Go right out to the ka Commas Sparrell hotline and bring on our guy Ryan Michael at the Ryan Michael on Twitter, Ran, how are you doing this evening?
Doing well?
Then?
Are you? I?
I'm doing okay.
We're following up a four touchdown, no interception slaughter of the Atlanta Falcons.
Hyper Bo Nix's has never been higher.
I remember you had him as the second highest ranked quarterback on your board before the draft, and if you'd like to take a victory lap, I'm certainly here for that. Football is not gonna spike itself. But you know, the question is are you a little bo curious about Bo being the franchise quarterback for the Denver Broncos.
As much as I would love to spike that football and pat myself on the back, the reality is I have to approach this as an analyst, which means I have to do so objectively, and there's a difference between what I want to be true, what may be true, and what may eventually be true. So certainly it's trending far closer to a yes than a Now, it's been an impressive, really nine game run. Now for two rough
games to start off the season. You know, you should be AFC Rookie of the Week back to back weeks after being you know, Offensive Rookie of the Month in October. She's been tearing up the stat sheets in that in that nine game run lated one hundred and eighty eight two hundred and eighty so that sixty seven percent of his passes over two thousand total yards, eighteen total touchdowns to only one turnover, that no loss fumbles all year. So yeah, bo Nix is as hot as I said
during the offseason, perhaps even more so. I still think we have to pump the brakes a little bit and we still need a little bit of a bigger sample size. PERFOREM ready to any of.
The franchise quarterback Well what you calling bo hot like you did? Maybe you are a little bow curious there.
I don't know, give it all the positives and particularly both dominance over the last two weeks. Do you think he's entered the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year discussion there with Jayden Daniels.
I think you've entered the discussion, and you know, certainly eleven games into the season, I would still say that Jayden Daniels is the clear favorite. Statistically by almost every measure, whether we're talking completion percentage, passing, yard yards per drop back, yards per attempt, touchdown passes he has fewer, right, but he's still a low interception percentage like bow higher passer I think by nearly ten points, and a little bit more efficient per carry on the ground. They both have
four lesson touchdowns. It's really those two games at the beginning of the year then that I think is going to hold Gough Nicks out of eventually winning the award. I do believe it's conceivable that by the end of the year, even if Daniels is named NFL Offensive with You of the Year, and it would be deservedly so, I think it's possible that you could make an argument for Bo having had the more impressive season. And that's
really all we can talk about eleven games in. I think, given the disparity between the two plane situations, and given just how well he's been playing over the last nine and just how high a feeling has been, especially over the last two weeks, I like the way Bo's playing more than the way that Jay Daniels is playing. In terms of altogether big picture, is he going to end
up winning the award. It's certainly a discussion now, especially after last week, but Jaydan Daniels is still still ahead of him by a few inches.
Talking to Ryan Michael at the Ryan Michael on Twitter right, as much as all of us want instant gratification, and certainly the Broncos are extra thirsty for quarterback gratification, they post Peyton Manning era. Would you rather have a young quarterback dominate as a rookie similar to st J Stroud did his first year, although he's taking kind of a step back this year, or as a sophomore like Peyton Manning who started off poorly but then dominated.
From basically your two on, it's a.
Good question, and I think the what you framed it pretty much answers it.
For me.
I would rather have given a choice see dominance in the quarterback sophomore season, because as we saw with CJ. Stroud, and I cautioned people who were very optimistic about him last year, statistically, whether we're talking analytics, mart's run, general efficiency, he was a top three NFL quarterback as a rookie. He produced arguably the greatest rookie passing seaman we've ever seen. If you adjusted for era there are a number of
other quarterbacks that enter the discussion. I think that something that people don't necessarily account for is just how much of an impact it has when defensive coaches have more All twenty two film to study. So we've seen CJ. Scroud certainly take a step back from being a top three overall NFL quarterback, and he's about average, below average by some metrics, slightly above average by others. So I would rather see what we saw out of Peyton Manning
the second year. I can speak from my own experience having coached in Europe, having coached in the IFL. Yet it's not the exact same level, certainly, but it was always been a tremendous disadvantage for me as a defensive assistant to not have coaches film to study on a quarterback who's coming up that week. So it's certainly at the NFL level, I think it's even more inful. I'm very happy to see Bonnick's playing so well so early,
but as we've seen with CJ. Stroud, we have to pump the brakes a little bit because he does have the advantage of the coaches don't have a lot of All twenty two come to study.
Just said, well, yeah, I think that's the thing.
I mean, we've seen, you know, as coaches get an off season and all that tape, yere's where the tape and an off season of prep for a guide, it suddenly they've got to adjust encounter a judge. We look forward to seeing what BO does as far as that stuff goes. What are your projections for BO and the offense in the coming weeks and really the rest of this season.
Well, I'm certainly optimistic about the upcoming schedule. Right games against the Raiders and against Cleveland are very very winnable. The Colts game is a very very winnable game. The Chargers and Chiefs down the stretch are going to be very difficult. And even though the Dangles don't have a strong win loss record, obviously Joe Burrow's playing the position at an elite level. So that game against Cincinnati is
going to be a tremendous challenge. If we can win nine games, then I would consider that an overachievement, and certainly believe the over under was five and a half, so we've already surpassed that. But you can't take any wings for granted. You know, the schedule looks favorable over the next three games, but we've forgot to put in the work.
Talking with Ryan Michael at the Ryan Michael on Twitter, Ryan, you know I talked a little bit earlier and I tweeted out I saw you've since dovetailed off that with some numbers about this growing sentiment on social media from forty nine Ers fans as they try to talk themselves out of Kyle Shanahan.
Okay, you know the entire league.
Is trying to try and adopt his offense, say, went coaches off his staff, and you got these spoiled forty nine Ers fans out here, like, you know what, the grass is greener. I forget the Jim Thomsulla, Chip Kelly Era, forget by Mike Singletary, the Mike Nolan Arris, you.
Know, forget all that the grass is greener. We can get somebody.
Better than the guy the entire league wants right now by firing him.
As I look at the the just the ludicrous.
Nature of this forty nine Ers fans trying to talk themselves out of Kyle Shanahan by claiming you can't win.
The big one. Where where do we come down on that?
And where do we come down on how ridiculous it would be for the Niners to fire Kyle Shanahan Right now, it's one.
Of the most mind numbing football takes that I've seen all people. It might be the absolute worse. And Lord knows, there are a lot of bad ones out there, you know, Kyle Sanahan is somebody who is you know, two fourth quarter slash overtime performances away. Had those games gone the other way in San Francisco, and certainly if things went different for Atlanta in twenty sixteen, we'd be talking about
him as a future Hall of Famer. So people have to remember he inherited a two win forty nine er team. He's led them to win totals of thirteen, thirteen, twelve, and ten. He got Hall of Fame caliber efficiency out of Jimmy Garoppolo, and Jimmy Garoppolo is a fine quarterback, but there were stretches of time where he was producing efficiency marks that were comparable to Patrick Mahomes, Andrew Breese and Brock Purty enters the conversation right seventh round quarterback.
He led the NFL in passer rating last year. He led the NFL and the adjusted net yards for attend by a country mile nine point zero one. Second place is seven point four eight. I believe it was tu and he set the NFL's all time single season record for yards for passing attempt at nine point six, a record that was previously held depending on the threshold in terms of number of attempts Matt Ryan also under Kyle Shannahand in twenty and sixteen, I believe Matt averaged nine
point three yards for passing attempts. And yet the Niners are five and five, they have the top eight offense and average defense. Statistically, it is really what have you done for me lately? Kind of world? If we're talking about firing Kyle Shanagan. Unbelievable.
Yeah, it just seems ludicrous to me.
Arizona Cardinals to the top that division right now, But all the other teams are five and five, one game back. It's not like they're they're really out of it as far as any of that goes. And in the NFC, I mean, you're not really out of it a five hundred anyway, it's closed a week of conference.
So I just found that whole narrative.
But uh, you know, a bit frustrating and laughable as you have a fan base who is so spoiled that you would sit there. You know what, Kyle Shanahan actually sucks. We should go out there and you know, we should go out there and get the next Nate Hackett.
It's uh, you know, it's it's it's it's it's.
It's a ludicrous to see what what people will talk themselves into. Uh, you talked a little bit instat gratification earlier, So it's ludicrous where people talk themselves into talking with Ryan Michael.
Let the Ryan Michael on Twitter.
Looking over at the Jacksonville Jaguars, you know they've had to start mac Jones lately because the injury to Trevor, to Trevor Lawrence, and uh, presumably the coaching staff they're about to be fired, front office probably getting cleaned out as well. Off the top of your head and maybe putting you on the spot a little bit here, but what what coaching staff? What coach would you would you pair with Trevor Lawrence to try to get the most out of him going forward.
That's a really really difficult question because you have to ask yourself who would want to take over that position and do ball they've been the losing this franchise in the NFL since twenty eleven. They've had, I believe eight different head coaches if you include the interim head coaches. So Ben Johnson is obviously the name that people have been talking about, and I think that would be a great fit. Trevor Warren's is the guy that you know
how high I am on Trevor Lawrence. Some numbers for him despite playing in arguably the worst situation in terms of franchise, personnel, coaching, the combination of all those things. Before he was shut down due to injury, and we'll see if he comes back, still ranked top ten in TOTALQBR adjusted EPA for play, touchdown passes, passing yards, first downs passing Trevor Lawrence. You could make the argument and it's had the most impressive single season of his career,
which I know people will laugh at. They'll be very dismissive of that. But when you consider the defense ranked dead lasting yards per play at the time they shut him down dead laugh and passer rating surrendered. To still show up and keep the Jags competitive in a lot of those games, I think it's the testament to who he is as a quarterback, especially when healthy. So Ben Johnson is the name that I'm sure they're going to
be targeting. I don't think there's any easy fix because Doug Peterson did a lot of good things, especially in his first two years. You look at two nine win seasons in Jacksonville, and obviously this year has been a disaster, but there's two nine win seasons. Especially twenty twenty two he had a one quarter away from the ANFC Championship. So it's a tough place down there and do well. I hope they figure it out.
It's interesting because the career of Doug Peterson is fascinating to me. Instant success followed by it falling apart, you know,
over the next couple of years. It was the same thing in Philadelphia, where you know, he sort of inherited everything that Andy Reid did and then you know, got him a Super Bowl and then everything just sort of fell apart from there, leading to his ouster and then you know, Jacksonville, early on, the wins came pretty quickly, you know, and it looked like he might be building something there and then the wheels just came off, and I wonder if I wonder what that's attributed to you know,
he gets you know, he gets players to rally around him early, and then it just wears off. Is there something that that he's not changing that everybody's keying in on. I don't know what, but it appears that Doug Peterson in the second stand has largely mirrored the first and without the top end success.
I can tell you the play calling has been an absolute mess in Drecksonsville this season. It's one of many problems. But you know, to your point earlier about Kyle Shanahan, could you imagine if the San Francisco forty nine ers let him go after they finished sixth and ten in twenty twenty, You know, he comes back with three consecutive double digit win season, so they still have a shot at doing that this year. Maybe they'll finish the eight
or nine wins this what have you done formul lately? Culture, I think is a problem, and the Jagglars have a lot more problem. So by no means am I suggesting that Doug Peterson is Kyle Shanahan. I think Kyle Shanahan's
one of the finest coaches of our generation. But it's a collaborative team effort and the fact that they never sigured out the defensive side of the ball certainly hasn't help the situation, because when you have what we have here in Broncos Country, a top five, top three defense, it really covers up a lot of imperfections on the
offensive side of the ball. I mean, now we're I believe, the twentieth ranked scoring offense in the NFL and we're on the heels of our most impressive offensive performance of the season by far. So hats off to Sean Payton GIF Sean Payton love this week for sure, but the defense has been the core of our success this year,
for the reason why we're over five hundred. And if you don't have that luxury on the other side of the football, it's very, very difficult to keep morale up in the locker room that it is.
Talking with Royan Michael at the Ryan Michael lest a couple of questions here, Ryan, as we hit it back to the Denver Broncos. You just got through talking about that defense, and what we've seen is that the defense for the Broadcos has played lights out and it's not getting its flowers for that game against Atlanta because the offense, you know, put up so many points, but they held
the Atlanta Falcons to six points. I think that if you'd asked before the game if Denver was more likely to score thirty four or hold Atlanta to six, I think most people would have said Broncos were more likely to score thirty four. It was surprisingly effective against it offense.
It's loaded with skill position weapons. But I guess the question that I'm sort of circling the drain on here is what is the bigger boone to bow Nicks Having a defense like that at his back where the pressures not on him, or having an offensive line that appears to be graded out as the top offensive line in football right now to keep him clean.
Yeah, thankfully he doesn't have to choose because he has both, right, and those are both testaments to just how successful we were during the offseason. It's quarterback's best friend is to have protection upfront and to have stability on the defensive side of the football. I think back to what Mark Sanchez did in the late two thousand and nine twenty ten in that run, and certainly Bonix I think was a much better quarterback prospect than Sanchez ever was, and
already a better quarterback than Sanchez ever was. But what a benefit it was to a young rookie quarterback to step into a situation with the lead defense on the other end of the football. So thankfully both has both. And I know there are a lot of people who are impatient complaining about the skill position players look in
salary cap, how we're not going to have everything. So to have arguably the best offensive line the football, arguably the defensive football, and arguably the best rookie quarterback in the NFL tinkling in a good spot.
I tend to agree with you. I'm looking forward to our Raiders.
Week where we're probably going to be coming away with another dub. We have a lot of talk about next week. Ryan, always appreciate you dropping by Budd My pleasure absolutely
Ryan Michael let the Ryan Michael on Twitter