Josh McDaniels: Whats the plan? Oh…..THATS the plan! PART 2.

Hi Folks,

Welcome to part 2 of my blog about the plan, as I see it. Following on from part 1 which can be seen HERE.

We will now look at where our team sits after the draft and CFA signing period, and what it all means as far as McDaniels and his staffs grand plan. READ ON!

1/ OUR DRAFT AND CFA SIGNINGS AND SOME RECURRING THEMES:

RB KNOWSHON MORENO Pick analysis HERE.

DE ROBERT AYERS Pick analysis HERE.

CB ALPHONSO SMITH Pick analysis HERE.

S DARCEL MCBATH Pick analysis HERE.

TE RICHARD QUINN Pick analysis HERE.

S DAVID BRUTON Pick analysis HERE.

G SETH OLSON Pick analysis HERE.

WR KENNY MCKINLEY Pick analysis HERE.

QB TOM BRANDSTATER Pick analysis HERE.

C BLAKE SCHLUETER Pick analysis HERE.

LB LEE ROBINSON Pick analysis HERE.

CB DOMONIQUE JOHNSON Pick analysis HERE.

DT CHRIS BAKER Pick analysis HERE.

FB/HB MARQUEZ BRANSON Pick analysis HERE.

DE EVERETTE PEDESCLEAUX Pick analysis HERE.

WR LUCAS TAYLOR Pick analysis HERE. 

WR NATE SWIFT Pick analysis HERE.

WR DAVID GRIMES Pick analysis HERE.

CB TONY CARTER Pick analysis HERE.

P/K BRITTON COLQUITT Pick analysis HERE.

DE RULON DAVIS Pick analysis HERE.

As you can see from the above list, we had a tonne of draft picks, and picked up 15 CFAs (of which 4 have already been cut).

The themes that came out of the draft and CFA stayed true to what we have seen in Free Agency and is summed up beautifully by this quote that Kaptain Kirk (Thanks KK) brought to our attention in his fanpost HERE.

" The physical toughness of Moreno, Ayers, Alphonso Smith, McBath,and Quinn, all ties into the themes that we had this off season. We're building a football team that together, collectively, will win games with effort, smart and situational football, physicality, toughness and production."                        

I have included all the players draft profiles, so that you can look at them yourself, and see the pattern as well, but here are the characteristics that most or ALL of these players have:

• TOUGH: Only need to look at the background and playing of Rulon Davis to see this highlighted. Similarly, players like McBath, Bruton and Robinson bring the heat as well. This follows of the acquisition of guys like Dawkins, Hill and Davis.
• HIGH CHARACTER: I would encourage all of you to HERE and see all of the interviews from our new draftees. These guys all come across as humble, focused, intelligent and ready to contribute to the betterment of the team. Even the guys like Chris Baker and Colquitt who had some flags on character seem to have learnt by their experiences, been humbled by them and are growing as people.
• TEAM PLAYERS: These guys had ALL been influential team leaders at their college programs.
• MULTI SKILLED: It is no coincidence that all these players bring more than one thing to the table. Many of them were great ST players who LOVED to play special teams. What is great to hear in the player interviews is that they all want to contribute to the team ANY way they can, and special teams is a big focus.
• HIGH PRODUCTION: These guys have runs on the board. They all were at the top end of SOMETHING in their careers. Interceptions, knock downs, take aways, punt returns, punt blocks, special teams tackles, pass protection, blocking......these guys have been consistent performers all during their college careers.
• SPECIALIZATION: These guys also bring one form of specialization, or a skill only few have, with them. For example, Rulon Davis was the only TRUE 5 technique DE in the draft. Chris Baker was the only TRUE 3-4 NT in the draft. This is not a coincidence my friends.

2/ THE SIMPLISTIC GENIUS OF OUR CFA SIGNINGS:

One of the biggest gripes, moans or criticisms we have heard from the MSM and fans is that we did nothing, or not enough, to address our front 7.

Even before the draft, MUCH had been done to address our new system (3-4/Hybrid) that seemed to have gone unnoticed by MSM and many fans. 

First, lets check out what was done in FA:

• Signed Ronnie Fields as NT. Many considered this one of the best signings of the FA period. One of the biggest red flags about Fields by the experts was that he has never played in a consistent position that has greatly effected his development. Lets look thru this a bit. Fields had been playing for Mike Nolan, and had played all positions on the line. Multi skilled, young and played for our DC. Whats not to like!
• Darryl Reid: Awesome special teamer and you cant see this hit enough. Reid is an awesome athlete: big and fast, but clearly not a great fit for the Tampa 2 D that Tony Dungy runs in Indianapolis. When you look at Reid's measurables and size I think Adallius Thomas. Though Reid has 18 pounds on Thomas (6'2' 288 vs 6'2' 270) Reid is just as quick and just as strong. Interestingly enough, it was Mike Nolan that changed Thomas from being an undersized DE into a LB in the 2004 season. Any chance that Nolan sees that same potential in Darrell Reid. Reid is only 26!
• Andra Davis brought in from Cleveland to be ILB. A strong tackler, great run stopper and heady veteran and team leader.
• Ummm....we brought in Mike Nolan, Wayne Nunnely, Don Martindale and Ed Donatell. Apparently those guys coach pretty well!

SO....obviously, some upgrades were made on the front 7 in free agency (and you can argue the tear down and installation of a PREMIER secondary helps also!) . Added to that in the draft proper was the acquisition of Robert Ayers that brings a smorgasbord of options to the table for Mike Nolan.

For me, the BEST part of our off season were the pick ups that we made in the CFA period. I have listed all the guys that we picked up, but here is what stood out for me:

1. The acquisition of Chris Baker, Rulon Davis and Everette Pedescleaux were master strokes by the Broncos. When you go and research these guys completely, you scratch your head wondering what the rest of the league missed. Xanders, McDaniels and co took a major gamble by hoping these guys would fall to FA. The gamble paid off! Chris Baker, as I have mentioned earlier was the ONLY true 3-4 Nose Tackle in the draft. This was a scheme that Hampton ran as their stock defense. While guys like Raji, Brace and Taylor APPEAR to be good fits at a 3-4 NT position, the only one that has actually PLAYED the position is Baker. Plus, he has played DE in the 3-4 as well.  Add to this that this 326lb player ran the 40 in under 5 secs! Rulon Davis from Cal is one tough SOB. he has battled to get where he is and brings attitude and intensity (you get that from former marines!). But, the biggest thing that he brings that many have missed is that he is the only true 5 technique DE in the whole NFL draft. It played it extensively in the 3-4 that Cal ran in the Pac 10. While we were all clamoring for a Tyson Jackson (me included) with our 12th, he went unnoticed. Once again, people surmised that Jackson SHOULD be a fit as a 5 technique DE in a 3-4, while we picked up the only guy with extensive experience playing the position. Everette Pedsecleaux is purely an athlete! A nomination for Mr Basketball, E-Ped has played all positions on the line, and has shown marketed improvement over the last 2 years of his college career. 6'6', 310 pounds and runs a forty in under 5 secs. He has all the potential in the world! When you consider that it takes a good 1-2 seasons for D lineman to mature and blossom, what's not too like about these 3 guys. When compared to Raji, Brace, Gilbert and the like it can be argued that these guys might mature quicker. They have already played the positions they have been drafted for, and their measurables are up there with all the high draft choices. This is UNBELIEVABLE VALUE right here baby. We got all these 3 guys for less than what the Colts got Terrance Taylor for!
2. CFA's are all athletes. Just read their combine results and their production!
3. Great bunch of special teamers.
4. All have chips on their shoulders and have something to prove.
5. All of them want to compete.

Thru CFA, the Broncos have fortified their front 7 with quality players at no cost, fortified their special teams by bringing in gamers that will compete and focus on special teams ability to make the squad and, most importantly, brought in guys that have many strings to their bow, which, with the right development, be major contributors to the team (see Marquez Branson who has so many strings he needs 2 fiddles!).

3/ HINDSIGHT: SEE ING THE DRAFT FOR WHAT IT REALLY IS, NOT WHAT WE THOUGHT IT SHOULD BE!

Hindsight, they say, is always 20-20. We still are hearing all the criticisms from all and sundry that the Broncos badly missed on this draft, that they filled none of their needs, and, although taking top quality players, did nothing to really help the team.

OK, what am I missing here?

Based on common sense alone, if you pick up good players in the draft, they are going to help your team. Everyone agree with that? Good.

But here is the biggest thing, as I see it.

Common observers don't see the strategy in how Denver drafted. They expected, and therefore judged, Denver based on a strictly a DRAFT FOR NEED basis. I don't think this was remotely the tact that Denver used.

I posted this response to Creamy yesterday is a great debate at this post put up by  TSG that was inspired by McGeorge (Great discussions and points everyone...AWESOME!):

But Creamy...

This was not a draft about addressing needs, it was a draft about getting players in on the ground floor that were the best fit for the system and revolved ENTIRELY about character of player.
McD and Xanders knew that the D Line choices available THIS draft were WAY over valued and not 100% fit for the style of player they were looking for.
The biggest mistake being made here is that people (including MSM) look at this draft based on POSITION OF NEED. This draft had NOTHING to do with POSITION OF NEED….it had to do with BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE FOR THE SYSTEM AND FUTURE OF THE TEAM and was mainly about BUILDING A WINNING CULTURE.

The above comment is what I believe this draft (including CFA signings) was about. When you look at our draft based on these things:

• Best Player Available for the system.
• Character of the team.
• Philosophy for the future.
• Foundation for FUTURE success.
• Building a WINNING CULTURE AND ATTITUDE

then it is hard to argue that we did not knock this out of the park.

We brought in hard nosed, team orientated, mentoring type veterans that would set the culture, work ethic and philosophy for our team. Coupled with this we brought in some younger playmakers (Reid, Fields) with talent, upside and value that also have experience. We then mirrored what we did with the veterans, by bringing in those type of players in the actual draft. Young guys, that by the time the veterans will retire, will have bought into the system and culture and be leading from the front. This was then complimented by our CFA period where we bought in athletes to compete, who have mad upside that can be developed cheaply with good coaching. Will all our draft picks and CFA's stick? of course not, but you can be guarenteed the ones that do will have bought into the concept that McDaniels is selling and will be great contributors for the team!

4/ WHERE TO NOW? WHATS THE FUTURE HOLD?

13 - 3 Baby!!!......only joking!

I have not been this enthused for our team since I began supporting them from afar in 1997. I believed it was time for a change about 3 years ago, and draw similes from my own experience in coaching. Just quickly, I had developed and athletic program and had been leading it for the past 7 years. One of the best in the country, but in the past 12-18 months I felt myself going stale, felt I was regurgitating the same coaching thoughts and felt my message was not getting thru and stale. It was time for a change....both for the good of the program and the good of myself. This is exactly where I felt Shanahan and the Broncos were, but unfortunately for Mike, he got shown the door instead of finding it himself.

We now have a system and culture in place that should hold this team in good stead for years to come. This has been set up by a good FA period, a good draft, a good CFA period and great hiring. The culture and philosophy is rock solid from Jedi McD all the way down his staff, to the players and to the rest of the organization. 

I look thru our whole roster and see upgrades everywhere......and I mean EVERYWHERE. Most importantly, I have seen, for the first time I can vividly remember, a directed focus on Special Teams. McD has a passion for it, many of the coaches on the staff now started in special teams, and we brought in a guy in Mike Preifer who has had success in improving both the kicking and returning games in both Kansas and New York (Giants).

What has also got me jazzed is that McDaniels has initiated a great system of "self government" if you like. Via his FA and drafting strategies, there is a seamless secession of leadership from veterans and rookies that will keep going thru out the life of McD's leadership. With similar solid drafting and free agent strategies, this will continue, but it also gives plenty of flexibility in the future as well.

What does this mean for the 2009 Denver Broncos? Well, I hope it means we will see a team that plays nasty and with a chip on its shoulder every week. With the leadership of B Dawk, the coaching staff and the like, I cant see this team not being up for every game next season (and wouldn't that be nice for a change!). We will see a team that will compete, be aggressive and innovative on both sides of the ball.

My hope is that we mirror what the Green Bay Packers pulled off last year. Why having a 6-10 record, they lost 7 of their games by less than 4 points! 21 points from a 13-3 record! Thats how I see this team...we could be 30 or less points between a 4-12 and 12-4 record. The difference I see is that we have some veteran leadership that might get us home in some of those tight ones!

I hazard everyone to be patient. This team is on an upswing and we are headed in a positive direction. The coming years are going to see this team come back to dominance, and if you go into the 2009 season with an open mind, looking more at the overall improvement of the team rather than the score (and i know, easier said than done) this will be one hell of a fun ride. Get on board, leave all your pre conceptions and your memories of Shanny and OLD Denver football at the door! McD is shaking things up, and not only will we be surprised, but we will also blow the doors off what the MSM thought was Denver football.

Hope you enjoyed the read and hit me back with comments.

Peace!