It’s been an eventful week. Most of the events were positive, but probably the most important event of the week is our game and that was definitely negative.
It’s been a really tumultuous season. I guess “tumultuous” would be a good word to describe it thus far. Fortunately, we have four more games which is definitely a lot. Our playoff destiny is no longer 100 percent in our hands — which is difficult — but we still have a chance, so I think it’s important that we try to step up and sustain some consistency and shoot for the highest goal. I think that’s the only thing we can do and that’s the culture of this organization and of this city.
So like I said, the week was busy. I had the fancy hors d’oeuvres gathering with Mr. Bowlen and Coach Shanahan and Jay Cutler was there and a few offensive linemen and a bunch of people who had contributed to the Charities to Children fund which is something that Mr. Bowlen and his wife have been involved with for a long time I assume — at least as long as I’ve been here. It was fun to hang out with those people.
It’s always funny because I’ve done it the last few years since I’ve been here. It’s always funny how the night starts off and everybody’s a little uptight. I’m not like that at all. I guess in my attempt to loosen people up by the end of the night I either have a bunch of big fans or a couple of people saying, “Who’s that weird kid?” I don’t drink, so you can’t blame it on alcohol; I’m just energetic. I hate being bored and people talking about all kinds of boring things. So it was pretty lively; we had a good time. I stole the camera from the cameraman that was there and got some really good shots. Hopefully I’ll get credit for those pictures. It was a fun night though. That was cool.
Friday I was named as the Broncos’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. I can’t put into words how major an honor that is. To be as young as I am and to be able to do that means a lot to me. Any time you can beat Champ Bailey and John Lynch and Jay, who were the other nominees for our team, it feels like an amazing honor and I just appreciate it. It’s something that’s clearly important to this organization is to have our hands in the community and I feel fortunate and blessed to be a part of an organization that feels as strongly about it as I do.
After that I headed down to the Boys & Girls Club for my normal Friday visits, which I really had to do that Friday because I just got an award for my work in the community. If I’d have just gone home and went to sleep I would feel like I was stealing the award or something.
Now I’m up against the rest — 31 other team nominees. I haven’t checked to see who else is nominated. I’m not going to lie and say it doesn’t matter whether I win or lose because I really want to win. I’m competitive. I was happy that I won the nomination here and I would love to win the real Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. That’d be a pretty great honor, but I know my chances are slim. Unfortunately with awards like that, it’s not always 100 percent the man of the year. It’s kind of one part man of the year and two parts big-time superstar athlete.
Last year I know it was a split award between Drew Brees and LaDainian Tomlinson and the year before that was Peyton Manning. I know that Brees did some great things in New Orleans and I’m not sure what Tomlinson’s initiatives were, but they’ve all done a tremendous amount of work in the community, but I can’t imagine that those guys have done more than I have. Maybe over the course of their careers because it’s been longer. So anyway, it’s just my competitive plea, I guess, but realistically it’s not going to happen.
Anyway, the real reason why I’m here is to play football and we have not been playing well the last couple of weeks or on-and-off through the course of the season. It’s always difficult to move on after losses like that and the implications that it has on the rest of our season, but I think part of being a mature professional athlete is learning how to deal with it and separating each game from the one before and even each play from the one before because you’ll never have a successful season or a successful play if you’re dwelling on how great you were the week before or how horrible you were the play before. You can never quite move on and get ready for the next step if you do that.
That’s something that I’ve learned through the years of playing football — how to deal with wins and how to deal with losses. It’s a tool that’s become useful for me and I imagine will become more and more useful the older I get and as I get married and have kids one day. It won’t be a good idea to come home all depressed and angry at my kids because we lost a football game. I’ve learned that. I know when I was a kid, 9, 10, 11 years old playing, if I lost a game I’d be upset and shed tears at the end of the game and be devastated for the rest of the week. It’s just gaining this perspective through my experiences in life and certainly the Sean Taylor thing last week and losing my friend Darrent has really given me some great perspective on life.
When I’m out on the field, there’s nothing more important than getting my job done on the field at that time, but once you leave the field it’s almost insensitive to take yourself that seriously. I can’t head down to the Boys & Girls Club and be in a bad mood all day and treat the kids terribly because I didn’t have the best weekend. It’s just the same with all facets of life. I think most people learn how to do that in their jobs or in just their daily life. You can’t bring those negative feelings home and things like that.
It’s unfortunate that I’ve had to employ that skill so much this season. We’ve lost more games than I’m accustomed to — and that this city is accustomed to, actually — and this entire organization is, so it’s definitely disappointing, but it’s important to try to move on from that and have great practices this week and win our coming game this weekend.
It’s not too bad dealing with the media after the games, but the questions — everything’s better after a win. It’s a lot easier to answer questions and talk to people and the bus ride and plane ride home is a lot happier. It’s inevitable that a win or a loss is going to affect you, but it’s all part of the job. I think that’s one of the things that athletes do forget is that interacting with the media is part of our job description. Win, lose or draw, it’s important to have a good functional relationship with them because it’s kind of your gateway to the fans. Not everybody is fortunate enough to have a blog like me and have a direct gateway to the fans, so other than that, the media is the only way you can contact them. That’s how I deal with the media.
Sometimes when they ask dumb questions or questions that might (tick) me off, I remind myself that I’m not talking to an annoying reporter but I’m talking to the fans, because they’re the ones that are going to read the column or listen to the radio show.
Speaking of fans, this Friday is the NFL 201 at Dove Valley, which I talked about before is kind of a training class, the second-level training class on football for women. I’ve done it every year since I’ve been here and it’s always a lot of fun. It’s a great experience. We have a good time. My group, we do a lot of laughing and have fun and learn a little about football, but mostly just have a good time.
Well I guess that’s all for this week. We’ll go out and try to get back to winning on Sunday. All ready!
Tags: Boys and Girls Club, Champ Bailey, Charities to Children, Drew Brees, Jay Cutler, John Lynch, LaDainian Tomlinson, Media, NFL 201, Peyton Manning, Professionalism, Walter Payton Man of the Year
Hey Fox, congrats on the award now I hope you beat the rest of the league !!Another tough loss this week. I am very worried about our play-off chances now. Like you said it is not 100 % in our hands now.I think we need to stop the run and Jay needs to make better judgements plus there were some dropped passes. But Jay is still learning and the WRs are still getting use to Jay. I don’t know about stopping the run and how we can fix it so…Travis Henry won his appeal !!!! Javon is back things are looking better but it might be too late. I hope we can go on a 4 game winning streak then another 4 game winning streak if we make the play-offs.That is a good way to approach the media. I watch the press confrenes all the time I watched yours ……by the way nice suit.They do ask the dumbest questions.Well I hope we fix things up and turn things around soon good luck. All Ready !!
thanx for the blogs, good to hear encouraging things about the team and the way you guys play. Hopefully you guys keep ur chances alive and san diego chokes a few times.
Well here we are again. Its Tuesday
Rough week to say the least. Started out pretty good and went on a downward spiral from there. I did see you making some sweet tackles. Way to be! I’m so glad to hear that although you are 100% dedicated to football you know where to put it on your list of priorities. Its great that you can take the loss with a grain of salt and keep a good attitude throughout the week when you’re fulfilling other obligations. That’s why you’ve been one of my favorites since the Broncos picked you up. Keep it up! Can’t wait to see how you guys respond to the Chiefs!
Hey Foxy D,
Congratulations on your nomination… you really deserve it, just don’t let the comptetiveness get to your head. Do it for the love of the community and the people in it, it doesn’t matter if you’ve done more work than anyone else its about that you are willing to take the time to do something for the good of other people.
I think Cutler will be really used to being the starting QB by next season, its taken him a while to get used to a new atmosphere in the NFL – it takes time and adjustment. We need a stable & talented QB and we have one – his name is Jay Cutler – he’ll be secure with himself and confident enough to take charge… he should be that way now but he’s just getting used to being with this team, I believe he’ll be more confident going into next season. He’s had this whole season to adjust so he should be and better be ready to give every other QB in the NFL a run for their money.
This whole team just needs to step it up and we can win the rest of our games. And its good news for Henry, I’m glad he won his appeal, that’s great news for this franchise but I hope he stays out of trouble… we don’t need anymore bad press and down points. We’ve had an ultimate low this year with 2 tragic deaths (RIP #27 & #29), way too many injuries and we’ve just been up and down this whole season. The last thing this whole team needs is bad stuff going on off the field… that causes way too many distractions. Of course you can’t really do anything abou the deaths but try to move on but we need to keep our focus on the prize, which is WINNING!!!
GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!!
Fox,
You are a class act. I hope you stay in Denver for a very long time.
i hope you can beat the rest of the league and win the big award! you deserve it! good luck this week against kansas city!
-PARIS (#1 BRONCO FAN!!!)
Congratulations on being nominated for the award. The Rockies looked like they were going to miss the playoffs. Who choked at the end? San Diego. The Broncos are going to go on the same run as the Rockies. Deja vu all over again. Except maybe the Broncos will win the Super Bowl.
Dom,
CONGRATS ON THE NOMINATION!!!! Never doubt what you are able to do in life, even though yes the award is given to those who are of big superstar calibar, you are definently a superstar and have a chance, why would they have nominated you in the first place? You have as good of chance as anyone else!
The game was depressing but Im glad you all can turn around and see what you did wrong fix it and move on with it. It’s very hard to do that in sports, losing is never fun, and I cant even imagine what its like when you lose and have to talk to the media about it, no fun. Things are looking up!
Im just as excited as you are for NFL 201 because IM GOING!!!!! I cant wait Ive never done anything like this before and its cool that you guys put something up like this for all the lady fans haha.
Love ya,
Ashley
#80fan,
True that I like your logic. Keeping faith in all the teams is necessary for us fans to do, so they can go out there on Sunday and win a game. No one likes an angry fan haha.
Go Broncos!!!
Ashley
Hey Fox.
I don’t know if you ever respond to comments on here. However how in the world do you think you will make the playoffs and why do you say the desire is there.
Your headcoach last year at 9-7 said there was NO POINT in going into the playoffs with that team. That team, he said would have gone nowhere in the playoffs and so Mike did not allow the team to play for the tie against SF in the last game, which would have sent you into the playoffs. Now all of a sudden a team that is without a doubt WORSE than last years team wants to make the playoffs? It makes no sense.
This team will probably finish 7-9 and you’re hoping to be in the playoffs? Come on Fox, if you ever respond to comments, respond to this question? Why try and make the playoffs when the team will go nowhere, and why NOT try when the team was actually decent last year?
i like ur thinking #80fan
please stay in Denver Fox, you should be starting along side Champ next year.Good luck with the award. you are one of my all time favorite broncos.
Wow,
A lot less people responding so far… Oh well, and congrats on the Walter Payton thing. Oh and go Tenn!
Congrats on the nomination and I agree that you are a class act an I would be very disappointed to see you through the Denver defender turnstyle that is rivaling Grand Central Station. What do you think of all the different players coming and going?
Bleeding orange and blue die hard fan!
Fox~~
I appreciate all you do for the team and the Denver community. And for taking the time to talk to us. Yer making us proud over here in Korea. Everyone is a little down after these two losses. Looked like we were on the upswing after Tennessee. And losing to the raiders…ouch. I really hope we have you here on the team for a long time too. I just hope yall can pull ALL THIS TALENT together and start winning again. Your troops overseas are supporting you!!
no offense foxy man but u and paymah might have cost us the game i almost shut down emotionally after that loss
Word on the street is big Sam Adams is no longer a Bronco. Well with people being shuffled around it must be hard to get some kind of dynamic going, here’s to a good game against KC!
Thanks for sticking with it, Domonique. This season has been hard on all of us, but the truth of the matter is we are a team in transition, and sadly this means tough losses must be incurred. Nevertheless, in 2008 and subsequent seasons, we’ll be better for it. There’s nothing to worry about, we’ll sift through the ashes and become champions once again because of pillars such as yourself and Jay Cutler. I, as a true Broncos fan, am not going anywhere. Keep the faith, Foxy.
fox…
keep growing. keep learning. thanks for sharing. there is a heckuva lot more to life than football.
it will never be admitted by the organization or anyone in the nfl of course, but i consider this season a transition year. this team is built young and strong for the future. you are going to be an integral part of that.
keep with the good ways and the hopeful attitude. we can all gain perspective from such notions.
all the best
kevin
i dont think foxworth should start over Bly. champ has gotten beat more than bly and he is proven. not pun intended but you cant hold the reciever 20 yard down field dom. so dont hold anymore ok. congrats and good luck this week.
LetPlummerPlay
Every time I see you post something up here on someone’s blogs, it is always attacking something or someone. You constantly tear into people through the cowardly mask that is the internet. People like you make professional athletes not want to be connected with the fans like Foxy is doing right now. Nevertheless, he still comes in here week in and week out ready to accept your criticism. And what is it with fans coming after the players as if it is their fault a team releases someone? I don’t know what country you’re from, but here in America support does a lot more for an athlete than rhetorical criticism.
Congrats, Foxy on the MOTY Award Nod. You’re a stellar athlete and an even better human being. I praise you for dedicating your spare time in a hectic schedule to helping others as opposed to sitting down playing video games in spare time (as I probably would do).
LPP ~ I finally agree with you, it took a while but I’m starting to agree with you. Oh and good luck with the award, Fox, thats the only thing you’ll win this year. I doubt you’ll even make the roster next year.
Sess44, I attack no one in a cowardly manner. If Jay Cutler was in front of my face….I would gladly tell him I thought he was a terrible college quarterback. If Mike Shanahan were in front of my face I would gladly tell him I thought his time was up, and maybe a change of scenery would be a good thing for him.
If Dominique Foxworth were in front of my face I would gladly tell him I thought it made no sense to want this years team to go to the playoffs.
How is that an attack? It’s not, I don’t come on these blogs like others talking about violence, beat downs, or whatever else “gangsta” talk people throw around on here.
If you think I’m a coward for pointing out the truth, then that’s your opinion, but obviously blog writers like Andrew Mason don’t even agree with that.
Hey Fox,
Congratulations on winning the Walter Payton award. Who you are and the work that you do matters.
Best of luck with KC.
All Ready!
~ChocolateQT
Hey Fox,
Great job man..proud of you and all the Broncos…I still believe you guys will turn it around and make the playoffs…don’t listen to some of the bandwagon fans on here….
There aer still many die hard fans here that will always Believe.!!
Go Broncos…Go Tenn, Det, Oak (SD next 3 opponents and Den of course)!!
All Ready Foxy! You DESERVE the Walter Payton award and I have a feeling you will win it. What you’ve done is so important to our community, I cannot wait for the day the Darrent Williams Memorial Center opens, I will be there cheering and giving all my support.
Thanks for pointing out once again why you are one of the premiere members of this Broncos team, the way you deal with the media even after a loss, shows such leadership. I was disappointed in how some of our players came across in their post-game interviews last week. I know it was a hard loss to swallow but you’re right, you need to project the right attitude to your fans through your contact with the media. You are a class act Fox!
Beat the Chiefs this weekend! Go Broncos!
Lisa
Foxy, please ignore the blog responses from these so-called fans who only come on here to put down our team! I don’t know how you can even call them fans! I like what #80 says about the Rockies, nobody thought they would do it either and San Diego choked at the end opening the door for the Rockies! Let’s see San Diego do a repeat of that!
It’s always great to read your blog. It helps me feel a closer kinship toward you and the Broncos as a whole.
I really respect the work that you’re doing in the community – and you’re a champ among us Broncos fans even if for some reason you don’t win the award. I certainly hope that you do.
As for the playoffs, we are still well-and-fully in it. Four games is, as you said, a long time. All we can do is take care of our own business. If we go 9-7, things will look good.
Either way, I’ll be bleeding orange ‘n’ blue and making my voice heard when I go to my first Broncos game on December 13th. I’m really looking forward to it.
I hope y’all go out and get the win on our turf against Kansas City. Play for Darrent, Damien, yourself, and each other.
Mile High Salute. Our hearts and prayers are with you on and off the field.
Mr. Foxworth:
Congratulations on the selection and I wish you well in winning the award. You are an asset to the team and the City of Denver. That being said, many fans have serious concerns about the direction of the team. The fact of the matter is we are two Jason Elam field goals away from being 3-9. We have consistently failed to stop the run. Our opponents are not stupid and run against us at will which eats up the clock and keeps the offense on the sidelines. champ24girl – just because we have concerns does not make any of us less of a fan. We need to address our defensive deficiencies. I pointed out three weeks ago that we have an excellent opportunity to measure the progress of this team. KC then vs. KC this week. Let’s hope we see progress. GO BRONCOS!!!
LetPlummerPlay
You and I both know that people like you hang out on internet message boards because you have no guts. You and I both know that if Jay Cutler stood in front of you, you would wet your pants. If Coach Shanahan was standing in front of you, you would shake his hand and ask if you can get him some coffee. And you would tell Domonique that you love his competitive nature, and you would wish him luck on trying to get to the playoffs.
That being said, you have obviously never played football to understand why the Broncos saw a great college quarterback in Cutler. The fact that he was SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2005 from a school that is known mostly for its academia rather than athletics says something. The fact that he cranked out 23 reps of 225 lbs. at the NFL Combine shows that he demonstrates hard work in the offseason. His Wonderlic Score shores he has the cerebral necessities to be an outstanding NFL quarterback. You would also recognize a great coach in Coach Shanahan. He has kept the Denver Broncos a competitive team since he arrived in 1995. He has developed absolute nobodies into thousand yard rushers. Whoever heard of Mike Anderson, Quentin Griffin, Olandis Gary, Terrell Davis, Andre Hall, Selvin Young, Mike Bell, or Cecil Sapp before they showed up here? And it is under Shanahan’s coaching system that my mother could line up at tailback and still probably have a 4 yard per carry average.
And you contend that it is a bad thing that Foxworth is optimistic about his team having playoff aspirations. Again, you have never played football and I am guessing never done anything competitive except for maybe being the first one to raise you hand in 5th grade to answer the teacher’s questions.
And for the record, there is a difference between pointing out truth and searching for fault in any way you can to seek out conflict.
Coward
I forgot to add Rueben Droughns to that list
sess44: First, you’re whole list is pointless as Terrell Davis is the only that actually came to the team and made a difference. Every other guy on your list is like going thru a list of “Could have beens.”
I find it funny that you think I’d wet my pants if Jay Cutler stood in front of me. I wouldn’t imagine he’d challenge me to a fight, he seems like a sensible guy, and once again, I’d still have no problem telling him I thought he had a miserable college career. Sure, if Mike Shanahan wanted a cup of coffee and was going to hear me out for 5 minutes of his day, I’d get him the coffee. And to say I’d tell Dominique Foxworth I love his competitive nature? No, not really, I wouldn’t know Dominique Foxworth if he punched me in the face and said, “Hi I’m Domonique Foxworth.” But even if I did know it was him, I certainly would not sit and grovel or tell him I thought he was a great player. I leave that to you fanatics that believe professional athletes are above or beyond normal citizens.
We have been pointing out truth’s for 2 years at LPP. Sure, we’ll crack a joke here and there on ole Pumpkin Pie, and regardless of how many times we’re called gay, or Raider fans, we have a good time doing it!
when healthy this team can beat ANYONE
so why, LPP, are you saying that we shouldn’t try to make the playoffs?
should we purposly go 5-11?
you are a disgrace to the broncos fans LPP and a coward
Hi Dominique, Hi Everybody,
Well Dom, I told my lady friend, who once played football in a semi-pro league, about your NFL 201 camp. She thought it sounded like the bomb diggity, and said “Oh my goodness, that’s money sista.” She was going to drive to town to attend… but we couldn’t find any info about it on the website for 2007. We found a bunch about last year’s, but none for tomorrow. Aint’ no thang, ain’t nothin’ but a chicken wang! So we are RSVP-ing for next year, k.
I read probably all the blogs this week, so I have developed my own opinions. Opinions. First of all, it’s funny how most smack talkers can’t spell and have delightfully bad grammar. Lovin’ it! Not just this week, either.
Second, I think it’s unfair to ostracize those who have given criticism, but obviously mean no harm. This week there seems to be a lot of these people. They are definitely true fans of the Broncos, but surely aren’t going to sugar coat anything about what has happened this season. I would be more upset if my fans (I don’t have any fans) didn’t address the status of my team, and feed me a bunch of BS. And I would be worried if my fans were willing to except mediocrity. But on the other hand, its more ridiculous to say that the season has expired. It makes you wonder if every player on the team just except, I mean truly know in their heart, that something so miraculous as a ‘come back’ COULD happen, maybe it WOULD. And lastly, I don’t know much about football, but the one thing even I could see was some hard core desire and drive last Sunday. You guys have heart, man! That’s all I got.
Good luck on your award, brotha. I better proof read to make sure I spelled everything correctly.
dang
MEISNER
You’re asking the wrong PERSON. Why at 9-7 did Shanahan specifically say, it was not worth going to the playoffs with that team last year? They were healthy, they could have tied SF and STILL went to the playoffs….
So ask Mike, not me.
LPP MAYBE IM NOT SENSIBLE BUT YOU NEED TO SHUT YOUR MOUTH YOU NEVER MAKE ANY SENSE ON ANYTHING I WOULDNT BUY YOU ANYTHING YOU ARE A GUTTLESS WONDER . KEEP UP THE HARD WORK FOX!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juOQhTuzDQ0
Hey fox, I remember you saying a bit ago that you liked funny youtube videos – so here’s one I just stumbled into.
Congrats on the award – here’s to more in the future
Fox, is this you eating a burrito or a sub?
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/5516/dsc01239ea7.jpg
☺☻
Hey Fox I wish you could replace Bly on the depth chart and play more,
I think you play tighter coverage, and Bly seems like he’s just trying to up his stats and go for the int. The killer Bees are just buzzing ther is no sting!!
Here’s another youtube video for your viewing pleasure. The guy in this video is a friend of mine and his sister made him make this video one day…its pretty funny but kinda long. Anyways enjoy it. And Mark is not gay btw…common misconception due to his singing abilities lol. See ya Sunday!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=TYlCi76Uh8E
Good luck in the competition Fox! Before I go I want to say I’m still holding out hope for the playoffs too. 5 and 7 can turn into 9 and 7. In the AFC West this season, that could be good enough. SD could lose a couple of games, including the one this weekend at Tennessee. Then the Broncos would need to win their last 4. It’s not impossible. If it doesn’t happen, there’s always next year. There’s a LOT of talent on this team. There’s just been so many changes – new players, coaches, schemes, etc.. Good luck against the Chiefs Sunday!
Fox,
Great game against the Chiefs. The only criticism as such would for Dre’…. Keep your head up. You sold out on the attempted tackle against Gonzales and he scored. You are better than that dude; one of the best.
Sincerely, Jim Kennedy
There was a hit you made on Gonzalez early in the fourth I think. Where you knocked the ball loose on what was almost a catch by Tony. Well done man, I like seeing you out there. It’s funny you read this blog it builds a good fan connection. Then I see you make a play like that and its like oh sh*t I gotta tell him how awesome that play was. Anyway, good job man.
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