Pausing to Reflect
There are times when the games simply don’t matter, when winning and losing are but luxuries compared to the things that last.
Games come and go. The people who play them are so much more important than the results.
From time to time, circumstances arise which jar us back to that reality. Things happen that force us to again remember that perhaps our zeal overtakes the need to keep the important things in focus and in perspective.
This is such a time.
Another Physical ChallengeAs Sunday’s matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars gets one day closer, the Broncos remember last year’s game all too well.
The Jags jumped out to an early 17-7 lead in the first half, extending it to 20-7 before the Broncos would get on the board again. A fourth quarter touchdown got Denver within a score, but it was not to be. The Jaguars won that game 23-14. This year, the Broncos would like to swap it up.
Denver is coming off a 16-13 win over a Buccaneers team that is similar to Jacksonville in several ways. Both teams like to play hard-nosed defense. Both like to pound the ball in the running game. And in that game against the Bucs, the Denver defense stepped up to match the physicality of their opponent. They’ll need to do it again this week.
A Final FarewellThis will be my last blog entry – although I guess maybe I could come back maybe as a guest way, way in the future. It has been a little over a year and all of the fans have gotten an opportunity to get to know me and understand what I have going on in my head and off the head. I think I should allow someone else the opportunity to do so. Good luck to whoever that ends up being. It’s been great getting to know all of your through your messages. I appreciate everybody. I am going to miss it. It’s become an enjoyable part of my career, but I can’t be stingy. I have to share the wonderful internet fans with someone else. So, again, this will be my last one, but I might peek my head back into the blog every now and then.
First day of camp was great. Personally, I was a little rusty, but I’m starting to get back into the swing of things, but it was a lot of fun to get back out there for practice. One great thing about this time of year is that there are endless possibilities. We have high expectations and stuff.
I haven’t gotten a good chance to look at the new rookies and free agents yet. I imagine that they are getting acclimated to the NFL life and the mile-high altitude.
Tender SignedThe most significant thing that happened was I signed my tender. It’s great, I am happy to be back with the Broncos. Just the more time you spend in the business the more you learn. The ins and outs, the good and the bad. But I am very happy to be able to spend another year — barring anything akward like a trade. I am happy I will be spending another year here in Denver — a city that I have grown to love. Colorado is a great place.
It was weird all offseason because I had a contract pending with the Broncos, it felt like I was on an episode of “Deal or No Deal.” The Broncos offered me a case and I looked around at the rest of the cases and there were no other lucrative cases, so I pressed the button last Friday. I am very happy about the decision I made and happy to be back for another year.
I am also looking forward to focusing on corner, which should allow me to make a lot more plays and return to the very talented young corner that I was before I started bouncing around and filling in for the team at safety and various other positions. I am very excited about signing some new guys, which keep me at corner and I can rekindle my corner talent.
New Year, New SeasonSeason’s over and the year’s over also.
It’s been an eventful year for us. Ups and downs and a lot of challenges. We obviously didn’t get to where we were expected to go. Didn’t fulfill all of our goals and maximize our talent this year. I think this is a time right now right after the season to reflect on our own individual performances and performance as a team.
That being said, I personally recognize that there’s things that I need to work on going into next season. It’s important to be really critical of yourselves right now when things haven’t gone well.
Happy HolidaysHappy Holidays to everyone.
I wish everybody a happy and fun and safe holiday season. I will keep it short since it is the holiday season and I don’t want to take up everybody’s time.
Hopefully you’ll be able to spend it with your family making good holiday memories. I have a lot of great holiday memories myself. I remember being a kid trying to sneak down to open the presents before Christmas and always getting caught. Those were the good old days. Christmas doesn’t quite have the same excitement as it did back then but it’s still a lot of fun. I still enjoy the season.
Plaudits for My Fellow Blogger
Domonique Foxworth was so taken aback by being named the Broncos’ Walter Payton Man of the Year recipient Friday that he had no clue that he was now a nominee for the league-wide award, bestowed upon one player during Super Bowl week.
“Wow,” he said, laughing. “It hasn’t even crossed my mind. Technically I’m in the running for that?”
Indeed he is, I told him.
“That’s a good one,” he said. “We all know that’s not happening.”
Ah, humility. It’s one of my fellow blogger’s finer traits.
Sure, it means he’ll dismiss his chances of winning the league-wide Payton award.
But I would personally beg to differ and claim that no one could be more deserving this year, not with a flood tide of off-field activites that range from teaching a writing class to promoting collegeincolorado.org and even opening his life to fans via his blog.
Thoughts on Sean Taylor …
The shrill beep that heralds a text message on my phone roused me from an all-too-brief and fitful slumber at 7:04 this morning:
taylor died … how horrible!
It was the news no one in the NFL wanted to hear, but after the smattering of reports leaking from South Florida over the previous 24 hours regarding Sean Taylor, it was anything but a surprise. When I had told my anesthesiologist girlfriend about the extent and location of his wounds, she seemed amazed that he’d managed to cling to life throughout a day as harrowing as it was sad for his nearest and dearest. Such is the heart of a champion athlete, unbridled until its final beat.
In Denver, it reopens wounds that have healed for some in Broncos Country, but have only begun to scab over for others.
Another death by gunshot.
Maybe I’m wrong, but my brain repeatedly circles around to an idealist’s notion, that all killings at the barrel of a gun are ultimately preventable. It certainly isn’t part of the natural order of things for vibrant, healthy 24-year-olds like Taylor and Darrent Williams to leave the world like this — or for the thousands of others who die in similar fashion, leaving friends and families mired in grief after such senseless extinguishment of life’s glowing flame.
An Emotional Game, but a Great WinAlright, time for another fun and exciting blog with everybody’s favorite Bronco, Domonique Foxworth.
Well, this is probably going to be the most fun blog that I’ve done in quite some time — at least four weeks — because we got a win. I played a large role in the game, which is always a good feeling, especially coming off a couple weeks missed by injuries and several losses in a row, which We as Broncos players and you as Broncos fans are not accustomed to. But it made the win feel that much better, I guess.
It’s something to be proud of, because the Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the top teams and are respected for being one of the toughest and most talented teams in the AFC. To be able to get a win against them and play well is great. We played probably as well as we have so far on special teams and played pretty well on defense. I think we did great on special teams, which is one of the most underrated things about football, how important field position is. That’s all decided through special teams. We had some great coverage in kickoffs this year for the first time this season. We also had some pretty good returns, and had an all-around solid special teams game.
On offense we were able to score touchdowns, which has been something that’s been difficult for us this year. We were able to score touchdowns, which are a lot better than field goals. We made some turnovers and even scored on defense this week, so I think we played just about as well as we’ve played, as far as a complete game is concerned, this year.
Click to continue reading “An Emotional Game, but a Great Win”
Amon Gordon’s HomecomingAmidst a thicket of Broncos players, team staffers, local media members and children headed for school, Amon Gordon glanced at his surroundings Tuesday morning and smiled.
This was the kickoff event for the construction of the Darrent Williams Teen Center at the Broncos Boys and Girls Club. But for Gordon, it was a homecoming. What he saw around him was his entire path through life — where he’d been, and who he’d become.
The presence of his teammates reflected his present and future as an emerging young defensive tackle, finally establishing his name as an NFL contributor. The teenagers and grammar-school students scurrying about the club, however, reflected his past.
“This is me,” he said.