1. Javon Walker...wow. Nice run.
2. Speaking of Walker, Madden said that Mike Shanahan likes having a receiver who wants the ball on every play. As opposed to Ashley Lelie, whose catchphrase was, "I'll show you the money!"
3. Tony Scheffler, the rookie tight end, is interesting. One on hand, he clearly has size and ability. On the other, he plays like he just went through a growth spurt and isn't yet coordinated enough for his size. I'm just saying.
4. D.J. Williams destroyed Kevin Faulk near the end of the game, but Faulk just bounced back up. Manly.
5. Stat of the night: I can't believe Mike Shanahan's regular-season winning percentage with Plummer is better than it was with Elway. In Shanahan's first year with Elway the Broncos didn't have much of a team, while Plummer was more of the last piece of a puzzle. But still. That is incredible. Those Super Bowl years really spoiled me, and I'm definitely too hard on the Broncos now. Is this what it feels like to be a Yankees fan?
6. Tom Brady looked impressive on that ten-for-ten drive with a touchdown. Yes. It is good to connect on every pass. That said, I was scared to death of him coming into this game. He's the best football player in the world, and this was first crack at the only team that ever beat him in the playoffs. And he was at home. I fully expected the Patriots to come out gangbusters tonight, but they didn't. I know they're not the Patriots anymore, but still. That was a great win.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
First half thoughts (Broncos at Patriots)
1. I feel bad for Patriots tackle Matt Light-who's already back in the game-but if I never see another knee injury in a slow-motion replay, I think I'll be okay with that.
2. The Jake Plummer-Mike Shanahan argument after the field-goal drive: Obviously, I don't know what happened, though I enjoyed Madden's incredibly vague take, which basically boiled down to: "Either Mike's mad at Jake, or Jake's mad at Mike, or they're both mad." But Plummer was catching fire on that drive and the Broncos still had room to work with when they switched into pound-the-ball mode. I'm a big fan of the running game, but if I was Plummer, I'd have been ticked, too. When the Patriots answered with a similar drive right after, they kept the ball in Tom Brady's hands throughout (though the Broncos ended up forcing and blocking a field goal).
4. Lawrence Maroney is a beast. Al Wilson got a good-if-not-great hit on him on a shovel pass. Maroney just absorbed it like it was nothing and ran up the left side for nineteen yards. I've never seen someone do that on a Wilson hit before.
5. On the Broncos' side, I'm happy with the move to Tatum Bell on a full-time basis. Since when does a Broncos tailback make it to his third year without getting a real shot? Tatum Bell has the skills to be a star, though he hasn't put it all together yet. I can't wait to see what he can do if he keeps the job this season.
6. I hope the NBC show "Heroes" fails miserably. It hasn't reached Fox/World Series levels yet, and I don't even watch NBC that much-but I'm so sick of those ads. "I walked through fire and I didn't get burned." Shut up. It would probably be worth fishing shards of glass out of my hands to reach through the TV and try to slap those people.
7. I guess Javon Walker is worth giving up a second-round pick. But he could have left that dance in Green Bay.
2. The Jake Plummer-Mike Shanahan argument after the field-goal drive: Obviously, I don't know what happened, though I enjoyed Madden's incredibly vague take, which basically boiled down to: "Either Mike's mad at Jake, or Jake's mad at Mike, or they're both mad." But Plummer was catching fire on that drive and the Broncos still had room to work with when they switched into pound-the-ball mode. I'm a big fan of the running game, but if I was Plummer, I'd have been ticked, too. When the Patriots answered with a similar drive right after, they kept the ball in Tom Brady's hands throughout (though the Broncos ended up forcing and blocking a field goal).
4. Lawrence Maroney is a beast. Al Wilson got a good-if-not-great hit on him on a shovel pass. Maroney just absorbed it like it was nothing and ran up the left side for nineteen yards. I've never seen someone do that on a Wilson hit before.
5. On the Broncos' side, I'm happy with the move to Tatum Bell on a full-time basis. Since when does a Broncos tailback make it to his third year without getting a real shot? Tatum Bell has the skills to be a star, though he hasn't put it all together yet. I can't wait to see what he can do if he keeps the job this season.
6. I hope the NBC show "Heroes" fails miserably. It hasn't reached Fox/World Series levels yet, and I don't even watch NBC that much-but I'm so sick of those ads. "I walked through fire and I didn't get burned." Shut up. It would probably be worth fishing shards of glass out of my hands to reach through the TV and try to slap those people.
7. I guess Javon Walker is worth giving up a second-round pick. But he could have left that dance in Green Bay.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Jail for reporters...maybe
As you've heard, Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wade, the reporters who wrote "Game of Shadows", could be heading to prison. This Associated Press story on SI.com has the details in the clearest form I've seen them.
In fact, why don't I just quote the first two paragraphs:
I admit that I am inclined to give reporters the benefit of almost every doubt. This was, if not an incredibly important story, certainly one that engaged the public interest. (While it's fashionable for sports fans to claim they don't care what athletes do or use, I think they say that only because it's easier than thinking.) And I guess I'm glad we found out what was said behind closed doors. That said, I can't shake the feeling that maybe grand jury testimony is secret for a reason.
A free press is critical to a free society, no doubt about it. But if the president's not above the law, I certainly don't think reporters should be. Besides, what is a reporter anyway? I've never broken news on this site, but many bloggers have-does that make them reporters? And can't anyone set up a blog in a few minutes? You see where I'm going with that, right? I think we can all tell a serious reporter from someone who's desperately seeking legitimacy, but I don't know how to make a legal standard for that even if we decided we did want to grant reporters additional legal protection.
I have a ton of respect for Williams and Fainaru-Wade and their professional ethics. I know I certainly wouldn't want to give up a year and a half of my life to keep a source secret.
What do you think? Should they go to jail for this? Should they be willing to?
In fact, why don't I just quote the first two paragraphs:
A federal judge ordered two San Francisco Chronicle reporters jailed Thursday, pending an appeal, for refusing to testify about who leaked them secret grand jury testimony from Barry Bonds and other elite athletes.Got that? They're not going to jail for telling the truth, and they're not going to jail for writing about the leaked testimony. (I'm not sure how much, if any, trouble they'd be in if they'd printed it but were cooperating now. Help me out, Cap.) If the reporters do go to jail, it's because they received the leaked testimony and refused to testify as to how they got it.
Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada published a series of articles and a book based partly on the leaked transcripts of the testimony of Bonds, Jason Giambi and others before a grand jury investigating the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, a Burlingame-based nutritional supplement company exposed as a steroid ring two years ago.
I admit that I am inclined to give reporters the benefit of almost every doubt. This was, if not an incredibly important story, certainly one that engaged the public interest. (While it's fashionable for sports fans to claim they don't care what athletes do or use, I think they say that only because it's easier than thinking.) And I guess I'm glad we found out what was said behind closed doors. That said, I can't shake the feeling that maybe grand jury testimony is secret for a reason.
A free press is critical to a free society, no doubt about it. But if the president's not above the law, I certainly don't think reporters should be. Besides, what is a reporter anyway? I've never broken news on this site, but many bloggers have-does that make them reporters? And can't anyone set up a blog in a few minutes? You see where I'm going with that, right? I think we can all tell a serious reporter from someone who's desperately seeking legitimacy, but I don't know how to make a legal standard for that even if we decided we did want to grant reporters additional legal protection.
I have a ton of respect for Williams and Fainaru-Wade and their professional ethics. I know I certainly wouldn't want to give up a year and a half of my life to keep a source secret.
What do you think? Should they go to jail for this? Should they be willing to?
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Two Weeks In
I almost got hit by a car today. Remember those old "Must Be Football Season" ads? Like the one where office workers celebrated by slapping each other on the butt, or the one where a shopper drops fruit on the floor at the grocery store and everyone dives to try to recover the fumble? Great ads, especially since I can't remember who was running them. (I'm thinking maybe Southwest Airlines, but what does football have to do with flying?) Well, my morning was like that.
I work at a university, so I just walk out onto the crosswalk assuming everyone will stop. When I'm driving I hate this, which is why I don't drive on campus. I knew a car was coming, but surely they'd see me. Soon I realized that the car to my left was a Jeep-and not a Wrangler, but a big SUV-and the driver not only wasn't slowing down, he or she was probably speeding up. So I burst forward and instinctively stuck out my left arm, as though I was going to stiff-arm a Jeep. Luckily, for the car's sake, homeboy hit the brakes and swerved and it didn't come to that. It was-well, maybe you had to be there. Moving on to the Broncos:
Offensive struggles: The Broncos can't score this year. Last season the offense got off to a horrific start but the team, changing strategies after a particularly insightful HPS post, turned things around quickly.
Last year the problem was easy to solve. Plummer was playing terribly, but the real issue was that the Broncos had completely abandoned their run game. Once they resumed rushing forward and breaking knees backwards, the season was back on track.
This time, it's not that simple. Statistically, the Broncos' running game is great, ranking fourth in the league with 153 yards per game and picking up five yards per rush. (Tatum Bell, not Mike, is leading the way.)
But the aerial game is terrifyingly bad. Jake Plummer has a rating of 38.6, which is actually a point lower than his rating would be had he thrown solely incompletions. Now, obviously, if the Broncos didn't complete a single pass they would have lost both games. In other words, passer ratings are useless. That said, the Snake has thrown four picks (and no touchdowns) after throwing seven picks all of last season.
In any event, the team is averaging 9.5 points per game. Good for a stopgap point guard, bad for an NFL team. So what can the Broncos do? Is it time for Jay Cutler to get some PT? Of course not. Right now the NFL's top three rated passers are Rex Grossman, David Carr, and Philip Rivers-or, in other words, it's still really early. That said, just because the Broncos recovered from a slow start last year, that doesn't guarantee they will this time. I hope Plummer's not feeling sorry for himself, because the team will need him to play better.
Defensive success: It's a good thing the defense has held it down for the most part. The pass defense has been its typical fantastic regular-season self. The team has given up a lot of rushing yards, but they've faced Stephen Jackson and Larry Johnson the first two weeks. Best of all, they haven't given up a touchdown. I don't really know why though, since I've barely watched, but I just thought you should know.
Javon Walker: I'm surprised how much it bugs me to see someone wearing No. 84. I know it's not retired, but for a split second I think it's Shannon Sharpe and when I remember it's not, I cry.
That said, the trade for Walker is shaping up to be quite the steal after his performance in crunch time Sunday. He had back-to-back catches on the game-tying possession in the fourth-quarter, and then made a sweet adjustment to catch that 24-yard pass on the overtime drive.
It was especially heartwarming to see since Rod Smith was on the sideline with a concussion (The Denver Post reports that he should be probable for Sunday's road game against the Patriots). The last pass-catcher we had who could step up in Smith's absence wore No. 84, too.
I work at a university, so I just walk out onto the crosswalk assuming everyone will stop. When I'm driving I hate this, which is why I don't drive on campus. I knew a car was coming, but surely they'd see me. Soon I realized that the car to my left was a Jeep-and not a Wrangler, but a big SUV-and the driver not only wasn't slowing down, he or she was probably speeding up. So I burst forward and instinctively stuck out my left arm, as though I was going to stiff-arm a Jeep. Luckily, for the car's sake, homeboy hit the brakes and swerved and it didn't come to that. It was-well, maybe you had to be there. Moving on to the Broncos:
Offensive struggles: The Broncos can't score this year. Last season the offense got off to a horrific start but the team, changing strategies after a particularly insightful HPS post, turned things around quickly.
Last year the problem was easy to solve. Plummer was playing terribly, but the real issue was that the Broncos had completely abandoned their run game. Once they resumed rushing forward and breaking knees backwards, the season was back on track.
This time, it's not that simple. Statistically, the Broncos' running game is great, ranking fourth in the league with 153 yards per game and picking up five yards per rush. (Tatum Bell, not Mike, is leading the way.)
But the aerial game is terrifyingly bad. Jake Plummer has a rating of 38.6, which is actually a point lower than his rating would be had he thrown solely incompletions. Now, obviously, if the Broncos didn't complete a single pass they would have lost both games. In other words, passer ratings are useless. That said, the Snake has thrown four picks (and no touchdowns) after throwing seven picks all of last season.
In any event, the team is averaging 9.5 points per game. Good for a stopgap point guard, bad for an NFL team. So what can the Broncos do? Is it time for Jay Cutler to get some PT? Of course not. Right now the NFL's top three rated passers are Rex Grossman, David Carr, and Philip Rivers-or, in other words, it's still really early. That said, just because the Broncos recovered from a slow start last year, that doesn't guarantee they will this time. I hope Plummer's not feeling sorry for himself, because the team will need him to play better.
Defensive success: It's a good thing the defense has held it down for the most part. The pass defense has been its typical fantastic regular-season self. The team has given up a lot of rushing yards, but they've faced Stephen Jackson and Larry Johnson the first two weeks. Best of all, they haven't given up a touchdown. I don't really know why though, since I've barely watched, but I just thought you should know.
Javon Walker: I'm surprised how much it bugs me to see someone wearing No. 84. I know it's not retired, but for a split second I think it's Shannon Sharpe and when I remember it's not, I cry.
That said, the trade for Walker is shaping up to be quite the steal after his performance in crunch time Sunday. He had back-to-back catches on the game-tying possession in the fourth-quarter, and then made a sweet adjustment to catch that 24-yard pass on the overtime drive.
It was especially heartwarming to see since Rod Smith was on the sideline with a concussion (The Denver Post reports that he should be probable for Sunday's road game against the Patriots). The last pass-catcher we had who could step up in Smith's absence wore No. 84, too.
Wednesday, September 6, 2006
Broncos-Rams preview
This will be the last HPS update until after Week Two thanks to vacation-related reasons. (Yes, Week Two-tomorrow all loyal Americans switch from the Gregorian to the NFL calendar.)
In Week One, the Broncos go on the road to face the St. Louis Rams (CBS, 7 p.m. Berlin time). Are there interesting storylines and subplots? Apparently not. ESPN dedicated the first six paragraphs of its ten-graph preview to the Rams' new coach. That is so boring that we should immediately stop talking about it.
Anyway, there are plenty of things for Broncos fans to watch for:
1. Can the running game pick up where it left off last year? I sure hope not. That's because, as the Denver Post reported, the Broncos went more than a half during the AFC Championship without calling a running play.
The Broncos are really good, but they suffer when they throw too much. I don't know if the Rams will pass as much as they did under Martz, but they have enough talent to score early and often. Hopefully we can withstand any early onslaught and keep the ball on the ground.
2. Dumb turf theories. The Rams' field is artificial turf, if you somehow didn't know. (For years their offense had the pathetically outdated nickname of "The Greatest Show on Turf.") One highlight of games played on turf is how often announcers use the presence of turf as a crutch during games.
"St. Louis, you see, has a lot of fast players because they play on turf." (Grass-based teams emphasize a lack of speed?)
"Their wideouts have even more of an advantage playing on this fast surface." (The Broncos' defenders won't be running on the same field?)
Or the biggest lie of all, that it's not an absolute travesty that we have games in domes. (Real men play in the elements and on grass, or at least the high-tech wannabe grass they have at Invesco.)
3. Jake Plummer will fail. I don't think he will, actually, but I'm still worked up about how badly everyone wants it to happen. What did he do to us?
Yes, he flipped of the fans a while back, so in a way, he sort of flipped off all of us. So? That's never happened before? The other day I slowed down to let a guy into my lane, and the guy I was letting in gave me the finger. That was weird, but...I don't know where I was going with that story. I guess my point is Jake's not that big of a jerk. And he got in the road-rage thing a few months back, which is awesome. Stay off my tail!
But you non-believers can start rooting against your favorite team this Sunday. The Rams were 23rd in the league against the pass last year, though, so don't get too excited.
4. World-class football is back. Yes, college football's been here a little while, but if you don't like watching your alma mater lose to a 1-AA team, now you can see the professionals. Rod Smith, Al Wilson, Plummer, Torry Holt...can't wait for kickoff.
Oh, and the Broncos will...win. I won't say the score. I'd hate to ruin the surprise.
In Week One, the Broncos go on the road to face the St. Louis Rams (CBS, 7 p.m. Berlin time). Are there interesting storylines and subplots? Apparently not. ESPN dedicated the first six paragraphs of its ten-graph preview to the Rams' new coach. That is so boring that we should immediately stop talking about it.
Anyway, there are plenty of things for Broncos fans to watch for:
1. Can the running game pick up where it left off last year? I sure hope not. That's because, as the Denver Post reported, the Broncos went more than a half during the AFC Championship without calling a running play.
The Broncos are really good, but they suffer when they throw too much. I don't know if the Rams will pass as much as they did under Martz, but they have enough talent to score early and often. Hopefully we can withstand any early onslaught and keep the ball on the ground.
2. Dumb turf theories. The Rams' field is artificial turf, if you somehow didn't know. (For years their offense had the pathetically outdated nickname of "The Greatest Show on Turf.") One highlight of games played on turf is how often announcers use the presence of turf as a crutch during games.
"St. Louis, you see, has a lot of fast players because they play on turf." (Grass-based teams emphasize a lack of speed?)
"Their wideouts have even more of an advantage playing on this fast surface." (The Broncos' defenders won't be running on the same field?)
Or the biggest lie of all, that it's not an absolute travesty that we have games in domes. (Real men play in the elements and on grass, or at least the high-tech wannabe grass they have at Invesco.)
3. Jake Plummer will fail. I don't think he will, actually, but I'm still worked up about how badly everyone wants it to happen. What did he do to us?
Yes, he flipped of the fans a while back, so in a way, he sort of flipped off all of us. So? That's never happened before? The other day I slowed down to let a guy into my lane, and the guy I was letting in gave me the finger. That was weird, but...I don't know where I was going with that story. I guess my point is Jake's not that big of a jerk. And he got in the road-rage thing a few months back, which is awesome. Stay off my tail!
But you non-believers can start rooting against your favorite team this Sunday. The Rams were 23rd in the league against the pass last year, though, so don't get too excited.
4. World-class football is back. Yes, college football's been here a little while, but if you don't like watching your alma mater lose to a 1-AA team, now you can see the professionals. Rod Smith, Al Wilson, Plummer, Torry Holt...can't wait for kickoff.
Oh, and the Broncos will...win. I won't say the score. I'd hate to ruin the surprise.
Tuesday, September 5, 2006
53 Bronx
The news is a couple days old, but I still need to talk about the Broncos finalizing their 53-man roster.
The good:
So long, college rival. The best name you don’t see on the list is Bradlee van Pelt. Hallelujah. I could have told Mike Shanahan years ago to save his time, but I’m just glad it’s over now. Can you imagine if van Pelt had had to fill in during a playoff run and we had to root for and rely on him? Thank goodness it never came to that. Now we just need to cut Cecil Sapp, even though he never plays. (Hey, this is the one week a year I acknowledge CSU, though I’m not about to talk about Montana State.)
Promising young players. The Broncos were 13-3 and went to the AFC title game last year, but I like that rookie class more and more as we close in on the season. Jay Cutler has everyone in town excited, Mike Bell may start, and while I don’t think I’ve seen him play, I have faith in Elvis Dumervil. Second-year man Cedric Cobbs only played late in games, but piled up yards and ran with passion. Yes, he did it against fourth-stringers, but a lot of Denver’s successful backs get their start that way.
The back seven. Champ, Darrent Williams, Domonique Foxworth, and Karl Paymah at least grant the Broncos the appearance of quality depth at corner. The safeties look solid, though I’m curious if any of the young guys will work their way into the lineup. Linebacker remains a position of strength.
The bad:
Plummer’s backup? I am glad Jay Cutler has looked good in the preseason. I’d love him to make the Hall of Fame. That said, I am a little concerned that we’re one (femur) snap away from starting a rookie. Then again, it’s been a few years since I’ve really liked our backups, so Cutler still represents an improvement at No. 2. And besides, everyone wants to see him play sometime this year. (Speaking of which, why do NFL fans love young quarterbacks so much? No one wants Al Wilson to go down so we can see what his backup can do, you know?)
D-line. Storylines were the saving grace of last year’s defensive line. Each time one of the Cleveland imports made a tackle, announcers and columnists alike praised the front office’s genius. But if the four players couldn’t have been related in some way, none of them would have looked special-basically, four guys got credit for doing the work of one or two good players. And Trevor Pryce is gone.
New ex-Brown Kenard Lang played well in the preseason, but I still wonder where the pass rush will come from. Our speedy and deep linebacker corps assures effective blitzing, but you can’t send the house every time.
Pass catching. Darius Watts didn’t make the team. You’ve heard of Rod Smith and Javon Walker. But do you know who’s No. 3 out of Todd Devoe, Charlie Adams, David Kircus, and Brandon Marshall?
Ed McCaffrey and Smith turned out very well, but the Broncos haven’t really developed a solid contributor at the position since. (Maybe that’s unfair-Ashley Lelie had his moments, despite a work ethic that can only be described as Congressional.) In any event, I’m not particularly confident in any of the third options. And it doesn’t help that none of the tight ends are established receiving threats.
What do you think? Do I need to change that division title prediction?
The good:
So long, college rival. The best name you don’t see on the list is Bradlee van Pelt. Hallelujah. I could have told Mike Shanahan years ago to save his time, but I’m just glad it’s over now. Can you imagine if van Pelt had had to fill in during a playoff run and we had to root for and rely on him? Thank goodness it never came to that. Now we just need to cut Cecil Sapp, even though he never plays. (Hey, this is the one week a year I acknowledge CSU, though I’m not about to talk about Montana State.)
Promising young players. The Broncos were 13-3 and went to the AFC title game last year, but I like that rookie class more and more as we close in on the season. Jay Cutler has everyone in town excited, Mike Bell may start, and while I don’t think I’ve seen him play, I have faith in Elvis Dumervil. Second-year man Cedric Cobbs only played late in games, but piled up yards and ran with passion. Yes, he did it against fourth-stringers, but a lot of Denver’s successful backs get their start that way.
The back seven. Champ, Darrent Williams, Domonique Foxworth, and Karl Paymah at least grant the Broncos the appearance of quality depth at corner. The safeties look solid, though I’m curious if any of the young guys will work their way into the lineup. Linebacker remains a position of strength.
The bad:
Plummer’s backup? I am glad Jay Cutler has looked good in the preseason. I’d love him to make the Hall of Fame. That said, I am a little concerned that we’re one (femur) snap away from starting a rookie. Then again, it’s been a few years since I’ve really liked our backups, so Cutler still represents an improvement at No. 2. And besides, everyone wants to see him play sometime this year. (Speaking of which, why do NFL fans love young quarterbacks so much? No one wants Al Wilson to go down so we can see what his backup can do, you know?)
D-line. Storylines were the saving grace of last year’s defensive line. Each time one of the Cleveland imports made a tackle, announcers and columnists alike praised the front office’s genius. But if the four players couldn’t have been related in some way, none of them would have looked special-basically, four guys got credit for doing the work of one or two good players. And Trevor Pryce is gone.
New ex-Brown Kenard Lang played well in the preseason, but I still wonder where the pass rush will come from. Our speedy and deep linebacker corps assures effective blitzing, but you can’t send the house every time.
Pass catching. Darius Watts didn’t make the team. You’ve heard of Rod Smith and Javon Walker. But do you know who’s No. 3 out of Todd Devoe, Charlie Adams, David Kircus, and Brandon Marshall?
Ed McCaffrey and Smith turned out very well, but the Broncos haven’t really developed a solid contributor at the position since. (Maybe that’s unfair-Ashley Lelie had his moments, despite a work ethic that can only be described as Congressional.) In any event, I’m not particularly confident in any of the third options. And it doesn’t help that none of the tight ends are established receiving threats.
What do you think? Do I need to change that division title prediction?
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