Saturday, September 22, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Raiders Slice Up Pumpkin Pie
RAIDERS SLICE UP PUMPKIN PIE; BRONCOS GET LUCKY IN OT
The Broncos are apparently the greatest team in
football. Well, that must be the case right? After
all, great teams win ugly, and these two wins have
been some of the ugliest wins in Broncos history. As
happy as we are to escape with a win today, let's not
start making room for the Lombardi Trophy just yet.
The fact that the Broncos had to ESCAPE with a win IN
MILE HIGH against JOSH MCCLOWN AND THE RAIDERS coupled
with last week's near-disaster against the Bills
should start the sirens blaring. Is this team really
ready for Indianapolis and San Diego in its current
state? Is Jason Elam, the Broncos' most consistent
asset for the past thirteen years, starting to lose
it? Is "Pumpkin Pie" Jay Cutler going to show the
weapons he flashed late in 2007 or is he regressing?
These questions aren't answered yet, luckily. Let's
start with the opponents. Buffalo and Oakland are
supposed to be slightly improved from last year, but
let's face it, they are still two "bottom-five" NFL
teams--perhaps only the Chiefs and Falcons are worse,
although the Saints and Giants seem to have suddenly
degraded to the bottom of the pack as well. Yet the
Raiders not only put up a fight, they had the Broncos
on the ropes and almost got the kill. If Janokowski's
kick is eight inches to the left, the Broncos lose.
Thankfully, Janokowski has become one of the most
inconsistent kickers in the league and did what he
does best after Shanahan's time-out froze him up. But
the Raiders came REAL close at mile high, and let's
not be blinded by Cutler's magical non-touchdown drive
and Elam's kick at the gun The Bills would have won
last week if they hadn't poorly managed the clock.
The Broncos aren't very far removed from an 0-2 start.
But they won both of those games because of Jason
Elam. Or perhaps despite Elam? He missed two big
ones last week and another today in primo kicking
conditions. If he gets over these jitters, then it's
all good, but God forbid the Broncos have to start
worrying about yet another position. We'll give Elam
credit for not shanking the two game-winners, but
then, if he'd made the ones he missed, the games would
never have been on the line to begin with.
So how does Pumpkin Pie figure into all this? Well,
if you can see the name of the website, you know where
we're going here. Once again, the Broncos were forced
to ride the defense to victory. Although 'Dre Bly got
fooled badly by Jerry Porter for a score, the Broncos
held the Raider offense for the most part. Meanwhile,
between a safety and two picks--one turning into the
TD that gave the Raiders a late lead--Pumkpin Pie
single-handedly spotted Oakland nine points and did
little in overtime except let Big Baby Daddy run the
ball down the tired Raiders' throats.
"But we got the win, right?" say the Pumpkin Pie Fans.
Hey, isn't the the kind of game that got the Snake
treated like Osama Bin Plummer? Poor stats and a win
thanks to the D and some pixie dust? Are the
hypocrites going to point to this as some sort of huge
improvement over last season? The Broncos are still
relying too heavily on the secondary to cover up the
front line's mistakes and Cutler has had one average
game and one bad game. Somehow they still won, but as
Jake Plummer can tell you, wins apparently aren't
enough in Denver. Travis Henry, he of the
$20,000-a-month child support payment (no joke) is the
one shining beacon this year, the kind of workhorse
the Broncos have been missing since Mike Anderson's
best season. Henry, Bly, Lynch, and Bailey had better
continue feeding the Broncos as much as they can,
because this team apparently cannot survive on Pumpkin
Pie alone.
We here at LPP do understand that you can't ask one
man or pastry to carry a team entirely on his own. It
takes a TEAM to win games. However, we can at least
assume fans in Denver will be as fair and impartial as
they've always been, and as long as the team looks
like a playoff contender, they can lay off Pumpkin Pie
and support him. We'd hate to see Pumpkin Pie
struggle through a few more games and then get rattled
as an entire city starts calling for Shanahan to start
Patrick Ramsey over Pumpkin Pie even if the Broncos
have a winning record and a playoff berth
(LetRamseyPlay.com IS an available web domain, isn't
it?) But we understand. It's only fair that this
happens. So suck it up, Pumpkin Pie, and start
contributing heavily to wins! We care about you here
at Let Pumpkin...er, Plummer Play! Don't let the city
of Denver down! They're vicious career killers and
they'd be happy to feast on your sweet tasty innards
if you gave them half a reason.
Oh, who are we kidding. Denver loves Pumpkin Pie.
They aren't going to turn on him...for now. Still, if
wins were all that mattered, you'd have a whole city
screaming at Shanahan to:
LET PLUMMER PLAY!!!
The Broncos are apparently the greatest team in
football. Well, that must be the case right? After
all, great teams win ugly, and these two wins have
been some of the ugliest wins in Broncos history. As
happy as we are to escape with a win today, let's not
start making room for the Lombardi Trophy just yet.
The fact that the Broncos had to ESCAPE with a win IN
MILE HIGH against JOSH MCCLOWN AND THE RAIDERS coupled
with last week's near-disaster against the Bills
should start the sirens blaring. Is this team really
ready for Indianapolis and San Diego in its current
state? Is Jason Elam, the Broncos' most consistent
asset for the past thirteen years, starting to lose
it? Is "Pumpkin Pie" Jay Cutler going to show the
weapons he flashed late in 2007 or is he regressing?
These questions aren't answered yet, luckily. Let's
start with the opponents. Buffalo and Oakland are
supposed to be slightly improved from last year, but
let's face it, they are still two "bottom-five" NFL
teams--perhaps only the Chiefs and Falcons are worse,
although the Saints and Giants seem to have suddenly
degraded to the bottom of the pack as well. Yet the
Raiders not only put up a fight, they had the Broncos
on the ropes and almost got the kill. If Janokowski's
kick is eight inches to the left, the Broncos lose.
Thankfully, Janokowski has become one of the most
inconsistent kickers in the league and did what he
does best after Shanahan's time-out froze him up. But
the Raiders came REAL close at mile high, and let's
not be blinded by Cutler's magical non-touchdown drive
and Elam's kick at the gun The Bills would have won
last week if they hadn't poorly managed the clock.
The Broncos aren't very far removed from an 0-2 start.
But they won both of those games because of Jason
Elam. Or perhaps despite Elam? He missed two big
ones last week and another today in primo kicking
conditions. If he gets over these jitters, then it's
all good, but God forbid the Broncos have to start
worrying about yet another position. We'll give Elam
credit for not shanking the two game-winners, but
then, if he'd made the ones he missed, the games would
never have been on the line to begin with.
So how does Pumpkin Pie figure into all this? Well,
if you can see the name of the website, you know where
we're going here. Once again, the Broncos were forced
to ride the defense to victory. Although 'Dre Bly got
fooled badly by Jerry Porter for a score, the Broncos
held the Raider offense for the most part. Meanwhile,
between a safety and two picks--one turning into the
TD that gave the Raiders a late lead--Pumkpin Pie
single-handedly spotted Oakland nine points and did
little in overtime except let Big Baby Daddy run the
ball down the tired Raiders' throats.
"But we got the win, right?" say the Pumpkin Pie Fans.
Hey, isn't the the kind of game that got the Snake
treated like Osama Bin Plummer? Poor stats and a win
thanks to the D and some pixie dust? Are the
hypocrites going to point to this as some sort of huge
improvement over last season? The Broncos are still
relying too heavily on the secondary to cover up the
front line's mistakes and Cutler has had one average
game and one bad game. Somehow they still won, but as
Jake Plummer can tell you, wins apparently aren't
enough in Denver. Travis Henry, he of the
$20,000-a-month child support payment (no joke) is the
one shining beacon this year, the kind of workhorse
the Broncos have been missing since Mike Anderson's
best season. Henry, Bly, Lynch, and Bailey had better
continue feeding the Broncos as much as they can,
because this team apparently cannot survive on Pumpkin
Pie alone.
We here at LPP do understand that you can't ask one
man or pastry to carry a team entirely on his own. It
takes a TEAM to win games. However, we can at least
assume fans in Denver will be as fair and impartial as
they've always been, and as long as the team looks
like a playoff contender, they can lay off Pumpkin Pie
and support him. We'd hate to see Pumpkin Pie
struggle through a few more games and then get rattled
as an entire city starts calling for Shanahan to start
Patrick Ramsey over Pumpkin Pie even if the Broncos
have a winning record and a playoff berth
(LetRamseyPlay.com IS an available web domain, isn't
it?) But we understand. It's only fair that this
happens. So suck it up, Pumpkin Pie, and start
contributing heavily to wins! We care about you here
at Let Pumpkin...er, Plummer Play! Don't let the city
of Denver down! They're vicious career killers and
they'd be happy to feast on your sweet tasty innards
if you gave them half a reason.
Oh, who are we kidding. Denver loves Pumpkin Pie.
They aren't going to turn on him...for now. Still, if
wins were all that mattered, you'd have a whole city
screaming at Shanahan to:
LET PLUMMER PLAY!!!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Week 2
Not only do we give you a Week 1 wrap up, but for all you Jake fans, here's a new video as well!
Before we begin this week’s dissertation, we’d like to apologize for not updating last week. Our sadness at not seeing “PLUMMER 16” on the field kind of sucked the motivation right out of us. We would also like to make an announcement: LetPlummerPlay.com has decreed that Jay Cutler’s nickname shall now and forever be “Pumpkin Pie” for reasons we shall explain some other day. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense.
Well, the Broncos pulled out a squeaker last week and are going into an almost assured Week 2 victory against the slightly improved but still completely not scary Raiders. Pumpkin Pie was impressive for at least part of the game, putting together a drive that he obviously picked up by watching some of Jake Plummer’s many comebacks. Of course, giving Pumpkin credit for the whole victory wouldn’t be proper, as Travis “Big Baby Daddy” (also considered: “Eight ISN’T Enough”) Henry piled on the rushing yards and the greatest defensive backfield in the league began their 16-game, 9-city “Quarterbacks’ Nightmare” tour. Of course, if Jason Elam hadn’t uncharacteristically shanked a pair, the comeback might not have been necessary, but since this was a rare uneven day for mighty Elam (and since John Elway was never a kicker in Denver,) his job is probably safe and the fans won’t be calling for his head on a platter garnished with Rocky Mountain Oysters and garlic sauce. Not that the loyal Denver fans would ever do that...
Pumpkin Pie should have a nice season as long as Big Baby Daddy and Javon Walker stay healthy, and if the defense can hold up for an entire season instead of turning into Polk High after week 10. While we still think Jake could have got it done this year since it appears Shanahan’s ready to at least start trying again, we do wish Jay the best of luck. After all, if Pumpkin doesn’t go to a Super Bowl in the next 3 years, we know what’s coming for the poor seasonal dessert--angry mobs, torches and pitchforks. As the Snake and Brian Griese can tell you, it ain’t pretty. We’ll know for sure when the Broncos play the big boys.
As we’ve said previously, the Broncos have no excuse—NONE—for missing the playoffs. How good they really are beyond round one will be determined by their tough October stretch (well, starting 9/30) of Colts-Chargers-bye-Steelers, and how they do at Chicago in November. However, outside of one more Chargers game, the Broncos schedule has more pushovers than a dominos tournament. They get two punches at Larry Johnson and the Team Formerly Known as the Chiefs; two vs. the Raiders, coached by Lil’ Lane Kiffin--who might be drawing up strategies based on his favorite Tecmo Bowl plays; Bills (check,) Jags, Packers, Lions, Titans, Texans, Vikings. Not one contender in the bunch; Confucious say: “Creampuff seldom beat Pumpkin Pie.”
Denver already came close to blowing what should have been a patsy game...no excuses please; the Bills are mediocre until they prove otherwise, in Buffalo or not. They should lay serious smack down on the Raiders Sunday, since the Raiders could barely keep up with the one-dimensional Lions in their own stadium. If all goes as it should they’ll pummel the Raiders at Mile High and we might even put up “GREAT PUMPKIN” as a headline or something.
So go Broncos--no excuses, boys! Now pardon us while we fire up the ol’ Playstation so we can...
LET PLUMMER PLAY!!!
Before we begin this week’s dissertation, we’d like to apologize for not updating last week. Our sadness at not seeing “PLUMMER 16” on the field kind of sucked the motivation right out of us. We would also like to make an announcement: LetPlummerPlay.com has decreed that Jay Cutler’s nickname shall now and forever be “Pumpkin Pie” for reasons we shall explain some other day. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense.
Well, the Broncos pulled out a squeaker last week and are going into an almost assured Week 2 victory against the slightly improved but still completely not scary Raiders. Pumpkin Pie was impressive for at least part of the game, putting together a drive that he obviously picked up by watching some of Jake Plummer’s many comebacks. Of course, giving Pumpkin credit for the whole victory wouldn’t be proper, as Travis “Big Baby Daddy” (also considered: “Eight ISN’T Enough”) Henry piled on the rushing yards and the greatest defensive backfield in the league began their 16-game, 9-city “Quarterbacks’ Nightmare” tour. Of course, if Jason Elam hadn’t uncharacteristically shanked a pair, the comeback might not have been necessary, but since this was a rare uneven day for mighty Elam (and since John Elway was never a kicker in Denver,) his job is probably safe and the fans won’t be calling for his head on a platter garnished with Rocky Mountain Oysters and garlic sauce. Not that the loyal Denver fans would ever do that...
Pumpkin Pie should have a nice season as long as Big Baby Daddy and Javon Walker stay healthy, and if the defense can hold up for an entire season instead of turning into Polk High after week 10. While we still think Jake could have got it done this year since it appears Shanahan’s ready to at least start trying again, we do wish Jay the best of luck. After all, if Pumpkin doesn’t go to a Super Bowl in the next 3 years, we know what’s coming for the poor seasonal dessert--angry mobs, torches and pitchforks. As the Snake and Brian Griese can tell you, it ain’t pretty. We’ll know for sure when the Broncos play the big boys.
As we’ve said previously, the Broncos have no excuse—NONE—for missing the playoffs. How good they really are beyond round one will be determined by their tough October stretch (well, starting 9/30) of Colts-Chargers-bye-Steelers, and how they do at Chicago in November. However, outside of one more Chargers game, the Broncos schedule has more pushovers than a dominos tournament. They get two punches at Larry Johnson and the Team Formerly Known as the Chiefs; two vs. the Raiders, coached by Lil’ Lane Kiffin--who might be drawing up strategies based on his favorite Tecmo Bowl plays; Bills (check,) Jags, Packers, Lions, Titans, Texans, Vikings. Not one contender in the bunch; Confucious say: “Creampuff seldom beat Pumpkin Pie.”
Denver already came close to blowing what should have been a patsy game...no excuses please; the Bills are mediocre until they prove otherwise, in Buffalo or not. They should lay serious smack down on the Raiders Sunday, since the Raiders could barely keep up with the one-dimensional Lions in their own stadium. If all goes as it should they’ll pummel the Raiders at Mile High and we might even put up “GREAT PUMPKIN” as a headline or something.
So go Broncos--no excuses, boys! Now pardon us while we fire up the ol’ Playstation so we can...
LET PLUMMER PLAY!!!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Breaking News: Jake Missing From Madden 08
LET PLUMMER PLAY GAME NIGHT!
It’s that time of the year! Madden 08 came out yesterday and we picked up a copy, hoping against hope Jake “the Snake” Plummer was somehow in the game on the “Free Agents” list. Or at least, maybe the Tampa Bay reserves roster.
Wrong.
EA Sports took Jake’s retirement seriously and completely left him out of the game, which was the SECOND most disappointing thing about Madden 08. The WORST part is that our little web crew and a couple of extra friends have been fiending for MONTHS waiting on Madden so we could put together an online full-season league, with saved stats, records...a simulated NFL from Week 1 to the Super Bowl. Well, EA bamboozled us. Once again, even though the PS3 and 360 are into their second Madden games, and even though these machines are SO much better than the PS2 and XBox, and even though EA is always promising HUGE improvements to Madden every year, there are NO ONLINE LEAGUES IN MADDEN 08!
This, friends, is INEXCUSABLE. One of our favorite games around the web dungeon is SEGA’s NFL 2K5, which came out FOUR YEARS AGO. For twenty dollars brand new, you had a full ESPN presentation with great announcing, beautiful visuals, smooth play, personalized goodies, and a complete online service including fully tracked private leagues for 1 to 30 players. Naturally, EA Sports saw this rising threat and decided to one-up SEGA. Would EA Sports put their noses to the grindstone and make an effort to create a better game; a balls-out Madden that would blow 2K away with all of SEGA’s features cranked up times ten, giving gamers the best football experience of all time?
No. Instead, EA cried like little bitches, scraped all of their money together, and threw it at the NFL. EA got an exclusive license and yanked the rug out from under SEGA completely. To add insult to injury, the Madden series continued its streak of non-excellence, barely improving anything and spending more money on hyping the game than actually assuring it was any good. Four years and a hardware upgrade later, Madden looks pretty, but still plays sluggish (picking plays has actually gotten worse and less intuitive) and is missing that Holy Grail of modern sports game features, a feature that dozens of other games have been getting right for half a decade: no online leagues. That, friends, is INEXCUSABLE.
So while it was fun to run around with current rosters and new uniforms in high-definition, it was not as good as it could have been considering all the self-promotion EA does every year, somehow touting itself as “the best” when in fact its only “the best” because they paid to make competing NFL games IMPOSSIBLE. It’s acceptable because it’s the ONLY OPTION unless you want to illegally modify an older game, but acceptable is not excellent. We can almost forgive the exclusion of Jake Plummer because we can always Create-A-Jake, but the clumsy play selection and NO ONLINE LEAGUES just piss us off. Consider our faces slapped.
We here at LPP are done with Madden until they patch this up with a downloadable update (*a FREE downloadable update you leeches, this is a STUPID MISTAKE TO BE CORRECTED, not a “fun” extra option most gamers didn’t consider necessary) and by that I mean we will not be buying any more Electronic Arts video games at all until we see progress! We were bamboozled by Madden, and once you open a video game, all you can do is exchange it for half of what it’s worth or wait a week and a half on eBay to sell it back, and you might not get your money back there, either. Since we have no other options, we’ll keep this one, but EA Games: you’re on boycott! It’s not really that hard to boycott EA, of course. Most EA Games have sucked lately anyway. The only upcoming game I was waiting on was Half-Life: Orange Box, and frankly, I can live without another first-person shooter since there are about 100 of those out there.
Join us in our protest, game fans! EA Sports has given you the finger, give them one back! WE WANT ONLINE LEAGUES! Buy 2K Sports games, or whatever other options are available, until every EA Sports game has the online leagues that apparently weren’t all that hard to do half a decade ago for SEGA and Microsoft and Sony.
And if it’s not too much trouble, maybe they can do a free agent pool update so we can...
LET PLUMMER PLAY!!!
All of this while both Denver and Tampa Bay seek $14,000.00 a day from Jake!
It’s that time of the year! Madden 08 came out yesterday and we picked up a copy, hoping against hope Jake “the Snake” Plummer was somehow in the game on the “Free Agents” list. Or at least, maybe the Tampa Bay reserves roster.
Wrong.
EA Sports took Jake’s retirement seriously and completely left him out of the game, which was the SECOND most disappointing thing about Madden 08. The WORST part is that our little web crew and a couple of extra friends have been fiending for MONTHS waiting on Madden so we could put together an online full-season league, with saved stats, records...a simulated NFL from Week 1 to the Super Bowl. Well, EA bamboozled us. Once again, even though the PS3 and 360 are into their second Madden games, and even though these machines are SO much better than the PS2 and XBox, and even though EA is always promising HUGE improvements to Madden every year, there are NO ONLINE LEAGUES IN MADDEN 08!
This, friends, is INEXCUSABLE. One of our favorite games around the web dungeon is SEGA’s NFL 2K5, which came out FOUR YEARS AGO. For twenty dollars brand new, you had a full ESPN presentation with great announcing, beautiful visuals, smooth play, personalized goodies, and a complete online service including fully tracked private leagues for 1 to 30 players. Naturally, EA Sports saw this rising threat and decided to one-up SEGA. Would EA Sports put their noses to the grindstone and make an effort to create a better game; a balls-out Madden that would blow 2K away with all of SEGA’s features cranked up times ten, giving gamers the best football experience of all time?
No. Instead, EA cried like little bitches, scraped all of their money together, and threw it at the NFL. EA got an exclusive license and yanked the rug out from under SEGA completely. To add insult to injury, the Madden series continued its streak of non-excellence, barely improving anything and spending more money on hyping the game than actually assuring it was any good. Four years and a hardware upgrade later, Madden looks pretty, but still plays sluggish (picking plays has actually gotten worse and less intuitive) and is missing that Holy Grail of modern sports game features, a feature that dozens of other games have been getting right for half a decade: no online leagues. That, friends, is INEXCUSABLE.
So while it was fun to run around with current rosters and new uniforms in high-definition, it was not as good as it could have been considering all the self-promotion EA does every year, somehow touting itself as “the best” when in fact its only “the best” because they paid to make competing NFL games IMPOSSIBLE. It’s acceptable because it’s the ONLY OPTION unless you want to illegally modify an older game, but acceptable is not excellent. We can almost forgive the exclusion of Jake Plummer because we can always Create-A-Jake, but the clumsy play selection and NO ONLINE LEAGUES just piss us off. Consider our faces slapped.
We here at LPP are done with Madden until they patch this up with a downloadable update (*a FREE downloadable update you leeches, this is a STUPID MISTAKE TO BE CORRECTED, not a “fun” extra option most gamers didn’t consider necessary) and by that I mean we will not be buying any more Electronic Arts video games at all until we see progress! We were bamboozled by Madden, and once you open a video game, all you can do is exchange it for half of what it’s worth or wait a week and a half on eBay to sell it back, and you might not get your money back there, either. Since we have no other options, we’ll keep this one, but EA Games: you’re on boycott! It’s not really that hard to boycott EA, of course. Most EA Games have sucked lately anyway. The only upcoming game I was waiting on was Half-Life: Orange Box, and frankly, I can live without another first-person shooter since there are about 100 of those out there.
Join us in our protest, game fans! EA Sports has given you the finger, give them one back! WE WANT ONLINE LEAGUES! Buy 2K Sports games, or whatever other options are available, until every EA Sports game has the online leagues that apparently weren’t all that hard to do half a decade ago for SEGA and Microsoft and Sony.
And if it’s not too much trouble, maybe they can do a free agent pool update so we can...
LET PLUMMER PLAY!!!
All of this while both Denver and Tampa Bay seek $14,000.00 a day from Jake!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
NFL Power Rankings!
BREAKING NEWS: July 25th 2007
NFL POWER RANKINGS
The new NFL Power Rankings are posted at yahoo.com, well power rankings according to Jason Cole and Charles Robinson. Their rankings which put the Denver Broncos at #9 beg the question..."How do you go from being in the playoffs three years in a row, each year going deeper into the playoffs mind you, to not making the playoffs to now being considered the 9th best team in the league?"
YOU GET RID OF JAKE PLUMMER that's how you do it!
It saddens me to think that a team that gave such joy to root for year in and year out, is now just another team amongst many others, and many other better teams at that!
Once again, it seems had we continued to build upon our success from the 05/06 season, where our defense could not hold a lead in the AFC Championship, we would have won a super bowl within the next one or two years. All you can hope for now is that Denver wins another superbowl in Ed Mccaffrey's lifetime! God I miss you Ed! I bet if you laced em' up again, you'd be a better quarterback than that damn kid who couldn't muster up a winning recored at Vanderbilt.
NFL POWER RANKINGS
The new NFL Power Rankings are posted at yahoo.com, well power rankings according to Jason Cole and Charles Robinson. Their rankings which put the Denver Broncos at #9 beg the question..."How do you go from being in the playoffs three years in a row, each year going deeper into the playoffs mind you, to not making the playoffs to now being considered the 9th best team in the league?"
YOU GET RID OF JAKE PLUMMER that's how you do it!
It saddens me to think that a team that gave such joy to root for year in and year out, is now just another team amongst many others, and many other better teams at that!
Once again, it seems had we continued to build upon our success from the 05/06 season, where our defense could not hold a lead in the AFC Championship, we would have won a super bowl within the next one or two years. All you can hope for now is that Denver wins another superbowl in Ed Mccaffrey's lifetime! God I miss you Ed! I bet if you laced em' up again, you'd be a better quarterback than that damn kid who couldn't muster up a winning recored at Vanderbilt.
Friday, July 13, 2007
The Broncos!
BREAKING NEWS: July 13th, 2007
YOUR 2007 DENVER BRONCOS, NOW WITH 100% LESS PLUMMER.
Now that we've had time to calm down and accept that the mighty Jake "The Snake" Plummer will be out of the league this year, we here at LPP can return to our regular pastime of following the NFL. The one good thing about Jake retiring rather than going to another city is that we do not feel the need to cheer for a different team. We will stick with the Broncos as we always have despite the disappointing Plummer situation. It's the right thing to do, we suppose.
So what are we looking at? Well, other than a distinct lack of Snake on Sundays, we're looking at a pretty decent situation. Before you all chime in that Cutler is the reason, let us say...yeah, whatever. Cutler is not the key to this season; admittedly, Jake wouldn't have been the focal point either. All that's required from the Broncos QB position this year is average, unhurried play; if you look at the receiver corps, you'll note that these are not the kind of receivers that will be leading the league in receptions, yards, or TDs. They'll make a good showing, and if Cutler stays healthy they'll be consistent, but this Broncos squad is going to live and die on three things--which, we will cheerfully admit, equals good news for Broncos fans.
1. Travis Henry - Travis is officially the number one running back; any other approach indicates Shanahan has really lost his mind. No hemming and hawing over which Bell gets the carries; how to effectively split possessions; who gets the ball in which quarter. Travis Henry is here to get 75% of the carries, period. He can easily get 1100-1300 yards with this offensive line as the Broncos have always maintained a top ground attack. Now, his season could range from "very good" to "great" barring injury. If the O-line can't protect Cutler and causes poor passing options, opponents will be keying on Henry all year, reducing his effectiveness. If Cutler is given time to throw, the running game will get a little more breathing room. The offensive line only lasted about 8 games last season before holes started getting bigger and bigger; giving Plummer and Cutler less time to throw than someone like Peyton Manning, who gets more time to throw on a single play than Jake and Jay usually got in an entire series after Week 9 or so.
2. Dre' Bly and the defense - If Bly plays to his full potential--and there's no reason to believe he won't--Denver's defensive backfield becomes far and away the most dangerous in the league. The pass defense will be the crucial factor in a few specific games: Peyton Manning in Indianapolis, week 4; Philip Rivers and San Diego in weeks 5 and 16; Brett Favre and Green Bay in week 8; and the pass-happy Lions in week 9. However, the passing D is a known quantity; the problem here is going to be stopping the run in a division where Larry Johnson and LaDainian Tomlinson will be getting two shots apiece at the Denver defensive line. The defense has improved; now it's up to their conditioning, stamina, and execution--and it's up to Shanahan and his coordinators to draw up plans to stop LJ and LT in those four crucial games.
3. The Chargers - The Chargers lost a dependable, steady coach in Marty Schottenheimer. Although the unspectacular, low-risk, medium-yield "Martyball" may have been a factor in San Diego's postseason collapse, the fact is that Marty was able to keep a team focused over an entire 16-game season in a highly competitive conference. Marty kept the team rolling strong despite having no star receivers, starting an unproven QB, and losing his best defensive player for several games. The Chargers went 14-2 under Marty; though LT was a huge reason, Barry Sanders used to prove year in and year out that an MVP-type season from a running back doesn't always translate to a successful team. Now Marty is gone, replaced by Norv Turner, who is quite frankly terrible as anything but a quarterbacks coach. For some reason, Chargers ownership thought it would be a good reason to hire a guy who led the Redskins to a 49-59-1 record over seven seasons and led the Raiders to a sparkling 9-23 record over two seasons (which included only ONE WIN against an AFC West team.) Do I need to continue? Well, let's be even more frank. San Diego does not have a creampuff schedule. They get the NFC Champion Chicago Bears in week 1, then jet off to Foxboro to face the new and improved Patriots. Then they go to Green Bay, always a tough road game. After getting a breather against Houston, they have to go into Minnesota and then face Indianapolis. They have two road games in Jacksonville and Tennessee, and get to rumble with Baltimore. This isn't even bringing their divisional games into question. The Broncos do not have quite as rough a schedule. Sure, they have to face the Colts, Bears, and Steelers, but they get two winnable home games against Oakland and the Jags before having to deal with the Colts.
If you're starting to sense what I'm sensing, you might be getting a little excited. Considering their tough schedule and their historically below-average new head coach, San Diego does not look like a team that's a mortal lock to match their 14-2 record of 2006. By contrast, the Broncos would seem four specifically brutal games: @ the Colts; @ Da Bears; and two games vs. the Chargers. They have two mildly tough games: @ the Bills in week 1 (remember, Denver always starts rusty;) and @ KC. It is not out of the question that the Broncos could easily finish 10-6 or 11-5 even if they simply execute at a consistent level. If they actually get some excellence out of Henry, Cutler, and the defense, 12-4 or better is more than realistic. San Diego, at best, will win 13 games, and with Norv Turner in charge, San Diego will NOT achieve "at best." The playoffs are almost a lock to a team with a 10-6 record. The Broncos should have no problem with this. However, there's no reason to set their sights so low. Denver is looking to win the division and it's a reasonable goal. The AFC West can be ruled with a 12-4 record. With luck and effort, this team should achieve at least 12 wins and possibly as many as 14 (though it would require several lucky breaks.)
Unfortunately, they are not quite Super Bowl favorites unless you're a believer in "any given Sunday." The Patriots and Colts still have superior squads with fewer question marks. The Chargers still have a tough roster and may still have a bit of "Martyball" aftertaste in them (the 2003 AFC champ Raiders relied heavily on the departed Chucky Gruden's influence to make the Super Bowl under Bill Callahan, and Barry Switzer actually won a title babysitting Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys.) The Bengals could be right there with the Broncos talent-wise if Carson Palmer holds up for a whole season and they manage to keep the number of arrests under 20 or so. The Steelers' fate depends on which version of Ben Roethlisberger shows up (2005 or 2006.) As long as the Ravens field a healthy defense, they're a threat to win 12-13 games. And there's always the chance that the Jets, Chiefs, Jaguars, Titans, or Bills will hit a wild streak of luck at the right time. However at this moment the Broncos are no worse than the fifth-best team in the AFC. If Cutler's as good as Shanahan prays he is and there are no overwhelming health issues, they could easily vault into the third spot (provided Shanahan hasn't lost his edge, something we've been wondering for two or three years now.) At that point, the pressure is on New England and the Colts to stay on top, and there are no absolutes in the NFL. One twisted ankle by Brady, one sore shoulder for Manning, and suddenly the Broncos could be looking at a title run that many pundits and analysts would call "shocking" if they hadn't read about this at LetPlummerPlay.com!
On the flip side of this, the Broncos have no excuse for missing the playoffs, none, zip, nada; unless Cutler's arm ends up in Shawn Merriman's stomach or Champ Bailey decides to walk the Earth like Caine in "Kung Fu." Anything less than a playoff berth is proof positive that it's time to gently remind Mike Shanahan that head coaches are replaceable. Shanahan's got this last chance to prove that Terrell Davis didn't simply come down from the heavens to rescue him and Elway, in our opinion. Let's hope he takes this opportunity to truly excel as a coach again instead of lazily mailing it in like he did in 2006 (prove us wrong.)
We will greatly miss seeing "PLUMMER 16" out on the field during the NFL season, but we can't give up on the NFL, no sir, no ma'am. It is still the greatest show on turf and the Broncos are still the go-to team around these parts. So despite our differences regarding Jake Plummer, Jay Cutler, and Shanahan, we will continue to cheer them on and we hope they can do better this time around. Until then, we await the release of Madden '08, at which time we will...
LET PLUMMER PLAY!
YOUR 2007 DENVER BRONCOS, NOW WITH 100% LESS PLUMMER.
Now that we've had time to calm down and accept that the mighty Jake "The Snake" Plummer will be out of the league this year, we here at LPP can return to our regular pastime of following the NFL. The one good thing about Jake retiring rather than going to another city is that we do not feel the need to cheer for a different team. We will stick with the Broncos as we always have despite the disappointing Plummer situation. It's the right thing to do, we suppose.
So what are we looking at? Well, other than a distinct lack of Snake on Sundays, we're looking at a pretty decent situation. Before you all chime in that Cutler is the reason, let us say...yeah, whatever. Cutler is not the key to this season; admittedly, Jake wouldn't have been the focal point either. All that's required from the Broncos QB position this year is average, unhurried play; if you look at the receiver corps, you'll note that these are not the kind of receivers that will be leading the league in receptions, yards, or TDs. They'll make a good showing, and if Cutler stays healthy they'll be consistent, but this Broncos squad is going to live and die on three things--which, we will cheerfully admit, equals good news for Broncos fans.
1. Travis Henry - Travis is officially the number one running back; any other approach indicates Shanahan has really lost his mind. No hemming and hawing over which Bell gets the carries; how to effectively split possessions; who gets the ball in which quarter. Travis Henry is here to get 75% of the carries, period. He can easily get 1100-1300 yards with this offensive line as the Broncos have always maintained a top ground attack. Now, his season could range from "very good" to "great" barring injury. If the O-line can't protect Cutler and causes poor passing options, opponents will be keying on Henry all year, reducing his effectiveness. If Cutler is given time to throw, the running game will get a little more breathing room. The offensive line only lasted about 8 games last season before holes started getting bigger and bigger; giving Plummer and Cutler less time to throw than someone like Peyton Manning, who gets more time to throw on a single play than Jake and Jay usually got in an entire series after Week 9 or so.
2. Dre' Bly and the defense - If Bly plays to his full potential--and there's no reason to believe he won't--Denver's defensive backfield becomes far and away the most dangerous in the league. The pass defense will be the crucial factor in a few specific games: Peyton Manning in Indianapolis, week 4; Philip Rivers and San Diego in weeks 5 and 16; Brett Favre and Green Bay in week 8; and the pass-happy Lions in week 9. However, the passing D is a known quantity; the problem here is going to be stopping the run in a division where Larry Johnson and LaDainian Tomlinson will be getting two shots apiece at the Denver defensive line. The defense has improved; now it's up to their conditioning, stamina, and execution--and it's up to Shanahan and his coordinators to draw up plans to stop LJ and LT in those four crucial games.
3. The Chargers - The Chargers lost a dependable, steady coach in Marty Schottenheimer. Although the unspectacular, low-risk, medium-yield "Martyball" may have been a factor in San Diego's postseason collapse, the fact is that Marty was able to keep a team focused over an entire 16-game season in a highly competitive conference. Marty kept the team rolling strong despite having no star receivers, starting an unproven QB, and losing his best defensive player for several games. The Chargers went 14-2 under Marty; though LT was a huge reason, Barry Sanders used to prove year in and year out that an MVP-type season from a running back doesn't always translate to a successful team. Now Marty is gone, replaced by Norv Turner, who is quite frankly terrible as anything but a quarterbacks coach. For some reason, Chargers ownership thought it would be a good reason to hire a guy who led the Redskins to a 49-59-1 record over seven seasons and led the Raiders to a sparkling 9-23 record over two seasons (which included only ONE WIN against an AFC West team.) Do I need to continue? Well, let's be even more frank. San Diego does not have a creampuff schedule. They get the NFC Champion Chicago Bears in week 1, then jet off to Foxboro to face the new and improved Patriots. Then they go to Green Bay, always a tough road game. After getting a breather against Houston, they have to go into Minnesota and then face Indianapolis. They have two road games in Jacksonville and Tennessee, and get to rumble with Baltimore. This isn't even bringing their divisional games into question. The Broncos do not have quite as rough a schedule. Sure, they have to face the Colts, Bears, and Steelers, but they get two winnable home games against Oakland and the Jags before having to deal with the Colts.
If you're starting to sense what I'm sensing, you might be getting a little excited. Considering their tough schedule and their historically below-average new head coach, San Diego does not look like a team that's a mortal lock to match their 14-2 record of 2006. By contrast, the Broncos would seem four specifically brutal games: @ the Colts; @ Da Bears; and two games vs. the Chargers. They have two mildly tough games: @ the Bills in week 1 (remember, Denver always starts rusty;) and @ KC. It is not out of the question that the Broncos could easily finish 10-6 or 11-5 even if they simply execute at a consistent level. If they actually get some excellence out of Henry, Cutler, and the defense, 12-4 or better is more than realistic. San Diego, at best, will win 13 games, and with Norv Turner in charge, San Diego will NOT achieve "at best." The playoffs are almost a lock to a team with a 10-6 record. The Broncos should have no problem with this. However, there's no reason to set their sights so low. Denver is looking to win the division and it's a reasonable goal. The AFC West can be ruled with a 12-4 record. With luck and effort, this team should achieve at least 12 wins and possibly as many as 14 (though it would require several lucky breaks.)
Unfortunately, they are not quite Super Bowl favorites unless you're a believer in "any given Sunday." The Patriots and Colts still have superior squads with fewer question marks. The Chargers still have a tough roster and may still have a bit of "Martyball" aftertaste in them (the 2003 AFC champ Raiders relied heavily on the departed Chucky Gruden's influence to make the Super Bowl under Bill Callahan, and Barry Switzer actually won a title babysitting Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys.) The Bengals could be right there with the Broncos talent-wise if Carson Palmer holds up for a whole season and they manage to keep the number of arrests under 20 or so. The Steelers' fate depends on which version of Ben Roethlisberger shows up (2005 or 2006.) As long as the Ravens field a healthy defense, they're a threat to win 12-13 games. And there's always the chance that the Jets, Chiefs, Jaguars, Titans, or Bills will hit a wild streak of luck at the right time. However at this moment the Broncos are no worse than the fifth-best team in the AFC. If Cutler's as good as Shanahan prays he is and there are no overwhelming health issues, they could easily vault into the third spot (provided Shanahan hasn't lost his edge, something we've been wondering for two or three years now.) At that point, the pressure is on New England and the Colts to stay on top, and there are no absolutes in the NFL. One twisted ankle by Brady, one sore shoulder for Manning, and suddenly the Broncos could be looking at a title run that many pundits and analysts would call "shocking" if they hadn't read about this at LetPlummerPlay.com!
On the flip side of this, the Broncos have no excuse for missing the playoffs, none, zip, nada; unless Cutler's arm ends up in Shawn Merriman's stomach or Champ Bailey decides to walk the Earth like Caine in "Kung Fu." Anything less than a playoff berth is proof positive that it's time to gently remind Mike Shanahan that head coaches are replaceable. Shanahan's got this last chance to prove that Terrell Davis didn't simply come down from the heavens to rescue him and Elway, in our opinion. Let's hope he takes this opportunity to truly excel as a coach again instead of lazily mailing it in like he did in 2006 (prove us wrong.)
We will greatly miss seeing "PLUMMER 16" out on the field during the NFL season, but we can't give up on the NFL, no sir, no ma'am. It is still the greatest show on turf and the Broncos are still the go-to team around these parts. So despite our differences regarding Jake Plummer, Jay Cutler, and Shanahan, we will continue to cheer them on and we hope they can do better this time around. Until then, we await the release of Madden '08, at which time we will...
LET PLUMMER PLAY!
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