From the Press Box - Assault of the Moose

AG checks in from frigid Alaska, talking Senior Bowl, Tebow overreactions and Playoffs.

I hope you are having a great holiday and that Santa (or Hanukah Harry) has been good to you.

I'm currently up in Anchorage, Alaska where until this morning I had a spectacular view of the mountains and we put together a fantastic sled run which I expected to end badly but turned out with far fewer bumps and bruises than I figured at least I'd get.

Also I've seen a total of five moose this trip which are the first five moose I've seen in the decade I've come up to Alaska for various holidays. It was a running joke in the family that until I saw one there were no moose in Alaska-that everyone else prete ded they saw them as some sort of an elaborate joke.

So I'm having an exciting week.

In case you didn't know there is a four hour time change from NYC to Anchorage and there is about five or so hours of sunlight a day. Which has thrown me for a loop. I don't know what time it is now so good day, good evening or good night.

SENIOR BOWL 2012

I just received my credential for the 2012 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama for which I have to thank Mr. Nagler and Mr. Behnke for hooking me up.

For me, the Senior Bowl is the true kickoff of Nfl Draft season. As one of the biggest College football All-Star Games in the country, the only drawback is the lack of juniors.

Due to regulations, scouts can't attend functions with underclassmen so unlike the NFLPA game (once know as the Texas vs the Nation game), this one will have the usual contingent of not just scouts but coaches and team staff.

While I watch a lot of game tape, I've found that live viewing is something can open up a whole different side of a player and seeing a guy play from the sideline can reveal things in a way that even hours of tape can hide.

Not to mention the outstanding week of southern BBQ I get to partake in. I'll be attending the week with several members of Footballguys including Cecil Lammey from ESPN 102.3 the Ticket in Denver and Matt Waldman who puts together the outstanding Rookie Scouting Portfolio.

We'll have plenty of stuff here at CHTV for any draft nicks out there as well as some stuff I'll post at BleacherReport.com.

Last year we saw Von Miller was the real deal and Casey Matthews was not a clone of his brother. Im excited to see what reveals itself this year.

TEBOW OR TE-NO?

From the heights to the pits in just a few weeks, but is Tebow or the run-spread-option a failure?

I say now the exact same thing I've said almost weekly since the roller coaster of Tebow started: it's too soon to tell.

It was too soon to say he was the future of the franchise. That's why the so-called Bronco fans irritated with John Elway for not hugging Tebow with two arms annoyed me.

He's the GM. His job is to be sure and no matter how many wins Tebow pulled off in the fourth quarter, a handful of games isn't everything.

On the other hand, it's tiresome to listen to the schadenfreude from the people pulling for Tebow's failure. Sure he's exceedingly raw. But until the current rash of turnovers he'd been improving steadily.

I'm not saying he was set to be Joe Montana (or I guess John Elway given he's a Bronco) but you have to wonder what a full off-season of attention from Elway and the coaching staff would do.

On the other hand, what will an entire off-season of film study do for defensive coordinators?

It's too soon to tell. It was too soon a few weeks ago. It's too soon now.

PLAYOFFS????

Most of the NFC is set up while huge chunks of the AFC is open. The Giants and Cowboys hold their own fates in their hands (I'm saying the Giants take it) while the Broncos, Raiders, Jets and Titans are all vying for two slots (AFC West title and the final Wild Card spot).

Not two weeks ago the Broncos appeared to be locked into the AFC West spot but two blowout losses later and the Raiders now have a shot with a Denver loss to a suddenly hot Kansas City while they beat the Chargers.

The Titans need the Raiders OR the Broncos to lose and the Bengals or Jets to lose.

The Bengals need to win. Aside from that, they're fine.

The Jets? They pretty much need everyone to lose. If the Bengals, Titans and either the Raiders or Broncos lose the Jets are in.

Better to back in than go home right?

I think the Broncos manage to win one more while the Bengals will make it interesting losing to the Ravens. The Titans will overcome a beat up texans team leaving the Jets out in the cold.

So that's it for this week. I've an appointment with a rock wall to climb so I can really hurt myself. If I fail at that, there's skiing tomorrow and target shooting Saturday.

Have a Happy New Year!

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Comments (2)

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Chris's picture

December 30, 2011 at 04:27 am

You actually are using the german word "Schadenfreude" in English? Wow. I knew words like "Kindergarten" made it into your language, but that one was new to me. Would be funny to hear you guys pronounce it ;-)
Holiday greetings from good ol' Germany, have a nice New Year.

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PackersRS's picture

December 30, 2011 at 10:33 am

Happy New Year Andrew!

Here's my wish for next year: that you watch as many pass rushing OLB (current or projected) as you can.

Pretty please? Both the Jets and the Packers need one, so...

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