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Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman and Lindahl 10-14-25 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

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  Speaker 1: Jeff Legwald, freshly back from Tottenham Hotspur. He is with
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  Speaker 1: us here on a Tuesday afternoon. Jeff Legwald brought to
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  Speaker 1: you by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers IBW Local
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  Speaker 1: sixty eight. Start with a job and with a career, Jeff,
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  Speaker 1: Let's start with transactions. The Broncos had many a transaction today,
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  Speaker 1: most notably Matt Pair goes to IR what happened there?
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  Speaker 1: And Darren Rizzy brings in the arm out of the bullpen. J. T.
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  Speaker 1: Gray is here to fix the special teams. Tell us
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  Speaker 1: what's happening, Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Nate, you know, minor standing is like a lot of times,
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  Speaker 2: you know, in the in the twelve hours or so
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  Speaker 2: after a game, a player will often have something cropped up.
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  Speaker 2: Maybe he didn't feel when the adrenaline was flowing, but
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  Speaker 2: minor standing was that. Matt Pair notified the medical staff, Hey,
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  Speaker 2: my knee is you know, had some swelling and he
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  Speaker 2: said he had some pain and they sent him for
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  Speaker 2: an MRI. When they got back to Denver and discovered
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  Speaker 2: that it's a serious enough injury that he's going to
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  Speaker 2: i R, you know, for the for the near future.
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  Speaker 2: So that means they'll be on their third guard now
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  Speaker 2: on the left side, and that is a significant position there.
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  Speaker 2: You're down pretty far in the on the internal part
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  Speaker 2: of the line for a team that's spent much of
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  Speaker 2: the time in three wide here, you know, over the
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  Speaker 2: last month or so. So it's a big deal. I'll
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  Speaker 2: be intrigued to see how they intend to do it.
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  Speaker 2: You know. Throckmorton, Calvin Throckmorton was on their practice squad
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  Speaker 2: and they moved him to the active roster. And he
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  Speaker 2: has started games before in the NFL, you know, for
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  Speaker 2: the Ravens as and it's been with the Broncos now.
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  Speaker 2: So I don't know if they'll move Palcheski in there,
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  Speaker 2: which is the other reserve guard. He worked most of
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  Speaker 2: the time on the right side in camp, so it'll
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  Speaker 2: be one of those two guys. And again that's that
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  Speaker 2: can impact a lot of your offense if you can't
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  Speaker 2: control the interior.
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  Speaker 3: What about the gunner they signed? I mean, is this
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  Speaker 3: gonna help the special teams?
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  Speaker 1: You know?
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  Speaker 3: Chad Brown said, if you got one guy that's eleaded
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  Speaker 3: to special teams, that can't change things. Is that what
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  Speaker 3: you're expecting here.
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  Speaker 2: Well, he's definitely got history with Sean Payton and as
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  Speaker 2: a proven player. I'm you know, I want to see
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  Speaker 2: him on the practice field and see him move around
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  Speaker 2: a little bit, because you know, a couple of years
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  Speaker 2: ago he was far too good to be on somebody's
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  Speaker 2: practice squad. And you know, it's not like the Ravens
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  Speaker 2: are lighting it up right now in terms of roster depth,
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  Speaker 2: and they did not have him on the active roster either.
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  Speaker 2: But and in his prime, he was one of the
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  Speaker 2: league's best special teams players, and the Broncos certainly need help.
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  Speaker 2: You can't give up kickoff returns at seventy two thirty
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  Speaker 2: one at key portions of the game, especially now when
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  Speaker 2: that field position is you're almost in field goal range
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  Speaker 2: if you have any sort of kickoff return.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it really is the case, and it's kind of wild.
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  Speaker 1: You look at that game, I mean, Jeff, so many
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  Speaker 1: different ways the defense bailed the Broncos out on Sunday
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  Speaker 1: in London, Like the three and ounce offensively were a
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  Speaker 1: massive issue. Did you realize the Jets started five drives
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  Speaker 1: at their own forty two or better and never scored
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  Speaker 1: a touchdown in that game like that, When you talk
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  Speaker 1: about one unit winning that game, it's phenomenal the way
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  Speaker 1: they did it, and again I gotta give Sean Payton
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  Speaker 1: credit for the way that he managed that game and
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  Speaker 1: leaned into his defense to win it. I ask you
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  Speaker 1: this question, Jeff Flagwalton, I asked it of Andy earlier.
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  Speaker 1: Is there is there a unit in the NFL anybody's offense, defense,
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  Speaker 1: special teams, anything that you would rent above the Denver
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  Speaker 1: defense right now?
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  Speaker 2: Not at this moment. I mean, the Colts game is
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  Speaker 2: the Colts game. They can't hide from. I think there
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  Speaker 2: were three plays in that game of forty yards at
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  Speaker 2: least forty yards that the Colts put up. You can't
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  Speaker 2: hide from that. But for a team that's played two
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  Speaker 2: home games, which is really where defenses get the juice
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  Speaker 2: because the noise is on their side, then to be
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  Speaker 2: doing what they're doing, you know, with four road games
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  Speaker 2: already on the docket, is impressive. And you know, look,
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  Speaker 2: one team leads to the NFL in third down conversion,
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  Speaker 2: fourth down conversion, and red zone. I mean that that's ridiculous.
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  Speaker 2: To lead in all three. To have thirty sacks after
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  Speaker 2: six games is ridiculous. And you know, Sunday wasn't the
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  Speaker 2: first game where they've bailed. The Broncos out when a
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  Speaker 2: team keeps st arding you know, great field position. They've
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  Speaker 2: done it previously this year as well. And my oddest
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  Speaker 2: number from the game that just struck me was depending
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  Speaker 2: how you count, you know, a lot of Justin fields's,
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  Speaker 2: you know, was it a called run, was it a scramble?
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  Speaker 2: But by Mike count, he had twenty two dropbacks, he
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  Speaker 2: was sacked on nine of them. I mean, I'm not
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  Speaker 2: sure we've ever seen in the modern era quite that
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  Speaker 2: ratio of being thrown on the ground to drop back ratio.
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  Speaker 2: But they are on a heater right now. And you know,
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  Speaker 2: I gotta believe Vance Joseph is getting the attention of
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  Speaker 2: team owners because not only are they doing this, they've
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  Speaker 2: been really innovative in how they've done it. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: there was one four man rush in London Sunday where
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  Speaker 2: two of the rushers are DB's. I mean, they are
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  Speaker 2: just creating illusions and changes and things that make NFL
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  Speaker 2: quarterbacks have to pause and if you pause very long,
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  Speaker 2: they're gonna get you.
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  Speaker 1: By the way, Jeff along those lines, like if you
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  Speaker 1: look at the like at the next gen stuff, it'll
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  Speaker 1: it'll tell you that the Broncos are blitzing more than
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  Speaker 1: anybody else in the NFL, which you know you're defining
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  Speaker 1: is bringing more than four rushers. But like with this defense,
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  Speaker 1: it's their base is almost to bring five because and
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  Speaker 1: I think they can do it because their secondary is
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  Speaker 1: so friggin good. But like they they will gladly rush
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  Speaker 1: Benito and Cooper on the exact same play and then
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  Speaker 1: rush the three up front that are that are the
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  Speaker 1: three down linemen and they have the six pack in coverage.
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  Speaker 1: But also like, because your secondary is so good, like
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  Speaker 1: you call that a blitz again technically because it's more
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  Speaker 1: than four. And yet I would say that's basically the
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  Speaker 1: base of what VJ is doing.
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  Speaker 2: And even and you know they're they've got what I
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  Speaker 2: would consider four man blitzes that aren't counted, where it's
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  Speaker 2: one defensive lineman, a linebacker and two dbs. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: that's to me, that's a blitz. You've given the quarterback
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  Speaker 2: all kinds of out of the box things to look at. Uh,
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  Speaker 2: but you know, they they they're just their talent level
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  Speaker 2: right now. In the fits they've done the personnel part
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  Speaker 2: of this equation. They they fit guys to what they're doing.
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  Speaker 2: I mean there's several rushes where Benito will come out
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  Speaker 2: of his stance, he influences the protection and then he
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  Speaker 2: like Sunday, he drops into a spy role, you know,
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  Speaker 2: in case justin Field's runs. I mean, that's all really, Uh,
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  Speaker 2: you know, their simulated pressures are inventive, and you know
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  Speaker 2: what they did in Philly was no word the same
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  Speaker 2: as what they did in London against the Jets. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: just their week to week of ability to you know,
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  Speaker 2: watch the birdie, you know which helmet is the pebble under,
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  Speaker 2: you know. I mean they are just doing things that
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  Speaker 2: are innovative and really difficult for quarterbacks. And they can
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  Speaker 2: do that because they're dB. They're deeper in the secondary
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  Speaker 2: than most teams could even think about. And just their
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  Speaker 2: usage of McMillan and John A. Barron and these nickel
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  Speaker 2: and dime roles. They've got Barron in on some specific
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  Speaker 2: nickel snaps and when they're in the dime. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: they are just horrible to deal with if you're the quarterback.
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  Speaker 3: All right, this is probably a better question for Friday,
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  Speaker 3: but I'm gonna ask it to you today anyway. What
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  Speaker 3: do you think is any guests on Drake Greenlaw for
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  Speaker 3: the week, you think it would look like a Malcolm
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  Speaker 3: Roach ri if you see him at least practice a bit.
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  Speaker 3: Maybe next week's the week. What do you think is
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  Speaker 3: going on there? Is it still the great mystery?
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  Speaker 2: I mean until I see him, you know, even doing
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  Speaker 2: more workoff to the side, Andy, I can't give you
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  Speaker 2: a great answer. I mean Roach, you could stand out
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  Speaker 2: there and see Malcolm Roach was making progress, you know,
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  Speaker 2: if they could be working greenlaw, you know inside when
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  Speaker 2: we're out there to keep it all under wraps, and
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  Speaker 2: that he is doing well. But I don't have a
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  Speaker 2: good answer for you. I have not seen the progression
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  Speaker 2: to the outside doing stuff with trainers like they often
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  Speaker 2: do before a guy returns to practice.
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  Speaker 1: Jeff Legwald is with us ESPN dot com. Jeff brought
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  Speaker 1: to you by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers IBW
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  Speaker 1: Local sixty eight. Start with the job and with a career, Jeff,
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  Speaker 1: let's talk about the offense here for a moment, which
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  Speaker 1: you know wasn't great on the road there in London.
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  Speaker 1: I was looking at some of the snap count stuff.
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  Speaker 1: Dobbins thirty snaps is of sixty offensive snaps. Dobbin's thirty
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  Speaker 1: Harvey seventeen McLoughlin had six in an ill fated screen
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  Speaker 1: pass out there. You know, I'm looking at the tight
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  Speaker 1: ends Ingram twenty eight, snaps, Adkins twenty three, Troutman twenty three. Again,
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  Speaker 1: the receivers Courtland Sutton is up at eighty percent, and
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  Speaker 1: everybody else is kind of all over the map, Like,
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  Speaker 1: could Sean Payton really benefit from just pairing down the
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  Speaker 1: personnel groupings and just finding what works with any consistency.
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  Speaker 2: I have, you know, find Matt Hill many times this year.
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  Speaker 2: That is my opinion. I have asked him multiple times
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  Speaker 2: about that exact thing, and he has always answered me
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  Speaker 2: the same way, and that's that he believed the the
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  Speaker 2: constant changes is difficult for a defense to handle. But
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  Speaker 2: I think you know, when you have a twelve year quarterback,
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  Speaker 2: a thirteen year quarterback, you know, many many Pro Bowls,
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  Speaker 2: much experience, I think it's a much different equation he
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  Speaker 2: had in New Orleans and it probably was very challenging
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  Speaker 2: for a defense. But I think this Bronco group, you know,
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  Speaker 2: I'm a big believer in coaching the team you.
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  Speaker 1: Have with a second year quarterback.
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  Speaker 2: And I think they I don't think there's any way
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  Speaker 2: this group can find a rhythm with that amount of change.
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  Speaker 2: You know, Look, I know you got players you believe
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  Speaker 2: in are talented and you want to get them snaps.
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  Speaker 2: But I think this group would benefit by just sticking
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  Speaker 2: with you know, maybe a little closer to a seventy
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  Speaker 2: percent snap count for a lot of those guys, and
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  Speaker 2: then that thirty percent is where you can have some
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  Speaker 2: impact in situational substitutions. But you know, snap after snap,
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  Speaker 2: it looks like a line change, you know, coming over
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  Speaker 2: coming over the boards. I mean, it's just I know,
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  Speaker 2: for a fact, I've not covered a team. I think
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  Speaker 2: it's even more than last year. And I've I've been
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  Speaker 2: going through it a little by little with even some
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  Speaker 2: last year's game video to make sure I'm not just
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  Speaker 2: you know, I don't often remember things the way I should,
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  Speaker 2: but no, I've been going through it. And this is
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  Speaker 2: the most I think of any team I've ever covered.
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  Speaker 2: And I think it's the last three games that's been
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  Speaker 2: the most this season.
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  Speaker 1: It's it's wild the amount of different personnel groupings they're using.
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  Speaker 1: And he talks about the constant changes being difficult for defenses,
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  Speaker 1: Nothing is difficult for defenses. Right now, two of their
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  Speaker 1: last eight quarters have been good. Outside of that, this
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  Speaker 1: has been rough. Jeff Lagweld, everybody, ESPN, Hey legy Man,
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  Speaker 1: great job in London. You coverage was terrific, You were
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  Speaker 1: great on the show. The stuff on ESPN dot com
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  Speaker 1: was awesome. I know that's not the easy circumstances under
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  Speaker 1: which to do your job as a beat reporter, but
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  Speaker 1: you crushed it. So well done man.
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  Speaker 2: I appreciate you guys for giving me a venue.