The Boys Are Back in Town

Before diving into the Cowboys/Broncos game from this past weekend, I have 3 comments on the Olympics I need to get off my chest:

• First a shout out of congratulations to Walter Dix. As someone who also spent many, many hours almost killing myself on the Mike Long track, I take immense pride in a fellow Nole coming up so huge on the largest stage in the world. Congrats Walter, good luck in the 200. Even Alachua county is rooting for you this time.
• Second, I am happy to report that despite hours of brainwashing by Al Trautwig and Tim Daggett I feel even stronger than ever that all judged events have no place in the Olympics. The ridiculousness that is endured on a nightly basis where no one can understand or explain why one competitor wins over another is absolutely ludicrous. Add in that whole tie-break fiasco and I most certainly won’t be counting the days until the next gymnastics meet. Since when would it be so bad that two competitors who performed equally well both get gold?
  • Can you imagine if this was applied to other sports? Like track? “Well, it looks like the two Jamaicans have tied for second in the women’s 100 here at the Bird’s Nest. And the judges have awarded the silver to Kerron Stewart for having a quicker start out of the blocks and maintaining better form over the first 50 meters.”
• Finally, did you see that coach for U.S. Pole Vaulter Jenn Stuczynski, after she won the silver? I won’t recap it here (this does a great job of summarizing both the incident and my reaction to it). Two points though:
  • Think what you will about gymnastics or diving (as I clearly do), you have to give the coaches a ton of credit. No matter how bad of a belly flop or face plant is performed by one of the athletes; the coaches are always there with a hug, high-five and words of encouragement. There is no underestimating how important that is to these athletes.
  • Jenn, since clearly your coach won’t say it, let me just say: congratulations. Fantastic job. There is no shame in losing to the greatest athlete of all time in your event (who set a world record during the event). You did a great job. When you come to your senses and ditch whats-his-name, try giving Dennis Nobles a call. As for coach, well let me just say I hope he finds some enjoyment from his time in Beijing. After that performance I can’t imagine a lot of world class athletes will be beating down his door.

Whew I feel better. Ok, on to the game.

With less than a week until my fantasy draft I find myself having a hard time watching football games without constantly looking at it from the fantasy perspective. With that in mind, I decided to review the game from the fantasy point of view.

Quarterback

Broncos – In case you haven’t noticed (and you probably haven’t), Jay Cutler is having a great pre-season. He started off against the Cowboys with 12 straight completions and finished 16 of 20 for 178 yards and a touchdown. Yes, this was against everyone’s Super Bowl favorite Cowboys defense. He picked them apart. While he may not be in the top tier of quarterbacks, with the Broncos weak schedule, he has to be a strong consideration for a spot start in case of injury or bye week. Especially after the first two weeks when he gets Brandon Marshall back.

Cowboys – I’m not sure if Tony confused ‘pre-season’ with ‘post-season’ but Romo didn’t look real sharp. While there was absolutely no pressure from the Bronco defense (shocking, I know), Tony still didn’t do much. He ended the day 6 of 9 for 33 yards. Part of this was the clock eating drives of the Broncos early in the game but clearly he had no luck going downfield in his couple drives (long of 10 yards). I know he is a top four fantasy quarterback, but I think fantasy owners are going to need to be willing to suck up a few dreadful weeks to get those outstanding weeks.

Running Back

Broncos – You got me. Seriously, I got nothing. I can’t even tell you who to talk about, let alone how they are going to do. Andre Hall and Selvin Young are both getting equal time with the first team and both look equally good. Based on his stats last year you would lean toward Young, but given his history of injuries and Mike Shanahan’s love of screwing fantasy running back owners, I don’t think either of these guys have upside worthy of wasting a high draft pick oh him. If someone gambles on Young way-too-early in the draft I might pick up Hall late (do you really need that second defense?) and stash him on the bench to see how many carries he gets those first few weeks. Don’t forget everyone’s summer crush Ryan Torain will be back just in time to ruin someone’s fantasy playoff performance and there is also Anthony Alridge who should get some of those valuable swing passes and sweeps each game.

Cowboys – Marion Barber is a consensus late first round pick. Call me as conservative as Bill O’Reilly but I tend to want my first round picks to be the clear number one on their teams. The more I have seen both Hard Knocks and the Cowboys play the more and more convinced I am that Felix Jones is going to be the scourge of all Barber owners. Jones is going to get carries and passes this season. Remember Duce Staley? Brian Westbrook’s rookie year, Duce had over 1500 yards from scrimmage. The following year he had 845. You think Jerry Jones will keep his fellow Arkansas alum off the field as much as Westbrook that rookie year? Sure Marion will get the majority of the goal line carries which helps his value but don’t say I didn’t warn you when he is right back sharing time with Felix Jones.

Wide Receiver

Broncos – In case you didn’t get the subtle hints from my training camp time, Brandon Marshall is going to see a lot of balls coming his way this year (Cowboy game: 6 catches, 59 yards and 1 touchdown in less than two quarters). If the Broncos can find another threat during Marshall’s suspension that will keep teams from focusing on him, Marshall should have a big year. On the other side, Eddie Royal has been one of the breakout stars of Bronco camp and the Cowboy game (2 receptions for 67 yards) and has the inside track to playing opposite Marshall all year. He better play well, as for the rest of his career I will be comparing Eddie to DeSean Jackson – a similar player with better collegiate career who the Broncos passed on for Eddie. DeSean had 6 catches for 70 yards in Philly’s game against the Panthers on Friday. Just sayin.

Cowboys – T.O. is….T.O. He had a relatively quiet night against the Broncos (3 catches, 20 yards) but by this point we know what we are getting from T.O. As long as Romo has as much time as he did against the Broncos, Owens will have a big year. It would be helpful if the Cowboys could find a partner for him to take some of the attention but I don’t think Patrick Crayton (big, fat goose-egg on the catches) is striking fear in the hearts of too many defensive coordinators. Miles Austin had the biggest play – a 37 yard touchdown pass from Brad Johnson but then got injured and can’t really be considered a fantasy option until he takes Crayton’s job.

Tight End

Broncos – To me this is the most interesting position for the Broncos. The fantasy experts love Tony Scheffler and I’m not sure why. Yes, he has finished the last two seasons on fire but throughout camp and the two pre-season games he seems to be the Broncos third tight end. First is Daniel Graham, primarily for his blocking ability, though he still had 24 catches last year. Second has been Nate Jackson, who actually has more rececptions than Scheffler so far this year. In fact, Scheffler didn’t really start getting lots of balls until Jackson hit the IR last year. If Jackson is a better blocker than Scheffler than won’t he get the majority of snaps when the Broncos are keeping run and pass options open (like, for example – inside the 5 yard line)? If Scheffler screams “PASSS” to the other defense, doesn’t that limit his effectiveness and fantasy value? I am no fantasy expert, what do I know. I just think when I am looking for a tight end I would rather have a clear number one like Heath Miller or Alge Crumpler, who are rated below Scheffler.

Cowboys – Speaking of clear number ones, the Cowboys have Jason Witten. While he didn’t do much against the Broncos (zero catches), Romo’s vacation buddy is clearly one of the top five tight ends in the game (is it getting monotonous saying that every Cowboy offensive player didn’t do much? Sorry, you should have seen the game – yawn). Interestingly, the break out player of the game for the Cowboys was Rodney Hannah who had 4 catches for 52 yards. I have no idea how the Cowboys would fit him in, but he looked darn good – big and quick.

Defense

Broncos – If you are seriously considering drafting the Broncos defense after their performance last season, you need more help than I could ever provide. Despite, the Cowboys struggles, you need to remember that the Broncos defensive line is young, suspect and ineffective; their linebackers are unproven and the secondary is a combination of new or unhealthy. Other than that they are really solid.

Cowboys – Much like everyone else on ‘America’s Team’ the Cowboys defense is heavily hyped. Not that allowing the Broncos to march up and down the field, putting no pressure on the quarterback and giving up fourteen points in a quarter will change the hype. But I would think at a minimum it has to give someone drafting the Cowboys defense a moment’s pause.

Kickers

Does it really matter? All kickers are pretty much the same. Argue with me only if you spent a draft pick on Mason Crosby a year ago knowing that he would be the highest scoring kicker in the league.

Having said that, Matt ‘Brian Griese’ Prater hasn’t exactly been a model of consistency so far this season.

Actually, strike that, he has missed the first field goal of both games so far, he has been very consistent.

My Week at Summer Camp – Day Three

Note: This week, after realizing that planned (and desperately needed) vacation time coincided with the opening week of Bronco training camp, I decided to head down to Dove Valley for several days this week. I will be providing nightly updates on what we have learned about your 2008 Denver Broncos.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Welcome back to our exclusive outside-the-ropes, back-row view of Denver Broncos Training Camp. Joined by our Hierarchy of Hate and Roundtable compatriot Turner, we decided to suck it up and go to both ends of the Broncos two-a-days today. As this will be my final day in Dove Valley this week, I decided to break this one into two posts. Today will be the morning session, tomorrow come back for the afternoon session. On to the sights and sounds of Dove Valley:

• On the way in, we check out the mini-Bronco store to see if there are any jerseys we should pick up for Turner’s son who will be joining us this afternoon, figuring maybe he is our ticket to getting a ball and meeting some players. Unfortunately the sale rack is about 90% Travis Henry jerseys (along with an assortment of Javon Walker and Simeon Rice jerseys – wonder why these are on sale?). While there are plenty of basements in the greater Boulder area where a Henry jersey would be highly sought, we both agree it probably isn’t the best jersey for a four year old.
• As we take our spots on the grassy berm (not to be confused with the grassy knoll in Dallas where nothing occurred in 1963), we are entertained by the local ‘security’ in charge of keeping the wild crowd under control. This mostly consists of asking people to put away their phones and keeping them out of the ‘VIP Lounge’. I have high hopes that the ‘Lounge’ has a bar at the back and some waitresses in Bronco cheerleaders to take your order. Alas it is just a square area on the berm at mid-field roped off by red and white striped rope.
  • After a long day we have begun to feel close with the two rope minders, one we called Big Jake and the other whose name we learn is T.J. Big Jake looks disturbingly like the white guy from that Red Stripe commercial who learns to dance and T.J. is a dead-ringer for Boyd Tinsley, Dave Matthews’ violin player (who coincidentally is not on their current tour…hmmm.). Big Jake spends most of the day talking to a blond with big hair in the VIP section. Turner and I are convinced she is there in a desperate attempt to become Mrs. Jay Cutler.
  • For the record, we don’t think she is alone in this goal among the crowd.
• The first highlight from the action on the field is Darrell Jackson getting absolutely blown up on a short pass in the flats. This is noteworthy first because he is a Gator (it is still surprisingly satisfying even in a Bronco uniform) and second with all players in shoulder pads and shorts hitting typically is a nice smack on the shoulders and that is about it. Poor Darrell is the exception, not only does he go airborne but his helmet goes flying! The crowd eats it up, momentarily forgetting that he is probably going to start opposite Brandon Marshall this season.
  • I wish I could tell you who hit him but I have had this problem all week that I get Jamie Winborn (#51) and Nate Webster (#58) confused constantly. Part of it is their similar size (5’11” – 6’0”, 230 lbs) and part of it is the similar roles they have played for the Broncos in recent years: back-up linebackers occasionally seeing defensive plays while being special teams stalwarts. That is pretty much all it takes to confuse me, especially on my third straight morning slowly baking in the sun.
• Speaking of Brandon Marshall, I can’t stress enough how big of a year he could have this season.

NOTE: After the suspension of course. Which brings up an interesting question: what round is he drafted in fantasy leagues with the suspension looming? Here is what Turner and I agree: no suspension – 3^rd round, 2-game suspension – 5^th round, 4 game suspension - 6^th - 7^th round. Interested to hear any other fantasy perspectives).

o       It is amazing how much Cutler looks for Marshall, it was practically a running joke for Turner and I. Every time Marshall split out left, you could almost see the third string corner on the left side deflate, knowing that the pass was coming his way and he was pretty much powerless to stop it.

o       Cutler averaged about 29 passes per game last year. If I had to break down how those 29 passes will be distributed this year (post suspension), I would guess:

o       5 passes – running back out of the backfield (Torain, Young, A.A.)

o       5 passes – tight ends (Sheffler, Graham, N. Jackson)

o       4 passes – slot and other wide receivers (D. Jackson, Stokley, Royal)

o       14 passes – Marshall

o       0 passes – Keary Colbert

o       1 pass – cutest girl in the bar after the game

o       We had several scrimmages again. This time the goal line play was replaced with a four minute drill. Unfortunately, the results were very similar. Lots of (simulated) time for Cutler on his back side.

o       It is never good when your offense faces a 3^rd and 16 in what is supposed to be a hurry up drill.

o       It is even worse when said offense decides to run the ball on that 3^rd and 16.

o       Unless that 4-minute drill was actually held with the offense holding 10 point lead. This point was never clearly articulated to the crowd.

o       To be fair, the offense did sustain a nice long drive at one point after the clocks were turned off. So they have that going for them. One drive for every 5 hours of practice.

o       To separate the four minute drill from the next scrimmage we had our first glimpse of punt coverage (and – spoiler alert! - it won’t be our last). It would be easy to dismiss this as time filler but after the show the offense has put on, the punter could be a highly critical role for the Broncos this year.

o       That is about it for the morning session, other than one unfortunate incident when Turner was taken down by T.J. and Big Jake when he tried to storm the field and have Larry Birdine, the sole Sooner in camp, sign his bare chest. But we don’t want to get into that. It is best for everyone if we try to forget that sight.

We will be back tomorrow to wrap up our time with the Broncos and re-cap today’s afternoon session. I will choose to skip over our lunch when we dominated one of those network trivia games. Krusty, Fred and EHomer had no idea that JTDMac would interrupt their usual game with absolute and total domination.

My Week at Summer Camp – Day Two

Note: This week, after realizing that planned (and desperately needed) vacation time coincided with the opening week of Bronco training camp, I decided to head down to Dove Valley for several days this week. I will be providing nightly updates on what we have learned about your 2008 Denver Broncos. Note #2: Given that I recently celebrated a 33^rd birthday and have been ‘with’ the Broncos longer than some of these players have been alive (Ryan Clady, born: September 6, 1986) I have accepted Mike Shanahan’s offer to long time veterans to only participate in one of the two-a-day practices each day.

Monday, July 28, 2008

• Back for morning number two and it is just as hot and crowded as Sunday morning. What is with that? Don’t these people have anything better to do with their Mondays? Huh? What’s that? Why I am sacrificing for you dear reader that’s why. I am a giver.
• Let’s go back to the running backs
  • I said yesterday that Ryan Torain wasn’t overly impressive; however I will say that today he looked much better. He was quicker to the line, made a single cut and hit the hole. In fact, after Ryan broke off a long run, a starry-eyed optimist could even imagine him as a taller Terrell Davis. Thankfully, I am not a starry-eyed optimist so I saw it as a nice run on the 4^th day of training camp…by a guy with skills to make us forget Travis Henry, Mike Bell, Tatum Bell, Quentin Griffin, Reuben Droughns and Olandis Gary. Damn, that kool-aid tasted really good after a hot day in the sun.
  • My boy A.A., Anthony Alridge, looked good again, cutting back against the grain and busting down the sideline for another long run.
• There was one overriding story in my mind today and that was the match-up of the offense and defense, and the defense’s domination.
  • Let’s start with two interceptions – one for each of Domonique Foxworth and Champ Bailey when they were both able to jump curl routes (which in fairness was practically all the offense ran).
  • When he wasn’t throwing picks, Cutler was running for his life. He would have been on his back on almost every drop back if the defense was allowed to hit the quarterback. The only entertainment was the half of the crowd that thought he had successfully avoided the rush and cheered wildly when he chucked it down field. These poor fans are going to be in for serious disappointment in that first game “How is Jay not getting away from this rush like in training camp? This Raider defense must be really good!”
  • Beside the two long runs above, there was only one highlight for the offense – a long pass to Brandon Marshall on the first play of a #1 offense vs. #2 defense scrimmage. Just a little glimpse of what we can look forward to after Marshall returns from his suspension to begin the season for all of his off-season fun. Sorry fantasy players, I forgot to mention that little fact when telling you how good Marshall looked yesterday. A clever ploy to get you to draft Marshall three rounds too early, or mere stupidity? Guess you will never know.
  • So the real question is: what does the defense’s domination tell us? My guess, not much. We all thought the Broncos had a great defense last year, until they got lit up in the first two pre-season games. So, all we know is that right now the Bronco defense is better than the Bronco offense. Who knows how they stack up against actual other teams.
• That’s it for today. Tomorrow we will be joined by Turner and will actually be sucking it up and sweating through both ends of the two-a-days.