The pre-season has come to an end and it’s time to play games that count. I’m thrilled.
The cuts came over the weekend and I can only imagine how tough of a time that is for the coaches. Can you imagine working with a group of players for several months, teaching them, watching them work their hardest and getting to know them and them having to tell one-third of them they can’t work here any more? I know, it comes with the territory but that has to be difficult, to say the least.
Some thoughts about the 53-man roster:
RUNNING BACKS. I think it’s a quality group consisting of Selvin Young, Andre Hall, Michael Pittman, Peyton Hillis and, when he gets healthy, Ryan Torain. The fact that Torain is on the roster and not on injured reserve tells me that the Broncos fully believe he is on track to be healthy in early November. That could give him as many as nine games (maybe more?) to contribute. And I think by the end of the season, if he doesn’t get injured again, Torain will certainly be a factor. I’m also excited to watch rookie fullback Peyton Hillis. I know he won’t be a featured ball carrier but he just seems to be a hard-nosed football player who gets things done. I love those kind of guys.
WIDE RECEIVERS. I like the way this unit shapes up. Brandon Marshall, Darrell Jackson, Eddie Royal, Brandon Stokley and Keary Colbert bring a good mix of experience, youth, talent, big-play ability, and make-the-tough catch qualities. Yes, the Broncos will miss Marshall against the Raiders, but let’s not forget tight ends Tony Scheffler, Daniel Graham and Nate Jackson as targets for quarterback Jay Cutler. Brandon Marshall is special, but I’d like to think the Broncos will still be able to move the football through the air while he misses one game.
THE DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD. We know Champ Bailey is one a level by himself, but there’s talent and experience at the other cornerback spots, too. Dre Bly, Domonique Foxworth, Karl Paymah, Jack Williams…a team could do a lot worse than that. I also think the Broncos’ safties will make plays. Marquand Manuel, Marlon McCree, Hamza Abdullah, and Roderick Rogers make up a pretty good quartet.
THE TRENCHES. The approach seems to be safety in numbers and I like it. We know the issues the Broncos have had on the defensive line the past few years. With ten defensive linemen, the Broncos should be able to go full-out every play and be able to substitute freely. I’m especially excited to see how Marcus Thomas develops through the year. He could turn out to be a really special player. And the Thomas-Dewayne Robertson combo could be a force. On offense, here’s a tip of the cap to rookie left tackle Ryan Clady. I know he hasn’t even played one regular season game but he seems to be living up to the hype of a number-one-pick-turned-immediate starter. That’s impressive. The O-line will be even better when center Tom Nalen gets healthy and back on the field and the Broncos have to hope that will be sooner than later. Talk about the ultimate stud-offensive lineman, Nalen is as good as they get.
LINEBACKERS. I love seeing D.J. Williams back at an outside spot. I look for him to be one of, if not THE biggest playmaker on defense. I think it’s a solid group; I think it’s a tough group.
SPECIAL TEAMS. I am a huge Jason Elam fan and hated to see him sign with the Falcons, but over the course of four pre-season games I have come to have a lot of confidence in new placekicker Matt Prater. While he still has to come through when the games mean something but to this point, he has done everything right. I love the number of touchbacks he has produced, too. Those are huge. New punter Brett Kern seems to have a big leg and the Broncos seemingly would have done well had they chosen to keep Sam Paulescu instead.
What do you think about the 53-man roster? Feel free to offer your thoughts; I always enjoy reading them.
Later this week, I’ll take a look at the upcoming regular season.
Thanks for reading,
Mike
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i really liked the way shanny put his team together. there are only a few things that i would question, hackney and barrett. but i can also see why they were cut to the ps. i believe we are way deeper at every position than last year, which makes me excited. with the upgrade of personel and the switch of defensive scheme back to our 05/06 scheme(might not be exactly the same, but with slowik it will be close), we are gonna wreak some havok. i really think people are overlooking our scheme change, we had a stout defense in years past and last year when we switched schemes we struggled. look for us to be top 10 in defense this year. ive been saying it since april, 12-4!!
WHat happen to Alridge? is he gonna play at all this season?
On the paper this roster looks pretty good , now we’ll see what happens in game situation but i’m confident : good coaching , good quaterbacking whith an improved OL , the offense will fare well , maybe terrific . For now , the main question mark remains in the front 7 but so far it has been a force , hopefully it will continue in the season and carry us to the playoffs !
What About Alridge Did He Make The Team?
wuts up everybody i love the team i think thomas can be special him and d rob will be a big force and i look us to give d roba 5-6yr extension after this yr depending on his so called “knee”. alridge is on IR he hurt his knee in the preseason and said it wasnt nothing series but guess so. i want us to sign rudi johnson.. ? chad jackson out of florida 1st round pick in 06 would be a good signing could be good?
wuts up everybody i love the team i think thomas can be special him and d rob will be a big force and i look us to give d rob a 5-6yr extension after this yr depending on his so called “knee”. alridge is on IR he hurt his knee in the preseason and said it wasnt nothing series but guess so. i want us to sign rudi johnson.. ? chad jackson out of florida 1st round pick in 06 would be a good signing could be good?
My only problem with the roster is that Josh Barrett isn’t on it.
The wide receiver situation is bold. 5 receivers? Let’s hope no one gets hurt. Luckily, our tight ends have the ability to catch. Plus, they could always line up one of the cadre of tailbacks as a receiver. If our defense can carry over the intensity with which they played in preseason, the Broncos should be in pretty good shape.
I think you are being too lenient with the state of our LB core and Safety core. If we are being totally honest, Nate Webster, an unfit Boss Bailey, Marlon McCree and Manuel/Abdullah aren’t really NFL calibre starters, especially not all at once. If our front 4 doesn’t play outstanding, then our Safety core is going to be exposed.
I really thought that Hackney deserved Ramsey’s spot. Other than that I thought the cuts looked fine…
datboigreen- Alridge is on the IR, meaning he won’t play at all this year.
lomaxgr – I fully agree with your analysis of the LB and S corps. But there are things to look forward to there. Woodyard looks like the absolute real deal, and I would be totally fine with him taking Boss’ job at some point in the near future, assuming that his size doesn’t make him a bad fit for the SLB spot… But then again, he’s only 10 pounds lighter than DJ, so they can probably find a way to make that work.
And next year in the draft we should have a shot at either an elite, first round MLB and a very good second round Safety, or vice versa. And if it happens that Josh Barrett grows enough in one year on the practice squad to be an NFL caliber starter… That looks pretty good to me.
I don’t think this is necessarily the year we break back through to the upper-echelon of NFL teams, but I don’t think we’re very far off. Now we just need to start extending the guys whose contacts are up after 09.
I’m forced to agree with lomaxgr, our front four is going to have a very hard time keeping constant pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Look, our best pass rusher has four pins in one of his fingers and relies on his hands to knock down his opposing lineman’s arms to gain leverage. That will cause him problems. Which leaves us with…John Engleberger?! Jarvis Moss?! Ebenezer Ekuban?! These are not guys who instill fear in the hearts of the opposition, just ask Aaron Rodgers. Lack of consistent pressure on the quarterback is going to lead to sustained drives and leave our defense on the field, not a good recipe for success. Our offense looks great, but our defense is in for a long year. Hopefully we can draft a big time pass rusher next year, whether it be a dominating MLB or DE, that has to be our priority.
our LB core isnt the greatest outside of DJ.. not sold on Webser.. Boss may not play week 1.. not sold on the safeties yet. if our front 4 is bad we are gonna get burned though. we’ll see
agree with web but lets give Moss some time. he missed all of last season and im sold on woodyard he looks like the real deal at SLB or safety jus looks ferocous on D. i wouldnt draft a DE quite yet depends how Moss develops. he hasnt played a full season yet so we will see. we do need a pass rush badly or our d will be on the field all day and dumervil is good but need someone else. agree on MLB next yrs draft. i think we’ll be in the 15-20 range unless somehow we win the SB lol. Brandon Spikes from Florida, Mauluga from USC trade up, Laurinitis from Ohio State top 5 pick unless cutler marshall dj champ etc all go down we wont be there.. MLB is the number 1 priority
I really like this Team SHANNY put together.We’re slept on in the league!!!!,they don’t give the BRONCOS any props.That means we have to earn it !! D-line is alot more solid. RB’s—Nice package of backs,I really like this group!!! The same for the LINEBACKERS—-Physical with attitude,I like NATE in the middle and DJ back at his natural position on the outside!!! The DB’s look good!! I’m a little worried about FOXWORTH and PAYMAH Especially in the tackling dept. Special teams can only be better than last year!!!! The O–line very solid this year and we have a solid group of Tight Ends !!! This team is going to reek havoc in the NFL this year !!!
where is da boss…bailey..if hes not there week 1, who is gonna play there?…
Junkyard – I don’t actually remember, but I’m pretty sure most people assumed that the special teams could only get better going into last year. Things can always get worse. Not saying that I think they will, I actually think special teams might move all the way up to just slightly below average this year. But when you lose your starting PK who’s been nothing but reliable for a decade and a half, and have a rookie punter… There’s always danger of special teams getting worse.
dabroncos27 – Probably Louis Green, but hopefully Woodyard can move into that spot soon.
Remember friends, the preseason is time for a vanilla attack on defense. The Broncos have said they will blitz more this year and that should help. We did that a lot in ’05. I know, live with the blitz, die with it, but it should help if we use it on 2nd and 3rd and long situations which was a major problem last year when we couldn’t get teams off the field. I’m looking for an exciting year, and I agree, I don’t think this is the year we make the upper echelon, but agree also that we’re not far off and I LOVE the youth movement. GO BRONCOS!
my only problem with the roster was that darrel hackneys not the backup, dewayne robertson and marcus thomas are gonna surprise people this year thats what i think is the biggest improvement
http://gridironfans.com/forums/latest-nfl-headlines/68878-broncos-lb-boss-bailey-might-not-ready-week-one.html
link on boss.. prolly green or woody would start. maybe niko.. not sure we’ll see how it is by gametime??
i think Thomas will be special 1st round talent jus off field issues so him and d rob will be a big force and shud resign d rob after this yr him and thomas can be a big DT for yrs to come. DE’s look good. Doom could be our strahan, Crowder could be our Tuck, Moss could be Osi
I think that Shanahan has probably assembled the best roster he has ever constructed. With the acquisition of Cutler just a few years ago, and with the past three successful drafts, it was finally time for a roster overhaul and a look toward the future. Inbetween ’99 and ’05 it was the search for identity after Elway. Now we’ve found that identity with a group of bright, young, talented players that will hopefully give us a solid run at a Superbowl within the next three to ten years (and here’s hoping for sooner than later).
Our depth and talent at every posistion is something to get excited over. Our awesome young receivers is more of a gift for Cutler than anyone else, as I believe whole-heartedly that he will have a pro bowl season this year along with Manning and Brady.
All I can say is: it’s about time. Let’s go win some more rings shall we?
dave888259:
Since when is a guy on IR automatically out for the season (unless it’s actually a season-ending injury)? I’ve seen many instances where guys who were on IR have come back in the middle of the year (at least in the past it has been that way).
Speaking of IR, what’s up with Sapp and Alridge anyhow? I was watching a replay of the last pre-season game with the Cardinals, and both Sapp and Alridge played all the way to the end of the game. Neither were showing any signs of injury. Personally, I think putting them on IR was just a ploy of some sort.
As far as being on the active roster, Shannahan would obviously (to use his favorite word) have to make a move. With only four guys on the PS out of a possible eight, I’m sure something else will happen.
57 – Guys can go on the PUP list for up to 6 weeks and come back, or they can be deactivated for a stretch of games (still occupying a roster slot) and come back, but IR ends your season, or at least that’s my understanding. That’s why there was so much debate and worry about whether to IR Torain or keep him on the roster until he was ready, before we found out that his recovery time was going to be much shorter than thought.
Oh, and I posted this on another blog page, but since this one seems to be getting all the attention, I’ll do it here, too.
According to espn.com, foxworth is in the process of getting traded.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3563823
I always liked Fox, but I know the feeling was far from universal.
I personally really liked barret and i preferred him over marquand manuel
I’m not worried about our WR’s at all…. If something is to happen than you have Nate Jackson who use to play WR that could fill in for a spirr of the moment situation… and its not like we have no-named TEs… Scheffler and Graham can get things done… I’m happy and I look forward to this season…
i must say i do feel a little nervous with our linebackers and at safety. besides dj williams we do not have a solid player, i am not sold on webster and koutivides. at safety mcree seems decent but abdullah and the rest of them are gonna have to fill the shoes of john lynch. i feel the d and o lines will be a lot better this year and some of the players like moss, thomas, and clady will get a chance to shine. the cornerbacks look very good bly shiould improve in 2nd year with us and like foxworth and paymah and williams reminds of darrent williams with him being a smaller but highly effective corner i like the backs and receivers and ends. a good group and of course you cant go wrong with cutler at QB(this is going to be his breakout year)
areas that answered…
DLine has now the quality and also quantity..we can go on an all out war, substituting from time to time until opposite side will give up,.. way to go there
LB corps. moving DJ to his natural position would be great and adding Boss will be awesome and with webster and niko pushing each other it will be just as good as it gets…
needs to be seen on actual games…
Oline have the talent but doesnt have the experience, but giving no sacks on preseason games will be a hint..hopefully they can continue..
DBacks…we all know deep threat is neutralized with champ-dre combo but the 6-8 yards passing will be a concern..hoping our safeties can adjust to it do their best to eliminate that concern..
pinoy-bronco-fan
I’M GOING TO SAY IT HERE RIGHT NOW. WE WILL WIN THE AFC WEST AND CONTEND FOR SUPER BOWL
GUYS I’M TELLING YOU WE FIXED EVERY PROBLEM WE HAD. BATES GOT THE FREAKIN’ BOOT AFTER THAT CRAP HE INSTILLED LAST YEAR. MOSS IS HEALTHY, ROBERTSON IS BACK, THE D-LINE NOW HAS DEPTH. DJ IS GOING TO REEK HAVOC ON THE OUTSIDE AND THE BOYS IN THE SECONDARY ARE GOING TO PICK OFF AND COVER THE WAY THEY SHOULD. *** REMEMBER THE SCHEME LAST YEAR DIDN’T CALL FOR IT. CHAMP HATED IT. HE WENT ON RECORD SAYING SO.
OFFENSIVELY – I’LL GO OUT ON A LINE AND SAY THAT THIS IS A TOP 5 PRODUCING OFFENSE. LOOK AT THE WR’S (EDDIE ROYAL WAS A FREAKING STEAL) THIS KID IS SCAREY TALENTED. CLADY, WHAT A HELL OF ACCOMPLISHMENT GOING FROM DRAFT TO STARTER, WHILE HOLDING OFF TOP LEAGUE DEFENSIVE ENDS.
BRONCO FANS, LESS THAN A WEEK UNTIL WE GET IT ON!!!!!
LET’S GO GET EM BOYS!!!!
If the Broncos develop some consistency both on offense & defense, they should have a better record than last year and maybe even make the playoffs. Conisitency is the thing that has been lacking ever since #7 retired. One week the offense looks good, the next week we can’t run the ball. One week the defense puts up decent numbers, the next some guy runs all over us. As far as special teams, the have been consistent = CONSISTENTLY BAD !! Much room for improvement there. We’ll see pretty soon with the traders & chargettes in the first two games. Remember, last year we lost once to the traders and didn’t even score a t.d. against sd in two games. Go Broncos !!!!!
I think it is not good, not good at all, How many times is Mike Shannahan going to rebuld this team with a bunch of people no one knows, how do you get rid of John Lynch and Jason Elam? I don’t think Cutler is nearly where he needs to be, this is getting ridiculous, yeah I know alot of people hated Jake Plummer but he took us to the playoffs ever year he was with us and to the Afc Championship, then took the guy out when we were 7-2 and we didn’t even make the playoffs…duuuuh it’s all about wins people and the last two years didn’t see many of them, why tear upart a good thing when we have it….. looks like another rebuilding year with a bunch of no names…. until next year when Shannahan does it again…oh and by the way shanahan Elways retired no one is going to fill his shoes so stop trying…. ps Lelie just got let go by San Fran why don’t you go pick him up he can catch the ball remember
p90x
Quick Question: Regarding the end date of the 24th, will we need to post our final weight on Christmas day? I should be in town, but I’ m just worried I may forget to get on and post it on the 25th. May help everyone what with all the excitement and …