"We learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself." -- Lloyd Alexander

"Okay football fans, here we go.  Welcome to the 2009 NFL Draft.  I guess you're ready to get going.  Thank you for taking the afternoon to be with us.  This is a great day for the NFL. . ."

    One of the first active threads I participated in here at MHR came on draft day.  My wife was gone for the weekend with her girl scout troop.  My daughters were both gone.  I was home alone, and thus spent waaaayyyy too much time glued to my keyboard following the ebb and flow of the draft selections.  It was an interesting experience, getting see how the many different members viewed each selection.  Hopes ran high, fell flat, and roller coasted all over the spectrum of emotions.  Some of our members were ecstatic about the picks, some were content, some disliked what occurred. 

    Now, because I'm not a particularly good draft prognosticator, I recently posted a look at some rookies who were named by Vic Carrucci of NFL.com as being most likely to have a positive impact on their team.  I used statistics compiled by Pro Football Focus as a means of launching the discussion.  This time around, I'd like to take a look at those college players that were drafted by the Broncos in the 2009 draft.  After the fold, we'll see what we ended up with.

Continue reading this post »

I have finally finished grading out over 500 entries into our multiple Draftivus contests, and it is time to announce some more winners!  We already announced the winners to the Top Twelve Mock Contest, and their prizes are on the way.

Tonight we will announce the winners to the 32-Pick 1st round Mock, the 7 Round Broncos Mock, as well as the 11 raffle winners from the Draft Day Open Threads (I had fun reading back through those threads and finding all the entries.  Those were some fun threads, pulled off in awesome style).

Click through to see all the winners!!

Continue reading this post »

 Draftivus has finally wound to a close around these parts.  The wrapping paper is strewn around the living room, some of you are sleeping soundly, knowing that your favorite players are in orange and blue, while others are figuring out where their presents  were bought so that they can take them in and exchange them.

There is a lot ot agree about, and there is a lot to disagree about, but one thing is for certain:  you guys made MHR's Inaugural Draftivus a HUGE success, and I thank you.

I'm talking about 6000+ comments in the frontpage threads alone, plus thousands more spread across many great fanpost discussions.  I'm talking about 40,000+ visitors checking into some of the finest coverage and highest quality discussions that could be found for the Broncos draft this weekend.  I'm talking about 2000+ solid members, 6 hardworking editors and 1 visionary leader with a press pass.

I'm talking about one of the best draftday experiences I have had the pleasure of enjoying, with company too good to be true.  And regardless of the draft's outcome, I think that is why we are all here.

But I also need to talk about some special members, guys who get to represent a "slice of the MHR communtiy" and who will live forever in Draftivus fame.  Its time to start announcing the 2009 Draftivus Winner's Circle, starting with the winners of the "Top Twelve Mock Contest"!

Click through to see who they were!!

Continue reading this post »

As I mentioned yesterday, we as football fans LOVE to read draft grades. It provides validation on so many levels - if we are pleased with our team's draft, we enjoy the confirmation of a positive grade from Mel Kiper or Clark Judge. On the other hand, a negative review from Dr. Z or Todd McShay obviously means they have no clue what they're talking about.

Of course, the same applies to those of us who dislike our own team's results - although a glowing draft grade may temper our feelings a bit, a negative one will just send our blood boiling - "The Broncos totally screwed up the draft - I was saying it all weekend. Peter King says the same thing, so obviously I WAS RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

This is something we've all been guilty of at some point in our Denver Broncos fandom. Some of us (Styg, HT) probably outgrew reading draft grades by age 11. For the rest of us, it's taken a little bit longer, if it's even happened for everyone (it hasn't). Look, it's understandable - these guys are paid to write about professional football; they eat, drink, talk, walk and sleep football. So, they must know what's best for the Denver Broncos, right?

Continue reading this post »

Continue reading this post »

Draftivus Weekend 2009 may be over, but it seems to me that the only draft-related activity as fun as predicting the outcome is in sifting through the results and grading them. Sure, it's a little early to do so; but we all do it, and I'm pretty sure we all seek out what the "experts" have to say in order to validate our own opinions (or cast them aside as idiots). Here are some of the reactions I've seen over the past 24 hours on MHR and across the web, and I paraphrase...

Personally, here is what I thought as the Draft approached...

Obviously, I was wrong. But I'm no expert.

Continue reading this post »

You've read all the comments, the quotes from the players, the coaches, the talking heads and all of us here on MHR and across the web.  You've taken it all in, and hopefully come to some kind of early conclusion.  Now take a stab at grading the 2009 Denver Broncos draft.

Below are all the picks, provided with a bit of commentary from Styg.  Six offensive players, 4 defensive players.  Look at it, and make an educated decision based on what the Broncos did, what they addressed, instead of what others say should have happened.

HEAD COACH JOSH McDANIELS

END OF 2009 NFL DRAFT PRESS CONFERENCE

Opening statement

"Day two is officially over, well I don't know if the draft is over, but our part in it is. I am very happy with what we have accomplished here in the last two days which was to add the kind of players that will compete for spots on our team, and we feel like we did that with five more players today. I am looking forward to the competition as it begins later this week in our second mini camp"

On QB Tom Brandstater (6th Rd., 174th overall, Fresno State University)

"In terms of the mold of a quarterback, the arm strength, the height, he is 6'5" 220 and has a good arm. He is bright and smart, and I like that a lot. He has above average feet that he can maneuver a little bit in the pocket. I think he also has a passion for football, and for being the best player that he can be. He has got a long way to go as most quarterbacks coming into the league do, but he has a great attitude and a great approach, and he will be here later this week. I am looking forward to getting him in here and beginning to teach him."

On comparisons between QB Tom Brandstater and New England QB Tom Brady

"The body type may be similar, but I would not compare any quarterback to Tom [Brady] or Matt [Cassel] at this point. We are talking about a guy who has never even practiced at this level, so I am not going to put anybody in that category. I don't know if I have been around any rookie quarterback that has come in ready to compete immediately. He is going to come in and be competitive with his work ethic and in meetings, so we will see how far he can go, and we will continue to coach him the entire time he is here."

Continue reading this post »