On Thursdays, sports columnist Benjamin Hochman presents his mailbag, which touches on both sports and popular culture. To submit a question for consideration, send an e-mail to Benjamin or find him on Twitter.
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@shaunehiggins: honest assessment-there's been plenty of buzz, but is Denver better or worse off with even a healthy Champ on the bench now?
BH: Man, starting off with a tough one. I'll say this right away — last regular season, Champ was pretty good. Yes he got torched in the playoff game, and yes he was born during the Carter administration, but the optimist says he still has some of last year in him (like, can the drop-off be that drastic?). So perhaps when he returns, gets a game under his belt (like he did with Jacksonville) but then doesn't get hurt — he'll be effective.
That being said, a lot of buts and perhaps in that last graph, huh?
In his first game back against Jacksonville, he looked a step slow sometimes, and Pro Football Focus, which meticulously grades each player in each game, put him in the red (only he and Paris Lenon were in the red). Then in the Colts game, he made a terrible decision on an early touchdown, and Jack Del Rio chewed him out on the sideline.
Then, of course, Bailey reinjured the foot.
It's hard to say that a porous secondary is better without anyone, but the caveat is that if Bailey isn't 100 percent, then you look at Chris Harris, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Kayvon Webster. I think Webster is the wild card in all of this. He actually played more snaps than DRC in the previous game (53 to 42), and has graded out well on PFF in each of the past two weeks. Earlier in the season, he made a couple of smashmouth plays against the Raiders, and after the game I caught up with, sure enough, Champ Bailey, who told me:
"That's one rookie who gets it. He knows what it takes to be good — and he wants to be great. Really, it doesn't take long to figure out if a guy can be good or not. You can see the talent, and then it's about the attitude. And he has both."
So to answer your question, I don't think anyone — be it me, Champ, JDR, DRC, PFF, RG3 or CP3 — knows how Champ will do when he returns, possibly after the bye week.
The question is: How long should Denver risk having him out there to find out? I say the gamble is worth at least a game and a half of football.
And as we do each week in the mailbag, here are some Broncos tidbits from PFF, in regards to the Colts game:
• Derek Wolfe's minus-1.6 run defense grade was his lowest of the season.
• Ronnie Hillman and Knowshon Moreno did not force any missed tackles on 19 combined attempts against the Colts.
• Four Broncos graded in the green overall, including Louis Vasquez. His +2.9 pass blocking grade in Week 7 was second only to Cleveland Browns All-Pro OT Joe Thomas (+3.3).
• Julius Thomas graded in the red — less than minus-1.0 — in run blocking for the fifth time through seven games.
@Matthew_Paras: When's your next mailbag? Could you address the chances Faried gets traded this season in it? Seems to be gaining steam
Hochman's Mailbag
- Pose a question for Hochman's Mailbag, which publishes Thursdays.
BH: The only person unmovable with the Nuggets is Josh Kroenke. That's the reality. Can the current roster win a title? Since there's not a resounding "YES!" the team will continue to look for ways to improve the team.
I know they've been talking to teams about forward Kenneth Faried — he's a commodity. In a star-driven league (yes, team is important, but star is vital), Denver doesn't have one. If Ty Lawson doesn't ascend, like I wrote he must, what do you have? A team arguably less talented than last season, in a conference that's arguably stronger than last season.
Faried brings energy that most players don't. And I've written time and again that he is honorable for his promotion of gay rights (I wish more athletes would speak out like he does). But has he reached his ceiling? Can he be more of a scorer in the Brian Shaw offense?
And even though two advanced stat guys told me that J.J. Hickson's defense rates terribly, how much better is Faried?
NBA trades are fluid. It's not like they're saying, "We must get rid of him by December!" But if the right player is available, and the other team is desperate for rebounding, maybe a trade happens.
And maybe Faried rises this season into a dynamic player.
@nitedreamer33: best Wes Anderson movies by rank.
BH: Well, I've actually only seen three Anderson movies, though one time while in New York, I sneaked into the premier party for "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou." There was free shrimp. And while there, I had my greatest celeb sighting — yep, Regis University dropout Bill Murray.
So, without a base knowledge of all things Wes, I reached out to the mailbag's resident Anderson expert, my sister Emily. Here's what she had to say:
Not ranked: "Hotel Chevalier" (never saw it)
8. "Fantastic Mr. Fox"
7. "The Darjeeling Limited"
6. That American Express commercial
5. "Bottle Rocket"
4. "Moonrise Kingdom"
3. "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou"
2. "Rushmore"
1. "The Royal Tenenbaums"It was a tough decision between "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums." "Rushmore" was an amazing film that set up all of the Wes Anderson-y trademarks that were exploited in Tenenbaums, but dang, RT is still my favorite. Where's that red one gonna go?
An even better ranking would be Bill Murray characters in Wes Anderson movies. ... Herman Blume in "Rushmore" is, obviously, No. 1.
Ooh! Best Wes Anderson soundtracks would be a three-way tie between Tenenbaums, "Rushmore" and Zissou.
@pollisguy: who are the 4 people on your mount Rapmore?
BH: Ha, speaking of "Rushmore," let's talk Mount Rapmore. Right away, I thought — Tupac, Biggie, Eminem and Jay-Z. I mentioned that to @pollisguy, and he suggested Dr. Dre, who, sure enough, is one of my all-time favorites (I have a framed album cover of "The Chronic").
Shoot, you could argue that if you simply made Mount Rapmore as N.W.A. — Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube and MC Ren — it would suffice, though Ren (who does have a brilliant rapping voice), doesn't have the legacy of the other guys. So perhaps replace him with Skee-Lo.
Benjamin Hochman: bhochman@denverpost.com or twitter.com/hochman
To submit a question for Hochman's Mailbag, send an e-mail to Benjamin.
Visit denverpost.com each weekday near quittin' time for a heavy pour of sports commentary from Denver Post columnist Benjamin Hochman. Care for another round? Find previous Happy Hour installments at denverpost.com/hochman.
