Latest / The Appetizer Hour with Brett Kane / 11-05-26 - Apex Jokic Returns/Broncos Need a Running Back/Go Get Jonathan Taylor

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11-05-26 - Apex Jokic Returns/Broncos Need a Running Back/Go Get Jonathan Taylor · The Appetizer Hour with Brett Kane

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: This is the Appetizer Hour with Brett Cain on demand.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Check out Brett weekday mornings at 6 on Altitude Sports
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Radio 92.5 and on the Altitude Sports Radio app.
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: Well, that's a lot more like it. I got, as
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: I was looking at audio yesterday of some people around basketball,
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: and I'll call them allegations. That were out there. Although,
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  Speaker 2: I never would go as far as to say this,
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: you know, this early in the season. I would say
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: that I had some concerns. One Bill Simmons talking about
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: Apex Jokic. Is he gone forever? You see a game
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: like last night, and that is, to me, the Jokic game. Like,
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  Speaker 2: this is what he does. Three steals, he has 32, 10,
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: and 11. 13 of 19 from the floor is the
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: most important part, but I will again go back to
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: a number that I think tells you the story of
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: not just how the, not just how the Nuggets overall play,
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  Speaker 2: but how Jokic plays and when it looks right. The
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: Nuggets and Jokic look right when Jokic doesn't take a
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: large number of threes. It's a tried and true method.
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: When Jokic plays his game from the interior and he
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: has his touchdown, he's got the floater working. He's got
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: the post moves that he puts on people. That's his game.
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: And that's the Nuggets game. The three-point shooting should be,
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: that's divvied out to the others. That is divvied out
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  Speaker 2: to Cam Johnson or Jamal or whoever. Jokic needs to
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: be able to hit a three if they're going to
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  Speaker 2: leave them open. That I agree with. But taking eight
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: of them in a game is not the recipe to success.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: And when Jokic plays his game properly, and he's in
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  Speaker 2: the correct flow of the game, this team can dominate,
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: as they did in the third period and on. You know,
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  Speaker 2: close game at half. Toronto's, they're leading by, what was it,
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: two or three, whatever it was. And then third quarter,
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  Speaker 2: you play great defense and you capitalize off of mistakes
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: that were made by Toronto. You get a little bit,
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: you're running out on the floor. You're getting things in transition.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: Like all of the stuff that we kind of talk
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: about where it's capitalizing on opportunities. That's what the Nuggets did.
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  Speaker 2: Like points conceded off of turnovers. You won that battle
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  Speaker 2: against Toronto 24 to 15. force a mistake, get out
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  Speaker 2: in transition, make a play. And when the Nuggets are
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: playing that, that to me is what their game is.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: And ever since they won the title, I've had this
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: feeling they've tried to recreate themselves into what are all
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: the other teams doing? And I'm like, I don't care.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: Why would you care what the other teams do? You
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: have to look at your own personnel and say, what
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: do we do best? Bottom line is, What the Nuggets
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: do best is very simple. They beat you inside and
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: mid-range with the occasional outside shot. They did that last
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: year during the regular season where they had Tim Hardaway Jr.
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: and Jamal. I think they were 1-2 in single-season three-pointers
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: made in franchise history. And that was great for the offense,
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: not great for the defense. Because those are long rebounds
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: that turn into transition buckets and the Nuggets are just
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: not very good at getting back in transition on defense.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: But I loved what I saw last night. Again, took
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: you a second to get into the rhythm of the
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: game defensively. But second half, locking that down, taking care
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: of your home court. And the other positives here. I
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: wanted to focus on Joker first because Joker was somebody
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: that I've talked about that I've had a concern with.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: You know, Jamal had a game where he was just so-so.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: He was 4 of 11 from the floor, but you
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: know what? Jamal has been carrying the entire load this season.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: He's been putting in like 38 hard minutes a game
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  Speaker 2: where he's just like, what do you need me to do? Everything? Okay, fine.
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  Speaker 2: But when you look at where Joker has been from
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  Speaker 2: an efficiency standpoint, That's where you start, again, not worried,
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  Speaker 2: but weirded out is what I'd say. But let me
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: do some quick math here. 16-29. So in games in
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  Speaker 2: which Joker is, he shoots one three or less. He's
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  Speaker 2: 29 of 45 from the floor combined. 29 of 45.
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  Speaker 2: That's a field goal percentage somewhere in the ballpark of 65%.
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  Speaker 2: In the games, the others, in which he's taken six
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  Speaker 2: or more, in all these other games, he's been 5
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  Speaker 2: of 19 from the floor, 12 of 23, 8 of 18,
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  Speaker 2: 10 of 22, all of those sub-50% shooting nights with
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  Speaker 2: the exception of New Orleans where he was 52. Jokic's numbers,
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: hover around that 58, or I would say 57 to
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  Speaker 2: 59% from the floor. And that's when the Nuggets operated
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: their best. All those games, by the way, that I mentioned,
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  Speaker 2: where you took one three or less in the game
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  Speaker 2: and had shooting percentages above 60%, those were New Orleans,
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: blowout win. Toronto, blowout win. Phoenix, 127 to 20. But
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  Speaker 2: you had control of that game virtually the entire way.
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  Speaker 2: It's important that he stays there. This team is not
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: deep enough to make up for a non-efficient Jokic game. Now,
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  Speaker 2: the good news, you wanted to see flashes from people?
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: This is always a scary thing to me. Like, this
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: is a positive. Do not get me wrong. It is
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: a big positive. But this is also scary. Championship-level basketball teams.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: Very rarely. Rely on rookies. Rely on one rookie. You
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: might have to rely on two. Because we've already made
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: the decision. Trevin Brazil is an every night, 15 to
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: 20 minute a night guy. That's what he is. Because
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: his game, his skill set deserves it. Bryce Hopkins... and
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: the more minutes he has gotten on the floor, and
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: make no mistake, these aren't garbage time minutes that Bryce
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: Hopkins is playing. He's been in the starting lineup before.
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: He has played minutes with the starters. Each time it
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  Speaker 2: feels like he's hit the floor, he's gotten more and
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  Speaker 2: more comfortable, and last night was awesome. I just love
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: seeing a guy who is young in this league that
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: plays without hesitation. That just goes out and it's like, look,
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  Speaker 2: you've already made the decision when you drafted me and
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: put me on the floor that I'm an NBA player.
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: Why would I not act like it? And I think
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: a lot of guys when they first enter the league,
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  Speaker 2: especially when they get to good teams that have made
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: playoff runs, won championships recently, playing with one of the
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: best players in the history of the game, they want
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: to acquiesce and they want to say, hey, I'm new here. Here,
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  Speaker 2: you take the ball. I'll wait until I'm wide, wide
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  Speaker 2: open to make a play. Go out and play your game.
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: Trust yourself. And to the Nuggets' credit, this offseason, when
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: it looked like they were handcuffed with not a lot
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  Speaker 2: to do, they had two draft picks, both second-rounders, typically
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  Speaker 2: not things to amount to much, and it looks like
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: Bryce Hopkins and Trevin Brazil are things. And that's all
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: I've wanted in this offseason. I was like... All of
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: these guys that you got off the bargain bin, you know,
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: vet minimums, contracts, two-way contracts, rookie deals, you need a
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  Speaker 2: few of these guys just to be things. You put
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: them on the floor and you're like, cool. Well, Trevon Brazil, thing. Hopkins,
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: looks like a thing. Marvin Bagley, a thing. Like Marvin
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: Bagley as a backup center to Jokic? I think that
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  Speaker 2: the lengthy athletic guy at that position is just a
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  Speaker 2: much more preferable option. If you want to go different
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  Speaker 2: than what you do with Nikola Jokic, because you have to,
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  Speaker 2: because nobody else is Jokic, this is a lot better
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  Speaker 2: option than what you've had previous to it. And I
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: was dead wrong about a guy like Jonas Valanciunas. I
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: thought Valanciunas would be really good. Just wasn't. Still think
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: you should have played more, but whatever. Bygones be bygones.
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: Marvin Bagley looks like a totally solid center behind Jokic.
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: I'm still sort of up in the air with Tyus Jones.
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: He had a really good night last night. He had
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: eight assists. in 18 minutes. I still feel like I
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: wish that that backup point guard position could be more
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: of a shot creator. Remember, the bench did that last night,
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: played really well without DeMar DeRozan in the lineup. His
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: back was acting up in pregame warm-ups. I don't know.
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: It was just a good night. And every once in
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: a while, you know, I feel like the Avs need
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: this after their performance a couple of nights ago. You
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: need a palate cleanser is what you need. You just
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: need a reminder that this team is in there and
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: it's early in the season and stop freaking. So the
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: next game that is going to be played, is going
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: to be on Saturday, and that is the Mexico City game.
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: So they're going to go south of the border and
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: take on the Indiana Pacers. That, I mean, what's weird
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: is Mexico City, their elevation is higher than here, isn't it?
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: It's like 8,000 feet, I thought. Uh, yeah, 70, yeah, 7,400 feet. Hey,
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: I don't like this. I just typed into my laptop
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: Mexico City elevation and it said 7,350 feet, making it
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: significantly higher than Denver. I didn't ask if it was
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: higher than Denver. I just said, what's the elevation? You
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: might've been listening and me saying, is it higher than,
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: I don't like that at all. Is that the computer
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: listening to me? Or is that just if I Googled
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: that without saying that out loud and I lived in Philly,
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: would I get that same response? Somebody who listens to
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: this show outside of this market, Google the same thing
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: I did. All I did was I said Mexico City
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: Elevation and tell me if you get the same answer.
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: If I lived in Prague, what do I care if
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: it's higher than Denver, Colorado? Don't like that. So somebody
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: who's not within city limits, I want you to Google
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: that and tell me what your response is. Connor, who's
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: filling in for Nelly today. Connor, did you just Google that?
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: I saw you typing away over there. Yeah. I got
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: the Denver thing, too. All right. See, maybe it's a
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: geographical thing. You know? A texture says it's where you live. Really?
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: So I lived in Topeka? It would say, yes, Mexico
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: City's elevation is significantly higher than Topeka, Kansas. That's what
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: you're telling me. No shot. You guys, no way. Just it,
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: I know everything's listening to us all the time anyway.
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: I just don't like how it said, it answered my
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: question and it was a question I didn't ask it.
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: So 303-504-0925. Shop Mazda Tech Slam, one price, one person,
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: one hour. So we got a loaded Thursday here. A
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: whole bunch to discuss, including... David Adelman is going to
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: be on PhD today at 1220, so stay tuned for that.
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: We have the Avs and Preds at 730 tonight, right
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: here on Altitude Sports Radio 92.5. Significant game in the NFL,
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: not from the standpoint of what's it going to do
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: in the standings. The Jags are going to kill the Ravens,
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: but it's the fallout of what could happen afterwards, so
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: we'll get to that in just a couple of minutes
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: to grab. Okay, significant game tonight, and you can hear
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: it on AM 950 between the Jags and the Ravens. Now,
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: this game is going to be a blowout, okay? But
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: there's a reason why this could be significant. And it
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: directly affects the Broncos. If the Ravens lose tonight, they
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: drop to 4-5. Lamar Jackson is likely out for the year,
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: if not most of the year. Tyler Huntley, their backup
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: to Lamar Jackson, is out for the year with a
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: turf toe. They're starting something called Joe Fagnano tonight. I
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: don't know what that is. I don't know who that is.
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: I don't know where that came from. But that thing
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: is going to be started. They just traded for Jacoby Brissett.
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: If they lose, there is a possibility that Derrick Henry
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: will be on the market. Now, whether that means the
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: Broncos would be involved in those talks or whether that
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: would drive the asking price down of Jonathan Taylor because
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: there'd be multiple backs on the market of significance, it's
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: just something to note. The bigger detail in this, and
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: I've heard a lot of people talking about this, including
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: our own Crackman Lindahl. I think both of those guys
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: are sharp human beings. I think they're smart. I think
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: what they have said about a certain subject is stupid.
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: And it's something that has been a common theme around
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: everybody who talks about the Denver Broncos. And this trade
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: scenario in particular, if you've listened to this show over
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: the last week, two weeks, offseason, I don't know. You
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: know where I stand on this, okay? And it's an
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: unwavering position. We were just in the election era of
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: this year. I would make it my entire platform stance.
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: The Broncos need to go out and get a running back.
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: They need it. Sean Payton yesterday said, JK Dobbins is
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: a big part of what we do. I hope not anymore.
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: No disrespect. I like JK. Just can't play. He can't
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: play anymore. He lost it. Doesn't have the burst. We're
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: halfway through the season. How many significant runs has JK
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: Dobbins made while playing in every game? Not a lot.
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: Jonah Coleman, good back. You need more than one. RJ
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: Harvey's on the shelf. But even if he wasn't, if
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: Jonah Coleman goes down, you're in the exact same spot
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: you were last year, which is you don't have a
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: running back you trust between the tackles. You need to
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: have multiple. And in the case of Jonathan Taylor or
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: Derrick Henry or Brees Hall or whoever we're discussing, a
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: move has to be made. But what Craig Benalindal said
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: was this. They are uncomfortable giving up all of the
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: draft ammo it would take to acquire a player like
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: that because look at Jalen Waddell. And they said, if
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: I told you this far in the season, despite the
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: Broncos record and everything else, 6-2 on top of the
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: AFC West, if eight games into the season, halfway through,
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: Jalen Waddell had 29 catches for 300 yards and two touchdowns.
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: Would you still spend a first round pick on it?
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: It's the entirely wrong discussion to have. And I'll give
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: you a reference. I always think that wide receivers can
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: still be productive even with bad quarterback play. At least
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: the elite ones can. That's why Larry Fitzgerald thrived in
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: Arizona for all those years without The years that didn't
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: have Carson Palmers and Kurt Warners and guys like that.
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: It's because he's really, really good and he's an all-timer.
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: Bottom line is, I don't know how you can put
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: the lack of production on anybody in that wide receiving
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: core when objectively, even though it's been improving the last
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: couple of weeks, you've had a bottom five quarterback in
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: the league this year. Again, improved the last couple of weeks,
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: but you've had a quarterback who was, I mean, we
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: were getting into some weird, like, almost Russell Wilson-ish territory
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: of people of prominence taking shots. Nobody in the league
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: did it, and I'll tell you why. You can't make
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: fun of a quarterback as a current player in the
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: league When you lose to him, and that happens quite often.
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: But to quote a great poet from about 15 years ago,
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: her name is not Maya Angelou, it is Giselle. My
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: husband cannot throw the ball and catch it at the
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: same time. Like, I don't know if that's the exact way.
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: I don't know if that's how she speaks. I don't
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: know if that's her accent. All I know is, Jalen
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: Waddell can't throw the ball to himself, okay? And if
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: the things that Jalen Waddell does well is, hey, I
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: put pressure on a defense by going deep downfield, crossing
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: over the middle. If a quarterback's not willing to make
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: the throw, then the skill set that he has is
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: not going to be conducive to putting up numbers. You
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: asked me, is the first round pick of Jalen Waddell
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: worth it? Yeah. You want to know why? What else
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: were you doing with that pick? If you didn't use
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: it on Jalen Waddell, what were you going to use
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: it on? A tight end who you also wouldn't throw
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: the ball to? This is all about the quarterback making
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: the decision to drive it downfield, which puts even more
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: importance on my idea of, do you know where the
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: quarterback's not involved? A handoff. hand the ball off, and
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: then he's not involved. And I understand, Jalen Waddle's had
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: a case of the drop sees at times this year,
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: but Cortland Sutton, who has been a guy over the
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: last two, three years, who's gotten 80 catches a season
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: for 1,000 yards, is sitting here at 20 in 200
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: yards halfway through the year while playing in every game.
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: It obviously can't be just the whiteout suck now. Can't be.
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: Here's the example I'll give you. Is Justin Jefferson just
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: bad at football now? Can you answer that? You know,
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: the almost consensus top three wide receiver in the league
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: over the last four or five years, Justin Jefferson? the
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: dude who makes one-handed catches, contested catches in double coverage,
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: in triple coverage, basically uncoverable, Justin Jefferson, is sitting here
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: halfway through the season with 28 catches for 335 yards.
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: Sounds a lot like Jalen Waddell numbers. Why? His quarterback stinks.
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: Can't get him the football. Jordan Addison, their second best
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: wide receiver. 16 catches for 249 yards. Sounds a lot
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: like Cortland Sutton. Do those guys just stink at football now? No.
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: There is obviously a problem within the offense. It doesn't
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: mean that Bo Nix can't get better or that can't
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: get fixed. But the whole first rounder for Jalen Waddle, wow,
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: what a bust that was. Well, whose fault is it? So,
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: bottom line is this. I ain't got time for them
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: to figure that stuff out, okay? You are in a
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: Super Bowl window right now. Quarterback in a rookie contract,
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: one of the best defenses in the league, doing enough
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: to win games at the moment, but if you lose
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: any production in the running back game, which would lead
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: directly from an injury to Jonah Coleman at this point,
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: you can't risk it. You have to go like foot
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: to the floor, almost flintstoning your ass through the bottom
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: of the car. That's how hard you should be hitting
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: the pedal on getting a running back, and to me,
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: a significant one. Because I ain't got time to wait.
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: So we can sit here and play these games like
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: the easiest thing in the world, and you guys know this,
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: I'm usually against everything being about the quarterback all the time.
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: Why is the team winning? Because the quarterback's good. Why
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: are they losing? Because the quarterback's bad. I think that's
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: a lazy way to go about evaluating this, but I
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: also have eyeballs, and I've been watching this year, and
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: the quarterback play for the Broncos has been subpar, to
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: put it lightly. Again, with steady improvement the last couple
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: of weeks. You know, we had the clip about Pat
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: Sertan yesterday saying, hey, Bo's my dog, and that guy
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: always makes a play at the end of the game,
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: and blah, blah. And it's true. That is also true.
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: But I think you can look at it and just say,
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: it's got to be better. So I don't know. Let
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: me throw it out to you guys.
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: Straw poll.
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: Oh, yeah. Straw poll is this. Are you on board
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: with me? Yes or no? 303-504-0925. I don't think the
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: trade for Jalen Waddle was a mistake. I just don't
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: think we've had a chance to see it really play
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: out correctly. which puts even more emphasis on give me
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: a back. You have survived through the toughest schedule of
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: any team in the NFL this season. But I want
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: to make sure that if you get in that playoff
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: game with a snow squall, do you have the ability
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: to run the football? If you don't, you're in some
• 24:50
  Speaker 2: big trouble. Bo has made some significantly great throws in
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: his career. He's had great games in his career. He
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: had a great game last year in the postseason against
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: the Bills. No denying that. If this version of the
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: offense goes into a playoff game, I think we'd all
• 25:10
  Speaker 2: kind of be like, yeah, it's a little bit nerve-wracking.
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: You could even say, I think they're going to win
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: and be like, yeah, but that's still, you know, makes
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: me nervous. The best thing that they have on offense
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: is that they don't mess up. In the sense of
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: turning the ball over and giving away points on turnovers.
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: But I just think the entire argument surrounding Jalen Waddell
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: is so silly. It's his fault that he can't get
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: the football. We've watched quarterback play. Like the interesting thing,
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: you know what's crazy? about the last four weeks. It's
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: been four weeks since Sean Payton has taken over as
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: play caller. And in those four games, you've won all four.
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: But the third down percentages have been abysmal. And we
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: brought it up the other day. They're nine of 48
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: on third down since Sean Payton has taken over. Yards,
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: total yards, is either negligible or worse under Sean Payton.
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: But you got the dubs. What can help? That's the thing.
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: What can help? And texture says it's play calling, man.
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: I can't. We can't keep going back to that. Well,
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: can't do it. Like we. You made the change from
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: one play caller to another only to make that change
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: back four weeks into the season. I understand that you're
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: working in the same universe, the same Sean Payton universe
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: with these play calls for the most part. But I
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: don't think, if you got Sean McVay here, I don't
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: know if Bo Nix looks like Stafford, man. Like, you
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: have to be somebody that's willing to make the tough throw.
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: And again, I think the easiest way they can do it,
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: if they get a runner that's between the tackles, And
• 27:25
  Speaker 2: they throw a Jonathan Taylor in there and he can
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: pick up four and a half, five yards of carry.
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: And then you operate and play action off of that.
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: You get maybe more one-on-one opportunities for some wide receivers.
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: The safeties can't play just shell coverage and make you
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: throw it underneath. Like, I think all of that can
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: come together. So 303, 504, 0925. Shop Mazda text line,
• 27:52
  Speaker 2: one price, one person, one hour. And this isn't so
• 27:59
  Speaker 2: much of a bag on the offense thing. It's just
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: very much a concerted and effusive argument for being aggressive
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: before the deadline next Tuesday. I think you have to.
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: You have to be. If we come away, said this yesterday,
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: I'll say it again, I'll say it tomorrow, I'll say
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: it Monday, and I'll say it on Tuesday if a
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: deal hasn't been made yet. If they do not go
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: out and make a significant effort and actually land some
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: sort of running back, veteran guy, trusted, to be in
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: this room, I will be furious. Because it will feel
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: like such a missed opportunity. And for what? So you
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: can keep your second and fourth rounder next year? Who cares?
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: The Niners made this move already. They did it four
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: years ago when they traded for Christian McCaffrey. A second
• 28:59
  Speaker 2: and a fourth this year and a third to fifth
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: the year afterwards. And guess what they did? They went
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: to a Super Bowl. Why? Because Christian McCaffrey's really good.
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: And how are you able, whatever you think, maybe you
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: think Purdy's elite. Maybe you don't. You know what helps
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: Brock Purdy look really good? Christian McCaffrey. Really, really helps
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: in that department. One of the most efficient quarterbacks in
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: the league this year, Jared Goff. You know what makes
• 29:29
  Speaker 2: him look really good? Jameer Gibbs. Helps a lot. The Chiefs,
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: their offense. Stinky. Poo-poo last year. Why do they look
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: really good now? Kenneth Walker makes a hell of a difference.
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: The significant back changes everything about how you have to
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: play an offense. Now play actions matter. Suck a defense in,
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: get one over the top. So 303-504-0925. As we broadcast
• 30:06
  Speaker 2: from the Backus & Shanker Studios, Backus & Shanker, your
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: hometown injury lawyers, in a car accident, call 303-222-2222. Reminder
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: to you guys, November is Hockey Fights Cancer Month. And
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: in that month, you should schedule a blood donation at
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: any Vitalant donation or blood drive. using the Colorado Avalanche
• 30:31
  Speaker 2: virtual blood drive link, because they have partnered with Vitalant.
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: And everyone who donates will be entered to win a
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: team-signed stick from this year or a Josh Manson-signed stick.
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: All you have to do is go to vitalant.org forward
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: slash hockeyfightscancer for more info and to schedule your blood donation.
• 30:49
  Speaker 2: We know a significant number of these blood donations go
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: directly in the fight against cancer. So schedule that donation, vitalant.org
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: slash hockeyfightscancer. Back after this. All right, ladies and gentlemen,
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: things are, I made a boo-boo, okay? No other way
• 31:05
  Speaker 2: to say it. This is a Nuggets ticket, Avs ticket Thursday.
• 31:10
  Speaker 2: And we're supposed to get a keyword at 620. We're
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: going to open that up right now. So your first
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: keyword is coming your way right now. And it's Falcon
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: with your first and last name to 303-504-0925. It's your
• 31:22
  Speaker 2: chance to see the Avs take on the Anaheim Ducks
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: on the 19th. Become forever faithful. With the Avs hat
• 31:28
  Speaker 2: trick plan, choose any three or more games and get
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: $ 50 in arena credit. ColoradoAvalanche.com slash hat trick. But your
• 31:36
  Speaker 2: keyword for this hour is Falcon. So text Falcon in
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: your first and last name on this Avs ticket Thursday.
• 31:44
  Speaker 2: So with that in mind, Texas asked an interesting question.
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: He said, you know, when we talked to Adam Schefter
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: on Monday about this, he said the the. trade value
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: or what would go in return to the Colts in
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: a deal for Jonathan Taylor would look very similar to
• 32:09
  Speaker 2: what the trade was for Christian McCaffrey four years ago.
• 32:15
  Speaker 2: So with that, the trade for Christian McCaffrey included this.
• 32:23
  Speaker 2: It was a second, a third, a fourth, and a
• 32:25
  Speaker 2: fifth trade The second, third, and fourth were all in
• 32:28
  Speaker 2: the 2023 draft. The fifth rounder was in the 2024 draft.
• 32:33
  Speaker 2: And the Niners got Christian McCaffrey. The question is, for
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: those second, third, and fourth round picks, what has George
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: Payton been able to do with it? And the tough
• 32:48
  Speaker 2: part about this is, I think it's maybe George Payton's
• 32:52
  Speaker 2: greatest asset as a GM. I think that he's one
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: of the best GMs in the NFL. I really do.
• 32:57
  Speaker 2: you look over his ability to scout, especially in the margins,
• 33:02
  Speaker 2: he just does a much better job and has a
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: much better track record than really most other guys in
• 33:07
  Speaker 2: the league. There's a few that can make the argument
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: for it, but I would put George Payton at the
• 33:11
  Speaker 2: top without much hesitation. So the difficult thing is, this
• 33:15
  Speaker 2: is kind of where he's lived because he's had to.
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: He hasn't had first-round picks because of the Russell Wilson trade.
• 33:21
  Speaker 2: He hasn't had first-round picks because of the Bo Nix trade.
• 33:23
  Speaker 2: He hasn't had first-round picks because of the Jalen Waddell trade.
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: They've given those away. So what has he done in
• 33:30
  Speaker 2: rounds two, three, four, and five? And we'll take it
• 33:34
  Speaker 2: over the last four years. We'll do it like a
• 33:36
  Speaker 2: college recruiting cycle, let's say. It's gonna be tough because
• 33:39
  Speaker 2: these guys who are rookies this year, it's hard to
• 33:42
  Speaker 2: put a real judgment on them. We don't really know yet,
• 33:45
  Speaker 2: but we'll just go through it. Third round pick, Tyler Onyatom.
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: Seems to have some promise, not a significant part of
• 33:52
  Speaker 2: that defense yet. You know, a lot of that is
• 33:54
  Speaker 2: controlled in the middle by Zach Allen and Malcolm Roach
• 33:59
  Speaker 2: and guys like that. So we'll see. Jonah Coleman, fourth rounder,
• 34:05
  Speaker 2: looks like a guy. Looks like a dude who's going
• 34:08
  Speaker 2: to be around for a while. Cage Casey was another
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: fourth round pick, backup offensive lineman, who knows. And then
• 34:17
  Speaker 2: their fifth round pick was Justin Jolie. We can make
• 34:19
  Speaker 2: a decision on that. He's off the roster, so that
• 34:21
  Speaker 2: was a failure. Okay, got it. The previous year, second
• 34:26
  Speaker 2: round pick, RJ Harvey. Pretty good player. A different kind
• 34:30
  Speaker 2: of running back, more of a pass-catching guy. Doesn't run
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: the football too much, but you would say it's a hit.
• 34:41
  Speaker 2: Maybe not a super hit, but it's a hit. He's
• 34:43
  Speaker 2: a player on this team, and a pretty significant one.
• 34:47
  Speaker 2: Third rounder, Pat Bryant. Again, pretty good player. Third guy
• 34:52
  Speaker 2: on the depth chart. Makes plays and impacts when he's
• 34:55
  Speaker 2: on the field. It's weird because it feels like he
• 34:58
  Speaker 2: was more impactful than his numbers would tell you. I mean,
• 35:04
  Speaker 2: Pat Bryant in his career, he's played 19 games. He's
• 35:08
  Speaker 2: got 40 catches. It's nothing that's going to blow you away,
• 35:10
  Speaker 2: but a contributor. Next pick was Savion Jones. Decent depth
• 35:16
  Speaker 2: on the defensive line. He's another third-round pick. Q Robinson.
• 35:20
  Speaker 2: Decent depth at the edge-rushing position. Another decent pick. Then
• 35:24
  Speaker 2: you have to go to the next year. Third-rounder Jonah Ellis. Again,
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: significant depth piece. Guy's a rotational dude. Fourth-rounder was Troy Franklin.
• 35:35
  Speaker 2: He's been okay. Fifth-rounder, Chris Abrams-Drain. Good player. Stacked cornerback room.
• 35:41
  Speaker 2: Doesn't really play, but he's a good player. Another fifth
• 35:45
  Speaker 2: round pick was Audrick Estime. Off the roster, didn't work.
• 35:48
  Speaker 2: And then finally, second round pick in 2023 was Marvin Mims. Depth.
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: I don't know how else to put it. I wish
• 35:56
  Speaker 2: it wasn't, but depth and a good returner. Third round
• 35:59
  Speaker 2: pick was Drew Sanders. That never worked. The other third
• 36:01
  Speaker 2: round pick was Riley Moss, which was a home run.
• 36:04
  Speaker 2: So all of those, he has a very good track
• 36:07
  Speaker 2: record of finding NFL players who contribute. I would argue
• 36:11
  Speaker 2: Jonathan Taylor is better than any one of those picks. Now,
• 36:16
  Speaker 2: put them all combined into a ball, it matters and
• 36:20
  Speaker 2: it has impact. But I'm talking about now. Right now.
• 36:29
  Speaker 2: We can look two, three years down the line. We can.
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: Where are you at at the moment? I'll tell you
• 36:37
  Speaker 2: where you're at. On top of the AFC West again.
• 36:40
  Speaker 2: Competing for the number one seed in the AFC again.
• 36:44
  Speaker 2: That's why this matters to me. And I am furiously
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: checking my phone for every notification that comes on here.
• 36:51
  Speaker 2: You bet your ass I got those Schefter notifications on.
• 36:57
  Speaker 2: Because all I just want to see one thing. And
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: every time I go to Schefter and there's some sort
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: of like update, something that he's put out, like this
• 37:05
  Speaker 2: last one, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts made an appearance at
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: the team's practice facility marking the first time some players
• 37:14
  Speaker 2: had seen him since he was put on injured reserve
• 37:16
  Speaker 2: because of blood clots in his lungs. And I go,
• 37:17
  Speaker 2: that's great. I'm glad he's back at the facility. Where's
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: Jonathan Taylor? Like this to me is why I'm so
• 37:31
  Speaker 2: into this. George Payton is very, very good at his job.
• 37:36
  Speaker 2: And he's very, very good about finding guys who are
• 37:39
  Speaker 2: impactful late in the draft. But you got the unknown
• 37:47
  Speaker 2: of who could be there. Or you have the known
• 37:51
  Speaker 2: of an all-pro running back. It's the old family guy bit.
• 37:58
  Speaker 2: A boat's a boat. But the mystery box could be anything.
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: It could even be a boat. That's where I'm at.
• 38:10
  Speaker 2: And this is one of those, you know, I try
• 38:11
  Speaker 2: and have a malleable mind that you can make an
• 38:14
  Speaker 2: argument that could change it. I'm telling you, pretty dug in.
• 38:18
  Speaker 2: I got cement feet here. And if it's not Jonathan Taylor, fine.
• 38:23
  Speaker 2: I just, I need a running back. Someone. Someone of significance. Like,
• 38:30
  Speaker 2: texture says, would you want Brees Hall as a consolation prize? Sure.
• 38:38
  Speaker 2: I wouldn't be over the moon, but I would be
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: in outer space, we'll call it. I would break the atmosphere.
• 38:47
  Speaker 2: Isn't that what, what's his name, Star Trek guy, William Shatner,
• 38:51
  Speaker 2: isn't that what he did? Didn't he go in that
• 38:53
  Speaker 2: SpaceX rocket and break the atmosphere and come back down
• 38:56
  Speaker 2: and cry when he got back on Earth? Which if
• 38:59
  Speaker 2: you listen to the show for a while, you would
• 39:01
  Speaker 2: know that Vic would not go on that SpaceX rocket.
• 39:05
  Speaker 2: He would rather play 18 holes somewhere. Why go to
• 39:10
  Speaker 2: outer space when you could eagle 15? You know? Strong argument. So, 303, 504, 0925.
• 39:22
  Speaker 2: Texture says, I would argue the fact that Peyton has
• 39:27
  Speaker 2: all those hits in the last three years allows you
• 39:29
  Speaker 2: to skip, quote, skip a year and get Jonathan Taylor.
• 39:33
  Speaker 2: You're right. They've built depth. It's, it's one of the reasons, like,
• 39:39
  Speaker 2: think about this for a second. I don't know how
• 39:41
  Speaker 2: many teams could survive what the Broncos suffered for, for
• 39:47
  Speaker 2: a while in that secondary. I mean, you don't have
• 39:49
  Speaker 2: the best corner on the planet. You lost in all
• 39:52
  Speaker 2: pro safety. Your other corner was out for a game.
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: And you have such significant depth at those positions that
• 40:01
  Speaker 2: guys like Jadé Barron and guys like Chris Abrams-Drang can
• 40:05
  Speaker 2: step in and play to a, forget acceptable, good to
• 40:10
  Speaker 2: great NFL level. So one last reminder to you guys,
• 40:17
  Speaker 2: the keyword for this hour, a little bit late, my apologies,
• 40:20
  Speaker 2: is Falcon. So text that in your first and last
• 40:22
  Speaker 2: name to 303-504-0925. Get you in the running to see
• 40:26
  Speaker 2: the Avs take on the Anaheim Ducks on the 19th.
• 40:30
  Speaker 2: But that keyword for this hour is Falcon. Your next
• 40:32
  Speaker 2: one's coming up at 7.20, and we'll get back on track.
• 40:34
  Speaker 2: So you can watch the show live on Twitch, twitch.tv,
• 40:38
  Speaker 2: search Altitude SR in the search bar, the Altitude TV simulcast.
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: You can also watch on YouTube. Subscribe to the channel
• 40:47
  Speaker 2: and don't miss anything from Denver's number one sports station,
• 40:50
  Speaker 2: Altitude Sports Radio 92.5. Texture says it's pretty impressive how
• 40:55
  Speaker 2: they bounced back from the Russell Wilson debacle. Pretty impressive
• 40:58
  Speaker 2: isn't even, like, I totally agree with you. I don't
• 41:00
  Speaker 2: think that's strong enough of a term. Like, it is
• 41:05
  Speaker 2: remarkable what they've done. And it's because George Payton is
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: very good at finding pieces to fit late in drafts.
• 41:15
  Speaker 2: And I would tell George, Take your scouting hat off
• 41:18
  Speaker 2: for a year and just give me the layup. Give
• 41:21
  Speaker 2: me the running back. A lot more to talk about
• 41:23
  Speaker 2: with this as we go along today. Motion Lombardi and
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: Kane starts next.