The State of the Denver Broncos

By: Adamo Marinelli

December 10th, 2019

     In this article, I plan to analyse the talent, coaching, management and ownership situation of the Denver Broncos to uncover the reason behind their recent struggles. 

The Talent: 

     Ever since Peyton Manning retired months after their glorious Super Bowl 50 win, the Broncos were no longer one of the best teams in the NFL. In the past four seasons, one thing stayed consistent. The defence continuously plays well every season and the offence, well not so much.

     Including Drew Lock, who got his first win against the Chargers in week 13 of the 2019 season, the Broncos have started 7 QBs since the departure of the Sheriff. Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, Brock Osweiler, Chad Kelly, Case Keenum, Joe Flacco, and Drew Lock. It seems they have yet to find stability at that position, which has a direct correlation with their recent lack of success. 

     This season, the Broncos have a top 5 defence and are top 10 in red-zone defence, points allowed, passing yards allowed, rushing yards allowed. In the first half, they can score at ease, but the Broncos’ inability to score points in the second half even with all the talented players they’ve had on offence, especially the fourth quarter, to close out games has haunted them, in multiple last-second field goal losses to the Bears, Jaguars and Colts and a heartbreaking loss to the Vikings who overcame a 20-0 halftime deficit. 

The Coaching: 

     After winning Super Bowl 50, Gary Kubiak coached the Broncos for one more season, leading them to a 9-7 record, one game back of the sixth seed in the AFC. Defensive coordinator Wade Philips kept the defence playing at an elite level and offensive coordinator Rick Dennison had a great year of game planning, leading rookie QB Trevor Siemian to a pretty good rookie season throwing 18 TDs, 10 INTs and 3,400 yards. The Broncos started 7-3 and then lost 4 of their next 6 games to finish 9-7.

     In 2017, John Elway considered hiring Mike Shanahan but decided to hire Vance Joseph. In two seasons with Denver, Joseph had a lackluster record of 11-21. His time management wasn’t that great, especially at the end of games; he wasn’t the best at evaluating talent in some players - particularly known for keeping a healthy Demarcus Walker off the field all season, and there were moments in both seasons where he completely lost faith of his locker room given their 3-1 start and 5-11 record in 2017 and 2-0 start yet 6-10 record in 2018. Granted, he did win some amazing games against the Chargers and Steelers to get the Broncos back to a 6-6 record in 2018 with an easy schedule remaining and a chance at the playoffs. The Broncos were unable to beat teams worse than them, played down to their competition, one of the many reasons why Joseph was let go.

     In 2019, they hired longtime Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. At 61 years old, he would finally get his first coaching job. His Broncos started the season 0-4 with zero sacks and turnovers and many questionable calls which led to two losses by last-minute field goals. Critics everywhere were discrediting Fangio; fans hitting the panic button, but he wasn’t worried. In weeks 5 and 6, in wins against the Chargers and Titans, the Broncos rallied up 5 interceptions, 7 sacks and 2 forced fumbles, adding two more turnovers with a 4th down stop at the 1-yard line and forcing a missed field goal against the Chargers. Their defence seemed to be back to normal. 

     As of today, they have 31 sacks, 9 interceptions and are a top 10 defence in points allowed, in the red zone, in passing yards allowed, in total yards allowed. It is the Broncos’ offence that has been struggling, and offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello has faced a lot of criticism as a result. The Broncos are in the bottom half of the league in points scored, passing yards, rushing yards and total yards. Joe Flacco was sacked 26 times and was very immobile in the pocket, he threw only 6 TDs and 5 INTs. The Broncos thought signing Flacco and putting him into Scangarello’s offensive scheme - which is very close to Kubiak’s scheme in 2014 that he excelled at - would lead to his success, but Flacco appeared to be past his prime. There were some injuries to the offensive line, like right tackle Ja’wuan James, and Flacco played with a very young core of receivers, running backs and tight ends, but his lackluster play and his injury caused him to get benched. Brandon Allen played well against the Browns and Vikings but was benched after a 20-3 loss to the Bills when the Broncos registered only 100 yards of offence. 

     The Broncos still had hope. Their second-round draft pick, Drew Lock, QB from Missouri, was thrown into the Broncos offence and immediately excelled. He threw two first quarter touchdowns to Courtland Sutton, one of the best receivers in the AFC, and did enough to help the Broncos preserve the win. In his first road start against an amazing Texans defence, he threw for 309 yards, a Broncos record, 3 TDs and only 1 INT and helped the Broncos beat the Texans 38-24 after having a 38-3 lead in the third quarter. The Broncos finally scored a touchdown in the final two minutes of a half and also finally scored in the third quarter. They still didn’t score in the fourth quarter but their defence recorded 2 interceptions, three sacks, a forced fumble touchdown and played a near perfect game defending a high powered Texans offence who dominated the Patriots last week aside from a few garbage time Texans touchdowns. Drew Lock has passed for 443 yards, 5 total TDs, only 2 INTs and has only been sacked once in two games thanks to a now healthy Broncos offensive line. I believe the Broncos have found their franchise QB. Drew Lock is not perfect yet but he is their long term QB. Scangarello’s game planning is helping Lock succeed with ease. Also, Elway is finally getting better at drafting QBs and drafting in general drafting Drew Lock, TE Noah Fant, OT Dalton Risner and DE Dre’mont Jones. They are now 5-8 on the season and Lock can further solidify his talents on the road against the Chiefs on December 15th. Fangio is finally putting the roster’s elite defensive talent on display and Rich Scangarello and the offence have appeared to find their groove with Lock. All the players trust Fangio and his staff which has led to recent success. The Broncos had talent on both sides of the ball all season. They just were unable to finish games. Now they are showing us they can. 

Management: 

     John Elway, since becoming the general manager in 2011, has led the Broncos to lots of success. Two Super Bowl appearances, one Super Bowl win, four division titles, three 13-3 seasons, a 12-4 season and more. He brought in many free agents like Peyton Manning, Chris Harris Jr. and Demarcus Ware and helped acquire many talented players in trades like Emmanuel Sanders, Demaryius Thomas, Aqib Talib and Wes Welker among others. He has even had lots of success in drafting elite talent like Von Miller. 

     Recently, he has struggled in drafts, however. Ever since Peyton Manning left, he was unable to find a QB. He drafted Trevor Siemian who was mediocre, Paxton Lynch, who was a bust, Brock Osweiler, who only played well as a backup for Manning, was not good as a starter, Chad Kelly who was a bust and traded for Case Keenum and Joe Flacco, who were both underwhelming. It appears he has finally found his guy in Drew Lock, but only time will tell. 

     He has also drafted several questionable players like RT Garrett Bolles in the first round of the 2017 draft, who has the most flags of any offensive linemen this season and in his short career. He has improved a little, but still has a lot of work to do. He also drafted CB Isaac Yiadom in 2017, who was underdeveloped and not ready for the NFL. He has improved since then but is not all-star CB. In 2018, he drafted CB Brandon Langley who was cut before the 2019 season after his conversion to a WR failed. 

     In 2019, however, he had one of his better drafts, drafting QB Drew Lock, TE Noah Fant, OT Dalton Risner and DE Dre’mont Jones, who have all balled out this season. 

     His coaching choices have been a bit concerning as well. He had the opportunity to hire Mike Shannahan in 2017 but decided to go with Vance Joseph, who finished with a record of 11-21 after two uninspiring seasons. It was the first time Denver had consecutive losing seasons since 1970 and 1971. He made questionable play calls at crucial times, had lackluster time management at the end of halves and games and wrongly evaluated talent. He is meant to be just a defensive coordinator. Elway made up for Joseph by hiring Vic Fangio, ex. Bears defensive coordinator. His confidence, will to win, amazing play-calling ability, defensive mind and “death by inches” motto has really connected him to his team and the locker room. As a result, we have seen improvement over the course of this season despite a rough start defensively with no turnovers or sacks in the first four games and the inability to close out close games in the 4th quarter. OC Rich Scangarello had a rough start to the year but is being more aggressive in the second half and with a lead which has led to more success with Drew Lock and DC Ed Donatell is only helping Fangio improve the defense. The Broncos staff looks to have a bright future in the coming seasons, with playoffs on the horizon. 

Ownership: 

     The ownership feud has been something that Broncos fans cannot overlook anymore. Broncos longtime owner Pat Bowlen passed away in August of 2019 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. However, in 2014, Bowlen decided, with tears in his eyes, that he would no longer be involved in team operations. 

     There would be a trust consisting of three people that would control the team. Richard Slivka the vice president, Mary Kelly an attorney and the team’s president and CEO Joe Ellis would control team operations. GM John Elway would be right under the three co-owners.

     However, after Bowlen’s death, three of his daughters all wanted combined ownership of the team. To do so, they would have to somehow eliminate the trust. Two of Pat Bowlen’s daughters Beth Bowlen Wallace and Amie Bowlen Klemmer have filed a petition claiming the trust now running the team is invalid. They asked a court to determine if their father was mentally able to create and agree to the trust when he did. 

    A judge ruled that there was overwhelming evidence that Bowlen lacked the required capacity to make a decision of that magnitude in 2009, five years before the trust was made. 

     A lawyer in favour of the trustees said it is disappointing and unfortunate that Bowlen’s daughters wanted to contest their father’s plans to have a team of trustees running the team. 

     On August 30th, the court sided with the trustees, denying the daughters’ request for an ‘advisory opinion’ and a ‘probable cause determination’ on their ability to challenge the validity of the trust and how it started. By choosing to challenge the validity of the trust in court, Bowlen’s two daughters risk losing their inheritance in the Broncos’ organisation if they are found in violation of the no-contest clause and if Bowlen was deemed capable of making a decision of that magnitude in 2014 when he did in appeal courts. 

     The fight between Bowlen’s daughters and the members of the trust has been happening in the background for several years now, however, it is no longer a background noise. The fight for ownership is at its peak and everyone in the building is trying desperately to not let it affect their work ethic. 

Ottawa Senators: Tanking for Lafreniere?

By: Adamo Marinelli

December 6th, 2019

     Many people expected the Senators to tank for a high draft pick this year. Aside from a few amazing wins here and there against stellar opponents, those assumptions would be correct. 

     Coming into this year, the young core of the Senators and new head coach D.J Smith had no expectations concerning reaching the playoffs. Their only task this year, the third year in their rebuild, was to help the young players continue to develop and build chemistry with each other. 

     Through 29 games this season, the Senators sit 7th in the Atlantic Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 12-16-1. 

     After starting the season 1-6-1, in a 3-week span from late October to mid-November the Senators went on a hot streak and managed to win 9 of 13 games. During that streak, the Senators showed talent on both sides of the puck, scoring at a decent rate, not surrendering too many goals with an exception in an 8-2 loss to the Hurricanes and their goalies, for the most part, performed when necessary. 

     With many young talented forwards like Brady Tkachuk, Logan Brown, Colin White, Anthony Duclair, Nick Paul and Filip Chlapik and several young and skilled defenseman like Thomas Chabot, Eric Brannstrom, Dylan Demelo, Christian Wolanin among others learning and developing in Ottawa or in Bellville, the Senators have a very bright future. Throw in some veteran leadership from guys like Mark Borowiecki, Jean Gabriel Pageau, Craig Anderson, Nikita Zaitsev, Ron Hainsey and Ryan Callahan who teach the young players and likely two top 10 picks this year; one belonging to the Senators, the other from San Jose in the Karlsson trade, the Senators have a chance to make some noise in the coming seasons. For this season, however, aside from several amazing wins against good teams like Tampa Bay, Edmonton, Philadelphia and Montreal, the season’s focus was clear. Get another high draft pick to continue the rebuild. They have had several losing streaks throughout the year to aid this point.

     After losing their last 5 games, including a 5-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks - who had a 4-0 lead after period # 1 - on December 3rd, the Senators proved they are not a doormat and dominated Edmonton in period #2 and #3 after another slow start in period #1. Sure, they were the beneficiaries of some lucky bounces and goals in Edmonton, but the youngsters showed grit and resilience like always; the team proved they’re able to compete in games against better opponents. In many of their slow starts, Craig Anderson and Anders Nilsson were always there to make a crucial save to keep the Senators alive. Last night was no different. Anderson stood on his head again and the defense did a great job locking down McDavid and Draisaitl until their offense took over. 

     Throughout this losing streak and others that they’ve had this season, they haven’t been blown out frequently with the exception of an 8-2 loss in Carolina and a 7-2 loss in Minnesota. The Senators have proved time and time again, they are capable of competing with any team and can stay alive in any game. Their goal is to get high draft picks to rebuild for a bright future, but they want to optimize the talent they have now, to build the next superstars of tomorrow. They don’t want to be known as pushovers. 

     Finally, it is still a bit early to talk about the 2020 draft, but as of today, Ottawa has sole possession of the fourth overall pick in next year’s draft. They are competing with Detroit, Los Angeles, and New Jersey for the first overall pick, which will give one lucky team the rights to Alexis Lafreniere, debatably the best player in a year stacked with talented Canadian prospects. Lafreniere can score, pass and defend, he is the whole package. The consolation prize is another Canadian named Quinton Byfield. His 6’4” stature makes him a dominant center who can swiftly move the puck up the ice, win faceoffs, pass and score. Incredible. The Senators have a chance at both of these guys but will need to out tank Detroit, New Jersey or Los Angeles and/or get lucky on draft lottery night. Also, as of today, San Jose is sitting 16th in the NHL which means they have the 15th pick. The Senators might take another forward or defenceman with that pick but should consider taking Yaroslav Askarov as their franchise goaltender. Anderson and Nilsson are aging and won’t be around forever.

     Will the Senators continue to lose games and tank for a high draft pick or will they go on a surprise run with their current roster and make a playoff push? Only time will tell.

Are the 2019 Raptors the Real Deal?

By: Adamo Marinelli

November 23rd, 2019

     After shocking the world and bringing joy to millions of fans in Canada and all over the globe by winning their first-ever NBA championship on June 13th, 2019, the Toronto Raptors had some important issues to take care of with free agency around the corner. 

     Their main goal of the offseason was to try and resign superstar small-forward, Kawhi Leonard. The Raptors and the city of Toronto offered him many amenities such as free dining in all Toronto restaurants and a luxurious penthouse worth over $1 million among many others in an attempt to persuade him to stay, but in the end, he simply wanted to go home to Los Angeles, which is where he grew up and where his family is. 

     In his first press conference with the Los Angeles Clippers in late July, he said: 

“Just before I get started on the Clippers, I want to thank the Toronto

 Raptor fans. I don’t have social media so I’m not able to put out a

 paragraph or whatever, … I just want to thank all of Toronto, 

the city, the country. It was a great, amazing season. 

Best parade ever! … I also want to thank the city as far

 as the restaurants, you know, giving up that ‘Ka’wine-and-Dine’

 throughout the playoffs. I took advantage of that,” he said

laughing. The players, they already know what’s up. Text, 

FaceTime me, we’ll talk. The coaching staff as well and the whole

organization really, I just thank the whole city. Thank you.”

     You could tell that even though he only spent one season in Toronto, it meant a lot to him. And it should considering he helped lead the Raptors to their first-ever NBA Championship. With Kawhi gone, that meant Danny Green would leave, and he left to join Lebron’s Lakers.  

     With Kawhi and Green gone, despite all the sadness it caused to Raptors fans, the Raptors were easily able to get out of the luxury tax they were in last season and were also able to dig themselves out of the huge luxury tax hole that they would have found themselves in if they would have succeeded in re-signing both superstars. Before the start of the 2018-19 season, the league-wide salary cap was approximately $101,869 million and there was a tax level of $123.733 million, meaning teams can go up to that amount without paying a luxury tax. The Raptors had an active roster cap-hit sitting around $139.3 million. That is about $15.6 million over the absolute max salary cap which falls into the 4th sector of the NBA luxury tax chart. The Raptors, despite going over the salary cap for many consecutive seasons - having the sixth-highest payroll in the NBA in the 2016-17 season and the fourth-highest in the 2014-15 season - have done a great job avoiding the luxury tax by staying under the tax level amount. Last season, by adding Kawhi and Green, they entered into the luxury tax domain where they paid almost $31 million in luxury tax. 

     However, ahead of the 2019-20 season with Kawhi and Green gone and with players like Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, Fred Van Vleet, Pascal Siakam, Normal Powell, O.G Anunoby, Stanley Johnson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Chris Boucher among others under contract for the Raptors, they are spending about $121 million in committed salaries. That is $12 million over the salary cap of $109 million but is less than the luxury tax threshold of approximately $132.5 million dollars. Raptors fans were sad to see Kawhi and Green go, but it worked out financially. 

     With the salary cap under control, the Raptors needed to focus on talent. They did not need to completely rebuild but may have to in 5-7 years with Lowry and Gasol and Ibaka potentially gone and with many key players like Siakam, Powell, Anunoby all becoming free agents in the next few years. 

     Regarding this season, however, many experts did not consider the Raptors to repeat as NBA champions and I agree with this statement just like many other Raptors fans. But, only very few people slept on them. After all, they had a record of 17-5 without Kawhi and were able to maintain the same core of guys that played around him last offseason. They are almost the same team.

     So far this season, the Raptors are fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 10-4 record, only 1.5 games back of the Milwaukee Bucks, who have possession of first place in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors have played well all season long, even without Ibaka and Lowry, who has been out with injuries since November 8th. Ibaka is ahead of schedule and could be returning tonight against the Atlanta Hawks; Lowry is eyeing a return on December 1st. They have even gotten huge wins over some really talented teams like the Lakers, Trail Blazers, Pelicans, and Magic among others.

     The skill of their bench, a key factor in their championship run last season, has deteriorated a little bit this season; only because players like Norman Powell, Fred Van Vleet and O.G Anunoby got upgraded to starters once Leonard and Green left and players like Stanley Johnson, Matt Thomas, Patrick McCaw, and Chris Boucher became players coming in off the bench. The play they get from everyone, especially their starters, has been amazing. In particular, both Fred Van Vleet and Pascal Siakam have been dominating the court and Siakam is showing why he was chosen as Most Improved Player last season.

     Another extremely important piece in their championship run, their immaculate defense, also remained completely intact. Kawhi was able to help the Raptors have the best defense in the league; without him, the Raptors still have one of the best defenses in the league. Head coach Nick Nurse stressed the importance of their stellar defense in the preseason and in training camp and he even called out all the players who he thought were not playing hard enough, including Johnson and Hollis-Jefferson. Nurse said in a press conference: 

“Nope, nope, nope, [t]hose guys have not understood A) how hard

we play [and], B) our schemes [and] that defence is a priority for them. 

... I keep telling [them] show me you’re going to play defence, show me

you’re going to play hard, show me you understand our coverages. Then

whatever you do on the other end you’re going to get opportunities.”

     By continuing to use this defensive-minded play, for the most part, they have been able to shut down high scoring superstars like Lebron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard just like they did all of last season, including during the playoffs. Their strong, physical defence also allows the Raptors to get plenty of takeaways and score points in transition, another one of their many skills on offence. 

     In conclusion, the Raptors are not as good as when they had Kawhi and Green last season. However, they are still a relatively young team, they are very talented and are well-coached. They don’t have a lot of cap space left, they still have some, however. They also have a strong pool of previous draft picks on the team and developing in the G-league, including Dewan Hernandez, their sole pick of the 2019 draft. I do not see them repeating as NBA champs, but I do see a team that will make the playoffs and that will compete for top spot in their division and the Eastern Conference.

The 107th Grey Cup

By: Adamo Marinelli

November 20th, 2019

     On Sunday, November 24th, 2019, the Eastern Division champion Hamilton Tiger-Cats will meet the Western Division champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers for a chance to be CFL champions.

     The Tiger-Cats boasted a league-best 15-3 record, finishing undefeated, 9-0, at home, easily clinching first place in the East division, 5 games ahead of Montreal. The Blue Bombers finished with an 11-7 record, good enough for third place in the West division. 

     In the East final, the Tiger-Cats dominated the Eskimos who snuck by the Alouettes in the East semifinal on a crossover. The Blue Bombers dominated the Stampeders in the West semifinal before edging the West division champion Saskatchewan Roughriders on a huge defensive stop as time expired.

     This matchup will end the longest Grey Cup drought for both teams in the CFL. The last time the Bombers won the Grey Cup was in 1990. The last time the Tiger-Cats won it was in 1999.

     Hamilton comes into this game with the best offense in the CFL, averaging just over 26 points a game and finishing with nearly 394 yards of offense per game and almost 7100 yards of total offense all season. Hamilton’s QB, Dane Evans, finished third in the CFL in passing TDs, with 21 despite only taking over for the injured Jeremiah Masoli on July 26th, in a 23-15 win against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Hamilton would end up sweeping the season series against the Blue Bombers in a blowout 33-13 win. For a little over a half of a season, those numbers are extremely impressive. 

     Their receiving core is scary and the dynamic duo consisting of Brandon Banks and Bralon Addison, who were both in the top 5 list of best receivers this season combining for 20 touchdowns through the air is a nightmare for secondaries. They will beat you with the deep-ball. The reason why their pass game was so good results partially because of the talent they have at running back. David Watford had only 16 carries for 40 yards but 6 TDs, and both Hamilton QBs would run the ball fearlessly. 

     Hamilton’s defense isn’t too was pretty amazing as well. They have the best pass defense in the CFL only giving up 102 points or 5.7 per game. They allowed the fewest passing touchdowns in the league with 17 and had 22 interceptions, 3rd most in the league. They also finished with 54 sacks, a league-best. Against the run, they are a little worse off. They are the fifth-best run defense in the league giving up 84 points or 4.7 points a game. They allowed 14 rush TDs, tied for 4th with Calgary and forced 12 fumbles. Overall, they have the best defense in the CFL. But their offense is what they are known for. 

     Winnipeg’s offense is also very good. They finished third in the CFL in total offense, averaging 24.2 points for game which is tied with Montreal for 2nd in the league. They averaged 356 yards a game and finished the season with over 6400 yards of total offense. Their passing attack is mediocre, about right in the middle of the league. Their QB, Matt Nichols had an average campaign with 1936 yards and 15 passing TDs, especially considering he suffered a season-ending injury halfway through the year on August 15th in a win against the BC Lions. Backup QB Chris Streveler finished off the year with 8 TDs and 1564 yards. Zach Collaros, who started the season as Saskatchewan’s QB and got injured early in the season as a result of a hit from Tiger-Cats’ linebacker Simoni Lawrence, will have a chance at revenge when he starts under center on Sunday.  Where the Blue Bombers really dominated on offense was their run game. They had a CFL best 2663 yards on the ground and tied with Hamilton for third-most rush TDs with 20. Their main man, Andrew Harris led the league in rush yards with 1380 yards and 8 TDs. Streveler, a very mobile QB added another 12 rush TDs with 726 yards. They really stuffed the ball down the defense’s throat and it paid off all season long. It also did wonders in opening up option plays and play action plays downfield. On a cold late November night in Calgary, teams will be running the ball a lot more than passing. The team that runs better will win. 

     Winnipeg’s defense also deserves a lot of credit, especially because they might not have had a chance to win the Grey Cup if it weren’t for a crucial 3rd down stop against the Roughriders in the West final. Against the run, they are in a three-way tie with Edmonton and Saskatchewan for the best defense in the CFL only giving up nine rush touchdowns and a mere 54 points on the ground on the season, which equates to 3 points a game. They gave up only 1156 rush yards, with an average of 4.5 yards per carry, the fewest allowed in the league and had a league-high 26 fumbles. Against the pass, they struggled a bit more, finishing 7th overall. They gave up 162 points through the air, equating to 9 points a game. They gave up the 6th most yards with 5690 and the 7th most TD passes with 27. They finished 2nd in interceptions with 24 and had 48 sacks. This defense knows how to cause turnovers and they caused more than the Tiger-Cats did. Overall, they are the 3rd best defense in the CFL. 

     Some significant injuries to note as of today. Hamilton’s best wide receiver, Brandon Banks is questionable for Sunday with a calf injury suffered in the East final win against Edmonton. Also, both defensive back Tevin Mitchell - an important piece in their secondary - and wide receiver David Ungerer is questionable with an undisclosed injury suffered in East Final. 

     For the Blue Bombers, defensive back Jeff Hecht - a talented outside cornerback, wide receiver Lucky Whitehead and linebacker Brandon Calver are all questionable for the Grey Cup with undisclosed injuries suffered in the West final. Overall, Hamilton will be more affected by injuries on Sunday, if the injury list stays the same.

     Both head coaches, Orlondo Steinauer for Hamilton and Mike O’Shea for Winnipeg will be in a Grey Cup game for the first time as head coaches. Both won several Grey Cups as players and were both on the Toronto Argonauts’ 2012 Grey Cup-winning team.  

     As I am writing this article, Hamilton is 4 point favorites to win with an over/under of 52 points scored. This marks the ninth time these two teams will meet in the Grey Cup, Winnipeg leads the series 5-3. In my mind, I believe Winnipeg will win a close game, by a score of 31-27, and that would cover the spread. The reason is, in the cold of winter, whoever runs the ball better will win the game. Winnipeg has a slight edge in the run game, but Hamilton in the pass game. Whatever the outcome is, this a game between the two best teams in the CFL on paper. It will be a good one. Catch it on TSN on November 24th at 6:00 pm EST. The pre-game show starts at 1:00 pm EST. Don’t miss it!

Euro Qualifiers - Perfection for Italy

     After falling 1-0 to Sweden in an aggregate playoff match on November 13th, 2017, Italy’s international squad failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 60 years. Immediately following Italy’s devastating loss, veterans Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli, Daniele De Rossi and captain Gianluigi Buffon announced their retirement. All of a sudden, the roster became a lot younger. 

     For manager Gian Piero Ventura, who took over for Antonio Conte after Euro 2016, and finished with a record of 7-3-1 in World Cup qualifiers, finishing five points behind Spain, the winner of Group G, leading to the aggregate loss against Sweden; not qualifying for the World Cup with an elite lineup did not meet Italy’s high standards. Two days after the loss, Ventura was let go of his responsibility as Italy’s manager. A week after the loss, Carlo Tavecchio stepped down as president of the Italian Football Federation. 

     Following continuing struggles and more losses in friendly matches, in April of 2018, Italy dropped to 20th place on the FIFA world ranking list, their lowest spot. On May 14th, 2018, Roberto Mancini took over as the new manager.  

     Mancini took advantage of the youth on the roster. With Italy’s iconic 4-3-3 formation, he focused on having a strong, physical defence that limits shots and forces turnovers. He also focused on building a balanced midfield that consistently runs at an accelerated pace, helps force turnovers on defence to send the ball up the field to generate a strong counter-attack, which Italy has always been known for. Using their defensive physicality in the backfield and midfield to generate odd-man rushes, mismatches and scoring chances in opposing territory.

     Under Mancini’s rule, before the 2020 Euro qualifiers, Italy won a friendly against Saudia Arabia by a score of 2-1 and then proceded to finish the UEFA nations league with a mere record of 1-2-1, finishing with 5 points. In this time, Mancini took time to develop chemistry with the players, build a reputation in the locker room. He developed a winning formula, the one above, and by the time the Euro qualifiers came around, he was ready to dominate. 

     And he did. Italy won all 10 games with Mancini as coach, scoring 37 goals, only surrendering 4. They finished first in Group J, 12 points ahead of Finland, the 2nd place team. They dominated possession time in every game, thanks to a strong defence, takeaways, excellent passing and ball control. Italy’s young defence and midfield played very well and controlled the game, helping dramatically improve goal production. Their young goalie, Gianluigi Donnarumma also had a stellar qualifiers. Italy qualified for the Euros after a 2-0 home win against Greece, with three matches left, but still played hard in the last 3 games, winning them all.

     Italy became only the 6th team to qualify for a major European Championship with a 100% record, and have done it for the first time in their history. 

     One might say that Italy had an easy group which helped them finish 10-0-0.  While Italy’s group had a few underwhelming teams like Lichenstein and Armenia, their group had a few strong teams like Finland, Greece and even Bosnia and Herzegovina, who exceeded their expectations. All groups were like that. Two or three powerhouses, one or two mediocre teams, and two or three inferior teams. Italy’s talent, youth and gameplans gave them their success. 

     Knowing this, they will be able to compete against any powerhouse in the upcoming tournament this coming summer, like France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Croatia or England. A few teams are still playing qualifiers, and the groups for the Euros are yet to be made, but I do believe with Italy’s management and talent, they have a chance of winning their group; regardless of who they are in a group with and will definitely make it to the elimination round. 

Panda Game 2019

     For the second consecutive year, the Panda Game sold out with over 24,000 people in 

attendance at TD Place.  

     Several Carleton Ravens’ turnovers and a strong defence from the Gee-Gees which had two touchdowns in the second half led the way in a 32-10 win, keeping Pedro the Panda downtown for at least another season. 

     The Ravens controlled the game early and had lots of success moving the ball up and down the field, meanwhile the Gee Gees couldn’t seem to find any rhythm on offence in the first half. Getting into the opponent’s territory was a rarity.  

     Both teams had a rough day on special teams. The Ravens’ kicker missed a field goal and had another blocked. The Gee Gee’s kicker missed three field goals. Both teams kept their offences on the field several times on third down due to the inconsistent performances from both kickers. Lots of points were left on the board by both teams.

     The Ravens took a controlling 10-1 lead into halftime after an amazing touchdown throw by Tanner Dejong to the corner of the endzone. Their defence shut the Gee Gee’s down in the first half on the ground and through the air.

     However, the Gee Gee’s started rolling in the second half and did not look back. Their defence took forced two fumbles in Ravens’ territory to the house for two crucial touchdowns. Those two TDs and a safety made the game 18-10 for Ottawa U. 

     Even after the 17 consecutive points from the Gee Gee’s, the game was still close. Two bad interceptions by Dejong gave the ball back to the Gee Gees and took critical points off the board for Carleton. He had three interceptions in the game. The Gee Gee's QB had only two interceptions in the game. Despite this, the Ravens’ defence kept it a one score game, being aided by a few missed field goals by Ottawa in the second half, but in the final three minutes, the Gee Gee’s run game which had been consistent all game long put two touchdowns on the board to seal the victory. 

     Ottawa U scored 31 unanswered points in their incredible comeback victory. The Gee Gee's win streak is now two years and they lead the all time series 34-17. 

An Appalling Start in the Mile High

     Offensive turnovers, especially on their own side of the field, and the lack of impact plays on defence by Broncos among many other things are big factors in their ugly 0-3 start. This is the first time since 1999, the year after their back-to-back Super Bowl wins, that the Broncos have started 0-3.

     Denver boasts a defensive-minded bench boss in Vic Fangio, two dominant edge rushers in Von Miller and Bradley Chubb, a good inside pass rush and a mid-tier secondary; yet has still found themselves playing from behind in all three games so far this season. This in turn has prevented the pass rush from getting going, which is why the Broncos have zero sacks and zero interceptions through three games, dead last in the league. Playing from behind has also caused the Broncos to move away from the run and rely more on the pass game, which explains Flacco’s many touches. But Lindsay and Freeman still had a great game in week 3.

     It can be argued that all three the Broncos’ games were very winnable. They were one drive short in Oakland but multiple penalties, holding in particular, took them out of field goal range several times and red-zone struggles kept them out of the endzone on multiple occasions. They were outplayed on special teams as well, getting a better average field position to start each drive and they two good kick returns on special teams that led to points. The Raiders’ defence also caused more quarterback pressure than the Broncos’ defence. 

     In Chicago, Denver again struggled to really move the ball effectively until the last few minutes of the game when they took the lead 14-13. Penalties continued to taunt the Broncos, a lack of pass protection from the injured offensive line disrupted Flacco’s rhythm and led to several key sacks that took points off the board for Denver. Playing from behind again, the Broncos moved away from the run game to try to get big pass plays downfield. Good coverage by the Bears secondary allowed their pass rushers to unleash fury on Flacco. Flacco has not been the problem for the Broncos but has not been excellent either, throwing only two touchdowns and two interceptions this season, being sacked 11 times. Of course, after the Broncos took the lead, there was a controversial ‘roughing the passer’ call on Bradley Chubb that gave Chicago a first down close to midfield. On fourth down with seconds left, they got a completion downfield and were able to call a timeout with 1 second left despite the clock clearly hitting 0:00. However, the Broncos shouldn’t have left the receiver wide open. 

     The Broncos played their best defensive game against Green Bay at Lambeau. However, turnovers killed the Broncos. Turnovers, especially on your own side of the field goes against Vic Fangio’s ‘death by inches’ mantra. The Broncos had a fumble inside their own 5 yard line and inside their own 40 yard line, both lead to Green Bay touchdowns. Both of these fumbles happened on consecutive drives, right before and after half time. This would give the Packers a two score lead early in the third quarter. Another terrible holding call against Denver, this time on Emmanuel Sanders, prevented a touchdown and quite possibly a 14-10 halftime lead for Denver. Instead it was 24-10 for Green Bay midway through the third quarter. The Broncos’ offence moved the ball very well up and down the field all game long, unlike in their first two games; and their defence did a great job containing the run and limiting Aaron Rodgers to only one TD and 235 passing yards but the two fumbles, Green Bay’s six sacks and an interception from Flacco on a poorly thrown ball when Denver was driving late in the third quarter with a chance to tie the game 24-24 sealed Green Bay’s victory. You can’t expect a defence to stop a good offence when they start at your own 5 yard line. The Broncos shot themselves in the foot again and again and the refs made some questionable calls (holding on Sanders) which resulted in them falling to 0-3 and the Packers improving to 3-0.

     Since 1980, a team that has started 0-3 has only a 3.4 percent chance to make the postseason. Only 6 of 176 teams since 1980 have rallied to make the playoffs after starting 0-3, including the 2018 Houston Texans who started 0-3 and won 9 straight games to finish 11-5. So the Broncos’ playoff chances seem dull but it is not impossible. 

     To start their comeback, they will have to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars and their star rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew, the leader of ‘mustache mania’. This is a daunting task because Minshew has posted a 73.8% completion percentage and a QBR of 110.6 the best performance of any rookie’s first three games in the Super Bowl era. He has 5 TDs, 1 INT and nearly 700 pass yards but he doesn’t make mistakes or cause turnovers. He puts his offence in a position to score and lets his defence take care of everything else. They had nine sacks in their week three win over the Titans and won the line of scrimmage which is a bit intimidating for a Denver offensive line that has been much better at run than pass protection and that is short a few starters in particular, right tackle Ja’Wuan James. The Broncos will have to hold off the Jaguars’ edge rushers and strong inside rush from players like Calais Campbell, an ex Bronco. Hopefully, the Broncos generate some pressure on Minshew and force him to make a mistake as that could be the difference between a 1-3 vs a 0-4 season. As well as generating pressure on Minshew (which might be a little difficult on the inside with Jewell and Wolfe questionable), the secondary needs to keep playing well even with injuries to safety Kareem Jackson who his questionable and Bryce Callahan who is listed as out for this game. As they say, ‘next man up’. Hopefully Bausby and Yiadom can be the next men up. Not to mention Denver needs to have a balanced attack between the run and the pass and Flacco needs to get the ball out quickly so the offensive line doesn’t have to block all day. It will be a tough task, but Denver can get the job done if they make no mistakes. Essentially it is a must win game for the Broncos. 

Offensive Ineptitude

By: Adamo Marinelli

August 25th, 2019

     Ottawa, Ontario: Dominique Davis proves once again, he is incapable of leading an offence at the starting QB role for the Ottawa Redblacks. He threw three interceptions; two of which occurred inside his own 15-yard line, both leading to touchdowns for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. 

     So far this season, he has thrown for 1846 yards, completing 169/271 passes but only has five passing TDs compared to 14 INTs. He also has five rushing TDs. He leads the league in picks, being three ahead of BC Lions QB Mike Rielly who has nine INTs and 11 TDs in a subpar season for the Lions where everyone is struggling and five ahead of Toronto Argonauts QB McLeod Bethel Thompson who has nine interceptions but also 14 TD passes, one less than Matt Nichols for best in the league. No other QB has more than seven INTs. 

     Recurrent turnovers by the offence told the story of this game, like several others and the Roughriders took advantage of the Redblacks’ five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles lost), scoring 24 points off turnovers directly. This helped the Roughriders cruise to a comfortable 40-18 victory after they started the game with a quick 17-0 lead in the first quarter. Turnovers killed Ottawa in this game and have in several others, always losing the turnover battle and gibving up too many points off of turnovers. 

     Not only do these turnovers help the Roughriders score points, but they eliminate potential scoring drives for the Redblacks and they take all the momentum away from the offence. Too many turnovers will also put the defence out on the field for too long, which isn’t good either.

     Despite losing 40-18, the Redblacks' defence played a decent game. Ottawa’s defence did not fail to make a few key plays to keep themselves in the game and give their offence opportunities to score some points. They didn’t cause any turnovers or get any sacks but they did keep the game close enough for a long stretch in the first half, but the offence was unable to generate a comeback. The QB switch from Davis to Jonathan Jennings which led to a 75-yard strike to Dominique Rhymes gave some momentum but it wasn’t enough to amount to a comeback. 

     As a result, most of the points the Redblacks gave up cannot be directly pinned on the defence. All of the turnovers gave the Roughriders excellent field position -- multiple times they started drives in the red-zone too -- which gave them several chances to take and maintain a lead thanks to easy, close-yardage touchdowns. Also, due to the inefficiency on offence, the Redblacks’ defence has been on the field for the majority of the past five or six games; in this game they were on the field for 33 minutes, less than some other games but still more than half.

     However, at some points, the Redblacks’ missed or didn’t finish key tackles or weren’t able to bring down a scrambling QB which led to many points for the Roughriders. A key moment that came to mind was a missed sack which led to Cody Fajardo spinning around a Redblacks’ defender before scrambling and throwing a TD pass to veteran receiver Emmanuel Arcenneaux. 

    Despite losing a lot of talent on offence in free agency at the end of last season like Greg Ellingson, William Powell, Trevor Harris and Sir Vincent Rogers amongst others, there is still a lot of young talent on the roster, both on offence and defence, such as: Dominique Rhymes, Devonte Dedmon, John Crockett, J.C Beaulieu, Brad Sinopoli and R.J Harris on offence, Lewis Ward and Richie Leone on special teams and Antoine Pruneau, Anthony Cioffi, J.R Tavai, Avery Williams and Jonathan Rose on defence, to name a few. The defence and special teams have a lot of talent and it shows week in and week out. On the other hand, offensively, the Redblacks have loads of youth and talent, they just need to have a competent QB at the helm who doesn’t turn the ball over a lot to lead this offence to success, to be able to keep drives alive and to be able to score TDs, not just field goals. Whether that QB be Jonathan Jennings, William Arndt or another free agent QB, it doesn’t matter. Davis simply doesn’t cut it as a starter. He definitely hasn’t shown that he is this season.