November 11, 2008 12:44 PM
Rookie coaches not fazed by Shanahan
Mike Smith is enjoying success in his first year as an NFL head coach, having led the Atlanta Falcons to a 6-3 record this season.
Last week in Cleveland, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan picked up his 151st win as an NFL head coach (playoffs included) in 250 career games.
So you might expect a grizzled, experienced and playoff-tested coach such as Shanahan to hold a distinct advantage over a rookie, right? Not so fast. Shanahan hasn't had much success lately with NFL coaching neophytes such as Smith.
Since 2001, Shanahan has lost seven times in 10 games against first-time NFL head coaches. The record is 4-7 if you count a win against Miami with interim coach Jim Bates in 2004.
Earlier this month, the Dolphins, with first-year coach Tony Sparano, beat Denver 26-17 at Invesco Field at Mile High . . .
To celebrate Veterans Day, the Colorado Eagles are sponsoring a Military Appreciation Night tonight at the Budweiser Events Center for their game against the Tulsa Oilers. More than 1,500 of the team's 4,000 season-ticket holders turned in their tickets to the Eagles for redistribution to military members past and present . . .
Here's tossing sour grapes on that fourth-quarter comeback by the Broncos last week, courtesy of Browns receiver Joshua Cribbs, who agreed with running back Jamal Lewis' assessment that some players quit against Denver. "When you have a team like that that comes into our house and we're capable of beating them, that's the first thing that comes to mind," Cribbs told the media. How does that make you feel, Bronco Player, being dissed as a 'team like that'?
November 11, 2008
9:14 PM
Dave writes:
Regarding how it feels to be "dissed as a team like that", the local fans and media are experts at doing it themselves to other teams. Just check recent news articles and fan posts for examples. More evidence? The Broncos always win or lose in a vacumn. They lose because they played terribly or won because they played great. The effort of the opposition never has anything to do with the outcome. Remember the old playgound saw about being able to "dish it out but not being able to take it"? Well, fellow locals, what goes around comes around. "Do unto others", etc., etc.
November 11, 2008
10:14 PM
ANTONY54 writes:
A WIN IS A WIN.. BUT CRIBBS & LEWIS WASN'T TOO FAR OFF IN THEY'RE ASESSMENT.. DENVER COULD HAVE EASILY LOST THAT GAME.. YOU COULD SAY THAT EVERY TIME THEY WON THIS YEAR EXCEPT FOR THE OAKLAND GAME..
November 12, 2008
11:02 PM
Dynamicdave writes:
ANTONY54, I felt we took it to Tampa Bay pretty good? Denver has always been known to win tough games since the days of the "Orange Crush". The game of football is a game of "give and take". Denver got the win. Players that cry because they felt they were "robbed", should just take a seat next to their whining fans. If they "quit, thats on them. Stuff happens. They need to quit making excuses. Their coach made the mistake of guaranteeing a win against the Broncos. They deserved to lose and eat crow, just because of that. They got what they deserved.
November 13, 2008
4:29 PM
Spider writes:
I hate it when they have to go back East and play the early game. Actually all the teams West of the Great Plains struggle when they go back East.
November 13, 2008
7:18 PM
Dynamicdave writes:
Spider, I live on the West Coast. What I hate is getting up at 7am to go to my Broncos bar for the 10am game. We end up drunk by 1pm after the game. I normally don't prefer to drink that early but Sunday football is Sunday football. Free shots of Schnapps are hard to turn down. So are $4.75 pitchers. I know, it's a tough job, but SOMEBODY has to do it, ha, ha.