Tag Archives: Broncos

What Is Wrong With The Broncos? …Is Jim McElwain On The Move?

Welcome to the 85th edition of Tuesdays With Mitch, where the orange and blue sky might be falling. I wrote a lot of words this week. Let’s get into it…

Sunday was not a good day. (AAron Ontiveroz, Denver Post)

At some point late in the fourth quarter of the Broncos’ disheartening and discouraging loss to the Rams on Sunday, I provided the group of family and friends with which I was watching a distinct summary of both the day’s events and the broader implications concerning the big picture of the Broncos’ 2014 season. With the outcome having already been decided, I sullenly slumped forward, plopped my chin on my palm and proclaimed the following:

“Well…

…(long pause)…

…(sophisticated stroking of chin hair)…

…(vacant stare)…

…

Shit.”

I think that pretty much sums things up, but let’s dive in to this mess.

The Broncos have just gotten their asses kicked for the second time in three weeks. And this one was pretty much a disaster. They lost 22-7 to the St. Louis Rams. They lost by 15 points. To the St. Louis Rams. They scored 7 points. Against the St. Louis Rams. THE ST. LOUIS RAMS!

Krusty The Clown watched the game. He has the same question as lots of Broncos fans.

Good question, Herschel. What DID we just watch?

We saw dropped passes and bad tackling. We saw bad throws from an MVP quarterback. We saw garbage offensive line play. We saw a kneel down. We saw injuries. We did NOT see any field goal attempts.

Now, there’s no sense in playing the blame game, unless you’re writing a blog about the Broncos after the Broncos got their asses kicked by the St. Louis Rams. Then there’s a ton of sense in playing the blame game. Let’s point some fingers!

THIS IS ALL THE OFFENSE’S FAULT!

For the first time in a few years, the offense was without a doubt the main issue in a Broncos’ loss.

Peyton Manning does not look sharp right now and is undoubtedly playing the worst football of his three seasons in Denver. He seems uncomfortable in the pocket. He seems hesitant or unwilling to throw the ball down the field. He’s hanging his receivers out to dry. He’s throwing picks. It’s all kind of odd to watch.

*Sidenote: I do not care about Manning’s “bad” body language. He’s been doing that his whole career. His career has been pretty good. He gets pissed off when things don’t go well. So what? Peyton Manning is afforded certain luxuries such as this.

The running game has, for the most part, not been much of a factor throughout the year. On Sunday that nonfactor-ness went to a whole ‘nother level. The Broncos ran the ball ten times. Manning threw 54 passes. TEN! FIFTY-FOUR! That’s amazing. To an extent, I am of the belief that a team with Peyton Manning and Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders does not need to lean too heavily on the run. That’s not necessarily a point of emphasis based on the personnel that has been assembled here.

But regardless of your offensive makeup, you can’t throw the ball FORTY-FOUR more times than you run it. That is absurd.

Yes, the offense took a hit when two of the passing game’s most important and prominent weapons left with injuries in the first half, but shouldn’t that mean you run the ball– or try to run the ball– MORE?

We can talk about the lack of a running game. We can talk about the two big injuries. We can talk about the struggles of Manning. (Struggles is a very, very relative term here.) But there’s another problem that outweighs all of those.

This offensive line is crap right now. The Broncos have a guard playing tackle, a center playing guard, a new guy playing center, and an all-pro playing like crap. That’s not exactly a recipe for success. Right now the lack of a running game comes back to the offensive line play. The (relative) struggles of Manning comes back to the offensive line play. St. Louis has an above average defense, particularly in the front seven. And they just owned the Broncos up front.

It was ugly.

The Denver Broncos and their immensely talented, record-setting, intimidating offense scored seven points on Sunday. That’s a problem.

THIS IS ALL THE DEFENSE’S FAULT!

Don’t get me wrong, I am identifying the Broncos’ offense as Reason Number One they were dominated on Sunday, but we can throw plenty more blame around.

The defense gets some credit for holding St. Louis to just one touchdown and forcing five field goals. I guess. They only gave up 22 points. The way this team is constructed that’s supposed to be good enough, right? I guess.

But they really weren’t all that impressive when you consider the opponent. Shaun Hill was making his first start in over two months. He’s a backup’s backup. Tre Mason is a fine young rookie running back, but he’s been up and down since taking over as a starter. Kenny Britt is Kenny Britt. He’s not exactly curling the toes of wide receiver coaches across the league. What I’m trying to say is THE RAMS’ OFFENSE SUCKS.

Yet the Broncos defense again had trouble getting stops on 3rd-and-longs. They forced zero turnovers. They sacked Hill just three times.

It would have been nice for this new, revamped defense to step up and shut the Rams’ crappy offense down on a day when Manning and Co. were not at their finest. We’ve heard plenty of talk about the Broncos needing to learn to win a low scoring game. A game that sees both teams score in the teens or low-20s. Evidently this defense isn’t ready for that.

Yes, some of this comes back to the offense. The two interceptions, the bad field position after failed fourth-down attempts, and the lack of a running game didn’t do the D* any favors, but I’m not exactly giving the defense a thumbs up.

*How many times did CBS show that middle-aged dork with the cutout of the D and the fence during the broadcast? Like, ten? It amazes me that someone would bring that to a game in 2014.

THIS IS ALL THE SPECIAL TEAMS’S’S’S’ FAULT!

Tuesdays With Mitch is here with some breaking news. Good teams in THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE! have kickers. All of them. Right now, the Broncos do not appear to have a kicker after they thrice turned down long field goal attempts and instead elected to go for it on fourth down or punt. Those game situations are as follows, and keep in mind THEY’RE PLAYING IN A FREAKING DOME!

3-0 Rams. 1:22 left in the first quarter. 4th-and-5 from the 37. The Broncos decline a would-be 54-yarder and fail to convert. …A made field goal would have simply tied the game in the first quarter. That’s obviously not important at all.
13-7 Rams. Opening drive of the third quarter. 4th-and-10 from the 38. The Broncos decline a would-be 55-yarder and punt. …Leaving three more (potential) points on the board in a close game.
19-7 Rams. 9:37 left in the fourth quarter. 4th-and-4 from the 28. The Broncos decline a would be 45-yarder and Manning is sacked for a loss of 12. …At this point it’s a two possession game with under ten minutes remaining. The game would have stayed two possessions with a made field goal, so many would argue that going for it is the right call here regardless of whether or not a kicker wearing a Broncos jersey exists somewhere in the world. HOWEVAH, if the Broncos had kicked a couple of those long field goals earlier, another field goal here might have made sense.

This is not college football, where #collegekickers are notoriously shaky and erratic. This is THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE! Kickers in THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE! need to be able to make, or at least attempt, 50-plus yard field goals. In fact, I’m fairly certain they’re paid a handsome salary to do just that. So I’m not putting these decisions on the coaching staff. If they don’t trust Brandon McManus, so be it. But something needs to be done about this. You can not have a guy on your roster that you don’t trust attempting field goals when a very, very large portion of his job description involves attempting field goals.

Aside from having a kicker who is not allowed to kick field goals, the Broncos special teams units have been awfully pedestrian all year. They have zero kickoff return threats. They have zero punt return threats.

The more you think about it, the Broncos do not appear to be a complete football team.

…I also have McManus in both of my fantasy leagues, you jerks.

So looking ahead…

The Broncos come back home for their first game at Mile High in exactly a month on Sunday. Things don’t appear to be getting easier. The 6-4 Dolphins come to town with the 2nd highest rated total defense and 2nd highest rated passing defense in THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE!. Miami played on Thursday night last week, so they will have a few extra days rest.

After that, the Broncos take their annual trip to Arrowhead to play the 7-3 Chiefs, who will also be coming off a Thursday game with a few extra days to rest and prepare. So yeah, the Broncos and Chiefs will be playing in Arrowhead in week 13 with first place on the line. I didn’t see that coming.

Oh, and the Patriots look like a damn powerhouse after beating the Colts handily in Indianapolis. For Denver to catch New England, the Broncos need to win out and the Patriots need to lose twice in their final six games.

Much of my focus in this space throughout the season has been on securing the top seed in the AFC. This is all one long preseason, I said. Enjoy the ride until the real games start in January, I said. That’s no longer the outlook. Right now the focus needs to be trying to win the division by trying to win some football games by trying to not suck on offense, defense, and special teams.

Because excluding a two-quarter stretch (roughly) against a team that hasn’t won a game in a calendar year, the Broncos have looked pretty crappy three weeks in a row.

You know me, I’m much more levelheaded than most sports blowhards you’ll hear or read. I actually misplaced my Broncos Panic Button a couple years ago and have never bothered to look for it. But after watching the Broncos on Sunday afternoon I think I’m going to need to locate that thing. Because if the Broncos have a similar performance in this week’s game against the Dolphins, I’ll be mashing down the Broncos Panic Button and heading for the hills until… Rockies season? Oh Dear Lord.

Description of . Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders #10 of the Denver Broncos sits in disbelief after he can't hold on to the ball on a 4th down pass as the broncos turn the ball over on downs vs the St. Louis Rams in the Edward Jones Dome November 16, 2014 St. Louis, MO (Photo By Joe Amon/The Denver Post)

Before Emmanuel Sanders got hurt, Emmanual Sanders got sad. 😦 is right, Emmanuel. (Joe Amon, Denver Post)

One quick thought on the Broncos potentially signing Hall of Fame MeatHead/DoucheBag/ScumBag/Racist/Sexist/Homophobe Richie Incognito:

This is something I find myself torn on. Not because I wonder whether Incognito would be able to play well after his time away from the game. I think he would help this team’s patchwork offensive line immediately. Not because I’m concerned with the chemistry in the locker room. I think the Broncos have a veteran locker room that wouldn’t put up with his nonsense and I think even Incognito would be able to stay in his lane for the season’s final couple months. And no, I don’t really care about the media distraction it would bring (though that would be the biggest annoyance).

I’m struggling with this thought because as a fan, Incognito is one of the last people on this planet I would ever want to root for. He is a terrible dude. I’m not naive enough to think all Broncos players are saints. Assuredly, they are not. But I do have a hard time believing that anyone in the ~~Broncos’ locker room~~, ~~the entire NFL~~, the entire world is as big of a douche as Incognito.

So this is the question I find myself asking: Would it be worth it to root for someone I find to be hilariously stupid and mind-numbingly repulsive if it substantially increases the Broncos’ chances of winning the Super Bowl?

I’m not entirely sure how to answer that.

Off to the weekly departments…

Stud of the week:

Let’s talk about Jim McElwain. He’s pretty awesome. First though, let’s recap the CSU Rams’ eventful bye week.

First, Boise State took on San Diego State in a game that could have had huge (HUGE!)implications for CSU. Things got off to a pretty great start, with the Aztecs jumping out to a 20-0 lead in Boise. I was feeling prett-ay darn good about things. But San Diego State isn’t all that good this year and Boise State is. So the Broncos came roaring back and won 39-28, delaying the Rams’ Mountain West championship hopes at least one more week.

Boise State plays in Laramie this week at 8:15. The Broncos are 14-point favorites. CSU fans are all die-hard Wyoming fans until further notice.

On Sunday some good news was released in the form of the national polls. CSU was bumped up two spots to #23 in the coaches poll. They moved up one spot to #22 in the AP poll. The committee’s rankings will be released in a couple hours and I think CSU has a somewhat reasonable chance to sneak in there after multiple teams ahead of them lost on Saturday.

Jim McElwain’s name has been linked to the open head coaching position at Florida. (Lance Iversen/USA TODAY Sports )

Okay back to Jim McElwain… Other college football news surfaced on Sunday, when Florida announced the firing (or resignation, whatever) of Will Muschamp. Of course, this immediately sparked speculation as to who will replace Muschamp as head coach in Gainesville. Jim McElwain is on just about every list of potential candidates.

Bovada even has odds on who the next coach will be. McElwain opened as the second most likely “candidate”, but has moved to third as I write this. This is obviously kind of silly, but it’s also a bit concerning, as oddsmakers are generally extremely well-informed.

I would be very surprised if McElwain took the Florida job. It’s a possibility, but I would be very surprised.

The first thing we need to consider is the buyout in McElwain’s current contract, which is an unheard of $7.5 million. Yes, Florida is a big time school with a big time budget and big time donors, but SEVEN AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS, in a lump sum, one-time payment, is a lot of money, even for them.

I think people’s’ eyes can glaze over when we start discussing millions of dollars in big time athletics. For reference, Will Muschamp’s 2013 salary is about $2.7 million. So McElwain’s buyout alone is almost THREE TIMES what Florida is paying Muschamp each year. That’s not chump change.

Also, it sounds like Florida is going to aim higher than a head coach at a Mountain West school. Florida is considered a top-five or so job in the country and they will probably have their initial sights set on a head coach from a Power 5 school like Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State) or Dan Mullen (Mississippi State).

So my guess is Florida would have to swing and miss on a couple of their first choices, then they would have to REAALLLY, REAAALLLYYY want Jim McElwain to the point where coming up with multiple briefcases filled with cash isn’t an issue.

And that’s only half of the equation.

McElwain has to want Florida, too. McElwain is comfortable in Fort Collins. He is the highest paid coach in the Mountain West (although obviously a job like Florida would provide a big raise). Maybe McElwain will pull a Sonny and be cool staying in Fort Collins for a long time (fingers crossed). But assuming that’s not the case, McElwain doesn’t have to jump at the first job opening that comes his way. He has the luxury to sit back and wait for what he considers the perfect situation.

If McElwain doesn’t want the task of completely rebuilding a powerhouse, he can simply wait for a good situation at a school he considers an upgrade. Chris Petersen did this when he stayed at Boise State for eight years before finally leaving for Washington after last season. Petersen’s name was mentioned in every big school’s coaching vacancy for years. He waited until he saw a school that fit his profile and was left in good shape by the previous coach.

Florida needs a new coach. Michigan will soon be needing a new coach. Nebraska may (maybe not) soon be needing a new coach. McElwain’s name will be associated with every job opening in the country.

There are always a lot of moving parts in these situations and much of my outlook is based on speculation, but as of right now, there are plenty of reasons to be confident McElwain will be back with Colorado State next year.

Douche of the week:

This guy needs to reevaluate everything in his life and I mean that sincerely.

Douche is even a douche when he’s interviewed after the whole thing went down.

A few other things:

The Nuggets beat the Cavs last night in a game that will surely represent the moment that their entire season turned around. Until all that actually happens, this free throw sums up their season.

Never change, JaVale. That’s from Sunday’s loss to New York. The Nuggets scored eight points on 1-16 shooting in the second quarter.

This dude did not like Mr. Referee touching his bottom.

SB Nation

Mr. Referee looks kind of terrified.

This is the greatest punt ever. Right back in his own grill.

I stumbled across this GIF from a recent boxing match this week. It is the coolest thing I saw all week. Incredible.

Deadspin / @bubbaprog

And,

Peter Forsberg is proud to be the third Swedish player inducted to the @HockeyHallFame. His speech: http://t.co/UKfeUm9SH7

— NHL (@NHL) November 18, 2014

A couple links worth sharing:

I was hit pretty hard by Chris Ballard’s longform story on NBA player Ryan Anderson adjusting to life after his girlfriend’s suicide. Ballard is one of the best.
AP story on Jack, the 9-year-old with brain tumors that CSU football has “adopted” as a teammate.
College basketball is back! I enjoyed this piece on how awesome (and American) the game is.
Off the board a little bit here, but I really enjoyed this profile of Chris Pratt from one of my favorite online writers.

And finally, here’s Daniel Tosh tearing up ESPN. Really good stuff:

Pretty solid from Tosh, but he loses some credibility when he includes Mike and Mike in his “you guys are cool” disclaimer at the end.

Happy Tuesday everybody. Thanks for reading. See ya next week.

***

Comment on any of this stuff below, or email me at mdhahn1@yahoo.com with post ideas, videos or other media I should know about. Subscribe at the top right of this page. Follow me on Twitter @TuesWithMitch.

Recapping An Incredible Week In The Sports World

Your Football Weekend Roundup (Again)

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Welcome to the 77th edition of Tuesdays With Mitch, where we’ve offically entered the last week of summer. That’s depressing. But it means lots of football in the coming weeks, which is not depressing. Let’s get into it…

Description of . Peyton Manning (18) of the Denver Broncos congratulates Demaryius Thomas (88) of the Denver Broncos after a touchdown in the second quarter. The Denver Broncos played the Kansas City Chiefs at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on September 14, 2014. (Photo by John Leyba/The Denver Post)

(John Lebya/Denver Post)

I’ll start with a few quick takeaways from the Broncos win over the Chiefs. The Denver Broncos won again. And people are upset again. I am still not one of them. In the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE! I am completely on board with the “win is a win” mentality.

Take a look around the league. Plenty of other good teams with Super Bowl expectations are not 2-0. The Patriots lost to the Dolphins. The Seahawks lost to a decent San Diego team. The 49ers choked away a big 2nd-half lead at home. The freaking Saints are 0-2. Bad losses happen in the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE!. If the Broncos had dropped either of these games we might have some– SOME– cause for concern. But they didn’t.

Being a Broncos fan is really fun these days. They look like the best team in the AFC and they’re 2-0 and everybody is still finding stuff to be unhappy about. That’s pretty awesome when you think about it.

I said this last week, but all the Broncos need to do is keep piling up the ‘dubyas. I realize I would get a lot more reaction and readership if I yelled at you that THE BRONCOS ARE IN TROUBLE AND LOOK LIKE CRAP AND WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE DEFENSE NO WAIT WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE OFFENSE THEY’VE BARELY EVEN BEATEN TWO TEAMS THAT WENT A COMBINED 22-10 LAST YEAR THAT’S HORRIBLE. But I’m just a little more levelheaded than that. This team is fine. My outlook is pretty boring. It’s also true.

Keep in mind that if the Broncos recover the onside kick against the Colts, which they should have, that doesn’t turn into a one-possession game. And of course, if the Broncos don’t repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot with silly 4th-quarter penalties and catch a bad-break on an Alex Smith tuck-rule replay, they also win Sunday’s game pretty comfortably.

Von Miller is coming off an ACL injury. That’s not a particularly easy thing to do. He’s going to get better as the season progresses and that will help the defense a great deal. Wes Welker will be back this week which will improve the offense, especially on third downs.

The Broncos are going to the playoffs. That’s when things get interesting. Because I just can’t get all that worked up about the regular season. Especially when the Broncos are scoring more points than their opponents.

Speaking of winning games, I can’t imagine the Broncos will do so Sunday in Seattle, during what should be a fun afternoon. A Broncos win would be a huge statement to the rest of the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE!, but really I’m just looking to see if the Broncos can keep it close and stay competitive. A loss to the Seahawks in Seattle doesn’t break your season, but getting blown out… something like a score of… I don’t know… 43-8… You would have to think that would do some damage to the Broncos’ mental makeup over the course of this season.

But I think it will be an entertaining game. The Broncos lose a fairly close one. And I’ll be banging the “Everything-Is-Fine” drum in a week.

And hey did you see Peyton Manning being a real cry-baby jerk* when he was yelling at Orange Julius?

*Just kiddin’. This is what leaders (and all good, competitive quarterbacks) do. It’s part of sports. And sports are fun!

Off to the weekly departments…

Douche(s) of the week:

Seattle Seahawks fans are enourmous douche bags. (Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Seahawks fans are the absolute worst. There is no longer any doubt who is the most insufferable fan base in the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE!. It’s not the Raiders or Steelers or Patriots or even the Jaguars.

Seahawks fans insist on calling themselves the 12th man, even though that is a blatant rip-off of Texas A&M, who has been using and embracing the term since 1922.
They’re more proud of having the so-called “loudest stadium in the league” than anything else in their lives (except maybe Seattle’s soccer team). I think all stadiums are pretty loud when the home team is good, you no-life losers. Get over yourselves and give it a rest.
Some of them wanted to erect a statue of Richard Sherman, which is a really stupid thing to want to do.
They were nowhere to be found just a few short years ago when the Seahawks were an average (or bad) team. This whole mantra is brand new. And in a few years after they have to pay Russell Wilson and the makeup of their roster has completely changed and they’re no longer Super Bowl champions, they’ll be nowhere to be found once more.

Oh, and Richard Sherman is also a huge douche and the most self-absorbed player in the league.

(Unrelated: Jonathan Paplebon is still a douche as well.)

Stud(s) of the week:

So RayRiceRogerGoddellAdrianPeterson and the entire National Football League! should probably have the previous, “douche” distinction because they’re all horrible. And yes, there seems to be a new story every day that makes me want to abandon all of professional football. But I won’t. And neither will you. And I’ve come to terms with that because it’s important to remember the people in the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE! who are not horrible. You know, the vast majority of people affiliated with or employed by the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE! who are upstanding citizens and good people.

It’s okay to still watch and root for them.

Tweet of the week:

Goodell should go on TV holding up a dirty envelope. "We found the tape. It fell behind a cabinet in the mailroom. My bad."

— Eric Stangel (@EricStangel) September 10, 2014

Pretty funny. You should follow Eric Stangel.

Vine(s) of the week:

This one might take you a while, but is pretty awesome once you see it. I’ve watched this a few dozen times and have no explanation as to why he is doing that.

(Update: This Vine has absolutely exploded in the past 12 hours or so– 13 million loops!– and the coach has since offered an explanation. They were pretty much just messing around, which is awesome.)

And I can’t tell if this guy is doing some really mean trash talk or is simply a very caring person.

No… No, he’s just being a dick. Pretty awesome. (Hat tip to Dunks for sending that one over.)

Some other stuff the internet had to offer from the past week:

This GIF just cracks me the hell up:

She doesn't even know. pic.twitter.com/Oyw2FiJLlY

— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) September 10, 2014

I absolutely love the mid-dance beer swig. Doesn’t miss a beat!

This is not how you’re supposed to do it:

Some really good pass defense here:

These two Miss America contestants have some interesting and potentially completely made up factoids about themselves:

What. #MissAmerica pic.twitter.com/VrV9uAOaRB

— Alie Martell (@aliemartell) September 15, 2014

oh she should win RT @SlettyBear: @Lana this was my favorite pic.twitter.com/iywQgw8fqa

— Lana Berry (@Lana) September 15, 2014

A couple links worth sharing from the past week:

“The Rockies look like a team hitting bottom without a plan for how to climb back up.” from Sports Illustrated’s Rockies’ year-in-review.
This awesome high school senior wants his yearbook picture to feature a cat and some lasers because he’s awesome. The school won’t let him because it is not awesome.
My favorite person on the internet was profiled in Slate yesterday. PFTCommenter, the anonymous, satirical, parody of a Twitter account and writer is so hard for me to explain to other people so I’m glad somebody else is writing about how awesome he is. (Grantland also wrote about him a few months back.)

And finally, this guy knows exactly what to do when some douchey frat douches start acting like douches and beating the crap out of a fellow douche.

Facial expression just kills me.

Happy Tuesday everybody. Thanks for reading. See y’all next week.

***

Some Thoughts on Champ Bailey

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Welcome to the 51st edition of Tuesdays With Mitch, where we’re mourning a sad day in my career as a sports fan. Big post this week, starting with some free-flowing, meandering thoughts on the Champ Bailey situation. Get to it.

One of the all-time greats, Bailey’s days in Denver are done. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

So this sucks.

I remember when the Broncos traded Clinton Portis, my favorite Bronco, for a cornerback on the Redskins. I didn’t like the trade at the time because I was a sophomore in high school and all high school sophomores are stupid. Anyway, I didn’t understand why my favorite team would trade a running back in his prime for a defensive back.

It didn’t take me long to come around.

Now, my all-time favorite athlete not named Helton has been shown the door against his will in an awfully depressing manner.

The best defensive player in franchise history will not retire as a Bronco. He will never win a Super Bowl in Denver.

Perhaps this situation bums me out so damn much because watching my favorite athletes retire or leave town hits close to home with the post-college quarter-life crises I’ve been in for a few years. If Champ Bailey and Todd Helton are considered old and unwanted, what does that mean for me? Sometimes I absolutely do not want the status quo to change. Having #24 shut down half of a football field was a staple in my life that I’m just not ready to give up, as natural as the Colorado sunshine or a night out with friends.

I really can’t understate how much I respect Champ Bailey and admire his career.

I mentioned Todd Helton earlier. There’s no debating who my favorite athlete ever is. (Read my Helton post here.) Bailey is a close second on my all-time list.

I know a lot of Bailey/Bronco fans don’t give a damn about Helton, but there are similarities in their careers that I’ve always noticed. Like Helton, Bailey didn’t do much talking but let his game speak for itself. Like Helton, Bailey’s career has been criminally underrated on a national level. Like Helton, Bailey’s quiet demeanor should not be confused for a lack of competitive fire. He might not say it, but I can guarantee you that not winning a Super Bowl in Denver kills Champ.

And that just sucks.

Also, it’s important that you people bury the Champ-Hasn’t-Been-Good-For-The-Past-Few-Years Narrative. This outlook is lazy. It’s garbage. It’s untrue. And it’s not fair to Champ.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. I pulled the following quote out of Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback column from January 14 2013, two days after Champ got burned in the Broncos’ shocking loss to the Ravens. King used the in-depth analytics from the guys over at Pro Football Focus. Turns out Champ was one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL all throughout 2013, (something I’ve been screaming at anti-Champers while banging on tables for a over a year now):

Each week, thanks to play-by-play game dissection by ProFootballFocus.com, I’ll look at one important matchup or individual performance metric from one of the weekend games. Reports PFF.com czar Neil Hornsby on the divisional round:

“The most surprising note of a great weekend of football? Denver cornerback Champ Bailey played his worst game in five years and really hurt the Broncos Saturday in their 38-35 loss to Baltimore… What led Denver coaches to believe that this was going to be a viable option?

“On the evidence of a full season of play. Bailey had gone one-on-one with the best receiver of nearly every team Denver had faced. And, until Saturday it had worked every time. Bailey had a superb season. We voted him our 2nd Team All-Pro corner (an honor that was replicated in the AP All-Pro team released on Saturday) because he stood out on tape and this was reflected in the numbers too.

“In terms of giving up first downs/touchdowns per coverage snap he was ranked fourth overall among corners, and of those above him, no one was given the same coverage responsibilities he had. On balls that traveled over 20 yards in the air he allowed only three to be completed all year, with none of these going for touchdowns. Covering the likes of Vincent Jackson, Andre Johnson, A.J. Green, Roddy White and Brandon Lloyd, Bailey gave up only 17 completions of more than 10 yards and a single touchdown all year.

Then there was the small matter of how great a job he did in Week 15 against the same Ravens team; allowing only three passes to be completed on 46 coverage snaps, for 26 yards…

“This wasn’t a risky gamble. It was made on the back of a whole season of evidence of him performing a similar role and doing it very well. Nothing is ever guaranteed in football.”

But for some reason fans get bored with greatness and need to find reasons to bash and disrespect Bailey, and the Champ-Hasn’t-Been-Good-For-The-Past-Few-Years Narrative was born, albeit without logic or reason.

Bailey, always the true professional, finally made it to his first Super Bowl this year. Things went downhill from there. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Of course, the information above pertained to the year prior to the most recent season. This year Champ was hurt and never really recovered. He wasn’t himself. I thought he played very well in the AFC Championship game against the Patriots. But then he didn’t look good in the Super Bowl.

But who did? (The answer is nobody.)

Maybe I’m looking through orange colored glasses (see what I did there?) and am being unreasonably optimistic, but I’d be willing to chalk up Champ’s rough 2013 to a nagging injury that he couldn’t shake. If Champ can get healthy, I would not be the least bit surprised to see him come back and play at a high level like he did in 2012.

Also, I’m not a fan of the way the Broncos handled this situation. Bailey’s salary was too high, I’m not debating that. But it sounds like Champ was willing to restructure his contract or take a pay cut and the Broncos were flat out not interested. Just get the hell out Champ. You’re done. Oh hey, thanks for the ten years though that was cool. Oh and don’t worry, we’ll tweet out some tribute photo galleries, so it’s all good right?

The NFL is a business, blahblahblah. I get that. This whole situation just seems unnecessarily cold-blooded. I suppose I’m a little biased in this instance, but whatever.

Anyway, this is probably the defining moment of Champ’s career in Denver, and it’s awesome.

As wonderful as that moment was, when I look back at Champ’s days as a Bronco, I think I’ll remember the week-in, week-out excellence more than anything. Without hyperbole, I can say that for several years, Champ was, hands-down, the best football player on the field every single week.

I’ve never seen a cornerback that defended the run like Champ. He was the best cover corner in the game, but he was also the best tackler on the Broncos.

I remember Champ used to track the number of balls his receivers caught on him for a whole season. After an All-Pro year, Champ would lament that that number wasn’t zero. That’s a serious indication of greatness.

So here’s to Champ Bailey, who was just a pleasure to watch and root for over the course of ten seasons in Denver.

For my generation of Broncos fans, there will never be another Champ Bailey.

Thanks for the memories, Champ.

Off to the weekly departments, with a focus on the awesome end to the college basketball regular season (It’s March!)…

Stud(s) of the week:

We have three studs this week starting with CU coach Tad Boyle. I had some fairly unkind things to say about the CU program a few weeks ago. The Buffs went 1-1 on their Bay Area road trip last week, but the win at Stanford was probably all they needed to punch a ticket to the big dance. When Dinwiddie went down earlier in the year I thought the Buffs’ tournament hopes went down with it. I was wrong. They recovered nicely. And now I have to begrudgingly give them credit. Tad Boyle can really coach.

Stud number two is Nebraska coach Tim Miles. The former Colorado State head man got a huge win over Wisconsin on Sunday that should lock up the Huskers’ bid. I knew first hand that Miles could coach, but turning around a program like Nebraska in a conference like the Big 10 in only two years is just remarkable. Incredibly impressive job from Miles, who was named the B1G Coach of the Year yesterday. This other moment that came out of Lincoln on Sunday was also pretty awesome/studly:

Stud number three is Creighton senior Doug McDermott. Douggie McBuckets broke the 3,000 point mark with a career high 45 points on Senior Night in his last game in Omaha. It was an very special moment for one of the greatest college basketball players of all time. Only eight players have ever scored 3,000, and McBuckets is on pace to finish fourth all-time. This dude’s whole career has been wildly underrated. And I don’t give a damn what he does in the NBA; that should have no impact on his college legacy.

Douche of the week:

This was just weird:

Tweet(s) of the week:

Wichita State is 34-0 and Dancing. Ready to take on the world.

— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) March 9, 2014

34-0. It’s just so damn awesome. What a great thing for college basketball.

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 9, 2014

Wichita State finished 34-0. This doesn’t need to turn into a debate about whether they deserve a 1-seed or what their record would be in a different conference. Just appreciate how rare it is to go undefeated. Quite an accomplishment.

Photo of the week:

(AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Cheryl Evans)

That’s Hank, the former stray dog that the Brewers have officially adopted and made their team pet. Pretty heartwarming story.

Some other videos of note from the week:

Wyoming beat CSU on Saturday and… damn.

In other Mountain West news…

This is the definition of hard freaking core.

(story here.)

And finally, I don’t give the Avalanche nearly enough love on here. (I’ve been meaning to devote a post to them for a while, promise!) They have the Coach of the Year and the Rookie of the Year and a new music video thing that’s getting quite a bit of internet love.

Give them an “A” for effort, although I’m not sure I really see the connection or understand the point. Still pretty cool though.

***

Happy Tuesday everybody. Thanks for reading. See ya next week for the One Year Anniversary of your favorite blog.

The Annoying People At Your Football Party

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So, that didn’t go well. (Getty Images)

Welcome to the 46th edition of Tuesdays With Mitch, where I don’t have much to contribute to the Super Bowl narrative on a Tuesday afternoon. It’s all over. In Denver, there wasn’t even any quirky or lighthearted aspects of the Super Bowl. We don’t care about the commercials. We don’t care about the halftime show. We don’t care about Joe Namath’s coat. There was just embarrassment and confusion. Dismay and desperation and depression. And dads on smart phones with crying kids.

(via Getty Images)

There were also annoying people at bars. I watched the game downtown at Jackson’s in LoDo. Jackson’s is a great Denver bar and it was packed and the atmosphere was awesome… For the first 12 seconds of the game. Anyway, a guy behind me helped me come to an important realization. This gentleman was screaming various forms of the word “F–K!” at various players during every single play of the game. Every single play. Every. Single. Play.

A handoff to Moreno around the edge on 2nd and 7: “OHH YOU BETTER GET THE F–KING FIRST DOWN!” Russell Wilson scrambles for a first down on 3rd and 6: “WHY THE F–K DON’T WE HAVE A F–KING SPY ON HIM?!” A poor throw from Manning that falls incomplete with no real intended receiving target: “DECKER CAN’T F–KING GET OPEN!” You get the idea. I don’t even mind the cussing. If you’re watching the Broncos play in the Super Bowl in Denver, you are probably going to hear some naughty words. Anyway, this brings me to my next point: Watching important football games with large groups of people you don’t know kind of sucks. I present: The Annoying People Of Large Football Gatherings. (Horray I found a way to write about the Super Bowl without actually writing about that horrible Super Bowl!)

We’ll start with the cute 21-year-old girls in pink Broncos jerseys (probably Decker) that couldn’t tell you what a first down is. These chicks are pretty standard at most sporting events. They take selfies for their Instagram accounts with their little stickers on their cheeks and big smiles. They are unavoidable. Pretty annoying, but not a real big deal. On the plus side, if the game goes south, the males who are actually football fans have something to shift their focus. This is the reason these girls are socially acceptable in the macho manly world of football and beer and big TVs and hot wings. Aaarrghh!

Next we have the I-kind-of-like-the-Broncos-but-really-I-just-want-to-get-wasted guy. “Dude, we gotta do shots for every Broncos’ touchdown!” on Sunday quickly faded into “Alright dude, we gotta do shots every time the Seahawks score or the Broncos turn it over or they show Richard Sherman on the sidelines or a Bronco gets tackled or they go to commercial!” Again, these guys are pretty standard for most sporting events. Comes with the territory. No big deal. (Unless he is trying to start The Wave at Coors Field, which is a classic move for this guy.)

Broncos watch parties are filled with annoying people. (Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

The next two characters are the ones that really irk me. Our third football party staple is the I-know-a-lot-about-the-Broncos-and-football guy. He is very excited to try to exercise his immense knowledge of all things pertaining to the game to anyone who is listening, which is usually nobody.

A fan’s casual observation of “They got Decker back to receive punts again.” is met with “Yeah dude they don’t trust Holliday inside the twenties because he has bad hands Decker has better hands he’s not as explosive but he’s more trustworthy Fox said he wasn’t gunna make any changes in the punt return game on Wednesday I read it online if it’s a crucial moment like if they’re down 5 with a minute left it’ll probably be Trindon yanno because he’s more explosive but Decker is gunna be back there for now.”

Okay, buddy. Thanks.

This dude loves to talk about players on the offensive line. Obviously he knows more about the Broncos than you if he’s naming offensive linemen! “What is Beadles even doing?!” or “Ohh man watch Manny Ramirez on this play are you kidding me?!”

And of course, he knows he should be coaching the team, even though he didn’t quite make JV in high school. “We have to get out of this cover two!” “He’s not even trying to look off the safety over the top.” “Watch the zone read here… WATCH THE ZONE READ.”

Lastly, we have my least favorite person at any large football gathering. The I’m-a-bigger-fan-than-you guy. This is the guy who finds it imperative that everyone knows just how passionate he is about his team. The “F-word” guy I’ve already discussed falls into this category. This guy is a bit of a spinoff from the last, knowledge dispensing, character. He wants you to know how much he knows, but really he just wants you to see HOW MUCH HE CARES. He probably started caring about the Broncos around the time Peyton Manning strolled into town but dammit if he’s not overflowing with passion these days. Look at his orange hoody! He just yelled so loud during that 22-yard kickoff return! He’s wearing Broncos gloves! GLOVES! Did you see how focused he was when Moreno was slow to get up? He was so focused. He must really care. He is like a super fan. I wonder if he has a bunch of money on the game. Man, he must have a bunch of money on the line, because look how INTO IT he is! If something good happens I’m going to look over at him to see his reaction. If something bad happens I’m going to look over at him to see his reaction. Whoa, he just flipped over his basket of chips and some of them hit that girl in the back of the head and he didn’t even apologize! He is one serious fan! I wonder if he knows Pat Bowlen. Maybe I’ll ask him. No. No, I don’t want to interrupt his viewing experience with such a silly question. Yeah, I’m just going to stay out of the way and watch him react to the game. He is scowling at the TV mumbling into his GLOVES! I wonder what he is telling his GLOVES. Look at him just completely ignoring his friends. They’re talking to him but he’s so mad he doesn’t even care! Ohh man he just stepped outside to get some air. He doesn’t even smoke, he just walked out to the patio in the cold because he COULDN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!

We get it man.

This dude is just the worst. Something tells me the guy leaning on the table quietly watching each play with his arms folded cares just as much as you do, he just doesn’t crave the attention.

Moving on…

Stud of the week:

The Seahawks. Going into the Super Bowl I thought the Broncos were the better team. Now, I think if those two teams played ten times, Seattle wins at least nine of them. Percy Harvin is a game changer. That defense is nuts. Russell Wilson does enough. Props to Seattle, the best team in the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE! by a wide margin. Those dudes are good.

Douche of the week:

The Broncos. Because what the hell was that?

Tweet of the week:

I’m sure there were lots of hilarious tweets about the Super Bowl. I wasn’t about to read any of them. Sorry.

What to watch the next seven days:

Depending on who you ask, the end of the Super Bowl means it is officially college basketball/NBA/NHL season. I’ve pretty much lost interest in the Nuggets, so they don’t make the cut this week. Not a whole lot of college basketball peaks my interest until Saturday, when just about everybody is in action. (Colorado State hosts UNLV tomorrow night. The Rams have been competitive in just about every Mountain West game; they just can’t close out any good teams.) (Colorado has gone from a top-20 ranking to the bubble. They host Washington State tomorrow night). The Avs continue to win games, so they’re worth your time. They play tonight, Thursday and Saturday on the East Coast.

And we can’t forget the Olympics. The Opening Ceremonies are Friday night on NBC. Keep on eye on NBC, NBC Sports, USA, MSNBC and CNBC for coverage that figures to be pretty much constant.

Here’s an important story from Sports Illustrated about an NFL player’s struggles after football. It’s worth your time.

See if you can count how many words Popovich gives in this interview:

CSU Basketball fans should get a kick out of Tim Miles helping a fan ask his girlfriend to marry him. You don’t usually see this kind of thing from college basketball coaches, but Tim remains a pretty cool dude.

(Tip of the hat to fellow WordPresser Luke Binder for the assist on that one).

And finally, if Richard Sherman references don’t pain you too much, you should watch this incredible video from Frank Caliendo. (Don’t worry it’s not really about Sherman).

I think his Schefter is just hilarious.

***

Happy Tuesday everybody. Thanks for reading. This week will be better than the last. See ya next week.

Your Weekly Roundup From the Sports World and Internet

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Welcome to the 45th edition of Tuesdays With Mitch, where we are getting all geared up for the big game on Sunday. Puppy Bowl IX figures to be a strong one. Here are your starting lineups. I would look for Gunther and Biscuit to make plays in the early going. Their talent figures to be too much for Daffodil and Sally to keep up with. Keep an eye out for Arlo coming off the bench. Pup is aggressive and hungry. Either way we’re in for a classic.

The Broncos must limit Marshawn Lynch’s production to win their third Super Bowl. (Troy Wayrynen/The Columbian)

Anyway, I don’t have a whole lot of blog time this week so I’ll just give you some quick thoughts on that other game.

The Broncos should win and I think they will.
The Seahawks’ defense is easily the best defense the Broncos have seen all season.
This defense will not stop the Broncos’ offense because the Broncos’ offense is too talented, too deep, too balanced and too versatile. Versatility is the key here. They can beat you in an infinite number of ways.
For the third straight week, the Broncos’ rushing defense will be key.
The Broncos’ rushing defense has been really, really good lately.
Russell Wilson is a fine quarterback with a very bright future, but I feel comfortable if he is the person attempting to beat the Broncos .
Shut up about the weather. It doesn’t look like it’ll be too bad and even if it turns out to be snowy and cold, that will not negatively impact the Broncos a great deal.
Try not to talk about the commercials too much.
Broncos 31, Seahawks 20
Peyton Manning completes what is indisputably the greatest football season ever played and one of the most remarkable sports stories we’ve ever seen when he is named Super Bowl MVP.
Hopefully we’ll all be so blessed as to get an updated version of the Manning Confetti Face GIF with the addition of the Lombardi trophy.

via @corkgaines

Stud of the week:

Kevin Durant is playing basketball at a pretty much unprecedented level right now. He’s averaging 37 points in the month of January. 37! In all of January! I don’t talk about the NBA a whole lot these days, but the Slim Reaper is must-watch TV right now. He nailed this come-from-behind game-winner last night in his 11th straight game with 30 or more points.

Douche of the week:

These girls. Dumb annoying college girls being dumb, annoying college girls in one of the best GIFs ever.

So dumb. So annoying. So college girl. The term “douche” is generally used in reference to males; this is the female version of a douche. (Three of them, actually.)

Tweet of the week:

Behanan to Bleacher Report on his decision to attend CSU: "I respect Coach Eustachy and what he's been through. We have a good connection."

— Jason King (@JasonKingBR) January 27, 2014

The Colorado State basketball team just received an unconventional commitment from a legitimate NBA prospect. Quick recap: Chane Behanan was kicked off the team at Louisville for violating team rules, probably because of smoking weed. He is working with John Lucas, who runs some kind of “life coach” program for athletes in trouble. Larry Eustachy worked with Lucas when Eustachy was battling his alcoholism. Eustachy was able to sign Behanan. The internet made approximately 100,000 jokes about Behanan transferring to a state where marijuana is legal.

Anyway, this is a big get for CSU. Behanan will be eligible beginning the second semester of next season and if he stays out of trouble he will be a big-time, impact player in the Mountain West.

What to watch the next seven days:

HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE PUPPY BOWL?!

The second go ’round of Bad Lip Reading in the NFL has 14 million views in four days. That’s unbelievable.

The baseball and basketball versions came first. Now we have the football version of Bad British Commentary. I like the first two better, but this is still good.

Something kind of good came out of the whole Richard Sherman thing, after all.

Here’s a thought-provoking, non-sports piece about a rich dude’s greed and his battle with wealth addiction. Read it.

This Grantland piece on the historical context of how good the Broncos’ offense is (same with Seattle’s defense) came out today. It might give you a headache if you’re not into math and statistics, but some of the numbers are mind boggling, like this chart ranking 2013 offenses based on standard deviations:

I really liked this story from a cancer patient who took out this ad in the Denver post. Pretty cool reminder of why we love sports.

And finally, Jacoby Jones is at the Pelicans’ game. Let’s get his thoughts!

Why, oh why does that reporter keep going back to him? She asks him six different questions. Two minutes of pure gold right there. Yyyyyeeesss Mayyyuuummm.

***

Happy Tuesday everybody. ENJOY THE PUPPY BOWL! Thanks for reading. See ya next week.

Why We Should All Hate the Patriots

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Welcome to the 43rd edition of Tuesdays With Mitch, where I’m trying to find someone willing to talk about the upcoming AFC Championship game. Haven’t had much luck, so I guess I’ll get the conversation started.

The Patriots receive a good amount of hate from most corners of the football world throughout the year. For Broncos fans, though, it’s time to take that hate to another level. If you can’t get on board with some good New England bashing the week of a Broncos vs. Patriots AFC Championship game, you aren’t much of a Coloradoan or Bronco fan.

It starts with their awful quarterback.

Tom Brady is one of the best quarterbacks of all time, but dear Lord, he is awful. Truly an all-time douche bag. If you can watch Tom Brady play a whole game of football and never think to yourself Man, F*** him then something is wrong with you.

A lot is made of his antics of screaming at the referees or his teammates or even one of his own coaches. I don’t really mind this stuff. Every decent quarterback does that kind of thing, including Peyton Manning and John Elway.

Tom Brady’s awfulness comes out when he’s off the field.

I’m not sure what to say about his dancing.

via mocksession.com

Or these magazine covers. Tom Brady has, without a doubt, appeared on the cover of more non-sports magazines than any athlete ever.

How many other quarterbacks are being interviewed for stupid articles in Women’s Health Magazine? (My favorite quote: “Guilty pleasure? A frozen margarita. Oh my God.”) Yeah, I’m going to go with zero.

Peyton Manning is in a bunch of dumb commercials. They’re usually corny and poorly produced (“Hey Papa…”). But they’re definitely not as douchey as whatever the hell this is.

Oh yeah… and he’s married to this person.

If that doesn’t make you hate the guy, I don’t know what to tell you.

This kid sums it up pretty well.

So obviously Tom Brady is reason 1 to hate the Patriots. Reason 1A is their head coach. The cutoff hoody wearing, perpetually frowning, mumbling, lying, cheating, Bill Belichick.

Lookin good, Bill. (Damian Strohmeyer/SI)

The Hoody was certainly the behind the scandal that found the Patriots guilty of cheating in 2007, creatively titled by the media as “Spygate.” Belichick admitted to taping teams’ signals in closed practices dating back to 2000. The league fined Belichick $500,000 (the maximum amount a coach can be fined) and took away their first round draft pick in 2008. Since the scandal was revealed, the Patriots have won zero Super Bowls.

I can’t believe this isn’t talked about more.

But of course, the real reason to hate The Hoody is just the way the miserable, horrible piece of crap carries himself. He’s condescending to reporters and speaking to the press is seemingly a source of tremendous pain for this weirdo, even though that’s kind of a huge part of your job description as head coach.

Earlier this week the Wall Street Journal did some in-depth investigative journalism. They figured out how many times Belichick smiled this season in this well-done video. (Not very many.)

Here’s a reporter lobbing Belichick a softball during the holiday season. Naturally, Bill replies with a really fun, insightful, cheerful response.

Just say Jingle Bells you freaking crazy nutjob.

And let’s not forget the gangster serial killer the Patriots decided to employ.

The Patriots are the only NFL team that decided to employ a gangster murderer in Aaron Hernandez. (Ted Fitzgerald, Boston Herald)

No other team would take a chance on Aaron Hernandez because it was clear he was a horrible person. The Patriots, well they are the Patriots, so surely a drugged out murderer would reform and change his ways under the tutelage of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and Bob Kraft. Why? Because it’s The Patriot Way. And anyone so blessed and lucky to be a part of The Patriot Way would never screw that up. Yeah, or he would play games on acid and keep murdering people.

Then there’s Josh McDaniels. He drafted some good players for the Broncos (Moreno, Ayers, Bruton, D. Thomas, Beadles, Walton, Decker, Tebow). He also drafted some bad ones (Alphonso Smith, Darcel McBath, Richard Quinn, Perrish Cox, Tebow). But let’s be honest, the guy was always a huge douche and the Broncos couldn’t fire him fast enough. He’s now back with the Patriots as offensive coordinator.

And of course, we can’t forget the insufferable Boston sports fans. According to insufferable Boston sports fans, insufferable Boston sports fans are God’s gift to each and every sport. This group gets drunk and screams in the classic nails-on-a-chalkboard accent about the Pahhhhttts or the Red Sawwwwwx being the model franchise in sports.

I guarantee you that right now somebody, somewhere in the northeast is pounding a Sam Adams and babbling to a disinterested out-of-towner about the Patriots dominant, decade-long dynasty even though they haven’t won a Super Bowl in eight seasons. EIGHT FREAKING SEASONS.

That fact that the last Super Bowl the Patriots won was in the 2004 season seems to be easily forgotten among the entitled chowdaheads and the media.

Here’s hoping that come Sunday, the Broncos extend that streak and send the Patriots, their awful quarterback, miserable coach and insufferable fans to another long offseas0n.

OTHER STUFF

Douche of the week:

I don’t think Philip Rivers is that big of a douche. I actually find his childish antics to be pretty funny (more so when the Chargers lose). Anyway, I know most of you freaking hate the guy, so here are a few GIFs of Philip Rivers acting like an upset child. These are always thoroughly enjoyable.

via @cjzero

Here’s Robert Ayers mocking our favorite little upset fella.

via @sbnationgif

And here’s the little tyke reacting to that big, game-sealing third down.

via @cjzero

That’s just really great stuff from your Douche Of The Week.

Stud of the week:

LaGarrette Blount. The Pats’ back ran for four touchdowns in the Patriots’ 43-22 win over the Colts. The Patriots ran the ball 46 times. Brady only threw 25 passes, completing just 13. Some of this is because the Pats had the lead and the ball in the fourth quarter, but the Patriots offense is now predominately centered around running the ball, much like the Chargers. Much is made about Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, but the Broncos’ rushing defense, which has been pretty good all year, is the key to this game. If Blount goes for 166 and four against the Broncos, it will be a long championship Sunday.

Tweet of the week:

In 990 snaps with Chris Harris on the field, DEN allowed a 43.6 QBR. In 81 snaps with Harris on the sideline, DEN allowed a 93.0 QBR

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 13, 2014

I bring this up because I think the Chris Harris injury is really bad news for the Broncos. The Chargers scored all of their points after Harris was hurt. You don’t need the advanced stats of that tweet to know that Quenten Jammer looked horrible trying to hang with Keenan Allen, who caught two touchdowns. I think it’s up to Champ Bailey to move from the nickel and start in Harris’s place. Maybe this will happen.

What to watch the next seven days:

Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots, Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium, Sunday January 19th, 1 p.m. MST. The Super Bowl on the line. That is all.

Here’s a video of all the times Peyton Manning said “Omaha” on Sunday.

And finally, here’s some interesting stuff regarding Brady that I haven’t heard mentioned once this week. Brady hasn’t played a road playoff game since the 2006 season. His career road playoff record is 3-2. His record in such games since the 2004 season is 1-2. One of the two losses was in Denver; the other in Indianapolis against Peyton Manning. Indeed, since winning the Super Bowl in the 2004 season, Tom Brady has one win on the road in the playoffs. The Patriot-loving national media hasn’t said much about this.

Mitch Hahn’s official prediction (sometimes I’m not wrong!): Broncos 39, Patriots 30.

***

Happy Tuesday everybody. Thanks for reading. See ya next week.

The Broncos Should Beat The Chargers; The Flying ‘Bama Ninja; Other Stuff

Your Weekly Roundup From the Sports World and Internet

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Welcome to the 38th edition of Tuesdays With Mitch, where we’re fully immersed in the busiest sports time of the year. I’m talking Broncos, Rockies, CSU Rams, CU Buffaloes, Nuggets and all the other stuff this week. Get after it.

Peyton Manning doesn’t care about the weather. (AP Photo)

The Broncos beat the Titans 51-38 Sunday. A few quick takeaways from your favorite blogger:

THE COLD. It was freaking cold out. I was there. And it was freaking cold. The narrative for much of the season has been Peyton Manning’s inability to play well in, and his overall disdain for, the cold. The Super Bowl is in New Jersey in early February and the playoffs will be in Denver in January and it will probably be cold for all those and Peyton Manning doesn’t like the cold so the Broncos are in serious trouble. If you are as level-headed and reasonable as I am, you’ve known this idea has been completely overblown.

Manning seemed motivated to disprove this theory on Sunday. He threw the ball 59 times, which is a career high. The offense lit up the scoreboard for 51 points and Peyton threw for four touchdowns and 397 yards. He did so not only by throwing crisp, short routes; he was throwing darts down the field for long gains again. My sources tell me all that makes for a pretty good game. My sources also tell me it was freaking cold out.

So put that theory to bed. Manning is fine in cold weather.

THE DEFENSE. It’s not a great look for the defense to give up 28 points to the Tennessee Titans. Naturally, lots of Broncos fans are awfully concerned that the defense is horrible and the Broncos are doomed. The Broncos won the game by 23 points and when that happens, I fail to see much of a problem. Should it have been 51-24? Would everything be okay if it was 51-17? 51-14? What is an acceptable margin of victory for you nut jobs? If the Broncos’ patchwork defense can keep their opponents’ scores in the mid-30s or below in the playoffs, they should be fine. Getting a little healthier will make that easier. (12/11 update: In the original posting I had the final score incorrect at 51-38. I regret the error but am blaming the flask of Jack Daniel’s I sneaked into the stadium for fogging my gameday memory.)

WHAT DOES VEGAS THINK? Again, Vegas knows more than everyone, so I think it’s telling and interesting to see what the Wise Guys think of the various favorites in the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE. Of course, one must consume Vegas odds with a grain of salt. The Broncos were favored to win it all last year and that didn’t work out so good. So while I think these figures represent an accurate picture of the likelihood of success, they also kind of do not mean a damn thing.

Right now, according to Bovada, the Broncos and the Seahawks are both equally favored to win the Super Bowl at 11/4 odds. (If you like to think of it with a “1” as the denominator like I do, that makes 2.75 to 1, which I know isn’t a real ratio, but helps put it all in perspective.) If my memory serves me correctly, the Broncos were about 8/1 to win the Super Bowl at this point last year. So Vegas likes the Broncos way more this year than last season. After the Broncos and Seahawks, the Saints and 49ers are the next most likely to win it all at 8/1.

The Broncos are very heavily favored to win the AFC at 4/5 (or 0.8 to 1). The Patriots are a significant step behind at 7/2 (or 3.5 to 1).

So if you put any faith in a horde of well-paid insiders that make a living analyzing every tiny detail of every aspect of everything regarding every team, the Broncos are in pretty good shape.

Matt Prater kicked this ball a long way and it went over that yellow post and between the two other yellow posts.

via @cjzero

That was good from 64 and I’ll tell ya what, it would have been good from 64 and a half!

The Colorado State Rams earned an invitation to the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, where they will take on the Washington State Cougars. The game is December 21 at noon– the first bowl game of the year. Here’s what Washington State has done this season:

screenshot via espn.com

There was a chance that CSU would get left out of a bowl. The Mountain West had seven teams finish at or above .500, but only six can receive bowl bids. Thankfully for Rams fans, San Jose State is on the outside looking in. Albuquerque is only a six hour drive from Denver if fans are interested in making the trip. The Cougars opened as 3.5 point favorites over Colorado State.

Dexter’s days in Denver are done. (USATSI)

I’m underwhelmed by the Rockies’ trading of Dexter Fowler and subsequent signing of Justin Morneau. They had to dump Fowler’s salary in order to sign Morneau so I look at it almost like a trade of the two players. Dexter’s defense will be missed and he had flashes of offensive brilliance but could never deliver at the plate as consistently as fans always hoped. The Rockies were in need of a first baseman and Morneau provides that, but I don’t think fans should expect huge offensive numbers. Simply put, the Rockies gave up on a good player and a signed a decent one because it was cheaper. That should not come as a huge shock to fans of this organization.

The Nuggets finished their East Coast road trip 4-2 and have now won nine of their last eleven games. After starting 0-3 and 4-6, they’re now sitting at 13-8. They’re doing it all without JaVale McGee and Danilo Gallinari, both of whom won’t be back for a while. I hope the Nuggets play well, but I get the feeling they’ll be seeded somewhere between 5 and 8 in the playoffs and will lose in the first round. And I’ve seen that story before.

On to the weekly segments…

Stud of the week: Colorado’s own Roy Halladay retired on Monday. The future Hall of Famer spent most of the last two seasons injured, but before that he was the most dominant pitcher of his generation. He threw a no-hitter in his first postseason start. He won two Cy Young Awards. But for me, the defining statistic for “Doc” will always be complete games. He finished his career with 67 of them. The next-closest active pitcher had 37. That is just a wild statistic. The Arvada West graduate might be the best Colorado-born athlete ever. (Feel free to comment with other suggestions.) Roy Halladay: All-Time Stud.

Douche of the week: These two giggling douche bags. In discussing a rape investigation — a RAPE INVESTIGATION– Florida State attorney Willie Meggs and his buddy, former Florida State Senator Al Lawson, treated the conference about DNA and sexual consent and drunkenness and a young man’s reputation with giggles and backslapping. It was just weird as hell and wildly inappropriate.

HuhHuhHuhHuh our favorite football player isn’t gunna be charged isn’t that great HuhHuhHuhHuh.

What to watch the next seven days:

It’s pretty clear which college basketball team is the best in the state (more on that later). But Colorado State plays Denver in a fairly intriguing match-up in what should determine the second best Colorado team tomorrow night at Moby. It’s televised on Root at 7.
Army – Navy. Saturday. CBS. 1:00. Don’t need to say much more than that.
Heat – Pacers tonight is about as good as it gets for an NBA game in December. It’s on NBAtv.
Friday nights usually don’t offer much in terms of good sports to watch. This week Iowa plays Iowa State in hoops. They’re both ranked. Could be worth checking out.
This is a horrible week for the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE, with only one game consisting of two teams with winning records (Patriots and Dolphins). So unless you’re living and dying for your fantasy team, it might be a good Sunday to get some shopping done.

Colorado beat Kansas on this buzzer beater. It was a pretty wild finish to a doozey of a game that moved the Buffs to #21 in the AP Poll (still unranked in the coaches poll). Tad Boyle has a very solid program rocking and rolling in Boulder. I am no CU fan, but this was probably pretty fun for all those drugged out hippies:

via deadspin.com

Check out the scrub ripping off his warm-up shirt for no reason. He was just too elated to wear sleeves.

How cool is this video?

Pretty darn cool. Explanation can be found here.

I had the Auburn Radio call of the final play of the Iron Bowl last week. Here is the (pretend) Alabama version. These dudes had me laughing.

Very creative sign-making here.

via @sbnationgif

See? It spells ESPN!

The NFL had a game Thursday night. The Jaguars played the Texans. Apparently some people even went to the game and even more watched on television, which I don’t really understand. Anyway, this is all you needed to see.

via @gifdsports and foxsports.com

Jeff Pearlman wrote a thought provoking open letter to Wes Welker asking him to retire immediately. I’m a fan of Welker and the Broncos, but it’s hard to argue with Pearlman here. A Super Bowl just can not be worth ruining your mental health for the rest of your life. So many things about football have to change. I might expand on these thoughts in a later post.

“Nelson Mandela, who led the emancipation of South Africa from white minority rule and served as his country’s first black president, becoming an international emblem of dignity and forbearance, died Thursday night. He was 95.” How’s that for a lede? The New York Times obituary on Nelson Mandela is epic and required reading ’round these parts.

And finally, my man Ron Burgundy has been everywhere lately. He’s been here. And here. And here. But this SportsCenter piece is pretty darn epic. If you haven’t seen or heard this one yet, you’ve been living under a rock. That said, I felt compelled to include it here because it is as good as these kinds of things get. Will Ferrell is incredible and Peyton is perfect for this spot.