Mile High Report: FanPosts

Optimism abounds in D-Town

2009-07-04T20:27:02Z

y view from the bottom of the pile.

Let me start off with a disclaimer: this is my first post ever. All right, with that out of the way let me get to the dirty. I have been a broncos fan for 27 years; I am 27 years old go figure. I have been NFL and broncos obsessed for about 10 years now. This information is given to deliver some insight on my blind optimism and hopeful thinking. Now as far as our most turbulent offseason in 16 years I have a few points I would like to highlight.

1. Coaching

I believe the right decision was made as far as Shannahan was concerned. The only evidence I have to offer is of ex-broncos talking about Shannahan obsession with stats rather than wins (this is in reference to the J. Plummer interview and a few other articles I have stumbled upon). Enter Josh McDaniels. I was astonished at this hire. I was one of the people rooting for Spagnolo (RAMS) or Schwartz(LIONS). Upon his hiring he started building his staff and I must say his was the most blatant and in my opinion intelligent hiring strategies I have witnesses. He selected a linebacker coach from Oakland (Martindale), a D-line guru from San Diego (Nunnely) and a special team’s co. from Kansas City (Burns). Seriously, what better way to gain insight into ones division than hire (RAID) the collective division cabinet. Of all these hires I love the Nunnely the most as he is one of the top two line coaches in the league.

Bringing in Nolan also quelled some of my fears as he has a tremendous defensive background -save the 49's- and a little history on the Broncos as well. I personally love the decsion to go to a 3-4 alignment and will further extrapolate on that subject later in this book, er, post. Also the hiring of McCoy is tremendous as Carolina has always had an efficient, effective offense which was highlighted last season by their excellent use of a two-back committee run game.

All these hires have some apparent goal in mind and can be rationalized by any mild football enthusiast. This is a systematic and really simple approach to building a strong coaching core that can rapidly advance the assessment time our coach needs to evaluate within our division and to institute sound defensive play calling from a coach with years of experience on top tier defensive programs. Offensively we have an assistant with knowledge in a proven multi-back run game that destroyed the NFC last season. Hmmm, what is going on here????

2. Free Agents and the Draft

Are we still at 20 something free agent acquisitions; anyway this was the busiest I have ever seen a free agent period become. I LOVE the Brian Dawkins signing, age is an issue but like many have stated intelligence and leadership can balance the physical deterioration of an older player. The tandem signing of Hill and Goodman provide a pair of players with personnel knowledge of each other’s abilities and weaknesses and provides them an opportunity to continue what was a solid though not spectacular relationship from Miami. The signings of Askew, Parker, Baker and Fields have actually made me feel better about our D-line. All are mountains and relatively young with potential. Our linebacker signings have also been solid as Davis and Greisen are potent veterans coming from 3-4 alignments.

Offensively I like the signing of Gaffney as his knowledge of the system should assist all the receivers in learning and his skills themselves are versatile. His ability in the redzone is of a little comfort also. Releasing Leach for Paxon was a tad disturbing until I realized the reason for it. Paxon can contribute as an O-Lineman where Leach was a projected TE. Kind of splitting hairs but a coach wants what a coach wants. L.Jordan, and Buckhalter add a certified dimension to our running game that has gotten by on scheme alone recently. How many times has our rookie or random free agent back missed a gap or dropped a pass in the last 4 years. I have missed the consistencey of a reliable H-Back and now we have 2 releiable options at that position. D.Walker is a nice pick-up but I see ST all over him. The late arrival of B.Llyod is a pleasant surprise as he has routinely produced spectacular catches. Unfortunately as my San Fran. Friend has pointed out he is afraid to catch in traffic and will even duck a pass if he feels the heat. There have been other development in free agency but those are the primary players I feel will make a difference to our team. Now to the Draft.

Knowshon Moreno????? I thought I had drank too much, I thought the T.V. had just lied to me. We are a new team, with different values and any apprehension one may have had ended with this draft. Love this Draft from top to bottom. The only exception I have is on why Quinn was grabbed so early because everything I have read puts him much later in the draft. Ayers looks extremely promising and any questions I had about Smith were diminished after all the MHR articles I have read on him and his size/ability. The drafting of McBath and Bruton make the future of our long abandoned safety position much brighter. The offensive lineman picked are both known as “nasty” which in of itself an attribute I covet in lineman. T. Brandstater looks promising and is a physical specimen at Quarterback.

When looking at our draft the main negative I hear is of our ignorance of need. I have seen several gradings of our draft ranging from A-F. This is not uncommon for a Denver draft so I have come to take this with a grain of salt. I will say this is the first draft I have seen where the emphasis was on value and not of necessity. This philosophy is distinctly different from our previous regime and one that has had extreme success and abysmal failure.

3. Projections and Predictions

I will now break down my depth chart and how these units will fair.

O-Line: We have the best O-Line in the NFL. Period. Continuing from last year I expect dominance from our line and project that the emphasis will now focus more on a balanced run/pass scenario. Our pass protection is awesome with young talent in Clady/Harris at the left and right tackle positions respectfully. At guard I will give the nod to Hamilton but if his motor stalls like happened last year sporadically he will undoubtedly be pulled as our new coach is fearless and will play the best person always. Kuper gets the other spot as he has developed nicely and may even get better with the new guard pulling run attack McDaniels brings from NE. Of course that leaves us with Wiegmann at center which the resigning of made my day. Lichtensteiger is an awesome back-up at both center and guard and provides us with an insurance policy if age catches up with Casey. Adding our draftees of this year with those of last year and we have decent to solid depth for a line that is bordering on greatness.

Depth Chart:

LT- Clady, Polumbus

LG- Kuper, Schlueter

C- Wiegmann, Lichtensteiger

RG- Hamilton, Olsen, McChesney

RT- Harris, Oldenburg,

Fullback- This is where things get interesting as we have some very interesting scenario’s to look at. Obviously we have Mr.Hillis who is dangerous as a runner, receiver and blocker. We also have a Spencer Larsen who paved holes for us last season and is reliable in short ground runs. Then we have a beast in Lichtensteiger in goaline and short yardage situations. So I say pick your poison because they are all deadly. We have in them a conglomerate that can be interchanged at any scenario to optimize our goal.

FB- Hillis, Larsen, Lichtensteiger

H-Back- Um well, we all saw last year. The one positive it provided was we got to see players who may never have gotten a chance to play shine. Of serious note is Peyton Hillis. His power running football is something our broncos have not utilized in a long time; 4-5 yards a carry, unbelievable receiving skills and deceptive agility, awesome. But we are a new team; enter Knoshon, Buckhalter and Jordan. I have never seen a backfield this talented ever. The options here are limitless with the only drawback being the latter two’s age. Both Buckhalter and Jordan are over 30 but with the ball sharing systems they have been a part of their mileage is minimized. All are receiving threats and are more than adequate blockers. Even in a 4-5 receiver set don’t be surprised to see 2 of them on the field at the same time.

H-Back- Moreno,Buckhalter,Hillis,Jordan, Walker

TE- I have a theory and it shows in my tightend projections as well as my receivers. I have Quinn over Scheffler for a reason which I will highlight in my receiver projections so bear with me. Graham is a sensational blocker and adequate receiver and his skills need no more listing. He is a proven veteran and reliable in almost every situation. Quinn was a surprise pick in the draft and is considered an extra linemen in all of the pre-draft bios I have read on him. McDaniels seems sold on his receiving capabilities so I will accept that he has seen something I have not. Quinn can block though and everything I have seen and read on him suggests that this is his niche and he fills it superbly.

TE-Graham, Quinn, Scheffler

WR- In projecting this I am assuming Marshall will be traded or at least suspended/benched whatever. His skills are undeniable and if he can join our team it should be considered a gift as he is an excellent athlete and demands attention from defenses. In this system he could face much less double and triple teams due the scheme and possible become more dominant even if his # of catches goes down but for this he is out. That leaves us with what is still a ridiculous receiving corp that will twist defenses inside out. Royal is special and his speed and route running already are elite and should only get better with time. Gaffney is a multi-tool receiver with many positives and knowledge of the system. Jackson has shown flashes of excellence but remains an unknown commodity. Lloyd has glue hands and a knack for big plays but must find his courage in the open field. McKinley has Spurriers unabashed approval and had a spectacular collegiate career but must face scrutiny over his work ethic and courage in the open field. Let me not forget Mr. Stokley who should have third downs renamed after him. Ah, now to my theory of Scheffler. 6’5, 250lbs. 4.5 speed , this is why I believe Marshall may not be necessary to our receiving corps. We have all seen Scheffler make spectacular catches and he is known as a receiving threat so why not start calling him what he should be, a prototypical possession receiver. I think McDaniels who may have missed it in his first weeks at the helm has seen his future at receiver and is now beaming at the weapon he almost traded. I am not saying Scheffler can wholly replace Marshall but he can provide the type of physical, YAC type threat that McDaniels needs on offense.

WR#1- Scheffler, Lloyd

WR#2 –Royal, C.J. Jones

WR#3- Stokley, McKinley

WR#4- Gaffney, Jackson

D-Line- Now things start to get interesting. First a little history, sort of, Denver has drafted for speed on defense for generations and now that sometimes fault may provide us with an opportunity. Take Marcus Thomas for instance. Three years ago he came in over weight by Shannahan standards and was asked to trim up and put on more muscle. He has been increasingly more effective every season but now we switch to a 3-4 oh no. What this means to me is now we have a slimmed down DT that has been trained to be faster. Sounds like a pretty good 3-4 end doesn’t it. I have heard he is going for the NT position and I do believe the probable heavy rotation at that spot will include him but as with all of our defensive players left on the line the prior regimes system may make them even better prospects at their new positions. May I also point out that the 3-4 I put up shows us having close to 1000 pounds of angry players which is what we put out before but with 4 players. We are going big and fast.

NT- Fields, Baker,Parker, Thomas, Powell (Nunnely prefers a heavy rotation meaning every down could show a new look)

DE- Thomas, Peterson, Clemons, Davis,Powell, Ayers, Reid, Dumervil, McBean

LB- This is a unit that will live or die by how several key players transition to being stand up defenders. Players like Dumervil, Moss, Crowder, Reid must make a good transition for this unit to excel. Ayers too must find his niche in this line-up also. The outside of our line backing crew is my biggest concern going into the season but the one thing that gives me solace is the fact that we drafted so little in the front seven. Am I crazy you ask, well, maybe but this alludes to two things for me. Either our OLB have been excellent in their transition therefore McD is comfortable with what we have or our coach is out of his mind and we are screwed. Hopefully it is the first and not the latter. At ILB we are set in my mind. With Williams, Woodyard on one side and Davis, Larsen on the other we are set to destroy anything that moves on the field. Couple that in with Greisen previously of Baltimore and Haggan as back ups and our ILB core is spectacular.

ROLB- Reid, Moss, Crowder

LOLB- Dumervil, Ayers,

RILB- Davis, Larsen, Haggan

LILB- Williams, Woodyard, Greisen

DB- We now have not only a current secondary capable of greatness with 2 HOF on one side and a reliable tandem on the other but future players ready to learn and contribute. I don’t know how much to put here about our secondary as to the fact that any one that has seen what we have should be smiling from ear to ear. A. Smith has awesome potential and I have seen many people talk about how burned routinely I don’t see that happening this season. J. Williams provides solid depth too at CB while J. Bell seems an adequate back-up player. I have already talked up our new safeties so I will leave those alone but I will finish with this, our secondary is deep and dangerous.

CB#1- Bailey,Williams,

CB#2-Goodman, Smith, Bell

SS- Dawkins, McBath

FS- Hill, Barrett, Bruton

Special Teams- It looks as if we will actually play special teams this season. I like Kern, I believe he will improve with experience. Prater well, if he can find any sort of consistency then we have the best young kicker in football, IF, I say. I see Walker taking kick offs as well as C.J. Jones but if Royal is tasked with this I will be praying every kick off for his safety. I see the same general set up on punts. It seems there is a much greater emphasis on this aspect of the game this year and that alone makes me feel better.

Conclusion:

I see us in two ways. If our coach is as smart as I hope we are about to begin a dominating campaign that will lead to at worst a playoff appearance this season. I believe that the play-calling last year grew stale and predictable as the reason for it was not to win games but garner league attention with stats. I believe that while Bates was innovative at times he is still young in his football I.Q. Slowik is the worst D.C. EVER. I cannot speak on his on his other coaching abilities as they seem to be focused more on offense in the first place(I believe he was a QB coach before he was our secondary coach then our DC?) Anyway, I think that last year’s aberrations have been nullified and the holdover players are better than there disorganized play last season. I see potential in this team and every move made by McDaniels seems to have a purpose. If he is as advertised we will be dominating this division now and for the foreseeable future. On the other hand if what most of the so-called experts say is true then we just might be the new Detroit Lions/Oakland-L.A. Raiders.

A graphical view comparison of quarterbacks: debunking the myths.

2009-07-04T17:47:53Z

Hey there friends and fellow fans, I was curious this morning upon watching Jamie Pukes and his low blow at Denver on yesterdays Horse Tracks. Well, since Jamie seems so hell bent that Jay Cutler is the second coming of JC and Kyle Orton is nothing but a cancer, I thought I'd make a graph comparing the two (We have a million comparisons already) but I also thought that I'd include the league averages and Matt Cassel's as well. What I found was not shocking, as we all already know this. Check it out. Forgive the small size, you may need to open the graph in another tab/window to get the tiny text.

Now, I didn't include everything in the top graph because some didn't need a graphical look. The comparison between the players was exactly as I'd imagined: Pretty much the same. Yes, Jay Cutler threw more touchdowns and had more yards but he also threw more interceptions and his sack count was MUCH lower than Ortons. On the topic of sacks, I thought it'd be interesting to mention that Denver was tied for 1st in sacks allowed last year. The only team that had that low of a number was Tennessee. That's a fact that everyone seems to conveniently forget when it comes to crunching numbers. New England put up a staggering amount of sacks allowed last year at 47. What does that say for Cassel? He's tough. He still managed the game well and only threw 11 picks for the season. It's no wonder why McDaniels wanted/wants Cassel here.

One other thing that really pisses me off (pardon my French) is the idea that Kyle Orton can't throw the deep ball accurately. Yes, he has his shortcomings and he's definitely not at Jay's caliber in the deep throw, however Orton did not attempt the long pass nearly as much as Cutler did. Cutler is a deep throwing guy. That's what he's good at. It's fair to say he is better at it, but never forget that Orton is a quarterback in the NFL for a reason. If he wasn't any good at the deep pass, he wouldn't be here. Not only that but consider receiving talent as well. We have on average 3 deep threats on the field at any given time, Chicago had/has none.

This is not related to offense or passing at all, but it's something else that I know McDaniels took into consideration (since he cut almost every defensive player that was on last years roster). Turnovers are a big part of winning games. If you don't cause turnovers, your game becomes a shootout if not a blowout. Here's what I found for turnover differentials.

Denver was -17 (-1.1 per game) and ranked a pathetic 31st in the league.

Chicago was +5 (+.3 per game) and ranked a nice 8th.

New England was +1 (+.1 per game) and ranked 15th, pretty average stuff on T/O differential.

It's no surprise that most turnovers happen on interceptions, and most notably they happen in the secondary. Of course, a big factor in interceptions is pressuring the quarterback. Well, in the first 2 rounds McDaniels addressed both of those needs by choosing Robert Ayers and Alphonso Smith. Ayers is known for being a good pressing guy and will do so in our defense. Smith, despite his size, is a ball hawk. I know he wasn't ranked that high on the boards, but it had nothing to do with his skill, it was his height.

What has history taught us about height and judging a player on it? It's pointless. In my last post I discussed my experiences being a short cornerback and why it really doesn't matter. Darrent Williams was a puny 5'8" and was on his way to being a Pro Bowl type cornerback (I won't say "shut down corner" because it's too tough to tell). If Denver can put good enough pressure on the quarterback, it won't matter how tall or short our secondary is, they always have an advantage if the QB underthrows or overthrows his ball due to pressure.

Thanks for reading, and let's talk about this!

Excited about potential

2009-07-04T06:24:09Z

I am very excited heading into training camp this month. We know the headlines. We've seen the bad turn ugly. We've seen fan favorites "turn" against it's fan base. I am excited about the potential of playing winning football. You remember those years in the mid to late 90s. Running game. Two sometimes three runs in a row. Play action. Big first down. Amazing individual plays. The root of the success was the run game.

I don't have hours of research and data to iron out any bias. What I do have is this fact here. Clinton Portis. The last Denver Bronco to start back to back years for the Orange and Blue. One could argue that the trade had benefited both the Redskins and the Broncos. In hindsight, well we know neither team has won the Super Bowl let alone dominated the defense. What it did do was hurt both franchises in a position of what was their strength. Redskins had both Bailey and Smoot. Denver had the philosophy that any RB can fill the void. Well Hall is now a Redskin, w/a nice raise at that (the same hall that got lit up like a Xmas Tree in Royal's first game as a pro), and Denver's "coach for life" given the pink slip because of many personnel choices.

We now have Moreno. Not very popular to many since Maualaga was a fan favorite to man the middle of the defense. Truth is this. The history of the NFL has always been secured w/successful running teams. Then evolved the title of the "Big Three". If Moreno can be that special player w/the same ceiling as Adrian Peterson, Royal evolve as a team lead AND evolve as the face of the franchise, all Orton has to do is develop in this new offense and be the "quiet" leader Aikman was w/the Cowboys.

The best thing that can happen right now for this team's defense is to play football the way its meant to be played. Success isn't measured by looking over your shoulder and worry about your job or minutes on the field. I think if Denver can manage 7-9 minutes of possession per quarter, we will see some special football. A defense fresh in the 4th and players such as Woodyard, Smith, and Williams shining as they can allow plays to come to them instead of trying to make plays.

Don't get down on this group. There are alot of unknowns but this is part of change. I bought into the scheme of change and though I may not agree with how some things played out, I do believe. My expectations are: Moreno rushes for 12 touchdowns 2 receiving. Hillis rushes for 600 yards and 4-6 touchdowns. Orton throws for 24 touchdowns and Royal contributing to 6-9 touchdowns. These are not loud expectations, just the basics.

If Denver's offense can manage 28-34 minutes of ball control, I think the defense will be in the middle 14-19. Sorry if I don't have the diagrams and countless hours of data to support my view. What I do have is Moreno as my RB, Royal as my WR, and Orton as my QB. Trust me, it is more than just Cutler and Marshall, its about team players and we're slowly winning there.

Coach Analysis- San Diego

2009-07-03T23:20:27Z

I enjoy analyzing the NFL with a focus on the coaches. My other two posts addressed coaches and based on what I've read, MHR as a whole puts a lot of importance into coaching and leadership. I know we have a lot of coaches at MHR and their insights into the game are a reason I keep coming back.

I enjoy studying and analyzing leadership and organizations. so I'm gonna try and provide some insight into the situations facing our opponents this year with respect to their coaching leadership. This is the dominant information I go off to pick winners for the year. While talent is a big factor, I never view it as the most important factor. The season is too long, there are too many emotional ups and downs, too many injuries, too much talent on every team, etc. that its the leadership that separates those that make the playoffs and those that do not (I will acknowledge that sometimes great players as leaders are good enough to overcome weak coaches). I'm not arguing that the best coach wins, only that he has the biggest impact. So lets consider rigorously, the impact of, what I call, the most important part of each team.

I will try and do an analysis for several teams. I will do SD first because I really think positive predictions of a big season for them ignore their coaching problems. I also think they are a prime example of why "coaching" has the biggest impact

I will focus on the HC, OC, and DC (Head Coach, Off Coord, Def Coord). For those teams that have a HC that calls one side of the ball, I will treat that coach like the HC and OC/DC together (ie. for SD I am focusing on N. Turner for HC & OC). For each coach, I will explore their coachability, defined as Xs & Os with a strong focus on intellectual capability, their emotional impact, defined as their ability to get their players to play focused and hard, and their leadership, defined as everything else (ie. communication skills, organization, etc.). Where applicable, I may provide insight into the front office to explain some of my analysis.

Within these areas of focus, I will address historical facts, present an analysis of these past facts and current events, and finally make some predictions.

This will lack some of the details of the quality I enjoy reading here at MHR, but I think it will give most something to consider.

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS: HC/OC- Norv Turner DC- Ron Rivera

Facts:

Turner was called in to replace Schottenhiemer after SD lost to NE in the '06 playoffs. SD had arguably the most talented team with LT at the top of his game. The team lost both its OC and DC to head coaching positions. There was a lot of change amongst the leadership. Turner's record as a HC is well below .500 winning pct. To his great credit, he was the OC for the Dallas dynasty of the '90s; however, for unknown reasons, he was not retained as HC there after Johnson's departure. Few players that have played for him will say anything bad about him. He appears to be a well-liked personality. He coached for 7x years in Washington (.454), 2x yrs in Oakland (.281), and now 2x in SD (.593) (win pct.).

SD finished the 2006 team widely acclaimed as the most talented team in football. They were favorites to win the AFC Championship before an upset by NE. For the start of 2007, their team was still regarded as the one of the most talented teams in the AFC and NFL.

Ron Rivera played for eight years ('84-92) with the Chicago Bears including an '85 SB win. In '96, he was a quality control coach for the Bears under D. Wannstadt. In '99, he became a LBer coach for the Philly Eagles. A position he held until 2004. In 2004, he joined the Chicago Bears and new HC Lovie Smith. Rivera's influences can be traced to Buddy Ryan (who he played for; not sure how much that translates though), Jim Johnson, and Lovie Smith. His background is heavy on the 4-3. When hired in Chicago as DC, he most likely would have had his first experience working in the Tampa 2. After three years and a SB appearance, his services were not retained. From '03 to '05, the Bears D improved from bottom of the NFL to the top D. In 2006, the Bears D lost some of its dominance, but was still a top 5 Defense. Rivera spent '07-'08, as the ILB coach for the SD Defense of DC Ted Cottrell using a 3-4 scheme.

AJ Smith has been the GM for the SD team since 2003. He is well known and respected as the Director of Player Personnel during the Buffalo "Glory Years" from '93-'00 that resulted in several SB appearances. He is largely responsible for the firing of Schottenheimer and the hiring of the new coaches before 2007.

Analysis:

What do players on this team really think about the leaders of this organization? This is the critical question and one that will play out over the course of the year for SD. I think on some level what I will write here is in the minds of the players on this team.

First, Al Smith, while the GM (less of a leader on the team than the organization), has created an atmosphere at the very top that appears highly critical, unloyal, and arrogant. When you fire a successful coach, cross words with the star player, and constantly put yourself out front you send some strong messages to your organization about what/who is important. In that, you can weaken its foundation and its faith in itself which surely holds everything together.

Second, Norv Turner has never proved anything, but mediocre, over his now 11 years of HCing. His best season was 10-6 in '99 until he went 11-5 in '07 w/ SD(remember this team was 5-5 at the midway and incredibly talented though). How can anyone expect that Turner can possibly make a team play better than its talent?

Third, Ron Rivera while demonstrating skill has not proven his own consistency, nor his ability to skillfully transition from one scheme to another. The Chicago teams and his performance there deserve recognition, but how do you not get retained after going to the SB. I may give Lovie Smith too much credit, but I have to believe something is missing. What could that something be?

Well, I just can't envision someone like Rivera being the sharpest tool in the shed. He seems a player's coach (as a former hard-nosed player) and an emotional spark. I can only project that Rivera was not on the same page as L. Smith in communication or coacing/play-calling philosophy. This could very well have been because of L. Smith as it could have been b/c of Rivera, but why did Rivera only land an ILB coaching position after leaving. Surely a better position would open up for someone of his "perceived" quality, especially as other coaches would know the true value of such a coach from word of mouth.

One of the problems may have been that Rivera came from the Eagles where he would have developed a strong base in the J. Johnson 4-3 defense. L. Smith instituted a Tampa 2 in the 4-3. Now this would probably lead to some challenges if the coach doesn't grasp all the nuances and personnel qualities required to utilize one system over the other. I can only imagine that this change could have been a factor. If so, then what is the impact of going from a 4-3 J. Johnson to a Tampa 2 to a 3-4 (all within 4 yrs)? I guess this makes sense as to why he became an ILB coach with SD and took time to adjust.

However, if we're really good at something or an expert in one area, don't we try to keep that as a base to achieve success in our work? Why has Rivera constantly put himself in a position where he can't rely on what I would call the foundation of his football knowledge (the J. Johnson 4-3)? He must really be a dynamic, intuitive coach that quickly grasps the nuances of different schemes and can put it all together to create a successful defense. He seeks the change to develop himself, maybe? The first thing I would do as DC (if I was R. Rivera) is start hiring all my old coaches that are 4-3 guys and start breaking the foundations of this arguably, very successful SD defense. (Note: Rivera has brought in his chums for Dline-Johnson, LB-Williams, and DBs-Wilks from Chicago to SD)

Alright, enough sarcasm. Lets talk coachability, emotional impact, and leadership.

Coachability- Certainly Turner and Rivera have distinguished themselves in the NFL as assistants that were successful. They know their stuff, but in the evolving game of today, how sharp are these "football minds"? I give Turner a low B with room to go backwards and Rivera a high C with room to go upwards. The fact is the team seems prepared above avg, but lacks any special demonstration of Xs and Os/scheme dominance throughout the season. Rivera can prove better than I expect, while Turner may prove worse. The fact that Turner was an X/O genius in '95 means little now and may actually work against him if he doesn't have the intellectual capacity to evolve with the game.

Emotional Impact- Turner can't be above a C here. He does not appear to be much of an emotional leader... a nice guy maybe, but that doesn't really translate to emotional impact in football well. Rivera may be an A. As a former LB with the '85 Bear SB team, I gotta imagine he can inspire and push his guys. I think this is his area of specialty and what helped him help Chicago to the '06 SB.

Leadership- Anytime a team plays completely mediocre, when it has enormous potential, and turns it on late in the year, you have to acknowledge that leadership is weak. Why? Because SD has demonstrated for 3x years that it has a HIGH-top level of performance. In two of those three years, that top-level performance struggled to come out. This is what a coach is paid to do. In fact, it proved to only come out when the players recognized that everything was on the line (or on them). The talent is there and SD, THE PLAYERS, have proven it in the playoffs two years in a row. The studs and leaders on this team have pulled together to overcome teams, their coaches, and their own GM...yes, they have that much talent, but can only pull it off (when WE collapse or) when the leaders on the field start to take over. Here I reference: LT calling a team-only meeting in '07 with the team at 4-5 (they win 7 straight) and P. Rivers screaming a play at Turner late in the '08 Indy playoff win (can't place exact time this happened- anyone?). Lets remember that LT openly questioned Turner's staff in '07 as the team slid.

Oh yeah, AJ Smith....Leadership- F. By letting personality and ego become the center of how he does business, he has sent the wrong message to this team. While he may be able to pick players, he certainly cannot pick coaches. He has sent the message that coaching is incidental to victory and that his analysis of talent is the fundamental ingredient.

Prediction:

What's interesting is that no one wants to talk about the warts that are under the beautiful image of SD. The warts are all I see. Now I think I may be to heavy on SD's demise b/c as they are one of the most talented teams, they will certainly win their share of games.

This team is incapable of going above 9-7 though. In fact, what is more likely, is that all these warts explode this year and this team goes into the tank. This team rests on the talent in the D and the leadership and talent of Rivers/LT and a few others on O. In '07, this team was better prepared to win. They struggled and injuries did not come until late. Last year, they had injuries and really struggled. This year they are healthy, but older, and everyone seems to think they will be the "same 'ol" SD.

My favorite quote from Turner this year is along the lines of.......this year the players aren't counting on our talent, the players are going to go out and take it....What? This sounds like the problems have been in the execution department or on the player side. If you're coaching/saying this, the "smart" players have gotta be completely tuning you out. Why wouldn't they think they can? Every year, they still get it done in the playoffs.....carrying you. This brings me back to "What do the players on this team think about the leaders of this organization?"

The bottomline is that I predict at some point this season the players will visibly lose faith in the coaches and the front office. Putting all the pressure on the players can rally the team, but if the problems lie elsewhere then watchout. If anything starts to go wrong, then the *(^% is gonna fly.

When I look at talent, I can't help but see how good SD looks. In fact, I concede the division to them on talent. This of course, is why the MSM concedes the division to SD. To the MSM, looks matter and real insight and consideration of things that are important are secondary. But leadership and what I think will prove to be a lack of faith in the SD organization's leadership will bring this team down. Otherwise, all the things we, at MHR, and the copycat NFL believe matter- organizational leadership and coherency at the personnel/coaching/GM level........don't matter (or SD becomes an exception to the rule)

Well this year, the storm that has been CLEARLY buiding off the SD coast manifests itself as a hurricane.....and everyone realizes that coaches matter and the players can't do it all (or AJ Smith can't just b/c he picks 'em).

SD starts strong, but finishes 5-11.....Everyone gets fired, maybe Smith too......In even the best case scenario, SD collapses like Denver last year and loses the Division in the last game....either way, it ends in a storm of destruction.

new guy

2009-07-03T15:29:14Z

Just wanted to thank all of you at MHR

this is my first post but ive been reading for a while now. I just wanted to thank everyone on MHR for keeeping me up on my Broncos. All I get in Ohio is stupid bengal,Browns and ohio state S*%@ to read. So thanks to all and I will be commenting on post soon. I hope all the drama with the Broncos is over, I want to hear good things. BMarsh needs to grow up and play. Hoarsetracks are the best thing in the morning, saves me a lot of time on the net

What a difference a Coach makes...

2009-07-02T18:59:54Z

What's not to love about the guy(s) McDaniels picked to run his offense?

Josh McDaniels joined the Patriots on March 1, 2001 as a personnel assistant in the scouting department and assisted the defensive coaching staff for three seasons. He began serving as the Patriots' quarterbacks coach in 2004 and was named offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach on January 20, 2006.

Tom Brady: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BradTo00.htm

Positives: Good height to see the field. Very poised and composed. Smart and alert. Can read coverages. Good accuracy and touch. Produces in big spots and in big games. Has some Brian Griese in him and is a gamer. Generally plays within himself. Team leader.

Negatives: Poor build. Very skinny and narrow. Ended the '99 season weighing 195 pounds and still looks like a rail at 211. Looks a little frail and lacks great physical stature and strength.
Can get pushed down more easily than you'd like. Lacks mobility and ability to avoid the rush. Lacks a really strong arm. Can't drive the ball down the field and does not throw a really tight spiral. System-type player who can get exposed if he must ad-lib and do things on his own.

Summary: Is not what you're looking for in terms of physical stature, strength, arm strength and mobility, but he has the intangibles and production and showed great Griese like improvement as a senior. Could make it in the right system but will not be for everyone.

Tom Brady Passer Ratings

Regular Season

2002 85.7

2003 85.9

2004 92.6

2005 92.3

2006 87.9

2007 117.2

Super Bowls

2002 86.2

2004 100.5

2005 110.2

Tom Brady+Josh McDaniels:

•Three time Super Bowl champion
•Twice named Super Bowl MVP
•Three-time Pro-Bowler
•Sports Illustraded "Sportsman of the Year" 2005

Kyle Orton+Josh McDaniels:

Let the games begin!!

p.s. Love the Griese references!!!

Do Denver's SB wins deserve asterisks?

2009-07-02T16:39:30Z

On Bleacher Report, someone wrote an article about how the Pats don't deserve to be considered the team of the decade because of Spygate. But now, he is attacking the Broncos, as well as other teams:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/210359-the-astrisk-more-teams-than-the-patriots-deserve-it

The guy who wrote the article says that he thought it was just an accounting error, but he says that he realizes it simply wasn't because of the deferred payments to Elway and Davis for 29 Million dollars. Interesting.

He also goes on to question the validity of other teams, like the 90's Cowboys, and George Halas's Bear teams.

Enjoy!!!

Well I'll Be Damned

2009-07-02T14:19:25Z

There are times when I get so irritated when I read in the MSM, and on other fan sites, how the wheels have come off the Broncos, how the we can't expect anything good, how dismal the outlook is, that I swear that I will never again read anything other than the posts at MHR. Then I remembered this story.

There was a little boy who had pulled his old, tattered red wagon up to the top of a hill. There was a long run to the bottom, but the hill also had several large trees. The local minister happened to be walking past the bottom of the hill and watched with some concern as the boy climbed aboard for his wild ride. The worried adult called out "Don't do it, something bad will happen."

With gleeful abandon, the boy ignored the advice of the minister and shoved his wagon over the edge. Hanging on for dear life, the boy bounced and jolted his way down the hill at a breakneck pace. And, sure enough, just before the bottom of the hill, he struck a tree. The boy was unhurt but the wheels popped off his wagon. The boy immediately began screamed, "I'll be damned."

The minister was so touched by the child's distraught look, and distress that he helped the boy reassemble the wagon. During the process the minister admonished the child, "You should have known that this would happen. And swearing at the wagon and the tree will do you no good. The only wise thing to do is praise God, and not do such a risky and nonsensical thing."

The boy thanked the minister for his conventional wisdom, and the minister stood with pride over his success in bringing the boy around to the "right" way of thinking. The minister watched in amazement as the boy once again dragged his wagon to the top of the hill, climbed aboard and hurtled down the hill. Once again, the boy struck a tree at the bottom and the wheels flew off. As the minister opened his mouth to say "I told you so," the boy exclaimed "God be praised."

The minister watched in amazement as all four wheels suddenly rose up in the air and reattached themselves to the wagon. The boy smiled when he heard the minister exclaim, "I'll be damned."

IMHO there will be a lot of people exclaiming "Well, I'll be damned!" at the end of the 2009 season when they see what the McDaniels-led Broncos are able to accomplish.

Scheffler Intro, BMarsh Outro

2009-07-02T06:00:29Z

Funny how this has played out...A few months back we were worried Scheffler would be on his way outta town on the "Bus" express...BMarsh was a vocal supporter of the new McD regime, even regulating his boy Cutler publicly.

As the world turns...here we are now; Scheffler has been gaining praise through mini-camp and OTA's...BMarsh has been dealin with a hip injury (unknown variable in situation), off-field issues (domestic assault allegations permenantly stain reputations) and now this contract dispute and trade request...anyways...

This is what I'm thinking...with our depth at WR (Royal, Gaffney, Stokely, Mckinney, Jackson, Lloyd), TE's (Graham, Scheffler, Quinn, Putzier) and receiving RB's (Hillis, Moreno, Buckhalter)...we can probably afford to let Marshall, sit, sulk, be salty and whatever...

Furthermore, we may have his replacement on roster already...why can't Scheffler be that big body receiving threat? He's too big for DB's, and too fast for LB's, runs routes well, is intelligent, and has soft hands. Granted, injuries have been an issue...but this makes sense. Scheffler can line up at TE, spread wide, block for runners and be effective in the RedZone. This also helps explain the Quinn draft pick, and the Putzier re-sign.

The way I see it, Marshall can get as comfy as he likes, there might not be enough balls to go around anyway...and I almost forgot...I heard we might run the ball this year too...shhh, keep it on the low...I know, craziness...

Brandon Marshall's On-Field Problems

2009-07-02T01:52:08Z

In just 15 games in 2008, Brandon Marshall caught 104 passes. The feat ranked third in the NFL for the season (behind Andre Johnson and Wes Welker) and second in the all-time history of the Denver Broncos. With our own eyes, we saw the remarkable degree to which he keyed the offense. We marveled at his acrobatic catches (think of the rising, back-of-the-endzone grab in Kansas City) and his often astonishing ability to stay on his feet, describing a perfect circle behind the defense as he hauls in the ball on the sideline, shakes off a defender, and cuts back behind the grain. It was wonderful, and as much as we all loved Rod Smith's dedication to the game and technical expertise, Marshall's physical gifts captured our attention in a unique way.

But our eyes often deceive us, and the highlight-reel memories we assemble of a player can misled - often badly - when it comes to assessing his impact on the team. This article looks at the considerable cost at which Marshall's accomplishments came, and asks what a fair appraisal of his production (as opposed to his talent and potential) looks like. Two points before we jump in. First, a hat tip to Jaffe28, who posted a more concise form of these statistics earlier today. I've been working on this for awhile, and don't want it to be seen as plagiarism. Second, I want Marshall to stay on the team - this is not a hit job. My point of departure is the observation that he has asked the Broncos to evaluate his potential. Given all the if's attached to this young man, I want to ask what his production has looked like once we account for the disproportionate number of times Jay Cutler threw to him last year. Every throw on the football field comes at a cost - of another receiver not thrown to, or of a run not taken. To me, the dominant question is: how efficient were the Broncos when they directed the action Marshall's way? The analysis below doesn't try to answer the quesiton of whether Brandon Marshall or Jay Cutler or Jeremy Bates is at fault for Marshall's underwhelming numbers. It just asks what those numbers are, and contextualizes them via comparison to the league's other frequently targeted wide receivers.

Putting aside his injuries, legal troubles, contract demands and attitude, a closer look at the numbers suggests several important qualifications to Marshall's on-field performance. We all know about his relative lack of touchdowns. Marshall reached the end zone just six times last year, and just seven times the year before that. But a bigger concern to my mind is the relative inefficiency of the passing game when it has been directed Marshall's way. Rather than dance around the point, I'll cut straight to the table:

Table 1: Reception Percentage (Receptions/Targets)

Name	Team	Target	Rec	Reception Percentage
Wes Welker	NE	150	112	74.7%
Anquan Boldin	ARI	126	89	70.6%
Eddie Royal	DEN	129	91	70.5%
Lance Moore	NO	113	79	69.9%
Donald Driver	GB	107	74	69.2%
Steve Breaston	ARI	113	77	68.1%
Andre Johnson	HOU	170	115	67.6%
T.J. Houshmandzadeh	CIN	137	92	67.2%
Greg Camarillo	MIA	83	55	66.3%
Derrick Mason	BAL	121	80	66.1%
Hines Ward	PIT	126	82	65.1%
Greg Jennings	GB	125	80	64.0%
Jerricho Cotchery	NYJ	112	71	63.4%
Kevin Walter	HOU	95	60	63.2%
Reggie Wayne	IND	130	82	63.1%
Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	154	96	62.3%
Lee Evans	BUF	102	63	61.8%
Michael Jenkins	ATL	81	50	61.7%
Antwaan Randle El	WAS	87	53	60.9%
Antonio Bryant	TB	138	84	60.9%
Steve Smith	CAR	129	78	60.5%
Laveranues Coles	NYJ	116	70	60.3%
Bobby Wade	MIN	88	53	60.2%
Ted Ginn	MIA	93	56	60.2%
Muhsin Muhammad	CAR	108	65	60.2%
Matt Jones	JAC	107	64	59.8%
Roddy White	ATL	149	88	59.1%
Vincent Jackson	SD	101	59	58.4%
Brandon Stokley	DEN	85	49	57.6%
Santana Moss	WAS	138	79	57.2%
Brandon Marshall	DEN	182	104	57.1%
Devin Hester	CHI	92	52	56.5%
Isaac Bruce	SF	107	60	56.1%
Marvin Harrison	IND	107	60	56.1%
Dwayne Bowe	KC	157	86	54.8%
Randy Moss	NE	126	69	54.8%
Chad Ochocinco	CIN	97	53	54.6%
Marques Colston	NO	87	47	54.0%
Amani Toomer	NYG	89	48	53.9%
Torry Holt	STL	119	64	53.8%
Donnie Avery	STL	104	54	51.9%
Calvin Johnson	DET	151	78	51.7%
DeSean Jackson	PHI	121	62	51.2%
Bernard Berrian	MIN	95	48	50.5%
Mark Clayton	BAL	82	41	50.0%
Terrell Owens	DAL	140	69	49.3%
Santonio Holmes	PIT	114	55	48.2%
Roy Williams	DET	82	36	43.9%
Braylon Edwards	CLE	138	55	39.9%

On his way to completing those 104 throws to Marshall, Jay Cutler threw the ball his way 182 times. Andre Johnson, the league's second most thrown-to receiver was targeted "just" 170 times and finished with 310 more yards. Putting aside, for a moment, the question of what kinds of throws the quarterbacks in question made, we have an easy explanation for Marshall's comparatively low yardage production: Compared to the league's best wide-outs, he caught a small percentage of the balls thrown his way. To be specific, Marshall's catch-conversion rate (that is, the share of times he caught balls thrown his way) was 57.1% -- the thirty-first best rate for wide receivers targeted at least 80 times.

Pro football has many kinds of receivers, routes, and plays, so I'll try to put the number in context. First of all, look at the top three receivers in the table. Wes Welker and Eddie Royal (OK, I buried the lede on that one) run different kinds of routes - shorter, lower-reward, and far more likely to result in completions. Welker caught nearly three out of four balls thrown his way, and Royal caught seven out of ten. Anquan Boldin, while more obviously athletic, plays a similar-ish role on the Cardinals' offense. As far as I'm concerned, he's a revelation, and if I were a desperate team targeting a disenchanted wideout with iffy health and dollar signs in his eyes, I know who it would be.

OK, let's take another cut at the numbers. Draw an imaginary line below Michael Jenkins. That line marks the league-wide completion percentage of 61% for last year; every Wide Receiver above the line had a catch-rate (or, if you prefer, completion percentage) above the league average. That's a noteworthy achievement for a wide-out because the league-wide completion rate includes lots of low-risk, check-down throws to running backs, #4 wideouts, and other players who make good targets precisely because they're such lesser threats that the defense often leaves them open. Look closely at the twenty players above the line, and you see many (although not all) of the truly elite #1 wide-outs: Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Lee Evans, Greg Jennings. What's notable here is that Marshall comes in behind not only these highly accomplished monsters, but behind a number of receivers - Matt Jones, Tedd Ginn, Jerico Cotchery, Kevin Walter, Antonio Bryant - who earn far less acclaim.

OK, fine, he didn't catch a lot balls, you say, but catching the ball is not a wide receiver's only job. He's also supposed to make big plays. Sure, the Walsh offense and increasing sophistication of the passing game have made it a lower-risk, lower-reward endeavor, but a deep threat that stretches the defense and moves the team down the field in big leaps still has a lot of value. Despite his physical gifts, Marshall is not that player. To the contrary, despite his low reception rate, he performs better as a short, possession receiver - drops and all - than he does as a deep threat.

Table 2: Yards per Reception

Name	Team	Rec	Yard	Yards/Reception
Bernard Berrian	MIN	48	964	20.1
Vincent Jackson	SD	59	1,098	18.6
Steve Smith	CAR	78	1,417	18.2
Calvin Johnson	DET	78	1,331	17.1
Mark Clayton	BAL	41	695	17.0
Marques Colston	NO	47	760	16.2
Greg Jennings	GB	80	1,292	16.2
Lee Evans	BUF	63	1,017	16.1
Braylon Edwards	CLE	55	877	15.9
Roddy White	ATL	88	1,382	15.7
Michael Jenkins	ATL	50	777	15.5
Terrell Owens	DAL	69	1,052	15.2
Kevin Walter	HOU	60	899	15.0
Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	96	1,434	14.9
Santonio Holmes	PIT	55	821	14.9
Antonio Bryant	TB	84	1,249	14.9
DeSean Jackson	PHI	62	912	14.7
Randy Moss	NE	69	1,008	14.6
Muhsin Muhammad	CAR	65	923	14.2
Ted Ginn	MIA	56	790	14.1
Reggie Wayne	IND	82	1,145	14.0
Isaac Bruce	SF	60	833	13.9
Andre Johnson	HOU	115	1,575	13.7
Donald Driver	GB	74	1,012	13.7
Santana Moss	WAS	79	1,044	13.2
Steve Breaston	ARI	77	1,003	13.0
Derrick Mason	BAL	80	1,037	13.0
Devin Hester	CHI	52	665	12.8
Hines Ward	PIT	82	1,047	12.8
Donnie Avery	STL	54	684	12.7
Torry Holt	STL	64	796	12.4
Bobby Wade	MIN	53	645	12.2
Brandon Marshall	DEN	104	1,265	12.2
Laveranues Coles	NYJ	70	850	12.1
Jerricho Cotchery	NYJ	71	858	12.1
Amani Toomer	NYG	48	580	12.1
Roy Williams	DET	36	430	11.9
Dwayne Bowe	KC	86	1,022	11.9
Lance Moore	NO	79	928	11.7
Matt Jones	JAC	64	750	11.7
Anquan Boldin	ARI	89	1,038	11.7
Antwaan Randle El	WAS	53	593	11.2
Greg Camarillo	MIA	55	613	11.1
Brandon Stokley	DEN	49	528	10.8
Eddie Royal	DEN	91	980	10.8
Marvin Harrison	IND	60	636	10.6
Wes Welker	NE	112	1,165	10.4
Chad Ochocinco	CIN	53	540	10.2
T.J. Houshmandzadeh	CIN	92	904	9.8

More interesting than Marshall's numbers are the overall numbers for the Broncos' passing game. Marshall ranks 33rd in yards per reception among the highly-targeted players here, but first among

Broncos. Eddie Royal and Brandon Stokely followed, each at 10.8 yards per catch. (Tony Scheffler is another story, but he plays another position). This fascinates me because I believed that the Broncos employed a high-risk, high-reward passing game last year. The numbers here suggest it was more like a medium-risk, low-reward game.

OK, before wrapping it up, let's look at the most commonly cited mitigating factor in Marshall's production. The guy racks up a lot of first downs. In fact, it was posited - quite smartly - early today that his low Yards per Catch rate owes to the fact that the team asked him to run lots of routes only as far as the first-down marker. On this count, most of us feel that he succeeded. But once again, the numbers tell a different story.

Table 4: First Downs per Times Thrown to on Third Down

Name	TARG	FD	First Downs per Target
Derrick Mason	36	23	0.64
Hines Ward	37	23	0.62
Steve Smith	31	19	0.61
Greg Jennings	35	21	0.60
Steve Breaston	27	16	0.59
Matt Jones	27	16	0.59
Anthony Gonzalez	29	17	0.59
T.J. Houshmandzadeh	46	26	0.57
Roddy White	51	28	0.55
Wes Welker	33	18	0.55
Steve Smith	32	17	0.53
Vincent Jackson	37	19	0.51
Reggie Wayne	39	20	0.51
Dwayne Bowe	39	20	0.51
Brandon Stokley	39	20	0.51
Laveranues Coles	26	13	0.50
Jason Avant	26	13	0.50
Anquan Boldin	34	17	0.50
Davone Bess	25	12	0.48
Patrick Crayton	25	12	0.48
Andre Johnson	30	14	0.47
Donald Driver	39	18	0.46
DeSean Jackson	37	17	0.46
Santonio Holmes	44	20	0.45
Isaac Bruce	40	18	0.45
Jerricho Cotchery	34	15	0.44
Bernard Berrian	26	11	0.42
Brandon Marshall	43	18	0.42
Amani Toomer	25	10	0.40
Brandon Jones	30	12	0.40
Lance Moore	35	14	0.40
Chad Ochocinco	28	11	0.39
Devin Hester	29	11	0.38
Antonio Bryant	46	17	0.37
Mark Clayton	28	10	0.36
Kevin Walter	34	12	0.35
Bobby Engram	26	9	0.35
Justin McCareins	26	9	0.35
Muhsin Muhammad	35	12	0.34
Braylon Edwards	38	13	0.34
Santana Moss	35	11	0.31
Terrell Owens	43	13	0.30
Calvin Johnson	45	13	0.29
Torry Holt	39	9	0.23

In 2008, 44 NFL receivers were targeted 25 or more times on Third Down. Collectively, Quarterbacks threw 1,509 passes their way. They converted 687 into first downs, for an average conversion rate of 46%. Brandon Marshall earned 18 first downs on 43 third-down targets - a success rate of 42%. That figure places him 28th in the group.

Overall, Marshall is in the middle or the bottom of the pack for every statistic that describes a specialized wide-receiver skill. He did not catch a particularly large number of the balls thrown his way. His receptions went for short yardage. And on third down, he moved the chains at a below-average rate. On none of the receiving statistics above did he rank above 28th in the NFL.

So am I saying he's a lousy receiver, and that the Broncos should kick him to the curb? No. I think he can flourish, and mightily, in the McDaniels system. My analysis is not the most charitable. He probably should not be blamed for Cutler forcing the ball to him as often as Cutler did. The problems of the Jeremy Bates scheme are not his fault. And yet those problems are the reason why Marshall, despite the many what-ifs surrounding his future performance - can he stay healthy? Will he give his all to the team? Will he stay on the roster? Will he stay out of lock-up? - is demanding his payday. If Cutler had spread the ball around more or the Broncos had called more running plays (as they should have), his numbers would not be so gaudy. As the tables above show, the single most impressive thing about Marshall's on-field performance was the number of times Jay Cutler threw him the ball.

Marshall's talent captivates me. I want him to succeed. And I want him to do it in a Broncos uniform. But when weighing the many risks of his future against the documented inefficiency of his production with the Broncos, I don't like the results. I hope the team can keep him this year under his current contract. Barring that, I hope that some other team - hello, Dan Snyder - focuses on his upside rather than his production. Because I fear that's the only way the Broncos will get maximum value out of this gifted, frustrating athlete.

Middle Linebacker?

2009-07-01T16:35:16Z

I read John P. Lopez's story Classic middle LBs are roaming their way to extinction and realized that the Broncos don't have a "classic" middle linebacker and have not had a good one since Al Wilson.

The story has a picture of Ray Lewis playing in the Ravens' hybrid 4-3/3-4 defense. Ray is 6'1" 250 and listed on the Raven's website as "ILB". We don't even have that category on our roster.

My question is whether we have a "hybrid" middle linebacker? If so, who is/are they? I don't see DJ in that role.

My Brandon Marshall Scouting Report

2009-07-01T02:55:38Z

Just wanted to give a look at BMarsh considering all the controversy surrounding him to get some discussion going regarding what he is or is not actually worth to the Broncos in both the short and long term.

2008 NFL Rank Receptions:

#3: 104

#1 = Andre Johnson with 115. Johnson played 16 games to Marshall's 15. As did Welker who is the other ahead of him.

2008 NFL Rank Total Yards:

#7: 1265

#1 = Andre Johnson with 1575

2008 NFL Rank YPG:

#5: 84.3

#1 Steve Smith with 101.5

2008 NFL Rank TDs:

Tied #22: 6

#1 = Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson with 12

2008 NFL Rank 1st Down Rec:

#4: 65

#1 = Andre Johnson with 79

2008 NFL Rank YAC:

Tied #12: 439 (Steve Smith)

#1 = Wes Welker 758

2008 NFL Rank Yard Per Catch:

#124: 12.2

#1 Devery Henderson with 24.8

2008 NFL Rank Targeted:

#1: 181

#2 = Andre Johnson with 170

Comments: These mix stats and my own observations

Positives:

1. BMarsh's raw production kicks ass. He catches a lot of balls for a lot of yards.

2. He's a beast to try and tackle. I was a little surprised he wasn't a bit higher in YAC, then I remembered he gave back about 100 yards over the season circling backwards.

3. He picks up first downs. I didn't look for a breakdown on what down his first down catches come though. I'd like to see it if someone has that info. I'm betting he wasn't our top third down guy. Wouldn't be surprised if both Royal and Stokely finished ahead of him.

4. He gets off the jam pretty well because of his size and gets into his routes on time for the most part.

5. He often demands double-coverage, opening the field for others.

6. He uses his body well to screen defenders when they are behind him so that he can make possession catches despite close coverage.

7. He's competitive and wants to be an elite receiver. He has a decent work ethic from what I can tell.

Negatives:

1. Despite our perception of him, BMarsh has not demonstrated that he is a big play receiver. He has a minuscule YPC average which indicates to me that he does not make a lot of plays down the field. Worse, he disappears in the red zone. He's only managed 15 TDs in his career. Randy Moss has 37, T.O. 38, and Larry Fitzgerald. 28 over the same span. Even a WR like Hines Ward who is known more for scrappiness than big play ability has 20 TDs over the last 3 seasons. Calvin Johnson has 16 TDs in his two seasons playing for the garbage Lions, for the love of Pete. I would think that a big-bodied possession guy like BMarsh should be a monster in tight, but it's not the case.

2. He does not have great hands. Despite being targeted more than any other receiver, he was third in catches. He drops balls. He also doesn't adjust to the long ball in the air well. With his height and general size, you'd think he'd be a great deep ball, jump ball artist. He's not. Most noticeably, he does not come back for the ball well when it is behind him. If he can't run under it, it's an incompletion more often than not. In terms of his hands and the drops, I'm willing to give him some time because of the nerve damage. In terms of going back for the ball, I hope somebody can coach him because he should be a monster at it and isn't.

3. Another factor in the difference between being targeted and number of catches might have to do with brains/discipline/concentration/etc. Specifically, he doesn't always run good routes and seems, to frequently for my taste, to run incorrect routes. We can assume that some of the misreads on such plays were Jay's, but a bunch were Marshall's as well.

4. He has a selfish streak. Brandon Stokely saving him a 15 yarder late in the Cleveland game last year is a big illustration.

5. The off-the-field stuff. No need to go over it in more depth here. Just makes you wonder how much the Broncos can rely on him long term.Whether it's injuring himself severely while horsing around or being on the commish's sh*t-list, you gotta wonder if he's gonna play all the games we need him to.

General:

I'm not trying to bash Brandon with this post. The negatives section is longer than the positives because we all know what he's good at. What we don't talk much about is what he's bad at (or at least what he's bad at on the field as opposed to life skills). My overall take is that BMarsh is one of the top five possession receivers in the NFL and a top ten or twelve overall receiver. He is not, however, a huge difference maker yet. He doesn't score TDs and he doesn't make the difficult play often enough. He (like Jay) has not been clutch in big spots. Basically, despite what looks like good production, I feel like Marshall has significantly underachieved in relation to his physical skills. In the BMarsh trade poll, I voted that I would consider trading him for a 1st and a servicable receiver. I still think like that would be appropiate value. Honestly, I'd be willing to give up BMarsh and a 2 rounder for a similar player in Anquan Boldin.

I love to watch BMarsh in the same way I loved to watch Cutler. He's a freak of physical talent who does some unbelievable things on a football field. At the same time, I think we're still in the land of what Marshall could be rather than what he is. He could be an all-timer but there's still a lot standing in the way.

B Marsh hates Denver?

2009-06-30T22:45:15Z

Another controversy involving Brandon Marshall is making the rounds in Denver.

But will the revelation that Marshall told Denver police he wanted to be traded during the 2007 season mean anything about his future in Denver?

Probably not.

According to a Denver police report obtained by a Denver television station after Marshall's arrest for drunken driving hours after he starred in a win over Pittsburgh, Marshall said he wanted to be traded and expressed "hate" for the city. Marshall asked Denver to trade him last month because he wants a pay raise and he has medical trust issues with the team.

This will likely cost him a few fans in Denver. But it really doesn't mean anything. The team's brass was probably aware of the report. The Broncos have a good relationship with the police department in Denver.

This is a near 2-year-old incident. It's just further evidence of Marshall's immaturity. But I don't believe it has anything to do with the current situation.

Marshall wants more money. If he gets it in Denver, he'd probably love the city. And an old remark by the player isn't going to infuriate Denver coach Josh McDaniels, who didn't meet Marshall until this year.

So, while the report has its eye-popping aspects, I don't think it is relevant to the current issue.

The affect of McDaniels promotion to offensive coordinator

2009-06-30T17:22:32Z

Since January 11th Josh McDaniels has been the most scrutinized and publicized individual in Denver, if not the entire sporting world. So that got me thinking....what was McDaniels impact on the Patriots offense? Is there a clear and significant jump in scoring, ypg, and any other category that the Patriots may have gained from the promotion of their quarterback coach? How about players? Did players benefit from McDaniels and his system? Ive compiled a fair amount of stats from NFL.com indicating McDaniels helped to turn the defensive orriented attack of New England into the record setting and world beating offensive attack, that has made Tom Brady not only a super bowl champion, but statistically the greatest quarterback outside of Peyton Manning of his generation. For good measure I also included in Denver's stats (you know just a comparison since the MSM fails to use them).

From 2001 to 2005 McDaniels carried a variety of positions within the New England organization from defensive assistant to quarterbacks coach. All this time Charlie Weis was the offensive coordinator of the Patriots. Weis helped transform the Patriots into the dynasty of today, but he did not create a juggernaut offensive. Here are the Patriots and Broncos scoring, points per game, and yards per game from 2001 to 2005.

Year	Points per game	Yards per game
2001 Patriot super bowl year
Patriots	23.2 (6)	305 (19)
Broncos	21.2 (10)	301.1 (22)
2002
Patriots	23.8 (10)	317.8 (21)
Broncos	24.5 (7)	380.6 (3)
2003 Patriot super bowl year
Patriots	21.8 (12)	314.9 (17)
Broncos	23.8 (10)	349.9 (7)
2004 Patriot super bowl year
Patriots	27.3 (4)	357.6 (7)
Broncos	23.8 (9)	395.8 (5)
2005
Patriots	23.7 (10)	352.0 (7)
Broncos	24.7 (7)	360.4 (5)

() indicates league rank during that season

After the 2004 season Weis went to Notre Dame and McDaniels assumed the playcalling duties for the 2005 season. McDaniels becoming offensive coordinator did not become official until 2006, and this is when the Patriot offense really took off.

Year	Points per game	Yards per game
2006
Patriots	24.1 (7)	335.6 (11)
Broncos	19.9 (17)	303.9 (21)
2007
Patriots	36.8 (1)	411.2 (1)
Broncos	20.0 (21)	346.3 (11)
2008
Patriots	25.6 (7)	365.4 (5)
Broncos	23.1 (16)	395.8 (2)

() indicates league rank during season

Obviously 2007 is the season that really jumps out due to the record breaking numbers put up by the Patriots, but what was the most revealing statistic to me is the closness between league rank in yards per game and points per game durig the McDaniels era. To determine this in a mathematical percentage take the league rank and gain an average of both statistics than divide the points per game average over the yards per game average. An ideal correlation between percentages would be a 1.00 indicating the teams yards gained resulted in an appropriate amount of points per game. Obviously this can be twisted and mutilated to serve any purpose but just for this discussion I think it gives an appropriate picture.

The Patriots had an 88% which is exceptional and indicates the Patriot offense scored more points than the amount of yards the team gained would suggest. This attests to the amount of tournovers, field position, and offensive efficiency of the Patriots. The Broncos on the other hand had a horrible 158.8 % indicating the vast amount of yardage the team gained did not translate into points. Once again it can be attested to the lack of turnovers and horrible special teams of the Broncos the past 3 years. This also shows how the Broncos were great between the 20s but could not score.

All of this has been discussed extensively on MHR and I believe most of us are in accordance with each other that we really werent the 2nd best offense, while the Patriots have had one of the best teams and offenseives of the past 3 years. This can be attributed to McDaniels and his system.

This article was about stats and not opinion. I hope you can all understand how i laid the information out there, and I hope it may help to continue creating an air of excitement in Bronco Country about the upcoming year.

Royal is recognized by NFL as + Example

2009-06-30T16:09:20Z

Even the NFL seemes to value Royal

Caught this link from the NFL video from a jump from Horse Tracks.

Seems out of all 256 or so rookies last year Royal was one of 4 guys the league wanted to highlight as an example at the rookie symposium in Flordia this week. Everybody seems to think this is one bright young man. This kid doesn't speak well for a young football player, he speaks well as a person in thier low 20's.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-total-access/09000d5d8110fac5/Inside-the-symposium

The other 3 guys also made good comments and I don't recall alot of negative news on any of them on or off the field. I really like how Long, the #2 pick I think, talks about understanding his money which from those in the poor house to Bank CEO's isn't a regular trait these days. The young WR from Atlanta makes good points on this too. If Vick thought like this maybe he wouldn't be in Bankrupcy after earning around 35 million already or the Broncos Vance Johnson who if I remember correctly resorted to check fraud recently.

A personal look at Alphonso Smith

2009-06-30T08:47:51Z

First off my friends, I got the idea to write this because of the great discussion here: Tales of Mythology II

Thanks to Broncobear for the good insight on Alphonso Smith. Much like the rest of us, my first reaction when we traded up into the second round for Smith, I was a bit shocked. I thought for sure we were going to be fine in the secondary. In fact, I thought if anything we'd go for another safety for Dawkins to groom up. Anyway, thanks to MHR for keeping my head intact throughout the draft because I was honestly quite shocked at some of the moves and picks. The point of this post here is my first hand experience at being a short cornerback and why you can't jump off the deep end when a 5'9" guy is drafted for the position so high on the board.

Let's get some main points out of the way early. Yes, Alphonso Smith is NOT of atypical size to be considered a serious threat from a quarterback's eyes. However, based on personal experience, I love the fact that once he becomes a full time starter (could be this year) most quarterbacks are going to release the notion that he is a serious threat. There's a lot of variables that play into Smith's threat to an offense. First off, he's a rookie. Second off, he's short compared to the league standard. While it's obvious that a taller cornerback will have a higher jump reach, this only really counts when your in a straight run and jump situation.

Hey, we're not playing basketball here. I dare you to tell Muggsy Bogues that he didn't have the talent to hold up to anyone in his time. For those who don't know, Bogues was a point guard for the Washington Bullets, Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors in his time. He was only 5'3". That's a huge difference compared to his competition, did it stop him? No it didn't. Some consider Bogues' tenure in the NBA to be of novelty only, but he really knew a thing or two about the game and his position. He didn't stay in for 14 years for nothing.

We're not here to talk basketball though. Back to Smith and my experiences in his position. It wasn't that long ago that we had a short cornerback that was considered too short for his job. I think you all know who I'm speaking of. Now, Williams had a few things that worked better for him pre-draft. For starters, he ran a very fast 4.30 on the 40. That put him at 7th all time. That may not be the case anymore, but prior to the 05 draft, that's where the records stood. Now, I don't rely too much on a 40 time when it comes to cornerbacks because rarely do they run straight. In that sense, I'd much rather take a corner that got a slower time on the 40 but can swing his hips and turn himself around without missing a beat. This little movement alone can kick you back almost a full second if you're rough enough with it. We don't have that problem with Smith, as his hips have noted to be very smooth and fluid. I believe that because of this fact alone, he will not have a problem staying up with a TO, or Randy Moss.

I left a post in the link above about my personal experiences at the cornerback position because I played from middle school through high school the same position. In my senior year in high school, I was only 5'8" at a hefty 190 lbs. I'm not a small framed boy and that worked against me in some cases. In most however, it didn't matter. I was able to get some really good hip movement training in marching band as well. Let it be known here my friends, you want to learn how to maneuver your body all over the place? Carry 40 lbs of dead weighted drums on your back all the time. I can honestly say in hindsight that I would have NEVER been able to hold up in my position if I didn't take band on the side. For the musicians in the house, you really learn a thing about yourself when you can do spins and loopy loops and dippity do's at 180BPM without losing your focus on marching and playing together. Thankfully because of music throughout my life, I've learned a great deal about hand-eye and eye-brain coordination. Yeah, I was a BAND GEEK. haha

Now that my credentials are in place, I want to tell a story about size and how I took advantage of the other teams ignorance. You may have already read about it in the linked post, but here's the best example of when the other teams take your size for granted. We were playing in the state regional game at home against a school that was larger than us at every position. Of course this was because their high school had students transfer to the district just to play for them. They were a "farm team" for USC if I remember right. Anyways, we're hosting Notre Dame High School and I was covering weak side. Their number 2 receiver was a monster for being 17. He was 6'5" and had the athletics to back it up. Throughout the game, we would do a little chat here and there, come to find out he was the starting center for the varsity basketball squad in the spring. If we were doing a 40 yard dash, he would smoke me all day long. Fact of the matter is his waist was almost at my chest! This guy was all legs and he knew how to use them. Anyways, I studied him throughout the week to see his tendencies and of all people, my band director pointed out a serious flaw in this guys game. (I used the band room for my AV needs, it was more relaxed) My director pointed out that this guy couldn't turn on his routes easily. Due to his awkward proportions, he had a very hard time planting his foot and swinging his body around or cutting the route. Well, thanks to my director I was able to expose his weakness all day long and even though he was a beastly 9 inches taller than me, he didn't get ONE catch on me all day. He had 2 catches for 11 or 12 yards on the game. The only catches he got was once when he cut up the middle on a short pass and got right in between the safeties and the linebackers and again when he took a screen pass for about 5 yards. I want to point out that he didn't get any catches on me because I was that good. He didn't get any catches on me because I didn't give him a chance to even get the ball. If the quarterback threw it higher than my reach, I would use my frame and weight to throw towards him while still trying to get the ball. Thanks to his legs, he would often try and just keep balance, not catch the ball. I know this could be called pass interference, but honestly the first few times I was just trying to get the ball. It takes some serious "hops" to get up to his full arm's extent. Thankfully though, I didn't rely TOO much on this method, as all of his routes involved a lot of unnecessary lane changes, etc. Now how does this relate to Smith and his job on our team? I'll explain.

First off, in order to have a successful short cornerback, you need 2 things:

a VERY solid cornerback that QB's know not to throw to. Check.

Also you need a hell raising safety that can cover you in a jam. Hey, that's weird you mention that! Didn't we just sign one of the most passionate, hardest hitting dudes in the game today?

hmm. Food for thought. Now, I think this is something McDaniels took right out of Shanny's brain. Darrent was chosen partially because Shanny knew he had the weapons to put him in a position to excel. Champ was there, and our Brian Dawkins of the past was one of the hardest hitters EVER: John Lynch.

Now, I don't know if this makes ANY sense to any of you, but it makes perfect sense to me. Alphonso has all the skills he needs to succeed right now in THIS system. He's not going to be a backup for long, if at all. Now if only he would have learned tuba in high school.

WHO ARE THOSE GUYS? PART II

2009-06-30T05:23:05Z

We have had some great posts previewing different teams, and it is a way to give us the fan a perspective outlook of who they are and what we might expect from them this year. I'm reposting the original post to remind the people who wanted to do a team, to see where they are on it. We realize summertime can be trying with vacations and such, and if anyone has a problem doing his or her post, just let us know, I am sure someone will step in and help out. If no one wants any of the remaining three, I'll try to do one of them. Thanks all.

WHO ARE THOSE GUYS?

by bfree2bronc on May 10, 2009 8:57 AM PDT 125 comments

We as a collective group pretty much have a good idea of where the Denver Broncos are headed. At least lets hope so. I am going to do a post this week about the Kansas City Chiefs. In that post I will attempt to illustrate the Chiefs season, off season, F/A acquisitions and their draft, how they faired last year, who did they lose, who did they bring in, and a good old fashion debate of where they will stand this season, and a premature prediction of how they will do in the end.

There are 31 other teams out there, if 31 of you pick a team to do a little research on and bring it back to us, then we, the fan could possibly have a better idea of where that team is headed. This will give each and everyone of us a chance to do a little research and gain some football knowledge. I am not eloquent like styg, HT, TSG, broncobear and others who post here but I'll wade out as far as anyone here will.

I thought it might be fun to do, and give us something to talk about. I have picked the Chiefs to analyse for no particular reason, they were the first team that came to mind. I was just going to do the teams in our division, but, after thinking about it, I thought it might be fun to do the whole nfl, and get everyone involved.

We will let this post be the sign up place to pick a team, and we don't have to get them done today, mine will probably take a few days to put together. When you get ready to post it, just use the teams name so everone will know what it's about. Thanks everyone, and I can't wait to hear from you and learn. 13-3 Baby!!!

PS...Most people know where to go for information in the web, for those that might not, there are alot of sources, nfl.com., the teams web site, their home town news, etc. Some of you out there who privy to other places please let us know.

Here is a list of team previews that have been done thus far:

1) Kansas City Chiefs, bfree2bronc

2) Tennessee Titans, Danny P

3) Philladelphia Eagles, Streams Of Whiskey

4) Houston Texans, metalman5050

5) Cincinnati Bengals, broncointheville

6) New England Patriots, BShrout

7) Washington Redskins, KaptainKirk

8) Oaklnd Raiders, JALefor

9) Jacksonville Jaquars, mrwhite 20

10) New York Giants, SBHC Hawk

Here is the list of teams not done yet:

11) Atlanta Falcons, Garret Barnes

12) Chicago Bears, MikeD 55

13) Cleveland Browns, zogernaut

14) SF 49ers, Calijoefornia

15) Arizona Cardinals, Pmac 54

16) Minnesota Vikings, lovewatchingthegame

17) Dallas Cowboys, DBronx777

18) San Diego Chargers, boydy

19) Green Bay Packers, Disco_Stu&Colorado Kitten

20) Pittsburg Steelers, papigrandi

21) Buffalo Bills, broncosmontana

22) Detriot Lions, thich 318

23) New Orleans Saints, Broncos McWin

24) Miami Dolphins, foolio 2000

25) Seattle Seahawks, maritimebronco

26) Baltimore Ravens, Kfustud

27) Indianapolis Colts, Fooballa 303

28) Tampa Bay Buccaneers, velveeta

Here is a list of the teams not picked yet.

29) New York Jets

30) Carolina Panthers

31) St Louis Rams

32) Denver Broncos, sayre111589 (An Early Look at the 2009 Denver Broncos)

Can't wait to read the ones that haven't been done yet. Thanks everyone.

Rants and Raves(without the glowsticks or house music)

2009-06-30T04:32:32Z

So I am writing here because I am tired of programming....time to talk some Broncos! So these are just more general observations and comments and whatnot, written in no real discernable order, but will hopefully come out coherent and possibly entertaining. And as with all of my writing, when in doubt, I am being sarcastic.

1) There has been a common trend this off season, and I have to say as a fan this bothers me. If you look at nearly all of the coverage surrounding the Broncos and analysis of how the team is going to perform this coming season, it is almost entirely negative. Now there is nothing wrong with having negative things to say, if it is backed up by facts and statistics and reasoning. The thing that disturbs me the most is that it has been almost entirely absent in the the coverage of the Broncos, and other teams I am sure.

So where does this leave us as fans? I would like to think I am more educated on what is going on than your average fan, mostly because of this site, but still it casts a shadow of negativity. Personally, I don't think this will have an impact on the coaches or the players, but what does this mean for people like me who just want news and analysis?

Perhaps this is just my engineering side popping out, but when someone says something, I want to know the how's and why's behind the statement. I want the proof behind why something is the way it is. For example, the FoxSports QB power rankings that were posted over the weekend. The writer places the Bronco's 32nd, but provides nothing to back his rankings up. So here is the question then, is Kyle Orton the worst starting QB in the entire NFL? And what goes into these rankings? In my mind a QB's effectiveness is dependent on the following

Their own skill and talent

Their coaching

Their supporting cast: O-Line, WR's, TE's, RB's, etc

So, based on this would the author of the piece be willing to say that the sum of all of those parts adds up to the worst in the NFL? Looking at our Offensive Line alone kills that notion, and Josh McDaniels ability as a coach for QB's cannot be denied. And I have a hard time believing the supporting cast isn't up to par. So to me this leaves us with something that just doesn't make a ton of sense.

And this is something that seems to be happening with the majority of the sports coloumnists. Maybe this is just me, but if my name is going on something, I want to make sure that I have some sort of reasoning behind it. Forget JC and the sunshine kid, he was not the only person making plays every Sunday for the past 3 years.

This doesn't mean I am drinking the Kool-Aid and think the Bronco's are beyond negative analysis or commentary. Our defense does have question marks because they haven't played a single game yet. Does this mean that they are better, worse, or the same as last year? Nobody knows, not even the coaching staff can make that determination yet. But I think making a level headed analysis shows that the coaching staff and the front office are making strides to improve, and set up an environment to succeed. If I were a betting man, I wouldn't bet that the Bronco's D is going to be better than say the Steeler's, but I think that they will be much more effective than they were last year.

So, its articles like the one I mentioned above that hurt the fans most of all. Your average joe who just checks out some websites online will see that, and possibly lose heart in the team. Its a bothersome trend....

2)Kyle Orton: Dude seems like a hard worker, and his dedication to working hard every day of the off season gives me hope that he will be proficent in it. Again, I don't think he is going to give the Tom Brady of '07 a run for his money, but I believe he will be highly efficent. And that is all he really needs to be, accurate and efficent. In my opinion our offense is primed to make opposing Defences cry and throw their hands up, and it starts with the Neckbeard

3)Mike Nolan: Living in the San Francisco Bay Area has shown me one thing about this guy, he is a very good defensive minded coach. The problem with the 49'ers has been that the offence hasn't been up to par. Any defense that has to be on the field as often as they had been will never be successful. When I heard he was appointed as the new DC for the Bronco's, I was delighted because we finally got someone with a proven track record as a DC. He didn't make the transition to HC very well, but I am hoping he will make a strong impact on our defense.

Thats all for now, been dodging work for long enough! Peace!

HEY GARY, WHATCHA BEEN UPTO?

2009-06-29T23:04:53Z

WHO ARE THE TEXANS?

Hey guys and gals. When the idea was put forth, that one of us should take one of the OTHER 31 teams in competition with us, I thought that there was no way that I would have time for this. And then I thought about "the guy," that I have been MISSING for the last four years.

Gary, where R U?

I remember Mr. Kubiac, on the sidelines, (he was almost always there) and he was always warring a clipboard!

I also remember the few times that he came in as relief for BIG JOHN, and I do NOT know of a time where he was anything but STELLAR, in his performance! That being said, I had the notion that, after spending that many years on the sidelines, standing next to (no argument) the best offensive mind of the time, (hi Mike, how's the vacation going? I wish I could retire on your salary!) and watching the greatest comeback specialist of all time work his magic, well, what indeed, could Gary Kubiac have learned through all of that?

His mind, body and family, were stolen from us, by the Houston Texans, a team who had only been in the league for four years! GO FIGGUR!

HERE'S THE LOW DOWN.

Just look at the facts. (This is from the "Home Page" at NFL.com) I might mention here, that the "home page" for the Texans, leaves a lot to be desired. In other words, it is slow on its negotiations. Perhaps they need someone like "the Guru", to get it all together for them, anyway, here we go...

Sept. 6, 2000: The NFL's 32nd franchise is officially christened the Houston Texans before thousands at a downtown rally on Texas Avenue. NFL Commissioner Tagliabue introduces McNair, who then unveils his team's name, colors and logo to the crowd. The ceremony, televised live on ESPN2, includes simultaneous unveilings in Austin and San Antonio.

Jan. 21, 2001: The Texans introduce Dom Capers as the club's first head coach. Capers comes to Houston from Jacksonville, where he served the previous two seasons as the Jaguars' defensive coordinator. From 1995-98, Capers was the head coach of the expansion Carolina Panthers, leading the team to the NFC West title and a berth in the NFC Championship Game in 1996.

You would think that, with those credentials, this guy would "bring it all together for this franchise, but, here is what happened. 2002 - 4 wins. 2003 - 5, 04 - 7 wins, 2005 - TWO WINS? OOOPPS! Your FIRED!!! That is when they "ripped us off," for our Offensive Coordinator! Mr. Kubiac sure could call the plays!

Jan. 2, 06: The Texans dismiss Dom Capers as head coach one day after Houston completes the 2005 season with a 2-14 record. Capers leaves after four seasons with a record of 18-46.

Jan. 26, 06: The Texans hire former Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak as the second head coach in team history. Kubiak, a Houston native, had led the Broncos offensive attack for the past 11 seasons. His offenses totaled 66,501 yards from scrimmage, most in the NFL over those 11 years. His offenses scored 465 touchdowns over the same time span to lead the NFL.

Gary's wins with Houston over the years? 06 - 6 wins, 07 - 8 wins, 08 - 8 wins, and here he is, begining his fourth year as HC.

    The Texans finished 2008 by tying a franchise-best 8-8 record and going 5-1 over the final six weeks of the season.

    The 08 - 09, coaching staff "shake up!"
Out with the old.

Dec. 30, 08: The Texans dismiss defensive coordinator Richard Smith, defensive backs coach Jon Hoke, defensive line coach Jethro Franklin and offensive assistant Mike McDaniel.

Jan. 6, 09: The Texans announce that head athletic trainer Kevin Bastin and strength and conditioning coach Dan Riley would not have their contracts renewed.
In with the new.

Jan. 13: The Texans promote senior defensive assistant Frank Bush to defensive coordinator, hire David Gibbs as defensive backs coach, and hire Bill Kollar as defensive line coach.

Jan. 28: The Texans promote assistant defensive backs coach Ray Rhodes to senior defensive assistant and re-signs assistant head coach/offense Alex Gibbs.

Everyone is talking around the league, about the Patriot connection in Denver! I think that we could start to call Houston, Denver South! Does anyone remember Alex Gibbs? In 1984, he accepted a position with the Denver Broncos. The team appeared in two straight Super Bowls in 1986 and 1987. Gibbs became famous with the Denver Broncos http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver_Broncos and Terrell Davis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrell_Davis in the late 90's. He is best known for his zone blocking http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_blocking that he installed in Denver and later with the Atlanta Falcons in 2004.

Feb. 27: The Texans hire Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews as an offensive assistant. Bruce Rankin Matthews played as an offensive lineman in the NFL for the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise from 1983 through 2000. He is considered one of the best offensive lineman in NFL history, and was also voted into the Pro Bowl 14 times. He aught to be able to help the offensive line in Houston!

IT ALL BEGINS WITH COACHING.

So at the top we have: Gary Kubiak: Head Coach

via www.houstontexans.com

by Spenser Harrison the bleacher report.

Gary Kubiak had been a top choice for many NFL teams following the Broncos second Super Bowl victory but decided to stay in Denver and hone his skills. In fact, he was interviewed for the Texans head coaching position in 2002, and was reportedly a top candidate before being passed over for Dom Capers.

On Jan. 26, 2006 Gary Kubiak was named the Texans second coach in franchise history. He immediately shocked us all by having the brass to draft Mario Williams over Vince Young and Reggie Bush; a bold move that has already paid off and left doubters eating crow. Since then Kubiak has led the Texans through two 8-8 seasons.

Offensively the difference between Kubiak*s offense and that of the Capers/Palmer ERA is night and day. What was once a dink and dunk conservative offense has been transformed into a budding powerhouse populated with young stars. Since 2005 the Texans have improved from the 30th ranked offense, to 28th in 2006, 14th in 2007, and 3rd in 2008. (That sounds like somthing that is going on in Denver right now, out with the old & in with the new.)

"We pretty much know what will be expected from an offense that ranked third in yards and 17th in points * reduced turnovers and improvement in the red zone."

Sound familiar Denver fans? We were ranked 2nd in offence and BAD in the RED ZONE! Houston was 8 - 8, and so were we. We both missed the playoffs.

via www.houstontexans.com

Gibbs, Alex Assistant Head Coach/Offense

via assets.houstontexans.com

by Spenser Harrison the bleacher report.

Alex Gibbs is the tycoon of the trench, the connoisseur of the cut block, and the baron of the zone-blocking scheme.

Alex Gibbs is most recognized for his tenure in Denver from 1995-2003 in which he worked with Gary Kubiak in helping build the Broncos into a perennial winner. It was his zone-blocking scheme that served as the catalyst behind Denver*s five playoff appearances and back-to-back SuperBowl victories in 1997 and 1998.

Under Gibbs tutelage the Broncos built an envied running game that seemed to work regardless of who was in the backfield. In fact, they were able to churn out four separate andconsecutive thousand-yard rushers in Terrell Davis, Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson, and Clinton Portis. In the nine years Kubiak and Gibbs were together in Denver, the Broncos rushing attack led the NFL with 20,150 yards.

Following his success in Denver, Alex Gibbs was hired as the Atlanta Falcons offensive line coach from 2004-06. It didn*t take long for him to duplicate the success he had in Denver as the Falcons rushing attack led the NFL in 2004.

Given his track record andformer stint with Gary Kubiak, it was no surprise that Kubiak and the Texans offered him a job, in hopes of an immediate help.

In his first year, the Texans rushing attack improved in every statistical category from the year before. Their yards-per-carry went from 3.8 to 4.3, their total yards per game improved from 99.1 to 115.4 and they added four more touchdowns than the previous year. Perhaps most importantly however, the Texans overall offense went from 14th to 3rd.

With Gibbs working his magic, there*s no reason to believe this team*s offense will take any steps backward in 2009.

Kollar, Bill Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line " Hey Bill, Make your point!"

via assets.houstontexans.com

by Spenser Harrison at the bleacher report

Hired on Jan. 20, 2009, as assistant head coach/defensive line coach, Bill Kollar is the newest addition to the Texans coaching staff. During his stay in St. Louis, Kollar groomed Leonard Little into a premier sack artist, amassing 57 sacks in five seasons and helping the Rams earn a trip to the Super Bowl in 2001.

via www.houstontexans.com

He*s also coached the Falcons* defensive line in 1998, which led the NFL by allowing only six rushing touchdowns the entire season along with a remarkable 75.2 rushing yards per game.

The Falcons defense under Kollar was a big reason for the franchises first NFC Championship victory and Kollar's defensive lines are known for their ability to shoot the gaps, high energy level, and a willingness to do everything in their power to disrupt the opposing offense.

This is why the Texans are hoping Kollar*s intensity and fiery motor can translate into a more aggressive and effective pass rush, something the Texans need dearly, if they hope to make the playoffs a reality in 2009. (COME ON! ISN'T THAT THE EXACT SAME THING THAT WE NEED?)

Bush, Frank Defensive Coordinator Congrats on the promotion Frank!

via assets.houstontexans.com

It looks to me like Gary Kubiak saw something in Frank Bush, that he did not see, in Rick Smith!

by Spenser Harrison at the bleacher report

Prior to joining the Texans in 2007, Bush spent time with the Cardinals, Oilers, and you guessed it, the Denver Broncos. (Just one more former member of my team.)

Although Frank Bush ushers in a change defensively, expect it to be more philosophical than formational. Under Bush, look for the Texans defense to be more aggressive rather than sitting back, in fear of giving up big plays. (Sounds like Denver last year!) To do so, they*ll likely rely on more substitution packages, player movement, and blitzing to keep opposing offense on their heels. (sounds like what Denver should do this year!)

Expect Bush and the Texans to step up their pass rush by bringing extra heat from their young, athletic, linebackers. Good greif man! IF THAT DOES NOT SOUND LIKE WHAT MY TEAM NEEDS, THEN... Moreover, don*t be surprised to see Antonio Smith move inside with Connor Barwin lining up at defensive end in passing situations.
Frank Bush intends to light a fire, and ignite an aggression not seen in Texans defense of the past. Hopefully, his presence will be the missing piece needed to transform this young and ever improving defense, into a force to be reckoned with.

Kyle Shanahan: Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks Coach

via assets.houstontexans.com Now there's a baby face for you!

by Spenser Harrison/the bleacher report

With such a last name it*s not hard to figure out why Kyle is considered one of the rising young stars in the NFL coaching ranks.

Although Shanahan is young, he comes from a winning pedigree and has an undeniable thirst for football knowledge. This thirst for gridiron knowledge was clearly displayed by a response regarding his coaching philosophy.

*I studied every potential Xs and Os play and issue possible,* Shanahan said. *I spent my whole life working on that. My goal was that any question a player could have about anything on the field, I'd be able to answer it.* Following his playing days at the University of Texas, Shanahan served as an assistant coach in Tampa Bay under Jon Gruden, before being hired in 2006 as the Texans wide receivers coach. ( Gary watched this kid grow up!)

At the ripe age of 26, Kyle Shanahan was the youngest position coach in the NFL. However, he quickly proved wise beyond his years by developing Owen Daniels and Kevin Walter into immediate contributors. By 2008, Shanahan was promoted to offensive coordinator, becoming the youngest coordinator in the NFL. It didn*t take long for Kyle to exceed expectations, and Gary Kubiak handed him the play-calling duties by mid season. Once again, the young prot*g* didn*t disappoint, as he helped guide the Texans offense to third best in the league. (RED ZONE PROBLEMS should dissipate)

The Texans and their fans should expect the offense to build and improve on last year just as Kyle Shanahan surely will. At this point there should only be one question left regarding Shanahan's tenure with the Texans. "How long can we keep this kid, before he's a head coach somewhere else?"

Joe Marciano: Special Teams Coordinator

via assets.houstontexans.com

by Spenser Harrison at the bleacher report

Marciano*s NFL career as a special teams coach has spanned twenty-three seasons, during which he*s established himself as one of the top coaches in his field.

Marciano has been the Texans special teams coordinator since the start in 2002, and is the only remaining coach from the Dom Capers area.

While Joe "Fuzzy" Marciano is now living in the deep south, his roots hail back to Bunker Hill in Dunmore, Pennsylvania. Some of his friends from back home in NEPA include Frank "Buzzy" Padula and Joe "Mazz" Mazzarella.

By Michael A. Lutz , HoustonTexans.com

He leads a double life, and his players know both men. He*s the Texans' tough-talking special teams coach on the field and the gentle, single father who leaves practice to attend to his autistic son.

Players see him on the job as a lightning rod of energy, charging around the practice field, demanding the best from his players. He splices boxing fights and race car crashes into training videos to inspire the controlled violence and effort he expects.

Then, they see him walk off the field into the world of autism, an affliction where a child*s fantasy is more plausible than reality; where beautiful children can*t vocalize to their parents how much they love them or to even look into their eyes.

Autism causes moments of tantrums because mommy and daddy don*t understand that the yellow gummy bear is not in it*s proper place or that his or her little people toys must be located at all cost.

Marciano makes the transition from barking coach to caring dad appear seamless. But, even this bare-knuckles Pennsylvanian acknowledges reality.

"It*s hard," he said. "But once you realize it*s hard, and difficult, and you accept it, it becomes a little bit easier." I sacrifice during the season. I spend all day here on Tuesday, all night on Tuesday and try to get all my work done for the whole week so I can go home a little early on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Basically*I can spend five or six hours with my son. I*m a little tired the next day, but it*s all worth it."

Remember this Hall Of Famer?

via www.houstontexans.com Bruce Mathews, the new Asst. O line coach.

Feb. 27: The Texans hire Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews as an offensive assistant.

WHATS NEXT?
THE DRAFT!

via assets.houstontexans.com The #1 pick

Rd 1, Pick 15 (15) Cushing, Brian OLB Rd 2, Pick 14 (46) Barwin, Connor DE Rd 3, Pick 13 (77) Caldwell, Antoine OG Rd 4, Pick 12 (112) Quin, Glover CB Rd 4, Pick 22 (122) Hill, Anthony TE Rd 5, Pick 16 (152) Casey, James TE Rd 6, Pick 15 (188) McCain, Brice CB Rd 7, Pick 14 (223) Nolan, Troy S

The draft for Houston gave the nod to the defense, on the last pick, with 4 picks for the D and 3 for the O, but the thing that I found to be interesting is that they picked not one, but two corners and two tight ends. But why?

Here is Gary's take on all that. (on TE James Casey) "He's just versatile. We know he can play tight end...I also think that he can play some full back...he's a very smart young man...When you have tight ends on your team who can play special teams, (it) gives you a lot of options on game day." The Texans only show 4 TE's on the roster.

(on the CB's) "We were looking specifically for someone who could play the nickel position...andgot Glover Quin. Then...we were able to pick up Brice McCain. To come out of the draft with two guys who look like they also have some flexibility makes it even better. You never have enough corners in this league. The Texans now have 6 CB's on the roster.

THE OFFENSE

Quarterback

via www.houstontexans.com Matt Schuab

10 Brink, Alex 6'2" 208 6/2/1985 1year Washington State    Grossman, Rex 6'1" 217 8/23/1980 7years Florida
7 Orlovsky, Dan 6'5" 230 8/18/1983 5years Connecticut    8 Schaub, Matt 6'5" 234 6/25/1981 6years Virginia

The Texans certainly aren't lacking in competition at this position, although I rather doubt that Matt will lose the starting spot, but competition is a good thing. It tends to push everyone to get better but someone is going to have to go. No team can afford to keep that many QB's.

by Chad Washington at the bleacher report.

...where's the drama going to be in Houston for the summer time? It's at the Texans camp!

...with signing two quarterbacks that started games last season in the NFC North, training camp could be interesting this year. Dan Orlovsky and Rex Grossman, castoffs from the Lions and Bears, respectively, will battle for the right to be Matt Schaub's backup. The question is which is the lesser of two evils?

You can give Orlovsky a mulligan for playing on a really bad Detroit team, but how much? He did have a great receiver in Calvin Johnson to throw to, but that was when he was very young and still learning the ropes in the NFL. And the Texans did throw a lot of money at him, which must mean that they believe he's a pretty good player.

But then why sign Grossman? He did lead Chicago to the Super Bowl, but that was more of the players around him. His confidence has to be shot after being decimated day after day on Chicago talk radio and on Bears' fan pages. But could a new start get him to be the quarterback that he was supposed to be back in 2002? The quarterback duel will be just one of the things to look at when Texans training camp opens...

Running Back

via www.houstontexans.com Steve Slaton

The Texans have 5 RB's and 1 FB on the roster. Steve Slaton, Chris Brown, Ryan Moats Clifton Dawson
Arian Foster and Jeremiah Johnson.

Steve Slaton 268 carries for 1282 yards. 4.8 average/att.

by Dave Mundy the bleacher report.

Havethe Houston Texans found the tough-yardage back they*ve wanted for so long?

Not yet, says head coach Gary Kubiak*but when training camp starts July 31, he*s not exactly going to be moaning over the lack of talent.

*It*s hard to tell, but they all have the ability to run the ball and have the foot quickness,* Kubiaksaid in the team*s daily media circular. *But you find out a lot about backs when you put pads on and start picking up blisters (interesting point) andtaking that pounding every day. So come July 31st, we*ll find out more.*

The Texans will enter pre-season with last year*s pleasant surprise, Steve Slaton, firmly entrenched as the starter. From there, however, it*s up for grabs.

Wide Receiver

The Texans currently have 8 WR's on the roster.

Rk Player Team Pos Rec Yds Avg Yds/G Lng TD 20+ 40+ 1st 1st% FUM
1 Andre Johnson HOU WR 115 1,575 13.7 98.4 65 8 20 4 79 68.7 1

via www.houstontexans.com

Andre led all NFL Wide Receivers in three categories above. And, so far at least, he seems to be a humble, (imagine that) hard working, stand up sort of a guy! TE Owen Daniels and WR Kevin Walter combined for another 130 catches and 1761 yards to help Houston's Offence rank third in yards/game, but like #2 ranked Denver, couldn't seem to punch it in when they needed to.

Tight End

Owen Daniels 70 rec. 862 yds 12.3 average/catch 2 TD's

Tight end Owen Daniels took his game to a new level in 2008, finishing the season with 70 receptions for 862 yards and averaging 12.3 yards per catch. The third-year pro ranked third among NFL tight ends in receiving yards and fifth in receptions.

At 6' 3" and 247lbs., this guy is a load to take down, and keep in mind that last year was only his third year in the league.

Offensive Line

All five starting offensive linemen will return to the lineup in 2009, and Kubiak thinks they could be strongest part of the team. Making the calls at center was Chris Myers, who joined the team via a trade withthe Broncos. Rookie left tackle Duane Brown, became a valuable member of an offensiveline that was the foundation of the NFL*s third-ranked offense. Left guard Chester Pitts, a second-round pick in 2002, served as the anchor of this young line andcontinued his streak of being the only player to start every game in team history. Right tackle Eric Winston, a third-round pick in the 2006 draft, also took his running-blocking skills to the next level. Mike Brisiel, who was signed off of the practice squad in late 2007, started every game at right guard and was key to the success of the run game.

DEFENCE

The Line

A year after his team-record 14-sack season, defensive end Mario Williams anchored the Texans* defensive line with 12 sacks and was named to his first Pro Bowl in 2008. Williams, a second-team All-Pro and the NFL Alumni Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2007, finished 2008 with more sacks than any other AFC defensive end.

Outside of Williams, who accounted for 48 percent of the team*s sacks, the Texans struggled to finda consistent pass rush from their front four. But defensive end Tim Bulmanemerged to finish secondon the team with 4.0 sacks.

Defensive tackle Amobi Okoye was slowed by an ankle injury and didn*t make the jump in his second season that head coach Gary Kubiak had hoped for. The 2007 first-round draft pick found some consistency at season*s end, showing flashes of pass rushing ability that made him a first-team all rookie in 2007. Tackle Travis Johnson, the

Texans* 2005 first-round pick, continued his solid play in run support.

End Anthony Weaver started all 16 games in his third season in Houston.

The Texans finished 27th in the NFL with 25 sacks. They were 23rd against the run, allowing 122.6 yards per game. Defensive line coach Jethro Franklin was dismissed after the season after two years with the team.

Line Backers

Anchored by middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans, the Texans* linebackingcorps got more formidable in 2008 with a boost from two young players and a versatile veteran newcomer. Ryansplayed through an ankle injury all season but, instead of complaining, woundup leading the Texans with112 tackles. He had five double-digit tackle games andnow leads the NFL with 19 double-digit games and 310 solo tackles since 2006. Ryans has led the Texans in tackles in 24 of 48 career games.

Rookie Xavier Adibi, a fourth-round draft choice from Virginia Tech, and second-year pro Zac Diles, a seventh-round pick from Kansas State in 2007, showed the potential to be playmakers for years to come.
Seventh-year player Kevin Bentley became a valuable contributor when Dileswent down with a midseason injury, and Morlon Greenwood added another veteran presence to the mix.

Ryans was named a first alternate for the 2009 Pro Bowl after serving as a Texans defensive captain for the second consecutive season.

Corner Back

Jacques Reeves, signed from the Dallas Cowboys before the season, was the only member of the Texans* secondary to start all 16 games. He led the team with four interceptions, returning one for a 44-yard touchdown on Nov. 2 at Minnesota. Reeves also had 50 tackles and a team-high 19 passes defensed, a testament to his ability to keep pace with most any receiver in the league.

Dunta Robinson, who suffered career-threatening leg injuries in the midst of a Pro Bowl-caliber 2007 season, came off of the PUP list in Week 7 andreturned to the starting lineup fiveweeks later at Cleveland. The hard-hitting, emotional leader of the secondary recorded two interceptions and38 tackles in only 11 games. The Texans went 5-1 in games with Robinson in the starting lineup.

Cornerbacks Fred Bennett and Demarcus Faggins both played in every game andsplit starting duties before Robinson returned. Bennett, who as a rookie in 2007 led the Texans with three interceptions, came to life at the endof 2008 with two picks in the final six games.

Rookie cornerback Antwaun Molden, a third-round pick out of Eastern Kentucky, saw limited action on defense but was a special teams demon, finishing second on the team with 19 special teams stops along with a fumble recovery.

Safties

Free safety Will Demps andstrong safety C.C. Brown were the opening-day starters, but neither retained that role past the fifthgame of the season. Brown had 15 tackles through three games but was placed on injured reserveon Sept. 30 with a broken arm. Demps, a Pro Bowl alternate in 2007, made 30 tackles in the first five games before being relegated to backup and special teams duty for the remainder of the season.

Veteran free safety Eugene Wilson, who spent the previous fiveseasons withthe New England Patriots, supplanted Demps in the rotation. Wilson started 10 games andled the Texans* secondary with63 tackles while showing good ball skills with two interceptions and seven passes defensed.

Strong safety Nick Ferguson, a ninth-year veteran and former Denver Broncos standout, played in 14 games with nine starts in his first season in Houston. Ferguson provided a physical presence in run support and finished the year with 52 tackles and a forced fumble.

Second-year pro Brandon Harrison, who spent his rookie season on injured reserve, played in all but one game and started six times at strong safety. He wound up with 30 tackles. Rookie safety Dominique Barber from Minnesota played mostly on special teams but stepped up on defense in the final two games, recording three tackles, a pass defensed and his first-career sack.

via assets.houstontexans.com Looks like Houston has some great "assets."

Well, there you have it boys and girls. Class dismissed! OOOOPS! Not quite.

Projections?

This year is pretty much the same as last year, with the Crows (MSM writers) cackling about how they think that "this is Houstons year" to take over their division, but, look who is in that division. The former Houston Oilers (Tennessee Titans), Indi and Jacksonville will each have thier input two times a year and none of them are exactly push overs.

For Gary Kubiacks sake, I hope that they have a very good year and make the play offs for the first time in their teams short history.
"BEST OF LUCK TO YOU, KUBE"

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

BRONCOS

Poll

How many Wins do you think that Houston will have this year?

You Might Be an Orangeneck if . . .

2009-06-29T21:20:16Z

I was finishing up some grading for summer school, with my iTunes library on shuffle mode (I hate to work in silence), when a Jeff Foxworthy "You Might Be a Redneck If . . ." tracks came on. So . . . I just had to:

(with appreciation (and apologies) to Jeff Foxworthy, and a great word of thanks to all MHR contributors)

You might be an orangeneck if . . .

You visit a Broncos newsite as often as you talk to your spouse.

You decorate an entire room in your house with Broncos gear.

You see summer as the longest, most useless time of the year (July should be banned from the calendar).

You think the four seasons are the Pre-season, the Regular season, the Post Season and the Off Season.

Bronco-ism is a religion which demands that you make converts.

You think the Faders and Dolts are the dregs of the earth and the Chiefs are largely irrelevant.

You scream at your TV every time something bad happens in the game.

You believe all the bad things that happen to the Broncos are the fault of the officiating (with the exception of Ed's call).

You change your childrens' legal names to Knowshon, Eddie, Peyton, or Kyle.

You have Twilight Zone dreams in which the Broncos go 19-0 for 13 years in a row.

You wish live games could be saved and reloaded like video games so you can correct misplays.

You can't ever go fishing because river(s) is an obscene expression.

You swerved to run over a teddy bear in the road.

You might be an orangeneck if . . .

You sign a petition to have the colors of the US flag changed to orange, white and blue.

Your TV room looks like a Broncos shrine.

You bought stadium seats from Mile High Stadium and installed them in front of your TV.

You think the expression "Going to bet on the ponies" has nothing to do with horse racing.

Your favorite quotes all come from MHR.

Everything you know you learned from watching John Elway play.

You think Alzado and Romanowski were too nice on game day.

Your favorite hobby is making anagrams out of Broncos players' names.

You're so depressed after a loss that you call in sick to work on Monday.

You have topiaries in the shape of rearing horses in your front yard.

Your work clothes are a set of Broncos sweats.

You wear a replica Broncos helmet when you go bicycling.

13-3 is your favorite math problem.

You might be an orangeneck if . . .

You start a petition to change your city's name to "La La Land."

Broncos fandom is a way of life not just an attitude.

Your spouse and family cease to exist for 17 weeks every year.

Your favorite drink is orange and blue kool-aid.

You drive your car like Knowshon Moreno making an open field run.

You buy all your cars from John Elway dealerships.

Dove Valley is your favorite vacation spot.

You can recite every player's name, number, position, height, weight, and career statistics from memory.

You know the name of the wife, mother or girlfriend of one or more Broncos player.

You think having had a lobotomy was a job requirement for many of the MSM reporters.

The life lessons you teach your children all start with "It's like when the Broncos . . . "

Broncos coaches are all Jedi Knights and opposing coaches are Sith Lords.

You look for 13 and 3 patterns in everything around you.

(you may have noticed that this post was divided into 13 statements in each of 3 sets. LOL)

This was just my humble way of saying thanks to each and every contributor here at MHR. Many of the statements above were based on things you have shared. Each of you has deepened my appreciation and understanding of football in general and the Broncos in particular. Everyone of you deserves season tickets to the Broncos (we can all dream can't we?) or least a hearty high-five.