Emmanuel Sanders and Courtland Sutton were all smiles Tuesday. (Photo: Ryan Koenigsberg/BSN Denver)
The Broncos had their Kumbaya moment as wide receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Courltand Sutton met the media in a brief joint press availability.
Sanders opened by letting everyone know that he and his fellow SMU Mustang would be charging $69.99 Pay-Per-View Fight. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the team’s top 2 wideouts seemed to diffuse what was clearly a tense situation Monday.
When asked how everything stands, Sanders said, “It stands good. Obviously, we’re family. We went to the same school and grew up in the same area. It was a miscommunication and that’s just what it is, but at the end of the day, we’re back on the same page trying to be the best receivers in the world. Sometimes through failure is growth and I feel like me and him have grown through this, in terms of bringing that dog out of us even more and just ready to win and ready to tear it up.”
Not surprisingly, Sutton echoed Sanders sentiments. “One-hundred percent,” he said, “I think what Emmanuel said is right on point. We’re brothers at the end of the day. That’s all that matters. Like he said, we went to the same school. This is a dude I look up to, a dude I’ve been watching for a long time, chasing his records and getting here and following in his footsteps. All of that stuff is swept under the rug. We’re moving on to bigger and better things. We’re ready to win and take what we have here and keep growing.”
For good measure, QB Joe Flacco weighed in on the idea of a PPV bout, and whether or not he’d subscribe.
“Yeah. Why not?” Flacco said. “I’d watch it (laughing). I might have a front row seat though. I don’t have to pay. I get a free ticket into the stadium. Like I said, it’s part of this sport. Its physical, guys’ emotions are high, and we’ve been here for a few weeks now—a bunch of reps. [WR] Emmanuel [Sanders]—he’s a vet. He’s a guy that wants to see this team go someplace and he’s going to speak his mind on how that’s going to happen.”
Sanders and Sutton talked for less than 90 seconds, but you can watch the entire thing here courtesy of BSN’s Ryan Koenigsberg.
With the Broncos having an extra pre-season game last week, we only saw a few starters play in Canton. That’ll change Thursday in Seattle when most of the starters, at least the ones who are healthy will take the field, including Flacco, Von Miller and Chris Harris Jr.
The expectation is for most of the starters to play 10 plays at the most. Maybe Garrett Bolles, Dalton Risner and Conor McGovern may see a couple of more.
All eyes will certainly be on the QB rotation behind Flacco. Fangio shed some light on that, after a little bit of prodding, and humorous reluctance.
With Lock expected to get the bulk of the work, after Hogan gets his reps, the hope is that he’ll be more productive than he was against Atlanta. 7-for-11 for 34 yards and a couple of bad misses had plenty of folks, fans and media alike, piling on and some even decrying that he’s a bust. Lets pump the brakes a bit on calling him the next Paxton Lynch! [For those who don’t remember, Lynch is a backup in Seattle]
I appreciate the notion that he “earn” his spot with the 2nd team. However, by virtue of where he was drafted, and the way John Elway has talked about his development behind Flacco in the Brett Favre/Aaron Rodgers mold, Lock is in effect the 2nd Team QB.
The Broncos are clearly taking their time in Lock’s development. They know what they have in Kevin Hogan, so, limiting his reps and increasing Lock’s only makes sense.
It’s unclear whether Elway is spearheading the slow development, or Fangio is telling him the Missouri product isn’t ready yet, but the Head Coach continued to explain that Lock has plenty to learn.
“One thing you got to remember about him,” Fangio said, “he hardly has ever been under center in his life. He’s hardly ever had to call a play in his life—a formation and checks. Once he gets through that, I think the other stuff will come easier and quicker. He is learning a new offense, how an offense operates, and when he becomes more of quarterback in those regards and feels comfortable where it becomes second nature, the other stuff will start.”
Admittedly Pre-Season Football can often be a tough watch, but to quote Terrell Owens, “Get Ya Popcorn Ready” because Thursday we could see a whole lot of Lock vs. Lynch!