Saturday, November 19, 2011

South Stander Edition #7


Broncos Thoughts of the Week:


1987 had The Drive led by John Elway. 98 yards to tie the game and beat Cleveland in OT during the AFC Championship Game.

1992 there was The Drive II, also by John Elway. 98 yards again, to beat the Houston Oilers in the final minutes of the AFC Championship Game.

2011 now has "The Drive Jr." or "The Drive Too" with John Elway watching his embattled QB, Tim Tebow, lead the Broncos 95 yards downfield to beat the Jets 17-13.

View from my seats in the South Endzone as the Jets punt for the 1st time.
The stakes might not have been as high in 2011 as they were for the first two Drives. Back then the Superbowl was on the line. This time the stakes were improving the season record to 5-5 and staying in the playoff race for the AFC West. Maybe what was most on the line was Tim Tebow's reputation and future in his first national TV appearance.

With just over five minutes remaining in the game The Broncos had not accomplished much. There were 9 straight drives of three and out, a lost fumble by Willis McGahee and many botched opportunities to start drives in the Jets half of the field. The game seemed to be proving all of Tebow's critiques right in that he can't pass, but somehow Tebow found another way to win. As his supporters say, 'he just wins,' and he sure does.

Goodman is pursued by Sanchez into the endzone after intercepting the QB.
Andre Goodman, who Sanchez and the Jets had picked on all night with Plaxico Burress receiving many passes over Goodman, came up big with Denver's first TD of the night. Goodman intercepted Sanchez and returned the ball untouched into the endzone for his first pick-6 of his career.

Von Miller continued his impressive rookie season recording 1.5 sacks on Sanchez and multiple other hits to shake up the Jet's QB. Miller finished the night leading the team with 9 tackles and a forced fumble.


"If you pressure any quarterback and get to him, he will make some bad decisions," Miller said. "That is our game plan every week, just get to the quarterback and get some hits on him."


The Denver defense finally has something opposing teams fear. A pass rush that creates chaos for the opposing QB.


If this photo went just 2 rows higher you could see me and my dad in the top left.
Special teams also had a big night, forcing and recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff after Goodman's pick-6. Cassius Vaughn returned a Jet's kickoff deep into Jet's territory. And most impressive of all was Punter, Britton Colquit's performance, down many punts inside the Jet's own 10 yard line including one at the one yard line with help of a great special teams performance by Mathew Willis.

Thankfully, big plays by the defense and special teams kept Denver and Tebow in the game for the fourth quarter, trailing 13-10. Eddie Royal mistakenly called for a fair catch at his own 5 yard line with 5:54 remaining to set up Denver's 95 yard come-from -behind drive.

The drive nearly ended on the first play when Tebow threw a screen pass to Royal in Denver's own endzone. Royal was nearly wrapped up for a safety, but managed to escape and gain 9 yards. Tebow would hit 3 of 5 pass attempts on the drive, including a great sliding 18 yard catch by tight end Dante Rosario.

Previously Tebow had only carried the ball twice for 11 yards, but on the final drive Tebow rushed seven times for 58 yards and the game winning TD. He finished 9 for 20 in passing with 104 passing yards and was only sacked once.

Tebow celebrates his game winning score.
On Third Down and 4 from the 20, the Jets showed an all out blitz for the first time all night. The Jets rushed at Tebow, Tebow scrambled left and took off for the first down, broke a tackle and went straight into the endzone as he was mobbed by teammates for the go-ahead score.

"I think it was just a bunch of guys that kept fighting, and that had been knocked down a bunch of times and got back up," Tebow said. "I'm proud of these guys for their resiliency and determination."


"After the touchdown, it was fun, but during that drive, it was a lot of focus," wide receiver Eddie Royal said. "Everybody in the huddle was tired at that point, but we all knew we had to suck it up and focus in, and make these plays that we needed."


Denver is now half a game out of first place in the AFC West, with a 5-5 record. An improbable situation given that the team started 1-4 under Kyle Orton and has since gone 4-1 with Tim Tebow at QB. If the Raiders lose on Sunday to Minnesota, Denver will be tied for first place.

The Jets fall to also have a 5-5 record, essentially dashing their playoff hopes in a difficult AFC East division with competition from Buffalo and New England. Denver now owns the tie break over the Jets for an AFC wildcard position.

Tebow Time? Try Miller Time Instead:


With the entire nation setting their clocks to Tebow-Time, The Broncos are setting their clocks to Miller Time. Von Miller's amazing rookie season is being overshadowed by the media circus that is Tim Tebow. Miller leads the Broncos in tackles and sacks, with 9.5 on the season. He is on pace to set a new rookie record for sacks. With the return of a healthy Elvis Dumervil, Miller is even more of a threat as the Broncos seem to be returning to the days of the Orange Crush.

Von Miller gets to Jet's QB Mark Sanchez.
Under a new defensive minded head coach in John Fox, new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and John Elway's emphasis on defense in his first draft as an executive the Broncos seem to be building a defense that can win championships.


"I think guys are beginning to feel more comfortable in the system and what they're being asked to do, and I think some of the play has shown that," said Allen.


In the last two wins the Denver Defense has only allowed 23 points, and Von Miller has nearly knocked the opposing teams QB out of the game or the entire season in both wins.


So as everyone else sets their clocks for Tebow Time, true Broncos fans are living on Miller-Time. We're not yet sure if Tebow is the future of this organization, but Von Miller is for real and he is the Broncos' future on Defense.
Decker Distracted?

Jessie James performs the halftime show wearing Decker's jersey.
Receiver Eric Decker was off his game on Thursday night. He missed all 5 passes thrown to him (though you can't blame him for all of those), and his one pass attempt of the night when out of bound in the endzone.

Decker may have been distracted by the presence of his super star country singer girlfriend, Jessie James, who was preforming the half time show.

Decker is second in the league in receiving touchdowns, with 7 and has 34 catches for 462 yards.

Let's hope Decker just had an off night and returns to form next week against San Diego!


Beer of the Week:


The Twisted Pine just released their double IPA, The Misty Mountain Hop. According to the Pine this is "a single hopped unfiltered India Pale Ale with Simcoe hops." Very hoppy, very good. Get it while it lasts!


"So I'm packing my bags for the Misty Mountains 
where the spirits go now"
-Led Zeppelin
Drew Litton Comic of the Week:
Tebow's drive, in comic form:




MLS & Rapids Thoughts of the Week:


Colorado Rapid's Supporters groups will be throwing head coach Gary Smith a farewell party during the MLS Cup on Sunday at The Celtic Tavern in downtown Denver.

Many Rapid's fans are still upset about Smith's departure and feel the executives forced him out and that they should have tried to fix the club's relationship with him after Smith brought Colorado their first MLS Cup in 2010.

Kronke Sports Entertainment, who owns The Rapids, Avalanche, Nuggets, St. Louis Rams and Arsenal FC, has not put in the financial backing to the Rapids as they should to keep the team successful and profitable. Rapid's supporters joked on Facebook that there should be an "Occupy Stan's Front Yard" protest where Rapid's fans camp out on Kronke's front lawn to demand the club be given more attention.

The Rapids have a strong and passionate fan base and a lot of talent on the team. With more money put into the team, and marketing the Rapids have the potential to become a very profitable and successful team in MLS.

****************

The MLS Cup kicks off on Sunday, November 20th at 7pm Mountain Time on ESPN. The LA Galaxy will take on the Houston Dynamo at the Home Depot Center in LA.

The Galaxy are heavy favorites to win the cup this year, but many experts involved with MLS are predicting a Dynamo upset. It will be tough for the Dynamo though because they are missing league MVP candidate Brad Davis to injury.

As Colorado fans, lets hope that Houston can pull off the upset over the hated Galaxy!


Rockies Thoughts of the Week:


Nolan Arenado, the fantastic 3rd base prospect of the Colorado Rockies, was named the MVP of the 2011 Arizona Fall League. Arenado played in 29 games and had an average of .388 with 6 home runs and 33 RBI's. The Rockies are excited about his prospect in the major's next year and are inviting him to spring training camp. Arenado may be the answer to the Rockies recent problems at thirdbase.

In other Rockies news, the team has begun hitting the free-agent market and trade market. The Rockies are interested in picking up a 2nd baseman, a right fielder to complement or replace Seth Smith, and starting pitching.

The Rockies have expressed interest in Roy Oswalt, whose agent has said the Rockies have a shot at him. Oswalt is aging and would probably demand a 2 year $30 million contract. This shows that the Rockies have money to spend on big name players. But with big name pitchers failing in Colorado previously, it might be worth looking into players who would not be as expensive.

The Rockies are also trying to trade for Atlanta Braves 2nd baseman Martin Prado, after losing Mark Ellis to LA in free agency. Prado is a career .293 batter, but in 2011 had an off year batting only .260 after three years with an average over .300. The Rockies hope that Prado will thrive in Colorado and return to his form of a few years ago.


Avalanche Thoughts of the Week:


Last night the Avalanche won for the first time since November 10th, beating the Dallas Stars 3-0 at the Pepsi Center in Denver. The Avs had previously lost three straight to Calgary, Minnesota and Pittsburgh.

Giguere makes a save in goal against Dallas.
Back-up goalie Sebastian Giguere got the shutout win, and is possibly beginning to create a goalie controversy for the Avs.


"Giggy is playing very well, giving us what we expected," head coach  Joe Sacco said. "Varly has played very well for us, especially at the start of the year. You know, he's going through a tough stretch right now, but I'm confident he'll be back to top form too."


The Avalanche made the game easy for Giguere, outshooting Dallas 45-24 as they constantly put pressure on the Dallas defense the entire game.


The Avalanche will now start an 8 game, 17 day homestand which is the longest of the season so far.


"That was a good start to the homestand. We didn't sit back in this one. We just played the same way the whole game," said Stansty who scored on a power-play goal against Dallas.



Cheerleader of the Week:


It only took about 20 seasons of Broncos games to finally catch one of the little foam footballs the cheerleaders throw into the corners of the South Stands. I had planned that if I caught one I would give it to the little boys sitting in front of me, because when I was that age I always hoped someone would do that for me. The two boys though had both caught the foam footballs earlier in the game so when Katie, this week's cheerleader of the week, threw one my direction I was able to catch it and actually keep it! Thanks Katie for making a childhood dream of getting one of those little footballs reality!


Sunday, November 13, 2011

South Stander Edition #6

Broncos Thoughts of the Week:


Run, Forrest, run!

Running down a dream.

Can't stop. Can't stop the running game.

And now our Denver Broncos are in a three-way tie for 2nd-place in the AFC West and stampeded straight into playoff contention in a weak division. Who would have ever thought we'd be in the playoff hunt after that terrible 1-4 start?

Okay, maybe they weren't exactly Tebowed...but Denver sure did run over the Cheifs.
The Denver Broncos picked up right where they left off last weekend in Oakland. Running the ball straight down the Kansas City Chief's throats. Even after losing both starting running backs, Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno, to injury early in the first quarter couldn't stop the Broncos from running the ball. The Broncos play calling became so predictable and effective in the first quarter. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run.....Run.....Denver ran 14 straight times in the first quarter, never even thinking about passing the ball. And it worked.

On Denver's first possession of the game Tebow ran the ball to the right, waited for his offensive line to give him a hole, and went 7 yards into the endzone for the first touchdown of the day.

To begin the second quarter, Denver expanded their play book, by letting Tebow attempt a pass. It was long and downfield, but incomplete, just behind the receiver. To finish the second quarter Tebow was 0-3 in passing attempts, but went into the half leading 10-0.

To finish the game Denver kept running. It became obvious that KC could not stop the Broncos on the ground. The KC defense usually had one player assigned to mirror Tebow. He would follow Tebow where-ever he went on the field to make sure that the QB didn't get passed the defense. But this defensive scheme took a player out of the equation because they were so focused on Tebow. This created many opportunities for the offensive line to make holes for the running backs.

Decker catches a TD pass in stride
Tebow finished 2-8 in passing attempts, with one 56 yard TD pass to Eric Decker. The Broncos went on to win 17-10, though the score doesn't represent how much Denver was in control of this game.

“We know Tim Tebow can make those clutch throws like that," said John Elway on Monday morning. "You can’t throw a better pass than Tim Tebow made in that situation.” 

According to ESPN, Tim Tebow is the fifth quarterback since 1980 to throw all of his team's passes, complete two or fewer and still win the game.

This was another team win. Tebow managed the game well, the offensive line blocked well, the running backs ran well, and the defense made sure that KC consistently got off the field every possession they had.

It may not have been a pretty win. But it was traditional John Fox football. Run the ball and make stops on defense. It might be ugly, but it's working. The Broncos are now 3-1 with Tebow starting this season and 1-4 without him starting.

"It's just a mindset. It's a low-risk offense. It's not an indictment on Tim Tebow or whoever our quarterback is," Broncos coach John Fox said. "It's just whatever is working for us. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. We tried to possess the ball and keep our defense fresh."

So let's see how long this read-option offense can work in the NFL! Denver even expanded the option offense today, putting in a couple triple-option plays, where Tebow has the option to hand the ball off to a running back, run the ball himself, or dump the ball of to a receiver on the end. Today, it looked like the NFL might not know what's hit it. So look out. Here come the 2nd-place Broncos with their crazy read-option offense.

Offensive Line:


Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post wrote last week that there might be one thing that Josh McDaniels did right for the Broncos. Drafting of our offensive linemen Walton and Beadles.

Now, I have been very critical of our offensive line this season, but I was impressed with them in the last two victories over Oakland and KC. Against KC the offensive line did a great job. Most of that has to do with the conservative game plan; they didn't have to protect a passing QB very often. The line's run blocking was fantastic and created opportunities for our runners to get yards. It's good to see the Broncos getting back to the basics of running well, especially after such bad years with our runnings backs. I'm giving the offensive line all the credit for getting our running game going over the last few games.


Defensive Improvements:


The Denver defense is starting to show how much they have improved from last year. The speed of the pass rush is beginning to get to opposing quarterbacks, which is why Elway drafted Von Miller #2 overall. Elvis Dumervil is finally starting to get healthy and back to his 2009 form. He had 1.5 sacks against the Chiefs and  pressured Matt Cassel many other times. The combination of Dumervil and Miller is starting to be what the Broncos had hoped for all season.

Chris Harris, an undrafted rookie CB, made a couple big plays against the Chiefs as well. The story of an undrafted rookie making a name for himself in the starting line up is always a feel-good story, and Harris is beginning to be recognized.

Quotes

"Lance has been with us for a while, everybody knows what he can do and has confidence in him so we felt like he could get it done for us." --Willis McGahee

"I think the offense did an amazing job today, we lost two running backs and still didn't lose a beat. Hats off to the offense, to Tim Tebow, Willis McGahee. Lance ball, he really carried the team on his back and hats off to him too." Von Miller

"It's a great team win"-- Elvis Dumervil

"We just have the same mentality that we have every week. If we get up and make them pass, me and Elvis, our mindset is we gotta get there. This is our role on the team to supply pass rush for us and I think we got that done today" --Von Miller

"We been working, we've been through a lot of adversity, a lot of tough times. This win just shows the character we have in our locker room. We just going to keep on pushing. Keep on taking it one play at a time." --Von Miller

Next Week:


The Broncos will face the NY Jets at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Thursday Night Football. The Jets will be coming to Denver on only three days rest after losing a heart-breaking game to New England on Sunday Night at The New Medowlands, 37-16. On Sunday, the Jet's defense gave up the most points at home since Rex Ryan took over as head coach.

Last year the Broncos lost to the Jets in another heart breaker. Denver's CB Perrish Cox had a pass interference penalty called on him in the endzone during the waning seconds of the game to bring the Jets to the one yard line. The Jets were able to score the game winning touchdown on the next play, and that game changed the course of Denver's season. This year Denver is out to prove they have what it takes to beat the Jets.

Ryan is known for traditionally having great defenses on his teams, and the question of the week will be: How will the Jets defend against Denver's read-option offense?

Cris Collinsworth of NBC Sports said during the broadcast on Sunday night that Denver's offense is "the craziest [he's] ever seen". It's un-traditional and unorthodox in the NFL, and as Oakland and KC proved teams are not prepared to defend against it. The Jets will continue the trend and struggle to stop the Broncos and their wacky offense led by Tebow and company. The short week and cross country flight, combined with altitude, will not allow New York to prepare. It will be even more confusing for the Jets because they just faced new England's pass-centric offense which is the complete opposite of what the Broncos are running.

My prediction: Jets 17 - Broncos 23.

Main Keys to the Game:


To win against The New York Jets, Denver will need to do the following:

1) Keep the Pressure on Sanchez. As New England showed on Sunday night when Sanchez is under consistent pressure he starts making very poor decisions. Sanchez has also struggled to play at a consistently high level for an entire four quarters this season. Denver needs to step up the pressure and keep Dumervil and Miller coming at Sanchez and creating havoc for the New York offense.

2) Champ Bailey covering Paxico Burress. Burress is starting to make a comeback into the NFL in recent weeks. He was disappointed with his early season performance and went back to watch tape of his years with the Giants to see what he's doing differently now. Whatever he found out, he's gotten much better catching a lot of touchdown passes for the Jets. Champ Bailey will have to show he still has his all-star caliber play in him and shutdown the Sanchez to Burress connection.

3) Expand the playbook for Tebow. I think that the Jets defense is much better than Oakland's or KC's. Running the ball 55 times and passing 8 times will not work against a Rex Ryan led defense. The Broncos will need to have a less conservative game plan that allows for Tebow to find a rhythm passing the ball. Tebow has shown that when he can find a rhythm in his passing game (like against Miami and Oakland) he can be successful. Fox will need to give him this opportunity. Tebow's throws, both deep and short, will have to be more accurate. Against KC Tebow nearly hit his receivers in the hands on every incompletion but one. If the receivers don't have to slow up or reach for the ball and Tebow improves his accuracy the offense will confuse the Jets enough to score points to win.

I'm not saying let Tebow go crazy throwing the ball, but 15-20 pass attempts will be needed in the game with better accuracy from Tebow.

Finally, Denver's offense will need to increase their speed of play. New England demonstrated on Sunday night that a hurry up offense is difficult for the Jets to defend. New York had trouble getting set before Brady got the plays off. Tebow has been successful at running a no huddle offense before, and if the Broncos start the game with this the Jet's defense will tire quickly, especially playing at altitude on a short week.

4) Stop the run. Rex Ryan loves to run the ball and control the clock, and make stops with his defense. The Denver defense will need to such down the running game to force Sanchez to beat them with the pass.


Beer of the Week:

The Trickster Stout at the Southern Sun is actually the brewery's Black IPA.  It's made with lots of simcoe hops to give it a very hoppy/citris flavor to begin and finishes with the taste of dark roasted malts. One of my favorite beers they serve and I'm glad to see it on tap before stout month starts in February!

Drew Litton Comic of the Week:


Here's this week's comic!


Other NFL Thoughts of the Week:


Buffalo may have lost a terrible game to Dallas, showing that they might not be as good as everyone hoped. But the one great moment of the game is when David Nelson of the Bills caught a TD pass and ran 100 yards to give the ball to his girlfriend, a cheerleader for the Dallas Cowboys. She didn't know what to do with the ball. Here's the video:


If that video doesn't work, here is the link to the replay on the NFL site.


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

South Stander Edition #5

Broncos Thoughts of the Week:


There are many yearly traditions that Coloradans look forward to every year. We look forward to powder days on the slopes. We look forward to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. We look forward to shows at Red Rocks and bluegrass in Telluride.

And we look forward to The Denver Broncos beating the hated Oakland Raiders.

But until this weekend, Coloradans hadn't seen a victory over the Raiders since 2009. The Raiders had beaten the Broncos four straight times. Two of those four losses came in Denver, in 2009 it was on a last second field goal to give the Raiders a 20-19 win, and an embarrassing 59-14 route of Denver's defense in 2010.

But all that changed this week as Denver, led by Tim Tebow, Willis McGahee, and Champ Bailey, came from behind to give the Broncos an impressive 38-24 win over the Raiders in the black hole that is Oakland. It was a team-effort, with offense, defense, special teams and coaching all contributing to the victory.

Denver implemented a read option offense - similar to the kind Tebow led in college - and ran over the Raiders tough defense for 299 yards on the ground. Despite a broken hand, McGahee ran for 163 yards and two long touchdowns. The last TD run put the game out of reach for the Raiders in the final minutes. Tebow also ran for 119 yards, one of which was a great third down conversion to keep the possession for the Broncos in the final minutes. He even remembered to slide down in bounds to keep the clock running.

The Broncos saw improvements on every side of the ball this week. The offensive line dominated the Raiders. The defense had three interceptions and stopped the Raiders at crucial times. Special teams and Eddie Royal had a punt returned for a TD. And Tim Tebow managed to stay on his feet, throw for two touchdowns and was only sacked twice.

The Raiders sure did come after Tebow though. He took many hits on his runs, after his passes and even out of bounds. He took a hit to the chin that cut up his lip and showed his resiliency the entire game.

Tebow still has a long way to go to become a great NFL QB. He only completed 10 of 21 passes and showed he is still inaccurate throwing the ball. His passes did look better against the Raiders though. He got the ball off quicker, wasn't scrambling around in the pocket as much and made good reads on the throws he did complete.

"There's no question we're looking for balance in the run and the pass," coach John Fox said Monday. "We're probably leaning a little bit more on the run right now, and we have to improve in the pass game because in this league you've got to be two-dimensional, not one-dimensional, and it's something I'm sure he'll grow, we'll grow, in time."

It's still to be seen if a read-option offense can be sustainable in the NFL. But this year it has been working well for Cam Newton and Carolina (though it's not used exclusively) and the Falcons had success with it and Michael Vick a few years ago. If Denver can give Tebow a system he is comfortable with where he can grow as an NFL QB his accuracy will start to improve and he will start to become a better pocket passer. 


What's Next?


Next week the Broncos travel to Kansas City to take on a Chief's team that no one knows what to expect. The Chiefs lost their first three games by huge point differentials. Then they won their next four games. And last week they were held to only 3 points by a win-less Miami Dolphins team in their own stadium to give Miami their first victory. The Chiefs offense has shown it struggles to score points and the defense struggles to stop other teams. But they have also shown great things this season.

The questions for the Broncos will be if they can keep being successful with their read-option offense. If the running game keeps looking good and Tebow finally completes 50%+ of his passes the Broncos will come out of KC with a win that Coloradans look forward to nearly as much as a win against Oakland.

New York Life Protection Index Update:


Despite having one of their better games protecting Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos still only scored an 11.5 on the NYLPI against the Raiders and were ranked last in the NFL this week. Tebow was only sacked twice in the game, compared to 14 times in his previous two starts.

I know Tebow was hit after the play quite a bit. Maybe the hits he took each time he ran the ball counted against the Broncos in this statistic. But I felt that Tebow was protected better than in the previous games, even though he took more dirty hits against the Raiders.

I still can't find the formula used to calculate the NYLPI and think I may need a new statistic that shows how well the offensive line protects the QB.

Miscellaneous Broncos Items:


The New York Times published a piece summarizing why the Tim Tebow QB controversy has become so heated. It claims religion is at the center of the debate.

These Broncos fans went to the game in Oakland, decked out in Orange, and managed to survive the experience. Great read starting with being heckled by Raiders fans from the highway to the game, seeing Raiders fan sneak into the Coliseum, and spending the entire game with rude comments being thrown their way. The video they took from a cell phone of the black mile walk is worth watching just for the sound of the experience.

Other NFL Thoughts:


This video shows how creative Buffalo Bills fans are with their tailgating. Having spent so many years in the basement of the AFC East, it's great to see that Bills fans are still so passionate and show up in such huge numbers. With a surprise season and a record of 5-3 this year, I'm rooting for the Bills to take the AFC East by storm! Though this weekend they lost big to the NY Jets.

I haven't seen anything like this in Denver where much of the pre-game experience has been taken over by the big tent behind the south stands.



Beer of the Week:


Odell's winter seasonal, the Mountain Standard Double Black IPA, really hits the spot. In winter I love drinking dark beers with chocolate malts but I always miss the IPA's of summer. This beer takes the best of both worlds making a black IPA with chocolate malts and lots of hops from Colorado to give you a great combination of chocolaty malts and piney hops in the same sip. You can pick it up from most liquor stores in a four pack!

Drew Litton Comic of the Week:


Because we here in Colorado love it so much when our Broncos run over the Raiders, here is this weeks comic in tribute to the Bronco's victory.



Rapids Thoughts of the Week:


The Colorado Rapids had a disappointing end to their season this week. Plagued by injury to nearly a quarter of their starting line up the Rapids lost the away portion of their playoff series against Sporting Kansas City 2-0. Days after the loss, the Rapids parted ways with their head-coach Gary Smith, as the two sides could not agree on a contract renewal. Smith led the Rapids to their only MLS Cup in 2010 and brought a great deal of successful starters to the team in his tenure in Colorado.

“After meeting with Gary, we decided it would be in the best interest of both parties to move in a different direction,” said Colorado Rapids Managing Director Jeff Plush. “We’d like to thank Gary for his many contributions to the Colorado Rapids organization. He was instrumental in the Rapids winning our first-ever MLS Cup last year, and we wish him nothing but the best as he explores new opportunities.”

Smith has told ESPN that problems with the Front Office led to his departure from the Rapids.

"Paul, Jeff, Tim, they were involved in the player decisions, and they were the source of a lot of conflict," Smith said to ESPN. "Ninety percent of the decisions were made after heavy arguments. These guys feel they are in a position of power to do that. When I took the job, I was told I would have the final say. But over time that required more confrontation, more energy, and I was sick and tired of the backbiting." 
This revelation of the conflict with the front office is disappointing to many Rapid's supporters, as Smith was instrumental in developing many fan-favorites in the starting eleven.
"We have a great team here and it's a huge loss of a coach that coached us for three years and he took us to the finals. It happens, he's got his own life and it just didn't work out with the organization...it'll be hard to get under a new coach and get going again but I just wish the best of luck to Gary and I wish him luck where ever he goes. And we just appreciate what he's done for us the last three years." said Kosuke Kimura, one of the Rapid's star players who Smith helped to develop into a critical part of Colorado's team.
Colorado had hoped to talk to John Spencer, a former Rapid's star and current head coach of the Portland Timbers, about the possibility of becoming the new head coach for the Rapids.

“Colorado, it’s a place that he holds very dear to his heart,” Wilkinson, Portland's GM, said. “His quote to me was, ‘Colorado is home, but Portland is the home of soccer.’ “You can see what value he brings to the [Timbers]. He’s done a great job. We love him here in Portland, and we want John to be successful here in Portland.”

Gary Smith will certainly be missed by the Rapid's supporters as well. The Burgundy Wave, a Rapid's Blog run by supporters put it best:
Smith will forever be remembered for pulling together a group of low-paid pseudo-stars in 2010 and delivering us our first ever trophy. His downfalls aside, Gary was the best manager in the short history of the Colorado Rapids and we'll never forget him no matter how many successes may or may not be in our club's future. 
So, here's to you Gary Smith. You'll always be welcomed by us Rapid's Supporters here in Colorado! Good luck!

MLS Cup Thoughts of the Week:

The LA Galaxy and the Huston Dynamo will both be looking for their third MLS Cup Championship in club history on Sunday November 20th at the Home Depot Center.

LA beat Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference Finals 3-1 with a goal from designated player Robbie Keane and some great play by David Beckam.

Huston beat Sporting KC 2-0 at Livestrong Park in the Eastern Conference to move on to the finals. But they lost potential league MVP, Brad Davis, to injury in the game. But the Dynamo still come into the finals feel confident, with their playoff experience.

"It hurts losing [Brad Davis],"says goalkeeper Tally Hall. "But at the same time, I feel like we have a deep team. We have a team of dangerous players, and I think we've proven that even without Brad.”

Avalanche Thoughts of the Week:


The Avalanche have plummeted back to Earth in the last week. The Avs have not won a game in ten days and have lost four straight, including 2 at home and 2 on the road. The Avs record is now 7-7-1 with 15 points. They are ranked 11th in the Western Conference.


Their losses this week included a 4-1 loss at home against Phoenix, an overtime loss in Dallas 7-6, a 2-1 loss to Calgary, and a 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. The Colorado offense has been struggling, except in the loss to Dallas, and the defense needs to start improving the penalty kill if Colorado wants to start winning.


"It's (PK) struggling right now," winger Daniel Winnik said. "It's hard to win games when you're giving up one or two power-play goals a game."



To find their winning ways again, the Avalanche are going to need their young stars to step up and become better leaders. Players like Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog will have to start inspiring their teammates. Coach Joe Sacco should also give Duchene more chances to prove himself on the first line, as he was pulled from it against the Red Wings.

With 8 of the next 10 games played at home, the longest home stretch of the season this far, the Avalanche will have the opportunity to start turning their season around at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Rockies Thoughts of the Week:

There is talk that the Rockies may keep Ian Stewart in the big leagues as a utility/starting infielder. After his terribly disappointing season last year, I see no way this helps the Rockies at all. Sure, it may be another year until all-star prospect 3B Nolan Arenado is ready for the major leagues. In the mean time Jordan Pacheco showed he can play with the big boys and deserves a chance over Ian Stewart in the Rockies' starting line-up.

Nolan Arenado is continuing his assault on the Arizona Fall League leading nearly every batting category. His defense at 3B has also been impressive, which is beginning to question whether the Rockies would try to develop Arenado in a 1st baseman to replace an aging Todd Helton.

"He has played tremendous defense down here, one of the best defensive third basemen I've seen in a long time," said Rafters manager Stu Cole, also the Rockies' Triple-A manager.

Baseball in America published a good read on Arenado's play in the fall league.

Finally, the Rox need to start looking at free agency and the trade market. For next season they are in desperate need of at least one or two quality starting pitchers, and a 3rd baseman. Another outfielder with a big bat to compliment Seth Smith would help the Rockies compete too. 

The Purple Row Blog has published a good piece on what moves the Rockies should make in this off-season to address these gaps.


Cheerleader of the Week:


With the NBA lockout in full swing you have to feel bad for all the seasonal workers who are out of a job right now, like the beer and food vendors, the maintenance people and the Denver Nugget's Dancers. So that's why I'll feature them as this week's cheerleaders:



Friday, November 4, 2011

What's Wrong with Denver Sports Fans?

1998 AFC Championship Game

In January of 1999 I remember sitting on the cold benches in the South Stands of the old Mile High Stadium with my uncle for the AFC Championship game against the NY Jets. It was cold, the wind was blowing hard. The hot chocolate we bought was cold by the time it was passed down the row to our seats.

To make matters worse, to begin the second half, the Broncos were down 10-0 and had played poorly most of the game. A blocked punt in our own end zone gave the Jets their one touchdown drive, of 18 inches. Things had not been looking good, but the atmosphere in Mile High was still electric. Everyone knew that this might be John Elway's last game played in Denver. The Superbowl was on the line.

Through out half time I remember the entire South Stands were stomping our feet on the aluminum flooring. Creating that old Mile High Thunder to rattle the opposing team who were in their locker room under our stands.

In the second half the fans became the 12th man. Everyone at the game could feel how we pushed our Broncos to come back and win the game. The old score board on the north end of the stadium would flash at us "SOUTH STANDERS ARE YOU THERE?" and again the stands would erupt with the thunder. The entire stadium would chant "GO....BRONCOS" across the stands at each other. When the Jets were driving down field I remember standing up and joining in the chants of "J-E-T-S, J-E-T-S, J-E-T-S, SUCK SUCK SUCK" to mock the Jet's fans cheers. Every time Testaverde of the Jets threw an in-completion the whole stadium would yell "IN-COM-PLETE" along with the announcer. Had there been snow, fans would have been throwing snowballs at the Jets. (Which I don't approve of in fan behavior, but it shows the passion at the game).


Elway and our Broncos pulled off one of his best 2nd half comebacks and won the game 23-10 to send the Broncos to their second consecutive Superbowl.


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2005 AFC Championship Game

Flash forward now to the 2005 AFC Championship Game at the new Invesco Field at Mile High against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I flew home from school in Oregon to go to this game with my dad. The Broncos had the best record in the AFC and had earned home field advantage. Jake Plummer had become the QB the Broncos had been searching for since Elway retired and the entire city was hopeful for another chance at a Superbowl.

Again, I was sitting in the South Stands at the new stadium. The seats had backs on them and are the same as all the others in the stadium. At the opening kickoff the Stadium erupted with noise and cheering...for the Steelers. To look around the stadium at that game made me sick to my stomach. The yellow terrible towels were every where. You could see more yellow and black than the home town orange and blue.

There were no mocking chants of the Steeler's fans and no cheers of "GO BRONCOS". Instead there was piped in stadium noise. The advertising was instead doing the cheering. The Go Cars and Trucks.com ad had taken over the "GO BRONCOS" cheer. The stadium announcer was no longer saying incomplete for every in-completion that the Steelers threw, now he only said it on 3rd downs.

The Broncos went on to lose 34-17. Jake Plummer had a terrible game with 3 interceptions, and essential played his last game as the Denver starter. The Steelers fans proceeded to celebrate their Conference Championship in our home field.

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The Problem

In the 1990s Broncos fans were passionate. The Avalanche filled the Pepsi Center for every game. The Rockies set MLB attendance records. The Nuggets...well, they were awful but had a passionate and dedicated fan base.

In 2011 Broncos fans let opposing players jump into their stands to celebrate touchdowns. Can you imagine that being allowed in Green Bay? Now when the north end zone score board asks the south standers if we are there it is mostly received with silence. A poster of The Barrel Man hangs from the North East corner of the field, reminding fans of the loss of the greatest Broncos fan to ever live. Broncos Country has become split with Tebow Nation. Many fans attending the game just root for the young QB and are not true Broncos fans at heart.

The Avalanche can't even sell seats in certain sections despite having a great start to the season. Against Buffalo in the 2010 season chants of "Lets Go Buffalo" echoed through the Pepsi Center as if it were being played in Western New York.

Coors Field nearly always has whole sections empty. Games against the Cubs and Red Sox bring more fans rooting against the Rockies than for them. This would never happen in Boston or Chicago.

And poor Nuggets fans can't even cheer for their team because of the lockout. Not that they could actually afford to go to a game if there actually was a season.

So the question is, are Denver Sports Fans just band-wagon fans? Have Denver Fans just gone soft? What has happened to some of the most feared fans in the country? And how can we fix it?

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A Solution


In the Rockies 2007 run to the World Series, I heard from friends who attended the playoff games how electric Coors Field was. During the Nuggets 2009 run to the Conference Finals it was the same at the Pepsi Center. The Avalanche's Stanley Cup years always packed the Pepsi Center. I am under the impression that many Denver fans are Band-Wagon Fans.

I also think that advertising taking over cheers in the stadium has made fans apathetic to cheering for their home team. It has taken away much of the creativity that fans previously had. For the Broncos, the new stadium took away many of the old traditions fans used to have at Mile High.

To fix our fan base, the Avalanche, Nuggets, Rockies and especially the Broncos need to take a page from the supporters of Denver's other football team...erm...soccer team. The Colorado Rapids.

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Class VI, The 'Pid Army & The Bobbies


The fan experience in the Terraces & Supporters Sections at Dick's Sporting Good Park at a Colorado Rapids game is probably the best you will currently find in Denver.

It all starts in the Tailgating Lot hours before the match begins. The Supporters Tailgate is a free BBQ and tailgating party for anyone attending the game. For a small donation you get great food fresh off the grill and access to a keg of a local micro-brew. You get to meet other fans, and talk sports with people who are very knowledgeable. Pick-up games of soccer, frisbee or football break out on the fields surrounding the lot. Occasionally the supporters of the opposing team are challenged to a game of soccer to determine which group of fans are the best.

Then the Supporters gather and march into the stands singing and chanting for the home team.

Once in the stands, the fans become the 12th man for the Rapids. Sections in the stands have, as the NFL would call them "Super fans" who lead songs and chants to cheer on the Rapids. Each player on the 'Pids has his own chant that fans will start up when he makes a good play. My personal favorite song encourages the boy's on the field to score a goal when they are down.

"Colorado here we go. We need to score a goal. Put the ball into the net and we will all go mental."

Sure, the stadium is never full. But the fans that are there are dedicated and loud. In section 108 every time the opposing team's mid-fielder closets to the section touches the ball all fans jeer and boo at him. He is constantly heckled throughout the game. In this year's wildcard playoff match section 108 booed Rodgers, of Columbus, so much that the entire stadium picked up on it. The MLS announcers on ESPN even noticed and did not know what Rodger's had done to anger the fans so much. The same happened earlier in the year against Philadelphia and earned their mid-fielder a yellow-card. After the game Philadelphia expressed their frustration with the fans jeering.

“This is the core of the Rapids fan base,” says the head of Class VI Supporter group, Bodmer. "These are the guys that bleed burgundy no matter what goes on – win, lose, cold, hot. They’re always here, every game.”

The Rapid's players appreciate the fan support. At the end of every game, win-lose-or-tie, the players show their thanks to the fans in the supporters sections by coming over to the stands and talking with fans.

“We don’t have the numbers that some of the teams in the league have, but we have some passionate fans and some faithful groups,” defender Drew Moor said. “They definitely make it tough for the other team when they come in here. I know a lot of them by name, I’m Facebook friends with a bunch of them and tweet with a bunch of them. They make it fun.”


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The other teams in Denver need to take a page from The Rapid's and create supporter's groups. A passionate, loud and dedicated group of fans who are always at the game to cheer for their favorite players. These types of groups encourage traditions in the stands, which have mostly been lost at Broncos games. The old South Stands used to have traditions that formed over the years, but the new stadium lacks this. A supporters group in the South Stands could do wonders for improving the fan experience at Broncos games.

Sure, there are lots of challenges for teams that have more supporters than the Rapids do in starting these groups. But I think that it's something that if done right could make the games a lot more fun. Even when the team is losing, if you had a good time in the stands with your friends then the games are more worthwhile.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

How to Fix the MLS Playoffs

The MLS Playoffs have always been controversial. Many US soccer fans feel the league should scrap the playoffs and have the winner of the Supporters Shield be crowned the MLS champion like in European Leagues. This is to reward the best team over the stretch of the season, instead of the best team in a playoff competition.

In the 2010 NFL season, the 8th best team of the regular season, The Green Bay Packers, beat the 4th best team in the Superbowl. The playoffs represent not only the best team down the stretch, but the team that preforms the best in high pressure situations. They pit the best of the best teams against each other in a loser goes home situation. In football though, one mistake may send the better team home.

In baseball, hockey and basketball, the playoffs involve seven game series to demonstrate which team is best over the course of many games. If the better team has an off-night and loses one game they have the ability to rebound in the next game and demonstrate their superiority.

The MLS playoffs involve a one game wildcard match, a two-game semifinal's series determined by aggregate goals, and then a conference finals and a championship match of one game each. Each series has different rules. Plus the many times the best teams in the league play each other early in the playoffs, which doesn't allow them to meet in the finals. Many times teams from the western conference ends up playing in the eastern conference's playoff bracket or vis verse. This can give a team from one conference an advantage because had they played in the other conference they would have finished the season ranked higher. For example the western conference is usually much better than the eastern conference and the fourth ranked team in the west may be better than the first ranked team in the east.

With all this confusion in the MLS Playoffs there's no wonder why there is so much controversy.

The MLS does need a playoff system for two reasons. First, many American fans will not understand the appeal of giving the best team in the league at the end of the season the championship. All our other sports have playoffs and soccer should have one too. Second, the US is a big country and MLS is expanding. It will not be possible to play a balanced schedule much longer because it would require too many games and too much travel. This means that every team in the league will not play every other team.  If two teams never meet in the regular season I don't think it's fair to give the championship to the team with the best record.

Many people have begun to recommend a World Cup type system for the MLS playoffs, and I fully support this. In this system the top four teams in each conference would move on to the playoff tournament and be placed in two groups:


Group A
Group B
West 1
East 1
East 2
West 2
East 3
West 3
West 4
East 4


Each team would play every other team in their group once. The first ranked team plays all three games at home. The second ranked team plays two of three games at home...etc. This gives the higher seeds home-field advantage.

The two teams in each group who have the most game-points move on to a semi finals round that looks like this:


Semi Finals 1
Semi Finals 2
Group A 1 vs. Group B 2
Group B 1 vs. Group A 2


In the semis the top seed from each group plays the second seed from the other group. This forces them to play a game against a new team and still allows the best two teams in the league (who may have originally been in the same group) to be able to meet in the finals match. The semi-finals would be played as a home-away series, with the top seed playing the second leg of the series at home.

Finally, the winners of each series would move on to the MLS Cup finals, a one game winner takes all competition.

Had this system been in place this year, my Colorado Rapids would not have made the playoffs. But I still think it's the best system for US Soccer. This is what the Group Stage of the playoffs would have looked like this year under this proposed system:


Group A
Group B
1. LA Galaxy (67pnts)
1. Sporting KC (51)
2. Houston Dynamo (49)
2. Seattle (63)
3. Philadelphia Union (48)
3. Real Salt Lake (53)
4. FC Dallas (52)
4. Columbus Crew (47)


Now The Rapids finished the season with 49 points, for 5th place in the Western Conference. Had they played in the East, they would have finished 2nd with 49 points and made the playoffs in this system. Sure there will be people who say it's unfair because Colorado is a better team than Columbus. Why do they have to miss the playoffs? I don't like seeing the Rapid's out of the playoffs, but the same happens in other sports playoffs systems.

Last year in the NFL the Seattle Seahawks made the playoffs with a record of 7-9 to become the first playoff team in history with a losing record. New York and Tampa Bay both missed the playoffs last year with a 10-6 record, one that is much better than the Seahawks. Yes, the NFL playoffs system probably needs reforming too. But this is just an example that not all playoffs are fair. However, this proposed system seems to be the best and fairest way of hosting a playoff tournament when MLS moves to an unbalanced schedule.