Month: October 2016

What If The Regular Season Overtime Rule Was Never Added?

In honor of the kicking trainwreck that was Sunday night’s 6-6 tie between the Seahawks and Cardinals, I thought it might interesting to see what happened if the NFL never took the step of instituting regular season overtime in 1974.  As you may know, the first such game invoking the rule was when the Broncos hosted the Steelers that year–and it still ended in a tie.  The only other time the rule was invoked that year was a Big Apple showdown between the Giants and Jets.  And if you know anything about football in New York in 1970s, it was very pathetic, so the outcome of that game did not affect any playoff seedings.

But if ties at the end of regulation remained that way after 1974, there would indeed be changes in fortune for several teams.  The following is a list of how playoff teams and seedings would have changed–and yes, we’ll have to ignore a bunch of alternate history butterflies that would take place in making the difference between a team going deep in the playoffs, or firing the coach and front office after barely missing them.

And be forewarned: this universe is not kind to the Broncos, so we should all be grateful that regular season overtime exists. Continue reading What If The Regular Season Overtime Rule Was Never Added?

Broncos Acquire AJ Derby From Patriots

The Broncos are projected to get a 5th round compensatory pick for Danny Trevathan, thus buffering the loss of either this comp pick or their own 5th rounder, both of which are likely to be near each other anyway.  Derby is under contract through 2018, and should only count about $265,000 against the 2016 salary cap.

UPDATE (2:50 PM MT): Mike Klis says it’s instead a 7th round pick, and as Bob mentions in comments, news of a 5th rounder could only be conditional depending on Derby’s performance.

UPDATE #2 (4:30 PM MT): Klis has deleted the above tweet, and now has concurred with Schefter in that it was an unconditional 5th rounder.  Here’s a snapshot of the official report of both the trade of Derby and also the Patriots’ acquisition of Kyle Van Noy from Detroit.

“Old Friends” Of The Broncos In The NFL, 2016 Edition

It’s become tradition on this site to refer to any former Bronco as an “old friend” when he makes news with another team.  In honor of one of the most notable current old friends coming back to Denver tonight, I thought I’d put together a reference list of former Broncos that are active in the league today.  I built this list manually, so it’s likely I forgot a few people–please speak up so I can add them to the list.

And yes, in 2016 one team sticks out blatantly as being a safe space for old friends.

Buffalo

  • Lerentee McCray

Miami

  • Adam Gase
  • Chris Kuper1

New England

  • Josh McDaniels*

NY Jets

  • Ryan Clady
  • Brandon Marshall3
  • Eric Decker

Baltimore

  • Elvis Dumervil

Cleveland

  • Britton Colquitt

Pittsburgh

  • Ryan Harris

Houston

  • Rick Smith
  • Brock Osweiler
  • Chris Clark

Indianapolis

  • Mike Adams

Jacksonville

  • Julius Thomas
  • Malik Jackson

Tennessee

  • Wesley Woodyard
  • Perrish Cox2
  • Brett Kern

Oakland

  • Jack Del Rio

San Diego

  • Mike McCoy
  • Orlando Franklin

Dallas

  • Mark Sanchez

NY Giants

  • Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

Washington

  • David Bruton
  • Vernon Davis
  • Kory Lichtensteiger
  • Vinston Painter

Chicago

  • John Fox
  • Jay Cutler
  • Danny Trevathan
  • Eddie Royal
  • Tracy Porter
  • Mitch Unrein
  • Lamin Barrow
  • Connor Barth
  • Ben McDaniels
  • Ed Donatell

Detroit

  • Matt Prater

Minnesota

  • Ronnie Hillman

Atlanta4

  • Jacob Tamme
  • Ben Garland

Arizona

  • Evan Mathis
  • Aaron Brewer
  • Bobby Turner
  • Richard Smith
  • Marquand Manuel

San Francisco

  • Zane Beadles

Seattle

  • Stephen Hauschka
  • Sealver Siliga

*C’mon, you knew an asterisk had to be placed by him in an list entitled “Old Friends”.
1Yes, I was surprised but happy to learn that he’s entered coaching.
2Without a doubt, this is the one former Bronco I just can’t refer to as an “old friend”.
3However, if I’m going to be adamant in creating footnote 2, then in the interest of fairness there should probably be a footnote here.  I might write more on this later this week.
4I feel like Kyle Shanahan deserves an honorable mention–despite coaching frequently for two of the greatest coaches in Broncos history, he surprisingly has zero tenure as a Bronco himself.