A Brokeback Mountain of notes …
Will the Broncos get back to the AFC championship game in 2007? Depends on whether Mike Shanahan the GM gets the job done for Mike Shanahan the coach.
The Broncos have the usual issues involving a handful of potential free agents, most notably Matt Lepsis and Tom Nalen. But Shanahan, armed with an extra No. 1 pick and a compensatory pick for losing Reggie Hayward, needs to hit it big in the draft.
Frankly, it’s something he hasn’t done enough. Not compared to the team that just left Our Town with the AFC championship trophy in tow. Fact: Of the Steelers’ 22 starters, 20 were draft picks or college free agents. Of the Broncos’ starters, 13 fell under those categories. …
Stat to keep in mind when projecting the Broncos’ draft needs: They had three players – Trevor Pryce, Ebenezer Ekuban and John Lynch – tie for the team lead with four sacks, a figure that ranked 68th in the league. …
Amazing fact in the aftermath of the Steelers’ big dubya: The game was their third straight on the road, a scenario no player on their roster had faced in his career. The last time they played back-to-back-to-back games was in 1994. …
And to think, the third game was at altitude. Weren’t they supposed to be the ones who were tired? …
To paraphrase my man Willie Shakespeare, T.O. or not T.O., that is the question. A handful of Broncos players have endorsed a Terrell Owens-to-Denver move, but they might want to be careful what they ask for. …
By the way, do you realize it’s been 10 days since the Broncos won a playoff game without John Elway? …
Domonique Foxworth, he of the crucial dropped interception in Sunday’s game, when asked if he would make that catch 99 times out of 100: “At least.” …
The best fiction I’ve read lately? John Grisham‘s “The Broker” and Ben Roethlisberger‘s listed weight (241) on the Steelers’ roster. Two forty-one. Pounds or Volkswagens? …
By Pryce’s estimate, Big Ben goes 260 and a bagel. Add 270-pound Jerome Bettis into the equation and things could have been worse for the Broncos. They could have been facing the Steelers in a hot dog-eating contest. …
Roethlisberger, by the way, has lost one road game in his first two NFL seasons. Eli Manning, drafted 10 notches ahead of him in 2004, didn’t win his first road game until midway through his second season. …
Update from the coaches’ carousel: Don’t be surprised to see former Broncos tight ends coach Brian Pariani, who left to become Greg Robinson‘s offensive coordinator at Syracuse, join Gary Kubiak‘s staff in Houston. …
Wondering why Kubiak would want the Texans job? Said Archie Manning during a visit to Our Town last week to promote MasterCard’s PayPass program, “To me, the two best jobs out there are Houston and Detroit.” It’s called high draft picks, tons of cap room, cash-cow stadiums and commitment from ownership. …
Manning, a New Orleans resident, on the Saints’ future in the city: “There was a chance they weren’t coming back at all, and now that they’re back, it’s a struggle. I see it as a two- or three-year window. That’s how long we’ve got to prove to the NFL that we can support the team. I can’t tell you what I feel about Paul Tagliabue and what the league is doing. He basically told our owner (Tom Benson), ‘You can’t move.”‘ …
Honk if you care whether A-Rod plays in the World Baseball Classic. Thought so. …
Whatever you do in the next couple of weeks, be happy for Mike Holmgren, one of the classiest acts in the NFL. …
So Maria Sharapova and Andy Roddick reportedly are an item. Sharapova is gorgeous, athletic and rich, and has been spotted hanging out several times while Roddick plays poker in Australia. Talk about too good to be true. She must cook worse than Hannibal Lecter.
Catch Jim Armstrong from 6-9 a.m. during “The Press Box” on ESPN 560 AM. He can be reached at 303-820-5452 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.
