Simmons Article touts Broncos

[Man-Goblin]

Pretty much an enjoyable article all around; plus he says the Broncos are the main competition for the Colts at this point.

On a side note, I really enjoy reading Simmons, although I know some of you don't feel that way.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/051118

"The question remains: Can you win a Super Bowl with Jake Plummer? When it's phrased that way, probably not. But what if you phrased it this way: Can you win a Super Bowl with a killer running game, a powerhouse defense, veteran leadership, and a limited quarterback who can do a couple of things very well and shall remain nameless? I would say yes."

[easymobee]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/051118

You beat me by about 2 minutes, good read.

THE FAVORITES
2. Denver (7-2)
Say what you want about Mike Shanahan -- and I have -- but he figured out how to take advantage of Jake Plummer's strengths (fakes the play-action as well as anyone, dangerous when he's rolling out as long as there's no pressure, throws a nice longball when he sets his feet) and hide his weaknesses (makes terrible decisions when he ad-libs, forces passes into traffic when he's pressured, makes more mistakes the more leeway you give him). And that's how an unfathomable stat like "Jake Plummer has thrown 13 TDs and 0 INTs in two months" can happen.

So how did Shanahan pull it off? Three ways:

A. He gave Plummer the best running game in football -- Mike Anderson grinding out yards between the tackles, Tatum Bell bursting through for an occasional home run. They're really onto something here. It's almost like a baseball team pitching a quality knuckler for three innings, bringing in someone who throws 100 miles an hour for the fourth and fifth, bringing back the knuckler for the sixth and seventh, then closing with the fireballer again. I'm not sure how you stop it, actually.

B. That potent running game forces everyone to stack the line, so Jake is getting crazy amounts of time on those aformentioned play-actions (especially when he sells them well).

C. I have no evidence to prove this, but I think Shanahan secretly gave Jake a frontal lobotomy.

The question remains: Can you win a Super Bowl with Jake Plummer? When it's phrased that way, probably not. But what if you phrased it this way: Can you win a Super Bowl with a killer running game, a powerhouse defense, veteran leadership, and a limited quarterback who can do a couple of things very well and shall remain nameless? I would say yes.

(In fact, if the Broncos were smart, then they would have made Jake change his name after the frontal lobotomy, kinda like when Tiffani-Amber Thiessen dropped the "Amber" in an attempt to distance herself from "90210" and "Saved by the Bell," or even how Puff Diddy went to P. Diddy and eventually Diddy. Jake could have called himself, "Jake Plum." Hell, I would have bought it.). rofl


PRETENDERS
16. Kansas City (5-4)
Looks like I was one week late with my "Eventually, Trent Green is going to kill the Chiefs" theory. Should have just stuck to my guns. Anyway, these guys remind me of the Sacramento Kings -- you see the name and think, "Great offense, these guys can score on anyone, watch out for them," only that ship sailed about two years ago and nobody has fully realized it yet. I could see them finishing 6-10 or 7-9, followed by a Dick Vermeil retirement press conference in which he sobs incoherently like Sly Stallone right after Mickey died.:vermeil:

On the Colts (#1)
I still think they're the team to beat. But if you drew up someone to beat the 2005 Colts ... wouldn't that team look almost exactly like the 2005 Broncos? As always, stay tuned.:yep: :yep: :yep:

[rbackfactory80]

good read, I am really fired up for less then a week from now when we play our we are serious as a heart attack game at Dallas on Thanksgiving.

[easymobee]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/051118

POSSIBLE SCHEDULE CASUALTIES
14. San Diego (5-4)
Need to go 6-1 or 7-0 for a wild card, plus they need Cincy, Jacksonville or Pittsburgh to falter. Seems like a stretch. Hey, maybe they won't make the playoffs, but at the very least, they proved a point to Antonio Gates when they benched him for the Dallas game. And that point was this: "Wow, are we stupid."


• From Matt in Plattsburgh, N.Y.: "Aren't Drew Bledsoe and Jake Plummer kind of like fad diets? For a month and a half you have about 10 TDs and maybe 3-4 interceptions and the team is 4-2. Then suddenly, the interceptions have doubled, the TDs have been halved and your team is 9-7, on their way to a first-round playoff defeat. It's just like a fad diet with a fat chick with good intentions. When you lose the weight and then within a few months suddenly you have gained it back and then some."


(Put it this way: Bledsoe is DEFINITELY the Atkins Diet. There's no question. But I'm not sure about Jake. This unfathomable season he's having almost feels like a stomach stapling operation instead of a crash diet. In other words, it just might hold.)

[Garcia Bronco]

I thought this was pretty much a terrible article. It's full of horse****....just positive horse**** as opposed to the negative horse**** we read all off-season. Mainly because they're trying to Dilfer our QB....Don't Dilfer the Snake...he's donig the exact same stuff he did for the past 2 seasons as a Bronco.

[easymobee]

I thought this was pretty much a terrible article. It's full of horse****....just positive horse**** as opposed to the negative horse**** we read all off-season. Mainly because they're trying to Dilfer our QB....Don't Dilfer the Snake...he's donig the exact same stuff he did for the past 2 seasons as a Bronco.
I enjoyed it.

Its a very positive article about the Broncos from a guy who has never went out of his way to be positive towards our team at all.

Part of it is that he is such a Colts hater that he is latching his wagon to our cause, just to see us deny the Colts. Meaning that he has given up all hope in the Patsies taking care of Peyton and co.

Kind of a false positive? Maybe .... BSimmons a little over generous to Denver? Maybe that too .....

But it speaks volumes about how good we appear to be to an outsider. As Broncos fans, we tend to over-buy into the local hype sometimes during the "good times".

He could be on Cinci, Pittsburgh, or someone elses jock as he picks a new favorite 2nd team.

His research seems to have led him to Denver as the "team w/ the best chance to beat the Colts". Given our recent playoff history with them, its even more flattering.

[Paladin]

What he said.

[Atlas]

Don't Dilfer the Snake...he's donig the exact same stuff he did for the past 2 seasons as a Bronco.

Well, except making boneheaded decisions and throwing into traffic. It's the mental game that has improved. His play looks exactly the same without interceptions.

[Rascal]

Hey, maybe they won't make the playoffs, but at the very least, they proved a point to Antonio Gates when they benched him for the Dallas game. And that point was this: "Wow, are we stupid."

With Shotty it's a foregone conclusion.

If the miss the playoffs by one game the laughter may kill me.

[ludo21]

I thought this was pretty much a terrible article. It's full of horse****....just positive horse**** as opposed to the negative horse**** we read all off-season. Mainly because they're trying to Dilfer our QB....Don't Dilfer the Snake...he's donig the exact same stuff he did for the past 2 seasons as a Bronco.


I liked the article.

But i agree, Im getting sick of people Dilfering (good word) our QB. He is winning, and not just with the run, he has made all the throws hes been asked (safe deep throws(bloodysunday term)). He is making plays with the PA and not making bad mistakes.

[Lidderer]

he's on page 2 for a reason: he's irreverant and brings and admixture of sports talk and entertainment(in his case incessant pop-culture referencing). He has to make the Plummer jokes as it's patent schtick, and the nfl fan who also gets all the O.C. and 90210 allusions will always think of Plummer as "the INT guy" anyway---gotta appeal to them readers.

it's not a good football article, but it's a good article.

[BMF Bronco]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/051118

THE FAVORITES
2. Denver (7-2)
Say what you want about Mike Shanahan -- and I have -- but he figured out how to take advantage of Jake Plummer's strengths (fakes the play-action as well as anyone, dangerous when he's rolling out as long as there's no pressure, throws a nice longball when he sets his feet) and hide his weaknesses (makes terrible decisions when he ad-libs, forces passes into traffic when he's pressured, makes more mistakes the more leeway you give him). And that's how an unfathomable stat like "Jake Plummer has thrown 13 TDs and 0 INTs in two months" can happen.



CONFIDENCE PICKS
1. Panthers
2. Saints
3. Broncos
So how did Shanahan pull it off? Three ways:



A. He gave Plummer the best running game in football -- Mike Anderson grinding out yards between the tackles, Tatum Bell bursting through for an occasional home run. They're really onto something here. It's almost like a baseball team pitching a quality knuckler for three innings, bringing in someone who throws 100 miles an hour for the fourth and fifth, bringing back the knuckler for the sixth and seventh, then closing with the fireballer again. I'm not sure how you stop it, actually.



B. That potent running game forces everyone to stack the line, so Jake is getting crazy amounts of time on those aformentioned play-actions (especially when he sells them well).



C. I have no evidence to prove this, but I think Shanahan secretly gave Jake a frontal lobotomy.



The question remains: Can you win a Super Bowl with Jake Plummer? When it's phrased that way, probably not. But what if you phrased it this way: Can you win a Super Bowl with a killer running game, a powerhouse defense, veteran leadership, and a limited quarterback who can do a couple of things very well and shall remain nameless? I would say yes.



(In fact, if the Broncos were smart, then they would have made Jake change his name after the frontal lobotomy, kinda like when Tiffani-Amber Thiessen dropped the "Amber" in an attempt to distance herself from "90210" and "Saved by the Bell," or even how Puff Diddy went to P. Diddy and eventually Diddy. Jake could have called himself, "Jake Plum." Hell, I would have bought it.)



1. Indianapolis (9-0)
Should be a fascinating final seven weeks on a number of levels. First, can they go undefeated? Second, what happens if they're 34-0 and have home-field clinched heading into that Week 15 game against the Chargers? Isn't Tony Dungy screwed either way? If he keeps playing his starters and one of them gets hurt, he's an idiot. If he rests guys and they're rusty in their Round 2 game, he's an idiot. (Personally, I think Ozzie Guillen showed how to handle this situation -- just keep kicking butt and don't worry about anything else.) And third, can you think of a bigger disaster in fantasy football history than Dungy resting Manning, James, Harrison and Wayne for long stretches during the final three weeks of the season?



And yes, I still think they're the team to beat. But if you drew up someone to beat the 2005 Colts ... wouldn't that team look almost exactly like the 2005 Broncos? As always, stay tuned

[The Big E]

F*** him.

[BMF Bronco]

sorry boys, didn't see this one, I reposted it.