RunYouOver
04-28-2009, 08:13 PM
Well, it's April 28th and that means it's time for a complete, thorough analysis of the Broncos.
Thoughts on the draft
1st round:
#12) Knowshon Moreno:
The only pick I would've liked more is Orakpo, but clearly the Broncos felt that he wasn't a good fit for the system. Moreno was clearly the best running back in this draft, and the player who could have the biggest impact at #12. There's nothing not to like here. We didn't reach for defense since we had the #18 pick, and drafting an impact running back here makes more sense than just taking the BPA. A good running game really helps the defense, and since our defense is already pretty weak, this pick DOES help our defense. So stop complaining. This pick really helped our team.
#18) Robert Ayers:
Another great pick here, ACTUAL help for the defense. Ayers was Mayock's top defensive player in the draft, and while I wouldn't put him ahead of Curry, he's definitely up there. He's athletic enough to work in the 4-3 or 3-4, and even though he's a potential one year wonder, he has the intelligence and work ethic to avoid being a Jarvis Moss. Good pick.
2nd round:
#37) Alphonso Smith:
Alright, here's the deal with this pick; Anyone who is against it is wrong. Your opinion doesn't count. Just kidding, but this pick was incredible. It makes sense for everyone. So he's 5'9, you know why that doesn't matter? Quarterbacks aren't going to throw the ball to the receiver at 8 or 9 feet in the air. Which means as long as he's in the vicinity, he can make a play on the ball, height will not be a major factor. Will it effect him on jump balls in the end zone? Probably. Everywhere else? As long as their is safety help, he's fine on a jump ball, and on anything else this guy is a playmaker. Watched him play, and I think he made Curry better, not the other way around. We're going to wind up laughing about complaining about this trade in a few years, just watch. This guy is a legitimate answer at corner, and he'll help us a LOT.
#48) Darcel McBath:
I was against this pick originally. I wanted a safety, but I didn't even know this guy, and thought there were better safeties in the draft. But he's smart, and athletic and McDaniels and the team loved him. If they think he'll fit, he'll fit...and it wasn't a reach since the cowboys wanted him at #51.
#64) Richard Quinn:
This pick made absolutely no sense to me...and then I thought about it. We'll never know if other teams were interested, so it's impossible to say we made a big reach on this...but if he was our guy, he was our guy, no point in taking a chance. We had a small draft board and this was one of the guys we "needed." Graham will be around for a while I think--don't listen to those rumors of his release--but Scheffler won't, and two solid blocking tight ends are going to be very helpful. Quinn will catch the ball more than he did in college (or so we hope), and he'll turn out fine. I'm not thrilled with this pick, but I'm not upset.
3rd round: no picks
4th round:
#114) David Bruton:
Supposedly a team leader and a captain at Notre Dame, which is impressive.
Our special teams sucks every year, and McDaniels said that he "was the best special teams player in the draft," so that is absoluetly fine with me. He's got potential as a starting safety down the road, but considering how bad our ST was last year, the fourth round is fine by me for fixing it.
#132) Seth Olsen
Our offensive line may be set with Clady and Harris, but we need more depth at guard. This pick is fine.
5th round:
#141) Kenny McKinley:
Everything I read about this pick leads me to believe we got a steal here...he'll probably come into camp as the #4 WR, maybe #5, but I expect him to be fairly productive. If he dominated corners in the SEC, even through double teams, he's got talent. Plus South Carolina wasn't the same team without him, by any stretch...this guy was a steal.
6th Round:
#174) Tom Brandstater
I guess he sounds enough like Tom Brady to McDaniels, and if that means McDaniels can turn a 6th rounder into a star, I'm happy.
7th round:
#225) Blake Schuleuter
It's the 7th round. Depth for the Center if he even makes the team.
I never complain about 7th round picks.
OVERALL:
We didn't address all the needs people thought we would, but we made smart picks on players we liked at spots we felt we needed to take them. I'm happy with that, and I think our team improved a lot this past weekend.
Thoughts on McDaniels:
The draft really made me reconsider my stance on McD...he DID know what he was doing and he didn't seem to panic. Some of the moves may seem questionable now, but I think they'll turn out mostly OK later on. I think he really does know how to run a football team, and that'll become apparent when we win our first couple games of the season, and play competitively in the tougher games. I'm excited now; he messed up badly with Cutler, but that'll be a learning experience, and to be honest, a month later, I think we can recover.
Quarterback position:
Orton's really not that bad. He was 21-12 with a defense and no offense. Now he has an offense with a TON of weapons and not a good defense. He has too many weapons to not be better as a player, and the competition in Simms to motivate him to play better. Simms is not terribe, either...far better than Patrick Ramsey.
RBs:
Yes, we have a ton. We have a ton of good pass-catching RBs for Orton, some solid change of pace guys, and now Moreno. I think we're actually a top 10 running team with the guys we have now, and this will help out Orton and our O a lot. We can still score 30 a game, any game.
WRs:
Doesn't look like Marshall will be suspended at this point, Royal should only improve, and we have Stokely, Gaffney and McKinley who can all play well. Add in a TON of UDFAs, and we'll get a solid crew of WRs. This is definitely our team's strong point...
O-Line:
...along with the O-line. Still looking great, and that'll also be a significant help for Orton...he'll have protection and the time to not mess up. Aside from Wieggman, this is a young line that should continue to dominate for years to come.
D-Line/LBs:
Not as terrible as people think...Baker and Thomas are both at LEAST middle of the pack NTs, Moss could potentially surprise at LB...he can't be much worse than he is now, Crowder, Dumervil and Ayers could all be solid OLBs, DJ Williams is one of the best in the league, we signed some guys...when it's all said and done, we're not a bottom five defense with our LB and D-Line, we're just not.
Secondary:
We still have Champ at corner, to go along with Andre Goodman, Jack Williams, Alphonso Smith...our corners are actually above average, and with Dawkins, our secondary is a lot better.
I'm actually happy with our secondary right now, especially with Alphonso Smith.
Special teams is improved...not much more too say there. It couldn't get any worse.
So here's the deal: No one expects much from us next season, even most of our fans...people are questioning our draft, people question our coach...everything's a question or a doubt.
I'm here to tell you there's no doubt about it, we're going to surprise almost everyone next season. We've got a hell of a schedule ahead of us, but stranger things have happened. Teams that look strong now might actually be pretty weak by midway through next season. And some teams, and I think we'll be one of them, will actually be tougher than it appears on the schedule right now.
Anything and everything can change, as it usually does...but I'm more optimistic than I've been since the day before Shanny was fired, and I really think you should be as well.
:cheers:
Thoughts on the draft
1st round:
#12) Knowshon Moreno:
The only pick I would've liked more is Orakpo, but clearly the Broncos felt that he wasn't a good fit for the system. Moreno was clearly the best running back in this draft, and the player who could have the biggest impact at #12. There's nothing not to like here. We didn't reach for defense since we had the #18 pick, and drafting an impact running back here makes more sense than just taking the BPA. A good running game really helps the defense, and since our defense is already pretty weak, this pick DOES help our defense. So stop complaining. This pick really helped our team.
#18) Robert Ayers:
Another great pick here, ACTUAL help for the defense. Ayers was Mayock's top defensive player in the draft, and while I wouldn't put him ahead of Curry, he's definitely up there. He's athletic enough to work in the 4-3 or 3-4, and even though he's a potential one year wonder, he has the intelligence and work ethic to avoid being a Jarvis Moss. Good pick.
2nd round:
#37) Alphonso Smith:
Alright, here's the deal with this pick; Anyone who is against it is wrong. Your opinion doesn't count. Just kidding, but this pick was incredible. It makes sense for everyone. So he's 5'9, you know why that doesn't matter? Quarterbacks aren't going to throw the ball to the receiver at 8 or 9 feet in the air. Which means as long as he's in the vicinity, he can make a play on the ball, height will not be a major factor. Will it effect him on jump balls in the end zone? Probably. Everywhere else? As long as their is safety help, he's fine on a jump ball, and on anything else this guy is a playmaker. Watched him play, and I think he made Curry better, not the other way around. We're going to wind up laughing about complaining about this trade in a few years, just watch. This guy is a legitimate answer at corner, and he'll help us a LOT.
#48) Darcel McBath:
I was against this pick originally. I wanted a safety, but I didn't even know this guy, and thought there were better safeties in the draft. But he's smart, and athletic and McDaniels and the team loved him. If they think he'll fit, he'll fit...and it wasn't a reach since the cowboys wanted him at #51.
#64) Richard Quinn:
This pick made absolutely no sense to me...and then I thought about it. We'll never know if other teams were interested, so it's impossible to say we made a big reach on this...but if he was our guy, he was our guy, no point in taking a chance. We had a small draft board and this was one of the guys we "needed." Graham will be around for a while I think--don't listen to those rumors of his release--but Scheffler won't, and two solid blocking tight ends are going to be very helpful. Quinn will catch the ball more than he did in college (or so we hope), and he'll turn out fine. I'm not thrilled with this pick, but I'm not upset.
3rd round: no picks
4th round:
#114) David Bruton:
Supposedly a team leader and a captain at Notre Dame, which is impressive.
Our special teams sucks every year, and McDaniels said that he "was the best special teams player in the draft," so that is absoluetly fine with me. He's got potential as a starting safety down the road, but considering how bad our ST was last year, the fourth round is fine by me for fixing it.
#132) Seth Olsen
Our offensive line may be set with Clady and Harris, but we need more depth at guard. This pick is fine.
5th round:
#141) Kenny McKinley:
Everything I read about this pick leads me to believe we got a steal here...he'll probably come into camp as the #4 WR, maybe #5, but I expect him to be fairly productive. If he dominated corners in the SEC, even through double teams, he's got talent. Plus South Carolina wasn't the same team without him, by any stretch...this guy was a steal.
6th Round:
#174) Tom Brandstater
I guess he sounds enough like Tom Brady to McDaniels, and if that means McDaniels can turn a 6th rounder into a star, I'm happy.
7th round:
#225) Blake Schuleuter
It's the 7th round. Depth for the Center if he even makes the team.
I never complain about 7th round picks.
OVERALL:
We didn't address all the needs people thought we would, but we made smart picks on players we liked at spots we felt we needed to take them. I'm happy with that, and I think our team improved a lot this past weekend.
Thoughts on McDaniels:
The draft really made me reconsider my stance on McD...he DID know what he was doing and he didn't seem to panic. Some of the moves may seem questionable now, but I think they'll turn out mostly OK later on. I think he really does know how to run a football team, and that'll become apparent when we win our first couple games of the season, and play competitively in the tougher games. I'm excited now; he messed up badly with Cutler, but that'll be a learning experience, and to be honest, a month later, I think we can recover.
Quarterback position:
Orton's really not that bad. He was 21-12 with a defense and no offense. Now he has an offense with a TON of weapons and not a good defense. He has too many weapons to not be better as a player, and the competition in Simms to motivate him to play better. Simms is not terribe, either...far better than Patrick Ramsey.
RBs:
Yes, we have a ton. We have a ton of good pass-catching RBs for Orton, some solid change of pace guys, and now Moreno. I think we're actually a top 10 running team with the guys we have now, and this will help out Orton and our O a lot. We can still score 30 a game, any game.
WRs:
Doesn't look like Marshall will be suspended at this point, Royal should only improve, and we have Stokely, Gaffney and McKinley who can all play well. Add in a TON of UDFAs, and we'll get a solid crew of WRs. This is definitely our team's strong point...
O-Line:
...along with the O-line. Still looking great, and that'll also be a significant help for Orton...he'll have protection and the time to not mess up. Aside from Wieggman, this is a young line that should continue to dominate for years to come.
D-Line/LBs:
Not as terrible as people think...Baker and Thomas are both at LEAST middle of the pack NTs, Moss could potentially surprise at LB...he can't be much worse than he is now, Crowder, Dumervil and Ayers could all be solid OLBs, DJ Williams is one of the best in the league, we signed some guys...when it's all said and done, we're not a bottom five defense with our LB and D-Line, we're just not.
Secondary:
We still have Champ at corner, to go along with Andre Goodman, Jack Williams, Alphonso Smith...our corners are actually above average, and with Dawkins, our secondary is a lot better.
I'm actually happy with our secondary right now, especially with Alphonso Smith.
Special teams is improved...not much more too say there. It couldn't get any worse.
So here's the deal: No one expects much from us next season, even most of our fans...people are questioning our draft, people question our coach...everything's a question or a doubt.
I'm here to tell you there's no doubt about it, we're going to surprise almost everyone next season. We've got a hell of a schedule ahead of us, but stranger things have happened. Teams that look strong now might actually be pretty weak by midway through next season. And some teams, and I think we'll be one of them, will actually be tougher than it appears on the schedule right now.
Anything and everything can change, as it usually does...but I'm more optimistic than I've been since the day before Shanny was fired, and I really think you should be as well.
:cheers: