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 Last Gasp of a Dying Man

So Panthers actually went and did it… They drafted Cam Newton with the #1 pick overall in the entire draft. I ought to be happy for the kid, but I am not. I think they made this decision for all the wrong reasons. I think the plan going forward is wrong also. I think this is going to be a historic disaster for all concerned.

What were the reasons? Let catalog them for you.

• The failure to identify and fire the real source of their failures last season: the General Manager Marty Hurney.
• The spectacular error of fingering former Head Coach John Fox for the disaster of 2010.
• A very quick surrender on their 2^nd round pick last year, Jimmy Clausen… a dude I warned you about.
• The 48% owner Jerry Richardson got involved in the process deeply this year, insisting they settle their problems at the QB position, regardless of where that might take them.
• The popularity of SEC football in the North Carolina region almost assures the Panthers a few sell-outs in the beginning of 2011.
• The further error of hiring defensive coach Ron Rivera, a man with no particular plan offensively speaking.
• Having just been granted a temporary stay of execution, Hurney did his owner's bidding, and selected Cam Newton. This is the last gasp of a dying man.

First of all, let’s call a spade a spade. The wheels fell off the Panther machine last season because Marty Hurney is a wretched GM. The guy constantly mortgages his picks, converting 1^st rounders into 2^nd rounders, 2^nd rounders into 3^rd rounders. This is a magic trick any fool can perform, but why would you want to? Further, he allowed marquee players like Julius Peppers to get away in free agency without obtaining any real compensation for them. Given one bad move after another, the talent pool finally dwindled down. This is why they lost in 2010. They were empty of offensive talent, but the defense also lacked punch.

Surely, Marty Hurney should have been identified by owner Jerry Richardson as the source of the team’s difficulties. Surely, Marty Hurney should have been fired. Surely, John Fox was not the source of the bad moves identified above. Somehow Jerry Richardson identified John Fox as the problem, and fired him. Somehow, he decided Marty Hurney was not the problem, and should be allowed to continue.

I would call that a serious fuck-up. I would consider that evidence of straight-up incompetence. Nothing more, and nothing less.

If I didn’t have plenary evidence of incompetence before the draft, I sure do now. After finishing at the bottom of the league in offensive, the solution was to select a new (defense-oriented) head coach, and select Cam Newton in the draft.

So what is the plan going forward? Logically, I think we have to conclude that they are going to go with the Ryan-Cunningham offense this year. What is that offense? Once upon a time, a great defensive coach named Buddy Ryan slapped his new QB (Randal Cunningham) on the back and said “Go out there and make 2 or 3 big plays, kid, and my defense is going to make it stand up.” That was the entire offensive game-plan each week and every week in Philadelphia, once upon a time. We call that sandlot improv style the Ryan-Cunningham offense. The secret is that there is no secret. We’re just going to allow our athletic QB to run around and make some plays ad-hoc.

Will it work? It might work, and it might not. We’re going to see if Cam is a better prospect than Cunningham. I think they are comparable in many ways. Just remember, Cunningham never developed and blossomed as a true passer until he got together with Dennis Green. That was his first stay with an offensive coach who was interested in developing Cunningham’s ability to orchestrate a sophisticated offense. He could have been one of the greatest of all-time, but the Ryan-Cunningham offense was his ruination.

You may see Cam Newton run around a lot this coming season (if there is a season) and he may be able to get the Panthers 6 or 7 wins. Unfortunately, I think the Panthers will take a pass on developing Cam as a true pocket passer. I think the Ryan-Cunningham offense will be his ruination.

Once upon a time, the Titans hired a sophisticated offense coach named Norm Chow from USC. Norm wanted to select Matt Leinart from USC in the 2005 draft. The owner said “No” and insisted the team select Vince Young. Norm was fired after his first year because he couldn’t get Vince to learn and accept the discipline of a sophisticated pro-style offense. The owner chose Vince over Norm. It took a couple more years for the disaster to develop, but in the end owner Bud Adams lost his head coach Jeff Fisher, his quarterback Vince Young, and his former OC Norm Chow. Now all four men have careers in serious question in the year 2011. Leinart is also a casualty of this error.

Life might have been better for Bud Adams if he had not insisted on Vince Young, and if he had allowed Norm Chow to select Leinart. History could have been very different for all concerned. There may be a parallel universe where the Titans are a great team in 2011 with Leinart as their franchise QB.

In 5 years I think the Titans’ history will repeat itself in Carolina.