Broncos turnaround? Look beyond Wilson
Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, Brock Osweiler, Case Keenum, Joe Flacco, Drew Lock, Brandon Allen, Jeff Driskel, Bret Rypien, Teddy Bridgewater. These are some of the Broncos starting quarterbacks since Peyton Manning retired eight years ago.
They finally got a future Hall of Fame quarterback when they traded for Russell Wilson. Although Russell had a tough season last year, he turned it around this year. He was playing extremely well and led the Broncos to a victory over the Chiefs for the first time in eight years. He also has worked hard to stay healthy in a season of backup quarterbacks, not to mention that he is a quality human being who would never embarrass the team and loves the Broncos, his family, and his teammates. (Look how much Cleveland paid for Deshaun Watson). And this is how the Broncos treat him after he beat the Chiefs? All he did was turn the season around and allow me to enjoy Broncos football again.
I’ve been a Broncos fan since 1973, for exactly fifty years, and I’ve supported the team through the good and bad years. I’m so disgusted by how they treated Russell Wilson that I’m going to become a Raiders fan, a team I used to despise. I know football is a business, but the Broncos just went Chapter 11 with a self-inflicted wound that they didn’t need to do. Let’s see if it takes another eight years to find a quarterback.
Steve Antonuccio, Pueblo
The Denver Broncos’ new owners claim they want a championship team. Still, they retain the general manager, George Paton, who arranged the ridiculous trade for an on-the-way-out quarterback and the unrealistic $245 million contract extension for Russell Wilson before he ever proved himself in Denver. Paton should be removed. Russell Wilson has been afforded a two-season trial period that has proven unsuccessful. Wilson should be released.
Coach Sean Payton was hired to coach the rebuilding of the Denver Broncos. Either he can’t do that, or he hasn’t been given the tools to do so. So, either CEO Greg Penner isn’t providing the resources for the coach to succeed, the GM George Paton can’t negotiate the hiring of appropriate players, or the coach Sean Payton can’t coach the players he has. Someone has to go.
No business can succeed by repeating the same mistakes over and over. What the Broncos need is a plan to hire a quarterback that they can build a team around over two to three years and players around the quarterback that can execute a successful game plan. Throwing money at a sinking NFL franchise without hiring the proper people to run it is just a waste of money.
Remember, it’s not what they say they want; it’s what they do to show they are truly a successful NFL franchise. Hopefully, the Broncos won’t continue on the same path that has plagued the Colorado Rockies and become satisfied with a “successful” .500 season. Go Broncos.
Steve Crain, Denver
At least give Broncos management credit for “showing up” after a disappointing season. They had a post-season press conference where the owner, GM and coach “showed up” and spoke to the press about how disappointing their season was. Contrast that to the post-season comments from Rockies management … ’nuff said.
Curt Anderson, Broomfield
Paying respect to Prof. Nanda
Re: “After more than 30 years, Ved Nanda’s voice in The Post falls silent,” Jan. 7 commentary
I, and many others, will greatly miss Ved Nanda. No matter how much I swore at some of the letters to the editor in the Perspective section, the articles by Nanda were always well thought out, intelligent, and calming.
He will be greatly missed as much as he was greatly appreciated.
William Hineser, Arvada
Don’t blame the scientists
Re: “The incalculable damage wrought by COVID-19 is everywhere,” Jan. 10 commentary
There’s one thing I agree with in Cory Franklin’s commentary: Everyone is burned out from the pandemic. But when he accuses physicians and scientists of abandoning “their independence” and letting “politicians exploit them,” I have to call foul to this overly broad condemnation.
What we saw was quite the opposite – it was politicians who at first denied COVID as a problem, then predicted it would simply disappear, and when none of that happened (as the scientists predicted), even suggested injecting bleach. Many politicians opposed masks, social distancing, and lockdowns despite COVID-19 being a “novel” virus with unknown transmissibility, morbidity and mortality. This just piled confusion on top of fear.
Franklin points out that we don’t know what would have happened if we had taken a “Barrington response” – focusing on high-risk groups and leaving the rest of us alone. In fact, we do know what would have happened because that’s what many places did. Compare the areas that had the most political opposition to the advice of the physicians and scientists (masks, social distancing, lockdowns, and finally, vaccines). They all had much higher COVID-19 death rates. Any pandemic is going to be a catastrophe, but Franklin should be pointing his finger at the “Trumps” of this country, not the “Faucis.”
Joe McGloin, Sheridan
Belmar Park: Nature and nurture
Re: “Residents battling apartment project,” Dec. 24 news story
I have just returned from walking in Belmar Park. It was, as always, nurturing and peaceful. This walk was especially delightful because it included the sighting of a bald eagle.
Add my name to the list of fans devastated by the proposed apartment development on the east side of the park. Looking across Wadsworth to the east is a continuous sea of apartments and condos. It is hard to imagine more are in the works. Please do everything possible to downsize the current plans for 412 apartments and leave this wonderful park alone, as it is a true tribute to nature and a place for contemplation.
“In wildness is the preservation of the world.” (Henry David Thoreau)
June Jones Paulding, Lakewood
Funding an unexpected humanitarian crisis
I commend the City of Denver for its humanitarian response of sheltering the thousands of migrants arriving here. These needy human beings (including children) are stranded here in the cold after being sent here by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in a callous and vicious ploy, being treated as mere pawns in a political game.
I am proud and moved by how Denver residents have responded with an outpouring of donated clothing.
Now we know that the city needs funds for this unplanned expenditure, and all agencies must look for what could be pared back. I have a suggestion: Eliminate the continuing spread of white plastic posts in our streets!
These unsightly posts are littering our streetscapes. These posts are ugly and unwanted, having been imposed in a stealth bureaucratic invasion under the previous mayoral administration. They are misguided. They not only mar our scenic and historic neighborhood streets, but they have created significant roadside hazards. The gratuitous safety problems resulting from these plastic posts — for bicyclists, pedestrians, as well as vehicles — have been widely reported.
Yet this unchecked blight spreads around the city like a fungus epidemic. I wonder who’s making money from selling this trash to the city.
Let’s stop funding this plastic plague and eliminate that from the city’s budget. Let’s redirect that money to pay for the immediate life-saving sheltering of shivering families.
Pay for people, not plastic!
Christiane H. Citron, Denver
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