Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Make SHOCKING Move Cutting WR Josh Reynolds

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos made the shocking decision to move on from veteran wide receiver Josh Reynolds. But Sean Payton's belief in the younger players might be the perfect gamble. We'll tell you why we believe that's the case here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Hey, hey, hey, what's happening in Broncos country? Welcome into another episode, Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. part of the Lockdown Podcast Network where you know it is your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:39 Thank you so much to all the everydayers out there in Broncos country. Thank you for making us your first listen wherever you choose to get your podcast. We appreciate you so much for making the show exactly what it is. The Broncos are in a good position right now. A lot of excitement in the Mile High City. I'm Cody Roark. Broncos reporter Mile High Sports. Join, as always, by Sarah Bedinger, site expert, predominantly orange.com. And Broncos Country, here's what you can expect on today's episode of the show.

Starting point is 00:01:02 even though it's the buy week, there's still a lot of work to be done. There's still a lot to break down. That's what we're going to bring. We'll wrap things up on today's show by highlighting our all-22 review of the Broncos defense. What did we learn after watching the tape that was over 500 yards of offense surrendered to the Cleveland Browns? We'll break that down. We'll look at the Broncos offense and Bo Nicks, maintaining composure in the fourth quarter,

Starting point is 00:01:23 needing a big moment. He answered the call. We'll highlight the offensive performance as well. But we're going to kick things off with the news of the day. The Broncos were forced to make a decision on Josh Reynolds. They made a little bit of a shocking one, but one that comes with a little bit of a gamble that may be worth it when it's all said and done. Today's episode of the show is brought to you by our friends over there at Fanduil Sportsbook and get a big return on Fandu, or new customers can place a $5 bet, and you'll get started with $150 in bonus bets.

Starting point is 00:01:50 If you win your first $5 bet, visit fanduil.com to get started. Sarah, we were just doing a Bleacher report show not too long ago. The news came across to, hey, the Broncos, they're waving. Josh Reynolds. This was a little bit shocking because I don't think we anticipated this. You and I were both on the record of saying the Broncos, they're going to need him at some point if they make the playoffs. And for this crucial stretch, you need another weapon.

Starting point is 00:02:13 Sean Payton said, hey, we've got other plans here. Yeah, he did. He said the other plans are Marvin Mims, Devon Vele, Troy Franklin, the guys that we have on this roster. And obviously, Josh Reynolds, a valuable veteran, valuable enough that the Broncos gave him a two-year deal worth $9 million dollars this past off season, over four million in guaranteed money. So ultimately ends up being over $4 million for 12 receptions.

Starting point is 00:02:38 And I guess, you know what? Josh Reynolds went out on a high note in terms of the on-field stuff with the Denver Broncos. If he doesn't come back, which I'll mention in just a bit, caught a touchdown pass against the Las Vegas Raiders in a blowout victory earlier this season. But Cody, the situation here is very interesting because any team that would claim Reynolds, even though he's a vested veteran, he doesn't. has to clear waivers. Very important detail. And any team that would claim him on waivers would be

Starting point is 00:03:05 responsible for the entire remainder of his contract. Now, they could keep him for this year, cut him in the off season. They wouldn't be on the hook for any money next year. But actually, you know what, Cody, the Broncos, they would get rid of everything in that instance. They would get rid of the entire contract if he's claimed off waivers. So I think there is an interesting scenario here where Reynolds does clear waivers and potentially come back. Now, that feels a little far-fetched, feels much more likely that, all right, the Broncos cut him. They're going with the youth movement at wide receiver. He better chance of playing somewhere else.

Starting point is 00:03:39 But if he clears waivers, you never know. He could be back on the practice squad. Yeah. And then he could be elevated for three games. Denver's got four regular season games remaining this season. He could be elevated for three of them. But to your point, I think it's more likely the latter situation here, the Broncos have seemingly been very confident in the development. of their younger receivers.

Starting point is 00:03:58 And look, when Josh Reynolds went down at first, we were asking the question you hear on the show, like, who's going to emerge opposite of Cortland Sutton? Somebody, somebody step up. And that's where guys like Devon Valey, Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims, little Jordan Humphrey, these guys have stepped up, certainly. And look, when you look at it on paper, it's not a sexy wide receiver room in terms of like, oh, name value, right?

Starting point is 00:04:18 You look at some other wide receiver rooms around the NFL's like, wow, those guys have a multitude of dudes to throw to. It's not necessarily the case in Denver from an allure. like a star power standpoint, which I think just plays into the underdog role. The Broncos have been in here. But I think when you follow the trends, you look at the numbers here, Sarah. And let's obviously go to Monday night football here against the Cleveland Browns. The picture has been kind of painted a little bit here about the Broncos investment in the youth movement.

Starting point is 00:04:41 Cortland Sutton, the number one wide receiver. I think the Broncos at this off season are going to find a way to extend Cortland at this point to bring him back. Obviously, the Garrett Bullstein is going to be a subject matter. We'll talk about at some point here. Cortland Sutton played 62 snaps of offense in Monday night football. 94% of the offensive snaps. Devon Valey, who's clearly the last handful of weeks, has had the second most snaps at the wide receiver position.

Starting point is 00:05:03 Once again, getting into the mix here, there were 31 snaps, 47% of the offensive snaps there. Troy Franklin coming in at a position now where he's got 27 snaps. That's 41%. So he and Velae are a little closer in terms of snaps there. Little Jordan Humphrey saw a little bit of a reduction this week. 21 snaps as 32% of the offensive reps. And then Marvin Mims having 23.

Starting point is 00:05:25 So he had more overall than little Jordan Humpery in this game, 35% of the offensive snaps here, whether that's playing in that tailback role, that joker roll, or even at wide receiver where he caught the 93-yard touchdown. All signs point to a youth movement here, a wide receiver where Sean's like, hey, you know what,

Starting point is 00:05:42 this veteran guy in Reynolds who we like could be a great security blanket. It was a valuable receiver for them when he was healthy. He's at a position now. He hasn't been in the lineup. So at this point, it's like, we're getting more of a look at our younger guys, probably a lot earlier than we thought we would. But then you also factor in the practice squad.

Starting point is 00:05:57 They have two guys that I know that they are very people I've talked to with the team. They're very high on A.T. Perry and David Sills the Fifth as two developmental prospects at wide receiver that you could elevate essentially if you wanted to for three games. So I think it is very forward thinking here for the Broncos who have been in a rebuild year. But now they're competing in a rebuild year, it's a little bit of ahead of schedule. And they're going with the youth movement here. A little bit of a gamble here, Sarah. I feel like it's the right move, though.

Starting point is 00:06:24 It is because let's let's just break this down here because when the Broncos come back, they have four games left, right? And essentially every week is going to be a playoff level of intensity, of pressure in terms of the consequences of winning or losing. Like we're seeing that already with the Broncos. Like if they would have lost this game against the Browns, I think their percentage was down to 50%. Winning this game puts you up near 80%.

Starting point is 00:06:47 So the stakes are high every single week. What better situation to throw your young receivers into, right? And to tell them just, all right, go out there and make us some plays. Like Devon Bailey digging that ball off the ground right at the one yard line. That was one of the best catches of the night that's kind of gone underrated, right? And I know we'll break down the offensive performance going forward here. But I mean, you're just, I'm thinking of these young guys making plays. The Marvin Mims 93 yard touchdown.

Starting point is 00:07:15 Troy Franklin catching a screen that nearly went for six points as well. And I swear one of these times they're going to hit that deep ball. I'm going to say that on every episode until he finally catches it. Cody, people are going to get sick of me saying it. But these guys, go let him sink or swim. Same with Roderick Estime. I'm not saying forget about Javante Williams, although three of the last four games, Cody, he's got zero total rushing yards on 13 attempts.

Starting point is 00:07:41 That's insane. The only game that he doesn't have more than, you know, it's that Atlanta game is the outlier, unfortunately. But throw Adric Estime and Jalilil McLaughan out there. Let these young guys sink or swim. They've been proving themselves week after week, getting better week after week. I dig this move actually from Sean Payton. You've already got a young quarterback, a rookie quarterback that's in a position right now

Starting point is 00:08:02 where I think the question about is he the guy? I think it's been answered. I think Brockos Country feels very confident about that. Every week, I think the confidence level in that has grown. There's some people who are still like, hey, you know, I'm still holding out another year. Enjoy the ride. Just enjoy it, Broncos Country. Enjoy what you're seeing right now here.

Starting point is 00:08:18 But it's like, all right, you know, you got a young guy in Jalil McLaughlin. you got a young guy in Audrake's estimates. Nick Cosmiter said maybe a thunder and lightning comparison between those two guys. Certainly, I think Denver's got that. Those two guys had the most rushing production out of everybody there. We'll obviously highlight the all 22 what we learned, what we saw here in a little bit. But I think the youth movement here is a great idea, right? Because now you've built your offensive line. You've built the foundation, right? And really, you've got long term money locked up into Mike McGlinchie. You've got it into Quinn Miners. Ben Powers. I mean, I know we're a ways away from that. But, you know,

Starting point is 00:08:51 that you got him locked up. You got Luke Wanberg's playing pretty well at center. And then you got Garrett Bulls. So you have to make a decision on here. I feel like I'm jumping the gun here. But it's like, is Denver in a position where Ben Powers might have to be a cap casualty? Or is he going to have to take a reduction this off season? I don't think that should be the case.

Starting point is 00:09:07 The one thing I would hate is if they tinker with the offensive line right now and change it. It's playing well from past protection standpoint. Run blocking is not where it needs to be. But overall, the foundation as Sean Payton and George Payton have simply built with this team. When you look it on both sides, it's in the, trenches. It's on the offensive line. It's on the defensive line. That's the formula here. And that's how you allow your pieces around a young quarterback to thrive and grow. I said to throw and grieve there. We got some tongue mixed up here. But you know what it is, Broncos country. It's the by week blues.

Starting point is 00:09:37 Bear with us here, though. But I think the Broncos, yeah, certainly a shocking decision to move on from Josh Reynolds, but very forward thinking in terms of the fact that, hey, we're looking at the future right now. The future is here, old man. And now they have an operative. to look at flexibility and free agency in the NFL drafting. So I think they're in a good position right now going forward. Certainly a gamble. We'll see if it pays off for them down the stretch. But look, everyone in Broncos country wants to know what did we learn from the all 22 from the Broncos offense in Monday night's thriller against the Cleveland Browns?

Starting point is 00:10:09 I think composure is a great word. We'll tell you how Bo Nicks demonstrated that in the fourth quarter when the Broncos needed it the most. We'll break that down here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's Lockdown Broncos podcast is brought to you by our friends over there at Mint Mobile. With big wireless providers, what you see is never what you get. Somewhere between the store and your first month's bill, the price you thought you were paying magically skyrockets. With Mint Mobile, you'll never have to worry about gotchas ever again. When Mint Mobile says $15 a month, when you purchase three-month plan, they mean it. Say bye-bye to your overpriced wireless plans,

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Starting point is 00:12:55 And we want to tell you right now, the offense, they had a nice performance, maybe a little bit better than met the eye as we were all kind of frazzled on Monday night football watching the back and forth. We're going to break down the all 22 for the offense. We're going to break down the all 22 for the defense and tell you exactly what we saw, including Bo Nicks, keeping composure in big moments and his receivers. coming up clutch for him as well. Broncos Country. I want to say thank you to every single one of you that makes Broncos. Lockdown Broncos, your first listen of the day. Every single day, we appreciate you so much.

Starting point is 00:13:27 All you every day is out there. If you haven't already done so, hit subscribe on the show wherever you listen or watch or both the podcast. Cody, let's break down the All-22 film. I'm not going to lie. The Hey, Babe, wake up. The All-22 just dropped. I did that this morning with my wife. I saw.

Starting point is 00:13:45 Look at the. this, look at this freaking throw. This is insane. And I was just bragging about it all. I even brought my daughter over. I was like, look at my son. Look at this. Throw.

Starting point is 00:13:55 Look at this freaking throw. It was awesome. I'm glad that you've had the chance to break down your stuff. I got a chance to watch a little bit of your film breakdowns earlier. Tell us what you saw from the offense in this game for the Denver Broncos against the Cleveland Browns. Yeah, I had a very similar experience to you this morning. Obviously, got in late last night from the stadium. We did lock down Broncos.

Starting point is 00:14:15 was didn't get to bed to like 1.30, had to wake up at 5. And first thing I told my fiance and Benzmer was like, she asked me how the game was like, you want to see this throw here? And I pulled up the bow next to Marvin Mims, 93 yard touchdown. And she's like, that's cool, babe. I was like, I wish you were as excited as everyone in Broncos country. She's a Jets fan. So, I mean, it's one of those rough talking points here.

Starting point is 00:14:36 But she's probably going to hear this. And it's going to come back to me. So Broncos country, have my back on this one. Aside from that, what did we learn from the All-22 film review? look I want to highlight with probably the biggest takeaway here. Sarah, I think so much of Broncos country, and I even put this tweet out during the game,

Starting point is 00:14:52 after Nick Chubb scored that touchdown, then the Broncos were traveling 32, was it 32 to 31 at that point? And I was thinking to myself, I was like, man, this is big. You got, I think, 12 minutes, not 12 minutes. You got eight minutes left to be able to go make a play. And certainly Bo Nix and the offense, they get the ball and they don't panic.

Starting point is 00:15:10 Like that's, I feel like last year, Sarah, or even two years ago, after that touchdown to Chubb, I feel like the vibe would have been like there's no way the offense is going to move the ball and do anything to get them points at this time. Like the game's essentially over. With Bow Nix and the offense, there hasn't been that feeling. It's like there's this calmness, like you're not so worried. Like you're on edge.

Starting point is 00:15:31 There's a lot of anxiety because, hey, you're trailing. But you have confidence that Bo Nix and the offense are going to find a way to at least get you in a field goal range. And that was the case there. I mean, I thought the Broncos had a great drive there. Bow was composed. He had some nice throw, especially one of the court. Sutton on an out route just to continue to move the chains. Once again, third down, a big area here for the Broncos in this game.

Starting point is 00:15:51 So I mean, when we look at it in terms of their production, they finished the game here, six of 13 on third down. Cortland to Bo was a big proponent of that throughout this game. And so I think that's one thing you want to continue to build on is their relationship there. But one thing I knew is like, not only did Bo showcase with that throw to Marvin and it was, hey, third and 10, you're backed up in your own end zone. You got pressure barreling down on you.

Starting point is 00:16:13 And you're going to rip a shot. that not a lot of NFL quarterbacks can make it was a great throw it's a candidate for one of the throws of the year right now in the NFL and I think every what is this three weeks in a row that we said Bo next is best throw has come in this game that he's continuing to make those wow he can do that here at the NFL level you're seeing a lot of national people watch it for the first time and say wow okay didn't see that at Oregon pay attention to what bow is doing folks he showcased composure and that drive where you need to find a way to get points whether it's a touchdown whether it's a field goal which it ultimately ended up being to give them a 30

Starting point is 00:16:44 to 32 lead at that point. Bo delivered, and I thought he had some really good throws on the night. You could take, obviously, you talk about the interception, not a good one on the deep shot down there, but Bo didn't put the ball into harm's way much. I loved his aggressiveness. Yeah, and you can tell that he's out there really hunting, as our friend Tim Jenkins puts it when we're watching his film breakdowns as well. Like, there was an instance where Bo, he was really deep in Broncos territory, and obviously

Starting point is 00:17:11 he stopped dead in his tracks, and he threw. the ball across his body, tried to hit Cortland Sutton deep downfield, is kind of maybe his most ill-advised throw of the game. But I think that mentality is something that, okay, you're looking to go make the big play. The same with the Marvin Mims play, the same when he tried to hit Troy Franklin deep downfield. Like he's out there looking for those big plays. And I think those things are helping, Cody, because we saw as the game went along, Jaleel McLaughlin making plays in the running game, as the game went along.

Starting point is 00:17:44 long, I think because Bo Nix is willing to put the ball downfield and it worked at least a time or two to be able to hit those deep plays. And so when you're pushing the ball deep down field like that, these defenses have to respect it. They have to keep a safety back there. They can't just say, all right, you know what? You do whatever. You try to just try to throw it against Denzel ward and see what happens. And that did get the Broncos into trouble a couple of times. But I think we saw it opening other things up throughout the course of this game. And even that play, where Bo tried to go across his body to Sutton. Well, I think it was on the very next possession.

Starting point is 00:18:19 He passed up Audric Estime for a second time and went to Sutton on the deep crosser and hit him there. It may have been a different receiver, but it was Sutton. It was Sutton. So the point of the matter is here is that Bo is out there playing so confident. Like how many times have we seen film reviews and breakdowns where they're like, oh, Beau had, you know, he went for the tight end or the running back here, but he actually had this guy coming behind. Like that's been our quarterback conversations the last handful of years with Russell Wilson,

Starting point is 00:18:48 with Drew Locke, is that these guys just aren't seeing it or they're not willing to take those chances. Bo Nix is anything but a checkdown merchant, Cody. The film proves it. Yeah. And look, in times where other quarterbacks, you need nine, you're going to get seven. Now it's like, hey, the Raiders game is a great example. First and 20, you're going to get 26.

Starting point is 00:19:06 Like that, I love that confidence of them. Look, defense is the way that they're trying to play this offense, They're playing a lot of zone. They're going to play their man looks. They're going to send some cover zero looks. But primarily they're playing zone and they're saying, hey, we want you to throw the football short because we're going to go rally, tackle, keep you in bounds and force you to punt. But it was finding like, hey, I'm going to find the soft spot against your zone defense. And I'm going to hit it.

Starting point is 00:19:27 And Cortland Sutton has obviously been the guy that's been a big, big proponent of that success there. Another thing of the run game, I'd say that it's not the run game. The offense has stood out is the run game. And so much for it's like, hey, the national television, you know, people are going to watch the Broncos. some people for the first time this year, and it's like, oh, yeah, that really good run game that the Broncos have been talking. The people say that Bowenix is benefiting from. You're going to see it. It didn't come to life really until Joe Will McLaugh and started breaking off a couple of runs there late in that second half.

Starting point is 00:19:53 I mean, the first half run game was non-existent. Denver couldn't even get one yard on third and one on a couple of occasions there. But the one thing I learned from it by watching the all 22, the run game has to get going if this team is going to compete in the playoffs or even make the playoffs. Until you're in, you have to find a way to be able to do it. If they don't have a run game, I don't know if what they're doing is going to be sustainable if they make it into the postseason. That's something to watch right there. Now, Javante Williams only had four carries for one yard. Pass pro was a strength of his in this game.

Starting point is 00:20:21 That pass pro from all the backs in this game was a strength. So that was something I was very pleased seeing develop here inside of the Broncos offense, including Jilulam McLaughlin had a nice little pickup on a conversion that Bo Nix had to Cortland Sutton on third down. It's good to be able to see that trust factor. And also it's also now kind of painting it just like, oh, Jalil is in on third down. Oh, he's staying in past protection. Okay, so it's no longer when Jalilil's on the field, he's going to be getting the ball.

Starting point is 00:20:45 That was a tendency that I think we saw a little bit last year and a little bit early on this year. Now it's like that tendency is starting to go away a little bit. And other guys are emerging. The offense is opening up here. And if the run game can just get going, Sarah, it's going to open up a little bit more. It really is because, man, just being so balanced on the offensive side of the ball is going to open up those opportunities downfield for guys. It's going to open up more play action, which we, We know based on film studies all throughout the season, like Bo Nix is tremendous off-play action and just reading the field in layers.

Starting point is 00:21:19 That's what it allows him to do. You put your back to the defense and then you just read in layers, one, two, three or one, two, three, depending on if you're looking at it from short to deep or deep to short, it just makes it so much easier for him as a quarterback. And we're seeing that he has the arm talent to push to all levels. And we're also, I mean, Cody, we're not getting the fullness of Bo Nix's game right now in terms of him as a quarterback. runner because that was one of the things I did notice in this game is that play where he did take off to run up the middle. A lot of times you're going to see quarterbacks try to get as much yardage as they can. The broadcast crew was kind of getting on his back for not trying to get more. I agree with them. I think that Bo may be hurting a little bit, but at the same time, I think he could have made

Starting point is 00:21:58 Jordan Hicks miss there in space. I think he could have, you know, ran out because the Broncos, ultimately, Cody, this game came down to some pretty close calls in terms of the Broncos converting in the red zone or or hitting field goals in the red zone they took a lot of you know ls in the red zone unfortunately on on monday night and i think those types of plays as we get you know into the film study as bow nicks gets back and watches that film i think he's going to be saying to himself i can make that guy miss you know so it's all these learning experiences for the broncos as they continue to fail forward in a number of ways and it's not to say that monday was a failure for the offense by any means they played pretty darn well there's just so many

Starting point is 00:22:38 opportunities for them to get better, which is such great news for Broncos. Yeah. There's room to grow. And it's crazy because it's like you're seeing some promising things develop with this offense. And certainly that's going to be a fun thing to continue to watch. I think the future is bright. There's a lot of excitement in Broncos country, rightfully so.

Starting point is 00:22:55 But what do we learn about the Broncos defense after 550 yards of offense allowed? I said I wanted to burn the tape, but we had to go back. We had to watch it. We learned some valuable things. What happened and what allowed Jerry Judy to go off? And we'll tell you why it's a little bit of a fixable. issue that the Broncos have right here. We'll break it down and much more here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos.

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Starting point is 00:24:07 As we jump on the fourth quarter action on today's episode, lockdown Broncos will highlight what we learned from the All-22 on the Broncos defensive side real quick. I'll say thanks once again to all the everydayers and first listeners out there in Broncos country. Sarah, you know me, I'm a defensive guy. And so watching Monday night's game there at the press box, I had my old stress as a former defensive coordinator of like,

Starting point is 00:24:30 ah, too many big plays, too many busted coverages. And what we learned, like Jerry, Jerry, we having a career game, a career year for him. I think he was 30th. I saw something he was 30th in the NFL prior to the game receiving yards. He jumped all the way up to fifth in the NFL with his performance on Monday night football. Hats off to Jerry, a career game for him. But what happened? How did he get so open? We already talked about the stat there for Pat Sertan. Pat covered him on three to like in terms of three total passing targets, allowed two catches for 20 yards there. That right there was elite. But one thing I saw when you go back,

Starting point is 00:25:06 and watch the All-22, which is up on, it's going to be up on Mile High Sports YouTube page here. There was no way Denver was going to be able to put PS2 on Jerry Judy the entire game, especially because that would have had to dictate. You got to play man, cover one or cover zero or cover two, man, the entire game. With all the motion that they do with Jerry, Judy, and other guys, it would have been hard. And you would have been putting other defensive players in a rough position. So as much as people want to be mad at Vance Joseph, I would say the gripe that you may have is maybe Vance not moving off of Levi Wallace.

Starting point is 00:25:36 a little bit sooner and maybe going with Damari Mathis or Chris Abrams drain a little bit earlier than they did. But from a side of that, from a game plan standpoint, I understand exactly why they did what they did. It's hard against Jerry and that offense with the weapons like David Najoku, Elijah Moore. They added Cadarius Tony as a late elevation. Like it was a tough, it was a tough personnel matchup, I think, for Denver considering they were down Riley Moss. Yeah. And I think to me, Cody, you look at that and you see while Cedric Tillman didn't play,

Starting point is 00:26:03 They traded Amari Cooper earlier in the year. And so, like, you got to figure out a way to make it happen where PS2 is on Jerry Judy the majority of the time. And is it even possible? Break this down for me as a former DB, Cody, because I didn't play defensive back. I don't understand. Is it possible that Pat Sertan could still follow a guy around and you still, you have him on Jerry Judy, but you're still in a form of zone coverage or you're rolling guys or certain things like that? Like, could they have followed Jerry more, given the circumstances?

Starting point is 00:26:37 Because, I mean, in this, in this sort of event, this is an outlier type of game where a guy had nine catches for 235 yards. He caught a two-point conversion again. That wasn't against PS2 as far as I recall either. Or maybe it was. I think it was against Levi. So there's what that reinforces what I'm saying here is like, could they have followed him around a little bit more in this game? in some critical situations, at least, you know, like that first play after the Broncos 93-yard touchdown, like, do you not think the Browns are going to try to strike back? And why is there

Starting point is 00:27:13 no safety help over the top on a play like that? Like, it just feels like this game was ultimately a massive failure for Vance Joseph and a learning experience going forward. Yeah, it was rough. Look, I think Jerry Judy early on, like that 44-yard that he had to start the game was, he just capitalized on zone coverage right there. And look, Obviously, I think with the Broncos blitzed blitzing J-Quam-McMillan from the nickel and replacing coverage, right? If you're going to blitz somebody from a secondary position, you have to replace their coverage responsibility. And there were a couple of times where Jerry, Judy, got behind, right? Because the Broncos, they're protecting deep because on the vertical on the outside, you got number 81.

Starting point is 00:27:52 You also have number eight, Elijah Moore. You got these guys running vertical. And so it's like your corners are trying to protect against that. Jerry's running the in-breaking routes there. And so it's like, while you have your safety's funneling to be over the top and in- inside in case one of those vertical routes breaks there, you have the ability to maybe play the hip and get in position there. So that puts some stress on your linebackers a little bit.

Starting point is 00:28:11 There were some miscommunications, I think, on the back end of the secondary where someone called a combo call on one side. It didn't get communicated effectively and you do that. It's just so hard because, look, ironically, look, if you're playing bass, which is just like, you know, you're going to have two corners and two safeties there, you can't really move. And there was that specific play. Now, the one you're talking about the 70-yard touchdown to Jerry Judy,

Starting point is 00:28:34 what happened on that play was, okay, you've got a too high safety look with Devin Key on the far left. You got PG-locked to the defensive right side to Levi Wallace's side and then pass her tan's on the left side. Initially, Jerry Judy is over there. He motions all the way to the outside to Levi Wallace's side, but because there's a single receiver there and you're in your base package, Pat can't bump over in that situation because then that would put Devin Key lining up against the receiver and man coverage there. I mean, ideally, you could, but you're changing your philosophy of your defense there, especially when you're sending pressure. And that was the key. Is it Denver sent pressure on that play?

Starting point is 00:29:07 So it became truly man coverage. There was two tight ends to the set. One was off the line. One was online. And so Devin Key picked up the number three receiver, which was the second tight end. PG-Lock had to pick up the number two tight-in, which is the second receiver out there. And then Levi Wallace just got inside there by Jerry Judy. And it was all the way.

Starting point is 00:29:27 I got the film breakdown going up. I'm going to post it out there. It's just tough. It was a tough position to be in. And I don't fault bench, Joseph. I know people are like, oh, he needs to answer for this immediately. It's like, hey, sometimes you've got to play with what you have and who you have. And certainly, Riley Moss was missed.

Starting point is 00:29:42 I think that was a huge takeaway here in this game. Denver sent pressure, Sarah. They sent a lot of it. But James Winston did a really good job of manipulating the pocket. He didn't abandon it at times. Like even when there was chaos and guys coming around him, he would just step up and just still stay in there. He didn't panic when it got a little chaotic. And that kind of hurt the Broncos a little bit because pressure didn't get home sometimes.

Starting point is 00:30:03 Yeah, I really did. James, I mean, hats off to him because he played a really good game. Obviously, the pick sixes were rough and brutal and, you know, cost the Browns the game ultimately. But, man, if I'm the Browns, I would be planning on building around him next year. I know that they probably go after somebody in the draft, but, you know, somebody cost effective. But to me, that is the type of guy that I would say, hey, you move off a Deshaun Watson. and you let this guy kind of see what he can do. Bring a young guy in to learn from him.

Starting point is 00:30:32 Bring a young guy in, you know, those sorts of things. Play the long game there. And he proved that. He's proven over the last handful of weeks, the snow game against Pittsburgh and Cleveland. So to me, he played an outstanding game and really made it tough on the Broncos defense because you find a weakness in a defense.

Starting point is 00:30:50 Eventually you feel like a defense is going to be able to cover it up somehow. James kept exploiting it until he made too many mistakes to recover from. So I think that it's a great wake-up call for the Broncos as they enter the by week for sure. Well, and you know, the crazy thing about it is, is James missed Jerry on a wide open play, like overshot it on one that would have just, I mean, Jerry would have had over 300 yards receiving if that was the case that he would have set a record. Like, it would have been bad in terms of that. So, you know, Denver avoided that. I just think Levi Wallace, his confidence got shot early on. He couldn't recover from it. At that point, you got to understand as a coach.

Starting point is 00:31:25 And I think this is a valid critique is when do you move off of him? Like they should have made the move to Damari Mathis or Chris Abrams drain a little bit earlier in this game after you're giving up some chunk plays there. But, you know, you do it late. And Chris Abrams drain does a pretty good job. His coverage actually forces James Winston to hesitate. And then Jonathan Cooper gets home on a sack. So, hey, shout out to the rookie cornerback getting some run here. But obviously, Riley Moss, I think you definitely missed his presence in this game because of his ability to play man coverage.

Starting point is 00:31:52 Jayquam Macmill and stepping up big time, PS2. Denver's going to be okay. This is not what their defense is. It's not indicative of who they are. They got a lot to correct and they're going to use the biweek to do just that. But Broncos Country, that will be our all 22 review here on the Broncos, big time. Monday night football, thrilling win. Make sure you check out the full visual film breakdowns over on Mile High Sports YouTube page.

Starting point is 00:32:11 You can check that out for your viewing. A pleasure. But one thing, we are going to break down here, Broncos Country, for all you every day. There's the biweek is here. But that doesn't mean lockdown Broncos episodes are on biweeks either. We're going to break down a lot of stuff. We're going to go through and talk about our biggest surprises of the first. half of the season. We're going to look at players. We're going to look at the rookies. We're going to look at

Starting point is 00:32:28 second year players as well. Things that stood out to us, biggest disappointments and what we hope to see from this team in the second half stretch going forward here is the Broncos look to make the postseason for the first time since 2015. You get that much more. And we're going to take a look to stay of the AFC on tomorrow's brand new episode, Lockdown Broncos.

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