Anytime a team accomplishes something meaningful for the first time in 5 years, it results in a huge morale boost. Denver's first win in Kansas City since 2002 could not have come at a better time, as the Broncos were in need of some momentum after a 44-7 thumping at the hands of Detroit last week. This win stands out for Denver because it was one in which they played a complete game from start to finish on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, the Broncos got into rhythm early, with an opening drive highlighted by Selvin Young's 34 yard run. Young did not slow up the rest of the game, finishing with 109 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown. The passing game also performed well, as Cutler had a steady day with 192 yards and a mostly mistake-free game. Their success is reflected by the overall efficiency of Denver's offense, only had 2 3-and-outs on 11 drives. The Broncos capitalized on opportunities, scoring 2 quick touchdowns off Kansas City turnovers early in the second half. For an offense that has been unpredictable week to week this year, a 27 point performance on the road against the Chiefs may be that start of something good.
Defensively, the Broncos looked like they did in 2005, bringing back the bend, don't break style of play. Kansas City had 4 drives of over 50 yards on Sunday, but every time they advanced deep into Denver territory, the Broncos held up, keeping the Chiefs out of the endzone all game. Part of the reason for this was the dominance of the run defense, which held Priest Holmes to 65 yards on 20 carries. They also pressured Damon Huard and Brodie Croyle throughout the day, resulting in 4 sacks and 4 turnovers. Denver's defense came into the game in the bottom quarter of the league, and came out of the game with a stellar performance and renewed confidence.
Something worth mentioning about this game is what happened to Brandon Marshall at the end of the first half. After a short completion from Cutler, Marshall was going to stretch out for extra yardage when Kansas City's Tyron Brackenridge made his hand into a fist, swung at, and connected with Marshall's groin. For the skeptical people out there, find tape of the play, and watch it. There is no doubt that the shot was intentional. Denver had to take a timeout because of this, and it ended up killing the drive. It was one of the most bush league plays in recent memory, and it is a sad reflection on the Chiefs and on the league if they do not take action against Brackenridge.
On a positive note, this quote from Selvin Young was a memorable one. He poured his heart and soul out to the press when he said, "Before the game, if you got a close up of me, I had tears coming out of my eyes. I mean, just, so long, so much dreaming, wishing, working hard... I've got my mindset on trying to help a football team win, and take it to the next level, and I'm getting an opportunity to live my dream, so I'm really enjoying it." Here's a humble guy who loves the game of football and is a team player. Players like Selvin Young are the reason why the NFL is as great as it is.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
The Football Filosopher, 11/12/2007
Today, the Football Filospher weighs in on an issue regarding physical contact, a trademark of American football, and its clash with progressive new rulings established in regards to player safety. This contorversy is a borderline one- actually more specifically a sideline one.
Almost every game, at last once there is a disputed call (or non-call) centered around a personal foul penalty for a late hit along the sideline. Often the penalty is called because a player is tackled to the ground after he has toed the sideline. But all too commonly, the culprit of the penalty is simply following through on his momentum and his attempt to force the opponent (or "victim") out of bounds, which is exactly what he is supposed to do. What is he to do? Should the tackler, as he is aptly called, refrain from tackling and risk the chance of the ball carrier tightwalking the line right by him?
Of course not. The whole purpose of a defensive player is to tackle the offensive player. Football revolves around contact. So, not being able to tackle a player near the sidelines makes absolutely no chance. Half of the time the contact isn't even classifiable as a tackle. Even more, sometimes the offensive player uses his Drama 101 acting skills to draw the flag from the zebra. And the resulting penalty of 15 yards if often big enough to cause a change in the drive, if not the game, and in a larger sense, the season.
Sure, I understand that recent amendments to the rulebook have been made in order to ensure the protection of the players. This is certainly a reasonable proposal, as, lately, reports about football-related injuries (in most cases, concussions) have indicated severe medical threats in the players' futures. Most certainly, I am in favor of any measure intended to reduce injury to players, especially if it involves unnecessary contact or exposure to danger.
However, the NFL has, in the instance of "late hits" along the sidelines, taken this way too far. Most people would agree that the largest potential injury risks for ballcarriers include head-to-head (of helmet-to-helmet) contact and blind-sided hits. Neither of these scenarios, though, ever occur along the sidelines since the ballcarrier can only be hit from one side. This allows him to put his entire focus on the opponents approaching him from that angle range (which is usually even cut in half because tackles along the sidelines rarely ever from behind the player). Because he only risks hits from players he can see, the ballcarrier will not be blindsided and can usually always avoid helmet-to-helmet contact. With those injury threats virtually impossible, the player along the sidelines actually has a lesser risk of getting hurt from a tackle or hit than if he were in the middle of the field.
Even in cases of being hit after setting foot out of bounds, the defensive player usually could not have averted contact, less he himself expose himself to injury. If the NFL is seriously worried for the safety of their players along the sidelines, they should move the players and coaches who are off the field (as well as the slippery surface they stand on) even farther back to eliminate collisions.
In all, calling 15 yard penalties for contact which is neither uncommonly dangerous or possible to avoid in a sport that thrives on contact makes absolutely no sense. The sole problem is that the NFL has become way too literal and unbending in the interpretation of their rules. This strictness of rule interpretation has continued to impair the great nature of football over the recent years, and with the enforcement of even more "by the book" regulations, the sport has become way too dependent on referees and penalties and has strayed from the straightforward physical gameplay that made it so appealing to fans.
Almost every game, at last once there is a disputed call (or non-call) centered around a personal foul penalty for a late hit along the sideline. Often the penalty is called because a player is tackled to the ground after he has toed the sideline. But all too commonly, the culprit of the penalty is simply following through on his momentum and his attempt to force the opponent (or "victim") out of bounds, which is exactly what he is supposed to do. What is he to do? Should the tackler, as he is aptly called, refrain from tackling and risk the chance of the ball carrier tightwalking the line right by him?
Of course not. The whole purpose of a defensive player is to tackle the offensive player. Football revolves around contact. So, not being able to tackle a player near the sidelines makes absolutely no chance. Half of the time the contact isn't even classifiable as a tackle. Even more, sometimes the offensive player uses his Drama 101 acting skills to draw the flag from the zebra. And the resulting penalty of 15 yards if often big enough to cause a change in the drive, if not the game, and in a larger sense, the season.
Sure, I understand that recent amendments to the rulebook have been made in order to ensure the protection of the players. This is certainly a reasonable proposal, as, lately, reports about football-related injuries (in most cases, concussions) have indicated severe medical threats in the players' futures. Most certainly, I am in favor of any measure intended to reduce injury to players, especially if it involves unnecessary contact or exposure to danger.
However, the NFL has, in the instance of "late hits" along the sidelines, taken this way too far. Most people would agree that the largest potential injury risks for ballcarriers include head-to-head (of helmet-to-helmet) contact and blind-sided hits. Neither of these scenarios, though, ever occur along the sidelines since the ballcarrier can only be hit from one side. This allows him to put his entire focus on the opponents approaching him from that angle range (which is usually even cut in half because tackles along the sidelines rarely ever from behind the player). Because he only risks hits from players he can see, the ballcarrier will not be blindsided and can usually always avoid helmet-to-helmet contact. With those injury threats virtually impossible, the player along the sidelines actually has a lesser risk of getting hurt from a tackle or hit than if he were in the middle of the field.
Even in cases of being hit after setting foot out of bounds, the defensive player usually could not have averted contact, less he himself expose himself to injury. If the NFL is seriously worried for the safety of their players along the sidelines, they should move the players and coaches who are off the field (as well as the slippery surface they stand on) even farther back to eliminate collisions.
In all, calling 15 yard penalties for contact which is neither uncommonly dangerous or possible to avoid in a sport that thrives on contact makes absolutely no sense. The sole problem is that the NFL has become way too literal and unbending in the interpretation of their rules. This strictness of rule interpretation has continued to impair the great nature of football over the recent years, and with the enforcement of even more "by the book" regulations, the sport has become way too dependent on referees and penalties and has strayed from the straightforward physical gameplay that made it so appealing to fans.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
The Worst Part of Professional Football
Once more, as has been the case week after week, I was subjected to another terrible game of charger football. After watching this team yet again, thinking that they may win a game legitimately, or play the game with some respect, I was dead wrong. The san diego chargers of the last three years are the worst thing that has ever happened to the glorious game of football.
It all starts with the way this team handles itself out on the field, they simply do not. Every time the chargers have some form of success, whether it is a play in which their defense had a direct influence, or a lucky break, they seem to want to party like its 1999. This is ironic, because in 1999 they had nothing to party about. Back in 1999, I remember the Chargers as a respectable football team that did not have much success. They were a better team then than they are now because they played the game with respect, even though they did not fare well. The recent chargers have been quite the opposite, making fools of themselves week in and week out. When watching players like Chad Johnson celebrate, people will either applaud him for a creative idea or laugh at him because he is enjoying the game. Never, however, will they question his sanity, but for the chargers it is not the same. Their celebrations consist mostly of wild fist pumps, terrible dance moves, and horrifying displays of rage. They have crossed the line in a major way, and it is very difficult for any rational sports fan to admire this team. For example, an overthrow by Peyton Manning with little defensive pressure is not the type of play the requires a celebration, but eric weddle does not seem to think so. This rookie safety has already bought into the charger standard of going crazy after most plays, and will become yet another victim of the lack of self-control with which this team plays the game. There is a vast difference between a professional football player and a san diego charger. The former is a talented individual who plays to the best of his ability while exhibiting sportsmanship to the highest degree. The latter is a degenerate individual (the only exception is long snapper David Binn) playing on a team isolated from all the others in the NFL because of its commitment to celebration and ruining the game of football.
This lack of control is also evident in the people who cheer for the chargers, most of whom did not root for this team until 2 years ago. As a result of this, they do not know the game of football very well, which is reflected by their sporadic affection for the team (for more on this read the article my colleague wrote about their followers). The crowd at Qualcomm Stadium last night began booing when the chargers played conservatively on one of their many 3rd down and long plays. These people do not understand that 3rd down and 13+ yards is not converted the majority of the time, and therefore began booing when in all actuality the chargers made a good play call. They apparently forgot about last week against Minnesota, when philip rivers made many terrible passes downfield, as the chargers lost in a rout to Minnesota. This booing also took place when the chargers had a 16 point lead, probably the only time in history that a team with such a big lead had been booed. When the chargers looked to be going for the win in the third quarter, a group of their followers started singing "Na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye." It turns out that this was a little premature, as the Colts had several chances to win the game at the end, and the result was them snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. About this time, I spoke to a person in attendance at the game who was seated in front of the big scoreboard near many Colts fans, and he told me that the chargers followers were trying to start a fight with them. They persisted, despite the fact that the Colts fans had kept to themselves, and did not show an interest to fight at any time in the game. This is the epitome of being degenerate, and is a sad reflection on the moral fiber of people living in "America's finest city." Every week, these people become more and more associable with the stereotype commonly held of Raiders fans, yet the majority of it goes unnoticed in the long run.
One possible cause of this celebration is that the chargers have a freak play go in their favor in the majority of their wins, especially tonight's game. First off was the opening kickoff return. It was confusing looking at the field and seeing all the smoke from the pregame fireworks, and it is hard to doubt that the Colts' special teams could not see downfield. After that was the interception in the second quarter. The ball was called dead in the endzone because of an inadvertent whistle that blew away from the play. The official closest to the play dropped the ball spot indicator, signaling that it was an interception and therefore the play should have stood as a return to the chargers 5 yard line. This kind of situation is one that sparked discussion about a rule change a few years ago in the NFL. The league decided that questionable plays should be played out so that in the event of an overturned call, the result of the play would be accurate. It should have taken care of the inadvertent whistle, but it did not, and this lucky break for the chargers changed the whole fortune of this game early on. Another unlikely occurrence was Adam Vinatieri missing a makeable field goal at the end of the first half, and then a missing a chip shot for the win. He is one of the most clutch kickers in league history, making field goals at critical moments throughout his career, including the deciding kick in all 3 of New England's World Championships. For him to miss twice was quite improbable, but then again, those kind of breaks are why the chargers win. As if that were not enough, Peyton Manning threw 6 interceptions in the game. Anytime a quarterback throws 6 INTs, it is because he is out of rhythm, and it is really not a coincidence that Manning chose to lay an egg against san diego, because every other star player in the league seems to follow suit when they play the chargers. Even when Manning made good throws, the refs kept their flags in their pockets when there was clear pass interference. Close to the game's end, Aaron Morehead dropped a pass from Manning because weddle pulled his arm back prior to the arrival of the ball. In the local newspaper North County Times, there is a great picture of weddle interefering prior to the arrival of the ball. A crew led my Mike Carey or Ed Hochuli would not have let that type of play go uncalled, and it is very suspect that in "the game of the week" there was not an experienced crew of referees. The Colts played that poorly with very few offensive players suited up, and their list of inactive players included many NFL icons. Even after all that, the chargers only won by 2 points, in a game when another team getting all those breaks would have won by at least 4 scores. It proves once and for all why this team is presently a disgrace to the NFL.
It all starts with the way this team handles itself out on the field, they simply do not. Every time the chargers have some form of success, whether it is a play in which their defense had a direct influence, or a lucky break, they seem to want to party like its 1999. This is ironic, because in 1999 they had nothing to party about. Back in 1999, I remember the Chargers as a respectable football team that did not have much success. They were a better team then than they are now because they played the game with respect, even though they did not fare well. The recent chargers have been quite the opposite, making fools of themselves week in and week out. When watching players like Chad Johnson celebrate, people will either applaud him for a creative idea or laugh at him because he is enjoying the game. Never, however, will they question his sanity, but for the chargers it is not the same. Their celebrations consist mostly of wild fist pumps, terrible dance moves, and horrifying displays of rage. They have crossed the line in a major way, and it is very difficult for any rational sports fan to admire this team. For example, an overthrow by Peyton Manning with little defensive pressure is not the type of play the requires a celebration, but eric weddle does not seem to think so. This rookie safety has already bought into the charger standard of going crazy after most plays, and will become yet another victim of the lack of self-control with which this team plays the game. There is a vast difference between a professional football player and a san diego charger. The former is a talented individual who plays to the best of his ability while exhibiting sportsmanship to the highest degree. The latter is a degenerate individual (the only exception is long snapper David Binn) playing on a team isolated from all the others in the NFL because of its commitment to celebration and ruining the game of football.
This lack of control is also evident in the people who cheer for the chargers, most of whom did not root for this team until 2 years ago. As a result of this, they do not know the game of football very well, which is reflected by their sporadic affection for the team (for more on this read the article my colleague wrote about their followers). The crowd at Qualcomm Stadium last night began booing when the chargers played conservatively on one of their many 3rd down and long plays. These people do not understand that 3rd down and 13+ yards is not converted the majority of the time, and therefore began booing when in all actuality the chargers made a good play call. They apparently forgot about last week against Minnesota, when philip rivers made many terrible passes downfield, as the chargers lost in a rout to Minnesota. This booing also took place when the chargers had a 16 point lead, probably the only time in history that a team with such a big lead had been booed. When the chargers looked to be going for the win in the third quarter, a group of their followers started singing "Na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye." It turns out that this was a little premature, as the Colts had several chances to win the game at the end, and the result was them snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. About this time, I spoke to a person in attendance at the game who was seated in front of the big scoreboard near many Colts fans, and he told me that the chargers followers were trying to start a fight with them. They persisted, despite the fact that the Colts fans had kept to themselves, and did not show an interest to fight at any time in the game. This is the epitome of being degenerate, and is a sad reflection on the moral fiber of people living in "America's finest city." Every week, these people become more and more associable with the stereotype commonly held of Raiders fans, yet the majority of it goes unnoticed in the long run.
One possible cause of this celebration is that the chargers have a freak play go in their favor in the majority of their wins, especially tonight's game. First off was the opening kickoff return. It was confusing looking at the field and seeing all the smoke from the pregame fireworks, and it is hard to doubt that the Colts' special teams could not see downfield. After that was the interception in the second quarter. The ball was called dead in the endzone because of an inadvertent whistle that blew away from the play. The official closest to the play dropped the ball spot indicator, signaling that it was an interception and therefore the play should have stood as a return to the chargers 5 yard line. This kind of situation is one that sparked discussion about a rule change a few years ago in the NFL. The league decided that questionable plays should be played out so that in the event of an overturned call, the result of the play would be accurate. It should have taken care of the inadvertent whistle, but it did not, and this lucky break for the chargers changed the whole fortune of this game early on. Another unlikely occurrence was Adam Vinatieri missing a makeable field goal at the end of the first half, and then a missing a chip shot for the win. He is one of the most clutch kickers in league history, making field goals at critical moments throughout his career, including the deciding kick in all 3 of New England's World Championships. For him to miss twice was quite improbable, but then again, those kind of breaks are why the chargers win. As if that were not enough, Peyton Manning threw 6 interceptions in the game. Anytime a quarterback throws 6 INTs, it is because he is out of rhythm, and it is really not a coincidence that Manning chose to lay an egg against san diego, because every other star player in the league seems to follow suit when they play the chargers. Even when Manning made good throws, the refs kept their flags in their pockets when there was clear pass interference. Close to the game's end, Aaron Morehead dropped a pass from Manning because weddle pulled his arm back prior to the arrival of the ball. In the local newspaper North County Times, there is a great picture of weddle interefering prior to the arrival of the ball. A crew led my Mike Carey or Ed Hochuli would not have let that type of play go uncalled, and it is very suspect that in "the game of the week" there was not an experienced crew of referees. The Colts played that poorly with very few offensive players suited up, and their list of inactive players included many NFL icons. Even after all that, the chargers only won by 2 points, in a game when another team getting all those breaks would have won by at least 4 scores. It proves once and for all why this team is presently a disgrace to the NFL.
Gene Wojciechowski Does Not Know the Broncos
I would like to start by saying that this should have been posted after the Steelers game, but I did not get around to it. Nothing in the events that have transpired in the last few weeks influenced how I wrote this article. I will work harder next time to get my work up within the week it pertains to.
NOTE: Before you read the latest installment of my world famous rants, please read Gene Wojciechowski's article on espn.com about the Broncos. This rant is a response to what he wrote, and it will make much more sense if you read his article first. The URL is: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=3073788&sportCat=nfl
Traffic cones? Is that what the Broncos look like in those uniforms? Standard traffic cones are orange with an orange or black base, while the Broncos' uniforms are blue with some orange, so the two have a different color scheme. Compared side by side, the only similar quality they have is the presence of the color orange, other than that, they are polar opposites. While this description may seem unnecessary, apparently the appearance of a traffic cone is not common knowledge, at least not to Gene Wojciechowski. Maybe the traffic cones in his hometown of Salina, Kansas are blue with orange stripes on either side. No matter how he came to this conclusion, upon further review it proves to be a ludicrous attempt at a comedic hook for his article. The statement was not amusing at all, and it paved the way for one of the worst sports columns ever written.
Wojciechowski follows this up by calling the Pittsburgh Steelers a sluggish football team. Coming into this game, the Steelers were 4-1, winning every game by at least 21 points. Sure, they lost to Arizona on the road, but it was only a one score loss and the Cardinals have quite a methodical offense with Kurt Warner at the helm. That game came down to the Steelers making a few careless turnovers and committing too many penalties, two flaws rarely seen in Pittsburgh. On the other side of the ball, the Cardinals played mistake-free, and this gameplan contributed greatly to their victory. Nonetheless, it proved a blip on the radar for Pittsburgh, as they came out strong against the Seahawks the following week and lost to a Broncos team that played a better game, but they certainly cannot be described as sluggish. The Steelers are one of the elite NFL teams at this point in the season. Wojciechowski and many other sportswriters utilize irrelevant attacks like these on good football teams to justify them losing to Denver. The bottom line is that few of these columnists give the Broncos any respect for playing a good game against a good team nowadays, and it is time to give this team credit where credit is due.
After mislabeling the Steelers, Wojciechowski then took a shot at Dre Bly for postgame comments he made to reporters. He mentions a puncture in Bly’s arm from a pain-killing shot in order to… well… affirm his bias against the Broncos; otherwise it had no purpose in the article. This marks two personal attacks on the Broncos thus far. To Bly’s statement “Nobody was giving us any shot to win this game,” Wojciechowski responded with “maybe that’s because [Denver] had not earned the benefit of the doubt.” It does not matter whether they earned the benefit of the doubt or not prior to the game, Denver still won with a solid performance. What Bly said proves absolutely true, and who is Wojciechowski to blame him after all the media abuse Denver has undergone in recent years? The audacity that Bly displayed is long overdue, and it is a positive for a new addition like him to speak out for the team.
So Wojciechowski is bold enough to go after Dre Bly, but going after Jason Elam like he did is absolutely ridiculous. Yes, Elam has made late and last second field goals in all of Denver’s wins, because that is his job. In no way can Denver be criticized for relying on their kicker, because close victories often times make or break a season. Apparently the NFL is now on the Patriot standard, which means that if any given team does not win by at least 3 scores every game, they cannot be considered a good team. After scrutinizing Denver for their particular brand of winning, Wojciechowski goes on to misinterpret, yet again, comments made by Elam. The statement “We'll take it if we can get it. If we can get 20 of 21, we will take it” somehow contains a tone of certainty from Elam, at least to Wojciechowski it does. Elam is simply grateful that Denver has been able to win games in that dramatic fashion, and says that they will gladly take any kind of win on any given Sunday. He did not say anything to indicate that he believes for sure that the Broncos will have a winning streak of the Rockies’ magnitude. Clearly, Elam is not “oxygen-deprived” or “mildly nuts,” he is in fact one of the most composed and logical players the NFL has ever seen. Wojciechowski should do his homework before he goes out on a limb and makes assumptions like that, his third personal attack.
Wojciechowski even misinterpreted the statistics from Sunday night’s contest. Jay Cutler went 22 of 29 for 248 yards, 3 TDs, and 2 INTs, or as Wojciechowski sees it, just 2 INTs. Again, we see the NFL on the Patriot standard; Cutler made 2 mistakes, therefore he is not a good player. That comment about the photoshoot proves quite unnecessary, as Cutler simply made a bad decision by throwing into double coverage. Roethlisberger also threw a questionable pass into double coverage that Dre Bly intercepted earlier in the game, so its not as if Cutler is the only one with flaws at quarterback. The only difference is that Wojciechowski put Cutler’s interception up on a pedestal with a glittering generality, the most basic form of propaganda. Keep in mind that Cutler is still a sophomore quarterback and has not yet started an entire NFL season. In fact, Cutler may have played his best career game on Sunday, as he put up great numbers against a great defense and came away with a quality win. Even more impressive is that Cutler did not have the support of a typically dynamic rushing offense. Denver backs racked up a mere 55 yards on 20 carries, while Cutler ran for 41 yards, including a 31 yard scramble in the second, at the end of which Troy Polamalu grabbed him by the head and threw him down. That kind of courage does not show up on the stat sheet, but maybe it ought to, because it seems that an over 75% completion rate, roughly 300 yards of total offense, and 3 touchdowns for one player are not good enough to impress Wojciechowski.
The one point of hope for a positive spin in this article came when Wojciechowski began listing the various Broncos with injuries: Champ Bailey, Simeon Rice, Tom Nalen, and Rod Smith. However, he did not elaborate on how the absence of these players gravely impacts the team. Including this paragraph proved largely a waste, as it had little connection to the rest of the article.
Once more, Wojciechowski preceded his opinion of a player with a personal attack (#4), calling Travis Henry “Father of the Year” in the NFL. This refers to Henry’s poor decisions in his personal life, which have resulted in him fathering 9 children. While these choices are a topic of interest, and certainly provide insight into Henry’s moral fiber, the article is no place to discuss this aspect of his life. It would have served Wojciechowski better to solely mention the possible drug suspension, which is the current issue affecting Henry’s playing time.
After the inactive player listing, Wojciechowski again criticized the optimism of a Bronco, and this time he targeted Brandon Stokely, calling him Mr. Sunshine (attack #5). What Stokely said is true, as it is still early in the year, the Broncos have a very talented team, and the sky is the limit for Denver. Contrary to Wojciechowski’s comments, the AFC West is anyone’s division for the taking right now, and given the inconsistency of its 4 teams, will probably remain that way through week 17, so Denver has more than an outside shot of winning it. Perhaps one of the few concepts that Wojciechowski has a grasp of is the separation between New England and Indianapolis, and the rest of the league. Therefore it is farfetched to believe that as of right now Denver can defeat either of those teams, especially given that they have already been handled by Indianapolis this year. On a positive note, the Broncos have taken 4 of 5 from the Patriots, a streak mostly owed to the coaching genius of Mike Shanahan.
As if there were not enough irrational comments to this point, Wojciechowski added another with the statement about Denver’s “postseason irrelevancy” since the 2005 loss to Pittsburgh. Since that time, a whopping one year has passed, in which time the Broncos came within one win of the playoffs, despite a quarterback controversy and multiple injuries to the secondary, as well as emotional leader Al Wilson. Last year hit Denver like a ton of bricks, as they did not expect to lose Wilson, and the run defense suffered severely without his presence. Given that, it is time to give Wojciechowski credit, as the Broncos have lost their mojo and the home field advantage they once had. Still, they are a playoff caliber team, as D.J. Williams asserts, they are just not playing up to their potential right now. Once this unit gets settled in and all the new players develop the necessary team chemistry, Denver will be a contender once more. Until then, however, they have much work to do as a team, while Gene Wojciechowski has much work to do as a sportswriter, especially if he thinks the Rockies will ever overtake the Broncos as the premier team in Colorado.
Here is a suggestion for Wojciechowski, given his writing style: attack the Cincinnati Bengals. He would have no problem citing the various times players on this team have broken the law in the past year. It would certainly help Wojciechowski write a better article, because even he, in spite of his distorted perceptions, should be able to see that the Bengals’ uniforms actually look like traffic cones.
NOTE: Before you read the latest installment of my world famous rants, please read Gene Wojciechowski's article on espn.com about the Broncos. This rant is a response to what he wrote, and it will make much more sense if you read his article first. The URL is: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=3073788&sportCat=nfl
Traffic cones? Is that what the Broncos look like in those uniforms? Standard traffic cones are orange with an orange or black base, while the Broncos' uniforms are blue with some orange, so the two have a different color scheme. Compared side by side, the only similar quality they have is the presence of the color orange, other than that, they are polar opposites. While this description may seem unnecessary, apparently the appearance of a traffic cone is not common knowledge, at least not to Gene Wojciechowski. Maybe the traffic cones in his hometown of Salina, Kansas are blue with orange stripes on either side. No matter how he came to this conclusion, upon further review it proves to be a ludicrous attempt at a comedic hook for his article. The statement was not amusing at all, and it paved the way for one of the worst sports columns ever written.
Wojciechowski follows this up by calling the Pittsburgh Steelers a sluggish football team. Coming into this game, the Steelers were 4-1, winning every game by at least 21 points. Sure, they lost to Arizona on the road, but it was only a one score loss and the Cardinals have quite a methodical offense with Kurt Warner at the helm. That game came down to the Steelers making a few careless turnovers and committing too many penalties, two flaws rarely seen in Pittsburgh. On the other side of the ball, the Cardinals played mistake-free, and this gameplan contributed greatly to their victory. Nonetheless, it proved a blip on the radar for Pittsburgh, as they came out strong against the Seahawks the following week and lost to a Broncos team that played a better game, but they certainly cannot be described as sluggish. The Steelers are one of the elite NFL teams at this point in the season. Wojciechowski and many other sportswriters utilize irrelevant attacks like these on good football teams to justify them losing to Denver. The bottom line is that few of these columnists give the Broncos any respect for playing a good game against a good team nowadays, and it is time to give this team credit where credit is due.
After mislabeling the Steelers, Wojciechowski then took a shot at Dre Bly for postgame comments he made to reporters. He mentions a puncture in Bly’s arm from a pain-killing shot in order to… well… affirm his bias against the Broncos; otherwise it had no purpose in the article. This marks two personal attacks on the Broncos thus far. To Bly’s statement “Nobody was giving us any shot to win this game,” Wojciechowski responded with “maybe that’s because [Denver] had not earned the benefit of the doubt.” It does not matter whether they earned the benefit of the doubt or not prior to the game, Denver still won with a solid performance. What Bly said proves absolutely true, and who is Wojciechowski to blame him after all the media abuse Denver has undergone in recent years? The audacity that Bly displayed is long overdue, and it is a positive for a new addition like him to speak out for the team.
So Wojciechowski is bold enough to go after Dre Bly, but going after Jason Elam like he did is absolutely ridiculous. Yes, Elam has made late and last second field goals in all of Denver’s wins, because that is his job. In no way can Denver be criticized for relying on their kicker, because close victories often times make or break a season. Apparently the NFL is now on the Patriot standard, which means that if any given team does not win by at least 3 scores every game, they cannot be considered a good team. After scrutinizing Denver for their particular brand of winning, Wojciechowski goes on to misinterpret, yet again, comments made by Elam. The statement “We'll take it if we can get it. If we can get 20 of 21, we will take it” somehow contains a tone of certainty from Elam, at least to Wojciechowski it does. Elam is simply grateful that Denver has been able to win games in that dramatic fashion, and says that they will gladly take any kind of win on any given Sunday. He did not say anything to indicate that he believes for sure that the Broncos will have a winning streak of the Rockies’ magnitude. Clearly, Elam is not “oxygen-deprived” or “mildly nuts,” he is in fact one of the most composed and logical players the NFL has ever seen. Wojciechowski should do his homework before he goes out on a limb and makes assumptions like that, his third personal attack.
Wojciechowski even misinterpreted the statistics from Sunday night’s contest. Jay Cutler went 22 of 29 for 248 yards, 3 TDs, and 2 INTs, or as Wojciechowski sees it, just 2 INTs. Again, we see the NFL on the Patriot standard; Cutler made 2 mistakes, therefore he is not a good player. That comment about the photoshoot proves quite unnecessary, as Cutler simply made a bad decision by throwing into double coverage. Roethlisberger also threw a questionable pass into double coverage that Dre Bly intercepted earlier in the game, so its not as if Cutler is the only one with flaws at quarterback. The only difference is that Wojciechowski put Cutler’s interception up on a pedestal with a glittering generality, the most basic form of propaganda. Keep in mind that Cutler is still a sophomore quarterback and has not yet started an entire NFL season. In fact, Cutler may have played his best career game on Sunday, as he put up great numbers against a great defense and came away with a quality win. Even more impressive is that Cutler did not have the support of a typically dynamic rushing offense. Denver backs racked up a mere 55 yards on 20 carries, while Cutler ran for 41 yards, including a 31 yard scramble in the second, at the end of which Troy Polamalu grabbed him by the head and threw him down. That kind of courage does not show up on the stat sheet, but maybe it ought to, because it seems that an over 75% completion rate, roughly 300 yards of total offense, and 3 touchdowns for one player are not good enough to impress Wojciechowski.
The one point of hope for a positive spin in this article came when Wojciechowski began listing the various Broncos with injuries: Champ Bailey, Simeon Rice, Tom Nalen, and Rod Smith. However, he did not elaborate on how the absence of these players gravely impacts the team. Including this paragraph proved largely a waste, as it had little connection to the rest of the article.
Once more, Wojciechowski preceded his opinion of a player with a personal attack (#4), calling Travis Henry “Father of the Year” in the NFL. This refers to Henry’s poor decisions in his personal life, which have resulted in him fathering 9 children. While these choices are a topic of interest, and certainly provide insight into Henry’s moral fiber, the article is no place to discuss this aspect of his life. It would have served Wojciechowski better to solely mention the possible drug suspension, which is the current issue affecting Henry’s playing time.
After the inactive player listing, Wojciechowski again criticized the optimism of a Bronco, and this time he targeted Brandon Stokely, calling him Mr. Sunshine (attack #5). What Stokely said is true, as it is still early in the year, the Broncos have a very talented team, and the sky is the limit for Denver. Contrary to Wojciechowski’s comments, the AFC West is anyone’s division for the taking right now, and given the inconsistency of its 4 teams, will probably remain that way through week 17, so Denver has more than an outside shot of winning it. Perhaps one of the few concepts that Wojciechowski has a grasp of is the separation between New England and Indianapolis, and the rest of the league. Therefore it is farfetched to believe that as of right now Denver can defeat either of those teams, especially given that they have already been handled by Indianapolis this year. On a positive note, the Broncos have taken 4 of 5 from the Patriots, a streak mostly owed to the coaching genius of Mike Shanahan.
As if there were not enough irrational comments to this point, Wojciechowski added another with the statement about Denver’s “postseason irrelevancy” since the 2005 loss to Pittsburgh. Since that time, a whopping one year has passed, in which time the Broncos came within one win of the playoffs, despite a quarterback controversy and multiple injuries to the secondary, as well as emotional leader Al Wilson. Last year hit Denver like a ton of bricks, as they did not expect to lose Wilson, and the run defense suffered severely without his presence. Given that, it is time to give Wojciechowski credit, as the Broncos have lost their mojo and the home field advantage they once had. Still, they are a playoff caliber team, as D.J. Williams asserts, they are just not playing up to their potential right now. Once this unit gets settled in and all the new players develop the necessary team chemistry, Denver will be a contender once more. Until then, however, they have much work to do as a team, while Gene Wojciechowski has much work to do as a sportswriter, especially if he thinks the Rockies will ever overtake the Broncos as the premier team in Colorado.
Here is a suggestion for Wojciechowski, given his writing style: attack the Cincinnati Bengals. He would have no problem citing the various times players on this team have broken the law in the past year. It would certainly help Wojciechowski write a better article, because even he, in spite of his distorted perceptions, should be able to see that the Bengals’ uniforms actually look like traffic cones.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Looks Like Fair Weather!
I seem to hear all over the place that the San Diego Chargers are the best football team in the National Football League. I am absolutely sick of hearing it, especially because of who I hear it from. And I'm writing this, as a San Diegan myself, to tell you that no falser statement has been made in the football community this year.
Okay, so maybe I don't like Chargers...fine, I'll admit it, I root against them. Every week. I can't stand to see them succeed. They disgrace me. The team, I'm fine with. But the fans of San Diego epitomize what we call in the sporting world "fair weather fans". Which, said simply, means, they only root for the team when the team does well, and when that occurs, they act like they have been hardcore fans for their entire lives. Now, I may sound biased, considering I have no knowledge of any other sporting cities, yet I know San Diego sports quite well and I understand their fans even better.
The year, 2000, for instance helps drive my point home. San Diego's glorious Chargers went an abysmal 1-15 that year, almost placing them in the record books for the worst team season in the long and storied history of the NFL. I recall the people around me, most of them were naysayers and refused to support the Chargers because of their common last-place finishes (take 2001, 2002, and 2003 for example, yes four straight years as last place).
Many fans at that juncture supported the Oakland Raiders, when they dominated back in that era. I could almost guarantee that San Diego exhibited more Rich Gannon and Warren Sapp jerseys than Ryan Leaf or any other Chargers jerseys. Yet, it is interesting how settings change along with circumstances. Nowadays, I can't go anywhere without seeing Chargers apparel: Shawne Merriman jerseys, Philip Rivers T-shirts, LaDainian Tomlinson hats. Every time I see one of these, I ask myself what kind of fan (if a true fan at all) hides beneath them.
So I have henceforth characterized one typical Chargers fan: the ex-Raider fan. Yet another type of fan has become more abundant with the Chargers recent so-called successes: the average San Diegan. I understand that some of the die hard fans have remained close to the team even in the long-lasting despair of the Chargers' repetitive sub-.500 efforts. But, personally I know that these fans constitute a very thin number; certainly more "hardcore" Chargers fans have recently emerged than have always existed. For instance, one of my friends was primarily a Atlanta Falcons fan. Surely there was no coincidence then when he became a die-hard fan when the team went 12-4 in 2004 and put up a decent show in the playoffs, right? Another person I know had loved the St. Louis Rams. Then, after the 2004 season, remarkably he attached himself to the Chargers like he had always loved them, saying that he hadn't liked the Rams since they moved away from Los Angeles.
Maybe the reason why San Diego and the surrounding areas house so many fair weather fans is because of the lack of another team in hundreds of miles (in such a large population zone). Yet, I know this not to be the answer. San Diegans like to think that they are always right, thus they claim to support the home teams in times of success and they talk down on the teams when hard times come.
So I might be fine with the existence of fair weather fans lest they insist they know so much and pretend to be intense fans. Once I overheard someone with a Rivers jersey claim that Antonio Gates was the best wide receiver in the league. Only one problem. He's not a wide receiver, he's a tight end!!! Most self-acclaimed Chargers buffs that I know can't even name off half the team's starting roster. And they think they can live and die with the team when they don't even know who plays for it! I can cede this: being a fan is a right, but one must earn the privilege of being called a die-hard.
Thus, when a Chargers fan claims that "their team" is the best in league, I often ask why they consider that to be the case. Regardless of their rebuttal (and they always argue, remember that they always think they are right), I always reply that success can't be measured in two seasons of making the playoffs without a playoff win. Good teams win playoff games, or else they did not make it as close to the championship as at least 4 other teams (in the Chargers' case). Obviously, then, 4 teams must be better than the Chargers. I heard it last year, and I have already heard it this year. They are not, have never been, and will not be this year, the best team in the NFL. Only champions can claim that moniker. To win championships, a team must win playoff games. The Chargers have not done that in 13 years. From that perspective, which is the statistical, unbiased, and logical one, the team seems a far way off. Tell a Chargers fan that, however, and you will be wrong. Why? Because when there is fair weather in San Diego, as there is now, the self-deemed followers of the Chargers are always right.
I've given up trying to argue. They are simply ignorant. And in contrast, I am always the one that is actually right. So count on my opinion more than the fair weather. And when I am right once again, I have a feeling that rain or clouds might be in the not-so-distant future for San Diego.
Okay, so maybe I don't like Chargers...fine, I'll admit it, I root against them. Every week. I can't stand to see them succeed. They disgrace me. The team, I'm fine with. But the fans of San Diego epitomize what we call in the sporting world "fair weather fans". Which, said simply, means, they only root for the team when the team does well, and when that occurs, they act like they have been hardcore fans for their entire lives. Now, I may sound biased, considering I have no knowledge of any other sporting cities, yet I know San Diego sports quite well and I understand their fans even better.
The year, 2000, for instance helps drive my point home. San Diego's glorious Chargers went an abysmal 1-15 that year, almost placing them in the record books for the worst team season in the long and storied history of the NFL. I recall the people around me, most of them were naysayers and refused to support the Chargers because of their common last-place finishes (take 2001, 2002, and 2003 for example, yes four straight years as last place).
Many fans at that juncture supported the Oakland Raiders, when they dominated back in that era. I could almost guarantee that San Diego exhibited more Rich Gannon and Warren Sapp jerseys than Ryan Leaf or any other Chargers jerseys. Yet, it is interesting how settings change along with circumstances. Nowadays, I can't go anywhere without seeing Chargers apparel: Shawne Merriman jerseys, Philip Rivers T-shirts, LaDainian Tomlinson hats. Every time I see one of these, I ask myself what kind of fan (if a true fan at all) hides beneath them.
So I have henceforth characterized one typical Chargers fan: the ex-Raider fan. Yet another type of fan has become more abundant with the Chargers recent so-called successes: the average San Diegan. I understand that some of the die hard fans have remained close to the team even in the long-lasting despair of the Chargers' repetitive sub-.500 efforts. But, personally I know that these fans constitute a very thin number; certainly more "hardcore" Chargers fans have recently emerged than have always existed. For instance, one of my friends was primarily a Atlanta Falcons fan. Surely there was no coincidence then when he became a die-hard fan when the team went 12-4 in 2004 and put up a decent show in the playoffs, right? Another person I know had loved the St. Louis Rams. Then, after the 2004 season, remarkably he attached himself to the Chargers like he had always loved them, saying that he hadn't liked the Rams since they moved away from Los Angeles.
Maybe the reason why San Diego and the surrounding areas house so many fair weather fans is because of the lack of another team in hundreds of miles (in such a large population zone). Yet, I know this not to be the answer. San Diegans like to think that they are always right, thus they claim to support the home teams in times of success and they talk down on the teams when hard times come.
So I might be fine with the existence of fair weather fans lest they insist they know so much and pretend to be intense fans. Once I overheard someone with a Rivers jersey claim that Antonio Gates was the best wide receiver in the league. Only one problem. He's not a wide receiver, he's a tight end!!! Most self-acclaimed Chargers buffs that I know can't even name off half the team's starting roster. And they think they can live and die with the team when they don't even know who plays for it! I can cede this: being a fan is a right, but one must earn the privilege of being called a die-hard.
Thus, when a Chargers fan claims that "their team" is the best in league, I often ask why they consider that to be the case. Regardless of their rebuttal (and they always argue, remember that they always think they are right), I always reply that success can't be measured in two seasons of making the playoffs without a playoff win. Good teams win playoff games, or else they did not make it as close to the championship as at least 4 other teams (in the Chargers' case). Obviously, then, 4 teams must be better than the Chargers. I heard it last year, and I have already heard it this year. They are not, have never been, and will not be this year, the best team in the NFL. Only champions can claim that moniker. To win championships, a team must win playoff games. The Chargers have not done that in 13 years. From that perspective, which is the statistical, unbiased, and logical one, the team seems a far way off. Tell a Chargers fan that, however, and you will be wrong. Why? Because when there is fair weather in San Diego, as there is now, the self-deemed followers of the Chargers are always right.
I've given up trying to argue. They are simply ignorant. And in contrast, I am always the one that is actually right. So count on my opinion more than the fair weather. And when I am right once again, I have a feeling that rain or clouds might be in the not-so-distant future for San Diego.
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