Month: November 2015

Broncos Vs. Bears Early Notes

I’ll have the Midweek Musings tomorrow. Got things to do at work this afternoon.

Regarding the Broncos, Daniels appears to be the usual day off he takes from practice. Ware and Sanders, of course, are related to injuries from last week.

The NSS Rankings And Who May Need Regime Changes

Here are this week’s Not So Scientific Rankings. You might have expected the Broncos to drop out of the top five, but they didn’t. They did, however, see their average score decline and they remain the borderline among the top-five teams.

As always, the rankings are an average of the following.

Pro Football Focus Power Rankings

Pro Football Reference Simple Rankings System

Five Thirty Eight ELO Playoff Probability Rankings

Football Outsiders DVOA Rankings

Andrew Mason’s Power Rankings
Continue reading The NSS Rankings And Who May Need Regime Changes

Doc Podcast, and My Thoughts on the Oz Situation

What’s up in-thinair, been a while since I’ve gotten the chance to post. School’s been super hectic with college apps and such, and I don’t see that letting up. I’ll try to make it on here to post sporadically, but unfortunately I won’t be posting multiple times a week like I was in the summer.

Continue reading Doc Podcast, and My Thoughts on the Oz Situation

Aldon Smith Suspened for One Year; Just the Most Recent Example of Goodell Hypocrisy

Via ESPN:

Oakland Raiders linebacker Aldon Smith has been suspended for one year without pay under the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, the league said Tuesday.

In September, Smith, 25, pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor counts of hit-and-run, drunken driving and vandalism, charges that stem from an alleged Aug. 6 incident.

“Under the terms of the policy, Smith will be eligible to apply for reinstatement no sooner than 60 days before the one-year anniversary of the suspension,” the NFL said in a statement.

Continue reading Aldon Smith Suspened for One Year; Just the Most Recent Example of Goodell Hypocrisy

Lindsay Jones Investigates The Elway/Fox Tension

This is certainly an appropriately timed article.  In talking with sources in the know, Jones lists three primary reasons for the ultimate divorce.  Two of them should be well familiar by now, no matter how painful it is to revisit: the decision by Fox to play for overtime in the 2012 playoffs, and the poor game preparation for the Super Bowl in 2013.

The third, however, is new to at least myself, though it makes sense: disagreements over playing time and staff additions:

Fox, who has built a reputation as a players’ coach, would play veterans over rookies whenever possible. There were several notable issues in 2014 in which highly drafted rookies were shelved in favor of veterans. Third-round tackle Michael Schofield was never active despite the Broncos having extensive issues at right tackle last year and first-round receiver Cody Latimer rarely played. Schofield is now Denver’s starter at right tackle, and Latimer is active on game days as a reserve weapon.

There were also disagreements about Fox’s staff. Two years ago, Elway favored Gase to be the new offensive coordinator, while Fox wanted to interview Ken Whisenhunt, who had recently been fired by the Arizona Cardinals.

We can go ahead and debate about who was right in the comments. One last fact that I’ll add, however, is that Whisenhunt went to the division rival Chargers instead, and helped rescue Philip Rivers from a downward spiral

Chiefs at Broncos: The 10 Things I Liked and the 10 Things I Didn’t

We witnessed a game where Brock Osweiler came in for the injured Peyton Manning. It was questionable to even let Manning play in the game, let alone three quarters. After four interceptions, Osweiler finally came in and led the team to two scores, and almost three. Before you start clamoring that Brock should be our starter, just remember that the Chief’s defense went into a prevent defense so the Broncos would burn time. Now on to one of the easiest lists I’ve made this year:

Continue reading Chiefs at Broncos: The 10 Things I Liked and the 10 Things I Didn’t

It’s Official: Osweiler To Start Vs. Chicago, Peyton Will Be Inactive

There it is. And, yes, Gary Kubiak made the right call, even if Peyton himself may not agree.

Peyton won’t even be active Sunday.

Peyton Manning Isn’t Hurt, He’s Injured

For reference, the Giants went 8-8 in 2009.

Back to Peyton: He is injured and needs to sit down, at the very least until he’s healed, and may very likely not take another snap this season.

Forget your perceptions of Brock Osweiler. Forget about the Patriots being 9-0. Forget about the Bengals being undefeated going into Monday’s game. Forget about where the Broncos may or may not be in the playoff picture. The fact is, Peyton is no longer at the point that he can keep playing through an injury.

Omar Bolden had this injury earlier this season. Not only did he miss two games when he was listed no better than questionable, the Broncos held him out an additional game when he was listed as probable.

The Broncos have rested DeMarcus Ware twice with back spasms, were careful with Ty Sambrailo before they concluded he needed surgery, and pulled Emmanuel Sanders even after he passed concussion protocol (and before that, they limited his snaps).

Peyton can’t make excuses. He needs to concede the point, recognize he is injured, and sit out for a while. And if it turns out the Chiefs’ game was his last game, he just needs to accept that’s his last game and realize he wasn’t the first legendary QB to exit on a poor outing and he won’t be the last.

I’ve been willing to give the guy a chance. But not this time.

Gut Reactions: Broncos Were Rousey, Chiefs Were Holm

On Saturday night, Ronda Rousey, considered to be the most dominant UFC women’s fighter around, was set to defend her bantamweight title against Holly Holm. If you believed what some said, Holm was a very good fighter who could do some things well, but she had no chance against Rousey, especially if you look at how some of Holm’s earlier fights went.

Today, the Broncos took on the Chiefs at home, and if you asked most people before the game, you’d say that the Chiefs can do some good things, but if you look at how some of their games went earlier this season, you’d say they’d have no chance of beating the Broncos in Mile High.

Well, today, the Broncos were Rousey and the Chiefs were Holm. Or to put it another way, Rousey got her ass kicked by Holm and the Broncos got their asses kicked by the Chiefs.
Continue reading Gut Reactions: Broncos Were Rousey, Chiefs Were Holm