Denver Broncos Discussion

[Diehard]

Eh, no big surprise we got smacked by the Pats. Scrubs in the secondary + scrubs on the OL left us wide open.

I missed the whole game stuck on the plane back from Mexico, but just spent some time catching up. A few thoughts re: the draft / FA...

OL - both guards got pushed back too often and Franklin got beat badly off the snap in pass protect. Getting Kuper back off IR will help, but I think a good case could be made to punt Franklin to G, punt Beadles to the bench and then bring in someone to man the RT spot. If not, grab someone to man the LG spot.

MLB - May is crap. Coverage is sucking and he's whiffing on tackles. Since they basically redshirted Irving, we've got a big question mark here. Another body to compete for the starting spot would be wise.

S - Ugh. IMO Carter will be good, but the rest is a mess. Bruton, Moore, Bush... they're crap and got torn apart by Brady. Maybe Moore gets his confidence back, but I wouldn't want to count on it. Dawkins is too old to rely on to stay healthy.

[Jimmy]

Pardon the irrelevancy and poor timed nature of this post, but I've been for 7 years and I still have no clue what any of you guys really do for a living, or what states you live in. Any of you care to fill me in? There's going to be a significant lul on this board over the next few months on account of the fact that our season just ended. Might as well talk about something.

I'll start – I started posting here (in Connecticut) a month before my 14th birthday, mainly as a way to procrastinate/avoid school work. At one point (around the time I joined)NFLDC was the #1 object of distraction for me, and the reason why my grades were so poor. That and Madden.

I then went off to an all-guys boarding school a year after I joined this site, and after repeating freshman year and spending 4 years there, I graduated and now I'm a sophomore journalism major at a school in Boston, surrounded by a bunch of self righteous Patriots fans. Still posting, but I've never repeated my posts-per-day numbers that I put up back in the middle-late portion of the previous decade.

Why I'm a Broncos fan in CT: My father moved out to Jackson Hole in the 70's and later went on to Boulder, where he became a Broncos fanatic. He moved back to the east coast in the 80's, and when I was born I wanted to be just like dad. By the age of 6 I knew the entire Broncos starting line up. I was the only kid east of the mississippi who wrote about the Broncos in his weekly composition/show and tell book.

[njx9]

i don't worry about our safeties. unless we can find elite talent, there isn't a safety in the league who can keep up with gronk/hernandez. the bigger issue was goodman couldn't cover anyone, and champ can only cover one guy. we have no linebackers who can play in coverage or who appear to do much over the middle to disrupt routes. dj's just not that good anymore, even at wlb.

meh. i just don't feel that bad about the defense getting slapped like that. that's an amazing offense, led by an actual qb. we either need to build a defense that can get in his face on three step drops, or one that can actually cover more than one receiver for 3-4 seconds. we fail on both counts, currently.

i didn't really feel that bad about our o-line. i don't know what belichick is doing to it, but the pats are the only team i've felt really gave us fits this year. in any case, it doesn't help when your qb is running the read option at a jordan jefferson level.

we need one of the 432789 tight ends on the roster to actually contribute next year.

we need a qb who doesn't take an extra 3 seconds to throw every single pass, in addition to the 12 seconds he already needs to cycle through the routes. we need a qb who can pass well at least 50% of the time, rather than the one who had one good passing performance all season. we need a qb who's playing ability actually somewhat matches his leadership ability. for the tebow fans, i'm not saying he can't be that guy. but he has a HUGE amount of work to do to get even halfway there. and this is for a guy who spent two years redoing a throwing motion that's identical to the one he had before he started 'working on it'. *shrug*

out of the draft, i want at least 2 cbs, a dt, lamichael james, and then whatever has top value outside of those spots. out of free agency, we need a real backup qb. we should be trying to sign a cb to replace goodman. if there's even a mediocre, old LBer, i'd take a chance, especially if he has any dawkins-like leadership on the field.

[Timbathia]

After watching the niners on saturday, it shows that to play defense against an elite offense you need to be getting in the face of the QB every play. Cant do that with only ends that can rush - needs to come from inside as well. Also need dbs that can catch.

So you are right njx, a disruptive dt and a cb that can flat out play is high on the list for me. I have also banged on about how important a mlb is for a year or two (man i wish al wilson was still around).

Offense - who knows. The oline is really young. They may be okay to leave for the time being. It would be good to get a rb that is a threat to score whenever he touches the ball. Even if he is only a ten touch a game guy. Ball, johnson or moreno coming in to backup mcgahee or on thrid downs is not inspiring.

[Diehard]

RE: CB - keep in mind that we have two young guys on IR (Syd and Vaughn), so we have some depth there. I'm not sold on either one as a solution to the #2 spot, though, so if there's good value at CB when we pick then I think we should pull the trigger.

I think S is better addressed in FA. I don't think we can afford to burn another pick at that position. We've got a slew of young guys who are all unproven commodities already.

In terms of impact, though, I think inside pass rush would make the biggest difference to the success of the defense. It's not a great draft to be looking for a DT, though. Fletcher Cox could be a guy to look at in the 2nd (if he slides that far...)

@ Jimmy - I live in Edmonton, Alberta, which is the northern wing of the Broncos Nation. I'm a manager with the department of education - my team crunches data and evaluates the performance of the system. I have lots of connections with Colorado (old friends living in both Ft. Collins and Springs), which is where my interest in the Broncos came from.

[Timbathia]

@Jimmy - I moved to Australia about 6 years ago to work at a University in the engineering department (lecturing/research/etc.). Was at Colorado School of Mines before that (living in Golden).

[Timbathia]

Kinda sucks that teams are after our OC and DC. Hurts to lose good coordinators in a rebuilding phase.

[njx9]

i don't think either CB we currently have is more than a future nickel guy. if i'm wrong, great, i think our ends with a serviceable DT and some great CBs would be terrifying. but it's a position we need to be ready to plug talent into, since who knows how much longer champ will want to stick around.

i'd also suggest that, if we just want interior pass rush, we should also be looking at bigger DEs and watch what, say, the giants did with their linemen (guys who would've been ends on other teams were shifted down and in to create pressure, for instance) a couple of years ago. if warren's remotely healthy and bunkley can play, i'd be less worry about the running down guys.

personally, live in denver, but work a job with a **** ton of travel. grew up just west of denver, went to school for two hellish years in western mass before finishing up my drinking/burning things at CU.

[Diehard]

Originally Posted by Timbathia

Kinda sucks that teams are after our OC and DC. Hurts to lose good coordinators in a rebuilding phase.

I think Allen would be a pretty significant loss. I'm not sure about McCoy... our playcalling was very predictable, but that could very well be Fox's influence.

[Punisher]

I'd hate to lose Dennis Allen. He seems to get alot of the little we have on D.

As long as we have Tebow I think McCoy is the man. Then again, what OC would come in to work around Tebow if we lost McCoy?

[njx9]

i'm sure we could raid some college team that runs a read-option spread.

[Timbathia]

Originally Posted by njx9

i don't think either CB we currently have is more than a future nickel guy. if i'm wrong, great, i think our ends with a serviceable DT and some great CBs would be terrifying. but it's a position we need to be ready to plug talent into, since who knows how much longer champ will want to stick around.

i'd also suggest that, if we just want interior pass rush, we should also be looking at bigger DEs and watch what, say, the giants did with their linemen (guys who would've been ends on other teams were shifted down and in to create pressure, for instance) a couple of years ago. if warren's remotely healthy and bunkley can play, i'd be less worry about the running down guys.

personally, live in denver, but work a job with a **** ton of travel. grew up just west of denver, went to school for two hellish years in western mass before finishing up my drinking/burning things at CU.

I really hope we have no problems resigning him. Both Bunkley and Marcus Thomas are FAs.

[jCut]

-I think the DTs are solid, but I don't think any of them excel at getting up-field and creating pressure. We need to finally address that need and bring in a game-changer.

-Chris Harris has played his way into a role next year, but I think he is a nickel corner at best. Syd'Quan and Vaughn should provide depth and nothing more. We need a starter opposite Champ.

-McGahee is good, but with his age and running style it's obvious that he's going to have a very tough time staying healthy. We need reinforcements. LaMichael James is good, but can he be anything more than a complimentary back?

-Literally every other position needs help in some form or fashion.

-@Jimmy I am a 23 year old photographer/dj. I have lived in Denver my whole life. I have been posting here for a very long time. I used to have a different screen name, but I don't remember what it was. Cutthroat or something like that.

[njx9]

Originally Posted by jCut

-McGahee is good, but with his age and running style it's obvious that he's going to have a very tough time staying healthy. We need reinforcements. LaMichael James is good, but can he be anything more than a complimentary back?

i'll keep rolling with the prospect crush... i think he fits a tim tebow style offense perfectly. where he can get a crease or a hole, i think he hits it well, and he hits it with more speed than just about anyone else i've seen in the draft. i *don't* think he's a 3 down back in a standard offense, but there are only a bare handful of guys in the nfl who are, and i don't see anyone in this draft who i think is on that level (i really don't like richardson, but i'm willing to concede the point if anyone wants to force it). to be honest, i think he would've fit the old shanahan offense perfectly, too.

all that said, if he's a guy i want, he'll go to the patriots. the nfl draft hates me.

[Diehard]

Chris Harris made the all-rookie team... as a safety?

http://blog.denverbroncos.com/denver...l-rookie-team/

Might as well just have general categories, in that case (e.g. OL, DB, DL, etc). Probably makes more sense.

Anyway, another late round / UFA CB find for us. At least we're doing something right...

[Roddoliver]

1st round pick: pass rush. DT/DE

[Diehard]

Originally Posted by jCut

Literally every other position needs help in some form or fashion.

... and this is why we can safely go BPA. However, I suspect that means no DT for us in round 1. OL, LB and secondary seem more likely.

Originally Posted by njx9

i'll keep rolling with the prospect crush... i think he fits a tim tebow style offense perfectly. where he can get a crease or a hole, i think he hits it well, and he hits it with more speed than just about anyone else i've seen in the draft.

Yes, speed at RB would be a big boost. Lamar Miller would be another nice fit, but his availability will probably be an issue at pick #25. James may slide into the 3rd, which could be a very nice value pick.

[Diehard]

Originally Posted by Roddoliver

1st round pick: pass rush. DT/DE

I think that's highly desirable, but the DT pool is weak at the top and pass rushers tend to generate a lot of interest. #25 might not be a great spot to be looking for those things.

[njx9]

Originally Posted by Diehard

I think that's highly desirable, but the DT pool is weak at the top and pass rushers tend to generate a lot of interest. #25 might not be a great spot to be looking for those things.

only quoted one but...

i think this is a perfect year to trade down. presuming the draft plays out as expected, that is. i don't see any overwhelming BPA value at our position, and anything we drafted for need would, for the most part, be a massive overdraft. it's too bad, really, that we don't need a WR.

in any case, if we could trade down into the 2nd and pick up additional picks next year, i'd almost have to do it. and though it would give us ammunition to move around if tebow fails, i think it also puts us into a better position to draft guys that are actually useful to us.

granted, a lot can change between now and when we're on the clock, but just looking at the boards as if the draft were tomorrow, there's not a lot that i like and that i expect to be available at our pick.

regarding miller, i'd like him in the late second. i think he'd be an atrocious, moreno-like (in value, not in talent) pick in the first. but he just looks like he'll go way earlier than he should.

[Diehard]

Originally Posted by njx9

i think this is a perfect year to trade down. presuming the draft plays out as expected, that is. i don't see any overwhelming BPA value at our position, and anything we drafted for need would, for the most part, be a massive overdraft.

I think this will be the draft day approach. See who slips down to 25, then make the decision. If the obvious value isn't there, then trade down instead of reaching on a need.

However, I believe that someone will slip down to us. A few teams will gamble on potential, a few will go strongly with need and positional value will influence others.

[Diehard]

Originally Posted by njx9

regarding miller, i'd like him in the late second. i think he'd be an atrocious, moreno-like (in value, not in talent) pick in the first. but he just looks like he'll go way earlier than he should.

He's getting a lot of buzz around here, but we've all seen how RB's slide on draft day. I think Richardson is the only RB that's a lock for round 1.

[jCut]

Originally Posted by njx9

i'll keep rolling with the prospect crush... i think he fits a tim tebow style offense perfectly. where he can get a crease or a hole, i think he hits it well, and he hits it with more speed than just about anyone else i've seen in the draft. i *don't* think he's a 3 down back in a standard offense, but there are only a bare handful of guys in the nfl who are, and i don't see anyone in this draft who i think is on that level (i really don't like richardson, but i'm willing to concede the point if anyone wants to force it). to be honest, i think he would've fit the old shanahan offense perfectly, too.

all that said, if he's a guy i want, he'll go to the patriots. the nfl draft hates me.

I remember when his stock was much higher and was considered a probable first round pick. Any idea why his stock fell? Just curious, I didn't watch a whole lot of college football this year (though i did watch a few oregon games, and i thought he looked good).

[jCut]

Originally Posted by Diehard

However, I suspect that means no DT for us in round 1. OL, LB and secondary seem more likely..

Hmm.. what makes you say that? Poe, Still, Thompson, Worthy, Brockers, etc. would represent good value @ #25.

[njx9]

Originally Posted by jCut

I remember when his stock was much higher and was considered a probable first round pick. Any idea why his stock fell? Just curious, I didn't watch a whole lot of college football this year (though i did watch a few oregon games, and i thought he looked good).

i don't recall him as a first round pick, but at 5'9", he's undersized to start with.

[Diehard]

Originally Posted by jCut

Hmm.. what makes you say that? Poe, Still, Thompson, Worthy, Brockers, etc. would represent good value @ #25.

Which one of those guys brings the pass rush we need inside? There are a lot of big, solid bodies there but I'm not convinced that's what we need. Worthy is the obvious fit but he's inconsistent. Brockers has big potential, but probably goes before we pick.

Maybe I'm selling some of these guys short, but it seems like we're overvaluing them simply because the talent pool is weaker this time around.