It’s not over until the fat guy chirps.

And if all the chirping Broncos defensive tackle Malcolm Roach did Wednesday during training camp is any indication, it might be curtains for Patrick Mahomes and any NFL quarterback dumb enough to get in Denver’s way.

“It’s just Malcolm Roach. I sit next to him in the locker room,” Denver receiver Marvin Mims Jr., who knows every word of trash in Roach’s bag all too well. “The guy doesn’t shut up.”

On this cool, cloudy summer morning, Roach was bringing the verbal heat.

“He’s talking crap to receivers,” recalled Mims, chuckling at how Roach would raise his helmet like a triumphant gladiator and talk smack when the defense won a single play in a practice that lasted over two hours.

“It’s like: ‘Dude, you’re a fat guy. Go worry about that. Leave me alone.'”

Well, I say: Stand back and let the big dog speak.

Yes, Roach was born to roar.

But I detect a new sassiness to this Denver defense.

And that’s a good thing.

During the 2024 season, NFL Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II and his mates proved to be adept at taking care of business.

This year, there are signs that Broncos defenders are itching to give every foe from Kansas City to merry old England the business.

Is it too soon to tell if Denver now has a defense that can make noise deep into the NFL playoffs? Yes.

But it’s not too early for Roach to yell any time a teammate sacks quarterback Bo Nix or greets running back J.K. Dobbins in the hole with a thumping hello.

While I respect the dedication required to chart plays at training camp, any analytics guru in the media that tries to draw conclusions from touchdown passes or tackles for loss in July is straining too hard to be a smarty pants.

The best indication you can get of where an NFL team is headed early in preseason practices is defined by vibe, tempo and attitude.

The vibe at this summer camp is written on the face of coach Sean Payton. He likes this team, as opposed to two years ago, when Payton’s distaste for quarterback Russell Wilson was as palpable as a swig of skunky beer.

The tempo of this midweek, controlled Broncos scrimmage was as urgent as the dog days of camp can be, primarily because there’s a sense that safety Talanoa Hufanga or linebacker Dre Greenlaw can’t wait to knock the slobber out of a ballcarrier.

The attitude is as sassy as Roach’s mouth, which spewed healthy and frequent doses of trash in the direction of his offensive teammates, daring them to make a play and motivating Nix’s group to fight back.

From their league-leading 63 quarterback sacks to a stingy 18.3 points per game allowed, the Broncos developed into one of the NFL’s more disruptive defenses a year ago under coordinator Vance Joseph.

But the comparisons to the No Fly Zone and the Von Miller defense that tugged the Superman cape off Carolina quarterback Cam Newton and led Denver to victory in Super Bowl 50 were too generous and more than a little premature.

For all the undeniable greatness of Surtain, the 2024 edition of the Denver defense simply did not force enough turnovers to truly strike fear in opponents.

The Broncos too often got shredded by premier quarterbacks last season. Josh Allen led Buffalo to 31 points in the playoff loss. Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow threw for 412 yards. And Lamar Jackson posted a perfect 158.3 QB rating for Baltimore.

That’s why adding Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron in the draft’s opening round, as well as Greenlaw and Hufanga in free agency, made so much sense.

“The sky’s the limit,” safety Brandon Jones said. “I think we’re going to be as good as we want to be.”

This defense made some serious noise a year ago.

Now? It’s louder and prouder.

There’s an in-your-face swagger to championship caliber defenses.

Every time Roach roars in camp, methinks he’s rehearsing a message to quarterbacks throughout the league.

Think you’re going to push these Broncos around?

Fat chance.