Who Should get the Nod?

by Jon Tollerud on May 28, 2008 11:01 AM MDT

We now have a question before the MHR community, Who should Start at each position? With the 500 or so running backs and 350 receivers we have brought in, how do we cut it down to the guy that will be solid contributors? Good thing that this is Mike Shannahan's job and not mine, I figured I would go down the list and give you the break down of the 55 I think should be playing for this team. You can debate me in the comment section all day (that's what MHR is known for besides quality contribution) I just want to get the guy I think should make the roster up there for you all to see.

Jay Cutler

Patrick Ramsey

Cullen Finnerty

The first two are no brainers at this point. I see Finnerty edging out Hackney based on our Character model that coach is trying to build around the team.

Travis Henry

Michael Pittman

Selvin Young

Ryan Torain

Change out whoever you want, These guys are leaving camp in my opinion. I have been a fan of Mike Bell for a while, but the writing is on the wall for the kid as a running back.

Cecil Sapp

Peyton Hillis

Denver admitted to wanting a true fullback by drafting one. I think Sapp starts out but he will be the back up by the end of the season. Hillis runs like Griffith to me he sees the hole and runs to beat the RB there and block away.

Daniel Graham

Tony Sceffler

Nate Jackson

I think Jackson gets the nod over Mustard based on the fact that if we run any 3-TE sets this year the third TE will be focused on more catching than blocking.

Brandon Marshall

Brandon Stokely

Eddie Royal

Keary Colbert

Darrell Jackson

Sammie Parker

Here the competition is stiff and close. I think these guys make it out based on things said by Coach. Don't rule out one of these guys leaving too but these are the 6 i think stay

Ryan Clady

Tyler Polumbus

Erik Pears

Ryan Harris

Ben Hamilton

Chris Kuper

Montrae Holland

Dylan Gandy

Tom Nalen

Kory Lichtensteiger

Casey Wiegmann

This is a difficult list because I limited myself to 11 for the O Line. I think however these guys make our roster and are the productive members of the team on the line.

Elvis Dumervil

Jaravis Moss

Tim Crowder

Ebeneezer Ekuban/ John Engleberger

Here I have my first set of guys who you could trade out. Eeks and Engleberger are inter-changeable to me because they provide the same thing, mainly experience opposite Dumervil.

Marcus Thomas

Dewayne Robertson

Carlton Powell

Alvin McKinnley

I actually like our middle and what it looks like it could end up being. Thomas as the main guy with the other three rotating around him to provide the threat.

D.J. Williams

Boss Bailey

Niko Koutouvides

Spencer Larsen

Wesley Woodyard

Nate Webster

Jamie Winbourn

You could argue we just gave Louis Green a contract extension, but I just don't see him beating out these guys.

Champ Bailey

Dre Bly

Domonique Foxworth

Karl Paymah

Jack Williams

I think these are the guys I am most comfortable with to be honest.

Safety

John Lynch

Marquand Manuel

Marlon McCree

Josh Barrett

Hamza Abdullah

OK so I am a little off on these guys because if it came down to it I don't know which one I would cut. The rest of the class can go.

K/P

This one just seems off to me. I think Prater and Paulescue still come away with the jobs but this could be where I completely miff the picks.

TOTAL Roster Count: 56

Alright guys and gals rip it apart and tell me what you think!

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How Close is this to actually being the top 56 guys on the list

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Comments

Hmmmm...

I agree with your QB choice.

After seeing Selvin Young come in this offseason a new man, I must push for a surprise change in the lineup heading into opening day.

Selvin Young
Travis Henry
Torain Train
Andre Hall

At the FB position, everything is up in the air for me.

Michael Pittman
Peyton Hillis

That’s right, Cecil Sapp may be left out. He should get a chance on special teams though. Spencer Larson’s foray into the FB position and Pittman’s signing tells me something about Shanny’s overall opinion of Sapp’s ability to play FB. Remember, Sapp converted to FB from the RB position as did Mike Bell. Just because Sapp did a better job of converting than Bell did doesn’t mean he is the answer we’re looking for.

If God is not a Bronco fan, then WHY are sunsets Blue and Orange? - Jon Tollerud 5/22/08
Win the Division. WIN THE DIVISION!

by Zappa on May 28, 2008 10:32 AM MDT 0 recs

Good Point

Pittman’s a Mike Bell type guy willing to be versatile as a veteran. You may see him competing for a position outside of the RB.

by phantom818 on May 28, 2008 12:35 PM MDT up 0 recs

Point taken

I just think He gets the nod becasue he very well could have been gone and instead we kept him, that makes me think he is still a viable option at FB.

Until Terrell Davis makes it into the Hall of Fame, I refuse to acknowledge the existence of such a place other than the Ring of Fame at Mile High!

Davis to the Hall!

by Jon Tollerud on May 28, 2008 3:34 PM MDT up 0 recs

nods

rb- pittman may be moved to fullback, hillis to rb yet. hard to get a read on where these guys all fit in here. i predict the best rb/fb’s will be decided first, then maybe slotted according to roster needs/depth. sapp may be pushed down the chart here, and it looks like bell is done. alridge and hall are already on the bubble, it appears

te- agreed, jackson will make the team, with sheff being a health risk and a pass catcher

qb- cutler, ramsey, and i don’t care. i like ramsey as the backup, he did well under fire

wr- if we keep 6, parker gets in over martinez

ol- don’t know much about polumbus, maybe practice squad developement. the other 10 seem solid. positions still need sorting out here, also

dt- that looks like the top 4, if that’s our roster # there. would like a fifth, though

de- i like ekuban over engleberger, he seems stronger against the run, and more of a playmaker to me. i guess peterson and mallard were cut here from last year. again, i guess we just keep 4 here?

lb- woodyard seems too light for me here, maybe a special-teamer/blitzer with his speed? winbourn i have yet to see play, but i heard some good things. green may make the team if there is a problem with 1 of these guys, or larsen isn’t healthy

saf- if barrett makes the team, mcmanuel should be out. don’t like him much, and we have picked up mccree since we signed him

k/p- like you, i have no clue here

also, kr/pr- other than royal, this could be an interesting competition here. someone could grab a roster spot based on returning ability. williams, alridge, hall, and martinez could win a spot here. up for grabs behind royal, really

let’s not forget the camp surprises, and injuries. this competition should be something special to watch, and it may get nasty in dove valley. love it

by davecheffy on May 28, 2008 3:45 PM MDT 0 recs

Paring down to a final 53

from your list of 56/57 is hard enough, but let’s not forget about Leach, Long Snapper (technically a TE, but we all know how he earns his money). Leach is more essential now than ever for his strong, consistent play- considering the uncertainty in the P/K positions.

I think Shanny goes with 2 QBs again, and trys to stash Finnerty on the PS

NO way we’re keeping 12 OL, maybe not even 11 (we’ve gone with 10 before), but I also don’t see any of the OL rooks clearing wavers and making the PS.

Shanny’s always kept more than 3 TE (not including Leach), but this may be the case this year, especially if Hillis makes the roster – he has the ability to play TE, if needed. Mustard may be a sleeper due to his TE/OL versatility, and he’s not a bad pass catcher.

I, too believe that the battle for P/K return positions will be the key to several roster slots. This is going to be a fun battle to watch.

by BornOrange on May 28, 2008 10:08 PM MDT 0 recs

My predictions

QB – Cutler, Ramsey
RB – T Henry, S Young, M Pittman, R Torain, P Hillis, C Sapp
WR – Marshall, Stokely, Royal, D Jackson, Colbert
TE – Graham, Scheffler, N Jackson, Mustard
OL – R Clady, Pears, R Harris, Kuper, Hamilton, Nalen, Holland, Wiegmann

DE – J Moss, Engelberger, Ekuban, Dumervil, Crowder
DT – D Robertson, M Thomas, McKinley, S Harris, J Mallard
LB – DJ, Boss, Niko, Winborn, Larsen, L Green
CB – Champ, Bly, Foxworth, Paymah, J Williams
S – Lynch, McRee, Abdullah, J Barnett

ST – Leach, Prater, Paulescu

Practice Squad – Finnerty, A Alridge, T Polumbus, Lichtensteiger, C Powell, Woodyard, R Rogers, Kern

Maybe Lichtensteiger and Powell make the 53 man roster over J Mallard and S Harris and possibly a 6th WR (G Martinez) over C Sapp

by MattR on May 28, 2008 10:45 PM MDT 0 recs

practice squad

i mentioned this in another post, and i can’t find it now. my question was:
players have to clear waivers to be placed on the practice squad. is there a limit to how many players can be claimed from 1 team.
my concern is as bornorange suggested, there are some pretty good prospects that simply aren’t going to make the team(good points on leach and mustard, by the way). other than an “unfortunate” injury, is there any protection against being raided for players? any ideas?

by davecheffy on May 28, 2008 11:44 PM MDT 0 recs

I don't think there is a limit to waiver claims

Every single player that Denver cuts who goes through waivers can be claimed by another team. Or they can all be claimed by the same team. The only restriction is that the team claiming the players have to place them on the 53 man roster (and not their own practice squad). So there is definitely a risk in trying to sneak some guys through waivers. But the hope is that since these are players that other teams passed on repeatedly on draft day, those teams will not be interested enough now to make a claim (especially right before the season starts). If the player does clear waivers, he becomes a free agent and can choose to sign with Denver’s practice squad or can accept an offer from a different team.

One thought about getting around this would be to cut a veteran and keep a rookie on Aug 30. (Ex. keep Spencer Larsen and cut Nate Webster). After week 1, cut Larsen and sign Webster. Larsen then goes through waivers, but the season has begun so teams might be less willing to change their roster (see note below). Larsen could then be resigned to the practice squad. The risk is that Webster could be signed to another team (if he chooses) and also, Larsen’s salary becomes fully guaranteed by Denver because he was on the 53 man roster for week 1. (Note: The flip side of this is that Larsen’s salary would have been fully guaranteed by any team that claimed him off waivers before the season, but now that Denver has guaranteed it any team who claims Larsen is only on the hook for time that he actually serves on the roster making Larsen more attractive to teams despite the fact the season has started). So after thinking it through I could not say if this plan will make Larsen more or less likely to be raided from the team. The only guarantee is to keep your best 53 players and worry about the practice squad afterwards.

by MattR on May 29, 2008 12:37 AM MDT up 0 recs

I cant answer all the questions

I know there is such thing as a future contract and that would maybe keep a player without having him on the roster. The NFL has an 80 man limit for each team so that should give you an Idea. Denver is really close to if not at the 80 man limit, so every time we sign a player we have to release one. This gives us an idea of which direction Coach thinks we need to go or the area we need most help. I think the game day roster is something like 45.

Until Terrell Davis makes it into the Hall of Fame, I refuse to acknowledge the existence of such a place other than the Ring of Fame at Mile High!

Davis to the Hall!

by Jon Tollerud on May 29, 2008 12:38 AM MDT up 0 recs

re: Future contracts

I found this response on Yahoo. It sums it up pretty well

Players signed to "reserve/future" contracts means they are being signed for the 2008 season even though that season does not officially begin until March. Only players who were not on any NFL team’s active roster when the 2007 season ended are eligible for such signings; if they were under contract, then they would remain so until March. Players who were on practice squads at the end of the season are eligible to sign with any team.

by MattR on May 29, 2008 10:06 AM MDT up 0 recs

Thanks Matt

Until Terrell Davis makes it into the Hall of Fame, I refuse to acknowledge the existence of such a place other than the Ring of Fame at Mile High!

Davis to the Hall!

by Jon Tollerud on May 29, 2008 11:20 AM MDT up 0 recs

The one player I worry about clearing waivers

is Josh Barrett. He is a very talented young man, and a lot of teams in this league would jump at the chance to add him regardless of the question marks, especially since they would be adding him for free. The rest of our PS eliglible players probably won’t garner much interest for the reasons that MattR gives above.

Also keep in mind the environment within which these waivers wire cuts and signings are taking place in. Teams have just recently pared their own rosters to get down, just like us, so I think there will be a lot of reluctance to snap too many players off waivers. And for every player that gets picked up, another is going on, so even if we lost, say, our new G Ericson, there might be another G or SAF or WR that went to waivers who we would like to sign. I’m not saying that would be ideal, just that there are two sides to the coin.

Mountains, forest, sea: these render man fierce, but yet do not destroy the man.

by styg50 on May 29, 2008 1:28 AM MDT up 0 recs

Still early

For me, it’s still pretty early to speculate roster spots much less starting positions. Camp will determine who stays and who goes. I think JT’s list states the no brainers and a few that could go either way. I was surprised that his list included all nine Draft Picks. It could go that way, but a few of these guys will only make it as Special Team players; Just too hard to predict.

I also believe that a few bigger names are on thin ice before Training Camp and could see the highway before Labor Day if they don’t get it together (oh henry). It’s all about competition, and the dreaded word “potential” for the PS players.

"If Denver beats us, I'll walk back to Detroit"

Alex Karras

by Denver Diehard on May 29, 2008 7:28 AM MDT 0 recs

To back up the Nine draft picks

I am thinking they make the team based on the fact that they were indeed drafted. I stated starters but I may have said that a little too quickly in the beginning of the post. I should restate with the guys who make the 80 man roster and get a serious look from the team. At the same time, if all nine draft picks aren’t on the roster game 1, then we already have a problem with our draft class. We need to watch these guys pan our or fall flat and I honestly don’t care if they stay on the practice squad. I just don’t want the Draft picks cut BEFORE anything happens cause thats just admitting to bad drafting. I don’t believe we drafted bad and so I don’t think they will be cut

Until Terrell Davis makes it into the Hall of Fame, I refuse to acknowledge the existence of such a place other than the Ring of Fame at Mile High!

Davis to the Hall!

by Jon Tollerud on May 29, 2008 11:25 AM MDT up 0 recs

How definite is a draft?

Well, the draft picks already are on the 80 man roster, question is will they still be there on week 1?

You stated : “At the same time, if all nine draft picks aren’t on the roster game 1, then we already have a problem with our draft class”.

I don’t neccesarily agree with that logic. Shanahan has used free agency as much or more than the draft to build the team each year. It’s never a given that the draft picks will make the team. They will if they can win the job in camp, but that is no easy task. It’s usually automatic that a pick in the first 4 rounds will get the opportunity, but players taken in the later rounds aren’t guaranteed a roster spot. It’s even tougher for free agents, but there’s always one it seems each year.

Example: Josh Barrett, safety taken in the 7th round. Instead of him coming in to compete against only players from last year, he also now must compete against McCree and Manuel picked up in free agency and several free agents. The veterans most likely will help the team now, vs a 7th rounder. Unless he flat out beats these other safeties in camp, the only thing that could save Barrett is the expected leave of Lynch in the next year or two, but then again, he would have to be a contributor on special teams to justify a roster spot, and he would need to beat out Rodgers and / or Abdullah.

I realize that they all have a chance, but I wouldn’t consider the draft a failure because they didn’t all make the team. Picks in the top 3 or 4 rounds are a different story; They should have the talent to make the team, otherwise the Team Scouts really screwed up. But late rounders? No, they provide competition and are given an opportunity. I agree that Drafted Players should get toward the final cut in August before they meet the Turk. The coaches have to weigh whether to hold onto them to build toward the future, or cut them and play a veteran at the position. It seems that Shanahn takes the best athelete and uses the Practice Squad to hold onto prospects more often than not.
In the modern era of free agency, teams have the luxury of doing that. It all comes down to the best players a team can get to help their ballclub win games.

Often I hear complaints that “certain years” the Broncos draft was a bust. The team dosen’t have anybody left from that draft class, so obviously they did a poor job drafting. The perception is that a poor job drafting makes a team weak and sure to spell losses a few years down the road.That may be true in some cases, but maybe it isn’t with the Broncos.

Denver only has DJ Williams left on the roster that they drafted from the 2003 and 2004 drafts. These players would all have 4 or 5 years experience now and in their prime to help win football games. Alas, but Denver has only one player left from their own draft. Thats fine with me because we still have free agency.

Denver has the following 4 and 5 year veterans on the roster that were drafted by other teams in 03 & 04 and acquired by Denver through free agency or trades…........

PJ Alexander
Boss Bailey
Kerry Colbert
Louis Green
Montrae Holland
Nate Jackson
Niko Koutouvides
Sammy Parker
Kenny Peterson
Dewayne Robertson
Cecil Sapp
Edell Shepherd

Now if Denver had drafted these guys we would be saying “wow, Shanahan can sure pick em”, and we would all be satisfied. Truth is, many of the players Denver did draft are playing elsewhere and these guys were assembled for this team.

The draft is important and top players are usually the ones that stay with the team that drafted them, but having all of Denvers 9 picks this year make the team is not as important as it once was. The Broncos will put their best 53 players on the field come September.

"If Denver beats us, I'll walk back to Detroit"

Alex Karras

by Denver Diehard on May 29, 2008 3:32 PM MDT up 0 recs

I think our biggest worry is that if we let go of our draft picks, they go on

and have successful careers elsewhere. If we do let them go, then they better no go on to be all-stars. lol I am selfish I know and no, I rarely wish former Broncos “the best of luck”. Except for very few players like Elam or Sharpe…but the rest can go lick a metal poll in sub zero temperatures for all I care!

If God is not a Bronco fan, then WHY are sunsets Blue and Orange? - Jon Tollerud 5/22/08
Win the Division. WIN THE DIVISION!

by Zappa on May 29, 2008 4:20 PM MDT up 0 recs

most of the former draftees are in Canada!

fader nation is a conquered nation

by mdierk on May 29, 2008 4:52 PM MDT up 0 recs

It's a conspiracy. Pay Bowlen is Canadian and he is just making sure the best

talent goes back to his native country. We need to get the Office of Homeland Security involved…

If God is not a Bronco fan, then WHY are sunsets Blue and Orange? - Jon Tollerud 5/22/08
Win the Division. WIN THE DIVISION!

by Zappa on May 29, 2008 5:00 PM MDT up 0 recs

I hear where you are coming from

I am going to have to still disagree based on this feeling. If you draft a guy that means you see something in him that applies to your team, Now the guys you listed grew into guy we wanted or were guy we wanted but less than some others. I can always use the argument that the Giants had 7 draft picks and all 7 played integral roles to the championship. Is that the norm, not by far. The biggest thing to me is if you cut a DRAFTED player before the regular season, that says to me that you messed up with that pick. I just think it takes a little more than training camp/ OTA’s to find out if a player is good for the team!

Until Terrell Davis makes it into the Hall of Fame, I refuse to acknowledge the existence of such a place other than the Ring of Fame at Mile High!

Davis to the Hall!

by Jon Tollerud on May 29, 2008 6:59 PM MDT up 0 recs