07-01-24 Hour 1 of Broncos Country Tonight

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Short shows for a while. Wedon't have another full live show because of
the Rockies and the holiday until Julyeleventh, So ten straight days a short
show podcast, and July eleventh,Nick Ferguson will be back on. We'll
have a full live show at thatpoint, So you guys definitely want to

(00:20):
stay tuned and stick around for that. Sorry, you know, it sucks
during the off season. We wantto be doing these live shows with you
guys, and obviously we carry theRockies so unable to do that some of
the time. But we try todo the best the best that we can.
Here. Got a lot of stuffto get to the Denver you know,

(00:44):
Nick and I've been talking about tryingto get the NFL Draft here to
Denver. It looks like right nowthe earliest bid would be twenty twenty seven,
but I think they're planning a twentytwenty eight bid if my sourcing is
correct on this right now, thetwenty twenty seven main bid is Washington d
C. Washington C's planning its bidhoping for obviously the one of the major

(01:11):
off season events that brings hundreds ofthousands of fans out. The National Parks
Service confirmed to the Washington Post thatthe National Mall could be used as a
venue for Draft events. National ParkService provide a letter of support to Events
d C, which is the organizationthat's in negotiation with the NFL for the
Draft of Washington to see for theNFL Draft and the degree that the portions

(01:36):
identified to take place on the NationalMall can be organized and managed within the
special event sponsor recognition and turf managementguidelines in place for this iconic cultural landscape.
End quote. That's from NPS NationalPark Services Chief of Communication Mike Litterist
in his statement. In the yearsince the league moved it out of New
York City, the Draft obviously hasbecome a massive tourist event, a huge

(01:59):
source of money for whatever the hostcity may be. Detroit officials said this
year that the city had its alltime greatest hotel revenue week when the Draft
was in town all time. Ever, as a result, cities are pulling
out all the stops trying to convincethe NFL bring the Draft of town twenty
twenty five, This upcoming draft willbe in Green Bay. The following year

(02:22):
it will be in Pittsburgh. Sowe're we're hoping maybe Denver can get it
before twenty thirty. That's kind ofthe I think, kind of the goal
here. We'll see if we canwe can pull that off. DC heavily
in play for twenty and twenty seven. Now the PAC twelve is officially dead.
I don't know if you guys sawthis or not, but it's officially

(02:44):
the PAC two. It's not.It's just down to two members as of
today, Oregon State Washington State arethe last two standing. After the exodus
of Oregon, Washington, USC,UCLA all to the Big Ten, and
Utah, Arizona, Arizona State,and Colorado to the Big twelve, cal
and Stanford to the ACC. Itis probably the most jarring round of conference

(03:07):
reshuffling the college sports is seen.Certainly led to the most bizarre outcome a
conference with two teams. From theNFL's perspective, it doesn't really matter.
Scouting could be cheaper for some teamssince California will be playing east of the
Mississippi and vice versa. But itlooks like it looks like the PAC twelve

(03:29):
is going to be dead as soonas they figure out what those two teams
are going to do, whether ornot they jump start the conference or whether
they go somewhere else and make aMountain West Pack, you know, super
conference kind of thing trying to getback into I'm not sure that's the discussions
that I would have as the MountainWest taking over the pack, renaming the

(03:50):
conference and adding those two and kindof, you know, trying to bolster
that conference a little bit. Butwe'll see how it ends up shaking out.
In media news, Pro Football Talkand NBC celebrating a fifteen year partnership
anniversary July one, two thousand andnine, NBC and Pro Football Talk merged

(04:15):
or well partnered. I guess Ishould say it, I'm merged, And
obviously that continues today. You seethat on the NBC Sports broadcast. You
mainly brame Rick Cordella for that.He's the head of NBC Sports entirely.
He had just gotten to the rainsback in early two thousand and nine when
he called Mike Florio to propose apartnership. Florio didn't really want to do
it, but he gave Rick aversion of what, in his words,

(04:36):
George Costanza told Russell Dowrymple regarding theshow about nothing. I need to have
full editorial control over all the contentand without it, we're wasting each other's
time. Rick said, that's fineby us. Florio still didn't want to
do it, and when the serversimploded on the first day of two thousand
and nine free agency, Rick bailedhim out with access to the NBC platform

(04:57):
and it became inevitable at that pointthat something was going to get done.
Former NBC Sports exec Kevin Monahan wasa big part of laying the foundation for
the arrangement, working with Larry Matza, who is Florio's business partners and so
seven to put a fair deal inplace. Dick Eversol signed off and the
way they went. Matt Casey wasthe original producer of the digital video segments

(05:17):
that became PFT Live on the website. Michael David Smith ran the operation for
more than a dozen years. JoshAlper had been there a long time.
Carrie and Williams is on there mostlyher stuff pops up in the afternoons.
Miles Simmons been there for three years. Peter King co hosted there for several

(05:43):
years. Ron Vic Caro was onthe editorial side. So just giving a
shout out to all the people thatworked there, several of which I've known
for years, so it's sort ofbeen it's sort of been interesting to see
that continue to grow. We'll see, you know how long that lasts.
I've been here at Came. We'reabout to celebrate one hundred years as a
radio station. There are too manyradio stations out there they can claim that

(06:05):
one hundred years. That's just amind boggling number to me. Keevon Tibbodeau
was on The Rich Eisen Show andsaid it's a business. Get paid when
you can when referring to Saquon Barkley. One of the biggest developments in the
NFC East this off season was runningback Saquon Barkley's decision to leave the Giants

(06:25):
for the Eagles as a free agent. Barkley's departure didn't come out of left
field, see and the Giants werenot able to work a long term deal
over successive off seasons, but havinghim go to Philly has provided some fresh
fodder for the long time rivals Giants, said Rusher cave On. Tibdeau said
on The Richisen Show last week thathe wasn't feeling any extra pain about seeing
Barkley and Eagles colors, saying quote, it's a business at the end of

(06:46):
the day. I never really tookit hard. I reached out to him.
This is a not for long leagues. You got to get paid when
you can. You can't miss outon any dollars. We've seen it before
with pass contracts and past players,so I'm happy he was able to get
the con track he was seeking.Barkley said the Giants never even offered him
a chance to return, although aclip from the upcoming Hard Knocks series about
the Giants off season suggest that mightnot entirely be true. In any case,

(07:11):
Eisen asked Thibodeau about how not signingBarkley played in the Giants' locker room.
But I said, there are harddecisions to make, and when you
have a team's greater good in mind, acknowledge there may be a point when
it's not the best interest of theteam's long term goal. That moment doesn't
feel close at hand for Thibodeau.But the twenty twenty two first round pick
has identified a fact of life asa professional athlete. And it's interesting to

(07:33):
me because the clip did come out, it sort of paints it sort of
paints sa Quon Barkley in a negativelight because he's he's a guy that said
that they didn't offer him the chance. And now you see these clips and
so you're sort of wondering, youknow, who's really telling the truth here.

(07:59):
So you know, we'll sort ofsee where that goes. But I
it looks bad for Saquon Barkley.I'll say that because he what he said
is that they didn't offer him thechance, and clearly on this televised clip,
unless there's some deceptive editing here,they did. So we'll see how

(08:20):
that goes. A story that Iwanted to get to and one that kind
of bugged me a little bit givenmilitary connections and all that. Pat Tillman's
mom is unhappy with ESPN's decision togive the award that bears her son's name,

(08:41):
the Pat Tillman Award, to PrinceHarry at the annual sp He's The
Pat Tillman Award, for those whodon't know, goes to a person with
a strong connection to sports who hasserved others in a way that echoes the
legacy a former NFL player and USArmy ranger Pat Tillman. ESPN decided to
give the award to Prince Harry orhis service in the British Armed Forces and

(09:01):
his work with the Invictus Games forwounded soldiers. But Mary Tillman says that
Prince Harry's work is not a goodfit for an award that bears her son's
name. She said, quote,I am shocked as to why they would
select such a controversial and divisive individualto receive the award, She told us
to The Daily Mail that she said, there are recipients that are far more

(09:22):
fitting. There are individuals working inthe veteran community. They are doing tremendous
things to assist veterans. These individualsdo not have the money, resources,
connections or privileged that Prince Harry has, and I feel those type individuals should
be recognized. Last year, forinstance, the Pat Tillman Award went to
the training staff of the Bills forsaving the life of Demor Hamlin. For
those who don't know, Tillman wasa Cardinals safety who quit the NFL to

(09:45):
join the army less than a yearafter the nine to eleven attacks and died
in Afghanistan in two thousand and fourat the age of twenty seven. ESPN,
however, says it has the supportof the Tilman Foundation, which was
founded by Pat Tillman's widow. ESPN, with the support of the Tilman Foundation,
is honoring Prince Harry, Duke ofSussex, specifically for his work of

(10:07):
the Invictus Games Foundation as it celebratesits tenth year promoting healing through the power
of sport from military service members andveterans around the world. Well, we
understand how everyone will agree with allthe honorees selected for any award. The
Invictus Games Foundation does incredible work inESPN believes this is a cause worth celebrating.
Marie Tilman Shenton, who was marriedto Pat Tillman when he was killed
in Afghanistan, as the chair andco founder of the Pat Tillman Foundation.

(10:30):
Tilman's mother, Mary Tillman, isnot involved in the Tilman Foundation and has
no role in the selection of theaward. This one bugs me because he's
Prince Harry, really a divisive figure, Like I don't I mean, I
don't understand how he be divisive andhe does. He is a veteran,
he served with the British Armed Forcesfor several years. He does great work

(10:54):
with the Invictus Foundation, which youknow is a a Sports Foundation for military
service members and veterans who've been woundedto kind of kind of help them heal
by getting them back in different games. And so for me, I struggle
to understand what exactly it is thatPat Tillman's mom is sort of protesting here

(11:22):
because I don't find Prince Harry tobe particularly controversial. I don't understand exactly
what her gripe is here, andmaybe somebody can explain it to me,
because I certainly don't. It's thereto the award. Is there to award
someone who does the work, andwhether they have the resources or not.

(11:43):
If they do have the resources andthey're putting them to work, why wouldn't
we want to award someone that's doingthat. So I'm a little bugged by
the fact that Pat Tilman's mom issort of politicizing an award about her son
when his widow is on the selectioncommittee and certainly was okay with this.
So I don't know. I don'tknow. I just found that story bizarre.

(12:03):
Maybe I'm the only one who whodid. Antonio Cromarti is back with
the Jets. The former Pro Bowlcorner announced on social media that he will
be a Bill Walsh Diversity coaching fellowfor this year's training camp. Say quote,
I am grateful for the opportunity Ihave to do the Bill Walsh internship

(12:24):
with the Jets for fall camp.I'm ready to learn as much as I
can during this time. Thank youCoach Salah and your staff for this opportunity.
Grammarti, who is forty years old, played for the Jets from twenty
ten to twenty thirteen and returned forthe twenty fifteen season as well. In
seventy eight games to the club,he recorded sixty three passes defended and thirteen

(12:46):
interceptions, and made the Pro Bowlin both twenty twelve and twenty thirteen.
This will be Cromarty's second time servingas a coach intern for the Jets,
so he also served in the roleback in twenty eighteen under previous head coach
Todd Bowles. Cammarti was also agrad assist under jimbo Fisher back at Texas
A and M. Marty was afirst round pick in two thousand and six,

(13:09):
play one hundred and sixty two gamesone hundred and thirty seven starts through
twenty sixteen for the Chargers, Jets, Cardinals, and Colts, recording thirty
one career interceptions, three picks,six's, and led the league with ten
interceptions in two thousand and seven.Dave Canallis is confident the Panthers can build
around the run game on offense,so it's being hired as the Panthers head

(13:33):
coach early in the offseason. Canalyshas made a habit of saying that the
team does not want to put toomuch on the shoulders of quarterback Bryce Young
in his second NFL season. Team'soffseason moves sort of provide an idea as
to how Canalis hopes to accomplish that. Panthers signed guards Robert Hunt and Damian
Lewis, drafted running back Jonathan Brooksin the second round to go with Miles
Sanders and Chuba Hubbard in the backfield. Given these moves, it's not really

(13:56):
a surprise that Canallis said on theseason with Peter Scheger that it all starts
with the run game. For him, that's what this draft and this offseason
was all about. I feel confidentthat we'll be able to have successful run
game, which for me opens everythingelse up. It helps third down,
it helps move the ball, andit gives you more opportunities. There's almost
nowhere for the Panthers to go butup after posting a two to fifteen record

(14:16):
last year, and the amount ofimprovement they show will be tied to how
well Canalis is able to get themto move the ball on the ground.
Certainly has been a commitment to thatby Carolina. Obviously they're keeping a garal
at Verol on defense there, andthey've made some defensive things, made some
defensive signings, I think as theytry to kind of overhaul that defense into

(14:41):
what it is that they want.Jeremy Chin got shipped out there because he
wasn't really a fit for what itis that they wanted to do. It
was kind of hoping that he'd ultimatelysign here. He went to the Washington
Commanders instead. Chin, of course, is the nephew of Hall of Famer
Steve Atwater, who joins this showonce a week. You know, we
have a good time with him,I with with with Carolina, with the

(15:07):
you know, the saying of therung. Everybody wants to see the pass
game, and everybody wants to talkabout quarterbacks and throw in the football and
all this kind of stuff. Butif you look the successful teams over the
last couple of years of the teamsthat are able to run successfully when they
want to or when they need to. And you look at Kansas City and
what they've been able to do withAsia Pacheco. You look at San Francisco

(15:30):
and obviously they have McCaffrey. Now, even before McCaffrey, they were able
to move the ball pretty well inthe ground. A lot of the reason
I think that Buffalo has been unableto turn a corner is that the Bills
have really struggled to be able torun the football when and where they needed
to. A lot of that's beenjust Josh Allen taking off instead of a
dedicated ground game that opens things upfor Josh Allen, and I think that's

(15:56):
part of the reason that they've They'vereally just struggled to be able to to
be able to make that work.They do have James cook and you figure
that you know that it be somethingthat they would be able to do if
they would commit to him. TyJohnson, Ray Davis to Darrenton Evans and
Frank core Junior will be back incook Up this year. So they've got
four or five backs here. It'sjust a question of making it work.

(16:17):
We'll see if you know Buffalo's ableto turn that corner. Five six six
nine zeros. Text line you're listeningto Broncos Country nine A bitch but all
bright Grant Smith producing. We willbe back right here on KOA. I
told you about it off the topof It'll tell you again. We're not
going to have a full live showuntil July eleventh, just because of the
holidays, the rocky schedule, theweekend, all that kind of stuff.

(16:38):
It's going to be a bit beforewe're back on for a full live show.
So just letting everybody know you canalways get the show right here on
the podcast edition. You can goto Broncos Country Tonight, dot com,
slash podcast, or wherever you getyour Wherever you get your podcast, Apple,
iTunes, Spotify, Totally Free,ad Awesome, iHeartRadio app where you
can also get taken for Granted podcastthe Grant Smith does as he's on the

(17:02):
phone and not paying attention right now. Five six six nine zeros. A
text line Love to hear from youguys, Love to see what you're you're
about. I really do. Igot a couple of texts on it,
I really do or am curious asto thoughts on this this Pat Tillman Award.
Uh, he's his ex wife,his widow. Excuse me, who's
on the selection committee for the PatTilman Award, which goes on at tsp's

(17:25):
was part of the group that selectedPrince Harry. His mom is now upset
about that going to the papers talkingabout this is a divisive and politicizing choice.
Nobody can seem to answer why PrinceHarry would be divisive for politicizing.
So if somebody does have an answer, we would certainly love to hear it
five six sixty nine zero because I, I legitimately do not understand and Prince

(17:47):
Harry does a lot of you know, he was a former military person with
the British Armed Forces. He workswith wounded vets all the time. I
don't understand her gripe as far asthat kind of stuff goes. The Olympics
coming up in Paris and Bear's safety, Jonathan Owens will take some time off
from training camp to see his wife, who is gymnasts some own Biles Biles

(18:10):
meet her third US Olympics gymnastics teamthis weekend. Owens has been given permission
to leave training camp to go seeher compete. Bears are actually a getting
a couple of days off, sohe'll be there. Bile said that to
USA today. Then he'll be offjust for a little short time. Owens
and Biles hadn't met when she competedin her first Olympics in twenty sixteen,
and her second Olympics were closed tospectators because of COVID in the pandemic,

(18:34):
so this will be Owen's first chanceto see his wife on sports biggest stage.
Biles said quote, anytime we canshow up for one another in support,
we just get super excited because ourschedules don't align that much, so
whenever it does, it's really importantfor the both of us to show up
and support. I think that's reallycool that Jonathan O the Bear is gonna
let Owens off to go see hiswife. And as she gets to compete,

(18:56):
what will be her final Olympics mostlikely as she's you know, it
sucks to say, but she's oldfor an Olympian, so this will likely
be her last Olympics, although shedid at the Olympic trials her floor routine.
Don't know if you had a chanceto see it. It's online,
absolutely absolutely nailed it. So todayis July first, which some people know

(19:21):
has Bobby Bonia Day because it isthe day Bobby Bonier receives his annual deferred
salary payments from the New York Mets. Bonia last played for the team in
nineteen ninety nine, and they boughtout the remaining five point nine million in
his salary in two thousand, Butrather than pay Bonia in a lump sum,

(19:41):
the Mets proposed deferring the compensation,making annual payments of just under one
point two million over twenty five yearsstarting in twenty eleven. Mets ownership at
the time believed they would make aprofit from the arrangement because they would invest
the money in the interim and theyhad been receiving double digit returns on their
investment at the time. That planhit a snag because their financial advisor overseeing

(20:06):
these investments was you guessed it Pertymade off and the returns the Mets thought
they were actually generating. Never,We're never a real thing. They never
realized. It worked out pretty wellfor Bonia, however, and his payment
this July first, which was pointedout by Adam Schefter ESPM, is more
than the twenty twenty four salary offorty nine Ers quarterback Brock Party. Party

(20:29):
will make nine hundred and eighty fivethousand in salary this year. Is heading
into his third season, so theleague collective Bargaining Agreement has barred him for
me negotiating the deal he signed asa twenty twenty two to seventh round draft
pick. That will change after thisseason, So obviously Bonia won't continue to
draw a bigger salary than Party atthat time, but he will still continue

(20:49):
to cash in on a deal thatkeeps on giving for years to come.
The last payment that Bobby Bonia gets, I believe his two thousand and thirty
six, so that five point ninemillion dollars that he was going to get
winds up being close to thirty milliondollars when all said and done. You

(21:14):
know, that's just that's just hilarious. The Mets literally decided, you know,
that they were going to defer hiscompensation or work to deal with him.
They diverge compensation for ten years.They'd invest the six million, and
because Mateoff was telling them that theywere making tons of money on all this
thought, they were going to comeout ahead. When a reality, they
came out about twenty five million behind. When all said and done, Former

(21:38):
Broncos defensive lineman Draymont Jones was gettingpraise from Mike McDonald, the head coach
of the Seattle Seahawks. McDonald wholanded the Seahawks head coaching job thanks to
his work running the defense in Baltimorethe last couple of seasons, and the
Seahawks will be hoping that his arrivalhelps set some of their defensive players up
for greater success. Defensive lineman DraymondJones is one of those players. Jones

(22:03):
signed a three year deal with theteam before the twenty twenty three season.
Spent the first half of the seasonplaying defensive tackle before shifting to defensive end
for the second half of the year. Finished with forty nine tackles four and
a half sacks. In The planfor this season appears to have him continuing
to move around on the defensive front, although in a bit of a different
matter. During the mini camp,Jones lined up as an edge on one

(22:26):
play at a tackle the next.As McDonald looks for the best ways to
deploy him this fall, McDonald,Brady Henderson of ESPN said, quote,
I think his skill set lens totrying to play a little match up ball
with him or setting another guy up. He could do a lot of things.
We've talked about it, but we'rereally excited about Dreymont Donald said.

(22:47):
The more ways you can use aplayer, the more personnel groups, the
more looks you generate as a defense, the better off you are as a
defense. It sounds like Jones willbe a big part of those groups.
And look this fall, so it'llbe it'll be interesting to see Dramond.
Jones was a guy who felt likehad a lot of promise here in Denver

(23:11):
and showed flashes, but she's neverkind of got there. He's also got
didn't defend the run particularly well,which is ultimately the reason he was moved
on from and Zach Allen was broughtin instead. I you know, I
always found Draymu to be pleasant,although some people on the beat said that
he was sort of arrogant and stuff. I just think he's just a funny
guy and they didn't understand his senseof humor. But we'll see. I

(23:33):
wish him success up there in Seattle, except, of course, when the
the Broncos play, which should beto start off the season. Ceedee Lamb
is not expected at training camp withouta new deal. Calendars in July and
nothing's changed to the contract front forthe Cowboys and wide receiver Ceedee Lamb.
Lamb's Looking Forward extension and the failureto land one kept him from taking part

(23:56):
in the team's off season program inthe spring, also earn him more than
on hundred thousand dollars in fines forskipping the team's mandatory mini camp, and
there may be more fines coming laterthis month. Calvin Watkins of the Dallas
Morning News reports that Lamb is notexpected to report to training camp in Oxnard,
California, if he has not cometo an agreement with the team on
a new pact. Cowboys hold theirfirst training camp practice on July twenty fifth.

(24:22):
Other wide outs have landed deals aroundthe league this offseason, and those
that provided some shape to the topof the market at the position, but
it remains to be seen if itwill help Lamb and the Cowboys finally settle
on a number that works for bothsides. Broncos got new uniforms this year
and they debuted to mixed reviews,although I think the diehards have you know,

(24:45):
mostly come around on the uniforms,and I feel like like I'm not
the world's biggest fan of going todo like the white helmet, I do
like the matt on the blue helmet, and I do like the throwback uniforms,
but not the biggest fan of someof what it is that they that
they've put out. But Nike isdealing with major financial issues. The NFL

(25:10):
had a bad week, losing fourteenbillion dollars in court, but one of
its top partners had it worse.Nike saw a twenty eight billion dollar in
shareholder value disappear as the stock plummetednearly twenty percent in one day. The
drop happened after Nike announced that itexpects sales to decline in the coming fiscal
year. The company stock has beensteadily dropping since November twenty twenty one,

(25:34):
for more than one hundred and seventyseven dollars a share to seventy five dollars
and sixty five cents at close onFriday. As noted by CNBC, it
was the worst day for Nike's sharessince it went public in December of nineteen
eighty. Nike has struggled over theyears with a couple of different sort of

(26:00):
pr crises. As it were,the stock itself was up. Today it's
up a dollar forty sixty share toseventy six dollars and eighty three cents,
and looks like it looks like it'strending up where it's just a little bit
on the on the day, we'llsee how that goes. Nike is also
laid off two percent of its workforce, strimming two billion dollars from the payroll.

(26:23):
Since twenty twelve, Nike has servedas the NFL's exclusive apparel provider.
It's the only corporate logo that appearson the player uniform, and the company
has had a hand in steering profootball toward the umpteenth different uniform combinations that
some college programs have. Currently,Nike has focused on bigger things than how
many different helmets, jerseys, andpants can be forced into a given football

(26:45):
franchise. CEO John Donahoe could beout among other significant changes at the top
of the company, which has harmedits bottom line by focusing too much on
established brands and not coming up withnew styles, as well as angering retail
partners by selling directly to consumers,which in turn open shelf space for competitors
like his deal with the NFL runsthrough twenty twenty eight. By then,

(27:08):
the NFL might avoided its fourteen billiondollar loss via future court rulings Nike.
Whether they turn around remains to beseen. The Pittsburgh Steelers have switched Troy
Foultanu to right tackle. In eachof the last two NFL drafts, the

(27:30):
Steelers have used their first round pickon a player who played a left tackle
in college. In twenty twenty three, it was Roderick Jones, who's now
the Steelers starring left tackle in twentytwenty four is Troy Foutanu, who will
move to right tackle for the Steelers. Flipping sides can be difficult for lineman,
but Steelers' offensive line coach Pat Myerssays Foultan who has made fast progress
in figuring out how to play onthe right side, and quote, Troy's

(27:52):
learned a lot of the different techniquesvery quickly first couple of days, as
timing was off because of the speedof the game is different. Now we
don't have any pads on yet,so I think he's gonna be determined until
we get to camp. But histiming's much better. In terms of his
get off and run game and hissets and throwing his hands and being aggressive
with his hands and whatnot. He'simproved tremendously from rookie mini camp to now.
Steelers are optimistic. They found there'stwo starting tackles for offensive two starting

(28:15):
offensive tackles for many years to come. Steelers, of course, play the
Broncos in Week two, the homeopener here in Denver, as Russell Wilson
comes back to Denver for the firsttime since being released. Jonas Griffith says
the Broncos are going to surprise peoplethis season. Broncos are heading into their
second season with head coach Sean Payton, and one member of the defense thinks

(28:40):
it'll be a better year. LinebackerJonas Griffith said this week that he senses
a higher comfort level from Sean Paytonas the team moves toward the twenty twenty
four season. Griffith believes that comfortlevel is tied to Sean Payton's belief in
what the team is capable of doingon the field, and he said he
shares the coach's expectations for how thingswill go in the fall, saying,

(29:00):
quote, I think he's very confidentin the team. This year, We're
going to surprise a lot of people. He talks about it a lot to
us. He's like, hey,you know, real comfortable with the guys
this year. We're ready to go. Got a lot of work to do
still, but we're ready. Griffithwasn't able to help the Broncos on the
field last year, as he wassidelined by of course, that torn acl
in August. Return should help thedefense's bid to make Sean Payton a winner

(29:22):
this time around. I you know, I think the Broncos would love to
see a big Sea's not a JonasGriffith. They've had a lot of plans
for him. He's just just gottenhurt. When he's been on the field,
he's been good. I think puttinghim next to Alex Singleton provides you
with a lot more speed than inthe alternatives. You know, Cody Barton

(29:44):
was brought in to replace Josie Jewel, and if you've seen Cody Barton,
he probably reminds you a lot ofJosie Jewel in the sense that not exactly
the most athletic linebacker in the world. Something to keep your keep your eye
on. If Jonas can stay healthy, he might wind up being the other,
the other inside backer. You know. When all said and done here

(30:07):
in Denver, Bo Jackson entered theRoyals Hall of Fame. It feels like
this should happened a long time ago. But Bo Jackson, of course,
was one of the kind could havebeen a Hall of Famer in football and
baseball. Arguably it would have beenif it hadn't been for the free kip
injury in the nineteen ninety playoffs.But even as a part time football player

(30:30):
and showing up for baseball, showingup after baseball season ended, he was
a superstar. He averaged five pointfour yards per carrier for his four year
NFL career with the Raiders at runsof ninety two ninety one eighty eight yards,
and his second in the AP OffensiveRookie of the Year voting in nineteen
eighty seven despite playing only seven games. But he does land in one hall

(30:52):
of fame. This past Saturday,the Kansas City Royals added him to the
franchise's immortals out there only five seasonsin Kansas City. I think we're all
still waiting for another Bo Jackson mightnever see one again. He was pretty
rare. He could do anything.Was in obviously the marketing phenom for Nike
as they ran those Bono's campaigns.Unfortunately for Nike, which is currently suffering

(31:17):
through some economic issues. Boto noarbitrage. Oh my goodness, story I
wanted to get to. I've beensaving this one for a second. We
got enough to get this one realquick. Aaron Rodgers is back after an
apparent trip to Egypt that caused himto miss the Jets mandatory Mini camp.
Rogers showed up for the UFC eventin Las Vegas this past weekend. Ya

(31:44):
tom Holmand of The New York Post. Rogers sat with former Packers teammate Mercedes
Lewis for the fights. The Egyptstory had been making the rounds. He
was apparently blurted out last week whenformer Packers teammate Marquees Valdez scam appeared on
f S one a day after catchingpasses from Rogers. Be interesting to see

(32:05):
what, if anything, Rodgers hasto say about his mandatory Mini camp no
show in the team's decision to callit an unexcused absence and find him when
he next talks to reporters on theway, he'll possibly find a way to
complain about media members who dared tocomment on his decision not to attend,
while also suggesting that anyone would scrutinizehim as on the payroll of Big Pharma.
I think we're all still awaiting ourchecks for that. Aaron Rodgers.

(32:30):
I'm so glad we avoided that herein Denver. That was one of those
situations where, you know, atthe time, everybody was sad that we
missed out, and the when theRoss situation didn't work the way we thought.
But at the end of the day, I'm glad we don't have the
guys just just one headache after another. And you know, after chiding everyone

(32:51):
this offseason say it needs to beall about football and everybody needs to be
dialed in, and then his firstopportunity, he's bouncing to go to Egypt
for a vacation during mandatory mini camp. I have to telling everybody else they
need to be dialed in for football. I just I don't know. I'm
I just I find his routine abit insufferable. There are people that like

(33:14):
the trolling and all that kind ofstuff, and there were times I used
to like him tweaking, you know, tweaking us media members and stuff.
But over the recent years, it'snot that it's it's like he started to
believe his own hype and believe hisown press. And I think that Denver
avoided a major headache by not havinghim here. Now he's in New York,
and you know they can deal withthat mess. The press up there

(33:35):
is pretty vicious, so I alwaysthought that would make for an interesting battle.
We'll be able to see during theseason. We were kind of deprived
of that last year. Be ableto see during the season how that works
out. This is Nebroncos Country Tonighthere on KOA and Benjamin ol Bride Grant
Smith producing five six nine zeros atext line we won't be back after this