Sedins are playing average, but the D is coming together nicely. Ballard and Hamhuis are starting to figure it out, and if the Canucks can choke out their opponents like that even when they aren't playing well, then they have a good shot at having a deep playoff run.
Kesler is looking like a Selke winner. Tambellini looks like one of the biggest steals in a long time. They have 3lines they can roll with anyone, and they have Hodgson and Schroeder on the way. That depth is really going to help in the playoffs.
I honestly think that if Vancouver can avoid LA, Chicago and Colorado in the first round, they have a legitimate shot at making the finals. Hopefully Philadelphia's goaltending remains iffy, Malkin keeps up his Kovalev act, Montreal runs into Philly in the playoffs, Washington keeps crapping the bed, and Boston keeps their blueline nice and weak. I'd say top5 in the league right now... Philly, Detroit, Crosby, Vancouver, (Montreal/Boston/Dallas/Colorado).
Blues game was very good. They didn't play their best, but they won. That's what good teams like Detroit do. Once Salo gets back into game shape, Vancouver is going to have 6deep D that can play in all situations. Bieksa as your 6th Dman is a nice problem to have. I think if they can just fit him in under the cap they should keep him, and even Alberts and Rome. You need NHL proven dmen in the playoffs. With those 6D, I see Vancouver being a very very tough out in the playoffs. Probably only Philly has a deeper defence in the league, now that Montreal has successfully screwed with PK Subban's head. He was playing like an All-Star Dman, and now Jacques Martin and Mike Richards got in his head and he is turning the puck over everywhere. Hopefully his talent wins out on this one, because he has just lost his confidence.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
The Broncos... looking at a possible 1st Overall pick.
A lot of people are saying that we should keep Tebow since we already drafted a QB, and draft Fairley 1st overall, if we end up with that pick.
I don't know if anybody noticed... but Tebow played... THE RAIDERS!!!! They suck! They just happen to not suck as much as we do at the moment.
Let's see how Tebow does againt a weak Houston D, and the Chargers. Now, if the Chargers have something to play for, we should get an idea of Tebow's ability against a real NFL defence.
I think that if we get a crack at Luck, we have to take it. Look at the franchise QBs out there and look at where they were drafted. Brady is a huge exception.
McNabb (5), Vick (1), Manning (1), Eli Manning (1), Rivers (4), Ryan (1), Rodgers (20s...but projected top2), Roethlisberger (7), Stafford (1), Bradford (1), Cutler (11)(I know, I know).
Brady, Brees, Flacco (he's kind of a big game whiffer though), Schaub (same deal), Cassell, Henne... much later picks.
I mean, sure there are as many misses as hits in the top10 for QBs...Couch, Leaf, Young, Leinart, Carr, Smith, Harrington, Russell (that shouldn't count though based on Al Davis being retarded.)...but the fact remains that if you want an ELITE/Top 10 in the league QB, you pretty much have to have a top10 pick.
I've been a Broncos fan all my life (since 1988) and in that time the highest player I can remember drafting is Cutler... and he could have been that QB we were looking for just outside the top10. (Jury is still out on him big time).
Someone above cited the Lions as the example, taking WRs even though they didn't need them... they missed, missed, missed (Rogers was made of glass tho...talent didn't fail him) and then BAM Calvin Johnson!
The Broncos have never really had a shot at a number 1 pick (other than Elway, and that was a trade). It's not an exact science at the top, but if you want to have that elite QB, which is necessary to win in the NFL, you have to take him top10. How can the Broncos pass up a shot at Luck, who is said to be the best pro QB prospect in ages?
Everyone is saying Fairley is the safe pick, but Dline bust as much as QBs. Richard Seymour...taken after Big Money... That's like comparing Manning and Leaf. If you miss, it sets you back another 3-4 years. But if you nail it, you're playoff bound for the next 5-10, and you can build towards a Superbowl. I personally think that's where Denver would be now had they kept Shanny and hired Nolan as D co-ordinator without McD ever coming over, but I digress. (Wow is it frustrating to be a Denver fan right now...I'm getting derisive text msgs from BILLS fans!!!)
All this said, I think that you can make the case for taking a shot at Andrew Luck (if we have the number#1 pick) with a simple baseball analogy. It's the bottom of the ninth, bases are loaded, two outs, trailing 3-0. You have a choice. You can have 3 .300 average players coming up to the plate (Crawford, Jeter, Mauer) or you can have an A-rod/Hamilton ball masher coming up followed by a normal catcher and second baseman. Wouldn't you rather the guy who is going to be most likely to blast a Grand Slam? Rather than have to rely on 3 singles to win it? I know I would. I think with a #1 pick for the first time in franchise history, you don't choke up on the bat and trade down because of a "need". You swing for the fences.
This is totally out of character for me, because I am a Defence/Running game type of guy. (I know, I know...HOW am I a Broncos fan?) If I thought Denver was SERIOUS about building a dominant D, then I would keep Tebow, draft Petersen or Akamura or Fairley, and keep drafting D every year, 3RDs out of every first 4RDs until the unit was 2000 Ravens dominant, and let Tebow, Moreno manage the clock and run a lot. However, I can't see Denver ever committing to becoming that type of smashmouth team. So I say, swing for the fences if Luck declares and we have the 1st.
I don't know if anybody noticed... but Tebow played... THE RAIDERS!!!! They suck! They just happen to not suck as much as we do at the moment.
Let's see how Tebow does againt a weak Houston D, and the Chargers. Now, if the Chargers have something to play for, we should get an idea of Tebow's ability against a real NFL defence.
I think that if we get a crack at Luck, we have to take it. Look at the franchise QBs out there and look at where they were drafted. Brady is a huge exception.
McNabb (5), Vick (1), Manning (1), Eli Manning (1), Rivers (4), Ryan (1), Rodgers (20s...but projected top2), Roethlisberger (7), Stafford (1), Bradford (1), Cutler (11)(I know, I know).
Brady, Brees, Flacco (he's kind of a big game whiffer though), Schaub (same deal), Cassell, Henne... much later picks.
I mean, sure there are as many misses as hits in the top10 for QBs...Couch, Leaf, Young, Leinart, Carr, Smith, Harrington, Russell (that shouldn't count though based on Al Davis being retarded.)...but the fact remains that if you want an ELITE/Top 10 in the league QB, you pretty much have to have a top10 pick.
I've been a Broncos fan all my life (since 1988) and in that time the highest player I can remember drafting is Cutler... and he could have been that QB we were looking for just outside the top10. (Jury is still out on him big time).
Someone above cited the Lions as the example, taking WRs even though they didn't need them... they missed, missed, missed (Rogers was made of glass tho...talent didn't fail him) and then BAM Calvin Johnson!
The Broncos have never really had a shot at a number 1 pick (other than Elway, and that was a trade). It's not an exact science at the top, but if you want to have that elite QB, which is necessary to win in the NFL, you have to take him top10. How can the Broncos pass up a shot at Luck, who is said to be the best pro QB prospect in ages?
Everyone is saying Fairley is the safe pick, but Dline bust as much as QBs. Richard Seymour...taken after Big Money... That's like comparing Manning and Leaf. If you miss, it sets you back another 3-4 years. But if you nail it, you're playoff bound for the next 5-10, and you can build towards a Superbowl. I personally think that's where Denver would be now had they kept Shanny and hired Nolan as D co-ordinator without McD ever coming over, but I digress. (Wow is it frustrating to be a Denver fan right now...I'm getting derisive text msgs from BILLS fans!!!)
All this said, I think that you can make the case for taking a shot at Andrew Luck (if we have the number#1 pick) with a simple baseball analogy. It's the bottom of the ninth, bases are loaded, two outs, trailing 3-0. You have a choice. You can have 3 .300 average players coming up to the plate (Crawford, Jeter, Mauer) or you can have an A-rod/Hamilton ball masher coming up followed by a normal catcher and second baseman. Wouldn't you rather the guy who is going to be most likely to blast a Grand Slam? Rather than have to rely on 3 singles to win it? I know I would. I think with a #1 pick for the first time in franchise history, you don't choke up on the bat and trade down because of a "need". You swing for the fences.
This is totally out of character for me, because I am a Defence/Running game type of guy. (I know, I know...HOW am I a Broncos fan?) If I thought Denver was SERIOUS about building a dominant D, then I would keep Tebow, draft Petersen or Akamura or Fairley, and keep drafting D every year, 3RDs out of every first 4RDs until the unit was 2000 Ravens dominant, and let Tebow, Moreno manage the clock and run a lot. However, I can't see Denver ever committing to becoming that type of smashmouth team. So I say, swing for the fences if Luck declares and we have the 1st.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
McDaniels
Broncos fired him on Monday. Good Decision. He never should have been hired in the first place. Shanahan had Cutler, Marshall, Hillis, Scheffler, Royal, Clady. They were a few good defensive picks away from being a contender. Now they are a mess. Time to blow that thing up and rebuild through the draft. Hopefully they finish low and they can draft Nick Fairley and go back to a 4-3 defense. Dumervil and Fairley would give them two great pass rushers. If they could deal Bailey for Partick Petersen too, they would have a lockdwn corner for the future too. Love what Bailey brings, but he'll be too old by the time they are good again. At least Moreno is showing signs of being a good RB. I'll be happy with Fairley or Petersen as a first pick. Then they can use later picks to address Safety and WR. Hopefully they can sign a good coach for when football resumes. Had they hired McDaniels as the new Offensive Co-ordinator and kept Mike Nolan they could have been a very good team this year. Time to rebuild. Hope they turn their attention to the defensive side of the ball and put the D back in Denver.
Canucks Vs Ducks
Canucks are lookng solid so far. Couple of fights. Lots of hitting. Canucks seem to be controlling the play for the most part. Once Sbisa and Fowler develop Anaheim is going to be really good again. Sedins look good, as always, and Kesler and the checking line are playing well. If they can keep tabs on Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan, the will be in good shape to win this. Backwith more when the game is over.
Hamhuis gets caught trying to pick up his stick. Ugly play. 2-2. Lupul capitalized almost immediately. That guy is such a mystery. He seems to be a 1st liner sometimes, but then he gets hurt, or hits a slump. Must be frustrating for his coaches. Canucks have hit a few posts. They reall need to get a goal here. McElhinney is in nets. We need a win here. C'mon boys.
And there it is, the inevitable Teemu Selanne goal against the Canucks. He always scores against Vancouver!!! Dammit. If he ever got traded to Chicago, I'd have to personally break his legs. Canucks are going to need a big 3rd period.
Bad penalty call on Tambellini leads to another Ducks goal. Refs immediately give them a make up call. How about you just don't call the first one refs? McElhinney has been goaltending like he drank a bunch of Tabasco. Huge stops.
4-3.. Canucks score. McElhinney is cut. Bleeding all over the place. Got hit in the mask. Hiller is going in. This should be an interesting end to the 3rd period.
There it is! Tied at 4! Great effort by Kesler. MacMillan shoved Erhoff into the boards from behind. Karma instantly jumps back at Anaheim. Should be a great OT.
End to end OT. Perry took a really stupid penalty. Almost cost them. Kesler almost got the hattrick with a mid air shot right at the buzzer.
Eurotrash skills comp is up. Weak.
Luongo forces the Ducks to beat themselves and Tambellini scores.What a beaut Tambellini is turning out to be. Would have been very very easy to lose that game. Gutsy effort to go get the two points. Kesler brings it and the Canucks are tough to stop. Even with the great Anaheim goaltending and the posts they hit, they managed to win. Defence looked very very good. Ballard is playing well. Hamhuis too. If they get Salo back and he can get up to speed for the playoffs that top 6 D is going to be very very solid.
Well, it's off to bed for this east coast Canucks fan. It's bloody freezing in here! Go Canucks Go!
Hamhuis gets caught trying to pick up his stick. Ugly play. 2-2. Lupul capitalized almost immediately. That guy is such a mystery. He seems to be a 1st liner sometimes, but then he gets hurt, or hits a slump. Must be frustrating for his coaches. Canucks have hit a few posts. They reall need to get a goal here. McElhinney is in nets. We need a win here. C'mon boys.
And there it is, the inevitable Teemu Selanne goal against the Canucks. He always scores against Vancouver!!! Dammit. If he ever got traded to Chicago, I'd have to personally break his legs. Canucks are going to need a big 3rd period.
Bad penalty call on Tambellini leads to another Ducks goal. Refs immediately give them a make up call. How about you just don't call the first one refs? McElhinney has been goaltending like he drank a bunch of Tabasco. Huge stops.
4-3.. Canucks score. McElhinney is cut. Bleeding all over the place. Got hit in the mask. Hiller is going in. This should be an interesting end to the 3rd period.
There it is! Tied at 4! Great effort by Kesler. MacMillan shoved Erhoff into the boards from behind. Karma instantly jumps back at Anaheim. Should be a great OT.
End to end OT. Perry took a really stupid penalty. Almost cost them. Kesler almost got the hattrick with a mid air shot right at the buzzer.
Eurotrash skills comp is up. Weak.
Luongo forces the Ducks to beat themselves and Tambellini scores.What a beaut Tambellini is turning out to be. Would have been very very easy to lose that game. Gutsy effort to go get the two points. Kesler brings it and the Canucks are tough to stop. Even with the great Anaheim goaltending and the posts they hit, they managed to win. Defence looked very very good. Ballard is playing well. Hamhuis too. If they get Salo back and he can get up to speed for the playoffs that top 6 D is going to be very very solid.
Well, it's off to bed for this east coast Canucks fan. It's bloody freezing in here! Go Canucks Go!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Holy Snow Storm Batman!
Just took me about an hour to dig my car out. Good lord. Winter is here! Too bad it didn't snow during the Pats/Jetsgame yesterday. Wouldn't have mattered much. Man, Brady is so good it's ridiculous. Another 8-8 football pool week. Looks like a laundry day for me, cos if I give up my nicely dug out spot to go to the mall, it'll be gone in a flash. Plow just passed again, so I am re-incarcerated. Genre, l'hiver est la!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Canucks play a lackluster game
The Blues didn't play especially well, but that Ian Cole kid on D apparently has 'Sedin Vision', because he picked off 3 passes that seem to always work for Daniel and Henrik. The Blues have like 5 stud Dmen coming. If Tarasenko is any good...uh oh!
In other news, Pat Kane got hurt. Couldn't happen to a better guy. In all seriousness though, he got hurt because he turned away from the hit instead of just getting hit along the boards. That was a peewee hockey play. We'll have to see how long he is on the shelf for.
When it comes to the NFL this year, predicting the spread is all but impossible. If the Pats win tonight I'll go 8-8....just like every other week!
Snowing like crazy here. Let's hope it is in New England too, so we can have a sweet snowbound Monday Nighter. Should be a great game.
In other news, Pat Kane got hurt. Couldn't happen to a better guy. In all seriousness though, he got hurt because he turned away from the hit instead of just getting hit along the boards. That was a peewee hockey play. We'll have to see how long he is on the shelf for.
When it comes to the NFL this year, predicting the spread is all but impossible. If the Pats win tonight I'll go 8-8....just like every other week!
Snowing like crazy here. Let's hope it is in New England too, so we can have a sweet snowbound Monday Nighter. Should be a great game.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Poker and a Canucks win!
Watched the Canucks play a very tough game against Chicago. Lots of clutching, grabbing, hitting. I don't recall seeing so many players fall down during a game. Saw the end of the game during my poker game. Kept getting rid of all my red chips, because they are Blackhawks colours. Kept all my white, blue, green chips. Everybody at the table thought I was nuts, but when I had to go all in 3 times to save myself those last 300 in blue white and green chips never failed me. I came back and won. Paid for my gas for the week. The best part was having Luongo shut out the Hawks, so I didn't have to hear that shitty Fratellis song ONCE! Way to go Bobby Lou!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Canucks vs Hawks
Planning to watch the first period and then go play poker with the boys from hockey. Hopefully the Canucks won't be in the fetal position sucking their thumb by that time. Don't know what it is about Chicago, but I can never remember the Canucks playing well against them. Even when Chicago was really bad they always owned us. I think it was the 1995 playoffs when Chicago won in 4 straight and that a**hole Chris Chelios scored consecutive game winners. That started it all. My hatred of Chicago began there and has not dissapeared for a moment. Come on Canucks, make a game of it at least. I wonder what the Vegas over/under is for goals Luongo gives up... 5?...6?
ESPN/TSN has got to stop the madness!
"Heat nation" ?????? Really loser Miami Heat Coach? (No, I'm not going to look up his name, that's how ridiculous this is.) Really? OFFICIALLY sick and tired of hearing every fan base referred to as a NATION. It was cute when th RedSox did it because, well, shucks, they hadn't won in so long. It makes NO sense. I will be part of the Canucks fan base, but not part of their so-called "nation"...can we agree this is the stupidest use of a word ever?!?!? Ta-Ba-Nac!!!
At the very least, can we reserve the use of "Nation" in sports to fanbases of teams that travel really well? Or that have people spread all over the country? For example, in the CFL, only the Roughriders get to use this. There is no Alouette nation. No one outside of Montreal cares. The Riders have fans all over western Canada and have turned the last two Grey Cups into quasi home games.
In the USA, RedSox, Yankees, Cowboys, Steelers, Raiders, Patriots*, Packers*, Lakers, Celtics. End of list. Patriots and Packers are on the edge. Using the "nation" tag for any other team is beyond ridiculous. Using the word is stupid as it is, but using it for teams who carry zero interest nationally is annoying. I can't believe the guys on TSN and ESPN have to use it all the time. It must drive them nuts!
At the very least, can we reserve the use of "Nation" in sports to fanbases of teams that travel really well? Or that have people spread all over the country? For example, in the CFL, only the Roughriders get to use this. There is no Alouette nation. No one outside of Montreal cares. The Riders have fans all over western Canada and have turned the last two Grey Cups into quasi home games.
In the USA, RedSox, Yankees, Cowboys, Steelers, Raiders, Patriots*, Packers*, Lakers, Celtics. End of list. Patriots and Packers are on the edge. Using the "nation" tag for any other team is beyond ridiculous. Using the word is stupid as it is, but using it for teams who carry zero interest nationally is annoying. I can't believe the guys on TSN and ESPN have to use it all the time. It must drive them nuts!
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