Few TV shows have a more dramatic disconnect between industry and viewer response than the ManningCast. The Peyton and Eli Show, an alternate Monday Night Football broadcast that will be televised 11 times during the regular season and the Super Bowl, continues to draw rave reviews from the critics — while not moving the needle that truly matters.
On Monday night, for example, only 705,000 of the 23.2 million viewers who watched the Broncos-Chiefs game were tuned in to ESPN2 for the combination football broadcast/talk show, via Andrew Marchand of The Athletic.
That’s only three pecent of the total audience.
This year, the stakes become even higher, given that ESPN reportedly plans to have a Pat McAfee alternate broadcast on ESPN2 during the weeks that the Mannings don’t do their show. What if the McAfee show outperforms the ManningCast?
The ultimate apples-to-apple comparison will happen during the Super Bowl, if the primary broadcast is accompanied by both a ManningCast and a McAfeeFest.
Everyone involved will say all the right things. They’re teammates. The numbers don’t matter. Yada. Yada. Yada. And they’ll all obsess over the numbers, with whoever draws the smaller crowd becoming tormented by the final verdict, as issued by those who control the remote. Control.
Chiefs rookie corner Mansoor Delane is trending toward playing in the Week 2 matchup against the Colts.
Delane (shoulder) was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, according to the team’s injury report.
Delane was able to play just three snaps before exiting Monday night’s eventual victory over the Broncos. He registered an interception off Bo Nix on his third career snap.
Notably, defensive tackle Chris Jones (calf) was a limited participant to start the week.
Defensive back Chamarri Conner (knee) and left tackle Josh Simmons (back) did not participate.
Defensive end Ashton Gillotte (foot), receiver Rashee Rice (knee), cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (knee), defensive end R Mason Thomas (hamstring), and quarterback Patrick Mahomes (knee) were all full participants.
Fredd Young, a member of the list of the top 50 Seahawks players in franchise history, has died. He was 64.
Seattle made Young the 76th overall pick in the 1984 draft. He played college football at New Mexico State.
Young made the Pro Bowl from 1984 through 1987, and he was an AP first-team All-Pro in his fourth and final season with the Seahawks.
As a rookie, he became the first AFC player to make the Pro Bowl as a special-teams player who wasn’t a return specialist.
In 1988, Young was traded to the Colts for a pair of first-round picks after a contract fight with the Seahawks. He then spent three seasons in Indianapolis.
For his career, Young appeared in 101 regular-season games with 79 starts.
Word on Tuesday was that Chiefs cornerback Mansoor Delane avoided a serious shoulder injury in Monday night’s win over the Broncos and the first-round pick is set to be back on the field right away.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters at a Wednesday press conference that Delane will take part in their first practice of the week. Delane intercepted Broncos quarterback Bo Nix on the third play on Monday night, but came down on his shoulder and did not return. Delane also dealt with a shoulder issue in the offseason.
Reid said that offensive tackle Josh Simmons (back) and defensive back Chamarri Conner (knee) will remain out of practice. They were both inactive for the win over Denver.
Linebacker Cooper McDonald (knee) will also miss practice and Reid said he will be placed on injured reserve.
The Colts are making a change to their defensive operations after getting blown out by the Ravens in Week 1.
Head coach Shane Steichen said on Wednesday, via multiple reporters, that linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither will wear the helmet transmitter and relay defensive calls to the rest of the unit this week. Safety Cam Bynum wore the green dot for the Ravens game.
The move comes a day after defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said that the team was considering a change because of a number of communications breakdowns that helped the Ravens roll up 506 yards of offense in a 41-13 win. Davis-Gaither will be lined up in a more central spot on defense while Bynum was playing deeper in the secondary.
The Colts will put the new system to the test in Kansas City on Sunday night.
