'Tis the Season

The Holiday season is in full swing but the Broncos season is winding down. It's time for the boys in blue to either hang up the stalkings or keep the menorah lit for a few more weeks because the most important question for them this week isn't which kind of Mercedes they will be giving their wives for Christmas, it's determining what kind of football team they are going to be in these final two weeks.

The Grinch showed up a little bit early and ruined Christmas for the Broncos when non-other than the Oakland Raiders slid down the chimney of Invesco Field and delivered a last second loss to the naughty Broncos. Yes, it was a pathetic display of execution and the Broncos ultimately gave away that game but I'm not really that mad. Disappointed? Sure. Mad? Not really. I didn't want the Broncos to get a free pass into the playoffs just because they (supposedly) had two easy victories due to the Raiders and Chiefs being the 2 of the last 3 teams the Broncos faced. I didn't want them to barely beat the Raiders, get steam rolled by the Eagles and then get a default win against the Chiefs. I want the Broncos to face some diversity and earn their way into the playoffs because if they can't hold onto the Wild Card than honestly, I would rather have them miss out of January football and get a better draft pick. Seriously, I'm not kidding. I'm in it to win it and I am not satisfied with just limping into the playoffs and getting steam rolled by the Colts because I have been through that many times with Mike Shanahan.

So, if the Broncos want to make the playoffs than they need to beat the Christmas-red hot and green jersey Eagles this week in Philadelphia. Not an easy task at hand but if the Broncos want to be known as one of the best than they must beat one of the best. The Eagles have proven to be one of the best December teams throughout the past 5 years and the Broncos have proven to be one of the worst December teams throughout the past 5 years so the odds are clearly against Denver. But like shown in last weeks game winning drive that was orchestrated by non-other than the 3rd string, all time NFL draft bust JaMarcus Russell, anything is possible on any given Sunday. If JaMarcus Russell can look like John Elway than the Broncos can look like a championship team for at least one week. Right?...

Players to Watch

Brian Dawkins

Who else? Every eyeball in Lincoln Financial Field will be affixed to Dawkins when he makes his first appearance in Philadelphia since leaving for Denver last off-season. Dawkins, of course, spent the first 13 seasons of his career with the Eagles, going to seven Pro Bowls and helping lead his former team to five NFC Championship game appearances. Dawkins is also the Eagles' franchise leader in games played (183) and is tied for the franchise lead in interceptions (34). Fans will recall "Weapon X" for his physical style of play at the safety position, and he will likely be employed close to the line of scrimmage, in an attempt to stifle his former teammates. It is sure to be an emotional afternoon for Dawkins, his former teammates and the fans alike, but the bottom line is that both teams need Sunday's game and there won't be any lack of effort on the field.

It's also a game for Dawkins to show up his old team and show them the mistake they made for letting him go. I get what the Eagles from office was thinking. Well kinda. They didn't want to commit a lot of money into a guy that is 36 years old because frankly, 36 year old's are on the downside of their careers. Well, not according to Brian Dawkins who is having one of, if not the best season of his career. He already has a career high in tackles (100) and now he is putting together a year that mirrors some of his best Pro Bowl seasons. Not to mention all the other emotional intangibles and fan support that the Eagles are missing out of. In a season of giving, I just want to thank the Eagles front office for giving us Brian Dawkins. Merry Christmas.

Knowshon Moreno

Dawkins isn't the only former Eagle returning to Philadelphia of course. There's also Correll Buckhalter, who has run for 582 yards at a 5.2 yards-per-carry clip. But Buckhalter has been hampered by an ankle injury and Moreno has had to carry the load over the past few weeks. Moreno needs to guide this running game like Randolph was forced to guide Santa's Slay as in he needs to bounce back from his, dare I say, pathetic game against the 30 ranked rushing defense in the Raiders. Rushing for 2.2 yards per carry and accumulating a mere 3 yards of 12 carries after the first quarter just isn't going to cut it against a stout Eagles' run defense – 10th in the league – that allowed its first 100-yard rusher in 21 regular season games last week. Buckhalter looks like he will be healthy enough to play but if he can't stay healthy than Know-show Moreno needs deliver a present. Or maybe, McDaniels is feeling the Holiday spirit and finally unwraps his gift by using his best kept secret weapon in Peyton Hillis. But I think that is asking for too much this Christmas from McDaniels.

The Broncos Offensive Line

The whole Broncos offensive line has really played bad these past few weeks. Besides Ryan Clady, the rest of the lineman would all receive coal from me this year if I was Santa. Tyler Polumbus has been getting destroyed, Chris Kuper is clearly not what he was a year ago, Russ Hochstein is proving why he is a career backup and Casey Weigmann, well maybe those talks of retirement in the offseason should have been a little but more serious. Once a strong point for this ball club, the O-line needs to make a serious push (hehe) if the Broncos want to get back into the playoff race.

Key Matchups
Winston Justice and Jason Peters vs. Elvis Dumervil

The Eagles' offensive line has finally had time to play together on a consistent basis and the results are showing. Peters has played up to his All-Pro level despite being hampered by a knee injury and he headed to the playoffs for the first time in his career. After shutting down a 49ers pass rush that was coming off a four-sack game against the Arizona Cardinals, Peters now gets to take on the league's leader in sacks. The 5-11, 248-pound Dumervil fell to the fourth round of the 2006 Draft because of size concerns after a productive career at Louisville. He's proved his detractors wrong with 41.0 sacks in his four years, and the switch to linebacker has taken his game to an extra level. Dooms Day Dumervil needs to come up big in this game because if you give McNabb and wide out DeSean Jackson some time, they will make you pay. There is a reason why DeSean Jackson has already set an NFL record with eight 50+ yards touchdown plays.

Brandon Marshall vs. Sheldon Brown and Asante Samuel

Brown and Samuel are both playing at a Pro Bowl level and they've combined for more interceptions (13) than any other duo of cornerbacks in the league. They're also the perfect foils for each other. Samuel is a gambler who breaks off coverages to read the quarterback and go for the big play. Brown is the fundamentally-sound, physical cornerback who rarely misses a tackle. Because Samuel and Brown don't switch sides of the field, they will both have their hands full this week with Marshall, who is second in the NFL with 93 receptions. Marshall is a physical marvel and beast in the open field. At 6-4, 240 pounds, he can run with any quick corner while bullying them down to the turf when the corner comes up to make a tackle. Marshall has finally put a complete season together this year and is looking to finish the year with another 100+ catch season. What better present to give yourself than to break Rod Smith's franchise mark in catches over 3 seasons and also lead the league with 3 straight 100+ catch seasons? Oh, not to mention adding a few more zero's onto your pay check in the offseason....

'Tis the season of giving right? Well give the Broncos fans a real Christmas gift and make the playoffs.

McDaniels > Shanahan

If Mike Shanahan is a good coach than Josh McDaniels is a great coach. At the tender age of 33, McDaniels gets it. He approaches the game from a "win or die" mentality and is all business when it comes to running this organization. He's smart, he's young, he's a dick, he's a hardass, he's the guy I want running my team. He doesn't have that charismatic charm that the media loved with Mikey but charisma doesn't win you football games. What wins you football games is by not being a dumbass and making the right moves in the offseason. You can see it with this Broncos team who is 3-0. But wasn't Shanahans team last year 3-0 at this point?? Yes, but they were a mediocre football team that was ready to (and did) fall apart in the upcoming weeks. This years Broncos team is build to last and they would have unquestionably crushed last years squad.

Josh McDaniels' press conference yesterday might have been the most impressive I have ever heard from a Broncos Coach. His comments really struck me, and to be honest, impressed the hell out of me.
First, McDaniels was asked how he would keep his team humble after starting 3-0...

"Just show them the film. Show them the film. We have got a 50-play cut-up we are going to watch during the squad meeting, and it is not all bows and ribbons. They see it. They saw it every week that we have played so far that, ‘Boy! If we had only done these five or six things better, it could have been an even better performance, and we could have won by a bigger margin.' When players see that, you don't have to convince them that they need to improve. They know that they have got to get better. The biggest thing that you can do is take the things that we didn't do well in the film and go out there on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and go out there and actually emphasize it and put a period in practice where we have to do this better. Yesterday, our field-goal protection was not very good. We are going to work on field-goal protection on Wednesday Thursday and Friday this week. They will learn how important that is and they are going to see how important it is when they see it"

That is exactly the answer I want to hear. Think about it, the Broncos started 3-0 last season but they proceeded to fall apart, finishing 5-8. If anyone should feel uncomfortable being 3-0, it is Denver Broncos fans. I looked back to some comments Mike Shanahan made after the Broncos beat the Saints last season to go to 3-0. Here is what Shanny said about Denver's defense who had just given up 32 points:

"I am not alarmed at all because if you get that kind of effort overall, good things are going to happen. We just have to get better on third downs. They were 8-14 on third downs, and they had a third down and 12 and a third down and 7 when it was 21-3 and that game was almost over. You just have to be on with your zone drops and you have to make a tackle here and there. It is something we can work on, especially with that type of effort. That was as hard as we have played in a long time."

Think about that for a second. His team had just given up 32 points, and he was not concerned because there was 'good effort'?? I'm sorry Mike Shanahan, I didn't know this was an elementary school gym class where if you just went out there and gave a small bit of effort you pass the class with an A+. I think that the sprinters in the Special Olympics give good effort too but that doesn't mean any of them can challenge Usain Bolt. I just don't get how you can have such a huge sense of satisfaction when your team only won because Mike Gramtica missed a game winning field goal. See the difference?

McDaniels' decision making goes wayyy beyond player personnel. Even thoguh he hasn't even been in the league very long, he know's what coaches to bring on board with him. Especially, defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. Nolan has been a huge success and shows just how confident McDaniels is to bring in a former Head Coach. Another hire, one on the offensive side, can't be ignored either. McDaniels took a lot of heat for dismissing Jeremy Bates and bringing in former Panthers QB coach Mike McCoy. Sure, McDaniels call the plays on offense, but has anyone seen how the Panthers have looked on offense this season? Anyone notice how badly Jake Delhomme has played? The Panthers are missing McCoy, and the Broncos have him. Right now I would put this coaching staff up against any in the NFL.

Just to show how good this team really is, ask yourself who the worst player is on this 53 man roster. Go ahead, I'll give you a minute........ Do you need more time because honestly it's a tough call because every player is pretty good. This jsut shows how well coached and put together this footballteam is. Who are we going to draft? Because every position is pretty solid. All the picks will just be upgrades. This is nlike last years team where I could name tons of scrubs who didn't deserve to even be in the NFL. And Shanahan even started these talentless clowns. So with that, let's play a little game called "Where Are They now?" Here is a look at where the former starters on offense and defense are now:

2008 Broncos Defensive Starters:
Dre Bly: Backup cornerback for the 49ers.
Niko Koutouvides: Third string MLB for Tampa Bay
Nate Webster: Unemployed.
JamieWinborn: Unemployed.
Dewayne Robertson: Unempoyed.
Ebenezer Ekuban: Unemployed.
Tim Crowder: Unemployed.
John Engelberger: Unemployed.
Marlon McCree: Unemployed.
Calvin Lowry: Unemployed.
Nic Clemons: Unemployed.
Boss Bailey: Unemployed.
Louis Green: Unemployed.
Marquand Manuel: Back up safety for the Detroit Lions.

2008 Broncos Offensive Starters:
Tatum Bell: Unemployed. (well employed at the Arvada mall selling cell phones)
Ryan Torain: Unemployed.
Michael Pittman: Unemployed.
Selvin Young: Unemployed.
PJ Pope: Unemployed.
Anthony aldridge: Unemployed.

That's a whole lot of players who didn't even get to see training camp this year. Oh, and let's not forget to add one more person to that list.

Mike Shanahan: Unemployed.

Tracking the AFC West

(Sorry for the pixelated image. I suck at cropping pictures.)

Denver (2-0)
Oakland (1-1)
San Diego (1-1)
Kansas City (0-2)

Denver - Their defense has taken a complete 180 degree turn from last year. I wouldn't be surprised if they are a top 10 defense by the end of the year. Dumervil is currently leading the league in sacks (4 sacks today alone), Champ looks healthy, Dawkins doesn't show any signs pointing to the fact that he's 35 years old, Goodman is a huge upgrade from Dre Bly, Woodyard is suddenly a playmaker/difference maker and the D line can actually stuff the run. The offense has definitely taken a step back with Orton but the Broncos can still move the chains a bit. Buckhalter is solid, Moreno has the pop to make big plays and Hillis is always a nice insurance policy. Not sure what the deal is still with Marshall. He looks sluggish and he doesn't have much rhythm with Orton. Stokley seems to be the go-to-guy for this offense which is fine because Stokley is a reliable wide out but he isn't a play maker like Marshall. Marshall needs to step up because he is losing a ton of respect and money. This is a well coached team all across the board - special teams, defense and yes, even offense. Orton just isn't Cutler, sorry guys but he made some nice throws today and he doesn't gamble. He's not afraid to throw the ball away in order to avoid the sack and I prefer this style over the Jay "I'm not settling for a field goal so I'll throw it across my body, on the move, and into triple coverage" Cutler anyday - especially when we already have the lead. Look at last week - the Broncos had the lead all game, Orton played smart, didn't make any risky throws, preserved the lead and the Broncos won. Meanwhile, the Bears had the lead going into the 4th quarter, Cutler threw risky passes and he throw a game losing pick on the final drive to lose the game. It's examples like this that make me side with McDaniels on why he didn't think Cutler was mentally capable of running his offense.

FYI, notice how Tony Dungy and Josh McDaniels are the two people who have never fully thought Cutler was a franchise QB and have doubted him. Then notice how Tony Dungy and Josh McDaniels have both coached, thrived, set all time passing records, and won Super Bowls with the two best quarterbacks of our era in Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Just throwing that out there.....

Raiders - Defense is stellar now with the addition of Seymour. Funny how one player completely turns a D line from dog shit to good. McFadden looks 100% healthy and Cable is finally utilizing him like he should. I'm surprised to see DHB getting so much action already but I guess when Louis Murphy and Johnny Lee Higgins are your other wide receivers, than a unpolished DHB isn't a bad option. Once Schilens get back and those young wide outs get better acclimated with Russell than this could be a pretty decent offense. Unfortunately, Russell's accuracy is still shaky (7 for 24 today...) but with an improved O-line and some tall red zone targets (Miller, Schilens, DHB) this offense will put up some points to go along with a good defense. I think they need to pound the ball even more with Bush/Run DMC because it's not like they are playing from behind and need to pass the ball so much.

San Diego - Still the most talented team in the division. Rivers is the clear cut best QB in the division and he has consistently proven he can throw the ball whenever he wants (436 yards today against the Ravens. Wow.). Not to mention San Diego might have the best receiving core in the division right now. Vincent Jackson is becoming an elite wide out, Gates is Gates, Naanee has a lot of talent and it's showing it, Chambers doesn't need to be a playmaker - just a compliment, and Sproles is electric when he gets the ball in the open field (what a luxury it is to have Sproles waiting in the flats when no one else is open). The defense has a ton on injuries and I'm not sure Merriman will ever return to his old self but once the defense gets healthier than you know they have the talent to be very good. They're run defense is a bit spotty but when you have a QB that can score at will than a lot of teams won't be running too much. Oh, and LT still is a very good back. He had some good runs last week and he can keep his legs fresh all year with Sproles taking away some carries.

Kansas City - They D line is really improved. Tank Tyler is legit at nose tackle and he's getting a lot of penetration which is opening lanes for Dorsey, Jackson, and their line backers. Still a pretty raw defense but they play physically which will always force turnovers. Their offense is going to be sub par to bad all year. Cassel is nothing too special right now, Larry Johnson looks really good sometimes but he also looks really bad sometimes, Bowe takes plays off, they have no tight end and their other receivers are just average. They will finish last in this division and have a top 10 draft pick but it's not all bad because their going to be good in a few years and Haley knows what he is going. If I was a Chiefs fan I would be pretty worried about the fact that the Chiefs gave Cassel 63 million without him proving he's worth it yet. Dare I say that Brodie Croyle looked A LOT better last week in Baltimore than Cassel did this week at home?......

10 Typical Guys You Will See At Every Fantasy Football Draft

My draft night is tonight and I am sitting at work (with no boss nor any real work to be completed) so I was thinking about the typical cast of characters that are going to log into your draft room tonight while you guys battle it out for another years worth of fantasy football bragging rights. For those of us who participate, the draft is both an unofficial holiday and serious business. These two hours determine which carefully constructed roster of talented athletes will be making up for our own woeful athletic shortcomings over the course of the next three months. Here's the ten I have came up with:

10) You Stole My Pick Guy
Whereas the Fantasy Vet "can't believe you took Maurice Jones Drew because it's a non-PPR league," this guy can't believe you took MJD ... because he was his very next pick! This guy finds it absolutely mind blowing that two friends using the same finite pool of news and statistics, would end up liking the same elite player. If it's a live draft, he'll be glad to show you his copy of the Top 200 Fantasy Players he printed off of at work, where he's marked all of the names with a check mark, double check mark or smiley face. Of course, it's tough to feel bad since he grunts and whines about at least one pick that was stolen from him in each round.

9) The Clueless Guy
He has a vague notion of what the National Football League even is and hes pretty sure it has something to do with a ball and maybe sports. He'll make his presence known in the third round when he starts asking after the availability of whichever long-retired player was most recently on Dancing With The Stars. When you invited clueless guy into your league a few years back, you were hanging precariously at eleven participants with the draft 4 hours away and you needed to get to 12.

8) The Superfan
The superfan shows up for the draft wearing his favorite team's jersey, and might give off the impression that he was drafted by them in the off-season since he uses the first person plural when referring to how good "our offense looks." He will be shocked and outraged when you take his team's best player one pick ahead of him in the early rounds. But the late rounds are where the super fan really does his damage. He's spent the summer reading up on how his team's fourth string wide receiver might be due for a break out season and seems completely unaware that every sports writer in every NFL city is writing that same article about their team's fourth string wide receiver. The most surprising thing about the Superfan is how shocked he'll be when his team sucks.

7) The Hurry Up Guy
Let's Hurry It Along Guy starts heckling everyone who takes over 30 seconds to make a pick soon after the second round winds down. His tactic ends up making the draft an hour longer with all the time people spend asking him to kindly shut the fuck up but does he care? Nope, it's all about letting people know that he's got somewhere very important to be on a Tuesday night at 11PM.

6) The "I Only Play For Money" Guy
You may recognize him from his work as "The Guy Who Went Perfect in His Dad's NCAA Office Pool" last March. This player will compete in your draft because he's friends with the other people in the league but he will go out of his way to talk about how he's not really taking your league seriously because there isn't any money on the line. If there is money on the line, he's in some other league with a $7,000 buy-in and he'll remind you several times throughout the draft that in his other leagues, he's got a much better team.

5) The Awful Pick Guy
He won't say much during the draft but every couple of rounds he will make a point to tell another player what an awful pick he just made. "Awful pick, bro," or "He sucks, that's a terrible call," are the most phrases from this guy. If anyone ever calls him on being an asshole, he'll usually claim that he's just "trying to rattle a few cages." But no matter how much he claims to be the "I'm just stirring up some friendly trash talking" guy of fantasy football, Awful Pick Guy is usually just an asshole.

4) The Guy Who Drafts Michael Vick
The Guy Who Drafts Mike Vick will snag him in the eighth or ninth round and then boast about what a steal the pick is and how this is the year Mike Vick puts it all together. He'll throw out some obnoxious prediction like "Vick is gonna throw for 4,000 yards and rush for another 1,000. You guys just watch." Then mid-October hits and Vick is either splitting carries as a Wild Cat QB or aiming for a season that consisted of a third of what your friend had originally predicted. You'll recognize the Guy Who Drafts Mike Vick from your fantasy baseball and basketball drafts where he was The Guy Who Drafted Tracy McGrady and Jason Giambi.

3) The Funny Guy
The Funny Guy can be expected to draft Dante Culpepper very early just so he can name his fantasy team "Salt-N-Culpepper." This year he'll definitely be drafting the Bears' Adrian Peterson and then later offering him up in trades for first rounders. He'll also be drafting players with funny names, like Steve Breaston, Chad Ochocinco and Visanthe Schiancoe. When asked why he drafted Breaston so early, he'll likely tell you, "He was the breast available option."

2) The Auto Drafter
There are excusable reasons to miss your fantasy draft. Guys have to work, have exams, their girlfriends find out about the other girl they have been sleeping with. But there's always that one guy who can't be bothered to be at a computer for two hours out of the year, every year. Yahoo! or ESPN will make all of his selections for him, and he will spend the rest of the season bitching about how he was "totally going to take (insert whatever player kicked his ass the previous Sunday)." His list of "guys I was totally going to take" contains at least 15 players who were gone by the fifth round.

1) The Stats Guy
Stats Guy likes to tell you that "the late rounds are where you can really get a lot of value if you know what to look for." He was thinking about taking the same quarterback as you "until I realized that he has a sub-.500 completion percentage against the Cover 3." Usually, his apparent belief that Chris Mortensen and Ron Jaworski don't have shit on him stems from the fact that he's read the 2009-2010 pro football prospectus from cover to cover. They will also rip on everyone's draft pick who did select the player that should have been selected. For example, "Nice pick dude but you left so and so on the board." "Have you seen the division that guy is playing in? Easily the 2nd best defensive division in the league. Good luck." "Bro, did you not see that he's out 3-4 weeks with a strained plantar foot?? It was all over ESPN news at 6 am this morning."

Is it sad to say that I'm probably best described as the stats guy?....

I Have No Defense for the Broncos Defense

I want to say the Broncos will be a better defense. When your at rock bottom, you can only go up. Right? Well, that might not be the case this year when the Broncos take their 32nd '08 ranked defense and plummet even more. Right now, I would rank them 33 out of the 32 NFL teams. The first depth chart of the season was released yesterday and it doesn't look very pretty. Here's my take on our current starting defense:

DE - McBean: Has ZERO tackles in his 2 NFL seasons. Enough said.
NT - Fields: Sucked in San Francisco and will probably suck here. Sure, he knows Nolan's system but he couldn’t land a starting spot with the 49ers - who have a mediocre NT. Nose tackle is the most important position in a 3-4 scheme and were deploying a guy that has averaged a mere 18 tackles per season in his 4 year career. Blah.
DE - Peterson: Couldn’t start on the leagues worse D line last year and he's supposed to anchor a DE spot in which he is not familiar with? I think he’s actually better suited to be a 3-4 DE than a 4-3 DT but Kenny now his skills are being swapped. Last year he was a decent pass rushing DT who wasn't very strong against the run and now he's going to be a run stuffing DE who's not going to be rushing much? This will be a fun one to watch.

OLB - Dumervil: Has never played OLB in his life and now it being asked to fall back into coverage during passing situations? Ouch. I'm already having nightmares of Antonio Gates absolutely abusing Dumervil on a slant route. But like Peterson, Dumervil might benefit moving to a 3-4 scheme. He won't be rushing out of a 3 point stance, nor having to bull rush or stuff the run with his 5'11 frame but the bottom line is Dumervil is nothing more than a situational pass rusher on a good team. Not really starting material.
ILB - Andra Davis: Hasn’t done much during the past 3 seasons on a bad Cleveland Browns defense. Don't understand how a 3-4 ILB can start 16 games but yet only manage 67 total tackles. Are you sleeping during the plays Davis?
ILB - DJ Williams: The only guy I really trust in this front 7. I expect DJ to be atop the league in tackles and play much like Patrick Willis but that will only come if the guys on the line in front of him do their job by plugging holes and taking on blockers (which they haven’t proven they can do).
OLB - Crowder: Another 4-3 DE who has never played OLB. He looks completely out of place when I watch him and hasn’t ever proven he can generate a consistent pass rush. Must I add he wasn’t even active for 8 straight games last year and no, that’s not because of injuries. Made a whopping ONE tackle last year.

LCB - Bailey: Still a top tier all around corner when healthy but let’s not forget he is 31 years old and missed 6 games last year.
SS - Dawkins: Signed more for his leadership and intangibles than his actual production. He can still play and play well but he’s not the Dawkins of old.** 36 years old... **
FS - Hill: Solid veteran to have around. Nothing flashy and not much a play-maker but solid veteran to start before the young guys prove themselves.
RCB - Goodman: Like Hill, a solid veteran to sign until either Jack Williams or Alphonso Smith take his job. A upgrade over Dre"fumble feet" Bly but with Bailey on the otherside and our lack of a pass rush, Goodman is going to be picked on.

This defense just doesn’t have the talent to be very productive. When you literally have EVERY spot on your defense up for grabs (besides 3 spots - Champ’s, DJ’s, Dawkins’) you know this defense is in shambles. How maybe spots are up for grabs in the Steelers camp? One? Two? Not very many. Good teams don't have position battles. Bad teams do. I like our crop of young players with Alphonso Smith, Jack Williams, Robert Ayers, Carlton Powell, Darcel McBath, Marcus Thomas, and Wesley Woodyard but this year is going to be a rebuilding process that will take some time. Hopefully some of our draft picks can finally step up and give us a glimpse of the future. But as it stands, I cannot defend this defense to be anything more than crappy.

Rockies 2009 Season Outlook

***Never got to finishing this blog but I thought it's funny to look back on half way through the season***

The Spring sun is shining and it's time for the Rockies prospects to shine themselves. Spring cleaning is in order and Clint Hurdle has some cleaning out to do in the Rockies locker room. Arizona is getting hot and if these young guns don't get hot then they will see themselves back in the Springs. If their bats don't get warm then they will be bench - warmers. Alright, enough of these cheesy play-on-words lines. It's that time of year when we get a good look at all the young players that the Rockies have been developing in their farm systems over the past few years. Let's take a sneak peek of who's doing what lately:

Eric Young - had a solid season in Double A and hit .290/.391/.392 with 46 stolen bases in 403 at-bats. He also walked 61 times (13.1 BB%). That's pretty sweet but that's also in Double A. Anything below .300 versus Double A pitchers is pretty bad but he can steal a lot of bases. I think the only reason we drafted him was because he shared the same name of his father and his father did a lot of great things for us back in the Blake Street Bombers days. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the Monforts still think this Eric Young is the same as Eric Young Sr. The Monforts are very dumb and probably got very excited when they heard Eric Young was coming back to baseball. I bet they think Andres Galarraga, Vinny Castillo, and Daunte Bichette was making a comeback as well...

Omar Quintanilla - This guy just doesn't go away does he? He's like those beaten up, ugly looking slippers that you want to stop wearing but are too comfy to give up. May not have a lot of pop in his bat but he's consistent (hit over.300 last year) and is a great defender. Solid player to have around if Tulo or Barmes start getting dinged up.

Casey Weathers - the eighth overall selection in the 2007 draft. The right-handed closer prospect was having a solid 2008 minor league season before undergoing Tommy John surgery in the off-season. He’ll miss all of 2009, but "should" be ready to go in 2010 when he could make his MLB debut. Last season in Double-A, Weathers allowed 34 hits in 44.1 innings and posted rates of 5.68 BB/9 and 10.96 K/9. Obviously the control needs to improve and the time off will not help. Tommy John surgery is one of the worst surgeries that any player in any sport can have. It's death to pitchers. I am optimistic that Weathers can even make a comeback at all. The good thing is that he is still really young but it's going to take at least all of 2010 to get his groove back. Could this be another busted draft pick from the Rockies?? Let's hope not.

Dexter Fowler - the switch hitter had a breakout season in Double-A last year when he hit .335/.431/.515 with 20 stolen bases in 421 at-bats. He also made his MLB debut in 2008 and hit just .154 in 13 games with no extra base hits or walks. Some time in Triple-A will likely do him good. After stealing just 20 bases in each of the past two seasons, he could stand to run more until his power develops further (only nine homers in 2008). I hope he steals more because this kid can flat out fly. I was hoping he could have come in and replace Willy Taveras late last year but he disappointed me with his .154 average. Willy T is gone and now's his chance to show the wheels and make the roster. He's a dark horse to make the opening day lineup but you never know. Unless Podsednik or Gonzalez have a good first half, it's very likely that Fowler will be in a Rockies uniform by mid-season.

Seth Smith - after being the unsung hero in the Rockies 2007 World series run (5-for-8 in seven games) the Rockies outfielder lost his stride when called up last season (.258/.350/.435) in the 108 at-bats he posted. Now, I have never been really high on Seth Smith but he did show some potential at times. Seth Smith is that really unatheltic guy that just seems to make plays. You know that short, fat, balding guy at the gym that hits all the three pointers when you play a game of pickup. Yeah, that's Seth. I think his unathelticism will get overlooked and Hurdle will turn to the athletic studs of Gonzalez, Spilly, Fowler, and Young for opening day but you never know what's going on in the mind of Hurdle.

Carlos Gonzalez - A highly talked about prospect who has been the center peice to a lot of big trades (Holliday and Haren) but has yet to really do much. Supposedly, he can do a bit of everything and could be a 5 - tool star in this league but he looks a bit to raw right now. He has a shot at starting because our center and left field are still technically up for grabs but I don't see him beating out Spilly, Pod or Dex for palying just yet.

Jorge De La Rosa - Much like Morales, DLR has some flat filthy pitches. But can he put it together? Just like a box of chocolates, you jsut never know what your going to get. One night Jorge is throwing a gem with 10 strikeouts a no runs given up and then the next night Jorge is giving up 10 runs with no strike outs. The talent is clearly there but he needs to prove consistent.

Some intriguing prospects, none the less, but let's take a look on some players that can either make it or break it for the Rockies season:

Jason Marquis - A journey man pitcher who has had some nice years with the Cardinals and Cubs but never got passed the 3rd starter in the rotation. Looks like that's where he will slotted out this year which is fine considering we don't have much after Cookie and U-Ball. Apparently, his fast ball is sinking harder than the Titanic which would be a really nice surprised considering out Bull Pen is spotty yet again this year.

Ian Stewart - The kid can swing the bat. No doubt, but it's his defense that might merit him more playing time this year. As big as Stewart is, he can move like a short stop - big arm, quick feet, cat like instincts. The Rockies might have the most athletic infielders for their size in the league. Sure, Stewart is the future but Atkins is too consistent to bench and on a Holliday-less team, you can't afford to sit a player that has a .300+ career average and has averaged over 100 RBI's the past 4 seasons. Unless, Atkins gets traded than I see Stewart getting a number of reps at second as well.

Manny Corpas - Will he ever return to his magical '07 form? The guy went to lights out to syke out in the past year. He's just mentally not where he once was. His confidence is shot and acquiring Huston Street to be this years closer probably doesn't help him out either. The movements and velocity seems to still be there at times but he needs to prove he can stay consistent this season.

Huston Street - If his health was as consistent as his slider than he could be an All Star. He's got some filthy pitches and he has always had a low ERA but his only problem is whether the Rockies are riding him to finish games or if he is riding the pine while watching the Rockies finish games. Let's hope he can stay healthy because he would bring a much needed boost to the beatin' up bullpen.

Ryan Spilbourghs - It's time for Spilly to put down the jokes and put up some numbers. He's a good, athletic defender and a reliable hitter but I would like to see him take the next step in his hitting. Given some consistent time and a lack of true cleanup hitters, Spilly has the opportunity to break out and drive in some runs.

Clint Barmes - Much like Spilbourghs, Barmes is going to start and have a shot at proving why he deserves every day playing time. Clint isn't sexy but he's a damn good ballplayer. Very underrated defensive second baseman and a consistent hitter with a little bit of pop. Not gonna drive in 100 rune or jack 30 long balls but he can be a realiable 2-hole hitter and help out the guys who hit behind him. Clint was playing All Star caliber baseball before he got injured last year and he's going to need to revive that mentality if he doesn't want to split time with Stewart.

Brad Hawpe - What's Hawpe doing on this list? Well, he's not on this list because his playing time in in jeopardy, he's on this list because it could be a make it or break it season for Hawpe. He showed last year that he actually CAN hit against lefties and he finished the season really strong. So now with Holliday gone, he becomes the power bat in the lineup and our go to guy. I have never felt Helton or Atkins should be the 3-4 hitters and I hope Hawpe can break through because if he doesn't than our hitting might be really, really bad.

U-Ball - I think he will turn into our Ace by the end of the year. He's having a great offseason and looks to breakout. Want more? Click to the right where I already blogged about him :)

Thoughts going into the season:

The Rockies have a lot of young guys that are looking to prove themselves. The loss of Holliday hurts real bad but from the lead off to the 8th hole, the Rockies have guys that can swing the bat. Unfortunetly, their pitching is probably the worst in the division so another long season is ahead of us. Good thing Colorado has some warm summer nights in store at Coors because the wins column will be pretty cold. Let's hope I'm wrong.

By the Numbers

"With the 18th overall pick the Minnesota Timberwolves select..... Ty Lawson, guard out of the University of North Carolina. "

At first thought, I was a bit disappointed because I knew the Nugs had a really, really good shot of landing the former number 1 rated high school point guard in the nation but that all went out the door after Lawson got caught up in some trouble before last years draft. So, when the Wolves took him I thought they got really good value for the 18th pick because I think Lawson is the best overall, most NBA ready point in this draft. BUT, then ESPN announced that the Nuggets traded a future for the rights to Lawson.

Why do I like Lawson so much? Well, for one, it means Anthony "Stone Feet" Carter won't be on our team to get burned by guards half his age. But honestly, Lawson is efficient. As I looked at the numbers, I was a bit surprised that Lawson topped the list in every statistical category last year. He did play for the most potent offense but I didn’t expect him to look this good. He ranks first in a number of key categories, including overall FG% (52%), Points Per Possession [PPP](1.13), pull up jump shot FG% (47%), and %shots he was fouled on (16.1%). Though his teammates did a lot of scoring as well, Lawson functioned seamlessly as a complementary scorer. Looking past his efficiency as a shooter off the dribble, he was second in catch and shoot field goal percentage at 48%. From a purely statistical sense, no player scored more efficiently than Lawson. Not Griffin, not Harden, not Curry, not Hill, not Hansbrough, not anybody.

Again, EFFICIENT and that's all I'm looking for in a backup point gaurd. The Nuggets don't need a leader, a scorer, a game changer, an energy guy, an anything. They just need a guy who can come in and play smart, defensive oriented, efficient ball (Lawson lead the NCAA with a 3.48:1 assist to turnover ratio...). When your two games away from the finals, all you need to do it upgrade in the areas that you sucked in. Anthony Carter sucked and the Nuggets did just what they needed to do. All AC needed to do was come in, give Chauncey a break, NOT turn the ball over nor play stupid. But he couldn't do that so the Nuggets now brought in a guy who can.

Oh, and he can do things that AC simply just can't do. Exhibit A: