Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - PROBLEM: Denver Broncos Have GLARING Issue at Left Guard

Episode Date: October 14, 2025

The Denver Broncos have a glaring issue at left guard after Ben Powers injury last week. Matt Peart struggled filling in for him, but will Sean Payton move forward with him against the New York Giants...? Could Denver start Alex Forsyth at center and put Luke Wattenberg at left guard? Plus, the Broncos have a crucial stretch to gain traction in the AFC West and could we see Dre Greenlaw return this week? Cody Roark is a credentialed beat reporter for Mile High Sports and covers the Broncos daily in person. Sayre Bedinger is the site expert for Predominantly Orange. Both bring Broncos Country the most in-depth and objective coverage of the Denver Broncos. WANT MORE DAILY DENVER BRONCOS CONTENT?For all of the latest Denver Broncos news today -- Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOBroncos?sid=YouTube Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL Follow on Twitter: @CodyRoarkNFL and @SayreBedingerFollow the show on Twitter: @LockedOnBroncos Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Mint MobileReady to say yes to saying no? Make the switch at https://MintMobile.com/LOCKEDONNFL Upfront payment of $45 required (equivalent to $15/mo). Limited-time new customer offer for first 3 months only. Speeds may slow above 35GB on Unlimited plan. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. BetterhelpThis episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at https://BetterHelp.com/lockedon. BILTTurn your rent into rewards and start earning points around your neighborhood by going to https://joinbilt.com/lockedonnfl. Supply HouseJoin the free TradeMaster program today and score serious perks like priority shipping, lower prices, and a dedicated support line. Visit https://SupplyHouse.com to sign up for free and use promo code SHNFL5 for 5% off your first order. PelotonLet yourself run, lift, flex, and push forward. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ today at https://www.onepeloton.com. RugietReady to level up your confidence in the bedroom? Head to https://www.rugiet.com and use promo code LOCKEDONNFL for 15% off your first order. PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos have a problem at the left guard position, but they also might have a left guard solution. We'll break it all down 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. On a week where the New York Giants pass rush is coming to town, the Denver Broncos have to solve one of their biggest problems quickly. Welcome into another episode, Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, where you know it's your team every day. Thank you so much to all the everydayers out there in Broncos country. Thanks for tuning in making us your first listen, however you choose to do so.
Starting point is 00:00:42 I'm Cody Roark, Broncos reporter from Ohio Sports. Join, as always by Sarah Bedinger's site expert over there, predominantly orange.com. And here's what you're going to get on today's episode of the show. We're going to talk about the Broncos having a major problem right now with the left guard position. Should they be proactive or should they be reactive based on what we saw in Sunday's game against the New York Jets? Plus, we'll go over the state of the ASU.S. everybody in the AFC West got a win on Sunday. What does that set things up for here for the Broncos and the schedule that's coming up for them?
Starting point is 00:01:11 And where do they fall right now inside of the division? Plus, could it be the return of Drake Greenlaw here this week? He's eligible to come off of injured reserve. But will we see him? We'll go through every scenario here on today's episode of the show, brought to you by our friends over there at Fandu. And right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you get $300 and bonus bets to use all throughout the app.
Starting point is 00:01:30 Sarah, let's be problem solvers here as well because I think the biggest concern for Broncos country, I think obviously for you and I and anybody watching the game. And I even think a little bit of Sean Payton in the post game press conference against the Jets. One of the things that he mentioned, you know, he wasn't necessarily throwing him under the bus. But the Broncos have an issue at left guard right now. Obviously, replacing Ben Powers is very difficult as he's going to be gone for the next two months. But the guy that they replaced him with had a rough showing. I want to ask you the question, and I'm curious for Broncos country's thoughts as well,
Starting point is 00:02:04 should he get another game to get more comfortable, Matt Pairke, or should the Broncos maybe look at some other options here? Where do you stand on this? Well, of course, the knee-jerk reaction is that he should not get another game, right? But I feel like the reality is, is that the Broncos are going to give him one. And I guess we just do have to be problem solvers, like you said, Cody. The Broncos have to have a shorter leash, if nothing else this coming week, right? I think it's, it's probably unrealistic to sit here and say, Parr is going to for sure be benched because we don't know that for sure. I mean,
Starting point is 00:02:37 that's not been the MO of Sean Payton and this coaching staff in recent. I mean, we've seen a lot of guys struggle in a lot of different ways. And it's taken a lot longer for them to make changes to the lineup before, you know, something actually happens. So I kind of feel like we're setting ourselves up for disappointment. If we sit here and say,
Starting point is 00:02:56 hey, for sure the Broncos are going to make a change at left guard. because I think the more realistic and likely scenario is sticking with Parrott another week. But I wouldn't be shocked if on the flight home, Sean Payton's watching the film from this past game. You see the drives that are killed by penalties. You see the pre-snap stuff. You see the missed assignments. I would be shocked if the leash wasn't a lot shorter this week because of what we're going to talk about, which are the in-house options that the Broncos currently have to be able to kind of compensate for Perth struggling.
Starting point is 00:03:28 And you mentioned it after the game. I mean, the Giants, they've got a great defensive front. They've got playmakers on playmakers, guys who are, I mean, Brian Burns is playing as well as any edge defender in the league. Dexter Lawrence is elite on the interior. And then you've obviously got stud rookie Abdul Carter. You've got Kvon Thibodeau, who's another former top pick. So these guys are, they're dudes on top of dudes and top of guys that they've got, you know,
Starting point is 00:03:54 guys who are dudes in the D-line for the Giants. And so you can't just go out there and expect different results. If the penalties keep happening or if missed assignments keep happening, I think we have to start exploring alternative options because this is maybe the playoffs on the line at some point if you continue to allow these things to happen. Yeah, and they have a really good linebacker to him, Bobby O'Caricay, man. He's crazy, good. I mean, he fills the gaps quickly. He's a lightning bolt out there, sideline to sideline type of guy.
Starting point is 00:04:26 and when you can play behind that defensive front that the Giants have, man, it makes his job so much more easier to just roam free and go and rack up tackles and get TFLs. That's the most concerning thing here early on, I'd say ahead of the Giants game this week here. But to your point, talking about obviously Matt Perk here, we see so much of Sean and George Peyton talking about player development. You mentioned it, obviously in the post game show,
Starting point is 00:04:50 the Broncos signed Perk this offseason to a two-year contract. They believe in, you know, his ability to get to where it needs to be. Though granted, he was a left tackle for the Broncos, and he was that extra eligible that Alex Paucheschi now is last year for the team after Quinn Bailey got hurt. So for me, it's like, all right, he's still not fully comfortable, maybe just yet at guard. Like he's a left side player, as Sean said.
Starting point is 00:05:16 So based on what they talk about in player development, I don't think that they're going to just yank the court here on Matt Pair early on. I do agree with you, though. I believe that they should have him on a little bit of a short leash, because Sarah, going back and watching the game against the Jets on the All-22, you know, people are talking so much about Bo Nix and this and that. DeBroncos had to go with the quick passing game in the first half because it was working and Bo was slinging the football.
Starting point is 00:05:40 When they tried to set up some of their deeper developing plays, well, Bo didn't necessarily have time. You look at interior pressure given up specifically by Matt Parrott. It's like, that's why I think Sean Payton changed things a little bit when you go back and you watch the tape. It's frustrating that I think the approach changed because they were just getting mauled on the interior on that left side. So what is this in-house potential solution?
Starting point is 00:06:03 Sarah, I've thrown it out there. Parker Gabriel, obviously, our good friend over there at the Denver Post, also threw it out there in his Monday morning column. I tweeted it during the game. If Perch's struggles continue, the Broncos need to figure out how to maybe make the best overall adjustment, which in my opinion, Sarah, sliding Luke Wattonberg over from center to left guard. I understand Luke has had his struggles of his own this year, but I actually think that he might be better suited off at guard in this situation.
Starting point is 00:06:29 And then you start Alex Forsyth at center because that right there, in my opinion, we talked about the run game last year. Forsyth, when he started for Wattenberg when he had the injury, I thought he did fantastic in the run blocking department, past pro protection, like he understands the angles necessary to seal off guys. Wattenberg, we've seen him step in and play a guard. I mean, it was a few years ago against the charges when Quinn Miners had that scary heart palpitation incident. He did a really good job filling in.
Starting point is 00:06:54 That was at right guard. but he can play that though he's a swing guy that can play guard he can play obviously center there he played tackle in college at you know from time to time too i just think that might be the best overall in-house solution because you have a player in pair who's still learning that position who knows that position better than luke waddenberg right now because he has to understand what when what ben is doing next to him and what quinn is doing next to him he understands that from his position as a center that might make the most logical sense right now for the broncos if you have to pull that leash and say, hey, just ain't it.
Starting point is 00:07:26 How disappointing is it that Nick Garzulo doesn't get a chance to step in in this opportunity here, Cody. I mean, that was a player. You talk about in-house player development, and he looked really good in the preseason to me. I remember feeling like, man, he's got a chance to be the top interior reserve player that this team has because of that guard center flexibility. But obviously, the injury, very scary one for him, he is not available. So other in-house options would have to include.
Starting point is 00:07:54 include Calvin Throckmorton, right? Who's on the practice squad, a veteran who's started games in the past. He could be an option there. I also feel like maybe you look at, I know Alex Palchesecchi has played some guard a little bit, right? And if you feel like he's one of your best five, that could be a potential solution. And Perth has already played that kind of, you know, hey, reporting as eligible role. So you've got that option there. So there's a number of in-house solutions, starting with the one that you mentioned of
Starting point is 00:08:21 sliding Wattonberg over to guard and putting forward. foresight at center. But then there's also outside options that you would, I mean, you would think are way less likely at this point. But I guess you never know with the way that things go with this team. They, they kind of make moves in surprise fashion a lot of times. How ironic is it that the last time this team had a great shot of maybe contending for a Super Bowl. I know that's not what people want to hear after beating the Jets 13 to 11, but I think this team feels like they can win games, a lot of games this season. How ironic is it that the last time they were true Super Bowl contenders, it was a trade rumor about a Cleveland Browns guy in Joe Thomas who ultimately didn't want to come
Starting point is 00:09:01 to Denver and they had a deal. Almost was. The deal that almost was. That's right. But now the Browns have a couple of guards on expiring deals in Joel Betonio and Wyatt Teller, who, according to Adam Schefter, they're kind of on that long list of players who keep an eye out for at the trade deadline. So I would be shocked if that happened for the Broncos. but I think in terms of the in-house solutions, you've got a number of options here where you're trusting one of your highest paid, most well recognized and regarded assistance in Zach Streif to get these guys ready. So it starts with Pert this week making improvements,
Starting point is 00:09:33 but after that, the short leash, you've got to be ready to make those adjustments, even if it's on the fly against the Giants. Well said too, and I couldn't agree with you more. And as it pertains to maybe trade deadline stuff, I just feel like that maybe goes against what we've seen so far here. We haven't really seen the Broncos going out there and making a big splash. like in a year where they were just, you know, one in five and everything was kind of crazy. We were expecting them to be sellers at the deadline, just to trade some of their key guys away to strip away and begin to rebuild.
Starting point is 00:10:00 They held firm, which was a little crazy there. We haven't seen them very active at the deadline. But that could always change here as the Broncos, they believe that they're in a window to contend internally. People in the organization believe that. The players believe that. So if there is a move out there, that they feel like will help them. It's very, very interesting to see how that may all play out here. But Broncos country coming up next.
Starting point is 00:10:19 We're going to go through the state of the AFC West. Everybody, unfortunately, won in the AFC West on Sunday. How did the Broncos stack up inside the division right now? We'll take a look at that more here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode, Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by our friends over there at Built and nobody likes paying rent. But if you must, you might as well get something for it. That's where Built comes in.
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Starting point is 00:12:25 But week six was a different story. Everybody in the AFC West got a victory. So what's the state of the AFC West right now? Are the Chiefs a lot scarier than we thought they would be? Are the Chargers frauds already? And what about the Raiders? Well, we're going to talk all about it on today's episode, locked on Broncos. But Broncos country really quick, want to say thank you once again to all
Starting point is 00:12:46 you everyday listeners of the show, all of those of you out there who make us your first listen of the day every single day. We appreciate you so much for being part of this awesome community. And Cody, when you look at the state of this AFC West right now, things have shifted pretty dramatically. I mean, you don't want to knock any of your teeth out with knee jerk reactions after one week, obviously. But I think based on what we saw in week six, man, it's possible that the chiefs are once again the class of the division. I mean, I don't want to overreact. I know that we've already seen the chiefs drop a handful of one score games this year.
Starting point is 00:13:23 They've looked way worse than I think we've seen in recent years. They already eclipsed last year's total of losses that they had, which included the game in which they played all their backups against Denver. So already more losses than last year. There's definitely some, you know, I guess Super Bowl hangover, whatever you want to call it, just success hangover for them. What's your perception after watching them beat up on the Detroit Lions on Sunday night? Because, man, I felt like kind of the chiefs are just back at this point.
Starting point is 00:13:52 Yeah, it's so interesting. They're weird this year, Sarah, because, you know, they beat up on the Baltimore Ravens a couple of weeks ago. And it's like, oh, wow, they look really good. Like they're starting to get the rhythm. And then we go to realize, okay, hey, the Baltimore Ravens defense is terrible. I mean, it's unbelievably bad. And then they have a Monday night game against Jacksonville where it's kind of a slug festival. back and forth.
Starting point is 00:14:11 And Jacksonville, it's always hard to kind of find a pulse on what the Jaguars are this year because they look good in moments. Then they look like they struggle in certain moments, right? And they lose on Monday night football to Jacksonville. And then they come into this game against the Detroit Lions where you and I are sitting there last week at the state of the AFC West. We're like, okay, hey, like the Lions right now, they're on fire. They're red hot.
Starting point is 00:14:32 And obviously, I think Detroit threw some punches at them. But what we saw in that game on Sunday night football for those that watched it was the Lions making some mistakes that the Chiefs started to capitalize on, which kind of was their bread and butter last year. Like those little mistakes last year in Kansas City capitalized on that. And that's what was the difference in them winning one score games. And obviously I think this year losing some one score games. But I don't know how to really feel about like are they truly back just yet, right? I think you still have to always say like, hey, you have to respect them. But you're hoping that they were going to lose that game to the Detroit Lions because they would
Starting point is 00:15:07 have made, I think, the upcoming slate for the Broncos is a little bit more. more favorable. And now you look at where things are at. I think it's easy to look at how the Broncos played against the Jets on Sunday, especially offensively, and say, okay, like, tough matchup coming up against the New York Giants, which it absolutely is. It's huge for Denver. I look at that and then I look at who the Kansas City Chiefs have to play this week. And I think to myself like, all right, this is like Kansas City's like perfect little window to go on a little bit of run because they have the Las Vegas Raiders there. And if they beat the Raiders and let's say the Broncos were to lose or, you know, thankfully they didn't lose to the jets.
Starting point is 00:15:41 I mean, essentially, if Denver were to lose and Kansas City were to win, then next week, essentially Kansas City would jump Denver inside the division standings because then they would have a one-in-one division record, and Denver's still at 0-1-1 after the loss to the Chargers. So we talked about the Broncos needing to go on the run here in these next five games. They have a chance to do it. Man, this is going to be a tough matchup this week against the Giants. It really shows that the margin for error right now is not there.
Starting point is 00:16:06 I mean, and you can't go into any season, assuming that you have a great margin for error. Like look at the Pittsburgh Steelers, for instance. They have this crazy margin for error that nobody could have possibly anticipated or expected with the Ravens being one and five and the Bengals not having Joe Burrow and now being two and four. And obviously the Browns are the Browns. So the Steelers are sitting there kind of just looking around like, wow, we kind of got handed this perfect situation. That doesn't happen all the time. That doesn't happen for every team.
Starting point is 00:16:35 Like you may get those one-off years like that. But for the Denver Broncos, the margin for error is very, very thin. And that's why, and it's not because they're a bad team. It's because you're going up against teams like the chiefs who only lost two games last year and who have been to that pinnacle in the past a number of times. And the Chargers, who they already won more games than you did last year. And they've already beaten you this year. And they've beat you three times in a row or whatever it is.
Starting point is 00:17:00 So yeah, your margin for error is such that you can't necessarily take any weeks for granted. You've got to go one and oh every single week. And that kind of pressure is going to either make diamonds out of this team or it's going to push them into, you know, I guess obscurity. Once again, they have to come through. This is where those, that record in one score games has to be flipped. And that's why you don't, you don't take for granted the games like we saw against the New York Jets. And why you're rooting so hard for a team like the Miami Dolphins to figure out a way to get it done against the Chargers, which Jalen Phillips, Cody, I think he, he's still got to be kicking himself for not. taking Justin Herbert to the ground.
Starting point is 00:17:39 That was the game defining play. Justin Herbert pulling, I think Justin Herbert pulling a rabbit out of his hat would have been easier than getting away from that sack of Jalen Phillips. I still can't believe that it happened. Yeah, I mean, with Miami, as bad as they have been, my goodness, we talk about a team that's been bad.
Starting point is 00:17:58 Miami scores in the final, what, there was 46 seconds left in the game. They scored, you know, Darren Walker scores a touchdown. And all the Dolphins defense has to do is get a stop. You mentioned that sack there. And then the corner can't tackle Ladd McConkey. And then they go down and they get a field going. It's like, all right. Once again, the Chargers coming away with an inevitable victory that, you know, unfortunately, they shouldn't have had on the road. So that is a frustrating thing there. And then quietly, the Raiders just beat
Starting point is 00:18:25 up on the Tennessee Titans. I mean, it was really kind of a quiet like, eh, oh, well, you know, now they got a match up against Kansas City. So that's where the stakes are this week. I think if anything, you have to be rooting for Vegas to somehow beat the. Chiefs this week, which, you know, I'm not saying that Broncos, no Broncos fans going to root, but if you had to root for someone to lose that game, we'd all want them to obviously end in a tie, but you want the Raiders to maybe upset the Chiefs this week here if you are the Broncos. Yeah, and I think they're, what, 11.5 point underdogs already at this point. I mean, everybody's seeing what the Chiefs just did to Detroit.
Starting point is 00:18:59 And they're like, yeah, the Raiders, they don't stand a chance. And I wouldn't be banking on that either. I'm already preparing for the chiefs to be four and three at the end of this weekend, which obviously helps in a way because then the Raiders will be down at two and five, most likely, right? That's what we're gearing up for. And the Chargers have obviously a tough stretch of games upcoming and the Broncos. I mean, this is their chance.
Starting point is 00:19:22 Like you said, Cody, if you want to create any sort of margin, now is the time to do it. Because I believe after the Chiefs play the Raiders, I believe then they play like the commanders and the Eagles or, They have a tough stretch of games upcoming. I don't know the exact order of it all, but I know after the Raiders, it gets a lot harder for Kansas City, and then they have their buy, and then they play in Denver.
Starting point is 00:19:43 So it's a stretch right now where you have to absolutely take advantage. Let's be honest about this, too, because we're going to talk about Dre Greenlaw in the next segment. So let's just really quickly get this out there. Broncos country is acting like Jackson Dart and Cam Scataboo coming to Denver is like facing Prime Joe Montana and Jerry Rice or Emmett Smith and Troy Aikman or Lidani and Tomlinson and Philip Rivers. Like let's be honest about a rookie quarterback coming in on the road and going up against a defense that just had nine sacks in a game and allowed minus 10 net passing yards. Like let's let's start giving the defense of Denver a little bit of credit as well because they are to be feared.
Starting point is 00:20:27 I mean, Cody, that's they are. I mean, they have 30 sacks through the first six games, five, sacks a game on average right now and you've got a rookie quarterback coming in. I mean, it's, we don't need to necessarily absolutely just dismiss the giants by any means. They are a quality team that's beaten some quality opponents, but man, you got to be looking your chops with a rookie QB coming to town this week and a chance to take advantage and get up to five and two. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:20:53 No, and it's nice that it's in Denver versus it being at that garbage turf facility that is MetLife Stadium, which needs to go away. To your point, going back to Kansas City, they got the. Raiders, commanders, Buffalo Bills, by week. Then the Broncos, but man, the toughest team, I think that they'll play in the second after schedule. Indy is kind of an interesting one, but that's going to be obviously at home in Kansas City. They're at Dallas.
Starting point is 00:21:15 I'm not necessarily worried about that one. I think the Chargers matchup will be a tough one for them. They got an easy schedule. I mean, maybe minus the Broncos. And, yeah, I would say the Broncos in Charters really in the second half, probably going to be their two toughest matchups that they have here. So this is the window now for the Broncos to capitalize, get to find. and two keep going. And then, hey, you never know that first matchup that they have before
Starting point is 00:21:36 Denver goes into the biweek after Kansas City's biweek, that's going to be a big, big, big game. I love it. I'm excited about it. That's why we all tune in, though. Broncos country. Coming up next, Sarah and I, we're going to discuss whether or not we will see Drake Greenlaw here here this week as he is eligible to return off of IR because he's eligible. Does that mean he'll be back? We'll go through all that and more here on today's episode of the show. Today's episode of the show is brought to you, my friends over there at Fandululamara's number one sports book and week seven of the NFL season is here and Broncos country fan duel has an offer that you don't want to miss out on right now new customers can bet
Starting point is 00:22:07 just $300 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win that's right you pick a bet you put down five bucks and if it hits you'll get $300 in bonus bets that you can use all throughout the entire app this week the Broncos open up against the Giants as seven point home favorites against the red hot Jackson dark cam scataboo dynamic duo that they got down there in New York, but can the Broncos defense put that fire out? Well, if you believe the Broncos can win out right, you can put $5 down on the money line this week. And if it wins, you'll get $300 in bonus bets if you sign up today as a brand new customer. So what are you waiting for? Visit Vanduil.com to download the Fanduilat today and get started. Oh, you forgot about Drey? Nah,
Starting point is 00:22:48 not necessarily here. Drake Greenlaw is eligible to return this week here for the Denver Broncos, but the biggest question is, will he? We'll go through all that here on today's episode of show. real quick, I want to say thank you once again to everyone in the every dayers out there. Thanks for tuning in, making us your first list. We just surpassed over 20,000 subscribers on YouTube and we couldn't have done it without every single one of you. So make sure, Broncos Country, if you're a brand new viewer and you love the Broncos content, you're going to get every single day all year long. Make sure you hit that subscriber, that follow button so you never miss out.
Starting point is 00:23:17 Sarah, the question that everybody has here going into week seven, this is a question that they've had for a long time. Will we see Dre Greenlaw? This is obviously one, I think it is an interesting spot because when he went on short-term IR, he's eligible to return week seven, right? That doesn't necessarily mean that he'll be back specifically this week. But I would say, I hope we'll see him this week on the practice field or at least starting to ramp things up. My overly optimistic theory, Cody, is that the time on injured reserve was simply extra time bought for Dre Greenlaw and for the Broncos to say, look, we're not going to chance it at all.
Starting point is 00:23:57 Like, we may have brought him back a little too early at the, you know, the back end of training camp or whatever that was when they had. I can't remember. I think it was that extra day at practice that he was out there. And that's kind of when maybe things were re-agitated or whatever it may be. But if it seems to me, like the decision to put him on injured reserve was a decision made to buy him extra time. And as opposed to like, hey, he needs this extra time to recover before he ramps.
Starting point is 00:24:24 up, I feel like the time on IR was saying, we're not even going to, we're not going to mess around with it. We're not going to throw him onto the practice field early. We're going to go above and beyond what is needed because I think the anticipation was for him to play in what week two, week three. They expected him to be back and it just wasn't working out. So now you've bought him the extra time. I hope that he can hit the ground running. I don't want to say anything definitively because I personally have, I have no idea. But it does. does sound to me or it does feel to me, I guess that sound is the wrong word. It feels to me like that extra time was bought so that he could come back as quickly as
Starting point is 00:25:04 possible after his IR stint was done. Yeah, very much so. And I agree with you because the idea, like when he, before he was placed on IR, I mean, Say, we're watching him on the side field at practice every day. And it's like, all right, now he's going through this ramp up process here. And putting him on short term IR kind of takes away that added pressure of like, oh, you know, the media is here. they're observing like they're seeing like where's dray see on the team field or is he on the side
Starting point is 00:25:27 field it just allowed him to focus specifically on injury you know rehabilitation recovery and going through the treatment plan now does that mean that we'll see him this week not necessarily right eligible to return i mean malcolm roach was eligible to return uh week five of last week against the philadelphia egos we didn't see him so i imagine different is going to be smart with it but i will say this we have not in the last handful of weeks we have not seen dray greenlaw i out at practice or even on the side field. So more likely that means that he's been going through just recovery and stuff. Like during a time structure where us and the media, we're not out there.
Starting point is 00:26:02 Like when we leave, he might come back out there. Like that's that's kind of how Sean works a little bit. And I understand that. But for me, I think what I want to read into is that he traveled to Philadelphia with the team. He traveled to London with the team. He was with them all throughout this entire process. So for me, I'm looking at all that. I'm saying, okay, that's a good sign.
Starting point is 00:26:20 We might see him back this week. but certainly not counting your chickens before they hatch. So I do think it is interesting. Let's say they open his 21 day window. That's the one sign you want to see. Like, okay, is the window started? Because then that means specifically here, he has 21 days to really just like be fully activated or if he's not ready. Like after that 21 days, he'll revert back to IR and be done for the entire season.
Starting point is 00:26:44 So if they open up the 21 day window, that means that he's close. That means that he will be back. To me, that I think is going to be the biggest key to follow here. And Sean Payton has kind of alluded to the idea that they want Drey around for a playoff run. They don't necessarily just want to, hey, we want to throw them out there as quickly as possible and be reckless. You know, we just need to have them out there. I mean, we've seen Justin Sarnat stepping up. He had one and a half sacks, obviously, against the New York Jets.
Starting point is 00:27:10 Although who on the Broncos defense didn't have one and a half sacks in that game, right? That's maybe a better question. He has been solid. He has been solid. And Singleton has bounced back as well. We've got to acknowledge that. I mean, he has obviously had his struggles in coverage this year, and we've seen that.
Starting point is 00:27:25 And we've seen the exposing that, you know, the Eagles even did with Saquan Barkley, Jonathan Taylor of the Colts. But Dre Greenlaw would add such a dynamic to this defense that's already dominating teams right now. I mean, what we're talking about dominating the New York Jets, Cody, the performance that we saw from this defense was unlike anything that we've seen since, I think it was 1967, was the last time anybody had less net passing yards in a game. And that was the same game. It actually included the Broncos. I don't remember the names of the quarterback. But if you look it up, NFL history says this was arguably the most impressive and dominant performance ever. I mean, in the in the modern
Starting point is 00:28:05 football era, this does not happen. Kendall Hinton had more net passing yards against the Saints in 2021 than Justin Fields by a wide margin. So I think that it's, it's you add Drey Greenlaw to the mix now. what can't you do? And like Sean Payton said after the win against the Eagles, who do you, who do you fear? And I think Dre Greenlaw, man,
Starting point is 00:28:26 you see your boy Fred Warner go down with an ugly, gross injury for the 49ers. You just feel terrible for the guy. I can't help but think if it was, if that was my guy, I'd want to go out there and be like, hey, I want to go out there and play for my guy.
Starting point is 00:28:41 You know, I know that's not that big of a deal, but and it may be a little cheesy, corny, but you feel like, hey, I want to go out there and I want to play and I want to give my best and, you know, do it for Fred.
Starting point is 00:28:50 So, Dre, do it for Fred. You know, if nothing else. Do it for Fred Warner and go out there and prove to your friend that you still got it, too, because Dre does have a lot to prove himself coming back from injuries. Yeah. And like I said, when I've seen him in practice, Sarah, I just, the way he moves is so different than anything the Broncos have had at linebacker dating back to Danny Treveith and Brandon Marshall. Like, and Dre, in my opinion, is better than those guys.
Starting point is 00:29:16 I don't think they could do in today's modern NFL era. We saw them. Granted, when they played as well, that's when the rules weren't as crazy and shifted towards favoring the offense. They did their dang thing. But I feel like Dre, and he's just got this juice about him, sideline to sideline guy,
Starting point is 00:29:32 he brings the physicality. And it's like at that second level, when he's on the field, you're not necessarily worried about what's going on. And I just imagine he and Talanoa Hufanga kind of playing close together. And it's like, man, Hufanga has been great. but if you can add Dre Greenlaw to the mix,
Starting point is 00:29:47 I think you can do so much more for your vans, Joseph, like getting Jada Baron a little bit more inside the dime. The Broncos might live in the dime package primarily against some of these other teams if they do get Dre Greenlaw back because that's how big of a difference maker he can be at that spot. But he's got to prove it. There's a lot to prove there for him. And now we're just going to play the waiting game here. But with that said, Broncos country,
Starting point is 00:30:08 we're going to have you cover all throughout the week as the Broncos now prepare for the New York Giants. We'll have you covered with what we're seeing at practice. We'll see Dre back this week. We'll look at all of that. And plus, we'll dive deeper into the Broncos matchup against the giant. Sarah and I'm going to take a little bit of an early preview on the scouting report on tomorrow's episode of the show. Lock in.

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