Eric_Goodman's Blog

If you’re not familiar with the Rooney Rule, it’s named after Steelers owner Dan Rooney and it requires every NFL team to interview a minority candidate.

Just how serious is the league about this rule? The Detroit Lions were fined 200 thousand dollars for not interviewing a minority candidate in 2003.

The Denver Broncos are about to fulfill their obligation, and their attempt couldn’t be any more transparent. Raheem Morris is considered an up and comer, but he’s woefully unqualified—and the Broncos know it.

The 32-year-old would become the youngest coach in the league, and the 2nd youngest coach ever hired in NFL history. He just finished up as the Buccaneers defensive backs coach, and that’s the highest position he’s ever held in the NFL.

The Broncos move is shrewd for its timing because they likely want New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. If the meeting goes well, they’ll give each other a wink and a smile.

2 days later, the Broncos will take care of their obligation. Morris could be qualified some day—but not today.

The Broncos might interview more qualified minority candidates, if Spagnuolo doesn’t take the job. If he wants to, though, Pat Bowlen will be fine—and he won’t get fined. He’s helping Morris get his name out there, and Bowlen is helping himself.

It’s a win-win for both, even though it’s not being done with the best intentions.

The only thing more shocking than Mike Shanahan getting fired Tuesday was Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointing a new Senator from Illinois.

 

 

I understand the late season collapse was harder to swallow than a double-a battery. The defense was harder to watch than Sarah Palin’s interview with Katie Couric, and the injuries mounted like the national debt.

 

 

Some of this can be attributed to Shanahan The Coach. Most of it can be attributed to Shanahan The General Manager.

 

 

He wanted to buy the groceries but he wasn’t a smart shopper. He found some talent over the last three years, but it was too late.

 

 

The foundation should have been built years before that, and that’s why the franchise was shaky under his feet.  Shanahan didn’t have enough talent, and he has only himself to blame.

 

 

Shanahan will eventually find a job when he wants it, but in this economy it’s tough enough to get one job, not to mention two. Shanahan is still a great coach, but he wasn’t fired by Broncos owner Pat Bowlen.

 

 

He was fired by Shanahan The General Manager.

 

The Broncos were hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but here they are: a “play-in” game on Sunday in San Diego.

No team in NFL history has blown a 3 game division lead with 3 games to play. The Broncos haven’t made dubious history just yet, but they’re going to have a tough time avoiding it against the Chargers.

San Diego is on a roll with 3 straight wins and the Football Gods are smiling on sunny San Diego right now.

The Chargers were robbed of a win during week 2 at Invesco Field at Mile High when quarterback Jay Cutler fumbled with 1:13 to play, but referee Ed Hochuli ruled it an incomplete pass.

The Broncos scored 2 plays later, got the 2 point conversion, and won the game.

The Chargers have been pointing to a meaningful rematch since that loss, and they’re going to get it.

Their season looked lost during Week 15. They trailed Kansas City 21-to-10 with less than 2 minutes to play, and then, the stars aligned. Phillip Rivers threw a touchdown pass. The Chargers got the on-sides kick. Rivers threw another touchdown pass, and then, the Chiefs missed a potential game winning field goal with seconds to play.

The re-match between the Broncos and Chargers on Sunday is a tasty one. There is a general distain between the 2 young quarterbacks, Rivers and Cutler. dating back to last season’s season finale.

Rivers wasn’t selected to the Pro Bowl this season despite leading the league in quarterback rating and touchdown passes. Cutler is going to Hawaii, but he needs a trip to the playoffs on his resume more than a Pro Bowl.

You can make an argument that Cutler has been more important to the Broncos offense than any of John Elway’s years in Denver. Elway never had great running backs until Terrell Davis. Cutler has watched 6 different tailbacks line up behind him this season.

Yesterday, Cutler broke the Broncos’ single-season passing record and completion record. Ironically, he, too, had to keep the Broncos playoff hopes alive.

Some have a problem with his post-game press conferences. He comes across as arrogant, short, and uninterested in talking to the media. All of this might be true, but it’s hard to criticize his play on the field.

Cutler has thrown some untimely interceptions this season, but he’s made enough eye-popping plays to negate those mistakes. Cutler is growing up as a quarterback, but still has a way to go as the face and spokesman for this franchise.

Cutler would rather do his talking on the field.

Next Sunday he has a chance to speak volumes with a win.

Who would have thought at the beginning of the season that we’d be talking about the 227th pick in the draft getting injured?

Peyton Hillis has disappeared from the Broncos as quickly as he burst onto the scene. His awe shucks attitude and selfless play has endeared him with his teammates and the fans.

This Arkansas country boy has charmed everyone with his southern twang, and then, he’s punished everyone, who’s stood in his way.

Hillis is the everyman—a lunch bucket guy, who comes to work every day and never complains about his role.

Hillis was essentially told in training camp that he wasn’t good enough to play tailback, but he proved everyone wrong. He got his opportunity because of 5-injuries, and now, he’s been deep-sixed.

Hillis will compete at tailback next season, but if he returns to the unglamorous role of fullback that’s fine with him. He just wants to be part of the team, and he probably will be for a long time.

I’ve never been a guy, who bets on sports.

I don’t have a fantasy football team and I don’t have a rotisserie baseball team. I’m frequently asked about the Broncos. I give my opinion about their upcoming game, and my final though is “don’t hold me too it.”

I’ve never said that more often than this season.

I’m better at predicting the stock market than the Broncos. I’m wrong all of the time.

A few people have asked me about this Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, and I’m reluctant to give a prediction—but I’ll do it any way.

Larry Johnson will rush for over 200 yards and score 2 touchdowns. Quarterback Tyler Thigpen will pass for over 300 yards and 3-touchdowns. The Broncos will turn it over 5 times. Jay Culter will get knocked out of the game. Champ Bailey will tear his a-c-l, and Mike Shanahan will get flagged for un-sportsman like conduct.

The Chiefs will win 55-to-10.

Hey, I’ve been wrong all season, right?

So why did Plaxico Burress carry a loaded handgun into a nightclub on Friday? He reportedly said; he did it because was wearing expensive jewelry and carrying a lot of cash.

I don’t have a problem with his success. I have a problem with his stupidity.

The gun wasn’t registered, and he was foolish enough to flash it to a buddy while drinking a glass of wine.

If drinking and driving is like a loaded gun, then drinking with a loaded gun will likely get you shot.

It did—right in his leg.

Monty Python couldn’t have said it better, “Just a flesh wound.” Bringing a loaded gun into a night club is kind of like going to a cash machine at 2:00 in the morning. The money isn’t going for anything good.

I respect a player’s right to protect himself. Athletes are targets. Sean Taylor was killed in his home last year.Ben Roethlisberger had a gun waived in his face.Richard Collier was shot 14 times and is paralyzed.

None of these guys was looking for trouble.

Burress wasn’t either, but he found it by his own doing. If you walk into a club and need a gun, you probably shouldn’t be there in the first place.

His career and his brand new $35-million contract extension are now on hold.

He may have shot himself in the leg, but metaphorically, he shot himself in the foot.

The Broncos could be getting back 3 defensive starters at the right time.

Champ Bailey, D.J. Williams, and Nate Webster had limited participation in practice on Wednesday. "I feel okay, but I'm not going to say that I'm already there yet," said Bailey, who hasn't played since October 22nd after a groin injury against the Patriots.

"Practice turned out great for me today (Wednesday). I did some things that I haven't been able to do, and I came out pain free."

This is great news for a defense that could really use him on Sunday against the New York Jets.

New York is on a tear with 5 wins in a row, specifically on offense. They've averaged 41 points per game over their last 3 wins, and there have been a lot of reasons for their success.

Brett Favre is on a roll. He's completed 77 percent of his passes during that stretch--the best 3 game stretch for the future hall of famer.

"Elway was a great quarterback, but in my mind, Brett Favre was always the best overall," said Peyton Hillis. "He's better than Steve Young, Joe Montana, Dan Marino. Just the heart that Favre has in playing consecutive games like he did, that means a lot."

Favre has had plenty of help during the Jets run. Running back Thomas Jones leads the AFC in rushing with 950 yards, while he's also scored an AFC best 11 total touchdowns. However, all of the buzz in New York has centered around back up running back Leon Washington, who leads the league in all purpose yards.

Many consider San Diego's Darren Sproles the most versatile player in football, but Washington is statistically the best when you combine his rushing yards, receiving yards, and return yards. "I think he's better than Sproles," Bailey added.

"He's more of a total package. He can hit you in all kinds of ways."

The Jets offense has been hitting teams in all kinds of ways for over a month. A healthy Broncos defense will certainly help contain it.

If winning a title is Carmelo Anthony’s top priority, all he has to do is to look at his own history.

He led Syracuse to a National Championship when he averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds a game. Since Chauncey Billups got here, Melo is averaging 20 points and 9 rebounds a game.

The Denver Nuggets are on top of the Northwest Division and are quickly becoming one of the top teams in basketball. Scoring feeds the ego. Rebounding and assists feed a team that’s hungry to win it all.

Melo can’t be happy that his shots are down, but he has to be thrilled that the numbers in the win column are going up. Great players are cool with this—just look at the Celtics. Immature and selfish players complain about this—just look at the Nuggets last season.

So far, Melo seems to be happy and he appears to be in a good place. Because of this, the Nuggets are in a good place as well: first place.

The Broncos are expected to beat the Raiders on Sunday, and with good reason.

The Broncos whipped the Raiders in the season opener 41-14, and the Raiders are sitting with a 2-8 record. Not so fast though.

The Broncos were expected to beat the Chiefs in September, and they suffered an embarrassing loss to one of the worst teams in football. Right now, the Raiders aren’t much better than Kansas City.

“We know what the Raiders are capable of doing,” said Mike Shanahan on Wednesday.

“They just haven’t finished in the 4th quarter. Our football team is smart enough to look at this team as a team who is very capable of beating anyone and we better play accordingly.”

The Broncos are on a roll right now with 2 impressive road wins in a row in the 4th quarter.

They’re leading the San Diego Chargers by two games in the AFC West and have a terrific opportunity to extend that lead to 3 games. The Chargers play the Colts this weekend.

If everything goes as scripted, the Broncos will have a 3 game lead with 5 games to play.

The Broncos haven’t won the division since 2005.

Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan has been criticized for his draft classes for years, but he’s got a great one this season.

It might not be his best of the bunch, but it’s certainly the deepest.

10 rookies played in Sunday’s win over the Falcons. 8 of those guys started.

“These guys aren’t only excellent athletes, but they are very sharp football players,” said Mike Shanahan at his Monday press conference. “Some guys got their opportunity because of injuries and some guys got their opportunity because they proved in practice that they can make plays.”

No one has made bigger plays than Eddie Royal.

The reigning rookie of the week could win the award again. He had 200 all purpose yards. This includes 5-kickoff returns for 159 yards.

“That’s one of the reasons why we drafted him,” Shanahan added. “We felt like once he got the ball in his hands as a punt returner or a kickoff returner he had a chance to go the distance every time.”

One guy, who really went the distance on Sunday, was Spencer Larsen. He became the first Broncos player to start on offense and defense. Larsen took part in 66 total plays: 55 at middle linebacker, 3 at fullback, and 8 on special teams.

“You talk about a guy you want to go to war with. He doesn’t know anything but 100 percent.”

The Broncos are also getting that effort out of converted fullback Peyton Hillis. He scored 2 touchdowns in his first start at tailback. The rookies are a big reason why the Broncos have won 2 in a row, and lead the West by 2 games over the Chargers. The Broncos play the 2-8 Raiders on Sunday at Invesco Field.

Rockies General Manager Dan O'Dowd knew this day was coming. Contract talks with Matt Holliday's agent, Scott Boras, hit an impasse.

The Rockies offered a four year, $72-million contract to the all-star outfielder Matt Holliday, and the answer was 'no.'

The fan backlash has been swift. Many feel the Rockies didn't offer enough to keep their best player.

O'Dowd has no apologies for the way things unfolded.

"What I can't understand is how an organization can offer somebody over 100 million dollars (the lifetime of the total deal) and be perceived as not stepping up authentically and not wanting to keep them here," said O'Dowd on Wednesday.

"We can't compete with New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, or Boston. Neither can 24 other franchises. This is a reality based decision."

The reality is that the Rockies might not be done.

They are listening to offers for Willy Tavares, Yorvit Torrealba, and most notably, Garrett Atkins. Losing Atkins would be another blow coupled with Holliday. Those two right handed bats were the Rockies best hitters last season. The Rockies would like to keep Atkins, but he is expendable with the emergence of Ian Stewart at 3rd base and the return of Todd Helton and 1st base.

"I was actively engaging discussions on Matt Holliday," O'Dowd added. "I am not actively engaging discussions on Garrett Atkins. I have said all along that we are open for business. If there's a deal that comes along that nets what we didn't get in the Holliday deal, which is still that middle rotation to potentially top of the rotation type starter, I am going to listen."

The Rockies have a very different situation with Atkins than Holliday. Holliday was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. The Rockies have Atkins for 2 more years.

O'Dowd bristles at the suggestion that Holliday feared there wouldn't be enough talent around him if they offered him a lucrative deal in the $20 million-a-year range. O'Dowd suggests that the team has locked up Jeff Francis, Aaron Cook, Troy Tulowitzki, Manny Corpas, and Brad Hawpe for the next couple of years or more.

These guys, minus Holliday and possibly Atkins, are now the core of this franchise.

O’Dowd feels good about that, and doesn't regret the Holliday trade. However, he is saddened by losing his top player, who came through the Rockies farm system and was expected to help lead this franchise to another appearance in the World Series.

Jason Elam has been looking forward to this game all season.

"It's definitely one that I saw on the schedule when I signed with the Falcons," said Elam from Atlanta on Wednesday. "I knew it was kind of going to be an emotional game for me. Just getting reunited with some of my buddies and seeing a lot of the coaching staff, it's hard to spend 15 years anywhere and not have a lot ties there."

The ties were broken during the off season when the Broncos felt Elam had lost some of the strength in his leg. His accuracy on field goals remained solid, but his kickoffs rarely reached the end zone.

Elam is feeling his age at 38, but he's still one of the best kickers in football. He's hit 19-of-21 field goals for the 6-3 Atlanta Falcons, while he's 4th in the league in scoring.

Elam’s greatest asset is kicking in the clutch. He hit 4 game winning field goals for the Broncos last season, and would love nothing better than to bang out another one on Sunday against his former teammates.

"I think it's something we all dream about. It would be story book." It certainly would be for a guy, who is destined for the Broncos Ring of Fame and quite possibly the Hall of Fame.

Leave it to my 7-year old son to put the Holliday trade into perspective.  When I told him about it at dinner, he said “he was sad,” and he asked me to call the Rockies to rescind the deal. 

I told him that sportscasters can influence public opinion, but they can’t change the opinion of a franchise that made up its mind a long time ago.  Harrison and I played some cards and had a brownie for desert. 

He didn’t bring up the trade after that. 

No one likes the deal, but all of us knew it would happen.  Before I tucked Harrison into bed, he didn’t take down his Rockies memorabilia—and he probably won’t when the season starts in April. 

He is a Rockies fan despite today’s disappointment.  Then again, he’s only 7, and he still has a lifetime of disappointment to look forward too. 

All fans, not just Rockies fans, can say that.  

Harrison is sleeping as I do this commentary, and is likely dreaming of what could have been.   When he wakes up, he’ll move on, and quite frankly, that’s what all Rockies fans have to do as well.

Chauncey Billups couldn't be any happier to be home.

He's chosen to wear the number 7 in honor of John Elway. He can watch his children grow up with his nieces and nephew. He can spend the holidays with family, and he can play basketball in front of a community that watched him grow up.

Billups played high school ball at George Washington. He played collegiately at Colorado, and now, this is his 2nd tour of duty with the Denver Nuggets. He played sparingly for the Nuggets from 1998-2000. He left for Minnesota after that, and then, the world watched him grow into one of the best point guards in the league.

Billups’ career hit the pinnacle in 2004 when he led the Pistons to the NBA title, while earning the Finals MVP along the way.

"I like being in a leadership role, that's who I am," said Billups at his introductory press conference on Thursday.

"When I first came back here, I was like the hometown kid coming back. Now, I'm a man. I'm a man now. I'm not the same as far as my game goes."

The Nuggets, specifically George Karl, have needed a player like this. His all around game is palpable. He's a great clutch shooter, a great passer, a great perimeter defender, and a great leader on and off the floor.

All of these qualities will help a team that's been desperately seeing a player of his caliber and character.

"There's a lot of potential on this team. One of the things that I've seen in just watching the team before the trade and even in last night's game is that some of the players lack self discipline out there as far as bad shot selection and turning the ball over."

All of the Nuggets players know this, but no one has said this publically until Thursday. Now it's been said, and it all of it can change on Friday night when Billups makes is debut against the Dallas Mavericks at Pepsi Center.

Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl called Monday’s trade a home run. 

 

 

The Allen Iverson era is over and Denver native Chauncey Billups, who played for George Washington High School and the University of Colorado, is ready for his 2nd tour with the Nuggets. 

 

 

Billups was a marginal player when he was last here, but now, he comes home as a conquering hero.  The 32-year-old is widely considered one of the top all around point guards in the game.  He’s one of the best clutch shooter in basketball. He’s a pass-first point guard. He’s a terrific perimeter defender. He’s a leader. He has tremendous character, and he’s a winner. 

 

 

This package is hard to find, and now, the Nuggets have a guy who can take them to the next level. 

 

 

No one was happier about the trade than Karl. He’s been desperately seeking a floor leader of this caliber. Iverson was a great player, but he never made the Nuggets a great team. 

 

 

Billups has a chance to do that.  He’s not a savior, but he is a tremendous upgrade for what this team needs. The Nuggets have just become a better team, and they’ll be led by a guy, who knows something about winning.