that should be our record this year, due to an easy schedule. the last few years our schedule has been pretty brutal, but the afc least and the nfc south are about as good as it gets, and most of the tough ones are at home. my only concern is out of the gate we have 3 important division games, and with all the new players and coaches, and injured returning players, we may not have it together early on. but we should have a strong 2nd half, and at least earn a wildcard seed. then, who knows? one thing’s for sure, this team will fight, and i can accept anything after that

I think 11-5 or better. It depends on how our young guys come along as well as where and how the injury bug hits. But when you consider the games we kind of gave away last year (Green Bay and Chicago come to mind) we could have easily been 9-7 or even 10-6. I won’t be ridiculously over optimistic and say we could hit 12-4 or 13-3, but then again we might. LOL Anyway, I’ll quit bein stupid and shutup before I jinx us. LOL

The link goes to the main page of the Bronco site, and I confess that I haven’t read it yet (I will in a few moments).

My thoughts on Winborn are this. I like him, and I think he has potential. He was also in a rough spot last year.

All of our LBs had a rough time, even Williams (who played at an elite level, but still had to adjust to a new position). But Winborn has the tools neccessary to compete. I like his football speed for instance. And now he has starting experience as well. He will do very well on STs. Here’s the catch.

DJ, K2, and Boss are going to start in a 4-3 depth chart. That’s 3 LBs. Winborn is my choice to back up at OLB, especially at WLB. That’s 4. Webster isn’t the best, but he’s not a dud either. He’s solid as a back-up or special teamer. He should be behind Winborn in value, but perhaps get an edge at playing SAM behind Boss. That’s five. Beck is listed as the back-up for MLB (6), and we just drafted Larsen (7), who has such a great work ethic and personal / professional values that Denver passed up other needs to grab him at his position late in the draft.

From JonT’s excellent Fanshot, Goodman say this in an interview about Larsen:

I remember a guy that really got my attention was Spencer Larsen, our 6th round choice out of Arizona, just a great kid, a guy that has his head on right, such a good player who plays with all his might, gives all he has every play. He’s a guy we look at and say “HE is going to make it at his position,” so I’m really excited about him.

All of these guys (and others that will be in camp for LB) aren’t going to be on the defense. (I’m seperating “defense”, meaning starters and back-ups, from STs. Larsen, Beck, Winborn, and Webster may all play STs for all I know). The key in my book for predicting how much of a chance a guy has at starting (far from foolproof, of course) is lookng at the depth chart.

I don’t think much right now of Beck at MLB back-up. I’m also not sure which LB position Denver wants to prepare Larsen for.

Winborn’s competition isn’t with Beck (who is at MLB back-up, and has no outstanding pro info yet). It’s also not with DJ, K2, and Boss (who are pretty much assured of starting). His real competition is with Webster and Larsen.

I think Winborn edges Webster, and this is good for Winborn. But Webster is close in talent, and could creep up on him if he isn’t careful (see Foxworth / Paymah). But Larsen is a wild card. He could come in and blow up the depth chart and be a legit contender for 2nd string (beating either Winborn, Webster, or Beck), come in as a legit back-up (but behind any of the names just mentioned), or be entirely consigned to STs, the practice squad, or worse. At that point, Larsen could still start someday, but the journey would be so much harder.

I like Winborn right where he is, as a solid back-up for OLB. But there’s enough wiggle room with Webster and Larsen for surprises in camp / preseason.