Sean Payton was carried in New Orleans by one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in Drew Brees. Same for Bill Belichick by Tom Brady and Mike Shanahan by John Elway. Without a difference-maker at quarterback, the Broncos aren’t going anywhere.
M.P.J., football savant
Kiz: Players win games. Coaches try not to mess it up. During the peak of Brett Favre’s career, I asked Mike Holmgren, then coach in Green Bay and a former quarterback: Is the QB or head coach more essential to the success of an NFL team? Holmgren laughed and replied; “I’ve got to plead the Fifth.” Wilson’s flop with the Broncos reminds us a championship quarterback can make Payton look smart, but for all his alleged genius, Payton can’t make an average NFL quarterback a champion.
Kiz, I’ve read you forever and generally agree with your takes, but lately have found your objectivity slipping, with too much anger at the media dissing by Broncos coach Sean Payton. I’m not sure you watched closely enough the differences in play between Russell Wilson and Jarrett Stidham. Against the Chargers, did you happen to notice Stidham took a shallow drop, moved up in the pocket, allowed his offensive line to do their jobs and displayed a quick release to receivers actually running a route? This is what I — and most likely Payton — have been waiting for. Please be a bit more analytical in your reporting and not so simple and reactionary.
Rick, annoyed
Kiz: The staff here at Kickin’ It Headquarters is known for being reactionary, simple-minded dullards. And we’re proud of it. But scoreboard matters to us, as do victories. While we acknowledge Stidham played without valuable receiver Courtland Sutton in the lineup during his Broncos debut against the Chargers, he passed for 224 yards, scored 16 points and had a QBR of 31.3. Three weeks earlier, Wilson went on the road against the Chargers and threw for 224 yards, scored 24 points and had a QBR of 36.4. If you want to give the edge to Stidham on style points, that’s fine and dandy, chocolate candy. But pro football is a bottom-line business. Wilson has won 124 games in his NFL career, including the Super Bowl against your Broncos. Stidham has won exactly one NFL game as a starting quarterback. We will bet our life savings against yours that despite his quick release, Stidham will never match Wilson in the most important measuring stick for any quarterback.
And today’s parting shot is a reminder that while sports coverage is sometimes dismissed as the toy department of journalism, it’s not all fun and games.
Great job on your column about sportscaster Todd Romero’s departure from Altitude. Stories that address the issue of race discrimination and ageism strike a cord with many of us, because we’ve been there. Bringing these issues to Denver Post readers helps us understand how things are. I’m a Denver native, University of Denver grad and spent 25 years in television news. As I can attest, it’s a tough business.
Fred, got street cred
