FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, August 29th, 2022
PETER KING SPEAKS WITH DAK PRESCOTT AND BRANDON STALEY AS TRAINING CAMP TOUR CONCLUDES IN THIS WEEK’S “FMIA” COLUMN
“I didn’t do a good enough job. That’s what’s gotten me moving this whole offseason.” – Chargers head coach Brandon Staley to King on Los Angeles’ Week 18 loss last season that kept them out of the postseason
“The problem is the timing…[GM Brandon] Beane and Bills ownership should draw up some new guidelines for investigating lurid accusations against future and current players.” – Peter King on the Bills cutting punter Matt Araiza
“I cannot find any good reason to pick someone other than Josh Allen for MVP.” – King
“Jonathan Taylor should be the first overall pick in every [fantasy football] draft.” – King
STAMFORD, Conn. – August 29, 2022 – Peter King speaks with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley as his Training Camp Tour concludes in this week’s edition of Football Morning in America, available now exclusively on NBCSports.com. King also discusses the Bills cutting punter Matt Araiza, the Patriots’ preseason struggles, and his fantasy football tips for the upcoming season.
For more NFL coverage, Peacock offers daily programming on the NBC Sports channel for free, including Pro Football Talk at 7 a.m. ET, The Dan Patrick Show at 9 a.m. ET, Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry at Noon ET, Brother from Another at 3 p.m. ET, plus Chris Simms Unbuttoned on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and the weekly The Peter King Podcast. To learn more about the NBC Sports on Peacock channel and how to sign up, click here.
The NFL on NBC YouTube channel offers daily football content for free, with exclusive videos from Peter King – including his interviews with players and coaches at training camps – Mike Florio, Chris Simms, and more. To access all of these videos and more, click here to subscribe.
The following are highlights from this week’s edition of Football Morning in America:
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
Chargers head coach Brandon Staley to Peter King on Los Angeles’ Week 18 last season: “That’s the toughest loss that I’ve ever been a part of as a competitor for sure.”
Staley to King: “My regret is that in what should’ve been able to get us out of there with a tie, [the Raiders] ended up splitting us on a 10-yard run and that’s what I’ve been thinking about – our execution on that last play. That’s the tough side of things, having to live with that. I didn’t do a good enough job. That’s what’s gotten me moving this whole offseason.”
Staley to King on linebacker Khalil Mack: “I think to establish a culture and the type of mindset, you gotta bring in players who can live that. I think there’s no better example of that than Khalil [Mack]. I saw it happen in Chicago. He’s a fierce competitor.”
Staley to King on the Chargers’ aggressive play calling: “I know the mindset I tried to create within our team. I know that’s not gonna change. Not one bit.”
DAK PRESCOTT
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott to King on his football journey: “I feel I’ve been doubted at every level, honestly. I got the starting quarterback job in high school, college and pro due to the guy in front of me getting injured. So when I stepped in [in Dallas, for Tony Romo], I said, ‘Maybe this is it, again.’ I didn’t want to put it in anyone else’s hands to take it away from me. And as the success happened, it was just a confirmation.”
Prescott to King on the vulnerability he shows: “It’s not just smoke with me. It’s real-life events. [The deaths of] my mom, my brother, my severe [ankle] injury. I’ve been through it. Months, years later, I’m able to talk about it and be vulnerable about it. People understand that’s who I am.”
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- Watch Now: Click here to watch King’s conversation with Prescott
NEWS & NOTES
King on the Bills cutting punter Matt Araiza amid accusations of gang rape: “The Bills, of course, had no choice but to cut punter Matt Araiza. The problem is the timing…[GM Brandon] Beane and Bills ownership should draw up some new guidelines for investigating lurid accusations against future and current players.”
King on Commanders RB Brian Robinson Jr. getting shot: “Being an NFL player doesn’t disqualify you from the everyday gun violence that plagues our society. You’ve got to feel for a guy who’d done everything right in training camp and worked his way into a big role in coordinator Scott Turner’s offense.”
King on the Patriots’ offseason struggles: “The Patriots looked bad, particularly on offense, throughout the summer, and Mac Jones wasn’t as sharp in practice this summer as he was in games as a rookie…[they] enter the season the clear number three in the AFC East behind Buffalo and Miami.”
A prominent NFL executive to King on the Deshaun Watson suspension: “I think there were multiple owners who didn’t want Deshaun Watson suspended for the season, and told Roger Goodell that.”
King on the fight at the Rams-Bengals joint practice: “I think the NFL is going to have to get in the business of monitoring behavior at joint practices and negotiate a change to the player discipline policy with the union. That’s my takeaway when the league said that discipline for the Aaron Donald helmet-swinging incident would be left to the Rams.
King on Jimmy Garoppolo’s current situation: “I think if I’m Jimmy Garoppolo, and I get my freedom sometime in the next two weeks, I don’t sign anywhere. I wait. I get fully healthy and sign with a team when there’s a quarterback injury.”
King on Bills QB Josh Allen: “I cannot find any good reason to pick someone other than Josh Allen for MVP.”
King on the Steelers’ QB battle: “The preseason is not something to care about, but in this case, at the very least, the Pittsburgh quarterbacks played as if to say, The death of the Pittsburgh quarterback position has been greatly exaggerated.”
Cris Collinsworth to King on the late Len Dawson: “Len didn’t run through life. He glided through life…He had zero ego. From what I’ve heard, he was that kind of quarterback too.”
FANTASY FOOTBALL
King on Colts RB Jonathan Taylor: “Jonathan Taylor should be the first overall pick in every draft. He’s Roger Craig — potentially better…and he’s 23 with a coach who loves him.”
King on his Reborn Player of the Year, Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster: “He’s been revitalized because he thought he was typecast as a slot guy only with the Steelers. He loves Patrick Mahomes, and the feeling is mutual.”
King on Bills WR Gabriel Davis: “He’s a worker, and Josh Allen sees him as a great complement — not a distant number two — to Stefon Diggs.”
King on the Buccaneers’ wide receivers: “The Bucs are unpredictable because of injuries and tender players, and I’d steer clear of receivers not named Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.”
King on Raiders QB Derek Carr: “Derek Carr will be a top-five fantasy QB. Threw for 4,804 yards last year, and now he’s got Josh McDaniels calling plays and Davante Adams running routes. What’s not to like?”
King on Saints WR Chris Olave: “Gut Feeling of the Year: Chris Olave of the Saints will be the most productive rookie WR.”
King on Cowboys RB Tony Pollard: “I’m a broken record on this: Tony Pollard is the best running back on the Cowboys roster.”
Read the full FMIA column here and catch the weekly Peter King Podcast here.
The following are additional highlights of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage:
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- PFT Live with NBC Sports’ Mike Florio (Mondays) and Florio and Chris Simms (Tuesday-Thursday) streams on Peacock from 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. ET on weekdays & is available on-demand. The Dan Patrick Show streams at 9 a.m. ET, Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry at Noon ET, Brother From Another at 3 p.m. ET, PFT PM at 5 p.m. ET. At 6 p.m. ET, Chris Simms Unbuttoned streams Tuesday-Friday.
- ProFootballTalk.comcom continues to provide the latest news and updates.
- NBC Sports EDGE’s A Good Football Show continues the NFL discussion and Bet The Edge Podcast provides daily betting insights.
- The NFL on NBC YouTube channel offers daily football content for free, with exclusive videos from Peter King – including his interviews with players and coaches at training camps – Mike Florio, Chris Simms, and more. To access all of these videos and more, click here to subscribe
A new “Football Morning in America” posts every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com through the NFL season. It was announced in May 2019 that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; making regular appearances on PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.
—NBC SPORTS—
