PHOENIX — Cleaning out the recorder from Super Bowl 57 Radio Row and the NFL Honors Red Carpet ceremony and wondering: If Dalton Risner and his wife Whitney are the greatest thing since sliced bread, where would they be? (Answer below).
Emmanuel tidbit
Former Broncos receiver standout Emmanuel Sanders had an interesting take on new Denver head coach Sean Payton. Sanders played the 2020 COVID season for Payton and New Orleans when the Saints went 12-4 and won a playoff game. Sanders missed three games with an injury that year but still had 61 catches for 726 yards and 5 touchdowns.
“Me being in the huddle with the Saints, I always felt like he was one or two plays ahead of the defensive coordinator,’’ Sanders said. “Where I’ve been in other huddles where the offensive coordinator is one or two plays behind the defensive coordinator. But it’s hard to figure out Sean. And he has Russell Wilson as his quarterback and playmakers like Tim Patrick and Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy so it’s going to be fun.”
Sanders’ NFL Network commentary on Wilson during the 2022 season was more supportive than other analysts and he thinks the quarterback will thrive under Payton.
“If you look at the last two games Russell played, he became Russell that we knew from Seattle,’’ Sanders said. “He was scrambling around, he was using his legs, he was throwing on the run. When people think about Russell Wilson they probably think quarterback but I think about his baseball background. In baseball, Russell Wilson used to throw it on the run like no other.
“The play that I’m thinking about is the last game (against the Chargers) where he hit Jerry Jeudy down the sideline. I was sitting on my couch and I said, ‘That’s the Russell Wilson we needed all year.’ But I think he learned from that and understands that. I think Russell Wilson is going to be the Comeback Player of the Year. Even though he didn’t get hurt, he’s going to be one of those kind of players.”
Sanders knows receivers better than anyone. Does he believe the Broncos can run it back with the current group of pass catchers knowing Jeudy finished strong, the dependable Sutton will be three years removed from ACL surgery, and Patrick and KJ Hamler will be returning from their season-ending injuries? Or do they need one more Hoss at receiver to put this group over the that?
“I think they’re good,’’ Sanders said. “I’ve seen Sean Payton work and at one point me, Mike Thomas, a lot of us went down and it was rookies out there and he and Drew Brees went to work with the play calling so I think they’ll be fine.”
Say it ain’t so, Joe
There is a whole generation of Baby Boomers who are going be surprised by this. Joe Namath, whose long hair, bachelor lifestyle and youthful swag embodied the most tumultuous era in our nation’s history, will turn 80 years old on May 31.
“They’re not going to be any more surprised than I’m going to be,’’ Namath said. He then looked up at my gray hair and said: “Did you ever think you’d get to the number that you are?’’
Still feisty after all these years. I was just shy of 10 years old when Namath backed his brash guarantee and guided the New York Jets to a dominating 16-7 win against the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, which to this day is the greatest upset in NFL history and surpassed only by the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey Team’s 4-3 semifinal win against the Soviet Union, and Cassius Clay’s heavyweight knockout of Sonny Liston as the biggest upsets in sports history.
Joe Willie and a certain Red Carpet reporter may be getting up there but Super Bowl III never gets old.
“No it doesn’t,’’ said Namath, who was the Super Bowl III MVP. “Every kid starting out in Little League you want to win a championship and to win a championship and be able to do it in the big leagues is quite a goal. Even in high school and college -- that’s the goal, win a championship.”
Namath was fond of Jets’ left tackle Winston Hill, who had moved to Denver prior to that Super Bowl III season because doctors told him his asthmatic condition would be somewhat negated in the thin, clear air near the base of the Rocky Mountains. Hill never left Denver. He passed away in 2016 at age 74 and his two daughters Hovelyn and Heather last month closed down the family barbecue place he founded 43 years ago.
“Loved him,’’ Namath said of Hill. “Loved him and we miss him. But we’ll be joining him. We’ll be joining him.”
So, Broadway Joe, on behalf of Baby Boomers everywhere, where did time go?
”It goes a little faster the older we get,’’ Namath said. “It goes a little faster so make every day precious. Take care of yourself and thank God, and you have a chance.”
Red Carpet Trivia
Broncos guard Dalton Risner stopped by the 9NEWS station for a chat. He was there as the Broncos’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award that went to Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott.
Risner was sharply dressed in all black with a black sports coat, matching black tie, black slacks, no socks and black shoes. And a black cowboy hat.
“I did not dress myself,’’ Risner said. “My beautiful wife Whitney dressed me. I have no fashion, no swag. So anything you see from head to toe is her. But my Cowboy hat, this was my Wiggins’ touch.”
His offseason schedule includes a trip to Whitney’s hometown.
“It’s the home of sliced bread,’’ Risner said. “Do you know what it is?’’
Um, Wonder, Nebraska.
“Nope,’’ Risner said to no surprise. “Chillicothe, Missouri.”
(P.S. There is a Wonder, Oregon and a Wonder, Kentucky. Both are unincorporated communities. But wonder of wonders, there is no Wonder, Nebraska.)
Hunt for Red January
Chiefs’ owner Clark Hunt made his annual stroll down the Red Carpet. I didn’t get the impression he was there to strut for having control of the franchise that replaced the New England Patriots as the AFC’s most dominant team. Like his late father Lamar, Clark Hunt is an accommodating sort who tries to help the league be successful in its endeavors – in this case the NFL Honors program which does not seem to be drawing the A listers it did a couple years ago.
Hunt even agreed to halt his walk for a Denver-based TV station.
Mr. Hunt, you had to notice how (new Broncos owner) Greg Penner is coming after you. The hiring of Sean Payton and all.
“I’ve talked to Greg several times,’’ Hunt said. “He’s going to be, and is, a great owner. They’re certainly competitive. We have a great history and rivalry with the Broncos and I know they’ll get better as we move forward.”
Rivalry? Do the Chiefs still consider the Broncos a rival after beating them the last 15 straight games?
“Things ebb and flow,’’ Hunt said with a smile. “I remember a decade or so ago when we didn’t win many games, either.’’
Lockett of Russ love
Seattle receiver Tyler Lockett once had a 100-catch, 1,110-yard, 10 touchdown season with Russell Wilson as his quarterback. And that was just two years ago in 2020.
So forgive Lockett if he thinks the football world was a little rough on Wilson during his first season with the Broncos.
“It’s just unfortunate a lot of the stuff that people say about him,’’ Lockett said. “I mean he’s a really great guy. He’s my brother. I’m always rooting for him and cheering him on.
“Everybody’s going to have their opinion. He’s put himself in position where he’s one of the top quarterbacks in the game. When things aren’t going right, everyone’s going to try and find fault and try to find flaw and error in that person’s game. I just feel like Russ is always going to be Russ. You give him an inch he’s going to take it.
“I’m excited for what he’s going to do next year. Sean Payton’s a great coach. I think they’re going to be on a good trend, high trajectory going up. They’ve got a great defense and with a lot of the players who got hurt coming back they should be able to make another run.”
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