Well, as the sunset and the night falls, some players careers are lost forever, some will catch a second wind and some can finally catch their breath.
What is often referred to as the worst point of a coaches season is finally over; sure there will be tweaking, there will be necessary adjusting, but for now this is it. Below are the men who possess the shoulders that fans of the Denver Broncos can ride on for the entire season.
Gone are many players that fans thought would still be attached and attached are some players that most thought were as good as gone. So without further ado, here are your 2011 Denver Broncos!
Quarterback (3)
Kyle Orton
Defensive Linemen (10)
Elvis Dumervil
Tim Tebow
Robert Ayers
Brady Quinn
Marcus Thomas
Broderick Bunkley
Running back (3)
Knowshon Moreno
Kevin Vickerson
Willis McGahee
Ty Warren
Lance Ball
Mitch Unrein
Ryan McBean
Jason Hunter
Fullback (1)
Spencer Larsen
Derrick Harvey
Tight End (3)
Daniel Fells
Linebackers (7)
Von Miller
Julius Thomas
Joe Mays
Virgil Green
DJ Williams
Wesley Woodyard
Wide Receivers (5)
Brandon Lloyd
Nate Irving
Eddie Royal
Mario Haggan
Eric Decker
Mike Mohamed
Matthew Willis
Demaryius Thomas
Cornerbacks (4)
Champ Bailey
Andre' Goodman
Cassius Vaughn
Offensive Line (9)
Ryan Clady
Chris Harris
J.D. Walton
Chris Kuper
Safeties (5)
Brian Dawkins
Orlando Franklin
Rahim Moore
Zane Beadles
David Bruton
Manny Ramirez
Quinton Carter
Herb Taylor
Darcel McBath
Chris Clark
Russ Hochstein
Special (3)
Matt Prater
Britton Colquitt
Lonnie Paxton
The average age of this year's team is 26.3 years, with an average experience of 5.4 years. By acquisition, this roster has been filled by 24 Draft picks, 19 Free Agents, 6 via trade, 3 Undrafted College Free Agents and one waiver claim. By my count, there are 16 players that weren't a member of the Broncos last year, half of which came through the draft. Not a bad ratio considering the past few years. The first test in this draft is passed, with 8 out of the 9 draftees making the club. The 9th, Jeremy Beal, could still return on the Practice Squad too. We'll have to wait for the future to unfold to see the rest of the story.
So what do we think fair Broncos loyalists? Any gigantic mistakes? Who would you switch and or swap out?
GO Broncos!