Daily News Clippings Sunday, March 9, 2014
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Daily news clippings Sunday, March 9, 2014 Hangin' with Hoch: Von Miller is unqualified to be a Broncos captain By Benjamin Hochman The Denver Post Sunday, March 09, 2014 Leadership qualities. With Champ Bailey and Wesley Woodyard departing, does this leave an opportunity for Von Miller to establish himself as a leader? Scott Petre @MrScottPetre Hochman: That'll be the day. I don't sense Von as a leader in the sense of, you know, accountability, intelligence and setting a good example. But 2014 is his big season, leading into the uncertainty of that following offseason. So who knows? Maybe he ascends. But right now, the only leadership Von has, in my eyes, anyway, is the lead-by-example thing. I've seen teams elect captains who are simply the best players, the guys who lead by statistics and demeanor on the field. If I'm a veteran Broncos defensive player, I'd want Von to prove again to me that he cares about this team. Last year was a lost year. There was all the off-field stuff with the suspension and the driver's license and such. Then he came back, played pretty well — but not 2012-type Von — and then was hurt before the playoffs. And if I'm a Broncos player, I'm irked by the TMZ report that Miller tried to party with the Seattle Seahawks the night of the Super Bowl. Before he can be anointed a leader, he needs to prove that his head is in the right place. Denver's pass rush was average last season. Miller can make it vicious. But I'd be very surprised if he's wearing a C. In fact, it would concern me, and make me wonder what this says about the Broncos players who elected him. Rock chalk. What do you see as the biggest need for the @denvernuggets in the draft this year? Which prospects fill that need? Michael Green @MikeyGJose Hochman: Naturally, we'll know a lot more once we know the pick, once the May 20 lottery occurs. That could be one of the biggest nights in Denver sports history. The Nuggets will have two cracks at a top-three draft pick, with the odds of their own pick and the New York Knicks' pick (the lesser of the two picks, though, must be given to Orlando). But even if the Nuggets don't crack the top three, the Knicks pick should be bad enough to get them a quality starter. I think Denver can improve in numerous areas: low-post scoring, 3-point shooting and, really, winning. But if I'm picking, my list goes as followed: Kansas' Andrew Wiggins, Kansas' Joel Embiid, Duke's Jabari Parker, Kentucky's Julius Randle, Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart and Australian Dante Exum. Bottoms up. Power rank Denver's top five dive bars! Will Petersen @PetersenWill Hochman: Don's Club Tavern is my Cheers. Two through five? The Thin Man, The Candlelight, El Chapultepec and P.S. Lounge. Turning the corners. In honor of Champ Bailey, who are your top three cornerbacks ever to play in the NFL? Max Anderson @mganderson724 Hochman: Deion Sanders, Darrell Green and Champ! Fine line. Should we now be nervous about not being able to re-sign Paul Stastny? "Denver Sports Fan" RT @denversportsfan Hochman: No, I have faith. It's my understanding that the Avalanche would have traded Stastny if Colorado didn't have a good sense it could re-sign him. A lot could happen, but I think it'll work out. Also, there are few more exciting moments when the line of Stastny, Gabe Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon hop onto the ice. Hello, Newman. What is the best "Seinfeld" vanity plate? MOOPS BOSCO MANHAND JRMINT? (The particular one used on the show, and not fit for print) is too obvious. Klis: Free-agent wide receiver Eric Decker is worth the big bucks By Mike Klis The Denver Post Sunday, March 09, 2014 Eric Decker can catch the ball in traffic, and cornerbacks Marcus Cooper and Brandon Flowers would tell you he can beat you deep. Decker blocks better than most tight ends, returns punts, breaks tackles, scores touchdowns, wears eye black and never says a bad word about a teammate. Yet the national media spent the past week vilifying the free-agent wide receiver as if he's the next Alvin Harper. For two days, the front page story on ESPN's NFL website was headlined: "Buyer Beware: Decker's Not Elite." The story said that, according to the NFL Network, teams don't see Decker as a No. 1 receiver. The free-agent market opens Tuesday and Sports Illustrated's website listed 10 potential busts. Decker was No. 1. The critiques are stunning. First, who ever said Decker was a No. 1 receiver? No one ever did, including Decker. He has always deferred to his close friend, Demaryius Thomas, as the Broncos' No. 1 weapon at wide receiver. As a free agent next year, Thomas will command more than $12 million per season. That's the going rate for a No. 1 receiver. But Decker might be the best No. 2. Alshon Jeffery is another productive season from challenging Decker for the "Avis" distinction. Roddy White is fading. Anquan Boldin has to slow down sometime. Among those who approached the bargaining table as a No. 2 receiver, the highest- paid are Tampa Bay's Mike Williams, who is averaging $7.9 million per year, and Miami's Brian Hartline, who is getting $6.2 million. Decker is better than both. At least that's what the stats say. Yes, Decker played two seasons in Denver with Peyton Manning, who has dished out catches, receiving yards and touchdowns like no other QB. But Decker also played one season in Denver with Tim Tebow, a winner despite significant flaws as a passer. There was a game in 2011 when Tebow completed only two passes. Decker made due by catching half of them. He turned his one reception into a 56-yard touchdown that was the difference in victory. Decker is not infallible. He occasionally trips over yard-line stripes. He drops a few more than he should. But I am old enough to remember Jerry Rice before he became the greatest of all time. Rice wasn't nearly as sure-handed early as he was during his elongated prime. It's fair to chide Decker for his sappy reality TV show. I can't help but wonder whether his Hollywood-type excursion and magazine-cover good looks have propagated a large bull's-eye upon his game. If Mike Williams is worth $7.9 million per year, Decker should get $8 million. I don't think the Broncos will go much past $6 million. It's understandable, because they already are paying $6 million to slot receiver Wes Welker this year and are possibly confronting another $19 million combined for Demaryius Thomas and tight end Julius Thomas next year. There is wisdom in the Broncos not putting such a high percentage of their salary cap into their pass catchers. But that doesn't mean the Broncos don't like Decker. Or that the Broncos would be better without him. Decker's best attribute: If he's your No. 2 receiver, you can win. As potential buyers are surely aware. Broncos could be better in playoffs with stronger play at safety By Mike Klis The Denver Post Sunday, March 09, 2014 If the safety position were a math problem, it would be one plus one equals three. Something about it doesn't add up. If safety were a family member, it would be a stepchild. It does most of the chores, yet gets the least amount of love and respect. The NFL recently released its 2014 franchise-tag salaries based on the average of the richest players at each position, and safeties were the lowest-paid on defense. Among the 10 nonkicker positions overall, safeties make less than all but tight ends. At least pass-catching tight ends come out on run downs, while the blocking types sit on third-and-long. Safeties don't leave the field. Broncos safety Rahim Moore was the only player who was in on 100 percent of his team's defensive snaps in at least four of the first nine games last year, and he played at 96 percent in the other five. When Moore went down with a lower leg circulatory disorder, his replacement, Mike Adams, played 100 percent of the snaps in a team-high five games, including the Broncos' two AFC playoff wins. Yet in recent years, the Broncos have approached the safety position as the rest of NFL does: as an afterthought. Too often the Broncos have filled those positions with undrafted overachievers or 30-something, free-agent stopgaps. If the Broncos want to better match up with the Seahawks the next time they meet (at Seattle in a date to be determined in the 2014 season), they may want to address the lopsided mismatch at the safety position. "The position is ignored but yet in the playoffs, there seems to be a safety who's extremely instrumental during the (postseason) run," said former Broncos safety John Lynch, now an NFL broadcaster for the Fox network. "(Bernard) Pollard a couple years ago with Baltimore. You saw with the Broncos in the Super Bowl, Kam Chancellor in many ways took over that game." The Broncos are going to attempt to upgrade the position. They are expected to pursue Cleveland strong safety T.J.