@MarkKnudson41
Strike One: The term “disrespected” is thrown around often by athletes and their supporters. It’s used by fuel for many. Being “dissed,” real or imaginary, can be a great motivator.
Does it work even when the athlete himself doesn’t tout it?
Supporters of Denver Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay like to claim their guy is being “disrespected” by his team, even though he’s never stated so publicly. So where’s the evidence? Lindsay is the hometown hero, having played high school ball in Denver and then starring at the University of Colorado. Feelings run hot when it comes to discussions about the former Buff.
It all started on draft day in 2018 when no NFL team used a draft choice on the 5’8” 190 lb running back. Certainly he felt dissed then, but it helps to understand reality. Not very many guys his size, who play a physically demanding position, get drafted, regardless of their collegiate stats. It didn’t take long for the Broncos to reach out and offer an undrafted free agent contract, so they did want him.
Still, Lindsay fans felt he was being disrespected.
Then, after two standout seasons in his first two years with the Broncos, Lindsay saw the front office go out and sign former first round draft pick Melvin Gordon, who’s 6’1” and 215 pounds, to a two-year, $16 mil contract. This was once again perceived by many as a lack of respect for Lindsay.
It wasn’t. It was a sound move designed to create a productive tandem in the Bronco backfield. Splitting up the carries would allow Lindsay a lighter workload and potentially a longer more lucrative career. (And indeed, this season, Lindsay has had to deal with multiple injuries, proving the acquisition of Gordon was indeed the right move.)
Which brings us to the money factor. Gordon makes $8 mil per (in his sixth year in the league) while Lindsay (in his third season) is still making under a million per. To many, that somehow means Lindsay is being disrespected.
Except it doesn’t. Just look at history. Similar Broncos history.
The guy considered the best Bronco receiver ever, Rod Smith, was also signed as an undrafted free agent. He made less than $250K combined his first two years. He got a four-year deal after that worth $587K per season. It wasn’t until his fifth season that Smith was given a multi-year deal that paid him $4 million per.
More recently, stalwart defensive back Chris Harris Jr. – another undrafted free agent signing – was paid $465K per year under a three-year rookie deal, then got a one-year contract worth just over $2 million. Entering his fifth season, Harris signed a five-year deal worth a total of $42 million.
That’s how the system works. Tenure matters. Teams don’t pay big money until they absolutely have to. It’s no different for a hometown hero. It’s not a sign of disrespect, it’s just business as usual.
Lindsay fans can complain about a lack of respect, but there’s no evidence to support the claim.
Strike Two: They looked better. More aggressive. More passionate. But was the Colorado State Rams defense actually better in the big 34-24 Border War win over Wyoming?
Depends how you look at it I suppose. The unit did create three Cowboy turnovers (one on special teams) including a pick-six and a key fumble recovery that produced an early 14-0 lead. The Rams defensive line registered six sacks and harassed Wyo freshman QB Levi Williams into a few misthrows. The D-line was indeed the bright spot.
After that, however, the Rams defense at the so-called “second” and “third” levels is still leaving a lot to be desired.
Williams threw for 321 yards, completing 19-of-31 passes. Most of those were to receivers who appeared to be benefiting from social distancing protocols – no Ram defenders were within five yards.
On the ground, the Cowboys Xazavian Valladay rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown. All totaled, Wyo racked up 465 yards in total offense, even after you include the 31 yards lost on sacks. It’s highly doubtful that even a fired up, passionate and aggressive Rams effort would have resulted in a victory without those key Wyoming miscues.
To be fair, one of the many casualties of the necessary COVID-19 protocols is lack of opportunity to practice tackling. The Rams (and many other teams) obviously needed that practice and couldn’t get it. So some of the shoddy tackling can be excused – for the time being. But too many times guys were trying to shoulder ball carriers to the ground, rather than wrapping them up and taking them down. And too many times defenders appeared to be guarding a spot in a soft zone, rather than covering the receiver who’d come into that zone.
In any case, it wasn’t good.
The Rams will gladly take the win, regardless. It’s something great to build on. But don’t be fooled by what you think you saw. Defensive coordinator Chuck Heater’s unit has a lot of work to do…and they’ll face offenses in the coming weeks that are far better than Wyoming’s vanilla attack.
It’s nice when an opponent helps out by beating themselves, but it’s not something you can count on happening again. In order for real long-term progress to continue, the defense can not rest.
Strike Three: The Denver Nuggets are in a great spot. They’ve got a young and exciting core of players who now have an abundance of play-off experience. As is, they’ll be among the favorites to get back to and perhaps win the NBA’s Western Conference Finals. You never know.
That doesn’t mean they are, or should be, satisfied and standing pat during the shortened off season. It doesn’t mean they have to make any significant player moves, either. It means they have options. And that’s a great place to be at the moment.
For starters, keep in mind where we are right now: Denver coming off a great season on the court, but nowhere else. COVID turned last season sideways, forced the NBA into a bubble and removed all attendance-generated revenue from the bottom line. Yes, Stan Kroenke has more money than God. Yes, Kroenke Sports Enterprises can absorb a bad financial year. But that does not account for what lies ahead.
While the league plans to start in January and have a season that’s only shortened by 10 games, there’s no guarantee they’ll get any fans in the stands, and not even that they can start or finish the season has planned. The Virus is still very much in control.
So with that as the backdrop, does the Nuggets front office want to risk making a big trade right now? Perhaps trading away a player or even two that played key roles in last season’s success? Giving up a first round draft pick?
Hard questions. No perfect answer.
The most common trade rumor floating in cyberspace has Denver sending not all, but some combination of: Gary Harris, Will Barton, Jeremy Grant (provided they can re-sign him) Bol Bol and even Monte Morris…plus the draft pick to New Orleans for star guard Jrue Holiday. In salary cap leagues, trades need to include “salary matches” so pretty much any scenario that actually happens would have to include Harris, slated to make almost $19 mil in 2021.
Would acquiring Holiday, considered an excellent defender and facilitator along with his great offensive abilities, be worth giving up Harris AND Grant? Or Bol? And the late first round pick?
If by some stroke of luck, Denver could give up just Harris and Barton – who missed the entire post-season – and the first round pick, they should do it. Losing Harris will hurt the defense, because he’s one of the best defensive guards around. But Holiday is as well, so that could be offset. Sending out a starting line-up that includes Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr, Jeremy Grant and Holiday would make Denver formidable to be sure. Keeping Morris and Bol will keep the bench productive as well.
Then again, sending out that same group with Harris starting in the backcourt instead of Holiday, and having Barton coming off the bench with Morris and Bol wouldn’t be a bad thing, either.
Money and uncertainty will play a role in every decision. But it doesn’t seem like the Nuggets can lose going in either direction. Like I said, a great spot to be in.