Stunned

The Broncos fired Mike Shanahan.

I didn't see it coming. In fact, after Sunday's night's debacle, I was wondering to myself how long it would be before Shanny fired Bob Slowik, since firing the defensive coordinator has become an annual tradition for the orange and blue. So I logged on to denverpost.com this afternoon just to see if anything had happened in Dove Valley - and oh, boy - it sure did.

The press conference isn't until tomorrow, so we don't know yet how it all went down. But I'm guessing it was Shanahan the general manager getting fired more than Shanahan the coach. He pretty much dug his own grave after blowing half a decade's worth of drafts. But still, this was shocking. I didn't see Shanahan going anywhere for another five years or so - I figured Pat Bowlen would wait and see if he could turn things around with Jay Cutler. But I guess not.

This move makes a lot of folks around town happy - the ones who have been calling for Shanahan's dismissal for a couple of years now. I've always pretty much been in support of Shanahan - mainly because who else are they going to get that's better?

So that's the question now - who is Bowlen going to hire? Is he going to hire a GM and a coach to fill the void left by Shanahan? Probably. I don't think anyone on their current staff is equipped to be the next head coach. Gary Kubiak is still with the Texans. A lot of people are calling for Bill Cowher to come, but I don't see that happening. I don't even know who's out there. Maybe Dan Reeves wants to get back into coaching. Shanahan will have a job somewhere next year, if he wants one.

So do I agree with the move? It's a bold one, but something needed to happen. They may have been worse this year than last - but being in a weak division masked that so well. I'm guessing maybe Bowlen wanted Shanahan to give up some of his responsibilities on the personnel side and to focus exclusively on coaching, only Shanahan didn't want to, so they decided to part ways. I guess we'll find out in the future. So yeah, I agree that something needed to happen, and that something shouldn't be firing the d-coordinator again. So if they couldn't agree on reformatting the job description, then he needed to go. But that's all speculation.

All I know is that whoever takes over needs to spend at least 8 of the 10 draft picks on defense.

My Report on the Paolantonio Report

I picked up this book on a whim recently and read through it pretty quickly. Sal examines some of the most overrated and underrated players, teams, and moments in NFL history. It was interesting to read his arguments and perspectives. He even went so far as to call some of the players that the media absolutely loves. . . overrated. Even Brett Favre. Even Barry Sanders. Even. . . the '85 Chicago Bears. Gasp! Blasphemy!

The author, Sal Paolantonio, obvioulsy touched a nerve with some folks. Go and read the reviews page for this book at Amazon.com and you can see that some people did not appreciate what he had to say about their football heroes. His whole point was that he wasn't saying that they weren't some of the best players and teams of all-time, he was just simply pointing out that maybe they received a little bit more credit than was warranted given what they actually did on the field.

Of course, he didn't call any Broncos overrated - so maybe I don't understand. I can't imagine what former Denver Bronco could possibly be overrated, since it is likely the most underrated franchise in NFL history. I was pleased to see a couple of former Denver Broncos listed as "underrated" - Lionel Taylor as one of the most underrated wide receivers and Shannon Sharpe as one of the most underrated tight ends.

I had more than a few "amen" moments in reading this book, as he asked some of the questions I have pondered for some time now, such as "Why exactly are Dan Fouts and Warren Moon in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?"

What is underrated is the use of a good editor. Paolantonio made some major factual blunders in this book that were easy for even a casual fan like myself to pick out. He asserted several times that the New England Patriots were the first franchise ever to win three Super Bowls in four seasons. . . although the Dallas Cowboys also accomplished the feat in the 1990s. Also, part of his argument that Marv Levy was the most overrated Hall of Famer of all time was that Levy was outcoached by Barry Switzer in Super Bowl 28. However, Jimmy Johnson was still the coach of the Cowboys at that time. Switzer was the coach of the Cowboys two years later when they beat the Steelers in Super Bowl 30. I don't know how a book goes to press with major errors like this. I'd think that you would have at least a person or two read through it before you hand it in - like the high school term paper. But I guess not!

Did I Call It Or What?

In my November 19th post, I wrote the following concerning the wacky Denver Broncos.

"I’m thinking that it’s going to come down to that last game – Broncos v. Chargers in San Diego – to determine the AFC West champ and a playoff spot. The Broncos will be 9-6, the Chargers will be 8-7 but would have the tiebreaker if they win the last game (due to the Broncos losing that game to the Chiefs). And the winner would host a playoff game versus the Dolphins, Patriots, Ravens, or Colts."

And so, here we are. Next Sunday night the Broncos and Chargers will play. The winner earns the right to host the Colts in the first round of the playoffs. About the only thing I missed on in my earlier prediction is the records of the teams - the Broncos are currently 8-7 and the Chargers 7-8.

Of course, I wrote the prediciton before the Broncos upset the Jets on November 30. Things were looking pretty rosy for them at that point - as they had a three-game lead on the Chargers with four games to play. All they needed was any combination of Broncos wins or Chargers losses that added up to two. And since then, the Broncos have one victory and the Chargers have zero losses.

I didn't really expect them to go to Charlotte and beat the playoff-bound Panthers last week, but a home game against the going-nowhere Buffalo Bills? Come on. I guess it's tough when you're down to your eighth-string running back, but they really needed to win today. Because I don't see them beating the Chargers next week - the Chargers are on a winning streak for the first time all year and probably still a little steamed at the missed fumble call back in the second game of the season.

So the Chargers go to the playoffs and get a home game with an 8-8 record, and everyone complains about that even being possible. And the Broncos miss the playoffs for the third year in a row - the first such occurrence since 1982.

Of course, this season is so wacky that the Broncos will probably win 37-2 while Jay Cutler plays the second half with no pants on.

I Joined Facebook

A couple of weeks ago, on Saturday night, everyone in my family inexplicably fell asleep about 9:00 PM, including newborn baby and Grandma. The older kids basically put themselves to bed without even being told. It was really, really weird. And so I was left sitting around wondering what to do with myself. And so I wound up signing up for Facebook, something I had resisted the urge to do for a long time. Actually, I never really had the urge. Once, I signed up for Linked In, which I guess is more of a professional networking thing, but I never really got into it. I think I have two links and couldn't really get excited about the whole concept. So I guess that's why I never looked into the Facebook thing. I'd never even heard of Facebook until I went to graduate school - I'm not sure how long it's been around.

So far, I don't really know what you're supposed to do on Facebook. Post stuff, I guess, although it's not exactly the same as a blog. I guess the thrill is finding people you haven't seen in years and adding them to your list. But then they add up so rapidly, it's not like you're taking the time to reconnect with every single one. I guess I'll learn.

I'm up to 43 friends and I haven't even been that agressive. They multiply pretty quickly. The breakdown is pretty interesting:

Centauri class of '94 - 13 friends
Washington Tacoma mission - 8 friends
Family - 6 friends
Old North Carolina ward - 6 friends
Current ward - 5 friends
Other high school/home - 3 friends
NC State - 2 friends
BYU - 0 friends

Blog I Recommend

I've looked at a lot of blogs the past several months. I've found that there aren't that many that are worth going back to on a regular basis unless you know the author personally.

This, however, is a blog with a lot of good reading. I don't know the girl from Adam (Eve?) but she's pretty funny and a good writer. So if it is currently 1 degree Fahrenheit outside where you live (like it is where I live) then prepare a warm (not hot!) drink and go through her archives.

Warning! This Post Will Probably Bore You.

My fantasy football season came to an end Monday night. All I needed was for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their fabulous defense to hold Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith to a modest number of catches. Instead, Smith caught 9 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown, which gave my opponent enough points to beat me. With the loss, my record dropped to 7-7 and I ended up in a tie for the final playoff spot, which I lost due to a tiebreaker of total points throughout the season.

Much like the Denver Broncos, I started off the season like a house of fire. I won my first game by a margin of 34 points. I won my second game by scoring a total of 206 points, which was the highest single-game total in my league this season. And then I squeaked out a victory in game three as Chargers K Nate Kaeding scored 13 points for me in the Monday night game – pretty much exactly what I needed. At 3-0, I had high hopes for the season. But then my team went in the tank, losing 6 of 8 games and leaving me on the bubble for the playoffs. I rebounded with consecutive victories in weeks 12 &13, but then fell short last week.

Where did I go wrong?

I’ve played fantasy football for several seasons – and I pretty much know what to do and what not to do. And yet, in the draft, I didn’t stick to it 100 percent.

For instance, I knew that picking a quarterback anywhere in the first half of the draft was a bad idea. And yet, there I was, picking Carson Palmer in the 5th round. How did that turn out? The Bengals were awful, Palmer was hurt, and he totaled only 91 points of fantasy production. I cut him midseason.

My quarterback for most of the season was Eli Manning (392 points). And where did I pick him up? That’s right – in the 16th round, one of the very last players picked. I would have been better off spending my 5th round pick on another position.

Actually, my initial plan going into the draft was to look for Broncos QB Jay Cutler, since I knew he was a bit underrated. And he was available for me as late as the 10th round. So did I take him? Nope, I passed on Cutler and what would have been a 507-point season in order to take RB Fred Taylor (86 points).

The second place I messed up was in running back depth. Running back is the most valuable fantasy position, especially if you can snag one who gets yards both rushing and receiving. I started off okay, using my first round pick on Marion Barber (223 points) instead of Joseph Addai (127 points). But then I proceeded to ignore the position for the next six rounds.

It was my plan – sort of. I thought receivers were more valuable early in the draft and filled out my three starting positions in rounds 2, 3, and 4 with Reggie Wayne (191 points), Andre Johnson (243 points), and Brandon Marshall (220 points). That was my strategy, and I stuck to it, so I can’t really fault myself. But in the process, I passed up that second running back. I could have picked up Maurice Jones-Drew (228 points), Clinton Portis (212 points), or Reggie Bush (170 points).

Instead of turning my focus back to running back after the 4th round, I picked Palmer in the 5th round and grabbed TE Kellen Winslow in the 6th. In the process, I passed up Atlanta Falcons RB Michael Turner (215 points), who I had my eye on. I didn’t even get the right TE, either. Winslow totaled 103 points this year – the next player selected was Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez (208 points).

I picked up Calvin Johnson (216) as a fourth receiver in the 7th round, with the idea I could trade one of my four receivers once the bye weeks were done. But that didn't work out.

And so I was left to pick Edgerrin James as my second RB in the 8th round. He was adequate until he inexplicably stopped playing midway through the season and wound up with only 75 points all year. And who was picked next? Jets RB Thomas Jones, who racked up 245 points this year.

I also decided to take a chance on a rookie RB later in the draft in hopes I might find a steal. I took Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall. He totaled just 10 points before suffering a season-ending injury.

So I struggled with depth at running back all season, using free agent pickups Mewelde Moore, LeRon McClain, and Derrick Ward to cover my draft deficiencies. They did okay, but not having adequate RB depth probably cost me at least two wins this season, including the final week, when Marion Barber was out with an injury and my starting backfield was Ward and Moore.

I can look back at any number of games this past year as the one that cost me the playoffs – maybe in week 8 when I lost by less than a field goal – thanks in part to Edgerrin James and his 0.7 output that week. Or what about in week 10, when I had my second highest single-game point total of the year with 160 points, but still lost. This was partly attributable to my starting Calvin Johnson instead of Brandon Marshall.

So I’ll try again next year and maybe get this fantasy football thing right.

Forward This

My favorite type of forward e-mails are the one where they put a little tag on the end that says if you don't forward it to every person you know, then you don't believe in God or freedom or whatever it is they're e-mailing you about. If that's really the case, then I guess I'm basically a communist/atheist. My second favorite are the ones where they quote something somebody wrote or said and then take a few liberties with the text. The most recent example is the Lee Iacocca one where he is quoted from his book and then whoever inserted all these lines with him bagging on Barack Obama. Nice. I'm sure Lee appreciated that.