The Bills come to Denver for a massive playoff showdown, and with Ron Zappolo "on assignment", Tom Green and Woody Paige break down why this matchup could hinge on Bo Nix, home-field advantage, and whether the Broncos can control Josh Allen. The guys also dive into the NFL coaching carousel, Aaron Rodgers’ uncertain future, and what the Broncos may have missed by passing on Allen years ago. Plus, a deep look at college football’s national championship picture, Deion Sanders and the transfer portal, and why Indiana is the real deal. The episode closes with a Nuggets discussion centered on Peyton Watson’s emergence, roster economics, and whether Denver can afford their rising young star.
Tom Green and Woody Paige open by previewing the Bills’ playoff visit to Denver, examining why Buffalo presents a unique challenge and why the outcome may ultimately come down to Bo Nix’s ability to elevate the offense against Josh Allen. They debate Sean Payton’s coaching impact, the Broncos’ running game concerns, defensive matchups, and whether altitude and crowd energy can truly swing the game. The conversation expands into the broader NFL landscape, including Aaron Rodgers’ future, missed draft opportunities, and the ever-spinning coaching carousel. From there, the show pivots to college football, analyzing Indiana’s rise, the national championship matchup, the transfer portal’s growing influence, and what it means for Colorado and Deion Sanders’ long-term outlook. The episode wraps with a Nuggets segment focused on Peyton Watson’s breakout, Denver’s salary-cap challenges, and how roster development could shape the franchise’s championship window.
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00:00:01:02 - 00:00:33:00
Tom Green
The Buffalo Bills are coming to Denver. The Broncos last beat the bills here behind Peyton Manning as he held off Kyle Orton. We're also going to talk about the NFL coaching carousel. And are the nuggets going to have to pay Peyton.
00:00:33:02 - 00:00:40:28
Tom Green
Time for another edition of After the Horn. Tom Green, Woody page Ron Zappolo, M.I.A. Where is Ron.
00:00:41:02 - 00:00:49:29
Woody Paige
Paul? When I was working with the late Brown. He would always say if I was out of town, he'd say, he's on a side. Yeah.
00:00:50:01 - 00:00:52:20
Tom Green
Or on something. What is? Yeah.
00:00:52:23 - 00:00:53:22
Woody Paige
He's on tequila.
00:00:53:24 - 00:01:10:14
Tom Green
Yeah. Hopefully, hopefully. Ron's having a nice week off here as we get into the playoffs. On After the Horn. First we want to thank our friends at Furniture Row once again. They stepped up and gave us all this beautiful furniture to jazz up our studio and make it so that it's it's comfortable, even when Ron's not here.
00:01:10:17 - 00:01:20:29
Tom Green
What are the bills? Are they the Broncos worst nightmare coming to town? It seemed like there were other teams the Broncos might have wanted to play. Aside from the bills.
00:01:21:02 - 00:01:44:09
Woody Paige
Interesting. I had posted, on social media, the six teams that were in the playoffs. Against that, they could face during. And I thought, the Texans were were the toughest team they could face for the AFC. And I had the Chargers at the bottom, of being the one that if I were the Broncos, I'd want to see them again.
00:01:44:11 - 00:01:55:14
Woody Paige
Yeah. I don't think as much of Herbert as a lot of people do. And he didn't play extremely well in the game. But I had
00:01:55:16 - 00:02:10:27
Woody Paige
Buffalo Bills about midway of it. I think this is going to be a difficult game for them because of one guy. Yeah, we all know who that is. And but I keep hearing from people that Sean Payton's going to out coach.
00:02:10:29 - 00:02:12:25
Tom Green
McDermott, Sean McDermott.
00:02:12:27 - 00:02:40:25
Woody Paige
The problem with that is that Sean Payton hasn't, even though he's a candidate for coach of the year. We have sat here and watched him for 18 weeks, and we're a little confused about how great a coach he's been this season. When you go back to the exhibition season, when he had the offensive coordinator and the quarterback coach both calling plays and doing a better job, that was in the preseason.
00:02:40:28 - 00:02:45:10
Woody Paige
So I'm concerned about Sean Payton more than I'm concerned about Bo Nix.
00:02:45:12 - 00:03:07:04
Tom Green
Well, the the Broncos, offense will be brought to challenge because they're going to face a Buffalo defense that will allow you to get going if you get going and they're going to have to do that a bit. But we've seen also when you look at the other teams advancing in the AFC, I mean, what Houston did to Pittsburgh, what New England did as well.
00:03:07:05 - 00:03:21:07
Tom Green
I mean, they're very impressive defensive games. The Broncos have that defense that lives in that league. And they're going to have a tougher time playing like that. You know they have the week off and all. But Josh Allen is a unique problem.
00:03:21:14 - 00:03:54:16
Woody Paige
You know I examined all the teams prior to the weekend and you could see the feeling that defenses were going to control the AFC. And the NFC would have more offensive teams than defensive teams. And I found that interesting when I was looking at that saying, is that going to continue? And we've really seen it. We didn't see it last night in terms of especially one team, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
00:03:54:17 - 00:03:55:09
Tom Green
No.
00:03:55:12 - 00:04:01:16
Woody Paige
But they weren't noted for having a great defensive team throughout the season. They struggled. And that they also.
00:04:01:18 - 00:04:22:05
Tom Green
Wouldn't have mattered the way their offense was being manhandled by by the Texans. So Josh Allen's an interesting proposition, I think, for the Broncos, because if you look at the three games that the Broncos lost this year, mobile quarterbacks were part of the problem. You know it was Daniel Jones got them, Justin Herbert got him. And then at the end of the year Trevor Lawrence got him.
00:04:22:05 - 00:04:39:19
Tom Green
Those are the three wins. Those weren't guys running all over the field running for 75 yards. But they present that problem as a defense where you end up having to be cautious a bit with how you rush the quarterback and not provide them with escape routes. Josh Allen's better than all those guys at getting out in the field and running put.
00:04:39:19 - 00:04:40:02
Woody Paige
Together.
00:04:40:02 - 00:04:59:24
Tom Green
Or making the plays. Yeah, but even some of the games they won against mobile quarterbacks, they struggled. Jaxson Dart. Marcus Mariota gave them a hard time. You look at the issues that that mobile running threat quarterback gave the Broncos. So they have all these games that they can look at and figure out what they might want to do with Josh Allen.
00:04:59:24 - 00:05:05:15
Tom Green
But Josh Allen is the preeminent dual threat quarterback in the league. Maybe he and Lamar Jackson.
00:05:05:16 - 00:05:19:28
Woody Paige
You know offensively I think you've got to be concerned about the running game. The bills will give up a lot of yardage on the ground. If you can produce that, can the Broncos, given with Dobbins is.
00:05:20:00 - 00:05:20:21
Tom Green
Not I don't.
00:05:20:21 - 00:05:39:25
Woody Paige
Think he's not going to play here. He might play in the Super Bowl. I mean, I think that's about the only chance he really has. But if they were to get that far but ten the two three young running backs one is used as a wide and wide receiver. Right. Or a third down guy that, you know, you use on third down.
00:05:39:27 - 00:06:03:12
Woody Paige
But can they do the job on the ground? And truthfully, Peyton has tried to develop that running game, Tom, over and over and over again. And he's not able to do it. Can Bo Nix not compete with Josh Allen, but can he have a good game like he did say against Dallas, which had the worst defense in league?
00:06:03:15 - 00:06:21:09
Woody Paige
Can he also do what Josh Allen does and that's beat you with it with your feet. That not only with his arm but with his feet because Josh Allen is going to go for quarterback. Sneaks for nine yards.
00:06:21:11 - 00:06:23:03
Tom Green
The power the power touch.
00:06:23:07 - 00:06:36:27
Woody Paige
So that's the question. They don't compete against each other. And we always say you know it's this quarterback against other quarterback. But we saw last night a quarterback have the worst playoff game maybe in history. And yet his team won the game.
00:06:36:27 - 00:06:40:05
Tom Green
He fumbled the ball five times. They've only lost 2 or 3.
00:06:40:11 - 00:06:41:26
Woody Paige
Stroud was just terrible.
00:06:41:26 - 00:06:43:25
Tom Green
And they won that game going away. Yeah.
00:06:43:26 - 00:07:01:16
Woody Paige
So I, I look at this game as being close. I look at it as there being a lot of points, I don't know what the, 47.5. I think I see over under, I think that both teams are going to score in the high 20s at least.
00:07:01:19 - 00:07:11:14
Tom Green
Would that would seem to favor the bills. They they would prefer to be playing in the 20s. The Broncos would like to see the game, or at least the bills stay in the teens, in order to make that offense work.
00:07:11:17 - 00:07:33:16
Woody Paige
Let me ask you a question that I normally don't ask you questions. I answer questions, but all I keep hearing for the people in Denver and I, you and I both talked to. I've always said that Denver is the largest major city. That's a town. We talk about Jacksonville. Sean Payton does saying, you know, it's a small market, right?
00:07:33:17 - 00:07:38:06
Woody Paige
Denver is still a small market as far as I, I look at it with 2.5 minutes.
00:07:38:09 - 00:07:39:01
Tom Green
As a vibe.
00:07:39:02 - 00:08:02:06
Woody Paige
Yeah, yeah. Because you talk to people all the time and everybody's friendly enough to talk and everybody here, the crowd is going to make a difference. Well, the crowd will make a difference if you're in the game. We saw in the game against the Chargers the crowd was in it against the Broncos. They were booing yeah Bo they were booing Sean Payton.
00:08:02:09 - 00:08:09:03
Woody Paige
They were booing the entire offense that I don't think the crowd is going to make a major difference in this game.
00:08:09:04 - 00:08:31:07
Tom Green
They'll be ready to go. I'm sure the Bronco crowd is famous for for being, you know, participatory to say the least. But it is symbiotic. The team has to create energy. Then the crowd can create energy, and then it can become a, you know, a positive cycle. But if you if you're boring the the fans with your offense and the game is, you know, you're down, you know, ten three and you're doing nothing on offense.
00:08:31:07 - 00:08:48:29
Tom Green
Yeah. The crowd will get a little quieter than they want it, but, that home field advantage can be big. You just look at it. Nowadays, the way teams rush the passer, the advantage that Cooper and Benito get knowing that those offensive tackles are just going to have to wait a second half a second, that's all it takes.
00:08:48:29 - 00:09:07:26
Tom Green
So the Broncos will have to take advantage of it. The Bo Nix Josh Allen comparison contrast as to how they play. I think they may be very well determined, like you said, about how the Broncos run the ball, but also how well the Broncos prevent James Cook from running the ball. He's had a super year for Buffalo and he's a handful.
00:09:07:26 - 00:09:15:10
Tom Green
And they're going to have to force the bills to play from behind the chains as often as they can, get him into second and third and long.
00:09:15:11 - 00:09:47:06
Woody Paige
I think I'm correct that he has had the most yardage by running back this year. And the Broncos, if you pull all 4 or 5 of them that have rushed the football, don't compete with that. I also think that, there is a factor that Josh Allen has played it out too. He played it Wyoming at altitude. I pointed out on what I call Twitter that he and his offensive coordinator used to come to Cherry Creek all the time to go shopping because there was no place in Laramie to go shopping.
00:09:47:11 - 00:10:05:06
Woody Paige
And his offensive coordinator said, we weekend at Denver on a regular basis. So he knows Denver. Not from the shopping, but he spent enough time in this area to know about crowds. He went to games when he was in college, and he really wanted to play. And for the Denver Broncos.
00:10:05:10 - 00:10:11:11
Tom Green
Why didn't he? I was trying to remember what happened there. There was something about they might have drafted him some.
00:10:11:14 - 00:10:12:02
Woody Paige
Yeah.
00:10:12:04 - 00:10:13:22
Tom Green
And, yeah.
00:10:13:25 - 00:10:19:15
Woody Paige
I don't think the defensive coordinator had much to do with it. But he coached him in the Senior Bowl.
00:10:19:17 - 00:10:22:28
Tom Green
And you mean Bradley Chubb or Josh Allen.
00:10:22:29 - 00:10:42:18
Woody Paige
Josh Allen yeah yeah. And John Elway made that decision John said it was the worst mistake he made being general manager vice president of football operations. And it amazed me. And we kind of talked about this last week. It amazed me that John looked in the eyes of a guy that was basically John Elway.
00:10:42:21 - 00:10:46:04
Tom Green
Similar, very similar in terms of.
00:10:46:07 - 00:11:04:07
Woody Paige
Energy in terms of, he didn't have the arm that John Elway had. It's time. But he would take off and run. And, I still to this day haven't figured out why other than I was told that it was because of his passing percentage. Right.
00:11:04:07 - 00:11:11:11
Tom Green
His inaccuracy has is raw. And yes, they they didn't see a sure thing, that he well, he's let's see.
00:11:11:11 - 00:11:28:21
Woody Paige
John Elway, for instance, John Elway was a four year starter at Stanford. He was the number one draft pick. People thought Josh Allen, who was a guy that was recruited by nobody but junior colleges, that really he didn't have, the resumé.
00:11:28:27 - 00:11:32:23
Tom Green
Well, and the teams he was playing against, they weren't feeling like he was playing against.
00:11:32:24 - 00:11:39:10
Woody Paige
But he's proven that all to be wrong. And he was he is the defending MVP.
00:11:39:13 - 00:11:57:26
Tom Green
So he was the defending MVP last year when they waxed the Broncos in the playoffs. And you think of how we've come a calendar year more or less. And now the Broncos not ness not favored at all at this point I think they're one and a half underdogs still. But it's like the way the shoe has gone to the other foot in this games matchup with the Broncos.
00:11:57:26 - 00:12:11:11
Tom Green
Now the home team the Broncos, got the number one seed. I mean last year it was it was no contest in Buffalo. And here we are a year later. And it seems like it's very much a contest. And the Broncos people here think are going to are going to beat the bills.
00:12:11:13 - 00:12:21:01
Woody Paige
What do you think is the X factor? I heard that question asking, but it I think it works in this situation. What do you think is going to be the difference in the game.
00:12:21:01 - 00:12:36:26
Tom Green
It's got an X in his name. It's Bo Nix, it's Bo Nix. I mean the Bo Nix who played against the Packers. That was the best I'd seen him play as a pro. When he would move through the pocket, he was moving with his head up. He was able to throw on the move. He was delivering the ball.
00:12:36:26 - 00:12:56:21
Tom Green
You threw the ball so accurately against the Packers. Since then, it hasn't been as pretty a thing. And so I think I think this game will come down to because Bo Nix it'll be asked of him, or at least the Broncos offense outside of the, traditional running game. They'll bubble screen and all that quasi running game stuff.
00:12:56:23 - 00:13:05:28
Tom Green
But as far as actually pushing the ball down the field and making Buffalo have to play a larger box, it'll be Bo Nix.
00:13:06:00 - 00:13:09:03
Woody Paige
Temperatures will probably be in the 40s, high 40s.
00:13:09:03 - 00:13:13:00
Tom Green
Check the map here. You can see that we have a cold front moving through.
00:13:13:02 - 00:13:18:29
Woody Paige
Yeah it's going to be worked worse next week if they actually play another week. There's a storm coming.
00:13:18:29 - 00:13:23:22
Tom Green
January may eventually arrive in Colorado and snow and everything might come.
00:13:23:24 - 00:13:45:01
Woody Paige
I just want to mention a few things. Certainly needs to be more involved more quickly in the game. It almost seems as if Nix forgets about him until like maybe the fourth quarter, right? And so I would work. And I know that, teams are saying, John Fox, you say it all comes up to play your match matches.
00:13:45:01 - 00:14:05:06
Woody Paige
He used to say that that all time. To me it's matchups. It's matchups. And he would say it more than he would say. They have skins on the wall. That was really what it was. Great run and they pay. They they get paychecks like we do. That was John Fox to me. But I think that there are matchups.
00:14:05:09 - 00:14:31:14
Woody Paige
If Sutton is getting double teams then they've got to turn to other people more so. But if it's what's called now in football, beautifully, 5050 balls. Right. So it's going to be guys. So if he's getting single coverage, that's where Nixon needs to go. I said to you last week, the offensive line has been banged up a bit.
00:14:31:16 - 00:14:53:16
Woody Paige
Even the all pro Walter Payton Man of the year for the Denver Broncos left the game. And the Chargers there hasn't been any talk about it, but he did have an ankle injury that's been worked on. And you know you've got to have success out of bowls against Buffalo because Buffalo doesn't have a great defense. And that is the weakness.
00:14:53:19 - 00:15:09:14
Tom Green
I also think it's just as you talk about it I think of Buffalo coming in here, with a little bit more of a gambler mentality, like, we're going to Denver, we're going to cut it loose. Whereas the Broncos are thinking, play it cool, play it cautious and close to the vest. And that can that can work against you.
00:15:09:14 - 00:15:20:22
Tom Green
Especially what I'm talking about trying to get your quarterback animated. And if you're telling a quarterback, don't. If every thing you tell a quarterback starts with don't, you know, that's not playing with confidence.
00:15:20:24 - 00:15:24:14
Woody Paige
I just think you have to get something out of a tight end.
00:15:24:17 - 00:15:48:18
Woody Paige
Well that you've got to get Sutton involved early in the game. You got to have the offensive line do the job. Run blocking for what is not the best running back team without Dobbins. Defensively I keep being concerned about they don't get those turnovers that yeah Peyton likes because they play a man defense. You don't get it.
00:15:48:20 - 00:16:07:12
Woody Paige
You get turnovers over balls that are deflected. You get because a guy is in a zone and sees what's coming from the. And Josh is a smart quarterback, which is kind of forgotten. I, I think this is going to come down to a three point game like we've seen in most of the playoffs.
00:16:07:12 - 00:16:08:26
Tom Green
Yeah, and most of the Bronco games.
00:16:08:26 - 00:16:22:13
Woody Paige
And who's going to actually kick a field goal that wins this game? But to me, 27, 24, 28, 27.
00:16:22:14 - 00:16:25:04
Tom Green
Just that that's not what.
00:16:25:05 - 00:16:51:02
Woody Paige
I see, that I see the Broncos winning because I think the home field is an advantage. That altitude we saw, we saw a team last night and Steelers playing at home worn out. Yeah the fourth quarter. Yeah they were the ones that were struggling at home and cold. And the team that doesn't normally play in the cold actually had its way with them offensively, even though they had all those turnovers.
00:16:51:10 - 00:16:54:26
Tom Green
Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson, they'll all be here.
00:16:54:26 - 00:17:01:14
Woody Paige
Yeah I really like Tony. We should right. Let's go all.
00:17:01:16 - 00:17:23:18
Woody Paige
Kilter here a little bit. Tony's getting so much grief because of what he was not doing in the last game. And what he was saying, and I think he had a bag. I like Tony. It's, both Jim and Tony are friends of mine, and, Jim is is as solid as anybody could be. But, Tony kind of brought him down.
00:17:23:21 - 00:17:24:09
Tom Green
Well.
00:17:24:11 - 00:17:25:28
Woody Paige
The past, the past game.
00:17:25:28 - 00:17:41:24
Tom Green
So he'll be he'll be harshly judged in Buffalo, Denver and around the country, you know, and that could be positive, but it'll be everyone will be watching these TV games, these four games. Coming up, this weekend are going to generate gigantic numbers, as they always do.
00:17:41:26 - 00:17:58:24
Woody Paige
A final point on the broadcasting. I, I had a friend call me and he said, do you think they should put Tracy in the, Wolfson and, in, in the booth and let Tony be on the sidelines? Well said. I don't think CBS is going to pay a guy $18 million to be on the side.
00:17:58:25 - 00:18:15:28
Tom Green
No, but we do see in hockey. No. You know, Peter McNabb did it. Now you see Mark Rycroft do it. And other broadcasters on the national broadcast like to do the hockey games from right there at the red line in between the benches. And it's it's a different perspective. You may not see all the X's and O's happen, but you see everything.
00:18:16:00 - 00:18:32:03
Woody Paige
Natasha and I, she would work with one of the National Hockey League, experts that would be in the box if you remember when she came to town and she'd use our studio in the depths of channel seven, a building that's been bombed.
00:18:32:03 - 00:18:33:28
Tom Green
I think it's funny.
00:18:34:00 - 00:18:35:03
Speaker 4
In that she.
00:18:35:06 - 00:18:36:26
Tom Green
Moved into a pile.
00:18:36:28 - 00:18:50:23
Speaker 4
Emily Kaplan, she's one of the ones who said we should file a suit for happen to be in our basement one day. We can maybe post photos for everyone to know. We keep bringing it up. I, I did for evidence just to look back on my life.
00:18:50:23 - 00:18:55:00
Woody Paige
I actually went by to watch them tear down channel seven because,
00:18:55:03 - 00:18:56:15
Tom Green
There were some people cheering.
00:18:56:18 - 00:18:58:27
Woody Paige
Yeah, well, they fired me twice. That was the other reason.
00:18:59:01 - 00:18:59:19
Speaker 4
He was one of them.
00:18:59:24 - 00:19:03:12
Tom Green
I worked in that building for three years. He was all good. It's all good.
00:19:03:15 - 00:19:04:21
Speaker 4
Hey, let's go upstairs.
00:19:04:22 - 00:19:11:22
Tom Green
Yeah, I was on the second floor. You could see everything. We talked about quarterbacks a lot. And we're talking about Aaron Rodgers last year.
00:19:11:23 - 00:19:12:21
Woody Paige
Been to Paris?
00:19:12:21 - 00:19:13:06
Tom Green
Oh, yeah.
00:19:13:10 - 00:19:15:28
Woody Paige
Did you ever go into the catacomb?
00:19:16:00 - 00:19:17:27
Tom Green
Oh. With the the skulls and all the. Yeah.
00:19:17:28 - 00:19:20:06
Woody Paige
Yeah that's what that's where our studio was.
00:19:20:07 - 00:19:24:13
Tom Green
Wasn't that nice. There's a little less finished code.
00:19:24:15 - 00:19:25:18
Woody Paige
We called it the tombs.
00:19:25:18 - 00:19:26:11
Tom Green
Down there.
00:19:26:13 - 00:19:31:07
Woody Paige
That we broadcast skeletons that for former weather people at title.
00:19:31:07 - 00:19:52:01
Tom Green
So that's where they go. Hey, the, Aaron Rodgers, has entered the portal. The question is, is he Portland on his way out to retirement or. You know, I thought it was most interesting to watch him last night. And the Texans just battered him. And it was, you know, with Justin Herbert and Aaron Rodgers. Had no fun this weekend playing playoff games.
00:19:52:04 - 00:20:15:17
Tom Green
Rodgers, though, has become in the last few years, of course, a mercenary quarterback. And when he left the field last night, I get the feeling I mean, he was alone. That wasn't like he had his teammates or his buddy or somebody there with him. He was a lonely figure and he's earned that. He's been a guy, an aloof guy, a difficult guy.
00:20:15:17 - 00:20:28:18
Tom Green
A lot of people, teammates and opponents have talked about him in less than flattering ways. He can still throw it a bit. He just can't move. He can't throw this far. And I'm not sure he's the magic man anymore.
00:20:28:21 - 00:20:42:25
Woody Paige
I do study history, and there was a history of him possibly coming to Denver. They hired his offensive coordinator, to be the coach here. And there was talk that, you know, instead of Russell Wilson, they were going after Aaron Rodgers.
00:20:42:26 - 00:20:44:04
Tom Green
Nathaniel Hackett.
00:20:44:07 - 00:21:31:22
Woody Paige
Yeah. And I have a feeling of we saw this in John Elway at the end. He was the MVP against the Atlanta Falcons. But he still didn't have quite the same zip on the ball. He couldn't use really his legs and his feet like he did before. And that happened with Peyton Manning. We saw with Aaron Rodgers last night that if he had come to Denver, they wouldn't be in this position that they didn't draft Josh Allen, that they did draft Paxton Lynch, that they did have a string of coaches come through three that weren't successful, that it just took a long while to get where they needed to get back to being
00:21:31:22 - 00:21:40:04
Woody Paige
the Denver Broncos of the Peyton Manning, because Peyton was not even when they won Super Bowl 50. Peyton was, on fumes.
00:21:40:04 - 00:22:00:09
Tom Green
So that's what I'm looking at because you talk about John Elway in the Super Bowl beating the Falcons and Peyton Manning in Super Bowl 50, you know, doing just enough to help the Broncos win that championship. And you look at Rodgers last night and you look at some of the the older quarterbacks. And I think if you played the Super Bowl in week four they'd be fine.
00:22:00:09 - 00:22:18:17
Tom Green
But the Super Bowl is like week 22 by then. Whatever they had in the tank in August has been spent on the way to December and January. And you know, Rodgers, you know, it seems like he had told the, the ESPN crew in their pregame meetings that this was probably going to be his last game.
00:22:18:17 - 00:22:35:24
Tom Green
So we're likely going to hear that, Mike Tomlin also with an uncertain future. He would be another guy, though, who would jump into if he is leaving, which way it goes. Who knows. But if he leaves the Steelers, he would also go to the top of many teams. Wish list to be their next coach.
00:22:35:25 - 00:22:37:09
Woody Paige
Maybe ball, but Baltimore.
00:22:37:09 - 00:22:41:19
Tom Green
Yeah. If they could switch Harbaugh, go to Pittsburgh.
00:22:41:22 - 00:22:44:24
Woody Paige
Because they've played like 44 times, have a date against each.
00:22:44:24 - 00:22:47:09
Tom Green
Other 18 years. One and 19 years to do that. Yeah.
00:22:47:10 - 00:23:09:07
Woody Paige
And I told you before we went on the air if I were c I. That's why I'm not in the NFL. One of 8000 reasons I'm not an NFL coach, because if I were, the former Baltimore coach and I had my choice of seven different places, which he will, I'd go to Miami just because I'd like to have a nice house down there and whether or not it's all good.
00:23:09:10 - 00:23:33:03
Tom Green
So, John Harbaugh, it sounds like the Giants really want him to come there. Whether or not I don't know if they know Tomlin will or won't be available, but, yeah, the jobs are always tricky because I tend to think I think the most difficult job to take with a terrific upside is the Raider job, because that kid, the Indiana quarterback, is going to give you a lot of latitude.
00:23:33:03 - 00:23:47:22
Tom Green
And, I think they've talked about the last few years. The number one draft pick quarterback has got his coach fired before the the end of the season. You know, it happened this year with Tennessee and Cam Ward that if you pick number one you get your quarterback. You're going to be one and eight. They're going to run you out.
00:23:47:24 - 00:24:02:15
Tom Green
But if you're the Raiders they're in a pretty good spot. You know you have salary cap issues. Every team does. But you get a rookie quarterback on his salary and you can pay a coach anything you want. Go get the guy you want.
00:24:02:18 - 00:24:21:00
Woody Paige
After we've seen the first round, we haven't seen the two teams that are number one seats, the Broncos and the Seahawks. Where would you send today on best? Forget the Seahawks and the Broncos for a moment. What's the best team you've seen?
00:24:21:02 - 00:24:45:29
Tom Green
You know it's funny I don't think it shook up that much watching the games this weekend. So it's hard to evaluate the Seahawks and the Broncos without having played this week. The Seahawks have been a much steadier ride over the last month or so than the Broncos have been, so I'd put them slightly ahead of Denver. As far as the teams that played, I think we expected the Rams to throw a throw a haymaker and nail Carolina and that that turned into a struggle.
00:24:46:01 - 00:24:56:01
Tom Green
So I think you take them down a peg. The 40 niners, I don't know what they have left. I mean they keep you know throwing another rod every time they, they they change gears.
00:24:56:01 - 00:25:02:05
Woody Paige
And every time I see, Christian McCaffrey get the ball, I think about him running up and down the hill like Castle Rock.
00:25:02:05 - 00:25:02:12
Tom Green
Yeah.
00:25:02:19 - 00:25:07:19
Woody Paige
Because that's what he does. Well when he's not, hurt. So he's injured a lot.
00:25:07:19 - 00:25:33:21
Tom Green
But so is it the Patriots the quarterback looks really good. And you know that was he hasn't played great competition yet. And that doesn't take anything away from it. But their defense they've shredded the Chargers. They look great Houston if C.J. Stroud had played well you'd like to say Houston because their defense dictated. But you know as we talked about all year, all these teams have flaws.
00:25:33:21 - 00:25:40:06
Tom Green
All these teams have strengths. There's no clear number one team in the National Football League. What are your thoughts?
00:25:40:06 - 00:25:46:12
Woody Paige
I think see how the Seahawks was close to being that team as possible.
00:25:46:12 - 00:25:55:18
Tom Green
But if they had to go on the road, would you feel I mean they're good enough to win on the road, but playing up there you know it's like the Broncos. That's a big, big advantage.
00:25:55:21 - 00:26:19:22
Woody Paige
The Texans fell last night for me, who I thought was going to be the best team out of the AFC because Stroud, since he was injured and lost and they lost to the Broncos, he hasn't been the same quarterback even though they've won all those games. Right. But he struggled at quarterback and they've been so dependent on their defense much like the Broncos.
00:26:19:22 - 00:26:30:26
Woody Paige
Yeah. So I kind of brought them not out of first place in the AFC, but low first place. How does that make any sense to you.
00:26:30:26 - 00:26:33:20
Tom Green
Yeah. Well it's also you get into matchups.
00:26:33:23 - 00:26:47:22
Woody Paige
So you know I was watching the Patriots. So closely because we've set here all year long. People including myself have thought they're really not that great. They can't be that great. Well they could be. Yeah it could be.
00:26:47:22 - 00:26:53:21
Tom Green
Well that's going to be I think a fascinating matchup. The next game for them with Houston and New England.
00:26:53:21 - 00:27:18:26
Woody Paige
Because I was hoping from my viewpoint I was hoping that they'd get somebody like the Chargers or the Steelers. They got the bills and then I was hoping they'd get the Patriots here. I don't know that you want the Patriots back here, which has happened in the past. And the Broncos did beat them with Peyton Manning. But again that team looks extremely good so far in the AFC.
00:27:18:29 - 00:27:31:14
Woody Paige
And then in the NFC. We still do have to watch the Seahawks. And the other teams really don't know bears. I'm not
00:27:31:16 - 00:27:52:06
Tom Green
The bears have a have a tough, tough test this week. Well we'll see. But I mean that was a I thought Brandon McManus and the Packers kept shoving that game into the bears lap. It was amazing. All that had to happen not by the bears but for the bears. And they did make the plays that were.
00:27:52:12 - 00:28:02:01
Woody Paige
Yeah, I'm laughing at you because we say Josh Allen and the bills, will say, May and the Patriots and you're saying Brendan McVeigh.
00:28:02:03 - 00:28:37:04
Tom Green
Yes. And the Packers. Yeah. Yes. Well, it's like Gladys Knight and the pips without Gladys Knight. So let's talk about the, the college football championship game in a minute. But first, I want to remind you about our sponsor here on After the Horn. Our friends at American Financing want to remind you that if you're a homeowner, it is time to get rid of the debt from last year and start 2026 with the stress free start, the fed is dropping rates again in American financing can access your home's equity at rates in the low fives, which is a fraction of what you might be paying for credit cards.
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Tom Green
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00:29:00:28 - 00:29:23:06
Tom Green
Green American financing Colorado's home for home loans. All right. What do we get ready for national championship game? I think it's astounding that the game in Miami with the Miami Hurricanes has them as a seven and a half point underdog to the University of Indiana. And I think that tells you a lot about Indiana.
00:29:23:08 - 00:29:55:27
Woody Paige
Now, we've been talking about the Broncos and the home field and how that could be the difference in the game, really against what we see from the bills this week. However, as you just said, Miami's playing at home and there doesn't seem to be any home field advantage because I think everybody in the United States maybe around the world on all the ships that are in the sea between here and Venezuela, that people think that, have finally figured out Indiana is for real.
00:29:55:29 - 00:30:06:00
Woody Paige
I think there was still a 20%, 25% people said that. Yeah. Let's see, let's say are for real that that is a that is a great college football team.
00:30:06:02 - 00:30:23:07
Tom Green
They're the most impressive team, in football period this year. And what happened I think, like you said, is people like the story. They had a soft Big Ten schedule, you know, so they cruise right on through their unbeaten like they were a year ago. Okay. Let's see how good you really are. And then they beat Ohio State.
00:30:23:10 - 00:30:45:24
Tom Green
But then I mean they've waxed everybody since. And that coach that's going to be somebody. He's going to chase him with some money. And he's a different cat Kurt Petty. But if you're the Raiders and you're going to draft his quarterback with number one pick, would you think about saying, here's our checkbook, just put in a number you like and you can be the new coach the Las Vegas Raiders.
00:30:46:00 - 00:30:58:27
Woody Paige
Yeah. And I think I told you and Ron a couple of weeks ago that he's not like him, but he has a personality that is unlike any other quarterback to come along since Tim Tebow. Yeah. In terms of.
00:30:59:02 - 00:30:59:17
Tom Green
Mendoza.
00:30:59:17 - 00:31:22:21
Woody Paige
Yeah. Just in the, overcoming the neighborhood vote I want to put I mean, he's in the middle of everything. He was being interviewed three times by the same network, ESPN that I used to work for, that he was going from sideline to. Oh yeah, let me go on the show this back in Bristol. Now I'm going to do the one where I get the know.
00:31:22:24 - 00:31:45:28
Woody Paige
He is such a personality, but he's such a really, really good quarterback that even though they were blowing out the team, he wouldn't let his younger brother come play in the game until it was about 10s left. Guess what? Home field advantage. The brothers, the quarterback brothers for Indiana live about eight miles away from the stadium.
00:31:45:28 - 00:32:05:07
Tom Green
Yeah, they wanted to as well. He wanted to play at Miami. Miami didn't have time for him. Good luck. So I think of all these college football teams that had the quarterback kind of came from nowhere. You know, whether it's it's you know, Doug Flutie and C or Drew Brees at Purdue or John Elway in Stanford. And you're a one man band.
00:32:05:07 - 00:32:25:26
Tom Green
And eventually you run into the team that says, yeah, we're we're not going to let you beat us. Indiana, on the other hand, shows up and beats you at every turn. They've won almost every play of these last two games. I mean, they are dictating and dominating, running the line of scrimmage, running the football, killing people on defense.
00:32:25:28 - 00:32:48:15
Tom Green
And Mendoza makes a lot of it happen. But they are so impressive. I think it's a we're going to talk about it on our on our betting show. I think that's a really hard line because if you think you're going to get Miami at home as good as they're playing and you're going to say, and I get seven and a half points, how do you pass?
00:32:48:18 - 00:33:04:07
Woody Paige
And there their questions going into the game that Indiana had with Oregon, about which quarterback here is going to be the best and will be drafted number one, that was ended pretty quickly when Moore struggled. Interceptions. Right. Well.
00:33:04:09 - 00:33:07:03
Tom Green
Pressured though they made a lot of that happen.
00:33:07:03 - 00:33:24:29
Woody Paige
Yeah. And Mendoza's is qualified to be number one qualified to go to the Raiders. Is that the spot for his personality? Yeah I I'm not certain about that. Although that franchise had a guy called a snake that had a personality that I.
00:33:24:29 - 00:33:26:17
Tom Green
Really he would have had a good time.
00:33:26:17 - 00:33:53:21
Woody Paige
Kenny Stabler we're talking about. Yeah. So I think that it's going to be a close game. I don't think Indiana's come blow the hurricanes out, no pun intended. Whether pun intended there. But, because they are playing at home, they should be comfortable. That is a tough, a hard, tough team that you're playing in Miami. But Indiana is so good.
00:33:53:21 - 00:34:01:10
Woody Paige
I they're better than Big Ten team to Big Ten teams I think that have won previously.
00:34:01:10 - 00:34:05:07
Tom Green
They look like they can do whatever they want. They can they can run it, they can throw it. They can.
00:34:05:07 - 00:34:23:01
Woody Paige
Stop. And I think their coach, even though he's got that staid look on his face, you know, he's he felt he opened up a little bit of the game talking about wanting to have a beer and and he did smile a couple of times. But he is he's, he's been a success everywhere he's been. But do you think of James Madison?
00:34:23:01 - 00:34:40:13
Tom Green
Do we know him well enough to reject him like I do into the NFL because of the the bottomless well of money? And, you know, maybe Indiana will offer him the same thing to stay or whatever, but do you project him like, you know, coaching college nowadays is more like the pros. But that used to be a big difference.
00:34:40:15 - 00:35:02:29
Woody Paige
I think two things. One, he acts and coaches like a guy he actually coached under, and that's Nick Saban. And he kind of reminds you of that in the way his appearances on the side. I never seem too happy about what's going on, but two if if I'm a guy like that.
00:35:03:01 - 00:35:21:25
Woody Paige
And I'm not. But I look at all the college coaches that have failed in the NFL and if you were to look at those numbers over the years that I've covered NFL, that's 40 or 50 years that people like Steve Spurrier just died on the by.
00:35:21:25 - 00:35:23:09
Tom Green
Lou Holtz, Nick Saban.
00:35:23:09 - 00:35:30:08
Woody Paige
Going, I just think that you found your spot. Saban went to Miami and was a failure.
00:35:30:08 - 00:35:48:10
Tom Green
I it's funny though because as you say it, I think there is the gap between the college game and the pro game then was enormous. The player thing was different and now I the college game isn't all that different from the National Football League. It might be better because there's no real salary cap. You just pay more players.
00:35:48:10 - 00:36:16:12
Woody Paige
But I think as a college coach and I think about Urban Meyer and I, I've known him over the years. Urban Meyer was a total, total failure. He didn't last through the year on the NFL approach and went back to college. And that wasn't even a real success for him. I think that there's such a different relationship between the players and the college players.
00:36:16:12 - 00:36:29:01
Woody Paige
Still, despite what we're seeing with the portal here in Boulder, Colorado, all over the country, 33% of the players entered the portal this year. They still listen to the coach.
00:36:29:04 - 00:36:30:03
Tom Green
Yeah, ultimate.
00:36:30:03 - 00:36:51:00
Woody Paige
NFL. They don't really listen to the coaches. So you can't have the same kind of and I think that's I've tried to figure out over the years why it doesn't work for anybody. The Chargers had a guy that coached national championships at Oklahoma and he failed miserably. And I mean, you go down a line you mentioned Lou Holtz was a complete.
00:36:51:02 - 00:36:51:15
Tom Green
Yeah.
00:36:51:15 - 00:36:52:25
Woody Paige
Waste of time.
00:36:52:27 - 00:36:54:24
Tom Green
Great college football coach Spurrier.
00:36:54:24 - 00:37:00:16
Woody Paige
Was I mean but Spurrier having been an NFL player, still failed as a coach in the pros.
00:37:00:16 - 00:37:21:19
Tom Green
So the portal, is busy. Here in Colorado, I think a lot of people were were shocked or at least taken aback by Jordan Seton, the big left tackle for the buffs announcing that he's in the portal and, he's obviously off to to greener pastures, more money and likely, a better chance to play for a national championship.
00:37:21:19 - 00:37:35:18
Tom Green
So we'll see what happens there. But, quarterbacks are moving around. Lane Kiffin is, I'm sure, waving money at all sorts of people. But see, and that's, that's a big problem for for Prime and the buffs.
00:37:35:25 - 00:38:04:26
Woody Paige
I've maintained having watched the, the buffs, since they play in Liberty Bowl when I was, a columnist in the Memphis Commercial Appeal and beginning then to now, I think it's such a tough place to recruit to because black players come in and I'm being straight about this and they don't feel very comfortable for the most part, unless they're from around here like Phillip Lindsay.
00:38:04:29 - 00:38:18:08
Woody Paige
And he grew up here. He, he still loves Boulder and every part of it. But I just think it when you now have a portal situation it's going to be more difficult. Deon can get players to play for him but they're getting to.
00:38:18:11 - 00:38:21:02
Tom Green
Get him to come. But getting him to stay is a different way.
00:38:21:04 - 00:38:27:07
Woody Paige
I think that's going to be a real problem because they're having more exiting and they are.
00:38:27:09 - 00:38:51:17
Tom Green
Some people are saying that the C's actually doing pretty well in the portal. I mean, I can never judge that. I don't I don't look at tape on, you know, defensive tackles from SMU and stuff like that. But if they are but it's a different pressure mounting in and around the CU football program because the size of the commitment to be in the game currently in college football is a giant financial commitment.
00:38:51:19 - 00:39:00:23
Tom Green
And Sean Keeler wrote about it, with, with, you know, some of the boosters saying that nobody's got any loyalty as far as you write a kid a check, he's there for a year and then he's gone.
00:39:00:24 - 00:39:17:03
Woody Paige
Mark Kessler said the same thing in regard to the to to columnist writing about, you know, they don't have the backing that Texas Tech has. For instance, I mean, spending tens and tens of millions of dollars.
00:39:17:03 - 00:39:31:12
Tom Green
So can you stay in the game? Should you stay in the game? Like, is there know like what echelon are you in? Because if you're not in the top 25, top 40 teams in, you know, college football, what are you doing?
00:39:31:14 - 00:39:55:28
Woody Paige
Well, one of the previous, athletic directors decided that they go to the Pac 12 because Colorado has so many alumni that are based in California, and people come to Colorado, and then they go back to where they came from. Yeah. They don't stay here for the most part, although there's a, you know, base. And I don't want to get people saying, well, you're wrong.
00:39:56:01 - 00:40:11:05
Woody Paige
You know, I may see you graduate, but they they come here and then they go back, like, if you go to Tennessee where I went school, you go to Tennessee and you stay there, right? You're not going to Colorado, although there's a group of about eight people.
00:40:11:08 - 00:40:11:10
Tom Green
In.
00:40:11:11 - 00:40:33:09
Woody Paige
Colorado. I think that that makes it more difficult for them to have the alumni support financially because those people are not based in Colorado. I don't know whether I'm making sense, but I accept to me that they don't have. They had Jack Vickers for a long period of time that brought in coaches and paid coaches. And you pay.
00:40:33:11 - 00:40:34:26
Woody Paige
There's one guy, Fairbanks.
00:40:34:26 - 00:40:36:08
Tom Green
Right. And you brought in Chuck Fairbanks.
00:40:36:08 - 00:41:03:02
Woody Paige
Yeah, yeah, there's there's one guy in Colorado that is a c, U alum who is worth a ton of money, but he's the only one. If you look at the top ten richest people in Colorado, none of them are Colorado graduates. Right? So you're not having that base of billionaires. And I know billionaires are talked about in this country.
00:41:03:09 - 00:41:17:00
Woody Paige
They don't have the large money people that even Colorado State has. Carlos State has someone who's in the top five that basically paid for much of the stadium up there. And,
00:41:17:03 - 00:41:34:27
Tom Green
You talk about Pat Stryker, but it's it's got to feel like a good investment, though. Like you have to feel like if I'm going to write a big check, we're going to go nine and two, and we're going to play in a big bowl game, or we might weasel into the, the, the playoff or, you know, the playoffs expanding.
00:41:35:00 - 00:41:44:20
Tom Green
But if if you're looking at it going, I'm just going to, you know, drop in a bunch of money here and go sit for five Saturdays out at Folsom Field, watch the team go four and eight. That that's not.
00:41:44:20 - 00:42:13:23
Woody Paige
Great. I've, I've talked to two reason why I, have said some of the things to to prominent Denver attorneys who would school it to you. And they said it's not worth this to invest the kind of money that we did for a couple of three years because a, you don't have, I just heard the basketball coach at Colorado talking about how difficult it is for them to fill.
00:42:13:23 - 00:42:36:16
Woody Paige
What it's not a big. Yeah, bring up their 11,000 seats. And he said we've had serious problems. One game this year that's come close to being a major crowd and talking to guys I believe in who invested it. They said we still don't know how long Dion's going to be there. We don't know that players will stay in Colorado for 2 or 3 years.
00:42:36:18 - 00:42:45:22
Woody Paige
One of them said to me, okay, Louis is going to be a good quarterback, maybe a great quarterback. Is he going to stay? If he has a good year, is he going to want to go?
00:42:45:22 - 00:43:05:09
Tom Green
There's that. There's been that arc of excitement with Dion and where it was vertical. And it is not only flattened, it has started to descend now. Or people are wondering, you know, what is the long term look? Because I think, you know, obviously you had Scheider and Travis and you know, you you could beat anybody with that team.
00:43:05:09 - 00:43:22:29
Tom Green
You weren't gonna you weren't favored in every game, but you could beat anybody. And then it's, it's become, you know, it's unrivaled on the field at times games where they're getting blown out, like where they have theoretically all the Louis Vuitton luggage that he brought with them, and yet they're getting smoked.
00:43:23:02 - 00:43:28:08
Woody Paige
That's why I say to you that schools like Georgia.
00:43:28:11 - 00:43:45:01
Woody Paige
Florida are not winning the national championship. Georgia's won it recently, but they have a base of people that live in Georgia and Florida that are going to power means. And we see that in Texas, and we see that in California.
00:43:45:01 - 00:43:46:24
Tom Green
If a religion or a Colorado.
00:43:46:24 - 00:44:22:22
Woody Paige
Yes, if you are a Colorado based person like you and I that were born here, we have allegiances to other places. Sure. And so if I'm Mark Cuban and I own the Dallas Mavericks, but I went to Indiana. Is he he has done a lot for Indiana, but he's from somewhere else. When Indiana has Mark Cuban and and the University of Texas has 18.
00:44:22:25 - 00:44:47:27
Tom Green
Mark Cuban plenty of money. So let's stay with money and move to the NBA because the nuggets go to New Orleans, off of and another one of these wins they've had in during this injured and sick time that they've had a difficult time patching together lineups. Peyton Watson helps them beat Milwaukee Peyton Watson's named the player of the week in the NBA's Western Conference.
00:44:48:00 - 00:45:12:23
Tom Green
Peyton Watson hasn't got paid yet, is coming up on his deal, but he's taken the minutes he's gotten, which he was playing when everyone was healthy, too. But he's now becoming one of those linchpin guys as they try to get through the non Jokic weeks. But everyone I talked to says that the nuggets can't pay him. They get stuck again like they did back when Bruce Brown could.
00:45:12:23 - 00:45:16:01
Tom Green
They couldn't afford Bruce Brown after the championship year.
00:45:16:03 - 00:45:44:07
Woody Paige
He's not Kobe Bryant. And I start talking about Peyton Watson I wrote a major column about him in his rookie year and what I figured out about him is he was going to take 3 or 4 years. And again, I'm not I'm not comparing him to Kobe Bryant, but Kobe Bryant came in the league and ordered and out of high school and averaged eight points a game in his first year.
00:45:44:07 - 00:45:50:23
Woody Paige
Yeah. And he it took him 3 or 4 years paid what Peyton Watson played like eight games.
00:45:50:28 - 00:45:51:21
Tom Green
Yeah.
00:45:51:23 - 00:46:04:12
Woody Paige
He was you know a pandemic pandemic baby basically. Right. He was going through that period of time. And he didn't he didn't really see a lot of action high school even UCLA.
00:46:04:12 - 00:46:04:23
Tom Green
All right.
00:46:04:23 - 00:46:29:02
Woody Paige
Yeah. And he he was like a six point a game guy at UCLA I think he's finally two things have happened. One is he's finally figured it out that at number two is he had to figure it out because it's a year he is coming up working to get his contract. So I think those two things have inspired him.
00:46:29:04 - 00:46:55:25
Woody Paige
And the third is, that he's got to do something because they got nobody else that really with this. You know, Gordon is back, but he's on a time limit. Yeah, well, but Watson can probably when they get the full team back, he's not going to have the same sort of strength on the court that he has now.
00:46:55:27 - 00:47:15:26
Woody Paige
But he's going to have so much strength during the offseason because, oh yeah, a lot of teams are going to want him. I find it funny we're talking about him that the nuggets traded away Michael Porter Jr. And he may be traded again in another 2 or 3 weeks. And I when he's the best player that they've got.
00:47:15:29 - 00:47:16:12
Woody Paige
Brooklyn.
00:47:16:14 - 00:47:38:04
Tom Green
Well yeah. But Brooklyn you know as always it's next year for Brooklyn. So this is an interesting way to look at at the nuggets right now. And the Calvin Booth Michael Malone and how that thing ended with the nuclear option. Josh Cronk saying he let it get out of hand because we're starting to see the guys that Calvin Booth picked that Michael Malone didn't play.
00:47:38:07 - 00:48:01:16
Tom Green
They weren't playing here for David Adelman until everyone got hurt either. But Zeke Nagy, who people have considered a disaster. Not only is they, they, you know, drafted him, but now recently have given him a new contract. Jalen Pickett, Peyton Watson I mean, all these guys that Calvin Booth saw something in and you know, you said Peyton Watson was not like everybody was dying to draft Peyton Watson.
00:48:01:16 - 00:48:11:16
Tom Green
He was a he was a speculative pick. But will history be kinder to Calvin Booth because of the way these guys are playing right now?
00:48:11:22 - 00:48:32:16
Woody Paige
Let me take another side to that. Reading last night. There is a expert NBA opinion list who said the midway executives of the year are two guys with the Denver Nuggets.
00:48:32:16 - 00:48:34:04
Tom Green
Yeah, but they don't.
00:48:34:04 - 00:48:34:15
Woody Paige
Get.
00:48:34:18 - 00:48:54:15
Tom Green
That mean. They did do the work, of course. But these guys, some of these guys have been sitting over there, you know, six seats down from Michael Malone and David Adelman for 2 or 3 years, you know, on garbage time maybe, you know, or but these guys haven't been seeing the floor. And when they get out on the floor, it looks like, you know what, these guys are pretty good.
00:48:54:18 - 00:49:13:14
Woody Paige
Well, I'm going to get up at a press conference if Michael Malone ever has another one and say, you did a great job, coach. Don't feel bad that you didn't use those players, that you didn't win another championship. You had such a great year when you won a championship by doing it your way.
00:49:13:17 - 00:49:14:19
Tom Green
Is that Jacksonville?
00:49:14:19 - 00:49:25:17
Woody Paige
Is that good as well? No, but I, Michael Malone did what had to be done at that point that I've got to just use these guys up.
00:49:25:17 - 00:49:30:06
Tom Green
So he lived minute to minute. Exactly. And the GM was living month to month, year to year.
00:49:30:06 - 00:49:36:10
Woody Paige
And so then they you don't win again and you have Jamal Murray Murray hurt. Jamal hurt.
00:49:36:11 - 00:49:37:02
Tom Green
Jamal hurry.
00:49:37:08 - 00:49:55:01
Woody Paige
Hurry back to ball over again. Once again it's got, he he plays with injuries all the time. But I think that, that Malone was what was right. Ben and Adam all is what's right now that makes it.
00:49:55:01 - 00:49:58:05
Tom Green
Yeah, I could see. See that working that he's.
00:49:58:05 - 00:50:15:09
Woody Paige
Working with the 4 or 5 guys that, never got to play, and he's been forced to play them. And he is managed to be an architect of an entirely different team than the Denver Nuggets were a month and a.
00:50:15:09 - 00:50:28:19
Tom Green
Half back to be. No. He's he's patching it together very well. He's asking guys to play above their weight and they are and I think they're enjoying it. I think the guys who aren't playing are also enjoying see the guys who don't.
00:50:28:26 - 00:50:34:16
Woody Paige
And I think not only Adelman, but we got to give credit to their new coach.
00:50:34:18 - 00:50:36:12
Tom Green
Your big man a big fella.
00:50:36:13 - 00:50:43:06
Woody Paige
Yeah. I mean, they're down the last five seconds. It's not out of them. It's talking to the teammates. You get your style.
00:50:43:09 - 00:50:47:08
Tom Green
Players like Peyton Watson who are all in there. Look him. They when he
00:50:47:08 - 00:51:03:25
Tom Green
speaks he is E.F. Hutton I mean they are whatever you say because Nikola knows he's the instrument. It'll be interesting. I don't I don't know that there's a good answer to how they or if they can do any of this going forward, because there's only so much time in the day.
00:51:03:25 - 00:51:26:21
Tom Green
And when those guys are all healthy, the Broncos, the nuggets put out a, you know, five man roster that can win a championship. It's finding time for those next 5 or 6 guys that have all earned it, you know, through December into January. Now, finding minutes, finding free minutes where they don't have to just play and stand somewhere and wait for Nikola to make a decision, but to play the game he wants him to play.
00:51:26:25 - 00:51:38:25
Woody Paige
Yeah. And and I think I told you, Tom, that I, I think that, Oklahoma City was a runaway with the nuggets being healthy.
00:51:38:26 - 00:51:39:26
Tom Green
Yeah.
00:51:39:28 - 00:51:50:04
Woody Paige
I think if you remember the nuggets, they played Oklahoma City better than anybody last year. Almost beat them. Yeah. Came close. Didn't have a bench to well.
00:51:50:04 - 00:51:51:04
Tom Green
They barely had starters.
00:51:51:04 - 00:52:13:16
Woody Paige
They were sorry I think it's a team that if because we've got, four guys still hurt that if they, can pull this together for the last 15 games of the season. That there's going to be a struggle because even the Suns are playing go.
00:52:13:16 - 00:52:17:17
Tom Green
No, it's the Western Conference is a knife fight. It's going to be hard to get out of the West.
00:52:17:17 - 00:52:44:05
Woody Paige
So it's going to be not impossible. But it's going to be improbable that they can win a championship because they're going to have to pull all these people together. The guys that are playing now, the guys are not playing now, but I think it is going to be an interesting playoff run because the West is covered. I mean, you have the Clippers that are playing well now, right?
00:52:44:07 - 00:53:08:12
Woody Paige
I think what's interesting, twisting the story now to the avalanche that their plays are talking about, there's a lot of teams playing extremely well in the National Hockey League now. And people including myself, thought that, oh man, they could run away with another championship this year. The players are saying there are a lot of people that are right on our heels here.
00:53:08:17 - 00:53:32:21
Tom Green
Well, now, right now, because they they were fighting with Dallas in Minnesota trying to pull away from. But they have they're a dozen points clear of those two teams. And then those two teams are almost ten or dozen points clear of the next group. So, and the Avs even found, you know, another goalie, Trent Miner, shows up and pitches a shutout and gets them to overtime against the Leafs.
00:53:32:23 - 00:53:44:22
Woody Paige
I ask you, before we went on air, I said, how many players are in the Olympics from the avalanche? And I just considered that it was going to be the most of any National Hockey League team.
00:53:44:22 - 00:53:45:23
Tom Green
The third best.
00:53:45:27 - 00:53:46:08
Woody Paige
Yeah.
00:53:46:08 - 00:53:47:09
Tom Green
And they have eight you.
00:53:47:09 - 00:53:47:18
Woody Paige
Know it.
00:53:47:18 - 00:54:06:25
Tom Green
Up. They have eight players. The Tampa Bay lightning have ten. And there's another team that has nine. But so they have ten games now before this Olympic break. And so you wonder how this this stretch goes for the Avs at this point. You know how you put the bow on what's been an incredible first half of the season?
00:54:06:25 - 00:54:32:13
Tom Green
I mean are you going to race to the line. We shall see. Because if they race to the line, I think the break will be fine with them. If they play great hockey over these next couple of weeks and get get to the Olympic break playing great. You know, then most of you know, half the team gets to rest and then they can come back and go about finishing the job because the way they've played this year, what if they put themselves in a terrible spot?
00:54:32:15 - 00:54:36:26
Tom Green
If you're this good, it's the whole thing or nothing.
00:54:36:29 - 00:54:51:06
Woody Paige
I want to touch base on the pun intended there on a couple of other local issues in Colorado and Denver. Well, three Lindsey Vonn has a chance of winning another medal.
00:54:51:13 - 00:54:52:05
Tom Green
I mean, again.
00:54:52:07 - 00:55:07:26
Woody Paige
We thought maybe, you know, she's been inducted into the Colorado Hall of Fame Skiing Hall of Fame. I thought her rest of her life would be just, you know, hanging out there, but yeah. Yeah. Doing that. And she's won two races. And so that's that's an interesting aspect.
00:55:07:26 - 00:55:12:06
Tom Green
She might be the Olympic favorite in the women's downhill right now. The way she's racing.
00:55:12:08 - 00:55:44:05
Woody Paige
And speaking of women in sports, I think that 90% of people in Colorado don't know that maybe the best soccer player ever to come out of Colorado is coming back to Colorado. And the Rapids have spent, what, 25 years? They've won one championship. But the Rapids are trying to re repurpose themselves. But the new women's Major soccer league has brought the best player ever to come out of Colorado back here.
00:55:44:05 - 00:56:02:16
Tom Green
We knew her as Lindsey Horan. Now she's Lindsay Heaps, but she's really excited, of course, to be part of the Denver Summit. I mentioned it a couple weeks ago. I think the Rapids can chase it all they want in the MLS, but they're chasing the summit now. The summit haven't played yet. The summit are going to have a full building.
00:56:02:16 - 00:56:26:17
Tom Green
The summit are going to put at least Lindsay Heaps and other recognizable players on the field. You think of maybe Mallory Pugh Swanson or Sophia Smith. I forget her now married name, but it's like there are Colorado women who will put people in seats in the summit. There. They're going to be a story. And if the rapids are thinking of changing their colors, they might want to get lined up with the summit.
00:56:26:20 - 00:56:38:10
Woody Paige
Yeah. I want to address another issue that I saw is beginning to heat up. The players in Major League Baseball want nothing to do with the salary cap.
00:56:38:14 - 00:56:38:23
Tom Green
Yep.
00:56:38:27 - 00:56:59:02
Woody Paige
We know that Rich teams want nothing to do with the salary cap. I have this thought that the person that is ruined baseball in Colorado may be on her way to trying to ruin Major League Baseball.
00:56:59:04 - 00:56:59:25
Tom Green
Well.
00:56:59:28 - 00:57:21:13
Woody Paige
In you, you get it. I don't know that everybody listening or watching me or saying this, but it's interesting that the same guy that owns the Rockies is going to be basically in charge for the major league executives and owners to fight the players over the bargaining conditions and contract.
00:57:21:13 - 00:57:35:29
Tom Green
It's affected this offseason in the way I think players are more inclined to sign their deals now, because I think most people are forecasting next year to being a lockout, a stoppage of some sort, that there will not be baseball.
00:57:35:29 - 00:57:38:03
Woody Paige
And who's in, who's going to be on the owner side?
00:57:38:03 - 00:57:42:11
Tom Green
It'll be it'll be Dick Monfort, at least as one of the heads of the negotiating.
00:57:42:16 - 00:57:59:29
Woody Paige
He's even admitted when he made the changes that one of the reasons he did it, in addition to being major, basically a little younger, but that he wanted to slow down. But he's going to he said he's going to spend the next year working on the new contract with the Baseball Association.
00:57:59:29 - 00:58:22:16
Tom Green
I wouldn't know how the rest of MLB owners feel about it. They want him to fight that fight and they all nobody wants to go chase the Dodgers payroll. I mean, there are 4 or 5 teams that can, but I think most of the owners will back it up. The Major League Baseball players union has always been the strongest union of all the pro sports unions.
00:58:22:17 - 00:58:27:15
Tom Green
Is it any more, do you think.
00:58:27:18 - 00:58:28:23
Woody Paige
I have a thought about it? Yeah.
00:58:28:23 - 00:58:44:23
Tom Green
I wonder if they are. We also have one other baseball note that just came in. I just want to let you know, Nolan Arenado is on the move again. He's leaving the Saint Louis Cardinals. He's going to become an Arizona diamond back. So we'll be seeing him in the National League West again more often. Yeah.
00:58:44:23 - 00:58:49:26
Woody Paige
So he would make one trip in with the Cardinals and now he would be making, what, six trips in.
00:58:50:00 - 00:58:52:01
Tom Green
Yeah. For the Diamondbacks every few weeks.
00:58:52:07 - 00:59:07:02
Woody Paige
I, the interesting aspect of that for me is that the Rockies are finally not going to have to be paying him anymore. I mean, this past season, he was like third on their fourth highest paid player on the Rockies.
00:59:07:07 - 00:59:21:11
Tom Green
Well, and he he it wasn't his, his best season last season. And it was it was a the first time we'd really seen him start to struggle or play more average. As at the plate anyway, than than we remember him here.
00:59:21:13 - 00:59:38:14
Woody Paige
I wasn't aware of that, but they've also, I think, hired or acquired one of their other former stars, and the Diamondbacks are putting on a show trying to become a factor again, which they were, what, 2 or 3 years ago? Three years ago.
00:59:38:18 - 00:59:56:01
Tom Green
Tell you what you know, you think about trying to compete against, you know, the Yankees and Red Sox in the National League East. And it's always a hurricane of money. And the national, the National League West. That's like swimming up white water trying to catch the Dodgers, the US and the Padres and the Giants and now the Diamondbacks.
00:59:56:01 - 01:00:02:08
Tom Green
Seriously. So it's I mean, the tough gets tough, gets going harder all the time.
01:00:02:09 - 01:00:21:15
Woody Paige
Oof I wanted to do well because she sat quietly and politely there. But, we started this show. We're talking about the Broncos and you as a fan, lifelong with your dad. How do you look at this game with the Buffalo Bills?
01:00:21:18 - 01:00:43:27
Speaker 4
Oh, well, that's part of why I didn't try. If I keep quiet, that's primarily. It's either because I'm super upset about what you're saying, and I disagree so strongly that I don't want to get involved or I'll never shut up about it, or I completely agree. And I think that you guys were on the right track, that everything is honestly pretty evenly matched.
01:00:43:29 - 01:01:03:14
Speaker 4
And that the the Broncos will be able to pull through because they are so evenly matched in they're both teams that are kind of fourth quarter teams. They're tied for the most fourth quarter comebacks this season. So I think it'll come back down to the last minute. And it being a home game that like three or so points, that it could potentially be a one-score game.
01:01:03:14 - 01:01:04:12
Tom Green
Do you go to games.
01:01:04:14 - 01:01:05:09
Speaker 4
Every single one.
01:01:05:14 - 01:01:07:27
Tom Green
You go to every single game? Yes. And have forever.
01:01:08:00 - 01:01:09:06
Speaker 4
Yes. Real life.
01:01:09:07 - 01:01:11:17
Tom Green
Does the team know you're there? Did they react to you?
01:01:11:17 - 01:01:29:06
Speaker 4
Of course. Well, they can definitely hear us. You were talking about, sound and crowd and I'm like, no matter what, we're in charge. My we were controlling our section where South stand for making sure people stand up. Oh, okay. Crazy. Oh, yeah. We pride ourselves on that.
01:01:29:06 - 01:01:43:22
Woody Paige
They didn't you didn't go over the the mountain though. You said it's going to be close. But what is what is being close mean. What do you think is going to be the final score?
01:01:43:25 - 01:01:46:28
Speaker 4
Probably like a 27, 24. It's not like.
01:01:46:29 - 01:01:50:08
Tom Green
What I said with the good guys. With the good guys. Yeah.
01:01:50:10 - 01:01:52:15
Speaker 4
Yeah, they're both good. I will say, though.
01:01:52:15 - 01:01:54:28
Woody Paige
Who's going to be on the winning side?
01:01:55:00 - 01:02:08:11
Speaker 4
Hopefully the Broncos. I think the Broncos again if anything just because of home field advantage. Although like within the I, I would like to see the bills go all the way though if it can't be us, I will put that out there.
01:02:08:14 - 01:02:27:21
Tom Green
That would be why Saturday afternoon Natasha, enjoy the game. Thank you. We're going to be talking a little bit more, football on the weekend betting edition of After the Horn. But as always, we thank you for taking the time out to join us. And, if you want to reach Ron. Well, if you reach Ron, let us know where he is.
01:02:27:23 - 01:02:29:04
Woody Paige
He's on assignment.
01:02:29:06 - 01:02:33:25
Tom Green
He's run. Ron is on assignment. Thanks again for joining us. We'll see you back here again next week.