SBNation.com User Blog: Trapped in O.C.

How to Cure Tanking | MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

Trapped in O.C. — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 07:12:02 -0000

How to Cure Tanking | MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

Could use some tweaking, but i think he is dead on... incentivize winning for bad teams, and not losing.

How to Cure Tanking | MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

Trapped in O.C. — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 07:06:02 -0000

How to Cure Tanking | MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference

This is pretty brilliant. Lets implement this right away.

Don't Read This Post

Trapped in O.C. — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 07:21:05 -0000

It's therapeutic.

It's more for me, and less for you.

It's twitter conversations, and comment browsing, and frustration and joy. All rolled into one.

It's my thoughts, to which you are welcome to disagree. After all, we are grown adults right?

Lets jump, and i'll try to make my points short and sweet.

It's therapeutic.

It's more for me, and less for you.

It's twitter conversations, and comment browsing, and frustration and joy. All rolled into one.

It's my thoughts, to which you are welcome to disagree. After all, we are grown adults right?

Lets jump, and i'll try to make my points short and sweet.

On Tebow:

He is not gone. He is still a Bronco, and the fact that so much hate is spewed his way from "Die-Hard Broncos Fans" is beyond me. And speaking frankly to those who spew such things: You are becoming what you dislike about this site, and his fans.

Just because we have different opinions doesn't authorize us to be assholes to those who disagree with us (not preaching, I'm definitely included, right Scotty?)

On Manning:

Once in a generation talent to be sure. Montana was cut loose before his time, and my suspicion is that so was Manning.

We have no way of knowing what the status of his neck/nerve is. If EFX gives him a pass, its good enough for me. Hell, Manning is even implementing a clause in his contract to protect the Broncos in the event that his issues persist. To that I tip my hat. For the past week I have been spewing non-sense about him trying to line his pockets, and that has clearly not been correct.

He is bringing his pals along with him, and I can't say I'm excited. Jeff Saturday is the antithesis of Manning. A product, not the source. And while I think that he is currently an upgrade, J.D. Walton (more so than Tebow) deserves a chance to develop. If Stokely comes, the same can be said for him.

On Elway:

John, more than anything else, has had my panties in a wad. He did lie. No matter how you spin it (circumstances change, once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity, et al.) he flat out lied to the fans.

He could have gotten out ahead of it. Could have said long ago that Tim was not his guy, and that he would be pursuing an upgrade at the position. I am personally upset (I won't attempt to put words in others mouths... I have already done enough of that). I had the utmost respect for John. He was very successful after football, and had a nice run in the AFL, which is very respectable. But I feel like he betrayed my trust. He actually increased my confidence in Tebow. He gave us morsels of support (that he would work with Tim, that Tim was special, that he had the potential, the he personally harbored hope for Tim.) In the end though, it was all lies. I would have respected him a great deal more if he had been forthright about it.

I am not weak, and I'm not an emotional mess. I do realize that his job is to win. He has taken a big step in that direction. Its how he took it that isn't right.

On The Future:

Lets go win the Superbowl, and make this drama worth it all.

Thanks for listening, and thanks for the understanding. Lets keep it classy in the comments. We aren't Raiders fans. We know what class is, lets show some of it, at least to our fellow Broncos fans.

The most ignorant TT article yet

Trapped in O.C. — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:12:51 -0000

The most ignorant TT article yet

Almost didn't want to link, so that the page views wouldn't encourage further stupidity, but its just so frustrating, that i had to share it with someone... Ya Know?

2011 NFL Playoff Machine

Trapped in O.C. — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:41:28 -0000

2011 NFL Playoff Machine

Brought to you by the evil 4 letter.

Have fun figuring everything out.

The reason Tim Tebow can't succeed in the NFL.

Trapped in O.C. — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:53:23 -0000

The reason Tim Tebow can't succeed in the NFL.

The Psychology of the Love/Hate Tebow Complex

Trapped in O.C. — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 02:50:47 -0000

On Tebow:

Disclaimer: The idea for this post has been swirling in my head for a good long time now. It has nothing to do with mechanics, footwork, throwing motion, or whether Tebow will be successful. I think we have all had enough of that.

Why is Tebow so polarizing? What makes some love him and others hate him. This reminds me of the Civil War (bear with me). Communities, families, friends, and experts are all divided, warring with words over this "Tebow Thing."

Take an open minded jump with me.

On Tebow:

Take an open minded jump with me.

First, lets try to clarify the situation. Expert analysts are either irrationally supportive, or harshly critical of Tebow. There are few who are middle of the road, or within the norms of support/criticism. (Most of of our beloved staff fall into the Swiss category with a slight shade of extra support since they are, first and foremost, Broncos fans) Skip Bayless would be on the irrationally supportive side, while Merril Hoge would fall under unwarranted criticism.

This will serve as our starting point. Its not perfect, but I feel it will do for a basis of comparison.

Why is Tebow so gosh darn polarizing? He is a good guy. Someone you could easily play 9 holes with, or invite to a BBQ. He has never been in trouble, is humble, a hard worker, good teammate, and fantastic with the media, and the pressure that comes with it (when have you ever heard Tebow not say the right thing?) So what gives?

Opposing Views

I think this all started with two opposing view points. Tebow will or will not be drafted in the first round. Although it was a complete shock that he was drafted in the first round (I'm guessing because no one actually thought a team would do it), some folks were advocating it. Tony Dungy stated he would take him with a top 10 pick, and Bill Belichick was flirting with spending one of his three second rounders on Tebow, which was still way above general consensus. Obviously all the "Draftniks" had him much later, some if at all.

This grew to "probably will/probably wont succeed in the NFL," and then to "Will/Wont succeed..."

Digging In

Strange things happen to folks when they make their opinions public. Sigmund Freud calls it a "defense mechanism" (and trust me, I'm using Freud's interpretation very loosely). I believe this whole thing started with Rationalization.

Rationalization ... involves explaining an unacceptable behavior or feeling in a rational or logical manner"

To me, whoever thought Tebow wouldn't be drafted in the 1st round, and voiced this opinion publicly, now feels they need to save face. They step the game up and say "Ok, he went in the 1st round. It's a huge mistake on the part of the Broncos, because he cant succeed in this league. He doesn't have the tools, which is why he should have NEVER been drafted in the first round!" Conversely, comments like these make his supports look wrong, and they need to save face. They revert to rationalization, and become part of the chain that has escalated to this stage.

This brings me to my next point...

The Snowball Effect

I could be wrong, but I don't remember much "hulabaloo" about Tebow early last year. If there was, it wasn't half as bad as it is now. Why the discrepancy? Why was Tebow merely a fly in Hoge's ointment this time last year, and now he might as well have called his mother a dirty word?

Late last year Tebow made 3 consecutive starts, had 3 consecutive good games, and almost led a terrible team to victory (won 1) in 3 consecutive games.

This made Hoge look foolish. Wasn't he the guy that swore up and down that Tebow would fail? His criticism turned to frustration, his frustration to anger, his anger to ~~hatred~~ incredibly sharp criticism. Like the dark side in a young Jedi, the rationalization snowballed and built upon itself, and we have witnessed the result.

(Let it be known that these principles apply just as much, if not more, to the lovers, who make outlandish predictions based on small sample sizes in response to either Tebow's nominal success, or to his harshest critics. It is not my intention to single out the hate side, but in the interest of brevity, i wont outline step by step how the loves think. I think its pretty self explanatory.)

Resolution

By the end of this season everyone will know exactly what Tebow is capable of (hopefully).

This doesn't automatically mean that the Love/Hate will end. If Tebow fails, his critics are proven right, and his supporters will rationalize excuses (Fox sabotaged, not enough talent around, etc.) God only knows what doubters will say if he succeeds.

Resolution only comes with accepting the result, and dealing with it in a healthy way. In other words, acting like the adults/paid professionals that analysts are.

If you have stuck with me this long, i greatly appreciate it. I hope this provokes some thought, and good conversation. Maybe this helps temper expectations/criticism.

As always, comments are also greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Trapped in O.C.

Two Minutes of Hate: Denver Broncos - Bolts From The Blue

Trapped in O.C. — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 01:58:50 -0000

Two Minutes of Hate: Denver Broncos - Bolts From The Blue

Stay classy San Diego

"Let me get this straight
making fun of you, your family, your city and your football team, in other words things that are real and important to you, is all good fun. However, making fun of some imaginary being, something completely made up, is crossing the line? lol priorities"
-Natrone Bomb

What moron would suggest religion isn't important?

Tim Tebow Story (via TheGatorguy78)

Trapped in O.C. — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 04:21:09 -0000

Tim Tebow Story (via TheGatorguy78)

If Orton leads team to win, Fans lose.

Trapped in O.C. — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 06:14:16 -0000

I have seen it many times while perusing this excellent site.

"Real fans don't celebrate losses."

I doubt any beer drinking, red meat eating, thousands-of-dollars-worth-of-jerseys-in-the-closet having, NFL sunday ticket (because your out of market) subscribing fan would disagree. No one likes to lose.

I have seen it many times while perusing this excellent site.

"Real fans don't celebrate losses."

Most think that Orton is burning the daylight out of our season. I say most because there a few good souls holding onto the notion that suddenly Orton will transform into the guy that led this team to a 6-0 start behind a top 10 defense (through 6 weeks), a healthy and experienced O-Line, and a lot of luck ( 1 miracle TD catch, and 2 kick returns in one game). Im sorry, thats not going to happen again, its a statistical certainty. Ain't math a pain?

So here we are, in the midst of a less than stellar start to the season, and good ole KO is the picture of our mediocrity.

Let me pause to make something perfectly clear. I love this football team. My kids will love this football team, and my wife has to put up with the fact that I love this football team. Way back when, I thought Orton was good for this team.

"He's just what we need, someone who wont give the game away. Someone who wont 'gunsling' and wont fumble at the goal line moments away from a go ahead score like Cutler"

The problem is Orton has become that QB. He gives games away. He folds in moments of pressure, and he has lost his nerve. Regardless of whether this start is Orton's fault or not, this team isn't making the playoffs. Most agree the most productive thing to do this season is play He-Who-Is-Named-To-Often.

So now, I'll layout the unlikely scenario.

If Orton pulls an upset in the next 2 weeks, and we beat either Green Bay or San Diego, EFX proves their point, and Orton keeps that job.

If Orton keeps his job, we keep spinning our wheels.

So my question is:

Is it wrong to hope that the Broncos lose in order to (potentially) escape mediocrity at the QB position, or should we be the good fans EFX wants us to be and simply soldier on, and hang our hat on a highlight of a lost season?

Side note: Been reading from the outside for quite some time, and finally decided to jump into the fire. I respect this blog and how business is done here, and I welcome your comments below. Thanks fellow members and staff.

Poll

Is it wrong to hope for a loss if it means Orton is benched?

Yes! Ban this fool!

24 votes

Yes, although I see where you're going with this

36 votes

No, but I will die a little inside

47 votes

No! It means progress in the future

54 votes

161 votes | Poll has closed