Horse Tracks 4/14/09
by Douglas A. Lee on Apr 14, 2009 5:40 AM MDT
in Horse Tracks
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DP - Congratulations to Rod Smith, who is being inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame tonight.
NFL - It's a very sad day for the NFL, especially so for those of us who grew up in the post-John Facenda age. Harry Kalas, the man whose voice we associate with NFL Films has passed away at the age of 73. The longtime Phillies broadcaster was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002.
Scout - The Broncos will host Texas A&M QB Stephen McGee tomorrow.
NFL - Bucky Brooks looks at players in the draft who could fill the elephant position (3-4 ends and outside 'backers).
NFLN - Mike Mayock ranks his top-5 at the same spots.
IN - Alex Neth looks at defensive-back prospects who may fit the Broncos' needs.
SI - In his Monday column, Peter King says he thinks the Broncos may trade up for Tyson Jackson or Brian Orakpo (page 4). He also says that McDaniels likes Kyle Orton a lot.
CBS - Pete Prisco examines the Broncos' draft needs. Nothing new or insightful here...
SFG - Raiders safety Hiram Eugene signed his one-year tender to remain in Oakland. Also, David White offers a bunch of Raiders-themed draft notes.
SFC - Gwen Knapp examines the risks of drafting a quarterback atop the draft.
FOX - Alex Marvez thinks Jeff Garcia will take JaMarcus The Hut's job.
KCS - The Chefs have released WR Will Franklin.
NFL - Stillers LB James Harrison will receive $20 million in guarantees as part of a six-year deal to remain in Pittsburgh.
Y! - Giants CB Kevin Dockery signed his one-year tender to remain in New Jersey New York.
Y! - The Packers have traded long snapper J.J. Jansen to the Panthers for a conditional 7th-rounder in 2011. This dooms the Carolina career of Jason Kyle.
NFP - Mike Lombardi considers the trade value of Ocho Cinco.
ESPN - John Clayton answers some emails.
Y! - Charles Robinson doesn't expect Michael Crabtree's injury to affect him on draft day.
PFW - Here are some of the players considered among the highest of character entering the draft.
NFP - In NFP's latest mock draft, Denver selects DE Everette Brown, CB Malcolm Jenkins, DT Fili Moala, S Rashad Johnson and C Jonathan Luigs.
CBS - Chad Reuter considers the importance of 40-yard-dash times.
NFP - Matt Bowen evaluates the offseasons of the Bengals and Browns.
FOX - The Falcons are On the Clock.
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Once again, outstanding!
Thanks for all you do NYC
~Davus.X~
Est. 1967
Bleeding Orange and Blue for 42 years
Newest Resident of La-La-Land! Mike Clark for President!
13-3 BABY!
Good Mornin nyc, Thanks for Horse Tracks...
Real Power, comes with the realization that One cannot change the Moment;
only ones perception of it: Atitude! JQM
Agreed 100% Tunga....love me some Rod Smith.....I think Jedi is a Rod Smith type of guy and this team is morphing into what it used to be...
A true team with thoughts only on success. Thats what Rod signified to me. A player who put team first. Our team had lost this ever since Rod smith and Al Wilson were lost…..and thats no coincidence.
You think Jedi does not know this???
I am loving the direction this team is going…..a la in the image of Rod Smith!
Those that cant coach, compete!
Failing to plan is planning to fail.
haha, I'm not ready to annoint...
either the team or McD as in the image of Rod Smith just yet… I’m waiting to see how the season shakes out, but I like your optimism!
BTW, what do you guys think? Rod in the HoF in 5, 7, 10, 15 years? I said when he first retired that we might be pleasantly surprised in 5 years, but after Sharpe’s snubbing, I am…. well… much much less optimistic about his chances! =/
Rod is a Ring of Famer
but I honestly don’t believe he’s a Hall of Famer. He was a great player, but I don’t think he’s one of the greatest NFL players ever. His status as an undrafted free agent makes us appreciate him more, as do his work ethic and team-first attitude. They are special qualities which make him one of the greatest Broncos. But guys like Shannon, TD, Mecklenburg and Atwater were in another class above Rod.
by Douglas A. Lee on Apr 14, 2009 10:16 AM MDT up reply actions
Blasphemy! ;)
In terms of those Broncos, I would probably rank Shannon above, Meck, and Atwater equal, and TD slightly below Rod.
And in terms of how Rod stacks up against other HoF WR’s, if you weigh in Rod’s statistics, rings, overall persona, and how he played the game, I would argue that he had an equal if not better career than Irvin, and nearly as good as Art Monk’s, who incidentally played 41 more games than Rod. It’s also interesting to note that even though Rod officially played 12 years, his first two was an uphill battle for him to get off the practice squad and crack the lineup.
It’s too bad the HoF probably doesn’t consider the players’ expectations coming out of college (a nobody, in this case), nor players’ record of un-missed offseason workouts as criteria, eh? =/
Granted it took forever for Monk to get in, but I would hope that Rod would eventually get elected in say 10 years.
I know...
Keep this in mind – while the NFL scouts’ whiffs on guys like Rod, TD and Tom Brady make their successes shine a bit brighter at times, it doesn’t make them count as better players. Yes, they overcome more and it’s more impressive to us, but their play alone should determine how good a player they were.
Here’s the thing…for me, a lot of my argument for TD is that he was spectacular and the best in the league for a few years, and it doesn’t matter that he didn’t accumulate big numbers. Rod is just the opposite, and I can’t have it both ways. I wish I could, but it wouldn’t be right…
by Douglas A. Lee on Apr 14, 2009 1:16 PM MDT up reply actions
That's a good point...
But I would argue that Rod was at the top or near the top of the league for 2-3 years of his career as well… I had done a FanPost on that when he first retired in terms of how most fans (maybe even some Bronco fans) do not even know how dominant he was… mostly because, well, he’s Rod, and he just quietly goes about his business, not making any fanfare in the process.
I’d say TD was truly dominant for 2 years (led the league in 1, runner up the year before) and was very good in his 2nd year. In my mind, they were both fairly dominant in their primes, while Rod had the fortunes of good health until the very end and thus wins the longevity angle.
sorry, correcting myself...
I forgot TD was runner up to Barry in 96 with 1500+ yards, so that really that makes him dominant in his last 3 full seasons and pretty good in his rookie year.
In any case, I would love to see both enshrined some day. Not first ballot, I have no illusions of that, but someday…
Also important to consider...
TD may have been the best postseason runner in history. He’s certainly in the discussion. Rod had a great game in XXXIII, but he is not in the conversation of best postseason receivers.
Awards and honors – TD won SB MVP, NFL MVP, was a 3-time 1st-team All-Pro and 2-time AP Offensive Player of the Year. Rod was never any of those, nor did he deserve to be.
As for Rod’s best statistical years, I can’t honestly say he was better than T.O., Randy Moss or Marvin Harrison. Yes, he racked up a lot of catches in 2000 and 2001, and a lot of yards in 2000, but he wasn’t better than any of those guys. To me, he didn’t score enough touchdowns to be in their class. TD had something to do with that, but not in those years.
by Douglas A. Lee on Apr 14, 2009 8:37 PM MDT up reply actions
Stephen McGee
Would be a great backup. He is a gamer…injury prone, but not afraid to talk some smack to the D even after taking a vicious hit. I am a little bias but he has heart and a will to win.
Broncos/Raiders
Even though Shanny’s not here to hate the Raiders anymore, we can take solace in the fact that we have a Jedi to take on JaMarcus the Hut. That’s pretty much a guaranteed win for the Jedi…right?
"I will make nachos and sit and watch draft guy. nacho and cola. This gon be crazy. We could even move down in draft and get like a hole nother team guy."
--Horvil Tiki
God bless Rod Smith
Great honor for a fantastic individual and consumate team player. All the best to him and hopes for the committee to realize this man belongs in the HOF.
My favorite Denver recievers all time, in no particular order, are:
Rod Smith, Lionel Taylor, Haven Moses, Steve Watson and Eddie Mac. They were all quiet professionals who gave the best they had every time they practised and everytime they stepped on the field.
If you want some models of what is a professional, you couldn’t find any better than these.
"Now we have them where we want them"
-Kieth Bishop - On the Denver 2 yard line, Cleveland Ohio, 1987
Thanks, Everyone!
I appreciate all of your kind words – they mean quite a bit to me. I’m glad you’re enjoying Horse Tracks.
by Douglas A. Lee on Apr 14, 2009 10:12 AM MDT reply actions
If anyone agrees with "NFP('s) Three Round Mock Draft"
That the Broncos will select Brown and Jenkins should also be stoked if
they also agree with “The Way We Hear It: High-character guys” By Nolan Nawrocki, ProFootballWeekly.com
Nawrocki lists Jenkins and Brown to be the two highest-character players in this year’s draft. It should also be noted that Lauranaitis and T. Jackson also made the list.
My roots are in Denver and my branches in Nebraska.
by Blackshirt4Broncos on Apr 14, 2009 1:34 PM MDT reply actions
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