Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Nikola Jokic must really love the intro to our show here. Obviously,
the horse going. I you know, where do you think
he's at right now? You think he's he's enjoying this offseason.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yeah, of course, this is the part of the year
that I believe that Nikola Yokis plays so hard during
the regular season just to get to the off season,
to be back in his home country, his home food,
home music, and more portantly, his horses and beer.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
We know he loves beers. Speaking of the Denver Nuggets,
let's head on out to the Kawa Common Spirit Health Hotline,
bringing our friend Vinnie benedetto beat reporter for the Nuggets
at the Denver Gazette. Vinnie, how's it going tonight?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Going pretty well, guys, Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Yeah, thanks, thanks for joining us. Obviously, the the NBA Draft,
we're on night two. Obviously, no fireworks for the Denver
Nuggets on Night one, and I think the expectation is
going to remain the same for Night two. But uh,
you think they can find themselves maybe getting in on
the Actually, we've seen a handful of teams engages some
trades for some future draft picks just to be able
to move up get in a position Denver Nuggets don't
(01:02):
really have much. How is how's night two going?
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Yeah, I'm here at the arena and it's been pretty quiet,
almost as probably even almost as quiet as last night
when it was pretty evident that the team wasn't doing anything.
But you know, we had we had to be here
just in case. And you know, free pizza is enough
to get me out of that house.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
Free pizza.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I think everyone who's listening will definitely love that, Vinnie.
When we look at the Nuggets in the situation they
find themselves in because no picks in twenty twenty five,
twenty twenty six, only a first round pick, no picks
in twenty twenty seven, and in twenty twenty eight they
have a first round pick. So how does this team
actually find a way to get better and an uber
(01:48):
competitive Western conference.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Yes, it's going to be really tough, and like the
word of the day a couple of days ago when
they introduced Ben Tenzer and John Wallace in that regard
was margin, and you know, like everything's gonna have to
be on the margins in terms of they're going to
have looks like the text payer mid level exception at
their disposal, you know, which is going to be like
five and a half million dollars and then from there
it's going to be a veteran veteran minimum contracts that
(02:14):
they have to give out.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
So it's about.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Finding value in those spots, and that's you know, something
that's been a challenge recently. You look at uh, you know,
Dario Sarich was the guy they used their mid level
exception on last year and uh, you know, didn't play
a second in the playoffs. Other guys who were on
you know, Russ on a veteran minimum, you know pretty
clearly outperformed his contract last year and it's probably looking
to get a little more of this offseason. So it
(02:39):
is gonna be guys kind of on on the edges
that is that is going to make this team work,
because everything we've heard from ownership in the new front
office is that, you know, they still believe in this core,
in that group's ability to contend for a championship.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Well, and there's so much of that is guys staying healthy. Obviously,
Michael Porter Junior in the playoffs he had the shoulder injury,
didn't look the same at all, and I know I
know there were some ups and downs there. You know,
Aaron Gordon that Game seven was going into that with
obviously in a hamstring injury there. But this is a
Nuggets team that we saw I think take okay See
to the brink in comparison to what we saw from
some of the other teams. Now, granted, you know that
(03:14):
Game seven, you know, got away from them really much
in that second half there against okay See. You mentioned
so much of that core here, and obviously Josh Kronkey
had some interesting comments this week that you know a
lot of people are latching onto when discussing you know,
the second apron, you know, or along the lines if
there's an injury, you know, considering their injury history. He said,
if the wrong person gets injured and very quickly, you're
(03:35):
in a scenario that I never want to have to contemplate.
And that's turning way number fifteen. Nikolai Yogic, I know
in some other interviews he's kind of gone back and said, look,
that's not our thought process here. Well, I think Nuggets
fans are definitely worried the fact that this was even
brought up in the first place. What can you say
on that Yeah, I.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Think that was Josh's way of, you know, kind of thing.
I'm sick of being asked about the Second Apron and
we're not going to go into it because this is
what it could potentially lead to. So yeah, Joker's not
getting traded unless he demands a trade at some point,
and you know that that feels pretty out of character
for him and feels like if it ever would happen,
it's still.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
A few years away.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
So I think it was more of this is kind
of how punitive the second Apron is, And like I
asked that question, I asked if he thinks the second
Apron has kind of served as a hardcap because you
look at some of the trades that got made this
week in terms of you know, Boston moving off guys
after Jason Tatum's injury, and like they're they're under the
second Apron. So I think, you know, this collective bargaining
(04:36):
agreement is two years old, and I think teams are
still kind of trying to figure out just how to
navigate it, or you know, if being in the second
Apron is something that is worth the risk, Like to
Josh's point, if you've got somebody, if you're your second
Apron team and you lose a key contributor for the season,
You're really limited in terms of you can't add guys
(04:56):
on the buyout market, and you know, pulling off trades
because way more difficult. So yeah, I think I think
his comments there were just kind of signaling to people
that the Nuggets are, you know, just not interested in
being a second Apron team.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
You know, I want to go back and talk about
this draft because when I think about Nick Clifford, you know,
six five, two on and two gar from Colorado State.
And the reason I bring that up because not often
that you see a lot of guys from the Colorado
schools get drafted, and more pointing, get drafted in the
first round. Well what does that mean, I guess for
(05:33):
the school itself, and what does that signify for all
those basketball fans out there knowing as though a kid
that played his college balls with Rams is now headed
to Sacramento.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Yeah, I mean, I think it means a lot for
just local kids around Denver. You know, you know, Dalton
connect was the first round guy last year. Devin Carter
first round pick last year, like started his college or
high school career playing I believe at Cherry Creek or
somewhere in Denver. You know, So for for a state
that doesn't get a lot of you know, national respect
(06:06):
for for the quality of basketball player it produces. I
think it shows that, you know, especially in this modern
age of college basketball. Uh, you know, if you're if
you're good enough, they'll they'll find you and you'll have
a shot.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
You know.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
You look at you know, Dalton's route from junior college
to Northern Colorado to Tennessee Meek throughout was was certainly different,
you know, starting starting at Colorado and then you know,
excelling on kind of a smaller stage. So you know,
and then you look at I mean just the draft
last night that uh Cedric Coward who ended up with
(06:38):
Memphis started his career at his college career Division three school.
So you know, I think there are just so many
more avenues to to get to the get to the
point where where NBA eyes around you and evaluating you.
So I think it's just uh, you know, reason for
for young players and to kind of you know, hold
on to belief regardless of of you know, where you're
(06:59):
initially kind of of scouted at.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Or what level you're being recruited at Talking with any
Benedetto of the Denver Gazette, I want to throw it
back to, you know, another core discussion here in terms
of this Nuggets corps of obviously Aaron Gordon, Jokich, Jamal Murray,
Michael Porter. June we talked about MPG, some of the
struggles he had this year, the injury in the playoffs.
But really I think a lot of people have expressed conservaive,
especially after the playoff series, about Jamal Murray. You know,
(07:23):
what do you think, in your opinion, what's the biggest
hurdle you think Jamal has to overcome coming into obviously
the twenty twenty five season because he's also dealt with
some injuries from time to time this year, and obviously
now you're going into it with David Adaman as the
head coach, where it seems like there's a little more breatheability,
I'd say in this locker room from some of the players,
are your thoughts on Jamal and the pressure he's facing
(07:45):
this year?
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:47):
Yeah, last year was certainly a tough one for Jamal.
You know, he was throw it back to not this postseason,
but the one prior. You know, he's playing through an injury.
He goes to the Olympics, doesn't have the great run
with Canada, he gets the contract extension that you know,
was kind of divisive around here in terms of, you know,
had he done enough to earn it. He kind of
(08:09):
got off to a you know, a bit of a
slower start last season. You know, kind of the criticism
got well, you know, it was really pretty loud the
first couple of months of last season. So I think
the best thing Jamal can do is put himself in
the best position possible to get off to a hot start, because,
like you know, over the course of his career, his
seasons have always kind of followed a trend where you know,
(08:31):
he starts a little bit slow, maybe a little bit inconsistent,
you get into you know, the holidays, late December, early January,
and then he takes off for a bit and then
you know he's established himself as this playoff riser. But
you know, the twenty twenty three championship run was obviously,
you know, kind of like the feather in his cap.
But you know, since then, it hasn't hasn't quite been
(08:52):
the same. So I think for Jamal, you know, this
offseason should be you know about conditioning, making sure he's
put in his body in the best position to stand
the grind of a full regular season and what should
be expected to be another pretty long playoff runt.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
With the Alaman taking over for coach Malone.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
In the back half, we saw the Nuggets really try
to take a step forward, but then obviously playing against
OKC going Game seven.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
They take a step backwards.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
And for me and the way that I look at it,
it's getting more out of Michael Porter Junior. I mean
to get him to be more of that guy that
lives up to those projections that everyone talks about, like
the potential.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
What does David Adelman have to do to kind of pull.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
More out of Michael Porter Julians to get him to
be more productive on both ends of the floor.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Yeah, I think it starts with just being more intentional
about getting him involved in the offense. You know, like
the way the Nuggets play is so kind of free flowing,
read and react that there aren't a lot of plays
where it's just like drawn up to get somebody a look,
and you know that has obviously worked free well, it's
it's hard to you know, kind of disparage what the
(10:04):
Nuggets have done offensively. But that free flowing kind of
offense also leads to randomnesss you know, outside of Nikole Jokic,
it's hard to say who's going to touch the ball
on any given possession. So I think one thing they
can do to really help Mike is just kind of
be intentional about getting him opportunities, because sometimes it is
just like, you know, Mike's stanning in the corner and
(10:26):
he's doing a great job of spacing the floor, but
at some points, you know, it becomes you're playing four
on four. So I think the best thing they can
do for Mike is just kind of be more assertive
about getting him involved because there are just too many
times where he gets off to a hot start, you know,
maybe puts up ten or twelve points in the first quarter,
and then he's got fourteen at halftime, and he finishes
(10:47):
the game with you know, seventeen or eighteen points. So
I think it's one of the just something they can
do to make sure that if he is a hot start,
you know, make sure he continues to touch the ball
and catch the ball in advantageous opportunities. And then from
you know, I don't think he's ever going to be
a back to the basket guy, but I think he
can evolve his game a little bit, you know, continue
to improve the handle.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
A lot of great insight from Vinie Benedetta the Denver Gazette.
He's at the Stadium Ballerinas tonight for Night two of
the NBA Draft, where I think after the evening they'll
they'll hear from Nuggets brass. Vinnie. We appreciate you for
joining us here tonight. Absolutely guess boom, there you go,
Vinnie benedetto Denver Gazette. And look, Nick, I when it
comes to this media game, right when it comes to
(11:29):
the Broncos, I can cover the team objectively. When I
talk about the Nuggets. I'm a Nuggets fan, right, I'm
a diehard Nuggets fan. I get emotional during the games.
I get mad. It's to the point. It's to the point.
And this is this is something I've learned early on
with my wife. Right during they're one of the games,
I can't remember which one it was, the Nuggets, they
had a little bit of lead, think it was it
(11:50):
was Game five. They had a lead that started disspate,
and I told my wife I was like, I want
to turn the game off. Like, if I turn the
game off, you know, maybe they'll.
Speaker 4 (11:57):
Go on a run.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Yeah, maybe they'll go on a run.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
And she gave me so much. She gave me so
much crap for it. She's a New York Knicks fan.
You know what she was doing during their series that
they had against the Indiana Pacers. Indiana will go on
a little bit of a run. She turned the game off,
Wait five minutes to turn it back on. We did
that the entire Knicks series. But I felt that way
during the Nuggets series. The fact that they're able to
(12:20):
take Okac as far as they did without the rotation
with it. You know, really, I think it was five
on nine essentially for a large portion of that series.
You want to see some of these younger guys like
Julian Strather take another step forward there, get some more run,
get some more confidence. I mean, obviously Jalen Pickett's names
in there, Peyton Watson, you want to see him develop
a little bit more. This Nuggets team, they they're painting
(12:42):
so heavily on Michael Porter Junior and Jamal Murray having
a better year In twenty twenty five, If they don't
get contributions from those guys next year, they're wasting the
prime here of nicoley Okich.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
It's interesting that you talk about contribution because when you
say that the NISS you thought is more offensive contribution,
and for me, it's like, no, they both of those
guys have to be better defensively. Hopefully they're somewhere wherever
they are in Canada and Toronto, if you are Jamal Murray,
wherever Michael Porter Junior finds himself that they're working on defense,
(13:15):
not jump shots defense, because we know both of those
guys can shoot the ball. We know Michael Porter Junr.
Is sitting in the corner, like Benny said, he can
knock down that open three, but it's like creating your
own shot.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Jamal Murray has the ability to.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Do that, and this is where Michael Porter Jr. Needs
to take his game to the next level. Because looking
at the draft itself, and I know you and Grant
they're really watch it that much, but to me, the
trend has changed right watching what because it's the same
thing that happens in sports. We see a copy cat
league and we saw so many guys who.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
Played the guard position. Drafted.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
So now you're talking about competing against some younger guys
with great all around skill sets. So you have to
be able to play great defense. And once again, I
go back to the Vote Knicks comparison.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
To SG SGA, it's defense.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
I mean, Oklahoma City had multiple guys who were not
household guys, guys who just kind of bought into the
fabric of the culture and said, you know what, I'm
a roll pip player.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
I'm going to embrace my role.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
So once again, known as though at the apex of
the Nuggets you have the Kola Jokic sitting there, can
Jamal Murray truly become his Robin and adapt this game
to be a more all around defensive player.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
He has to, Yeah, he has to. I mean, look,
I think for guys in OKC, there's not much to
do in OKC, so it's easy to go in there.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
So because there's no nightlife in OKC, those guys had.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
All that time in the life. You can't even go
play mini golf for fun over there. There's probably not much,
not much to do.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
Let's be totally honest.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Here in different Colorado, there's more to do, Okay, in
a daytime give me some.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Nighttime man, nighttime. Well, you know, the bars closed late,
but you know who wants to go through the bars
these days? Man, I'm thirty one.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
Wait wait, wait, you are thirty one. I'm older than you.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
But some of these guys are young, right, These guys
want to go out.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
That's the last thing.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
These guys get.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Back and play some defense. Get back, you play some defense.
Speaking of defense, we're gonna go into obviously coming up
next to on Broncos Country, We're gonna go through maybe
some of the best defenses the Broncos will face this
upcoming season here on Broncos Country on Kine FM, as
we get ready to talk about some of the top elements, right,
top quarterbacks, top defenses, top receivers that this Denver Broncos
(15:42):
team are gonna face this upcoming season. None tougher than
Nick not knowing what the secret lives and Mormon wives are.
It's crazy to.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
Me secret lives of more.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
I'm telling you, it's one of those It's one of
those things. You ever watched The Bachelor as a man,
we hate that right, going like it's our wives they
love watching it. But it's like, ah, I hate this show.
But because you hate it. You see things and you
like tune in because you hate it, and you end
up just being part of the dysfunction.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
You get sucked into the dysfunction.
Speaker 5 (16:12):
That's how I was with Love Is Blind. Yes, I
was watching that what my wife is watching? You've never
seen Love is Blind?
Speaker 4 (16:18):
My watch, my wife watches it. But I'm just like,
this is.
Speaker 5 (16:21):
Just I watched Got Home. I was like, this is
the dumbest thing I've ever seen. Second episode kicks in,
I'm like, what's happening with these guys?
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Are they going to get married or not? I think
they're doing aren't they filming their latest season here in Denver?
Speaker 5 (16:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (16:36):
I think it's to drop train wreck here. Maybe train
wreck you know, the member, the city of members what
people call it dombrodo.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
I don't get it. I mean, you said it yourself.
It's stupid, but it just sucked you in.
Speaker 5 (16:49):
Yeah, that's which is why I am not letting myself
watch any of the Secret Lives of God.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
You gotta I'm telling you. I felt very strongly like
I'm not watch this when my wife was watching it,
and then it has like Wow, I suddenly got hooked
into it because.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
It's so stupid that you find yourself obsessed with it.
Is that the concept and idea, some more ridiculous.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
Some of it.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
There's so much dramas, just like, how can you wrap
your mind around all the drama that's actually happening. That's
the crazy thing about it.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
It's tied to alone kind of gives me insight on
what's probably taking place the secret lives of Mormon wives.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Well, you know, granted, like for for a lot of
a lot of adults that you know, when I go out,
it's alcohol consumption. They don't drink alcohol. They great soda pop.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
Okay, So once again, even everyone has their own vice.
So even though you may.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Not be subjective to that particular advice, you're gonna find
something else, right, there's always something else you may not
be you know, taste another devil's nectar.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
But but but you go into some other directions.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Hey, soda pop, not bad Coca cola whatever, All right,
I'm I'm cool with that.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Yeah, but it's what you missed with that, right.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
You know, I don't know, Like I said, you know,
sometimes we're drawn into train wrecks and hopefully when the
Denver Broncos this upcoming season, face off against some of
these defenses, it doesn't turn into a train wreck. Now, Nick,
this is very open ended here. Just because the Broncos
schedule is out, we know the opponents in which they're
gonna play. Yep, I think we could look at it
and make some assumptions as to who some of the
(18:20):
top defenses are gonna be. I have my three in mind,
but I'm curious for your thoughts. When you look at
Denver schedule, you look at the units they're gonna face.
For Bonnix and this Broncos offense, who are the top
three defenses? You think that they'll run into the toughest
defenses that they'll face this upcoming season.
Speaker 4 (18:35):
All right, I'm gonna give you in reverse order. I'm
gonna face with my.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
Top team, the Chargers, that's my number three, Okay, Houston
Texans are my number two. And knowing Demika Ryans and
that defensive scheme the way that I know it, and
knowing the players that they have on their team, man,
it's full of thought because their ideas that they're gonna
score enough point to take you out of your offensive
(19:02):
balance sheet, to force you to be a passing team.
Just to stay in the game. And this is where
you get guy that Will Anderson and being able to come.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
Off the corner. That's gonna make it real difficult.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
But my number one is Vic Fangio and them Pesky Eagles.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yeah, no, I'm with you there. I have two similar teams,
Philadelphia being the top dog in terms of hever's gonna
face I had. I'm debating between the Chargers and the Chiefs,
and one because I think even though the Steve Spagnello
squad they lost justin Reeth, Spags always has some sort
of game plan, right. They have a great developmental system
(19:38):
in there because their scheme really never changes. They got
a lot of moving pieces. They got the foundational guys there.
The Chargers defense is definitely gonna be tough. But I mean,
obviously they lost Joey Bosa to the Buffalo Bills, and
Joey he couldn't stay healthy and that's still the trend here.
He's he got hurt in the offseason program. For them,
they do have Khalil Mack. I think obviously with Derwin
James there, they got some twent players. They got some
(20:00):
younger guys in the secondary at corner. But for me,
I don't think that they're going to be as tough
as they were last year. I think can still it
would be tough. But then I got I got one
that you don't have on it. I agree with you
on Houston. That's one I think probably not a lot
of people are gonna look at underrated defense that they'll face.
I think Green Bay. I think Green Bay's got a
very solid squad defensively there. I think they have elite
(20:23):
level players at every you know, on the defensive line,
at linebacker, and in the secondary. Those are three teams
that I think are going to present the Broncos with
the most problems this upcoming season.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
I thought about adding Green Bay because Jeff Hapley was
the defensive back coach who I worked.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
On under in my days in San Francisco. So once again,
when I.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Look at the Houston defense and I look at the
Green Bay their fr Cisco branches, Yes, similar parallels. When
you look at how they build their roster. They lost
I here Alexander at the corner position. Now he's at Baltimore.
That is the only concern for me when I look
at the Green Bay Packers from a defensive standpoint, can
you hold up in the back end. Now, they are
(21:05):
very talented up front and on the second level with
their linebackers, very athletic linebackers, but their secondary that's kind
of the weak point. That's why I didn't go with them.
But when I look at Houston Man, they find they
found the way to kind of retool and keep adding
to a defense that was great last year.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
So for me, based on attitude, talent, physicality, scheme, and depth,
that is going to be a team that presents some
issues for the Denver Broncos this year. But the front,
the leader in the clubhouse definitely is Vic Fangio and Philadelphia.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
And they lost some guys this offseason, but it didn't
really matter that they lost. It is because I think
there was a level of comfort in letting some guys goes,
Like they let CJ. Gardner Johnson go, they trade I mean,
Josh Swat is no longer there, but they had Jalen
Carter there on the defensive line, you know. In then
Kobe dena linebacker, though he's had some injury concerns there.
But they go out and they draft Johad Campbell this
year in round number one. They retain Zach Bond who
(22:10):
really for them was such a gamble get for them
last season because it didn't have to He didn't cost
a lot last year when they got him coming out,
you know, out of New Orleans. But then now he
got a big time contract extension because he plays so
well there that I like that. Then you get Cooper Dejen,
you get that secondary that those guys have there Philadelphia,
and what Vic Fangiel has done. Really you look at
the archetype of what defenses are in the NFL today,
(22:33):
So many teams are trying to replicate Fangio's style. And
I remember Vic Fangio was Sean Payton's first choice when
he took the head coaching job in Denver. Sean Payton
wanted Vic, but for Vic, Vic Felder was far too
soon for him to return to Denver where he was
just the head coach, and so they went with the
other path of a guy who used to be the
head coach, Vance Joseph. So I always feel like because
(22:55):
of that, there was always this inherent pressure on Vance
that well, Vance wasn't the first choice, right, You always
get that narrative there, So I think Vance dealt with
a lot of pressure. Then you have that twenty twenty
three defense that gave up seventy points there, I think
for what Vance has done from that time of actually
being able to run his actual defense. Following those changes
after that Miami game, whereas he was calling a Vic
(23:16):
Fangio defense as zero Avro defense that was unorthodox for Vance,
they got back to what Vance knows how to do
well and the defense started playing better, and then they
come in with the impressive season they had last year's.
I tipped my hat off to Vance Joseph because what
that guy went through, the criticism that he went through,
I felt like he got a lot of unnecessary and
unfair blame placed on him all those circumstances considered for
(23:40):
him to have that defense played the way they it did,
says hey, I deserve to be here, which I think
is huge well, looking at.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Advanced situation, even in big fans, it would follow in
the footsteps of WAYE.
Speaker 4 (23:51):
Phillips, who coached here right before.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Mike Shenahan came back to won a Super Bowl with
a holified defensive unit with bon Millan de Marcus.
Speaker 4 (23:59):
Where and when I look at it, Vance is.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Doing the same thing, and that's probably what Sean wanted
to bring with a guy like Vic Fangil, And I
get it. It's hard to date someone that you dated
before and the relationship didn't go well. I mean, it
leaves a bad tasting about But with that being said,
when you look at when these two teams play, that
(24:23):
is going to be on the back of Vic Fangiel's
mind because when he was a head coach here, he
was still more of a defensive minded coach and not
being able to delegate responsibilities from a head coaching standpoint,
and that's kind of what happens, and it's becomes very
difficult for individuals who were coordinated to be head coach,
(24:44):
and especially either side of the ball. Can you just
focus on the entire team instead of your side? But
in this case, Vic Fangiel will be able to focus
solely on the defense side of the ball, smalling down
bow knicks and riding off after that game saying that
he was able to beat that Denver Broncos and Sean
Payton and knowing as though he has the tools just
(25:05):
like the Green Bay Packers. My concern for the Eagles secondary,
but knowing that they have four guys up front that
can get out to the quarterback and you don't have
to add anyone in extra in the blitz. Now you
can become instant robbers and taking those intermedia and those.
Speaker 4 (25:22):
Deep routes away.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
They got they got the guys in the secondary that
you know, may not be the necessarily the fastest or
you know, the most proven in terms of Ballhawk production.
I think Cooper the Jeans and you know, an obvious
weapon for them, But I think you look at Zach
ball and they got inside linebackers that can cover, that
can fly sideline. They got two of those guys there.
Now you added the guy like Jahad Campbell as well
into the mix, and all of a sudden, big fanjo
(25:44):
he's got, he's got guys to work with. It all
starts with the with the guys up front, right. We
saw it in the Super Bowl. I mean, you could
just send four and you don't have to send extra
guys out to Patrick Mahomes and you blow them out
in the Super Bowl. That formula is what everybody's gonna
try to do. But it's not gonna be that easy, Nick,
because you can try to do that, but do you
have the personnel that can do that? I don't think
(26:06):
there are many teams that can. This will be a
tough test for Denver because also the week prior it
will be a Monday night game, they're gonna be playing
Joe Burrow in the Bengals Week four short week turn
of rout for that Sunday game against the Egos as
we know eleven am Mountain time kickoff. I agree with you.
I think Philadelphia is gonna be the top defense at
Denver faces this year. Obviously, I want to give a
shot at them to make Christian Parker. He's over there.
(26:27):
He's a passing game coordinator for them. Defensively, he was
considered a, you know, a rising defensive coordinator candidate. I
think that stock is going to continue to rise as
long as he's there with Vic and what he's been
able to do. But uh, I agree, I think that'll
be the toughest test. And obviously, Broncos Country want to
hear from you. You want to know your thoughts on
who you think the top three defenses that Denver will
face this year. Makes you text them into us on
the common Spirit hell text line five to six six
(26:50):
nine zero. I mean, Nick, maybe we take a little
shot right here real quick at the three toughest quarterbacks
the Broncos are gonna face this season. I mean, looking
at the schedule, there's a handful of them. But if
you had to rank them in order of three to
one where you're starting, well, well you.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Want you want the top to lease or least the top?
Which one you want least the top? All right, so
least the top I'm gonna say. But Patrick Mahomes at
number three? Okay, that's right, number two, jayde Daniels number three.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
Justin Hurts, I mean Jalen Hurts.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Excuse me, Jalen Hurts. Jalen Hurts over Joe Burrow.
Speaker 4 (27:33):
Yes, and this.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Pase what holld grit man?
Speaker 4 (27:39):
He just give some knice my whole thing once again.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Here's why I think with Jalen Hurts once again, the
push push is still alive and no one has been
able to resolve that conundrum just yet. And then just
look at the number of skilled players around Jalen Hurts,
and he proves to be time and time again that
type of dude, I mean showed up Patrick Mahomes like
(28:07):
twice in the Super Bowl. The first time he didn't
win it, He didn't win the MVP, and he didn't
get Philly over the hurdle, but the second time he
did and Jade Daniels. Look, everyone's thinking, well, Jayde Dan's
gonna have one of those CJ. Striud kind of sophomore slumps.
No he's not, No, he's not. You just added Deebo
Samuels to the mix. You know it's gonna be a
(28:28):
lot of gimmicky collegiate type, you know, RPO type of
dump off orbit motion, throw down the field type of plays.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
My worry with Washington, I think their defense takes a
massive step back this year, I would agree, which I
think could inherently put some more pressure on Jayden to
have to do much. But you run it to look Deebo,
though Debo's been banged up. If Debo can't stay healthy,
that hurts things. You got Scary Terry, you got zach Hertz,
you got Brian Ruffs like you have talent. Jaden has
taling around him, and we've seen it. He can elevate
(28:57):
those guys. I just think that there might be a
little more pressure on Jaden. He's on my list, he's
my number three.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
QB.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
He's number three, he's number three.
Speaker 4 (29:05):
Who's number two or number one?
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Number two. I've got Patrick Mahomes because Mahomes is Mahomes.
And last year, even though the Broncos sent the house
at him in that one game, they sacked him four
times in that game and arrowhead they held him to
was seven of sixteen on third down early on, I
think it was seven of thirteen and then they held
him I think zero for three in the second half.
They're on third down Mahomes just because of who he is.
Right until you knock Mahomes off the mountaintop, he's always
(29:29):
going to be when challenges. I agree. I would say
there's a strong argument for Jalen Hurts, but I factor
him because he's got guys like Sakwon Barkley. I think
that plays a little bit more into the dynamic of
what they want to do. I think Joe Burrow is
the toughest quarterback in my opinion that the Broncos are
going to face this up. The Broncos defense. They sacked
(29:50):
him seven times last year, nicking that game, and they
still lost to him. Like that's how Joe Burrow is,
like he you need a guy who can hang in
the pocket, be tough at nails. He can do. He
can deliver with pressure bearing down on him, and then
we'll talk about that. What I think he was third
and nineteen he had, or third and eighteen he had
a nineteen yard run to end the third quarter. There
this is a guy that can kill you with his arms,
(30:11):
with his legs, and I think as long as they
have those playmaking weapons around him, I think Joe Burrow,
despite the offensive line, despite you know the history of
him getting hit and hurt, see, he's gonna be He's
gonna be the toughest pocket passing quarterback, they say.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
So there is to say, you know, despite his offensive line,
Zach Allen in that game.
Speaker 4 (30:29):
If I if I, if my memory serves.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
Me, well, he was a terror in that game everywhere.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
Yes, And if you're.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Asking Joe Burrow to throw the team on his back
like Josh Allen is done for the Buffalo Bills, I'm
not saying that Joe Burrow can't do that, but that's
a significant amount of pressure you're putting on him from
a quarterback standpoint. When I when I look at Kansas City,
they have a decent offensive line. When I look at Washington,
decent offensive line. Philadelphia one of the better offensive lines
(30:57):
in this league. This is this is the premise as
far as why I went one, two three with those
particular guys.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
And Grant's no disrespect towards Joe Burrow. I know he's
that dude. He's a dog.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
I don't have confidence in that defense for one, and
that office is one.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
For two.
Speaker 5 (31:12):
It's okay to be wrong sometimes, Nick, all right, We're
gonna find out though.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
I mean, that was the thing that was frustrated to me,
is all those circumstances considered, like even last year, like
Cincinnati's defense was historically bad, Joe Burrow was the reason
they were in any of their games last year.
Speaker 5 (31:28):
Talking about defenses right now, I were talking about the
best quarterbacks the Broncos are going up against.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
Honorable Mention. If I had to throw anybody in there, yeah,
Honorable Mission maybe Jordan Love. Maybe Jordan Love in that regard,
I don't know, you know, Week two of them. You know,
I'm not looking forward to seeing Daniel Jones or Anthony richardson. Yea,
unnecessarily that's not going to be the toughest challenge. But
I think Jordan Love will, especially with the array of
guys that they certainly have on their roster. I think
(31:54):
they've done a really good job of building that team
in Green Bay, and a lot of these teams that
we're talking about, maybe you Min have since and Natty
are well built. But I think coming up next year
on Broncos Country has a perfect time to talk about
while having a PhD in roster building, roster development is
crucial in today's game and why it's key for success.
You're going to get that here on Broncos Country tonight
on KAA fifty am and ninety four one FM.
Nikola Jokic must really love the intro to our show here. Obviously,
the horse going. I you know, where do you think
he's at right now? You think he's he's enjoying this offseason.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yeah, of course, this is the part of the year
that I believe that Nikola Yokis plays so hard during
the regular season just to get to the off season,
to be back in his home country, his home food,
home music, and more portantly, his horses and beer.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
We know he loves beers. Speaking of the Denver Nuggets,
let's head on out to the Kawa Common Spirit Health Hotline,
bringing our friend Vinnie benedetto beat reporter for the Nuggets
at the Denver Gazette. Vinnie, how's it going tonight?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Going pretty well, guys, Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Yeah, thanks, thanks for joining us. Obviously, the the NBA Draft,
we're on night two. Obviously, no fireworks for the Denver
Nuggets on Night one, and I think the expectation is
going to remain the same for Night two. But uh,
you think they can find themselves maybe getting in on
the Actually, we've seen a handful of teams engages some
trades for some future draft picks just to be able
to move up get in a position Denver Nuggets don't
(01:02):
really have much. How is how's night two going?
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Yeah, I'm here at the arena and it's been pretty quiet,
almost as probably even almost as quiet as last night
when it was pretty evident that the team wasn't doing anything.
But you know, we had we had to be here
just in case. And you know, free pizza is enough
to get me out of that house.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
Free pizza.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I think everyone who's listening will definitely love that, Vinnie.
When we look at the Nuggets in the situation they
find themselves in because no picks in twenty twenty five,
twenty twenty six, only a first round pick, no picks
in twenty twenty seven, and in twenty twenty eight they
have a first round pick. So how does this team
actually find a way to get better and an uber
(01:48):
competitive Western conference.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Yes, it's going to be really tough, and like the
word of the day a couple of days ago when
they introduced Ben Tenzer and John Wallace in that regard
was margin, and you know, like everything's gonna have to
be on the margins in terms of they're going to
have looks like the text payer mid level exception at
their disposal, you know, which is going to be like
five and a half million dollars and then from there
it's going to be a veteran veteran minimum contracts that
(02:14):
they have to give out.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
So it's about.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Finding value in those spots, and that's you know, something
that's been a challenge recently. You look at uh, you know,
Dario Sarich was the guy they used their mid level
exception on last year and uh, you know, didn't play
a second in the playoffs. Other guys who were on
you know, Russ on a veteran minimum, you know pretty
clearly outperformed his contract last year and it's probably looking
to get a little more of this offseason. So it
(02:39):
is gonna be guys kind of on on the edges
that is that is going to make this team work,
because everything we've heard from ownership in the new front
office is that, you know, they still believe in this core,
in that group's ability to contend for a championship.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Well, and there's so much of that is guys staying healthy. Obviously,
Michael Porter Junior in the playoffs he had the shoulder injury,
didn't look the same at all, and I know I
know there were some ups and downs there. You know,
Aaron Gordon that Game seven was going into that with
obviously in a hamstring injury there. But this is a
Nuggets team that we saw I think take okay See
to the brink in comparison to what we saw from
some of the other teams. Now, granted, you know that
(03:14):
Game seven, you know, got away from them really much
in that second half there against okay See. You mentioned
so much of that core here, and obviously Josh Kronkey
had some interesting comments this week that you know a
lot of people are latching onto when discussing you know,
the second apron, you know, or along the lines if
there's an injury, you know, considering their injury history. He said,
if the wrong person gets injured and very quickly, you're
(03:35):
in a scenario that I never want to have to contemplate.
And that's turning way number fifteen. Nikolai Yogic, I know
in some other interviews he's kind of gone back and said, look,
that's not our thought process here. Well, I think Nuggets
fans are definitely worried the fact that this was even
brought up in the first place. What can you say
on that Yeah, I.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Think that was Josh's way of, you know, kind of thing.
I'm sick of being asked about the Second Apron and
we're not going to go into it because this is
what it could potentially lead to. So yeah, Joker's not
getting traded unless he demands a trade at some point,
and you know that that feels pretty out of character
for him and feels like if it ever would happen,
it's still.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
A few years away.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
So I think it was more of this is kind
of how punitive the second Apron is, And like I
asked that question, I asked if he thinks the second
Apron has kind of served as a hardcap because you
look at some of the trades that got made this
week in terms of you know, Boston moving off guys
after Jason Tatum's injury, and like they're they're under the
second Apron. So I think, you know, this collective bargaining
(04:36):
agreement is two years old, and I think teams are
still kind of trying to figure out just how to
navigate it, or you know, if being in the second
Apron is something that is worth the risk, Like to
Josh's point, if you've got somebody, if you're your second
Apron team and you lose a key contributor for the season,
You're really limited in terms of you can't add guys
(04:56):
on the buyout market, and you know, pulling off trades
because way more difficult. So yeah, I think I think
his comments there were just kind of signaling to people
that the Nuggets are, you know, just not interested in
being a second Apron team.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
You know, I want to go back and talk about
this draft because when I think about Nick Clifford, you know,
six five, two on and two gar from Colorado State.
And the reason I bring that up because not often
that you see a lot of guys from the Colorado
schools get drafted, and more pointing, get drafted in the
first round. Well what does that mean, I guess for
(05:33):
the school itself, and what does that signify for all
those basketball fans out there knowing as though a kid
that played his college balls with Rams is now headed
to Sacramento.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Yeah, I mean, I think it means a lot for
just local kids around Denver. You know, you know, Dalton
connect was the first round guy last year. Devin Carter
first round pick last year, like started his college or
high school career playing I believe at Cherry Creek or
somewhere in Denver. You know, So for for a state
that doesn't get a lot of you know, national respect
(06:06):
for for the quality of basketball player it produces. I
think it shows that, you know, especially in this modern
age of college basketball. Uh, you know, if you're if
you're good enough, they'll they'll find you and you'll have
a shot.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
You know.
Speaker 3 (06:17):
You look at you know, Dalton's route from junior college
to Northern Colorado to Tennessee Meek throughout was was certainly different,
you know, starting starting at Colorado and then you know,
excelling on kind of a smaller stage. So you know,
and then you look at I mean just the draft
last night that uh Cedric Coward who ended up with
(06:38):
Memphis started his career at his college career Division three school.
So you know, I think there are just so many
more avenues to to get to the get to the
point where where NBA eyes around you and evaluating you.
So I think it's just uh, you know, reason for
for young players and to kind of you know, hold
on to belief regardless of of you know, where you're
(06:59):
initially kind of of scouted at.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Or what level you're being recruited at Talking with any
Benedetto of the Denver Gazette, I want to throw it
back to, you know, another core discussion here in terms
of this Nuggets corps of obviously Aaron Gordon, Jokich, Jamal Murray,
Michael Porter. June we talked about MPG, some of the
struggles he had this year, the injury in the playoffs.
But really I think a lot of people have expressed conservaive,
especially after the playoff series, about Jamal Murray. You know,
(07:23):
what do you think, in your opinion, what's the biggest
hurdle you think Jamal has to overcome coming into obviously
the twenty twenty five season because he's also dealt with
some injuries from time to time this year, and obviously
now you're going into it with David Adaman as the
head coach, where it seems like there's a little more breatheability,
I'd say in this locker room from some of the players,
are your thoughts on Jamal and the pressure he's facing
(07:45):
this year?
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:47):
Yeah, last year was certainly a tough one for Jamal.
You know, he was throw it back to not this postseason,
but the one prior. You know, he's playing through an injury.
He goes to the Olympics, doesn't have the great run
with Canada, he gets the contract extension that you know,
was kind of divisive around here in terms of, you know,
had he done enough to earn it. He kind of
(08:09):
got off to a you know, a bit of a
slower start last season. You know, kind of the criticism
got well, you know, it was really pretty loud the
first couple of months of last season. So I think
the best thing Jamal can do is put himself in
the best position possible to get off to a hot start, because,
like you know, over the course of his career, his
seasons have always kind of followed a trend where you know,
(08:31):
he starts a little bit slow, maybe a little bit inconsistent,
you get into you know, the holidays, late December, early January,
and then he takes off for a bit and then
you know he's established himself as this playoff riser. But
you know, the twenty twenty three championship run was obviously,
you know, kind of like the feather in his cap.
But you know, since then, it hasn't hasn't quite been
(08:52):
the same. So I think for Jamal, you know, this
offseason should be you know about conditioning, making sure he's
put in his body in the best position to stand
the grind of a full regular season and what should
be expected to be another pretty long playoff runt.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
With the Alaman taking over for coach Malone.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
In the back half, we saw the Nuggets really try
to take a step forward, but then obviously playing against
OKC going Game seven.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
They take a step backwards.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
And for me and the way that I look at it,
it's getting more out of Michael Porter Junior. I mean
to get him to be more of that guy that
lives up to those projections that everyone talks about, like
the potential.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
What does David Adelman have to do to kind of pull.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
More out of Michael Porter Julians to get him to
be more productive on both ends of the floor.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Yeah, I think it starts with just being more intentional
about getting him involved in the offense. You know, like
the way the Nuggets play is so kind of free flowing,
read and react that there aren't a lot of plays
where it's just like drawn up to get somebody a look,
and you know that has obviously worked free well, it's
it's hard to you know, kind of disparage what the
(10:04):
Nuggets have done offensively. But that free flowing kind of
offense also leads to randomnesss you know, outside of Nikole Jokic,
it's hard to say who's going to touch the ball
on any given possession. So I think one thing they
can do to really help Mike is just kind of
be intentional about getting him opportunities, because sometimes it is
just like, you know, Mike's stanning in the corner and
(10:26):
he's doing a great job of spacing the floor, but
at some points, you know, it becomes you're playing four
on four. So I think the best thing they can
do for Mike is just kind of be more assertive
about getting him involved because there are just too many
times where he gets off to a hot start, you know,
maybe puts up ten or twelve points in the first quarter,
and then he's got fourteen at halftime, and he finishes
(10:47):
the game with you know, seventeen or eighteen points. So
I think it's one of the just something they can
do to make sure that if he is a hot start,
you know, make sure he continues to touch the ball
and catch the ball in advantageous opportunities. And then from
you know, I don't think he's ever going to be
a back to the basket guy, but I think he
can evolve his game a little bit, you know, continue
to improve the handle.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
A lot of great insight from Vinie Benedetta the Denver Gazette.
He's at the Stadium Ballerinas tonight for Night two of
the NBA Draft, where I think after the evening they'll
they'll hear from Nuggets brass. Vinnie. We appreciate you for
joining us here tonight. Absolutely guess boom, there you go,
Vinnie benedetto Denver Gazette. And look, Nick, I when it
comes to this media game, right when it comes to
(11:29):
the Broncos, I can cover the team objectively. When I
talk about the Nuggets. I'm a Nuggets fan, right, I'm
a diehard Nuggets fan. I get emotional during the games.
I get mad. It's to the point. It's to the point.
And this is this is something I've learned early on
with my wife. Right during they're one of the games,
I can't remember which one it was, the Nuggets, they
had a little bit of lead, think it was it
(11:50):
was Game five. They had a lead that started disspate,
and I told my wife I was like, I want
to turn the game off. Like, if I turn the
game off, you know, maybe they'll.
Speaker 4 (11:57):
Go on a run.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Yeah, maybe they'll go on a run.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
And she gave me so much. She gave me so
much crap for it. She's a New York Knicks fan.
You know what she was doing during their series that
they had against the Indiana Pacers. Indiana will go on
a little bit of a run. She turned the game off,
Wait five minutes to turn it back on. We did
that the entire Knicks series. But I felt that way
during the Nuggets series. The fact that they're able to
(12:20):
take Okac as far as they did without the rotation
with it. You know, really, I think it was five
on nine essentially for a large portion of that series.
You want to see some of these younger guys like
Julian Strather take another step forward there, get some more run,
get some more confidence. I mean, obviously Jalen Pickett's names
in there, Peyton Watson, you want to see him develop
a little bit more. This Nuggets team, they they're painting
(12:42):
so heavily on Michael Porter Junior and Jamal Murray having
a better year In twenty twenty five, If they don't
get contributions from those guys next year, they're wasting the
prime here of nicoley Okich.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
It's interesting that you talk about contribution because when you
say that the NISS you thought is more offensive contribution,
and for me, it's like, no, they both of those
guys have to be better defensively. Hopefully they're somewhere wherever
they are in Canada and Toronto, if you are Jamal Murray,
wherever Michael Porter Junior finds himself that they're working on defense,
(13:15):
not jump shots defense, because we know both of those
guys can shoot the ball. We know Michael Porter Junr.
Is sitting in the corner, like Benny said, he can
knock down that open three, but it's like creating your
own shot.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Jamal Murray has the ability to.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Do that, and this is where Michael Porter Jr. Needs
to take his game to the next level. Because looking
at the draft itself, and I know you and Grant
they're really watch it that much, but to me, the
trend has changed right watching what because it's the same
thing that happens in sports. We see a copy cat
league and we saw so many guys who.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
Played the guard position. Drafted.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
So now you're talking about competing against some younger guys
with great all around skill sets. So you have to
be able to play great defense. And once again, I
go back to the Vote Knicks comparison.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
To SG SGA, it's defense.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
I mean, Oklahoma City had multiple guys who were not
household guys, guys who just kind of bought into the
fabric of the culture and said, you know what, I'm
a roll pip player.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
I'm going to embrace my role.
Speaker 2 (14:22):
So once again, known as though at the apex of
the Nuggets you have the Kola Jokic sitting there, can
Jamal Murray truly become his Robin and adapt this game
to be a more all around defensive player.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
He has to, Yeah, he has to. I mean, look,
I think for guys in OKC, there's not much to
do in OKC, so it's easy to go in there.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
So because there's no nightlife in OKC, those guys had.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
All that time in the life. You can't even go
play mini golf for fun over there. There's probably not much,
not much to do.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
Let's be totally honest.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Here in different Colorado, there's more to do, Okay, in
a daytime give me some.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Nighttime man, nighttime. Well, you know, the bars closed late,
but you know who wants to go through the bars
these days? Man, I'm thirty one.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
Wait wait, wait, you are thirty one. I'm older than you.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
But some of these guys are young, right, These guys
want to go out.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
That's the last thing.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
These guys get.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Back and play some defense. Get back, you play some defense.
Speaking of defense, we're gonna go into obviously coming up
next to on Broncos Country, We're gonna go through maybe
some of the best defenses the Broncos will face this
upcoming season here on Broncos Country on Kine FM, as
we get ready to talk about some of the top elements, right,
top quarterbacks, top defenses, top receivers that this Denver Broncos
(15:42):
team are gonna face this upcoming season. None tougher than
Nick not knowing what the secret lives and Mormon wives are.
It's crazy to.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
Me secret lives of more.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
I'm telling you, it's one of those It's one of
those things. You ever watched The Bachelor as a man,
we hate that right, going like it's our wives they
love watching it. But it's like, ah, I hate this show.
But because you hate it. You see things and you
like tune in because you hate it, and you end
up just being part of the dysfunction.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
You get sucked into the dysfunction.
Speaker 5 (16:12):
That's how I was with Love Is Blind. Yes, I
was watching that what my wife is watching? You've never
seen Love is Blind?
Speaker 4 (16:18):
My watch, my wife watches it. But I'm just like,
this is.
Speaker 5 (16:21):
Just I watched Got Home. I was like, this is
the dumbest thing I've ever seen. Second episode kicks in,
I'm like, what's happening with these guys?
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Are they going to get married or not? I think
they're doing aren't they filming their latest season here in Denver?
Speaker 5 (16:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (16:36):
I think it's to drop train wreck here. Maybe train
wreck you know, the member, the city of members what
people call it dombrodo.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
I don't get it. I mean, you said it yourself.
It's stupid, but it just sucked you in.
Speaker 5 (16:49):
Yeah, that's which is why I am not letting myself
watch any of the Secret Lives of God.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
You gotta I'm telling you. I felt very strongly like
I'm not watch this when my wife was watching it,
and then it has like Wow, I suddenly got hooked
into it because.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
It's so stupid that you find yourself obsessed with it.
Is that the concept and idea, some more ridiculous.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
Some of it.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
There's so much dramas, just like, how can you wrap
your mind around all the drama that's actually happening. That's
the crazy thing about it.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
It's tied to alone kind of gives me insight on
what's probably taking place the secret lives of Mormon wives.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Well, you know, granted, like for for a lot of
a lot of adults that you know, when I go out,
it's alcohol consumption. They don't drink alcohol. They great soda pop.
Speaker 4 (17:33):
Okay, So once again, even everyone has their own vice.
So even though you may.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Not be subjective to that particular advice, you're gonna find
something else, right, there's always something else you may not
be you know, taste another devil's nectar.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
But but but you go into some other directions.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Hey, soda pop, not bad Coca cola whatever, All right,
I'm I'm cool with that.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Yeah, but it's what you missed with that, right.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
You know, I don't know, Like I said, you know,
sometimes we're drawn into train wrecks and hopefully when the
Denver Broncos this upcoming season, face off against some of
these defenses, it doesn't turn into a train wreck. Now, Nick,
this is very open ended here. Just because the Broncos
schedule is out, we know the opponents in which they're
gonna play. Yep, I think we could look at it
and make some assumptions as to who some of the
(18:20):
top defenses are gonna be. I have my three in mind,
but I'm curious for your thoughts. When you look at
Denver schedule, you look at the units they're gonna face.
For Bonnix and this Broncos offense, who are the top
three defenses? You think that they'll run into the toughest
defenses that they'll face this upcoming season.
Speaker 4 (18:35):
All right, I'm gonna give you in reverse order. I'm
gonna face with my.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
Top team, the Chargers, that's my number three, Okay, Houston
Texans are my number two. And knowing Demika Ryans and
that defensive scheme the way that I know it, and
knowing the players that they have on their team, man,
it's full of thought because their ideas that they're gonna
score enough point to take you out of your offensive
(19:02):
balance sheet, to force you to be a passing team.
Just to stay in the game. And this is where
you get guy that Will Anderson and being able to come.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
Off the corner. That's gonna make it real difficult.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
But my number one is Vic Fangio and them Pesky Eagles.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yeah, no, I'm with you there. I have two similar teams,
Philadelphia being the top dog in terms of hever's gonna
face I had. I'm debating between the Chargers and the Chiefs,
and one because I think even though the Steve Spagnello
squad they lost justin Reeth, Spags always has some sort
of game plan, right. They have a great developmental system
(19:38):
in there because their scheme really never changes. They got
a lot of moving pieces. They got the foundational guys there.
The Chargers defense is definitely gonna be tough. But I mean,
obviously they lost Joey Bosa to the Buffalo Bills, and
Joey he couldn't stay healthy and that's still the trend here.
He's he got hurt in the offseason program. For them,
they do have Khalil Mack. I think obviously with Derwin
James there, they got some twent players. They got some
(20:00):
younger guys in the secondary at corner. But for me,
I don't think that they're going to be as tough
as they were last year. I think can still it
would be tough. But then I got I got one
that you don't have on it. I agree with you
on Houston. That's one I think probably not a lot
of people are gonna look at underrated defense that they'll face.
I think Green Bay. I think Green Bay's got a
very solid squad defensively there. I think they have elite
(20:23):
level players at every you know, on the defensive line,
at linebacker, and in the secondary. Those are three teams
that I think are going to present the Broncos with
the most problems this upcoming season.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
I thought about adding Green Bay because Jeff Hapley was
the defensive back coach who I worked.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
On under in my days in San Francisco. So once again,
when I.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Look at the Houston defense and I look at the
Green Bay their fr Cisco branches, Yes, similar parallels. When
you look at how they build their roster. They lost
I here Alexander at the corner position. Now he's at Baltimore.
That is the only concern for me when I look
at the Green Bay Packers from a defensive standpoint, can
you hold up in the back end. Now, they are
(21:05):
very talented up front and on the second level with
their linebackers, very athletic linebackers, but their secondary that's kind
of the weak point. That's why I didn't go with them.
But when I look at Houston Man, they find they
found the way to kind of retool and keep adding
to a defense that was great last year.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
So for me, based on attitude, talent, physicality, scheme, and depth,
that is going to be a team that presents some
issues for the Denver Broncos this year. But the front,
the leader in the clubhouse definitely is Vic Fangio and Philadelphia.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
And they lost some guys this offseason, but it didn't
really matter that they lost. It is because I think
there was a level of comfort in letting some guys goes,
Like they let CJ. Gardner Johnson go, they trade I mean,
Josh Swat is no longer there, but they had Jalen
Carter there on the defensive line, you know. In then
Kobe dena linebacker, though he's had some injury concerns there.
But they go out and they draft Johad Campbell this
year in round number one. They retain Zach Bond who
(22:10):
really for them was such a gamble get for them
last season because it didn't have to He didn't cost
a lot last year when they got him coming out,
you know, out of New Orleans. But then now he
got a big time contract extension because he plays so
well there that I like that. Then you get Cooper Dejen,
you get that secondary that those guys have there Philadelphia,
and what Vic Fangiel has done. Really you look at
the archetype of what defenses are in the NFL today,
(22:33):
So many teams are trying to replicate Fangio's style. And
I remember Vic Fangio was Sean Payton's first choice when
he took the head coaching job in Denver. Sean Payton
wanted Vic, but for Vic, Vic Felder was far too
soon for him to return to Denver where he was
just the head coach, and so they went with the
other path of a guy who used to be the
head coach, Vance Joseph. So I always feel like because
(22:55):
of that, there was always this inherent pressure on Vance
that well, Vance wasn't the first choice, right, You always
get that narrative there, So I think Vance dealt with
a lot of pressure. Then you have that twenty twenty
three defense that gave up seventy points there, I think
for what Vance has done from that time of actually
being able to run his actual defense. Following those changes
after that Miami game, whereas he was calling a Vic
(23:16):
Fangio defense as zero Avro defense that was unorthodox for Vance,
they got back to what Vance knows how to do
well and the defense started playing better, and then they
come in with the impressive season they had last year's.
I tipped my hat off to Vance Joseph because what
that guy went through, the criticism that he went through,
I felt like he got a lot of unnecessary and
unfair blame placed on him all those circumstances considered for
(23:40):
him to have that defense played the way they it did,
says hey, I deserve to be here, which I think
is huge well, looking at.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Advanced situation, even in big fans, it would follow in
the footsteps of WAYE.
Speaker 4 (23:51):
Phillips, who coached here right before.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Mike Shenahan came back to won a Super Bowl with
a holified defensive unit with bon Millan de Marcus.
Speaker 4 (23:59):
Where and when I look at it, Vance is.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
Doing the same thing, and that's probably what Sean wanted
to bring with a guy like Vic Fangil, And I
get it. It's hard to date someone that you dated
before and the relationship didn't go well. I mean, it
leaves a bad tasting about But with that being said,
when you look at when these two teams play, that
(24:23):
is going to be on the back of Vic Fangiel's
mind because when he was a head coach here, he
was still more of a defensive minded coach and not
being able to delegate responsibilities from a head coaching standpoint,
and that's kind of what happens, and it's becomes very
difficult for individuals who were coordinated to be head coach,
(24:44):
and especially either side of the ball. Can you just
focus on the entire team instead of your side? But
in this case, Vic Fangiel will be able to focus
solely on the defense side of the ball, smalling down
bow knicks and riding off after that game saying that
he was able to beat that Denver Broncos and Sean
Payton and knowing as though he has the tools just
(25:05):
like the Green Bay Packers. My concern for the Eagles secondary,
but knowing that they have four guys up front that
can get out to the quarterback and you don't have
to add anyone in extra in the blitz. Now you
can become instant robbers and taking those intermedia and those.
Speaker 4 (25:22):
Deep routes away.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
They got they got the guys in the secondary that
you know, may not be the necessarily the fastest or
you know, the most proven in terms of Ballhawk production.
I think Cooper the Jeans and you know, an obvious
weapon for them, But I think you look at Zach
ball and they got inside linebackers that can cover, that
can fly sideline. They got two of those guys there.
Now you added the guy like Jahad Campbell as well
into the mix, and all of a sudden, big fanjo
(25:44):
he's got, he's got guys to work with. It all
starts with the with the guys up front, right. We
saw it in the Super Bowl. I mean, you could
just send four and you don't have to send extra
guys out to Patrick Mahomes and you blow them out
in the Super Bowl. That formula is what everybody's gonna
try to do. But it's not gonna be that easy, Nick,
because you can try to do that, but do you
have the personnel that can do that? I don't think
(26:06):
there are many teams that can. This will be a
tough test for Denver because also the week prior it
will be a Monday night game, they're gonna be playing
Joe Burrow in the Bengals Week four short week turn
of rout for that Sunday game against the Egos as
we know eleven am Mountain time kickoff. I agree with you.
I think Philadelphia is gonna be the top defense at
Denver faces this year. Obviously, I want to give a
shot at them to make Christian Parker. He's over there.
(26:27):
He's a passing game coordinator for them. Defensively, he was
considered a, you know, a rising defensive coordinator candidate. I
think that stock is going to continue to rise as
long as he's there with Vic and what he's been
able to do. But uh, I agree, I think that'll
be the toughest test. And obviously, Broncos Country want to
hear from you. You want to know your thoughts on
who you think the top three defenses that Denver will
face this year. Makes you text them into us on
the common Spirit hell text line five to six six
(26:50):
nine zero. I mean, Nick, maybe we take a little
shot right here real quick at the three toughest quarterbacks
the Broncos are gonna face this season. I mean, looking
at the schedule, there's a handful of them. But if
you had to rank them in order of three to
one where you're starting, well, well you.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Want you want the top to lease or least the top?
Which one you want least the top? All right, so
least the top I'm gonna say. But Patrick Mahomes at
number three? Okay, that's right, number two, jayde Daniels number three.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
Justin Hurts, I mean Jalen Hurts.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Excuse me, Jalen Hurts. Jalen Hurts over Joe Burrow.
Speaker 4 (27:33):
Yes, and this.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Pase what holld grit man?
Speaker 4 (27:39):
He just give some knice my whole thing once again.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Here's why I think with Jalen Hurts once again, the
push push is still alive and no one has been
able to resolve that conundrum just yet. And then just
look at the number of skilled players around Jalen Hurts,
and he proves to be time and time again that
type of dude, I mean showed up Patrick Mahomes like
(28:07):
twice in the Super Bowl. The first time he didn't
win it, He didn't win the MVP, and he didn't
get Philly over the hurdle, but the second time he
did and Jade Daniels. Look, everyone's thinking, well, Jayde Dan's
gonna have one of those CJ. Striud kind of sophomore slumps.
No he's not, No, he's not. You just added Deebo
Samuels to the mix. You know it's gonna be a
(28:28):
lot of gimmicky collegiate type, you know, RPO type of
dump off orbit motion, throw down the field type of plays.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
My worry with Washington, I think their defense takes a
massive step back this year, I would agree, which I
think could inherently put some more pressure on Jayden to
have to do much. But you run it to look Deebo,
though Debo's been banged up. If Debo can't stay healthy,
that hurts things. You got Scary Terry, you got zach Hertz,
you got Brian Ruffs like you have talent. Jaden has
taling around him, and we've seen it. He can elevate
(28:57):
those guys. I just think that there might be a
little more pressure on Jaden. He's on my list, he's
my number three.
Speaker 4 (29:03):
QB.
Speaker 1 (29:03):
He's number three, he's number three.
Speaker 4 (29:05):
Who's number two or number one?
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Number two. I've got Patrick Mahomes because Mahomes is Mahomes.
And last year, even though the Broncos sent the house
at him in that one game, they sacked him four
times in that game and arrowhead they held him to
was seven of sixteen on third down early on, I
think it was seven of thirteen and then they held
him I think zero for three in the second half.
They're on third down Mahomes just because of who he is.
Right until you knock Mahomes off the mountaintop, he's always
(29:29):
going to be when challenges. I agree. I would say
there's a strong argument for Jalen Hurts, but I factor
him because he's got guys like Sakwon Barkley. I think
that plays a little bit more into the dynamic of
what they want to do. I think Joe Burrow is
the toughest quarterback in my opinion that the Broncos are
going to face this up. The Broncos defense. They sacked
(29:50):
him seven times last year, nicking that game, and they
still lost to him. Like that's how Joe Burrow is,
like he you need a guy who can hang in
the pocket, be tough at nails. He can do. He
can deliver with pressure bearing down on him, and then
we'll talk about that. What I think he was third
and nineteen he had, or third and eighteen he had
a nineteen yard run to end the third quarter. There
this is a guy that can kill you with his arms,
(30:11):
with his legs, and I think as long as they
have those playmaking weapons around him, I think Joe Burrow,
despite the offensive line, despite you know the history of
him getting hit and hurt, see, he's gonna be He's
gonna be the toughest pocket passing quarterback, they say.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
So there is to say, you know, despite his offensive line,
Zach Allen in that game.
Speaker 4 (30:29):
If I if I, if my memory serves.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
Me, well, he was a terror in that game everywhere.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
Yes, And if you're.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
Asking Joe Burrow to throw the team on his back
like Josh Allen is done for the Buffalo Bills, I'm
not saying that Joe Burrow can't do that, but that's
a significant amount of pressure you're putting on him from
a quarterback standpoint. When I when I look at Kansas City,
they have a decent offensive line. When I look at Washington,
decent offensive line. Philadelphia one of the better offensive lines
(30:57):
in this league. This is this is the premise as
far as why I went one, two three with those
particular guys.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
And Grant's no disrespect towards Joe Burrow. I know he's
that dude. He's a dog.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
I don't have confidence in that defense for one, and
that office is one.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
For two.
Speaker 5 (31:12):
It's okay to be wrong sometimes, Nick, all right, We're
gonna find out though.
Speaker 1 (31:16):
I mean, that was the thing that was frustrated to me,
is all those circumstances considered, like even last year, like
Cincinnati's defense was historically bad, Joe Burrow was the reason
they were in any of their games last year.
Speaker 5 (31:28):
Talking about defenses right now, I were talking about the
best quarterbacks the Broncos are going up against.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
Honorable Mention. If I had to throw anybody in there, yeah,
Honorable Mission maybe Jordan Love. Maybe Jordan Love in that regard,
I don't know, you know, Week two of them. You know,
I'm not looking forward to seeing Daniel Jones or Anthony richardson. Yea,
unnecessarily that's not going to be the toughest challenge. But
I think Jordan Love will, especially with the array of
guys that they certainly have on their roster. I think
(31:54):
they've done a really good job of building that team
in Green Bay, and a lot of these teams that
we're talking about, maybe you Min have since and Natty
are well built. But I think coming up next year
on Broncos Country has a perfect time to talk about
while having a PhD in roster building, roster development is
crucial in today's game and why it's key for success.
You're going to get that here on Broncos Country tonight
on KAA fifty am and ninety four one FM.
Popular Podcasts
Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club
Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com