Latest / Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports / Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman and Lindahl 7-17-25

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Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman and Lindahl 7-17-25 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

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  Speaker 1: Listen to Craig Man and lend Al via the Altitude
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  Speaker 1: Injury lawyers go to Will heightwins dot com. That is
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  Speaker 1: Will Heightwinds dot com. Jeff Legwald Leg you sorry getting
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  Speaker 1: to you a little bit late. It was it was
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  Speaker 1: sports Takes with Troy Calhoun there for a moment. Troy Calhoun,
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  Speaker 1: who you covered by the way, as he was an
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  Speaker 1: assistant coach on Mike Shanahan's staff and then he went
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  Speaker 1: down to I'm trying to remember the order, I think,
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  Speaker 1: then he went to Houston. Then he got the Air
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  Speaker 1: Force job, but he was on Koobiac staff. What do
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  Speaker 1: you remember about that time as that staff started to
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  Speaker 1: and really the Shanahan coaching tree really started to kind
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  Speaker 1: of take off. Guys started getting head jobs. That was
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  Speaker 1: really kind of the beginning of Mike Shanahan and the
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  Speaker 1: influence that he had over the modern NFL. But it
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  Speaker 1: kind of dates back to that time around the mid
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  Speaker 1: two thousands when that coaching staff sort of started to
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  Speaker 1: splinter off, particularly down to Houston.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, when Gary left after the the five season, that's
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  Speaker 2: I think Mike knew then it would be a time
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  Speaker 2: of change because you know, Gary had not gone coops,
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  Speaker 2: had not gone for other things. He uh, he had
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  Speaker 2: not been as sort of fervent about getting a head
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  Speaker 2: coaching jobs. As things came together after the five season Troy,
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  Speaker 2: he Mike always, you know, it was very clear Troy
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  Speaker 2: was gonna be a head coach. Uh, Mike my thinking
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  Speaker 2: and my my remember my memory is that at the time,
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  Speaker 2: I think Mike thought that Troy's track would be in
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  Speaker 2: the NFL in some fashion, but if he coached in college, it.
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  Speaker 3: Would be an Air Force.
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  Speaker 2: I think Mike always would say to me or when
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  Speaker 2: I asked that if Air Force came calling, uh, Troy.
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  Speaker 3: Would go there.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, I think no one was shocked when
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  Speaker 2: they called and he went so and still there, you know,
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  Speaker 2: after all all this time. Yeah, So that's a that's
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  Speaker 2: an anomaly. You know, it takes us. You really got
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  Speaker 2: to know what you're getting into to coach and thrive
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  Speaker 2: and survive at a service academy, probably even more so
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  Speaker 2: now in the NIL world. But there are fits, and
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  Speaker 2: there are fits like like Troy Calhoun at Air Force.
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  Speaker 2: But Mike always, Mike always felt Troy wo be a
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  Speaker 2: head coach and even when you spoke to him. You
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  Speaker 2: can tell guys just have that air about them, their
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  Speaker 2: their big picture ability, their ability with people.
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  Speaker 3: You just know.
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  Speaker 2: The guys who are going to get a shot, And frankly,
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  Speaker 2: sometimes I'm stunned when when some of them don't.
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  Speaker 3: But he was always on that track.
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  Speaker 1: Four losing seasons in eighteen years at Air Force. It's
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  Speaker 1: it's incredible what.
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  Speaker 2: He's had the Service Academy in this day and age
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  Speaker 2: and just shows.
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  Speaker 1: It's incredible what the run of success that he has had.
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  Speaker 1: Leggy R. J. Harvey got done. We were seeing reports
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  Speaker 1: that he has signed year number three guaranteed or guaranteed
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  Speaker 1: at forty seven point seven percent of the salary. It
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  Speaker 1: never really was a question of if it would get done,
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  Speaker 1: it was when it would get done. But what do
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  Speaker 1: you make of this, this second round guaranteed Money's sort
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  Speaker 1: of kind of labor battle that has taken place here
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  Speaker 1: this year, Like we we had Cleveland and Houston at
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  Speaker 1: the top, and they set the president and the second
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  Speaker 1: rounders largely kind of stuck together right there. How do
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  Speaker 1: you think the owners have dealt with this whole thing?
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  Speaker 1: How do you feel as though these organizations are feeling
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  Speaker 1: about the second round kind of kind of pushing back
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  Speaker 1: a little bit this year.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you know, the owner, you know, I always,
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  Speaker 2: you know, have to sort of put your hat on
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  Speaker 2: for what side you're talking about. Un Certain teams are saying, okay,
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  Speaker 2: so when we get together, it's collusion, and when you
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  Speaker 2: guys get together, it's it's competitive labor balance. But you know, hey, uh,
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  Speaker 2: this was gonna happen at some point. It's just this
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  Speaker 2: year's group.
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  Speaker 3: And the fact that two teams did it at the
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  Speaker 3: top of the round.
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  Speaker 2: That's when as soon as precedent gets set. That's why
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  Speaker 2: NFL teams fight precedent so hard, because you know, once
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  Speaker 2: the once the toothpaste is out of the tube, that's it.
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  Speaker 2: And when the when the two teams at the top
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  Speaker 2: of the board in the second round guaranteed both those
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  Speaker 2: deals fully. Uh, this was gonna happen. And I think,
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  Speaker 2: you know, we'll steadily as the cap continues to go up,
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  Speaker 2: we'll steadily see this get into the third round. I
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  Speaker 2: think eventually Day one and Day two of the draft
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  Speaker 2: will likely be fully guaranteed in some fashion, and Day
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  Speaker 2: three will probably always be a more case by case basis.
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  Speaker 2: But we're you know, I think even the most hardline
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  Speaker 2: league people knew it's going this way. And you know,
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  Speaker 2: the money, the numbers that are talking about, they'd be
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  Speaker 2: life changing for me and most other people.
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  Speaker 3: But in their world.
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  Speaker 2: That's not you know, they're not shaking in their boots
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  Speaker 2: about guaranteed the amounts anyway. Theatre guaranteeing it, yes, but
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  Speaker 2: the amounts are not.
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  Speaker 3: But for you know, to get.
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  Speaker 2: Half of that almost half is salary guaranteed in year three.
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  Speaker 2: You know that wouldn't have happened five years ago.
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  Speaker 3: It just wouldn't have.
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  Speaker 2: And it just shows you where it's going is the
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  Speaker 2: the cap keeps jumping every year.
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  Speaker 1: And Harvey is done now and he is in camp
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  Speaker 1: and ready to go, and the Broncos seem to be
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  Speaker 1: all intact on the flip side of the ball. And
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  Speaker 1: again we're talking to Jeff Lagwell to esp Leggie, you're
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  Speaker 1: outlet ESPN. Not surprisingly, Patrick's r Tan with ninety percent
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  Speaker 1: of the vote, number one cornerback in the NFL in
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  Speaker 1: in their top tens. I love those lists. I think
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  Speaker 1: they're really fun to go through as a part of
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  Speaker 1: the season previewsir Tan defensive player of the year, overwhelmingly
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  Speaker 1: the best corner in the league for one of the
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  Speaker 1: best defenses in the NFL. I was looking at some
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  Speaker 1: numbers today. Leggy total defense. Broncos were seventh last season
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  Speaker 1: in the NFL scoring defense, the most important metric. They
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  Speaker 1: were third, trailing only the Chargers in Philadelphia. Sixty three
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  Speaker 1: sacks number one in the NFL last year, fourteenth highest
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  Speaker 1: total for a team in NFL history eighty four Bears
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  Speaker 1: actually still have the record there. And twenty five takeaways,
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  Speaker 1: which was eighth highest in the NFL. As I look
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  Speaker 1: at it, and I'll bounce this off of you, the
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  Speaker 1: sack total is going to go down, simply because sixty
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  Speaker 1: three sacks in the season doesn't happen very often in
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  Speaker 1: But I think takeaways could go up. And I think
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  Speaker 1: this defense is as good, if not better, than they
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  Speaker 1: were a season ago. What's your read on that?
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  Speaker 2: You know, I think that, And you know in the
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  Speaker 2: advanced metrics world, they were number one in defensive EPA,
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  Speaker 2: so which is sort of the you know, are you
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  Speaker 2: creating basically points in some fashion for your team?
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  Speaker 3: And they were number one by a wide margin.
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  Speaker 2: And I think that's a number that even could go up,
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  Speaker 2: as you say, when the you know, I don't think
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  Speaker 2: they consider their takeaway number very good for.
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  Speaker 3: Last year, right.
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  Speaker 2: I think that's the one when you talk to guys,
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  Speaker 2: that's the one they kind of point to, you know,
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  Speaker 2: they I think they all understand sixty three sacks are
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  Speaker 2: gonna be hard to come by. That's just you know,
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  Speaker 2: people aren't going to hold the ball that long against
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  Speaker 2: you anymore once they've figured out you, you have that ability. Uh,
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  Speaker 2: but takeaways could happen, you know. I think that's where
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  Speaker 2: the the bump comes. And just you know, for all
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  Speaker 2: they did, they had blips, you know, the Cleveland game,
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  Speaker 2: there were parts of the Tampa game.
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  Speaker 3: You know, they see that there were blips.
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  Speaker 2: They want to take those out of the equation too
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  Speaker 2: and see what it looks like at the end. But
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  Speaker 2: they're you know, if you're comparing healthy twenty twenty four
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  Speaker 2: defense to healthy twenty twenty five, this one's faster, more physical,
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  Speaker 2: more athletic, more versatility, more ways to defend you in coverage.
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  Speaker 2: I mean their secondary is if healthy and everybody plays
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  Speaker 2: somewhere close to their upper level, you've got all kinds
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  Speaker 2: of options about how you want to play things.
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  Speaker 3: Far more than other people have. And you start with Cirtan.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, he's just the rarest of the rare in
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  Speaker 2: terms of size, speed in a corner with the technical
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  Speaker 2: usually you get one or you know, you get something.
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  Speaker 3: You get size, you get speed, you get technical ability.
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  Speaker 2: He's he's got everything, which is why he's the number
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  Speaker 2: one corner in the league.
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  Speaker 1: I think of green Law and Hufonga as as calculated
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  Speaker 1: rolls of the dice. And if you if you get health,
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  Speaker 1: you have instantly addressed air quotes weaknesses on what your
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  Speaker 1: defense was a year ago. I agree, Leggie, I think
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  Speaker 1: they can be even better. Like well, they have sixty
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  Speaker 1: three sacks again, No, probably not. We may never see
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  Speaker 1: that kind of number again in Broncos history. But I
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  Speaker 1: agree with you on the takeaway stuff. This defense is fantastic. Guys,
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  Speaker 1: get Jeff Legwelt's coverage at ESPN dot Com Training camp
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  Speaker 1: is It's upon us, it is here. It's time to
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  Speaker 1: do the football thing. Leggie, well done as always, man,
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  Speaker 1: Thank you.
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  Speaker 3: Enjoy THEA