The Drive

Hour 1 of The Drive kicks off with James Merilatt and Kyle Reese cross talking with Dover. The guys recap their Christmases. James questions if Bo Nix could turn into Mac Jones, a rookie QB with a strong first season but didn’t progress after that? Kyle and James react to Russell Wilson’s struggles from yesterday, is Russell Wilson officially washed up? What does the Chiefs win and locking up the number one seed mean for the Broncos? Is Saturday’s game vs the Bengals a “must win” for the Broncos? How did the Broncos bring the “wrong balls” for their game in New York vs the Jets? The Nuggets were in action on Christmas Day and unfortunately fell in Phoenix. Is the lack of effort, competitiveness and attention to detail a fixable problem for the Nuggets? Do all the Nuggets problems stem from Jamal Murray or are their underlying issues for this team?

In hour 2 of The Drive, James Merilatt and Kyle Reese breakdown the Buffs upcoming bowl game. Are the guys interested in the Buffs bowl game which will most likely be the last time Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter suit up in a CU jersey? We pivot the Broncos as they gear up for a game with the Bengals with playoff implications on the line. Would a Broncos win convince the guys the Broncos can compete with the best teams in the league? Would a 9-8 season for the Broncos still be a successful season? Today’s “Three Count” includes Teddy Bridgewater returning to the Lions after coaching to a high school state championship, the NFL stepping on the NBA’s toes and having games on Christmas Day, and recapping the first round of the College Football Playoff. James and Kyle debate who the third best quarterback is in Broncos history and take your suggestions from the text-line.

In hour 3 of The Drive, James Merilatt and Kyle Reese breakdown the Broncos playoff matchup in what is most likely the Broncos heading to Buffalo to take on Josh Allen and the Bills. Are the Broncos built to contend with the top teams in the NFL at this point in Bo Nix’s career? Who on the Broncos current defense would start on the Broncos 2015 Super Bowl champion defense? Would Joe Burrow and the Bengals be more intriguing for NFL fans to watch in the playoffs over Bo Nix and the Broncos? Will the Broncos be better equipped to take on the weather when they head to Cincinnati than when the Broncos struggled vs the Jets? James questions if Bo Nix is “special” and capable of elevating a team around him?

In hour 4 of The Drive, James Merilatt and Kyle Reese continue their conversation on Bo Nix and if he is “special” or closer to a Mac Jones, Daniel Jones or Trevor Simien? Has Bo Nix proven he is the next franchise quarterback of the Broncos? Is it more likely that Bo Nix leads the Broncos to Super Bowls, or his rookie season is his best season as a pro? We pivot to the Nuggets and Coach Malone’s coaching style and how it changes when criticizing his stars in Jokic and Murray vs how he criticizes the rest of the team. The Nuggets fell to the Suns on Christmas Day as Aaron Gordon went down with an injury that will sideline him for at least Friday’s game vs the Cavs. Would trading Michael Porter Jr. for a Zach Lavine or Jimmy Butler fix the Nuggets issues? James makes the case that the Nuggets trading MPJ would be “trading the wrong guy” and Jamal Murray makes more sense to trade when the team is able to do so. We wrap up the show with the top 5 gifts for each of the Denver sports, the Broncos, Nuggets, Buffs, Avalanche, and Rockies.

On this Christmas Eve Kyle Reese and Chand Andrus sit in for Zach and Phil.  The guys try to help settle a debate for the previous show.  What are the holiday rules?  The guys get into what is happening with the Broncos.  Do the Nuggets have a problem?

On this Christmas Eve Kyle Reese and Chand Andrus sit in for Zach and Phil. In hour 2 the things kick off with the big story of the day.  Sean Payton spoke today and the guys go into some of his comments in the three count.

On this Christmas Eve Kyle Reese and Chand Andrus sit in for Zach and Phil. In hour 3 the guys talk continue the Brocnos roster talk.  As the Buffs get ready to play in their bowl game how do the guys feel about how the team is traveling?  Is there something to watch in who is going to the bowl game with the team?  The guys dive into the playoffs and Chad has an idea to fix what we say over the first weekend.

On this Christmas Eve Kyle Reese and Chand Andrus sit in for Zach and Phil. In hour 4 the guys get into the NFL games and what those games mean to the Broncos.  Should the Broncos celebrate getting into the playoffs if they do?  Can the Broncos slow down the high powered tandem of Burrow and Chase?  The guys wrap things up with the top stories of the day.

Welcome to Christmas Eves eve edition of the Drive with Zach Bye and Phillip Lindsay! A full weekend of sports is over and there is a lot for the guys to react to! Happy Holidays everyone! The Denver Broncos missed out on a huge opportunity to punch their own ticket to the playoffs on Thursday. After a week of NFL football where do the Broncos playoff chances stand? Did they get any help from other teams or are they in real danger to miss out on the playoffs after a great year? A dream we had for Sean Payton and Bo Nix has possibly gone away after this weekend. The odds to win hardware at the end of the year for both of them may have gone away, but is there still a chance? The guys compare the starts of Bo and Jayden Daniels and try to find the big difference between the two. Does Bo Nix have a signature moment so far this year?  Phil recalls the time him and Bradley Chubb were up for rookie of the year honors. Saquon Barkley is having a great year and is on the verge of joining the 2000 yard club, can the guy’s name everyone in the club?    

Welcome to Christmas Eves eve edition of the Drive with Zach Bye and Phillip Lindsay! A full weekend of sports is over and there is a lot for the guys to react to! Happy Holidays everyone!  Sean Payton has dug his heels in and called out the criticism of his decisions during the Thursday Night game. Was the noise around the momentum shift at the end of the half “garbage” or was it justified? Should Sean Payton show more humility or is this move more telling of how Sean operates? In the Three count the guys react to the first round of the College football playoffs. Were they surprised by the outcome of the games or was this expected? The Nuggets went into New Orleans and took care of the 5-25 Pelicans, unfortunately it took overtime to beat them. What is going on with the Denver Nuggets and is there more going on behind the scenes than we know? The Avalanche are rolling and beat the Seattle Kraken 5-2. Is an Avs player poised for a big break out going into 2025? December 23rd is Christmas Eve eve, but it’s also know as Festivus on Seinfeld. A day to air out grievances, what Colorado sports grievance do you have? The guys give their while getting an outpouring of responses on the text line! Phil is still not over Sean flexing into the Thursday Night game and our Producer is frustrated with the Nuggets lack of leadership!

Welcome to Christmas Eves eve edition of the Drive with Zach Bye and Phillip Lindsay! A full weekend of sports is over and there is a lot for the guys to react to! Happy Holidays everyone!  We got a lot of responses to the Festivus question, a lot of people have Colorado Sports grievances. The guys react to the text line and Zach shares his biggest issue with the Colorado Rockies. A lot of people share their anger with the Rockies franchise, Gabe Landeskog, the Nuggets front office, and the chances of a stadium out by the airport. The Broncos playoff probability took a hit over the weekend and the teams that could have helped their odds, did not!  Are the guys nervous about the Broncos missing the playoffs? With their destiny in their own hands is this matchup against the Bengals the most difficult opponent they could have next week?  The odds to win hardware at the end of the year for both Sean Payton and Bo Nix may gone to zero over the weekend. Is there any chance for them to sneak back in or have the odds shifted too far away from them?  Phil recalls the time him and Bradley Chubb were up for rookie of the year honors. The NFL MVP picture is becoming clearer, but is this award building the Heisman issue? Is the NFL MVP a QB award and should Saquon Barkley have a better chance to win the award? All of that before the Five O’clock Whistle!

Welcome to Christmas Eves eve edition of the Drive with Zach Bye and Phillip Lindsay! A full weekend of sports is over and there is a lot for the guys to react to! Happy Holidays everyone! Sean Payton has dug his heels in and called out the criticism of his decisions during the Thursday Night game. Was the noise around the momentum shift at the end of the half “garbage” or was it justified? Should Sean Payton show more humility or is this move more telling of how Sean operates? James Palmer joins the program to talk about the loss on Thursday and Sean Paytons comments. What does James think about the Broncos chances to still make the playoffs?  James chimes in on the NFL MVP conversation, is there a sleeper name that is not getting recognition for their incredible year? What has been the best present this past year in Denver Sports? Phil thinks Russell Westbrook has been the best gift the Nuggets have received.  Can the example and energy he brings impact the team moving forward as they look to exit this slump?  What movies are you watching on Christmas eve and Christmas Day? What games are you looking forward too? Are you watching the NBA or NFL? Thank you for listening to the Drive and the Fan as a whole! Happy Holidays everyone!    

Hour 1 of The Drive kicks off with Zach and Phil cross talking with Dover and Cecil. The guys discuss the wild west that is college athletics. Zach and Phil give their overarching thoughts on last night’s crushing Broncos loss. How did the Broncos go from scoring a TD on each of their first three drives to losing? Did Sean Payton get too cute and cost his team a playoff clinching win? Should the Broncos have stuck with the run more in the second half? Should the Broncos have gone for it on a late game 4th down? The Broncos defense went from being the strength of the team, to a liability last night. The guys share what went wrong with Denver’s defense. Did the defense look tired while playing on a short week? Did the defense “hit a wall” and start playing undisciplined football?

In hour 2 of The Drive, Zach and Phil take a deep dive into the Broncos collapse to the Chargers on Thursday Night Football. What went wrong for the Broncos in the second half? How did the Broncos loss impact their playoff hopes and probable seeding in the AFC? Are the Broncos set for a date in Buffalo for the first round of the playoffs? Today’s “Three Count” includes which college football playoff game are we most looking forward to, the new Elway documentary coming to Netflix, and if Carmelo Anthony will be a first ballot hall of famer in 2025. We pivot to the Nuggets and Avalanche as they were also in action last night. Zach shares his problems he had with the Nuggets, last night, specifically with the final play of the game. What happened to Aaron Gordon, only scoring 2 points in 31 minutes? Will this loss re-spark trade rumors around the Nuggets?

In hour 3 of The Drive, Zach and Phil discuss the Broncos strong start to last night’s game. How does Bo Nix go from having a string start to finishing games and playing winning football? We hear from Bo Nix and his thoughts on his own performance. We play “Fill in the black” with Phillip Lindsay and Phil describes how he’s feeling after the Broncos loss last night. Which rookie had the best moment last night? Did Sean Payton get outcoached by Jim Harbaugh?

In hour 4 of The Drive, Zach and Phil breakdown the Broncos collapse and the details of what went wrong for the Broncos in the second half. Zach shares his problem with Sean Payton opting into a Thursday Night Football game and then mentioning the short week as a reason the defense struggled. Former Bronco and Super Bowl champion, Chris Harris Jr. joins the show to discuss the Broncos halftime adjustments or lack thereof, the Broncos going away from a successful running game, and Sean Payton’s decision to play the Chargers on a short week. Which rookies surprised the guys the most in last night’s game?  Did Sean Payton’s decision to play on Thursday night directly impact the Broncos chances of winning this game? Does Sean Payton get away from the running game and can’t help himself but pass the ball? We wrap up the show with what the guys are most excited to watch this weekend, including the first ever 12-team college football playoff.

Hour 1 of The Drive kicks off with Zach and Phil cross talking with Dover and Cecil. The guys discuss the Broncos and how they cannot get swept by the Chargers after getting “punked” by them in Denver earlier this season. How does the injury report impact tonight’s game? Who will and will not be on the field for the Chargers and Broncos tonight? Will Blake Watson have an impact in a struggling Broncos backfield? Justin Herbert has been elite in one specific category this season; will the Broncos defense be able to create interception opportunities? Zach reveals a shocking stat about the Broncos and their struggles in the first quarter. Will the Broncos be able to buck this trend and start fast vs the Chargers? On the other side of the coin, the Chargers have had major struggles in the 4th quarter. Will the Broncos be able to take advantage of this trend?

In hour 2 of The Drive, Zach and Phil take a deep into tonight’s Broncos and Chargers Thursday Night Football game. Will the Broncos be able to match or exceed the Chargers hobbled running game? Phil reminisces on his breakout performances vs the Chargers and urges the Broncos running backs to follow suit. We hear from Sean Payton and his thoughts on the importance of third down. Will Sean Payton stick with the run and trust his running backs? Today’s “Three Count” features how Michael Porter Jr. will play tonight while his name has been surrounding NBA trade rumors this week, Alexander Georgiev’s revenge game tonight as the Sharks take on the Avalanche, and reports of Jets owner Woody Johnson vetoing a trade for Jerry Jeudy because his Madden rating was too low. Zach and Phil pour over the gambling props for tonight’s Broncos game and Zach shares his favorite plays of the night.

In hour 3 of The Drive, Zach and Phil discuss how Broncos Country will show out tonight in Los Angeles. We hear from Sean Payton and Bo Nix and their thoughts on Broncos Country traveling and filling out SoFi Stadium. Will the change in the Broncos schedule impact how well Broncos fans are represented at the game? Zach shares the injury report for the Chargers and how many starters they will be missing tonight, while the Broncos are a much healthier team than when the two teams last met. 9News Broncos insider, Mike Klis joins the show to discuss the lack of injuries for the Broncos this season, the decision for the Broncos to accept an additional Thursday Night Football game this season, and much more to preview tonight’s game. The guys react to their conversation with Mike Klis and review the Broncos official injury report for tonight. Will a missing Riley Moss bite the Broncos defense?

In hour 4 of The Drive, Zach and Phil take a deep dive into the Broncos pivotal game tonight. Will the Broncos officially punch their ticket to the postseason with a win? DenverSports.com’s Senior Broncos writer, Andrew Mason joins the show to discuss Mase’s expectations for Bo Nix tonight, the Broncos struggles in the first quarter, and how the Broncos will rotate their running backs tonight. Will tonight be a high or low scoring game? Will we see the Broncos revert back to a Bo Nix’s rushing game that we saw earlier this season? Will the Broncos have a running back run for 50 yards tonight? We wrap up the show with the guys 5 predictions for tonight’s pivotal Thursday Night Football matchup, including their winning picks. Will the Broncos secure their first playoff bid for the first time in a long time?