Romey’s Ramblings

I woke up this morning to the horrifying news that Dave Matthews Band saxophonist LeRoi Moore has passed away.  Not much to say except that this is a tragedy - he went before his time.  Thoughts and prayers go to him, his family and the rest of the DMB.

RIP LeRoi, thank you for all of the wonderful memories and bringing us awesome music.

This is a few days old, but still noteworthy nonetheless.  A few weeks back I was saddened to hear that John Lynch asked for his release from the Broncos at the start of training camp, seeking a team where he could play a full-time role. Things remained quiet for a few weeks, but the news broke: The New England Patriots signed John Lynch.

As a Lynch fan, I’m happy he’s still playing in the NFL. He’s an amazing player, and nothing will take that away from him.  As a Broncos fan, I’m definitely disappointed and actually feel a little betrayed by John.

When the story of Lynch’s release request broke, it was said he left because the Broncos weren’t playing him full time:

From ESPN:

“[T]wo sources close to the situation said, because he is unhappy with his role. He has been working with the first-team defense in the first week of training camp but not in nickel and dime defensive packages. He has admitted that not playing significantly bothered him.”

I definitely could respect that, except for the analysis that came out about Lynch’s signing.

From John Clayton’s blog on ESPN:

“Lynch can fit into packages that would allow him to play 10, 15 or 20 plays a game. Belichick is the best at figuring out ways to use veterans and not wear them out. He did the same with Junior Seau, who enjoyed his Patriots experience so much that he’d love to come back.”

So Lynch left Denver because he was unhappy about not playing full-time in nickel and dime packages, and goes to a team that will play him 20 plays a game?  The knee-jerk in me wants to think that this was a hypocritical move and can’t help but feel a little betrayed.

At the same time, it very may well have been that Lynch watched the phone for full-time starter jobs and when it wasn’t ringing, decided to pursue other options.  I’m also a realist, and understand that the Patriots have a better chance of winning the Super Bowl next weekend than the Broncos do - but this isn’t Junior Seau: Lynch has a Super Bowl ring with Tampa Bay.  I didn’t want to see John Lynch go to a bottom-feeder team just to be able to start, but I hate to see him in a Patriot’s jersey. The only thing that would be worse would be Lynch in Raider Silver & Black.

Selfishly, I’m torn about what to do about my Lynch jersey.  He’s still an active player and I want to support him as the player, but I would also like to wear the jersey of a current Bronco if I can help it. I have no idea what I’m going to do.

Sorry about the lack of posts over the last 11 days or so.  The busy-ness of summer caught up with me again and I ended up far away from blogging.  Work has picked up over the latter-half of the summer, and I’ve been starting my day far earlier than I’m used to - going to bed much earlier as well.  I’m used to being a night-owl, and now typically get to bed before 11pm (although thanks to the Olympics I’m staying up late tonight).  I also had some great weekends trying to unwind and relax.  Last weekend we went up to South Park and had an awesome time, but the only Internet I had was 2 bars worth on the slow-speed cell phone.

I’ll work on posting some of my random ramblings, which have not been in short supply.

I was at the gym when I saw the devastating news.  I couldn’t read the close-captioning clearly, as the captioning got lost in the bottom TV graphics, so I was hoping my eyes were deceiving me.  Sure enough, unfortunately what I suspected was true:

From ESPN:

Longtime star safety John Lynch is leaving the Denver Broncos.

"I’m going to explore all of my opportunities," Lynch said Wednesday night, according to the newspaper. "Is it retirement? Maybe. Is it playing for another team? Maybe. [Coach] Mike [Shanahan] has given me the opportunity to explore that and that’s what I’m going to do. But I won’t be playing for the Broncos."

Surprised? Not really. You could see the writing on the well when Denver signed a slew of young safeties to compete for the starting job.  While I was ecstatic that Lynch signed on for another year, I knew that retirement was looming on the horizon, and his chances of starting full-time aren’t what they used to be.  It sucks because like the Packers, what’s in the best interest for Lynch and what’s in the best interest for the Broncos don’t coincide.

Depressed? Absolutely.  Lynch is still an awesome player, a great character guy (much needed for our team) and has done a lot for the Broncos, and I wish him success wherever he ends up.  We’ll definitely be missing him in more ways than one.

Worst of all, I’ll need to get a new jersey.  Who do I go with?

If you went to the Mile High Music Festival, the organizers are looking for feedback. I received an email containing a survey, and it’s available for everyone to fill out as well.  If you have any thoughts you’d like to share, now’s the chance to do it!