When you have a chance to put points on the scoreboard, take the freakin’ points! Take them, fold them neatly in a hankerchief, and stuff them into your pocket. For later.
Then—when and if you need them—there they are, tucked securely in your pocket! And if you don’t need them, you can always give them to some muddy-shoed homeless dude who stumbles into the intersection at Cherry Creek and First and squeegees off your Rover’s windshield with a spray bottle full off with his own urine.
Seriously. This ain’t rocket science, Mike.
Oh. And Ashlie Lelie either needs to learn how to complete the deep route, or else we should trade him, post haste, for a new, state-of-the-art horse trailer for Thunder, the Bronco’s mascot. Because I’ll be damned if that beautiful animal doesn’t gallop his powerful haunches off for us.
That is all.
****
update: Sure, the Broncos won. But that doesn’t mean they really won—at least, not if you listen to all the thick-necked former jocks in gaudy suits whose reliably faulty prognostications gum up those pre- and post-game analysis shows like so much spoiled taffy.
Anyway, go Steelers!
****
update 2: Here’s my post from last year’s disasterous loss to the Colts in the playoffs.
Some of you were particularly hard on Jake Plummer, a quarterback I considered then — and still consider today—to be one of the league’s premier QBs, a great playsaver with a deceptively strong arm who is perplexingly underrated (as well as a manufactured media whipping boy, thanks to great college success and an early playoff upset win).
In this offense, with a premiere deep threat (Lelie has speed and talent, but he’s erratic, flighty, has questionable hands at times, and runs poor routes), Plummer would be one of the 2-3 best QBs in the league—difficult to sack, runs well, has great pocket awareness, and can throw on the run with great accuracy going both to his left and right. As a pocket passer, his failings come from an offensive line that is not built to pocket pass protect. But even in the pocket, he throws one of the better three step drop slants.
Regardless of what he does from here on out, he’s had a great season—and as I predicted last year, he is a great fit in the Broncos’ system. Which is why he’s going to the Pro Bowl.
The ref’s just gave the Broncos seven points. Shanahan better make sure there is a little something extra in the ref’s paychecks this week.
I once tried to take my point out of my pocket in a crowded stadium, but the police tackled me.
I didn’t disagree with going for the TD, but the way Shanahan went about calling plays leading up to the abysmal fourth down call made me shake my head and wonder why he is regarded as a top coach in the NFL.
I agree Chad. Sad.
I agree: that was far too deep inside enemy territory to not at least get three out of it.
And, yes, I fisked Duncan Black for you.
Wow.
A couple iffy, could-go-either-way calls have gone against the Pats.
I think we can safely say that those “The ruling on the field stands” announcements instantly surpass the Theismann break and the Immaculate Reception on the “No wayâ€â€did I just see that shit?!” scale.
We’ll be telling our grandkids about this.
Bitch, bitch, bitch. We won.
When the Broncos trade Edwin Jackson and Chuck Tiffany for two Tampan middle relief pitchers, I’ll be able to feel sorry for you.
If you really want to learn how lame the broadcasters sounded for this game, turn down the sound and then put the captions on. I would swear that the caption writers evetually give up and type in anything that even remotely sounds like a human said it.
I agree completely with your take on the field goal Jeff. I’ve noticed this year alot of coaches going for it on 4th when previous years it would have been considered unwise. I’m not going to be too hard on Shanahan though, can’t argue with sucess.
The bone head move that I can’t believe is Baileys interception 2 yards in the endzone, runs it all the way to the 5, and starts jogging. And it wasn’t just him, he had two blockers that gave up on the play before he did. Sheesh!
Plummer was great.
My prediction of 35-31 was real high, but not unusual for my stellar betting record.(sarcasm…)
Go Steelers, beat Indi…
Hey, how ‘bout them Redskins?? Sob.
Hey! Did anybody catch the Chief’s score? Did they win?
What? They’re not playing. They’re done? Season’s over?
And you guys are bitching about what, exactly?
Better get yer cut’n’paste skills polished up, ‘cause the Broncs ‘r goin’ down again next week. It’s gonna be a blood bath. Colt’s are gonna takem to school.
So when are Phil Simms and Brady going to set a date? Goddamn East Coast media types…..
Jeff, glad to see I wasn’t the only one yelling at the screen during that 4th down call – and then it looked like he was going to do it again in the 4th quarter! Go Steelers.
I think Phil Simms will have to get in line. Half of the sportswriters I read wanted to gobble Brady’s knob. Of course, I could mention a certain sportswriter who kept dissing the Seahawks while sighing lovingly at a framed photograph of Tom Brady *cough…Peter King…cough*
I was screaming too on the field goal. Always take any points you can get in the first three quarters!
He was still feeling the Pats out then, Chad. The play you want to look at to see why he’s regarded as a top coach was that 4th quarter roll-out pass to Smith that caught the entire Pats D completely out of position. The Pats had just scored, you could feel that come-back vibe building, and he iced it with the first play from scrimmage. Shannahan’s the only coach I can think of in the past five years to manage to kill that momentum swing the Pats always seem to pull off in big games.
I also don’t think that pass-interference call was cheap. Yeah, they were both pushing a bit, but Lelie didn’t interfere with Samuel’s progress to the ball. Samuel did interfere with Lelie’s progress when he cut his legs into Lelie’s stride just before the goal line.
James Surowecki, in “The Wisdom of Crowds” puts an economist’s pen to 4th downs, and decides that teams should go for it far more often than any do.
Heh heh, NukemHill, don’t think the Colts will be teaching next weekend…
Wow, Steelers looked tough beating up on Indi..hehe.