Thread: The future is bright, but we'll take what we get this year.

I want to start this article with that I think all the fire Shanahan talk is wrong.
He is the man for the job, and as long as we have all this talent on offense he should be the one who gets the most out of this.

Now, why do I say the future is bright?
Let's take a look at the offense.
We have gotten a franchise qb, probably two franchise receivers and a very good line. We have been a very inconsistent team, but remember the only player on offense with more than three years starting in the system is Ben Hamilton.
We have to assume that individually Cutler, Marshall, Royal, Hillis, Kuper, Harris and Clady will all become better players one on one. Not to say that they should also be better in our system.
We have found the missing link at full back in Hillis who reminds me so much of Larry Centers but already a decent blocker.
As a young team we have very few penalties, we give up few sacks and still we are inconsistent. Youth, and the fact that Cutler is no Elway are very much the reason for the inconsistency. As Cutler goes we go!
But there is more.
Ryan Torain showed he belongs in the NFL should he ever be injury free. If we draft a running back in the upcoming draft, that guy should he pan out will actually give us an offense with none weaknesses. Should Torain come back the backfield can play rested and matchups.
Which brings me to my next point; matchups and role players.
The duo of Scheffler and Graham turns into a matchup nightmare with their skills. Scheffler struggles with injuries and we should expect him to never become a star, but he can be a great role player.
But there is more. In training camp and in preseason Anthony Alridge showed he might be a good match up player in the NFL.
That is another weapon!

I have to believe looking at Shanahans record that we will become more commited to the run in the future as the line gets better at zone blocking and we get better play from the backfield. Turner is probably frustrated now, but we have lived on the playaction and bootleg to get the big plays.
Remember, all we need is a backfield on par with the Anderson/Bell year.
Anything better is just scary.

The future for this offense is bright, but we will have to wait for them to become more consistent as they get older and wiser.

Next defense

I will maintain it was a mistake to force Coyer out. We have gone back three years since that.

On defense it is a mess right now. It could be remedied though. We need two better safeties and we need better linebacker play, but as far as talent production the biggest thing will be the play of the line.

Individually we have but two players who have shown they can play at an all pro level more than three games in a season. Champ Bailey will never be the same player he once was three years ago, but he is still the man. What is good is that we actually have good talent at cornerback, and Bly has been playing better but again he is only as good as how little time he has to cover. He is a boom/bust player, both he and Paymah are better at bumping and why that strenght isnt utilized more is beyond me.
DJ Williams took another step this year. He was playing at an all pro level before his injury but to our team his injury was a blessing in disguise as that allowed Wesley Woodyard to show his skills.
The key to the linebacker core is the development of both he and Larsen.
should both become good starters we have a decent core, with a great matchup in nickle and dime with Williams and Woodyard.

As far as the line is concerned this has been a mess since we had Pryce/Berry/Hayworth.
On the other hand thomas and Robertson have both shown they are at least avg to above avg players who can have great games at times.
Moss has been a disappointment, but has at least shown flashes. Dumervil is a fantastic role player as a sack specialist, and with one end who commands double team the line would be a different animal.
This can happen if we get Haynesworth or Peppers but I doubt that is something to count upon.
If we chose to develop the talent we need better coaches and particularly Burns has shown he isnt the man for the job.

The safeties are horrible and will probably only become a strength in at least two years if we are lucky.

As far as coaching this is a mess. I will continue to scream for better coaches and give them more time. We set ourselves back another year with Jim Bates since he had a system that didnt work, but all indications would be it would work had he had the players for the system.
Slowik is a magnificent secondary coach and a lousy cordinator.
What I have said proved it to me is that when we were bad and made mental mistakes, he tried to fix that with new and more complex systems.
If you wanna fix something start with the easy parts and let the great players beat you one on one, not through your own mistakes.

The defense as a whole should not, and probably never will become a true top ten defense. We can do like we did in the superbowl years and counter that with getting early leads and make them one dimensional if and only if we manage to do something about pressuring the quarterback.

The St has been a strength this year. We have great role players in coverage and great production out of our kicker and punter. Obrien has been what we promised, and eventually we will become better there as well.
At least it is not a weakness like in years past.

Other than these points I will have to point out that we are a weak team mentally. I would prefer we got at least a defensive cordinator who could help the young guys forget about last play and focus on the next.

But all in all we stand on a treshold to become a good team, but talent and better management as far as having people who can do what other people cant, read Shanahans lack of being a motivator, along with leaders are what we are currently lacking.

Thanks for posting.......I have been hearing the future is bright......for 2-3 years now......

I don't feel any better about THIS bronco team, than I have the past 2 or 3 years...

Originally Posted by broncophanatic

Thanks for posting.......I have been hearing the future is bright......for 2-3 years now......

I don't feel any better about THIS bronco team, than I have the past 2 or 3 years...

The difference is this time I actually know we have the talent to be dominant on offense. Am I naiive? We will see wont we.

Originally Posted by haroldthebarrel

The difference is this time I actually know we have the talent to be dominant on offense. Am I naiive? We will see wont we.

I agree with you. Our drafts are not horseshit anymore.

Nice stuffharold. The difference over the last three years is that we are loaded with Youth. This bunch will simply get better on offense. Defense? Almost nowhere to go but up.

Originally Posted by Dreadnought

Nice stuffharold. The difference over the last three years is that we are loaded with Youth. This bunch will simply get better on offense. Defense? Almost nowhere to go but up.

So true...
After #7 retirement, we tried to solve our issues with FA... With the success everybody knows... Then we changed our philosophy and got back to the draft... 2006 and 2008 drafts were great... I'm not a huge fan of what we did in 2007, but hell, we tried something about the D... I expect us to work about D next year....

But that kind of strategy needs some years to work out well... Let's talk about that in a year or two...

the future is indeed right
but only if the broncos make smart decisions in the next few offseasons. we need another solid defensive draft and aquire some good free agents that are willing to play for a team and not be "all about me" guys.

latley
i have been very confident in our front office and im sure shanny will make the right moves.

i see this bronco team being young and elite next year or atleast the year after.