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Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman and Lindahl 12-8-25 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

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  Speaker 1: Riley House Football Monday Craigman and Lindahl ELTs Dude Sports
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  Speaker 1: Radio ninety two to five Time for Jeff Legwald on
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  Speaker 1: a Monday. Jeff is brought to you by the International
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  Speaker 1: Brotherhood of Electrical Workers ibe W Local sixty eight. You
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  Speaker 1: start with a job and you end with a career,
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  Speaker 1: all right, Leggy. I made a statement there right before
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  Speaker 1: the break that I that I would love to bounce
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  Speaker 1: off of you. We will learn more about the twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty five Broncos in the next four weeks than anything
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  Speaker 1: we learned from the first thirteen weeks of this season.
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  Speaker 1: Discuss amongst yourself, Well.
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  Speaker 2: That'd be good radio, wouldn't it If I disgusted amongst myself.
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  Speaker 3: I think I think you're eighty percent right, ok. You.
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  Speaker 2: I think we've learned that they can win one score
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  Speaker 2: games in almost a situation. Yeah, so I think that
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  Speaker 2: that lesson is already in the in the books. But yeah,
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  Speaker 2: this is a this is a big stretch. If you're
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  Speaker 2: really serious about finishing the season, like you've said since
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  Speaker 2: training camp, how you want to finish the season, then
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  Speaker 2: now is the time. And you and they now play
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  Speaker 2: with the knowledge that they have the number one seed
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  Speaker 2: in the AFC. They have all the playoff home games
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  Speaker 2: they want. All they have to do is win as
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  Speaker 2: many games as the New England Patriots.
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  Speaker 1: The rest of the way, yep, go close out and
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  Speaker 1: get it done. The performance that we got from bow
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  Speaker 1: Nicks yesterday thirty one to thirty eight, two hundred and
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  Speaker 1: seventeen yards, excuse me, two twelve, I want to make
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  Speaker 1: sure I get that correctly. His his touchdown pass streak
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  Speaker 1: faded in that game, but he did run for a
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  Speaker 1: touchdown in that game. And afterwards, bow Knicks actually embraced
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  Speaker 1: the term game manager, which was really cool to hear
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  Speaker 1: out of bow Knicks, because, let's face it, Jeff, like,
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  Speaker 1: that's that's exactly what this version of the Denver Broncos
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  Speaker 1: needs him to be. Maybe in a few years when
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  Speaker 1: the defense's ages out of its greatness, that then you
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  Speaker 1: need more from bow Knicks. But right now he's playing
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  Speaker 1: the kind of quarterback that's exactly what this team needs
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  Speaker 1: him to be.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I guess I would always argue the best
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  Speaker 2: quarterbacks are game managers, and that's that's that's the whole
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  Speaker 2: job is. You handle business, whatever it takes that day.
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  Speaker 2: You you do that. I think the best quarterbacks do that.
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  Speaker 2: You know, Joe Burrow isn't flinging it downfield all the time.
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  Speaker 2: You know, Mahomes isn't flinging it down there. They know
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  Speaker 2: when to say when. And I think that's game managing.
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  Speaker 2: I think, you know, I thought it was very witty
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  Speaker 2: on his part to sort of point out ten wins
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  Speaker 2: in a row that he feels like they're managing wins
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  Speaker 2: just fine. And I thought that was intriguing for him
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  Speaker 2: to point out it. He has a very good awareness,
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  Speaker 2: sort of of for a guy who said he deleted
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  Speaker 2: all of his social media, he certainly knows what the
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  Speaker 2: narratives are out there. So either somebody's giving him the
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  Speaker 2: talking points or he's looking on the sly one of
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  Speaker 2: the two. But he definitely is aware what people are saying.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, I think he shows that competitive side sometimes, Nate,
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  Speaker 2: you know that guy, there's part of him that's thinking,
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  Speaker 2: you know, dude, I just won ten games in a
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  Speaker 2: row with this team.
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  Speaker 3: You know, call me whatever you want.
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  Speaker 2: And I think that's the impression I got last night
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  Speaker 2: a little bit was that, you know, he was sort
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  Speaker 2: of on you know, this is hard to do the
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  Speaker 2: Broncos have done it so far, and he's just fine
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  Speaker 2: with with the all of that. I do think schematically
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  Speaker 2: they did that one on purpose.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, that wasn't That wasn't just bow Nicks.
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  Speaker 2: Dumping the ball down. That was Sean Payton's plan coming in.
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  Speaker 2: You know, a big defense the front for the Raiders.
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  Speaker 2: They don't get out of it very often no matter
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  Speaker 2: what you do. So Sean Payton's response to that was
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  Speaker 2: a lot more hefty looks on offense than they did
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  Speaker 2: the last time they played. And I think that's why
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  Speaker 2: twenty three of Nix's completions were ten or fewer yards.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, that's a high high percentage for any quarterback.
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  Speaker 2: But that's what Sean Payton wanted. That's what they got.
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  Speaker 2: And you know it wasn't really a one score game.
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  Speaker 2: That was a one score game.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, No, to take what they give execute, find the
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  Speaker 1: easy throws when they are there, and they did a
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  Speaker 1: good job scheming them up and a part of it all.
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  Speaker 1: And again we're talking to Jeff Leagwold here on a
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  Speaker 1: Monday afternoon after the Broncos win their tenth in a row.
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  Speaker 1: Was a big RJ. Harvey game. His biggest in the
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  Speaker 1: NFL one hundred total yards out of RJ. Harvey. You
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  Speaker 1: wrote about it today, Jefferespn dot com once once you
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  Speaker 1: have gone back and looked at the film. You know,
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  Speaker 1: we have talked about some maybe from R. J. Harvey's
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  Speaker 1: perspective and the way you've put it is, maybe there's
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  Speaker 1: a little too much going on upstairs. Maybe the wheels
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  Speaker 1: have been turning a little bit too fast for a
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  Speaker 1: rookie running back. What did you see out of him
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  Speaker 1: yesterday that kind of got him going in a group?
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  Speaker 1: Because he was good right away in that game.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean that, you know, first two carries I
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  Speaker 2: think went for twenty some yards.
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  Speaker 3: So uh, you know, I think I saw.
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  Speaker 2: A young player who knew he was going to get
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  Speaker 2: to touch the ball a lot. And you know, this
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  Speaker 2: is a you know, these guys come into the league
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  Speaker 2: and they've been high volume runners their whole lives. Just
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  Speaker 2: every game they've ever played in, they've touched the ball
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  Speaker 2: more than everyone else, you know, other than the quarterback.
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  Speaker 2: And I think that messes with their head a little
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  Speaker 2: bit because they want to make every carry spectacular if
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  Speaker 2: if in the back of their mind they know they're
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  Speaker 2: they're only going to get the ball eight or nine times.
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  Speaker 2: I think he went into that game knowing he was
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  Speaker 2: going to touch the ball a lot, and I think
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  Speaker 2: you could see that in how he played. He's very
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  Speaker 2: decisive right from the start. And the more decisive he gets,
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  Speaker 2: the more production he'll have, because that that's all he's
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  Speaker 2: really missing right now, is you know that the holes
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  Speaker 2: open a lot quicker and they close a lot quicker
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  Speaker 2: in the NFL.
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  Speaker 3: You got to get in there.
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  Speaker 2: And he's I think he was very decisive yesterday and
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  Speaker 2: I think it showed up in the production and he's
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  Speaker 2: become a very reliable receiver for Nicks. I think Bo
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  Speaker 2: knows exactly where Harvey's going to be, and that's no
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  Speaker 2: that's no small thing. If he believes that's a that's
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  Speaker 2: a great outlet for him, Harvey will get the ball
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  Speaker 2: a lot in the passing game.
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  Speaker 1: Jeff, I think Sean Payton has done a marvelous job
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  Speaker 1: coaching this team this year, and and I think he
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  Speaker 1: has done a marvelous job week in and week out,
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  Speaker 1: just just game plan and situation specific. His team is
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  Speaker 1: just very good at this stuff. They're good on the
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  Speaker 1: hidden yardage, even with as many penalties as they have,
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  Speaker 1: Like they're a very good clock management team. They just
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  Speaker 1: they come out every single week and they do what
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  Speaker 1: has to be done to have at least one more
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  Speaker 1: point than you when the final buzzer sounds. As this
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  Speaker 1: year has gone on and we have watched this thing
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  Speaker 1: get to eleven and two in a ten game win streak, Now,
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  Speaker 1: what has jumped out to you about the way that
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  Speaker 1: Sean has embraced the roster that he has and coached
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  Speaker 1: them to this point.
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  Speaker 2: You know, I think some of it was, you know,
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  Speaker 2: a little bit of a sort of a force feeding.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, he knows, in his heart of hearts, this
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  Speaker 2: may be the best defense he's ever had for any
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  Speaker 2: team he's ever coached, you know, in eighteen years as
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  Speaker 2: a head coach, nineteen years as a head coach, this
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  Speaker 2: is very likely the best defense he's ever had. And
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  Speaker 2: I think that influences how you coach games when you know,
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  Speaker 2: no matter what happens, those guys are going to keep
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  Speaker 2: you within one or two scores at any point in
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  Speaker 2: the game. You know, the Giants game, for whatever reasons,
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  Speaker 2: really the only game that sort of got away from
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  Speaker 2: them that they had to reel back in in this streak,
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  Speaker 2: so they've played from behind a lot, sure, but this
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  Speaker 2: defense has influenced how he's coached. I think you've seen
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  Speaker 2: some of that. I think he's made decisions some people
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  Speaker 2: would say are more conservative than he's made in years past,
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  Speaker 2: because I think he knows A he's got a young
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  Speaker 2: quarterback in a second year, and B he has the
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  Speaker 2: ultimate eracer, you know, for field position getting out of trouble.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, look how many times the Broncos defense sends
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  Speaker 2: the other offense off the field, off a short field
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  Speaker 2: with no points or a field goal.
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  Speaker 3: It really enables you to do a.
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  Speaker 2: Lot of things on offense and not worry about sort
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  Speaker 2: of the consequences of anything getting away from you.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and to that point, like bone Knicks is, I
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  Speaker 1: think I believe early on in the season, Sean Payton
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  Speaker 1: was coaching the quarterback he wanted and not the quarterback
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  Speaker 1: that he had. And I think that's one of the
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  Speaker 1: things that has evolved really really well, kind of kind
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  Speaker 1: of starting with the Chiefs game, but certainly with Washington
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  Speaker 1: and without a doubt, like this was the masterclass against
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  Speaker 1: the Raiders and I know, Jeff, they're an NFL directional
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  Speaker 1: school right now, but still like that to go out
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  Speaker 1: and execute that game plan the way that they did yesterday,
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  Speaker 1: Like there was no goofy footwork or anything else like that.
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  Speaker 1: Like quite honestly, there was the first and goal play
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  Speaker 1: where Nicks could run it and he didn't, and it
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  Speaker 1: was like, okay, that was that was bad. But then
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  Speaker 1: they get the third down and goal and Sean calls
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  Speaker 1: a designed quarterback run from the eight yard line for
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  Speaker 1: bow Knicks and he goes out and he scores a
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  Speaker 1: touchdown on that play. Like I think there was a
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  Speaker 1: certain degree of like, Okay, you missed that one, go
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  Speaker 1: and take a shot on this one. But also like
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  Speaker 1: bo Nix is a dynamic runner down in the red zone,
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  Speaker 1: I think Sean is doing a better job of saying, Okay,
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  Speaker 1: this is the kind of quarterback I need him to be.
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  Speaker 1: This is the kind of quarterback that he is. Let's
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  Speaker 1: marry the two.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, And I think you're exactly right.
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  Speaker 2: And I think it was a very big admission on
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  Speaker 2: his part to say, you know, if you start charting
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  Speaker 2: from the last Raiders game, I thought it was a
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  Speaker 2: very big admission.
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  Speaker 3: Of him to say that plan was awful.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, on offense, because I think it really made him
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  Speaker 2: turn the light on and say I can't just force
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  Speaker 2: feed you know, all this three wide stuff. They were
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  Speaker 2: under center more than any other game this year. Yesterday
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  Speaker 2: they used two tight end and two back formations more
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  Speaker 2: than any other game this year. I think that's a
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  Speaker 2: big admission on Sean's part to what you're saying. He's
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  Speaker 2: coaching the group he has also knowing in his back
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  Speaker 2: pocket they're hard to score on when they don't have
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  Speaker 2: the ball, so maybe it is a good idea just
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  Speaker 2: to shorten the game. I mean, look at three drives
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  Speaker 2: yesterday of eighty yards, you know, two over ninety yards.
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  Speaker 2: That's just using the team you have. And honestly, whether
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  Speaker 2: we all like it or not, that's playoff football you're
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  Speaker 2: looking at. You looked at playoff football yesterday. It was
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  Speaker 2: not a playoff game and they weren't playing a playoff team.
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  Speaker 2: But if you're gonna win in January and make it
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  Speaker 2: to February, that's what it looks like. And we all
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  Speaker 2: know that deep down, whether whether we admit it or not.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's that's exactly what it has to look like.
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  Speaker 1: Jeff Lagwalld ESPN, Marvin Mims forty eight yard punt return touchdown.
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  Speaker 1: We see how dynamic this guy is with the football
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  Speaker 1: in his hands over this last month. Do you expect
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  Speaker 1: him to get some more opportunities to touch the ball offensively?
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  Speaker 2: That's the greatest riddle of riddles. I wish I had
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  Speaker 2: an answer for everybody. It's beyond me how you can
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  Speaker 2: watch him anytime he touches the ball, even when he's tackled,
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  Speaker 2: you know, even the two yard run, there are moments
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  Speaker 2: there where you're thinking, well, if he beats that guy,
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  Speaker 2: it's going big. And yeah, I just I think he's
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  Speaker 2: the most dynamic player on the team that doesn't touch
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  Speaker 2: the ball enough. And I don't know what goes on
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  Speaker 2: in the meetings, but you know, look what happened yesterday.
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  Speaker 2: And let you know, little Jordan Humphreys back, that's a
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  Speaker 2: player Peyton likes, likes to put in the rotation. You
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  Speaker 2: know what happened to Troy Franklin's touches yesterday, What happened
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  Speaker 2: to Mims's touches yesterday? You know, every cause has a reaction,
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  Speaker 2: you know, and Humphrey's addition to the offense may be
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  Speaker 2: what Peyton wants in a lot of situations, but it
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  Speaker 2: does take the ball out of other guy's hands who
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  Speaker 2: may be more explosive in those situations.
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  Speaker 3: Jeff.
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  Speaker 1: Last thing Monday Night Football Tonight Philly and the Chargers
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  Speaker 1: is this is tonight the night we find out for
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  Speaker 1: sure if the Chargers are anything that we have to
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  Speaker 1: worry about the rest of the way, or or will
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  Speaker 1: Philadelphia show us tonight? Okay, Chargers are on fumes. It's
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  Speaker 1: just it's over the tackle injuries or too much for
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  Speaker 1: them to be able to overcome, and the Chargers ultimately
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  Speaker 1: will charge her. What do you think this game means tonight?
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  Speaker 2: Well, for me, I want to see how the quarterback
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  Speaker 2: handles the injury because I think that dictates what the
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  Speaker 2: rest of their season looks like. I mean, he he's
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: playing with hardware in his hand, and that's not that's
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  Speaker 2: not optimal, you know, especially when you just had surgery
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  Speaker 2: a week ago.
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  Speaker 3: So that's so NFL.
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  Speaker 2: By the way, I'm gonna get some screws and everything
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  Speaker 2: put in my hand and I'm gonna play seven days later.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, don't worry about it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Daniel Tumbs, go play with a fractured fibula. Nothing
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  Speaker 1: could ever happen up there goes your achilles.
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  Speaker 2: I just think that's that's what I'm looking for, because
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  Speaker 2: I think Herbert's justin Herbert's ability to play with this injury.
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  Speaker 2: Take the snap, do handoffs? You know, do you have
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  Speaker 2: to spin awkwardly because you can't use that hand? You
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  Speaker 2: know that that dictates an awful lot of what you
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: can and can't do on offense. And that's what I've
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  Speaker 2: got my eye on, because I don't think there's anything
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  Speaker 2: else that determines their playoff viability more than more than
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  Speaker 2: that does. I mean, he's their most important play and
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  Speaker 2: if he's not one hundred percent that that impacts them
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  Speaker 2: sort of exponentially, you know.
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  Speaker 3: The rest of the way.
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  Speaker 2: They did get some people back for this one off
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  Speaker 2: injured reserve, so they do they do have a little help.
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  Speaker 2: I would expect Hampton to see the ball quite a bit.
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  Speaker 1: By the way, if the if the Chiefs win next
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  Speaker 1: week against the Chargers, I think they'll be back up
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  Speaker 1: to a fifty two percent likelihood to make the postseason.
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  Speaker 1: With those offensive line injuries, though, Leggie, they're cooked right
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  Speaker 1: that this this thing is done for this season right.
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  Speaker 2: Well, that I think last night's the first time in
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  Speaker 2: any extended viewing I've had of them where and I
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: went back and looked at it a little bit this morning. Uh,
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  Speaker 2: that's the first time where I've seen pressure just unravel mahomes.
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  Speaker 2: You know, they can't even protect for that brief moment
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  Speaker 2: he needs to decipher things. And once you take that away,
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  Speaker 2: even he and overcome that. I think he was two
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  Speaker 2: to twelve and some of the pressure situations and that's
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  Speaker 2: that's just he's too good to be under that kind
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  Speaker 2: of duress. And I feel, frankly, if he can't function
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  Speaker 2: in that circumstance, I'm not sure anybody could, uh, you know,
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  Speaker 2: give him the way he plays. So that's concerning when
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  Speaker 2: when even he can't save you, and I don't know,
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  Speaker 2: he's got to lead the world and dropped passes over
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  Speaker 2: the last two seasons, he is getting no help from
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  Speaker 2: his people.
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  Speaker 1: It's it's stunning how bad they've gotten on third down,
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  Speaker 1: on both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively. Just
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  Speaker 1: how bad they've gotten on third down. Jeff Legwold everybody
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  Speaker 1: ESPN dot com. His latest on RJ. Harvey is up
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  Speaker 1: right now. You should go and check it out. Leggy
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  Speaker 1: excellent work man. We appreciate it as always, thank you,
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: Thanks Fellas