08-16-24 Hour 1 of Broncos Country Tonight

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome into it. Broncos Country Tonight. Benjamin Albright here with

(00:03):
you short show tonight, obviously post Rockies edition, taking you
up to Sunday's game, preseason game against the Green Bay Packers.
The joint practices today down there at Broncos Park Dove Valley.
I it's it's interesting because I don't know really how

(00:26):
to how to talk about these practices. It just did
not felt feel like that the Green Bay Packers were
as engaged in having these practices as the Broncos were.
Whether that's a byproduct of the Packers potentially being a
playoff football team and their heads just didn't seem like
it was in it, whether or not they didn't take

(00:48):
it seriously, whether or not the altitude was affecting them,
I don't know the answer to that.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
But early on there were.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
A couple of plays out out of Green Bay that
were that were nice, and by the mid way point,
the Denver Broncos had that practice well in hand and
dominated there at the end, specifically and move the ball
drill where the first team Packers offense man managed to
get one yard. It was it was a pretty brutal
day for the Green Bay Packers. If you're Green Bay fan,

(01:18):
you know, I don't know. This is my first exposure
to this Green Bay team this year, and it was
not what I would call good. As far as the
Broncos go. The defense played very very well. I think
a lot of people are finally starting to see this
defense is going to be something. I think the offense
mostly held their own and moved the ball. Bo and
Jarrett Stidham both moved the offense down to within field

(01:39):
goal range. Didn't get a touchdown, but did move to
within field goal range, so that's at least a positive.
You know, bo Dix continues to play pretty well, play
better and better. The most surprising thing over the last
week and a half I think has been the sudden
emergence of Zach Wilson. Zach Wilson seems to start to

(02:02):
be getting comfortable with this offense. He seems to start
to be the guy that's sort of getting it, and
that may present Jarrett Stidham with a problem as being
the odd man out.

Speaker 2 (02:14):
Now.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
I think they should carry all three. Let me preface
this with that, I think they should carry all three.
I think Stidham, having been around the league as long
as he has been in this offense over a year.
I feel like that having him in the quarterback room
is inherently valuable. I feel like it's less about him
backing up Bonnicks and more about what he brings to

(02:36):
the room with the other two. You know, Zach Wilson
is the best tools of the three, but you know,
is a bit kind of immature, I guess, And it
feels like that having Jarrett stid Him in that room
will add a maturity that eventually you'd like to see
Bonnicks have. You'd like to see him be that guy
by the end of the year. But I think Jarrett

(02:57):
Stidham brings something to the table that the other two
just don't have, and that is sort of that that
maturity of having been around the league, having been in
this system for over a year, and sort of understanding
the relationships and what goes into game days.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
With the Denver Broncos.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
So, you know, I'm not against the Denver Broncos only
keeping two. I'm not against them only keeping two, and
it's Bowen's act. Whatever they do is whatever they do.
I just I think the wiser course of action is
probably to keep all three, and I think they're going
to have the available roster space to be able to
do that. We've certainly seen Sean Payton with a pensiont

(03:37):
for keeping quarterbacks before, as a matter of fact, kept
four quarterbacks at one point when he was with the Saints.
The only head coach to do that in the modern
era that I'm aware at least since two thousand that
I'm aware of. So you know, that's that's I think.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
On the table.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
I don't think it's unrealistic to see that, although you know,
off injuries continue to happen around the league, and you
see a team like, for instance, Minnesota that's got Sam
Darnold and precious little else right now, maybe maybe a
JAREDT Stidham suddenly becomes appealing to them. So it'll be
it'll be sort of interesting to see how that situation

(04:15):
plays out. Other things going on, Riley Moss continues to
uh be the leader for the other corner job. Levi
Wallace has obviously been hurt and Tomorrow Math has just
has not played at the level that Riley Moss has
played at. I tried to talk about this, I guess
about a week and a half two weeks ago, and
everybody kind of laughed at me and said that wasn't
what they were hearing out of camp. Well, now all

(04:36):
of a sudden, it's amazing how they're out They all
are hearing that out of camp, and you're seeing it
when you're out there, like it's it's not difficult to see.
So uh, one other name to keep your eye on
is in the in the safeties room. We haven't talked
much about Devin Key. You know, Steve Atwater had had
talked quite a bit about him to me offline. I
don't know if we ever got to those discussions on
the air, but Steve out there, you know, looking at

(04:59):
the DB's had a little a lot of positive things
to say about Devin Key. And so I would not
be surprised if he is a surprise keep for the
Denver Broncos. Just just by virtue of the way he's
been playing and the way that people speak about him
makes me think that that they've got plans for him.
Big day for Jail Skinner today, Skinner had a couple

(05:21):
of near interceptions, uh a field goal block.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
That was it was ended up being ruled off sides.

Speaker 1 (05:26):
But he, Jail Skinner has been active out there, and
and I would not be surprised again to see him,
Uh start to he's he's feeling some confidence and start
to assert himself. So, uh, it's somebody that George Peyton
went out of his way to speak very highly about.
You know when when he when he was at the
at the combine, I think with those are you but
the combined it was at the Combine he went out

(05:49):
of his way to speak very highly of uh Jail
Skinner and and what they you know, what they wanted
to see out of him this year. So uh, something
else to keep your eye on, your eye on there.
Nick Benito got in there. Now, there was a moment
in cam today where there was a bit of a
scrum it on a fight. It was like both teams
kind of bowing up to each other for a second.

(06:10):
Where on a play, Nick Benito had gone in there
and tried to get his hand on the ball as
Jordan Love.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
Was passing.

Speaker 1 (06:19):
And the ball wabbled up in the air. Alex Singleton
wound up coming up with the interception and the Packers
flooded out there thinking that Nick Benito had touched the
quarterback who was wearing the red no contact jersey, when
in reality, and it was later cleared up that Nick
Benito didn't it got all a ball Zach Tom the

(06:43):
tackle is who had run into Jordan Love and and
that was and there's video this out there now. We're
not allowed to shoot during these periods, and so the fans,
we kind of relyed to the fans on the hill
for some of these clips. But there is there's video
out there now. I think Mile High Report has it
where you can see that Nick Bonito didn't even touch
a guy, just just got the ball from behind him

(07:05):
when he was going for this the you know, kind
of the strip sack. And and in the end Jordan
Love banged his hand on on Zach Tom the right tackle.
That was the only real sort of incident I think today.
Both coaches had spent about, you know, two minutes prior
to practice going over how much they didn't want to
see fighting and all that kind of stuff, and made

(07:26):
that very clear. And we didn't really, like I said,
we didn't see any fighting, just at one moment in there.
Otherwise mostly cordial. I thought, you know, I thought there
were there were good days for several players, some of
the ones I mentioned before, Rhyes Taylor. That might be
the surprise keep this year, the undrafted guy that that
people aren't talking about, and off he's made some plays.

(07:47):
The teammates speak very glowingly of him. I would not
be surprised at all if he was on the practice squad,
and it wouldn't shock me if he made the fifty three.
He just you know, he's been playing well. He keeps
making plays, he keeps showing up, and that's that's a
part of it.

Speaker 2 (08:05):
That's a part of it.

Speaker 1 (08:06):
If you're you're at that level, you just keep showing up,
and all of a sudden, you know, you keep making
plays and they keep getting noticed, and you make it
undeniable that they can't cut you. So few other news
and notes out there. You know, you're beginning to see
this running back room sort of round into shape, and
it really really does feel like Samaja p Ryan is

(08:27):
the odd man out. Javantay Williams Audric estime kind of
make up the one two punch with Julia McLoughlin, kind
of in that playmaker Darren Sproles, Reggie Bush kind of
role for Sean Payton. Blake Watson gets some touches as well.
It really really does some things with him whenever he
gets touches. So it feels like some JP runs the
odd man out because there's not anything that he does

(08:49):
that someone else can't do. You know, Audrick Estime holds
up fairly well in pass pro. Not the greatest receiver,
but but holds up pretty well in pass pro. He
can be a short yardage, goal line, first down back
that you use in those situations. And then you can
kind of move Javante to the role that samaj p
Ryan was in where uh he's a pass protector. He

(09:11):
carries the ball, catches it out of the backfield, that
kind of thing. We've seen Javonte catching the ball out
of the backfield before, and that I don't believe is
a problem for him. Uh, where he can kind of
adjust rolls a little bit and and and do that.
I thought, Uh, Julia McLoughlin continues to look explosive, but
not somebody that you want to give a heavy, heavy

(09:32):
workload to. I mean, this is a guy you want
to use sparingly. Uh, you know, ten touch of game
kind of guy. Put him in certain situations where you're
looking for lightning in a bottle and see see what
he can do. And there will be times where he'll go
over that in times, will be under that, but that's
that's typically. What you want to do is get in
ten ten touches a game and see what he can
do with them. You know, six carries, three, three targets,

(09:55):
and you know, and and something else whatever whatever. That
other thing may be another target or another carry, but
you know, you want to kind of get him a
few plays here there to take advantage of the athleticism.
You don't want to make him a feature because I
think that'll wear him down and take away from what
makes him special. On the offensive line, a little bit
of trouble with Gary and I believe it's Clark. The

(10:18):
offensive line struggled a little bit with those two today.
That's going to be something to kind of keep your
eye on. I think I think the Broncos offensive line
is decent, but I'm not sure how big the downgrade
he is from cush to Wattenberg, who appears like he's
going to win the starting job there at center. It

(10:40):
doesn't I used to kind of bang cushion Berry for
not having the functional strength that he should for that position,
and I would say that Wattenberg is less strong than
he is, So I'm worried a little bit about that
because you're going to have to pull somebody. You're gonna
to pull a guard in to help him, right, So
what does that mean? Are you pulling Quinn Minerts away
from a Glinchy? Do you really want McGlinchey one on

(11:01):
one with Max Crosby, Because I'm looking at the tape
and I don't. So does that mean you're moving Ben
Powers to help with Wattenberg? And if you're doing that,
you're leaving Garrett Bulls all alone on some plays and
that's not something you generally want to do. That left
guard for the Denver Broncos has two roles. He's not
just a left guard. He's also in some ways a babysitter,

(11:24):
you know, over there trying to make sure that guys
don't get under Garrett's skin, that kind of thing, and
and you know, and just being his big bro in
a lot of ways.

Speaker 2 (11:36):
So it presents some issues.

Speaker 1 (11:38):
If Wattenberg continues to not play at the level that
you think you should be playing at, that that sort
of presents some presents some things in terms of what
potentially could be a problem down the line for the
Broncos on the defensive side. Just dominance today, dominance across
the board. They were getting after the quarterback tier guys,

(12:00):
the X tier guys. Linebackers were playing rangey, the secondary
was sticky. It was it was just dominance across the board.
It was a lot like the offense didn't want to
be there, you know. I did see, I remember seeing
I think it was seven on sevens. So many balls

(12:21):
were hitting the ground, just just hitting the ground for
the Packers. And then there was one where Josh Jacobs
made a really good catch on the left hand side,
stayed with it. The defender and I can't remember who
was on defense during to play, but the defender was
right there with him the whole way. It was good
coverage and the defender was fighting, fighting the hands trying

(12:44):
to get the ball. But Josh Jacobs just made a
great play.

Speaker 2 (12:47):
And and so that that's one. You know, I want
to give flowers where flowers are due.

Speaker 1 (12:53):
I think I think this defense is going to be
something that Broncos Country can be proud of. I've talked
about it for a while saying, hey, I think this
defense is going to surprise people this year. I think
the strength of this defense is a little bit different
than where it's been in recent years. Certainly in recent
years the hallmark of the Never Broncos has been the secondary.

(13:16):
You've had Kareem Jackson and Justin Simmons, Patzer Tan you know,
and we can go back to the no fly zone
before that. The secondary of the Broncos has kind of
been the calling card for quite some time. Well, I'm
not sure that that's the case this year. I think
the front seven might be. Now, obviously you've got Certan
who's an old world corner back there, ja Quay McMillan
who's excellent the slot, and now you're trying Riley Moss

(13:38):
in the other outside corner. And then back there at
the safeties, you've got Brandon Jones and PJ Lock, so
a different safety Tannem. But I think that from what
I've seen so far, the front seven is going to
be the calling card this year, and part of that

(13:59):
will be the ski team switch. You know, you're you're
you're playing a lot more aggressive than you were in
previous years. I mean, ever since Vic got here and
you went to the tight front and you went to
you know, a quarters match in the back end, and
it's been don't break and Uh, send the least amount
of people you need to drop our but it's back,
it's it's going to be wildly different than that. And
so for the last you know, five or six years,

(14:20):
defensive coordinators here have run as well. It's either Benvic
or it's been people that have run what uh continuation
of what Vic did. And now what you're going to
see is it's more of a return to something that
is stylistically closer to what Wade Phillips used to run.
A lot more attacking, you know, and uh, a lot

(14:41):
more quarter corners in man, you're going to see, Uh,
you're going to see a lot more single high you know.
And I think that's where they want to be. I mean,
you can you get a good enough quarterback to can
force them out of that and force them in it
too high? Okay, but I think they want to be
a single high team. And the question if they have
the talent to pull that off, and if they do,

(15:02):
you know, so be it. I think this defense is
going to sneak up on people this year. I think
it's going to surprise people. I think it's going to
be a lot more aggressive and physical than it's been
in recent years and I am of the opinion that
the defense will probably carry the offense a little bit
early on in the season. You know, we'll see, we'll
see if I'm right on that. If not, Hey, I

(15:23):
have no shortage of you guys telling me I was
wrong on things when i'm when I'm not so. But
I'm looking forward to seeing how that plays out. Special teams.
We continue to see back there on the kick returns,
a rotation of Marvin Mims, Julian McLoughlin, Blake Watson, treymont Smith.

(15:44):
Those guys appear to be the return guys as far
as that stuff goes. Now, Mims, I've seen more on
punts and kicks, but you could see both. I've seen
some interesting comments about Marvin Mims lately with people sort
of saying that that he's dropping on the depth chart
or something that's that's just not true.

Speaker 2 (16:02):
It's just not I think the.

Speaker 1 (16:05):
Broncos, you know, he's going to be the burner on
the backside for a lot of what the Broncos do
this year. You go back and look at Sean Payton
offenses and how they utilize guys like Brandan Cook's or
Ted gind Everie Henderson. You know guys like that. That's
the role that Marvin Mims will be in. It's not
a high, high volume target position, but when you get them,

(16:28):
you get big chunk plays out of it.

Speaker 2 (16:30):
So keep your eye, keep your eye on that. I'm
not buying, not with my eyes.

Speaker 1 (16:34):
The reports that Marvin Mims is falling out of favor, well,
you know all this kind of stuff that you see
on on social So we come back, we go back,
go around the league and get the latest news and notes.
You are listening to Broncos Country tonight right here on
Kowa Say fifty am ninety four one f M News
Talk Sports. Welcome back to it, Broncos Country Tonight. Benjamin

(16:57):
all right here with you five six six nine Zeros
text line short show Tonight Post Rockies edition. Grand Smith
back there behind the class, talked a little bit about
the Broncos joint practice with the Green Bay Packers. In
the last segment, I felt like the Broncos were dominant

(17:20):
to the point where I actually had to ask, somewhat sarcastically,
if the Packers were even taking it seriously. Obviously, there
are players out there that need to make the roster,
and I'm not saying they weren't trying it just it
was utter dominance by the Broncos in a way that
was almost shocking. And that's not a slight at the Broncos,

(17:42):
which somebody on Twitter tried to pretend. That's just hey, look,
this team that people are saying is a playoff contender
or even a Super Bowl contender came out here and
got the backsides handed till and they did on both
sides of the ball. I don't know, again, I don't
know if that's elevation or disinterest or just the Broncos

(18:04):
just put it to them. It could be any of
the above, but you know, it did cause people to
ask questions, and that's sort of what we do. Didn't
get a lot of chance to talk about it yesterday,
but Justin Simmons, former Denver Bronco, he is going to
the Atlanta Falcons on a one year, eight million dollar deal,

(18:27):
seven and a half of it fully guaranteed. Part of
what convinced Simmons that the Falcons are serious contenders this year.
I mean, first of all, they've got a soft division.
You got Carolina, New Orleans and the division they aren't
going to do anything. You got Tampa in there, which

(18:47):
you know they could do something, but Atlanta is probably
the cream of the crop. And then they go out
and they trade for Matt Judan by giving up a
third round pick. So Justin Simmons goes in for a
visit and he has talks with or has dinner with,
excuse me, Grady Jarrett, aj Terrell and really those guys

(19:14):
I think sold him on what it is that they're
doing there. It's definitely going to be a veteran defense,
but there are some playmakers there. Obviously, Jesse Bates is
there as well, and it's fascinating to see the things

(19:35):
that the Falcons have done. They zigged when everybody thought
they were going to zag there in the draft. A
lot of people thought they go ahead and get Dallas
Turner with that first pick, and they went and got
Michael Pennix, who's not even gonna play because Kirk Cousins
is the quarterback. They've got some weapons on offense they
just weren't used in the previous regime, Guys like Drake
London and Kyle Pitts and Bejon Robinson.

Speaker 2 (19:58):
And so I.

Speaker 1 (20:00):
Think as we look at this that Atlanta is going
to be a team that makes some noise this year
in terms of having a decent record, just by virtue
of the schedule that they have in the division they
play in and probably wind up in the playoffs, and
that's going to be the first experience that Justin Will
have had to make the playoffs. Once you make the playoffs,

(20:24):
anything goes. If you could stay healthy, if they can
stay healthy, I don't see why not. I don't see
why the Falcons can't be competitive in the NFC. I
think in the AFC they'd struggle. Let me, just too
many teams. But the NFC, I mean it's a four
team maybe five team conference. You got Philadelphia, you got
sand frand you got Detroit. I expect some things out

(20:49):
of some other teams, but those are the big three
and then after that, you know, it's kind of dealer's choice.
We'll see if the vibes in Seattle, which everybody's talking
about Michael McDonald thing, Mike McDonald thing is is we'll
see how.

Speaker 2 (21:01):
That manifests itself.

Speaker 1 (21:02):
Obviously, the Broncos play them to start the season. Matt
Judd could have derailed the trade that sent him from
the Patriots to the Falcons by refusing to show up
for the physical on which the trade was expressly contingent.
He showed he passed, and the Falcons earlier today put
out that the deal is official and final, which means

(21:23):
the Falcons get Matt jude On at a base salary
of six and a half million this year. Neither of
the teams believe that the Falcons gave up a third
round pick to get the low salary, meaning that they
feel like they're going to extend him. In every trade,

(21:44):
there's two factors a team considers, you know, what we
give the team and how much do we pay the player.
The lower the pay generally, the greater the trade compensation.
So he'll play for the Falcons at his current rate
unless they decide to give him a new contract and
if they don't, be a free agent in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 2 (22:08):
One of these stories I did want to.

Speaker 1 (22:09):
Talk about is about Venue sports streamer, and for those
of you that don't know what that is, Fox, Warner Brothers, Discovery,
and Disney had planned to launch a joint venture streaming
Giant by the start of the NFL season, but for

(22:29):
now that's not going to be happening. Via the Sports
Business Journal, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction blocking
Venue Sports. The lawsuit was brought by Fubo TV, another streamer,
which argued that the effort is anti competitive because the
three companies are forcing Fubo to pay for a wide
variety of entertainment channels without being able to pick the

(22:53):
specific sports channels that it wants to be able to
sell to its customers. So, in essence, Fubo TV is
buying the right to stream certain things at inflated prices.
Because those three are not letting them all a cart
pick which ones they want to stream, they have to
buy certain packages and then get the ones that they want.
Fubo has argued that Venue forces consumers to pay higher
costs for content if they don't want it. In order

(23:15):
to get sports content they hope to see. The Venue
is expected when it's live to be priced at forty
two ninety nine a month. Now, A preliminary injunction is
not easy to get, okay, the bar is high. Among
other things, the party seeking it must provide a significant
likelihood of success on the merits of the case. Any

(23:35):
judge that decides a preliminary injunction is appropriate is essentially
deciding that the party is seeking it will eventually win
the case. So the companies behind venue, they're going to
appeal the preliminary injunction and we'll see if that gets
resolved before we go one. But this is sort of
interesting because again, as in this particular case, Fubo TV,
who has been in the interest of full disclosure I

(23:57):
have Fubo TV has been great for allowing people who
stream to be able to stream and get the content
they want, is fighting the battle for people like me
who want all the card options. I don't want all
these bundles. I'm want to be able to pick what
I want at that price and go with it. And
what we've gotten with streaming now is repackaged cable where
you're paying for a bunch of stuff that you don't

(24:17):
want or to get the things you do want. And
so you know, I'm highly interested in this one. Maybe
you guys aren't, but I'm highly interested to see where
that would goes long term and if we're able to
get resolutions on that and go from there. Vikings quarterback
JJ McCarthy is done for the year placement on the

(24:38):
injured Reserve today, eleven days before the deadline for cutting
the roster down to fifty three players, clinches that he
won't and can't come back. Although the rules were tweaked
this year to allow players to place two players on
ir and then bring them back before the reduction to
the roster of fifty three, the moves must be made
on the day that rosters are cut to fifty three,
So making the move today prevents McCarthy from returning at

(25:01):
all in twenty twenty four. And I'll get into the
complexity the rules in a minute, but this is interesting
because the surgery he had generally has about an eight
week to twelve week recovery period, so theoretically he would
have been good to go to get back in you know,
two to three months, but they're shelving him for the
entire year. And given that the new rules are new

(25:22):
and can be a little complex, people have been asking
if McCarthy was indeed done for all of twenty twenty four,
and so now we know it's official. The Vikings have
Sam Darnold, Nate Mullins, and Jaren Hall on the roster,
and then probably through the next two preseason games as
well Matt Corral. The question then becomes whether the Vikings

(25:43):
will carry two or three quarterbacks on the fifty three,
and whether they'll have one, two or any on the
practice squad. However the numbers go, you obviously don't need
to save a roster spot for JJ, but that meniscus
full repair, he's not going to be suiting up for
him this year, even though again that injury typically it
would not take you a full season. DeVante Adams made

(26:08):
clear this week that if it's his decision, he's not
playing in the preseason. Raiders coach Antonio Pierce responded with
a declarative statement that all healthy starters will play this week. Today,
Adams didn't practice. He watched the night practice in street
closed and the sidelines. Adam Hill at the Las Vegas
Review Journal reports Adam's non participation was believed to be

(26:29):
a rest day, but it was the final practice before
Saturday's preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys, leaves uncertainty be
about whether he will take the field, something he has
not done in the preseason since twenty sixteen. Adams only
return to the team Sunday after missing more than a
week while awaiting the birth of his son, so it
seemed unlikely given how much practice time he missed that

(26:50):
he plays this week.

Speaker 2 (26:51):
They don't really need him till Week one anyway.

Speaker 1 (26:53):
Adams had two hundred and three receptions for twenty six
hundred and sixty yards and twenty two touchdowns in two
season in Las Vegas. The Raiders also waved quarterback Anthony Brown.
They were up to five quarterbacks after signing Nathan Peterman
earlier this week, but they're back down to four now
with the release of Anthony Brown. Aid and O'Connell Gardner

(27:16):
Minshew are competing for the starting job, with undrafted rookie
Carter Bradley joining Peterman on the back part of the
depth chart. The Broncos, as we know, we'll take another
close look at first round quarterback Bo Nicks in Sunday's
preseason matchup with the Packers. That coach Sean Payton said
today in his press conference. Nick will be the starting
quarterback this weekend. I already knew that, but last weekend

(27:39):
Jared Stidham started against the Colts, with Nicks going second
Zach Wilson following them. Peyton said, YEA, I think the plan,
like I've mentioned all along, that we're going to see
Bo starting out in phase one of the game steady
in Phase two, Zach and Phase three. Nicks was the
twelfth overall pick in this year's draft and put together
a pretty solid debut last weekend against Colts. Led Denver

(28:00):
to four scoring drive, finishing fifteen to twenty one fo
one hundred and twenty five yards at a touchdown. Also
rushed three times for seventeen yards. Kickoff four Broncos and
Packers is set for six o'clock Mountain Standard time on Sunday,
and we'll be carrying that right here on Kowa, starting
our coverage at three pm with myself and Brandon Christall

(28:21):
for Broncos game day right here on Kowa. Another quarterback
that will be starting this week, Rock Party, forty nine ers.
We missed a couple of starting offensive linemen against the
Saints is Sunday, but it doesn't look like that's going
to keep them from giving quarterback Brock Party his first
action of the preseason. At Coach Kyle Shanahan was asked

(28:42):
at the start of his press conference today whether the
team would be playing starters against the Saints on Sunday,
said quote, I want to play a number of them.
I wouldn't say all of them, but I'd like to
get a lot of them in there for at least
a bit one of these three practices to go through
so we could evaluate that we have not told each
player specifically. Shanahan and then said that Party's one of
the starters he plans on playing this week. Party played

(29:04):
in two preseason games last summer while making his way
back from an elbow injury. Left tackle Trent Williams is
not reported to camp, and left guard Aaron Banks broke
his pinky this week, so they are probably two starters
that will not be in action. The Bengals paid somebody today,

(29:25):
paid the kicker. Ed McPherson lived his best life the
last few months, came a father for the first time
his offseason, and then today he signed a long term
extension with the Bengals, deal worth sixteen and a half
million over three seasons. McPherson said, I couldn't have written
it better than what's going on right now. That's via
Jeff Hobson of the team's website. I'm a very blessed man.

(29:46):
I've got a great family. I've got a great wife,
a beautiful daughter.

Speaker 2 (29:49):
In this.

Speaker 1 (29:51):
McPherson, who's twenty five, We'll get ten million in the
first year of his deal, which is a record for
a kicker. A fifth round pick in twenty twenty one,
McPherson has made eighty three point nine percent of his
career field goals ninety five point five percent of his
extra points. Last year is twenty six to thirty one
on field goals and forty of forty on extra points.
It is seven postseason games. He has hit all nineteen

(30:13):
of his field goal chances, including three from at least
fifty yards.

Speaker 2 (30:17):
McPherson said, I have a ton of stuff left to achieve.

Speaker 1 (30:19):
I want to be more consistent as I try to
get older, trying to find new ways to get better,
help this team get to the Super Bowl consistently. For me,
it's about trying to learn new ways to get consistent
with my job. So there, you guys, go, go little
kicker news that I don't normally have. Cowboys talked to
Ceede Lamb's representation yesterday to try to finalize a deal.

(30:41):
Cowboys talked with Cee Lamb's representation over the phone in
an effort to get the deal done. Via Calvin Watkins
of the Dallas Morning News, the team has offered the
receiver slightly under thirty three million per season per Watkins.
That would push the average annual ahead of aj Brown,
but behind Minnesota is Justin Jefferson, who makes thirty five million.

Speaker 2 (31:06):
Per year.

Speaker 1 (31:07):
Lamb is not asking to top Jefferson, something Cowboys vice
president Stephen Jones is acknowledged, but he wants to be
in the neighborhood. Lamb played last season for a base
salary of two point five to two million and is
scheduled to play this year on the seventeen point nine
to nine one million dollar million dollars fifth year option.
Excuse me, he had a career LEO last year with
the league leading one hundred thirty five catches and one thousand,

(31:29):
seven hundred and forty nine yards and twelve touchdowns, earning
all Pro orders for the first time. Cowboys have not
seen Lamb since last season ended, and he skipped to
the off season program and holding out a training camp
which is now in its twenty fifth day. Ceed is
going to be ready, said offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. If
the system were different, that always adds different challenges. He

(31:50):
knows what we do. He and Dack have what I
would say, one thousand to ten thousand banked reps together,
So not expecting a big learning curve for Ceedee Lamb
when he gets gets going there with Dallas, and I
do expect him to get going there with Dallas. There's
just been no deal done thus far. The Bills planned
to play Josh Allen and healthy starters for more than

(32:12):
a quarter. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen set for a
little more preseason work this weekend. Team announced they plan
to play Allen and the team's other healthy starters for
about a quarter and a half against the Steelers on
Saturday night. That's about the same as they played last
week against the Bears, although the team notes that forecasted
range could change a plan. Hey Coachean McDermott will be

(32:33):
looking for a better performance out of the group. He said,
the play against the Bears last week was not up
to our standard. There's a lot we need to do
to get ourselves ready to go. None of this matter
is until September, but a better performance this time out
would raise hopes for what's to come in Baltimore this season.

Speaker 2 (32:51):
Some I don't know funny.

Speaker 1 (32:54):
News Connor Stallion's resurfaces as a high school defensive coordinator,
The notorious figure at the center of the Michigan signs
stealing scandal has resurfaced as the defensive coordinator at Mumford
High School in Detroit. Stallion's is working as a volunteer.

(33:15):
He might be the most hated man in college football,
but the coaches and kids at Mumford High School love him.
At Coach William McMichael told Mark Schlayback of ESPN dot com,
he seemed like the perfect fit for us and what
we wanted to do. The defense we've been running for
a while. It mirrors Michigan's. It gives an edge to
the guys who are looking to go to the next
level because they're learning college lingo and how you go
about being professional. Stallion still faces NCAA sanctions for his

(33:39):
role in the signs stealing scandal, or where Michigan coach
Jim Harball, who's now the head coach of the Los
Angeles Chargers, likewise faces punishment in addition to the four
year show cause order that was issued last week against
Harball for recruiting violations during the COVID dead period. Stallions
set up a system of advanced scouting aimed at cracking

(34:01):
the code on opponent's sideline signals. Years ago, the NCAA
ended the practice of advanced scouting, mainly to save money.
We'll see how that goes. Doug Peterson said it's really
close between CJ. Bethard and Mac Jones for the number
two quarterback in Jacksonville. Trevor Lawrence the starter there, but

(34:24):
the competition between the two of them seems to be
heating up. It's been really close, honestly, said Peterson. Shame
if mac Jones was unable to pull that out from CJ.

Speaker 2 (34:33):
Bethard.

Speaker 1 (34:36):
You listen to Broncos country tonight right here on KOWA
SAVE fifty am ninety four to one FM News Talk Sports.