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Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman and Lindahl 9-22-25 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

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  Speaker 1: Jeff Legwalld time on a Monday afternoon after a Bronco defeat.
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  Speaker 1: They are one and two. They are three games back,
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  Speaker 1: including the tie break of the Chargers in the AFC West.
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  Speaker 1: Let's talk to our pal Jeff Legwald right now here
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  Speaker 1: on the Correkman and Lindahl Show as we jump out
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: to the ramos Law hotline car accident. You need ramos
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Law medical doctor and attorney. Visit Ramoslaw dot com. Uh, Jeff,
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  Speaker 1: so close. That's how I would define this Broncos season
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  Speaker 1: so far, with a couple of losses with zeros on
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  Speaker 1: the clock and uh so close bo Nick's being able
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  Speaker 1: to connect on a deep ball right now, These these
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  Speaker 1: small misses, these these tiny gaps between failure and success
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  Speaker 1: for the Broncos. How big a deal are they right now?
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  Speaker 1: And are these the kind of things that correct themselves
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  Speaker 1: in the flow of a football season.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I don't know that you can just say, you know,
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  Speaker 2: you're so close that you're you know you're due, or
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  Speaker 2: you're gonna hit him, or just keep you now they're
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  Speaker 2: they're close and not hitting for a reason. And you know,
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  Speaker 2: I think they're he's either taking a hit when he's throwing.
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  Speaker 2: He's either a little too frenetic in the pocket and
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  Speaker 2: moving when he doesn't have to be. I mean, there's
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  Speaker 2: all kinds of thing. You know, the receivers. There's been
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  Speaker 2: an occasion where you know the route is rounded. You
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  Speaker 2: know yesterday Troy Franklin drops a touchdown pass. I mean
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  Speaker 2: those but they missed about four touchdowns that were legitimate. Okay,
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  Speaker 2: that would have been a touchdown play type of plays.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, in a game where the stats still
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  Speaker 2: makes me shake my head, but they had seven possessions
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  Speaker 2: of ten or fewer yards. Seven in a game. You're
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  Speaker 2: not winning that. I don't care how close you are
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  Speaker 2: on a lot of things. You can't have seven offensive
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  Speaker 2: possessions in an NFL game with ten or fewer yards
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  Speaker 2: and think you're gonna walk away with a win.
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  Speaker 3: Jeff, what what's the key to changing this? I mean,
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  Speaker 3: what what do they need to do from you're at
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  Speaker 3: the game, You're seeing everything, you know, I thought Dobbins.
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  Speaker 3: Dobbins obviously had a fun three play drive. There is
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  Speaker 3: it more of Dobbins? Do they need desperately Evan Ingram
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  Speaker 3: back to get a tight end involved? What are some
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  Speaker 3: keys here?
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  Speaker 2: I still don't feel like, you know, I don't think
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  Speaker 2: he looks down Sean Payton looks down at that immense
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  Speaker 2: play sheet and feels like there's bread and butter plays there.
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  Speaker 2: Maybe maybe I'm speaking for him and I shouldn't, but
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  Speaker 2: I don't get a sense when he's calling games that
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  Speaker 2: they go back to things they think they can rely
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  Speaker 2: on to get going. If if you did, you wouldn't
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  Speaker 2: have seven possessions with fewer than ten yards if you
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  Speaker 2: felt like there were things you could lean on when
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  Speaker 2: you needed to. I mean, they have bursts of production
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  Speaker 2: and all of these things, but they don't seem to
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  Speaker 2: stick to it or go back to it, or you know,
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  Speaker 2: it's like once they finish, it's almost like disposable plays.
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  Speaker 2: You know, Okay, we used it once, we can't use
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  Speaker 2: it again for the rest of the day. And that's
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  Speaker 2: probably an exaggeration, but it's just the sense I get.
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  Speaker 2: I think they need to lean on some things for
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  Speaker 2: a little longer and just see because I think they're
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  Speaker 2: really unsettled, and I think it's showing up in the
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  Speaker 2: quarterbacks play is that they are unsettled. His footwork is unsettled.
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  Speaker 2: Just everything about it feels a little too frenetic right now.
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  Speaker 2: They're late to the line of scrimmage a lot. You know,
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  Speaker 2: that didn't happen last year nearly as much. You know,
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  Speaker 2: this early in the season. I mean, they're shuttling players in,
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  Speaker 2: they're moving people out, they're making late decisions. You know,
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  Speaker 2: he's getting to the line with eleven seconds left, nine
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  Speaker 2: seconds left. You know, they would have had a delay
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  Speaker 2: and a key point in the game yesterday, but the
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  Speaker 2: Chargers took a time out. So I think it's a
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  Speaker 2: combination of those things. And I look, I know everybody
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  Speaker 2: gets sick of me saying it and all that, but
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  Speaker 2: this is a team that's been predominantly three wide the
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  Speaker 2: last two games, especially over forty snaps, and they don't
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  Speaker 2: play it particularly well. Now that the exception was the
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  Speaker 2: Dobbins drive to open the second half, all three snaps
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  Speaker 2: and three wide, all three running plays touchdown. So again,
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  Speaker 2: I just don't think they've found the mix of what
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  Speaker 2: they like to do and what they do well.
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  Speaker 1: Jeff Legwell ESPN Leggy along those lines. The penalties just
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  Speaker 1: there's a lot of penalties that this team is dealing with,
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  Speaker 1: and some of them are just like lining up off
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  Speaker 1: sides on a punt like Darren Rizzy lining You just
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  Speaker 1: want on a whole diet tribe about lining up improperly
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  Speaker 1: the other day and then boom, there's Nick Benito lining
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  Speaker 1: up in the neutral zone on a punt. And just
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  Speaker 1: what is going on with the lack of discipline with
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  Speaker 1: this team? That really is is inflicting both sides of
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  Speaker 1: the ball. Whofonged the late unnecessary roughness.
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  Speaker 2: That league that was as bad as the Spike week.
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  Speaker 1: You just you gotta know not to do that right there?
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  Speaker 1: What's going on with this stuff?
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  Speaker 2: Jeff No, I think it's so you know, if you're
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  Speaker 2: the team, it's got to be alarming. These are veteran players,
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  Speaker 2: yeah doing this. I mean, but I think Ufonga had
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  Speaker 2: a three penalty day, you know, and I think they
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  Speaker 2: they had a defensive drive with three penalties on the drive,
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  Speaker 2: you know, Garrett Balls hand up in the face mask,
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  Speaker 2: you know, penalty. Adam Trautman, how are you off sides
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  Speaker 2: on offense? I mean Bo Nicks, the quarterback of the Broncos,
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  Speaker 2: said I didn't even know that was possible. That was
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  Speaker 2: Bo's after the game, And I mean, just honestly, how
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  Speaker 2: are you off side? On offense. You know, Troutman had
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  Speaker 2: had a holding penalty earlier in the game. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: these are veteran players that are supposed to be their
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  Speaker 2: rock solid guys, and they're going the wrong way on penalties.
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  Speaker 2: I think they've gone six to eight to ten now
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  Speaker 2: in the three games, and that's just accepted penalties. I
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  Speaker 2: mean they had ten accepted yesterday and I think they
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  Speaker 2: had three decline two or three declines. So you know,
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  Speaker 2: you're up in double digits. And again seven offensive possessions
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  Speaker 2: with fewer than ten yards and double digit penalties. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: how many games are you gonna win doing that? And
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  Speaker 2: I don't care how great your defense plays. And the
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  Speaker 2: defense has had two bad fourth quarters, you know, justin
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  Speaker 2: they do a great job on Herbert for most of
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  Speaker 2: the day and he throws for one thirteen in the
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  Speaker 2: fourth quarter. It was like they you know, it was
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  Speaker 2: like they almost were a little smidge gassed from rushing
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  Speaker 2: the past or so much so aggressively all day and
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  Speaker 2: they just couldn't close it. I think Benito even said
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  Speaker 2: that after the game, is you can't play three and
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  Speaker 2: a half quarters and not close the deal.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's unfortunate, but why don't they sub more linebackers.
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  Speaker 3: Why does it feel like it's always Sternad and Singleton?
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  Speaker 3: And I asked that leaky because again, the coverage of
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  Speaker 3: the tight end gets interesting. The back coverage feels leaky
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  Speaker 3: at times. Do they not believe in the other guys?
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  Speaker 3: I mean, is it that was the plan just to
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  Speaker 3: play a three guy rotation with Greenlaw all along?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah? I think so, Andy, I mean, at least that's
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  Speaker 2: the sense I've gotten. Also, I think the Chargers are
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  Speaker 2: pretty savvy, unlike the Broncos. They don't sub three four
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  Speaker 2: guys out every time, so they kind of stuck with
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  Speaker 2: They had big clusters of plays where they just stuck
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  Speaker 2: with who was in there. And that puts you in
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  Speaker 2: a bad spot times defensively because you can't start, you
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  Speaker 2: can't get your guys and well, unless you want to
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  Speaker 2: take a chance and and run them on, but that's
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  Speaker 2: never good with a veteran quarterback.
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  Speaker 1: Talking to Jeff Lightwold and and we're breaking down a
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  Speaker 1: yet another Bronco defeat at the hands of an elite
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  Speaker 1: AFC quarterback. That's right, Daniel Jones and Justin Herbert, you
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  Speaker 1: both now make the list, apparently, so Leggy. This this
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  Speaker 1: team right now at this moment. Okay, they're one and two,
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  Speaker 1: they're getting ready to take out a Bengals team that's
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  Speaker 1: that's a mess. And and you know Jake Browning gets
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  Speaker 1: destroyed by Minnesota. You know Brian Floores, he's he's going
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  Speaker 1: to do that. Two guys, But kind of to your
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  Speaker 1: point right there, have you talked about they don't have
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  Speaker 1: anything that they can lean on. They haven't found what
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  Speaker 1: they can do consistently well yet this season? Is is
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  Speaker 1: this a week where Sean Payton has to really reflect,
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  Speaker 1: where Sean Payton has to look back and say, okay,
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  Speaker 1: we got we have three games of sample size right now,
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  Speaker 1: this is what we do well, this is what we
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  Speaker 1: don't do well, and somehow find it and stick to it.
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  Speaker 1: Do the Bengals represent a good, get right opportunity for
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  Speaker 1: the Broncos?
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  Speaker 2: Well they should anytime you go from Burrow to anybody else, Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: at quarterback, it should be you know, helpful for the
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  Speaker 2: Broncos because look, I mean, the Bengals are a flawed team,
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  Speaker 2: constructed weirdly, and Burrow erased a lot of that just
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  Speaker 2: because he's Burrow. But when he's not playing, you can
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  Speaker 2: see the blemishes far more easily. They don't protect the
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  Speaker 2: passer particularly well because if they did, Burrow wouldn't be injured.
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  Speaker 2: So I think there is opportunity for the Bronco defense
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  Speaker 2: to do some things if they know, if they can
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  Speaker 2: do what happened yesterday, which is keep chasing Higgins from
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  Speaker 2: doing anything of note in the game, and then you know, offensively,
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  Speaker 2: you know, I think the Broncos, yes have shown leaky
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  Speaker 2: problems late in two games, but still had the team
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  Speaker 2: in position to win for most of the day. If
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  Speaker 2: I mean, if the Broncos score on three of the
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  Speaker 2: seven drives that go nowhere, we're not even having this
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  Speaker 2: discussion in any form. So I think offensively is where
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  Speaker 2: things have to happen a little differently, because I don't
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  Speaker 2: see you know, you see things defensively they lean on
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  Speaker 2: and do well and they have impact in a game,
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  Speaker 2: and I'm not seeing those things very often on offense.
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  Speaker 2: I thought, you know, the touchdown with the great formation,
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  Speaker 2: that's a spectacular call.
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  Speaker 1: Cool.
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  Speaker 2: They should get a lot of kudos for that. And
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  Speaker 2: then the drive to open the second half, I'm thinking, Okay,
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  Speaker 2: he's found his rhythm them. You know, they had a
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  Speaker 2: great scouting touchdown, you know where you've you've scouted your
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  Speaker 2: opponent and you get the right look in it and
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  Speaker 2: it's fabulous. And then you come out and you have
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  Speaker 2: a three play uh run, you know, you run three
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  Speaker 2: times and you score a touchdown and then it's like
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  Speaker 2: none of that stuff is seen again, uh for much
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  Speaker 2: of the day. And it's just an odd thing. And
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  Speaker 2: he he says he's taking a look at it and
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  Speaker 2: that they have to. But you know, and I think
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  Speaker 2: until people see it, I'm not sure what to make
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  Speaker 2: of it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, they got the the fumble on the kick off,
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  Speaker 1: they picked that thing up. And then and then bow
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  Speaker 1: missus Marvin Mims in the end zone and you take
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  Speaker 1: your three points and then that was it basically for
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  Speaker 1: you offensively for the day.
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  Speaker 2: You know that that that one didn't bug me because
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  Speaker 2: he takes a shot. Yeah, he takes an enormous shot
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  Speaker 2: on that. Now, look, yeah, you you want your quarterback
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  Speaker 2: to make those plays like in a while. But the
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  Speaker 2: other two I thought were more troublesome. That I saw
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  Speaker 2: footwork issues and some other things on those plays that
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  Speaker 2: are the you know, the the other the flea flicker
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  Speaker 2: and then the late one to Courtland Sutton. I thought
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  Speaker 2: were mechanics.
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  Speaker 1: Jeff forgot about a minute here. The first place Chargers. Okay,
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  Speaker 1: Justin Herbert looks like he's playing at an MVP level.
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  Speaker 1: Looks like he's playing the best football of his career
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  Speaker 1: so far three weeks into the season. But again they're
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  Speaker 1: charging Mackai Becton gets hurt. Pipkins was in and out
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  Speaker 1: with injury all day long. Yesterday, they lose Najie Harris
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  Speaker 1: to an achilles. They already don't have Khalil Mack. They
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  Speaker 1: already don't have ray Sean Slater. Like it's just here's
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  Speaker 1: the thing on the Chargers. Are you buying them right
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  Speaker 1: now that they can do this for eighteen weeks?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think they're doing what you need to do
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  Speaker 2: and you've had those issues. Yeah, I mean they're playing heavy,
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  Speaker 2: and I think ultimately I don't think the NFL teams
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  Speaker 2: do it enough because the attraction too to play spread
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: out is so great and today's game, but I think
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  Speaker 2: when you've had injuries and you've got to cover up
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  Speaker 2: some things, I think if you play heavy, you can
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  Speaker 2: get by. And they're proven it and look that the
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  Speaker 2: quarterback is hardball has been good for him. I think
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  Speaker 2: they've they've found a rhythm now, you know, multiple seasons.
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  Speaker 2: The one throw laid is absolutely ridiculous. That's maybe a
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  Speaker 2: three guy on the planet can make that throw when
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  Speaker 2: you're taking that kind of shot, and you know, and
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  Speaker 2: that's a good combination, Frankly, and I mean, look, I
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  Speaker 2: don't see it with the Broncos sometimes. Look look what
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  Speaker 2: they do. They air on the side of protecting the quarterback,
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  Speaker 2: and I don't think the Broncos do that all the time.
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  Speaker 2: I think they air on the side of opening it up,
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  Speaker 2: trying to create space. And look, I get the logic.
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  Speaker 2: I'm around this all the time. I talk to coaches
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  Speaker 2: all the time. I understand where they're coming from. But
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  Speaker 2: I think sometimes you should just lean into the heavy
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  Speaker 2: and let.
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  Speaker 1: It go into the heavy, folks. Jeff Legwald everyone at
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: ESPN dot com read his stuff right there, Leggy, good
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  Speaker 1: work as always, man, Thank you, Thanks Fellows.