Troy Tulowitzki strikes out with vigor in his first return to the plate since suffering a broken wrist in June

In order to understand the Colorado Rockies you need to have been there in 2007 when Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki willed their team to the playoffs.

To really get the depth of suffering in Colorado baseballand you will have waded through an abysmal 2008.  You would remember watching, helpless, as every dependable player from that magical ’07 run declined, even the ones that went to other teams (Fogg, Taveras & Matsui.)

You will have stared blankly at a post-All Star Break club that has sucked in every conceivable way that a baseball team can suck, rolled snake-eyes in every conceivable situation that requires luck, and lost eight straight games, alternately in gut-wrenching blowout fashion and then with fist-pounding inadequacy in close contests.

And the only reason you believe that there is a ghost of a chance that the Rockies can make up 9 games in their remaining 55 is that you saw them charge back in two of the last three seasons after everybody, including you, had written them off as well done… cooked.

But you will have also watched this Colorado team repeatedly threatened with its postseason life in the last week respond by committing a litany of mistakes; from formerly dependable starters to typically shutdown fielders to otherwise intelligent management.

And you will believe again, as I do, that the Rockies’ season is finished before its time.

Oddly, though, it would seem that this team thrives on its own dysfunctional countenance.

The Rockies are deeply, characteristically humanistic in their approach to baseball.  Even by comparison to similarly streaky teams.

What I mean here is that the Rockies feel like they’re on an epic losing streak right now, and it shows in every movement, every anxious swing.  Each driving hit straight into a defender’s glove seems scripted by the very demeanor of the club, and the only way out is an equal, opposite and, yea, inevitable resurgence in the opposite direction.

The Colorado Rockies are a team of players whose most defining attribute is their inherently natural approach to the game.  Brad Hawpe, Carlos Gonzalez, Ubaldo Jimenez and Troy Tulowitzki, the Rockies’ youth core, are very simply a band of gifted naturals.

Hawpe has one of the most beautiful swings ever created by the baseball gods, but struggles mightily to control its intricacies.

Gonzalez is so intensely gifted at finding ways to drive a baseball thrown anywhere near the strike zone that he dooms himself to low-percentage, awkward swings in high-pressure situations.

Jimenez didn’t start playing baseball until his teens, and his otherworldly physical talents still seem underdeveloped at times.  His incapability to cope with a mechanical glitch, in fact his tendency to exaggerate the motion that is blowing his pitches off-course, is sophomoric by comparison to his level of experience in the major leagues.

And poor Troy Tulowitzki had gotten it all figured out after two years of struggle when a brush-back pitch broke his wrist in mid-June.

Before that injury, Tulo had finally found a way to harness his obvious natural skills, to take advantage of his de-facto confidence, and to do so while still allowing the game to come to him.  In his two games back, Troy has been wound so tight trying to make plays that he has committed a fielding error and a major base-running gaffe, and frustratingly driven the ball hard straight at opposing fielders.  (He has also struck out dramatically– see picture above.)

But where they Rockies have a tendency to perpetuate their own bad fortunes, they are also capable of waking into a flurry of ferocious winning at any time.

Those ’07 & ’09 teams needed catalysts in the form of an emotional game-winning home run by Helton for the former and an intensely personal managerial change for the latter.

The Rockies’ front office has very publicly pursued not just good, natural baseball players, but also good, natural human beings.  We’re talking good people here, with strong morals and well-developed character.  The result has been a team that moves as one through the season, sometimes slipping into a self-perpetuated depression, and sometimes rising to unbelievable heights of excellence.

The Colorado Rockies are a family unit with well-defined roles, desire and passion throughout.  Their collectivism is their greatest strength and most damning weakness.

So even if I have to believe, statistically… rationally, that the Rockies are done in 2010, there is still a chance for resurrection.  And even if the ’10 Rocks don’t make it rain, the ’11 Rocks look mighty potent given a healthy pitching staff.

Even as we give up on the boys in purple pinstripes, they are yet a dynamic ball club full of potential for greatness.  Even if the season fades to an untimely black, it is still good to be a baseball fan in Colorado.

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All hands on deck!  After a poor game that the Jazz won by three, the Nuggets put up one their worst performances of year and the postseason is in jeopardy.  This is now a must win game on the road.  If the Nuggets can’t find it tonight, they probably won’t find it.  And Energy Solutions Arena is a tough place for any team save the Jazz to play.

I won’t lie; it’s tough to root for the Nuggets after the lackluster performance on Friday night.  The team played just about the laziest game I’ve ever seen a contender play and it makes me wonder if they ever were truly a contender.  The only cure is a high-energy, high-effort win on the road.

1^st Quarter

5:46 Nuggets get the early lead on the shooting of Carmelo Anthony, but so far the game has looked much like the previous three strategically.  The Jazz are running their dribble drives and pick and rolls.  The Nuggets are working the isolations and looking for mistakes in the Jazz defense under the hoop.

2:28 The Jazz have clawed back in by dominating down low for a solid 3 minutes.  Paul Millsap has come into the game and Nene can’t deal with him.  Nene has got to step up both defensively and offensively against Millsap, because if things continue as they are the Nuggets are looking at a long game and short season.

End Quarter Jazz 31-25

The Nuggets’ offense left the building for a few minutes and the Jazz pulled away.  It happens.   A missed layup by Nene here and missed wide open 3 Pointer by Chauncey Billups there and you only score 4 points in the final 4 minutes of a quarter.

The Jazz are simply getting too close to the basket.  They’re shooting 60% and it’s because the vast majority of shots they’re taking are from within the restricted area.  The Nuggets have got to find a way to keep the ball on the perimeter.

2^nd Quarter

7:57 Millsap has left the floor and the Nuggets are chipping away at the lead (was at its highest at 8, now down to 5).   Looking at the stats, the Nuggets’ shooting is a little low (42%).  That needs to come up.

5:04 The Nuggets are battling.  At times today, they’ve looked like they have no idea what to do and at others are showing the toughness that got them here.  J.R. Smith has been the best defender so far with a pair of steals and 2 rebounds.

3:21 The Nuggets have abandoned the paint and their post players are taking stupid jump shots.  The Nuggets’ shooting is down to 39%.  Worse, look at the shooting from the Nuggets bigs:

Kenyon Martin 1-7

Nene 1-2

Chris Anderson 1-3

Martin has been exceptionally bad.  He can’t make layups or jump shots.

2:16 Martin just got his third foul and will have to sit on the bench.  Considering the way he’s played, good riddance.

End Half Jazz 54-45

The shot selection for the Nuggets is the culprit tonight (37% FG, 1-7 3 Pt).  Even Anthony’s numbers have slumped (7-15 FG, although he has picked up 3 of his own rebounds).  Only Aaron Afflalo is making more than 50% of his shots (3-5 FG).  Adrian Dantley needs to be yelling at his low percentage shooter (Kenyon & Anderson specifically) and telling them they’re not allowed to take any low percentage shots.

On the other end, the Jazz shooters are having an off night, but they are still shooting 56% because the bigs are finding easy paths to the basket.

3^rd Quarter

7:41 Even when the Jazz try to help the Nuggets out, Denver gives the ball right back.  On a bad pass by Afflalo, Wesley Matthews takes the ball the other way and misses a dunk.  I’m feeling like this could be the Nuggets’ time, and Melo steps out of bounds on the drive.  The Nuggets look dead in the water down by 15.

3:10  Denver has taken a game they were in only down by 9, and with lazy play (especially on the defensive side) have turned it into an asskicking.  There is only one way to describe the Nuggets’ second half performance; shameful.  This team has gone from being a contender to win a championship and in one month turned into a team that may need to be blown up.

End Quarter Jazz 86-68

The Nuggets have given themselves a tall order to keep their season going.  They pretty much have to play perfect basketball in order to win this game and I don’t need to remind you that this game is the playoffs.  I think Basketball season may be over.

4^th Quarter

9:40  Well the good news is the Jazz have started launching stupid shots.  If this continues and the Nuggets have someone get hot the game might not be over.  I’m not holding my breath.

6:04 The Nuggets closed the lead to 11 from 20 in half the quarter.  A few more minutes like this and I might be wrong about the Nuggets season.

2:36 The Jazz make their clutch shots and the Nuggets need 2 and a half minutes of absolutely perfect basketball to win.

0:54 After closing it to 7, Melo misses a 14 footer and the Jazz are into foul shots.

End Game

The Nuggets could have won this game (and this series) with consistent effort.  When they played hard at both ends they were clearly the beater team.  But Utah simply out worked them.   Melo was the only one who played hard all the way through (et to Billups?) and he missed time with foul trouble again.

And now the Nuggets must win 3 in a row with the middle one on the road.   That’s probably out of the question for this team.  Next time I’m scheduled to write for the Nuggets will be game 7…  so I don’t expect to write about them again this season.

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The Colorado Avalanche stole Game 1 in San Jose on a Chris Stewart shot that deflected off Sharks defenseman Rob Blake’s skate with 49.3 seconds left in the final period.

Game 2’s scoring began on a high, arcing bounce shot credited to Avalanche defender Kyle Cumiskey just over a minute in.  The Avalanche would go on to lose in Overtime, but San Jose never led until that sudden death game-winner.

Then we have Sunday night’s Game 3.

Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson stopped all 50 shots faced in the first three periods of play.  Andy would only need to withstand one more shot in Overtime before a bizarre goal credited to the poke-checking stick of Avalanche center Ryan O’Reilly ended the game.  Colorado scraped by with a 1-0 win for a 2-1 series lead over San Jose.

It was O’Reilly’s first postseason goal in a stellar rookie season, but the force of the ‘shot’ came from San Jose defenseman Dan Boyle.  Boyle attempted a clear around the end boards behind Sharks’ goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.  Working from the side boards to Nabokov’s right, Boyle tried to throw the puck around behind his own net to clear the zone.  O’Reilly, who had chased a TJ Galiardi dump into the Sharks’ zone, got a sliver of his stick on either Boyle’s stick, the puck, or both.  The puck sailed hard behind the bend in Nabokov’s right knee, the only place his leg pad was not set firmly against the post.

O’Reilly looked to the Pepsi Center’s vaulted ceiling, threw up his hands, and dropped his eyes back to ice-level in time to get mobbed by Avalanche teammates.

But the real story of the game was Craig Anderson.

Anderson’s performance on Sunday mirrored cross-town counterpart Ubaldo Jimenez’ no-hitter for the Colorado Rockies in Atlanta on Saturday.  Both men play the highest stress positions in their respective sport, and both tossed up shutout gems this weekend.

Craig stopped 8 shots in the 1^st, when the Avalanche were taking the play at the Sharks hard.  Periods 2 & 3 were all San Jose, though, and Anderson had to turn away 21 shots in each of the final two frames.  The Sharks came at Andy from every direction, using every trick in their extensive, possession-heavy book of attacks.  Anderson stopped 51 of 51 on the game before O’Reilly’s game-winning goal at 0:51 of the extra period.

When all was said and done, the rink clear except for an Altitude Sports reporter, Craig skated back onto the ice to accept his 1^st Star nod.  Instead of an interview, we got a solid minute of standing ovation as the best postseason goaltender to lock down the Pepsi Center since Avalanche legend Patrick Roy stood awkwardly, an enormous grin stretched across his face.

For those who have not had the pleasure of watching Andy work this season, Craig Anderson has arrived.

And for the Avalanche faithful who watched Andy carry this team from the season’s opener versus these Sharks at Pepsi Center (a 5-2 win) all the way to a playoff birth, through two epic games in San Jose, and back to Pepsi Center for a crucial Game 3 win, Craig Anderson has come full circle.

A career backup before coming to Colorado, Craig Anderson is a recognized hero at last.

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The Colorado Avalanche had the worst record in the Western Conference in 2009.  Now they have the worst record of the 8 West contenders for Lord Stanley’s Cup.  That is an impressive leap for one of the youngest teams in the league.

But can Colorado manufacture a first-round upset in hockey’s second season?

Starting this Wednesday, April 14^th the Avalanche will travel to San Jose to open their 12^th trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Colorado began their surprise season with a 5-2 thumping of the Sharks on the same night that the Avalanche retired Joe Sakic’s #19 to the Pepsi Center rafters.

In fact, Colorado split the season series with San Jose 2-2 on the strength of that opening win and a 5-4 OT victory on April 4^th.  The two games between were tight, evenly-matched affairs that ended in 1-3 & 3-4 losses at San Jose.

The top-seeded Sharks play incredibly well in San Jose, and the Colorado Avalanche will need to find a way to win a close game at the Shark Tank to steal the series.  For all the Sharks’ regular season success in San Jose, playoff demons lurk there as well…

San Jose Sharks recent playoff history

San Jose has made an early exit from the playoffs every year since their ascension to NHL elite status during the 2003-2004 season.

2003-2004 the Sharks upended the Avalanche on their way to the Western Conference Finals.  San Jose lost that series in 6 games to the Calgary Flames, and their playoff troubles have been well documented ever since.

2004-2005 season was cancelled due to a league-wide lockout.  The Sharks would have had considerable momentum going into that season, and the labor dispute definitely played a part in killing San Jose’s newfound playoff mojo.

2005-2006 ended with a 6-game loss to the Edmonton Oilers in the second round after the Sharks took a 2-0 series lead.  The Oilers would go on to play in the Cup Finals.

2006-2007 fizzled as well, as the Sharks dominated the Nashville Predators for the second consecutive season with a 4-1 first round domination, only to give up a 2-1 series lead to the Detroit Red Wings in a 6-game series loss.

2007-2008 was another disappointment with the Sharks ceding to the middling Dallas Stars in another second round fade that carried on the home-ice killing tradition of losing in 6 games to lesser teams.  Head Coach Ron Wilson was fired as a result, and Todd McLellan took over in the offseason.

2008-2009 may have been the most damaging playoff series in San Jose’s history (remarkable considering the history) as the Sharks dropped another 6-game series on the road to the division rival Anaheim Ducks.  That loss to the 8^th-seeded Ducks came after winning the President’s Trophy for the best regular season record in the NHL.

Upset Special, Made to Order

The Colorado Avalanche are a matchup nightmare for the Sharks for a lot of reasons.  Chief among them is San Jose’s propensity for losing to scrappy young opponents in the playoffs, but just as important is Colorado’s offensive depth.

Because of a season filled with injuries that have effected every single scoring line, the Avalanche can roll out a wide assortment of forwards that have well-established chemistry.  Each line is capable of rolling through the neutral zone with incredible speed, and even the team’s muckers sport a surprising scoring touch.

The Avalanche have nowhere near the defensive fortitude that the Sharks have, but they can score on anybody.

The Avs can throw their own recent playoff history out the window.

This Avalanche squad bears only a vague resemblance to teams of playoffs past.  And that resemblance is born out only in the grizzled visage of veteran blue-liner Adam Foote, and the still-youthful speed of Milan Hejduk.  Even with the re-acquisition of former Colorado stalwart Stephane Yelle, the new Avalanche are young to the core.

The Avs’ Centers read like a who’s who of North American Junior & College Hockey over the last 5 seasons.

Matt Duchene, Ryan O’Reilly, Kevin Porter, Paul Stastny & Ryan Stoa are all under 25 years old.  Only Chris Durno (mucker), Matt Hendricks (hammer) and Yelle are older.

The Youth Movement extends through the team’s wingers as well.

Cody McLeod & David Jones toe the line at 25 years old, while TJ Galiardi, Peter Mueller, Chris Stewart & Brandon Yip are younger.  The rarely-used David Koci is 28 and speed-demon Marek Svatos is 27.  Only Darcy Tucker (35) and Hejduk (34) could truly be considered veterans out of the team’s 10 wing-men.

And while the Avalanche defense is thick with veterans, three of eight defenders stand out as shockingly young.  Kyle Cumiskey (23), Kyle Quincey (24) & Ryan Wilson (23) each skate in a defensive pairing with a much older teammate, and they facilitate the speed-first attitude of this Colorado team.

Which brings us to the #1 reason why the Avalanche have a very viable opportunity to upset the San Jose Sharks.

Colorado is fast.  Really fast.  And the Sharks are slow.  Really slow.

San Jose predicates its game on disciplined movement out of their defensive zone, and methodical, cycling hockey in the offensive zone.  The Sharks are a hulking team that prefers to set up screened shots high and post mammoth centers up front.

But the Avalanche have within them two great assets against such a strategy: dedicated shot-blockers that have the speed and gall to disrupt up high, and a quick, agile goalie that, at his best, sees the puck through screens and eats up rebounds with regularity.

Now, Avalanche goaltender Craig Anderson has had a rough time over the last 15 games, and there is very real possibility that he carried too much of a burden through the regular season (most ice-time and most shots faced in the league).  No doubt, Colorado will need Andy to be at the top of his game against the Sharks, or San Jose’s superior puck control and defense will steamroll the Avalanche into submission.

But the ingredients are all there for Colorado to extend San Jose’s playoff woes.  If Peter Mueller can come back healthy at 100% for this series, and Anderson can step up the way he did in the first half of the season, then the Avalanche could be looking at Saturday, April 24^th at Pepsi Center (Game 6) as the day they swallowed the Sharks.

COLORADO AVALANCHE VS SAN JOSE SHARKS SERIES SCHEDULE

Wed, Apr 14 @ San Jose 8:30 PM MST on Versus

Fri, Apr 16 @ San Jose 8:30 PM MST on Versus

Sun, Apr 18 @ Colorado 7:30 PM MST on Versus

Tue, Apr 20 @ Colorado 8:00 PM MST on Versus

Thu, Apr 22 @ San Jose 8:30 PM MST on Versus

Sat, Apr 24 @ Colorado TBA

Mon, Apr 26 @ San Jose TBA

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The Denver Broncos completed a trade Sunday for Cleveland Browns Quarterback Brady Quinn.

Denver traded Running Back Peyton Hillis, a 2011 6th round draft pick, and a conditional 2012 pick for former first round pick Quinn.  Brady struggled to succeed in his 3 years in Cleveland with limited receiving talent and a porous offensive line.  However, Quinn was able to oust Browns starting QB Derek Anderson midway through last season, and has shown flashes of brilliance that harken back to his days as a standout at Notre Dame.

Brady played for former New England offensive coordinator Charlie Weiss in Notre Dame.  Weiss runs an offensive system similar to his replacement in New England, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels.

Brady Quinn will likely compete with Broncos 2009 starter Kyle Orton for the starting QB role in the Denver offense.

Quinn became expendable after the Browns picked up Seneca Wallace and Jake Delhomme to compete for their 2010 starting quarterback position.

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St Louis Blues goaltender Chris Mason had been unbeatable over his last five games, all wins.  That streak included shoot-out victories against the rising Red Wings and league-best Capitals.

Mason didn’t make it past the second minute of the second period in this game, as the Avalanche began to score their goals in bunches.

After St Louis took an early 1-0 lead on a redirection goal, the Avalanche needed only 0:11 seconds to tie.  Just over a minute later Colorado took the lead on the first of Chris Stewart’s three goals.  Stewart and the Avalanche never looked back, stretching their lead to 5-1 before the Blues could re-compose themselves.

Chris Stewart recorded his first career hat trick in what has been an absolutely shockingly good season for the strong, quick forward.  Stewart has 44 points in 48 games since scoring his first NHL goal against Detroit on October 24^th, 2009.  Chris also has seven goals in his last eight games.

More amazing than his eye-popping statistics was the way that Chris logged his first career hat trick.

After scoring on a wrister in the first period and a slapshot in the first minute of the second period, Stewart was tripped down on a breakaway in the final minute of the second.  Chris was awarded a Penalty Shot on the play, and he made it a no-doubt wrister over the glove of Blues backup Ty Conklin.  The Colorado crowd flooded the ice with hats in honor of Stewart’s big game.

The Blues didn’t back off, though, recording the first goal of the third period to make it a 3-6 disadvantage.  The Avalanche buckled down on defense, and added an empty netter with just over a minute left to seal the blowout win.

Interestingly, the Denver University Pioneers played their final regular season game at the same time in the same state.  For a while, both the Pioneers and Avalanche were enjoying 6-3 leads, and each game ended with 7-3 wins.  DU will go into the WCHA tournament as the #1 seed after knocking off the Colorado College Tigers a night after losing 1-2 to their front-range rivals.

Meanwhile the Avalanche will get ready to take on their own rivals, the Northwest leading Vancouver Canucks, in Colorado on Tuesday night.  The Avs and ‘Nucks have 80 points each at the moment, making Tuesday’s contest the biggest game of the season for both teams.

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The Men’s Olympic Hockey tournament has boiled down to four teams, and the United States is the top dog.  The #1 seeded USA Team will take on Team Finland in the Semifinals 6.5 hours before Team Canada (most likely) dismantles a low-voltage Team Slovakia on the other side of the bracket.

Team USA vs Team Finland: Friday, February 26^th, 12:00 pm PST

Team Canada vs Team Slovakia: Friday, February 26^th, 6:30 pm PST

Team USA is both the only team that has gone undefeated and the youngest team in the tournament.  They represent a sea change in US Olympic hockey, and to say that these young Americans have exceeded expectations would be a gross understatement.

With an average age of 26.5, Team USA has outworked, outskated & outscored their opponents in the regimented tradition of old Northeastern United States hockey.  They have taken full advantage of the NHL ice in use for the 2010 Olympics by bringing the game to the corners & boards and then just winning battles for the puck.

Meanwhile, the next batter to step up to the rampaging Americans is undoubtedly the old man on the block.  Team Finland is returning 15 players from their silver medal winning 2006 squad.  Not coincidentally, 15 of Finland’s 23 players were born in the 1970’s, and the average age of the roster is 30.7 years old.  They are the oldest team in the tournament, and they execute a smart, veteran game plan.

Unfortunately for the Finns, the Americans have some wicked speed to go with a stellar team passing ethos.  Unless Teemu Selanne can muster his (much) younger self and shake off five years of injuries for a night, Finland is in for a long, low-scoring evening.

The USA will continue to play the disciplined team defense that Coach Ron Wilson instilled as responsibility #1, and US Goalie Ryan Miller just bested the hottest ‘tender at the tourney in Switzerland’s Jonas Hiller.  The United State’s greatest asset is their common understanding of a basic but effective system of defending their zone and fore-checking into the opponent’s zone.

From there, the name of the game is control and constant movement of both the puck and attacking forwards.  The team’s best offensive element is its tenacity and they know it.

While Finland’s experience on the International Stage gives them a considerable advantage, I believe that the US Men are playing well beyond their years.  Part of that equation has certainly been Wilson.  Just as important was the strength of character that General Manager Brian Burke favored over raw skill in his selection of the team’s core players.

That’s why the Americans blocked almost 30 shots off Swiss sticks on Wednesday.

And that’s why, no matter how well Finland brings their game to the Americans this Friday afternoon, Team USA will throw themselves bodily at the task at hand; a rematch with Team Canada for the Gold Medal.

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Trap-Style Defensive Hockey: Natural Predator of the Chaos-Style Hockey Team

In order to understand the way I view hockey, you must first understand how I watch the games.

North American Pro Hockey is a goal-based game with a field of play separating two goals, and an object that must pass into one goal or the other for a score.  In these types of games, position & movement (whether individual or coordinated) become the most important facets of the game. Furthermore, position & movement influence who will do well or poorly, not only in given situations but also over the course of the game.

In the case of hockey, the most intriguing aspect is that the game is played on ice. This detail removes much of the control a given player may have over the object, especially compared to Basketball or Lacrosse where a player will have much greater control.  Basketball & Lacrosse (and to a certain extent soccer) are sports where teams may take their time setting plays up before the action begins, and then run a set play that has been carefully laid out and practiced ad nauseum. So the scheme can change from team to team or from situation to situation.

But hockey is so unpredictable in its nature that you can’t scheme more than a handful of scripted plays, and even then you will rarely run through the progression perfectly (despite what you may have seen in a certain investment firm’s commercials.)  All professional teams have chosen to rely less on micromanaging a multitude of unpredictable events, and rely more on developing a basic philosophy about how to react.  Playing Style has become the cornerstone of dictating how teams will try to use position and movement.

To elaborate:

Styles of Play break down into three major categories…

Control Hockey

Chaos Hockey

Trap Hockey

The perfect examples today of Control-Style teams are the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins.  These are teams that want to control the puck, obviously.  They are forceful and decisive.  On defense they take calculated risks when challenging attackers for the puck.  They frequently engage in aggressive fore-checking, though only when they have the play backed up.   On offense, puck movement is the name of the game and player movement is almost always rigidly coordinated (or at least as rigid as you can get in a fluid, unpredictable sport.) They will play in triangles frequently so that the player with the puck will have passing options.  They knife toward the net frequently, but typically in situations when they have two defenders at the blue line in case the play back-fires; and the knifing player is frequently a decoy to draw away defenders from a sharpshooter.  In short terms, they are teams that try to blend talents of smart positioning and smart movement.

Good Chaos-Style teams are the Avalanche & the Washington Capitals.  Chaos teams play up-tempo, damn the cannons, full speed ahead.  They are resourceful and quick.  On defense, they take numerous risks and almost always engage attacking players.  They fore-check constantly in all situations, the goal being to move the game into its unpredictable tendency, and then quickly grab the upper hand.  On offense, common strategies are Dump and Chase and Crash the Net.  Chaos teams believe in a simple philosophy; no one knows what will happen on the ice, so the fact that they know no one will know is an advantage. (Try saying that three times fast.)   Chaos teams try to make position as useless as possible, and turn the game into a series of actions entirely composed of movement.

Some Trap-Style teams are the Florida Panthers & the bane of the Avalanche, the Minnesota Wild.  Trap teams like the game to move slowly. Trap teams are cautious and patient.   On defense, they take firm positions and rarely engage an attacker until they have a clear advantage.   The fore-check is not used until it is a clear fore-check situation.  On offense they will always leave two and frequently three defenders near the line, thus forcing their own attackers to play 3 on 4 or 2 on 3 hockey.   The philosophy is to play safely and eventually the other team will make a mistake.  Trap teams try to remove as much movement from hockey as possible, and make the game entirely composed of positioning.

These three styles create a kind of paper, rock, scissors effect.  Your typical Chaos team will beat your typical Control team consistently, while your typical Trap team will stifle the Chaos team while struggling mightily against the Control team (But Dan, how come the Red Wings beat us for so long?  Simple. Because we sucked for a long time.)

This explains part of the sudden, though not unexpected (at least not by me), resurgence of the Avalanche.  The Red Wings and Penguins are the last teams to win the Cup, and the league is beginning to copy some of what they do.  Remember back in the Mid-ots when the Wings, Devils, Senators & Stars were all really dominant, and now all but one has fallen on hard times.   Remember the Avs were struggling to make the playoffs half the time, and the other half struggling for respect.  It’s because everyone and their sister was playing Trap hockey, from Anaheim to Florida and St. Louis to Carolina (I even saw Edmonton play trap one game… seriously! Edmonton!) So a more balanced control team would rise to top by playing with a consistent advantage.  But copy-catism isn’t just for the NFL or the major political parties, the NHL is changing to a more Control-Style of play to follow in the footsteps of recent Champions.  Teams like the Avalanche, the Capitals, Edmonton (eventually), and the Rangers get a boost from being handed an advantage by the copy-cats, while teams like Florida, Carolina, and Minnesota sink to the bottom.   But the inherent mismatch of the Trap vs. Chaos still exists, which brings me to last week’s game versus the Wild.

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It’s a bit unsettling to think that we’re looking back at a Broncos season that started with so little in terms of expectations, end in such a fiery demise after an 8-8 record. If you had told me in August that the Broncos would finish with 8 wins and just barely miss the playoffs, I would have been happy. Let’s be honest, we all would. But when we look at how this team actually fared, it’s not nearly as bright of a situation as we would certainly like to see.

We all know the story – 6-0 start, McDaniels looks like a genius, 2-8 finish, McDaniels plays the part of the goat. But let’s try to be a couple things here – 1. fair; and 2. honest.

Coaching is so important in the NFL. An NBA coach is essentially a figurehead, a baseball manager is highly important in strategy, but a football coach has to do it all. Manage the players, the staff, the gameplan, fundamentals, everything is on the head coach. That’s why these guys are often control freak, type A, workaholic kind of guys. It fits that personality. Quite honestly, I don’t want to spend much time evaluating the play of the Broncos, because the play (and the players) all come down to coaching decisions. The personnel on this team are direct results of decisions (often dramatic) made by McDaniels and his staff. Let’s look at some of the major issues of the year and you’ll see what I mean.

QB Play – this one is obvious. Orton is no Cutler. Then again, Cutler is no Orton. I’m not rehashing the trade, just saying that it would be foolish to ignore the long-term impact on this franchise the Cutler deal will have. Notice I didn’t call it the Orton deal – it’s the Cutler deal, even though he’s the departed player. Orton was fine, albeit without the arm strength (or opportunity) to stretch the field, which meant any slip on the O-Line meant Orton was going down.

O-line play – not to Denver standards. The confusion that must have been in place with the hybrid zone-blocking/power-blocking schemes must have been intense. Add in the injury to Harris, and that equals a slow Orton scrambling for his life much of the year.

RB – What. The. Hell. Sorry, that’s all I can say. 12th pick in the draft, and a team sorely lacking in defense adds a running back. On top of that, as if to say he knew it was a mistake, McDaniels then signed Buckhalter and Jordan (plus a few others who didn’t make the squad). Moreno could be great – but right now is walking the thin line that could lead to the dreaded b-word (bust). He dances, he doesn’t hit the hole, spends too much time running sideways. That kind of crap might cut it in the SEC, but though SEC fans are loathe to admit it, SEC is still college football, and most of their guys never play on Sunday. In the big time, you have to gain yards – move forward, and quickly because the tackles and linebackers are consistently faster than what you’re used to.

Do we have to even broach the Peyton Hillis subject? That whole situation belongs more in the general personnel decisions section than here, so I’ll get to that in a minute.

WR – Marshall is also another issue. The guy played the way he should have. Royal did the same, he just didn’t get the touches.

Special Teams. Oh Lord, the punter issue. Prater was fine, but largely a non-factor in the season, which is probably the best thing for a kicker. Make your kicks, and no one remembers you.

Defense. Here was the extreme improvement. Mike Nolan TORE IT UP – he brought in Dawkins, who brought an East Coast toughness to this wussy defense. Champ played to his normal standards, though I have to admit his coverage style of giving space then closing is painful to watch sometimes. It’s how he gets picks, but it’s also how he gets burned. Dumervil was a beast, and given time (and some more bulk), the defense will be ok.

Here’s what it all comes down to: McDaniels is demonstrating that his drive to prove he can be a head coach is blinding him to good decisions. Here’s the list:

• Obviously, Cutler. They didn’t get along, Bowlen had to get involved, you know the rest.
• Gets rid of the long-snapper, for an equally talented more expensive ex-Patriot long snapper
• Drops the punter mid-season, brings in an old tired punter who sucks, then at the end of the season re-signs one of the guys he cut.
• Peyton Hillis. Clearly a better answer than Moreno in short yardage, but sat. Even Jordan sat – Josh wanted Knowshon to be the man, never admitting the reality.
• Marshall – it seemed like they were fine, clearly they were not
• Scheffler – probably soured from day one and it finally blew up after some tough losses
• Play calling: if I see one more damn bubble screen I’m going to go postal. Highly conservative, play not-to-lose mentality.

What I see is a kid (my age, I know, but a kid nonetheless) who feels like the only way he can motivate his team is to scream, shout, curse, and threaten. It might work short-term (Giants game), but long-term, he’s not building respect. Heck, Tom Coughlin finally gained respect from his players when he quit demanding it, and by his attitude and demeanor COMMANDED it.

Now look at the division. The Raiders are still a mess, and the Chargers are playing good football – but I would suspect they are beginning to see the closing of their window. Maybe not, but I’m pretty confident that they’ll be on the downward slide – but not after a couple more years or so of dominating the division. The Chiefs are becoming the REAL Patriots of the west – Pioli now has Weis running the offense, and Crennel running the defense. And that team can run- the AFC West should be scared of that team in the near future.

Ultimately, McDaniels got what he wanted: his team. It’s all him. Hillis will be gone, Scheffler will be gone, Marshall will be gone. Dennison is gone to coach with Kubiak. Shanahan’s Broncos have now been scattered among the league like so much dust in the wind. Gibbs and Bates are heading to Seattle to join Pete Carrol, Mike of course is in Washington, and the players that Mike had that were actually worth something are gone. These are McDaniels’ Broncos, for better or worse. I’m hoping the worse ends soon. My prediction: Josh gets one more year. If next year seems as dysfunctional as this one, Josh will be gone and the Broncos will officially have become a lower-tier NFL team, once glorious but always in turmoil (see: Buffalo Bills).

The season was nice for a few big wins and wasn’t nearly as painful in the outset, but finished by crashing to the ground like a giant mylar balloon… oh wait. That’s the other debacle from Colorado news this year.

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