A Super Bowl Championship is the Only True Redeemer

2 days after the Super Bowl loss last year I had to write this to defend my Broncos fandom. It’s time to post it again for all the haters. Click here to read “As Diehard as They Come.”

I haven't been inspired to write much about the Broncos this year so I’ll thank the detractors I debated yesterday for getting me motivated today.  

The only way Peyton Manning will ever win me over is to erase this image from my mind.

I still stand by what said. The window is slowly closing for Manning. If the Broncos don't win the AFC West this year and are a wild card instead it'll be very difficult to impossible for them to win 3 road games. I think the odds of the Broncos winning the SB are far less even if they do get playoff games at home especially if the Patriots get home field. Brady may have lost to the Packers this week in Green Bay but he’ll be back and if his team gets home field throughout the Broncos, if they get that far, are going to be heavy underdogs going into New England.  

If your being an honest fan of the game and not some blind Broncos homer the fact is offensively, the Broncos had a better team last year than this one.

The D this season has stepped up and maybe that will be the key to getting to and winning the SB. Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware have had amazing seasons thus far. Brandon Marshall has been a great tackler and he hasn’t received enough ink. The jury however is still out on the Broncos secondary. After the losses to the Patriots and the Rams I wasn’t impressed with the play of expensive free agents Aqib Talib or TJ Ward. Is this year’s secondary better than last year’s? Not at the moment, but we’ll see in if they can redeem themselves in the playoffs.  

After losing to the Rams a few weeks ago maybe Fox finally figured out that the other key to moving onto to a successful postseason is running the football way more often. I’ve been saying for 2 years that the Broncos were not patient enough in the running game, no matter which RB they have in the backfield they needed to go to it more often. The Chiefs D was ranked near the bottom of the league in rush defense going in but when they play at home they still give the Broncos a tough game.

Let’s pray that that Ball and Hillman can return from their injuries because down the stretch we’ll need every healthy RB we can get to make a SB run.

Manning has to understand that he will not help his or the Broncos march to a Super Bowl by getting in the shotgun, frantically waving his arms and throwing short passes on every down. Yesterday I was happy to see him at the very least have the good sense to huddle up because of the crowd noise on some plays so the players could hear which play he was calling. I’m for totally abandoning the hurry offense for an entire game, it’s not working nor is it fooling defenses are well as it did in the beginning. It should only be used late in the 1^st half or late in the 4^th quarter if the Broncos are playing from behind but not for 60 minutes.

It’s incredibly egotistical and arrogant for Manning to believe he alone can win every game with his arm. He has to let his offensive line show that they can run the ball effectively until someone can stop it. He has to slow the game down and give the other players on offense a chance to catch their breath and their senses.

The only way to win a championship is if the team plays together and each man does his job. The fact is though Manning is the leader and if he doesn’t play or call the kind of game that allows his teammates to help him the Broncos are not going win a Super Bowl.

This is Manning’s last chance despise all his regular season records and insane fantasy football stats to prove his real legacy isn’t crumbling under the pressure of big games. When Manning is finished, he’ll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. His individual accomplishments are brilliant beyond description but his 11-12 playoff record, which includes eight one-and-done appearances are what I'll remember and what other Broncos should remember, not his regular season performances.

If the Broncos don’t beat San Diego and Cincinnati in the next 4 weeks and Manning flops in the playoffs again I say he must hang them up and the Broncos have to move in another direction. I’m a diehard Broncos Fan but I just don’t think he has what it takes to get it done. Make me eat my words Peyton then I’ll join your fan club.  

10 Reject Quarterbacks start while Tebow sets

Orton, Stanton, Sanchez, Bridgewater, Hill, Carr, Bortles, Mallet, Mettenberger and McCown all starting QB's today in the NFL. And yet Tim Tebow doesn't have a job. Are you kidding me?

It's unbelievable that to this day Tebow never got a chance to prove he could be a starting NFL QB.

Tebow is equal to or better than any of these bums starting today. He's got 10 times the heart of any of these rejects and when he played he proved he could win games.

If I was the owner of any of these teams I'd sign him in a heartbeat. I'm still ticked how Tebow got shafted in Denver and I don't give a damn if Broncos Fans don't like what I say. All the talking heads said he wasn't a good enough passer, well that's because the Coaches he played for never gave him enough reps to become one. 

Recently they had a show on the NFL Network called, "The Top 10 QB Teases." Tebow was 6th on the list when he doesn't even belong on it. It was just another opportunity for all of his haters to dog pile on him again.

Tebow was no tease, he took over a crappy Broncos team and led them to a playoff win. And after that he never got a chance to be a full time starter for any team. The Jets were a horrible place to land and Ryan only signed him to motivate Sanchez and we all saw how that worked out.

Tim if you read this I'm so sorry the Broncos let you go and I'm still furious that the NFL blackballed you. You should be starting for one of these teams today. 

When Manning retires I may be able to let part of my grudge go but in my opinion no other player in NFL history deserved a chance to prove himself than you. God Bless you, I respect and admire you and it's a down right dirty shame you're not playing today.

No acknowledgement of GOP Gains from the Daily Astorian

It’s been over a week and still no story and no editorial comment from Steve Forrester of The Daily Astorian about the Democrats losing control of the US Senate nor of the dramatic shift in Governor’s and State Assemblies this election cycle. Instead he’s let the New York Slimes left wing editorial writers do his bidding.  

Forrester did gave the customary victory lap to all the local and state Democrats that held their seats in Oregon the day after the election but didn’t have the moral courage or honesty to admit the rest of the nation sent the Democrats packing.

With the exception of California and Oregon, no surprise there, the nation took a stunningly historic right turn. Both of these states clearly didn’t get the nationwide memo. You have to wonder when the plastic utopian bubbles they live in will burst.

For the record, since the Astorian has been shell shocked into the complete silence and denial, here are the numbers from the national election.   

Republicans gained 7 U.S. Senate seats, giving them a 52-seat majority, 2 races are still outstanding, in Louisiana and Alaska. Republicans won 12 net seats in the US House to expand their majority beyond their post-World War II record of 246 seats set in the 1946 election.

Republicans picked up Democratic-held governorships in deep blue states such as Massachusetts, Maryland and Illinois, as well as in Arkansas. The wins swell the ranks of Republican governors to at least 31, near a high water mark in the modern era. The Democrats, by contrast only control all three legs of the governing stool in 6 states.

Republican gains extended to state legislative chambers as well. Before Election Day, the GOP controlled 59 of 98 partisan legislative chambers across the country. On Tuesday, the Republicans had won control of the Nevada Assembly and Senate, the Colorado and Maine Senates and state House chambers in Minnesota, New Mexico, West Virginia and New Hampshire.

That would give the Republican Party control of 67 chambers, five more than their previous record in the modern era, set after special elections in 2011 and 2012.

The complete repudiation of Obama, the Democrats and their agenda was kicked to the curb last week. If only believers of Forrester’s rants would do the same.

The Koch's vs Robert Kennedy Jr.

The Koch Brothers are the 2 headed devil the left and the lame stream media so often target. I'd challenge them to click on the link below and read this article. I seriously doubt it’ll do anything to influence their misguided opinion but you never know.

The Koch Brothers

Koch v. Kennedy: Philanthropist Versus Narcissist

The Koch's are successful producers of wealth, jobs and tax revenues which use to be a good thing in this country but not to a socialist and an environmental nut job like Robert Kennedy JR.

Unfortunately for us, John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and when he died so did capitalism in the Kennedy family tree. Robert Kennedy Jr.'s mantra is the polar opposite of his Uncle JFK, his is, “Ask not what a job can do for you, but what Big Brother can do for you if you do nothing for yourself.” 

Big government socialism and class warfare define RFK Jr. and the left wing extremists, not hard work or independence. 

As for the campaign financing issue you never hear the left complain about the mega rich Democrats trying to influence the left’s agenda or elections do you?

Men like George Soros, Tom Steyer, Michael Bloomberg, Warren Buffett or Co-Founder of Google Eric Schmidt can contribute millions to political campaigns and it’s perfectly acceptable because they all fall in line with the left’s message.

Then there's this excerpt from a Wall Street Journal article published on Sept. 25, 2014:

“The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has so far this cycle raised $111 million or $30 million more than the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The DSCC has spent or reserved nearly $42 million for this fall in TV advertising—55% of it in Iowa, Colorado and North Carolina. The $23 million it will spend in those three key states—which could determine Senate control—is $4 million more than the NRSC will spend across the country.

After the DSCC, the biggest spender has been Harry Reid's Senate Majority PAC. Run by former Reid aides, this Super PAC's only mission has been to trash Republican challengers to take their approval ratings as low as those of Democratic incumbents. The group has already raised more than $32 million, with $16.5 million in TV ads reserved through Election Day”

The left didn’t like the Supreme Court’s decision in April of this year which takes the caps off of the total amount of money that any individual can contribute in a 2 year election cycle for good reason. First and foremost it’s a 1^st amendment issue but free speech only works one way with Liberals.

People of all political stripes as individuals or groups (PACS) must be allowed to exercise free speech no matter how much money is involved. Conservatives can't expect to fight off the liberal hordes if they alone decide which campaign financing laws to abide by. 

It’s infuriating that in the last Presidential election cycle Team Obama raised a record $1.1 billion to win reelection yet no Democrat expressed outrage. Why? It’s simple, as long it fits into their playbook, fine, if it’s the opposition it’s politically and morally intolerable. 

Meanwhile we read every day in the funny papers how Obama is attending his next Hollywood fundraiser to do battle with the evil Koch Brothers and the extreme right wingers. He has headlined more than 400 fundraisers since he took office, 89 of them this election cycle, as he fights to keep his agenda and legacy intact by maintaining Democratic control of at least one chamber of Congress in DC.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/10/16/242923/gwyneth-paltrow-tells-obama-youre.html#storylink=cpy

Last week he attended a fundraiser at the home of Gwyneth Paltrow. Most of us know that Paltrow is not of this earth but from another planet, Pluto maybe, but her statement in support of Obama speaks volumes. She said, “It would be wonderful if we were able to give this man all of the power that he needs to pass the things that he needs to pass.”

Without men like the Koch Brothers speaking out are country is headed in the same direction as a France. Big government and massive taxation will continue to drive more and more business out of the United States just as it is doing not just in France, but England, Spain, and Italy. All in the name of "Social Justice." What is Social Justice? The video below explains it brilliantly.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/10/16/242923/gwyneth-paltrow-tells-obama-youre.html#storylink=cpyWithout men like the Koch Brothers speaking out are country is headed in the same direction as a France. Big government and massive taxation will drive more and more business out of the United States just as it is doing not just in France but England, Spain, Italy, Cuba and Brazil.Unfortunately the army of Big Government Socialists, the Climate Change Drones and the massive amount of wealth being drained out of economy by big social spending bureaucrats is winning the narrative today despite the incredible failures of unchecked socialism. All in the name of "Social Justice." What is Social Justice? This video explains:

I only pray more prosperous patriots like the Koch Brothers join the fight and not remain on the sidelines. If not we’ll see more of our freedoms, wealth and personal property taken from us by an every increasing non-accountable and out of control centralized government.            

       

In Memoriam: Matt Hooten

Matt shortly after he was hired as a Sheriff's Deputy.

8 years ago today, August 8, 2006, my friend Matt Hooten took his own life. He was just 23 years old. I’ve wanted to write about his death for years but the pain and the emotion involved in doing so was something I had not yet had the courage for.

His death had a profound effect on me. When I learned the circumstances it completely unraveled me to the core, breaking my heart. I’ll confess here and now that when I got the call about his untimely death, I cried uncontrollably, and I’m a man who rarely cries. I’ve broken down a few times since over different things; but this was the last time I remember that I did so in such prolonged agony. Every year on the anniversary of his death I’m reminded of him and how sad and cruel life can be. He was such a shy, intelligent, sensitive and thoughtful young man who had his whole life ahead of him. 

Matt and I developed a sort of Father/Son relationship when we began the odyssey of attempting to get through the rigors of an 880 hour, full time Police Academy at Yuba College in Marysville, CA.

Matt was one of the youngest cadets, at only 20 years old, I was the oldest at 44. Matt wasn’t in the best physical condition of his life. He was about 5 ft 9 and close to 200 pounds. He didn’t do anything to get himself into shape prior to the academy. He wasn’t alone in his fitness level, a large number of the 20 something men and woman weren’t in good physical condition either, but Matt was one of the worst.

In the first few weeks of physical training and academic testing one by one men and women started to drop out of the academy, 40 plus cadets started the training and only 26 graduated. Some didn’t make it because they couldn’t do it physically but most were kicked out for academic reasons. In the beginning Matt was struggling with the Physical Training. He was near the top academically in the classroom but last in the gym and on the long distance runs.

Matt always had a smile and a good attitude.

In order to graduate we had to be able to run a 99 yard timed obstacle course, drag a 165 pound body for 32 feet, run a timed 500 yard sprint,  run 1.5 miles in under 14 minutes and finally, be able to jump over a 6 foot wall. In the beginning Matt wasn’t finishing the 1.5 mile runs in time and couldn’t jump over the 6 foot wall.

Within the first few weeks Matt started to take some ribbing for his bad physical conditioning. In the academy cliques began to develop. Matt didn’t belong to any because he was shy and many thought he was to weak and wouldn’t make it physically. By the midway point the ribbing became progressively worse. The smart ass comments by a few of the guys in the academy started to get under my skin. I despise bullies and the situation with Matt was spinning out of control. 

One day after completing a long run Matt finished last. One of the notorious loud mouths started hurling insults at Matt. I finally blew my gasket and in front of all the cadets, I shouted, “LEAVE MATT ALONE! THE NEXT TIME ONE OF YOU SAYS SOMETIME SMART TO HIM I’LL KICK YOUR ASS!” From then on, at least to his face anyway, the insults stopped.  

After that I tried to make a point of talking to Matt and giving him moral support during breaks in the training. Matt shared his personal story with me as I got to know him. Matt’s Dad, Uncle and his Aunt were all in Law Enforcement. His Dad was a Sheriff’s Deputy for the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department in Stockton, CA. Stockton, at the time, was a very dangerous city and they lead the nation in grand theft auto. They were also one of the biggest gang and drug dealing cities in the state of California.  

Matt told me that he had always wanted to be a cop and went on many a ride-along as a teenager. In the same breath he would say what he really wanted to do was become a History major. He had a girlfriend that was pregnant when he joined the academy. She had a miscarriage while he was in training. Not long thereafter their relationship fell apart.

As the academy went along the stress to excel in order to graduate increased. It became apparent that Matt’s heart wasn’t truly in it, especially after the loss of the baby and the break up. He was still academically one of the best in the class and, as I’ve said, was struggling physically. I started to believe, though I never asked, that maybe the reason he didn’t drop out was due to family pressure. Whether it was real or imagined I’m certain it was a factor.

Matt and I on graduation day.

Matt lost some weight and continued to improve both physically and mentally. In the last 2 weeks of the academy he finally was able to scale the 6 foot wall. Matt made it to graduation day, despite the obstacles. I remember well the day we graduated. I praised him and told him how proud I was of him. I told him to stay in touch with me after we left the academy in May of 2004, which we did through phone calls and emails.

In October of 2004 I got a job as Police Officer in Sacramento. Not long after that Matt called me one day and told me he got a job as a Sheriff’s Deputy with San Joaquin County. Not always, but typically, what happens in large Sheriff’s departments is, once hired you start out working security in the courts. Such was the case with Matt. He told me that once he did his time in the courts he would get an opportunity, at some point, to be a patrolman.

When he told me that, I was leery about whether he was really capable of handling himself physically and emotionally as a patrolman in a dangerous city, such as Stockton, CA. Frankly, what I hoped, was that the department would keep him in the courts until he got older and became more mature, before giving him a patrol position. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen.

A few months later Matt called me and told he was getting his shot to be a patrolman. The first 90 days of patrol are a probationary period that required you to ride with a Field Training Officer (FTO). After the 90 days, if the FTO finds you competent, you start to go out on patrols alone.

Matt was within a week of finishing his probationary period when he and his FTO pulled over a vehicle that been reported stolen in Stockton one night. Grand Theft Auto is a felony offense and as such when a vehicle that has been reported stolen is stopped certain procedures must be used to ensure officer safety. Matt and his FTO followed the procedures to the letter but when the perpetrator exited the car he pulled a gun on them. Matt and the FTO already had their guns drawn; they fired them and killed the man. As they approached him after the shooting they noticed that the gun lying next to him was a fake black plastic handgun. It was a clearly a case of suicide by cop.

Matt called me the next day and told me what happened. He said he was doing okay with it because he knew it was a justifiable shooting. I knew that Matt would have to go on paid administrative leave until the investigation into the shooting was complete and that he'd have to undergo some psychological counseling as well.

During the conversation his demeanor seemed a little rattled by the experience; and who wouldn’t be after taking another man’s life, but I couldn’t detect anything out of the ordinary in his voice. I told him he could call me anytime if he needed someone to talk to and we said our goodbyes.

Ironically, Matt sent me this email on April 21, 2006. Little did he know 3 months later he’d be in the same life and death situation too.

Hello Everyone, I think the video in the below link is a must see for anyone who is in the law enforcement field. It was shown to us during briefing and it left all of us feeling sick at the end.

The video is of an encounter between a 24 year old Georgia Deputy and a 5150 subject who the Deputy had made a "routine" traffic stop on. What you see in the video when the suspect (S) walks back to his truck that he is loading rounds into a rifle. The Deputy did not fire at the (S) until he had been fired upon. What happens next is a valuable and costly officer safety lesson. The audio is as important as the visual on this video.  

(Note: I didn't include the video he sent me because I'm sure you can paint your own picture, the officer was shot and killed.)

 Thank You and Stay Safe,

Matthew Hooten, 
Deputy Sheriff II,
San Joaquin Sheriff's Department

Creepy isn't it?

Anyway, not long after the shooting, and I can’t say for sure how long, maybe 3 weeks, maybe a month, I got an email from his ex-girlfriend asking me to call her. This was the girlfriend that lost Matt's baby. Matt had met someone else when he was hired as a Sheriff’s Deputy, but I never met her. I heard later they had been engaged to be married.

When I called his ex-girlfriend to see what she wanted she told me the bad news. Bam! Like a hammer the guilt hit me that I hadn’t talked to him since the shooting to check up on him. She told me that Matt had just broken up with his new girlfriend the night before he killed himself, and that he’d been drinking heavily the day of the shooting.  

The combination of the fatal shooting he was involved in, then the breakup of his relationship with his girlfriend, then add alcohol and a gun to the mix and suddenly in an instant Matt’s life was over. I believe the real or imagined family pressure to be a cop was a contributing factor as well.

I was living in San Diego when he died but I drove up to the funeral in Stockton. It’s the first time in my life that someone I was close to killed himself, and subsequently a first time funeral as a result of suicide. The grief on his parent’s faces was something that I will never forget as long as I live. It is, without a doubt, one of the saddest days I’ve ever experienced in my life.

The truth is Matt had no business getting into law enforcement; he just wasn’t built for it. I wish Matt had followed his heart and become a history teacher. It’s another example of how extremely difficult life can be in law enforcement and why there is a higher than average suicide rate.

Matt was a great kid, I pray for his family and for his soul. My prayers go out to him, his family and his friends on this sad anniversary date. I’m sure he's running through the minds of all the people that loved and cared about him today.  

God Bless you Matt.