Still Keeping Score

Once the last whistle sounded at the Super Bowl and well before the green victory confetti settled on the artificial turf in Minnesota, speculation season kicked off in grand fashion. Heck, the media folks were asking Eagles' quarterback Nick Foles if he thought about where he would play next year -- right after he was asked about being the ultimate surprise Super Bowl MVP of the new century. The only one-punt championship game of any era I can remember produced instant questions in a league that has been suffering a bit of a quality quarterback shortage the last few years. The Eagles shut down some of that speculation by not offering Foles to any other team. The rumored asking price was as high as two first round draft picks. It is a nice way to tell the league to buzz off while the team tries to figure out whether Foles' seven million dollar salary is too much to pay for quarterback insurance if their youthful gunslinger Carson Wentz gets hurt again. I can't blame the...

Future Hall-of-Fame linebacker Von Miller recently claimed he could play quarterback for Denver and basically implied anyone can play that position.  However, the Broncos did try and prove him right by playing as many people back there as possible. It appears not just anyone can play signal caller in the National Football League. I also think the conversation about football in Denver should include lots of other player positions that could use some help. For example, we could spend a few weeks discussing the wildly inconsistent effort by the very offensive line. Or has the tight end spot been replaced by Where's Waldo? We might even spend some time trying to get placekicker Brandon McManus an appointment with a sports psychologist. After signing his first substantive contract, McManus has barely been able to keep his roster spot, much less earn the bonus cash. Dark humor is all the fans have left this season on the eve of the second to last game of the season. And much hum...

When the Broncos lined up to play the winless New York Giants on a nationally televised Sunday night game, optimism, and maybe a dash of overconfidence filtered up into the mile high night sky.  After all, the home team was 3-1, with two impressive division wins, and a rare romp over the Dallas Cowboys, one of the toughest teams in the NFC.  It appeared team co-captain Trevor Siemian had put the quarterback question to rest, and Denver was aiming at a return to the post-season. What a difference a handful of days can make. The Broncos were stunned by the Giants, and then shut-out in the very comfortable confines of Stub Hub Stadium in Los Angeles, with half of the small crowd clad in orange before turning the ball over five times to the division rival Chiefs on Monday Night Football. By the time the final whistle sounded, 15-days passed, from the loss to the Giants October 15th to error filled loss in Kansas City on the October 30th. It was far more trick than treat for ...

Brock Osweiler is back in town and he's on the horse he rode in on. And thus, the tension in Broncos Country escalated quickly. A mere year and one half ago, the defending Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos watched Peyton Manning ride off into a soon to be Hall of Fame sunset. The handpicked successor to the Manning era, Brock Osweiler understandably took full advantage of a bidding war with the Houston Texans, and surprised most experts when he took the deal. To be fair to Brock, it was a really, really good deal. Four years and 72-million dollars, with more than half of it guaranteed. How good of a contract? Osweiller will earn 15 million bucks from Cleveland and $775,000 from the Broncos in a back-up role. Of course, this is the Mile High City. Quarterback talk around the water cooler is a year round exercise in these parts. In fact, just before Paxton Lynch got hurt, somebody asked me what exactly was Elway's plan with the position? The plan really was Brock. And...

Is it six more weeks of bad weather games or a career with non-championship team? With the recent completion of the NFL Draft, the dust is finally settling on a pigskin version of Groundhog Day.  Just over a month after Punxsutawney Phil failed to see his shadow and offered the promise of an early spring, newly signed Houston Texan quarterback Brock Osweiler flew south for the remaining winter. And at 18 million dollars per season, that provides a lot of warmth. Who could blame a guy who was benched in favor of an aging, surefire first ballot Hall of Fame signal caller in the form of Peyton Manning? If a player thinks more sunshine and a bag full of money are all of the answers to life, then I'm certain Brock will be happy in his new digs.  But I do wonder if running away from the daunting shadow of championship quarterbacks will ultimately haunt the former Bronco. The past is only prologue but the Denver Broncos, in the Pat Bowlen era are the winningest team in the ...