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Lamar or Russ? Von bleeds Orange. KJ cooks safeties. | The Ride

Henry Chisholm Avatar
Henry Chisholm
July 20, 2022
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Welcome to the first edition of The Ride™!

This series has two goals:

First, we’re going to explore the most important NFL, AFC West and Broncos news of the week through our orange-colored goggles.

Second, we’re going to have fun.

When Lamar Jackson changes his profile pictures to golden grillz that say “I need $,” we aren’t going to blast him for being passive aggressive or call out the Ravens for not getting his new deal done yet. Instead, we’re going to ask whether the Broncos would be better off with Jackson or Russell Wilson under center for the next five years.

When Brendan Langley trades blows with an airline agent, we’ll try to rank the Broncos by their boxing ability.

When I rewatch KJ Hamler coming within inches of a breakout game against the Giants, I’ll cut up a couple of clips and we’ll talk about it.

This column will look different throughout the year. During camp, we’ll spend extra time on Broncos news that could get buried in a packed cycle. During the season, we might cut up a couple of clips of a rising stud for a division rival. During free agency we could rank Broncos free agent targets. During draft season we might rank prospects by their talent, their fit in Denver or their names.

The options are endless.

And I want you to be involved; I’ll be picking my three(ish) favorite comments from the previous week’s post and giving out points. Make a joke. Make a smart point. Make a suggestion. Make a rhyme. Tell me I’m wrong (… a bold strategy since I’m the only judge). Whatever. If I like it, you get points and you’ll move up the leaderboard.

One last thing: The only rule is that this column will be available every Tuesday, all year long. Read it all at once when it drops. Read it a chunk at a time in the 48+ hours or so before the first game kicks off. Skip the parts that suck. Do your thing. But get those comments in by halftime of Monday Night Football if you want to be rewarded and have a chance at the Grand Prize*.

Let’s dig into The Ride™…

Deadline Day

The big news of the week was Friday’s deadline to extend players who had been franchise tagged.

Davante Adams, Cam Robinson, David Njoku and Chris Godwin came to terms on longterm deals with their respective teams after being given the franchise tag. All of those deals were completed awhile back.

Bengals safety Jessie Bates, Chiefs tackle Orlando Brown, Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki and Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz were given franchise tags but never came to a longterm deal. They will be free agents after the season.

Bates and Brown have not signed their franchise tender yet, which means they are not yet under contract and won’t be subject to fines for not showing up. If they want their full salary they’ll have to sign at some point before the season kicks off. Until then, they’re free to do what they want.

Losing Brown for training camp could be a blow for the Chiefs, who gave up first-, third-, fourth- and fifth-round picks for Brown, second- and sixth-round picks about a year ago. Brown is one of the league’s top tackles and he recently turned down a six-year, $139 million offer according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Lamjax or Russ?

In other contract news, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens still haven’t agreed on an extension.

Jackson is set to become a free agent after the season. The Ravens could give him the franchise tag to keep him in purple for 2023 or they could try to work out a longterm deal.

Regardless, it seems strange that they haven’t come to an agreement yet. The market rate for quarterbacks is only growing and there’s no reason the Ravens wouldn’t want Jackson longer… right?

Jackson’s new Twitter header photo seems to indicate that he wants to make the deal, though he says the update is unrelated to contract talks. I don’t believe him.

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We’ve been assuming the Broncos will give Russell Wilson a 5-year, $50 million per year contract after the season, as that’s about the market rate. Jackson’s deal should be worth about the same amount, which begs the question: Who would you rather have under contract for the next five seasons, Lamar Jackson or Russell Wilson?

Wilson offers experience, including a history of success in the playoffs. He hits on deep balls as often as anybody and he can extend plays with his legs. He drops balls between linebackers and safeties at will. He isn’t Peyton Manning or Tom Brady at the line of scrimmage but he’s better than league average at just about anything you could ask an NFL quarterback to do. Plus, he has a couple of special traits.

Jackson is a freak as a runner but streaky as a passer. He flashes great touch and accuracy underneath but, as Broncos fans learned last year, he can hit on a deep ball or two, too. Jackson is a 25-year-old former MVP who could still have another gear. His lack of playoff success is starting to become a concern, but it’s a small sample size. (And football is a team game.)

If you’ve got the league’s best roster, I see the case for Wilson; he’ll check all of the boxes, he won’t be responsible for losses and he’ll make a couple of plays every game, too.

But I’m going with Jackson. He’s more of a boom-or-bust option but it’s easy to see him becoming more consistent over the next five seasons. He’s a generational talent who could have a few MVP awards by the end of his next contract.

(Quick side note: PFF studied quarterbacks’ decision-making on passing plays and Jackson finished behind only Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.)

Old Friends

Von Miller wanted to come back

Von Miller had second-thoughts before singing with the Bills this offseason, according to a story in The Athletic last week. Apparently, he locked himself in the bathroom in the Buffalo facilities while trying to decide wether to back out.

While the Rams were still in the playoffs, Miller got word to Broncos higher-ups that he would be on board for them to trade for Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers and bring him back. Once free agency began, however, he never heard from his old team.

Dan Pompei, The Athletic

Should the Broncos have brought Von back? It’s tough to say.

In a Broncos Roundtable this weekend, RK made the case that a prime Von Miller would be the best historical Bronco to add to the current roster. But today’s von is 33 and just signed a six-year, $120 million contract. It’s tough to justify adding that number to the payroll.

Miller was back in Denver this week for a Von’s Vision charity event, where he told reporters he was still rooting for the Broncos.

“I’ve still got orange and blue in my heart and it will stay that way forever,” Miller said.

In related news, Mike Purcell, the Broncos and the NFL Foundation committed $20,000 to the Sun Valley Youth Center last week.

Charges dropped against Langley

Former Bronco Brendan Langley was involved in a fight with a United Airlines employee at Newark Liberty Airport two months ago. Last week, the assault charges against Langley were dropped because his actions were “reasonably necessary” his attorney told TMZ.

Langley is currently on the CFL roster of the Calgary Stampeders, but he was suspended indefinitely after the charges were initially filed.

JaMarcus Russell lets loose

Sure, Jamarcus Russell was never a Bronco. Sure, the Broncos are one of two teams he had a winning record against. But he set the Raiders back a half-decade at least, so he qualifies as an old friend.

Russell, joined The Pivot podcast to tell stories about his NFL career and his relationship with the Raiders. The biggest news was that he confirmed the story that the Raiders sent him home with blank tapes and told him to study them, testing whether he would actually take a look. He didn’t.

Russell has been in the media lately, in part to promote a story in The Players’ Tribune that details his rise and fall. He tells stories about his drug use and pretending to be somebody else. It’s worth a read.

Fresh Buckets

The Texans, Bengals and Panthers announced this week that they are taking advantage of the NFL’s new rule allowing teams to use two different helmets during the season. (Previously, for safety reasons, teams were only allowed to use one helmet, but that helmet could have the decals changed during the year.)

Let’s rank the best alternate helmets so far. (We still don’t have exact designs for the Eagles or Bengals, but it’s easy to guess what they’ll look like.)

#1 – Patriots

Classic look and the white helmet is what makes it pop.

#2 – Falcons

Like the Pats, this is a throwback uniform that we should be seeing every season. And honestly, we should be seeing it every week.

#3 – Panthers

I didn’t realize how badly Carolina needed to get rid of the silver helmets until I saw the new, black helmets.

#4 – Eagles

The weakest of the three throwback helmets but still sharp.

#5 – Bengals

I’ll assume this is the classic Bengals helmet but white with black stripes instead of orange. The all white uniform will be a lot sharper now than with the previous helmet.

(I wouldn’t mind a white helmet with the old-school Bengals logo with text instead of the stripes.)

#6 – Texans

Davis Mills can’t pull this off.

#7 – Saints

This uniform looks like a generic expansion team uniform from Madden. 

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wtf!?

Olympic football could be on the way

Flag football debuted at the World Games this week. Here’s what happened:

  1. The American men beat Italy 46-36 in the championship. The US should win by more.
  2. The American women lost 39-6 to Mexico in the championship. How?

The NFL is pushing for flag football to become an Olympic sport, and a trial at the World Games was one of the steps in that path. It’s a bad idea. The Olympics are for water polo, and track, and handball, not a knockoff sport only found in a handful of countries.

Heinz Field is no more

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced this week that Heinz Field will now be known as Acrisure Stadium.

More importantly, the massive bottles of ketchup by the scoreboard in Pittsburgh are no more.

I liked those bottles. They gave the stadium personality.

Sure, if somebody from the other side of the world stumbled into Pittsburgh they’d be shocked to see two bottles of the world’s second-best† ketchup displayed so prominently, but they’ve become as much a tradition in the NFL as the pirate ship in Tampa.

Bad decision.

How would we replace the ketchup bottles? That depends on what Acrisure is, and I refuse to learn.

My best guess is that Acrisure specializes in acupuncture, so I’ll say we’ll see two big acupuncture needles in place of those bottles.

My second-best guess is that Acrisure makes anti-seizure medication, so maybe we’ll have a pair of pill bottles.

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Credit: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

Le’Veon Bell is a boxer now

Why is everybody a boxer now?

In case you missed it, Le’Veon Bell announced this week that he isn’t playing football this season and will instead focus on a career in boxing. His first fight is at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles (or as we call it: the Staples Center) and he’s taking on… Adrian Peterson.

What are we doing?

Celebrity boxing matches have been around since Lyle Alzado took on Muhammad Ali in 1979 and have only grown in popularity since. And part of it makes sense: boxing money is based on viewership and celebrities bring plenty of viewers with them.

But now YouTubers and athletes are making just as much (and oftentimes more) money than actual professional boxers and that doesn’t feel right. Imagine if George Clooney, Leo DiCaprio and Tom Holland decided to play a pick-up basketball game at Madison Square Garden and out-earned the Knicks. It’s strange. I don’t like it.

But also, Le’Veon vs. AP is probably the only boxing match I’m going to watch this year.

Real quick, here are my pound-for-pound Broncos boxing rankings:

  1. Melvin Gordon: There’s a running back to boxer pipeline and Gordon has the physicality to win.
  2. Randy Gregory: He’s a big, strong, mean dude used to the trenches.
  3. Kareem Jackson: At 183 pounds, Jackson punches well above his weight.
  4. Netane Muti: The 23-year-old is supremely powerful with a strong base.

Patty Mahomes is peddling ‘flashlights‘

NFL players aren’t allowed to appear in beer commercials.

So Patrick Mahomes teamed up with Coors to sell the Coors Light; a flashlight, not a beer. This would have been hilarious if it was anybody else.

Who’s In?

Condoleezza Rice – The former Secretary of State is a new part-owner of the Broncos.

Apple – The tech giant is the current favorite to take over as the new home of Sunday Ticket, starting in 2023.

N’Keal Harry – The 2019 first-round pick will get a fresh start with the Detroit Lions, who traded the Patriots a seventh-round pick.

The Raiders – Las Vegas led the league in ticket revenue last season, according to a Sportico report. The Raiders brought in $119 million, not including luxury suites. They ranked 25th in number of tickets sold.

Who’s Out?

Randy Gregory – Mike Klis of 9News reported this week that Gregory will not participate in position drills in the first week of training camp and is unlikely to play in any of the Broncos’ three preseason games. He is recovering from a March shoulder surgery.

Baker Mayfield – Panthers general manager Scott Fiterrer told reporters that Mayfield will not be handed the starting job in Carolina. Instead, he will compete with Sam Darnold and Matt Corral.

Sean Payton – The recently-retired head coach reportedly turned down a big deal from the Dolphins this offseason and stuck with his decision to retire… at least for now.

Gronk – The future Hall of Fame tight end said this week that even Tom Brady couldn’t convince him to unretire.

Leonard Fournette – Rumor has it that Lenny currently weighs 260 pounds. Rumor has it that the Bucs aren’t happy.

Mitchell Schwartz – The former Chiefs tackle announced he will retire.

Richie Incognito – The former Raiders guard announced he will retire.

Jason McCourty – The former Patriots defensive back announced he will retire.

Grade the Takes

The Broncos were one of nine teams to not have an offensive lineman receive a vote in the ESPN series ranking the league’s best players at each position.
A- – Garett Bolles is on the cusp of making these lists, but I won’t blame anybody for not including him in their top 10. I am slightly surprised he didn’t find his way onto one ballot, though.

USA Today ranked the Broncos road uniforms as the 30th-best white uniform in the NFL.
D+ – The writer says the Broncos road unit have “extreme late-90s vibes.” That’s true. But it isn’t a bad thing. The best sports gear out there is vintage from the ’90s. 80% of a good sports wardrobe should be from the ’90s. I’m all in for a uniform change (as long as it’s building off the classic Broncos look of the ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s) but the current combo is within a couple of years of being back in style. Especially when half the league is wearing the same generic Nike template.

Javonte Williams was named the No. 10 running back in the league, in the same series.
B – The numbers would suggest that Melvin Gordon was better than Williams last season, so including the second-year back in the top 10 takes some projection. I’d rather bet on a young back than on a resurgence from Ezekiel Elliott or Saquon Barkley, who both missed the top 10. Solid take.

Two Broncos made Football Outsiders’ All-Boom-or-Bust team: Lloyd Cushenberry and DJ Jones.
B- – Cushenberry makes sense on this list. So would Jerry Jeudy, Bradley Chubb or Randy Gregory. DJ Jones probably does not.

NBC Sports Edge ranked George Paton the No. 18 GM in the NFL.
C- – Sure, Paton is still new to the job. But his first draft class is off to an impeccable start and he added a surefire Hall of Fame quarterback. This is too low.

Bleacher Report named KJ Hamler the Broncos’ best-kept secret.
A+ – This would have been my pick, too.

2 good, 1 bad: Kahlee Jacoby Hamler

Let me show you why KJ Hamler is the Broncos’ best-kept secret.

Hamler’s speed is the reason he’s in the NFL. If he turns into a good NFL wide receiver, many of his highlights are going to involve giving him the ball on jet sweeps or hitting him 50+ yards downfield on bombs.

But there’s more to Hamler’s game than just those two things.

We’re jumping back to Week 10 of the 2020 season, about six months after the Broncos made Hamler the 46th pick in a stacked class of receivers. He was coming off a six-catch, 75-yard performance against Atlanta that included a 15-yard run. He’d pick up 10 targets in this game as he seemed to be carving out a role in the offense.

It’s third down and Hamler has a one-on-one against safety LaMarcus Joyner. Look at the way he sets up the slower defender and creates space in the middle of the field to pick up the first.

It’s a great route. Hamler’s shiftiness and burst aren’t quite as valuable as his pure speed but they gives him an incredibly high ceiling as a matchup nightmare out of the slot.

The play also shows Hamler’s biggest weakness: his size. Hamler isn’t a big target, and it almost cost him on the above play. He had to reach back to grab the ball (because of a bad pass) and the catch was tougher.

It’s hard to hit small targets, and you won’t find many smaller than Hamler. It’s hard to hit moving targets, and you won’t find many moving faster than Hamler. Upgrading from Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater to Russell Wilson should help ease those concerns though.

Next up we’re jumping to Week 2 of the 2021 season. It’s third and long again and the Jets are bringing the house. Hamler is working against safety Marcus Maye, who had broken up the fourth-most passes of any safety in the previous season. Once again, Hamler sets up his opponent perfectly and takes a sharp, near-90-degree angle to the sideline.

That’s textbook work.

And now the bad…

Hamler played a solid game against the Giants in Week 1 of the 2021 season; he caught three balls for 41 yards, the fifth-most yards he’s picked up in a game in his career.

But one big play got away from him.

Blown plays like this have been an issue for Hamler; his seven drops as a rookie gave him a 12.5% drop rate, the third-highest in the NFL among 153 qualified players. For what it’s worth, the drop above was Hamler’s only drop in three games in 2021.

Imagine if Hamler had brought this ball in. He would’ve started the season with a 91-yard game. He would have been on pace for more than 700 yards after his injury. He would’ve been easier to be excited about ahead of this season.

Hopefully Russell Wilson can put that ball out in front of Hamler instead of holding him up. It should have been a catch either way, though.

Post of the Week

  1. Zach Wilson’s best friend/former roommate/BYU teammate/current Commanders wide receiver Dax Milne posted a picture of himself holding hands with the woman we believed to be Wilson’s girlfriend.
  2. NFL Twitter went to hell.
  3. The woman responded to an instagram comment by saying that Wilson is the bad guy in the situation because he hooked up with his mom’s best friend while he was dating the woman.
  4. NFL Twitter celebrated Wilson.
  5. Wilson posted this to Instagram a few days later:
 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Zach Wilson (@zachwilson)

*there is no Grand Prize
†Hunt’s is better than Heinz

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