Favre Quickly Makes it Final

Weak MC's make me earl
Earl as your world is crushed because I gotta make you hush
You gotta be eliminated, the way I demonstrate it
you hate it, but still I am the greatest…

Props and Drops from this past weekend’s Buffs' win over Texas Tech and the Monday Night loss by the Broncos to Brett Favre and the Packers:

-PROPS: Dan Hawkins and used some imaginative play calling versus the Red Raiders, mixing in a QB throwback, fake end arounds, screen passes, and a few downfield tosses. Tech could never seem to adjust to the fake end arounds, which opened up holes for Buff running backs, mainly one Hugh Charles, who had another big day. The ball control offense kept the pass-happy Tech offense off the field and gobbled up the play clock.

-DROPS: Jay Cutler suffered through a below average game, as he was low on several passes throughout the evening. The pass that hurt the most was the third to last play of regulation, which saw him miss an open receiver in the endzone on a low pass. Cutler has had to improvise on many occasions, given the O-Line (outside of Matt Lepsis, not exactly household names there) and is typically throwing across his body or on the move. When he does get that open look, he needs to connect.

-PROPS: Buff cornerback Terrence Wheatley (or T-Wheat, real creative nickname there) had a stellar game, picking off three Texas Tech passes and narrowly missing a fourth. Wheatley sufficiently cover all-World Tech receiver Michael Crabtree all afternoon, bodying him up when he had to and timing his pass defenses beautifully on some throws. Wheatley’s kickoff returns won’t leave anyone reminded of Jeremy Bloom, but he is effective at getting the ball consistently into the 25 to 35 yard range. (Note on Crabtree: the ABC crew elevated him to the level of Randy Moss throughout the broadcast. Yes, the kid is a good player, but he is only a redshirt freshman and he does play in a system that chucks the ball 60+ times a game. Ease back before chiseling a bronze bust and fitting him with a yellow jacket.)

-DROPS: The Donks’ coaching staff completely bungled the clock and substitutions for most of the game. Witness Denver with the ball at the four yard line with a chance to win the game at the end of regulation and no timeouts remaining. First, the errant pass to the end zone, then a run with less than 20 seconds? What was the point there? On several plays, they were flagged for too many (on a few they had too few) men on the defensive side of the ball, and on even more plays, personnel were running in and out like the paparazzi tailing Paris Hilton. That’s just discipline and organization, which seemed mandatory for any Mike Shannahan team in years past.

-PROPS: The coaches got word before the game that the state of Colroado’s number one recruit, Jon Major of Ponderosa HS, will be plying his wares for the Buffs next year. That’s two straight years that Hawkins and Co have landed the state’s top schoolboy. There’s a phrase that would make Michael Jackson jealous. Linebacker Major is rated in the top five at his position by most recruiting services (read: dorks in their mom’s basement.) With the thin LB corps and Jordan Dizon’s graduation, Major should see the field in 08.

-DROPS: Do the Broncos have a deep seeded aversion to touchdowns? When they cross the 20 yard line it’s like they morph into a Pop Warner team. Penalties (nine of them last night), dropped passes, bad play calling, turnovers, and just dumb luck (the guard knocking the snap away) all lead the Donks to settle for field goals or nothing. Can the Inveso grounds crew manipulate the field markings to Jedi Mind trick the team into thinking they aren’t in the Red Zone?