Taking the Fall

The Broncos are using the bye week to let sore bodies rest. The Stable is using the bye week to enjoy one of the best times of the year. Fall has moved into the Mile High, my yard is in desperate need of a rake, but there are too many worthy distractions and the neighbor’s kid wants money for gas and tacos.

(Who am I kidding… that lil’ bastard is gonna throw that dough away on weed, condoms, and video games. He’s the future of our country, and that’s ok. I have a hard time believing the adults in my old ‘hood weren’t saying the same. At least the yard is getting clean so dirt patch I call a front yard could have some semblance of hope for next summer. He’s a good kid.)

I’ve settled in for the UConn-West Virginia game with hopes of watching the mighty Kodiaks rise to a tough environment this week.

This was an outrageously fun week in the CTGFFL. It’s difficult to explain in short order… the league is the joy of my fantasy sports life, but the rules are a bit convoluted and thus I won’t bore you with the details. In essence, after several years of misery attempting to construct a competitive team, I am enjoying the best campaign I’ve seen thus far. This week brought our trade deadline (a bit early due to constraints of the collegiate schedule) and, for the first time ever, I was looking to buy commodities for today and sell commodities for tomorrow. On paper the trades make no sense, but I will leave it at this… I added Tom Brady, Pierre Thomas, Ted Ginn Jr., and Antonio Gates for my run towards the playoffs and, with luck, a championship.

I gave up my 6th, 9th, and 14th rounders for next year along with Limas Sweed and Oklahoma freshamn quarterback Landry Jones (got two late picks back, means nothing except additional gambles for next year).

Now I need Noel Devine to get off his ass and start running. Thus far,  it’s not looking good (dude has eight yards on 10 carries while his quarterback seems to think he should be doing all the rushing). Maybe my man Freddie…

… can pull me through. And if worst comes to worst, I’ll fall back on the alma mater.

Figured it would be a good time to review the news and links of the week while my ass is growing roots in the couch and my mind is swirling from the elixir of college football. The Broncos may be enjoying rest but the world never stops turning. Let’s see what the passing of time brought to landscape this week.

Let’s start from the outside and work our way in… after all, it’s fall. This is the best season of the year. Football, baseball, hockey, soon joined by basketball, still enjoying but soon to be without golf, no clue if NASCAR is in season or not but I would assume race fans are getting their fix in some fashion, and as Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke can attest…

… soccer is in the mix as well.

(To be honest, while I don’t spend any time watching the games, I am a bit fascinated with the English Premier League and have pondered giving it a go. Maybe it’s the Guinness in me, but now that the local business tycoon is involved, I might make the leap. If I do I promise not to bore you with the details.)

Here is everything I’ve been reading, watching, listening to, pondering, and obsessing about this week… though you may want to call it the most elaborate and rewarding collection of links you’ll find this week.

- If you haven’t heard, Jeff Fisher pissed off everyone in the state of Tennessee, upset he would poke fun at the team they stole from Houston while showing a bit of respect for the quarterback that clearly rates above any one player you could bring from the Titans’ roster (I might debate Keith Bulluck, but that’s about it). I fail to see the need to apologize, and let’s be honest… doubt Fisher didn’t know what he was doing, didn’t think about the resulting emotion for his team, and didn’t consider of the consequences and if he would appreciate them. Let’s see if the Titans can pull a win next week. Maybe the story suddenly lightens if they can, as it should.

- Very interested to see if Anquan Boldin plays this week against the gints. The reports continue to conflict each other, including this one and then this one. He has served as the poster child for all things good and bad related to receivers… think about it. He was easily one of the best values we’ve seen from the NFL Draft in recent memory, he explodes on the scene in Arizona  and becomes the face of the organization, he holds his tongue and waits for his second contract, signs for a humble number, then watches as Larry Fitzgerald is paid like the quarterback. He gets pissed, mouthes off, goes out of character and berates his quarterback during the Super Bowl, hits this last offseason looking for a new deal, doesn’t get one and his team refuses to trade him (should sound familiar Denver fans). He relents, plays well, and then – staring straight at the year when he might FINALLY hit free agency and make his money – this high ankle sprain comes in.

I think he’s pushing himself and the team needs to cut him off… and pay him. We’ll see.

- Congrats Oakland fans. Your coach isn’t getting arrested. He’s not out of the woods yet, but that’s the biggest win the Raiders have seen in years.

- Check out these numbers on Owen Daniels.

- Armen Keteyian continues to put in work on the Steve McNair case and I must admit, I’m sold on his accusations. I’m not a conspiracy guy, but it sounds awfully compelling.

- I am very excited about the return of Michael Crabtree this week. It’s been a hot-button topic in NFL circles and, as a fan, I’ve read it all. First he was to be eased into the fold, then we learned he would be vaulted to starting status without hesitation or delay. The folks at the Shutdown Corner had some entertaining thoughts, as did the Fanball staff as part of their end-of-the-week fantasy roundtable. I understand he’s already made “mistakes” the general NFL public cannot forgive, but trust me… in the City by the Bay, if they get to see this…

… they will forgive (just as many of you have done here in Denver, like this guy).

- If you are a football enthusiast, on any level, you need to bookmark this.

- I want to take a quick second to apologize to some of the folks I’ve been talking to on Live Advice (Thursday night from 9-10pm ET, Friday night from 7-8pm ET @ Fanball). I’ve spent much of that time debating what will happen to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers moving forward, working under the assumption Chad Clifton would be ok. So far, he’s not… so you need to adjust accordingly.

- If there is one story we ALL should be following and no one is, it is this.

- Glad to see I am not alone in my lack of love for Herm Edwards.

- Here’s a great piece from Greg Garber, offered at the Worldwide Leader, on the enigma that is JaMarcus Russell. It’s not really that complicated (the guy doesn’t give a damn… it’s really that simple), but this is a great way of saying as much with the analysis and investigation to prove it.

- Speaking of the Worldwide Leader, you should be reading Chad Millman’s new blog as well. The guy has a great body of work already established and now he represents the face of the push towards accepting reality at the four-letter network.

- And while we are at it, here’s our favorite wager-based running theme working at Deadspin.

- Jason La Canfora (NFL Blogs) breaks down the details on the new Cutler deal.

- Here’s a gift for those of you that join me on the Mad Men bandwagon.

- I’m starting to feel sorry for the fans in our nation’s capital. They deserve better than this.

- Here’s the latest from Facebook friend and insightful Football Outsider mind Mike Tanier.

- As a man with half of his heart residing by Lake Michigan, I’m not nearly as worried about the tribulations of Matt Forte or the thoughts of Jay Cutler on every single receiver that may or may not be available for the Bears to waste money on… I’m worried about Tommie Harris. I’m tired of worrying about Tommie Harris. I’m pretty sure he would be, besides Olin Kreutz and Urlacher, my favorite Bear on the field, but he’s never on the field, and won’t be again this week.

- I know he was the thorn in Denver’s side for one Sunday, but you have to admit… Vince Wilfork is a freakin’ beast.

- If you checked in with the paid advertising on sports radio this morning to hear the Vegas touts begging for your hard-earned dollar, let me cut you a break. One of those blowout specials they want to give you for free is New England over the Bucs in London. There isn’t a single thing to like about the Bucs… not this… not this… and not this. The NFL tried to swing a bit of support in one direction (as predicted on the BS Report by Cousin Sal) but I refuse to believe the Brits give a damn.

- By the way, while the NFL may be down with international play, not all of us are.

- Turns out my favorite quarterback working towards the NFL is starting to lose his value and none other than Alex Smith, the San Fran passer who knows all too much about losing value, is offering advice. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.

- I’ll be going to to buy and read this later this week… and you can hear more about it in a two-part podcast from the patron saint of bloggers.

- And while he may be the most popular writer on the net today, this guy is the most underrated and this guy is the most underappreciated.

- One last word on Rush from the one and only Jason Whitlock.

- This is amazing.

OUR WEEKLY MOMENT OF SELF PROMOTION

How about some links to the Fanball family offerings for the week, including…

… a look at the college commodities from Jason Collette.

… the Fanball Office Pool Picks from the one and only Ryan Houston.

… this week’s NFL Tip Sheet from Fanball NFL Managing Editor Rick Hawes.

… a solid interview with Jets receiver David Clowney from Joe Caporoso at TurnOnTheJets.com.

… the Fanball Challenge Low-Percentage Plays report from Executive Editor Mike Sheets.

… the lates sports memorbilia auction from new family member BuzzerSports.com.

… the 5 Questions Owners Aren’t Asking for Week 7 from your’s truly.

… and additional offerings of self promotion from the Buffalo Wild Wings All-Star Blogger Fantasy Challenge.

And that brings us back to Denver.

(In case you haven’t figured it out, its now Sunday (some of the links above are from Sunday morning. The wife invited friends over, the Boulevards started flowing, and I passed out watching my new man crush.)

(My man BLEW UP against Hawaii. Noel came through, Freddie came through, and that Boise State defense came through. They brought the Kodiaks the win on the college side of the ball and now we’ll see how the scores come down on the professional side in a bit.)

I’ve worked up the most impressive list of Denver Bronco links you could desire to help pass a Sunday without the joy of watching them on the field, so let’s dive in.

- Here’s a solid piece on the challenges we find coming from the Broncos schedule.

- Praise from local boy Adam Schefter for the Donkeys.

- Congrats to the vast majority of you… if you doubted Josh, you have named as the Westword Shmuck of the Week.

- Sticking with the Westword (I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan in any way… if you know their local writers and know how many of them operate, you might say the same), the free weekly calls out Tim Ryan from Fox for his lack of mathematic accumen.

- Peter King from SI.com talking Broncos on with Colin on The Herd.

- According to the polls on ESPN SportsNation (namely the site’s Coach Ranker), the stock is for McDaniels is through the roof.

- Local boy Stink joins the heads on the local radio spot, 104.3FM The Fan, to talk shop. They also welcomed Chris Mortenson from the four-letter letter this week, capped by an interview with Kyle Orton.

- Woody Paige is an idiot. He is also as predictable as the arrival of the sun, though much less genuine and inspiring.

- Tony Scheffler enjoyed a visit with Jim Rome.

- More love for my local brother in arms Jeremy at the Colorado Sports Desk.

- Darrell Reid went through the washer at the Worldwide Leader during the bye week, including a visit with the crew at First Take and a spot on my favorite ESPN radio spot, the Doug Gottlieb Show.

- For those in need of the Royal treatment, lets start with a clip from our friends at the DenverBroncosChannel…

… with a revisit for the punt return…

… capped with a hit from the milehighfootball Channel to wrap the evening of greatness.

- Figured it was time to check on the updated season ticket wait, and as I expected, the list has grown.

- Former Chicago great and current voice of reason Tom Waddle thinks the Cutler trade is helping everyone involved.

- The Broncos hit the town to celebrate 50 years.

- For the bye week McDaniels went wise and gave the Broncos a much-needed break.

- Broncos may be in search of options at punter, evidenced by a recent visit with Mitch Berger.

- Of course, if you are wise enough to follow the local voice of fan-based news coverage, also known as BroncoTalk.net, you knew…

… punter Brett Kerns’ job is at risk.

… the Broncos are happy to enjoy health.

… and you’ve taken an early look at Baltimore.

- Kyle Orton and Drew Brees… the pride of Purdue (be honest… you NEVER expected to see them in the same sentence, at least not in this way).

- Shanny is still a public figure of note in Denver (often for a good cause).

- Skip Wood from USAToday warns us all to adjust to new expectations.

We are going to start a new feature this week we like to call…

The Bill Williamson Buffet

(The AFC West blogger for ESPN is a former newspaper man from the local scene making good and he comes up with a long list of hits for the Denver faithful each week.)

… Williamson’s AFC West mailbag.

… the Final Word (includes questions about a potential contract for Orton).

… a report on honors for John Elway.

… Williamson’s mid-week AFC West Chat.

… a video clip known as the Blogger Blitz (not offered on ESPN’s YouTube channel).

… Williamson reports on the Broncos at the Bye.

… and via link from Big Bill, Mike Sando, the blog pen for the Worldwide leader from the NFC West, puts both Orton and Elvis on MVP watch.

- One more hit from the Ocho from Len Pasta Belly for the Mile High faithful.

- Former Denver great Shannon Sharpe is honored (again).

- I troll the 16th St Mall with regularity and have yet to see one on the prowl, but the league reports the Denver throwback unis are selling well.

- We check in with the Mile High Report with a deja vu shot on Josh McDaniels’ football card.

- We also found a link a new offering radio bit from the MHR. Not too shabby boys.

- Josh views room to improve.

- The latest from Denver Post’s Mike Klis and his Bronco mailbag.

- Stable approved member of the Post Dave Krieger is keeping tabs on the big picture in Denver.

- Another Post member of the Stable-approved party Jeff Legwold comes in with a review of the current environment as well.

- To round out the Post offerings we absorbed from the week, Lindsay Jones turns the spotlight on Vonnie Holliday.

- The folks at Predominantly Orange join us in the hatred for all things the come from the pie hole of Jamie Dukes.

One last look at the week that was…

… and later this week we’ll tackle the week to be.

Thanks for stopping in.

Tags: Denver Broncos, NFL Links