Baldy on How Bo Nix Can BEAT Texans’ #1 Defense, Should Broncos Make A Trade & More

Baldy on How Bo Nix Can BEAT Texans’ #1 Defense, Should Broncos Make A Trade & More

And let’s bring in the best guest out there. Our guy Brian Baldinger is joining us right now. Baldi, what’s going on? Hey guys. Um, obviously with you right now and getting ready for to kick off week nine here in South Florida, man. Ravens and uh and Dolphins here. So, little maybe changing of the picture of the AFC here a little bit with Lamar coming back. So, anyways, we’re it’s just uh time waits for no man. It’s time to move on here, guys. Absolutely. And Baldi, your shirt is perfect for this conversation. We’re in the SackSummit shirt and we’re talking about two great defenses playing this week in Houston, the Broncos and the Texans. So, I want to start with the Texans defense. What is the key or how daunting is this matchup for the Broncos offense coming off a 44 point performance? I know that was against a very bad defense. Now, they’re going up against statistically the best. What’s the key for Bo Knicks to stay hot against this this good defense? Well, you better have a plan for Will Anderson and Denil Hunter. I mean, because San Francisco didn’t. They had some crazy blocking schemes. They’re pulling the center to try to block Will Anderson and uh you know, M. Jones was getting rocked pretty good. Um they’re they’re they’re they played a violent game against San Francisco and they look like they wanted to turn things around. Now, uh on the other side, they’re not very good on the offensive line, but San Francisco, they just made a trade for a defense fan. They don’t have the firepower that you have up front. You guys have 36 sacks in eight games right now. It leads the league. It might set a record on the pace that they’re on. And so when CJ does not get time to throw, their offense isn’t very good. And so it it it could look a whole lot different than what they did last week against the 49ers. I’m curious, you know, Arante Ursery starting at left tackle. That’s Nick Bonito’s side. What do you think of that matchup? Well, I mean, look, they fired their offensive coordinator and their offensive line coach because they couldn’t block uh, you know, guys in Kansas City last year in a playoff loss, and they were awful. And they better have a plan for Nick and for Coupe, you know, and for Zack. I mean, they better be chipping the edges all game long before they even think about getting guys out. So, you should see him in double wings with their tight ends, um, you know, or running backs, you know, giving help over there because Arante Ursery, I like him. He’s he he’s a good prospect. Um, I liked him at the Senior Bowl, but he’s not ready for Nick Bonito. He’s not ready for that takeoff that he’s going to see this weekend. So, I would think that they’re going to have a much better game plan than they had like against Kansas City in the playoff loss last year. Yeah. If if the question is which team can have a better plan to, you know, um try to stifle the pass rush, is it safe to say you’d want Shawn Payeyton, uh, you know, coming up with that plan for how to to uh to dodge those pass rushes on the other side? I don’t think he’s going to leave Mike McGllinchi alone out there against Will Anderson. This guy has an incredible I mean, he reminds me a lot of, you know, Denver’s outside pass rushers. He’s got an electric takeoff. He’s ready to play every play. Denil is just a crafty guy. He’s really long. He He’s a He’s hard. You can’t get your hands to his body. Uh he jumps around blocks. Um he’s just a little bit different. And he’s got a long arm stab that’s really good. But Will and and Derek Barnett, you can’t forget about 96. Derek Barnett is a power rusher and he rotates in there. Um and Deno Auty is really good no matter where they put him. I mean, they’ve got they’ve got really good guys up front that can win one-on- ones. Baldi, unfortunately, the Broncos are not going to have Pat Certan this week and likely for a couple of weeks as he deals with that PC strain. How big of a blow is this for the Broncos defense specifically going up against the Texans? Well, I don’t you know, Nico Collins didn’t play last week and I don’t know what his status is this week. I mean, you would think Patrick would be on the number one target that CJ Strad has had since he came into this league three years now. But I thought it was I I was a little caught off guard honestly when Patrick went down last week and they replaced him with Chris Abrams drain. I I honestly thought Jade would go there. But it looks like they just play Jade in T. He got a sack inside and a four receiver look last week. He got his interception on that look. I thought Jade would be the guy, but you know, he was their fifth round pick last year. He’s been in the system with Vance and he went and replaced him outside. He played well. So, I don’t know what their plan is right now. If they’re going to leave, you know, Jaquan still inside, if they’re going to move Jade outdoors or outside, or if they’re going to put Chris there. But they do leave they do lose uh they do lose a real matchup guy. Um, you know, and that wasn’t always the case, but you know, that’s what Certan loved to do, whether it was tight ends, receivers, he loved to match up on your, you know, your number one target, Brock Powers, whatever it was. And so they they’re going to lose that aspect to their defense, which which is considerable right now. Uh the Broncos also signed Mercedes Lewis yesterday, which is a lot of fun. U 41year-old going to be playing for the Broncos this weekend. What do you think of that signing? And do you think, you know, for him just coming in off the street? Is he going to be functional blocking defensive ends five days after being signed? I think I think uh Mercedes came in the league to Jacksonville either 05 or 06. I forget out of UCLA and I have big hands, but Mercedes Lewis like he’s he just engulfs my he’s got the biggest set of mits on just about anybody you’re going to admit me. He’s a great guy. You know, Pcheski is playing left left guard now. Um they need a guy to block the edge. Like I think that guy can block the edge. You don’t have to put an extra offensive lineman out there. You want to get a strong side running game going, you better be able to block, you know, those outside linebackers to do it. I think it’s a smart signing like because you know maybe maybe he plays 10 15 plays a game but he’s really good at just that and if you leave him alone he can catch the ball. He’s not going to drop it. So I I think it’s you you want to have your fullback, you want to have your tight end, you want to have your your team in four-minute drill to be able to run the ball like all these different things and there’s a there’s a place for that guy. So um I think he’s always in shape. He’s bounced around the league. He’s played for a lot of teams, but he’s uh he’s a he’s a good blocker. He looks like an offensive tackle out there. I think you and him were teammates at one point, weren’t you? It seems like he’s been around the league that long. Yeah. Uh Baldi, with the Broncos now at six and two, first place in the AFC West where like do you view them as a legit Super Bowl contender or is there something some other boxes they need to check before you’re willing to go that far? Well, it’s, you know, the the quarterback obviously played great last week and they went after, you know, some real pigeons out there that playing defense for Dallas and he had a great game. You’re not going to get that in the playoff game. Um, you know, I guess it’s it’s a question of how much you trust the quarterback right now. I mean, like, he’s playing great, so I don’t want to knock him at all, but it it comes down to a quarterback play when you get to the postseason. They they play Kansas City in a couple weeks. That’s going to be a real test. Um, Chiefs are playing great. you’ll see him against Buffalo this weekend. Um, but honestly, it’s it’s your quarterback has to he’s got to make plays. He’s going to go against really good defenses. Every possession matters. You can’t make mistakes. So, it’s can they be a Super Bowl contender if if you believe in Bo Knicks to play at that level the way Jaylen Herz did last year, way Mahomes has done, what you know, what Lamar hasn’t done yet, even though he’s got MVPs to his name. Um, but that’s I think what it’s going to come down to. I think everything else is pretty much in place right now. Baldi, kind of along those lines. Couple more for you. Along those lines, should the Broncos make a trade before the trade deadline next Tuesday? And if so, is it at guard to help Pao out when Ben P is gone? Is it at receiver? Is it tight end? Or do you think the Broncos are are set right here? Do you think there’s a move that takes them over the top? So, you will say they are a Super Bowl contender. I think they like their guys. I mean, they’re playing a lot of young guys. Obviously, Pat Bryan catches a touchdown pass. RJ, you know, catches touchdowns. Um, I think they like their young guys. They’re not making mistakes. I mean, you might go for veteran receiver if you thought the young guys, Troy Franklin is, you know, I mean, they it’s almost like they forgot about Courtland last week. they went to all these other guys, you know, and so I feel like, you know, um, Evan Ingram really, you know, has had a role this year, but I you could see him having bigger roles in certain games, the way he can run and catch and and do certain things. I I feel like, you know, Dre Green Law got on the field, then he got suspended, so he’s back. He’ll be back after the suspension. Um, I think, you know, they’ve got a depth at corner that most teams don’t have. So, I don’t I I don’t really see them spending any capital right now to go after somebody. Yeah, that that’s very fair. Um, do you have one, Hen? Yeah, you know, I’m curious, you know, looking at a guy like TJ Hawinson, another tight end who maybe is a little bit more versatile than Evan Ingram could kind of patch, I guess, Nate Atkins or Mercedes Lewis who’s playing that role. Atkins is hurt. Something like that could make sense. Maybe Mark Andrews. I also I really like a couple of these guys from the Dolphins. You know, maybe the Dolphins get smashed tonight, they decide to go in a different direction. Could Jaylen Waddle be available? Um, Han might be a little bit redundant since you have an RJ Harvey, but boy, is he a good running back. I don’t know. I I want something. I’m excited. Yeah, I know. I mean, every it’s like the arms race this time of year. You know, San Francisco just made a move. Pittsburgh just made a move. Tuesday is a is a trade deadline. So, it’s going to happen here pretty like and I think guys are going to move. Um they’ve got good chemistry over there right now. You know, Kansas City is looking like a formidable foe. Uh can the Chargers are going to get healthier and their young guys really popped uh in the last game that they played. Um I I I feel like the young energy that these guys are bringing is really is really healthy, you know, on both sides of the ball. And so I don’t know like and I know like they’re not going to get Han. they’re not going to let him go in Miami, but and I don’t think they need him, but I can, you know, would Minnesota depart with Hawinson? Like, they’re not he’s not really using them. The the quarterback situation is in flux. Uh, but I don’t feel like they’re going to give away chips right now with a half a season to go and maybe JJ McCarthy is the answer and he can stay healthy. And then, um, they they got this guy Josh Oliver that kind of is their tight end right now that they’re throwing to. So I you might be able to pry them loose. Like I don’t know the details of this stuff. You know what it takes to get these guys, but I don’t think Minnesota feels like they’re out of it yet. So I’d be surprised if anything happens there. Baldi, final one for you. I am convinced that the game this weekend is going to be 10 to9 or 12-8 or 13 to 12 something like that. Is there any reason to think that the offenses are both going to do great against these defenses or would you expect that sort of a slugfest in this game? Well, the only way I think teams scoring the 20 in this game is if there’s turnovers. If if you know Denver’s getting the ball on the ground, they’re getting short fields, you know, out of CJ’s hands or somebody. If something like that happens, I could see Denver scoring in the 20s. But it’s that their defense like what they did to San Francisco. I mean it was just Aziz Alshshire and these guys they was just playing with such violence and I’m sure that De Mo is like this is how we got to play to win. This is the only way to play. So I think you’re going to get their best shot this weekend and so it could be a slugfest. It could be you know 14 13 14. It could be something like that in this game. Baldi love the inside. Thank you for joining us. And Broncos, two games in the next seven days. So, we look forward to catching up in between those next week. You got it. You got it, Zach.

Brian Baldinger breaks down how Bo Nix can attack the Houston Texans’ #1 defense—why Denver must have answers for Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, and how Sean Payton can help Mike McGlinchey with protection and quick-game timing. He also examines the Broncos’ league-leading rush (Nick Bonitto, Jonathan Cooper, Zach Allen) versus C.J. Stroud and what Pat Surtain II’s absence means for Denver’s secondary in a likely low-scoring Week 9 slugfest. Plus: what the Mercedes Lewis signing adds in edge blocking and whether the Denver Broncos should make a trade before the deadline. Tap in for sharp X’s and O’s, Texans vs. Broncos game-plan keys, and the latest Denver Broncos news fans need.

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