Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos DEFENSE Must Be MONEY On Third Down vs. Indianapolis Colts

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos defense must be money on third down on Sunday if they hope to get off to a 2-0 start against the Indianapolis Colts. We'll break it down here on today's episode of the show. You are locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. The Denver Broncos defense has their hands full this week against a tough Indianapolis Colts offense. We'll go through all that here on this brand new episode. Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown podcast, near a green. your team every day. Thank you so much to all the every dayers out there in Broncos country.

Starting point is 00:00:39 Thanks for tuning in making us your first listen. However, you choose to do so. If you're not yet and every dare become one today, I'm Cody Roark, Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports. Join as always by Sarah Bedinger, site expert of their at predominantly orange.com. And on today's episode, we're going to go through by the Broncos defense must be money on third down this week against Daniel Jones. And that Indianapolis Colts offense will also highlight some of the players

Starting point is 00:01:03 you have to watch for specifically on third down. Plus, the Broncos offense and Bo Nix, they have to be smarter against this Colts defense that loves to play a lot of zone coverage. It was an issue for Denver last week, and they overcome that this week here. And can the Broncos make the necessary adjustments on special teams? And if so, what might that look like?

Starting point is 00:01:22 We'll get all that on today's episode of the show, brought to you by friends over there at Fandu. And right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you'll get $300 and bonus bets to use across the app. Sarah, look, back and watching the Colts game from week one. I always think it's important to do an early preview. Look at the scouting report a little bit.

Starting point is 00:01:39 And I tell you what, they were a clean operating offense. They were a clean and efficient defense that made life miserable for Tuatungo Viloa and the Miami Dolphins. And I think the Broncos defense this week, after the amazing performance we saw against the Tennessee Titans, this weekend is going to be a little bit of a tougher test against Indianapolis. Absolutely. I mean, the Indianapolis Colts surprised just about everybody, especially quarterback. Daniel Jones, who playing in the new NFL city, got cut in the middle of last season, was on the Vikings practice squad.

Starting point is 00:02:10 But look, Cody, I don't know. Everything Kevin O'Connell touches these days seems to turn to gold. So I don't know. Daniel, I guess, got the breath of life breathed into him at the end of last season. But it was great to see for him individually, just the way that things ended in New York, obviously to be able to bounce back with Shane Steichen and the Colts. But yeah, a much more formidable opponent, much better overall. roster much further along. We've seen the Colts actually in playoff contention the past couple of

Starting point is 00:02:39 seasons. And obviously they almost made the Broncos stumble last year in their playoff bid. And that was with Anthony Richardson at quarterback. And that was in the middle of the season when you've got the war on attrition, injuries and all those sorts of things. So they've reloaded this off season. They played extremely well in week one. And the Broncos are going to have to be on top of their game every week, of course. But a team like this, you know, we talked about how important it was to get an AFC victory against the Titans in week one, equally important here in week two for both of these teams. Well, the Colts in week one put up over 418 yards of offense against Miami's defense that features our former friend, Bradley Chubb there, and they had 150 plus yards on the

Starting point is 00:03:19 ground. So they are very well balanced here. But I'd say the addition of Daniel Jones into the equation here, last year the Broncos, what happened? What do they struggle with? Anthony Richardson on the design QB runs, that's not necessarily going to be taken out of the playbook. Daniel Jones as we know is a guy who can use his legs to extend plays. But I think if the Broncos here in this game, Sarah, and I want to mention this specifically, if the Broncos are going to beat the Colts on the road here and the defense is a big reason why they have to be money here on third down.

Starting point is 00:03:48 The Colts last week offensively, they were 7 of 15. But when I was going through and watching the All 22 on the NFL plus and NFL Pro, the one thing I kind of put together, I brought up all the third down plays here. And they had some short yard of situations, a majority of the day. They had some third and medium, but they're not afraid to kind of balance it out here.

Starting point is 00:04:08 They'll bring Michael Pittman Jr. Underneath the formation, get him the ball underneath. You know, he'll start on one side. When the ball snapped, he'll go underneath. They'll throw it to him in the flat

Starting point is 00:04:17 and he got extra yards after the catch. They'll target him in the passing game. But then Tyler Warren, the new addition here that obviously for them, I think is the tight end that they've been looking for all along. Saw a lot of volume this past week against Miami. There was a time where they just gave him a handoff. He kind of motioned to the full back roll. They handed it off to him on third and short.

Starting point is 00:04:37 He was able to pick up three yards, move the chains for a first down, but they love to target him as well in the passing game. And then Daniel Jones, certain short yard situations, third and one, third and inches. He'll QB sneak it or they'll do a quarterback draw there. This is going to have to be where the Broncos defense keys in on their assignments because they got guys everywhere here from a playmaker standpoint in Indianapolis. It's really a huge benefit that the Broncos are playing the Colts in week two, isn't it? Because they've got a bunch of stuff on film that now you've been able to see, okay, here's kind of what the Colts were planning with Daniel Jones. Here's what they're running. I mean, the Colts were just as much in a desperate position to start fast as the Broncos last week.

Starting point is 00:05:17 They wanted to, I'm not saying they emptied the clip or anything in terms of what Shane Steichen wants to do offensively. But what I am saying is that they weren't holding necessarily anything back either because they needed to go out there. and get off to a good start, get a win under their belts. And they dominated that first half, especially against Miami. And they did it with, like you said, a plethora of different playmakers. Michael Pittman Jr. is honestly one of those guys that he almost gets lost in the shuffle

Starting point is 00:05:44 when you talk about all the different players they have. I mean, Jonathan Taylor ran all over the Broncos last year at the running back position. Now you've added a true joker, Tyler Warren, who can take the ball out of the backfield, who can do a lot of different things to dictate coverage. We saw the Broncos against the Titans. Yes, they dominated defensively. We got a number of comments about this, Cody, too, that I want to just quickly address because I think it's important to note that the Titans receivers,

Starting point is 00:06:09 they dropped a lot of passes against the Denver defense that's getting a ton of credit for giving up minus two yards in the second half against Tennessee's offense. Yes, that number is incredibly impressive. And yes, on the whole, we are saying they dominated that game at the same time. You know, dropped passes also factor into that equation. because the Titans had guys that were open. They had chances in that game. If that happens against the Colts, you can't guarantee those guys are going to drop those passes.

Starting point is 00:06:38 So you've got to make sure that the communication is right. You can't be dropping coverage. You can't be leaving guys wide open like the Dolphins were. And to the Broncos benefit here, the dolphins may have the worst secondary in the NFL. So we know the Colts dominated in week one, can't diminish that. But you've got to make Daniel Jones regress to the guy that he's been for the majority of his career, is a guy who takes a lot of sacks and a guy who turns the ball over almost more than anybody. Yeah, he had one sack given up this week here.

Starting point is 00:07:06 I believe it was Chop Robinson. They got the sack on him. I thought he did a good job of getting the ball to his hands quickly. As we see with the Broncos ultra-aggressive approach, you know exactly what they're probably going to be talking about this week in Indianapolis in that meeting room is, all right, hey, they've got Nick Benito, they got Jonathan Cooper. They got these guys on the interior. They can blitz their linebackers.

Starting point is 00:07:24 They blitz their safeties. They blitz their corners. We got to get the ball out of our hands quickly. that's where I feel like the Broncos can disguise their looks a little bit, maybe show a blitz, drop back, and maybe you can force Daniel Jones to throw it into a tight window where you can go through and intercepted. But they're going to try to get Michael Pittman the ball.

Starting point is 00:07:40 I know obviously Josh Downs is a guy. Alec Pierce is fantastic as well. We talk about him. He went down with the concussion in the last game that the Broncos played. So they missed him really in that, I'd say from the second, third, and fourth quarter there in that first matchup there. But, you know, obviously, I think this is going to be a week. Rodley Moss will probably see a lot of,

Starting point is 00:07:58 targets or they're going to try to move guys around as we saw Sartan traveled wherever Calvin Ridley did this past week. So they're going to have a plan here for Michael Pittman, who I think is probably their most dangerous guy at the wide receiver position. But I'll be curious to see if they bring in more Jada Baron. They go a little more dime this week because of Tyler Warren. They need someone who can cover the tight end. I'm very curious to see if that's going to be the approach this week here for the Broncos. But yes, you got to try to turn back time and make Daniel Jones be the guy he used to be. Or could Daniel Jones be on a path here and Indianapolis where we've seen it for the last handful of years.

Starting point is 00:08:31 There's a quarterback whose career was in question that goes somewhere else, and all of a sudden, he's the story of the year. Let's hope the Broncos can prevent that from happening here in week two against the Indianapolis Colts here. Broncos Country, let's know your thoughts here on the Broncos defense, specifically how good they've been on third down. And also what the Indianapolis Colts did, if you went through and watched the game, what did you see what stands out and what concerns you?

Starting point is 00:08:54 Broncos Country coming up next, Sarah and I, we're going to discuss why the Broncos offense has to be smarter against this Colts defense. It has a brand new defensive coordinator who seemingly is the right guy for the job that mixed with their personnel. Why the Broncos must be smart if they hope to avoid going one-on-one. We'll break it down here on today's episode of the show. Today's episode of the show is brought to you by friends over there at Fandul, America's Sportsbook.

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Starting point is 00:11:00 In last season's matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, Bo Nix through three interceptions. And after three turnovers in week one, Broncos country is understandably concerned about how QB1 is going to perform. The offense has to be smarter if they are going to get to two and oh and get a much needed AFC win here early in the season under their belt. We're going to break down what the offense has to do against Indianapolis defense here in week two of the 2025 season, but Broncos Country, thanks so much for making us your first listen of the day. We appreciate you all so much for rocking with us. And if you haven't done so already, hit subscribe wherever you listen to a podcast and on YouTube. Cody, let's talk about the

Starting point is 00:11:38 offense here because obviously that's been the subject of much of the discussion here and the discourse and the aftermath of the Broncos beating the Tennessee Titans. The offense was not good from the start, right? It was a, it was not a clean operation. He had a dropped pass, drop touchdown on a potential, you know, a potential touchdown at least on a screenplay to Tyler Badegh, had three turnovers from Bo Nix, including two interceptions and a strip sack there. Obviously, there was a lot of issues for this offense and to somehow still win by eight points speaks to how well the defense played, but also, you know, you can't ignore the fact that you got a little lucky in that game, right?

Starting point is 00:12:17 So the offense has to be a cleaner operation. What needs to happen for this team to get back on track offensively against a tough Colts defense. Well, I would say simplify things. You know, there's nothing wrong with doing that. I think people hear the term you have to simplify the offense. They're like, well, that means your quarterback can't handle the complex stuff. No, that's not what that means. It means that if the Broncos are having pre-snap penalty procedures that are setting them back or they're not getting guys lined up in the right spot or you're going through all these mass personnel substitutions, maybe that's a little too much right now. Maybe that's what's hindering the Broncos offense, right?

Starting point is 00:12:50 Can you go back to some of the basics here, your bread and butter stuff? Because watching a lot of the games on Sunday, it looked like a lot of the teams in the morning and the afternoon games, even the primetime games, they didn't have these mass personnel packages. They just kept it with their basic. We know who our top guys are.

Starting point is 00:13:05 We know what our foundations are. We know we're going to run offensively, defensively, and we're going to do it. I like the advantage of the Broncos can effectively mix and match their personnel. Great. But we haven't seen that quite yet. And granted, maybe that's just a weak one thing

Starting point is 00:13:19 because I will make the argument here. I still think that the starters didn't play enough. in the preseason, I think all across the board, you saw some of these teams that didn't play their starters get off to slow starts and struggle a little bit. And I just think that you have to continue to get more reps here. That's going to be the biggest key. But I think more importantly, Sarah, it all goes back to first down, right? The Broncos actually started the game against Tennessee Titans.

Starting point is 00:13:42 They did pretty good until you had some of those negative plays, penalties, or even the drop potential touchdown there by Tyler Bade. You had these things that kind of set you backward, right? So on first down, that's going to be our key here. once again this week, can the Broncos be efficient on first down? Because there were a lot of times they had a second and long situation coming up, second and 12, second and 10 because they got no gain on a run play or, you know, it ends up being first and 15.

Starting point is 00:14:07 You only get three yards on the next play. Now all of a sudden it's second and 12 coming up. You have to just be more efficient on your early downs. I know it's cliche, but that's something that the Broncos have not done a good enough job with at least in week one. On the road, hostile territory against this Luana Rumo coach defense. where they're going to primarily play zone defense, you're going to have to figure out where to pick and choose your spots here.

Starting point is 00:14:29 And I guarantee you they're going to be looking to see if Bo Nix is going to run some play actions rollouts to his left. They're always going to have a backside player designated for Bo. So I'm curious to see how Sean Peyton and them adjust this week. And that's where the running game is going to really come into play here is making sure that this Titans team or this Colts team, excuse me, is really being overly aggressive, right? You want to get going in the running game so that

Starting point is 00:14:53 they're attacking the line of scrimmage. And then you can obviously go to those play action plays that worked so well for the Broncos against the Titans, at least, I mean, for a good chunk of them, right? I mean, we've seen Bo Nicks over the course of his rookie season and some in that first week when he's moving, when he's throwing on the move or when he's getting outside the pocket, man, he can make some incredible throws to his guys to beat that zone coverage or deeper down the field and just throw it past those safeties that are sitting deep. So I feel like, yes, you want to be measured in this game,

Starting point is 00:15:24 but you want to go back to sort of your greatest hits, right? Sean Payton talked about in the games where the Broncos really helped, you know, turn things around for Bo Nix. It was ultimately going to Bo and saying, hey, what kind of plays do you like here? What kind of plays are you most comfortable with? Get into those bread and butter sorts of plays so that you're doing a lot less thinking and a lot more just playing and remind him to, you know,

Starting point is 00:15:45 just stick to the basics, right? Obviously, you don't need to take the big chunk play every single time. You don't need to try and hit a three-pointer from half court every single time. Like be patient. Take the checkdowns when you get the opportunity. Take the outlets when you get the opportunity. Hit the easy stuff when you get the opportunities. If you can do that, you get defenses over pursuing.

Starting point is 00:16:06 And that's when you can take those shots because otherwise, they're just going to be sitting there waiting to take advantage of your mistakes. And they'll be able to do that like the Titans did almost three times. Both through two interceptions almost had a third one in that game. So it's really got to be about playing smart, starting with the running game, and taking what the defense is giving you. Well, and it's going to be a tough defense, right? They've got DeForest Buckner on that team as well. But I think one guy we're going to identify this week, you know, outside of just the big names here,

Starting point is 00:16:35 you got to look at Samson Ebukam, the defense event number 52 here for the Indianapolis Colts. He had a really good game against the Miami Dolphins this past week. When you look at it, you know, he did have one tackle, but he had one sack, but three quarterback hits. So he's a guy that can generate pressure. And if you will let him get inside or you let him beat your offensive tackle, he can disrupt the pocket a little bit. And one thing we did see, and I would say this against the Tennessee Titans, there were times where there was pressure on the outside coming through.

Starting point is 00:17:04 Bo would step up in the pocket. But then Bo sometimes is running up in the pocket and he's trying to throw right when there's pressure coming through. So can you find a way to not throw on the run, set your feet and fire a shot versus some of the stuff that we saw in the preseason and also some of the stuff we saw here in week one. I think ultimately it's going to boil down to can you just go back to basics here, not overcomplicate the offense, allow Bonix to set his feet and fire. That's got to be an emphasis for him this week because in the film review, when we go back and watch, a lot of

Starting point is 00:17:34 his throws were throwing on the run here. And that right there, I think you run into the variances of you might sell a pass on one if your feet or if your base isn't necessarily where it needs to be. But pressure can factor into that as well. Can we see the Broncos go back to, just standing in the pocket delivering without having to set up play action every single time. I know they want to run some RPO stuff and evolve the offense a little bit, but go back to some of the stuff that you were doing last year. That's going to help you just get a rhythm going, I would say, in this game. To me, that's going to be a big, big key, especially with that Colts defense.

Starting point is 00:18:07 You know they're going to run, I think, a lot of cover three. I think they'll run some cover six where they're going to have a corner on one side playing, covering the deep third. They're going to have a corner on the other side. He's going to be playing underneath that curled a fold. that the curl to flat there and they're going to rotate their safeties over the top. This is where they're going to try to disguise their looks, get Bo Nix to think that he can throw it kind of the way that Tennessee did.

Starting point is 00:18:27 I thought they did a great job of disguising as well, but they're going to play a lot of zone to see if they can try to catch and jump some of these passes that Boe wants to throw, especially in some of the longer developing plays that we've seen, that's going to be a big key this weekend. Can the offensive line hold up against Bo? I think that a complimentary run game, it's going to be big here if the Broncos hope to leave on Sunday with a win. Yeah, the backs are going to be huge in this game, whether it's the running game or whether it's creating yards after contact in the passing game.

Starting point is 00:18:55 And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I think you want to get running backs involved. And I think you want to get your guys involved on those quick hitting plays. Maybe this is a big Marvin Mims game as well, Cody, to be able to help with those aggressive, you know, those defensive backs that they want to sit back and they want to attack. They want to wait for, okay, let's see these long developing routes. I'm going to go ahead and jump. I'm going to bait him here and I'm going to jump this route. Maybe this is an opportunity where we want to see Bo getting rid of the ball as quickly as possible and letting those playmakers do their thing in space.

Starting point is 00:19:26 Let Marvin Mims do his thing. Let Troy Franklin do his thing because you showed in week one. Those are some of the most effective plays you drew up to really beat what the Titans were trying to do defensively being aggressive, sending guys on blitzes, attacking the line of scrimmage, attacking receivers in zone coverage. When you were able to get things going after the catch, that's when you really started to see some success. offensively and it was there. It just wasn't always executed properly. So the Broncos, if they can do that in this game, that's going to be huge for this offense,

Starting point is 00:19:56 getting some momentum going, hitting that easy button that we've been talking about them trying to find. It doesn't have to be a home run attempt every single time. You know, just get a couple of, you know, grounders where you can get on first base, second base, if I'm using a baseball analogy here. And then just everything else will come, right? I think if you're just trying to take these deep shots.

Starting point is 00:20:14 I mean, think about it too. Like on the plays we're both through an interception, he's attacking downfield 15 to 20 plus yards. And so when you're doing it at different angles where maybe you're further away and you're rotating back, like on the pass that was intercepted and intended for Troy Franklin, he's really throwing all the way across the field, across his body on that one to try to get it to Troy there.

Starting point is 00:20:34 So simplify the offense. That's not an indictment on Bow in any way, shape, or form. I just think that you saw Boe frustrated last week with that. And I think it'll calm out and level out the offense a little bit. We'll see if that is the case here. Broncos country, make sure you let us know your biggest concern this week for the Broncos offense against this Colts defense. And can the Broncos find a way to go to 2 and O an AFC conference play before the schedule gets a lot tougher from here on out. But coming up next, we're going to talk about the Broncos special teams adjustments that are needed this week,

Starting point is 00:21:02 including a little bit of a shout out there to Jeremy Croshow what he can do this week, if the Broncos have to punt to give the Broncos a little bit of a benefit on the road. You get that here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode of Lockdown, Broncos is brought to you about friends over there at Mazda. Mazda crafts cars for those who do more than simply move. Mazda delivers confidence with every ride with more I-IHS top safety pick plus awards than anybody else. From footwork to breath work, athletes sweat all the details. Mazda brings the same attention to how we craft every model.

Starting point is 00:21:35 You can fill Japanese craftsmanship in every detail from the metallic accents to available Napa leather upholstery. You can make everyday drives feel like it. anything but from smooth handling to intuitive controls. Like our players, we sweat every detail because when you make every move count, impossible becomes irrelevant. Mazda, move and be moved. Special teams, special players, that's the theme here in the Mile High City, though the Broncos that want to mulligan after week once performance on special teams.

Starting point is 00:22:06 A couple of mistakes in the kick return game, a muffed punt. These things can't happen on the road in hostile territory. So there's going to be a lot of adjustments needed this week. as the Broncos will face a tough Indianapolis team on the road here. Thanks to all the everydayers first listeners out there in Broncos country for tuning in, making us a big part of your day, however you choose to do so here. Sir, look, special teams has been a strength for this Broncos team for the last couple of years. Obviously, under the legendary Mike Westoff, that whole entire staff is now gone.

Starting point is 00:22:35 You bring in Darren Rizzy, who's highly regarded here. It wasn't necessarily the best week one performance by Denver special teams unit. And I would say even some of the decision-making stuff that we saw here initially factored into, I think, some of the outcomes that we saw on Sunday, positive and negative here. Where is the biggest adjustment you think that this team needs to make on special teams this Sunday against the Colts? I'm guessing a lot of teams are in this boat, Cody, after the change to the rules and where the touchbacks come out to. But, man, on kickoff coverage, you got to get down there and you got to make a play. I think the Broncos may feel like they have an advantage in that regard.

Starting point is 00:23:12 and having guys that can go up and make big hits on special teams. But you've got to prove that you can do it. And I think they made a huge mistake. And I think everyone will agree at the end of the first half after you score a touchdown, then you go and kick the ball in play deliberately trying to. I mean, the aggressive part of me wants to be like, yeah, let's go try and force a fumble, steal another quick possession or another three points before the half. But what you, you know, kind of expose yourself to in that situation is if we kick it in,

Starting point is 00:23:41 in play or give him the ability to return it, they can just go kick, you know, return the kick right up into field goal range or maybe return it for a touchdown. And I mean, the Broncos are lucky that the Titans returner did not take it back for six because obviously he got real close. And so that's just, I think that was an ill-advised decision by the special team staff to say,

Starting point is 00:24:03 hey, we just got a touchdown. We stole momentum before the half. The Titans seeing what just happened, their own boneheaded mistake, trying to throw the ball from deep in their own territory. They're just going to sit on the ball. So let's kick it through the end zone.

Starting point is 00:24:16 They ain't going to try to do anything. They're going to sit on it and go to the half. I just didn't understand that situation at all. You basically gifted them three free points. Yeah, and you can't do that. I mean, those are things that could come back to haunt you over the course of a game. And luckily, for the Broncos, it didn't matter in this game, but against some better teams that you're going to end up playing.

Starting point is 00:24:37 This week, the Colts, next week the Chargers, the week after that, the Bengals, and then obviously the Philadelphia Eagles, those mistakes can't be prevalent. You can't be making those types of mistakes on a week-to-week basis. So I imagine that's something they're going to clean up. I like the new kickoff rule. And you have seen, I think, a balance after week one of teams deciding, okay, we believe in our defense enough that we're okay with just kicking a touchback.

Starting point is 00:24:57 Start on the 35. That's fine. It's that gamble now that you're seeing. And I think this is ultimately why you want to keep the kick return aspect in the game. It could change things drastically for you. You know, you got guys like Marvin Mims. Got some speedy guys. We saw some really good returns over the weekend.

Starting point is 00:25:13 So I like that. It's just the benefit of you need to make sure your coverage team is dialed in. And it's all about angles. It's taking the right stuff. I'll go back on the all 22 and watch it again to see exactly what happened. But I imagine that's something that Rizzy and his staff are going back this week and saying, hey, we've got to clean this up. It could have just been the guy taking the wrong angle.

Starting point is 00:25:32 It could have been just maybe the player making a tremendous play. I like the aggressiveness knowing what we saw with the Broncos defense. But at that point at that juncture, you have the momentum going at a half time. You gave some momentum and some life to Tennessee going at a half. They come out, the intercept Bo Nix on the second play of the opening series. And all of a sudden it's like, wow, okay, hey, the Titans now have a lot to play for. Thankfully, the Broncos defense came in and said, nah, we're going to get that momentum back for you.

Starting point is 00:25:58 Can't make that mistake against a team like the Colts. I'm just saying that's going to be one thing that they want to do. Let's talk about Jeremy Crosh out here, though, right? And this isn't, you know, any adjustment he needs to make. This is just, I think, some praise that he's. deserves after the rough preseason that he had. I felt like he came in and managed those situations well. We talked about it yesterday and kind of our recap of how maybe those simulated looks in practice have helped him out a little bit. What was the one thing from Croshaw that you saw

Starting point is 00:26:25 that you really liked? Like for me, I felt like his hang time and the distance traveled. I felt like it was pretty balanced in the Broncos coverage team. I felt like they did a good job of getting downfield. Kind of pinpoint accuracy from him. When you're trying to pin a team deep inside the 10 yard line. He did it a handful of times. And so that's exactly what you want to see is, unfortunately, a lot of times guys just kick the ball right into the end zone. And we saw the Titans do that, right? So you want to kick the ball where it lands inside the 10, give your coverage unit time to get down there and either down the ball or at least force the returner to call a fair catch. And that happened repeatedly. So the concerns that we had after the preseason,

Starting point is 00:27:05 I think were understandable, given the fact of what we saw was not good with the other team's returning the ball consistently, the ball not going far enough in the air. But obviously the Broncos were confident, didn't even bring in an extra guy for the practice squad or anything like that. It just felt like they could go into week one. And we saw in week one why he was the only punter drafted. So there's obviously an element of patience that has to come with this. And we talked about that when you draft a punter.

Starting point is 00:27:30 You are invested in that guy. And that's just the way that it is. So I'm glad the Broncos stuck with it. And I'm glad that they're seeing the fruits of that because you want to see a guy like this succeed. He's got a huge leg. And obviously, we saw what he can do pinning teams deep against the Titans. Well, I think this week, the key is okay, you get another road game. The last road game he played, he had a really bad pun against the Northern

Starting point is 00:27:51 Saints indoors in a dome. We know that the Colts, they have a dome. It's a little retractable. So I know sometimes the sun can come through. We'll see if that plays into the mix here. So you want to just see him followed up with a consistent performance. I would say here on Sunday against Indianapolis. Let's go to Marvin Mims in the return game.

Starting point is 00:28:06 Obviously, Marvin really has been the, the energizer bun. I mean, I would say the catalyst for the Broncos making a plays, including last year against the Indianapolis Colts with a really good return. Last week, he did have the muff. And I think that was when the sun in his eyes there. But obviously, that was a huge turning point. That could have been very devastating for the Broncos. This is not something we normally see with Marvin. So I'm not necessarily worried about it.

Starting point is 00:28:31 But I'm excited to see if this is the week that Marvin can break off another big one on the road. I think it's going to set up for it based on what you watch from Indianapolis and their special team. there. And I think with the Broncos guys who are playing that, that jammer role there, I've loved what I've seen from them, including Chris Abrams, Drain, Jaude, Baron. There were times of there planting guys, the gunners, into the dirt when they had some single coverage. So I like what I saw there. And I think that's going to be an important element for us to watch this week. And even with that muffed punt return, obviously he had a couple of returns that really set the Broncos up nice. So I think we got the chance to see him bounce back

Starting point is 00:29:06 rather quickly in this game and that the last thing you want is for a guy to drop a punt and all of a sudden he's got the yips out there where it feels like you can't trust him to catch anything. And I think Marvin is the type of type of player who's going to be able to bounce back from something like that really quickly. And we saw him do exactly that. So how about bouncing back this week with a return touchdown? I mean, we haven't seen a return touchdown from Marvin in some time. And it just feels like it's bound to happen because he's so, it just feels like he's so close.

Starting point is 00:29:34 Every time he makes one guy miss on a return, I'm like, all right, here we go. And everybody in the stands, I'm sure at the games is like standing up out of their seat, like, oh, what's he going to do next now? So the thing that I want to see Marvin bounce back from to Cody is something that was pointed out by our friend Tim Jenkins where he wasn't running full speed on a route. At least it didn't appear so. And it really was the cause of potentially that first interception for Bo Nix. So when Marvin's not getting the ball offensively, he's still such an important part

Starting point is 00:30:04 of what this team is doing in terms of, hey, you've got to clear out your defender. Or if you're lined up in the backfield, you've got to sell that you're getting the ball and really doing things without the football in his hands to make everybody on this team better. So I know that was a point of frustration in his rookie season with Russell Wilson not getting him the ball a ton.

Starting point is 00:30:24 But I want to see when Marvin's not getting the ball, he is still a tremendous factor for this offense. And on special teams, obviously we know when the ball, ball's kicked off, he's getting the ball. When the ball's punted, he's getting the ball. So offensively, can you follow that up by being effective when you don't have the football? That's going to be huge for him in week two to improve upon what we saw against the Titans. Yeah, I feel like he could have sold it better. I feel like it was a long developing play right there. I know they're trying to free up Cortland Sutton underneath. Marvin's just got to sell that a little bit harder to run off the corner, though it's tough when you're playing zone. That corner is already outside leverage. He's seeing he could just pass off to the safety.

Starting point is 00:31:04 but if that's the case, if that safety doesn't get over time, maybe Bow has a chance to hit Marvin deep downfield there. So sell it harder, run the vertical route. I would say a little more technical. I'm not sure if that was just a designed runoff play there by Marvin, and he knew he wasn't getting the ball, but you have to sell those things like you mentioned a little more believable, I would say to the defense here.

Starting point is 00:31:24 But with that said, Broncos Country that I'll wrap up today's episode of the show. We appreciate you so much all the everydayers, first listeners in Broncos Country for tuning in and making us a big part of your day. you choose to do. So make sure you subscribe or follow up your brand new viewer, listener of the show. And you love exactly what we bring to the table. We do this every single day all year long. And for you every day, or Sarah Beninger is going to sit down with the

Starting point is 00:31:46 locked on Colts guys tomorrow to preview for crossover Thursday. Sunday's big matchup here. AFC conference play. The stakes are high. Can the Broncos rise to the occasion? You'll get that on tomorrow's episode of the show.

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