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Saturday, February 6, 2010

SUPER BOWL

Ok I've put it off as long as I can here is my Super Bowl Pick: The Saints are a great story no doubt and have statistically the best offense in the league. Their defense is a very aggressive one that has caused allot of turnovers. I don't think Peyton Manning will turn the ball over and that will make the difference. Dwight Freeney being out or even if he plays he won't be himself will result in Drew Brees having enough time to get the ball down field and test the Colts cornerbacks. This is going to be a shoot out the Colts win 38-36.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Tight Ends

Tight End has been a productive position for the Broncos for as long as I've been watching them. Of course most of that time it was Shanon Sharpe at Tight End. We had a good combination at Tight End this year but it seems as though the combo is going to be broken up.

Daniel Graham 6-3 257 8th year. Since Graham's arrival from New England in 2007 he has been a top notch blocker although he did get called for holding more frequently this past year. Graham is under rated in the passing game he has good hands and runs with power and determination after the catch. I full expect Daniel to be the Broncos starting Tight End in 2010 and a very good one that should get more catches.

Tony Scheffler 6-5 225 4th year. Tony seems to be on coach McDaniels bad side and will be gone either by trade or he will sign with another team in which case we should get a minimum of a second round pick. Schef has been a very good receiving Tight End particularly down field he lead all Tight Ends in yards per catch in 2008.

Richard Quinn 6-4 255 Rookie. Quin was selected in the second round last year and made little contribution to the offense. Quinn was able to make some contributions on special teams most notably breaking up a fake punt at Kansas City. Coming out of college Quinn was considered an excellent blocking Tight End. I believe that McDaniels plans to use the Tight End less as a receiving option and more as an extra blocker and with Graham and Quinn he has two excellent blockers to get the job done.

The loss of Scheffler will open a roster spot for another Tight End. I hope McDaniels tries to find a pass catching Tight End late in the Draft or a College free agent to groom and to compliment the two blocking Tight Ends.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

QB review

Much has been made of Jay Cutler leaving town and the play of Kyle Orton. Like it or not we are stuck with Orton for at least one more year and no matter how good or bad Cutler plays in Chicago he will not be coming back so lets just move on already.

Kyle Orton 6-4 225 5th year. Orton is just a little better player than a game manager at this point in his career. He was able to post a 21-12 record as starter for the Bears 15-2 at home but doesn't play like the elite quarterbacks in the league and show the ability to bring his team back. Rather his strong suit is to make smart plays and not turn the ball over. To be effective Orton needs a great defense. I'm all for the Denver D to become dominant again like the Orange Crush days but I would like little better QB to go with that D. One more year in the McDaniels offense will be enough for me to determine if Orton can cut it. We should draft another QB to compete and or be groomed to be the starter.

Chris Simms 6-4 230 7th year. Simms had some fans calling for him to start over Orton at the beginning of the season based on pre-season performance. But when Orton got hurt in the Redskins game we all saw that McDaniels was making the right call at QB. Simms played poor enough that I can not see him returning to the Broncos or another NFL team.

Tom Brandstater 6-5 223 Rookie. Drafted as a project by McDaniels there is really no way to know how his development went. Was regarded as an intelligent QB without all the physical skills coming out of the draft. He has a football head and should know the system next season enough to be a functional 2nd string. I doubt that he would challenge Orton but it would be great if he has developed that well. I look for him to be #2 QB in 2010 unless he hasn't developed as much as I think he has. It's hard to tell as he hasn't played at all in the regular season.

I would not be surprised if McDaniels drafted a QB in the second round if one dropped to him that he likes. Colt McCoy comes to mind as a possibility. If he does it will be a sure sign that he feels(as I do) that Orton isn't the future and Brandstater isn't developing as fast as he thought. It's likely that they would draft a QB in the later round even if he is happy with Orton and Brandstater. I hope that the Broncs don't sign a veteran back up I feel they should be developing a future starter or at least trying to.

Monday, February 1, 2010

A look at the Wideouts of 2009

One area whether Brandon Marshall is a Bronco in 2010 or not the Broncos need to address in the post season. I agree that if he is gone Denver should select Dez Bryant with the 10th or 11th pick (its still up to a coin flip) in the draft if he is available. Lets look at the wideouts on the roster.

Brandon Marshall 6-4 230 4th year. Brandon Marshall is nothing short of a beast and can start for any team. Clearly a top 5 receiver over the past 3 years. Marshall has had off the field issues between him and his ex-girl friend, some driving issues, attitude during training camp, and in general doesn't seem to get along with new head coach Josh McDaniels. It seems to be the popular belief that Marshall will not be playing in Denver next season. I still have hope that he will return but if he doesn't we should get a first and third round draft pick in compensation for the restricted free agent. I'd use the our 1st, 1st rounder on Dez Bryant who has a chance to at least rival Marshall.

Eddie Royal 5-10 180 2nd year. Eddie's numbers went down significantly in his second year as did many of the Shanahan hold overs. I don't think it was that he had trouble learning the offense either. He learned the system to quickly under Shanahan. He has the skills to be a player like Wes Welker not Wes Welker but a similar player in McDaniels system. I'm counting on Eddie to be a starter next season.

Jabar Gaffney 6-2 200 8th year. Gaffney was second on the team in receptions and yards receiving and had the best pro season of his career. Gaffney was brought in due to his familiarity with McDaniels offense and was successful. Gaffney will be back and get plenty of playing time maybe even start. McDaniles likes 3 wide receiver sets.

Brandon Loyd 6-0 194 7th year. Brandon Loyd has made some incredible catches in his career. I have always liked him and his potential which he has not lived up to. Loyd was inactive for Denver's first 14 games but played in the last two starting one. He had 8 catches for 117 yards in those two games. i fully expect Mr. Loyd to be a productive member of the Broncos receiving corps in 2010.

Brandon Stokley 6-0 192 11th year. Mike Shanahan called him the best slot receiver he has ever seen. I'm of the opinion that McDaniles thinks Wes Welker is better and he probably is but to earn the praise of Shanahan, Stokley is a great receiver. Stokley had his moments but but was not what he was a year ago and I'd be shocked to see him playing for Denver next season. The Redskins are not out of the question though.

Kenny McKinley 6-0 183 Rookie. Kenny was called the best wide receiver I have ever coached by Steve Spurrier. McKinley's only contribution last year was on special teams. Look for McKinley to be back on the roster in 2010 and compete for more playing time at wide out next season.

The Broncos need to sign at least 2 wideouts during the off season 3 if Marshall is gone. The wideout isn't a weak position but some youth and depth needs to be added though.