DenBronx
08-04-2009, 02:13 PM
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_12985221
Denver Post sports writer Mike Klis posts his Broncos Mailbag on Tuesdays during the 2009 NFL season.
Drop a Broncos- or NFL-related question into the Broncos Mailbag, or visit The Denver Post's Broncos Page.
Mike - How are you? Any word as to whether or not the Broncos are gonna sport the orange jerseys this season? I love that look on our boys! Brings back memories of the Orange Crush!
-- Roushell, Amarillo, Texas
Roushell - Ding, Ding, Ding! You, Roushell, delivered the question that prompted the first scoop of the 2009 mailbag season. May it not be the last. I checked around, and, yes, the Broncos will be wearing their alternative-home, orange jerseys for their games Oct. 4 against Dallas and Nov. 9 against Pittsburgh.
Additionally, the Broncos will be wearing their 1960s throwback uniforms in an attempt to scare Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots on Oct. 11, and at the San Diego Chargers for the Monday night game on Oct. 19.
The Broncos will literally be a team of new looks this year.
Mike - I read The Denver Post daily and continue to see if anyone will suggest Denver pursue Michael Vick. With the Jay Cutler letdown, why doesn't Josh McDaniels try to redeem himself and sign the best available QB out there?
-- Dan Olson, Des Moines, Iowa
Dan - You stumbled upon the wrong choir, for I didn't think Michael Vick was a very good quarterback in 2006. Great athlete. Scary to defend. Strong arm. But way too inaccurate as a passer to be a consistent winning quarterback in the NFL.
As for McDaniels redeeming himself, he did essentially receive Kyle Orton, Alphonso Smith, Richard Quinn and a 2010 first-round draft choice in return for Cutler and a Bears draft pick that
The Broncos will wear their orange jerseys this season for a pair of home games — Oct. 4 against Dallas and Nov. 9 against Pittsburgh. (Denver Post file photo)turned out to be Johnny Knox. But McDaniels knows the only way he can silence his critics is if the Broncos post a winning record this year.
Do you think that the Broncos would receive the same criticism of their draft if Robert Ayers was picked at No. 12 and then Knowshon Moreno was picked with the Broncos' second first-round choice?
-- Apurba Chakraborty, Minneapolis
You, Apurba, are a smart person. While the Broncos would have still been second-guessed for not adding more well known, top-shelf talent to their defensive front during the offseason, draft-day criticism would have been less stinging if Ayers was selected No. 12 and Moreno at No. 18.
The Broncos walked into draft day prepared to take either nose tackle B.J. Raji, defensive end Tyson Jackson or Ayers with their No. 12 pick, and were hoping for Moreno with their No. 18 pick. But when Raji and Jackson went off the board, the Broncos made a strategic decision. They received enough information to believe Ayers had a better chance of lasting until No. 18 than Moreno. So they took Moreno at No. 12, and Ayers was still there at No. 18.
The Broncos war room was ecstatic; meanwhile, brows furrowed outside.
I think people were so shocked by the No. 12 pick -- even though Moreno was presented as a strong possibility a few days before the draft in The Denver Post (you can look it up) -- they viewed the entire draft as an exercise in misplaced priorities.
Why
Submit a Question
Speak up by sending your Broncos- or NFL-related question to Mike Klis
did they bring Chris Simms to Denver with no plans to use him?
-- Rich Efchak, Tampa, Fla.
Rich - Look at it the way NFL coaches tell us to look at it: Simms is one play away from becoming the Broncos' starting quarterback. There is too much pressure on every employee in an NFL team building to win each season, and the season is too short at 16 games, for a franchise to put everything into one quarterback.
A team can't afford to waste a season because one guy gets hurt. Two quality quarterbacks are necessary per team. If Kyle Orton goes down for a game or two, Simms is capable of coming in and winning a game or two. One or two games can be the difference between making the playoffs, or staying home for a fourth consecutive January.
A quality backup quarterback was deemed so important by the Broncos, they gave Simms a two-year, $6 million contract.
How much longer are the Broncos going to be stuck with "Invesco Field at Mile High" for their stadium name?
-- David Johnson, Owatonna, Minn.
Hang in there, Dave. It will be 2021 before you know it. Invesco Funds paid $120 million for the naming rights that expired in 2021, so they deserve the publicity. Compare that to Coors Brewing Co., who paid a mere $15 million to have the Colorado Rockies' home park called Coors Field. And there's no expiration date on the Coors Field naming rights.
So Invesco paid handsomely for the honor. But like you, Dave, I find "Invesco Field at Mile High," too unwieldy. Too many ats. ... The Broncos play at Invesco Field at Mile High. ... The Broncos beat the Raiders 10-9 today at Invesco Field at Mile High. ...
It ruins the flow of my run-on sentences.
Is Jarvis Moss ever going to develop into a solid NFL player or do you think he is another first-round bust?
-- Darrell Johnson, Denver
Darrell - I think the two most insulting words in sports are: 1. "choke" and 2. "bust." As of this writing, Moss was excused from his third day of training camp so he could contemplate whether he should step away from football.
Which means his immediate NFL future doesn't appear promising. In Moss' defense, it's not his fault he was built wrong for the NFL. It's one thing to be a 250-pound defensive end while standing 5-feet-11, which is the case with Elvis Dumervil. But 250 pounds on a 6-7 frame just doesn't work. Moss has tremendous speed and athleticism for a man his size, but he doesn't have the leverage or strength to get past behemoth NFL blockers as a defensive end, and he may be too long to cover shifty backs as an outside linebacker.
I suppose people will call Moss a bust. It would be much nicer if they called him a tweener.
One aspect of the Broncos' prospects in 2009 that is an improvement over Mike Shanahan's reign -- at least if they stink out the place, we can ascribe it to rebuilding. We always had expectations of going deep in the playoffs every year after John Elway, only to realize we'd been conned as the season went on. Regardless of what you may think of Shanahan the man, don't you think the organization under the "Mastermind" had ossified and needed to change? What was that quote from Albert Einstein -- a true mastermind -- about insanity?
-- Mark Miller, Westchester County, N.Y.
Mark - A few months ago, I read about 300 pages of the Einstein biography written by Walter Isaacson. But as there were some 400 pages to go, I put it down and haven't picked it up since. Einstein said the definition of insanity is: "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Hey, wait a minute. Why you clever Westchester County guy, you. In defense of Shanahan, I had no problem with him having playoff expectations every year. He did tell me this once: Never admit you're rebuilding, or as a coach you'll lose the team. The players will believe they're not supposed to win before they even play.
Herm Edwards was forthright about his "rebuilding" Kansas City Chiefs last year and they finished 2-14. But, yes, I do think that after 14 years, the Broncos had become a bit rigid or stale under Shanahan's leadership. Check that. It wasn't so much 14 years with one boss that brought weariness to Dove Valley as it was three years without a postseason appearance.
Had the Broncos made the playoffs the previous three years, Shanahan's ways would have been increasingly revered.
Mike Klis has covered the Denver Broncos since the start of the 2005 season after previously covering the Colorado Rockies and Major League Baseball for 15 years. Drop a Broncos- or NFL-related question into the Broncos Mailbag, or visit The Denver Post's Broncos Page.
Denver Post sports writer Mike Klis posts his Broncos Mailbag on Tuesdays during the 2009 NFL season.
Drop a Broncos- or NFL-related question into the Broncos Mailbag, or visit The Denver Post's Broncos Page.
Mike - How are you? Any word as to whether or not the Broncos are gonna sport the orange jerseys this season? I love that look on our boys! Brings back memories of the Orange Crush!
-- Roushell, Amarillo, Texas
Roushell - Ding, Ding, Ding! You, Roushell, delivered the question that prompted the first scoop of the 2009 mailbag season. May it not be the last. I checked around, and, yes, the Broncos will be wearing their alternative-home, orange jerseys for their games Oct. 4 against Dallas and Nov. 9 against Pittsburgh.
Additionally, the Broncos will be wearing their 1960s throwback uniforms in an attempt to scare Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots on Oct. 11, and at the San Diego Chargers for the Monday night game on Oct. 19.
The Broncos will literally be a team of new looks this year.
Mike - I read The Denver Post daily and continue to see if anyone will suggest Denver pursue Michael Vick. With the Jay Cutler letdown, why doesn't Josh McDaniels try to redeem himself and sign the best available QB out there?
-- Dan Olson, Des Moines, Iowa
Dan - You stumbled upon the wrong choir, for I didn't think Michael Vick was a very good quarterback in 2006. Great athlete. Scary to defend. Strong arm. But way too inaccurate as a passer to be a consistent winning quarterback in the NFL.
As for McDaniels redeeming himself, he did essentially receive Kyle Orton, Alphonso Smith, Richard Quinn and a 2010 first-round draft choice in return for Cutler and a Bears draft pick that
The Broncos will wear their orange jerseys this season for a pair of home games — Oct. 4 against Dallas and Nov. 9 against Pittsburgh. (Denver Post file photo)turned out to be Johnny Knox. But McDaniels knows the only way he can silence his critics is if the Broncos post a winning record this year.
Do you think that the Broncos would receive the same criticism of their draft if Robert Ayers was picked at No. 12 and then Knowshon Moreno was picked with the Broncos' second first-round choice?
-- Apurba Chakraborty, Minneapolis
You, Apurba, are a smart person. While the Broncos would have still been second-guessed for not adding more well known, top-shelf talent to their defensive front during the offseason, draft-day criticism would have been less stinging if Ayers was selected No. 12 and Moreno at No. 18.
The Broncos walked into draft day prepared to take either nose tackle B.J. Raji, defensive end Tyson Jackson or Ayers with their No. 12 pick, and were hoping for Moreno with their No. 18 pick. But when Raji and Jackson went off the board, the Broncos made a strategic decision. They received enough information to believe Ayers had a better chance of lasting until No. 18 than Moreno. So they took Moreno at No. 12, and Ayers was still there at No. 18.
The Broncos war room was ecstatic; meanwhile, brows furrowed outside.
I think people were so shocked by the No. 12 pick -- even though Moreno was presented as a strong possibility a few days before the draft in The Denver Post (you can look it up) -- they viewed the entire draft as an exercise in misplaced priorities.
Why
Submit a Question
Speak up by sending your Broncos- or NFL-related question to Mike Klis
did they bring Chris Simms to Denver with no plans to use him?
-- Rich Efchak, Tampa, Fla.
Rich - Look at it the way NFL coaches tell us to look at it: Simms is one play away from becoming the Broncos' starting quarterback. There is too much pressure on every employee in an NFL team building to win each season, and the season is too short at 16 games, for a franchise to put everything into one quarterback.
A team can't afford to waste a season because one guy gets hurt. Two quality quarterbacks are necessary per team. If Kyle Orton goes down for a game or two, Simms is capable of coming in and winning a game or two. One or two games can be the difference between making the playoffs, or staying home for a fourth consecutive January.
A quality backup quarterback was deemed so important by the Broncos, they gave Simms a two-year, $6 million contract.
How much longer are the Broncos going to be stuck with "Invesco Field at Mile High" for their stadium name?
-- David Johnson, Owatonna, Minn.
Hang in there, Dave. It will be 2021 before you know it. Invesco Funds paid $120 million for the naming rights that expired in 2021, so they deserve the publicity. Compare that to Coors Brewing Co., who paid a mere $15 million to have the Colorado Rockies' home park called Coors Field. And there's no expiration date on the Coors Field naming rights.
So Invesco paid handsomely for the honor. But like you, Dave, I find "Invesco Field at Mile High," too unwieldy. Too many ats. ... The Broncos play at Invesco Field at Mile High. ... The Broncos beat the Raiders 10-9 today at Invesco Field at Mile High. ...
It ruins the flow of my run-on sentences.
Is Jarvis Moss ever going to develop into a solid NFL player or do you think he is another first-round bust?
-- Darrell Johnson, Denver
Darrell - I think the two most insulting words in sports are: 1. "choke" and 2. "bust." As of this writing, Moss was excused from his third day of training camp so he could contemplate whether he should step away from football.
Which means his immediate NFL future doesn't appear promising. In Moss' defense, it's not his fault he was built wrong for the NFL. It's one thing to be a 250-pound defensive end while standing 5-feet-11, which is the case with Elvis Dumervil. But 250 pounds on a 6-7 frame just doesn't work. Moss has tremendous speed and athleticism for a man his size, but he doesn't have the leverage or strength to get past behemoth NFL blockers as a defensive end, and he may be too long to cover shifty backs as an outside linebacker.
I suppose people will call Moss a bust. It would be much nicer if they called him a tweener.
One aspect of the Broncos' prospects in 2009 that is an improvement over Mike Shanahan's reign -- at least if they stink out the place, we can ascribe it to rebuilding. We always had expectations of going deep in the playoffs every year after John Elway, only to realize we'd been conned as the season went on. Regardless of what you may think of Shanahan the man, don't you think the organization under the "Mastermind" had ossified and needed to change? What was that quote from Albert Einstein -- a true mastermind -- about insanity?
-- Mark Miller, Westchester County, N.Y.
Mark - A few months ago, I read about 300 pages of the Einstein biography written by Walter Isaacson. But as there were some 400 pages to go, I put it down and haven't picked it up since. Einstein said the definition of insanity is: "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Hey, wait a minute. Why you clever Westchester County guy, you. In defense of Shanahan, I had no problem with him having playoff expectations every year. He did tell me this once: Never admit you're rebuilding, or as a coach you'll lose the team. The players will believe they're not supposed to win before they even play.
Herm Edwards was forthright about his "rebuilding" Kansas City Chiefs last year and they finished 2-14. But, yes, I do think that after 14 years, the Broncos had become a bit rigid or stale under Shanahan's leadership. Check that. It wasn't so much 14 years with one boss that brought weariness to Dove Valley as it was three years without a postseason appearance.
Had the Broncos made the playoffs the previous three years, Shanahan's ways would have been increasingly revered.
Mike Klis has covered the Denver Broncos since the start of the 2005 season after previously covering the Colorado Rockies and Major League Baseball for 15 years. Drop a Broncos- or NFL-related question into the Broncos Mailbag, or visit The Denver Post's Broncos Page.