Italianmobstr7
10-04-2008, 02:36 PM
Originally posted by Titan at the orange mane... Not sure how I feel about this.
The last couple of years I posted a summary of Shanahan’s comments at his annual Bronco Quarterback Club appearance. People seemed to like it so here’s a report on Shanahan’s visit to the club tonight from a few notes I jotted down.
Shanahan opened his remarks saying how he always enjoys meeting with the Bronco QB Club. It is the only fan group he talks to during the season. He’s been making appearances at the club since he was a Bronco assistant coach in 1984.
Shanahan then gave a quick review of the Broncos offense and defense:
Offense –
Cutler – if the draft were held today he’d be the #1 pick overall. In my experience there’s a big jump between a quarterback’s 2nd and 3rd year – you are seeing that jump in Jay. When we lost to Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship game I thought that was about as good as we could do with Jake. We are calling some plays now with Jay that we could never have done in the previous 7 years.
Wide receivers:
We drafted Royal as a returner. We found he was so good as a wide receiver we decided not to risk him on kickoff returns, where the chance of injury is greater. If the draft were held today Royal would be taken in the top 10 picks.
Brandon Marshall – he’s maturing. He’s got one heck of a career ahead of him now that he’s straightening up.
Stokely – best 3rd wide receiver in the NFL
OLine:
Clady and Harris will be bookend pro bowl tackles for the next 10 to 12 years. That is a great foundation to build on.
Nalen – ultimate warrior, we miss him
Casey Wiegmann – I admired him from afar while he was with KC. He has a lot of years on him but he’s playing extremely well.
Kuper – chance to be one of the top guards in the nfl
Running backs:
Spencer Larsen will start at fullback this week. Never played fullback before in his life. Great on special teams and we think he’ll be a great full back.
We’re averaging 5 yds/carry so we are pleased with our running game. Torain is 225 lbs and has a chance to come back after the bye week. Torain is one of the better running backs I have been around in my career – you will like him.
Tight end – we have 3 guys who can play
Defense:
DB’s: Champ is the best defensive back in the league. Bly is doing a good job. J Williams has great speed and will get better with more playing time. We are playing safeties by committee. We have 4 new safeties.
LB’s: DJ is signed for the long term. He is playing at a pro bowl level this year.
Boss – has been hampered by an ankle injury he suffered in the first preseason game. This is the 1st week he’s really been healthy.
Overall the defense is a work in progress but it’s coming together. The year Indy won the Super Bowl their defense was ranked last towards the end of the season. We gained a lot of yards on them. But they got it together in the playoffs. We have young players who can step up to make our defense better.
Special teams:
Kern has an extremely strong leg. Can punt 80 to 85 yards in practice. Hasn’t shown fully what he can do yet in games.
Fell in love with Prater and his strong leg. Having him handle kickoffs is a big plus because we can save a spot on the 45 man roster for an extra special team player (instead of saving one spot for a kickoff specialist). Prater still has to prove himself in games – so far so good.
Then the coach took questions from the crowd:
How is Jeremy Bates doing?
He’s a great coach. He’s a coaches son. He puts in a lot of hours as qb coach working with Cutler, just like I did early in my career with Elway. In that position he has to know what the quarterback wants, and he’s doing a good job of it.
What’s the biggest surprise for you in the division so far?
It’s still very early. San Diego getting beat the 1st game was a surprise. They may not be as good on defense as last year. Buffalo going 4-0 so far is a surprise.
This past week Huard made much better throws for KC than Thigpen had the previous week. He surprised us some. Dwayne Bowe caught some big passes against us – Bowe had some crucial drops against New England otherwise the Chiefs would have won that game.
Does Rod Smith have a future in the organization?
I told Rod he has a job with us when he is ready, whether it be in administration or in coaching.
The overall theme of Shanahan’s talk: he likes this team. It is young and will go through growing pains, but has lots of talent and character. I got the impression he is really enjoying coaching this group.
The last couple of years I posted a summary of Shanahan’s comments at his annual Bronco Quarterback Club appearance. People seemed to like it so here’s a report on Shanahan’s visit to the club tonight from a few notes I jotted down.
Shanahan opened his remarks saying how he always enjoys meeting with the Bronco QB Club. It is the only fan group he talks to during the season. He’s been making appearances at the club since he was a Bronco assistant coach in 1984.
Shanahan then gave a quick review of the Broncos offense and defense:
Offense –
Cutler – if the draft were held today he’d be the #1 pick overall. In my experience there’s a big jump between a quarterback’s 2nd and 3rd year – you are seeing that jump in Jay. When we lost to Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship game I thought that was about as good as we could do with Jake. We are calling some plays now with Jay that we could never have done in the previous 7 years.
Wide receivers:
We drafted Royal as a returner. We found he was so good as a wide receiver we decided not to risk him on kickoff returns, where the chance of injury is greater. If the draft were held today Royal would be taken in the top 10 picks.
Brandon Marshall – he’s maturing. He’s got one heck of a career ahead of him now that he’s straightening up.
Stokely – best 3rd wide receiver in the NFL
OLine:
Clady and Harris will be bookend pro bowl tackles for the next 10 to 12 years. That is a great foundation to build on.
Nalen – ultimate warrior, we miss him
Casey Wiegmann – I admired him from afar while he was with KC. He has a lot of years on him but he’s playing extremely well.
Kuper – chance to be one of the top guards in the nfl
Running backs:
Spencer Larsen will start at fullback this week. Never played fullback before in his life. Great on special teams and we think he’ll be a great full back.
We’re averaging 5 yds/carry so we are pleased with our running game. Torain is 225 lbs and has a chance to come back after the bye week. Torain is one of the better running backs I have been around in my career – you will like him.
Tight end – we have 3 guys who can play
Defense:
DB’s: Champ is the best defensive back in the league. Bly is doing a good job. J Williams has great speed and will get better with more playing time. We are playing safeties by committee. We have 4 new safeties.
LB’s: DJ is signed for the long term. He is playing at a pro bowl level this year.
Boss – has been hampered by an ankle injury he suffered in the first preseason game. This is the 1st week he’s really been healthy.
Overall the defense is a work in progress but it’s coming together. The year Indy won the Super Bowl their defense was ranked last towards the end of the season. We gained a lot of yards on them. But they got it together in the playoffs. We have young players who can step up to make our defense better.
Special teams:
Kern has an extremely strong leg. Can punt 80 to 85 yards in practice. Hasn’t shown fully what he can do yet in games.
Fell in love with Prater and his strong leg. Having him handle kickoffs is a big plus because we can save a spot on the 45 man roster for an extra special team player (instead of saving one spot for a kickoff specialist). Prater still has to prove himself in games – so far so good.
Then the coach took questions from the crowd:
How is Jeremy Bates doing?
He’s a great coach. He’s a coaches son. He puts in a lot of hours as qb coach working with Cutler, just like I did early in my career with Elway. In that position he has to know what the quarterback wants, and he’s doing a good job of it.
What’s the biggest surprise for you in the division so far?
It’s still very early. San Diego getting beat the 1st game was a surprise. They may not be as good on defense as last year. Buffalo going 4-0 so far is a surprise.
This past week Huard made much better throws for KC than Thigpen had the previous week. He surprised us some. Dwayne Bowe caught some big passes against us – Bowe had some crucial drops against New England otherwise the Chiefs would have won that game.
Does Rod Smith have a future in the organization?
I told Rod he has a job with us when he is ready, whether it be in administration or in coaching.
The overall theme of Shanahan’s talk: he likes this team. It is young and will go through growing pains, but has lots of talent and character. I got the impression he is really enjoying coaching this group.