Latest / Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports / Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman & Lindahl 1-26-24

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Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman & Lindahl 1-26-24 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

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From the bud Light Studios bud Light Easy to Sunday. You can't see if
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MHD one Profial ten for Boulder. Hey, it's Andy Lyndall, He's the
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most Dempsey here. It's Denver Sports Talk on the station where you get it
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all. This is now to two Sports Radio five, Nate Kregman, Andy
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Lindall. He's gotten, Where He's gotten, Where He's gotten? Where the
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Great? Where the Great? It's a scoff Friday edition of the Krepin and
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Lyndall Show Altitudes Sports Radio. Yes, got Friday and we're gonna hang out
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with our buddy Jeff Legwall for the next hour here on the crack Men and
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Lyndall Show on ELPs. Dude Sports Radio. AFC Championship Game, NFC Championship
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Game. I mean, best weekend in football, Leggie. This is this
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is sort of it right, like this is this is the final four,
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so to speak. Like if you're here, you're legit now, you know,
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I like the two weekends. I love Divisional round Yeah weekend and then
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this weekend's awesome. These are you know, it's just the quality of the
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game. The margins are so razor thin, like, uh, you dropped
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the ball one time it's over that that can be the game, right,
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Like that can be the difference, like something like one of these four teams
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is gonna have a trophy at the end. Two of them are gonna go
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to the super Bowl. But all four of these teams are awesome. Yeah,
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not that the quality has fought its way through this year. Some years
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you look at it and you're like, Okay, this team got lucky or
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you know the proverbial hot goalie in the football world, you know, the
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quarterbacks out of his mind or something. But none of these teams overreached.
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These are all and I hate to break it to the greater metropolitan Denver area,
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but they are draft built leadies and gentlemen. Yeah. Yeah, so
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that's how the job gets done. Yeah. I hate to break it to
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the we love free agency crowd, but here's the thought. These are draft
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built teams. Do you guys realize that besides Jared Goff, the broadcast could
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have had any of these quarterbacks. Well, they could have had any of
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them. I just look at the quarterback situation in the AFC and you're like,
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okay, yeah, you're you better figure something out, you know,
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whether that is you make Here's here's my other funny. I just told a
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buddy of mine, this is a scout. I was just talking. I'm
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going to the Senior Bowl next week, so I was talking to some scouts.
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My quirky stat of the I think Lamar is gonna win MVP with twenty
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four touchdowns passes and rushed through twenty six and got benched. Yeah, so
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there you go. Yeah, so the quality of the team around you has
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some impact on how you do. But yeah, there's no more the commitment,
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the commitment from the coaching staff before we get to the We'll spend a
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lot more time in the championship games coming up here in a minute. We
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were talking in the first hour, Leggie, what are the what are the
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lessons? Big takeaways? So far, six hires have been made or six
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coaching changes have been made, two openings left. Biggest takeaways of this cycle
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for you? Uh, personally, and I don't know him, know him,
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not like as a friend in coaching, but I've dealt with him a
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lot. I was really happy to see Raheem Morse get another crack at it.
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He waited a long time, what twelve years or something like that?
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Was it Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan that said, this is the best football
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coach in America right now. Well, Mike Tomlin said he's one of the
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he's one of the thirty two. Yeah, so why doesn't he have a
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job? Right? But everyone, and I mean everyone I know in the
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NFL thinks he is just a great guy, a great tactician, a great
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people person. So you know, I always thought they should have given him
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a longer look here and one of the many coaching hires they made over the
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last four times. But so personally, I like that one. And you
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saw I think teams, I mean, look at the Falcons. You know,
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they sort of stun everybody. They talked to twelve people for that job.
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Yeah, twelve, They talked to Belichick and some of them twice.
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And I think you're seeing teams be pretty careful about the whole thing. And
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I think they're trying to match. I think you're seeing a less of an
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inclination to give one guy the keys to the car. I saw a lot
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of Okay, how does this head coach fit our vision of personnel? Can
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he work with the people with have on staff? Those types of things,
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you know, one of the reasons Vrabel was out in Tennessee and Callahan is
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in is because Harthon, the general manager, he and Rabel were clashing and
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they wanted they wanted to be cohesive. And if you saw Callahan's opening remarks,
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everything was about working together and having event. So I saw a lot
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more of that this time week. I think a lot of the hiring cycles
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we've seen, you know, teams are if they want to get that guy,
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you know, they they give up the control. And really the only
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team I saw do that was the Chargers to get to get Harbaugh. By
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the way. You know why Brian Callahan got hired, right, Why he's
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such a quality individual. Well, yeah, you know where he was born,
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right of course, Yeah, exactly, Champagne, Illinois, former Bronco,
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former Bronco assistant. That's right, Bran Collen. It's when his dad
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was the h I think he was a GA at Illinois. Yeah, m
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Illinois guy. Uh, guys, let's talk about let's talk about Jim Harbor.
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Let's let's dive into all of that here. Leggy divisions divisions something.
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Now it really really is the fit Okay, he played for the Spanos family.
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I mean he knows the drill. He his eyes open, I think,
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and I think that's why they were so willing to say, we're going
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to pay you a lot and we're gonna give you a lot of control because
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they've been around you know, they've been around him, they know his quirks.
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I I you know, I know a lot of people in the league
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who think this one is sort of perishable. Are you gonna get four years?
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Five? I mean, when's the is the clock ticking right now on
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this? Because he is he can be difficult to work with him before well,
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people don't always know what he's thinking, and that frustrates In an NFL
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environment, if people don't know what you're thinking, it frustrates them. And
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and you know, it's the old story. A vacuum will be filled and
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if you leave a vacuum and people are gonna fill it with whatever they think
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you're thinking. So I think some people see this as sort of a shorter
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term thing maybe, but it is interesting he ended up in the same division
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after the Broncos tried so hard last year. Yeah, what changed for him?
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I think last year he's sitting in ann Arbor when when the Broncos load
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the plane up for the second swing at him. That was to convince him
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to still come, because at that time they thought he was going to take
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the job, and he did not, and they all loaded up the plane
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and flew up there to try and talk him into it, and it didn't
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work. But I think Harbaugh last year sees a team good enough to win
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the national championship. This year he sees we won the national championship. I
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got suspended what twice. The NCAA is still circling, and it probably is
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never going to be as good as it is as it was this past seas
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And so I think this year you felt like he can get out. And
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sometimes these college guys step out when the bad stuff's coming and they know it.
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You know, Pete Carroll did it sort of, And I think people
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think Harbaugh is doing it just like he A lot of people are convinced he
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knows, like he might know what's coming, or what they're gonna find they
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have found, or what's in the paperwork they've already seen, you know,
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all of that. So I just think it's a lot different situation. What
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does he do for Justin Herbert when he walks in the door, he probably
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gives a clearer message about how you fit in the offense, what you will
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do in certain down and distance situations. He will have a much better protection
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plan for Herbert. I would it would shock me if the number of times
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Herbert gets hit doesn't go down, because that is Harbaugh's strength is line of
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scrimmage, tactical things. Now Herbert's gonna have to adjust too, because Harbaugh
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a played the position, and anytime your coach has played the position, doesn't
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matter if they were as good as you or not. Don't be hanging on
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to the ball guy. They and well, they just they just have a
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vision of what it looks like and they don't much care if they weren't as
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good as you are when they played. They just know, I know the
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position type of thing. So that will be different for him, and he
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is demanding. He's very demanding. And you know, I think from the
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people I've known with the Chargers players and coaches, both Herbert's sort of been
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allowed to just be justin do as you know, Oh that's just justin that.
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There will be less of that. He will have to He'll have to
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be what his head coach wants him to be. How would you rank the
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division. Now, I think the Broncos are fourth right now, talent talent
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wise, Okay, well I'm gauging what their talent will be because and I
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know people disagree with me, but people see Russell Wilson as a math problem.
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I see it as a talent problem. That the minute you do that,
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the talent of your roster takes a significant hit because you can't keep anybody
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you wanted to keep, and you can't get who you wanted to get.
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What do you mean by that you can't keep anybody you wanted to keep.
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You're gonna have a hard time. You're free agents. You're gonna have a
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hard time making the an offer better than they can get elsewhere. Guys that
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Jose Jewels of the world, and my issue and you and I have talked
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a little bit about this, Yeah, all of us is is My issue
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with that is usually at the end of a season, I stand in a
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locker room and I say, okay, player as a free agent, Okay,
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who's his replacement? And I look around the room and usually if the
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team is in good shape, you can point to somebody and say, Okay,
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that's the next one in line. You can't do that for Jewel.
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Can't do that for Purcell, you can't do that for a Row. You
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can do it a little bit for Cushion, Berry, Troutman, No,
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Riley Moss love for you. Well, I'm just saying we don't know if
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he can play. I mean, they he wasn't good enough to or they
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didn't think he was good enough to do it this year. I think he
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is. Yeah, but I'm just saying you don't have the immediate step.
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And even so, you know, two out of six is not a good
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ratio, and your chances of getting your chances of signing a linebacker and free
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agency better than Jewel are slim because you can't fit those people in once you've
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taken that dead money on. But this dip, like the they will not
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be as talented one to fifty three as they were this year because they can't
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be. But this dip was coming anyway. Well, we can keep saying
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that, but they're they did this. Their own impatience did this. Sure,
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Russell Wilson was playing badly enough to be benched, and anybody who says
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that is just I mean, events the guy with twenty six touchdowns, and
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whether you liked how he got the twenty six touchdowns or not is up to
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you, but they won't be as talented a quarterback. They probably You know,
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if you move Drew Sanders into inside linebacker, now you're putting him at
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a position where he won't be his best. So now you've dinged two positions
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and you're just gonna have a difficult time of getting better players than the ones
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that are leaving because you're they're so restricted by this move and they're current state
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of the roster. They're not a young team, no, but they were
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restricted by his salary number. Regardless of whether or no, they're doubling that,
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they're doubling it. You keep saying that it's not an even trade.
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It is. It's not like the number is exactly the same, Like the
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thirty four point nine million in dead cap. Whether have the player they didn't
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want the player though, Well, that's their problem, that's their problem.
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That is their problem, that's the mistake they're making. But the the Justin
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Simmons problem, the Garrett Bowles problem, the Courtland Sutton problem, the DJ
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Jones problem, whatever you do with those, are you gonna be more talented
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with the players All of these dudes like they were gonna have to make a
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hard decision, all of them anyway. You guys, everybody keeps saying that
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it's just wrong because you still have the player. In my version of the
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world, you're paying double, right, right, But you're paying double no
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matter what though you your your cap situation was, no matter what, it
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would be easier if you weren't playing double well and if you were younger,
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and they're neither. Oh, there's no doubt about that. But that's the
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world they were going to be in, regardless. They didn't have to be
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regardless. As my point, well, yeah, Russ could have been better,
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but he was better. Yeah, I didn't know. Everybody's on the
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Just get Russ out of here. Find me a better quarterback who's gonna be
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better that they get. Please, I want the list right now, Sam
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Darnold, Sam Donald is not better than Russell Wilson. Jameis Winston not better
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than Russell Wilson. Dared Stidham not better than Russell Wilson. You're you honestly
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say those three players are better than Russell Wilson right now on the radio,
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right now, I would say Sean Payton would rather have those players. That's
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not the question I asked you. Yeah, but they do have to have
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the roster that their coach wants. Why, Like, why can't somebody tell
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the coach in a vacuum half the best quarterback, Russell Wilson is a is
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a better athlete than those dudes. But does he work for that coach?
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Does he work with this roster with those three guys? And what the Broncos
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have decided is that those things don't cut it right now. That's that's why
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they're making this decision, and twenty twenty four will be their recipe. But
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ultimately, like the the cap issues that they're in, whether or not Russ's
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on the team, they still have all the same cap issues, the same
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there's still twenty seven million over the cap at the end of the season.
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Like that number doesn't change better cap situation if he's on the roster. Yeah,
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Like if that admission, if Russ is on the team and a good
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player, you just want him gone. I Sean Payton wants. I'm not
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talking about Sean payout. You're willing to make any math work if he's not
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on the run. But they have to make that math work regardless, Like
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George the math is not the same, and Remit Hurtado just admit the math
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isn't the same. The math isn't the same because they'll spend more on the
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quarterback room than they would have had Russ beIN on the team. Like that,
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they'll spend another five million or whatever on Jamis or Darnold or whomever it
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may be. Like, that's what they'll spend on the quarterback room. I
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mean, that's what it's gonna be. James made four million this year in
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New Orleans, Like that's what they're gonna end up spending on it. But
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the all of the cap issues, like the unrestricted free agents, the twenty
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seven million over the cap, like all of those. If you can fix
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those, you can't fix it dead money. That is my point. No,
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you can't fix dead money. But they still have to do what they
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were gonna have to do it, and it's worse than twenty five. I
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don't I don't buy that. I don't buy that. I disagree with you.
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I need to see you. You want the work I know it is.
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It's a math problem, it's ultimately talent problem. There is a talent
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problem as well. The team is not good enough, but ultimately when it
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next year, twenty twenty four Broncos be as good as the twenty twenty three
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Broncos. No, okay, but they weren't going to be if Russ was
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here anyway. I don't buy that's my argument. I don't buy that.
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That is where we agree to disagree. Yes, look at that that was
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That was a couple of Illinois drads getting Now, I just it was good.
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I don't like the spreadsheet football thing. But isn't that what it is.
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It's a talent thing, it's a but ultimately it's a cap issue.
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Like you have a salary. Nobody should take dead money and say they're working
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the salary. You have to you have to build your roster. They were
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going to have to do all that. They didn't have to do it.
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This like thirty four point nine equals thirty four point nine, no matter what
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that's but it's double And that's Illinois times to times to mister that that player's
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gone. Well, yeah, but it doesn't. So you're paying for something
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that doesn't exist. That's very true. But that's the Denver Bronco way.
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Well okay, but that's again, like you just want him gone out loud.
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You'll feel better. Oh, I don't think Russell Wilson is a good
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quarterback. I completely I'm gonna let you two go out. I agree Russell
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Wilson. On every show at this station, there's always somebody wants Russell gone,
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and they just say, oh, the math works, fine, it
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does. Oh, talk to me in Halloween. It's just mark it down.
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Now. If you wanted the math to work, you know, I
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was covering this one the salary caps started, and that's how it works.
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You never would have given him the extension in the first place. That's how
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you make you commit to him. Oh yeah that see. See here,
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everything threw for twenty six with a half a commitment. They finished fifty percent
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of the time in gold to go situations like that's him. You're saying that's
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him. I'm saying he's a part of the problem. Yes, they ran
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the ball. It is the quarterback. They ran the ball less than all
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of the good teams in the red zone. If they get a Russell problem,
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too much credit is blame, then then yes, he is a part
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of the problem. Right, Just say it out loud. You'll feel better.
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I want him gone. Just say it, you'll feel better. Yeah,
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I don't want Russell Wilson to be the Broncos quarterback next year. See
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see there it is, that's on your business. Look and again the facts
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are, you can take whatever quarterback you want, but you had the thirty
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seven million to the eight million. You're gonna pay both Stity and whoever.
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And all of a sudden it's a forty five million dollars to get lucky.
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They need to available whoever it is. And I think they will take a
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run at guys like Minshew. I think there's a feeling in the building Minshew
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fits. So what does Minshew cost? See again, that's again he may
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be out of their five six milion for those us hard because I asked a
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GM he said seven. So that's seven. You could spend on something else
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if you weren't putting yourself through this is all. I don't know where they
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get seven from. Anyway, you got forty guys at the contract. It's
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not a It's not a fun problem for them. It's not a fun problem
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for anybody. Is this is a fun conversation. It's he I'm building.
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Are just deal with it for another year and you can do whatever you want.
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You just have to again, But again, here's the You just have
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to survive two more years of this, that's all just two more years.
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Well, here's the thing, deal with it for another year. You still
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have all of the same decisions you have to make on your roster. I'm
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gonna tell you this part. You're not wrong about that. I know it.
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But here's wow, look at you. Here's what I also know.
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Here's what I know. You're gonna ask a guy who refused to play any
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rookies, including the aforementioned Riley Moss, to undertake a youth movement. And
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I just don't believe in my core that's what he really was signing up for.
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And that's a bugs me. The guy's always had old teams. You
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got the wrong coach. Well, you think you're about to go and do
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to yourself. But again, and my overarching point, you were gonna have
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to do all this anyway, but you but didn't do it with the guy
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that wants to do it. You hired a guy that doesn't love youth movements.
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He wouldn't even play, he wouldn't play Mimsy a guy that he picked.
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I know it's wild. I'm not saying he's the right coach. I'm
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just saying the roster decisions that you were gonna have to make, you were
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gonna have to say that's that's that's where I thoroughly disagree. Wow, you
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and your spreadsheet can go have a m rustling in the break. Let's do
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it. Everybody does the math. I do the talent. Yeah, do
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the talent all you want. The math is still the same. It's Els
21:11
Dude Sports Radio, Krekman and Lindah presented by Colorado off Road, Colorado Grown,
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Colorado Own, Colorado off Road online at CEO off Road dot com.
21:25
Altitude Sports Radio ninety five. It's Cregan and Lindahl show. Else to Tooth
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Sports Radio ninety two to five. Spirited conversation with Jeff Flegwold today here on
21:41
this show. I didn't think you turned my mic back. No, this
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is fun. I like the spirited debate here on the show. Yes,
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I just uh, I'm a big hit at family reunions too. Listen,
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It's fine. This is gonna go on forever. And when we get to
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the free agency and they sit it out year, everybody is another year whatever
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whatever. And then ultimately I really curious to see how long shown they really
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need bo draft picks. I don't know. Okay, then you know what,
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you don't know how down? But wow, trade down and pick You're
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still not gonna get a lot. But I don't know. At twelve can
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they can they go down into the twenties and get a second rounder, like
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you need not for something you need too you know how I always talk about
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the draft. In any draft board, there's eight or nine or ten right
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in that area seven, eight, nine, ten, uh blue elite players.
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Yeah, one of those guys to come through. That's when you can
22:47
make some magic and move down. And like there were a couple of trades
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to get the middle of the first like a brock Boer, even like Joey
22:56
Porter started to fall and the Steelers moved up. The Steelers never trade,
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but they wanted that. That was he was one of their blue elites and
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they wanted him and they moved up. Here's a wild stager. That's what
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you need. You need somebody to sort of come down to is like think
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about Mahomes right, he was. I'm sorry. It's not a great defensive
23:17
draft either. So the issue is you're already thin on one side of the
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ball overall on the board. Could there be a quarterback in this draft,
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like a Mahomes. And I don't mean he'll turn into Patrick Mahomes. Hear
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me out, you strike gold. Like Andy Reid is sitting back at twenty
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seven and he loves this guy, right, so he trades what was I
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think it was a third and a future first along with where they were at
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like twenty six or something like that. Ten ten. It was ten where
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they all went all the way up to. So they made that big of
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a jump, Like that's ideally like if you're donever see that guy right now?
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Is the problem? Like Jadeen Daniels wouldn't or probably wouldn't even be there
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at twelve right well, because the quarterback class is not as good as we'd
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all like it to be when we're talking about it, Daniels will probably be
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overdrafted significantly, uh huh quickly. So he's a top what five pick,
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top ten pick. I've seen Mox with him at three, three Piper his
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guy had him at two and really, and that's because people already know that
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once you get past him on this quarterback board, Vaya Condos, who is
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who's the non quarterback guy that you're falling in love with? In this draft
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as you're starting the process. It's Harrison was right. He might be the
24:48
one really for real, if you're just doing great now, very rare wide
24:52
receiver goes one. Sure, yeah, no, I mean it's very rare
24:59
just because of the the number of players at the position and the talent is
25:03
very evenly distributed at the position. But he if you're just going strictly great
25:08
pro ready all of that, he might be the one best player available at
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twelve. We don't know who is going to be next. I would,
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I would just thinking of an early stack I've done, probably as it's a
25:25
loaded tackle board, so a tackle will be the best one of the best
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players available, like him. Yeah, a lot to like. Yeah,
25:33
corner, there's some corners. A lot to like at corner. A wide
25:37
receiver, wide receiver. Ever, every mock is hot on Terry and Arnold
25:41
to Denver. Yeah yeah, yeah, no, I mean it'll be a
25:47
non glam pick. But it's probably a ten year player. That's how you
25:52
got to You gotta look at it. It's not a to just do what
25:56
some people say and take the quarterback there no matter what matter if the buildings
26:00
unanimous or any that's very you might as well just cut the guy right away
26:04
and get it over with. You know what's interesting, though, I need
26:08
to take him you you just got done, sane. It's not a strong
26:11
defensive draft, well not overall. I'm talking one through seven, rounds one
26:15
through seven, okay, but is the first round to be because I pretty
26:19
sturdy drafts everywhere, and I know you look senior ball into the combats.
26:23
I'm seeing corners and edge rushers all over these because at the top days one
26:30
and two it's sturdy. But when I thirty, when I say I like
26:34
the term sturdy, what do you mean? Sturdy is good? That's that's
26:37
good depth at those positions. I'm just saying, when I talk of draft,
26:42
that's a it's a seven round uh priority free agent stack, and defensively
26:48
it drops off really fast in the middle rounds four, five, and six.
26:53
Wait, give me, give me what does a sturdy player get?
26:56
You give me a comp for a sturdy player. Is he a sturdy player?
27:00
I don't know, a little higher than that, a little bit,
27:03
maybe maybe one or two Pro bowls over a long career. Okay, that's
27:07
a sturdy good player, right, yeah, very good player. I think
27:10
I think if you rise to the level of starter, that's a good draft
27:12
pick. You've done your no matter where you go. Well, no,
27:15
I mean ten. You're supposed to be all top ten. You better be.
27:18
Yeah, you gotta be. You got to be rocking. I'm just
27:22
talking overall. Like, you know, if you look at a draft class
27:25
five years later and you can name four, five or six starters in an
27:30
eight member class, you've done pretty well. Hey, if I said you
27:33
were sturdy, would you be a people say I'm all the time. Yeah,
27:38
It's like I can't. I can't determine how that's sturdy. You know,
27:42
it's a draft. I get the draft words and then you always get
27:48
up in my face scared about it. Well you guys, hey, look
27:53
the acres. Well look I've I've been said I have a good personality for
27:59
a long time, and I know what the hell happen? Is it a
28:00
sturdy personality? Apparently so are the Bronco Like, Okay, this is where
28:06
George Peyton is supposed to make his hay right, this is what he's supposed
28:10
to be. Yes on the on the draft board, he's they've done pretty
28:15
well. Okay, So where's what they have where they sit right now and
28:18
in this current situation because he's not a he's not a good quarterback trader,
28:22
he's not a particularly good free agency guy. You know, Randy Gregory just
28:27
staring right back at everybody. For George going into this draft. He's got
28:33
six picks as he sits there today. The Broncos, no matter what,
28:37
they're gonna have to make some trades. Okay, you're probably at best getting
28:41
like mid round or late round picks, whatever it is, because he'll be
28:44
trading guys with salaries on it. Is this a draft like like, can
28:48
we can we hope for it? Can Broncos fans be optimistic enough to say
28:52
George Peyton can find this team four starters in this draft? Well, it
28:56
depends how much freedom he has. I mean, what's we We don't don't
29:00
know really, I mean, and I've asked everybody. Yeah, we don't
29:04
really know the dynamic between Sean Payton and George Peyton. Sure you know if
29:11
okay, so we don't know if George presents a compelling case for player A
29:15
and player B and then they take me to the one of them. We
29:18
don't know that. But I thought from a grade standpoint, not from a
29:23
usage standpoint. I thought last year's class they didn't even pick till sixty three,
29:30
right, and I still thought they assembled a good class. Yeah,
29:36
I mean they assembled a good point. You know, they took Moss after
29:41
where I had him graded. You know that they got Mims. Uh,
29:45
you know, Drew Sanders, they got him, you know later than some
29:49
teams had him graded, but they didn't. They didn't play any of these
29:52
guys, So we don't know how. You know, that's the part that
29:56
has to fit with rookies too. I mean, like you watch a team,
30:00
teams like the Rams and the Packers. You know they picked, uh,
30:06
Rams had thirteen picks. I think the Packers had twelve, and they
30:10
put them on the field. Yeah, they had to play, and I
30:12
mean that's how you know, you know, and the Rams ended up with
30:18
spectacular you know, you know, all rookie players, you know, all
30:22
over the place. The Packers ended up with good, productive rookies. I
30:26
don't know yet, we don't know yet. This is the difference, and
30:29
this is how, this is how the Broncos can be a good team in
30:33
twenty four, Like they're not contending for anything, but can they be a
30:37
good team? Can they be a team that is threatening to get a wild
30:40
card and go to the playoffs. Like I feel like this year, can
30:42
they hang in right down the stretch what Sean McVeigh did with the Rams this
30:48
year, you know what Lafleur did with the Packers. I don't know that
30:51
they're going to be willing to do that is willing or able like that that
30:56
have to be is how we're going to define success for this year. Thirteen
31:00
undrafted rookies, Yeah, make the team. Oh it was wild when the
31:03
Rams were in here for inner squad practice. I started, I always circle,
31:07
we were looking at it, going look at the rosters. I always
31:10
circle the rookies. Yeah, and I'm like halfway down the page with the
31:14
Rams and I already got like twenty five guys circled already, and I was
31:18
like, all right, you know, we couldn't pronounce Pookin Niku. And
31:21
it turns out he's one of the best receivers in the game. But that
31:22
again, that's they had a scout really dig in and you know, they
31:27
they took a chance. He was a medical yeah for a lot of teams,
31:30
and they took a shot and he ended up Now he his play style
31:36
is perishable. He's taking some hits and trying to get it all on every
31:41
play, but in that moment, that's one of the best picks on the
31:45
board. Quick draft question, and I think I remember this. You were
31:48
really high on Kyle Hamilton. Weren't you a notre dame. I loved him.
31:52
If I'm not mistaken, you said on this show that he might have
31:56
been the best player in that draft. Yeah, I thought I thought he
31:59
might. Yeah, he is. That's the modern safety. Yeah, that's
32:04
that's like if it's sort of like if if at later played now, he'd
32:09
have to play like Kyle Hamilton. You know that that's what that's how it
32:14
would look. I mean you look at that deep he could I think Steve
32:16
could have played that. Like there are three best players, like like Medebuque
32:21
and uh and Rokwan and and Hamilton. They're they're three best players are all
32:27
up the middle, which is very strong to the way that that most people
32:32
constructed defense. And yet that's what they've done. And McDonald, as smart
32:37
as he is, and look out good that group is. There are personnel
32:39
executives that believe in the strong up the middle philosophy, but they consider an
32:45
edge guy kind of in that middle seven group. Sure, but uh yeah.
32:51
I mean the the Ravens are a great example of a draft built team
32:54
and then they make when they see the swing they want in free agency or
33:00
you know Rokwan. You know that's they have all the pieces in place,
33:05
and then they say, Okay, what's the one move we could really make
33:08
sure to make this happen, and then they do it. I think that's
33:13
to me, that's how all four of these teams. I mean, the
33:15
Niners are loaded with draft picks, They're loaded with number ones, and they're
33:20
under the cap, you know, because they have a quarterback on a rookie
33:23
deal who was in the the last pick of the draft. So I mean
33:27
it's just again in the cap era. You really, however, you make
33:31
the draft work, whether it's late round, undrafted free agents, early round
33:37
ones, twos, you have to make the draft work for you in some
33:42
fashion. And I just think the Broncos have had so much turnover in the
33:46
recent years, we're really seeing it sting in the draft portion of building the
33:54
roster because every change they make comes a new sort of way of doing things
34:00
and players are out. I mean, we there are an awful lot of
34:02
Bronco draft picks that people here say, oh that that was a bad class,
34:08
and I've said some are bad classes myself. But there are some Bronco
34:15
draft picks who've played elsewhere since the Broncos picked them and are still playing.
34:19
We were just talking about this the other day kJ Hamler. It's going to
34:22
catch fifty passes next year in Buffalo Watch No. I mean, and you
34:25
know Gotsis is still in the league playing now. You know, it's not
34:28
like a star or anything, but that's what I'm talking. Guys are playing
34:34
on other teams and they're not playing here because when they made a change the
34:38
new people said, are we But and you know the other issue with next
34:42
year, and it's you know, it's everything altogether. The trades, they
34:45
made decisions, they made everything. I got it. But they're going to
34:49
follow the smallest draft class they've had in what almost two decades with another one
34:54
with another one that's only one player bigger right now, and it's going to
34:59
be really hard for the them to add draft picks in the sweet spot,
35:04
first, second, third round. They're there, they have a very difficult
35:07
time doing that. They could end up adding fours and fives very easily.
35:12
Six is I mean, that's just it. Like if you look at the
35:15
pieces that you would consider, like tradeable contracts and players, once you offer
35:21
somebody up, though, the value is it's like that maybe as you drive
35:24
the car off the lotty, maybe the best you could do is like Justin
35:28
Simmons could fetch you was second and you're not gonna be as talented. That's
35:32
that's my It would always be the toughest theory, right damn it. You
35:36
know what they were gonna put a pause on this conversation, Garrett Bowles.
35:38
Yeah, well the third draft, that top you draft, that left tackle
35:43
maybe twelve. Although if you trade down, pick up a pick you two
35:46
we need you two are just going and going. We don't need commercials.
35:50
This out. I forgot. We are we on the air. This is
35:53
how you know, this is how we're rolling. Let's uh, I tell
35:55
you what, Let's take a break, let's come back and thechampionship games.
36:00
What are you going to be the margins that determine these things? We'll do
36:02
that next. Joe Altitude Sports Radio ninety five. Watch the show on twitch
36:09
at twitch dot tv Slash Altitude sr brought you by Safeway. All right,
36:23
Cort jet Well gets on a year. Let's dive into it. Let's start
36:27
with the bouncers AFC Championship game. And you're a laggi. Okay, three
36:34
and a half points spread on this game. Baltimore over Kansas City. This
36:40
is a crazy game. Both of these teams have excellent defenses. Both of
36:45
these teams have excellent quarterbacks. The margins are razor thin when we get to
36:51
the fourth quarter of this game, because I fully think this is a fourth
36:53
quarter game through and through. What's gonna be the thing that decides this thing
36:58
between Baltimore and Casey Well, I'll tell you one thing to keep an eye
37:00
on. If if Andy Reid's willing to do what he did last week and
37:04
turn it into a run the ball, you know, eat the clock a
37:09
little bit, play physical, you know, keep mahomes and and he people
37:15
off mahomes because they don't protect as well as they have in the past.
37:20
No, No, he's really off his number really fast this year. And
37:23
a lot of what he's done is just because he's the best guy. Guys
37:28
aren't getting open and yeah, and and we were talking earlier this year,
37:31
you could tell at some point he just it was like he told that all
37:36
the other receivers get out of the way. I'm throwing it to the rookie
37:38
because I don't trust the rescue you guys. And that's when they really sort
37:43
of took off a little a smidge. But that'd be you know, what's
37:46
Pacheco's role in this game, and if they can, if they can get
37:51
him going. Now, Baltimore doesn't let you do much at the line of
37:54
scrimmage. They're big and physical, and but if they if Kansas is you
38:00
can carve out at least a little bit of a run game. And it
38:02
doesn't have to be run first or any of that. I'm not saying that.
38:06
They just they need that component in there somewhere. And if they end
38:09
up with like forty yards or less rushing, then that that will not be
38:15
the tempo they need. They need play action to be in there. They
38:17
need they need those linebackers, Baltimore's linebackers to have to at least pause before
38:23
they start smashing people. Toney's officially out to this game. That's a tough
38:28
one. Now, you gotta he may have to do what he's done.
38:32
You know, in the past and run a little more of the two tight
38:35
end stuff, and they can get away with that because the receivers are not
38:38
as big a component in the passing game. But they've got to keep people
38:45
off and if they give you give them a lot, you give Baltimore a
38:49
lot of possessions. They're just gonna wear you out. They may not score
38:52
every time, and they may not even look pretty before they punt every time,
38:57
but they will take a little out of you every every possession they get,
39:00
they take a little bit more out of your defense in some ways.
39:04
Like the numbers, the numbers are the numbers for Mahomes, and we know
39:07
what he's got around him this year. This is almost his most impressive quarterback.
39:13
I think I think Reed has done a great job working through it all
39:16
because I mean, they you know, Mahomes went through the emotional hot headed,
39:22
I can't believe we can't do what we usually do type of thing guys
39:25
go through sometimes. But he got himself out of it because he's the best.
39:30
He's the best. He's the best guy in the league right now at
39:34
the position. Are the Lions ready for this? I'm real curious to watch
39:37
this. I like him because they're you know again, teams that are built
39:40
through the draft. This is the other benefit of the draft that we probably
39:45
don't talk about enough myself included, is when you're a draft built team,
39:50
everybody's invested in your success because you're the team they came into. They feel
39:57
invested in every inch of progress. And that's why I think they're they're ready.
40:01
And the quarterback has seen it all, he's that's an experience. If
40:07
if he flips out a little bit, then they could have a problem.
40:10
But that's a that's a well built team. Defensively, you know, they're
40:15
a little shaky at corner. Brian Branch, the rookie is a is one
40:20
of the best nickel guys in the league, and I love him as a
40:22
player. But they're a little shaky on the outside, and I would think
40:27
that's where Kyle Shanahan is going to press the issue a little bit, is
40:31
outside the numbers when they really need to play. How much pressure, though,
40:35
is Kyle feeling. You always feel pressure when you're good because if you
40:39
don't win. When you're good, people you know what's up, what's wrong,
40:43
you know what's going on. And there's a certain segment of the critiquing
40:47
public and media that will never be satisfied because they can't get past brock Perty's
40:53
draft status. They don't really evaluate what they see from his play. They
40:59
have value waited with the lens of he's the last pick of the draft,
41:02
so he can't possibly be good, you know, no matter what. So
41:07
and I don't believe that. I think sometimes guys just progress and and they're
41:13
better than we thought they were. And I've done the draft long enough to
41:16
know, uh, he ain't gonna get them all right, you know,
41:20
either way, so can win this game in the rain? Looks as though
41:23
we're gonna you know, it's gonna be a little sloppy. You know.
41:25
His best skill is one a lot of guys don't have. In a muddied
41:30
pocket, he's something his he is, I mean, he's he's really good
41:37
in a in a jumbled pocket. He makes good decisions, and I think
41:42
that makes you a pretty good Creddy Weather quarterback. Not you know, Debu
41:46
said, you know, they gotta have Debu. They just got to.
41:50
He's not on the injury report, so they you know, I talked to
41:53
one of our guys out there today and they said, everybody practice, so
41:58
yeah, but Nate said yesterday, I agree with them. That's a bruise
42:00
once you take it. Yeah, shot, we'll still are you are you?
42:04
Are you one hit, two hits, three hits or whatever. And
42:07
he's such a you could tell when he left the game last week that a
42:12
lot of stuff went off the play sheet because you know, they were trying
42:15
to get McCaffrey to do some of it and other guys to do some of
42:19
it, and they there's a reason he was doing it before and nobody else.
42:23
So all right, Jeff, when we talk on Monday, who's going
42:27
to Vegas? What's the matchup? I like the Chalk I guess you know.
42:30
I always have a hard time picking against my home taking the home teams
42:32
I like. I like Baltimore and I like San fran Let's go and uh,
42:37
the weirdest stat, most amazing stat and why he's the MVP. Lamar's
42:44
you know, QBR, passer ray, whichever one you want to use against
42:47
pressure is ridiculous. His rue winning veular age is like he's like an over
42:52
sixty percent of games. If pressure rate I think is at least in forty
42:57
percent, he wins sixty percent of these games. He was the best at
43:00
court. He was the best quarterback this year against four man rushes, and
43:04
then he's even better against pressure. And I think it's just their time.
43:09
They're built, just oh man, they're just built. They're not gonna wow
43:15
you with their Oh look at the innovation and all that, but they're just
43:20
the best sledgehammer in the toolbox right now, All right, real quick,
43:22
all your time covering hockey, the weirdest thing thrown on the ice? Sure
43:27
you didn't see it? Song? No, I did see a jockstrap one
43:31
time. Well in a minor league games. Yeah, I don't know.
43:36
The guy shot it like a rubber band because there was only that There is
43:39
only like eighty people at the game when I was there, You were able
43:43
to locate the Yeah, no, I asked him what it was. Yeah,
43:46
you said, that's a duck strap. Dude. I've always just struggled
43:49
with anybody throwing the seafood, be it the octopus or that. I how
43:52
do you bring it to the exactly? Yeah, I mean I know,
43:55
I lived in Nashville for ten years and I didn't know where you could even
44:00
buy seafood, and suddenly they're like, throw the seafood on the well you
44:06
gotta go noodle and I guess, yeah, you never did that. I
44:09
do that, shoved your arm down in a hole to see what would bite
44:13
it if you ever watch those YouTube, but yeah, they're very funny.
44:16
Hey, hey, man dies, the women that do it are sturdy.
44:22
You want sturdy in the draft? Is saying Ravens Niners. Super Bowl?
44:29
You know, Patrick is Patrick. That's right. Jeff Legwall, good football
44:32
yelling, man. I appreciate you. Guys are awesome. All right,
44:35
it's the Craigman and Lyndall Show. We are back with the five biggest stories
44:38
of the day from around the NFL.