Great stuff From Mike Lombardi from the National Football Post this morning

FROM MARK KISZLA OF THE DENVER POST… Motivated to wrestle back control of his franchise from the all-encompassing power of Shanahan, Bowlen can only point the finger of responsibility in his own chest for the upheaval created when he took the unusual tack of hiring a coach before conclusively settling on how the Broncos would make difficult personnel decisions for a team that has missed the playoffs in three consecutive seasons. Denver has tough decisions to ponder. The Broncos must decide whether to retain or break ties with veteran players such as linebacker Nate Webster, defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson and cornerback Dre Bly, plus do thorough evaluation of draft prospects that must weigh the need for defensive help against the need for a reliable, workhorse running back. It all will now fall in the lap of (GM Brian) Xanders, whose background included 14 years with the Atlanta Falcons.

I disagree very strongly with Mark Kiszla. The Broncos do not have any tough decisions because they really don’t have any good players to make tough decisions about.  Webster, Bly and Robertson played on one of the worst defenses in the NFL last year, and none of those players performed anywhere near a winning level.  When you’re bad in the NFL, it’s easy to make decisions; the hard part in making roster moves comes when you’re in the middle — not good, but not awful . 

The changes in Denver didn’t surprise me at all.  In fact, I wrote about this when Josh McDaniels was hired as head coach. McDaniels seems to have a good understanding of what he needs to do to turn the Broncos around.  The way the Broncos handled personnel the past 14 years under Mike Shanahan is completely opposite from the way McDaniels learned it in New England. 

The Broncos are going to make a move to the 3-4 this year, and it will take some time to acquire the players to fit that style.  The Broncos are a blank slate on defense; other than hoping Champ Bailey and D.J. Williams can play at a higher level, there aren’t many players you can count on in the new system.  There will be many cuts coming from the Broncos, as they have to weed out some of the players who did not play to the level of their contracts.  Boss Bailey, Dre’ Bly, Dewayne Robertson and John Engelberger are all potentially on the chopping block.  Cutting players will not be difficult. 

Elvis Dumervil will move to linebacker, but that’s not certain, nor is it certain that he can play outside.  Jarvis Moss, a first-round pick in 2007, is not suited for the 3-4.  He’s athletic enough to play linebacker, but he’s not instinctive or physical enough to succeed.  Not sure where Tim Crowder could fit in the 3-4. He’s not a five-technique or a ‘backer so he might have a hard time adjusting. The one thing the Broncos must do is define what they want and need in players on defense.  There was never a defined description in the past, so the first order of business will be to clearly make those definitions. 

There are few pieces to build around, and cutting and removing players will not be too difficult, but it will take some time. And it will require a keen eye to find the talent that will help rebuild the team. 

He is right.  As fans we caught up in the rubix-cube that is moving, cutting, drafting, and acquiring talent.  But we must remember that Denver is far, far away from having a good level of talent on defense.  Not even DJ or Champ had a good year last year.  It's rough times for the talent level in Denver.

Denver has made the decisions they've made in the past 9 weeks because the orgnization was out of control. Now, Denver does have a good young QB, WRs, FB, and OL as its cornerstone, so that's a great silver lining, but Denver also has some work to do and it will take a few years to get where we all want them to be.