Late-Night Links
November 22nd, 2009 | by bpdouglass |Ability will never catch up with the demand for it.
- Confucius
The life of the NFL coach could be summed as such, and the life of Denver’s head coach certainly seems to be falling into this same trap. When no one thought he had the ability he couldn’t meet those demands, and now that he put six wins on the board in his first six games, he can’t meet those changing demands either.
I’m coming short on demands as well.
I’m coming in late on Saturday night (again) and I’m going to stray from the norm. I’ll rip through some notes of interest from the week, we’ll tear into the Stable Buffets, and we’ll get you all the visual aides you could want heading into the tipping point. If I get to the end of it and have steam we’ll move forward with the review… otherwise, I’ll break rank, steal a few moments to saw logs, and get up early to give you The Stable’s take on Week 11 and the San Diego Chargers.
Let’s start with a quick note of local interest.
- WTNelson posted the following tidbit at the Mile High Report on Friday: I heard a news report the other night that this Sunday, Nov. 22 against the Chargers, Barrel Man Tim McKernan will be in attendance at Invesco Field @ Mile High for the final time. He was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer and given 2-6 months to live. I can’t find an internet source, but I saw it on 9NEWS. Thoughts and prayers. And please, put this man in the Ring of Fame.
We can’t find a confirmation link either, but if this is true we would share the sentiments offered by WT and the Mile High Report crew. The man is a symbol of love and affection for Denver’s most beloved treasure and should be respected and treated as such… and we’d join the circle in sending well wishes as he rides into the orange sunset.
- The boys at the MHR also passed along this promotional note on behalf of the Van Heusen Pro Football Hall of Fame Fan’s Choice campaign. Denver great Gary Zimmerman will be teamed with former Charger icon Kellen Winslow to help promote the push to get fans involved in the Pro Football Hall of Fame voting process. I actually saw the truck promoting this new campaign at the Best Buy over here by Colorado Mills early this morning (it is hard to miss) and it appears they’ll be hooking it up with fans at the Mile High tomorrow. Go check ‘em out.
And with that I have a couple of promotional notes of my own to share.
- Broncos linebacker Darrell Reid sent a presser promoting some charitable work he will be engaged with for the holidays. This coming Tuesday (November 24th), Reid will be at the Boys & Girls Club located near I-70 and Pecos (the George M. Wilfley branch) where he will be giving traditional Thanksgiving dinners to 20 Denver area families that have fallen on hard times. Darrell is also set to give a speech, speaking to the kids at the club about the importance of determination, self esteem, and hope. Reid will be taking time after his speech for pictures and autographs as well. It’s a wonderful cause and we are happy to support his efforts. Festivities commence at 5:30pm MDT. For more information, please contact Michael Artsis at 917-952-0833, or via email at artsis@artsismedia.com. You can also find more information on Reid’s charitable efforts at his website, www.dreid95.com.
(Or, if you would prefer, you can hit me up and I’ll send along the information on this event… not a problem at all!)
- This is my good friend Hans Steiniger (I’ll be honest… I’ve never met him, but we’ve made a connection via email and thus I feel comfortable calling him a fellow football addict, and that makes him my friend). For the past three years Hans has traveled the country in an effort to witness at least one NFL game at each of the league’s venues across the country.
He calls it the Quest for 31, and he’ll be on hand at Mile High to tailgate and immerse himself in the Denver Bronco experience prior to the San Diego showdown tomorrow.
You can follow Hans’ travels at www.nflfootballstadiums.com… but if you are hitting the hallowed grounds this Sunday, stop in, shake his hand, and give him a Fat Tire or Flying Dog or one of the other worthy local brews.
- I want to throw some props to my man Kyle from BroncoTalk.net. I just stole the video above from him and I feel totally justified in doing so because Kyle has become my primary source of envy… for he managed to piss off local blowhard-turned-curmudgeon prick Woody Paige so much that the Around the Horn sight gag couldn’t resist ripping Kyle in print (proving his own lack of levity in the process).
In Woody’s mailbag column for the week (to be honest, he’s turned it into the official Come-Kiss-An-Old-Man’s-Ass line for the Post… and they wonder why subscriptions are falling), Paige wrote, “I give my opinion, which is based on sound information, thoughtful research and observation, unlike some kid in Arizona who is a Broncos fan and writes a blog, without proper grammar or punctuation or understanding, from his mom’s laundry room and think he know what he’s talking about, and people actually pay attention.” Keep in mind that is a direct quote pulled before the editor’s decision to come back and fix Woody’s own grammatical error (and no, I won’t link to his work… I’d rather suck boils).
What Woody didn’t know is that Kyle was manned with a quality rebuttal. “In his latest mailbag, the Post’s venerable wordsmith maintains that Chris Simms should have started instead of Kyle Orton, citing ‘thoughtful research’ (read: Simms was better in one week of the preseason) and ‘observation’ (read: Woody attended training camp twice) in concluding Simms ‘might provide’ a lift. That’s fine, Woody, have your opinion, and stick with it.”
We’ve recognized Woody as one of the biggest assholes in the industry for a long time (as we told their sales rep upon cancelling our Post subscription when the News was laid to rest), and it’s so relieving to see him go out of his way to prove it… again. Sticking with an opinion proven wrong has never been Woody’s strong suit. Playing lazy with analysis, employing heavy doses personal bias supported by unjustified assertion, and attempts to work as the bully (such as this) to bolster his own “effort” would be tools found in the Woody Paige toolbox. Those days are over old man. You don’t get to sit on high in the comforts of the Denver Post throne and throw words without repercussion. If it looks like a turd, smells like a turd, and feels like a turd… it’s Woody. You can cover the entire Denver metro area in newspaper and that won’t change.
Color us jealous Kyle, and congrats.
From here we could jump into the typical four-page list of links from the week, but this week we will take a pass. Here’s the Cliff Notes version: visit Deadspin, ProFootballTalk, The Big Lead, The Shutdown Corner, The Sporting Blog, Football Outsiders, First Cuts, Smart Football, Dan Shanoff, Jason Whitlock, Kissing Suzy Kolber, The Mile High Report, RotoWorld, The DL … nevermind. There’s no easy way to do this. Just trust me when I say those are all sites Woody would hate, and thus you are likely to enjoy. Accept my apologies as we move on to the buffets for the week.
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.)
… the Wrap-Up from the 27-17 loss in Washington.
… Random Notes from the Washington loss.
… Bill’s early look at San Diego v. Denver.
… an early-week look at the Kyle Orton injury.
… the Broncos serve as the focus for Bill’s Sound Off Topic of the Week.
… AFC West Power Rankings for Week 11.
… an update on AFC West Pro Bowl voting.
… a closer look at Chris Simms.
… questioning Denver’s punting accumen.
… thoughts on Mike Shanahan’s courtship for a new job.
… evening News and Notes from the 18th.
… Brian Dawkins joins the player advisory forum.
… reader response to the Sound Off of the Week… and it’s all about Denver.
… AFC West Players to Watch, including Brian Dawkins.
… the AFC West Needs Improvement column, noting Denver’s struggles in the second half.
… another update on Orton and the ankle.
… Evening Notes from the 19th.
… the Blogger’s Blitz for the week.
… an in-depth look at Denver’s struggles.
… Bill’s Final Word for the week.
… evening News and Notes from November 20th.
… and as you might have guessed, Bill is going to be here in the Mile High to take in the Chargers/Broncos showdown.
And thus we turn to the second table in the buffet line…
The Stable Game Previews Buffet
From the San Diego Union-Tribune…
From the true genius minds working at Tecmo…
From Adam Duerson from Sports Illustrated…
From Mike Tanier with Football Outsiders, via the New York Times…
From Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk.com…
From Peter King with Sports Illustrated…
From Ross Tucker with Sports Illustrated…
From the RealScouts at the Sporting News…
From Clark Judge at CBSSportsline.com…
From Cris Collinsworth, Warren Sapp, and Phil Simms on Showtime…
From the NFL Capsules with CBS Sportsline…
From Dan Shanoff via The Sporting Blog…
From Mike and Mike…
From ESPN’s Sunday Countdown crew…
From Pete Prisco with CBSSportsline.com…
From the great MJD at the Shutdown Corner…
From Matt Bowen with the National Football Post…
And for the Rocky Mountain faithful, from the Mile High Report…
… and from Predominantly Orange…
… and the Colorado Springs Gazette.
(Our good friend Kyle from BroncoTalk.net hasn’t posted his preview yet or it would be here… make sure you hit him up to check it out before gametime.)
And with this I’d like to offer the first in a new weekly offering we will be presenting as part of our Game Previews Buffet…
From The Mouths of Babes
This is Nayeli.
Those are her Bronco Slippers.
She’s a good friend of mine and she has some thoughts on the game as well…
“The BRONCOS are deffinately going to win because (1) Josh McDaniels, the BRONCOS head coach is a very intelligent coach & (2) The Giants suck!!! (3) Marshall, Orton, and Eddie Royale are awesome players. Even though Marshall was suspended from the team for attitude issues he’s still one of the best players on the BRONCOS team. Orton is a good QB. He’s way better then that cry baby Cutler, Even though he’s thrown a few interceptions in the past few games. Eddie is an awesome intercepter and runner. Royale has ran so many touchdowns that there’s no way you can ever doubt him. That’s how I KNOW the BRONCOS are going to win!!!!!!!”
(Yes, she’s off one week, and that’s ok. I bet Nayeli would say the same about the Chargers, so we can roll with it.)
If your kid wants to offer their thoughts on an upcoming game, let me know… we can hook it up.
Which brings us to the indulgent offerings of…
The Fanball Buffet
- Last week’s Projections Report from Kyle Elfrink.
- NFL Trend or Mirage from Brian Jonas.
- Sunday Surveillance from Cory Elfrink.
- Buy Low – Sell High from Ted Carlson.
- Goal-Line Gossip from Danny Goldin.
- Heroes and Zeros: Week 10 from Steve Sheiner.
- Fantasy Cup College Lineup Edge from my good friend Don VanDemark.
- Target Analysis: Week 10 from Jason Collette.
- Strength of Schedule Analysis from Rick Hawes.
- Start ‘Em and Sit ‘Em from Ryan Boyer.
- SnapDraft Picks from Seth Trachtman.
- IDP Stat Analysis from Mark Hooper.
- Office Pool Picks from Ryan Houston.
- Fantasy Football Tip Sheet from Rick Hawes.
- Quality Games Review & Preview from Bob Lung.
- The NFL Fantasy Roundtable: Larry Johnson.
… and my moment of self promotion.
- Any and everything golf at Fanball.
- My true moment of glory for the week, 5 Questions Owner’s Aren’t Asking.
And with that in the rearview, we turn to tomorrow… which we will address tomorrow. The game comes late and we’ll be in with our thoughts on the Chargers and the Sunday to be before then.
Thanks for stopping in.
Tags: Denver Broncos, Links, San Diego Chargers, Woody Paige
