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sports ramblings

Crow Never Tasted So Good

October 20, 2009 – 9:44 am

So the Broncos are 6-0 after smashing the Chargers in the mouth. Can I say for the record that Shawn Merriman is an overrated airbag? For the life of me, I don’t understand the hype. He’s got ZERO sacks this year and didn’t make a tackle for loss all game. In fact, since his injury and banned substance suspension – he’s been pretty average. Yet…his mouth still runs.

The defense is real. Doom is a beast but last night should give Bronco fans reason to pause. If Brian Dawkins goes down, this team could be in trouble. He does so much for this team, a presence the Broncos haven’t had since Atwater in the heydays. The second quarter BDawk was out with an injury. This is also the same time when San Diego scored most of the their points and went up and down the field on the Broncos like practice. BDawk comes back in the second half, no 3rd down conversions and only 3 points. That’s not a coincidence.

Marshall still makes me nervous. His unsportsmanlike penalty cost the Broncos a 1st and goal opportunity. He’s got to get his head right ALL the time. Royal shows us one more way he is the ultimate professional and hopefully why he will be a Bronco for a long time. The returns were awesome but after the game never have I seen a WR so happy that didn’t have a single catch. That’s right…he didn’t catch a ball and he was elated that the team won and he could help. Refreshing.

Bye week…means one more week as an undefeated team.

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Ridonkilous!!

October 12, 2009 – 9:48 am

The Broncs are 5-0 and have already exceeded what I thought they would do. Now all of a sudden the schedule doesn’t look as horrendous as it once did. Washington has turned into a horrible team, Dallas – not good. San Diego – absolutely beatable. Philadelphia and New York are still Super Bowl contenders and will definitely test the mettle of this team.

New England may be down this year, may not be the team we all thought they were, but it’s still New England. I thought our special teams were going to give the game right back to the Patsies. This is still a glaring weakness of the Broncos. A fair catch inside the ten, allowing Pats to down punts inside the 5. A running into the kicker penalty and two offsides penalties…not good.

Moreno looks great when he runs but he is fumbling to much. If he continues, his career will be short. Had Buckhalter been healthy, it’s doubtful we’d seen much of Knowshon in the second half. Eddie Royal had his breakout game. Love this guy. Great player, great competitor. Marshall proved once again why he is one of the NFL’s elite receivers when his head is on straight.

But once again, the defense takes the center stage. They are the leaders of this team so far. Doom is beast.

Hats off to McDaniels. First, you can tell the guys are better prepared than they have been in a long time. No knock on Shanny – he’s a great coach and all-time favorite. However, it’s apparent now that his voice had lost the touch, the relevance with the team. Second, his honesty is refreshing. “I lied” was how he responded to a reporter who asked him if this was just another game. It was and he said it and somehow he was able to win and still show his respect to Bill Belicheck and a team he loves.

The Unis
I have no words. Hideous. I actually liked the helmets…being an Alabama guy and all. But the baby poo colored look plus the vertical stripes on the socks… Hands down this is the ugliest throwback unis of all time. Not even close. The Pats on the other hand – great throwback look. I love the patriot hiking the football, the white look, it’s all just slick looking and quite honestly, they never should have changed their look.

AFC West Update

Jokeland – hide all sharp metal objects from the Kitchens family and other Raider fans. JaMarcus is regressing. They are in roll over and die mode.

KC – You can see what Haley is trying to do. He just doesn’t have the players to pull it off. This is just like the Herm Edwards version of the Chiefs. Can’t close a game. If Haley really is an upgrade over Herm Edwards, he’s got to start winning these close games. Pioli can help him by getting players in KC that are better than the ones he has…even if it’s a temporary fix. That alone would send a message to the clubhouse. Real test will be next year.

SD – Norv Turner has got to be feeling the heat. They are 2-2 and all of a sudden 3 games behind Denver. Yes, they are injured but this is the third year SD has come out of the gate slow, cold, and despondent. I don’t think Turner keeps his job after this season if Chargers don’t make playoffs.

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sports ramblings

Broncos Real Test Coming

October 2, 2009 – 11:55 am

I’m about to go eat at Chick-fil-a but thought I’d post this quick thought about the Broncos and the evil Cowgirls.

I think Denver wins this game…which puts them 4-0…which means I’ve drank the kool-aid on the Broncos being a good team this year, right? Wrong. Dallas has looked ridiculously bad so far in the season. The Carolina game was closer than the score thanks to Jake Delhomme doing what he does best lately – cough up the ball. And they are hurt. Which is not good for them but good for the Broncos. Plus, it’ll be good for Wade Phillips to go back to Denver and do what he does best…lose games that he should win. We would know about that. We had our own Wade Phillips era.

The schedule ahead is brutal but if the Broncos can continue to beat the bad teams – Oakland again, KC twice, Washington – that’s 8 wins (assuming they beat the ‘Boys.) That won’t get them in the playoffs but it’s respectable. Then again…the season is early.

RaiderNation – I’m sorry. JaMarcus Russel looks atrocious, McFadden all of a sudden can’t hold on to the football, and your defense can’t tackle. There’s talent on that team but only Al Davis could make that much talent look that bad.

Off to chick-fil-a. Don’t tell Amy.

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Football Musings, Week 2 NFL

September 21, 2009 – 3:02 pm

The Broncos handled the Browns nicely yesterday. It was nice to actually see them win a game. Actually, I didn’t get to see them win…but that’s a whole other issue.

Would you believe that the Broncos would be 2-0 and on top of the AFC West?

Yes. I did. Because I figured the Chargers would beat the Raiders and lose to Baltimore. Turner and the Chargers have a habit of blowing games they should win at the beginning of the year. The Ravens however look to be a beast of a team this year with Flacco having no sophomore slump so far. I had a hunch KC would lose to the Ravens but beat Oakland. That left Denver as 2-0 and on top of the division. It lasts one more week as Denver plays the Greatness (sarcasm). After this week — the descent begins.

Watching the Chefs implode, squander scoring opportunities, and mismanage the clock was painful on Sunday. The truth of the matter is that KC is talent poor right now. I think Todd H. and Scott Pioli will change that eventually but this is going to be just as long if not longer season for Chief fans as it is Bronco fans.

Alabama/Arkansas square off this Saturday and there will probably be ample enough trash talk for Hog fans that read this blog. Up until last year, the games were very close. I think the Hogs will make it interesting in the first half, then Bama pulls away in the second. Although I’m very proud of one of my former students – Clay – who is on the Razorback team. Roll Tide…then after this weekend Go Hogs.

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sports ramblings

The 2009 Predictions

September 10, 2009 – 5:45 pm

NFL_Broncos

My beloved Broncos went through an offseason like no other. Thankfully that drama is over and we can get on with football. Here’s how I see the season panning out…

@ Cincinnati, W: Let’s face it, nobody really knows why Marvin Lewis is still coaching. Underachievers galore and as funny and good Ocho is – their defense is shaky, running game non-existent. Even on the road, I think Denver can win this one. They need this win because after week 3…wins are going to be scarce.

Cleveland, W: A game Denver could completely lose. But it’s the home opener…and it’s Cleveland.

@ Oakland, W: I originally had this as a loss but changed my mind. I hate the Raiders. Pathetic franchise but no one, not even Al Davis himself really knows what kind of team they have this year.

Dallas, L: This is where we start hiding the women and children. The next 7 games are brutal. I haven’t seen a stretch of games that tough in a while. Great year to draw both the NFC East and AFC North. Dallas should win because they are more talented BUT it is Dallas and they haven’t been normal in a while. Still…a game that Denver could win if they played well…which they haven’t yet.

New England, L: Do we really have to watch this one? Last one was over by 2nd quarter.

@ San Diego, L: Only way Denver wins is if SD is hurt, abducted by aliens, and Ed Hochuli is calling the game.

@ Baltimore, L: Ugly, low scoring game but a loss. Ravens are looking at Super Bowl. Defense is nasty. On the road after a bye week…not going to happen for the Broncs.

Pittsburgh, L: Monday night game. For some reason, Pittsburgh never plays Denver well. I don’t know why but after Pittsburgh beat Denver in the AFC Championship game back in ’04 (I think), Denver has somehow got the best of them. But…this is a stacked, young, healthy Pittsburgh team that should be hitting its groove. Denver could steal this game but I’m going with averages here.

@ Washington, W: I don’t really think Denver will win this game but it’s the best shot of they have in this brutal 10 game stretch. I’d feel better about it if it was at Mile High.

San Diego, L: Another game Denver COULD win if they play perfect and the stars align up. But just too much talent and SD is ready/focused finally.

NY Giants, L: Thanksgiving night, at Mile High. Will be a great atmosphere. (I’ll take any tickets if any one is offering them!!) It’s just that the Giants know how to run the football and I’m not drinking the kool-aid on the Denver defense. They are still not very good.

@ Kansas City, L: I don’t like this game this late in the season at Arrowhead. The Chiefs have their own issues to work through with a new coach, new QB, new OC and the like. I’m hoping this game stops the losing streak but if I had to pick…

@ Indianapolis, L: It won’t end here. Denver has never looked good playing Indy, especially at Indy. It’s a little too early to hope they’ll be resting their starters for the playoffs.

Oakland, W: I was at the Raider game last year with David and Danny. It was painful to watch. This is what I want for Christmas.

@ Philadelphia, L: An away game in December in Philadelphia…just can’t get any better. Philly will more than likely either be playing for home field advantage OR suffered an implosion with Michael Vick at QB. Either way – Denver becomes the punching bag.

Kansas City, W: At this point in the season, it will be interesting to see how the team responds. Does it roll over or push on? If it pushes, they’ll get the W here. KC doesn’t play all that great in Denver.

6-10.

That’s with two “I hope they win” picks thrown in – Cincy & Washington. This is the first time since the Wade Phillips era that I really believe that Denver has no chance at the playoffs. Wow.

Go Broncos.

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sports ramblings

Fantasy Football 09-10

September 10, 2009 – 7:29 am

I’m only doing one league this year. It’s a severe drop from years past but my life is to crazy (in a good way) to do much else. I’ve got a love-hate relationship with my draft. I like who I got in terms of where I got him…but there are some players I didn’t want to draft but given where they were in the draft…I just had to take them. You’ll see what I mean in a bit.

I had the 11th pick in a 12 team draft. I normally don’t like this position because it means you either have to take a player that fell that you don’t necessarily need/want OR you pick a player you need a bit too early. My game plan going in was – take a QB and WR early because I figured the great RBs would be gone by the time 11 came around. Pick up RBs in round 3 and 4. That was the plan anyway.

Reality always is so much different, isn’t it? Here were the first 10 picks in front of me…

Adrian Peterson
Michael Turner
Maurice Jones-Drew
Matt Forte
Drew Brees
Tom Brady
Calvin Johnson
Chris Johnson
DeAngelo Williams
Randy Moss

Not what I expected and both QBs that I was hoping to draft a bit early ahead of everyone else were now gone. But the flip side was it left some great options for me at 11. 3 of my top 10 players that I thought I had no chance at were still on the board. Cooper had the 12 and 13 pick. Knowing Coop’s favorite player, I did what any loving dad would do in my position….I drafted him.

Larry Fitzgerald, WR – my first pick. In a league that gives a point per reception…pretty good pickup. Coop had the next two picks and when he saw Fitz come off the board…let’s just say I won’t be nominated for any Dad of the Year awards by him. I felt bad for putting Coop in the position of being so close to getting the player he wanted only to have it ripped from his heart at the last possible second. But this is fantasy football and the sooner he learns that happens all the time, the better. I consider it my job to prepare him. Prepare him I did. I got over it by pick 14.

Cooper – with no help from me – realizes that WRs are about to go like crazy and probably RBs and after these two picks, he doesn’t have one for another 24 picks. So he drafts Frank Gore, RB and Andre Johnson, WR. Not bad picks, really. Pretty solid and safe.

That left me with one of those “You have to draft him because no one is going to believe he is sitting there” picks but you’re not sure how much mileage you’re really going to get – LaDainian Tomlinson. I’d have a couple more of those picks in front of me. Here’s the team in order of where they were drafted:

11 Larry Fitzgerald, Ari
14 LaDainian Tomlinson, SD
35 Thomas Jones, NYJ
38 Brandon Marshall, Den – one of those “I don’t really want him, but I’ll drink the poison anyway” picks.
59 Knowshon Moreno, Den
62 Jay Cutler, Chi – see above.
83 Steelers D/ST, Pit
86 Carson Palmer, Cin
107 Patrick Willis, SF
110 Tim Hightower, Ari
131 Patrick Crayton, Dal
134 Kevin Boss, NYG
155 David Akers, Phi
158 Willis McGahee, Bal
179 Shawne Merriman, SD
182 Laurence Maroney, NE
203 Limas Sweed, Pit

Games start tonight…let the waiver wire fun begin!!!

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The Season From The Hot Place Begins

August 31, 2009 – 9:11 am

I’m not sure what was worse last night – watching Cutler finally get his legs underneath him as he sliced open the Denver defense or listening to Cris Collingsworth.

In Case There Was Any Doubt…
It’s official…the Broncos had the worst off-season ever. Any hope of getting over that off-season with real football was completely shattered last night. Let’s cover the bright spots first.

Dawkins – a beast. A terror. Played with a broken hand. Lit up anyone who was near him. He actually reminds me of Dennis Smith.

Doom – Elvis is IN the building. It’s a shame he’s the only pass rusher we have that’s worth anything. He’s going to get double-teamed all season long because teams know that they can block the rest of the D-line with popsicle sticks and harsh language. But…he will be a beast in the linebacker position.

Stupid moment of the night – how in the world did Denver get in a scheme where Doom was covering a WR???? He did it…but what the heck was going on there? Another stupid comment from Collingsworth – “Doom is the best player on the Broncos (pause) along with Champ Bailey.” Doom is good and he has the potential to be great. But Champ is by far and away the best player on the Broncos.

Peyton Hillis, Eddie Royal – I’m in favor of running the option during the year with these two and Knowshon Moreno. Any takers?

Overall – Pathetic
The list is long and repetitive as this point. Quarterback play, penalties, play calling, no power in the redzone, defense giving up big 3rd down plays. Sound familiar? Yeah…just like last year. Glad all those changes were made to correct that stuff.

I thought I was finally okay with the Cutler trade. He is a crybaby. He is a prima donna. He’s immature, cocky, loudmouthed, and has a jerk of an agent. But there is no comparison in terms of talent between him and Orton. Cutler doesn’t miss the easy throws. Cutler can throw the ball down the field. Cutler can take a hit. Cutler can put the ball on a postage stamp while on the run in traffic. Cutler revels in the pressure and adversity. He just didn’t want to play for a team, organization, or coach who wouldn’t commit to not trade him.

I realize that it’s not fair to Orton but he can thank McDaniels for that. It’s not even close and last night was the smoking gun proof of it. There was never any threat of the deep ball from Orton. Part of that is play-calling, part of it is the continued ability of Orton to miss wide open targets. At this rate, loosing Brandon Marshall is not going to be a big deal because the Broncs can’t/won’t throw the ball further than 10 yards.

I’m still a Bronco fan, have been since I was 7. Will continue to be a Bronco fan through this debacle as well. Heck, we survived the Wade Phillips experiment. But there is no way this team goes .500. No way.

Welcome to Oakland East.

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The Real Tragedy of Favre-Gate

August 19, 2009 – 5:32 pm

The greatest retirement of any player in any sports has to be John Elway. It’s not just because I’m a huge Bronco fan or that John was/is the greatest quarterback ever – of which there is no further discussion, amen.

It’s because Hollywood couldn’t have scripted out a better exit. Quarterback goes to three Super Bowls early in career and gets blown out in all of them. Puts up Hall of Fame numbers the rest of his career, wins a NFL MVP award but never gets back to the big game. After 16 years in the NFL, he gets to the Super Bowl as the largest underdog in the world and WINS. Comes back the next season, wins the Super Bowl again AND the Super Bowl MVP trophy.

Then retires in the offseason, his last game a Super Bowl win with a Super Bowl MVP trophy. Can you really top that? Of course you can’t.

The only thing that would have been better was Michael Jordan staying retired after he 3-peated the second time. But he didn’t. Or Magic staying retired…but he didn’t either.

But Favre’s situation? It’s different. MJ and Magic – still beloved, they were seen as guys who just loved to play. Favre has gone beyond that…he wants to play as long as it is on his terms and teams he wants to play for. And it’s getting old. There are enough selfish brats in sports, didn’t need another one and sure as heck didn’t need to see that side of Brett Favre.

That’s he’s going into the Hall of Fame one day is not in question. What is in question is what uniform will he wear? Will he have any fans left when he gets there? Will he have a home field, a home team that will honor him as a conquering hero when this is all said and done?

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Not Even Close

August 14, 2009 – 11:38 pm

To being good.

You couldn’t have scripted a worse debut than what Denver did in San Francisco. I mean… 3 INTs? The Orton/McDaniels Experiment is officially started and it doesn’t look bad…it looks horrific. I thought one of the benefits of getting rid of Cutler was the red zone turnovers? I’m glad we got that cured…

The 49ers aren’t even good.

It’s going to be a long season.

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Vick, Second Chances, and the Church

August 14, 2009 – 11:23 am

By now you’ve heard that the Philadelphia Eagles have signed Michael Vick. Yes, that Michael Vick. And the PR coming out of the NFL, locker rooms, management is a unified — “Everybody deserves a second chance. I’m glad he got one.” This comes on the same week that Dante Stallworth was suspended for at least a year from the NFL for killing a man while driving drunk. Will that same message come through next year for him?

As I’ve watched and listened to the press this week, my thoughts have consistently returned to the Church and how we treat our ‘prodigals.’ The NFL may just be modeling something for us…

While the rest of the media and league were concerned with if Vick should even be given this chance and the fallout if any organization took him on…Vick, Tony Dungy, and Roger Goodell were working behind the scenes to make sure that IF this was going to happen – the context would be perfect for success. Money wasn’t the issue, culture was the issue.

Look at the particulars of the situation. Andy Reid is a straight-up coach, has had to deal with his own family demons, he’s well-respected in the league, and he didn’t blink about benching Donovan McNabb. There are no star treatments in Philly. Vick will get a fair shake and he won’t be treated like a star.

There’s no QB question as to who the face of the organization is in Philly – Donovan is the man. Vick will be a role player at best. End of story. Philly doesn’t worry about selling tickets, they already do that. It’s a blue collar town. Vick has allowed Tony Dungy full access to his life, a mentor. I promise you this alone has MASSIVE weight in the NFL. Dungy may be the most respected man inside (and outside) the league. Reid and Eagle ownership have given Tony Dungy all-access to the Eagle’s organization and to Vick.

Vick, Dungy, and Goodell have done everything they could to set Vick up to win. Should he even be given this chance? A chance to resume a normal life, to work, and get on with his life? Absolutely. A chance to be the leader and the face of a franchise? Never again. And that is exactly what those three have done…the pressure to lead a team or be the face of an organization is not on Vick. The responsibility shouldn’t be on him either, he blew that chance. But he can still contribute.

Now the ball is in Vick’s hands. And the cost is minimal to the Eagles and the NFL. If Vick fails this time, it will cost him everything. It won’t sink the Eagles or the NFL. They are going to do all that they can to help him but ultimately he has to make the decisions and keep walking the path.

It’s almost the perfect example for the church. How To Restore A Fallen Brother/Sister… Surround him with a mentor that will speak truth into their life, no holds barred. Get with the leadership to make sure everyone is on the same page. Put person back in context with minimum risk to the organization, maximum opportunity for the person. Have clear roles and understanding in that context. Have a clear leader to report to. Have clear consequences if it doesn’t work out. Have maximum vulnerability and authenticity in that context. Take the risk together.

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