Snow Blind

Ok. I’m being a bit over dramatic. While not that bad, sometimes it feels like it. Haven’t felt much like posting lately, but that’s going away.

More to come. I’m sure you are all eagerly waiting with bated breath.

As I eagerly devoured all the preseason Broncos news this summer, there were 3 predictions I ran across that were made by various members of the Broncos organization.

Selvin Young, who had at that time not even secured the starting halfback spot, said he was gonna run for 2000 yards this season. Not a record breaking goal, but still a lofty one which has only been achieved 5 times (once by another Denver running back). With 3/4 of the season done, how’s he doing? Well, he started out sharing time at the beginning of the season which seriously hampered his opportunities. Then he, and every other RB on Denver’s roster, got injured. At least he isn’t done for the season and should return soon after missing 6 games on the season so far. With not even 300 yards on the season, I think his goal is out of reach for the remaining 4 games.

Then Denver’s very own trouble magnet, Brandon Marshall, stated he was targeting 140 receptions on the year. Again, not the record but is only 4 receptions shy. He did this at a point when it still looked like he would be missing multiple games at the beginning of the season due to suspension. He ended up only missing 1 game and in his first game of the year, he tied the second most receptions for a receiver in a game with 18 and looked like he might make true on his goal in his third year. This was the first year as THE GUY though. Pressure and attention from other teams quickly stifled that dream and he now sits with 72 receptions on the year just over half his goal. He still does have a reasonable chance at back to back 100 reception seasons which is a very admirable feat.

Now brings us to the third and most crucial. Mike Shanahan had an interview this summer where he GUARANTEED the broncos would make the playoffs this year. Denver had missed the playoffs the last 2 years. This is definitely a lot more achievable than the other 2 personal goals, but given the recent results, seemed to be a significant achievement none the less.

Teams like to break down the season into quadrants. And since we just finished the 3rd, it would be a good time to break down them:

Games 1-4: Denver came out of the gate with a 3-1 record only slipping against the division rival Chiefs. The offense looked hot and they got a few breaks. I definitely was high on them at this point.

Games 5-8: They went 1-3 looking, at times, to be outclassed and I feared a similar result to 2007 when they started out 3-1 and missed the playoffs. They did beat a tough Bucs team, but little else to rave about and one game ( at New England ) which I’m sure made more than just me want to hide our orange and blue colors.

Games 9-12: Despite starting the year at .500, Denver still topped the AFC West. Football inept division FTW. But the downward spiral couldn’t continue if they wanted to stay that way. Fortunately, the 3rd quarter of the season looked very similarly to the 1st going 3-1 and only loosing a rough game to another bad divisional opponent. But they are putting up the points again and winning the close games.

To make things better, the second place team, the Chargers, have faltered as of late and Denver has increased their divisional lead on them by 3 games. What looked like it would be a very pivotal game at the end of the year with the Chargers, might fizzle into meaninglessness (pretty sure that’s a word). To make things even better, Denver (as well as a handful of other teams) have an opportunity to make Shanny’s guarantee come true if they win and the Chargers lose. Any way you look at it, Denver is in a really good spot with a 3 game lead and only 4 games remaining.

I really hope to see that happen so that Denver has time to work on some of the inconsistent parts of their game. I don’t know that I have a lot of faith in them going deep or any where in the playoffs as they have been so far this year. 3 of their losses have been to losing teams and their play can be called anything but consistent. Hopefully I haven’t jinxed them in what should be all but a sure thing. I really am looking forward to caring about the playoffs again.

I haven’t been able to say that since 2003. The Denver Broncos are 3 – 0. So far, it’s been pretty exciting following them too. Denver also has a really good shot to go 4 – 0 when they go up against a struggling Chiefs team. Yeah, yeah. I know they got lucky last week, but just like in a lot of things, it takes some luck for things to go your way to make a good run.

To make it even better, there hasn’t been any shortage of action either. Denver has scored a league best 114 points so far this year showing the type of offense that hasn’t been seen in Denver since their Super Bowl years of last decade.

I’ve seen it stated a few times that 3 – 0 teams finish in the playoffs better than 75% of the time. That’s good for Shanahan who promised this summer that the Broncos would make the playoffs. Which is also good for me as it’s been 2 years since I’ve cared about the post season. I’m still excited about the potential of this season… but it’s a long season.

Unfortunately their success has not rubbed off on me. I’m in 2 fantasy football leagues this year. In both my family keeper league and some small league of coworkers, I am 0 – 3. The small league is really too small to take too seriously so I’m not to torn up about that one. With only 6 people and every one having good players, some people are just gonna get lucky and others aren’t.

What has really bothered me are my results in the family league. 3 losses, all 3 I’ve lost against the highest scorer of the week. It’s like I’m my own cooler. Combine that with me losing my keeper QB (Brady) and WR (Colston) to injuries, it hasn’t been a good year. Even despite that, I’ve done alright. In week 2, I was the second highest scorer for the week, but that does you little good when facing the top scorer. Sigh

My fantasy football woes aside, I am still far more stoked about Denver’s success. I would be more than happy to lose the pool for the success of the Broncos. It would be worth the entry fee for me. I wouldn’t mind it if I didn’t have to though…

In response to how he’s healing from his accident and subsequent surgery:

“I can do everything with my right hand that I was doing before the accident but I’m still wiping my butt with my left hand,” Marshall said. (via Gazette.com)

Less than 3 months away before the kickoff of the new season. No matter which hand Brandon is wiping with, I can’t wait for the season opener with the Raiders.

I would like to thank the San Antonio Spurs for freeing up my evenings for the remainder of the NBA playoffs. Without their inability to make a clutch shot, stop Kobe Bryant or maintain a lead in a game (I mean seriously 20 and 17 point leads shot to shit???), I don’t think I would have had the luxury of not caring what happens in the rest of the playoffs. Honorable mention, of course, goes to the assjockey refs that didn’t call the foul at the end of Game 4.

I mean, I really hope they enjoy their time off.

Sigh.

At least this lets me concentrate on football again.

The Denver Broncos chose Ryan Clady. I think it ended up being a good pick. From everything I read leading up to the draft, that was the guy they wanted at that pick, so things worked out for them.

I haven’t posted much on the happening of the Broncos since the end of the season, but I’ve actually been following pretty close this year. Most years in the past, I would occasionally catch a waiver update and read the draft summary until preseason started. The internet has really been a dream for a sports fan though. It’s easy as hell to keep up with every little quiver made by the team. Roll in other fan blogs into the mix, and I’ve got more information than I could ever hope to digest.

Last year, in terms of being a Broncos fan, could be summed up with the term “It sucked ass”. There were lots of weak spots and disappointments in a season that started out with a lot of expectations and anticipation after narrowing missing the playoffs in ’06 and what seemed to be a good plan of action to address what went wrong. What happened? Life was hauled in on a dump truck and dumped on Mile High Stadium Circle. People were injured, people didn’t perform and despite having an extraordinary horseshoe crammed up Shanahan’s ass when it came to anything having to do with a game winning kick, there was just a lot of unlucky moments that happened over the year (I hate both Green Bay and Chicago, BTW).

Now, I don’t need to complain about it. Last year is done and no use bitching about it. The only thing that can be done is learn from it. What did we learn? Denver’s D line sucked and had zero depth. Jevon Walker, while is awesome when he is healthy, isn’t healthy consistently. GL to you Raiders, BTW. Denver does not have a consistent running back, but a lot of people that can just jump in and pretend to have been there all year. Brandon Marshall has the potential to be a beast. And, as a whole, the defence is on the verge of needing geritol. I’ll admit it. At the end of the season when it looked as though Mr. Walker was gonna take his ball and go home, I was more than a bit discouraged. I could see a lot of holes and little in the way of plugging the holes.

3 months later, I have to say, the outlook is a lot better. I have really been impressed with the way they tried to address problem areas. They picked up a whole crap load of receivers. At least one of them will fill the hole left by Walker. There is Keary Colbert, Samie Parker and Darrel Jackson to go along with Brandon “put my arm through a TV” Marshall and Brandon Stokley. Still need a bit of depth, but definitely a good start. They filled up the whole defence with fresh faces although they were reasonable against the path. What disappointed me was that the one glaring hole that they didn’t address (they revamped the LB’s, signed 4 safeties and secured their existing CB’s) was the line. They didn’t have a consistent DT all of last year and I figured it was coming in the draft. Well, I was pleasantly surprised by the trade for the Jets’ Dewayne Robertson leaving few holes to rely on the draft for. Probably a good thing since they only had 2 day one picks this year.

Oh, what was Denver’s other pick today? A small wide receiver that should help shore up special teams as a return guy and bring some depth. Seems to be a good pick. For Sunday, I export more of the same as they have 7 day 2 picks. Depth should be written all over it.

Ok, so I know most of you don’t care. Well, here’s the thing. I’m starting to get pretty pumped about this season and last time I checked, it was my checking account this site was being paid from. So suckit. As long as it interests me, it’s gonna hit the front page. I can’t wait.