Disqus - Latest Comments for merlinofchaos

Re: return and record

merlinofchaos — Sun, 22 Aug 2004 13:37:58 -0000

It was a fairly localized campaign, and 'Sted has friends in so many places I had no idea where to even look for them all. =)

Re: bipolar

merlinofchaos — Fri, 17 Sep 2004 15:38:10 -0000

Blogs aren't an accurate snapshot of a person's identity; they're a window into whatever that person wants to let out. If someone has emotions they want to express, they get magnified on blogs, because you only see a fairly small slice of what's really going on with that person. When all you see is someone expressing the louder emotions, you miss all of the quieter, more normal ones that the blogger doesn't feel are noteworthy, because they're
just day-to-day things.

Re: Broncos @ Colts GameDay Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 17:18:08 -0000

3:17 -- dammit, I thought we had him there.

Re: Things I’m looking forward to vs Buffalo

merlinofchaos — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 16:45:12 -0000

Some interesting reading I found lately. In a couple of articles rating the Broncos, some writers think our special teams has improved, especially in the last couple games of the preseason. And it's true, they performed quite a lot better than they had in the past. Both better stoppage and better yardage.

It's true that Sauerbrun shanked one, and didn't average as well as Ernster, but we also know that Sauerbrun is generally reliable. I don't think he'll do that during the season. I think he's got something to prove, and we're going to see him really put some leg into his kicks this season.

I think what I most want to see is Brandon Marshall show what he can do. I was really excited about him last year, and he's healthy. The talk that when he came back to practice, he didn't need to spend a lot of time getting back into condition, because he'd stayed in condition. That says a lot about his drive, and we already know about his talent.

What I'm most worried about isn't the defense -- they should be fine -- but Cutler's accuracy. The thing that really worried me last year was his tendency to underthrow. Football Outsiders did some stats, and two things really stood out about his performance last year: His poor completion percentage on 3rd down, when it matters, and his underthrows. Now, underthrows can be the fault of either the quarterback or the receiver, but I think they might have been because he was afraid of the ball getting away from him.

I have a feeling Cutler is going to be a rollercoaster quarterback. There will be thrills all right, but some of them will be thrills for the other team. The good news is that I'm not as concerned about him throwing picks -- he didn't throw any in the preseason and he only threw 5 (vs 9 TDs) last year. But he has tried to thread the needle a bit too much, and that is going to catch up with him.

But as I said, I do worry about Cutler and 3rd downs. If we cannot perform on 3rd downs, we simply cannot win.

The five things I want to see:

1) Travis Henry vs a porous run defense -- I hope for a lot of runs to the left behind Lepsis, and runs to the right behind Daniel Graham. We want to see one cut and run. We want to see Henry run so hard and so well that Selvin Young has to come in and spell him.

2) Pass protection in the backfield -- Kyle Johnson was let go because, as I understand it, he's better at receiving than blocking. That means Cecil Sapp is going to have to be a better blocker, and that means he's going to be the primary blitz pickup. Look for Sapp to line up offset left a lot, so he can cover the blind side.

3) Pass protection on the line -- Daniel Graham is supposed to be the one of the best blocking tight ends in the league. That means he and Erik Pears will be guarding the right side a lot. Keep an eye on those blitzers. See who picks 'em up, and who gets bowled over.

4) Picks -- we want Bly & Bailey to live up to their touting as the best cornerback tandem in the league. That means we want to see 20 picks between them for the year. That's a lot. That's 5 picks every 4 games, between them. That means we need to pressure the quarterback into at least three or four bad throws a game. And you know what that means? We have to shut down the middle, because if you don't want to throw at Bailey and you don't want to throw at Bly, then you're throwing at a tight end or WR on a crossing route who is being covered by Nate Webster. If I were the Bills, I know where I'd be looking second.

5) The end around -- and I don't mean the wide receiver. I mean Rice, Moss, Crowder and Dumervil. All of these guys are known for their sacking ability. We need them all to click. We need them to keep JP Losman running. If our offense can put up a two score lead, we don't need to shut down the running game; they won't be able to run, and our pass rushers can get into his face. I want to see all 4 of those guys at least touch the QB once and a couple of those touches be sacks.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:49:38 -0000

In and out of Bly's hands! Damn! That would've been sweet!

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:10:35 -0000

Holy crap how did we not get that sack there?

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:11:02 -0000

Ok I agree with that fair catch.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:14:48 -0000

Damn. Cutler and Marshall didn't look in sync on that one. Three and out. :/

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:15:23 -0000

Sauerbrun just isn't kicking like he did two years ago.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:36:50 -0000

DEFENSIVE FUMBLE RETURNED FOR TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!!

ELVIS DUMERVIL IS THE MAN!

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:40:36 -0000

McKinley gets a sack on just a four man rush! Holy crap!

Someone's pumped!

Re: 4 Problems with Drupal | 20bits

merlinofchaos — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 01:10:36 -0000

From the description of views above you can probably guess that the module programmatically generates SQL from the parameters specified on the administrative page. As anyone familiar with frameworks and CMSs knows, generated SQL is almost universally awful. The views module provides no exception. This SQL is only there to fetch a list of node ids, mind you. Each individual node id is then passed to node_load, which then results is another avalanche of database hits, even if the SQL generated by views is already using some of this data to filter the list of node ids. For example, if I had a view which produced list of all posts authored by “jim” it would generate SQL something like

Dude, do your research.

Views only does a node_load if it has to. There are a lot of situations where it has to for various reasons. You'd know that if you actually studied it as much as you claim to have.

Re: 4 Problems with Drupal | 20bits

merlinofchaos — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 01:12:07 -0000

Actually, you're wrong about foo_load() as well, though you're right in general about the hook system. (It's just that foo_load is a special type of hook that is not invoked universally, it is only invoked when the 'foo' content type is loaded).

Re: 4 Problems with Drupal | 20bits

merlinofchaos — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 02:11:46 -0000

I posted a more complete response here: http://www.angrydonuts.com/a_response_to_4_prob...

Re: 4 Problems with Drupal | 20bits

merlinofchaos — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 14:32:02 -0000

Jesse, I agree about the user hooks. They are fairly antiquated; nobody has really been doing any maintenance on the user.module stuff, so the existing code gets carried forward with every version. As near as I can tell, it hasn't changed significnatly since at least Drupal 4.4 (maybe earlier -- hard to say since I wasn't on the project way back then).

The node system also used to allow you to modify the node table directly and add fields; this got removed for revisions, and has been on teh slate to get put back, except that nobody has picked up the cause.

It's something I want to do, but I can only carry so many causes and that one isn't quite making the list. Maybe if I get insomniac one night I'll work on it.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:52:34 -0000

Let's continue conversations on the half-time thread. And I'll start a 2nd half thread when it starts too.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:23:00 -0000

First sack of the game. Good thing Jay kept it.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:24:38 -0000

First down on a screen! Hell yea! (They're saying it was a dump off but I thought it was a screen)

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:29:15 -0000

TD Scheffler! I believe this is Jay's first game with 3+ TD passes!

Re: Broncos @ Colts Second Half Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:46:04 -0000

But the offense can't stay ON the field on 3rd down.

Re: Roster upheaval!

merlinofchaos — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:11:41 -0000

hercules: I agree. We only had 4.5 safeties, and 1 of them currently injured. How does releasing a safety help us?

Re: Broncos Quarterback Time Capsule

merlinofchaos — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:14:20 -0000

Bahahaha. I love it!

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:47:42 -0000

Back to a 1 score game. But if we get a good TD drive it could still be OK. So.

LET'S GO BRONCOS!!!!!

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:53:37 -0000

Not a good start to this drive. Please don't go 3 and out. Please don't go 3 and out. Please don't go 3 and out.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:01:57 -0000

Ok, let's get that defense off the field on 3rd down! And I don't mean by giving up points!

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:02:53 -0000

They only rushed 3. That's a bad choice.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:04:44 -0000

Another sack!! This time for Engelberger

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:06:18 -0000

Aaaaaaaaargh

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:26:33 -0000

ELAM IS THE WINNAH!!!!!!

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:27:17 -0000

Jonathan, you want to do the game wrap post? I don't think I have any left =)

Re: Week 15 – Broncos @ Texans 2nd Half OPEN THREAD

merlinofchaos — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 23:18:34 -0000

It's all about training wheels, I guess. Here's to a good draft.

Re: Ian Gold, Daniel Graham Out with Injuries

merlinofchaos — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 23:16:08 -0000

I'm not sure Winborn was any worse than Gold, but losing Graham made a huge difference.

Re: Welcome to the New BroncoTalk

merlinofchaos — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:16:30 -0000

Whoa. This is significantly different than the last design I helped tweak.

Jonathan did the banners. He's quite good at the photoshop work.

Re: Brian Dawkins Signs with Broncos

merlinofchaos — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:49:17 -0000

SF Chron also has it, so that's two sources saying we got Dawkins.

Re: Broncos sign CB Andre Goodman

merlinofchaos — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 20:55:49 -0000

Dre' Bly got shafted.

So far I think we're doing about as well as we can, basically putting together a completely new defense out of free agency, but I have no excitement for it, really. Curiousity, to be sure, but unless we get a top NT out of the draft, I see this defense sucking pretty bad.

Re: Farewell, Rocky Mountain News

merlinofchaos — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:48:19 -0000

Well. This is BroncoTalk, we're always talking about Broncos!

Re: Darrell Jackson deal today?

merlinofchaos — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:59:32 -0000

Yea, when he was busy not succeeding as a niner. As a 'hawk, though, he was a good #2 receiver.

Re: On Space Oddities and Ground Control – McDaniels to Cutler

merlinofchaos — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:36:08 -0000

Honestly I'm getting tired of people holding up a win loss record like the quarterback is the only player on the team and saying "Clearly it's Cutler's fault."

Re: Daily Links – Third Goodman’s a Charm

merlinofchaos — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:24:38 -0000

That Russell guy. He's such a hellion.

Re: You Got Served! (Fantasy Style)

merlinofchaos — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:45:57 -0000

RedRock: For Alpha league. You're in beta. =)

Re: Who will be No. 3?

merlinofchaos — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 14:48:19 -0000

Man, that's a tough tough call. I have a feeling Watts isn't going to be able to overcome his inconsistency yet this year, but if he gets a chance to keep working on it, he still has a shot. Marshall's still a rookie, though a rookie in a #3 slot is usually a great place. But I also keep thinking Terrell has a decent shot to prove that he isn't a first round bust, but he is going to have to work awfully hard to do so.

The great news is that we have a lot of depth. The bad news is that we have so much depth someone we like is going to have to be cut in preseason. I think we'll end up keeping Charlie Adams at a low spot for his kick return capabilities, so as long as he's doing well he's pretty safe. That leaves Hixon, Marshall, Terrell and Watts probably all staying on the roster come the season. I think Marshall probably has the edge to be the #3 and Terrell and Watts may be neck-in-neck for #4, unless Terrell has a standout preseason game or two.

Re: Best offense a strong defense

merlinofchaos — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 00:09:27 -0000

Thinking back through the four games so far, it seems like the offense sputters unless it finds some kind of spark. Against Baltimore, it felt to me like that spark was Jake doing his little scramble. All of a sudden, he was more alive. He was quicker with the release, more on target and things tended to click. Now, I know the MNF idiots, er, I mean announcers mentioned that as well, but for a change I think Theismann was right when he mentioned it. It really seemed like Jake needed something like that to wake him up.

This is well and good, but if it really takes something like that to wake Plummer up, our offense is going to be problematic for some time to come. I'm not a bring-out-Cutler now kind of guy, and I'm not even a "He's not Elway" kind of guy. I have a lot of respect for Plummer, his play, and his attitude in general. But I am genuinely concerned about his performance for the last few games. I do want to believe that he can snap himself out of it -- last year he played at a high level for most of the season -- but the NFL is a 'show me' game. Right now, he's only managed to show me for 1 quarter out of 16 so far. That, in my mind, is worrisome.

The offense, on paper, has a whole lot of big play potential. We've got Smith and Walker, and from all accounts Kircus is capable of the big play. After the Patriots game, the comparisons to McCaffrey were starting to come, but he didn't get the big play on Monday. Not, I think, that I can really blame him. When the ball went his way, there was a defender there every time, but he's in that position where every play matters. Not just for the game, but for his entire career. He's got to come down with that ball, just like Walker. Heck, possibly more than Walker -- nobody's going to fire Walker because he had rusty hands for the first couple games.

Can Kircus make that big play? I think so. But he has to do it. Can Plummer snap himself out of whatever is throwing off his rhythm? I certainly want to believe so. Can our offense put up 41 points and not rely on the defense to carry the game? It better.

Chicago is making a serious run at winning the NFC, and winning it strong. We can't just squeak by in these games. Holding these teams down to 3 won't be enough when it comes to the playoffs. We have to be a complete team.

It's time to start being a real team.

Re: Best offense a strong defense

merlinofchaos — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 00:19:10 -0000

All that way and I mess up my punchline.

The closing sentence was meant to read:
"It's time to start being a complete team."

Re: Nickname the Broncos “D”

merlinofchaos — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 21:14:21 -0000

I think Andrew Mason coined it, but it is my favorite so far:

"Blue Streak"

It's lovely and layered. It's a tribute to the Orange Crush, and it emphasises that one of their main strengths is speed. And it has another meaning altogether. It's poetic.

Once we had the Orange Crush.

Now we have the Blue Streak.

Re: History: Indy has Jake’s number

merlinofchaos — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 23:50:58 -0000

I'm with Devon.

That game was close. The offense moved. Plummer showed that the good Jake from last year is still around. That sack/fumble is one thing that may've cost the game, but another thing that may've cost the game is Darrent Williams not getting any help against Reggie Wayne. And the pass rush not being there. Do you think Gerard Warren and Courtney Brown being out have anything to do with that? I sure do.

You give Manning time to throw, and he's going to put it on the money. That's what Manning does.

This team looks to go 12-4 or 11-5, make the playoffs and possibly be 2nd seed with a 1st round bye, thanks to having beat New England. It's possible we won't even have to face the Colts again.

And if we do, well. We'll have to come up with something different to stop Manning. The key will be finding a way to get past that offensive line and put some pressure on Manning. History has shown that if Manning is flushed out of the pocket, his accuracy comes back to normal QB stats, and our defense can deal with that.

Re: Daily Blitz – 21’s No Champ

merlinofchaos — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:09:04 -0000

"Look I know your nose tackle is tall, but he's not so tall that his penis is right here!"

Re: Broncos to Bust Out Orange Jerseys

merlinofchaos — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:45:15 -0000

Orange jerseys, orange pants. If we're going to be bright, go all the way.

Re: Create-a-Caption for Monday Aug. 18

merlinofchaos — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:35:31 -0000

"What has it gots in its pocketssess...lessee, car keys, a swiss army knife, 28 cents, 3 starbucks receipts...and a ring of invisibility!"

Re: Daily Blitz – Packers are Prepared

merlinofchaos — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:46:15 -0000

"Stop me if you've heard this one before. Al Davis walks into a bar...no wait, hobbles into a bar!"

Re: Denver Broncos vs. Green Bay Packers – Preseason Week 3 2008

merlinofchaos — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:44:14 -0000

NFL.com's schedule says the 12pm EST game tonight is actually our game; I think DirecTV has it wrong.

Re: A Message from Roger Goodell

merlinofchaos — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:00:39 -0000

Jason: I'm suspending you for 3 games for questioning the meticulous logic used to determine punishments.

Re: Daily Blitz – Reacting to Marshall’s Suspension

merlinofchaos — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 13:52:17 -0000

"Dude, did you HAVE to let out that big one at lunch? It turned my stomach!"

Re: Brandon Marshall Running Routes, Ahead of Schedule

merlinofchaos — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:31:03 -0000

You know, I remember last year when Marshall came to training camp late due to an injury and he came into camp playing like he'd been there the whole time. Lots of people marvelled at how crisp and good he looked.

And then, of course, he went out and proved that he's a #1 talent.

There's a lot to be said for a guy who recovers well from injuries.

Re: Daily Blitz – A Royal Welcome

merlinofchaos — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:40:22 -0000

Sorry, I can't be mad at Lynch for signing with the Pats.

"One, two and KICK. No you're supposed to KICK. Oh man we're never going to be ready for the Chorus Line at this rate!"

Re: Broncos Offense on Crutches

merlinofchaos — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:28:34 -0000

Well at least it's the early offseason and everyone has time to heal up.

Caption for the photo: Jay: "Hey Brandon, did you wash your pits this morning? You stink?" Marshall: "Whaa?"

Re: Denver Broncos Madden Ratings

merlinofchaos — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:01:52 -0000

Good grief! Cutler was a 92 last year. What the hell did he do to cost him 6 points?! He was a top 10 quarterback in the league. Bastards.

Re: 2008 Week 1 observations

merlinofchaos — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:35:53 -0000

One thing I forgot to add that I intended to:

Timeouts. Shanahan needs to give Cutler a better audibles package and more freedom to change the play at the lines. Having to use timeouts because Cutler doesn't like what he sees is costly.

Re: Create-A-Caption for Tue. Sep. 9

merlinofchaos — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:39:47 -0000

"I got my butt in this here bowl of ice water but it don't hurt any less!!!"

Re: Create-a-Caption for Mon. Oct. 6

merlinofchaos — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:10:05 -0000

"If I played defense, we wouldn't give up so many touchdowns."

Re: Daily Links – Class of 2007 Needs to Step Up

merlinofchaos — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:21:22 -0000

I think the guy who wrote that article about the class of 2007 was confused. Steven Harris IS a 2007 guy, but he was a UFA. Ryan Harris was our other draft pick.

Re: Brandon Marshall Update

merlinofchaos — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:42:53 -0000

"And when I threw it back, it was THIS BIG."

Re: Daily Links – Koutouvides Finally Gets his Chance

merlinofchaos — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:01:51 -0000

Worst case scenario, either K2 is better than Nate Webster, or Webster plays and he won't be worse than he wast last year. And honestly, he wasn't that bad. Ian Gold seemed like the big liability there; like he totally forgot how to tackle, last year.

Re: Film Room: Jay Cutler Highlights

merlinofchaos — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:24:20 -0000

Dude. That video reminds me how good Stokley and Marshall are. Some of those catches in traffic were absolutely superb.

Re: Create-a-Caption for Fri. Oct. 3

merlinofchaos — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:24:33 -0000

"Hey Ref, if I hit you in the face with my elbow, here, would that be 'Downed by Contact'?"

Re: Create-a-Caption for Fri. Oct. 10

merlinofchaos — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:06:56 -0000

"Show him what he's won today, Jack!"
"You've won...ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! You got zonked!"

Re: 2008 Denver Broncos Training Camp Schedule Announced

merlinofchaos — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:48:27 -0000

Man, I am sad that we won't be able to make it out and visit training camp this year. I'd love to go in a more official capacity. Hey, I wonder if being staff on a blog is enough of a media credential to get into the media only day.

Last year we went and my wife had to go rest in the shade (it was hot) with our 3 month old (at the time) daughter and she ended up on the news as the youngest Bronco fan at training camp. Hee. We recorded that. So cute.

Re: Jay Cutler is Falling Back to Earth

merlinofchaos — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:43:03 -0000

Super bowl? Unfortunately this year, I don't think so. The defense is not enough better than last year to do it. Personally at this point I am actually blaming the coach and not the players, because I feel like the zone scheme he's running has too high of a reliance upon the safeties and our safeties do not excite.

Re: Daily Blitz – More Love for Cutler

merlinofchaos — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:32:30 -0000

andy: I read that TMQ article and I find that there's a huge difference in the meaning of the word ultimate when you use "an ultimate leader" vs "the ultimate leader". Note which one TMQ uses vs which one the bio uses.

Re: Jay Cutler Calls Out Philip Rivers

merlinofchaos — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:18:30 -0000

People make a big deal out of the smallest things.

Re: Create-A-Caption – Wed Aug 27

merlinofchaos — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:32:21 -0000

That? Over there? That's Al Davis turning into a mummy. Which won't be any different from now.

Re: Daily Links – Eyes on the D-Line

merlinofchaos — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:39:28 -0000

One of these days. Bam, POW. To the MOON, DJ.

Re: Daily Links – Waiting for Goodell’s Word

merlinofchaos — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:36:12 -0000

"Oh god it itches it itches why can't I get it to...OH MY SHOE!!!!"

Re: Daily Blitz – Young’s Thigh and Defensive Playmakers

merlinofchaos — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:48:52 -0000

"Oh crap! I almost forgot I'm playing football here!"

Re: On Brandon Marshall and Maturity

merlinofchaos — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:40:16 -0000

We're not bringing Lynch in because we need a safety who can be good in coverage. We don't really have that, but Lynch wouldn't give us that.

Re: Create-a-Caption for Thu. Oct. 16

merlinofchaos — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:22:31 -0000

These radio headsets just haven't been the same since Sirius and XM merged.

Re: Create-a-Caption – Week 7 Weekend Edition

merlinofchaos — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:41:58 -0000

And in that moment, the ghost of John Elway spoke to me from the flying football. He said "You may have a stronger arm, kid, but I have 2 superbowl rings!" And I said to myself "Hey but you're not DEAD how can you be a GHOST?"

Re: Create-a-Caption for the Bye Weekend

merlinofchaos — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 02:33:30 -0000

"I wonder if being on IR will suck as much as this score."
"Yes."

Re: Create-a-Caption for Wed. Oct. 29

merlinofchaos — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:15:01 -0000

"Hey it says here that Obama is up in the Colorado polls how--OH a play a play how about blackbird charlie left strike 3. Sorry about that."

Re: Williams, Graham Named new Team Captains

merlinofchaos — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:45:25 -0000

I don't think Nalen can really be a captain if he's not playing, and we're pretty sure he's out for game 1, at least.

Re: Technical difficulties…

merlinofchaos — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:56:06 -0000

Hey, the Chargers lost. THAT makes the day a good day!

Re: Tom Nalen Placed on Injured Reserve

merlinofchaos — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:10:28 -0000

I think the writing was on the wall last week when he got pulled from practices and Shanahan said his knee had a setback. Very sad though. Wiegmann is doing a decent job but Nalen was always a much better run blocker.

Re: Create-a-Caption for Thu. Sep. 25

merlinofchaos — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:49:27 -0000

"Hey, just because you beat us, Lane, doesn't mean your team is any good."

Re: Tony Scheffler: The Tight End Effect

merlinofchaos — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 02:26:05 -0000

I don't think it's just the Cutler-Scheffler rapport. I think it's that Scheffler causes serious match up problems which exposes a defense in ways that Nate Jackson and Daniel Graham cannot do.

Re: Create-a-Caption for Week 12

merlinofchaos — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:15:19 -0000

"If my head were just a LITTLE bit bigger, I'd look like John Goodman."

Re: Create-a-Caption for Week 12

merlinofchaos — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:15:48 -0000

Kyle: Wow, a Kids in the Hall reference. People still remember that? =)

Re: Broncos at Chargers LIVE BLOG

merlinofchaos — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:24:09 -0000

If 8-8 is an embarassment what would we be if we went 4-12? How about 2-14? How about 0-16?

Let's face it, the team was mediocre. Embarassment is kind of an overstatement.

There's a bunch of teams that did a lot worse than we did.

Re: Some things to watch for vs Dallas

merlinofchaos — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 13:12:47 -0000

You can listen to the game on KOA's website; while it's not QUITE as good as watching the game, it's better than waiting in suspense for 24 hours and having an internet moratorium. At least, it is for me.

And then I usually watch the games anyway, because I'm that kind of obsessive guy. But I tivo it so I can fast forward through the parts I know that not much happens. Mostly there's a handfull of plays I want to see again. Or maybe I want to try and watch the play of one particular player (like, in this game, I'm certainly going to want to see Marshall in-game).

Re: Some things to watch for vs Dallas

merlinofchaos — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:16:44 -0000

Jonathan: You're right, I hadn't noticed that KOA was blocking the sports events until I went to listen. I ended up dropping $30 on the NFL season pass, so now I can listen to the radio broadcasts for any game.

The radio announcers are MUCH less bad than the TV announcers, as a rule; Dave Logan is pretty good about telling us what's going on. In fact, since I went ahead and paid for it, I may experiment with trying to sync up the radio broadcast to the TV broadcast, and then mute the TV. Who knows, maybe it will work!

Re: Johnson, Kennedy Among Cuts to Reach 53

merlinofchaos — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 02:27:12 -0000

Once a player has suited up for 9 games, he no longer has practice squad eligibility. So Kevin House, who suited up for 16 games with the Chargers, is not going to be on anybody's practice squad. Neither will Kennedy, Johnson or Morgan.

I expect our practice squad to include Akah, Fenton, Hackney, Eslinger, Martinez, and possibly a few guys the team liked cut from other teams. Assuming Eslinger survives waivers, but unproven centers aren't a super valuable commodity in the league. But you never know.

Re: Johnson, Kennedy Among Cuts to Reach 53

merlinofchaos — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 21:45:45 -0000

Excellent. Between the two of us we nailed 6 of 8. I was wrong on akah and I should not have missed Cargile; we all know how much the team loves him.

Re: Things I’m looking forward to vs Buffalo

merlinofchaos — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 17:39:08 -0000

kmonty: Russell hasn't even signed yet!

Re: Things I’m looking forward to vs Buffalo

merlinofchaos — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 19:21:27 -0000

PantyRaider: It should change because, in preseason, we rarely had any of our top 3 receivers on the field, and our O-line has been in flux which means Cutler doesn't have enough time to throw. We're still a little hurt without Hamilton, but an O-line that stays together has proven to be very important. So having our O-line healthy and together, they'll do better. When Cutler has time to throw, we've now got 2 excellent and 3 very good targets for him. I think that's why our passing game will improve.

BTW, PR: Good luck with that raider offense. I like the defense, but the offense still has to show it can do something.

Re: Special Teams Play Major Factor in 15-14 Win over Buffalo

merlinofchaos — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 13:53:21 -0000

I think -- at least, I hope -- that our endzone problems were largely a factor of the team needing to gel a little more. Walker had a drop here, Jay had a misfire there, we telegraphed what play we were running too well there.

Certainly next week, against a team with a better defense, I'm hoping we see the endzone a little more to show we can shore up that weakness.

Re: How to freak out your fans…

merlinofchaos — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:55:14 -0000

Well. Perhaps it's optimistic of me, but I believe that since the Bills are a good special teams team, it's not a good first test, and I'm withholding judgement.

Re: Bill’s Everett Undergoes Surgery for Spinal Cord Injury

merlinofchaos — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:42:57 -0000

My best wishes go out to Everett and his family. I hope he comes through this okay.

Re: Five Questions with… RaiderTake.com

merlinofchaos — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:03:25 -0000

That offense was a ton better than last year, there's no doubt. On the other hand, it could have been twice as good as last year and still ranked #32, because they were that bad.

I'm a little surprised the defense gave up so many points, but the Raiders' defense, while good, is not a complete defense yet.

Also, having kept the Broncos score low last year was not a major success -- last year's Broncos' offense was in pretty bad shape. Between Smith running on a bum hip and Plummer not being able to see the field while looking over his shoulder, that offense just did not have a lot of gas. Still, I agree that the Raider's D was good last year, and I think the Raiders are probably going to not be the bottom of the division this time around.

Re: Week 2 Pick ‘Ems

merlinofchaos — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:53:03 -0000

There is not a single game I disagree with you on, except that I wish the Titans could do to the Colts what they did last year. I don't think I see that happening, though.

Re: Week 2 Pick ‘Ems

merlinofchaos — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 12:22:03 -0000

Yea, this year it's Pete Prisco who hit the picks in week 1. I think he want 11-5.

Which, ironically, is what I went in week 1. Not sure what that says.

Re: Oakland Paper: “If only we’d drafted Cutler”

merlinofchaos — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:57:07 -0000

Leinart doesn't have the kind of arm that Davis wants; Cutler does. At that point, they still felt like Andrew Walter was the quarterback of the future. A year later, we see what future that was: The future of "I am a statue, please sack me now".

Lots of good things are being said about Cutler across the league after his performance at Buffalo. I hope he keeps it up.

Re: Scouting Report – Week 2 – Oakland Raiders

merlinofchaos — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 12:25:44 -0000

I don't think I know how to deal with a well spoken Raiders fan. Did I wake up in the same universe? Or have you just been hiding while guys like PantyRaider spread their poor grammer and verbal abuse (ok, I admit it's funny. Not as funny as raiderjoe over on Football Outsiders, but funny) across the net?

Re: Broncos vs. Raiders – Overtime Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 22:52:32 -0000

Hey, I heard the whistles before the ball was snapped. It's not cheating, it's perfectly normal. It happens in other situations sometimes too, just not usually quite this ... stressful ... of a situation.

Re: 3 Games in 1: Momentum Swings & Tzu

merlinofchaos — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 08:50:21 -0000

Greetings from london where ii await transfer to spain and use my mobile phone to browse the web.

I am not entirely sure I agree about the spark. The raiders got 10 sudden points on jay cutler's mistakes, and that certainly woke up the raiders. But aside from those mistakes, they still played well. We stopped the drive after the onside kick surprised us, and we still moved the ball some.

We did let lj (no not that lj) run entirely too much, but the spark was there when we tied the game up and prevented them from winning in the last two minutes. I think you are overstating the bad parts about that half and giving too much credit to what happened when rookie mistakes cause a serious point swing.

Re: Broncos @ Colts GameDay Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 16:32:14 -0000

Damn, Jarvis Moss is looking HOT.

So is Henry.

Early on, the Broncos are giving me cause to actually be excited for a game that I've been absolutely dreading.

Re: Broncos @ Colts GameDay Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 16:38:10 -0000

Brandon Marshall IS the man.

Re: Broncos @ Colts GameDay Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 16:55:55 -0000

Now 10-7, but that setup from special teams...that was going to be tough to stop anyway. But the Colts are adjusting to our defense, which is typical. I hope Shanahan has plans to change things up a bit.

Re: Broncos @ Colts GameDay Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 17:05:24 -0000

3:04 -- Cutler took a few plays to get into rhythm but now he's looking pretty darn good. Colts defense is getting a little better against the run though, hopefully we can keep it moving.

Re: Broncos @ Colts GameDay Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 17:08:44 -0000

3:07 -- a field goal is better than nothing but it is not what we wanted there. Still, that was good possession time. With this kind of a game, we are relying on our special teams to set up bad field position for the Colts, and so far that is shaky. This game, if it keeps going as it is now, could come down to special teams.

Re: Broncos @ Colts GameDay Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 17:15:20 -0000

3:14 -- ouch, they're gashing us. That pressure we had in the first series is gone.

Re: Broncos – Colts Halftime

merlinofchaos — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 17:59:57 -0000

Wow. So we're hitting 0 of my 4 points. Sigh.

Re: Broncos @ Colts Second Half Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 17:52:54 -0000

First play of the 2nd half: Our D-line got dominated on that first play. That's embarassing. We can NOT have that kind of domination.

Re: Broncos @ Colts Second Half Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:17:11 -0000

Oh boy. Henry hurt is bad.

Re: Broncos @ Colts Second Half Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:39:52 -0000

We can't get our defense off the field on 3rd down. :/

Re: Broncos @ Colts Second Half Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:54:28 -0000

It's too early to fire Bates, and Gold has been a solid player for years.

Re: Hixon waived; Clark resigned

merlinofchaos — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 19:54:28 -0000

The Sports Guru noted on Andrew's blog that Hixon didn't seem to have the same fire after the Everett hit. I can understand that. Football is all about want-to, and I'm sure Hix saw his whole life (and how much of it he has left) when Everett was carted away.

Re: Hixon waived; Clark resigned

merlinofchaos — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 13:07:42 -0000

I'm still sad about Hix. He had a lot of potential in preseason. I really hope that TSG over on Mason's blog is right and that this is about Everett, and that he can get over this and try again next season.

I know that if I had a run-in with someone in my first professional game and that someone didn't walk away--and might never walk away--that it'd affect me, too.

Re: I am a Denver Broncos fan

merlinofchaos — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 16:18:35 -0000

Football fans are incredibly emotional. Also, a lot of fans are not necessarily deeply into the game. They're deeply into game day, and the joy of winning, and the group sense of the town being better than another town, for example.

And Broncos' fans are rabid; always have been. Back when I actually lived in Denver, I couldn't stand the whole thing, it was just too much. It was only after I moved away and met my Broncos' fan wife that I was able to appreciate it, and now when I visit I, too, get wrapped up in the Blue and Orange.

Web boards are often full of the strongest, least rational opinions. I believe they self-select for people who type before they think; for people who don't care about things most people care about. A lot of the normal fans don't necessarily even go near the web boards, let alone post to them. I, for one, spent a long time just reading stuff before I was willing to post, and I still won't go near just fan boards. There's too many people who don't have a clue what they're talking about. I prefer this kind of a forum, where most of the people here are paying attention, and the disagreements aren't due to ignorance.

The point is: don't pay attention to the vitriol on web boards. And don't worry, they don't reflect what the real fans think. The real fans support the team. The real fans support the city. The real fans know that losing is part of the game, and you have to take the good with the bad.

The real fans will be out there, tailgating on Sunday, or at home, eagerly awaiting the game.

We have to take the good with the bad.

Re: Paging Denver’s 12th Man

merlinofchaos — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 10:53:38 -0000

Clearly all three of us are on the same page; I was planning to write something along these lines this week. I remember twenty years ago when the town went Orange and Blue for a team that wasn't particularly good. And it had ups and it had downs, but even during the downs, the fans were still fans.

People can say what they want about how the Broncos are sucking this year, but today's fans are spoiled. I have this fear that todays Broncos have a very large pool of fair-weather fans.

Mock us for our optimism the team will turn around, but even if they don't, I am a Broncos' fan, through thick and thin, through the good and the bad.

Re: Brian Clark: fumbling only gets you one chance

merlinofchaos — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 17:49:55 -0000

Oops! And here I wrote that it was your boy, not Jonathan's!

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:43:41 -0000

Touchdown Stokley!

Good offensive start. Bad defensive start. This could be a shootout. For fantasy purposes, I could use a shootout. I need a lot of points out of Cutler, Henry and Elam to win a fantasy game this weekend.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:51:01 -0000

Hmm. Martinez' fair catch seemed a little premature to me.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:55:44 -0000

So far, Stokley is the favorite target tonight. That's interesting.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:59:36 -0000

Damn. Scheffler got out of one but not in time and didn't make the first.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:59:52 -0000

One for Bly!

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:07:31 -0000

Repeat after me: "It's just one pick; it's not the end of the world. It's just one pick; it's not the end of the world. It's just one pick; it's not the end of the world."

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:08:15 -0000

Ugh. "It's just one 26 yard run..."

That doesn't work as well.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:16:58 -0000

Yea, though that ball was flying fast and hard and I dunno how catchable it really was. Another couple inches lower, maybe. Jay throws 'em like Elway: Hard enough to break fingers.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:17:46 -0000

DJ's getting a lot of tackles tonight. It's a good sign for him.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:19:35 -0000

Damn. Converted 3rd & 14. :/

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:21:30 -0000

Hmm. I think we're going to win this review. I wonder if John's just talking like Ward had control just to keep people talking about this during the commercial.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:23:19 -0000

Yup. He didn't have control of it when it hit the ground.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:24:17 -0000

Holy crap our D-line is swarming a lot of these runs. I don't remember seeing nearly as much of this in the last 2 games. Do you think they can keep this up later in the game? I worry they're pouring too much energy into these.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:24:42 -0000

D.J. Williams! Was just hyping him up and he gets a pick!

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:29:55 -0000

Go Jay Go!!!!!

Re: Steelers @ Broncos Week 7 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:31:36 -0000

What's awesome about this is when they mentioned Sapp was coming in at fullback, I commented "But Sapp has hands, this could be a fake!"

It wasn't, but the next one was!

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:09:14 -0000

No biscuit.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:09:59 -0000

We have to prevent them from scoring this drive. We don't want this game to get close again.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:10:40 -0000

I admit I love seeing Willie Parker not finding any room on the outside.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:11:51 -0000

Oh I say that and then he finds some room. Gr.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:15:17 -0000

Touchdown Santonio Holmes. It really looked like that was going to be stopped though.

And now it's a 1 TD game.

Jay, let's throw some better passes this time.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:17:59 -0000

Young hit that hole hard! Pity there wasn't much of a hole there.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:20:21 -0000

Man, Jay throws into double coverage a lot.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:31:08 -0000

That was a great recovery on a drive that I thought was going to be lost. And it keeps us up by two scores. Heading into the fourth quarter, I figure we need two good offensive drives to win the game, regardless of what our defense does. Also, putting up a big score will silence a lot of Cutler's critics.

It's not like we're playing the Dolphins out there, either. The Steelers are #1 in the league in points allowed. That's big, no matter what their schedule was.

One more quarter. Must reserve excitement for one more quarter. So hard. So very hard!!

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:33:37 -0000

Also, Sundays may traumatize my daughter. She still doesn't quite get that my our yelling is a good thing.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:38:37 -0000

Yea, my not-quite-6-month-old daughter is crawling around the living room while we watch this.

And did we leave Parker open enough?

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:44:14 -0000

C'mon! 4th down STOP boys!!!!

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:09:05 -0000

We're at the 2 minute warning. We're up by 1 TD. One good thing is that PIT isn't showing any real hurry on the ball, which means at this point if we can stop them then the game is over right there. If we don't it goes into OT, which is a giant crapshoot, but not definitely a loss. So so far we're in the position of strength.

We need to not break here. Let's get a BIG PLAY.

I KNOW we can do this!!!!

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:10:26 -0000

We have 1:10 to score a field goal.

The big issue now is: NO turnover.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:20:57 -0000

Wow. What a replay this is. Not decided yet.

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:23:41 -0000

We believe in you Elam!!!

Re: Steelers @ Broncos second half open thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:25:15 -0000

Elam loves being iced.

Re: Daily Links – Heartfelt Ceremony, Heartfelt Win

merlinofchaos — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:46:28 -0000

FYI, The poise and heart article was by Klis, not Kiszla.

Re: Daily Links – Red Zone Perfection

merlinofchaos — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:41:40 -0000

And that's why I haven't gone to a Broncos @ Raiders game yet, despite the fact that they play here every year and I am less than an hour from the black hole. (Worse, I used to drive by it every day on my way to work).

Also, 52% redzone efficiency is good. Some people expect every play to work every time, and that if it doesn't, you're not a good team, but that just isn't true.

Re: Daily Links – Injuries, Injuries, Injuries

merlinofchaos — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:28:57 -0000

It's not about want for Al, it's about medical clearance. His doctor says no, and he's got one of the best specialists in the country working on him.

I'd love it if he could come back to Denver next year. Everybody loves Al Wilson.

Re: Things I’m looking forward to vs Green Bay

merlinofchaos — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:23:49 -0000

The Colorado Mammoth (That's the National Lacrosse League team in Colorado -- I bet very few of you knew that) use the 'more cowbell' as their local thing. It's really very very strange. I admit I don't get the more cowbell thing.

Also, I don't have your excuse for not posting as much as I'd like. I'm just too busy; and possibly some of the last few games depressed me. I wanted to write up something on the Steelers game, but everything I wanted to say had mostly been said.

And all I can add, really, is that tonight is going to be about intensity. Unless the team can retain and expand on the intensity they showed last week, they won't win.

Re: Packers @ Broncos – Monday Night Football – Second Half Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 01:04:19 -0000

This one required drinking. I'll have to get my thoughts together and post tomorrow, but I'm pretty upset that we can't play four quarters of football.

Re: Packers @ Broncos – Monday Night Football – Second Half Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:38:20 -0000

I don't want to believe that we'll be 3-12 by Minnesota.

This team is like many Broncos' teams: They do things you just don't believe. Both good and bad.

I hadn't picked them to beat Pittsburgh, but they did. We lost last night completely on our own mistakes.

Detroit is going to be an interesting game. That high powered passing game is going to shred our defense unless we can put a lot of pressure on Kitna -- the good news is that the Lions O-line is terrible (See: George Foster, who was bad enough we jettisoned him to replace him with the still unproven Erik Pears). But their defense will be one of the weakest defenses we've faced, so we might be able to put up numbers like we did against Pittsburgh again.

I don't know what to make of KC this year. THeir offense is a mess, but they're really getting their defense together. I think the old rules on what AFC West opponents do to each other are pretty much gone this season. All the teams are different.

Chicago will be tough; Griese will probably step up his game against us.

And Minnesota isn't a gimme. They have a helluva run defense. And they can get to the quarterback.

Re: Daily Link – One Link Says it All

merlinofchaos — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:33:53 -0000

We have a lot of very good, talented rookies on the team. Cutler, Marshall, Scheffler. Probably Kuper too, though that fumbled snap was 100% him; he was pulling too fast and batted that ball right out of Cutler's hands before the snap was even complete. It's possible Cutler was half a second slow in getting out of there, but...that's the result of a bunch of green guys working together. They're not doing things by rote. That'll come if we can get a team to largely stay together.

Re: What is Wrong with the Broncos Offense?

merlinofchaos — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 18:44:20 -0000

denverrocks: I agree with you about Marshall. It's very clear that Walker being on the field vastly improves Marshall as a receiver. Whether this is because Walker is the bigger threat and that means Marshall pulls the less talented defender, or because Walker being on the field forces Marshall to do better because if he doesn't, Walker will get all the balls, I'm not sure. But there is no doubt in my mind that, right now, Walker and Marshall are a killer 1/2 receiver combination and that Marshall/Stokley do not have that same dynamic.

On the topic of audibles, I very, very rarely see Cutler call an audible out there. Usually you can tell when a quarterback is changing the play (or pretending to change the play). But I don't even see any of that pretending. I think right now, Cutler is on a fairly tight leash and he goes out there and he runs the play that's called and has very little freedom for changing the play. If he did have that freedom, I think he'd call fewer timeouts.

I'm not really sure what I think about the play calling in the red zone. I feel more like we've been getting stopped by sloppiness. Kuper coming around and slapping the ball out of Cutler's hand before he gets back is just the shining frosting on the cake example. It's hard to tell what exactly goes wrong in a lot of the plays that don't work. What happened, for example, when Cutler missed Marshall in the endzone? That was a big play. That appeared, to me, to be a timing pass that either Cutler or Marshall missed the timing in -- and I'm more likely to blame Marshall on that one. I think what happened there is that he didn't win the battle with the CB and that's something Marshall has to do. We rely on his size to win those battles.

What I'm not seeing in the endzone, surprisingly, are the tight end fade routes that used to be so common. I've watched the Patriots score touchdown after touchdown on a route that I used to see a lot: The tight end goes and sets up a block; he wins the battle with his man, then cuts and runs for the corner while the back comes up and engages the guy he just missed. It works really well if Cutler just faked to that back and then lofts it into the corner. That is the kind of play that Daniel Graham is built for; because he can be taken seriously as a blocker, AND he can catch the ball. Line up Scheffler and Graham on the strong side, Mustard on the weak, Sapp and your back of choice in the backfield, and do it. Every one of those guys is a weapon to catch the ball, since you can flip it to the fullback on the outside if the matchup is right.

In at least one case, and I take this from the commentators, it appears that Marshall and Cutler aren't quite in sync on the option plays. That is something we can feel confident will happen less and less as time goes on, as they get more experience together.

Re: Daily Links – Still Beating a Dead Horse

merlinofchaos — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 10:50:22 -0000

TO be fair, Jon, those guys do have to pick letters that are representative of what they're getting. And I'm sure they're getting a lot of fire Shanahan stuff right now. Football fans are very fickle.

Re: Daily Links – Still Beating a Dead Horse

merlinofchaos — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:43:23 -0000

Well. Mailbags are hard to pick and choose sometimes. If you're flooded with the mail, that's what you get to report.

I thought he did a pretty good job of speaking against firing Shanahan.

Re: Daily Links – Still Beating a Dead Horse

merlinofchaos — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:13:12 -0000

Hey, I'm with you. I think this season may not be salvageable, but I'm not going to get up in arms over a bad season when we're in transition.

I am very sad about J. Moss going down, though. That's valuable playing time he loses.

Re: Roster upheaval!

merlinofchaos — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 22:10:36 -0000

Sorry. Since Moss has been known to be out for several days, I didn't mention it since it didn't feel like news.

Re: Week 12 Pick Ems

merlinofchaos — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:04:38 -0000

That's the cutest picks ever, Jonathan!

Re: Does anyone have something positive to say?

merlinofchaos — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 18:11:46 -0000

It's worth pointing out that while Dumervil is a top 10 pass-rushing DE, on run-plays he gets targeted a lot, and it's up to the linebacker behind him to make up for the fact that his smaller size makes it easier for a big left tackle to push him out of the play.

Sure, he's great--fantastic, even--at getting to the quarterback, and we need that, but keep in mind that it's also hurting our run defense. You take the good, you take the bad. I think his upside is worth his downside, mind you.

There's more, but I decided to make an actual post rather than a comment.

Re: Daily Links – Focusing on What Needs Fix’n

merlinofchaos — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 17:25:39 -0000

I don't believe there are any great coaches available right now. Perhaps some potential greats, but if we replace Shanahan, expect 2-3 seasons of absolute suckage before a turnaround, and that's with a really good coach.

Re: Daily Links – What Ails the Offense

merlinofchaos — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 01:51:26 -0000

An important quote from that Football Outsider's article:

Denver features two cornerbacks who excel in man-to-man coverage in Champ Bailey and Dré Bly. After both were burned on national television by Brett Favre, the conventional wisdom is that the Broncos pass defense struggled in part because of them.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The Broncos rank fourth in the league in defending both number one and number two receivers. They are last in defending other wide receivers and 29th in defending tight ends. On Sunday, Bly was beat for the first touchdown by Tim Dwight, but otherwise, each cornerback only allowed a couple completions. McCown only completed one pass to his top two receivers that gained more than ten yards.

Re: Lions Can’t Help us; Broncos Playoff Hopes Depend on Raiders Beating Chargers

merlinofchaos — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:35:23 -0000

I agree. I would rather finish strong and take momentum and a middle draft pick than finish weak and take an early draft pick.

Re: Denver is ‘not for Javon’ anymore

merlinofchaos — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 03:15:28 -0000

I actually watched the interview to see what the issue was about. I think the third person was in part because he was referring to himself in a business sense. I got two sort of senses of undertone:

1) It's Brandon Marshall's team now. One of the reasons it's not for Javon is that it's hard for a guy like Javon to have to play second fiddle to a newb.

2) I didn't really get the sense that he was saying he wanted out. It really felt like he was resigned to the fact that the team is probably going to ask him to take a pay cut and he doesn't feel he should have to take a pay cut, and there are plenty of teams that will take him at his current salary.

He went back and forth quite a lot. He specifically said near the end that he didn't actually want out, but he didn't think it was going to work out. It feels to me as though he thinks the business decision is basically already made, and he's resigned to it, and he just wants to get over with it and it's going to end up with him moving on.

If that's the case, I can respect it. I think the team would be doing a disservice to make him take a pay cut though. I think, given the offense, that it'd be worth it to try and keep him. The trick is, there's a lot of high paid players on the team, and it may just be a nearly impossible trick to pay them all. I suspect we're going to see at least one big name go.

If I have to choose between Javon Walker and Champ Bailey, I want to keep Champ. There's a man who deserves the paycheck he gets, and maybe we won't be able to pick up a receiver who can do what Javon does, per se, but I think we can get a guy who can be a #2 receiver to Marshall's #1.

Early in the season I said Marshall wasn't really prepared to be a #1 receiver. But he grew into the role. When he and Stokley were both out there, it worked well. I'd rather Stokley go back to being the slot guy; he's over 30 and he's probably going to have trouble playing a whole season on the field for the majority of the snaps. Even if the #2 receiver isn't as good as Stokley, we'd be ok as long as it's someone who can still be enough of a threat that Marshall doesn't pull constant double coverage. That's all we really need there.

That said, I'd much rather have Walker, Marshall, Stokley, Scheffler and Graham all on the field at the same time and healthy.

Re: Daily Links – Let the Offseason Begin

merlinofchaos — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 14:12:18 -0000

These posts don't get a lot of comments, because they're link collections; I wanted to take a moment to thank you, Kyle, for doing them.

I know that, without feedback, it can be difficult to continue doing something. You don't get to see people clicking on these links, but I know at least some of us do. (Tho to be honest I've usually already read all the Denver Post articles =)

Re: State of the Roster – Quarterback

merlinofchaos — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 22:37:11 -0000

Excellent! Of course, you started with the easy ones =)

Re: State of the Roster – Defensive End

merlinofchaos — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:15:03 -0000

DJ: I'd say DT is a far bigger priority than DE, and I'd say LB is probably a higher priority than DE. I think we do need one more DE, and I think it needs to be a veteran, but here's what I think:

Jarvis Moss: he'll be back. Now to be honest, I wasn't happy with his pick, and he got hurt too early in the season to see if he was worth the first rounder or not. But still, he'll be back.

Ekuban: He was supposed to be a primary force on End, and keep Dumervil from being an every down guy; Dumervil was a bit of an issue against the run.

Crowder: I think Crowder came along a lot during the season, until he wore down near the end. But a good conditioning program in the off-season, and I think he'll notch his play up significantly. Right now, to my eye, he's looking like a better pick than Moss; but we'll have to see in four years when we can look back and really grade that draft.

Dumervil: Duh.

That's 4 DEs, right there; Dumervil is clearly the star, but he needs support. I wouldn't replace any one of them unless Ekuban turns out to be unable to recover from his injury. And we can probably only have 9 DL on the team, and that 9th guy probably needs to be a DT to keep the rotation of the big guys a little fresher.

I completely agree with Kyle. I think this is a 'mid' priority, and it's behind DT for sure, and behind LB.

Re: Jim Bates Leaves Denver; Slowik to Oversee Defense

merlinofchaos — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:55:27 -0000

I don't know for sure how I feel about this.

On one hand, word on the street is that it really takes two seasons to 'get' Bates' system. On the other hand, with the mixed defense we were using last season, the first season probably wasn't going to count.

On the third hand, we don't have the personnel for that defense. Alas, Gerard Warren, because he really was a good lineman and boy could we use that right now.

So I don't think there really was any point in letting Bates stay. This leads us to the issue that we now have to fill the holes. A linebacker, maybe a safety, and a DT. Maybe an experienced DE to help out while the rookies grow into their positions.

Re: Daily Links – The Season Ending Press Conference

merlinofchaos — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:46:30 -0000

Well, the RMN piece is Dave Krieger, who serves the same position over there that Mark Kiszla serves at the Post: to say inflammatory things. It's just that Dave's a little better at saying it and sounding justified than Kiszla, who has a tendency to go off but sometimes it's hard to follow him. Also, Krieger is less likely to put out an article a week later directly contradicting himself.

Re: Reading Between the Lines – The Season-Ending Press Conference

merlinofchaos — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 21:17:35 -0000

What I read between the lines:

Walker: "We want to keep him, but we're upset at his outburst. On the other hand, he apologized. But this is the NFL; we pay for production, and those injuries are not production. We'll negotiate his contract and if he refuses to negotiate, there will be consequences." Ideally if they do that, they'll give him an incentive laden contract that gives him the same amount of money if he does perform next year, but penalizes him if he can't.

Henry: "We think Henry does really well when not injured, but we're getting on the bandwagon of Henry is injury prone and we are concerned. But then again, all our backs have injury problems so we still aren't sure what to do."

Re: Tight End Daniel Graham Arrested for Harrassment

merlinofchaos — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 21:14:08 -0000

That's going to be a tough one; what you've got here are a mother and a father presumably quarelling over their child, or things related to their child (like where he's going to live). I know from experience that it's one of the absolute worst situations to be in because you end up with two people who are passionate and angry and it's hard to tell what was said to whom and it's rarely clear cut who is at fault in these situations.

So I'm going to reserve judgement on Dan Graham on this one. I did with Marshall and I was rewarded.

Re: Daily Links – The Hack Writing by National “Experts” Has Begun

merlinofchaos — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:10:26 -0000

Addition: Football outsiders analyzes the needs of the AFC West. Some fun stuff, and we are generously mocked for our problems with defensive coaching.

Re: Broncos Should Franchise Tag Jason Elam

merlinofchaos — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:21:19 -0000

Well, 'tag' is a verb and 'franchise' can be an adverb in that case. =)

Re: Don’t send Walker on a walk!

merlinofchaos — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:14:42 -0000

To be fair, I expect most sports figures to be more interested in money than winning a championship. Especially at this stage in Walker's career. Remember, he only recently got out of his rookie contract; this is probably the second year where he's seeing the big money, and he basically needs to be sure to set himself up for life. Also, his agent is going to be advising him to pay very, very close attention to the money.

As for filling a Walker-sized hole, don't look to the draft. Calvin Johnson is probably one of the most talented wide receivers to come from the draft since Randy Moss, and he didn't fill a Walker sized hole on the Lions last year. I bet he will next year, and hopefully (for him) even this year. But receivers rarely perform like gangbusters their first year, no matter how talented they are.

I think Walker has all kinds of reasons to want out of Denver. I don't think that we should necessarily just let him go. I think that means he'll play hardball with his contract, and hey, that's the breaks. We signed him to a helluva deal and that's what we have to pay for.

But if he stays, and if our offense gels as I believe it should next year and if he is healthy enough to have a good season, it's not going to matter where he wants to be.

In the NFL, nothing succeeds like success. And if he's out there playing the way he wants to be playing, then that is where he'll want to be.

Re: Broncos, Walker to Discuss Future Tonight

merlinofchaos — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:08:12 -0000

I find this awesome timing, given what I wrote yesterday. I still stand by my opinion that releasing him would be wrong. Trading him probably would be wrong; it'd depend on what we got for him, but I don't see us getting a player of Walker's quality in return, and if we trade him for anything less than a 2nd round draft pick, then we've thrown away the one we traded FOR him 2 years ago.

The 'sends a wrong message to the other players' strikes me as kind of odd. What wrong message is that? That it's too bad D-will died in his lap but sayonara anyway? The whole 'prima donna' rap he's getting is a touch overblown. I watched the interviews and yea, he's definitely got a bit of "me me" going, but I think the entire Denver fanbase has turned on him awfully fast.

Re: Foxworth, Paymah, Abdullah Given Low Tenders

merlinofchaos — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:39:23 -0000

So Foxworth proves his worth by being able to play at safety, where we are thin, but we'd let him go for a 3rd rounder? Has Paymah actually improved to the point where he is better than Foxworth?

Re: Report: Marcus Thomas Was in Possession of Illegal Drugs in 2007

merlinofchaos — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:48:28 -0000

I dunno about the veracity of that author's sources, but it's one of the most wretched pieces of sports writing I've ever seen. A bunch of amateurs (that's us, and pretty much every other fan blog out there) does a better job than that author does. It's amazing.

I guess we wait and see.

Re: Joe Ellis’ Debut – Firing Andrew Mason

merlinofchaos — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:13:04 -0000

I've been trying to find a way to put into words how I feel about Mason being let go. Don't let people fool you -- a layoff is a firing; it just has a lot less to do with how you did your job.

It tells me that the financial crunch at Dove Valley is a whole lot worse than I thought it was. But it does have me curious. Jonathan's right -- when you're in a financial crunch, you don't usually start by axing people in marketing. Marketing's job is to go out there and sell your product. And yes, a proper NFL franchise basically sells itself, but public relations can be a big deal.

This particular layoff won't affect the team the field next year...but I have a feeling a lot of internal things we can't see will.

I had a lot of personal respect for Mason; I've been following him for several years now, and he's had a great influence in how I follow the game and his tidbits gave great insight into parts of the game that is hard to see through the regular media. Yes, by his very nature everything he wrote was total homeboyism. I didn't mind that one bit; I was more interested in the insider view. Sure, he wasn't going to write about the negative side but he didn't spend a lot of time spinning things either; mostly he just refused to talk about the negatives and talked about the positives. I dug that.

I will miss Mason a great deal, and his -- and everyone else's that I didn't know -- dismissal leaves me concerned, at the least, for what else is going to go on this offseason.

Re: ESPN Broncos on the Clock Video

merlinofchaos — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:49:02 -0000

Well, let's be honest.

Koutovides was a backup. He's an unknown quantity. I think they totally skipped over DJ Williams, who did fantastic with a difficult situation last year, but it's ok; *we* know.

I think they're right -- we're missing run-stoppers on the d-line. Our best d-line guys right now are pass rushers who are generally considered situational. Dumervil needs to try and make the transition to an every down end, but so far he has not proven to be Dwight Freeney. Moss didn't get to play enough to really let us know where he's going to go. Thomas came on at the end of the season. Can he make the leap to being a great player as a sophomore? There's hope. But that's all it is. Hope.

I worried about Marlon McCree when he was acquired -- on the Chargers' defense, he was the guy we targeted to try and take advantage of. That does not tell me he's going to be a better player for us. At best I think McCree is there to provide insurance for Lynch. I read that we are in danger of losing Abdullah at the end of the season; he's playing a contract year here, and that's good for us this year but it means we may not be able to keep him. If he plays really well, he's going to want a big contract.

I'm intrigued by Boss Bailey. I'd like to believe that playing on the same field as his brother will make him go 110% all the time, because you can't let your brother show you up. They can motivate each other the way no other players can. That said, he was mediocre in Detroit, so there's a big question mark there.

The media is pretty hard on Harris, I think, because the Broncos are clearly not ready to say he's the guy. Shanahan came out and said Kuper will get the nod ahead of him? Kuper who plays guard, at LT? That's a big ding on Harris. If he doesn't end up starting this year, I don't see him staying with the team.

Keary Colbert is also a big question mark. He was a disappointment at Carolina, but a lot is going to depend on the kind of rapport he and Cutler can put together.

I can say things to make any of these decisions look good, but the reality is that every free agent we brought on board this year is a big question mark. On the plus side, we have a lot of draft picks this year, and given the way our team looks right now, I suspect we're going to get a bunch of guys who will see valuable playing time next year.

I think they're basically right. It's painful, but we're going to be very, very dependent upon having a good draft for this season to be anything but mediocre. We have a pretty good offense, but I'm worried about the running back situation (I seem to be alone there) and definitely think we need another receiver. But we have Sheffler, Marshall and Stokley out there to catch balls; we just need Colbert to be average enough that they can't completely ignore him out there and we're good there.

But with our line looking questionable (is Pears really the answer on the right side?) and health issues with running back, I have a feeling we're going to see a lot of Jay scrambling (and some more remarkable catches from Marshall and Sheffler)

On defense? I dunno. I have no feeling as to whether or not last year's draft class is going to make that big leap that it needs to make. Even if Koutovides and Bailey are acceptable starters at LB, I don't see a great deal of depth there. And safety? We need Abdullah to have a big year.

But most importantly, I think we need Thomas, Crowder, Moss and Dumervil to all take that next step and become outstanding players, so that our line can be dominant. And to do that, they're going to need a lot of help, to keep the line fresh so they can play a complete game.

Re: Broncos in Serious Talks with WRs Darrell Jackson and Samie Parker

merlinofchaos — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:26:38 -0000

I don't really see it as an indictment; no one really thinks Colbert is a replacement for Walker, and our depth chart is pretty thin at receiver. Parker would make great depth there and we'd love to have some competition for that #2 slot. The downside of course is that the loser of that competition gets the #4 slot, not the #3.

Re: Arguments for Drafting a Defensive End

merlinofchaos — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:07:16 -0000

If you look at the abyss that is our defensive line, there's a very clear argument that the interior has a bigger need than the exterior. Marcus Thomas can't quite stay out of trouble (though I don't think his last arrest is going to hurt him by itself, it's a bad sign), and who else do we have inside? Gerard War--oh yea.

Re: Going out on a limb — draft day prediction! Sort of

merlinofchaos — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:35:05 -0000

I don't think we'll draft a K or P, though. There's not a lot of excitement for them in the draft and plenty should be available as UFAs afterward.

Re: Report on Shanahan’s pre-Draft Presser

merlinofchaos — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:39:39 -0000

Heh heh. Jim Armstrong is a Denver Post columnist. "JimmyTube". While he is sometimes interesting, he is often totally devoid of content. :/

Re: 2008 Denver Broncos Draft Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:47:52 -0000

It just claimed that it went into 'standby mode' and turned off.

Re: 2008 Denver Broncos Draft Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:51:28 -0000

Chris Johnson doesn't make it to round 2.

Re: Broncos Select C Kory Lichtensteiger in 4th Round

merlinofchaos — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:57:06 -0000

From reading around, he might have been a bit of a reach; many lists have him projected as a 5th rounder, but we all know how these lists can be wrong. He does appear to be the 2nd best center in the draft, but he's going to have a lot of work ahead of him to really follow Tom Nalen. That said...Shanny's drafts have done very well on linemen in the past, so this is one area where it's hard to question.

Re: Draft Day Two Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:49:56 -0000

And we are on the clock!

Re: Draft Day Two Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 13:06:45 -0000

For the record, we need to pick 2 DL, 1 S and 1 RB to meet my prediction. Oh, and trade a pick. (That seems unlikely at this point, but I am still really surprised that we did not trade up into the 3rd round).

I'm also suspecting one more OL pick coming. I think they're feeling much more comfortable on DL than the fans are, given the source of the problems last year.

Re: Draft Day Two Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:16:47 -0000

RB, check.

Re: Draft Day Two Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 18:20:51 -0000

I'm glad I was able to help! Though I ran out of steam by the 6th round and didn't post about our 7th round picks (though I see you got our 6th rounder).

Re: Broncos Select CB Jack Williams in 4th Round

merlinofchaos — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 13:01:02 -0000

Well, it's been a known quantity that Foxworth and Paymah could both leave at the same time; both want to be starters in the league, and both may have the ability to do that. But neither of them is getting ahead of Dre Bly any time soon. And we do need a little more depth at defensive back, so there's definitely some logic there. That said, from what I'm reading this guy is going to be a project and we're not likely to see much from him other than special teams for at least a couple of years.

Re: Daily Links – Clady was the Right Pick

merlinofchaos — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 01:39:06 -0000

Me either, on Rhodes. He's past his prime and his prime was as a backup.

Re: Broncos Draft: What would you have done differently?

merlinofchaos — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 01:34:26 -0000

I'm not sure DT is actually a bigger need than KR/PR. There's a lot to be said for giving the defense a break by getting better yardage out of special teams.

I can only guess that the organization thinks Marcus Thomas improved toward the end of the season. Also, and this is a big deal -- they changed schemes in mid-stream last season. The run defense was not entirely the fault of the personnel. A lot of things went wrong and there's coaching and preparedness to blame as well as talent.

But for my money, if Robertson works out, and Marcus Thomas is starter quality this year, a 2nd round DT would actually be a bad pick.

I'd much rather have taken a second DT in the later rounds. I'm thinking we need rotational guys.

Re: A Very Hearty ‘Thank You’

merlinofchaos — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:30:15 -0000

It's too bad that the draft preceeds a 2 month dead time in the NFL world. There's not a lot that'll happen until OTAs open up; and then OTAs are mostly a lot of waiting around hoping someone will tell us how the players are looking. And without Mason blogging, telling us the hilites, we'll get even less information than we did last year.

Re: BroncoTalk Draft Roundtable Pt. 2 – Least Favorite Pick

merlinofchaos — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:28:23 -0000

Arden: Sure, but guys taken in the 7th round are more miss than hit anyway, and the guy was projected as a 3rd rounder. So Barrett is a big risk, and I suspect he's more likely to wash out than anyone else we picked. But again, that's true of most 7th rounders.

I guess Larsen was a 6th rounder which isn't that much better.

Re: BroncoTalk Draft RoundTable Pt. 3 – Sleeper Pick

merlinofchaos — Thu, 01 May 2008 18:23:03 -0000

The big knock on Barrett is that scouts aren't sure he has the Desire. That deep drive that makes the player able to go through absolute hell and come out better for it. That's a big issue for rookies in the NFL, because that rookie wall is made of bricks and it hits 'em hard.

Re: How badly does Josh Barrett WANT it?

merlinofchaos — Fri, 02 May 2008 01:25:23 -0000

The fact that he was benched and got back onto the field is a mark in his favor. I recall reading that his attitude was better after that. We will have to see what his attitude is like as a Bronco.

We have to hope that John Lynch rubs off on him. If he comes to camp and says "I want to grow up to be John Lynch" and really means it, and does what Lynch does (and if you've seen the kind of program he puts himself through, man) then he can and will succeed.

Re: BroncoTalk Draft Roundtable Pt. 4 – Final Thoughts and Grades

merlinofchaos — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:49:07 -0000

Josh: Yea, but did you know they where HoFers when the draft happened? For a rush-to-judgement-on-the-draft, it doesn't much matter anyway. But let's do this again, 3 years from now, and see what the differences are!

Re: Ask 5th Round Pick DT Carlton Powell a Question

merlinofchaos — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:51:16 -0000

Everywhere I read, they say you're undersized. What can you do to shut the naysayers up?

Re: Mail time with Hercules!

merlinofchaos — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:01:31 -0000

Klis sort of answers the questions. Legwold does a better job.

Be careful, though; someone seeing this content first might get the wrong idea about the content this site offers.

Re: Mail time with Hercules!

merlinofchaos — Sun, 11 May 2008 23:57:24 -0000

bankmeister: I didn't particularly think it was funny, myself, but I also didn't see the need to crap all over it. Thanks for having that courtesy back. Or wait, not.

Can't say I'm happy about being called a fool just for not finding the snark hilarious. That's beneath what I expect from the commenters here.

Re: Draft ‘07 Update: Marcus Thomas

merlinofchaos — Fri, 09 May 2008 21:29:23 -0000

Thomas is a guy I've been really interested in. His suspension cost him a lot -- he was considered rusty and everyone knew he'd need half a season to really get much in the way of playing time, and the fact that he started the last 5 games is, I hope, telling.

I am excited for him this season; I hope he has a killer offseason, and that he and D-Rob form a monster duo in the middle of our line.

Re: Marcus Thomas Wrap-up

merlinofchaos — Sun, 11 May 2008 11:49:21 -0000

To me, it sounds like just got awfully unlucky in this situation. He was drunk and doing the right thing by having someone else drive him; it's never been clear how much of a relationship he even had to the driver. I think the lesson he learned here is "get a cab" but I, for one, am not willing to hold this one against the guy, checked history or not.

Re: Marcus Thomas Wrap-up

merlinofchaos — Sun, 11 May 2008 23:53:13 -0000

While you can easily fault Thomas for perhaps going to a party when he knows that his career could take a very nasty turn just by being there, expecting a 23 year old to go completely on the wagon is more than I would expect, at least. But that's me.

However, we don't know whether or not he had any idea about the other guy's cocaine. Maybe he knew, maybe he didn't. But my experiences with people with cocaine is that they don't tell nobody, and they especially wouldn't tell a guy like Marcus Thomas "Oh yea, I got a bunch of coke in my truck, wanna come?" Drug users hide, and Thomas is a big name with a lot of money. Guys from his past are going to want to be close to him, and I can only HOPE he's actively staying away from the ones he knows are users.

But I am not going to make assumptions that he knew or didn't. Personally, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. He's still in the exact same position he was already in: a screwup and he's out, so it really isn't any different. I'm not big on pre-judging, I think the media does way too much of that for us and it's too easy to dive right into the opinions. C'mon. Look at the situations where we've seen the tape and then read what media people had to say about it? We know how much they get wrong, either deliberately or not (how many people reported that Elway told Cutler to shut up?) and in situations like this, I'm just not going to buy into media dumping on him.

Maybe he shouldn't have been down there partying at all, but it's the early offseason. If he's going to party, ever, that's the time to do it. Y'know, maybe this just taught him that anything he might do is dangerous, but the very nature that makes some of these guys the top level competitors that they are is the very same nature that makes them do some questionable things here and there.

But I'm still not going to dump on a guy for going out and drinking, especially for a guy who had the sense to get someone to drive him home and then it turned out he got the wrong guy to drive him. I'm not going to make assumptions about what he knew and what he didn't. That's not fair to him or the team.

Re: Marcus Thomas Wrap-up

merlinofchaos — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:57:51 -0000

Well, it looks like after the night in jail, he basically did just that; stayed home and lifted a lot of weights.

What a way to spend the summer!

I hope he's a beast on the field!

Re: Daily Links – Prater Set to Defend his Job

merlinofchaos — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:58:45 -0000

Man, that article about Thomas is atrocious. There's some new information in there, but it feels like it was written by a 10th grader doing an assignment, and then being edited by the teacher who believes that interesting is bad.

It's nice to hear what Thomas says happened in the vehicle when they got pulled over. Assuming he's being straight up about it, it falls in line with my belief that a 'friend' of Thomas' who is actually using would go out of his way not to tell Thomas, for any number of reasons.

While others have said that everybody knows if someone is using, I've known users that are really quite good at hiding it when they want to.

Re: Mark Schlereth Evaluates the State of the Broncos

merlinofchaos — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:49:48 -0000

Ouch, 7 and 9! I hope we can at least do 9 and 7. :/

Re: P.J. Alexander – Denver Broncos Player Bio

merlinofchaos — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:11:02 -0000

Enh. Don't think he'll make much of an impression unless he somehow really comes on this year.

Re: Anthony Alridge – Denver Broncos Player Bio

merlinofchaos — Sat, 17 May 2008 21:28:07 -0000

To be honest, I'm seeing a running back corps of Young, Torain, Young and Hall. This guy would have to be the second coming of TD for me to want to see any of those 3 displaced.

Re: Anthony Alridge – Denver Broncos Player Bio

merlinofchaos — Sun, 18 May 2008 12:01:54 -0000

Sorry I just realized I meant to say Henry, Torain, Young and Hall.

If this guy has a chance, it'll probably be in place of Andre Hall.

Re: Boss Bailey – Denver Broncos Player Bio

merlinofchaos — Mon, 19 May 2008 00:06:55 -0000

I am cautiously optimistic about Boss, just because he's going to be out there with Champ. Nothing will put you at your competetive best than being out there with someone you've competed with your whole life. And what brothers don't compete at every opportunity?

Re: Champ Bailey – Denver Broncos Player Bio

merlinofchaos — Tue, 20 May 2008 00:25:58 -0000

Apparently it's 4, now. I'm guessing they're Raider's fans who're lurking.

Re: NFL Owners Opt Out of Labor Deal

merlinofchaos — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:07:50 -0000

My feeling is that this isn't really a labor dispute. The teams have declared that the current CBA isn't working, and they decided to opt out of it earlier rather than later, giving them a 2 year period for negotiating. Goodell commented that nothing is achieved in this world without a deadline, so now they have one. They probably need that entire 2 years to work out a deal so that 2010 isn't an uncapped year.

As I see it, the real problems are: 1) The NFLPA doesn't necessarily agree that teams are really hurting because of the CBA. So there's going to have to be some financial perusal to get the NFLPA to believe they're not just being fed a line of baloney. 2) It's really, really hard to give back something they already have, so something is going to have to give. It'll be a slightly different position for the PA than usual.

Lots of people were calling Gene Upshaw Goodell's pet, but if that's so, how did the NFL end up in a deal that is too player heavy? Y'gotta wonder.

Re: Poll – Which RB Leads the Pack in 08?

merlinofchaos — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:57:46 -0000

I see there isn't a lot of confidence in Henry.

Re: Travis Henry Out in Denver

merlinofchaos — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:33:35 -0000

I'm not particularly sorry to see Henry go. There's too much trouble around him. His statistics were never as good as they looked; he is a decent running back, but I don't think we need him. Cutting him now means he has a chance to go sign with another team while he still has a chance to compete for the #1 slot; so really, we did him a favor by cutting him now and not waiting until training camp.

So now this makes my hope for depth chart:

Selvin Young
Ryan Torain
Andre Hall
Anthony Alridge

And Young and Torain could swap spots. Wouldn't that be something?

Re: Jay Cutler – Denver Broncos Player Bio

merlinofchaos — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 22:59:19 -0000

kerry: It's probably just that letplummerplay guy =)

Seriously. I was a fan of Jake Plummer. I still am. I think he's a great quarterback, and I think he did a great job of giving himself the giant shaft.

Jay Cutler was behind him; and he looked over his shoulder. He didn't have to look over his shoulder. All he had to do was go out there and take care of business. And for the most part, he did. The losses two years ago weren't really on Plummer. They were on the team as a whole. The running game, in particular struggled to do what it needed to do, and we could stretch the field but we couldn't score in the redzone.

When Plummer kept looking over his shoulder, there was only one thing to do: take him out. Eventually it was clear that the team wasn't going to win with Jake and Jay needed his chance. I was never sure if Plummer should come out or not, but I was excited to see Cutler get a chance.

As much as I'm a fan of Plummer, I'm a giant drooling fanboy for Jay Cutler. I think Cutler is going to be a star in the league for his entire career, short of some horrible injury doing to him what it did to Tim Couch. And by star, I mean 50% of his career, or more, will be at the pro bowl. The guy has skills, and when you study his statistics, they're actually better than they look. Cutler has extraordinary third down success. He is quick, he has a strong arm and he makes good decisions. Last year he had an odd tendency to underthrow the ball -- now we know why -- and that was not what was bringing down the team.

It was the fractured o-line and the "Who's well enough to play this week" running back corps. We have to hope that this year we don't get the injury bug again. We need consistency in that O-Line. If we can do it, we want the 5 guys who start game 1 to be the same 5 guys who start game 16, and who started throughout the season. If that tiny little thing happens (which is sadly unlikely) then we should go deep into the playoffs.

I know what people are saying about the team this year. I know there are some holes, and I know there are some big question marks. But those are question marks, not gaping chasms. When I seriously look at our team, I think we're better. I think this is a team that can carry us into the playoffs, if not quite to the Superbowl this year.

I think that if we avoid the injury bug, we'll see another year like 2005. I still remember the buzz in the stadium after we beat the Patriots in the divisional game. That was amazing. I think we can do that much again.

Re: ESPN Ranks RB Selvin Young 60th in NFL

merlinofchaos — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:11:49 -0000

You know, Football Outsiders ranked Selvin Young #20 in DPAR last year. He's #17 in DVOA but only #40 in success rate -- but that was endemic to the team, not just a single running back (we had a horrible, *horrible* success rate for runs up the middle due to our O-Line being, uh, what's the announcer phrase? Oh yes, banged up)

I trust those statistics a whole helluva lot more than some random ESPN writer who doesn't care.

FWIW Adrian Peterson is #4 statistically. See http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/rb.php

Re: Lorenzo Neal Says Denver is On His Radar

merlinofchaos — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:05:53 -0000

I dunno. It seems like teams don't like the pure fullback anymore. There's only a few teams that use one; and we've been slowly moving away from the fullback for a few years now. I find it rather curious, honestly.

Re: Javon Walker to the Broncos: It’s Personal

merlinofchaos — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:50:46 -0000

All I can do is sigh. I wrote last year that we'd miss Walker if we let him go; and we did a much better job of going out and finding capable replacements than I expected.

That said, I predict he'll have another decent season. He won't be pro bowl cause the Raiders o line isn't going to give JaMarcus a chance to throw, but at least he'll be upright better than that big-armed statue Andrew Walter. It won't matter how well he can throw if he has defenders in his face every other snap.

Re: Javon Walker to the Broncos: It’s Personal

merlinofchaos — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:00:54 -0000

Dude. Dominator is class. Seriously. He's a good guy, he's a fan of football, not just the Raiders. I'll grant you that. And his crew. Really, they're good guys.

But your average Raider fan? It varies. Let's face it. The Raiders, the team, the organization, they embrace the Bad Boy image. They embrace the violence. So they get it. I live in San Jose, and I don't go to the local Bronco game, even though I keep being tempted to. I don't want to deal with it. It's not just the media.

I occasionally get hassled for my Broncos jacket. Kind of sad, really. Though to be fair, I get complimented on it a lot more than I get hassled. Mostly because people love it when they see my wife and I wearing matching jackets, just generally out.

Rick: The Raiders might be on their way up this year, but 'up' is 4-12 or so. I just don't see Russell having a good year until Al Davis actually successfully addresses the O-line. And I think the problem is truly organizational; right now there is a bad attitude inside the organization. It feels like a lot of the people who actually work for the Raiders have bought into the bad boy image too much, and a lack of discipline pervades the team.

You've seen it for the last decade. Players come to the Raiders with big resumes, and they consistently underperform. Every single year. LaMont Jordan? Randy Moss? Robert Gallery?

There's some really good players on that team, but the team hasn't amounted to anything since Gruden was ridden out of town on a rail. Who can respect Al Davis when he got rid of a coach that took the team to the superbowl? Seriously. In the NFL, nothing succeeds like winning.

But not for Al Davis.

I feel bad for my Raider friend fans. They all know how bad the team sucks and they hate it. Heck, I hate it. It's hard to have a good rivalry when the team is just flat out abysmal.

C'mon. What the hell are the San Diego Chargers doing as the class of the AFC West?

Re: Daily Links – Rookie Negotiations Have Begun

merlinofchaos — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:44:47 -0000

It's really only the top 6 slots or so that are ridiculously overpaid. I know, 'only'. It makes the top 5 or so spots in the draft kind of unappealing. Makes the 7-11 slots a lot more appealing because the price drops dramatically but usually the top 10 guys are all as likely to be quality as the others.

I mean, look at our guy. At #12 and he's 80% of our rookie pool but it's still only half of what #4 is getting. That's a steep drop for 8 places.

Re: Marshall Catching with Both Hands in Practice

merlinofchaos — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:43:33 -0000

Damn, beat me to the post.

This is a huge deal to me. Last year, I remember the Orange Mane guys being flat out impressed at Marshall on the field in training camp, despite having missed time due to injury. He had that difficult stretch where Shanahan had to call him out to get him to go out there and play through it, and he did.

Clearly that message has stuck. The guy has two weeks before he's scheduled to be allowed to catch with both hands, and he's out there doing everything he can to stay on top of his game. That's some serious work ethic. My only hope is that he isn't doing damage to himself while he's doing it.

That said, Marshall is one of those just damned impressive guys. I hope we lock him up for a long time because, despite his various failings off the field, he is a monster. And his off-the-field incidents have all been pretty marginal, especially compared to what's going on with other guys across the league.

The guy works. The guy works well with Cutler. I want to see these two playing together in 10 years, in the list of top 10 passing/receiving pairs.

Re: Earl’s prediction: Game 2, Sun Sep 14, Chargers @ Broncos

merlinofchaos — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 16:04:49 -0000

Minor followup: We'll jump somewhere between 12 and 16 spots on the various power rankings for this awesome game, putting us squarely into the latter half of the top 10 with a big "Now they have to prove they belong here" from most of the rankers. The more wary rankers will wait and move us up into the top 15 and they'll talk about our potential but how they still aren't convinced.

Re: Earl’s prediction: Game 2, Sun Sep 14, Chargers @ Broncos

merlinofchaos — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 01:08:41 -0000

mikebirty: I have no problem knowing that there are all kinds of things that can throw my prediction off. I admit to going out on a limb. I am prognosticating only with what I know. And hey, it's fun.

Bolts08: The first comment made me crack up. The second comment...well, Kyle is right. Norv Turner is an excellent offensive coordinator. He gets in there and he controls the offensive tempo and he really, really puts a game together. But when he's the Head Coach, he loses control. He ends up responsible for the things he's not good at and puts someone else in charge of what he is good at. I respect his superbowl rings as offensive coordinator. I just think that history has shown that as a head coach, he is, as is often referred to in the corporate world, "promoted to a level beyond his competence".

mark: Rather, I think the team fell so far below its standards last year that it was an aberration. I do not judge this this team by what it did last year. I take the last several years into account.

Last year the team stank for one reason and one reason alone: The defensive system did not work with the player personnel it had. That system works; there is evidence. But that system requires two fantastic, big DTs and we had Sam Adams and Amon Gordon. Well, Sam Adams is big, but that still didn't stop him from playing doormat for any old offensive guard in the league, meaning that DJ Williams had someone in his face when he needed to be getting after the ball carrier. And they couldn't put pressure on, so the coverage broke down. League rules are such that no defensive coverage can last for very long, now matter how good. The trick is to break the pocket quickly and disrupt the quarterback. Even Andrew Walters looked like a pretty good quarterback...when he had 4 seconds of uninterrupted time to throw the ball.

The score last year was immaterial. Mike Shanahan's offensive philosophy is to get ahead fast, then buckle down and maintain that lead. But when the defense puts the offense in the lurch every single drive, that philosophy doesn't work.

Man. This should be a post all its own.

Re: Earl’s prediction: Game 2, Sun Sep 14, Chargers @ Broncos

merlinofchaos — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:42:30 -0000

I have to laugh at all of your stupid yak-yak. It makes me want to yak. Why don’t you all wait for at least 1 exibition game before you start crowning your Donkeys as world Champions.

Lame. There's a whole lot of trash you can talk about what I actually said, but you're not even smart enough to do that. Instead you trash talk stuff I didn't say. Boooring. Can we get someone with some brains in here so we can have some real trash talk? Thanks.

Re: Earl’s prediction: Game 2, Sun Sep 14, Chargers @ Broncos

merlinofchaos — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:13:55 -0000

ChargerBomb: I think Florence was better than he was given credit for, but I admit that our signing of McCree hasn't particularly thrilled me, so you may well be right about your secondary being better without him. I guess we'll have to see how he does with a change of scenery, but I am not holding out a lot of hope.

Re: Daily Links – Marcus Thomas is Ready

merlinofchaos — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:50:10 -0000

I don't think Nate stinks, but I do think he is overly aggressive and it's shown to be fairly easy to bait him into overpursuing.

Re: Javon Walker Found Unconscious in Las Vegas

merlinofchaos — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:28:13 -0000

Hm. All bashing aside, my fear is that it's not random violence, that he was targeted because some gangbangers are all upset about a bunch of their homeys in Denver sitting in jail right now. I hope that I'm just being a pessimist by thinking of that.

Re: Daily Links – Video Tribute for DWill

merlinofchaos — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:46:10 -0000

Of further note in the ESPN rankings:

Cutler is ranked #10 in QBs, Marshall #14 in WRs, Scheffler #7 in TEs and Young #33 in RBs.

Re: More Details on Walker

merlinofchaos — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:01:36 -0000

Heh, yea. Anyone with $100K in jewelry should be paying $5K for a bodyguard.

Re: Ben Hamilton – Denver Broncos Player Bio

merlinofchaos — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:24:52 -0000

Clady - Hamilton - Nalen - Kuper - Harris
Or
Clady - Hamilton - Nalen - Holland - Kuper/Harris

I'd be pretty darn happy with that lineup.

Re: Five off-season questions on…the Defense

merlinofchaos — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 01:47:55 -0000

Slowik has been the DC for Chicago, Browns and Packers. Broncos counts as his fourth, so I misspoke above when I said four, I should have said three. See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Slowik

Re: Five off-season questions on…the Defense

merlinofchaos — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:25:40 -0000

Oh hey! I didn't misspeak! I misremembered what I wrote. That's even better! =)

Re: Five off-season questions on…the Defense

merlinofchaos — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 02:48:09 -0000

Yea, I was saying Slowik is theoretically going to be a lot like Coyer.

Re: Brandon Marshall Arrested in March for Domestic Dispute

merlinofchaos — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:42:51 -0000

Kiszla's article on the topic is surprisingly mellow. I expected him to ask for Marshall's head.

I'm torn. I don't like to make judgements on domestic violence disputes when I have only a little bit of information. It's too hard to guess what's really going on when all you see is the end, but it doesn't look real good for Marshall.

On the upside apparently they're not together anymore. Maybe we can just hope Marshall stays single for a few years. Hm. Maybe that's not so good either.

Re: Daily Links – Marshall Responds

merlinofchaos — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:19:05 -0000

So I'm biased and I'm inclined to believe Marshall. It's really funny how many people are jumping on Marshall. And I can understand why; domestic abuse is a serious problem.

But what if she's crying wolf?

If he hit her, medical examination can prove it. If a medical examination can prove it, her lawyers should've put him in jail by now, or at least on trial for it. But charges never get filed.

It doesn't sound right, to me.

Re: The Broncos Get Their Own Paper Lion

merlinofchaos — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:52:00 -0000

Yea, I remember the stories about him. Shanahan told the whole team that if he made a kick, everyone could go home for the day, but if he missed then they'd have to do the rest of practice.

And he shanked it, and the whole team was giving him a hard time, and Shanahan gave him a second kick. Was a cute story.

Re: Daily Links – Take Time With a Wounded Hand?

merlinofchaos — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:10:05 -0000

Are there editors over at the Post? Let's be real.

Bill Williamson was atrocious at the Post. He goes to ESPN and ranks all the way up to average. I mean, that's not just getting a little bit better.

Now, we find that the Post runs regular craptastic articles and now we've got one article that immediately calls out another article?

Editors are supposed to fix this kind of stuff. I mean on one hand, yea, I'm glad Frei has the cajones to call out the paper, but I'm a little concerned that the paper is so badly run that this even needs to happen.

Re: Daily Links – Putting it on the Line

merlinofchaos — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:53:48 -0000

I'm pretty sure they meant Al Harris rather than Wilson who hasn't even been in the league for 2 years now.

Re: Torain Ready To Be the Next Late Round Success

merlinofchaos — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:21:47 -0000

Andre Hall is undersized, and that's a major problem for him.

Torain should've been a first rounder. He's completely over the broken foot, which was unexpected.

I'm thinking we'll see a one-two punch of Torain/Young, though possibly not in the first couple of games. Everything I read about Torain tells me that he has star power.

Of course, so does Selvin Young. They can't both be 2,000 yard backs. But they can both be 1,000 yard backs.

Re: Daily Links – Face, Meet Palm

merlinofchaos — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:09:37 -0000

"Marshall, Marshall, Marshall!"

On the next episode of The Bronco Bunch, Marshall gets a a speeding ticket! How will he face the Coach! Meanwhile, Champ and Boss hatch a secret plot to get back at Dre' for stiffing them on the chores. Will Dre' get in trouble or will the plan backfire on the two brothers? You'll just have to find out on the next Bronco Bunch!

Re: Cutler and Shanahan Voice Support for Marshall as Suspension Rumors Loom

merlinofchaos — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:23:15 -0000

At least the Post isn't reporting incessantly about Favre...oh wait.

Re: Nate Jackson – Denver Broncos Player Bio

merlinofchaos — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:48:34 -0000

Jackson went to school right in my backyard, old Menlo College, something nobody outside of the area has ever heard of. (My workplace was close to it, which is the only reason I've heard of it.)

He only came to the Broncos because Bill Walsh watched him play and really liked what he saw; when the Niners couldn't keep him, Walsh made some calls and Shanahan agreed we could use him.

As a wide receiver he was not successful in the NFL. Shanahan converted him to a tight end in 2005, but the weight gain took time to transition, so the 2005 and 2006 seasons were basically lost, but the team saw him progress.

In 2007 he made the cut even with a very deep group of tight ends, and he makes an acceptable backup for Tony Scheffler, who currently has injury concerns, with his foot the way it is.

For Jackson, the groin is the only injury I can actually remember. From his injury report it looks like he broke an ankle in '04. The hamstring in '05 was directly related to the weight gain in becoming a tight end. Since then the only significant injury was the groin pull which put him on IR. That's not yet, IMO, enough to call them nagging injuries. And he has come on quite well as a tight end. I'm not sure what his special teams statistics are like, but that's something else that could matter; if he's considered a good player on special teams, that could enhance his value quite a bit.

I think Shanahan sees some Shannon Sharpe in him; Sharpe had a similar beginning to his career, beginning as a wideout and converting to a tight end, and he's hoping Jackson will go that same direction.

In any case, Jackson is one of my personal favorites due to his writing on denverbroncos.com and just from being a local kid who went to a college that just isn't known for producing NFL players (like, any. Ever.), and still managed to find a place in the NFL.

Re: New Brandon Marshall Incidents are a Non-Issue

merlinofchaos — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:44:30 -0000

We don’t know, and that’s the point - and it’s impossible to suspend him until we do.

While I agree with the first half, I'm not so sure on the second half. Goodell isn't patient, and I think that he can easily say that the quantity has "displayed a trend" that requires action. I'd disagree with him. On the other hand, I keep reading comments from people on Denver Post calling him a wife beating shitbag, or the like, and I have to restrain my urge to get livid. Actually I just get very very sad. It's so easy to rush to judgement.

I hope Marshall avoids a suspension, but I just can't see it happening.

Re: Daily Blitz – Shanahan has Reasons to be Optimistic

merlinofchaos — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:26:59 -0000

"Hello and welcome to the 219th annual AARP association meeting."

Re: Daily Blitz – Shanahan has Reasons to be Optimistic

merlinofchaos — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:45:07 -0000

mikebirty: *I* got it! AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA thank you for that one!

Re: Daily Blitz – Shanahan has Reasons to be Optimistic

merlinofchaos — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:45:32 -0000

Kyle: Think Neville Chamberlain.

Re: 2008’s First Depth Chart

merlinofchaos — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:54:19 -0000

Jonathan: We'll probably only carry 3 runningbacks. If Alridge doesn't make the team, who do you cut:

Young? Torain? Hall? Pittman?

Alridge is fast, but I'm 98% confident that whomever we keep will complement Young.

That, to me, locks Young and Torain in -- Torain and Pittman are the only guys we have in the 'power runner' category and Pittman isn't getting reps at RB. I can see Pittman making the team as a fullback though that won't make him very happy.

So Young (who I think is a lock to at least make the team, if not #1) and Torain or Pittman. That leaves Hall and Alridge vying for the last slot (or the loser between Torain and Pittman if Pittman doesn't stay aboard as a fullback).

Tough choice for ya, Jonathan.

Re: Daily Blitz – Royal Could Be the Next Upchurch

merlinofchaos — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:12:52 -0000

"Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's...JAY CUTLER?!"

Re: DEN vs HOU: Thoughts and Predictions

merlinofchaos — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:46:01 -0000

Jonathan: DirecTV does not carry preseason games. So you get to do this 3 more times. :/

NFL Fieldpass includes preseason audio, though, and I'll be listening.

http://www.nfl.com/fieldpass

Re: DEN vs HOU: Thoughts and Predictions

merlinofchaos — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:56:15 -0000

myerda: It varies. I find Klis is actually upbeat, and Armstrong is more positive than not. For both of them, they're negative where it feels deserved. Mostly it's Kiszla who seems like he's a jerk just to be a jerk a lot of the time. He was really rough on Plummer back when he was around, and he's always got to have a target it seems.

Re: Bailey, Green Injured in Preseason Opener

merlinofchaos — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 00:44:10 -0000

Man, what a game. Sounds like Green is going be okay, but no word on Bailey yet. :/

We were sloppy, but not as bad as last year. But not as good as we need to be. Very uneven. I hope there's some improvement in the next couple games.

Re: Louis Green Released from Hospital

merlinofchaos — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 01:58:25 -0000

Your typo of Alridge's name reminds me; I'm disappointed. Half the media is calling him Aldridge; Dave Logan apparently never got corrected, calling him Aldridge throughout the entire game. I hope the kid has a thicker skin than I do. I hate it when people get my name wrong. =)

Re: Daily Blitz – Mixed Opinion on the O-Line

merlinofchaos — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:17:09 -0000

"Hey! If you had DirecTV you could be watching this game, not standing there keeping a guy out of my face which is pointless because I'm throwing this to the other team anyway!"

Re: Patrick Ramsey vs Brad Johnson

merlinofchaos — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:46:16 -0000

Hey if Cutler goes down early in the season I think Culpepper is still available. =)

Re: Where Does Montrae Holland’s Return Leave Kuper and Harris?

merlinofchaos — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:45:03 -0000

We have to see how Holland actually plays.

It's important to note that Holland has never really fit the Broncos athletic zone blocking style; he's considered more of a road grader. He is reasonably athletic, but it's not his strength. So I have a feeling that if Kuper and Harris are playing at a level that let them keep their jobs, then they will.

Re: Daily Blitz – Bring on the ‘Boys

merlinofchaos — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:39:33 -0000

I know you want to be the #1 guy here, but you'll have to settle for me instead.

Re: CB Tyrone Poole Returns to Denver

merlinofchaos — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:48:53 -0000

What's wierd is our CB position is pretty well locked, right? Champ, Dre, Foxworth, Paymah and Williams. They can rotate the #6 and #7 slot all they like but unless they're going to put Williams on the practice squad, and want to carry a 5th CB (which is dubious anyway) then its pointless.

Re: Pacman Jones Tries to Rip Brandon Marshall, Fails Dramatically

merlinofchaos — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:51:04 -0000

Pat: That was in one on one drills. One on one drills are not as big a deal for the Broncos lines which are more about team effort and coordination than they are about each individual beating his or her man.

Also, in 9 on 7, our defense was stuffing the run pretty nicely, which is interesting. That said, in 9 on 7 they know a run is coming, so it's easier to stuff; but even with that, it's a sign that our d-line is at least improved from last season. That, IMO, is the most important takeaway from all this for me. If our d-line comes up to being just average--say we are 17th in the league at stopping the run -- and our offense cleans up the red zone problems, we are a playoff caliber team.

If our d-line can move up towards the top 10, then we are a superbowl caliber team. I would like to say that last bit is possible, but I feel like we're still one piece short of that.

Re: Pacman Jones Tries to Rip Brandon Marshall, Fails Dramatically

merlinofchaos — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 23:11:30 -0000

Hey it's NFL Trash talk. It comes with the territory.

Marshall got a great dig back today.

Re: Daily Blitz – All About the Offense

merlinofchaos — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:31:19 -0000

Both: "Wondertwin powers, ACTIVATE!"
Webster: "Form of: A helmetless behemoth!"
Doom: "Shape of: A taser!"

Re: DEN vs DAL: Thoughts and Predictions

merlinofchaos — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:33:18 -0000

96isgone, I've read your analysis, and I definitely disagree with you on a couple of points.

You seem highly concerned about Jay's diabetes, but he's sharp in practice, he is sharp in preseason. There is nothing about his diabetes that leads me to believe he'll do any worse than last year, which makes him a top 10 quarterback, and therefore, IMO, not a concern. Even if he has diabetes issues from time to time, the guy is clearly a warrior. I see no reason to believe that he'll drop off at all.

We have rookies on the O-line, that's definitely a concern.

There is concern about the defensive ends stepping up.

However, one thing that really bugs me is that people compare the defense to last year's defense, when the reality is that the defense of 2 years ago is a better comparison. Compare the talent levels of the players on this team versus the team 2 years ago, and I think you'll get a much more fair comparison. Doing a player by player comparison, I think they are overall equivalent.

Nick Ferguson never really impressed me, but we don't have anyone in Lynch's category from that year, so we lose a little at safety.

Dre Bly is a little better than D-Will was that year. Plus, Foxworth and Paymah both are better than they were that year; we have some depth at CB that we seriously lacked. This is actually a serious point of improvement from 2 years ago.

DJ Williams is back in his natural position (go all the way back to his rookie year when he played Will and you'll see that he came out and impressed) -- and he's better than Ian Gold; he should never have been moved to make way for Ian. We lost Al Wilson, and that's still a step down, but the strongside is a wash -- Boss Bailey vs DJ on the strongside. Maybe Bailey is a slight step down. Definitely not as good at LB. And we know what we'll get from Nate Webster, which is playable but certainly no Al Wilson. But no one could be. We dunno what we'll get from Niko, but if he does badly, we'll get Webster instead, so consider Webster a baseline of what we'll get. It's either Webster or better, if Niko happens to be any good.

On the line, though, our d-line 2 years ago was simply not that good. Gerard Warren was good, and everyone else was a bunch of average guys that were made better by creative blitzing packages. If you look at history, I think D-Rob is pretty equivalent to Warren (remember, when Warren came here he was considered a 1st round bust and people thought he was washed up) and Marcus Thomas is actually better than Michael Myers. We still have Ekuban, and we have Dumervil in place of...um. ok, I forget who our other DE was. Sad, isn't it? All I can remember is whoever it was was no Trevor Pryce.

J. Moss hasn't had a chance to prove himself. We just don't know. Tim Crowder proved himself, and as I said, Thomas is better than Myers. I think the D-Line, with as many questions as we might have about it, is improved.

Given that we'll be running a very similar scheme, my feeling is that we're probably about as good as that defense was. I think that defense got very lucky and played beyond their ability but I think in reality our current defense should be somewhere around league average.

To predict 6-10, you're predicting that we're below league average on both offense and defense. The thing is, there's absolutely nothing ot suggest we'll be below league average on offense. Jay Cutler is a top 10 QB (Honest, go look at his stats). Marshall is a fantastic WR. We don't know who else is going to be on WR, but I just listened to the first half of the Cowboy's game. Sure, it's preseason, but Royal actually can justify his presence on the field. Darrel Jackson used to be good. We dunno what we'll get out of any of the other 3 WRs we brought in this season, but of the 3 do we really think we won't get someone who is at least average? And as Kyle said, we're really deep at TE. Graham and Sheffler, but Nate Jackson has been coming on as well. We have an embarassment of riches at tight end this year. The OTs are questionable, but even as a rookie, Clady can't be worse than Lepsis was last year. For the record, Lepsis was wretched last year. And he knew it. That's why he retired.

If the defense is league average and the offense is above league average, shouldn't that at least be good for 9-7? Especially when you consider our schedule, where there are 6 games that are against teams all considered to be well below average on one side of the ball or the other? Please look seriously at the schedule again. If you can't find 9 winnable games there, I'll be shocked (unless you think the Raiders & Chiefs don't make up 4 winnable games).

Re: Cutler Electrifies in Broncos 23-13 win over Cowboys

merlinofchaos — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 03:25:26 -0000

If we can come out and play like this against the Chargers in week 2, I'm going to have a happy season. That's the thing.

Preseason isn't quite as meaningless as they say (if you suck in preseason, chances are you suck in the season) and how your starters perform in preseason is a lot more important than the score at the end of the game. And in the two categories that do matter, we're succeeding.

Game 3 is going to be important, and we can ignore game 4 entirely.

Re: Cutler Electrifies in Broncos 23-13 win over Cowboys

merlinofchaos — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:46:23 -0000

Let's be more patient with Moss. He has a very serious injury last year. We have no idea how good his conditioning stayed, and he is basically back to being a rookie. He may actually be worse than a rookie right now. If he disappears for the season, he might still turn it into a learning experience and reappear next season.

Re: NFL, Meet Jay Cutler

merlinofchaos — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:48:37 -0000

At the worst Torain goes on IR. We pay him either way, since we'd have to give him an injury settlement, and IR means that he could get a shot next year. So Torain may not make the 53 man squad, but I don't think he gets cut.

Re: DEN vs DAL: Post Game Notes

merlinofchaos — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:37:30 -0000

Prater's miss wasn't his fault, either. Look at the replay (it's on NFL network again tomorrow) -- there was a man coming around unblocked and was jumping in front of the ball. Prater had to kick left to avoid him, but that meant avoiding the uprights, too. And a miss is better than a block. So I'm not holding that miss against Prater, even if everyone else is.

Moss and Crowder are both invisible out there. I dunno what's up with that but it's a concern.

Re: DEN vs DAL: Post Game Notes

merlinofchaos — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:49:53 -0000

Dallas is one of the harder teams for Young's style. We must be patient; I think he'll have better games against other teams.

Re: DEN vs DAL: Post Game Notes

merlinofchaos — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:22:49 -0000

Apparently Hall is more of a between the tackles back than Young. I don't actually know why this is, but what I've been reading lately, Hall is the one to go more between the tackles.

That said, Young has been bulking up so theoretically he should be able to do more between the tackles as well.

Re: John Lynch’s Decision

merlinofchaos — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:24:06 -0000

Same here. Good for Lynch. We'll miss him; he was a Fan's player and that was great, but at the end of the day, he wants to finish his career on a high note, and that's great. The Pats have a much more solid defense and he'll probably contribute more usefully for them than he will for us, and that's just fine.

Remember, there was talk that people in the defensive organization wanted him out. Who wants to play with that hanging on your head? It was uncomfortable for everyone and Lynch is a good man. Don't take anything away from him for this. It's his last year, and next year we'll see a lot more of him on TV.

Re: Daily Blitz – Smith Never Ceases to Amaze

merlinofchaos — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:36:14 -0000

HEY! Losers! The football is OVER HERE!! I can't BELIEVE you bit on that playfake!

Re: Daily Blitz – Smith Never Ceases to Amaze

merlinofchaos — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:47:58 -0000

I love the MHR analysis. I'd like to see some of the raw numbers, and of course 1 game is a poor measuring stick, as you really want to see what players do consistently, but those numbers are very encouraging. I was surprised to see Tyler Polumbus so high, and was unsurprised to see PJ Alexander so low.

Re: Torain Aiming for Week Seven Return

merlinofchaos — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:32:03 -0000

The more I read about our RBs, the more I think Torain is the only one cut out to really carry the load. Maybe Young will prove all the naysayers wrong, but I have this feeling he'll be gimpy by week 5 and we'll have to struggle to keep backs upright until Torain can get back.

Re: Daily Blitz – Packers are Prepared

merlinofchaos — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:38:49 -0000

"The flaming poo on Al Davis' porch joke NEVER gets old!"

Re: Merriman’s Knee, TV Gig Give Chargers Headaches

merlinofchaos — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:15:13 -0000

A shabby defense is the kind of defense where your best cornerback is Deltha O'Neal.

I think our DL is going to be a lot better than last year. There's a lot to get excited about. Remember, D-Rob and Marcus Thomas got some push against the Cowboys first string O-Line. That's one of the harder lines to get push against.

Re: Packers comes back to win 27-24

merlinofchaos — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:53:25 -0000

Note that we either didn't blitz at all or only just barely blitzed. So yes, we did fail to create as much pressure as we really would like with just the front four. Doom did get one sack and we did get close.

Surprisingly, Bly didn't play a lot of press coverage. Instead he played 7-10 yards off his man and Rodgers really targeted Bly and he also missed a few tackles. It was not a good game for Dre Bly, and already people are talking about how old he's looking. It's very similar to what happened to Foxworth last week, though -- I think it's an artifact of playing off and giving up the medium play to protect against the deep play.

If there is anything to take away from this game, it's that our pass rush is still problematic. D-Rob and Thomas need to get more penetration in the middle, and our ends need to do a better job of getting free. Theoretically Ekuban is one of our better pass rushers and he was out, but Doom and Moss were both in.

Things will look very different against Oakland as I would imagine we'll rush 5 a lot.

Re: Broncos sever ties with three

merlinofchaos — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:12:18 -0000

TJ: Panthers. Not only outside the division, outside the conference. =)

Re: Daily Blitz – Packing in the Preseason

merlinofchaos — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:32:40 -0000

"When The Flash tried to play football, he got over enthusiastic; in his last game, he managed to punch 23 players in the gut and a referee before he was finally ejected from the stadium."

Re: Who makes the final squad?

merlinofchaos — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:55:03 -0000

It's certainly possible, but I think Pittman has made a very good case to play as a backup. He can play h-back and f-back and he can block and he can catch, so he could probably play tight end in a pinch (at least, ahead of Mike Leach). He makes a great change of pace back -- if you put Hillis and Pittman together in the lineup, you don't actually know which one is lining up as the runner and which one is lining up to block.

I don't see him as a starter, but I do see him as a good situational backup and good special teamer.

Re: Who makes the final squad?

merlinofchaos — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:13:00 -0000

I can see keeping Barrett as a backup in place of Vaughn. Totally sensible. Cutting Holland and keeping Lichtensteiger seems dangerous. And who do you cut to keep Jack Williams?

And remember, every other team out there is cutting 27 players this week too; I'm not sure every painful cut is going to get scooped up by another team right now, as they're also making painful decisions and bringing on somebody who didn't compete in their training camp means replacing somebody else. It's not always that easy.

I think of all the players that we have that we would be hard pressed to get to the practice squad, it's Alridge and Woodyard. Maybe Lichtensteiger -- he was a fairly high draft pick and I may be underrating him slightly, but we can't be deep at WR, TE, RB *and* OL. We have to pick a spot to be shallow and we can't afford to at either RB or WR because we're holding a spot open for Torain and Marshall's suspension means we have to go 6 WRs unless we want to risk having only 4 wideouts available against San Diego.

Re: Who makes the final squad?

merlinofchaos — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:47:16 -0000

I'm pretty sure he is part of the 53 while on suspension. I could be wrong; if so it means we get to keep an extra player and it throws my calculations wholly off. Though probably it would mean we keep Alridge and then jettison Russell when BMarsh comes back.

Re: Who makes the final squad?

merlinofchaos — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:29:11 -0000

The reason I am concerned about Scheffler is that you can't have a guy like Scheff running 3rd string for very long. If you're really going to treat him as a backup then there's a problem. That said, I don't think he'll actually get cut, but the Broncos organization has surprised us before.

I am swayed somewhat by the loss of Eslinger off the practice squad possibly meaning we move fewer rookies to the squad, but that makes some of the decisions even harder.

Re: Who makes the final squad?

merlinofchaos — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:40:16 -0000

Ok, Mike Klis, in his mailbag, confirmed that Marshall will NOT count against the 53 players during his suspension! This means that we get to cut one less player and that means, IMO, the player we keep in his stead will be Alridge (we need the depth at RB) and we can expect to lose either Martinez or Russell depending upon if either of them step up their play in Marshall's absence.

I am wholly in favor of keeping Barrett over Vickiel Vaughn, and would be happy if that happens. I'm still having trouble figuring out who to cut to keep Jack Williams, but it's probably Nic Clemons. I don't think the Broncos can afford to lose Ekuban's experience off the line this year.

As for the o-line and keeping K-Lich on the field...that's tough. Holland is still a good player, despite getting behind for being fat. I just don't see him getting cut like many of you do. He worked his butt off (literally!) and I think he has the potential to steal the job from Kuper. And you don't want to lose a player who is going to push your starter into playing his level best every game.

And we can't cut Pears as we have no other backup tackles worth mentioning.

That means Nalen might be in trouble. Or another defensive player might be in trouble so that we can keep an extra man on offense.

Re: Who makes the final squad?

merlinofchaos — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:42:03 -0000

myerda00: IMO, PJ Alexander plays for crap. He gets pushed off the ball all the time. He whiffed a lot of times when he was on the field. IMO he's the first guy cut on the O line.

Re: Who makes the final squad?

merlinofchaos — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:46:22 -0000

I am starting to lean toward Polumbus staying as a backup tackle. That might mean Pears goes. The O-line is so difficult to call right now in terms of who stays and goes. And I might be wrong -- we might keep more than 8 men on the line because we have so many rookies as starters that extra depth is needed. I just don't know where we'll come up with the space for that depth, especially given that we want to keep a whole passel of running backs because we don't have a single The Guy right now and it's never clear which one is going to be able to carry the load.

What if the backups are Polumbus, Wiegmann, Holland and K-Lich? That's one extra body still, need to figure out who to drop from somewhere else, but that would be pretty interesting. It would leave us quite thin at tackle, with only a rookie -- admittedly with some potential -- able to back up Harris or Clady. I'd feel more comfortable with Pears remaining as a backup.

But it's true, you have to take these chances if you're going to develop rookies.

Maybe we do have to cut the Mustard, so to speak, to make room for another lineman.

Re: Who makes the final squad?

merlinofchaos — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:17:59 -0000

Well, with Holland out, I would definitely keep Lichtensteiger stays. Right now I lean toward Polumbus, K-Lich and Wiegmann as backups on the o-line, and putting at least 2 of the guys we cut onto the practice squad (or signing guys from other teams cuts onto the practice squad) to provide more available depth.

And Ryan is right. Kuper makes sense as more backup at tackle as well. Versatility matters when you're keeping so few players.

Re: Nate Webster to start

merlinofchaos — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:14:52 -0000

I really felt like Webster was cleaning up his game.

That said, it also felt like K2 was better at being a director. While he isn't as physically gifted as Webster and wasn't as in on as many plays, K2 seems to be better at directing traffic and people seemed less generally out of position when K2 was in.

Re: Daily Blitz – Injuries Put Dumervil, Bailey in Question

merlinofchaos — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:22:52 -0000

"He thinks we're going to go 13 and 3 this year! We'll be lucky to get 10!"

Re: Brandon Marshall in New York for Appeal Hearing

merlinofchaos — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:12:48 -0000

Jonathan: And if I let my friend borrow my car and I had no idea he was going to be drunk later that day and I lose my car? Man, I'd call that theft.

Re: Denver Broncos Trade Montrae Holland to Dallas Cowboys

merlinofchaos — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:15:16 -0000

This is what you do to a veteran you respect who has been relegated to a backup position that you don't believe should be a backup. It's...certainly unexpected, I had definitely pencilled Holland in to the 53 man roster, if you read later into the comments you can see that I was really struggling to find room to keep everyone on the O-line who should be kept.

This move makes it easier to keep Polumbus and K-Lich on the active roster; we know K-Lich can play guard and center and Polumbus can play tackle.

This doesn't resolve what's going on with Nalen/Wiegmann, though. I'm still curious there.

Re: Denver Broncos Trade Montrae Holland to Dallas Cowboys

merlinofchaos — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:42:45 -0000

Chris Myers is easy to explain -- he was an RFA and the Texans were going to sign him and we weren't going to match their offer sheet because they're giving him starter money. So instead of letting them sign him and compensating us with a pick, we just traded him for the same pick they would've given us in compensation.

He gets to play as a starter for Texas, but in our system he'd still be a backup.

I suspect there's similar going on with Holland.

Warren's another story altogether and it had more to do with Jim Bates trying to retool the defense to meet his scheme and FAILING.

Retool the scheme to match the players, not the other way around. It's the freakin' rule and we broke it.

Re: Create-A-Caption – Thu Aug 28

merlinofchaos — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:20:38 -0000

"Push 'em out, shove 'em out, WAAAAAAY OUT!"

Younger readers may not quite get that. If so, it is your duty to go find old Bill Cosby routines.

Re: DEN vs ARI: Thoughts and Predictions

merlinofchaos — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:49:44 -0000

I have to agree. Crowder needs to step it up and beat out Engleberger. He did servicably last year, so it is very surprising that he can't really get into the roster this year.

Re: Marshall Suspension Reduced to One Game

merlinofchaos — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:22:18 -0000

I was just penalized 15 yards for excessive celebration. It was worth it.

Re: Page Six: First Issue

merlinofchaos — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:54:33 -0000

PJ Alexander CAN play any O spot--badly.

He is not quality depth. I'd rather have a rookie in there; the level of play might not be better, but the rookie has a chance of improving. PJ is already at the peak of his game. Maybe past it.

Re: Denver Broncos at Arizona Cardinals – Preseason Week 4 2008

merlinofchaos — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 03:36:13 -0000

Well, Jay didn't play that game, so I'm not surprised he wasn't talked about. Actually, I'm happy about it. If they did talk about him it'd almost be like the whole Brett Favre thing, where they talk about him even when he's not relevant.

Leinart was the big story because he just came off that 4-12 game against the Raiders and looked miserable. And he still made a couple of very poor decisions out there, so I don't think this game said much about him.

But Leinart NOT being a fantastic full time quarterback just now is a pretty big story. That draft class was something special, and it may end up being Leinart who was the weakest of the 3. Though personally I still think it'll ultimately be Vinnie.

Re: Playoffs, Already?

merlinofchaos — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:23:41 -0000

What gets me about the national press is that there are a number of people that put us aroudn 18-20th out of 32, and yet mention that "if X happens they could be a wild card team".

I dunno about you, but isn't making a wildcard playoff in the AFC worth 10-12 out of 32?

Also, even predicting 8-8 -- shouldn't that be worth around 16th? I don't understand how some of these guys do their predictions. Most of them think only the personnel (or Shanahan) was responsible for the travesty that was the defense last year, and simply can't imagine that switching from a scheme that did not fit our personnel to a scheme that does fit our personnel will have us moving more toward average.

What's worse is that 2 guys writing for Football Outsiders -- who are not amongst the statisticians -- actually went for the UNDER when the Broncos are listed at 7.5

UNDER.

I can find 10 winnable games on the schedule pretty easily, myself. Sure, we have a way of losing winnable games but we can also ahve a way of winning losable games, too. It weirds me out to see people talking about the team the same way they talk about 4-12 teams.

I can't wait to see what the first Football Outsiders rankings come up with, based upon the preseason numbers and off-season projections. I know that their offseason stats weren't too kind to us either but the preseason numbers should offset that somewhat. Hopefully they'll have those out around Wednesday or so.

Re: Playoffs, Already?

merlinofchaos — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:13:47 -0000

There's also the constant harping that we only have one receiving threat. They seem to ignore Scheffler's actually impressive stats, though he's quickly becoming thought of as injury prone. And somehow, Brandon Stokley is constantly ignored except by people who specifically want to write about him. But he did great when he had to move up and fill in; he's a great 3rd down receiver and he relishes his situational role. How can you beat that? Sure, Eddie Royal is an unknown. No one knows for sure what he's going to do -- but we know that Darrell Jackson is at least adequate. That sounds like 3 decent receivers at any given time.

I can't count how many articles I read that go "Sure, there's Cutler, Marshall, Dumervil and Champ...but after that, who're the stars?"

Somehow DJ Willliams is questionable (yet he's still recognized as an incredibly gifted athlete), Hamilton has always been considered a strong guard but since he had that concussion last year let's just assume he won't actually play. Same with Nalen and his injury.

Selvin Young had a fantastic average in far more extensive action than was expected last year. Andre Hall is admittedly unknown but when he DID play he was electric last year. Our run game was still something like 5th in the league in yards, yet somehow was 'disappointing'. Sure, disappointing because we haven't found the next TD but maybe we never will. There just aren't that many TDs.

Also, Cutler played the last six or so games SICK. We're supposed to believe that his game won't be significantly better now that his diabetes is managed and under control? Oh and yes, lots of people now call Cutler questionable due to the diabetes. But dozens if not hundreds of athletes ahve managed diabetes and had very successful careers. Questioning that is like saying that Peyton Manning hurt his knee, he must be done. Well, actually, that's happened to quarterbacks (Culpepper) so there's some concern there. So maybe that's a bad example.

Luckily, it doesn't matter what the national media says. It's just frustrating. It was, however, really refreshing to read that Scouts, Inc article predicting that Cutler is going to tear it up this year. That he is ready to take the team on his shoulders and will the team to victory. That's the kind of thing I want to see.

Sure, there are question marks. But not all those question marks are going to have negative answers when the time comes. Some will, but that's what we call adversity, and all teams have to deal with adversity. Some more than others.

After seeing the success our first team has had this season; seeing how well the rookies have progressed between games one and four...I'm no longer ready to say that the Chargers automatically have the division.

Right now, I'll say they have an advantage, but it's not insurmountable. There are some big ifs along the way, but I think we can surprise them. This is a Denver Broncos team with discipline and character that will be able to set aside bad plays, come back fighting, and still win games. And the AFC West isn't the powerhouse that it was. The Chiefs and the Raiders both look pathetic, with organizational dysfunction that will keep them that way until things are changed. The Chargers are tough but they are not invincible.

I'm still predicting 10-6 but that's just because I do believe we'll have significant adversity through the season, and we will have to struggle to get through it and it will cost us games we should have won. And if I'm wrong, this preseason has made more more confident that it's because Ian was right, not the national press.

I believe that by week 3, the national power rankings will have us as a top 10 team, right there alongside the Chargers. Probably behind the chargers even though we'll have beaten them, because they will still want us to prove it.

Re: The 53: Who Makes the Broncos Cut?

merlinofchaos — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:30:00 -0000

I still like my list, though last night I thought Alridge, Polumbus and Woodyard definitely made convincing arguments we need to keep them. Hillis did drop a little bit and Sapp made plays when he was given the ball. So that hurt my argument there.

I am still convinced PJ Alexander is out. K-Lich plays center and guard and he's a 3rd round pick and people did convince me he wouldn't clear waivers. So I think K-Lich is an inside backup, and we're good at center. for backups.

It seems our lists are very close together. I look forward to posting the comparison once all the cuts are in. Mine is already shot to hell since I said we'd keep Holland. =)

Re: Broncos Waive Many

merlinofchaos — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 19:51:45 -0000

Alridge! His name has only one d!

Seems like very few people get his name right. =)

Anyway, my surprises: We kept one fewer WR than I expected. One more OL than I expected. But it matches what I eventually decided after realizing K-Lich probably wouldn't make it through waivers.

We kept one more LB than I expected, as well, and I thought we'd keep Beck over Green, though after his performance last night, Green deserved to stay on the team.

Thedepth chart over at denverbroncos.com has been updated to remove the cut players, though I suspect there will be some reorganization come Monday.

I feel pretty good about the predictions. I wonder what would've happened if Sapp hadn't gotten injured; I feel like they got a freebie. Put Sapp on IR for a year, play Hillis and see how things look next year.

I feel bad for Alridge, and I would not be surprised if we start bringing in RBs from the market to look for one more to carry us until Torain's back.

Re: So Who is, ‘The One?’

merlinofchaos — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 03:41:22 -0000

While Tim Crowder is not showing the burst of getting there that we would like to see, his position coaches have said that he and Moss are showing progress. I'll note that in the Arizona game, Crowder and Moss were both responsible for some of that pressure, late in the game, that really helped make our 3rd string defense look like it was actually good.

I thought Moss was a pretty questionable pick when we got him, and I'm not yet convinced -- I think he's just too lightweight for the job he's in -- but I firmly believe that Tim Crowder is just in a position where he's experiencing growing pains. That 'sophomore slump', as it were, that sometimes happens. Not all players blossom right away, but that doesn't mean they're busts, yet.

My hope is that by mid-season, he's taking over Engleberger's spot.

My money would be on Pears being the odd man out after the Oakland game.

Re: So Who is, ‘The One?’

merlinofchaos — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:53:37 -0000

I see we all have an interesting pet list of who we think is going to be the odd man out. Lots of very different opinions here. Am very curious to see who'll be right in 9 days or so!

Re: Domonique Foxworth Traded to Falcons for Late Round Pick

merlinofchaos — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:50:18 -0000

Go read the article and statistics on MHR and take a good, hard look at Foxy's play. Plus, take a look at his preseason.

Remember, in training camp we were hearing that he was coming on strong, doing everything to prove it, and yet he had a bad preseason? That's not a good sign for his future.

Both Paymah and Foxy are in their 1 year tender having just gotten through the restricted free agent period. Teams would've had to give up a 3rd rounder to get Foxworth, and clearly that wasn't going to happen. And once we told Foxworth to go home, that meant we were probably going to get a little under value on the trade. But we get something, and that's good. If we watied, we'd probably get nothing.

Jack Williams had a fantastic preseason. The guy looks like D-Will out there, and I have this sneaking suspicion he'll pass Paymah on the depth chart part way through the season. He is playing with heart, soul AND innate talent.

I adore Foxworth as a person, and I really do wish it had worked out. I also really feel Foxworth deserves a chance to start and see what he does throughout an entire season. But he's been on the field a lot, and he leaves receivers open. He plays too tentatively and that's why even with pressure, quarterbacks were able to get completions on him.

In his defense, he always made the tackle when a receiver completed on him, so he tended to give up the medium play instead of the big play. Which is sort of the opposite of Dre Bly, who is more likely to actually defend the pass but if he whiffs he is less likely to make the tackle and give up the big play.

So the trade off there is an interesting one. Let's see what works out.

I suspect the RMN is right in that Lowry will probably play the Sam Brandon role from a couple of years ago, AKA the 'Big Nickel' where we would put in a safety instead of a DB on passing downs. Lowry has a reputation as a big hitter. So my guess is he and Paymah will split time as the nickel, depending upon the package they want to use.

I can't say I hate this trade; I didn't hate the Holland trade either. Neither of these feel like the Gerard Warren trade to me, where he was just inexplicably in the doghouse and shown the door out unceremoniously. I know we regret that one.

Re: Williams, Broncos Reach Extension

merlinofchaos — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 03:17:52 -0000

I wouldn't worry about DJ and the contract year. DJ is a class act. He will play to his utmost, not to try and get the payout but because he is a competitive warrior. He wants to be the best, he wants to win.

Re: Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders – Week 1 Blitz

merlinofchaos — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:00:03 -0000

D-Rob gets no respect. Geez.

Re: Create-A-Caption for Mon. Sept. 8

merlinofchaos — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:58:23 -0000

"Dammit, and I turned down the cover of Madden, too."

(I can't take any joy in this. Losing Brady may make the Patriots beatable but it could be anybody out there. Looks like 4-5 guys are out for the season, not just Brady).

Re: Hey NFL, Meet Eddie Royal, Broncos

merlinofchaos — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:53:52 -0000

hercules reckefeller, master of the Ironic Fu.

Re: 2008 Week 1 observations

merlinofchaos — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:52:00 -0000

I agree, every passing week starts to look worse and worse for Moss. I'm trying to be patient; not every NFL star is a master out of the gate, but there were big concerns about Moss early on, and his inability to bulk up has definitely been an issue.

Re: Eddie Royal earns Week One Rookie Award

merlinofchaos — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 00:51:35 -0000

Congratulations to Eddie! This is a great honor! If he can keep up this kind of production after the scrutiny of opposing defenses, the Broncos offense will SING, and it will be a SYMPHONY. I am stoked.

Re: Chargers @ Broncos LIVE BLOG

merlinofchaos — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:26:08 -0000

I have my white #6 (real jersey not replica) that I got for Christmas during Jay's rookie year. Sprout wears her blue Cutler onesie that she got as a gift last year. And my Broncos sideline cap, which comes and goes as I actually don't like wearing hats.

Re: Broncos Win! Refs Cause Controversy in 39-38 Victory over Chargers

merlinofchaos — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 21:08:09 -0000

It's pretty easy to blame refs for getting calls wrong when we see replays and have things that happen in a quarter second slowed down frame by frame. Of course refs get calls wrong on the field. They're human.

Re: Ed Hochuli Explains

merlinofchaos — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:13:07 -0000

I have only one thing to say about this:

That fumble was Jay Cutler, untouched. It was nothing the Chargers did. If he had come up and knocked the ball out of his hand that'd be one thing, but no. This one was 100% on Cutler, it was rookie mistake.

You really want to cry about not winning because the ref made a blown call on a rookie mistake? Okay, fine. I'm not going to tell Charger's fans to shut up. I'd be pretty sick if we lost in a similar situation, but I do not, for one second, believe the talk about the better team having lost. But I'd not be at all thrilled with my team if the only reason we won was because Phillip Rivers slipped on the proverbial banana peel.

Go on, complain about it. I would, but when you complain, think about that pit in your stomach that your "true" victory only came because Cutler got the dropsies, not because your defense actually did anything to deserve getting the ball.

As it is, I sure hope Cutler doesn't make another mistake like THAT again.

Re: Keary Colbert Traded to Seahawks

merlinofchaos — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:06:08 -0000

Hmm. The Denver Broncos blog claims a 'conditional 2009 draft pick'. But doesn't say what the range or conditions are, unfortunately. I am really curious what we get for this. In a way, it's like we paid 2 million for a late round draft pick.

Also that means we'll re-sign some player we cut. I'm wondering who. Almost certainly not a receiver, there's not likely to be many useful guys available right now.

Re: Keary Colbert Traded to Seahawks

merlinofchaos — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:20:10 -0000

Ok, here's a tally of our 2009 draft trades so far:

We traded a conditional pick for D-Rob, anywhere from 5th to 2nd rounder.

We have Atlanta's 7th rounder for Dominique Foxworth.

We have Houston's 2010 (not 2009) 5th rounder for Montrae Holland.

That's all I can find right now. I should start keeping notes on this stuff.

Re: Keary Colbert Traded to Seahawks

merlinofchaos — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:56:40 -0000

merc22: As awesome as that would be I rather doubt it.

Re: The Hit Heard ’round the World

merlinofchaos — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:35:36 -0000

LOLblogging. I can't read past the second sentence, so I dunno what he said.

Re: Broncos Bring Back WR Russell

merlinofchaos — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:01:56 -0000

Oh I don't know. We have 4 and 5 wideout sets, plus we need to give Marshall and Royal a breather from time to time. Russell will probably see a handfull of snaps per game. Especially with Jackson in the injury report.

Re: Should Lynch Come Back?

merlinofchaos — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:37:57 -0000

Well, when he left he made it pretty clear he wasn't going to play for the Denver Broncos this year, even when he wasn't sure if he would play at all. I just think that, politically, it is unlikely to happen. I think Slowik just didn't want him.

Which is too bad. For one, any potential hall of famer really should play for us for at least 5 years. Chances are, tho, he'll go into the HoF as a Bucc anyway, but still.

Re: Broncos win another squeaker

merlinofchaos — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 23:42:54 -0000

Kyle, that was kind of my point. He had a 'bad game'. It was a fantastic game by other standards.

Re: Broncos win another squeaker

merlinofchaos — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:05:18 -0000

Josh: Absolutely. Mostly the 'bad game' comments have to do with some bad throws he made, the poor int. Cutler said himself after the game that he made some poor throws. Compartively this is his worst game of the season. Trust me, I'm delighted that we can call this kind of performance a bad game.

Re: Broncos win another squeaker

merlinofchaos — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:09:30 -0000

LorDog: My comments about dynasty are not based so much on this season as the personnel we have and what this team is building through draft picks. Lots of young talent, lots of names that are really going to matter. If we can continue to build through the draft, this team has the ability to be very competetive for many years.

Re: Broncos win another squeaker

merlinofchaos — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:29:26 -0000

Joe: I hear that. I have a lot of faith that with 1:50 and a timeout, Cutler can get down the field and score. We've seen that offense do it. They are comfortable with each other and Cutler handles that particular pressure very, very well. The hurry up makes defenses back off, too, which only improves their chances.

And Prater hasn't missed one yet this season, but he also hasn't had to make a game-winning kick, either.

Re: Broncos win another squeaker

merlinofchaos — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:39:12 -0000

Ian: Like all teams I feel like we're definitely learning to work together and you and Kyle both have been doing stellar jobs in the live blog as well! We're starting to get a feel for roles and that smooths out our presentation, I think. We'll get better with practice!

Re: Status Report: Broncos Defense

merlinofchaos — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:06:43 -0000

I have felt that Brees has been able to get the ball out very quickly. When he drops back 5 steps, look, look, throw...only the very very very best defensive lines in football are going to be able to get to a quarterback fast enough to prevent that.

Brees beat us with Reggie Bush and the two tight ends. Only 13 of his 39 completions went to wide receivers. 11 of those others went to Reggie Bush, and the rest were spread between tight ends and backs not named Bush. That suggests soft coverage underneath. In other words, as the offense likes to see, "We take what the defense gives us.". When you rush 3 and put 8 into coverage, lots of times the short, underneath routes are open because the coverage is trying to prevent the big play.

Unfortunately, giving the ball to Reggie Bush in the flat is a great way to GET a big play.

Re: Another Referee Complaint in Denver

merlinofchaos — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 03:11:10 -0000

To be fair, every team, every game, sends video to the league complaining about bad calls, missed calls, etc. It's part of the process.

Re: The Raiders are Plenty Aggressive, Thank You Very Much

merlinofchaos — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:53:48 -0000

Al (dav)is in Wonderland...

Re: Create-a-Caption for Wed. Sep. 24

merlinofchaos — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:09:02 -0000

"Birds! The BIRDS!" (sorry to those who are unfamiliar with Hitchcock)

Re: Create-a-Caption for Mon. Sep. 29

merlinofchaos — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:18:35 -0000

"Hey, do you have a silver Lexus in the parking lot with fuzzy dice hanging from the window? Your lights are on!"

Re: Create-a-Caption for Mon. Sep. 29

merlinofchaos — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:18:50 -0000

Er, hanging IN the window...

Re: Let’s try ONE running back

merlinofchaos — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:00:51 -0000

Jonathan: If Torain's shot were going to come next year, he would be on IR, not taking up a roster spot.

I think that, after the bye week, Torain will take a couple of weeks to get back into football shape in practice, and we will see him contribute as part of the rotation. If he kept himself in shape right and gets into the groove, and if he does in the game what he did in practice, then we will see him become The Guy.

I have a lot of hopes for the Power Torain.

Re: Create-a-Caption for Thu. Oct. 9

merlinofchaos — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:56:29 -0000

And that kick, it cleared the goal posts by THIS MUCH.

Re: Blown Opportunities Lead to Broncos 24-17 Loss to Jaguars

merlinofchaos — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:56:25 -0000

As far as I can tell, the only illegal contact Dre Bly made was with the ground. If he was impeding the receiver's progress, it's pass interference.

Re: Broncos to Make Switch at Safety

merlinofchaos — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:51:12 -0000

I'm curious to see what Lowry can do. Lowdy did start on the Titans for awhile, and the Titans have always been a pretty good defense. I was concerned about McCree from the moment we signed him, because he was always considered the weakest link on the San Diego defense, and then he comes here and our safeties are getting burned in coverage.

Here's a question...is the reason that Bly has to play off or in a soft zone so much not so much because of Bly but because the safeties can't be trusted to give him coverage help if he gets in trouble?

The thing about the type of defense that Bly plays is that it tends to allow the play but it puts Bly in a position to make the tackle so the big play isn't given up. Whereas, Bly's preferred play style, man coverage, puts him in a position to make a play on the ball but it also has a higher chance of putting the receiver in a position to make a play where Bly can't make the tackle. In that situation, the safety has to be able to make up the difference.

McCree is pretty slow for a safety. Given the emphasis on speed on our defense, that's a definite problem.

And yes, I do wonder why we let Hamza go. It seems like there's something we're not being told there.

Re: Broncos Embarassed in 41-7 Loss to Patriots

merlinofchaos — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 01:37:49 -0000

I have no words. I used them all in the liveblog.

Re: Chad Jackson to be Signed, More Roster Moves Coming Monday

merlinofchaos — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:09:05 -0000

Given that there is a probability that Stokley's career is over, I believe CJ is being looked at as a possibility to replace him. I don't know why he didn't see the field at New England, though, maybe the inexperience just couldn't compete against the likes of Wes Welker. But NE has struggled to find a good 3rd WR option and speed guys like CJ are often a good choice there.

That said, a speed guy is a great choice for Cutler because he can really stretch the field and force a defense to play back because Cutler can air the ball out to him if he can get there and catch it.

Re: Chad Jackson to be Signed, More Roster Moves Coming Monday

merlinofchaos — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:43:19 -0000

Woodyard isn't replacing Boss. Boss is a Strongside LB and Woodyard is a Weakside LB. Woodyard is a good LB but his position is taken by DJ, and he's a little light to play the strong side.

Re: Shanahan Discusses the MASH Unit Otherwise Known as the Denver Broncos

merlinofchaos — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:00:58 -0000

Is this the worst it's ever been? We had a massive injury bug last year.

Re: Shanahan Discusses the MASH Unit Otherwise Known as the Denver Broncos

merlinofchaos — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:02:14 -0000

Kyle: An overabundance of posts is a probelem we want to have.

andy b: It's very odd because Shanahan's teams are usually very disciplined. Look back through history and you'll find that the Broncos are usually a very low penalty unit. Obviously, youth tends to have a way of creating penalties, and sometimes penalties are ok (a holding call is often better than a sack since you lose the yardage but keep the down, so if a sack is sure to happen they will want the guy to hold instead) but I don't really feel like youth is to blame here. Lots of the penalties have been on veterans.

The fumblitis, now that's youth. The interceptions? Yes, I think Cutler is having some issues. He was flying high after 3 incredible games and reality is crashing in around his ears, and he has to adjust. I think people are sure coming down awfully hard on him awfully fast, but that's pretty normal for fans. He absolutely needs to clean it up, and we don't know when that will happen. But Shanahan has been saying from the beginning he expected mistakes and that there would be up and downs for him, and he's in a down, and he has to learn from the experience and get through it.

So why is this team unfocused and undisciplined? I really think it's youth in the coaching staff, a smaller coaching staff than they've previously had, and possibly expectations were too high. Someone needs to teach discipline, that needs to start at the top. And in the past, Shanahan has been very good at that. Something is clearly wrong there.

Re: Brandon Marshall and Joey Porter Make Presidential Debates Look Timid

merlinofchaos — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 13:36:12 -0000

Marshall hasn't had to deal with this particular kind of adversity yet. This is good for him.

I dunno why people get so down on football players talking trash. Quietly most people love it, except when they don't. Talk it up, Marshall. If that's what gets you juiced to play, go for it.

Re: At least the Raiders are worse

merlinofchaos — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:25:37 -0000

ssc: Broncos have -0- chance of signing DeAngelo Hall I think.

Only players who have been in the league less than five years have to go through waivers, I'd have to see how long Hall has been in. Once you're a five year vet, when you're released you're immediately a free agent. If less, you go into the waiver process and you can be claimed. I'm not exactly sure how waiver order works but usually it's poorest record but claiming a waiver will move you to the back of the list.

That said, there's no way we could take Hall on. We have 2 highly paid cornerbacks in Bly and Bailey. Hall would not want to play for us where he risks being the 3rd CB and we wouldn't pay someone the money Hall wants to be a 3rd CB.

Gibril Wilson, on the other hand, if he is cut, I think the Broncos could make a run at him.

Re: Keys to Beating the Browns

merlinofchaos — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:11:24 -0000

Turns out that Kyle was right, blitzing was wrong. Braylon Edwards' only catch came on a Dre Bly blitz where Quinn managed to evade and Edwards was wide open and caught the ball for 15 yards.

Re: Broncos End Losing Streak with 34-30 Comeback Over Browns

merlinofchaos — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:16:48 -0000

We didn't get any sacks, but Quinn hit the turf a lot. In the early game we gave up some huge runs, but very much to my surprise the defense cleaned that up and the running game quit going anywhere.

But Quinn threw lots of short, high percentage passes and he was cool and calm under pressure. He burned Bly on the blitz and Dumervil hit him over and over again and he got the ball out on target every time.

Re: Broncos End Losing Streak with 34-30 Comeback Over Browns

merlinofchaos — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:55:30 -0000

flbronc: Yes, he has allowed 1 sack (last week at Miami) but just the one.

Re: Eddie Royal Claims a Piece of Denver Broncos History

merlinofchaos — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:40:32 -0000

Mike Bell maybe?

Re: Ryan Torain definitely done for season

merlinofchaos — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 01:27:11 -0000

Honestly we have to bring someone in. For depth if no other reason. I imagine they'll be taking a look at every RB on the market and seeing what they can get. I have to imagine there will be a signing on Monday.

Re: It’s Okay, No One’s Looking… Be a Chiefs Fan Today… The Week 10 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 18:48:16 -0000

orangecrush74: End of contract and he wasn't going to resign with us unless Bly was gone because he fully believes he can start somewhere. A 7th rounder now is much more than we would've gotten for him at the end of this year (nothing).

Re: It’s Okay, No One’s Looking… Be a Chiefs Fan Today… The Week 10 Open Thread

merlinofchaos — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 01:21:43 -0000

MikeY55: Will be kind of funny if this comes to a week 17 battle for the division. Y'know, an 8-7 team vs a 7-8 team playing for the division. Talk about playing for a dubious honor.

Re: Fail Better…

merlinofchaos — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:06:05 -0000

jdb: I'll have to remember that if I'm in NYC for a weekend, which is entirely possible though not going to happen this season.

Tho I am going to spend a Sunday in Nawlins and another Sunday flying out of Nawlins so will miss two upcoming games. Sniff.

Re: Tatum Bell Returns

merlinofchaos — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:32:31 -0000

I think Bell can combine with Hillis where you use Hillis in the power game and Bell in the speed game, much like we did when Anderson and Bell split carries. Don't let Bell try to do power plays and everything will be fine. Let Bell shoot for the edge and let him run in stretch plays where you're trying to give him a hole.

Use Hillis for power and the fullback in the flat. Run in lots of formations where you keep both in, so that it's hard for a defense to tell which you intend to do. Of course, that makes it hard to run two tight end sets, but you can always line Hillis up as a second TE as well, depending on what you want to accomplish. Then he can motion into the backfield and make the defense give up how they're covering him.

Re: Tatum Bell Saying All the Right Things

merlinofchaos — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:20:30 -0000

Ahh! dee, I *thought* that was a quote from Any Given Sunday.

That needs to be required watching during every preseason.

Re: Create-a-Caption for Wed. Week 11

merlinofchaos — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:01:36 -0000

Remember, have her home before midnight. Or you're a dead man.

Re: Quenching the Mid-Week Addiction

merlinofchaos — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:58:19 -0000

Linebackers have to cover tight ends. I don't think we want to see J. Moss covering Antonio Gates. Ever.

Re: Broncos Scouting Report – Atlanta Falcons

merlinofchaos — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:20:40 -0000

You can't have more than 5 people on the field eligible to catch the ball. That's why you occasionally hear about tackles being declared as eligible and stuff.

Re: Tony Scheffler: The Tight End Effect

merlinofchaos — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 13:30:57 -0000

It's not just tight ends. Scheffler provides a dynamic to the offense that neither Graham nor Jackson can reproduce. Clearly we've put Jackson in the same situations we put Scheffler in, but Jackson hasn't proven himself to be dangerous enough to provide extra attention.

But when Scheff brushes off a jam from a linebacker at the line and streaks out on a go route, the linebacker can't keep up and , a safety *has* to get over and that will leave one of the outside receivers on an island. And we know both Royal and Marshall can beat single coverage. The net result is that either Scheff is open or a receiver has a higher probability of being open.

That also makes at least one safety key on what Scheffler does, which can open up other aspects. It becomes very hard to double cover Brandon Marshall when you have to worry about Scheffler, and we know that Marshall gets open when there's only single coverage, but not so much in double coverage. He's good, but he's not quite Steve Smith good in that sense.

Re: Spencer Larsen Plays Double-Duty to Lead Broncos to 24-20 Victory over Falcons

merlinofchaos — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 18:19:46 -0000

Do we need another fullback? Hillis and Bell split time at tailback; Hillis and Bell can line up in two back sets. What you don't know, as a defense: Is Hillis a threat to take the ball? Who's going to block for who? Hillis can take the ball and run it, he can lead block for Bell or he can go out into the flat and receive.

Finding another fullback just means Hillis sees the field less. Let Larsen continue to play backup at FB and play him mostly on defense.

One game isn't enough to convince me that Larsen is a solid, long term middle linebacker, but if he can prove it again next week then indeed Webster might be in trouble.

Re: Spencer Larsen Plays Double-Duty to Lead Broncos to 24-20 Victory over Falcons

merlinofchaos — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:43:17 -0000

Hey kerry: Jeremy Bates calls the plays. Every time you say "that play Shanahan called" you make yourself sound ignorant.

Re: Spencer Larsen up for Rookie of the Week

merlinofchaos — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:42:42 -0000

Be sure to read Jeff Legwold's Q&A. He says some really interesting stuff about our linebacker corps and the really tough decisions to be made when DJ comes back.

Woodyard's problem is that he's too small to play any position but weakside. You can't take DJ Williams off the field. So do you move DJ back to the middle? That means Larsen sits.

Between Williams, Larsen, Woodyard and Winborn, I can see why the defensive coach wanted to experiment with a 4-3 to get all those players on the field. Pity that put even more pressure on a d-line that can't take it.

Re: Ryan Clady, Unstoppable Force

merlinofchaos — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:52:53 -0000

From what I've read they have credited Clady with having given up half a sack.

Re: Weekly Mayhem

merlinofchaos — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:55:14 -0000

I had every intention of running picks on this, and I woke up and didn't even realize today was Thursday and I missed the deadline. Sorry guys! Just been too busy.

Re: Spencer Larsen Voted Rookie of the Week

merlinofchaos — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:57:49 -0000

As a fullback he played fairly poorly, to be honest. He did nothing interesting there, and had only a few snaps.

As a middle linebacker, he was quick to the ball, he showed aggressiveness (that can be taken advantage of in the future, so watch out for that) and he showed a nose for where the ball will be. He was instrumental in holding the #2 rushing offense to only 3.8 yards per carry. It isn't the number of tackles, it's the overall effectiveness of the defense. He, Woodyard and Winborn played together, as a team, they got their assignments right.

That is what he did, and that's why he deserves rookie of the week, and a whole lot of accolades. I am withholding judgement on whether or not I think he should be a starter based upon his performance at Oakland and, more importantly, at New York, if he plays.

Also, to be fair, the true credit for the rush defense should go to the defensive line. Those guys are starting to get their game together. The reason the linebackers were effective is that the defensive line is getting more disciplined, they are better at holding their gaps and they keep their men contained so that the linebackers can get to the ball carriers.

Man, I hate to agree with kerry on anything, but now that I think on it, maybe we should be throwing some congratulations on Marcus Thomas, Dewayne Robertson and whoever else was playing inside for bringing the defense up to the level I thought it would be at the beginning of the season. Hmm. I should've kept the recording of this week's game so I could watch the defensive line play a bit more.

Re: Spencer Larsen Voted Rookie of the Week

merlinofchaos — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:51:35 -0000

FYI there is some thought out there amongst the people who do scouting that Larsen played MLB better than Nate Webster does.

Re: Josh Barrett Promoted from Practice Squad

merlinofchaos — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:49:28 -0000

Kyle's right, our rookie class has spoiled us. Even if he's a normally good rookie it could take 3 or 4 seasons for him to really mature into a good player. But we need some new blood on special teams, since all our best special teams players are seeing plenty of time on the field now.

Re: Broncos Collapse in Second Half, Fall to Raiders 31-10

merlinofchaos — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 23:54:56 -0000

Kyle: We can't let this site turn into this.

Re: Broncos Bounce Back on the Road; Defeat Jets 34-17

merlinofchaos — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:44:56 -0000

Bly and Ekuban were both seen in the game after the injury. Ek's injury was called a pinched nerve, so it's probably not too serious.

I haven't heard anything about Larsen yet.

Re: Broncos Bounce Back on the Road; Defeat Jets 34-17

merlinofchaos — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:26:25 -0000

Right now, there's only one real problem with this team. Mistakes compound themselves; every time someone screws up big, it affects everyone. That is a common factor every game. If the Broncos play mistake free football, they win games, and that's it.

But they're rookies, they make mistakes, and they're just not good at shrugging it off and getting on with the game, as a team.

Re: Win and a Chargers Loss

merlinofchaos — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 02:02:20 -0000

Kyle: I was thinking of heading down to week 17. I have a buddy with Chargers season tickets and a standing invitation. Even if it's a meaningless game it might be worth it to go there and wear my Jay Cutler jersey proudly.

Re: Eddie Royal Sets Multiple Broncos Rookie Records

merlinofchaos — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:12:54 -0000

The hardest thing to do in the NFL for a wide receiver is to maintain discipline in route running when the defense is trying its best to confuse and disrupt you. That's something that Eddie Royal has excelled at, and the discipline he used to do it has made him seem like a veteran on the field. It makes me wonder if scouts underrate that quality, or if it really is so rare that they think nobody has it.

Re: Champ Bailey Promises Week 14 Return

merlinofchaos — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:57:28 -0000

Larsen hasn't been so spectacular since that first game he was out there. He had a great game in part because he wasn't expected to play and nobody knew his tendencies so they couldn't game plan for him.

I'm happy to let him play and all but I want to see more from him than we saw the last two games.

Re: Peyton Hillis can carry the payload

merlinofchaos — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:07:48 -0000

I meant to mention in the article and I totally forgot last night, but he came in second in Football Outsider's DYAR for the week. Meaning that his 129 rushing yards were very high quality rushing yards.

Re: Peyton Hillis can carry the payload

merlinofchaos — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:22:01 -0000

In theory, Tatum Bell and Selvin Young are both excellent as a change of pace back if Hillis is the primary ball carrier.

I'm not convinced just seeing game film on Hillis will help the other team slow him down. I do think that he might suffer as an every down back because he doesn't have elite speed, so he will be one dimensional. Thus a change of pace back will be really important. But I remember reading that Jerome Bettis put up a most exceptional stat: 5 carries for a total of 1 yard, for a terrible-sounding .2 yards per carry. Except those 5 carries generated 18 points.

I see Hillis being capable of that, and having good hands and able to catch the ball out of the backfield, as a whole lot more. Maybe I'm optimistic here, but 129 yards against the Jets? Sure, this is the NFL and we have to wait and see if he can do it consistently, but I think he can be a big help, this season, because on offense the only thing we've truly missed is a power back.

What we have next season is anybody's guess. With all the injuries, who do you trust? I worry that Hillis is so valuable we'll overuse him and break him down, and I'm concerned about Torain's inability to stay on the field.

Re: Broncos Prove to be Gladiators

merlinofchaos — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:06:46 -0000

watching the Panthers shred the Bucs D last night has me worried

Re: Hey D.J… Do You Mind?

merlinofchaos — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:49:09 -0000

Poor DJ.

For those of you who haven't seen DJ Williams make a lot of plays, I want to point out that he is currently the tackles leader on the team, despite having missed the last 4 games.

DJ is a total stud. He makes plays. We want him on the field. We also want Woodyard on the field. I don't know the answer to that.

Maybe Kyle is right, though I fear going back to the middle is bad for DJ. the guy needs to be able to play at just one position for awhile. And strong side is NOT it. The fact is, his strength is to be out in space and that's the weak side. unfortunately, the same is true of Woodyard.

Re: Going to the Game

merlinofchaos — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:37:13 -0000

I had hoped to go but I have not heard back from my season ticket holding friend so I must assume the tickets are gone. So I'll be liveblogging tomorrow.

It's funny. Ours is the last game of the regular season.

Re: Bob Slowik: On the Hot Seat

merlinofchaos — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:15:55 -0000

During the Patriots game, we were in a deep hole. THe game was over, but there was still 6 or so minutes left in the game. We have the Patriots to a 3rd and 2, and the defense lines up with the line backers 5 yards off.

The Pats are in an *obvious* running situation. Big lead, they only want to kill the clock and end the game. We can't win, but we should want to try and do something so we have some positives to come out of the game with.

Linebackers. 5 yards off. They need 2 yards.

Hello? Sorry, that's quitting. That's an obvious formation that will give them another first down and get the game over with quicker. No, the coach needs to kick the players, tell them that it ain't over, they've got to play for 60 minutes, and go out there and get the ball back.

This has been endemic to the defense the entire season. They get in a hole and the defense quits. We've seen it over and over again, we get into a hole and then we get blown out because the defense loses its will and its heart.

Fire his ass, because that's a leadership failure.

Re: Denver Broncos Fire Mike Shanahan

merlinofchaos — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:33:51 -0000

Well, I guess this ends the fire Shanahan conversation pretty succinctly.

I personally hate to see Shanahan go but I can't fault the logic. This was a bad, bad season. Was it 4 or 5 blowouts? And some pretty ignominious records set. Still, I think he deserved one more year.

It's going to be weird to see the Broncos coached by someone else.

Re: Denver Broncos Fire Mike Shanahan

merlinofchaos — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:39:36 -0000

The zone blocking scheme has been becoming 'in vogue' in the league for awhile. I can't imagine any new coach dismissing it. Our O-line is fantastic, that's something you don't mess with.

Re: Denver Broncos Fire Mike Shanahan

merlinofchaos — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:50:33 -0000

Yea, Shanahan's been in Denver for 20 years and he's in his 50s. It's a good time to collect his money, kick back and retire. Though he can probably have pretty much any head coaching job in the league if he wants it.

Re: RIP Darrent Williams

merlinofchaos — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 12:41:16 -0000

Aw man Kyle, I'm still pretty tired from a short night, that made me tear up a little.

Re: Zone Blocking Scheme may Stay

merlinofchaos — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 02:08:12 -0000

Kurtis: Yea, while I was writing that. Wouldn't surprise me if I saw it somewhere else and just don't remember, though. But I like it, I think I'm keeping it, at least for awhile. Coach McJosh.

There's not a lot of excitement for Nolan from a lot of the media, but head coaching is a lot different than being a coordinator. It's like they're two different jobs as near as I can tell. Woody Paige was going on about how his teams never won playoff games but it seemed like his defenses were always pretty up there. We'll have to see.

Re: Broncos Cut Alridge, Four Others

merlinofchaos — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:36:12 -0000

It's not a Broncos season until we've cut Chad Mustard 3 times. Only twice more to go!

Re: Turk Takes Six

merlinofchaos — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:15:21 -0000

One common thread here: If you ever played for San Francisco, you're gone.

Nolan and Winborn have a bit of a history. It wouldn't surprise me if Engleberger is in a similar boat.

Re: Brian Dawkins Signs with Broncos

merlinofchaos — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:43:55 -0000

Schefter says the Dawkins deal is NOT done but it is close.

Re: Broncos sign Brian Dawkins, will introduce at press conference today

merlinofchaos — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 14:56:11 -0000

The idea that we're going to see at most 3 starters return on defense is just weird to me. I still think it isn't entirely the players at fault, and I'm not actually convinced that a collection of the best half dozen or so free agents on the market will really be any better. Free agency rebuilds are usually a failure.

Re: Cutler May Want a Trade

merlinofchaos — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:22:02 -0000

In years of watching football, one thing I've learned.

When different reporters say different things, Schefter is 99.99% of the time closest to the truth. I don't know what the guy does to get his information, but he is plugged in and he knows everyone and everyone trusts him. Everyone else hears something and makes stuff up as they go, and it seems like it almost always pans out this way.

As usual, I am going to reserve judgment on this situation until the sparks quit flying, but initially I will believe Schefter until someone's actions prove otherwise.

Re: Cutler May Want a Trade

merlinofchaos — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:24:20 -0000

If Cutler is not traded, and he stays with the Broncos, can his situation be mended? Cutler took a long pause before answering.

"Anything can be mended," he said. "I'll always play with the guys we've got. I love playing for those guys. Obviously, Josh and I's relationship has taken a few steps backward. I don't play for the coaches anyway, I play for teammates. As long as we keep the guys we've got I'll go out there and play. I love those guys."

From a denver post article.

Re: Cutler May Want a Trade

merlinofchaos — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 02:55:31 -0000

Ian: Thanks. I kind of figured it was a bunch of BS. I bet Bill Williamson got some wind of it and went "SCOOP!" and wrote that story and everyone else had to react.

Re: Ward to Meet Denver Sunday

merlinofchaos — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:08:48 -0000

Football Outsiders summed it up as: "Broncos collect full set of injury prone running backs"

Re: Ward to Meet Denver Sunday

merlinofchaos — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 02:58:03 -0000

Currently Hall and Pittman are free agents, though I think we have rights to match any offer sheet Hall gets.

Re: McDaniels to mend fences with Cutler

merlinofchaos — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 21:20:15 -0000

If we fire McDaniels Dennison gets a shot. That's not so bad.

I probably wouldn't fire McDaniels over this, but if I were Pat Bowlen I'd be effing furious right now. This is not how you want the team to be in the news right now.

Re: Marshall Arrested Again

merlinofchaos — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:05:02 -0000

As a friend of mine would colorfully say, this is the s**t frosting on the a** cake.

Re: Has McDaniels Lost the Locker Room?

merlinofchaos — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:07:40 -0000

I agree on the Leach comment. There is no good reason to have done that to Mike Leach. The guy is solid, and it sends a bad message: "I care more about who I know than who can play." That's going to create a mediocre team.

Re: On Space Oddities and Ground Control – McDaniels to Cutler

merlinofchaos — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:34:44 -0000

Really? Manning could do it without a defense?

Woody has some great statistics: http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_11892074

In games where the defense allowed 30 or more points:

Elway: 6-31
Manning: 6-30
Cutler: 3-12

When he has played more than a half, and the Broncos have permitted fewer than 30 points, Cutler's record is 14-7.

Re: All Bronco RBs are being “shopped”

merlinofchaos — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:47:18 -0000

I'll tell you what Hillis has done.

In 16 games last year, the only game where our run offense actually scared anyone enough to change the defense was the one where Hillis pounded the rock. When he was the truck it looked like our offense would finally be balanced.

None of our other starting backs was capable of doing that.

That's what Hillis did, that's why he deserves to stay on. He's a good fullback and I think he can have a long, productive career doing that and as a change of pace/goal line ball carrier. Run a lot more 2 halfback positions, call him a fullback if you like, and not let the defense know which way the ball might go.

Re: Cutler to be Traded

merlinofchaos — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:40:22 -0000

I am sick. As a fan, this is a terrible thing. I don't really know who to blame. Maybe all of 'em. Every single one of 'em. I can't help but think that if any one of them had really wanted to fix this, they could have. Bowlen, Cutler, Cook and McDaniels, I think they all had the opportunity to fix this. Bowlen acted too late, McDaniels refused to admit he screwed up, Cutler refused to cope with a hard situation and play for a big contract this year, and Cook refused to overlook an opportunity to go for a gigantic contract once he saw trouble.

This makes me ill. I don't give a crap what you say about Cutler, I think he is up there with Brady and Manning and in a couple of years, Broncos fans will look longingly at whatever team Cutler is winning with. (Or, like Palmer, whatever sorry team is dragging him down).

Re: Video: McDaniels Addresses the Trade

merlinofchaos — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 12:17:32 -0000

I understand having strong opinions for or against Cutler in this mess, but personal attacks on the people who disagree with you are unnecessary.

Re: Peyton Hillis Meet the Spread Offense

merlinofchaos — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:57:47 -0000

I still think Hillis is The Truck and as a FB he provides a lot for the offense because he can do a lot more from the position than many fullbacks. A smart coach will find creative uses for him, and that is the kind of coaching McJosh is known for. I predict that some games Hillis will seem to disappear and may not even see a lot of time on the field, and other games he'll rock the house, simply because McJosh will be gameplanning him and trying to do things with him that the opposing teams will not have seen.

Re: Report: Broncos Shopped Moss

merlinofchaos — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 21:40:24 -0000

I don't have a lot to say about this draft. All I can say is that I'm not in love with it. Some of the justifications sound good and some just sound like smoke. McJosh has come in and blown up an offense that worked and not worked hard enough to fix a defense that didn't, and insists on switching to a defense when the personnel to man simply isn't available.

The only thing that will make me be anything but dubious (or worse) of McJosh and all his antics will be a whole lot of wins. And I don't see where they're going to come from.

Re: Report: Broncos Shopped Moss

merlinofchaos — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 02:45:58 -0000

DB: That logic sounds good -- but why trade up for players that are not needs rather than trade down so you aren't reaching for players that are? That's the part I don't get. Trade into the 2nd round for a tight end that no one thought would be drafted in the 2nd round?

I'm willing to cut some slack on Alphonso Smith -- the word on him is pretty uneven and some people seem to think he could've been a first rounder, so sure, trade to get him. Highly rated player on their board, position of need, great.

I'm not saying we should've traded up to get a DL but man, trading up to get a blocking tight end who can't catch the damn ball? Don't we already have the best player of that mold in the league?

Re: Denver Broncos 2009 Draft Results

merlinofchaos — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:10:30 -0000

So about Knowshon Moreno, and why I'm not in love with this pick: Football Outsiders found a stat that is a pretty good (though not perfect) indicator of runningback success, called the 'speed score', which is essentially a ratio of weight to 40 time. Very, very few runningbacks have been picked in the first round with a speed score as low as Moreno's -- and the names that come up include Ron Dayne.

Now, in the article Tanier wrote about this, he caveated that Moreno is a better athlete than almost everyone else who was picked with that speed score, and in McDaniel's system the elite speed may not be as big of a deal because he'll be used more as a blocker and short range wideout like, say, Kevin Faulk is used.

Still, he lacks the elite speed of a proper first round NFL runningback and this means he'll always have issues getting to the corner and getting behind the secondary even if he does hit the hole and burst through. That could be a problem.

That only leaves 1 pick I truly like: Ayers, and 1 pick I'm curious about: Smith. But Smith has to surprise the same way Eddie Royal surprised to make him worth it, because as far as I'm concerned he needs to be worth around pick #10 in next year's draft to have been value.

Re: catching up with the rest of the world.

merlinofchaos — Thu, 14 May 2009 00:17:46 -0000

I've been on twitted for a little while now, having been suckered into it with the revelation that my preferred username is still available. I have a slightly larger following than most normal uses, it not really that much. Even a minor celebrity dwaarfs me. What I can say is that it is amazing how you can I terqct with people who might not normally write l. Either because they don't have the the or are not articulate. But it is hollow, shallow. Maybe champ tells us what's on his mind but it's such a tony ski e that it's not real.

But it's still more than rhevalic we'd normally get which is just press confers de quotes. And if you have the patience to wade thru the mundane be useless it is still interesting.

Just don't make the err of thinking a twitted follow is friendship. It is the narrowest, splest pie e of voyeurism there is. When you accept itfor what it is, it is fun.

Re: catching up with the rest of the world.

merlinofchaos — Thu, 14 May 2009 00:21:47 -0000

Also, do not post comments using the iPhone. It makes you look like you can't spell. :) or maybe just me.

Re: catching up with the rest of the world.

merlinofchaos — Wed, 20 May 2009 21:28:22 -0000

I had something funny to say about strokes but then I thought about dr Z and it wasn't funny anymore. So instead I will just say I post using the iSuck app :)

Re: Marshall, Torain Shine as Broncos Kick off Training Camp

merlinofchaos — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:16:20 -0000

Go go Torain!

Maybe the Torain Train will actually work out this year. I hope so! I have huge concerns about Moreno's lack of speed.

Re: Broncos’ Orton, Prater Booed at INVESCO Practice

merlinofchaos — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:41:29 -0000

I agree with one thing: Whatever happens, this is going to be a long season.

My prediction: Kyle Orton will be just good enough to lose close games.

Re: Create-a-Caption: With Arms Wide Open

merlinofchaos — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 02:01:38 -0000

"Dude. I said I was sorry about that night with your wife ten times already! Can we just hug and get past this?"

Re: You Got Served! (Fantasy Style)

merlinofchaos — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:03:20 -0000

Make it easy on me. If you are in league ALPHA send me an email from the account you want signed up. Please be sure to include the name above so I know who you are. You can click on my name, that should send an email directly to me.

Re: You Got Served! (Fantasy Style)

merlinofchaos — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:04:18 -0000

Oh I'm wrong. I thought it did go to me when you clicked on my name but it does not. In that case email merlin AT logrus DOT com.

Re: You Got Served! (Fantasy Style)

merlinofchaos — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 23:13:40 -0000

BTW, commissioning a league is easy. If anyone wants to run an auxiliary league with people who didn't get picked, who're we to say no? There may not be a jersey in it for you, but there's always braggin' rights up for grabs.

Re: You Got Served! (Fantasy Style)

merlinofchaos — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:53:02 -0000

I'm still missing two people for the alpha league. If I don't hear from todd or gringo-dancer by tonight, I will select people who've asked to be replacements to take their place so I can get alpha league rolling.

Re: You Got Served! (Fantasy Style)

merlinofchaos — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:43:34 -0000

Just an FYI -- nothing has gone out for alpha league until I have all the emails. I have all but one. todd is out. mark you are in, since you provided the email address. Invites in the next few minutes.

Re: Broncos Release First 2009 Depth Chart

merlinofchaos — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:50:04 -0000

If Marshall is healthy enough to start at all. It's been really, really quiet since he went off the field and that's not a good thing. If there's something wrong with the surgery on his hip he could miss the season. Remember, that hip dragged him down for a bunch of the season, or so he claims, so this has all the earmarks of something we really don't want to see.

I'm awfully bummed about Torain being so low. I mean, Correll Buckhalter? C'mon.

Re: Brandon Marshall Found Not Guilty

merlinofchaos — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:50:34 -0000

All I ask is that he keep is nose (and his ass and his penis) out of trouble for, say, the next 10 years.

Re: Kyle Orton Struggles in Preseason Opener as Broncos Fall to 49ers 16-17

merlinofchaos — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 10:11:40 -0000

Until he proves otherwiswe, to me he is Kyle "The Vacuum" Orton.

Re: Simms Should Start Next Week

merlinofchaos — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 11:02:33 -0000

The difference is that Orton is a guy who, in theory, should be able to make quick, short passes and play that fast spread offense that McDaniels wants. Good timing and the deep ball doesn't matter.

And maybe it's true that Orton can settle down and play like a pro, but last night he played like a rookie out of college. Simms came in and made a case for himself. I'd love to see Simms get some time with the first team.

Orton needs to be looking over his shoulder.

Re: BroncoTalk Fantasy Alpha League Fantasy Draft Results

merlinofchaos — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:41:36 -0000

It appears that I am wrong and our forums are not publicly accessible. That's very sad. I also can't seem to change the settings on them.

Re: Hoping there’s crow on the menu this winter: The BT 2009 Denver Broncos Season Preview

merlinofchaos — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 11:12:31 -0000

Spot on, Kyle. I do agree Shanahan needed a kick in the pants, but Bowlen did what he did.

I particularly agree about Cutler. That still burns me, and the only way that McJosh is going to get any forgiveness at all out of me is if he comes away with a truly winning season. I feel like a revamped defense plus essentially the same offense we had could've put this team on the map. What I've seen from Kyle Orton so far makes me rather we have Brandstater in there.

I actually personally predicted 6 wins, but the difference between 5 and 6 is mostly academic (and probably a key draft pick) and that's because I think the Chiefs will be awful this year. I think Cassel is overrated for having been on a team that was way, way, way better than that. Figuring a couple wins from a weak division, and one really lucky win somewhere from a team that thinks the Broncos are worse than they are and lets them win by not giving it all...I think 6 wins are feasible.

Amusingly, Peter King predicted Chicago to lose to the Patriots in the Superbowl, so you're not alone in picking Chi-town to go to the 'bowl.