The Seattle Seahawks‘ “Legion of Boom” blew up with Kam | general | Forum

The Denver Broncos‘ “No Fly Zone” was grounded by Aqib Talib’s trade and T.J. Ward’s departure.Not so fast Nick Bosa Jersey , insist the holdovers.These two teams may not have the star power in their respective secondaries that they’ve boasted in years past, but they still have formidable, youth-infused defensive backfields expected to play leading roles in 2018.When Talib was traded to the Rams this spring, he suggested the “No Fly Zone” no longer existed.Nonsense, retorted cornerback Chris Harris Jr.“I started the ‘No Fly Zone,’ so it’s going to always be here,” said Harris, who has some new co-pilots in cornerbacks Tramaine Brock, Adam Jones and Isaac Yiadom backing up Talib’s replacement, Bradley Roby.At safety, the Broncos had hoped to add some pop to go with Darian Stewart’s heady play, and they acquired Su’a Cravens from Washington. But he’s on IR with a sore left knee, leaving Will Parks and Dymonte Thomas to step up.Behind Sherman’s swagger, Seattle’s secondary became a catchphrase across the NFL. The “Legion of Boom” was so well known the names of Sherman, Chancellor and Earl Thomas were always associated with that moniker.Not anymore.Sherman is now with division rival San Francisco. Chancellor’s career is likely over after a neck injury suffered last season. Thomas is still around but he only returned to the team on Wednesday after a holdout that produced neither the contract extension nor the trade he hoped for.Broncos coach Vance Joseph doesn’t see much difference on film, however.“That defense is more of a culture than it is a certain player,” Joseph said. “They play hard, they play fast and that’s what coach (Pete) Carroll brought there five or six years ago. As I watch the tape this year, it’s different names and numbers, but it’s the same personalities. It’s Seattle. It looks like Seattle.”If Thomas plays Sunday http://www.cardinalscheapstore…..rsey-cheap , it will likely be on a limited “pitch count” as Carroll described it.Otherwise, Seattle’s secondary features Shaquill Griffin and Dontae Johnson at cornerbacks, Bradley McDougald at strong safety and some combination of Thomas and Tedric Thompson at free safety.Not quite “Boom” worthy just yet.Griffin is on his way to being Seattle’s next secondary star. He showed the skill last year as a rookie playing oppositeSherman and may eventually take over as the leader of the unit. Johnson was a starter last year in San Francisco, and McDougald may be one of Seattle’s most versatile players with the ability to bounce between both strong safety and free safety.“It’s very reassuring Earl is back,” McDougald said. “I’m happy he’s here and I’m ready to get to work.”Other subplots as the Broncos try to extend the NFL’s longest active winning streak in openers to seven:STATING HIS CASE: QB Case Keenum , trying to help the Broncos avoid their first back-to-back losing seasons since 1971-72, figures his Denver debut got a little bit harder with Thomas ending his holdout.He praised Thomas as one of the best safeties he’s ever faced, insisted, “he can do some things on film that nobody else can do.”That said, Keenum likes his teammates and his chances.“I’ve got a lot of respect for 29,” Keenum said. “But we trust our guys running routes and catching the ball versus anybody out there.”SHAQUEM STARTS: Shaquill Griffin’s twin brother, rookie linebacker Shaquem Griffin, is expected to start against the Broncos with K.J. Wright out following minor knee surgery. It’s another chapter in the remarkable story of Griffin , who had his left hand amputated as a child. While Griffin is a superior athlete, he is undersized for the position and will be challenged both in the run game and trying to defend bigger tight ends Jeff Heuerman and Jake Butt.HONORING T.D.: Royce Freeman is set to become the first rookie running back to start Week 1 for the Broncos since Hall of Famer Terrell Davis in 1995. Fellow rookie and local hero Phillip Lindsay, who starred at the University of Colorado, got Davis’ blessing to rock his No. 30 jersey .“As a running back, it’s special to be able to wear T.D.’s number,” Lindsay said.COLORADO CONNECTION: Seahawks QB Russell Wilson was once a farmhand of the Colorado Rockies, who drafted him a day before his father died in 2010. “I’m very Dre'Mont Jones Jersey , very grateful for the Colorado Rockies organization and what they did for me and just gave me a chance and allowed me to take my mind off of my dad, who was my best friend. I’ll never forget that,” Wilson said.The New York Yankees now hold Wilson’s baseball rights, and while he’s got a great gig now, “I think I’d look pretty good in them, wearing the pinstripes,” Wilson said. “When you put on a Yankee uniform, they say you become immortal.” EAGAN, Minn. — The leverage of free agency in his prime brought Kirk Cousins the market-setting contract with Minnesota.Now the Vikings have their latest franchise quarterback to try to secure that elusive first Super Bowl victory with.More Vikings coveragePhotos of the Week: 7/21/19 – 7/27/19Rookie Bradbury is central figure to Vikings’ overhauled offensive lineVikings depth at cornerback being tested, Hughes still not clearedPlayers to watch at Minnesota Vikings 2019 training campTop Tweets: Vikings WR Diggs makes push for All-NFL Style TeamThe Vikings wrapped up their welcome party with an $84 million, three-year contract for Cousins on Thursday afternoon, banking big time on the late-blooming former Washington Redskins prospect to finally stabilize a critical position that’s been infamously problematic.“The contract, it is what it is,” Cousins said. “But what my wife and I are thrilled about is the organization we are walking into.”The money for Cousins is fully guaranteed, the largest such figure in NFL history, at least until the next mega quarterback contract comes along, according to figures tracked by the pro sports financial website spotrac.com . His annual average of $28 million is also, for now, the biggest in the league, at least until the next mega quarterback contract comes along.Team owners Zygi Wilf and Mark Wilf were willing to approve the investment Hakeem Butler Jersey , hopeful that Cousins can be the keystone to a championship squad.“If anybody in this city or this state has a question about their commitment, I think this contract shows that they’re all in,” Cousins said. “It’s a tremendous amount of belief in me as a person and as a player, and I’m humbled and honored to get the OK on that.”The guarantee of the full value of the deal is unprecedented in the NFL, where a variety of complex factors have kept players from receiving sure-thing contracts like their professional baseball, basketball and hockey peers.His agent, Mike McCartney, began talking to Cousins about the potential for such a groundbreaking deal more than two years ago with the assumption he’d eventually arrive at free agency because of the noncommittal Redskins.“There’s nothing I can pave unless people come after me,” Cousins said at his introductory news conference at the team’s sparkling and still-under construction suburban headquarters. “I guess history will probably write that.”Cousins will represent the fourth primary quarterback the Vikings have had in as many seasons. As long as he stays healthy throughout the summer, Cousins will also represent the eighth starting quarterback for a season opener in the past nine years.Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Bradford and Case Keenum all became free agents this week and signed with other teams, so the Vikings didn’t have much of a backup plan if Cousins balked at their offer.But as a team with a star-laden defense and plenty of dynamic skill-position players on offense that reached the NFC championship game last season, the Vikings also represented quite the destination for Cousins.“I came here because of the chance to win,” he said. “I felt like it was probably the best chance.”Cousins started 57 games over his six seasons with Washington, which drafted him in the fourth round in 2012 behind second overall draft pick Robert Griffin III. RG3’s star faded quickly, though, and Cousins, who was lightly recruited out of Holland Christian High School before landing at Michigan State, worked his way up the depth chart. He topped 4,000 passing yards over each of the past three years.The Redskins appeared in only one postseason game with Cousins at the helm http://www.bengalscheapstore.c…..rsey-cheap , and his career record as a starter is just 26-30-1. Rarely does a rising quarterback reach free agency before turning 30, though, so after playing for about $20 million in 2016 and about $24 million in 2017 on consecutive franchise tags with Washington, Cousins reached his opportunity to truly cash in after the Redskins acquired Alex Smith in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs.“He bet on himself several times and won, and those things are really important to me,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “He’s always played with a chip on his shoulder. We’re just really excited to have him.”Realizing he was headed for the open market, Cousins began scouring the Twin Cities area while in town for promotional appearances the week of the Super Bowl. Just two days into his visit, the Smith deal went down. Upon phoning home to his wife, Julie, he gave a glowing scouting report of the region.“This is a lifetime deal. That’s the goal,” Cousins said. “Yes, it’s a three-year deal, but the expectation from both sides is that we raise our kids here and if everything goes as planned, we’re here for a long time.”The Vikings began the day $50 million under their salary cap , according to NFL Players Association data, and the deal with Cousins will take up almost half of that with the prospect of expensive extensions looming in the coming year for players such as linebackers Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks and wide receiver Stefon Diggs.They still have space to make more improvements this month, though and defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson was already at the new facility on Thursday for a visit. Richardson, a first-round pick by the New York Jets in the 2013 draft, was traded to the Seattle Seahawks prior to last season.