Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BRONCOS SQUAD SHOW: How Davis Webb calling plays will impact Bo Nix

Episode Date: February 26, 2026

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton announced this week that the offensive coordinator Davis Webb will indeed call plays for the Broncos offense next season. The news comes after a month of speculat...ion regarding what Davis Webbs' role with the team would be following his promotion. There's no doubt the shift will have an impact on Bo Nix and the offense. The Broncos also hired Robert Livingston away from Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes. 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! TurboTax For a limited time, you can have your taxes done by a local TurboTax expert for just $150 — all in, if a TurboTax expert didn’t file for you last year. Just file by February 28. Visit http://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today. FanDuel Use your Profit Boost on an NBA future and get entered for your chance to win a trip to the NBA Finals. Play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started. 5-Hour ENERGY Have your cake & drink it too. Birthday cake-flavor is back, no fork needed. Vanilla-y cakey flavor, caffeinated kick, and no sugar. It's party time. Order Now at 5-hourENERGY.com or Amazon. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast. HomeChef For a limited time, Home Chef is offering my listeners 50% off your first box, free shipping, and free dessert for life. Just go to https://HomeChef.com/LOCKEDON. 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.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:01 I'm Adelopiro. Sean Payton did what I once thought would be impossible. He did it, folks. I'm Cody Rourke, and with Davis Webb calling plays for the Broncos offense, things might just hit on another level. I'm Sarah Bedinger. I guess Bo Nix just became the Webb slinger. Ooh.
Starting point is 00:00:22 And I'm Nick Ferguson. A new addition to the Broncos defense could mean upgrades in so many different ways. Let's break it on down on today's Locked-on Bronco squad show. Let's get into it, folks. From the South stands, 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 Locked-on podcast network can. Gear up and squad up, the Broncos Squad Show starts now.
Starting point is 00:00:57 It is your Locked-on Broncos squad show right here on your Locked-on Broncos YouTube channel and audio feed. We got the full squad in the house on this Thursday, February the 26th. Anilo Piro, Cody, Borg, Sarah Bedinger, and Nick Ferguson. Hope everyone is doing well out there in and around Broncos country. Got a good show lined up for you guys today. We finally have some meat on the bone to kind of dissect and react to. I feel like we've been having, not creating our own storylines, right,
Starting point is 00:01:26 but like projecting and thinking about what the Broncos might do. We finally know to a certain extent some of the things, the Broncos are looking to accomplish moving forward throughout the course of this offseason. And we've got to start with the big story of the week. Gentlemen, it has happened. I didn't think it was going to happen. Sean Payton at the Combine on Tuesday, announcing that offensive coordinator Davis Webb will indeed be the primary play caller for this Denver Broncos team. I think this is something that we were all hoping for. I know Broncos country was elated, when they saw the news.
Starting point is 00:02:03 I just didn't think we'd get the news in the manner in which we did. Turns out that was not the case. I'm happy to be wrong in this situation. Cody, Davis Webb, OC, play caller. Talk to me. You know, had a filling in the loins. That was what was going to happen because we, even on that, on Tuesday before it was announced,
Starting point is 00:02:20 like we saw what Brandon Bean had said at the combine, kind of spilling the beans a little bit, so to speak. Funny pun right there. We talked about it. Yeah, you know, I'm clever sometimes with that. But we talked about it. And for Sean to come on and say it was like, I mean, I think we expected it because why did Davis Webb stay, right?
Starting point is 00:02:41 That was the conversation we had on the squad show on Tuesday before this got announced. And now we really do know why. And I think I'll get to it here a little bit. I think it extends further just beyond him calling plays this year. We'll get in that a little bit later. But we thought it would happen. Like we speculated on it. I think it was still shocking to hear it from Sean.
Starting point is 00:03:01 even if we expect it's going to happen. That's the thing. It's not so much the end result. It's more so the timing of when we got the news. I just did not think that we would get this news that Davis Webb would call plays at the combine. And frankly, Sean was in a good mood, right? I mean, unless you talk about Mike Cliss, that's a conversation for later on in the show. But when it came to the promotion, I guess you could say,
Starting point is 00:03:24 of Davis Webb becoming the play caller on top of him being offensive coordinator, he was very forthcoming with the information. and, you know, full belief, full confidence. And I think, you know, kind of paraphrasing here because I don't have the quotes pulled up in front of me. But, you know, he wasn't going to make that move and relinquish play calling if he didn't feel it was best for the organization. And he also mentioned something along the lines that at this point in his career, it's kind of anything necessary to make the team better and improve the team. So from that perspective, it was nice to see Sean kind of be forth coming with that information. And clearly, Sarah, this had to have been top of mind going into this offseason because of how quickly this trend.
Starting point is 00:03:59 transition played out. Yeah, absolutely. I think, and Sean mentioned he even considered doing it during last season, which, you know, there was plenty of discussions about that. And we had even joked like, well, I guess Sean made a huge mistake letting Davis Webb call plays in the preseason because now everybody in the fan base, anytime he doesn't do what they want him to do, you know, they're like, hey, give Davis Webb the play calling, you know? And so Sean's like, I'm thinking about it, right? And I think that that's, it's just, like you said, the timing of everything. I think Sean wants to make sure he's in control of this narrative, right? I think that the longer this would have dragged out, the more it would have seemed like,
Starting point is 00:04:38 hey, we don't necessarily know if we're going to do this or, you know, he's going to have to kind of prove himself in the preseason again. Like, no, if he's good enough to do it, just say that he's going to do it and let him do it. Right. And Sean is allowing sort of his own history to repeat itself, isn't it? I mean, when Bill Parcells gave him the play calling and allowed him to do that as a young coach, you know, recognizing that talent, it's, I really feel like Sean does think about that stuff. And, you know, to me, I know that Sean gets a bad rap for, you know, being an egomaniac or, you know, saying certain things that maybe he shouldn't say.
Starting point is 00:05:16 And we've certainly discussed a lot of the comments that he's made on these shows and others. but I think, look, this move is a clear signal that he's a great leader. Like, great leaders don't always, they're not always liked by everybody unanimously, but great leaders delegate. Great leaders know when they need to kind of step, not step aside, because I think Sean could still call plays if Davis left next year. But he's giving him the opportunity because he believes he's talented enough to do it. And because it helps the team, I think it's a huge move for the organization.
Starting point is 00:05:49 Yeah, Nick, your initial thoughts here as, Davis Webb is named play caller for the Denver Broncos. Yeah, see, that's the thing. He was named play call. He said all the great things and say or just hit on a lot of those points. But one thing I kind of lean on that I heard Coach Bade says, say, hey, slow down, pump me break, dog. I'm still going to call plays on game day, right? So that still means that he's not going to turn everything over to Davis Webb.
Starting point is 00:06:17 He is still going to have a major input. And he also said, well, when he was coached, the real part sales, it got to a point where no one really knew who was calling the plays. And to be truly honest, no one really cared because when things are going well, no one's asking questions. No one starts to ask questions until something goes wrong. And that's going to be where the rubber meets the road that happens for the Broncos. If something goes wrong in the game, now everyone's going to wonder,
Starting point is 00:06:43 okay, well, at that transitional period, who called the plays to get the Brockians out of that scenario? Right. Or was it Davis? Web. See, that's where all the conversation is going to come. And I'm glad Coach Braden's kind of got ahead of the situation and say, you know what, here's what I was thinking about. I was thinking about it a long time ago. Here's where we are with Davis Webb. So, hey, listen, he came to me before to ask me a question. And think about it this way, guys, because as Sean was talking, I couldn't help but think about it. And the only way that I can kind of think about it and relate it to people
Starting point is 00:07:18 to help them understand. You know, it always is a point in a relationship where someone comes to the other person and said, what are we doing in this relationship? Where are we going? And that's where Davis Webb wanted to know where he fit in the grand scheme of things. Because Sean was the play call that even though Joe Lombardi had the title as OC, and Davis Webb wanted to see, hey, man, where do I fit in this hierarchy of what was going on? So when Sean sat down and talked to him, it's like, look, hey, I get it.
Starting point is 00:07:50 You want to call plays. You work with Bo. There's going to come a time when that's going to happen. And it got me to wondering, Sean getting to this point. He talked about his conversations with Parcells. Now, I'm wondering, I don't know this, but I'm wondering in those conversations of the meetings of the mind, was there more upper-level input in helping Sean make this decision, meaning was there Carrie Walton Pinner or Greg Pinner who stepped in and said,
Starting point is 00:08:18 hey, listen, we don't know as much about football as you do, but we know we need to kind of move this thing along. Is there anyone in the staff that can possibly help you move things along? And oh, by the way, I guess what? You got a Davis Webb. It's an interesting thought for sure. It really is. And I think going back to the point that Sare made in the thing that Sean alluded to that this was a conversation that was happening mid-season, you know, potentially of handing play calling off to Davis Webb, it wouldn't surprise, like the fact that that was a present thought in the mind to the Broncos while they were in the midst of a 14-1 season, I think naturally helps make this decision a little bit easier.
Starting point is 00:08:56 And maybe that's, you know, the part of the, maybe it was an overreaction and a speculation of when Davis Webb was taking head coaching interviews, like you expect them to take those interviews if they're presented to him. But the fact that Sean was having these conversations with Davis in the middle of the year, I think makes me think that in hindsight, not that this was always the plan, but there was a strong belief that regardless of how the season ended, that Davis would have the opportunity to call plays.
Starting point is 00:09:21 Maybe ownership got involved. I mean, I forget if it was at Greg Penner's end of season press conference, but I believe there was a conversation about how he likes to default to his leaders, right? He's going to default to George Payton. He's going to default to Sean Payton, and he'll kind of have to be the tiebreaker at times and assert his input when needed. So I'm not sure if that was part of it. It wouldn't surprise me personally, though, if Greg Penner was like, hey,
Starting point is 00:09:44 we want to keep this guy around Davis Webb, let's promote him to call play. Sean, you be the head coach. I don't think so. I wouldn't honestly read too much into that. Here's what I know about Davis Webb's initial contract with the Broncos when he came on in 2020. In that said, hey, there is this distinction where you can become offensive coordinator. Like it was at one point of the transition was you are going to be the offensive coordinator. Now, did it have play calling responsibilities in? No, not necessarily.
Starting point is 00:10:11 But the title of OC was in there. There is no, like Greg Penner obviously has the ultimate say on everything. Nobody has a more powerful voice than Sean. Sean's got the second most powerful voice in that entire building. You know, I think Sean at times last season was really kind of setting up, setting this whole thing up. And we've heard and talk about that. Like he's had reflective moments where he's like, you know, eight years ago,
Starting point is 00:10:34 I could call a screen on our own eight yard line and not thinking, of it. Whereas now I'm thinking about it's like, if we don't get it, how does it impact the next play? The next play call based on the result of that play. Like these things, you have to be sharp at today's age. Like we're seeing all these younger coaches take over. Everything is quick. And I would say the one thing. And even Sean acknowledged at times is it wasn't quick. It was, there were far too many instances where the clock was down to one. And what it does for the defense, because they're sitting there looking at the play clock while they're in their three point stance and or like, all right, one, right as it's one,
Starting point is 00:11:07 they're timing to snap there if they're not getting it off. I don't think ownership got involved in this whatsoever. I mean, that's not what Greg Penner said is like, you know, I stay out of the football decisions. You know, if there's a disagreement between George and Sean, which never really seemed to be the case, at least publicly. He says, then I kind of come in as the tiebreaker. He says, but why would I step, like he would not step on the toes of that?
Starting point is 00:11:30 This is, I think, Sean making a decision at this point of his career, knowing that the Broncos were one game away from the Super Bowl, who knows how it would have gone if-nitch is there, right? We can play the what-if game all we want. But maybe there's this, hey, I'm starting to see the future. I'm starting to see maybe the coffee on the deck as the sun is coming up, type of stuff here. And if the Broncos, let's say hypothetically,
Starting point is 00:11:52 win a Super Bowl in the next year or two or three, that Sean's riding off into the sunset moment. He solidifies himself at that moment, at the moment if they were at Super Bowl, he will cement his Hall of Fame status because it'll be the first coach in NFL history with a Super Bowl with two different teams. And then you think about how his tree has expanded in the process.
Starting point is 00:12:13 This is where my tinfoil hat theory comes on, that Sarah and I were talking about, I would not be shocked if this is more of a conversation like Davis. So this is the first step of Davis Webb, growing into this role. And eventually, when Sean decides to hang it up, the transition plan stays in-house with Davis as the head coach one day. There's no way.
Starting point is 00:12:31 Cody again with his ageism. He's good at that. I want to throw a thought in there too. I'm old. I'm old. Unks on the chat. Look, okay, so Cody, you made a point about Sean's tree growing branches around the league. I think that's a huge factor in this because what situation has Sean left better than he found it?
Starting point is 00:12:59 Right. you know what I'm saying? Like he reshaped the Saints and left them to, I think it was Dennis Allen or who, I don't remember who was their coach. He had Dennis Allen. But obviously that didn't work out. And so he has the branches now going around the league,
Starting point is 00:13:14 like Dan Campbell, Ben Johnson, now we're seeing like Declan Doyle. There's Aaron Glenn. Obviously, there's plenty of other coaches, you know, spreading around the league. But who has, who has Sean? Oh, Joe Brady has another one. who has Sean promoted from within?
Starting point is 00:13:31 I think the theme that I'm trying to, the point that I'm trying to get across is that every great assistant coach that he's had who has been part of these branches is going elsewhere. There's not many who have stayed under him that aren't yes men, that aren't like the Joe Lombardies or the Pete Carmichael's. Like who is that successor that you can have
Starting point is 00:13:52 the heir to the throne? Can you work with that guy as opposed to say, hey go spread your wings somewhere else great for me i remember i think back to a conversation that he had with the ownership group early on that's been referenced multiple times and they're asking him like should we be worried that all these coaches are getting interview requests from other teams and we're kind of letting him go he's like absolutely not it'd be worse if they weren't getting requests i can't help but wonder if as a great businessman and a great businesswoman the walton penner ownership group if they're sitting there saying if all these top tier or
Starting point is 00:14:26 organizations want this guy, Davis Webb. They're like, we want to hire him. We want him as OC. We want him to be our head coach. They're seeing that. And I could see them saying like, hey, let's do what it takes to keep that guy. Because if he's that good at what he does, then why wouldn't we want him? We're trying to win a Super Bowl here. So that that to me is where I could see not them stepping in as a means of saying like, hey, Sean, like you need to give up play calling, I would see more so the ownership stepping in as a way of saying, like, we need to keep Davis Webb because all these other teams want him. And therefore, like, we should be saying we want him.
Starting point is 00:15:07 That's the way I perceive it. Instead of tree branches, now you're saying like the web roots. Yeah, the web. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I mean, I would concur with what Sayer is saying because think about it, above everything else, they're business people. And if you work in Fortune 500 companies, the idea is that you want to develop and have someone move up within your company. And it's all about retention, retaining your own people.
Starting point is 00:15:35 If you have someone who's good in your organization, I mean, it's great to see those individuals, you know, spread their wings and fly. But at the same time, if you can keep those individuals in the fold by recognizing their ability, that's what you do. That's why certain organizations, whether it's football or Fortune 500, companies, they excel and other people crumble because sometimes people at the top, they don't understand this. They don't understand that their power is in their people. They think it's all about them. But here is a situation where it seems as though, once again, I don't know this,
Starting point is 00:16:11 but it seems as though, like Sarah said, there was some value that was seen in Davis Webb. If other teams are coming after him and he hasn't even reached that point where he's called plays a lot, let's try to retain the young guy. Now we got to make a decision between Davis Webb and Joe Lombardi, and that was made easy. We saw what happened after they lost to the Patriots. It was like waving by-bye to Joe Lombardi. Davis Webb, you're now our guy.
Starting point is 00:16:37 Yeah, I think it's all sound points across the board. Let's hit a quick break. Let's continue along with this Davis Webb conversation. I want to get into how him calling plays might impact Bo Nix in this offense. And also, I'll paint a little bit of a picture. I'm curious to get your guys's opinion on how. something that happened in the playoffs may have played out if Sean Payton was not indeed calling place. So we'll hit a quick break. We'll come back and do just that right here on your lockdown
Starting point is 00:17:01 Bronco Squatio. All right, you guys real quick, let me tell you about our friends over at Fanduil ever wanted to experience the NBA finals live and in person. Well, FanDuel is giving you the chance to turn that dream into a reality with their NBA sweepstakes. Here's how it works. Use your profit boost on any NBA future and you'll automatically be entered for a shot to win an NBA finals trip for two. That's right. Flights, tickets, the whole experience. If you're already looking at the board and thinking about which team can make a deep run,
Starting point is 00:17:34 this is the perfect time to lock it in. I love futures this time of year, whether it's picking a team to win the championship or grab a conference title. It adds that extra layer of excitement to every game down the stretch. And now, not only can you pick, can your pick cash, but it could also send you to the NBA finals. Visit Fanduil.com to get started. Use your profit boost on any NBA future and get entered for your chance to win a trip to the NBA finals.
Starting point is 00:18:01 Play your game with Fandual, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Good Nuggets dub last night against the Boston Celtics and see if they can heat up for us here a little bit. But be sure to check out our friends over at Fandual and let them know that locked on Bronco sent you. All right, we'll come on back into the program. Locked on Broncos squad show and Ilo Piro, Cody Rourke, Sarah Bennett, and Nick Ferguson hanging out with you here on this Thursday. Reacting to the news that Davis Webb will indeed be the play caller moving forward for the Denver Broncos. And one comparison that I'll throw out there real quick, because I think it was Nick who hit on it that he's still going to be involved.
Starting point is 00:18:40 I think we all kind of mentioned that it's not like Sean Page is just going away, right? Like he's still going to be involved in the identity of this offense. It's not like, you know, I can't relate to this, at least from the parents' perspective, but I can relate to it from my perspective. It's not like, you know, when you get the kid like his first car, right? And the kid's like driving away or he's going to college and you're standing down on the porch and, you know, you're waving to him as he goes away. It's more like Sean has handed the keys over to Davis Webb and Sean's going to write shotgun. Like Sean is still going to be in the front seat having influence and providing some input on this offense. It's not like it's just going to be Davis Webb's, you know, entire thing, right?
Starting point is 00:19:16 Sean, I think is going to play a big role in that. He said as much. But the question I want to lay out to you because I think this. kind of speaks to how this role might change for Sean and for Davis. Do we think the Broncos go for it on fourth and one in the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots if Davis Webb is calling plays, and Sean is strictly the head coach. How do you guys think that scenario plays out?
Starting point is 00:19:41 I think they still go for it. I don't think you run into the situation where Jarrett Stedham, he scrambles on third down, you know, he tries to get to the first down marker. he slides or he gets out of bounds. Sean at that point, like, I still think you go for it. I think Davis gets the play call in quicker while Sean, you know, says, hey, go for it. Like you got 40 seconds to make this decision essentially after that play.
Starting point is 00:20:05 And then I think after that, Sean, while Davis is calling the play, he can talk to the officials about maybe asking for an official measurement or something like that versus where it was Sean trying to ask the officials for the measurement, trying to figure, okay, what person now am I going to send in? Like, there's just too much clutter, too much chaos. I still think they go for it. Do they get it? I don't know.
Starting point is 00:20:25 Fair. You guys have any thoughts, Sarah and Nick? Yeah, I think they still go for it. You know, Sean, that was the Broncos M.O. I can't remember if it was from the 30 on in or the 20 on in or which it was. But I remember reading a stat after the game that every fourth and two or less from 30 and in the Broncos had gone for it all year. And so, like, I believe that.
Starting point is 00:20:51 but that would have been the case, right? I don't remember exactly, again, I don't remember the exact number, but that was kind of just who they were at that point. I don't even know if it was based on analytics or anything like that. It was just, hey, we can go up 14 nothing here if we get this thing, you know? So I think that decision still comes down from your head coach. And it's the O.C, like Cody said, who makes the play call, which Sean said after the game.
Starting point is 00:21:14 I don't know which decision I disliked more, right? Whether it was to go for it or, you know, the play that I called. and I think at least he can absolve himself of one of those things going forward by giving that play calling over to somebody else. See, I think they still go for it because the analytics would tell you, hey, listen, that's what you do in that particular case. I think the play calling would have, and play design would have been different because once again, I mean, who has the bigger voice in the room? It is still the head coach. Regardless of whether Davis Webb is the OC and calling 80% of the play, everything falls back to the head coach.
Starting point is 00:21:52 That's the guy who makes a decision. That's the guy who stands up at the end of the game. He's doing this post-game interview, and he's saying, listen, this is what I decided to do. Now, David's called this particular play. I did work or it didn't work. But at the end of the day, the buck stops with me. That's what we always hear from a head coach.
Starting point is 00:22:12 So with that being said, they were still going to go for it, but the play design would have been a lot different. And like Cody said, there's no guarantee. that they would have converted or not. But one thing we know that maybe Webb would have called a different type of play because we all saw it play out and it wasn't executed as cleanly as it should have been. Yeah, I agree with all three of you guys. I think they would have gone for it as well.
Starting point is 00:22:36 But to go back to Cody's point, I think the process is just a lot different. And I was on the radio the night that this came out. So that was Tuesday evening. And the way that I was kind of framing it is like, I don't think Sean in his career has anything left to prove. has a play caller. And going back to the point that Cody made earlier, Sean has a lot to prove as a head coach because he's vying for that Hall of Fame legacy.
Starting point is 00:22:57 He wants to be the first coach ever NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two different teams. And so I think it kind of feeds into this decision of like, and going back to that quote that's I know present in our minds and the minds of Broncos country or he's like, you know, sometimes when you're driving in the rain, you're older, you don't see as well, right? I think that that quote in and of itself is kind of like the emotion and the thought process behind this decision to handoff play calling to Davis Webb. So just some food for thought
Starting point is 00:23:24 there. Again, I think they do go for it, but I think the process changes. But how do we think promoting Davis Webb to offensive play caller impacts Bo Nicks in this offense? Like, we know that Bo has a great relationship with Davis Webb. I mean, Ben Danucci, we saw like after they got eliminated from the playoffs was like, this would be the best thing for everybody in that building if they were to handoff play calling to Davis Webb. What do we think changed with the offense? with Bo Nix and Davis Webb, kind of that pairing now, Cody. Well, I wonder if, like,
Starting point is 00:23:53 Danucci tweeting that. It was like, all right, Danucci, since you said that, we're not bringing you back on the practice squad this summer. Like, maybe that was one of those things. I think Sean has more to benefit from this decision, but I think Bo, considering the relationship that he does have with Davis is huge.
Starting point is 00:24:11 And I remember, too, like, when Bo Nix, after he was drafted, when he was first introduced, the one guy, the one coach that went that press conference was Davis Webb and he sat right behind me. I remember that too. I'm like, Davis Webb is here. Okay. That's interesting. Usually you don't see the coaches come to that press conference. But there's that. But no, like here's where the relationship is. They're close enough as is. Bo if Bo wants to do certain things, he's going to have a little more like Davis. Like let's do
Starting point is 00:24:40 this. And Davis, because he's now the play caller will probably have a little bit more so like, Sean, we're going to do this. This is why like, whereas I feel like maybe Bo and Sean, not and this isn't nothing this is just common in football if it was just bow referencing the sean as sean is the play caller sean might be a little more stubborn and saying like no no no no we're not going to do that whereas davis might be more open to that and here's the thing i like about their dynamic because i felt very strongly about this last season that every time the offense they had a series end whether that's a touchdown a punt whatever it may be beau is always going over to davis afterwards they're sitting on the bench at the ipad together
Starting point is 00:25:18 where I'm like, if you were calling the plays, you should be going and sitting with your quarterback after the play, right? So I felt like Sean last year should have been doing that. Davis and Bo have already been doing that. But now that you have the play caller in that capacity, I just think it allows Bo to have a little bit more of a voice. We've heard Bo kind of clamor for more some up-tempo stuff at times. Like, hey, we want to play with pace at times. With Davis, now guess what? You're going to listen to what your quarterback does.
Starting point is 00:25:43 If anyone knows what Bo can do well, it's Davis. And I think that's exciting to watch here. I would agree. I would agree. And I think it's just maybe a little bit more of a streamlined communication process and a little bit less like teacher student, right? And I think that's kind of what it was under Sean and Boe to a certain extent where to your point, Cody, like Sean's like, no, we're going to do this, right? I think Davis is a bit more receptive to maybe playing to both strengths as opposed to playing to the thoughts and emotions that Sean Payton has with regards to philosophical play calling. It's going to be like this. Davis calls the play. And they run. it and then Sean's going to be like, hey, why did you call that player? Like, what was the thought process? That's the stuff that Sean's going to be asking Davis. So he can see it. And obviously, you know, I like that. I mean, I think that's good. I think that's also going to be a benefit from Sean being more hands off.
Starting point is 00:26:33 Though Nick was talking about earlier about like, you know, hey, Sean at times has said he's still going to call some plays. You know where I think that's going to be? I think that's going to be the two point plays. I think it's going to be those are the play that Sean's probably going to call because how many times does he reference like two point plays, two point plays, two point plays. He's like, he does it all the time. I don't think he's going to, if the offense is in rhythm, I don't think he's going to interrupt Davis if they're in a good flow and say, all right, hey, I'm calling this play now.
Starting point is 00:26:56 Like, I don't think it's going to be like that. See, Sean mentioned in his presser at the Combine, he once again, he referenced a lot about, you know, his relationship with Bill Parcells. And when he took over in Dallas, Parcells would ask that question, why did you make this call? So that same relationship is going to develop between he and Davis Webb.
Starting point is 00:27:15 And then, you said something about, I guess, reference to Sean Payton and this whole transition driving in the rain and not being able to see. So the best way that I can sum it up in metaphors is I can see clearly now the rain is gone. So now we're going to look at this whole idea with Bo Nix and Davis Webb as rain X. Because once you put that rain X on the window, you can see really clearly now, right? So that's basically what we're talking about. How can we move this offense along in a very clear, precise way to speed things up?
Starting point is 00:27:47 to get more execution. I'm not saying as though, you know, we're doing something where we're going, you know, so far up tempo. But having the ability to speed things up and slow things down, that's been something I've been pushing for, hoping this whole time because this is the mile high city. It is 5280. You really can't breathe if you're a defensive player. So when you speed defensive guys up, Cody will tell you this.
Starting point is 00:28:11 When you're breathing, guess what? No one shuts down, your brain. You cannot think. Look at the Packer. That was a great example. That game against Green Bay was the perfect example of using it to your advantage. And they did. And it was crazy.
Starting point is 00:28:23 It's like, why didn't they do this every other week? Yeah. Yeah. And I also just think of the installation process. Like you just think about how different just even training camp might be. And obviously like game day preparation. Like again, Sean is still going to have a heavy hand in this offense, but not nearly as, you know, not as much influence or, you know, he's able to take at least a little bit
Starting point is 00:28:42 of a step back and maybe focus on different things that he was hyper fixating on previously. like I go back to the conversations. I know he brought this up a couple of times in some press conferences of like, you know, game week there on Friday night, staying up to the wee hours of the morning to make sure you've got every single play dialed up, every single package dialed up, right?
Starting point is 00:28:59 I'm sure there will still be some of that, but you can also now in theory delegate some of that to a Davis web and trust your guys to go out there and get the job done. So I think it might be a work in progress. I don't know if it's going to be this, you know, snap of the finger, away we go type of energy. that, you know, maybe some people think it might be,
Starting point is 00:29:18 but I do think Bowdo Nixon's in this offense will be better off in the long run because of it's there. Yeah, I think so too. It kind of reminds me this may be, this may not be the best analogy, but if you ever seen the show The Office, there's an episode where Dwight is like, I'm going to beat the computer, you know what I'm saying?
Starting point is 00:29:36 And I feel like that episode can kind of serve as a bit of an example of what Sean Peyton's been trying to do. Like, not that Sean Peyton is, he's old school, obviously, and he's still able to defeat defenses in today's day and age. But eventually you have to do things digitally, right? That's what Dwight had to learn the hard way in that episode is like you can do things the old school way, but you're still going to get beat out by the new school way. And I think we've seen like you can't just plug and play any play caller depending on personnel.
Starting point is 00:30:08 The Detroit Lions are a great example of that, right? Ben Johnson leaves, John Morton comes in and it doesn't work out. Well, why is that the case? because they have some of the best offensive personnel in the NFL. But you've got to be able to see what defenses are throwing at you and do all of this at warp speed. And it requires that ability to not just drive in the rain, but to go warp speed at night in the rain.
Starting point is 00:30:32 And Davis Webb has the ability to help do that with a fresh set of eyes to put on, hey, this is what defenses are throwing at us. This is how I would strategize. This is the pace that I would go. You can do it old school. I mean, you can bring in the first. personnel groupings. You can bring in the 13 personnel, you know, half the plays you run. You can do the 12 personnel on 60%, but you got to start involving these playmakers more
Starting point is 00:30:56 properly. You got to go at pace. You got to do what your quarterback wants to do more often, what he's comfortable doing instead of trying to continually just fit this square peg in a round hole. Get with the times. Yeah, I agree. I agree. And I'm curious to see, I mean, the chat's been fired up today on YouTube as usual. You guys are the best. And I think, again, hindsight, it's always 20-20. This is a bit of a formality. I think this was kind of the hope from Broncos country that we get this figured out with Davis Webb. And now he's got, you know, multiple months until training can't try to get this thing geared up and ready to go.
Starting point is 00:31:29 So I'm pumped up for Davis-Web to be OC. I'm interested to see how Sean Payton's role maybe changes his head coach of this team. And so a lot of moving parts here, but nice to get some clarity on that front for sure. Okay, let's hit a break. When we come back, kind of a, you know, I'm sure we've got some Colorado. Buffalo fans in the chat here as well. But the Broncos making the hire to their defensive staff that I think is interesting for a couple of different reasons. We'll break that down when we come back right here on your Lockedon Broncos squad show.
Starting point is 00:32:02 All right, you guys, real quick, let me tell you about our friends over at Home Chef because, oh wait, hold on, I got to do. Hold on. Indeed, Home Chef is next. Don't worry. We'll get you taken care of with Home Chef. Workplace chaos, deadline, stack it up, inbox is overflowing, and the one position you have to start to fill is still open.
Starting point is 00:32:28 When the pressure's on and you need the right hire, this is a job for sponsored jobs. Indeed, sponsored jobs helps you reach the people who actually fit what you're looking for, skills, experience, location, so you're not just hoping the right candidate stumbles across your post. And here's a stat that says it all. In the minute that I've been talking to you, companies like yours made 27 hires on Indeed, according to Indeed data worldwide.
Starting point is 00:32:51 So if you're hiring, spend less time searching and more time interviewing candidates who check all your boxes with Indeed sponsored jobs. Spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all of your boxes, less stress, less time, more results. When you need the right person to cut through the chaos, that is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. And listeners of this show will get a $75-sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at Indeed.com.
Starting point is 00:33:18 slash podcast. Just go to Indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about it on Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast terms and conditions do apply. You need to hire. That's a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. Be sure to check out our friends over at Indeed and let them know that locked on Bronco sent you. All right. Well, come on back in to the program at Elopiro, Cody Roark, Sarah Beninger, and Nick Ferguson.
Starting point is 00:33:48 Hope everyone in Broncos country is doing well. out there. Good conversation to kind of open up the show here about Davis Webb and just his overall role with the Broncos moving forward now as offensive play caller. I think that's a good move for them overall. But let's shift it over to the defensive side here where the Broncos made a bit of an interesting hire. Last show we talked about Mike Zimmer and how he's a guy that maybe the Broncos had their eye on. Not sure if that's still the case or not. But this news came out yesterday. The Colorado Buffaloes have hired now former, former, The Denver Broncos have hired now former Colorado Buffalo's defensive coordinator, Robert Livingston, to become their new defensive past game coordinator. So he's making the move from Boulder to Englewood and Denver alike. Livingston, just for what it's worth, has some relationship and time spent with Vance Joseph from their time with the Cincinnati Bengals. He coached in the NFL for upwards of a decade, was the defensive coordinator for CU and Travis Hunter had his Heisman season as well. So what do we make of this higher from the Broncos perspective, Cody? I mean, I think it's a good hire, regardless of how bad CU was.
Starting point is 00:34:56 I think their past defense was kind of really a strength of theirs, the last couple of years. And this is the role, right? Jim Leonard's departure certainly created like this hole in the defensive past game side of the ball. But this is also maybe another opportunity. Once again, Vance Joseph somehow lands a head coaching job next year. Maybe Robert Livingston can step in. I think a lot of people have said that Livingston, He's a great college coach, but that he's really made for the progs at this point.
Starting point is 00:35:23 So I'm curious to see how he works with obviously these guys, you know, defensively from the schematics between obviously the corners and the safeties and making sure all those things sink because the biggest thing that Sean Payton talked about was we need more takeaways. Certainly they need more interceptions. So Livingston is going to have a very important job on his hand. But now I'm excited to get to know him a little bit more. Nick, I know you spent some time down there. So you probably have a better idea on Livingston than probably. probably most of us. Yeah, actually when Robert Livingston first was hired as a DC for the CU buffs,
Starting point is 00:35:56 I had a chance to definitely interview him. And then when Marshall Folk was there as a coach, and I would spend time there with Marshall and getting a chance to know a lot of those coaches. So I know what Robert Livingston is bringing to this team. And when you look at CU and what that defense has been since he's been there, I mean, they haven't really been the top tier team. But that goes back to not having adequate talent. But now you come up to the Denver Broncos where you have a bevy of talent in the secondary.
Starting point is 00:36:23 And just think about it if you're Robert Limbiston, you jump from Boulder to the Denver Broncos and you only got to travel like 45 minutes and say, you know what? That was a huge upgrade for me. So now you got Raleigh Moss. You have Joddy Barron. You have Jaquam McMillan. You have Brandon Jones and Taloho Funga. Man, I mean, just think about where he is right now.
Starting point is 00:36:43 So I'm sure as soon as he got the news, he can wait to tell his wife, oh, oh, wait, I've got to tell you this and I'm sure he's going to be really excited to kind of get with this organization and just kind of build things along and I'm glad you brought up Jim Leonard and what Jim Leonard added, but I mean, once again, Jim Leonard is now in DC for the Buffalo Bills. And I love what you, you were thinking because I was thinking the same thing. If something were to happen with Vance Joseph and he got a job, you have another guy in waiting who now would have had an opportunity to not only coach who advanced before in Cincinnati, but get a chance to know him at this particular level with this group of guys.
Starting point is 00:37:20 And that's important. I mean, Mike Shanahan once said to me, and he got this from Bill Walsh. The idea is that you want to develop your coaches. And we were just talking about Davis Webb. When someone departs, you need to make sure that you have another guy in waiting because a lot of coaches don't even prepare for that. They're like, okay, you get a guy, you develop and you build him up. He's gone.
Starting point is 00:37:42 Now you're scrambling trying to find another guy. He's like, no, let's find another guy. within the ranks of our coaching and we just elevate that guy because remember we're still talking about retention the ability to retain your own guy so i like this higher yeah i think it's also interesting like i've covered the colorado buffalo's each of the last three seasons and this is a terrible loss for c u he was their highest paid assistant of all time and that's a separate conversation for a much different show but nick i'm curious to get your opinion he was also like i said the highest paid assistant coach in colorado buffalo's history i believe making 1.6
Starting point is 00:38:16 million. I don't know if he's making 1.6 million with the Denver Broncos. I mean, there's a realistic chance that, you know, just to kind of have that conversation, less about the money, but getting out of Boulder to get back to the NFL. Well, the whole idea is that sacrifice. We all are entangled in this game of life. And sometimes you have to make sacrifice now to kind of pave the way for future opportunities. Just think about Cliff Kingsbury, who was with the Washington commanders. He left the commanders to join. Sean McVey. You know why? Because he's watching Sean McVey's coaching tree. And like, all you have to do is be on that team with Matthew Stafford, win a couple of games. And guess what? You catapulted it to that
Starting point is 00:38:55 head coach type of responsibility. So Robert Livingston is thinking like, oh, he's telling his wife, hey, listen, I know we go from 1.5 to maybe something less than that. But in the year's time, we're seeing it. Think about Davis Webb, what happened with him. Think about Declan Doyle, what happened with him. In the year's time, a year and a half, guess what I'll I will be, baby, we'll be back in the NFL, and I will maybe be a head coach or the defensive coordinator for another NFL team. Do assistant coaches, like, for example, if he's responsible for the past game, do they have incentives in their contract similar to players or no?
Starting point is 00:39:33 Like if your unit has five, like 10 plus interceptions, like it's a, you know, like some guys, some players have like trigger incentives. Like if you have, you know, five interceptions in a season, it triggers a $500,000 sign of bone. Yeah, you can get that added to your contract. Now, see, this is the only thing like for coaches, they don't have a union. So you need to have someone repping you to kind of put that into your contract. And once again, this goes back to looking at the Cowell Shanahan, Mike Shanahan,
Starting point is 00:40:02 Sean McVeigh-Tree. Most of those guys have the same agent, right? And that same agent was a guy who once upon a time was a coach in the league. So, yeah, you want to make sure you get those incentives in your contract because if those guys improve, you want to make. make sure, one, you get the credit, right, which really happened. But two, if you're not going to get the credit, you might as well get the money in your bank account.
Starting point is 00:40:24 So I'm sure that Robert Livingston would have that in his contract to make sure if there's more turnovers, more takeaways, just like we've seen the Broncos jump in a number of sacks over the past two years. Yeah, man, put the money in the bag. Yeah, I'm with you. And again, I just think the more interesting aspect of this hire is, frankly, from CU, just because of where they're at with spring practices about to start. startup and highest paid assistant.
Starting point is 00:40:48 I mean, it really is crazy what's going on up there in Boulder, but I think it's a really nice hire for the Broncos. And this is a guy in Livingston who spent a lot of time with defensive backs, obviously. CU's defense last year, like with Travis, obviously their strength was their secondary. But CU's defense has always been weakest in the trenches. So I think that kind of speaks to what Robert Livingston is going to be able to come in here and do and shore up cornerback alongside Pats or Tam, like going back to that, Riley Moss, Jekwan McMillan, Jaday Barron conversation.
Starting point is 00:41:19 Like I think Robert Livingston will have a tremendous impact on Jaday Barron. And I'm forgetting the name of the award. Obviously, Travis Hunter won the Heisman that season, but Jaday Barron won like the most outstanding cornerback award that same season that Travis won the Heisman. So, you know, this is a guy in Robert Livingston, who I think might be able to bring out the most in a guy like Jaday Barron. And so I understand he's not a defensive coordinator and offensive coordinator.
Starting point is 00:41:41 Again, I think the bigger story here is what it means for CU, but I do think this is a guy. say that is going to have a big impact on this Broncos secondary alongside PS2. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, pretty great endorsement. If Dion Sanders hires you to coach defensive backs, I'd say there's maybe no greater show of respect than that, be like Michael Jordan hiring you to play shooting guard for his team. You know, it'd be like, wow, you want me to do that.
Starting point is 00:42:09 So, yeah, I think that's huge. But also the ties that bind come into play once again, obviously Livingston's past. crossed with Vance Joseph in Cincinnati, I believe, back in 2014, but also when Livingston got to the Bengals in 2012, Mike Zimmer was the defensive coordinator there. And now there's rumors about Mike potentially joining the Broncos staff in an advisory role. So you wonder if this was kind of just part of that. If this was something that when he was meeting with the Broncos, Mike Zimmer, that is, or if they have met or had conversations or whatever, he was like, yeah, you want this guy to take that role because this is what he was doing and this is what I saw because
Starting point is 00:42:47 I believe Zimmer was with the CU buffs as well in some capacity or there was a talk of that or something like that. So I don't follow the college ranks hardly at all. Yeah, Zimmer was with, I think a defensive analyst for them a few years ago. There you go. There you go. So yeah, something like. Zimmer. I could do a whole show if you want me to talk about CU and what's going on. Boy, it's crazy. Yeah, Pat Shermer stuff. But yeah, I mean, To the point, I mean, it is a huge role that's being filled, right? I mean, when Jim Leonard left to go be the DC of the Buffalo Bills,
Starting point is 00:43:21 everybody's now wondering who's going to be the defensive backs coach? Because, yeah, he was the defensive past game coordinator. But it sounds like Livingston's going to be the defensive backs and past game coordinator with Doug Belk, potentially taking over what Addison Lynch used to do. And then we haven't talked much about Doug Belk, but there's some rookies in this incoming class, some absolute dogs that he has ties. to that he's coached up that could be really interesting picks for the Broncos, maybe another topic for another day.
Starting point is 00:43:48 But yeah, I think it's a good way to fill out this defensive staff. Yeah, it's just a hire that I didn't see coming, right? Like just because, again, like what Livingston was making it see you, what the heck's going on up there behind the scenes to make him leave? And I agree with Nick, like, you know, maybe you sacrifice now to get the big bag later and just put yourself in a better position. And what's going on in Colorado at the university right now is not a good thing, at least from my perspective.
Starting point is 00:44:12 but again, like his bread has been buttered in the NFL. Like he was hired from the Cincinnati Bengals to be CUs defensive coordinator. Obviously coached with Vance Joseph when they were both members of that Cincinnati Bengals coaching staff as well. So if he wasn't going to be the next head coach for CU, which I, and I'm forgetting the guy's name, but the offensive coordinator they just hired from, I believe, Sacramento State. Yeah, that's probably going to be the head coach in waiting after Dion. I think it was only natural for Livingston to make the jump back to the NFL. at some point or another guys.
Starting point is 00:44:44 I mean, having been in the NFL, and, you know, maybe it's like the college game is changing. Imagine, like, you go to a place that, you know, has Travis Hunter, right? That's awesome. Like, that's an appeal to go coach a player like that. But then after that, it's like, wait a minute, everyone's pulling out because NIL, you know, they're transferring, they're entering the portal. Like, I think it's so hard in today's game to coach at the college level because of that. Like, that's a big reason why Nick Saban retired.
Starting point is 00:45:12 that's one of the big reasons why. And I also think it makes it, you know, it kind of sucks the joy out of it because now it's like, now I got to go on this recruiting trail. And look, like these kids don't even want to play. They just want the money. That's a real thing, bro. Man, I can see the jump there. I mean, I don't think, I don't think Dion's going to stay at Ceylon like the saying used to be, we coming. Now the saying has been, we going.
Starting point is 00:45:39 That's what everyone. Well, and that might be because of a mess. thing. We know that he's been dealing with off the field, of course. Your athletic director. Yeah, that team was a disaster last season, dude. I was at every single home game for them last year covering it. And it was hard to watch. I mean, it really was. And I don't see any sign of it getting better. They lose Jordan's seat in the transfer portal, their best player, who by the way will be a top five pick when his time comes. I'll put that out there right now. That dude is a stud in my opinion. But yeah, it'll be interesting. So
Starting point is 00:46:07 congrats to Robert Livingston. I think it's a great hire for the Denver Broncos. And we'll see what it means for the Colorado Buffalo is coming up here this next season. But, okay, let's hit our final break. When we come back, George Payton had some high praise, I guess you could say, about running back R.J. Harvey. What does that mean for the Denver Broncos and their approach to the running back room for the rest of this off season? We'll give you the quotes and we'll break it down. When we come back right here on your Locked-on Broncos squad show, back in just a moment, folks. All right, y'all, let me tell you about our friends over at Home Chef.
Starting point is 00:46:45 As the new year gets going, a lot of people are trying to simplify their routines, and dinner is a big one between busy workdays, cold winter nights, and pack schedules. Having an easy, reliable dinner plan makes a huge difference. That's where Home Chef comes in. Home Chef takes the stress out of cooking by delivering fresh, pre-portion ingredients right to your door with easy to follow recipes that actually taste great. They're rated number one by users of other meal kits for quality, convenience, value, taste, and recipe ease. and it's easy to see why. Meals come ready to fit your schedule, 30 minute recipes, oven ready trays, or quick lunches,
Starting point is 00:47:22 over 30 weekly options, including family-sized meals and different dietary choices. Recipes are simple, but feel elevated, even restaurant quality, with dishes co-created by chefs like Gordon Ramsey. Everything arrives pre-portion, so there's less prep, less mess, and no wasted food. It saves time and money.
Starting point is 00:47:39 Home Chef customers save an average of 86 bucks per month on groceries. And guys, listen up to this for a limited time. Home Chef is offering my listeners 50% off your first box, free shipping and free desserts for life. So just go to HomeCef.com slash lockdown. That's homechef.com slash locked on for 50% off your first box, free shipping and free dessert for life. You must be an active subscriber to receive the free dessert.
Starting point is 00:48:06 So be sure to check out our friends over at Home Chef and let them know that Lockdown Bronco sent you. It's raw. Dude, my mom When you mentioned Gordon Ramsey I'm staying I stayed at my my folks place last night Um,
Starting point is 00:48:23 I had like a little weekend night dinner with my mom and you know All that kind of stuff. Oh, so good. And all the, All the stuff. I'm about to go eat that after them. Um, but she's watching this Gordon Randy documentary.
Starting point is 00:48:36 And I don't even know what it wasn't even about food. It was just like about his life and he's just F bomb and this, F bomb and that. And like my mom like, I've never heard her curse except for one time at the thermostat in my whole And I was like, what are you watching? Like, it was just like a whole thing. But that's beyond. Love my boy, Gordon, man.
Starting point is 00:48:52 Love my boy, Gordon. Been a big Hell's Kitchen stand for a long time. Gordon, that doesn't really rhyme with George or Peyton. I was going to try to bridge that gap. But I can't do that one. George, but the skill of here, right? Yeah. So Peyton met, I feel like George Payton's press conference got a little bit swept under the rug
Starting point is 00:49:12 just because of the announcement that Davis would be calling plays. But and there's a couple different takeaways. Like he was asked about like, were you surprised that Sean give up play calling? Not really. I found one of the most interesting dynamics of George Payton's press conference to be about the running back position. And in particular, RJ Harvey. And he kind of made it sound like, you know, RJ, maybe not the full future of running back,
Starting point is 00:49:34 but he definitely has a vision for RJ in this offense. Here's what he had to say at the Tuesday scouting combine. He said, I thought he had a really good year for a rookie with everything that was thrown at him when J.K. Dobbins got her. hurt. He's dynamic with the ball in his hands. We saw it at all stages during the season he had some big games. His hands, his route running ability. I thought he improved on first and second down. The game slowed down for him as the season went along. I couldn't be happier about RJ. What do we make of these comments as it pertains to Denver's focus on running back this
Starting point is 00:50:08 offseason? He called him the pet cat. He was our pet cat and running back. Yeah, what does that mean? Well, you know, cats are like squirly. They're like dynamic. And I think when you, I mean, the contact balance that RJ has, I like it. Like there were times, there was a key play in that Buffalo game, right? Let's say he didn't have it going in the run game. But man, he caught this one pass out in the flat, sidestepped the dude and then got 12 yards. You know, just his ability to run through something, especially like the arm tackles
Starting point is 00:50:35 around his legs that guys are trying to have. I like that about RJ. I think at times, defense is telegraphed. hey, when RJ's in, we want to prevent him from getting outside. I still think he has good vision. Once again, I think the problem with the run game is the scheme. Sarah and I were just talking about on tomorrow's episode of Lockdown Broncos. It's not a coincidence.
Starting point is 00:50:59 When Giovante Williams goes to Dallas has success. Adric Estimate, plays for New Orleans down the stretch, has success. And all of a sudden, like Denver just can't be consistent with it. And for Sean to say on the record, I went to Zach Streep after the AFC champion. I talked about our run game and our scheme there. It is a scheme issue. And I think that's what impacted RJ a little bit from time to time because you're trying to get to these angles.
Starting point is 00:51:25 Like your blockers are getting these angles. And as a running back, you have to read it. Well, guess what? The hole's not always opening up there. RJ, in my opinion, is a get downhill, hit the hole and go. That, to me, is where I view RJ. I would agree. And maybe that kind of, to bring it back to Davis Webb for a minute, like maybe
Starting point is 00:51:43 maybe that the change in the play caller, maybe that opens up things for RJ Harvey Harvey because you bring up Giovante and Adrakes Sommet is a good example. So we shall see how the scheme changes on that front. But Sarah, do you think the comments from George Payton will influence how the Broncos approach this offseason when it comes to trying to sign a free agent running back? No, I think that RJ proved to the Broncos that he can be what they want him to be, which is the past catching back, the dynamic threat out of the backfield as opposed to the every down runner. I mean, he had 12 touchdowns as a rookie. So he's a big time weapon,
Starting point is 00:52:18 a big play threat. Obviously, somebody has got great quickness, great speed. I always took the pet cat comment to me, like George was saying like, hey, we, we have a pet cat, but like if you go to somebody's house that has a cat, you don't always see the cat. They have it. It's like just hiding somewhere. So I think that's maybe what they, what he was kind of meaning by that is like a hidden interest sort of thing. But I don't know. I don't know what that means necessarily. but I think they have to go after running backs to complement what RJ does. And you have to stick to the two backs because if you don't have a complimentary back, teams are going to know exactly what you're doing every time either guys out on the field.
Starting point is 00:52:57 And that's where I kind of lean back on, do you just go back to J.K. Dobbins and then draft some depth because ultimately, I mean, J.K. runs scheme aside, he had a lot of success. I think he was averaging 78 yards a game. he was on pace for the best year of his NFL career and he works in this offense he was working behind that offensive line behind that run scheme and it's you got to see the growth though in year two at George is very patient the Broncos have drafted a lot of older players and that's coming out of the college ranks like Bo Nix just turned 26 which is not a big daily place quarterback but
Starting point is 00:53:33 he also has had two injuries in back-to-back years of his NFL career nobody wants to talk about that including myself so we're not going to but you drafted a 24-year-old corner in the first round last year. RJ Harvey, I believe, was 25 at this point. So, like, I get that you want to be patient, but, like, also, the clock's ticking. So these guys have to progress. I don't think it impacts the fact that you have to be aggressive in pursuing a complimentary back, however.
Starting point is 00:54:01 I'll say this about the whole pet cat type of metaphor. If you ever seen someone with the pet cat, and I'm not just talking about cat ladies, but they're very protective of that cat. They let the cat come out, they feed it, and they tuck the cat away. So when I think about the reference to R.J. Harvey, I look at it the same way. Here's the guy that you noticed that had a lot of skills
Starting point is 00:54:22 and he had to step into and fill the shoes of J.K. Dobbins and be really productive. So you had to find ways to protect that guy and kind of showcase his skill set, and that was outside the pocket, getting him on the perimeter, putting the ball in his hands. And we all watched last year, him come of age where he was running through like Cody was talking about running through arm tackles.
Starting point is 00:54:44 That's kind of the running back he was in college and that's why the Broncos wanted to bring him in. But I will say this. And I'll go back to my experience being around, you know, Kyle Shanahan and Mike Shanahan. You just can't have one running back. This is not the Dallas Cowboys. This is not the 1990s where you just say, well, you got one bell cow running back. How is that working well for Baltimore Ravens and Derek Henry? No, you need to have a multitude of different guys that you can throw at a defense to kind of wear them down.
Starting point is 00:55:15 And that's what the Broncos were trying to do. So much so that they even use Marvin Mims, who's not a running back. But they use him as a running back. He could catch the ball out of the backfield. He knows what to do in space because they returner, but he's not running through guys. So the Broncos need to go out and make sure whether it's in free agency or in the draft, they need to get another running back. And I know, yeah, I mean, we all would like to have J.K. Dobbins back. But here's what I think the Broncos are going to do once free agency opens.
Starting point is 00:55:43 And this is how it works. Those top tier of guys are going to be sought after first. And as the week goes on, now you're going to say, you know what? J.K. Dobbins is our running back one beat. And we saw it last year. What happened? They picked him up late in the process right before training camp. So they don't have to rush out and go get J.K. Dobbins.
Starting point is 00:56:03 Hey, man, put your chips to all to the center of the time. table, try to get some of these other guys, seeing if you can get Travis ETN and make sure he doesn't go to Kansas City, because if he goes to Kansas City, that's going to be a problem, right? So if you can't get those top tier guys, then you say, you know what, let's bring J.K. back. But I think you need to go try to get one of those top tier guys. Bring J.K. back if it doesn't work and then go in the draft. Yeah, I think J.K. is a nice, I hate to label it this way because I like J.K.
Starting point is 00:56:32 Dobbins, but a fallback option. Like if you swing and miss on Bruce Hall and Travis E.N. and Kenneth Walker. like I think ending up with J.K. Dobbins is not the worst thing in the world. And you'll be able to get J.K. Dobbins at a much more team friendly deal than some of those other guys. So you can splurge on linebacker, tight end, wide receiver, right? So if they do bring back J.K. Dobbins, let's not cast full judgment until we see this full picture kind of come to life. Because remember how late in the offseason J.K. signed last year. Not saying that'll be the case this year. But point being, you know, we'll see how it shakes out.
Starting point is 00:57:02 And, Nick, I love your thought about that one, two punch. and the running back group. I mean, just look at the two teams that ended up making it to the Super Bowl. And I know Zach Charbonnet was hurt, but for the majority of the season, it was Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker. For New England,
Starting point is 00:57:15 it was Trayvon Henderson and Ramandre Stevenson. And so if we're going to just take that at face value, that seems to be the way of the league right now as well. So we shall see. And then just my quick interpretation of what George Payton had to say, I think they just still believe in him. I don't know, I don't think the plan is for him to be RB1.
Starting point is 00:57:32 I think he's an excellent complimentary back. I think he's got room to improve, room to growth. To Sarah's point, I think he's got a lot of skill sets that you like and you want to see him develop over the course of year two. And I think he can be one of your answers at running back, maybe just not the main answer, Cody. Yeah, I mean, I think RJ has the potential to be anything, anything like that. He could be an Army one, but I think, like, this is where I'm excited about Davis Webb a little bit. And granted, we only have a one game preseason sample size of this. But I do think there is going to be better balance between the past
Starting point is 00:58:05 and the run here. And here's what I mean. Okay, obviously against the Arizona Cardinals, the game that Davis was calling plays in, between two quarterbacks, they threw what, 39 times? They ran the ball 32 times. That's good balance. I'm happy with that. 29 of the 32 carries were all between five different running backs. Now, you're not going to have that in the regular season.
Starting point is 00:58:25 You're not going to have five different running backs. If you do, there's certainly a problem here. Yes. But I do think that you are going to see, let's say, let's say JK is back. I think you'll see it to where JK maybe gets 15 to 16 carries. I can see RJ getting 15 to 16 carries. I could see that balance between two backs more so than what we saw this year, where the discrepancy was too much.
Starting point is 00:58:49 Too many shows we came on here and we were talking about Denver threw the ball 17 times in the first half. They ran the ball four times. What the heck is up with that? That I don't think is going to be the case with Davis. I am curious, though, like will you allow JK and RJ If you do run it back with JK, I still think you draft the guy. I'm on board with get a guy in free agency, get a guy in the draft,
Starting point is 00:59:11 bolster this room alongside RJ. I think we all might be in agreement on that. But in my opinion here, it's feature just two guys. Like you don't need to just change guys every other play. Let guys get hot. J.K. Dobbins himself said it this year. He said, you know, I feel like I get more. Like if I'm just getting touches, I can get into a rhythm.
Starting point is 00:59:30 The Cincinnati Bengals game on Monday night football was the best example of how JK, or any RB1 and RJ Harvey should be used. I would agree. Agreed. I would agree. I want to throw something off the wall at you guys as we're about to be done here. Okay. Broncos have never won a Super Bowl without a quarterback on the roster
Starting point is 00:59:52 that previously spent time with the Indianapolis Colts. Anthony Richardson might be the next lost orphan dog that Sean Peyton goes after. And I want to just quickly say that if Anthony Richardson has ever had a good game in the NFL, other than, you know, a couple of plays, it was against the Denver Broncos. He ran all over him. I remember that game very clearly. I'm wondering what your guys' thoughts are on this because Sam Ellender, his contract is up. Sean Payton loves the reclamation projects.
Starting point is 01:00:24 Davis Webb, you invested in him. I think interesting kind of dart throw because quarterbacks to me, if I'm running a team, quarterbacks are currency, the most valuable currency in the NFL. And just like, you know, Cliff Kingsbury goes to LA, I think if a quarterback comes to Denver right now, shoot. I mean, like, you got an opportunity to, hey, go play in the preseason, go learn from Sean Payton and Davis Webb. Rehab your value will trade you somewhere where you can potentially start next off season. I don't know. I mean, I'm just throwing it out there.
Starting point is 01:00:59 Yeah, Malik Willis is about to get $30 million a year. Yeah, exactly. Nobody says, it's like a relationship, right? Where like, let's say the girl's toxic. You know, like, I can fix her. Like, it's like, if you go to any, like, mugshot of any woman that gets arrested, like, if you go to the comments, that's the number one thing you're going to see. It's like, I can fix her.
Starting point is 01:01:17 Like, stop. Just, I wouldn't be opposed for it. Like, maybe he does well in the preseason. You trade him. I just think he's going to be sought after. I think a team like the Jets, the Vikings. They just tried that with, with Justin's, fields, though.
Starting point is 01:01:34 They're not going to make a best team. The Jets are going to have one of three options at quarterback next year. I'll predict this. Let me know if you want to bet it, Cody. It'll be Kyler Murray, Kirk Cousins, and Relique Willis. I'll take that bet. Okay, I was going to say, Eric Carr has got to be in there.
Starting point is 01:01:48 The jets are dumpster fire central. I mean, why would, if Anthony Richardson's agent has anything to do with it, why would he ever go to the Jets or the Cardinals? Like, he's going to sink that ship. faster than he can get it out of the docks. I mean, like, you've got to go to a situation. Take a page out of Mack Jones's book. Like, Mac Jones went to San Francisco.
Starting point is 01:02:14 He's going to get a lot of money, I bet, from some team this off season after getting traded. I mean, Sam Darnold, take a page out of his book. He spent a year in San Francisco. Like, go be somewhere where you can, you know, your value increases just by proxy of who you're around as opposed to, well, nobody. he's not going to play this year unless somebody gets hurt, right? So if you're not going to play anyway, go somewhere that elevates your value just by being there. I can't believe you.
Starting point is 01:02:43 I sat here and listened to all three of you guys talk about this whole Anthony Richardson situation. And I say, well, let me gather some information before I even started to speak. The idea that Anthony Richardson coming here to learn from Sean Payton, to me, as great as that sound, how it would boast of him and his profile. No, I don't like that idea. The idea is that Jared Stidim is your backup. Continue to stay with that because why bring Anthony Richardson on this roster, taking up a roster spot for what? I mean, there are other teams.
Starting point is 01:03:12 Someone mentioned the Minnesota Vikings. That could be a situation. The New York Jets, yes, Arizona. Yeah, anywhere but here, right? Because that makes absolutely no sense at all. And Anthony Richardson coming here, how much development will you actually get? I mean, you'll be in the fold with the offense,
Starting point is 01:03:30 and Davis Webb and, and Kilgore and all of that stuff. But we're not really going to see a lot of view. So the last memory that everyone's going to have is of what we saw of you as a quarterback for the Indianapolis coach. And what the hell was going on with this ban and hitting him in the eye, right? Now, we don't even know if he can really see. Can he see short intermediate throws? Can he even throw down the down the field?
Starting point is 01:03:54 We don't know, right? So the idea is that's going to be a no for me. let someone else take on that proclamation project. Let me ask you guys this, and this can maybe set up what we talk about next week on the squad show. Did the Broncos look to upgrade a backup quarterback? After all the conversation we had about Jared Stedman, the belief in him. That's because we're right in the high of a 14-win, 15-win season, buddy.
Starting point is 01:04:22 Orange and blue glasses, brother. At the end of the day, did it. I mean, he had a great start essentially to Marvin. Such an abnormal circumstance, though. AFC championship game. You gotta be able to win the freaking snow. Why can't, like, we used to watch Adam Venetary boot 45-yard field goals in blizzard-like conditions worse than what we saw in Denver.
Starting point is 01:04:44 With ease, we used to see quarterbacks be able to play in the snow. Come on, man. We've had one day of crap weather this winter. And it was the- And it was the AMC championship game. That's why I'm heated. Like, let me see. My watch says it is, yeah, 58 degrees in sunny outside.
Starting point is 01:04:59 I'm about to go walk the dog after this, man. It's like great weather. Cody, I will agree with you. Yes, you need to have someone to come in and challenge. Just did him. You don't want that person to be Anthony Richardson. No. No.
Starting point is 01:05:15 That's fair. That's fair. Because you're getting paid for him. Yeah, that is true. I'm not giving up draft capital for that guy. No way. Fifth rounder. Sixth rounder.
Starting point is 01:05:23 No way. He's getting more than that. No. I don't know. I don't know, dude. I don't know how much he what are you what would you trade for Anthony Richardson right now if you're a not a second you ain't trading nothing on day one or two absolutely not no way a box a box of pre-rap how about that exactly that's what I'm saying so you wouldn't take a chance on his talent for for a box
Starting point is 01:05:49 of whatever I mean you wouldn't take a shot on his talent for the priest is Sean Peyton's done it before Sean Peyton's been the guy who traded for that guy after the Jets signed I think it was Teddy Bridgewater and somebody else in one offseason. And then Sean Payton himself traded a three for Teddy. So like you've seen how that can those quarterbacks, quarterbacks are currency. Your offseason program, you carry four guys.
Starting point is 01:06:12 Sam Ellinger was on the 53 most of the year. I'm just saying, I mean, he's telling that guy. No. I mean, he could actually contribute though. Like he could actually come in and play.
Starting point is 01:06:24 Wait, wait. If I'm not mistaken, Tayson Hill is a free agent too, right? Oh, God, no, please. There you go. There you go, Nick. Hold on now. Hold on now.
Starting point is 01:06:32 I didn't say Tase him here. You bring him in as a quarterback. See, he's your athlete, right? That's your missed of versatility. He can play the H-back. He can play the tight-in position because guess what? Our best tight ends are two offensive linemen, Frank, Frank Frum and Garibald.
Starting point is 01:06:49 Right? So you need to bring someone in there to be a de facto joker because we didn't really get that guy. Some of those guys are better than Hill. right now. What? I'm joking. I know I threw you off. Here's my thing. Like, Taysam Hill, injuries have piled up. He's like 40 years old now. I'm not on board with that. Who cares? You need a guy. Evidence and a free agent. Feed me more. Man, I can't believe you. All right. Good stuff. In the next couple of weeks, folks. We'll have some fun. We'll have some fun with those shows for sure.
Starting point is 01:07:25 I'm not going to do. No. No. No. I would hate that. I would hate that. I'm just trying to, I'm trying to row you guys up right now.
Starting point is 01:07:36 Oh, my gosh. All right. Good stuff today, gentlemen. Always a fun time. To all the listeners out there, we appreciate you guys. Each and every episode. What?
Starting point is 01:07:44 Enjoy your vacation there, buddy. Enjoy it. I will. It'll be 90 degrees where I'm going. I will be sitting in the sun playing golf. Where are you going? Port of a lot. No, I'm going to Scottsdale.
Starting point is 01:07:55 Scott's Day. It'll be a good time. It'll be a good time. But all right. Y'all are the best. We'll talk to you guys next week. Enjoy your weekend. And make sure hit that like button and subscribe button on your way out the door.
Starting point is 01:08:07 Another episode of the squad show in the books. Have a good one, folks. Boom, boom.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.