Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos Starters, Bo Nix MUST Make Saints DREAD 2025 Season Outlook

Starting point is 00:00:00 Broncos starters are going to play, Saints starters are going to play. We'll tell you how Denver can make the 2025 Saints outlook miserable in Saturday's preseason finale here on today's episode, Locked on Broncos. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. What's up, Broncos country? Happy Friday. Welcome into another episode of Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockedon Podcast Network, your team every day. We're excited for Denver's preseason finale on Saturday against the New Orleans Saints. And a lot to break down as the preseason finally comes to a close here.

Starting point is 00:00:44 We'll break down everything you need to know about Bo Nix and the starting offense, getting some snaps here against the Saints who are playing their starters as well. We also go through the defensive depth and why they have a chance to audition. And part of that, the keys to victory will lead to the Broncos making the Saints 2025 outlook, a little bit miserable going into the season. I'm Cody Roark. Broncos reporter for my high sports. joined as always by Sarah Beniger, site expert over there, predominantly orange.com.

Starting point is 00:01:09 Thank you, all the everydayers out there in Broncos country for tuning in and making us your first listen, however you choose to do so. And if you're not yet never dare, be come on. Hit the subscribe to that follow button so you never miss out on what's going on with your favorite team every single day all year long. Sarah, my friend, one preseason game remains and there's some excitement in Broncos country because we know that Bo Nicks and the starters are expected to get some snaps against the Saints who are expected to play. a handful of their starters in this game under new head coach, Kellynne Moore. So a lot to break down is we're going to go through our preview here and our offensive players to watch. I feel like we'd be remiss if we didn't open things up with the starters in terms of that.

Starting point is 00:01:51 Bo Nicks and the Broncos, they're obviously going to get some snaps here. Jalil McLaughlin should be able to come back and play, obviously, after he and his wife had their first child over the last couple of days, he's expected to play, I think, expected to be a roster lock here. And I've got Joaquin Davis, maybe getting in the mix a little bit as well as my three players to watch. So Bo Nix, Julea McLaughlin, Joaquin Davis. How are you feeling about those names? I like that, Cody.

Starting point is 00:02:15 I'll start with Joaquin Davis because I saw your post on Twitter where you talked about if the Broncos keep six wide receivers on the 53 man roster that you and a number of others that are out there at practice every single day, you kind of feel like he might be that guy. So really interested to see what he can do. I know coming out of the draft when the Broncos signed him, He was one of those guys who was known for his ability to play on special teams. So if that's still continued to be the case as he's transitioned from college to the NFL, then obviously that gives him a really great shot.

Starting point is 00:02:43 I love the inclusion of Jaliel McLaughlin as well. I feel like he's a player that, you know, we're kind of looking at in that he's change a pace back, but he can also potentially offer something as a kickoff returner. We haven't seen a ton of kickoff returns for the Broncos this preseason because teams are just not scoring against them. So they're getting like one or two opportunities a game to showcase. But I think Jalil is one of those guys. Sean Payton absolutely loves him, right?

Starting point is 00:03:07 And so we kind of feel like he is trending towards being a roster lock. And then, of course, Bo Nix, the final tune up before the regular season, sort of a rare situation here where you are going to see the starters out there for a handful of snaps. At least that's what we understand from what Sean Payton has revealed at this point in time, that he's going to be out there playing eight to ten snaps. And because of that, we want to see the starters and Bo Nix in particular end this preseason on a high note. We didn't see you in preseason week two. And now you got a chance to let everybody go into the regular season with optimism brimming, overflowing.

Starting point is 00:03:41 So I like those picks a lot. The same starters on defense are expected to play a little bit as well. So, I mean, there is, I think, some value in the evaluation that we can get from hopefully these eight to ten snaps. Hopefully it goes great and they can get off in one series. You know, you march down the field, score. All right, starters are out. Let's put phase two and phase three in. And then you don't have to worry about anything there, you know, so you want to see,

Starting point is 00:04:02 obviously these guys stay healthy and an 8 to 10 snap sample size here going forward. Now, obviously, maybe not every starter will play, I think, so much for Sean. It's contingent upon health or, you know, hey, there's no knee. We already know we're getting from this guy, but you want to see the offense getting to some rhythm, at least maybe for a few plays and then get off the field here. You know, to go to my point on Joaquin Davis, Sarah, I think the biggest argument for him at this point, and we haven't seen it necessarily in the preseason yet, but we're seeing it every day in practice. he had a nice catch last week, but he's blocking his tail off in the preseason games.

Starting point is 00:04:36 He's that sizable wide receiver. Sean Payton has not been shy about saying we prefer size. They just traded away Devon Vele, who was sizable. Joaquin Davis is the next biggest target there. Great, strong hands there. And look, I think that he's got a stronger argument over Courtney Jackson because they're like, well, you need another returner behind Marvin Mims. That's not going to be Courtney Jackson.

Starting point is 00:04:56 That's not why you keep him on here at this point. So I think walking Davis will be too talented to let try to. to go through waivers, especially with some of these teams out there that are in need of a wide receiver right now. They would definitely probably try to pluck him away. So those are my players to watch. You have your eyes on here, this upcoming game against the Saints on Saturday when you look at your offensive players.

Starting point is 00:05:18 Yeah, my three offensive players to watch, Cody, are going to be Audric Estime, Caleb Loner, and then A.T. Perry, I kind of have a question mark for that because I don't know if we are going to see him play, obviously. Starting with Audric Estime, you know, we want to see what he can. do with the better offensive lines, right? We've seen him play with the backups to the backups. What can he do with whether it's the starting unit, whether it's the second unit? I want to see what he can do with those guys because ultimately, Cody, I don't think he's really gotten a fair shot in the preseason to showcase himself by playing behind guys who

Starting point is 00:05:50 may not even be on your practice squad. And we just saw breaking news from Adam Schaefter, Brian Robinson, the Washington commander's running back. He was traded to the 49ers. So we know that there's other teams out there that are still interested in the running back trade market. I know the Miami Dolphins were one of those teams, those potentially. So if Audrick is going to be showcased in this game, like actually showcase him, you know, put him up there at the top of the depth chart for this game and let him do what he's best at against the better off or with the better offensive line. So I think also with A.T. Perry, it's a similar deal with somebody like Joaquin Davis.

Starting point is 00:06:25 I know A.T. has been unavailable this offseason. And some of our listeners are kind of split of whether or not we should. even be discussing him because he's kind of like the solar eclipse at this point. Like whenever we've seen crazy ordeal. But I get that. I think it's, you know, why have you held on to him so long anyway at this point? Are you going to try to sneak him onto the practice squad? Do you feel like he could be an option for the 53?

Starting point is 00:06:48 And then Caleb Loner, another guy who's like a lunar eclipse at this point. It's like, when are we going to actually see from him what we hoped to see from him? That's my biggest question with him is like, okay, we've seen how raw you are because you've got three penalties in the last game. And we haven't seen how awesome you are at catching the ball. So I want to see more of the latter, from sure. And look, I think with AT Perry, Broncos fans should be paying attention to him because he did have knee surgery during the off season.

Starting point is 00:07:14 The Broncos followed an extensive plan and they were being very smart with how they brought him back along. A couple weeks ago, he graduated from team stretch to individual period. This week, he upgraded to participating in team period. So I think we will see our first look at AT Perry in a. Broncos uniform here and could be one of those players that probably does get slipped through onto the practice squad. I know the Broncos like him a lot if they didn't.

Starting point is 00:07:38 I mean, they could have released him. They could have come to terms on an injury settlement for him a long, long time ago. So there is something to be said for why A.T. Perry is still around and in the mix here. We talked about Caleb Loner as well a little bit earlier in a week about, hey, times it tick in here for him. It's going to be a big opportunity for him. And I agree with you in your thoughts on estimate. This is the chance for the.

Starting point is 00:08:00 Broncos and for Sean Payton really essentially to showcase him for a potential trade. Kind of what they did with Albert Okwebun on a few years ago, where Albert O and that last preseason game just goes off and we're like, all right, the Broncos got to find a way to keep this guy. And it's like, no, we're actually, we're trying to trade him. So this is also the game, I think, is you transition away. And maybe, maybe estimate get some touches with the first team offense for this specific reason, something for us to all keep an eye on here.

Starting point is 00:08:27 But if you're not going to have him on your roster, at least show. K Sim in this game, get him some downhill touches so you can at least have a chance to have one of these teams pick up the phone and say, hey, we need a running back. What would it take? Because all signs point to Jilohm McLaughlin, Tyler Badegh, if Denver does keep in fact that magic. Number four in terms of the 53 man roster, which the cuts will happen next Tuesday. And there's going to be a lot of news. You have complete coverage over here at lockdown Broncos as well here. But Broncos country, we're going to take a little bit of a deeper dive into the depth of the defense.

Starting point is 00:08:59 and why so many of these players have a chance to audition for the 53-man roster against the Saints on Saturday. We'll highlight who those names are and more on today's episode of the show. This episode is presented by Yahoo Fantasy. It's the best time of year. NFL kickoff. It's almost here. And that means fantasy football season is back in full swing. And this year, Yahoo Fantasy is turning things up with a fantasy football experience like never before.

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Starting point is 00:10:14 As we know, the Saints are in the midst of a quarterback battle. They're trying to figure out who's QB1 and if the Broncos can screw that up for them, well, it'll be interesting to see what the fallout is in Denver's favor in terms of those guys that are actively out there trying to wreck the Saints plan. So Broncos country, we're about to find out, as Gary Kubiak used to say, we're fixing to find out how this defense is going to be comprised in terms of the player personnel this coming season. And as we approach roster cuts, as we approach the final game of the preseason and the excitement

Starting point is 00:10:44 of the regular season, man, make sure you are subscribed so you don't miss a single episode of Lockdown Broncos. Get us at the top of your podcast feed. Get us in your YouTube algorithm, all that fun stuff because we want to be part of your every day and your passion for the Denver Broncos. We appreciate all of you so much. Cody, let's talk about the defensive players to watch in this game. I really think that offensively, there's a lot of focus,

Starting point is 00:11:07 but you have a number of guys on your players here that I think bear monitoring as potential roster candidates here in 2025. Yeah, look, we're going with the theme of the J names here once again. Jordan Miller nose tackle, you know, came out of college at SMU here. I feel like he has had a tremendous offseason here for. the Broncos. I think one of the things that stands out about Jordan is just his ability to plug inside the A gap. You know, he was on the practice squad for Denver last year. They liked how he was developing all throughout the entire season. I think we've seen his strongest body of work now,

Starting point is 00:11:39 specifically in the last game against the Cardinals. You don't believe me, watch number 90, go back and watch that game, and he'll be a player to watch in this game against the Saints because, you know, with this Saints offense trying to figure out, is it going to be Spencer Rattler? It's going to be Tyler Shuck. You're going to get a look at the starters here. because they are trying to figure out who's going to be in the mixture. We even may see Devon Veilet suit up against his former team, but Jordan Miller plugging the run in the A gap against this Saints offensive line is going to be a very big key to watch right here for me,

Starting point is 00:12:11 at least when I look at the Broncos defensive line depth. Could he make a potential argument to be one of those final guys on the 53? I mean, when we factor in, you have DJ Jones, Malcolm Roach at this point. It's hard for the Broncos to maybe envision keeping three nose tackles. but if he has too good of a game or just too much of a clogged player right there could make things interesting, but there is a chance I think that the Broncos couldn't get him onto the roster. I think he would clear waivers and go to the practice squad here, but they like his ascension, his development.

Starting point is 00:12:40 Player number two here, we're going to go with Jordan Turner, the inside linebacker that we obviously saw impressed during rookie minicamp on a tryout basis, make it to training camp. Last week had one and a half sacks. I think the Broncos, once again, they want to really figure out what that. That linebacker depth is going to be like, obviously, earlier in the week. They released undrafted linebacker, J.B. Brown. So really, it's Karen A. Reid. It's Jordan Turner.

Starting point is 00:13:05 Practice squad spots on the line, maybe one spot on the 53 from a number's perspective here as the Broncos have to make some tough decisions next week. Turner is going to be a guy that I have my eye on, especially covering out of the backfield, being sent on a blitz at something that Van Gogh has shown that he feels like he likes doing with him. So that process, I think we'll continue to play out. And last but not least, I think we're going to look at cornerback Damari Mathis. I mean, Sarah, we just talked about showcasing Adric Estimay. I think DeMathis will get a lot of run in this game here because the Broncos cornerback depth right now is very top heavy with Pat Sertan, Riley Moss,

Starting point is 00:13:40 Jayquan, McMillan, Jada, Barron, who is going to play in this game despite missing Thursday's practice with the soft tissue injury. And then you factor in Chris Abrams drain five corners that can do inside, outside. Whereas I think more so Chris Abrams drain is probably going to be in. division as an outside corner. Four of the guys can move inside out if you need them to go forward in terms of flexibility. I just don't see them keeping six at this position. And if it was six, I could see and make a strong case here for Damari Mathis, but this could very well be a situation where the Broncos showcase him a little bit

Starting point is 00:14:13 and potentially trade him before roster cuts happen or right at the deadline. Just one of those things you've got to look at former draft pick. You look at the ties that bind. You're going to be keeping an eye on the Miami Dolphins as a team. You're going to look at a team like the Philadelphia Eagles with their ties there. And obviously the New York Jets with Darren Mojee, a lot of things to watch for here. But these are my three defensive players that I'm going to have my eye on here in this game. As we talk about your defensive players to watch, I mean, I think this is going to be a very, very crucial stretch here for the Broncos as they try to fill out these depth spots here.

Starting point is 00:14:47 You went with a few guys at similar positions that I did. You went D-lined. You went linebacker and then you went outside linebacker here as well. Tell us a little bit more about your three players. Yeah, we've got Savian Jones on the defensive line to start off. I think he's going to obviously be a roster lock. Broncos traded up into the third round of this year's drafts to get Savian Jones. And you just believe that as of right now, he's probably going to be a game day inactive.

Starting point is 00:15:12 But man, shoot, I mean, you go out there against the Saints. You have a big game. You might get yourself an active game day role sooner than you think. But it does feel like he's going to be one of those depth pieces that kind of gets put on ice. They're kind of develop him behind the scenes. sort of thing, but this might be our last chance to really see him play extensive snaps, barring injury for quite some time. And then Karenne Reed, I think he could be that fifth linebacker for the team, which

Starting point is 00:15:36 means that there's a really good chance that he gets shuffled up off the practice squad at some point in the near future. So we're watching for him on defense or watching for him on special teams or we need to see everything from Karenne Reed in this game against the New Orleans Saints. And then, of course, Garrett Nelson. Cody, I know that he might have been dealing with some injury type thing or whatever. I know that he's produced, though, when he's been out there on the field, he's been making plays and he's been flashing.

Starting point is 00:16:02 Number 59 is what he wears for the Denver Broncos. Unfortunately, not everybody has images in the database because not everybody gets, you know, the spotlight every single week, but he's wearing number 59. So you're watching the game, watch for number 59. They're coming off the edge. I think he could be that top guy on the practice squad, as we believe the Broncos will keep five edge players on their 53, but Garrett Nelson, to me, could be that sixth guy, right?

Starting point is 00:16:27 So he could be that player that if they have a need, if they have an injury, if something happens to a special teams guy, they could call him up on any given week to come in and play a valuable backup role. Yeah, and look, this, I think in a game like this against the Saints where you really have your starters and most of your backups already solidified on defense, this is a really good problem to have here for Denver. just about, okay, who can we add that, you know, maybe play special teams for us or could be, you know, someone who's on the 53, but they're part of our game day.

Starting point is 00:16:59 We're only allowed to dress so many guys. These guys will be inactive. It allows us to keep these guys here in terms of numbers. And I think when you look at wide receiver where Denver's at, Denver keeps six, that, you know, that six guy will be inactive more than likely on game days. They carry four backs. I imagine one of those guys may be inactive. One of the offensive linemen will be inactive.

Starting point is 00:17:18 And then, you know, we'll see if they keep. three quarterbacks. I just don't, I don't think that's going to be in play for them here. But outside linebacker, for them to already have five guys in terms of the 53, and it's kind of as deep as it is with Jonah Ellis, with Dandre Tillman, and obviously Q Robinson, who's been spectacular, you know, you want to be able to have guys that can maybe develop a little bit further. You feel like have some traits that are intangible for, you know, even if it's not this year, maybe two years down the line, or if it's just some guy that you know is going to make your team better because he's just,

Starting point is 00:17:48 not only just a practice squad player, but a scout team player. That's huge because I think so many people forget in the regular season, when you have your roster, the practice squad guys, you want to make it up of something that makes sense so that you're not having your starters on one other side of the ball go through scout team reps here. You need a really good look. That's why you fill out your practice squad and you get as much look as you can.

Starting point is 00:18:11 Because realistically speaking, if it's the Broncos defense that's on the field, it's that second team offensive line going against that. starting defense and then you have Jared Stidham at quarterback running the scout team looks there and then a couple of those other players sprinkled in who play player specific roles. That's what it's all about. I don't know if anybody talks about that enough, but just maybe some behind the scene stuff here for Broncos country. Okay, Sarah, so maybe a bold prediction out of the three players that you chose defensively

Starting point is 00:18:38 or even mine. You can look at all of them because we'll go back and we'll reeves of mine. I had Jordan Miller, Jordan Turner, Damari Mathis, you had Sabian Jones, Karen A Reid and Garrett Nelson, out of those six names, give us one bold prediction for one of those players. Who is it and what is it? Well, let's say Karen A Reid caps off the preseason with a big play, maybe a strip sack that results in a huge turnover for the Denver Broncos.

Starting point is 00:19:04 I'm going to say a big play, a memorable play from Corne, Reid, that gets everybody talking about him. I think he's going to be that guy in this game, Cody, who really steps up. Maybe he picks off Spencer Rattler in the, you know, I don't know. We'll see what happens, but I think Corrinene Reed's going to make a game changing play here in this game. All righty. Broncos country, you heard Sarah there. Make sure you drop your players to watch defensively here in Saturdays preseason finale against the New Orleans Saints.

Starting point is 00:19:30 We're not done yet, though, Broncos country coming up next. Sarah and I, we're going to talk about whether the Broncos, whether it's the phase two or phase three players, need to make the Saints' 2025 outlook miserable in this game. We'll go through Keys to Victory and more here on today's episode of the show. Today's episode of Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by BetterHelp. These days, it feels like there's advice for everything. Cold plunges, gratitude journals, screen detoxes, but how do you know what actually works for you? With so much information online about mental health and wellness, it can be overwhelming

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Starting point is 00:20:36 more than 5 million people. Talk it out with BetterHelp. Our listeners, get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com slash locked on. That's BetterHelp. H-E-L-P.com slash locked on. The 2025 New Orleans Saints, they're looking to figure out who their quarterback is going to be for this season, but for the Broncos,

Starting point is 00:20:56 they've got to come in and make the entire outlook of their upcoming season in New Orleans look awful. That's what the Broncos have to do in this game here as we dive deeper into our keys to victory. Real quick, once again, thank you so much to everyone in Broncos, all the every dares for tuning in, making us your first listen. We appreciate you so much for rocking with us.

Starting point is 00:21:14 Make sure you engage with us on social media at Locked on Broncos. We're also on TikTok for short form content. You want all that stuff there. Make sure you go follow us there at Locked on Broncos. But going into our keys to victory, Sarah, I mean, these are things that we want to see happen here. Obviously, we want the Broncos to win. More importantly, we want the Broncos to come away from this game healthy. Everybody, you know, guys who have big ambitions to make this roster, you want to see a

Starting point is 00:21:39 highly competitive football game. You also want to see the Broncos kind of dominate and shut the door on the Saints 20-25 season outlook because with their starters playing and them trying to figure out who their QB is, this is the perfect opportunity to make the Saints feel like they're hopeless in a sense, like we don't believe we have a quarterback of the future on our team. And the Broncos just showed us that. Let's get into our keys to victory, Sarah. Where are you leaning here?

Starting point is 00:22:03 What are your three keys? Yeah, my three keys to victory here for the Broncos, number one, create turnovers. Number two, dominate on the ground. round and number three big special teams plays. And I think that is all encompassing, right? Returns, you want to see Jeremy Crosha, booming the ball out there. You want to see this team maybe go block a punch or something, just dominate in every phase of the game.

Starting point is 00:22:23 Right. So I think now the Broncos have a vested interest or like a significant interest in the Saints being bad because they now have that fourth round pick in next year's draft. And if that ends up being the top pick of day three, that can be super valuable. Not because the Broncos could then sleep on, hey, who's our best player on the board, but they could also potentially trade that pick for a future third round pick, because teams will do that at times. They'll trade valuable future draft capital. So you have a significant interest now in the Saints being bad. And yes, this game doesn't necessarily put them

Starting point is 00:22:55 in the bad category, but I think you can kind of make them feel like, shoot, yeah, this is a rebuilding year. Creating turnovers is always a must. I think we saw that in week one of the preseason right, Cody. Week two, didn't see as much of the turnovers, saw even more defensive dominance, though. I mean, I think the Cardinals had like 135 yards of offense or something, but let's turn that dominance into creating turnovers and then the ground game. It helps everybody. If the Broncos run the ball well, shoot, it gives a good outlook for them and it also potentially helps them trade a guy away. And then big special teams plays. I'm kind of, I don't know, I don't want to be underwhelmed again by Jeremy Croshaas performance. I want to see a big performance from him. And I want to

Starting point is 00:23:33 see somebody returned something. Let's see, I want a preseason punt return touchdown or kick return touchdown. Like that's what I want to see, Cody. That's a, fireworks that I want in the preseason. Well, to go to your second key to victory about dominate on the ground. I mean, two consecutive games to open up the preseason, the Broncos have had over 125 plus rushing yards there. I mean, we talked about the offensive onslaught last week of what, what was it, what was it, 560-something yards of offense.

Starting point is 00:23:58 That is what you talk about, you know, dominate the time of possession, have a smothering defense, control the ball by, you know, running the ball effectively. I think Denver's stable of backs that they've had so far through two weeks of preseason, That's been a huge positive for them, though I think we've really kind of had clarity on who the final two will be behind RJ Harvey and J.K. Dobbins. I'm with you there. I would also like to see a big special teams plays, right? Special teams, special players. You want to see someone on the gunner go down there and blow up the punt return or maybe force a fumble, right?

Starting point is 00:24:30 And that all accounts to good hang time from Jeremy Croshaw, more consistency. I think those are good keys to victory here, my friend. I'm going to go into mine now. First key to victory here is efficient operation of. offense with the starters in. Now look, you're not going to have like the chance to, I don't think the Broncos playing eight to 10 snaps is going to mean like if they go on and score a touchdown right away. All right. The Broncos are going to win this game because their starter scored. But no, you want to see, I think just from a standpoint of the first team offense going in there,

Starting point is 00:24:58 clean operation, especially when you're playing against that St. starting defense is still has some very talented players. I don't know if Cam Jordan's going to play, but if the starter is going to play, he's one of them. I would probably expect him to play at this point. going forward. You just want to see a clean, efficient operation of the offensive system. And also, I'd say even for the defensive side, too, that's going to apply there. My second key is going to be pressure Spencer Rattler and make the Saints dread 2025. The Broncos last year, they sent pressure left and right after Spencer Rattler on Thursday night football. He's battling for a starting job here this upcoming season.

Starting point is 00:25:34 And so, you know, he's going to have some crispness to him just because he's already had a year of NFL experience where some of these guys he's going against probably don't have a lot of vast experience. But if the Broncos can make his life miserable despite that, I think that that would really kind of just pour rain all over the New Orleans Saints outlook for the upcoming season just because they want to figure out one of these guys that they drafted as a franchise quarterback. I personally don't believe either of them are. I don't think that guy is even on that roster.

Starting point is 00:26:01 So we'll see what the Saints plan is later for more Saints information. Go check our friend Ross Jackson over there, locked on Saints. Key number three, third down dominance on. the defensive side of the ball here. Once again, the Broncos defense has been smothering on third down. Three of 25, that's 12% efficiency on third down. And when you think about it, you go to that first game against San Francisco. That was a 50-yard play that was given up.

Starting point is 00:26:26 That's one of those third-down allowed conversions there. Then they scored on third down in the run game in that red zone. So there's two. And then the touchdown that the Cardinals had last week, the only one of the game, came on third down. So when you think about it, there's only three plays this season in the preseason where the Broncos have allowed a third down conversion. And I think two of them have been worth for score. So that's obviously an area you want to brush up in the goal line in the red zone.

Starting point is 00:26:53 But can the Bronco just continue to just send pressure after these quarterbacks? I think the vance Joseph will. We saw it last week. And it's a perfect opportunity for these guys to make their mark to make the best last impression possible before roster cuts. Yeah, I love these keys to victory, Cody. and I would say to piggyback off your first point here, efficient operation of the offense with the starters. And I think that's not only key to victory in this game,

Starting point is 00:27:16 but it's going to be key for just if Bo Nix goes out there and gets hit a couple of times or if the running game is getting hit behind the line of scrimmage. I mean, like, that's not what we want to see. We want to see. And not that they have to go out there and score in five plays against. That would be nice to see them go score in five plays against the Saints defense. And have just one. Yeah, or just one.

Starting point is 00:27:37 Yeah, just you know, one and done. them out of there. But like, I don't want to see bonix getting hit. I don't want to see the offensive line getting whipped up on. I don't want to see tackles behind the line of scrimmage. I don't want to see dropped passes. I don't want to see any of that crap because I'm sick of that stuff like from the first week of the preseason. I know we're being harsh and I know that it was preseason. But at the same time, when you get into a game situation, like your 92 million dollar receiver has to make a catch on a perfect throw from the quarterback. And then your quarterback can't throw the ball away when there's a corner bearing down on him for a safety.

Starting point is 00:28:11 I mean, those are game situations. I know you're avoiding getting hit and stuff, but now this is your final dress rehearsal. You want to feel good about what you're going into the season with. This is those guys' opportunity, in my opinion, for a little bit of redemption after that first preseason game.

Starting point is 00:28:26 I know they played well in the joint practice. I know they did well in training camp. I know the offense has been better lately. Let's see it in a game setting. Yeah, and it's going to prepare you for a week one match. We're going to have, you know, you're going to have to go against the big guy sweat on the D-line of the Titans. Jeffrey Simmons, former Bronco, Draymont Jones. I mean, they're going to bring some heat here in week one of the regular season.

Starting point is 00:28:48 I'm going to try to at Bow Nix and the Broncos. So they're going to have to, you don't want to go into week one with like, okay, we didn't have the best showing here. But Quinn Miners did say something good when I asked them a question about getting more reps and getting more snaps since that first preseason game. He said, we just want to be as prepared as possible here for week one. He said, you know, I'd like, I want to play in the preseason because then week one, I'm not going out there and I'm not having to make adjustments because I hadn't gotten any snaps in the preseason. I get the game feeling. I can go through and look at my game. We can go through collectively as unit and we can make some tweaks here and there to better prepare ourselves.

Starting point is 00:29:22 So I think there's going to be a lot of value in this. And we're all fixing to find out. 11. 8m. Mountain time kickoff on Saturday morning Broncos country. Don't miss out on it. And then after the game, you can get post game coverage here, courtesy of Sarah Bedinger, myself here, a lockdown Broncos. post-game report. And then it gets to the roster cuts where Sarah and I will start to predict

Starting point is 00:29:41 the 53-man roster. So a lot to look forward to in the next coming days here in the Lockdown Broncos podcast. Thanks for listening to Broncos. Thank you for making us your first listen of the day for your second listen. Go check out our friends over there, Locked-on Fantasy football. We'll see you tomorrow after the game for the lockdown Broncos post-game report.

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