Hey MHR Crew!

 

Well what a difference 2 weeks can make. Judging by some of the so called "fans" post, we will be selecting with the 1st overall pick in next years draft!

 

Look, I was yelling at the TV as much as everyone last night, but the day after got me thinking that perhaps we ALL need to look at the first part of a season as a whole to help give a more balanced view of where our team REALLY is.

 

With that is mind, I have decided to use an old strategic planning tool to get into the Broncos season so far. Read on after the jump....

 

 

A) THE SWOT ANALYSIS:

 

SWOT analysis is a simple method of formulating a business strategy for the continuing success of your business. S for STRENGTHS, W for WEAKNESSES, O for OPPORTUNITIES and T for THREATS. Lets check it out when it relates to our Broncos.

 

1. STRENGTHS:

• The defense has been the surprise of the NFL. I still rate them as a Top 3 defense, even after the last 2 games. Our D kept it close for 3 of 4 quarters in both games. This was supposed to be the weakness of the team!
• The coaching staff put together by Josh McDaniels is a second to none staff. McDaniels himself is the leading candidate for coach of the year. For how universally panned McD he has proven that his way works. But is he too tied to his principles? We will look at that later.
• The performance of Kyle Orton has been a pleasant surprise. I know there a lot of haters, and I have been accused of being a drinker of Kool Aid, but I love KO's moxie, his leadership, his toughness, and in my opinion, his arm is a lot better than advertised. But is he being set up for success? We will look at this later as well.
• Team concept, chemistry and philosophy is a breath of fresh air. McD, Xanders and the staff have put together a group of team first, tough individuals. I love it! For the first time in years at Dove Valley, players are held accountable and the veteran inmates are not running the asylum.

2/ WEAKNESSES:

• I cant believe I am saying this, but our O line has become a real weakness, not just in the last 2 games, but it has struggled some all season. They provide great protection one drive, and then get crushed the next. Consistency has been the issue, and we have NO push on the inside. Has a change in scheme and philosophy had something to do with this? Stay tuned!
• The much vaunted Denver running game has left the building with Mike Shanahan! I was VERY concerned when I heard that McD was a fan of the POWER running game, and would be bringing that in to Denver. Thats great, but what about our ZONE BLOCKING run game, and the guys that we have on the line that are fits for that system. WIll they fit the power game? We know the answer and will investigate later!
• Our running backs have been underwhelming. Buck has been our best performer, but has seen the majority of carries go to the much hyped Knowshon Moreno. I was SO stoked to get him, but have been UNDERWHELMED by his play all year. He does not hits holes with purpose, dances in the backfield, struggles to fall forward and has been average in pass protection and chipping duties. He has fumbled, given away penalties for chop blocks and has a very bad YPC average. BUT...is it all his fault? He has talent, but where has that talent gone? We will check into that later.
• Special Teams is an oxymoron......our guys are lucky to be called BELOW AVERAGE TEAMS. We have seen some mild improvements in coverage, but our kick return and punt return games have been bad. Take away 2 HUGE returns against the Chargers and we have been pedestrian. Our returners dance in the back field and struggle to hit holes. Kern was replaced by Mitch Berger....someone needs to explain that to me! I know those more knowledgable than me will point to net average and giving our guys chances to cover, but Berger could not kick a skin off a yogurt. Hes horrid. There has to better. Our starting positions on drives is diabolical and putting undue pressure on an offense that is already living on the edge.
• Our O can drive, but we just cant score. It feels as if we are walking a fine line EVERY game. We cant seem to get a big lead, and are always relying on LONG drives in both number of plays and yards. Not a great recipe for success.

3. OPPORTUNITIES:

• We have a high powered, ultra talented offense. Look at these names, and please tell me EVERY other team in the NFL would not be happy: Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Brandon Stokley, Jabbar Gaffney, Daniel Graham, Tony Sheffler, Knowshon Moreno, Correll Buckhalter, Peyton Hillis. We have weapons to burn BUT...how will we get them in a position to succeed.
• We are 6-2....most teams would be STOKED on that. We play Redskins this week which we should win, and then play the Chargers at home. We control our destiny. We beat the Chargers, we move to 8-2 and the AFC is as good as ours. WE HAVE EVERYTHING TO PLAY FOR!
• Our O LINE IS TALENTED. You just don't lose all that talent in one season. Do we need to get back to their bread and butter?

4. THREATS:

• Our defense has played long and tough the last 2 games against the 2 most physical teams in the NFL. Injuries could be a concern if we cant keep them off the field.
• As we have found out, Josh McDaniels has strong beliefs in the philosophies he has gained from his dad and Bill Belechick. He will stay true to his course regardless of popular opinion. This can obviously be seen as confidence, but the last 2 games it has come across as stubbornness, particularly with his belief in the power run game and how ineffective it has been against 2 play off caliber teams. Is McD's stubbornness and his utter belief in his philosophies holding this team back?
• Will our team bounce back from 2 tough losses and be able to keep their eyes on the prize?

OK, thats a lot to take in. We have all this information as it relates to where our team stands at the half way point, but how do we use it, and then formulate a basic strategy moving forward.
In a nutshell, we need to fix the weaknesses, maintain the strengths, take advantage of the opportunites and nullify the threats. Sounds easy doesn't it. Lets move on!


B) THE COMMON SENSE APPROACH:
Okay, I am no academic, and sure as hell will never be a rocket surgeon (see MYSTERY, ALASKA) but I feel I am a pretty logical dude, and a strategy to improve our team seems pretty clear to me. The one thing that I want EVERYONE to grasp is this:
WE ARE 6-2 AND HAVE A GOOD TEAM. WE ARE A YEAR AHEAD OF WHERE I THOUGHT WE WOULD BE!....so we should all be pretty stoked on that.
That being said, we want the progression to continue. Here's how I see it:

• We need to let our O line go back to doing what it does best: being a zone blocking team. We dont have the guys needed on the interior of our line to be able to move around the Casey Hamptons of this world, but they have been very effective in the last years, including Ben Hamilton of shepparding the opposition into zones that allow our RB's to one-cut and go. Consider this: The lightest guy on the Panthers line (who are a power running team) is over 300 lbs....Casey Weigman comes in at 280 and Benny under 300....they dont have the size or horse power to be effective inside. This also stays true to McD's mantra of putting players in situations for them to succeed. This then leads too......
• Our running game taking a step forward. This late breaking news: Knowshon and Buck are NOT POWER BACKS. They are ellusive one cut guys that are best used in a....yep, you guessed it....ZONE BLOCKING SCHEME. All of a sudden, we are now also setting up KM and CB for success. This will help our O keep moving on the ground, help set up the screen and give our RB's lanes on the oustide and of tackle where both these guys will be successful. Trust me on this. KNOWSHON THEN STARTS BEING THE PLAYER THAT WE DRAFTED instead of a between the tackles pounder (As an aside, Knowshon is being used how the Redskins used, and abused, Portis, which has shortened his career and limited his explosiveness). This will then lead to......
• Our offense not being one dimensional. I have heard all the poo pooing that Orton cant throw down the field. Well, here's a news flash, there is a thing called TIME that is needed for down the field routes to set up. If oppositions are bringing the house, because you don't have a running game, then NO QB in the league will be able to throw vertically. Its not a theory, its based purely on physics and time. What are defenses going to do when you have no running game? They will stack the box, bring blitz and pressure and give the QB no options. An effective running game, or even the ILLUSION of an effective running game, lessens the aggression of the defense and gives the offense more options. This then leads to.....
• Kyle Orton being able to better use his weapons as he has more time and it will allow routes to develop better. He will not be under pressure all the time, and will be able to throw more than from 1 or 3 step drops....that would be awesome!

NOW, consider this: We now have a team that can move the ball more efficiently. We start picking up more than 1 yard per down on running plays and takes a reliance off the short pass, dink and dunk game, and ACTUALLY helps McDaniel's scheme.

The beauty of all this is that it puts our players in the position to SUCCEED....and make plays.

It also takes pressure off special teams as it should, in theory, lead to less 3 and outs, and extend drives in a more LOW RISK MANNER, which is right up McD's alley.

The only proviso in this is the THREAT that McD is too stubborn in his ways, and keeps his love affair going with the POWER run game. I DONT THINK THIS WILL HAPPEN. I think Josh sees that the success of this WHOLE offense is predicated on a successful run game, and he needs to get back to the steak and potatoes of this team.

McDaniels is a SUPER smart man, and he will see the light!

IN CONCLUSION:
Fixing this thing is not hard. We have so many HIGH CALIBER pieces in place to be a threat in the play offs. Our D is as good as anyones, and I would not swap them for anyone.

We have the talent to be an explosive offense. and I have every faith in the world that KO will be a GREAT trigger man, but it all starts with the run game. We need it to make this team hum, and to put our guys in position to flourish and make plays. That starts by becoming more creative in the run game, and letting our O line going back to what worked last year, and I have faith we will see a much improved offense moving forward.

McDaniel's has to be smarter than us, right? HE WILL GET IT DONE!

Please hit me back with your thoughts!

Peace,

Boydy.