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Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman and Lindahl 1-2-26 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Craigman and Linda on his Friday, January second,
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty six. The new year is here and we
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: are joined by one of Springer's favorite people, my hero
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  Speaker 1: and your friend. It is ESPN insider Jeff Legwell, Jeff,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: how you doing on this Friday?
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  Speaker 2: I'm great? Oh you going?
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: I'm not bad. I'm not bad. I had a good
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: New Year's even into good New Year's. Jeff, What I
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: mean is this last regular season? I mean last not
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: not last regular season, but last game of the regular
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  Speaker 1: season coming up this week? What what year of covering
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  Speaker 1: the NFL will this.
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  Speaker 2: Be for you?
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  Speaker 1: Once? Once this regular season is over?
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  Speaker 2: I'm wrapping up number forty.
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  Speaker 3: Damn.
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  Speaker 1: That's a You know what, Me and Springer had this
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  Speaker 1: conversation earlier. We were talking about what we thought Sean
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  Speaker 1: Payton's favorite moment of twenty twenty five was, and we
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  Speaker 1: really couldn't come up with one. I mean, do you
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  Speaker 1: have a moment from the last year of Broncos football
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  Speaker 1: that really stood out to you as like, Wow, man,
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  Speaker 1: I can't here we are we're living the life now.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I don't think he has a favorite one until
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  Speaker 2: you know, they either win it or don't. I think
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  Speaker 2: that's his mindset right now. So uh yeah, I don't
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  Speaker 2: know if I've had the the epiphany moment of the
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  Speaker 2: season yet. I guess we'll wait and see what the
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  Speaker 2: what the postseason hasn't has in store, But yeah, I
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  Speaker 2: think I don't. I don't often get the when you
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  Speaker 2: talk to him. You know, Sean Payton's sentimental about people
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  Speaker 2: and seasons in the past, but when you talk to
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  Speaker 2: him about the current one, Uh, it's all about, you know,
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  Speaker 2: how it finishes. And I think because he likes this
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  Speaker 2: team and thinks it's good enough to win it all,
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  Speaker 2: I think he will be disappointed, however much. He would
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  Speaker 2: have admit that later if they don't have at least
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  Speaker 2: a shot at playing in the Super Bowl.
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  Speaker 3: Leggie, I would have gone to the Packers game. I
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  Speaker 3: just thought that start to finish for the offense, that
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  Speaker 3: was what it's supposed to look like. That's what Sean
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  Speaker 3: Payton has envisioned that his offense would look like. Pat
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  Speaker 3: Bryant limited all week in practice, looks like he's playing
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  Speaker 3: on Sunday. You need all the weapons for this offense
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  Speaker 3: to to click the way that they wanted to. But
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  Speaker 3: that was just one game, Jeff. It was just one
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  Speaker 3: that was the only full game and against the one
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  Speaker 3: of the best, if not the best, level of opponent
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  Speaker 3: in Green Bay. They did play the Houston defense, but
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  Speaker 3: to do it against Green Bay? Does the offense need
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  Speaker 3: to play like that in the playoffs or can they
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  Speaker 3: get by with the Chiefs performance, with the Raiders performance,
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  Speaker 3: or does it need to look at some point like
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  Speaker 3: it did against the Packers.
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  Speaker 2: Well its gray. I think the issue is, Yeah, if
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  Speaker 2: you can put you know, three fifteen play drives together
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  Speaker 2: against the playoff defense, yeah, that's good enough to win
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  Speaker 2: you a lot of games. The question is are you
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  Speaker 2: going to be able to do that against the playoff
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  Speaker 2: level defense? And I think that's the issue for them
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  Speaker 2: right now that you know, they don't need to suddenly
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  Speaker 2: be you know, this offense filled with explosive plays right
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  Speaker 2: and left, but they do have to find a few more.
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  Speaker 2: I think it's really hard to go the long way
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  Speaker 2: every time you have the ball in the playoffs because
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  Speaker 2: the games are shortened anyway. In the playoffs, it's more defensive.
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  Speaker 2: Field positions harder to come by. Red zone is much
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  Speaker 2: more difficult because you know, a you're playing better teams,
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  Speaker 2: but things just get squeezed in the playoffs and even
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  Speaker 2: the most high flying offenses can sometimes have a difficult
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  Speaker 2: time replicating that. So if you can muscle up and
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  Speaker 2: play with long drives and possession football the way they
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  Speaker 2: have been, yeah, that will work. But at some point,
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  Speaker 2: you know, you're probably going to need an explosive player
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  Speaker 2: to to finish teams off and to keep yourself with
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  Speaker 2: the lead, you know, to allow you to call games
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  Speaker 2: the way you want to.
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  Speaker 1: If I asked you what the greatest weakness of the
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  Speaker 1: Broncos offense is, is it explosive plays or I mean
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  Speaker 1: what what would you say it would be?
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  Speaker 2: I think, you know, but I think it's more who
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  Speaker 2: you're going to be. I think sometimes in their quest
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  Speaker 2: for diversity and not repeating plays and differing game plans
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  Speaker 2: and that that's very much a part of Sean Payton's
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  Speaker 2: DNA as a play caller. Uh you know, I think
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  Speaker 2: they get a lot of you know, jack of all
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  Speaker 2: trades on offense, but master of none maybe sometimes. And
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  Speaker 2: I think, you know, in the playoffs, I always feel
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  Speaker 2: like teams on both sides of the ball need those
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  Speaker 2: go to section of plays off a play sheet, And
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  Speaker 2: I think defensively, we've seen they've got things they can
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  Speaker 2: just lean on and go to to get them out
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  Speaker 2: of trouble, to get the momentum back. You know, they've
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  Speaker 2: got those selection of plays. I don't feel like those
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  Speaker 2: selection of plays always exist on offense right now?
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  Speaker 3: And leg you let me edit. Pat Bryant full in
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  Speaker 3: practice the last couple.
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  Speaker 2: Of days all week he was so he's good.
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  Speaker 3: Okay, so he's good. John Franklin Myers limited all three
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  Speaker 3: days this week. He's questionable with a hip injury. No
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  Speaker 3: Drake Greenlaw, he's out. He didn't practice all week with
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  Speaker 3: a hamstring injury. As far as JFM goes, Leggie does
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  Speaker 3: it does it depend on who the Chargers play in
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  Speaker 3: terms of whether or not the Broncos field the need
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  Speaker 3: to play Jonathan Franklin Myers and his hip injury.
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  Speaker 2: I think it's more spring. How does he feel when
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  Speaker 2: Sunday rolls around? How many snatchs can he give you
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  Speaker 2: and not risk you know the next time you play
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  Speaker 2: if you get the bye week. Obviously that's what they want.
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  Speaker 2: We're all involved. But I think if he feels if
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  Speaker 2: the medical people think he's good enough for some spot duty.
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  Speaker 2: I think he would see spot duty, but we'll see.
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  Speaker 2: How you know, they have they always have a walkthrough
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  Speaker 2: or mostly walk through practice on Saturday, and then he
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  Speaker 2: would probably you know, meet with the medical staff Sunday,
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  Speaker 2: two morning before before the game and they'd make the call.
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  Speaker 1: Then a lot of I'm getting upset with a lot
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  Speaker 1: of people here at this radio studio and other places.
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  Speaker 1: You keep telling me how easy this game's going to
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  Speaker 1: be for the Denver Broncos this weekend, with the Chargers
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  Speaker 1: basically just giving up, but that that's not necessarily case.
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  Speaker 1: I guess I don't even remember the vibes of that
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  Speaker 1: last game from last season when the Chiefs played nobody
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  Speaker 1: and the Broncos steam rolled them. So is is Denver's game?
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  Speaker 1: Are they gonna rest guys if they give up get
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  Speaker 1: up big in this game? Or is that just is
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  Speaker 1: that messing with the football gods a little too much
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  Speaker 1: for Champayton.
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  Speaker 2: That's not really his vibe. Bert, I mean he plays
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  Speaker 2: guys in the preseason. Yeah, yeah, you know, he's he's
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  Speaker 2: kind of of the belief, you know, you play it
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  Speaker 2: out and control what you can control, and they have
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  Speaker 2: the ultimate control here. If they win, they're the number
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  Speaker 2: one seed. So I mean, would he pull guys in
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  Speaker 2: the fourth quarter if it's thirty eighth to nothing like
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  Speaker 2: last year's finale was. I can't say he won't do that,
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  Speaker 2: but today he was in no mood to talk about
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  Speaker 2: all the scenarios and would you do this? And would
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  Speaker 2: you do That's just not his thinking. And I will
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  Speaker 2: tell you his message to the team all week has been, look,
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  Speaker 2: this is all right in front of you to have
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  Speaker 2: and all you have to do as players is win
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  Speaker 2: the game and treat it like a playoff game. That
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  Speaker 2: has really been his message. And we can all roll
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  Speaker 2: our eyes or whatever and say, well it's charger to play,
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  Speaker 2: but he has pounded into these guys all week you
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  Speaker 2: better treat this game importantly because look at the benefit
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  Speaker 2: you get if you win, because I think in this
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  Speaker 2: playoff field, having two home games might just get you
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  Speaker 2: to the super Bowl.
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  Speaker 3: Well, Jeff, and to what Burdo started his question with
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  Speaker 3: you about, you know some people being overconfident with this game. Well, look,
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  Speaker 3: when it's a now bounced that Herbert is not going
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  Speaker 3: to play early in the week, I'm thinking, okay, Well,
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  Speaker 3: does that mean that they're gonna rest a lot of
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  Speaker 3: their starters as well, because if you're not gonna play Herbert,
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  Speaker 3: why put Quentin Johnston lad McConkey. I know Keenan Allen
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  Speaker 3: has an incentive thing six catches for like seven hundred
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  Speaker 3: and fifty thousand dollars, which is nothing to sneeze at.
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  Speaker 3: And there's reason to play guys for reasons like that.
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  Speaker 3: And I don't know. D Maak was on with us
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  Speaker 3: to start the show and he's saying, well, maybe some
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  Speaker 3: of these guys with incentives just start the game and
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  Speaker 3: then they pull them. But I needed to see the
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  Speaker 3: injury report too. For the Chargers as the week progress,
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  Speaker 3: what's it actually going to look like? And Okay, Omarion
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  Speaker 3: Hampton is not going to play, but that's really the
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  Speaker 3: only key guy who is listed on their injury report
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  Speaker 3: that we know is out. And even their backup Kemanie
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  Speaker 3: Vidal at running back is a solid running back. Derwin
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  Speaker 3: James and Khalil Mack are on the injury report, but
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  Speaker 3: they are not listed as out. They very well could
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  Speaker 3: play in this game. The skill position players I mentioned
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  Speaker 3: could play in this game. It's similar to the Chiefs
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  Speaker 3: game where yeah, Mahomes is out, but but there are
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  Speaker 3: other guys still out there, so I'm not sure that
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  Speaker 3: this isn't another close Broncos game depending on who plays
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  Speaker 3: for the Chargers. Do you have any indication like these
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  Speaker 3: guys are gonna play right, like Herbert might be out,
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  Speaker 3: but a lot of other good players are still going
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  Speaker 3: to be out there.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, I think, you know, just from knowing some people
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  Speaker 2: on the Chargers coaching staff and kind of seeing this
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  Speaker 2: scenario through the years, I think they want to rest
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  Speaker 2: as many people as possible. But football rosters being what
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  Speaker 2: they are, you only get forty six up on game
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  Speaker 2: day and that's not a lot of people. You can't
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  Speaker 2: rest everybody, so some starter worthy players are gonna play.
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  Speaker 2: But you know, like the Chiefs game last year, the
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  Speaker 2: starting offensive linemen that played in the game only played
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  Speaker 2: three snaps. You know, but what's the benefit of playing.
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  Speaker 2: It's just the mentality coaches believe. You don't want to
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  Speaker 2: tell a guy he's getting the whole day off. So
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  Speaker 2: I think they will It will not look like the
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  Speaker 2: same game day roster and rotation as if they needed
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  Speaker 2: this game to be in the playoffs. It just won't.
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  Speaker 2: They'll adjust and some people will get more rest than others.
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  Speaker 2: And it won't shock me if some of the people
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  Speaker 2: they did not give a game designation from the injury
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  Speaker 2: report is as out, do not play. I don't think
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  Speaker 2: he's gonna play everybody, but he's not gonna sit everybody either,
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  Speaker 2: And a lot of the people, the marquee people, he
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  Speaker 2: will try to get as many of them out as possible,
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  Speaker 2: because I do think you don't go the extra mile
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  Speaker 2: of sitting Herbert if you're not going to sit some
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  Speaker 2: of the others, you know, and Khalil Max well into
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  Speaker 2: his thirties. I mean, you're going to take care of
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  Speaker 2: some of these guys, so it won't look like a
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  Speaker 2: full blown game, but they're going to have to put
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  Speaker 2: some starter worthy players out there for the game, and
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  Speaker 2: they're gonna have to play a lot of the snaps
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  Speaker 2: or you're not gonna be able to function.
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  Speaker 1: In your opinion, with one week remaining in the regular season,
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  Speaker 1: who's the best team in the NFC right now?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah? You know, I kept thinking most of the year,
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  Speaker 2: the Rams are the most balanced. The Seahawks have been
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  Speaker 2: the most explosive, if that makes sense. Those are my
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  Speaker 2: I think those are the two. But you know, you
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  Speaker 2: say all that, and the forty nine ers are the hottest.
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  Speaker 2: So sometimes I mean forty nine ers aren't just hot
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  Speaker 2: right now, they're like ridiculous. And that is always a
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  Speaker 2: team the kind of a profile you want to watch
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: going into a postseason when it's you know, one and
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: done afternoons, when a team is just smoking hot like that,
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  Speaker 2: it's unbelievable. But I think if you just put all
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  Speaker 2: the rosters on a table with the coaching staffs and
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  Speaker 2: all the rest of it, and you're just looking at
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  Speaker 2: it from you know, purely sort of mathematics, I think
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  Speaker 2: the Rams have the most balanced roster in the NFC,
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  Speaker 2: and it's just if you can keep Stafford from having
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: a really bad night like you did in the Monday
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  Speaker 2: night loss.
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  Speaker 3: You know what's funny about that, Jeff, is you know,
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  Speaker 3: when I think about it, I go to the NFC West.
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  Speaker 3: I feel like everyone's going to the NFC West. What
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  Speaker 3: about the Eagles. They're they're the defending champs. I know
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  Speaker 3: that they've had kind of a weird season. They just
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: had the nice win in Buffalo. They seem to be
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  Speaker 3: largely healthy. It's a Vic Fangio defense. Where do you
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  Speaker 3: place the Eagles.
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  Speaker 2: I mean you always give. I always believe the teams
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  Speaker 2: that already know they can do it have a little advantage.
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  Speaker 2: You know. They don't sweat that part of the pressure component.
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  Speaker 2: They don't wonder if they can win the Super Bowl.
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  Speaker 2: They already did it, and a lot of guys in
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  Speaker 2: that locker room know it. I just think their injury
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  Speaker 2: situation is has been such where even their own defense
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: can't bail them out all the time. And they've been
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: really good, you know, typical Vic Fangio defense, you know,
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  Speaker 2: awesome in the red zone, and they make it, you know,
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  Speaker 2: lots of turnovers and they make it really difficult for
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: you to score touchdowns. Not always gives you a chance.
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  Speaker 2: But like I say, I think like the Rams and
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  Speaker 2: the Eagles, they're not asking themselves that question, gosh, can
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: we win the Super Bowl? They already know it because
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: they've done it in the last few years, So I
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: think that's always a bonus. So, you know, the Eagles
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  Speaker 2: are in that mix for me, But I just think overall,
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: balanced talent injury situation, the Rams and Seahawks are better positioned. Well.
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  Speaker 1: Jeff, thanks for hopping on on this Friday. I hope
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: you have a great weekend, and the feedals will be
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: back next week to chop it up with you.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: I'll be right to roll. Hope you guys have a
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: good weekend.