Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BREAKOUT: RJ Harvey Has Chance To SHINE vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos running back group is going to have to shoulder the load against the Kansas City Chiefs defense, especially without J.K. Dobbins. What can we expect? We'll dive into that here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos. Your daily Denver Broncos podcast podcast. Part of the Locked on Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, part of the Locked on podcast network, now the number one sports podcast network in the country. All thanks to all you every dayers out there in Broncos country. Thanks for tuning in making us your first listen, however you choose to do so. I'm Cody Roark, Broncos credential reporter for Mile High Sports to cover the team person in Daily Indove Valley. Sarah Beninger is back from Disney World folks. He's the longtime site expert of their predominantly orange.com, 10 plus years running of him covering this football team as well. And we got a lot to break down on today's episode of the show here is our final preview before the Broncos take on the Kansas City. Chiefs, R.J. Harvey, Jalulam McLaughlin, two names who will probably shoulder the load in the run game here for the Broncos is trending for J.K. Dobbins to not play in Sunday's game. We'll talk about the Broncos running back room. Plus, we'll go through why little Jordan Humphrey returned to the Mile High City? Why does Sean Payton bring him back? What is he going to bring to the table against the Kansas City Chiefs? And then we're talking about players. We feel like have the most pressure on them this week against Kansas City, including a Broncos secondary without Patrick's or 10. You'll get all of that.

Starting point is 00:01:35 on today's show brought to you our friends over there at the GameTime app. Download the GameTime app today. Create an account. Use code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase. Ser, hopefully you could bring some of your Disney World Magic here to the Denver Broncos on Sunday as they face off against the Kansas City Chiefs. Trending towards J.K. Dobbins not playing in this game, Sarah.

Starting point is 00:01:55 He was not at practice on Wednesday. He was not at practice on Thursday. Denver's obviously got one more practice here today. But the fact he wasn't there on Thursday, I think is a telling sign that he is not. going to be ready to play here against Casey. Very unfortunate. And we kind of maybe got a little bit of a hint to this, right?

Starting point is 00:02:11 From J.K. Dobbins himself, we don't often see him going on Twitter and ranting about anything. Obviously, we've only had him in Denver this season. But he was pretty upset about the hip drop tackle that wasn't called against him. I'm sure you discussed that already. But yeah, I mean, you're right. It doesn't feel like he's going to be playing in this game. Although for the time being, at least as the time we're recording this, he's avoided injured reserve, which is good news for the Denver.

Starting point is 00:02:35 for Broncos and for J.K. Dobbins, who's trying to get another contract with the team. But you mentioned that Disney Magic, Cody. I mean, shoot, the Broncos, they were 0 and 4 on my Disney trips previously, a donut. And they went 2 and O in this trip. So the Disney Magic might be working in their favor. We'll see if it carries over against the Kansas City Chiefs. But obviously, we expect RJ Harvey to be playing a huge role in this game. Sean Payton, Cortland Sutton, Bo Nicks, all those guys gushing about him at their media availability. it's always been the next man up mentality under Sean Payton. And this is a great opportunity for Harvey to prove to this team,

Starting point is 00:03:10 man, this is a second round running back. Now you've got to go out and show that you can be a featured guy in this offense. And to be honest with you, really outside of the passing attack, RJ hasn't been featured, I think, as much as you and I have wanted. And I don't know if that's been by design or would JK be in the leading obviously carrier for this offense. The most carries RJ has had so far in his NFL career was 14.

Starting point is 00:03:31 That came against Cincinnati. There's a little bit of a different game there. It was to the point where you and I were like, hey, this is the formula. You know, you get, I think, what was it? 16 something carries or touches for JK Dobbins in that game. 14 for RJ. All right. You almost had 200 all purpose yards combined between the two of them in that game.

Starting point is 00:03:47 It's like, all right, hey, this is the formula. This is the way series to series. Really, if you look at his average so far, RJ's maybe having, you know, handed the football off to him maybe four times in a game. I mean, if you're lucky, that's the average. I think the next highest was like eight, but it's been sporadic in terms of how often the Broncos have used him in the run game. And when they are getting him in the run game,

Starting point is 00:04:09 it's mainly on outside runs. You need more of those in between the tackles type runs. I think this week here against Kansas City, RJ is going to be a big part of that too. And we cut up with Broncos offensive tackle Mike McGlinchie this week and asked him about RJ Harvey, what he brings to the table. Here's what McGlinchie had to say about the Broncos rookie running back.

Starting point is 00:04:28 It's a unique back. Well, obviously the town. that he has and the movement skills and the strength is really, really impressive. He's a great worker, you know, and I think he's in a room where a lot of the guys in there, like J.K., like Jalil, those guys, show him how to do things right. And he's gotten better and better every week. Lou's done a great job in that room this year. We've improved the way that we've run the ball. And it's a testament to those guys for sure. There's no doubt that the running game has improved based on last year, but I think up to this point, it's been pretty much all

Starting point is 00:05:01 on the shoulders of J.K. Dobbins, right? So that's where we talk about this opportunity for RJ Harvey, because right now he's averaging just five carries a game, right? 50 carries through 10 games so far this season. He's getting way more, I guess, prominent involvement in the passing game where it kind of feels like he has been a little bit unleashed on some downfield stuff, you know, after the catch stuff. We're seeing a mixture of ways that the Broncos are getting him involved as a past catching weapon. But now is this opportunity here to really show that that he's got that strength, that explosiveness, the quickness, the vision that George Peyton talked about all the way back at the draft, right? He said, we thought he might have the best vision of any

Starting point is 00:05:39 back in this draft. Well, you're going to need it going up against the Kansas City Chief's defense that is going to be absolutely attacking the line of scrimmage with how vulnerable the Broncos have shown to be the last couple of games, especially their quick passing game, not really flourishing the way that you thought it would. You got a rookie running back out there. Bo Nicks, not necessarily been the most accurate downfield in the last couple of games. games. This is where RJ Harvey's top skills have to shine the most. And look, I think you have to sprinkle in Jolil McLaughlin as well. You know, Sean was saying he's chomping at the Bittick out there. I've had a chance to just catch up with Jalil here and there throughout the season.

Starting point is 00:06:15 He's maintained being in good spirits. He's ultra competitive, wants to be out there, wants to be active on game days. This is his opportunity. And look, I think it's a great chance for him to kind of come out here. And I know we'll probably preview this later as we talk about players with the most pressure, the players that we're going to have our eyes on in this game. go out there and showcase like, hey, this is why you should be playing me right now. I think there's a great opportunity,

Starting point is 00:06:36 a great case to be made for both of these guys here. And we don't know right now, obviously with the JK thing that I think the more time that goes on. Yes, him not going on to IR is a big thing. But we are still, I think, awaiting a word on what that second opinion was

Starting point is 00:06:48 that he was seeking initially on his foot. Those are, every time you hear the word second opinion, sometimes it's always kind of concerning there. So we have to wait and see what obviously that brings. But what is it in your opinion? Because you and I haven't had a chance. chance to talk about this since you've been gone here. I've brought it up a few times on the show here.

Starting point is 00:07:05 I think the biggest key, whether if JK was playing or not, that Sean Payton has to do to get this run game going a little bit more, like we talk about them being a top five rushing offense, but I think the balance in terms of how often the Broncos are running versus passing is certainly a problem here for this team. And I think the first half of the last two games is a great indicator of just that. Yeah, it really is. I mean, you talk about early down success, getting yourself behind the sticks, penalties, nullifying big plays. I mean, you can't run the ball effectively when you're in first and 20 or first and 15 or all these bad situations, second and 12, third and 13. I mean, there's a reason why the Broncos aren't running the ball balanced or as effectively as you would think.

Starting point is 00:07:46 We're getting a couple of drives every game, right, from J.K. Dobbins, the J.K. Dobbins takeover drive. Those are seemingly still happening on a week to week basis. But yeah, the consistency hasn't been there because the offensive efficiency on the early downs. is not there. That's got to be the common theme. I don't have it off the top of my head, Cody, and I don't know if there's any advanced stats that would show it, but I'd be willing to bet that in the games the Broncos have run the ball the best is when they're having the most success on first down. That's got to be the situation right there is those drive starters, the ability to pick up third and short and extend drives and keep the drives alive, because otherwise you're just not

Starting point is 00:08:25 running enough plays. Otherwise, you're just not getting enough chances to have balance and you're either playing from behind or you feel like you're getting so far behind the sticks that if you don't throw it, you're kind of just punting on third down. So that's where I feel like the Broncos right now are sort of losing that offensive identity of being balanced and being a team that can win after the catch, that that quick passing game that's such a hallmark in Sean Payton's offense. It all goes back to effectiveness and efficiency on first down. I've talked to a couple of of offensive players this week in the locker room when we get a chance to go in there. And just asking you basically, what is it that you guys feel like is causing like the

Starting point is 00:09:04 struggles you guys are having on offense? And the common theme amongst everybody that I asked was we are playing behind the sticks far too often. He says, we're being, we have too many penalties impacting our flow and our operation. And obviously on Thursday night, there was one specific play. Denver, I think had like a four or five yard run on second down or, you know, I think it was a run. I definitely think it was there because they started getting it going. And then there was a holding call.

Starting point is 00:09:27 And it made it second and 20. And that's when the Bow Nix, hot mic on the personnel thing kind of came to fruition there, second and 20 and you're still late getting your personnel and after you have the penalty. So that was a frustrating standpoint there. But they're like, you know, we've got to figure out how to get ahead of the sticks. Because when we have these negative plays and setting us back, it changes what we can do from a game plan standpoint. And that makes a lot of sense.

Starting point is 00:09:49 I think when you look at the X's and O's of the game and you understand it, that's definitely something that stands out. So can they do that against the Kansas City Chiefs here this week? That is the big question. But Broncos country, we have one final injury report update for you following Thursday's practice. Plus, guess who's back? Back again. Lil Jordan Humphrey's back.

Starting point is 00:10:06 Tell a friend. We'll break it all down here on this episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode of the show is brought to you by friends over there at prize picks. Folks, you and I, we make decisions every single day, but on prize picks, being right can get you paid. Don't miss any of the excitement of this sports season, whether you're following the NFL, the NBA or both. There's no better time to jump in on the action than right now because if you haven't tried it yet, prize picks is the simplest and the easiest way to play.

Starting point is 00:10:32 You just pick more or less on at least two players stats and if you get them right, you win. It takes less than 60 seconds to make your lineup and you can play anywhere that price picks operates, including California, Texas and Georgia. And look, you can take a look at some of your favorite players like Bo Nicks, Cortland Sutton. You can even look at RJ Harvey this week as he's going to get extensive touches and looks against Kansas City.

Starting point is 00:10:53 Do you like him more or less on a rushing yard statistic? Well, inside price picks, you can obviously select that as one of your play. So download the price picks at today and use code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That's code locked on NFL for $50 in lineups after your first $5 lineup. Price picks. It's good to be right. It was never goodbye for Lil Jordan Humphrey and the Denver Broncos, just to see you real soon.

Starting point is 00:11:21 The little Jordan Humphrey went to the Giants, a little cup of coffee there, spent some time on the practice squad. He's back in Denver. The Broncos, they didn't make any moves at the trade deadline, but they've got little Jordan Humphrey back in the mix. Cody and I are going to tell you why at least I feel a little more excited about this than I thought that I would. Feel like he could play a huge role in this offense here in the second half. We're going to tell you exactly what that is on today's show. But Broncos Country, I want to say thank you once again to every single one of you, every dayers out there that make us your first listen of the day.

Starting point is 00:11:50 every day. We appreciate you so much. And hey, as we get into the second half of this season, let's lock in for a Broncos AFC West Division title run. It starts this Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, Cody. The Broncos have a chance to bury their division rivals here. And Lil Jordan Humphrey is back to bury some more defensive backs in the running game and the quick passing game. I think that's the area where he can really be a huge, tremendous asset to this team where I feel like Trent Sherfield, it's been a bit underrated because it's not a top talking point or storyline. But I don't feel like Trent Sherfield has necessarily been this big time addition to the

Starting point is 00:12:28 running game like the Broncos, maybe thought that he could be a run blockers, you know, special teams ace. What little Jordan Humphrey did so well last year hasn't been effectively replaced in this offense. So now he's back. I think he can unlock that quick passing game and the outside running game. Yeah, that's the hope too. And look, I saw all the memes on social media when little Jordan Humphrey was coming back.

Starting point is 00:12:49 people were doing like the pawn stars thing like you know you want jalen waddle the best i can offer is little jordan humphrey like the memes kind of wrote itself it's funny fantastic stuff there but this is i'm not trying to hype this up broncos country i'm just telling you from a value standpoint for what denver wants to do little jordan humphrey's going to provide some immediate impact now i'm not saying he's coming in he's going to catch two passes or that but the blocking as sarah alluded to is important special teams is important where he's going to obviously play a role right away. Now, with what we've seen from the Broncos this year, you know, especially with Bow Nix using his legs to try to extend plays. We're not seeing Bow run as much with

Starting point is 00:13:28 his legs, but we're seeing him use his legs to try to throw down field or to find open guys in the scramble drill. Who excelled the most in Scramble Drill in Denver with the last couple of seasons there is number 17. Little Jordan Humphrey, yes, that's his number now. Once again, as it was in 2023, he switched to 84 and 2024. Now he's back to number 17, vacated previously by the Von Veilah, who's now with the New Orleans Saints. But little Jordan Humphrey brings that blocking dynamic to the table. Look, we've seen Denver run more RPO's and we see the screenplays, Sarah. This is where he could block well on the perimeter to open some things up last year.

Starting point is 00:14:03 It's no secret last year. When the Broncos run in the screen game, Detroit Franklin and to Marvin Mims, who is the primary blocker up there on the perimeter? Cortland Sutton and obviously, Low Jordan Humphrey, we weren't complaining about the screen game last season. This year, we certainly are. Yeah, this is, that's what he's going to help unlock. Again, I just really believe that. I do. I think that he's so physical downfield.

Starting point is 00:14:23 And I also feel like, Cody, you can tell me if you think I'm maybe off base on this, or if I'm overthinking it a little bit here. I feel like Lil Jordan Humphrey doing that dirty work could really open things up for Pat Bryant to play a bigger role as a receiving weapon as well, because we know Pat Bryant can run block. He's all about if you don't block, you don't get the rock. I feel like he's one of those guys that we could see his target share increase here in the second half of the season. It just feels like the majority of the time that he's out there right now, he's doing a lot of run blocking out there.

Starting point is 00:14:55 And I think that's great. He can do it. He's good at it. He's physical. He's willing. That's awesome. Let little Jordan Humphrey do some of that stuff and get Pat Bryant running more routes, get him more targets. Because Troy Franklin, I mean, the guy has been absolutely lighting it up in the targets department.

Starting point is 00:15:12 It just hasn't quite been. That's been the, honestly, one of the biggest lack of efficiency that I don't think is getting talked about enough. I know Sean was just asked about it this week. Like he's getting so many targets. Let's see some more involvement for Pat Bryant with Lil Jordan Humphrey last year, Cody. He was the second most on the team in terms of yards after contact. And so I think that what that indicates is that the Broncos trust him as well to get him the ball quickly and be physical after the catch. So I just, I really dig this move in terms of, hey, it's not necessarily, let's not make a mountain out of a molehill, right?

Starting point is 00:15:45 it's a guy that's going to play a minimal role on a week-to-week basis, at least in terms of what the box score shows. But man, when you talk about opening things up for his teammates, getting that perimeter running game going with some of your best guys that, you know, at running on the perimeter, like, you know, Jaliel McLaughlin coming back, R.J. Harvey. This is going to be a huge move, I think, for the Denver Broncos to get that type of efficiency back in the wide receiver blocking, which we know is so important to the Sean Payton office.

Starting point is 00:16:14 And I feel like so often at times in sports media, or even just in fandom in general, it's easy for people to look at box scores and say, oh, yeah, this guy didn't have a big impact, but it shows up in other ways, hitting a block. Like, I'm glad that you maybe mention up that this could free opportunities open, like scheme open opportunities for a guy like Pat Bryant because of the fact that, like, how defenses are playing Denver right now, right? We talk about Cortland Sutton seeing bracket coverage. So when it's bracket coverage passing situations, defenses are also bringing backside

Starting point is 00:16:44 guys to cover Troy Franklin on those crossing patterns there, right? You got a corner and you got another guy who's spying wherever Troy Franklin's at. So you're seeing both force feed there. And I think having Marvin Mims the last couple of weeks certainly plays a role in that in terms of the distribution. I think the insertion of Lord Jordan Humphrey, I think makes Trent Sherfield maybe in an active player this week, though. I'll say with Denver's injury list, they might have a chance to keep six wide receivers active here for Sunday's game against Kansas City, something that we're going at the monitor. But I agree. I think bringing little Jordan Humphrey back is going to be big in ways that maybe people aren't going to see necessarily in the stat sheet, the box score at the end

Starting point is 00:17:21 of the game. But when you watch the tape, you're like, wow, that was made possible because of this guy. That's what he's going to bring to the table here. But let's get to some injury stuff here, too, Sarah, following Thursday's practice, we saw, you know, an extensive list this week for the Broncos injury report. Pat Sertan, obviously was on that list. Nate Adkins was on that list. Jonah Ellis was on the list. Trent Sherfield was on that list. The list went on and on and on. And J.K. Dobbins. Well, all those guys did not return for Thursday's practice except Nate Adkins.

Starting point is 00:17:50 Nate Atkins was surprisingly back on the field. And I think we're all a little surprised there considering some of the rumblings we were hearing about, you know, the knee injury. They bring in Mercedes-Louis to the practice squad because they need some help with that position because of the injury. There's a chance that he potentially plays here on Sunday. So he's back in the mix. But unfortunately, Thursday's practice, no PS2, no Jonah Ellis, and no, J.K. Dobbins, which if you miss two days of practice, the signs and the chances you playing on Sunday, probably not going to be very likely. So I think you can count on those guys being out.

Starting point is 00:18:22 Let's talk about Nate Adkins here, Cody. I think that it's no coincidence that the last two games that he played, the Broncos scored a total of 77 points. And I'm not, once again, let's not make Mountain out of a molehill here. But the last two games that he didn't play, you obviously scored 10 against the Raiders. You score, what, 18 against the Houston Texans. So the offensive efficiency is undoubtedly better, I think, when Nate Adkins is out there. Sean Payton has talked about how important he is to their operation. A number of the teammates, I know you've heard about it from other players in that locker room as well. It just helps so much.

Starting point is 00:18:59 And what have we seen with like the Mercedes-Louis acquisition? He had a couple penalties, right, against the Raiders. A false start on one in which he wasn't used to Bo Nix's cadence, right? So you have now players that are back in the. Knicks who know the cadence. They know the offense like the back of their hand. They're more of a threat in the Jumbo set. That's both Lil Jordan Humphrey and Nate Adkins there. So when you go to Jumbo, what I'm noticing, Cody, is that Bo Nix has one option to throw the ball to and nobody else. And now if you've got Nate Adkins back, if you've got Lil Jordan Humphrey back, those guys can

Starting point is 00:19:32 come out in your jumbo formation. All of a sudden, instead of having just one option in the passing game when you go to Jumbo, now you have three. And that opens everything up for this offense. It's just, once again, these guys are not headline makers. Like Nate Adkins, nobody in Chief's Kingdom probably even knows who Nate Adkins is at this point. Nobody in Chief's Kingdom cares about Lil Jordan Humphrey. But if you're the Denver Broncos, these are two guys who do the dirty work for your offense and who open things up for everybody else. I just think that we have to, as Broncos country, we have to understand the impact that players

Starting point is 00:20:10 who don't get the ball make in a Sean Payton offense on a week-to-week basis. It's one of the more exciting things to watch. And I think it's just a testament to the depth that the team currently has right now, guys buying into their roles, even if they're not going to be the featured guys. You don't see a lot of sulking or pouting from guys, but they're happy to win. They're happy to be blocking. Pat Bryant's a great example of loving his role, even if he hasn't seen the large volume, maybe that he would personally want.

Starting point is 00:20:35 You never know, based on talking around and being around Pat Bryant. So excited about what this could bring to the table. Hopefully the Broncos can use that as some extra juice for Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs. But covering up next Broncos country, we're going to go through and talk about which players have the most pressure on them against the Chiefs. And can Bo Nix bounce back after a rough two-game stretch? We'll go through that and more here on today's episode of the show. Today's lockdown Broncos is brought to you by friends over there at the Game Time app. The NFL season is back and look.

Starting point is 00:21:00 There's a matchup here in the Mile High City on Sunday between the Denver Broncos at 9 and 2 and the 5 and 4 Kansas City Chiefs. If you want to see the Broncos take on the Chiefs, the Game Time app is the place to be. And honestly, there's nothing better than being in the stadium surrounded by fans cheering on your team, which is the Denver Broncos. But let's be honest, getting tickets can be a hassle between cues, login screens, and prices jumping at checkout. It can be frustrating. And that's why I use Game Time. That's why you should use Game Time. The app that gives the advantage back to the fans.

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Starting point is 00:21:48 All thanks to our friends over there at the GameTime app. So download the GameTime app, create an account and use code locked on NFL for $20 off off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, that's promo code L-O-C-E-D-O-N-N-FL-L-N-F-L-T-L-T-L-T-L-T-L-T-T-L-T-E-L-L-L-L-L-L-T-T-T-G, download. game time today. As we jump in the fourth quarter of today's episode of the show, Broncos country, all the everydayers out there. Thanks once again for tuning in making us your first listen and for making the lockdown podcast

Starting point is 00:22:17 network, the number one sports podcast network in the country. That's all because of all of you. We appreciate you so much. We've got some really exciting things coming up here at the network. So stay tuned for all of that here. But we're going to dive into some exciting things talking about players we have our eyes on and players who may be from an on-paper standpoint, face pressure this week going against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Starting point is 00:22:38 There, let's start off with obviously Bo Nix. He's been in a rough two-game slump, and I felt like this week I had to do an episode kind of giving context to the Bo Nix situation because it seems like social media would have you to believe the chart bros, the acronym chart bros out there would make it believe that it's all black and white. There's no gray air. There's no room for improvement here. So we presented all sides of both struggles, how Sean has struggled to put Bona position

Starting point is 00:23:05 to see the personnel, the penalties, all. all that stuff. It's a multifaceted thing. Bo was a little different in his press conference this week. I don't know if you paid attention or noticed that. You know, usually he's kind of chippy. We've got a little sass to him, which we like. But it seemed like he was a little more just locked in, like focused, very somber, I think, in his approach this week.

Starting point is 00:23:25 Bo obviously, I think is going to face pressure naturally because of the position he plays. But I also think Steve Spagnol is going to try to dial up pressure on him regardless in this game. He is. he's going to force Bo Nix to do something that he hasn't done a lot of in the last two games, which is be an accurate passer. And I think that, look, it's not the end of the world to say that he hasn't thrown the ball accurately for two games.

Starting point is 00:23:49 Cody, I watch baseball. You know this. A lot of the listeners know this as well. I love the Chicago Cubs. I love watching baseball every year. There's something that happens to every single team in baseball, every single season. And it happens to multiple guys over the course of a long season. inevitably pitchers will go through spells where they're giving up a lot of home runs,

Starting point is 00:24:11 where they're missing their spots, where they have to get pulled from a game after one inning. The best pitchers in baseball. I saw the Cubs chase Cy Young Award winner, Paul Skeens, from a game after three innings this year because he was pitching poorly and not hitting his spots. This happens to every pitcher in the MLB. It happens to every single quarterback. This last week of the NFL, the last handful of weeks, if not even a large portion of this season has been more proof than ever before that great

Starting point is 00:24:39 quarterbacks struggle. And I'm not saying that Bo Nix has proven himself to be a great quarterback just yet. But what I am saying is that it's so ridiculous. I'm glad that I was at Disney World this last 10 days because I didn't have to be on Twitter and arguing with everybody defending Bo Nix. I feel bad for you. But I'm glad that you posted the episode that you did about it because everybody needs, I think, that perspective shift. It's okay. to be frustrated with a quarterback who's going through a dry spell without saying he's not the franchise quarterback better fire up the mock drafts. I couldn't believe that I saw mock drafts.

Starting point is 00:25:13 The Broncos taken to Oklahoma QB or Colin Cowherd talking about drafting a quarterback. Like this is, this is bull. It's Bush League type stuff. Quarterbacks, this is why people say Josh Allen would have never lasted in Denver because everybody would have driven him out of the franchise after his first two seasons, where he didn't post nearly as good of numbers. And I know then everybody's like, well, I hate the Josh Allen comparisons. You and I talked about this when we did a different video.

Starting point is 00:25:41 It's like Josh, Bo Nix doesn't have to become Josh Allen. Nobody said that Bo Nix has the same level of arm talent or potential even as Josh Allen. But the point is, is that when you give up on players like Josh Allen or Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield or to a lesser degree some other guys around the league, Like you give up on talented players who are getting better every single year. You and I have gotten better through the years at our profession. I just, I could go on and on about this, Cody. I don't mean to go on a huge ramp.

Starting point is 00:26:14 I love it. It's so frustrating to me. And I know to you and other members of Broncos country who kind of think like us in this way. Yeah. No, it is frustrating because it's something that anytime there's anything bad, like a bad play, it's the sky is falling. It's like,

Starting point is 00:26:28 why is this guy falling for an eight and two team? Like you can demand better play, be frustrated with play up and downplay, but he's going to make good plays too. I mean, Sarah, in this stretch, look, the completion percentage was not great against Houston, but in this two game slump, three touchdowns, three interceptions at this point. So it's not like zero touchdown, seven or eight interceptions the way the world is making it out to be. But this is going to be a tough, tough game going against this passing defense here that Kansas City certainly has.

Starting point is 00:26:54 We know Steve Spagnola loves to send the corner blitz. They'll blitz the nickel from time to time. We know he loves that agap blitz from Nick Bolton, who out of the United States, who obviously got the bow a couple of times last year. But I think that Bo is going to respond in a big way. And I'm also glad that Bow's got the mindset. He doesn't care what other people say. I thought he had a really good press conference this week,

Starting point is 00:27:13 kind of just acknowledging the reality of the position and not making the game really bigger than it truly is, which I think is obviously a testament to his mindset, which is good. The other group of people that I feel like are going to have pressure on them is the secondary against this Chief's offense that does have weapons. We know if pass or tan, it certainly makes things a little more problematic. I don't think Denver's going to travel their corners this week. But when you're going against Xavier Worthy, you're going against Rishi Rice,

Starting point is 00:27:38 Juju Smith-Schuster, Hollywood Brown, even have guys sprinkling like Taekwon Thornton. Travis Kelsey, certainly is a tough task for the secondary regardless. Yeah, I know he is. I mean, when you rattle off that name, those names of those players, right?

Starting point is 00:27:53 I mean, you're talking about a Chief's offense that went from, okay, they don't really have a ton of A-list guys to now they're pretty much fully held, the at the skill positions. I know Xavier Worthy was added to the injury report on Thursday. So we'll kind of see how that materializes and what happens there. But regardless, I mean, there's multiple options, which when Patrick Mahomes has multiple options and he's

Starting point is 00:28:16 able to escape pressure, your coverage can only hold up for so long against six guys who run a four, two. Like, that's what the chiefs collect. That's what you just rattled off. I mean, Taekwuan Thornton, Xavier Worthy, all these Rishie Rice, all these guys are very fast and they're very, very good at creating in space when they get the ball. And so that's what the Broncos have to guard against if you're that secondary. Like, and they've done a great job. Like, you and I haven't got much of a chance to talk about it, but Chris Abrams drain filling in Riley Moss, Jada, Barron, Jekwon Macmillan, and then the safeties, obviously,

Starting point is 00:28:52 the return of Drake Greenlaw has been huge for the Broncos, I think, in terms of just overall coverage plan and things like that. The pass rush is getting home. Like the plan the Broncos have will be good. It's just a matter of can you eliminate those second chance plays for Patrick Mahomes against these types of receivers because you can only cover four two for so long. Yeah, it's tough. Look, your scramble drew rules apply.

Starting point is 00:29:18 You may have to cover guys twice essentially when you're in team meetings this week saying, hey, you've got to cover initially. But then because Patrick Mahomes can scramble around, you've got to cover your guy twice, whether you're a zone, whether you're man. I agree with you. I think they're going to have a good plan in place. I felt like they've had a great week of practice so far. But it is a challenge, you know, because you get out there in the game, you have a plan.

Starting point is 00:29:36 You just got to hope you can counteract. This would be the perfect week for the Broncos defense there to get takeaways. I'm talking picks, fumble recovery, strip sacks, you name it. This would be the best time to do just that here. But Broncos Country, we want to hear from you. Who are some players that you feel like have the most pressure on them to perform here in Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs? Make sure you let us know here on today's episode of the show. But what that said, Broncos Country, that'll wrap up today's episode.

Starting point is 00:30:01 of the show the next time you're going to see Sarah and I. We're going to do a locked on Broncos squad show. Neil O'Piro, myself, Sarah, and former Broncos safety, Nick Ferguson, will have you covered for a squad show following Sunday's game against Kansas City Chiefs. Plus, you get your normal post-game report with Sarah and myself. You get all that here on lockdown Broncos. Make sure you subscribe or follow wherever you get podcasts so you never miss out on what's going on with your favorite team every single day all year long.

Starting point is 00:30:26 With that said, Broncos country. We'll see after the game. Will the Broncos be nine and two. Thank you.

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