Friday, April 23, 2010

Tebow?

When I first heard about the Broncos drafting Tim Tebow with the 25th pick the first round of the draft, I started peeling the skin off my face. I can't recall such a controversial pick in Broncos history. McDaniel's name is mud in this town. I bet he wears Kevlar in public under his hoodie fearing the Orange Crush insurgent network has a hit out on him.

I said it before, we caught everyone looking the other way with that 6-0 start. We are a four win team now after trading some our best players. So in the context of this draft pick - it can't get much worse and it probably won't get better under the current regime. So why not gamble on a guy who is a proven winner with a speech engraved on a building?


Perhaps McDaniels is just trying to ensure he gets a third season so he has time to develop T-bone. For those of you not up to speed, here is the scouting report from CBS Sports on T-bone.
  • Accuracy: A bit inconsistent on intermediate throws that require zip. Throws some beautiful passes in tight windows, but also has a tendency for "wobbly" throws, making his passes a tougher catch than pure spirals. Typically leads his receivers, but still too often forces them to alter their routes.
  • Arm Strength: Prototypical arm strength. Can make every NFL throw. Can zip short and intermediate passes and flashes touch and trajectory on deeper throws. Only occasionally asked to throw true deep balls in this offense, but has the arm strength to do so.
  • Setup/Release: Some real concerns in this area. Takes snaps in the shotgun, meaning he'll need significant refinement in his drop-back at the next level. Quick, active feet necessary to eventually excel in this area. Drops the ball to his hip before winding up to release the pass. Struggled with pass rushers knocking the ball out of his hands, as well as tipping off defensive backs who can read where he's going with the long wind-up.
  • Reading Defenses: Only asked to make a few reads in this offense before having the green light to run. Seems to be a cerebral player who understands defenses and will scan the field to locate the open receiver.
  • On the Move: At his best as a runner and has rare vision with the ball in his hands from the quarterback position. Can anticipate holes in the defense and shows the burst to get past the initial wave of defenders to gain yards in chunks.
  • Intangibles: Perfectly suited to Urban Meyer's system, but there are some questions as to how Tebow's skills translate to the NFL. Good size and strength for the position. Rare toughness. Natural and charismatic leader.

What really won me over is the following radio interview. Its worth a few minutes to listen as this guy takes on the Spanish Inquisition from Big Al and D-Mac:

http://www.1043thefan.com/channels/audioOnDemand/Story.aspx?ID=1222165

Like his religious views or not, this guy is a stud. He could have pulled a Jay Cutler, gone into hiding claiming missed text messages; but this dude flew out here the day after the draft and took on his critics with conviction. I can't help but want to see him succeed. Is he the answer? I don't know. There's a good chance he's not. But I'm rooting for the guy. He has the class and talent to be the face of a franchise and I'll be thrilled to have it on mine. If it doesn't work out? Then we are sure to get rid of "McMastermind."

Saturday, April 10, 2010

The Guys Strike Back

Over the last year my fellow brethren and I have stayed home while our wives enjoyed "girls night out." Since SIWK men usually get to interact with grown ups during the day, act like captains of industry, and find deep meaning in our structured capitalist/slave driven lives; we don't seem to be deserving of time out of the home with no strings attached. To make things worse, guy's night out can imply, booze, women, gambling and fighting (all taboo), so the mere activity is suspicious causing it to take a back seat to girl's night out on morals alone. Because let's face it, a bunch of 30 something desperate housewives would never get into trouble.

To be perfectly honest, I love the fact my wife gets out with her friends on a consistent basis. When momma is happy, I'm happy. Heck, I practically demand she goes out. But sometimes a SIWK's gotta fight for equal rights. On April 3rd 2010, at Outback Steakhouse, surrounded by man-food, plans were hatched to rally the troops to guy's night out.

The first outing was at Brunswick for some bowling. First thing I noticed? The music was loud. Yep. You know you're getting old when you find the music at the bowling alley to be too loud. Our crazy beverages? Lemonade and tonic water with lime (quite tasty). No booze, no women , no gambling on the scores and no fighting (despite 1 tush swat). But there were lots of laughs and a few strikes along the way. Hopefully the tradition will continue.

Date Night - Just caught this flick with the Boss on our own date night. It was even better than I expected. I'm a big fan of the Office and 30 Rock so a movie with Steve Carell and Tina Fey was right up my alley. Both were hilarious. Mark Whalberg was hysterical as the shirtless wonder. The married humor was sharp and dead on in so many cases. An instant classic.

The Marriage Ref - Seinfeld put together a show where couples have their marital problems solved by a panel of guest celebrities and a cheese ball? Seriously? Alec Baldwin, the marriage counselor? This must be a sign the apocalypse is near. Why is there a show asking people with the collective worst relationship track record on the plant for marital advice? I did watch an entire episode, so I'm not just judging off of previews; and the host nearly made me gag on his aspartame infused cheese. I guess things really are that bad at NBC - they'd better not mess with The Office or 30 Rock or I'm done.