Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is going to be a double pass. They throw
a completed throw back to Richardson, it's going to be intercepted, intercepted.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Nick Pananto Banano to there and.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
So touchdown differ fifty yards on the pick six.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
This place is a mad house.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Dave Wigan on a historic call of Nick Benito's pick six,
fumbles six, whatever you want to call it. In the
Broncos big time come from behind victory against the Colts
this past season. That was such a big game here
Broncos Country tonight. Cody Rourrick, Phil Mlani fieling in for
Benjamin Alright. Nick ferguson here you're going to get involved
on the Common Spirit health text line Texas five to six,
six nine zero here as we talk about Nick Benito.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Feel we were alluding to it a little bit earlier
on the show as we.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Were talking about contract extensions here, but for Nick Benito specifically,
this is one that I know you said the Broncos
should prioritize getting done first. On my end, I really
feel like this will probably be the hardest one for
them to get done.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
It's a fake choice.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
If they can get it done, great, Because you and
I were talking during the break here the Broncos and
Benito or kind of in a unique situation where from
Benito's side, you know, for two years in a row,
he's proven that he's an ascending player at the pass
rush position, obviously at outside linebacker. Last year he was
in a defensive Player of the Year conversation for a
little bit down the stretch. For the Broncos side, it's
(01:15):
all right, you know, unfortunately we don't have the fifth
year option for a guy like Bonnito, and we're up against.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
The clock with that.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
If the Broncos wait and get the extension, and let's
say Nick Benito doesn't have necessarily the year he had
last year, it gives the Broncos leverage. But if Nick
Benito comes out, let's say he gets off to a
hot start in the first five six weeks of the season, Knicks.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Price goes up.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
So the perfect solution here will be to get the
deal done early before any of that happens.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
You got to look into your crystal ball a little
bit high, like it is sort of a you know,
you don't know, it's a conundrum, right, but it's a
good conundrum, right. You want to have good enough players
all across your roster where you're having to make some
tough decisions about guys. And look, Nick Benino is coming
off of a career year, like an all time year
for him.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
I mean the play that you know, you when.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
You hear Dave's voice crass crack a little bit like that,
you know, it's a big play.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Right.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
He made a ton of those plays last year. It
seemed like every game he was doing something we were like,
is that Nick Bendido again? You know, it felt like that.
Thirteen and a half sacks last year, two forced fumbles,
a fumble recovery, the interception. He was in the end zone,
third in the NFL in sacks last year, you know,
(02:30):
and helped the Broncos, you know, you know, with all
the sacks that they had, he was a big focus
for opposing teams.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
So like he kind of.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
Contributed to a lot of the success that the Broncos
pass rushers had. So yeah, now if you're the bron
on the Broncos side, you're saying, Okay, is this guy
an ascending player who's going to be in the caliber
with those elite guys across the league? Is he going
to be like Trey Hendrickson. Is he going to be
like Miles Garrett? Is he developed into one of those
(03:00):
guys if he is get a deal done now, okay,
you could probably get him into what twenty three a year?
You could probably do something like that, right Miles Garrett
did what forty a year?
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Oh jeez, Okay, Max Crosby to it. Yeah, And that's tough.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
That's tough though, you know, fill the challenge, the obstacle
in the challenge.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
You know.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
I think if Nick's representation is looking at Miles Garrett
and obviously a guy like Max Crosby, the way that
those guys play defense is a little different because right
there they're more traditional four to three hand in the dirt.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
They can play outside there.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Nick I think has a little bit more past coverage responsibility,
you know, to the defense while still rushing the pass
or playing against the run. So it's like, what do
you gauge, like, what's the comparison in terms of the market.
And I think the only other guy you can look
at right now you look at TJ.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Watt, who obviously, you know, after.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
His rookie deal, he signed a four year, one hundred
and twelve million dollar extension and include thirty five point
five as a signing bonus eighty million Garret. That's crazy,
But that average annual value for TJ. Watt and his
prime was twenty eight million per year. I'd say the
market is constantly changing. You need pass rushers here, but
you look at what the Philadelphia Eagles just did. They
(04:14):
got after Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl and dominated
them without really rushing more than four players. And it
wasn't necessarily just their outside linebacker guys they let obviously,
you know, some outside linebackers go in the offseason because
they believe in what they have where they were with
Vic Fangio. For me, I look at Nick Benito and
I think to myself, Okay, this guy is sending right now.
The price tag probably is gonna be anywhere between that
twenty one to twenty three, maybe twenty four million. Five
(04:37):
What as we know, Like, what's the market going to
be two or three years from now. It's so hard
to gauge, And I think that's why it's important that
the Broncos get this one done, because you don't want
this to drag out to where Knick's price is going
to ultimately go, which Nick deserves like, if Nick drives
the price up, he absolutely deserves to get paid that.
But the NFL is so tough, especially with all the
money the Broncos are already allocating defensively. You know, it's
(05:00):
guys like Patser Tan Helenoufannga, Drake Greenlaw. You know, you
have a zach Allen extension that's coming up, and I
know the Broncos that's a huge priority for them to
take care of.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
You just resigned DJ Jones.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
You have Malcolm Roach still on the roster, like you
were in a position right now where it's like all
that money on the defense, Eventually that bill's going to
get larger.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
And look like if you make the wrong move here,
say you give Nick Benito all that money and hey,
last year was that was it? That was a pinnacle,
he's not gonna be able to replicate.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
You know.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
If that turns out to be the case, then you've
got a sunk costs there, and now you're not going
to be able to pay these other guys. Right, So
it's a big decision for the Broncos, and it could
be the kind of thing where they say, Okay, let's
see how he starts this year, Let's see what he's
able to do. And you talk about guys feeling some pressure,
I mean it could be Benito who's under the most
(05:49):
pressure here because he is possibly he could come into
some big money if the Bronco is wait too long
and he's having this great year, you know that his
side is going to say, Okay, hey, we're waiting to
see what the Cowboys do with Michael Parsons, right, oh
geezu Trey Hendrickson with the Bengals. What's gonna happen with him?
So you start saying, Okay, his side's gonna be like,
(06:10):
let me see what these guys do, and then well,
we think Benito's in that category, you know. And so
it's a big decision. And if you bet and you
get it right, then you're going to be in a
good spot. But if you get it wrong and you're
the Broncos, that they could be in a world to
hurt with some of these other guys on their team.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Well, AND's so much too. I think also depends on
what's the designation going to be. You know, if you're
a Nick Benito and you're looking at as like, all right,
I play off the edge. I mean, outside linebacker by
classification in the side the three four defensive scheme or
am I going to be a d N which one's
more lucrative? I mean Denver right now, I think outside
linebacker will be more lucrative for them going forward. But
that's the challenge too. You already have Jonathan Cooper locked
(06:50):
up as well. But this is where I think also
pressure kind of comes into the equation a little bit
more as it pertains to the more time that passes
that Benito and the Broncos don't have an extension.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
They really like their young guys. Yeah, side linebacker rotation.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Jonah Ellis, though he's coming off shoulder surgery this offseason,
he's progressing along well. You know, look fine in the
offseason program, though once again I will tell fans you
can't really evaluate much at those positions because there are
no pads, there is no contact.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
So Jonah looked good. We saw him last year. I
thought he did, you know.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
In a very good job stepping up as a rookie
in that rotational role. He and Dondre Tilman, who's another
guy who really stepped up, and obviously Hugh Robinson's got.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Some stock that we'll talk about a little bit later on.
But this is a room right now.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
The Broncos, I think they're comfortable at outside linebacker versus saying, hey,
we don't know what the depth is like behind our
top three guys.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
Hey, like, look, you think about how this defense is
sort of operating right now. They've put a lot into
the secondary. They've probably got the best secondary in football, right, Well,
what do you need to match that?
Speaker 2 (07:49):
You need the pass rush.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
So if you want one side to be dominant, you
got to have the other side, and they kind of
balance each other out, right.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
But I agree with you.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
I mean, there's a reason why they went out and
they drafted a couple of guys on the edge. Right
they're saying, Okay, look, we don't know what we're gonna
do here, so why don't we, you know, build up
some some depth here and let's see what happens.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Yeah, And in terms of that as well, one scenario
we could see play out here with Benito. If this
doesn't happen before the season, if this doesn't happen as
the course of the season goes on, I very much
expect the Broncos, if it goes to the offseason, to
use the franchise tag on Benito, which you look at
the price points. It really depends here according to the
spot track, you're looking at the values here. At least
(08:34):
what was for twenty twenty five linebacker. I don't know
if that's including outside and inside, but linebacker was valued
at twenty five point four million. They're for the franchise tag.
D N was twenty two million here, So would be
very interesting to see where that would go. Obviously next year,
every year it increases, so I imagine DN might increase
up to about twenty three twenty four million. Linebacker could
(08:54):
increase to twenty six twenty seven. So essentially, if it
is linebacker, don't you want to pay Nick be Needle,
you know, in a lesser price ranger twenty three million
per year plus your first couple of years, it's going
to be a team friendly salary cap hit. I think
that's where things are going to go. But this this
could be one that takes some time. If they don't
get it done right away.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
It's really hard because if you're Benito too, you don't
want to like, there's so many things that could go wrong, right,
Maybe you don't play up to your level last year.
Maybe you know, you don't want to ever say this,
but maybe an injury happens or something like players don't
love playing on the last year of their deal, right,
But then you could also do something where like, hey,
(09:35):
you could apply a little leverage where his team might say, hey,
we want to get a deal done. If you guys
don't get a deal done by the time we hit
training camp, we're we're not talking anymore, you know what
I mean? Like that's how you say, once we start
playing football, Nick just wants to focus on football and
we'll hit the open market at the end of the year.
You know, like that could be a leverage. The Broncos
could use their leverage and say, well, we'll just franchise
(09:57):
that you so, like that's a game of cat and mouse, right,
Like they'll just go back and forth. So you know,
I think at the Broncos believe in Benito, they should
just go and try to figure out what's a fair
price for him right now. And I think that I
think you're right, twenty three, twenty five, Why don't you
just say twenty four, let's get a deal done and
let's keep moving forward. Let's build this young Cors guys
(10:19):
and continue to grow and grow and grow, you know
like that. I think that that's what you want to
see get done.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
I think the evolution of Nick as well. I mean
his rookie season it was rough, you know, and Nick
even said there was a little bit of a culture
shock because you know, he's used to playing in a
program where he's winning at Oklahoma. You know, there's not
a standard for losing. He comes to the Broncos and stuff.
I mean, that was his rookie year was a disaster.
From a Broncos operational standpoint. There was rough and Nick,
(10:46):
I mean Nick had a hard time getting on the field,
and when he was on the field, it just didn't
seem like the Broncos were putting him in a position
to succeed.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
There with the Zio Evro it was different.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
But then when Vance Joseph came in the way that
Vance was calling the defense. Even though in twenty twenty
three they had that rough start, they had that seventy
to twenty lost in the Miami Dolphins Week three, Nick
Benito started to pick it up.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
He started to understand it.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
There was a little bit more of an emphasis on
putting him in a position to thrive, and he continued
to ascend. I mean, Nick is the guy. I can
tell you this having you know, knowing Nick. This is
a guy who works so hard away from the facility.
I mean, this guy's training regiment in the offseason is ridiculous.
We talked about, you know, a guy in phil You
got to see von Miller every year, so obviously you
(11:28):
know when you were working with the Broncos. Nick is
a guy who prepares in the offseason to the extent
like a guy like von Miller does. And I would
be shocked if he doesn't have you know, as impactful
as year as he did last year.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Von is a guy who played on the last year
of his deal, went on to be Super Bowl MVP,
and then that offseason got got paid. Yeah right, okay,
so that that like worked out for a guy like
Von So yeah, and look, Nick is a good guy
in the community. He cares about you know, playing here,
he's growing. And you mentioned Vance Joseph, Like, Vance is
a perfect guy for somebody like Nick who not all
(12:02):
guys get need to be coached the same way, right.
Advance is such a tremendous leader, the way he's able
to connect with those guys on the defensive side of
the ball, just the way that they view him. Maybe
that kind of pairing is exactly what Nick needed to
just have a guy say, hey, I'm not going to
give you all this tough love, but I'm going to
(12:22):
be a guy who holds you to high standard and
can just be that different kind of a leader for you.
And look, he's unlocked something with Nick. Eight sacks in
twenty three, thirteen and a half last year. This guy's
heading in the right direction. So yeah, I mean it's
a big choice though. You know what if one of
these rookies that they bring in pops and then all
(12:44):
of a sudden, now the Broncos feel like, hey we
got some capital here. Yeah, that's another thing that could
work against Nick. So yeah, it's a tricky situation. And
you know that these are the talks that have taken place,
you know, and so we'll have to see direction that
they go in.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
One thing I do know is that I know I
know players in that locker room they're monitoring this obviously
situation because I would say George Paytonson's coming in. There
was a trend of taking care of guys. There was
an emphasis with taking care of justin Simmons. When George
Peyton came in, Shelby Harris, who was on the you
know the program a little bit earlier we saw him,
took care of him initially, and unfortunately Shelby was collateral
(13:21):
on that Russell Wilson trade that virtually when you look
back in hindsight like, oh geez, but it led to
the Broncos to where they're at now. I think the
locker room is watching here because George's reputation has kind
of been We're gonna take care of the guys here.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
We really believe in player development.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
That's one thing that George and Shawn said following twenty
twenty four on our end of the year pressor, they said,
we really believe in developing these guys getting him the
second contract. So if that's your message, everyone in that
locker room, they're sitting there, they're paying attention, like, all right,
are you going to follow through with it? I understand
the business side and the money can sometimes get in
the way of making that possible, right because you have
you have to assemble a fifty three man roster.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
You need to do with your guys.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
And if the Broncos believe that Nick is a foundational
piece there.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
I think they'll find a way to make it happen.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
That thing works both ways, though, because one way is, hey,
if I get drafted here and I work really hard
and I develop into a great player, They're going to
take care of me.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
That side of it's true.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
And then the other side of it is, oh man,
they just paid Nick Medido all this money. They don't
have enough left for me.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
So, like there's all kinds of layers to this thing,
roster construction. And to me, that's why when you've got
these guys on these deals, you really got to cash in.
You got to go for it and try to win
when you've got look on paper, this defense is loaded,
you know what I mean. Like they've got if they
stay healthy. I mean they brought in the two forty
(14:46):
nine ers free agents.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Those guys.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
If they stay healthy, they're like all pro caliber guys.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Right.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
So if this defense stays together and they stay healthy,
this is a signal that the Broncos are thinking, hey,
we got a shot here where we've got to really
take advantage of this roster. Yeah, that's why I said
so much pressures on bow because I guarantee you this.
The Broncos are trying to think of how are we
gonna win now and from now on John Elway's famous line,
(15:11):
you know, right, Yeah, So they got to be thinking
like that because you got to win now while these
guys are on your team and you're able to have
all these guys because they're gonna get paid somewhere and so, uh,
you know, it's hard to keep talent on your roster
for long. And that's why the draft is just so important.
(15:32):
You got to continue to bring in manageable contracts that
execute for you.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Yeah, and that's the challenge too, and you want to
be able to do it because then after you extend
bow Knicks, you know, if he proves to be the
long term guy, then you get a couple of years
of flexibility. But then that window is all right, we
need to continue to build around bow and we need
to give bo all the weapons possible. That's where you
might take a step back on defense. Right now, you
have a strength on the defense that's gonna be big.
But speaking of bow Knicks, how have the Broncos prepared
(15:57):
him for success in year number two with Sean paid? Now,
so we'll discuss here on Broncos Country Now Kawa eight
fifty AM and ninety four to one FM.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
Playfake for Nicks for third and two, loads it up,
He's got a home run ball It is there.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Touchdown in Denver, Cortland Sutton, what a call?
Speaker 1 (16:13):
What a frow thirty two yard touchdown pass on third
down and two and sudden beats all pro, Trent McDuffie
and Denver with a thirteen to three lead over Kansas City.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Broncos Country Night, Cody Rock Film, Maloney Philly in for
Benjamin al Bright, Nick ferguson here tonight.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
You want to get involved in the show, make sure you.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Text us on the common Spirit health text line five
sixty six nine zero. Obviously Bo Nicks that sound by there,
I remember that play too, CORTLANDTT, I mean Trent McDuffie.
All year long, Fill was being listened as one of
the top was one of the top corners. Obviously is
one of the top corners, not above passer ten. Passer
ten obviously proved to be the top dog there. But
for Courtland in that game to beat mcduffee. He beat
(16:55):
him there, and I remember even on what's set up
the potential game winning field goal. He beat McDuffie on
that cross pattern there on third down as well. What
should have ban of Broncos walk off field go instead
heartbreaking misery.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
We don't like to talk about that here. In terms
of bow.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Nicks, I feel like Phil that game last year Arrowhead.
Though it wasn't perfect from Bow, I felt like that
was the one game that convinced me watching bow saying hey,
this is the guy that I feel like can't compete
with Patrick Mahomes. This is a guy who you needed
a game winning drive in the final minutes in an
AFCUS game on the road.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
He led you downfield, he made the right.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
Plays, special teams blunder you know that that kind of
countered everything right there. But I really believe the Broncos
had the guy, and Patrick Mahomes went up to.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Sean paytonw for the game, said hey you got one.
You got one?
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Yeah, yeah, that is that is huge. And I know
sometimes people say, well that's just hyperbole. What else is
he going to say? That wasn't like an on the
record conversation that Patrick had with with Sean.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
No.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
I mean I think that there the players know when
the other guys are like legit you know what I mean.
And there aren't a few moments like that last year
where at the especially at the beginning of the season,
there was like, Uh, what do we have here in Bo?
Speaker 3 (18:05):
You know?
Speaker 4 (18:06):
And then there are a couple of times where he
let it drive, when he yelled at Sean on the sideline,
when he got into that Raiders player's face. You know,
there were a couple of moments like that throughout the
year where he really won over his teammates in the
fan base. I think there are a couple of times
where you're like, this guy's got a little something to
him that we haven't had in a long time.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
What does Sean say he's got that, He's got a
little fairst bueller? He said, yeah, I'm surprised.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
Nobody asked him during the offseason program if if Bo
still has any of that fairest bueller still in him
that maybe he needs to get out.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
I don't know, maybe we might have.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
You got to have a little that I'm not gonna
ask that.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I think you gotta would ask him. I'm not gonna
be the one to ask you. Somebody will be me,
you know, Sean.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
That's the thing I like, though, Sean's a little feisty
with some with some people. You tell his patience for
some guys some questions.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
He just kind of goes really again, you're gonna ask
this question.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
You got to hold him to Yeah, hold his feet
to the fire. I love it, that's the job. But yeah,
he gives it back.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Well, And the thing was giving it back like you
love to see that fire in a quarterback because look
as much as I like Russell Wilson as the person,
we saw that that clip from a couple of years
ago where Seawan was tearing it a russ on the
sideline and Russell was just taking it, I like the
fire saying like no, no, no, I was writing what
I did.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Like there's conviction with bow Nicks.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
But now I think we asked the question here is
we've talked about Bowen and maybe a guy having pressure
on him in year two just because you know your
rookie season, you put up big numbers. You surpassed Baker
Mayfield for second all time and passing touchdowns by a
rookie just a couple behind Justin Herbert. And the reality
is that he didn't throw his first touchdown pass till
Week four. That's impressive here, but now the NFL defenses
(19:45):
have tape on you, they know some of your strengths.
You have to continue to evolve here, which leads us
to the question here, how had the Broncos and Sean
Payton specifically in your opinions, set up bow knicks or
success here in his second season?
Speaker 4 (19:58):
Man, I just feel like has found himself into it,
Like he fell into like just the most perfect spot
for him, right, Like you're talking about Russ and Sean,
like those two personalities were never going to mesh and
really work well, right, but it feels like Bo and
Sean that is a marriage that works.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Right.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
And when you're a young quarterback, having that consistent voice
in your ear, having that same coach and that consistency
is just so important. You know, he doesn't have to
learn a new offense this year. He doesn't have to
go through like a totally new learning you know phase.
(20:37):
He's just going to continue to build on what he did.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
Now, I think that the big thing for any quarterback
hitting into year two is you've got some tendencies.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Right.
Speaker 4 (20:48):
Every player at this level, at any level, has tendencies.
Everybody has something that they naturally fall into liking to
do right, and other teams are to find out your tendencies. Yes,
that's that's the name of the game.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
When you do this. He does this. He just likes
to do it.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
It's instinct and it's really hard to get rid of
that instinct. And for the quarterback position, you know, I
think maybe both snuck up on some guys last year,
or you know, maybe that Chargers game where he took
off at home and it went out the sideline and
looked back at the guy. There's no way that defender
(21:29):
knew how fast Bow was.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
So I think there were.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
A couple of times like that last year where they're like.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Oh, Bo can do that. I didn't think he could
do that. Bay Week three, Yes, very very similar play.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Even Sean was like, dang, I didn't know how fast
Bow was. You know, that was something that I didn't know,
you know, like throughout all the scouting process.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
So fast.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
Maybe there were a couple of times where he threw
the ball where you're like, oh, I didn't know Bo
could do that. You know, now that's gone. Everybody knows
what he's about, right, So now opposing defenses are going
to say, Okay, he doesn't really like to do this.
How can we force him to do this? And the
name of the game as a quarterback is to get
to the point where, yeah, you still have some tendencies,
(22:13):
but you don't really have a weakness out there. So
maybe they're taking away one A, but you still got
you know, two A and that's still really good.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
So just pick your poison. I'm going to kill you
one way or the other.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
And so that's the way that's where you want to
get as a quarterback. But I just think for both man, like,
look at Caleb Williams. Yeah he's now he has an
offensive minded head coach, but he's starting from square one,
do you know what I mean? McCarthy, he missed all
of last year and so now he's like really just
starting to get his foot going there in Minnesota. Lucky
(22:49):
to have an offensive coach though in that same coach,
so new head coach. So you think about the situation
Bo's in. Man, he's got the same head coach, he's
got an organization that believes in him, The city believes
in him. They've gone out and got all these pieces
for him. I mean, he of all those quarterbacks that
(23:10):
were drafted last year outside of there in Washington, he's
probably in the best position.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
I'm excited too, and and I think there's gonna be
an obviously a lot of eyes on Jayden Daniels, obviously
after the offensive rookie the year performs he put together.
I always found a little interesting. I think what Jayden
was absolutely deserving, and I congrats to.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Him on winning.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
I think bow Nick should have been talked about more
in that conversation, you know, Unfortunately it didn't happen. I
thought what the commanders did the turnaround was very impressive
there with Dan Quinn.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Championship game man as a rookie, that's that's gonna be
almost impossible to be.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
That is hard to be.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Let's go read a couple of text here from the
Commas Spear Health techt line of five six six nine
zero we got nine seven seven zero saying Phil all
Will Malati let's go phill in here obviously for Nick
Ferguson tonight, and then from nine six three two saying
always great to have Cody and Phil on. By the way,
congratslate the new marriage. Cody, appreciate you. Yeah, hard to
get back to the regular routine this week, but you
know what, the show goes on here and happy to
(24:04):
be here.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
In terms of let me ask you, this is your
wife listening right now? I don't know if she is.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
She texted me she said, I can't wait for you
to get home. So I was like, all right, I
don't think she's listening to me.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
I know my wife is not listening. But it's the.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
Perfect opportunity for me to tell her to make sure
that she downloads the Koa app and six Koa is
the preset on the free and redesigned iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Last show. She likes the on demand stuff too. I
think that's one thing there.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
But in terms of some of those pieces that you
talked about that Denver at and let's look at a
few of them here, I mean, you're you're returning a
good portion of that nucleus, right, You're returning Courtland Sutton,
who was his top target. Eighty one catches for court
last year, over one thousand yards, eight touchdowns, one hundred
and thirty plus targets between those two guys. I was
that was a big relationship there. I believe it was
(24:47):
fifty seven of those eighty one catches that moved the
chains for a first down for Court and the Broncos offense.
That's going to be intact. Here, your returning Marvin Mims,
who came on hot down the stretch with six touchdowns
there for the Broncos despite playing only twenty seven percent
of their offensive snaps. You're bringing back to Von Veley,
who's obviously a six foot five target that saw the
most the second most snaps behind Sutton offensively, Troy Franklin
(25:10):
getting a little bit more run down the stretch. Last year,
we really saw that connection finally take place at a
consistent rate. You know, with a big play downfield against Buffalo.
He's back, but you add a new guy into the mix,
Pat Bryant, which I think you know, that's an exciting guy.
I know we'll talk about a little bit later on
here as the show progresses. But then really your big
additions come from adding Evan Ingram at tight end, which
is a clear cut upgrade at tight end over anybody
(25:31):
that you've had on the roster probably since Noah Fan
I think that's fair to say.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
And Erga Harvey got to stay healthy. Percent.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
To me, those are the moves that the bronc wos
have made this offseason that Sean Payton has made to say, hey,
we want to do this because we need production here.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
I think if you look at the.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Tight end production, Adam Troutman led the team, I think
in in overall receiving yards at that position with one and.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Eighty eight, that's not good.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Lucas Kroll led in catches with nineteen at the position,
that's not good. You have a player here now in
Evan Ingram, if he can stay healthy, that can obviously
lead you at that position in catches, yards, touchdowns. If
the Broncos get an upgrade there that they believe with
Evan Ingram they'll be drastically better.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
And if the run game goes better than what.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Has the first you know, the last couple of years
here for Sean Payton, this should be everything that the
Broncos and bow Knicks needs for the offense to maybe
even take another step forward.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (26:21):
And the other thing is that his entire offensive line returns,
which is that is so big. Just having that consistency there,
you know exactly what to expect. You got a guy,
you know in Quinn Minors that you're saying, hey, we
need a sneaky here, we need a little thing right
behind him. You know, having the same center. All of
that stuff, I just think is just important. When you're
(26:43):
talking about quarterback development, you know that your tackles are secure.
So you just I think that they've done everything they
possibly could have this offseason to put Bow in the
best possible position to succeed. And you know, the running game,
those guys are gonna have to show that they can
stand in there and deliver a big block. You know,
(27:03):
that's going to be important for Bo to be able
to get that protection that he needs and for a
guy like Harvey, to me, that's just more mental than anything,
being able to know where the blitz is coming, know
which guy to step in front of and take that hit.
So but yes, I think that they've done everything that
they could have. Ingram gives them something that they just
were missing in the offense, something that in that intermediate
(27:28):
where where Sean could really scheme.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
Up some stuff.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
We've seen Sean have that success in that range where
things go for big plays, but it starts in that area.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
He just couldn't do that, really, do you know what
I mean?
Speaker 4 (27:41):
So now this is another tool in the cupboard that
he just didn't have.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
So Ingri was gonna play that joker role, which Phil,
I wonder you know on your podcast have you gotten
comments from people saying I'm tiring.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Of don't like the joker. I don't understand, like I.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
Under it's just like you know, it's a it's a
specialized player, right, and it always makes me aughing, like, ah,
I can't stand here in the term joker here a
lot of it because that's exactly where he's gonna be.
Greg Dulsich was supposed to be that guy a couple
of years ago, right, And I think Sean early on
and in the offseason program told us in his first
year that Greg's got these joker traits that we were like,
(28:16):
they put all of the eggs in that basket. And
unfortunately Week one the hamstring, he misses a large portion
of the season. He comes back for that, I think
it was a Thursday night game against ken Cidy does
it again. He's out for a long portion of the season,
tries to come back. I think in the final two
weeks we see him at practice has some sort of
foot injury that he ends up getting surgery on it.
Just it didn't work out. Insane, Yeah, talk about just
(28:38):
bad luck for a guy that happens to some of
these guys still for whatever reason. Yeah, but they just
they their curer just never gets going. And maybe maybe
with the New York Giants, maybe he can catch the
fire and maybe there'll be a hopefully not a Greg
dulceach and Russell Wilson revenge game at Empower Field after
they come back from obviously.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
I think London. That would be something that would be
brutal there.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
But you know, for this position, specifically with the addition
to Evan Ingram, the idea for Sean and why he
classifies it as the joker role, is a player who's
got elite level receiving skills and the idea of this
player is to be able to attack that middle of
the field, right because in today's game, thank you so
much to Vic Fangio, you commonly see the two high shell,
which prohibits those big explosive plays downfield. If you have
(29:21):
a guy who can create mismatch opportunities against a slower
inside linebacker or let's say you're blitzing a linebacker, then
you draw a matchup against the safety. Evan Ingram is
a guy who can beat those guys in one on
one coverage in the middle of the field. That gives
you an advantage for big plays yards after the catch
across the middle field, which is so hard in today's game.
That is where I think things are going here for
Evan Ingram and why he was added to the mix
(29:43):
alongside R. J.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Harvey, who's got some of those traits as well.
Speaker 4 (29:45):
Yeah, you just hope that Ingram can stay out there
on the field because they like kind of like Dulcich,
they put their eggs into his basket, right, like, there
is really no answer if something happens to Ingram, right Yeah.
And like Marvin Mims was like sort of a jokery
type player, you know, just in a sense that they
could use him in different ways and try to get
(30:07):
him the bond and let him show off that speed
he has. I'm excited for Mims. I think that they
may have found a little something there where his connection
with Bo, Like it feels like there's something there that
maybe wasn't there at the beginning of the season.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
So but yeah, with.
Speaker 4 (30:21):
BO, I just think that the hard thing for quarterbacks
heading in the year two is that are you able
to continue to grow and take that step and you
like even you saw with CJ. Stroud, Like it just
didn't have that same feel as a rookie, you know,
And so it's not gonna be just like last year
for Bow. There's gonna be different kinds of struggles and
(30:43):
how he approaches that and how he tries to overcome
that is really to me going to be whatever happens
to this team, Like if they try to do these
things to Bow and he has an answer for all
these things, there is no limit to what this football
team can do in my mind. But that's just a
little bit of a question mark, right, Like how is
(31:04):
he going to answer to some of these different things
that that the defenses are going to try to throw
at him? And luckily for Bo, he's got Sean in
his corner. And I just think that that's such a
leg up is that Sean brought I thought Sean brought
him along masterfully last year, like just the way he
developed him, and like really like there never was a
(31:25):
time where it felt like Bo's confidence was shaken. You know.
That happens to so many rookie guys where they see
like a blitzer or they throw an interception that they
just didn't see that and then afterwards they're like seeing
ghosts or something out there, Sam Darnold, those things like
just never really happened to Bow.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
Right.
Speaker 4 (31:44):
Part of that's Bo's makeup, but part of that in
a big part of it to me is Sean, Right, Yeah,
just really brought him along. Now, Okay, are you gonna
just hate him the keys and say this thing's yours?
Speaker 2 (31:56):
You know? Are you let it rip?
Speaker 4 (31:58):
You know you're you're in a way have to be
able to trust Bo to do that now? And how
will Bow handle being given those keys to just say, hey,
I'm ready to just take this thing and take off,
go to out of space, or hey, maybe it's a
little bit more of a grind this second year.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
We just started down right now, Yeah, Sean threw so
much at BO last season.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
When you talk about information overload, especially when you're trying
to compete with Zach Wilson, Jarrett Stidham, it's all right,
we're gonna put some pressure on him. How does he respond?
And Nick responded masterfully last season? And I think maybe
for me a question is what wrinkles can the Broncos
add to the office now with bow knicks that maybe
Sean wasn't able to run Bow's rookie year. To me,
that's an exciting development here and that'll determine run out
(32:42):
of the Broncos have a chance to win the AFHCUS
and that's going to lead us to our next question.
You're coming up on Broncos Country nine. Is the AFC
West the toughest division? Phil and I we're going to
discuss that on Broncos Country out on KOA eight fifty
am and ninety four to one FM.
This is going to be a double pass. They throw
a completed throw back to Richardson, it's going to be intercepted, intercepted.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Nick Pananto Banano to there and.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
So touchdown differ fifty yards on the pick six.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
This place is a mad house.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Dave Wigan on a historic call of Nick Benito's pick six,
fumbles six, whatever you want to call it. In the
Broncos big time come from behind victory against the Colts
this past season. That was such a big game here
Broncos Country tonight. Cody Rourrick, Phil Mlani fieling in for
Benjamin Alright. Nick ferguson here you're going to get involved
on the Common Spirit health text line Texas five to six,
six nine zero here as we talk about Nick Benito.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Feel we were alluding to it a little bit earlier
on the show as we.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Were talking about contract extensions here, but for Nick Benito specifically,
this is one that I know you said the Broncos
should prioritize getting done first. On my end, I really
feel like this will probably be the hardest one for
them to get done.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
It's a fake choice.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
If they can get it done, great, Because you and
I were talking during the break here the Broncos and
Benito or kind of in a unique situation where from
Benito's side, you know, for two years in a row,
he's proven that he's an ascending player at the pass
rush position, obviously at outside linebacker. Last year he was
in a defensive Player of the Year conversation for a
little bit down the stretch. For the Broncos side, it's
(01:15):
all right, you know, unfortunately we don't have the fifth
year option for a guy like Bonnito, and we're up against.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
The clock with that.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
If the Broncos wait and get the extension, and let's
say Nick Benito doesn't have necessarily the year he had
last year, it gives the Broncos leverage. But if Nick
Benito comes out, let's say he gets off to a
hot start in the first five six weeks of the season, Knicks.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Price goes up.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
So the perfect solution here will be to get the
deal done early before any of that happens.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
You got to look into your crystal ball a little
bit high, like it is sort of a you know,
you don't know, it's a conundrum, right, but it's a
good conundrum, right. You want to have good enough players
all across your roster where you're having to make some
tough decisions about guys. And look, Nick Benino is coming
off of a career year, like an all time year
for him.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
I mean the play that you know, you when.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
You hear Dave's voice crass crack a little bit like that,
you know, it's a big play.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Right.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
He made a ton of those plays last year. It
seemed like every game he was doing something we were like,
is that Nick Bendido again? You know, it felt like that.
Thirteen and a half sacks last year, two forced fumbles,
a fumble recovery, the interception. He was in the end zone,
third in the NFL in sacks last year, you know,
(02:30):
and helped the Broncos, you know, you know, with all
the sacks that they had, he was a big focus
for opposing teams.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
So like he kind of.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
Contributed to a lot of the success that the Broncos
pass rushers had. So yeah, now if you're the bron
on the Broncos side, you're saying, Okay, is this guy
an ascending player who's going to be in the caliber
with those elite guys across the league? Is he going
to be like Trey Hendrickson. Is he going to be
like Miles Garrett? Is he developed into one of those
(03:00):
guys if he is get a deal done now, okay,
you could probably get him into what twenty three a year?
You could probably do something like that, right Miles Garrett
did what forty a year?
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Oh jeez, Okay, Max Crosby to it. Yeah, And that's tough.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
That's tough though, you know, fill the challenge, the obstacle
in the challenge.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
You know.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
I think if Nick's representation is looking at Miles Garrett
and obviously a guy like Max Crosby, the way that
those guys play defense is a little different because right
there they're more traditional four to three hand in the dirt.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
They can play outside there.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Nick I think has a little bit more past coverage responsibility,
you know, to the defense while still rushing the pass
or playing against the run. So it's like, what do
you gauge, like, what's the comparison in terms of the market.
And I think the only other guy you can look
at right now you look at TJ.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Watt, who obviously, you know, after.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
His rookie deal, he signed a four year, one hundred
and twelve million dollar extension and include thirty five point
five as a signing bonus eighty million Garret. That's crazy,
But that average annual value for TJ. Watt and his
prime was twenty eight million per year. I'd say the
market is constantly changing. You need pass rushers here, but
you look at what the Philadelphia Eagles just did. They
(04:14):
got after Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl and dominated
them without really rushing more than four players. And it
wasn't necessarily just their outside linebacker guys they let obviously,
you know, some outside linebackers go in the offseason because
they believe in what they have where they were with
Vic Fangio. For me, I look at Nick Benito and
I think to myself, Okay, this guy is sending right now.
The price tag probably is gonna be anywhere between that
twenty one to twenty three, maybe twenty four million. Five
(04:37):
What as we know, Like, what's the market going to
be two or three years from now. It's so hard
to gauge, And I think that's why it's important that
the Broncos get this one done, because you don't want
this to drag out to where Knick's price is going
to ultimately go, which Nick deserves like, if Nick drives
the price up, he absolutely deserves to get paid that.
But the NFL is so tough, especially with all the
money the Broncos are already allocating defensively. You know, it's
(05:00):
guys like Patser Tan Helenoufannga, Drake Greenlaw. You know, you
have a zach Allen extension that's coming up, and I
know the Broncos that's a huge priority for them to
take care of.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
You just resigned DJ Jones.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
You have Malcolm Roach still on the roster, like you
were in a position right now where it's like all
that money on the defense, Eventually that bill's going to
get larger.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
And look like if you make the wrong move here,
say you give Nick Benito all that money and hey,
last year was that was it? That was a pinnacle,
he's not gonna be able to replicate.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
You know.
Speaker 4 (05:28):
If that turns out to be the case, then you've
got a sunk costs there, and now you're not going
to be able to pay these other guys. Right, So
it's a big decision for the Broncos, and it could
be the kind of thing where they say, Okay, let's
see how he starts this year, Let's see what he's
able to do. And you talk about guys feeling some pressure,
I mean it could be Benito who's under the most
(05:49):
pressure here because he is possibly he could come into
some big money if the Bronco is wait too long
and he's having this great year, you know that his
side is going to say, Okay, hey, we're waiting to
see what the Cowboys do with Michael Parsons, right, oh
geezu Trey Hendrickson with the Bengals. What's gonna happen with him?
So you start saying, Okay, his side's gonna be like,
(06:10):
let me see what these guys do, and then well,
we think Benito's in that category, you know. And so
it's a big decision. And if you bet and you
get it right, then you're going to be in a
good spot. But if you get it wrong and you're
the Broncos, that they could be in a world to
hurt with some of these other guys on their team.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
Well, AND's so much too. I think also depends on
what's the designation going to be. You know, if you're
a Nick Benito and you're looking at as like, all right,
I play off the edge. I mean, outside linebacker by
classification in the side the three four defensive scheme or
am I going to be a d N which one's
more lucrative? I mean Denver right now, I think outside
linebacker will be more lucrative for them going forward. But
that's the challenge too. You already have Jonathan Cooper locked
(06:50):
up as well. But this is where I think also
pressure kind of comes into the equation a little bit
more as it pertains to the more time that passes
that Benito and the Broncos don't have an extension.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
They really like their young guys. Yeah, side linebacker rotation.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Jonah Ellis, though he's coming off shoulder surgery this offseason,
he's progressing along well. You know, look fine in the
offseason program, though once again I will tell fans you
can't really evaluate much at those positions because there are
no pads, there is no contact.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
So Jonah looked good. We saw him last year. I
thought he did, you know.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
In a very good job stepping up as a rookie
in that rotational role. He and Dondre Tilman, who's another
guy who really stepped up, and obviously Hugh Robinson's got.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Some stock that we'll talk about a little bit later on.
But this is a room right now.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
The Broncos, I think they're comfortable at outside linebacker versus saying, hey,
we don't know what the depth is like behind our
top three guys.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
Hey, like, look, you think about how this defense is
sort of operating right now. They've put a lot into
the secondary. They've probably got the best secondary in football, right, Well,
what do you need to match that?
Speaker 2 (07:49):
You need the pass rush.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
So if you want one side to be dominant, you
got to have the other side, and they kind of
balance each other out, right.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
But I agree with you.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
I mean, there's a reason why they went out and
they drafted a couple of guys on the edge. Right
they're saying, Okay, look, we don't know what we're gonna
do here, so why don't we, you know, build up
some some depth here and let's see what happens.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
Yeah, And in terms of that as well, one scenario
we could see play out here with Benito. If this
doesn't happen before the season, if this doesn't happen as
the course of the season goes on, I very much
expect the Broncos, if it goes to the offseason, to
use the franchise tag on Benito, which you look at
the price points. It really depends here according to the
spot track, you're looking at the values here. At least
(08:34):
what was for twenty twenty five linebacker. I don't know
if that's including outside and inside, but linebacker was valued
at twenty five point four million. They're for the franchise tag.
D N was twenty two million here, So would be
very interesting to see where that would go. Obviously next year,
every year it increases, so I imagine DN might increase
up to about twenty three twenty four million. Linebacker could
(08:54):
increase to twenty six twenty seven. So essentially, if it
is linebacker, don't you want to pay Nick be Needle,
you know, in a lesser price ranger twenty three million
per year plus your first couple of years, it's going
to be a team friendly salary cap hit. I think
that's where things are going to go. But this this
could be one that takes some time. If they don't
get it done right away.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
It's really hard because if you're Benito too, you don't
want to like, there's so many things that could go wrong, right,
Maybe you don't play up to your level last year.
Maybe you know, you don't want to ever say this,
but maybe an injury happens or something like players don't
love playing on the last year of their deal, right,
But then you could also do something where like, hey,
(09:35):
you could apply a little leverage where his team might say, hey,
we want to get a deal done. If you guys
don't get a deal done by the time we hit
training camp, we're we're not talking anymore, you know what
I mean? Like that's how you say, once we start
playing football, Nick just wants to focus on football and
we'll hit the open market at the end of the year.
You know, like that could be a leverage. The Broncos
could use their leverage and say, well, we'll just franchise
(09:57):
that you so, like that's a game of cat and mouse, right,
Like they'll just go back and forth. So you know,
I think at the Broncos believe in Benito, they should
just go and try to figure out what's a fair
price for him right now. And I think that I
think you're right, twenty three, twenty five, Why don't you
just say twenty four, let's get a deal done and
let's keep moving forward. Let's build this young Cors guys
(10:19):
and continue to grow and grow and grow, you know
like that. I think that that's what you want to
see get done.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
I think the evolution of Nick as well. I mean
his rookie season it was rough, you know, and Nick
even said there was a little bit of a culture
shock because you know, he's used to playing in a
program where he's winning at Oklahoma. You know, there's not
a standard for losing. He comes to the Broncos and stuff.
I mean, that was his rookie year was a disaster.
From a Broncos operational standpoint. There was rough and Nick,
(10:46):
I mean Nick had a hard time getting on the field,
and when he was on the field, it just didn't
seem like the Broncos were putting him in a position
to succeed.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
There with the Zio Evro it was different.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
But then when Vance Joseph came in the way that
Vance was calling the defense. Even though in twenty twenty
three they had that rough start, they had that seventy
to twenty lost in the Miami Dolphins Week three, Nick
Benito started to pick it up.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
He started to understand it.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
There was a little bit more of an emphasis on
putting him in a position to thrive, and he continued
to ascend. I mean, Nick is the guy. I can
tell you this having you know, knowing Nick. This is
a guy who works so hard away from the facility.
I mean, this guy's training regiment in the offseason is ridiculous.
We talked about, you know, a guy in phil You
got to see von Miller every year, so obviously you
(11:28):
know when you were working with the Broncos. Nick is
a guy who prepares in the offseason to the extent
like a guy like von Miller does. And I would
be shocked if he doesn't have you know, as impactful
as year as he did last year.
Speaker 4 (11:39):
Von is a guy who played on the last year
of his deal, went on to be Super Bowl MVP,
and then that offseason got got paid. Yeah right, okay,
so that that like worked out for a guy like
Von So yeah, and look, Nick is a good guy
in the community. He cares about you know, playing here,
he's growing. And you mentioned Vance Joseph, Like, Vance is
a perfect guy for somebody like Nick who not all
(12:02):
guys get need to be coached the same way, right.
Advance is such a tremendous leader, the way he's able
to connect with those guys on the defensive side of
the ball, just the way that they view him. Maybe
that kind of pairing is exactly what Nick needed to
just have a guy say, hey, I'm not going to
give you all this tough love, but I'm going to
(12:22):
be a guy who holds you to high standard and
can just be that different kind of a leader for you.
And look, he's unlocked something with Nick. Eight sacks in
twenty three, thirteen and a half last year. This guy's
heading in the right direction. So yeah, I mean it's
a big choice though. You know what if one of
these rookies that they bring in pops and then all
(12:44):
of a sudden, now the Broncos feel like, hey we
got some capital here. Yeah, that's another thing that could
work against Nick. So yeah, it's a tricky situation. And
you know that these are the talks that have taken place,
you know, and so we'll have to see direction that
they go in.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
One thing I do know is that I know I
know players in that locker room they're monitoring this obviously
situation because I would say George Paytonson's coming in. There
was a trend of taking care of guys. There was
an emphasis with taking care of justin Simmons. When George
Peyton came in, Shelby Harris, who was on the you
know the program a little bit earlier we saw him,
took care of him initially, and unfortunately Shelby was collateral
(13:21):
on that Russell Wilson trade that virtually when you look
back in hindsight like, oh geez, but it led to
the Broncos to where they're at now. I think the
locker room is watching here because George's reputation has kind
of been We're gonna take care of the guys here.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
We really believe in player development.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
That's one thing that George and Shawn said following twenty
twenty four on our end of the year pressor, they said,
we really believe in developing these guys getting him the
second contract. So if that's your message, everyone in that
locker room, they're sitting there, they're paying attention, like, all right,
are you going to follow through with it? I understand
the business side and the money can sometimes get in
the way of making that possible, right because you have
you have to assemble a fifty three man roster.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
You need to do with your guys.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
And if the Broncos believe that Nick is a foundational
piece there.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
I think they'll find a way to make it happen.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
That thing works both ways, though, because one way is, hey,
if I get drafted here and I work really hard
and I develop into a great player, They're going to
take care of me.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
That side of it's true.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
And then the other side of it is, oh man,
they just paid Nick Medido all this money. They don't
have enough left for me.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Yeah, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
So, like there's all kinds of layers to this thing,
roster construction. And to me, that's why when you've got
these guys on these deals, you really got to cash in.
You got to go for it and try to win
when you've got look on paper, this defense is loaded,
you know what I mean. Like they've got if they
stay healthy. I mean they brought in the two forty
(14:46):
nine ers free agents.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Those guys.
Speaker 4 (14:48):
If they stay healthy, they're like all pro caliber guys.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Right.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
So if this defense stays together and they stay healthy,
this is a signal that the Broncos are thinking, hey,
we got a shot here where we've got to really
take advantage of this roster. Yeah, that's why I said
so much pressures on bow because I guarantee you this.
The Broncos are trying to think of how are we
gonna win now and from now on John Elway's famous line,
(15:11):
you know, right, Yeah, So they got to be thinking
like that because you got to win now while these
guys are on your team and you're able to have
all these guys because they're gonna get paid somewhere and so, uh,
you know, it's hard to keep talent on your roster
for long. And that's why the draft is just so important.
(15:32):
You got to continue to bring in manageable contracts that
execute for you.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
Yeah, and that's the challenge too, and you want to
be able to do it because then after you extend
bow Knicks, you know, if he proves to be the
long term guy, then you get a couple of years
of flexibility. But then that window is all right, we
need to continue to build around bow and we need
to give bo all the weapons possible. That's where you
might take a step back on defense. Right now, you
have a strength on the defense that's gonna be big.
But speaking of bow Knicks, how have the Broncos prepared
(15:57):
him for success in year number two with Sean paid? Now,
so we'll discuss here on Broncos Country Now Kawa eight
fifty AM and ninety four to one FM.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
Playfake for Nicks for third and two, loads it up,
He's got a home run ball It is there.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Touchdown in Denver, Cortland Sutton, what a call?
Speaker 1 (16:13):
What a frow thirty two yard touchdown pass on third
down and two and sudden beats all pro, Trent McDuffie
and Denver with a thirteen to three lead over Kansas City.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Broncos Country Night, Cody Rock Film, Maloney Philly in for
Benjamin al Bright, Nick ferguson here tonight.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
You want to get involved in the show, make sure you.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Text us on the common Spirit health text line five
sixty six nine zero. Obviously Bo Nicks that sound by there,
I remember that play too, CORTLANDTT, I mean Trent McDuffie.
All year long, Fill was being listened as one of
the top was one of the top corners. Obviously is
one of the top corners, not above passer ten. Passer
ten obviously proved to be the top dog there. But
for Courtland in that game to beat mcduffee. He beat
(16:55):
him there, and I remember even on what's set up
the potential game winning field goal. He beat McDuffie on
that cross pattern there on third down as well. What
should have ban of Broncos walk off field go instead
heartbreaking misery.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
We don't like to talk about that here. In terms
of bow.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Nicks, I feel like Phil that game last year Arrowhead.
Though it wasn't perfect from Bow, I felt like that
was the one game that convinced me watching bow saying hey,
this is the guy that I feel like can't compete
with Patrick Mahomes. This is a guy who you needed
a game winning drive in the final minutes in an
AFCUS game on the road.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
He led you downfield, he made the right.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
Plays, special teams blunder you know that that kind of
countered everything right there. But I really believe the Broncos
had the guy, and Patrick Mahomes went up to.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Sean paytonw for the game, said hey you got one.
You got one?
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Yeah, yeah, that is that is huge. And I know
sometimes people say, well that's just hyperbole. What else is
he going to say? That wasn't like an on the
record conversation that Patrick had with with Sean.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
No.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
I mean I think that there the players know when
the other guys are like legit you know what I mean.
And there aren't a few moments like that last year
where at the especially at the beginning of the season,
there was like, Uh, what do we have here in Bo?
Speaker 3 (18:05):
You know?
Speaker 4 (18:06):
And then there are a couple of times where he
let it drive, when he yelled at Sean on the sideline,
when he got into that Raiders player's face. You know,
there were a couple of moments like that throughout the
year where he really won over his teammates in the
fan base. I think there are a couple of times
where you're like, this guy's got a little something to
him that we haven't had in a long time.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
What does Sean say he's got that, He's got a
little fairst bueller? He said, yeah, I'm surprised.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
Nobody asked him during the offseason program if if Bo
still has any of that fairest bueller still in him
that maybe he needs to get out.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
I don't know, maybe we might have.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
You got to have a little that I'm not gonna
ask that.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I think you gotta would ask him. I'm not gonna
be the one to ask you. Somebody will be me,
you know, Sean.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
That's the thing I like, though, Sean's a little feisty
with some with some people. You tell his patience for
some guys some questions.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
He just kind of goes really again, you're gonna ask
this question.
Speaker 4 (19:00):
You got to hold him to Yeah, hold his feet
to the fire. I love it, that's the job. But yeah,
he gives it back.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Well, And the thing was giving it back like you
love to see that fire in a quarterback because look
as much as I like Russell Wilson as the person,
we saw that that clip from a couple of years
ago where Seawan was tearing it a russ on the
sideline and Russell was just taking it, I like the
fire saying like no, no, no, I was writing what
I did.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Like there's conviction with bow Nicks.
Speaker 3 (19:24):
But now I think we asked the question here is
we've talked about Bowen and maybe a guy having pressure
on him in year two just because you know your
rookie season, you put up big numbers. You surpassed Baker
Mayfield for second all time and passing touchdowns by a
rookie just a couple behind Justin Herbert. And the reality
is that he didn't throw his first touchdown pass till
Week four. That's impressive here, but now the NFL defenses
(19:45):
have tape on you, they know some of your strengths.
You have to continue to evolve here, which leads us
to the question here, how had the Broncos and Sean
Payton specifically in your opinions, set up bow knicks or
success here in his second season?
Speaker 4 (19:58):
Man, I just feel like has found himself into it,
Like he fell into like just the most perfect spot
for him, right, Like you're talking about Russ and Sean,
like those two personalities were never going to mesh and
really work well, right, but it feels like Bo and
Sean that is a marriage that works.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Right.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
And when you're a young quarterback, having that consistent voice
in your ear, having that same coach and that consistency
is just so important. You know, he doesn't have to
learn a new offense this year. He doesn't have to
go through like a totally new learning you know phase.
(20:37):
He's just going to continue to build on what he did.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
Now, I think that the big thing for any quarterback
hitting into year two is you've got some tendencies.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Right.
Speaker 4 (20:48):
Every player at this level, at any level, has tendencies.
Everybody has something that they naturally fall into liking to
do right, and other teams are to find out your tendencies. Yes,
that's that's the name of the game.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
When you do this. He does this. He just likes
to do it.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
It's instinct and it's really hard to get rid of
that instinct. And for the quarterback position, you know, I
think maybe both snuck up on some guys last year,
or you know, maybe that Chargers game where he took
off at home and it went out the sideline and
looked back at the guy. There's no way that defender
(21:29):
knew how fast Bow was.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
So I think there were.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
A couple of times like that last year where they're like.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Oh, Bo can do that. I didn't think he could
do that. Bay Week three, Yes, very very similar play.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
Even Sean was like, dang, I didn't know how fast
Bow was. You know, that was something that I didn't know,
you know, like throughout all the scouting process.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
So fast.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
Maybe there were a couple of times where he threw
the ball where you're like, oh, I didn't know Bo
could do that. You know, now that's gone. Everybody knows
what he's about, right, So now opposing defenses are going
to say, Okay, he doesn't really like to do this.
How can we force him to do this? And the
name of the game as a quarterback is to get
to the point where, yeah, you still have some tendencies,
(22:13):
but you don't really have a weakness out there. So
maybe they're taking away one A, but you still got
you know, two A and that's still really good.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
So just pick your poison. I'm going to kill you
one way or the other.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
And so that's the way that's where you want to
get as a quarterback. But I just think for both man, like,
look at Caleb Williams. Yeah he's now he has an
offensive minded head coach, but he's starting from square one,
do you know what I mean? McCarthy, he missed all
of last year and so now he's like really just
starting to get his foot going there in Minnesota. Lucky
(22:49):
to have an offensive coach though in that same coach,
so new head coach. So you think about the situation
Bo's in. Man, he's got the same head coach, he's
got an organization that believes in him, The city believes
in him. They've gone out and got all these pieces
for him. I mean, he of all those quarterbacks that
(23:10):
were drafted last year outside of there in Washington, he's
probably in the best position.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
I'm excited too, and and I think there's gonna be
an obviously a lot of eyes on Jayden Daniels, obviously
after the offensive rookie the year performs he put together.
I always found a little interesting. I think what Jayden
was absolutely deserving, and I congrats to.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
Him on winning.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
I think bow Nick should have been talked about more
in that conversation, you know, Unfortunately it didn't happen. I
thought what the commanders did the turnaround was very impressive
there with Dan Quinn.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
Championship game man as a rookie, that's that's gonna be
almost impossible to be.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
That is hard to be.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Let's go read a couple of text here from the
Commas Spear Health techt line of five six six nine
zero we got nine seven seven zero saying Phil all
Will Malati let's go phill in here obviously for Nick
Ferguson tonight, and then from nine six three two saying
always great to have Cody and Phil on. By the way,
congratslate the new marriage. Cody, appreciate you. Yeah, hard to
get back to the regular routine this week, but you
know what, the show goes on here and happy to
(24:04):
be here.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
In terms of let me ask you, this is your
wife listening right now? I don't know if she is.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
She texted me she said, I can't wait for you
to get home. So I was like, all right, I
don't think she's listening to me.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
I know my wife is not listening. But it's the.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
Perfect opportunity for me to tell her to make sure
that she downloads the Koa app and six Koa is
the preset on the free and redesigned iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Last show. She likes the on demand stuff too. I
think that's one thing there.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
But in terms of some of those pieces that you
talked about that Denver at and let's look at a
few of them here, I mean, you're you're returning a
good portion of that nucleus, right, You're returning Courtland Sutton,
who was his top target. Eighty one catches for court
last year, over one thousand yards, eight touchdowns, one hundred
and thirty plus targets between those two guys. I was
that was a big relationship there. I believe it was
(24:47):
fifty seven of those eighty one catches that moved the
chains for a first down for Court and the Broncos offense.
That's going to be intact. Here, your returning Marvin Mims,
who came on hot down the stretch with six touchdowns
there for the Broncos despite playing only twenty seven percent
of their offensive snaps. You're bringing back to Von Veley,
who's obviously a six foot five target that saw the
most the second most snaps behind Sutton offensively, Troy Franklin
(25:10):
getting a little bit more run down the stretch. Last year,
we really saw that connection finally take place at a
consistent rate. You know, with a big play downfield against Buffalo.
He's back, but you add a new guy into the mix,
Pat Bryant, which I think you know, that's an exciting guy.
I know we'll talk about a little bit later on
here as the show progresses. But then really your big
additions come from adding Evan Ingram at tight end, which
is a clear cut upgrade at tight end over anybody
(25:31):
that you've had on the roster probably since Noah Fan
I think that's fair to say.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
And Erga Harvey got to stay healthy. Percent.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
To me, those are the moves that the bronc wos
have made this offseason that Sean Payton has made to say, hey,
we want to do this because we need production here.
Speaker 2 (25:44):
I think if you look at the.
Speaker 3 (25:45):
Tight end production, Adam Troutman led the team, I think
in in overall receiving yards at that position with one and.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Eighty eight, that's not good.
Speaker 3 (25:53):
Lucas Kroll led in catches with nineteen at the position,
that's not good. You have a player here now in
Evan Ingram, if he can stay healthy, that can obviously
lead you at that position in catches, yards, touchdowns. If
the Broncos get an upgrade there that they believe with
Evan Ingram they'll be drastically better.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
And if the run game goes better than what.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Has the first you know, the last couple of years
here for Sean Payton, this should be everything that the
Broncos and bow Knicks needs for the offense to maybe
even take another step forward.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (26:21):
And the other thing is that his entire offensive line returns,
which is that is so big. Just having that consistency there,
you know exactly what to expect. You got a guy,
you know in Quinn Minors that you're saying, hey, we
need a sneaky here, we need a little thing right
behind him. You know, having the same center. All of
that stuff, I just think is just important. When you're
(26:43):
talking about quarterback development, you know that your tackles are secure.
So you just I think that they've done everything they
possibly could have this offseason to put Bow in the
best possible position to succeed. And you know, the running game,
those guys are gonna have to show that they can
stand in there and deliver a big block. You know,
(27:03):
that's going to be important for Bo to be able
to get that protection that he needs and for a
guy like Harvey, to me, that's just more mental than anything,
being able to know where the blitz is coming, know
which guy to step in front of and take that hit.
So but yes, I think that they've done everything that
they could have. Ingram gives them something that they just
were missing in the offense, something that in that intermediate
(27:28):
where where Sean could really scheme.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
Up some stuff.
Speaker 4 (27:31):
We've seen Sean have that success in that range where
things go for big plays, but it starts in that area.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
He just couldn't do that, really, do you know what
I mean?
Speaker 4 (27:41):
So now this is another tool in the cupboard that
he just didn't have.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
So Ingri was gonna play that joker role, which Phil,
I wonder you know on your podcast have you gotten
comments from people saying I'm tiring.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
Of don't like the joker. I don't understand, like I.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
Under it's just like you know, it's a it's a
specialized player, right, and it always makes me aughing, like, ah,
I can't stand here in the term joker here a
lot of it because that's exactly where he's gonna be.
Greg Dulsich was supposed to be that guy a couple
of years ago, right, And I think Sean early on
and in the offseason program told us in his first
year that Greg's got these joker traits that we were like,
(28:16):
they put all of the eggs in that basket. And
unfortunately Week one the hamstring, he misses a large portion
of the season. He comes back for that, I think
it was a Thursday night game against ken Cidy does
it again. He's out for a long portion of the season,
tries to come back. I think in the final two
weeks we see him at practice has some sort of
foot injury that he ends up getting surgery on it.
Just it didn't work out. Insane, Yeah, talk about just
(28:38):
bad luck for a guy that happens to some of
these guys still for whatever reason. Yeah, but they just
they their curer just never gets going. And maybe maybe
with the New York Giants, maybe he can catch the
fire and maybe there'll be a hopefully not a Greg
dulceach and Russell Wilson revenge game at Empower Field after
they come back from obviously.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
I think London. That would be something that would be
brutal there.
Speaker 3 (28:59):
But you know, for this position, specifically with the addition
to Evan Ingram, the idea for Sean and why he
classifies it as the joker role, is a player who's
got elite level receiving skills and the idea of this
player is to be able to attack that middle of
the field, right because in today's game, thank you so
much to Vic Fangio, you commonly see the two high shell,
which prohibits those big explosive plays downfield. If you have
(29:21):
a guy who can create mismatch opportunities against a slower
inside linebacker or let's say you're blitzing a linebacker, then
you draw a matchup against the safety. Evan Ingram is
a guy who can beat those guys in one on
one coverage in the middle of the field. That gives
you an advantage for big plays yards after the catch
across the middle field, which is so hard in today's game.
That is where I think things are going here for
Evan Ingram and why he was added to the mix
(29:43):
alongside R. J.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
Harvey, who's got some of those traits as well.
Speaker 4 (29:45):
Yeah, you just hope that Ingram can stay out there
on the field because they like kind of like Dulcich,
they put their eggs into his basket, right, like, there
is really no answer if something happens to Ingram, right Yeah.
And like Marvin Mims was like sort of a jokery
type player, you know, just in a sense that they
could use him in different ways and try to get
(30:07):
him the bond and let him show off that speed
he has. I'm excited for Mims. I think that they
may have found a little something there where his connection
with Bo, Like it feels like there's something there that
maybe wasn't there at the beginning of the season.
Speaker 2 (30:20):
So but yeah, with.
Speaker 4 (30:21):
BO, I just think that the hard thing for quarterbacks
heading in the year two is that are you able
to continue to grow and take that step and you
like even you saw with CJ. Stroud, Like it just
didn't have that same feel as a rookie, you know,
And so it's not gonna be just like last year
for Bow. There's gonna be different kinds of struggles and
(30:43):
how he approaches that and how he tries to overcome
that is really to me going to be whatever happens
to this team, Like if they try to do these
things to Bow and he has an answer for all
these things, there is no limit to what this football
team can do in my mind. But that's just a
little bit of a question mark, right, Like how is
(31:04):
he going to answer to some of these different things
that that the defenses are going to try to throw
at him? And luckily for Bo, he's got Sean in
his corner. And I just think that that's such a
leg up is that Sean brought I thought Sean brought
him along masterfully last year, like just the way he
developed him, and like really like there never was a
(31:25):
time where it felt like Bo's confidence was shaken. You know.
That happens to so many rookie guys where they see
like a blitzer or they throw an interception that they
just didn't see that and then afterwards they're like seeing
ghosts or something out there, Sam Darnold, those things like
just never really happened to Bow.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
Right.
Speaker 4 (31:44):
Part of that's Bo's makeup, but part of that in
a big part of it to me is Sean, Right, Yeah,
just really brought him along. Now, Okay, are you gonna
just hate him the keys and say this thing's yours?
Speaker 2 (31:56):
You know? Are you let it rip?
Speaker 4 (31:58):
You know you're you're in a way have to be
able to trust Bo to do that now? And how
will Bow handle being given those keys to just say, hey,
I'm ready to just take this thing and take off,
go to out of space, or hey, maybe it's a
little bit more of a grind this second year.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
We just started down right now, Yeah, Sean threw so
much at BO last season.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
When you talk about information overload, especially when you're trying
to compete with Zach Wilson, Jarrett Stidham, it's all right,
we're gonna put some pressure on him. How does he respond?
And Nick responded masterfully last season? And I think maybe
for me a question is what wrinkles can the Broncos
add to the office now with bow knicks that maybe
Sean wasn't able to run Bow's rookie year. To me,
that's an exciting development here and that'll determine run out
(32:42):
of the Broncos have a chance to win the AFHCUS
and that's going to lead us to our next question.
You're coming up on Broncos Country nine. Is the AFC
West the toughest division? Phil and I we're going to
discuss that on Broncos Country out on KOA eight fifty
am and ninety four to one FM.
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Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.