Latest / Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports / Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman and Lindahl 9-19-25

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Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman and Lindahl 9-19-25 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: It's a Friday afternoon. Let's jump out to the ramos
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Law hotline. Car accident you require ramos Law medical doctor
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: and attorney visit ramoslaw dot com. Jeff Legwald is with
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: us here on a Friday afternoon. Jeff leg Wald, we
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: continue to wait to see Dre Greenlaw and Evan Ingram
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: will not play in this game. I am sure that
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  Speaker 1: Sean Payton was verbose and generous with information when it
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  Speaker 1: came to his player's injuries. So what do we know.
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  Speaker 2: Here was a few simps. I think the one thing
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  Speaker 2: he did say was that as I suspect that, I
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  Speaker 2: think we talked Monday a little bit. He did say
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  Speaker 2: Ingram's back injury the game Sunday and Indy. So it
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  Speaker 2: does explain some of the snap count personnel use issues,
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  Speaker 2: and that was kind of the first time he said
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  Speaker 2: it out loud, even though we've all kind of assumed it. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: the green Row thing, I think they still the way
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  Speaker 2: I understand it from talking to as many people as
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  Speaker 2: I can is he is on the timetable. They thought
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  Speaker 2: he was like, this isn't a surprise to them in
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  Speaker 2: the recovery, which is maybe different than the public You
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  Speaker 2: know perception they've put out there, which I think personally
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  Speaker 2: makes it tough on the player, which is why I
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  Speaker 2: think teams should just fess up and say when a
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  Speaker 2: guy's hurt, when he's not, it's not competitive. I don't
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  Speaker 2: care what they say, but it does put it all
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  Speaker 2: on the player. When Sean Payton says three weeks ago,
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  Speaker 2: you're gonna see him sooner rather than later, and you know,
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  Speaker 2: earlier this week he says things like, well, the injuries nebulous.
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  Speaker 2: I think all of that sort of puts the onus
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  Speaker 2: on the player unnecessarily, but it does make the decision
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  Speaker 2: not to put him on IR for four weeks little
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  Speaker 2: bit interesting.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, at Jeff, that was gonna be My My question
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  Speaker 1: is like, if it's the timetable that they thought he
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  Speaker 1: was on the whole way, then he then that means
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  Speaker 1: he has to play next week. Otherwise it makes absolutely
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  Speaker 1: no sense that they didn't make the IR transaction with him.
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  Speaker 1: Am I am? I am I reading that correctly?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you know, and I think sometimes maybe
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  Speaker 2: it's easier if you keep him on the roster. He
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  Speaker 2: can do a little more on the field. With the tea.
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  Speaker 2: There is a benefit to do it, and he did
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  Speaker 2: practice Friday before, you know, the Indie game, which is
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  Speaker 2: kind of you know, I can't get a clear answer
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  Speaker 2: as if as if whether or not something happened a
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  Speaker 2: week ago, you know, just a little twins or something,
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  Speaker 2: because he did practice in a jersey on Friday before
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  Speaker 2: the Indie game, so it may you think, you know,
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  Speaker 2: this week was going to be a ramp up, and
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  Speaker 2: it was not. So you know, again, it's a little
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  Speaker 2: unclear if something happened last week, but uh, you know,
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  Speaker 2: they certainly could use them, and this is a game
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  Speaker 2: where against a team that plays this many heavy formations
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  Speaker 2: and big player packages, he's certainly a guy that could
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  Speaker 2: have used this week for sure.
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  Speaker 3: All Right, Jeff, We've been asking this question if the
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  Speaker 3: Broncos were to get this win, because it kind of
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  Speaker 3: feels like they're gonna be They are the underdog in
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  Speaker 3: Vegas and it just feels like this is a tough
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  Speaker 3: one for them. Who will be the star? What will
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  Speaker 3: be the storyline? In your mind?
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  Speaker 2: I think if they have a sectiveness getting the Chargers
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  Speaker 2: defense out of what they need to get them out of,
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  Speaker 2: I think Dobbins will have had a very big day,
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  Speaker 2: you know, it's the old. Some something's become old. Add
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: it is because they continue to be true. And if
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  Speaker 2: if the team's gonna play this much shell coverage, you
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  Speaker 2: got to run him out of it at some time,
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  Speaker 2: and to do that it will be because Dobbins, I think,
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  Speaker 2: has a big day.
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  Speaker 4: January eight, twenty twenty three, Leggy, the last time the
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  Speaker 4: dever Broncos had a hundred yard rusher, with the storyline
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  Speaker 4: of JK. Dobbins not being welcomed back if you will,
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  Speaker 4: at least financially, and what he wanted from the Chargers organization.
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  Speaker 4: With that storyline, motivate Sean Payton enough to lean into
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  Speaker 4: the ground game and find a bellcal running back for
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  Speaker 4: really the first time in his tenure.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Mike, I think you know, at some time, at
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  Speaker 2: some point, I think people would like to see what
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  Speaker 2: would motivate Sean to you a running back extensively. He's
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  Speaker 2: so and you know this as a play caller, but
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  Speaker 2: he is so situational driven. I think it's really hard
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  Speaker 2: for him in many ways philosophically to have one person
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  Speaker 2: who has this enormous role beyond the quarterback. But so
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  Speaker 2: I think some of his philosophy is always going to
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  Speaker 2: get in the way of one back being the guy
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  Speaker 2: unless that one back catches a lot of passes. And
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  Speaker 2: that's that's not Ben Dobbins's you know, snap count. So far,
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  Speaker 2: he's not seeing a lot of those snaps. But I
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  Speaker 2: think that could change if he does continue to run
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  Speaker 2: like you did in Indy in the second half.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: Talking to Jeff Legwald here on a Friday edition of
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  Speaker 1: The craigmn and Lindahl Show with Mike Sandford Jeff Legwald
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  Speaker 1: brought to you by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: ibe W Local sixty eight. You start with the job
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: and you end with a career. Leggie is you had
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  Speaker 1: a chance to really dive into the defense's performance last
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  Speaker 1: week against Indianapolis, and it's it's hard to rely on
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  Speaker 1: trends after two weeks. There's a lot of noise within
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  Speaker 1: the numbers. But going back and looking at that game,
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  Speaker 1: they did force five field goals, they did force a
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  Speaker 1: couple of turnovers on downs. They only allowed two touchdowns
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  Speaker 1: in that game. Like generally, they did a lot of
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  Speaker 1: the things that you need modern defense to do. As
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  Speaker 1: you looked back on it, what was your read of
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  Speaker 1: how they played and sort of where this defense is
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  Speaker 1: at right now two games into the year.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think, you know, the artist totals were alarming,
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  Speaker 2: and they were, they were sufficiently alarmed by them. You know,
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  Speaker 2: I don't want to make it sound like I'm underselling.
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  Speaker 1: Plays too big jokes they gave.
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  Speaker 2: They got three forty yard pass players, you got sixty
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  Speaker 2: eight yard run. I mean, that's that's too many explosives
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  Speaker 2: in any world. Uh. But you know, I'm talking to
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  Speaker 2: Vance Joseph a little bit and getting a few in yesterday.
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  Speaker 2: You know, they you know, and I think they're right
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  Speaker 2: after charting the video. You know, Daniel Jones was exceptionally
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  Speaker 2: accurate on a lot of froze, which in this day
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: and age, there's no defense for a dB against the
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  Speaker 2: perfectly thrown ball. You can't play physically enough anymore to
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  Speaker 2: keep that pass away from a receiver like you used to.
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  Speaker 2: Unless Yeah, and if you're a quarterback and you're on
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  Speaker 2: a heater, you're gonna have a good day against almost anybody.
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  Speaker 2: So I think his play can't be under sold in that.
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  Speaker 2: But I think the Colts were very ready for their
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  Speaker 2: single high looks and a lot of their man coverages
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  Speaker 2: away from certain even so, I think the Broncos were
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  Speaker 2: much better in the second half when they did what
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: they don't usually do a lot, which is play a
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  Speaker 2: lot more zone and just play more coverage. Looks they
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  Speaker 2: were able to at least slow it down a little more,
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  Speaker 2: and you know, the second half didn't look so much
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  Speaker 2: like the first half, and the big run, like a
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  Speaker 2: lot of big runs, was just mistackles. So that's you know,
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  Speaker 2: you know, take your storyline there. Is it because they
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  Speaker 2: don't tackle in the in training camp anymore? Is it
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  Speaker 2: because they don't get much preseason work? But you see
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  Speaker 2: a lot of mistackles early in the year, and the
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  Speaker 2: Broncos certainly had their share in the first two games.
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  Speaker 4: Leg you look back at a game a year ago
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  Speaker 4: against Baltimore where the fear in the thread of the
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  Speaker 4: legs of Lamar Jackson got Vance Joseph to be uncharacteristically
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  Speaker 4: a zone defensive team at least on that day, and
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  Speaker 4: it was a bad day. What have you noticed in
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  Speaker 4: terms of zone coverage for Vance Joseph in really his
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  Speaker 4: third year as a coordinator. Has it improved? Has it
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  Speaker 4: looked tighter? You mentioned that second half adjustment looked a
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  Speaker 4: lot better. What have you seen And do you think
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  Speaker 4: that's a commitment that the Broncos are ready in case
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  Speaker 4: their fastball isn't working.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean maybe they go to it more quickly,
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: you know, Mike. I think it's never going to be there,
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  Speaker 2: you know, the proverbial bread and butter for them, and
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  Speaker 2: I think as a result, they're never going to quite
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  Speaker 2: look as good doing it as some people do. I
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  Speaker 2: do think Kufonda improves their chances of playing better zone coverage.
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  Speaker 2: So I think his activity level and his ability to
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  Speaker 2: close on the ball and all of those things make
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  Speaker 2: them a better zone team than they were last year.
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  Speaker 2: But it's the same scenario here, not you know, I
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  Speaker 2: put Lamar as a runner in another galaxy compared to
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  Speaker 2: everybody else, frankly at quarterback. But Herbert's is exceptionally accurate
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  Speaker 2: this year, you know, seventy two right now. And I
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  Speaker 2: think the thing that strikes me is he's done the
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  Speaker 2: fifth most blitzed quarterback in the league after two games,
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  Speaker 2: and he's still completing seventy two percent of the ball.
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  Speaker 2: So that means an awful lot of people are sending
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  Speaker 2: an awful lot of pressure at him and not getting
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  Speaker 2: there and they're you know, he's having time to wait
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  Speaker 2: for receivers to clear. And I think that's really hard
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  Speaker 2: for a team that wants to be aggressive like the Broncos.
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  Speaker 2: And some of it is, you know, they the Chargers
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  Speaker 2: have plenty of three wide looks like everybody else in
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  Speaker 2: the league now, but they play it's a weird dynamic.
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  Speaker 2: They play these big, heavy personnel groupings. There's one with
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: seven offensive linemen in it. And they play these big
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  Speaker 2: groupings and then they throw out of it. They're not
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: like coming at you as a running team out of
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  Speaker 2: those things. They're basically playing max protect on Justin Herbert
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  Speaker 2: and wait until a receiver is clear.
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  Speaker 3: All right, Lagy, I call you the balloon popper.
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: You know that.
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  Speaker 3: So I'll let you take a crack at this one.
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  Speaker 3: How big is this game for the Broncos?
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  Speaker 2: You know it is.
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  Speaker 3: We're doing radio here. Feels like a pretty big week
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  Speaker 3: for them. But overall, how big is this do you
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  Speaker 3: think in the grand scheme for them?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, I won't pop that balloon. I'll let that one fly.
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  Speaker 2: I think the one thing that strikes me is, you know, look,
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: it's anecdotal, and I can't I can't say for sure,
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  Speaker 2: But I don't remember a team like the Chargers playing
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: three division games in the first three weeks of a season.
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: And if the Chargers win, that means they will have
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: won half of their AFC West games already and it's
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  Speaker 2: not October, so it puts them in a very very
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: good position against everybody, including the Broncos. So I think
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: this is a pretty big ticket item for a week
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  Speaker 2: three games just because of the weirdness of the schedule.
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: I mean, you only play six division games and the Chargers,
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: if they win, well, have already played three of them
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  Speaker 2: and won all three.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's there's a lot of tie breaking implications going
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  Speaker 1: on right there. Even Leggies hyping this one. Guys read
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  Speaker 1: Jeff Legwald ESPN dot com, catch his coverage, and we'll
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  Speaker 1: be talking to on Monday here on The Correct Man
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: Lindahl Show. Jeff Legwald, travel safely, my friend.
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: Thanks for let's we'll see it.