Episode 59: Brandon McManus

Great Dane Nation

On the 59th episode of “Great Dane Nation,” Morten is joined by Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus ahead of his Thursday Night Football match-up with the Cleveland Browns (03:53 – 41:57). But first, he checks in with TommyFreezePops (Tom Carroll) for this week’s edition of the “Opening Kick” (00:57 – 02:56). Morten recaps his foundation’s annual event, “Special Teams for Special Ops.”
We then move to our interview with Brandon McManus, where he discusses a wide range of topics: being star-struck when meeting Morten at Peyton Manning’s afterparty at the Pro Football Hall of Fame (04:23); the evolution of how kickers are compensated across the NFL (06:26); his thoughts on the ManningCast so far this season (08:09); how invested he stays within the game, knowing that he could go enormous lengths of time with no action (09:14); how he has performed after less-than-ideal warmups (13:15); being at his first NFL training camp as a back-up for Adam Vinatieri on the Colts (16:16); whether he’s a “feel guy” or a “mechanical guy” when it comes to kicking (19:02); the beginning of his tenure in Denver, where employment was not guaranteed (20:53); his thoughts on the 2021 Denver Broncos (24:40); why he thinks the strength of the Broncos is their defense (27:16); why having Von Miller back is so huge for this team (28:02); why Brandon believes he could hit a 70-yard field goal if given the opportunity (29:06); some of the rule changes Morten proposed to Roger Goodell as it relates to kicking, including rewarding 4 points for field goals over 60 yards (31:27); his two favorite kickers of all-time, and why he has so much respect for Justin Tucker (35:43); his favorite place to kick outside of Mile High, and his least favorite place to kick (36:49); and this week’s edition of “The Name Game,” featuring Peyton Manning, John Elway, Britton Colquitt, Sam Martin, Vic Fangio, DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib, Gary Kubiak and Brandon Staley (38:35).
Then we move to this week’s edition of “Morten’s Fast 5,” where our Hall of Famer makes picks for the five biggest games of the football weekend (43:57 – 51:07). Morten gives his picks for Broncos at Browns (45:01), Bengals at Ravens (46:06), Bears at Buccaneers (47:41), Chiefs at Titans (48:29), and Saints at Seahawks (49:58).
Finally, we close things out with “Morten’s Game Winner” – a weekly monologue from The Great Dane on his biggest takeaway of the week. This week, Morten talks about the evolution of the kicking position, and why he sees Brandon McManus as one of the kickers that will help the position continue to evolve (51:10).