As I was watching the Super Bowl, my thoughts drifted to ten years ago, when the Broncos were showing they were the best in the NFL.
I wondered how far the Broncos might be from again scaling to the top of the league and hoisting another Lombardi Trophy. I realized that by looking at the Steelers and Cardinals, one can get at least some idea of how close, or how far, the Broncos might be from their third NFL title.
CULTURE OF WINNING
This is obvious with the Steelers. They were great decades ago. And they are still great. Sure, they have had some lean years but no team is great every year.
The Steelers personify toughness. And more often than not, they win. No team has more Super Bowl titles than Pittsburgh’s six. Enough said.
I remember leading up to the Super Bowl, one of the national commentators, it might have been John Madden, was asked what comes to mind first when one mentions the Arizona Cardinals? The answer the person gave was, “Futility.”
For years, the Cardinals were the doormat of the NFL. See them on the schedule and a team automatically figured it would win.
No more. Head coach ken Whisenhunt changed the culture of the Cardinals from one of futility to one of winning. The Cardinals are just now beginning to reap the rewards of that change.
I don’t think the Broncos need to develop a culture of winning. There is a standard of excellence that is in place and that’s one reason people are so upset at the 24-24 record over the past three seasons.
Furthermore, new head coach Josh McDaniels comes from a winning atmosphere in New England. He has seen up close what it takes to win at the highest level and he has been an integral part of that winning. From what he has said, he is comfortable with that being the expectation.
A QUARTERBACK THAT GETS IT DONE WHEN IT COUNTS
Ben Roethlisberger did it again. Seriously, the guy came up huge time after time after time all season long. He guided the Steelers through the toughest schedule in the NFL and then capped it off with a clutch drive to win Super Bowl XLIII.
Arizona’s Kurt Warner dusted off the magic carpet and took the Cardinals on a magical ride. Sure, he had some rough patches during the year but he was absolutely fantastic in the playoffs. And the way he led the Cardinals back to take the lead in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl showed how good he is.
In this area, I think the Broncos are on the right track. Ultimately, nobody knows how good Jay Cutler will be. But there can’t be much debate about his incredible talent. His career is only three years old. Let’s not forget how long it took John Elway to figure it out.
I’m not saying Cutler will prove to be as good as Elway was. Time will tell. But I do believe Cutler is on the right track to develop into a great NFL quarterback that gets it done when the game is on the line.
A SHUT-DOWN DEFENSE
Again, not much needs to be said about the Steelers. They consistently have one of the best, if not THE best, defense in the NFL.
The Cardinals gave up over 400 points this season. But they were terrific in the playoffs. They made Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan look like a rookie. Then they picked off Carolina’s Jake Delhomme five times. And they withstood an Eagles’ rally to get to the Super Bowl.
This is the area where the Broncos need the most improvement. There is no doubt the talent level has to get better. There is no doubt the Broncos have to be tougher. And some continuity on the defensive coaching staff would probably help, too.
THE “IT” FACTOR
This is the hardest factor to quantify. It is one of those things that fans recognize when it’s there. The Steelers always seem to have “it.” They find a way to get it done. They make the big plays at the big times. They seem to be a unified group working together towards a common goal. And they seem to have fun doing it.
Without question the Cardinals had “it” this season. No one considered them a serious Super Bowl contender. Yet they kept grinding away. They battled through adversity. They won when it counted.
To me, this area is to be determined for the Broncos. With the latest move to make Brian Xanders the general manager, the hierarchy in the front office seems to be in place. Clearly, the new coaching staff is in place. Now they must retool the roster, install the systems and then see what results on the field.
Am I saying the Broncos are on the brink of a Super Bowl championship? No. But I am saying in today’s NFL, they might not be as far as some people think.
Time will tell.
What do you think? How far are the Broncos from returning to the group of elite teams in the NFL?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Best,
Mike
Tags: Josh McDaniels, Super Bowl, Uncategorized
jayd06420,
I really like DT Ron Brace 6-3/329/SR- Boston College in the second rd. He seem’s to be better at double teams than Raji, and Moala. There are a couple other DT’s I like as well DT Terrance Taylor 6-0/319/SR- Michigan, He’s also a competative powerlifting champion and a NCAA wrestleing champion good ballance and low center of gravity. I also can’t wait to see what DT Sammie Lee Hill 6-4/328/SR- Stillman will do in the combine, I cant find anything on this guy, no bio’s or personal history.
As far as FA RB’s there is alot of talent out there Fred Taylor 6-1/226 12th yr Jacksonville is interesting. I would stay away from Deuce McAllister 6-1/232 9th yr New Orleans He’s had both L & R ACL’s done. I would like to see The Broncos take a long look at Derrick Ward 5-11/228 6th yr NY Giants since The Giants put The Franchise tag on Brandon Jacobs.
I did’nt know much about Jim Leonhard so I went to The Ravens site and read His bio at 5’8″ 185 you would think He may strugle in the NFL, but The Ravens speak very highly of Him and He appears to be one of those mighty might over achievers. He seems to be in the right place at the right time more often than not. Unfortunatly His size may keep Him a carrer back up. Good questions, let’s see your mock TEAM.
TIME OF POSSESSION ! ! !
GO BRONCOS ! ! !
Bones1965, I know I’m funny I try hard to be, here is Nic Harris’ bio, He is listed in most draft projections to be an NFL Safety.
#5 Nic Harris /Senior/Hmtown:Alexandria, La./High School:Alexandria HS
Height / Weight:6-3 / 230/Position:DB
2007
All-Big 12 first team by the coaches and second team by the Associated Press … tied for second on the team with 9.5 tackles for loss … returned an interception 24 yards for a touchdown vs. North Texas … had seven tackles and a half sack at Tulsa … posted career-high 10 tackles at Colorado … led team with eight tackles vs. Texas … recorded 41 tackles in five-game span against Tulsa (7), Colorado (10), Texas (8), Missouri (9) and Iowa State (7) … posted at least three tackles in 13 games … had six tackles, including one for an 11-yard loss in Big 12 Championship … was nominated for FWAA Courage and Ronnie Lott Awards … semifinalist for Wooden Citizenship Cup … named to 2007 AFCA Good Works Team.
2006
All-Big 12 second team by the coaches … spent much of the season in the nickel role before taking over as free safety for the last three games … led OU with four interceptions, two of which came at Oregon … fourth on the team in total tackles … tackle high of eight came at Oregon … credited with 2.5 sacks … broke up two passes against Oklahoma State and Nebraska.
2005
Started the Kansas State and Texas games at free safety … had seven tackles and one sack against KSU … also logged seven tackles against the Longhorns and forced one fumble … joined fellow true freshman Reggie Smith as a defensive back against the Wildcats, marking only the second time in school history that two freshmen had started in the secondary … a mainstay on special teams units.
High School
Recorded 74 tackles and intercepted 11 passes, returning four for touchdowns his senior season … led school to consecutive state playoff appearances … named All-CENLA defensive MVP his senior year … totaled 81 tackles and intercepted 10 passes as a junior … owned school record with 21 interceptions and 9 interceptions returned for touchdowns… No. 11 safety in the nation (ESPN.com) … No. 62 player in the Southeast (Scout.com) … No. 94 player in the nation (Rivals.com) … No. 5 safety in the nation (Rivals.com) … No. 7 safety in the nation (CollegeFootballNews.com) … unanimous Defensive MVP Louisiana (2004) … All-Central Louisiana Honors (2004) … all-state (2004)… also played wide receiver and returned punts … clocked at 4.5 in the 40-yard dash … honors student … coached by Butch Stoker.
Personal
Born Oct. 6, 1986 … guardian is LaQuanda Harrell … two-term president of Bridge Builders, an OU minority student organization focused on community service projects … has held jobs at a sporting goods store, as a baseball umpire and a basketball official … said the event that most shaped his life was, “growing up without parents” … tied with fellow DB Dominique Franks for the lowest body fat percentage on the team at 4.6 … planned program major.
As far as Askew and Thomas go yes they are small in weight but at 6’5″ and 6’3″ their frames could hold more bulk besides some one need’s to be a back up.
I would’nt mind a trade down for an extra pick or two if The Broncos don’t get a LB. I think Raji and Orakpo are over rated.
and your right TIME OF POSSESSION is an overrated stat unless your TEAM only controls it 3 out of 16 games.
TIME OF POSSESSION ! ! !
GO BRONCOS ! ! !
yo-how many of you are happy that we dumped Bly?! I know his salary goes against the cap, right? we have to eat that money, but I’m soooo freak’n happy he’s not in orange/blue. disagree gett’n rid of Engleberger+Winborn. Great back-ups. I’m against all the cheerleader antics Winborn after making a tackle, but he was a heady LB. I think the reason was that him+Nolan didn’t get along. I think these are good moves. Let’s GUT this team. Especially on D. Start @ the top=Shanny…work your way down. I’m guess’n @ least 7 new starters on D for the ’09 season. am I right or am I right? I’m stoked. Of course there is going to be growing pains. I can live w/that. As long as the D is runn’n to the ball+uber aggressive then it’s all good. Must start Woodyard. He’s a hungry dog. Larsen has game. I’m for building the team through the draft+not spend’n big money on free agents. Look @ our history! Niko+Manuel+mcCree+Bly+Robertson, etc…all busts…Big Time!!!! Our core O has been through the draft. Clady, Royal, BMarsh, Cutler, Sheff, Harris….time to invoke that philosophy for our D…am I right or am I right???? Go Broncos!!!!! Amped for ’09. punches n bunches
I don’t know about the rest of you but McDaniels is doing exactly what I thought that some of Shanny’s staff should have done, as far as the player moves/releases. I’m kind of excited to see what will come out of all of this. I was a little hesitant to what McDaniels would do on the D side of things. To make room for muscle you have to get rid of the fat, and that’s exactly what McDaniels is doing. All the players that he’s released have been under performing. I still am unsure about Winborn. I thought that he showed he could play this season. I thought for sure if we went to a 3-4 defense that he would have been a great 4th LB. That’s just my opinion, still I’m excited for next season.
I hope MaDaniels at some point addresses the conditioning coach/program. The past two seasons it’s been nothing but injury after injury.
IM TELLING WERE GOING AFTER BODDEN AND BART SCOT WE CLEARED 32 MILLION DOLLARS OFF OUR SALARY CAP AND MAYBE PEPPERS BUT THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH THAT IS HE WANT TO BE A OLB WHICH IS DUMB CAUSE HIS WAY TO BIG…WHAT YOU THINK?
WOW MONODONO PLEASE GET A LIFE
Perhaps Dre Bly is better than most of us give him credit for, but the message is simple, Bly did not merit the worth of his contract for the production the Denver Broncos organization was getting out of him on game day. For the amount of money Bly was raking in, he should have performed at a much higher level.
Yes, I know, the question, “but what about the defensive line generating no pressure?” Sure, that factored in some to Bly’s underwhelming and subpar performance here in Denver, but once again for how much Bly made, he should have been much more productive—a game changer essentially, which he never was while in a Bronco uniform.
The message was sent from Brian Xanders and Josh McDaniel this week that to merit a big money contract/signing bonus, a player’s production must be on par with his salary figure, if not, that player won’t be signed, re-signed or kept on the roster. (E.g. The fate of Dewayne Robertson and Bly as no longer being Denver Broncos).
More response, I call out Jim Saccomano and Mark Cooper as being MIA and they Post. Pandemonium!
Oh ya Dansby was Franchise tagged.
TIME OF POSSESSION ! ! !
GO BRONCOS ! ! !
Well been sitting back and trying to watch and see how everything plays out. I can now say changes are here with Bly and others being released showing us that the defense is going in a diff direction. IS this the sign that we are moving to the 3 4 defense not so sure yet but looks to be
. Offensively it appears the new coach likes what he sees. for all of you talking about this and that realize the only middle backer we now have is Spencer Larson does this indicate where are priorities will be in free agency and the draft? i hope so Also with the departures our safeties are now thin as well, which they were all season. notice not many losses on the D line so far, which could mean we are staying in a 4 3 defense. what are your thoughts ?
DANG monodono….hows it like living with your mom?? haha..jk..
…so id try and say something ensightful and maybe twist some words around to sound orginal…but lets face it..we’ve all read these comments a million times before…YAWN…
(short and simple)
darren sproles, bart scott, julius peppers, albert haynesworth, … top FA priorities…
chris wells, ray mauluga, and some promising safeties… top draft priorities…
how about some feed back?
By the way Vermeil only won 1 SB, not several. He was 1 and 2.
Get DT Jarron Gilbert. Have you seen the video of him jumping out of the pool? 6’5 290 Squat 635 Dead Lift 655. Beast http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXDSPbZ_OUw
e. saites 23…… Sproles for special teams purpose but he feels that he’s a every down back and he’s not (example playoffs vs Pitt).
Scott, Peppers, and Haynesworth have BIG TIME MONEY on their BIG TIME MINDS. I think we can get a DT who’s not a big big name while not giving all our money away. Pitt and Baltimore D. Linemen weren’t that well known.
I’m with you on getting Rey Mauluga and a SS either in the draft or through Free agency.
I’m testing to see if this works…
Ok, finally… On the last blog I wasn’t able to post comments… Glad to be able to start bloggin’ again… Ok
Just feelin’ a bit outta the loop… Sucks about Bly, hope he and we have a brighter future ahead now that we released him… thats all i can say… i gotta start homework in a tad…
Yes! My wish has come true! Mr. Dre’ “I get burned to much” Bly is outta here! I still haven’t forgivin’ him for the MNF Green Bay loss, but I wish him the best. How much does that hurt in Salary Cap, though?
nic harris can play either or just cause someone is projected to play the position doesnt mean anything depends on where they end up and that teams needs he would be a safety if we drafted him.
and i wanna see woodyard start at weak side linebacker now that dj is going inside woodyard is a playmaker must be on the field
To be a winning team every player must be a winner having a bunch of stop gaps will get us no where I am happy about these cuts I want Tatum to start I don’t know why shany did’nt let him toute the rock but he looked better to me than he did in his first stint. I would like us to get either Lauranitus or Crabtree in the draft, Crabtree may not seem like a sensible choice but just imagine some one would always be open, Lauranitus is a leader he plays smart, leaves it all on the field, and he just seems like an all around good guy.
The Broncos are going to do some damage in ’09!!
GO Broncos
To be honest I don’t think McD and Xanders will go hard after any players in FA. To costly and not what the team needs. Yeah these guys sound great but I think they will go for young no name guys to fill a few positions or back ups and concentrate on drafting good players. I think if Lauranitus impresses at the combine we may move down to get him and have a few more picks in the second and third to get some more players.
Oh yeah didn’t I say Dansby and Suggs would get tagged. If the panthers can sign Gross to a contract then Peppers will be tagged but I don’t know how long they have left.
Oh by the way whoever runs the blogs through denverbroncos.com can they maybe check it out because a lot of people me included are having this problem with the spam filter. Can you please explain to us why it is happening and can you guys fix it so it doesn’t. We all love to comment alot!
xxgracegunnerxX, HA! I don’t live with my Mom but I do gotta sugar Momma, that’s right, Be Jealous!
BroncoAussie, you did say Suggs and Dansby would be tagged, Sproles just got tagged as well. I also like the idea of tradeing down in the Draft. Maulaluga is likely to be gone at 12 and to get an extra pick or two would be fine with me.
TIME OF POSSESSION ! ! !
GO BRONCOS ! ! !
I believe that dre is taking a little more heat than he should be…I personally think that his performance didn’t live up to the standards we were expecting because of the fact that our corners were playing about 8 yards off the receivers every play…this makes it a lot harder to cover intermediate routes such as the curls and makes the corner have to compensate for it by charging up…this then leaves them at a disadvantage to a double move route…I’ve been watching this happen for the last 2-3 years and haven’t likes it at all…especially when we had two of the better cover corners in the game…I would have liked to see more blitzing from the linebackers and tighter coverage from the corners…pressure the qb…less time to throw…jam the wr’s…throw off the timing…force bad decisions…cause turnovers…that’s how we won super bowls…not to play down ray crockett and darrien gordon but they looked like all stars because we were creative with the blitzes from the backers…
I don’t like the idea of trading down. We need to find a way to get the swagger back at MLB that we lost when Al Wilson left. I’m a huge Ohio State fan but Maulaluga brings a special type of intensity that we need on our D that I don’t see Laurenitis providing.
hmm what else… Don’t get a RB at all in the draft and maybe invest in Ward if we can get him for a reasonable price. I like Woodyard, Larsen, and D Williams joining Maulaluga in the 3-4. Ottogwe (spelling?) or Sean Jones would really be nice to pair with Barrett at safety. Which basically leaves us with beefing up the D line with picks and free agents.
I don’t think we are that far away from being legit contenders this season
ATWATER4HOF
Monodono we all know your the next Pro Personnel Director for the Broncos. Really neat and special that you can grab his bio that’s cool.
Yes he was a safety at OU put he played LB at the senior bowl practiced all week at that position and nfl execs see him as a LB. Cato June and Brian Urlacher were also safeties in college who made the conversion.
Broncos4bailey24 I agree with you brother.
I agree with the backers that atwater4hof is putting out there…larsen and wood are always around the ball and DJ is a proven tackling machine…maualuga would be that hammer in the middle that no one wants to meet in the hole…I believe that barrett is going to be a beast back there in years to come we just need to find someone to pair with him back there…corner I’m not very worried about because josh bell did very well last year and I would love to see lil jack will get some pt as well…i would love to get a big nasty at dt but haynesworth is gonna be going top dollar and we’ve never had much luck with free agents anyway…
I like Maualuga but reading his bio for the combine on NFL.com and watching some tape on him he sounds like an insensitive player but has over pursuing problems. Sounds a lot like Nate Webster to me. That is why I like Lauranitus great open field and wrap tackler. Still delivers the big hits but has better technique. I like Cushing as well but he reminds me alot about Gholston last here. Great athlete just couldn’t bring it in pro football. Who knows what the coaches are up to.
dam all the better free agents got signed and tagged today, except HAYNESWORTH.
I SAY WE SIGN HAYNESWORTH AND DRAFT RAJI
IM NOT LYING WHEN I SAY THIS…
DERRICK WARD WANTS TO BE A BRONCO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THATS GREAT NEWS:)
pinoymidgyt i totaly agree with you 100%…I liked dre, and he did make alot of big plays for us last year. Even though he gave up huge plays, it is the fact that if you have to cover some one who has more time than ever to run around its almost impossible to do your CB job 100%……Look at bailey..Hes a great player but he got burned when the QB had so much time to sit back there.
-I have a question to all of you though……Does any one else think besides me, that Champ has seemed to lose his touch ever since he was blasted against the Pats on that INT run back a few years back… Ever since then he hasnt done anything spectacular…Maybe its the fact of course people dont throw to him..I dont know, but just curious how all of you feel about it. Because to me, he doesnt seem like the Old champ we use to have..
Just got me a throwback Steve Atwater jersey in the mail today… Goodness it would be nice to have a safety w/ that intensity like he had…. “cough” “cough” Patrick Chung “cough” “cough”… UGH!!!… sorry about that… But really I would LOVE it if he dropped down to us in the 2nd round… Speed and Strength in that der fella’…
******YES!!!! FIX THE ISSUES ABOUT THE SPAM THINGY!!!!!UNTILL TODAY ON THIS BLOG, I HADNT COMMENTED BECAUSE I COULDNT!!!******
Fa pickups sometimes are good we Got Shleref and Zimmerman thru Fa Eddie Mac But in most cases I tend to agree The draft is the way to go weve had more busts on Fa then sucsess
Bones1965, your absolutely right Nic Harris did play LB in the SR Bowl. When He was introduced, He introduced Himself as a Safety, so He did’nt even know. They just wanted to see if He could make the transition because of His size, the same has been said about William Moore and Chip Vaughn but that does’nt mean He will be able to make the transition and if He does that’s just fine with me He’s a great athlete I still want Him on my TEAM. He did play all four years in collage as a Safety.
The reallity is that The Broncos have’nt had a good Safety since Lynch and His last two years were questionable no matter how much we the fans loved Him. This to me is a priority and a big reason why the D hasent had much fire. Who do you choose? I see you like Delmas do you reach for Him in the second or are you hopeing to trade down for Him?
TIME OF POSSESSION ! ! !
GO BRONCOS ! ! !
hey lets be honest hear guys… The higher-ups in the broncos organization are makin big changes this year.. theyve already started shockin in the offseason. but seriously stop wit the reccomendations on draft day. the organization knows exactly wut there doin. Itsalmost certain that there gonna switch to the 3-4 defense which mean in the draft there goin lb or dt. but i doubt anything outside of that. so were talkn bj raji, manalaugu, laurenitus, or possibly orapko. buh thts bout it. i doubt there’ll be anything ridiculous in the draft.
P.S. people lets brace ourselves expect to see a couple more releases on the team in the next couple months. The broncs arent doin anything too crazy like releasing or trading champ or d.j. Just enough to make some noise nd keep us interested!!!
P.S.S monodono get a life or hobby or somethin man. u stay on the blogs its a lil ridiculous. lol jk and dnt hate on my spellin! u try writin a blog on a blackberry!! not as easy as you think! GO BRONCOS !!!!
LATTEEEERRRRRR DDUUUUUDDDDDEEESSSSS!!!!!!!
There are some good top FA out there. Like many have said those guys have dollar signs in there eye, ears, nose, mouth, and mind. While some may be worth it sometimes they are a bust as we’ve seen with some of our own big time money maker FA and contracts…Bly & Robertson are the two big ones that come to mind right off hand. I’m not saying lets not look into FA but look where it’s gotten us in the past.. Now lets look where the draft has gotten us. Hillis, Clady, Royal, Marshall, Scheffler, & Cutler. We’ve done better at drafting than picking FA. That was with a different general manger and staff but I mean come on. McDaniels is getting rid of the fat so lets not be too fast to scarf down some more FA busts. The draft has been our best friend lately. Oh yeah and it really looks like were headed for a 3-4, not for sure but the roster moves and all the talk is that we may be headed for it. Anyway so lets look into FA but not take the first big name that comes our way.
bronco-blaze wrote, “-I have a question to all of you though……Does any one else think besides me, that Champ has seemed to lose his touch ever since he was blasted against the Pats on that INT run back a few years back… Ever since then he hasnt done anything spectacular…Maybe its the fact of course people dont throw to him..I dont know, but just curious how all of you feel about it. Because to me, he doesnt seem like the Old champ we use to have..”
Champ Bailey had a great 2006 campaign with 10 interceptions and one for a 70 yard touchdown, which occurred during the season after the playoff game that he had a 99 yard return against the New England Patriots in. Teams got wise in 2007 and stopped throwing at Bailey. 2008 was an aberration because of Champ’s groin injury.
I think Champ is still a top of the line corner, but I wouldn’t be upset if Denver traded him for some quality draft picks.
brain-scheider we do have some good FA hall and weigmann for two. but as a whole FA are over paid becouse of the auction type setting, so good points brain
also with last year withstanding our drafts have usually gotten 1-2 players that are here their second year. we no longer have shanny at the helm so maybe McDan and brand X will pick some that can last. i am a fan of the home grown becouse it pushes the starters knowing there is a youngester bitting at their heals, if a high priced FA comes in he knows he is gona play for two years
now to you RSH and BLAZE: you are not to say these thing out loud, please, it hearts just knowing it is true
CUTLER-08 you made 3 very good points, i just skip over some!!!!!!!!!! there to long for me to read.
cutlercountry08, I knew you were on a blackberry! Haha! I just got dizzy trying to read what you wrote heres a handy wipe
Panthers sign Gross to a long term deal which means they could tag
Peppers as Franchise player. Haynsworth wont be tagged He is a UFA. Raiders sign Nnamdi Asomugha to a three year deal, no suprise but for 45Mil. WOW!
TIME OF POSSESSION ! ! !
GO BRONCOS ! ! !
trade Champ? and start who?.. nuff said
Ok. Here we go. The Broncos are historic in drafting and signing TERRIBLE Defensive Lineman. Boston College is historic for having giant draft bust. So what happens when the Broncos draft a D-Lineman out of Boston College? I’ll give you 3 guesses and the first 2 don’t count.
On the other hand, the Broncos have some how pulled people out of their “you know where” at the Linebacked position. Look at Wesley Woodyard for example. USC is historic for being one of the best, if not the best defensive “pro factory” in the NFL, period. I can’t think of one player that played on a USC defense that couldn’t make the transition to the NFL.
So, This makes for an easy drafting choise in McDaniels first year:
B (as in B.J.) = Bust
Rey (Maualuga) = g-Rey-t
What do you guys think of Chris McAllister, the former Ravens CB. Here are some move we need to make. What do you guys think?
Future Tranactions:
TRADE FOR – - – DE Julius Peppers
SIGN – - – - – - – CB Chris McAllister
RELEASE – - – - – DE Ebenezer Ekuban
TRADE AWAY – - OLB Boss Bailey
DRAFT – - – - – - MLB Rey Maualuga
ok broncos14441…
i like your proposed transactions…especially Chris and Rey M..but now that Peppers has been tagged, a 2% increase in his salary will be a gut wrenching price to pay…is it worth giving up this years 1st round draft pick ( one that could get us Mauluga) or next years 1st and a couple mid rounders (which could be our levy to move up the draft and get Taylor Mays),,,it takes balls to make such decision..
but Chris Mcalister and Reyu Mauluga would look mean in Blue and Orange….
on a second note Dunta Robinson and Nmamdi(not that it was possible) are off the FA blocs…so Mcalister looks like a prime candidate..hope so..lol
Ya, your right. Julius is probably of of reach for the broncos.
Aight this is prolly my last blog on this particular article…… Ehh prolly not. So here we go broncos14441 im beginning to side more wit you. u a smart guy. so i would go for Manualuga in the draft. plus in a 3-4 defense u need one BIG-TIME player in the middle there liesAlbert Haynesworth guys not a bust AT ALL!! he’d be a dream pick up seems a lil far-fetched eh.. if this could happen we’d pick up haynesworth nd draft manualuga nd broncos14441 i gotta agree wit u again Chris Mcallister would be an amazin acquisition wit him on one corner champ on the other, where are other teams gonna throw. theres were the big money goes haynesworth and Mcallister. Unfortanately wuh we really need is a ball-hawking safety but theres non of tht in the free-agency nor the draft. i like josh barret. buh hes no big name maybe in due time. Buh wit that said heres my imaginary defense tell me wuh u think
DE Elvis Dumervil (possibly switch doom nd boss)
DT Albert Haynesworth
DE Jarvis Moss
LB DJ Williams
LB Rey Manualuga
LB Spencer Larson
LB Wesley Woodyard/Boss Bailey (Whoever wins strtin position)
CB Champ Bailey
CB Chris McAllister
FS Josh Barrett
SS Marlon McCree (questionable) if we could find a great SS then replace him
Wit this line up we tlkn championship defense. wit the vet leadership nd skill nd hunger frm yung’ns like Woodyard, Larson, nd Manauluga! Good stuff ehh.. lemme know wuh u think
LATTERRRRR DDUUUUUDDDDEEESSSSS
cutlercountry 08 if that were to happen we all would go to bed with a smile on our face next feb. small note: how do we get ride of McCree? Is boss fast enough to play SS? becouse with 2 great cb we could play 8 in the box all the time.
im not a huge maualuga fan anymore. i realized the broncos have pretty good LB already. williams(could any LB position), larsen, woodyard thats preety good right there. sign bart scott and there set at that position. as for the d-line who’s name comes in mind when i say d-line…dumervil, anynoe else? nope. thats why i think the broncos should sign HAYNESWORTH and draft ORAKPO or RAJI. imagine HAYNESWORTH mentoring thses 2 guys. but if they really want to draft a LB then i think it should be LAURINAITIS.
you guys know nothing boss is good and cheap, his bonus covers 70 percent of him salary for the year and he is already due that bonus so i doubt he goes anywhere which is good with me boss is good he just has bad knees. chris mcallister has bad knees too but i dont mind that at all either he is a pro bowler, mccree is leaving in free agency the same as ekuban.
and we didnt get bly and robertson as free agents dude we traded for them but shanny was smart and didnt play robertson enough for them to get comensation.
doom
thomas or possibly rookie 2nd or third rounder
mike wright from NE ive heard or moss
rolb wesley woodyard
ilb dj williams
ilb maualuga with larsen as a substitute
lolb boss bailey with rookie as a backup
lcb CHAMP
FS mike brown
SS josh barrett or put barrett at free safety and get nic harris
rcb chris mcallister i like that or get foxworth back if he doest resign with atl
thats just a quick one and its the best one on here ill make a better one in a couple weeks after the combine thats when we can really get an idea and this one is more realistic. although from what i here we are gonna be a hybrid 3-4/ 4-3 next year and make the full out switch the following season any questions just ask guys i have the sources
sorry take out mike brown and put james sanders from the patriots i know thats gonna be a free agent we get he is good a big hitter sanders is our fs for sure
15 marshall– is boss fast enoufg to play ss and keep him ‘in the box’? this would us a 3/5. or 4/4but we would stop the run and the short passes and the slants witch killed us last year. with 3 GOOD d backs why not? and yes on foxworth, shanny ran him threw the ringer last year and i thought he held up well, then he was, like almost everyone else good on D, down the road. this Q may sound domb but it would be a stout D with the fast players we have.
also some one said get a Center in the draft. we got lichtensteiger last year.
you know looking over most of the 09 starting lineups we still came up with most of the players we already have, go figure?? i hope nolen and his staff come up with something good, by the looks of the cuts they have been wearing out the film trying.