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Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman and Lindahl 9-14-26 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

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  Speaker 1: Yeah, let's go right to Arrowhead right now.
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  Speaker 2: We welcome in Jeff Legwald of ESPN. And Jeff, we
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  Speaker 2: begin here as I read an excellent piece of sports
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  Speaker 2: writing today on ESPN.com. The 2015 Broncos and the 2026
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  Speaker 2: Denver Broncos. One of those teams won a Super Bowl.
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  Speaker 2: Another one hopes to. How are these teams similar?
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  Speaker 3: Well, you know, the guys, it got me thinking when
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  Speaker 3: the guys with the 2015 team kept saying they were similar.
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  Speaker 3: And I guess I started with the premise of if
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  Speaker 3: it was good enough for them to look into, then
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  Speaker 3: I would too. And I think that's, you know, really
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  Speaker 3: good top two defense, you know, the way the team
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  Speaker 3: was assembled. I think they think it's similar. I think
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  Speaker 3: they seem, I think they feel like they see a similar,
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  Speaker 3: you know, combination of players. And I, you know, especially
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  Speaker 3: guys like, you know, Von Miller, Aqib Tlaib, you know, Kubiak,
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  Speaker 3: they all see sort of the, you know, the assemblage
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  Speaker 3: of a roster that's interested in the, in the end
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  Speaker 3: result and what the group does. and not so much
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  Speaker 3: in what the individual does. And I think a lot
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  Speaker 3: of teams spend a lot of time saying they're looking
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  Speaker 3: for that, but they don't actually assemble it because it's
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  Speaker 3: not easy. And I think if this team this year
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  Speaker 3: does succeed, it's going to be because they did assemble
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  Speaker 3: those kinds of guys and they were still talented enough
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  Speaker 3: to win all the games you're going to need to
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  Speaker 3: win to win it all.
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  Speaker 2: You know, it's interesting, Jeff, because you talked to Gary
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  Speaker 2: Kubiak for that story, and he had some great quotes
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  Speaker 2: in there. And, you know, Gary Kubiak, offensive coach. Sean Payton,
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  Speaker 2: consummate offensive coach, offensive genius, coach in the 2026 Broncos.
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  Speaker 2: And yet, both of those teams relied so heavily on
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  Speaker 2: outstanding defense in order to be able to to win
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  Speaker 2: games is there a bit of a misnomer sometimes that
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  Speaker 2: we just like assign to an offensive coach oh that's
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  Speaker 2: all that matters to you and defense isn't all that
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  Speaker 2: important because both of those coaches who were brilliant offensive
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  Speaker 2: minds did a wonderful job coaching excellent defensive teams yeah
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  Speaker 2: I think.
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  Speaker 3: They decide that you know what don't they like to
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  Speaker 3: face you know I think they're proficient enough at what
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  Speaker 3: they do to decide what don't they, what don't they
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  Speaker 3: like to face in the big moments and big games
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  Speaker 3: and big, you know, big downs. And, and I think there's,
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  Speaker 3: you know, if you've coached long enough to be around
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  Speaker 3: long enough to assemble a team good enough to win
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  Speaker 3: the Superbowl, I think you have to have the self-awareness
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  Speaker 3: to know that you can't just, you know, just lean
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  Speaker 3: on what you're proficient at you're going to need to
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  Speaker 3: be really good defensively no matter what even if it's
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  Speaker 3: you're only good in defensive moments and your total stats
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  Speaker 3: aren't awesome but maybe you're great on third down maybe
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  Speaker 3: you're great in the red zone uh those types of
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  Speaker 3: things but i think they just get an awareness that
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  Speaker 3: it it takes so much more than just having you
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  Speaker 3: know that they can't miss quarterback and throwing the ball
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  Speaker 3: all the time i mean what's When the Rams won
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  Speaker 3: the Super Bowl, look what the score was. It wasn't
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  Speaker 3: one of those winging around type games because it's just different.
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  Speaker 3: And I think the really good coaches who play a
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  Speaker 3: part in putting together good teams figure that out.
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  Speaker 4: All right, Jeff, you know, again, the other thing that
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  Speaker 4: I think was so underrated about that 2015 team, as
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  Speaker 4: I look at your article, is the offense. I tell
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  Speaker 4: people all the time, no, the offense wasn't good necessarily,
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  Speaker 4: but it was clutch. And every time they needed a drive,
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  Speaker 4: they got a drive. And it's funny, Jeff, because I
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  Speaker 4: think about week two in Kansas City on that Thursday
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  Speaker 4: night when the Broncos played there. They had struggled the
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  Speaker 4: whole first half, but found a way to figure it
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  Speaker 4: out in the fourth quarter and then got the famous
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  Speaker 4: strip and scoop and score to win that sucker. But
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  Speaker 4: I remember Manning hitting Emmanuel Sanders in particular to get
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  Speaker 4: the clutch score and get that game tied. This offense
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  Speaker 4: felt clutch last year. How do they repeat that? Why
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  Speaker 4: is this a clutch offense?
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  Speaker 3: Well, I don't know if we know the answer to
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  Speaker 3: that yet. Andy, we know they think they have the
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  Speaker 3: components to be a clutch offense. I mean, Bo is
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  Speaker 3: shown already. he can flourish in the two-minute drill, whether
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  Speaker 3: that's because of the playbook menu they're working off of,
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  Speaker 3: whether he's just got that little something where his heart
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  Speaker 3: rate stays the same, all of it. They think they
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  Speaker 3: have the quarterback who can function in those situations, and
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  Speaker 3: he's already proven it. He's participated in more comeback wins,
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  Speaker 3: more fourth-quarter drives than almost every quarterback with a lot
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  Speaker 3: more accolades than he has over the last two years.
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  Speaker 3: So I think they feel like they have that component with,
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  Speaker 3: you know, you got to be good up front and
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  Speaker 3: they feel like they have one of the best offensive
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  Speaker 3: lines in the league. And they think they have, you know,
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  Speaker 3: veteran guys who understand situational football, which you have to
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  Speaker 3: be really good at situational football. They're going to be
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  Speaker 3: good in latent games, even if it's a little thing
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  Speaker 3: like running the ball back to the official.
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  Speaker 1: Jeff Legwald joins us from Arrowhead.
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  Speaker 2: Jeff Legwald brought to you by the International Brotherhood of
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  Speaker 2: Electrical Workers, IBEW Local 68. Start with a job, end
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  Speaker 2: with a career. Jeff, give us the idea of the conditions.
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  Speaker 2: We know it was hot today. We don't think it's
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  Speaker 2: going to rain, but you're on the ground. What's going
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  Speaker 2: on right now with the weather in Kansas City and
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  Speaker 2: how it'll affect the game?
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  Speaker 3: I think in really scientific terms, it's windy as hell.
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  Speaker 3: So I think I would lay that down for you. Now,
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  Speaker 3: I think that's going to be a problem because it's
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  Speaker 3: going end zone to end zone. So when you're going
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  Speaker 3: one way, it's going to be spectacular. When you're going
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  Speaker 3: the other way, it's not going to be so great.
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  Speaker 3: I think it'll be going, you know, if you're watching
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  Speaker 3: on TV, it'll be like, if you're facing away from
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  Speaker 3: the Bronco bench tonight, it'll be blowing left to right
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  Speaker 3: pretty hard. So I think it's going to have to
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  Speaker 3: be something they're cognizant of because it is, it's not a,
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  Speaker 3: it's not across the field. It's end to end.
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  Speaker 4: I didn't mean to give you the big media laugh,
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  Speaker 4: but I haven't heard you curse a little bit there, Jeff.
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  Speaker 1: Holy cow. I really got you worked up. All right, Jeff.
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  Speaker 4: What do you think we get the first drive from
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  Speaker 4: Davis Webb? Do you think he's going to pare down
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  Speaker 4: the personnel switching? Do you think he'll ride it back
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  Speaker 4: a bit like we saw him do in the Atlanta opener?
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  Speaker 4: What do you think is going to define this first
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  Speaker 4: game for Davis Webb?
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  Speaker 3: I don't know if we'll see the full glimpse, but
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  Speaker 3: I think one of their things in camp was they
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  Speaker 3: were going to be a little heavier from time to time.
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  Speaker 3: They were they were one of the lowest ranked teams
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  Speaker 3: in the league last year when it came to the
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  Speaker 3: 12 personnel. So with the two tight ends. So I
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  Speaker 3: think they were 29th in the league last year in snaps.
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  Speaker 3: So I think that will be a market change because
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  Speaker 3: I think we saw a lot of two back and
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  Speaker 3: a two tight end stuff in the preseason, especially when
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  Speaker 3: fans were no longer in there. So I would expect that,
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  Speaker 3: you know, will we see that all tonight? I don't
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  Speaker 3: know that, but I think when we're a few games
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  Speaker 3: into the season, that's going to be a statistic that's
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  Speaker 3: going to be on the uptick from last year.
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  Speaker 4: What do you think the running back rotation looks like?
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  Speaker 4: Do we see some of Jonah Coleman, or are they
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  Speaker 4: going to keep him under wraps a little bit, mainly
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  Speaker 4: Harvey and Dobbins, if everyone stays healthy?
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  Speaker 3: I think we're going to see Coleman when they're in
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  Speaker 3: those snaps where Dobbins would be in the lineup, and
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  Speaker 3: they just think they need a little breather for Dobbins.
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  Speaker 3: They're Their mission is to keep him functioning in the
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  Speaker 3: offense because when he's in there, they're one of the
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  Speaker 3: best running teams in the league. So their idea is
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  Speaker 3: they want to get him to November and December but
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  Speaker 3: also enjoy the impact in September and October. So I
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  Speaker 3: think when it's time where they want to get him
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  Speaker 3: some snaps on the sideline, then we'll see Coleman.
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  Speaker 1: Talking to Jeff Legwald.
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  Speaker 2: Jeff, let's flip it over to the other side as
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  Speaker 2: long as we're talking about play calling a little bit.
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  Speaker 2: What do you expect to see from Andy Reid and
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  Speaker 2: Eric Bien-Ami tonight going up against Vance Joseph's defense with
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  Speaker 2: Mahomes with a knee injury, with the problem at left tackle?
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  Speaker 2: What do you think Kansas City's game plan is going
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  Speaker 2: to look like tonight?
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  Speaker 3: I think we'll see a lot of things to slow
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  Speaker 3: down or rush. Andy's got one of the biggest catalogs
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  Speaker 3: of screen game in the league, and I think we
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  Speaker 3: might see every page tonight. I think they're going to
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  Speaker 3: want to get the ball out of his hands and
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  Speaker 3: want to keep the Broncos out of situations where it's
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  Speaker 3: second and eight, third and seven, where they're really just
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  Speaker 3: coming after you. And I think that that makes first
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  Speaker 3: down a really big part of this game. And maybe
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  Speaker 3: when they're aggressive, maybe they're more aggressive on first down
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  Speaker 3: to try and limit some of the Broncos ability to
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  Speaker 3: just lean into the pass rush and go after it.
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  Speaker 3: But I think they're going to try very hard to
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  Speaker 3: keep the ball moving. And I think they'll probably take
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  Speaker 3: a shot or two early just to see if they
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  Speaker 3: can take advantage of just the early shot value of
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  Speaker 3: doing that early in a game.
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  Speaker 4: Did you talk to anybody? Did you get the feel?
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  Speaker 4: Where is he mobility-wise? Because, again, Nate and I are
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  Speaker 4: trying to figure that out. I mean, you've talked about it.
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  Speaker 4: We've seen plenty of videos of him with the big
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  Speaker 4: brace on, but they're playing him, so they must think
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  Speaker 4: he can protect himself.
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  Speaker 1: But where do you think he's at mobility-wise?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, again, I don't think any of us know.
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  Speaker 3: And even they may not know. I'm not certain you're
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  Speaker 3: unleashing him fully in a practice situation. Yeah. you know,
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  Speaker 3: we may not find out the answer to that question, Andy,
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  Speaker 3: until he's under stress and he's got to make a
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  Speaker 3: decision whether to slide, go down, just take the sack
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  Speaker 3: or try and run his way out of it. So
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  Speaker 3: we may not know the full answer to that until
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  Speaker 3: we see it have to happen.
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  Speaker 1: What the hell you been doing out there, Lakey? I
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  Speaker 1: expect these answers out of you.
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  Speaker 3: That was a good one. I don't know. Legwald was like, hey,
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  Speaker 3: you're undervaluing that answer.
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  Speaker 2: I think Legwald sat back for a second and was like,
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  Speaker 2: I nailed that one.
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  Speaker 1: I'll give it to you.
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  Speaker 4: I'm giving it to you right now.
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  Speaker 1: He's feeling pretty good about that one.
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  Speaker 2: Jeff, where does Kansas City have an advantage tonight over
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  Speaker 2: Denver besides simply just the advantage of playing at Arrowhead Stadium?
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  Speaker 2: I'm looking at a Kansas City team that I think
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  Speaker 2: is flawed, but I'm probably overlooking something. You're pretty good
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  Speaker 2: about straightening me out on this stuff.
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  Speaker 1: What am I missing?
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  Speaker 3: You may not need straightening. I mean, we're just doing the,
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  Speaker 3: the pure depth chart comparison.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: You know, it's clear that one team is right now
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  Speaker 3: better built, but that doesn't always mean a lot. You know,
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  Speaker 3: the quarterback here is proven beyond proven, you know, in,
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  Speaker 3: in all the biggest moments and, you know, there's no
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  Speaker 3: one else starting in the league with his resume. So it,
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  Speaker 3: and yeah, The people of Denver, of any NFL city,
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  Speaker 3: should know what it looks like when a franchise quarterback
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  Speaker 3: drags a flawed team around, which people saw with Elway
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  Speaker 3: for years until Mike got to Denver. I think that's
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  Speaker 3: the advantage they have. He can take a flawed team
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  Speaker 3: on a big night and do amazing things with it.
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  Speaker 3: It's just the question, is this team too flawed for
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  Speaker 3: even him coming back nine months to the day of
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  Speaker 3: his injury, that's a big ask. They're making a big
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  Speaker 3: ask of him tonight, and if he's up to it,
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  Speaker 3: that's the advantage they have.
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  Speaker 2: Completely agree. Jeff Legwald, everybody, ESPN.com. His coverage is right there.
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  Speaker 1: Read it tonight. Read it tomorrow.
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  Speaker 2: Leggy has got it covered wire to wire at Arrowhead
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  Speaker 2: Stadium in Kansas City.
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  Speaker 1: Jeff, thank you, man. We appreciate it.
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  Speaker 3: Thanks, fellas. We'll see you.
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: Hey, the final whistle is just the beginning. After every
• 12:57
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• 13:01
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• 13:05
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• 13:08
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