I feel like we should be seeking our boy Mike Clark out and giving him some counseling.  I can't believe what's going down in Denver.  I blame the new coach almost entirely - but now it's time for Cutler to suck it up and take it... even though apparently Josh McDaniels gave him more of a "this is the way it is" vibe than a "you're our guy and we don't want to trade you" vibe.

I know it's business as usual in the NFL to make trades, and these trades often come as a surprise to the people being traded - but come on, a young franchise quarterback who has shown signs of being one of the best in the league?  Incredible.

The fact that McDaniels said they never tried to trade Cutler in the first place, then went back and admitted they tried to make the Cassel deal - I can really see where Cutler is coming from.  Sure - he needs to be a professional and not start making threats and demands - but I can certainly see WHY he would now demand a trade and want out of there.

So hang in there, Mike and all Bronco fans.  

I'm just looking for some feedback, here.  I'm fairly close to a decision on both of these, but since the draft is still so far away, I thought it could help stoke even more draft talk.

I'm participating in a bunch of those "blogger drafts" where a rep from each team makes a pick.  My pick is coming up soon in two of them, and I'd like to hear what you say.  Maybe you can sway me:

MOCK 1 - first round, #15 pick.

SCENARIO - Incredibly, Matthews AND Cushing are both off the board, as is Jenkins,Vontae Davis, and all the obvious ones (Raji, Orakpo, Brown, Curry, etc).

This is the one I'm having the toughest time with.  TT helped me out on this via email, but I'd like to hear others opinions as well.   

I'M LEANING TOWARD - UGH.  I feel like I want to reach for Sintim, but I also feel like I could get a guy like Tyrone McKenzie in the 2nd.  I know we signed Smith, but maybe Ayers could be the guy Ayers/Mario/Smith could be our version of Strahan/Tuck/Umeniyora from a few years ago.  So in short - I DON'T KNOW WHERE I'M LEANING!!

-------------------------------------------

MOCK 2 - third round, #77 pick.  Rd 1 pick - Matthews, OLB.  Rd 2 pick - Sean Smith CB/S

SCENARIO - There are two picks to go before I'm up.  Still available are:

RB Rashad Jennings, RB Andre Brown, DE Lawrence Sidbury, SS Chip Vaughn.

I'M LEANING TOWARD -  Jennings and getting our DE in the 4th, but I feel like Sidbury could be a great speed-rush addition to change the pace of our power guys in a DE rotation.  I feel like Sidbury could be a cheap-ass Everette Brown.  So - Jennings and DE in the 4th, maybe like the guy from Tech... or Sidbury and RB Gartrell in the 5th round or so.

Help me BRB.  You're my only hope.  I want to make the most informed decision possible.  Thanks for reading.

Hey guys - I can't find an email for either of you, so I'm posting this here.  Once you see it or respond feel free to delete it.

I'm looking for a Titans blogger to participate in one of those "interblog" drafts.  It's not for my site - it's for a different one.  So if either of you are interested - the draft starts Friday I believe.  If either of you can shoot me an email :  chris at houstondiehards dot com, I'd appreciate it.

I think the rule for this particular draft is that it has to be an actual blogger - so if neither of  you are interested, if you could point me to a different Titans blogger, that would be a lot of help as well.  Thanks guys!

The NBA is offering a free preview of NBA League pass Monday through Jan. 25. Check your cable or satellite provider for details.

You'll have to search that article to find the part about the free preview - you're better off just trusting me... but if you must, it's about 1/3 of the way down under the "Four DVRs, No Waiting" sub-headline.

Do they do the SECOND free preview every year?  I know they do the first week or so of the season for free every year - but do they always do another free preview?

Anyway - for those of you (like me) who don't get Rockets games (I live in Austin) this will be a nice change for a week or so.

Chris, www.HoustonDiehards.com

This is incredible.

Are you guys in favor of this move?  I can't believe he's gone.  I like your team, LOVE your quarterback - and have a spot in my heart for your classy fans.  I'm very interested to know if this is a shock to you guys, or if there were grumblings about it.

Incredible.  I've never been so surprised by an NFL coaching move as this one... at least not in recent memory.

Here's hoping you guys have a good off-season.  You'll get some big defensive help, just like we hopefully will.

Chris - HoustonDiehards

Hey guys,

I started a thread over at the Eagles SBN site congratulating (and thanking) them for their beatdown of Dallas.  They're pretty pumped about our win, and wish us lots of luck in the future.

I also was sure to tell them to go ahead and beat the hell outta Jared Allen and the Vikes next week.

Anyway - I don't know if you guys want to go add some "brotherly love" over there, but here's the link:

Thanks, Eagles!

Chris, www.HoustonDiehards.com

Ha!  We did each other a favor today... obviously, beating the Bears helped your playoff prospects - and that ruthless beatdown you guys laid on the Cowboys was about the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life.  Fantastic.  To see those losers and their butter-soft babysitter coach go down in flames and quit - literally QUIT - was a magnificent shining thing of beauty.

AND - to continue the goodwill from Houston to Philly - we'll be rooting for you guys HARDCORE next week to take out the Vikings, as we all have it in for that drunken redneck Jared Allen after his cheap shots took out our QB Schaub, and in doing so - took out any chance we had to make the playoffs.

So, THANK YOU for returning the favor by MURDERING the hated Cowboys and their obnoxious bandwagon fans... and GOOD LUCK next week.  BEAT THE VIKES!! 

If you get a chance to kick Jared Allen in the nuts - do it.

Chris - www.HoustonDiehards.com

Hi, Texans fan here.  Tough game for you guys last night - but as much as we are rivals on the field, I do respect the Jag fans (unlike the way I feel about the Titans).

I'm curious - what's the overall consensus on how the FANS think about Del Rio?  Personally, I really like the guy and I think it would be a HUGE mistake for the team to get rid of him.  It kind of reminds me of the Kubiak situation here in Houston... he's had two good seasons with the team, but the disappointment of 2008 has made a lot of our fans start to call for his head.  Granted, he's made a lot of mistakes - but I think the vast improvements of the last two years outweigh the disappointment of this season.

So, I kind of think you guys have a similar situation.  Last year the Texans were absolutely decimated by injuries, and now you guys are going through a similar stretch... but I keep seeing that a lot of you think the players are quitting on the team, and that's obviously a very, very bad thing that does not bode well for the coaching staff.

Anyway - I just wanted to get an idea of the overall feeling about JDR.  I think you should definitely stick with him.... but obviously I'm not nearly as clued-in on the details as you guys are.

Hopefully next year we'll play a couple of meaningful division games.  Good luck the rest of the season, guys.

LOL, another fantastic summation by the worldwide leader.

I am not making this up - transcribed word for word:

"Alston initiated altercation after Barnes ran through Alston's screen while leading with the shoulder."

Heh.  Yeah, that's what that was.  It wasn't Barnes throwing a shoulder into Alston for no reason other than the game was getting chippy - it was Barnes running through a screen, leading with his shoulder.

ESPN's always on top of it.

Every season for the last several, I say the same thing about my beloved Rockets:

"They have the talent.  They have the coaching.  They have the system.  But until they develop a killer-instinct and become FINISHERS, they're not going to win jack."

Well, killer-instinct is here, and his name is Ron Artest. 

Artest was ALL OVER the place tonight.  Inside, outside, defense, hustling for every last loose ball - he was everywhere... and the best thing about this game was, going into a tough & tight fourth quarter, Artest imposed his will on the Mavs and it infected the entire Rockets team. 

Sometime near the middle of the 4th, Yao Ming and (I think) Josh Howard got tangled up for a ball, and Yao uncharacteristically gave him a pretty stiff shoulder bump... which of course, I loved... but the second that another Mav player stepped to Yao - guess who came right to his aid at the quick-step?  RonRon.  He separated Yao from the Mavs and put himself in the way as if to say "nobody messes with Yao, unless they're gonna mess with me first." 

Of course, Ron's reputation earned him a technical foul for that show of support - but if you watched it in real-time OR on the replay - there was not the slightest bit of a reason to T Artest up.

This was far from a perfect game by our boys.  The defense isn't anywhere near where it needs to be.  They gave up too many lay-ups.  They got beat on the break too much.  They took a lot of ill-advised long jump shots... but when you play a good offensive team like the Mavs, coming away from their home floor on opening night with a 112-102 victory is pretty damned great with me.

Ron Artest is hardcore, man.  He's got more nasty in him than the Rockets have had combined in the last five seasons... let's just hope it continues to be the GOOD kind of nasty.

Chris, HoustonDiehards.com