Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - RUN IT BACK: Denver Broncos MUST Current Team INTACT

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos need to run it back in 2026 with the current team, and they can make a few upgrades. We'll give you three reasons why 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. The Denver Broncos season may be over, but the off season is just getting started here. Welcome to another episode, Lockdown Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast. network in the country.

Starting point is 00:00:37 And even though the offseason is here for the true fan, there is never an off season. We still have you covered every single day all year long. Thanks to all the everydayers out there in Brockos country. Thanks for tuning in, making us your first listen, however you choose to do. So we've got a lot to break down here on today's episode of show. We're going to give you three reasons why the Broncos

Starting point is 00:00:53 need to run it back with this current team going into 2026. We know the status of Bow Nix and where he's at in terms of his ankle recovery timeline and why there is no long-term concern. Plus, we'll tell you why the Broncos need to write Vance, Joseph, a blank check to stay on as a defensive coordinator for this upcoming season. And maybe the key for the Broncos offense unlocking itself a little bit further.

Starting point is 00:01:13 Could Davis Webb be handed the keys as the offensive coordinator? All these things and more on today's episode of the show. I'm Cody Rourke, Credential Broncos reporter for Mile High Sports. Doing is always by Sarah Beninger, site expert, predominantly orange.com. Sarah, my friend, end of the year locker room exit interviews are always bittersweet, right? It was fresh off the hills of the Broncos' heartbreaking defeat on Sunday to the New England Patriots and there was a lot of reflection. There was a lot of, I would say, sadness and frustration coming out of the locker room, but also on Monday when we did the exit interviews

Starting point is 00:01:45 with players, there was a lot to look forward to. But the hunger and the pain that they felt from obviously Sunday's lost, they feel like that is going to linger throughout the entire offseason. I felt like it'd be great for us to kind of look at three reasons why the Broncos need to run it back this season with this current team. I agree completely. I mean, certainly continuity in any professional sport is rare, but I think especially in the NFL, maybe not necessarily compared to leagues like the NBA, where I don't know who plays for any team at this point, Cody, they're changing teams all the time in the NBA. But we know that continuity in the NFL is very difficult to maintain.

Starting point is 00:02:22 You've always got teams that want a piece of anybody that's having success. And certainly the Denver Broncos have been one of the most successful teams in the league over the last handful of years now. And teams want a piece of that. But I think the number one reason why this team needs to run it back is because you have a legitimate, I'll say it, MVP candidate going forward in Bo Nix at the quarterback position. Now, we found out that Bo Nix had successful ankle surgery last week, right, which is great news, obviously, for the Broncos starting quarterback. The timeline for recovery there is expected to be somewhere around three to four months. And certainly, Cody, that's good news, relatively speaking, especially because there was no.

Starting point is 00:03:03 ligament damage, nothing structurally that they felt like, oh, this is going to give you a risk for injury in the future. So nothing like that for any Broncos fan that's worried about potentially the ramifications. But Bo Nix is going to make a full recovery, going to get to the rehab process as soon as he can and hopefully be available for the entirety of the offseason program. But he's the number one reason why you want to run it back because you got yourself a quarterback who can go help you win a Super Bowl. Yes, you do. And look, the Broncos got very far with Bo Nix at the helm in just a second season. And it's been so impressive watching what Bo has done. And look, you know, Bob's not a finished product by any means.

Starting point is 00:03:39 There's obviously areas of his game where he can improve. But I think one thing coming out of Sunday's game, so I just felt like you saw the deficiencies or the warts that the Broncos offense had that Bo Nick certainly masked for, right, with how he performed, that he overcame a lot of things there, right? I think offensive line play, there's probably a lot of episodes we could do this offseason talking about how that unit can be better overall and maybe how Bo Nix helped them be one of the better offensive line units. But it was different when Jared Stidham obviously came into the mix for the Broncos

Starting point is 00:04:09 on Sunday against the Patriots. But I think with the timeline that we do know of Bo Nix, like here's the thing. You're going into the off season yet again, right? Going into it the mindset of we don't need to worry about the quarterback position, right? If you're George Payton, Sean Payton the front office, you have your guy. His name is Bo Chapman, Nix. He is the guy going forward. There's no question about it.

Starting point is 00:04:29 So now how do you build a team around Bow? And eventually, I think what is after next season, Boa has a chance to get paid. And the Broncos are going to pay him. But the question is, how can you maximize that window, right? Obviously, this is the third break of Nix, you know, in terms of his ankle. You know, he had a broken bone in the ankle. It's not necessarily like the complete snapping of an ankle, so to speak. But the third injury to the ankle, I think everyone keeps an eye on that.

Starting point is 00:04:53 Before he had the surgery, everyone's wondering, well, what does it mean about his long-term future? Is there anything that you need to be concerned about? that is not the case according to what Adam Schaefter had reported on Sunday morning that there is no long-term concern. Doctor said that Bo is going to be just fine. He's not going to have any limitations. That is the best news possible here. Now here's the timeline. It's an estimated 12 to 15 week recovery here for Bo. The first four weeks have to be non-weight-bearing activity. So he can't do anything, can't be on his feet for four weeks. After that, the rehab process is probably going to kick up a little bit. and then he is expected to be ready to go for the team's offseason program.

Starting point is 00:05:30 Now, by design, maybe an OTA is in minicamp, I'm sure Sean will restrict him a little bit. We'll probably pull the curtain back a little bit here just to make sure, hey, we don't need to do anything unnecessary. We know Sean's a big believer in being in the wait room, not doing on-filled stuff earlier than you need to. So that's obviously a good sign, I think, for Bubba. He is expected to be fine, full recovery and now a chance to lead the team even further going into 2026, capitalizing off the 14 and 3 record here.

Starting point is 00:05:56 But that's the thing with Bo. You have that question answered. You don't have to worry about quarterback here. But I think one of the things, too, is knowing what you can do for your quarterback, right? Now that you're two years into this thing, it's looking at the tape, it's looking at the scheme and saying, hey, what is working? What's not working? How can we help Bo succeed even more, right? Because if Bo is running for his life or is avoiding pressure because of how good he is as a foot mobile athlete, you know, maybe there's something to be said about, hey, what

Starting point is 00:06:24 we do from a personnel standpoint at receiver to certainly help out both. We've seen the outside shots obviously behind the line of scrimmage that the Broncos have thrown. But what about the quick passes on the inside, right? Maybe that's where you go out and you get some other playmaking targets. I know we've talked about that. There's going to be so many episodes that we're going to do this offseason, almost every skill player position where we will evaluate what the Broncos need to do, who they could bring in, what they can mean for Bo Nix and so much more. But that is part of running it back with this current team. Keeping this nucleus intact around Bo Nix, but here's the thing, sir, you don't have to make widespread changes. You can upgrade and still keep this unit intact.

Starting point is 00:07:02 100%. I mean, you're going to have your offensive line intact, right? I mean, you're starting five on the front is all under contract. And they've all got big money contracts at this point, right? So we'll see, I guess what happens. One name that consistently seems to be coming up is Ben Powers. We'll do all that offseason talk, you know, with, okay, who could be cap casualty, trade candidate, dates, things like that. But yeah, your nucleus is intact. And that's what's the most important thing. Now, it's less about, I would say, adding icing to the cake or a cherry on top, Cody. It's now like, you know, I make ninja creamies every single night, right? And a ninja creamy is not complete without the mixins. Like, without the mixins, you just got a kind of a bland ice cream. It's basically a

Starting point is 00:07:44 protein shake that turns into ice cream. It's not exactly the most exciting thing in the world. But when you add the mixins, baby, now you're talking about that thing that you're talking about that thing that you keep coming back to night after night. And that's what the Broncos offense needs is that thing they keep coming back to play after play or that player they keep coming back to play after play. Who can we filter this offense through? Does it start with the running back position? Does it start with the wide receiver position?

Starting point is 00:08:09 But for the second straight year, we're talking about the same thing, aren't we? It's how do the Broncos properly surround Bo Nix? One of the things that I'm interested to see, and I wonder if Sean Peyton and the Broncos coaching staff will do any of this. this is look at what's what's worked for the complete resurgence of Sam Donald in his NFL career. I'm not saying you copy everything exactly. And, you know, Justin Jefferson's Jackson Smith and Jigbuzz, they don't necessarily

Starting point is 00:08:35 grow on trees, do they? But how has Kevin O'Connell and now Clint Kubiak been able to set him up for such success schematically, offensively, in ways that they're creating opportunities for their playmakers? what have those two teams done so right to make this guy, he won 14 games last year with the Vikings. And obviously this year with the Seahawks, they won 14 more games are going to the Super Bowl.

Starting point is 00:09:01 And I think they're going to win it all, Cody, now. But look, what have they done? What have they done right? You'd be foolish as the Broncos to not look at a team like that with that particular player and what has happened over the last two years and say to yourself, hey, how can we duplicate? Because Bo is a growing quarterback. Like a lot of people wrote him off before he even got into the NFL.

Starting point is 00:09:22 A lot of people had written Sam Darnold off as well. And I think what happens is that you get these offensive play callers who know what they're doing, go figure, you surround a guy with great playmakers, you build up the offensive line, and you run a scheme that suits his skill set. How do the Broncos do that? What can they steal from other teams? I think that's going to be interesting to find out as well. Well, that's going to play into our conversation.

Starting point is 00:09:46 We are going to have to do. That's one of the things that the. Broncos can do. We'll get to that later. It involves Davis Webb here. But Broncos country, one thing we are going to discuss here is how the Broncos can run it back with this current team. And a big reason for that being the case, if they are going to do that, it involves writing a blank check to Sir Vance Joseph, keep him in town as the team's defensive corner. We'll break it all down here on today's episode of the show. Today's show is brought to you by friends over there at game time. There's nothing like being in an NBA arena,

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Starting point is 00:11:45 Make it count because after the Super Bowl, the season is over. Last call for football on Fandul, an official sportsbook partner of Super Bowl 60. Visit Fandul.com to get started. There's so much value in having a head coach of the defense when your offensive coach is your head coach, literally in the Denver Broncos,

Starting point is 00:12:02 that's why they need to write Vince Joseph a blank check and just say, hey, what is it going to take to get you to come back? Keep this defense elite as we chase a Super Bowl in 2026. Broncos country, we're going to talk about why the team needs to do whatever it takes to bring back Bance Joseph this off season. But before we do that, I want to say thank you to all you every dayers out there. And Cody and I want to invite you.

Starting point is 00:12:25 If you haven't done so already, check out the link in the show notes for the Every Day or All Access Club. You're going to get plenty of exclusive content, including Cody was able to be there for the end of season locker room clean out where tons of quotes from players and so much stuff with free agency, players who were just free agents this past year in Denver, what their roles were like in year one. talking about the season that was and maybe pulling back the curtain a little bit.

Starting point is 00:12:51 So you're only going to get that type of stuff as a member of the Every Day or All Access Club. Again, the link will be in the show notes for you to check that out today. Cody, let's talk about Vance Joseph getting a blank check. By the way, that was one of my favorite movies as a kid. Blank check. I don't know if you've ever seen that one, but it's a good one. It's a great one. An old Disney movie.

Starting point is 00:13:09 I have to look it up sometime. But yeah, I mean, it reminds me of the fact that there's so much value in having a head coach of the defense when you're you know your offensive coordinator and your head coach are one and the same right as the broncos currently have that set up with sean peyton although we will kind of talk later today about maybe why it could be valuable for them to change that but i think the detroit lions are a great example of why even if you have a great roster having the right people in charge of the personnel is maybe more important than even the personnel themselves and that to me is the one situation that I would point to and say, hey, if there's any reason why you want to keep your

Starting point is 00:13:49 coaching staff intact, not just the roster, it's the Detroit Lions who went from being a true Super Bowl contender, number one seed in the NFC, right? Or I think they were. And then the missed the playoffs entirely. The Broncos need to do whatever it takes to bring Vance Joseph back into the mix. Yeah. And look, I'll tell you this, you know, we can all say, sit here and acknowledge Vance Joseph, yes, is deserving of another head coaching opportunity. But selfishly, you know, players, they want him to go on and obviously get a job. They think he deserves it. But selfishly, players want him to stay in Denver, in the Mile High City as the DC.

Starting point is 00:14:24 You know, I talked to a handful of the Broncos players, defensive guys and offensive guys. And the number one thing, it really kind of prompted the idea of doing this reflection on the show today was they said, why, why not run it back with this team? Why break this team up when we have had the success that we've had where we've grown so much? And, you know, even the acknowledgement to the Denver, I mean, outside of a few guys, Sarah, they're a young team. Why break it up? Why impact the nucleus of that?

Starting point is 00:14:49 And part of that nucleus is Vance Joseph. What he has done with the defense has been incredible. Has it been perfect at times? No, but man, I tell you what, the personnel that never has on that side of the ball, the way Vance is called plays. Vance has been a big part of the reason the Broncos have been successful. And we've seen the defense thrive. And it's allowed opportunities for Bolognax and the offense at times to grow there,

Starting point is 00:15:11 to go through the growing pain, so to speak as well. players want Vance to stay in Denver, right? You've locked in Zach Allen, Nick Benito, Jonathan Cooper, PS2, you got Hufanga, Brandon Jones. Every player that you can name as a starter here on defense, there's some questions coming up with some guys hitting free agency, but your nucleus here defensively is returning for the most part in 2026. And the idea that is, why change it, right?

Starting point is 00:15:36 To me, if Vance doesn't get a head coaching gig, the Broncos need to find a way to write him a blank check to make him the highest paid coordinator in the NFL. Players feel the same way. And I'm sitting here too. I'm planting my flag. I think the same exact thing the players do. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:15:50 And it seems like the head coaching jobs that are available are kind of leaning towards the young offensive-minded types of head coaches. And even with like the Cleveland situation, Cody, like we have coaches pulling out of the race. And that's not an attractive job. So you've got jobs that are constantly in this same cycle. And I think the one right now that's still available as the time that we're recording is Buffalo that I would say, hey, Vance, if you can go get that job, you might take that job with Josh Allen, right?

Starting point is 00:16:21 But I don't even know if he's interviewed for the Buffalo job as far as I remember. So I don't- Davis-Web so far. Davis-Web has interviewed with them. So to the point, though, it is, hey, the opportunities that are out there right now, do you really want any of those opportunities? And I know that Vance wants to be a head coach. Like, he's acknowledged that.

Starting point is 00:16:40 And I think, like you said, he does deserve another shot. but if the right job is not calling your name, then you have every reason to come back to Denver. Come back. Try to win the Super Bowl. Try to get that number one overall defense in every category. Try to set that NFL record for sacks in a season. All these players love Vance.

Starting point is 00:16:59 And for good reason, right, he develops players and helps develop players from every juncture, whether it's a big money free agent or a first round pick or guys who are undrafted free agents or day two, day three picks. Like every avenue of acquiring talent, Vance has been able to develop those guys. And so I think that he's in a great spot. He's in a great situation right now. And why would you not want to enjoy the spoils of your hard work, right?

Starting point is 00:17:26 If you're advanced and you've helped develop these guys, now you get to see it through, right? You get to see it through to the highest degree. Steve Spagnolo has been one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL over the course of this chiefs. you know, I hate to even call it a dynasty. I hate to admit that that's what it's, that's what it is. But, you know, it sucks. But he's been there the whole time.

Starting point is 00:17:48 And so has Dave Tob, so like there's no reason why you have to rush out. If it's not the right opportunity, Vance should have a conversation with George Peyton, Cody, who waited, what, 13 years of getting calls from teams and turning down offers from teams to be their general manager until what he believed was the right job came along. Maybe he needs to talk to,

Starting point is 00:18:09 George about this situation and just, you know, all right, let's take a breath here because I don't know that he's going to get an offer. And if he doesn't, hey, the Broncos can add titles to his name. They can give him more money, whatever. Yeah. Oh, and here's the thing, too, it's when you have these players, these all pro players, he's very good defensive players, St. Vance, stay with us. Let's get to the Super Bowl. Let's do it. Like, that is what players have told me they've said. They want him to stay in the mile high city. And I also think of it as well. like I think sitting here objectively, Sarah, the Denver DC job for Vance, all right now, at least in my perspective, seems far more appealing to be in the head coach, the Arizona Cardinals,

Starting point is 00:18:51 even though Vance spent a large portion of his career, I'd say consecutively coaching there as a DC when Cliff Kingsbury was there. But man, like I would remember the fact that, hey, they interviewed you and they didn't even give you a real look when they fired Cliff Kingsbury. They gave you an interview and said, all right, we're good. Go on elsewhere. Like, do whatever. to me, if I were vance, I would remember that.

Starting point is 00:19:11 I say, you know, why would I want to go there when I have such a good thing going on in Denver right now? To me, at least that's the way I see. How do you see it? Yeah, I think 100% right. I mean, they could write their wrongs. You know, they could say, hey, we feel like you are that fit now. But you're right. I mean, back then it was just kind of a quick like, all right, let's get this thing over with type of deal.

Starting point is 00:19:31 Not really a legitimate consideration. I mean, they wanted a piece of the Eagles, right? That was the thing when they hired Jonathan Gannon. I think a lot of folks did at the time, but it is 100% the right perspective is, okay, these teams are constantly in this cycle. I mean,

Starting point is 00:19:47 you can't hope to be the one who's going to finally get the right one to settle down. You know, when this person's had so many different girlfriends or boyfriends or whatever it is, and you're like, I'm going to finally be the one to get them to settle down, right? I think that's what Sean Payton was talking about when he said. You see so many of the same teams in this cycle, every single, you know, three, four years.

Starting point is 00:20:10 And I think that's the thing that Vance has to be cautious with is to say, hey, if I'm going to a toxic culture, I'm probably going to be on the chopping block in just a couple of years. You know what they say about those teams? Those teams are for the streets, my friend. They're for the streets. But hopefully, Vance, I mean, I think Vance is wise enough to know what is good for him, what's not.

Starting point is 00:20:31 I mean, maybe there's some information that he knows that we don't. But I just think from the outside looking in, staying in Denver seems like the most feasible thing. And look at the Broncos are going to run it back and have a chance at the Super Bowl next year. I think keeping Vance on staff is a very, very big thing to do. You need to check that off your box. Say, hey, we're making this happen. Hopefully the Walton-Pender family ownership group finds a way to convince him to stay.

Starting point is 00:20:53 Write the check, please. That's what we're saying here on today's episode, lockdown Broncos. But Broncos country coming to next to third reason we feel like the Broncos can run it back with this current group with upgrades. Would be by making Davis Webb, the offensive coordinator. how about that revitalize the Broncos offense and Sean Payton. We'll look at that more here on today's episode of the show. Hey, it's Matt Derry from the Lockdown Lions podcast. The people I love depend on me.

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Starting point is 00:23:04 it's good to be right. If the Denver Broncos are going to run it back with the current group intact, you've got to find a way to make upgrades and there's no bigger upgrade for the Broncos offense than maybe making Davis Webb, the offensive coordinator for this team going forward. We'll break it all down here on today's show.

Starting point is 00:23:19 I want to say thank you once again to everyone in Broncos country. I'll be every there is out there. Thanks for making us your first list, however you choose to do so. Sarah, one of the things that I feel like we can talk about here in terms of keeping this group intact, right? That QB room, Davis Webb, obviously one of the hotter names in the NFL head coaching hiring cycle.

Starting point is 00:23:35 A lot of teens wanted to interview him. He's never been a coordinator and he's garnering already strong head coaching interest, including from the AFC West Division rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders. Now, in my opinion, Sarah, if Sean Payton really believes in how good of a coach, Davis Webb is, right? Bo Nix has advocated so much for what Davis Webb has meant to that room. Every quarterback you talk to, Jared Stidham, Sam Ellinger, they'll tell you, Davis Webb is a big reason why that room is growing and why they are in the position that they're in. In my opinion, Sarah, if Davis is getting all these looks elsewhere, why not give him the in-house promotion offensive coordinator here?

Starting point is 00:24:15 Part of this, and I think a lot of fans know this, I'm curious for your thoughts. As much as I respect Sean Payton as a coach, I think sometimes his ego has gotten in his way a little bit. And I think at times from a play calling standpoint, and it's easier to see it in real time. time, it's easier to look back in hindsight and also say that. Sean will also agree with himself, too, on the standard that, you know, there's some things that maybe he regrets calling from a play calling standpoint. Why not? Because you've already alluded to early on the year when you said, you know, at times you think a lot about when they tell you when you get older, not to drive in the rain at night. Sean was kind of alluding to that possibility of like, hey, like, I love calling

Starting point is 00:24:53 plays, but maybe I shouldn't be driving at night in the rain at this point. The best way to do that, mold Davis Webb. You know what you want. Sean can build this team and the idea and the vision he wants. Let Davis Webb get his hands on this offense and see how that goes from here. In my opinion, that's one of the moves of Broncos

Starting point is 00:25:11 should make this offseason. And that doesn't mean that Sean has to eliminate himself from the game plan. It doesn't mean that he has to eliminate himself from the installation of the playbook or having his hand in so many different things, right? I mean, obviously the head coach of a football team is not necessarily hired to be the offensive or defensive coordinator.

Starting point is 00:25:33 Now, a lot of times, like, I know Robert Sala with the Titans, like he didn't call plays defensively with the Jets, and he's like, I'm calling plays this time around. And so there's certain times, like, that it calls for it, right? When that's why you got hired for a job is because you're one of the best play callers in the game. Like Sean McVeigh, it would be a crime to football if he wasn't calling play. for the for the rams right but with Sean it's it's one of those situations right now

Starting point is 00:26:03 Cody where i think what we saw this past season was a head coach who was fitting players to a scheme as opposed to creating a scheme for the players i just feel like that was the disconnect and it's been the disconnect a little bit because i mean we did see javanti williams after two years struggling in denver and i know there's other circumstances that that factor into this right but after two years of really struggling back badly in Denver to the point that we wondered at the end of 2024, does this guy, can he even be in the NFL anymore? I mean, legitimately, he had a couple games with negative yardage there down the stretch. He goes out and has the best year of his career with the Dallas Cowboys. Now,

Starting point is 00:26:43 I'm not saying that's Sean Payton's fault. What I'm saying is, is that you fit the players to the scheme and that's, that's ultimately going to yield the exact results that you think it's going to. I mean, if they don't execute your scheme perfectly, it's not going to go well. But when you fit the scheme to the players, now you have an opportunity to feature Evan Ingram. You have an opportunity to feature R.J. Harvey. You have an opportunity to feature player X, Y, or Z. But if it's all about this and not about the player, the Broncos are going to continue on this hamster wheel that they've been on. And that's the frustrating part to me. Yeah, I mean, what is it? The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result. And like we've seen the Broncos

Starting point is 00:27:28 offense grow, right? I don't want to discredit anything that Sean has done to help the offense grow to a place now where what was it? Three years ago, four years ago, we were just begging for something different after watching the Nathaniel Hackett offense. I mean, just even go back further. I mean, every offensive coordinator and quarterback coach that entered the building from the point since Peyton Manning left the building. We've been begging for something more than just 16. team points per game though I'd say this year at times the Broncos Huffin sometimes did but you know what they scored 33 points in the division around the playoffs against the buffalo bills you know we used to pray for days like that and it's crazy to see how far this team has come but at some point

Starting point is 00:28:07 I think Sean has to realize that his tendencies are starting to get picked up a little bit I mean I even think if you go back and you watch this game against the Patriots and I was watching out 22 it stood out to me tendency wise on third down man the Patriots they knew exactly what was happening and they keyed in on Tyler Badey every time that he was in the game, including on the play where Jared Stidham unfortunately had the fumble. You're telling me, and also from the standpoint where you're too late at getting in your substitutions in or your personnel. So now all of a sudden you rotate in your personnel a little too late. And because the Patriots are allowed to substitute, the play clock is running down to two seconds and you have to get the ball

Starting point is 00:28:45 snapped quick. That right there is saying, hey, something is not working. I think the constant rotation of personnel has been a little bit problematic in terms of revealing tendencies from the Broncos offense to make it where defenses say, hey, you know what? We know that if you're in 13 personnel, we know you're going to probably run two or three man route concepts. We're still going to drop six guys back in coverage. And we're going to send everybody else after you. We're going to send five because they could afford to do that when you are only covering two or three man routes at that point versus just saying, hey, you know what? As the offense, we're going to dictate what we do. The mass substitutions the personnel's, man.

Starting point is 00:29:22 That has been a problem all year long. And this isn't the first time we talked about it. No, and Bo Nix called it out, didn't he? I mean, multiple times during games. Did you see Jarrett Stidham? I don't know if they showed it on the broadcast, but at times, Jarrett was in the huddle looking at Sean going like this, waving his hand, like, hurry up, let's go, let's go, let's go.

Starting point is 00:29:39 So it's like, if it's happening with Bo, it's happening with Jarrett, what's the common denominator? And it is. I mean, that's so frustrating, too. I didn't know about that until you just said it right now. I didn't, I did not see that during the game. But like that has been a major problem, right? And it can be an asset for you at times as well because when you're bringing in

Starting point is 00:30:01 different personnel groupings, it allows you to get different looks at a defense. And, you know, it can be advantageous in situations, but it also does often prevent players from getting into a rhythm. Like when you're constantly changing out the running back or you're constantly, you know, taking, I mean, Evan Ingram played 42% of the snaps this year, Cody. We're going to do plenty of discussing of Evan's role and future shows and things like that. But I do believe that is a pretty good place to kind of pinpoint the problem here and why we're maybe talking about Davis Webb taking over play calling and the philosophy really overarching

Starting point is 00:30:38 being you want to fit the scheme to the players because Evan, when he played 42% of the snaps, we did not see this joker role that Sean said is supposed to be the number one must have. He didn't just say, like, oh, I really would like to have this or this would be nice. He said it was the number one must have of the offseason. I know fans were getting sick of hearing about that. That wasn't our fault. That was Sean Payton's fault. And Evan was recruited using that term, like using that as the vision for him.

Starting point is 00:31:12 So when you struggle to that degree to get a player who's supposed, supposed to be such a focal point of your offense involved even semi regularly. And you could talk about Cortland Sutton as well. I mean, bursts of great performances from Sutton. Absolutely. No question about it. But then bouts of inconsistency or at best inconsistent involvement, right, over the last two years.

Starting point is 00:31:36 And so I know that it's easy to be so discouraged and upset after a playoff loss like we just saw. and the backup quarterback starting the game. Ultimately, the offense not looking good at all and the elements, things like that. But at the same time, these struggles persisted even amidst the wins. And we're able to celebrate the win and say, look, they'll get it figured out. Hopefully they can build on this. You score 33 points in one quarter.

Starting point is 00:32:02 Oh, shoot, well, if they can do that, then let's just keep going up tempo the next game. And then we kind of have to, like, recycle and start over. So, yeah, I do think this is something that Sean has to, consider. And he did say he's going to look in the mirror after this season and really kind of figure out self-evaluation. He's going to be hard on himself and I believe him. Yeah. And look, I, I enjoy being around Sean. Look, Sean to a lot of people, he appears callous. He appears arrogant. E. E. Contiscoe. I think there are times where you can say that's fair. But it comes with the experience of what Sean Payton has done, right? Sean Payton will forget more about football

Starting point is 00:32:37 than I'll probably ever know. And I know a lot. And I try to learn more every single year. I love football. We all do. That's what brings us all together here on the show. But at some point, you know, and I've known it. I've been around coaches too that have done this for a very, very long time. The number one thing is sometimes you start questioning as you get older on your careers, do I still have it?

Starting point is 00:32:55 Can I still be as effective? Sean, I think him this season at times being reflective on the thought of that, I think is something to pay attention to here and something will fall throughout the entire offseason. But if you're going to run it back, keep this nucleus intact. And that involves key coaches. that involves key players. The Broncos' offense isn't losing anybody significant. They have a chance to upgrade and add to this position.

Starting point is 00:33:16 So how can you make that unit better? Guess what? Give the keys to Davis Webb to drive the car and we'll see how things go here. But Broncos Country, make sure you share your thoughts with us here on today's episode of the show. For all you every dayers, here's what you're going to get on tomorrow's episode of the show. We interviewed players at the end of the year, locker room exit interviews. Drake Greenlaw said some interesting things about the difference between Denver and San Francisco in terms of how Sean Payton and Kyle Shanahan,

Starting point is 00:33:40 operates. Plus, we heard from Garrett Bulls and Evan Ingram, specifically on Ingram and how his role was and what factored into everything that went down on the offensive side this year. You're going to get perspective from that and more. On tomorrow's episode, Locked on Broncos.

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