Comments on: Cutler Has the Touch Again

By: monodono

monodono — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:11:50 +0000

Mike,
Please do me a favor and thank Dave Logan for me. I saw him on his show on altitude and he said a whole lot of the same things I’ve been saying for the last couple months about TIME OF POSSESSION, and controlling the clock, and running the ball on first down, doing the little things wright and good things come. It litterally sounded like I was on T.V. talking. THNX.

TIME OF POSSESSION! ! !

GO BRONCOS! ! !

By: mike_rice

mike_rice — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 06:25:15 +0000

Great posts, folks. I’ve enjoyed reading your thoughts about the important Broncos. One thing is certain: The Broncos have brought in quite a few young players through the draft the last several years. That’s how you build a consistent winner in today’s NFL.

royalbroncofan1 – neat story about Cutler. He was special at Vandy and he is on his way to being special in the NFL.

RMThunderinKY – good pull on the sack stat. It is incredible when you think about what the offensive line has done in that regard.

brian_schneider – it will be interesting to see how the RB position shakes down next year when the injured guys will presumably be healthy. To me, there is little doubt that Hillis and Torain figure into the picture; they have the chance to be core players of this team. I have to believe Young and Pittman could be important parts, too, but it’s just too early to tell. I’m not sure about Hall and Alridge. Time will tell.

I will also add that I am not sure about the contract status of all of these guys, either.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.

Mike

By: rustycletis

rustycletis — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:27:36 +0000

Without a doubt, Cutler is the centerpiece of this team. We wouldn’t even be OK without him. We would have the worst record in the league without Jay, especially when you consider all the games he has won on his shoulder for us. The D struggled most of the year, but Cutler and the O bailed us out.
As far as the other guys that are the most important to the team, that is easy.

Ryan Clady has been unbelievable. This was the best draft choice Mike made since Jay. Harris and the rest of the O line deserves credit too, but Clady goes against the best DE in the game and does great.

Brandon Marshall is probably the next most important guy. Even though he is great one week and OK others, he draws the double teams so Eddie and Scheffler can get open. Schef and Royal are very important, but neither of them require a double team. That really helps the whole Offense.

I would say Woodyard is this years defensive MVP. Without him, this defense would have continued on its horrible path.
The rookies have been great, but Woodyard is the man. I think credit needs to be given to Josh Bell over the last few weeks. He has done a great job.

Dre Bly also deserves credit. He has played better the 2nd half of the season.

So here is my order mixing offense and defense:
1. Culter
2. Clady
3. Marshal
4. Woodyard
5. Sheffler
6. Bly
7. Royal

I would have included Hillis because he carried this team for weeks, but since he is injured I thought I would include healthy guys only.

By: Old Warhorse

Old Warhorse — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:53:56 +0000

In ref to the injuries in the back field:

I served three years in SE Asia in the late sixties and I know that you don’t
send soldiers into battle without preparing them first.

I think this is what is happening with the DB’s. The running back coaches
are asking things of the backs that the strength and conditioning coaches
have not prepared them for.

Football has become a much tougher sport than it was thirty years ago.
Mayby it is time to send the S & C coaches back to school to learn how to
prepare men for the battles that they face today.

By: RMThunderinKY

RMThunderinKY — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:32:39 +0000

It is not just one guy, the entire offensive line. 8 sacks given up-7 on Cutler but keep in mind, the fumble against San Diego (the call) was ruled a sack. The NFL record in 16 games is 17-Think about that, for a minute. With all of the “great” pass rushers in the game today, to only give up 8 sacks is amazing.

By: Climber_651

Climber_651 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:31:38 +0000

That’s easy:

Ryan Clady and the rest of the New Guys who are not looking so new.

By: BradJamesBroncoFan

BradJamesBroncoFan — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 05:49:16 +0000

When all’s been said, Eddie Royal is the most indispensable key to our success with the exception of Cutler. His speed loosens up the defense and opens up lanes for everyone. Scheffler is a close second but I’ve got to go with our rookie speedster out of Virginia Tech: a modern-day Eric Metcalf.

By: BroncoOrdie0730

BroncoOrdie0730 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 04:35:15 +0000

Mike,
great post and wow what a hard question to answer. like everyone who has posted before me, this is tough. while Cutler has had his ups and downs he has more than proven himself time and time again and will be the General of this team for years to come. i love watching him, he’s so exciting and you never know what to expect when he fires that ball.
I don’t have enough time to write about who else on this team deserves credit. they all do. the O-line has been superb. Clady and Harris, could you ask for two better Tackles then these two young studs. Hillis is a monster and i wish him a speedy recovery. royal is explosive and i love it when the ball is in his hands. watching him block on sunday you would not expect the little guy to be able to handle the bigger defensive players the way he does. Woody, Larsen, Barrett, and Bell, well what can i say about all of them, just stellar performances time and time again and i just see great things in this teams future. Bly has stepped up huge since Bailey went out. i love Champ and hope he comes back, but i’m glad that Bly has gotten some time to show all the haters that he’s for real. the guy makes plays and it showed again, especially on fourth and goal, he stopped that TD by himself.
This team continues to excite me everytime i sit in front of the TV to watch them. i’m looking forward to this upcoming match against the Panthers. Being stationed on the East coast after 12 years in San Diego i finally get to go to a Broncos game and i’m excited! i’ll be sporting the Orange and Blue in Panther country and making myself heard.
GO BRONCOS!!!!!

By: royalbroncofan1

royalbroncofan1 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:30:35 +0000

Mike,
I like to watch college football, and I’ll never forget a game a few years back between the Tennessee Volunteers vs. Vanderbilt Commodores. The announcers were going on & on about this kid Cutler from Vandy, and how he was having a tremendous year and was in the running for SEC player of the year. Also the fact that he would be the primary reason they had a chance to beat the Volunteers. Intrigued I watched the entire game from beginning to end. What a game it was!!! Not only did Vandy win, but they beat Tennessee for the first time in twenty years !!!!!!! Never in a million years would I have guessed that he would be a future Bronco QB. After our dismal performance in the AFC Championship a few years ago, it was then I realized we needed someone else, but who?? I watched the 2006 draft and the big rumor was that we would be drafting a WR, as Ashlie Lelie wanted out of Denver. Chad Jackson was the rumored potential pick I believe. I watched and saw that we were trading up….. I kept thinking who are we going for?? We finally landed at 11th pick first round, and when the announcement was made – I was hysterical !!! I could not believe we picked Jay Cutler from the Univ of Vanderbilt (franchise QB) !!!!!! Just wanted to share this story.

Aside from Jay – the guys up front deserve all the credit in the world!!
The best offensive line in the NFL !!!! Without these guys, nothing and I mean nothing else happens…..

LT – Ryan Clady
LG – Ben Hamilton
C – Casey Wiegmann
RG – Chris Kuper
RT – Ryan Harris

By: archangel77

archangel77 — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:48:47 +0000

Great posts one and all! I think that Mr. Rice asks a very difficult question. If we were to look at it from a chronological standpoint then I would have to say that the most important center piece, besides Jay Cutler, is this years entire draft class. I know that Clady is the best rookie LT in the game and is certainly in the top 5 for the entire NFL. Eddie Royal is the unquestioned Rookie MVP this year. I know that the knuckleheads around the league will say that it is Ryan but the simple fact of the matter is the quarterback of any team in the league is so dependant on so many other facets of the offensive and defensive units. He doesn’t catch the ball, block the defensive line, run the ball, play defense, or make yards after the catch. Yes I know that he has to make all the reads and, when given the chance, he must deliver the ball on target. But when you look at Royal you see a young man who is singularly responsible for his YAC, his running ability, his ability to catch the ball from a cannon armed QB, as well as being responsible for making the correct reads on his own option routes which, by the way, must coincide with the reads that his QB is making. This does not include the fact that, as a rule, Rookie wide receivers simply do not make the impact that Royal has. He single handedly dealt CB Andre Hall such a devastating blow that Hall (who was mistakenly mentioned in the same breath with the likes of Bailey and Bly not a week before their game with the Broncos at the beginning of the season) was released by the middle of the season. Ryan Torain is still an unproven quantity but what I have seen, I have liked. He hits the hole hard, gains yards after contact and was showing improvements on every play before he was injured against the Browns. OG/C Kory Lichtensteiger is gritty and hard nosed while proving that he could start for a lot of clubs around the NFL at guard or center. Jack Williams is very intriguing and has shown glimpses of great ability. He’s very fast and plays much bigger than his size would indicate. He may take another year to fully round out but I think he will make a great corner. Carlton Powell has been on IR all year but was being raved about by all of the coaches. No one was questioning whether his run stopping abilities were going to translate to the NFL or not. Spencer Larsen is a fine FB but I think he has proven himself as a middle linebacker. No, he’s not the fastest guy on the field but he plays with great intensity, shows a knack for attacking with the right angles, and is always around the ball. Josh Barrett is nearly 6’3”, runs a legitimate 4.34 40 and survived being manned up against future hall of famer Tony Gonzales. Need I say more? Then there is Payton Hillis who was drafted a whopping 25 spots before Mr. Irrelevant. He was given the opportunity to run with the ball and showed that he is quick through the hole, runs with authority, can get the short yardage on 3rd downs and in the red zone, and was; without question, the most devastating power back in the NFL when he was playing. Lets not forget that he also had a great set of hands. All in all I would say that Denver not only had the best team draft of all time but may have pulled off a draft that will be measured against those that included the Stealer’s drafting of guys like Swan, and Lambert. With out any one of the draft picks that are or have played for this team this year I’m not sure that the Bronco’s aren’t sitting at 5-8 instead of 8-5. The key to this years draft is the fact that Denver’s scouting personnel went looking for, and found football players. Guys who would feel comfortable playing with the likes of the Monster Meck, Simon Fletcher, Zimmerman, Schlereth, Atwater, or Elway. My hats off to them as the have laid down a young foundation as good as any in this entire league.

Mike in San Diego