Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - RIVALRY: Denver Broncos CB Patrick Surtain II vs. Davante Adams is MUST SEE TV vs. Rams

Episode Date: September 23, 2026

Patrick Surtain II vs. Davante Adams headlines a Sunday Night Football showdown, but the Denver Broncos’ biggest challenge may be forcing Matthew Stafford off schedule. Can Denver’s pass rush disr...upt the Rams’ explosive passing attack?Cody Roark and Sayre Bedinger break down what they saw from the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football, the importance of PS2 shadowing Los Angeles’ top receiver, and how Puka Nacua’s status could reshape Denver’s coverage plan. They also discuss the Broncos offensive urgency, including establishing the run, avoiding drive-killing penalties, and keeping Bo Nix out of repeated third-and-long situations. Plus, they look at how the Rams might look to attack Denver with 11 and 13 personnel, whether Jahdae Barron should cover athletic tight ends, and more as the Denver Broncos prepare to face the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football.Cody Roark is a credentialed beat reporter for Mile High Sports and provides boots-on-the-ground coverage of the Broncos daily in person. Sayre Bedinger is one of Broncos Country's longest-tenured voices, writing for Predominantly Orange. Together, they bring Broncos Country the most in-depth and objective coverage of the Denver Broncos every single day, year round.📸 - Ron Chenoy — Imagn ImagesWANT MORE DAILY DENVER BRONCOS CONTENT?For all of the latest Denver Broncos news today --Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-broncos/Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, & More🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/nfl/📲 Cody Roark Twitter / (https://twitter.com/codyroarknfl)📲 Cody Roark Instagram / (https://instagram.com/codyroarknfl)📲  Sayre Bedinger Twitter / (https://twitter.com/sayrebedinger)Everydayer Club  If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get access to ad-free audio version of Locked On Broncos,  All-22 Film Breakdown, and access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. 📲 https://lockedonbroncos.supercast.com/TEXT LINE: Support the show and interact with us on Denver Broncos rumors, News, Game Previews, Q&A's, and more.📲 TEXT: (720) 580-5759📢 Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!OdooGreat organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.com/lockedon.Butcher BoxIf you're looking for an easier way to get great meals on the table, give ButcherBox a try.Go to https://ButcherBox.com/LOCKEDONNFL to get $20 off your first box, plus your choice of free ribeye, new york strip, or filet mignon in every box for a year — with free shipping always.IndeedListeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast.PrizePicksVisit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL and use code LOCKEDONNFL and get $150 if you win your first $5 lineup!KALSHIToday's episode is brought to you by Kalshi. For a limited time, Download Kalshi and use code Locked On to get $25 when you trade $25. Kalshi. Trade what’s next.GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelGet three hundred fifty dollars in Bonus Bets — GUARANTEED — when you bet five dollars every day for seven days. Join all the action at https://FANDUEL.COMFANDUEL 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.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Under the bright lights of Sunday night football, Patrick Sertan the 2nd versus DeBante Adams is must-see TV for your Denver Broncos. You are locked on Broncos. Your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Locked-on podcast network, your team every day. What's up, Broncos country? Cody Roark, Sarah Beniger here for another episode, Locked on Broncos. We're two of the longest tenured voices covering your favorite team. And on today's episode of the show, we're going to talk about why Patrick Sertan, the second versus Devonte Adams. A rivalry reignited is going to become the marquee matchup for Sunday night.
Starting point is 00:00:42 Football plus Denver's offensive flow can't afford a slow start against this tough and stingy Rams defense. And where might the Los Angeles Rams try to attack the Denver Broncos? We'll look at all that here on today's episode of the show brought to you by our friends over there, Fandu, get $350 in bonus bets guaranteed. When you bet $5 every day for seven days, join all the action at Fanduil.com. Sarah, watching Monday night football just to see what the Broncos are going to get a look at in terms of their opponent when they were, Rams were taking on the Giants. I came away with a lot of different takeaways from that game, right?
Starting point is 00:01:16 As the Rams rebounded, they come into this matchup here one-on-one. I couldn't help the thing. My biggest takeaway was Devante Adams looked like the Devante Adams of old in this game specifically. And now that draws the bright lights of a Sunday night football matchup against Patrick Sartan the second, which these two guys, and they've had some great battles. Yeah, they, Cody, I mean, dating back to Devante's time with the Raiders, I remember, you know, when all there was discussion about Pat Sartan emerging as potentially the best corner in the NFL and then Devante went out and I mean, he's one of the only guys
Starting point is 00:01:49 to kind of make Pat look bad in a game. Remember that overtime route that he ran against Pat Sertan when he was with the Raiders to win the game? I mean, so these guys have had some battles and Pat's also got some wins against Devante as well. but I think this matchup in particular, it's going to be, like you said, must see TV, under the bright lights,
Starting point is 00:02:10 Sunday night football, best on best type of stuff. We don't know as time we were recording this. Puka Nakua obviously didn't play Monday night football. So we'll have to find out if he's going to play whether or not Pat is going to, you know, float between covering Puka,
Starting point is 00:02:23 covering Devante. But after seeing what DeVante did to that giant secondary on Monday night, I mean, you certainly want number two covering number 17. And I think that that's going to be the smart play for the Broncos. But I think it just reinforces and emphasizes the importance of the pass rush in this type of game. Making Matthew Stafford get that ball out quickly because where Devante Adams really hurt that giant secondary was long developing routes, deep routes down the field, big chunk plays. And then obviously he did his thing in the tight red zone on a fade.
Starting point is 00:02:57 I mean, he's just one of the greatest at doing all things at the receiver position. So you want your best on best for a matchup like this. And it's certainly after a week like that, you know Matthew Stafford is going to be kind of locking in on his top receiver. Yeah. And look, that connection worked. What was it?
Starting point is 00:03:14 The Devante finished that game with eight catches, 185 yards and two touchdowns. I mean, he even had a really tough contested catch right before a half time where they got them into field goal range really before the first half had ended there. But I think one of the bigger keys here, like what you mentioned, I was looking at Devonte's play downfield specific.
Starting point is 00:03:32 the touchdown early on. And then one of the larger downfield plays, because he had several 10 plus yard catches throughout the evening. And the one thing that I would say the Rams did well against the Giants, which the Giants have a good pass rush, which to me, I was looking at that and I was like, wait, how can we measure this game? Like, how do we measure maybe how the Broncos stack up here?
Starting point is 00:03:52 Because this Giants defensive line is supposed to have some of the best rushers in the NFL, and yet they really couldn't impact Matthew Stafford negatively. And I think a lot of that has, to do with the different personnel, some heavier protection units, more tight ends. We'll talk about that later in the show. But it allowed Matthew Stafford to just get comfortable where he didn't have to take necessarily a deep five-step, seven-step drop. He's just doing a standard drop back.
Starting point is 00:04:16 He's got good enough protection. And they're also catching the Giants who are playing a lot of zone specifically. And Devante was eating against the zone. That's one thing that worries me a little bit about this game here coming into Sunday night football because there were a couple of times for the Broncos in week two. where Trevor Lawrence caught the Broncos in a zone, and what did he keep doing? He kept finding guys like Brian Thomas Jr.
Starting point is 00:04:39 Parker, Washington for some big gains on those deep digs, those deep crossing routes, even post routes, and they capitalize on some big plays, especially on some second and long, third and long situations. That's the one thing that worries me about this matchup against the Los Angeles ramps. PS2 on Devante, I feel like that's a great neutralizer. But how often is Vance Joseph and the Broncos,
Starting point is 00:05:01 are they going to balance man? versus zone in this game here specifically. That to me is going to be a wild card. And I think that's why you want to rush Stafford's clock in this game, right? I mean, the average depth of target through two games for Devante Adams this year, Cody, 16.9 yards. His yards before the catch per route run, 15.1. If those numbers hold, they would be easily the highest of his NFL career.
Starting point is 00:05:26 So that's to the point of, hey, they want to get this guy the ball deep down the field. and they're being allowed to do that because of the fact that the 49ers who, by the way, they were dead last in the NFL and sacks last season. And then the New York Giants who traded away arguably their best pass rush. I know they have Brian Burns. They have Thibodeau. They have Abdul Carter. But Dexter Lawrence on the interior was one of the best in the NFL and you traded him away.
Starting point is 00:05:54 So now you're going to. The Bengals defense is playing better. Bangal. And, yeah, the Bengals. I mean, that's a boy, maybe on the squad show. to talk about the Bengals as we kind of assess the AFC. But I think, look, this is the whole thing
Starting point is 00:06:07 with this Rams team is you want to accelerate the clock of Matthew Stafford, because if you're allowing Puka Nakua if he's healthy or Devante Adams to just run their routes for four seconds, they're going to get open against even the best
Starting point is 00:06:22 secondary in the NFL. So that's just how good these guys are. Yes, they're looking for those downfield routes. The Broncos are going to be looking to accelerate the clock. Let somebody else beat you. They kind of did that. I know Parker Washington had his plays against Jacksonville. And what did Sean Payton say after the game? That's a good offense. The Jaguars, they're a good offense. You know that they're going to get their plays every once in a while. So it's how do you limit the best players in a game like this?
Starting point is 00:06:50 And I think that's what the focus will be in putting PS2 on Devante Adams. And I think this offense at Denver faces this week is definitely going to be a much better test than Jacksonville, which is kind of scary to think. But, I mean, it's no surprise when you have the returning NFL MVP from last season. And they have a great group of personnel around him. The thing that I look at that I always wonder about, too, maybe how the Broncos defense specifically can match up here is Matthew Stafford. He's multifaceted in how he attacks, right?
Starting point is 00:07:19 He'll take shots downfield. He'll attack the middle of the field. He'll throw it short to the flat. Like, he's very good. Like, he's got a supercomputer up here in his head. And for some reason, for a guy as old is he, is, I mean, I was in high school when this guy first started playing. I think I was even maybe, what was it?
Starting point is 00:07:34 Yeah, I was a freshman in high school when this guy first started playing. And he still has the ability to go out there and make big plays. He doesn't seem limited or slow in that regard. So PS2 has to be the great neutralizer, which means if PS2 is shadowing Devante, guys like Jayquan Macmillan, Riley Moss, they're going to have to bring their A game specifically if Pooka Naku plays, but then there's also 2-2 at well as well, where I imagine J. Max probably going to match up on him a little bit or Riley because speed for speed, this is going to be a great test here for this Broncos team. And man, if they can find a way to come out with a victory on Sunday,
Starting point is 00:08:08 it changes a lot of the conversation about how things were after week one of the NFL season with this team here specifically. Broncos country, let us know your thoughts. When you watch Monday night football and you saw Matthew Stafford and the Rams, take it to the New York Giants, how do you feel they match up specifically with the Denver Broncos? And what do you think the Broncos can do to counteract some of the bigger plays of Matthew Stafford and Devante Adams here on Sunday. But another thing that DeBronkos have to do, they cannot afford to let the offensive flow get away from them early on to the game against the Rams on Sunday.
Starting point is 00:08:40 We'll tell you how they can get things going early on today's episode of the show. Today's episode of the show is 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, another for inventory and another for sales, and somehow none of them talk to each other. Well, that's where Odo comes in. Odo is an all-on-one business management software that brings every part of your business together
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Starting point is 00:10:34 for 185 yards and Jaylen Waddle who went off for 138 yards. And both these guys will be going head to head with their own respective teams. Price picks could be a fun way to get in on the action with those two players specifically. Download the app today and use code locked on NFL to get $150 instantly in lineups. If you win your first $5 lineup, prize picks run your game. The Denver Broncos offense caught some fire in the sense. second half against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Can they keep that fire burning at the beginning of the game against the Los Angeles
Starting point is 00:11:05 Rams after an embarrassing performance under the lights and in prime time in front of the biggest audience ever on Monday night football? The Broncos have an opportunity to redeem themselves on national TV against the LA Rams. It starts with the offense. I think Cody getting off to a hot start. And it's not just having a hot start. It's finding sustainability on that side of the ball, creating and making. Maybe finding yourself an identity, that's what I think really gets me excited about the way that they played in the second half against Jacksonville because we talked about it all offseason.
Starting point is 00:11:37 You make that blockbuster trade for Jalen Waddle. He is now the identity of the offense, but it goes hand in hand with the run game because those two things have to benefit from each other. Let's talk about this. How do you feel like the Broncos? I mean, their flow offensively was not good to start off against Jacksonville. No. What has to happen against the Rams on Sunday night football for them to avoid those same mistakes and pitfalls they've fallen into? Yeah, I think primarily they can't afford that in this game against the Rams.
Starting point is 00:12:10 The Rams will make them pay for it. And we saw the Rams, they could put up points very quickly that are an explosive offense. And I don't think it was we mentioned, I think in an earlier show, you don't want to get in a shootout. I think there has to be this concerted effort here once again, Sarah, to come out and try to run the football, establish it early on because what I watched specifically from that Rams defense against, the Giants on Monday night football. They really made it difficult for Jackson Dart and the limited action that he got before he left the game with a knee injury.
Starting point is 00:12:35 James Winston, they made it very difficult for him to just get into a rhythm. And that was one thing that hurt the Giants. But early on, before things kind of got out of hand, they had a couple of nice runs inside with Singletary to get a first down or seven or eight yard chunk play. They give them second and manageable. I think against this Rams defense specifically, if the offense comes out and they have plays where they're going backwards, right? Or penalties are plaguing them.
Starting point is 00:12:59 It doesn't play well into what you want to do because their secondaries loaded with guys. Trent McDuffie is coming off of a really good game. Quentin Lake has done a fantastic job in his hybrid role for that defense. And I think the Rams have really good linebackers that can flow sideline to sideline. And then, in fact, they're in Aaron Donald in his first game back. He didn't necessarily have any big eye-popping plays. But if you go back and you watch the film, he's creating pressure, he's strong, he's pushing the guard back. he and Quinn Miners are going to match up this week, which I think is exciting.
Starting point is 00:13:28 Quinn is coming off of a game where he was mauling dudes. I think the Broncos have to come out here and try to establish early on. We got to run the football and we got to get some rhythm, but we got to make sure we get in a second and manageable, third and short situations if we're not getting first downs. The Broncos simply cannot afford to have third in 10, third and 15, even third and nine on a consistent basis this week. Because if it does happen because of penalties or just bad execution,
Starting point is 00:13:52 this is going to be a hard game for the Broncos to overcome if they make the same mistakes that they made early on in Jacksonville in week one and two, but also what they did in week one against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Rams aren't a team to play with like that. So that's what I'm worried about here, and that's what I think the Broncos have to do. Come out and establish the run here early on.
Starting point is 00:14:10 They have to or else it plays right into the hands of what the Rams want you to do. And it goes back to something you just mentioned, right? Penalties. I mean, procedurally speaking, that's where the Broncos got into trouble on their first three drives, against the Jaguars. I mean, penalties kill drives. Penalties took the Broncos from what, a third and five on their first drive of the game to third and 15 or something like that.
Starting point is 00:14:31 Third and 11. So I can't that that type of stuff cannot happen. You can't get into those types of positions where, hey, we've got a really good because the announcers talked about it during the game. It's a completely different section of Davis Webb's call sheet to go from third and six or third and five to third and 11, third and 12, whatever it is. Like you cannot have that early on in a game. You can't allow a defense, just like the Broncos understand, for their defense, what do they want? They want their defense to be in those third and long situations. Well, no NFL defense wants anything else. Like every defense wants that because then they can pin their ears back. They can play aggressive in coverage and they can kind of just rally and tackle.
Starting point is 00:15:12 You don't want those situations caused by, you know, mistakes that you can avoid when it's holding on the perimeter, when it's a false start, when it's a false start, when it's a, you know, illegal formation, when it's a blocker downfield. Like those types of things are happening far too often for this team, just mistakes that can be avoided, things that shouldn't be repeated. And so that's where I think this offense can get off to a much better start is, hey, if you're not going to come out and, you know, run a hurry up offense and you're not going to be doing, like, you're not going to be running a two-minute drill to start the game.
Starting point is 00:15:45 So you need to be on your P's and Q's when it goes to not getting downfield too early, Luke Wattenberg or not holding when the run play comes your direction, Pat Bryant. Like, let's not do these things. Let's not have false starts. Let's not have the illegal shifts or the illegal formations or all these things that can be avoided, especially when you're on the script, man. Like, come on, guys. Like, let's be real.
Starting point is 00:16:10 When you're on the script, go out there and run the script. Like, come on. That's the most frustrating thing to me is we know this team could play well when their back is against the wall. Can you play well on the script? Can you go out there and tow up against one of the best teams in the NFL and punch them in the mouth? I think one of the harder challenges to start off a game, right? Like you mentioned, sometimes you open up a game. You have a 10 to 15 play script that you just follow. And so much of if you continue to follow that script, how do you do on the first couple of plays? What are the Rams come, do they come out in a different look than what you're
Starting point is 00:16:45 anticipating on the script? Because they're looking at games and they're saying, okay, to come out and let's say that, you know, they're looking at the Rams game against the 49ers and they see, okay, we're coming out in 11 personnel here on this. How did the Rams line up against 11? How do they line up against 12 or 13 personnel? What do they do here? Then you start to see like, what place can work out of this? And then they come out in a different front or they come out with the different personnel
Starting point is 00:17:06 group. And then it's like, oh, this isn't going to work against that. So I think that's always a challenge. And for Davis Webb, yet another challenge presents itself ahead of him coming into a tough week. And I think this is a good test for him. This will be a good litmus test for him because week one, you went against Spags. Week two, you went against a good Jaguars defensive front and he finally found some rhythm. Week three, it gets tougher because this is arguably, I know Miles Garrett's not playing in this game,
Starting point is 00:17:32 but this is arguably a defense. Everyone's like, because of the defense alone, they're going to be a favorite to win the Super Bowl. And of course, it happens to be that they have former NFL MVP from last year and two really good, wide receivers in a loaded tight end room. I mean, it was almost like the perfect storm here for the Los Angeles Rams coming to the season. but this is the perfect opportunity for the Denver Broncos to come out and make a statement. And I think, and this isn't a hot take. I don't even think this is even bold,
Starting point is 00:17:57 but I think Quinn Miners against Aaron Donald, I think Quinn Miner's going to come up with a massive game this week. I think Quinn's going to have a legacy defining game this week on Sunday night football. He's going to be a big reason why. And they had a lot of success running it to Quinn's side against the Jaguars. And they're going to have to do that here against the Los Angeles Rams that are aggressive, stout, stingy. Love to get out to the quarterback and love to create different pressure looks. But the one thing the Broncos I think can't fall into here, Sarah, and I saw this on Monday night
Starting point is 00:18:27 football. Even on like second and nine, third and seven, the Rams, they're comfortable with sending four or three guys. And they're dropping six to seven defenders back into zone and saying, you know what, we can match certain things. We'll play zone on a certain side. But we're protecting the sticks and we're protecting vertically. And we're just going to drop seven defenders back against your three different routes and we believe that we have the person to go out there and stop that. That's where the Broncos can't find themselves in these long-filled situations because it plays right in the hands of what that Rams defense wants to do and they can dial up pressure at the right moment. They can win with four. They can win with three man rushes and they can create those pressures that if you
Starting point is 00:19:05 do that on Bo Nix and you hit Bo like how does he respond? That's what I want to see here from this Broncos team. I thought they did a good job of keeping Boe upright. Bow's mobility kept him upright a little bit against Jacksonville. This is going to be the toughest test of Denver faces so far this season. Kansas City smacked them in the mouth. We all know that. LA is going to be the real test for this Broncos team here. Excited to see how it all plays out here on Sunday. A long week of practice for your Denver Broncos. But one of the things we're going to take a look at here coming up next Broncos country, how might the Rams try to attack Denver offensively, defensively? We'll look at some of the things that you need to pay
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Starting point is 00:20:55 More rewarding than a touchdown with time expiring, more rewarding than a Riley Moss interception to change the tie of the game, or maybe even more rewarding than a Jonah Coleman mile high salute to help the Broncos ice the Jaguars in week two. Now a tough test awaits them here in week three against the Rams. And this season, Fandu is making the excitement go beyond what happens on the field with the all new Fandul Rewards Club. featuring exclusive offers, surprises, and so much more. Every week, check the Fandu app to see what's waiting for you. The Broncos are two and a half point home underdogs this week against the Rams and you can get in on all the action on Fandu,
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Starting point is 00:21:49 We'll get into that. Thank you so much, Broncos, country for making us your first listen here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Also, the number one sports podcast network in the country. We appreciate all you every dayers for making the show exactly what it is. We got you covered every single day all year long. So when we analyze the opponent, obviously Sarah's going to have a crossover Thursday episode tomorrow with Lockdown Rams to preview this matchup more specifically.
Starting point is 00:22:10 But coming into this matchup, I think it's always important. One thing when I'm looking at my film review on the, the opponent, how might they try to attack Denver? And I think that's understanding some of your own weaknesses or some of the areas where you may be vulnerable as a team. And Sarah, I can't help but look at one thing is we talked about it a little bit earlier on the show when we were talking about PS2 versus Devante Adams. Denver, they blend a lot of man in zone together.
Starting point is 00:22:34 They do a lot of match concepts. That is going to be very key here because I do think Matthew Stafford and the Rams, they're going to come out in heavy personnel, I think 13 personnel and they're going to try to run roughshot a little bit. they're going to try to attack the middle of the field with some explosive plays. We've seen that be the formula for them against the 49ers and obviously against the Giants. And they're going to look at Denver's tape and say, you know what, the best way to negate the pass rush, getting the ball out quickly.
Starting point is 00:22:58 And we want to take advantage of some of the soft spaces in zone coverage. To me, that's where I think the Rams might come out to try to attack Denver first. And so Denver is going to have to counter. But how do they counter that type of approach? That's a great question, Cody. You know what? The Broncos have, they have not shown one specific. look defensively that we saw quite a bit last season.
Starting point is 00:23:19 And that look is Jadet Barron, the first round pick in 2025, covering the tight ends. Now, we saw success against the Cowboys last year with that. We saw Jaday have a pick six call back. I believe he was in coverage on Travis Kelsey on that particular play. We've seen success in this way for the Denver Broncos defense. Now, of course, you go to heavy personnel. Why? You go to heavy personnel to get the defense in heavy personnel so that you can
Starting point is 00:23:45 exploit their lack of athleticism at linebacker with your athletic tight ends. And the Rams have a handful of those guys. I mean, it goes beyond just Terrence Ferguson and Tyler Higbee. They've got obviously Max Clare as a rookie from this class and they've got a couple of other guys who make up a very Kobe Parkins. They have a very athletic tight end room, guys who are big, fast, good hands. They can make plays after the catch. So how do you counter that?
Starting point is 00:24:10 Well, you need to have athletic, tough guys who can match up in coverage on those types of players as well as players who can come up and be tough against the run. So this is going to be a huge game for J-Quan Macmillan playing in the slot because he's going to have to be physical, Cody, when the Rams do run the ball out of 13 personnel. But also, I think this is a game where you say, hey, Jaday, you've got to go out there. He's only played six snaps in the first two games. That's incredibly disappointing. That is, that is, I mean, thank goodness the Broncos won this week.
Starting point is 00:24:41 Otherwise, that would be one of the many rants we'd be having. but I can't stand it. And I can't help but wonder, have they been maybe saving this look for this matchup? Because they know the Rams run so much 13 personnel. You got to have somebody to cover. Is Singleton going to be covering Terrence Ferguson all game? I hope not.
Starting point is 00:24:59 Justin's not even going to be doing that. You might need to unleash Jada Barron against the Rams. Yeah, I think you have to focus your linebackers. Of course, there are going to be times this week where they're going to have to drop back into coverage, whether they're a match, whatever it's man. if they're aligned on the running back, but I think their primary responsibility this week has to be plug in the run against Kyrin Williams. And Kyron's also susceptible to putting the football on the ground here and there.
Starting point is 00:25:23 So that's got to be their focus. I agree. I think Jaday coming in specifically having he and Hufanga be some matchup guys against some of these tight ends, I think is going to be important because they also like to do certain things. Like Parkinson, he's 6'7. He's big physical. He's actually had some big games against the Broncos. I remember when he was a member of the Seattle Seahawks, I think it was 22 Monday night football. Denver seemingly couldn't have an answer for him, which was really weird.
Starting point is 00:25:46 But Jaday is one of those guys, I feel like this week. You want to have that hybrid ability. Jaday bulked up in the off season. So if you want to play against the run but also account for the tight end, you have to be able to do that. He against Terrence Ferguson, who's a Colorado product, went to high school here just down the road from where I actually live, by the way. There's going to be a homecoming for him. So they're going to try to feature him with the football a little bit. But here's the thing that kind of tells me a little bit, maybe how the Rams might come out in this game specifically.
Starting point is 00:26:12 And this is according to our friends over there at True Media. You look at how the Giants played defensively in terms of their front, their pass rush. The Rams came out in 13 personnel. They played 60 offensive snaps on Monday night football. They came out in 13 personnel on 32 of their plays. That was the highest out of any personnel grouping that they had so far on Monday night football. And they played in 11 personnel, which is one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers, 28 of their 60 snaps.
Starting point is 00:26:40 So the majority was one running back, three tight ends, heavy that sets up the play action. But you also have a guy like Devante. You can go out there and beat any coverage, so to speak. But I think the Broncos, this is where they benefit compared to the New York Giants. I think they have a better secondary. I think they got guys who can actually play a lot more man-to-man coverage. This is where I think the chess piece is going to be very interesting between Sean McVeigh and Vance Joseph. Because what is the counter?
Starting point is 00:27:06 What is like, what are the Rams anticipating Denver is going to do when they come out in this? I imagine we're going to see primarily a lot of 13 personnel. Now, if Pooka and Kua plays in this game, I think it changes. I think we see a little bit more balanced between 11 and 13. But this is a team in L.A. that loves 13 personnel. They love 11 personnel. And they don't play much 12 personnel at all. Heck, as I'm looking at it right now and looking at all the snaps,
Starting point is 00:27:31 these are the only two personnel groupings that they play in, Sarah, where Denver, they have, you know, different combinations that they go. They go 11, 12, 13, 22, 32, which is victory formation because they have three backs on the field for that. So that's kind of skewed. You can't pay attention to that. But it's 11 and 13 personnel and a tiny bit. Only four plays out of 12 personnel for the Rams this season. And none of that came on Monday night football.
Starting point is 00:27:55 We are going to see a lot of 11 and 13 on Sunday night football. And that has to be the emphasis here for the Broncos to stop the run and to stop the play action and to eliminate the quick pass game. This is going to be a tough challenge. But I think this Broncos defense, if they could play to the standard, we saw them return to this past week. I feel pretty good about what they're able to do here. I think that they can respond in the bright lights of Sunday night football. Big time. Big time opportunity for Zach Allen, Malcolm Roach to kind of build off what they've shown in these first two games.
Starting point is 00:28:24 Specifically, Roach was dominating against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was outstanding, Cody, especially as I watched the game a second time, Zach Allen early in that game against Jacksonville was, I mean, unblockable. So those guys got to do a lot more of that. And I know this Rams offensive line is pretty darn good across the board, pretty good front five for those guys. They've invested a lot. And so I think, yes, it's best on best. And it's not like they're unbeatable, right?
Starting point is 00:28:51 I mean, I think going into this season, you kind of looked at this Rams team when they're playing at their best, when they're executing and when they are getting in these favorable down and distant situations, and when they have you on your heels, they are pretty much unbeatable. But look at what San Francisco was able to. able to do when you kind of just, like I said earlier, you toe up and you get ready for a fight. You get ready to have to punch back. And that's what you have to do if you're the Broncos. You're playing at home.
Starting point is 00:29:17 You've got the home crowd in your favor. The noise is a huge deal because how many times is Matt Stafford going to want to check out of whatever look he's getting? And the crowd played a huge difference in that against the Jacksonville Jaguars as Trevor Lawrence is struggling with his check. So big time stuff here for the Broncos defense, another huge test against an MVP in Stap. How you feel in Broncos country early on in the week is the Broncos gear for a prime time matchup.
Starting point is 00:29:42 I know everyone's excited about that. It's going to be the Midnight Navy jerseys for the Broncos here this week. We'll see what the uniform combo is later. But this is as big of a matchup as it gets here early on in the season. And a big opportunity, if the Broncos can come through and win this game and go to two and one, it changes a little bit of the conversation, especially when we look at this tough six game schedule to start the year. It changes everything here for your Broncos football team.
Starting point is 00:30:03 What version are we going to get? That is the mystery here. but Broncos country that I wrap up today's episode of show tomorrow. Make sure you check out our crossover Thursday episode with Lockdown Rams as we previewed this matchup in terms of key matchups to watch the latest updates maybe on Pukunakua's injury and how that impacts the Broncos game plan preparation for him. You get so much more of that here on Lockdown Broncos. In the meantime, if you're brand new viewer listener, hit that subscriber of that follow button so you never miss out on what's going on with your favorite team. And check out the everydayer club here today, lockdownbroncos.com, add free episodes of the show, access. to the All-22 locker room interviews with players.
Starting point is 00:30:38 You get all that exclusive content more. Lockdown Broncos. Supercast. Sarah and I, we will see you tomorrow for a brand new episode of the show.

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