The draft is over and all the National Football League teams are moving forward with rookie mini camps and their other camps, continuing with the off-season conditioning programs that are also well underway.
The buzz over the draft continues, however, and one of the biggest questions of all cannot be answered anywhere right now, that being, How did my team do?
Nobody will be able to properly assess that for a couple of years, overall, even though a lot of players will step up and make rookie impact of some sort right away.
A couple of things I am sure about relative to the Broncos revolve around passion, intelligence and character. You can never bat a thousand, but the Denver Broncos’ draftees in 2010 as a group rank very high in test scores (four of the players came out in the top 20 among all players in the Wonderlic test) and in terms of character issues.
Critics will always be out there (and a lot of critics are way, way out there), but when was the last time you heard a coach say he was looking for dumb, lazy players who get into a lot of trouble? Never, of course.
So they all have to play, but it is good to start off with players who have graded out well on those intelligence and character issues.
Now they all report to begin the competitive phase in one of the world’s great meritocracies, pro football.
The first thing players do in a locker room, literally and figuratively, is get naked. They strip down not only their civilian clothes but also any labels that have been attached to them in the myriad of reports done on every guy.
They step into the classrooms and onto the fields as equals-no one gets to carry a sign on his back that says how high he can jump, how fast he can run, or how well he can learn. No matter what has been said and written about his ability in any of those areas, he has to prove it all over again among his peers.
The coaches and personnel people took the players for their potential, but potential is a word left behind in the locker room, like press clippings-on the field, performance does not lie and determines who is what.
I have seen many examples, to paraphrase a Biblical verse, when the last shall be first and the first shall be last.
It happens in the classroom and on the field. If a player shies away from that kind of competition, or thinks his previous accomplishments give him bonus points going in, he will be sadly disappointed.
Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News, an intelligent draft evaluator whom I respect as much as any writer in the country, gave the Broncos an “A” for this year’s draft. I was really glad to see that, but when those guys hit the field this weekend, Rick’s grade won’t help them. They have to do it on their own.
Let the competition begin!
Tags: 2010 NFL Draft
WOW! 1NYCB… We agree again…
I think in Royals third year as a pro and second year in McD’s system, he should have an incredible season… I hope that is the case and last years slump is not going to trend into this year.
It seemed like Royal was on the field a lot but didn’t get the ball thrown his way much???? Hopefully the QB can spread the ball out more to all the recievers this year?? We were really one dimensional in our passing game. Guys were wide open but it seemed like the QB was too hasty to throw the ball away before he got hurt…jomho
ILMSDB!!!
OC..I agree it’s all about the if the QB can get the ball to the WR’s.Royal didn’t get a lot of passes thrown his way last year,and the ones he did,seemed like they were thrown at his feet.If Orton starts this season he’s gotta stand in there and find Royal,or whoever else is open,he should have a little more time to find the open receiver,since we will be better on the Oline.Just one man’s opinion that don’t mean a Helluva lot.
If we can get our running game going,that will help our passing game immensly,get the Defense more to the line of scrimmage,so our WR’s can get open,I hope our QB can throw more deep passes,because if our WR core is as good as I think it will be,we could take our Offense to a whole new level.
I wished I could see the new playbook we will have this season,with better blocking we will definitely open up the run more,and being DEEP and talented at WR,(not saying we weren’t last year) the Defense will HAVE to worry about more than one monster,and Yeah,what everybody is wanting to see,The Wild Horses with Tebow at the Helm,don’t know what kind of plays McD will have planned for next season,but I can see a whole new playbook.
BFE
uh oh i just heard Ryan clady may have seriously injured his knee in a non football related activity!!! thats the last thing we need!!
the info came from the denver post. hopefully the injury is not as bad as initially thought. but they said median patellar i think!
here is the link… doesnt say a whole lot but none the less:
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_14976271
guess its a good thing we drafted beadles… he may be playin tackle this year after all!
I guess we better put Tebow in right away sicne Harris will be protecting his blind side, LOL. No, seriously, that is an unreal set back situation, hope it’s not as bad as they make it sound, unfortunately Klis usually has good insight, BIG BUMMER!
About all the new player’s numbers thing, the only one that really ticks me off, we will still have to watch a #15 on the field sometime in the future, good thing he will be a QB this time, but still, I would of rather have a clean break from it. Can they retire that number for bad influence reasons? LOL.
recievers are not a bigproblem for us even with out Marshall. we have stockley, decker, thomas, royal, gaffney, mckinnely. we have a good rotation.
not to mention daniel grahm a TE
Oh crap!! Clady out at least 4 months (3 to heal + 1 to recover), and even then he’s not expected to be 100%. And that’s why I said back then “why not draft an OT”?
SIGN DOOM!
have we already come to terms with doom or something??????????
Well sir, I am honestly confounded by any sense of optimism regarding our long game this year, particularly if Kyle Orton gets a start. I really like the guy, but his vertical game is abysmal. I loved OC’s thoughts on Royal, I found his absence from the passing game last year to be, perhaps, one of the issues keeping our offense grounded. Even Fitzgerald had Boldin, right? You know, maybe that was more of a symptom than a cause, and I feel that addressing QB issues might be what the doctor ordered.
So I’m really late, but just wanted to say great article, Mr. Saccomano! I’m so excited for football again!
Giddy up, Broncos Fans!!