Rapids Thoughts of the Week:
With the end of the Broncos season coming to a disappointing but overall satisfying end my attention has turned to the Colorado Rapids and Portland Timbers beginning their 2012 seasons.
The new unbalanced schedule in MLS means that the Rapids and Timbers will play three times, twice in Colorado and once in Portland. Thanks to a fun and unexpected trip to the PNW this summer I'll get to see all three games!
Last year's two games were two of the best of the season. The first game was in Colorado as the season-opener and the Timber's first ever MLS game. DSG Park was packed as Rapids fan's celebrated the MLS Cup Championship and Timber's fans flooded the stadium for their first ever pro game. The atmosphere was unrivaled to any other game in Colorado.
The game in Portland was very hard fought by both sides, as the game went into a 0-0 draw for extra time. The Rapids scored a miracle goal on a scramble for the ball in the box a minute into extratime and were able to come away from Portland with a win!
I can wait for August when I get to experience the atmosphere at Jeld-Wen Field in PDX! Even if it is as an away supporter. I'll have to get to another game during the season as a Timbers fan.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
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!
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!
Monday, January 16, 2012
South Stander Edition #9
Broncos Thoughts of the Week:
*A quick summary/wrap up because it's too depressing to write more about the end of a great season*
Per usual, the Broncos were blown out of the playoffs. There were flashbacks to the Indianapolis games of the early 2000s, but Peyton Manning never tore us apart the way Tom Brady and New England did this year.
It was surely not the result Broncos fans had hoped for - a competitive game would have been better than the 45-10 drubbing we received. But considering the beginning of the season, this year was a huge success.
I went back and read the pre-season predictions from all the sports writers around the country. Most people predicted Denver would finish last in the AFC West, with between 3-5 wins. Some local Denver writers predicted a 7 to 8 win season. Certainly no one had predicted winning the West and a playoff game.
Sure, those predictions never mean much come the end of the season. But it shows what an amazing season Denver had and how quickly our team has begun to improve. Had anyone predicted at the beginning of the year that Denver would beat Pittsburgh in the playoffs would have been laughed out of a job.
This will be a season to be remembered by all fans. I would personally rank it third, behind the two Superbowl winning seasons as seasons that I can remember.
My top three favorite moments from the season were:
3. Jets at Broncos on Thursday Night Football.
2. Bears at Broncos overtime.
1. The Overtime catch against Pittsburgh to win the playoff game.
*A quick summary/wrap up because it's too depressing to write more about the end of a great season*
Per usual, the Broncos were blown out of the playoffs. There were flashbacks to the Indianapolis games of the early 2000s, but Peyton Manning never tore us apart the way Tom Brady and New England did this year.
It was surely not the result Broncos fans had hoped for - a competitive game would have been better than the 45-10 drubbing we received. But considering the beginning of the season, this year was a huge success.
I went back and read the pre-season predictions from all the sports writers around the country. Most people predicted Denver would finish last in the AFC West, with between 3-5 wins. Some local Denver writers predicted a 7 to 8 win season. Certainly no one had predicted winning the West and a playoff game.
Sure, those predictions never mean much come the end of the season. But it shows what an amazing season Denver had and how quickly our team has begun to improve. Had anyone predicted at the beginning of the year that Denver would beat Pittsburgh in the playoffs would have been laughed out of a job.
This will be a season to be remembered by all fans. I would personally rank it third, behind the two Superbowl winning seasons as seasons that I can remember.
My top three favorite moments from the season were:
3. Jets at Broncos on Thursday Night Football.
2. Bears at Broncos overtime.
1. The Overtime catch against Pittsburgh to win the playoff game.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
South Stander Edition #8
Broncos Thoughts of the Week:
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.
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.
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.
Monday, December 12, 2011
The South Stander Edition #8
Broncos Thoughts of the Week:
The Broncos-Bears game was looking miserable as the fourth quarter rolled around. Seconds into the final quarter the Broncos were trailing 10-0. Tebow only completed 3 passes til then, Thomas and Decker dropped six catchable balls between the two of them, and a field goal was blocked by the Bears defense. As I sat in the South Stands with my dad and listened to the thousands of Chicago fans cheering in our stadium I felt as if the game was lost.
But as the fourth quarter began one of the regular Broncos fan sitting in front of us stood up and starting pointing to his watch and telling all the Bears fan's that it was Tebow Time...they had better watch out.
I will admit that I was not believing the Broncos would find a way to win this game, especially after a couple more stalled drives and punts. With three minutes left in the game though this guy was still pointing at his watch. He kept telling us it was Tebow Time and that we all had to believe. The Bears fans heckled him, telling him our clock was 10 seconds slow, referring to the 10-0 score.
2:30 left in the game Tebow was driving the Broncos. I thought back to the Miami game and how we came back from 15-0 in the waning minutes...maybe it could happen again?
Tebow threw a TD pass to Thomas in the corner of the south endzone, 10-7...I thought if we just got the onsides kick we'd have a shot at tying the game. If we didn't get it though, the Bears could practically run out the clock. Onsides kick bounces around and tempts the fans as both teams scramble for it, but the Bears ultimately recovered it. 2:08 remaining. The Bears run one play, then two minute warning. On second down the Bears running back inexplicably runs to the sideline and is pushed out of bounds. Clock stops at 1:55. Third down and the defense makes a big stop, forcing the Bears to punt. Broncos get the ball back with about a minute left and no timeouts.
Our believer in the South Stands is still pointing at his watch, smiling, as he tells all of us in the section that he believes. Bears fans still heckle him...there's no way we can score with no timeouts left against their defense. Tebow drives the Broncos 39 yards and with 8 seconds left the Broncos are 43 yards from their own endzone and call on Matt Prater to make a 59 yard field goal.
Prater boots the ball through the uprights and it could have been good from 70 yards. 59 yard field goal. Game tied 10-10, end of regulation.
At this point I am sure that the entire nation is watching the events that are unfolding in Broncos Country. This has become a regular occurrence for us. The Mile High Magic is back, and has it's clocks set to Tebow Time.
The Bears win the OT coinflip. The Bears drive into field goal range. The Bears' running back breaks through a hole in Denver's defensive line and looks like he clear through to the endzone. The Bears running back then fumbles the ball. Denver recovers. A miracle? Maybe for some...but this type of inexplicable play has become common place for our Broncos. Tebow completes nearly all his passes. The receivers suddenly can barely miss a ball. And Matt Prater drives another field goal half the length of the field (51 yards) to win the game.
Sorry Dallas, but Denver has taken your title of America's Team. Nearly every TV in the nation was tuned into Tebow-Time. Whether you love him or hate him, it's a great story that the sports world has never seen the likes of. Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos are now 7-1 since the "Mile High Messiah" took over the team and are on a 6 game winning streak with 6 fourth quarter comebacks, 3 of which involved overtime.
And now Chicago, you know what fans from Miami, Oakland, Kansas City, San Diego, New York, and Minnesota recently discovered. The Broncos are for real, and you won't believe it til the final minutes of the game. Denver is now in sole possession of first place in the AFC West, so look out NFL, America's Team is stampeding towards the playoffs.
Beer of the Week:
The Odysseus IPA from Deschutes, is a pub exclusive only found at the Deschutes Tap Rooms in Oregon. It was so good that a few weekends ago when I was there I drank three of them. A very citrusy and delicious IPA. I wish I could get it in Colorado!
Drew Litton Comic of the Week:
The Broncos other new nickname: The Cardiac Kids.
More Broncos New from around the Sports Media:
Rick Reilly, ESPN
"The other day, before the Minnesota game, we were in the tunnel, about to come out," says Broncos punter Britton Colquitt. "And somebody farted. It was bad. And Coach Fox goes, 'Man, I guess somebody's nervous!' It just broke us all up, got us loose. That's what he's like. … I just met him this year and I feel like I've known him 20 years."
Dave Krieger, Denver Post:
Cheerleader of the Week:
Lauren is this week's Cheerleader, just like she was also featured at Sunday's game at Mile High.
The Broncos-Bears game was looking miserable as the fourth quarter rolled around. Seconds into the final quarter the Broncos were trailing 10-0. Tebow only completed 3 passes til then, Thomas and Decker dropped six catchable balls between the two of them, and a field goal was blocked by the Bears defense. As I sat in the South Stands with my dad and listened to the thousands of Chicago fans cheering in our stadium I felt as if the game was lost.
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| All photos from the game complements of The Denver Post |
I will admit that I was not believing the Broncos would find a way to win this game, especially after a couple more stalled drives and punts. With three minutes left in the game though this guy was still pointing at his watch. He kept telling us it was Tebow Time and that we all had to believe. The Bears fans heckled him, telling him our clock was 10 seconds slow, referring to the 10-0 score.
2:30 left in the game Tebow was driving the Broncos. I thought back to the Miami game and how we came back from 15-0 in the waning minutes...maybe it could happen again?
Tebow threw a TD pass to Thomas in the corner of the south endzone, 10-7...I thought if we just got the onsides kick we'd have a shot at tying the game. If we didn't get it though, the Bears could practically run out the clock. Onsides kick bounces around and tempts the fans as both teams scramble for it, but the Bears ultimately recovered it. 2:08 remaining. The Bears run one play, then two minute warning. On second down the Bears running back inexplicably runs to the sideline and is pushed out of bounds. Clock stops at 1:55. Third down and the defense makes a big stop, forcing the Bears to punt. Broncos get the ball back with about a minute left and no timeouts.
Prater boots the ball through the uprights and it could have been good from 70 yards. 59 yard field goal. Game tied 10-10, end of regulation.
At this point I am sure that the entire nation is watching the events that are unfolding in Broncos Country. This has become a regular occurrence for us. The Mile High Magic is back, and has it's clocks set to Tebow Time.
The Bears win the OT coinflip. The Bears drive into field goal range. The Bears' running back breaks through a hole in Denver's defensive line and looks like he clear through to the endzone. The Bears running back then fumbles the ball. Denver recovers. A miracle? Maybe for some...but this type of inexplicable play has become common place for our Broncos. Tebow completes nearly all his passes. The receivers suddenly can barely miss a ball. And Matt Prater drives another field goal half the length of the field (51 yards) to win the game.
Sorry Dallas, but Denver has taken your title of America's Team. Nearly every TV in the nation was tuned into Tebow-Time. Whether you love him or hate him, it's a great story that the sports world has never seen the likes of. Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos are now 7-1 since the "Mile High Messiah" took over the team and are on a 6 game winning streak with 6 fourth quarter comebacks, 3 of which involved overtime.
And now Chicago, you know what fans from Miami, Oakland, Kansas City, San Diego, New York, and Minnesota recently discovered. The Broncos are for real, and you won't believe it til the final minutes of the game. Denver is now in sole possession of first place in the AFC West, so look out NFL, America's Team is stampeding towards the playoffs.
Beer of the Week:
The Odysseus IPA from Deschutes, is a pub exclusive only found at the Deschutes Tap Rooms in Oregon. It was so good that a few weekends ago when I was there I drank three of them. A very citrusy and delicious IPA. I wish I could get it in Colorado!
Drew Litton Comic of the Week:
The Broncos other new nickname: The Cardiac Kids.
More Broncos New from around the Sports Media:
Rick Reilly, ESPN
"The other day, before the Minnesota game, we were in the tunnel, about to come out," says Broncos punter Britton Colquitt. "And somebody farted. It was bad. And Coach Fox goes, 'Man, I guess somebody's nervous!' It just broke us all up, got us loose. That's what he's like. … I just met him this year and I feel like I've known him 20 years."
Dave Krieger, Denver Post:
Dead in the water, scoreless through three and a half quarters, the Broncos trailed the Bears 10-0.
Or, in the immortal words of former offensive lineman Keith Bishop, they had them right where they wanted them.
Cheerleader of the Week:
Lauren is this week's Cheerleader, just like she was also featured at Sunday's game at Mile High.
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.
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| View from my seats in the South Endzone as the Jets punt for the 1st time. |
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.
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| Goodman is pursued by Sanchez into the endzone after intercepting the QB. |
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.
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| If this photo went just 2 rows higher you could see me and my dad in the top left. |
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.
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| Tebow celebrates his game winning 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.
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| Von Miller gets to Jet's QB Mark Sanchez. |
"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?
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| 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!
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| "So I'm packing my bags for the Misty Mountains where the spirits go now" -Led Zeppelin |
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.
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.
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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.
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| Giguere makes a save in goal against Dallas. |
"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?
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.
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.
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. |
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 |
“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.
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.
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