Lonestar
12-20-2009, 12:56 PM
Klis:
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
Posted: 12/20/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
Elvis Dumervil will make it at outside linebacker.
There is a good chance Brian Dawkins will be named as one of three safeties. Champ Bailey should make it at cornerback, Brandon Marshall at wide receiver and Ryan Clady at offensive tackle.
Pro Bowl voting will conclude Monday, and the Broncos should be well represented when the AFC and NFC teams are announced Dec. 29.
The AFC all-star team just won't include a Broncos' starting player who is arguably better at his position than any of the Pro Bowlers are at theirs.
"I know I won't be there," Broncos tight end Daniel Graham said.
As a former fantasy-league player and fifth-year NFL reporter, I have reached the conclusion that tight end is the game's most misunderstood position.
The people at NFL headquarters don't even get it. The league still gives a Pro Bowl position to a fullback, even though the position is used on maybe 20 percent of the plays. The fullback is so infrequently used in the 21st-century NFL, three AFC teams (including the Broncos) didn't bother submitting a player for the position for the Pro Bowl ballot.
A tight end like Graham, though, starts every game, plays every down, and is the X factor in pass protection and the running game.
"The one thing I think that sometimes gets lost sometimes is . . . if you have a skill player on your offense that brings a significant level of toughness to your team, you're a different offense," Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said. "I think the teams that run the ball effectively late in the year, they've got great tight ends."
Yet, Graham has zero chance of ever receiving his just reward, outside of payday.
Antonio Gates, Dallas Clark, Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten and Chris Cooley are tight ends who usually play in Pro Bowls. Cooley isn't nearly Graham's equal as a tight end. Yet until he got hurt this season, Cooley was a short-yardage, pass-catching machine who played in back-to-back Pro Bowls.
"I've been labeled my whole career as a blocking tight end," Graham said. "So it looks like I don't do much."
The NFL needs to bring its Pro Bowl into the modern era by dropping the fullback and adding either a "blocking" tight end or a third receiver.
**********************
Sundquist for GM.
While most hot-seat attention focuses on head coaches of disappointing teams — besides Washington's Jim Zorn, there is Dallas' Wade Phillips, Carolina's John Fox, Houston's Gary Kubiak and possibly Oakland's Tom Cable and Tampa Bay's Raheem Morris — several teams also will be looking for general managers.
Former Broncos GM Ted Sundquist should be on everybody's shortlist. Seattle and Buffalo are searching for GMs. There's also talk Sundquist would be a nice partner with Mike Holmgren if the former Packers/Seahawks coach takes the head front-office job in Cleveland.
I give Sundquist and Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier — who was a strong candidate to replace Mike Shanahan as Broncos coach before Pat Bowlen picked McDaniels — great odds to land top jobs this offseason, in part because they're working with agent Bob LaMonte.
What Scott Boras is to baseball free agents, LaMonte is to NFL coaches and executives. LaMonte doesn't get his clients interviews — he gets them jobs.
LaMonte was the conduit for the Broncos' coaching transition last offseason. Not only does he represent McDaniels, but also top coordinators Mike Nolan and Mike McCoy.
Footnotes.
Speaking of LaMonte clients, there is something special about the Eagles' Andy Reid, who will coach against the Broncos next week. Reid's sons put him through perdition and back, but his Eagles were a wild-card team that reached the NFC championship game last season. And a home win today against San Francisco would clinch his eighth playoff berth in 10 seasons. And Reid's Eagles teams don't just reach the playoffs — they've won at least once in each of their previous seven postseasons. . . .
If it works out that the Broncos meet the Patriots in a first-round AFC playoff game in New England, expect Bill Belichick's team to be stronger than the one he brought to Invesco Field in early October. Where the Patriots haven't been the Patriots this season is away from Gillette Stadium. They are 1-5 on the road entering their game today at Buffalo. In three previous seasons, the Pats were 21-3 on the road. . . .
When Charlie Frye starts for the Raiders against the Broncos today, Oakland will join 1-12 St. Louis and 1-12 Tampa Bay as teams that have started three different quarterbacks this season. . . .
There are three more weeks remaining, and already there have been 87 passing games of at least 300 yards, an NFL record.
Eye on ...
Wes Welker, WR, Patriots
Background: Undrafted out of Texas Tech, where he returned eight punts for touchdowns, the 5-foot-9 Welker signed with San Diego in 2004 but was cut one week into the season. The Dolphins snatched him up, and he served as a superb returner and No. 3 receiver. The leverage of unrestricted free agency following the 2006 season led to a trade to New England, where he has since joined Jerry Rice, Herman Moore and Marvin Harrison as the only receivers in NFL history to post three consecutive 100-catch seasons.
Klis' take: Welker leads all NFL receivers with 105 catches — despite missing two games because of a knee injury — entering the Pats' game today at Buffalo. He also ranks fourth in punt returns with a 13.0-yard average. Welker's 328 catches over the past three seasons not only lead all receivers (Brandon Marshall is next with 292), his 1,837 yards gained after the catch are 542 more than the next-best YAC-er (Marshall).
At issue
Broncos' Big Five
What: Five key Denver players — QB Kyle Orton, OLB Elvis Dumervil, WR Brandon Marshall, G Chris Kuper and TE Tony Scheffler — will have expired contracts at season's end. Barring a new NFL collective bargaining agreement, however, all will be controlled by the Broncos through restrictive free agency and could be subject to no more than one-year contracts worth $1 million to $3 million.
Klis' take: What motivation is there for Pat Bowlen and other NFL owners to reach a new CBA before a possible work stoppage in 2011? The only way a CBA deal is reached by March 1 is if the players union caves. And the union may give in because so many agents of fourth- and fifth-year players don't want restrictive free agency; instead, they want the chance for their clients to become unrestricted free agents. If the Big Five enter unrestricted free agency, the Broncos won't have the wherewithal to bring all of them back for 2010.
On the hot seat
Mark Sanchez, QB, Jets
When: 11 a.m. today vs. Atlanta.
Why: The streaky Jets easily beat Tampa Bay last week behind backup QB Kellen Clemens to get back in AFC wild-card contention. Sanchez will return from his knee injury today, but the Falcons should be tougher to beat with QB Matt Ryan and RB Michael Turner returning from injuries. After going 3-0 in September with four TDs, two INTs and an 87.7 rating, Sanchez has since gone 3-6 with seven TDs, 15 INTs and a 54.7 rating.
Ups and downs
THREE UP
1. Dolphins: Ricky Williams needs 25 yards for first 1,000-yard season in six years.
2. Redskins: Scored at least 24 points in last three games. And Shanahan may be on his way.
3. Colts: Manning is as clutch as he is prolific — seven of 14 wins have been by four points or less.
THREE DOWN
1. Jaguars: Back-to-back four-point home losses to Miami and Indy may have cost them a playoff spot.
2. Steelers: On pace for 4,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher, two 1,000-yard receivers and fourth-ranked defense. Yet, losses to Oakland, Kansas City, Cleveland.
3. Bucs: Josh Freeman has 0 TD passes, eight picks, in last two games.
http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_14034911
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
Posted: 12/20/2009 01:00:00 AM MST
Elvis Dumervil will make it at outside linebacker.
There is a good chance Brian Dawkins will be named as one of three safeties. Champ Bailey should make it at cornerback, Brandon Marshall at wide receiver and Ryan Clady at offensive tackle.
Pro Bowl voting will conclude Monday, and the Broncos should be well represented when the AFC and NFC teams are announced Dec. 29.
The AFC all-star team just won't include a Broncos' starting player who is arguably better at his position than any of the Pro Bowlers are at theirs.
"I know I won't be there," Broncos tight end Daniel Graham said.
As a former fantasy-league player and fifth-year NFL reporter, I have reached the conclusion that tight end is the game's most misunderstood position.
The people at NFL headquarters don't even get it. The league still gives a Pro Bowl position to a fullback, even though the position is used on maybe 20 percent of the plays. The fullback is so infrequently used in the 21st-century NFL, three AFC teams (including the Broncos) didn't bother submitting a player for the position for the Pro Bowl ballot.
A tight end like Graham, though, starts every game, plays every down, and is the X factor in pass protection and the running game.
"The one thing I think that sometimes gets lost sometimes is . . . if you have a skill player on your offense that brings a significant level of toughness to your team, you're a different offense," Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said. "I think the teams that run the ball effectively late in the year, they've got great tight ends."
Yet, Graham has zero chance of ever receiving his just reward, outside of payday.
Antonio Gates, Dallas Clark, Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten and Chris Cooley are tight ends who usually play in Pro Bowls. Cooley isn't nearly Graham's equal as a tight end. Yet until he got hurt this season, Cooley was a short-yardage, pass-catching machine who played in back-to-back Pro Bowls.
"I've been labeled my whole career as a blocking tight end," Graham said. "So it looks like I don't do much."
The NFL needs to bring its Pro Bowl into the modern era by dropping the fullback and adding either a "blocking" tight end or a third receiver.
**********************
Sundquist for GM.
While most hot-seat attention focuses on head coaches of disappointing teams — besides Washington's Jim Zorn, there is Dallas' Wade Phillips, Carolina's John Fox, Houston's Gary Kubiak and possibly Oakland's Tom Cable and Tampa Bay's Raheem Morris — several teams also will be looking for general managers.
Former Broncos GM Ted Sundquist should be on everybody's shortlist. Seattle and Buffalo are searching for GMs. There's also talk Sundquist would be a nice partner with Mike Holmgren if the former Packers/Seahawks coach takes the head front-office job in Cleveland.
I give Sundquist and Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier — who was a strong candidate to replace Mike Shanahan as Broncos coach before Pat Bowlen picked McDaniels — great odds to land top jobs this offseason, in part because they're working with agent Bob LaMonte.
What Scott Boras is to baseball free agents, LaMonte is to NFL coaches and executives. LaMonte doesn't get his clients interviews — he gets them jobs.
LaMonte was the conduit for the Broncos' coaching transition last offseason. Not only does he represent McDaniels, but also top coordinators Mike Nolan and Mike McCoy.
Footnotes.
Speaking of LaMonte clients, there is something special about the Eagles' Andy Reid, who will coach against the Broncos next week. Reid's sons put him through perdition and back, but his Eagles were a wild-card team that reached the NFC championship game last season. And a home win today against San Francisco would clinch his eighth playoff berth in 10 seasons. And Reid's Eagles teams don't just reach the playoffs — they've won at least once in each of their previous seven postseasons. . . .
If it works out that the Broncos meet the Patriots in a first-round AFC playoff game in New England, expect Bill Belichick's team to be stronger than the one he brought to Invesco Field in early October. Where the Patriots haven't been the Patriots this season is away from Gillette Stadium. They are 1-5 on the road entering their game today at Buffalo. In three previous seasons, the Pats were 21-3 on the road. . . .
When Charlie Frye starts for the Raiders against the Broncos today, Oakland will join 1-12 St. Louis and 1-12 Tampa Bay as teams that have started three different quarterbacks this season. . . .
There are three more weeks remaining, and already there have been 87 passing games of at least 300 yards, an NFL record.
Eye on ...
Wes Welker, WR, Patriots
Background: Undrafted out of Texas Tech, where he returned eight punts for touchdowns, the 5-foot-9 Welker signed with San Diego in 2004 but was cut one week into the season. The Dolphins snatched him up, and he served as a superb returner and No. 3 receiver. The leverage of unrestricted free agency following the 2006 season led to a trade to New England, where he has since joined Jerry Rice, Herman Moore and Marvin Harrison as the only receivers in NFL history to post three consecutive 100-catch seasons.
Klis' take: Welker leads all NFL receivers with 105 catches — despite missing two games because of a knee injury — entering the Pats' game today at Buffalo. He also ranks fourth in punt returns with a 13.0-yard average. Welker's 328 catches over the past three seasons not only lead all receivers (Brandon Marshall is next with 292), his 1,837 yards gained after the catch are 542 more than the next-best YAC-er (Marshall).
At issue
Broncos' Big Five
What: Five key Denver players — QB Kyle Orton, OLB Elvis Dumervil, WR Brandon Marshall, G Chris Kuper and TE Tony Scheffler — will have expired contracts at season's end. Barring a new NFL collective bargaining agreement, however, all will be controlled by the Broncos through restrictive free agency and could be subject to no more than one-year contracts worth $1 million to $3 million.
Klis' take: What motivation is there for Pat Bowlen and other NFL owners to reach a new CBA before a possible work stoppage in 2011? The only way a CBA deal is reached by March 1 is if the players union caves. And the union may give in because so many agents of fourth- and fifth-year players don't want restrictive free agency; instead, they want the chance for their clients to become unrestricted free agents. If the Big Five enter unrestricted free agency, the Broncos won't have the wherewithal to bring all of them back for 2010.
On the hot seat
Mark Sanchez, QB, Jets
When: 11 a.m. today vs. Atlanta.
Why: The streaky Jets easily beat Tampa Bay last week behind backup QB Kellen Clemens to get back in AFC wild-card contention. Sanchez will return from his knee injury today, but the Falcons should be tougher to beat with QB Matt Ryan and RB Michael Turner returning from injuries. After going 3-0 in September with four TDs, two INTs and an 87.7 rating, Sanchez has since gone 3-6 with seven TDs, 15 INTs and a 54.7 rating.
Ups and downs
THREE UP
1. Dolphins: Ricky Williams needs 25 yards for first 1,000-yard season in six years.
2. Redskins: Scored at least 24 points in last three games. And Shanahan may be on his way.
3. Colts: Manning is as clutch as he is prolific — seven of 14 wins have been by four points or less.
THREE DOWN
1. Jaguars: Back-to-back four-point home losses to Miami and Indy may have cost them a playoff spot.
2. Steelers: On pace for 4,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher, two 1,000-yard receivers and fourth-ranked defense. Yet, losses to Oakland, Kansas City, Cleveland.
3. Bucs: Josh Freeman has 0 TD passes, eight picks, in last two games.
http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_14034911