Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - UNLOCKED: Denver Broncos May Have Found RJ Harvey’s PERFECT ROLE

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Denver Broncos might have just unlocked the role for RJ Harvey where he can help the Broncos offence thrive all season long. We'll tell you what it is 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. Hey, hey, hey, hey, what's happening in Broncos country? Welcome into another episode, Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network where we know it's your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:34 Special thank you. a shout out to all the everydayers out there in Broncos country. Thanks for tuning in making us your first listen. However you choose to do so, and if you're not yet in everydayer, become one for all your daily Broncos content coverage and more. I'm Cody Rourke, Broncos reporter from Ohio Sports. Join, as always by Sarah Bedinger, site expert over there, predominantly orange.com. And we've got a lot to break down here on today's episode of the show, which is brought to you by our friends over there at Fandu. And right now, new customers can bet just $5.

Starting point is 00:01:01 And if your bet wins, you'll get $300 in bonus bets that you can use all three. throughout the entire app. And what a follow-up show to a victory Tuesday, essentially here, as we now shift gears a little bit to the Philadelphia Eagles. But some grandstanding notes here from the Broncos after their Monday night football win, the Broncos seemingly have found out how to unlock RJ Harvey's usage a little bit further on Monday night football. We'll talk about that.

Starting point is 00:01:25 Plus, we're going to ask the question, is it time for the Broncos to go in a different direction at the center position after Luke Wattenberg's struggles continue to impact the offense? and then we'll also discuss the standouts there on the offensive line. Garrett Bulls, Mike McGlinchy, these guys aren't being talked about enough. We'll highlight them and more on today's episode of the show. Sarah, my friend, look, I think Monday's game here is we've had a chance to go back and watch the film, look at the numbers, and go through and see what exactly happened against the Bengals in primetime action.

Starting point is 00:01:54 It seems like the Broncos might have the formula right here for unlocking a very, very impactful role for rookie running back, R.J. Harvey. Well, Sean Payton said that they have. have yet to give RJ Harvey his Joker wings, but I think we might have seen finally the first step towards the Broncos giving him those Joker wings against the Bengals on Monday night. I know everybody's tired of the overplayed Joker term. So let's just talk about RJ Harvey as an offensive weapon then. Call it whatever you want to call it. But we saw the full kind of, I guess it was the full arsenal of what he brings to the

Starting point is 00:02:27 table in this game, right? From just those quick feet, the great vision, the ability to make plays in space, soft hands as a receiver. A lot of different things going on as he racked up 98 yards from scrimmage in this game, Cody. But go figure against the Chargers only had 48 total plays offensively to work with. Get this. The Broncos had 80 total plays to work with against the Cincinnati Bengals offensively.

Starting point is 00:02:54 So not only was it a great opportunity for this offense as a whole to get on track, but when you have 80 plays that you can run, man, you can really find ways. to say, hey, we want to really get a good look at R.J. Harvey. It almost functions as a preseason game in that regard. So you're able to not only get him involved in the offense, the way you saw in terms of your vision pre-draft, now you're able to put some feet to that in a real game that matters and build up his confidence.

Starting point is 00:03:22 Well, not only that, it is the element in the past catching department where if you look at his college tape, didn't have a lot of overall volume as a past catcher, but in times where he was targeted out of the backfield, he had big plays that went for touchdowns. We're talking wheel routes, but now you're seeing RJ kind of evolve a little bit as a player where, okay, yes, he's catching a pass out in the flat and maybe he's doing damage, getting upfield.

Starting point is 00:03:44 But we're seeing him run downfield. Now, there was the one mishap there where Bownex went to go throw a little shot play to him, and he kind of hesitated and stopped versus still going. If he would have kept going, that might have been a walking touchdown. And then he probably would have had over 100 all-purpose yards in this game. 98, you know, still pretty dang good. We'll take that four catches for 40 yards. had a chance that probably if he would have caught that one and it would have been a

Starting point is 00:04:06 touching, it probably would have had over 100 yards receiving in this game and two potential receiving touchdowns overall. So I like the vision as to where they're evolving him as a past catcher here. But I also like the split usage between these guys. Sarah, we can all probably acknowledge it. Not every game. You're not going to get 80 snaps offensively every game. But if you can, oh, you would sure like to take advantage of that.

Starting point is 00:04:27 J.K. Dobbins had 36 snaps here for the Broncos offensively. RJ Harvey had 33. When we're talking about balance in terms of usage, I really like the rhythm and flow that Sean Payton had with both of these guys here. And I think it allowed them both to shine in their own ways. Right now the Broncos might have their running back duo for the next foreseeable future here. I think these guys both have created impact place here. And we saw that on Monday night.

Starting point is 00:04:53 Yeah, we really did. And these two guys working together, we called for kind of who's going to be that spark. You know, it was thrown out there by some. like maybe Julio McLaughlin gets activated for this game and he becomes the spark like he was against the Bengals last year or do you give Tyler Badee some more run out there? I think I like what the Broncos did in sticking with these two guys. You know, we saw last week against the Chargers only two carries for two yards for RJ Harvey. But when you watch the game, you really understand, hey, he had one nice run that was called back on a penalty.

Starting point is 00:05:24 And he also had a nice, you know, a potential of a pass play that was drawn up for him to convert a third and long. that ultimately a couple of guys missed their blocks. So you had opportunities there. You're intentionally trying to get him involved. So stick with the plan. Don't necessarily need to throw a different guy out there and see if he can do it. Because I do feel like you're exactly right, Cody. You have the two guys that you can build not only a running game around,

Starting point is 00:05:50 but a dynamic overall offense around. Because J.K. Dobbins, man, he's creating after contact. R.J. Harvey is doing more than just catching swing. and screens. He's showing he's got an opportunity to go run a little bit more of a route tree out there now. So it's really an exciting development when you're talking about unlocking this role in a victory like this.

Starting point is 00:06:12 It's not just unlocking a role in a single game. It's what is what is Sean Payton say all the time. Confidence is born from demonstrated ability. When you go out there and show that you can do it, you start to believe that yourself, like, man, I can do pretty much anything, right? So these players, they're seeing, they're believing, and now they're doing. it's, man, it's going to just, I think, be a snowball effect from this point. Yeah, and I honestly don't think the Broncos need to use three backs.

Starting point is 00:06:37 I think you use these two guys. And I think you get both of them comfortable. It doesn't matter who's in, right? But instead of just having a third down back, have it be a luxury that any of these two guys can play in a third down situation for you. And obviously, that was the case at times and obviously Monday night football. But I think JK's role here, he's not going to be a guy that's probably going to get as involved in the passing game, though he did have. I think one catch for four yards. You know, one of those screenplays there,

Starting point is 00:07:04 RJ has a chance to really kind of open things up a little bit, whereas I look at JK as this guy's going to break off a couple of chunk runs. He's going to wear that defense down. And then it's death by 1,000 paper cuts. Now you bring in RJ Harvey who not only can impact you as a past catcher with an expanded route tree, but you're also seeing a guy who's running through contact. And Sarah, I got some numbers.

Starting point is 00:07:24 I just going back and watching the tape, got me feeling a little nicer here today, right? Let's go through. obviously shout out to our friends over there at True Media. RJ Harvey, these were his numbers against a six-man box on Monday night football. Against a six-man box, he had three carries for 22 yards. It's averaging around seven yards per carry against a six-man box. When you get to a seven-man box here, four carries for 23 yards.

Starting point is 00:07:49 And here's the number that stands out as well. Even though he's facing some of those stacked box looks, he's averaging five yards after contact per rush against six. and seven-man boxes, according to our friends over there at True Media. So he's got good vision. He's running through contact and getting extra yards. This is where I think that if J.K. Dobbins can wear some guys down and the Broncos open up some play action stuff and they're gashing them in the passing game the way that

Starting point is 00:08:15 they had rhythm. And now you bring in RJ Harvey and it's just another guy you've got to account for. This is the role that will help this offense kind of unlock, I think, a sense of sustainability throughout the rest of the season. And speaking of unlocking roles, what you just mentioned at the Broncos, Can really get play action going. We know that Bo Nix is extremely effective on play action, but also how much more effective now can Evan Ingram be in this offense?

Starting point is 00:08:39 If the Broncos are getting a lot of looks where he's kind of just running out there, kind of wide open off play action. Like a lot of times we see tight ends coming from the opposite side of the formation. They come dragging across the field on play action. All of a sudden now you're hitting at least a couple of big chunk plays to a player like Evan Ingram every single week. And that's brought out of that. Troutman too. I mean, Troutman was making plays. We saw these guys doing things out there.

Starting point is 00:09:03 So that's what I want to see going forward to is how can you build on now you've unlocked RJ Harvey's role. You had already unlocked J.K. Dobbins role in this offense. How can you now unlock Evan Ingram based on these things, right? And I think they can work in tandem together. So I'm excited for this, Cody. It feels like a great launching off point for the Broncos. We understand the Bengals aren't world beaters on defense. They're not the best defense in the NFL. The Broncos were in control of this game for the majority of it. But at the same time, you know what? It's still a, it's an NFL game. Like, these guys are trying to win. These guys are paid to play. So you can't just take it with a green assault and say

Starting point is 00:09:43 that it doesn't matter. I think that this is a huge launching off point for the offense overall. Well, to your point about opening up the play action as well, according to NFL next-gen stats for Bo necks. He threw 14 of his 42 passing attempts on the run. So that's moving at eight plus miles an hour in the Broncos win over the Bengals, which was the second highest rate by any quarterback this season. So for him, it's like they even said, however, he complete only seven of 14 passes for 88 yards. We saw the interception in the red zone. What do we see? Like, there's times where I think the design rollout throw on the run is workable. It's manageable for Bo. But where do we see Boe thrive? I think you can run play action, get him to set

Starting point is 00:10:22 his feet and fire versus it just being boot action where he's rolling out, do that, do that fake there and stand in the pocket and then deliver. I think that's where the Broncos can have some bread and butter and all these guys are going to get involved in the mix here. Broncos country, we love what we've seen from obviously RJ Harvey here, but we have not liked what we've seen from Luke Wattenberg. Is it time for the Broncos to replace their center for Alex Forsyth? We'll take a look at the reasons why that could be on the table here for the Broncos on today's

Starting point is 00:10:49 episode of the show. This episode of Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by Mazda. Mazda crafts cars for those who do more than simply move. From footwork to breathwork, athletes, they sweat all the details. And Mazda, they bring the same intention to how they craft every single model. You can make everyday drives feel like anything but from smooth handling to intuitive controls. And with all-wheel drive standard in every crossover SUV, you can drive with confidence through almost any season. And just like we talk about R.J Harvey finding his unique role in this game and Sean Peyton sweating those details for his players,

Starting point is 00:11:27 Mazda sweats every detail as well because when you make every move count, impossible becomes irrelevant. Mazda move and be moved. It seems the time has officially come for the Denver Broncos to make a switch at the center position. But will they do it? Well, we're going to break down why they probably should on today's episode locked on Broncos here. of a Broncos country, happy victory week to every one of you out there. We celebrate victories all throughout the course of the week. Got them enjoy them while you got them.

Starting point is 00:11:56 Hey, we really appreciate all of you everyday listeners of the show as well. If you haven't done so, we'd really appreciate if you hit subscribe wherever you listen to podcast as well as on YouTube. And let's talk about this because even though there's the excitement of a victory, absolutely, you celebrate all the wins. You got to look at some of the details from the game and figure out, All right, is there anything that's possibly preventing the Broncos from being a championship caliber team? Of course, penalties are a big reason why they may not be as good as everyone hoped before the start of the season.

Starting point is 00:12:29 They got to clean that up. But in terms of starting personnel on offense, Cody, it does feel like starting center, Luke Wattenberg. It's probably time for the Broncos to consider at least giving Alex Forsyth some reps, don't you think? I mean, what's your thought process behind this? What did you see on Monday night football? It just felt like Luke was struggling more than, more than even normal out there in this particular game. Yeah, I mean, so far this year, it looks like Luke Wattenberg has kind of been the weak link, the sore spot on the offensive line.

Starting point is 00:12:59 When you're looking at the production, you're looking at where teams are attacking. You're looking at maybe some missed assignments. It all kind of goes back to Luke Wattenberg being the one guy who's consistently making the most mistakes overall. And we're going to highlight the offensive line because they've been doing pretty well in a lot of other categories. You'll get that a little bit later here. But this is definitely the concern here. And Sarah, you know, one of the things I saw here in this game in particular, and this has been a trend as well when the Broncos have tried to run some of the screenplays to the tight ends or to the running backs.

Starting point is 00:13:26 They've been called for an eligible man downfield several times. And Luke Wattenberg was the recipient of that where maybe he's just not understanding the timing or the cadence needed to be able to block or chip release because you're letting defensive linemen upfield. But then it's like, when do I release out or am I getting upfield way too quickly? and it's like you can't go past the line of scrimmage. And I even think this was an issue last year. I think the Broncos actually got away with one against Kansas City last year on the road to Arrowhead. I think Luke Wattenberg was the guy who got downfield on that one here. So actually he wasn't even playing in that game.

Starting point is 00:13:59 I think it was Alex Forsyth who got it, which now brings us to our next point here. I think from what the Broncos are trying to do offensively, dating back to last year, Alex Forsyth, I felt like was a better run blocker here. The run game looked more efficient for the Broncos inside. when he was the center there. Of course, I don't think he's as strong as Luke Wattenberg, like Luke Wattenberg's bigger in that regard. But I think Alex has a good lower base to him.

Starting point is 00:14:23 He's very strong at the anchor point. But he's also more agile where I think he can get to those landmarks that the Broncos desperately need if they're trying to implement this wide zone scheme at times. He can get to that next level and get to a linebacker and seal him, whereas I just don't think Luke Wattenberg is fast enough. That's some of the concerns that I saw obviously here on Monday night football. What were some of the concerns you saw here with Wattenberg outside of the penalties? I think one of the biggest concerns that I have is the fact that some of these snaps that are getting to Bo Nix are kind of being lofted up to him, almost like he's catching a pass in a basketball game.

Starting point is 00:14:58 He's like catching it up above his head that's being like lofted up above and he's catching some of them with one hand. I remember one play in particular, he threw a screen pass out to his left. He had to make like a one-handed catch on a lofted snap in order to just corral the. the ball and then quickly whip it out to his left. And thankfully, they were still able to make the play. But at the same time, Cody, I just don't, I don't understand why that's been such a problem. I mean, we've pointed it out a number of times that some of these snaps are kind of being

Starting point is 00:15:27 lofted slowly or inaccurately back to Bow Nix. And they're all happening when Wattenberg is in the lineup. And so I don't know if that's something that that they work on during the week or if it's something that just kind of happens over the course of a game and he just kind of has a It's not necessarily the same as a catcher throwing the ball back to a pitcher where it doesn't really matter what speed the ball gets there. Obviously, for your offensive operation to run at its highest efficiency, you've got to get the ball back to the quarterback accurately, just like in the punting phase of the game.

Starting point is 00:16:00 If your long snapper is off with a punt and your punter is having to reach above his head to catch the ball, that becomes a liability over time. And the other thing that I noticed as well is when the Broncos did execute properly, getting the ball out perfectly on time. You whip the ball out to the left, bang. There was one play in particular. They set up a screen, I believe, on third and long, to Marvin Mims. And you throw the screen pass out quickly.

Starting point is 00:16:24 You get the ball to Marvin. And Luke Wattonberg is out there. He's not putting a hat on anybody. And I don't understand that either. I get maybe your timing is off on certain screens where you've got to let the defensive line penetrate and get up field. And then you, okay, now you got everybody coming up field. You try to beat them that way.

Starting point is 00:16:41 But when you're supposed to get out and. front and put a hat on somebody and you put a hat on nobody. That's the kind of stuff that that really stands out in a negative way to me. Yeah. And look, it's always about getting a hat on somebody. Like, that's the number one thing. If you can't, if you got no work, you know what we always say? Go find work.

Starting point is 00:16:57 Like, that's the thing. Like, don't, don't just wait for someone to come to you. You got to go find somebody because Marvin or any running back or a tight end that's catching a screen pass, they're trying to read the blocks of the linemen that are getting downfield. Now, obviously, I think the Broncos perimeter blocking, a wide receiver. I think that's a really big strength that there is right now. In particular, I think Troy's pretty good at it.

Starting point is 00:17:17 I think even Marvin at times is good at it, even though he's a little undersized when you talk about some of the D.Bs, he has to block against Cortland Sutton setting up a huge block for J.K. Dobbins late in this game. And then Pat Bryant being a very good blocker, like they're getting those guys that are on the perimeter blocking. They're doing a fantastic job. It is when you're trying to unlock something in your offensive line needs to get that

Starting point is 00:17:37 second level, you're just not seeing it consistently from Luke Wattenberg. And I'm curious as well. And like nobody asked, we were on a conference call with Sean Payton and nobody asked about Wattenberg. And I don't know if that's just because the Broncos, they won a game. And if you're winning, you know,

Starting point is 00:17:51 some things don't get brought up. They don't get talked about here. But I very much think just from what we're seeing, I'm curious on what Luke Wattenberg has done because I'm sure if we asked Sean. If I asked Sean this, he would say he's doing well. Like that, Sean's not going to throw a player under the bus to the media.

Starting point is 00:18:05 He's not going to talk about that in any way, shape or form. But I am very curious internally. I'd kill it to be a fly on the wall. So what conversations are being had with Zach Streif and Sean about the O line here. And also here's this point, too. Guess who Bo Nix's college center was at Oregon? It was Alex Forsyth.

Starting point is 00:18:22 They've got chemistry together. I think Forsyth is very, very smart for what he lacks, maybe in some physical strength or makeup in certain areas. This guy is a smart football player that understands the right angles to win. And I think he's played in this offense before dating back at Oregon. I mean, now it's like, now you get a guy at center who can do those things. And in return, I think if you get better play from your center position, Sarah, it's going to make your guards and your tackles job a lot easier. And I know Ben Powers has kind of been a little bit of an easy button punching back.

Starting point is 00:18:52 I think Ben Powers has actually played pretty solid this season for the most part. I think the struggles that we're seeing are all relative to the center position. I would agree completely. And I think that that can't be the case going forward. I mean, I know that not every roster is perfect. I know that not everybody has alternative options, but the Broncos actually have somebody who started games for them last year. I know you mentioned it earlier with the Kansas City game, but yeah, Luke Wattenberg missed some time last year due to injury. And I thought Alex Forsyth played pretty

Starting point is 00:19:22 well. I know that he also is a punching bag for many Broncos fans because of that play against Kansas City. And, you know, time heals all wounds, but we're still healing from that one a little bit. And I understand that. I understand that there's a little disdain towards him for that play on special teams and a number of others that were kind of called out after the fact, right? But when it comes to playing the center position, it's not the same as field goal block. I mean, Alex, he did pretty darn well when he was asked to be the starting center last year. And like you said, you've got some great guards next to you. And that's why it's maybe a little shocking that Luke Wattenberg is struggling as much as he is because you're playing next to Ben Powers and Quinn Miners, who are two of the

Starting point is 00:20:01 best in the business. And so I think if any time there was to make a change, if we've seen enough at any point, it's got to be right now. You know what the biggest challenge is going to be? And we're fixing to find out Philadelphia on Sunday with that defensive line that they got with Jalen Carter right there. I guarantee you they're going to try to test Luke Wattenberg. I'm curious to see how he responds unless the Broncos do decide to make a change. And I think that's also the challenges the coaches.

Starting point is 00:20:27 Like when do you know when to pull the plug on something? Like if the guy just doesn't have it, if the job is just not getting done at a consistent enough level, when do you pull the plug there? That's something I think that, you know, they think of. And I also think at the same time, the coaching staff's hesitancy could be related to, okay, if we pull the plug here, there's no guarantee this next guy's going to come in and do even better. I think that there are just little things that Forsyth can do better that the offense will operate more efficiently with. And if Luke Wattenberg could somehow master some of these things have impacted him,

Starting point is 00:20:55 then I think he would be okay. But we haven't seen that. And it's been an issue dating back to the preseason here. Broncos country, we're curious for your thoughts here on the Broncos offensive line. should they maybe look at replacing Luke Wattonberg for Alex Forsyth. Make sure you sound off by letting us know your thoughts here today. But we are going to highlight the offensive line in a good way. Garib Bulls, Mike McGlinchy, they are standing out in a big way so far through four weeks of the NFL season.

Starting point is 00:21:21 We'll highlight the play the Broncos offensive tackles here on today's episode, Lockdown Broncos. Today's episode of Lockdown Broncos is brought to you by Fanduel. The NFL season, it's finally here, and Fandual has an offer you do not want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. That's right. Pick a bet, put down $5. And if it hits, you'll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. So maybe you want to get in on the action here for week five Broncos against the Eagles.

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Starting point is 00:23:29 And that happens to be their tackle play. Just want to say thanks once again to everyone in Broncos country. all the everydayers and first listeners out there. If you're not yet in every day and you're loving the conversation that you're getting so far on the Broncos, you're a brand new viewer or listener, hit that subscribe button for us so you never miss out on what's going on every single day all year long. All right, Sarah, let's talk about it. We talked about maybe a negative aspect of what we've seen from the Broncos offensive line so far. But a highlight so far for them has been their offensive tackle play of Garrett Bulls and Mike McGlinchie.

Starting point is 00:24:00 And I'd say it's a little bit of a turnaround from what we saw in training camp from, this unit specifically. I think, you know, Garrett's always been solid. But Mike McGlensh was having some struggles in training camp, especially in some of the joint practices that they had against these other teams here. I think Mike has adjusted really well to what the Broncos' new outside zone scheme has been. But, you know, I think from an athletic standpoint, as a past protector, he's also been very good at being able to read guys well, block them down and allow bow time to escape outside the pocket. I've enjoyed what I've seen from these two tackles here for the Broncos. And Garrett Bulls could be up.

Starting point is 00:24:34 for that defender of the year or protector of the year, I think is what they call it, if he continues his strong level of play. Yeah, Garrett's like, oh, they're giving out awards to the best offensive linemen nowadays. I'm about to turn it up for this season. I love it. I mean, these guys are burying people in the dirt. They are pancaking guys. They're getting out in space, making plays.

Starting point is 00:24:54 That's what really stood out to me in this game, too, Cody, is we see a lot more pulling this season from Garrett using that athleticism that he has had dating back to his amazing scouting combine in 20. 2017 coming out of Utah. Athleticism has always been there for him. And so for him to be able to still playing at this level at the age of 33, shout out to all my geriatric millennials out there like me and Garrett Bowles. But I love what we're seeing from him.

Starting point is 00:25:19 Like I do. I love what we're seeing from Garrett. And Ryan Fowler, he's actually a brand new colleague of mine over at Fancied, Cody. I don't know if you knew that. But Ryan Fowler posted some love for our boy, Garrett Bowles. He said, in 164 pass person, pro snaps this season. Only four pressures allowed.

Starting point is 00:25:38 Zero sacks, 2.4% pressure percentage, and a 91.9 pass pro effectiveness grade, which is the best among all offensive linemen in football. So shout out to Ryan Fowler for those numbers there because ultimately, if Bowles can keep those numbers up, he is going to win that protector of the year award. Yeah. I mean, and the thing is about Garrett, too, is just how his play has ascended year over year, right when it was all dicey before he got his first ever contract extension now he's gotten two contract extensions with the broncos and he i think he certainly earned it and i think he's

Starting point is 00:26:13 played better like i think the concern as you get older and garrett was an older prospect coming out of college anyways you're a concern was okay what is your shelf life with a player like garret garret is proven that as time goes on he's actually aging like wine in terms of how he's playing he's off to a great start so far but i mean we're also seeing the broncos do some things that I think are conducive to the success of this team going forward here. How many times, Sarah, in the last, however many years you and I've been doing this together, have we been asking and begging for the Broncos to either pull their guards at times or pull the tackles out to the next level?

Starting point is 00:26:49 We saw the Broncos get creative in a sense where on that fourth and two play against the chargers, Sean Payton moved Gariboles all the way to the right side, not as someone who was on the line, but he was kind of like off the line. He was almost like a tight end or a wing in essential. there and they kind of fake the toss. They could run that toss play at some point. We could see it. Or here's what you could do, right?

Starting point is 00:27:11 You could be in the shotgun here. You could have Garrett their offset. You can run an inside handoff while bringing bulls across the formation to kick out a guy on the outside. Like, you have flexibility here because you have two tackles who are pretty athletic and that can do those things that you want. I'm excited about this. But I'm also liking the fact that they're negating some pressure from some of the bigger pass horses on the outside.

Starting point is 00:27:32 like Trey Hendrickson, probably one of the bright spots of this, Bengals bad defense there, didn't really, I never heard his name, never saw him called once, really, on Monday night football. And Mike McGlenshy absolutely pancaked him. The Broncos were putting bodies to the floor here on the football field on Monday night. And it started with the physicality and the tone set, I think, by guys like Garrett and Mike. That's what you and I had talked about going into this game as well, too, right?

Starting point is 00:28:00 The fact that the offensive line kind of got pushed around, a little bit against Jeffrey Simmons and Tavondre Sweat back in week one. And then, you know, weeks two and three, it was a tough battle that the Broncos, you felt like at the line of scrimmage, they were getting pushed back. I mean, Sean Payton talked about it frustrating at halftime against the charters. He's like way too many negative plays. When you have way too many negative plays, it's not just because, well, you're running back doesn't know where to go because obviously we see J.K. Dobbins,

Starting point is 00:28:26 he's going to be able to find the holes, no matter how small they are at this point. the O line was kind of getting pushed around, and I think they took that Chargers game personal. I think they took the first three weeks personal. And yeah, they should have. And absolutely, we saw against the Bengals that taking it personal and saying, you know what, we are one of the best offensive lines in the league. And they put some feet to those words because people have been ranking them high in all these categories,

Starting point is 00:28:52 pass block efficiency, run block efficiency, you know, pass block rating a lot, whatever new acronym we're coming up with this week, the O line for the Denver Broncos has been ranked near the top of all these metrics. And you and I are sitting here saying, I don't know if it's been that good. And then against the Bengals, man, they come out and they do the thing. And it's the tackles, these two guys who are leaders of this team, veterans, elder statesmen of the team, whatever you want to call them. They went out and set the example at the highest level. And you love to see that, especially going into this game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Starting point is 00:29:25 Well, that new acronym is the OLDBL, the E. offensive line destructive block rate is what we're going to see we're going to go with that are yeah but i mean i have been impressed here and look to your point like when we talk about the pressure is allowed here it really hasn't come on the outside it really has kind of been that interior push at center and and several times at guard there too like you know and i think that's where like if luke waddenberg's struggling i think quin minors is going to struggle i think ben powers is going to struggle because realistically the center is the the most important starting aspect of your offense in terms of you need to get the ball to your quarterback

Starting point is 00:30:03 and you need to make sure that there is no interior gap penetration. Well, that has been coming in the A gap quite a bit here where I look at Quinn and I look at Ben when they're moving and they're double teaming initially and their guy is peeling off to where they can let them go. They're peeking backside. They're doing their jobs, I think from a communication standpoint, whereas we've seen Wattonberg kind of upended and put on the ground. Haven't seen Garrett Bulls or Mike McGlinchy uprooted or put on the ground yet.

Starting point is 00:30:28 So they've kind of been bright spots here. And if Devere can shore up that interior stuff, I think this offense will be a lot better here going forward, Sarah. And look, hopefully they can do that big test this week against Jalen Carter, Vic Fangio, and that's Philadelphia Eagles defense that we know is tough as Nells. The Broncos can find a way to maybe bully them around a little bit and have some success against them. Then I think the optimism and the conversations we're having about this team, Sarah, I think they change a little bit going forward here.

Starting point is 00:30:56 Broncos Country, as always, we want to hear from you on today's episode of the show. Tell us your thoughts on what we've talked about so far in terms of the Broncos unlocking R.J. Harvey's role, the Luke Wattenberg conversation if he needs to be replaced and what you think so far of Garrett Bowles and Mike McGlinchies play so far through four weeks of the NFL season. But that'll wrap up today's episode of the show. Broncos country tomorrow's episode. It is crossover Thursday as we sit down and we talk with Locked on Eagles to preview Sundays 11 a.m. Mountain Time kickoff. We'll see you then for another episode of the show.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - UNLOCKED: Denver Broncos May Have Found RJ Harvey’s PERFECT ROLE

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