To the KIAE Comma Spirit Health Hotline and bring on Nick Cosmier from The Athletic.

Always great to catch up with Nick, my friend.

How are you?

I'm doing great?

How are you?

We're doing great?

Great article you have out here today, and I just you know, you're you're detailing a little bit of what's going on with the deep passing of the offense.

And I know there's a lot more in the article, but some of the stats in there, boy, it doesn't paint a pretty picture.

Is that still one of the top concerns for you?

Or as you detailed in the article, there's more for you that should be looked at well.

I mean, I think whenever you have a game like that, when some of those misses were so you know, evident and scrutinized, I think that it naturally becomes a talking point.

But if you really like boil it down, you know, bo Nix is kind of league average in terms of a deep ball passing, you know, and for a guy who is just early in his second season, I don't I don't think there's anything in there that's altogether surprising.

I think a bigger issue for me and didn't even necessarily touched on this a whole lot in the piece, But if you're looking at Nicks, I think he had not really improved so far this year went under duress, right like his his numbers under pressure last year weren't very good.

And certainly, again some of that being a rookie, that that is that is one of the biggest, like kind of ladders you have to climb to become efficient consistently in the NFL as a quarterback.

But but so far this season, you know, that's continued to be an issue for him.

I mean, the good news is that Broncos, by and large, you know, protect him pretty well.

They don't give up a ton of pressure.

All those all those Saturday was a little our Sunday was a little bit of a different story.

But again I just don't think, you know, kind of a couple misses the fact that they were relying so heavily on those throws versus Ray Justin Herbert in the fourth quarter over overthrowing Quinton Johnson for a potential would be touchdown.

That things a lot less when you can just turn and pull the levers offensively.

The Broncos right now, there's just not enough going on consistently good offensively, and that's why you know kind of those throws that there's a lot more on them.

Right, Hey, Niki trick lewis not Dave Logan, by the way people say we sound alike.

I just wanted to point that out, So Dave's not responsible for anything.

I'm about to say one question I had for you.

You mentioned the deep balls with Bow and he's middle of the pack.

For some reason, bo is having trouble hitting receivers over the middle.

The middle of the football field seems to have been taken away from the Broncos offensively, and I'm trying to figure out what the deal is with that.

Now we know Evan Ingram hasn't contributed much at all, and both Mims and Troy Franklin, our speed guys, they take the top off.

I'm thinking maybe it's Pat Bryant time.

Get Pat Bryant in there, put him in the slot.

That guy will catch the ball over the middle.

What do you think will help this football team start to make some plays over the middle of the football field.

Yeah, I do agree that it's an issue, and because when you don't have that element consistently, it makes you easier to defend right because you know you're able to disperse resources to kind of protect the hashes, protect the sideline, you know.

And I thought that that's what the Chargers did really well, like taking some of that away.

You know, part of it is is that you have you have to be able to commit to it.

I agree with you with with Pat Bryant.

That was one area in the preseason.

You know that the one home game against the Cardinals that was like repeatedly him going over the middle, you know, making catches through contact, being as he said after the game, you know, being quarterbacks friendly, right, knowing that as a QB you have a target that is going to come back to the ball that's going to get you out of some trouble when it comes to throwing in the middle of the field.

I agree that that is an area that they that they have to commit more too.

And of course, yeah, Evan Ingram, that's why you go out and get them.

Sean Payton talked all off season about that inner triangle.

That when we're talking about the middle of the field and being able to attack you know, open spaces in the defense, that's what we're talking about.

And that's where Evan Ingram was really expected to shine.

Obviously dealt with the calf injury in week one, and at some point in week two Sean Payton said, you know, the back issue became a problem for him and then did not play in week three.

So they need to get him fully healthy and then hopefully we have a better idea of how he's going to be used.

Because yeah, that until you can be a little bit more diverse in the passing game in terms of, you know, the squeeze that you're putting on defenses, it's going to be hard for you to define consistent success and again putting too much pressure on having to hit on those deep balls that by and large, again you're talking about passes that league wide have about a thirty six percent hit ray.

It's just you can't rely on that as like the heavy diet of your offense, no doubt about it.

Nick Cosmi or from the athletic joining us here.

So take me for a moment inside the locker room over the last two weeks after these games, I mean, losing sucks, right, I Mean I'm not saying that the guys were upbeats afterwards, but did you notice a tone shift from the loss to the Colts to the loss last week against the Chargers.

You know what, I kind of noted what felt a little bit different against the Chargers versus the Colts.

I mean, I think the game against the Colts there was the like, I can't believe we lost a game on something like that.

It was it reminded it was similar to what happened in Kansas City last year.

Well maybe that was as dejected as I think since I've been covering this team, I think that was as dejected as I saw locker room last year in Kansas City.

You know, Indy, Indy had some of those same vibes.

It's not quite to that degree, but it was some of this like I cannot believe we lost a game on that kind of thing, right because you just don't expect it.

I think in Los Angeles it felt kind of more of like there was some resolve to it.

I'm just like, we are close, and I think that's the thing that can get lost, right, Like you've been on the road against two teams that are, you know, undefeated, that that we think, you know, certainly, I think the Colts are going to win the AFC South the Charges right now, just that they have hit the ground running in a way other teams in the West haven't.

So these these are two very good football teams, and you had multiple chances on the road really to put those games away.

So to me, it was more of like we're we're right there, like we we we have what we need in this locker room to get it done.

It's it's just about, you know, finishing.

That was kind of the words you kept hearing, like finish close these games, like let's get over this this hunt that kind of keeps standing in our way.

And I think, you know, I felt more kind of like resolve and just sort of this desire to get to the next one.

Versus an India where it was just like that, did that really just happen?

I think you nailed it, Nick, I feel the same.

I think they're looking at this like these are things we can fix, These are things we can clean up.

Now that being said, I want to talk about the penalties.

They're one of the most penalized teams in the league after three games, and a lot of them dumb penalties.

We've seen way too many dumb penalties, not just being overly aggressive, but pre snap penalties and some of the dumb things that we're seeing that have been very costly.

Do you look at that and say this is an undisciplined team.

I mean, I think you're you're you're sort of what the what the stats and what the like kind of the video indicates, because I agree with you, like there's been some things that you just shouldn't have happened.

You shouldn't be lined up off sides on a on a punt when you have held them on a drive.

You you know, you shouldn't be hitting you know, hitting guys later throwing them to the ground late.

Like some of the things are you know, our technique are going to happen, like your your hands get caught up, you know, and you end up in a face mask like some of it is.

You can have a run of bad luck and start piling up injuries.

But to me, the bigger issue is that, you know, especially offensively, like having some of these procedural penalties, you know, lined up offensive offside, like those are the things that you are are so self inflicted, and when you're looking at an offense that is already having having problems building anything officially, it just feels like every time they start to get any kind of momentum, they're getting pulled back.

So I think right now, yeah, they are undisciplined.

Do I think that that's something that can can be turned around and and and that doesn't have to be the tag you wear all season.

Yeah, but I think it requires sort of a you know, a real long look in the mirror and realization that, like, let's not hide from this.

We haven't been disciplined enough.

It hasn't been enough of a focus, you know, from from top down, and you know, kind of take it from.

There, speaking of the focus, And this is the last thing I have for you, Nick, And we were kind of sold on an idea of what the running game might look like.

And I get it.

It's three games into the season and over the course of the year maybe things will shift.

But Dobbins by the numbers has been really, really good, and I know you talked about it a bit in your article.

In your opinion, is that something that the coaching staff will probably continue to try to amend and work with or is this.

Kind of who they are.

They're going to be a pass heavy team with a little bit more of the run mixed in.

Well, that's a great question, and one that I'm like very curious to sort of see, you know, what the answer is going to be, because like that's the best thing they have going right now, you know.

JK.

Dobbins gives them an explosive element that they have not had in the running game since Sean Payton got here.

And yet despite kind of his you know, some of his individual stuff that he's done this year, like they just haven't created enough consistently on the ground and some of that just is like not probably fully committing to it.

I mean you look at the end of that game.

You know, he only had eleven carries and just one in the fourth quarter in a game that you were never trailing until you know, the very end.

And so it really does have to be this know, being willing to run on second and eight and go from there.

You know.

Sometimes it's like you run on first down, you get a few, and then you go go right back to the past.

I'd like to see them run in more like second and long situations, you know, and give yourself the more manageable third down situations that you just did not have, you know in Los Angeles.

Sometimes it's like really as simple as that is, like you know, you're sitting here and you're you're lamenting the fact that you were on average third and eleven.

Well, you know, help yourself not be in those positions.

And sometimes, you know, they did lose yards running the ball on second and long or second and medium, so they have to avoid some of these negative plays in the run game as well.

But I just I still think there's been enough there that you have seen the dynamic element to it that we're let's just keep hammering that and we're going to get some more of those explosive plays.

Perfectly, say my friend, thank you so much for the time this afternoon.

Thank you, Thanks, Let's have a good one.

Thanks nice.

Nick cosmo Or does a wonderful job.

I'm a big fan of his writing.

We talk about them all the time here on the show.

But then because because he's Rake Scats, I'd love that one about