NFL: BRONCOS VS. THE BILLS // NBA: DENVER
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UNTIL AFTER THE CURRENT NFL SEASON, “SPORTS NOTEBOOK” WILL POST NEW EVERY MONDAY INSTEAD OF ON TUESDAY, continuing with a new post every Friday. Editor, Marvin Leibstone. Comments to: mlresources1@aol.com
NFL ---- THE Denver Broncos are a team that’s won six games straight this season. Tomorrow, they will face the Buffalo Bills, a team that’s lost seven straight. Presently, the Broncos are 8-6, recovering from last week’s embarrassing loss to the New England Patriots, 41-23. The Bills are 5-9 and an unlikely candidate for post-season competition, whereas the Broncos could own the NFL’s American Conference-West title easily if the Oakland Raiders (7-7) lose to the Kansas City Chiefs (6-8) on Saturday.
Okay, the Broncos look a lot better than the Bills when it comes to a running game---2,283 Bronco rushing yards gained during the season so far, the Bills attaining 1,655. But the Bills look better when it comes to passing---3,354 season yards vs. the Broncos 2,463.
From past data, we can argue safely that the Broncos/Bills final score will include a difference of only a few points, no matter which side prevails, unless, of course, the magic from Denver’s quarterback Tim Tebow resurfaces, sticks like Velcro and delivers the needed numbers, with the Broncos eliminating problems that got in the way vs. the Patriots, namely fumbles, insufficient protection of a QB in the pocket, inaccurate QB passing and lack of connectivity between QB-passing and selected targets, also a Broncos defense that had moments when, as a phalanx protecting an end zone, it stayed penetrable, plus moments when the Denver secondary couldn’t run fast enough for effective tackling and interferences (Fact, and Football 101: all NFL team defenses commit these errors in every game they play, it’s those defenses keeping these errors to a minimum that prevent an offense from obtaining a string of touchdowns and field goals).
Last week, however, the numbers based on past achievements indicated that the Broncos could beat the Patriots, which failed to occur. The take on tomorrow’s game is really anyone’s guess.
NBA: Denver Nuggets General Manager, Masai Ujiri, has been like that character in the classic western film, The Magnificent Seven, who rides from place to place rounding up top guns, but Ujiri has been traveling more by telephone than by other means, putting together a competent franchise for getting a job done, that is, for winning more than 50 percent of the about-to-be 2011/12 NBA season’s 66 games. Like that team-builder in the movie, GM Ujiri’s round-up now comprises top guns, in other words, capable starters and reserves, among them, point guard and returnee Arron Afflalo, returnees PG Ty Lawson, center Nene, also big men Wilson Chandler, Chris Andersen, Al Harrington, also Kenneth Faried, Timothy Mosgov, Kosta Koufas and Andre Miller.
What makes Ujiri’s chosen players unique? Possibly it’s that neither player is unique in ways calling for a hardwood five to be four guys feeding a superstar. There is real conduciveness within today’s Nuggets for the dynamics of “teamwork,” a policy that allows for the larger array of floor strategies and tactics that win basketball games, which has been Nuggets head coach George Karl’s preferred policy for coaching success.
Not that there won’t be freedom for Ty Lawson to achieve what he did the other night in a pre-season game against the Phoenix Suns. Lawson scored 21 points within 26 minutes. Note, however, that against the Suns, Lawson also put up seven rebounds, while second PG Andre Miller delivered six rebounds and 12 assists, signaling “Team first, all else left in the locker room.”
END/ml
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