Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - CHALLENGE: Denver Broncos WR Depth Takes BIG HIT With Pat Bryant Injury

Episode Date: October 6, 2026

The Denver Broncos wide receiver depth took a massive hit on Sunday after Pat Bryant was carted off with an ankle injury. The good news is that Bryant will miss several weeks instead of the season, bu...t he was the spark for the Broncos offense.Cody Roark and Sayre Bedinger discuss who steps up in Bryant's absence, Nik Bonitto's struggles and extra attention he's receiving from offenses, and Sean Payton's comments about the Broncos offensive line and their inconsistency in the blocking department.Cody Roark is a credentialed beat reporter for Mile High Sports and provides boots-on-the-ground coverage of the Broncos daily in person. Sayre Bedinger is one of Broncos Country's longest-tenured voices, writing for Predominantly Orange. Together, they bring Broncos Country the most in-depth and objective coverage of the Denver Broncos every single day, year round.📸 - Ron Chenoy — Imagn ImagesWANT MORE DAILY DENVER BRONCOS CONTENT?For all of the latest Denver Broncos news today --Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-broncos/Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/nfl/📲 Cody Roark Twitter / (https://twitter.com/codyroarknfl)📲 Cody Roark Instagram / (https://instagram.com/codyroarknfl)📲  Sayre Bedinger Twitter / (https://twitter.com/sayrebedinger)Everydayer Club  If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get access to ad-free audio version of Locked On Broncos,  All-22 Film Breakdown, and access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. 📲 https://lockedonbroncos.supercast.com/📢 Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!TempoFor a limited time, Tempo is offering my listeners SIXTY PERCENT OFF your first box! Go to http://TempoMeals.com/LOCKEDON60.QuoTry QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months when you go to http://Quo.com/LOCKEDONNFL.OdooGreat organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon.Butcher BoxIf you're looking for an easier way to get great meals on the table, give ButcherBox a try. Go to https://ButcherBox.com/LOCKEDONNFL to get $20 off your first box, plus your choice of free ribeye, new york strip, or filet mignon in every box for a year — with free shipping always.AppleYou can earn up to 3% unlimited Daily Cash back on every purchase you make with Apple Card using Apple Pay. Apply in the Wallet app on your iPhone today. Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank, USA. Salt Lake City Branch. Terms and more at apple-card-dot-com.https://learn.applecard.apple/unlimited-daily-cash?cid=apy-318-2000008800000-400000000000039&itscg=2030032&itsct=srvs-crd-P3004756-C3004897&mttnagencyid=c1a&mttnsiteid=133087&mttnpid=LockedOn%20%28Audio%29&mttnsubad=srvs-crd-P3004756-C3004897&mttnsubplmnt=&mttncc=USPrizePicksVisit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL and use code LOCKEDONNFL and get $150 if you win your first $5 lineup!KALSHIToday's episode is brought to you by Kalshi. For a limited time, Download Kalshi and use code Locked On to get $25 when you trade $25. Kalshi. Trade what’s next.GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelGet three hundred fifty dollars in Bonus Bets — GUARANTEED — when you bet five dollars every day for seven days. Join all the action at https://FANDUEL.COMFANDUEL 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.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Denver Broncos wide receiver Pat Bryant will miss several weeks, but who will step up in his place? You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Happy Tuesday Broncos country. Cody Rourke, Sarah Beninger here for another episode of a show where today we're going to talk about which other wide receivers will step up in the absence of Pat Bryant, who's arguably been their best playmaker. It'll only be out a few weeks, which is good news, but somebody else has to step up. Plus, what is going on with Nick Benito so far this season? He hasn't generated a lot of
Starting point is 00:00:39 pressures, hasn't gotten a lot of sacks early on, and there's a key reason why we'll go through that. And we'll talk about the Broncos offensive line and their run blocking inconsistency, as outlined by Broncos head coach Sean Payton. You'll hear from him. We'll break it all down here on today's episode of the show. Brought to you by our friends over there at game time. Download the game time app, create an account and use code locked on for $20 off your first purchase. Sir, man, I tell you what, coming out of Sunday's game, we talked about PS2's injury on yesterday's episode of the show, but officially the reports confirmed that the Broncos avoided serious injury to not only PS2, but to Pat Bright. And I think specifically as we talk about Pat Bryant, man, he's kind of been the juice here for the Broncos offense so far this season. Yes, he's had a couple of holding penalties, but my goodness, anytime the Broncos have needed a big play, PB has always come up big.
Starting point is 00:01:26 And the good news is he's only going to miss several weeks. but in the meantime, the Broncos are going to need another wide receiver to help them find some spark and to find that same juice here in the next handful of weeks as the Broncos face some tough tests. Yeah, and I think it starts with looking right at Troy Franklin, right? I mean, obviously Franklin hasn't been as involved in the offense this year as compared to the last couple of seasons. Remember, the Broncos kind of featured him in the offense last year. He finished second on the team in total targets. He's taking a back seat this year with the addition of Jalen Waddle and the emergence of Pat Bryant.
Starting point is 00:01:59 but now is your opportunity, Troy, to get back into the circle of trust. And what have we seen him doing a lot more of this year? We've seen him doing a lot more blocking, Cody. When the Broncos go to their heavier personnel, I've noticed that number 11 is kind of the lone receiver out there on a number of occasions. I don't know exactly how many snaps that is, but they've been putting him out there.
Starting point is 00:02:19 Troy showed some physicality in the run game during the preseason. He's shown it a bit during the regular season as well. And I think now, now's your opportunity, Troy, go out there and make some plays in the passing game, especially because no Pat Bryant means, obviously the Broncos are going to have to lean more heavily on their two stars at the receiver position, Jalen Waddle and Cortland Sutton. But how confident are we really right now in Cortland Sutton? I mean, I'm concerned.
Starting point is 00:02:43 I'm genuinely concerned about Cortland Sutton's play so far this season. He just doesn't look like the same guy. And so I say the conversation here with who's going to step up with Pat Bryant out. I think it starts with number 11, Troy Franklin. Yeah, and I want to see that a lot more. And obviously he's going to get more snaps because of the injury here to Pat Brian. But, you know, in this past game against San Francisco, I think what was it?
Starting point is 00:03:08 32 total offensive snaps for Troy, zero target. It's going to find a way to get him the football a lot more. And I even think, too, even putting this on Marvin Mims saying, hey, can the Broncos get Marvin Mims as he's made his first game back from the injury that he had? Can he get more comfortable? Can they use him? Like right now, there's a clear problem with the Broncos offense with how the defenses are certainly playing them.
Starting point is 00:03:28 and you go back on film. Sean Payton even said this in his press conference as well. He said, look back at San Francisco and how they played things defensively. They played to take away a lot of our deep routes. And he said, we should have been a little bit more aware of hitting some of the underneath stuff. And so some of those quick hitters that you and I talked about in yesterday's episode of the show, the quick slants, hitches, drag routes, crossers, you name it, just try to get something involved in the intermediate versus the deep middle of field, which certainly is not there for Bonnix and the Broncos to attack based on how defenses are aligning.
Starting point is 00:03:58 but guys like Troy Franklin, I think can certainly turn the tide. I imagine you'll see little Jordan Humphrey probably elevated. Now, I think the bigger question here with Pat Bryant, right, we know it's going to be several weeks. To that point, is it going to be several weeks to where it's going to land him on IR for a brief stint? And if so, well, now you bring little Jordan Humphrey back up through the practice squad under the active roster. And then when that return takes place, then little Jordan can go back to the practice squad. And you could save his three practice squad elevations. to me that might make the most sense.
Starting point is 00:04:28 But the tricky thing is not knowing, is it a two-week injury? Is it a three-week injury? And also if it's a three-week injury, does it make sense for him to have to miss four games? That is where you run into the dilemma here. I think if you're the Broncos. But I think Troy certainly is the guy that you want to see a lot more volume and targets to. But let's talk about Cortland Sutton.
Starting point is 00:04:48 Let's talk about Jaylon Wattle here. These are the top two guys here, at least on the pecking order, in terms when we look at the paper and the projections that we had after the offseason traded Jalen. Okay, Jalen, theoretically, we've talked about it, should open things up for Cortland. That has not happened. You know, defenses are living with like, hey, they're okay with just go a man-a-man coverage against Cortland from time to time. They're okay with playing that zone against him.
Starting point is 00:05:11 Cortland has not been productive. But Jalen at times has also been a little inconsistent so far here through the first handful weeks of the season as he's still trying to get acclimated. But my goodness, like the Broncos simply need more from their top two guys. Yeah, and I think it starts with getting more targets to Jalen Waddle because we saw, obviously, against the 49ers, he had six targets. He had a really good game against Jacksonville. But other than that, he's been limited a good amount. He had the nice two point conversion against the Rams. We just haven't seen that every week impact from Jalen Waddle, I think like we expected Cody.
Starting point is 00:05:45 And we can marry a couple of ideas here, right? We're talking about receivers that need to step up in the absence of Pat Bryant. We're also talking about on yesterday's show, needing more of that underneath stuff, more of those quick hitting plays in the passing game. Jaylon Waddle can do those things. Yes. Obviously, it doesn't capitalize on the one opportunity over the middle of the field that he had against the 49ers. But I think what we've seen is regularly, he's getting pretty open.
Starting point is 00:06:12 He's finding ways to create separation. He should be Bo Nix's best friend there in the passing game. So I want to see a concerted effort from Sean Payton. David Webb and Bo Nix to say, hey, what do we got to do against the Chargers? We got to find ways to get Jalen Waddle the football. We've got to create ways. And it's not just tunnel screens. It's not just slants.
Starting point is 00:06:35 But use those opportunities and then attack further down the field. Get Waddle as many targets as you possibly can. I think C.D. Lam, Cody, had like, 17 catches against the Texans on Sunday. Like, I'm not saying you got to go that far, you know, in terms of targeting a guy, but hey, if he starts to build some steam, let's see how far this thing can go. Instead of just saying, well, when the opportunities arise, no, let's feature him in this offense. I mean, why not?
Starting point is 00:07:04 Why not at this point force feed these guys? But here's the thing to, and it goes back to everything you and I have talked about. As long as the Broncos can't run the football, defenses are going to stay in that too high shell. They're going to stay dropping seven defenders back and rushing four after Bowenicks in the offense. I mean, that's where, you know, Bose mobility certainly plays, you know, factor into. But when you're having these situations where longer developing routes are coming up, right? And you're sending four and you're dropping seven guys back into coverage. It's harder to find the open spaces, right?
Starting point is 00:07:34 But when you start getting those quick hitters, you start taking advantage of the leverage that you have. If you have an inside defender, can you throw a quick out to Jalen? Like even the out routes here, I thought we'd see more of the out route. I know the Broncos tested a lot outside against San Fran, but not even the quick out. like Jalen is the type of guy that can win how many times in Miami did we see him win on that quick out like he'd have a corner was playing off and even outside leverage and he would still win the out route because of his speed and the ability to break out quickly the Broncos they're not getting any of that so far through four weeks and so they may have to reinvent some things here passing game coordinator johnny mo i think he's also got his work cut out for him ronald curry i hope he's challenging these wide receivers i imagine that he is but Denver simply needs more out of their receivers as well they need more out of everybody on the offensive side of the ball. And that's putting it nicely at this point. But we're looking forward to that and obviously seeing who steps up here in the absence of Pat Bryant, who'll be out for several weeks. Best case scenario for Denver, considering all the things that we initially feared
Starting point is 00:08:31 coming out of Sunday's loss against the San Francisco 49ers. But Broncos country, a lot of people have asked us the question, what is going on with outside linebacker Nick Benito? How come he's not having the same big impact that we saw from him last season? The film told us something very interesting and we'll tell you here on today's episode of the show. This message is a paid partnership with Apple Card. One of my favorite parts of Game Day is everything leading up to it. Getting the house ready for a watch party, putting on my favorite team hoodie, and making one last run to the store before a kickoff.
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Starting point is 00:10:33 That's QUO.com slash locked on NFL. The Denver Broncos need more impact from Nick Benito. Where is he? What's been going on? Why isn't he getting as many looks at the quarterback as we're used to seeing? Broncos country. It seems like there might be a pretty clear issue going on right now on that defensive front. We're going to talk about it on today's episode of the show.
Starting point is 00:10:52 Cody, I mean, Nick Benito is one of the most impactful pass rushers in the NFL. We saw he had a nice strip sack against Trevor Lawrence, wiped off the board due to a penalty. He's impacting the game still. And obviously, he's a focal point for offensive lines because otherwise,
Starting point is 00:11:09 I mean, if you're trying to block this guy one-on-one all game, you're going to get wrecked. And your quarterback is going to get hit. So teams are paying Nick Benito the proper attention that you would to a star pass rusher, but he's not getting home. The Broncos didn't have any sacks against Brock Purdy. Brock Purdy hasn't been sacked the entire season, by the way.
Starting point is 00:11:27 But obviously, this is a team that's set back-to-back season franchise records in sacks. They have the sites set on the, you know, the Chicago Bears for the single season NFL record. It's not going to happen if you have games without sacks, right? So Nick Benito is that guy that we've been relying on to say, hey, you're our consistent presence off the edge. Why are we not seeing that through the first four games this season? Yeah, and I think a lot of it is because there's a lot of attention coming his way. And, you know, legal stuff aside, it's very evident the Broncos are missing Jonathan Cooper
Starting point is 00:12:01 off the other side of the edge. I don't think you realize just how well these two play off one another because teams aren't necessarily respecting Jonah Ellis on a level that they do necessarily with Jonathan Cooper when Jonathan Cooper was in the game. But because of that, Nick Benito is seeing naturally throughout the course of last season, too, even with Cooper, Benito would see some extra attention, especially in key pass rushdowns. But that hasn't been the case so far here early on this season in terms of where Nick's been able to just get free off the line of scrimmage to go after the quarterback.
Starting point is 00:12:29 There are some instances, but QBs have been getting the ball over the hands. Primarily, it's showcasing to me when you watch the tape and you see, okay, you got an offensive tackle. You know, against San Francisco, there's time to bring in use check backside under There's times where they're bringing kill around. And Nick Benito is getting double teamed. He's getting triple teams sometimes. And he's getting chip released to the point where Purdy's getting the bottom of hands quickly and the Broncos can't go any over it.
Starting point is 00:12:53 There's also times I think Nick Benito because of the fact that the Bronco specifically knew in this game against Brock Purdy, you saw some elements of a cage rush that were certainly present because of Perry's ability to use his legs. And he rattled off a couple of runs, picked up a couple of first downs. But that's the biggest thing that we're seeing right now. And look, people say it all time, you know, players like Nick Nito should just take over a game.
Starting point is 00:13:13 Look, I think Nick can take over a game. We've certainly seen that. But when you were getting that extra attention and you're not getting help, you're not getting pressure from anybody that's playing the other position opposite of you. It's hard. It is hard. And Denver outside of Zach Allen's not getting enough consistent interior pressure and push. I feel like Malcolm Roach actually had a pretty good game against the 49ers,
Starting point is 00:13:34 specifically they were good at stuff in the run. But the pressure just simply wasn't there enough for Brock Purdy and the key moments that you certainly needed to have it here in this. game and a lot of people are mad at Nick Benito about it. And I say, don't be mad at Nick. Like Nick is out there busting his tail trying to get out to the quarterback. But, man, sometimes when you're seeing an extra attention and no one on the opposite side of you stepping up, it's going to be hard to produce and have success. Yeah, it is. And you need those guys to step up opposite Benito right away. I mean, Jonah Ellis, we talked up a big game. And we mentioned
Starting point is 00:14:03 this late last week as we were approaching the 49ers game. Like the clock's ticking for somebody like Jonah Ellis to say, hey, you're getting an opportunity right now. now to seize a bigger role on this defense, and you're not taking advantage. You know, even Q Robinson in rotation has shown more flashes, I would say, than Jonah Ellis so far this season. And now you compound it all with the injury to Dondrey Tillman, keeping him out of the 49ers game. And it's just unfortunate that, you know, the losses of, and obviously, you know, we talked about it in the offseason.
Starting point is 00:14:33 It wasn't going to be huge to lose John Franklin Myers. I think we all understood, yes, losing John Franklin Myers was a big deal for this Denver Broncos defensive line. But the hope was by committee, you could sort of replace that production and maybe even be a little more stout in the run game. Well, it turns out the past rush abilities of Jonathan Cooper and John Franklin Myers were pretty mission critical for the overall operation of the Broncos. So now it's about adjusting and finding other ways to get your stars. And you can't necessarily just do that, right? You can't just say, hey, let's go set a pick for Nick Benito and get him an easy, you know, dunk or an easy layup.
Starting point is 00:15:12 You can't just do that stuff in the NFL because offenses, they combat that with double teams. And so it is frustrating. I get it. And I'm with a lot of Broncos country, Cody, of just wanting to see that every down impact from Nick Benito, seeing him take over games. But you also understand it's not realistic to expect that from a guy who's out there getting chipped, who's getting double teamed and even sometimes triple teamed and on his way to
Starting point is 00:15:36 the quarterback. He's just only so much you can do. So I just feel like the other guys, the supporting cast right now, they're not doing their part other than, I mean, Zach Allen is not a supporting cast. But the other guys off the edge specifically really have to start doing a better job and helping Nick Benito get those one-on-one opportunities. Yeah. And look, I wouldn't be opposed to the Broncos switching up the, you know, the rotation a little bit, maybe starting Q Robinson opposite of Benito, keeping those guys on the field together and then having Jonah Ellis come in. I mean, there was even points to because of obviously San Francisco's offensive line,
Starting point is 00:16:11 how they want to try to run the football. There weren't a lot of times where the outside linebackers are looping and crashing in, right? Because you do that. San Francisco is very good at hitting those counters to where they get to the outside. The goal was to very much, hey, we got to keep contained and we got to compress the edge of the line of scrimmage so that there's no big runs through the sea gap. And certainly nobody gets to the outside. Debo hurt them a little bit a couple of times on the sea gap.
Starting point is 00:16:34 You know, the Denver does a great job to keep it contained, but the inside feels not. there. You got guys missing tackles still. Just tough all around here. And you know, got to ask, can Tennessee send JFM back to the mile high speed just to, you know, help out a little bit. I feel like this is a growing pains thing, Sarah. And obviously the Broncos aren't going to break the sack record. I don't even know if they're going to finish with the league lead in sacks this year. But more takeaways are certainly what you're hoping for. I would trade that in a heartbeat. But it's tough for Nick Benito. I'm sure he's certainly frustrated with some of the
Starting point is 00:17:04 extra attention that he's certainly seeing. But if something's not working, you've got to to try something else. And very surprised the Broncos didn't at least use a practice squad elevation on an outside linebacker. Could that change this week against Herbert and the Chargers? I very much think that they could. And if Dandre is not ready to go, I want to see Johnny Walker Jr. And I'm saying Johnny Walker Jr. is a practice squad guy. Second year underat, the rookie friend is going to come in and light the world on fire. But you know what? You never know until you try at this point. So hopefully the Broncos can bounce back in this category, especially for Nick Benito to get off, especially against Justin Herbert. That's going to be very big. We know, no, Roshan,
Starting point is 00:17:38 Slater in this game on Sunday for the Chargers. I know their offensive guards are also banged up. Joe Alt's probably the only healthy guy right now on that old line, and Joe Alt's going to be lined up against Nick Benito. So once again, you're probably going to see extra protection towards number 15 this week for the third consecutive week in a row. Broncos country, let us know your concern about Denver's outside linebacker position and the low numbers that we've seen so far early on from Nick Benito
Starting point is 00:18:02 and what it's being attested to in terms of how teams are game planning and scheming their offense against Denver's defense. But coming up next, Broncos head coach Sean Payton, without coming out and saying it directly, indicated that the blocking inconsistencies have factored into the Broncos run game, lack of success. Broncos Country, today's episode show is brought to you by friends over there at the GameTime app and the NFL is full of games that you want to plan on seeing all year long, but sometimes the best memories come from the games that you almost missed. Broncos country travels well to Solfai Stadium and the Broncos are traveling to take on the Los Angeles
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Starting point is 00:20:26 The Broncos' offensive line has had far too many inconsistencies, whether it be past protection, run blocking. and that's something that Sean Payton himself has even indicated, as Denver is trying to find their identity, and they're doing some soul searching ahead of Week 5's matchup against Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers. We'll get into that here on today's show real quick. I want to say thank you once again to everyone in, a Broncos country.
Starting point is 00:20:46 Thanks for tuning in making us your first listen here on the Lockedon Podcast Network, your team every day, also the number one sports podcast network in the country. Sean Payton, we've got to catch up with him following the game on Sunday, his Monday conference call when he was asked a variety of different questions. One of the more important things that we've talked about here so far through the first four weeks of the show is that the offensive line has been far too inconsistent. Now, my initial takeaway, and I'm curious when you hear Sean St. and Broncos country, feel free to chime in as well. My initial takeaway was without coming out and directly saying that our consistency hasn't been great. I feel like Sean Payton outlined that when it comes to the run blocking.
Starting point is 00:21:23 And here's what he had to say about what he saw on Sunday's game, Denver's run blocking as a whole. Well, look, there's always two or three things. you know, there's some clean looks we do a good job with. Then there's some looks where, you know, defensively, we're getting a run stunt. I think that, you know, overall just the consistency and our approach, whether it's in the shotgun or under center, that'll continue to be a focal point for us. And, you know, it's always in these details. And so I think certainly you saw that yesterday.
Starting point is 00:22:00 I feel like, Cody, there's a disconnect happening where we're talking a lot about the Broncos facing these too high safety looks. And obviously that means that defense is not necessarily bringing a safety up into the box to help defend against the run. And it doesn't feel like the Broncos are facing a ton of loaded boxes. I'd have to go back and really look and see or maybe our friends at NFL Jesus can help us. but I feel like it has been just kind of getting beat at the point of attack, getting beat in the trenches and too many run plays, getting hit at or behind the line of scrimmage, and running backs having to sort of make lemonade out of lemons.
Starting point is 00:22:38 That's what it feels like to me. It doesn't feel like there's just much of a downhill approach to the running game and the Broncos are not winning their individual matchups. And even if they are, shoot, there's some sort of illegal formation or there's some sort of illegal shift or illegal motion or there's blocking in the back downfield or holding downfield. It just doesn't feel like they're executing well at all. So I think it traces back to what we talked about last year after the playoffs were over.
Starting point is 00:23:06 Sean Payton was frustrated about the run scheme, right? Are the players executing the scheme properly? Well, with the run game's lack of success at this point, you would have to say absolutely not. So then the next question is, what do we have to do differently? And I'm interested to hear from you. What do you think that is? Pray, just pray at this point, right? We could say execute, right?
Starting point is 00:23:28 No, at this point, you are right. We're three years running on this. And obviously for Zach Streif, you know, previously three years ago, he's never a coach, right? He's a very smart player. He was in the broadcast booth, if I'm not mistaken beforehand. But, you know, very well regarded as a respected rising coach, but we're not seeing the offensive line and the run game. It's not marrying to the point of where you're seeing success.
Starting point is 00:23:50 And I think we brought it up in our squad show, you know, a lot of people. ourselves included. I think we felt like, ah, just Javonte Williams just isn't seeing it anymore. He just, you know, it's not there. Like the Broncos had the number one offensive line in the NFL. He goes on to Dallas and he's having success. He put up more yards in his one season in Dallas than he did in all of his years in Denver. And he's scoring, you know, at an efficient rate here where Denver, sometimes it just feels like Sarah. They can't even get one yards, two yards. They're running the ball, you know, when it's third and six or third and eight in certain situations late in the game. But then when it's third and one, they're going empty out of shotgun. They're not pounding the rock inside.
Starting point is 00:24:28 I felt like in San Francisco, not to be hyperbolic, but I did feel like they did a little bit better in terms of the run operation on the short-yarded situations against San Fran specifically. But there's a tendency right now. And I don't know if you've picked up on this, but it's certainly something that I noticed when watching the game and certainly watching the tape. When J.K. Dobbins is in, you know, he's pretty good in past protection. There's Tom's he'll run out and leak out on a route. but primarily he's the guy who's running inside.
Starting point is 00:24:54 He's running in the A and the B gaps. He's not necessarily the guy they're trying to get to the outside, outside of a toss here and there, which I don't think that's the strong suit of this team. When R.J. Harvey comes in, it's usually the C gap or it's usually the outside versus it just being A and B gap runs. Tyler Bade has kind of been the one guy where, you know, when he's in now, it's not necessarily a tell as to what they're doing
Starting point is 00:25:14 the way it was last year, but at least they're handing the ball to him and he's running inside the A and the B gaps a little bit more consistently. And it feels like the Broncos's run game offense, is being telegraphed to the point where defenses are seeing it. They don't have to bring guys into the box. San Francisco certainly didn't do that. They walked the linebacker up into the A gap to show that mug look, but you know what?
Starting point is 00:25:31 They didn't bring their safeties down. They're not likely going to bring Derwin James into the box this week. They're likely just going to play him back. And it's going to be the same exact thing that we saw, how San Francisco tried to play Denver's offense. Yeah, and I hate the fact that it is being telegraphed to a degree, right? Because when you're bringing these running backs in, and you're utilizing them in very specific ways,
Starting point is 00:25:50 you're giving away tendencies, right? And you're creating tendencies over the course of a season. On first down, it's J.K. Dobbins, and he only runs between the tackles. And on second down, it's RJ Harvey, and he only runs in the C gap into the outside. On third downs, it's Tyler Badey, and most of the time, that's going to be a pass. So it's really, it really is just like, I think Sean Payton talked about this after the game as well, Cody, but it is exhausting. I think it was the word that he used when it comes to trying to move the chains and having to
Starting point is 00:26:19 use all three downs in the process. And frankly, part of that problem that's exhausting is the Broncos own doing. I mean, you can't just hand it off to J.K. Dobbins and run to three different areas of the field that it has to be Harvey, if you want to run to the outside, that's kind of what it feels like the Broncos are saying is that, well, if we want to run to the outside, we got to get Harvey into the game and we got to get, you know, our best perimeter blockers into the game. And so we got to change personnel. It's a hockey line shift, except for these guys don't have any time to build any anything offensively. They don't have any time to get anything going.
Starting point is 00:26:52 It's just constant. It's a constant shifting of players and personnel. So I think it does trace back to this idea that if you're executing well, it really doesn't matter what back you have back there. And so by the Broncos constantly changing the running backs, depending on which way or where they want to run the ball, it's showing that we don't believe and trust in our scheme to execute. We need these guys who are skilled at getting outside to get out to be the ones on the field or we need the guy who's skilled at running between the tackles to be on the field. We don't trust that RJ can run these same running plays at J.K. Dobbins or that Badee can run the same running plays as J.K. Dobbins unless it's misdirection or unless it's something like that.
Starting point is 00:27:34 So it really does feel like this team just is fighting a losing battle in a lot of ways because they can't figure it out with the running back personnel, the offensive line can't get it done. And the play sequencing, the play calling, it's just not been there. Did you hear what Mike McGlinchie said after the game? He says it's hard to get into a rhythm when it's two yard gain, two yard gain, drop back. Yeah. He just said something along those lines. And I was like, okay, like, all right.
Starting point is 00:27:58 So what's the solution? It's like, why are they getting two yard gains? You know, far too often, we're seeing the Broncos. You make mention of it. When they do have a good five or six yard run, like there are a couple clean ones, right? But then there's one, it's like you have a play that's negated because you have a holding call on Mike McGlinchie. Or you have. a legal procedure or illegal motion on the offense here.
Starting point is 00:28:18 And it's like there was a stretch where there were three straight drives. I think it was a second, third, and fourth drive of Denver's offense where they had minus five yards, minus 15 yards, and minus nine yards in penalties on three consecutive drives. Like that right there, that's not complimentary football. And so something has to happen. Like once again, I feel like not to be drastic or dramatic, but if you're the Broncos, if you're Sean Payton, you know what I'm doing?
Starting point is 00:28:43 I'm challenging guys. I'm challenging Ben Powers. I'm challenging Mike McGlenshey a little bit. And I'm saying, you know what? I'm going to put different guys in there. We're going to rotate guys this week, at least in practice. Got to make these guys fill the flame a little bit. And of course, it's not just always on them, but the inconsistencies have been pinpointed
Starting point is 00:29:00 to the offensive line really since week one. It has taken a major step back in terms of pass protection, run blocking. This unit is not what everybody has said it has been. Quinn Miners, Garrett Bulls, absolutely. Those guys have been burying dudes. Everybody else, it's almost been like Swiss cheese from time to time here. So they've got to figure it out sooner rather than later. Brockos country, this will be the last time we vent about the problems of Denver from Sunday's game through the rest of the week.
Starting point is 00:29:27 Tomorrow we flush the pity potty and we move on to the Los Angeles Chargers. We'll look at the tail of the tape. We'll take a look at how Denver's offense stacks up against the Chargers defense and we'll see how the Chargers offense matches up against Denver's defense. It is probably going to be without Patrick Surtan the second. where does this matchup lead to ultimately? We'll get a preview of that on tomorrow's episode of the show. Make sure you hit that subscribe with that follow button so you never miss out on what's going on with your favorite team.
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