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Published on 03/06/2008 at Thu Mar 06 14:13.



Jim Armstrong is Just Wrong

Posted Thu Mar 6th by

Well, I’m glad the Denver Post feels they no longer have to even pretend to pull for their home team these days….

Today, as Kyle mentioned in his Daily Links, Jim Armstrong from the Post wrote an article on Brett Favre’s retirement. And as a nice slap in the face to all of us Denver fans, he proceeded to use Favre’s exit as an excuse to rip on the Broncos.

Take a read:

“The truth is, there’s little reason to think they’ll be a playoff team in 2008. Even if they patch up some of their holes and emerge as good team, good doesn’t figure to be good enough in the big, bad AFC.

As things have turned out, the Broncos’ trip to the AFC championship game after the 2005 season was an aberration, a tease, anything but a sign of things to come. The Broncos even then were a team in transition, a fact validated three months later by Mike Shanahan’s decision to trade up in the first round to draft Jay Cutler.

The team Favre is leaving is loaded with young talent, so much so that the Packers could make the playoffs even without their Hall of Fame quarterback. The Broncos? There are question marks across the board, from the offensive and defensive lines to the linebacker corps to safety to wide receiver to tailback, where Travis Henry is one toke away from the end of his career.”

May I point out a couple of facts that you have TOTALLY wrong, Jim?

“…the 2005 season was an aberration, a tease, anything but a sign of things to come. The Broncos even then were a team in transition…” — FALSE!

2005 wasn’t a transition year — that team won the AFC Championship game and should have gone on to win the big game… but Plummer stumbled and the decision to upgrade the QB was made AFTER the 2005 season. That makes 2006/2007 the transition years, Jim.

“The truth is, there’s little reason to think they’ll be a playoff team in 2008.” — FALSE!

Let’s take a look at Shanahan’s history with the Broncos and his QB’s…

1995: 8-8 (transition year – Shanahan’s first year with Elway)
1996: 13-3 (play-off year)
1997: 12-4 (Superbowl win)
1998: 14-2 (Superbowel win)

1999: 6-10 (transition year – Shanahan’s first year with Griese)
2000: 11-5 (play-off year)

2003: 10-6 (transition year – Shanahan’s first year with Plummer)
2004: 10-6 (play-off year)
2005: 13-3 (Conference Championship)

2007: 7-9 (transition year – Shanahan’s first year with Cutler)
2008: ???? (play-off year)
2009: ???? (Possible Conference Championship or Superbowl win???)

As you can clearly see, Shanahan’s second full year with QB’s Elway, Griese and Plummer resulted in a playoff berth. What would make you think that Shanahan’s second full year with Cutler would be any different?

You might also note that two out of the three QB’s went on to win Conference Championships in year three under Shanahan, so you might even go out on a limb and say the team (and it’s fans) have some very good things to look forward to in ’08 and ’09.

But rather than write a positive article about the possibility of our team’s future, you choose to take this opportunity to make fun of your home team. Congrat, Jim. You’re an A-hole.

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    I complete agree Jon. That article was ridiculous.

    Didn’t the Browns, who drafted #3 overall last year, not just go to 10-6 and a tiebreaker away from a playoff berth?

  • http://www.firebaughprecast.com Josh

    Nice rebuttal Johnathan. One season that always stands out to me is 2000. If you look at how close we played the Ravens in the playoffs that year, the same Ravens that won the super bowl, we had to do so with Gus Frerotte at the helm. We didn’t have a sniff of offense in that game yet still kept it very close. The Ravens were able to lock onto Mike Anderson and keep us tied up. I think if we have Griese healthy in that game we beat the Ravens and go on to win the whole way.
    We were definitely better than the Giants that year. I’m not saying we were a great team, but the NFL team talent wise probably had it’s worst season in 20yrs. That is most boring super bowl in recent memory. But I still think we had enough of a team at the time to take the prize if our QB was healthy. Kind of makes you wonder how history would’ve treated Griese in Denver if that would have happened. He still fell apart with a great team the following year, so who knows.

  • gleaverman

    Jim Armstrong has never been a fan of the Broncos. Not once have I read a positive post from him regarding the Broncos. I think Shanny must of porked his wife or something.

  • http://www.firebaughprecast.com Josh

    As stupid as the article was, I still enjoy Jim Armstrong’s writing. You have to take it with a grain of salt. He’s more about factoids and finding humor in the numbers game. Still don’t’ know where in the hell he came up with that theory.

    You have to look at it this way, he’s still not as annoying as Paige or Kiszla. I actually thought it was hilarious when Mike Hampton accosted Kiszla in Detroit at an Avs/Red Wings game a few years back. I still don’t think I can stand Woody for the article the day of the 98 AFC Championship game on why the Jets were going to wipe the field with us. I saw Woody about a year ago when I was eating on the 16th st. mall with my wife. First thought was, I’m going to go shake his hand, then I thought of all the shite articles he has written over the years and decided not to. He sort of glared at me when we left noticing I recognized him.

  • http://www.broncotalk.net Jonathan Douglas

    Josh, I totally agree that Jim is normally not as bad some of the other sports writers at the Post…
    I think, maybe because I don’t live in Denver, I get pretty ticked-off when local fans or the local media bad mouths the team. I don’t feel like they fully appreciate the fact that they get to have a team like the Broncos as their home team. The people and media of Denver should feel extremely lucky to have an organization like the Broncos in their city.

    I feel like the Oakland, KC and San Diego papers can write hack pieces anytime they like — I don’t mind. But for Denver’s local paper to rip on the team just leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.