Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BRONCOS SQUAD SHOW: Denver has BUSY bye week as they prepare for playoffs

Episode Date: January 7, 2026

The Denver Broncos are not playing in wild card weekend thanks to securing the No. 1 seed in the AFC. That said, Broncos Country will be watching closely to see which team the Broncos will draw in the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs. It will be a busy week from some of the Broncos' coaches as Vance Joseph and Davis Webb both have interviews lined up this week for open head coaching jobs across the league. Join Aniello Piro, Cody Roark, Sayre Bedinger and Nick Ferguson as they break down the latest news and notes in the world of Broncos football. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Rocket Money Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at http://RocketMoney.com/LOCKEDON Betterhelp This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. BetterHelp makes it easy to get matched online with a qualified therapist. Sign up and get 10% off at http://BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON. DripDrop Right now, DripDrop is offering podcast listeners 20% off your first order. Go to http://dripdrop.com and use promo code lockedonnfl. Ultimate QB Ultimate QB is totally free to play, has no ads, and works 100% offline — perfect for when you want to sneak in a quick game or two on the go. Just head over to http://ULTIMATE-QB.COM. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. So before tip-off, check the FanDuel app and see what’s dropping during NBA Happy Hour — every Friday from 6 to 7:30 PM Eastern. A little basketball, a little action, and a whole lot of Friday energy. PrizePicks Download the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. Zocdoc Stop putting off your doctor’s appointments and get the care you need. Go to http://Zocdoc.com/lockedonnfl to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I'm Anilo Piro, and despite the Broncos being on the buy, it's a busy week for some. I'm Cody Rourke and the great philosopher, Sun Su said, draw them in with the prospect of gain. Take them by confusion. I'm Sarah Bettinger. If the Broncos are such big frauds, why does everybody want a piece? Well, I'm Nick Ferguson. Heaven's a Megatroy. There's a lot going on in Broncos country.

We'll break it all down on today. Locked-on Broncos squad show. Let's get into it, fellas. From the South Stans, it's the Broncos squad. Everything Denver Broncos every week. Covering all the big hits and game-changing plays from the Mile High City. The way only the Lockdown Podcast Network can. Gear up and squad up.

The Broncos Squad Show starts now. It is your Locked-on Broncos squad show right here on your Lockedon Broncos YouTube channel and audio feed. everyone is doing well out there enjoying the bye week and getting ready for what should be an action-packed weekend of wild card weekend football and then of course the divisional round where your Denver Broncos will be back in action we got the full crew here today Cody Roark Sarah Beniger at Nick Ferguson I am Adelo Piro if you guys are watching us on YouTube hit that like button smash that subscribe button really helps us out here on the channel

and for all of our audio listeners we love you guys as well and let's dive right out into it fellas. So we'll kind of end the show with some wildcard weekend thoughts and who do we want the Broncos to play. We have a bit of trending and breaking news. Nothing surprising, though, in the world of Broncos country. Maybe one surprising thought. But as you know, Broncos on the buy. So this is a perfect opportunity, especially when you're the one seed, right? Some of your coaches are going to be considered head coaching options for other teams that have fired their head coaches. And Vance Joseph, first up here, that news started to trickle out yesterday. I think we all expected Vance Joseph to be a hot name in the coaching cycle.

We know where the Broncos defense is this season and under his command in his second go-around with the organization. But as of right now, I'm seeing five teams that have lined up interviews with Vance Joseph, those teams being the Tennessee Titans, the Arizona Cardinals, the Las Vegas Raiders, the New York football giants, and the Atlanta Falcons. So we'll start there, Cody, Vijay, hot name in the head coaching search. Yeah, he's a very hot name in the coaching search. And I would say he was the hottest name in the coaching search until John Harbaugh became available here.

And I think there are a lot of layers to be peeled back on this one. Certainly teams are going to put in their interviews to request. I'm very curious how the Harbaugh firing changes perspectives for some of the top candidates. I think Vance before Harbaugh was probably the top name on this current coaching cycle here. But ideally, I think we can all probably imagine. the best overall vacancy that is open right now. I don't know which one it is. I'm curious for all your thoughts on that.

I imagine that that place will probably be the favorite for Harbaugh, and it could still lead to some other teams firing their coaches because of it, because Harbaugh is available. So I've been on the premise of saying Vance is deserving of a job. I 110% believe that he would do a really great job. Now the question is, though, where he goes, like I think that matters. in this situation. And I don't know.

Now I start to think that maybe he's going to stay as a D.C. at least for another year. Okay, so we could talk about advance of the open vacancies, but I do want to answer that question. Sarah, what do you think the best head coaching opening is right now, just generally speaking? Well, it's the Baltimore Ravens. I mean, you've got an MVP caliber quarterback.

You've got a team that's been in Super Bowl contention and a general manager who is one of the best in the NFL, just really healthy overall organizational infrastructure, ownership on down. What do we hear Sean Payton talk about, right? When he was hired by the Denver Broncos, the most important criteria that he was looking for was that ownership of the team.

I mean, he inherited one of the worst rasters, at least according to a lot of other people in the NFL and, you know, a terrible situation with Russell Wilson that ended up being the biggest dead cap hit in history. So really ownership, I think, matters that much when you talk about what jobs are the best. And that's what makes the Ravens job the best.

You could look at, roster situations. You could look at quarterback situations. I don't know. I still think the Ravens would have the best out of any of those. And I think that job is already going to be a pretty much a foregone conclusion, guys. I think just to throw this out there, I think that's going to be Jesse Minter's job. And I just think that's going to happen sooner rather than later. So that's, I think that's why the Ravens moved on from John Harbaugh. And so I think that is the best position right now. And I don't think it's particularly close. Yeah, 18 seasons in Baltimore for Mr. Harbaugh. His tenure comes to a close there.

18 years. 18 years. The Fanduel read off the top. Today's episode is brought to you by our friends over at Fanduel. If you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit Fanduel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. Yeah, that one came as a bit, maybe not a surprise, but him and Tomlin have just been steady eddies out there in Pittsburgh and Baltimore,

respectively. And Harbaugh is considered to be one of the most respective active head coaches in the league. So that's definitely interesting as this head coaching process plays out. Nick, what are your thoughts? Well, I'm going to say, well, first and foremost, I don't think Baltimore is the only place or the best place. And here's why, because you got to think about who's your quarterback, cap space, ownership, right? And most importantly, coaches in these positions, you make, that you only get in these positions maybe once in a lifetime is the level of control that you're going to be given. So when I think about that team, obviously, you know, Baltimore is in the way.

conversation, but I would say it is the Atlanta Falcons. And I know most people may not think it's Atlanta Falcons because you say, okay, well, they have issues at the quarterback position. Very true. And they still got to figure things out. But we've seen over the past couple of weeks that Kurt Cousin can't be just that. He could be a stopgap and he is just kind of a special player in moments. Now, is he going to take you to Super Bowl?

Probably not. But you have Drake. You just have to sign Cal pitchback. You have some pieces on the defensive side of the ball. And I mean, your offensive line played pretty decent and you got Bijan Robert. But more importantly, guess

what conference you're in, but more importantly, the vision that you're in. You're in the NFC South. That is one that you can take control of because Tampa Bay seemed as though they were going to be the team to beat, but they are out of the playoffs. Carolina

Panthers, a team that everyone was saying what Dave Canales is going to do with Bryce Young, who people thought he was too small, he was a bus. We still have to see how that's going to pan out in the playoffs. But that is an easy role to the Super Bowl being in the NFC South. So whether it's Vince Joseph, whether it's John Harbour, that it would be an ideal place because you can go out and get another quarterback, but you are set up because that division is so damn easy.

Cody, your thoughts? I mean, I would say the division is probably, in my opinion, division of playing in the NSC South, that's probably the most appealing factor to the Atlanta job. I still think I agree with Sarah. I think Baltimore is probably the best job available on the market. Now, let's say Green Bay opens up somehow. Let's say Tampa Bay opens up somehow. Then I'd say, okay, maybe you might have a little bit more of an argument with those two teams, so to speak.

If San Francisco loses in the playoffs, does a job open up there potentially? Because no, it doesn't open. I wouldn't be shocked if it does, though. But that's the thing. Like, you never know. John Lynch didn't look too happy the other day. But I just think regardless, Harbaugh is going to be the top name wherever. I think the least appealing destination to go coach is Vegas.

I think that is an absolute dumpster fire of an organization to be in right now. If you look at just a turnover from 2021 when John Gruden resigned, roster turnover, coach turnover, you name it. Mark Davis has no idea what he's doing. It's very clear. And of course, yes, now Tom Bruton. Brady is in. That might be an appeal. But this Raiders team is approaching a full-on rebuild. They have a stud in Ashton Genty, a terrible offensive line, no quarterback. And not sure that there's going to be an answer for them at QB until they get the offensive line down

Pat here at this point. And a real possibility that they trade Max Crosby in the offseason. Vegas is the biggest stinking turd of all destinations right now in this head coaching cycle. I can't see Vance Joseph going there. I know Davis Webb is having it. interview. I don't think that that's really a serious head coaching interview. I think that's more of an offensive coordinator interview disguised as a head coaching interview. Yeah, Davis Webb, if he was hired in this cycle, assistant head coach and Broncos quarterback coach would become the youngest active head coach in the NFL if he were to be hired in this cycle. But I agree with Nick. I mean, I think Baltimore is obviously the clearest path to contention right away. But I do think

that there's something intriguing about going to Atlanta just in that division. Right. Carolina is fine. Tampa's fine. The Saints are okay, I guess you could say. But I think you have your clearest path to like sustainable success potentially in Atlanta. So that's an interesting one. I also think Tennessee is kind of intriguing. You've got a young quarterback in Cam Ward. You've got a new stadium coming in there as well. They need to get back on track. I do think all of these are intriguing one way or the other. You know, the giants, one of the more iconic franchises in NFL history. I mean, that's just the fact of the matter. So it's going to be fascinating to see which coaches go where. But with respect to, Vance Joseph, I think if there's a clear landing spot for him, guys, I think it could be Arizona, just because of his connection, having been the defensive coordinator for the Cardinals in his previous stint before coming back over to the Broncos, tough division, right? You've got the Rams, the Seahawks, and who am I forgetting? The same 49ers. Right.

So those are three quality, you know, playoff contending teams year and year out. But for Vance Joseph, some familiarity there in Arizona, Sarah. Yeah, I think that's. huge for anybody. I mean, it's who you know when it comes to this carousel of coaches or the game of musical chairs that we play every single year, right? I think in that regard, the best option for Vince Joseph, in my opinion, has got to be the New York Giants. I think that's the second best job on the market behind the Baltimore Ravens for a handful of different reasons. I think they have the best overall, like, youth roster setup right now out of any other team. I know that the Falcons may

have the other players, but there's no guarantee Pits is going to come back. They have no first round pick. Obviously, a lot of their pieces defensively are young and still developing some big name free agents as well for them. So I'm interested by the New York Giants. So their offensive line took a huge step forward this year. They've got a ready made playoff defense with one of the best defensive fronts in the game. And I think for Vance, you have an easy sales pitch. If you're bringing Davis, Davis Webb with you as your offensive coordinator, that's going to be exciting, because a lot of teams already want them. I said it in the show open that teams seem to think or put people in the,

like talking heads and fans seem to think the Broncos are so overrated. They're major frauds. Here's the deal. Everybody wants a piece. Everybody's trying to talk to Davis Webb. Everybody's trying to talk to Vance Joseph. Cowboys fans are wanting Jim Leonard as their defensive coordinator. Everybody wants a piece.

And so the Davis Webb thing going along with Vance Joseph is very attractive. But how about this little wrench that Dan, quing just threw into everything by letting Cliff Kingsbury go to other opportunities. What if Vance is able to pitch the teams and say, hey, like, if you hire me, I could bring either Davis Webb or Cliff Kingsbury. And then then Vance can have, you know, the flipping of roles that he had with Cliff in Arizona. Yeah, you bring up a good point there, right? Because Vance was his defensive coordinator when Cliff was the head coach out there in Arizona. So there's a lot of options out there for teams that have these head coaching vacancies.

And I think the idea of the one-two punch with the package of advance, let's say just for conversation sake, does bring Davis Webb with them, is you're getting an experience head coach that can run the defense, but also a guy in Davis Webb who's considered to be one of the youngest up-and-coming, bright offensive minds in the game as well. So we'll see. I believe I've seen some early indications that the Giants are a team that, you know, is really looking at John Harbaugh.

Kevin Stafansky's another name out there that I think is going to be. highly coveted a two-time coach of the year. Nick, you're rolling your eyes. Same all recycled names, man. Oh, yeah, because. Two-time coach of the year means something. Yeah, and then guess what he did? He shipped away Baker-Madefield. Okay, no, no, it doesn't.

And here's why. Because when we talk about Kevin Safansky, and I've heard, you know, my former Tucson Texan teammate, Dan Olowski, just seeing Kevin Stefanski praises, I think they are repped by the same agent. That may be a reason why. but when you are coaching for the Cleveland Browns and you are historically bad and you finally get the team to the playoffs,

now you get coach of the year. I don't recall Bill Belichick receiving coach of the year and he's a hell of a coach. I haven't heard anything about Kyle Shanahan or even Mike Shanahan. Well, not even Sean McVey getting coach of the year. You only get that coach of the year when your team is historically awful.

So how great of an offensive mind was Kevin Stefansky when we saw what was going on with Cleveland Browns this season. Shador Sanders didn't even really get a lot of reps. And oh, by the way, can we kind of dismiss a debacle where you give him the wrong wristband? Who does that? But this is a guy who gets fired in one job, gets another. And it brings really quickly to mine, fellas. Remember a guy by the name of Adam Gase, who coached here with the Denver Broncos?

He was a coach with the Miami Dolphins did poorly, only to have the Jets hire him as their head coach. So what does that tell me about some of these owners and making quality decisions? Because they can't really do it because they're emotional. It's a good old voice club. You can miss me with this whole idea that Kevin Stefansky is going to go somewhere else and change. If you couldn't even change your diaper with the Cleveland Browns, you're going to change a diaper with another team. Come on, man. Stephansky's going to be a coordinator.

He's not going to be a head coach. If he gets hired, he's going to be probably as a coordinator. I'll bet you on that. Let's do a chick-fil-A-Bet. He's getting hired as a head coach, bro. He's getting higher as a head coach. Where? Chick-fil-A is on the line.

I think if Harbaugh doesn't get hired by the Giants, I think he's going to the Giants. Oh, my God. And I agree with you. I'm not a huge DeFancy guy either. Like, Shador, like, I'm a big Shador guy, you know, however that makes people feel out there. I didn't like the way that Stefanski handled that situation in that transition. It was clear. He and Barry were not on the same page.

Like, why is Cleveland? Cleveland's not appealing either because, they still have Barry. Barry's part of the problem that is there in Cleveland. It's like you need a Liam Cohen situation where it's like, oh, if I'm going to Jacksonville, Trent Balkey better not be the guy because I'm not going to do it. I'm just going to go back to Tampa Bay.

Like that has to be the case in Cleveland, in my opinion. The Giants, though, it's hard for me to say the Giants necessarily for Vance unless Davis Webb comes because you need someone that can obviously take Jackson Dart and try to get him to be a little cultural in the sense of protecting himself. John Gruden, one of the best quarterback minds in NFL history, told him before he even got drafted. You just need to learn when to get out of bounds, slide, stop taking unnecessary shots. He doesn't play that brand of football. And look, they collapse a little bit down the stretch.

See, that Giants team intrigues me from a defensive standpoint because you think about what Vance Joseph was able to do with this Broncos defense over the past two years. You put him in that mix with those monsters that they have, that would change a lot. but the only thing that makes me kind of pause and pull it back because that media in New York is very brutal. And you still have Joe Shane as being the guy who's driving the personnel. And they have about $18 million of salary cap money available to sign free agents. So unless they start to remove themselves with certain guys, restructured deals, I don't know too much about the giant situation.

But this is why the Falcon's position is so intriguing for anyone who becomes the next aid coach. because in that situation, you know Arthur Blank is committed. He's not a Jerry Jones. He's committed to giving that head coach everything he has to make that team successful. And you hope that you are hired as a head coach before the GM because when that happens, that means you have more power than the GM himself. That is well said. Let's hit a quick break.

When we come back, let's continue along with the conversation. Let's talk about the potential impact if the Broncos were to lose one of, if not both Vance Joseph and Davis Webb to the coaching carousel this offseason. All that more, we come back right here on your Locked-on Broncos squad show. All right, you guys, real quick, let me tell you about our friends over at Ultimate QB, because the draft pick positions are set for the most part, and so many teams are looking for their franchise quarterback. Ever wish to become a pro quarterback getting drafted first overall by the Broncos, say?

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And we've got something special just for you guys. Use the promo code Locked on all caps in the game store to get a free boost at the start of your career. Ultimate QB Football Legend, QB1, it's your legacy. Be sure to check out our friends over at Ultimate QB and let them know that Lockedon Broncos sent you. All right, well, come on back into the program. Anilo Piro, Cody Rourke, Sarah Bedinger, and Nick Ferguson breaking down all the news and notes in the world of Denver Bronco football. And don't you worry, we'll be talking playoff. and Wild Card Weekend, which is my personal favorite weekend of the NFL playoffs.

And selfishly, it's even better for me this weekend because I don't have to work. I get to sit back, kick the legs up, get some pizza, and watch all of the football games unfold. But getting back to the coaching dynamic here, so look, what Sean Payton's been able to do and now his third season as Broncos head coach is stellar, right? And I know there was a lot of people out there in Broncos country that when they initially heard they were bringing back Vance Joseph as defensive coordinator, a bit of a mixed reaction, I would say, just because a lot of people remember what Vance did is head coach to the Broncos, but I think in the defensive coordinator role, there's a reason why he's one of

the hottest head coaching candidates out there. And then Davis Webb on the flip side, who has an interview lined up with the Raiders, is considered, as we mentioned earlier, one of the up and coming offensive minds in the NFL. So, Cody, I'll kick it to you real quick. If the Broncos were to lose one of, if not both of these guys in Vance, Joseph and Davis Webb, how do you think that impacts them moving forward into next season? Well, I mean, obviously there'd be two pretty big losses for the organization, right? But Denver does have some contingency plans in place. I know of the defensive contingency plan.

I'm not necessarily sure what the offensive contingency plan would be here at this point. Now, obviously, Davis Webb, he's the passing game coordinator, QB coach. The ideal scenario in-house would be Logan Kilgore, who worked with Arch Manning. He's been on the staff for the last couple of years since Sean Payton has come over. He's kind of been a quality control coach. and usually those guys are kind of next in line for a little bit of that promotion here. I think for defense, it's very, very clear. Vance were to depart.

I have a strong feeling. It's Jim Leonard who would be taken over as the defensive coordinator. Now, obviously for him, he's the defensive passing game coordinator, the secondary coach here. The Broncos, I mean, he had interest last year from other teams to go be at D.C. He chose to stay in Denver. So if Vance does leave, he would be the next in line to go at this point to run the defense. Well, it's good that they have some contingency plans on the coaching staff.

Obviously, we'll see how it shakes out. I think it's more likely Vance leaves than that of Davis Webb. Maybe they both go together somewhere, but I'd be surprised if Vance was still here next season, just given how many teams he's interviewing for it. I predict both will be back. Oh, okay. I like that prediction. Sarah, your thoughts.

Yeah, I really would be interested to know because we know the quarterbacks coach, right, spends the most time with Bo Nicks. I mean, I know that he obviously spends a lot of time with the entire office. offensive staff, but your quarterbacks coach is a critical position on the team for a young and developing quarterback. And so I don't, I'm never pessimistic. You guys know me. I just, I don't like the idea of messing with a young quarterback's development entering year three, which is a pivotal year for young players at any position, but especially the quarterback position. You're really taking the reins of the organization. You're leading them to a first round by.

this is a critical off season now. We have one eye on it right now because we're in a bye week, but I think I'll save my worrying about losing Davis Webb for when that day actually comes. Would they go in-house? Would they go outside of Denver? I think that everything has to be on the table because that is such a critical position. It's not just going to be the person that knows Bo the best because, I mean, I think that it's got to be the right person for that job.

It can't just be, you know, next man up always. You have to consider all the options if there's a better someone out there to replace that critical role. Yeah, that's interesting. Davis Webb and I'll go to Nick here first because I got some opinions on potentially using Davis Webb. Your thoughts here, Nick. Well, while I agree with Sarah, when you say, okay, well, who spends the most time with the quarterback, it is the quarterback's coach. But the only way for the Broncos to actually be able to, I guess, maintain or sustain a guy like Davis Webb is they're going to have to do the same thing they did with Jim Leonard.

Like Cody said, who was a very sought after guy after last season, you're going to have to give him a bump in pay. But you also have to give him a bump in title. And this is why Jim Leonard had that assistant head coach title. Zach Streif also has it as well because it's not just a title. it is extra coin in your pocket. And that title along gets you a very, I guess, puts you in a position, rather, when that next hiring cycle comes around. So teams can say, well, he's not only just a corners or secondary coach.

He is assistant head coach. So that gives you a certain level of clout and prestige. But as far as if the Broncos were to lose, Davis Webb, I mean, they have options inside the building. And I'm sure Joe Lombardi, who is, I guess, by title, the offensive coordinator, that guy, he can work with a guy like Bo Nix. But if you lose Vance Joseph, I know the idea is that, well, you have a guy in waiting and Jim Leonard.

That's why they gave him the assistant head coach title. But I would still say that is still not safe because you have the Dallas Cowboys who fire Matt Ibeflus after one season. Who is to say that they don't come knocking on Jim Lennar. door as their defensive coordinator. And what about Dan Quinn? He needs a deep coordinator. Jim Leonard could be one of those guys.

And I saw something before we joined the program, Diana Rossini said that New York Jets could also be interested in Jim Leonard as their defensive coordinator. So with so many people looking for positions, I think this is great for the Denver Broncos. And I put out a tweet about this earlier saying as though, when was the last time you had? had so many people talking about, you know, things that were happening internally with the Denver

Broncos and their coaches staff. It's been a while. So this is where you want to be because this is a byproduct of success, right? When you are successful and how many times have we seen a team make it to the Super Bowl and lose or a team make it to the Super Bowl and win and what happens to their roster? It's poached, right? That's a sign of success. Or you can be like the Cleveland Browns and no one's poaching anything.

No, I think it's a fair point. Let me put on my, well, one I have maybe, I don't know, maybe it's a lukewarm take, maybe it's a hot take, and then I'll put my tinfoil hat on after that as well. I actually think I'd rather, like, if you told me one of them has to go, like one of them is going, advanced Joseph or Davis Webb. I'd rather retain Davis Webb personally than that advanced Joseph. Just because I feel confident in Jim Leonard's ability to go out there and kind of write the ship or, you know, keep the ship steady rather, I guess you could say.

They've got the players on defense. It's not like they're devoid of talent where, like, scheme is going to have to matter, you know, more than the talent to make up for some gaps in talent per se. And I think Vince Joseph is a good defensive coordinator. But again, going back to the show, we did about a month and a half, two months ago, that slow slide for the defense in the second half of the year. I know they cleaned it up against the Chargers and the Chiefs game as well, but we've seen kind of these themes play out. I think Davis Webb, and here's where my tinfoil hat comes on. Let's say the Broncos win the Super Bowl this year. How much longer we think

Sean Payton's coaching? I think Davis Webb, and is a guy. Sean's number one goal is to be the first head coach in NFL history to have a Super Bowl with two different organizations. I think if Sean Baten accomplishes that feat this year, next year, the year after, in recent memory or recent time, right? I don't know how much longer Sean's going to coach. And the reason I put the tinfoil hat on is with the assistant head coach title that Davis Webb has, I think he could be the apprentice and the next head coach up for the Denver Broncos, having the experience with Bo Nix, knowing where he's at kind of that Sean McVeie type guy that we saw when he was hired by the Rams. So maybe, just maybe, if the Broncos were to go out there and win a Super Bowl in the next couple of years,

Davis Webb could be the next guy up for the Broncos. I think Davis Webb means more to the long-term future of the Broncos than that advanced Joseph. Cody. I don't disagree on the notion about the value. I don't see Sean Payton stepping away anytime soon. I think even if they win. Even if they win, that's not Sean's DNA. Sean is cut from a different cloth in a sense of being that.

kind of old school where what is Sean going to do? Like he stepped away from the game for one year and had a great gig at Fox, but found himself missing the game more than ever, just because like there's that adjustment. I'm sure football players deal with it all the time too. It was like, all right, hey, I'm retiring. Ah, shoot, I don't like this. This isn't what I'm used to.

Like, this isn't the grind. This isn't the camaraderie. Like, you know, it's things like that. I could see Davis being that. Here's my prediction, okay? I think very much so. I think that Sean Payton will find a way to give Davis Webb the offensive coordinator title, move Joe Lombard to senior offensive assistant in terms of that on the coaching staff.

Because, I mean, what is Joe Lombard? They're not going to fire Joe Lombardi. Like, that's not what he's going to do. Like, they're close. He's just going to move to a senior personnel role at that point. I see that being the case there. If Vance gets a job, I'm pretty much sure in my, my opinion here, unless he gets blown away by a great offer, which, you know, you mentioned a

couple of places that would have the opening. I'm sorry, Dan Quinn, look, Dan Quinn, you know, is his firing of the defense coordinator that they had and of Cliff Kingsbury is him making those guys the fall guys for what had happened. Like they had a great year last year, but now all of a sudden they struggled. Cliff Kingsbury, you know, I mean, look at Jane Daniels. He got hurt, but, you know, Cliff Kingsbury is the one who fell on the sword there, essentially there. So why would you want to go there where you're going to get thrown to the bus? Why would you want to go to Dallas where you know that you have a temperamental owner who you have one or two bad games defensively?

He's like, ah, I don't know about that. Like, I think they're going to be close to cleaning house if they can't find a way to win another Schottenheimer in the next year. So to me, I think the Broncos have the best leverage. They have the best ownership group that's one of the throughout money. I very much think that we will see both of these guys stay on. I think if Vance gets a job, Leonard will be the D.C. I do think regardless, I think Davis Webb will stay on.

He'll get the offensive coordinator title. Okay. I like that. Say your thoughts on just the overall dynamic of losing one, if not both of them. I have an interesting proposition to throw out there because as we're talking about this, I kind of start the gears turning about, okay, who would be from the outside, somebody to replace, who has connections, whatnot. I remember Bo Nix did some training at one point with Philip Rivers.

who has been rumored to be extremely interested in becoming an NFL coach. And I don't know that he's going to be necessarily willing to take on a quarterback's coach role, but how bad do you want to be an NFL head coach? Are you going to have to be the Antonio Pierce sort of situation where you go from basically, you know, being anonymous to being an NFL head coach or, you know, are you willing to work with somebody you're familiar with like that? So I don't know, I kind of find that idea sort of interesting as we talk about other players that are like Matt Ryan's getting front office look.

with the Falcons and these sorts of things like these former players, I think it takes somebody like that who's obsessed with the game, like Cody said, to if you do lose somebody of the caliber of a Davis Webb, I think you need to bring in somebody who's sharing that same vision, right? It's not just about getting the biggest name coach out there. It's about somebody who has that shared vision that you do. And that's something,

I don't know if Philip Rivers would ever wear a Bronco on his, you know, I don't know if you'd ever wear that gear or whatnot, but that's just an idea. to throw out there. Somebody who knows what they're doing, who's worked with Bo Nix before, that could be interesting to me.

Nick? Well, I'm going to toss out something since the operative word that's been used as far is interesting. Here is an interesting scenario. I don't know if it would play out this way, but it would be just that interesting. So we know Davis Webb is interviewing with the Raiders today, and I'm thinking, like Cody said,

it's more for an OC job opposed to a head coaching job. And I'm sure some of the questions that he's going to be asked, okay, well, we have the number one overall pick. And we're thinking about Fernando Mendoza. You've worked with Boonex. You've helped him develop. And we've seen some vast improvements in Bow's game because we played against you

twice. What would you do to help, you know, develop Freddie Mendoza? But also, tell us a little bit about the Denver Broncos. You know, what has made them so great over the past couple of years? And oh, by the way, you've worked alongside. of Vance Joseph, you know, tell us some ends and outs on him. And the reason why I am prefacing this in this particular way, because I don't know if there's a part of me just being a fan wanting to see chaos, right?

Just called me the Joker. Davis Webb and Vance Joseph joining the Raiders. I know it sounds ridiculous and would never be thinking that it never would happen, but we've seen wilder things take place in the league. And I know Cody was mentioning something about Max Crosby, who I know Crosby was a lot of. a little upset on how the season ended for him and Pete Carroll and those guys sitting him down. But what do you think it would make this division rivalry that much more interesting?

Davis Webb, who's worked with Sean Payton on the opposite side of the ball and the guy who's helped rebuild this Broncos defense now coaching with the rival Raiders, sign me up for that. I love chaos. It's interesting. That old line is going to get destroyed every year if that's their approach. just from like a neutral or as neutral as I could be. I think if I'm the Raiders, I'd rather go with the proposed Brian Flores, Brian Daibald won two punch

if I was hiring coaching coordinator personally than that of Vance and Webb. But we're going to see. Cody thinks they're both going to stay. I think one of them's going to go. We'll see how it all shakes out. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section here, Broncos country. As Vance Joseph is up for a number of different interviews in Davis Webb,

one of the young guys is interviewing with the Raiders today, as Nick alluded to. All right, let's get a quick break. When we come back, let's continue along with the conversation and get back to the present day. Awesome slate of games as wildcard weekend. Some implication for the Denver Broncos, of course. We'll talk about the games, which one are we most intrigued about? And look ahead at some potential Broncos opponents next right here on your Lackedon Broncos squad show.

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Thanks to Zock doc doc for sponsoring this message. Be sure to check him out and let him know that locked on Broncos sent you. All right. Welcome on back into the program. Inelopiro, Cody Rourke, Sarah Bender, Nick Ferguson, your Locked on Broncos squad show on this. this Wednesday, January the 7th. Good conversation about the coaching dynamic with Sean Payton

and the prospect of potentially losing that, Vance Joseph and Davis Webb. Obviously, we'll see how that shakes out over the next few weeks or so. One last thought on that before we get to the wildcard games. Do we think that them interviewing this week? I know they're on the by. Does that have any impact on the Broncos in the divisional round? No, they're not.

The Broncos don't know who they're playing and every other coach as well that is preparing for the playoffs. I think minus the wildcard teams are interviewing. So I don't think it's impacting them negatively at all. This is the time for them to do it, right? Like you'd rather have them do it now than in the divisional round, the championship round, like there's this week for a reason and you earned it. So might as well take advantage of it.

Yeah. And other part of it is this is part of the process. And it's also a distraction to the team. So you want to get all the distractions out of the way. So once you get to next week, you can put all your focus on whomever that next point. opponent is. Yeah, no, well said. So make sure to stay tuned to the channel. And of course, the audio feed will have you updated with those updates as we go along.

But okay, wild card weekend, fellas. We'll probably focus in more on the AFC, but what an awesome slate of games. You have the Rams at the Panthers, the Packers at the Bears, the Bills at the Jags, the Niners at the Eagles, the Chargers at the Pats, and the Texans at the Steelers on Monday night. So six pretty juicy games we can kind of sink our teeth into here. Cody, I'll give you first crack at it. Is there a game that jumps out to you, whether it be from just a rooting perspective or an interest perspective or that involving the Denver Broncos? You know, I think there are a couple of games. Look, I think the Sunday night game between the Patriots and the Chargers is certainly one that bears, you know, watching.

Same thing with Jacksonville and obviously Buffalo. I think these are the two best games. I mean, there's still a chance to ever play Pittsburgh, right, depending on how, like, like the results of this weekend goes, but, you know, theoretically speaking, it's probably not going to be Pittsburgh. It's more than likely, I think, going to be either Buffalo or L.A., essentially, that Denver will end up playing here.

These are the two games that intrigue me the most, certainly. I think when you talk about maybe having the best ideas to knowing who Denver's going to be facing, but also on top of that, it's like, all right, you're going to figure out very quickly, like the road to the Super Bowl is going to be tough, but luckily it comes through the Mile High City.

Are we all unanimously in agreement that the Steelers would be the best draw for the Broncos if they were able to be the Texans? Or is there another team that comes to mind? I would prefer that personally. I mean, I think that they're the worst team in the field of 14. And I say that knowing that everybody that makes the playoffs makes the playoffs for a reason. But I think when you look at all the playoff teams this year, I just think the Steelers have been, if you want to talk about passing the eye test or whatever, however you want to put it, they've been to me. me the most inconsistent team out of anyone that played this year, other than I guess Carolina.

I mean, the winner of the NFC South, that's like three years running. So it's kind of just white noise at this point that whoever wins the NFC South has like got a losing record borderline. So I think in the AFC for sure, the Steelers strike me as the team that you would say, hey, Aaron Rogers takes a lot of sacks. They don't necessarily have like the most dynamic running game. They've got, you know, a solid defense. They're very old and they've given up a lot of yards and a lot of points this season compared to previous years.

So to me, that's a team that I would say, especially coming to Denver, you'd feel pretty good about. Yeah, I think I'd agree. And I'm an Aaron Rogers guy. I mean, for my money, like I was alive like at the tail end of the L.A days, right? But like, he's the best quarterback that I've personally seen play the game. Like, I know he's not in his prime. He's way past that. But I just think they were lucky to win that game against the Ravens.

And I understand he looked pretty good specifically in that second half. but if the rate what is it, Tyler Loop, I believe his name is, you make the kick, right? It's the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs. Tomlin would have been fired. Yeah, I don't know about that. I don't know about that. Did you even see he's also thinking about stepping away? They said people wouldn't be surprised if he thought about stepping away right now.

Interesting. Yeah, I think the Steelers, that's probably the draw that if in a perfect world, like if the Broncos can handpick their opponent, that's probably the one you'd want to face. Agree or disagree, Nick? I'm going to disagree. I know on paper it looks that way, but I would be very cautious and what you asked for

because this is the postseason. It's not the regular season. And when you think about the Pittsburgh Steelers what they've been able to do, even though their run game, I'm not going to put it up there with the Seahawks. I mean, Jalen Warren has done a great job, you know, catching a ball out of the backfield.

And I would say that that's kind of what, you know, Sean Payton is hoping that, you know, whether it's Jalil McLaughlin or RJ Harvey actually is able to replicate. And, you know, even though Aaron Rogers is an older guy, I think he's 42 years old, can't really move around in the pocket, he is still one of the better quarterbacks at improvising. Like one of those touchdowns against the Baltimore Ravens,

that play wasn't even called by Arthur Smith. It was something they just dialed up in a huddle. Hey, just run a double move on this guy and I'll get you the ball. That's kind of the best thing that you present when you have a guy like Aaron Rogers. And also, I mean, they're getting healthy from a defensive standpoint and they're getting, you know, D.K. Medkef back to go with, I know, aging wide receivers, but there's a lot of experience that they have. And I can tell you as a former player, a lot of that experience comes in. It plays a major role. It's not going to guarantee you a victory. But I'm just going to

say, man, the path is going to be tough for whatever team that makes it to Levi Stadium. And you're going have to actually prove it. But like Cody said, the best thing for the Broncos is, guess what, you sit out the first week and the road to the playoffs go through you and you have to win, you know, two games. But as far as the games that are intriguing this weekend, it's not even Houston and the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's the Jags and the Buffalo Bills. And the reason why I'm choosing that game because you have two teams that are perceived as polar opposites. You have Leanne Cohen stepping in for the first time. And everyone was thinking, okay, well, this dude is somewhat of a flake because of his, you know, post-game, not post-game, but his introductory press

conference, almost like, you know, Dan Campbell talking about biting up kneecaps. I mean, what were the gifs and the memes about William Coleman when he was saying Duval? Duval. It was so hysterical, but look what he's done in a short period of time with Trevor Lawrence. And, oh, by the way, Trevor Lawrence was perceived at one point as being a bust. The same thing was said about Josh Allen. and for Josh Allen, this is his time. This is his time to seize the moment because there is no other quarterback in the

AFC. I mean, other than I would say Aaron Rogers that has playoff experience. So it's up to him to run the table. And if he doesn't win against the Jags, you know what we're going to call Josh Allen? We're going to start to refer to him as the Dan Fouts of this era. Let's take the Broncos out of the equation just for a minute. my general NFL cap on. If Josh Allen, the bills do not get to a Super Bowl this year with no Mahomes,

no Lamar, no Burrow, I mean, there's no more excuse for them, right? I mean, the excuse in years past is having to play those teams, right? We all know what Mahomes did in that playoff game, you know, four or five years ago. Josh hasn't been the problem, though. No, I agree. I agree, but it's a quarterback-driven league, right? Like a lot of the blame falls on the quarterback fair or unfair. You know what's going to happen?

Hot, hot take, and I think it's going to come to fruition. The bills are going to lose. Oh, I disagree. They're going to fire McDermott. Harbaugh goes to Buffalo. That's a take. I think, yeah, I mean, if the bills don't make it to the Super Bowl, I think they got to fire McDermott.

It's run its course. I got the, I got the bills win in that game. I ain't picking against Josh Allen, at least in this first round. Which one? You got to, I mean, there's two of them playing in that game. True.

That is true. That's a good one out of you, Sarah. No, it's going to be interesting, man. There's a lot of fascinating games out there. Let me throw this one out to you, Sarah, and then Nick, you can respond because I know you've been high on the Patriots this season. Would it surprise anyone if the Chargers went into Foxborough and upset them? Yeah, I would be surprised because I think that here's the thing.

Like over the course of the year, we differentiate. We talk about, hey, where do you got this team in your power rankings? Can we justify the Broncos being better than the Patriots? I think like at this point, there's been a little bit of fatigue in the Patriots, like, Like they've been good enough to the point now that it's almost boring everybody, right? There was a point at which the novelty of it, you beat the Buffalo Bills on, you know, and you did all these things and you went on the big winning streak and Drake May for MVP and Mike Brable for Coach of the Year.

I think the luster of that has worn off to the point that people are starting to believe that the Chargers can go into New England and win. But we talk about attrition all the time. And the Patriots are the healthier team. They are the more talented team. People are talking that they've got the better quarterback. And so they're playing at home. Like Tony Jefferson, I'm surprised this hasn't come up for any of us at this point.

Tony Jefferson on his way to the locker room in Denver was talking some serious mess. And the guy right behind him was like, we'll see you guys in two weeks. So to me, I'm thinking like this Chargers team has maybe feeling a little bit too big for their britches right now. Are they looking past the Patriots? I know that not everybody is spoken for by the one guy on his way to the locker room, but that is a locker room culture thing. When you're thinking that as you're leaving the field, that was something that you were thinking going into that game.

And so I don't mind the confidence of them believing that they can beat the Patriots. But at the same time, I think that a lot of folks, maybe the charters included, are kind of overlooking this Patriots team. It's going to be chilly, too. Sunday night, wet weather. Ooh, yeah, that's going to be interesting. Talk to me, Nick. What do you think?

Well, I think most people are overlooking the New England Patriots. Just think about how they have somewhat changed things in a matter of a year. You move out, you know, Gerard Mayo, insert Mike Vrable and Josh McDaniels, and Drake May looks like an entirely different person. Oh, by the way, you go out and draft Trevion Henderson to give him some balance with the run game. for me, the Patriots still is one of those teams that even though you can say, well, you look at the strength of schedule, you can say they didn't really play anyone. But all I know, every time you turn on the game, they're playing well.

And they play Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills well. They won one of those games. But that shows you that that team has grit. They can put up points. And that is something that some people take for granted. And they don't think it really matters the ability to score points. We know once you get to the post. season points are at a premium. And sometimes they're not really, they're really difficult to come by.

But just knowing that you have the confidence in your quarterback, your offensive coordinators to put points on the board, I think that accounts for something. But I will say that the charges look at, and I think a lot of people looking at the Patriots as somewhat of an easy win, because when you look at the number of sacks that they have on the season, it is not as large as maybe the Texans or the charges themselves or even that are the Denver Broncos. So it seemed like an easy win. But I'll just say, there hasn't really been a dominating team all season long. But to me, I look for a level of consistency. Right. And when I look at the Patriots, that's part of the Patriots way, having a little bit of consistency. Does this guarantee that they're going to beat the charges?

No. But, I mean, I would like to take them because I like to lean more towards consistency, opposed to inconsistency. So I'm taking the Patriots in that game. Yeah, that's going to be a fascinating matchup, right? If the Chargers do pull off the upset, right, I believe they'd come to Denver and play the Broncos in the divisional round because I believe they'd be the lowest seed remaining. So obviously all eyes on that one. I think the expectation will probably Houston,

maybe even Buffalo, depending on something, some things shake out as well. But it's going to be interesting this weekend to say the least. All right, let's hit our final break when we come back. What do we want to see from the Broncos coming out of the by week into the divisional round? what are some things we want to see that Broncos maybe clean up or get right as they get ready for their first playoff game of hopefully what is supposed to be a long postseason. All that more. Let me come back right here on your locked on Broncos squad show. All right, you guys, let me tell you about our friends over at Fanduil.

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I like to say it when I do the Fandual read. I'm an active Fandual user. I think I got a boost today that I was looking at. So I will be checking out the Fandual app throughout the course of Saturday and Sunday and into Monday evening as well. So check him out and let him know that Lacton Broncos sent you. All right, welcome on back into the program. Final segment here on the show.

Have we talked about it? Are we doing a show again this weekend or is the next time we're going to talk to the audience next week? I don't know if we've discussed that yet. That's a great question. I don't know. We'll figure it out after that. Yeah, it depends on if we know who Denver's playing or not.

Yeah, no, that makes sense. I'm going to be interested to see who they draw. I feel pretty good about the Bron. I'll say this. The team I want to see the least is the Buffalo Bills. I'd rather see Houston. Respect all fear. none. Yeah, I think that's fair as well. So we'll see how that draw kind of shakes out here for the

Broncos. But Cody, I'll kick it to you as we wind on down here on the program. What do we want to see the Broncos clean up or maintain heading into the playoffs their first game? Well, look, I think you want to maintain defensively what you did in week 18 against the Chargers, right? And it's forcing takeaways that you had a pick six from Jayquam Macmillan, get a strip sack from Nick Benito, find a way to carry that into the postseason. I think that's going to be so important here, at least for Denver specifically are the takeaways. You know, that's one thing to Sean Payton emphasized saying, hey, you know, historically speaking,

if you can't generate takeaways, the likelihood of you winning the Super Bowl is very minimal at that point. So Denver has to have that happen on the defensive side of the ball. I'm sure Sarah and Nick will have some things to say on the offense. That's why I'm not going to go into that. So for me, I'm going to go with the defense. You want to see them maintain what they're able to do in week 18, build on that and make that part of their identity in the postseason

because that is what's truly going to separate them. from being one and done essentially or going to the Super Bowl. I would agree, Sarah, your thoughts. I think they got to get that running game, you know, back into the realm that we saw. I guess we've seen it throughout the season at times, never really consistently, though, right? And it's not going to be necessarily dependent on J.K. Dobbins return,

but I think you've got to get more carries to Jalil McLaughlin. I mean, that that's both, what he's done the last three weeks for the Broncos is both encouraging and sad from the vantage point that he's bringing the best pop on, you know, a per carry basis, which it's, it's, I guess what it is, right? And so you have to lean into it. If he's the guy that's bringing the spark, if he's averaging over five yards of carry, which he is, you've got to keep giving that guy the ball. And I know Sean Peyton has talked about, well, we want to give you a little more touches. I think it's less now about getting him more touches. And it's now about making him be featured back in your offense. And,

as far as the running game is concerned, and R.J. Harvey can still do the things that he does well, but it's got to be Jalil McLaughlin bringing that spark. So I don't know, are we entering the playoffs where Jalil McLaughlin, a guy who was inactive for so much of the season, has now become a focal point for this offense in terms of, it reminds me a little bit too, guys,

of the Super Bowl 50 run where it wasn't necessarily one week. It was CJ Anderson, Ronnie Hillman. Every week it was like, who's going to be the guy that steps up this week. And I remember down the stretch, there was like Ronnie Hillman was absolutely just tearing it up. I remember the Bengals game.

I remember early in the Patriots game. So it's not necessarily about what is this guy done all year. It's about what can you do now? The last three games have shown us that shoot, Jolil McLaughlin might be that spark for the running game that we've been talking about for weeks now on the show. Yeah, I'll double down on that. I think feed Jalil, right?

That's one of the minor adjustments I think this Broncos team can make to just give him that extra juice. And I don't mean that as a slight or a jab at RJ Harvey whatsoever. I think he's going to play a role in this game plan for the Broncos throughout the course of the playoffs. But Jaliyah also a relatively fresh body, all things considered, just because of the time that he was inactive this season. So maybe you get a little extra juice there.

I think pretty much all the Broncos countries in agreement with that one. A little bit more Jaliel McLaughlin will ease Broncos country a little bit. Nick, your thoughts on that and also what you want to see from the Broncos. Yeah, I will address what I want to see. by both addressing Sarah and what Cody said, because there's true to it. And the idea is that all season long, the concept was, hey, run the ball more,

even when Coach Peyton was interviewed heading into halftime. What is it that you need to do to keep your offense on track? What we constantly heard was running the ball, and we didn't really see a lot of it. So the idea of putting Jalil in more, yeah, give it to him. Yeah, he's got a fresh body, but also just like Ronnie Hillman, he's smaller, but he's got that cut, that one cut and get vertical type of speed that you definitely want.

But what you're asking, Sarah, is for Coach Payton to actually admit something that's really difficult for a lot of coaches or even people to admit that maybe he did something wrong along the way, sitting Gilliam McLaughlin for so long. So if you're going to tell me that he's going to openly admit that, then I'm like sign me up for it, but I have to see it first. And Cody, you said something about a comment that Coach Peyton made heading into that charges game. In order for this team to win the Super Bowl, they have to force turnovers. Now, I don't know if you guys paid attention to what he said, but here's what I took away from that. Hey, listen, our offense has had some struggles and our defense has carried us this entire time. So to carry us forward to give us extra possessions, we not only need you to stop the opposing team, we need you to turn the ball over and give it back to us.

Now, that may not have translated to anyone else, but that's what it translated to my ears because the pressure, as we said early on, that it's always been on Van Jones, it's been a defense. And it seems as though it's going to increase from here on out. If this was a top 20, a top 15 defense, the Broncos would not be where they are,

but because they surpassed what they accomplished last year in Sacks, and they have been as productive as they have been. They've given the Broncos offense so many opportunities, especially in all those games where they've had those fourth quarter comebacks. That doesn't happen if your defense is not shutting people out. And it may sound as though like I am a homer of some sort, and I'll say, yes, I am.

I'm a defensive homer because I know defense still wins championship. All you have to do is look at the Broncos defense. All you have to do is look at the center. Seattle Seahawks defense. And all you have to do is look at the Houston, Texas defense. The proof is in the pudding, gentlemen. Yeah, I agree. And, you know, there's three facets of the game, right?

Offense, defense, special teams. And I actually think the Broncos of the teams in the AFC and probably the playoffs as a whole have one of the better kickers in Will Lutz out there. And it's nothing in particular with Will Lutz, but it's been pretty steady, right? Like, let's keep Will Lutz in the right mindset, you know, ready to go for this playoffs. just because, right, we've seen this Broncos offense at times, you know, put up some points. You think back to Green Bay, you know, pangles, not a ton of games where they've like run up the score like that.

So, you know, if the Broncos are going to have to win a game scoring, you know, between 20 and 24 points, the kicking game is going to be imperative. And so I think I agree with everything that you guys said, Jaliel, the offense, Sean Payton, the defense, the turnovers. And this is more so me, just a recognition of Will Lutz is going to be really important to this Denver Broncos team. in this playoff runs clutch field goals going into half whatever it might be will lutz is going to have to be on his a game here to help support his teammates so that's something else i threw remember remember i told you guys last show who can end up being when all said at the end of it who can end up being the MVP it could be will lutz yep big deal will yeah it's going to be excited

man like i said i'm happy that we get to kind of kick back and relax a little bit this weekend but I'm definitely chopping at the bit to dive into some previews and, you know, some matchups and some schemes as we get ready for the Broncos to a dip into the playoffs. But all right, before we get out of here, Cody, closing thoughts, anything you got? Nothing, nothing really. Just, you know, enjoy wildcard weekend. We'll hopefully see some really good football. We'll have a better idea of who the Broncos will play and we'll go from there.

I just think, hey, it's the best time of the year. And this is the time where teams really start to separate themselves. And the Broncos are going to practice on Friday. I'll be there for practice. So we'll see what that looks like. We'll know who some of the all pro selections are. And yeah, I mean, I think this team is motivated going into the postseason. I'm excited to see how far they can go.

Sarah. In the football realm, we'll be taking it easy this weekend. I mean, it might even be a go grab some movie theater popcorn. I know, you're all about the takeout Chinese, like whatever it might be, get it done this weekend. But outside of football, I mean, we're all about conformity gate right now for Stranger Things Season 5 and is there going to be an episode 9 or is there going to be more than nine episodes.

I mean, this is the thing that's really consuming my time right now. The group chats, right, new group chats have been created around the theories about stranger things not actually being over. So guys, while we're relaxing in the football side of things, there's some anxiety right now over whether or not this is going to be the greatest moment in television history or if it's going to be the biggest letdown in television history. So a lot at stake here, even though the Broncos aren't playing. Love it. Nick.

The best thing about this time of the year, especially if you have rooting interest in the Denver Broncos, is that you don't have to do a damn thing, right? You just have to sit and watch and figure out who is the next opponent you're going to have to face. And this is a byproduct of success, whether we talk about what the defense did, what the offense should do, this is kind of a byproduct of having a successful season. And this is why you make all those sacrifices. You waste all that time in the building.

And you kind of, you're not having that time to be around your family. It's for this particular moment. So now the Broncos and the coaches get a chance to have someone of a rest and reprieve. Very short, very brief, but reprieve nonetheless. And they don't have to worry about being eliminated. So this is the best time. the year. Getting a first round by is essentially the equivalent of winning a a playoff game. I understand they don't have to play, but with respect to the body and

just everything else that kind of goes into it, right? Like when you look at the long-term landscape of the NFL playoffs, you're one game up, right? Remember the Seahawks are one game up, one step closer. So it'll be exciting. Enjoy the football this weekend. I'll probably get some Chinese food after Sarah said that. Maybe put a little Red Dead Red Dead too. We'll have a good time and obviously keep some tabs on the game. But all right, For Cody Rourke, Sarah Bedinger, Nick Ferguson. I am anilo Piro on your way out the door. Hit that like button, smash that subscribe button really helps us out.

And we'll talk to you guys soon. Broncos Country. Enjoy the weekend of football. Go Broncos.