Week 6 Game Thread

[studcrackers]

had i known that mike nolan got hired by denver perhaps i may have thought a tiny bit difference about the broncos chances, dude was a great coordinator in baltimore

[MHZ]

There were no doubt a few that believed, but if you watched Denver's offense in preseason and even Week 1, it would be pretty hard to envision a 6-0 record. Perhaps it just took everybody a while to grasp the offense. Brandon Marshall buying in helps a ton. He attracted a ton of attention today, which no doubt helped Scheffler get open.

I think Steve Young made a good point - they just aren't bad at anything. They're not necessarily great all over the field, but it's tough to find glaring weaknesses that you can exploit.

[chitownsports4ever]

Chargers are done and I expect them to try some quick reload after this year . Saw a stat that Orton has 31tds and 2 picks in the redzone for his career .

[Wizards2Lottery]

Anyone wanna adopt a super loyal fan disgusted by the state of his franchise?

would you like a throwback demarcus ware jersey, a jay ratliff or a customized flozell adams jersey that says false start on the back of it?

How about a shotgun that I can point inside my mouth?

[milehigh]

Speak for yourself I have been on his side since he was hired. Is anyone out there still doubting the Broncos? Tough, smart, physical football is what McDaniels preaches looks like it's working out.

Then you were a fortunate homer. There was no reason at all to be on his side and I didn't see one person who was.

I really wish you hadn't of wrote that, but I am obligated to respond just based on the amount of crap I have gotten from friends for supporting Josh McDaniels through the whole offseason.

Yes I am a Bronco fan, but If things aren't going the way I think they should I will voice my concern. Now I don't really want to open pandora's box and go talk about our offseason again, but I will to defend my stance that I have supported Josh McDaniels the whole offseason and it wasn't because I was a blind homer. I honestly thought we had picked a great person to lead our franchise into the future.

Outsiders or people not familar with the Denver Broncos only saw the negatives or what they perceived as negatives like the firing of Mike Shanahan for example. Now I am not trying to downplay what transpired, people saw firing of a hall of fame coach. Trading of a young pro bowl quarterback and a pro bowl wide receiver unhappy with his contract situation. The natural reaction if you don't follow the team is what is going on with that organization?! I understand that, but I believe Pat Bowlen and Josh McDaniels handled it the best they possibly could of. Even a lot of Bronco fans were upset when all of these things were transpiring but I truly believed we were going in the right direction and here is my explanation why.

Mike Shanahan while a great offensive coach and at drafting offensive talent. Was hit or most of the time miss on drafting defensive talent and that's putting it nicely. I am sure some of you could recall the Browncos, all of our starting D linemen were ex Browns castoffs. We gave Courtney Brown a fat contract and that was well, a giant failure. In 2007 he drafted Jarvis Moss (1st Round Florida) who barely made the 53 man roster this year and Tim Crowder (2nd Round Texas) who was cut in training camp this year. Each year it seemed he would bring in free agents and they would sometimes work out on offense, but rarely on the defensive end. He wasted a third-round pick on Maurice Clarett (2005), spent millions on Travis Henry (2007), never got anything from Boss Bailey, Niko Koutouvides and Dewayne Robertson (2008).

I loved Shanahan the offensive mind, but hated the GM and his choice in defensive coordinators.

People wonder why in the world would the Broncos want to fire Mike Shanahan? Well Pat Bowlen said he had to fire Bob Slowick our defensive coordinatoor, Mike refused then he was let go. Mike was a great coach and I do appreciate the good times he brought to the organization but he failed as a GM and had only won one playoff game in the last decade. It was time to move on IMO.

It's not clear how it contributed to his firing, but the Rocky Mountain News reported on Tuesday night that Bowlen asked Shanahan to make another change at defensive coordinator -- this time cutting loose Bob Slowik. Shanahan reportedly refused. He had said after Sunday's loss that he would not fire another defensive coordinator.

This year, as the defense floundered, it became obvious it wasn't just a coaching problem. It was an issue of talent on the field, and in Denver, the buck stopped with Shanahan.

Link

I will admit that when Josh McDaniels was hired I didn't know much about him other than the fact that he had been in New England since 2001 in various positions most notably Offensive Coordinatoor. But the more I had kept hearing about him the more I was buying in to what he was saying. Players and people around the organization were saying that they were very impressed with how knowledgable this new young coach was. That his age wasn't a factor that he had a very detailed "plan" for the future of the organization. He personally called Brian Dawkins and said, "I don't want you on our team, I need you on our team." He went on to tell him that they weren't rebuilding, that they were going to win.

Since his hiring I listened to every interview he had ever done at team headquarters in Dove Valley (denverbroncos.com under video/audio) and every radio interview I could find. After about the first month I was convinced we had hired a very smart football coach. Here are a couple quotes from his first interview as Denver Bronco head coach:

"My age is not a factor, it is about performance and what you can get the players to do," he said.

"The way I coach is to try to lead by being more prepared on a daily basis, I think players respond to that."

Brandon Marshall while frustrated with the organization had this to say about Josh

“You never heard me say anything (bad) about him coaching or what he brings to the organization,” Marshall said Sunday. “Coach does a great job of preparing us and getting us in the right position and just getting our team going every day.”

In a conference call with the Boston media before the Patriots game Champ Bailey had very interesting things to say about his former coach Mike Shanahan and his current coach Josh McDaniels.

Q: What's the difference between playing for Josh McDaniels as opposed to Mike Shanahan?

CB: Obviously, they're different types of coaches. They both want to win and preparation is everything. I tell you what, just being under Josh McDaniels for a few months now, I mean he's a guy that is going to have you as prepared as you can be for a game and that's something that throughout my 11 years I haven't had a lot of. I've had some great coaches including Shanahan, but he's [McDaniels] definitely one of a kind in the way that he approaches the game.

Q: Did Josh McDaniels sort of reinvigorate that franchise?

CB: I think what it was...by the guys we brought in, and the guys that were left here, we got rid of a lot of bad apples and we brought in a lot of good ones and I think that that was the key to really getting this thing turned around, as least positively.

Q: Last year you were hurt against the Patriots, and I remember that day you said that watching your defense, they didn't seem really nasty. How have things changed from late last year to this in that regard? Is there a real nastiness now that you're happy to see?

CB: Well, I think our confidence wasn't there last year, especially in that game. I remember going down in that game, and even as you sit on the sideline you can really just tell how bad guys want it, and I didn't feel that. It bothered me a lot, and obviously I showed that after the game. I hate to be the guy that sits on the sidelines and talks about it, but I feel like I've earned my stripes enough to really sit back and criticize people when I see things going wrong because I want to win, and I can't have people ‘half-assing' it, if you say, on the field, and I can't let people get away with that.

Q: How did that turn around this year?

CB: Well, it's funny. I don't have to say much at all this year. I mean we have guys that want it. That's definitely a start. We've got coaches that really want it, but when it rubs off on the players, I mean that's the key because we have to go out there and perform.

Link

Josh McDaniels also assembled a great mix of coaches like Champ was referring to. He retained Rick Dennison and Bobby Turner two of the best position coaches in the league. Hired Mike Nolan who obviously is very familar with running the 3-4 and had great success in Baltimore as DC.

He hired Wayne Nunnely to be the Defensive Line coach. His experience with running a 3-4 defensive line with the San Diego Chargers has proved invaluable as the Broncos. He has been considered one of the top defensive line coaches in the NFL, Nunnely had done an outstanding job with the Chargers’ defensive line. Wayne Nunnely’s unit helped the Chargers finish seventh in the NFL against the run, surrendering just 100.8 yards per game in 2006.

Hired Don Martindale to be the Broncos Linebacking Coach. Martindale, 45, joined the Broncos as their linebackers coach after five seasons in the same role with the Oakland Raiders (2004-08). Under Martindale's tutelage, the Raiders placed 10th against the pass in 2008.

Hired Ed Donatell as the Secondary Coach. This is the second stint in Denver for Donatell, 51, who was the Broncos' secondary coach from 1995-99, tutoring the team's defensive backs during their back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 1997 and '98. He has 18 years of NFL coaching experience and spent last season as defensive coordinator at the University of Washington.

He has without a doubt completely rebuilt the defense this offseason via the draft and free agency. He cut a lot of dead weight. Josh McDaniels cut 4 people that started in our front 7 last year. Retained Marcus Thomas who is now our backup NT. As well as Elvis Dumervil and D.J. Williams.

A major reason why the Broncos were so bad on defense last year especially was of how small we were on the defensive front 7. This made it very difficult to stop anyone from running on us and we could not get any pressure on the QB. No game made that more clear than the season finale when they were crushed by the Chargers 52-21.

Another thing that was so exciting about our switch to the 3-4 you need to be more stout at the point of attack. Signed Ronald Fields (NT 6'2 317) Moved Dumervil to outside linebacker lost 12 pounds to make the conversion from DE to OLB a little bit smoother. D.J. Williams who was our biggest linebacker last year is now our smallest. Signed Andra Davis (ILB) former Captain of the Browns and led their team in tackles last year. Promoted Ryan McBean from the practice squad who is now starting for us. Kenny Peterson who just so happened to play high school football with McDaniels is our other starting DE. Now I know we aren't loaded with talent up front, but we got a lot bigger this offseason and I knew for sure we would be more stout on run defense.

2008
Average Height and Weight (Starters)
DL 6'2" 286
LB 6'1" 236

2009
DL 6'3" 302
LB 6'1" 252

Now to touch on the Bronco secondary, last year they had no depth. Outside of Champ Bailey, Dre Bly, and Jack Williams everyone else didn't deserve to be in the NFL. The Broncos starting safeties were easily the worst in the league last year. Think I am exaggerating?

Hamza Abdullah and Marlon McCree were the Bronco starting safeties in opening day in 2008. Abdullah was waived two days after the third game.

McCree re-signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on June 3, 2009. He was released by the Jaguars on September 5, 2009.

Abdullah then was signed by the Cleveland Browns on October 6, 2008 and then was cut on September 5th, 2009.

Both are now currently out of football.

Marquand Manuel and Calvin Lowry were the Broncos second string safeties both were signed by the Detroit Lions after McDaniels gave them the axe. Lowry was cut and Marquand Manuel is now second string for Detroit.

Feb. 27, 2009

Broncos also sign Jabar Gaffney & Renaldo Hill. Wow the Broncos already upgraded big time at safety, they no longer have the worst set of safeties in the league.

McDaniels signed Brian Dawkins former Captain of the Eagles. Signed Renaldo Hill and Andre Goodman from Miami instantly giving the Broncos one of the most experienced and talented secondaries in the league.

He drafted Alphonso Smith (2nd Round Corner Wake Forest) who takes turn being our nickel corner with Jack Williams. He also plays in the Broncos dime package. Drafted Darcel McBath (2nd Round Saftey Texas Tech) leads our team in special team tackles and is Brian Dawkins backup.

Here was my rant on McJaygate earlier in the year.
Mar. 3, 2009

There are reports out there that said Jay requested a trade when they got rid of Jeremy Bates. I mean seriously I love Jay as a player, but the dude has a long way to go. You lose your QB coach who your close with, I understand that. But he even called out Bates one game, "im not the one calling the plays." I blame Shanahan a little for not putting Cutler in line. Cutler may be right, but talking smack about people you work with through the media no less is beyond dumb.

Should of kept his mouth shut to begin with, from Shanahan to Bates he has been whining through the offseason. He needs to show more respect to Bowlen who writes his checks because we all know that his decision to fire Shanahan was a hard one for him. I understand disagreeing, but keep that stuff to yourself. Why talk to the media about it? That interview with Vic Lombardi, should of been avoided with a simple, "no comment."

Can you really blame McDaniels for attempting to try and get Cassell? He worked his butt off in New England and kept his mouth shut to boot. He didn't claim he had a better arm than one of the greatest of all time. Once again keep that stuff to yourself, there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Matt Cassell cared about one thing winning and I can respect that. I am pretty sure McDaniels knew he would take a drop in talent from Cutler to Cassell, but he would lose the headaches that come with Cutler.

Now with all that said no I wouldn't trade Cutler for Cassell, because I think he could of put up better numbers in that New England offense. Cutler has the stronger arm and a lot more upside, but that attitude needs changing. You would think not making the playoffs in 3 years would humble you, but with him it hasn't. He'll just blame the defense and the coaching staff. He needs to stop burning bridges with people and learn to SHUT UP!

Cutler is dumb for feeding the media machine and making a mountain out of a molehill. Yes one day Cutler could be a great QB in this league, but not unless he makes some changes.

That was my passionate rant about McJaygate when it happened. The more I thought about it though the more I realized that Jay Cutler would be a poor fit in McDaniels offense and Josh knew this. In the New England system it is predicated on making the right reads, playing mistake free football and does not require a very strong arm. While their is some instances where you can shots downfield most of the routes are short to intermediate.

A player ignoring phone calls from the owner? And their were people saying we should keep Cutler absolute nonsense.

Bowlen says Broncos will try to trade Cutler
Mar. 31, 2009

It’s official: QB Jay Cutler and the Denver Broncos are getting a divorce

After a contentious and over a month-long falling-out between Cutler and new coach Josh McDaniels couldn’t be resolved, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen issued the following statement today:

“Numerous attempts to contact Jay Cutler in the last 10 days, both by Head Coach Josh McDaniels and myself, have been unsuccessful. A conversation with his agent earlier today clearly communicated and confirmed to us that Jay no longer has any desire to play for the Denver Broncos. We will begin discussions with other teams in an effort to accommodate his request to be traded.”

Link

Another knock I had on Shanahan was how easy he was on the players during the offseason and especially the veterans. Fans complained this was a major reason why the Broncos seemed to struggle late in the season.

This article was written by Tned over at broncosforums.com I am going to quote some of my favorite parts of the article.

In an attempt to recapture past magic, Pat Bowlen once again turned to a young, talented offensive coordinator and hired Josh McDaniels -- ignoring conventional wisdom that said he should hire a defensive minded coach to fix the Broncos woeful defense.

While their youth and success as offensive coordinators were very similar, along with the fact they both joined the Broncos after a three year stretch of .500 ball, the similarities between Mike Shanahan and Josh McDaniels end there.

Those similarities clearly stop at their age and offensive coordinator pedigrees. Training camps under Shanahan were sometimes referred to as Club Shanahan, due to the fact that players were allowed to go home each night of camp, and the team rarely practiced in full pads, instead opting for shorts. Life got even easier during the regular season, when the team only practiced in pads after blowouts or a stretch of bad games . Instead, Shanahan believed that keeping players in shorts during the week of practice, would keep them fresh for the game. While there are arguments for and against practicing in shorts, one hallmark of the Shanahn era was that the Broncos often started the season fast, jumping out to five or six wins in the first seven games, only to fade down the stretch playing closer to .500 ball in the second half of the season.

Camp McDaniels couldn't be farther from Club Shanahan. McDaniels had players in pads for 22 of the 26 training camp practices, referring to them as "very physical". The physical nature wasn't just from wearing pads. The position coaches have put a huge emphasis on fundamentals, such as running a variety of full speed, full contact drills to teach proper tackling techniques, proper ball stripping techniques and many other football fundamentals.

It's no Club Med. When 14 year veteran center Casey Wiegmann, who is coming off a pro-bowl season, and backup quarterback Chris Simms fumbled a snap, they were rewarded by having to run a lap around the practice field. When the starting defense only had 10 men in the huddle during an 11 on 11 drill, the entire starting defensive unit ran a lap around the practice field. In fact, every player on the team had to pass a conditioning test, which consisted of three closely-spaced 100 yard sprints that had to be completed in a predetermined time, before they were allowed to participate in training camp. Most practices ended with the players running a 100 yard sprint, which sometimes a unit would be excused from as a reward if they did something special in practice.

Coach McDaniels has taken nothing for granted. Every practice was carefully scripted before training camp even began. There was a strong emphasis not only on extremely physical play, but also on teaching fundamentals that the rookies may have never been taught, and that veterans likely haven't practiced in years.

McDaniels seems to take an approach where you assume nothing, and prepare for everything. In camp, he was seen in the end zone playing the role of a defensive back, giving pointers to both receivers and corner backs. At other times, giving throwing tips to the quarterbacks. Since it isn't possible to properly simulate crowd noise, during designated practices he had music blaring throughout Dove Valley, so that the team would have to practice with limited ability to communicate verbally.

Is Camp McDaniels more effective than Club Shanahan? Which is more effective practice attire, shorts or pads? With three weeks left to the start of the season, these are questions that can't be answered. If the Broncos have a rash of injuries, many will likely point to the very physical camp as a reason for the injuries. On the other hand, if the missed tackles and other lack of fundamentals that have plagued the Broncos in recent years, are replaced with fundamentally sound, physical play, it will be hard not to credit the hard-nosed practice routine that McDaniels put the team through.

While it will be many years until we know if the McDaniels' era is as successful as the Shanahan era, one thing is for sure. The moment McDaniels had the players turn in their country-club shorts for a pair of football pads, he made one thing clear. He expects his players to practice the way they play, physically tough and fundamentally sound. Anything short of that has no place on Josh McDaniels' playing field.

Full Article Here

Does anyone want to argue that the Broncos are not a more physical team from years past? That is all coaching and it all starts with the head coach.

Did I think we would be 6-0? No I can't say that I did but I did think we would be 3-0. I knew the defense would be improved and the offense would be a work in progress just based on the complex system McDaniels was installing, but I have been a McDaniels supporter just so you know.

Sorry about the length everyone, but I had to get that off my chest.

You get a gold sticker if you actually took the time to read that. Well it's almost 4 in the morning here time to go to bed.

[High 5]

Jeez, I was mainly kidding. I can appreciate the thoroughness, though.

[Munchlaxatives]

Where the F_CK is the defense?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

#$#%%^^*^%$#@$#%&^%*$&%#$@##@$#&$**$&#^$@#@

On Crutches

CC Brown is so awful at the game of football. I never thought I'd long for the days of Will Demps, but here I am....

2 Texans rejects. How bad is your secondary?

[FakeScreenName123]

:rofl:

Jeez, I was mainly kidding. I can appreciate the thoroughness, though.

u got pwned.

[milehigh]

:rofl:

Jeez, I was mainly kidding. I can appreciate the thoroughness, though.

Next time do some research yourself and form your own opinion. I have a feeling you were watching these guys way too much this offseason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIiIwXJ2 ... ofilepage#

[High 5]

:rofl:

Jeez, I was mainly kidding. I can appreciate the thoroughness, though.

Next time do some research yourself and form your own opinion. I have a feeling you were watching these guys way too much this offseason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIiIwXJ2 ... ofilepage#

Hey, if you're one of the few people who guessed right then more power to you. I formed my own opinion (even though I didn't care to go into as much detail as you obviously did) and I thought this would be a rough year for Denver, but in sports crazy things happen. Enjoy the success, but remember it's still early in the season. The Titans were 10-0 last year with a dominant defense and look at how their last 13 games have gone.

[milehigh]

:rofl:

Jeez, I was mainly kidding. I can appreciate the thoroughness, though.

Next time do some research yourself and form your own opinion. I have a feeling you were watching these guys way too much this offseason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIiIwXJ2 ... ofilepage#

Hey, if you're one of the few people who guessed right then more power to you. I formed my own opinion and I still think the educated guess was failure, but in sports crazy things happen. Enjoy the success, but remember it's still early in the season. The Titans were 10-0 last year with a dominant defense and look at how their last 13 games have gone.

I think you are missing my point. I never said the Broncos would be 6-0 and that's not even what i'm referring to. I am talking about the people who called Josh McDaniels a failure before he even coached a game.

I would love to hear how you came to your conclusion, and I am not trying to attack you I am just curious.

[High 5]

"Educated guess" was a bit much, because as a Falcons fan I have very little interest in the 2009 Denver Broncos. I didn't follow the daily offseason happenings like you probably did, but I saw the headlines and I'm familiar with most of the players. I didn't like getting rid of Cutler (or more I didn't like replacing him with Orton), I didn't like the drama with Marshall, and I didn't like the draft.

Combine all that with the miserable ending to last year and things didn't look good. You mentioned hiring Ed Donatell as the secondary coach, if I knew that I would have thought even less of their chances. I still have nightmares of the Knapp/Donatell coordinator duo. I'm not missing your point, I'm just saying you can't call a McDaniels a success yet the same way people couldn't call him a failure.

But whatever, I have been wrong so far and I got no problems with that. Moreno and Bailey are two of the best players in Georgia history and the Broncos will only become a problem for the Falcons if we meet in the Super Bowl. Plus everyone enjoys a good underdog story.

[milehigh]

"Educated guess" was a bit much, because as a Falcons fan I have very little interest in the 2009 Denver Broncos. I didn't follow the daily offseason happenings like you probably did, but I saw the headlines and I'm familiar with most of the players.

Fair enough, I appreciate you talking the time to respond. You seem to know the Broncos more than I know about the Falcons. One of the things that was frustrating was people who didn't follow the daily offseason happenings making outlandish claims about the team. Mainly the national media.

I didn't like getting rid of Cutler (or more I didn't like replacing him with Orton),

I didn't like hearing about the Cutler for Cassell thing either, but I was really disappointed the way Cutler handled the aftermath. Not responding to the owners phone calls. Having your dad come to team headquarters to hand in your playbook. Thought he was pretty immature through the whole thing.

I wasn't sold on Orton either at the time of the trade but I did like the draft picks we received through the trade. Orton wasn't a throw in though, McDaniels really wanted him. Rumor has it the Redskins offered more picks and Jason Campbell, but Josh had his heart set on Orton. Josh McDaniels said he watched every play of Orton's NFL career. He said he saw a smart, intuitive quarterback that knew how to win and could thrive in his offense. Now I still wasn't sold but with the Broncos talent at the skill positions and along the offensive line I knew he would have a great opportunity to become successful. With Josh McDaniels pedigree of grooming quarterbacks I remained cautiously optimistic.

The offense has been a work in progress though, but I think they will get better as the season goes along. It's a complex system and the players are still adjusting. I see improvement each and every week though.

I didn't like the drama with Marshall

Mike Shanahan promised to give Marshall an extension after last season. For obvious reasons that didn't happen.

On March 22, 2008, Marshall slipped on an empty McDonald's bag while wrestling with family members, and subsequently, fell through a television set at his home in Orlando, Florida - cutting his right forearm. According to Broncos head athletic trainer Steve Antonopulos, Marshall "sustained right forearm lacerations to one artery, one vein, one nerve, two tendons and three muscles. He later revealed that his right hand was numb during the entire 2008 season. Marshall also had hip surgery on March 31, 2009, to repair an aggravated hip that bothered him during the 2008 season.

And I am sure you have heard about Brandon's legal troubles one more altercation with the police would likely lead to an 8 game suspension. Coupled with the fact of him coming off of hip surgery and claiming that most of his right hand was numb during the entire 2008 season. I understood the organization's approach of not rewarding him with a fat contract. I think he can live off of the 2.2 million he will receive this year while he proves he can stay out of trouble.

I didn't like the draft.

Really I am curious to know why. I actually thought McDaniels approach to the draft was very refreshing. He didn't pick players based on need, which is what got Shanahan in deep water IMO. Josh did it based on who they evaluated as the best talent available and would fit their schemes. He also said he wasn't going to draft someone just to cut them but to fill a need. Not only are they giving us depth but most of them are playing a major role this season.

8 of the 10 players drafted made the 53 man roster, the two that didn't one is on the practice squad, the other was waived. Special teams was a major weakness for the Broncos last season. 6 of them play roles on our special teams. The top 3 picks seeing significant time with the 1st team.

1. Knowshon Moreno Running Back (12) Splitting carries with Correll Buckhalter, leading candidate for offensive rookie of the year.

1. Robert Ayers Defensive End (18) In the rotation at Linebacker, special teamer

2. Alphonso Smith Cornerback (37) Plays in Dime & Nickel packages. Shares kick return duties with Eddie Royal

2. Darcel McBath Defensive Back (48) Backup to Brian Dawkins leads the team in special team tackles

2. Richard Quinn Tight End (64) 3rd string great run blocker only plays in obvious run downs, special teamer

4. David Bruton Safety (114) Plays special teams backup to Renaldo Hill

4. Seth Olsen Guard (132) Backup guard heir apparent to Ben Hamilton, special teamer

5. Kenny McKinley Wide Receiver (141) Practice Squad

6. Tom Brandstater Quarterback (174) Third String Quarterback

7. Blake Schlueter Center (225) Waived

Combine all that with the miserable ending to last year and things didn't look good.

Late season collapses seemed to be a trend in the later Shanahan years, which I blame a lot on him taking it easy on the veterans in OTA's and training camp. Rarely made the team practice in full pads. IMO made the team soft. McDaniels to his credit made the team practice in full pads 22 of the 26 practices.

You mentioned hiring Ed Donatell as the secondary coach, if I knew that I would have thought even less of their chances. I still have nightmares of the Knapp/Donatell coordinator duo.

I understand that stance, one of my friends is a 49er fan and he laughed when we got Mike Nolan. I was optimistic because he always seemed to have success as a defensive coordinator. I think some people are meant to be coordinators and position coaches. That is just a theory of mine though.

I'm not missing your point, I'm just saying you can't call a McDaniels a success yet the same way people couldn't call him a failure.

I agree and I wish more people felt that way. A majority of people give the knee jerk reaction instead of the wait and see approach. But I have to admit I am very excited about the Broncos future though.

But whatever, I have been wrong so far and I got no problems with that. Moreno and Bailey are two of the best players in Georgia history and the Broncos will only become a problem for the Falcons if we meet in the Super Bowl. Plus everyone enjoys a good underdog story.

And I get it wrong to, but I feel like I have a better grasp than most on Bronco football. Mainly because as you can see, I have way too much time on my hands.

[Icness]

I'm not surprised by Denver's offense or Kyle Orton thriving, not at all. It's what they've done defensively that astonishes me, esp. since Mike Nolan couldn't do much with arguably more talent in SF. Some guys are just meant to be coordinators, further proof indeed!