Tag Archives: NFL Players

2012 Denver Broncos Preview

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Peyton Manning running no huddle offense during OTAs.

Has there ever been a team that had two totally different quarterbacks to fawn over in NFL history in back to back seasons?? Last year Tebow hysteria reigned supreme as the Broncos had 5 last second come from behind victories. His quarterback legitimacy was debated from coast to coast making Tim a national figure. Now all of a sudden, they have one of the NFL’s most iconic figures in Peyton Manning going under center for them. The Broncos have to be near the top in merchandising right now.

Going into 2012,  the questions that arise are: Does Manning have the receivers that will allow him to flourish in the Mile High City?? Is he going to have the same zip on the ball as the season wears on?? Can his teammates rise to the occasion and help Manning become only the second quarterback in league history to win championships with two different teams?? Most of these answers will be of the wait and see variety but Manning didn’t come to Denver just to continue his career. He wants to win another ring and solidify his legacy as one of the all time great quarterbacks. A quarterback winning two championships with two different teams has only happened once before in NFL history (Norm van Brocklin) and hasn’t been achieved in 52 years. Peyton…your mission should you choose to accept it…

Quarterback: Speaking of which, is it me or does this feel a lot like 1993 when Joe Montana joined the Kansas City Chiefs after a year away due to injury?? Of course the skeptics are wondering if Manning has totally healed while others marvel at the thought of him playing like the quarterback of old in a new city. Well from all accounts the zip on his passes in mini-camps has been there. The real question is will those same passes have the zip on them as we head toward the end of the season??

Not out of the question when you remember he sat out an entire season and this will be his 15th. Bouncing back from a neck injury had to retard the throwing of the football to a degree and it may show up as fatigue late in the season. The psychological fallout for an athlete recovering from injury is a delicate thing. What is uncertain is how Manning will take hits this season. Will he be guilty of looking down at the rush once he starts getting hit?? This is one of the tell-tale signs of an aging signal caller also. As we alluded to earlier, the Broncos were 23rd in sacks allowed with 42. https://taylorblitztimes.com/2012/03/19/peyton-manning-sweepstakes-ends-in-denver/ Yet his best asset is his ability to audible out of situations when he knows the blitz is coming. He will also have a running game to aid him when that does happen.  In Indianapolis he didn’t have that luxury the last five years. We’ll have to wait and see how he responds.

One of the intriguing early battle lines is the teams that have best defensed Manning will see him this year. The Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, & New England Patriots have shown the penchant to mask their blitzing intentions until the play clock was under :10 seconds, then come after him. Put him in position where he doesn’t have time to audible and then come. It’s proven to disrupt Manning and cause a few misreads. He faces the Steelers in week 1 at home but weeks 5, 9, and 15 he goes on the road to play those Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, and Baltimore Ravens. On paper he’s still a Super Bowl quarterback and this will be an interesting season.

McGahee was a workhorse for the Broncos last year.

Offensive Backfield: By all accounts this was a really sound rushing attack last season. Willis McGahee resurrected a career rushing for his 4th 1,000 yard season for his 3rd team. In 2011, McGahee ran for 1,199 yards on 249 carries and averaged a gaudy 4.8 yard average. However he’ll be 31 years old in October and his years are few as a featured back. In fact his play came about with the inability of Knowshon Moreno to remain healthy and has become a point of diminishing returns for the Denver Broncos.

To that avail the Broncos will go with McGahee’s more physical style and turn to 3rd round draft pick Ronnie Hillman from San Diego State barring any injury. At 5’9, 200 lbs, Hillman is a straight ahead runner with little side to side shiftiness. Reminds The Chancellor of Olandis Gary from a few years back. One cut and go… If Hillman has a good camp Moreno should be cut this preseason. Running back should be of playoff quality in Denver.

Receivers: So here it is, you’re a receiver for the Denver Broncos in the off-season. After your morning yawn and stretch you click on your computer or turn on the television and see your team just signed Peyton Manning to be your quarterback. Would that be the equivalent of Christmas in July?? For Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas, this off-season must have flown by now that they have one of the league’s best passers in-house. The wideout who stands to be the go to guy will be Decker. He will look to improve on last year’s 44  reception 612 yard season that saw him score 8 times. He grew up in a major way last year amid pedestrian quarterbacking and is the shiftier route runner of the two. Thomas is a big receiver at 6’3, 230 pounds and doesn’t really fit the mold of the receivers Manning has had during his career. We look to a new receiver across from Decker by the time the season begins. Whether it’s another free agent brought in or if Andre Caldwell or Jason Hill can quickly pick up the offense will decide on if this team can take to the air or not.

One receiver that will figure prominently will be TE Jacob Tamme. Where he was a second tight end and third option early in his career, he will become the safety outlet Manning needs. Two years ago in Indy he proved to be valuable with a 67 catch season and should finish with 80 or more in 2012. Until a solid receiver unseats Thomas this position is slightly below average and could force the Broncos to be a running team once again.

Peyton Manning’s new bodyguard Ryan Clady

Offensive Line: Well the ink is just drying on the contract extension that locks up LT Ryan Clady that should allow Manning to remain upright. This Boise St product has proven to be the best young tackle in the game today. Its paramount the line protects better than last year’s performance with 42 sacks allowed. However it was a three-fold issue. Clady didn’t have as a good a year as he had wanted giving up 9 sacks. Once you couple that with Tim Tebow scrambling around and inexperienced receivers not being able to get open and you see why the sacks totals were so high.

The line is relatively young with its most senior member G Chris Kuper entering his 7th season. They will rely on Manning getting rid of the ball quicker to lower the quarterback hits from 68 a year ago also. It was this group that led the Broncos to the #1 ranking when it comes to rushing the football. Every RB posted an average attempt better than 4.2 yards while McGahee and Moreno each averaged a gaudy 4.8. The league average is roughly 4.0 so you can see how effective this group was. This is a Super Bowl quality offensive line yet needs some help at receiver and looks to Manning’s quick decisions to improve their protection stats.

Defensive Line: Last year’s defense was extremely opportunistic while keeping games close. Overall their ranking was 20th yet tied for 10th in sacks with 41, 9.5 of them from Pro Bowl End Elvis Dumervil. They played well enough at the end of games however the first 3 quarters they gave a lot of ground. The Broncos used a hodge podge defensive front of Dumervil (33 tackles/ 9.5 sacks), Robert Ayers (41 tackles /3 sacks) on the ends, and Broderick Bunkley (48 tackles)  and Marcus Thomas (46 tackles) who manned the middle. This group gave up a lot of ground at 22nd against the run. To that avail 1st round draft pick Derek Wolfe out of Cincinnati will have a chance to start. Another was used on Malik Jackson from Tennessee in the 5th round. He should see some time opposite Dumervil on pass rushing situations. Right now he may be too green to play immediately as an every down lineman. It should shape up to be a good camp and right now the grade for this group is slightly below average. Let’s see how they come out of the summer.

The Broncos hit a home run with rookie linebacker Von Miller.

Linebackers: The real strength of this defense lies right here. Von Miller made the Pro Bowl as a rookie and had the most impact at his position this division has seen since Derrick Thomas. After a 65 tackle, 11.5 sack, 3 forced fumble season it will be interesting to see what he does for an encore. With Dumervil 100% and a young pass rusher in Malik Jackson this team could form the fiercest rush in the AFC. Only a monster of a rookie season would have us list Miller over the team’s leading tackler. All DJ Williams (The [[_]]) did was make 97 total tackles, 5 sacks while forcing 2 fumbles. Despite missing 3 games. Fast, active and aggressive were fellow linebackers were Wesley Woodyard (90 tackles) and Joe Mays (83 tackles). That was good enough for the top 3 tackling spots and 4 of the top 5.

The only issue is they need to make a few plays while the ball is in the air. Not a single interception from the group and only 11 passes defended between the 4 of them.  They’re young enough that they should see some improvement in 2012. This a playoff caliber group and if the play is more instinctive against the pass and there isn’t a sophomore slump from Miller, this group can be Super Bowl caliber.

Secondary: How abysmal can an NFL secondary be?? This team could get after the passer and all this group could muster was 9 interceptions?? In fact they are one of only two teams that had more than 40 sacks and single digit interception which tied them for second to last in the NFL. Terrible. The Chancellor has always felt Champ Bailey is overrated. Last year he did make the Pro Bowl with a  40 tackle, 2 interception season with 10 passes defended. Seriously?? The kid corners in New England had better seasons than that. It may also illustrate going into his 14th season, Bailey may no longer be an elite athlete. Keep your eye on his coverage later this season as his play might slip as the bumps and bruises pile up.

Former Saint Tracy Porter signed a one year deal with the Broncos.

Broncos brass really felt the need to do something with their weak play on the corner. They released Andre Goodman in April and signed Drayton Florence. Yet it’s the ghost of Super Bowl XLIV past that will be the starter opposite Bailey in former Saint CB Tracy Porter. You remember him don’t you?? He was the one that sealed Peyton Manning’s fate in the Super Bowl with his 74 yard interception return for a touchdown. He’s only going into his fifth season, runs a 4.37 / 40 and should be the starter for several years to come. We say that because he signed a one year deal and he’s playing for his long-term future. Another intriguing player will be 4th round pick Omar Bolden who will make the team.

After a season where neither safety intercepted a pass it was time to move on with SS Brian Dawkins. A great leader who was tough against the run yet a liability against the pass. Right now they have 5 safeties on the roster and we could see two new safeties back there. Keep your eye on second year safety Rahim Moore #26.  Has a lot of range and should have learned a ton from an old pro like Dawkins. As a secondary this group has made enough moves to be average this season.

Overall: Under normal circumstances, Peyton Manning should mean 4-5 more wins this year for the Denver Broncos. However there are too many holes in the receiving corps. Too bad they didn’t keep Brandon Lloyd and Eddie Royal around. These guys would have flourished with Manning. However the Broncos wouldn’t have landed DE Malik Jackson had they not dealt Lloyd. Nevertheless, the other side of the equation is everyone is expecting the Manning of old. If the Broncos try to throw it around like the 2005-2010 Colts, this team could have a losing record in 2012. They will have to play more like the 1999-2004 Colts team that ran the ball more with Egerrin James (The [[_]]) and they can with McGahee (The [[_]]). Use play action and let Manning ease into throwing more moderately than he did in his latter Colt years. This will rest a defense that was thrown into too many bad situations last year. When teams could move on them…they were blown away. The Broncos will struggle on offense early and will hit their stride by midseason. All told this team should be able to move to a record of 9-7 if Manning can hold up the full season. With a murderous start of Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Houston Texans before Manning gets baptized in the Broncos / Raiders rivalry. They will start 2-2 at best.

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Next up: Cincinnati Bengals

 

Ray Rice Signs 5 Year Deal Worth $35 Million

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Rice gets new deal.

Just a few hours after Matt Forte gets his mutl-year contract for the Bears, Rice gets his. The agreement calls for 5 years  $35 million dollars with $17 to be paid in the first year alone. The suspicion on the wear and tear aspect may have a lot to do with why the  contract is so front loaded.  If a deal or release happens in 3- 4 years the cap penalty won’t be so heavy. https://taylorblitztimes.com/2012/07/13/2012-baltimore-ravens-preview/  In all reality it depends on if he is in Baltimore for the entirety of this contract. The Chancellor highly doubts it.

The Ravens feel as though they are primed for a Super Bowl run and Rice is the key to the offense. He accounted for nearly 40 % of their yardage from scrimmage and led the team in receptions with 76. The Ravens have to get him some relief. Unlike Forte in Chicago, there are no big name receivers to draw attention away from Rice. We believe in the present, he can only shoulder that heavy a workload for one more year. The Ravens are hoping it’s enough to get them to a Super Bowl

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Matt Forte Signs A 4 Year Deal Worth $32 Million

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On the deadline to lock up your franchise player, Matt Forte signs a four year deal and should solidify the Bears offense this season. With Jay Cutler being reunited with WR Brandon Marshall, this could be the best offense the Windy City has seen in years. Forte is a space runner and flourishes on screens and draws. He should project out to 2,200 yards from scrimmage if this offense can hit the field healthy this season.

At 26, a four year deal was good for both Forte and the Bears organization. Teams are reluctant to pay running backs as they near 30 years of age and the Bears should have a succession in place by then. Forte has been a solid player who looks like he has many years left. He’s a slippery runner who rarely takes the solid hit. Compare this with the reluctance the Baltimore Ravens are taking with Ray Rice. Each runner was franchised but there is a growing suspicion that Rice may be on the verge of wearing down from a heavy sustained workload. He also takes a lot more solid hits than Forte and it may show up shortly. Rice still hasn’t signed his tenure and wants a longer deal like Forte.

Brandon Marshall and Forte need each other for this to work. If teams are keeping their safeties back and outside linebacker to Marshall’s side watching for outs, hooks and slants, Forte will have more space to operate than ever before. The NFC North is weak when it comes to outside linebacker play as well. Whether rushing or receiving this is going to open up for the Bears beautifully.

As for the Bears as a franchise, remember the sentiment that Michael McCaskey was handicapping his team with offseason inactivity?? You can lay that claim to rest. The trading for QB Jay Cutler, signing big time free agent Julius Peppers a few seasons back, then bringing in Marshall from Miami for cheap. The Bears front office deserves some credit for not overspending and finding players for specific points. They’ve kept the nucleus of the team together (Lance Briggs withstanding) while becoming a player in free agency. In reality the current roster has about a 4 year window to reach the Super Bowl. The aforementioned players and those of Devin Hester, Urlacher, “Peanut” Tillman are all in their prime. Do they have enough to cool down the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers??

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2012 Detroit Lions Preview

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After more than a decade of futility, the Detroit Lions returned to the NFL playoffs. Yet they served notice in the season finale, a 44-41 loss to Green Bay, and their 45-28 loss to the Saints in the NFC Wild Card game, that they’re a team on the move. In those games they weren’t overwhelmed as much as just slightly outclassed by two teams that were NFL Champions in two of the last three years. Much like the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA, you’re watching a team grow right before you with a run against the best their sport has to offer which will allow them to mature into champions. Will it happen this year??? Do you realize they did it without their best offensive draft pick in RB Mikel LeShoure, who missed the season with an injured knee??

Quarterback: Now last year we told you a Lion turnaround was imminent yet couldn’t happen without a healthy season from Matthew Stafford. https://taylorblitztimes.com/2011/05/19/2011-detroit-lions-preview/ Yet who could foresee the type of record  setting season he turned in. For the season, his 421 of 663 for 5,038 yards for 41 touchdowns to just 16 interceptions shattered team records. He joined Dan Marino, Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady as the only other quarterbacks who threw for more than  40 touchdowns in a season. Only three other quarterbacks in history had thrown for more than 5,000 yards either. Not bad for a QB completing his first healthy season.

One aspect of his value is how he improved as the season went on. In the Thanksgiving Day game where the Lions could make the leap to NFL elite status with a win over the Packers, Stafford turned in a subpar performance throwing for 276 yards & 3 interceptions in a 27-15 loss. Five weeks later he turned in a performance for the ages throwing for 520 yards and 5 TDs including a last minute touchdown drive in Lambeau Field. Although the Lions lost 44-41, he had come within 32 yards of breaking Norm Van Brocklin’s 62 year old record of 551 yards in a game. In this game he showed the go for broke moxie he displayed in bringing the Lions from behind as he had at Oakland two games prior. He grew as the season progressed and stands to come into 2012 as one of the NFL’s best. At quarterback the Lions are Super Bowl quality.

Versatile Jahvid Best

Offensive Backfield: Injuries forced this backfield to be in flux in 2011. When 2nd round draft pick Mikel Leshoure went down with an achille’s injury, Jahvid Best was forced to be a feature back when he’s more of a 3rd down guy. Best’s season was down production-wise in 2011 which saw him rush for only 390 yards and 2 scores, while catching 27 passes for 287 yards and another touchdown. He had 58 receptions in 2010 but a heavier workload saw him face time lost due to injury as well.

Although the team had to go running back by committee, each of the top three rushers on this team averaged 4 yards per carry or better. Kevin Smith #30 was the most productive back last year (72 car. 356 yds 4TDs) with a 4.9 yard average. Yet he also saw down time nicked with injuries. Lions’s brass must feel good about Mikel Leshoure’s recovery since they haven’t gone out to sign a more full time running back. http://prod.www.lions.clubs.nfl.com/news/lions-insider/article-1/RB-Mikel-Leshoure-participates-in-full-practice-for-first-time-since-Achilles-injury/ced9adaf-f263-4e05-a58d-66f0c3e3887d In fact he took several snaps in the June minicamp and came off looking like he was 100% healthy and ready for the new season. For those of you who can’t remember, he ran for over 300 yards in a game for the Illini and over 1,700 yards in his last collegiate season. He is 6’0 and 227 lbs, and an every down back. If he comes back 100% and takes the starting job, running back is average with a chance to be good. We have to wait and see… If he’s hurt and the backfield is thrown in flux again they drop back to below average…

Is a 2,000 yard season possible for Calvin Johnson?

Receivers: What else can be said of the electrifying talents of Calvin “Megatron” Johnson?? Going into last year, we felt he could possibly go for 90-100 receptions and 1,500 yards and he did not disappoint. Johnson’s 96 receptions for 1,681 yards  16 TDs made him a consensus All Pro. For the better part of the season he was on pace to break both Randy Moss’ touchdown record of 23 and Jerry Rice’s record of 1,808 receiving yards set in 1995. Do you realize he only needs 1,128 yards to hit the 7,000 yard mark for his career?? He’s the best weapon in the game today and his 11 catches for a team record 244 yards in the last game of the season put the Green Bay Packers and the rest of the league on notice. “Megatron” will flirt with a 2,000 yard season this year.

Last year this team received steady play from veteran Nate Burleson (73 rec / 757 yds) although he only caught 3 touchdowns. Will he be able to stay on the field with the Lions making Oklahoma wideout Ryan Broyles their 2nd round pick in the draft?? Keep in mind last year’s 2nd round pick Titus Young, from Boise St came on in the second half of the season. Of his 48 rec. for 607 yards and 6 touchdowns, 29 of those catches and 5 scores came in the second half of the season. All of this before we get to talented TE Brandon Pettigrew… No wonder this team couldn’t be stopped throwing the football. Even without a running game. This is already a Super Bowl caliber receiving corps. If Broyles can make the transition and come on late in the season…. dare we say it??

Offensive Line: This offensive line had mixed reviews last season as the team needs to protect Stafford better, they let him get hit 78 times last year along with 36 sacks. Too much for a quarterback who before last year had proven to be injury prone. To that avail the Lions made T Riley Reiff their #1 draft selection to help fortify the line. The question is will he fight for Left Tackle Jeff Backus’ job or Gosder Cherilus on the right?? Both tackles are  former #1 selections but Backus is going to be 34 years old when they go into camp. He will take over for Backus at Left Tackle later but he should unseat Cherilus as the starter on the right now. Why??

When you look at the statistics for this line everyone is expendable. On obvious rushing downs where it is 3rd or 4th and 2 or less, this team could only rush for the first down 57% of the time to the left, 54% of the time up the middle and 40% on the strong side. Are you serious?? Those rankings are 26th, 23rd, and 31st and have to improve. The strong side is your power rushing side and you need to have push. Have attitude about it. Yet how much can you attribute that to their not having their best running back out there for the season?? On second thought, it doesn’t matter we’re only talking 2 yards so the line has to take the blame for those short comings. This line had better play better or it could be the weak link that allows a promising team to fall to injury or short of it’s goal. Even with improvement this group still receives a below average grade.

Cliff Avril had a breakout year in 2011 and could hit the 15 sack plateau this year.

Defensive Line: This unit is one of the team’s strengths. Of the 41 sacks (10th in the NFL) last year, 19 came from Defensive Ends Cliff Avril with 11, and Kyle Vanden Bosch with 8. Avril has learned a tremendous amount from his counterpart and coming into his 5th season and 4th straight with improved sack totals, we see a Pro Bowl year for him with 15 sacks. The defensive ends did benefit from the attention DT Ndamukong Suh drew after his stellar rookie campaign. Suh suffered a sophomore slump though with 39 tackles and 4 sacks which was down from his 66 tackle 10 sack performance from a season before. The frustration for Suh boiled over with several personal foul calls when he lost his composure. The most visible was his ejection after kicking a Green Bay Packer lineman in a national televised game on Thanksgiving.

They need him to lead by example especially with fellow DT Nick Fairley coming into camp injury free and with the same temprament. Fairley needs to show up to back his high draft status and give Lions fans what they’ve been envisioning since his selection. If these two can channel that fire and brimstone energy into just going after running backs and quarterbacks, this group is good and can make the transition to Super Bowl quality if Fairley can start and make plays for the Lions. It’s critical to the team’s overall psyche and growth when players start to reach their potential

Former Tennessee Titan Stephen Tulloch fortified the middle of the Lions defense.

Linebackers: This is an uninspiring group at first glance and just like we said before last year they could use a free agent pick-up here. In space, The Chancellor doesn’t like the play of DeAndre Levy he seems stiff out in the open and a step slow reacting to plays. His great speed masks it to the layman football watcher but coaches can and do take advantage of that with intermediate passing routes to his flank. He moved back from the middle after playing inside for 2010. He did make a respectable 109 tackles but only forced 1 fumble and only defensed 1 pass. He needs to play more instinctive, especially behind this line. In Super Bowl XXXV, Ray Lewis playing in a 4-3, defensed 5 passes in that game himself!! So asking for more than 1 pass defensed over an entire season isn’t being difficult. Hopefully he can play more instinctive in his second season back outside.

Now one player who did play well last year was Middle Linebacker Stephen Tulloch #55. Of the Lions’ back 7 on defense, he was the most consistent performer with 127 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 7 passes defensed. He’s in his prime and for management’s sake should hope his improvement can be mirrored by Levy. The Lions are looking to shake things up at linebacker and selected two in the draft who seem to be paying dividends in OTAs already. Fifth round pick Tahir Whitehead out of Temple, and seventh round pick Travis Lewis from Sooner Nation. We think Travis Lewis will get on the field and replace Justin Durant by season’s end. If the Lions can get these young linebackers making plays this could be an above average group. As of right now we have to give them a below average grade and see how the position battles of summer camp pan out.

Houston had a big year in 2011. Pro Bowl in 2012??

Secondary: What is FS Louis Delmas back there reading?? Although he missed 5 games, he made 61 total tackles yet didn’t register 1 interception for a second straight season. This is one of the reasons the team finished with 21 interceptions while giving up 26 touchdowns and finished 22nd against the pass. With a pass rush this strong more plays needed to be made by the safeties. Delmas makes big hits but needs to arrive two steps before and make the interception. He has to show up this season. Amari Spivey improved in 2011 yet needs to step it up just a little bit more. In 2011 he made 75 tackles (up from 33 in 2010) intercepted 3 passes and had 1 sack. At cornerback Chris Houston (56 tackles / 5 ints) was solid although Houston missed 3 games. Chris proved to be the playmaker on this defense returning those 5 interceptions for a whopping 225 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Lions made a serious statement in the draft taking 3 secondary players: CB Dwight Bentley in round 3, CB Chris Greenwood in round 5, and Jonte Green in round 7. They were prepared to replace CB Eric Wright, who departed via free agency and penciled nickel back Aaron Berry as the starter. Competition should be fierce for this cornerback spot with the signing of former Indianapolis Colt Jacob Lacey. This team has a few “ifs” in the secondary yet if they can stay healthy and Delmas can begin to read quarterbacks this secondary can be good. We have to wait until after training camp to find that out so they get a slightly below average grade for now.

Stafford needs to be healthy to take the Lions deep in the playoffs.

Overall: This team grew up in a major way last season. However, Head Coach Jim Schwartz has to get his team’s head out of the clouds and clean up the off the field issues. He has to keep his players from thinking they have arrived because of a little success. This is where he has to prove his mettle this year. One thing the Lions have this year is a relatively easy schedule, http://www.detroitlions.com/assets/pdf/2012_Det_Schedule.pdf They don’t play the bulk of their division rivals until we get to the second half of the season. More important they play 5 of their last 7 at home and the team should have growing pains ironed out by then.  One game to circle is the week 6 matchup with Philadelphia. Each team wants to prove they are among the NFC elite and this game will have wildcard ramifications if either doesn’t finish strong. The winner of this game will have a championship building block level of confidence come playoff time.

The health of Mikel Leshoure and the running game, an explosive Nick Fairley to add nastiness to the defense and further bolster a strong pass rush, and an improved Delmas could pay huge dividends if all come to pass. How huge?? A trip to Super Bowl XLVII down in New Orleans awaits them if they do. Last year they went 10-6 and fought tooth and nail in their final games and playoff loss.  We shall see how the preseason shakes out but this season just like last year, should end in the Super Dome.

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NEXT: Baltimore Ravens

The Soul of The Game: Remembering Joe Delaney

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On this date in 1983, the Kansas City Chiefs and the football world were shocked to hear Joe Delaney had died. He had been a lightning rod of excitement for two years as their featured back after being drafted out of Northwestern State. The Chiefs franchise had been down for the better part of a decade when Delaney burst onto the scene in 1981.

He ran for 1,121 yards on 234 carries with 3 TDs while winning AFC Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl honors. He was the team’s lone legitimate star. He set the Chiefs all time rushing record of 196 yards against the Houston Oilers with Earl Campbell on the other sideline.

The strike shortened year of 1982 saw his numbers cut down significantly having only played 9 games. He was nicked with injuries and defenses were better prepared for him as he rushed for only 380 yards. He had the same injury that Sugar Ray Leonard made famous a year earlier, a detached retina. Yet what was going to be a bounce back year in 1983 for him didn’t come to be.

Aside from his untimely death, it’s sad to think what might have been. How great could he have possibly become as a player, father, or man of his community. As you’ll see in the short film he was one to donate his time to the youth of Houghton, Louisiana.

His loss was felt all around the NFL as teammates and foe alike all pondered what might have been. On October 7, 1984 at the press conference when Walter Payton broke Jim Brown’s NFL All Time rushing record, Joe Delaney’s name was the first he mentioned when he spoke of those with the same spirit that were unable to complete their careers who died before their time.

Joe Delaney left us 29 years ago today. His number 37 was retired for the Kansas City Chiefs and his #44 from Northwestern State was also retired. He was enshrined in the Chief’s Ring of Honor and team Hall of Fame. Gone but never forgotten and definitely a hero always.

Dedicated in remembrance of Joe Delaney (October 30, 1958 – June 29, 1983)

The Chancellor Weighs In: LaDainian Tomlinson Retires

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Tomlinson set to retire as a Charger on Monday.

We’re hours away from the retirement of a future Hall of Famer when Tomlinson takes the podium. In the history of the NFL, Tomlinson is an evolutionary link to great runners of the past.  Ernie Nevers, Steve Van Buren, Jim Brown, OJ Simpson Continue reading →