. . . but you gotta sit with Kiz.
It’s good to see the Broncos getting back on track with new coach John Fox. I have a theory. Tell me if it qualifies as revisionist history or a plausible explanation. Franchise owner Pat Bowlen was fed up with .500 seasons and Mike Shanahan, who had total control of the organization. Bowlen knew he had to get rid of Shanny and blow up the team. Josh McDaniels did just that.
JP, Roxborough Park
Kiz: So Coach McD was hired as a demolition man. Now there’s an interesting conspiracy theory. Wacko, but interesting. So how many victories will a competent, veteran coach be worth to the Broncos in 2011? If Denver loses, will Fox be reviled for running a boring offense, and will Tim Tebow fanatics try to run the coach out of town? The most entertaining answer to any of these questions will be awarded one free ticket, when Denver plays at home Sept. 18 against Cincinnati. The catch? You have to sit next to me in the upper deck, and your insights will be part of a column that appears in The Post. E-mail your entry to mkiszla@denverpost.com. Keep it clean. Spelling and grammar don’t count. But funny is good, and brevity is better. A committee (of one) will judge all submissions, and the winner will be notified no later than Sept. 10.
Play Tebow because . . .
Kiz, you recently accused Broncos fans who want to see Tebow play of caring more about the young quarterback’s career advancement than the team’s won-loss record. Yes, Tebow has a legion of zealots who want to see him on the field. But I’ve been a Broncos fan since birth and, to me, Tebow vs. Kyle Orton isn’t some doe-eyed popularity contest. It’s about rebuilding our dynasty. One more .500 season led by Orton puts us no closer to that goal. With Tebow under center, we’d either find a franchise player or put ourselves in contention to draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck. For many fans, either outcome would be far better than another eight mediocre victories.
Brandon, Minneapolis
Kiz: The loser of that Cincy-Denver game just might be lousy enough to get Luck.
Shame? Seriously?
I wish to say how disappointed I was in your column that suggested safety Rahim Moore’s hit during the preseason game against Buffalo was good for the Denver defense. If Bills receiver Donald Jones suffered permanent injury, your smart-aleck compliment to Moore would sound sadistic. Thanks for another blow to good sportsmanship. You ought to be ashamed.
Bill, Littleton
Kiz: Football can be a brutal game — and we love it. Moore deserved his $20,000 fine from the league. It was worth every penny to a maligned Denver defense, especially because Jones was able to get up and go home. When I suggested a 2007 regular-season game between Buffalo and Denver maybe should have been canceled after Bills tight end Kevin Everett suffered a severe spinal injury, many fans told me I was a bleeding heart incapable of understanding the sport’s violent nature. So we want the show to go on when there’s a life-threatening injury, but also want players to apologize for knocking the stuffing from a foe. Might that be a tad hypocritical?
And, for the defense.
Being a college football player and playing defense for many years, I know you have to play mean in order to win. Your assessment of Moore’s hit as dirty is exactly why most or your columns are complete garbage. A dirty hit? I would make that hit every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Moore was making a play. That’s the only thing I saw, and you should have seen it too.
Richard, hard tackler
Kiz: So did I go too soft on Moore? Or hit him too hard? I tackle the issue. You read and react. When it’s over, after every last byte has been blasted into cyberspace, we all shake hands at the 50-yard line. See, sportswriting is more like football than you might think.
The Truth (told with a snarky attitude) Hurts
And today’s parting shot punches a big hole in the notion of another baseball miracle happening in Colorado.
Where’s old football coach Jim Mora when you need him to say: ‘Playoffs?’ Like a bunch of annoying cicadas, here comes the annual din of gullible Rockies fans and reporters gleefully anticipating a sequel to Fluketober 2007. Losing record in late August? No wild-card berth as a reasonable possibility? Two teams substantially ahead of Colorado in the division standings? Mere details. Seriously, Rockies fans, if wildly cheering routine flyballs aren’t enough, you’re embarrassing yourselves even further, as team ownership team laughs all the way to the bank.
Dave, Highlands Ranch
