Great interview today. Waited to post until I heard the interview. If you didn’t, find it on KOA or other sites and see what you think. (DenverBroncos.com will have the video and audio of the press conference on the site shortly.)
Sixteen years in the league and some tough years are “experiences” you can’t read about and/or understand if you haven’t lived it. I was there for four of John and had another three of my own in Tampa with losing seasons, but 16 years and all he accomplished speaks for itself, so I’m excited for the organization, Mr. Bowlen and the fans.
John’s a winner, a leader, a smart guy, and like I mentioned before the MOST fierce competitor I ever played with in my “ENTIRE” sports career and I played with Kelly, Testaverde, Joe Ferguson, Steve Deberg and Bernie Kosar was a redshirt at Miami when I as a senior. You know it when you see it and you know by what a guy does on and off the field. Leadership and respect are earned, not a given.
By the way great posts all week on potental draft picks and links to video on them. You guys/gals keep it rolling. Like I mentioned late in the week if you were reading (Bay) and I discussed John as a team player not a guy you work for BUT “with” and I think the interview today solidified that comment. When he walks into a huddle, “we’re all in this together attitude” will be much the same as an Executive VP. That’s teamwork at the highest level and that creates “lapdog loyalty” in an organization and a feeling of being a part of something much bigger.
I know you all get tired of my PATIENCE comment but we’ll need some because it will be tough to turn this around quickly. Big ships take time, but I have a lot more faith with John involved and so will many of you if you listened to the no nonsense interview and I appreciate how candidly he spoke about the team, organization, Tebow and Champ.
Fresh start today, so stay tuned.
GO BRONCOS!!!
Coop
Tags: 2011, John Elway, Mark Cooper
LMAO baylin….i read what sndvl said but didnt click until i saw you laughing your butt off lol. Yea sndvl…BFE has started his campaign early…he will let it be known lol
That was no sheriff, just a Billy the Kid fraud.
Bailey and Dawk would fit in Greg Williams system. Especially since Sharper and Old Man Harper is thriving in it.
The problem with Williams is he is going to be at the tail end of the interviews since he is unavailable now, but I would think it’s worth the wait. Elway said if the right guy presents himself in the first interview then be it, but I do hope they keep their options open all the way through the search and don’t jump the gun falling in love with a certain guy because that’s exactly what Bowlen did two years ago with McD.
I do wanna see Fairly play. That’s for sure. Still a lot of unknowns. I’m more than willing to be patient as Coop suggested. Especially with #7 at the helm.
I saw Bowers play in his bowl game and I’m looking forward to see Fairley Monday night also.
This is from draft Tek:
This Broncos fan will be glued to the TV for the BCS National Championship and what he’ll be watching most is that force of nature on the Tigers D-Line known as Nick Fairley. With 55 tackles, 11 sacks, and an INT, Fairley has been nothing short of dominant for Auburn this year and would add some serious nasty to a Broncos Defense that could use it. At 6′ 4″ and almost 300 lbs he has the potential to be a great DE34 or, if the winds of change blow in that direction, a great DT43. –Scott Nelson, Broncos Analyst
We still have to determine which defense were gonna run. Sounds like 3-4 is the early favorite. But that can change! Watched Clemson as well. Bowers wasn’t spectacular. He is an athlete though!
Haha Baylin! The information super highway
As BFE always says, that’s the thing that stands out with Fairley is he can play both DE and DL equally well, a huge plus over Bowers and I think if I see from him what I expect to see Monday night, he will be my major campaign for our #2 pick. Plus I wasn’t overly impressed by Bowers in his bowl game, solid but didn’t quite win me over for a #2.
Yeah, the key on this blog is to be fast enough to stay ahead of the pack, haha.
I wonder if BFE has updated his mock draft yet, LOL.
Isn’t it just awesome to be able to contemplate getting a guy like Fairley, I mean in my 37 years Broncos viewing life I have never ever experienced anything like this, top pick before that was in 92 and we didn’t do so well picking Mike Croel.
That was a #4 pick.
once again…im being left on Bowers Island
… watching highlights on him…I just loved his relentless pursuit … always got the tackle…but then again, thats highlights. We could benefit from both without a doubt. Tough choice but im sure with individual workouts and combines people will set themselves apart. I was however excited to see bowers declare…I dont watch college games so ill take you guys observations as if they were mine lol
Funny how as soon as we lost last Sunday no one gave me anymore heat for wanting to lose a close game against the Chargers to secure this #2 pick. And believe me hell descended upon me when I said that, LOL. It looks pretty good about now and that game is already completely forgotten, just saying.
Win or lose I was happy even tho I was in the win camp. But I will say, u got exactly what you wanted…a competitive game but coming up short
Bay-
I thought it was the perfect scenario. At least it was a close game with some fireworks in the second half. I normally wake up in a pretty crappy mood on a Monday after a loss. Not this time.
It still would have been nice to beat the Chargers. #2 pick is a nice consolation prize!!!
DEFENSE in 2011
Heck, that’s the runner up Grand Prize, haha.
This is the best I can do for now:
1st rd-Nick Fairley DT/DE Auburn
2nd rd-Stephen Paea DT/NT Oregon St
2nd rd-Kyle Rudolph TE Notre Dame-thru Orton trade.
2nd rd-Greg Jones LB Michigan St
3rd rd-Brandon Burton CB Utah
3rd/4th rd-Ahmad Black S Florida-thru trade.
Hell I can’t make up a whole mock until I figure out how many picks we’re gonna have,hopefully we get more picks from trades.
whats up guys. finally watched the Elway interview and im pumped. cant wait to see who will be the next head coach. im so excited for this offseason. as of right now how many draft picks do we have.
correct me if i am wrong baylin I believe we only have 6
1st rnd
2nd rnd
2nd rnd
3rnd
6th rnd
7th rnd
I could be mistaking tho. Thist is from thought. Too lazy to google lol
BFE
By the way nice mock BFE. Only thing we dissagree on is Nick/Bowers. But both great pick. Like paea alot as well. We would be however extremely lucky to get paea, rudolph, greg jones all in the second round without them slipping our grasp between picks or possibly going in the late first round. But with a second pick for orton it is possible. You just never know…
thanks. yea all about trading orton for a 2nd. and i do think a team would give that up for him. cant wait to Elway starts doing his thing and brings back the excitement. im not a big college fan. but i am looking forward to looking at fairley’s game.
also bfe, from what i see about armad black he has been rising in stock and might go in the 2nd or 3rd round so dont hold your breath…kid looks solid…but i dont like the idea of a 5’10 saftey. CB maybe (eww phonzy lol) but not safety
TRB,half of the picks will probably change before the draft,like you say,the stock rises,just throwing a few names out there,LOL.
I know Black is 5’10 but the guy is a ball hawk and has a great vertical,way better than Phonzy! I’ve seen him play,he’s a Helluva a player,probably climb up into the 2nd rd!
I will be stunned if Fairley dosen’t dominate,but Oregon is a great team,so is Auburn,we will see how the Pac 10 Fares against the SEC!
SEC going for 5 National Championships in a row baby,I love my college football too!
Any 1 else notice that elway was going to say donkies at his press conference….Hmmm
Also pat reminded me of the old joker from the old batman movies hahaha
Got off work and made my way straight to the computer to check out Elway’s interview. Watching him speak you know this means a great deal to John and any lingering notions that this is a strictly a PR move are dispelled once and for all. He loves the Broncos and he loves Denver. His track record as a teamate, whether on the football field or in the office speaks for itself. His competitiveness is matched very few. Heck I remember seeing him as a celebrity guest on the Pokerstars Million Dollar challenge and was the best celebrity player I’ve seen on that show by far. Poker is a game that requires a huge time commitment to get good at – I know from my experiences as an amateur poker player – and I was I knew then that he never lost his drive. He’s not going to get everything perfect right away, but you can expect that he will feel the pain of his follies more than us and will continually work to minimize his weak areas. To see someone care as much as he does and knowing that fire he has inside, it’s just so evident that we will be a dominant team for years to come. Let’s just all remember to have patience getting there and enjoy the ride. GO BRONCOS!
i just noticed our coaching interview list has begun, and I think Bay you mentioned Fewell earlier, and what do you know, he is the other name besides Studs and Mularkey being interviewd. Bay you sure your not front office man in disguise?Mr. B?Bowlan?
lol
As much as I like Fairley, I’d take Peterson.Ive seen him go up against big and fast receivers (Julio Jones,AJGreen) and he has been stellar. We have Dwayne Bowe and Vincent Jackson next door that we must keep tabs on. Champ isnt getting any younger. But He is still the best.
But if Fairley is outstanding in the BCS, then Im all for him. Paea looks like a new Haloti Ngata.IMO.Not as big but could be as disruptive.
I wouldnt be surprised if we tried to trade away Dj Williams and Kyle Orton. Definitly worth two 2nd rounders.
Okay guys, it has been driving me crazy on thinking who is the best player between Bowers and Fairley! If we pick right, we could have a Mathis/Freeney/Peppers type of player, if not, then we will waste a very great draft pick and we all know that we do not need to do that!!!
Da’Quan Bowers- Clemson- DE
6’4 280
Career Stats- 150 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception
Is 20 pounds lighter than Fairley which means is a faster guy and has more acceleration. Really only had 1 good season which was his 2010 season where he posted 16 sacks and 67 tackles.
Nick Fairley-Auburn- DT/DE
6’5 298
Career Stats- 83 tackles, 0 fumbles forced, 1 interception
Is 20 pounds heavier than Bowers which means he is slower but it looks like he breaks off of his blocks better. Also only had 1 good season which was his 2010 season where he posted 11 sacks and 55 tackles. Also didn’t play his freshman year like Bowers did!!
A look at the Greats!!
Dwight Freeney- 6’1 268 DE
Julius Peppers- 6’7 283 DE
Robert Mathis- 6’2 245 DE
Chris Long- 6’3 276 DE
Jared Allen- 6’6 270 DE
Ndamukong Suh- 6’4 300 DT
I honestly do not know who would be better in either Fairley or Bowers and quite honestly it is driving me crazy! A look at these NFL players show that speed has definitely helped them out a lot and that would be true for Bowers given that he is 20 pounds lighter than Fairley! But then again, Fairley seems to shed his blockers more and can even shed double blockers on him!!
So I ask y’all, from looking at this that I posted for y’all, who do you pick???
Also I must mention that Fairley can also play DE and DT while Bowers plays just DE!!!
I also just found this too on ESPN and it is very interesting about Bowers and makes you think!!
Bowers, one of the most highly recruited players in his high school class, had a breakout season after the deaths of his father, Dennis, and close friend and mentor Gaines Adams of the Chicago Bears.
Bowers had shed 15 pounds and was performing well in preseason camp in August when his father collapsed while performing in his gospel band. Bowers was later visiting him in the hospital when his father suffered a seizure and died. Bowers spent two weeks away before rejoining the team.
“I think that just fueled his drive that much more,” Swinney said. “He’s just grown up.”
Bowers, wearing Adams’ old No. 93, had a sack in nine straight games this season, breaking Adams’ record by a game. He also surpassed Adams’ record for sacks by a defensive lineman.
“It’s his size and the ability to move and bend and change direction and accelerate at 275 pounds,” Swinney said. “Most people can’t do that. … He’s just extremely gifted and blessed with athleticism. But this year he’s put a tremendous work ethic and consistent drive with it.”
wow! if you havent seen the Tebow micd up against Texans, you should see it,,very impressive presence! Glad he is our QB! Like Elway said, the new coach who says Tebow is not our starter proabably is not the right one.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d81d79d73/article/elway-i-love-the-broncos-want-to-return-franchise-to-glory?module=HP_headlines
Lets get this seaon over w/..lol
nice study freak30,
Julius Peppers is huge,but is faster and powerful than most DEs. Bowers could be the same.
oh! on the vid i posted, Tebow’s vid is at the bottom, and ofcourse Elway’s video is amazing too
Hey freak30 in my opinion Bowers looks slower, just because Fairley is bigger doesn’t necessarily mean that he is slower, and stats do not account for everything. You have to take for account the strength of the OFFENSIVE schedule when evaluating defensive players.
Now who I would choose if I had to pick one would be Fairley. What i got from watching the two in games against 2 good teams Auburn vs LSU and Clemson vs. Florida St. I noticed that Bowers gets single blocks and has a hard time getting off and I hardly saw him explode through the line on a run play unless he came unblocked. Fairley however against LSU on run or pass was pushing 2 offensive line men back into the play making the running back either go wide or cut it back. We need someone that can eat up blocks and possible beat double teams. I am sorry but i don’t want a guy that can’t get off blocks by college linemen, for the fact that professional linemen are better.
Fairley is my choice.
And as far as his “dirty hits” he is not doing it to injure or to get that extra cheap shot in but to make his presence felt and known an aspect I like.
Wade Phillips to change the Texans from a 4-3 to a 3-4.
You tell’em Mikey,Fairley’s our guy!
Fairley,you got a guy that can play DT in a 4-3 scheme,and stuff the run and sack the QB from the interior,which is very hard to do!
Or he can play DE in a 3-4 scheme and get to the QB from the edge.
Plus like Mikey said he can shed double teams!
All in all Fairley is more versatile,I don’t see how Bowers could be considered a better suit for us than Fairley! just me!
TRB, you got it right.
But like I said big players step up in big games,Bowers didn’t,we’ll see how Fairley does Monday night!
It really said a mouth full about Tebow when Elway said:
“We all agree on one thing: Tim Tebow is a darn good football player what we have to make him is a darn good quarterback, and that is what we have to figure out.”
Always telling it like it is, that’s why I like John so much, reminds me of myself without the SB rings, haha.
As I’ve said before and at the risk of offending EVERYONE in Bronco Country…I’ll say it again. Tim Tebow will never play a meaningful game in a Denver Bronco uniform. Since we’re all posting our opinions and predictions.
Sounds to me like Elway isn’t quite sold on Tebow.But he also said he has the talent to come in and help the QBs.I think with some help from Elway,Tebow will get a lot better,he couldn’t have a better guy to learn from than the best QB to ever play the game!
It’s great to finally put the McD era behind us and feel excited again!
Oh yeah sndvl,Bay,TRB….the mock draft thing is just a litttle something to take up some time,seeing we will have plenty of time to eat up between now and April’s draft.
BTW,strand was asking when the trading of players can start.
A team can waive a player after Feb. 7th,but they can’t trade a player until March 4th.
b20 – we checked that out last week but thanks the reminder. TT showed alot of promise and it was great listening to the “Miked up” segment video!!
As John Elway mentioned, we need to make him a darn good QB, which I have no doubt, the Broncos organization will succeed in this endeavor. TT will succeed because he as the determination to be successful, never say die, and will do everything he can. in taking his game to the next level. His level of confidence clearly indicates he will be a strong leader.
It was great listening to John and the insight he already has on where the Team is and where it needs to be. I’m sure it will be a challenge for him, but as he mentioned, he has his resources. John’s vision of where the Team needs to be, was very clear in his delivery.
What can be said about John that hasn’t already been said….
Welcome Back JOHN !!!!!!
One thing we now know for sure is there will be no big shot HC in Denver, not with Elway and Xanders already in place and who will share all the power with the new HC as in the Roman Triumvirat, so all the Gruden and Cowher fans can kiss them goodbye.
The odds are we are too late to make a run at Harbaugh with both the Niners and Dolphins pursuing him agressively and add to that the fact that Harbaugh’s agent is asking over 6 mil per year which would put our HC salary for this year over 12 mil with Shanny’s 3.5 and McD’s 3, and it clearly seems to me as a dead end road there also.
So, it leaves the Coordinators, we might as well get used to that idea, it now is about 90% certain in my mind that a current NFL Coordinator will be our next HC.
OC or DC? Well, according to John, that doesn’t matter because Xanders made some research and found out that going one way or the other only affected teams success with a 2% differential.
A word of caution here John: Stats can often be misleading. In this case does the research show what kind of D the HC took over, what kind of O he took over, what kind of DC he had with him, what kind of OC, I mean those things are intricate parts that affected how a team ended up doing with a D minded HC vs. an O minded HC!
So bottom line with all due respect I would put very little credence into that Xanders research in my opinion.
Rather look at the current state of your team:
The O has a guy who is a great football player like you say yourself in Tebow and you are there to help him along with a QB coach to become a great QB. We also have 6 top of the line WR’s who would arguably make up one of the best group in the league. We have a young O line anchored with arguably the best Tackle in the league in Clady and that line will grow to be just fine. So all we really need is a zone scheme that can allow or current RB’s to flourish because they are not built for the power scheme, or a couple power backs and definitely a couple of good catchin/blocking TE’s.
The D has only Bannan probably worth keeping on the D line with Vickerson as a reserve. The worse assembly of LB’s making out arguably the worse LB corp in the league, with Mays really maybe the only keeper. Safeties that are just as bad off because they are either over the Hill, no pun intended Renaldo, or are injury prone, CB’s is actually our best situation but with the top guy with one foot out the door (Bailey) and the other one with one foot in potential serious trouble (cox).
Bottom line, all of that seems to clearly point out to me that in order to return this team to prominence we must address the D big time over the O. And what better way to get a good start on that than hiring a D minded HC. I may be only a fan, but have done so following this team avidly for 37 years now and believe me the picture we get from out in our seats is sometimes a lot less muddled or complicated than it must look like from the inside. What I’m saying is if it quacks like a duck it must be a duck, if our D is looking so much worse than our O and has been neglected for years now, hiring a D minded HC would only make too much sense.
I had to get this out because I believe it to be a crucial decision and Xanders’ research does nothing for me. Hope you somehow get this, weirder things have happened, haha.
I agree with you Bay that statistics out of research can be misleading. Now something I heard was that it wasn’t only the HC but the entire staff that John was talking about being great. What worried me is that he mentioned continuity as if wanting to keep wink. Now if they go that way, then get him the staff to run his system. Maybe it wasn’t the system as much as the “talent” McD gave him to work with. Honestly, as you say this team is LOW on D talent. Perhaps a good draft and it will show major improvement?
Here’s to hope!
Once again proud of the Broncos!
Go Broncos in 2011!
Pura Vida!