More Crap from the MSM....

So here I am today just trying to manage to get adjusted to a full 5-day work week again without any distractions or annoyances and I make the brutal mistake of logging into ESPN to see the result of the Federer French Open match.  I find this link to ESPN's NFL splash page with a pic of McD and Orton behind the heading, "Blind Faith?".  I miserably fail to fight the temptation of hitting the link even though I know it's just gonna be another gutless clone piling on with the rest of the MSM pundits on the 2009 Denver Broncos outlook.  

Lo and behold it's the spearhead of the MSM, John Clayton, who had some comments to share in response to some seemingly fair questions and comments made by two readers:

A fan named Naoki likes what McDaniels has done in finding players for every phase of the game. He liked the draft because of Knowshon Moreno, the team's new feature back. He likes the idea of having Richard Quinn as a blocker out of two-tight end sets. He has high hopes for Alphonso Smith at cornerback. He thinks Darcel McBath and David Bruton will help on special teams.

It seems Naoki is a knowledgable Bronco fan who, much like our MHR community, is cognizant of our acquisitions during the offseason and what role they may potentially fill considering we're still almost 2 months from training camp.  But here's what the expert's response was:

On some fronts, though, we are going to have to agree to disagree. Although the Broncos have made a lot of moves, I'm still looking for the feeling that they have a plan. 

Look, I hate to dissect every word in the response made by Clayton because I'm sure the demands of his job as a senior analyst for the MSM doesn't allow him the time to fact check every one of the 10 responses must provide every other week.  First off, Clayton makes absolutely no attempt to respond to the personnel additions listed by the reader....he basically just brushed them aside and used the opportunity to take a shot at the front office by insinuating that the Broncos don't have a plan

This is absolutely laughable.  I believe an effective plan had been laid out by the new regime which was consistent even with what the Captain Obviouses of the world (Clayton, King, Schein, et al) were proclaiming....defense defense defense.  With the immediate signings of Dawkins, Davis, Hill, Reid, Goodman, and Fields at the inception of free agency, I think everyone was on board with the offseason plan right up until the Cutler saga.  From that point on, the organization was thrown in a blender and they had to re-think their strategy for not only the upcoming season, but for next 5 seasons.  In the end, they acquired a starting quarterback and 3 draft picks which could position the team for success in both the short and long term.  It certainly feels like a plan to me.

Oh, Clayton also fired off this shot in his response:

Remember, Mike Shanahan was fired because of his decisions as a general manager, not his play calling.

Yes John, I'm sure Shanahan's decisions with his players and coaches played a much larger role in his dismissal than his 24-24 record since their AFC Championship game appearance in 2005.  Isn't it remotely possible that the fact that a #2 ranked offense which finished #16 in scoring may have carried just a wee bit of influence in our lack of success last season?  Couldn't those shortcomings on the field have had to do with some measure of play calling???  You're the expert, John.

Brandon in Denver writes, "What is your problem with the Broncos? You have beaten on them like the red-headed step children of the NFL all offseason.''

Fair question Brandon.  Fair question.  Clayton's response?

Brandon, you probably saw that Chris Simms is making a run at Kyle Orton for Denver's starting QB job. If Orton doesn't start after the Broncos gave up Cutler to get him, that's the first major demerit. I've been critical of teams switching to a 3-4 without having a proven nose tackle. The Broncos didn't find one during the offseason. That's a second potential demerit.

Oh, I don't even know where to begin with this beauty of a response.  Now Clayton feels empowered to play headmaster and assign demerits.  

Reporting that Simms is making a run at Orton's job tells me how little to zero effort Clayton has put in to evaluating the team.  From the very onset that Orton was acquired, it was clearly communicated by the organization as well as by Orton himself that there would be a full scale competition at the quarterback position.  I don't recall there being a big celebratory press conference introducing Orton as our starting QB.  McDaniels has said from the very beginning that Simms and Orton were both going to be given an equal opportunity to take the same amount of reps with the first team until it becomes clear who will be penciled in as the starter.  To say that Simms is making a run at Orton's starting QB job at a passing camp in May is grossly irresponsible in my opinion, even for a MSM clone.

To be fair, Clayton's second demerit of the Broncos switching to a 3-4 without a proven NT is on the surface not a bad attempt at applying some criticism.  But once again, he could have delved just a bit deeper into some detail by using some of what I can only imagine being a rolodex full of NFL resources.  With the hiring of Mike Nolan, he just assumed we were doing a full-on switch to a 3-4 philosophy....and I assume by not signing Haynesworth or drafting Raji, he believes the Broncos are destined to fail in installing the new defense.  I think Clayton could have just picked up the phone and called Nolan and/or McDaniels and received a little more education on what the plan for the defense would be.  Oh that's right, WE DON'T HAVE A PLAN!  

It was never said that Nolan and McDaniels would be installing a base 3-4 scheme.  All they have consistently said was that we had to improve the defense from what we had over the last 3 seasons.  What I've been taking away was that we will be more of a situational defense with hybrid personnel.  Read SWG's fantastic post for more details.

I hate myself for letting this little munchkin get to me months prior to the start of the preseason but I felt compelled to respond and more importantly feel reassured that this MHR community has provided me the education and wherewithal to confidently stick the middle finger to the MSM pundits.....especially those who look like this...