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.

Tim Tebow: the next Bobby Anderson?

I'm back to blogging again after a busy two months of travel. The biggest sports story in my absence was the Broncos drafting of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow in the first round. This move has been discussed and dissected by sports columnists and fans across the nation. "Brilliant move!" say some. "Major reach!" say others. Here's my take:

Tim Tebow is so compelling because of his character. He is a role model to many after his stellar career at the University of Florida. No doubt this played in a big part in the Broncos drafting him. This brings to mind another former #1 bronco draft pick. Flash back to 1970. No athlete was more admired in these parts than the hero of the University of Colorado, running back Bobby Anderson. Anderson had a great senior season for the Buffaloes, capped by a 254 rushing yard 3 td performance in the Liberty Bowl against Bear Bryant's famed Alabama defense.

Anderson also had great character. I remember him speaking to the youth group at my church. I was excited at the prospect of having my college football hero in Anderson playing in the backfield with my favorite pro player, Floyd Little!

What happened? Anderson had an injury plagued four years with the Broncos and never amounted to much as an nfl player. Years later I attended a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe Nevada where several big stars were present (Michael Jordan, John Elway, and others) Bobby Anderson was also one of the celebrity golfers. "Who is that?" said a guy standing next to me as I watched Anderson on the putting green. Anderson's stellar college career had long been forgotten. Anderson was and continues to be a great guy (he still is a part of the radio broadcast for the cu buffs) but he didn't succeed in the NFL.

I'm rooting for Tim Tebow and I think he does have a chance to become an effective NFL quarterback. I especially like his running ability, a quality lacking with last year's starter Kyle Orton. Denver's offense also features many short, quick passes - passes I think Tebow can handle. Still there are doubts from many pro scouts on whether Tebow can be an nfl qb. "After breaking down the film of Tebow, we cannot help but think he will struggle to succeed in the NFL unless he continues to improve. His offseason work helps, but Tebow must prove himself against competition," says Russ Lande, former pro scout writing in the Sporting News.

While Tebow's off the field activities are admirable, character alone does not make for a good NFL player. It didn't for Bobby Anderson, and it won't for Tim Tebow. I'm hoping the Broncos haven't placed too much emphasis on Tebow's winning personality in drafting him so high.

broncos by the numbers

I recently came across a list I had put together a few years ago of "all time bronco numbers" - the best player for each number in bronco history. I have updated the list below. Will Tim Tebow become the greatest #15 in Bronco history? He only has to beat out Jim Turner and Brandon Marshall to do it!

I'll have more thoughts on Tebow in a future blog post.

0 - John Olszewski fb
1 - Jason Elam k
2 - Cookie Gilchrist rb runnerup: Mike Horan p
3 - Rich Karlis runnerup: Bobby Howfield k
4 - Robert Thompson wr
5 - Brad Daluiso k
6 - Jay Cutler qb runnerup: Bubby Brister qb
7 - John Elway qb runnerup: Craig Morton qb
8 - Gary Kubiak qb runnerup: Tommy Maddux qb
9 - David Treadwell k
10 - Bucky Dilts p runnerup: Steve Ramsey qb
11 - Bobby Anderson rb
12 - Charlie Johnson qb
13 - Steve Tensi qb runnerup: Don Horn qb
14 - Brian Griese qb runnerup: Norris Weese qb, Pete Liske qb
15 - Jim Turner k runnerup: Brandon Marshall wr Marlin Briscoe qb (tim tebow??)
16 - Jake Plummer qb ; runnerup Tom Rouen p
17 - Steve DeBerg qb
18 - Frank Tripucka qb
19 - Eddie Royal wr runnerup: Fred Steinfort k
20 - Louis Wright db
21 - Gene Mingo k runnerup: Darrien Gordon cb, LeLo Lang db
22 - Olandis Gary rb runnerup: Fran Lynch rb, Glyn Milburn rb/kr
23 - Sammy Winder rb runnerup: Goose Gonselin db
24 - Champ Bailey db runnerup: Otis Armstrong rb
25 - Haven Moses wr
26 - Bobby Humphrey rb runnerup: Calvin Jones cb
27 - Steve Atwater db runnerup: Darrant Williams db Knowshon Moreno rb
28 - Jeremiah Castille cb runnerup: Abner Haynes rb, Gaston Green rb
29 - Howard Griffith rb runnerup: Aaron Craver rb
30 - Terrell Davis rb runnerup: Steve Sewell rb
31 - Mike Harden db
32 - Jon Keyworth rb
33 - Rod Bernstein rb runnerup: Joe Dawkins rb, Tony Dorsett rb
34 - Tyrone Braxton db
35 - Larry Canada rb runnerup: Lonnie Perrin rb
36 - Billy Thompson db
37 - Anthony Lynn rb
38 - Mike Anderson rb runnerup: Reggie Rivers
39 - Ray Crockett db
40 - Charlie West db runnerup: Grady Cavness cb
41 - Rob Lytle rb runnerup: Eric Crabtree wr
42 - Billy Van Huesen wr/p
43 - Steve Foley db
44 - Floyd Little rb
45 - Steve Wilson cb
46 - Dave Preston rb
47 - John Lynch s runnerup: Gerald Wilhite rb
48 - Lionel Washington cb
49 - Dennis Smith s
50 - Bobby Maples c runnerup: Ben Hamilton c Jim Ryan lb
51 - Bob Swenson lb runnerup: John Mobley lb
52 - Randy Gradishar lb (he wore 52 one season) runnerup: Ken Woodard lb Ian Gold lb
53 - Randy Gradashar lb runnerup: Bill Romanowski lb
54 - Keith Bishop c runnerup: Mitch Donahue lb/dl
55 - Rick Dennison lb runnerup: DJ Williams lb Pete Duranko dl
56 - Al Wilson lb runnerup: Ray May lb, Keith Burns lb, Michael Brooks lb
57 - Tom Jackson lb runnerup: Allen Aldridge
58 - Tom Graham lb runnerup: Elijah Alexander lb, Steve Busick
59 - Joe Rizzo lb runnerup: Glen Cadres lb
60 - Paul Howard g runnerup: Gerald Perry g
61 - Tommy Lyons g runnerup: Andre Townsend de
62 - Dan Neil c/g runnerup: Tom Glassic g
63 - Dave Costa dl runnerup: John Grant dl
64 - Billy Bryan c
65 - Gary Zimmerman t
66 - Tom Nalen c
67 - Doug Widell g runnerup: Lumpy Hyde g
68 - Rubin Carter nt runnerup: Larron Jackson t
69 - Mark Schlereth g
70 - Paul Smith dl runnerup: Dave Studdard t
71 - Greg Kragen nt runnerup: Claudie Minor t
72 - Keith Kartz c runnerup: Don Latimer nt
73 - Simon Fletcher lb
74 - Mike Current t
75 - Rulon Jones de runnerup: Brian Habib t
76 - Ken Lanier t
77 - Karl Mecklenburg lb runnerup: Lyle Alzado de
78 - Ryan Clady t runnerup: Matt Lepsis t Marv Montgomery t, Ken Criter lb
79 - Barney Chavous de
80 - Rick Upchurch wr, kr runnerup: Rod Smith wr, Mark Jackson wr
81 - Steve Watson wr runnerup: Billy Masters te
82 - Vance Johnson wr runnerup: Jack Dolbin wr, Bob Scarpitto wr/p
83 - Michael Young wr runnerup: Anthony Miller wr
84 - Shannon Sharpe te runnerup: Mike Haffner wr, Ricky Nattiel wr
85 - Ron Egloff te runnerup: Tom Beer te
86 - Byron Chamberlain te runnerup: Butch Johnson wr
87 - Rich Jackson dl runnerup: Lionel Taylor wr, Ed McCaffery wr
88 - Riley Odoms te runnerup: Al Denson wr, Clarence Kay te
89 - Orson Mobley te runnerup: Jon Embree wr, Dave Logan wr, Dwayne Carswell te
90 - Neil Smith de runnerup: Dan Williams de
91 - Alfred Williams de
92 - Elvis Dumervil lb runnerup: Dave Wyman lb
93 - Trevor Pryce dl
94 - Keith Traylor dt
95 - Michael Dean Perry dt
96 - Harald Hasselbach dl runnerup: Kenny Walker de
97 - Mike Lodish de
98 - Maa Tanuvasa d runnerup: Ricky Hunley lb
99 - Shane Dronett dt runnerup: Seth Joyner lb

Goodbye Brandon

Brandon Marshall was traded to the Miami Dolphins today for a #2 draft pick in 2010 and a #2 pick in 2011.

I am ok with the trade. For a second year in a row Denver got more for a disgruntled player than I thought they would (Cutler in 2009, Marshall in 2010). Considering Pittsburgh could only trade former Super Bowl MVP wide receiver Santonio Holmes for a #5 draft pick this offseason, the Broncos did well to get two #2's.

Money aside, Miami still got the better of the trade. Marshall is a tremendous talent. However considering that the Dolphins had to give Marshall 24 million in guaranteed money, and given his past problems in Denver, I'm not surprised the Broncos passed on giving Brandon a big contract. I hear Marshall's new Miami contract is bigger than Larry Fitzgerald's with Arizona, and Marshall is not a better receiver than Fitzgerald.

Here's a video clip of my favorite Brandon Marshall Bronco memory - his great catch and run for the go ahead touchdown vs Dallas in 2009. This one almost made my "top Bronco plays of all time" list:

Greatest All Time Bronco Plays, #1 The Helicopter

My pick for the Greatest Bronco Play of All Time comes from the best Bronco player ever in the Greatest Bronco Game of All Time:

In Super Bowl 32 with the score tied late in the 3rd quarter, the Broncos faced a 3rd and 6 deep in Green Bay territory. Future Hall Of Famer John Elway gave it his all on this play to get the crucial first down that led to the go ahead touchdown:



This play showed why John Elway was such a great player. Elway was more than his magnificent arm. He always had the ability to confound opposing defenses with his scrambling ability, and even at age 37 in SB32 he still could run. The footage also shows Elway's amazing determination to win.

Shortly after this run the Broncos went ahead 24-17. Green Bay was to tie the score later on but the Elway "helicopter" inspired his teammates to eventually win the game 31-24. After a 38 year wait the Broncos were Champions At Last:





Next: I've received very good response to my countdown so I'll be posting more Bronco memories from the highlights I have saved over the years.