Hole Punch Sports

I kind of wanted to wait to preview the Broncos, but it’s time to finish my AFC West series. The Broncos’ offseason was marked by the departure of three important figures. Offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak left to become the head coach of the Houston Texans, where he’ll coach Mario Williams, the best defensive prospect in years…not. Longtime one-man pass rush Trevor Pryce and ace back Mike Anderson were let go in a bizarre salary cap measure right before the new labor deal was approved. Yet each move makes at least some sense. With Kubiak, it’s not like the Broncos wanted him to leave, but they won’t miss him that much, either. If Rick Dennison can’t pick up the slack, Mike Shanahan surely can. Trevor Pryce once had amazing quickness for a defensive lineman, but injuries have led to two straight disappointing years. (Too bad, ’cause he’s a stud.) And Anderson rushed for more than a thousand yards…but he’s a running back, and he turns 33 next month. The splashy move was the trade for ...

The Broncos have finally traded Trashley Le…all right, that’s uncalled for. Rather, the Broncos have finally unloaded up-and-coming malcontent receiver Ashley Lelie in a three-team trade with Atlanta and Washington. In the trade, the Broncos get…it’s a good deal, whatever we got. Lelie thought complaining about his role on a very good squad would make him irresistible to other NFL teams. Didn’t work out that way. After months of waiting, the Broncos got some draft picks, at least a third and a fourth-rounder. Although I think I’ve already covered it, let me say again that Ashley Lelie is insane. With fines for missing camp and the $100,000 workout bonus he skipped out on, he cost himself somewhere in the area of half a million dollars this offseason just to get away from Denver. Half a million dollars. Do you know how much that can buy? Me neither. But I’d sure love to find out. Actually, it gets better. According to the Denver Post , the Broncos are trying to get some of Lelie’s sign...

Last year the Chiefs finished second in the AFC West at 10-6, the best record not to make the postseason. So they fired their coach. Not really. Dick Vermeil just retired. The Chiefs replaced him with Herman Edwards, late of the New York Jets. I want to mock Edwards, who feels like a downgrade from Vermeil. But in five years with the Jets he won two playoff games, or one more than the beloved Broncos in that span. Edwards' performance has been up-and-down. In those five years, his team had double-digit wins twice and double-digit losses twice. It's hard to say how good he really is, because the Jets had some serious questions every year. It'll be the same with Kansas City. Fantasy football alert! Larry Johnson is a consensus top fantasy player this year. Last year, he gained 2,093 yards from scrimmage. He's the added dimension that will get the Chiefs over the hump this year, right? Not really. Priest Holmes beat that total each of his first three years with K.C. (20...

I just watched part of the Monday night game, and Minnesota...how can I put this. Look, I love the Broncos to death, but did you ever think those side stripes would become a fashion trend? Anyway, today's team: the San Diego Chargers. Last year: 9-7, third in the AFC West What changed? The Chargers allowed quarterback Drew Brees, coming off a shoulder injury and consecutive productive seasons, to leave in free agency. His replacement is Philip Rivers, a third-year man who's thrown just thirty passes in his NFL career. The pressure's on Rivers, obviously, to show he's worth the gamble. Brees was rarely spectacular, but he's consistent, accurate, and has a veteran's knack for avoiding bad plays. Actually, that's a silly thing to say-veteran NFL quarterbacks include guys like Jake Plummer, Brett Favre, and Aaron Brooks, who make mistakes like kids make Nikes. Brees played well enough to give the Chargers a chance in just about every game. The team probably l...

Welcome back! Believe it or not, in almost a year and a half, this is HPS' 100th post. That blows my mind, because it seems like every few weeks I apologize to you two for never writing, but I've written more than once a week. The glorious NFL season is nearly upon us-the Broncos' preseason opener is tomorrow night. I've always wanted to write one of those huge Bill Simmons-type previews that talks about every team, but I'm too lazy to write it and you're too lazy to read it. Instead we'll start with a tour through the AFC West and see how we feel. Today's subject: the Oakland Raiders. Last year: The Raiders finished with a 4-12 regular-season record. As a result, they did not appear in the playoffs. The big change: The return of Art Shell as head coach. Shell led the Raiders to a 54-38 record from 1989 to 1994 (I should probably mention that I lifted that stat and almost all others from ESPN.com.). The former offensive lineman is a gigantic improvemen...

Athletes like to say that a championship is one thing they can win that can never be taken away. I have some questions about that. No, I’m not here to bury Floyd Landis. But one of the most vexing contentions of my childhood was the argument that John Elway wasn’t a great quarterback because he hadn’t won a championship. Yet a lot of Joe Montana’s backup fullbacks had. Clearly, not all champions are created equally. So today I want to look at some recent winners and decide if their championships can be taken away. 1. Drew Bledsoe-Bledsoe won his ring with the 2001 Patriots in that beautiful upset over the Rams. Is he a champ? Cons: Bledsoe’s team had a great season only after he got hurt and Tom Brady came in. In a lot of ways, the Patriots dynasty was born only because he wasn’t on the field. Pros: Bledsoe had to come in to the second half of the AFC Championship against the Steelers just to put his team in the Super Bowl. (Then again, his counterpart was Kordell Stewart in a big game...