Unequivocally proclaiming that any team, player, coach, scheme, system, etc, has failed before even a single meaningful game has been played makes this one of the most absurd threads that I've ever read.

That's just one fan's opinion; although, I'm guessing that it's an opinion that's shared by numerous others.

* game 4 . . . my bad.

You really don't need to disparage Durant simply to make a case that you believe Westbrook is better.

For starters. you would have more credibility if you got Durant's and Westbrook's respective heights correct--Durant is listed at 6'-9", not 7 feet. Westbrook is 6'-3". And while Durant is not the NBA's premier rebounder, he's an improving rebounder who averaged 8 this past season--more than the 6'-8" all-everything LeBron has ever averaged.

"Anybody can knock down a shot when there is nobody guarding you like Durant."

You must realize that's an incredibly ludicrous statement. After winning 3-NBA scoring titles, don't you think that opponents might be tempted to play some defense on Durant, or do you really believe that their strategy is to not guard him and let him have wide-open looks? And if anyone can hit a wide-open shot, why is virtually every NBA game littered with numerous bricks from players who have plenty of space to launch uncontested jumpers? If it's necessary to exaggerate like that to prove your point, I would conclude that your point is probably invalid.

It's easy to cherry pick stats from one or two games, but one or two games does not equate to a trend. Westbrook had an awesome performance in game 5, while Durant was largely taken out of his game, but that's hardly a trend and certainly not indicative of the rest of the series or the season. And if you're going to criticize Durant for his performance in game 5, you should also temper your enthusiasm for Westbrook's play and point out that his ill-timed foul of Chalmers while the shot-clock was about ready to expire sealed the Thunder's loss.

Durant and Westbrook are both dynamic young players with bright futures. Why bash Durant, even if you believe that Westbrook is superior? I personally believe that Durant is the superior player--now and likely in the future--but I still appreciate Westbrook's game and his developing potential.

You really think it's irrational to merely question the wisdom of signing an all-time great, but past his prime, 36-year-old quarterback who owns a losing playoff record and just missed an entire season while undergoing 4 neck surgeries? Is it still irrational to question that move when it also led to the departure of a promising young quarterback who led the team to an unexpected division championship and a playoff victory over the Steelers? I guess the vast majority of NFL owners, general managers and coaches must also be irrational, since only a handful of them showed any interest in pursuing Manning.

And, yes, I think Elway's ego was bruised by Tebow's overwhelming popularity. Elway seemed determined to show Tebow and the fans that he's the boss by bringing in "his" guy to quarterback the team and only grudgingly "supported" Tebow from the start. Even after that playoff victory over the Steelers, Elway could only manage a two-adjective critique of Tebow's play as he was bolting out the door. Signing a player of Manning's stature not only ensured that Elway's own hand-picked quarterback would now run the team, but it also allowed him to trade Tebow without causing too much of an uproar. Of course, it's also been suggested that any fan who has the audacity to disagree with this move is likely not rational, highly unstable and probably completely unfit to be entrusted with Broncos' season tickets. :)

"It will be a joy to watch Peyton Manning in Denver, and if he wins, every heartache of the last decade will be worth it."

And if he plays a couple of years and the Broncos don't sniff a championship, Elway will have let his ego jettison one of the potentially most electrifying, exciting, albeit polarizing (actually adds to the excitement factor) players of this era for absolutely no good reason, while the Broncos will likely fall back into major rebuilding mode. Sorry to rain on your otherwise optimistic post. By the way, the Rocky Mountains are always beautiful, but they still look better with the sun setting behind them. :)

Oh, did I mention that Manning will also be throwing to an inexperienced group of receivers who dropped numerous passes last year. And since Tebow was running for his life behind that sieve offensive line, how do you think the completely immobile Manning will fare? I'm guessing that he knows that he has little left in the tank or he would have signed with the 49ers, who are already a championship-caliber team. I think his decision to come to Denver speaks volumes about his actual physical condition, not to mention that he announced AFTER he signed with the Broncos that he's not near 100% healthy (who invests $95 million in a 36-year-old qb who's not 100% healthy, and may never be again?).

Hey Stormy (your namesake was a great local character, by the way), Denver has plenty of inclement weather, not the least of which are gale-force winds which frequently blow across Denver during the fall/winter months. Besides, anything other than the climate-controlled environment of a domed stadium will seem inclement to Manning. The bottom line is that the Broncos have likely made a huge mistake by gambling that a once-great qb who was already in decline prior to his recent neck surgeries (check out his progressively worse passing ratings for the five previous years that he played). Recovering from several major surgeries, turning 36, sitting out a year and losing the advantage of throwing in a domed stadium will probably lead to a very brief stint as the Broncos starting qb, while leaving the Broncos in rebuilding mode (without Tebow) for quite some time, especially since they have numerous other personnel issues (24th-ranked defense, two 34-year-old cornerbacks, etc).

Perhaps the author of this blog should worry more about the typos and grammatical errors in his own posts before trashing a proven winner.