A Football Life: Walter Payton

I loved watching this show last night. It's great to see any show honoring Payton. I'm 51 years old so I remember just like it was yesterday watching Payton play football as a teenager. He played on some very crappy Bears teams for years when he was the only player on offense they had. Despite that the guy still pounded out tough yards week after week. Every defense that played him knew he'd get the ball and he still pounded out yards.

I'll always remember well the game when he set a NFL single game rushing record of 275 yards against the Vikings that still had a very tough defensive unit in 1977. Carl Eller, Alan Page, Jim Marshall, Matt Blair, Jeff Siemon and Paul Krause were playing on the Vikings D. Fran Tarkenton, Chuck Foreman and Amad Rashad we’re on the O so it was no small feat. I saw the entire game on TV.

Before the game they said he was sick with the flu, throwing up and had a temp over a 101 and it was questionable whether he would even play. The Bears won the game 10 to 7 on the lone TD scored by Payton. It was the most amazing performance by a RB maybe ever against one of greatest D's let alone teams of that era.

Payton had it all, speed, power and moves that faked guys completely out of their shoes. He blocked well and became a good receiver. He was the ultimate warrior and he labored on one of the worst teams ever until 1984. He earned every yard on his stat sheet.

I've said this many times in my life and I still stand by it, Payton was not just the best overall Running Back in the history of the game, he was the greatest football player to every put on a uniform. The show they did a while back on the NFL Network rating the greatest players ever where they picked Jerry Rice #1 was BS. Rice was the greatest WR no one would disagree but Payton was the greatest player ever. I know many claim Jim Brown was the greatest RB ever but he did play on one of the greatest overall teams of his era with the help of one of the best OL’s, QB and Head Coach of the era also. Peyton didn’t have that luxury.

Thanks for the memories Sweetness I'll never forget what an amazing player, inspirational person and role model you were for me as a kid. Thank you and God speed.

Finally...The Tebow Era Begins

No matter what detractors of Tim Tebow had to say about him becoming the starter before the Chargers game Kyle Orton had an overall record with the Broncos coming in of 12-21, 12-22 after today. Another in your face stat is that Orton NEVER has won a game for the Broncos when the team trailed by 3 or more points at halftime.

So why didn’t Fox let Tebow become the starter on opening day? The reasons given were that Orton had more experience and gave the Broncos a better chance to win, really? Of course it wasn’t, the real answer was driven more by $’s and not how great Orton executed X’s and O’s. Orton couldn’t be traded prior to the start of the season and the Broncos are set to pay him a whooping $9 million dollars (Thank you very much Josh McDaniels) in this his last and one would think after today the final year of his contract. The sad truth is today Pro Football is a business first and a game second and that my friends was the primary reason Orton kept the job.

In today’s dollars this may seem to be a fair wage to pay a starting QB in the NFL. Man, I just don’t see it even in today’s dollars; he didn't even come close to earning that much money. The League minimum is $340,000 it could be argued he wasn’t even worth that given his results on the field.

If you’re still not convinced that Orton was an overpaid stiff keep this in mind. In 1983 John Elway was signed by the Broncos to a 6-year contract worth $12.7 million. In those 6 years he gave us 3 AFC Championships and 3 Super Bowl appearances. Not bad for $12.7 mill huh?

What has Orton produced? Zippo!! He came from a great Defensive team in the Bears who had a lot more to with the wins he has on his resume than he did with his skilled play at QB. As the Broncos starter without a solid D to back him up his bogus game has been proven a fraud for all to see over and over.

So with this as a the backdrop going into today’s game I was all set to watch another dark and dull horror show against the Chargers this week. Orton in his usually style came out and played horrible to start the game while the Boo-Birds came out early and often. 3 and outs, incompletions, an interception, underthrown and overthrown balls the same game we’ve all seen from game 7 of 2008 season until today. He was 6 for 14 for 32 yards and 1 INT in the first half. The Broncos had a whooping total of 126 yards of total offense at the half with Willis MaGahee being the only man who was generating anything. MaGahee had a 125 yard rushing day the first Broncos RB to go over a 100 since 2006. Tebow got a token 2 yard QB draw call in the first half that was completely obvious to the Chargers D and everyone in the stadium and that was it for offense.

The only play of note in the first half was made by CB Cassius Vaughn who had Interception return for a TD which was a great play but was negated by the 42 yard TD reception he gave up to Malcolm Floyd right at the end of the second half. He giveth and he taketh away. The Broncos CB’s stink but that’s for another time. The tackling in the first half by the Broncos was some of the worst I’ve seen this season.

After wading through another cesspool in the first half I was sure Orton would come out and start the second half and secure a another win for the Chargers, but NO!! To my surprise #15 trotted out onto the field and suddenly my heart started beating a little faster I sat up in my chair and just like that I was brought back from the dead. Did you notice the transformation of the fans at the stadium when he came in? They were on their feet and screaming. Believe or not for the first time in a year and half I was even screaming and excited.

After Tebow had two 3 and outs the game dramatically tuned. With the Chargers up 26-10 with 13:35 left in the 4th Quarter Tebow led the offense to one score then another off the Rivers fumble. And if not for a dropped pass and a catchable 2 point conversion by Brandon Lloyd the game would have been tied!! Kudos to Lloyd though, he did make a couple of circus catches to keep drives going.

Even after the Chargers kicked another FG to go up 29-24 Tebow was within one play of winning the game with just 24 seconds left in the 4Q.

Did you see the immediate impact the energy of Tebow translated to his teammates on O and even on D? It was dramatic and electric, something we just haven’t seen since Jay Cutler played in Denver. Tebow in just one half proved he’s a warrior, a great runner and scrambler. He also proved he could make the throws when he needed to get the Broncos back in game. To all the critics of his mechanics I say “So what”, if he gets the ball off and makes completions and the team scores in the red zone what more could you ask for? A game that was over at half time with Orton came down to the last play with Tebow.

We finally have seen the end of the Orton Era and the beginning of the Tebow Era and thank God almighty for us long suffering Broncos Fans it was sooner rather than later. Fox would be completely out of his mind to bring Orton back after the bye week. Its Tebow job to lose from now on and I don't see that happening, Orton is done.

I can hardly wait to see how well Tebow plays in his first start at Miami 2 weeks from today. GO TEBOW!!! GO BRONCOS!!!

Kyle Orton lacks, "Controlled Desperation or Sense of Urgency"

Orton may be smiling but he's about to lose his job.

First and foremost I understand football is a team game, I get it. I understand it’ll take time for Fox’s Offensive and Defensive philosophy to gel. Got it, thank you.

 I see and understand how the Broncos D has already improved (Von Miller is awesome) and will continue to improve, how the Broncos Corners must improve, how the young OL still is not playing well in the running game or pass blocking, how the Broncos don’t have a young speedy or even a powerful RB on the roster, how they don’t really have a solid (Sorry, Lloyd isn’t it) go to WR and how they don’t have much depth at many positions. Understood, got it. Lastly, no matter how many fans want to avoid it or deny it, our starting QB is one of the worst in league and isn’t going to improve. So...DEAL WITH IT!!

That is where I choose to focus my attention because it’s the most important leadership position on the field. A good QB can make an enormous difference for a struggling team despite these problems and help the team win tough games. Orton is never going to be the guy, it’s pure stupidly to believe he’s going to shed his skin and turn into Brady.

Speaking of Brady, just remove him from the Patriots, or Manning from the Colts as we’re already seen and what do you have left? About the same sort of talent the Broncos have on both sides of the ball right now. So this ridiculous notion that a staring QB doesn’t matter in the big scheme of things is a big load of bunk and the lamest excuse ever to defend Orton.  

One of the things I’ve noticed is that the fans who support the idea of starting Tebow have less hate and discontent directed at them than by Orton supporters (Of the few who still do) than during our last big QB controversy. Tell me if I’m wrong here? We’re only at week 4 of the NFL season and the rats are jumping the Orton ship much quicker than the same fans that defended Plummer over Cutler in 2007.  

During the Plummer/Cutler nuclear war in Broncos Country back then at the very least you could say that if you loved Plummer or hated him he did play well enough to get the Broncos to within one game of a Super Bowl.

As much as I hated the overrated Plummer and was overjoyed that he finally lost his job at least he had a few more tools to win a game or make a comeback in the 4 Q at times. Though he lacked talent in consistently delivering a long ball, many times the short pass, threw to many INT’s, lost to many fumbles, telegraphed his throws and missed wide open WR’s (Sounds a lot like Orton) Plummer at least had a second chance to make a play with his feet. The other worthy intangible you could hang on Plummer was the guy was a warrior with some heart and passion and played the game that way even in failure. His feet and his passion made his game.

Orton has all the flaws that Plummer had and absolutely zero chance of making a play with his feet. On the field Orton never seems to have that “controlled desperation or sense of urgency” to be a leader when the chips are down and the game is on the line. Orton looks like a zombie who took 3 bottles of Xanax before game time. Being calm, cool and collected is alright if you had a team like Montana had in front of him but when you don’t being a benign disinterested stiff on a team struggling to win at crunch time doesn’t get it either. I’ll take some fire over ice; Orton isn’t ice he’s just frozen solid.

Given all of the flaws in Orton’s game, I just don’t see how the argument can be made that he gives the Broncos a better chance to win than Tebow. Tebow has 2 great intangibles that Orton doesn’t. He’s a big strong young man and is capable of either running or throwing for a TD in the red zone.

The only intangible that Orton can claim is NFL experience. If it were good experienced none of this would even be debated, his job would be secure. But as Woody Paige noted this week, “His overall record as the Broncos' starter is 12-19. The team has won four of Orton's last 20 — a winning percent of 20. He is 0.00 percent when the team trails by three or more at halftime.”

I’m a Diehard Broncos Fan but I’m not a homer, I’m a realist, the Broncos will get slaughtered by the Packers this week. It’s just a question of how wide of a margin it is. So after he leads the team to yet another uninspiring performance I have to believe that Elway and Fox would say uncle.

Like Tebow or not he absolutely cannot play any worse than Orton has over the last 2 seasons. He must be the starter for the Chargers game so we can see if he’s capable of salvaging what’s left of this season. If he stinks, fine, at least we’ll know and then the Broncos can figure out what to do with him next year. He’ll win some and lose some with Orton we could lose all. If nothing else with Tebow in there watching the Broncos won’t be like putting needles in our eyes, throwing rocks at the TV or falling asleep from 3 ½ hours of mind numbing boredom.

Denver Broncos Suffer a Titanic Loss

I’m sitting here trying to find a silver lining in the Broncos immediate future and not finding one. They blew another game yesterday in Tennessee in the same redundant fashion they have over the last 5 years.

The D did a great job of keeping the game close and holding Chris Johnson in check. That’s an amazing accomplishment because for the last 2 years the Broncos have been dead last or near the bottom of the league in rush defense. Still near the end of the game when they needed stops in the 4 Q they didn’t materialize. As always it has to be said football is a team game, the OL didn’t play well in the running game and McGahee who was effective some last week couldn’t break out. The mouthy Lloyd was invisible and couldn’t get any separation and he’s supposed to be our best WR (Decker will soon take over that role) on the team.

The big moment in the game was when the Broncos had the ball inside the 5 yard line of the Titans and ran 4 unimaginative plays resulting in zero points and that was the turning point in the game. It was horrible play calling to be sure and in hindsight the FG would have been the right decision but I understand why Fox wanted to score 6. With first and ten and 4 chances to score a TD inside the 5 an average offense can usually find a way to get it into the end zone but not this team and not with this QB as the starter.

This hard headed and brutal fact says it all. Orton sucks in the red zone. You have to score TD's to win games. Maybe some of the haters on Tebow hate him because they believe he's not ready to be a starter because he isn't experienced enough but believe he can help score 6 points near the goal line.

So I 'm totally confused. How then, is Orton’s experience a bigger plus than Tebow’s when he can’t help the team put points on the board? So then the next question would be why should Orton be allowed to continue to start if can’t help the team scores TD’s? In 2 ½ seasons of football he’s been mostly ineffective, if Tebow can score why shouldn’t he be put in during those situations or better yet give him the starting job altogether?

It can’t be explained away; Orton can complete a short pass when he has 5 minutes of protection and can stand like a frozen statue in the pocket to complete maybe one or two short dump off throws between the 20’s. And most of the time he doesn’t move the ball between the 20’s, more often than not it’s a 3 and out or a 6 and out and never comes close to the opponents 20. On the far too rare occasions he does get the ball inside the 20 he rarely leads the O to a score. Since Orton is so one dimensional and predictable in the red zone and the passing game of the Broncos or the threat of a rushing TD is greatly diminished why in the hell would he continue to keep his job?

Here’s the bigger question, is a lot of bad experience better than a young player with no experience? If Tebow comes into a game and throws 3 INT’s and scores 2 TD’s on a rush or a TD pass and the Broncos win the game isn’t that the goal? Tebow may be ugly in there at times during a game and win ugly but that’s far better than playing ugly and losing ugly which is what Orton has been and will continue to do for the Broncos.

Next week it’s the Packers my friends and the Broncos will find themselves at 1-3. I’m not sure I’m even going to watch this game live because this one is going to be a slaughter of mind bending proportions. I’ll probably do what I did this week and flip between the better games playing on the Sunday ticket such as the Loins and Vikings or the Bills or Pats and that Texans/Saints game which was a hell of a ball game too and watch the Broncos on the DVR later.

It’s cool to see teams like the Bills and Loins get things turned around, I love it when underdogs win but in all honesty even though the Broncos are underdogs they don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of beating a team of the Packers caliber. As I said last week, we’re in for a long, painful and very boring season of discontent especially if Fox lets Orton keep his job.

Spinning the Florida GOP Debate

Do you feel the same way I do? After watching the last 2 GOP debates I still come to the same conclusions. Neither Romney nor Perry are Conservative enough and can’t be trusted on far too many issues. Perry is clearly pandering to the Latinos and is soft on immigration. Romney’s failed healthcare plan in Mass. and his belief in global warming turns me away. They seem in the same mold as George W and McCain, to moderate like the beltway RINO’s we already have in Washington.

There’s just something about Romney that seems phony and I believe if elected he’ll be no better than George W.

I know the media hacks wants so much to anoint either or for that reason.  They’ve picked their front runners when we haven’t even had a primary yet. So called Conservative commentators really want a compromising moderate, not a principled Conservative because they don’t think Independents will vote for one. Don’t fall for it this time. I just don’t believe anything the media says including Fox News and I believe given the chance many would vote for someone like Santorum, Newt, Cain and even Bachmann with all her flaws. Anyone of them is a better candidate and come down more on Conservative issues than Romney or Perry.

Romney will win the New Hampshire primary that’s a certainty but I hope in some of the other early primaries these other candidates don’t get written off just yet. Please don’t buy all the hype from the media about Romney or Perry my friends and don’t “settle” as Bachmann said this time. Give each of the other candidates a chance to fight it out all the way through the primary process so we can get the most Conservative Republican nominee we can get for this election. I plan on sticking to my principles and voting for whoever is the most Conservative candidate left standing. I pray many of y

ou will do the same.

Orton Has Lost the Team and the Fans

11 long years of waiting and my patience is gone. First I have to evoke the, “Elway has nothing to do with the comparisons when it comes to our current group of QB’s” misnomer. I know it’s a team game, so let’s leave that out of it for now and just talk about the QB position alone. Simply put Orton is a Bum and comparing him, Quinn or Tebow to Elway is insane, so let’s get that obvious statement out of the way as well.

For 11 years we’ve had only one playoff win which was is in 2006. That year I remember very well. Jake Plummer was the QB of the team that lost big to the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. For the most part Plummer crumbled under the pressure and choked big time in that one and it cost the Broncos what should have been their 3rd Super Bowl ring. They should have beat that Steelers team, they had talent enough on both sides of the ball to do so and would have kicked the Seahawks butt all over the field had they gone to the Super Bowl.

That year the Broncos had a better overall team than both the Steelers and the Seahawks. The Broncos had a great running game and serviceable WR’s. The only thing lacking was a better than average QB which Jake the Fake proved he wasn’t. Had the Broncos had such a QB the Broncos would own another Lombardi trophy.

Then a few years later, we traded the only good QB the Broncos had on the roster over that 11 year span which was Jay Cutler. For all of his warts and his immature ways he’s 10 times better from a skill set level than Orton, Quinn or Tebow. We can thank McDaniels for that move and the one that sent Peyton Hillis to the Browns. Not to mention the horrible draft picks he made his 2 years in Denver.

After the Broncos won a Super Bowl at least from my prospective nothing less than a playoff appearance is a worthy expectation with the hope of another Super Bowl bid and a win. This is what the hard core fan should expect nothing less. I for one am sick to death of watching a crappy football team week in and week out and lose just as often. Orton has had 3 years with the Broncos now and has not progressed one iota in fact he’s digressed. He telegraphs his throws, he can't move in the pocket, he has trouble completing not just the long throw but the short throw as well. He can’t seem to make a play in the red zone and score. But worse of all he doesn’t have one single intangible characteristic to make up for all of his other physical weaknesses, none.

That’s were Tebow comes in, he doesn’t have the experience but he won’t get any by setting on the bench. He has the intangibles that Orton does not. He can scramble, he’s a big strong kid who can pick up yards on running plays but most important of all he has a burning will to win. He plays inspired football, he plays to win and he’s not the kind of guy to give up on a game no matter what the score.

This can’t be said about Orton. Orton looks like he just woke up from a 3 hour nap when he’s out there. Being calm is one thing but being a stiff who doesn’t have that burning desire in his gut to get back in the game to redeem himself is something I just can’t take anymore. The Raiders were ripe for the taking Monday Night and Orton with his bumbling play blew a game the Broncos should have easily won despite all the other problems the Broncos have as a team. Orton just doesn’t have the leadership skills to pick up a team that’s down and bring them back; he’s shown that over and over in painful detail.

Basically Orton has pulled off a big con, he’s laughing all the way to the bank thanks to McD. He knows had the Broncos not traded for him and signed him to a big bucks deal he most likely would have gone to another team as a back up or cut from the league all together.

There can be no more lame excuses for Orton he’s a failure and it’s time the Broncos moved on. He’s lost the team except for Brandon Lloyd who Orton made a millionaire because he was the only WR he would throw a ball to last year. Lloyd is another phony, he’s a career bench scrub who can claim one good year as a Pro (last year) and will never repeat it. Lloyd is Orton's only friend on the team. Orton has lost the team, all but Lloyd for the reasons I’ve mentioned. He’s lost the confidence of the Fans and finally most of the morons in the media who claimed he was the best thing going for the Broncos before this game. I’m sure he’s lost the confidence of Bowlen, Elway and Fox but none of them can or will come out and admit it. Why? There are 8.4 million reasons why they won’t. Benching an 8 million dollar Bum isn’t in the cards yet I guess. They’ll probably wait until the Broncos have no shot at a playoff berth then remove him. It’s not a good situation to say the least and if so much money wasn’t involved Orton would have been benched this week after the god awful performance he made everyone suffer through Monday Night.

It’s Tebow time, we need to see if he’s going to be our QB of the future or not. At least if he gets some extended playing time now the Broncos can make an educated decision about whether to start him next year or trade him and look for someone else.

You can thank my good friend Darold for this rant he got me going with a comment he made on facebook. Damn straight my patience is gone Buddy and rightly so. TEBOW!! TEBOW!! TEBOW!!!

Denver Broncos Unworthy of New Analysis

I posted this on the Orange Mane (It’s a Broncos Fans Chat Board) this morning. Instead of writing a blog about the disaster last night I’ll just let my past statements before the game speak for itself.
Instead…I’m just going to do one long gloat about Orton. After that I’m done, Orton’s uninspired play last night spoke for itself. This was my first post on the OM for the 2011 season on 8-20-2011. The rest of the posts were comments made before last nights’ game.

8-20-11:  Hi Guys, it’s been a long time. I had to get on and rant a little. I’m just sick and tired of not having a solid QB on our beloved Broncos. We’re now in our 12th year of QB controversies with no end in sight. 1 playoff win since the last ring and other than 2006 we’ve been in a swirling vortex spinning in a downward spiral. My opinion on the latest QB controversy?

Orton sucked yesterday, he will tonight and will tomorrow. Yes, he has more “experience” than Tebow or Quinn but that is his only qualifier

I can't say Tebow at this point is a better option either nor Quinn.

I’m still cursing McD for signing Orton to 2 year deal. Had he signed him to a one year contract instead, Orton would be gone and setting on the bench of some perennial loser as a back up or maybe out the NFL altogether. If Orton is the best we can do we’re in for another long, painful and intensely boring season. There said it, I’m done.

I'm trying to be upbeat and positive but I just don't see a dramatic turn around this season on O. I think the only thing we can hope for is that the Broncos can finally play some better D than they did last year. I think that will happen but on O? Doubtful… Someone give me some good karma, I’m just not feeling it.

8-25-11:  (About one fan who said Moreno will rush for 1400 yards this season.) I admire your optimism but Moreno has yet to prove he’s even close to putting up those kinds of yards. I’m not sure the OL will be as good against better D’s. They're still very young and inexperienced. As for Orton’s red zone predictions, I’m not sure that I’d agree with that assessment either. He was terrible inside the 20 completing passes last year.

8-25-11: The only reason and I mean the only reason Orton is still in Denver is because he’s set to make $8.4 million and no team was moronic enough to trade for him. We can thank the genius McD for that move too. I’m positive had the money not been an issue Orton would have been down the road and it would have been a unanimous decision by Bowlen, Elway and Fox to (trade) do so.

The Broncos win a meaningless preseason game against the Bills one of the worst teams in all of football and suddenly Orton is a solid starter? COME ON!!!

I can’t wait to see these haters eat their words by mid-season when Tebow is starting and Orton is sitting on the bench sulking because the Broncos are 2-6.

8-21-11:  If my memory serves me right Orton played liked a Bum last year. People have short memories and live in the NOW I guess. It’s laughable that in one game the Mighty Quinn would vault over Tebow when this guy has nothing to indicate from past starting performances that he in any way will be a starting NFL QB, none.

So just chill out let the preseason play out the next 2 weeks. On opening day we could see a whole different scenario. Orton or Quinn could be on another team. I hope its Orton because once they count we can expect the same guy we saw last year to show up. Quinn? Please…

8-21-11:  I think it’s way too soon write off Tebow. All this talk reminds of Elway's rookie year. We all know Elway had way better mechanics and a throwing arm than Tebow does. But Elway early on was very mistake prone, forcing balls in, under throwing then over throwing the ball, not looking for other receivers, impatience in the pocket. Sound familiar?

The national sports media, the writers at the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News all dog piled on Elway early. They were unmerciful have you guys forgotten that? Many wanted to see him fail and flame out just as bad as Tebow.

I love how these geek draft-nicks think that next year’s draft will always produce another great QB. Quality talented players like Tebow are not available year to year and some just need more time to get their head in the game, that’s all this is. Remember how rough Favre was around the edges? Early in his career he’d throw 4 TD’s one game then 4 INT’s the next. The same could be said of Elway.

Tebow stays IMO and should learn the system. He’s a winner, a warrior and the thing I like best about him doesn’t quit on a play. Once he learns the game in the NFL he’ll be one of the best red zone threats the Broncos have ever had. It amazes how day to day people live and think like there’s not going to be a tomorrow. On Monday Tebow be back in practice and my guess getting playing time in the next 2 preseason games.

My prediction: By mid-season Tebow will be the starter for the Broncos.

8-20-11:  The truth is Orton had far more offensive weapons on his team 2 years ago than he does today. Moreno hasn’t impressed, the free agent RB’s have proven zip, no proven #2 or #3 WR as of yet and the same at the TE position. The OL is coming along and the running game just can’t nose dive any lower than last year so what have you got? Good Ol’ #8 out there to save the day? Looking for Lloyd on every pass down will fool somebody this year? Quinn? You really believe those 2 are going to transform the Broncos back to a winning franchise? Carry this team on their backs?

Tebow hating aside, the QB position is the least of the problems. The D gets better under Fox we agree but this O could be equal to or worse than last year very easily.

5-11 is ceiling. 3-13 the basement. 8-8 would be a very successful season for the Broncos; I wish I believed it could happen. If the Broncos can play some better D which they should this year they could go 8-8. I think too many have heaped large expectations on the young OL. I'm not convinced they'll be able to run or pass against better defensive teams.

He (Orton) stinks like a dead animal pit, like maggots on a gut wagon.

Old quote by Woody Paige: "Orton has lost eight of nine, 14 of 17 and 17 of his past 22 starts."

9-13-11:  New quote by Jeff Jacques: "Orton has lost nine of ten, 15 of 18 and 18 of his past 25 starts."