Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns Gearing Up For Primetime Action

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Cleveland Browns are trying to play spoiler as the Denver Broncos look to continue their playoff push. It's a prime time showdown in the Mile High City. Monday night football, Broncos and Browns. We're going to break it down on today's crossover Thursday edition. Locked on Broncos, locked on Browns. You are locked on NFL crossover. Part of the Locked on podcast network. Your team every day. Both the Denver Broncos and the Cleveland Browns are fresh off of beating division rival. in week 12. But with the Denver Broncos about to head into their by week here in week 14,

Starting point is 00:00:42 they've got some business to take care of against the Cleveland Browns, who, man, everybody's loving watching James Winston and his infectious energy. My name is Sarah Beninger, co-host of the Locked on Broncos podcast here to break down today's episode. Lockdown Broncos, Lockdown Browns crossover Thursday, almost an annual meeting here between myself and Jeff Lloyd over there, host of Locked on Browns. And today's cross-on. crossover Thursday episode is sponsored by prize picks download the prize picks app and use code locked on NFL to win $50 instantly when you play $5 and want to say thank you to every single one of you out there browns fans broncos fans making us your first listen of the day every single day all you

Starting point is 00:01:26 every day is out there shout out to you and thanks so much for subscribing and if you haven't done so already go ahead hit that subscribe button wherever you watch or listen to the show jeff let's talk this because it does feel like the Broncos and Browns play about it every year. I mean, at this point. And that's, you know, that's okay. We get to chat. We get to chat about the Broncos and Brown. It's always a good time. It's always good to get to catch up with you. The, this, you know, the tables are kind of turned from where we were at last year. It was almost exactly one year ago. The Broncos and the Browns played in Denver. And the Browns were the team that was making the big playoff push late in the season. They were the team with

Starting point is 00:02:04 the dominant defense. Now the tables have flipped to where it's the Browns that are kind of out of the mix looking to play spoiler. The Broncos now have the big time defense. I'm interested to know from your perspective here, especially given the state of the Cleveland Browns at this point in the year, what are the biggest storylines for this team as they head to the Mile High City for a primetime showdown? I think, you know, you have to probably start the quarterback position with James Winston.

Starting point is 00:02:30 As the starter for this team, he is two and two. You know, probably should be three and one. I mean, granted, it was the defense that let them down against the New Orleans Saints, not necessarily the offense. But you have a guy here. And look, you know, this is kind of what you go through, you know, when you were no longer a starting quarterback in the NFL. You know, where is my shot to become a starter again? And you take jobs going places knowing, you know, you're going to be a two. You don't know, you know, what's that going to lead to.

Starting point is 00:03:00 with Deshawn's injury, with DeShan's ineffective play, all of a sudden now, you know, there is this opening here for maybe a bridge guy in 2025 or, you know, the opportunity to play it into, you know, a further longstanding role. James, you know, is, and we just, as we talked about this a couple times recently on the show is, you know, is James playing that good? or is it just that maybe James is a more likable guy? Is that James, he's certainly playing better than his predecessor. There's no question about that. So it's, you know, are we blowing this up because, you know, he is more likable, you know. But he has shown, and there's been certainly numerous others who have, Joe Flacko, Dorian Thompson, Robinson, PJ Walker.

Starting point is 00:03:49 The only quarterback that has not found any success whatsoever with Kevin Stefansky is the one that they gave $230 million guaranteed to. Jacobi percent. Another one, Baker Mayfield, you know, Case Kahneman. I mean, everybody has found a way to have some fun and some success in this system. Now, you know, with James being a former number one overall, so you look at it, and this is big thing that, like you look at Sam Donald in Minnesota, you know, with quarterbacks, you know, that basically fell off and you're waiting and you're waiting for that opportunity.

Starting point is 00:04:20 You certainly handle things better. I think you conduct yourself better. you know, when you're a former first round pick, you're maybe not listening to all the critiques you're getting. You know, maybe, you know, probably at a fault of your own, but you don't learn that. So basically you've got to sit out. And, you know, you're watching film and maybe somebody else is getting critiqued and going, man, I've always done it that way. And they're saying, let's not do it this way anymore.

Starting point is 00:04:44 He's a little, you know, against the Chargers. Chargers certainly stymied him defensively, ended up throwing three interceptions that game. One thing, James Springs, that is always an issue I have with this Kevin Stefansky offensive is they just don't throw the ball vertically enough. And it's not even that I need success. You know, if you don't throw it at all, guess where all the coverage is going to be? And, you know, you just, you're putting bodies in a cage and it becomes, you know, basically have to win by, you know, death of a thousand paper cuts. Defensively, it's coming around. And it's been tough for Miles this year. And we're not sure where it's at, but there are talks that, you know, Miles might need some sort of off-season

Starting point is 00:05:17 surgery on his feet. Certainly, you know, the Watt brothers, and let's just get this off my chest. this is the stupidest conversation ever. We're having brothers who have over 100 career sacks saying that another guy who's about to have 100 career socks is not as good of them. You know, throw the pity party in Canton, Ohio, fellas, when you all make it, nobody cares. This is such a pointless conversation that goes on. But, hey, if it's going to aggravate my guy into the point that it becomes defensive player

Starting point is 00:05:41 of the year, it's fine. But they're playing better defensively. And that's been a key, you know, this is certainly at the point where there is a lot of development and nature, you know, watching what's going on here, certainly, you know, where Jerry Judy, former Denver Bronco, is what is he going to be? Is he going to be a soft one? Is he going to be a hard number two? These are things Browns are going to continue to find out as this year goes on.

Starting point is 00:06:04 You know, the offensive line, it has been in disarray. They have started seven different units to this point. But we're going to get the same unit again. So you start to get a little, you know, continuity. It's been fun to watch the last couple of weeks. And we were really concerned what was going to happen with this team when they went to the buy because they were so beaten when they went to the buy. how do you amp that back up?

Starting point is 00:06:25 Well, when you got pros like Miles Garrett, Nick Chub, Joel Botonio, and James Winston, and I think, you know, normally, hey, you'd say, well, you know, maybe you lose, maybe you tank. But I think for what this team has been through, I think winning, being successful here, even though it's not going to change the outcome of your season, is certainly going to do a lot more for that franchise

Starting point is 00:06:44 than saying getting the number two, number three, number four overall pick. Which right now just, it doesn't feel like it's going to be within reach for a team with Cleveland's talent. Obviously, there's a lot of bad teams in the NFL this season. I believe 17 teams right now have seven or more losses, which is kind of crazy to think about. So you have, you have not. It's, yes, exactly, exactly that.

Starting point is 00:07:08 I know Broncos country, very excited to see the rematch with Jerry Judy here coming to the Mile High City. He's been on a heater the last four games, especially the last couple of weeks against Pittsburgh and New Orleans. I know a lot of Broncos country been. kind of loathing the wide receiver position in Denver this year, but it'll be fun to see Jerry likely going up against Pat Sartan in this matchup for the Brown. Just going to jump in here real quick, Sarah.

Starting point is 00:07:34 Detroit Lions recently released defensive end. James Houston was claimed by the Cleveland Browns back in 2022. James Houston had eight sacks as a rookie in 2022. Browns were a little light at the end rotation. Really actually kind of like this move. just more bodies in there. The Browns know who their dog is at the edge position. We certainly don't know where the number two edge guy is with trade Zadariah Smith to the Detroit Lions.

Starting point is 00:08:01 So James Houston in the rotation, you figure he'd be at practice tomorrow. Not sure he'd be ready to go Monday night, but the Browns was something to show here, work with over the last five weeks. There you go. Very interesting. A little pay it forward after the Zadaria Smith traded earlier this season, obviously. So you never know. But it's great to see the Cleveland Browns coming back to Denver after last year's

Starting point is 00:08:26 matchup. It's going to look a lot of different. But there's the ties that buy it, Jeff. Very interesting to me. Obviously, you mentioned James Winston, a huge storyline in this game. James very, he played for Sean Payton. That was really maybe the best he's looked as an NFL starter up until this point when he played under Sean Payton for those seven games before he tore his ACL.

Starting point is 00:08:46 So I know that he's, he's been bringing up his time with Sean Peyton and kind of just commentating on Bo Nix and his time with the media this week. So it's going to be fascinating to see James Winston coming to the Mile High City as a starter, one of Sean Payton's former quarterbacks there. But the Denver Broncos, if they're going to get a win in this game, there's a couple of key storylines to be paying attention to. Obviously, offensively, Bo Nick's been stealing a lot of the headlines, but can the running game get going and defensively for this team?

Starting point is 00:09:15 Who the heck is going to be out there for the Denver Broncos? Jeff and I are going to talk about that coming up next on today's crossover Thursday edition, Locked on Broncos, Locked on Browns. Today's show is brought to you by FanDuel. Hey, get ready to tackle the NFL action with FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook, because right now new customers can bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if you win. And the FanDual Sportsbook app gives you everything that you need to place live bets on the NFL all in one place. So you get a hunch in the middle of the game.

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Starting point is 00:10:18 If you win your first $5 bet, so visit fanduel.com. Never waste a hunch and make every moment more with Fandul, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. Bo Nix has been stealing a lot of the headlines for the Denver Broncos this year, but offensively, we're wondering if that running game can get going against the Cleveland Browns and for the Broncos defense. Who's going to be out there playing in this Monday night matchup? We're going to break that down on today's crossover Thursday edition, Lockdown Broncos, Lockdown Browns. But I want to say once again, thank you to every single one of you out there

Starting point is 00:10:52 that makes Lockdown Broncos or Lockdown Browns your first listen of the day. Every single day, we appreciate you so much. I'll give even a mile high salute to all of you, Browns fans out there as well. Mile high salute to all of you every dayers and especially those who subscribe to the show and don't miss a single episode. Jeff, for the Denver Broncos offensively in this game, the storyline has all season been Bo Nix. of course, you know, initially it was, well, what is this guy going to be?

Starting point is 00:11:19 And then it is, you know, can he bounce back from a tough start? And then it's can he keep the, you know, the good vibes rolling? Now we're starting to get to the point of the season where Cody and I have been talking about this a little bit on our shows. Can the Broncos get their running game going? And just to paint a picture here, the Broncos against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, their number one back, Javante Williams, eight carries for negative. two yards. Javante Williams has six games this season where he's run for 2.9 yards per carry or

Starting point is 00:11:52 worse. And that is kind of indicative of just kind of the roller coaster ride that this team has been on. So if you want to beat the Denver Broncos, you obviously got to force Bo Nix to make mistakes. You want to force him to make mistakes. You got to force him to throw the ball more. And if the Broncos can't run the ball, Bo Nix is going to have to carry this offense, which is where your guy, Miles Garrett, kind of comes into the picture a little bit. Well, the thing, and it's very similar. I mean, the Browns are not really running the ball all that well either. But with Cleveland, their predominant is to just get up to the quarterback and play man coverage.

Starting point is 00:12:27 You know, Bo Nix, and it's strange to say their rookie is just eaten up zone coverage, but he is. And, you know, and maybe Bo Nix isn't your average rookie, certainly. Man, I don't want to say it's as Achilles heel, but he's just not doing his better. And certainly that's what the Browns love to do. do. Cortland Sutton has been a pain in the Brown's butt in this entire time in the NFL. So we've been, you know, Denzel Ward, they put him on them because basically you take your corner, he put him on your best receiver. It's just not a great matchup for Denzel Ward. You know, Cortland is taller, he's longer. And it's just, you know, he's had his number against

Starting point is 00:12:59 Danzell Ward a couple times. And the thing with Bow is, is, you know, you got this stretch run going here. And he is a rookie quarterback. You know there's probably going to be one clunker coming here. But you think it might be against some of the better teams you've got on the end of your schedule, maybe not necessarily the Browns. And for the clunker to come now, and I believe you guys go on to the buy right after, you know, so who knows how this works here? But I mean, I got to be honest. I mean, the last few weeks and, you know, tune in Denver games, he's just really found his way. And, you know, there was a lot of talk about the struggles early. And, and look, everybody's got their whatever hangups about how they're handling their, look, if you commit to

Starting point is 00:13:38 playing the young quarterback, you commit to understanding that there's going to be growing pains along the way. Bo, the growing pain started and then they just kind of stopped because he found his way and found out what works for him. But the other thing, you know, to agree with you is you're getting to the time of the year where you kind of need a running game. Weather gets a little bit more trickier. You know, people are getting tired overall. So you take it easier on your offense by running the ball. You hopefully are taking it easy on your defense by running the ball a little bit. So, you know, certainly, you know, and this will come up in segment three. I'm sure this is going to be a key for either team is, you know, can anybody, you know, run the ball to help them get some control of the time of

Starting point is 00:14:21 possession? That is going to be huge in this game. And you're right. That is a little teaser for segment three there in terms of the keys to victory. But that is huge for this Broncos team is finding that groove running the ball because they've got guys that can play. I mean, Javon, to his credit, has had a number of really good games this year. Adric Estime, former Notre Dame star, who's the rookie running back for the Broncos, getting a little more run lately. He's had a couple of good games. Joliel McLaughlin had a good game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Starting point is 00:14:49 So it's really just a matter of everything clicking for these guys all at once. And hey, if we could get Mike McGlinchie to stop maybe holding on some of these longer runs, maybe the Broncos would have a little bit more success. So defensively for the Broncos, though, Jeff, I'm looking at this matchup. Obviously, as the time we're recording this, there's no official injury report required by the NFL in terms of the scheduling difference or the Broncos playing on Monday against the Browns. So we don't know what the status is of Zach Allen. We don't know what the status is of starting cornerback Riley Moss. Those two guys loom large in this matchup in terms of, I think, exploiting what has been maybe the Brown's biggest weakness overall this season offensively, which is they can't convert third down.

Starting point is 00:15:36 very well. They are 32nd in the NFL in terms of converting third downs offensively. So we don't know who's going to be available for that Broncos defense. Will Riley Moss play? If he doesn't, who steps up in his spot? Could be, you know, veteran Levi Wallace, could be maybe rookie Chris Abrams. Drain gets a little bit of a call up this week. Defensive line played decent in the second half against Vegas, but that absence of Zach Allen was huge for the Denver Broncos as he is their best interior defensive lineman and creates pressure almost every single play out there. So those two guys, if they play or not, I think that looms really big for this Denver Broncos team against the Cleveland Browns.

Starting point is 00:16:16 No question about it. And we'll jump in here again with some second breaking news. Browns have also claimed today defensive end formerly of the Kansas City Chiefs, Cameron Thomas, formerly San Diego State University. So Brown's, you know, making some moves here. But you're going to get into this. It's going to be, this is the thing I think that really excites me is I think the Browns are going to fight here. And, you know, it's, you know, I know maybe the success won't necessarily be there.

Starting point is 00:16:46 You still have you guys, they've got Pittsburgh, they've got Kansas City, they've got Cincinnati, they've got Miami, and they close it out with Baltimore. So it's a tough stretch here. But, you know, you wear your record. Look, the fact that, you know, you're not going to be doing anything in January is on your own. You earned it. But you go into this game. Denver's never the easiest place to play in the world. When there was talks that this game was going to get flexed out,

Starting point is 00:17:09 what kept this game here is Bownex, is the Denver. This wasn't a testament about the Browns in any way whatsoever. It was a testament that Bowenex is a rookie quarterblank playing really well, and he deserves a primetime spotlight. So that's why this game is going to be here. The offensive line, look, it's Miles Garrett's never an easy task. He's not. And, you know, if you're worried about the holding calls,

Starting point is 00:17:30 maybe that won't be an issue this week because they don't ever seem to call holding. against Miles Garrett. The only guy who is successful as he is, but never seems to get held. You know, but it's, you're going to have to get after it. And, you know, with it being, you know, for the Browns, it's an extended week. You know what I'm saying? You're going from Thursday night football to Monday night football. Again, injuries, I don't know where we're at. Things I can tell you right now that may affect the Browns is Cedric Tillman. It's weird because we didn't get anything in practice today yet, which is, makes no sense either. Cedric Tillman currently in the concussion protocol. Jedrick Wills, I don't even know why we're talking about him, even potentially playing. The whole situation is done and over with.

Starting point is 00:18:09 But Tillman is in the concussion protocol. You know, other significant name, JOK is on I-R. He wouldn't be relevant to this game anyway. So, you know, you're just going to see where we're at. And it'll be late. You know, I mean, certainly we'll get information as late as Saturday is where these guys are at. Always the difficulty kind of covering a Monday night game. So, you know, but it's, you know, it's Monday night football.

Starting point is 00:18:31 You know, Denver is still everything is there for them. I know their stretch isn't that easy either. And really for Denver, it's almost going to be probably what you can do in 17 weeks because you might get that cherry on top in week 18 where you're not going to see anybody that anybody knows on the Kansas City Chiefs playing in that week 18 game. So for Denver, it's trying to do as much damage as you can now. And maybe you kind of get a cookie in week 18. Yeah, building that margin for error is something that we're not used to in Denver these days, having that, you know.

Starting point is 00:19:03 It's always weird to do when you're not there every year, man. You got to really start saying, well, we got to win this one. We got to win this one and pray like hell on that one. Exactly. It's always an uphill battle when it comes to the NFL playoffs. Things are going to be tightening up. We saw the Browns, they played really well against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the game that, you know, there was a lot of the elements.

Starting point is 00:19:22 So I don't think the Browns are going to be worried about whatever the weather is like in Denver this week. But what are the keys to victory for both of these teams? Because you know what? Like Jeff said, the Browns, they ain't really playing for draft position. They want to end the season on a high note, whatever that looks like. And the Broncos, they want to go into the bye week on a high note. We're going to break down our keys to victory coming up next on today's crossover Thursday edition, locked on Broncos, locked on Browns.

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Starting point is 00:21:15 Again, create an account and redeem code locked on NFL. That's L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-N-FL for $20 off. Download game time today. What time is it? Game Time. As we jump into the fourth quarter, we are going to break down our three keys to victory for the Denver Broncos and the Cleveland Browns on Monday night football with Cleveland heading to the Mile High City. But once again, just want to shout out every one of you, everyday listeners of Lockdown Broncos and Lockdown Browns out there. We appreciate you so much for making us your first listen of the day every single day.

Starting point is 00:21:49 Jeff, I want to pitch it over to you three keys to victory for the Cleveland Browns in this game. I mean, they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers so they can beat the best of the best of the. the best. What do they got to do to go into Denver and steal a win? Well, it's going to start with some, you know, some manipulation of a running game. Look, I love Nick Chub with all my heart, and he is out there. But, you know, when you've seen a player for as long as, you know, I've seen Nick Chub, I can tell that that's a version of Nick Chub. It's not the Nick Chub. You know, we'll see in 2025 if he gets back to, you know, 100% of Nick Chub. It doesn't help that, you know, it's been a door at the offensive line.

Starting point is 00:22:28 That certainly gives you no cohesion towards a run game. But certainly the run game is certainly going to be important. Second one, I'll also stick here on offense as well. I probably don't have to tell you or any Denver Bronco fan. There's been times for Jerry Judy where his head gets the best of him and basically, you know, defeats him. And Jerry Judy right now is in a really good spot. Moving on from Amari Cooper, I think it was just, it was such a smart move.

Starting point is 00:22:54 Because look, once you're done with a guy. and basically look, we're not even willing to negotiate. We don't want to talk about a contract extension. There's that odd spot you're in. But meanwhile, the Browns had all these other guys who needed reps, who needed to kind of have, you know, be established as to where they are so the Browns can make plans in the future. Jerry Judy was certainly one of them. Over the last four or five weeks, he's been an absolute monster.

Starting point is 00:23:17 You know, who would have thought the kid who grew up in Deerfield Beach, Florida, all of a sudden looked like a guy who grew up in the lake in Minnesota on Thursday night football, catching everything that came his way in the snow. So Cedric Tillman, there's been big progressional jump there as well. Elijah Moore, it always seems that they don't know what to do with Elijah Moore, and then comes to the second half of the season. And they just say, you know what, he's not a gadget player. He's a wide receiver.

Starting point is 00:23:36 He's just smaller. So let's just start throwing the ball. And they throw him the ball and things work out for it. So, you know, Jerry, Judy, keeping his head in a situation like this. First thing, first you're going against a guy like Patrick Satan, whose, you know, resume is just obviously impeccable. And certainly Jerry knows of the abilities. The thing is to stay within yourself.

Starting point is 00:23:56 And for Jerry, maybe the best thing that Jerry, Judy can do for the Brown's offense on Monday night is be a decoy. Because, you know, what quarterback's going to really, you know, want to throw the ball? Patrick Certan's way a lot. Most likely you don't. So run your routes well. Preoccupy, Mr. Certain. And therefore, you know you have guys. And we'll see, again, if it's Tillman, David Najoku, certainly, Elijah Moore.

Starting point is 00:24:20 And you can get other guys involved here. Because if the Browns say, hey, you know, we're willing. to give up Jerry Judy to give up Patrick's or 10, you're going to do that, you know, nine times out of, I mean, you know, 10 out of 10. And the third one, defense has just got to keep coming. And look, you are Jim Schwartz. You know, you have this resume. It's, you should be the one that makes Bo Nix, Bo Nix look like a rookie.

Starting point is 00:24:44 It shouldn't be Bo Nix having a day against the guy like you. That's more of a statement about maybe where Jim Schwartz would be in his career as for Bo Nix, because we know Bo Nix is trending towards being. being one of those guys. But if you're supposed to be one of these, you know, guru top notch, you should be ready to go against a rookie quarterback, even though we're getting to the point where, you know, the rookie label starts to wash off a little bit after all the amount of times that he's played. But you need to have Bobix make a couple of mistakes. And as you said, they don't run the ball very well. So that should play into your hands of saying, well, all we want to do is play

Starting point is 00:25:18 man coverage and get after the quarterback. Well, it appears Denver might let you do that. Now let's see what happens. Yeah, exactly. It's going to be another test for Bo Nix coming off a game where you play against Max Crosby. I know the Broncos won by 10 points against the Raiders, but Max Crosby really made life difficult for Sean Peyton for Bo Nix, forcing them to just really adjust a game out of Las Vegas so bad. I know.

Starting point is 00:25:43 Get him out of there. I'm with you on that, Jeff. Get Max Crosby out of Las Vegas. And as long as he's not going to the Chargers or the Chiefs, I'm fine with him leaving Las Vegas at any point in the near future. So Miles Garrett, similar beast, a similar type of guy that you've got to account for every single play. You adjust your protection plan. You adjust everything that you do based on where he's lining up.

Starting point is 00:26:05 And that's what the Broncos have to do. I mean, that's the number one overarching thing that they need to do to win this game. But my three keys to victory, Jeff, number one, you need to avoid negative plays on the early downs. That's what got them into trouble against the Las Vegas Raiders consistently. Javante Williams, negative run or a gain of just one yard. too many negative plays on first downs and then you have a good play maybe on second down but it gets called back or you have a penalty on first down. Got to avoid the negative plays on early downs and that's where the running game really needs to step up. Number two, you want to make James Winston make mistakes. Obviously, I think a lot of these keys to victory every single week, they can be very similar.

Starting point is 00:26:43 But you want to force the opposing quarterback to make mistakes. There's no question about it. James Winston, you know, it's well documented. He's got a 30 interception season on his ledger. So he's willing to put the ball in harm's way, believes in his arm, telling. He believes in what he can do out there. And he's definitely an improved player from what we saw back in his Tampa Bay days, but force him to make mistakes. You're the best team, the Broncos, in terms of sacks, in terms of pressure, win rate,

Starting point is 00:27:08 all those sorts of things, force him to make mistakes. And number three, win the field position battle and dictate the pace of the game. This is not necessarily a game where we saw Jeff in primetime on Monday. night. We saw the Baltimore Ravens get super aggressive and go for it on fourth down from well within their own side of the field, right? I don't think this is a game where the Broncos need to really mess around with that. They don't need to go out there and say, hey, we're going to be the aggressor. We're going to go for it on fourth down before we get to midfield or we're not going to take three points. We're going to try to get six. This is a game where I think that you can play sort of an old

Starting point is 00:27:43 school Big Ten style game, right? You can go for it in certain situations that dictate, but play the smart field position game, attempt to run the ball effectively and dictate the pace of this game, because if you're dictating the pace of this game, you're going to be able to keep a guy like Miles Garrett at bay a little bit better than what you have in the past or what other teams have in the past. So those are three keys to victory for the Denver Broncos as they look to get into the playoffs this season. I think it's going to be a fun matchup. It's, I think it is, you know, and I think for Browns fans, there's a lot more renewed, you know, I would say, you know, love for watching this team play.

Starting point is 00:28:23 I think a lot of people were absolutely ready to just pack it up. Certainly doesn't help that the Cavalien leaving Cavaliers are an unstoppable unit right now. But again, James has made this team more likable. And it's always going to come down to your quarterback. You know, Nick Chubb, Joe Bettonio, they're great. But, you know, if the main guy is not the main guy and he's a very difficult guy to root for, it becomes an unpleasant experience. the losses just make it to the point where you don't care.

Starting point is 00:28:51 That narrative has kind of changed right now. And these are all going to be big games for the Browns closing it out. I mean, Cincinnati maybe is wavering. But everybody that they're going to be playing against is going to be somehow, some way playing for their playoff lives. So, you know, it isn't necessarily so much about being the spoiler, but show up. I mean, everybody understands that this team certainly had a lot of injuries this year. and not that anybody doesn't.

Starting point is 00:29:19 But, you know, it's just go out that you got to battle. And, you know, tanking, it's, look, it's great for guys like us to say this and set up how we're doing our offseason coverage. And we could, you know, you start using words like that within a locker room or within a front office. You know, everybody can start packing their stuff up and heading on. You cannot show that. You cannot project that. The Giants trying to start Tommy DeVito and now have to start the better quarterback because Tommy DeVito might be. like you look at somebody's themes and you know and for me that's you know and i was telling before we record here

Starting point is 00:29:51 I think people think when the clement browns just because they're not good record wise I think everybody just thinks it's a clown show again look this place has been a clown show for years I didn't trust me I covered it it is not a clown show anymore yes it was an unsuccessful season but it just doesn't mean that all of a sudden you know you know 60 guys with you know colored hair and makeup on started you know filing out of a dots in again it's not it was just an off year you know and certainly know, three guys with your owner, your general manager, your head coach, all went in heavy on the most important position in all of professional sports. And it failed miserably. But the thing is, is they're smart enough and so much else that they do. They can circumnavigate that.

Starting point is 00:30:30 They can surpass it. They did it last year. They could have done it this year if they made a switch a little earlier. And they can still find a way to pay him last year and be ultra competitive next year. Yeah, I think the Browns may take a page out of the Denver Broncos book in the near future and just say, you know what? We've got to eat the dead money. whatever we got to do.

Starting point is 00:30:47 We got to move on at the quarterback position at some point in the near future. Going to be a fun matchup, Monday night football, Denver Broncos versus the Cleveland Browns. Once again, I want to thank you all for making Lockdown Broncos or Lockdown Browns your first listen today and every single day. And again, we wish you a happy Thanksgiving whenever you're listening to this. Happy Thanksgiving week, enjoy everything that you're doing there. And you know what? If you haven't already done so for your second listen of the day, you want to check out one of the two locked on NFL shows, Tyler Rowland in the morning. and obviously Tony Wiggins in the evening.

Starting point is 00:31:18 You can find Locked on NFL on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Broncos Country, Browns fans, we appreciate you so much. And we'll see you on the next one.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns Gearing Up For Primetime Action

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