Denver Native (Carol)
01-29-2009, 10:49 AM
McDaniels vows flexibility to make Broncos best they can be
Three weeks into his new job with plenty of meetings already in the rearview mirror, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels was ready to say Wednesday the Broncos will indeed use a 3-4 look on defense to repair some of the team's ills.
And a 4-3 . . . or anything else that might help the team emerge from a string of three consecutive seasons of being on the outside looking in at the playoffs.
"We're going to be versatile, and what does that mean? I don't know yet," McDaniels said. "That depends on a lot of factors. Our people, the people we're playing against, things that we don't have all the answers to yet. . . .
"Our answer in New England was always it's whatever is going to give us the best chance to win every week that's what we're going to do. It takes some time to get that certain point, we obviously can't start there, but we want to try to build a team that's flexible, versatile and can do a lot of things."
And that could include a 3-4 defense - three linemen, four linebackers - as well as plenty of other alignments in what he hopes eventually will be a robust, multifaceted playbook on both sides of the ball.
But with getting those answers in mind and his coaching staff in place at the Broncos' Dove Valley complex, McDaniels said he and the assistants have met extensively in recent days evaluating the current roster and getting the coaches up to speed.
"I had some familiarity with some of the men we now have here," McDaniels said. "But we're evaluating a lot of things and teaching a lot of things. (The) coaches come from a lot of different systems and backgrounds, all of them good teachers, not all of them familiar with the systems and the terms we're going to use. . . .
"(The) evaluation of the current roster is very important. What you need, what you don't need, what systems you're going to use, what you can do with certain guys. Ultimately, it will come together."
With the players still off and many scattered around the country at offseason homes or on vacation, McDaniels said the upcoming schedule might keep him from meeting with the entire team in a formal setting until early- to mid-March.
McDaniels said he has met with in person or talked by phone with virtually every player on the roster but the first team meeting wouldn't come until after the scouting combine, which begins Feb. 18 in Indianapolis.
Quarterback Jay Cutler, receiver Brandon Marshall and center Casey Wiegmann will travel to the Pro Bowl next week.
"So February is kind of a busy time . . . and I certainly don't want to have a team meeting and not have the team there," McDaniels said with a laugh.
McDaniels will not be at Super Bowl XLIII.
"I don't really have any desire to go unless we are playing," McDaniels said. "I hope to go back with the Broncos."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/28/mcdaniels-vows-flexibility-to-make-broncos-best/
Three weeks into his new job with plenty of meetings already in the rearview mirror, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels was ready to say Wednesday the Broncos will indeed use a 3-4 look on defense to repair some of the team's ills.
And a 4-3 . . . or anything else that might help the team emerge from a string of three consecutive seasons of being on the outside looking in at the playoffs.
"We're going to be versatile, and what does that mean? I don't know yet," McDaniels said. "That depends on a lot of factors. Our people, the people we're playing against, things that we don't have all the answers to yet. . . .
"Our answer in New England was always it's whatever is going to give us the best chance to win every week that's what we're going to do. It takes some time to get that certain point, we obviously can't start there, but we want to try to build a team that's flexible, versatile and can do a lot of things."
And that could include a 3-4 defense - three linemen, four linebackers - as well as plenty of other alignments in what he hopes eventually will be a robust, multifaceted playbook on both sides of the ball.
But with getting those answers in mind and his coaching staff in place at the Broncos' Dove Valley complex, McDaniels said he and the assistants have met extensively in recent days evaluating the current roster and getting the coaches up to speed.
"I had some familiarity with some of the men we now have here," McDaniels said. "But we're evaluating a lot of things and teaching a lot of things. (The) coaches come from a lot of different systems and backgrounds, all of them good teachers, not all of them familiar with the systems and the terms we're going to use. . . .
"(The) evaluation of the current roster is very important. What you need, what you don't need, what systems you're going to use, what you can do with certain guys. Ultimately, it will come together."
With the players still off and many scattered around the country at offseason homes or on vacation, McDaniels said the upcoming schedule might keep him from meeting with the entire team in a formal setting until early- to mid-March.
McDaniels said he has met with in person or talked by phone with virtually every player on the roster but the first team meeting wouldn't come until after the scouting combine, which begins Feb. 18 in Indianapolis.
Quarterback Jay Cutler, receiver Brandon Marshall and center Casey Wiegmann will travel to the Pro Bowl next week.
"So February is kind of a busy time . . . and I certainly don't want to have a team meeting and not have the team there," McDaniels said with a laugh.
McDaniels will not be at Super Bowl XLIII.
"I don't really have any desire to go unless we are playing," McDaniels said. "I hope to go back with the Broncos."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/28/mcdaniels-vows-flexibility-to-make-broncos-best/