MediterraneanGrocery Wholesalers in Denver, CO

The Las Vegas Raiders season opener against the Denver Broncos is one of the more interesting Week 1 matchups in the NFL this weekend. Not only is it a game between two divisional opponents, but it’s also a couple of teams who are kicking off new eras.

For the first time in nearly a decade, the Raiders will have a new starting quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo while Sean Payton makes his regular season debut as the Broncos’ head coach. Both organizations obviously want to get off to a good start, especially after the Kansas City Chiefs lost, and that means a few role players for each squad will need to step up. Below is a look at a few of those players for the Silver and Black.

Tyree Wilson

Given what’s going on with Chandler Jones, it’s looking like the Raiders are going to have to take the training wheels off of Tyree Wilson and he’ll be making his first NFL start in his first game. The Texas Tech product looked sharp during his lone preseason appearance, but that was only on 12 snaps and the team is going to need him to step into a much bigger role on Sunday as a starter. Also, the Broncos have a couple of good offensive tackles in Garrett Bolles and Mike McGlinchey, so Wilson will face a tough test in his regular-season debut.

Malcolm Koonce

Continuing with the theme of Jones being out, Malcolm Koonce will likely get more playing time than what was expected a week ago, and his role as a third-down pass-rusher will be vital.

Part of the reason why Russell Wilson struggled so much last year was he faced pressure on 35.9 percent of his dropbacks, tied for the 11th-highest rate in the league according to Pro Football Focus, and was the most sacked quarterback in the league (55). When under pressure, Wilson posted a sub-par 51.0 PFF passing grade that was 18th among qualifying quarterbacks and has almost as many ‘turnover worth plays’ as ‘big time throws’; eight to nine.

Luckily, Koonce looked good as a pass-rusher in the preseason with six pressures on 41 opportunities and a 17.1 percent win rate, but he needs to continue to build on that momentum as the competition level rises in Week 1.

Greg Van Roten

After making a few spot starts for the Buffalo Bills last year, Greg Van Roten gets a chance to be a starter in the season opener for the first time in a couple of years. He’s also expected to bring stability to the right guard spot for the Raiders, which was one of their biggest weakness a year ago, and he draws a tough first matchup.

Denver signed defensive lineman Zach Allen to a big three-year, $45.75 million contract in the offseason after he posted a top-25 PFF grade (72.7) at the position a year ago and was disruptive with 5.5 sacks and 10 TFL. They also have D.J. Jones coming back, who has built a career out of being a strong run defender and had 18 defensive stops against the run in 2022.

That’s going to put a lot of pressure on Van Roten, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the Broncos try and test him early in the game by sending a few blitzes his way seeing as he’s the new guy up front.

Jakobi Meyers

The last time the Raiders faced new Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph—Week 2 of 2022 when Joseph was with the Arizona Cardinals—he consistently bracketed, double- or even triple-covered Davante Adams. Essentially, Joseph said, ‘Beat us with someone else,’ and Las Vegas ended up falling short while the All-Pro wideout had just two catches for 12 yards.

I’d expect Denver to use a similar philosophy this weekend and they have a good cornerback in Patrick Sutain II to match up with Adams, meaning another receiver is going to have to step up for the Raiders. This is exactly why the front office brought Jakobi Meyers in, to take some of the pressure off of their top wideout.

Offensively, Las Vegas is hoping to have a ‘pick your poison’ type of receiving corps this year, but Meyers needs to win his one-on-one matchups and that’s going to be especially important in Week 1 given who’s calling plays on the other side.

Robert Spillane

I touched on this during my key matchups column earlier in the week, so I’ll keep it brief here to avoid repetition, but this is a big game for Robert Spillane in his Raiders debut.

During the offseason, Payton talked a lot about how he’s going to commit to running the football in Denver, and with the team’s top receiver, Jerry Jeudy, being limited in practice with a hamstring injury this week, I’d expect Payton to stay true to his word on Sunday.

Luckily, Spillane is a quality run defender who racked up 13 defensive stops against the run last year while serving as a rotational player for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’ll have a bigger role with the Raiders in 2023 as a starting backer and the team will need him to prove he can be just as effective against the run with more opportunities.

73.5

6.5

24.5

GREEN BAY – Running back Aaron Jones (hamstring), cornerback Jaire Alexander (back) and linebacker Quay Walker (knee) are among nine players the Packers have listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos.

The other six are guard Elgton Jenkins (knee), safety Darnell Savage (calf), cornerback Eric Stokes (foot), defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt (knee), tackle Yosh Nijman (knee), and safety Zayne Anderson (hamstring).

Linebacker De'Vondre Campbell (knee) returned to practice on Friday in a limited capacity but is listed as doubtful.

"It's the next man up mentality," said Head Coach Matt LaFleur when asked about the 10 players on the Packers' injury report. "We've said it – this league doesn't really care ... and neither do we. It's how do you get the next guy up ready to roll, so you can go out and play your best football."

Of the nine listed as questionable, only Alexander and Jenkins did not practice on Friday. Asked whether Jenkins' situation was precautionary, LaFleur said "I believe so." Nijman was added to the injury report after practice Friday.

Jones didn't play in Las Vegas before the bye but returned to practice in a limited capacity this week. Walker, who left in the first half against the Raiders with a knee injury, also practiced on limited basis all week.

Stokes would have to be activated off injured reserve in order to play against the Broncos. Green Bay opened Stokes' 21-day window to return to the 53-man active roster on Oct. 3.

Meanwhile, Denver ruled out tight end Greg Dulcich with a hamstring.

The Broncos didn't issue a game designation for the following players who are expected to be available: safety Justin Simmons (hip), safety Kareem Jackson (neck), linebacker Baron Browning (knee/wrist), center Lloyd Cushenberry (quad) and defensive tackle D.J. Jones (knee).

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James Harden should practice in full Clippers gear.

Can any new teams crack the top five?

Entering the 2023-24 season, I’m already thinking about the NBA’s top offenses. As Jean-Claude Van Damme said in “Double Team” with Dennis Rodman, “offense gets the glory.” That’s especially true today.

Here were last season’s top five offenses:

These are my best threats to crack the top five in 2023-24:

To be fair to Rodman, in that same movie with JCVD, does retort with “but defense wins the game.” So, let’s check out if the top five defenses remain status quo.

Here are my best threats to crack the top five in defense:

This is our last weekend without NBA basketball for countless months. Get all your sleep done now.

Time for some news from Shams!

The Bucks are looking for a new assistant coach days before the season.

Longtime NBA coach Terry Stotts stepped down from his position on Milwaukee’s staff Thursday, and league sources tell me and Eric Nehm that the partnership between Stotts and new Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin was tenuous, with an incident at Tuesday’s shootaround highlighting it.

You can read more details about that incident right here, including what Damian Lillard, who played for Stotts for nine years in Portland, had to say Thursday. Milwaukee is expected to take its time and consider all options while finding Stotts’ replacement. The Bucks don’t open the regular season until Thursday at home against Philadelphia.

Over to Zach for his final two regular-season previews.

Are they built to repeat?

These are our final season previews ahead of the regular season starting next week. Catch up here, if you’ve missed any.

The Nuggets finally did it. They broke through, used a 53-29 record to earn the West’s No. 1 seed and dominated in the playoffs. Denver easily won the championship and aims to repeat.

Player to watch: Jamal Murray

Obviously, Nikola Joki? is the show here, but Murray is primed for accolades in line with his talent. Now that he’s a champion and the second-best player on a dominant title team, All-Star and maybe All-NBA honors can’t be far. How does he respond to new defensive attention?

Contract year guy: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

The Nuggets’ already-expensive core forced a tough decision with Bruce Brown this past summer. They’re trying to develop their young guys into championship-level replacements. Will Caldwell-Pope be another such situation? He may be too good in his role to let him go.

Big question: Can the Nuggets get even better this year?

We know teams in the West want to slow down the Nuggets, but with Denver’s championship experience, how much better do the Nuggets become? Can their offense reach higher levels? Can they get more out of Michael Porter Jr. and their young guys? Does the West have a chance?

Big obstacle: Developing bench depth in real time.

Along with Brown, they also lost Jeff Green. Young players like Zeke Nnaji, Christian Braun, Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther will get chances to plug into the rotation. Beyond Braun and Holiday, Denver may not have enough consistent role players.

Best-case/Worst-case:

Best: They keep rolling, the young guys play well and they repeat.

Worst: The defense isn’t there, Murray isn’t quite the second star we thought and the rotation is too thin for another ring.

Win total over/under: 52.5

They ended the season coasting and still had 53 wins. Take the over.

Prediction: Give me 55 wins, accolades galore and at least a return to the Western Conference finals

Is the Dame-Giannis pairing unstoppable?

The Bucks had another impressive season with a 58-24 record for the East’s top seed. Then, they had a historic first-round loss to the No. 8 seed Heat. Mike Budenholzer and Jrue Holiday are out. Lillard and Adrian Griffin are in. So, are the Bucks the favorites?

Player to watch: Lillard

We know Giannis is the guy, but everybody wants to see Dame adjust as a team’s second-best player. How much does playing with Giannis, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez open things up for him? What can he do when defenses aren’t fully committed to slowing him down?

Contract year guy: Jae Crowder

The 33-year-old Crowder’s past two seasons were underwhelming (1.8 ppg, 23-percent shooting in 2023 playoffs). Now, he can make some big money by fulfilling a big role on a title-contending Bucks team.

Big question: Do the Bucks have the right coach?

I questioned this before the Terry Stotts news mentioned by Shams. Now, it feels even more important. Griffin has been well-respected around the league for a long time but needs to establish himself as the guy everybody can trust and respect on the sidelines. It will come down to whether he puts them in better positions than Mike Budenholzer did.

Big obstacle: Depth to support their stars.

There’s a real mishmash of role players to help out, but it might end up being pretty solid. Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton are ready. Crowder should be. Then, it’s finding consistency from Cameron Payne, Malik Beasley, Robin Lopez and whatever MarJon Beauchamp provides.

Best-case/Worst-case:

Best: They easily dominate the East, nobody can stop Freak Time (Dame and Giannis) and they’re back in the Finals.

Worst: The Bucks lose too much of their defensive identity with Holiday gone, Griffin isn’t better at adjustments and Miami or Boston beats them.

Win total over/under: 56.5

This probably should be a 60-win team, but I’m a little worried about the health of Brook Lopez and Middleton.

Prediction: I’ll take the under at 54 wins, but this team will be at least in the Eastern Conference finals

The Warriors need a Year Three leap from Jonathan Kuminga.

LISTEN: The Tampering pod predicts this season’s NBA award winners.

Could Emoni Bates be the second-round steal of this year’s draft?

(Top photo: AAron Ontiveroz / Getty Images)

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If you’re a fan of Beyoncé, Drake, Adele, Harry Styles, Janet Jackson, Metallica, The Chicks, Pearl Jam, or Billy Joel, you have no choice but to leave Colorado for their current run of shows.

Why is that? Especially when Colorado is getting concerts from undisputed heavyweights such as Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Madonna, Zac Brown Band, Olivia Rodrigo, Foo Fighters and Morgan Wallen?

Fans and critics have posed the question often. U2 hasn’t played Colorado since 2015, skipping us with its last couple of tours despite previously playing here regularly. As a colleague of mine pointed out, they used to love us, having filmed “Under a Blood Red Sky” (at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in 1983) and part of “Rattle & Hum” (at McNichols Sports Arena in 1987) in Colorado.

How ridiculous is it that Drake and 21 Savage, three days before their Sept. 8 show at Ball Arena, bailed “due to the distance the road crew has to travel along with the magnitude of the production,” promoters wrote, making it “logistically impossible to bring the full experience of the show to Denver … .” They promised a rescheduled show, but one would’ve thought they figured out production details before putting tickets on sale and prompting more than 10,000 people to schedule their lives around it.

Of course, waiting is part of being a fan. In 2016 and 2018, Denver wasn’t anywhere to be found on the cities announced for Beyoncé’s tours, The Denver Post’s Dylan Owens reported. And yet, her blockbuster Renaissance Tour managed to skip us again this year. At this point, she hasn’t played Denver since 2007.

As Red Rocks and other major venues put tickets on sale for 2024 concerts this month, and calendars continue to fill at all major venues, it’s worth wondering what’s behind these decisions.

The answers vary by artist, management and promoter. Fans will travel to see their favorite bands — my wife is in Las Vegas as I type this, seeing U2’s residency at the whiz-bang Sphere — and they should. We celebrate Red Rocks Amphitheatre as a global icon, and a recent report found that nearly half of all concert-goers there came from out of state last year, spending $305 million in the metro area before and after shows. We all benefit.

But when artists are banking on 18,000-seat amphitheaters in nearby markets (we have one that size in Fiddler’s Green), fans are justified in asking why Colorado got snubbed. Yes, it costs money to drive equipment to, or fly in and out of Colorado’s isolated Front Range, the biggest population center for a 560-mile radius. The next, closest big city is Phoenix.

The upside of these business decisions is that Denver more frequently secures artists who might seem outsized for our sparsely populated Rocky Mountain region. That’s thanks largely to tour routing, which is a bottom-line financial concern that forces most big artists to play Denver in order to pay for their gas-guzzling Western treks. One has to wonder if carbon-footprint concerns are the reason Radiohead hasn’t played Red Rocks since its 2003 “Hail to the Thief” show there, as singer Thom Yorke has hinted. (The band hasn’t played Denver in general since its 2012 show at the now-defunct FirstBank Center.)

But tour routing is also bringing biggies like SZA (Oct. 18), Doja Cat (Nov. 19) and Mariah Carey (Nov. 21) to Ball Arena. We’ve hardly been skipped on “last-ever” shows and reunion tours. Heritage acts, as they’re called in the industry, enjoy built-in recognition and audiences everywhere they go — see farewell concerts from Elton John, the Eagles, 50 Cent, Aerosmith, KISS, Dead and Company, Ozzy Osbourne, etc. (all at Ball Arena).

We even got two nights of Taylor Swift in July, whereas some markets only saw one. And if you miss certain rising musicians, you’ll likely see them again, provided fortune smiles upon your VIP section.

Denver is one of the biggest and best concert markets in the U.S. when it comes to ticket sales, attendance and the number of venues, promoters such as Live Nation and AEG Presents have said over the years. We’re a global epicenter for EDM and bass music. Platinum-selling acts that have come up here and call Colorado home, such as Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats and The Lumineers, are constantly doing their hometown proud with sold-out stints around the world.

We even got to see the last-ever Colorado show from The Rolling Stones to feature founding drummer Charlie Watts before his 2021 death, which packed Empower Field in August 2019. The band has been playing Colorado since 1965, Mick Jagger said from the stage, but hadn’t graced us since a 2005 visit to the Pepsi Center.

Our musical cornucopia overflows in part due to mega-promoter AEG Presents Rocky Mountains, founded and owned by Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz. The company’s aggressive business practices (some local artists have called it a monopoly) and festival experiments have been overall good for music fans, even if ever-inflating ticket prices continue to keep many of us from attending any artist’s or promoter’s concerts, anywhere.

We may be oversimplifying for the sake of the bigger picture, but the disappointment is real, especially when a bottom-line decision forces us to choose between a mortgage payment and traveling out of state to see what could be, for example, Beyoncé’s last big tour.

There’s still plenty to see here, and we’re lucky in most ways. But it’s hard to consider Denver one of the best live music cities in the U.S. when some of the biggest artists in the world have been snubbing us for a decade or more.

Follow The Denver Post’s music coverage at denverpost.com/things-to-do/music for the latest concert announcements, news and interviews.

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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Russell Wilson doesn't always like to let the swirl of the outside world in, especially during tough times.

Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton calls it a "glass half-full, upbeat" demeanor that reminds him of his 15-year run with Drew Brees in New Orleans.

But there are postgame moments amid the Broncos' 1-5 start when Wilson simply sits, facing his locker, still wearing his grass-stained uniform. The weight of unfulfilled expectations and limited results of his tenure in Denver seem to appear on the quarterback's slumped shoulders.

"Coulda, shoulda, woulda is not good enough,'' Wilson said. " ... As we continue to go throughout the season, it's a journey. There's still a lot of good things ahead. We really believe that. We just can't hurt ourselves. [The] games that we've lost, we've hurt ourselves in some form or fashion.''

Wilson and the Broncos head into Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers at Empower Field at Mile High (4:25 p.m. ET, FOX) in a historically bad spot. They lost two consecutive home games to open a season for the first time, surrendered 70 points in a game for the first time and Payton, in the loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 2, blew an 18-point lead for the first time in his coaching career.

Wilson, now in his second season with the Broncos since the March 2022 trade to acquire him, has both set an NFL milestone and played one of his worst career games in the span of a month. Against Washington, Wilson became the league's first quarterback to pass for at least 40,000 yards and rush for at least 5,000 yards.

But in the 50-point loss the Miami Dolphins, he posted the first game of his 12-year career with fewer than passing 150 yards and two interceptions.

His 95 yards passing against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6 was the third-worst total of any of the 179 NFL games he has played in his career and negated the best effort of the season from the Broncos' beleaguered defense.

"We had a chance, we've got to play better, cleaner,'' a subdued Wilson said after the 19-8 loss to the Chiefs, the 16th in a row to Kansas City for the Broncos. " ... I've got to play better. That starts with me.''

Payton has said when Wilson and the Broncos offense operates quickly -- "tempo'' -- is when Wilson most often "throws well.'' But Payton, like Nathaniel Hackett before him, has burned timeouts to get plays in with an offense that doesn't convert third downs well; the Broncos went three-and-out on five consecutive possessions against the Jets alone.

So, Wilson has gone from among the league leaders early in the season in categories like yards per attempt and air yards per attempt -- often indicators of a more downfield passing attacks -- to middle of the pack or in the league's bottom 10 in recent weeks.

He's 25th in air yards per attempt (6.9), 16th in yards per dropback (6.16) and 16th in yards per attempt (7.1). He is now also under duress more than almost any other quarterback in the league.

"We all know what he's about,'' wide receiver Courtland Sutton said. "We know what he's done in this league. He doesn't let us waver. He keeps working, grinding.''

Despite tackle Mike McGlinchey and guard Ben Powers being the team's two biggest free agent acquisitions, Wilson has been sacked four times in each of the last two games, at least four times in three of the last five games and been on the run more.

The pressure has often taken a toll on Wilson's footwork and the tempo erodes. He has 33 completions combined in the last two games -- none longer than 29 yards -- and the Broncos are now 26th in the league in sacks allowed per pass attempt at 10.3%.

"It's just when we get momentum, continue that momentum and keep going with it,'' Wilson said. "I think we've done a pretty good job of that for the most part, but I think we have to continue to try to catch fire with that ... there are too many little mistakes that we have to clean up and fix those."

In the end Payton has said he needs to be "more patient'' at times as a playcaller, more cognizant of the Broncos' running game (the Broncos are third in the league run-block win rate) to keep Wilson out of harm's way and deal with what Payton has called the Broncos' shrinking "margin for error'' at the moment.

"I think we have to be more patient,'' Payton said. "And better at running the ball.''