@MarkKnudson41
STRIKE THREE: Bruce Springsteen sang that “Glory Days, they’ll pass you by…” That’s certainly been an accurate history of the Colorado Avalanche. But are they gone to stay?
The Avs glory days were nothing short of spectacular. From the time the franchise re-located to Denver in 1995 until 2003, Colorado won eight division titles, two President’s Trophy’s, two Western Conference titles and a pair of Stanley Cups. It was awesome.
Then came the decline. It was quick. It was steep and it was painful, especially for the die hards who had become so used to being one the NHL’s elite franchises.
There have been pockets of success and reason for hope before this season. They won a ninth division title in 2014, but exited the play-offs in the first round. It seems like during the perpetual rebuilding that the Avs were forever this “young team with promise” that never grew up. Never developed into what they could of and should of become. A handful of superstars in waiting, like Paul Stastny and Matt Duchene became good, but not great players. The Avs were locked in mediocrity.
Fast forward to now. A solid Avs regular season has turned into a thrill ride in the post season, with Colorado advancing to the Western Conference semi-finals after dispatching of top seeded Calgary in the first round. A shut-out win in game four against San Jose has left the series tied at two with things headed back to the west coast.
Regardless of how this series turns out – and make no mistake, the Avs have a good chance to advance – the future now, for the first time in a decade plus, looks bright. Very bright. Glory Days bright.
Superstar Nathan McKinnon is finally getting national recognition as one of the top players in the league. His line-mates, Captain Gabe Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen are also All-Stars, bringing back thoughts of the Joe Sakic, Milan Hedjuk and Peter Forsberg days.
Much maligned defenseman Eric Johnson has become steady in the Adam Foote mold, and young rookie defenseman Cale Makar – fresh off the college ice and into the NHL play-offs, looks like a young Rob Blake.
Of course the lynchpin would be in goal, where Philipp Grubauer has taken over and posted his first post-season shut-out in the Game Four win. No one expects him to become Hall of Famer Patrick Roy, that would be asking too much. But IF…and this is a HUGE IF…Grubauer can become a top shelf NHL goaltender – an All-Star at the position – then those ‘glory days’ that all Avs fans are pinning for might soon return.
STRIKE TWO: Most of the chatter that followed the Denver Broncos at the conclusion of the recent NFL Draft focused on the second round selection of quarterback Drew Lock out of Missouri. Good pick or bad? If General Manager John Elway liked Lock so much, why didn’t he draft him sooner? Is this another wasted Elway QB pick?
Fact of the matter is, drafting ANY quarterback these days is a crap shoot…or as Forrest Gump would have said, “…like a box of chocolates. Never know what you’re going to get.” So stay tuned, or get “Locked in” on the young QB’s progress. Answers will be forthcoming this summer.
Meanwhile, Denver went after a tight end in the first round – something of a departure but certainly interesting none the less. Iowa’s Noah Fant becomes the fourth TE from a Big Ten school selected by Denver since 2015, when Jeff Heuerman was picked in the 3rd round. Does this seem kinda weird to anyone except me?
In what has become a distributing pattern (watch where to step, Mr. Fant) Heuerman was injured during rookie mini-camp when he tore an ACL and missed the season. He came back to catch a few passes (nine each season) in 2016 and 2017 before breaking out last year with 31 catches and a pair of touchdowns. In March, Heuerman was the recipient of a new two-year, $9 million contract. Appears he’ll be sticking around.
In 2017, the Broncos spent a fifth round pick on TE Jake Butt out of Michigan. Butt was injured (Butt hurt? Sorry…) in his final college game (another torn ACL) and spent the season on Injured Reserve. Still, the Broncos thought so highly of him that they gave him a four-year deal prior to the season. He played a limited role last year, catching eight passes for 85 yards. He too, appears to be in a solid position, roster-wise for 2019.
Then last off season, the new Big Ten TE was 5th round draft pick Troy Fumagalli out of Wisconsin. However, he developed a sports hernia, and before the season began, landed on IR as well. He’s scheduled to make his NFL debut this summer.
Makes you hope Fant has good health insurance and doesn’t believe in jinxes.
Yet…what if Fant stays upright, and the other three Big Ten TE’s are all healthy too? Will Denver go into the season with four tight ends? New Head Coach Vic Fangio is an old school guy, but new Offensive Coordinator Rich Scangarello – who helped make San Francisco’s George Kittle a superstar last season – likes to send his tight ends on deep patterns, which suits Fant’s game to a “T.”
Otherwise, this collection of Big Ten TE’s would send a signal to Denver opponents that smash mouth football could be coming their way…
STRIKE ONE: If you watched Colorado State play a football game last fall – especially if you saw the Rams amazing win over SEC foe Arkansas – you were probably shocked that no NFL team drafted star receiver Preston Williams. Williams was absolutely sensational against the Razorbacks – and all season, for that matter. He looked like a sure-fire NFL draft pick.
Remember, CSU has recently turned out standout pass catchers like Rashard Higgins and Michael Gallup. Gallup was a third round pick a year ago. Williams’s production in Fort Collins was every bit as eye catching as those two, who were both drafted and are playing well in the NFL now. To make this more head scratching, Williams teammate Bisi Johnson was selected by the Minnesota Vikings. No one who watched them both play believed Johnson is the better player.
Williams did sign a free agent deal with Miami shortly after the draft concluded, but it’s not for the kind of money or security he would have had as a draft pick. Yes, a good percentage of free agents end up sticking on NFL rosters…but not the same percentage as draft picks who secure roster spots. It’s going to be an uphill fight for Williams, there’s no two ways around that.
The allure of the NFL is strong of course…but Williams did have the option of playing one more season with the Rams before trying to turn pro had he chosen to. Like most of us, he believed he was going to be drafted, so he elected to skip his senior season. Now, you wonder if he wishes he had that choice back right now? Would another stand out season in Fort Collins have improved his draft stock? We’ll never know.
In other sports, being drafted does not automatically end your college career. In baseball, you retain your amateur status until you sign on the dotted line. In basketball, if you don’t hire an agent and then don’t like where/if you’re drafted, you can return to school and play another season (or three) of college ball.
But football, for some reason, does not offer that option. Declare for the draft and your college days are officially over. Sadly in this recent NFL draft, a total of 144 underclassmen declared for the draft, and an astonishing 49 of them (34%) were not drafted. Now they can’t go back to school, even if they want to. Their future options and earning potential is severely limited. That’s the group Williams ended up in.
The NFL needs to fix this. Kid’s eyes are always going to be bigger than their stomachs, so to speak. ALL these underclassman believe they’ll be drafted going in, some realistically, some not. But giving those who aren’t picked the option to return for another year or college ball is the only right thing the league can do.
Wanna argue? Hit me up on Twitter @MarkKnudson41