Leadership is the Key for the Denver Nuggets

Believe it or not, including all  four of the major sports in the Mile High City, the last championship trophy was lifted way back in 2001 (Avalanche Stanley Cup). Not a good number for a city that prides itself as a “sports town”.  It’s been almost fifteen years since any of the Denver teams have been world champions in anything other than soccer and fans are starting to get impatient.

For comparison, the city of Boston has nine championships since the year 2000. NINE! The Patriots have won four Super Bowls, The Red Sox have three World Series titles, and the Celtics and Bruins have one first place finish each to their names.

Most Denver sports fans don’t want to hear anything about New England teams and their success (many of their championships have at one point or another caused heartbreak here) but it’s a good comparison. Same amount of time, same (ish) amount of money and a relatively level playing field in all four sports. So…..

What does Boston have that Denver doesn’t?

What has put their sports teams head and shoulders above ours in terms of success?

Why do the Broncos, Rockies, Avalanche and Nuggets never seem to have the ‘IT” factor? Or at least not enough to win the biggest of games…

Some may say it’s all coincidence. Others will point out that it’s due to New England being on the East Coast and the city of Boston drawing more star players than our beloved “cow town”. Maybe, in some cases (Red Sox) it’s just simply about one team having more money that the other. All are likely factors but there’s another piece to the puzzle that is more important than money, location or luck.

Leadership.

“Leadership is severely, severely undervalued in sports and if you can find good leaders you’ve got to keep them.” – Chauncey Billups

The Patriots have Belicheat, Doc Rivers was with the Celtics and Francona and Theo Epstein for the Red Sox were all a huge part of the winning in the New England area since the turn of the century. You can also add in players like Tom Brady, Big Papi, Manny Ramirez Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to the list of factors, but attitude and leadership start at the top of any organization.

The Broncos saw a clear lack in leadership since John Elway’s playing days and knew that the one guy who could bring them back to winning ways was in fact, number seven himself, John Elway. The team sadly hasn’t won a Super Bowl (still too soon to talk about) but they have been headed in the right direction and hopefully will at least go out with a bang in Peyton Manning’s last year or two in the NFL.

The Avalanche did much the same as the Broncos in terms of changing their culture. They wanted a change in the top of their organization and decided to go with two heroes from the past to get the job done. Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy came to town and in one season turned the team into a playoff contender. Sadly, we know what happened from there and the first round playoff loss followed by this season of disappointment hasn’t left a great first impression of the new top dogs. Fortunately though, there is still a trustworthy duo of leadership atop the organization that gives Avs’ fans hope for the future of their team.

The Rockies….well they have a new GM in Jeff Bridich but it’s way too early to bring down any judgement on him or the new regime. They’re off to a hot start in 2015 but let’s hold our horses on the Rox and talk about them in a few months.

Finally I’ve come to the long awaited point of this post. The Denver Nuggets.

The Nuggets for a large portion of the last decade were led by head coach George Karl

(Elise Amendola, The Associated Press)

and his 2003 lottery pick from Syracuse, Carmelo Anthony. The pair never missed the playoffs but in the eight years they were together they made it past the opening round only once (2009 season). The success in 2009 was in large part due to the veteran point guard they had acquired in trade the year before with the Detroit Pistons. The home town kid, the 2004 NBA champion, “Mr Big Shot”, Chauncey Billups.

The closest to total victory the team had gotten in decades wasn’t when they traded for superstar, Allen Iverson or when they drafted a young College phenom in Anthony but rather when they picked up an aging point guard who had been labeled as the best player on a starless team after the 2004 championship. The old man on the team brought a new feeling of leadership and a calm, sensible voice in the locker room. A presence on and off the floor who earned instant respect and admiration from his teammates by his work ethic and personality, Billups was a breath of fresh air in Denver.

Unfortunately for the folks in Denver, the fan favorite was unceremoniously traded to the Knicks along with Carmelo Anthony for Danilo Gallinari and a handful of other semi-decent players. The trade drastically changed the makeup of the team and though they made the playoffs the next several years, the high pace, high energy team never made it past the first round of the playoffs. George Karl was fired, Brian Shaw was hired and  the team quickly became the laughing stock of the NBA.

Shaw was fired after an embarrassing few months (or longer…I try to forget) and the hapless Nuggets finished the season 30-52 at the bottom of their Division. Melvin Hunt showed some grit and personality as the interim head coach but the the Denver basketball team seems to float now, completely rudderless, captainless and planless.

“When you’ve fallen like they’ve fallen, you need to take baby steps on your way to getting better.” – Chauncey Billups

Rumor has it that Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried and anyone NOT named Nurkic could be headed to the trading block this off season and no one really has a guess as to who will be the next head coach.

No coach, no direction and no stars is not where this once proud franchise wants to be. It’s a team that needs a face of the franchise, a name that players, coaches and fans can trust. The Denver Nuggets need their version of John Elway or Joe Sakic and the answer may be right in front of them.

“They’ve got some personnel decisions, some coaching decisions, some critical decisions that they have to make and I can tell you one thing, that Western Conference isn’t getting any worse.” – Chauncey Billups

The answer seems obvious to at least one casual observer. If the Nuggets want to regain success, respectability and leadership, they should look no further than THE hometown Denver hero, Chancey Billups.

All of Chauncey Billup’s quotes were taken from an interview on KKFN 104.3 the Fan in Denver, earlier this month.

Does Draft Round Matter for Quarterbacks – A Statistical Adventure

By the Caveman

The 2015 NFL Draft is nearly upon us. As is the norm in our quarterback-driven NFL, the bad teams are looking to get a pigskin-flinger in the first round, while the adeptly-helmed teams discuss late-round QB picks to develop.

But is one approach better than the other? Much is made of Tom Brady being a lowly 6^th-round pick with 4 Super Bowl victories to his name. And it seems that every year, multiple first round picks are busts for the desperate teams that draft them. My draft question (this is especially appropriate for the Denver Broncos and their soon-to-be void at QB): is it generally more successful to get early round or late-round/undrafted QB’s?

I started by ranking the QB’s who had significant playing time in 2014 (1,500+ yards passing…sorry, Johnny Manziel). I used QBR to rank them. I then plotted the draft round of each of those QB’s versus their ranking. If there was any statistical correlation between draft round and QB success in 2014, it would show up on the plot as a trend.

One note on the below plot: a point in the “8^th round” simply means undrafted…it was the only easy way to manipulate the data in Excel.

The easiest way to read this graph is to start on the x-axis, from left to right. The best statistical QB in 2014 (Tony Romo of all people) is #1. He was undrafted, so he’s at 8 on the y-axis. The second-best was Aaron Rodgers: he’s #2 on the x-axis, and he’s a first-rounder on the y-axis. Etc., etc.

At first glance, it looks like there might be a slight trend – a lot of the best QB’s in 2014 were 1^st round picks. Then the math started happening. The R² value is a measure of how well a trend line fits to a data set. If the R² value is 0, there is absolutely no correlation. If it is 1, there is perfect correlation. In this case, R² = 0.0038…which means there is no correlation whatsoever. My takeaways from this:

1. There is no correlation between QB performance and round drafted for starting QB’s.
2. Over 50% of the starting QB’s in 2014 were first round draft picks.

• This suggests that my initial approach was misplaced – my data doesn’t take into account all of the 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, etc. round picks that aren’t good enough to start in the first place.

So, did I just waste all your time and mine? Not so fast – this “worthless” data actually tells us something. We either need to take into account all of the QB’s drafted who don’t start, or we need to narrow the data down to a more specific set with fewer variables.

Because it’s less work, I of course chose the latter.

What is a simple way in which to determine the worth of a QB? If we could just take one measurable and apply it to QB’s by draft round, what would that be? All die-hard football fans will agree with me on the most important valuation: Super Bowl victories.

A simple plot of the last 10 Super Bowl winning QB’s by the round in which they were drafted looks like this:

Boom. 7 out of the past 10 Super Bowls were won by 1^st round QB’s. Obviously, there’s something to be said for the evaluation of scouts and teams who take these guys with their first pick in the draft. Maybe the NFL Draft is a bit more than a crapshoot after all!

That’s all I have for now. This whole post is very much me thinking out loud. I would apologize for wasting your time, but really – did you have anything better to do?

Stats Don’t Lie – The Broncos Will Crush the Colts!

By the Caveman

Our Denver Broncos are playing the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday. The winner will move on and either take a trip to New England or host what would be a red-hot Baltimore team. The general consensus in the media is that the Broncos will win, and why not? They’re at home, they’re coming off a bye week, and have a great team (as opposed to the Colts, who have exactly one great player).

But that’s all qualitative. Let’s dig into some numbers.

Luck has been touted as one of the best statistical QB’s this season, throwing up “Star Wars” numbers. But guess what? Manning (who has been “slumping” this year) has only 1 fewer TD pass, 1 fewer INT, and 34 fewer yards. Basically, the two QB’s have nearly exactly the same statistics – yet Luck is a prodigy, and Manning is an old man. Fly under the radar, Peyton.

That’s just regular season anyway. How about this: Manning’s career playoff passer rating is 89.2. Luck? He’s at 78.9. By the way, keep in mind that Tom Brady’s is 87.5 (lower than Manning’s)…so don’t give me the Brady’s a better playoff QB crap. Back to Luck – if you were starting a team from scratch, you’d absolutely take Luck over Manning, because Luck gives you another 10-15 years of quarterbacking. But right now, in Sunday’s game? Give me Manning all day.

Enough of the QB comparisons – they’re both good, and probably cancel each out in the big picture. What about the rest of the team?

This is where Indy fans can start sweating. Denver fans, you think we have a bad O-line? You ain’t seen nothing. The Colts’ have given up 27 sacks to the Broncos’ 17. Their rushing attack is even worse. The Colts (not counting Luck’s pocket-collapsing scrambles) have rushed for 1,339 yards and 6 TD’s. For reference, the Broncos have 1,785 yards for 15 TD’s…and that’s squarely average in the NFL.

But wait! There’s more! Defensively, the Colts are 11th best in the NFL (in yards allowed anyway). Not bad, but they’re matching up against the #3 ranked defense of Denver. One of the interesting stats by which defensive secondaries are judged: pass yards per attempt. The Broncos are solidly best in the NFL, allowing only 6 yards per attempt. Yep, that’s better than the Seahawks. Good luck, Luck. Add to that the fact that Indianapolis has turned the ball over 31 times this season, which is 3rd worst in the NFL. Turnovers alone lose more playoff games in the NFL than any other statistic.

After all of that, the factor that seals the impending doom of the Colts is good old Mile High. Playing at home, the Broncos are 8-0 this season. The Colts are 5-3 on the road, and their 5 wins came against teams with a combined record of 27-53 (a 0.338 pct).

Be afraid, Indianapolis. You will need luck to have a chance in this game. But Luck will not save you.

What I Took Away From the Broncos Whooping the Raiders

I was fortunate enough to be at the Broncos final “game” of the season against the Oakland Raiders this last Sunday and though it was only one game and against a TERRIBLE team, there was plenty to take away from watching in person rather than on T.V.

First off, the Raiders are really, really, horribly, pathetically terrible. They are a sad excuse for a football team that gave up on the game before it even started and they didn’t belong on the same field as the Broncos. That said, I think they actually have some pieces to build on and in the not so near future could be a solid team. Derek Carr could be a good QB and Latavious Murray has all the features of a future NFL star.

Anyway, who cares? They’re season is long over and the word hope doesn’t even belong in the Oakland Raider vocabulary. The Broncos on the other hand are headed to a first round bye for the third straight year and have the playoffs and a championship to hope for.

After losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in week 16, and causing a mad panic across Bronco nation, the team did exactly what they had to do…they destroyed the Raiders. Peyton Manning followed up his three interception game with zero picks and over 300 passing yards against the Raiders. Though he didn’t have a passing touchdown, he didn’t need to with three rushing TDs from my new co-favorite Bronco, CJ Anderson. The defense was also a big part the the 47-14 butt whooping and the biggest plus was, besides two concussions (Orlando Franklin and David Bruton) the Broncos didn’t suffer any other injuries. Fortunate because the list of hurt Broncos was starting to get ridiculous. This bye week couldn’t come at a better time.

Speaking of bye weeks how ridiculously stupid is it for the NFL to have a bye week as early as week three. They preach and preach about player safety yet a team has to go 14 weeks without a break including four games in a 17 day stretch. Well done as always.

As for what else I saw on the field from my fantastic South Stand seats (thanks to John Murray and JAMMIN’ DJs) I’ll try to list them in a way that at least somewhat makes sense but I tend to ramble. Stay with me either way.

The guy who stuck out immediately and all game long was a young Defensive Lineman that is far from a household name. The guy that’s been better than Demarcus Ware for at least the last half of the season and got a huge +15.4 rating from Pro Football Focus………Malik Jackson! #97 seemed to be a part of every big play on defense and each time the Broncos were in the Raider backfield, Malik was nearly always there.  The big man has a huge upside and I think he could even be a future superstar in the league alongside Von Miller. (Miller btw had something like a +50 from PFF…insane!).

The other guy on defense who impressed but not surprisingly was Chris Harris JR. The guy just doesn’t give up big plays…EVER…and has some of the best foot and hip work I’ve ever seen at CB. The fact that he plays as well in the slot as he does on the outside (either side) is what’s incredibly impressive. PFF has Chris Harris Jr as the #1 ranked CB in football and it’s not even that close. So, move over Richard Sherman and shut your mouth because the Broncos have the best defensive back in the big leagues!

The bad on defense was fairly hard to find against a team like Oakland but it was there. Steven Johnson may be a good special teams player but he is a horrible, I repeat, HORRIBLE cover linebacker. The guy clearly doesn’t belong on the field and that was made very clear against the Bengals. Thank goodness Brandon Marshall will be back by the Divisional round next week and we shouldn’t have to see Johnson outside of special teams.

The offense made things look easy against the faiders and a few guys stuck out. Demaryious Thomas as always, showed why he’s an All American receiver and just looks like a man among boys out there. He just seems so much bigger and stronger than the DBs he faces and add top notch speed and great hands to that mix and he’s a top three receiver in all of football. IMHO.

Emmanuel Sanders is the SHI*! Dude plays hurt, plays with heart and plays 100% on every play. He seemed to be open on nearly every play and even after taking big hits (which seemed to happen a lot) he would pop up with a big smile and run back to the huddle. If there was a better free agent pickup in the offseason I have no idea who it was and this guy could be one of the keys to a third championship parade in Denver.

CJ Anderson has come from third string undrafted free agent status to being the main keg in the wheel that runs the Broncos success. He was even banged up and still busting moves and making fools out on the field on Sunday. He’s done it big ever since he’s had the opportunity and if the Broncos are going to win the Lombardi Trophy, he will have to continue his dominance in the backfield and be the ‘Terrell Davis’ that Manning has never had in the post season.

To sum up, I think this team isn’t as bad as they looked two weeks ago and not as good as they looked this last week. If their defense and running game can continue to do what they’ve shown their capable of and turn PFM into a third down and red zone QB, they could go all the way.  They will need some stars to show up and some unknowns to play out of their minds to move onto the Conference Championship.

Does it matter who the Broncos play in the Divisional round?  If this team plays half as well as they’re capable of it won’t matter who they play.

Predicting a Broncos – Seahawks rematch!

UNITED IN ORANGE!

This Broncos Team is Great. Here’s why:

By the Caveman

There’s so much to say about this 2014 Broncos team. So many thoughts popped into my head when writing this piece, there was no logical way to get them all down in a nicely-flowing compilation. Therefore, I’m just going to throw down a bunch of bullet points and conclude as best as possible.

Divisional Play:
The Broncos have won 4 straight division titles. That’s amazing. If that’s not dominance, I don’t know what is.
Remember that this was done in a very good division – 3 AFC West teams made the playoffs last year, and 3 are still in contention this year.
The Broncos have won 12 straight division road games. Only the late ‘80’s Niners have done that in the history of the NFL.
John Fox has to get a lot of credit for divisional success. He’s been winning the AFC West with both Tebow and Manning, two radically different QB’s. And he had the same studly divisional track record from his Carolina days.
The Broncos have a solid lead in all-time AFC West championships with 14. The Raiders are next with 12…and it doesn’t look like they’ll ever get to 13, let alone threaten to take the historical lead anytime soon. Orange Pride!!!

The New-Look Broncos:
Many are worried about our offense, thinking that the high-flying, 400 yards passing per game days are over. I say: good!
We got the name “Denver Broncos” into all the offensive history books last year. Now we’re done with stats, and it’s time to get some rings.
It’s not like the new offense is low-scoring either: Denver is the 5th highest scoring team in the league!
I love this stat: before the Rams game (high-flying Broncos) – 2.5 points per drive average; after the Rams game (ground and pound Broncos) – 2.9 points per drive average.
This offense is actually better than the old one.
Combine that with a defense ranked 4th overall, and getting better every week.
Manning’s still getting his stats: he just reached 4,000 yards passing for the 14th time in his career. No one else in the history of the NFL is even close to that number of times.

The Chargers Game:
Here’s a list of things that were against the Broncos last week (causing myself and many others to predict a Chargers win):
The game was on the road.
The Chargers just came off a tough loss.
The Chargers needed to win this game much more than the Broncos did.
Denver was banged up, both before the game and during the course of the game.
Peyton Manning was very sick (to the point of needing IV’s).
But what happened? The Broncos DOMINATED the Chargers even with all the issues they had.
The Denver defense (with the help of Nick Novak doing his best Brandon McManus impression) held the Chargers to 3 points until the 4th quarter. If Fox/Del Rio hadn’t gone to prevent defense, you better believe that the Chargers wouldn’t have scored that pity touchdown.
If the defensive play-calling were aggressive for the entire game, every game, this D would be every bit as good as Seattle’s. I’m not exaggerating there. It’s almost like Fox is doing statistical sandbagging.
The Chargers’ D is very good. But the Broncos’ offense pulled a Grond and just beat on it until the gate couldn’t hold any longer.
(BTW, who is tougher, has more fire, and is more all-around amazing: CJ Anderson or Emmanuel Sanders? You’re stumped. Or you’d better be.)
The Broncos won a road divisional game by being more physical than a tough, desperate team. That’s a trait common to most Super Bowl teams.

Looking Back, Going Forward:
John Elway couldn’t do it all on his own. He needed a hungry defense and a studly running game.
Same goes for PFM.
The ’97 Super Bowl team was gritty, won ugly, and went all the way.
John Elway’s stats in Super Bowl XXXII: 12 for 22 passing, 123 yards, 0 TD’s and 1 INT.
Look familiar to what Manning’s been posting lately?
Terrell Davis’ stats in Super Bowl XXXII: 30 carries, 157 yards, and 3 TD’s.
Look familiar to what CJ Anderson’s been doing lately?
The last three teams to win the Super Bowl are: Seattle, Baltimore, and the New York Giants. What traits did those teams all have in common?

In conclusion, don’t whine. Rejoice! The Broncos are a home win against the Raiders away from sweeping the division…for the 2nd time in the last 3 years. The sudden but impressive shift to being a power-running, defense-first team is exactly what the Broncos needed. You know that the Manning, Thomas, Thomas, Welker, Sanders magic isn’t gone – it’s just dormant. If the Broncos run into a foe that stacks the box and sells out to stop the run, then we’ll see another 5-TD performance from the Maestro.

If the Broncos run into the Seahawks again in the Super Bowl and can only score 15 points, this defense will be able to hold Seattle to 10. That’s the beauty of it all – the Broncos can win however they need to. And they’re 5 wins away from bringing a 3rd Lombardi to Denver. Yes, we may have to face old demons by playing in Foxboro and meeting up with the Thugs from ‘Theattle. But I think that’s not only doable, it will be good for the Broncos. It will show all doubters, including (perhaps especially) Denver fans themselves, that the 2014 Orange Crush is the best in the world.

2014 NFL Third Quarter Power Rankings

According to the Caveman

We only have one more quarter of football left before the playoffs. Can you handle the new power rankings?

32. Oakland Raiders (1-11) – After getting their first win of the season against the Chiefs, the Raiders put themselves back where they belong after the most ridiculously lopsided 52-0 poop show the NFL has seen in a long time.

31. Tennessee Titans (2-10) – This team is poopier than I had ever imagined. I can’t believe how bad they are.

30. New York Jets (2-10) – They have played some pretty good teams pretty tight. But the fact remains – they’re horrible and have no quarterback.

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-10) – The worst team in the (by far) worst division in football. ‘Nough said.

28. New York Giants (3-9) – Time to blow up the Coughlin reign. Thanks for the 2 Super Bowls! Bye-bye! Now back to the old drawing board…

27. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-10) – The Jags leapt up this time around. See, unlike these other poop teams, the Jags have a slight glimmer of future hopefulness.

26. Carolina Panthers (3-8-1) – Yeesh, I know this is a broken record, but this team is awful. Brutally, brutally awful.

25. Washington Redskins (3-9) – Gosh, there are so many bad teams this year. In an average NFL year, this Redskins team would be 3rd or 4th worst in the NFL. Yet look at all the horrible teams below them. Blech.

24. Minnesota Vikings (5-7) – Mediocre!

23. Chicago Bears (5-7) – Mediocre! But they beat the Vikings…

22. Atlanta Falcons (5-7) – The Falcons are tied for the division lead (and thus a playoff spot) which gives them hope. But not real hope. Just a fool’s hope.

21. New Orleans Saints (5-7) – The Saints are bipolar and baffling. But they will make the playoffs due to an incredibly easy schedule: Carolina, Chicago, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay.

20. Houston Texans (6-6) – The Texans are STILL the only team with a .500 record. That’s crazy.

19. Cleveland Browns (7-5) – I’m really pulling for the Boys in Brown. But they just don’t have “it”. That said, a 9-7 season would be a huge step forward for this struggling franchise.

18. San Francisco 49ers (7-5) – Kaepernick is a horrible quarterback. If the Niners still had Alex Smith under center, I think they’d be a much more legitimate threat. But now, the Niners are all but done for the season. Shout out to Kevin!!!

17. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5) – Losing to the Saints at home does not do good things for your image.

16. Buffalo Bills (7-5) – The Bills have a BRUTAL schedule remaining, playing the (Spoiler Alert) 3 best teams in the NFL in their last 4 games. Good luck, Orton. Hahahahahaha. Trololololol.

15. St. Louis Rams (5-7) – If the Rams had played like they’re playing now all season, they would not only be in the playoff picture, but probably competing for the division lead. Unfortunately, it’s too little too late. Even if they win out, a 9-7 record will not get them in.

14. Kansas City Chiefs (7-5) – How do you lose to the Raiders??? How???

13. Baltimore Ravens (7-5) – The Ravens look tough at times, but they can only beat bad teams, and the choke against San Diego at home says it all.

12. Miami Dolphins (7-5) – Despite the Dolphins’ scare with the Jets on Monday night, they are a really good team, and will be the 6-seed in the AFC playoffs.

11. Dallas Cowboys (8-4) – The Cowboys are slowing down. They have to be careful, or they might miss the playoffs in a tough NFC.

10. Indianapolis Colts (8-4) – Why are they so low? Because they haven’t beaten anybody good yet. Their four losses are to Denver, Philly, Pittsburgh, and New England. If you can’t beat good teams, you’re not a great one.

9. Cincinnati Bengals (8-3-1) – The Bengals’ tie-ridden record is close to the best in the NFL. But the team just doesn’t look good. They will likely win their division, but I’d bet anything that they’ll get knocked out in the first round. Again. For the 4th straight year.

8. Arizona Cardinals (9-3) – The Cards are taking their yearly fall back to earth after a strong start. I still absolutely love their coaching staff, but you also need a good QB to win big in this league.

7. Detroit Lions (8-4) – The Lions are no longer in control of the NFC North. They’re good, but they’re competing with the Seahawks, the Cowboys, and the Niners for 2 Wild Card spots.

6. San Diego Chargers (8-4) – Only one game out of first place in the West, the Chargers are without question the third best team in the AFC after the 2-headed monster of Denver and New England.

5. Seattle Seahawks (8-4) – Ack, I hate having them so high, but they look like they have fixed whatever issues were plaguing them during the middle of the season. My hopes of them missing the playoffs are all but dead.

4. Philadelphia Eagles (9-3) – If Mark Sanchez doesn’t singlehandedly lose games, the Eagles are in great shape to make a deep playoff run.

3. New England Patriots (9-3) – I still think the Broncos would beat the Pats on a neutral field. But if the AFC championship is played in NE, the Pats will likely be going to the Super Bowl.

2. Denver Broncos (9-3) – How do you defend against this offense? Just when teams started figuring it out (culminating in the Rams game), the Broncos add, seemingly out of nowhere, the most deadly rushing attack seen in Denver since Tebow. The grit has FINALLY arrived.

1. Green Bay Packers (9-3) – There is no doubt that the Packers are the best team in the NFL right now. Offense, defense, and QB – all spectacular.

KG’s NFL Power Rankings – 2014

I watched a lot of preseason football this year and I know as well as anyone that preseason doesn’t always show you the truth. Still, power rankings are more of an opinion than almost anything else in sport’s media and it’s fun to rank the teams that I personally like or dislike.

If you disagree….deal with it.

32. Buffalo Bills

I had some hopes for the Bills in the offseason but after watching them this preseason…..youch. It’s very possible that Kyle Orton is the best QB on this team and EJ Manuel is likely one of the biggest busts in the last few years.

31. Dallas Cowboys

The Boys have the least talent overall in the NFL. The only reason they are not dead bottom is Tony Romo and his clutch abilities in the regular season to win games. This team could win 4 games this season.

30. Oakland Raiders

I actually really like Derek Carr as a QB and Raiders’ fans should have some hope for the future. That said, they have no skill players on offense or defense. Their drafting woes in the past will affect them still for a few more years.

29. New York Giants

Eli is terrible. Defense is old. Coughlin is older.

28. Jacksonville Jaguars

Jags are actually a team on the upswing this year. Once Bortless gets in at QB I will have them higher on my rankings…as of now, Chad Henne just doesn’t do it for me.

27. Cleveland Browns

LOVE the Browns defense. Brian Hoyer to Miles Austin is not the greatest QB/WR combo in the league. Josh Gordon is out and Johnny Football will be in by week 5 after a BRUTAL early schedule.

26. Kansas City Chiefs

Playoff team, Andy Reid, Alex Smith…blah blah blah. Tough division, a meh quarterback and again just not enough skilled players to be a good team.

25. Tennessee Titans

Jake Locker is in a position where he HAS to show something or his future in Tennessee is in question. Is there a team in football that gets less media attention than the Titans?

24. Minnesota Vikings

Vikings have a decent future ahead of them with a good O-line and a nice young hurler in Bridgewater. They also play in a brutal division, their superstar RB wants to be traded and Matt Cassel will probably start the year at Q….

23. Washington Redskins

I have three NFC East teams in the bottom ten in the league. Redskins have their best QB on the team as their backup and have a defense that is a sieve.

22. Houston Texans

The Texans are higher than most people have them I know. Their defense is good enough to keep them in some games and they have enough talent on offense to make it interesting. Also play in a VERY weak division.

21. Miami Dolphins

I like Tannehill and they have a decent offense but they’re just not quite there yet for me. This is a team that could move up this list quickly but not they’re a meh team for me.

20. St Louis Rams

This one hurts. I loved the Rams up til the Bradford injury but a team without a QB only succeeds once every ten years or so. This defensive line could be the best in football though.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A nice looking team with a good new coach in Lovie Smith. Still, don’t have that QB that makes them a winning team. A bright future but not this year.

18.) Atlanta Falcons

Falcons have a ton of offensive weapons. Ryan, White, Jones…..still, not much of a running game and a crappy defense keeps them out of the top 15.

17. Baltimore Ravens

An underwhelming, over payed QB plus a young defense has me not believing in the Ravens. Also on a personal level I hate them.

16. San Francisco 49ers

A lot of people have them winning the NFC. C’mon son. They don’t like their coach, their QB is erratic and half their defense is hurt or suspended. 9ers miss the playoffs.

15. Pittsburgh Steelers

Roethlisburger looked terrible in the third preseason game and I just don’t think he likes or understands Todd Haley’s offense. Losing Emmanuel Sanders is a bigger deal than most people think.

14. Carolina Panthers

Panthers are right on the edge for me. Newton COULD have a great year. Defense COULD be great again. Running backs COULD be good enough. The team doesn’t have a single pass catcher remaining from 2013. Wow.

13. Indianapolis Colts

I love Luck. Dude is an elite quarterback who put this team on his back last year and almost made it deep into the playoffs. His O-line is really banged up and his second option at WR is old fart Reggie Wayne…Indy has to prove a lot to me.

12. New York Jets

I really like this defense and Rex Ryan is making this into another ground and pound type team. That’s the only way they succeed with Geno Smith as their QB. Still, an intriguing team heading into the season and I have them as an early WC winner.

11. Cincinnati Bengals

The AFC North could be won at 9-7 this year and I think the Bengals are the class of the division. Dalton and AJ Green have been a killer team during the regular season and I really like young RB Giovanni Bernard.

10. Arizona Cardinals

The NFC West could have three teams in the playoffs this year and Arizona only barely missed out last season. They are a QB away from being a very good team and Palmer is just good enough to make them interesting. Really good defense that lost some players.

9. San Diego Chargers

Mike McCoy is a brilliant offensive mind and he has proved that with his work with Phillip Rivers. This could be a top five offense in the league and the defense is good enough that this team will threaten Denver in the AFC West.

8. Detroit Lions

I like the Lions. Or their offense at least. Stafford, Johnson , Bush…they will put up a lot of points. If their defense can match that remains to be seen.

7. Green Bay Packers

Boy oh boy they didn’t look like a top ten team last night. Still, Rodgers and Lacy will make them good, jury is out for if they can be very good. My stock in the Packers is on the downswing.

6. Chicago Bears

Odd to have three divisional teams three in a row? Maybe. Still the NFC North could be the most interesting division in football this year. Bears have a ton of potential on offense and if Cutler can put it together they could be a top three team in the NFC.

5. New England Patriots

Will they ever NOT be a top five team? Tom Brady says he will play forever and Belicheat sold his soul to….well….they’re going to be good though and the AFC is bad enough, the Pats could look GREAT!

4. New Orleans Saints

Brees was hurt coming into the third preseason game and came in and looked like he never missed a day. This offense could possibly be better than the Broncos and the defense looks to have improved under Coach Ryan. In my mind their are clearly two teams well atop the NFC.

3. Philadelphia Eagles

I have a huge crush on the Iggles and on Chip Kelly’s offense. Foles is perfect for the system, McCoy is one of the best players in the league and they have enough around them to be a top five offense. Their defense is hugely questionable but I think they will be a top three team in the NFC in a brutal NFC East they could sweep.

2. Seattle Seahawks

Really it’s more like 1 and 1A for me. Seahawks are a great team. They have the best defense in football without a question and with Percy Harvin healthy their offense isn’t half bad. They are the class of the NFC and if they get home field through the playoffs I see another superbowl appearance in 2014/15.

1. Denver Broncos

Homerism…sure. Still, the Broncos were killer in the preseason and their offseason was probably the best in football. Ware, Ward, Talib, Sanders all added to a superbowl attending team. They are hugely improved and there’s no reason to think they aren’t the best team in the AFC. Right now it looks like we should have a rematch of last year’s superbowl and I can promise the outcome would be at least more competitive.

 

2014 NFL Power Rankings – Week 1

According to the Caveman

32. Tennessee Titans – There’s absoultely nothing going for this team other than a couple of Bronco rejects on defense. Likely Locker’s last season as an NFL starter.

31. Minnesota Vikings – Matt Cassel won a 3-way QB competition. That’s all you need to know.

30. Washington Redskins – They gambled everything on the hope that RG3 would be a sensational QB. Unfortunately for them, he’s not. In fact, he’s pretty bad. The ‘Skins are facing another rough year.

29. Oakland Raiders – They have a decent team that would probably go 7-9 in a normal division. But they’re in the jungle, baby. They’re gonna die.

28. Jacksonville Jaguars – I hate to admit it – Blake Bortles looks like the best QB of this draft. But that’s not going to save them, even when they finally start him.

27. Buffalo Bills – I like their first-round pick in Sammy Watkins. I think he may even win rookie of the year. But the rest of the team is toast.

26. Dallas Cowboys – When Jerry Jones says that this season might be rough for America’s Ex-Team, then they are seriously screwed. Usually he says they’re Super Bowl bound, before they get demolished in the first playoff game.

25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Meh. Solidly meh. Made some great moves, but they’re not going to pull a KC and make the playoffs after a 3-13 season.

24. Cleveland Browns – I really want the Browns to do well. But their (lack of) WR’s and QB’s will hold them back. Great D, though. Expect a lot of 13-7 games in Cleveland.

23. Pittsburgh Steelers – Still re-building. Big Ben won 2 Super Bowls riding a good defense, but he’s not good enough to carry this team by himself.

22. New York Jets – Who doesn’t like some Rex Ryan? Here’s to the Jets having another average season.

21. New York Giants – Offense continues to struggle. How long can Eli Manning ride his Super Bowls and last name before he starts being questioned as the undisputed starting QB?

20. Kansas City Chiefs – Here’s the good news: the Chiefs are a decent team. Here’s the bad news: they play in the AFC West.

19. Detroit Lions – I keep seeing the Lions projected to make the playoffs. No chance. Good numbers will be put up on both sides of the ball, but this is merely a team made for Fantasy Football.

18. Baltimore Ravens – The Ravens are so overrated. Kubiak is the only addition worth mentioning. They are going to miss the playoffs by a game or two.

17. Houston Texans – Yes, they were the worst team in the league last year. Yes, they have Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB. Yes, I think will have a winning season.

16. St. Louis Rams – Poor Rams. Poor Sam Bradford. They had so much potential.

15. Miami Dolphins – The Dolphins are an under-the-radar team that I think will squeak into the playoffs. An improving QB, a solid RB tandem, and a good defense will get them places.

14. Cincinnatti Bengals – Same old Bengals. They’ll make the playoffs by default due to their crummy division, and then fizzle out like they always do.

13. Indianapolis Colts – Luck’s got a lot of weapons, and a better-than-advertised defense. But he’d better hope the o-line gets their crap together.

12. Atlanta Falcons – Yet another high-powered NFC offense. They have their health back, and I think Matty will have his “Ice” back.

11. Arizona Cardinals – There is one weak link on this team, and it’s Carson Palmer. Put a top-10 QB in here, and watch out for the Cardinals!

10. Seattle Seahawks – Seattle’s going to fall back. They have not handled winning well, and it’s going to bite them big-time. They might even have a tough time getting back into the playoffs in a brutal NFC.

9. Carolina Panthers – No wide receivers? An underperforming O-line? No problem. Cam Newton is gonna join the elite QB crew this year.

8. San Francisco 49ers – This will be an unpopular pick for my host Kevin Gillikin. Sorry bro. The Niners, even with all their injuries and offensive problems, will still win the division. Don’t be a hater.

7. San Diego Chargers – The Chargers won a playoff game last year, and nearly beat the Broncos twice. San Diego is making it even farther this year. I’m going so far to say the AFC Championship game.

6. New England Patriots – I hate Tom Brady, but he’s still Tom Brady. Improved defense too. Is it strange that the second best team in the AFC is ranked down at #6?

5. Chicago Bears – Jay Culter, Brandon Marshall, Alshony Jeffery, Matt Forte. This team is frightening.

4. Philadelphia Eagles – I was wrong about Chip Kelly. I admit it. Last year, I pegged him as the next Josh McDaniels. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The Eagles are going to kick butt this year, aided by their trash division.

3. New Orleans Saints – The Saints will have the highest-flying offense this year. And their defense is scary good.

2. Green Bay Packers – Yes, that’s right. The team to beat in the NFC is Green Bay. The offense could very easily challenge the Broncos and Saints this year as the best in the NFL. Rodgers is an absolute beast.

1. Denver Broncos – Went to the Super Bowl last year, and got a whole lot better on both offense and defense. What can I say? The Super Bowl curse is going to end.

 

 

 

Stay tuned for Kevin’s Power Rankings on Thursday!

Denver Broncos Cutest Players

Is this strange, questionable and unmanly?….Yeah, maybe. Still, a huge percentage of fans of the orange and blue are women and a huge percentage of those women put huge stock into who the stud muffins are on the field.

So, like it or not, here’s my list of the top five cutest Broncos!

.5 Rahim Moore

The guy has that sexy/cuddly look that earns him a spot on this list. Add that to a built body and the dude has got the look. Maybe a bit infamous and odd but that has nothing to do with looks!

.4 Wes Welker

Icy blue eyes, gorgeous facial hair and a wit to match makes Welker a clear choice for our top five. The man could woo unicorns with that stare and his smile has been rumored to send shivers down the spine of blind people.

.3 Ronnie Hillman

 

Hillman may not be the all time favorite running back in Denver but he has the look. He’s got that sleek style and grace that just screams CUTE! Ronnie may still be a boy but there’s a lot to like about this young man.

.2 Brock Osweiler

What more do I need to say? The hair, the height the smirk. This guy has a look that almost says…Elvis. Got the arm of Zeus and the face of an angel.

.1 Emmanuel Sanders

Uhhh need I say more? Sanders may be the newest Bronco but he is quite clearly the cutest. I’d give my left peck for that body and he’s got the face to back it up!

 

Peyton Manning did not make the list but he was a runner up along with Orlando Franklin.

Never too early to over hype the Denver Broncos

Preseason is all about practice, conditioning and seeing what five or six players will impress the coaches enough to earn their way onto the 53 man roster. The scores don’t matter, wins and losses don’t mean crap and there should be zero excitement following a blowout win against a quality NFL team.

That’s at least what most people will tell you.

I’m not one of those stupid sport’s pundits tries to suck all the fun out of anything and everything that’s not the Superbowl.

Preseason IS a glorified practice but it means something and occasionally it shows a lot about one or both teams that face off on the preseason gridiron. The Broncos against 49ers was one of those times.

Butt whooping, slaughter fest, smashing, murderation…..all words that come to mind following Sunday’s 34-0 clobbering of the San Francisco football team. The question all morning has been asking if this is a bigger deal for Denver or San Fran. I’d say it’s equally good for the Broncos and really really worrying for the Niners.

Denver:

Peyton Manning could have an even better year than he did last year. Considering he had possibly the greatest season that any QB has ever had…that’s no small prediction.  It’s also not a huge stretch to think it a possibility. The O-line should be better with Ryan Clady back in the lineup at Left Tackle and big Orlando Franklin moving to guard they should be a stout group. Eric Decker left to the Jets but they brought in a faster, smaller but potentially more skilled receiver in Emmanuel Sanders who should flourish under PFM’s leadership. The Thomas boys (Demaryious and Julius) should have another huge year and Wes Welker is always that annoying little security blanket that will destroy the middle of the field week after week.

The one weakness this offense could have is at running back. The Broncos lost Moreno to free agency after a career year in 2013 and the 3rd year of Ronnie Hillman doesn’t promise to be any better than his last two. Montee Ball is the future hopeful star for the team and undrafted rookie, Juwan Thompson, has been impressive in the preseason but the position may be the team’s weakest.

Anyway….I’m getting carried away with season previews when really what I wanted to say was the game against the 49ers showed me a lot.

The Broncos are going to be great and the 49ers are hugely overrated. National media dopes keep touting San Fran as the “team to come out of the NFC” and I just see no reason to believe that. They are banged up, have a QB who is talented but erratic and have a coach that the players don’t like and who was almost traded to the Cleveland Browns in the offseason. Add that to a brutally tough NFC West division and a tough schedule and this team doesn’t even make the playoffs.

Preseason shows which teams are coached well, healthy and most importantly which teams have depth. The Broncos showed in colors that they are DEEP. They are three deep in nearly every position and there’s only one injury that would kill this team’s season and after seeing Brock Osweiler on Sunday, I think he could be a good to very good replacement for the great PFM.

Rambling over.

Broncos finish the season 14-2

49ers finish the season 7-9

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000379329/Broncos-vs-49ers-preseason-highlights