Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BRONCOS SQUAD SHOW: Where Do The Broncos Stack Up Against Other NFL Teams?

Episode Date: May 5, 2026

The Broncos offseason is moving along following the conclusion of the NFL Draft. We have a pretty good idea of what the Broncos roster will look like for the upcoming season, but how does that compare... to other teams across the NFL? Aniello Piro, Cody Roark, Sayre Bedinger and Nick Ferguson take a look on today's Locked On Broncos Squad Show. Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Square If you’re starting a business, or running one that deserves better tools, Square helps you sell, manage, and grow without slowing down. Right now, you can get up to $200 off Square hardware at https://square.com/go/LockedOnNFL. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get one-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game. 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. Rugiet Get 15% off your treatment → https://rugiet.com/lockedonnhl Rugiet. Performance medicine for men. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. 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 00:00:00 I'm Anilo Piro, and we're going to have a little fun on today's Broncos squad show with a whiteboard segment or two. I'm Cody Rourke. My dog may have just gotten neutered, but he still believes the Broncos got the biggest dog of the offseason. I'm Sarah Beninger. Not only did the Broncos get a big dog this off season, but I think they made a better addition than anyone else in the NFL. I'm Nick Ferguson, and do we need a dog catcher? I don't know. Let's dive into it on today's Locked-on Broncos Squad Show. 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 Lockdown Podcast Network can. Gear up and squad up, the Broncos squad show starts now. It is your Lockdown Broncos squad show right here on your Lockdown Broncos YouTube channel and audio feeds.
Starting point is 00:01:00 I hope everyone is doing well in a rainy day in the Mile High City, chance for some snow this evening. So I hope everyone to stay in warm, staying safe out there. We've got the full squad with you guys today. I'm Anilo Piro. We've got Cody Rourke, Sarah Bettinger, and Nick Ferguson going over the latest news and notes in the world of Broncos football. Now, there's not a ton of news and notes from the last time that we've done the show. So we're going to have some fun and kind of do a little projection and looking forward conversation as it pertains to the Broncos in comparison. to the rest of the NFL.
Starting point is 00:01:32 So we'll have some fun with that today. If you're in the chat, we appreciate you guys, as always, feel free to get involved there. We'll go back and forth and have some fun. Cody, how's your dog? You know what? It's a rough night. I'm running on no sleep.
Starting point is 00:01:44 He got neutered and he was whining all night. And I tell you what, Trazidone does nothing for him. That was, I was hoping he was going to sleep. So I was up all night. You know what? But he's right here. He's got a cone on his head.
Starting point is 00:01:56 And he's ready for today's show. Yeah, I woke up and I saw a 130 a. some text message from Cody and I'm like something must not be right because this fools have been at 8 p.m. every night. 7.30. You got to get it right. 7.30. Cody, what kind of owner are you to kind of master your dog that way? Hey, brother. It reduces, uh, it reduces them getting cancer later on down the road. So now and also Bob Barr, as Barb Barker said, help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neuter. The price is wrong.
Starting point is 00:02:30 Well, hopefully your dog Are you like a couple days into this? Did this happen like yesterday? Oh, so yeah, I remember when my dog went through all that. It's a process. Oh, look at that. That's tough guy. I don't get to be inactulated, but he has to wear the cone.
Starting point is 00:02:49 Could you imagine? Could you imagine doing something like that to yourself? It only makes your dog angry. Have you ever, have you never seen Star Wars? what happened to Anakin Skywalker. He was encased this machine for years. Can you think about that?
Starting point is 00:03:06 You can't get nothing, right? Hey, well. Speaking of, man, I mean, I'm all for a good 24-hour rule. The show's been out for over 24 hours at this point. Star Wars, the Darth Mall show, absolutely incredible stuff. I mean, and you said,
Starting point is 00:03:25 you mentioned Anakin, so I won't give away everything, but man, And, you know, old boy makes an appearance. Yeah, at the end there. And you just gave it away, sir. I haven't even seen it. I gave you a 24 hours, man. It's been out for 24 hours.
Starting point is 00:03:39 Oh, my gosh. Jeez, man. Guy Walker's father. You know, it's had to ruin it. Is that a Christmas sweater in May? That is. Yes. Yes, it is. You know why?
Starting point is 00:03:53 It's, uh, may the fifth be with you. Mm. Yeah. Yeah. Cinco, what? No longer It's Revenge of the Fifth. There you go.
Starting point is 00:04:05 Revenge of the Fifth. Revenge of the Fifth. You guys are playing into every Star Wars just fans. Cody's going crazy right now. No, bro. Anything other than the whole Dom Torreto series.
Starting point is 00:04:20 Yeah, sons of anarchy. You know, sons of anarchy, entourage, you know. Football. The Rock. footballers on HBO Remember the Titans
Starting point is 00:04:31 You know Oh my gosh What is like it was in football What are you putting in that tuna Oh my God You guys seriously should see When him and I did a radio show together It was crazy
Starting point is 00:04:46 We were from what was it 4 to 6 And dude You guys think this show's off the rails You guys should have Should listen to that one back We had the best sound bites in the world Shout out to Danny Bailey
Starting point is 00:04:56 Best producer in the game That of my dog TV. All right. We should probably talk Morocco's now. Yeah. Why don't we try to get a little bit on track here? And like I said, I mean, honestly for the chat, if you guys have any like broad stroke questions, you guys want to throw out that we can debate.
Starting point is 00:05:09 Happy to entertain that as well. Because so what? Before we kind of get started with some of our topics, the all season program, Cody, officially started yesterday, I believe, correct? Yes, it did. It did. Jalen Waddle was there. Bow Nix was there.
Starting point is 00:05:21 Upper body program for him, rehab. A lot, according to some people I spoke to, a lot of players. showed up, obviously, for the event yesterday. And they're in the building. Rookie is going to start getting acclimated. Rookie Mni-Camp's going to be Friday, Saturday, and Sunday this week. So a lot of movement. A lot of movement there and a lot of exciting things because, you know,
Starting point is 00:05:42 at least we're going to get one of those practices here this week that we get a in its entirety. So I'm excited for it. And it may have been Sean that said this. For some reason, I'm thinking it's a player and I forget. But Nick, I think you could speak to this a little bit, just having obviously played in the NFL. But it seems like a lot of the Broncos.
Starting point is 00:05:58 tend to stay in the Mile High City during the off season. And they should have pretty good participation when it comes to the opening rounds of the offseason program. I'm not sure if that's necessarily the case for a lot of other NFL teams. Obviously, we know a lot of the players live here for year round because it's a great place to live. They'll go on vacations and all that kind of stuff. But like what do you just make of like a lot of the guys staying in town
Starting point is 00:06:19 during the off season as opposed to maybe going home and disconnecting and getting away from it completely? Oh, man, it's the biggest thing. It's the damn altitude. You know how difficult it is to go down to sea level and below sea level and try to train and you come back here and you all gassed out? And listen, Sean Payton did, you know, what most coaches don't really do. He gave his team an extensive amount of time off.
Starting point is 00:06:41 And we understand why. I mean, when you go deep into the playoffs and you a Super Bowl team, that wears your team down. I mean, we've seen it with Denver Nuggets. We've seen it with other teams. But this is a great move by Sean because he scores some brownie points with his team. And it reminds me of something that, you know, Mike Shanahan used to do, but Shanahan would give us a couple of days off in training camp. And what this is going to do with that locker room,
Starting point is 00:07:07 they're going to come back fired up. One, they're pissed off that they lost. And they're telling themselves, you listen, and we played against Seattle, we would have won that damn game. So now you give them this much time off, all the guys I think probably reported, and you're going to get a more enthusiastic part. So I'm interested to see how this part,
Starting point is 00:07:27 of the off season actually kind of carries over into training camp. Here's the payoff, right? All right, we're going to give you some extra time off. I think it was well-deserved. Players need that, especially considering how far they went. But it's also a, hey, get ready for training camp because it's going to be tough. It's going to be grueling. Like, we'll get you there.
Starting point is 00:07:46 We'll get you right. So that's kind of where I think we see everything now with this team. I'm excited. I've talked to a couple of players that, you know, ahead of this week that were going to the offseason program. They said they're excited. They feel like they got a lot of work. they have to do.
Starting point is 00:07:58 They liked last season, but they said, we want to go further. So I'm excited to see that mentality all starts here. It starts this week, believe it or not. I don't think training camp is going to be as tough as we think it is, because a lot of these guys are veteran guys, they've been grooved into this offense. So I think this is going to be that year where they're going to have certain moments in practice where they're going to really get after it. But this is going to be one of those training camps where you just try to
Starting point is 00:08:27 to ease your guys in. And the reason I say that, because look how close they came, right? So you don't want to beat guys up in training camp. You just want to make sure everyone knows their assignment. Everyone understands what the assignment is and make sure that they get their guys through September, December, and in January. So I don't think it's going to be that physical, but it's probably going to be intense far as to how you build that competition and training camp.
Starting point is 00:08:54 Yeah. And I think maybe tough isn't the right word. but Sarah, I think there's going to be a super level of focus, right? Just because of what we've talked about here is like coming off of the AFC championship game, knowing that if Bo is healthy, like just knowing what this team could accomplish. Like everything is on the table for this Broncos team in the upcoming season, right? We're talking Super Bowl contenders. We're talking all that kind of stuff as well.
Starting point is 00:09:17 So maybe why, and Nick could obviously speak to it as well. Like level of physicality and training camp has just dwindled over the years because of a number of different reasons. But I think the focus level, the mental, aspect of training camp and the entire offseason program, you'd have to think will be heightened going into this offseason or going into these programs just because of what's at stake for the team this upcoming year. Yeah, the details are going to be just hammered over and poured over.
Starting point is 00:09:41 I think that's going to be a really big deal for, especially the veteran leadership on this team. And Cody and I were talking about this the other day that, you know, when you think about the Broncos and how Sean Payton has run things and what's at stake this year with, you know, him potentially being able to become the first ever NFL head coach to win a Super Bowl with multiple franchises. What's interesting is like the timing of what's, you know, as we get closer to the offseason program on field work, Davis Webb taking over the play calling and how big of
Starting point is 00:10:09 an impact that is and, you know, kind of looming large over this whole offseason program is that transition. And why would Sean Payton make that, you know, change at this particular time with so much at stake. And I think that part of the reason why he's willing to do that is the player leadership and the fact that you have so many guys who have to your guys' point, you know, been around for years at this point who, like Nick was saying, that these guys know the drill. They know how difficult and how demanding it can be. So it's going to be more so the players helping in terms of, hey, the details that got us to where we were last year. We've, we've all taken this kind of long road to getting there. And we know what it takes. So the new guys who
Starting point is 00:10:50 are coming in. It's like, hey, we're going to now show you what details it requires of you to get us past this point, you know, because that's what's going to matter for this team, is doing little things right, executing in all phases. And so that's what I'm excited to see is how that player leadership translates to that on-field intensity for every part of this off-season program. Cody, who do you think are the biggest leaders in the locker room? Because I think you can make a case for a number of different guys, right? But there's not like, at least in my opinion, guys that just come
Starting point is 00:11:23 out and scream like this is our team, that this is, you know, all that kind of stuff. Like I think Garrett Bowles fits that mold. Obviously he's been there for a long time. He's more of a, he's more of a lead by example versus just like being the rah, raw, raw talk guy. You know, that's just kind of how there is. I don't think they have
Starting point is 00:11:39 many raw, raw talk guys though. Like, it seems like it's Sean. Sean does, but from what I know and like talking to players, Cortland is that guy behind the scenes. Just, he leads by example. He talks when he needs to. I would say Jonathan Cooper is probably the biggest hunger right now for this team. PS2 is more of a lead by example, but there's times where he goes up and he speaks. I would say one thing after every game when they get in the huddle, like Jonathan
Starting point is 00:12:03 Cooper is going to give the team speech on the field, right? He's going to get those guys fired up. But PS2 is also going to go through and talk to his own unit guys and the secondary, get the breakdown there with those guys. He's more of the, when he says something, you pay attention because he doesn't say much often. He just leads by example. Hufanga, I would say is definitely a vocal leader. Benito, Benito can be vocal, but Benito is more of a lead by example.
Starting point is 00:12:28 I'd say the loudest guys you'd probably see in terms of like, if I had to pick one on the offensive side of the ball, it would be probably Cortland Sutton, Mike McGlinchie. Bo, you know, Bo is, I mean, Bo is a great leader. I know we could factor him into this, but Bo is more of those guys like, hey, guys, let's lock in, let's do our thing. You know, you're going to get a motivational
Starting point is 00:12:48 message, I think, from a guy like Mike McGlenshy. But though I think Sean kind of takes control of the offense. Defensively, Jonathan Cooper, he's going to set the team on fire with what he says. Yeah, that tracks. That tracks. And I don't think it's a bad thing to have a lot of these guys, like, not necessarily be rah-rah energy.
Starting point is 00:13:06 Like, I think this lead by, like, they're all adults in the room, right? Like, they're professionals. Like, this isn't high school ball. This isn't college ball. You can waste a lot of energy by being too rah-rah. You can kind of, you know, address. adrenaline is a weird game. You know, it starts, you're excited.
Starting point is 00:13:21 You get the butterflies pregame. That's one thing I miss about playing, man. I miss the butterflies right before the game and then go in and give them a speech to the guys. But with that, you got to be in control because you go through all that adrenaline right there. And all of a sudden there's this cool off period. You're just like, oh, shoot. All right. I just did this, this and this.
Starting point is 00:13:39 But I think they're very well in control of that in terms of, at least from what I've seen from these guys. Yeah. And I think. The two guys, go ahead, Nila. I was going to say, and then you could feed off this point as well, Nick, is I think with the leadership style and just the overall locker room dynamic, like truly knowing what they did last season, it's a marathon, not a sprint, right? And you don't want to get too amped up too early on because you know you're going to be playing for an extra month potentially than a majority of these other NFL teams, Nick. Yeah, I mean, all of that is true. And I would say that there's two guys, well, you guys didn't mention that I think are the biggest leaders on the Broncos team because what is leadership?
Starting point is 00:14:17 everyone leads a little different. You guys talked about PS2, who reminds me of Chan Bailey, who never really said a whole hell of a lot. And like you said about PS2, when he spoke, you listen because he rarely said a thing, and he allowed his play to speak volume. So these two players that I want to toss out, and I look at the why I'm tossing these two players out,
Starting point is 00:14:39 based on what they've actually gone through individually. And it's the diversity and the challenges that you go through, but more importantly, overcoming those, that really brings out a true leader in you, the first guy would be Garrett Bowles. Think about what people said about Garrett Bowes, his first couple of years here, when he was in that can't get right mode,
Starting point is 00:14:58 where he was having so many penalties when number 72 was announced, the fans just went, oh, you're right? Well, look at the person he's become now. And you look at Alex Singleton. Those are the two players that I would say, in no disrespect to Jonathan Cooper, because I think he's a leader in his own right,
Starting point is 00:15:16 But those two guys, because of what they went through, I mean, when they speak, guys are really going to listen. And then known as though, I mean, Corwin Sutton and Garrett Bowes are elder statesmen for the Broncos team like with Justin Simmons that did not win a playoff game. But those two guys can say it. So I look at those two guys as being leaders on this team. But I do believe this. We need to see this team have a little more edge, right? Not saying you need a whole team full of these guys, but you need a couple of them. And the reason I'm saying that because go back and look at that 2015 team, right?
Starting point is 00:15:55 Everyone knows that Peyton Manning was the figurehead, but who was the voice? It was the no-fly zone, right? It was those guys in the way that they led the team, even though it was a little disruptive for opponents, they were chatt to snatch and chains, but that kind of got the fans going. That got everyone else going. So I would like to see those two guys, Garibos and Alex Singleton step it up. And I would like to see some other guys show a little more grit and aggression. The one thing I would say to that, and I agree with you, is, Coding, like, you and I are in those locker rooms after the game.
Starting point is 00:16:31 Like, and obviously we don't get to see, like, club dub necessarily, but like the aftermath per se. Like, those guys have that. They just don't exuberantly show it. Like, well, me, and I get this after a win and people are hyped up and all that kind of stuff as well. But when I'm in that locker room after a game, it's a completely different energy than it is during practice, right? Because during the week during practice, it's very cool, calm, collected reserve.
Starting point is 00:16:51 But you see that personality really start to shine after the games in that post-game locker room, I'd say, Cody. Yeah, and a lot of these guys, look, I feel like they don't want to do it for the cameras. You know, it's kind of behind the scenes. And the guys in that locker room know exactly what they're getting. DJ Jones, Malcolm Roach. Those guys are great examples, I would say,
Starting point is 00:17:10 of what we are talking about here. And look, I think that, These guys, they don't need motivation. They have enough internal motivation. You know, they look at maybe some stuff on the outside. They have, I think this team has a chip on their shoulder. At least last year, that's what we saw from them. You know, 2024 was, hey, like everyone's, everyone wrote these guys off before the season saying they're going to be the candidate for the number one overall pick in the NFL draft.
Starting point is 00:17:34 They've got the worst roster in the NFL. And, you know, they just kind of put their heads down. You know, they got into a little slump early on. Bo Nicks struggled through the first four games before he. He threw his first touchdown pass. I think that was in week four against the New York Jets. And then all of a sudden, they just kind of went on this run. Like, Bo had a couple of games where four touchdowns here, four touchdowns there.
Starting point is 00:17:53 He was surgical. He was sharp. You saw him duel with Patrick Mahomes where he set the walk goes up to win that game. Unfortunately, a special team's blunder kind of changed that. So then we started to see that legend of this team grow where it's like, we don't need to talk about it. We've got to do these things. 2025 was we don't need to talk about it.
Starting point is 00:18:10 We're just going to go out there and do it. Like we've been in these situations. we need to find a way to flip them into our favor. They did that. And I would say that just knowing these guys in this locker room, you don't have to worry about them getting up for something. Like they're ready for it, whatever it is. And they also have the right mindset too where it is just,
Starting point is 00:18:29 hey, we're focused on this week. We're not focused on week 10. We've got two straight road games and two divisional games back to back after that that we've got to look ahead to. If it's week four, they're focused on week four, not week 10. That's the one thing I like about the maturity. level of this team. Yeah. No, I'm with you. I'm with you. And I'm sure we'll see all that kind of play out here as the offseason program is officially underway and training camp will be
Starting point is 00:18:50 here in the blink of an eye, it feels like. So we'll have some fun with that. But speaking to having some fun, let's get a quick break. When we come back, let's get into our first whiteboard topic. And we want to get the chat involved. So get ready for you guys as well. I'll present the question when we come back and we'll have some fun here on today's Locked on Barranco's squad show. Back in just a moment, folks. All right, you guys. Let me tell you about our friends over at Fanduil because the NBA playoffs are here in every possession matters. If you're looking to get even closer to the action, Fandual has a great offer to get you started. Right now, new customers can bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins.
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Starting point is 00:20:31 All right, welcome on back into your Locked on Broncos squad show at the full crew here today. And Cody, you and Sarah, do an excellent job with your standard locked on show, but also you guys do a great job with the Everyday Air Club. Yeah, no, the Every Day or Club
Starting point is 00:20:45 It's just a great way for Broncos fans to get more than what they get out of the squad show, out of the regular locked on shows that we do. You get access to our Discord community. Other members of Broncos country where you can interact with them and other locked on shows that maybe you like, you get interacted with audiences. I've been chatting all week long in the Nuggets Discord on Locked on Nuggets because of how porous their season ended. I've been sharing my thoughts in there.
Starting point is 00:21:06 But you also get, as I mentioned, an ad-free version of the show. You get one-on-one texting with Sarah and myself if you're part of the All-Axcess Club and you get exclusive of all 22 film breakdowns as well in season. So when the regular season rolls forward, preseason, you're going to get all 22 film breakdowns that go exclusively in there. We'll break down scheme. We'll look at technique. We'll go through X's and O's terminology,
Starting point is 00:21:28 everything like that that'll help you be maybe a little bit more incited. And we're watching games on Sunday. Maybe you can call out formations and coverages. That's our goal and that's our objective through the everyday All Access Club. Yeah, I think it's a great concept that Lockdown has launched. And I think you guys in particular do a great job because, look, Denver is a Broncos town. Like we love the Nuggets. We love the Avalanche. We love the Rockies when they're good as well. But like it will always be a Broncos town. And there's a ton of Broncos fans.
Starting point is 00:21:53 And if you want to stand out amongst the rest, be sure to join the everydayer club because Cody and Sarah will get your right with some of that details and everything else that comes with it as well. So be sure to check them out, guys. Okay. I love the whiteboard questions that you threw out in our chat earlier today. Let's start with the wide receiver one. Just because I think this one, you could go a number of different ways. And the way that you phrase this question, Cody, is which wide receiver will have the best season with their new squad? The three options presented here, of course, Jalen Waddle with the Denver Broncos, DJ Moore, who is traded to the Buffalo Bills, and Mike Evans, who signed with the San Francisco 49ers. So two guys that were traded, one guy that was signed, and all three of these guys are playing for teams that have a chance to go out there.
Starting point is 00:22:40 and win a Super Bowl. So Mike Evans, DJ Moore, Jalen Waddle, of those three wide receivers, who do we think is going to be the best and have the biggest impact in their first year? Yeah, make sure the chat, make sure you get your answers in as well as you were listening. And we're going to obviously explain these. Do you want to do all together or do you want to do one by one? I think all together is better. Yeah, that's fine with me.
Starting point is 00:23:03 I got mine. We got them all, we got them all written down. All right, ready? Three, two, one. Nick and I are always on the same page with this stuff, I swear. I got Waddle. Okay. I got Waddle, but I think you can make a strong argument for D.J. Moore.
Starting point is 00:23:20 The reason I say there's a little bit of a change that maybe in the DJ Moore, I think DJ is going to a great place for Josh Allen. But they have 17, I mean, they have so much turnover there that organization right now. Like that to me is one of the bigger questions. Whereas for the Broncos, J.L. Waddle is coming into a scenario that was pretty good last year with the group the Denver had. He elevates everything. I think he's got more to gain, obviously, whereas I think DJ Moore is going to have a big impact for Josh Allen. I just feel like Jalen Waddle is going to probably be the biggest needle mover here out of any of those scenarios.
Starting point is 00:23:57 Here's how I'll phrase it, and I'll kick it to you after this, Sarah, is I think DJ Moore, Jalen Waddle will mean more to the Broncos than DJ Moore means to the bills. But I think that's because to Cody's point, like you're coming into a different system for Jalen Walth, as is DJ Moore as well. But I think like Josh Allen has been so starved for production and just overall talent, the wide receiver position that I think you're going to see them seamlessly fit DJ Moore into their system and they're going to feed him the ball. I think it's going to be a much more big picture approach with Jalen Waddle. And I think because you bring in Jailen Waddle, that's good for Croydon. It's good for Troy Franklin. It's good for Pat Bryan. So I think
Starting point is 00:24:34 it's kind of like splitting hairs to a certain extent. I think Waddle has the bigger overall impact, but I think DJ Moore might individually be the better player when it's all set it done. Yeah. See, I think what Darien made a good point in the chat and is kind of the direction that I'm going to go as well, he says that DJ might have better stats, but Waddle more impact. And I think that's going to be 100% accurate because I think Waddle is the better player in
Starting point is 00:25:01 just about every way in terms of talent, in terms of skills and what he brings to the table. However, what DJ Moore has in his back pocket is a history with Joe Brady. You know, with Carolina, they utilized him there before and Joe Brady's familiar with DJ Moore. And so they're going to be able to more seamlessly incorporate him into the offense, given the fact that he knows the offense. And so I think that's a advantage in his, you know, in his camp,
Starting point is 00:25:28 but also the fact that I think the bills are sort of starved to force feed a player like DJ Moore in their office. offense. Like what we saw last year with Josh Allen in that wide receiver position was really a gaping hole in the ship that ultimately sank their cause late in the season because they didn't have, I mean, literally came down to a ball getting ripped out of Brandon Cook's hands that ended their season, right? So, or eventually ended their season. So you get a player like DJ Moore, who his best skill is the ability to take the ball right. You snap the ball, you throw it over to DJ Moore, he doesn't even have to get open on hot.
Starting point is 00:26:08 You just throw him the ball and he goes and creates offense for you. And, you know, he is on the back end of his NFL career at this point. So it's like, okay, can what more juice can we squeeze out of DJ Moore? Joe Brady's probably the best coach to do that at this point, if not Ben Johnson. And so I think that DJ Moore might have better stats because I think he's going to be the unquestioned, undisputed, number one option in their passing game. whereas Jalen Waddle is entering an offense that is, hey, we distribute the ball to everybody. We get everybody involved.
Starting point is 00:26:43 So his impact on the offense in Denver is going to be as much as what he's doing without the ball as what he's doing when he gets the ball. Because, yeah, he can separate. Yeah, he can create after the catch. Yes, he can blow the top off a defense. He's going to do all those things. But he's not going to always be that Jalen Waddle is going to attract so much attention that Cortland Sutton is going to. to get one-on-one opportunities on the outside. And Jalen Waddle is going to attract so much attention that J.K. Dobbins is no longer going to be facing an eight-man box or more, you know, the third
Starting point is 00:27:15 most percentage of any running back in the NFL like he did last year. So Jalen's impact, in my opinion, is going to be far greater than any, I would say, any acquisition that any NFL team made, coaches, players, trades, free agents, draft. Jalen Waddle is the best addition any team made in the NFL this offseason, in my opinion. Nick, you said DJ Moore. Yeah, I would agree with Sarah and saying, well, you know, adding Jalen Wado, yeah, he's going to make a huge impact because he's going to draw a lot of attention. But I'm going to lean heavily in on DJ Moore and here's why.
Starting point is 00:27:52 When you look at overall from an offensive standpoint, for me, I think the Buffalo bills have a better crew because you have Josh Allen, who's a MVP in his league. Bo Nix will eventually get to that point. But you also throw James Cook in there too as well. And we know what he can do as the pass catching running back and the guy you can hand it off to. We have no idea as of yet what the Broncos run game is going to look like. We're hoping that, you know, with Dobbins being back
Starting point is 00:28:25 and the fact that, you know, he'll be healthy. And RJ Harvey and Jonah Coleman, there's a lot of hope there. But here's what I know with the Buffalo bills. That's something that's been proven. Now, you get, you know, a guy with Shakir, right, who is dangerous in the slot. But here's also the other advantage that I give Buffalo over the Broncos. They have Kincaid and Dawson Knox, who at any point from a tight end standpoint, can stretch the field. Now, if you can tell me that you're going to get that same level production from the Broncos tight end group,
Starting point is 00:29:00 I'll change my mind, but right now I'm going to go with Buffalo. So what that means for DJ Moore, who maybe not as fast as Jalen Wado, but he is a strong wide receiver. You can throw it to him on a perimeter when you start throwing those kind of tunnel screens and you know he can break it. And even though we saw him with Caleb Williams in Chicago, we saw DJ Moore make some impressive catches. So think about Josh Allen's ability to make plays inside and outside the pocket.
Starting point is 00:29:30 And I think that DJ Moore, once again, we're talking either stats or big impact. I think DJ Moore from a statistical standpoint probably will help Buffalo bills out more so than Jaylon Waddle. That's just my thoughts. I feel like when you look at Buffalo, nobody has a better supporting cast around him than Josh Allen. You look at the run game with obviously Cook, but even the competition they're going to have for that RB2 spot. Ty Johnson, I know dealt with some injuries last year. He'll be back. You mentioned the two tight ends they have.
Starting point is 00:30:01 They're not giving up on Keon Coleman, obviously. They bring in DJ more. They have Khalil Shakir, who's obviously a very important player for them. And you have outside of it, mostly your same offensive line returning. I know they lost it. What was it? One of their guards, their interior guards. But for me, it's like I look at, and Josh Allen.
Starting point is 00:30:16 Josh Allen is an unbelievable freaking talent. Denver, I feel like has done more with less in terms of overall production. Like question mark for Denver right now, tight end, tied in, what that looks like, that production, that impact. Denver doesn't have that same element right now that the Buffalo Bills have in terms of that production. Though I'd say you can make an argument for Denver's receiving corps. Now they got multiple guys. You'd not only have Cortland Sutton, but you have Jay Lenoato who was dominated and who was eaten against the Buffalo bills in the past.
Starting point is 00:30:44 You know what you got with Marvin Mims, who obviously shouldered the load against Buffalo last year in the playoffs and did a tremendous job. You have Troy Franklin who obviously can make some big plays for you. Pat Bryan, who the team likes. To me, I think that Josh has a best. better system and a better established support system around him right now than Bo does. But I think because they can run the ball well with James Cook, we don't know what the Bronco was run game necessarily is. That's where I think the impact of Jalen Waddle is going to come in and make a bigger
Starting point is 00:31:12 difference because of what Sair said. You can't load the box as much because now you've got to worry about Jalen Wado beating you. You got to worry about Cortland beating you. And now that gives your run game maybe an opportunity to thrive this upcoming season, which if it impacts the receiving game, your quarterback play, your run game. one player can impact those three areas, that's where I was kind of leaning with Jalen in this situation. But I think there's good arguments for both, especially with DJ.
Starting point is 00:31:37 Right. Let me add this into as well. So when DJ Moore was in Carolina, when Brady was the officer coordinator, Teddy Bridgewater was the quarterback. And DJ Moore for 2020 and 2021, he went for more than, you know, 1,200 yards receiving. and you had chosen Anderson as one of those receivers.
Starting point is 00:32:01 And oh, by the way, the runnerback he had in Carolina was CMC. So that being said, I feel as though Joe Brady has been here before. He's seen this before. So he's going to try to replicate the same thing he had in Carolina, but in this case, he has a better quarterback. Now, I know we're splitting hairs or whatever when we talk about these wide receivers. I think both guys are going to have a tremendous impact on their offense. And also, if I were to say, well, Jalen Waddle could have a better impact on the Broncos from an offensive standpoint, guess what it comes down to?
Starting point is 00:32:38 Which other teams, the bills, or the Broncos have the better defense? So you get a little more stops. That's more opportunities for your quarterback. That's in my mind where I say, well, Waddle can have a bigger impact because the defense is going to give the ball back to the Broncos. but from a stat standpoint, I think is going to be DJ Moore. Notice how nobody said Mike Evans. I was just about to say that. You know, it's funny because Mike obviously was hurt a lot of last year,
Starting point is 00:33:05 and he's going now to a San Francisco team where there's no more Debo, there's no more Brandon I, Youk, there's no more Joanne Jennings, George Kittle is possibly going to miss the first part of the season. So, I mean, you could make a case for Mike Evans, who has kind of just been like an automatic thousand yards whenever he is out there on the field. So I don't, I mean, but I think that's an interesting kind of point there because where you look at that situation and I just obviously Evans is he's older, but that doesn't mean that he can't go out there and ball out. Kyle Shanahan, you tell him he doesn't know how to use an older Mike Evans. Like he's going to maximize him.
Starting point is 00:33:42 So I think they're really, I think all three additions that that we debated, they really do make so much sense for each individual team. Like, I don't know. It just it, it's almost like everybody. kind of got the perfect, like if you would put Jalen Waddle on the bills, which we know, I'm pretty sure the bills tried to trade for him or at least, you know, so they wanted him. But it feels like everything kind of worked out to where like the football gods orchestrated it to be like, okay, this is how the pieces of the puzzle need to fit together because ultimately this is where each of these guys can thrive because I do think you could make a legitimate argument for any of them.
Starting point is 00:34:20 Yeah, I think so too. and I'm not sleeping on Mike Evans. I just think it's San Francisco and the CMAX healthy and the quarterback's healthy. And that's always the question with San Francisco's, can they stay healthy? And if they could, it could very well be my guess. Better watch out for that electrical magnetic field over there that they got next to that practice facility. I would say I'm avoiding a joint training camp practice over yonder. Yeah, I think that's safe to say as well.
Starting point is 00:34:43 Real quick, is IUC a free agent? Like, did they ever remedy that situation? Like, what the heck's going on with him? He hasn't reported, but they're not going to release him. they're not planning on it. What a bizarre situation. He seemed like he's going to end up with Adam Peters in Washington. That's what it seems like.
Starting point is 00:35:01 Possibly. He's ghosting the 49ers. That'll probably be at the end of his contract. Right. Which he wants them to cut him because ultimately I think they voided the guarantees in his deal. So it's like he's not even answering John Lynch's phone calls. So Nick, you might have to start doing some detective work on that and find out what's the deal with that. because ultimately, yeah, they avoided his money and he's not getting paid by the 49ers,
Starting point is 00:35:27 the money that he was initially guaranteed. And so he's just saying, you know what, I'm not going to, I'm not going to help them like trade me, you know. So I think, yeah, it's a bizarre situation that ultimately doesn't end well for anybody in that instance because I don't know. I don't think so. Well, in this case, for me, it's like, you know, instead of getting divorced, you're staying together, you know, for the sake of the kids.
Starting point is 00:35:50 I mean, the things are already where they are. So, I mean, you doesn't want to be a part of San Francisco. San Francisco doesn't want him to be a part of them. So just release it, right? I mean, you try to trade him and there was no value there because everyone's saying, well, why give up draft capital for a guy when we know you want to cut him anyway and we just wait. We'll just wait them out. Stole them out, Debo. Well, also on top of that, you made the analogy about like sticking with it for the kids.
Starting point is 00:36:18 here's the thing like in this situation you know they may be like staying together for the kids sake but they're sleeping in two different houses right now it's it's one of those weird scenarios i don't think we've seen anything like this horse sign the papers what here's here's where it is though he signed a contract initially he failed to live up to it he felt to even report the team tried to provide him with resources that would help him during his ACL recovery and then he just started doing these really really weird things they're not the NFL let alone the 49ers are not going to just be like, all right, because this dude went off to deep end, we're not going to give him what he wants.
Starting point is 00:36:53 We're just going to, we voided his guarantees. We're going to ride out the remainder of the contract. And when his contract is up, then, yeah, he can go elsewhere. I don't think they're going to trade him unless they get a really good offer. But at the same time, too, like Darien says in their comments, it seems like he's given up football. Like, if you're a team, aren't you concerned about, hey, is this guy even, is this guy even want to play anymore?
Starting point is 00:37:16 Does this guy love football? He wants to play. He just doesn't want to play that. If I was Brandon Iuke and I had this number, I would have told him calling Antonio Brown. Oh, no. The reason why I say he knows how to get out of contracts. Wow.
Starting point is 00:37:32 He's pooping it. Yeah. Antonio Brown running off the football field with the bucks is still burned into my memory. Yeah. Now what's he doing? He's, what is he, a kick streamer? I think he's like going to jail. he's supposed to. I thought it was like attempted murder.
Starting point is 00:37:51 Yeah. That's what I thought. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, it's crazy, man. Talk about a fall from grace. Dude, that guy at the peak of his powers is absolutely unbelievable. Oh, my goodness. Okay. There's a lot. Rontes is perfect. Yeah. Let's hit a quick break when we come back. We'll go to whiteboard question number two right here on your lockdown Bronco Squatchez. All right, you guys, let me tell you about our friends over at Indeed, because workplace chaos deadline stacking up, inbox is overflowing. and the one position you have to fill is still sitting open. When the pressure's on and you need the right hire,
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Starting point is 00:39:36 Okay, Lacton Broncos squad show run along here on this gloomy, rainy, soon to be snowy Tuesday afternoon in the Mile High City. But, you know, we need it. It's been so, I almost cussed. so, whoa, darn dry. Whoa. Yeah,
Starting point is 00:39:52 caught myself there. Oh, did you put another Cody Rourke in your coffee? Something like, I actually haven't had coffee. I woke up this morning, I'm like,
Starting point is 00:39:59 do I want to go get coffee? Do I not want to go get coffee? And I just ended up, you know, I got to say, I got to have a coffee before the abs game. Yeah, bro.
Starting point is 00:40:07 I'll make you a coffee, bro. And I'll bring it over. Get yourself some desert donuts as well. There you go. There you go. I love it. Real quick,
Starting point is 00:40:15 did you guys see Cody's tweet yesterday about eating hamburger protein bowls at 9 o'clock in the morning. I did. Why are you hating? Why are you hating? I just think it sounds good. I'm just like 9 a.m. for a hamburger.
Starting point is 00:40:28 Like that's a... You're going to be appalled at what I did this morning. I had one at 7 o'clock this morning. Seven. Wow. What did you put in it? No, Rodgers, you meal prep, 937 ground beef. Now, when the beef is done cooking, you put some...
Starting point is 00:40:43 You put a little bit of ketchup in it. Not a lot. You put some Warsheshire Shire, or whatever the heck that damn. word is sauce. No one can really say that word. A tiny bit of soy sauce and then you stir it all up and you mix it with an entire bag of reduced fat, sharp cheddar cheese. And then you just put that, you know, about 150 grams in the bowl, man.
Starting point is 00:41:03 And with the data. Yeah, but it goes across the whole entire thing. You distribute it evenly amongst eight different bowls. Sounds like you make it. It comes out to 40 grams of protein, 300 something calories. Oh, my gosh. Well, yeah. Here's the thing.
Starting point is 00:41:20 I probably had more protein today, like in an hour than you've probably had in two weeks, buddy. So. Wow. Is that supposed to make me feel some type of way, bro? You always go, you're always going to the gym. You've got to have protein. Yeah. I have the protein special a day, whatever they're going to serve me at Ballerina tonight.
Starting point is 00:41:41 So we'll see what happens. Food poisoning. There you go. No, they've been good. They've been good. It ain't no Broncos media food. I can tell you that. They've been solid for the nuggets of the ass.
Starting point is 00:41:50 Go abs, by the way. It's going to be a banger game here tonight. Okay, whiteboard question numero dose. I'm going to be very surprised if any of us have the same answer for this one because you could literally go so many different ways. There's so many different opponents that Denver can play at home. You have to factor in. Look, there's going to be three potential divisional games that you have to worry about.
Starting point is 00:42:15 You have some tough opponents in your non-conference schedule, too, on the NFC side of things. And you got some AFC East counterparts as well coming to town. I'm curious to see what your answer. I got mine already. And then there's another question that maybe we can kind of vamp off of after we go through this as well with regard to the schedule, which we know will be released here in probably a couple of weeks. Just show your answer. All right.
Starting point is 00:42:40 Who do we think the Broncos are playing on their home opener? Let's showcase it. Let's go. Oh. There we go. All three, all four different. Love that for us. Okay, so Raiders, Dolphins, Serwent, Seahawks, and who did you have, Nick?
Starting point is 00:42:56 Buffalo. Buffalo. Do the Broncos play this Tehawks at home? I don't even remember. Yeah. But I don't think, I mean, it could. Yeah, home opener. We didn't say week one.
Starting point is 00:43:04 Yeah. So, you're right. So, 26, home opponents. Chiefs, Chargers, Riders, Bills, Deguars, plus one TBD. Jaguars, one TBD. They're going to, they're going to. this is this is what i'll say okay like the NFL is going to save like the patriots and the bills i think uh and some of these other like those are going to be reserved i think for whatever the
Starting point is 00:43:29 you know the premier games are going to be midseason probably right wouldn't you think i mean i know they want to get some big matchups early on but like it feels like the broncos have played a lot of their nfc opponents early in the year lately i don't know if that's just maybe i'm just, I don't know if I'm misremembering it or. Well, we'll even think back to last year, right? I mean, it was backloaded with Jacksonville, the chiefs twice, the Chargers. There's another game in there that I think I'm spacing on. That was a competitive one.
Starting point is 00:43:59 Green Bay, that's what I was thinking of. Oh, yeah. It's like those playoff caliber teams. Yeah. This is going to be a tougher, tougher schedule, at least in theory. Like, in terms of the opponent's names, now right now, I see everybody talking about strength of schedule. That stuff is so garbage.
Starting point is 00:44:17 It doesn't matter. How a team did last year has no bearing on what they're going to do this year. So like the whole strength of schedule thing, pound sand with that. Like that's the one thing that drives me nuts because now you see all these little Drake made nerd fanboys on Twitter talking to that schedule, schedule, shut up.
Starting point is 00:44:34 Well, you know what I'd say to that too? It is part of the reason why the Patriots were in the position they were in is because they played a last play schedule last year. They had like the definition of a case. week walk last year. But here's the thing. They don't control essentially like who they play or how the teams they put, you know, how the teams that they're playing this year played last year. Like, it's different every year. Like, look at the Jaguars, for example. The Jaguars are a team that year prior, they were terrible. The other year, I mean, this past season, they made the playoffs. They
Starting point is 00:45:02 were good. They were a very good team. So it's like the idea they're like, oh, because people look at strength of schedule. Like, wow, this should be, okay, we should win 15, 16 games because we have the 29th rank strength of schedule. Like, it just drives me nuts, man. Well, Cody, I want to say the strength of schedule, it does play somewhat of a row. It is not the whole pie. It is a portion of the pie because what were we hearing and what were people saying when leading up to the Super Bowl, even when the Broncos were getting reset to host the New England Patriots?
Starting point is 00:45:38 Well, they had the easiest schedule. So no one was looking at them as a true contender. They were calling them paper tigers. So a little of that factors in because if you're playing a last play schedule, it only increases your odds because you think about Baltimore. Baltimore, they are playing a 24th, you know, strongest schedule. So they should fare a lot better with the additions they made in the draft and what they made, the additions they made in free agency.
Starting point is 00:46:07 So that could be a team that shocks everyone. Like Kansas City, they have the fifth toughest schedule. And I thought that, you know, maybe the odds makers would change things and the schedule makers would change things for Kansas City, known as though Patrick Mahomes is going to be out for at least six to eight games. I know there was a report that he was, they seen him walking around at the team facility. So who knows? Maybe he has that Wolverine blood and he may come back early.
Starting point is 00:46:34 But I think the strength of schedule plays in just a sort of. small fraction, but it's not the overall pie. Yeah. My thing that drives me nuts with it is it's it's social media people's way of thinking that they're smart, right? It's like, I'm the loudest guy in the room because they have the strongest schedule. They have the weakest schedule. It's like at the end of the day, like what matters to me more when I look at a schedule is okay, hey, like who are the players that this team has to match up against, right? If I'm looking at Denver defensively, who's the best receiving core they got to face this year? Who's the best quarterback? Who's got the
Starting point is 00:47:07 past rusher and defense that they got to face. When is the toughest stretch? Are they playing this team in a month where you could expect super cold weather and snow outdoors, right? Like all those things I think matter more. But here's the thing. With that, everything changes week one when one player gets hurt and may miss the entire regular season. One of Denver's opponents, hypothetically speaking, let's look at some of the teams at Denver has to play this year. Buffalo, the Rams.
Starting point is 00:47:34 You look at the Seahawks. you're 49ers. Like Denver and the AFC West, they have tough opponents. They got the NFC West. They've got the AFC East. But that could all change week one. Let's say like something God forbid what happened to Josh Allen in week one or Matthew Stafford, whatever may be, it all of a sudden changes everything.
Starting point is 00:47:53 Strength of schedule at that point really doesn't matter. But I just think that it's going to be an opportunity. Like right now on paper, the Broncos, they're going to face a gotlet of opponents that are going to determine, okay, how legit is this team, at least right now on paper? Could be easy, could be not. But in terms of it determining like record, I think it's crazy that this is what people hang up on. So I'm going to go to Miami Dolphins as the home opener here because you know what? The NFL may want to schedule that game early where the weather is going to be nice in the month of September.
Starting point is 00:48:26 And hey, Jalen Waddle against his former team, a team has got $125 plus million in dead cap, a team that's not looking to really compete this year. They're in a major rebuild. Okay, I want to see that Broncos defense against Malik Willis. Wouldn't that be a sacrifice then that the schedule makers are sacrificing the Miami Dolphins to open the season? He just did the Titans last year. Hey, Cam Ward had to come to Denver for the Broncos home opener last year. That's tough.
Starting point is 00:48:56 That's tough, man. He got backpized, but that made some plays. He did. He did. I think that, look, this is the whole thing with the schedule and stuff, the winning percentage from last year is like, okay, the Jaguars won the AFC South last year, right? What did they?
Starting point is 00:49:10 They went 12 games or whatever it was. The last year's win percentage doesn't take into account that the Jaguars might have had the worst offseason of any team in the NFL. And on the other side of that, it doesn't take into account that the Raiders who had the worst record in the NFL, so the lowest winning percentage added a lot of really good players and could be a lot tougher. So that's the thing that I can't stand about. I get, and I understand that, you know, some of these teams, there's some carryover.
Starting point is 00:49:37 And it's like you can expect them to be good. But at the same time, I mean, every one of us was looking at that Bengals game on Monday night football last year as one of the Broncos's toughest early tests last season. And to Cody's point, like it was Jake Browning out there playing quarterback. And so you just never know. Like the road schedule, in my opinion, looks extremely favorable for the Broncos this year. but it's just difficult to know what version of these teams we're going to get. Are you going to get a Will Howard-led Steelers team or is it going to be Drew Allar out there? Like, what is that team going to even look like with Mike McCarthy instead of, you know,
Starting point is 00:50:12 the automatic nine or ten wins that was Mike Tomlin, right? So last year's Steelers team won the division and they had won nine games or whatever it was, nine or ten games. That record to me is completely irrelevant. Like the only team, you could argue, one of the only teams in the NFL, where last year's winning percentage probably matters when you're looking at strength of schedule is the Broncos because they brought back 71 dudes who were on the roster last year and pretty much the same coaching staff.
Starting point is 00:50:38 So it just looks like, you know, that, oh, well, you got the Patriots on the road. Yeah, who cares? Like, that's great. You know, I don't, it doesn't matter to me where they go or who they're playing against because ultimately it's just too hard to predict what all these teams are going to look like after everything has changed. bro i was going to say with the schedule release coming out i'm anticipating the chargers release right because they always go all out yeah i'm imagining for the chargers here that they show
Starting point is 00:51:05 a cartoonized version of pukkahua with a hannibal lector face mask on because he's going around biting people uh that might be something there when they do the patriots i'll be very curious to see if uh there's a diana russini and mike rable picture that comes up on that in terms of that you know they like to throw shots at that i'm curious there's going to be some fun ones here but i'm also to see what they decided to do here with the Denver Broncos as well. That's always one of the fun things about the schedule release. And also, I gave the Broncos one of the best ideas for a schedule release. I need to circle back and see if they can actually do it.
Starting point is 00:51:39 But one of the guys that I had planned for is still longer on the roster. So I don't know if that idea will work. Well, the schedule is expected to drop between May 12th and May 14th. So we'll get that obviously information sooner rather than later. and we'll do one of those classic game by game predictions, win losses, all that good stuff with the schedule. So Anilo, before you finish that, well, tell us why you made your selection.
Starting point is 00:52:05 Why I went with the Raiders? Because I think Sarah kind of hit on it. I think they're just going to want to save those Chargers chiefs divisional games for later in the year. I think the Raiders have some juice. Obviously, we don't think it's going to be Mendoza as starting quarterback. But you've got Ashen Gentie. You've got Brock Bowers.
Starting point is 00:52:22 Like you would have to think that like the Raiders are a wow. car team. I don't think that, like, not with respect to making the playoffs, but like, if you're going to feature the Raiders prominently, you want to do that early in the season. And Broncos Raiders is a pretty classic traditional rivalry that I could see that kind of fit in the mold of what they may want to go for with the Broncos and the home opener. So that was kind of my, my thought process is you get to save the Patriots who I know we're on the road, you get to save Seattle, you get to save some of these other teams for later in the year when the stakes might be a little higher and still get a little juice early in the year. I'm going to tell you guys, you
Starting point is 00:52:52 you all can kick rocks. But here's why the league, right, I want Buffalo. And if we know how the league operates, it's all about opening day, right? I know everyone gets excited by opening a day in baseball, but there's no opening week better than the NFL. And what better way to kick it off than have the team that you beat before return to the scene of the crime?
Starting point is 00:53:17 What did we just start talking about? We were talking about DJ Moore, and we're talking about J. which one of those guys are going to have a better statistical season and a bigger impact. We get it week one. So we get it out of the way. Just like last year, Buffalo hosted Baltimore, right? And that was a hell of a game.
Starting point is 00:53:35 And that game played a huge role in what happened later in the season. So why not just go ahead, get it out of the way. The Broncos open the season in the Buffalo Bills, get a chance to see what this team is right off the bat. I mean, there's other games you can wait down, down the road, Thursday night game, Monday night game. When we talk about the Rams or the Chiefs or other teams like that, but let's go ahead and get it out of the way. Smash the bills, set the tempo, open up the season, you're 0 and 1. And it's like, let's freaking go. That's a good point.
Starting point is 00:54:09 I mean, they did give us Bill's Ravens on Sunday night football last year. I don't know. And I think that's what's fun about it, right? You can make a number of different arguments. You can go a number of different ways. Like Tennessee was an interesting choice last year. Right? And I don't think that game played out like you and I,
Starting point is 00:54:24 or at least all of us thought it might. It was a scrappy kind of ugly slugfest type of game, but the Broncos got the wins. So we'll see. Let's do this. Let's hit our final break real quick so we can keep the bosses happy. And let's just keep this conversation going to round out the show here on your lockdown Broncos squad show. All right, welcome on back in final segment.
Starting point is 00:54:48 Cody, Sair, Nick, AP. Let's just pick it up where we were where we kind of left off there. Yeah. So I guess let's look at it this. way. Do we think we're going to get like an action-packed fireworks type of game in the home opener? Do we think it'll be a little bit more reserved? Like Nick is inclined to believe that we'll get something big, or do you think it'll be a little more subtle like I was going with the Raiders? I think it'll be a little more subtle. I think maybe like a greater question to this will probably be if we flip it around.
Starting point is 00:55:16 Is the Broncos home opener going to be week one or is going to be week two or is it going to be week three? Well, because they opened in Seattle, right, Beau's rookie year. and they were home against Tennessee. Yep. Yeah, I think they open at home. Yeah, I would think they open at home too often. AFC championship team appearance. Maybe.
Starting point is 00:55:40 What are the ratings? I mean, the ratings, what are the ratings tell us about how many eyes are getting on Broncos games these days? I mean, that most game, I think, was one of the most watched games of the 2024 season two years ago. And then I think last year's Buffalo division around, I don't know to check numbers,
Starting point is 00:55:57 but yeah, it was record. setting. So the Broncos are drawing a lot of eyes. So are they going to get the Broncos under the lights? And if that's the case, then to Nick's point, you would have a premier opponent in all likelihood for that first game. Sunday night football. I was just about to ask that. Do we think they could be Sunday night or even Monday night football? I don't think Sean would want to open up on Sunday night or Monday night. He has no choice. Yeah, I was going to say. Well, I mean, there's some room to negotiate a little bit. Like, for example, he negotiated about a second Thursday night football game. You know, they were able to do that. Because were they on, were they on?
Starting point is 00:56:32 Yeah, the commanders game was a Sunday night football game last year. Was that the only one? That was Monday, I thought. I thought that was a Monday night was the Bengals. No, yeah, yeah. Monday night was the Bengals week for Sunday night football was the commanders. And Thursday night was the Raiders. Oh, can we get rid of Thursday night football by the way?
Starting point is 00:56:52 Are they doing a Friday game? Christmas weekend this year? Are they doing a Friday game? Yeah, because he's in a Wednesday. But that's because it's technically going to be Thursday because what? It's the Rams and the Niners in Australia, I think? Is it the game that's in Australia or is it the game with the Eagles that's in Brazil? I can't even keep it all straight.
Starting point is 00:57:11 That's Cowboys Eagles, I think. I don't know. It's too much. I'm tired of all this. We're going here. We're going there. We're going everywhere. I don't like it.
Starting point is 00:57:21 Also, are the Broncos, are they confirmed? Aren't they going to Mexico City this year? They're going to Mexico. Yep. I don't think that's confirmed. Yeah, I didn't hear anybody. I thought I read something about that, like a month. No, so like the NFL every year, they release like a list of like, hey, like these teams are, I don't even know what it is.
Starting point is 00:57:39 Like, these are like the countries that are like representing these teams potentially. Like Denver's been on Mexico's radar for quite some time. They haven't played a game in Mexico City. They ended up playing in London more recently. I imagine will Denver have an international game this year? I am going to say no. It feels like they're due, though. Well, I mean, I guess London.
Starting point is 00:58:02 London's like its own thing, though. Yeah, I guess that's a good point. That's a good point. Players hated it, too, by the way. Well, everybody hates it. I'm looking at something right now. And in Australia, obviously, you got the Rams in San Francisco. Dallas and Baltimore in Brazil.
Starting point is 00:58:18 And the Falcons and I say to be announced in Spain. In Germany, you have Detroit Lions. And they say to be announced. and Washington, I mean, in London, you have Washington, and they haven't listed the team yet. Jacksonville would have two London games, and then you have New Orleans in Paris. That's a good one.
Starting point is 00:58:41 New Orleans and Paris, the Saints, baby. A lot of them bignets. Oh, dude, when I went to the Super Bowl in New Orleans a couple of years ago, dude, oh, my gosh. You just stuffed yourself ridiculously, huh? Oh, like an absurd about, an absurd about it was so good. That is probably the best food city I've ever been to. Is that why you lean back in a chair like you were relaxed because you were.
Starting point is 00:59:01 It was reminiscing. Yeah. Yeah, dude. Cafe Dumas. So good, bro. And I'm a big shellfish guy. I mean, oysters left and right. Oh, my gosh.
Starting point is 00:59:13 He's got powdered donut stuff all around his face. What did you do in New Orleans? Oh, I just hate Benhays. Yeah, right. They should just rotate the cereal. Vegas cereal was good. New Orleans rule was good. like San Francisco I heard was a nightmare.
Starting point is 00:59:29 Or you were out there, Nick. So I guess you could, I heard like. Yeah, because it just so many, it was so packed and things were so spread out. Everything so far. Yeah, everything was downtown. But then the stadium was out there in Santa Clara, which is, which is almost an hour and a half drive. Yeah, that's like from Denver to the Springs.
Starting point is 00:59:49 Yes. At least what I liked about like, like, where we were at for when the Super Bowl was in Los Angeles, we were at the convention center. We weren't too far away from SOFi. It's not an hour and a half Uber ride to get to where you need to be like it is in San Francisco or Santa Clara. Crazy out of the San Francisco 49ers, they play 40 miles away from San Francisco.
Starting point is 01:00:10 So just wild to me how we got that. But I mean, talk about a team that has one of the worst travel schedules in the NFL, the 49ers. I feel awful for them. I feel awful for their fans. but also keep in mind, too, like Denver this year, they've got nine away games, wait, yeah, nine away games, eight home games. So it'll be interesting.
Starting point is 01:00:33 I'm excited. We can, I mean, there's so many branches. Like, we'll get, obviously, debate some of the stuff as the schedule release gets closer, but we can predict how many nationally televised games Denver's going to have, who they're going to play on primetime. We could play some fun games with that as well. So there's still a lot coming up, obviously, for this Broncos team, as it pertains to the schedule release, which is coming up soon.
Starting point is 01:00:53 and then OTAs, and then you know what, trying to get. Yep, we are on the doorstep of getting some real meat on the bone here as pertains to the Denver Broncos. And it's going to be an exciting season, man. I'm excited to rock and roll with you guys throughout the course of it here on the lockdown Broncos squad show. And like I said, we'll get the schedule next week. We'll have another fun show lined up for you guys towards the end of this week. And hopefully no bad news or anything negative that we have to talk about with the Broncos between now and that.
Starting point is 01:01:18 All good vibes, all positive vibes as we get ready for an awesome season that should be with the Denver Broncos. But all right, that is going to do it for us on today's program. We really, really, really appreciate you guys. Tune it in, as always. Make sure to hit that like button and subscribe buttons on the way out the door. Really helps us out. And we'll talk to you guys later this week for Cody, Sarah, and Nick.
Starting point is 01:01:41 I'm Anilo. Have a good Tuesday, everybody. Talk to you guys soon. Hard to have meat on the bones when you don't eat protein player. Such a hater, bro. You guys sound like a

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