Position by Position

Quarterback - Orton and Simms. I really think Orton is going to win this battle and is going to do great things for Denver. As a Purdue graduate, you can see that this dude knows his stuff. He is a cerebral player with great arm strength (although people have been saying he has a "noodle arm"). He threw 50-60 yard bombs to Hester all year and still has great accuracy to hit guys over the middle. He loves throwing to RBs and TEs, so look out Moreno, Hillis, and Scheffler.

I think that QB will not be a problem like many people throughout the league think. JC was good, but Orton has control and brains. He can throw it long when he needs to, but he doesn't throw stupid picks, either.

Runningback - Where do you wanna start? There is a huge logjam at RB right now. I am really excited about Moreno and Hillis being in the same backfield. I am not going to rule out Torain, although he may have trouble making the team if he doesn't get healthy. I don't like LaMont Jordan at all. Arrington is okay with me, but I don't see him taking the starting job. Overall, I think our running game will be stout. We have depth and talent.

Wide Receivers - Not a problem at all. Unless Marshall gets suspended, I see no problems with our WRs. With Marshall, Eddie, Stokely, Gaffney, and Jackson, we will have plenty of talent and depth. Stokely is a slight concern with injury. He is getting up there in age, but I think Jackson or Gaffney could take over in the slot if he had any problems. I really think the receiving game will be a strength again this year.

Tight Ends - I think that our TE position is going to be a point of interest this offseason and into the season. It all depends on which direction the offense will take. If McD wants to run the ball and pound the rock, we will have Quinn and DG competing for time. If McD wants to air it out, we have to stick with Scheffler and have Graham play behind him. Or maybe McD just wants to get rid of Scheffler and stick with DG and Quinn.

I would love to see Scheffler stay (since I have his orange jersey and love to watch him play), but if he goes, I think our offense will still be okay. We won't have as many receiving threats, but our offense will be able to run on any down because DG and Quinn can block better than Scheffler. We'll see how that plays out, but regardless of how it works out this offseason, I think our TE position will be good.

Offensive Line - With all five starters coming back, our offensive line should look stout just like it did last year. I love Clady protecting the blindside again this year. These guys are awesome and will really help our offensive production. We got some more depth in the offseason with Seth Olsen, so even if one of our starters goes down, we should still be okay.

Defensive Line - We couldn't have gotten any worse than last year. I really like the improvements we made to the DLine. Getting Ayers will prove to be a great pick for Denver. I am really pumped to see Baker play some ball. Fields or Askew should be alright, too. Reid, Powell and Crowder should be fine at DE, too.

I think that the move to a 3-4 will be a good call. I think that we should be fine. It probably won't be a top 5 defensive line, but we made some strides this offseason and that's all we can ask for. I think the Defensive Line will be fine.

Linebacker - DJ Williams will be good, Woodyard will be good, Davis should be decent. The rest ............. I'm not so sure yet. Dumervil and Moss have only played OLB a little while and Boss Bailey is bound to be injured again. I think that time will tell how good this LB group can be. I think the middle will be good, but the outside may be a weakness right now.

Again, I am not saying that it will be, but it might be. If Dumervil and Moss can learn OLB quickly and Boss can stay healthy, our LBs will be amazing. Right now, though, it is early in the offseason, so we can't really tell how good they can be. Ayers will play like an OLB or DE mix. So, that will help, as well. Larsen should get some plays, too.

Cornerbacks - Champ Bailey. Okay, halfway there. hahahaha. Andre Goodman should do okay for a while. I am really excited to see how our young CBs do this year. What about Jack Williams? He played a little near the end of last season. Alphonso Smith really excites me too. With Champ getting older and Andre being no spring chicken, himself, I think that seeing these young corners develop is going to be very important to the future of the broncos.

Safety - Brian Dawkins is going to save this team next year. We have needed a leader on defense ever since Lynch and Wilson left. He may not be as quick as he once was, but he is still a lights out defender who can knock a receiver clear into next week. I really like Renaldo Hill, too. For Miami, he was a solid free safety. In rushing downs, we might see Darcel McBath make some big stops, too.

Kicker - I would really like to see some competition for Prater. The dude needs to work for it. He was amazing the first 5 weeks of the season. He led the NFL in scoring at one point. He faded down the stretch with some huge misses. If he improves his conditioning and makes that leg more consistent, we could have the next Elam on our hands.

Overall Offense - I think our offense will be strong. We have no glaring weaknesses. We should be top 5 or top 10 next year in scoring with our improved running game and quarterback. Yeah, I said it. Improved quarterback. No more interceptions in the red zone. No more pick sixes. Orton is a smart qb that doesn't waste posessions. I am excited about our offense.

Overall Defense - Our defense has improved. I am not going to go out and say that we are a top 10, by any means. I am willing to say that we will not give up 28 points per game. If we finish top 20 in scoring defense, we will go to the playoffs. I think this is a good possibility.