Denver Post sports columnist Woody Paige posts Woody’s Mailbag every Thursday on DenverPost.com.
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Is there a DE or DT you could see the Broncos trading for before the deadline? And what would they have to give up?
— Sean, Fort Collins
Sean – People ask me about that all the time, and truth is, the NFL teams don’t make many trades once the season starts, unlike baseball, basketball and hockey. I’m trying to remember the last big deal during a season, and I’ve just checked the Broncos media guide, because I thought they had signed Simeon Rice during the season, but it happened on Sept. 3, and it wasn’t a trade, and he was a major bust (although I did support that move).
The Broncos bring in free-agent defensive linemen every week to try them out, because you just can’t do a deal, and it’s not like baseball, where you can do a Manny trade late in the season. The problems are Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder. Complete wastes of time, as it turned out. I didn’t like the Moss draft at the time. He’s too thin to play defensive end. He always was. I watched him in the exhibitions and camp, and he’s totally dominated by tackles. Crowder, in his second season, hasn’t improved. Don’t give me the injury excuse for him either. They had enough time to recover sufficiently.
I’ve always liked the 3-4 since the old Orange Crush, and I see the Broncos go to it more often. They use it about 40 percent of the time now. Maybe Moss can play outside linebacker, but don’t give me Karl Mecklenburg, who was an incredible athlete. Moss is just a player, in my opinion. But the strength of this club now is at linebacker, and Jamie Winborn and Louis Green are very good backups who should get time.
Niko Koutouvides was another free agent BUST, but can fill in if Nate Webster is hurt. They’re OK with Elvis and Ebenezer (sounds like a Christmas musical) and Robertson playing off the center. Long-winded answer. I see no trade, and would be shocked if anyone would give the Broncos a defensive lineman for a draft choice.
Hey, Woody, heard you comments regarding your love of Aussie Rules football back in April on ESPN. I’m just wondering if you caught any of the Aussie Rules (Australian Football League AFL) Grand Final between the Hawthorn Hawks and the Geelong Cats?
— Ryan, Perth, Australia
Ryan – I love Perth, by the way, but, boy, is that a long train ride from Sydney. I was all over Geelong. I think they had won something like 22 straight. But Hawthorn pulled off the major upset in Melbourne. Mark Williams was sensational. Somebody should bring him to the United States.
For those who don’t follow Aussie Rules — and if I were 21, I would move to Australia (I know, a whole lot of people wish I would) — Hawthorn beating Geelong was sort of like the Giants beating the Patriots. Say hello to all my friends in Australia. I just wish you weren’t so far away. That plane ride from the U.S. requires a number of adult beverages.
I anticipate that opposing defensive coordinators will center their entire game plans on Jay Cutler and the passing game. Is Denver’s running game good enough to haul the load if Cutler and his new “Amigos” sputter?
— Manuel Garcia, Colorado Springs
Manuel – Teams can’t concentrate on the Broncos’ passing game the rest of the season. Even though Selvin Young (out this Sunday) and Andre Hall are merely serviceable. And Michael Pittman, you don’t know how he will do with 20 carries. The rookie Ryan Torain will be back in a few games, and he is a stud, from what I’ve seen. About 6-feet-1, 225 pounds. He does compare favorably to Terrell Davis, the early Terrell.
The Broncos still have great blocking schemes (and, often, illegal blocking schemes, which they’ve been called for lately, which is unusual, because they’ve managed always to mask it, except to defensive linemen). Ryan Clady is a better pass blocker, however. I think the running game will be utilized more in cold weather, and they’ve always been able to run the ball.
I’m much more concerned about the defense. If Cutler doesn’t throw those interceptions and the receivers don’t fumble, the Broncos blow out Kansas City, and I wouldn’t have been condemned by those who are totally clueless. I think the Broncos went conservative against a good Tampa Bay defense, and didn’t have a good game, but they are 4-1, and I’m not bothered by the running game. I did wonder only to myself last Sunday — Clinton Portis or Champ Bailey?
I saw that . It looks like Hurdle is being asked to run a tighter ship. What do you think that means? I think all the Rockies play the game the right way — hustling, etc.
— Derek, Denver
Derek – As I wrote last week, Hurdle had to have the, uh, guts to fire all his coaches. . I don’t get the Hill thing. He’s a non-factor. And I don’t get the keeping of Apodaca, who was more of a problem than a solution. But they are considering the , who has done wonders with some of their young pitchers. And some of the other suggestions I made they are considering.
Don Baylor would be an incredible hire as a hitting or bench coach. He would bring those nerves of steel and a stronger approach, and help to Hurdle. But to answer your specific question, Hurdle was a stern taskmaster, too stern and too hardheaded (which he still is), until last season, and he let the players have their reins. They proved they didn’t deserve all the freedom. But, honestly, they didn’t do anything when Hurdle was the Stern High Commander (Captain Bligh).
I hope the coaching changes help. But Hurdle is in deep trouble if the Rockies get off to a bad start. If not, then the Monforts and O’Dowd haven’t lost their minds — again.
I just want to start by saying that I’m a fan of yours. I never read your column until I started watching “Around the Horn” a few years back. Your arguments are usually very good on the show. And when they’re not, you are still entertaining, to say the least. I was just wondering how you got on that show in the first place?
— Mike, Idaho
Mike – Nobody cares except you, but here goes the story. In ’98 and ’00, I started contributing to ESPN Classic’s “Best 50 athletes of the century.” They brought in a producer and a camera crew and must have asked me to give them comments and stories about maybe 300 athletes (including racehorses), then returned with 300 more athletes. It turned into a long two days.
On New Year’s Eve, I was on a ship in the Panama Canal (because the world was going to end on the millennium, supposedly), and my lady friend said: “Look, you’re on TV.” Michael Jordan was named athlete of the century, and they used two or three stories I told about playing blackjack with him in Monte Carlo and watching him playing baseball in the minors and some such. ESPN asked me to do more stuff, and when Mile High Stadium shut down, they wanted to do a live show from Denver and asked me to be a co-host. When that was over, I was asked by a VP of ESPN if I would meet with him at the Super Bowl. I did. He asked me if I had any ideas for a show I might do for ESPN, and I was numb. I don’t belong on TV. I have a face for radio, and a voice for newspapers, and a writing ability for clerk-typist. I told him about a show I’d done in Denver called “Sports Hounds” (on Channel 9), about a host and four guys discussing the stories of the week. He said, Hmmm.
He called me a year or so later and said ESPN had a new show that was doing well called “Pardon the Interruption,” and he wanted to add another show with more guys, and he was calling me first and wanted me on, and I said I wasn’t interested because I had just left talk radio and I was old and just wanted to focus on writing my column and finishing my career. He asked me to think about it.
I went to the British Open. He called me. I said no. “Millions of people will watch you every day, and you’ll become a star.” I replied: “I don’t want millions of people to watch me, and I’ll never be a star.”
I wasn’t really going for it. And I shouldn’t said this, but he told me what it would pay, and I said: “I’m there.” I thought the show would last 13 weeks, maybe. “Around the Horn” is going into its seventh year, is a big hit (except to critics, especially mine). I created a character for the show. I have fun bantering with the men and women, especially Jay Mariotti, who worked for me for a few months, and I’ve done 1,100 shows, which is scary. The end.
Hi, Woody. Who’s your pick to win the World Series? Thanks.
— Nick, Denver
I like the Dodgers and the Rays to meet, the Dodgers to win. You have to remember they were doing pretty well early until Rafael Furcal got hurt. Although they got Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake, when Furcal returned, they really took off. And despite the loss of their ace and the closers, the pitching staff got better and better.
I love that lineup with James Loney and Andre Ethier and Russell Martin and Blake and Manny, of course. They were able to get Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre and Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kent out of the lineup, and improved themselves. Now, if they can somehow keep Manny, they’ll be the favorites again in the NL West, and Joe Torre turned out to be the right move. The Rockies better get a big-time starter in the offseason, or they’re dead again. Dodgers. Thanks, Nick.
Woody – Do you think it is in the Rockies’ best interest to get rid of Matt Holliday? In all honesty, what is the
likelihood of the Rockies going for a postseason push without a powerhouse hitter like Holliday?
— John, Los Angeles
John – They should never get rid of Matt Holliday. But it’s a foregone conclusion, which is why I wrote before the trading deadline they should trade him for CC Sabathia. I was laughed at nationally. Look what happened to CC.
After what happened with Mike Hampton and Todd Helton, the Monforts will never give a player a six- or seven-year contract. Plus, they can’t afford it, and they’ll continue to say, “Poor us,” and, “We got to the World Series with our philosophy.”
Holliday basically said late in the season he would take a hometown discount, but in money, not years. They won’t do it, though. They won’t even talk to Scott Boras, his agent. I think they’ll go into next season with Holliday because they don’t want ticket sales to fall off any more than they will because people figured out what they really are, and they’ll trade him (for less) before the trading deadline next year.
Is it in their best interest? No, keep him and get a top-line starter, not another No. 5 guy, and trade Garrett Atkins and a couple of prospects, and get rid of some dead-weight salaries (Matt Herges already has been bought out, and Yorvit Torrealba should be traded, if they can, and Luis Vizcaino) and increase the payroll by $20 million, and if you can’t afford that, get out of the business. If I can’t afford my house, I sell it, not keep the lights and the water turned off, and never cut the grass and never paint, etc. If you can’t afford it, sell to someone who can.
I enjoy watching the Broncos’ high-powered offense, but it still seems to me that Selvin Young and Andre Hall aren’t the guys for the long haul. They’re OK in the open field, but neither of them can knock a DB backward like Terrell Davis, Mike Anderson or Clinton Portis. Just like Michelle Wie … good from the fairway, lousy from the rough. What say ye? Thanks.
— Steve C., Pueblo
Steve – How about Michelle Wie as the running back? But there is an “i” in “”Wie,” whatever that means. I’ve addressed the running back situation above. I never saw Portis knock a defensive back back, though. Have a nice life.
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 .
