Today - Live Press Conference

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Head Coach Josh McDaniels will hold his pre-draft news conference at 3 p.m. MDT. Watch it live here.

http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=349&videoID=2816&type=broncosTV&year=&month=

[Northman]

McD says they are way ahead of last year in terms of preparation for the draft and have a different grading scale than last year. He said he is excited about where they are at and what he is doing to make Denver a better football team.

[Northman]

He wants to add competition to any position and could go anywhere in the draft for any position depending on where they are drafting from. McD says there could be a VERY GOOD chance of trading back but if there's a player they really want at #11 they will take it.

[Northman]

He believes they have a lot of quality players at the WR position but acknowledges the important loss of Brandons productivity but says it doenst mean they will draft a WR.

[Northman]

They spent a lot of time with Bryant and says that the issues with Bryant are way different than Brandon's situation. Thinks Bryant's issue not as bad as some have made it seem and is definitely on the draft board for this year.

[Northman]

McD believes McClain is a very well coached and intelligent football player.

[Northman]

Truly believes this is a deep draft. Says he doesnt bring in players he isnt interested in. Said they had 30 visits and all were productive. Says they will be ready to pick at 11 if no trade partner can be found.

[Northman]

Says they grade every player based on their fit for this football team regardless of what other teams or individuals think of said players. Say's he uses a 2 year projection in terms of growth for any given drafted player. Says they had their board ready by January compared to last year where they only had 2 months to prepare.

[Italianmobstr7]

Mcdaniels glad they have their board exactly where they want it. but will be some minor tweaks. Glad to have time to evaluate more unlike last year.

Grading system not the same as it has been in the past

Very deep draft. excited where we're at w/ multiple selections in 2nd round

like where they are in 1st

been calls about moving up and down in the draft already

going to do whatever is best for the broncos and whatever makes our football team better

"We're pleased with what we were able to assertain in the deal. Excited for Brandon and excited to move forward with this upcoming draft"

Gonna go try and improve our team in any area that we can

Add competition at any competition regardless of if people think we're set there or not

Add younger players and more competition

At selections we have in 1st and 2nd rounds he thinks they will come in and make a big impact on the team

Better chance that we'll move down in the draft than up, but won't rule out moving up if there's a player we feel strongly about available we can get

Overrated to discuss a greatest need. That's how you make a mistake in a draft

Need and desire to add competition at Center position

Lost a WR and have good competition there but wouldn't rule out drafting one, also wouldn't rule out not drafting one

Wants to add more depth to the front 7 and Linebacker in particular

This may be draft where you get 3rd and 4th rounder who can contribute immediately

Had Dez Bryant in Denver, and at combine. Spent a lot of time. Need to be careful comparing mistakes to character issues. He made a couple mistakes, but nothing that is a red flag. Enjoyed our visit and did everything we asked him to do. He did well. He's on our board. He's definitely not one of the players that's off of ours.

Fairly good selection of players from Alabama. Good connections there. Not sure he's met someone more intelligent about football than Roland McClain. Done a lot of listening, studying, understands the game and most rookies would never be at the level McClain is at. Has a very very bright career ahead of him.

Had a lot of great visits. Full allotment of 30 players. Took an interest in a lot of them.

We're gonna be in 2nd round saying "i never thought this player would be here"

Finalize drafting process in next few days. Want to make sure if we are picking at 11 we have a plan. This is the guy we want to pick if he's available at 11.

don't bring any player in we don't sincerely have an interest in. doesn't mean players are being questioned the same way. Maybe we just want to put them on the board again. Watch tape, let them talk about their system and their plays in college. We try to teach them our stuff. Here's the first 5 things we're gonna put them. Basically testing the players as if they were in rookie camp

learned everything we needed to know about the players that were here

I don't care if teams know who we brought in. doesn't matter. won't be finished with finalizing process until wednesday night. Not a big secret night. 30 players in your house, obviously you can't take them all

There's going to be plan for moving up, down and staying. Going to be ready to pick at 11. Whichever guy is highest on the board at the time of our pick that's who we'll pick. Best player available, not necessarily most important need

Don't want to lose the players you really covet in the first round so may not trade down too far because you don't want to get burned by other teams

Doesn't matter what other teams think about a player, matters what WE think about players. Always look at it on a 2 year scale. Where will they be at after 2 years?

Last year only had 2 months for scouts to learn what McD wanted in scouting rookies. This time had a full year. Defintely ready to go

Last year had to shuffle the board a lot because of the amount of time to prepare for draft. Old system used by Shanny and new system were in conflict because of time constraints

Little more depth on this years board than last years board.

Juniors coming out made this draft deeper than it would have been

I don't know what's going to happen w/ Scheffler. Teams have called about him. Nothing imminent right now. Signed his RFA tender. No concrete plan on what's going to happen with him. We'll let the play out. Have not talked to the Bengals

[Northman]

Says they have not talked to the Bengals about Sheff but said that situation is still playing out for the moment. Says they are happy with Doom and looking forward to his continued progress and production this year and plans on him being in Denver longterm. (But at the same time does not sound like they plan on giving him a raise at the moment.)

[Italianmobstr7]

Excited to have Dumervil back and planning on having his production for years coming. He's been in contact w/ coach Martindale

Understand Elvis' position. Totally respects his decision. Has a great deal of respect and admiration inside organization. Time will play it out. Not something that is negative towards Dumervil

Hopes that team is tough enough to run the offense he wants to run. We'll find out more in training camp. Toughness is built in training camp. I know the way they're working is incredbile, had a great turnout and enthusiasm is awesome.

Changed offseason program quite a bit. Working to get bigger, faster stronger.

[Northman]

Says we were good and bad in terms of toughness with running, etc. Says some of the players who are listed as T/G or C/G can be misleading because of how they get out of the stance, etc. Says he feels comfortable at the tackle position.

[Northman]

Says he talked to a number of QB's at the combine and of course Tebow came in but may or may not take one in the draft depending on situation. They dont plan to overlook any position.

[Italianmobstr7]

Hard to evaluate guards in this draft with so many people being projected at different positions.

Interested in addressing interior o-line for sure.

Feel very comfortable with who our tackles are. Unfortuante Harris had injury. Rehab coming along great. Usually 1 of 1st people McD sees at the building. Tyler got good playing time last year. Usually if you're gonna end up with a tackle you have to do it quick. As our situation currently stands, we're comfortable with starters. You won't pass up really talented player if you feel good about him but we're not looking to draft a Tackle early.

Talked to a number of QB's and had Tebow visit. If there's a player you feel good about going forward we won't turn our head away no matter how many we have at a certain position.

Feel good about good RB's. Rb's NOT high on our radar.

[Northman]

Says that the players that are gone are gone for different reasons but wants a team that plays unselfishly with more versatility.

[Northman]

Says that Williams has a different play radius which could enable to play end if need be because of his versatility and Denver does have an interest in him.

[Northman]

Said Weatherspoon was really impressive and very smart and understood Denver's scheme quite well.

[Northman]

Says that Tebow has improved his technique and will be a pretty good NFL QB.

[Italianmobstr7]

Gerhart is a player you have to look at. Had Spiller and Hardesty in. Bring in a lot of people in case someone falls into your lap in the 2nd round.

Just because we picked up a lot of DL doesn't mean we won't draft backups. Have some veterans but also have younger players on DL. Have a lot of depth on DL but wouldn't rule out drafting one. Decision will be "will that player make a significant impact in front of or behind vets"

Won't rule out drafting DL in first 2 rounds.

Trying to build a football team that can be competitive for Championships, not saying Marshall and Cutler couldn't. Trying to win in different ways, unselfish, tough. For different reasons Marshall and Cutler aren't here. Trying to win a championship with team first mentality.

Crohns disease is low risk type of situation. Dealt with player who had it in NE and a coach as well. Talked to McClain about it. Disease is under control. NOT a reason not to draft Rolando McClain.

Dan Williams: big atheltic player, inside at nose but we think he's got a play radius different than some DT's. May even be able to play end. 1 solid year of production. Can play sideline to sideline. Done our research on him. Probably gonna go somewhere right around where we pick. We do have interest in him. Would be a possibility.

Sean Witherspoon (Mizzou) very impressive and bright. Impressive in EVERY way. McClain, Williams, Tebow...He's everything that you guys have ever read or written about a player like that.

Tim Tebow, no question that he's a great player. Only thing unflattering is that he dips the ball a hair. Already fixed the problem, and can be taught with repetition. Versatile, tough, mobile, good arm. He's a great player. Every bit the person you read about before we met him. One of the smartest players I've ever met out of college.

You don't rule out anything. Definitely don't rule out adding a player like Tebow if you're picking at the spot and he fits you.

[Orangeblood]

Thanks for all the notes. Your work is appreciated. ...I like what he's sayin anyways. Hope its a great draft for us

[Italianmobstr7]

Depends on where Tebow goes as to how long it will take before he starts.

Feel I have 1 year of experience as a head coach. Been able to evaluate our performance instead of evaluating what I had in the past. That's why we're going to be different than where I was in the past. Gonna have to do things differently. Tweaked offseason program considerably. How we're running staff is different. Last year was in most if not all meetings last year. Implement different system last year than this year.

Draft day won't be approached a lot differently than last year. Day 2 will be the most different to sit and look and say "I can't believe that so and so is still on the board right now." Gives more time to consider making moves to grab players that we covet that may have fallen.

[Northman]

Says they have tweaked the offseason program. Says that the draft format will be a welcomed change as after day one they can re-group and find some gems that got left behind on day one.

[SOCALORADO.]

Thanks, guys!!

So were drafting Bryant. Got it.

[Italianmobstr7]

Like every player we brought in and would draft all of them if we could (said with a smile as he was walking off the podium)

Personally I thought it was a good interview. He seemed sincere. I have a feeling we'll be going after Dez or McClain in the 1st. I was leaning towards Dez, but now I'm not so sure. Looks like McClain could be the pick. Also, if Tebow makes it to RD 2 I think we'll be drafting him. Should be a fun draft. Glad I got off work for the 1st 3 rounds!

[BigBroncLove]

It's so funny and obvious that McDaniels and Woody Paige have such a mutual distaste for one another. It comes out both in how the questions are asked by Paige and how they are responded too by McDaniels.

[Italianmobstr7]

Thanks, guys!!

So were drafting Bryant. Got it.

I hope.

[drewloc]

Like every player we brought in and would draft all of them if we could (said with a smile as he was walking off the podium)

Personally I thought it was a good interview. He seemed sincere. I have a feeling we'll be going after Dez or McClain in the 1st. I was leaning towards Dez, but now I'm not so sure. Looks like McClain could be the pick. Also, if Tebow makes it to RD 2 I think we'll be drafting him. Should be a fun draft. Glad I got off work for the 1st 3 rounds!

If we stay put, I believe you could be right, but on the flip side, if we trade down a bit he seems really impressed with Weatherspoon. It's so hard to judge right now, but it is exciting none the less. :beer:

[broncophan]

Like every player we brought in and would draft all of them if we could (said with a smile as he was walking off the podium)

Personally I thought it was a good interview. He seemed sincere. I have a feeling we'll be going after Dez or McClain in the 1st. I was leaning towards Dez, but now I'm not so sure. Looks like McClain could be the pick. Also, if Tebow makes it to RD 2 I think we'll be drafting him. Should be a fun draft. Glad I got off work for the 1st 3 rounds!

He sure spoke highly of Tebow........:confused:

[Nomad]

He sure spoke highly of Tebow........:confused:

Well, JAX is eyeing Tebow and will trade down with Philly!!!


I think we'll draft Gerhart with the first!!:madgrin:

[BigBroncLove]

If we stay put, I believe you could be right, but on the flip side, if we trade down a bit he seems really impressed with Weatherspoon. It's so hard to judge right now, but it is exciting none the less. :beer:

Yeah, it was interesting. You know he comes across as a fairly straight forward press conference.

He talked about moving back as much as he did picking at 11 so it seems like, as he said, if the price is right and there will be players in that area you are trading back to that you want, it could easily happen. I'm looking forward to this draft quite a bit as seeing what it is McD/Xanders will do with a full offseason to prepare.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Thanks North and Italian - GREAT RECAP :salute:

[topscribe]

Thanks North and Italian - GREAT RECAP :salute:

I second that. :beer:

-----

[Lancane]

He believes they have a lot of quality players at the WR position but acknowledges the important loss of Brandons productivity but says it doenst mean they will draft a WR.

That could be a fatal mistake...

[Lonestar]

That could be a fatal mistake...

As the team will die, dry up and blow away.

Hardly think that was what you meant by fatal.

[Lancane]

As the team will die, dry up and blow away.

Hardly think that was what you meant by fatal.

No I meant fatal for him, for McDaniels, because Bowlen can say what ever he likes...but if McDaniels fields a horrid team this year and can barely win, the jeers will be loud enough to shake Invesco Field and Dove Valley. That might be what opens Bowlen's eyes, or not. And I would not be surprised at all if we had a losing season to see Xanders take the fall first, just so McDaniels has a third year to try and fix it.

[underrated29]

Here is how I read things:

1- Mclain is #1 on our board
2- Dez B is #2 on our board
3- Williams is #3 on our board

We would prefer to trade back first, possibly to the teens low 20s (think NE,SFO,PITT, PHIL) where we still might have a shot at Mclain, Dez, williams or spoon. If an offer does not come in or we move back to far we will stay and pick either Mclain or Dez...( IWANTDEZ!!!)

If cody, or Tebow are there with #43 we will take him. With our 2nd 2nd we will be looking at WR or OL. Expect to see a couple OL adressed. RB will be taken in the 3/4 range unless someone falls into our laps.


My guess is we trade back to mid teens and gain another pick and try for Mclain or Dez.

[Lonestar]

If Josh stays with the NE model he will beef the LOS players, first before getting sex.

[Lancane]

Here is how I read things:

1- Mclain is #1 on our board
2- Dez B is #2 on our board
3- Williams is #3 on our board

We would prefer to trade back first, possibly to the teens low 20s (think NE,SFO,PITT, PHIL) where we still might have a shot at Mclain, Dez, williams or spoon. If an offer does not come in or we move back to far we will stay and pick either Mclain or Dez...( IWANTDEZ!!!)

If cody, or Tebow are there with #43 we will take him. With our 2nd 2nd we will be looking at WR or OL. Expect to see a couple OL adressed. RB will be taken in the 3/4 range unless someone falls into our laps.


My guess is we trade back to mid teens and gain another pick and try for Mclain or Dez.

If we drat Tebow and Orton is still on the roster I'll puke. Not because I dislike Tebow, but because that means either Quinn or Brandstater were mistakes, so it would cost us four picks and a player to get Tebow, let's at least make one back by trading Orton...lol.

[Lancane]

If Josh stays with the NE model he will beef the LOS players, first before getting sex.

Yep, beef up that line of scrimmage...they may not be able to get to our quarterback but we sure in the hell won't be able to score points. Let's hope the defense is best in points allowed so we have a freakin' chance.

[underrated29]

If Josh stays with the NE model he will beef the LOS players, first before getting sex.



sorta,...


but why would you pay for beefing the lines when you get the sex for free...?





Point is- there are ZERO OL worthy of our first selections. NONE.
So we can go WR, LB, or if Williams is there he is a DL, but thats it. You take the value....Like Josh said, you dont draft because you have a need, thats how you make mistakes.

BPA- and will still ensure that we get our OL/DL in the other rounds where their value merits.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_14899987?source=rss

The Broncos have begun receiving and making phone calls about their first-round pick - No. 11 overall — in next week's NFL draft, coach Josh McDaniels said today.

McDaniels said the team will listen to offers to deal that pick, though the, "odds would be in favor of us going backwards," McDaniels said.

"Everything we have received has been behind us," McDaniels said. "The opportunity has to be there, the player has to be there that you're looking for, and we have to feel like it is a fair deal. We'll be flexible, we'll listen."

The Broncos currently hold three picks in the first two rounds of the draft that starts next Thursday night. The Broncos are scheduled to select at No. 11 on Thursday and at Nos. 43 and 45 on Friday.

"We are excited with where we're at in terms of having multiple selections in the second round, we feel like we're in a good spot in the first round," McDaniels said. "At the places we select in the first and second rounds in particular, we feel like we're going to get quality players that can come in and compete immediately and make a big impact on our team."

McDaniels said he expects there to be plenty more movement following the end of the first round and the start of the second round on Friday evening, especially considering how many highly rated players will likely still be available.

"We'll have a lot of time on our hands to say, 'I can't believe so-and-so is still there,'" McDaniels said. "It's going to be like that for every team."

In his 42-minute press conference, McDaniels also spoke highly of several prospects, and openly discussed players that the team hosted for visits at Dove Valley. Among them were quarterback Tim Tebow, wide receiver Dez Bryant, linebackers Rolando McClain and Sean Witherspoon, running backs Toby Gerheart, C.J. Spiller Montario Hardesty, defensive tackle Dan Williams.

"We feel very comfortable with the board," McDaniels said. "We think it's a very deep draft."

[Northman]

No I meant fatal for him, for McDaniels, because Bowlen can say what ever he likes...but if McDaniels fields a horrid team this year and can barely win, the jeers will be loud enough to shake Invesco Field and Dove Valley. That might be what opens Bowlen's eyes, or not. And I would not be surprised at all if we had a losing season to see Xanders take the fall first, just so McDaniels has a third year to try and fix it.

Well, one thing McDaniels was trying to emphasize is that he wanted the team to be able to have many weapons and not rely on just one individual. Now, i dont know if that means he is going to translate that too Orton and the other Qb's because one of our problems the last couple of years has been our QB's focusing far too much on one receiver. But, i am like you and would like to at least see a WR with some size and playmaking ability no matter who it is.

[honz]

McDanyels is a lire, Dont beleeve anything he sez.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Press conference now posted on BM:

http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=10020

At the bottom of the page, there are options to watch the first half, listen to the audio of the session, or read full transcript in PDF format,

[Lancane]

Well, one thing McDaniels was trying to emphasize is that he wanted the team to be able to have many weapons and not rely on just one individual. Now, i dont know if that means he is going to translate that too Orton and the other Qb's because one of our problems the last couple of years has been our QB's focusing far too much on one receiver. But, i am like you and would like to at least see a WR with some size and playmaking ability no matter who it is.

That's exactly why I say it will be fatal.

Let's look at our quarterback, Kyle Orton no matter what people wish to argue has since entering the league had some pretty porous stats, even last season in a quarterback friendly offense he was ranked 11th in the league in yards, 14th in completion percentage, 13th in yards per game, tied for 15th in touchdowns, 13th in interceptions and we can deduce that he was mid-grade overall in production or close to. It was without a doubt his best year as a pro. Though that is not saying much, even though he had a good W/L record, his stats have always been mediocre.

Now let's look at his receivers in 09', he had Brandon Marshall who accounted for 101 of his completed passes, 1,120 of his passing yards and 10 of his touchdowns; Marshall has always been a great receiver and had comparable stats. Jabar Gaffney has only twice surpassed more then about 400 yards a season and only once scored more then two touchdowns in a season. Brandon Lloyd has had three seasons in his career where he has not scored a touchdown nor hardly played at all...only twice has he scored more then five touchdowns in a season, he only accounted for a 117 of Orton's overall yardage. Stokely is much the same, he's more productive then Lloyd or Gaffney career wise, but he had more touchdowns next to Marshall then any other receiver with four total. Royal had over 400 yards and likewise just as bad in the scoring department as Lloyd.

If you look at his receivers in Chicago in the 08' season, they are comparative to who he has now. Should I remind people of his stats in 08'? He was ranked 25th in the league overall, 25th in completion percentage, 19th in total yards, 21st in yards per game, 13th in touchdowns and 11th in interceptions...now this is important, though McDaniels' system is quarterback friendly, if you subtracted Marshall's numbers...he would have had worse overall yardage so give a couple hundred yards with the receivers we have so almost equal to his stats in 08', he would have been comparable if not worse in touchdowns then he was in 08'....

See the problem like I do? Without an above average target that is more then your standard receiver in the league, Orton will be non effective. And like receivers in the first, those in the second are crapshoots as well...at least Bryant has the pedigree and the look to be more, what if we draft a bust in the second. If we go into the season with a receiver corps. similar to what we have now with no real talent then Orton is going to get owned, his flaws will be shown and we'll be sitting here hoping and begging for something new.

If McDaniels wants to show that he's compitent and can lead this team somewhere beyond mediocrity, then his best shot is risking a pick on Bryant, or that's my opinion at least.

[TXBRONC]

That's exactly why I say it will be fatal.

Let's look at our quarterback, Kyle Orton no matter what people wish to argue has since entering the league had some pretty porous stats, even last season in a quarterback friendly offense he was ranked 11th in the league in yards, 14th in completion percentage, 13th in yards per game, tied for 15th in touchdowns, 13th in interceptions and we can deduce that he was mid-grade overall in production or close to. It was without a doubt his best year as a pro. Though that is not saying much, even though he had a good W/L record, his stats have always been mediocre.

Now let's look at his receivers in 09', he had Brandon Marshall who accounted for 101 of his completed passes, 1,120 of his passing yards and 10 of his touchdowns; Marshall has always been a great receiver and had comparable stats. Jabar Gaffney has only twice surpassed more then about 400 yards a season and only once scored more then two touchdowns in a season. Brandon Lloyd has had three seasons in his career where he has not scored a touchdown nor hardly played at all...only twice has he scored more then five touchdowns in a season, he only accounted for a 117 of Orton's overall yardage. Stokely is much the same, he's more productive then Lloyd or Gaffney career wise, but he had more touchdowns next to Marshall then any other receiver with four total. Royal had over 400 yards and likewise just as bad in the scoring department as Lloyd.

If you look at his receivers in Chicago in the 08' season, they are comparative to who he has now. Should I remind people of his stats in 08'? He was ranked 25th in the league overall, 25th in completion percentage, 19th in total yards, 21st in yards per game, 13th in touchdowns and 11th in interceptions...now this is important, though McDaniels' system is quarterback friendly, if you subtracted Marshall's numbers...he would have had worse overall yardage so give a couple hundred yards with the receivers we have so almost equal to his stats in 08', he would have been comparable if not worse in touchdowns then he was in 08'....

See the problem like I do? Without an above average target that is more then your standard receiver in the league, Orton will be non effective. And like receivers in the first, those in the second are crapshoots as well...at least Bryant has the pedigree and the look to be more, what if we draft a bust in the second. If we go into the season with a receiver corps. similar to what we have now with no real talent then Orton is going to get owned, his flaws will be shown and we'll be sitting here hoping and begging for something new.

If McDaniels wants to show that he's competent and can lead this team somewhere beyond mediocrity, then his best shot is risking a pick on Bryant, or that's my opinion at least.

Even bringing in Bryant or some other highly touted receiver via the draft is no guarantee that he can adequate fill the production void immediately. Chances are it wont right away and that's with assuming (as dangerous as that is) he will eventually be a star player. It really doesn't matter which receiver you like best in this draft, Bryant, Benn, Tate, etc. The chances of them coming in a putting up even decent numbers their first year is highly unlikely.

[topscribe]

Even bringing in Bryant or some other highly touted receiver via the draft is no guarantee that he can adequate fill the production void immediately. Chances are it wont right away and that's with assuming (as dangerous as that is) he will eventually be a star player. It really doesn't matter which receiver you like best in this draft, Bryant, Benn, Tate, etc. The chances of them coming in a putting up even decent numbers their first year is highly unlikely.

Royal did.

-----

[TXBRONC]

Royal did.

-----

Who was on the opposite side of him? :coffee:

If you're trying to say what Royal did is the norm then you're mistaken.

[Lancane]

Even bringing in Bryant or some other highly touted receiver via the draft is no guarantee that he can adequate fill the production void immediately. Chances are it wont right away and that's with assuming (as dangerous as that is) he will eventually be a star player. It really doesn't matter which receiver you like best in this draft, Bryant, Benn, Tate, etc. The chances of them coming in a putting up even decent numbers their first year is highly unlikely.

Better then throwing away the season completely without even trying to adjust it and replace that which is missing. I can just hear it now, "We did not take a receiver early because the chances of them finding success in the first year was slim"...huh? You have to replace the lost production, we did not add an accomplished receiver or even a semi-accomplished receiver in free agency, and if we don't risk trying to replace it with a high draft pick then?

But there have been some first round receivers which have produced quickly and at a high level. What if Bryant comes out and is the next Andre Johnson, one of those who makes an immediate impact? I sure hope to hell that just because statistics aren't in favor of something that we ignore trying to improve.

[TXBRONC]

Better then throwing away the season completely without even trying to adjust it and replace that which is missing. I can just hear it now, "We did not take a receiver early because the chances of them finding success in the first year was slim"...huh? You have to replace the lost production, we did not add an accomplished receiver or even a semi-accomplished receiver, and if we don't risk trying to replace it with a high draft pick then?

But there have been some first round receivers which have produced quickly and at a high level. What if Bryant comes out and is the next Andre Johnson, one of those who makes an immediate impact? I sure hope to hell that just because statistics aren't in favor of something that we ignore trying to improve.

I'm not saying we shouldn't take a receiver I don't think it can be avoided now. What I was getting at is that most receiver receivers take awhile to catch on. I went back and looked what Johnson has done in his career and it looks like his first three years were somewhat in consistent.

[Lancane]

I'm not saying we shouldn't take a receiver I don't think it can be avoided now. What I was getting at is that most receiver receivers take awhile to catch on. I went back and looked what Johnson has done in his career and it looks like his first three years were somewhat in consistent.

True, but though inconsistent he was still productive. If Bryant comes in and has a 900 yard, 9 touchdown season then he is worth us taking. And with Orton having questionable targets as is, there is a chance that it will be close to that if not better.

So to me it's worth the risk, if he goes elsewhere and does produce those type numbers and we take Williams or Benn and they stink it up or are not even able to get on the field, then McDaniels will catch the heat far more then he would if he took Bryant and he had a mediocre year his rookie season.

If it was me, and I was not going to risk taking Bryant, I would have traded for Mark Clayton, let him and Royal compete, moved Gaffney into the third slot and drafted Marcus Easley from Connecticut in the fourth round. Short of McDaniels doing that, I can't see him passing on a talent like Bryant when it's such a need.

[topscribe]

That's exactly why I say it will be fatal.

Let's look at our quarterback, Kyle Orton no matter what people wish to argue has since entering the league had some pretty porous stats, even last season in a quarterback friendly offense he was ranked 11th in the league in yards, 14th in completion percentage, 13th in yards per game, tied for 15th in touchdowns, 13th in interceptions and we can deduce that he was mid-grade overall in production or close to. It was without a doubt his best year as a pro. Though that is not saying much, even though he had a good W/L record, his stats have always been mediocre.

Now let's look at his receivers in 09', he had Brandon Marshall who accounted for 101 of his completed passes, 1,120 of his passing yards and 10 of his touchdowns; Marshall has always been a great receiver and had comparable stats. Jabar Gaffney has only twice surpassed more then about 400 yards a season and only once scored more then two touchdowns in a season. Brandon Lloyd has had three seasons in his career where he has not scored a touchdown nor hardly played at all...only twice has he scored more then five touchdowns in a season, he only accounted for a 117 of Orton's overall yardage. Stokely is much the same, he's more productive then Lloyd or Gaffney career wise, but he had more touchdowns next to Marshall then any other receiver with four total. Royal had over 400 yards and likewise just as bad in the scoring department as Lloyd.

If you look at his receivers in Chicago in the 08' season, they are comparative to who he has now. Should I remind people of his stats in 08'? He was ranked 25th in the league overall, 25th in completion percentage, 19th in total yards, 21st in yards per game, 13th in touchdowns and 11th in interceptions...now this is important, though McDaniels' system is quarterback friendly, if you subtracted Marshall's numbers...he would have had worse overall yardage so give a couple hundred yards with the receivers we have so almost equal to his stats in 08', he would have been comparable if not worse in touchdowns then he was in 08'....

See the problem like I do? Without an above average target that is more then your standard receiver in the league, Orton will be non effective. And like receivers in the first, those in the second are crapshoots as well...at least Bryant has the pedigree and the look to be more, what if we draft a bust in the second. If we go into the season with a receiver corps. similar to what we have now with no real talent then Orton is going to get owned, his flaws will be shown and we'll be sitting here hoping and begging for something new.

If McDaniels wants to show that he's compitent and can lead this team somewhere beyond mediocrity, then his best shot is risking a pick on Bryant, or that's my opinion at least.

Cane, this may well be the worst analysis you have ever come up with. I want
to take you back to the first half of 2008. As you know, Orton was with the
Chicago Bears. He was healthy: no dislocated finger, no high ankle sprain.

Orton was working with the #24 ranked rushing offense in the league in YPC
and the #21 defense in yards (30th overall in passing). His receivers? The
world famous Marty Booker, Brandon Lloyd, Rashied Davis, and Devin Hester
(who, as it turned out, should have remained at returner). His weapon was
Greg Olsen. That's it.

The offensive line was a joke. Ask any knowledgeable Bears fan.

Kyle's pre-injury production that year came to 151 completions on 244 passes
(61.6%) for 1,777 yards with 10 TD and 4 INT, for a QBR of 90.8 (compared to
Cutler's 2008 rating of 86.9, and we know about his receivers and O-line).

What about the competition? During that stretch, the Bears played Philadelphia,
Atlanta, Indianapolis, Carolina and Tampa Bay, as well as division rivals
Minnesota and Detroit. Not what you would call a "cupcake"schedule.

His record was 4-3, but it easily could have been 6-1, had the defense not
caved in the 4th quarter to Carolina and Tampa, respectively.

It was after he suffered the high ankle sprain on his right ankle that his numbers
went south. As I watched a prodigious amount of film, it became obvious to me
that his ankle injury made it impossible to plant and throw off his back foot
properly, which played havoc with his velocity and accuracy.

We know about the first half of this year, of course, especially the first six games.
But then, he had better receivers and a better O-line, so that is why I digress
back to 2008.

What he showed during that period is that, yes, he can work with pedestrian
receivers and an inferior O-line (which I'm sure he won't have this year) and do
quite well, thank you. All he needs is to remain healthy and work with a familiar
team in a familiar scheme, which he will have this year.

Yes, the Broncos do have a need for another receiver. But if they don't get that
"stud," that doesn't mean Kyle is going to fall on his face.

-----

[topscribe]

Who was on the opposite side of him? :coffee:

If you're trying to say what Royal did is the norm then you're mistaken.

I'm only saying Royal did. Would Bryant, then, be on the opposite side of Royal?

----

[Lancane]

Cane, this may well be the worst analysis you have ever come up with. I want
to take you back to the first half of 2008. As you know, Orton was with the
Chicago Bears. He was healthy: no dislocated finger, no high ankle sprain.

Orton was working with the #24 ranked rushing offense in the league in YPC
and the #21 defense in yards (30th overall in passing). His receivers? The
world famous Marty Booker, Brandon Lloyd, Rashied Davis, and Devin Hester
(who, as it turned out, should have remained at returner). His weapon was
Greg Olsen. That's it.

The offensive line was a joke. Ask any knowledgeable Bears fan.

Kyle's pre-injury production that year came to 151 completions on 244 passes
(61.6%) for 1,777 yards with 10 TD and 4 INT, for a QBR of 90.8 (compared to
Cutler's 2008 rating of 86.9, and we know about his receivers and O-line).

What about the competition? During that stretch, the Bears played Philadelphia,
Atlanta, Indianapolis, Carolina and Tampa Bay, as well as division rivals
Minnesota and Detroit. Not what you would call a "cupcake"schedule.

His record was 4-3, but it easily could have been 6-1, had the defense not
caved in the 4th quarter to Carolina and Tampa, respectively.

It was after he suffered the high ankle sprain on his right ankle that his numbers
went south. As I watched a prodigious amount of film, it became obvious to me
that his ankle injury made it impossible to plant and throw off his back foot
properly, which played havoc with his velocity and accuracy.

We know about the first half of this year, of course, especially the first six games.
But then, he had better receivers and a better O-line, so that is why I digress
back to 2008.

What he showed during that period is that, yes, he can work with pedestrian
receivers and an inferior O-line (which I'm sure he won't have this year) and do
quite well, thank you. All he needs is to remain healthy and work with a familiar
team in a familiar scheme, which he will have this year.

Yes, the Broncos do have a need for another receiver. But if they don't get that
"stud," that doesn't mean Kyle is going to fall on his face.

-----

Top, the comparison was legit...I was not blasting Orton, quit pumping him up to be what he is not. I said he was solid, but nothing more and what made him so much better here or at least one factor was a dominant receiver. Gaffney, Lloyd, Royal and company are not better then what he had Chicago at least on paper, you would be hard pressed to prove they were...they're quite similar.

He was injured and still better then he was in Chicago, the point I made is that a lot of that had to do with Marshall, and that is a flat out fact, one you can not dispute with stats or anything else. He's never had a receiver at the pro level even close to the caliber of Marshall most were closer to Gaffney in production.

Please quit defending him at every turn when he really hasn't earned the accolades of such, hopefully he is better this year. But I have a fleeting feeling that if we ignore giving him a target that he will be a liability more then an asset.

[TXBRONC]

True, but though inconsistent he was still productive. If Bryant comes in and has a 900 yard, 9 touchdown season then he is right there worth us taking. And with Orton having questionable targets as is, there is a chance that it will be close to that if not better.

So to me it's worth the risk, if he goes elsewhere and does produce those type numbers and we take Williams or Benn and they stink it up or are not even able to get on the field, then McDaniels will catch the heat far more then he would if he took Bryant and he had a mediocre year his rookie season.

If it was me, and I was not going to risk taking Bryant, I would have traded for Mark Clayton, let him and Royal compete, moved Gaffney into the third slot and drafted Marcus Easley from Connecticut in the fourth round. Short of McDaniels doing that, I can't see him passing on a talent like Bryant when it's such a need.

Absolutely assuming we drafted Bryant or any other receiver for that matter if they came in and gave us that kind of production that would suffice. Nine touchdowns might be a bit much to hope for if we look at Johnson as template. He only had four his first year.

As it's been said before drafting Bryant with our first pick has duel role. First imo its necessity. Second if we draft Byrant with our number one pick it be interesting to see JR squirm a bit over taking a wide receiver in the first round. :D (Just joking)

[topscribe]

Top, the comparison was legit...I was not blasting Orton, quit pumping him up to be what he is not. I said he was solid, but nothing more and what made him so much better here or at least one factor was a dominant receiver. Gaffney, Lloyd, Royal and company are not better then what he had Chicago at least on paper, you would be hard pressed to prove they were...they're quite similar.

He was injured and still better then he was in Chicago, the point I made is that a lot of that had to do with Marshall, and that is a flat out fact, one you can not dispute with stats or anything else. He's never had a receiver at the pro level even close to the caliber of Marshall most were closer to Gaffney in production.

Please quit defending him at every turn when he really hasn't earned the accolades of such, hopefully he is better this year. But I have a fleeting feeling that if we ignore giving him a target that he will be a liability more then an asset.

Cane, this is what I don't understand about you people. Please go back and
review my post. I gave facts. Cold, hard facts. Please do not accuse me of
"pumping him up to be what he is not." The facts, which are what I presented,
show him to be what he is.

I was not handing out accolades. I was only correcting your comment that
Orton would not be effective with a pedestrian receiving corps. If is not true, I
have the right to point that out, don't I?

And Chicago did not have an answer to Royal or Stokley. They did not have a
good receiving corps. I saw nearly their whole 2008 season, parts of it over
and over, and I will tell you categorically they did not.

But of course Orton will be a better QB with that "stud" receiver. Who wouldn't?
I'm with you. We need that receiver. You have me almost convinced that we
need to take Bryant with that #11.

But please do not accuse me of "pumping up" when all I gave was facts.

Gotta go. See you tomorrow night if you're on.

-----

[broncobryce]

I heard #11 wants a guarantee from McD we will not trade it. If he does not give that guarantee, it wants out. NOW.:behindsofa:

[James Bond]

Cane, this may well be the worst analysis you have ever come up with. I want
to take you back to the first half of 2008. As you know, Orton was with the
Chicago Bears. He was healthy: no dislocated finger, no high ankle sprain.

Orton was working with the #24 ranked rushing offense in the league in YPC
and the #21 defense in yards (30th overall in passing). His receivers? The
world famous Marty Booker, Brandon Lloyd, Rashied Davis, and Devin Hester
(who, as it turned out, should have remained at returner). His weapon was
Greg Olsen. That's it.

The offensive line was a joke. Ask any knowledgeable Bears fan.

Kyle's pre-injury production that year came to 151 completions on 244 passes
(61.6%) for 1,777 yards with 10 TD and 4 INT, for a QBR of 90.8 (compared to
Cutler's 2008 rating of 86.9, and we know about his receivers and O-line).

What about the competition? During that stretch, the Bears played Philadelphia,
Atlanta, Indianapolis, Carolina and Tampa Bay, as well as division rivals
Minnesota and Detroit. Not what you would call a "cupcake"schedule.

His record was 4-3, but it easily could have been 6-1, had the defense not
caved in the 4th quarter to Carolina and Tampa, respectively.

It was after he suffered the high ankle sprain on his right ankle that his numbers
went south. As I watched a prodigious amount of film, it became obvious to me
that his ankle injury made it impossible to plant and throw off his back foot
properly, which played havoc with his velocity and accuracy.

We know about the first half of this year, of course, especially the first six games.
But then, he had better receivers and a better O-line, so that is why I digress
back to 2008.

What he showed during that period is that, yes, he can work with pedestrian
receivers and an inferior O-line (which I'm sure he won't have this year) and do
quite well, thank you. All he needs is to remain healthy and work with a familiar
team in a familiar scheme, which he will have this year.

Yes, the Broncos do have a need for another receiver. But if they don't get that
"stud," that doesn't mean Kyle is going to fall on his face.

-----

Great post. Thanks.....

[Lancane]

Cane, this is what I don't understand about you people. Please go back and
review my post. I gave facts. Cold, hard facts. Please do not accuse me of
"pumping him up to be what he is not." The facts, which are what I presented,
show him to be what he is.

And Chicago did not have an answer to Royal or Stokley. They did not have a
good receiving corps. I saw nearly their whole 2008 season, parts of it over
and over, and I will tell you categorically they did not.

But of course Orton will be a better QB with that "stud" receiver. Who wouldn't?
I'm with you. We need that receiver. You have me almost convinced that we
need to take Bryant with that #11.

But please do not accuse me of "pumping up" when all I gave was facts.

Gotta go. See you tomorrow night if you're on.

-----

First off we don't know if Royal had a fluke year and it had a lot to do with Shanahan and the system or just that he was better overall then those behind him? He was fairly mediocre last year, he couldn't even beat out Gaffney who has been mediocre since the day he was drafted, Lloyd is much the same way. Stokely has always been fairly productive but not overly impressive give his only 1,000 yard season with Manning, otherwise his yards are very similar to Gaffney.

Gaffney - 54 rec. 732 yards 2 TD / Hester 51 rec. 665 yards 3 TD
Royal - 37 rec. 345 yards 0 TD / Davis 35 rec. 445 yards 2 TD
Lloyd - 8 rec. 117 yards 0 TD / Lloyd 26 rec. 364 yards 2 TD
Marshall - 101 rec. 1,120 yards 10 TD/ -----------------------
Stokely - 19 rec. 327 yards 4 TD / Olsen 54 rec. 574 yards 5 TD
Scheffler - 31 rec. 416 yards 2 TD / Clark 41 rec. 367 yards 1 TD
Graham - 28 rec. 289 yards 2 TD / Booker 14 rec. 211 yards 2 TD
Buckhalter - 31 rec. 240 yards 0 TD/ Forte 63 rec. 477 yards 4 TD
Moreno - 28 rec. 213 yards 2 TD/ McKie 11 rec. 64 yards 1 TD

Beyond the offensive line differences, we can see that Orton's receivers in Chicago in 08' are quite similar to what he had in Denver in 09', Marshall was his equalizer...that's my point. Without Marshall his stats would be closer to his 08' numbers. As you can see the Bears' receivers happened to be better at scoring, actually they look more productive compared to what he had in 09' give Marshall.

Point is that I believe Orton needs that go to guy that is dominant or he will prove to be a liability himself, he's not an elite or great quarterback and so we have to give him some elite or great talent that balances one another out.

[dogfish]

They spent a lot of time with Bryant and says that the issues with Bryant are way different than Brandon's situation. Thinks Bryant's issue not as bad as some have made it seem and is definitely on the draft board for this year.

translation: i know most of broncos nation is afraid of this guy after the marshall fiasco, but my ass is on the line if we can't get production out of the offense, so get ready for him-- really, he's not as bad as you think!"

:heh:



Says they are happy with Doom and looking forward to his continued progress and production this year and plans on him being in Denver longterm. (But at the same time does not sound like they plan on giving him a raise at the moment.)


Excited to have Dumervil back and planning on having his production for years coming. He's been in contact w/ coach Martindale

Understand Elvis' position. Totally respects his decision. Has a great deal of respect and admiration inside organization. Time will play it out. Not something that is negative towards Dumervil

well **** me, there goes having a pass rush-- sounds exactly like what he's said about all the other guys we've shipped out. . .



It's so funny and obvious that McDaniels and Woody Paige have such a mutual distaste for one another. It comes out both in how the questions are asked by Paige and how they are responded too by McDaniels.

see, now there's a good solid reason to like JMFMCD. . .

[dogfish]

That's exactly why I say it will be fatal.

Let's look at our quarterback, Kyle Orton no matter what people wish to argue has since entering the league had some pretty porous stats, even last season in a quarterback friendly offense he was ranked 11th in the league in yards, 14th in completion percentage, 13th in yards per game, tied for 15th in touchdowns, 13th in interceptions and we can deduce that he was mid-grade overall in production or close to. It was without a doubt his best year as a pro. Though that is not saying much, even though he had a good W/L record, his stats have always been mediocre.

Now let's look at his receivers in 09', he had Brandon Marshall who accounted for 101 of his completed passes, 1,120 of his passing yards and 10 of his touchdowns; Marshall has always been a great receiver and had comparable stats. Jabar Gaffney has only twice surpassed more then about 400 yards a season and only once scored more then two touchdowns in a season. Brandon Lloyd has had three seasons in his career where he has not scored a touchdown nor hardly played at all...only twice has he scored more then five touchdowns in a season, he only accounted for a 117 of Orton's overall yardage. Stokely is much the same, he's more productive then Lloyd or Gaffney career wise, but he had more touchdowns next to Marshall then any other receiver with four total. Royal had over 400 yards and likewise just as bad in the scoring department as Lloyd.

If you look at his receivers in Chicago in the 08' season, they are comparative to who he has now. Should I remind people of his stats in 08'? He was ranked 25th in the league overall, 25th in completion percentage, 19th in total yards, 21st in yards per game, 13th in touchdowns and 11th in interceptions...now this is important, though McDaniels' system is quarterback friendly, if you subtracted Marshall's numbers...he would have had worse overall yardage so give a couple hundred yards with the receivers we have so almost equal to his stats in 08', he would have been comparable if not worse in touchdowns then he was in 08'....

See the problem like I do? Without an above average target that is more then your standard receiver in the league, Orton will be non effective. And like receivers in the first, those in the second are crapshoots as well...at least Bryant has the pedigree and the look to be more, what if we draft a bust in the second. If we go into the season with a receiver corps. similar to what we have now with no real talent then Orton is going to get owned, his flaws will be shown and we'll be sitting here hoping and begging for something new.

If McDaniels wants to show that he's compitent and can lead this team somewhere beyond mediocrity, then his best shot is risking a pick on Bryant, or that's my opinion at least.

cane, quit rubbin' it in and let JR enjoy one more week of the fantasy that we don't need wide receivers and won't spend any picks higher than the 6th round on the position. . . .


;)

[topscribe]

First off we don't know if Royal had a fluke year and it had a lot to do with Shanahan and the system or just that he was better overall then those behind him? He was fairly mediocre last year, he couldn't even beat out Gaffney who has been mediocre since the day he was drafted, Lloyd is much the same way. Stokely has always been fairly productive but not overly impressive give his only 1,000 yard season with Manning, otherwise his yards are very similar to Gaffney.

Gaffney - 54 rec. 732 yards 2 TD / Hester 51 rec. 665 yards 3 TD
Royal - 37 rec. 345 yards 0 TD / Davis 35 rec. 445 yards 2 TD
Lloyd - 8 rec. 117 yards 0 TD / Lloyd 26 rec. 364 yards 2 TD
Marshall - 101 rec. 1,120 yards 10 TD/ -----------------------
Stokely - 19 rec. 327 yards 4 TD / Olsen 54 rec. 574 yards 5 TD
Scheffler - 31 rec. 416 yards 2 TD / Clark 41 rec. 367 yards 1 TD
Graham - 28 rec. 289 yards 2 TD / Booker 14 rec. 211 yards 2 TD
Buckhalter - 31 rec. 240 yards 0 TD/ Forte 63 rec. 477 yards 4 TD
Moreno - 28 rec. 213 yards 2 TD/ McKie 11 rec. 64 yards 1 TD

Beyond the offensive line differences, we can see that Orton's receivers in Chicago in 08' are quite similar to what he had in Denver in 09', Marshall was his equalizer...that's my point. Without Marshall his stats would be closer to his 08' numbers. As you can see the Bears' receivers happened to be better at scoring, actually they look more productive compared to what he had in 09' give Marshall.

I understand. Actually, we are arguing on the same side of the field. The point
is, the Broncos, and especially Orton, need that receiver. (And Orton would
probably be the first to tell us that.)

On that, we can agree. :beer:

-----

[TXBRONC]

cane, quit rubbin' it in and let JR enjoy one more week of the fantasy that we don't need wide receivers and won't spend any picks higher than the 6th round on the position. . . .


;)

Isn't the 6th round where you find the best receiving talent? :D

[Lancane]

I understand. Actually, we are arguing on the same side of the field. The point
is, the Broncos, and especially Orton, need that receiver. (And Orton would
probably be the first to tell us that.)

On that, we can agree. :beer:

-----

See we must have confused each other... ;)

Orton is a solid quarterback, he's neither great or elite and the chances of him being such are slim...He's sort of a cheap man's Jim Plunket. He has a similar cast at this moment to what he had in Chicago, where his numbers were less then impressive but he improved with Denver in part because of the system, but mainly because he had a high caliber receiver. When your quarterback is good and not great, it's best to get him a receiver that is great or elite so they balance each other out.

He needs a guy like Bryant who will say, "Give me the damn ball, and I'll make you look like the league F'n MVP"...I don't see too many capable of doing such in this draft beyond Bryant.

And as I said earlier, it would be different if we had traded for Clayton and added someone like Easley in the mid rounds, give him someone that is somewhat productive and a prospect that has good tangibles and could end up being a possible steal with time.

[Lonestar]

Yep, beef up that line of scrimmage...they may not be able to get to our quarterback but we sure in the hell won't be able to score points. Let's hope the defense is best in points allowed so we have a freakin' chance.

with a better LOS both sides not only will the players behind the LOS on D be able to stuff the run but keep players out of the back field so the LB and DB's can make plays.

The Oline should be able to do basic functions that it could not last year, keep the pocket from collapsing and open holes for RB to run through.

Can have all the talent in the world at skill positions if they can't hold the LOS it is all for naught.

[Ziggy]

I just watched the entire interview. I loved coach Shanahan, but you would have never gotten any inside on the draft like that from him. In fact, very few teams will let thier fans in on as much about the upcoming draft as McD just did. Anyone else love that as much as I do?

[BroncoWave]

I just watched the entire interview. I loved coach Shanahan, but you would have never gotten any inside on the draft like that from him. In fact, very few teams will let thier fans in on as much about the upcoming draft as McD just did. Anyone else love that as much as I do?

Agreed, I thought that was really cool to hear his specific thoughts on so many players and to give his insight on their drafting process. That was probably my favorite press conference of his I have ever watched.

[Lonestar]

I just listened to the first part .

I like this kid, way to come across with being open.

I do not understand how people do not like him.

[Lonestar]

By Gray Caldwell
DenverBroncos.com

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- If the 2009 NFL Draft proved anything, it's that the Broncos aren't afraid to make a splash throughout the weekend.

Last season, Denver made four trades and ended up with 10 selections, including two in the first round and three in the second.

"I think we showed last year that we're going to do whatever is best for the Broncos and we're going to do whatever we need to do to try to make our football team better," Head Coach Josh McDaniels said, adding that the seeds have already been planted for a draft weekend that could potentially be just as active.

"We think it's a very deep draft, and we are excited about where we're at in terms of having multiple selections in the second round and we feel like we're in a good spot in the first round," he continued. "There has already been some activity and some calls back-and-forth in terms of moving up or down. No telling exactly what will happen at this point, but there's definitely going to be some interest. We're going to be interested in those types of things as well."

As it stands, the Broncos have seven picks in next week's draft, including the 11th overall selection and two picks in the second round. With three picks in the top 45 selections, Denver is one of only two clubs one of only two teams in the league -- along with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- with so much firepower early in the first two rounds. They are one of just six clubs to have four picks in the top 80 selections in this year's draft.

According to McDaniels, it's a good year to have that sort of flexibility. He said there are so many talented players in this year's crop of prospects that when the first day of the draft ends -- this year, the second round is held on a separate day from the first -- there will be a lot of shocked and excited talent evaluators saying, "Wow, I never thought this guy would be here."

"I think we're all going to be sitting there looking at that late that first night, saying, 'Is this something that we want to consider doing, because we can't believe that guy is still on the board,'" McDaniels said of moving up to grab talented players on the second day of the draft. "There are quite a few teams -- we're one of them, obviously -- that have multiple second-round selections. So it will be interesting to see what happens and how flexible other people want to be, moving down or moving up. We're one of the teams that obviously has some flexibility to try to move up if we choose."

But that doesn't mean the team isn't happy where it currently stands as Thursday rapidly approaches.

"At the places we select -- first and second rounds in particular -- we feel like we can get quality players that can come in and compete immediately and make a big impact," McDaniels said.

MORE FROM McDANIELS

On Tony Scheffler's status as a restricted free agent:
"I don't necessarily know what is going to happen with that. I know there have been some teams that have called about him; obviously there is nothing imminent regarding that. He is one of the RFAs that have signed their tenders. Kyle (Orton) signed his and Chris (Kuper) signed his, so we will see what happens. We have no timeline or necessarily a concrete plan on what is going to happen with that. We are going to let that play out."

On Elvis Dumervil's status as a restricted free agent:
"We are thrilled with Elvis Dumervil's season last year and excited to have him back and looking forward to his production continuing on for years. As of right now, I know he is working hard in Miami, he stays in touch with Wink (defensive coordinatorDon Martindale) and I think we will all be excited when he is back. I totally understand Elvis' position and I am not upset about it at all. I respect whatever he chooses to do. I think he has a great deal of respect and admiration within this building. Everybody feels the same way about Elvis Dumervil and it is something that time will play out and we will see how it goes. This isn't something that is a negative towards Elvis Dumervil."

On the trade of WR Brandon Marshall to the Miami Dolphins:
"We're pleased with what we were able to ascertain in the deal. We're also excited for Brandon and wish him the best of luck, and we're moving forward and excited to start this process with the draft."

On which scenario is more likely in next week's draft, moving forward or moving backward:
"I think we'll be flexible and we'll listen, but there are a lot of other teams that are still trying to put together their plans and priorities. So once we see how that is all going to unfold we'll make that decision. But I think the odds would be in favor of us moving backwards probably because the most opportunity lies there."

On whether the team approach the draft expecting to make a trade in the first round:
"You can never go into a draft and not be ready to make a selection at the spot you have. If you do assume that you're automatically going to have a nice convenient trade partner, you can get burned real quickly. We're going to be ready to pick at 11 and like last year, we were one spot different, but we had a couple of guys in mind that we were going to take at that spot and whichever one of them was highest on the board at that time was the one we were going to select. It happened to be Knowshon (Moreno) and this year will be the same. There are a few players that we would take at that spot and that process is going to culminate in the next couple of days. To me, it's all about who went ahead of you. If you have a list of three or four players that you really would like to get your hands on and one of them or three of them are gone, and you're trading significantly down the board, you need to make a decision about that. You can pick up picks and maybe players and all the rest of that stuff, but if you're going to lose the players that you really covet in the first round, you've got to be careful about making that decision."

On potential positions of need entering the draft:
"We have players at every position. We're out there and there's players lined up at every spot. But obviously I think there's a need and a desire for us to add competition at the center position, that's an obvious one. We just lost a receiver, obviously, that made a lot of plays for us last year. We have a lot of quality players back at that position this year but that doesn't necessarily mean that we're going to go out and draft (a receiver). We'd like to add some depth in terms of the front seven, linebackers in particular. We did a lot with the front three in free agency but again, I think it's just a matter of the player you feel comfortable and matching your selection with where you can get guys. Like I said, I think it's a deep draft, I think everyone really feels that way and I think you'll see a lot of teams hold their water and take a good player. Wherever you're at, you're going to get a good player in this draft in the first couple of rounds. You may be getting third-round, fourth-round players that come in and compete pretty quickly."

On drafting based on positions of need:
"I think that sometimes that's overrated to sit here and discuss a greatest need versus another player. I think that's how you make a mistake in a draft when you try to do that."

On whether the team would take a player at a position where there are already talented players on the roster:
"It is a situation where if there is a player that you feel very good about going about going forward -- whether it is a quarterback or another position -- we are not going to turn our head away just because we have three players at the position on the roster. We are not going to overlook any position. We feel like we are deep in a lot of positions on our team, but that doesn't mean we aren't going to draft a player to add him to the mix."

On Alabama LB Rolando McClain:
"I'm not sure I've met a young man as intelligent relative to the game of football than Rolando McClain. He's obviously been well coached but even if you're coached well, it takes another side to get to where he's at. He's obviously done a lot of listening, studying and understands the game at a level where most kids that come in as rookies will never be at. That's a credit to the work he's done at Alabama and the way he's been coached. He has a very bright future ahead of him."

On Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant:
"I think you need to be careful confusing character issues with some people who have made some mistakes. This guy has never been arrested, never had a drinking issue, never done anything to put himself in that position. I think he's made a few mistakes that he wishes he hadn't made but I think there's a difference. You can say, well, this guy has made a couple mistakes that have been really glorified, and make a big deal of it and all of a sudden turn him into a really bad kid. That's the farthest thing from the truth relative to (Bryant). We enjoyed our visit with him. He did everything we asked him to do. He had a smile on his face and he did everything well. I'll tell you this, he's on our board. There's no question. I know there are other teams that may have taken him off their board, but he is not one of the players who is off our board."

On Tennessee DL Dan Williams:
"The thing we think about Dan is that he's got what we would call a play radius that's a little different than some (nose tackles), meaning he can make tackles over there on the sideline. We've kind of gone back and forth on it -- (he) could even play (defensive) end because he's that athletic. We've done our work and our research on him, and he's a player that I think is going to go probably somewhere right around where we pick, there's no question about it. But we do have an interest in Dan Williams. He is a good player, he is a good kid and we think that that would be a possibility."

On Missouri LB Sean Weatherspoon:
"Sean Weatherspoon, the linebacker from Missouri, was very impressive. He's a bright kid. Every way -- name it and he was impressive. His knowledge of his system, his ability to retain our system, his interaction with our coaches. That was great."

On Florida QB Tim Tebow:
"Tebow, he's everything that you guys have ever read or written about a player like that. He was extremely impressive. You look at the tape, and the only thing that you can say about the tape that isn't flattering or very impressive is that he dips the ball a hair. He has already fixed that. I think that's something that you can fix through repetition. He's already done it, he proved that at his pro day. Everything else that you're watching on film is accurate, tough, smart, good leader, versatile, can move out of the pocket, can move in the pocket, can run with the ball. This guy scored. What is he, the third-leading passer all-time and the leading scorer in rushing touchdowns over Herschel (Walker). There are so many things that you can say about the kid. Then, to top that all off, he's every bit the person that you read about before you got the chance to meet him. He's very enthusiastic, wants to work hard, smart, bright, one of the smarter players I've ever been around in terms of coming out of college."

On whether the team would draft Tebow:
"I don't think you rule anything out. You certainly don't rule out adding a player with all of those traits and qualities to your football team if you feel like at the spot that you're picking that it fits you. Again, he's one of those kids where there's nothing really you can say that's bad about him."

On the team's motivation this offseason:
"I know this -- the way that they are working in the offseason program is incredible. We have had a great turnout and the enthusiasm and energy is awesome. We have changed our offseason program quite a bit, and I think the players are excited about the new things that we are doing, and there is a goal in mind of getting bigger, faster, stronger. They have embraced that entire thing and all of us have work to do in that regard. It is not just physical toughness, it is mental toughness, it is handling adversity, it's bouncing back from a loss. There are a lot of things that we can do better as a group and that starts with us. We will find out more about that as training camp comes along."

Broncos TV will post the pre-draft press conference in its entirety -- watch the first half here -- this evening. To listen to the audio of the session, click here.

For the full transcript in PDF format, click here (http://www.denverbroncos.com/resources/custom/mediaroom/transcripts/10transcripts/McDaniels_draft_4_16_10.pdf).

[Lonestar]

Denver Broncos Press Conference Quotes
Friday, April 16, 2010
PRE-DRAFT NEWS CONFERENCE
HEAD COACH JOSH McDANIELS
Opening remarks
"I am excited for this process that we’ve been going through here for a full year and the coaching staff and myself getting caught up over the last four months getting prepared for next week. We had a big head start relative to where we were at last year. (General Manager) Brian Xanders, (Director of College Scouting) Matt Russell, (Assistant Director of College Scouting) Lenny McGill and all of our college scouts. We’re way ahead and they’ve done a great job of putting us in position of having our board exactly where we want it now at this point. There may be some minor tweaking to it, but there really won’t be a whole lot of changes to it between now and the draft. Our system leading up to this is really something that takes time and our guys have really done a lot of work to get on the same page in terms of the evaluation. Our grading system, our scale isn’t the same as it was before. Again, I give a lot of credit to our scouts, Brian Xanders and the entire personnel department for putting this thing together and putting us in a position here we feel very comfortable with the board. We think it’s a very deep draft and we are excited about where we’re at in terms of having multiple selections in the second round and we feel like we’re in a good spot in the first round. There has already been some activity and some calls back and forth in terms of moving up or down. No telling exactly what will happen at this point but there’s definitely going to be some interest. We’re going to be interested in those types of things as well. I think we showed last year that we’re going to do whatever is best for the Broncos and we’re going to do whatever we need to do to try to make our football team better. I know there might be some questions you want to ask about the trade we just consummated with Miami for Brandon Marshall. I’ll say this—We’re pleased with what we were able to ascertain in the deal. We’re also excited for Brandon and wish him the best of luck. We’re moving forward and excited to start this process with the draft.”
On whether the Marshall trade has affected the team’s draft strategy
“Not necessarily, no. I think we’re going to go in and try to improve our team in any area that we can. I think our goal going into this offseason was to add competition at any position regardless of whether it seemed like we had players there to compete already or not. We tried to improve the competition at each position that we could. We tried to do some of that in free agency and the draft is just another opportunity for us to add some major players to our rosters at positions where there might be something of a strong need; but again, at the places we select – first and second rounds in particular – we feel like we can get quality players that can come in and compete immediately and make a big impact.”
On whether it’s more likely that Denver will move down from its current selection at No. 11 than move up
“I’d say there’s probably a better chance (moving down) will be the case, but I wouldn’t rule out if there were a certain player that we felt that strongly about – it’s not out of the question. We haven’t had any calls for those sorts of things at this point; Everything that we’ve received has been behind us. The opportunity has to be there. The player has to be there that you’re looking for and we have to feel that it’s a fair deal. I think we’ll be flexible and we’ll listen but there are a lot of other teams that are still trying to put together their plans and priorities so once we see how that is all going to unfold we’ll make that decision but I think the odds would be in favor of us moving backwards probably because the most opportunity lies there.”
On the team’s biggest positional needs
“We have players at every position. We’re out there and there’s players lined up at every spot. I think that sometimes it’s overrated to sit here and discuss a greatest need versus another player. I think that’s how you make a mistake in a draft when you try to do that. Obviously I think there’s a need and a desire for us to add competition at the center position. That’s an obvious one. We just lost a receiver that made a lot of plays for us last year. We have a lot of quality players back at that position this year but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re going to go out and draft (a receiver). We’d like to add some depth in terms of the front seven, linebackers in particular. We did a lot with the front three in free agency but again, I think it’s just a matter of the player you feel comfortable and matching your selection with where you can get guys. Like I said, I think it’s a deep draft. I think everyone really feels that way and I think you’ll see a lot of teams hold their water and take a good player. Wherever you’re at, you’re going to get a good player in this draft in the first couple of rounds. You may be getting third-round, fourth-round players that come in and compete pretty quickly.”
On concerns about drafting Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant due to character issues
“We had Dez Bryant here the other day, we spent time with him at the combine, we spent a lot of time with him actually. I’m not going to comment on Brandon, but with Dez Bryant, I think you need to be careful confusing character issues with some people who have made some mistakes. This guy has never been arrested, never had a drinking issue and never done anything to put himself in that position. I think he’s made a few mistakes that he wishes he hadn’t made but I think there’s a difference. You can say well, ‘This guy has made a couple mistakes that have been really glorified,’ and made a big deal of it and all of the sudden turn him into a really bad kid. That’s the farthest thing from the truth relative to (Bryant). We enjoyed our visit with him and he did everything we asked him to do. He had a smile on his face and he did everything well. I’ll tell you this, he’s on our board – there’s no question. I know there are other teams that may have taken him off their board but he is not one of the players who is off our board.”
On whether he’s talked about Alabama LB Rolando McClain with Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban
“Yes, we have a fairly good connection and (Alabama) has a lot of players in this draft that may be selected in the first couple of rounds. Rolando was here the same day that Dez was here, and I’m not sure I’ve met a young man as intelligent relative to the game of football than Rolando McClain. He’s obviously been well coached but even if you’re coached well, it takes another side to get to where he’s at. He’s obviously done a lot of listening, studying and
Denver Broncos Press Conference Quotes
Friday, April 16, 2010
understands the game at a level where most kids that come in as rookies will never be at. That’s a credit to the work he’s done at Alabama, the way he’s been coached and he has a very bright future ahead of him. He’s a good player; there are a lot of them. Like I said, there are a lot of players that we had in our building. We had a lot of great visits over the last couple of weeks here. We took our full allotment of 30 and really took an interest in a lot of players. The thing about this draft is that it’s deep enough where a lot of people are saying, ‘These players are all going to go in the first round.’ Well, they all can’t – I think that’s how deep this draft is. You’re going to be sitting there in the second round saying, ‘Wow, I never thought this guy would be here.’ Like you said, Rolando McClain, Dez Bryant and we’ve had a number of other players in here who are going to be picked right around where we pick. We’re going to finalize that process in the next couple of days because we have to have a plan for if we are picking at 11, what’s going to happen.”
On the value of draft visits with prospects
“We don’t bring anyone in who we don’t sincerely have an interest in. Now that doesn’t mean that the players that we bring in are all being questioned the same way. There might be certain things we need to know about some players that we already know about others. It might be a thing where we want to put them on our board again. When they’re here we have an opportunity to watch their tape with them and let them talk about their system and what they’re doing on those plays. You get a feel for how well they knew what they were doing, what they were responsible for and coached for at their universities and then we try to teach them our stuff. We put them in a classroom just like they would be in rookie minicamp and say, ‘All right, these are the first five things that are going to go in.’ Then we’ll come back around to it and say, ‘OK, now what are you doing on this? What are you doing on that?’ You get a feel and a sense for how they learn. We always tell them that it’s a two-way street. There’s nothing saying that they can’t ask us 50 questions while they’re in the building. Like I said, we had 30 visits and every one of them was very productive for us. We learned everything we needed to know about the players that were here and they did very well and just solidified our understanding of the board.”
On whether he cares if other teams find out who the Broncos brought in for visits
“That doesn’t matter. I don’t know who knows what, whether we had so-and-so in here... I don’t think it matters. I think it’s our process and we won’t be finished with that process until Wednesday night. There might still be some work to be done and we’re taking all the time that we have. I don’t think it is some big secret thing. You have 30 good football players in your building and you can’t take them all and (other teams) know that so I don’t think you’re going to fool anyone into doing something foolish.”
On whether he’d prefer to stay at No. 11 or move down
“I think there’s going to be a plan for both. There’s no question about that. You can never go into a draft and not be ready to make a selection at the spot you have. If you do assume that you’re automatically going to have a nice convenient trade partner, you can get burned real quickly. We’re going to be ready to pick at 11 and like last year, we were one spot different, but we had a couple of guys in mind that we were going to take at that spot and whichever one of them was highest on the board at that time was the one we were going to select. It happened to be (running back) Knowshon (Moreno) and this year will be the same. There are a few players that we would take at that spot and that process is going to culminate in the next couple of days. To me, it’s all about who went ahead of you. If you have a list of three or four players that you really would like to get your hands on one of them and three of them are gone and you’re trading significantly down the board, you need to make a decision about that. You can pick up picks and maybe players and all the rest of that stuff but if you’re going to lose the players that you really covet in the first round you’ve got to be careful about making that decision.”
On how the Broncos rate players
“We don’t necessarily guess on rounds in which a player will be selected. We grade every player that’s eligible for the draft in terms of their fit for our football team regardless of what everybody else thinks of them. To me, that’s the beauty of what we have. It doesn’t matter what Oakland thinks of him, or San Diego, or Jacksonville or somebody else. For us, he is a blank... A second-year starter at outside linebacker (for example). It’s very detailed and very descriptive. It takes a lot of things into consideration and we always look at it on a two-year scale because we understand that rookies, when they come in that first year, have a lot to learn and to be able to get up to speed and play at this level, sometimes it takes them a full year. We always look at it on a two- year projection and where he’s going to be at after two years. At that point, we project him as a starter, as a key backup, as a core special teams player and versatility is obviously taken into consideration because that can enhance a player’s grade. The more that he can do, the better off he is for us. That was what I was familiar with. The system that they had before, I didn’t necessarily have a lot of familiarity with what they did because we did transfer it last year. The scouts had to learn (the new system) within two months of the draft last year. This year, they had an entire calendar year to be prepared and to really let that sink in. We have basically what amounts to training tapes to try to describe exactly what that grade means so the personnel department, Brian (Xanders), has done a great job getting the scouts really ready to go in understanding (the grading system). The board last year, we had to shuffle a lot because they were kind of in the middle of learning our system and still kind of using the old one. We got it to where we needed to get it the week of the draft. This year we had our board ready to go in terms of the initial look of it by January. I think that gives you three, four months to really nail down exactly where you want it. A lot of credit goes to those people that did that because we started at a much better place this year than we did last year.”
On the size of the Broncos’ draft board
“We haven’t counted the whole number as of now, but I think there’s a little bit more depth on this years’ board than there was last year. A lot of the juniors that came out really kind of pumped up certain positions and made this a deeper draft at some places that maybe it wouldn’t necessarily have been. I don’t have a number in my head right now, but from a numbers standpoint I think the board will look a little bit different, a little bit fuller than it was last year.”

[Lonestar]

On the progress of second-year Broncos LB/DE Robert Ayers
“We are in year two. I know this—He is doing a great job in our offseason program. He has a great attitude and he understands the role we hope he play this year on our football team and I think he really wants to meet us right where he is at. Like I said, we drafted what we felt were good quality players that fit out system and what we want to do with them. We are going to continue to coach them and get them to where we think they can be.”
On the status of Broncos TE Tony Scheffler
“I don't necessarily know what is going to happen with that. I know there has been some teams that have called about him. Obviously there is nothing imminent regarding that. He is one of the RFAs that have signed their tenders. (Quarterback) Kyle (Orton) signed his; (Guard) Chris (Kuper) signed his, so we will see what happens. We have no timeline or necessarily a concrete plan on what is going to happen with that. We are going to let that play out.”
On if he is aware that the Bengals may have interest in acquiring Scheffler
“We have not talked to the Bengals, I can say that.”
On the CBA affecting Broncos LB/DE Elvis Dumervil's status
“I know that is a frustrating situation for all of us. We are looking at a place right now in the league where there is some uncertainty for us going forward. I think that is holding up some things on a lot of teams and in a lot of organizations. I think that is part of the whole entire thing. We are thrilled with Elvis Dumervil's season last year and excited to have him back and looking forward to his production continuing on for years. As of right now, I know he is working hard in Miami, he stays in touch with (Defensive Coordinator) (Don) Wink (Martindale) and I think we will all be excited when he is back. It is what it is and other than that there isn't much to talk about.”
On Dumervil waiting through the contract process
“I am not frustrated with Elvis. Like I said, I totally understand Elvis' position and I am not upset about it at all. I respect whatever he chooses to do, I respect that. I think he has a great deal of respect and admiration within this building. Everybody feels the same way about Elvis Dumervil, and it is something that time will play out and we will see how it goes. This isn't something that is a negative towards Elvis Dumervil.”
On if the Broncos’ offense has enough toughness
“That is a great question. I hope so. I think that kind of plays out in training camp. We talk about the OTAs that we are getting ready to have starting in May as the time where you can really begin the competitive part of your evaluations of the players and you are also throwing a lot of scheme at them to get that part of the system going. The toughness part, I think you built that in training camp. You don't have pads on in the spring and I don't think it is fair for me to say in April that our team is going to be this tough or that tough come September. I know this—The way that they are working in the offseason program is incredible. We have had a great turnout and the enthusiasm and energy is awesome. We have changed our offseason program quite a bit, and I think the players are excited about the new things that we are doing and there is a goal in mind of getting bigger, faster, stronger. They have embraced that entire thing and all of us have work to do in that regard. It is not just physical toughness, it is mental toughness, it is handling adversity, it’s bouncing back from a loss. There are a lot of things that we can do better as a group and that starts with us. We will find out more about that as training camp comes along.”
On if he wasn't satisfied with the toughness last year
“I think there are certain things you can talk about. The toughness of your football team comes from your coverage units and your ability to run the football and stop the run. There were times last year that we were very good in those areas and there were times that we weren't. Statistics don't lie to you in that regard, but there is other types of toughness and we have to respond to some of the situations we put ourselves in last year and do a little better in terms of bouncing back.”
On if the Broncos need more depth at guard
“I think that is something that could be addressed. It is an interesting area of the draft. There are some players that have played tackle that are being projected at guard. There are some players that played center that are projected as a guard. You have to make a choice based on what you see on film and arm length and getting out of their stance and all the rest of it, on how deep you think the actual guard spot is or are some of those players actually in another column. There is never an over-abundance of those type of players in a draft and this year is no different. You certainly would love to address an inside spot in there to add some competition to would definitely be something that we would be interested in.”
On if he will address the tackle position in the draft
“I think we feel very comfortable with our tackles. Obviously. it was unfortunate that (tackle) Ryan (Harris) had the injury last year, but his rehab is coming along wonderfully and he has a great attitude about it. He is one of the first people I see here every morning. He is dedicated and determined to come back at full strength and be ready to go this season. (Tackle) Tyler (Polumbus) obviously played a lot of football for us last year. We have a lot of players who have played a lot of snaps here. The interesting thing about the tackles is that sometimes the run starts and doesn't stop until they are out and it happens early. So usually if you are going to end up with one of those guys at the top of the boards you are going to have to do it quick and that is a decision you are going to have to make. I would say with our situation as it currently stands, we feel comfortable with the players we have as far as the starting role and we will see how the draft unfolds. You don't pass up a really, really talented player if there is nobody that you feel better about, but I don't think that is necessarily a direction we are trying to go early in the draft.”
Denver Broncos Press Conference Quotes
Friday, April 16, 2010
On the Broncos evaluating quarterback draft prospects
“We talked to a number of quarterbacks at the combine. We had Tim (Tebow) in the other day, and obviously it is a situation where there is a player that you feel very good about going about going forward. Whether it is a quarterback or another position, we are not going to turn our head away just because we have three players at the position on the roster. We have three capable players. That is what we feel like. The competition right now is intense and those guys are really working at it. They are improving each other, which is great. But again, we are not going to overlook any position. We feel like we are deep in a lot of positions on our team, but that doesn't mean we aren't going to draft a player to add him to the mix.”
On the Broncos evaluating running back draft prospects
“Same thing. We have evaluated a bunch. (Running back) J.J. (Arrington) is really working hard to get himself ready to go and be back to where he was because we were excited about that possibility last year, but it didn't work out because of the leg injury. We are excited about what he is doing and he is excited to be here. (Running backs) Bruce Hall and Lance Ball, they are both two young kids that we feel good about and if you look at the board and you aren't going to get one high, which I don't think is high on our radar, then you have to look at it and weight it and say, "OK, is this guy that we are going to bring in able to beat out one of those two young kids?" We have some young guys that we like, we like some of the things they can do, they are both smart. I think that is always a question in your mind, you don't want to make a selection in the third or fourth round and say we are going to be deciding to cut this player because you certainly want him to be on your roster.”
On Stanford running back Toby Gerhart
“He is a player that you have to look at. We had (Montario) Hardesty in from Tennessee, we had (Clemson running back C.J.) Spiller in. We have had a lot of backs in and again if it is the right situation for your team and you feel comfortable with it. The reason you do all that is because you don't know who is going to be there in the second or third round. If it is a position where you say you were wiped out at that position or wiped out here, but that guy is going to make our team better than you better have done your work. His visit was pretty good. He is a pretty neat kid and impressed everyone here.”
On if the Broncos upgrading their defensive line in free agency affects their draft strategy at that position
“I don't think so. That is a position (defensive line) that there is some depth to this year's draft. We have three experienced guys—everyone else will call them old—that we added to the front seven, but we have a bunch of young players right behind them that played a ton of football last year. What we wanted to do is blend some experience with the youth that played six or seven hundred snaps last year and started 14 to 16 games. (Defensive linemen) Ronald Fields, Ryan McBean, Le Kevin Smith played. We have a lot of people. (Defensive lineman) Marcus Thomas has played a bunch of games in his career, so we have a lot of depth there in terms of youth and our decision is going to be is that player going to make a significant impact in our front seven immediately, which means is he going to be able to play early or is he going to be better than the youth behind those guys. If we like there is a guy there and there is some depth this year at end and at nose, depending on who you talk to and how you evaluate them. There are some players that we would be interested in in the front seven on the first two days.”
On if the team would move back in the draft to select “front seven” players
“I think we would. We would be interested in taking a player at that position if he is going to be that kind of player, there is no question. I think the thing would be what is the trade off. What is the trade? How far are you going? Can you still get that player where you are going or is that out of the question or are there other players in that tier that you feel good about if you have to go a little further? And obviously the compensation would have to be right, but you don't ever turn away a player in the front seven.”
On fans being upset at star players getting traded
"And I understand that. But I would say this, that we're trying to build a football team that can be competitive for championships. That doesn't mean that those two players couldn't have helped us, but I think that we're trying to build an entire team that is going to win in different ways -- unselfish, smart, versatile, tough, those kind of things. For different reasons those players are not here, let's be honest. We're trying to do that. We haven't made the playoffs recently. We obviously haven't finished the season well. We didn't finish it well this year. We're trying to get better, we're trying to improve this team, we're trying to create a roster full of guys that feel the same way and their ultimate goal is to win a championship. That's what we're committed to doing."
On Alabama LB Rolando McClain's health
"I've had experience with a player on a team in New England that also had that (Crohn's disease). I've had two friends of mine that have had that and battled that before. We think it's a low-risk type of a situation. It's a situation where if you're taking your medication, if you're doing the right things, if you're not eating the wrong kinds of foods, those kind of things, you can keep the flare-ups to a very minimal basis. I think that everybody kind of feels the same way about that. We talked to him about it the other day. He's got his under control and he feels comfortable with where he's at, which is the most important thing. Our doctors and medical people are familiar with that whole situation, and we feel like that is not a reason not to draft Rolando McClain."
On Tennessee DL Dan Williams
"He's a big, athletic player. Obviously he has played inside at nose, really, for the most part at Tennessee. But the thing we think about Dan is that he's got what we would say a play radius that's a little different than some noses, meaning he can make tackles over there on the sideline. We've kind of gone back and forth on it. (He) could even play end because he's that athletic. He's an athletic player who has really had one solid year of production, which always is something you take a look at. But he's a good kid. We had a good visit with him here, we also worked him out at Tennessee. We've done our work and our research on him, and he's a player that I think is going to go probably somewhere right around where we pick, there's no question about it. But we do have an interest in Dan Williams. He is a good player, he is a good kid and we think that that would be a possibility."

[Lonestar]

On whether any other prospects wowed him when he met with them
"Sean Weatherspoon, the linebacker from Missouri, was very impressive. He's a bright kid. Every way -- name it and he was impressive. His knowledge of his system, his ability to retain our system, his interaction with our coaches. That was great. (Rolando) McClain, obviously I talked about him, Dan Williams— We've had quite a few. (Florida QB Tim) Tebow, you mentioned Tebow, he's everything that you guys have ever read or written about a player like that. He was extremely impressive."
On if the team had Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen at the facility
"No, we did not. We talked to him at the combine. He's a good kid. I'm very familiar with him, obviously, based on some connections that I had at Notre Dame."
On whether Florida QB Tim Tebow will be successful in the NFL
"No question. You look at the tape, and the only thing that you can say about the tape that isn't flattering or very impressive is that he dips the ball a hair. He has already fixed that. I think that's something that you can fix through repetition. He's already done it. He proved that at his pro day. Everything else that you're watching on film is accurate, tough, smart, good leader, versatile, can move out of the pocket, can move in the pocket, can run with the ball. This guy scored... What is he, the third-leading passer all-time and the leading scorer in rushing touchdowns over Herschel (Walker)? There are so many things that you can say about the kid. Then, to top that all off, he's every bit the person that you read about before you got the chance to meet him. He's very enthusiastic, wants to work hard, smart, bright, one of the smarter players I've ever been around in terms of coming out of college."
On whether the team would draft Tebow
"Does it sound like it? I'll tell you, I don't think you rule anything out. You certainly don't rule out adding a player with all of those traits and qualities to your football team if you feel like at the spot that you're picking that it fits you. Again, he's one of those kids where there's nothing really you can say that's bad about him."
On how quickly Tebow can be a starting quarterback in the NFL
"If you talk to him, it'll be the day he's drafted. But I don't know that. That's a good question. I think it depends on where he goes, the system he's going into, what you're trying to do with him and also who's there. He's got to compete. If he was here, he's got to compete with players that have already played in the National Football League and started a lot of games and won games. There are situations where he could go into where maybe that's not necessarily the case, I don't know, but I think that would all depend on where he goes and where he ends up."
On how his approach differs entering his second year as a head coach
"I feel like I have one year of experience. That's what it is at this position. I've been able to now evaluate our performance instead of just putting into place what I had experienced in the past. I think that that's why we're going to be different than a place that I've been before because we're not doing it somebody else's way. We have our own experience, our own successes and failures to look back on and say we've got to do some of those things differently to get a different result or to get a different reaction. We've tweaked the offseason program considerably, and that was a group decision. How we're running the entire offseason in terms of our staff is different than we did last year. Our staff is doing a great job of managing the offensive system and the defensive system, and then I kind of get caught up as we go. Last year, I was in basically most if not all of those meetings myself. That has allowed all of our staff to kind of come together and contribute a little bit more. That has been great. (General Manager) Brian (Xanders) has done a great job of understanding the scouting system, the personnel and the free agent market, and again, last year we were trying to implement a little bit of a different system then they had ever experienced before. That was a lot smoother."
On how his approach differs on draft day with the new format
"I don't think draft day is going to be a lot different for us. I'll say the difference is going to be between day one and day two. Instead of rolling into the second round as we did last year, we'll have a lot of time on our hands, as will everyone else, to sit there and look and say, like I said earlier, 'I can't believe that so- and-so is still on the board right now.' There's probably going to be a couple of those players for each team. Our board is obviously different than everybody else's, and their’s are different than ours. I think we're all going to be sitting there looking at that late that first night, saying, 'Is this something that we want to consider doing because we can't believe that guy is still on the board.' I think our initial first day, it will be pretty much the same. We're going to have our plan ready to go for if we pick 11, we pick 11. If we pick later, we pick later, and we'll have our guys ready to go in that order. I would assume by draft day we would already have some phone calls... 'If our guy is there, we'll be interested,' that kind of thing. You throw out some hypothetical scenarios so that you can just put them into action quickly if the scenario kind of plays out the way the other team wants it. But I think the biggest change for us is going to be from day one to day two and all the interaction that takes place there and how aggressive you choose to be, because you do have a lot more time. The draft is the same, it's just broken up differently. I think time is always something that makes people think a little bit more about what's left. There are quite a few teams, I'd say, we're one of them, obviously, that have multiple second-round selections. So it will be interesting to see what happens and how flexible other people want to be, moving down or moving up. We're one of the teams that obviously has some flexibility to try to move up if we choose."
On whether the team has been given monetary restrictions this draft
"Are we operating on some kind of a budget, like we do every year? Yes. But there has been absolutely no change in that philosophy this year from last year or, in my understanding, any year prior. There has been no change in that."
Denver Broncos Press Conference Quotes
Friday, April 16, 2010
On whether the pay scale will look the same at the top of the first round as it did in previous years
"Yes. I think the interesting thing is going to be a little bit of the uncertainty going forward in terms of the next so-many years. Right now we're just going to kind of go through it with a little bit of caution. There's no restrictions on us. There's no different restrictions on us than there would be on any other team, period."

http://www.denverbroncos.com/resources/custom/mediaroom/transcripts/10transcripts/McDaniels_draft_4_16_10.pdf

[Ravage!!!]

wtf... we providing fillabusters now?

[Lonestar]

wtf... we providing fillabusters now?

nope merely the actual words of wisdom.

[T.K.O.]

I just listened to the first part .

I like this kid, way to come across with being open.

I do not understand how people do not like him.

they're just confused...on many levels
they are short sighted and probably don't see the big picture.
its part of the "micro-wave" mentality we live in.
these kids play madden and think real football works that way.:laugh:
it takes a solid team with a common goal to get anywhere....let alone a superbowl championship.
there are 32 teams out to win it all and if anyone thinks that 1 or 2 players are gonna get it done ...they are sorely mistaken,
we need 100% from all fronts ,it has'nt happened in denver for a while.
we'll see if josh can bring the "take no prisoners.we're gonna kick your butt " mentality back to the mile high city

[WARHORSE]

On potential positions of need entering the draft:
"We have players at every position. We're out there and there's players lined up at every spot. But obviously I think there's a need and a desire for us to add competition at the center position, that's an obvious one. We just lost a receiver, obviously, that made a lot of plays for us last year. We have a lot of quality players back at that position this year but that doesn't necessarily mean that we're going to go out and draft (a receiver). We'd like to add some depth in terms of the front seven, linebackers in particular. We did a lot with the front three in free agency but again, I think it's just a matter of the player you feel comfortable and matching your selection with where you can get guys. Like I said, I think it's a deep draft, I think everyone really feels that way and I think you'll see a lot of teams hold their water and take a good player. Wherever you're at, you're going to get a good player in this draft in the first couple of rounds. You may be getting third-round, fourth-round players that come in and compete pretty quickly."





Honestly, I think the reason we got rid of Davis is because he proved to be too much of a liability in coverage, and because he couldnt consistently bring pressure on passing downs.

So if youre in the front seven and you cant cover, and cant rush the QB, then you have to come off the field on obvious passing downs............which is what he did.


Im going to choose Sergio Kindle as my sleeper pick for the Broncos.

I think Haggans moves inside, but he can stay on the field every down at that position.

A guy like Kindle brings coverage to the TE, at least in zone as well as the ability to drop the QB on his head. At least hes shown himself to be very smooth in dropping into coverage.
DJ can cover as well, and Haggans. Not stellar coverage guys, but enough to give fits in reading.


Thats a very versatile player, in a very important role for us. Not only that, but with Dooms unpredictable status going into next year, we could stand to have another OLBer.

Graham is another choice, but probably not as good in coverage.

Dallas Clark mutilated us, and we play them again.

Not saying we're going to take Kindle.............Im saying I wont be surprised.....at all.

McClain? I dont believe McD is going to hype the main guy theyre targeting to that degree.

I just dont.


My other sleeper if we pick at 11? Spiller.



Flame on.;)

[Ziggy]

I don't think McD really cares if other teams know who we're interested in at 11. 1 of them will be there, or we'll trade down. I wouldn't be surprised if every player we took through the 4th round was on the list of players that were brought in for interviews.

[T.K.O.]

On potential positions of need entering the draft:
"We have players at every position. We're out there and there's players lined up at every spot. But obviously I think there's a need and a desire for us to add competition at the center position, that's an obvious one. We just lost a receiver, obviously, that made a lot of plays for us last year. We have a lot of quality players back at that position this year but that doesn't necessarily mean that we're going to go out and draft (a receiver). We'd like to add some depth in terms of the front seven, linebackers in particular. We did a lot with the front three in free agency but again, I think it's just a matter of the player you feel comfortable and matching your selection with where you can get guys. Like I said, I think it's a deep draft, I think everyone really feels that way and I think you'll see a lot of teams hold their water and take a good player. Wherever you're at, you're going to get a good player in this draft in the first couple of rounds. You may be getting third-round, fourth-round players that come in and compete pretty quickly."





Honestly, I think the reason we got rid of Davis is because he proved to be too much of a liability in coverage, and because he couldnt consistently bring pressure on passing downs.

So if youre in the front seven and you cant cover, and cant rush the QB, then you have to come off the field on obvious passing downs............which is what he did.


Im going to choose Sergio Kindle as my sleeper pick for the Broncos.

I think Haggans moves inside, but he can stay on the field every down at that position.

A guy like Kindle brings coverage to the TE, at least in zone as well as the ability to drop the QB on his head. At least hes shown himself to be very smooth in dropping into coverage.
DJ can cover as well, and Haggans. Not stellar coverage guys, but enough to give fits in reading.


Thats a very versatile player, in a very important role for us. Not only that, but with Dooms unpredictable status going into next year, we could stand to have another OLBer.

Graham is another choice, but probably not as good in coverage.

Dallas Clark mutilated us, and we play them again.

Not saying we're going to take Kindle.............Im saying I wont be surprised.....at all.

McClain? I dont believe McD is going to hype the main guy theyre targeting to that degree.

I just dont.


My other sleeper if we pick at 11? Spiller.



Flame on.;)

won't flame ya....but kindle is not a "sleeper"

[Tempus Fugit]

See we must have confused each other... ;)

Orton is a solid quarterback, he's neither great or elite and the chances of him being such are slim...He's sort of a cheap man's Jim Plunket. He has a similar cast at this moment to what he had in Chicago, where his numbers were less then impressive but he improved with Denver in part because of the system, but mainly because he had a high caliber receiver. When your quarterback is good and not great, it's best to get him a receiver that is great or elite so they balance each other out.

He needs a guy like Bryant who will say, "Give me the damn ball, and I'll make you look like the league F'n MVP"...I don't see too many capable of doing such in this draft beyond Bryant.

And as I said earlier, it would be different if we had traded for Clayton and added someone like Easley in the mid rounds, give him someone that is somewhat productive and a prospect that has good tangibles and could end up being a possible steal with time.

McDaniels was the O.C. for the Patriots in 2006, when the Patriots got to the AFCCG and would probably have won the game and Super Bowl if the starters on defense hadn't been sick and on the sidelines for much of the second half.

Go take a look at his receiving corps from that season.

[Lancane]

McDaniels was the O.C. for the Patriots in 2006, when the Patriots got to the AFCCG and would probably have won the game and Super Bowl if the starters on defense hadn't been sick and on the sidelines for much of the second half.

Go take a look at his receiving corps from that season.

He also had Tom Brady, arguably one of the best quarterbacks to play the game, a man with enough accolades that he's a shoe in into Canton. Elway has won with lesser talented receivers, same with Marino. A quarterback can even make receivers look great when they are not. Kyle Orton while solid is a far cry from Tom Brady.

New England had one of the best defenses in the league across the boards in 2006, while their offense was rated 11th overall, what made them capable was that they were one of the better red zone offenses, 7th in scoring offense. They had a great takeaway ratio, one of the best ground games that year too, and just so you know it was not one of Brady's best years...the passing offense was 12th in the league. But their defense was better then their offense and many attribute that season to Belichick and the defensive staff.

2007, the season they went 16-0, when their offense was at it's peak, they had Moss, Malroney, Welker, Stalworth, Gaffney and Faulk. Cassell, who's no Brady either had Welker, Moss, Faulk, Morris and Gaffney in 2008. So we can argue that McDaniels was not the best coordinator in 2006 statistically compared to 07' and 08', Josh's best years came when he had elite receivers and pretty good damn tailbacks.

[Lancane]

I don't think McD really cares if other teams know who we're interested in at 11. 1 of them will be there, or we'll trade down. I wouldn't be surprised if every player we took through the 4th round was on the list of players that were brought in for interviews.

Good Points Zig, the General Managers above us are not going to say "Oh, McDaniels spoke well of these guys, so we should take one of them", at worse it makes a team that is likewise interested more intrigued to trade up. But you have to have value to do so...that is something few teams have. San Francisco and New England have the ability, Philadelphia does but it would be costly... He could have just thrown that out there like a feeler as well, to see who is interested in whom or willing to give up the most. When it's said and done I believe we will take one of those off our boards at the 11th spot.

[turftoad]

I just watched the entire interview. I loved coach Shanahan, but you would have never gotten any inside on the draft like that from him. In fact, very few teams will let thier fans in on as much about the upcoming draft as McD just did. Anyone else love that as much as I do?

Actually, (however interesting) I wish he'd keep his mouth shut. I don't see any benefit in tipping your hand to other teams. JMO

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Actually, (however interesting) I wish he'd keep his mouth shut. I don't see any benefit in tipping your hand to other teams. JMO

I watched it live - my opinion - there is nothing he said that would tip his hand to other teams - he was giving his opinion of many different players who impressed him.

[Northman]

Actually, (however interesting) I wish he'd keep his mouth shut. I don't see any benefit in tipping your hand to other teams. JMO

Yea, i agree with Carol. I didnt really get that from the interview. He said the team looked at 30 prospects and that all were very positive. He said the team will go with any player at any position so it really doesnt say we are definitely taking player x,y, or z. Right now the possibilities are endless going by those statements he made.

[Lancane]

Yea, i agree with Carol. I didnt really get that from the interview. He said the team looked at 30 prospects and that all were very positive. He said the team will go with any player at any position so it really doesnt say we are definitely taking player x,y, or z. Right now the possibilities are endless going by those statements he made.

Which means... We're taking Tim Tebow with the 11th overall pick and shocking the NFL with our greatness...

:lol:

[Northman]

Which means... We're taking Tim Tebow with the 11th overall pick and shocking the NFL with our greatness...

:lol:

God, i hope not.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Yea, i agree with Carol. I didnt really get that from the interview. He said the team looked at 30 prospects and that all were very positive. He said the team will go with any player at any position so it really doesnt say we are definitely taking player x,y, or z. Right now the possibilities are endless going by those statements he made.

Also, he did not even state WHICH position the Broncos would draft first. There was absolutely nothing that he said that would expose what they plan on doing.

[BroncoWave]

Actually, (however interesting) I wish he'd keep his mouth shut. I don't see any benefit in tipping your hand to other teams. JMO

Disagree. What's so bad about a team knowing the players we like at 11? It's not like a team ahead of us is going to draft McClain or Bryant just because they know we like them at 11. Teams are going to draft they guys they want and who they feel are good prospects, regardless of what they know about how other teams feel about those players, especially in round 1.

It would be pretty dumb for a team to snatch up, say, McClain just because they know McDaniels likes him. What good would that do them?

[Northman]

Disagree. What's so bad about a team knowing the players we like at 11? It's not like a team ahead of us is going to draft McClain or Bryant just because they know we like them at 11. Teams are going to draft they guys they want and who they feel are good prospects, regardless of what they know about how other teams feel about those players, especially in round 1.

It would be pretty dumb for a team to snatch up, say, McClain just because they know McDaniels likes him. What good would that do them?

Excellent point. One thing that McD made known yesterday was that because Denver likes so many players they are willing to trade back. Now, if Denver has a big list of players they like and if its true going by what that Giants fan said the other day about NY wanting McClain than it may force NY to try and move up with Denver to attain him or allow Denver to draft said player and trade him to NY for some additional picks etc.

[frauschieze]

If they are only bringing in players they are very interested in, and clearly state that, then they are tipping their hand. *shrugs*

[Northman]

If they are only bringing in players they are very interested in, and clearly state that, then they are tipping their hand. *shrugs*


So you think all 30 players will be gone by pick 11? Wow :lol:

[Lonestar]

If anything his comment about not drafting for need and God only knows we have lots of those OLG, OC, youth at NT-DE, superstar Safety, B/U OT-WR.

We are all over the place for needs and there appears to be good value as deep as 4th round in almost all of these areas.

I don't have any issue in discussing the players we are looking at. In fact I find it refreshing to here their thought processes.

Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

[frauschieze]

So you think all 30 players will be gone by pick 11? Wow :lol:

Don't be ridiculous. Stop and actually think it through for a minute. I'll wait here.

[frauschieze]

The easy way to think about it, is if you have a better understanding or idea of who the Broncos are going to draft, then so does every other team. That can only be a disadvantage to our team. So I'd rather he kept his mouth shut.

[Northman]

Don't be ridiculous. Stop and actually think it through for a minute. I'll wait here.

I have thought it through. We havent tipped out hand at all thats why your comment claiming so is beyond ridiculous. Tipping your hand is saying we want player x at #11. Thats tipping your hand. Saying that you liked the 30 prospects that visited your organization but still have a full draft board of 100 or more players and claiming that ANY position can be taken at ANY time is not tipping your hand. Go back and read the interview. McD never stayed on one particular subject about who they were drafting.

[Northman]

The easy way to think about it, is if you have a better understanding or idea of who the Broncos are going to draft, then so does every other team. That can only be a disadvantage to our team. So I'd rather he kept his mouth shut.


Shocker there. Fact is the rest of league pretty much knows who the other teams are looking at as well. This is beyond sillyness. :lol:

[Denver Native (Carol)]

The easy way to think about it, is if you have a better understanding or idea of who the Broncos are going to draft, then so does every other team. That can only be a disadvantage to our team. So I'd rather he kept his mouth shut.

When he talked to the press yesterday - it was a question and answer session. If you read the full transcript, available on BM, there is no way that anyone listening to it, or reading it, will have any idea of who the Broncos are going to draft. In fact, he did not even narrow down the position, let alone a specific player.

[frauschieze]

I have thought it through. We havent tipped out hand at all thats why your comment claiming so is beyond ridiculous. Tipping your hand is saying we want player x at #11. Thats tipping your hand. Saying that you liked the 30 prospects that visited your organization but still have a full draft board of 100 or more players and claiming that ANY position can be taken at ANY time is not tipping your hand. Go back and read the interview. McD never stayed on one particular subject about who they were drafting.

Strongly disagree about what it means to tip your hand. Tipping your hand is not saying you want a certain player at a certain position. That is utter stupidity and a clear statement. Tipping your hand is letting your competitors know something about your strategy, who you like, what you are likely to do. Not every one of those 30 players is someone that the Broncos would draft in the first or second round. That narrows the field considerably. That in turn can severely limit our trading ability during the draft. If other teams have a good idea of what we're up to, they can demand too much or not move.

It's limiting. Sure he said he's interested in all sorts of different players and positions and is not ruling anyone out. Goody for him. It's the emphasis he placed on the players he brought in that is the problem in my eyes. He didn't need to say that. Sure, we probably know that from last year, as does everyone else, BUT there's zero reason to broadcast it.

BTW a draft board of 100 players is pretty shitty. I'm hoping to hell he's got at least twice that many, and preferably more.

[BroncoWave]

The easy way to think about it, is if you have a better understanding or idea of who the Broncos are going to draft, then so does every other team. That can only be a disadvantage to our team. So I'd rather he kept his mouth shut.

You do realize that it's public knowledge who teams bring in for visits? Any team can find out who any team brought in regardless if the coach tells the media or not.

Where specifically did he tip his hand though? He said that he would draft any position at 11 or he could trade up or trade down. Not really sure how that tips his hand on what he is going to do.

Do you think that giving players such as Bryant, Tebow, and McClain was a way of tipping his hand? I think that could potentially be a good thing because if teams behind us know that we really like those players, they might overpay us to try to trade up and we might wind up getting a really good deal out of it.

I just want to know where specifically in that interview you think he tipped his hand in any way.

[frauschieze]

Shocker there. Fact is the rest of league pretty much knows who the other teams are looking at as well. This is beyond sillyness. :lol:

Fine then. Tell me who Washington is going to draft.

*sits smugly*

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Strongly disagree about what it means to tip your hand. Tipping your hand is not saying you want a certain player at a certain position. That is utter stupidity and a clear statement. Tipping your hand is letting your competitors know something about your strategy, who you like, what you are likely to do. Not every one of those 30 players is someone that the Broncos would draft in the first or second round. That narrows the field considerably. That in turn can severely limit our trading ability during the draft. If other teams have a good idea of what we're up to, they can demand too much or not move.

It's limiting. Sure he said he's interested in all sorts of different players and positions and is not ruling anyone out. Goody for him. It's the emphasis he placed on the players he brought in that is the problem in my eyes. He didn't need to say that. Sure, we probably know that from last year, as does everyone else, BUT there's zero reason to broadcast it.

BTW a draft board of 100 players is pretty shitty. I'm hoping to hell he's got at least twice that many, and preferably more.

When he talked about a certain player which he brought in, it was because one of the press ask about that certain player.

[Northman]

Strongly disagree about what it means to tip your hand. Tipping your hand is not saying you want a certain player at a certain position. That is utter stupidity and a clear statement. Tipping your hand is letting your competitors know something about your strategy, who you like, what you are likely to do. Not every one of those 30 players is someone that the Broncos would draft in the first or second round. That narrows the field considerably. That in turn can severely limit our trading ability during the draft. If other teams have a good idea of what we're up to, they can demand too much or not move.

It's limiting. Sure he said he's interested in all sorts of different players and positions and is not ruling anyone out. Goody for him. It's the emphasis he placed on the players he brought in that is the problem in my eyes. He didn't need to say that. Sure, we probably know that from last year, as does everyone else, BUT there's zero reason to broadcast it.

BTW a draft board of 100 players is pretty shitty. I'm hoping to hell he's got at least twice that many, and preferably more.


He probably does have more than a 100. But he also has more than a 30 players he likes. This is why i said you need to go back and watch the interview. Each NFL team is only allotted 30 player visits and just because Denver liked all 30 players that visited them does not mean that its the only players they like overall. McD also stated that their grading system is far different than last year so for all we know he may have some guy thats not even projected to go round 1 as his highest grade. And considering that McDaniels also stated that he is going to go with players that fit his team concept and that it will not always coincide with what other teams believe. Meaning, if he thinks player x is the highest rated player on his board but the rest of the NFL thinks player X is a much lower grade than there is no way they can know that. Fact is you cannot tell me that every other NFL team knows who we are going to take at our picks. They can try to guess and assume but they would be doing that anyway regardless of his comments to the media.

[BroncoWave]

Frau I'm not sure how asking you a question is insulting your intelligence but if you want to act insulted that I would challenge your opinion instead of answering my question then be my guest.

[Northman]

Fine then. Tell me who Washington is going to draft.

*sits smugly*


See my last post. Tell me who Denver is definitely going to draft at #11 Miss Cleo. Ill wait.

[BroncoWave]

See my last post. Tell me who Denver is definitely going to draft at #11 Miss Cleo. Ill wait.

Yeah, if McD tipped his hand so badly yesterday then Frau should know exactly who he's going to draft at 11, or any other spot for that matter.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

From transcript:

Question - On the size of the Broncos' draft board

Answer - We haven't counted the whole number as of now, but I think there's a little bit more depth on this year's board than there was last year. A lot of the juniors that came out really kind of pumped up certain positions and made this a deeper draft at some places that maybe it wouldn't necessarily have been. I don't have a number in my head right now, but from a numbers standpoint, I think the board will look a little bit different, a little bit fuller than it was last year.

[Ziggy]

Fine then. Tell me who Washington is going to draft.

*sits smugly*

A left tackle with the 4th pick of the draft. Book it.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

For any questions, or concerns anyone might have, the transcript is 6 pages long, and states exactly what was said by Coach McD, the questions he was asked, and his answers to those questions.

[Ziggy]

If people don't think that the Steelers and Ravens have a limited draft board also, they just don't understand how the draft works. Bringing in only players that fit your style, size requirements, and character requirements work out better in the long run. Look at the way those 2 teams draft. It's no different than what New England and now Denver are doing.

[Lonestar]

I have thought it through. We havent tipped out hand at all thats why your comment claiming so is beyond ridiculous. Tipping your hand is saying we want player x at #11. Thats tipping your hand. Saying that you liked the 30 prospects that visited your organization but still have a full draft board of 100 or more players and claiming that ANY position can be taken at ANY time is not tipping your hand. Go back and read the interview. McD never stayed on one particular subject about who they were drafting.

He did say they have a bigger draft board than last year but I still think he is trying to keep it near 100.


He probably does have more than a 100. But he also has more than a 30 players he likes. This is why i said you need to go back and watch the interview. Each NFL team is only allotted 30 player visits and just because Denver liked all 30 players that visited them does not mean that its the only players they like overall. McD also stated that their grading system is far different than last year so for all we know he may have some guy thats not even projected to go round 1 as his highest grade. And considering that McDaniels also stated that he is going to go with players that fit his team concept and that it will not always coincide with what other teams believe. Meaning, if he thinks player x is the highest rated player on his board but the rest of the NFL thinks player X is a much lower grade than there is no way they can know that. Fact is you cannot tell me that every other NFL team knows who we are going to take at our picks. They can try to guess and assume but they would be doing that anyway regardless of his comments to the media.


Unlike last year the scout had a clue in what type of players Josh and his coaches wanted on their TEAM going forward.

Last year he had to go to them and define it and then they had to reshuffle the cards so to speak and redo the draft board after reevaluating the players they had scouted.

Everyone has seen what Bill B looks for in a player Pioali in KC was opart of that Cabal as were very other Coach he has spawned. for that matter it is all a lot like what the Tuna looked for.

So there are enough EX Tuna/Bill players/coaches/scouts out there that have a damned good idea what the other teams are looking for in players.

Now how they fit our immediate needs who (current players) the coaches feel are going to make it and who needs to go that is pretty close to the vest stuff.

They placed certain values on their RFA this past year so those are probably not in question and the shit canned a lot of players that did not cut the mustard.

Everyone knows we need ORG, OC (big time), depth at all positions save maybe QB. Who that marginal players are we have now, lots og guesses but NO one beyond our current coaching staff knows for sure.

Nolan probably can guess who is going to be cut from our D side of the team but frankly not much issue with that talent drain, is there?

[Lonestar]

For any questions, or concerns anyone might have, the transcript is 6 pages long, and states exactly what was said by Coach McD, the questions he was asked, and his answers to those questions.
I posted it here in this thread both versions so all they have to do is page back and read them, IF they want to get it.

[BigBroncLove]

Better yet, here are the videos from DenverBroncos.com with the full press conference now in full technicolor! :D

McDaniels Pre-Draft Press Conference Part 1 (http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=349&videoID=3811&type=broncosTV&year=&month=)

McDaniels Pre-Draft Press Conference Part 2 (http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=349&videoID=3812&type=broncosTV&year=&month=)

[Lonestar]

If people don't think that the Steelers and Ravens have a limited draft board also, they just don't understand how the draft works. Bringing in only players that fit your style, size requirements, and character requirements work out better in the long run. Look at the way those 2 teams draft. It's no different than what New England and now Denver are doing.


I'm sure they have more than a 100 or so players they have scouted, BUT they are only interested in Drafting and signing contracts with so many players. As you said the ones that fit their scheme, have character, and are versatile guys.

If there are some of the others they want to look at as UDFA I'm sure they will look at who IF any are left on their board and try to sign them.. If they see some that did not make the 100 or what ever their cutoff number is then I'm sure they will be looked at also as UDFA.

[Ziggy]

If people don't think that the Steelers and Ravens have a limited draft board also, they just don't understand how the draft works. Bringing in only players that fit your style, size requirements, and character requirements work out better in the long run. Look at the way those 2 teams draft. It's no different than what New England and now Denver are doing.

For the record, this wasn't a shot at you Frauchize. I haven't seen you in the draft forum much, so I'm assuming you don't follow it closely.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

The question was asked who Washington will draft. I found the following interesting, as those in Washington are also trying to figure it out, so one person put together Analysis of Shanahan's Draft Tendencies in Denver, including stats by position, which is on the following link: The article was posted on 2-11-10.

http://www.bgobsession.com/blog.php?b=99

The Redskins faithful enter this 2010 offseason with more questions than answers. How will the player's react to all these new coaches? Will we able able to transition to the 3-4 effectively? Is Chris Samuels going to retire? What will be the fate of Jason Campbell? How will we approach free agency with the possibility of an uncapped year looming? Has Clinton's time run out in D.C.?

Perhaps the most compelling question, if not the most important, is what will new head coach Mike Shanahan do on draft day?

Obviously, no one knows for sure at this point (not even Shanahan), given that we're weeks away from the combine, and months away from the draft itself, but regardless, the mock drafting business is alive and booming.

The general consensus amidst these fortune tellers is that the Redskins will take either a QB or an offensive tackle with their first pick, the #4 overall pick in the entire draft. Can't say I disagree, either. So the burning question is, which way will we go?

Although I often mock the mock draft, and consider such acts of blind prediction as little more than an NFL-themed game of Pin The Tail On The Donkey, I decided to play along this time. After all, it's the offseason, what the hell else am I going to do?

I lost my magic 8 Ball last summer, and my local gypsy was fresh out of tea leaves (she blamed it on the weather, guess she didn't see that storm coming), so I needed to rely on the advice my 3rd grade history teacher once told me. The best way to predict the future is to study the past.

In an effort to get a gauge on Shanahan's positional draft tendencies, I analyzed all 111 draft picks he made during his tenure with the Denver Broncos between 1995 and 2008, breaking each pick down by position to see if anything popped out. Hardly an exact science, but it'll have to do until those tarot cards finally show up.

First, let's look at the raw totals by position. And uh, Carlos? You might want to 'pay attention' to this. (see chart on link)

Apparently, if you can run fast, you're Shanahan's guy! In terms of quantity, you can clearly see his tendency to draft DBs, WRs and RBs more than any other position.

In terms of the positions we're interested in (QB and OT), neither were particularly popular. In 13 drafts, only six QBs and five OTs were drafted by Shanahan. Not really the compelling statistical argument I was looking for.

Ah, but what about where they were drafted? After all, quality matters more than quantity in this case, especially when talking about the first pick. Curious to see how Shanahan valued certain positions, I assigned each of those draft picks their appropriate point total from Jimmy's Johnson's dreaded Draft Day Chart.

And that exercise proved to be much more interesting. (see chart on link)

So although he rarely drafted a tackle, when he did, he drafted one pretty high. On average, he drafted tackles higher on the board than any other position. Quarterbacks, on the other hand, were middle-of-the-road when compared to other positions.

And how does this translate into Jimmy's draft chart? (see chart on link)

Looking at that, one could conclude, without a crystal ball, that Mike Shanahan puts more draft value on tackle than any other position. On average, when he drafts a tackle, he's using 470 points (most out of any position), which equates to roughly the 11th pick of the 2nd round. Conversely, he spends only 248 points on average when selecting a quarterback. And where does 248 come in the draft? The 4th pick of the 3rd round. Hmmmm......

Om recently provided us with a nice summary of Nighthawks's "The Shanahan QBs", outlining the QBs that Shanahan drafted or traded for in his career.

While my scope just covers his time at Denver, here are "The Shanahan Tackles":

1995, Jamie Brown, 4th round (121st)
1996, Leslie Ratliffe, 7th round (213th)
2003, George Foster, 1st round (20th)
2007, Ryan Harris, 3rd round (70th)
2008, Ryan Clady, 1st round (12th)

It should also be noted that Jamie Brown was the Broncos 1st pick in that 1995 draft. Not sure what happened to their first 3 picks, maybe Vinny was interning for them at the time.

So, what does all this mean? In all honestly, probably nothing. Each draft is unique, each year presents its own needs and directions, not to mention that every one of those draft picks were the result of the collective minds of many, not just Shanahan. Take into account that Bruce Allen is in the mix as well, and all of this draft history in Denver could be completely irrelevant.

But what fun is that? So instead of rationalizing back to the fact that I have absolutely no clue what's going to happen, I have a better idea.

My note:

This person definitely took a lot of time, and put in a lot of effort to come up with this, and there is a 1 in a million chance that he could tell you who Washington will draft, and be right "on the money".

[Nomad]

Good news about Harris!
http://gazettebroncos.freedomblogging.com/2010/04/16/will-ryan-harris-rehab-affect-draft-plans/2423/
______________________________________

Will Ryan Harris' rehab affect draft plans?
April 16th, 2010, 7:12 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Frank Schwab
Although offensive tackle Ryan Harris is going through extensive rehabilitation for a toe injury suffered last year, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels had some positive news on his progress.

"It’s unfortunate Ryan had the injury last year, but his rehab is coming along wonderfully," McDaniels said. "He has a great attitude about it. He’s usually one of the first people I see every morning here. He’s dedicated and determined to come back full strength."

The best sign for Harris' return might be that McDaniels said he didn't think the team would draft a tackle early in the NFL draft. While the team could address depth later, McDaniels said the team was pleased with its starting tackles, Harris and Ryan Clady.

"With our situation as it currently stands, we feel comfortable with the two players we have, in terms of the starting roles, and we’ll see how the draft unfolds," McDaniels said. "You don’t pass up a really, really talented talented player if there’s nobody you feel better about. But, I don’t think that’s a direction we’re looking to do early in the draft."

[dogfish]

Actually, (however interesting) I wish he'd keep his mouth shut. I don't see any benefit in tipping your hand to other teams. JMO


If they are only bringing in players they are very interested in, and clearly state that, then they are tipping their hand. *shrugs*

enh, i wouldn't sweat it. . . everybody already knows who we brought in, and anyone with an ounce of commone sense can see what our biggest needs are. . .

does anyone really think shanahan's stupid cloack and dagger bullshit ever helped us any? i hated that junk. . . for one thing, it's retarded to draft players you've never even spoken to-- i can't think of a better way to get stuck with turds. . .

besides which, his drafting was horrible-- it was beyond conceited to think anyone would try to steal our picks if they knew who we wanted. . . i always said it would have been safer for him to put a full-page announcement in the newspaper-- would've been the best way to insure that no one else touched his targets. . .

between JMFMCD's comments and our visits, we can "narrow" our first round interests down to dez bryant, rolando mcclain, brandon graham, cj spiller, dan williams, sean weatherspoon and jared odrick-- in other words, pretty much ALL the players who are being projected in that range other than possibly joe haden or earl thomas. . . and i don't think crossing those two off really gives anyone any advantage over us. . .




Fine then. Tell me who Washington is going to draft.

*sits smugly*

OT russell okung, unless detroit takes him first. . . .

obviously there's never any guarante, but that's by far the likeliest scenario. . . and if not okung, it's probably trent williams-- feel free to bump this thursday night if it's not one of those two. . .

[T.K.O.]

mcD wants a linebacker.........:2thumbs:

[Tempus Fugit]

He also had Tom Brady, arguably one of the best quarterbacks to play the game, a man with enough accolades that he's a shoe in into Canton. Elway has won with lesser talented receivers, same with Marino. A quarterback can even make receivers look great when they are not. Kyle Orton while solid is a far cry from Tom Brady.

New England had one of the best defenses in the league across the boards in 2006, while their offense was rated 11th overall, what made them capable was that they were one of the better red zone offenses, 7th in scoring offense. They had a great takeaway ratio, one of the best ground games that year too, and just so you know it was not one of Brady's best years...the passing offense was 12th in the league. But their defense was better then their offense and many attribute that season to Belichick and the defensive staff.

2007, the season they went 16-0, when their offense was at it's peak, they had Moss, Malroney, Welker, Stalworth, Gaffney and Faulk. Cassell, who's no Brady either had Welker, Moss, Faulk, Morris and Gaffney in 2008. So we can argue that McDaniels was not the best coordinator in 2006 statistically compared to 07' and 08', Josh's best years came when he had elite receivers and pretty good damn tailbacks.

The point is simple. McDaniels has shown the capability of working with:

Mediocre receivers
QB who hadn't started a game in 7 years
Kyle Orton


Saying that a top tier QB is needed is simply not borne out by McDaniels' previous success. While you, of course, want top flight players at every position, including wide receiver, the Broncos have a head coach who's proven he can win without such elite talent at the WR position.

[Lancane]

The point is simple. McDaniels has shown the capability of working with:

Mediocre receivers
QB who hadn't started a game in 7 years
Kyle Orton


Saying that a top tier QB is needed is simply not borne out by McDaniels' previous success. While you, of course, want top flight players at every position, including wide receiver, the Broncos have a head coach who's proven he can win without such elite talent at the WR position.

No, he hasn't proven that...that is a false statement and one that is totally unfounded. He's proven that with a great defense, a great rushing attack and an elite quarterback he can win with mediocre wideouts.

We do not have an elite rushing attack at this time, we do not have an elite quarterback at this time, the defense is good not great and should improve, the only thing we have in common with the 2006 New England Patriots is mediocre wide receivers.

[Tempus Fugit]

No, he hasn't proven that...that is a false statement and one that is totally unfounded. He's proven that with a great defense, a great rushing attack and an elite quarterback he can win with mediocre wideouts.

We do not have an elite rushing attack at this time, we do not have an elite quarterback at this time, the defense is good not great and should improve, the only thing we have in common with the 2006 New England Patriots is mediocre wide receivers.

No, he has proven it. You can play silly games to minimize his accomplishment all you want. It doesn't change the reality. It just reinforces how ridiculous your bias is.

[atwater27]

No, he has proven it. You can play silly games to minimize his accomplishment all you want. It doesn't change the reality. It just reinforces how ridiculous your bias is.

He hasn't proven shit. The only bias that is ridiculous is yours.

[Northman]

Yea, i cant see how you can say that McDaniels has proven anything at this point. This is his first go as a HC and right now he is at .500. And im not about to be fooled into thinking that Cassel is a great QB when he has only one winning season under his belt. Remember, Derek Anderson had one great year and then tanked and got benched. Its far easier for an elite Qb to make his receivers better than it is for a average QB. Now, if McDaniels can make the playoffs with the current roster than there might be some merit to that statement Temp but right now McD has not proven anything. Just like the verdict is still out on Cassel the same can be said for McDaniels.

[Lancane]

No, he has proven it. You can play silly games to minimize his accomplishment all you want. It doesn't change the reality. It just reinforces how ridiculous your bias is.

Okay, where is your proof?

New England's offense in 2006 was solid in scoring offense, it's could easily be said it was the only bright spot of the offensive unit that year. But they were not a top ranked offense that year...deal with it. When you see that their defense only allowed 14.8 points a game, second only behind Baltimore's staggering 12.6, it's easy enough for us to see that the defense was the major reason that they even had a winning record that year. And let's not forget that he had one of the elite quarterbacks in the league that year as well.

My family hails from the east coast, from Buffalo to Boston. Several of them are die-hard Patriot fans, not one (and I have asked them) believes that McDaniels is the reason behind the 2006 winning record, Belichick and the defensive staff get the credit by the majority of the fans for that year. It was the 2007 season that won Josh the heart of the fans, what he did in 07' and 08' is what gave him the title of an 'Offensive Genius', the W/L record does not count for a coordinator, you should know as much...only the head coach really get's the credit for wins and losses.

[TXBRONC]

No, he has proven it. You can play silly games to minimize his accomplishment all you want. It doesn't change the reality. It just reinforces how ridiculous your bias is.

That's not bias it's fact.