I haven't posted in quite a while.  Actually I haven't been able to watch any Broncos football (until today) since last year (For shame!)  Two things working against me: They haven't been on the TV much when they had the losing records, and my life even on Sundays has been quite busy.  I have to say I do enjoy watching the "boring" Broncos when they are succeeding like this!  One thing caught my eye towards the end of the game that I thought deserved a comment.  Right before and after the missed Charger's field goal in OT, the camera cut to Quinn and Tebow on the sideline.  Tebow was looking focused, but also a bit tired?  (Not that it showed on the field!)  And Brady Quinn was quite animated and smiling talking to Tim.  Not sure what he was communicating, but I have a lot of guesses.  I would have enjoyed being a fly on the wall for that conversation.  Anybody want to guess what Quinn was talking about?  Mine is, as Novak is lining up for the field goal for the win, "We've got em right where we want em." (Reminiscent of The Drive)

I was spending a little time today thinking about how well KO has been playing, and how little love he's received from the media (MHR excepted, of course).  I remember another quarterback who won a lot of games for his team and yet everyone always seemed to be looking for the next guy.  Remember Brees with the Dolts?  He was always doing the right things to put his team in position to win, at the Broncos expense sometimes.  After his shoulder injury, and being a contract year for him, the Dolts went with Phyllis Rivers, which I'm sure they don't regret.  But now Brees is a legitimate superstar with the Saints, and would be so even without the ring he won last year.  Orton had a lot of wins with the Bears, and has a decent start with the Exteme Makeover- Broncos edition.  What is it going to take for him to get to that perceived elite level?  I really beleive he has all the skill, and the pieces around him are coming together.  If we can shake some of this injury juju we have had this year, maybe the discussion someday could be:  Manning, Brady, Brees, Orton and the rest.  Or is he always going to be considered middle of the pack, just holding the spot until Tebow is ready?

I was just curious if there was any discussion going on about what the Tebow pick might have to do with Tom Brandstater's status in Denver.  I have had him in the back of my head since we drafted him last year as a guy who will finally get his chance when he is ready and do great things.  I am really hoping we don't have to give up on him now that we have Tebow.  He hasn't had a chance to develop yet.  But 53 men is not very many, and the Tebow is clearly the direction McDaniels is moving.

I know the departure of Brandon Marshall has been discussed to death on this site both before and after the fact.  I love this site for the excitement generates for my Broncos as well as the great technical discussions that make football more enjoyable to watch.  But basically, I am an exclusively emotional fan who roots with his heart first and foremost. 

Continue reading this post »

Count me in the "owners are greedily trying to force a lockout" camp.  I understand that economically things have to change for NFL owners, but this lockout is seeming like a near certainty for 2011.  Don't take my NFL away!  I'd have to find another hobby, and I don't wanna!  Seriously, the NFL is about the hottest brand going right now anywhere, and these guys want to mess with their own success by shutting down.  From the reports I've read, the players don't have a lot of options except giving in or being locked out.  And even "giving in" seems tough to do when by most accounts there aren't any real offers on the table for them to take.  And of course they won't give in, unions rarely do before the pain really sets in.  So what can the union do? Just wait for the inevitable.  I say no!

Continue reading this post »

I know I am a little late to the party for this discussion, but I had an idea, even if its a little too "XFL" to be realistic.  Everyone complains about week 17 with teams resting their starters, and some losing teams having already checked out for the season. This makes for some horribly non-competitive games, and the fans lose out.  What if we gave everyone something to play for Week 17 whether a playoff team or not?  Goodell was flirting with the idea of penalizing teams for resting starters, but then Welker went down giving the Patriots an excuse to melt down against the Ravens.  The other problem with penalizing teams is as with the Rooney Rule, there would be plenty of ways to circumvent the rule without complying with its intent. 

Continue reading this post »

I apologize if anyone views this post as redundant, much of what I have to say has been well covered on this site.  But in my opinion the Broncos really need to get to that 13-3 record in order to be one of the great NFL teams this year.  Of course, most Broncos fans would have been thrilled with 8-8 before the season (even if some serious Kool-Aid drinkers-looking in the mirror here-won't admit that anymore).

As a fan, I have the luxury of looking ahead on the schedule and looking past some teams.  Of course the players and coaches have no such luxury, they must take this one game at a time and take every opponent seriously or risk losing to a terrible team.  I believe this Broncos team will not make those mistakes, but I am a fan, so I can do whatever I want!

At 6-1 right now, there are 4 games left against teams a fan like me can look past.   Washington, KC twice, the Raiders are all terrible.  I know that the Raiders beat the Eagles and the Chiefs took Dallas to overtime, but if the Broncos do their jobs right (and they will) these are wins.  That leaves another 5 games on the schedule that the Broncos have to keep close and try to find away to win:  Pittsburgh, San Diego, Giants, Indy, and Philly.  Win the ones we're supposed to and take a majority of these (3 out of 5) and we are at 13-3.  So while 11-5 would have seemed an impossible giddy dream a few months ago to some, for me the expectations have gone up a bit with success!  Remember all those Shanahan coached teams that looked decent in the regular season, but went nowhere come playoff time?  That was a bummer.  That said, even 11-5 (only 1 out of 5 of the good games) would still get us to the playoffs and be something to build on for years to come.  I just don't think an 11-5 Broncos team gets much done in the playoffs this year.  A 13-3 or even 12-4 team is set up and loaded to win it all. 

So here's to rooting for the Broncos, one game at a time, win or lose you guys are my team!  13-3 until we ain't!

Dear Mr. Xanders and Mr. McDaniels,

  Please pay Mr. Marshall whatever he wants.  No other WR in the NFL picks that football from between the hands of the defensive back like he did on that game winning play.  He makes Orton look a lot better than he really is.  I know this is a team game, and the Broncos definitely won as a team today, but that would be a tough piece to replace if you let him walk after this year.