Good morning, Broncos Country!
Sorry for the delay, but I am pinch-hitting last-minute for Horse Tracks this morning (so some in particular will be happy it is short, but as for not boring...no promises!)
Team Irvin beats Team Carter
Apparently there was a pretty fun - if not important or even nail-bitingly dramatic - game last night.
I didn't watch closely because, well, it's neither important nor dramatic - unlike Deflate Gate, which is still entertaining me - but I did enjoy many of the highlights, thanks to Broncos players who proved they definitely deserved the Pro Bowl love.
#Broncos @ESanders_10 (5 recs., 70 yds, 2 TDs) and @Millerlite40 (game-high 8 TKLs) lead #TeamIrvin to #ProBowl 'W'. pic.twitter.com/vcxlYMm9eE
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 26, 2015
Emmanuel Sanders scored two TDs among his 5 receptions and 70 yards, despite Aqib Talib breaking up a third attempt. Von Miller led the Team Irvin defense with eight tackles and Chris Harris Jr. was clearly trouble for T.Y. Hilton (proving a point many of us were making two weeks ago - why on earth wasn't he covering Hilton in the playoffs? Oh well, "we're on to 2015").
Although C.J. Anderson fumbled on a handoff, which led to one of several impressive J.J. Watt plays, the running back still had a nice 12-yard run while contributing a measley 16 rushing yards on the night.
#NoFlyZone + @Millerlite40 #ProBowl LOOK: [http://t.co/ssny0w0Oct] pic.twitter.com/PVw2qTZ3ZA
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) January 26, 2015
Odell Beckham Jr. showed off why he might have the best hands in the NFL and Jimmy Graham got to show us his illegal dunk without fear of a penalty or a fine.
All in all, a pretty fun game with a close score and no injuries, which is about the best you can ask for in a game that means nothing but is a nice honor to the players. The only thing better would be that next year no Broncos are entertaining us because they have an important game the following week.
The real ‘science guy' says Belichick makes no sense
I don't know about you, but if I'm talking equilibrium, air pressure and anything scientific, Bill Nye - not Bill Belichick - is my guy.
And he says Belichick is full of a bunch of hot air - unlike his footballs.
"Rubbing the football, I don't really think you can change the pressure," said Nye on ABC News. "To change the pressure you need one of these - an inflation needle."
Nye was of course referring to Belichick's surreal - and ridiculous - press conference to talk about the air in his footballs (I'm restraining myself a lot here, by the way) to go over in immense detail how those balls could not have been tampered with by him or anyone in the Patriots organization.
He knows this, of course, because they recreated the game-day process and claims that this "internal investigation" should prove that nothing could have happened.
"I'm embarrassed to talk about the amount of time I've put into this compared to the other important challenge in front of us," Belichick said in his Saturday press conference. "I'm not a scientist, not an expert in footballs ... I'm just telling you what I know. At no time was there any intent whatsoever to try to compromise the integrity of the game. Quite the opposite. We feel we followed the rules of the game to the letter in our preparation."
Well, I feel so much better about the integrity of that game then. (where's the sarcasm font?) Because two things we know - if Belichick and the Patriots have gotten anything else down to a science besides strategic coaching and winning (damn them!), it is cheating.
Though I'm no big fan of Richard Sherman, I do have to agree with his comment on this:
Sherman: Pats won't be punished as long as Kraft & Goodell 'are taking pictures at each other's homes ... Talk about conflict of interest.'
— Marc Sessler (@MarcSesslerNFL) January 25, 2015
Also, for the best commentary on this, see below for the Saturday Night Live spoof. Hilarious.
Sanders believes Peyton coming back
While at the Pro Bowl, Sanders told reporters that he believes Peyton Manning will return.
"Well, Gase is definitely in Chicago right now," Sanders said. "And Peyton says he's going to come back, but I'm not really worried about it, I really just want to win a Super Bowl. So that is all that is on my mind."
Sanders has only texted with his quarterback and of course the annual physical is a big factor in Manning's decision since contractually he must pass it in order to play.
But the wide receiver also told the press that whenever Brock Osweiler is dubbed the king under center, it will be time to "Brock and Roll." (ok, Sanders didn't say that exactly...I stole that from a brilliant commenter here!)
But Sanders did say this: "Yeah, I think Brock is a quarterback that is on the rise, he's going to continuously get better and I feel like Kubiak's offense fits him really well."
Horse Tracks
Saturday NIght Live did a much better job at Bill Belichick's press conference than he or Tom Brady did:
Pro Bowl: Intensity of Von Miller sticks out - The Denver Post
Von Miller's effort sticks out in defense-optional Pro Bowl
Odell Beckham Jr. made another ridiculous catch at the Pro Bowl - SBNation.com
These will never get old.
End of Vance Joseph issue on horizon for the Broncos - The Denver Post
The Broncos hope to have a resolution early this week as to whether they can interview Vance Joseph for their defensive coordinator position.
Rick Dennison excited to start new job as offensive coordinator - Denver Broncos Blog - ESPN
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- He has already accepted his new job, but freshly-minted Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Rick Dennison hasn't actually...
New England Patriots' Tom Brady on "deflate-gate": "My feelings got hurt" - CBS News
Patriots quarterback says he was harshly judged without all the facts being known; NFL likely won't meet with Brady until after Super Bowl.
Deflate-gate Is The Dumbest Sports Controversy Ever
The Patriots should be severely punished for deflating game footballs during last Sunday’s AFC championship game, not because what they did broke the rules, but because their actions have forced sports fans to listen to this moronic story for the last week. At least within my memory there has not [...]
Super Bowl 2015: Richard Sherman just landed, takes shots at Roger Goodell and Robert Kraft | FOX Sports
The Seahawks landed in Arizona on Sunday and met with the media, so naturally everyone flocked to Richard Sherman hit the podium.
Bill Nye refutes Bill Belichick's science of DeflateGate
"I'm embarrassed to talk about the amount of time I've put into this compared to the other important challenge in front of us," Belichick said. "I'm not a scientist, not an expert in footballs ... I'm just telling you what I know. At no time was there any intent whatsoever to try to compromise the integrity of the game. Quite the opposite. We feel we followed the rules of the game to the letter in our preparation.
The Patriots' Opponents Won't Let Spygate Die, But Did It Really Matter? | FiveThirtyEight
FiveThirtyEight, Nate Silver's newly launched website at ESPN, uses statistical analysis - hard numbers - to tell compelling stories about politics, science, economics, lifestyle, and sports.
Team Irvin vs. Team Carter - Recap - January 25, 2015 - ESPN
NFL Football Recap: Final statistics from the Team vs. Team game played on January 25, 2015