Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - HUGE TASK: Denver Broncos Extending GM George Paton is BIGGEST PRIORITY

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos are riding the high of a 14 and three season and a number one seed here, but they got to find a way to lock in general manager, George Payton for the long haul. You are locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked on podcast network, your locked on podcast network. Happy Friday, Broncos country. Welcome into another episode, Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast podcast, part of the Locked on podcast network, the number one sports podcast network in the country. Thanks to all of you every day. dares out there. Thanks for tuning and making us your first listen. However, you choose to do so. Here's the Broncos. They will have a practice day. There will obviously be the announcement of the

Starting point is 00:00:43 all pros. That stuff will come out here. But they do not play this week as they get ready to watch everybody in Wild Card Week. And today we're going to go through and tell you why the Broncos need to find a way to extend general manager George Payton Fast because his contract is expiring and he's earned a well-deserved extension. Plus, we'll dive into and predict the AFC Wild Card Week, which matchups we have our eyes on. And more. importantly, who is the ideal opponent for the Broncos when they open up in the NFL divisional round? You get all that here on today's episode of the show.

Starting point is 00:01:13 Brought you our friends over there. Fan Duel, the Wildcard Round is here. And Fandul is officially in playoff mode. So visit Fandul, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL and grab your profit boost pack every NFL playoff game day. I'm Cody Rourke, credential Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports. Join, as always, by Sarah Benninger, site expert of their predominantly orange.com. Sarah, you know, lost in the shuffle of a 14 and three season, the number one seed, you A lot of people are talking about coach of the year for Sean Payton.

Starting point is 00:01:38 A lot of people are talking about, you know, this guy, that guy and the other guy. But nobody seems to be talking about general manager, George Payton, who in my opinion, I think has such a great case for executive of the year here. And George's job, obviously, what he has done since taking over as a gym has been remarkable here. But he is on the fifth of a six-year deal here with the team, Sarah. And so his deal could be expiring soon. Could we see an extension for George Payton? I think we have to. I think the Broncos have to make a move to extend George Payton.

Starting point is 00:02:08 No general manager has ever had to deal with one player taking up $90 million in dead cap, or I guess $85 million to be exact, right? But obviously the Denver Broncos, they've put a lot of money towards Russell Wilson on the salary cap these last two years at least, and they were still literally paying him last year. So it's kind of crazy to think about Cody what the Broncos have been able to accomplish despite the fact that, I mean, and that's, you know, some people will argue, you, hey, that's the bed that George Peyton made when he brought in Russell Wilson via trade. You make the blockbuster trade.

Starting point is 00:02:39 The whole story with John Schneider at the combine and the napkins at the bar, right? And you're drawing up the whole trade. And it was supposed to be a franchise altering move to wake up what George Peyton dubbed a sleeping giant when he took the job back in 2021. But ultimately, the sleeping giant was somewhere deeper within the, I guess if you had to climb up the beanstock to find him, he was somewhere deeper in there truly because it required the right. head coach to come in and be the straw that stirs the drink. And I think obviously there's so much that we can unpack for the first couple of years of George Peyton's tenure as the general manager of this team versus the last couple of years with Sean Payton. So it's a really interesting situation here because he clearly drafted well early on. And now we're looking at the benefits of that

Starting point is 00:03:25 with no first round picks in 2022 or 23, barely even second round picks in those drafts, but absolutely smashing the draft in 2021 and then getting key core players in the drafts that followed that, bringing in Sean Payton, identifying Bo Nix as a target for your quarterback position. It's just resignings. I mean, you go through so many different facets of the way this team has been built despite the albatross of Russell Wilson's deal. There's no question in my mind that George Payton should be extended. Well, let's take a look at George's roster that he has had a hand in assembling here.

Starting point is 00:04:02 In terms of draft picks, you have a quarterback in Bo Nix. It's obviously George and Sean's background work on that. Obviously, RJ Harvey, who was drafted in this past year's draft, you look at other guys like Pat Bryant being added into the mix here. But I go back to guys like Quinn Miners, you know, in that 2021 class where it's like, wow, the Broncos, they had so many key guys on there, Quinn Miners, and all pro offensive guard, a pro bowl guard, so to speak, at that point. Marvin Mims, obviously in 2023, one of, if not the,

Starting point is 00:04:32 first draft pick between Sean and George Payton collectively together. He's obviously in the mixture on this roster. You look at other guys as well, Jonathan Cooper, Nick Benito, where that clip always circulates a little bit about, wow, you know, holy wow, Nick Benito at this, shoot. And they're like, you know, unless we get blown away, we're going to go with Nick Benito. And then they got Nick at a premier position, which ironically ended up being the draft pick that the Broncos acquired by sending away Vaughn Miller. And then obviously we talk about Pat Sertan, the reigning defending NFL defensive

Starting point is 00:05:02 player of the year, best cornerback in the entire national football league. And it's not even close at this point. The impact that certainly he has had there. And then I think just identifying key guys as well. I think Denver being able to hit on undraft the rookie free agents coming in. It is a testament to where this team is at. And I think at times this year, too, the depth that the Broncos have had to rely on this season at various junctures on offense, defense, new and special teams is a testament to how George Payton's background as a former scout and working with that department there, how it really has assembled this very good roster. And to your point,

Starting point is 00:05:35 what you mentioned, of Denver dealing with the last year of Russell Wilson's dead money, the fact that the Broncos have made it 14 and 3, the number one overall seed, home field advantage,

Starting point is 00:05:42 and the roster is intact. The depth is good is a testament to just the roster construction aspect of George Peyton in collaboration with Sean. Yes, is George Payton's 10 year here in Denver? Perfect.

Starting point is 00:05:56 No, we could talk about the Nathaniel Hackett hiring. We could talk about the Russell Wilson trade, so to speak. people want to pin the extension on George Payton, but that actually came from Bronco's ownership. It wasn't George that wanted to extend him right away. It was more along the lines of ownership, wanting to get it done to get ahead of the impending Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson deals that we were ultimately going to see, and Josh Allen as well.

Starting point is 00:06:17 So I'd say all circumstances considered, man, George Peyton has done a terrific job. Now, you mentioned there, obviously with him kind of being that fifth or that six year on his initial general manager contract, if he were not. not to get extended, Sarah, he would immediately be the hottest, most readily available GM candidate for any NFL team out there. I could tell you this from what I know. I don't get the vibe that the Broncos are going to have to worry about losing George Peyton.

Starting point is 00:06:46 I think that they are going to lock him up here sooner rather than later. And that's exciting for Broncos country because like you mentioned, it's the entire roster that's taking the team to being the number one seed, right? I think if you have a situation, which I know the Russell Wilson dead cap is unprecedented, but if you have a situation like that where a player is taking up such a large portion of your cap who's not even helping your team, you would expect that some superstar players are carrying a large portion of the load, right? Like it's got to be a superstar quarterback that's obviously carrying the team or it's got

Starting point is 00:07:20 to be, you know, one certain player who's just dominating and helping lift your team on a week-to-week basis, the fact that the Broncos have been able to create a roster that is so talented across the board and deep is is insane. It's just, it's crazy. You're in position despite not having a first round pick in 2022 and 2023. And after having to take a quarterback in 24, having no other choice, you're already in a position, the quality of your roster to use a pick in the first round of this past year's draft on a luxury option. I mean, let's just call it what it is. Like the Broncos didn't need a corner going into the draft.

Starting point is 00:08:00 You and I talked about that all leading up to the draft. They don't need a corner necessarily. They don't need to go that direction in the first round. To have the luxury to be able to do that is the biggest indicator of where this team is at in terms of having a healthy overall roster, your offensive line, one of the best in the NFL, defensive line, one of the best in the NFL. And it just speaks to the way this team is drafted, identifying free agents at every tier of the budget list.

Starting point is 00:08:27 That's where I think George Payton has been so effective, Cody, is obviously the big moves. You take a big swing. I'll never fault George Payton for the Russell Wilson trade ever. Because everybody in Broncos country wanted that major swing at the quarterback position. Everybody wanted Aaron Rogers at the time. And when you miss on Aaron Rogers, did anybody want Kenny Pickett or Matt Corral? I'll never forget you and I were recording in the midst of recording an episode of the show,

Starting point is 00:08:54 kind of trying to say, right, you know, do we really like Kenny Pickett? Do we like Sam Howell? Do we like Matt Corral? And the Russell Wilson trade news broke. And it was like the Denver Broncos had done the Peyton manning move all over again. So I'll never fall to George Payton for taking that swing. I think it's what the franchise needed at the time. However, when that goes south, how do you recover from that? Nobody expected the Broncos to recover this quickly. It's crazy. Documentary should be made about it. And yeah, if George Payton could take home some hardware and another couple extra zeros on his new contract that he will inevitably get,

Starting point is 00:09:30 I believe. Hey, that's icing on the cake. Yeah. And I think he's just done such a terrific job. He and Sean Payton to the pairing. A lot of people were saying, oh, when Sean Payton came in, oh, this is the end of George Peyton.

Starting point is 00:09:41 No, these guys have such a great working relationship together. It is very much. Sean goes, hey, I need this. George goes, okay, I'll look at figuring out how to make it happen. Like, that's George's job. Now, I think that Denver is a much more stable franchise. than they were initially when George had to navigate ahead coaching search, essentially by himself without an ownership group in place.

Starting point is 00:10:02 I mean, that was really kind of where Denver was at. You were facing a lot of pressure to hire someone, but then you didn't want to miss out on there. But so that was a, that was a tough chapter. And look, that's part of the learning process, right? You make some mistakes. You learn from it. And now look at the Denver Broncos.

Starting point is 00:10:15 They're, you know, top seat in the AFC. I think it all speaks for itself based on the overall body of work that Denver certainly has here. But Broncos country, share with us your thoughts on. extending general manager George Payton. Do you think it should happen? Make sure you let us know here on today's episode of show. But coming up next, Sarah and I, we're going to dive deep. We're going to go through NFL wildcard weekend on the AFC side of things.

Starting point is 00:10:34 We're going to share our picks who we think is going to win in this weekend slate of games. You'll get all that here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by Robin Hood. Nobody knows your money goals better than you. And Robin Hood put you in control of your money with tools that work as hard as you do. Locking in on every opening, beating your PR, beating it again, channel that drive into your money. Robin Hood puts you in control of your money, trade stocks and ETFs, options, futures, and crypto. All on one platform, you can now build and

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Starting point is 00:11:45 And who is the ideal opponent for the Denver Broncos in the divisional round? We're going to get into all of that on today's Locked on Broncos. But before we do that, I want to say thank you to all you every dayers out there that make us your first listen of the day every single day. If you haven't done so already,

Starting point is 00:12:00 we want to invite you to join the Everyday or All Access Club because you're going to get exclusive content on their bonus episodes of the show, coffee talk every Thursday between Cody and myself, all 22 breakdowns, locker room interviews, mock drafts in the off season, free agent previews in the off season,

Starting point is 00:12:15 so much more. So check out the link in the show notes. Sign up for that today. We appreciate you for considering that. Cody, let's get into our wildcard round predictions because it's a big weekend of football. A lot of great matchups. I think some surprises with, you know, the Steelers beating the Ravens on Sunday night. That was crazy the way that game ended.

Starting point is 00:12:34 And it kind of created some interesting matchups here in the first week of the postseason with Houston traveling to Pittsburgh. We've obviously got the Buffalo Bills traveling to Jacksonville to take on the upstart Jaguars. And then you've got the New England Patriots hosting our rivals, the Los Angeles Chargers. It is going to be nice to watch everybody else kind of take each other on, beat each other up for a weekend while the Broncos just get to sit back and see who are we going to play. But, man, I think let's start it with that first matchup there between the two seed and the seven seed, the Patriots and the Chargers. Who do you got winning that game and why?

Starting point is 00:13:10 Yeah, look, I'll give you my three picks that I have for the games and I'll kind of explain why. I've got the Bills, the Patriots, and the Texans all winning the Wild Card weekend here, which means that if that does go the way that maybe I predict, it means that the Broncos would face the Buffalo Bills next week in the NFL division around here. Starting off with the game that you asked me about here in New England and obviously the Chargers, look, what the Chargers have been able to accomplish this season

Starting point is 00:13:36 with the major injuries that they've had on the offensive line, losing some key players like Najee Harris. Justin Herbert is playing a high level of football here this season. And he even had to have surgery on his left hand. This is a dude who's been taking. hit after hit after hit and is a great quarterback, right? But the playoffs have kind of been this cloud over Justin Herbert so far as he's been in the NFL last year.

Starting point is 00:14:00 They made it to the wild card round and faced off against the Houston Texans. And he threw four interceptions in that game. Well, now you're playing a New England Patriots team that under Mike Vrable is highly competitive. They have a good system in place. Now, Josh McDaniels, as much as we all can't stand to him, what he's been able to do with Drake May in terms of just getting him to fit into that system, it's tough. like New England is very much a team on the rise here. I think for them having the chance to kind of get their starters out of the game against Miami a little bit earlier.

Starting point is 00:14:29 You know, last week, they've had some time to kind of recoup a little bit. I think this is going to be a competitive game, though, Sarah. I just think the New England's going to find a way to irk this one out. Now, here's the inverse of that. If New England loses, it doesn't matter if Buffalo wins, the Broncos will face the Chargers in the divisional round. So I think it's going to be fun. It's going to be a cold game, supposed to be a little bit rainy in the 30. on in Foxborough on Sunday night football,

Starting point is 00:14:53 but this is one that we're obviously going to be staying tuned into very much so. And obviously, you know, the bills against Jacksonville, I think that's going to be a good game. Which version of the Buffalo bills are we going to see? I think there's that. And then I just think Houston's defense is going to be a little bit too much for Aaron

Starting point is 00:15:09 Rogers, who's not as mobile as he used to be. But man, if he gets the ball to his hands quickly, they might have a chance in that one. Yeah, that's a game that I think the Steelers, that might be the ideal draw for them.

Starting point is 00:15:21 the first round is not having to go up against somebody and say, hey, we're going to have to score 40 points in order to win. I think you could see that one being a lower scoring defensive sort of battle there between those teams. I'll give you my three picks right here. I've got the Patriots. I've got the Jaguars and I've got the Texans. So I've been on the Buffalo Bills for a while as well, Cody. And I just kind of feel like I've been so certain about Buffalo winning that I kind of need to convince myself of the Jaguars a little bit here. And it's, I don't think the Jaguars have done anything to lead me to believe anything other than that they could win this matchup.

Starting point is 00:15:57 I think the biggest thing there is the Josh Allen factor, like you mentioned. It's Josh Allen, that running game, so strong. But I think that atmosphere for the Jags is going to be supercharged. I think this is a game that I could see them struggling, though. Like we saw them struggle a little bit against the Indianapolis Colts. I don't think they blew them out by any means, even with Philip Rivers out there. And I saw a stat, too, that there was like something about teams that go into the playoffs with eight or nine game winning streaks or whatever it is for the Jaguars.

Starting point is 00:16:27 And I can't remember the other team that's on one of those runs right now in the AFC, but Houston. So, yeah, teams that are going in with giant winning streaks typically do not fare well in the postseason, which is such an odd thing, right? I mean, I can't remember the exact number, but it does feel like when a team wins that many games in a row, like you're waiting for the clock to strike midnight, doesn't it? And so I wonder for the Jaguars when that is going to happen. It feels like this could be the week, but I'm going to pick the Jags in that one. And then the Patriots playing at home, you mentioned it. If it's cold and rainy, that favors a team that can run the ball better.

Starting point is 00:17:03 The Patriots run the ball far better than the Los Angeles Chargers right now. And then I do think Houston's defense will endure, even if it is a tight one-score game. But then again, I thought Nick Ferguson brought up some great points on our squad show earlier this week, too, Cody, about Pittsburgh having so many different veteran players and how much that could play into their favor in the postseason situationally. So you get into those situations, will those veteran players be able to come through for Pittsburgh and keep their kind of Cinderella story going? Yeah. I mean, I think there's interesting elements on both sides, despite the AFC North East year, not necessarily being the strongest division in terms of record and whatnot, they found a way. to get into it. Obviously, it led to the firing of John Harbaugh in Baltimore. So, you know, we wonder how the dynamics change across the AFC going into 2026. Certainly worth monitoring here.

Starting point is 00:17:52 But also for Aaron Rogers could potentially be his last game in the NFL. And he's got to face off against the number one defense in the league in Houston, that pass rush that they have. They'll get D.K. Metcalf back, obviously, in this match up there. So they'll get Derek Stingley, Jr., probably matching up against him. I just think if they can get out to Rogers, it's going to be rough. And if they can't run the football against the Texans at all, it's also going to be very, very hard for them to do anything in this game. So I'm very curious to see how that result ultimately plays out. Now, the reality is, let's say, in what world would the Broncos play the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round?

Starting point is 00:18:31 Well, I imagine that would require the Patriots and Jags to win. Yes, those two to win and then Houston to lose essentially at this point. And then, because what is it, the Patriots are the two seed, the Jags are the three seed. So yeah, that's the way that you would ultimately face off against the Steelers. I want to ask you a question. Surely, I mean, this is probably going to carry over and tour in the conversation coming up next about ideal opponents in the divisional round here. Out of all the teams right now, which team gives you the most pause going into the playoffs? Like as far as their ability to move on in the playoffs, giving pause, I think it would have to be the

Starting point is 00:19:12 Pittsburgh Steelers because that's the team that throughout the course of a year, I mean, if you start to buy into them at all, they go and lay an egg the next week, right? I mean, they've, everybody in the NFL has struggled this year. I would say everybody in the AFC has struggled less overall than this Pittsburgh Steelers this season. So that's the thing that I see when you look at that team is, and honestly, and this is not a thing about the AFC West or the Broncos, but I'd say honestly the Chargers with all their injuries too. Like, I don't have any confidence that the Chargers are going to be able to go far in this postseason run. Now, that's not to say that they can't because they've been in a lot of one-score games.

Starting point is 00:19:49 They've been in a lot of tight games. But the injuries are just so difficult. How often do we talk about that? It's very hard when you're struggling with a lot of injuries to make it far in the postseason. It's not always the best team on paper or even the best quarterbacks that make it the deepest in the postseason. It's often the healthiest teams. And so I think that the Chargers, that's going to be a huge factor for them. to see how does that offensive line hold up against a micro variable defense?

Starting point is 00:20:15 How does that running game excel in the postseason with Omerian Hampton is also banged up? He's not practicing early in the week. So very, very fascinating developments for them going into the playoffs, especially with Justin Herbert already dealing with stuff. Yeah, and three of the Chargers six losses this season have come on the road. And typically in the colder weather games, they don't tend to do as great. So we'll see how things transpire here, Broncos country this week. you share with us your AFC wildcard picks here on today's episode of the show.

Starting point is 00:20:45 But coming up next, Sarah and I, we're going to tell you why we believe maybe the Buffalo Bills or the Chargers might be the most ideal opponent for the Broncos in the divisional round of the playoffs. We'll go through that and more here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's Lockdown Broncos is brought to you, our friends, over there at Fandu. And the Wild Card Round is here, and Fandu is officially in playoff mode because every game day during the NFL playoffs, Fandu is giving customers even more ways to get in on the the action because right now every NFL playoff game day,

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Starting point is 00:23:07 RocketMoney.com slash locked on. with the NFL wildcard weekend approaching here, which opponents in the wildcard slate best match up here with the Denver Broncos? Or should I say, do the Broncos best match up with here as the NFL playoffs and the road to the Super Bowl comes through the mile high city? I want to say thank you once again to the everydayers out there in Broncos country. Thanks for tuning in making us your first listen, however you choose to do so here. Sarah, I'm curious for your thoughts here.

Starting point is 00:23:31 Obviously, we know that there are a slate of opponents here, six to be exact, that will be competing in Wild Card Weekend on the AFC side here. upcoming week in just a couple of days here. In your opinion, looking at the full-on slate of the AFC playoff picture, who is the most ideal opponent for the Denver Broncos, in your opinion, and why? Well, that is a beauty in the eye of the beholder question, if there ever was one, isn't it? But I would say, to me, the best possible path for the Denver Broncos starts with playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round.

Starting point is 00:24:04 And then after that, I think you want to play against New England in the AFC championship. And there's, I don't know that this necessarily any sort of data to back this up, Cody, or anything like that. But I want to play the teams that the Broncos haven't played this year. I want to play the teams that they haven't prepared for Denver at this point. That's kind of one of the biggest, I think, factors of having this by week is you have an advantage to prepare, you know, all weekend long. If you see, okay, hey, the Patriots won or whoever, I don't know what it would be for the Broncos this week necessarily. if it's the Steelers, Texans, bills, whatever, you have the advantage of having the buy week, right?

Starting point is 00:24:41 But here's the thing. The Broncos have already played Houston. They've already played the Chargers. They've already played, you know, the Jaguars. Giving those teams who have already prepared for Denver an opportunity to come right away in the divisional round to the Mile High City, I don't really love that idea. I love the idea of playing somebody that you haven't played yet.

Starting point is 00:25:02 Now, on the Broncos side, they haven't prepared for those teams either, but they're going to be well-rested. They're not going to have come off another game. And I like, I think the Steelers, like we said, they're the worst team in the postseason to me. So that would be, I think, the ideal in terms of, you know, who do you want to play? If it's the easiest path or path of least resistance, it's not going to happen in the playoffs, is it? But that might be the closest thing you get. I mean, when you said your picks, you said that you want to play the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots like, whoa, 2015, 2015, the numbers, Mason.

Starting point is 00:25:32 What do they mean? All the way the drawback, which is, you know what's crazy about all of this, right? right, there is like a realistic scenario out there. I don't know what the percentage would be. It's probably made up in my head here. But there is a chance you play the Steelers in the divisional round like 2015. There's a chance to play the New England Patriots and the AFC Championship like 2015. And there's a chance maybe that you end up facing the Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl.

Starting point is 00:25:56 10 years later at Santa Clara. Could you freaking imagine that if that were to be the scenario? It's it is so crazy there. I wonder what uniform combination we would see if Denver did that there. but another conversation for another day here. I'm with you. I mean, I think that Denver would match up well against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I still think that they match up well against anybody here in the playoffs,

Starting point is 00:26:17 at least on the AFC side right now because of their defense and how they can match up with specific guys, right? I like Denver's ability to match up against C.J. Stroud, Nico Collins and the receivers that obviously Cincinnati, not Cincinnati Houston has. And I like their ability to plug against the run there that they have there with obviously marks and obviously Chub there. But, you know, for me, I look at, I look at other matchups too. The one that gives me a little bit more hesitation just because you never know what you're going to get is Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bill is because what did we see last year? Josh Allen realistically, he didn't have to throw the ball all over against Denver, but James Cook was running effectively. Denver is the second ranked run defense in the NFL this year.

Starting point is 00:26:58 James Cook just has that speed, though, or if he gets a crease, like it could hurt you, so to speak. You get in short yard situations. What do we see Josh Allen do? Josh Allen loves to just take it himself, whether it's quarterback sneak, not the tush push, or if he's diving to where the guard is there, short-yarded situations, you worry about that with him. That's what he used to take over against the Broncos last year in the playoffs. He is the ultimate wildcard factor for any team, I think, right now in the NFL playoffs. I think it is on Josh Allen, considering where they're at right now.

Starting point is 00:27:28 And then the Jaguars, I mean, we know that's a tough matchup. Like, they're a good team. I don't think anyone's going to say, hey, they're not a very good team. Like we saw the matchup. Denver focused so much on Jacoby Myers and obviously Brian Thomas that Parker Washington exploded against them. And since that game, I've paid a little bit more attention to Parker Washington on a week-to-week basis. Dude's having a hell of a year. So for me, it's just I agree with you. You're never going to get the path of least resistance.

Starting point is 00:27:55 That's probably very unlikely to do that. The playoffs are tough. It's a different animal. And my question here, Sarah, is can the Broncos find a way to flip that proverbial playoff? off switch and play their best brand of football from here on out. And if they can, Sarah, if this team can, they are going to get to the Super Bowl and they're going to win the thing. Yeah, they've got to lock in, right?

Starting point is 00:28:15 That's the thing. At this point in the year, you've got to lock in. You've got to be on top of everything. I mean, limiting turnovers, if not eliminating turnovers, right? You want to see that. You want to see the takeaways from the defense. You want to see the pass rush coming through. No more of these third and 12, third and 15, third and 17 conversions, whether it's

Starting point is 00:28:34 you're giving up a catch or. whether it's you're giving up a bogus penalty, right? It can't be, like we've said before on this show, it can't be those things that eliminate you from the playoffs. It better be that some team just came in and beat you straight up. It better not be penalties. It better not be mistakes, drops, all those sorts of things. It better just be because the other team was better on that day.

Starting point is 00:28:58 And that's the only explanation that will be acceptable for this team. It cannot be because you've had a buy. You had a little mini buy after Christmas. You've had the opportunity to rest up, to heal up, to get guys like hopefully Drey Greenlaw back into the mix. It has to be locked in, focus, and on top of everything for the playoffs for the Broncos this year. I agree. You don't want it to be because of things or as, you know, Vance Joseph coined as, you know, the warts that showed up on film over the course of the season.

Starting point is 00:29:27 You don't want to be your demise to be because of things that you knew were a problem early on the season that you simply just couldn't find a way to adjust and correct. Offensively, I think that's some of the red zone issues, the inconsistencies in the run game at times. Bow has done a really good job of avoiding turning the football over. So that's obviously been a big benefit. He doesn't take many sacks, which is obviously a good sign. But you don't want these warts on the offensive side of the ball to be the reason you sink in the playoffs. And certainly for the defense, it's giving up the explosives in the second half on third down, first down.

Starting point is 00:29:58 Like these things, the red zone struggles, you know, since coming out of the by week, you don't want those to be the reason that you exit the playoffs. Penalties. You don't want that to be a reason that you exit the playoffs. Whether it's a good call, bad call, you name it. You have to avoid being in these positions. So, you know, I always think of like the Boondock Saints. What is it when they're in the court scene, you know, the one guy, their father is pretty much saying like, do you possess the Constitution to go as far as needed,

Starting point is 00:30:25 essentially? That is the thing that I'm thinking of for the Devere Broncos. Do they possess the Constitution deep within themselves? to do whatever is possible, whatever is necessary to achieve the goal, the answer to that should be yes. And I know being around these guys, that is the answer that they're going to have. But it's a lot different saying it than it is doing it. It's harder to do it, a lot easier to say it.

Starting point is 00:30:47 So we'll see how things pan out here. But with that said, Broncos country that I'll wrap up today's episode of show. The next time you're going to see Sarah and myself, we'll do a squad show if the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Noon Lepet just because then that tells us who they are playing in the division around We'll have you covered every step of the way. Plus, you'll get a playoff outlook as well because we will know on Monday who Denver will face unless the results fall a certain way in the negative category side of things. We'll break it all down for you here.

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