Fan Vision Enhances NFL Stadium Experience

I was one of the fortunate Denver Bronco season ticket holders yesterday to try out FanVision - a hand held device for viewing replays, other games, stats, and more while attending an NFL game. I liked it!

You can watch ANY nfl game on FanVision in addition to the NFL red zone channel. What I liked best, though, was the replay capability. After each play you could select one of 3 replays - from a camera on the 50, from one on the 25, or one at field level. A personal instant replay system! During the Bronco/Seahawk game yesterday I replayed several plays multiple times. Once the next play starts the replay is lost but still this is a really cool feature. I liked not being dependent on the network tv feed of the game to see the replays I wanted.

I did think the audio on FanVision could be louder - with the earbuds I had the volume all the way up and I couldn't hear the Fox play by play of the game. The Red zone channel was better for volume. Also when I seated in the sun the 1st half the picture was a little hard to see. With my seats in the shade the 2nd half the FanVision replay system really shined.

Overall though FanVision gets an "A" from me. I look forward to trying it out again at this week's Broncos/Colts game!

Jacksonville Game Will Tell Alot About The 2010 Broncos

It's time to reveal my predictions for the 2010 Denver Broncos season. Just like last year I am going to base my predictions on what the team does in its opening game. Last year in this blog I wrote "If the Broncos can beat a good Bengals team on the road, I predict they start out 4-0. The schedule then gets much tougher, and they'll finish with an 8-8 record." Read all of my last year's prediction here.

That is exactly what happened last year (lucky guess), though I would never have expected the Broncos would start out 6-0, finish the season going 2-8, beat all the AFC West opponents on the road, and lose to them all at home. A very strange season!

I'm hedging on my prediction this year because the Jacksonville game this Sunday will tell alot about what type of team the Broncos will be in 2010. The Jaguar game is not as tough a matchup as the 2009 Cincinnati opener, but it won't be easy. The Broncos historically do not play well in the Florida heat in September games. They lost 34-10 in the 2005 opener at Miami, and lost 23-13 on Sept 23, 2007 at Jacksonville. The Jaguars often seem to have the Broncos number, too, as Jacksonville has won four of the past five games between the two teams.

Going into the Jacksonville game I am most concerned about the Bronco offensive line. Denver's two star young tackles, Ryan Clady and Ryan Harris, may not even play. Harris is out for sure with an ankle injury, and Clady is questionable with offseason knee surgery. Most of the interior of the Broncos offensive line is new, too, with rookie center JD Walton getting his first start. Quarterback Kyle Orton has had an impressive preseason, but he has to have time to throw. If Denver's patched up offensive line cannot give Orton proper protection on Sunday, it will be a long day for the Broncos. They won't be facing the vanilla defenses of the preseason. The Jaguars, no doubt, will come up with some special blitz packages to take advantage of Denver's offensive line weakness.

One sure way to neutralize a good pass rush is with an effective running game. Here too, the Broncos have problems. Starter Knowshon Morino has missed the whole preseason with a hamstring injury and will not be 100%. The line has had problems in run blocking in the preseason too.

On defense the Broncos are healthy except for missing star pass rusher Elvis Dumerville (out for the season with a training camp injury)

If the Broncos can get decent offensive line play and protect Orton I think their precision passing game will carve up the Jacksonville secondary. I think the defense can hold the Jaguar offense in check. If the Broncos struggle with pass protection and run blocking, Jacksonville will win easily.

My season predictions:

If the Broncos beat Jacksonville, it'll be a good sign that the offensive line is coming around and that the defense can be effective without Elvis Dumerville. I think they follow up a Jaguar win with a win against Seattle at home. This puts the team at 2-0 heading into a huge home game against defending the defending AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts. Just like last year, when the Broncos capitalized on momentum from early season victories to beat powerhouses Dallas and New England at home, I think the Broncos can beat the Colts and start 3-0. After that the schedule gets tougher. I'll predict a 9-7 season if the team beats the Jaguars.

If the Broncos lose to Jacksonville, it could start an early season tailspin that the team will not recover from. I still expect a win against Seattle at home the next week (1-1), followed by losses to Indianapolis, at Tennessee, at Baltimore, and to the Jets at home to start out 1-5. The losing will affect the morale of the team, and the seemingly easy games of the schedule (Oakland home and away, KC home and away, etc) won't look so easy. The team scratches out a few wins on the way to a disappointing 4-12 record.

Even if the team struggles, I think it will be an interesting season. Rookie quarterback Tim Tebow will no doubt see more playing time if the team is out of playoff contention. I also like the initial indications of the 2010 draft class (much better than the 2009 class). The Broncos are building a young talent base but it probably won't come together this year.

CU Scrimmage

Every August I like to go to one Denver Bronco practice and one University of Colorado scrimmage to get an early indication of the prospects for our local teams. Today I headed up to Boulder for the last scrimmage and practice open to the public for the CU Buffs.

The CU scrimmages are sparsely attended - there must have been less than 200 spectators today in the 50,000+ seat Folsom Field. The CU scrimmage is more like a real game than what you see at Bronco practices - the quarterbacks for one are fair game for tackles by the defense.

My impressions of the CU Buffs based on today:


Tyler Hansen (#9) is CLEARLY the best quarterback on the team. Hansen to me was the star of the scrimmage. He looked really good. He has much better pocket presence than when I saw him at the preseason scrimmage last year. He had several deep balls that were right on the money. One was dropped by Tony Clemons, another was dropped by Will Jefferson. He hooked up with Scotty McKnight on a nice 40 yarder despite tight coverage. Hansen ran for a td, too, showing his mobility.


Cody Hawkins was Cody - he just doesn't have the arm strength of Hansen and skipped some balls off the turf. He's an adequate backup with a great attitude but you don't want him as your starter.

When I attended the same scrimmage last year I thought Cody SHOULD be the starter based on that scrimmage. Hansen last year was too raw. This year Hansen was much much improved.

Freshman quarterback Nick Hirschmann reminded me of Hansen last year. He has a good arm (much stronger than Cody's) but he was indecisive in the pocket and needs more work.

Others:

Heralded transfer wide receiver Toney Clemons from Michigan is predicted to be Big 12 offensive newcomer of the year but he didn't do much today. He had a drop on the long pass I mentioned and on another shorter pass he bobbled it before getting it under control. Clemons just didn't seem to be getting as many looks as the other receivers.

UCLA transfer wide receiver Paul Richardson looks very good - the most impressive receiver to me. Other than his drop on the long pass Will Jefferson had his moments too.

There were mixed results on the kicking:

Marcus Kirkwood made his first field goal (about 35 yds) then on another try he kicked it straight into the line. Also Kirkwood was short on kickoffs. If it were just kirkwood I'd be concerned about the fg kicking but ..

Last year's field goal kicker, Eric Goodman looked OK - he made 2 fgs in the 35 yard range. He looked ok in the scrimmage last year and later struggled during the season so let's see if he can be more consistent this year.

Freshman kicker Justin Castor has a good leg. He boomed a kickoff from the 30 that went 5 yards deep into the end zone. I saw Castor make one medium range fg, too. After I left I read that he made a 52 yard field goal.

I was more concerned about the punting. Grossnickle had a series of punts from the 20 yard line: the distances I recorded: 24 yds, 31 yds, 35 yds, 35 yds. His best kick was a high one that was fair caught after 35 yards. This is a division 1 punter? He also had a terrible shank when kicked from the 40 (went out of bounds after 10 yards and into the stands). After I left I read that Grossnickle was booming kicks later in the practice, so there is still hope he can get his act together before the CSU opener.

There were lots of receivers open during the scrimmage which caused someone near me to say "we either have a very good offense or our defense is terrible" I do think they were just playing basic sets on defense so I'm not too worried about the secondary.



My early gut feel on the CU Buffs:

6 wins 6 losses because of much improved quarterback play (Hansen) and more receiving weapons.

A day at bronco practice

Yesterday I ventured out to Dove Valley to see the Broncos practice. Here are some pictures I took (with comments):



My son and I were even with the goal line. We arrived about 45 minutes early and had no problems getting a shady spot. Weather was great - not too hot with a cool breeze.




tebow mania was in full force - these kids were yelling "tebow! tebow!" throughout the practice




Tebow looked good to me - like a fullback playing quarterback. He's bigger than Elway was as a rookie (though John bulked up after a few years). Tebow wasn't accurate on all his passes but he has a confident presence in the huddle. I think he's going to be good!




Demaryius Thompson is huge. In fact that's one thing I noticed compared to the Shanahan Broncos - McD is gradually increasing the size and strength of this team.



Eric Decker has been compared to Ed McCaffery - he reminded me more of Steve Watson. Very smooth.




I wasn't all that impressed with Brady Quinn. I think Tebow will eventually be #2 qb this year.

I like making an annual visit to Bronco training camp. Rarely do you get a chance to be so close to NFL players in action. It's not for everyone (not near the excitement of a game) but I like getting a first look at the rookies and seeing the player/coach interactions.

My initial overall impression is that the Broncos will be like last year - with a good veteran defense and alot of youth on offense. The offensive line struggled yesterday and they really need a healthy Ryan Clady back (and the rookie linemen to make an impact). Regardless of the record this year I think it'll be fun to watch the development of the young players (Thomas, Decker, and especially Tebow)

I'll be there for Tebow's 1st game, just like I was for Elway's

On August 21st Tim Tebow will make his Denver debut in what otherwise would be a meaningless preseason game against the Detroit Lions. I will be there! Just like I was 23 years ago, when John Elway made his Denver debut in a preseason game against Seattle on August 5, 1983.

Back in 1983 the Broncos didn't include the first preseason game in the season ticket package. This resulted in thousands of tickets being available on game day. I originally wasn't planning to attend the game, but decided after dinner to drive down to Mile High Stadium to buy a ticket. I was glad I did! I sat in the East Stands and I was immediately impressed with the strength of Elway's arm. As the video below shows, right from the start you could tell Elway would be good!

I'm hoping I get the same impression from Tim Tebow on August 21st. I do caution fans to be patient when evaluating Tebow. After John Elway's impressive preseason debut he struggled in later preseason games. Against Minnesota he kept throwing the ball in the dirt, missing wide open receivers. And he had a rocky start to the NFL season against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, being benched half way through the game after completing only 1 of 8 passes for 14 yards. Did this mean that Elway was a bust? No way! Later that year he claimed the starting quarterback job for good and led the Broncos to his first 4th quarter comeback win vs the Colts in December.

Tebow no doubt will have growing pains, and some plays that will cause fans to say "no way is he an nfl quarterback!" I say look for flashes of ability, like we did for Elway back in 1983, and give Tebow at least 2 or 3 years to prove he can be a legitimate NFL quarterback.

Will the scene on August 21st be like August 5, 1983? I hope so - here's a portion of video I recorded that night with Elway's fabulous debut, and what happened later that season:

Buffs will rise again

Great news today that the University of Colorado is joining the Pac 10 conference. I thought the Buffs should have jumped to the pac 10 in the mid 90's when they had the opportunity. Good to see CU got a second chance and said "yes" this time!

Some in the media question the move. "How can the Buffs compete against the likes of USC and the other power schools of the pac 10?" (including Texas and Oklahoma if the rumored expansion comes true). I say the Buffs are sending the right message to their student body in wanting to compete at the highest level possible in college athletics.

When I graduated with honors as a Math major at CU in the late 70's it may not have happened had my adviser said to me, "Those advanced calculus courses will be too tough for you - why don't you take this college algebra class instead!" Yet that is what some CU naysayers have been saying lately on the college sports level - the pac 10 is too tough, cu can never compete, etc.

I say that's garbage. While the state of the football program isn't very good right now, I am confident Colorado can turn the program around. It's happened before. I attended many games in the early 80's when Bill McCartney was coach. In Mac's 3rd year he finished 1-10 and he was lucky to win that only game thanks to a long field goal. No one could have guessed at the time that by the end of the decade CU would win a national championship.

Mac was a once in a lifetime coach whose success is unlikely to be repeated you say? Well the program similarly rose from the ashes in the 60's. Eddie Crowder took over a scandal ridden program and led the Buffs to many good years, including a #3 in the nation finish in 1971.

The Boulder campus is such a great place to recruit to, with the most picturesque stadium in the country. All CU needs is the right coach to get the students and the state excited about Buff football again. Impact recruits will come if they know there's a chance of winning, just like they did for coach Mac and Eddie Crowder.

With the promise of a brighter future and more dollars coming in from the pac 10 deal, I am confident that Colorado can attract a top coach to replace Dan Hawkins after what I expect to be a down season in 2010.

Perhaps one day in the future we'll see something like this again from a Buff football team:

bronco highlight film, qb club meeting

One of my favorite bronco quarterback club meetings each year is the one in May or June when the highlight film of the previous season is premiered. Tonight I saw the premiere of the 2009 highlight film titled "A Team From The Start"

Patrick Smyth, the executive director of media relations for the Broncos, introduced the film and answered questions from the crowd afterwards. Patrick said NFL films came to the Broncos after the season asking what the team wanted featured in the film. The two features the broncos wanted emphasized were a "team over the individual" attitude and Josh McDaniel's passion.

The film highlighted the Broncos victories, especially the 6-0 start and the Thanksgiving night NY Giants win. I liked that many sideline and locker room comments were included. One that stood out for me was McDaniels yelling at Kyle Orton during a game "if you are fired up, they will be. The rest of the team feeds off of you!" I thought "yep, that's why he drafted Tebow". McDaniels wants a passionate leader as his qb.

Some accomplishments mentioned: McDaniels had the 3rd best start in the history of the NFL for a rookie coach, Elvis was the first bronco to lead the nfl in sacks, the defense had 8 new starters and finished 7th overall in defense, the win at KC was the largest margin of victory ever for the Broncos at Arrowhead, and Matt Prater made 19 of his last 20 field goal attempts.

While the 2-8 finish still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, the highlight film did remind me of that there were alot of positives to last season. Towards the end of the film a fan is shown holding a sign "In McDaniels We Trust"

The highlight film will probably show up on NFL Network in the future. It's worth seeing, especially for all the player and coach comments featured.

After the film Patrick answered questions. I asked him how Tim Tebow was doing. Patrick joked, "Tim who?" Then he went on to say that Tebow is one of the hardest workers at camp. Tim is the last one to leave the building each day and he's always looking for a coach to quiz him on the offense. In his flight out after the draft Tebow wanted to do pushups during the flight to work out, and he brought a gym bag with him. Josh McDaniels says that Tebow is "ahead of schedule" in his development.

McDaniels wants players that are "tough, smart, and physical" The recent bronco draft class featured players with 4 of the top 10 wonderlic scores.

Will Eddie Royal be more involved in the offense? Kyle Orton says he didn't get Eddie the ball as much as he should have last year. McDaniels is trying to have four #1 receivers instead of focusing so much on just 1 receiver like last year (Marshall)
Rod Smith was at practice yesterday and talked to Eddie. Champ saw Rod and teased him about gray hair. "It would be gray if we had won that 2006 afc championship game," said Rod.

Elvis contract? It's being worked on. Elvis has a real good attitude and is confident it will be worked out.

Ryan Clady? He's a real quiet guy. He feels bad about his offseason basketball injury. Not as bad as it could have been and he's recovering well. Clady is a huge Lakers fan and he opens up when teammates tease him about the Lakers.

Xanders and McDaniels relationship? It is really a partnership, they work closely together and come to a decision jointly. They are in each other's offices 15 to 20 times a day. Xanders first job in the NFL was cleaning pools for the Atlanta Falcons. He rose through the ranks and was a defensive assistant on the Falcons super bowl team that played the broncos.

John Elway watched practice yesterday - the first time Elway has been at a Bronco practice in years. The recent bronco quarterbacks, while good guys, didn't want anything to do with Elway. Tebow is different - he wanted to have dinner with Elway when he flew out after the draft.

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I always find the qb club meetings interesting and this one was no exception. There was a small but loyal group of fans attending tonight - many long time season ticket holders. The club is planning more Monday night meetings this year and hope to have more current players as guests.