FanPost

2011 vs 2012 - Position Breakdown


Excuse the poor formatting, but I thought it would cool to take a quick look at the roster breakdown for 2011 and 2012, and see exactly where we are different and what looks better.

First, here are all the players that made an appearance on the field for the 2011 Broncos, and also Brady Quinn who never saw the field. Names in bold were on the opening day roster, names in italics arrived later.

WR(6): Matt Willis, Quan Cosby, Eddie Royal, Eric Decker, Demaryius Thomas, Brandon Lloyd

OL(9): Manny Ramirez, Russ Hochstein, JD Walton, Chris Kuper, Zane Beadles, Ryan Clady, Orlando Franklin, Chris Clark, Tony Hills

Specialists(3): Matt Prater, Lonie Paxton, Britton Colquitt

LB(7): Mike Mohamed, DJ Williams, Von Miller, Joe Mays, Wesley Woodyard, Mario Haggan, Nate Irving

Safety(6): Kyle McCarthy, Rafael Bush, Brian Dawkins, Quinton Carter, Rahim Moore, David Bruton,

RB(5): Jeremiah Johnson, Lance Ball, Willis McGahee, Spencer Larsen, Knowshon Moreno,

DL(9): Derrick Harvey, Elvis Dumervil, Robert Ayers, Marcus Thomas, Brodrick Bunkley, Jason Hunter, Kevin Vickerson, Ryan McBean, Mitch Unrein, Ty Warren (injured)

CB(6): Tony Carter, Andre Goodman, Champ Bailey, Jonathan Willhite, Cassius Vaughn, Chris Harris,

QB(3): Tim Tebow, Kyle Orton, Brady Quinn

TE(4): Daniel Fells, Julius Thomas, Dante Rosario, Virgil Green,

~^~^~^

Now, here is the first cut of our 2012 roster (at least until they swap things around on the waiver wire this week).

OL: JD Walton, Zane Beadles, CJ Davis, Chris Kuper, Manny Ramirez, Philip Blake, Ryan Clady, Chris Clark, Orlando Franklin

CB: Champ Bailey, Omar Bolden, Tony Carter, Chris Harris, Tracy Porter

DL: Robert Ayers, Elvis Dumervil, Malik Jackson, Derek Wolfe, Justin Bannan, Mitch Unrein, Kevin Vickerson, Ty Warren

Specialist: Matt Prater, Aaron Brewer, Britton Colquitt,

LB: Keith Brooking, Steven Johnson, Danny Trevathan, Nate Irving, Joe Mays, Von Miller, Wesley Woodyard

QB: Peyton Manning, Caleb Hanie, Brock Osweiler

RB: Lance Ball, Chris Gronkowski, Ronnie Hillman, Willis McGahee, Knowshon Moreno

TE: Joel Dreessen, Jacob Tamme, Julius Thomas

WR: Andre Caldwell, Eric Decker, Brandon Stokley, Demaryius Thomas, Matthew Willis

Safety: Mike Adams, David Bruton, Quinton Carter, Jim Leonhard, Rahim Moore

~^~^~^~^

So, what are really the differences? If we remove the players that are on both rosters, then here's what it basically comes down to:

OL 2011: Russ Hochstein, Tony Hills

OL 2012: CJ Davis, Philip Blake

Looks like we got younger. Hochstein definitely had more flexibility and experience, and HIlls was thought to have potential after we snagged him from Pittsburgh. As for existing players - they're mainly young and should be more experienced now. I have to give this to 2011 though just because Hochstein has more in-game experience. There's also a Manning effect here though, which should reduce the pressure on the OL.

WR 2011: Eddie Royal, Brandon Lloyd

WR 2012: Andre Caldwell, Brandon Stokley,

Sorry, I don't think this is any question... Royal and Lloyd beat these two by a mile. Even if you don't count Lloyd, I think Royal gave us more weapons, and the only thing that is helping us is that Stokley has a mind meld with our QB. 2011 wins it here. The other thing to keep in mind, though, is that Thomas/Decker/Willis are more experienced and better, and the Manning effect will help a lot.

Specialists 2011: Lonie Paxton

Specialists 2012: Aaron Brewer

Our other specialists were already in their prime and should stay steady. This is a pick-'em - give it to Lonie since Brewer is a rookie, or give it to Brewer out of trusting the front office.

LB 2011: Mike Mohamed, DJ Williams, Mario Haggan,

LB 2012: Keith Brooking, Steven Johnson, Danny Trevathan,

When you look at it this way, 2011 looks better because of DJ and Mario. Trevathan should help, but it's an uphill climb to match the quality of our 2011 linebacking corp. Hopefully Mays has improved as the rumors have said.

Safety 2011: Brian Dawkins,

Safety 2012: Mike Adams, Jim Leonhard

Ouch. Hopefully Carter/Moore have improved since last season, but I don't think Adams and Leonhard make up for losing Dawkins.

RB 2011: Spencer Larsen,

RB 2012: Chris Gronkowski, Ronnie Hillman

I think Larsen is better than Gronkowski, but we added Hillman, so 2012 wins here easily.

DL 2011: Derrick Harvey, Marcus Thomas, Brodrick Bunkley, Jason Hunter, Ryan McBean,

DL 2012: Malik Jackson, Derek Wolfe, Justin Bannan, Ty Warren

Unrein has apparently improved, and we have 40 pounds of Vickermuscle that we didn't have before. Plus, we also have a Ty Warren. I think we've clearly improved on the DL for 2012 - this is probably the most improved position on the team, after quarterback.

CB 2011: Andre Goodman, Jonathan Willhite, Cassius Vaughn,

CB 2012: Omar Bolden, Tony Carter, Tracy Porter

Wow, our only two returning corners are Champ and Chris Harris. I think this is a tough one because I liked Goodman and I think Vaughn is a bit better than Bolden, at least at this point. Still, it's a close one. We didn't really improve so much as shuffle things around.

TE 2011: Daniel Fells, Virgil Green,

TE 2012: Joel Dreessen, Jacob Tamme

We also had Dante Rosario for most of the season - while I liked both him and Fells, I think our top two are better - plus, we get Virgil Green back in a month. I think 2012 wins easy.

QB 2011: Tim Tebow, Kyle Orton, Brady Quinn

QB 2012: Peyton Manning, Caleb Hanie, Brock Osweiler

Well, I think most people would agree that Tebow is better than Hanie, and that Quinn would be more ready to step in than Osweiler. But Manning over Orton? Ha! 2012 by a mile.

~^~^~^~^

So, there you have it - clear improvement at QB, TE, and DL, while the rest of the team is pretty unclear. The big question this season? The pass defense. Hopefully our improved pass rush will help, and hopefully Trevathan will help shut some passes down.

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR.