BigBroncLove
03-24-2010, 07:13 AM
ORLANDO, Fla. -- When a reporter reminded Josh McDaniels of the fact he had drawn the largest crowd during the AFC coaches' breakfast with the media at last year's NFL Annual Meeting, he smiled and motioned with his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the massive gathering of reporters around Mike Tomlin.
McDaniels was clearly relieved that someone else was the center of attention this year because he knew, first-hand, just how uncomfortable that could be.
As the Denver Broncos' coach sat through a low-intensity session with about 10 media members, his Pittsburgh Steelers counterpart was being bombarded with questions about Ben Roethlisberger's off-field issues in Georgia.
A year ago, it was McDaniels who was being peppered with questions about an unpleasant situation -- Jay Cutler's desire to become an ex-Bronco, which he eventually did in a trade to Chicago. Now, McDaniels can reflect on a sometimes turbulent first season as an NFL head coach with a sense that, for multiple reasons (experience being the biggest), he is better equipped to deal with the mammoth challenges of the job and has reason to feel optimistic about what's ahead.
"I think it's just a totally different atmosphere," McDaniels said. "I'm more comfortable with our entire organization. I feel good about our players. I'm excited about the direction that we're going. ... There's not nearly as much controversy swirling around Denver right now."
The 2009 Broncos were a model of inconsistency. They began the season 6-0, which helped push the Cutler flap and other rough parts of McDaniels' rookie season into the shadows.
But it didn't last. The Broncos proceeded to lose four games in a row. Then, after back-to-back victories that raised hopes that they might regain their early season form, they ended the year with another four-game losing streak to finish 8-8.
"I think you know a lot more now than you did last year at this time about the team that you have -- about your players, about your staff, about the process that you want to go through, about some of the things you did that you wouldn't do again and some of the things that you did that you definitely want to do again," McDaniels said. "Sometimes you're afraid to be a little flexible that first year because you're not as sure about who you're dealing with. I know my team better, I know my players better; I know the way they're going to react. I know my staff better and those are some things that I think will help us make the adjustments we need to make moving forward a lot quicker and a lot easier than last year.
"You have to come in with a certain philosophy, a certain belief in what you think can win and that's what we tried to do in that first year. Certainly, everything didn't go perfectly."
One thing he is clearly doing differently is relying much more on the help of others. Last season, McDaniels attempted to oversee all aspects of the Broncos' football operation with little input from anyone else. This year, more of those duties are being shared with new general manager Brian Xanders.
The Broncos have had a busy offseason. They've focused on beefing up their defensive line and have added a quarterback, Brady Quinn. Xanders and McDaniels also are working closely together in preparation for next month's draft.
"I really feel good about the process," McDaniels said. "Brian Xanders and his staff did a great job this year in the offseason in really addressing some things that we could do to help our football team in terms of player additions and team building. It's a comfortable feeling to (know) the process has already started. Our (assistant) coaches are (at the team's facility), our weight (training) staff is working with our players."
McDaniels and Xanders have concentrated the bulk of their efforts on adding experience and size to the Broncos' defensive line. Through free agency, they acquired 335-pound nose tackle Jamal Williams, formerly of the San Diego Chargers, and 310-pound end Justin Bannan, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens. They also retained 315-pound end Le Kevin Smith.
McDaniels likes the youthful defensive linemen the Broncos have in soon-to-be-26-year-old Ryan McBean, who started 14 games last season, and 28-year-old Ronald Fields, who made 16 starts last year.
"We wanted to try to increase the competition at any spot," McDaniels said. "Certainly, the defensive line we had last year was very young. It hadn't started a lot of games in terms of overall experience. We felt like if we could add some pieces there to give ourselves some experience, some people who have played a little bit more, and then couple that with the group that we did play with last year ... right now we feel like we've got great depth at the defensive line spot."
The Broncos traded with the Cleveland Browns for Quinn, who struggled to establish himself as a competent starter in the three years since joining the Browns as a first-round draft pick from Notre Dame.
For now, the best that can be said about Quinn is that he has great familiarity with the Broncos offense because it closely resembles what he ran when he played for Charlie Weis at Notre Dame. Weis was the New England Patriots' offensive coordinator while McDaniels was their quarterbacks coach before replacing Weis as coordinator.
"The terminology is very close," McDaniels said. "(Quinn) probably knows 85 percent of the terms and the words we use and the routes and all those kinds of things and he was coached by the guy that really taught me. That's something that's going to be a positive for Brady."
Although Kyle Orton remains the Broncos' starting quarterback, Quinn will have a chance to compete. McDaniels encourages competition throughout his lineup.
The largest question mark hanging over the team is the future of standout wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who is a restricted free agent. Marshall is unhappy with his contract and wants to join a team that, presumably, would pay him more. So far, no club has given an offer sheet to Marshall that, if unmatched by the Broncos, would allow him to leave in exchange for a first-round draft choice. The Broncos also could trade Marshall, although the team is apparently refusing to budge from seeking first-round compensation.
Marshall has not been participating in offseason workouts in Denver. McDaniels didn't have much to say about Marshall or the Broncos' other restricted free agents, beyond noting that "process is out of our hands at this point."
During a party here for meeting attendees, McDaniels and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris compared notes about the first-year experience.
"We were laughing because they were talking about the (NFL coaches') pension in one of the meetings and we were looking at each other," McDaniels said. "There are some coaches that are closing in on that ... and we have about 25 more years to go."
http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8171bc6d&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true
McDaniels was clearly relieved that someone else was the center of attention this year because he knew, first-hand, just how uncomfortable that could be.
As the Denver Broncos' coach sat through a low-intensity session with about 10 media members, his Pittsburgh Steelers counterpart was being bombarded with questions about Ben Roethlisberger's off-field issues in Georgia.
A year ago, it was McDaniels who was being peppered with questions about an unpleasant situation -- Jay Cutler's desire to become an ex-Bronco, which he eventually did in a trade to Chicago. Now, McDaniels can reflect on a sometimes turbulent first season as an NFL head coach with a sense that, for multiple reasons (experience being the biggest), he is better equipped to deal with the mammoth challenges of the job and has reason to feel optimistic about what's ahead.
"I think it's just a totally different atmosphere," McDaniels said. "I'm more comfortable with our entire organization. I feel good about our players. I'm excited about the direction that we're going. ... There's not nearly as much controversy swirling around Denver right now."
The 2009 Broncos were a model of inconsistency. They began the season 6-0, which helped push the Cutler flap and other rough parts of McDaniels' rookie season into the shadows.
But it didn't last. The Broncos proceeded to lose four games in a row. Then, after back-to-back victories that raised hopes that they might regain their early season form, they ended the year with another four-game losing streak to finish 8-8.
"I think you know a lot more now than you did last year at this time about the team that you have -- about your players, about your staff, about the process that you want to go through, about some of the things you did that you wouldn't do again and some of the things that you did that you definitely want to do again," McDaniels said. "Sometimes you're afraid to be a little flexible that first year because you're not as sure about who you're dealing with. I know my team better, I know my players better; I know the way they're going to react. I know my staff better and those are some things that I think will help us make the adjustments we need to make moving forward a lot quicker and a lot easier than last year.
"You have to come in with a certain philosophy, a certain belief in what you think can win and that's what we tried to do in that first year. Certainly, everything didn't go perfectly."
One thing he is clearly doing differently is relying much more on the help of others. Last season, McDaniels attempted to oversee all aspects of the Broncos' football operation with little input from anyone else. This year, more of those duties are being shared with new general manager Brian Xanders.
The Broncos have had a busy offseason. They've focused on beefing up their defensive line and have added a quarterback, Brady Quinn. Xanders and McDaniels also are working closely together in preparation for next month's draft.
"I really feel good about the process," McDaniels said. "Brian Xanders and his staff did a great job this year in the offseason in really addressing some things that we could do to help our football team in terms of player additions and team building. It's a comfortable feeling to (know) the process has already started. Our (assistant) coaches are (at the team's facility), our weight (training) staff is working with our players."
McDaniels and Xanders have concentrated the bulk of their efforts on adding experience and size to the Broncos' defensive line. Through free agency, they acquired 335-pound nose tackle Jamal Williams, formerly of the San Diego Chargers, and 310-pound end Justin Bannan, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens. They also retained 315-pound end Le Kevin Smith.
McDaniels likes the youthful defensive linemen the Broncos have in soon-to-be-26-year-old Ryan McBean, who started 14 games last season, and 28-year-old Ronald Fields, who made 16 starts last year.
"We wanted to try to increase the competition at any spot," McDaniels said. "Certainly, the defensive line we had last year was very young. It hadn't started a lot of games in terms of overall experience. We felt like if we could add some pieces there to give ourselves some experience, some people who have played a little bit more, and then couple that with the group that we did play with last year ... right now we feel like we've got great depth at the defensive line spot."
The Broncos traded with the Cleveland Browns for Quinn, who struggled to establish himself as a competent starter in the three years since joining the Browns as a first-round draft pick from Notre Dame.
For now, the best that can be said about Quinn is that he has great familiarity with the Broncos offense because it closely resembles what he ran when he played for Charlie Weis at Notre Dame. Weis was the New England Patriots' offensive coordinator while McDaniels was their quarterbacks coach before replacing Weis as coordinator.
"The terminology is very close," McDaniels said. "(Quinn) probably knows 85 percent of the terms and the words we use and the routes and all those kinds of things and he was coached by the guy that really taught me. That's something that's going to be a positive for Brady."
Although Kyle Orton remains the Broncos' starting quarterback, Quinn will have a chance to compete. McDaniels encourages competition throughout his lineup.
The largest question mark hanging over the team is the future of standout wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who is a restricted free agent. Marshall is unhappy with his contract and wants to join a team that, presumably, would pay him more. So far, no club has given an offer sheet to Marshall that, if unmatched by the Broncos, would allow him to leave in exchange for a first-round draft choice. The Broncos also could trade Marshall, although the team is apparently refusing to budge from seeking first-round compensation.
Marshall has not been participating in offseason workouts in Denver. McDaniels didn't have much to say about Marshall or the Broncos' other restricted free agents, beyond noting that "process is out of our hands at this point."
During a party here for meeting attendees, McDaniels and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Raheem Morris compared notes about the first-year experience.
"We were laughing because they were talking about the (NFL coaches') pension in one of the meetings and we were looking at each other," McDaniels said. "There are some coaches that are closing in on that ... and we have about 25 more years to go."
http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8171bc6d&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true