Lost

As if it wasn’t already clear that Danny Ainge and the captain of the Titanic are distant cousins, we now have reports that the Boston Celtics are aggressively pursuing Chris Paul -- and they’re willing to trade Rajon Rondo to get him. In other words, further proof that a lunatic can convince lots of people he’s a serious person with serious answers if he’s wearing a serious suit. Ainge -- the “before” version of Charlie from ‘Flowers for Algernon’ -- not only managed to land the job of President of Basketball Operations for the most successful team in the history of the NBA, but he has somehow defied the rules of logic as I’ve come to understand them and keep his job. I’d rather have Mac and Charlie from ‘It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’ step-in and take a crack at figuring out what to do with the Boston Celtics.

I don’t want this to be misinterpreted as an anti-Chris Paul article. I love Chris Paul, he’s a fantastic player. He’s absolutely one of the five best players in the league, and he’s someone you want controlling your offense. He doesn’t even need his name on the All-Star ballot anymore because he’s a no-brainer for the starting point guard position out West, and he deserves that respect. He’s a winner, and almost certainly a future champion. When it comes to Chris Paul, I’m a fan.

I wrote an article a few weeks ago called “Tyler Seguin: Becoming the Greatest,” which was an all-around collection of quintessential theory and criticism pertaining to all the Boston teams, which of course ended with a heap of praise for Seguin and the Bruins. In the article, I spent a good chunk of time dealing with the issues of the Celtics -- which started with Ainge stripping away virtually every player that helped us win the title in ‘08; Leon the Professional, TA, Scal, J-Po, House, Perk, they’re all figments of the imagination now. They’ll never have their jerseys retired at the Garden, and only those who witnessed the beauty of that Championship team will remember the names of those great Celtics. I also discussed the height of insanity reached last year when Danny Ainge used Ray Allen as trade fodder, leading Allen to post a FaceBook sigh of relief after the deadline passed, telling the fans that he was “still green.” Since the title year, Danny Ainge has, for some unknown reason, completely dismantled this team and left it completely unrecognizable -- to the point where even the pitiful Chicago Bulls are now considered a bigger threat than the Celtics in the Eastern Conference, and the Miami Heat are considered the favorites to reach the Finals this year. This is shameful, shameful stuff. This fall from grace is epic, tragic, and brutal. Thank you, Danny Ainge.

The Celtics are loaded with problems. The absence of Eddie House leaves the team without anyone who can provide instant offense off the bench. The absence of Posey leaves the team without its second best defender behind KG. The absence of Scal leaves the team without that burst of energy they almost always need to win important games. The absence of Powe and TA leaves the team without the muscle and grit coming off the bench and maintaining the lead that the starters built-up. Powe and TA were an unbelievable source of power for the Boston Celtics. Unsung heroes. They were street-toughs with incredibly high Basketball IQ’s. Posey is arguably one of the five smartest players I’ve ever seen play the game. Posey and Tony Allen were the two most athletic players on the ‘08 Celtics team. Where are they now? Poof, vanished, disappeared. And Perkins, well, his contribution to the team should go without saying. All of those guys are gone, and the holes they left have yet to be filled. And that’s why we haven’t won a championship in three years. Allen, Pierce, and KG are historic Celtics figures destined to have their jerseys retired at the Garden, but their years are slipping away, and soon there will be three more holes and three more reasons why we aren’t winning.

The only -- I repeat, ONLY -- bright spot for our future is our Point Guard. We are lacking at every single position except for the One Spot. Rondo’s a Celtic the way Brady’s a Patriot; they were both rookies in Boston, and they both became Champions in Boston. They were amateurs in Boston, and they became masters of their crafts in Boston. They were perceived as liabilities in Boston, and then they became the reason why Boston was winning. And they both manage to get better with each passing year. Rajon Rondo is the reason the Celtics have gotten as far as they have over the last three years. He’s the only player on the current roster who adds to his skill level each season. He’s the only player that shows up at the start of every basketball year with new tricks up his sleeve, a higher and more disciplined IQ, and a more ravenous hunger to win -- dislocated shoulders and all. He’s the only player on the Boston Celtics capable of leading the team into the future, and leading them to banners. He’s young, agile, versatile, strong, fearless, and wise beyond his years. He’s also the most popular player on the Celtics. Fans worship him. We love him. Paul Pierce is the heart and soul of the Celtics...in theory. But those who know...well, we know. It’s all about #9.

So of course Danny Ainge wants to get rid of him. I mean, why not? Danny is, after all, the Fredo Corleone of Boston. Complete the cycle of madness, Danny. Do it. Don’t let anyone of reason try and stop you. You’ve doused the organization in kerosene, now all you need are the matches. Danny, I will send you the matches. Let’s just get it over with. Screw what Michael and Sonny are telling you -- they’re just jealous! You’re the smartest son! You’re the strongest! You have the best ideas! Of course you should be the Godfather! Of course you’re the most qualified man in the room! So do it! Burn it to the ground! Nevermind that Marc Gasol is a free agent who would perfectly fill the Perkins void and be an all-star Center of strength and grace for our organization. I mean, why would you go after Marc Gasol? We need him, so of course you wouldn’t. Burn it all to the ground! And nevermind that Samuel Dalembert is a versatile free agent who is just waiting for the right system to expose the gold inside him. Also nevermind that arguably the best defender in the NBA, Shane Battier, is also a free agent. Burn it! Torch it! Scorch it! Also, Danny, please pay no attention to the fact that the most underrated player in the league, Jamal Crawford, is a free agent. Pay no attention to the fact that Crawford is like James Posey 2.0; he plays D like Battier and hits 3’s like Reggie Miller. He may go down as the best 6th man in history. In a Celtics jersey, he’d be a riddle that the Heat and the Lakers would not be able to solve. He’s a perfect specimen of basketball brilliance with an IQ off the charts and the skill to match. He provides every intangible that the Celtics need to win an 18th banner. So definitely pay no attention to him, Danny. You just focus on getting rid of Rondo. All of Boston is behind you.

The Rise of Julien Edelman

This guy isn’t a superstar yet. He’s not even a star. In fact, his name is barely known outside New England. If you asked a Saints fan or a Lions fan who Julien Edelman is, they probably wouldn’t know. At best, you’d get a response somewhere in between “Sounds familiar” and “He’s a football player, right?”

The name Julien Edelman should sound familiar. And yes, he is a football player.

I’m not a fan of making predictions. It bothers me when analysts give their picks before a game, generally because their forecasts are based on circumstantial evidence from the outcomes of the most recent games, and their opinions on teams drastically alters from week to week. When asked for my prediction, I almost always answer “It’s a 50/50 game.” Some might think it’s a cop-out, but as someone who witnessed an 18-0 record go down the rabbit hole against an inferior team in the Super Bowl, I can safely say that any given football game is 50/50, and predicting the great players of tomorrow is a pesky habit that will almost certainly cost you your reputation. So I don’t do it too often.

I’m not gonna extol the virtues of Julien Edelman and lay him on thick as the next big thing in the NFL. I refuse to overstate my belief in him for the reasons I just addressed -- you simply never know. But what I can say with certainty is this much: When this guy’s on the field, I’m excited. He makes plays. He assists in making plays. He’s pure energy. He’s a cookie made from Bill’s cookie-cutting kit -- which is a compliment, considering how many players get cut from the roster for refusing to be cut into the type of cookie that Coach Belichick likes to munch on. Edelman is a versatile player who doesn’t truly play one specific position; he’s a wide receiver, but he’s also a punt-returner. He’s also an excellent defender and a great tackler for his size. Bill’s got him playing slot receiver and defending the slot receiver too. If you consider offense and defense and special teams as the three cornerstones of a football team, then every Patriots fan should know this guy’s name because he’s on all three.

As the 232nd pick in the seventh round of the draft, Julien has the same afterthought overtones as Tom Brady -- who was drafted in the sixth round as the 199th pick. In fact, none of the current Patriots players were really wanted by anyone. Kyle Arrington came up from the New England practice squad after being waived by the Eagles, Andre Carter was signed as a free agent after the Redskins severed ties with him, Danny Woodhead signed as a free agent after being waived by the Jets, Aaron Hernandez was the 113th pick from the fourth round, Wes Welker was traded to New England after being waived by the Chargers and being unwanted in Miami, Rob Ninkovich came out of the fifth draft round and was signed as a free agent after being waived by the Saints and the Dolphins, and Rob Gronkowski looks like the superstar coming out of the second round as the 42nd pick. Overall, the Patriots are not the Dream Team on paper.

But neither were the Pats of 2001. This is a league where things that look great Monday through Saturday rarely look good on Sunday, so being great on paper really isn’t worth the crummy stock it’s printed on. Full-circle we come to Julien Edelman. This guy’s a player. I still can’t say with any certainty how far he’ll go in the NFL, but I know he is -- and will be -- a part of any success New England encounters this year. Rarely have I seen an athlete so compelling at so many things. He’s James Posey and Tony Allen fused together in a two-pod teleportation experiment that went horribly haywire and resulted in Jeff Goldblum becoming the Fly and Julien Edelman becoming the Man. He may not be Darrelle Revis or Wes Welker or Devin Hester or Osi Umenyiora, but Julien Edelman has little bits and pieces of each of those guys in his game, and he plays with adrenaline and a will to win. I like this guy. Keep him on your radar.

Getting Back That Swagger

As I navigated myself through the winding tunnel of Lincoln Financial Field, I heard the roar of sixty-eight thousand Philadelphians cheering in unison. I looked up at the nearest screen and saw a 6-0 board. Then 7-0. I couldn’t believe they scored before I got to my seat. Everyone was already descending into a drunken celebration; some kind of flare or rocket went off above my head, fans in green were harassing fans in blue, this was hostile territory to say the least. Then, finally outside, I made my way down the steps towards row 11, and any anxiety I felt about their quick touchdown faded away. I saw Brady walking out onto the field, and that was it. His swagger was back. I could tell Tom Brady didn’t journey to South Philadelphia to play four quarters of football -- he came to play three. And that’s what he did; three quarters of unstoppable football, followed by a fourth quarter of rest and relaxation on the sidelines.

Eagles fans were completely bewildered by the animal that is Wes Welker. Every ball he caught was followed by a collective silence of confusion, as if every fan at the Linc was wondering the same thing about him: What are you, Where did you come from, and What are you doing here? I was half-expecting Wes to step up to a podium and give an answer: “My name is Wes Welker, I’m from New England, and I came here to end your season. Happy thanksgiving.” It was fascinating to witness the inability of Eagles fans to wrap their heads around Wes, especially given the running and receiving talent they have on their squad. Perhaps if the fans in attendance weren’t so busy rooting for Brady to get brutally hit on every throw, they could’ve spent some time online Googling ‘Best Receivers Ever,’ because I’m sure they would’ve seen Welker’s picture and they’d have known what to expect. Instead they were blindsided, and only now -- at the end -- do they know.

But I digress.

Back to the swagger. It was in full effect -- and with a vengeance. The Patriots looked strong, united, and swift. They were efficient and cunning, cohesive and violent. They were mentally tough, and they were physically tough. Every time Tom Brady waltzed on to the field, he did so with purpose. If you listen to Brady’s post-game pressers and his weekly interviews on WEEI, you know he’s horrifically disappointed every time he walks off the field without a touchdown -- it gives him insomnia. But he doesn’t always show that side of him during a game. In fact, that has been one of my criticisms throughout the year about him; his lack of urgency, waiting for him to get back that hunger to pile TD’s on top of each other and play games from ahead. Last night, on the very rare times the Patriots came-up empty-handed, Brady was visibly upset and it looked like he didn’t want to leave the field yet. I’ve been waiting all year for that. The will to put 7 on the board, do it again, do it again, and do it again, and suck the life out of the other team. It happened last night, and it was something marvelous to watch from only a few feet away.

All Hands On Deck

Nothing champagne-worthy happened on Monday night, but enough interesting events occurred to pique the interest of those who enjoy having their interests piqued by teamwork. Like Week 6 against the Cowboys and Week 10 against the Jets, this wasn’t just a W, it was a W*. A W* is when your team wins and grows at the same time -- and by growth, I mean when Julien Edelman single-handedly makes our special teams relevant again, and Andre Carter continues his growth into becoming the monster we need him to be, and Danny Woodhead snatches his photo off the milk carton, and Gronk firmly establishes himself a player who demands (and can outwit) the respect of multiple coverage. But most importantly, a guy named Shane Vereen proved that an NFL analyst doesn’t know a thing if he doesn’t know about Shane Vereen.

Patriots Nation has mixed feelings about the game last night, and most of the negative feelings are worth considering. For one, the Chiefs aren’t a terribly difficult team to beat without Matt Cassel. Second, some fear the Patriots’ poor first quarter performance was the most significant and telling part of the game. And third, the remaining schedule for the Pats is relatively easy, which may lead to a false sense of confidence leading right into a post-season brick wall when they go up against a QB of substantial worth. There’s merit to these feelings and concerns, and I share elements of them all. But nothing can keep me from being excited about what I saw last night.

The most significant ongoing problem with the Patriots has been their inability to intimidate other ballclubs with their defense. Teams do not quiver when they line-up against the Pats. There’s an absence of muscular strength there, and that hole is constantly exploited by physical teams like the Giants and the Ravens and the Steelers -- and even by the Jets last season in the playoffs. The Patriots have the intellect and skill to win a Super Bowl, but raw power will do to intellect and skill what a bazooka will do to a second-degree black belt in Judo. Super Bowl XLII left a lingering scent on the Patriots that other teams continue getting a whiff of -- that they’re beatable with a mixture of force, energy, and power. Every team that’s beaten them since has done so with the recipe of unholy anger and unrelenting brutality as originally concocted by the New York Football Giants. It’s exactly how the Steelers beat them in Week 8 and how the Giants defeated them in Week 9.

Last night went a long way towards establishing a sense of ruthlessness in the New England Patriots. Their commitment to scoring points -- even after the game was well in-hand -- was extremely telling. Yes, that’s part of Bill’s modus operandi, but it felt particularly vicious last night. Equally as interesting was the fact that Tom Brady cherry-picked his scorers last night, as opposed to the normal drag of just hitting the open man. Brady made a point of getting Gronk a second touchdown as a symbolic knockout punch to the Chiefs. And very late in the 4th, Brady made a conscious decision to reward Vereen with a hand-off to cap a drive that had Shane’s fingerprints all over it. A part of me thinks Bill kept Tom in the game just to get Shane that TD (or perhaps it was Brady’s idea). Either way, it was all fantastic to watch.

So many special little things happened last night. Like Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin, Mark Anderson and Andre Carter are helping each other reach new levels of cruelty and efficiency. Danny Woodhead is flat-out emerging in this league; he’s becoming a source of concern for every other team in the National Football League. The last thing teams want is for the Patriots to have multiple Wes Welkers, but that’s exactly what they’ve got; the Patriots are using Welker’s DNA like some mad Jurassic Park experiment and they’re creating catchers and runners that can’t be brought down without significant gains. If you consider the massacre that was the Chiefs versus the Patriots, and you take into account that Hernandez and Welker did not score or have big games, and Tom Brady played nowhere near his highest level, it’s pretty impressive. Also of note is the fact that the Patriots solved in the second half every effective problem Romeo Crennel was throwing at them in the first. The Pats made the adjustments that offset Kansas City’s plan of attack. That matters. These were big improvements for a team that needed to make big improvements.

The Great Debate [Part II]

Anyone who read Part I of this article knows I’m not a big fan of Tim Tebow, so I’m rather surprised to be defending him so frequently. I’m equally as surprised to have any opinion at all on the VP of Operations in Denver. I never imagined I’d have anything to say about either of these guys, but here we are. Two days ago, John Elway made some comments on the radio regarding Tim Tebow, and his comments disturbed me. When asked if he was feeling closer to having his franchise quarterback, Elway very meaningfully said no. He then began to pick apart Tim Tebow, bone-by-bone, and threw in a few compliments here and there to salt the zebra meat as he devoured it. He made it clear that Tebow’s time in Denver is temporary.

I’m so accustomed to the Patriots keeping inside baseball, well, inside. Am I spoiled by the discipline of New England? I must be. Elway’s thoughts on Tebow should be between him and Tebow right now. The Broncos are in the middle of a season. This team has been a joke ever since I was a kid, but now they have a shot to make the playoffs -- and to make it in style. Everyone associated with the Denver Broncos -- from the players to the owners to the janitors -- needs to demonstrate poise and maturity. And then...this? These comments from Elway on the radio? Is that leadership? Is that wisdom? Whatever happened to class?

Elway’s got almost every analyst out there backing him up and applauding his tough-love sentiment. But why? Denver won’t win the Super Bowl this year, but it won't be Tebow’s fault. It’s the fault of a great number of things -- mostly, they’re just not that good. They don’t have the weapons to win at an elite level right now. But Elway’s comments make it seem like Tim Tebow is what’s standing between the Denver Broncos and Success. Believe me, there’s a lot more than Tim Tebow blocking that pathway. There’s enough wrong with that team to fill a book on. But let’s just say, for argument’s sake, that Elway is positive Tebow’s not the guy. Ok, fine, that’s understandable given all of his issues. I’m not convinced he’s a good quarterback either. But to put these thoughts out there during a playoff push is completely misguided. People haven’t cared about the Broncos in what seems to fit my understanding of forever. Before Tebow’s arrival, teams were not afraid to play against the Broncos. Now, however, there’s a feeling of something -- maybe not fear or dread, but it’s something. It’s the feeling that playing against the Broncos means playing against a growing momentum. Do you really think teams want to play against Denver right now? The answer is no. Nobody wants to chop off a limb in the swirling helicopter blade of hysteria surrounding this team. When’s the last time Denver had that kind of clout? They had a fire going, and Elway poured every bucket of water he could find right on top of it.

I agree with Elway on certain things, most notably on the fact that Tim Tebow isn’t a very good quarterback right now. He’s not even in the mid-range level of Cassel and Sanchez. He’s in the bottom of the mix. But again -- if you recall my point from Part I of this article -- the kid’s only played five times, and he’s 4-1. Yes, we know the problems -- his mechanics are terrible, his accuracy is dismal, he clearly doesn’t want to throw the ball, and he suffers from severe fan hype and media over-exposure. And yet, despite all that, he’s got his team in a better position right now than the New York Jets. If that’s not potential, I don’t know what is.

Even if Tebow was 1-4, it still wouldn’t be classy for Elway to say what he said. But those numbers are reversed, and so is Elway’s logic. Is he aware of how little thought people put into the Denver Broncos from year-to-year? People care about the Packers, the Pats, the Bears, the Steelers, the Giants -- they don’t care about the Broncos. But now, people care a little. Maybe it’s for all the wrong reasons, but it is what it is. The team might not matter tomorrow, but they do today, and Tebow has something to do with it. Elway should ride-out the season with the kid and see where it goes. Worse that happens is they lose. So what? John Elway should be used to losing. So they’ll lose, and Elway will get rid of Tim or throw him back on the bench as a back-up. But to go on the radio and blast him like he did, that had less class than Rex Ryan’s outburst last week. At least Ryan’s particular brand of idiocy comes from his passion for winning and his hatred for losing, which I can respect. But Elway’s comments come from...where? He wants a quarterback who can lead them to the Super Bowl -- this year? Whatever happened to taking steps? Helping a player grow? Winning little victories and building something from nothing? How about John gets happy with a quarterback that led his guys to 4-1 in his first 5 games and put his team in a position to make the playoffs for the first time in seven years?

How about John Elway just stops talking altogether?

Tyler Seguin: Becoming the Greatest

There was a time when the Celtics and the Red Sox were in a friendly competition to see who mattered more in Boston. But 2008 was a lifetime ago. Now the Sox and Celtics are all but irrelevant. Not only does an NBA season seem far away, but an 18th banner seems even more out of reach. Danny Ainge spent four tireless years assembling a sublime group of players that won the title in style, and then spent the next three years liquidating key aspects of the roster like he was Gordon Gekko selling-off pieces of Blue Star. Powe -- gone. House -- gone. Posey -- gone. TA -- gone. Scal -- gone. Perk -- gone. The dementia of Celtics Management hit an all-time high last year when even Ray Allen wasn’t sure if his job in Boston was safe. Ray Allen -- a proven champion with a body in flawless condition, the hardest-working guy in the league, the greatest shooter in the history of basketball, a man playing as well as he’s ever played in his Hall of Fame career -- tradeable? Replaceable? What kind of horror movie is unravelling in Danny Ainge’s mind? What does he see that makes these situations reasonable? Ray had to post a sigh-of-relief on FaceBook after the trade deadline to tell the fans he was “still green.” How did Ray’s uncertainty ever get that far to begin with? Total Madness doesn’t even begin to describe the people in control of the Boston Celtics. With leadership like that, Celtics fans have to be grateful they won once.

I won’t delve too deeply into the collapse of the Sox -- it’s too soon. We need time to process it. But of all the people to go...Jonathan Papelbon? Tito? Theo? This is someone’s definition of Dead Weight? Someone saw this as fixing the problem? Paps, Tito and Theo are all winners. Forcing me to part ways with Theo Epstein reminds me of how I felt being forced to say goodbye to James Posey; someone in management is asking me to sever ties with a guy without whom a championship wouldn’t have happened. Papelbon was the only guy on the roster who stepped-up and took responsibility for the collapse. He’s gone. Tito was the spine of those two World Series teams. He’s gone. Theo was a baseball scientist, a prodigy, a chef you want fixing your soup. He’s gone. John Lackey and Jon Lester are still members of the Boston Red Sox, but Theo Epstein is not. The madness is so extreme that perhaps only a child to whom names are interchangeable could understand it. And if the method by which the Sox are searching for a new manager is any indication of their near future, then I friggin’ weep.

So half of Boston’s teams are in the freezer and in no shape to cook. What Boston’s left with are two red-hot teams that most cities would kill for. But it’s not necessarily the New England Patriots that are holding the most weight. When I look at the Pats, I feel the absence of Bruschi, Harrison, and Vrabel. They’re a Super Bowl contender, but the roster isn’t as strong as it once was. They have issues to sort and holes to fill; they’re gonna need a steady diet of unsung heroes like Andre Carter and Mark Anderson emerging and evolving throughout the year. The Patriots have a pool of players that can make this a Super Bowl team, but we don’t yet know who those players are or when they plan to put this team on their shoulders. Is it gonna be Danny Woodhead? Is Wes gonna stay healthy? Is the Andre Carter we saw against the Jets going to be the Andre Carter we see from now on? How’s Kevin Faulk gonna factor in? How about Kyle Love? Ridley? Nink? Spikes? Guyton? Chung? Some of these guys are gonna have to emerge as the James Posey and the Eddie House and the Leon Powe of the Pats if they plan to bring the Lombardi Trophy back to New England where it belongs.

But unlike the Patriots, this Bruins team doesn’t have issues to sort or holes to fill. Their biggest problem is a tendency towards malaise -- which is fixable. This roster is in it’s prime. Tyler Seguin is the most important athlete in Boston right now. Witnessing him blossom into a leader reminds me of watching Rondo fearlessly orchestrate the Big 3 in 2008. Every player on the Bruins is playing their best hockey. Given the demented and rampant urge for management to dismantle title teams from league to league, this Bruins squad is intact and in-control. Not since the 60’s -- during the supreme era of Esposito and Orr -- have the Bruins been the team that mattered most in Boston. This is a group of guys who are not only coming off a championship, but they’re actually getting better. That makes the Boston Bruins and the Green Bay Packers the only two teams in the big-four of American Sports who can make that claim.

The Great Debate

I’m not gonna use his name because I’m tired of hearing it. I’ll just call him “this guy,” “that guy,” “the guy,” or some derivative thereof. To say this guy is polarizing is an understatement. People have opinions and they’re more than willing to let those opinions be known. I’d like to cut-through all the junk surrounding this guy’s story and just boil the debate down to its core. Is this guy a quarterback or not?

Football purists say he’s not. From their perspective, a quarterback has to be able to throw the ball. He doesn’t have to be Tom Brady or Joe Montana, but he’s still gotta be able to sling it to some respectable degree. This guy gets under the skin of football purists because he’s taking up one of the 32 slots that have been reserved for the best quarterbacks in the world. Does this guy deserve to be one of the 32? Shouldn’t he be a running back? Why are so many fans contributing to the charade that he should be controlling an offense? Somewhere out there is a quarterback who deserves this opportunity more, and that quarterback is being denied a shot because the fans are pushing this guy on the organization and on the league for a lot of reasons -- most of which have little to do with football, and more to do with what a good person he is. A football purist doesn’t want to hear that kind of reasoning. A football purist wants to turn on the TV every Sunday and watch the best football players in the world playing great football. Period, end of story. And what they’ve been seeing from this guy over the last few games -- including the victory over the Jets -- is sloppy, uncoordinated, and totally undeserving of a top 32 slot. Also, if he was such a prized quarterback, why haven’t the Broncos been starting him for the past few years instead of keeping him on the bench? It’s because they knew he wasn’t the guy.

And then there’s advocates on the other side of the argument. They claim this guy is quite simply, flat-out, a winner. He wins games, therefore it doesn’t matter how he throws or what mechanics he lacks. The guy’s 4-1 on the season, which is impressive considering that Mark Sanchez opened up his 2011 season going 2-3, and Cam Newton, Donovan McNabb, and Michael Vick all went 1-4. Those are big names. Those are guys who are generally respected in the league and considered true quarterbacks, and they all botched their first five games of the season far worse than this guy. Also, how can you argue with 4-1? That’s a solid record. When you add that to his illustrious college career, it speaks volumes. Also, plenty of great quarterbacks waited on the bench for their moment to arrive. If it’s so easy to predict who “has it,” then scouts and managers and decision-makers would be right a lot more than Almost Never.

And those are the two opposing views. Rarely does anyone fall in the middle, but I suppose I do. Truth is, I just don’t care that much about this guy right now. I don’t see the magic yet. He can win ballgames, but a lot of quarterbacks can win ballgames. Can they win at an elite level? That’s what counts. The regular season is...the regular season. In my opinion, any of the 32 quarterbacks in the NFL who can’t win at an elite level are replaceable. This guy has the intangibles, and he’s a winner, but his throwing ability is wretched and his Football IQ is questionable to say the least. Do I trust him controlling an offense? No, not yet, not based on what I’ve seen. So, can a quarterback who can’t throw the ball win at an elite level? The answer is no. But I’m not ready to say what he can or cannot do. I’ve only seen the guy play five times. So I have to cut him some slack. Unlike every other analyst in the world, I’m not ready to render my verdict on the guy. I know how I’m leaning, but we’re only five games into his career. Everyone needs to take a breath and just relax. Why do people get so passionate about this guy? I certainly don’t. Right now he’s just another struggling QB who’s squeaking out wins. He’s not a big enough deal to soak-up this much airtime.

And yet, people are choosing sides. You’re either with him or you’re against him. But again, my question is: Why? Who cares? Until this guy proves he can really play football, why does anyone outside of Denver have an opinion at all? I certainly don’t care. When Joe Flacco goes cold (as he’s done lately), I take notice because the Ravens are an important team and an arch-rival of the Patriots. Also, he’s a damn good QB. So I care about what’s going on in Flacco Land. When Matt Cassel gets injured and won’t be able to play on Sunday and possibly for the rest of the season, I care. I care because he’s a proven talent, he has a serious QB presence in the NFL, and he’s someone who has the potential to become great. So I care.

The problem is, in this day in age, people care about everything -- even the unimportant stuff. In an earlier age of football, most people would not know this guy’s name. People wouldn’t care unless he was a major threat to their team -- someone like Steve Young, or someone old-school like Johnny Unitas. I just don’t see why so many people care about this guy. I can understand someone not having an opinion on him, but EVERYONE has an opinion on him. I feel like throwing a bucket of water on everyone. Relax. He’s just another young QB in the league trying to prove himself. Let him succeed or fail. If you see something great in him, fine. If you don’t, you don’t. But if you do see something great in him, my question is WHY? Does it have to do with football, or something else? Does it have to do with the sport, or with his private life? Because all I care about is football. And for someone to tell me that this guy “has it” is a massive overstatement at this point. He doesn’t appear to “have it” at all. Will we see it develop over the course of the season? Perhaps. I’m leaving the window open. The more wins he gets, the longer I’ll leave it open.

Only two things are true: 1) analysts can’t jump off-and-on the guy’s bandwagon fast enough, and 2) the Broncos should not have beaten the Jets last Thursday. I’m glad they did -- but who are we kidding here? The Jets are a Super Bowl contender. The Broncos are not. Five-out-of-five analysts on the NFL Network Pre-Game Show picked New York to win. So based on that fact alone, you have to ask yourself if something is afoot here. That was a must-win game for Gang Green, and they lost. Every single person on the Jets played hard, and they lost. Rex Ryan wanted that win with every fiber of his being, and he didn’t get it. Are we to assume this guy had nothing to do with it? Denver’s defense was phenomenal, but we shouldn’t dupe ourselves into believing the Jets have a lot of offense to stop. Both squads are defensive-minded ball clubs. The guy played horrible football on Thursday, but I could see that his teammates wanted to win -- and they wanted to win for him. That’s not good football, but it certainly is good leadership. You can’t use it to support the “it” argument, but you can use it to support the argument that a lot people aren’t even giving him a chance.

And now, for a change, let’s take a brief moment to look at some guys that have gotten way too many chances. Like, for instance, this guy:

And this guy: