All I want for Christmas is to see the Broncos beat down the Patriots

...with savagery and ferocity!

Oh what a bleak season this would be for me if it were not for Tim Tebow and the Broncos.  This would be the winter of my discontent.  However, the story unfolding in Denver has made it glorious summer, and all the clouds lowered upon my house, in deep bosom of the ocean buried.

It's week 14 this week, and the Broncos will host the Bears.  However, week 15 is coming, and the Patriots will visit the Broncos in Denver on week 15.  We should not overlook the Bears, but remember, this is a team that could only muster 3 points against the Chiefs.  I guess that is still three more points than my Rams scored.

Congradulations, Coach Fox!  You are the beneficiary of my Christmas wishes this holiday season.  All I want for Christmas is to see your Broncos Godzilla-press-slam the New England Patriots.  Give the following facts,

1. Robust, powerful defense.
2. A vicious straight-ahead running attack with Willis McGahee
3. Tim Tebow getting his passing confidence back.
4. Your franchise's remarkable and continued success in the 2 minute drill

 I see no reason why you shouldn't stick it to them good.  I want to see a repeat of Shannon Sharpe calling the President's office with a request for military intervention.  Why?  Because the Broncos are killing the Patriots.  Go for the jugular!  Don't call off the dogs!

Incidentally, a quick trivia question for you: Who was the top rated passer (by QBR) in the NFL on week 13 on the 2011 NFL Season? Nope, it wasn't Aaron Rodgers. It was Tim Tebow.  Aaron had a QBR of 106.159, which is fantastic, by the way.  On the other hand, Tebow shot 158.19.  He was a fraction away from the cap.  He almost had a perfect game.

I told you he could pass.  Beware:  Tim is getting his passing confidence back.  Y'all are in trouble now.

How 'bout that Tebow II?!?!?

As I have often said, Tim Tebow is the son I never had.  That's my boy!

You would expect me to comment a lot more often about him because of that, but objectively speaking, I have not.  Why is that?  Primarily because I have been trying to keep a civil tongue in my head.  If I blogged on this subject every time I felt the impulse, you'd get at least one hard rant every day.

There is a great deal of Tebow-baiting going on out there in the media, and it isn't because the members of the media hate Tim.  They bait the line for both Tebow-haters and Tebow-fans  because doing so is absolutely fantastic for ratings.  I let them sucker me into the dummy-debate, or should we call it a tebate, during the run up to the 2010 draft.  I felt pretty stupid for being suckered into media-swirl after the fact.  I was great for the ratings, but it didn't do me much good.

Understand that no matter what Tebow does in terms of Pro achievements, there will be Erhardt-Perkins purists who will always hate this kid.  Likewise, there will always be scientific-materialist-atheists who will always hate this kid.  They don't even care what the kid does on the field.

On the other hand, there will be those (like Jack Youngblood me) on the other side of the fence who see one hell of a competitor and an engine of victory in this kid.  No matter how many mistakes Tebow makes in the early going, we're not going to be shaken.  We know the kid is destined for greatness.  Just give him a chance to learn and develop and he will do fine.

Just remember this: Brett Favre made a ton of mistakes in his run towards franchise-QB status.  He had enough bad days that Mike Holmgren had to threaten to bench him several times before he got the message.  John Elway was considered a bust in his first two years in the league.  Elway did not enjoy success immediately, and he might just be the greatest QB in entire history of the league.  Peyton Manning didn't look fantastic in his first year as a Pro, but we all know he is another likely suspect when we talk about the greatest of all-time.

I really had to bite my tongue hard after Week-8.  We saw many "experts" in the media 'seriously' disusing whether the Tim Tebow experiment should be over and done with after one bad game.  I am sure this triggered tons and tons of social media activity and gave the media lots of attention.  In short, they got what they wanted out of it.  It was just another attempt to trigger another dummy debate, and I knew it, but it irked me nonetheless.

It's preposterous to think that either John Fox or John Elway are so uncertain, so unsteady, so wavering, so swaying as to give up on a young QB after just one bad game.  Nevertheless, this is how the media spun the story.  It was just a naked attempt to sprinkle a little napalm on Tebow's followers and get them to respond to the show.  This boosts the ratings.  Ergo, I didn't comment.

I am very pleased that Tebow railgunned the Oakland Raiders yesterday.  It hurt my prediction record, but I couldn't be happier about it.  You know I hate the Raiders.  You know I love Tebow.  When Tebow railgunned the Raiders...  well... let's just say that's one of the finest moments I've had during this otherwise bleak season.

Of course, we have to give Eddie Royal a lot of credit there also.  He had the game winning return, after all.  Tim gave Eddie the spotlight on Facebook just a little while ago, and he was right to do so.

I am fairly certain this is not the Broncos' final victory of the year.  I look forward to several more, and I expect Tim Tebow to continue to show improvement throughout the course of this season.

The Late 1990's Denver Broncos: The Water Boy Redux

It is now time to continue my synastry analysis of the greatest teams in NFL History. Let's continue with the Denver Broncos of 1997-1998.

But first, a quick review of general synastry principles.

1. There are 12 signs in the Zodiac: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces.
2. It all starts with Aries at the Spring Equinox. It all ends with Pisces at the Spring Equinox.
3. There are four elements in the Zodiac: Fire, Earth, Air, and Water.
4. They follow precisely that sequence around the circular orbit: Fire, Earth, Air, and Water.
5. The sequence of elements repeat themselves three times through the 12 signs.
6. There are, therefore, three signs of each element.
7. There are three Fire Signs: Aries, Leo and Sagittarius.
8. There are three Earth Signs: Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn.
9. There are three Air Signs: Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius.
10. There are three Water signs: Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces.
11. You are most compatible with members of your element. Fire is most compatible with Fire, Earth with Earth, etc.
12. Your are highly compatible with members of your companion element. Earth and Water are companion elements. Fire and Air are companion elements.
13. Some elements mix with difficulty. Fire and Earth can blend with some difficulty, making a hard ceramic. Air and Water can blend with difficulty, forming a bubbly foam.
14. Allegedly, Earth is totally incompatible with Air, although you can't prove it using me as an example. Allegedly, Fire is totally incompatible with Water. I buy this doctrine.

The notion under-girding this series is that great teams are all about chemistry, comradeship, and brotherhood. In the final analysis, the players win the game for each other. The reason why an injured man rises to fight again when his body says "no" is because he can bear to let his brothers down. If you got a bunch of guys who are as tight as brothers, they will sacrifice for each other, and all things are possible. If teammates don't like each other and don't get along, you don't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning the Super Bowl.

Does anyone remember the Bickering Bills?

With that said, let's consider the back-to-back champion Denver Broncos. The 1997-1998 Broncos were fundamentally a Water team at the skill positions. John Elway, and Shannon Sharpe are both Cancers. Terrell Davis and Howard Griffith are both Scorpios. Rod Smith is a Taurus, just like Shannon's brother Sterling. Incidentally, Taurus is an Earth sign, and goes great with both Cancer and Scorpio.

Then we have our one typical exception and statistical outlier: Ed McCaffrey, who is a Leo. This is not as bad as it may seem. The only guy Ed had to be compatible with is John Elway. It just so happens that Cancer and Leo are side-by-side in the Zodiac; a pair of summer-time signs that treat each other cordially in the neighborhood. Cancers frequently have a little Leo in them. Leos frequently have a little Cancer in them.

John has some Leo in him, and Ed has a bunch of Virgo in his chart. They are more compatible than you might think. In fact they just happen to have a problem-solving & communication score of 174 together. Anything over 150 is considered extremely strong.

The Bronco line was mostly Air and Fire, noted for being compatible, with one outier: Tom Nalen, who is a Taurus. Of course, this only made Nalen more compatible with John Elway. Once again, this suggests the line is a discrete unit, somewhat separate from the skill positions.

Of course, Mike Shanahan is a Virgo, well noted for being compatible with a bunch of Water guys, a couple of Tauri, and Leo. He went on to have some success with a Taurus QB named Jay Cutler. Shanahan had no success with Sagittarius Donovan McNab last year. That was a bad train-wreck. Believe me when I tell you I know how tenuous Virgo-Sagittarius relations can be. Coach Shanahan had a small bit of success last season with with a Taurus kid named Rex Grossman. Rumor has it he might roll with John Beck this season. He is a Leo cusping on Virgo. What a co-inky-dinky...

Offensive Coordinator Gary Kubiak, interestingly enough, is a Leo. He got along great with John Elway and Shannon Sharpe. These days, he gets along great with a pair of Cancers named Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson. We summer-time boys seem to get along pretty well together.

Although not the best elementally aligned football team, you can see that the Broncos were very well aligned with one another. It's pretty clear from the America's Game documentary series that these guys fought like hell for each other. This team liked each other, they respected their leaders, and they had great chemistry.

I told you the Redskins weren't taking a receiver

This morning the Internet is buzzing like hell with news of the Redskins negotiating with the Broncos for that #2 overall-pick in Thursday's draft. Some are saying the Redskins' move was premature. On the contrary, the timing is perfect. We are presently only about about 30 hours from gavel-time. It's time to go, buddy. You better be negotiating right now.

For the Redskins, the move is perfectly understandable. It's pricey as hell, but it is perfectly understandable. Shanahan's WCO doesn't work without a smart AND mobile quarterback. Say what you will about his very lack-luster college career, but Gabbert is very smart and very mobile. He fits the suit very well. Sometimes you just have to pay what it costs.

If you want that Bob Kramer knife, you're going to have to pay through the nose to get it.

The McNabb story in Washington has ended tragically, and so will the Shanahan story if he doesn't bust a move. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Shanahan needs defense like a dying man in the desert needs water. He may be planing to do what I hope my Rams will do: Fix the defense in free-agency.

I do want to crow for a moment, though. I told you the Redskins weren't taking a receiver. All the stuff about Julio Jones was horse shit from the beginning. The only thing worse than a QB with no WR is a WR with no QB. Just ask the Cardinals.

As Michael Lombardi has said many times, there is a certain order of operations you go through in building an offensive unit. The order of operations is important. Go out-of-order you will get bad results. Here is that order.

1. Offensive line
2. Quarterback
3. Receivers

You need the line first, or you will have a David Carr situation. You need the Quarterback next. There is no point in tying up picks and money in a receiver until you have a trigger man who can make him work. I have excluded the RB positions because this is increasingly a commodity position handled by a committee.

On the other half of the equation, I don't think I like this deal if I am the Broncos. I know the defense needs a full scale rebuild. I know this is a defense-rich draft. I know you want several of these players, not one. I know you feel you can get several by doing this deal.

Nevertheless, Marcell Darius and Von Miller are two of the crown jewels in this draft. I think I would probably take Von Miller and see if I could arrange Phil Taylor from Baylor later on. I would reckon this as the best way to rebuild my defense. You might also take Darius and Akeem Ayers.

We'll see if the Redskins make it worth John Elway's trouble. Shanahan and Elway certainly have deep-ties. I am sure there is enough personal good-will there to get the deal done, if the figures are right.

I'm getting a bad feeling about Super Bowl XLV

I'm getting a bad feeling about this Super Bowl. I have the feeling the Steelers are going to do it for the 7th time. Why? Two words: Ben Roethlisberger. The guy is a past-master of stealing games in the final two minutes of play. I have said this over and over again on this blog and in other venues.

Big Ben hasn't done this once, twice or three times. He does this relentlessly, game in and game out, for several years now. Elway's astounding record for two-minute victory drives is going to be in considerable jeopardy if Roethlisberger stays in the league for another 6-8 years.

He is a clutch guy. Roethlisburger is certainly more of killer-clutch guy than Peyton Manning. I believe he is more clutch than Tom Brady. Michigan men may want to dispute that, but I think it is true. I also believe he is more clutch than Joe Montana. The only guy I rank ahead of Roethlisburger is John Elway. I put Roethlisburger in a tie with Roger Staubach. Only Elway is more clutch than Roethlisberger. Incidentally, Montana was not more clutch than Elway. He wasn't more clutch that Staubach either. Allegations to the contrary are pure mythological bullshit. I saw the totality of both their careers. I know.

Roethlisberger is just too damn clutch. I was reminded of this fact (once again) when I got home last night. The NFL Network was showing a replay of the 2009 meeting between the Packers and Steelers in Pittsburgh. How did it end? With a last-second touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Mike Wallace in the end zone. The Steelers stole that one.

Do I need to remind anybody of what Roethlisberger did to the Ravens in this playoff tournament?

The moral of this story is clear: If the game is close in the final moments, Roethlisberger will win the game for the Steelers. We don't expect most QBs in the league to complete the two-minute drive at the end of the game. Most can't. In Ben's case, we do expect him to complete the drive. At this point in NFL history, there is no worse feeling than having a 4 point lead on the Steelers with 1:34 left go, and Steelers in possession of the ball on their own 30. You are sitting on sharp nails if that is your present situation.

I was actually shocked in 2010 when the Jets prevented Roethlisberger from completing a two-minute comeback drive at the end of their regular season game. I thought Ben was going to do it. My instant reaction was "Damn! Rex is an amazing defensive mind! How did he pull that off?" In most cases, I would be shocked if the QB did pull it off. I would be pissed at the DC if his unit gave up the game-winning drive.

I would much rather see the Packers win the game. If the Steelers win their 7th, it would add greatly to my dismay in life. Still, if you let these guys hang around, they will beat you.

How can the Packers win? I'll tell you how. You must deal with Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers in precisely the way teams dealt with the young John Elway and the Broncos in the Super Bowl. You have to put them down hard and fast. You slam them right down on the turf and blow their brains out by three scores. You need to blow them out. You can't just beat them. You cannot allow the game to be close. You have to turn on the afterburner full-blast and never shut it down. You must maintain a 3 score lead at all times in the second half. In this situation, the two-minute drill only shortens the margin of victory.

The Patriots certainly blew out the Steelers in precisely this fashion. This is the blue-print for a Packer victory. You can't expect to beat them by four. You have to beat them by 17 or more.

Can this happen in SB XLV? I doubt it. If anyone has the firepower to blow the Steelers it is the Packers, but let's remember, that stellar Packer offense will be facing the #1 ranked scoring defense in the league. I doubt the Steelers will yield that many points. This one is for all the marbles. I doubt the Steelers will lay an egg as they did against the Patriots.

Memo to McCarthy: Open up the playbook. Hit them with the kitchen sink. Make every drive furious. Be aggressive as hell in your play-calling. Score throughout the entire game. Turn on the afterburners full-blast, and keep them on all-game long. Don't shut down the offense. No goose-egg quarters. Try to score on every drive and every play. Don't ever shut it down. You're guys need to chop wood all game long.

The NFL's Greatest Myth: Joe Montana is the greatest QB in NFL history

It just ain't so. We would not even entertain the notion if it had not been for that masterful myth-maker Steve Sabol. He was the guy who first advocated the notion that Joe was the greatest in history.

This policy was set for crass materialist gold-digging reasons. It behooves the NFL (financially) to claim that the greatest X in history is playing on the field right now. This is how you promote an entertainment spectacle. This is especially true in the case of the Quarterback position. You sell a lot replica Jerseys, a lot of tee shirts, and license a lot of film footage for the greatest Quarterback in history... who ever that is. We should remember that in 1993, the year Steve Sabol started this bullshit, Joe was still playing. He was headed for Kansas City, to be specific. You can sell a lot of #16 49er Jerseys and a lot of #19 Chief Jerseys by advocating this notion.

Don't under-estimate the power of the profit motive in the fine art of bullshit weaving.

Certain wimploid QBs with weak-ass arms--like Pat Hayden--joined in the chorus very quickly. Pat is a former Ram, so I claim family rights to bitch slap him for joining in with this foolishness.

I was one the guys acting as if the tribal gods had been offended. I wasn't the only one. I was in very good company. In his 1993 Hall of Fame acceptance speech, Dan Fouts took a hard shot at the "Joe is the Greatest" camp by declaring that the only reason he was being inducted into the Hall of Fame was his good fortune to learn at the feet of the greatest QB in the history of the game, Johnny Unitas. Unitas was the starter in San Diego in when Dan Fouts was drafted. Fouts was taught the craft by Unitas. That was a political speech. It was delivered with a curl of the lip and a snarl in the voice. The statement was intentionally pointed. It occurred at the very moment that the Joe band waggon was starting to roll. Dan Fouts was throwing his shoes at Pat Hayden and Steve Sabol... on camera... in front of a national audience... at the Hall of Fame.

I loved every frickin' second of it. I couldn't have agreed with Dan Fouts more. Dan Fouts knows a thing or two about quarterbacking. You aught to pay him some heed. Johnny Unitas remains the greatest Quarterback in NFL history. Let's leave it that way.

Pat Hayden reacted to that speech a couple of times. He was a color man for ESPN Sunday Night football in those days. Believe me, he was defensive about Fouts. He knew Fouts had, cryptically, told him to sit down and shutup. He tried to defend his position on Montana with most of the common arguments made today, but he was nervous. Fouts had a lot more clout that Hayden.

I once made this argument for an old timer who remembered Unitas well. The old timer was a resident of Concord California, and a big 49er fan. He had a few moral problems declaring that Hoe... excuse me, Joe, was the best of all time. After a few moments of consideration he asked:

"Well you at least have to admit that Joe is the greatest of the Super Bowl era, right?"

"Nope, Johnny Unitas played in Super Bowl III and V. The Colts won V against Dallas. Unitas played in the Super Bowl era."

"Oh yeah... I forgot that. well, you have to admit that he is the greatest QB in recent history?"

"Nope, the truth be told, Joe isn't even the greatest QB in 49er history, much less recent history. The guy who replaced him--Steve Young-- was better than he was in every respect."

The old man looked conflicted. He felt like the tribal gods had been offended, but at the very same time, this dedicated 49er fan knew why a serious man could think this thought. Joe had a weak arm. Steve had a strong arm. Joe was mobile. Steve Young was a threat to run the distance of the field for a touchdown. He did that much more than once. Joe threw a lot of TD passes to Jerry Rice. Young threw 30 more TDs to Jerry than Joe did. That is a literal figure. Joe was clutch, but he needed to be clutch. Steve was clutch when he had to be, but he usually got his work done by the 3rd quarter. Steve didn't need a lot of comebacks. Joe once threw 5 touchdown passes in a Super Bowl. Steve threw 6. Joe retired with the highest lifetime QB efficiency rating ever recorded (92.3). Steve retired later on with an even higher passer rating. Steve Young still has the highest lifetime efficiency rating ever recorded by a retired career quarterback (96.8). Joe is in the Hall of Fame. Steve is in the Hall of Fame. I watched Joe & Steve run the same offense with most of the same players. That offense was far more explosive and dynamic under Steve than it was under Joe.

It should be noted in passing that Kurt Warner has a lifetime efficiency rating of 93.8. He's shooting right through the middle of those two. If he finishes well, who knows...

There are good and valid reasons why the NFL's Top 10 rated Joe & Jerry as the #3 passing combo of all time. There are better reasons why they rated Steve & Jerry as the #2 ranked passing combo of all time. Jerry was the same lethal Jerry. Steve was just better than Joe. That is the difference between #2 and #3.

The old timer from Concord California chewed it over a for a few and he said:

"Yeah, but Joe won 4 Super Bowls and Steve only won 1 Super Bowl."

"Nope. Joe never won a single Super Bowl. Steve never won a single Super Bowl. Joe was part of four 49er teams that won the Super Bowl. Steve was part of three 49er teams that won the Super Bowl. No Quarterback ever won a Super Bowl."

Nothing pisses me off more than this false notion that quarterbacks win Super Bowls. You need a complete offensive, defensive and special teams package to win the Super Bowl. You need some good luck too. It takes at least 40 good men to win a Super Bowl.... and a couple of good bounces... and a couple of bad calls.

So who is the greatest Quarterback of the past 30 or so years?

There are a few candidates, and it is hard to choose between them because it is hard to compare. If I had to call it, I would name three candidates in no particular order.

1. John Elway

2. Steve Young

3. Dan Marino

In terms of pure passing skills, nobody compares to Marino. Marino could hit a golf tee on the sidelines from 65 yards away 9 out of 10 tries. Nobody had more control or accuracy than Marino. He also had incredible vision. He didn't miss open receivers down field. He did a good job of picking the most open receiver when his three guy gave him several options. It is a pure crime that Dan Marino doesn't get mentioned more often when we discuse the greatest QB of all time. There aught to be a congressional investigation. He was incredible. He was the greatest pure-passer I ever saw.

You know why they don't mention Dan...? It's this goddamn fucking stupid shit about Quarterbacks winning Super Bowls. You know how I feel about that already. That doctrine is a completely FUBAR doctrine.

Steve Young and John Elway are almost left handed and right handed mirror images of each other. Amazing athletes. Incredible mobility, but Young was better. Great arm strength and accuracy, but Elway was better. Great in 2 minute situations, but Elway was better. They both ran Shanahan's West Coast, but I think Steve Young ran it better. Elway did a hell of job, though.

In terms of the complete package of passing skills, mobility, running for yardage, 2 minute comebacks, efficiency, Young and Elway have to outrank guys like Marino and Fouts. Marino and Fouts were pure pocket passers. Either Elway or Young is the greatest QB of the recent era.

What about the young fellows like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning? Let's not comment on them. Their careers are not finished. They have plenty ahead of them. Let's see how they finish.

What about Brett Farve? Don't go there. Way, way, way too many interceptions.

For those who still want to claim that Joe is the greatest. I strongly recommend you watch three NFL films which are factual and not mythological. Watch the NFL's Greatest Games 1981 NFC championship and 1983 NFC championship. You will see things from Joe you never though could happen. You will see highly erratic performances where he turned over the football 4 times in one and several more in the other. Further, watch the "America's Game" 1988 49ers. You will see that Roger Craig was the man on that team, and the 49ers were trying to replace Montana with Young. An unvarnished look at those films will damage your doctrinaire view of Montana.