As we take the empty champagne bottles to the recycling bin and begrudgingly grab our gym bags, deep inside we know the inevitable is just days, or weeks away.  The New Year’s Resolutions we have made to give up drinking, or finally get back in shape, just aren’t sustainable. The general problem is that we tend to make our goals too lofty.  We can renew our gym membership, but our five-days-a-week turns into much less than that, and by the time February comes around our New Year’s Resolution is just a faint memory.  Giving up alcohol seems plausible considering the new year generally begins... Read More

I have the same argument with my buddies every Sunday when it comes to the NFL and assessing the recipe for success: I believe you need a borderline Hall of Fame type quarterback to win it all in today’s game, and anything less is simply a path towards mediocracy. But what does that have to do with Drew Lock and the Denver Broncos? I argue time and again that thirteen of the last fifteen Super Bowls were won by Hall of Fame members, or soon-to-be member quarterbacks, but they insist on bringing up the two outliers in Nick Foles and Joe Flacco. I reiterate the fact that twenty-three of the last... Read More

Historically speaking, it was always easy to look at the Denver Broncos and describe who they were as an organization. As the perennial Super Bowl contenders, they had Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks, tenacious defenses, veteran leadership, and great minds and stability in coaching and the front office. A successful franchise that embraced its blue-collared fans, and in return, the people bled orange in support of their team. That label and those attributes are now saved for others more deserving. The New Orleans Saints with Drew Brees, Sean Payton, and that Mardi Gras that occurs on Sundays. The Green... Read More

Let’s start with two undeniable facts: the Broncos are in dire need of a quarterback for the future, and I personally have nothing against Drew Lock.  That being said,  John Elway’s selection of the Missouri quarterback in the second round, with the 42nd overall pick, was awful on so many levels.  Or ten levels to be more precise. NOT EVERY DRAFT IS A GREAT ONE FOR QBs – The only two quarterbacks taken in the first round back in 2007 were JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn. EJ Manual was the lone QB selected in 2013, and the headliners of the 2014 draft were Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel. ... Read More

When the Oakland Raiders decided to take a lower-graded defensive end with the fourth overall pick and the New York Giants surprised everyone by taking quarterback Daniel Jones at number six, John Elway’s draft board couldn’t have looked any better. Sitting at number ten, Elway could have chosen Devin Bush, an inside linebacker from Michigan, selected a top offensive lineman, or had his choice of any quarterback he wanted, but he didn’t.  Instead, Elway wisely traded the pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers, deciding to acquire more picks and more value to fill some glaring needs. The Broncos... Read More

The story became obvious as I sat down to write.  The Colorado Avalanche would eliminate the top-seeded Calgary flames in five games, and my fingers began to type.  Thoughts of Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Philipp Grubauer raced through my head.  Memories past were of Stanley Cups, Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Ray Bourque.  I would be sure to throw in Patrick Roy’s legendary playoff quote once said in response to an opponent’s trash talk. “I didn’t hear him because my two Stanley Cup rings were stuffed in my ears.” It was undoubtedly the story, the headline, the news of... Read More

With the NFL Combine in the books, the Denver Broncos and the rest of the league will wait to see what happens in free agency before putting together their draft boards.  It looks as if Joe Flacco will be a Bronco, Case Keenum a Redskin, Nick Foles a Jaguar, and Kyler Murray is rumored to join Kliff Kingsbury as the first pick in Arizona. But I don’t see it that way.  Here’s my mock draft 1.0. Oakland Raiders (via trade with Arizona) – Nick Bosa (Edge/Ohio State). The Cardinals were bluffing about their intention of drafting Kyler Murray after trading up to select quarterback Josh Rosen... Read More

The quick fix rarely pays off long-term. John Elway and the Denver Broncos learned that the hard way when they overpaid for Case Keenum, reached on drafting Paxton Lynch, and underestimated the development of Trevor Siemian in the search to find the next franchise quarterback. Whether it was strategy, naivety, or just plain fear, failing to select a quarterback such as Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, or Lamar Jackson in last year’s draft has left Denver with a huge void, and a huge opportunity. Mock drafts have the Broncos selecting Missouri’s Drew Lock in the 2019 NFL draft as the next “quick fix”... Read More