Yet another Bronco who could/should be in the Hall.

I can’t believe Belichik would hire the son of an old friend, I thought only Shanahan did that kind of stuff.

I agree.

I think he’s such an underrated source of info. Kiz had an article today about getting Gradishar into the coaching game.

I’m curious about why more coaches don’t tap former players or coaches as a sounding board. Maybe they view it as a distraction or just one more personality.

thanks for sharing Joe’s insight, and for bringing up fond memories of a DC with a clipboard stuffed in his waistband.

He played very well in that position during the midseason experimentation.

Too bad Moss wasn’t mentioned. Time to go listen to the full podcast! :)

Most people miss the second point: a 3-4 doesn’t mean you always play 3-4, just that it’s your base alignment. A number of teams even go to a 4-2 nickle in passing situations.

Even if Doom lacks the coverage skills, he is probaly still valuable as a pass rushing specialist.

I wonder if Joe is available as a special assistant or something. That would certainly rally the fan base.

I could see him having a similar role as Doug Moe has with the Nuggets, I agree, getting a good NT will be key to making that defense work, I still think we need some more LB and safeties too.

Because we don’t want to be in a position that our entire defensive schemeis blown from one key injury.

Food for thought, as we wait for the pieces to fall into place.

Is he an NT possibility, or only on the ends?

and all of them are still full.

Everyone talks about taking an LB in the first round. Mauauaualoooooooga comes up in almost every post these days. Here is the thing though. Of all the positions on defense that need help, I say LB is the second most secure right now. Let’s look at it;

Our defense personnel in a 3-4

S - We need help at Safety. BIG time. Barrett showed potential. He may end up being a great safety. But right now he is good at best. After him there is a huge drop off in talent. And I don’t want Woodyard playing at safety. So we need a high draft pick / big name FA at safety.

CB I think right now CB is our strongest position on D. We have Champ who, even at his age, is still better then most CBs in the league, We have Bly who, even though he gets pretty constant hate from the fans, I believe will be atleast above-average if he is in the right scheme. He is a gambler. Gamblers suck with no help over top. Behind them we have Bell who I thought played real well this year all things considered, Paymah who may or may not get resigned, and Jack Williams who I think has some potential. We can save CB for next draft unless someone falls in our lap in the mid to late rounds that we cannot pass up.

LB Our second most secure position on D right now IMO. In a 3-4 we have a TON of options. First off, we throw Webster out. That will raise our talent level considerably ( $10 says his helmet goes flying off as he waves down a cab on his way out of town). Now, I say we move DJ inside. I have been opposed to this for awhile out of respect for all the position shifting he has had to put up with thru his career here, but I am beyond that sentiment now. He is a great tackler who always finds the ball. He is not a pass rush specialist. Next to DJ we put Larsen. He is our run punisher who is fast enough to still get into space. At LOLB we have a bunch of options. Personally I say put Woodyard at LOLB. If not, we have Winborn who is decent and Boss who is above-average for the 3 plays he is apart of in-between injuries. At ROLB (The pass-rushing position of a 3-4) we put in either Moss or Doom. I think one of those two will be able to step up and make the transition. Infact I think either of them will have a better opportunity for success there then at DE. We can wait for a huge talent on our LB squad until next draft. We have more pressing needs.

DL – Basically this squad needs to get blown up. I think a few players here can still play, but with some changes. Here is how I see it. At LE bring over Thomas. He is big. He is fast. He is agile for his size, but he is too small for a DT in a 3-4. I bet that, if he can make the transition, he would be an OUTSTANDING LE in a 3-4. At DT you draft a NT. This is the biggest need on the D. Maybe you draft 2 NTs. Maybe Peterson can act as a back-up, but we have no starter. At RE I say you draft someone if possible or bring in a FA. If not I say you use Ekuban who is reasonably big and reasonably fast, or you give Moss steroids. Otherwise you draft someone.

So as I see it, I say LB is not our biggest need. I certainly don’t feel like you spend the #12 pick on it. I say either a safety at #12, or you roll the dice with a NT at #12. Or, maybe even better, you trade down a few spots so you can still nab a NT and get a safety. Either way I say you hold off on LB because we have bigger areas of need. We have a decent LB core. Just look at the Atlanta game. We’re better off there then we all feel.

to the early days of Bronco football at mile high
GO BRONCOS

He won’t be coming out for another year, but he could be on the radar. All Big-12 NT, 76 tackles, 19 for loss, 7.5 sacks, 2 Ints returned for TDs, 6-4 300 right now. Ndamukong Suh.

I was listening to the Fan, but headed in to the gym before Collier came on! Thanks for the link!

If Paymah was any good at all then why did Josh Bell get a ridiculous amount of playing time?

Could someone with greater knowledge of the system than my own please write a FanPost detailing what defensive players we’re likely to keep and where they would likely play in our new 3-4 scheme?