2010 Bronco preview from Walter Football

http://walterfootball.com/offseason2010den.php

Denver Broncos (Last Year: 8-8) - Buy Tickets

2010 NFL Season Preview:

Veteran Additions:
QB Brady Quinn, RB Kolby Smith, OT/G Maurice Williams, DE/DT Jarvis Green, DE/DT Justin Bannan, NT Jamal Williams, ILB Akin Ayodele, CB Nate Jones.
Early Draft Picks:
WR Demaryius Thomas, QB Tim Tebow, G/OT Zane Beadles, C J.D. Walton, WR Eric Decker, CB/KR Perrish Cox, C Eric Olsen.
Offseason Losses:
WR Brandon Marshall, TE Tony Scheffler, G Ben Hamilton, C Casey Wiegmann, DE/DT Kenny Peterson, ILB Andra Davis, CB Ty Law.

2010 Denver Broncos Offense:
It took only two years, but Josh McDaniels transformed Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler into Tim Tebow, Demaryius Thomas and Marquez Branson. God help the Bronco fans who decide to jump off the Rocky Mountains if Denver's season goes into the crapper.

Will it go into the crapper? If last season's finish is any indication, it most certaintly will. Denver began the year 6-0, but went just 2-8 following the bye. After scoring 22.2 points per game in the first six contests, the Broncos went on to average 19.3 points the rest of the season - a number inflated by a 44-point output at woeful Kansas City.

It's hard to imagine Denver's offense rebounding in the wake of Marshall and Scheffler leaving for Miami and Detroit, respectively. The Broncos played without those two in the season finale, and the weak-armed Kyle Orton tossed three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Apparently, Jabar Gaffney isn't a legitimate No. 1 receiver.

McDaniels drafted Demaryius Thomas to take over that role. While Thomas can't run routes or catch the ball consistently, his weaknesses will be masked in Denver's offense. It'll be interesting to see how McDaniels plans on utilizing Thomas and Eddie Royal. Last year, McDaniels foolishly used Royal as a decoy deep threat even though he's a natural slot receiver. Will Thomas take over as the deep threat, or will he be inserted into Marshall's former role? If the latter is the case, will McDaniels once again waste away Royal's talents? Common sense suggests otherwise, but McDaniels is far from conventional.

And speaking of screwing things up, McDaniels eliminated Denver's renowned zone-blocking scheme in favor of a more traditional system. This really hurt left tackle Ryan Clady's development. Clady had a stellar rookie campaign, but was guilty of eight sacks and eight penalties in 2009.

Aside from solid right guard Chris Kuper and right tackle Ryan Harris, Clady's issues are the least of Denver's worries up front. Left guard Russ Hochstein, 33 in October, wasn't very effective last season. The center position, meanwhile, will be manned by rookie J.D. Walton. As the Bills learned last year, just because you have a highly touted rookie playing in the interior of the offensive line doesn't mean that you're going to have success there.

If the Broncos plan on snapping out of this current 2-8 funk, Knowshon Moreno will have to come up big in his sophomore campaign. Moreno is very talented, but hit a rookie wall last year. With better conditioning and a more favorable blocking scheme, Moreno should have a big 2010 season. Of course, it would help if Denver had a quarterback who would make defenses respect the pass.

2010 Denver Broncos Defense:
Talk about bad timing - the Broncos developed a solid defense the year after Josh McDaniels banished Jay Cutler and changed the offensive line's blocking scheme. Denver finished 12th in points allowed, seventh in yardage surrendered and third versus the pass.

Two players were primarily responsible for the latter ranking. Rush linebacker Elvis Dumervil, thriving in Mike Nolan's new 3-4, collected a whopping 17 sacks in 2009. Dumervil's pass-rushing presence was prominent in Denver's eight wins; 13 of his sacks came in victories, while only four occurred during the team's eight losses.

Dumervil's pressure really helped an old secondary, namely Champ Bailey who had a phenomenal season. Corner Andre' Goodman, and safeties Brian Dawkins and Renaldo Hill also played well at times, but there is some concern now with Goodman and Dawkins, who will be 32 and 35, respectively, by October. It's safe to say that neither defensive back will perform as well in 2010.

Denver's secondary also has major depth issues. The short and slow Alphonso Smith struggled last year, losing his job to the decrepit Ty Law. Smith will compete with rookies Perrish Cox and Syd'Quan Thompson for nickel duties. Cox should win the job.

Amazingly, the defensive backfield is the Broncos' strongest unit as a whole. Dumervil is arguably the top pass-rusher in the NFL, but there is no one on the other side to create any sort of havoc for opposing quarterbacks. Second-year Robert Ayers is currently penciled in as the strongside outside linebacker. Ayers is not a good fit for the 3-4; he played well against the run last season, but didn't offer anything in terms of a pass rush. He will likely be a liability in coverage this year if he has to play extensively.

The Broncos don't really have anything at inside linebacker. D.J. Williams is a dynamic talent, but he was a bit lost in his first season in the 3-4, as he was overwhelmed against the run at times. Andra Davis, who excelled in that department, is no longer with the team. Mario Haggan and Akin Ayodele will compete for Davis' old job in a battle that will have no winners.

The defensive line, quite frankly, is garbage. Nose tackle Jamal Williams is 34 and played all of 45 snaps in 2009 before suffering a season-ending triceps injury. Both defensive ends, Justin Bannan and Jarvis Green, were acquired this offseason. Bannan has been a solid reserve for the Ravens, while Green was abysmal as a starter for New England last year.

Denver's stop unit has loads of problems, and the 30.5 points per game it surrendered in the final four weeks of the 2009 campaign was no fluke. But perhaps the biggest issue is the departure of Mike Nolan. Nolan is an outstanding defensive coordinator who was let go because he couldn't mesh with McDaniels (shocker). It's unlikely that his replacement, Don Martindale, will be able to live up to what Nolan accomplished last year.



2010 Denver Broncos Schedule and Intangibles:
Freezing temperatures and thin air should create a hostile environment for opponents, which explains why Denver had an NFL-best 70-18 home record from 1995 to 2005. However, the team is just 17-15 as hosts the past four seasons. Is the Mile High magic dead? It certainly appeared that way when the Raiders and Chiefs came into Denver and beat the Broncos in must-win games in Weeks 15 and 17.

After a rocky rookie campaign, Matt Prater pieced together a great 2009 season, nailing 30-of-35 field goals.

Punter Mitch Berger was let go, meaning that Britton Colquitt will have the job in 2010. Colquitt has never attempted a punt in his NFL career.

Eddie Royal scored on two special-teams touchdowns last season. Unfortunately, the Broncos also surrendered two returns themselves, which gives them a total of seven in the past three years. That's not good.

The Broncos could begin the year 2-0, as their first two opponents are the Jaguars and Seahawks. However, their next four foes are the Colts, Titans, Ravens and Jets. Denver also has three straight road games (Chiefs, Cardinals, Raiders) in December before closing against the Texans and Chargers at home.

2010 Denver Broncos Analysis: No one should expect anything from the Broncos in 2010, as this is a transitional year for them. Josh McDaniels has hitched his wagon to Tim Tebow, who likely won't set foot onto the football field for non-gadget plays until 2011.

The 2010 Broncos feature a weak-armed quarterback, an inexperienced No. 1 receiver, an offensive line transitioning into a new scheme, and a defense that could be worse than the unit that surrendered more than 30 points per game in the final four weeks of the 2009 season.

Denver fans need to be prepared for the worst - and things won't get better anytime soon unless Tebow is the savior his faithful fans expect him to be.

Projection: 6-10
2010 NFL Draft Grades:

Josh McDaniels has turned Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler into Tim Tebow, Demaryius Thomas and Dick Quinn. What a disaster. Bronco fans are so loyal, so you can only feel sorry for them.

I'm not going to discuss the Tebow pick because I would be a fool to doubt him. Instead, I'll berate the other first-round pick. The only reason Thomas was drafted in the first round is because he's big and can reportedly run fast. That's it. He can't run routes and he can't catch the ball consistently. The Broncos should have just gone into random gyms across America and signed every big, athletic guy who claimed to run a 4.45.

I'm also penalizing the Broncos for the 2009 Alphonso Smith selection. That was a year ago, but the decision to draft him is the reason why they didn't have two first-round picks to begin with.

I actually liked a lot of Denver's mid- and late-round choices. J.D. Walton was this class's No. 2 center. He fills a need and was a bargain in Round 3. Eric Decker might be better than Thomas. Perrish Cox is a promising corner as well.

What it comes down to though, is whether or not Denver has really improved itself via the 2010 NFL Draft. I can't say it has.

Overall 2010 NFL Draft Grade given on 4/26/10: C-


2010 NFL Draft Individual Grades:

22. Demaryius Thomas, WR, Georgia Tech
Josh McDaniels drafts a guy who can't run routes or catch the football. Seems like a very natural fit. Poor Broncos fans. (Pick Grade: F)

25. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida
I can't bash this pick. Jimmy Clausen would have been the smart choice, but I am not going to make the mistake of doubting Tim Tebow. I'll be very surprised if he busts. He's going to kill himself to prove everyone wrong. (Pick Grade: Can't grade - biased)

45. Zane Beadles, G/OT, Utah
Filling a need is good. Obtaining a Round 3-4 prospect in the middle of the second round? Well, maybe the Broncos just had him rated higher than everyone else. Can't penalize them too much for that. (Pick Grade: C)

80. J.D. Walton, C, Baylor
Hey, Josh McDaniels made a great pick! J.D. Walton was a second- or early third-round prospect and fills Denver's biggest need at center. (Pick Grade: A)

87. Eric Decker, WR, Minnesota
Amazingly, Denver's third-round receiver might be better than their first-round receiver. If Eric Decker is healthy - and he does have his injury concerns - this is a solid pick. (Pick Grade: B)

137. Perrish Cox, CB/KR, Oklahoma State
Josh McDaniels makes a great pick in Round 5 because Perrish Cox was considered to be a third-round prospect. Champ Bailey and Andre' Goodman are getting long in the mouth (as Emmitt would say), so the Broncos needed to find a successor. (Pick Grade: A)

183. Eric Olsen, C, Notre Dame
Josh McDaniels drafts his backup center! Actually, this is a solid pick; the Broncos literally had nothing at center going into the 2010 NFL Draft. (Pick Grade: B)

225. Syd'Quan Thompson, CB, California
Syd'Quan Thompson was once considered by some to be a second-round prospect - until people realized that he's a short and slow corner. Thompson knows what he's doing, but short and slow corners seldom succeed in the NFL. Still, the Broncos are getting great value in the middle of Round 7. (Pick Grade: A)

232. Jammie Kirlew, DE/OLB, Indiana
I'm surprised Jammie Kirlew was drafted. Another pass-rusher to get after Philip Rivers is nice. (Pick Grade: C)

Key Undrafted Free Agents: