Champ" "You've just got to be patient."
This article was in today's RMN what caught my eye was Champ's comments on the team.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/new...nny-situation/
Call it a no-whinny situation
Broncos a force? Notion met with deafening silence
By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
David Zalubowski / Associated Press
Hear that? No?
The Broncos aren't hearing much, either, when it comes to the NFL's talking heads this offseason, particularly from a positive viewpoint.
And, in their estimation, silence is golden.
Usually around this time, the franchise has completed its star search in free agency, flashed plenty of cash and has earned preseason mention as a contender as its organized team activities open.
This year, there's no hype, just a ranking in the league's lower third in various expert "power polls."
A 7-9 record last season is a chief culprit in the lowered expectation level beyond the Dove Valley walls. The defense often was steamrolled, the offense field-goal oriented, the special teams inconsistent.
Losing the likes of Jason Elam and Javon Walker didn't enhance the team's perception as a possible contender, either.
Now pick the sexiest roster addition of the past several months.
Dewayne Robertson? Boss Bailey? Darrell Jackson?
It's no wonder New England, Indianapolis, Jacksonville and others are embedded more in the national conversation.
"One thing I can really say is, nobody's really excited about the Broncos this year outside of this locker room. But we are," Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey said. "We know what type of talent we have, and one thing you have to do is stop listening to the outside world anyway and keep our confidence up because anything's possible. When you've got a great quarterback, you can do a lot of things. And I think we're on the verge of having a great one."
Even with Jay Cutler's potential emergence, Bailey admitted he was skeptical when the offseason began about the roster being assembled. But he maintained that after listening to people, paying attention, doing his homework and, most of all, going through the offseason program with the newly assembled Broncos, his perception has changed.
"There's always going to be questions because you don't know what's going on a lot of times. But down the road, things start explaining themselves," he said. "A few years ago, we drafted three cornerbacks, and it showed up later why. You've just got to be patient."
Overall, 36 new players dot the roster, which is slightly more than the usual turnover, with about one-third of the names changing. So patience might be needed, especially early, as everything evolves.
"We made our moves and it wasn't big names but it was great for us, even if it's not the big, crazy names," defensive end Elvis Dumervil said. "I think the pieces of the puzzle we're putting together fit. And we got a lot of big names the year before and it didn't really work out that well. Now you're bringing in guys who fit the system and it's not a bunch of individual guys. They want to work and do what it takes to take another step."
The talent level now is "good," Dumervil said. "We've got depth. And we've made some great choices."
But he isn't alone in the knowledge that skepticism about those statements exists, especially after two straight nonplayoff seasons after a trip to the AFC title game in the 2005 season.
"I've dealt with that my whole life, in coaching and in personnel," vice president of football operations Jim Goodman recently said of the seemingly low expectations outside Dove Valley. "People have to write what they have to write. And you have to rank them somewhere. But I want you to look back at 2005. Where did they rank us then? You have to play the games. Everybody else is good, but we feel we're pretty good, too."
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Originally Posted by DenBronx
