Latest / Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports / Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman & Lindahl 9-19-24

Transcript

Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman & Lindahl 9-19-24 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Jeff Langwald is our Broncos insider Altitude Sports Radio ninety
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: two five Pro Football.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: The insider I've covered while.
• 0:09
  Speaker 3: Jeff Legwald he's the balloon popper. He doesn't blow it up.
• 0:13
  Speaker 3: Brought to you by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
• 0:16
  Speaker 3: i BBW Local sixty eight. Start with the JOm and
• 0:19
  Speaker 3: with the career. It's Leggy on Altitude Sports Radio ninety
• 0:25
  Speaker 3: two five.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Come is Jeff Legwald.
• 0:30
  Speaker 3: Time here.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: It's a lovely Thursday afternoon. We're out here Stoney's eleventh
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: an Lincoln. It's all brought to you by Tollimar, a
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: due Irish whiskey. Come out having doing a brew. Watch
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: the Patriots and the Jets tonight at Denver's best sports
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: bar for watching games. That is right here at Stony's
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: at eleventh and Lincoln. Nate Krekman, Andy Lindall, Jesse Trio
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: on site, Mark Springer back at the shop. Jeff Legwald
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: making the rare Thursday appearance on the program because he's
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: got travel to deal with tomorrow. Leggy, how you doing.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: I'm great. How are you guys?
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: We're doing all right, Jeff. Before I get to the
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: NFL stuff, I want you to weigh in on something,
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: and a Texter sent something during the break, and to
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: be fair, I left this out of my rant about
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: why I think Travis Hunter Cannon should win the Heisman
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: Trophy this year at Colorado. But Jeff, you know you
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: you've been an awards voter before, and you're a Hall
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: of Fame guy, so obviously you know having to rank
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: and be stow honors upon people in the sport of
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: football is something that you were very familiar with. And
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: so you watch Travis Hunter. You watch college football every
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: single Saturday because the draft is kind of your lifeblood
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: as a football writer. Right now, what Travis is doing
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: as a statistically top five wide receiver in the country
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: and ability wise, maybe the best wide receiver in the
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: country statistically and ability wise, a top one or two
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: cornerback in all of the country, and the fact that
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: he is playing on both sides of the ball. I
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: ask you this, Leggie, do you think the brilliance of
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Travis Hunter and how unique what he is doing is,
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: is that enough to overcome what will probably be a
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: middling record for the Colorado football team that he'd be
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: able to win a Heisman.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, it's always what you think the award
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: is is the Heisman the best player in college football
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: or the best player on the best team, you.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: Know, which means quarterback.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I have not been a Heisman voter in a
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: long time because I've been strictly pro football for thirty
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: some years. But I think he's the best player in
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: college football. That I say, pure player. I'm not talking
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: about weighted grade because of the position. You know, like
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: quarterbacks all you know, have their own special place in
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: the grading. But I I think I know many scouts
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: who will have Travis Hunter as the best player on
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: their you know, in their in their grades, and he's
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: the best player I've seen. And I always think degree
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: of difficulty is a factor, and that's why quarterbacks win
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: awards a lot because it's hard to play the position.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: But I'm not sure playing quarterback at Georgia or playing
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: quarterback at Texas is more difficult than what Travis Hunter
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: does on a weekly basis. And you know, we can
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: all argue is the snap count good for him long term?
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: You know, that's another discussion for another day. But in
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: my mind, he's He's the best player I've seen so
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: far in college football this year.
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: All Right, Jeff, help me out how the Broncos get
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: this thing turned around this week with you know, I
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: told Nate there's going to be a surprise win, I
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: think before we get to Halloween, because it feels like
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: every year there is man you you had told us
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: all throughout the offseason. They're so thin with this cap
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: hit in the offensive line, they can't afford any injuries
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: and we can't even get to Week three without a
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: plethora of injuries. How do they pull this off this week?
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: What do they got to do? Well? You know, Andy,
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: the Caampa gives up a lot of yards on defense,
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: you know, they they you know a lot of times
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: in the NFL when you hear defenders talking about, hey,
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: we're a bug, but don't break defense, it's really sort
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: of French for we give up a lot of yards
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: and have been fortunate enough to make good plays in
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: the red zone where we haven't given up touchdowns, and
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: that's kind of where the Buccaneers are. But they are aggressive,
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: so that, you know, I think that tempers some of
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: you know, the advantage the Broncos could have. You know,
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: in a lot of years you'd be said, oh, the
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: Broncos are gonna pile up some yardage, has some chances
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: in the red zone, but we don't know yet if
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: this offense is capable of doing that when they have
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: the opportunity. If Batavea doesn't play and he hasn't practiced
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: this week, they're big nose tackle. I would say if
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: the Broncos commit somehow they're running the ball, even if
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: it's boring and and there are some punts, they should
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: do it because I think they could carve out at
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: least a little bit there to at least give Mix,
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: you know, the safety something to think about other than
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: making Nix his life difficult because Winfield, their safety is
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: all over the place. So I think that's a way
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: they can do it. But they also would limit Baker
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: Mayfield's touches if they can sort of slow the game
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: down a little bit. But if they're just gonna go
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: three and out and five and out, you know, just
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: short drive with three incomplete passes, they're going to give
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: Baker Mayfield too many touches.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Sean Payton likes to say there's a lot of
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: dirty hands, Jeff, as you have gotten deep into the
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: tape and sort of watched this offense and try to find,
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: uh the the issues with it because you know, you
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: talk about committing to the run, there's a lack of commitment.
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: There's also a lack of success anytime that they're running
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: the football right now, Uh, where would you sort of
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: rank who has the filthiest of all the dirty hands
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: right now?
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: Oh? It's you know even today, you know, Joel Lombardi,
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: the offensive coordinator, says, we you know, we've got to
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: find the the fine line between how much is too
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: much to give the Knicks essentially, you know, I think
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: the quote was something like, are there play how many
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: players are on the play sheets that we can even
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: get to? And I think that's right now. I think
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: the staff has to sort of wear this fact that
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: they I mean, eighty eight draftbacks for Knicks. You know,
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: in two games, that's third in the league with a
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: rookie quarterback. And you just can't live that way. And
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: that's a decision being made at the top. And that's
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: Sean Payton. I mean, he's the play caller, He's the
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: guy making the decisions, and I think sometimes he seems
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: almost unwilling to sort of play with the idea that
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: he does have a rookie quarterback and I know I
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: keep saying it, but I don't think it's any accident.
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: There are four quarterbacks in the league right now without
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: a touchdown pass who started games. Three of them are
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: rookies and the fourth is Bryce Young. So that should
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: tell you what playing with a rookie quarterback is like.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: And I think the Broncos are gonna have to make adjustments.
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: And if that means from rue place, don't work, but
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: at least keep the ball, you know, out of the
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: other team's hands, or at least you settle down your
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: rookie quarterback. I think that's a price you have to
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: pay on a few drives. You know, you can't live
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: that way, I know. And they can't run the ball
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: the way they are I know, but they have to
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: do something so they're not averaging forty four dropbacks a
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: game for their rookie quarterback.
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: Jeff, after review of the tape, how good has this
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: defense been playing.
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: The Broncos steel? I think you know the run?
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: Yeah, after two weeks, what do you think does it look?
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: Because the numbers look pretty good. Is it as good
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: as the numbers work?
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: No?
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: And and they're being a they're having to play a
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: lot of defense. Again, if they were getting any complimentary
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: football at all from the offense, I think some of
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: the fatigue factor you're seeing laden games wouldn't be there.
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: But you know, the Steelers didn't rush the ball that
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: well in the second half, and you know they I
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: think that's been the only thing you could even really
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: say is that the run defense hasn't always been what
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: it needs to be, but that because they're getting the
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: interior of their defensive line is getting carved out a
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: little bit from time to time. But they're limiting teams
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: from scoring and that's that's really the most important thing
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: for a defense. And they're playing pretty well and I
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: think if you know, uh, they're going to have to
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: live that way here, you know, moving forward, this is
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: a this is difficult this week because Mayfield has really
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: been good on the move and this is going to
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: test some of their coverage things because you you know,
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: guys are gonna hang gonna have to hang with the
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: receivers longer, and you know, they they spread the targets
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: out in the Buccaneers offense, so they can't do what
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: they did against Pittsburgh and sort of lean one way
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: and coverage and just live that way whole game.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: Jeff Legwald is with us here correg Ben and Lindall
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: Altitude Sports Radio ninety two to five previewing this Broncos
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: and Bucks matchup. Jeff Legwald's appearance brought to you by
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers IBW Local sixty eight.
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: Start with a job and with a career. Circling back
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: to that offense here for a moment, Leggy. Alex paul
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: Chesky is expected to get the start there at right tackle.
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: Got his first NFL snaps last week in a tough
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: one against Pittsburgh. Now having to go on the road
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: here to Tampa Bay. We talk a lot, an awful
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: lot about a young quarterback getting his first snaps. But
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: right now, besides the fact that he attended the finest
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: educational institution in the country, where should we be setting
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: our expectations for Alex Poulchski.
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: But you know, he has the distinction of playing in
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: more college games than any college football player.
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: I've heard this about somebody else, but Damn Wright sixty
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: five for the old fight in the Line eye.
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: Sixty five games, a number I never thought i'd see
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: in years and years of draft prep. But uh yeah,
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: sixty five games in college for for him, so, uh,
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: you know, he's really physical. He's he's you know, the
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: sort of the classic Maller. I mean that Broncos coaches
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: joke that, you know if you sort of have to
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: squint at his technique because he just gets the job done.
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: It's just not always going to look like the teaching
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: tape should. But he's a he's a really tough, smart,
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: you know guy, and he battles, you know, every every snap.
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: Now he's you know, this is a big step for him,
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: and I think they're gonna have to, you know again,
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: if they if they're gonna line up in forty plus
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: snaps of open formation, you know, then they're gonna him
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: and he's gonna have to hold up. But I would
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: guess Todd Bowles, the Buckinger's coach and a long time
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: defensive play caller, will we'll test that early, especially when
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: the Broncos open the formation. So I think that's gonna
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: be something to watch. But I think in the run game,
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: I think he should be immediately ready to go because
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: he is a physical type player.
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: All right, Jeff, I'm not trying to cause any ESPN
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: on ESPN crime, but your partner mel kiper there suggesting
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: they need to outlaw like in baseball, they don't want
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: to shift anymore. They need to outlaw the too high
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: safety because it's ruining football and all the fun. You're
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: a defender of defenses sometimes, what say you to that assertion?
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: I would say, if offensive coaches are as smart as
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: they say, they are figured.
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: Out as I figured you might, That's what.
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: I would say. You know, it's at the pendulum swings.
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: You know, we've been talking for the last season and
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: a half or so. You know, Pangeo isn't the first
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: to do it, but he is. He came up with
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: a couple concepts people are copying, especially in the red zone,
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: and it's working. And you know, quarterbacks are having a
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: tough time now. The good quarterbacks are not. You look
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: at you know, you look at how many guys already
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: this year have completion percentages up over seventy percent. You know,
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: when I first started covering the league, if the quarterback
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: was at fifty five, he was considered like one of
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: this accurate dynamo. And now you would be benched before
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: he got to the third quarter. So it's just a
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: different variety of football. But the teams that can with
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: the you know, the physical receivers and accurate quarterbacks can
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: challenge the boundaries and and those are you know that
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: that that little void area between the corner and the
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: safety is where the big plays live against that look
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: and that and the offenses that are built to make
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: those plays, you know, UH, make things happen. And it's
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: not such an issue. But you know, I think people
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: are so enamored with points and scoring and even the league,
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: you know they'll they'll do it this year. If the
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: passing numbers are down too far, you will see something
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: come out of the competition Committee to try to address that,
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: because they always panic when the defense starts to even
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: look like they might have something UH to work with.
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: But it's just another one of those things. And again,
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: the the good teams can deal with it. It's really
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: more of a factor for uh, not accurate quarterbacks or
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: not having enough weapons at receiver.
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: That kind of sounds like a team that I know,
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: Jeff Legwold, everybody ESPN dot com, that's where you get
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: his latest. He's off to Tampa Bay and then he'll
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: be schmoozing over there at the Greenbrier for a week
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: before the Broncos go on up to the Jets. By
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: the way, Leggy, I just assume ESPN is cool if
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: you file an expense to stay at the Green Brier
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: hit the Spa every single day.
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm sure they would be cool with it, as
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: they told me to pay it myself.
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: All right, well, so are you gonna? I mean, look,
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: who doesn't enjoy a good glass blowing class? Is that
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: where you're gonna hit up? Have you seen all the
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: amenities available to you?
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: Shoot some clay pigeons? Yeah?
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: Come on, ye, I'm actually hoping to get into the
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: stained glass window.
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: Can you go the need listed all the activities. Yesterday
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: there was a mantle you could take a picture in
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: front of. Can you at least go do that just
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: you and the mantle?
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: Jeff, I'm not even sure we'll get in the hotel
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: because it'll be on and that's how a lockdown situation.
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: So I gotta get the layer of the land. I
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: wouldn't want to see the ball like that's it.
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: Hey Yeah, yeah, look, man, don't tell me about the paint.
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: Show me the baby. As Alex Gibbs like to say,
• 16:11
  Speaker 3: get in the damn hotel, get a picture with the mantle.
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: I want you in a smoking jacket.
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: Well, you know, I have so many in my closet.
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: I'll try to pick the best one.
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: Get one of them dry clean before the trip, all right, Jeff,
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: Jeff Legwold, everybody, ESPN. Leggy, beautiful work is always man.
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: Thank you, thanks my let's we'll see it.