The Broncos, i.e., Blame all around.

I gotta tell ya… it’s bad in Bronco-land.  Who would have thought after the blistering start this offense had that Cutler would revert to pre-rookie mistakes galore? I’m loathe to just blame Cutler, because in weeks previous, he wasn’t the only one causing turnovers. But seriously, the dude needs to get his head on straight. Poor throws, poor decisions.

Now. Granted. Darrel Jackson sucks. He sucked in Seattle, and he sucks here. The guy is a butterfingers. And also. Granted. The offensive interference on the B-Marsh touchdown was as phantom as they come. That play alone turns the game around. But just like in previous games (the NE debacle excluded), Denver had chances to make up for it and beat themselves. The pick brought back for six was deadly. The inability to open even a little running room so that the total could exceed 14 yards was ridiculous. Something’s gotta change. I’m not sure what that is… but it’s a sad state when I find myself wondering if Cutler needs a week on the bench just to clear his head. Not that I think Hackney is our answer.

Let’s talk defense for a moment. There’s not much to say. It’s a below-average unit that is also decimated by injuries. A below-average unit working mostly on second-string. With that in mind, the defense wasn’t awful. They held the Ronnie Brown/Ricky Williams duo mostly in check, kept the Wildcat (which is overrated) in complete check, and even got to Pennington a couple times. But the coverage is awful… every QB in the league knows they can do what ever they want in the air… 7-12 yard passes at will, with the occasional long ball for good measure. The corners play extra-soft… it’s like we start the game in a prevent defense. Give up the short plays, stuff the long plays. The problem being, that 12 short plays puts a team in the red zone, and the long plays still get given up. The jailbreak to Pennington toward the end of the game that turned out to be against a screen, which went for 20+ yards to convert a third and long…. just plain unforgiveable.

See, the thing is… this team has some talent. Mostly on the O, but there’s talent. Just like the Rockies this year. Lots of talent, terrible team. Let’s hope the Avs aren’t resigned to the same fate. Talented team, massive under-performance. That seems to be the hallmark of Denver sports right now. For the Broncos, is it the coaching? The system? The chemistry (which I also think is overrated)? Or just a bunch of underperforming players that need to be replaced? In any case, if things don’t change this is destined to be a long winter in the Rockies.

Now let’s talk Avalanche goaltending…

Broncos?

Don’t make me write about the Broncos. Nobody wants to read that right now.

I’m beginning to hate the Jaguars.

And, by the way, just as a side note - the next announcer I hear refer to this team as the “Jag-wires”, should be forced to step into an enclosed space with a real “Jag-wire” until they can learn how to pronounce the dang word.

That being said, whoo-boy. Them jungle-cats sure showed us what’s up. And by up I mean down. And by down I mean our defense is as bad as we thought. It’s like Dennis Green in that Coors commercial, with the video lifted from an old press-conference blow up - “They are who we thought they were!”. And just to be fair in the bashing this time, the offense had its chances, and failed miserably. In fact, to be even more fair, the defense forced a couple punts there toward the end, and the O went limper than an uncooked frankfurter.

Here’s the thing: Denver is not a Super Bowl contender. But they are in very real position to take the division, unless of course San Diego decides to show up and play football, albeit a few weeks too late. That smack-down they put on the Pats (these ain’t the 07 Pats, that’s for sure) may have signalled far more doom and gloom for the Broncs than the loss to J-ville ever could. I mean really — if the Chargers actually keep playing like that, then Denver’s success will be short-lived. But some solid play and not folding to weaker teams could at least bring one January game to Invesco Field. Keep in mind though, a couple of these weaker teams that graced the schedule are starting to look like improving teams - Cleveland, Miami, Atlanta, just to name a few. The schedule doesn’t look as soft as it did a few weeks ago.

10-6? It’s possible. But right now I see 8-8 equally as possible, depressing though that would be.

Early Season Review - and late season drifting

The Rockies have all but slipped away into the collective winter subconscious of the Denver sports scene. Last year, the Rockies took all the thunder (and a lot of the heat) away from the Broncos and their poor showing. This year, the Rockies have slowly slipped further and further into irrelevance. Shine up the golf clubs and start the Holliday/Atkins trade watch.

The Broncos on the other hand, are making some serious headlines across the sports world. First for the absolute shellacking of the Oakland Raiders on Monday night - and honestly. Is there anything sweeter than that sentence? I think not. Then, for the shootout-turned-controversy with the Chargers this week. Here’s the thing — the Broncos got lucky. They got the benefit of a bad rule enforced properly. Cutler dropped that ball, and the again paper-thin defense couldn’t stop Rivers from doing anything. But the Chargers had 4 other touchdowns and a field goal - not to mention the last TD and conversion - to stop the Broncos from scoring, and couldn’t get it done. Yeah, ultimately the Chargers should have won, but it’s not like they outplayed the Broncos. Fact is, their defense was as sorry as Denver’s.

Next week, the Bolts get the NY Bretts, at home, on Monday night. Look for them to let out their aggression and make Bretts return to prime-time a bit ugly.

The Broncos get the Saints at home, which is another game that they can win, if the offense puts up numbers, and there’s no indication that the Saints will be able to stop this offensive machine. The question will rest, again, square on the Broncos defense, and their inability to stop anything.

Until then, enjoy the 2-0 lead. It’s particularly sweet considering the victims.

Hooked on a Feely

We interrupt our normal blog-dormancy (another post where I repeatedly apologize and ask penance is forthcoming) to make the following endorsement.

Dear Denver Broncos Powers-That-Be (including, but not limited to, Mr. Shanahan, Mr. Bowlen, et.al.):

Please sign Jay Feely, now that he has been released by the Miami Dolphins. I’m sure Mr. Prater is a stand-up fella, but you managed to very poorly negotiate the waters of the end of the Elam Era by letting him slip through your fingers because of a few measley dollars, dollars that flow in plentitude down there at Dove Valley.

What are the odds that two teams make enormous mistakes by letting solid, experienced, clutch kickers go in the same season? Little, I tell you. And the Dolphins have given you a chance to in very small part absolve yourself of the idiocy of letting one of the top kickers of all time go. Sign Feely. Sure, he’s no Elam, but Prater is no Feely. Elam saved your season last year from the depths of suckitude and brought it to the brink of mediocrity. You think Prater will be money at game’s end? Feely was 21 of 23, and since Parcells is insistent on completely blowing up the 1-15 team, even to the point of kicking away the brightest spot on the team, it stands to reason that Denver, a reasonable better-managed franchise (in NFL lore, anyhow), would snap to attention and take advantage of this situation in a marvelous way.

Therefore, Bronco Mucky-mucks, I ask, nay, I plead with you, sign Mr. Feely. He’s a solid kicker, that will give you confidence in a kicking game that may the only salvation to a team that has lost the will to score touchdowns from the red zone.

Sincerely,
Jason - ProSportsColorado.com Writer and Die-Hard Bronco Fan

Week in Review - April 14-20, 2008

This has turned out to be an eventful week on the Colorado Pro Sports scene. So here’s the recap…

We’ll start with the Rockies, who started the week in San Diego with another crushing defeat, this time at the hands of Randy Wolf and the Padres. Ubaldo melted down something fierce. The Rocks came back with a resounding 10-2 win on Wednesday, then on Thursday they played what amounts to an unscheduled doubleheader-and-a-half, an epic 22-inning, 6-hour-plus affair that finally ended in the wee hours of morning with Tulo doubling in the winner. So much has already been said about this game, so I recommend you just take a peek at the box score and enjoy. After the marathon game, the Rocks flew into Houston, and rather than come out flat, they dropped a couple solid wins on the Astros (with Kaz Matsui and his surgically repaired posterior in tow) including another solid outing by Aaron Cook. The week wrapped up with the Rockies dropping the final game of the set. This week, the Rocks come home for a pair of two-game sets (is there anything positive about that?) with the Phillies and the Cubs before hitting the road for a set of divisional matchups with the Dodgers and the Giants.

The Nuggets found themselves in the playoffs, and had just enough time to soak in the sweet smell of victory before getting doused with the stench of The Buss Family Fortune. Anything better than a 4-1 loss will be a miracle. Thankfully, the NBA draws the playoffs out for a solid 2 months, so we’ll get to enjoy this for a while.

And, of course, saving the best of the week until last…

The Avalanche dropped an OT contest to Minnesota, which left them trailing the series 2-1. But Game 4 brought the onslaught, and after a 5 goal lead, things got messy. The Wild showed who they really are as a team, and never recovered. The Avs went back to Minnesota, and despite being brutally outshot in the game, rode an unbelievable performance by Jose Theodore to what some might term a “stolen game” victory, and the series lead. The Avs never looked back, and the Pepsi Center was rocking in playoff form again for Game 6. The Avs played tight defense, Theodore kept up his high level of performance, and the boys in maroon skated to a 4-2 series victory. Now the Avalanche wait for the result of the Calgary/San Jose game (who knew it would go 7?) to determine their next opponent. Should the Sharks win, the Avs head off to Hockeytown to reignite a rivalry that has gone a bit chilly since the days of Roy and Osgood. Should the Flames pull off the upset, the seeds get flipped over and Colorado heads to Dallas to take on the Stars, the team that formerly called Minnesota home. Either way, goaltending performance will be key. And either way, there promises to be some good hockey in the Rocky Mountains again.

That’s it for this Week in Review. It’s supposed to be a nice week, so grab some Rockpile tickets and enjoy an evening at the ballpark this week.

Broncos Will Go 10-6

It is difficult to type at present… it’s because my left eye is focused on hockey and my right eye is focused on the new Broncos schedule. But I told myself that I would make wild predictions about the next NFL season as soon as humanly possible; total gut reactions, very little reasoning, the team is not even set yet. So here goes…

Monday, September 8 @ Oakland Raiders L

We play two Monday night games this season, and we are going to lose them both. That’s okay, we clearly play better as underdogs than as favorites for anything… even a winning season. Relative to this game in particular, the Raiders will start by outworking us and finish by outscoring us. Oh, how the Broncos love to lose the first game of the season. Nothing like starting in a hole.

Sunday, September 14 vs. San Diego Chargers W

Don’t think we can win against the Chargers? Let’s go back to last year and Philip Rivers running his mouth from the sidelines. Nobody in the Broncos locker room has forgotten that, least of all Jay Cutler. Look for Jay to have a break-out game after being shut down by the Raider’s ever-improving defense.

Sunday, September 21 vs. New Orleans Saints W

Remember last year when it took the Saints ten weeks to get their offense together? It won’t take that long this time, but they won’t even be close to 100% by the time they come to Denver in Week Three. It’ll be a close game and… Mare kicks the game winner? <urp!> Woof. I just threw up a little.

Sunday, September 28 @ Kansas City Chiefs W

Hooray! A game at Arrowhead that isn’t late in the season! That, and the Chiefs suck mightily. Hooray again!

Sunday, October 5 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers L

The game starts at 2:05 pm MST. By 5:05 pm MST I will be found weeping in the darkest corner of the dankest bar in Denver as the Broncos finish losing to either the Spawn of Simms or that gangly, balding freak Jeff Garcia. I’m tearing up just thinking about it. Let’s move on quickly.

Sunday, October 12 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars L

Last year the Broncos caught a bunch of breaks and almost won a game wherein they were dominated from opening kickoff to final snap.  Almost exactly a year later and the Jaguars return to Denver to brutalize the Broncos’ sub-par O and D lines again.  I’m going to try to find something else to do on this October afternoon… something less painful… perhaps a nice walk down Colfax Avenue without shoes or socks on.  Yeah, that sounds nice.

Monday, October 20 @ New England Patriots L

I really hate losing to the Patriots. Back in the 90’s beating the Pats was clean and easy. Each game a reminder that we had John Elway and they had Drew Bledsoe. Ha ha, I would say, ha ha ha. Well, I’m not laughing now, that’s for damn sure.

Week Eight Bye

And just in time, as the Broncos finish up an increasingly familiar three game losing streak.

Sunday, November 2    vs.    Miami Dolphins   W

Just when the season looks hopeless, the Miami Dolphins stroll into town.  Trent Green is injured on the first play from scrimmage by a wayward snowflake and some poor schmuck named Lemon throws four interceptions to Champ Bailey.  Is that an NFL record?  Where’s my fact-checker?  Dan, I’m talking to you.

Thursday, November 6    @    Cleveland Browns   W

Thursday Night Football in the reigning Ugliest City in America.  The smells of bratwurst and rampant flatulence are in the air.  One hundred and eighty pound chearleaders roam the sidelines.  And the Dog Pound barks drunkenly about how they’re due for a big season.  Somebody wearing an Elway jersey is accosted in the parking lot before the game, and an APB is put out for an overweight white male wearing poop brown and burnt orange.  And in the midst of it all the Denver Broncos upset the Cleveland Browns for the sake of tradition and continued spite.

Sunday, November 16    @    Atlanta Falcons   W

The second half of our season is full of two things: road games and mediocre teams.  Considering the noticeable loss of Mile High Magic sometime during the second quarter of the 2006 AFC Championship Game, we should consider ourselves lucky.  Who is going to be this season’s road dogs?  (Stop raising your hands Giants fans.  Your home field is in New Jersey and you’re just going to have to live with that.)

Sunday, November 23    vs.    Oakland Raiders    W

If the Broncos lose to the Raiders at home this season I will begin circulating a petition requesting the immediate removal of Mike Shanahan as head coach.  I’m not even kidding.  I don’t care if every starter on our team comes down with the flue the night before the game.  Go out there and stop the run, dammit!

Sunday, November 30    @    New York Jets   W

I still don’t know how to pick this one… there are just too many wild cards for both teams.  It is distinctly possible that this game comes down to who makes the fewest mistakes… don’t the Jets play in Jersey too?  Good enough for me, it’s a win.

Sunday, December 7    vs.    Kansas City Chiefs    W

Last year we played the Chiefs three days after my birthday in December.  As a gift to me (and only me) the Broncos rocked the Chiefs to the tune of 41-7.  It almost made up for the 41-3 loss to the Chargers at home earlier in the season.  This game is a single day after my birthday, so you can expect a final score of 52-6.

Sunday, December 14    @    Carolina Panthers    W

The Panthers will bring us to the final seconds… Broncs down by three… Mare takes the direct snap… hurtles a wobbling arc of a pass twenty yards downfield… Jay Cutler (the holder on the play) catches the ball in stride and runs it into the end zone.  Think that’s improbable?  Try imagining the 2008 Broncos at 10-4 this late in the season.

Sunday, December 21    vs.    Buffalo Bills    L

The announcers will say that nobody saw it coming, but you will all know that one man did.  Months earlier as a clean, clear sun shone out over the Rocky Mountains and onto Mile High Stadium, a lowly blogger announced to nobody in particular that the Broncos would, in that special way that only they can, find a way to lose to the Buffalo Bills at home.

Sunday, December 28    @    San Diego Chargers    L

I don’t pretend to know the future for certain.  For example, I couldn’t tell you how badly we will lose this game.  I can, however, tell you that it will be ugly… real ugly.  And that nothing short of the Broncos turning from a soft assortment of players wearing the same color into a highly functional football team will win us this game.

That puts us at 10-6 on the season, and probably in the playoffs even after losing our last two games.  That makes us a nice soft first round game for a much better team.  The best we can do as Broncos fans is hope that the team that removes us unceremoniously from the playoffs is not the San Diego Chargers.

Ian.

Week in Review - April 7-13, 2008

Well let’s see…

The Avalanche split overtime wins with Minnesota, the first being a SuperJoe Miracle, the second being a well-fought game that would have been a gift win, but it’s still heartbreaking to lose in overtime. The series returns this week to Pepsi Center, and you can bet the hockey-loving hordes of Denver are clamoring for the return of playoff hockey.

The Rockies took the previous week’s beatdowns and passed on the favor to the Atlanta Braves, making little girls of them and getting the 3-game sweep, with contest number four being relegated to a random June off-day due to the April snow-dump. They travelled to PHX, hoping to reverse the bad fortunes of the opening series, and got pretty handily spanked for two games before finally unloading on the tail end of the Diamondbacks rotation, making them 1-5 against the division rivals, getting outscored 43-23 in the six games (that despite a 13-run Sunday). September will tell whether this matters, or if it’s just true early season jitters. This week, the Rox head to 3-game sets in San Diego (more 2007 missed-playoff angst to deal with) and Houston (hello, Kaz Matsui), before coming home for a pair of obnoxious 2-game mini-series with Philly and the Cubbies.

The Nuggets made the playoffs, missed the playoffs, made them again, missed them again, before finally possibly maybe if everything falls right landing in the driver’s seat for the eighth playoff seed, which earns them the privilege of playing Kobe and the Lakers in the first round. Hello, early exit. Good-bye, George Karl. I’d say we hardly knew ye, but let’s be real. We knew ye.

The Broncos argued about whether Cutler is a leader or a prick. Even John Elway got into the discussion. Draft day’s a-comin’.

That’s ProSportsColorado week in review. Stay tuned as Ian will likely talk some more hockey as the week goes on (Game 3 tonight - don’t miss it!), Dan will regale us with tales of baseball prognostication unlike any other, and I will probably cry like a little girl if the Avs lose this series.

That’s O-Mare

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/mar/27/denver-offers-mare-deal/

That’s the best they can do? Olindo-Freaking-Mare? I mean, I know the guy’s a good kicker, but what’s the point in letting a 15-year vet whose legacy is tied to the Denver area hit the road running, and then bring in an 11-year vet who is clearly on the downswing in his career. Seriously? Where is the upgrade here? The fact that he’ll boom a few kickoffs at Invesco for touchbacks? Really? You’ll take that over Jason “Money” Elam?

I’m just not convinced. I was hoping that letting Elam go was an indication that a deal for a new franchise kicker was in the works. The fact that Mare hasn’t even signed, and could possibly choose Seattle over Denver, shows that’s not the case… oy. I don’t even know what else to say.

One of these things is stupid, the other was just an accident.

Jason Elam is no longer a Bronco after 15 years of providing some serious stability in an era where kicking games seem to lack just that. There’s not a lot you can count on in the NFL, so having a guy that is money when it’s time for a clutch field goal is quite valuable. Apparently, the Broncos have no problem assigning a value. I guess the real evaluation of this decision will come when the Broncos find a replacement. Elam clearly wasn’t in it to “win another ring”, because he landed with the Falcons. He was here long enough that his legacy is secure, and should the Hall come calling (anyone think it will?), he’ll go in as a Denver Bronco. It still just smacks of the kind of business decision that looks good on paper but leaves the reality of the human aspect of the game out in the cold. I think we could have given Elam the chance to wind up the last couple years of his career here in Denver. But in any case, I wish him the best and hope that Atlanta and its messed-up franchise doesn’t bring him down.

In other Broncos news, Brandon Marshall cut his arm after tripping on a McDonalds bag. The question here is not “why wasn’t he more careful”, or “why is this even news”, or even “how will he recover?”. The question is WHAT THE FREAKING HELL WAS A SUPPOSED ELITE NFL ATHLETE DOING EATING AT MC-FREAKING-DONALDS IN THE FIRST PLACE? Did no one see “Super Size Me”? Is no one worried that our number one receiver was scarfing down a Big Mac instead of something that doesn’t clog your arteries as you swallow? Do the Broncos even employ a strength and conditioning coach? For the love of God, even a nutritionist? ARGH!

That wraps up news in Broncos-land for today. Pardon me while I recover from my rage-induced (but certainly not diet-induced) coronary.