Broncos Football

March 17, 2009

Calgary Stampeders 2008 Cfl Preview

Ron Raymond asked:


tampeders 2008 CFL Preview

 

Since 1996, the Stampeders have been considered a respectable football franchise, as they’ve had 8 winning season with only 4 losing ones. John Hufnagel played 12 years in the CFL and 2 years in the NFL with the Denver Broncos. Prior to his professional career as a Quarterback, Hufnagel had a 3 solid years at Penn State by going 26-3 SU as a QB starter. Since leaving as a player, Hufnagel been bouncing around the CFL and NFL in various assistant coaching position and from a handicapping perspective, you have to wonder what kind of “field general” decisions he will take in Calgary. If there’s one thing about Calgary, they are comfortable at the Quarterbacking position, as Henri “Hank” Burris is the penciled starter and they have a great back up in Dave Dickenson.

 

Football is a funny sport, as some teams are practically unbeatable in their own barn, but as soon as they get away from their home cooking, they turn into another football team. It’s amazing how playing in front of your home fans, makes teams play beyond their capabilities. As is the case in the Calgary Stampeders, as the Stamps are a horrible 12-34 SU the last 5 years on the road. It’s not like they are home warriors, but they do put up the W’s at McMahon Stadium with a 26-21-1 SU record Last 5 seasons.

 

The Stampeders seem to have problems starting quickly out of the gate on the Road during July games, as they are 8-18-1 SU on the road in July games since 1996. In fact, their last road win in July was Week #4 of the 2006 season, as they won 53-36 vs. Saskatchewan as a +3.5 point road underdog.

Calgary Stampeders 2007 Season Stats

Straight up Record: 7-11-1 (including playoffs)

Against the Spread Record: 9-10-0

O/U/P: 10 OVERS 9 UNDERS 0 PUSH

 

Home Record:

Straight up Record: 5-3-1 SU

ATS Record: 5-4-1 ATS

O/U/P Record: 7-2-0 (O/U/P)

 

Road Record:

Straight up Record: 2-8 SU

ATS Record: 4-6-0 ATS

O/U/P Record: 3-7-0 (O/U/P)

 

 

Last 2 Years: 19-20-0 (ATS) 18-20-1 (SU) 18-21-0 (O/U/P)

Last 3 Years: 30-27-1 (ATS) 29-28-1 (SU) 27-31-0 (O/U/P)

Last 4 Years: 37-38-1 (ATS) 33-42-1 (SU) 35-41-0 (O/U/P)

Last 5 Years: 45-48-1 (ATS) 38-55-1 (SU) 40-54-0 (O/U/P)

 

Vs. Division Opponents since 1996:

75-66-2 (ATS) 76-65-2 (SU) 66-75-2 (O/U/P)

 

Value Index

 

I came across this great quote about “Perception” and it goes like this; “Perception isn’t everything but it sure is convincing.” In sports betting perception is everything for the bookmaker; in fact, it’s one of their ruling guide on deciding to hang a number, as he can move a line based on perception of the publics feelings towards a game. Having said this, when you look at the Calgary Stampeders numbers, it’s easy to see why they like home cooking, but they are a below average team away from McMahon Stadium. In fact, since 1996, the Calgary Stampeders are 62-23-1 SU as a home favorite and have covered 45 of their 86 home games in this role. Not bad considering Home Faves have to win and cover the spread at the same time. Therefore, look for the value in the Stampeders as a Home Favorite in the 2008 campaign.

 

Here’s how the Stampeders did in certain betting circumstances since 1996.

 

Underdog: 52-55-1 (ATS) 33-75 (SU) 51-57-0 (O/U/P)

Favorite: 65-65-1 (ATS) 89-40-2 (SU) 63-66-2 (O/U/P)

Home Dog: 17-16-0 (ATS) 13-20 (SU) 12-21-0 (O/U/P)

Home Fave: 45-41-0 (ATS) 62-23-1 (SU) 38-46-2 (O/U/P)

Road Dog: 31-35-1 (ATS) 16-51 (SU) 35-32-0 (O/U/P)

Road Fave: 16-20 (ATS) 23-13-1 (SU) 21-16-0 (O/U/P)

 

Calgary Stampeders Head to Head Record vs. Each CFL Team

 

One of the great battles in football happens every Labor Day and it’s not the Steel workers vs. the Auto Car makers, it’s the Battle of Ontario and the Battle of Alberta. The Calgary Stampeders always host the Edmonton Eskimos each Labor day and as you can see from the Head to Head record, the Eskimos have the slight advantage in the Straight up department, but Calgary is the bettors best friend in the ATS role. The Stamps seem to have the Blue Bombers number, as they are 18-8 SU vs. the men in Blue and they tend to have high scoring games vs. the Alouettes, as the OVER is 16-8-0.

 

Team by Team Breakdown:

 

Vs. Edmonton: 23-20-0 (ATS) 20-23 (SU) 20-23-0 (O/U/P)

Vs. Saskatchewan: 20-19-0 (ATS) 24-14-1 (SU) 19-20-0 (O/U/P)

Vs. B.C. Lions: 18-20-1 (ATS) 16-22-1 (SU) 15-22-2 (O/U/P)

Vs. Montreal : 10-14-0 (ATS) 9-15 (SU) 16-8-0 (O/U/P)

Vs. Hamilton : 12-14-0 (ATS) 16-10 (SU) 12-14-0 (O/U/P)

Vs. Toronto : 11-13-0 (ATS) 10-14 (SU) 11-13-0 (O/U/P)

Vs. Winnipeg: 16-9-1 (ATS) 18-8 (SU) 14-12-0 (O/U/P)

 

 

Look ahead and Letdown Angles

 

One of the key angles of handicapping football games is the Look ahead and let down factor. Teams tend to overlook their current game when they have a big game on deck, or they tend to have an emotional let down after a high emotion win or game. It’s very hard in football to duplicate a great outing, so this is where most cappers find good value in betting football games.

 

Here’s a betting angle to consider when betting for and/or against the Calgary Stampeders.

 

The Calgary Stampeders get pumped before playing the Montreal Alouettes as they are 16-7 SU, but have an emotional letdown after their game vs. the Alouettes, as they are 8-15-1 SU.

 

Comment: The experts in the medicine field always say; “90% of the game is mental” and here’s a bit of proof of that way of thinking. Consider the Stampeders before they play the Montreal Alouettes and against them after they’ve played Montreal. Here are a few spots to consider them this season, play on the Calgary Stampeders on July 3rd and Sept 5th vs. Edmonton and against them on July 17th vs. Hamilton and Sept 20th vs. Toronto.

 

 



JULIO

March 10, 2009

Denver Broncos Tickets – Draft Analysis

Brent Warnken asked:


 

Denver Broncos tickets will always be popular in Colorado, but sometimes there is an event in the offseason that changes everything. A player could be traded or acquired in free agency at any time, but you can always count on the NFL Draft to get fans pumped about seeing Broncos games next season. So who did the Broncos pick up in the recent Draft? Did they get a player who can help the weak areas on the team from last year? Or will the rookies be able to make a good part of the team even better? Let’s go over how the new guys will help the stats. Then, when all is said and done, start getting pumped about buying Denver Broncos tickets.

The Broncos went after offensive linemen in the early part of the draft, which is a little odd, considering that they did so well passing the ball last season. On offense, Jay Cutler, the 24-year old rising star, was on his game. He threw for 3,497 yards, 20 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. While rushing the ball was not the full focus of the Denver offense, as some might think, Jay was doing well enough that they might have wanted to up his attempts from 496 to well into the 530s, making the Broncos one of the more passing-oriented teams in the league. Why wouldn’t they want to air it out– Especially if Selvin Young and Travis Henry can get going early in a game? Henry rushed the ball 167 times and Young 140, so you can see that they split the backfield time up pretty well. At the end of the season, the two of them combined for 1,420 out of the 1,957 yards the Broncos gained rushing the ball. The team total ranked ninth out of the 32 NFL teams. Basically, we can see that the Broncos had a good thing going on offense even before they took an OT in the first round. For the 12th overall pick, Denver took Boise St.’s Ryan Clay. Because of the kind of offensive line scheme that the Broncos like to run, Clay works well, even though there were some higher-ranked players ahead of him if the Broncs were really looking for the guy with the best shot at playing right away. That said, the Broncos insured that their O-line would be sustained even if some of the older guys go down next season, or the one after that. You can expect to see a slightly more efficient offense, and that’ never a bad thing.

In the second round the Broncos took wideout Eddie Royal from VT. While Cutler already has some nice WRs to throw to, what’s the problem with adding one more? Royal is small, but he’s royally fast when he can get out in the open. You might look for him going deep when the Broncs get into a four-wide set on third and long. Hopefully that situation doesn’t happen too often for the games that you’ve already purchased Denver Broncos tickets.

 







THERON

March 8, 2009

New York Giants Tickets Available

Jeff asked:


Based in East Rutherford, New Jersey — the Giants are a professional football team which is quite historical actually, the team was established back in 1925 but it wasn’t until 1933 when they became part of the Eastern division until 1949, a 1950 became part of the American conference until 1952, from 1953 to 1969 they were part of the Eastern conference under the Century and Capitol divisions and from 1970 until today they have played under a national football conference East division.  Their current home stadium is the Giants stadium; the owners of the team are John Mara and Steve Tisch in a 50-50 partnership, the general manager is Jerry Reese and the head coach is John Coughlin.

Championships and important moments:

The New York Giants have been a very successful NFL team who count with 10 conference championships (six for the NFL Eastern and four under the NFC), they have also been division champions 14 times, they were NFL East champions from 1933 to 1935, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1944 and 1946, added to this impressive list they can also mention that they have NFC East division championships.  The top it all off they have been Super Bowl champions three times, in 1987 they defeated the Denver Broncos 39 to 20, in 1991 they were able to overcome the Buffalo Bills by a tight score of 20 to 19 and last but not least in 2007 when they defeated the New England Patriots by a tight score of 17 to 14 at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

Quarterbacks in the current roster:

– Anthony Wright

– Eli Manning

– Andre Woodson

New York Giants recent news:

With the Super Bowl rings in safety deposit boxes, the New York Giants team got back to work at the first step is to move on from last year’s accomplishment because according to the team if you keep focus on past you’re most likely to stay there.  Even though they are a very tough and well-trained team that players have stated that there is a lot more room for improvement in that they can become an even better team.

The 2008 season and sure to be tough for the New York Giants as more and more people have high expectations based on what everyone saw during the previous season, if you are a fan of the new York Giants you know that their tickets are going to be on fire (understatement)



STUART

February 23, 2009

Official Nfl Jerseys: Become a Part of Fan History

Kimberly Green asked:


With thirty-two teams in the National Football League and nearly 90 years of gridiron greatness there is a fascinatingly vast history behind each historical franchise. The players, the stadiums, the big games and even single plays have become legend in the annals of history. Even the interesting and diverse history of the official NFL jersey has become a thing of legend. Since the 1920s the exhibition sport of professional football has had its hands firmly on the American heartstrings and has become the second eldest of American team sports only yielding its age to professional baseball. However, in the eyes of many fans, professional football has eclipsed professional baseball in every imaginable area as America’s most endearing and favorite past time. It’s no wonder that the Super Bowl has a larger annual viewership than the World Series.

With a history spanning over 90 years the National Football League has built a legacy for itself and also has helped to forge an untold amount of traditions that range from tail gating in parking lots before games to simple traditions involving a father and his son bonding over a common interest. That is the reason that football has endured as a purely American sport for as long as it has and it’s the reason it will still be just as important to the American consciousness in another ninety years.

As great a sport as football is, it has been driven to the forefront of the business world with strategic marketing that has seen a recent boom in sales due to the renewed interest in small market merchandising of official NFL jerseys. This is no coincidence as the history behind uniforms is as unique as the franchises and players themselves. Gone are the days of the padded leather helmets. Today’s stars have the benefits of 90 years of advanced technology to help protect them from the brutality that is professional football. Throughout the History of the NFL there has been countless changes in uniforms and either for nostalgic or superstitious reasons the older styles (or throwback) uniforms tend to make resurgence when most needed to boost team morale.

In 1968 The Denver Broncos donned their famous Orange Crush uniforms that saw a unique bright orange and blue color scheme that lasted through several Championship games but the big Super Bowl win eluded them. In 1996 they unleashed a more moderate color choice with darker blues and simpler orange accents. They won two Super Bowls back to back thus gaining instant approval from every fan across the world. However, on occasion, you’ll see a whisper of old number 7 on the field when the Broncos take the gridiron in their classic orange NFL jerseys. In contrast the Cleveland Browns trotted onto their first professional football field in 1946 with leather helmets died white. In 1956 they moved to a dark orange helmet with a white stripe, which is their current helmet. Tradition has been a mainstay for the Browns but then again, the Super Bowl has eluded them for their whole existence so maybe an update to the uniform is due.

Regardless of the history of their favorite team every fan understands the importance of supporting their team and it often culminates in the wearing of their teams Official NFL jerseys, which commonly has their favorite player’s number and name on it. No matter if it’s the current jersey, an away jersey or even a classic throwback that would make your grandfather proud it’s become an American tradition to don your teams colors on Sunday afternoon if only to live vicariously through your favorite player if for just a few short hours.



NICKOLAS

February 22, 2009

Super Bowl 43 - January’s Kick Off

Peri Witny asked:


The Titans began the season with a perfect 10-0 record before getting clobbered 34-10 at home by the New York Jets. They have bounced back to win their last two games for an impressive 12-1 mark, good for a two-game lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC.

In each conference, four division winners qualify for the playoffs along with the two teams with the next-best records. If it ended now, the Giants, Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, and Minnesota Vikings would hail as NFC division winners. The Giants and Cardinals have already clinched their respective division crowns. The Tampa Bay Bucs and Dallas Cowboys would qualify as the two wild card teams. In the AFC, the Titans, Steelers, Jets, and Denver Broncos would be crowned division champions if the playoffs started today. The Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts would earn the last two positions.

Securing one of the two best records in each conference is critical, as the teams who accomplish that task earn first-round byes in the playoffs. The other four-playoff teams in each conference must play an opening-round game in the postseason in order to reach the conference semifinals, where the top two seeds will be waiting. As a result, the Giants and Panthers currently have the best chance to reach Super Bowl 43 out of the NFC, while the Titans and Steelers are looking good in the AFC.

The Giants are seeking their second Super Bowl trophy in a row. Last season they stunned the New England Patriots, who were undefeated at 18-0 heading into the final game. This year, New England is 8-5 and in a struggle for its division title along with the Jets and Miami Dolphins. Missing the playoffs would deny New England a chance to win its fourth Super Bow in the last nine years. Tennessee has never won the NFL’s biggest prize, but the Titans last reached the Super Bowl in 2000, when they fell to the St. Louis Rams.

Three weeks remain in the NFL regular season as the 32 teams continue to battle for playoff positioning. When the season ends in late December, the playoffs will kick off with the first weekend in January and at that point the road to Super Bowl 43 will truly begin.



EVERETT

February 20, 2009

Clearing Up the Nfl Playoff Picture

Clayton Terry asked:


Usually at this point in the regular season, most of us can figure out who will be in the NFL playoff picture; at least for the most part. However, with just three weeks left in the NFL regular season, the playoff picture (excluding the current division winners) is as muddy as ever.

Starting with the AFC, the East is at a deadlock with Miami, New England and the New York Jets all tied for first place. Pittsburgh and Baltimore are only separated by a game in the North, who play each other this week. Tennessee has clinched the South, but those sneaky Colts seem very intriguing.(Shh! Don’t tell anybody but they’ve won 6 straight). And lets not even talk about the dismal West.

Now you can say all you want about New England and New York in the East, but you can’t say enough about the Miami Dolphins. No team has done what they have done thus far, turning a former 1-15 team into a legitimate playoff contender. And most give the credit to Bill Parcells, who is well deserving, and has made many great moves in the Dolphins’ front office, but I’m giving it to Tony Sparano. His system not only wins them games, but maximizes the player’s use of talent on the field. Even Ricky Williams is quietly having a good year, and Chad Pennington has shocked us all. Sparano will be up there for coach of the year, and he is without question coach of the year in my book.

Most likely the Jets and Dolphins will win out until the last game of the season with both having weak schedules, (unless the 49ers keep rolling and drop the Dolphins this week, but I don’t see that happening) so it will come down to the Dolphins/Jets matchup on week 17 at Giants Stadium. Now we all know it will be cold, very cold, and we all know what succeeds in cold weather. The running game. Look to see Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams run wild while Favre throws a couple picks too many. The Jets’ offense is too inconsistent, and expect to see Sparano pull a few tricks out of his sleeve to amazingly get the Dolphins to the playoffs. Now I bet you weren’t saying this before the season- “Well I know the Dolphins went 1-15 last year, but they have some pieces there. I think they’ll finish with a better record than the Patriots and win the division.” I would have hysterically laughed in your face.

The hard-nosed AFC North can’t get any better, with two of the highest ranked defensive teams facing off this week. The winner of this game will take full control of the division lead, and it’s going to take all phases of the game. Every phase of this game is about even; yeah the Steelers have the number one defense, but the Ravens are impossible to score on at home. It’s going to be great to see Reed and Polamalu make big plays on their respective defenses. But in the end, this is going to come the quarterback play of Flacco and Roethlisberger, now let me figure this one out… A solid rookie quarterback with no experience in pressure games, or a stellar Superbowl winning QB who has the middle name of pressure and big games? Tough one, but I would have to pick Roethlisberger and the Steelers to win this game and the AFC North. I’m not going to make any bold predictions, but look for Big Ben to pave another road toward the Big Game.

The AFC South is a little more clear, with Tennessee already clinching the division title, Indianapolis on the rise, and no other competition within the division whatsoever. Look for the Titans to keep rolling throughout the season’s entirety; Jeff Fisher won’t bench anybody in the last few games. And the Colts will quietly take that top Wild Card spot in the AFC. (But don’t say it too loud, nobody will even notice if they make a deep playoff run).

Now I said I wouldn’t talk about the West, but I at least have to say something. First of all, this division is absolutely pathetic. The schizophrenic Broncos don’t even know who they are, the Chargers are the most disappointing team in the league and possibly in NFL history, the Raiders haven’t changed much and just might ruin JaMarcus Russell’s career if they do something soon, and the Kansas City Chiefs can hardly compete with anybody. Now I said I would say something, but I didn’t say it would be anything good. Denver will easily win the division, but only because the rest of the division can’t function properly.

The AFC playoff picture will turn out like this:

1. Tennessee Titans

2. Pittsburgh Steelers

3. Miami Dolphins

4. Denver Broncos

5. Indianapolis Colts

6. Baltimore Ravens

Now the NFC playoff race, especially the Wild Card race, would be your definition of a muddy playoff picture. The East is still beastly whether most still think so or not, the top end of the North is up in the air, the South is without a doubt the best division in football, and the West is almost as bad in this conference, but we at least have the Cardinals to talk about.

Now there’s no better team to talk about at this time of the year than the New York football Giants. I know they just came off of a close loss to the Eagles, but we all know what this team is really made of. All Harris Smith distractions aside, (oh I’m sorry  I meant Plaxico Burress) this is the most mentally tough team in football, and will be the most physically tough once Brandon Jacobs returns. The only problem they will have once the playoffs begin is that they will have home-field advantage; they’re gonna have to get used to that. Moving towards the bottom of the division, the Eagles have been very impressive lately. Everyone was counting them out after Donovan McNabb was benched in that terrible loss to the Ravens, but I couldn’t understand why. I know many people like to count teams out just as they start a losing skid, and overly react when teams get on a run (for those of you who picked the Jets as Superbowl contenders two weeks ago). But this was the premier situation for Donovan, who comes up big every time the pressure is put on him. It also helps when Andy Reid comes to his senses and gives Westbrook the ball to take less pressure of Donovan and lower his attempts from almost 50 a game. So look for the Eagles to make a run for a Wild Card slot in the NFC, but fall short. The NFC South is just too tough, plain and simple. They will fall short of both Atlanta and Tampa Bay. As the Redskins have fizzled out, and the circus known as the Dallas Cowboys is slowly falling apart, it seems that the beasts of the East will only put the Giants in playoff contention this season.

The NFC North is very intriguing, and I know most of you would take the easy route and say AP and that great defense will lead the Minnesota Vikings to win that division. In the words of Lee Corso, not so fast my friend! The Bears have everything in line for them to easily take down the NFC North. The Vikings have remaining games against Arizona, Atlanta, and the New York Giants. This is easily the toughest remaining schedule in the NFL, and on top of that, starting quarterback Gus Ferotte is out this week with a lower back injury, leaving Tarvaris Jackson to lead the team, which isn’t great news. Jackson was the starter at the beginning of the season, only to go 0-2 with very average numbers. Minnesota could just give Adrian Peterson the ball every play, but I think that would get figured out rather quickly. On the other side of things, the Chicago Bears just came off of a Thursday night overtime win over the New Orleans Saints, and have remaining games against Green Bay and Houston. Green Bay has been disappointing, and Houston is a below average team. Even though Minnesota is arguably a better overall team than Chicago, look to see Chicago win the North, based solely off of their remaining schedule.

Where does that leave Minnesota? Well, that leaves them completely out of it; because the NFC South is just incredible. The Carolina Panthers are among the tops in the league, and it looks as though they will win the division. Smash and Dash (Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams) are practically unstoppable; the only problem I have is that they stole their nicknames from LenDale White and Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans. It’s good to see Williams succeeding in the NFL though, as I was a big fan of his when he was playing for the Memphis Tigers in college. They will be greatly tested when they play the Giants next week on Sunday night, which is possibly an NFC Championship preview. Jeff Garcia and the Tampa Bay Bucs have been great, and the Atlanta Falcons have been (along with the Dolphins) one of the most surprising teams in the league. The Falcons and Bucs will face off this week in a very important game, but it is absolutely insane for anybody to think the Buccaneers have any chance at winning this game. First of all, Garcia is listed as questionable with a sore calf, and it would be ludicrous to pick a team in this division to lose at home. The NFC South is 24-2 at home this season, and 10-0 at home when they play each other. Advantage, Atlanta. Tampa Bay may lose this game, but will easily win the next two against San Diego and Oakland of the pathetic AFC West. Did I mention the AFC West is pathetic? The Bucs will take the final NFC Wild Card slot, and the Falcons will take the first. Again, something else nobody would have predicted. 3 teams from the NFC South in the playoffs? Seriously, don’t even tell me you predicted that.

Lastly is the NFC West, which would be as pathetic as the AFC West if the Arizona Cardinals were not included, and if Mike Singletary didn’t take over and make San Francisco competitive late in the season. But the NFC West is all about Arizona this year, who have won a division title for the first time in 33 years. They will also be hosting a playoff game for the first time since 1947, which doesn’t really count for the people of Arizona because the team was in Chicago at the time. This is an enormous achievement for the Arizona Cardinals, who many have picked to make playoff runs in the past few seasons, but they just never got it done. They finally broke through this season, and every player on that team is well deserving. This is in large part because of another great first year coach in Ken Whisenhunt, who is also up there in my coach of the year vote, but edged out by Sparano just a bit. This is mostly because Arizona had an immense amount of talent before Whisenhunt got there, while Sparano did not have that luxury. All of that aside, Whisenhunt took a very dispersed Cardinal team and got them to gel very well, while taking the offense (which we all knew was very good) to the best of its ability. The NFC West might be a very weak division, but who cares. History has been made, and that should always be recognized, no matter what the circumstances. Congrats, Cardinals.

With all of that said, the NFC playoff picture should turn out as so:

1. New York Giants

2. Carolina Panthers

3. Arizona Cardinals

4. Chicago Bears

5. Atlanta Falcons

6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With only a few weeks left in the regular season, there are many teams that have their playoff destiny in the palm of their hand. Not many teams will be looking to see who beat who every week, and if they do it will be because of their own doing. In the next few weeks, the picture should start clearing up, and the true playoff contenders will emerge. Look to see some interesting matchups in the playoffs this year, and some good games as well (without the Patriots involved). And did I mention the AFC West is pathetic?



NEIL

February 17, 2009

Denver Broncos Tickets Available

Robert asked:


Based in Denver, Colorado — the Broncos are a professional football team that was established in 1960 when they played under the American football league Western division, this venture lasted about nine years (1969); in 1970 they officially became part of the NFL and played under the American football conference West division up until today.  Their home fields are and have been the Mile High Stadium and the INVESCO Field at mile high.  The owner of the team is Pat Bowlen and the head coach is Mike Shanahan.

Championships and important moments:

The Broncos have had several accomplishments starting from the six conference championships they have earned (1977, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997 and 1998); they have also been the champions of the American football conference West division in 10 different occasions starting in 1977, following in 1978, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998 and finally 2005.  To top it all off they have also been NFL Super Bowl champions in two consecutive years: in 1997 the Denver Broncos were able to overcome the Green Bay Packers by a score of 31 to 24 and in 1998 they do it once again but this time against the Atlanta Falcons, the final score was 34 to 19.

Quarterbacks in the current roster:

– Patrick Ramsey

– Jay Cutler

– Darrell Hackney

Denver Broncos recent news:

The Broncos sure have a very tough season up ahead; this is because their rookie running back Ryan Torain is expected to miss at least three months after undergoing surgery for a broken bone on his left elbow, according to the press Mr. Shanahan didn’t really want to talk about it but according to the team members the loss of Torain is sure to mess things up, Andre Hall one of the remaining healthy running backs agrees with the fact that Torain is a necessary piece of the puzzle and without them it will be just that much tougher for the team to get things done.

If you are a fan of the Denver Broncos it goes without saying that the team can use all the help they can get from her coach and from the general public.  The 2008 season is expected to be very challenging for this team.



DAVID

February 14, 2009

Broncos - Raiders

Daniel asked:




Denver Broncos -3 vs Raiders.

For the only scheduled time this year, there are two NFL games on Monday night, so if bettors don’t like their result in the Vikings-Packers opener, there’s always the Denver-Oakland nightcap to add to or recoup some of your money.

Denver is a 3-point road favorite on WagerWeb.com with an over/under of 41.

This series has been dominated by Denver on the field, as the Broncos are 8-2 in the past 10 meetings (Broncos coach Mike Shanahan is 20-6 overall against his former team), but one of those losses came in last season’s final meeting between the teams, a 34-20 Oakland home victory. In fact, the sad-sack Raiders are 4-0 against the spread against Denver in the past two seasons.

Both teams feature stellar cornerback combinations (Denver with Champ Bailey and Dre Bly and Oakland with Nnamdi Asomugha and DeAngelo Hall) but question marks at receiver. Denver’s top wideout is Brandon Marshall, but he is suspended for tonight’s game. Oakland’s top receiver is Javon Walker, but he is questionable with a hamstring injury.

So expect both teams to run the ball plenty. Oakland gouged the Denver run defense last year, gaining 200 yards on the ground in last September’s meeting and 175 in December. And the Raiders added big-play rookie running back Darren McFadden in the draft.

The Broncos‘ defense gave up an average of 142.6 yards rushing per game in 2007, worse than all but two teams in the NFL – one of those being Oakland. The Raiders ranked 31st in rushing defense, gave up 4.8 yards per carry, the most in the league, and surrendered 24 rushing touchdowns, the most in the NFL since 2000. Ten opposing runners went for more than 100 yards against Oakland in ’07.





ABDUL

January 26, 2009

Top 10 Most Disappointing Nfl Teams in 2008 Season

Seth Taylor asked:


The year 2008 in the NFL was a year of big surprises and disappointments. We saw history made, major fall offs and plenty of coaches fired. Here are the most disappointing teams in 2008.

10. Cleveland Browns

The Clevland Browns finished the season at 10-6 last year. There were plenty of high hopes in Cleveland. The dogs were starting to think that things were looking up. Well now, not so much. They finished the season at 4-12, fired their head coach and hired another head coach, Eric Mangini, that just got fired from the Jets.

9. Washington Redskins

The expectations for the Redskins were not very high this year. They just hired a new unproven head coach in Jim Zorn bringing in a new offense with the verdict still out on their quarterback Jason Campbell. Most people were expecting them to finish where they did, 8-8 at the bottom of the toughest division in the NFL, the NFC East.

So why is this team on this list. They started the season at 6-2 with some tough road wins against Philly and Dallas. Then they went on to lose 6 of their last eight games. Not good. Especially in Washington.

8. Green Bay Packers

The good news is that the Brett Favre saga is finally over. The bad news is that so were the Packers winning ways this season. Aaron Rogers appeared to have done his part with a 93.8 QB rating. But what about the intangibles?

Does Aaron Rogers have the leadership skills and fire that Brett possessed during his time at Green Bay to lead this team? Only time will tell in say about 16 more years.

7. Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks have been a given to make the playoffs with 5 consecutive playoff appearances. Now they finished the season at 4-12 as one of the worst teams in football. What a disappointing way for Mike Holmgren to finish his NFL coaching career. Now they have a new head coach in which they have to adjust to hopefully right the ship.

6. Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos started the season hot at 3-1 with one of the best offenses in the league. They lost 3 straight down the stretch putting them out of position to make the playoffs finishing the season at 8-8. As a result of their poor season the Broncos fired the face of the franchise, Mike Shanahan after 14 seasons and 2 Super Bowls. Talk about a disappointing season.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucaneers start the season at 9-3 and were already penciled in for a playoff position. That is until they lose the next four games straight with the last 2 games at home. The last game they lost was against the Oakland Raiders, of all teams, who finished the season at 5-11. Now it looks like Jon Gruden is on the hot seat - again.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville was considered one of the top 5 teams in the league coming into the 2008 season. They were ranked 5 in the ESPN power rankings. They finished with an 11-5 record last year and made it to the second round of the playoffs.

This year they decided to do a complete turnaround and finished with a 5-11 record. Now they have to deal with poor free agent signings from the past, salary cap issues, and have decided to start building through the NFL draft.

3. New York Jets

There was new life in New York and I am not talking about for the New York Giants. I am talking about the other New York, the Jets. They made a huge splash signing the future hall of fame quarterback Brett Favre. The Jets got off to a hot start at 8-3.

Talk of an all New York Super Bowl began with the Jets versus the Giants. The New York Brets were alive and kicking. But the season was not over and the Jets lost 4 of their next 5 games with Brett Favre throwing 9 interceptions over this period. Oh, and then they fired their head coach!

2. Detroit Lions

Detroit finished the season with a perfect season. Sort of like the Dolphins 72 season in reverse, 0-16. They went down in the history books as the only team every to go 0-16. Sure, no one expected much from this team but to go all year and not win 1 game. One? Man. It sure ***** to be a Lions fan these days.

1. Dallas Cowboys

And then there was one. The one and only. America’s team! The Dallas Cowboys were many people’s preseason favorite to win the Super Bowl. This team finished the 2007 season with a record of 13-3 with one of the losses being a meaningless game on the last game of the season. Their team is stacked with superstars on both sides of the ball.

Yeah, but when you have a bunch of head cases on your team like T.O. and Pacman Jones you are sure to have some problems. I used to always defend Terrell Owens and try to give him the benefit of the doubt. But if you destroy the locker room chemistry at every team that you go to then maybe you have some issues that you need to address. The problems with Terrell Owens complaining about not getting the ball and the Pacman Jones distractions were just too much for this team.

Not to mention Wade Phillips is probably not the right coach for a place like Dallas. Someone a little more hard-nosed, similar to Parcells or Cowher, is needed in big D. To go from the Super Bowl favorite to not even making the playoffs. And not only did they not make the playoffs, they got destroyed by Philadelphia in the last game of the season (44-6) when they had everything to play for. Now that is what I call a disappointing season.



EUGENIO

January 17, 2009

The Arrogance of the Green Bay Packers

Marcus Robbins asked:


Let me preface this by saying that I do like the Packers.  They are not my favorite team by any stretch of the imagination, but I do like them.  For those of you that have been living under a rock for the last year or so, let me catch you up to speed:



List of Players:


Brett Favre - 2007 Green Bay Packers QB  

Ted Thompson - Green Bay Packers General Manager

Mike McCarthy - Green Bay Packers Head Coach

James Campen - Green Bay Packers Offensive Line Coach

Bus Cook - Brett Favre’s Agent

 

Week of Jan. 22: After the Packers’ overtime loss to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship game, McCarthy tells Favre they hope to take a similar approach to his retirement decision as in the past, allowing Favre plenty of time to make his decision. They agree to talk regularly.

Feb. 22: Thompson calls Favre after getting word that Favre was upset Thompson hadn’t called him in a while. According to Thompson, Favre said, “Well, I don’t know where that’s coming from. That doesn’t come from me. I’m fine with it.” Thompson said he reassures Favre: “You know that Mike and me, we still think you can play, you’re still our guy.”

Feb. 29: The beginning of free agency, the Packers’ original target date for Favre’s decision. “He told me that day, he said, ‘Hey, if I needed to make a decision today, I would retire,”’ McCarthy said. “I said, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. It’s not that important. Ted and I have talked about it over and over again as far as, you’re the priority and we didn’t need to stick to that date. So you need more time? Sure. How much time do you need? He said, ‘I’ll tell you what. (Wife) Deanna and I are going to sit down this weekend, why don’t you call me Monday?”’

March 3: McCarthy travels to Austin, Texas, for his daughter’s high school basketball banquet. At this point, McCarthy isn’t worried.

“We thought for sure he was going to come back,” McCarthy said. “I thought he was working, just going through the process, and he needed more time.”

But Favre surprises McCarthy by calling and saying he “can not commit 100 percent” to football and is going to retire. McCarthy says he offers Favre the chance to return with a guarantee that he wouldn’t have to take as many repetitions in practice.

No deal. McCarthy travels back to Green Bay and the Packers announce Favre’s retirement decision March 4.

March 6: Favre’s tearful press conference. McCarthy says he is surprised at how honest Favre is about the reasons behind his decision—particularly about not being able to commit 100 percent to football.

Week of March 24: During the coaching staff’s spring break, Packers offensive line coach James Campen, whose in-laws live in New Orleans, goes up to visit Favre in Mississippi on March 26. On the 27th, Campen tells McCarthy that Favre is having second thoughts and McCarthy should call him.

McCarthy does, and learns that Favre indeed is having second thoughts. McCarthy and Thompson decide they will welcome him back. They secure a private jet from a Packers board member to visit Favre in person and seal the deal.

March 29: Favre calls McCarthy to deliver a message: Thanks, but no thanks.

“He felt at this point we had reached a point of closure,” McCarthy said. “Those were his words. And he was going to stick with his initial decision.”

— McCarthy talks to Favre again the week of April 7 and April 14 and on April 24. On the 24th, McCarthy explains the team’s decision to place Favre on the reserve/retired list.

April 26/27: The Green bay Packers select QB’s Brian Brohm (Louisville) in the 2nd Round and Matt Flynn (LSU) in the 7th Round.

May 6: With the NFL draft out of the way, Thompson visits Favre in Mississippi and has lunch on his back porch. Thompson says they have a “good conversation,” but don’t spend too much time talking about the idea that he might be having second thoughts.

“We didn’t talk specifically about it,” Thompson says. “But he mentioned several things where there was always indecisiveness, or he was wondering if he made the right decision. I think that’s normal.”

June 7: During a staff retreat in Kohler, Wis., Campen says he’s worried about Favre. McCarthy tells Campen to go to Mississippi—not as an official team intermediary, but as Favre’s friend.

June 16-20: Acting on Campen’s advice, McCarthy calls Favre. They play phone tag for a few days but eventually connect. “You and Ted need to have a plan if I do come back,” Favre says, according to McCarthy. “Either give me my helmet or give me my release.”

At that point, McCarthy asks Favre if he was 100 percent committed to a return. “He said, ‘No, no, I’m not saying I’m there yet.”’

June 20-early July: Favre and Campen talk regularly, and Favre’s agent, Bus Cook, begins passing messages to the team through Campen. “James was put in a tough spot, and I think he’s totally been wrongly illustrated in this,” McCarthy said.

July 4: Favre sends a text message to Thompson, who responds by saying he is traveling and asks if they can talk Monday. Cook begins texting Thompson, and a conference call is arranged.

July 8: A conference call is scheduled involving Favre, Cook, Thompson, McCarthy and Russ Ball, the team’s VP of football administration/player finance, to discuss Favre’s request for a release. McCarthy asks Favre if he is 100 percent committed to football—and for the first time throughout the entire offseason, Favre says yes.

“We’re trying to be as respectful to him and his legacy as possible, but that’s an important piece of the puzzle,” McCarthy said. “As an organization, Ted and I, that’s the first time any communication to us was, he was committed to play.”

The Packers then receive a letter from Cook requesting his release.

“That brings us to where we are, which is a very difficult situation,” Thompson said.

Okay, with all that said and done, the Green Bay Packers are going to put this next season on the shoulders of Aaron Rodgers, who has been riding mostly pine since 2005.  Sure he has gotten into most games to clean up when the Packers are way ahead, but Rodgers is no Brett Favre.  He did do a respectable job against the Cowboys this last season, where he went 18 for 26, with 201 yards passing and a TD.  Those are first half stat numbers for a guy like Brett Favre.

Career Stats: Att.       Comp.      Yards      Int.      TD

Brett Favre              8758        5377        61655       288      442

Aaron Rodgers         59             35             329          1          1

I know everyone has to start somewhere and I could see the Green Bay Packers dumping Favre if he didn’t have it anymore and was past his prime, but he still does have it and he proved that in 2007.

The management of the Packers needs to wake up and smell the coffee!!  Now that Favre has finally decided to play (by sending his reinstatement letter to the NFL), they need to get him back where he belongs, behind the starting Packers center.  If Favre is so washed up in the eyes of Green Bay management or they are tired of his antics or whatever the case may be, then give him his release and let him be.  But they won’t, because they are so image concious, that they don’t want to see number 4 running out of the Vikings tunnel this year and lay a whipping on them and Aaron Rodgers.  Then they would have to answer to the toughest skeptics of all - The Green Bay Packer Fans!!!

Let’s talk about Ryan Grant.  The 25 year old breakout running back for the Packers in 2007.  Green Bay management offered Grant a base salary of $370,000 for the next 6 years, along with a $1.75 million signing bonus.  This for a guy who played hurt and ran his guts out for this team and helped carry them all the way to the NFC Championship game.  Give me a break, they offered Brady Poppinga, their outside linebacker, who only made 50 tackles all last year, had no sacks and no forced fumbles, a 4 year contract extension, which is reported to be woth approximately $16 million, plus a $3 million signing bonus.

The Green Bay management better pull their heads out quick or they are going to end up like the 1999 Denver Broncos (6-10).



JACK
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