NFL WRAP-UP

The Denver Broncos made the playoffs for the first time since 2005, becoming the AFC West champions today after the Raiders lost to the Chargers 26-38. The Broncos lost to the Chiefs 3-7 on the same day, leaving the Broncos and Raiders tied for the AFC West championship, but the Broncos won the division based on record vs. common opponents.

The Cincinnati Bengals held onto the second wild card spot despite losing to the Ravens 16-24. With that turn of events, Carson Palmer ended up missing the playoffs while the team he wanted to be traded from because he thought they sucked made the playoffs.

See the article Broncos lose to the Chiefs, make the playoffs anyway here (ESPN).

The Cincinnati Bengals held onto the second wild card spot despite ]]> http://juicedsportsblog.com/2012/01/tebow-timeplayoff-time-tim-tebow-and-the-broncos-make-the-playoffs.html/feed 0 http://juicedsportsblog.com/2011/12/tim-tebows-not-like-other-athletes-and-maybe-thats-the-point.html http://juicedsportsblog.com/2011/12/tim-tebows-not-like-other-athletes-and-maybe-thats-the-point.html#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:31:42 +0000 sjacobs http://juicedsportsblog.com/?p=5415 SCOTT JACOBS

The point is this: For all the Tebow haters out there (and there are many), do you dislike the guy because of what the media has done with his persona, or do you dislike him, because of who he is?  I myself, am just starting to realize that Tebow has done little to earn such disdain. He’s not the one who turns SportsCenter into an hour long Tebow-Center (literally).  He doesn’t write columns in the Wall Street Journal entitled “God’s Quarterback.”  He doesn’t have his own reality TV show or even his own breakfast cereal (Tebows? None that I know of).

He has a book. And that infamous pro-life Super Bowl ad with his mom.  And he has his religion.  Lest us forget the statue outside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium with his infamous speech.

This isn’t an article where I bow down in the House of Tebow.  I’m not converting my stance that his style will be effective long-term. I still think he’s a project at the QB position, and that he needs to improve his accuracy in quarters 1-3 if he wants to survive and thrive in this league.

But I am man enough to admit when I’m wrong, so here goes:

Nice work Tim Tebow.  Seriously.  I don’t know how you’ve done it, but you’ve turned skeptics into believers all across the country and you’re the most fascinating must-see sports persona at the end of a game or match since Tiger Woods, or before him Michael  Jordan.  That doesn’t mean you belong in the same discussion as those two as professional athletes.  As of now, you don’t.

But that doesn’t change the fact that you have become must-see TV.  You are riveting drama.  Your team I mean. I don’t get how your style doesn’t work for 3 quarters and then a magic switch turns on in the 4th quarter leading to OT.  It’s like you have Angels in your Endzones or something.  But who am I to knock you, when there are so many throw-away QBs in this league who have better tangibles than you.

Like a trademark, you are all about intangibles, things you really can’t measure.  We’ve seen teams across the league lose their QB or start their highly drafted rookie, with most suffering mostly failure.  On paper you’re goofy, and you don’t make sense.  But on the field something you do materializes with your teammates.  Your kicker, Matt Prater is playing in another stratosphere right now.  You’re the ultimate tag team.  You drive down the field, and tag him in to boom 50 and 60 yard kicks in the most critical of moments.

I think that’s why we’re so confused by you.  The great ones like Tom Brady and Drew Brees don’t flip switches.  They’re just superbly consistent.  You however, have the uncanny ability to literally turn on the engines and fly by other cars, when you start basically 5 laps behind them.  We’re not used to this.  We’ve never seen this.  Week after week all you do is win, each week more amazingly then the next.

And each week, with the chance to hog all the glory, you defer to your teammates (who all play their part).  We’re not used to this in pro sports.  In a world of me-first athletes and guys who want to hand-pick their destination, you’re loyal and thrilled to be given a chance – no mater where it is.  Most QBs would be distraught and disgusted with what you’ve dealt with, and many would probably have blown their lid by now.  But you stay level-headed (how do you do it?) when everyone wants to crash the world on top of your head.

You’re not perfect, and I’ve never met you, so I can’t really say what you’re like in person or over the phone.  But you seem genuine.  You seem like you mean what you say. You don’t sign autographs out of obligation, you do it out of appreciation.  You’re not the first guy like that. You won’t be the last.

Heck, if it wasn’t for the media’s love-hate affair with you, I think most people would openly root for you.  If you toned down the religious overtones just a little bit, I think the people on the fence about you would finally cave.  But it’s not about me or what any of us wants: what you’re doing works for you. I don’t know if you’re the answer long-term in Denver at QB. I’m not even sure if you ‘truly’ know.  But I believe you when you say you work hard every day and that you’re driven to improve.

Listening to John Fox field answers at the press conference, it really felt like something out of a cheesy sports movie.  You know the ones, where the whole world is stupified by the success of a huge underdog, who does it in unconventional fashion.  As the reporters began their flurry of questions, each one was cheesier than the next.  Each one merited.

Some of us are watching this from afar.  Others, next to your locker. I don’t know how this is all going to play out, and I’m not going to say I’m ready to root for you yet, but I think I’m ready to put aside my biases against you, and take my annoyances out on the media.  You never asked to be a cultural phenomenon, or to have  your name transcend sports.  But here we are: and you’re the trending guy.  You’re the ‘it’ figure in sports right now.  People want to know what you’re going to do next.

Can you beat the Patriots?  I’m not sure.  Denver will either lose by 20+ or win on a field goal.  That much I am sure.  You’re like me cramming for a test: you could study days in advance so that you only need to briefly review the day or two before the exam, but instead you wait till the last second to cram as much into the last few moments as possible.  Cramming isn’t supposed to work on tests, just like cramming greatness into fourth quarters isn’t supposed to be good enough to win games you weren’t in before.

After the game — another maddening, Twitter-massacre-ing gem of a comeback, capped off by a superb defensive strip, great clutch play by your receivers, and another picture perfect performance from your trusty kicker (I shall call Prater, the White Bronco!) — my friend tweeted me this:

“Why can’t he just lose like all the normal QBs?”

I thought about it for a minute.  The answer was clear.

Because there’s nothing normal about him.  For better or worse, Tim Tebow is a unique breed. He may play to his own tune.  But he’s got the #1 hit in the country right now.  Who are we to tell him that he needs a better sound?

That’s my epiphany.  Tebow is who he is.  Sometimes we try to mold people into something that they’re not, when they just need to go off and play to the beat of their own drum.

No one knows what Tebow can be, will be, or what the future has in store for this wild 2011 Broncos team.  But this much I know:

I’ll be watching.  And if I have to, I’ll have ESPN on mute.

Photo: Getty

NFL WRAP UP

Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos scored all 13 of their points in the final 2:08 and overtime to beat the Chicago bears 13-10. It was Tebow’s sixth straight win, and it puts the Broncos at 8-5 atop the AFC West. Tebow hit Demaryius Thomas for a 10 yard touchdown pass with 2:08 left then Matt Prater hit a 59-yard field goal to tie it with 3 seconds left.

The Broncos weren’t afraid to let Tebow throw the ball. Tebow attempted 40 passes, completing 21 for 236 yards. Caleb Hanie went 12-for-19 for 115 yards passing for the Bears. Tebow also led the Broncos in rushing, running 12 times for 49 yards. Where was Willis McGahee? He ran 17 times for 34 yards.

See CBS’s article about the game here: CBS Sports Gametracker.

MITCH BLATT

Woody Paige’s column today in the Denver Post says this:

Omen? The last time the Broncos thrashed the Bills in their first home exhibition, they would go on to win the Super Bowl. Amen.

Anyone who has ever seen Mr. Paige on Around the Horn wouldn’t be surprised that he would write a whole column about the Broncos winning the Super Bowl based on the fact that they beat a 4-12 team in preseason. For anyone who is stupid enough that they actually need to read my explanation in order to see why Paige’s argument is so nonsensical, you can read my explanation of why Paige’s argument is so nonsensical in the full post:

Okay, I don’t even know when the last time was that the Broncos played the Bills in preseason–let alone in their first home exhibition–and I’m not gonna waste my time looking it up–but needless to say, it would be impossible for them to beat the Bills in their first home exhibition most seasons.

Paige did acknowledge the fact that the Bills suck later in his column, but the fact that the Bills suck is actually mostly irrelevant, too. It’s freakin preseason, so what’s more important is whose team’s second- and third- team is better.

Just to make sure Paige is actually being serious, I’ll quote some other lines in his failed “column”:

What more? Can he [Elway] lead the Broncos back to the Super Bowl in his role as executive vice president?

So, was the victory over the Bills a portent of triumph? The Broncos did play solidly on offense and defense.

The Bills did outrush the Broncos 126-101 yards (5.3 yards per carry to the Broncos’ 2010-like 3.2-yard average).

He’s quoting the yardage totals of a preseason to analyze the Broncos strength. Yes, Paige is taking the preseason game seriously and the potential of the Broncos even making the playoffs seriously.

Woody Paige’s column: The Broncos win might portend a Super Bowl.

Reaction, from around the web, starting with The Denver Post’s supposed-to-be straight news story:

The Broncos were shamefully annihilated by the Oakland Raiders, 59-14, before a disgusted sellout-turned-very small crowd at Invesco Field at Mile High.
…
Once it became 38-0, the Raiders’ lack of experience in leading 38-0 showed. Then again, what NFL team is familiar with trying to protect a 38-0 lead before the midway point of the second quarter?

Mile High Report:

Worst. Loss. Ever. … This game was an embarrassment by everyone who works for Pat Bowlen. No one is above ridicule and frankly it is deserved.

Bronco Talk:

As bad as the scoreboard looks, it still doesn’t reflect just how awful Sunday’s game went for the Denver Broncos. From start to finish, the Broncos were embarrassed by the Oakland Raiders.

Mile High Report:

Sweet Lord! What voodoo curse did McDaniels incur this week?? The commentator has just described the Raiders game as a comedy of errors. That’s being polite.

For anyone who was disappointed in the Broncos game, here is a funny music video (and song) about Die Hard:

MIKE KAYE

When I was approached to write this blog entry by my friend and colleague, Scott Jacobs of Juiced Sports, I thought to myself there is no way I could get through it without breakdown in tears. I decided, however, that this entry would be a good form of therapy. Scott asked me to write this as I am both a die-hard Eagle fan of almost my whole existence (I’m 20) and just as important, Brian Dawkins has been my idol since I was nine years old.

When I was in 7^th Grade, I was asked if I could be like any person I had never met, who would I be? When I replied Indiana Jones, my teacher explained it had to be a real person. Without even thinking I shot back “Brian Dawkins.” That is how I believe most die-hard, green-bleeding Philadelphia Eagles would respond. The only difference was I that I was in a South Florida classroom, seven years removed from being a mid-New Jersey resident. I truly did not care that no one knew what I was talking about and was proud of that fact. Brian Dawkins is someone that every person should want to emulate.

I remember the day we drafted the some-what skinny safety from Clemson in 1997, because I had missed the 1^st round selection of Jon Harris (eck!) of Virginia. Dawkins was fiery from the start, but never significantly stuck out till the team hired Jim Johnson as coordinator.

With Johnson, Troy Vincent, and Hugh Douglas, Dawkins made the Eagles a defensive power-house. The team had the offensive guidance of a youngster from Syracuse in Donovan McNabb and the greatest Secondary in what I believe is NFC East history. Dawkins became the heart and soul of the team never stopped through five NFC Championships and a Super Bowl loss.  I believe most of the reason Eagles fans haven’t gone suicidal is because of Dawkins backing of Andy Reid and Donovan.

A role model’s Role Model. Dawkins’ 5 year contract with the Broncos is the worst loss in Philadelphia Eagles’ history, no doubt.

At the beginning of this season, Dawkins struggled but still maintained his leadership over the team. Dawkins soon rebounded and single-handedly beat the current Super Bowl champs, the Steelers, an image that will forever highlight Dawkins’ career and Eagle lore. Dawkins led the Defense to ranking among the top five units of the league and willed his team to the NFC Championship game after losing tremendously to the Ravens.

At the start of the offseason, I must admit I thought there was less than 1% chance that Dawkins would not wear green next season. When the buzzer went off Friday, I have a feeling his time was done. I cannot put into words how upset I have been the last few days. I held back tears at work when I found out and I have been ever since.

Dawkins was not only one of the top three safeties in the league but he is also the greatest leader in the league. Unlike other team’s leaders, Dawkins never got into a fist fight with a teammate (Steve Smith) or witness a murder (Ray Lewis), he is a man of faith and principle.

A role model’s Role Model. Dawkins’ 5 year contract with the Broncos is the worst loss in Philadelphia Eagles’ history, no doubt. The loss in the Super bowl to the Pats, the recent NFC loss to the Cards, and T.O. were not even close.

I love Brian Dawkins and wish him well. I tried to put blame on Andy Reid, Joe Banner, and Tom Heckert but I can’t: five years plus a 35 year old equals crazy. Do I wish Dawkins was still an Eagle, more than anything. But what is done is done. The Broncos got not only our heart and soul but they also got maybe the best back up on our team in Correll Buckhalter. The Eagles are significantly at a loss. I would not blame Donovan if he wants a trade, as a matter a fact I think we need to start over.

I wouldn’t honestly be surprised if B-Dawk gets into Josh McDaniels’ ear about Super Five and we see Jay Cutler wearing green next year. It makes sense to me. I grew up a Syracuse fan and even I think it’s time to let Don go.  I don’t think it would be that devastating, considering my favorite player ever just had a news conference that I made 14 seconds into before stopping it. I thought I was going to throw-up. No Dawkins means no faith in a Super Bowl for me.

My Plan for the 2009 Philadelphia Eagles:

• Trade Donovan for Cutler and a 6^th round pick.
• Trade Kevin “I’ll never be a starter” Kolb for a 4^th rounder (cut our losses)
• Sign Patrick Ramsey (Cutler’s former back-up, and former Redskin)
• Trade one or two of our three 5^th round picks for Oakland’s Michael Bush.
• Draft OT Eben Britton of Arizona and Oklahoma State’s Brandon Pettigrew with the two first rounders.
• Unfortunately this draft class is not stocked with safeties to replace an irreplaceable player, but take either Louis Delmas of Eastern Michigan or William Moore of Missouri in the 2^nd round.
• This is all good and well but still will never replace #20, Brian Dawkins, the Greatest Person in Philadelphia Eagles’ History.

Photo: AP

The scoreboard says Broncos-39, Chargers-38, but the Broncos didn’t win.

With the Broncos charging, down by 7, Cutler fumbled at the 10. He dropped the ball sideways but his arm continued going forward, so the officials immediately ruled it incomplete and whistled the play dead. (Brady may be injured, but his legacy is still impacting games.)

The Chargers recovered the fumble uncontested.

After further review, the officials ruled that, wait, that was actually a fumble, but we whistled the play dead.

Great call. (Like Miller Lite.)

Now you can make the wrong call, review the play to find out you made the wrong call, then put up a meaningless excuse and take no blame.

The Broncos scored shortly thereafter then got the two-point conversion for the win.

Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall had 18 catches for 166 yards and 1 TD.

QB-wise, Culter had 350 yards and 4 TDs, and Rivers had 377 yards and 3 TDs.

You won’t find any of that on ESPN, though.

ESPN’s stats say that the game is over and that Andre Hall was the Broncos top receiver with 10 catches. Just about five minutes ago, they said that there was 9 seconds left and Chris Royal was their top receiver with 9 catches. Rivers still only has 217 yards.

Here their stats are, but I’m sure they will be completely updated in an hour or two or three after the time of this post.

I decided to nominate the five best teams that I have seen perform since the 1995 season.

There are a few caveats in regard to the list that I comprised.

For one, I focused my list strictly on professional sports teams who participate in the NFL, NBA or MLB.

Secondly, teams that participated from the 1995 season to present day are the only squads eligible to make this list. I selected the 1995 season because it was the first year that Major League Baseball instituted the wild card and because it was the year Michael Jordan returned from his first retirement.

Finally, if a great team won consecutive crowns, they can not make the list twice. For example, the 1995/1996 and 1996/1997 Chicago Bulls teams were both two of the greatest units ever assembled in the annals of professional sports. Nevertheless, only one of those two spectacular squads will be officially chosen for this selection.

Without further adieu, here are my choices for the greatest professional teams since the 1995 season.

1) 1998 New York Yankees- This Yankee juggernaut won an astounding 114 games in comparison to 48 losses in the regular season and they pranced through the postseason with a record of 11-2 en route to wining New York’s 24th championship in team history. In total, the Bombers went a mesmerizing 125-50.

2) 1995/1996 Chicago Bulls- This Michael Jordan-led team dismantled all foes. The Bulls went an NBA record 72-10 in the regular season and 11-3 in the playoffs to win the first leg of their second dominating three-peat in the 90’s.

3) 1999/2000 Los Angeles Lakers- The Lakers won 82 of the 105 games they played in the regular and postseason for the 11th best winning percentage in league history. Shaquille O’Neal in his prime and a young and exuberant Kobe Bryant proved to be too much for the league’s competition.

4) 1998/1999 Denver Broncos- After steamrolling the competition for the first three-quarters of the season, the Broncos stumbled a tad. Nevertheless, John Elway and Terrell Davis helped lead the team to a 14-2 regular season record before the Broncos trounced the overmatched Atlanta Flacons 34-19 in Super Bowl XXXIII to win consecutive Lombardi Trophies.

5) 2003/2004 New England Patriots- After starting a pathetic 0-2, Tom Brady and the Patriots never lost again as they capped a 14-2 regular season with a narrow 32-29 victory over the mediocre Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

* Honorable Mentions:

1) 1996/1997 Chicago Bulls- Virtually as dominant as the 1995/1996 Bulls, one of the greatest teams in NBA history.

2) 1999 New York Yankees- Virtually as dominant as the 1998 Yankees, one of the greatest teams in Major League Baseball history.

3) 1999/2000 St. Louis Rams-“The Greatest Show on Turf” fielded one of the most potent offenses in the annals of the NFL.

4) 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks- In a 7 game series, with Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling throwing in the primes of their careers, the Diamondbacks could have beaten any championship team in history.

Naturally, this list is subjective and open for debate. I would enjoy hearing the opinions of others on this topic. Please feel free to chime-in with your two-cents.