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View Full Version : More perspective on our roller coaster season



cmc0605
01-15-2012, 07:55 PM
Just a few points that I think serve as a summary of the Broncos current state, or at least serve as a good starting point for discussion:

I think it's fair to say that no team has gone through more of an up-and-down season than Denver. Some of those "ups" gave us a false sense of confidence in just what our team was capable of doing, but let's keep in mind that we were supposed to be in a rebuilding stage; in fact, at one point we were in the Luck sweepstakes. So while we all talk about Tebow, FA/draft priorities, let's keep in mind that this team is still a couple years away from being elite.

It is clear that Denver was not a playoff-calibur team, and probably didn't deserve to be where they were. They benefited from a number of improbable events, such as Marion Barber being an idiot, and being in a division with no winning records. They lacked the heart to win the last several games when they really needed to, and lucked out playing a Pittsburgh team at home with half their starters out or hobbled. The offensive play style was a failed experiment, yet served as a good scaffold upon which a more sophisticated and improved offense might be built in the future (see my comments on Tebow below).

I tend to loosely categorize players into three types: you have 'guests,' guys who are just starters because they are forced to be there due to injury or lack of anyone else. You have quality starters, guys you can count on to be reliable week in and week out. Third, you have your elite players, the few pro bowlers here and there. Teams need to be built by the second kind, supplemented by the third. This team had a weird mix of the first and third types. Two rookie safeties, a rookie corner (secondary big priority), a 'guest' MLB, etc means we had no shot against the better WR/TE corps of GB, DET, NE. Also had mediocre-at-best defensive lineman, and a growing offensive line (albeit one that has built chemistry and I think is very close to being one of the better in the league). In that mix you have Champ Bailey, a very exciting rookie in Von Miller, who is already on the verge of being elite, but needs to develop more consistency in the run-stopping and coverage aspects of the game. D.J. Williams is solid, and the receiving corps has some exciting young talent in D.T. and Eric Decker. I think we could use another good player here, especially for depth, but I don't view it as big priority. If elite offenses like New England (with Gronkowski/Hernandez), the Saints (Jimmy Graham), and Green Bay (Finley) are to serve as a template for what other teams should do, we really need to get a high-calibur TE.

It will take a couple years to build up the missing gaps in this team, as well as fortify enough depth to ease the eventual departure of guys like Bailey, Dawkins.

As far as Tebow, it's worth keeping in perspective that he is essentially a rookie. He was a second year player, but only played a few games his first season, and played an incomplete second year with no offseason. As such, I think the coaching staff evaluation will need to focus more on his capacity for improvement than his performance this season, but he did make great strides in the passing game toward the later half of the year. I still think his throwing motion is going to limit his development, as I don't know if he can get the ball out quick enough for short slants and such. But his legs open up a new realm of possibilities, if only the offensive play calling would open up. That includes bootlegs, screen patterns to RBs and WRs, and more of the short play creativity that NE took advantage of. Lots of 2nd and 3's create a whole new ball game then a lot of 2nd and 9's. More importantly, Tebow needs to learn to go through progressions and find open receivers without the need to scramble for fifteen seconds. He did hit some more basic out patterns near the sideline, and quick hitch routes, etc in later games. He also needs to find his safety net options, like the RBs out of the backfield or the TE going across the field. Very often, teams didn't even cover those guys, but Tebow doesn't look for them. If we can open up the weaponry, make the third and fourth reads relevant, then that will only make the option stuff more effective. Otherwise, we look like chickens with are head cut off.