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Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman and Lindahl 8-25-25 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

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  Speaker 1: Let's dive into it. Hour number two. Jeff leg Woald
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  Speaker 1: is there and he joins us right now on the
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  Speaker 1: ramos Law Hotline Car accident You need ramos Law medical
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: doctor and attorney, visit Ramoslaw dot com. And Leggie, you
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  Speaker 1: wrote an excellent breakdown of Sean Payton's roster construction to
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  Speaker 1: get to this place where people are talking about Denver
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  Speaker 1: as a uh divisional contender as a super Bowl team
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  Speaker 1: even I don't know if you've heard any of those
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  Speaker 1: kind of conversations, Leggy, So give everybody a little reader's
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  Speaker 1: digest preview of what you wrote there at ESPN dot com.
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  Speaker 1: Where did Sean Payton put his focus when it came
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  Speaker 1: to building this roster?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I mean, ladies, is he's actually you know, he's
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  Speaker 2: implementing what he learned for a long time from Bill
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  Speaker 2: Parcells and this, uh, they really put to the test
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  Speaker 2: the talent slash, you know, makeup attitude combination. You know,
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  Speaker 2: they're they're very big and Sean has made no exceptions
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  Speaker 2: about it really that they want to re sign players
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  Speaker 2: they think fit their mold of you know, day to
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  Speaker 2: day makeup attitude approach. And you know it's almost you know,
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  Speaker 2: he says, you got to make sure you're paying the
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  Speaker 2: makeup of the player. He said it, you know, when
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  Speaker 2: they added, you know, got an extension for Zach Allen,
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  Speaker 2: for Courtland Sutton, you know for Quinn Minors, you know,
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  Speaker 2: for Garrett Bull, for everybody they've signed to an extension.
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  Speaker 2: He's sort of used a phrase of that, and you know,
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  Speaker 2: it's just a story to kind of see where that
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  Speaker 2: comes from, and you know how much intention he's put
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  Speaker 2: into it over the years. I also thought it was
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  Speaker 2: interesting in talking to people around the league for it
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  Speaker 2: that an awful lot of people people have noticed the
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  Speaker 2: level of resources he has in Denver changes the game
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  Speaker 2: a little bit for him, and that he's almost had
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  Speaker 2: to be more collaborative with owner Greg Penner, with GM,
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  Speaker 2: George Peyton, with that you know, their their contract guy
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  Speaker 2: rich Artoddle, that the four of them together, it's more.
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  Speaker 2: People in the league say they believe it's more, you know,
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  Speaker 2: of a collective. Rather in New Orleans it was Sean
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  Speaker 2: Payton out front making the call and basically telling the
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  Speaker 2: ownership this is what we're gonna do, uh, and this
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  Speaker 2: is why it's a far different situation and sort of
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  Speaker 2: the tradeoff is resources unlike anyone else has in the
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  Speaker 2: league to do what he wants to do.
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  Speaker 3: All right, we did talk on Friday about how the
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  Speaker 3: offense you hoped would look. Now again, I you know,
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  Speaker 3: first couple of drives or clunk and then you get
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  Speaker 3: out there and finally get it going in the third drive.
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  Speaker 3: Should there be any concern about the fact that they
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  Speaker 3: didn't really have that just go down and make it
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  Speaker 3: look easy drive in the preseason or is that just
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  Speaker 3: what preseasons become.
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  Speaker 2: Well, you know, Andy, I think with the honest answers,
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  Speaker 2: that remains to be seen. I do think, you know,
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  Speaker 2: whatever you think of the preseason and how much we
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  Speaker 2: should take from it, I do think it is a
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  Speaker 2: small red flag that you know, it took them six
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  Speaker 2: possessions thirty nine plays with bow Nix a quarterback for
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  Speaker 2: the starters to get into the end zone in the
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  Speaker 2: preseason and that includes three drives against the San Francisco
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  Speaker 2: backups in the preseason opener. So yeah, and look how
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  Speaker 2: they scored. You know, the explosive plays came from Courtland Sutton.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we're back to what it's looked like the
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  Speaker 2: last couple of years. The explosive play are coming from
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  Speaker 2: Courtland Sutton, and to me, though that's a small red flag.
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  Speaker 2: Is it a huge deal with a defense as good
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  Speaker 2: as they're going to have or I expect them to have.
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  Speaker 2: It's a lot less of a big deal than it
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  Speaker 2: would be for some teams. But I do think it's
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  Speaker 2: something to keep an eye on, because again, I don't
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  Speaker 2: think bow Nicks is, you know, taking a step back
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  Speaker 2: or anything like that. I am not saying that. I
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  Speaker 2: am saying he has not looked in a good rhythm
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  Speaker 2: in the preseason, and some of that is he's probably
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  Speaker 2: awfully tired of facing the Broncos starting defense every day
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  Speaker 2: in practice, Jeff.
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  Speaker 1: Last season, Jamar Chase led the NFL with one hundred
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  Speaker 1: and seventy five targets passes intended for him from his
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  Speaker 1: quarterback Joe Burrow. Will Courtland Sutton triple that number this season,
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  Speaker 1: playing with bow Nixon, Denver.
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  Speaker 2: Well Ever and Ingram online too, you know, probably, but
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  Speaker 2: you know he would like a word and you know,
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  Speaker 2: I think Ingram will.
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  Speaker 4: Cut into that.
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  Speaker 2: But now you're what you're saying is what I you know,
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  Speaker 2: the offense didn't get moving until they went back to
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  Speaker 2: the things they do best. The things they still do
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  Speaker 2: best is is get the ball to Suddon and and
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  Speaker 2: make it work.
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  Speaker 4: But they look they have held things back.
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  Speaker 2: I think they're trying very hard as part of the
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  Speaker 2: fast start he desperately wants and he knows they need.
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  Speaker 2: If you're really going to compete in the AFC, you
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  Speaker 2: can't be trying to rally from a two and five
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  Speaker 2: start a three and six start. If you're going to
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  Speaker 2: compete in the AFC to get home games in the playoffs,
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  Speaker 2: you better come out of the gate and keep it going.
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  Speaker 2: And so they yes, they have things in the offense
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  Speaker 2: they have not shown that will pop up in the
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  Speaker 2: first two or three weeks of the season, and some
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  Speaker 2: of them will work great and that will change the
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  Speaker 2: narrative a bit.
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  Speaker 4: But I think overall, beyond the Knicks.
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  Speaker 2: To Sutton connection, I don't think the passing game was
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  Speaker 2: particularly seamless with the starters. Obviously Stidham and even Ellinger
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  Speaker 2: at times they moved the ball well in the passing game.
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  Speaker 2: So this looks to be a starting unit thing, and
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  Speaker 2: we'll see what it looks like. You know, a September unfolds.
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  Speaker 4: Why know? JK.
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  Speaker 3: Dobbins in any preseason game.
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  Speaker 2: I think they're just being safe with it. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: he's practiced, you know, he's been out there. They've limited
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  Speaker 2: his pitch count, of course, but you know, this is
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  Speaker 2: a guy again they've got they've got three players with
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  Speaker 2: injury history they've signed in free agency who Fanga, Greenlaw
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  Speaker 2: and Dobbins and Hufanga. They practice pedal to the metal
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  Speaker 2: all training camp, so they obviously have no concerns there
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  Speaker 2: that they have slow walked green Law and and Dobbins
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  Speaker 2: a bit. But I expect Dobbins to be in those
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  Speaker 2: third down long passing situations when the when the regular
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  Speaker 2: season gets going.
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  Speaker 4: And I think they wanted Andy. I think they wanted
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  Speaker 4: to get Harvey as much work as possible. They want
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  Speaker 4: to use them. They want him ready.
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  Speaker 2: Uh, and he's got some you know, bridges to cross
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  Speaker 2: there in terms of being ready for for an NFL defense.
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  Speaker 2: You know, he's got to be more decisive, that's all
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  Speaker 2: he's missing. He's got the quickness, he's got the good
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  Speaker 2: pad level, he's got great vision, he's got all these
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  Speaker 2: things that at a really good runner needs. And I
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  Speaker 2: think to get that decisiveness, you got to play a lot.
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  Speaker 2: You got to practice a lot in the preseason, and
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  Speaker 2: I think that's why you've seen him so much instead
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  Speaker 2: of Dobbins with the starters. They want that decisiveness. Get
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  Speaker 2: your foot in the ground, get up field. Stop making
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  Speaker 2: it such a lateral play all the time.
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  Speaker 1: Jeff, let's expand that conversation and Jeff Legwell's with us
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  Speaker 1: on a Monday. It's brought to you by the International
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: Brotherhood of Electrical Workers IBEW Local sixty eight. You start
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: with the job, you end with a career. Well, the
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  Speaker 1: career is just beginning for R. J. Harvey. A mere
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  Speaker 1: one point three yards per carry on for carries the
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  Speaker 1: other day, certainly something you want to see done a
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  Speaker 1: little bit better. The decisiveness, absolutely, I agree with you
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  Speaker 1: on that point. Expanded to the entire group and the
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  Speaker 1: run game that we have seen both in the preseason
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  Speaker 1: and in camp. What is this run game doing well
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  Speaker 1: right now? Where's this run game still deficient? Besides, as
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  Speaker 1: you mentioned right there, some of the the inexperience of Harvey.
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  Speaker 2: You know, Nate, I think that it's just the question
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  Speaker 2: that remains is, you know, do you take Sean Payton
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  Speaker 2: at as word and his word as look, we the
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  Speaker 2: coaches like where the run game is. We've seen what
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  Speaker 2: we want to see in practice. We've seen the line
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  Speaker 2: hit their landmarks. We've seen them, you know, be where
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  Speaker 2: they want them to be, so you know, they have
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  Speaker 2: no concerns that the production will be there in the
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  Speaker 2: regular season.
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  Speaker 4: That's what I'm saying.
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  Speaker 2: I think they have taken a very old school approach
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  Speaker 2: and kept a few cards out of the deck in
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  Speaker 2: the preseason here, especially in the outside outside zone run game.
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  Speaker 2: I think they'd like to sort of unveil that in
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  Speaker 2: a game situation when people haven't prepped because, let's face it,
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  Speaker 2: you know outside zones. You know, like every offense, it's
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  Speaker 2: in there in a Sean Payton offense.
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  Speaker 4: But I think it's going to be.
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  Speaker 2: In there more than people have seen in the past
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  Speaker 2: in a Sean Payton offense because he believes. You know,
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  Speaker 2: the metrics said last year the Broncos had the best
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  Speaker 2: run block win rate and pass block win rate in
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  Speaker 2: the league. You know, one line offensive line led both
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  Speaker 2: of those metrics, and their run game was not particularly good.
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  Speaker 2: So if you say the line was blocking the best
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  Speaker 2: and yet you were not getting the good runs, that's
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  Speaker 2: squarely on the backs and the scheme, and they've tried
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  Speaker 2: to address both. And I don't think we get to
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  Speaker 2: see all of it until the regular season starts. But
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  Speaker 2: I've seen the flashes in practice, the open parts. I
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  Speaker 2: know they've done work when nobody's around. But that's the question,
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  Speaker 2: you know, is what Sean Payton is saying actually true?
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  Speaker 2: Is that stuff ready to go in a game right now? Unfortunately,
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  Speaker 2: we won't know that until the Titans.
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  Speaker 1: Jeff Legweld everybody ESPN dot com. He is getting ready
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  Speaker 1: for the Broncos and the Titans because Week one prep
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  Speaker 1: is upon us. We'll talk to Jeff coming up here
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  Speaker 1: on Friday. Leggy, excellent workman, Thank
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  Speaker 4: You, Thanks fellas, but say it