At Dawn

Well put BB. I like you am actually excited and optimistic for a new direction. We all know that the draft really can’t be judged for another few years, but good leaders have clear vision and I think McD fits the mold.

That actually did help calm my nerves a bit! : )

But who can blame any of us. Who among us was like, “Eddie Royal? Sweet!”… Nobody knew what we had until training camp at the earliest, and it wasn’t really until the first game against Oakland that we all became believers.

Actually typing that at this moment makes me realize that I read somewhere that we’d have the verdict on B-Marsh prior to the draft… Here we are and there’s nothing yet reported…. When is it safe to assume that he’s in the clear?

I totally agree that the draft is a roll of the dice. And I’m in agreement with your assessment of Coach McD. Let’s give the guy a chance and not judge him until after he wins his first Super Bowl (yes, I do my best to live in La La Land most of the time).

I think the draft needs to be judged in two stages:

1) Whether the team got good value for their picks on draft day. Regardless of position and team needs. Did they reach for a guy at a need position, ala Jarvis Moss, Paul Toviessi, Terry Peirce, or did they get a sleeper using BPA, ala Tony Scheffler & Eddie Royal. This is a reflection of the FO & scouts.

2) In two or three years, depending upon the position (except RB they’re year 1 contributors) did the prospects develop into at least solid NFL players. This is more of a reflection of the coaching staff.

Last few years we’ve seen coaches like Jacob Bruney, be given 11 DL prospects during his time here, only to see one prospect (Doom) amount to anything. It is my hope the new defensive staff, especially Nunnely, can actually develop prospects. This is where draft success is determine, not on draft day.

We as fans really can’t pass judgment on a drafted player until we’ve seen them play and their development. Its not like any of us have access to the War Room, the staffs minds or the scout reports & interviews.

Unfortunately, we all know that won’t happen.

Howdy neighbor. I’ll sleep good tonight even though I will (like many others) be excited and anxious for our team to rise up to the occasion. Many will be surprised, and many will be disappointed that the player of their hopes was not taken, but these boys running the show now know exactly what they are doing when we see their actions (let the guy play) speak for themselves. The coach playing db in a drill, and saying those words where everyone in the buildiing heard it, speak volumes within itself.
Whiskey for my men and beer for my horses!!!

your post sounded like me at the start and ended up sounding like you had starting drinking some of Mike C’s Kool-aid, bottom line is you gotta have faith. But not blind faith!!! In a way this will be a watershed moment for HCMcD and his staff and in another it will be his first draft of at least three, I just don’t see Mr. Bowlen pulling the plug on HCMcD until at least three years to give him time to prove himself and his methods. That said this draft will be a watershed for wooing the fans that haven’t gotten on board yet, the skeptical majority that are still waiting for HCMcD to be everything that he is promised to be. I say the longer I read and post on MHR the more of that euphoric feeling I feel, “HEY Mike pass me another glass” and the more I believe that things are changing and for the good!!! At any rate I liked your post, and I will recommend that other fans read it as well!!!

I’m sure we’ll be fine. GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Even if something crazy goes down tomorrow—and it will— I will [be] patient and hopeful that the best decision was made. In fact, the only thing that will surprise me this weekend is if our draft looks anything similar to the mock draft echo chamber I’ve succumbed to over the past month.

That’s exactly how I feel from my little war room over here in Bozeman. I’m steeling myself for all the detractors to emerge and start picking apart McX’s first drafts without really knowing why they valued those selections at those picks, being that we haven’t really unveiled our team’s new identity yet (other than McD’s early assertions which remind me distinctly of the always amusing adage that to win, we need to score a lotta points and keep the other team from scoring. lol)

Patience. It won’t be easy, but I’m gonna force myself to have it this year, all year, and into next. We’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of big time play from rookies in recent history. Don’t know if that’s the league-wide norm or not (I’m curious how the hit/bust ratio trends over the last decade), but let’s hope for the team’s sake that we just get some guys who will be accountable, bring some fire, and love to play football for the Denver Broncos.

People forget the natural progression of draft day.

1) The team likley makes several picks that few people saw coming.

2) Fans are flabbergasted!

3) On further reflection (about 3 or 4 days after the draft) folks research the new players, and find that they were great picks all along.

4) When camp rolls around, reports on the rookies are steller (for the most part).

5) Everyone now thinks the draft went great.

One thing to keep in mind: for all of the sleep we have all lost trying to mock and analyze the draft, the pros in the war room have done several hundred more times worth of effort and research. I’m prepared to give my opinions tomorrow, but in the context that I trust the coaching / management staff to know more about what’s going on behind closed doors than I do.

When I coached at the HS level, locals sometimes questioned a decision we made as a staff. We had the advantage of years of coaching, an (always) winning program, up front and personal insights into what was “really” going on in the locker room, at practice, and in the private lives of the players. But there were always folks that seemed to “know better” than we did.

Now I’m on the fan side of things. I’m going to question some decisions, but always with the respect that goes with knowing the team’s coaches really do know more than I do.

Great job BB!

My confidence exceeds my expectations. I shall sleep soundly

The Draft is now just three hours away!!
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Great post BB. Being that I’m so excited, I didn’t sleep very well. I believe this will be the start of something great! Hic-up I need more Kool-aid. :)

GO BRONCOS