PDA

View Full Version : Change Doesn't Have To Be Constant



TXBRONC
12-15-2007, 07:04 PM
I saw this article in the D.P. today and thought I would pass it along. It's a good read.


http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_7725226

Change doesn't have to be constant
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 12/15/2007 11:32:30 AM MST


'Tis the season of disappointment.

It coincided with a season of change.

The Broncos have made an abundance of changes since the AFC Championship Game of 2005. They changed quarterbacks and defensive systems. They changed assistant coaches and running backs and middle linebackers and changed back to their old defensive system. They changed out their safeties and changed their defensive linemen darn near every week.

And, yes, the Broncos even had a changing of the guards.

Once all the changes were made, the Broncos went backwards. The record says so.

"What we're doing now is totally different from what we were doing in camp," said Broncos defensive back Domonique Foxworth. "I think familiarity will help us to be a little more consistent."

Don't misunderstand. Many changes brought upgrade, particularly at quarterback. Maybe the changes will assure better days in the future. Much of the change replaced experience with youth.

But the here and now? Mike Shanahan is going to miss the playoffs in back-to-back years for only the second time since he took control of the Broncos in 1995.

The problem with too many changes is cohesion has no shot. A safety needs to make an innate, split-second movement opposite his middle linebacker. Strangers, though, are forever bumping into each other.

The Broncos made only a few, if in retrospect, significant changes after going 14-4 in 2005. Trevor Pryce, Mike Anderson, Gary Kubiak and Troy Calhoun left and Jake Plummer was replaced at quarterback by Jay Cutler.

They went 9-7 and missed the playoffs in 2006. The failure led to arguably the most tumultuous offseason in Broncos history. Some change was out of grave necessity following the deaths of Darrent Williams and Damien Nash. Other change was the result of unfortunate injuries to Al Wilson, Ebenezer Ekuban, Tom Nalen, Javon Walker, Rod Smith, Jarvis Moss and Ben Hamilton. No one at Dove Valley can deny the quantity of change was precipitated by the near-Missing Draft Years from 2001-04.

The result is 6-8 with the final two games to be played against difficult opponents in San Diego and Minnesota. The Broncos' season could well get worse, especially if they report back to work Monday knowing their slim playoff chances have been officially buried.

"We are going to figure out a way to get this thing going back to the old Broncos' days," said rookie running back Selvin Young.

Before the good old days get older, the Broncos should become acquainted with the redeeming values of sitting still. Ordinarily, when a season goes wrong, the impulse is to cry for change. Fire the coach. Hire the coach's former offensive coordinator. Blow up the roster.

I say the Broncos make as few changes as possible. Too much change, in such a short period, was the Broncos' No. 1 problem in 2007. Send the kids back out there with another year of experience, get Nalen back healthy, and start over in 2008.

Not that the Broncos aren't in need of some tinkering, particularly on defense. And the NFL's economic structure that merges free agency with a salary cap forces teams to make financial cuts.

But the Broncos' collection of first-, second- and three-year players — Cutler, Young, Brandon Marshall, Tony Scheffler, Chris Myers and Chris Kuper on offense; Marcus Thomas, Elvis Dumervil, Tim Crowder, Moss, Hamza Abdullah, Karl Paymah and Foxworth on defense — is their best young nucleus in years.

Maybe, there was a little too much youth for success to become reasonable in 2007. Maybe, there was too much age in 2006. And maybe the Broncos will forever regret blowing the opportunity to win a third Super Bowl in 2005.

None of this matters, anymore. Stick with the kids, hope Tom Brady and Peyton Manning grow old, and the Broncos will be back in the playoffs in '08 and legit Super Bowl contenders in 2009.

That's my prediction. And I'm sticking to it.

Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.

Lonestar
12-15-2007, 08:47 PM
Good find

Usually I do not put much trust in his reporting but this one seems to be pretty good.

I have been stating all year that this team was not as good as many were hoping it to be..

To much youth, to many changes to start with and add in all the injuries spells a poor season..

Mikey did more with smoke and mirrors this year considering all the changes than in most of his other years..

Actually they were coached to a pretty good season until they got to HOU..

Where the master was out coached all around..

the following is a quote from the article..

"Stick with the kids, hope Tom Brady and Peyton Manning grow old, and the Broncos will be back in the playoffs in '08 and legit Super Bowl contenders in 2009.

That's my prediction."

I have been saying that we will be better getting the kids experience this year and to DRAFT low this year and P/U some studs for the following years 2008-09 should be banner years where we can indeed compete with SAN, NE and IND..

omac
12-16-2007, 02:07 AM
Nice article, TXBRONC.

I do hope there aren't too many changes to the nucleus this offseason. With the ineffectiveness of Bates' scheme with our players, and the change to a different scheme just to be competitive, I don't think the defense has grown as a unit, and that concerns me. It looks to me that they're likely to still be pretty bad for a big part of next season. This makes me hope that we have improved pass protection on the OL so that we could have a better chance scoring a lot of points.

If we can't get a quality DT in the draft, maybe we can get a dominating OT or OG. It's worked wonders for the Browns with Joe Thomas.

saddletramp
12-16-2007, 09:48 PM
excellent article.

good read.

broncosfanscott
12-17-2007, 01:55 AM
That is a good article.

I am very pleased with the young talent we have acquired over the past two drafts hopefully we will be able to plug a few more hole over the next few years.