Denver Post sports columnist Woody Paige posts Woody’s Mailbag every Thursday on DenverPost.com.
To drop a sports-related question into Woody’s Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s . And to browse the archive of videos in Woody’s World, .
Hey, Woody. What do you expect from this year? Much improvement?
— Mike, Denver
Mike – I think he’ll be vastly improved. Do you want three or four reasons? The spread, no-huddle offense they installed in the spring will work to his advantage because he can use his intelligence (and he and Cutler are streetwise) and also get outside the rush, because his height is his biggest problem. Other than he’s not much of a scrambler and his arm isn’t that strong. Those are pretty big negatives. But he’ll have help at running back, if what we’re told about is true, and the wide-receiving corps was thin and very weak last year, and that should be an improved area.
Hawkins never will be an All-American or a pro, but he’s going to be a solid college quarterback if they can find some help in the secondary, and they get more depth. That top 20 recruiting class will help. Problem is, I see the Buffs losing five, six games even with improvement — Kansas, Missouri, Florida State, West Virginia, Texas, maybe Kansas State, maybe Nebraska. They’ll sneak up on one, as they did last year, but five road games? Too many. And a sixth in Denver. They’re still a year or two away, probably, too. It took Bill McCartney a while, and he was the greatest recruiter in the country.
Hey, Woody. Do you think Jeff Francis can return to form? He was pretty solid last year. Or is it wishful thinking?
— Rex, Denver
Rex – I hope Jeff can come back strong. He was the Rockies’ ace, and I think we all agonized this season when he struggled. I guess we’ll start out to find out.
Woody – Please give me three or four solid reasons and explanations of why I should be confident in Jay Cutler. Please? I really want to be.
— Lehman, Colorado
1. He is smart.
2. He is good.
3. He has a great arm.
4. He will be in his third season.
5. Oh, you wanted three or four.
6. Cutler’s number. The same as the number of points for a touchdown.
7. Seven. No, that’s John Elway.
8. Mike Shanahan does have a way with quarterbacks, despite what some think. As Shanahan said to me the other day when I said he had never won a Super Bowl in Denver without Elway, he replied: “John never won a Super Bowl without me.” Good point. Shanahan did win one with Steve Young. He made Brian Griese better than he really was, and Bubby Brister couldn’t remember three or four plays, and he played pretty well for a while under Shanahan. Jake The Snake got to an AFC championship game with Shanahan.
9. Running game.
10. Improved line play. The Broncos’ line stunk after Tom Nalen and Ben Hamilton got hurt.
11. Cutler knows what his physical problem is now — diabetes — and he knows how to control it, and I think he’ll be improved because he won’t lose 30 pounds and strength in his arm and body during the season.
12. A better defense makes for a better quarterback.
13. This number is unlucky, unless your name is Dan Marino or Wilt Chamberlain.
14. You should have confidence in him because I said so.
Woody – What did you think about ?
— Andrea, Brighton
Andrea – Here’s the inside story, and that’s what we all want. I had spent about 1 1/2 hours in Shanahan’s office interviewing him and just talking, and when we came out Smith was standing there talking with Pat Bowlen. I shook Smith’s hand and congratulated him on an incredible career and wished him well, and he asked if I was coming to his retirement speech, and I said, yeah, sure, was planning on it. He said he was going to thank me.
Had no idea why. Then, in the conference room, he did the thing about my column inspiring him to have a great career, and I had no idea what I had written and didn’t have a copy of it. The Post ran the column the next day, and I had to laugh. That was Shanahan’s first game as head coach, an exhibition against San Fran, and it was Saturday night and an awful game, and I had no time afterward to write much, so I just rambled on and wrote things like: “Jason Elam can kick.” Oh, really. And I said Ed McCaffrey could play. And he could, it was proven out. And I mentioned that Smith had called for a fair catch inside his 10, and you could dismiss that as nervousness (he was on the practice squad the year before), but the second fair catch inside the 10 was not smart, and he had to share the blame with the coaches. And what I wrote was: “I’m afraid if they throw him a swing pass he’ll call a fair catch.”
It was a joke, of course. But Smith said he would prove me wrong, and he had a great career, and I got none of the money or the glory, and he even said he never read anything I wrote again, although he did say I was very good at what I do, and how would he know without reading me? I laughed. And I knew nobody in the media would use what he said because they didn’t want to acknowledge it. But if he had said it about somebody from Channel 9, it would have been the No. 1 story on the news for the next four days.
You probably don’t remember, but the Jacksonville Jaguars gave me credit for them upsetting the Broncos in the playoffs because of what I wrote, and the Utah Jazz once said I was the reason they beat the Nuggets in the playoffs. I personally don’t think I had any effect. If I have that kind of power, I should be out doing seminars. Can’t even motivate myself to take out the garbage tonight.
How come everyone puts Allen Iverson down? He has been the Nuggets’ best player, in my opinion, and he brings it every night.
— James, Michigan
James of Michigan, not to be confused with Mutual of Omaha: Not everyone puts Iverson down. I personally like him, and I like his attitude and the way he’s willing to throw his body into every game. But it hasn’t been working with him and Carmelo Anthony, honestly. Neither can play defense, and he’s probably hurt Anthony’s growth.
Allen should shoot less, drive more and pass more often when he drives. Truth is, his salary, combined with Anthony’s, Kenyon Martin’s and Nene’s, has restricted what the Nuggets could do to acquire other players. It was proven that team couldn’t win the championship, much less a series. If they had a great point guard, or if Allen would become a full-time point guard, and have J.R. Smith as the shooting guard, it might work. But he’ll be gone after next season. It’s kind of like Jason Kidd. Not quite all there anymore. They tried; I supported the move; it didn’t work out in the Western Conference.
Woody – If you had to pick one event to watch at this year, what would it be? Please don’t say gymnastics. Thanks.
— Jesse, Denver
Jesse – I’ve been to more than a dozen Olympics and chose not to go this year. I’ve seen a wall and been in pollution, and , our other columnist, really wanted to go — he has some thing for China — and I have commitments and Broncos and Rockies to cover, and more than you want to know. But I’ve always loved the Olympics, visiting other countries and learning about their culture, and that’s more important to me than the sports.
Nevertheless, in the Summer Olympics, I’ve always loved the track and field, on the world stage, in these great arenas in Barcelona and Athens and Australia and Los Angeles. The 100-yard dash puts me out of my mind. I watched Marion Jones in her every event in Sydney, and I don’t think many people are more disappointed than I am in what she was and has become.
I loved the marathon in Athens and the women’s hammer throw in the original Olympic stadia. Watching The Dream Team in ’82 was special. I went with the players to Monte Carlo beforehand and hung out with them, and then seeing Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, et al., show the world how to play basketball — look what’s happened since, with all the kids from Europe and around the world who saw and became world-class and NBA players.
I saw Rulon Gardner pull off the biggest individual upset in Olympic history, at an event nobody else from The Post wanted to cover, so I went, and I’ll never forget, and Rulon and I have become very good friends as a result, and he’s one of the classiest people I ever met. I like watching the minor sports as well as the sports, like swimming, that get almost no coverage the rest of the time. I do like gymnastics, or a taste of it, and that was fun when the men won in L.A., the first time I’d ever covered the event, and the women in Atlanta in ’96.
I will miss it. Thanks for asking.
I’m a diehard fan from New Jersey. What are the chances of getting an autograph from a player if I sent something in the mail?
— Josh, New Jersey
Diehard fan of what sport, Josh. Oh, that’s right. New Jersey.
Depends. If you want a Rapids autograph, you can probably get them to bring it to your house. It depends on the players and the sport, I would guess. Hockey players tend to be the nicest guys and probably will respond. The others, I don’t know. I don’t ask. I would suggest you write to the players in care of their teams and ask, and then let us all know if you get any back. We will wait patiently.
I promised myself a long time ago I would never ask for an autograph. My daughter loved a gymnast. Are you listening, Jesse? Mary Lou Retton. But at the Olympics, even though I thought about breaking my rule for a moment, couldn’t do it. Don’t think my daughter has ever forgiven me. Newspapers now have a rule against it.
If you are a basketball or a hockey fan of Denver teams, go to the arena when they come that way. Better, what I usually see is that people go to the teams’ hotels, and the players usually will sign in the lobby. Same with Rockies and Broncos.
I hate to admit this, but everyone who asks me for an autograph, and that’s a couple of hundred a month now, I send a photo. It costs me a lot of money because nobody every sends a self-addressed envelope with a stamp, and, oddly enough, nobody ever sends a thank-you e-mail. I’ve gotten requests this week from soldiers in Iraq, which is meaningful, and people in India, Finland, Germany, England and Nebraska. My ESPN show is on everywhere in the world, including Nebraska.
Woody Paige first joined The Denver Post in 1981 as a sports columnist. To drop a question into Woody’s Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
