Championship Sunday

NFL Thoughts of the Day:


1. The TV networks got what they had hoped for in the Superbowl XLVI: A rematch of New England and New York. They couldn't have hoped for two bigger markets to make tons of money from.

But for anyone who is from neither Boston or New York, this repeat of Superbowl XLII is the last thing you wanted. No matter what sport it is, if teams from Boston and New York are playing each other in a big game all you will hear about from any sports media outlet is how great either Boston or New York is. How they are the best sports towns in the country. The Boston-New York Rivalry may be the most boring thing in sports to other fans.

But everyone, including myself, will still watch the game. I hate having to choose to root for either a team from Boston or from NYC. Though, I will have to choose the lesser of two evils and root for New York to win the Superbowl again. Eli Manning is a stand up guy and a clutch Quarterback (possibly even better than his brother), and there would be nothing worse than seeing New England win another Superbowl.

2. I bet the Harbaugh household is having a pretty crappy night right now. No other brothers have lost Championship games on the same day as head coaches.

Jim Harbaugh did have a fantastic season as a first year coach in the NFL. He took an awful 6-10 49ers team and brought them to within one score of going to the Superbowl. The Niners are going to be great for years to come, and Jim Harbaugh showed a lot of class after the game. Harbaugh shook Manning's hand and said to him "Congratulations. Go win it. Go win it."

3. Who do you think feels worse today? Baltimore's kicker Billy Cundiff who missed a game tying kick as time ran out? Or The Niner's back-up punter returner Kyle Williams who fumbled away the ball in OT to put the Giants in field goal range?

4. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick must be thrilled to see Manning and the Giants again and get their revenge from Superbowl XLII. It's like "The Empire Strikes Back", as Belichick and the Patriots try to avenge the loss of the Death Star which was destroyed by Manning and his Rebels.

5. I wonder how Peyton Manning feels right now. His biggest rival, The Patriots, are playing his little brother in the Superbowl. And it's all going down in "The House that Peyton Built" in Indianapolis. Must sting a little to see that on your home field.

Top 10 Live Games Attended in 2011

1. Bears vs. Broncos

2. Jets vs. Broncos

3. Timbers v. Rapids

4. Diamondbacks vs. Rockies

5. Union vs. Rapids

6. Bengals vs. Broncos

7. Giants vs. Rockies

8. Earthquakes vs. Rapids

9. Columbus vs. Rapids Playoff Game

10. Sabres vs. Avalanche

Note: Only 14 days into 2012 and I bet that the Denver-Pittsburgh playoff game will top my list at the end of this year!

South Stander Edition #8

Broncos Thoughts of the Week:

Midway through the second quarter against Pittsburgh a sign appeared over Mile High Stadium. This wasn't an airplane pulling a banner or a skydiver with a flag.

Fans all over the stadium were point to the sky. The man and woman next to me gasped. I heard others saying it was a sign.

I said to my dad, jokingly, "This proves God is a Bronco's fan," referencing the infamous bumper stickers.

For about a minute, a halo of smoke hung over the stadium.

I believed the Broncos were going to go on to win their first playoff game since 2006. 

But as with any miracle, Denver would not accomplish a great feat with out first facing adversity.

In the second half, Denver would only score one field goal and Pittsburgh would tie the game at 23 after a costly fumble by Willis McGahee that allowed the Steelers to score the equalizing touchdown.

Denver would then have to face a furious Steeler's offense as they tried to get into field goal position in the final seconds. It was a scene Bronco's fans were used to seeing their own team doing. Driving down-field in the waning seconds of the game. But the defense held, and pushed Rothelisburger back to his own side of the field. These Broncos would not be beaten on a hail mary, and on to overtime we went.

It is fitting that this Broncos team, who had won 3 overtime games this season, would play the first game in NFL history under the new overtime rules that allow each team to get a possession unless the first team scores a touchdown on the initial drive. Denver won the coin flip and got the ball.

The man in front of me stood up, and pointed to his watch. Today, overtime, would be known as 'Tebow Time' he announced to our section. Steelers fans threw taunts at him. The little boy in the Steelers hat behind me yelled at him 'Tebow can suck it!"

All day the Steelers had been stacking the box against Denver's run. "There's no way we can run against this defense. They have all 11 guys within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage," a friend texted me earlier in the game. And sure enough to start overtime, Pittsburgh brought nearly all their defenders to the line. And Mike McCoy, Denver's offensive coordinator called the perfect play.

Denver had run on all but one first down play during the game, and Pittsburgh assumed they would do it again. The ball was snapped, all defenders but one ran to the line of scrimmage. Tebow faked the hand off perfectly to McGahee and threw a beautiful ball 20 yards down-field to Thomas who had one man to beat and then a sea of green grass that Broncos love so much in front of him.

Thomas stiff armed the defender, broke free, and ran 80 yards into the endzone.

11 seconds into overtime and Denver had won a playoff game the entire nation had predicted them to lose.

"The crowd has lost their minds" screamed Dave Logan, as the Denver radio announcers laughed in disbelief. 

Mile High shook in celebration, just like the old days. That old Mile High Magic was back, and showed that no matter what, Denver will always be a football town. And just like it should be, there was The Duke of Denver himself, John Elway running onto the field, fist pumping for joy just like when he used to lead these come-back wins.

This was one of the best games of football ever played in Denver.

The Mile High Miracle, led by the Mile High Messiah, Tim Tebow.

Drew Litton Comic of the Week:

Beer of the Week:

For celebrating the Bronco's win, Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is my new favorite! It's a fresh hopped beer that is very hoppy and bitter. A pleasant surprise compared to other holiday ales that are usually very malty.

Game Winning Replay of the Week:

Here is the Conan O'Brien version of how Denver beat Pittsburgh.

Here is the real TV Replay.

And here is the 850 KOA Radio Call.

Tebow Video of the Week:

I know it's old, but it fits this week.

Rapids Thoughts of the Week:

Big news coming out of DSG Park this week! Rapid's have hired a new coach, Oscar Pareja, a former MLS Best XI. Pareja has been on the coaching staff with FC Dallas, and the job in Colorado will be his first head coaching position.

“I am honored to join such a great organization like the Colorado Rapids, and want to thank everyone at Kroenke Sports & Entertainment for the opportunity.” said Pareja. “This is a dream come true, and I am excited to get started at the Player Combine this weekend and the SuperDraft next week. We already have a great team and everyone is optimistic about what we can achieve this season and beyond," said Pareja at his press conferece.

The Rapids have also announced their schedule for 2012, with the home opener on Saturday March 10th against the Columbus Crew. The Rapids will also play RSL once at home and twice in Salt Lake for the Rocky Mountain Cup. The Portland Timbers will come to Colorado twice, and Montreal, the expansion team, will also visit DSG Park.

Avalanche Thoughts of the Week:

The Avs are on a two game losing skid, but have won seven out of their last ten. They also possess winning records both at home and away. 

The Avalanche have been a very streaky team this season, winning many in a row and losing many in a row. Let's hope that the current 2 game losing streak doesn't last much longer.

The Avs will play the second half of a home-home series against the Predators in Nashville this Thursday. This game will be important for Colorado to keep pace with a team slightly ahead of them in the standings.

Center, Ryan O'Rielly, had the Avalanche's lone goal against Nashville in Denver and is continuing his streak of leading the Avalanche in points.

Nuggets Thoughts of the Week:

After losing their first home game of the season to New Orleans, the Nuggets came back and beat the Nets in Denver 123-115. Denver is proving to have depth on it's roster in this abreviated season, but is still looking to find a good groove. 

The Nuggets will face a big challenge as Miami comes to town this week, and the Nuggets will hope to hand them their second loss of the season.

Cheerleader of the Week:

Maxim posted a great photo-shoot of the Broncos Cheerleaders a few years back and it's worth looking at again.

South Stander Edition #4

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.

Week (starting QB)	Opponent	Outcome	NYLPI Score
1 (Orton)	vs Oakland Raiders	L 20 - 23	39.8
2 (Orton)	vs Cincinnati Bengals	W 24 - 22	53.3
3 (Orton)	at Tennessee Titans	L 14 - 17	85.2
4 (Orton)	at Green Bay Packers	L 23 - 49	98.7
5 (Orton- benched in 3rd Q)	vs San Diego Chargers	L 24 - 29	66.9
7 (Tebow)	at Miami Dolphins	W 18 - 15	-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 10^th 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 11^th 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 11^th. 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.

Colorado Rockies Thoughts of the Week:

The Rockies decided to take on Jason Giambi for another year and decided not to pick up Aaron Cook’s option with the club. Cook is the winning-est pitcher in Rockies History. He still may play for the Rockies next season, but at a much lower salary than the 11 million that would have been owed had the Rockies picked up his option.

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 5^th 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.

Cheerleader Thoughts of the Week:

Many NFL Cheerleaders dressed up in costume for Halloween this week, including this cheerleader from the Tennessee Titans who dressed as a pirate:

The South Stander Edition 2

Broncos Thoughts of the Week:

The Offensive Line is key to the success of a quarterback. For Tim Tebow to be successful in his passing game, the offensive line is going to have to really improve and start better protecting the QB. Players on the Offensive Line are very difficult to evaluate individually. Instead, the offensive line needs to be evaluated as a unit, because they need to work together for a successful run game and for protecting their QB. This week, I have been pouring over O-Line stats to try to figure out exactly how the Bronco's line is doing because I have been very critical of them all season.

I was surprised by the offensive line passing statistics for the Broncos. I have felt the line hasn't been giving our QB enough protection all year and forcing Orton to scramble or hurry his passes. The closest statistic that I could find to represent this is 'QB Hits'. This stat tells how many times the QB gets hit after throwing the ball. This stat represents the amount of pressure on a QB, as a result of his offensive line. Denver ranks second in the league, allowing only 17 hits on the QB and is tied for sixth in the NFL for fewest sacks with 9.

I have tried to find the number of times a QB has been 'hurried', or forced to throw the ball before he wants to without getting hit. This stat does not seem to exist for a QB, only for hurries caused by defensive players.

I did, however, find The New York Life Protection Index. This statistic is a measure of how much the offensive line protects the QB and is based off of pass attempt, o-line penalties, sacks, QB hits and hurries. Denver ranks right in the middle of the league at #13 with an index rating of 66.2. As for why an insurance company calculates this statistic...I have no idea!

These stats show that the offensive line is doing a good job at protecting the quarterback. They aren't allowing many defensive players to get to the quarterback. This really surprised me because I felt that the offensive line was doing a terrible job at this, but I think this shows that Kyle Orton was playing much worse than I thought he was. I'm glad to see our line is doing an average job protecting the QB.

	Sks Allwd	QB Hits	NYLPI
DEN	9	17	66.2
NFL Rank	6 (tied)	2	13

The other job of the offensive line is to block and create holes for the running game. The Broncos running game is greatly improved over last season for a few reasons. First, running back Willis McGhee is a great addition and a powerful, fast back. Second, the addition of Orlando Franklin at right tackle has improved the running game. And third, the whole line has more experience playing together and are looking more comfortable in their positions. Denver has rushed for 509 yards on the season, averaging about 100 yards per game. Compared to last season when we barely had any running games over 100 yards, this is a great improvement.

The offensive line can still improve their blocking in short yardage runs on 3rd or 4th down. As shown in the table below by the power (Pwr) statistic. This stat gives the percentage of runs that are successful in getting a first down or touchdown on 3rd or 4th down and less than 2 yards to go and includes 1st and 2nd down and goal to go on the 2 yard line or less. The Broncos have 0% completion on these plays running to the left or the center. They only have a 67% completion running to the right. This shows that on these plays Denver will be more likely to run right, Orlando Franklin's side, to try to get the first down. To keep drives alive we need to get better in these situations running to the left and center.

Rush Left
1st	Neg	+10Y	Pwr
9	3	5	0
Rush Right
1st	Neg	+10Y	Pwr
9	3	7	67
Rush Center
1st	Neg	+10Y	Pwr
8	5	4	0

Beer of the Week:

The Twisted Pine Pumpkin Ale is one of my favorite beers of all time. It tastes like autumn. It tastes like a pumpkin pie that was made with beer. It tastes like all the best desert at thanksgiving. If you ask nicely The Pine will even add whipped cream and cinnamon on top of your pint to help you enjoy it even more. Now, what beer could possibly be better than that?

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Drew Litton Comic of the Week:


In honor of the Avalanche's great start (below), here is a classic Drew Litton Comic.

Outdoor Thoughts of the Week:

This week I interviewed to work at REI again. I had been thinking back to my first interview at the store in Portland and trying to remember what it was like. I couldn't remember much except that I was asked "If you could be any piece of outdoors gear, what would you be?" In 2007 I remember I decided on a chalk bag. I don't know why. I don't remember the metaphor I made up for it. But this week I spent a lot of time thinking about this question in preparation for my interview with REI again. Unfortunately, I was never asked to pretend to be a piece of gear this time around.

But I decided on a down jacket. They are very versatile, just like I am. They make the best

back-country pillows ever. You can tie the sleeve around your head to serve as a head band when you sleep to drown out your tent-mate's snoring. They can be crammed into a stuff sack and used as a football. Oh, and they keep you warm. And probably a bunch of other things that I just haven't thought of yet. I make sure to bring mine on nearly any trip I'm going on. It's like a silent friend you cab bring anywhere with you.

Other pieces of gear I debated included: a bivy sac, a carabiner, an ice ax or a sling.

In other outdoor thoughts, make sure to read Brendan Leonard's outdoors blog. This week he gave away some of his best back-country recipes! My favorites include when he mixes mac and cheese with chili or when mac and cheese is mixed with Palak Paneer. I would like to add that I enjoy a healthy serving of cholula mixed with my back-country mac and cheese.

The Mountain Gazette published a great piece on what it's like to go through transitions in your outdoors life as you begin a family. I am currently in the middle of many transitions (though not the starting a family kind!) and it helped me to realize it's okay to put your outdoor passions to the side for a while as you focus on something else (in my case, apply for a crazy amount of jobs every week.) I think that once I'm through these transitions I'm going to start enjoying rock-climbing a lot more. Plus, I'm really excited for the ice to form and get to Ouray this winter!

Finally, here is a great bouldering video from South Africa.

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Rapids Thoughts of the Week:

The Rocky Mountain Cup showdown this weekend ended in a hard fought, 0-0 draw and Real Salt Lake held onto the cup for the fifth straight year despite receiving 4 yellow cards. The Rapids still got a point out of the match, and with the NY Red Bulls loosing on Saturday, the Rapids clinched a wild-card playoff spot.

The Rapids had the majority of scoring chances against Real Salt Lake but could not get anything past the goal keeper. Colorado had 8 shots at the goal, though most of them were off target. Colorado also won five corner kicks to RSL's one. Caleb Folan, the Rapid's big Irish forward, came into the game with 22 minutes remaining and quickly had the best scoring opportunity of the night. In the 82nd minute Kimura launched a cross towards the goal and Folan got his head on it right in front of RSL goal keeper Nick Rimando. Rimando pushed the ball up and over the goal to force a corner kick. On the corner kick, Folan again got his head on the ball. But the ball bounced straight down off the crossbar and onto the goal line and was able to be cleared by the RSL defense.

The Rapids kept their intensity high during the end of the game and kept pressuring RSL. It was good to see the 'Pids hold onto a draw in the final minutes as they have not been able to do much during the season.

After the game The Class VI Rapid's Supporters in section 108 presented Drew Moor and Kosuke Kimura with the offense and defensive player of the year awards. Both had great seasons and

have been fan favorites all year.

The Rapids playoff opponent will be determined by the end of the season next week. The Rapids need a win against Vancouver next week to get a home play off game as the 2nd seeded wildcard team. The Rapids can also clinch the second seed with a Houston loss. The Rapid's will play either Houston, Columbus or NY to begin the playoffs on Oct 28 or 29th.

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TV Thoughts of the Week:

1. I think the new season of House started great. It was fun to see House work his magic in a different and difficult setting. I wish there were going to be more episodes like that.

2. Fox's show, The New Girl, about a socially awkward hippie girl living with three guys she met online, is really fun. I enjoyed the first few episodes and think it's a very refreshing show. Highly recommended.

3. I do not like Robert California on The Office.

4. Will Arnet's new show, Up All Night, is clever. He has a great cast with him and I really like his acting and sense of humor.

5. The three episode "special assignment" of Archer to start season 3 was fantastic. Archer is hands down the best show on TV right.

6. I wish I had Showtime to watch Edward James Olmos on season 6 of Dexter! If I did I would consider it better than Archer.

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Band of the Week:

I recently discovered Publish the Quest while listening to The Dirtbag Diaries on a long drive to the mountains. Publish the Quest is a group from the Pacific North West and their music reminds me of Dispatch mixed with The Cat Empire. It swings, has a great beat and powerful lyrics, a good jam band. I highly recommend their single Sodade. I enjoy the back story of how this song was written in collaboration with musicians from around the world.

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MLB Playoff Thoughts of the Week:

I had hoped Detroit would make the World Series but after loosing two games in the 11th inning off of a walk-off grand slam and a three run homer, both by Cruz, it seemed nearly impossible for Detroit to win the series. Such heart-breaking losses. The Rangers showed their offensive power in Game 6, winning 15-5 and Cruz set a post-season record for home runs in a single series (6). After seeing this game, The Rangers are my new pick to win the World Series. I don't think the Cardinals will be able to keep up with them on offense...but I'm still going to root for the Cardinals to win it all.

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Avalanche Thoughts of the Week:


The Avalanche have jumped up to near the top of ESPN's NHL Power Rankings to begin the third week of the season after being ranked near the bottom. Thanks to an undefeated road trip, the first in franchise history, the Avalanche have the most points in the league (10) and are looking to be the Cinderella story of the season!

Last week the Avalanche embarrassed their former goalie Craig Anderson and his Ottawa Senators by finally finding their offense. The Avs scored 7 goals on Anderson. On their road trip the Avs are 5-0-0, and 5-1-0 on the season.

Thanks to the explosion of offense against Ottawa and a 6-5 win against Montreal, the Avalanche have the 2nd best goal differential in the league with +6. It's still early in the season, but it's nice to see them doing well after such a miserable year in 2010.

On the road trip the Avs also beat the defending cup champions in a 1-0 win, won two exciting shootout games against Columbus and Montreal, and won in OT against Toronto.

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Cheerleader Thoughts of the Week:

One thing that always impressed me about Roller Derby is the creative and fun names the teams have like "The Mile High Club" or "The Philadelphia Liberty Bells".

I recently learned that cheer leading squads around the NFL have more creative names than just "The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders" or "The Denver Broncos Cheerleaders". Below is a list of a few of my favorite cheer leading squad names.

The Buffalo Jills

The Cincinnati Ben-Gals

The SF Gold Rush

The Seattle Sea Gals

I think the Broncos cheerleaders need a new name. It needs to be more creative. I propose "The Mile High Fillies". What do you think?

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Sports & Public Health Thoughts of the Week:

Last week ESPN's Gregg Easterbrook wrote a column that implied the increasing number of boys playing football across the country is influencing the admission rate of colleges and universities. Easterbrook states that there are more women attending college than men, a dramatic change from just twenty years ago. He also states that boys play High School Prep football across the country has increased by 21% since 1990 and that football is becoming a year round sport for kids. Easterbrook speculates that the rise in concussions from football is one of the reasons we are seeing more women in college. Easterbrook writes:

"Having ever-more boys being bashed on the head in football, while more play full-pads tackle at young ages, may be causing brain trauma that makes boys as a group somewhat less likely to succeed as students. In the highly competitive race for college admissions, even a small overall medical disadvantage for boys could matter. "

Now, Easterbrook has always been great at advocating for concussion prevention in all his columns. Having worked in childhood injury prevention, I admire his effort and I am glad to see the NFL trying to reduce the number of concussions players suffer (by changing rules and improving protective gear). I do however disagree with Easterbrook on his theory about college admission rates for boys. First, Easterbrook presents no facts other than discussing how the Female:Male ratio in several colleges has increased recently. Second, a ratio and a rate are not the same thing and cannot be compared. Third, a quick Google Scholar search for "concussions and college admissions" provides no research on the subject (even without football). The closest result was concussions and hospital admissions, which obviously is related.

College Enrollment of Recent HS Graduates

Year	Total HS Grads		# Enrolling in College		HS Dropout Rate
	Male	Female	Male	Female
1990	1,173,000	1,189,000	680,340 (58%)	737,180 (62%)	12.1%
2009	1,407,000	1,531,000	928,620 (66%)	1,132,940 (74%)	8.1%

All data presented is from The US Census Bureau and The National Center for Education Statistics.

Had Easterbrook looked at the numbers of boys and girls enrolling in higher education over the last 20 years, he would have seen that the amount of boys and girls enrolling in college has increased dramatically. In 1990 there were 680,340 boys and 737,180 million girls enrolling in college who had just finished high school. By 2009 both those numbers had increased to 928,620 and 1,132,940, respectively. 8% more boys are enrolling in college and 12% more girls are enrolling in college. Also, it should be pointed out that the number of boys enrolled in college has been less than the number of girls enrolled since the 1970s.

More people than ever have been enrolling in colleges. Sure, more girls than boys are going to college but concussions from football have nothing to do with that. Even though more people are enrolling in college than ever, I am curious why the rate of girls enrolling has always remained higher than the rate of boys enrolling. Like I said, I don’t think football has anything to do with it. But it’s an interesting issue that should be studied further.

I think that it would be interesting to follow a cohort of boys throughout their lives and record what sports they play, how many head injuries they receive and high school and college graduation rates. But this doesn't seem feasible or necessary. There does need to be more of a focus in injury prevention, especially in sports. I'm glad to see that football is leading the way with this by changing rules to make players safer and improving equipment to reduce injury. High School football should be especially commended for the efforts they have made to reduce concussions.

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