Elam, no longer Number One

Jason Elam Broncos Kicker
Jason Elam, long time kicker for the Denver Broncos, has left the building. A four year, $9 million offer from the Atlanta Falcons was just too good to pass up. At 38, I can’t really blame him.

Personally, the thing I will miss most about Elam isn’t his great kicking. What I will miss is his number. My sister and I have a long standing joke, I always tease her about being “Number One” and threaten to get her an Elam Jersey.

They are probably on discount now, maybe I’ll do a little early birthday shopping.

Broncos Game – Recap

I was fortunate enough to attend my first NFL game when my friend Sarah invited me to Saturday night’s pre-season Denver Broncos game. While I am an avid professional football fan, this was the first time I had ever been to a pro game live. While I had a great time, and really appreciate Sarah taking me, I don’t think I will go to another.

The amazing thing about an NFL game is that nobody really seems to watch the game. when I watch a game at home I am bombarded by three hours of play-by-play action by at LEAST two announcers. They give background information, stats analysis, and replays for BOTH teams. Invesco Field had two big screens that showed replays and information on the Broncos, but nearly nothing on their opponents, the Cleveland Browns. From my upper deck seat I couldn’t make out the name of any Browns players. I really felt like I only got to watch half a football game.

Again, this is not a critque of the evening. I had a great time, but I care too much about the game to watch another one live. I would much rather watch Jay Cutler fumble snaps and throw incompletions in the comfort of my own home, where I can switch over to Peyton Manning when I get frustrated…

Plummer out, Cutler in

Denver Broncos coach, Mike Shanahan announced today that rookie Jay Cutler will be the starting quarterback next week against the Seattle Seahawks replacing Jake Plummer.

This is a big decision for Shanahan. I've always liked Plummer, even back to his days at ASU. It is unfortunate the Broncos haven't been able to return to the Super Bowl with Plummer at the helm. It's not clear if the problem is with Plummer or if it's Jake's supporting cast, but the overall ineffectiveness of the Broncos offense this year is undeniable.

Part of me hopes that Cutler can step in and take the Broncos to the playoffs. Another part of me hopes that Plummer will be vindicated and Cutler will fall flat on his face. No matter what, you can be sure Denver fans will be merciless to the new guy. First bad game he has they will be burning a Cutler effigy in the Mile High parking lot…