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Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman and Lindahl 7-21-25 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

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  Speaker 1: It is the four o'clock hour on Krkman and Lindah
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  Speaker 1: Please d have you along just the Lindahl Krkman off
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  Speaker 1: this week, spring along as well of a variety of
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  Speaker 1: filling hosts, but it's probably going to mainly be me
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  Speaker 1: and Spring this whole week. We may spring some surprises
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  Speaker 1: on you pun intended. One of those guys are going
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  Speaker 1: to spring on you right now is our guy, Jeff Legwald,
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  Speaker 1: our insider from ESPN. He's brought to you by the
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers IBW Local sixty eight. Start
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  Speaker 1: with a job and end with the career, all right, Jeff?
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  Speaker 1: In your career, have you ever seen a national sort
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  Speaker 1: of change of opinion like we're seeing right now? As
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  Speaker 1: far as the Broncos. We pulled up the article on
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  Speaker 1: ESPN today where they ranked the rosters, and I believe
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  Speaker 1: we had talked about this last year, right and helped
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  Speaker 1: me out. Was it ESPN then a RANKEDOM thirty one
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  Speaker 1: or the GM survey of the ranked them thirty one?
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  Speaker 1: But either way your ESPN guys have them up at
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  Speaker 1: six this year. What led to that change? Do you think?
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  Speaker 2: Well? I think some of it.
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  Speaker 3: As you make the playoffs you're immediately in the you know,
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  Speaker 3: you're in that mix of returning playoff teams, and frankly,
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  Speaker 3: you know, retention this year, I think has a lot
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  Speaker 3: to do with what people think that they have the
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  Speaker 3: highest retention of any team in the league from last year,
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  Speaker 3: which is, you know, rare in the NFL, and it's
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  Speaker 3: it's partly a factor of having a starting quarterback on
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  Speaker 3: a rookie deal and being in a situation where they
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  Speaker 3: do not for whatever reason, they don't have many contracts
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  Speaker 3: that are that were up this year, so their retention
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  Speaker 3: rate for a playoff team is very high. And they
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  Speaker 3: had one of the league's best defenses already, and I
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  Speaker 3: think the assumption is green Law or Hufanga will be
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  Speaker 3: healthy at worst. You know one of them is going
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  Speaker 3: to be healthy, I think is the general perception. And
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  Speaker 3: if they get lucky and both of them are healthy,
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  Speaker 3: you've added those two and barn jat a Barron the
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  Speaker 3: rookie to one of the best defenses in the league.
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  Speaker 3: And I think that's where the optimism comes from.
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  Speaker 4: Leggie, what about the Chargers being ranked sixteenth, a full
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  Speaker 4: ten spots below the Broncos, Because if you go chock,
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  Speaker 4: you know everyone's forecasting of this division, and I'm not
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  Speaker 4: saying it's a guarantee by any means that the Chiefs
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  Speaker 4: win this division, but if you were to go shock,
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  Speaker 4: that's what you'd say, and then it's a battle for
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  Speaker 4: who finishes second between the Broncos and Chargers. I think
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  Speaker 4: the Raiders can be plucky. We talked about it on
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  Speaker 4: the show, and maybe they surprise even more so. But
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  Speaker 4: sixteen for the Chargers. Do you do you agree or
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  Speaker 4: disagree with that?
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  Speaker 2: Well?
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  Speaker 3: I think that's you know, I think some of the rankings,
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  Speaker 3: you know, Mike Clay does is from a fantasy for perspective,
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  Speaker 3: so he's sort of working from the skill positions in
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  Speaker 3: when he does that. And you know, I think the
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  Speaker 3: Chargers are in a situation where they've not handled some
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  Speaker 3: depth issues, uh very well. They've already had some injuries,
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  Speaker 3: you know, they've they've got to deal with, and.
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  Speaker 2: You know, I think that's about right for them now.
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  Speaker 3: Again, if if they're starting twenty two stays healthy, they
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  Speaker 3: could be a little bit better than that because of
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  Speaker 3: the quarterback. But I think a lot of this preseason
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  Speaker 3: stuff is kind of who did you keep from last year?
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  Speaker 3: And if you had to add people, is it an
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  Speaker 3: improvement or you're just maintaining status quo legy?
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  Speaker 1: You know, Nick Benito said in his camp yesterday they're
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  Speaker 1: talking about an extension, so on and so forth. Do
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  Speaker 1: you think they get that done? Do you think we
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  Speaker 1: get any news? Then Benino doesn't sound disgruntled in any way,
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  Speaker 1: judging by tone of voice and the answer that he gave.
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  Speaker 1: But are you getting any vibes that they're close to
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  Speaker 1: anything with here, Zach Allen?
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  Speaker 3: You know, I think Courtland too is in that mix,
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  Speaker 3: and that you know, it would shock me if if
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  Speaker 3: there isn't something done with Sutton as well. I think,
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  Speaker 3: you know, Benito is certainly on the front burner, but
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  Speaker 3: that the urgency, you know, isn't quite there for that yet.
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  Speaker 3: Now there's always a chance, you know, they they come
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  Speaker 3: to common ground on top of market money, and you know,
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  Speaker 3: if I'm Nick Benito, I'm pretty confident I'm getting paid somewhere,
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  Speaker 3: you know, in Denver or somewhere else.
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  Speaker 2: So I think they want to get it done. Andy.
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  Speaker 3: It's just, you know, when you're dealing with top of
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  Speaker 3: the market money, it takes everybody to say okay, And
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  Speaker 3: you know that's always gonna be the guarantees.
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  Speaker 2: That are going back.
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  Speaker 3: And forth right now, and and ultimately when that deal
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  Speaker 3: is signed, it will be an agreement. If an agreement
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  Speaker 3: is made with the Broncos, it will be the guaranteed
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  Speaker 3: money that was that was agreed to it. It will
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  Speaker 3: be hefty uh or Nick Benito and his reps aren't
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  Speaker 3: gonna aren't going to agree to it.
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  Speaker 4: What about Patzertan, Leggy Sauce Gardner resets the market, Derek
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  Speaker 4: Stingley right behind him. Certan is now six seven million
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  Speaker 4: dollars behind both those guys. Do you think he's gonna
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  Speaker 4: want to raise before his extension even kicks in next.
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  Speaker 3: You know, there are certain rules about when you can
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  Speaker 3: redo guys and all that.
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  Speaker 2: I think you would be on the edge of that.
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  Speaker 2: I don't think.
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  Speaker 3: I think certain and his representatives were smart enough to
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  Speaker 3: know that his deal with this would happen. It's what
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  Speaker 3: happens in the NFL. You know, it's Mahomes's quarterback deal.
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  Speaker 3: You know, when he signed it, it was, you know,
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  Speaker 3: a record deal, and now you look at it and
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  Speaker 3: it's not at the top. So it's just a fact
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  Speaker 3: of life in the NFL. Guys, know it now. I
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  Speaker 3: will be shocked if they don't do something before the
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  Speaker 3: extension is out, especially if he has, you know, over
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  Speaker 3: the next two or three years, more years like he's had.
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  Speaker 2: But like I say, it was a true extension when
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  Speaker 2: he signed it.
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  Speaker 3: That was the favor he did the team, and it's
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  Speaker 3: hard for me to believe it didn't come up at
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  Speaker 3: some point in those negotiations. If I make this a
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  Speaker 3: true extension, let's leave the door open to some discussions
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  Speaker 3: before it runs out, you know, if this happens, and
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  Speaker 3: I think that will be the scenario going forward.
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  Speaker 2: All right.
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  Speaker 1: I know as a journalist you don't always love these,
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  Speaker 1: but you know you've done the talk show host and
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  Speaker 1: with me too, LEGI. So I'm watching, you know, I'm
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  Speaker 1: watching all the NFL programming on ESPN today, of which
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  Speaker 1: there's plenty because we're officially in camp, and I don't know.
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  Speaker 1: We always say that this could be the year that
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  Speaker 1: the Chiefs get a hangover. Someone in texted in and
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  Speaker 1: talked about this, and you know, I don't know, they're
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  Speaker 1: just so good. You got mahomes air machine. But let
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  Speaker 1: me just throw this at you. As just trying to
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  Speaker 1: figure out how this season could play out assuming hell
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  Speaker 1: for everybody, because that's what we always have to do.
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  Speaker 1: Injuries can derail anything, especially if Mahomes is out. But
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  Speaker 1: I feel like this is the first chance for them
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  Speaker 1: to really taste a bit of the hangover, because it's
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  Speaker 1: not like you lost the super Bowl, but you just
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  Speaker 1: go back and get it the next year, you know,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, you know you're good enough to get back there.
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  Speaker 1: You blew a chance to be the first team to
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  Speaker 1: do it three times in a row. That means you've
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  Speaker 1: got to be good enough to get back there three
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  Speaker 1: years in a row. Do you think somehow that could
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  Speaker 1: maybe add a little malaise to the proceedings?
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  Speaker 3: You know, I think I didn't think i'd see another
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  Speaker 3: guy whose competitiveness could pull his team along like Brady
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  Speaker 3: for a while. But Mahomes is that guy.
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  Speaker 2: Now. You know it's he's already proven.
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  Speaker 3: No matter who you surround him with, they're going to
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  Speaker 3: be in the mix because he's that much of a competitor.
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  Speaker 3: Isn't just good at his job, he avoids what you're
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  Speaker 3: talking about, the complacency of success doesn't seem to interfere
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  Speaker 3: with him. When I'll be honest, over the last few decades.
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  Speaker 3: The thing that de Rail's good teams, in my opinion,
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  Speaker 3: more than anything, is the complacency of success. And if
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  Speaker 3: he doesn't let it in the room, like Brady didn't
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  Speaker 3: let it in the room, it's not really good for
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  Speaker 3: anyone else to have it in that locker room. And
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  Speaker 3: as long as he's like that, I don't think anything
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  Speaker 3: but catastrophic injury things would take them out of the
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  Speaker 3: playoff mix.
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  Speaker 2: Now you know you're gonna be good enough to win
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  Speaker 2: the super Bowl.
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  Speaker 3: It's really hard to win the super Bowl, and we
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  Speaker 3: often underestimate how hard it is to win the super Bowl,
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  Speaker 3: let alone get there. But as long as he doesn't
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  Speaker 3: let that in the room, no one else can have it.
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  Speaker 3: And that's why guys like him are so coveted and
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  Speaker 3: so rare is because they don't even let that thought
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  Speaker 3: creep in to anyone else, or everyone else is just
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  Speaker 3: afraid to think that way.
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  Speaker 2: If the best player doesn't even zero.
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  Speaker 4: All right, I get how about this prognosticating for you, Jeff,
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  Speaker 4: and and I know you don't like to do this,
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  Speaker 4: like Andy said, but when you look at these same
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  Speaker 4: rankings that we referenced earlier in the interview, and last
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  Speaker 4: year the Broncos were ranked thirty first, and now they're
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  Speaker 4: all the way up to six. Who in the AFC
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  Speaker 4: could be the surprise like the Broncos were last year.
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  Speaker 4: You got the Browns at thirty one, assuming that Broncos
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  Speaker 4: spot from a year from a year ago, The Jets
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  Speaker 4: at twenty nine, the Broncos Week one opponent, the Titans
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  Speaker 4: at twenty eight. Will Levis is going to be out
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  Speaker 4: for the season, though that really doesn't matter, assuming cam
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  Speaker 4: Ward stays healthy and is good, and again the Broncos
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  Speaker 4: will see them at Mile High Week one, Colts twenty five.
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  Speaker 4: That's the Broncos Week two opponent. Daniel Jones. Anthony richardson
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  Speaker 4: what a quarterback competition, Dolphin's at twenty four, Raiders at
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  Speaker 4: twenty three, Jaguars twenty two, Patriots twenty one. What do
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  Speaker 4: you think of that group? Like, who's gonna surprise?
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  Speaker 3: I think those last three are in the mix because
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  Speaker 3: rabel is a hell of a coach, uh and I
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  Speaker 3: think he I always look for the teams that settle
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  Speaker 3: things down with proven, legitimate coaches, Like when John Fox
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  Speaker 3: came to the Broncos, their roster wasn't much better that
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  Speaker 3: next year.
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  Speaker 2: But the simple act of having a coaching staff and
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  Speaker 2: a head.
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  Speaker 3: Coach you knew what they were doing, immediately improved things.
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  Speaker 3: So Raiders Titans, you know, that's the mix for me
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  Speaker 3: for the surprise teams because you've got proven, established ways
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  Speaker 3: of doing things and rosters that aren't you know, that
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  Speaker 3: aren't terrible. I think Jacksonville could surprise, but you know
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  Speaker 3: that that coaching situation is a little different. But they
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  Speaker 3: have talent on that team and it just hasn't been
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  Speaker 3: put in a position to flourish. And if the you know,
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  Speaker 3: if Lawrence even plays remotely close to his best year,
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  Speaker 3: then they're improved. But that's the profile I look for,
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  Speaker 3: is sort of the Raiders Patriots profile, because you know,
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  Speaker 3: those guys have done it with success, they know how
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  Speaker 3: to do it, and even if the talent is sort
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  Speaker 3: of the same, they'll be better than they were last year.
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  Speaker 1: We're talking with Jeff Lakewald, our NFL insider one more
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: before we get you out of here. Read his stuff
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: at ESPN dot com. Oh, it's training. Can't believe you
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: can't wait for all this stuff. You're gonna be cranking out,
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: So we just get this. You guy, Adam Schefter just
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: tweeted this out, Philip Rivers officially retiring a charger, surprising nobody.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: You're a Hall of Fame voter, You've been on the committee,
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  Speaker 1: You've done the whole thing. How are they going to
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: remember Philip Rivers? Does he get the Dan Reno treatment?
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  Speaker 1: Is it going to be hard for him to get
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  Speaker 1: in the Hall because no championships? What happens?
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  Speaker 3: That's always hard and he to get in the Hall
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  Speaker 3: with no championships, And you know, even if that's unfair
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  Speaker 3: because in the NFL there are so many moving parts,
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: but quarterbacks in particular are sort of graded on you know,
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  Speaker 3: that title trophy profile, and you know, you just look
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  Speaker 3: at the you know, when he's coming up, You've got
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  Speaker 3: some other people at quarterback coming up, and it would
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  Speaker 3: be hard for him to crack a class when people
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  Speaker 3: are talking about Brady and Breeze, you know, those those
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  Speaker 3: are two right off the top of my head, you know,
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  Speaker 3: and and all of the other sort of finalists that
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  Speaker 3: are still in the queue from previous years. So I
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  Speaker 3: think he gets discussed. I think that might be a
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  Speaker 3: battle or a weight over the years, you know that.
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  Speaker 3: I think the Eli Manning debate is going to take
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  Speaker 3: up a lot of the the air in the quarterback situation,
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  Speaker 3: but he certainly will be discussed. I covered the game,
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  Speaker 3: the playoff game he played on a torn acl To me,
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  Speaker 3: that will sort of be my memory of him, you know,
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  Speaker 3: beyond all the stats and everything, was just the toughness
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  Speaker 3: he showed uh in those moments. And like I say,
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  Speaker 3: titles are important to the Hall of Fame candidacy, but
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  Speaker 3: a lot of the time there's there's so many moving
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: parts in the NFL. It's really hard to penalize guys
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  Speaker 3: for big resumes. But I do think it will be
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  Speaker 3: a discussion and a battle over the years, and you know,
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  Speaker 3: if he gets in it will be because of the
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: body of work.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: I need a thirty second answer from you real quick.
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  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, we got Katie Wincher coming out. Do the
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  Speaker 1: best you can. What was the true thing? What was
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: the true start of the beat between him and Cutler?
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  Speaker 1: And was it squashed? Do you know if they ever
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: squashed it, like it or whatever?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't know the answer to it. I think
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  Speaker 3: a lot of players just thought Rivers was such a
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: trash talker but acted like a goody two shoes. It
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: was trash talk with no cuss words. But he was
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: an all time no cussword trash talker in league history.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: Dude, Kevin Vickerson told me point blank one time, don't
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: you talk trash to me and then have another man
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: stand in front of you the next play. If you
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: want to talk to me, you better come deal with me.
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  Speaker 1: And I was like, Kevin, he brought out a side
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: of Kevin. I don't know you felt Kevin was the
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: nicest dude ever. I mean, I love Kevin, and he
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: brought out a side in Kevin that I was like,
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: there's the scary football player that I don't see in
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: the locker room.
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  Speaker 2: They had a high irritation factor. I'll just say that.
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  Speaker 1: Leg you're the best. Can't wait to talk training camp
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  Speaker 1: with you this week. We appreciate it here Leggy on
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: all the shows again. He's always brought to you by
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: the Brotherhood of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers IBW
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: Local sixty eight. Start with a job and with a
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: career