Denver, CO
Sean Payton Makes it Clear Who’s Got Broncos’ QB2 Job Locked Up
![Sean Payton Makes it Clear Who’s Got Broncos’ QB2 Job Locked Up Sean Payton Makes it Clear Who’s Got Broncos’ QB2 Job Locked Up](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4234,h_2381,x_859,y_207/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/mile_high_huddle/01j5xct14e8hwynqed1e.jpg)
The Denver Broncos will sit rookie starting quarterback Bo Nix in the preseason finale vs. the Arizona Cardinals. Jarrett Stidham will start the game, taking eight to 12 snaps, before giving way to Zach Wilson, who’ll play the rest of the game.
We’ll see if that’s how it plays out for Stidham, or if he ends up seeing more playing time. But it would seem that the Broncos are leaning heavily toward him being Nix’s primary backup.
Where does that leave Wilson? Broncos head coach Sean Payton revealed his expectations for the newcomer quarterback entering what could be his last appearance in the Orange and Blue.
“The first thing is, I’ll give him an opportunity maybe—I know it will, with the second group,” Payton said of Wilson. “So often it’s hard to evaluate that position if the other elements aren’t working. So just watching him really follow up the week he’s had in practice and take it to the game, run the huddle and just seeing him play.”
When he took to the podium on Wednesday to announce Nix as the starter, Payton described Wilson’s momentum in practice as being on a “heater,” a baseball term meant to describe pitchers in the zone. Payton wants to see it translate to the live-bullet grid-iron.
Now Broncos Country sees why Stidham is only getting a handful of snaps. If it plays out the way Payton hopes, Stidham will only get two, maybe three drives.
Payton wants to quickly turn the page to Wilson to give him the opportunity to ply his wares with the second-team offense. In Game 1, Wilson played surprisingly well as the No. 3 quarterback, with mostly the third-stringers, but with that same unit, he struggled in Game 2, facing relentless pressure.
Never say never because it’s the NFL and anything can happen, but Payton doesn’t sound like he’s necessarily expecting Wilson to go out and seize the Broncos’ QB2 job from Stidham. Rather, the Broncos head coach wants to make sure Wilson is given a solid opportunity to punctuate his summer under Payton’s tutelage with a showing that could see him catch on elsewhere.
“No, we’ve got a pretty good idea [of] the direction we’re going,” Payton said of the competition for backup quarterback. “We’re going to meet here in about five minutes. [GM] George [Paton], myself, a few others and kind of go through the depth chart as we see it and the discussion players. I think we’ve got a real good handle on that room specifically. We’re not announcing anything, but I like—I’ve said this, I’ll say it again, I like the room. I feel like we’ve gotten better and this will be a good test, [a] good opportunity for Zach getting work with the second wave. He’ll get a lot of snaps.”
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If Payton likes the room that much, perhaps the Broncos will end up keeping Wilson and carrying three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. With a young, healthy first-round quarterback taking the starter’s snaps, I doubt Payton will ultimately want to ‘waste,’ so to speak, a roster spot on a signal-caller who’ll do nothing but hold a clipboard.
“Certainly, good question,” Payton said about carrying three quarterbacks. “I think we’ve studied 14—last year of the 32 teams, just under half the league—I know the rule recently changed. If, in fact, you do—this came after the 49ers-Eagles game, the third comes up [from the practice squad] without any count. Ultimately, I think most importantly, you’re really looking at your assets when we make that decision.”
Payton is speaking to the new NFL rule that allows teams to elevate and dress a practice squad quarterback to make him available as the “emergency QB” without him counting against the gameday roster or 53-man roster. But Wilson’s not going to make it through waivers.
In a perfect world, Payton would hope that he could waive Wilson, and re-sign him to the Broncos’ practice squad. But as the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft, if the Broncos waive Wilson, there will be some team(s) out there that’ll claim him, with a coach who loved him as a prospect coming out of BYU, intrigued by what the still-young quarterback looks like in his system after a half-year under Payton’s wing.
Even if Wilson goes out on Sunday and turns in another relatively unimpressive performance, if the Broncos waive him, it’s a virtual guarantee he’ll get claimed off waivers because of his draft pedigree and the Payton QB shine. However, there’s one last play for Payton within the realm of possibility: a trade.
Payton is going with Stidham as his QB2. But if Wilson can impress vs. the Cardinals, perhaps the Broncos could trade him to a team that doesn’t want to leave its backup quarterback fate up to chance on the NFL waiver wire. I have my doubts about that possibility.
But, again, it’s the NFL. We have to remain open to everything, even the slim chances.
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Denver, CO
Deion Sanders shuts out Denver Post columnist
Coach Prime can’t take the heat.
The University of Colorado has informed the Denver Post that coach Deion Sanders will no longer answer questions from columnist Sean Keeler. Colorado attributed the decision to “a series of sustained, personal attacks” in Keeler’s coverage of the program.
Pressed for evidence to support the conclusion, a staff member in the Colorado sports information office said the Keeler has used phrases such as
“false prophet,” “Deposition Deion,” “Planet Prime,” “Bruce Lee of B.S.,” “the Deion Kool-Aid” and “circus” in reference to Sanders and the program.
The fact that Colorado felt compelled to issue a statement to the Post is a surprise. Deion already froze Keeler out during a recent press conference, along with others from media outlets he has deemed to not be sufficiently compliant.
It really is a bunch of crap. Deion doesn’t want to be scrutinized, by anyone. He thinks the media covering the team should support the program, too. Without expressing any criticism or asking any tough questions. Even when criticism or tough questions are required.
It dates back to his time at Jackson State. Deion has tried to build a personality cult, not a football program.
Hopefully, the Post will fight back. Colorado is a public university. It should not be able to shut out major publications, including the biggest newspaper in the state.
If the Post doesn’t loudly challenge the decision, Deion and the Buffaloes eventually will be covered by a group of sycophants who would far sooner tee him up for an AFLAC pitch than dare to inquire about a clock-management error.
Deion is one of the greatest football players of all time, but this is pathetic. And even if the powers-that-be at Colorado are taking Deion’s side on this for now, it puts even more pressure on him to win more games than he loses, sooner than later.
Denver, CO
Broncos Announce Whether Bo Nix Will Play in Preseason Finals
![Broncos Announce Whether Bo Nix Will Play in Preseason Finals Broncos Announce Whether Bo Nix Will Play in Preseason Finals](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_1870,h_1051,x_0,y_78/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/USATSI_24026640_168388302_lowres-4d1ed2941d588ba8dc36e7760b7ad635.jpg)
With Bo Nix named starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos, fans and media alike have wondered how the division of labor would shake out in preseason Game 3 vs. the Arizona Cardinals. Would Nix even play? If not, who would start and how would the snap count shake out?
Broncos head coach Sean Payton ended the suspense on Friday, revealing that Nix will not play, and that Jarrett Stidham will start the game, getting a few snaps, before giving way to Zach Wilson, who’ll play the rest of the contenst.
“You’ll see Stidham with the first series or so,” Payton said. “I’d like to see him get 8-12 plays, and then we’ll get a lot of work with Zach at some point in that first or early second quarter.”
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There are questions about which quarterback makes the most sense to serve as Nix’s backup this season. Stidham has been with Payton longer, but it would cost the Broncos $2.3 million more to keep him as the backup than it would Wilson.
Meanwhile, Wilson — the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft — has 33 NFL starts under his belt. Compared to Stidham’s four, from an experience perspective, Wilson is vastly more battle-tested.
However, Wilson is a bit more erratic. He’s a significantly more talented quarterback, but not as buttoned-down, and, thus, not as trustworthy as Stidham.
That’s why Stidham will start Game 3 and why Payton is probably leaning toward him being Denver’s QB2. But if injury were to befall Nix, Stidham could perhaps be more trusted to maintain some schematic stability, he doesn’t have the upside juice to truly thrive as an NFL starter.
Wilson busted out of New York, which means the odds that he’ll ever become a thriving NFL starter are slim. But that enormous ceiling is still there, and if there’s any NFL coach who could help Wilson come close to reaching it, it’s Payton, whose quarterback resume is long and distinguished, dating back to his time as offensive coordinator for the New York Giants in the early 2000s, which saw Kerry Collins morph into a franchise player.
The list of quarterback accomplishments on Payton’s NFL resume includes Collins, Quincy Carter, Tony Romo, Drew Brees, Teddy Bridgewater, Jameis Winston, and even Russell Wilson, whom Payton managed to extract a 26-touchdown season out of last year, despite it being an extremely poor fit for the venerated coach. So, if the Broncos had to turn to their QB2 this coming season, for some Football God-forsaken reason, Wilson is the one who could give Payton something to actually shoot for beyond a .500 finish at best.
‘Stiddy’ is a fail-safe, nothing more. And he costs nearly twice what Wilson would to keep rostered in 2024. However, based on the playing time plan Payton has laid out for Game 3, it would seem that Stidham is clear frontrunner for QB2.
It would take a Herculean break-out for Wilson to disabuse Payton of that notion. Stay tuned.
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Denver, CO
Parking lot battle puts two Denver restaurants at odds
![Parking lot battle puts two Denver restaurants at odds Parking lot battle puts two Denver restaurants at odds](https://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TDP-L-Parking-lot-war-RJS-11479.jpg?w=1024&h=683)
Parking is rarely easy in Denver, but it’s causing a larger problem for business owners and their customers along Denver’s West 29th Avenue, where CôNu’s Corner Cafe & Bánh Mì Sandwiches owns a parking lot that is the focal point of neighborhood drama.
The tension exploded earlier this month when a bicyclist was videotaped cursing and yelling at the sandwich shop’s staff over parking issues, calling owner Thuc-Nhu Hoang “an ugly, nasty piece of garbage” on top of race-related slurs.
“I don’t feel safe anymore,” Hoang said in a phone interview with The Denver Post. She called the incident “very racist.” CôNu’s Corner posted footage of the rant on its Instagram page.
Her shop sits at the corner of Tennyson Street and West 29th, where the Sloan’s Lake neighborhood transitions into West Highland. CôNu’s Corner Cafe, 4400 W. 29th Ave., is just one business along a small corridor (where bike lanes have already caused some agitation) that includes Quarterback Liquors, Leroy’s Bagels and SloHi Coffee + Bike.
On a recent Tuesday, only a few of the dozen-plus spaces in front of CôNu’s were available. Posted signs warned drivers that only customers are welcome and violators will be towed.
For over four years, that wasn’t the case. When Hoang’s business operated solely as a convenience store, she said she let it slide when her neighbors’ patrons parked there. That changed once she opened the sandwich shop last year.
There wasn’t enough room for her customers to park, too, Hoang said, and she worried about the potential for lawsuits during snowy months if clients of other businesses slipped and fell in her lot.
But once Hoang began booting and towing violators, she experienced harassment. Her shop is currently rated 4.7 stars out of five on Google reviews, but Hoang says she’s contended with “fake” one-star reviews written by parking offenders.
“They lie,” Hoang said. “It’s really hurt our business.”
Quarterback Liquors now pays to share several spaces in the lot, but other business owners haven’t agreed to the offer. Hoang declined to provide the cost for monthly parking rent.
“I don’t know what else to do,” she said. “They should let their customers know. That’s their job to do that.”
“Being able to be neighborly again”
Sarah Green, who owns Leroy’s Bagels, 4432 W. 29th Ave., depicted the turmoil as uncharacteristic of their community. “We’re all small businesses, and we’ve all been able to coexist really peacefully over the years,” she said. The shop opened in 2015.
In Green’s opinion, the neighborhood rift started with a lack of signage at CôNu’s, which left drivers in the dark about the towing risk. Local business owners met to discuss the issue and asked Hoang to put up signs, Green said.
“There was a good amount of time that there were no signs, and there was still a lot of towing happening, which felt unfair,” Green said.
During that waiting period, entrepreneurs posted their own notices in their storefront windows to notify customers. Green said she’s never encouraged her patrons to park in the lot, adding that she can’t afford to pay the cost to rent the allotted spots.
Future talks are planned between the parties, which Green hopes “will at least be able to get us to a point of being able to be neighborly again.” Representatives of SloHi Coffee + Bike didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Regardless of the strain between neighbors, Green shames the person who berated Hoang and hopes for accountability.
“No one should ever, ever be able to say something like that to another person, especially seeing that in our corridor, because we always have been tightknit,” Green said.
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