We have heard countless "experts" and "analysts" give their opinions on how to build a team. It doesn't really matter who it is, they have said that Coach Josh McDaniels went about it the wrong way, then they are "surprised" by our 5-0 start and have to ask the question "Are the Denver Broncos for real?" There are many things that can be said about this, from saying these guys are idiots to saying they are just saying it to get ratings. Whatever you believe, I personally believe that What Josh McDaniels did was not a new concept, but "shocked" the pundits because at their very core, they have no concept of how to build a team. I have no fact to support this thoery only ones to support the fact that McDaniels does know how to build a team and dare I say it...a Dynasty. Let's jump into this...

BroncoBear covered a lot of this very well in his Josh McDaniels/ Bill Bellicheck series Part 1 and Part 2. Those two posts are not only recomended reading but should, in my opinion, be mandatory reading for any Bronco fan to understand the direction we are heading in. It gives us a deeper perspective than anything written outside MHR.

Team Building- Where it starts:

Leadership, that is all I can say. It starts at the top with accountability.

Josh McDaniels came in as the head coach and immediately took responsibility for this team. He went a step further and is quoted as saying his team in 2008. Now I may be getting older but I dont remmber Josh patrolling OUR sideline last year. That to me spoke volumes of his integrity. Coach then brought in Leaders for the team. Coaches players all around the board that fit the "team first" mentality he wanted here. Evidence by Darrell Reid's Tweet immidately after the New England game. No one player is above the team which brought on his first headache.

Jay Cutler was by even my own admission about to come into his own this year. Under the leadership of McDaniels Jay could have become the BEST quarterback in teh NFL this year. All of his tools that he himself brings to the table plus the leadership mentorship and coaching McDaniels could give him. Then the whole rumor mill got started and Jay was on his way out because he felt ABOVE the team. When the whole thing started it showed me what type of Leader Jay was and I was ready to ship him out. He is gone not because of what happened in the rumor mill but because of how he handled it, in my opinion. Instead we have the trusty Kyle Orton who may not have the flair Cutler had definately has the gears to make the QB position set.

Coach's second headache was another "me" player. Brandon Marshall was probably worried about his production in a new system with a Quarterback that he wasn't too familiar with. thats understandable for a guy whos paycheck depends on how much he produces. Instead of going to the grindstone he acted selfishly and he paid the price with a team enforced suspension. He is back on the wagon now and his "production" has gone up. he may not have the yards but by golly he has the wins and touchdowns to show for his effort.

Coach came in with a plan, a team first plan. He has done well showing us how it plays out. For example, one of our most explosive players, Eddie Royal, has not been used to fantasy players or past production designs. Why is that? Has Josh written him out of the playbook?No way, we have something this year like no other year. Blanaced options. If you have Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Brandon Stokely, Knowshon Moreno, Correll Buckhalter and Daniel Graham out there as receiving options who do you "uncover" to blitz Kyle Orton? Who gets less coverage? Which guy is the hot route? Who is the primary in the play? Answers are every single one of them is a danger to the opposition. Eddie has probably been covered better than others so look for him to up his production here now.

This team is balanced but there is more too it. This team is deep and personally I think we are not building a team, I think we are building a ...

Dynasty- A sports dynasty is a team that dominates their sport or league for multiple seasons or years. Such dominance is often only realized in retrospect. Whether a team has achieved a dynasty is often subjective, and can be a frequent topic of debate among sports fans.(Wikipedia.com)

To create a Dynasty you must do a few things right. It requires three people to be absolutely top in their game. For examples I will use our current NFL "Dynasty" the New England Patriots.

Owner- The owner must be good at hiring his staff, paying them what it takes to keep them their and picking staff members early on that will replace those already there. He must also allow His staff to do their job and not interfere in areas he does not need to. For example Robert Kraft hired a castoff coach and a GM and said "Do your jobs!" they did and they worked well together. He also hired guys who worked out well in their system such as Pioli, Weise, Crennel, Mangini and McDaniels. Regardless of how they work out in their new jobs thy were a fit in New England.

General Manager (GM)- The GM must hire a good scouting department and work with the coach to draw the right free agents and negotiate the contracts of key players and coaches to keep the team moving. Drafting is a 50/50 gig with the Head Coach and he must be able to work with the head coach to develop a team that is competative year in and year out. The goal of a GM is to sign and play every player drafted every year. Scott Pioli before his move to Kansas City worked his job well in New England. He complimented his coaches work on the field by finding signing and drawing talent to the team off the field.

Head Coach- The Head Coach is responsible for hiring asisstant coaches and coordinators that will get the most out of every player the team signs. He is responsible for hiring a training staff that will help keep injuries off the team and implementing a training camp and practice that will help make the team competative in every game they play. Along with the General Manager he is responisble for drafting and using the players according to their skill set. The Head Coach needs to ensure his team is a team that will draw interest from Free Agent players. The Coach must also make sure the depth behind starters is adequate to ensure competativeness even if the starter goes down with an injury. He is soley responsible for wins and losses. Bill Bellicheck, like him or hate him, he has done well with the job description. He consitently draws Free Agent talent, drafts well and plays competative in every game.

A few quotes on team building that I want to share with you:

• Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.
  - Henry Ford
• We must all hang together, or assuredly, we shall all hang separately.
  - Benjamin Franklin
• Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.
  - Unknown
• ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.
  -Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• Light is the task where many share the toil.
  -Homer (not Simpson)
• When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality.
  - Joe Paterno
• Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.
  - Michael Jordan
• Individual commitment to a group effort, that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.
  -Vince Lombardi
• Teamwork divides the task and double the success.
  - Unknown

Now to what Josh McDaniels is doing right:

Coach is allowing people to grow in their abilities and talents while challenging them to expand those areas. He brought in Leadership/ Hard workers/ talent at all positions and has a teaching coaching staff. He has brought in depth at all of those categories by drafting team leaders/ hard workers/ talent in every position. He has used his and his staff's teaching abilities to get the best product on the field. He has added accountability from everywhere on this team. Guys are taking responsibility for their actions and working to overcome their mistakes. Coach himself after beating the Oakland raiders said we can play better we can coach better we can come out better. think about that, he just demolished a division rival and said we got a lot of work to do! I was sold at that point and drinking everything that he was pouring. After beating the patriots he simply said we are better than what you saw today. 5-0 and we can play better? well pardon me if I want that! We dont sit either. After the Oakland game in which we man-handled our opponents he said tackles were missed assignments we not covered and we would have to fix that. I STILL get chills when i re watch that press conference.

Coach is adding depth and talent to this team and we will see it come to fruitition in the years to come. Will we win the division this year? Dunno. Will we make the playoffs? Dunno. Will we be competative this year? ABSO-FRIGGIN-LOUTELY!

GO BRONCOS!!!