Thread: It's Time To Give Clady His Props

Let's give the big man some love. He's come into the NFL playing the 2nd hardest position as a rookie and has absolutely dominated. 1 holding penalty, which was very questionable, and last night he was charged with 1/2 sack allowed. I'm not sure that he was even supposed to be blocking the player that came in and got the sack. It looked like the back was supposed to pick him up.

The Broncos have thrown the ball an astounding 346 times, which is 2nd only to Tampa Bay. With the troubles of the last 4 or 5 games, teams have known that we'd be throwing the ball, and they still can't generate any pressure from the left side of the line. What makes his play even more amazing is the fact that he is left to block his man one on one most of the time. Graham has done very little babysitting, which allows Shanahan to expand the playbook.

Will he make the Pro Bowl? Barring injuries, absolutely not. He may be one of the best tackles in the NFL, but the Pro Bowl is as much about politics and reputation as it is about talent. Clady is flying under the national radar. Jake Long, being the first pick in the draft has a better shot to make an appearance in Hawaii this season. Expect Clady to visit he islands next year, and many years after. This man is a franchise LT. He has the size, speed, footwork, and mentality to be a great one.

Through 9 games of the season, it's hard to beleive that teams would pass him over due to a low wonderlic score. Once again, we have proof that all of the silly draft tests in the world don't mean a thing when it comes to performance on the field. Thank you Kansas City, for passing on Clady and taking Bradon Albert. Thank you Miami, for using the first pick of the draft on Jake Long. We here in Denver will settle for a kid named Clady to protect our franchise QB.

Word.

I keep thinking he is George Foster.

All of what you said is pretty much right on... But the only thing that separates the quality of Clady's game from Harris' is the degree of difficulty, left tackle vs right. For all the things we may or may not have gotten right in the past few drafts, these guys are DEFINITELY the Shiz... Barring injury, we're set.
To our whole Oline, you guys are as much part of our success through the air as Cutler's arm. Under 10 sacks on a team that passes as much as we do??? Un-BELIEVABLY GOOD.

The guy is a beast and playing very well. Hopefully he will be a longtime Bronco.

Much to my dismay we took this kid from the Wac that had played absolutely against ON major college. the only thing we heard about him after the draft was he had fast feet.. the very same thing mickey said about foster..

Sounded to be dumb as a rock and they expected him to play in the bigs..

Then when mikey said he was the starter without so much as earning the job.. right then I knew this season was doomed..

Hey I was wrong.. lets hope the kid can be this good till 2025..

As good as Royal and the gang have been, Clady still get's my vote for Rookie of the Year.

Originally Posted by Jrwiz

Much to my dismay we took this kid from the Wac that had played absolutely against ON major college. the only thing we heard about him after the draft was he had fast feet.. the very same thing mickey said about foster..

Sounded to be dumb as a rock and they expected him to play in the bigs..

Then when mikey said he was the starter without so much as earning the job.. right then I knew this season was doomed..

Hey I was wrong.. lets hope the kid can be this good till 2025..

i'm the same. i knew the kid was talented, but thought he had bust written all over him. my main concern was his smarts, but he obviously knows how to be a LT. i too was wrong. clady

Originally Posted by broncofaninfla

As good as Royal and the gang have been, Clady still get's my vote for Rookie of the Year.

We def have a great crop of O-rooks this year. (can we do this on D now, already???)


Doubt Royal or Clady get ROY, but it would be a political, east coaster bias thing if they don't. I'm kind of torn myself, but Clady is just solid and steady. If he DID win it, wouldn't break my heart at all.

I read today that there are only four Tackles in the NFL that have started every game this year and have less then one sack, Clady and Harris are two of them! That is two tackle on one team! That is damn great play by both of them!

Denver tackles have allowed just one total sack
By Frank Schwab The Gazette (Colorado Springs)
Wednesday, November 19, 2008

ENGLEWOOD -- Quarterback Jay Cutler is the obvious pick as the Denver Broncos' most valuable player this season, but left tackle Ryan Clady could be the more appropriate selection.

Cutler is third in the NFL with 2,832 passing yards, although he had a bit of a rough stretch with six interceptions during Denver's three-game losing streak. And at least part of Cutler's success has to be attributed to Clady, a rookie who has been rock solid protecting Cutler's backside at one of the toughest positions in sports.

According to Stats Inc., among NFL tackles who have started all 10 games this season, only three have allowed less than one full sack: Tennessee's Michael Roos and Denver's two tackles, Ryan Harris and Clady. Harris and Clady have each given up a half-sack, Roos has allowed none. The Broncos have attempted 80 more passes than Tennessee.

Even the best tackles in the NFL have some slip-ups. Among the eight active offensive tackles who made the Pro Bowl last season, all have given up at least one sack, and all but one (Cleveland's Joe Thomas) have given up at least 1½. Meanwhile, Clady's record is close to unblemished.

"It is kind of unheard of, especially with as many times as we have thrown the ball," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said.

Who could be more valuable to the Broncos than a left tackle who hasn't allowed a sack in his first 10 games? The top two players on defense, cornerback Champ Bailey and linebacker D.J. Williams, are hurt. Receiver Brandon Marshall hasn't had a 100-yard game since Week 3. No tailback has been able to stay healthy long enough to stand out. Harris, who has played very well with even less fanfare than Clady, is another candidate.

But at left tackle Clady has faced -- and shut down -- some of the best pass rushers in the NFL. Miami's Joey Porter and Atlanta's John Abraham are first and tied for third in the NFL in sacks, respectively. They have 24.5 sacks between them. Neither could beat Clady for a sack when they faced him.

"He's been real valuable, just watching film from this past week, he did a good job on John Abraham," tight end Daniel Graham said. "He's held his own. He's been a real help to this team."

Last season, with Matt Lepsis struggling to rebound from knee surgery in his last season, the Broncos allowed 32 sacks. This year, Denver has allowed eight.

The Broncos haven't had to help Clady too often in pass protection, which opens up the playbook. They don't have to roll Cutler away from his side to buy time, and a potential receiver isn't normally kept in to double team a defensive end.

"We are able to do a lot more things with him, a lot more drop backs and a lot more single protection, because he's so solid back there," Cutler said.

Cutler said he thought Clady should be considered for the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year award, which has never gone to an offensive lineman. Shanahan wouldn't say where he thinks Clady ranks among the NFL's best tackles, but he said he was pleased to have him.

"I can't think of another guy I would rather have than him right now," Shanahan said. "He has played at a very high level. He has a great future and he handles himself great on and off the football field. You couldn't ask for anything more."

The kid's been an absolutley unbelievable signing for us, certainly exceeded all expectations

And Harris as well