Aw heck, this kinda takes a little of the fun out of it.
If you weren't watching last night, in the midst of the Denver Broncos 42-17 destruction of the San Francisco 49ers, during the game, Peyton Manning broke the record for most TD passes of all time. That record was previously 508 and held by Brett Favre.
In fact he added to it by throwing 4 TD's in the game.
But TD pass 509, while impressive as heck, was almost overshadowed afterwards when Broncos receivers Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders and Wes Welker appeared to play keep away from Manning, who wanted the ball to mark the occasion.
And watching on TV, it was really, really funny.
But...
We've all been had. Demariyus Thomas said Peyton Manning himself planned the keep-away. Peyton had them practice it too.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) October 20, 2014
Sad face....
It would have been a lot more fun had it been spontaneous, but it was still funny.
Seattle Seahawks corner DeShawn Shead proposed to his girlfriend after the team's 26-20 overtime win over the Denver Broncos.
Evidence below
About 30 minutes after the game he told his girlfriend, Jessica Martinez, to meet him to the field. Shead was successful in his questions and answer session and you saw all the teammates and family that were there to witness the moment.
In light of the NFL's worst week ever and the domestic abuse problems that Ray Rice and others have shown on the league, there may be more.
The family of Rasheedah Watley came forward with noted lawyer Gloria Allred in Atlanta Wednesday afternoon charging Roger Goodell, the NFL and the Denver Broncos (team at the time) essentially let receiver Brandon Marshall off easy after a long history of abusing Watley. He also spoke about a letter he sent to the NFL and how they essentially did not respond to him.
Along with the family, a friend Kristeena Spivey came out and spoke of an incident in 2009 where Marshall is alleged to have rammed her car and threw a concrete brick through the windshield. Marshall had initially been suspended for 3 games, that suspension was reduced to 1 game.
Watley's father Clarence spoke at length about the history between his daughter and Marshall dating back to Marshall's time at UCF in 2006 and supposedly dating back as far as the 8th grade.
Pro Football Talk reminds us what happened in 2009 RIGHT HERE
It should be noted, in 2009, Watley and Marshall's lawyers exchanged e-mails asking for 6-figures to make this all go away and not press charges.
The whole sordid affair was part of an ESPN Outside the Lines episode back in 2009.
For her part, Allred and Watley's father are calling for Roger Goodell's head. For which they can add their names to the list. The question that many people have today though is: Why bring this up now?
Is it the timing?
We don't dispute that Marshall may have done some horrible things and deserved to be punished more effectively 5-years ago. But he wasn't. And Allred and the Watley's may have a legitimate beef here, we don't doubt that either. If Marshall did what he was alleged to do at that time, he most definitely deserved a stiffer penalty. And yeah, more than likely, the NFL didn't handle it well. It's now been documented as to how bad they've handled domestic violence cases in the past.
But why bring it up now?
There have been multiple opportunities to discuss this, to bring it up in the open over the years, before and after this incident took place. And it wasn't. Unfortunately, while a horrible issue that should have been addressed at the time wasn't, bringing it up TODAY smacks of opportunism.
Allred says it's about what the NFL should do in the future.
There are no charges filed here and there are no investigations involved. So why are we now talking about this today? It smells an awful lot like the set-up to a lawsuit.
Whomever said kickers are interchangeable in pro football obviously didn't have Matt Prater on his team.
Prater, the leagues most accurate kicker, who can and has knocked them down from over 60-yards away will sit out the first 4 games of the Denver Broncos season.
The reason: He violated the NFL Substance Abuse policy.
According to the Denver Post, Prater had been in the leagues Substance Abuse Program since his DUI arrest in 2011. And while specifics of the violation haven't been disclosed, in a story first reported by the Post, Prater's agent implied his client had a couple of beers while at home.
Officially, the announcement of Prater's suspension isn't supposed to happen until Monday, but the Post reported it on Sunday.
You can read the full story from the Denver newspaper RIGHT HERE
Denver was the leagues highest scoring team last season and Prater himself accounted for 150 points. The only other kicker brought into camp this preseason is rookie Mitch Ewald from Indiana.
Since there are always journeyman kickers available to come in and play for a few games, the guess here is the Broncos will bring a couple in, see how they do and have a plan B ready in case Ewald isn't up to the task.
This video explains why the Broncos will miss Prater--a 64-yard field goal....
If you ever wanted proof that Denver Broncos and former University of Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning is the king of the nerds, well...now you have it.
Look what happened Monday morning at Broncos camp when while the team was doing stretching drills, the Vols fight song (Rocky Top) broke out on the speakers.
Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen has resigned his control of the franchise over to team president Joe Ellis after it was disclosed publicly for the first time that Bowlen is fighting Alzheimer's Disease.
"It's a really, really sad day," Ellis told Klis. "It's sad for his family, his wife and his seven children. It's sad for everyone in the organization. And it's sad for all the Bronco fans who know what Pat Bowlen meant to them as an owner. It's a day nobody wanted to see happen."
The team is going to be placed in a Trust, set up over a decade ago, so that eventually one of Bowlen's seven children will eventually run the franchise. Right now, however, it is Ellis's ship.
"As many in the Denver community and around the National Football League have speculated, my husband, Pat, has very bravely and quietly battled Alzheimer's disease for the last few years," Annabel Bowlen said in a statement. "He has elected to keep his condition private because he has strongly believed, and often said, 'It's not about me.'
"Pat has always wanted the focus to be solely on the Denver Broncos and the great fans who have supported this team with such passion during his 30 years as owner. My family is deeply saddened that Pat's health no longer allows him to oversee the Broncos, which has led to this public acknowledgment of such a personal health condition."
Klis also made the point that, under no circumstance, is the team going to be moved.
"This is a sad day for the NFL," commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement to The Denver Post. "Pat Bowlen's leadership has been critical to the success of the Broncos and the entire NFL. From building a championship team that is a pillar of the community to his important work for the league on television and labor matters, Pat's love of the game drove him and we have all benefited from his passion and wisdom. But the time has come for Pat to focus on his health and we fully support him. Joe Ellis has been a trusted executive for Pat for many years after working with us at the league office. Joe's deep experience ensures that the Broncos will continue to have strong leadership."
Here is the statement from the Broncos
((HT: KUSA-TV))
Okay, let's face it...
The commercials, save a select few, and the game were both awful...
But since Seattle won...
The HQ figured we'd show you the postgame speech Pete Carroll gave his team after the dismantling of Denver- scoring every possible way to win the 48th Roman Numeral Classic...
It's the end of Week 11 of the regular season in tackle football...
Clubber vents- as is our want...
This tweet from the NFL Network’s Kurt Warner perfectly sums up the wackiness that is the 2013 season; “This NFL is crazy! How do u figure out who is going to show up every week?? I can’t & my picks reflect that! #airandground”
He makes a great point. Consider some of the starting quarterbacks who led their respective teams to victory yesterday. Mike Glennon, Matt McGloin, Josh McCown and EJ Manuel were all winners yesterday. While Manuel is a first round pick McCown is a back-up and Glennon and McGloin were not even expected to see any playing time this year. This speaks volumes to the long held theory Coaches try to pound into their players heads; “next man up”. If you are on a NFL roster you never know when you are going to be asked to play or, in some cases, start. With that in mind let us take a look back at week 11.
The Good
The Broncos – First off the entire Broncos offensive line deserves a game ball for their performance Sunday night in their win over the Chiefs. Going into the game the Chiefs were leading the NFL in sacks. Led by Toronto’s Orlando Franklin the Broncos O-line pitched a shut-out not allowing a single sack or allowing Peyton Manning to get hit once. All that time allowed Manning to complete 24 passes for 323 yards and one touchdown as the Broncos handed the Chiefs their first loss of the year and grabbed, for the time being, the hammer in the AFC West.
Russell Wilson – Wilson is quietly having an excellent season and his performance in the Seahawks win over the Vikings was a perfect example of that. Wilson passed for 230 yards and two touchdowns as the Seahawks won their sixth straight game and improved to 10-1 on the year. Wilson’s passer rating in the win over the Vikings was a phenomenal 151.4. That was the fourth time in his last six games Wilson has posted a passer rating of 100 or better. In his last three games Wilson has been lights out, completing a remarkable 72.9 per cent of his passes. You take Wilson’s high completion percentage, their power running game and their physical defence and you get a Seahawks team that can hang with any team in the league.
Nick Foles – The Eagles took over first place in the NFC East after they beat the Redskins. The Eagles have won three straight games and Nick Foles has a passer rating over 100 in each of the three games. The most impressive stat from Foles is the fact he has yet to turn the ball over this year. While Michael Vick had three interceptions and a fumble Foles has clean sheet next to his name. Foles efficiency and ball security has allowed the Eagles to find their rhythm on offence and the rest of team is feeding off it. Is Foles Mister Right in Phialdephia? Only time will tell but with the Eagles heading into their bye week Foles is Mister Right Now. He is giving them a chance to win every week. Going into the bye week Foles has the highest passer rating in the NFL and is 10th in completion percentage.
Bobby Rainey – Because of numerous injuries the Buccaneers had to reach down way down on their depth chart to find a running back for their game against the Falcons Sunday. Well Greg Schiano made a brilliant decision by starting Bobby Rainey. The five foot, eight inch Rainey had 30 carries for 165 yards and two touchdowns as the Bucs beat up Falcons. Coming to the game Rainey had run for a grand total of 79 yards on the season. Schiano was as surprised as anyone when he spoke to reporters after the game; “I don’t think anybody thinks that a guy’s going to come out and rush for, whatever he did, 163 yards. But [we are] very proud of him.”
The Bill defence – The Bills defence had four sacks and three interceptions in their win over the Jets. In 2012 the Bills had 36 sacks. After week 11 the Bills now lead the NFL with 37 sacks. On top of that the Bills are tied with Seattle with the most interceptions in the NFL with 16. Of all the things Doug Marrone did in the off-season the hiring of Mike Pettine as his defensive coordinator was one of his smartest moves. The Bills defence had 21 takeaways the entire 2012 season; through 11 games this year they have 20. Only the Chiefs have more takeaways in the AFC.
The Arizona Cardinals – Come on now, don’t laugh. The Arizona Cardinals have won three straight and are 6-4 after 10 games. That is an impressive turn-around by Bruce Arians considering the Cardinals were a 5-11 team last year. What a lot people may not realize is that the Cardinals have the third best run defence in the entire NFL. Now comes the fun part. The Cardinals next game is at home against Arians’ old team the Indianapolis Colts.
The Bad
Jim Schwartz – Lions fans have every right to be pissed off at Jim Schwartz. With the Lions holding on to a 27-23 lead the Lions were in a fourth and five situation at the Steelers 10 yard line. But instead of kicking the easy chip shot field goal Schwartz decided to go for the fake field goal. The decision resulted in disaster for the Lions as Sam Martin fumbled after taking a huge hit. 16 plays later the Steelers scored what turned out to be the game winning touchdown. So instead of all but sealing the deal on what would have been their seventh win of the year, the Lions find themselves tied with the Bears atop the NFC North with a 6-4 record. Schwartz was in a snarky mood after the game when he spoke to reporters and tried to defend his decision to go for the fake field goal.
I am quite sure Lions fans don’t want to hear what Schwartz has to say right about now.
Brooks was nowhere near the head of Brees yet he still got called for a game changing personal foul because the officials deemed hit the ‘neck area”. Yes, the league must protect the quarterback. But what Brooks did was a good football hit; there was nothing dirty about it. But officials are so trigger happy to call roughing the passer that anything, even it is borderline, is going to get called.
RG3 – Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of Robert Griffin III. But there is no defence for his end of the game interception that he threw in the Redskins loss to the Eagles. RG3 was putting together what looked to be a thrilling fourth quarter comeback. On a third and one play at the Eagles 18 yard line RG3 was under pressure. But instead of doing the safe thing RG3 lofted up a prayer off of his back foot as he was falling down. The result was the easiest interception Brandon Boykin will ever have and another Redskins loss.
The Ugly
The Houston Texans – The season from hell for the Houston Texans just keeps getting worse. Sunday they lost their eight straight game. They lost it at home to a Raiders team who were forced to start an undrafted quarterback. According to the NFL, the Raiders Matt McGloin was the first undrafted rookie quarterback to throw three touchdowns and zero interceptions in a game since 1967. While McGloin was doing his thing for the Raiders, Matt Schaub was yelling at Andre Johnson on the sidelines after their failed fourth down pass attempt sealed the win for Oakland. It is getting ugly in Houston and there are few signs that it is going to get much better before the end of the year.
As of right now these are only allegations. But Albert Breer of the NFL Network reported that the incident is under league investigation. If any of this is found to be true the NFL needs to take action against the official. It was one thing for a player and an official to speak to each other during a game but there is no excuse for that kind of behaviour.
The Monday Night game – Finally, a Monday Night game that will be worth staying up for. The 6-3 Panthers will try to extend their winning streak to six games when they host Tom Brady and the 7-2 Patriots in what should be a real slobberknocker of a game. The Panthers are number one in the NFL in total defence and they are number in scoring defence. The Panthers are also out to prove to everyone that they are indeed for real. If the win over the 49ers last week didn’t do it, a win over Brady and the Patriots tonight certainly will.
Multiple reports on Monday say that Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak suffered a "Mini-Stroke", which led to his collapse at halftime of the Texans/Colts game on Sunday.
According to SI.com, the condition doctors believe Kubiak suffered from is called "TIA" or Trans-Ischemic-Attack". The TIA is not considered a debilitating event and is caused by blood clots. Kubiak is currently undergoing treatment to help alleviate clots. The worrisome part according to doctors is the "TIA" often leads to more serious strokes in the future if not addressed.
It's been a rough week for NFL Head Coaches and their health. Also over the weekend it was revealed the Denver Broncos head coach John Fox had a heart condition he was trying to deal with until the season ended. It caught up to him while playing golf on a bye week and he will have a heart procedure this week.
The question on the table is this? Are coaches pushing themselves too far? Is there too much pressure on them?
And in a lot of ways, yeah, there is.
There has always been a measure of that pressure and most who go into the coaching profession are aware any job with a team, may not be long-term.
But that pressure has only increased over the years and the turnover in the profession has gotten scary-fast. Fans, owners, and even on the college level, boosters are looking for instant results and non-stop success. Anything less and they are calling for these guys heads.
And yes, sure, there are situations where coaches are in over their heads and shouldn't have the job. But often they are blamed for things they can't control. Or otherwise known as player performance.
The "Dark" little secret of coaching is during the season, these guys work sometimes 18-hours a day and will sleep at their jobs. For a couple of hours. And that catches up to you.
But they have to do it. And it's not just the head coach. It's the Assistant Coaches, it's the equipment guys, it's everyone. In college, you've got grad assistants and others making next to nothing, working 18-hours a day for the whole season.
It takes a toll. But they do it, because they want the job. And all know if they won't do it, someone else will. All the extra time, the work for nothing, yeah, that might buy you a season. If the head coach is fired, most of the staff goes with him.
We hope that coaches will take this week as a message. That you can't kill yourself trying to put in more hours than anyone else. And hopefully, it will make fans, boosters, owners and others aware that you shouldn't be demanding these guys work 18-20 hours a day. Yeah, sure in some cases they get paid pretty well, but how much money is killing yourself on the job worth?
We briefly reported on this story yesterday. Denver Broncos head coach John Fox took himself to a Charlotte area hospital Saturday morning after feeling light-headed during a round of golf on his teams bye week.
It turns out Fox had a really good reason to be concerned. He will be undergoing aortic valve replacement surgery on his heart sometime this week.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Fox had been made aware he had some heart issues and was trying to make it through the season before having the procedure. His doctor had warned him to seek medical help immediately if he felt strange.
That's exactly what he did.
Schefter reports Fox will miss "Several Weeks" after the procedure and while he recovers. Though we don't exactly know what "Several weeks" means.
In the meantime, the 7-1 Broncos will turn to Offensive Coordinator Adam Gase and former Jacksonville Jaguars head coach and current Broncos Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio to run the team in Fox's absence.
Your TV Story from WCNC-TV in Charlotte, NC:
AM UPDATE: The Broncos and Fox released statements on the matter
“Denver Broncos Head Coach John Fox will undergo an aortic heart valve replacement early next week at a Charlotte-area hospital. He will take a leave of absence from coaching for at least the next several weeks.
“Our focus at this time is Coach Fox’s health and well-being. We extend our thoughts and well-wishes to him for a full and speedy recovery.
“Coach Fox was advised by doctors months ago that his defective aortic valve would require this procedure following the 2013 season. As part of his trip to North Carolina over the bye week, he had a preoperative appointment on Thursday with his doctor, who informed him to seek medical attention immediately if he felt any discomfort.
“On Saturday, Coach Fox began feeling light-headed while golfing with friends. He was taken to a hospital, where testing revealed he needed to have this procedure as soon as possible.
“The club will announce its interim head coach as soon as that decision is finalized.”
STATEMENT FROM HEAD COACH JOHN FOX:
“I sincerely appreciate all of the support from friends, Denver Broncos fans and so many around the league today.
“Although I am disappointed I must take some time away from the team to attend to this pre-existing health condition, I understand that it’s the right thing to do. I have great confidence in our coaches and players, who are fully committed to our goals.
“I look forward to returning to coaching as soon as possible.”
Things are a little antsy for the Denver Broncos and their head coach John Fox Saturday afternoon.
That's because Fox is currently in a Charlotte, North Carolina area hospital resting comfortably. Fox was taken to the hospital while playing golf on a bye week and reportedly felt "Light Headed".
Initial reports said he may have had a heart attack, but there's been no confirmation of that. Fox, who formerly coached the Carolina Panthers, still has a home and family living in the area and was visiting on the off week.
The 58-year old head coach has been undergoing tests and there's no word if this will impact him or the Broncos when they return to work next week.
Who thought that Peyton Manning would roll seven touchdowns against Baltimore for the season opener...???
Manning equalled a feat that hadn't been done in 44 years in the 49-27 win. Manning connected with Wes Welker, Julius Thomas, and Demaryius Thomas for two TDs each in piling up the most points scored on the Ravens in their 18-year history.
Manning was 27 of 42 for 462 yards with the seven TDs and no interceptions. He finished with a quarterback rating of 141.1.
Thomas led Denver receivers with 161 yards. Julius Thomas was the first Denver tight end to go over 100 yards receiving in a game since 2009- with an even 100.
Oh, by the way... Knowshon Moreno was the leading rusher with 28 yards on nine carries.
Joe Flacco was 34 of 62 passing for the Ravens for 362 yards, 2 TDs and 2 interceptions. One of those interceptions led to the only Broncos fail on the evening...
Danny Trevathan celebrated a little too early- fortunately it didn't cost the team since they were up 25 at the time...
((HT: NFL on NBC))
As most of you insane NFL folks know, kickoff is but nearly a week away. And the hype, if it hasn't already begun, is about to kick in full-throttle.
With that in mind, we give you the marquee to your right, featuring last years Super Bowl MVP, Joe Flacco of the champs, the Baltimore Ravens.
Problem with that: The game is in Denver. Against the Broncos, the team Flacco's Ravens beat to get to the Super Bowl.
Now normally, or at least over the past couple seasons, the NFL is having their defending champs kick off the season with the celebratory 1st game at home. However, the NFL didn't figure in that in Baltimore, the Orioles (baseball team) already had a game scheduled for the same night. And for those of you who've never been to Baltimore, the two stadiums, they are next to each other.
The NFL asked the Orioles to reschedule and much to the dismay of several NFL writers, the baseball team said no. The NFL was late to the party, they should reschedule.
So the game is in Denver Thursday night. Our guess is the Broncos, or at least their fans, probably won't take too kindly to that.
Denver fans don't like it...
No sir, they don't like it one bit...
And CBS Denver sports guy Vic Lombardi took to the streets to protest on his own...
((HT: CBS Denver))
Through the NFL Network's Albert Breer: He is reporting, through confirmation from two sources, that a diluted urine sample caused the violation.
And the HQ will also bet that the whole not-showing-up-in-court-over-the-traffic-violation didn't help matters either...
But that's just us...
Here's comments from last month on his recent troubles...
Here's Miller's statement after being suspended for 6 games for violating the National Football League's substance abuse policy:
"The Substances of Abuse policy requires everyone to comply with the rules. Although my suspension doesn’t result from a positive test, there is no excuse for my violations of the rules. I made mistakes and my suspension has hurt my team, Broncos fans, and myself. I am especially sorry for the effect of my bad decisions on others. I will not make the same mistakes about adhering to the policy in the future. During my time off the field, I will work tirelessly and focus exclusively on remaining in peak shape. I look forward to contributing immediately upon my return to the field and bringing a championship back to the people of Denver."
Miller will miss home games against against the Ravens, Raiders, Eagles and Jaguars as well as road games against the Giants and Cowboys. Miller will be allowed to return to action on October 20, a Sunday night game at the Indianapolis Colts.
He will lose out on $806,000 in salary, but he can still be an active member of the team during the exhibition season.
If you haven't seen this, it's worth the 2 minutes or so that it takes to watch. And yes, we know, it's a DirecTV ad, but it's still worth watching.
Check out the Manning brothers, Peyton and Eli as they try, albeit somewhat interestingly, to sing about "Football on Your Phone".
The song--and ad is a very well done piece showing various shots of the French Quarter and more importantly featuring the Super Bowl winning QB's, with some really, really bad wigs and stuff.
It's not only NFL Players who've had some misbehavior issues this offseason, the issue extended to at least one NFL team's front office.
That team, the Denver Broncos announced today they are suspending director of pro personnel Tom Heckert and Matt Russell, director of player personnel. Heckert will be gone for a month without pay, Russell will be suspended indefinitely.
The suspensions come on the heels of the pair being arrested nearly 10-days ago. Russell crashed his pickup into a police car and tested at a .246 blood alcohol content level. Heckert was arrested in an unrelated incident June 11th.
As we mentioned earlier, this hasn't exactly been a banner off season for the NFL. Between this and the nearly 30 player arrests, including the high profile murder charges facing former Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez, it's been a steady stream of bad news.
The perception among many is the NFL and the people that work in it lead charmed lives and are able to do and get away with what they want. That they can misbehave and there are no repercussions.
That's not necessarily true.
Yes, the league doesn't have a cohesive plan for disciplining players and that often means nothing happens to misbehaving players. Because of that, many players seem to feel as though they can get away with whatever they do and that has to stop. A $50,000 fine to a guy making $7 million a year is but a hiccup.
Despite the grief the Jolly Roger (Goodell) gets for doling out penalties and suspensions to law breakers, it has to continue. Someone has to be the bad guy. The players and in this case, the front offices may not like it, but the teams and the people that work on them have to be held to a high standard, and like it or not, a higher standard than just about everyone else.
SAN DIEGO - Looks like Mike McCoy is leaving Denver...so, cue the music...
Mike McCoy
Jason LaCanfora is reporting that new Chargers GM Tom Telesco has made a decision to replace fired Norv Turner with McCoy, who is currently the Denver Broncos' offensive coordinator. LaCanfora says a deal could very well be finalized by close of business today.
ESPN is reporting that Arizona is bringing McCoy in for a second interview today, so we'll see..
UPDATE 10:13am: Mike McCoy has informed the Broncos' organization that he will be accepting the San Diego job offer.
Telesco has been searching for Turner's replacement since December 31, when Turner and GM A.J. Smith were fired. Telesco, the former Indianapolis Colts director of football operations, has targeted McCoy from the start. Telesco himself has only be in the job a few days.
McCoy has also interviewed with Jacksonville, Philadelphia, and Chicago. He was passed over for the Miami Dolphins job last season in favor of Joe Philbin.
Denver Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno, now seemingly healthy, gets to do things a lot of NFL people thought he would be doing all along...
Like this to Ed Reed...
For those of us based near the HQ this is old news...
We've seen it before... and so did Central Michigan...
FOSG Bob Rathbun on the call...
((HT: FSN/youtube))
