Hey guys, I know it's been a while since I've posted. I've barely been lurking around here either. I've been so busy with school and family things the last few weeks I've barely had time to keep feeding the hungry little Bronco stampeding around in my brain. I had the chance to read several fanposts (and their comment sections, woohoo!) tonight and something popped out to me:

Early Draft Talk.

It's not bad, it's fun; and I love to enjoy reading about who we might be looking at, what we might choose to do, and who we're going to gun for. Especially with all the respectable commentary from the educated fans here that really do their homework before they open their mouths. Keep it up.

There were a few mentions about going for CBs, and O-Line in the draft; and also a great stab at stink (whom I now refer to only as: GARBAGE) by suggesting a move for D-Line. There were great points made (in the comment section of HillisRanUOver's awesome post - HERE) an all topics, but what really stood out to me was Endzone's reminder that the leaders of McNolan's X-Men (A personal nickname for our defense and team in general that I use, thanks to the inspiration from Dawkins "Weapon X",  Elvis "Dr.Doom" and Marshall "Beast" 'feel free to add to my list of Comic characters') have shown a mantra of "BPA" (Best Player Available) over "Need" was used for the most part last year.

This was a great reminder of something we all talked about (ALOT) after the draft, and I personally love it. I still feel that there will be times when the Front Office will make a move for Need over BPA, because they seem to respect the importance of both methods and compromise for the best interest of the team which is: WINNING NOW.

I started to think more about the two methods and the Team Mantra we're employing, and the more I sit on it; the more the "that doesn't make sense" moves blend in seamlessly with the goals of the Broncos. The move for Law was an awesome one. I've recently noticed the teacher/student pairs of "Veteran - Apprentice/Journeyman" that McDaniels implemented with this year's draft and free agency moves, which create an internal team-building environment, that every succesful organization has going for itself. Let's start with the most obvious and work our way backwards (guys feel free to correct or add pairs in the comments section as I likely won't have the time to edit this post later)

Safeties: Dawkins/Hill - McBath/Bruton/Barrett

Corners: Bailey/Goodman/Law - Smith/Carter/Johnson

Backers (Inside): Williams/Davis - Woodyard/Larsen

Backers (Outside): Haggan/Reid - Ayers/Moss

D-Line: Holiday/Fields/Peterson - Baker/McBean/Thomas

Quarterback: Simms/Orton - Brandstater

Backers (Running): Buckhalter/Jordan - Moreno/Hillis

Receivers: Stokley/Gaffney/Lloyd - Royal/McKinley/Willis

O-Line: Weigmann/Hamilton/Hochstein/Gorin - Clady/Harris/Polumbus/Olsen/Kuper

**Note** I classified Veterans as 6+ years and listed the Apprentice/Journeymen as 3 or fewer years for the most part. I didn't include a few players like Dumerville, BMarsh, and others who are a little in between.

The purpose is to illustrate the balance of experience and youth, required to create a great learning environment.  The math is simple here: aquire the most talented and suitable players for your team, make compromises to your scheme and system to fit your personnel, balance the youth and experience to create mentorship and internal leadership; and you will field a competitive team year in, and year out.

Just think logically here: If coaches can reduce the amount of information they've got to personally teach players for their specific positions by installing proven (even if old, or slower, or whatever useless adjective people used to describe good, experienced, veteran football) leaders at the player-level... how much more time will they have to utilize their own skills of position knowledge and analysis to focus on the upcoming opponent and break them down and prepare the information for the players?

People keep calling McDaniels a prodigy and genius but I don't think it even gets that far. He's just smart and practical. How often does that occur?? Most people tend to think too much, or too little. Pay attention to too much, or too little. If you can balance them both, you're going to find success. You've got to balance your own experiences with other's insight, and balance your own responsibilities by delegating what you can to the lowest levels possible. It frees up time to think and problem-solve. McDaniels is wise and has absorbed the qualities that work from his mentors. Bill has done a great job with the Patriots and I would give 50% of the credit for his success to his Business degree. It taught him the vital qualities it takes to successfully prepare 53 men for a 3-phase competition that involves rapidly expiring resources (resources being: the players' short career term, which is rookie to retired in about 10 years, all positions considered). People think you can just know a lot about football and be a successful competitor in the NFL. That you can find your way to postseason and the Superbowl consistently by just being great at coaching. Wrong. (Didn't Shanahan prove this for us? I love the guy, he was great at coaching and game planning, one of the best of all time IMO... but at being an NFL Head Coach? Good, but not great; and you can't win the SB consistantly as a good HC.)

There's more to winning than just having the talent to win and being good at what you do, coaches and players both. You've got to understand every aspect of your office/position and contribute not just 100% of what you can in your own field, but all that you can in every other field (versatility) to create the flexibility required to survive the injuries, and unexpected events of a football season and of life in general. That's a Team Philosophy.

 I believe the ingredients for success here are: Passion for the Game/Winning (which helps inspire resilience, drive, and purpose),  Balance of Experience/Youth Knowledge/Talent (which helps delegate authority which leads to more accountability, it also creates a fluid method of internal growth) and Secrecy (in today's game, if you show your hand early... there is very little chance you're going to have the talent, ability, or luck to find a victory). Regardless of mainstream opinion... this is still a game of strategy.

Coaches and Players alike need Passion, Balance, and Secrecy.

McNolan's X-Men are alive with passion. They are confident yet humble, experienced yet young. They keep the all doors to the past and future open, but the present is locked with Orange and Blue Staff-Only key. How far will they get this season...?

I say we let THEM be the judge of that.