even like
lay you know, like all the miracle things he did.
The knock on him was that he wasn't able to
win that big one. But now you're like, oh yeah,
eh wait, back to back super Bowls. You know that
(31:37):
that's what you'd remember him for. But for a long
time there during his career, he was the guy who
couldn't win the big one, you know, So like these
are the moments that really start to define.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
And this is where Josh Allen now finds himself.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
Yeah, exactly. He can't beat Patrick Mahomes, can't beat him.
He's amazing in the regular season, but he can't beat that.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
You know, that's season quarterback. So if I'm the Broncos players,
I'm gonna use that.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
You're using that against him. You're talking, Oh.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
Yeah, I'm talking all we call the cash money.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
We're talking all.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Kind of cash money crack to Josh Allen.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Oh yeah, get inside his head a little, yeah, because
that you're talking about the playoff hurt.
Speaker 4 (32:18):
The Bills have gone through that.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
You know, you talk, you talk about that, and you
know we'll get into more of that here coming up
after the break. You're listening to Nick Ferguson in FILMLNI
here on Broncos Country Tonight.
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