WEBVTT - LISTEN | Jets Opponent Series - Denver Broncos (6/2) 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:06.200 Welcome to another edition of the Official Jets Podcast powered 0:00:06.240 --> 0:00:09.560 by Amazon Web Services. The opponent previous series rolling on 0:00:09.720 --> 0:00:13.360 Here e A and I breaking down the Denver Broncos 0:00:13.440 --> 0:00:16.320 or the Jets take on in week four on Thursday 0:00:16.400 --> 0:00:19.079 Night Football, and we're joined by Eric Delala, the lead 0:00:19.480 --> 0:00:22.200 writer of Denver Broncos dot com. So will hear from 0:00:22.280 --> 0:00:24.840 him and e A. I feel like this Broncos team 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:27.680 is interesting, to say the least, because you know, they 0:00:27.720 --> 0:00:30.440 have a young quarterback with Drew Lock. They get new 0:00:30.480 --> 0:00:33.840 weapons with Jerry Judy and kJ Hamdler to go along 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:36.640 with Courtland Sutton, and of course they have Von Miller 0:00:36.680 --> 0:00:39.400 and Bradley Chubb. But I almost feel like I don't 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:41.800 know what to make of the Denver Broncos. They just 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:44.559 feel like a kind of a question mark right now. 0:00:44.600 --> 0:00:47.800 To me, I do feel like they're kind of a 0:00:47.920 --> 0:00:52.080 question mark as well. But could would either one of 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:55.880 us be surprised if Denver is sitting there in December 0:00:56.720 --> 0:01:00.600 and they're within striking distance of play of birth. I 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:04.880 certainly would not be Kansas City the overwhelming favorite in 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:08.480 that a f C West, But the Broncos have a 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:11.320 lot of good players on both sides of the football. 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:16.600 I think about the defensive front. First, Von Miller is 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:20.480 a terror. Bradley Chubb only played four games last season 0:01:20.920 --> 0:01:24.400 and now he's gonna come back healthy. You add Daral 0:01:24.520 --> 0:01:28.000 Casey to the mix, and that line can give you 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:31.640 a lot of problems if you're not on your p's 0:01:31.720 --> 0:01:35.319 and queues up front and you're making sure you're taking 0:01:35.319 --> 0:01:37.600 care of business. And for the Jets, they're gonna have 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:40.679 to have a balance attack when they play the Denver Broncos. 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:45.160 Although there are similarities between the Jets and the Broncos, 0:01:45.200 --> 0:01:48.160 I think the Jets are for there along where they're 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:50.960 at them where the Broncos are right. I think the 0:01:51.000 --> 0:01:53.840 Broncos on paper have a lot of talent. And then 0:01:53.920 --> 0:01:56.000 of course, you know, I feel like we have to 0:01:56.040 --> 0:02:00.000 talk about Drew Lock because rookie last year, he got 0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:03.600 placed on I R. He comes off and he really 0:02:03.640 --> 0:02:06.440 finished the season well. And I feel like I read 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:10.840 a lot of articles that we're encouraging in terms of 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:15.400 Drew Lock and his progression. But I'm curious to see 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:19.720 what he does this year with new offensive weapons, in 0:02:19.800 --> 0:02:23.520 a weird offseason, with a new offensive coordinator. It just 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:27.440 feels like the Broncos right now are a lot better 0:02:27.480 --> 0:02:30.400 on paper, and we'll see what happens when the Jets 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:33.880 and Broncos finally meet on Week four in prime time 0:02:34.160 --> 0:02:38.960 teams certainly transition. You mentioned Lock. It's interesting the connections 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:42.160 between these ball clubs because Joe Flacco was opening day 0:02:42.200 --> 0:02:44.760 starter for the Denver Broncos last year. Then he went 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:48.480 out and the Broncos gave the ball to the young rookie. 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:52.000 He's an athletic player and we saw that at Missouri. 0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:55.160 He can keep plays alive with his legs, but he 0:02:55.280 --> 0:02:57.680 keeps his eyes down the field and he can make 0:02:58.120 --> 0:03:02.959 every throw. But how are they gonna block him up front? 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:06.480 I have this question marks about the Broncos offensive line, 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:10.240 and the Jets actually took one of their pieces in 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:14.400 the off season Condor recovered coming here as Joe Douglas 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:18.400 revamped that Jets offensive line, and you know, while the 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:21.760 skilled players are talented around him, how are all those 0:03:21.800 --> 0:03:25.200 pieces gonna fit immediately? Because it's nice to say, hey, 0:03:25.280 --> 0:03:29.640 Jerry Judy was a great route runner at Alabama and 0:03:30.480 --> 0:03:33.760 he's an explosive guy, but it's his first year under 0:03:33.840 --> 0:03:37.360 Pat Shermer, and those guys have not been on the 0:03:37.360 --> 0:03:40.000 practice field at all. The same can be said for 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:43.960 kJ Hamdler, another speedster guy. I can make plays happen 0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:47.320 with the ball in his hands, but he's never went 0:03:47.360 --> 0:03:51.080 through an NFL offseason before. Then, in the offensive backfield, 0:03:51.600 --> 0:03:54.680 Philip Lindsay, who has been productive throughout his National Football 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:58.000 League career here in the early stages, but the Broncos 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:01.800 went out Melvin Gordon as well, So how is that 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:06.440 going to work? Are those guys gonna share time in 0:04:06.480 --> 0:04:09.040 the backfield a fifty fifty split? Do you go with 0:04:09.080 --> 0:04:13.160 the hot hands? So while they do have talent, it's like, 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:15.400 how is it all going to work in a short 0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:18.760 amount of time? And you mentioned Shermer coming upboard, Yeah, 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:21.480 I totally agree with that, and I think that it'll 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:23.839 be very interesting to see how all these pieces come together, 0:04:23.960 --> 0:04:27.480 especially considering the offseason right now is all virtual. And 0:04:27.560 --> 0:04:31.200 let's hear from lead Broncos dot com writer Eric Lalla 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:35.359 and what he thinks of this Broncos team. Eric, I 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:37.880 want to start off with the draft here because I 0:04:37.920 --> 0:04:41.240 feel like John Elway, similar to Joe Douglass wrapping his 0:04:41.360 --> 0:04:44.080 arms around Sam Donald, feels like John Elway is wrapping 0:04:44.120 --> 0:04:47.640 his arms around Drew Lock, especially with the additions of 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:52.880 Jerry Judy and kJ Hamler to go along with Courtland Sutton. Yeah, 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:55.600 a lot of similarities I think between these two teams 0:04:55.640 --> 0:04:58.840 in terms of how they're embracing those young quarterbacks. And 0:04:58.920 --> 0:05:01.479 like you mentioned, Jerry Judy and Ceedee Lamb were both 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:04.720 on the board there at fifteen. Uh, probably the Broncos 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:07.480 heaven in that situation. John Elways said later they did 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:10.920 a bunch of mock drafts and Judy never made it there. Uh, 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:13.359 they always had to trade up for him. But obviously 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:17.120 the way things fell, they had their pick and selected Judy, 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:20.360 and you know that was somewhat of a surprise maybe 0:05:20.400 --> 0:05:22.480 that they were there, But the real surprise came in 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:26.680 round two when they picked kJ Hamler, the speedster from 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:29.040 Penn State. He's a guy that in the slot can 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:32.840 stretch defenses. And yeah, I think they did everything they 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:35.279 possibly could to give Drew Lock the chance to succeed. 0:05:35.320 --> 0:05:38.520 There's gonna be no excuses now for Drew if he 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:41.040 doesn't go out there and perform at the level that 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:44.320 they're hoping, which is good enough to bring the Broncos 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:46.839 back to the playoffs, a lot of connections in the 0:05:46.920 --> 0:05:50.000 National Football League. The Jets just picked up picked up 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:54.239 Joe Flacco, who started the season last year in Denver 0:05:55.120 --> 0:05:58.920 before Drew Lock took over. But what did you make 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:01.520 of what you saw out of Luck in his first 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:06.640 plane experience, extended plane experience. Yeah, I mean with Drew 0:06:07.560 --> 0:06:10.080 listen to talent is there, and that's why he got 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:12.039 drafted in the second round. That's why he was being 0:06:12.040 --> 0:06:14.360 talked about as a top ten pick when we went 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:17.720 into the draft a year ago. Some of the concerns 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:20.880 about him, you know, his accuracy, turn off, his back foot, 0:06:20.960 --> 0:06:24.960 being consistent, those things were prevalent to some degree in 0:06:25.000 --> 0:06:28.039 the preseason, much less so by the time he came 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:30.120 back at the end of the season after being on 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:33.640 i R for eight weeks. In part, everybody said that 0:06:33.640 --> 0:06:37.240 that time really helped Drew. It let him sit back 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:40.720 and let him process things. And obviously in Denver kind 0:06:40.720 --> 0:06:43.599 of the natural quarterback comparison as Paxson Lynch because he 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:47.400 was drafted in sixteen. He's that last QB that they 0:06:47.480 --> 0:06:51.560 drafted high. And you know Paxxton, they were kind of 0:06:51.640 --> 0:06:53.839 chatter about him playing a lot of video games. He 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:56.960 never really took advantage of the chance he had. Drew 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:59.640 has been completely the opposite. There were stories of him 0:06:59.720 --> 0:07:02.400 during t a s staying up until one in the morning, 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:06.520 reading play, calls to himself in the mirror, recording himself, 0:07:06.560 --> 0:07:08.599 and listening to him back on the bus on the 0:07:08.640 --> 0:07:11.000 way to practice. And so I think that work ethic 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:13.920 both helps him when he was finally able to get 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:16.400 in there and also proved to his teammates that he 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:18.840 can be the guy. And you know that more than anything, 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:22.000 I think it's important because your teammates have to believe 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:24.000 in you at the quarterback position for this whole thing 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:27.680 to work, and they definitely believe in Drew from that perspective. 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:30.240 And then his talent when he gets on the field 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.160 is evident. He had a throw to Courtland Sutton in 0:07:33.200 --> 0:07:36.040 his first game against the Chargers that was absolutely perfect, 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:38.200 you know, about a thirty yards strike to the right 0:07:38.240 --> 0:07:40.400 corner of the end zone he had to throw off 0:07:40.400 --> 0:07:42.560 his back foot in Houston when he threw for over 0:07:42.560 --> 0:07:46.880 three yards and three touchdowns. He's got the talent, and 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:49.160 now it's just can he be consistent enough, can you 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:52.280 take that step forward? He'll have help like you mentioned 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:56.080 with Jerry Judy, kJ Hamler, Courtland's Sutton Melvin Gordon, and 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:59.560 Philip Lindsay obviously both Pro Bowl running backs. I personally 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:02.240 think know a fan might be his favorite target because 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:06.000 just from a mismatched perspective, the young tight end I 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:08.400 think can take a step forward here in year two. 0:08:08.960 --> 0:08:10.680 But now it's just you know, can you do it? 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:13.760 Because everybody talked about Baker Mayfield out in Cleveland kind 0:08:13.760 --> 0:08:16.200 of the same way going into year two, and he 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:19.120 didn't really do that, and so now Drew's got to 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:23.160 make sure that he does his part. So you mentioned 0:08:23.240 --> 0:08:26.480 some of the flaws and Drew locks game, especially his 0:08:26.600 --> 0:08:29.239 rookie season in the preseason more so that you mentioned, 0:08:29.280 --> 0:08:32.400 But what are some maybe not so much with the 0:08:32.440 --> 0:08:34.560 talent around here, but what are some technical things that 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:37.280 you think Drew Lock needs to improve on entering his 0:08:37.360 --> 0:08:42.160 second year. Yeah, I mean it's still knowing when to 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:46.800 make some the right decisions. He forced some throws that 0:08:46.840 --> 0:08:48.600 he would tell you he shouldn't have made and that 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:51.360 led to a couple of interceptions went against the Chargers, 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:54.160 went against the Texans. Uh. He still throws off his 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:56.679 back foot at times. I think he needs to get 0:08:56.720 --> 0:09:00.640 set a little bit more. His accuracy somewhat of an 0:09:00.679 --> 0:09:03.040 issue at times, especially early in games when he was 0:09:03.040 --> 0:09:06.360 trying to settle down. But I think the biggest thing 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:11.320 for Drew is not necessarily technical, it's you know, being smart. 0:09:11.440 --> 0:09:13.040 This This is a guy that ran around a lot 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:16.160 at Missouri and made plays and that's fine, that's great, 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:18.440 that's part of his game. But he took some shots 0:09:18.440 --> 0:09:20.720 there at the end of the season. I think it 0:09:20.800 --> 0:09:24.800 was Week sixteen against Detroit. He was scrambling and just 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:27.800 got blasted out of bounds and it drew a you know, 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:30.559 a late hit penalty, but still that fifteen yards. It's 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:32.480 not worth it if Drew lock is out for eight 0:09:32.520 --> 0:09:36.040 games because this team is set up Withdrew, I think, 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:39.000 to make a push for a playoff spot. But without 0:09:39.080 --> 0:09:41.400 Drew and this is no offense to Jeff Driscoll, the 0:09:41.440 --> 0:09:45.080 backup quarterback. But without Drew, this is not a playoff team. 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:47.160 And so he's got to just he's got to learn, 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:50.080 you know, how to take care of himself in the NFL, 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:52.439 how to get out of some of these bad plays. 0:09:52.440 --> 0:09:54.320 Just throw it away. And that's kind of the case 0:09:54.360 --> 0:09:57.400 with any young quarterback, right that's just a learning process 0:09:57.440 --> 0:09:59.480 that some of these things you can do in college 0:09:59.720 --> 0:10:02.360 you can and do at the next level. All Right, 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:05.440 we all love talking offense, and both these teams have 0:10:05.760 --> 0:10:10.000 young quarterbacks, of course, and I actually have an additional 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:12.640 offensive questions that we'll get to later. But let's flip 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:16.360 to the defensive side of ball. This Broncos defense, to me, guys, 0:10:16.920 --> 0:10:20.960 on paper, it's relatively stacked. You just added a pair 0:10:21.000 --> 0:10:24.280 of veterans there in Denver in cornerback A J. Boullier 0:10:24.880 --> 0:10:30.520 and also impressive interior defense alignment Derel Casey. I guess 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:34.960 let's start up front. What is Casey gonna do to 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:38.640 help Von Miller and Bradley Chubb on the outside. And 0:10:38.679 --> 0:10:42.600 I think people are also overlooked overlooking the fact when 0:10:43.000 --> 0:10:45.880 Jets fans might be looking at the Broncos that Chubb 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:49.120 only played four games last year or so, if he's healthy, 0:10:49.559 --> 0:10:52.600 you got him and bon Miller on the edges, and 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:57.640 now you're adding this menace in Casey. Yeah. Well, let's 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:00.720 start with what Chubb and von were before he got there, 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:03.880 and in their one season together when Chubb was healthy, 0:11:04.120 --> 0:11:06.520 Chubb had twelve sacks and Vaughan had fourteen and a 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:10.640 half and they were really impressive. I mean against the 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:12.520 Rams who went on to the Super Bowl that year, 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.840 Chubb had three sacks as a rookie. Uh they tormented 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:20.320 opposing quarterbacks. And then last year that didn't really happen. 0:11:20.400 --> 0:11:22.600 The Broncos didn't have a sack through their first three 0:11:22.640 --> 0:11:25.360 games and din't force a turnover until Week five, and 0:11:25.400 --> 0:11:28.000 everyone was kind of like, well, where's this Vic Fangio 0:11:28.080 --> 0:11:31.080 defense We've heard about? But things started to get going 0:11:31.120 --> 0:11:33.840 a little bit. Chubb tears his a c L week 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:36.880 four against the Jaguars, and Vaughan, you know, he dealt 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:39.440 with some knee issues. The rest of the year. He 0:11:39.679 --> 0:11:42.320 had a career low, I believe, you know, for a 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:46.079 full season he had a less in but only had 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:49.600 eight sacks, and so the past rush wasn't quite what 0:11:49.720 --> 0:11:52.840 it has been. And now you bring in Darrell Casey, 0:11:52.880 --> 0:11:55.400 a guy who has had at least five sacks you know, 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:58.480 every season, I think for the last seven years, made 0:11:58.480 --> 0:12:01.400 five straight Pro Bowls. He's a guy I think one 0:12:01.480 --> 0:12:04.520 the positional versatility of him if you put him at 0:12:04.520 --> 0:12:07.079 defensive end on the same side that either Chubb or 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:09.880 Vaughan is lining up on what's a what's the tackle 0:12:09.960 --> 0:12:12.040 supposed to do? I mean, then you've got to put 0:12:12.040 --> 0:12:15.360 a running back out there to supposedly blocked Chubb or Vaughan. 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:17.320 I don't think that's going to go very well. But 0:12:17.400 --> 0:12:20.200 to be able to have that interior push from Casey 0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:23.040 if he's playing at the nose, I mean, that's going 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:25.520 to help one of them out because you can't double 0:12:25.559 --> 0:12:28.040 team all those guys, and so I think the pressure 0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:31.360 upfront should help the back end because that's kind of 0:12:31.400 --> 0:12:33.560 where I still have questions. You mentioned a J Boy, 0:12:34.240 --> 0:12:37.040 but I'm not so certain how that cornerback groups gonna 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:40.160 play out. Can you just elaborate that a little bit. 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:43.880 Obviously Chris Harris goes to the division rival Chargers, and 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:46.840 then I just kind of curious to what do you 0:12:46.920 --> 0:12:49.120 think the state of the second area is with the 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:51.720 guy like a J Boy, and of course Justin Simmons 0:12:51.760 --> 0:12:55.719 Ins and the back end there. Yeah, Justin Simmons a 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:58.320 second team All Pro last year. He's kind of a 0:12:58.440 --> 0:13:01.080 rising star on the Coast defense. I think you could 0:13:01.160 --> 0:13:04.680 argue he's their best player franchise tag currently. I know 0:13:04.720 --> 0:13:07.439 they're working toward a long term deal. We'll see if 0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:09.360 that gets done or if he plays the year on 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:12.400 the tag. You've got Cream Jackson next to him at 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:16.760 safety of Pro Bowl Alternate last year they could they're 0:13:16.840 --> 0:13:19.240 arguably the best safety duo in the league. And I 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:21.120 know you guys have a good one out there in 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:24.720 New York. The cornerback is where I have questions because 0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:28.000 you've got Boyer who in was really good, but he 0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:31.800 was playing alongside Jalen Ramsey and now he's the unquestioned 0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:35.400 number one. In Denver, you've got Bryce Callahan, who he 0:13:35.520 --> 0:13:39.600 came over from Chicago last year in free agency, and 0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:42.800 he was a nickel purely in Chicago and was expected 0:13:42.880 --> 0:13:47.320 to kind of take on that outside cornerback world in Denver. 0:13:47.840 --> 0:13:50.480 Suffered or kind of reaggravated a foot injury that he 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:54.040 had never saw the field at all last year, didn't 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:56.480 play a single snap, and so we still really don't 0:13:56.480 --> 0:13:58.800 know what he's going to give the Broncos. You know, 0:13:58.920 --> 0:14:01.720 can he play out he's a smaller guy. Is he 0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:04.200 going to fit in the slot? Which means the Broncos 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:07.640 obviously needs somebody else outside and at that position, that's 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:10.280 where there's a bunch of young guys. They drafted a 0:14:10.360 --> 0:14:13.160 cornerback at Iowa in the third round of Michael Ogimudia. 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:17.080 They've got DeVante Bosby who played some snaps. They've got 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:20.000 Davante Harris who played some snaps. But there's nobody that's 0:14:20.040 --> 0:14:23.640 really proven there. And so that's why wouldn't shock me 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:26.840 as the season gets closer if the Broncos maybe, you know, 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:28.720 poke around a little bit at some of these veteran 0:14:28.760 --> 0:14:32.120 cornerbacks that are still on the market, because outside of 0:14:32.160 --> 0:14:34.480 that guys, I mean, you look at the front seven 0:14:34.520 --> 0:14:37.120 we mentioned how good they are. You've got Alexander Johnson 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:40.960 at middle linebacker, who was a first round type guy 0:14:41.080 --> 0:14:45.840 before he dealt with some legal issues after being at Tennessee. 0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:49.240 He's now kind of the center of that linebacking corps. 0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:52.760 We've got a really good safety group. The edge rushers 0:14:52.760 --> 0:14:55.560 are great. So you don't want, I don't think you 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:58.000 want that piece at cornerback to be the one thing 0:14:58.040 --> 0:15:00.360 that makes this group fall apart. So that's why I 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:02.840 kind of look at a veteran guy to to maybe 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:06.680 solidify the group. What are the Jets getting informer Broncos 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:12.360 center Connor McGovern and second part of that. Why is 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:15.200 he not back in Denver? Why did the Broncos up 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:19.160 to let him go to free agency? Because he's a 0:15:19.240 --> 0:15:22.920 young guy. Um and obviously he cashed in, But what 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:28.200 was the situation there that made him expendable. Yeah, Connor 0:15:28.640 --> 0:15:34.160 great locker room guy, dependable, played really really well. I thought, uh, 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:38.560 you know, he's uh. I thought he struggled at times. Uh, 0:15:38.760 --> 0:15:41.040 maybe in the in the run game, but it was 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:45.520 a good pass blocker. I thought, uh, you know, he's 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:48.240 just he's the center of your offensive line that you 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:50.320 can depend upon. And he worked really well with Drew 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:53.440 lock dealt with three different quarterbacks last year and handled 0:15:53.440 --> 0:15:56.280 it fine. I think the reason he's not back in 0:15:56.360 --> 0:15:59.080 Denver is purely cost. It's nothing more than that they 0:15:59.120 --> 0:16:01.000 wanted him back. I think they talked to him a 0:16:01.080 --> 0:16:04.040 little bit, but obviously he took the contract out in 0:16:04.080 --> 0:16:07.280 New York. So I don't think there's any concerns there. 0:16:07.360 --> 0:16:09.600 You know, they let Matt Parrotus leave a year earlier 0:16:10.120 --> 0:16:12.920 to Carolina, and they did have some concerns there about 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:15.360 his ankle and how that was going to heal up. 0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:18.200 But with Connor for nothing but good things, I don't 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:21.400 think it was anything other than, uh, you know, being 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:23.720 priced out a little bit. And the Broncos have not 0:16:23.800 --> 0:16:25.880 the last couple of years had a lot of desirable 0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:28.560 free agents that have hit the market, and this year, 0:16:28.600 --> 0:16:30.240 for the first time, they had some guys that they 0:16:30.280 --> 0:16:31.720 kind of knew they weren't going to be able to 0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:37.120 resign with Chris Harris Jr. Connor McGovern somehow had Shelby Harris, 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:41.160 a defensive lineman, fall back to them. But yeah, only 0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:44.960 good things for me on Connor Erica. My last question 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:47.720 here is one is going to be focused on the 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:51.960 offensive line, and with Connor McGovern's departure, then incomes Graham 0:16:51.960 --> 0:16:56.800 Glasgow and comes Lloyd Cushionberry. What's your evaluation of the 0:16:56.800 --> 0:16:59.880 Broncos offensive line and do you think that that's pot 0:17:00.000 --> 0:17:03.000 actually a matchup that the Jets could exploit when these 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:06.440 two teams meet in Week four. Sure, I think that's 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:08.720 definitely possible, just because you don't know what this group 0:17:08.800 --> 0:17:10.880 is gonna look like. I mean, you've got Dalton risen 0:17:10.960 --> 0:17:13.240 Or at left guard and he was an All Rookie 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:16.119 player last year. I think he's got Pro Bowl potential. 0:17:17.440 --> 0:17:20.280 But other than that, you know, it's possible that the 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:22.960 rest of the group could look entirely different. Just going 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:25.679 left to right, you've got garat Bowls at left tackle, 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:29.679 who has been consistently available since he was drafted in 0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:34.040 uh let's say, I guess seventeen from Utah, but he's 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:36.840 had all these holding penalties, leads the league by a 0:17:36.880 --> 0:17:39.879 wide margin in those, and so they're gonna have an 0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:43.560 open competition with him there with Elijah Wilkinson, who he's 0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:47.119 played some right guard, some right tackle, but you know 0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:49.119 he doesn't have the penalty issues, but he allowed a 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:52.159 lot of sacks last season, so that left tackle position 0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:54.280 is kind of a concern. At center, you might have 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:57.159 a rookie starting there and Lloyd Cushionberry from l s U. 0:17:57.520 --> 0:18:00.240 At right guard, you've got Graham Glasgow, who you know, 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:04.160 he's dependable, he's played a lot of snaps, a good blocker, 0:18:04.600 --> 0:18:06.560 but we just don't know yet how he fits in 0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:09.280 on this offensive line. And then at right tackle, you 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:12.919 paid a bunch of money in excuse me twenty nineteen 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:15.960 to go sign Joan James from the Dolphins, and he 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:18.600 played three games last year for you and played very 0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:21.560 minimal snaps, and so he's got to come back, and 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:24.600 so it's just a lot of question marks along that line. 0:18:24.800 --> 0:18:27.600 I think the interior has potential to be really good, 0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:31.480 but at those tackle positions, that's where the Broncos kind 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:33.800 of have to see things work out. I'd actually be 0:18:33.880 --> 0:18:37.679 more nervous about the right tackle position just because you know, 0:18:37.720 --> 0:18:39.919 Garrett Balls might have a holding penalty a game, but 0:18:40.040 --> 0:18:44.520 he's available, he's there, He's pretty good outside of those penalties. 0:18:44.840 --> 0:18:47.760 Juwan James, we need to see him stay healthy. Eric, 0:18:47.840 --> 0:18:50.880 I'm not going to ask you to predicts the wins 0:18:50.960 --> 0:18:55.680 and losses for the Broncos throughout their first quartet of games, 0:18:55.720 --> 0:19:02.600 but on paper verse Tennessee at Pittsburgh, verse Tom Brady 0:19:02.640 --> 0:19:05.520 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and then a short week 0:19:05.920 --> 0:19:09.719 coming to New York for Thursday night game against the Jets. 0:19:11.000 --> 0:19:15.320 What do you think about that first on set of 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:19.919 games for this team? Yeah, I mean, no uh, margin 0:19:20.040 --> 0:19:22.640 for error there, huh. And you know, after we play 0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:24.680 in New York, we've got a road game in New 0:19:24.680 --> 0:19:26.639 England the next week. Who we don't We have no 0:19:26.720 --> 0:19:28.880 idea what they're gonna look like. I mean, you could 0:19:28.920 --> 0:19:30.840 be looking at oh and three right there if you slip, 0:19:31.240 --> 0:19:33.320 and then the Jets are a team that, you know, 0:19:33.320 --> 0:19:35.639 Broncos fans might have said, hey, that's a game we 0:19:35.640 --> 0:19:39.560 should win before the schedule comes out. But then it's 0:19:39.600 --> 0:19:42.320 potentially the hardest, you know, the way it could have 0:19:42.400 --> 0:19:45.440 set up being on a short week across the country, 0:19:46.080 --> 0:19:48.160 so that one's gonna not be easy at all either. 0:19:48.840 --> 0:19:51.040 And so the Broncos are going to be tested here early. 0:19:51.320 --> 0:19:53.680 They've just got to kind of survive this first stretch 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:57.479 of games. What do you think about when the Jets 0:19:57.480 --> 0:20:00.080 and the Broncos meet up in terms of where it 0:20:00.160 --> 0:20:03.600 is in the schedule, being the short week of the 0:20:03.680 --> 0:20:06.280 Jets the season coming in week four, and we touched 0:20:06.320 --> 0:20:09.520 upon it with Eric, is that you think about these 0:20:09.520 --> 0:20:13.120 teams schedules. Both teams are not gonna have it easy 0:20:13.280 --> 0:20:16.679 here in the first quartet of ballgames. Jets open up 0:20:16.720 --> 0:20:19.679 against the Bills, then they got the forty Niners at home, 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:22.679 then they're in Indianapolis, and then you have the Broncos. Well, 0:20:22.720 --> 0:20:26.040 the Broncos they host Tennessee, then they're at Pittsburgh by 0:20:26.200 --> 0:20:29.360 Roethlisberger back in the saddle for the Steelers, and then 0:20:29.640 --> 0:20:34.399 finally Tom Brady going out west but they got to 0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:36.520 come to the Jets on a on a short week, 0:20:36.680 --> 0:20:39.440 so they play each other in week four, but it's 0:20:39.480 --> 0:20:43.080 a Thursday night game, so advantage to the Jets in 0:20:43.119 --> 0:20:46.119 an advantage always playing at home on a short week, 0:20:46.200 --> 0:20:49.920 and then you think about they're coming across two time zones. 0:20:50.640 --> 0:20:53.679 I think we'll be looking at this game in December 0:20:54.359 --> 0:20:58.120 and we will say that was a game either one 0:20:58.160 --> 0:21:01.680 of these teams had to have if want to get 0:21:01.760 --> 0:21:07.720 to the spot they aspired to meeting the Jets. I 0:21:07.760 --> 0:21:10.040 think they gotta win a game like this short week, 0:21:10.080 --> 0:21:13.520 Thursday night, Denver Broncos. Yes they have talent, Yes they 0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:16.159 can cause problems, but I think I think this is 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:19.000 a game on the schedule that you say you gotta 0:21:19.040 --> 0:21:21.679 take care of business, otherwise you could get behind the 0:21:21.760 --> 0:21:25.560 eight ball. Would shoot? Would you be surprised, Greens if 0:21:25.640 --> 0:21:28.959 the Broncos came to town all in three, I wouldn't be. 0:21:29.760 --> 0:21:32.040 I don't think I would be either. And I think 0:21:32.040 --> 0:21:34.040