As it stands right now the Denver Broncos franchise is in shambles. There may be some, slight potential to be better… but there isn’t much worse than 4-12. And why is that? Many reasons, but the most evident one right now is that we don’t have our reliable quarterback. The Bears do.
Jay Cutler is a single victory away from leading the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl. But don’t tell the Denver sports fans this, they’ll just say he doesn’t have a chance against Mr. Rodgers. (The football star, not tv icon.)
But that is beside the point. Why did Jay Cutler fail here in the Mile High City? Not because, he threw too many interceptions, or didn’t have enough passion for the game, or he had contract disputes with the owner, or he looked like a Jersey Shore reject. No, it’s because he’s NOT JOHN ELWAY.
Jake ‘the Snake’ Plummer led the team to a 13-3 record, the AFC Championship game and then people were asking for his head. You would have to win a Super Bowl to alleviate yourself of that sort of pressure… and that’s no easy task. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBuGr1pDEEM about the 3 minute mark especially)
Tim Tebow maybe, for all we know, might be God’s right-hand man, but in Denver, John Elway’s town, he’s just some shmuck under center. And the addition of John Elway to the front office is only going to put more pressure on the kid.
[Sidebar: If you watch that whole video, above, then you saw some other familiar face…. Mike Shanahan. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he has been part of some of the greatest teams of all time. His release could be seen as the beginning of the end, or in the most articulate way possible ‘Because the Little Bug went Ka Choo’.]
Ahhhh - the reference to that Little Bug. Funny how such a small story can influence many lives!
ReplyDeleteTrue story here. Tebow, with his outside-of-football experiences, probably is a guy that has the mental toughness to withstand the unfair comparisons to Elway.
Will someone besides me ever give the actual credit for Denver Broncos' success to the Widell brothers (and Grant Bishop), Shannon Sharpe, and Romanowski? Before the Widell brothers started "dishing out" some toughness and standing up for the team, the Broncos used to go on road games in their all-white outfits and get their butts kicked by the Chiefs, Raiders, and Seahawks (in those olden days, even the Broncos might beat the Chargers on the road - San Diego was a Southern California "soft" team). I don't know how many games I watched where the Broncos were hoping for a mercy rule - it was always coooolllllld in KC, the Kingdome turf was toooooo hard, and, of course, the Raiders were meeeeaaaaaannnnn - of course, it is true that John Matuszak was a mean looking dude.
Using a separate Broncos comparison -- Making the case that the Super Bowls don't happen without Elway is like continuing to blame the Boise State loss to Nevada on the kicker. Boise State's defense lost that game or damn sure shared an equal role in the eventual loss. And, Elway is only good without the better players around him. Just check the Denver Broncos before McCaffrey, Smith, Steve Watson, et al. Sure, Mark Jackson makes the catch" on the "DRIVE", but that was Cleveland. How did the Broncos do after that game?
Back to the Denver Broncos and Elway's lore. Sure, Romanowski was a douche bag, but anybody that celebrates the Broncos Lombardi trophies better credit Bill's toughness and physical play with a fair share of the credit. Giving all due respect to the Soap Opera man (Schlereth), the offensive line was solid - and "solid" is a real compliment to the men in the trench - the rest of this doesn't even happen without solid line play on both sides of the ball. But, the other main factor was the ball possession, keep drives alive, play from the future HOF tight end Shannon. I don't know how many important plays Shannon had, but he also cultivated the "I'm tougher than you are" attitude. Cocky? To be sure. But, it takes that "attitude" to be the best in the NFL.
Denver doesn't win the Super Bowl without the toughness that started with the Widell brothers. And, it won't matter how big an Elway shadow is over Tebow or how good Tebow/Other is until the Broncos get that toughness back. (And don't tell me that some "fast" guy on defense that pumps his chest when he finally makes a tackle is tough).