Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Face HIGH STAKES vs. Los Angeles Chargers

Starting point is 00:00:00 Broncos Chargers and AFC West Division will show out on this Sunday. Well, the stakes are high with two teams looking to retake the top spot of the AFC West. We'll break it all down here on today's crossover Thursday. You are locked on NFL crossover. Part of the Locked on podcast network. Your team every day. Nothing better than an old-fashioned Wild Wild West. That is the AFC West.

Starting point is 00:00:32 Two teams, the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers face off here in week three for a divisional matchup that could have stakes for potentially reclaiming the division away from Kansas City. Welcome into another crossover Thursday here on the Locked-on podcast. Network Green, it is your team every day. I'm Cody Roark-Costa, Locked-on. Barrackos joined by David Droganmeyer of Locked-on Chargers, and we're here to break down. Everything you need to know going into this week's AFC West Divisional matchup. We'll go through the biggest stories this week as both teams are battling some injuries with some key players. Plus we'll also go through which matchups we're most looking forward to seeing

Starting point is 00:01:08 and what each team needs to do in order to come out on top with a victory early on here in the 2025 NFL season. You'll get out here on today's crossover Thursday, which is brought to you by our friends over there at price picks. Download the price picks at today and use code lockdown NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. David, let's waste no time here short week for the Los Angeles Chargers coming off of a win against the Las Vegas Raiders here on Monday night

Starting point is 00:01:35 football. Now they're going to face the Denver Broncos three straight AFC West games. They kick off the year for your chargers. What's the biggest story with the charters this week coming into this matchup? No rest for the weary there, Cody. The Chargers, another third straight AFC West opponent to start the season after the first two. So far, so good. Two and O to start the division. Couldn't have asked to start any better. But unfortunately, with that win against the Raiders on Monday night it did come with a cost a very heavy one the future first ballot Hall of Famer Khalil Mack dislocated his elbow and he was placed on IR the good news is it should only be a short IR trip hopefully it's the four games and he's

Starting point is 00:02:20 back on the field at least that is what Coach Harbaugh has said and hopefully that's what happens because he is a massive part of this defense Cody well I mean when I saw the injury happen I was like wow that's brutal I think everyone's in the injury replay and seeing him, you know, really struggling to hold on to his arm without being in pain. I think we all thought that could have been a season ender for him. So tough as Nails there for Kalil Mack. Obviously, they're going to miss his presence for at least four games here with short-term IR. My question is, obviously, you know, with Tully Tui Pallotu, what does the backup rotation look like for this pass rush here without Kalil Mack there? Obviously, I know Tui Polotu is obviously a standout

Starting point is 00:03:01 name right there, but who else will the Chargers defense be relying on this week? Yeah, they have a veteran that's also in that edge room by the name of Bud Dupree, who has been around this league for quite a while. I think we're talking about almost as long as Glil Mack there with 10 years in the league. And for him, you know, you put together a solid season last year, providing, I think, five sacks as a rotational third edge rusher. So he's factored to get a lot more snaps. And also, they've had an undrafted free agent by the name of Caleb Murphy who has made the squad who had a great preseason was getting all kinds of pressure He's actually been starting over their fourth round pick Kyle canard who has been a healthy scratch the first two

Starting point is 00:03:39 games of the season so you're probably gonna see a lot of Bud Jupree they also did work out a couple of guys including cluel and feral Today to try to provide some kind of injection like no one is going to be able to replace Khalil mac. I mean he has a presence that only he can provide and so it's going to have to be a team team group effort, but you're going to see Bud Dupree. You're going to see Caleb Murphy along in that rotation with Tully, Tui, Pallotu. Well, yeah. And one thing I'd say is the way that I've watched the film on the Chargers defense here so far through two weeks.

Starting point is 00:04:13 They're perfectly comfortable with playing zone defense. I think they have their safeties that they break on the ball relatively well. I mean, we saw that against Gino Smith on Monday night football. So that'll be something here to watch out for Bonnix and the Broncos. Obviously, the biggest story here for this Broncos team, they're coming off of a heartbreaking loss. Sunday on the road against the Indianapolis Colts where the defense, unfortunately, after looking like one of the best units in week one, week two, they looked like one of the worst. They surrendered over 473 yards of offense to Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts who exploited them across the middle of field and isolated some matchups against their linebackers.

Starting point is 00:04:46 But nothing more heartbreaking than losing on a last second field goal after the offense and Bo Nix put up 28 points on the road. That should be enough for you to win games. So the defense suffered a massive letdown in this week. They've been talking about how that's not the standard that they've set for themselves. They know what type of defense they can be. Certainly we've all seen it, but they didn't feel like they lived up to it last week against the Colts. And that's going to be a big test this week because Justin Herbert and this Charter's team, they're on fire right now. So that's where both questions, you know, kind of come at a head on here between these two teams.

Starting point is 00:05:18 So yeah, for me, I guess the question I have is Jonathan Taylor had a just massive game against the Broncos defense. do you think that is more of a product of Jonathan Taylor just being one of the best offensive football players in the league or if it's something with the defense of the Broncos that they have to get corrected? I say it's a combination of both. Jonathan Taylor is a terrific player, right? But the Broncos have been exploited a little bit

Starting point is 00:05:43 at the inside linebacker position because Denver, they played a lot of man blitz. You know, they 52.6% of Daniel Jones dropbacks that he had on Sunday, the Broncos set man blitz where they're playing man coverage. They're sending either one or two additional guys to try to get after him. And it didn't get home because he's getting the ball of his hands quickly. And if anyone could get the ball out of his hands quickly,

Starting point is 00:06:03 this is what worries me this week. It's Justin Herbert. That's exactly what he did last year when they faced the Broncos on Thursday night football. They adjusted in the second half to what Denver was doing. And it didn't lead to success for them. Obviously, we remember that. I mean, the Chargers swept Denver last year. So that is definitely part of the story here this week.

Starting point is 00:06:20 And injuries right now kind of piling up right here. Alex Singleton is good to go. He'll likely start here once again this week. But Justin Sternard, who started next to Singleton for the first two games of the season with Drake Greenlaw being out. He was a non-participant in Wednesday's practice. So we're going to keep an eye on him throughout the week. We're hoping that maybe Drake Greenlaw was going to make his debut here, but it's not looking like that's going to be the case this Sunday.

Starting point is 00:06:42 It would have been a great game, though, to have him ready. It's not looking like it, though. Man, that's got to be so frustrating for the Bronco fans out there who, you know, was very excited about this guy bringing in a guy who a guy who has kind of a nature and a presence about him that you want to have in the middle of the defense that was already one of the league's best but you know for another storyline for the Chargers I think that's just a caveat or a piggyback off of the initial one is okay now that Kalumack is out can the Chargers find a way to manufacture some pass

Starting point is 00:07:11 rush without him because Bo Nix didn't get sacked a single time last week and you know he was pretty comfortable he was able to kind of maneuver and you know you had a much better bounce back game than week one and week He was getting in the end zone and making some good quality throws. So the chargers are going to have to figure out how much do I deploy Derwin James as that kind of Swiss Army knife chess piece, a guy who can really get after the quarterback as a kind of slot corner slash safety, a guy that they love to have close to the line of scrimmage. I think you're going to have to look out for that.

Starting point is 00:07:44 And also it's going to have to be schematically because, you know, you just don't have the all-stars in that edge group to depend on them to be getting pressure. on their own. They're going to have to play some games and they're going to have to manufacture some pressure against this Denver offensive line that sports some pretty good players. Yeah, I know we'll break it down in terms of matchups and things like that later on as the show goes about, but this is a great game for the Broncos to try to come out and establish the run here against the Chargers. They got it going last week with J.K. Dobbins, former Chargers running back. So maybe a little chip on JK's shoulder after the team decided to bring in Najee Harris and

Starting point is 00:08:20 draft Omerian Hampton and not look at bringing here. him back. So I'm sure that this is going to be a big game for JK coming into it initially. But that's going to factor into, I think, some of the key matchups. So we're going to talk about here as well. And can the Broncos find a way to neutralize the threat that is Ladd-McConkie? That is one of the major questions we have as we look at key matchups and we're here on today's crossover Thursday. Today's crossover Thursday is brought to our friends over there at Mazda. Mazda crafts cars for those who do more than simply move from footwork to breathwork athletes. They sweat all the details. They sweat all the details.

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Starting point is 00:09:30 whether you're a locked on chargers listener or a lockdown Broncos listener. Thanks for making us part of your day. However, you choose to do so. If you're not yet in every day or become one, subscribe or follow wherever you get your podcast or on YouTube here. David, let's get into some key matchups here as well. Kind of teased it a little bit. We were talking about Ladd-McConkie. Now, I don't know if you saw the AFC West crossover preview that we had ultimately with all four

Starting point is 00:09:52 hosts inside the division. But I went on the record, and this might have caused some controversy from Broncos fans, but I was saying I was not happy with what the Chargers did around Justin Herbert last year. I didn't think they had much besides Ladd McConkey. And certainly that was the case, watching them through two weeks of play, it's clear that there are more playmakers around Justin Herbert right now than there were last year, which is kind of scary because we thought about it this way. They added Najee Harris.

Starting point is 00:10:19 They added Omerian Hatton. We thought, okay, with Harboss down, how we? loves to run the football, this is going to be a running team. We haven't seen them run the football much. What has happened? Who has evolved as these playmakers besides Ladd McConkey here for Justin Herbert early on in the season? Yeah, I think it's twofold.

Starting point is 00:10:37 I think first and foremost, it's the play calling with the offensive coordinator. With Greg Roman, he visited Justin Herbert in the offseason and basically said, hey, this is your offense. You have the green light to run whenever you need to run. Go for it. Like you're comfortable now. You know what you need to do. Obviously, Justin Herbert, like Bo Nix, has had to cycle through different offensive coordinators.

Starting point is 00:10:58 There's been a lot of inconsistency in that room, so it's been hard to be able to find that rhythm, get to be able to get to that next level, that 2.0 class of being able to operate the offense. Now Justin Herbert is there. And also, Justin Herbert couldn't run last year. He couldn't run at all. He had the planar fascia injury going into the season, then had two high ankle sprains on both ankles throughout the season. So you had to slim down the playbook to protect your quarterback to keep him on the football field. That's not the problem anymore.

Starting point is 00:11:28 So now Justin Herbert's healthy. He has the weapons. And believe it or not, it's not Keenan Allen. It's not Ladman O'Conkie. That's leading this Chargers team in receiving. It's Quentin Johnston, the guy that everybody rode off. He has eight catches for 150 yards and three touchdowns in his first two games, Cody, which is he's the first charger to do that since. a guy named Antonio Gates in 2014.

Starting point is 00:11:53 So that's obviously going to be the big matchup. The Chargers, wide receivers, against the best set of corners, they are going to probably play against this season. I imagine Denver will probably deploy some dime personnel here in this game because, as you mentioned, you've got Ladd McConkey in the slot, you've got Keenan Allen who can move all over, you have Quentin Johnston who, yes, he's got that, he looks like he's got that confidence.

Starting point is 00:12:16 He's taken that leap after all the criticism of the drops and everything like that. And then you also have Trey Harris as well, who they drafted. That's another name that I've noticed here. It's just been another addition. Tyler Conklin at tight end heater. I mean, this is going to be, I think, the Broncos secondary against this wide receiving core. Definitely going to be a defining factor. But I wanted to talk to you about the run game here because we haven't seen the run game take off necessarily with Naji Harris,

Starting point is 00:12:43 with obviously Omerian Hampton. What's been the story here? Because I imagine we're going to look at those two guys against the Broncos inside linebackers this week, Alex Singleton, whoever may start next to him if it's Sternaud or if Greenlaw somehow is suddenly ready to go in this game where it's a Lavel Bailey, an undrafted guy who's a second year player, and this defensive line that contains Nick Benito, Zach Allen, John Franklin Myers and DJ Jones. It's going to be a fun one right here.

Starting point is 00:13:07 If the Broncos can control the trenches, this really will come down to the secondary versus the past catchers. Absolutely, it will be. But as far as the running game is concerned, it's really been a Marianne Hampton that's been the starter at least to start the season because Najee Harris had that eye injury on the 4th of July where he had that superficial eye injury missed a lot of training camp really only got to ramp things up towards the very end. And so by that time, you know, couldn't really put him in line to be the guy who gets the lion's share of the carries because he had to make sure that he

Starting point is 00:13:40 had his wind about him, that he was in football shape and he was ready to go out there and perform at a high level. I think what we saw in the Raiders game is, you know, Amaranhampton, in making a couple of mistakes. You know, you made a mistake in the first game where you didn't go out of bounds. And Coach Harbaugh took some blame for that, but that's just a veteran coach doing that. We all know that you got to stay in bounds there. You got to keep the clock running. You can't give Patrick McCombs any time at all because that guy has proven that he can score in 13 seconds.

Starting point is 00:14:08 So that's something you're going to learn. And then in the second game, he fumbled. And so with that, I think in this game, Cody, you're going to see a higher dosage of Naji Harris, A guy that is very, very surehanded. He only has six fumbles in his NFL career spanning across four seasons. He's very, very reliable. I think they need to establish the run a little bit more. They've been great with play action.

Starting point is 00:14:31 But if they really want to be able to take advantage of a weakness with the Denver Broncos defense, it has to be with running the football and attacking those linebackers. That matchup is going to be one of those that decides this football game. As far as the Broncos, and one of the other matchups, what is something that you think that, you know, is going to have an impact on this game? Well, I think Nick Benito against Joe Alt, right?

Starting point is 00:14:58 I think that's going to be a premier spot. If we have to look at any matchup here that we feel like, hey, this is the one that everyone needs to watch. I think it's Nick Benito against Joe Alt. And obviously, I think Alt has done a tremendous job filling in for Rashon Slater after they had the injury to him. That was obviously a little bit of soul sucking there for the chargers in terms of they just extended him.

Starting point is 00:15:18 And then he has the injury that's tough. But Alt, I think is just a technician. We know when you watch him on tape and then you look at Nick Benito right now coming into this matchup, he leads the NFL in pressures, which is scary considering just even the rate. First game against Tennessee, he had nine total pressures on Cam Ward. He had five of those pressures in under 2.5 seconds. And then he added, I think, four more pressures this past week under 2.5 against Daniel Jones. So you see that.

Starting point is 00:15:47 Benito himself has more. pressures than I think five or six different NFL teams right now through two weeks of play that matchup right here is going to be a test because Benito he has the the quick first step he's got this freakish bend to him and he's got this next level speed and gear so for alt who's a true technician I'm curious to see how this matchup goes between these two guys oh it's definitely going to be appointment television for sure you're going to have to get your popcorn ready for Joe Alt it has been straight up dominance through two games we're talking 79 pass blocking snaps one pressure allowed in two games

Starting point is 00:16:26 he is a freak of nature six foot eight extremely long arms and for a guy that tall he has an uncanning ability to be the low man he's just so technically sound so he's a guy that's going to be a big big test to go up against they max crosbie intentionally stayed away from joe alt because Joe Alt just is a brick wall. That guy is unbelievable. I mean, he was the fifth overall pick for a reason, Cody. It's because the guy is the real deal for him to have to switch to right tackle and then switch back to left tackle here with very little notice and go out there and perform at the level that he has is truly incredible. I think another matchup that is going to be interesting for me to watch is Bo Nix and his rushing ability against these Chargers corners. because the Chargers corners did a great job of open field tackling. And with Bo Nix, he is a threat on the ground. He is a guy that will absolutely run for a first down, extend the drives. You have to try to contain that as much as possible.

Starting point is 00:17:33 So I'm going to be looking at Tar Heap still. I'm going to be looking at Dante Jackson. I'm going to be looking at these guys that have to keep contain and keep their eyes on Bo Nix because he's absolutely a threat with his legs. Yeah, I mean, he certainly can be. Last week he had an 18-yard scramble against the Colts, catching him in the right situation. But we haven't seen, you know,

Starting point is 00:17:50 Bo is, I think, playing more within the pocket this year than we saw last year as a rookie. You know, last year he suffered three transverse process fractures in his back against the Raiders, played the rest of the season with it. So they reduced his rushing ability or the design runs there. Yeah. I don't know if Sean's going to have any design runs in the bag here for Boe, but definitely something worth monitoring here. You know, kind of tying it into the run game here.

Starting point is 00:18:13 J.K. Dobbins, obviously, got things going for the Broncos last week in the run game. obviously the offensive line for Denver getting comfortable and obviously getting more comfortable with the new outside zone scheme that they've implemented. So now they're doing a little bit of more. They have gap scheme stuff that they can do, inside zone that they'll run, outside zone concepts that they've now added in the off season here.

Starting point is 00:18:31 But my question is obviously not having Khalil Mack, that's certainly a factor. And I know Perryman is definitely out as well. He's on IR. But what about Diane Henley, right? I watch film and I look at number zero and he's one guy. I'm like, all right, this is going to be a match at jk versus maybe his former teammate here how are we going to see this one play out

Starting point is 00:18:51 dan henley is is a a linebacker that was built in the lab i mean he can literally do it all i mean we have seen it through the first two weeks especially against the raiders where he came down with an illness he had a temperature over 100 and he was really really hurting going into this game but he's the captain of this defense a captain of this football team and he sucked it up he went out there and he pulled played his heart out for his team, had an incredible game. He had 10 tackles. He had a sack, had an interception, had a couple of passes defense. He was all over the field. He's one of those rare linebackers that is not just a guy that excels in run support. He can actually go out there

Starting point is 00:19:33 and cover these running backs, cover these tied ends. And him paired with Derwin James have really formulated a very effective tandem against tied ends. They do a great job neutralizing them. and they held Brock Bowers to under 40 yards receiving. Brock Bowers is unquestionably one of the best tight ends in the National Football League. He can do it all. So if the Chargers can do that and limit that guy, then they can go out there and they can put the clamps on pretty much any tight end in the league.

Starting point is 00:20:01 And obviously they have a pretty good one that they're going to have to go up against with Evan Ingram in this game against the Broncos. Well, one thing we are going to keep our eyes on here in today's crossover Thursday episode is what each team needs to do in order to win. and for the Broncos and for the Chargers, a win for either of these teams makes it one step for them to get a little bit higher up on maintaining a division lead over the currently winless.

Starting point is 00:20:24 Kansas City Chiefs, we can all celebrate that here on today's crossover Thursday. We'll break down what each team must do to win here on today's show. Today's crossover Thursday is brought to my friends over there at five-hour energy and caffeine just got a flavor upgrade. Five-hour energy shots deliver tasty caffeine in 17 bold flavors, Each two-ounce shot packs the caffeine of a premium 12-ounce cup of coffee plus B vitamins and nutrients with zero sugar and zero crashes. What I love most is how portable they are. You can take them with you anywhere on the go.

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Starting point is 00:22:25 I want to say thanks to all the every dares and first listeners once again for making each of these shows exactly what they are. We're going to get into what each team needs to do in order to come out on top in Sunday's AFCS Divisional Showdown with a victory here. David, let's start off with you. If you're looking at this Los Angeles Chargers team who's off to a 2-0 start, really good vibes from them overall. Short week, though, which is always a challenge,

Starting point is 00:22:48 some injuries being banged up just a tiny bit. What is it that the Charters must do in order to beat the Broncos to go to 3 and 0, not only in the division, but also just at the start of the season, that momentum right there could be very, very valuable down the stretch when it matters when you talk about tiebreakers. Absolutely. This is a huge game. I've always said that these division games count as two.

Starting point is 00:23:10 and if the Chargers want to improve to 3 and 0, the first thing they have to do is win the turnover battle. The Chargers have either won or tied the turnover battle so far through two games. And forcing an interception from a guy who has three interceptions on the season in Bo Nix through two games is something that the Chargers must absolutely do. They did a good job of that against Geno Smith, picking him off three times, making things very, very difficult. Keeping that blanket coverage and not letting the quarterback go out there and throw it deep. have to be very disciplined to take what the defense gives you. And that's very difficult to do for four quarters. So if the chargers can turn the ball over and get Bo Nix to be able to give them another opportunity to score, they might need it against one of the better defenses in the league.

Starting point is 00:23:56 Okay. And so I think on the flip side there, too, for Denver offensively, look, the chargers, they play a lot of zone. Their safeties do a good job of disguising it. They like their athleticism at their linebacker position. You know, the Broncos have faced a lot of zone so far. through the first two weeks of the season. Now it'll be the third week. Now certain looks they'll get man here. But one thing I've noticed is locate where Gil, where Gilman is.

Starting point is 00:24:19 Where is he hiding? Because this is a guy who breaks on the football quickly. If you sail a pass, he's going to be in the right spot there. This is one thing that I'm keen for this game because the Broncos, offensively, they have concepts with Troy Franklin, with Cortland Sutton. And when they're facing zone defenses, they have guys running clear-out routes to help try to free somebody up.

Starting point is 00:24:38 Alohi is a guy that I think that you all. always had to kind of pay attention to where he's at because he could force you to turn the football over here. So for me, for Bo Nicks, it's playing clean football. Last week, he did just add he over 73% completion percentage, attack the ball downfield, and had really good ball placement. His only interception of the week, last week, came on a tip pass by a defender because he had to alter his arm trajectory. The ball sailed on a pass intended for Sutton and ended up being picked by Bynum of the Indianapolis Colts. So it's avoiding those turnovers.

Starting point is 00:25:08 But bow in the offense last week, they were in charge on the road. And unfortunately, they just, they couldn't sustain late there. They had a couple of key penalties that backed them up. And then they had a missed field goal. So don't turn the football over an inopportune, you know, situations. Week one, you had the two turnovers there, but your defense was able to be as good as it was that helped negate a negative performance by the offense. And then week two, Bronco's offense had a great performance there. And then the defense had a disasterly performance.

Starting point is 00:25:36 So can you marry those two together? that's going to be a big key here. I want to ask you as well, if you're Justin Herbert and this Chargers team trying to figure out how to keep this momentum going, what is the key here against this Denver defense? I think what they have to do in this game that they haven't done through the first two games very effectively is run the football. And they need to be a little bit more committed to it. I think to start the game against the Raiders, they threw it like eight or nine straight times. And it took them a while to be able to get into that rhythm of being able to run the ball and hey I get it it's hard to be able to take the ball out of Justin Herbert's hands

Starting point is 00:26:09 especially the way he's been playing to start the season five touchdowns zero interceptions his third in the league and passing yards he has absolutely been one of the best players in the national football league to start the season so I get it but you have to have balance and if you want to be able to utilize one of those biggest weapons that Greg Roman has shown a propensity to use in the play action to do that at its most effective you have to be able to rip off some more effective runs. So I'm looking at the offensive line who all of them have a run blocking grade according to PFF of 60 or under.

Starting point is 00:26:45 And that's something that has to improve. They have to get better open up these holes for Amaya and Hampton and Najee Harris. So they can take advantage of some of those vulnerabilities in the middle of that defense of the Broncos. Got to run the football if they want to win this football game. They also have to win on third down, Cody. It's something that is massive for both of these teams. but Chargers defense been pretty good at it.

Starting point is 00:27:06 You know, they've ranked 20th in the NFL for allowing opponents to convert at 43.8, which is great. But on offense, they were only four of 11 against the Raiders, and that's just not good enough. You have to be able to stay on the field and convert your third downs. You have to be able to do that if you want to win this game. For the Broncos, I guess what would you say is one of the things that you guys have to do to beat this very good Chargers football team. It goes down to what hurt them last week. gets first down efficiency.

Starting point is 00:27:36 The Broncos last week on first down allowed an average of 9.8 yards per play. And that kind of creates a death by a thousand paper cuts. And they couldn't figure out where to stop the bleeding. And I think that's going to be a big key against this Chargers team because, I mean, even last year when Denver faced L.A., the money down was third down. Justin Herbert was so effective on third down against Denver. Whereas this year, I think the Broncos biggest issue so far is allowing big plays on first down. That was a trend that happened.

Starting point is 00:28:03 Really after they lost Riley. Moss to an injury. You know, after they played the Raiders, I think it was week 12 of last year, they started giving up big plays after big plays. And a lot of that came on first down. So that's kind of been an issue dating back to last season. First down is efficiency is going to be key here. But it's also going to have to be balance here from Vance Joseph, right? Because if you're deploying a man-blitz scheme where you're locking up and you're saying, hey, we're going to cover these guys man-to-man. We're going to send one or two extra defenders. And we're hoping our pressure is going to get there. You put your defense in a tough spot. Now, granted,

Starting point is 00:28:34 The Broncos believe they have the guys that can cover in man coverage effectively, and certainly I agree with that. They do. But if you are getting these different route concepts that are running your corners downfield constantly, and then all of a sudden now you have to bite up a little bit, your defense is tired, your secondary is tired. And that's where it's like you have to find balance if you're Vance Joseph, because I've seen how the charters have played this year against zone coverage.

Starting point is 00:28:58 They're very patient. They have different clear-out routes and they end up finding Ladd McConkey on a crosser all the way across the field there because they have a route that causes the corner to run off on the opposite side of the field and they bring Latt all the way across. That's going to be something. They're going to have to counteract in this game. So can you balance your man and your zone looks here effectively? Can you disguise your coverage? You're going to deploy some more dime looks this week, especially with all the playmakers that this team has.

Starting point is 00:29:23 It's about finding that flexibility. And if the Broncos have a new inside linebacker this week, if Sternot or Greenlock can't play, it could be second year linebacker. Bailey who doesn't have a lot of NFL experience right now. So this is definitely, if you're the charters, they're probably keying the linebacker position this week saying, hey, this is where we're going to attack. Not so much the safeties in the corners yet, but if you attack those middle linebackers, then it changes how those safeties and corners play. That's going to be a huge key for this Broncos defense this week against this charter's led offense by Justin Herbert. And you brought up Ladmanconki, which I'm glad that you did, but I think a guy who has really been one of the biggest

Starting point is 00:30:01 agitators that has returned is Keenan Allen. And I think the reason for that is it is really a pick your poison situation with Keenan and Ladd because they are both route technicians. They both are able to get open very, very quickly. And they have very strong hands and good established chemistry with Justin Herbert. And when you put them both on the same side, it is a nightmare for defenses to have to defend. And it's something that absolutely could affect the outcome of this. game how effectively the Broncos are able to cover Keenan Allen and Lab McConkey on third down in particular is something that's going to be very very important but also my last thing here and we'll all wrap up with this

Starting point is 00:30:45 the Chargers have to be more efficient in the red zone one for three scoring touchdowns is not good enough against the defense like the Broncos when you get in the red zone you have to turn that into touchdowns because you don't know how many opportunities you are going to get when you get to that gold zone, that red zone, you got to make it count. And that's one of the biggest strengths of the Broncos, even though they gave up 473 last week in terms of yards, they held up when the Colts got into the red zone there and they limited their production there, forced them to settle for field goals.

Starting point is 00:31:16 The chunk plays ended up getting them later on. But yeah, the red zone defense for Denver so far is pretty stout this season. It's going to be a big game. I mean, like once, like we said at the beginning of the show, for the fight for the top of the AFC West, it's very crucial right now because the Broncos is in charge. are in a position they haven't been over to Kansas City. Granted, it's early on in the year, but with them winless, and we're all praying for Russell Wilson this week to lead the Giants to a victory against the Chiefs to make

Starting point is 00:31:42 them to go 0 and 3 on the year. Oh, yeah. But you have a chance to separate yourself a little bit from the Chiefs. You put them in a tough position that they honestly haven't been in since Patrick Mahomes has taken over as the quarterback there of that franchise. 225 p.m. Mountain Time kickoff is obviously going to be a fun one here between two AFC West rivals. Thank you so much to all the listeners of Lockdown Chargers,

Starting point is 00:32:02 lockdown Broncos for making us part of your day here on cross over Thursday. We'll have you covered tomorrow for a final game previews here in the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Face HIGH STAKES vs. Los Angeles Chargers

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