Horse Tracks 1/22/10 - Broncos hire Bob Wylie - will assist Clancy Barone, who reportedly will be named OL coach

by Douglas A. Lee on Jan 22, 2010 5:43 AM MST in Horse Tracks

NFP - Broncos hire Barone as offensive line coach - Aaron Wilson

DPP - Wylie is added to staff - Jeff Legwold

"Wylie, who coached at Colorado State early in his career, has coached seven Pro Bowl offensive linemen in his previous NFL stops in Arizona, Tampa Bay and Chicago. He also coached tight ends for Cincinnati and spent two years as a Jets assistant...While Dean Pees was initially believed to have the inside track to be the team's new defensive coordinator, Broncos linebackers coach Don Martindale could now get the nod after meeting with McDaniels."

DPP - Analysis: Broncos pass often, but run game needs to improve in 2010 - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Q&A: Marshall won't be getting his millions from the Broncos - Jeff Legwold

DP - Two plead not guilty to perjury in Bronco's murder case - Felisa Cardona

NFL - Clady's class - Video

DB - 2009 Season Highlights: Second Quarter - Gray Caldwell

JS - Al Wilson teaches JCM students from his life - Brandon Shields

Ted, make sure to check out Al's epaulets. Looking pretty sharp...

KDVR - Marijuana grow operation found in former Broncos RB Reuben Droughns' home - Julie Hayden

AFC West News

SDUT - Chargers’ night out not cause of off day - Kevin Acee

SDUT - Merriman shocked by paternity suit - Brent Schrotenboer

You stay classy, San Diego.

NFP - Raiders should stick with Cable - Matt Bowen

SJMN - Stanford's Jim Harbaugh, Oakland Raiders wouldn't be a good pairing - Mark Purdy

OT - Al Davis plans to keep meeting with Cable - Steve Corkran

OT - Past searches have been disasters - Jerry McDonald

NFL News

NYT - A Helping Hand Is Offered to Battered N.F.L. Veterans - Alan Schwarz

NFL - Cowboys extend contract of Phillips to coach through 2011

NFL - Bert Berry Calls It a Career

NFL - Ryan sends game ball from playoff win to Marty Schottenheimer

NFL - Saints' Vilma will donate T-shirt profits toward a Haitian relief fund

NFL - Bills continue front-office facelift, release pro personnel chief

NFL - Steelers Hire Everest as New Special Teams Coordinator

NFL - Redskins add assistants Foerster, Burney, Slowik to coaching staff

HC - Texans denied permission to interview two assistants - John McClain

"The Texans have been denied permission to interview Atlanta quarterbacks coach Billl Musgrave and Miami receivers coach Karl Dorrell."

NFL Opinion

NFP - The meaning of Mara's frustration - Robert Boland

NFP - Should the Cowboys have extended Wade? - Matt Bowen

NFP - Has the Pro Bowl turned into amateur hour? - Matt Bowen

SI - Every NFL team has hope, but it's hard to believe in Buffalo, Oakland - Michael Rosenberg

SN - Mock draft: Big uglies go before pretty boys - Russ Lande

"11. Denver Broncos (from Chicago): Corey Wootton, Northwestern DE The Broncos need a DE for their 3-4 scheme, and Wootton has the size, long arms, strength and athleticism to be a perfect fit."

Playoffs??!?!?!?!

SN - Burning questions: Super Bowl berths are in the balance - Clifton Brown

NFL - Playmakers Revis, Sharper will have big impact on Sunday's games - Gil Brandt

NYT - Jets’ Win Probability vs. Colts: 28 Percent - Brian Burke

NYT - Sunday’s A.F.C. Championship Matchup - Mike Tanier

SI - AFC Championship Game breakdown, Jets-Colts - Jim Trotter

NFP - Diner morning news: A vote for the Jets - Mike Lombardi

SI - Interception ladder shows impact of picks in NFL playoff history - Kerry J. Byrne

"Each interception thrown by a team decreases its chances of winning by, give or take, an astonishing 20 percentage points." Do I even need to say it?

SN - Colts' underrated D braces for another physical test - Dennis Dillon

SI - Rex Ryan's Jets look familiar to Buddy Ryan - Don Banks

ESPN - Rex Ryan's swagger leads Jets - Elizabeth Merrill

PFW - Colts WR Garcon makes quantum leap - Dan Arkush

FH - Manning, Colts Look to Shed Rep as Playoff Underachievers - Nancy Gay

NYT - Sunday’s N.F.C. Championship Matchup - Mike Tanier

SI - NFC Championship Game breakdown, Vikings-Saints - Don Banks

NFP - Darren Sharper is still going strong - Andrew Brandt

NFL - Vikings have many advantages, but being at home gives Saints edge - Steve Wyche

Y! - Bushrod wants silence against Allen - Jason Cole

CBS - Bad call? Favre can only close deal with Super Bowl ring - Pete Prisco

FOX - Bush looks for redemption in playoffs - Alex Marvez

FOX - You may hate Favre now, but you'll miss him - Jason Whitlock

FOX - Boom or Bust: Will Peterson be his old self? - Adam Schein

ESPN - Battle in the Bayou: Rice's emergence - Kevin Seifert

FH - Brees Rewarded for Faith in New Orleans - Chris Harry

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Comments

Good morning Doug and thanks as always

Love the “epaulets” shot for Ted.

I'm glad we had this talk.
(signature courtesy of TJ Johnson)

by BroncoInExile on Jan 22, 2010 5:47 AM MST reply actions

Thanks, Doug.

Honestly, I think I can handle Martindale becoming the DC. For one thing, it’ll mean that the team will already be familiar with him and the transition will be easier. Plus, if Pees was supposed to be automatic and Don is making them think twice, there has to be something good about him.

"All by their heads, he places crowns."

by Tempestuous Binary on Jan 22, 2010 6:02 AM MST reply actions

Other than Ayers (whom was just so-so IMO), I felt the other four starting LBs had good to great seasons in 2009. If that strong play was a reflection on their LB coach, he may be a good choice for DC.

San Diego Super Chokers – The annual preseason Champs, eternal post season chumps. Stay Classy

by McGeorge on Jan 22, 2010 7:16 AM MST reply actions

Funny, I see it the other way. The linebackers overpursued like crazy towards the end of the season. Maybe that’s about new roles and learning the scheme and it doesn’t fall on Martindale. But Doom in particular was getting eaten alive by cut-backs, and do I even need to mention Jamaal Charles?

by Chibronx on Jan 22, 2010 7:39 AM MST up reply actions

Any unit with subpar talents like Haggen and Davis that can play as well as Denver did in 2009 gets a shout out from me.

I thought we’d get run over all season long, but we ended up with a Top 10 D.

I remember Jamaal Charles – that was the game where the our D mailed it in and tuned out their coaches so you may have a good point there.

San Diego Super Chokers – The annual preseason Champs, eternal post season chumps. Stay Classy

by McGeorge on Jan 22, 2010 10:09 AM MST up reply actions

We ended up with a top 10 D

But we still got ran all over. Our Run D finished at 26th in the league. Our excellent pass D (3rd) is what brought the unit overall into the top 10.

Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds. - Albert Einstein

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them. - Albert Einstein

by c_style on Jan 22, 2010 10:54 AM MST up reply actions

Teams with bad run D’s usually end up with good passing D’s since their opponents know where to attack and do so accordingly. Against Denver, it made more sense to call running plays and teams did.

Our pass D was good this season (thanks to Elvis and his pass rush), but that is masked by how bad our run D was in the 2nd half of the season. Teams were not passing as much since they didn’t have to and this clearly made Elvis less effective.

San Diego Super Chokers – The annual preseason Champs, eternal post season chumps. Stay Classy

by McGeorge on Jan 22, 2010 12:01 PM MST up reply actions

I agree with everything you just said here

Yet this conflicts with your previous statement that elicited my response:

I thought we’d get run over all season long, but we ended up with a Top 10 D

Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds. - Albert Einstein

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them. - Albert Einstein

by c_style on Jan 22, 2010 12:29 PM MST up reply actions

Mailed it in? How do you know that, McGeorge? I don’t know if they tried hard, and neither do you. What I do know is that they missed lots of tackles, and that cut-backs left them eating dust. I can’t read minds, so I don’t know what happend in their heads. But we can all agree that they got beaten by certain kinds of running schemes toward season’s end.

Good points about Haggan and Davis, though. They did a very good job of staying in position throughout the year. The problems really seemed to be with DJ and Doom. And there you’ve got one guy with a history of taking weird angles, and another who’s converted from defensive end.

by Chibronx on Jan 22, 2010 11:30 AM MST up reply actions

To me, DJ Williams is a player that has never lived up the hype, yet still got his payday. He does take weird angles. He was right there to whine about Marshall not being a team player. Now DJ is a team player since he has played everywhere on the field, but when do we stop lying to ourselves about his football skills. Me thinks Denver will be a better team once DJ is not around to eat up salary cap space and overrun countless plays. He gets paid like a star, but doesn’t produce like one and at this point, he has no more upside. He is what he is – a decent LB that is overpaid.

Elvis is a liability against the run. He has been his entire career. 17 sacks is amazing, but we need to find a replacement for this guy on running downs and we better factor in his awful run D when signing him to a new deal.

I don’t know if our guys quit, but they sure did play sloppy football vs KC. I don’t know what exactly that says, but it doesn’t say anything good about how the season fell apart and concluded. Marshall was not even in the stadium so it’s hard to lay the blame on him for that nightmare game.

San Diego Super Chokers – The annual preseason Champs, eternal post season chumps. Stay Classy

by McGeorge on Jan 22, 2010 11:57 AM MST up reply actions

DJ's hype

The only hype DJ has is in Bronco Country. If he would have signed with an East Coast team such as say the Giants he would be a household name and considered one of the top tier LB’s in the game.

As far as his salary: DJ signed a six-year, $32 million contract in 2008. The deal includes $13 million guaranteed.

$13M guranteed and an average of $5M per year is not overpaying for for a LB that has DJ’s on field production (6 yrs in the league, 601 tackels, 10 sacks, 25 passes defended, and 9 forced fumbles). Not to mention the fact that he has recorded these #’s while being moved to a new position each year and has had a new DC pretty much each year as well.

League wide I’d say DJ is a tad bit underrated. There are several areas that need to be addressed on our D but getting rid of DJ is not one of them IMO.

Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds. - Albert Einstein

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them. - Albert Einstein

by c_style on Jan 22, 2010 12:47 PM MST up reply actions

+1

Precision in thought, concision in style, decision in life.

"That's MR.Styg..."

by Jeremy Bolander on Jan 22, 2010 1:30 PM MST up reply actions

Getting rid of DJ’s $5+MM cap number would help us address another position or two were the money would be better spent. LB is one of the lowest paid positions in football so DJ’s number is pretty big for an ILB, especially for an ILB that has played a prominent roll on several awful defenses over the last few seasons.

In 2009, our run D finished 26th in the league and several have pointed out that DJ Williams was a primary culprit in our late season slide defending the run. My other culprit would be Davis, whom was awesome for half the year, but really lost his discipline and gap control in Nov and Dec.

And if DJ Williams is underrated, I’m a McDaniels fan. He is paid like a pro bowl player for a guy that has never been dominant, a leader, consistent or the anchor of a great D.

San Diego Super Chokers – The annual preseason Champs, eternal post season chumps. Stay Classy

by McGeorge on Jan 22, 2010 1:41 PM MST up reply actions

If you click the link I supplied for his contract details

You would see that he is on the books for $3M this upcoming season as 2010 is the low point of his contract. If we do decide to move DJ it makes much more sense to do it in 2011 when his salary jumps to $5.9M.

DJ for $3M in 2010 is a bargain and you will not be able to find a replacement of his quality for that money.

Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds. - Albert Einstein

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them. - Albert Einstein

by c_style on Jan 22, 2010 1:54 PM MST up reply actions

Can’t argue this logic. $3MM in 2010 is a good deal for what DJ brings to the table. Double that salary in 2011 and it’s not so appealing.

+1 to you.

San Diego Super Chokers – The annual preseason Champs, eternal post season chumps. Stay Classy

by McGeorge on Jan 22, 2010 6:46 PM MST up reply actions

Less than 2 sacks per year, 1.5 forced fumbles per year, 2 career INTs…. This is a guy that plays a TON of snaps. Your expectations for one of the highest paid ILBs in the NFL are pretty low.

For reference: Patrick Willis has played three fewer seasons but still has 467 tackles, 4 career INTs, 9 sacks (3 per year), six forced fumbles (2 per year). He’ll probably do much better as he hits his prime.

Patrick Willis (24) is also the same age as Robert Ayers and Alphonso Smith.

San Diego Super Chokers – The annual preseason Champs, eternal post season chumps. Stay Classy

by McGeorge on Jan 22, 2010 1:50 PM MST up reply actions

Dude, see my reply above

$3M in 2010 is what DJ is going to make from us. How exactly is he one of the highest paid ILB’s in the league?

Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds. - Albert Einstein

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them. - Albert Einstein

by c_style on Jan 22, 2010 1:56 PM MST up reply actions

And did you know that Alphonso Smith has a “P” in his name, and that it takes two "P"s to spell Pol Pot? The guy has so, so many strikes against him.

by Chibronx on Jan 22, 2010 6:30 PM MST up reply actions

-1

Disagree…I think DJ is a decent LB, but he can leave and I won’t shed a tear.

"Precipitation, which side are you on?
Are you on the rise? Are you falling down?
Let me know, Come on let's go, yeah
Got some if you need it!" -EV

by sadaraine on Jan 22, 2010 4:15 PM MST up reply actions

It's nice to see Reuben with a post football career.

He just needs to get his paperwork cleared up to keep the feds off his case.

by Gr3yStreet on Jan 22, 2010 7:55 AM MST reply actions

Thanks Doug

Character may be manifested in the great moments but it is made in the small ones -- Philip Brooks

by KaptainKirk on Jan 22, 2010 8:21 AM MST reply actions

I think it would be great for Matindale to get a shot

it’s probably his time. If Martindale is made DC any thoughts about replacing him as LB coach?

Thanks Doug for all the news fit to read…..

"A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do" Walter Gagenot
"Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible."

by bchiper on Jan 22, 2010 8:33 AM MST reply actions

Merriman, Travis Henry called. He said thanks for taking one off his plate.

"But I hate the way our identity has changed..Kyle Orton might not be the flashiest quarterback, but the guy is a winner, and that formula worked for us. I hate to say it, but that’s the truth." --Brian Urlacher

by TJ Johnson on Jan 22, 2010 9:06 AM MST reply actions

So do we have two offensive line coaches?

by pastordan on Jan 22, 2010 9:42 AM MST reply actions

Seems that way, yes

(See the update story about it here on MHR)

I think it’s a really good way to go. One focuses on the interior of the line exclusively, which does need a lot of help, and the other on the tackles and TE’s. I like it. Both seem like good guys to gave.

There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants country, and damned proud of it.

by underdog on Jan 22, 2010 11:00 AM MST up reply actions

one is an assistant

by Todd Jewell on Jan 22, 2010 11:23 AM MST up reply actions

Wow

Nobody is ever going to want to coach in Miami or Atlanta again! That sort of arrogance— where teams point to signed contracts— is absolutely appalling.

So this is war...misfortune at every bend in the road. Misery and murdered mules and sudden death in a ditch.-- Rick Atkinson

by PredominantlyOrange on Jan 22, 2010 11:09 AM MST reply actions

we said no to requests for sideways moves — I think a lot of teams do

by Todd Jewell on Jan 22, 2010 11:22 AM MST up reply actions

Exactly

So this is war...misfortune at every bend in the road. Misery and murdered mules and sudden death in a ditch.-- Rick Atkinson

by PredominantlyOrange on Jan 22, 2010 11:27 AM MST up reply actions

oh, I missed the sarcasm part of it?

by Todd Jewell on Jan 22, 2010 11:43 AM MST up reply actions

Yep

So this is war...misfortune at every bend in the road. Misery and murdered mules and sudden death in a ditch.-- Rick Atkinson

by PredominantlyOrange on Jan 22, 2010 1:32 PM MST up reply actions

Can someone explain to me the point of this Daniel guy

commenting on the DP? Is he a troll or just a really depressed idiot? His comment under the innocent DP article about Wylie and Barone was just too obnoxious for words. I used to respond to him but finally realized what’s the point? I hate letting his voice win out there but… sigh.

There's no need to fear, Underdog is here! / Broncos/Dodgers fan in Niners/Raiders/Giants country, and damned proud of it.

by underdog on Jan 22, 2010 2:48 PM MST reply actions