This Broncos Fan Is Intrigued by Adding Donovan McNabb

Because we approached the Eagles, not the other way around.

You raise good points, but there’s a reason we’re calling.

High-percentage passing, versatile pass-catching runningbacks, multiple options in the passing game…

I agree with all three, and I think you may have had a nice little notion here with the McNabb trade. If the Broncos deal a 2nd round pick for him, I will be ecstatic.

On his ability, the price, Pouncey, and the koolaid lol

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. I’d like to get Pouncey too, but I’d rather have McNabb than Pouncey. If I can get a proven Pro bowl QB vs. a rookie center, I’ll take the QB any day.

Your second point would be my main point. Folks can disagree over whether McNabb fits our style of football or not (there are points on both sides), but you hit the nail on the head. There is still going to be an adjustment period, such as learning a new playbook, adjusting to new receivers, adjusting to new terminology, and let’s not forget the McDaniels (well, Patriots) system of the exact methedolgy for everything in addition to playing the position (such as how to form the huddle, how exactly to audible, etc).

And while McNabb might have a few years left (folks point to Favre and Warner – the exceptions to the rule), I don’t agree with trading the future (in terms of picks) for what is likely a short term solution (your first point on diminishing stats).

Sayre’s biggest point is that WE are going to THEM for the proposal. If true, this point means that for all of the fan debate one way or the other, there is a possibility of seeing McNabb on the team. Sayre is right – what the team does trumps any of our own opinions on the matter. Still, if the team is truly pursuing this route, I’d like to see a better alternative.

One of the reasons that Coach Gruden came under so much fire was a desire to bring in older veterans for short term gain. He took the Raiders to the top of the mountain (a SB loss), and the team has never recovered since. In his next stop in TB, the team was reduced to ridding themselves of the coaching master / off-season disaster (Gruden took over from Dungy, and caoched a brilliant team built on younger guys. Along came the nursing home players, and the rest is history….). In the SB, Gruden beat his “old” team, then quickly turned his new team into an “old” team.

Kudos to Josh for continuing to have an open mind and considering all options to try and improve the Team, but I am hoping that his evaluation will not bear fruit with this situation…Orton will be better this year and we still have much to do to fill other ares of need.

McNabb has always been a very accurate QB. His lower completion percentage would indicate to me that the Eagles are throwing the ball a lot more. With McNabb, we certainly upgrade our QB position. Orton is not even under contract right now, so they are going to pursue all options. It’s more than likely that he will be back, but what if he’s not back long term?

McNabb is a professional. He can learn a system.

I am in total agreement. In today’s NFL, you cannot win big games with a game manager at QB. I’d like to see the last Super Bowl champion to win with a game manager at QB. Trent Dilfer with the Ravens is the only one that comes to mind.

Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Brad Johnson

Okay, so I’ll give Johnson and Dilfer, but both also had the two best defenses this league has seen in the 2000’s. You need a playmaker at QB to win you games. McNabb brings us from game manager to game changer.

You point out many of the reasons why I would like him on the Broncos, yet you don’t like the idea.

I wonder if they are targeting someone high in the draft? I know they need help at LB, so maybe they think swapping picks with us gives them a good shot at McClain?

“someone who might not even be an upgrade at QB.”

You might have lost me there. That’s just a total diss to McNabb. I like Orton and all, but he’s nowhere near as polished and accomplished as McNabb.

Is more Cowbell

Sorry..i couldnt resist

I like LeFevour as well. I don’t think the Broncos are going to go for ANOTHER mid round QB though. If they do, they will go McCoy in the second or third, but I don’t see a fourth rounder or beyond.

I have a hard time seeing McDaniels pulling the trigger on this one.

It would require 1 of 2 things to happen — either McNabb to significantly change his style of play, or McDaniels to significantly retool his offensive schema. I don’t see either of those things as realistically happening, so we would end up in a situation in which the QB & the HC are constantly butting heads. See Mike Martz’ comments about the need for the QB & the OC/HC to be on the same page.

I think all this talk about learning a new system is extremely overblown. PLayers are constantly learning new systems. As long as the player coming in is ready to do the work in the film room there is no reason that the system can’t be learn.

However, I dont agree with you on Flacco and Ryan. Flacco was a stud for the first half of the year with limited weapons. He was hurt down the stretch and that definitely slowed his progress down. Ryan was also hurt for a portion of the year but he looked good when he played. I believe both these QB’s will be top notch QB’s in another year.

I think John said it best in Horse Tracks this morning, regarding the rumors of Broncos’ interest in McNabb:

If anything, this proves the Broncos are covering all their bases – exactly what they SHOULD BE DOING this time of year – and what Jay Cutler couldn’t handle last February.

If it were me, I wouldn’t pass on the opportunity to make this significant an upgrade at QB at a cheap price. Last year is completely different. The trade price for Cassel was higher than I’m hearing for McNabb. The Cassel trade WAS just a rumor, and it was the Broncos who were approached about Cutler. This is the Broncos reaching out to another team, exploring an option that cannot be ignored. If McNabb is added, the Broncos are legitimate Super Bowl contenders for the next 3, 4, maybe 5 years.

In watching his interview (which is linked on the front page), he very clearly says that as a coaching staff they have elements that have to be there, and while you try to help a player fit the system there will be cases where it simply won’t work (I’m paraphrasing).

McDaniel’s offense, from what I’ve read here at MHR, is dependent upon a 10-20 yard passing attack that sets up both the running game and the long ball. There’s been a lot of discussion as to why the offense wasn’t more successful this season, and only part of it falls on Orton.

Also, IMHO, the idea of a vertical game is widely misunderstood (not by you necessarily). In the NFL last year, there were only 10 QB’s who had more than 10 passing plays that went for 40+ yards in their entire season. The most was by 3 different teams who each had 17 of them. Denver, btw, had 9. There was also at least 1 play that was thrown that far, but fell incomplete when it went through the receiver’s hands.

So far as passing plays that went 20 yards or more, there were 11 teams that had over 50 plays of that length. Denver had 43.

As has been pointed out in other posts & comments by a variety of people, long pass routes take time to set up. On some occasions, Orton missed his target. On others, he simply did not have the time to make the throw.

I totally agree with you that signing Dumervil absolutely must be a priority.