So . . . how about them Broncos Monday night? It was so great to watch them play at home at Invesco field in that cold rain. Football always seems to be more fun to watch when it's played in the cold . . . or the rain. And it's even better in the snow. It's kind of like beer and pizza. The two just go hand in hand. Then again, for me, life itself seems more fun when played in the cold and wet (and with plenty of beer and pizza), so maybe I'm a bad judge in this regard.

Anyway, after three quarters of a tied game against Baltimore, Plummer finally got in gear and started completing some passes and, after a second great field goal from Jason Elam, made a game-securing touchdown pass to Rod Smith to bring the game to it's 13-3 conclusion. Sorry Baltimore. I know you're one of my local teams and I should be rooting for you and all, but I will always pick the Broncos over the Ravens. It's just that simple, Hon.

As in many cities, the quarterback situation in Denver is a controversial one. Despite the fact that Plummer has just come off one of his best seasons, in which he helped lead the Broncos to the AFC Championship and went some 12 or 13 games without an interception (I don't remember the exact number, but it was impressive), he's getting off to a rough start this season and word is that Coach Shanahan is itching to put in somebody else, possibly rookie Jay Cutler. But Shanahan is too smart for that. He's got to know it's a little soon for Cutler. Still, this might be the last season we see Plummer wearing a Broncos jersey and I, for one, think that's a shame.

Fans are extra fickle when it comes to quarterbacks. In Denver, this behavior seems to be compounded because of a phenomenon known as "The Elway Factor" - people are always going to make the comparison of any quarterback to the mile-high legend John Elway. But people forget that in the early years of Elway's career, the fans of Denver would call him "El-wood" after a bad game (like the three Superbowl losses of the eighties.) Now, Plummer is not Elway; this is for sure. But I do think Plummer is a "great" quarterback. In addition to having the skill and talent, which Plummer clearly does, he has that fighting attitude of always wanting to be in the game. He doesn't over think. He acts. And it allows him to pull out victories.

So I'm going to bring this back to the surgeon post from yesterday now. And after this, I'm going to stop this riff of health-related crap, because it's depressing the hell out of me and it can't be doing much for you either. But here it is: I think great surgeons should have those same qualities as great quarterbacks. Most of all, they should always want to be in the game. My last surgeon was this way. Usually very quiet, cool, and reserved to the point of rudeness, he was animated and cracking jokes the morning I went under. He was ready for the game. Over the several years that I saw him for my first disc issue, he never tried to force me into surgery, but he always maintained that it was the best course of action and that he could fix the issue. Optimism: he had it. Of course, nobody wants surgery, so I exhausted other avenues first, but it never did get better, and when I finally did the operation out of necessity, which was about 4 years after my initial consult with him, I was glad I did.

So that's why my gut feeling now is, let's get on with it. Let's cut to the chase, so to speak. I've already been through this. I've tried the conservative route and it doesn't work.

Dr. Smith's point is that I had a good experience last time, but that's not always the case with back surgeries. There are risks. I might not get better. I might get worse, in fact. Okay, great. That may be the case, and I definitely want to know those things and be aware of them, but I don't want my surgeon to be thinking about risks all the time. I want him to be thinking positively about fixes.

Now before you think I'm just pretending to be brave in front of the Internets, let me go ahead and put that to rest: I'm a huge baby when it comes to the propsect of somebody cutting a hole in my back and then sticking a number of instruments into that hole, including one that is extremely sharp and will be used to cut something that very near a nerve that happens to deliver sensation to my entire right leg. This does not rate high on my list of enjoyable activities. At the same time, the alternative - an indefinite period of time living with burning/stabbing nerve pain, and consuming inordinate amounts of anti-inflammatories and painkillers, does not seem all that appealing (or safe) either.

My last surgery gave me six years without sciatica. It was comforting to hear Dr. Smith make the case for no surgery earlier this week, but my personal experience is telling me that, while my current nerve pain may subside it's probably never going to go away, until I'm in my 70s and all my discs will begin to disintegrate, anyway. But by then there'll be other issues to deal with.

The main point is this: I feel like the game is going to happen, whether I want it to or not, it's just a matter of when. And when it does, I want to send in a quarterback who's going to pull out that 4th-quarter victory no matter what, who's going to keep his head in the game and not play conservative. I want to put in Elway. You dig? I haven't ruled out Dr. Smith as that guy yet. He's been mentioned in Washingtonian and comes highly regarded. However, I would like to see a little more of that fighting spirit.

Then again, maybe I'll just give in and become addicted to pain killers. Aside from the weight gain, it's not a terrible way to live, is it? Okay. That is all.

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