Jim Saccomano

I was just sitting here thinking of a blog topic this morning, and my mind started drifting (again) all along the NFL landscape.

We have great interest in all the teams in pro football, but seldom do we give any thought to how any team got its name.

After a while, we are so used to a reference that we give no thought to its origin.

Some of the NFL nicknames are of obvious origin, but there are a few unique aspects to some nicknames that I thought I would share, just for the fun of it.

(more…)

Jay Cutler’s growth and development have been both very positive and obvious to everyone who watches the Broncos.

It is clear he has a great arm, can make all the throws, and has an abundance of quarterback smarts. 

Members of the coaching staff and teammates have been quick to continuously praise his passion for the game and work ethic, which are vital elements that have to be included in the overall talent and intelligence package.

He is just the same for us in the public relations department.

When people ask me what Jay Cutler is like, I always tell them that is is one of whose guys who “gets it.”  He just seems to have a natural understanding of his role with the team, his role in the city, and the responsibilities that go along with being the quarterback of this team in this city.

(more…)

The 2007 Denver Broncos Alumni Reunion weekend is this week, and it is going to be bigger than ever.

It is the longest running and largest alumni gathering in the National Football League, and one of the first big initiatives by Pat Bowlen upon his purchase of the team in 1984. That was the first year of the reunion, and also the beginning of the Ring of Fame, induction to which is the greatest honor that the Broncos can bestow on a player.

This year the alumni reunion dinner on Friday night and the pregame introductions on Sunday will feature approximately 150 former Broncos, a cavalcade of superstars, all-stars, and just plain good guys who proudly represented the orange and blue over the period from 1960 until now — although that 1960 team represented the Broncos in mustard and brown, not orange and blue.

On Sunday before the Broncos play the Jaguars those 150 former players will be introduced to one of the great audiences in pro football on what shapes up as a beautiful fall day in the first week of the autumnal equinox, and at halftime the 21st member of the Ring of Fame will see his name on the facade of INVESCO Field at Mile High.

(more…)

Broncos fans are basking in the euphoria of a 2-0 start, one that on the surface (the very superficial surface) has a lot of luck attached to it.

Everybody watches all the newscasts on Sunday, and every one of them is loaded with Bronco stories, and the comments relative to luck have been widespread.

No question about it, the Broncos have had some good fortune, and we’ll take it.

But we should not forget how many times the past few years situations have arisen that played out just the opposite of what we have seen the lst two weeks.

These things go in cycles, and often the cycles are tied a whole lot to the prevalent talent on a team.

(more…)

Once upon a time we depended on the morning newspaper, the afternoon newspaper, the TV news at 5 and 10 p.m., and some occasional radio information as our news sources.

How things have changed in the last two decades.

The standard sources still exist, to be sure, and they are as aggressive in the pursuit of information as ever.

But radio now has more talk shows than anyone can count — and that’s just in one city.

Television newscasts — the five and ten — have been joined by the 5 a.m., 6 a.m. 7 a.m., 12 noon, 4 p.m., 6 p.m broadcasts, to say nothing of the local stations now competing with dozens of networks, many of which are 24 hours a day.

And that’s before we consider the Internet.  

(more…)

As some readers may know, I have recently authored a book, my first, titled Game of My Life: Denver Broncos, in which 20 former players focus on what each considers the greatest game, for whatever reason, of his Broncos career.

For 30 years I have been honored to represent the Broncos in literally thousands of situations involving interviews or interpersonal contact with the public, but last night I had an opportunity to do something completely new — and after 30 years, you can imagine there is not a lot of “completely new” that one encounters.

The publisher (Sports Publishing, LLC of Champaign, Illinois) has arranged a number of book signings at various stores, and last night’s was the first, at a Barnes and Noble in Colorado Springs.

I approached it not knowing what it would be like, and certainly with no idea of attendance, or interest. 

(more…)

Everybody who saw the Broncos’ heart-stopping 15-14 win at Buffalo was astonished, captivated, electrified and stunned by the finish.

This is my 30th year with the Broncos, and I have never seen a finish like that.

Neither had anyone else among a veteran press corps whom I informally polled after the game.

Game-winning field goals at the final gun are nothing new in the National Football League, but for the kick to take place in that amount of time, without any clock stoppage, is remarkable.

Basically, the Broncos ran two plays in 18 seconds, the pass from Jay Cutler to Javon Walker, and then, with no clock stoppage, the offense left the field and the special teams took the field, lined up without flinching, snapped, and kicked.

(more…)

With the start of the NFL regular season comes one of the most prized aspects of the season, for those of us who work within the sport — that being routine.

During the all-important training-camp period, the Denver Broncos played games on Monday night, Saturday night, Saturday night, and Thursday night, squeezing four preseason games into an 18-day period.

In between, there were two-a-day practices, special teams practices, meetings in the morning, noon, and night, with player treatment and press sessions to go along with every period on the field.

Every team looks forward to settling into the routine, which does not vary much for any NFL club during the course of the season.

(more…)

All 32 National Football League teams set their 2007 rosters over the weekend.

A flurry of activity saw moves including waivers, physically unable to perform, injured reserve, trade talk, and unsigned free agents going here or there.

What it all amounts to is that a team’s roster is always something that must be viewed in the present only.

There are always improvements and updates to rosters, due to a variety of factors including but not limited to injury and available players with varying skill levels.

(more…)