SB Nation User Blog: USMCWall

Local Flag Football

USMCWall — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:53:04 -0000

This post is for any Football lovers out there in the Denver area (primarily Lakewood) My brothers and I have been putting a flag football team together, the season starts in the spring of next year. We get together to play and practice on saturdays (thursdays also, but that not required to play on the team). The games will be on the weekends starting in the end of February beginning of March. We are highly competetive, so if you want to be a part of it be ready to turn it on. We've got about 8 people already, which is the minimum, but we're looking for 8-12 more. If you are interested in playing ($20 league registration fee will be due in the spring) Even if you don't want to play in the league we still need guys to practice against and play with even if you're not super competetive. Contact me at:

AlexanderWall@hotmail.com

Be sure to put Flag Football or MHR in the address bar so I don't accidentally delete your messege.

Points of View - Kids Learn Fast

USMCWall — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:34:22 -0000

I originally starting typing this post as a comment to Sayre's post Tim Tebow Running the Wild Horses? It got me thinking about the Quarterback situation, not just for our own beloved Broncos, but also league-wide. I came to the conclusion that kids just learn so fast these days! Think about it for a minute. We are in a modern era, what many refer to as the "golden age of quarterbacks". You probably here the phrase "modern-day passing game" so much that its starting to annoy you more than Apple Inc. putting an "i" in front of every single idea it comes up with (they currently spell the word: "i-dea" over there, dashes and everything). This league has developed into a quarterback-driven league. If you've got a good one, your team is doing well, if all you can field is someone that successfully hands the ball off to a star running back, then you're probably not doing so hot. It's stereotypical, but also pretty dang accurate.

Today's game is a game of yards, not inches. It used to be the power running game that won you championships (and many will still argue this point until their lungs bleed), although I agree, there is more to it than that. No matter how great your running game is, chances are you'll find yourself behind by a few points with only a minute or less to go and you've got to get down field fast, and do it through the air. That's where you need one of those... what are they called again..? Oh yeah. Quarterbacks.

Everything that I have just explained may not be news to you; and for most of you hardcore MHR goers, I hardly expect it to be. The majority of you are highly educated and devote an hour or more a day to educating your football-focused brains and know more than the average NFL fan. Well I've got some interesting news you may not know: The average season experience of starting Quarterbacks in the NFL. Any guesses?

6.46 years!
Just so you know if you take Brett Farve off the list and divide by 31 teams that average drops all the way to 6.06.
*I am also using 16 years of experience for Kurt Warner, since he was part of the 1994 draft.*
If you take off Brett and Kurt and divide by 30 it drops all the way to 5.73!

I expected myself to be amazed at this incredibly low number (low is a debatable tern, but they have got some life on them for sure), but I wasn't. I mean, I know Brett Farve is a rare occurrence and the majority of quarterbacks in the league won't have a 19+ year career. I give them about a 10-15 year career, depending on injuries and how well they age. Still, even at a 10 year expectancy you're looking at about three to four years before a real need arises in the league to start seriously drafting QB's. Yes there will be some onesies here and there, but generally the league is full of youth.

The current starting Quarterbacks with their respective season experience, are:

Brett Farve (MIN) - 19
Kurt Warner (ARI) - 16*
Peyton Manning (IND) - 12
Matt Hasselback (SEA) - 11
Jake Delhomme (CAR) - 11
Tom Brady (NE) - 10
Drew Brees (NO) - 9
Mark Bulger (STL) - 9
David Garrard (JAC) - 8
Tony Romo (DAL) - 7
Carson Palmer (CIN) - 7
Phillip Rivers (SD) - 6
Matt Schaub (HOU) - 6
Ben Rothlisberger (PIT) - 6
Eli Manning (NYG) - 6
Alex Smith (SF) - 5
Kyle Orton (DEN) - 5
Aaron Rodgers (GB) - 5
Jason Campbell (WAS) - 5
Matt Cassel (KC) - 5
Jay Cutler (CHI) - 4
Vince Young (TEN) - 4
Bruce Gradkowski (OAK) - 4
Ryan Fitzpatrick (BUF) - 4
Brady Quinn (CLE) - 3
Matt Ryan (ATL) - 2
Joe Flacco (BAL) - 2
Chad Henne (MIA) - 2
Matthew Stafford (DET) - 1
Mark Sanchez (NYJ) - 1
Josh Freeman (TB) - 1

With what many consider to be a complex modern day passing game, this young average is very interesting. The most surprising thing is how many apparently successful rookies have started for their teams in the last few years. I would love to find the information for total points scored by all teams for the past several seasons, and see what kind of a relationship these numbers have to QB experience, but I just don't know where to conveniently find it. If anyone knows where please put it in the comment section below.

Anyways, that's all I really have here. Just a suprising number to me, considering the normally veteran presence that is usually required for the position; especially in today's game. I would predict a dry spell in QB's getting drafted during the high rounds, except that many teams have had so much success evalutating and drafting QB's these last couple years that the few teams who do need a quarterback here and there may just take their chances.

I hope you've all enjoyed the statistic. Thanks for reading and please answer the attatched poll. I want to know what you guys think about it.

Poll

What's your opinion on the statistic?

I think that the experience/success factor right now is pretty fluky.

0 votes

I think that colleges are getting better at producing pro-ready QB's.

5 votes

I think that this is a normal cycle that just stands out to us right now because of how many rookies are starting situationally.

7 votes

I think that QB's acctually have less to do because of all the new and various offensive schemes emerging in the league.

2 votes

I think that the QB position is a lot more complex than it used to be and these kids just learn crazy-fast!

4 votes

18 votes | Poll has closed

WTH Did Our 13-3 Chant Go??

USMCWall — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:55:53 -0000

Our Broncos need it most right now! If I can't hear that stadium shaking from my couch than something is wrong (I live at 10th & Sheridan, so that's not asking too much! Lol).

It's 13-3 until we ain't!

I'll be wearing my orange shades tomorrow and shouting from my living room.

Don't start trembling now. I know the Chargers are knocking at the door hard, but if anyone remembers from the beginning of the season, apparently our Defense doesn't like being called an underdog in their own house. Plus we've got McBean back, (and that is huge!)

If we manage to let tomorrow's game slip through our fingers than I will take on the 12-4 chant. "12-4 unless we lose one more" and "11-5 keep the playoff run alive". Those are all respectable records, and our Broncos WILL make it to the playoffs this year. But you've got to help "WILL" them there. They need you!

Come on MHR!

I HAD BETTER HERE YOU TOMORROW!!!

Points of View - Why We're Winning NOW

USMCWall — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:38:38 -0000

Hey guys, I know it's been a while since I've posted. I've barely been lurking around here either. I've been so busy with school and family things the last few weeks I've barely had time to keep feeding the hungry little Bronco stampeding around in my brain. I had the chance to read several fanposts (and their comment sections, woohoo!) tonight and something popped out to me:

Early Draft Talk.

It's not bad, it's fun; and I love to enjoy reading about who we might be looking at, what we might choose to do, and who we're going to gun for. Especially with all the respectable commentary from the educated fans here that really do their homework before they open their mouths. Keep it up.

There were a few mentions about going for CBs, and O-Line in the draft; and also a great stab at stink (whom I now refer to only as: GARBAGE) by suggesting a move for D-Line. There were great points made (in the comment section of HillisRanUOver's awesome post - HERE) an all topics, but what really stood out to me was Endzone's reminder that the leaders of McNolan's X-Men (A personal nickname for our defense and team in general that I use, thanks to the inspiration from Dawkins "Weapon X", Elvis "Dr.Doom" and Marshall "Beast" 'feel free to add to my list of Comic characters') have shown a mantra of "BPA" (Best Player Available) over "Need" was used for the most part last year.

This was a great reminder of something we all talked about (ALOT) after the draft, and I personally love it. I still feel that there will be times when the Front Office will make a move for Need over BPA, because they seem to respect the importance of both methods and compromise for the best interest of the team which is: WINNING NOW.

I started to think more about the two methods and the Team Mantra we're employing, and the more I sit on it; the more the "that doesn't make sense" moves blend in seamlessly with the goals of the Broncos. The move for Law was an awesome one. I've recently noticed the teacher/student pairs of "Veteran - Apprentice/Journeyman" that McDaniels implemented with this year's draft and free agency moves, which create an internal team-building environment, that every succesful organization has going for itself. Let's start with the most obvious and work our way backwards (guys feel free to correct or add pairs in the comments section as I likely won't have the time to edit this post later)

Safeties: Dawkins/Hill - McBath/Bruton/Barrett

Corners: Bailey/Goodman/Law - Smith/Carter/Johnson

Backers (Inside): Williams/Davis - Woodyard/Larsen

Backers (Outside): Haggan/Reid - Ayers/Moss

D-Line: Holiday/Fields/Peterson - Baker/McBean/Thomas

Quarterback: Simms/Orton - Brandstater

Backers (Running): Buckhalter/Jordan - Moreno/Hillis

Receivers: Stokley/Gaffney/Lloyd - Royal/McKinley/Willis

O-Line: Weigmann/Hamilton/Hochstein/Gorin - Clady/Harris/Polumbus/Olsen/Kuper

**Note** I classified Veterans as 6+ years and listed the Apprentice/Journeymen as 3 or fewer years for the most part. I didn't include a few players like Dumerville, BMarsh, and others who are a little in between.

The purpose is to illustrate the balance of experience and youth, required to create a great learning environment. The math is simple here: aquire the most talented and suitable players for your team, make compromises to your scheme and system to fit your personnel, balance the youth and experience to create mentorship and internal leadership; and you will field a competitive team year in, and year out.

Just think logically here: If coaches can reduce the amount of information they've got to personally teach players for their specific positions by installing proven (even if old, or slower, or whatever useless adjective people used to describe good, experienced, veteran football) leaders at the player-level... how much more time will they have to utilize their own skills of position knowledge and analysis to focus on the upcoming opponent and break them down and prepare the information for the players?

People keep calling McDaniels a prodigy and genius but I don't think it even gets that far. He's just smart and practical. How often does that occur?? Most people tend to think too much, or too little. Pay attention to too much, or too little. If you can balance them both, you're going to find success. You've got to balance your own experiences with other's insight, and balance your own responsibilities by delegating what you can to the lowest levels possible. It frees up time to think and problem-solve. McDaniels is wise and has absorbed the qualities that work from his mentors. Bill has done a great job with the Patriots and I would give 50% of the credit for his success to his Business degree. It taught him the vital qualities it takes to successfully prepare 53 men for a 3-phase competition that involves rapidly expiring resources (resources being: the players' short career term, which is rookie to retired in about 10 years, all positions considered). People think you can just know a lot about football and be a successful competitor in the NFL. That you can find your way to postseason and the Superbowl consistently by just being great at coaching. Wrong. (Didn't Shanahan prove this for us? I love the guy, he was great at coaching and game planning, one of the best of all time IMO... but at being an NFL Head Coach? Good, but not great; and you can't win the SB consistantly as a good HC.)

There's more to winning than just having the talent to win and being good at what you do, coaches and players both. You've got to understand every aspect of your office/position and contribute not just 100% of what you can in your own field, but all that you can in every other field (versatility) to create the flexibility required to survive the injuries, and unexpected events of a football season and of life in general. That's a Team Philosophy.

I believe the ingredients for success here are: Passion for the Game/Winning (which helps inspire resilience, drive, and purpose), Balance of Experience/Youth Knowledge/Talent (which helps delegate authority which leads to more accountability, it also creates a fluid method of internal growth) and Secrecy (in today's game, if you show your hand early... there is very little chance you're going to have the talent, ability, or luck to find a victory). Regardless of mainstream opinion... this is still a game of strategy.

Coaches and Players alike need Passion, Balance, and Secrecy.

McNolan's X-Men are alive with passion. They are confident yet humble, experienced yet young. They keep the all doors to the past and future open, but the present is locked with Orange and Blue Staff-Only key. How far will they get this season...?

I say we let THEM be the judge of that.

Points of View - Training MoBs

USMCWall — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:24:32 -0000

Hello MHR faithful, it has been a while since my last post; though I havebeen lurking around rather quietly with only a tiny comment here or there. I was reading BShrout's most recent article on 13-3 and I felt the need to speak up. I couldn't just post a small comment either, as I have a feeling i've got more built up on my mind than necessary for a simple response.

I have the be honest with you all, I have been riding the 13-3 train from the beginning... but I didn't think it would still be cruising at 290 MPH. We're like the magnetic-electro European train right now, which is crazy. Six games through the season and I thought we would be more like an Amtrak. You know, still rolling but more of a slow and steady not quite ready to fall apart type. You know like 5-1 at best or dare I say 4-2 (which still wouldn't be bad considering the pundits giving us a 4 win ceiling) but I am taken aback.

It could have been all the negativity around me, some of you may know, friends and family that just didn't have much hope for Denver this season because of last year and the off-season. I tried to never let it get to me and stick to my guns, which I have (outwardly), but internally I honestly didn't expect this. Did anyone? (besides Rod Smith).

Well regardless, I couldn't be happier with the outcome. Plenty of trash to talk around the league and more than a few "I told you so's" to the nay-saying family and friends. I've been out here in California for a week already (even watched the San Diego game right here in enemy territory) and im already missing the cool air and the sweet scent of victory that permeates the Denver area, especially since I live a stones throw from the Stadium.

Despite my present location, the slow going, and the upcoming bye-week... I can still take a few shots of Orange and Blue Koolaid everyday! I'm looking forward to coming home and are impending annihilation of the Ravens. I mean seriously... are we going to let a team from a place with a name like "Maryland" beat us. No way! That is just ridiculous. Those purple-parading-pansies are going to get boxed around by our O and D lines with swift and decisive hits thrown from Buck, Moreno, the Beast, Doom, Dawk, and Champ respectively.

The 13-3 train is all ahead full and showing no signs of slowing down at all. In fact I am suprised I haven't seen a chant of 16-0 taken up with unbridled zeal and ferver. That's okay though 13-3 works for me. I will be surprised if we get 4 losses this year and shocked if the team allows any more than that!

So with no further a'due:

GO BRONCOS! 13-3!

Beatpath Powerseat Rankings - Week 5 w/ Commentary

USMCWall — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:02:55 -0000

Week 3 Rankings Graph & Week 4 Rankings Graph

Here is the next edition of Beatpath Powerseats:

Its a bit different than Tunesmith's version found here; as I keep teams ranked according to their W-L records.

Before viewing the Beatpath graph, note the following guidelines:

1. The highest tier indicates team (or teams) with the fewest losses, the teams with the most losses are in the lowest tier.
2. There is no significance between solid lines and dotted lines; they exist only to distinguish intersections.
3. If a team drops into a W-L tier below a team it has beaten, that beatpath will not be drawn. All beatpaths run downward. (For example: this week, MIA's beatpath over NYJ does not get drawn because NYJ's W-L Record still trumps that pathway).
4. Beatpaths that can be traced through opponents will also not be drawn (DEN over OAK for example, since the win can be traced: DEN>CIN>BAL>SD>OAK)
5. Teams currently on a "bye" week are signified by a faded logo-icon. The graph always reflects teams who have had a "bye" week (and every other team) by the number of their losses, not victories.
6. Teams distinguish rank (within their own tier) based on the tier-level of the teams they have defeated or been defeated by. Teams also distinguish rank based on the number of opponents linked below them.
7. Occasionally I will jump a Beatpath from one side of the page to the other (PIT over DET, NYG over DAL, and DEN over DAL this week) to keep things simple.

**Note** I told you it would get more streamlined. We need a couple more weeks though to get teams fully individualized. But i'm liking the progress. I think the lines are getting better with practice. What do you think?

COMMENTARY

Denver - The Broncos are sitting up top, with wins against the highest ranked opponents. According to this power reference, Denver should defeated San Diego next week; though every game can go either way (but it better not!!). Although you can't see it because Atlanta is still sitting above New England with only 1 loss, Denver actually has a pathway through NE over ATL and the whole middle of the tree. The only teams we're not yet linked to through victories are NO, MIN, IND, NYG, PHI, and NYJ. (Three teams that are on our schedule this year NYG, IND, and PHI. These are also coincidentally the teams I think we'll have the hardest time with, and not because the graph says so.)

New Orleans and the New York Giants - The Saints are still sitting up top thanks to their bye week, and the Giants had an easy win over Oakland. These two teams go head to head next week, so one of them will definately be dropping down. Whoever wins will have a dominant league tree, possibly even bigger than the Broncos.

Minnesota and Baltimore - The Vike's have a tough battle against Flacco and the Ravens next week. If the Ravens can pull off the upset in the midwest, than these two teams will be sitting almost side by side.

Detriot and Green Bay - Detroit needs this win badly to break into the main pack, however the Packers are struggling deep in the middle. I think they had a great game against the Vike's and expect them to vault back up in the next two weeks against the Lions and Browns.

Houston and Cincinnatti - The "Cardiac Cats" have been proving they have what it takes to reach the post season (I honestly expected them to be the toughest team Denver faced in the first 4 games). Their win over the Ravens leaves them one 87 yard tip to Stokely from being completely undefeated. They should knock off the Texans in this game, but both teams can put up huge points. I was expecting Houston to overcome Warner and the Cards last week, but they couldn't squeeze out the last yard to take it overtime.

Cleveland and Pittsburgh - This is going to be a really rough game. Cleveland has been fighting hard, but has little to show for their effort but a meager win over Buffalo. Pittsburgh however, has shown its weaknesses and is a beatable team. With their losses so far, I don't think they can afford to lose a division game right now, even against the Browns.

Kansas City and Washington - With Portis on and off, and the head coach shinnaniggans I wouldn't expect the Redskins to win here, even against the Chiefs. Its going to be a slugfest but it doesn't look like the Skins will be competeing for the playoffs this year. Not with Philly and the Giants dominating the way they are. They likely won't even have a shot at the wildcard. The Chiefs almost pulled off another AFC West upset on the Cowboys, but lost the reigns in overtime. A great battle and I still think they're going to take 2nd in the AFC West over SD and OAK.

Carolina and Tampa Bay - The Panthers are fighting their way back up, but don't let their position fool you, they've only acheived their first victory this year. A bye week has saved them from being down in the red. Tampa however has been sitting in the red for a while, but they are showing some signs of life. Can't say who's going to come out on top here, but if the beatpath is accurate, then the Bucs shouldn't move anytime soon.

Arizona and Seattle - A huge division game here, especially since the Cardinals are barely hanging with the 49ers. This is Seattle's shot to jump into the pack and catch the Niners heels. San Francisco gets a bye week here though, so they don't have anything to lose this week. Arizona must win this game with the Giants coming up the following week.

Philidelphia and Oakland - This is a no brainer. The eagles are going to ball-hawk the heck out of a scrambling Russel, and I don't expect the run game to do much for them. The raiders shouldn't be able to mount much of an attack against a surprisingly decent Philly line. Usually McNabb is running for his life, but the pocket has looked great this year.

Buffalo and the New York Jets - Good division game here with the Bills badly needing a win. Sanchez' beginner's luck must have worn off, because the Jets look very beatable right now. Rex Ryan will keep them in the game though by killing an already stagnant passing game and forcing the Bills to be one dimensional.

Tennessee and New England - So are the Titans the "best 0-5" team now? Just because they were a beast last year doesn't mean they can win a game this year without moving the ball. Chris Johnson can't carry the entire offense all year long. I am NOT a fan of Kerry Collins, and I think the choice to go back to Young was the lesser of two evils. Tom Brady doesn't usually lose many games back to back... so expect the Patriots to grab another W this week.

Chicago and Atlanta - Chicago is coming off a bye week with a pretty good position. Atlanta is also sitting on only 1 loss thanks to their own bye week. One of these teams will have to drop down and I (really hope its the Bears!) can't tell you who's going to lose this one.

Denver and San Diego - You can find info and opinions on this game just about anywhere on this site. Look around, you'll like it. Oh, and GO BRONCOS!!! I'll be visiting family in (Fresno) California for this one, so I will be feeling that home field advantage more than you lucky dawgs sitting at home in Denver. On the plus side I will be watching it with my best friend Matt, a.k.a: MBuddie33 here on MHR.

Poll

What do you think this week?

The Broncos are AWESOME!!

27 votes

Wow... the raiders SUCK!

5 votes

Stupid multiple choice polls.... grrr....

7 votes

39 votes | Poll has closed

Points of View - Legendary Defense

USMCWall — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:14:14 -0000

Okay so I was on another person's post and totally ended up going off an a zillion-post comment tanget (as I usually do), and decided that I needed to give this dicussion a fresh post with fresh room for comments and discussion. I was reading about D.J. Williams' solo tackle numbers going up each game and after the hit on Roy instantly a word came to mind: "Animal"

It was then that I started thinking about the other players nicknames and I started realizing that many of our defenders already have names. We need to get something going here. This could be a defensive year to go into the record books and this Defense needs legendary players to fill it. These guys are good, heck they are GREAT, but they need legendary names! I know people have been working on names for the defense and there have been some great ones; but what about the players?

I'll get the ball rolling with some obvious ones:

Champ Bailey: "Champ" duh.. he was born to be the best, this one is a given.

Brian Dawkins: "Weapon X" after Wolverine from Marvel Comics. This one is a keeper also.

D. J. Williams: "Animal" or "The Dentist"

Elvis Dumerville: "Doom" Obviously the greatest pun in the world for a guy who bears down on helpless QB's no matter how awesome their line is. Impeding doom indeed, this one is a keeper.

Andre Goodman: "Goodie" I heard a couple teamates say it in post-game pressers, I thiink all player-chosen names deserve credence, should be a keeper.

Now who else? I'll throw some names out there, you guys post your comments with ideas!

Alphonso Smith: "The Phonz"

Renaldo Hill: "Reno"

Andra Davis: I was actually thinking of "Lockdown" for him, since he seems to always get the guy if nobody else gets him first. He just gets everywhere.

Ronald Fields: "Bulldozer"

Mario Haggan:

Wesley Woodyard: "Laying the Wood"

Robert Ayers: "Gloom" or "Death" (Thanks to Calijoe, as I forgot to add the Rook')

Am I missing any other key players? (obviously everyone is key in a stellar defense, but you get my point)

** Just so you guys know, I am going to be adding in your ideas to this list. The most popular answers make the final cut. If you like one that somebody else has given rec their comment! May the competition begin!

Poll

Will this Defense go down in the NFL record books as Legendary?

1: Yes. And why didn't you make this the only option?

15 votes

2: Heck yeah!

5 votes

3: Of course!

1 votes

4: Totally!

1 votes

5: I'm a raiders fan.

0 votes

6: Dude, this poll is totally one sided....

7 votes

7: Whoever votes option 6 is raider fan.

22 votes

51 votes | Poll has closed

Beatpath - Powerseats (Wk 4)

USMCWall — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:57:11 -0000

Here is the second edition of Beathpath - Powerseats (click to see last weeks edition). Its a bit different than Tunesmith's version found here; as I keep teams ranked according to their W-L records.

Before viewing the Beatpath graph, note the following guidelines:

1. The highest tier indicates team (or teams) with the most Wins, the teams with the fewest Wins are in the lowest tier.
2. There is no significance between solid lines and dotted lines; they exist only to distinguish intersections.
3. If a team drops into a W-L tier below a team it has beaten, that beatpath will not be drawn. All beatpaths run downward. (For example: this week, DET's beatpath over WAS goes away because WAS's W-L Record now trumps that pathway).
4. Beatpaths that can be traced through opponents will also not be drawn (BAL over KC for example; since it runs BAL>SD>OAK>KC)
5. Teams on a "bye" week are positioned as if they had won their next game (benefit of the doubt) instead of giving them a loss. These teams are signified by a faded logo-icon.
6. Teams distinguish rank (within their own tier) based on the tier-level of the teams they have defeated or been defeated by. Teams also distinguish rank based on the number of opponents linked below them.
7. Occasionally I will jump a Beatpath from one side of the page to the other (CHI over DET or NYG over KC this week) to keep things simple.

** Note ** Again this is not scientific or exact and just meant to be a visual representation of teams' estimated strength. As I made the changes from last week to this week, the table actually got simpler, since I ignore any beatpaths that run upwards across a W-L Record barrier; paths within a W-L tier help distinguish strength. Also any pathways that can be followed through opponents are not drawn. As the season goes on it should continue to get more and more streamlined rather than more and more complex as many thought that it might. The key simplifying factor is that the teams with the best W-L records are at the top and it doesn't matter who's beaten them, because come week 16 these guys will have the top seeds no matter what.

Anyways, enjoy!

Poll

How does it look this week?

Educational

4 votes

Interesting

12 votes

Pointless

4 votes

Oooo.... pretty colors!

12 votes

32 votes | Poll has closed

Point's of View - Orange Crush Whisper... part 2

USMCWall — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:52:01 -0000

An excerpt from my peice in July: POV- A little Orange Crush Whisper... that's right JULY! (What can I say, I found the koolaid locker and "force recon'd" that mofo).

You can rest assured I WILL be going to at least one Bronco practice, and hopefully many more than that. I can't imagine being any more "on-board" with the organization and direction this new, mysterious Bronco beast is taking. I feel like i'm part of the beginning... something us young'ns (24 here myself) can't really boast about as Bronco Fans.

Well I feel like I've got something now. And (regardless of what some Analysts think about all of us) I am more excited than ever before to wear the Orange and Blue and ready to cheer on my Bucking Broncos with a RAGE like no other!

It's time to make that Stadium shake harder than the Old Mile High ever did; a challenge that might be near impossible... but not completely. What do you say Bronco Country?

Poll

Can you hear it now?

Sorry I can't hear you,its sounds like im standing five feet from an F-35 afterburner. Wait no, my bad. That's Invesco Field.

24 votes

I'm deaf.

2 votes

Yes.

5 votes

Im a raider fan.

0 votes

I was born deaf you insensitive ^%$#&

2 votes

33 votes | Poll has closed

The Josh McDaniels Show - Full Transcript

USMCWall — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:42:29 -0000

Sorry I posted this up so late. I think I sent it to Guru a bit too late, so he couldn't post it up with the rest of the transcripts. Anyhow, I wanted you guys to be able to read it before the game. Here you go and hope you enjoy! And just so you know they joke around with each other a lot.

Gary Miller: Hi everybody, welcome to the Josh McDaniels Show. Vic and I here with the Head Coach. I don’t think you can do any better than 3-0. You said there was a buzz in the building before the raider game, did that make winning in Oakland that much sweeter?

Josh McDaniels: It did, you could definitely feel the rivalry once we were in Oakland and actually getting to take part in the game. You could feel how important it was for us to win a division game, on the road, early in the season to kind of carry the momentum that we started with.

Vic Lombardi: (Have) you ever been part of an NFL football team that’s given up 1 touchdown in three games (before now)?

McD: I don’t know that I can say that I have; I won’t say that I haven’t, because I don’t know the three game stretches that I have been a part of. But our defense has certainly done a nice job of keeping people out of the endzone, (and) creating turnovers and opportunities for our offense and we’ve got to keep it going this week.

GM: You know, so many players have said," the key to it is that we’ve all 'bought in'”. When did you realize that they were all “buying in”?

McD: You feel that from your team, and I think that as we went through the spring our team really started to understand what our messege was going to be to them and how we were going to try to win. I think they enjoy that. I think they enjoy the process of learning that. I think we are still in it, and I think we are still in that process; but you get confirmation that what you’re doing is (sinking in) by how they practice and how they work, and then they confirm it when they play that way. So, it’s a circle; and we’ve got to complete it every week and I feel like they believe (in) what we’re doing; and I trust our players.

Vic: Any coach would be happy if you improve each week. What’s the biggest improvement you think you guys have made since week one?

McD: I don’t know if it’s (just) one area but I know this: We’re a new group of people, we’re a new group of players, we’re a new group of coaches; and we have significant room to improve all year long because of that. We’re not a team that’s been together five years (that) kind of knows everything. So all the little things that we learn each week about a new opponent (and) about our selves gives us an opportunity to get better as a team; and the thing we’ve talked about is: we need to get better from the mistakes we make in each game, and we have. That’s the good thing. You know whether it being in the kicking phase, whether it be defensively, (or) offensively; we really try to stress how important it is to get better in each phase, each week. We learn from our mistakes, and hopefully we can continue to do that.

GM: Looking to get better each and every week starting on Sunday when the Dallas Cowboys come to town.

[Short break for the CBS4 Denver vs Dallas scouting report. Just a scouting opinion of Dallas from Gary Miller and a few quotes from a couple Dallas Players and Denver Players, nothing crucial.]

Vic: Do you feel coach, that you still have something to prove? The Vegas odds-makers - Gary knows them very well - they have you guys as three point underdogs in this game. (Maybe) you don’t pay attention to that stuff, but do you still feel like you still have something to prove as a team?

McD: I think we have something to prove every week, and what you prove is that: you prepare for each opponent differently. You have to go out there, and you have to bring your best performance each week in this league or you’re going to prove that you’re not good enough. So our task and challenge every week is to come in and to work extremely hard to get to know the opponent we’re going to play. (We need to) prove over and over again that we can learn how we have to play to win the game, and then go out there on Sunday and execute it.

GM: And obviously the biggest challenge this week has to be stopping a terrific running game. Sounds like Barber is going to play, maybe not Felix Jones; but they have three really good runners.

McD: They do. I think it all starts with their offensive line. You know, three pro-bowlers up front, a pro-bowl tight end, a pro-bowl quarterback… a pro-bowl back… They’ve (obviously) got extremely talented players all over the field, offensively and defensively; but their offensive line is big, they work well together, they played a lot of games together. We’ve got to do a great job of staying at the line of scrimmage. We can’t let them move us off the ball the entire day, and that’s what they’ve had success doing so far; and you know when those runners get in space, it’s trouble.

[Next is the “Eye from the Sky” segment where McDaniels breaks down a few filmed plays of the opponent. Really great film breakdown and commentary from the coach himself, but there’s really no way to type it out here, you'd have to see the show to get the video-commentary. Next.]

Vic: A new segment this week. This is an opportunity for the coach to really get into the nuances of the game of football, and today we’re going to do this in the “spotlight matchup”. We’re going to talk about the receiver versus the defensive back, most likely the cornerback. A lot of times you like to press and a lot of times you like to bail. Right?

McD: Yep, right.

Vic: Show us the press versus bail, show us the difference between the two.

McD: We do both with our corners, and the first thing we like to do is: If we’re pressing and the ball is inside, we want to make sure we take away something (from the receiver) with our alignment. We don’t want to straddle the guy so he can go either way; we want to make sure that he only has one direction that he can go to. When he does release inside, we don’t want to reach with our hand inside because if you slap (the) hand down… now we’re in trouble cause my hips are still pointed towards the line of scrimmage. If I do this [pushes on the receivers outside shoulder with his own outside arm, forcing the receiver inside and initiating a turn for the D-back] then you’re going to go up the field and I’m going to be in perfect position [on the outside, stride for stride] because my help is on the inside part of the field.

Vic: How many yards do you get to hold me (for)?

McD: Five. Five yards up the field.

Vic: Now are they very tough about that (rule)?

McD: They are tough on it, but we’re not looking for a big piece here when we’re playing man coverage. If it’s zone and we’re trying to jam a guy than that’s a totally different concept, but we’re in man coverage. We want to take away something with our alignment. We want to let the guy release inside. We want to use our hand to put our hips in position to run with the receiver and stay on top of it.

Vic: Okay what’s the “bail” coverage?

McD: You want to mix in (both) press and bail so that the quarterback doesn’t always know that “okay, I have a chance to win at the line of scrimmage”. If you’re on bail you want to act like you’re pressing the guy. You want to have the same exact alignment. Right as the ball snaps, or right before it snaps, you’re going to turn and run. What you’re going to do is you’re going to defend the deep part of the field as a corner from a “bailed” alignment, but you don’t want to give that information to the quarterback before the ball is snapped or he’ll throw hitches and little out routes all day long on your corners, and you don’t want to give those up.

Vic: Now is there a certain alignment or a certain defense where you’ll do more “bail”?

McD: Yeah. We’ll call 'cover 3' - it’s a zone defense. We don’t want to show them we’re playing 'cover 3' from the get-go, so we’ll tell them: “Guys, whenever we call that, it’s all bail” and our corners do a good job of it.

Vic: Alright my friends, that right there is the spotlight matchup of the week; the DB versus the WR. Okay, this is the part of the show where you get to ask the coach a question here. Ken has this question for Josh McDaniels:

Ken: When you were with New England as the Offensive Coordinator, were you the one that came up with new plays or was this done as a staff? Did every new play have to have the head coach’s blessing?

McD: It didn’t. Bill gave us a lot of freedom in New England, particularly our offensive side of the ball. We met as a group, we talked about things, but ultimately the decisions were kind of “rubber-stamped” by myself and if there was anything we felt like we needed to talk to the head coach about, we did; and we made sure he was aware of exactly what we were going to try to do so he wasn’t surprised on the sideline on gameday.

Vic: How many times do you develop a new play during the course of a game? You say, “Oh this is going to work, let’s change things up.”

McD: (Probably) a few times a week during a game, but most of it is done during the week. You know we play the game each day during the course of the week. Wednesday is first and second down. Thursday is third down. Friday becomes "in the redzone" and "on the goaline" and "two minute-drills". So we’re playing the game as we’re going through practice and hopefully we’re doing a nice job and we can just implement those things on Sunday.

Vic: Man, I got a play for you that you’ve got to use… but we’ll get into that a little later. First if you want a chance to ask the coach a question, here it is: Every Wednesday head to the sports section of cbs4denver.com and click on the “ask the coach” banner. That will open up a page so that you can write out a question; we’ll pick one and read it right here on the Josh McDaniels show. So join the conversation every Wednesday at cbs4denver.com.

GM: Final segment now. Alright, everybody’s calling Kyle Orton the game manager, he’s 3-0 so far; but he has responsibilities not just in the passing game, but in the running game. Why don’t you tell us about those?

McD: We put a lot of our running game on the quarterback and there are many times we go to the line of scrimmage with multiple plays. Kyle’s been prepared and done a great job of preparing himself for each game; and he’s gotten us into some better run plays. When you’re going to run something that’s going to get a yard or two, and you get out of it and you gain eighteen or twenty yards on a play, the quarterback definitely has got a significant role in the running game; and we’re going to always ask our quarterbacks to do that, and Kyle is more than capable of doing it.

Vic: So was there a particular play in the raider’s game that he was responsible for changing at the line of scrimmage?

McD: The very first play of the game he checked, and did it more than a handful of times during the course of the game; a couple of Buckhalter’s big runs, I think one of Moreno’s runs close to the goaline was also a checked run. There’s plenty of those things every week, and Kyle obviously doesn’t get enough credit for those kind of things; but it’s something that a quarterback does and we’ll always do in our system.

GM: Couple of seconds. One other pass I also saw, he threw into double coverage, but he hit Brandon Marshall, so things worked out well. We don’t see him do that very often.

McD: No. Well, we take our shots and we’ll be aggressive, certainly on Sunday we’re going to have to be. Kyle has done a nice job of picking up things and integrating all our guys into it.

Vic: Well Josh best of luck to ya. Anytime you have a chance to beat America’s team a lot of people smile here in the Metro area, trust me, they’re not very liked around here.

GM: Yeah, good luck against the Dallas Cowboys. And of course next week we’ll see the New England Patriots come to town. Were you aware of that? [to Josh]

Vic: I don’t think he knows they’re on the schedule.

GM: He hasn’t looked ahead, only the Dallas Cowboys.

Vic: We’ll let him know.

[Josh is grinning, as they tease him about always "focusing on the current game"]

GM: Thanks, we’ll see you next week, before the Broncos host the Patriots at Invesco Field. Enjoy the game on Sunday everybody.