The Colorado Line:
2-4-0 record from 10/24 to 10/31.
NFL:
Detroit 45 – Denver 10. (L)
MLS Playoffs:
Wildcard Game: Colorado 1 – Columbus 0. (W)
Semifinals Game 1: Colorado 0 – Kansas City 2. (L)
NHL:
Colorado 2 – Calgary 4. (L)
Edmonton 3 – Colorado 1. (L)
Los Angles 2 – Colorado 3. (W)
Broncos Thoughts of
the Week:
The difference between playing one of the worst teams in the
NFL versus playing the one of the most improved teams in the NFL? For the
Broncos (2-5) it’s 27 points, and a loss. Last week the Broncos won in
miraculous fashion 18-15 in overtime against Miami (0-7). This week The Detroit
Lions (6-2) came to the Mile High City, and by half time it was obvious that
Tebow and company would not stage another one of their thrilling fourth quarter
comebacks and possibly not even reach the end zone. The Broncos lost 45-10. The
Tebow who played so poorly in the first 55 minutes of the Miami game played the
entire 60 minutes of the game against Detroit.
“We basically went into hibernation for about 9 series and
the game was out of hand,” Said Coach Fox referring to 9 straight series
without a first down, after scoring a field goal on their first drive.
Everyone got to 'Tebow' except the Broncos.
In the first quarter Tebow was 4 for 13 with 37 passing
yards with 7 sacks, a lost fumble and an interception. Tebow slightly overthrew
Eric Deker in the end zone on the first drive. Decker caught the ball in
stride, but it was too close to the back of the end zone for him to get both
feet in bounds. Many other passes in the first half sailed close to receiver’s
hands but just out of reach. Tebow’s day
didn’t get any better either. In the second half he fumbled the ball as he went
back to pass and it was returned for a touchdown by the Detroit defense. Then
as the Broncos were driving for what could have been their first touchdown of
the game, Tebow threw an interception in the end zone that Detroit returned 100
yards for another score.
The Denver defense couldn’t do much to stop the high-powered
Detroit offense led by Mathew Stafford. Stafford was 21 of 30 for 267 yards and
three touchdowns. One play, Calvin Johnson badly beat Champ Bailey for a 56 yard
touchdown reception to make the score 38-3 at the time. Earlier in the game
Brian Dawkins missed his coverage on Titus Young and allowed a 41 yard
touchdown reception that made Stafford look like he was playing a game of catch
in the backyard, it was so easy. Even Bronco’s fans looked terrible in the
game, gladly allowing Young to jump into the South Stands to celebrate.
After the game Von
Miller expressed his disappointment in how the defense played. Detroit’s
defense shutout the Broncos for nine straight drives and Miller said ““We gotta
replicate the same thing…we gotta have three and out, three and out, three and
out.”
The fourth quarter the Broncos were able to stop Detroit’s
offense, but by then the game was already out of reach and Detroit had benched
most of their starters. In the fourth quarter Denver’s offense finally
converted on third down and got a first down, but it was against a Detroit
defense made up of mostly back-ups. The offense put together a sloppy drive to
score a touchdown to come within 35 points of Detroit. Decker caught a 14 yard
pass from Tebow and jumped over defenders, broke several tackles to make his
way to the end zone.
“We basically got whipped. We got out coached and out
played. We’ve got a lot to work on,” said Fox after the game. “We’ve got a ways
to go. We’ve been good at times and today wasn’t good enough.”
Von Miller also expressed that the team as a whole did not
play well against Detroit. “We just got beat. We got beat as players, coaches,
trainers, equipment managers. We just got beat.”
The only player on
the team who had a decent day was the Punter, Britton Colquitt who averaged
50.4 yards between his seven punts. The whole team played poorly. Receiver’s
missed some easy balls. The running game went nowhere with Moreno and Ball. The
defense was confused and out-played. Orlando Franklin, on the offensive line,
looked like a revolving door for Detroit’s defense. And Tebow looked like the
young quarterback he is. One who struggles to pass in the pocket and has a long
and awkward throwing motion, which led to his fumble.
If this game taught Bronco’s fans anything, it’s that we are
still a long way from even being a mediocre team. An all-star quarterback will
not solve the issues on offensive line, the running game and the defense. Tebow
looked awful against Detroit, but the rest of the team looked just as bad or
even worse.
By the end of the game most Broncos fans had cleared out of
the stadium, leaving a rejuvenated Detroit fan base to start chanting for Brady
Quinn. Give how awful the entire team
looked, it will not be a surprise if we see Quinn leading the team by
Thanksgiving.
What Needs to
Improve?
Tebow looked terrible, there is no denying that, and he will
take the Lion’s share of the blame (pun intended). But the offensive line did
nothing to help him. I discussed earlier in the season how horrible I felt the
offensive line was, especially at protecting the QB. It has just gotten worse
with Tebow in the game. Right Tackle, Orlando Franklin, is supposed to protect
Tebow’s blind side. With the way he played the previous two games, you would
think that Franklin was actually blind. Nearly every defender was able to get
past his blocks and get to Tebow.
After Orton’s final start, I presented to you The New York
Life Protection Index, a rating of how well the QB is protected. Going into week
five against the Chargers, the Broncos were ranked #13 in the league in the
NYLPI with 66.8. They have since dropped 12 spots to #25, with a dismal NYLPI
score of 52.0. This score is likely to drop after the new rankings come out
later this week.
In week 7 against Miami, when Tebow was sacked 7 times and
hit much more, the Broncos ranked dead last in the NYLPI. The NYLPI for the
Bronco’s in the Miami game was a horrendous -25.6.
I blame Orlando Franklin and Tebow’s style of play for how badly
we are at protecting the QB. Franklin needs to be successful on his blocks to
give Tebow time to throw the ball. Franklin may be a great run blocker, but
when protecting the pass he does not know what to do. Tebow needs to release
the ball quicker. He spends too much time waiting to see an open receiver. If
he can throw the ball quicker, he will help his offensive line protect him.
I would like to see Tebow given more of a chance to succeed
and I think if he had the right players around him he would be a good QB. Given
that, if the Bronco’s do not have the opportunity to draft Stanford QB Andrew
Luck, they should go with another Stanford player in the first round: Offensive
Guard, David DeCastro. DeCastro is the best offensive lineman in college, and
you can see how well Luck has done playing behind him. Sure, he’s not the glamorous
pick in the draft. But he has potential to be a ten year all-pro guard and
could solidify our offensive line for years to come.
What’s Next?
The Broncos travel to Oakland next week in an AFC West rivalry game that
should be interesting. Oakland will start QB Carson Palmer for the first time
this season after Palmer had a two week crash course in the Oakland playbook.
Palmer looked awful in his first game in Oakland when he replaced back-up Kyle
Boller. Oakland has a lot of potential to make a run at the playoffs, but their
recent struggles at QB have made them look pretty inept. They will be looking
to get back to their winning ways against a bad Denver team. Look for them to rough Denver up with their
offensive line and to see more sacks of Tebow from the strength of their
defensive line. Next weekend might be another dismal day in Broncos Country.
Beer of the Week:
The Resinous Rye IPA brewed by The Mountain Sun has been on tap at The Southern Sun recently and is one of my go-to beers. As the name implies, it has a strong, piney taste with lots of hop. It that makes you feel like you're drinking a forest.
Drew Litton Comic of
the Week:
Congrats to the Cardinals for beating the Rangers in the World Series!
Rapids Thoughts of
the Week:
The ball never bounced the Rapid’s way this week. Despite
winning their wildcard playoff game against Columbus 1-0, the Rapids lost
defender Jamie Smith to a torn ACL. In the first game of the semi-finals
against Sporting Kansas City the Rapids then proceeded to lose Caleb Folan, Kosuke
Kimura and Drew Moor to injury and Tyrone Marshall (who replaced Kimura) to a
red card ejection that resulted in a penalty kick for KC. The Rapids lost 2-0
at home and now have a two goal deficit to overcome when they travel to Kansas
City on Wednesday. The ‘Pids starting 11 will likely be missing more than a
quarter of their regular line-up and will be playing with a much depleted back
field. Things are not looking good for the Rapid’s hopes of defending the cup.
The Rapids must score atleast two more goals than KC does in the match to move
on to the conference finals.
In the wildcard match against the Columbus Crew the Rapids
played a beautiful game. They were able to hold possession, played fantastic on
defense and one of our forwards, Omar Cummings, got
his first playoff goal. The goal was set up by Brian Mullan and Kosuke
Kimura. Mullan passed right to Kimura in the box, and Cummings looked as if he
were just loitering in front of the goal with no defenders near him. Kimura was
about to cross the ball, but then spotted Cummings and got him the ball on a
short pass that he then sank into the back of the net, just seconds before the
end of the half.
Brian Mullan was clearly the man of the match, proving why
he has 5 MLS cup rings on his fingers. He played aggressively to the ball and
created many great scoring opportunities, including the goal from Cummings.
Mullan appears to be at his best once the playoffs start.
“This is when the
body’s banged up, but this is when you can tell everyone’s putting their heart
into it,” Mullan said of the playoffs. “That just makes it more pleasurable.”
Omar Cummings celebrates his goal by "Tebowing"
With the away-portion
of the Kansas City series on Wednesday, the Rapids are going to have to show
that they have depth in their roster to overcome the injuries to key players.
Wells Thompson, Scott Palguta and Ross LeBauex will all have to step up their
play. The forwards will also have to attack much more aggressively than they
have been this season. Omar Cummings, Sanna Nyassi and Macoumba Kandji will
need to score at least three goals to keep the Rapid’s season alive, as they
cannot afford to rely on goals from the midfielders anymore. Nyassi has had a
couple great scoring chances in the playoffs, especially against Columbus but
missed wide each time. He is going to have to be patient with his shots and
wait for the best opportunity, and hopefully can produce another hat-trick game
like earlier in the year against New York.
Thankfully, the Rapids
have encountered this situation before in the season and gotten through it in
the CCL against El Salvador. The ’Pids lost at home against El Salvador but
came back to win the series against them on the road with a 3-1 victory in
Latin America. That Rapid’s team was also playing without many of their
starters and in a very hostile environment.
“We just have to move
on and hopefully go back there and stick it to them,” said forward Macoumba
Kandji. “It’s definitely not over. We are going to go there flying because it
may be our last game of the season or we can try to get a win and move on.”
Other MLS Playoff Thoughts of the Week:
Fake Salt Lake surprised The Flounders by dominating them 3-0 at Rio
Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City. It’s too bad one of these teams has to win. I
really don’t like either of them. But I guess I’ll be rooting for the Flounders
to get a surprise victory over FSL by at least three points when the game goes
back to Seattle.
World Series Thoughts
of the Week:
The Cardinals and Rangers played in a World Series that is became
one of the most exciting and intriguing championships in recent history. It had
everything from record setting homeruns and RBI’s to coaching errors, to great
comebacks and great starting pitching, and it all culminated in game 7. I had
been hoping the series went to seven games and then went to extra innings. I
didn’t quite get my wish, but game 6 sure gave a thrilling scene for extra
innings.
Even Cardinal's fans got to 'Tebow'
In Game 6 the Cardinals were facing elimination in the
bottom of the ninth inning, down 7-5. With two men on base, David Freese was
down to his last strike. All the Rangers needed to do was throw one pitch to
get him out. Instead he hit a triple deep into the outfield to tie the game
7-7. The Ranger’s were not about to give up that easily and in the top of the
10th inning Hamilton hit a two run homerun of their own to go ahead
9-7. Surely they would be able to not let the Cardinals score in their half of
the inning and go on to win their first championship? But the Rangers refused
to pitch to Albert Pujols and intentionally walked him (rightfully so, after
his three run homerun game that made history in game 3), to bring the tying run
to the plate. As fate would have it, the Rangers were again one strike away
from winning the series. But then Lance Berkman hit a monster shot into the
stands. Tie game, 9-9 and the St. Louis fans were going nuts. In the 11th
inning St. Louis didn’t let the Rangers score, and in the Cardinals half of the
inning David Freese again became the hero. David Freese grew up in Missouri
rooting for the Cardinals and had all his boy-hood dreams come true in his
at-bat in the bottom of the 11th. He hit a homerun into straight
away centerfield to win Game 6 by a score of 10-9 and kept the series alive.
St. Louis went on to win everything the next night in a game
where the Rangers were essentially shutdown. A heart breaking loss for the
Rangers who came so close in two different at-bats in game six. But a fantastic
comeback by the Cardinals, as they had done all season long. Congratulations go
out to St. Louis. This was a World Series to be remembered for a long time.
The Colorado affiliate in the Arizona Fall League, The
Salt River Rafters, are 15-9 with three weeks left to go. In-fielder Nolan Arenado is looking
good with a .377 batting average, 5 homeruns, and 24 RBI’s. All of which
are in the top three of the league. The Rockies have a lot to hope for in their
young third baseman.
Avalanche Thoughts of
the Week:
The Avalanche fell back to earth this week, losing two out
of three games, including their first road loss to Calgary 4-2. Colorado did
manage to get their first
win of the season at the Pepsi Center in Denver, beating LA 3-2 in a close
game. Going into the game against LA, the Avalanche held the NHL’s best road
record of 6-1-0 but was the only team to not secure a point at home all season.
Thankfully forward Matt Duchene, who has struggled to find his game all season,
scored the winning goal.
“It was a big one. The biggest part is, it was able to be
the game-winner, and give a ton of credit to all the boys for playing so well
in the last minutes there,” said Duchene of his goal.
Last season Duchene had a slow start to the season as well
but finished strong, he led the Avs with 27 goals scored in 2010. This season
Duchene has been relegated to play on the third line, but is beginning to start
showing flashes of what he is capable of with the game winning goal.
This week the Avalanche also lost at the Pepsi Center to
Edmonton 3-1. Edmonton passed the Avalanche to take the lead in the Northwest
division with their victory. The Avalanche are still ranked 5th in
the conference, with 14 points.
TV Thoughts of the Week:
Last spring, the end of season 4 of Chuck really disappointed me. It seemed the writers were just trying to get a new gimmic, and that they wrapped up all the story lines so fast that there was no closure. Needless to say, I didn't have high hopes for the final season of Chuck.
But the premiere of season 5 sure was a treat! Great writing and acting as you have come to expect from Chuck. Plus this episode sets up a great story line for the show, and continues it's emphasis on developing Chuck as a character, spy and husband. I'm really excited for Chuck to be back on the air, as it's one of the best shows I've ever seen!
Once Upon a Time premiered in the last few weeks and stars Jennifer Morrison (from House) as Emma Swan, the daughter of Snow White, who will break the curse the evil witch placed on all of them. The show is a fairy-tale set in the modern world with all the characters we knew growing up, like Jimmeny Cricket and Prince Charming. I was hopeful this show would be great, and two episodes into the season I think it will be. I think it has the potential to be another hit show like Lost, or a show that will give us a few great seasons like Heroes and then fizzle out from lack of plot lines.
