Good Morning, Broncos fans! With the NFL draft set to kick off in just a few hours, now's as good a time as any to ponder one of the most basic of questions regarding the event:
Why should we even have one?
Defenders of the draft always point to the need to maintain competitive balance in the league, but as Patrick Hruby reminds us, the teams that routinely pick at the top of the draft don't seem to benefit as much as this theory would suggest.
The whole point of the draft, also noted by Hruby - both in its inception and its current state (hello, CBA) - was and is to keep player salaries down.
Good Morning, Broncos fans! If you weren't fortunate enough to catch last night's 30 for 30: Elway to Marino on ESPN, you can find the times it will re-air here.
For a Broncos or Dolphins fan, it's an exceptional documentary, based almost entirely upon the notes of Marvin Demoff, the longtime agent for both John Elway and Dan Marino. Considering the preponderance of factors that led Elway to Denver, we should all consider ourselves particularly fortunate for that gift which continues to give, to this day.
To any Raiders, Cowboys, Colts, Bears, Patriots, Steelers, Jets, or Chiefs fan, we imagine it's an infuriating reminder (or lesson) of the circumstances and forces that kept those teams from landing either legendary quarterback.
Good Morning, Broncos fans! Thursday's first round of the 2013 NFL Draft is quickly approaching, and we at IAOFM are ramping up our coverage of it accordingly.
Ted's hard at work on his annual Rational Actor Mock Draft, and we expect to have it for you sometime today. It will be even more involved than in previous years, and here's where we remind you that the 2012 version had the Broncos trading back and selecting Derek Wolfe, whom no non-IAOFM reader, Jeff Legwold inclusive, knew about prior to Denver's selection of him.
Unfortunately, John Elway & Co. did not also follow Ted's advice and take a matchup safety to cover tight ends, and we all know how that worked out for them (Dennis Pitta's 24-yard reception on 3rd-and-13 from the Baltimore three-yard line in overtime comes to mind).
Good Morning, Broncos fans! It's Draft Week, and we'll strive to again bring you the best independent coverage of Denver's moves.
In Broncos-specific matters, the team kicks off its second week of offseason conditioning today, while tomorrow night the Elway to Marino episode of 30 for 30 airs on ESPN.
Mostly though, this morning is about the Darrelle Revis trade.
Ian O'Connor says Revis really did want to stay in New Jersey, so much so that he was willing to take from the LOLJets a non-guaranteed contract like the one he signed in Tampa.
Mike Tanier thinks both the Bucs and LOLJets fared well in the deal; Gary Myers thinks the LOLJets are already on the clock for the 2014 Draft; Neil Hornsby is puzzled by how much of their resources the Bucs are putting into their secondary; Jack Dickey believes Revis made the most of a bad situation, but says most other players are unable to do so under the current CBA.
Continue reading "Can’t take the Raider out of Rolando Lard"
Good Morning, Broncos fans! As always, lots of good info on the LOLJets from Rich Cimini, who thinks any Darrelle Revis deal with the Bucs needs to be agreed upon by Tuesday or Wednesday,
To that end, it's now being reported that New Jersey has given Revis permission to formally discuss a new contract with Tampa Bay, and to take a physical with them. So a deal appears to be imminent, with at least the #13 pick heading north in return for the soon-to-be-grossly-overpaid cornerback.
Back to Cimini, he hears GM John Idzik wants to trade down from #9, which would especially make sense if they end up acquiring the #13 pick from Tampa Bay.
Also, Cimini is told that the Ultimate Teammate's™ latest passing tutor is a "snake-oil salesman" who only worked with Timmy for two days this offseason. But because he's associated with the UT™, he must be an elite passing guru, amirite?
Good Morning/Afternoon, Broncos fans! I'd just like to take a moment to point out a couple of site tweaks we've made in recent days.
First - and I mentioned this below my column about the schedule release - we have set up a permanent entry with Denver's schedule, and you can find the link to that in the header atop the page. We'll eventually be making that more robust, with links to our coverage of each game.
Second, we've placed links to all of our offseason trackers (free agency, draft choices, pre-draft visits/workouts) on the right side of the home page, just to make it easier for you to access those. As always, we'll continue to update each of those with every Broncos development, and like with the schedule page, this will be evolving, perhaps even in coming days.
Each of these should make IAOFM's content more easily accessible; we're always looking to improve both our content and the reader experience, and hope you'll like these changes.
Continue reading "No RFA offers for Colquitt, anyone else Lard"
Good Morning, Broncos fans. It's hard to lead off with football news, given all that's going on up in Massachusetts this morning, so we won't even attempt it.
Boston is basically locked down at time of this writing, as one suspect in the marathon bombing was killed in a lengthy shootout with authorities, and the other is still on the loose.
Tragically, an MIT police officer was killed sometime this morning, in related activity.
The suspects are apparently a pair of Russian-born Chechen brothers who have been in the U.S. for as many as ten or eleven years.
Here are live updates from the Boston Globe and a map of the day's developments.
Our thoughts remain with all those affected by this series of tragedies and the one in Texas.
Good Morning, Broncos fans! When civil rights champion Brendon Ayanbadejo recently discussed the possibility of multiple gay players coming out together, the thinking was it would help to diffuse the glare of a potentially harsh spotlight.
Unfortunately, it appears that sensible strategy won't be tested, as Russell Simpson, the former assistant for free agent Kerry Rhodes, now claims he was also Kerry's boyfriend.
According to Simpson, the two men's status as a couple was well known with Rhodes's Arizona teammates and the players' wives, and he says Rhodes recently asked him to remain mum about their relationship so that the safety would be unencumbered in his search for a new team.
It remains to be seen whether Simpson's claims are acknowledged/confirmed/denied by Rhodes, who expressed support for gay athletes while saying he was not one himself. If Rhodes is indeed gay, then we hope the attention doesn't harm his chances at future employment, and that he can be one of the leaders to a more tolerant sports environment, if he so chooses such a role.
Continue reading "Broncos may have chance at revenge on TNF Lard"
Good Morning, Broncos fans! Ever since Adam Gase took over for the departed Mike McCoy, the buzzword out of Dove Valley has been speed.
The idea is that Denver's offense can operate at a faster pace in 2013.
To that end, Peyton Manning pointed to a couple of numbers while chatting with the DP's Mark Kiszla - Denver's 68.1 plays per game, and New England's 75, the most in the league. Of course, Peyton thinks the Broncos can step up their efficiency (presumably relative to both the clock and the scoreboard), and he says the offense was at its best in 2012 when it was moving quickly.
In other words, those of us hoping for a further departure from Foxball may be granted our wish.
Good Morning, Broncos fans. What can one say on a day like today, after horrors like we all saw yesterday?
Three are dead, including an eight-year-old boy named Martin Richard, whose mother and sister were seriously injured in the twin blasts at the Boston Marathon. More than 130 people were injured, and our thoughts go out to all those affected by this terrible tragedy.
It's not currently known who perpetrated this ghastly act, and there will be a time and direction for anger once that information is gleaned.
For now, let us remember that the world is mostly good, and we do know about some of Monday's heroes. We'll be sure to learn about more of them in the coming days and weeks.
