In the Green Room with Floyd

February 8th, 2010 - 10:44am by jim_saccomanoOther posts by jim_saccomano

Little

Sunday morning at the Super Bowl, and I have just enough time before heading to the stadium for an 18-hiour day to pen a few notes about the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection.

Very disappointing about Shannon Sharpe, and there is no time like now, but he made the final 10, and every candidate who has ever made the final 10 has gotten in sooner or later and Shannon likely will make it sooner, as in very soon.

Had a chance to visit the green room (since I set up the facilities at the media center I knew where all the green rooms were, and who was in which one) as soon as Floyd’s name was called.

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Keeping Our Fingers Crossed For Floyd

February 2nd, 2010 - 2:48pm by jim_saccomanoOther posts by jim_saccomano

Floyd Little

Floyd Little comes up for a big vote by the selectors of the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, and if all is right and just, he should be selected.

There are no guarantees, but beyond the extraordinary hold that he still has on the hearts and minds of Denver Broncos fans, his body of work screams for induction.

The statistics have been gone over and poured over time after time, but there are a couple of other facts to consider in “out of the box” thinking regarding Floyd.

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Lots of Football Over the Next Eight Days

January 30th, 2010 - 11:43pm by jim_saccomanoOther posts by jim_saccomano

Pro Bowl

This is one of the most exciting weeks of the year for fans who follow football, which seems to be just about everybody in America.

For the first time since 1959 the National Football League all-star game, The Pro Bowl, will take place before the championship game.

I saw an interesting piece by Pat Kirwin on NFL.com today in which he said, basically, let’s give this Pro Bowl game a chance.

Here, here, Pat. That statement not only is fair but is the only one that could be accurate for the simple reason that no one knows what is going to happen in a live event that is not rehearsed.

It is so popular for the press to trash the game, and along the way they purport to us that this is the view of the entire country, when in fact television ratings (here I go again) for the last decade have steadily had the Pro Bowl as one of the most popular TV sporting events.

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A New Pro Bowl

January 26th, 2010 - 12:45pm by jim_saccomanoOther posts by jim_saccomano

Pro Bowl

We are down to the final two weeks of the 2009 National Football League season and for the first time ever the Pro Bowl will precede the Super Bowl.

It promises to be a very exciting two weeks, and before all the pundits begin with their annual diatribes knocking the Pro Bowl, I wanted to get in a couple of comments about the league all-star game.

We all know that the nature of football as a collision sport negates some of the style and strategy used in a regular game, but when was the last time you watched the Pro Bowl and saw somebody frown?

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More Bronco Honors

January 13th, 2010 - 10:39am by jim_saccomanoOther posts by jim_saccomano

It is a given and understood by any true fan that an individual honor pales next to team success, but it is still a pleasure to see guys recognized for the hard work, dedication and professionalism which they brought to the Denver Broncos in 2009.

Most recently, The Sporting News on Wednesday came out with its annual all-pro defensive team, and just two teams were represented by more than one player.

One is the Minnesota Vikings, who are poised for and hoping to have a deep playoff run. Defensive end Jared Allen and tackle Kevin Williams of the Vikings both were named.

But the only other team to have more than one player represented on the Sporting News group is Denver, which had both safety Brian Dawkins and Elvis Dumervil named by the publication.

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Interesting Conversation

January 7th, 2010 - 1:52pm by jim_saccomanoOther posts by jim_saccomano

It has been real interesting reading the many comments to my blog posting of January 6, in which I said that the Broncos’ very success over many years is one of the reasons for frustration.

Lots of fans have written in with their comments, which is great and much appreciated.

I have a couple of thoughts regarding those who establish what they want us to believe is expert opinion.

Those opinions are largely established after the fact, not before the fact.

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Success A Reason Behind Disappointment

January 6th, 2010 - 2:01pm by jim_saccomanoOther posts by jim_saccomano

There are no happy Denver Broncos fans right now.

From owner Pat Bowlen to Head Coach Josh McDaniels, through the ranks of coaches and administrators and all the players in the locker room, including all fans near and far who are feverish in their support of Broncos Country, everyone is disappointed.

And one of the reasons for this is the team’s success.

The final 8-8 record was as good as or better than almost all media members predicted, but due to the way the season unfolded it ended badly.

But they all end badly when you don’t finish in a championship game.

So let’s take a look at why we all feel so bad.

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Five Pro Bowlers Marks Good News

December 30th, 2009 - 9:29am by jim_saccomanoOther posts by jim_saccomano

Football is a team game, more than any other, but it is still played by individuals, and this week’s announcement of the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl team had plenty of good news for the Denver Broncos and their fans.

Most seasons, teams have situations in which a player who was deemed worthy by the locals and their fans is omitted from a selection, and that pretty much did not happen this year for the Bronco players most deserving, at least by a statistical measure.

Champ Bailey has been named to his ninth Pro Bowl in 11 seasons, which ties Hall of Famer Mike Haynes for the most in NFL history at the cornerback position. Bailey has been named to the Pro Bowl five times as a Bronco and seems like a lock for the Team of the Decade for the 2000’s, a likely preamble to a Hall of Fame selection for Champ.

Tackle Ryan Clady was named to his first Pro Bowl team and is just the 11th tackle in NFL history to earn a Pro Bowl selection in his first two pro seasons. That takes in a tremendous number of players over the years and is a comment as to the talent and potential which Clady has.

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You Can’t Force Love

December 23rd, 2009 - 2:13pm by jim_saccomanoOther posts by jim_saccomano

That headline is not really the title of a country song or a preview to a book on philosophy.

It is just an old saying of mine and others regarding the fact that there are at least two things you cannot command or direct from people, those being love and respect.

You can own a company, run a firm, have a relationship, or whatever, but it does not work if you demand love and/or respect.

When these come our way, they are given voluntarily, and all we can do is accept them and be humble about being loved.

That brings us to Denver broncos safety Brian Dawkins.

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Record Day For Marshall

December 14th, 2009 - 10:55am by jim_saccomanoOther posts by jim_saccomano

You never know what you will see when you attend or tune into a sports event.

Sunday at Indianapolis, the Colts just had too much overall for the Broncos, although Denver had some opportunities after falling behind 21-0.

But a shining light for the Broncos was the play of wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who truly had a day for the ages in setting a new NFL record with 21 receptions — an astonishing single-game total.

He had 200 receiving yards with two touchdowns, and the 21 catches were six more than any other player in the league has had in a single game this year. He surpassed the previous record, which was 20 by Terrell Owens.

Marshall now has had two of the top four single-game performances in NFL history. He had 18 at home against the Chargers in 2008, which currently is tied for third best all-time.

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