AFC West Notes: Mike Shanahan, Broncos, Raiders

Mike Shanahan

Former Broncos and Redskins HC Mike Shanahan said he was โ€œcloseโ€ to returning to coaching after speaking with John Elway following the 2017 season.

However, Shanahan explained that he had to be โ€œon the same pageโ€ with everyone on their staff.

โ€œI was close, I was close,โ€™โ€˜ Shanahan said, via ESPN.com. โ€œOne thing that has to happen is you all have to be on the same page. One thing youโ€™ve got to make sure of when you are a head football coach that the owner, the GM, the quarterback are all on the same page. And if it doesnโ€™t happen the chances of you winning the Super Bowl arenโ€™t very good. โ€ฆ I had a great conversation with John as everybody knows, it didnโ€™t work out, sometimes it works out for the right reasons.โ€

โ€œYou always miss coaching, but itโ€™s been five years,โ€ Shanahan added. โ€œI made the decision a long time ago, right when I got fired (by the Redskins), I said if I didnโ€™t get the right job right away, where you had a chance to win a Super Bowl, that I was probably going to do what Iโ€™m doing, being a dad, kind of following your son, the organization, being a part of it.โ€

Broncos

Regarding the Broncos playing poorly in their scrimmage this week against the 49ers, RB Phillip Lindsay said their offense entered with the wrong mentality. 

โ€œI think we went into it as this was going to be a practice,โ€ said Lindsay, via Mike Klis. โ€œThey came into it as a game. And they shocked us a little bit. We didnโ€™t get knocked down but we got stung. We regrouped and you see us out there today?โ€

Broncos GM John Elway pointed out that the team is a โ€œbit thinโ€ on their offensive lineโ€™s depth. 

โ€œI think weโ€™re better there. Obviously, we have to continue to work and weโ€™re a little bit thin there,โ€ said Elway, via Ryan Oโ€™Halloran

  • Broncos HC Vic Fangio said LB Von Miller is experiencing โ€œminor knee soreness,โ€ but could still play in Monday nightโ€™s preseason game against the 49ers (Mike Klis)
  • Fangio added that Broncos CB Horace Richardson is dealing with a lingering back issue. (Nicki Jhabvala)
  • Broncos CB Dymonte Thomas was fined $28,075 for unnecessary roughness in their preseason game against the Seahawks. (Tom Pelissero)

Raiders

Raiders QB Derek Carr said Antonio Brown has had โ€œno mental errorsโ€ during walkthroughs despite missing the majority of training camp so far. 

โ€œHe has great recall. He had no mental errors. You can tell heโ€™s been studying,โ€ said Carr, via Vic Tafur of The Athletic

Raiders HC Jon Gruden added that Brown showed โ€œgreat retentionโ€ during his walkthroughs and expects him to return to practice in the near future.  

โ€œHe took all the reps today in our walkthrough. He showed great retention and weโ€™ll see what happens here with this afternoon; weโ€™re going to have a walkthrough today as wellโ€ฆso weโ€™ll pick it up tomorrow,โ€ said Gruden, via Paul Gutierrez

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