I was read the Schein piece and am amazed. I guess he goes to the top of the list of media types who doubted the Broncos and can’t get on the bandwagon later.

apparently someone told Marshall he has leverage

hate to say it but the best thing that could happen is he gets a suspension for his ‘domestic conflict’ issues, as unlikely as it might be

thanks for all the news, NYC ! have a great weekend !

“It’s definitely something we sat down and talked about,” Cutler said. “Nothing happened. It’s in the past. In this league, you’ve got to move forward to the next day and keep moving or you’ll get left behind. I’m on board with Josh. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Okay, you got me. This wasn’t really JC, it was Scheff in the article linked above. But wow, the contrast in attitude is striking. It tells you something when your TE is more of a leader than your QB.

Damn, this is a slippery slope. I promised myself I’d move on, and I will try to do so now. But for the record, I couldn’t be happier to have Tony on our team!

Thanks for the horse tracks NYC!

As for lists:-
They have to do a 1 to 32 and quite frankly we can start at 32 for all i care.
It is not where we start from but where and how we finish that matters.

Nobody gets an award for starting at no. 1 on some “hacks” list.

Can’t wait for the season to start!!!!

That’s like, the fifth preseason ranking I’ve seen where the broncos were listed 25th or lower. At first, I was thinking the writers just weren’t doing their homework. For the first time, I’m seriously starting to worry we might be the new Browns. Is this possible? Have we pulled the wool so far over our eyes we can’t see what everyone else sees? Or are they just as blind as we think they are? I’m still pumped for the season to start, still have my annual bet with my friend who’s a Bears fan for who will have the better season, but I’m pretty nervous. It seems everyone thinks we’re going to be 3-13. Do they REALLY know something we don’t/refuse to see?

with McDaniels working with the QBs on mechanics? That’s what I want to see. Coaches making players as good as they can be. But that statement he made, and a true one, that no QB is ever perfect in everything he does….. suppose that is the reason Cutler wanted out?

McDaniels knows what he’s doing and the defensive information sounds good as well. Like everyone is working hard and working together.

As usual…Chris Simms looks extremely confident and comfortable. Since he hasn’t played in years, he may be in a very different place from the erratic player that we last saw in Sept of 06. Whether he or Orton takes the 1st string, we’re going to have a well-coached QB who knows how to run this offense. Given the weapons that we have, 3 Rings, I wouldn’t pay much attention to these ridiculous pre-training camp rankings. It’s offseason. Since they’re not into writing in depth, it’s hard to find filler for the grist-mill. They’re just doing what they need to in order to get paid.

“Josh McDaniels has ruined this organization.” OK, pal. Someone has to be 29th on the list. Might as well be the Broncos. The farther we slip, the more amazing the surprise when we exceed expectations. We’re so far under the radar we are the stealth of the NFL, and I LOVE it.

Aside from that B-Marsh “story” which I’ll just avoid, this morning I innocently turned on ESPN and saw a Broncos report with Eric Allen basically saying nothing that hadn’t been said before. They’ll miss Cutler, they’re trying to improve defense, focus on running game. a long way to go, blah blah blah. Oh well, at least it wasn’t John Clayton.

the article’s author makes a good point: seems like bad timing on Marshall’s part to ask for a raise with all the off-the-field stuff and the injuries hanging over his head. Maybe he’s afraid he can’t produce the same numbers without Jay….

slant against the Broncos?

Actually I was watching a wrap up on NFLN last night and Jamie Dukes said that we as fans are making too much out of Skipping OTA’s and asking for new contracts. Its funny cause I remember there was this one situation, right before the draft, where the media made all the stink not the fans…..not sure what to make of those sideways comments by dukes other than he is a moron

The Adam Schein column is a joke. The Broncos organization behind the likes of the Bengals, Chiefs, and Redskins? I e-mailed Mr. Schein with the way that I would rank the Broncos, so we’ll see if/how he responds. Perhaps MHR readers could tell me whether they think this is an accurate breakdown.

Mr. Schein,

Your May 29 column was interesting, and I would be interested in seeing your breakdown of how you scored the teams. Obviously, I wouldn’t be writing if I didn’t disagree with you on your rankings, so I thought that I’d see if I could get your take on how you rank the NFL organizations.

Here is my biggest issue – you have the Denver Broncos ranked at #29. That’s not even so much the issue as the fact that the Broncos are ranked ahead of only the Raiders, Browns, and Lions, meaning that they are ranked behind the likes of the Bengals and Chiefs. In grading the organization as a whole, I can’t imagine that you’d come up with a grade of only 31.0. Here’s how I would rank the Broncos.

Owner: 10 (If you think less of Pat Bowlen, you’re just wrong.)
Front Office: 5 (Incomplete, really, but the way that they went about free agency and the draft really impressed me. They drafted character guys that they see will be around for years, meaning that they’re building for the future, not the short-sighted “right now” approach. It’s a “Best Player Available” draft strategy. Also, free agency was unbelievable. They got plenty of excellent free agents, and there’s no way you can’t be impressed by that. They are very, very green, though, so I can’t grade them that high.)
Head Coach: 7 (I don’t really think that you can give him a grade before actually coaching a game, but from listening to reports out of camps, everyone is on board and loves the guy. Plus, watch one of his pressers – it’s easy to see why they love him. So far, he’s a pretty impressive offseason coach.)
Coaching Staff: 9 (Again, it’s tough to give a grade before any games are played, but this is one of the NFL’s best coaching staffs on paper. Mike Nolan is a hell of a coach, and Josh McDaniels is a hell of an offensive coach. Mike McCoy turned Jake Delhomme into a Pro Bowler. Wayne Nunnely is widely considered one of the best D-line coaches in the game. Rick Dennison knows the O-line and the zone blocking scheme that makes the Denver rushing attack so successful, and there isn’t a better running backs coach than Bobby Turner. Mike Priefer seemed to be a good special teams coach when KC had a little talent to work with.)
Quarterback: 4 (I’ll admit, this looks like a weakness in terms of talent, so I’ll agree that it can’t grade very high. We may be surprised by Orton this year, though. He excelled in a similar system in college, and he has a great O-line now. Plus, he’s a winner. This may change next year.)
Offense: 8 (Losing Cutler hurts, but they have the most innovative, young offensive mind in the game right now for a head coach/OC, perhaps the best pass-blocking O-line in the NFL that is no slouch when it comes to run blocking, one of the NFL’s best receiving corps, and a potential young stud running back. There should be no worries about the offense.)
Defense: 4 (We’ll see after this year, as we have yet to see the pieces on the field. However, the defense will be improved over last year’s, as the focus is on turnovers and rushing the passer from the edge in the 3-4. It all comes down to the D-line anchors, which doesn’t look great right now, so the D can’t grade high. However, the secondary may be the best in the NFL with a little help from the front 7. I can’t grade the defense high, though.)
Intangibles: 10 (I’m not sure whether you’re aware, but fan support in Denver and throughout the Rocky Mountain region is as good or better than any other NFL team. The stadium has been sold out since the 1970’s, and the Broncos reported a 96% season ticket renewal rate this season, right at normal levels. Stadium and facilities are top-notch, both having been built within the past 10 years. The PR staff is great, with Jim Saccomano leading that area. The Cutler situation looked bad, but there was no way to make it look good, so they did the best thing that they could and didn’t say anything.)

That adds up to 57, by my count, which is obviously much higher than you have the Broncos ranked. That would put them just ahead of New Orleans and right behind Chicago for #16, right in the middle of the pack, which seems about right. I feel that much of the national media is overreacting to the Jay Cutler trad and sensationalizing the Broncos attitude at this point into something it is not. Josh McDaniels, while not always understandable, has had a great offseason, with the exception of the fact that he had to trade a very talented QB that didn’t want to be here. While he must share some blame, it’s not all his fault, and all of the great stuff that he’s done is being overlooked. Obviously, I look at the world through Blue and Orange glasses, but I feel that your ranking is unfair.

One more question – why are the Falcons be #6 (ahead of the Colts?) and the Dolphins be #14? I would really like to see the breakown in your scoring. Perhaps I could gain a better understanding as to what you were getting at.

Thank you for your time.

—
Always,

William Nelson