Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - LEVEL UP: Denver Broncos More DANGEROUS as Sean Payton Takes CEO Approach

Starting point is 00:00:00 The NFL might not be ready for CEO approach head coach Sean Payton. And that might be the biggest key for them getting back to the ABC championship. You are locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Happy Thursday, Broncos country, Cody Work, Sarah Beniger here for another episode of the show brought to you by our friends over there at O'Doo. Great organizations win because operations matter. And that's why you should get O'Doo.

Starting point is 00:00:35 for free today at Odo.com slash locked on. That's ODOO.com slash locked on as we break down our fourth installment of our return to the AFC championship game series and coaching is one of the bigger elements of this team that helped get them in that position last year. But they may have to lean on that a little bit more of this upcoming season as well. We'll go through and talk about Darren Rizzi's special teams unit, one of the NFL's best last season and a newfound confidence for punter Jeremy Croshaw. Plus, defensive coordinator, Vanjose, his stock has never been higher after his defense has led the NFL in Saxon back-to-back seasons and a lot of other important categories.

Starting point is 00:01:13 And we're going to start off by talking about how CEO-style head coach, Sean Peyton, could be exactly what the NFL needs for the Denver Broncos to make it back to the AFC championship and ultimately win a Super Bowl. Sarah, I'm excited about this because I think a lot of people are looking at Sean Peyton giving up play calling. They're saying, well, you know, if he feels like he doesn't have it anymore, I couldn't disagree more with that notion. I think Sean has it.

Starting point is 00:01:39 I think he has it in a lot of ways. I think Sean in this CEO style approach where he doesn't have to worry about calling plays, he can focus on the bigger picture stuff, which ultimately could be the difference between the Broncos make it at the AFC championship game and the Super Bowl here once again. Sean compared late last season his situation to driving in the rain at night, right? I mean, that was kind of the analogy that he brought up or the, you know, the picture that he brought up.

Starting point is 00:02:04 And what's at stake with Sean this season is substantial. He can become the first head coach in NFL history to win the Super Bowl with two different NFL teams. Obviously, back in the 2009 season won it with the New Orleans Saints and really turned around that franchise in short order. And he's done the same with the Denver Broncos, right? The Broncos have a storied history as a franchise. But Sean came in when they were arguably at their lowest in the post, I mean, certainly post-Paeton Manning, maybe the post-John-Elfons. way era in terms of your, you know, rookie head coach getting fired a day after Christmas, fighting on the sideline.

Starting point is 00:02:41 I mean, just it was in shambles where the Broncos were at at the end of the 2022 season. Sean has turned it around. And I think it's to that point that, you know, we're talking like the CEO approach has changed every other aspect of the entire organization, hasn't it? Where Sean, he's not the general manager, but he has final say over the roster. and he's probably had a substantial enough say in what George Peyton is doing to inform a lot of the best picks this team has made, or maybe some of the best moves this team has made. Case in point would be Bo Nix, right? I don't know if George Payton drafts Bo Nix as his quarterback without Sean Payton.

Starting point is 00:03:20 And so I think you can apply certain things like that to, hey, now when we talk about the operation on the game day, Sean's eye for every aspect of how a team should. operate is going to be maximized in every way. And if he believes that Davis Webb can call the plays to a to a point to take this team to maybe being a top 10 or better offense in the NFL, I don't think we have any reason to doubt that. Oh, and it's Sean's influence too. As we all know, Davis said this best. This is a Sean Payton coach team.

Starting point is 00:03:49 This is a Sean Payton offensive philosophy. We're going to have these wrinkles here. We're going to do these things here. But I think for Sean, he's the ultimate sounding board now for Davis to where he trusts that, hey, you know what? I can focus on this stuff, but I can also be the sounding board for Davis. Whereas, you know, when the offense, we're running, it's first and 10. We run our first play.

Starting point is 00:04:08 Now I'm looking, I'm seeing what personnel's coming. Oh, okay, based on this, okay, now we're going to send this personnel in. Okay, what's the best play when this personnel's in against this particular defensive front? And now you're trying to get all that stuff within the process of 40 seconds between the last play ending and the next play you happen to go off. That's where we saw a lot of issues pop up for Denver in terms of just the flow and the rhythm of offense. Now, Davis, who, you know, once again, we have a small sample size. And of course, it was the preseason with the preface it by saying that. It seemed like Davis, for his first ever time calling a game, which came in the preseason, Denver's offense was ho-hummed.

Starting point is 00:04:46 They were efficient. They had a ridiculous third down conversion percentage. They had, I believe, over 500 yards of offense. It was well balanced. Can that now happen with Sean just being like, hey, what did you see here? And I think Sean's going to have those conversations in between plays. Like, what did you see here? Or Sean may see something that Davis doesn't see. And now in that CEO approach, it's saying, hey, Davis, they got this. This might work best.

Starting point is 00:05:11 It just gives Davis an extra set of eyes as a first-time play caller that ultimately could put the Broncos offense in a position to have its best overall output that we've seen since what? When was the last time Denver's offense was fully? 2014, I'd say maybe that. That is the goal that is the aiming point here. Well, and I think what Sean does better than most that gets underrated because I think a lot of times it gets caught in the shuffle of, you know, calling plays or the heat of the moment in a game. Like, Sean is one of the best game managers in the NFL. Like he knows the game exceptionally well.

Starting point is 00:05:46 He's got a photographic memory. Like he anticipates extremely well. We've seen the Broncos. When it comes to end of half situations, I don't know that there's many teams. that are better around the NFL, Cody. I don't know first half statistics, but I mean, the Bo Nix's game winning drives kind of speak for themselves, right?

Starting point is 00:06:03 He's had 11, including the playoffs and should have had a 12th, right? If not for a blocked field goal in Kansas City in his rookie season. So nobody wants to relive that memory right now. It's the off season. We're trying to be optimistic here, people. But I'm just pointing out the fact that at the end of the half,

Starting point is 00:06:19 Sean knows exactly how to put his team in position to do what good teams, what great teams, what Super Bowl winning teams do. Finish. Finish well. Sean knows how to do that. He's really good about, you know, managing his timeouts. And I know that there's examples to the contrary that people can give. And there's times where we're all wondering, scratching our heads.

Starting point is 00:06:39 Like, why did Sean Payton do that? Well, like I said, he doesn't get it perfect. But I think this is a strength of his, you know, repertoire that he brings to the table that absolutely can be amplified now, that he's not calling plays. And in the sort of, you know, thick of that, now he can really be, I sort of emphasize his ability to manage a game from that standpoint. And that's not a bad thing.

Starting point is 00:07:03 Like in my opinion, like the level of preparation that Sean goes through it. And I don't know if I don't know fans truly understand at times. Like there's times they may attend a training camp practice and they may see just kind of this walk and talk. But typically what Sean does is he brings up situations that could happen in the game that don't normally happen. Right. It's like these rare instances, these rare occurrences. The situational readiness of this team has improved since Sean Payton has become a head coach. Now, of course, early on, you have to go through some growing pains.

Starting point is 00:07:35 Denver did it. They got off to a one in five start in 2020, 23, but they ended up going on a five-game winning streak after that. They were put in a position where it's like, all right, now we're starting to figure out who are the voices that we need to lean on. Well, there's voices that we have on this team that we just simply can't rely on anymore. We need to change it. We need to have our youth have the bigger voices. And that's where you saw that, obviously, with PS2 and Cortland becoming that guy. And Cortland's probably the most veteran, you know, lace guy on the team outside of Garrett Bowles.

Starting point is 00:08:04 But the idea of the CEO approach is that Sean pays attention to everything. He's always trying to be two steps ahead of anybody else. He likes to prepare for situations you may not really encounter. But in the event that you do in Denver's been in a few over the course of the last three years, we've seen the team respond. That is what I think makes for a Super Bowl winning caliber coach. Sean Payton is a Hall of Fame coach, in my opinion already. But as you mentioned earlier, the stake of becoming the first coach in NFL history

Starting point is 00:08:33 and win a Super Bowl with two different teams. That keeps him going. That keeps that motivation that he's gotten. He just signed a five-year extension. So he's feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Sean Payton's CEO approach could be everything that the Deverebron Broncos have been looking for. And it could make Sean Payton even more dangerous. for opposing teams this upcoming season.

Starting point is 00:08:53 But one of the elements that's been the most dangerous for Denver has been their defense. And Vance Joseph, his stock has never been higher as he gets ready to go into another important season as the defensive coordinator for your Denver Broncos. Today's episode of the show is brought to you by our friends over there at Square, the business platform that's helping sellers become neighborhood favorites, whether you're preparing for a busy season or you're managing everyday demand. Square helps keep your business moving with everything from. payments, online orders, staff, inventory, management, and so much more. You get that all in one

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Starting point is 00:10:35 he's one of the best assistant coaches in the NFL. The Broncos certainly thankful to have him. And Vance, his stock has never been higher. We're going to talk about Vance Joseph, what he brings to the table and how he can help the Broncos. I just get back to the AFC championship game, but you win it all here in the 2026 season. Broncos country, we appreciate you so much for rocking with us here, Lockdown Broncos, every single day. And if you watch your Broncos show every single day uninterrupted, check out the Every Dayer Club.

Starting point is 00:11:03 You get an ad-free episode of the show, and you can start a seven-day free trial right now. Check out Lockdownbroncos.com. link will be in the show notes for you as well. Cody, Vance Joseph is, I think this is one of the most surprising developments. Flashback to 2023 when the Broncos hired Vance. I think if you told people, hey, a couple years from now, you're going to be having a discussion about how Vance is one of the best assistants in the entire NFL.

Starting point is 00:11:30 I think a lot of even Broncos fans would have said, yeah, right. I mean, he'll be lucky if he's just won and done. Based on the way that things went when he was head coach of the team. So Vance is stock now. fast forward to today has never been higher. And he looks like one of the best assistants in the entire NFL. I was so irritated last year that he didn't win best assistant coach award of the year. Essentially, who did it go to?

Starting point is 00:11:53 Josh McDaniels. That sounds right. Which don't even get me started. I felt like what Vance Joseph was able to do and what he's been able to do for the last two seasons as the D.C. I felt like Vance and many instances got overlooked for some head coaching jobs. I know he was also probably a little more selective. Obviously, knowing what he knows now, knowing like what's important if you're going to go to a franchise and you're going to try to have a sustainable head coaching career, well, you need these things in place.

Starting point is 00:12:20 And a lot of these organizations that had head coaching vacancies, unfortunately, they didn't necessarily have those things. And it's a risk. It's a calculator risk. I think right now, Vance, I think he wants to be a head coach. But I think he's very comfortable being a coordinator right now. I think it would have to be the right situation. And I think Vance has ultimately earned the right to be selective in that process. considering what he's been able to do. I mean, the numbers speak for itself.

Starting point is 00:12:45 He was not when he came to Denver initially. He was not running his defense. He was running a variation of Fangio and a Giro Evereaux's defense and trying to mix his terminology with that. And just we saw the on-field results with it. It didn't necessarily play out. And so Vance, after the Broncos went through that 70 to 20 debacle against the Miami Dolphins, it went to Sean and said, just let me be me.

Starting point is 00:13:09 Let me do my defense. started doing that. They went to Vance's defense and all of a sudden they went on a little bit of a run of forcing takeaways. And now they've obviously been in back-to-back seasons, the best defense in the NFL in the pass rush department. They've been very important in a lot of major categories here. But you mentioned Vance's stock never being higher. I mean, you look at it. Last year, they led the NFL in Sacks. They led the NFL and quarterback hits in 2025 with 164. And they also had the NFL's best red zone defense and the second ranked third down defense in the league last season. And Of course, it helps when you have players like Patrick Sertan 2nd, Nick Benito,

Starting point is 00:13:45 Zach Allen, those guys are important pieces. But it's also when guys have had to go, like guys have missed time due to injury. Let's go to PS2 and Riley Moss in the last two years. You see young guys like Chris Abrams, Drain stepping up. You see Jada Barron stepping up. You look at PJ Locke filling in for Brandon Jones. You look at Devin Key at times in the last two years, filling in a safety whenever there's been an injury.

Starting point is 00:14:05 You look at Justin Ad, and you look at the young guys that you've had. Denver's depth and their defensive philosophy has worked. And a lot of it is because these players, they trust Vance. They trust in his message. They know his defensive scheme works. You have guys that are completely selfless that are bought into the idea that, hey, if I'm patient, if I do my job right here, my opportunity to make some plays, it's going to come. It's all within the structure of how Denver attacks and Vance.

Starting point is 00:14:31 To be able to get that type of buy-in, I think in today's NFL is very, very hard. But that whole entire defensive unit, and maybe this is where the continuity factor really matters. now you maintain that same terminology, that same verbiage. Now you can get ahead of the game a little bit. And Zach Allen told us at OTAs that it's crazy to see how far along we are right now compared to where we were last year. And a lot of that is because of that continuity factor. 100%.

Starting point is 00:14:56 And Zach is a great guy to point to in terms of what I believe to be Vance's best asset that he brings to the table, which is player development, right? Zach was part of the very first draft class that Vance Joseph, when he actually went over to the Arizona car, Cardinals, Zach was part of that draft class, the very first year. And so, I mean, he's a testament to Vance's ability to develop talent at every level of the defense and the Broncos. I've seen that in spades.

Starting point is 00:15:21 I mean, over the last three years, right? Nick Benito, great example. 2022 barely played as a rookie. Everybody's wondering, is he ever going to have a role in this defense to play? Vance, you know, helps him become one of the premier pass rushers in the NFL. Remember, the Broncos, since Vance was the head coach, hadn't had, you know, a guy with single digit sacks in an individual season. And then all of a sudden in 2024, they had two of them, right, with Benito and Cooper

Starting point is 00:15:48 coming off the edge. So you've got player development as one of your team's best assets, I think, at every level, especially we've seen Pat take the next level of his play winning defensive player of the year, 2024. I mean, you can point to any number of guys, Jayquan Macmillan, he's emerged. It's guys who are top picks. It's guys who are free agent signings. It's guys who are, you know, X, Y,

Starting point is 00:16:10 Z. However you can acquire players, Vance and his coaches are developing them into studs in one of the best defenses in the league. And part of that, too, is you make great points because Randy Gregory, Frank Clark, those guys were the starters at outside linebacker when Vance came back to Denver in 2023. And then they realized early on, like, these guys just, they're not bought in. And it forwarded guys like Jonathan Cooper and Nick Benito, the opportunity to go out there and kind of take the mantle. We really saw that beginning with that Chicago Bears game where there was that kind of reset a little bit after that big debacle in Miami. And then from that point forward, I don't think that they've looked back. I think that you've seen this emphasis on, hey, we believe in our ability in this system to develop players. You've seen that.

Starting point is 00:16:55 You saw flashes with guys like Q Robinson. Now we're going to put that theory to the test this upcoming season. Also with guys like Savian Jones. In Yoma, Uazareka has done a tremendous job. I would say in his development year over year since coming in. working with Vance. There was obviously a time where they missed any, but now it's like we've seen him grow in ways that I don't think we necessarily anticipated with him. I'd say the continued development of guys like Justin Sternad, you mentioned JMAQ. I think JMAC is probably one of the

Starting point is 00:17:22 best examples of how this system has benefited because who was it before JMAC? It was a saying BASI, who was the nickel guy. It was Kwan Williams the year before and Kwan was great, but he can never stay healthy, unfortunately. But it's saying Bassi, he struggled. And J. Mack really kind of took the opportunity to run with it because realistically he wasn't getting that opportunities on the outside. That's where he's like, you know what? I'm going to come in and play the nickel. That's where my best opportunity coming in plays.

Starting point is 00:17:49 And guess what? He has never looked back with it. Even after Denver drafted Jaday Barron, he played his best overall season yet and he continues to get better as a player. I think all of these reasons, Vance, you look at his resume over the last couple of years, deserves a head coaching job. But he's one of the best coordinators right now in the entire NFL. I think the Broncos will reward him with that.

Starting point is 00:18:10 Maybe that's something that has already happened that's just not been publicly put out there just yet. But Vance's stock is at its highest. And right now it's the best key, in my opinion, for Denver returning to the AFC championship game. If their defense can play just as good as they did last year, but if they could force more takeaways, which is something that we've highlighted as well with this unit specifically. But one of the underrated factors that determines the outcome of games, certainly have the Broncos win a lot of games last season, special teams. Will Lutz is back. Jeremy Croshaw is back and better than ever.

Starting point is 00:18:41 The Broncos have one of the NFL's best special teams units under Darren Rizzy. And that is also going to be a secret key for them making it back to the AFC title game. Today's episode, the show, was brought to you by our friends over there at O'Doo. Running a business shouldn't feel like you're trying to connect a bunch of systems that were never designed to work together. One app for accounting. You got another one for inventory. You got another app for sales. And somehow none of them talk to each other.

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Starting point is 00:20:13 but it got better, especially as the postseason got a lot closer for the Debra Broncos. And now they returned one of the better units in the NFL this upcoming season. And that could be a difference maker in them getting back to the AFC championship game and ultimately going on and winning a Super Bowl. Thank you so much everyone in Brockos country. All you every dayers out there who tune in here on the Lockdown podcast network, where it's your team every day. It's also the number one sports podcast.

Starting point is 00:20:35 network in the country. Thanks to all of you. We appreciate you so much. Sir, let's talk about it. Denver has one of the better special teams units in the NFL. You're returning Will Lutz, who was one of the most accurate kickers in the NFL last season, made a lot of clutch game-winning field goals for Denver. Jeremy Crosha, who didn't get off to the best start last year, but from week 10 on after that Las Vegas Raiders Thursday night game, he started playing his best football, and in OTAs and minicamp, he has looked so dang good. Then you have a first-team all-pro. special teams ace and Devin Key in the mix. You got a long snapper Mitchell for Boni who's in competition right now with Luke Basso,

Starting point is 00:21:11 but you never hear the long snapper's name called which is a good thing. Denver special teams unit could be the little bit of a secret sauce behind Denver getting back to the AFC title game this upcoming season. And that's also a big thing too, especially with Marvin Mims, the NFL's best kick return option entering the final year of his deal. It's really the one of the areas of emphasis that, you know, you didn't realize how badly you needed somebody like Sean Payton. We talked about the CEO approach, right? When he came aboard, I had never even really thought of special teams as hidden yardage throughout the course of a game.

Starting point is 00:21:45 I've always thought of special teams, kind of like you said with the long snapper, like if you're not hearing anything about the kicker other than making field goals, and if you're not hearing anything about the punter or the long snapper, like pretty much your special teams is good to go. But how much of an asset it can be over the course of a season is really underrated. And that's why I think Sean Payton made the move that he did to go with Darren Rizzy, a bit of an unpopular move, as you said, early in the season when the special teams wasn't necessarily looking special, you know, for lack of a better term. But they definitely did improve as the season went along.

Starting point is 00:22:19 Jeremy Crosha, like you mentioned, I mean, he had one of his most clutch kicks late in the seat, actually in the playoff game against the Buffalo Bills and the division around that pinned the bills deep that ultimately helped set up the Broncos to go ahead and win that game. I really feel like this is that unit that is going to take the biggest and most noticeable leap forward other than, I mean, obviously we expect the offense to do that. But special teams for the Broncos, I think is going to be just flat out dominant this year, Cody. I think Darren Rizzy's coaching is going to take in a different way now that he's in his second year with the team. And we know that Sean Payton also believes, like he's one of the coaches on his coach lineup right now that he believes has future head coach potential. We know Darren was the interim head coach of the Saints for a brief time there.

Starting point is 00:23:06 And he does have that in him. So I think this is that unit that, man, it's underappreciated league wide. But for the Broncos, this is one of those big differences as we talk about this team getting back to the AFC championship and even going further. One, you mentioned like the hidden yards aspect, like to put things into perspective for folks that are trying to figure out like, hey, what do you, what do you mean by that when you talk about Croshaw and the punts, like specifically in that Buffalo Bill's game? well if the officials did their job the way that they should have right his punt he had what a 63 yard punt against the buffalo bills and then on the very next play the broncos are generating a pressure DJ Jones is visibly being held by an offensive tackle or an offensive lineman and it's holding to the point where it's in the end zone that should have ended the game right there like think about if that would happen crossha has the punt the very next play they do a drop back pass and there is a hold called in the end zone that ends the game That doesn't happen without Jeremy Croshaw's leg. Now in the playoffs, and even in the AFC championship game, too, he had, I think he had a 70-something yard punt in that game in the snow,

Starting point is 00:24:12 six punts, 309 yards in the AFC championship game, which, look, you never want to punt six times. And that granted, Bo Nix did not play in that game. His average was 51 and a half, but he had 10 total punts in the postseason for the Broncos. Five of those were pinned inside of the 23 of them ended up being touchbacks, to the point where we're talking about two of those three punts that went for touchbacks, bouncing and maybe a guy not getting there in time or a guy missing the opportunity to pin it inside the five. His accuracy got so much better.

Starting point is 00:24:45 And what I've seen in OT's in minicamp, man, it's been incredible so far just to see how different, how consistent he looks compared to last year where we'd see him boom one and then the next two would be, ah, that's just not good hang time, just low trajectory, not a good punt. I don't think we saw a single bad punt from Jeremy Krosha so far in the offseason program. And you want to build on that obviously as you go through our training camp in the preseason here, especially. Let's talk about Will Lutz. One of the most clutch kickers in the NFL last season. The amount of times we saw him get put in a situation where you need ice in your veins,

Starting point is 00:25:19 like you need clutch Will Lutz. Broncos country wasn't necessarily sold on him. Going back to 2023, you had an opportunity to kick a game winner against the Buffalo Bills, missed the first one, a penalty, gave him a little bit of a mulligan, and then he nailed it. I think a lot of people are saying, man, I just don't know if like if you need a clutch kick from Will,

Starting point is 00:25:35 can you get it? 2025 prove that you can. And now it's to the point. I think we're nitpicky about Will Lutzike. Can Will constantly nail 50 plus yard field goals at altitude? Like can he do that? That used to be a huge strength and advantage of Denver when they had Matt Prater, Jason Elam,

Starting point is 00:25:52 and even Brandon McManus from time to time. But even McManus wasn't necessarily consistently great from longer distances. is now you're not necessarily worried about that. It's like, hey, we don't want to kick a 60 yard field goal. We want to be able to just be money in the situations there. Now, ultimately, you want to translate those threes into seven points instead of just, you know, selling for a field goal. But Will is good.

Starting point is 00:26:13 And Denver's coverage unit, I mean, they have guys all across the boards there that are contributors starting off with Devon Key as well. Yeah, Devin Key has obviously developed into arguably the best special teams player in the NFL. I mean, he was a first team all pro, so you can make that claim. And I kind of have a little, maybe a little offseason positivity prediction here, Cody, or just maybe let's try to manifest. What if the Broncos have a clean sweep among the special teams positions in the first team all pro category this year? I mean, they have a legitimate case to be made to have a first team all pro kicker, punter, return man, and special teams guy. I think that's possible.

Starting point is 00:26:53 I think that's how good their individual players are. But speaking in terms of the coverage units, obviously Justin Sternad has been a big part of that throughout his career. He's now starting on the defense. It's time for somebody else to step up and step into that role. We believe Q Robinson, who will be dressing for more games this year, can be one of the best special teams players on this team as well. Dondre Tillman, he's contributed plenty. Jonah Ellis, one of the teams better special teams guys, he'll be playing more defense. So I think a lot of the coverage unit this year, we know J.L. Skinner is very good.

Starting point is 00:27:25 I'm going to be fascinated to see who are the guys who are going to be stepping up, you know, for if certain players are taking bigger roles in the defense and playing less on special teams, who are those guys who are going to be stepping up and playing bigger roles on special teams this year? I think we believe that obviously Devin Key is still going to be sort of that ace that the Broncos have, but certainly there's other players who are coming up from, you know, whether they were inactive a lot of last season or what have you, I think there's going to be a lot of fresh contributors this year as well. You're going to need Sabion Jones to do that.

Starting point is 00:28:00 Tyler O'Neatum is going to have to play some special teams. J.L. Skinner, obviously a special team's ace for Denver. Usually those guys in that safety group, chance for Red Murdoch, Tori and New York, potentially to kind of make their hay and emerge, especially in place of stern ad. I'm looking at Reese Taylor, possibly for Denver at the cornerback position. Abrams Drain, you already know, is going to play a lot of special teams. Jaday is going to have to play a lot of special teams. Jordan Turner.

Starting point is 00:28:22 Denver's got the depth right now, I think, to really kind of fill it out. And obviously your special teams guys are going to mostly consist of guys who play defense, which is always interesting that you run into that more so than you do offensive players. Though I'd say you're starting offensive line, they're very important on Phil Gold Block, PAT, whatever it may be. That's just interesting to see how it all works. I think also as well, when you have continuity on your coaching staff as well, the message has been the same.

Starting point is 00:28:49 Now, granted, this is year two of Darren Rizzi. we were used to Mike Westoff, Ben Kotwicka. They made that change. And at first, like as you mentioned last year, Rizzy's unit didn't look that great to the point where a question like, hmm, Sean's bringing in one of his guys. It's not looking good so far. What does this mean?

Starting point is 00:29:06 And they turned it around, tip of the cap to them. But it also, I think, is a great reminder that sometimes these things take time. They require some patience. It's not like, I want it right now and it needs to be good right away. We've seen Denver special teams unit evolve into one of the league's best. and honestly, that'll be a huge difference too, because now think about things that we've talked about this week

Starting point is 00:29:24 in terms of getting to the AFC championship game. Imagine scoring on a kick return or a pump return. That changes everything for your offense and defense. And now you go to the fact, let's say you force takeaways on special teams. You're punching the football out, forcing fumbles, getting the ball back. And usually when these things happen and you're recovering them, your offense is starting off in scoring range. Typically, if you talk about a muff pump by the returner,

Starting point is 00:29:46 it usually means that your offense is going to be one step closer to scoring if you can recover those types of situations. So I'm excited about it. And I think Denver's got the best coaching staff possible if they want to make it back to the AFC title game here in Brockos country. Tomorrow's episode of the show, we will wrap up our return to the AFC championship game series. And we're going to highlight players that are the most important for Denver

Starting point is 00:30:08 getting back to the AFC title game and eventually getting to a Super Bowl. Who are they going to have to lean on? Well, QB1 is probably the biggest name that we could talk about. We'll break it down on tomorrow's episode of the show.

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