October 16, 2025 • 43 mins
0:00 - Dre Greenlaw has officially been activated from IR! He can return when he's ready. But...when will he actually BE ready? Don't ask Sean Payton about it.
14:57 - When people criticize the Broncos offense this year, they always say Payton's playcalling is a problem. Brett asks the question...is it really? Be specific: what aspect of his playcalling is an issue?
33:52 - Brett's not a conspiracy guy...but he's connecting some dots that are hard to ignore regarding the Chiefs and NFL officiating.
14:57 - When people criticize the Broncos offense this year, they always say Payton's playcalling is a problem. Brett asks the question...is it really? Be specific: what aspect of his playcalling is an issue?
33:52 - Brett's not a conspiracy guy...but he's connecting some dots that are hard to ignore regarding the Chiefs and NFL officiating.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is six in the Morning with Brett Caine on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Check out Brett weekday mornings at six on Altitude Sports
Radio ninety two five and on the Altitude Sports Radio app.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
How are you look today and what are your thoughts
on his status moving forward?
Speaker 4 (00:23):
Yeah, he practiced today. It was good.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Coach, What when Gray green Law does play?
Speaker 3 (00:28):
What does? These are the hypotheticals, right, I love him,
you know, No, I can't say anything about injury. He
practiced today. He practiced today. He's been working out like
he's been rehabbing, and uh, today was good day.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
Next question, he's an.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Angry health look the uh way that Sean Payton answers
the question aside, it's great that dream Law is back
in practicing. It is if you have a weakness on
this defense, which is tough to say right now because
the defense is very, very good, it's probably at linebacker.
(01:08):
He was a big part of your plans as as
you sort of entered this year. You know, we all
had these sort of grand ideas of what this defense
could be, but they were largely revolving around what that
guy was going to be. He is very, very, very good.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
These are the hypotheticals. Right.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
I love him when he's healthy.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
And this applies to a lot of guys that you've
signed this offseason, new acquisitions to the team like Kufonga
is another example of somebody who's very, very good when
he's healthy, and he's been largely healthy. Evan Ingram's been
on and off the field, it's been a mixed bag
(01:55):
with him. But Drake Greenlaw is someone that can absolutely
be a difference maker and be somebody that when you
put him on the field, you know exactly what you're
gonna get, you know what job he's going to do,
and you can trust him in ways that maybe you
couldn't with some other guys. But you're also throwing that
into a defense that is already one of the best
(02:19):
in the NFL. Well, let's be honest, the best in
the NFL. They're top three in every major category yards allowed,
points allowed, sacks. The only thing that they haven't really
(02:39):
done yet is get turnovers or I mean takeaways. They
only got four of those on the year, one pick
in three fumbles. So here's the only teams that have
less than that, obviously the Jets, who got their first
one last weekend against you.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
The Packers only have two. The Commanders and Ravens only
have three. So that's maybe the only thing that you
aren't doing a.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Stellar job of defensively is trying to get the ball
out of the hands of the opposing offense.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
But I am so unconcerned.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
With the takeaway part because I feel like the sacks
are making up for that. They act almost as if
it's somewhat.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Of a substitute for it.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
But you think about what Drake Greenlaw has been able
to do in his career as a healthy player when
he was in San Francisco, you know, it's always something
to keep in mind. When he left in free agency,
there was two guys on the same team in San
fran that left, and when they did, the forty nine
(04:05):
ers were racing to try and bring them back. They
did not voluntarily let these guys go, and that was
green Law and Hufonga, and we saw why they didn't
want that to happen. With Hufanga, I think we can
all admit he has been an absolute missile all over
the field making plays. He plays this hair on fire.
(04:27):
He's willing to get his his nose in the middle
of some physicality. He's willing to jump into the past
game and make a play. He's willing to hit somebody.
He's got it all and I think we all kind
of recognize that. But with green Law, I think he
can have the impact of a Hufanga and immediately be
(04:54):
a contributor to where you start to think about this,
you're like, Okay, well, how much better can this get?
The Broncos have already been shutting down all of these
teams week after week, and have they played the most
grueling offensive schedule in the league. No, But when you
(05:17):
hold teams to twelve, three eleven, that's a trend and
they're gonna have some bigger tests as the season goes along.
But I think Kufonga is the guy that can be
a difference maker when you play against some of those
better offenses. Like I think he would have made a
(05:38):
world of a difference in one game that you lost
this year against the Colts. You played pretty well against
the Chargers, but they are still able to get some
things done on you offensively.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
I think it could help against them.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Once you play against the higher end competition, I think
that's where you see him kind of separate. You see
him start to make the big difference against the better
teams in the league. So for games in you know,
a couple of weeks like the one that you got
against the Cowboys. The Cowboys are not a good football team,
but they have a good offense. That's the kind of
stuff where that matters. Now, I don't know if he'll
(06:20):
be ready for that game. You know, he just got
back to practicing again. He is somebody that has not
practiced really since I want to say July, because he
was out towards the end of training camp in the preseason,
didn't do anything for the first couple of weeks of
the year, then was put on ir Now has waited
(06:41):
the four weeks and they've opened up that window. If
he's not going to be ready to go soon, then
you almost think about, like, is he going to be
ready at all this season?
Speaker 1 (06:55):
I don't look at windows. Well, the practice window opened up.
You know, there's a.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
There's a difference between being a veteran who's been on
a team for a while and kind of knows what
the system is, can jump in and just sort of
plug and play.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
It's It's why Stafford, for example, who was out the
entire offseason with his back injuries and elbow stuff and
a million other things that he had.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
He was able to a week before the season.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
They're like, Yes, Stafford's gonna play in the opener despite
not playing at all, practicing at all in the offseason.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
It's because he's been there for years.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
He's got the same guy calling the plays, he knows
his personnel, he knows what this offense is supposed to
look like, and so he's able to jump in and
just play.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Green Laws still has to learn.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
I think he's got to get more practice time in
learning Vance Joseph defense and what his responsibilities are. But
the good news is is that it looks like he's
going to be somebody that can jump in and be
available at some point soon. But I'll tell you what,
I am insanely excited. You know, we talk a lot
(08:15):
about the offense and how frustrating the offense can be.
Got it, and it's worthy of that conversation. What I
would tell you, though, is this, if you have a
defense that plays to this level, you are going to
be a contender for all of the goals that you want.
(08:36):
You will be a contender in the AFC West. You'll
be a contender in the AFC. You will contend for
a Super Bowl. If your defense continues to play this way,
it's flat guarantee you have a top five defense in
the league. Odds are your team's pretty damn good. And
that applies throughout like the history of this sport as
(08:58):
it's evolved in offense has become more important, in passing
the football has become more important, and quarterback play has
starting to really shine and take over. If you're a
top five defense in the league, you're probably in the
playoffs and doing something just how it's always kind of been.
(09:19):
You would be hard pressed to find a team that
won the Super Bowl that was not top five in defense.
The two teams that played in the Super Bowl last
year were number two at number four in scoring defense.
The teams that you consider perennial contenders are constantly in
(09:39):
those categories, And the Broncos made the playoffs last year
because they had the number three scoring defense in the league.
It's not as if their offense was insanely impressive and
was pulling their end to the extent that most other
(10:00):
teams were. But I think this is all the strategy
of what Sean Payton did. It's why I gave him
credit in the offseason. You play to the strengths of
your team. You play to the situation that you face.
And in your situation in particular, you play four games
a year against Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert. Your in
(10:24):
conference games are against guys like Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson.
Those are really good players.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
We all know it. Your defense was already good. Why
not make it better?
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Like you can't tell me that Hufanga doesn't make it
massive difference, because he does where you've spent your money,
Zach Allen's, Nick Benito's, Jonathan Cooper's.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Do those guys make a difference?
Speaker 4 (10:50):
I think so.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
They saw the strength and they said, we're gonna make
it a superpower. And I just think that Drake Greenlow
could be another guy that you throw in there and
you sac it's even better. It takes less stress off
your offense. And let's be honest, they aren't even that
stressed right now. They might seem like it just.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Because of their performance. And we'll get to this in
a little bit.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Like the the way in which the offense has gone
about their business for now the last year and a third,
it's really reliant on the big play to bail you
out because they do have the capability of doing that hit,
the big fifty yard bomb downfield or whatever. It doesn't
(11:42):
happen consistently enough, but that's the only way that they
can be even an okay offense if they aren't able
to sustain drives and pick up third downs consistently, which
they have proven not the case. You know, you can
kind of look over the number over the last couple
of years and that third down conversion rates. It's one
(12:07):
of those things that is top of mind for a
guy like Sean Payton. He knows that an indicator of
good offense is are you able to move the sticks?
Because it keeps time and possession in your favor, it
keeps your defense off the field, and it also just
moves to football and gets you in scoring position. But
right now, the Broncos currently sit twenty fourth in the
(12:28):
league in third down conversion rate. They're at thirty six
point six percent. The teams beneath them are Jacksonville, which
is a weird one, but Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Washington, Minnesota,
(12:48):
the Jets in Tennessee.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Outside of Jacksonville not good offenses.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
These are the hypotheticals right I love them, but.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Jacksonville's playing with the same sort of fire you are,
where it feels like they need a big play.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
To be able to put up some numbers. That's the
stuff that I want to see improve.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
You know.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
The conversation around bow Knicks has been very I think
it's been incredibly fair. And there's some guys that come
out and they want to defend bow Knicks and say
we're being too harsh on him.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
I would love to know what that means. I get it.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
It's a year or two quarterback. It's somebody that is
still maybe finding his way in the NFL and finding
his way within the offense. I don't have, you know,
expectations to the moon for a guy like him, But
what I do.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
The little internet shows are driving me crazy.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
I expect something very simple. Are you playing good football?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
And I think that should be just sort of a
baseline expectation for every single person that's out there.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
Are you playing well? And what's the answer so far?
For bow Nicks.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
That's the problem that I have, and so I'm going
to get more into this in a few minutes. Broadcasting
from the Back is in Shanker Studios. Their passion is Justice.
So a lot to get to today between this the
Aps back at it tonight as they take on Columbus.
You can hear it right here Altitude Sports Radio ninety
two to five.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
You have.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Russell Westbrook finally finding a home. So there's a lot
to discuss.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
A Texas says Shawn's play calling doesn't help BO at all,
and that's something that I want to talk about because
I've seen that text come up repeatedly this week. I
have a thought on that, But if you think that way,
give me a little bit more specific. What do you
think is the issue entirely? If you don't think it's
helping BO, then what's the problem with it. We'll get
to that in just a couple of minutes. Stick around. So,
(14:58):
I've heard a lot of this about Sean Paige play
calling isn't helping.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Bo Nicks.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
I want more specifics on this on what you think
is actually the problem, because I'm not sure that's the case.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
I think at times this year they have called.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
And Sean Payton specifically has called a good game, has
called plays that have gotten guys wide open that bo
Nix has missed. And I don't blame Sean Payton for that.
Now you go back and you look at those plays
and it's like, what's the reason why the play didn't work?
And sometimes it's Nicks is just missing a guy. You know,
(15:40):
there is a balance here between understanding that a guy
is still learning, but also he needs to make plays
when they're available, you know. And that's sort of the
thing when I look at the rest of that draft class,
and I think that is it's a totally fair and
(16:01):
healthy way that you can look at this. I understand
that bo Nicks was the sixth quarterback off the board,
and he was last of all. The blah blah blah
doesn't matter to me. It doesn't matter if you take
a first quarterback first overall or you'd take him eighteenth.
The expectations are the same used a first round pick
(16:25):
on a quarterback. What's a translation that guy is going
to be my starter for a decade and he is
going to lead us to wins. You know, we get
really caught up in the where was guy ex drafted
number one overall pick? Should have higher expectations than guy?
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Not true.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Lamar Jackson was the thirty second pick of his draft class,
last pick in the first round. The expectations are no
different from Lamar Jackson then anybody who was taking first.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Overall, it's the same thing.
Speaker 5 (17:05):
Can I play a bit of audio from from Bownicks
yesterday that I think may inform some of this? So
this was a question from Jeff Legwald where he asked
him when you're leading throughout the week leading up to
a game, Sean Payton of course has his list of
plays that he wants to call, and he's this offensive genius,
self proclaimed right, so he probably takes care of most
of that. So Legwald asked him, how often do you
(17:27):
bo nix bring plays to Sean Payton and say I
would like to run these, and what does that process
look like?
Speaker 6 (17:31):
As many as I like, So I go through and
thought the ones that I feel comfortable with, and you know,
the hopefully there's more than less, but I'm definitely you know, picky.
It's it's because the worst thing to do is that
one that you know, you get to play and then
eventually you know, come back and say, well, I guess
I didn't really like that one because of this look.
(17:53):
But so I just you know, you got to make
sure that you know you're you're paying attention to it
and really detailed to the ones that you like, because
if you shoot that that you like it, then you
know he's gonna call and expect you to go out
there and execute it. So you know, there's a good
responsibility that goes with that. But also I think it
allows us to get on the same page and you know,
he feels good in the cause that he's calling and
(18:14):
then you know, say I don't love one, he you know,
can communicate it and explain you know, why he likes it,
and usually you know, my mindset flips and you know
we're you know, good when he calls it. So it's
just the the communication, the concert communication that we you know,
got to have is uh, you know, play caller and
quarterback and how to execute a high level.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Yeah, I don't think that.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
I don't think that when bo talks about stuff like
that that there's some sort of battle between what the
play call is going to be or what he likes
as opposed to what Sean wants to do. Sean, I
think Peyton understands as much as anybody that your wor
(19:00):
success is directly tied to bon Nix's success, and if
bo Nix doesn't work, then Sean Payton probably doesn't work.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
I think they know that.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
He is certainly aware of it. He has every incentive
in the world to make sure that this thing is
going to run smoothly. But for some of the text,
you're saying, what were what's what's the problems that you have?
And someone says this, it's all the constant personnel changes.
(19:33):
Stop subbing, subbing five guys every other play, run hurry up?
You could and do I think that he subs a
little bit too much. Yeah, I think it's you can
allow guys to get into a rhythm. You don't need
to take them out every other play. And and whatever.
(19:54):
There's somebody that's talking about, oh here, it is so
too many substitution package packages with that dis disrupt timing trick,
plays that don't work with the personnel.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
See, that's one that I'll push back on.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
They were in a flea flicker against the Chargers that
was wide open and bo Nicks just missed it. Now
didn't look a little bit clunky a little bit, but
that was the play that Bonnicks had two guys wide
open downfield and missed both. It was Mims and I
don't know if it was Sutton or Franklin somebody else
was more towards the middle of the field.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
And missed them both.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
And like I said, this is where you can put
this on Sean Payton if you want to. It's free country.
I think this comes down a lot more to you
got to execute the play. And there's just been a
lot of times this year it feels like bo Nick
has just missed. You hit some of those big plays early.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
In the year.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Maybe that builds confidence in the offense. Looks different than
it does right now. But is the reason why the
Jets game and the way that the offense was playing
it was a result. Was that a result of Sean
Payton not doing the right things, not calling the right plays.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
I don't think so. I think it's a matter of
execution well, and to that point PhD.
Speaker 5 (21:22):
I was listening to PhD yesterday they played that clip
and one thing that that they brought up is maybe
the solution here is is bo Nick said, Oh, I
have some plays that I like, and I bring him
to Sean, but he has plays that he likes, and
you know, I don't want to bring a play that's
not gonna work, and then Sewan's gonna get Just let
Bo cook Man. Maybe Sean just needs to take the
(21:43):
leash off and let him just uncork a can of
whoop pass. Like watch watch the New York Giants. Those
guys look like they got nothing to lose and they're
just having fun playing football. Maybe Bo's a little bit
two in his head. Sean Payton spent the whole offseason
talking about how this was the the greatest football franchise
to ever graze the earth, helmed by a quarterback that's
(22:04):
the love child of Joe Montana and Tom Brady. So
maybe everybody's a little bit too inside their heads. Just
open up the playbook and have some fun.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Let Bo cook is interesting. I don't know if Bo's
earned the right to do this yet. And you said
the Giants are playing with nothing to lose, Well, Nelly,
they have nothing to lose, that's why they're But hang on,
the Giants aren't good. The Broncos are. And I think
at times when it looks like see, this is what
(22:38):
concerns me. That's why I brought up that third and
ten run Apprentice.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
Now.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
I don't know if that was called by Sean Payton
or checked into by Bo Nix to be fair, But
I think in a lot of situations like that, why
do you throw it short of the sticks on third down?
Why do you run the ball in third and ten
with that apprentice? Why do you do a bubble screen?
If there's one thing that is concerning that I don't
(23:03):
have an answer to, but I had to try and
read the tea leaves on this. Do you think part
of it is maybe there isn't trust that level of
trust yet anyway? Is that part of the problem. You know,
we can make this about the head coach if you
(23:25):
want to again, free country, go ahead. And I don't
think that Sean Payton is perfect. I've had plenty of
issues with the way that he's called the game in
the past.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
Is this America? I thought that Sean Payton's.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Done a pretty good job though over the last few
weeks of sticking to a run game, which is an
offense I think they're more suited for. I think Ben
Powers being out is really thrown a wrench in things
because they couldn't run the football effectively against the Jets,
and the Jets got a couple of guys back from
(23:57):
injuries against the Broncos that they didn't have previously. So
take that for what you will to be somebody that
you go out there and let the guy just roll
and play. That's gotta be earned first, and I don't
know if Bonnix has earned that because it's been good
(24:23):
mixed in with bad. And my biggest fear now is
that because the defense is so good, do you just
go into a really really conservative game plan and just
trust your defense to win?
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Because that's kind of what I saw last week. You
know you like that? Do you like that? That knows?
Speaker 5 (24:45):
Because to me that that feels like you're playing not
to lose, not playing to win exactly.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
And I've always thought this, man, I think this, even
if you have a I'm an ultra aggressive mindset guy
for play calling from the jump. Like we just talked
about this yesterday, I think the Broncos should be a
version of the Lions, which is on fourth and five,
they go for it.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Because you do trust your defense. Like the strategy that people.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Had ten years ago about hey man, play good defense
and don't turn the ball over and we'll just play
conservative offense and help our defense comes out on top.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
I hate that strategy.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
I think whether you've got a good defense or a
bad defense, I can find an excuse for you to
go for it. Fourth and five at the fifty. You
got a bad defense.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Should you go for it?
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Yeah, because your offense is the better unit. Fourth and
five at the fifty, you got a great defense.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Should you go for it?
Speaker 4 (25:48):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Because the defense will make up for it if you
don't get it. Like I just I think that hyper
aggressive approach is one that really confuses the defense. Again,
Detroit is doing something that teams are now starting to
adopt more. But when they kind of went all in
on the I'm not gonna punt unless it's fourth and twenty,
(26:12):
I'm not punting. I have heard defenders talk about what
that's like when they're on the field and they get
a stop on third and four and it's fourth and
one and they know that the other team's going for
it and it's a killer. They're like, I feel like
I've done my job and my job's not done yet.
(26:36):
And I think the Broncos should absolutely take on that
mentality and aggression they have a few times this year.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
I mean to go for it.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
To go for the two point conversion against the Eagles
is something that I don't think any team, including Detroit
would have done in that moment that's eight minutes left
in the game. It probably just tie that game up
and hope you get a stop and you go out
and do it again, and Sean Payton won aggress him.
I think they should absolutely do that, and Texas says
Brett is the quintessential four verts guy in Madden. I
(27:08):
do run four verts in Madden all the time because
it's a great play. I would not do that if
this is real life in the NFL. I'm not dumb
enough to think you take a shot every single time.
Again from the guy who has been screaming about keep
the offense balanced and run the football even if it's
not effective early in a game. That's the opposite of
(27:29):
quintessential four verts guy, because I think that's how the
Broncos should be running their offense. They're built for that
a lot better than they are the opposite. At the
same time, I think when they get into third and
five and they're around midfield, you should have a two
(27:50):
down play call, which is if you want to run
a swing pass or you want to run the football
on third and five to get you to fourth and
two or four one. I'm totally okay with it, and
I think you should. But there are to me so
many different examples this year of plays that could have
(28:12):
been had that weren't because bo Nicks just missed. And
do I does that mess with the psyche of a
play caller? Like? Maybe maybe it does, But I mean
the main question is do you trust Sean Payton or not?
Speaker 4 (28:34):
And I do.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
I think he's a really good offensive mind, and I
think he's he's changed his stripes a little bit in
making a commitment to that run game in a way
that he hadn't for the first year and a quarter
that he was here. Now do the bubble screens drive
me nuts? Yes, I don't understand the purpose of those
guys in the NFL are too good. You have to
(28:56):
have elite blocking wide receivers in order to make that work,
and I don't think the Broncos have that, not yet. Anyway,
I think there's a lot more effective in different play
calls that you can run. So three h three five
(29:16):
oh four oh nine two five shot mas de text line,
one price, one person, one hour. So Russell Westbrook finally
finds a home. It is with Sacramento. And I can't
tell if this was it's one of these two things,
and I don't think it's in between.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
There is. Russell Westbrook is such a.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Unique in different style of player that his skill set
only fits a few teams that would consider themselves in contention.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
You know, A big reason and why I don't think
Russell Westbrook.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
As much as I liked the signing, I thought it
was necessary, and I thought he got too much grief
for how he played last year. I thought he was
really good for the Nuggets last year. It wouldn't have
fit this year because his style is not something that
this team, this iteration of it needs. They don't need
somebody who's only dominant with the ball when he has
the ball. They now have a backup unit that is
(30:28):
able to spread the ball around, catch and shoot guys
different skill sets. Everybody kind of needs a taste. They
don't need Russell Westbrook takeover mode anymore on that second unit.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
So it didn't make it.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
It's gonna be all of that.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
You don't need that anymore. You needed that last year
because you couldn't trust anybody else, I'll tell you. For
contending teams, I don't think really any of them need that,
And it's why they're contenders, and Russell Westbrooks in a
(31:08):
phase of his career where there's a very specific situation
that he needs to come across and for a team
like the Kings, who last year found themselves in the
play in do they have a good team kind of?
(31:30):
You know, they got the Sabonas, they got Levine, they
got de Rozan. Is that a team that's going to
be competing for a championship? Probably not? And maybe they
need somebody like him to come off the bench and
really run the show. But you know who doesn't need that?
The Nuggets, who doesn't need that?
Speaker 1 (31:52):
The Thunder who doesn't need that?
Speaker 2 (31:56):
Like, just take team after team that you consider contenders,
the Rockets, don't You look at all those different teams
and you're like, well, which contender would need somebody that
has that style? And the answer is probably none of them.
(32:17):
And so that's why I think he finds himself in Sacramento.
But I don't know though, Nelly is is he did
he choose the Kings at this time because he was
holding out for a team that was a bigger contender
and it just never came, Or did he choose the
(32:41):
Kings now knowing he would have he was going to
do this for months, and he just wanted to miss
all the nonsense of the offseason. He didn't want to
do training camp and he didn't want to do preseason.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
No.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
I've seen you see a lot of NFL guys where
veterans in the league do this, where they hit free agency.
They know they're going to find a team, like, yeah,
I'll sign with you, but it'll be like the third
week of August. I'm going to avoid all that camp
stuff because to some extent they've earned the right too.
(33:16):
But it's one of those two reasons, and whatever it is,
I just knew that Russell Westbrook was gonna have a
hard time finding a home and it's part of the
reason why I was pretty surprised that he opted out
of his contract with Denver. But pardon me, thinks even
if he opted in, he probably would have been traded.
(33:37):
So three oh three, five oh four O nine two five,
there is like potentially a really big scandal that is
not being discussed, and I think I have the answer why.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
We'll get to it next.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
You've had the Stonies on Lincoln to watch tonight's Thursday
night football game with Pittsburgh and Cincinnati presented by Tillemore.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
Do grab a du in a brew and hang out
with uh who's gonna be there me?
Speaker 7 (34:05):
I'm very important enter to.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Win a Hall of Fame commemorative autograph Terrell Davis Football.
And we'll see at Stony's on Lincoln at six again.
Hope to see you guys. There should be a fun
time with both that game on and the Avs game.
So come on down and say Hi.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
There is something that is it's still.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Weirding me out, and I want to be clear about something.
It's not because my stupid football team was involved in this,
but it is a big deal.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
When you have.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
For a few years now, people have been noticing a
trend within Kansas City games that they just seem to
get the benefit of the calls. And there's a study.
This is on the New York Post and a couple
of different sites, a study at a UTEP where they conducted.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Some research.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
About Chiefs games and penalties and blah blah blah, and
what they found is that the Chiefs benefit from calls
more than any other team in the league.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
And part of this.
Speaker 2 (35:31):
Is, are you a good team that's always in this
situation and do those teams get the benefit of the doubt. Yes,
but this is coming straight from this research. The fact
that postseason penalties consistently favored one franchise while similar dynasties
showed no such pattern points to the powerful role of
financial incentives in shaping supposedly neutral decisions. That's a conclusion
(35:54):
that this research came to. Again, is it totally accurate?
Probably not, But there is a perception that's out there
that the chiefs get the benefit of calls in clutch
and crunch time moments. We played audio yesterday from ninety
(36:15):
seven to one to ticket in Detroit. Dan Campbell was
doing his weekly radio show there.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
They asked him.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
About the play on Sunday night that after a minute
and a half, like the offense is sitting on the
bench and then the referees got together huddled in through
a penalty, flag open and drive of the game touchdown
trick play to Jared Goff, Now play this for you again.
Speaker 7 (36:37):
I want to ask you one. I want to go
back to it. I don't want to harp on just
like we had talked about earlier. But when we asked you,
you know, did that call come from New York about
overturning the golf touchdown. Are you guys inquiring as to
why you were told that or inquiring as to what
happened in that situation why they went back a minute
(36:57):
and a half later and through the flag.
Speaker 4 (37:00):
Yeah, we asked them all of that. We asked them
all of it, and I can't tell you any of that.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
But it was an official that told you it came
from New York. Yeah, okay here, yeah, always gets me.
Here's the problem.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
The ref in the pool report after the game said, no,
it didn't come from New York because that's not allowed
on that the New York is not allowed to buzz
in and say, hey, that was a penalty. New York
can buzz in and say the guy's toe is out
of bounds. They can do that, they cannot do it
(37:38):
with penalties. And after the game, the lead official, Craig
rollstat said nothing came from New York. He said, there
was a little bit of confusion in our discussion whether
we had stopped, whether he had stopped talking about golf initially,
or whether he had stopped at the end and what
we were talking about. That's why the flag came came
(38:00):
in so late. We did not have any assistance from
Kansas City or New York. So who's lying here? That's
a pretty big deal if you're getting interference from the
league office in New York for a primetime football game
featuring two of the better teams in the NFL, and
(38:23):
it's a it's one hundred percent influencing whether a touchdown
is called or not. Again, it's not the reason Detroit
lost the game, But how many more times is this
going to be happening? If the official is lying about
(38:45):
getting buzzed in from New York, that's a problem. And
here's the other thing, And Nellie, I know I'm going
like full conspiracy brain on this, but I hate Kansas City.
So whatever, let me ask you question is just what
I'm laying out and textures be honest with me throughout
(39:06):
the straw, poles, straw is what I'm discussing. Does it
sound like an important matter to you that the league
office would get involved in a call?
Speaker 4 (39:22):
These are the hypotheticals, right, I love them.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Does that seem like something that's important to me? It
seems very important. It says something about the integrity of
the game. Refs make mistakes.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
We all know that. But I think that's a big deal.
Speaker 5 (39:39):
I think what's important here is why we don't know
what happened, Like did the that That is the most
concerning part. This is like when when you, as a
parent come downstairs and you find your whole living room
covered in mud, and you've got the dog and you've
got your daughter, and you're like, well, who did this?
And then they both point at the other one and say,
(39:59):
I didn't do that.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
This is the thing, though, Nelly, This is why I
think it's so important. Somebody's lying, and I'm pretty sure
it's not Campbell because what would he stand to gain
out of calling out the league? But here's the more
important thing, Nelly. How many times have you guys been
(40:23):
on ESPN over the last couple of days. Have you
been on CBS Sports? Have you been on Fox Sports?
Have you been on any of those sites or any
of that stuff? You know what I've noticed, Nelly, I'm
on the front page of ESPN's NFL section. Tua apologizes
for comments Bear's Caleb Williams could care less about criticism.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Outrage over the surface at Steelers Field.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
Lions safety Brian Branch one game suspension upheld Panther's face
running back conundrum with Hubbard return.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
You know what, I don't see refs controversy over whether
they overstepped their bounds, and I don't look.
Speaker 2 (41:09):
Look, I don't want to sound like tinfoil hat guy,
but do you think part of it, maybe just part
of it. Why this isn't a bigger story is because
every single network that covers sports is in bed with
the NFL, and if they have a controversy like this,
are they told not to mention it.
Speaker 1 (41:26):
I'm just asking the question. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (41:29):
But again, when Kansas City is already on the beneficial
side of a whole bunch of calls that come this way,
and I got a head coach in this league that's saying, hey,
they did something they aren't allowed to do. The refs
did in favor of the Chiefs, and nobody's talking about it.
Speaker 1 (41:45):
Is really weird to me.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
So call me tinfoil hat guy if you want to.
But I'm just there was already a narrative surrounding Kansas
City before that. And again, this isn't about the game
yesterday or over the weekend. The Chiefs soundly beat Detroit,
that's not the problem here.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
The problem is.
Speaker 2 (42:11):
Integrity of your sport is important, and somebody's lying about
how that went down.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
That's all I'm saying. Hey, if.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
The Nuggets are playing against the Lakers in the Western
Conference Finals and there's a block, charge Nelly and it's
initially called a block Aaron Gordon or I'm sorry, initially
called a charge Aaron Gordon takes the charge. It's Nuggets basketball,
and then they reversed the call, and you find out
that maybe the call got reversed because somebody in the
(42:47):
league offices of the NBA said you got to change
that to a charge call when they aren't allowed to
do it.
Speaker 1 (42:52):
Wouldn't you be like, well, that's a little bit weird.
You like getting nailed by the King. That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (43:01):
So you can always watch Joe Love on Twitch. We
can get back to this later. And I don't want
to sound like I'm too crazy. Another straw poll. Do
I sound crazy?
Speaker 4 (43:11):
Yes or no?
Speaker 2 (43:12):
Three oh three, five oh four oh nine two five
can watch You'll have on Twitch, Twitch dot tv search
out toitude us out in the search part of the
out to Do TV simulcast.
Speaker 1 (43:19):
It's a Safeway Twitch feed.
Speaker 2 (43:20):
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Speaker 1 (43:25):
Can also watch on YouTube.
Speaker 2 (43:26):
Subscribe to the channel today and don't miss anything from
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Speaker 1 (43:34):
Motion Lombarding Cane Next
This is six in the Morning with Brett Caine on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Check out Brett weekday mornings at six on Altitude Sports
Radio ninety two five and on the Altitude Sports Radio app.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
How are you look today and what are your thoughts
on his status moving forward?
Speaker 4 (00:23):
Yeah, he practiced today. It was good.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Coach, What when Gray green Law does play?
Speaker 3 (00:28):
What does? These are the hypotheticals, right, I love him,
you know, No, I can't say anything about injury. He
practiced today. He practiced today. He's been working out like
he's been rehabbing, and uh, today was good day.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
Next question, he's an.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Angry health look the uh way that Sean Payton answers
the question aside, it's great that dream Law is back
in practicing. It is if you have a weakness on
this defense, which is tough to say right now because
the defense is very, very good, it's probably at linebacker.
(01:08):
He was a big part of your plans as as
you sort of entered this year. You know, we all
had these sort of grand ideas of what this defense
could be, but they were largely revolving around what that
guy was going to be. He is very, very, very good.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
These are the hypotheticals. Right.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
I love him when he's healthy.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
And this applies to a lot of guys that you've
signed this offseason, new acquisitions to the team like Kufonga
is another example of somebody who's very, very good when
he's healthy, and he's been largely healthy. Evan Ingram's been
on and off the field, it's been a mixed bag
(01:55):
with him. But Drake Greenlaw is someone that can absolutely
be a difference maker and be somebody that when you
put him on the field, you know exactly what you're
gonna get, you know what job he's going to do,
and you can trust him in ways that maybe you
couldn't with some other guys. But you're also throwing that
into a defense that is already one of the best
(02:19):
in the NFL. Well, let's be honest, the best in
the NFL. They're top three in every major category yards allowed,
points allowed, sacks. The only thing that they haven't really
(02:39):
done yet is get turnovers or I mean takeaways. They
only got four of those on the year, one pick
in three fumbles. So here's the only teams that have
less than that, obviously the Jets, who got their first
one last weekend against you.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
The Packers only have two. The Commanders and Ravens only
have three. So that's maybe the only thing that you
aren't doing a.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Stellar job of defensively is trying to get the ball
out of the hands of the opposing offense.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
But I am so unconcerned.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
With the takeaway part because I feel like the sacks
are making up for that. They act almost as if
it's somewhat.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Of a substitute for it.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
But you think about what Drake Greenlaw has been able
to do in his career as a healthy player when
he was in San Francisco, you know, it's always something
to keep in mind. When he left in free agency,
there was two guys on the same team in San
fran that left, and when they did, the forty nine
(04:05):
ers were racing to try and bring them back. They
did not voluntarily let these guys go, and that was
green Law and Hufonga, and we saw why they didn't
want that to happen. With Hufanga, I think we can
all admit he has been an absolute missile all over
the field making plays. He plays this hair on fire.
(04:27):
He's willing to get his his nose in the middle
of some physicality. He's willing to jump into the past
game and make a play. He's willing to hit somebody.
He's got it all and I think we all kind
of recognize that. But with green Law, I think he
can have the impact of a Hufanga and immediately be
(04:54):
a contributor to where you start to think about this,
you're like, Okay, well, how much better can this get?
The Broncos have already been shutting down all of these
teams week after week, and have they played the most
grueling offensive schedule in the league. No, But when you
(05:17):
hold teams to twelve, three eleven, that's a trend and
they're gonna have some bigger tests as the season goes along.
But I think Kufonga is the guy that can be
a difference maker when you play against some of those
better offenses. Like I think he would have made a
(05:38):
world of a difference in one game that you lost
this year against the Colts. You played pretty well against
the Chargers, but they are still able to get some
things done on you offensively.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
I think it could help against them.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Once you play against the higher end competition, I think
that's where you see him kind of separate. You see
him start to make the big difference against the better
teams in the league. So for games in you know,
a couple of weeks like the one that you got
against the Cowboys. The Cowboys are not a good football team,
but they have a good offense. That's the kind of
stuff where that matters. Now, I don't know if he'll
(06:20):
be ready for that game. You know, he just got
back to practicing again. He is somebody that has not
practiced really since I want to say July, because he
was out towards the end of training camp in the preseason,
didn't do anything for the first couple of weeks of
the year, then was put on ir Now has waited
(06:41):
the four weeks and they've opened up that window. If
he's not going to be ready to go soon, then
you almost think about, like, is he going to be
ready at all this season?
Speaker 1 (06:55):
I don't look at windows. Well, the practice window opened up.
You know, there's a.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
There's a difference between being a veteran who's been on
a team for a while and kind of knows what
the system is, can jump in and just sort of
plug and play.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
It's It's why Stafford, for example, who was out the
entire offseason with his back injuries and elbow stuff and
a million other things that he had.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
He was able to a week before the season.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
They're like, Yes, Stafford's gonna play in the opener despite
not playing at all, practicing at all in the offseason.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
It's because he's been there for years.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
He's got the same guy calling the plays, he knows
his personnel, he knows what this offense is supposed to
look like, and so he's able to jump in and
just play.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Green Laws still has to learn.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
I think he's got to get more practice time in
learning Vance Joseph defense and what his responsibilities are. But
the good news is is that it looks like he's
going to be somebody that can jump in and be
available at some point soon. But I'll tell you what,
I am insanely excited. You know, we talk a lot
(08:15):
about the offense and how frustrating the offense can be.
Got it, and it's worthy of that conversation. What I
would tell you, though, is this, if you have a
defense that plays to this level, you are going to
be a contender for all of the goals that you want.
(08:36):
You will be a contender in the AFC West. You'll
be a contender in the AFC. You will contend for
a Super Bowl. If your defense continues to play this way,
it's flat guarantee you have a top five defense in
the league. Odds are your team's pretty damn good. And
that applies throughout like the history of this sport as
(08:58):
it's evolved in offense has become more important, in passing
the football has become more important, and quarterback play has
starting to really shine and take over. If you're a
top five defense in the league, you're probably in the
playoffs and doing something just how it's always kind of been.
(09:19):
You would be hard pressed to find a team that
won the Super Bowl that was not top five in defense.
The two teams that played in the Super Bowl last
year were number two at number four in scoring defense.
The teams that you consider perennial contenders are constantly in
(09:39):
those categories, And the Broncos made the playoffs last year
because they had the number three scoring defense in the league.
It's not as if their offense was insanely impressive and
was pulling their end to the extent that most other
(10:00):
teams were. But I think this is all the strategy
of what Sean Payton did. It's why I gave him
credit in the offseason. You play to the strengths of
your team. You play to the situation that you face.
And in your situation in particular, you play four games
a year against Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert. Your in
(10:24):
conference games are against guys like Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson.
Those are really good players.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
We all know it. Your defense was already good. Why
not make it better?
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Like you can't tell me that Hufanga doesn't make it
massive difference, because he does where you've spent your money,
Zach Allen's, Nick Benito's, Jonathan Cooper's.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Do those guys make a difference?
Speaker 4 (10:50):
I think so.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
They saw the strength and they said, we're gonna make
it a superpower. And I just think that Drake Greenlow
could be another guy that you throw in there and
you sac it's even better. It takes less stress off
your offense. And let's be honest, they aren't even that
stressed right now. They might seem like it just.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Because of their performance. And we'll get to this in
a little bit.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Like the the way in which the offense has gone
about their business for now the last year and a third,
it's really reliant on the big play to bail you
out because they do have the capability of doing that hit,
the big fifty yard bomb downfield or whatever. It doesn't
(11:42):
happen consistently enough, but that's the only way that they
can be even an okay offense if they aren't able
to sustain drives and pick up third downs consistently, which
they have proven not the case. You know, you can
kind of look over the number over the last couple
of years and that third down conversion rates. It's one
(12:07):
of those things that is top of mind for a
guy like Sean Payton. He knows that an indicator of
good offense is are you able to move the sticks?
Because it keeps time and possession in your favor, it
keeps your defense off the field, and it also just
moves to football and gets you in scoring position. But
right now, the Broncos currently sit twenty fourth in the
(12:28):
league in third down conversion rate. They're at thirty six
point six percent. The teams beneath them are Jacksonville, which
is a weird one, but Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Washington, Minnesota,
(12:48):
the Jets in Tennessee.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Outside of Jacksonville not good offenses.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
These are the hypotheticals right I love them, but.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Jacksonville's playing with the same sort of fire you are,
where it feels like they need a big play.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
To be able to put up some numbers. That's the
stuff that I want to see improve.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
You know.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
The conversation around bow Knicks has been very I think
it's been incredibly fair. And there's some guys that come
out and they want to defend bow Knicks and say
we're being too harsh on him.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
I would love to know what that means. I get it.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
It's a year or two quarterback. It's somebody that is
still maybe finding his way in the NFL and finding
his way within the offense. I don't have, you know,
expectations to the moon for a guy like him, But
what I do.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
The little internet shows are driving me crazy.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
I expect something very simple. Are you playing good football?
Speaker 2 (13:55):
And I think that should be just sort of a
baseline expectation for every single person that's out there.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
Are you playing well? And what's the answer so far?
For bow Nicks.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
That's the problem that I have, and so I'm going
to get more into this in a few minutes. Broadcasting
from the Back is in Shanker Studios. Their passion is Justice.
So a lot to get to today between this the
Aps back at it tonight as they take on Columbus.
You can hear it right here Altitude Sports Radio ninety
two to five.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
You have.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Russell Westbrook finally finding a home. So there's a lot
to discuss.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
A Texas says Shawn's play calling doesn't help BO at all,
and that's something that I want to talk about because
I've seen that text come up repeatedly this week. I
have a thought on that, But if you think that way,
give me a little bit more specific. What do you
think is the issue entirely? If you don't think it's
helping BO, then what's the problem with it. We'll get
to that in just a couple of minutes. Stick around. So,
(14:58):
I've heard a lot of this about Sean Paige play
calling isn't helping.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Bo Nicks.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
I want more specifics on this on what you think
is actually the problem, because I'm not sure that's the case.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
I think at times this year they have called.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
And Sean Payton specifically has called a good game, has
called plays that have gotten guys wide open that bo
Nix has missed. And I don't blame Sean Payton for that.
Now you go back and you look at those plays
and it's like, what's the reason why the play didn't work?
And sometimes it's Nicks is just missing a guy. You know,
(15:40):
there is a balance here between understanding that a guy
is still learning, but also he needs to make plays
when they're available, you know. And that's sort of the
thing when I look at the rest of that draft class,
and I think that is it's a totally fair and
(16:01):
healthy way that you can look at this. I understand
that bo Nicks was the sixth quarterback off the board,
and he was last of all. The blah blah blah
doesn't matter to me. It doesn't matter if you take
a first quarterback first overall or you'd take him eighteenth.
The expectations are the same used a first round pick
(16:25):
on a quarterback. What's a translation that guy is going
to be my starter for a decade and he is
going to lead us to wins. You know, we get
really caught up in the where was guy ex drafted
number one overall pick? Should have higher expectations than guy?
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Not true.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Lamar Jackson was the thirty second pick of his draft class,
last pick in the first round. The expectations are no
different from Lamar Jackson then anybody who was taking first.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
Overall, it's the same thing.
Speaker 5 (17:05):
Can I play a bit of audio from from Bownicks
yesterday that I think may inform some of this? So
this was a question from Jeff Legwald where he asked
him when you're leading throughout the week leading up to
a game, Sean Payton of course has his list of
plays that he wants to call, and he's this offensive genius,
self proclaimed right, so he probably takes care of most
of that. So Legwald asked him, how often do you
(17:27):
bo nix bring plays to Sean Payton and say I
would like to run these, and what does that process
look like?
Speaker 6 (17:31):
As many as I like, So I go through and
thought the ones that I feel comfortable with, and you know,
the hopefully there's more than less, but I'm definitely you know, picky.
It's it's because the worst thing to do is that
one that you know, you get to play and then
eventually you know, come back and say, well, I guess
I didn't really like that one because of this look.
(17:53):
But so I just you know, you got to make
sure that you know you're you're paying attention to it
and really detailed to the ones that you like, because
if you shoot that that you like it, then you
know he's gonna call and expect you to go out
there and execute it. So you know, there's a good
responsibility that goes with that. But also I think it
allows us to get on the same page and you know,
he feels good in the cause that he's calling and
(18:14):
then you know, say I don't love one, he you know,
can communicate it and explain you know, why he likes it,
and usually you know, my mindset flips and you know
we're you know, good when he calls it. So it's
just the the communication, the concert communication that we you know,
got to have is uh, you know, play caller and
quarterback and how to execute a high level.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Yeah, I don't think that.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
I don't think that when bo talks about stuff like
that that there's some sort of battle between what the
play call is going to be or what he likes
as opposed to what Sean wants to do. Sean, I
think Peyton understands as much as anybody that your wor
(19:00):
success is directly tied to bon Nix's success, and if
bo Nix doesn't work, then Sean Payton probably doesn't work.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
I think they know that.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
He is certainly aware of it. He has every incentive
in the world to make sure that this thing is
going to run smoothly. But for some of the text,
you're saying, what were what's what's the problems that you have?
And someone says this, it's all the constant personnel changes.
(19:33):
Stop subbing, subbing five guys every other play, run hurry up?
You could and do I think that he subs a
little bit too much. Yeah, I think it's you can
allow guys to get into a rhythm. You don't need
to take them out every other play. And and whatever.
(19:54):
There's somebody that's talking about, oh here, it is so
too many substitution package packages with that dis disrupt timing trick,
plays that don't work with the personnel.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
See, that's one that I'll push back on.
Speaker 2 (20:08):
They were in a flea flicker against the Chargers that
was wide open and bo Nicks just missed it. Now
didn't look a little bit clunky a little bit, but
that was the play that Bonnicks had two guys wide
open downfield and missed both. It was Mims and I
don't know if it was Sutton or Franklin somebody else
was more towards the middle of the field.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
And missed them both.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
And like I said, this is where you can put
this on Sean Payton if you want to. It's free country.
I think this comes down a lot more to you
got to execute the play. And there's just been a
lot of times this year it feels like bo Nick
has just missed. You hit some of those big plays early.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
In the year.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
Maybe that builds confidence in the offense. Looks different than
it does right now. But is the reason why the
Jets game and the way that the offense was playing
it was a result. Was that a result of Sean
Payton not doing the right things, not calling the right plays.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
I don't think so. I think it's a matter of
execution well, and to that point PhD.
Speaker 5 (21:22):
I was listening to PhD yesterday they played that clip
and one thing that that they brought up is maybe
the solution here is is bo Nick said, Oh, I
have some plays that I like, and I bring him
to Sean, but he has plays that he likes, and
you know, I don't want to bring a play that's
not gonna work, and then Sewan's gonna get Just let
Bo cook Man. Maybe Sean just needs to take the
(21:43):
leash off and let him just uncork a can of
whoop pass. Like watch watch the New York Giants. Those
guys look like they got nothing to lose and they're
just having fun playing football. Maybe Bo's a little bit
two in his head. Sean Payton spent the whole offseason
talking about how this was the the greatest football franchise
to ever graze the earth, helmed by a quarterback that's
(22:04):
the love child of Joe Montana and Tom Brady. So
maybe everybody's a little bit too inside their heads. Just
open up the playbook and have some fun.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Let Bo cook is interesting. I don't know if Bo's
earned the right to do this yet. And you said
the Giants are playing with nothing to lose, Well, Nelly,
they have nothing to lose, that's why they're But hang on,
the Giants aren't good. The Broncos are. And I think
at times when it looks like see, this is what
(22:38):
concerns me. That's why I brought up that third and
ten run Apprentice.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
Now.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
I don't know if that was called by Sean Payton
or checked into by Bo Nix to be fair, But
I think in a lot of situations like that, why
do you throw it short of the sticks on third down?
Why do you run the ball in third and ten
with that apprentice? Why do you do a bubble screen?
If there's one thing that is concerning that I don't
(23:03):
have an answer to, but I had to try and
read the tea leaves on this. Do you think part
of it is maybe there isn't trust that level of
trust yet anyway? Is that part of the problem. You know,
we can make this about the head coach if you
(23:25):
want to again, free country, go ahead. And I don't
think that Sean Payton is perfect. I've had plenty of
issues with the way that he's called the game in
the past.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
Is this America? I thought that Sean Payton's.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Done a pretty good job though over the last few
weeks of sticking to a run game, which is an
offense I think they're more suited for. I think Ben
Powers being out is really thrown a wrench in things
because they couldn't run the football effectively against the Jets,
and the Jets got a couple of guys back from
(23:57):
injuries against the Broncos that they didn't have previously. So
take that for what you will to be somebody that
you go out there and let the guy just roll
and play. That's gotta be earned first, and I don't
know if Bonnix has earned that because it's been good
(24:23):
mixed in with bad. And my biggest fear now is
that because the defense is so good, do you just
go into a really really conservative game plan and just
trust your defense to win?
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Because that's kind of what I saw last week. You
know you like that? Do you like that? That knows?
Speaker 5 (24:45):
Because to me that that feels like you're playing not
to lose, not playing to win exactly.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
And I've always thought this, man, I think this, even
if you have a I'm an ultra aggressive mindset guy
for play calling from the jump. Like we just talked
about this yesterday, I think the Broncos should be a
version of the Lions, which is on fourth and five,
they go for it.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Because you do trust your defense. Like the strategy that people.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Had ten years ago about hey man, play good defense
and don't turn the ball over and we'll just play
conservative offense and help our defense comes out on top.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
I hate that strategy.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
I think whether you've got a good defense or a
bad defense, I can find an excuse for you to
go for it. Fourth and five at the fifty. You
got a bad defense.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Should you go for it?
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Yeah, because your offense is the better unit. Fourth and
five at the fifty, you got a great defense.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Should you go for it?
Speaker 4 (25:48):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Because the defense will make up for it if you
don't get it. Like I just I think that hyper
aggressive approach is one that really confuses the defense. Again,
Detroit is doing something that teams are now starting to
adopt more. But when they kind of went all in
on the I'm not gonna punt unless it's fourth and twenty,
(26:12):
I'm not punting. I have heard defenders talk about what
that's like when they're on the field and they get
a stop on third and four and it's fourth and
one and they know that the other team's going for
it and it's a killer. They're like, I feel like
I've done my job and my job's not done yet.
(26:36):
And I think the Broncos should absolutely take on that
mentality and aggression they have a few times this year.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
I mean to go for it.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
To go for the two point conversion against the Eagles
is something that I don't think any team, including Detroit
would have done in that moment that's eight minutes left
in the game. It probably just tie that game up
and hope you get a stop and you go out
and do it again, and Sean Payton won aggress him.
I think they should absolutely do that, and Texas says
Brett is the quintessential four verts guy in Madden. I
(27:08):
do run four verts in Madden all the time because
it's a great play. I would not do that if
this is real life in the NFL. I'm not dumb
enough to think you take a shot every single time.
Again from the guy who has been screaming about keep
the offense balanced and run the football even if it's
not effective early in a game. That's the opposite of
(27:29):
quintessential four verts guy, because I think that's how the
Broncos should be running their offense. They're built for that
a lot better than they are the opposite. At the
same time, I think when they get into third and
five and they're around midfield, you should have a two
(27:50):
down play call, which is if you want to run
a swing pass or you want to run the football
on third and five to get you to fourth and
two or four one. I'm totally okay with it, and
I think you should. But there are to me so
many different examples this year of plays that could have
(28:12):
been had that weren't because bo Nicks just missed. And
do I does that mess with the psyche of a
play caller? Like? Maybe maybe it does, But I mean
the main question is do you trust Sean Payton or not?
Speaker 4 (28:34):
And I do.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
I think he's a really good offensive mind, and I
think he's he's changed his stripes a little bit in
making a commitment to that run game in a way
that he hadn't for the first year and a quarter
that he was here. Now do the bubble screens drive
me nuts? Yes, I don't understand the purpose of those
guys in the NFL are too good. You have to
(28:56):
have elite blocking wide receivers in order to make that work,
and I don't think the Broncos have that, not yet. Anyway,
I think there's a lot more effective in different play
calls that you can run. So three h three five
(29:16):
oh four oh nine two five shot mas de text line,
one price, one person, one hour. So Russell Westbrook finally
finds a home. It is with Sacramento. And I can't
tell if this was it's one of these two things,
and I don't think it's in between.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
There is. Russell Westbrook is such a.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
Unique in different style of player that his skill set
only fits a few teams that would consider themselves in contention.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
You know, A big reason and why I don't think
Russell Westbrook.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
As much as I liked the signing, I thought it
was necessary, and I thought he got too much grief
for how he played last year. I thought he was
really good for the Nuggets last year. It wouldn't have
fit this year because his style is not something that
this team, this iteration of it needs. They don't need
somebody who's only dominant with the ball when he has
the ball. They now have a backup unit that is
(30:28):
able to spread the ball around, catch and shoot guys
different skill sets. Everybody kind of needs a taste. They
don't need Russell Westbrook takeover mode anymore on that second unit.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
So it didn't make it.
Speaker 4 (30:40):
It's gonna be all of that.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
You don't need that anymore. You needed that last year
because you couldn't trust anybody else, I'll tell you. For
contending teams, I don't think really any of them need that,
And it's why they're contenders, and Russell Westbrooks in a
(31:08):
phase of his career where there's a very specific situation
that he needs to come across and for a team
like the Kings, who last year found themselves in the
play in do they have a good team kind of?
(31:30):
You know, they got the Sabonas, they got Levine, they
got de Rozan. Is that a team that's going to
be competing for a championship? Probably not? And maybe they
need somebody like him to come off the bench and
really run the show. But you know who doesn't need that?
The Nuggets, who doesn't need that?
Speaker 1 (31:52):
The Thunder who doesn't need that?
Speaker 2 (31:56):
Like, just take team after team that you consider contenders,
the Rockets, don't You look at all those different teams
and you're like, well, which contender would need somebody that
has that style? And the answer is probably none of them.
(32:17):
And so that's why I think he finds himself in Sacramento.
But I don't know though, Nelly is is he did
he choose the Kings at this time because he was
holding out for a team that was a bigger contender
and it just never came, Or did he choose the
(32:41):
Kings now knowing he would have he was going to
do this for months, and he just wanted to miss
all the nonsense of the offseason. He didn't want to
do training camp and he didn't want to do preseason.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
No.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
I've seen you see a lot of NFL guys where
veterans in the league do this, where they hit free agency.
They know they're going to find a team, like, yeah,
I'll sign with you, but it'll be like the third
week of August. I'm going to avoid all that camp
stuff because to some extent they've earned the right too.
(33:16):
But it's one of those two reasons, and whatever it is,
I just knew that Russell Westbrook was gonna have a
hard time finding a home and it's part of the
reason why I was pretty surprised that he opted out
of his contract with Denver. But pardon me, thinks even
if he opted in, he probably would have been traded.
(33:37):
So three oh three, five oh four O nine two five,
there is like potentially a really big scandal that is
not being discussed, and I think I have the answer why.
Speaker 1 (33:51):
We'll get to it next.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
You've had the Stonies on Lincoln to watch tonight's Thursday
night football game with Pittsburgh and Cincinnati presented by Tillemore.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
Do grab a du in a brew and hang out
with uh who's gonna be there me?
Speaker 7 (34:05):
I'm very important enter to.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
Win a Hall of Fame commemorative autograph Terrell Davis Football.
And we'll see at Stony's on Lincoln at six again.
Hope to see you guys. There should be a fun
time with both that game on and the Avs game.
So come on down and say Hi.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
There is something that is it's still.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Weirding me out, and I want to be clear about something.
It's not because my stupid football team was involved in this,
but it is a big deal.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
When you have.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
For a few years now, people have been noticing a
trend within Kansas City games that they just seem to
get the benefit of the calls. And there's a study.
This is on the New York Post and a couple
of different sites, a study at a UTEP where they conducted.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Some research.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
About Chiefs games and penalties and blah blah blah, and
what they found is that the Chiefs benefit from calls
more than any other team in the league.
Speaker 1 (35:28):
And part of this.
Speaker 2 (35:31):
Is, are you a good team that's always in this
situation and do those teams get the benefit of the doubt. Yes,
but this is coming straight from this research. The fact
that postseason penalties consistently favored one franchise while similar dynasties
showed no such pattern points to the powerful role of
financial incentives in shaping supposedly neutral decisions. That's a conclusion
(35:54):
that this research came to. Again, is it totally accurate?
Probably not, But there is a perception that's out there
that the chiefs get the benefit of calls in clutch
and crunch time moments. We played audio yesterday from ninety
(36:15):
seven to one to ticket in Detroit. Dan Campbell was
doing his weekly radio show there.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
They asked him.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
About the play on Sunday night that after a minute
and a half, like the offense is sitting on the
bench and then the referees got together huddled in through
a penalty, flag open and drive of the game touchdown
trick play to Jared Goff, Now play this for you again.
Speaker 7 (36:37):
I want to ask you one. I want to go
back to it. I don't want to harp on just
like we had talked about earlier. But when we asked you,
you know, did that call come from New York about
overturning the golf touchdown. Are you guys inquiring as to
why you were told that or inquiring as to what
happened in that situation why they went back a minute
(36:57):
and a half later and through the flag.
Speaker 4 (37:00):
Yeah, we asked them all of that. We asked them
all of it, and I can't tell you any of that.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
But it was an official that told you it came
from New York. Yeah, okay here, yeah, always gets me.
Here's the problem.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
The ref in the pool report after the game said, no,
it didn't come from New York because that's not allowed
on that the New York is not allowed to buzz
in and say, hey, that was a penalty. New York
can buzz in and say the guy's toe is out
of bounds. They can do that, they cannot do it
(37:38):
with penalties. And after the game, the lead official, Craig
rollstat said nothing came from New York. He said, there
was a little bit of confusion in our discussion whether
we had stopped, whether he had stopped talking about golf initially,
or whether he had stopped at the end and what
we were talking about. That's why the flag came came
(38:00):
in so late. We did not have any assistance from
Kansas City or New York. So who's lying here? That's
a pretty big deal if you're getting interference from the
league office in New York for a primetime football game
featuring two of the better teams in the NFL, and
(38:23):
it's a it's one hundred percent influencing whether a touchdown
is called or not. Again, it's not the reason Detroit
lost the game, But how many more times is this
going to be happening? If the official is lying about
(38:45):
getting buzzed in from New York, that's a problem. And
here's the other thing, And Nellie, I know I'm going
like full conspiracy brain on this, but I hate Kansas City.
So whatever, let me ask you question is just what
I'm laying out and textures be honest with me throughout
(39:06):
the straw, poles, straw is what I'm discussing. Does it
sound like an important matter to you that the league
office would get involved in a call?
Speaker 4 (39:22):
These are the hypotheticals, right, I love them.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Does that seem like something that's important to me? It
seems very important. It says something about the integrity of
the game. Refs make mistakes.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
We all know that. But I think that's a big deal.
Speaker 5 (39:39):
I think what's important here is why we don't know
what happened, Like did the that That is the most
concerning part. This is like when when you, as a
parent come downstairs and you find your whole living room
covered in mud, and you've got the dog and you've
got your daughter, and you're like, well, who did this?
And then they both point at the other one and say,
(39:59):
I didn't do that.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
This is the thing, though, Nelly, This is why I
think it's so important. Somebody's lying, and I'm pretty sure
it's not Campbell because what would he stand to gain
out of calling out the league? But here's the more
important thing, Nelly. How many times have you guys been
(40:23):
on ESPN over the last couple of days. Have you
been on CBS Sports? Have you been on Fox Sports?
Have you been on any of those sites or any
of that stuff? You know what I've noticed, Nelly, I'm
on the front page of ESPN's NFL section. Tua apologizes
for comments Bear's Caleb Williams could care less about criticism.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Outrage over the surface at Steelers Field.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
Lions safety Brian Branch one game suspension upheld Panther's face
running back conundrum with Hubbard return.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
You know what, I don't see refs controversy over whether
they overstepped their bounds, and I don't look.
Speaker 2 (41:09):
Look, I don't want to sound like tinfoil hat guy,
but do you think part of it, maybe just part
of it. Why this isn't a bigger story is because
every single network that covers sports is in bed with
the NFL, and if they have a controversy like this,
are they told not to mention it.
Speaker 1 (41:26):
I'm just asking the question. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (41:29):
But again, when Kansas City is already on the beneficial
side of a whole bunch of calls that come this way,
and I got a head coach in this league that's saying, hey,
they did something they aren't allowed to do. The refs
did in favor of the Chiefs, and nobody's talking about it.
Speaker 1 (41:45):
Is really weird to me.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
So call me tinfoil hat guy if you want to.
But I'm just there was already a narrative surrounding Kansas
City before that. And again, this isn't about the game
yesterday or over the weekend. The Chiefs soundly beat Detroit,
that's not the problem here.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
The problem is.
Speaker 2 (42:11):
Integrity of your sport is important, and somebody's lying about
how that went down.
Speaker 1 (42:19):
That's all I'm saying. Hey, if.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
The Nuggets are playing against the Lakers in the Western
Conference Finals and there's a block, charge Nelly and it's
initially called a block Aaron Gordon or I'm sorry, initially
called a charge Aaron Gordon takes the charge. It's Nuggets basketball,
and then they reversed the call, and you find out
that maybe the call got reversed because somebody in the
(42:47):
league offices of the NBA said you got to change
that to a charge call when they aren't allowed to
do it.
Speaker 1 (42:52):
Wouldn't you be like, well, that's a little bit weird.
You like getting nailed by the King. That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (43:01):
So you can always watch Joe Love on Twitch. We
can get back to this later. And I don't want
to sound like I'm too crazy. Another straw poll. Do
I sound crazy?
Speaker 4 (43:11):
Yes or no?
Speaker 2 (43:12):
Three oh three, five oh four oh nine two five
can watch You'll have on Twitch, Twitch dot tv search
out toitude us out in the search part of the
out to Do TV simulcast.
Speaker 1 (43:19):
It's a Safeway Twitch feed.
Speaker 2 (43:20):
Download Safeway's deals and delivery app and get exclusive grocery
offers Safeway Fresh Foods, local flavors.
Speaker 1 (43:25):
Can also watch on YouTube.
Speaker 2 (43:26):
Subscribe to the channel today and don't miss anything from
Denver's number one sports station, Altitude Sports Radio ninety two
to five.
Speaker 1 (43:34):
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