Thread: Mile High Morning: Broncos finish third on list of NFL's best offseasons

Originally Posted by Jaded

Last we saw that average player was literally costing this team some wins.

I wouldn't say that's the LAST we saw, although we certainly saw it. The last we saw was a 4-1 stretch where he allowed, what, one sack?

We shall see if he's even starting this season

Originally Posted by Davii

I wouldn't say that's the LAST we saw, although we certainly saw it. The last we saw was a 4-1 stretch where he allowed, what, one sack?

We shall see if he's even starting this season

I can only assume jaded was blacked out for the last month of the season!

Originally Posted by Davii

I wouldn't say that's the LAST we saw, although we certainly saw it. The last we saw was a 4-1 stretch where he allowed, what, one sack?

We shall see if he's even starting this season

he has to, they got no other viable options. . . wilkinson can't hold down right tackle, he's not legit competition on the left. . .

Originally Posted by dogfish

he has to, they got no other viable options. . . wilkinson can't hold down right tackle, he's not legit competition on the left. . .

We have, what, 7 tackles on the roster right now?

If Bolles is that bad one of them should be able to beat him out.

Originally Posted by Davii

If Bolles is that bad one of them should be able to beat him out.

the rest of them are camp bodies. . . unless they go get jason peters, bolles is a foregone conclusion. . .

Originally Posted by dogfish

the rest of them are camp bodies. . . unless they go get jason peters, bolles is a foregone conclusion. . .

So is he that bad or not?

Bolles is not THIS bad. He is not so bad that at even the mention of a good offseason we have the ten-billionth BF Garett Bolles freak out. He’s rough. He makes a lot of mistakes. He’s not THAT bad.

Originally Posted by MOtorboat

Bolles is not THIS bad. He is not so bad that at even the mention of a good offseason we have the ten-billionth BF Garett Bolles freak out. He’s rough. He makes a lot of mistakes. He’s not THAT bad.

Originally Posted by Davii

So is he that bad or not?

he's pretty bad. . . the other options are worse. . .

i have no f***ing idea how i got myself roped into this conversation. . .

Alright, time to go full Joel on y'all. If only so I can copy and paste these thoughts later. . . In a vacuum, Denver absolutely had one of the better off-seasons-- they added a lot of talent, and filled some significant holes on their roster. However, I do think you have to look at context-- and the additions are mitigated to at least some extent by the fact that they also lost a number of veteran starters, are left crossing their fingers for luck on the health front at several key positions, and (in my OPINION, nobody panic!), failed to address needs at several critical spots. Still a good off-season, certainly-- but I'd call it more of a double than a home run. Most of the veteran additions are older guys on short contracts (rentals), which leaves Denver primarily looking for a jump in performance from young players to boost their overall success. Aside from the QB situation, my ultimate assessment of this roster as a whole is largely the same as last year. There is plenty of legitimate quality front line talent on hand, enough that Denver has a chance to be a very good team if everything bounces right for them. However, I will say the same thing I said last year after week one of the pre-season, which I think a lot of people came to agree with; this roster is painfully lacking in depth behind the starters. IMO, this quite simply isn't a roster that can sustain a high level of play in the face of really any bad luck on the injury front. They will need more than an average helping of luck in that regard if they're going to come close to their potential. Let's break it down by unit to see what I'm talking about. . .

QB: They are all in on Drew Lock, period. If he stays healthy and flourishes, this can (and maybe should) be a playoff team, maybe even one that can win games in the post-season. If Lock misses more than a game or two, they are f***ed. If he misses more than that, they could be picking top five next year. They have no veteran backup, and no promising developmental player behind him. It's Drew and spare change.

Interior OL: Glasgow should be a notable upgrade over a banged-up Leary, or Wilkinson. Cushenberry has the potential to be better than McGovern at center, but it may be a bit much to expect him to get there this year. OLs take time to develop. Net-- we basically got "better" by the margin of one sixth round guard, who won't play this year in a perfect world. This unit does have solid upside, but you can only rely on rookies for so much, even under Munchak. I am optimistic, but in a somewhat guarded fashion.

OT: Obviously, I just don't think we did enough here. Not unless James reverses course, and gives us a minimum of 12-14 games, which IMO is a LOT to ask after he played like 40-50 total snaps all of last year. IF he does, and IF Bolles does, in fact, play all of next season like those last five games, then we should be in decent shape. Too much potential for things to go south at this critical position, though, and Wilkinson has already shown that he's a shitty option behind those two highly questionable starters. This unit looks like a probable Achilles heel to me. Sorry.

WR: Clearly, this is where we added the most talent. However, they're all rookies, and it's not typically one of the easier positions to make the transition from college to the pros. This group has the potential to be the most improved on the team, but I do still need to see it on the field. It will be a huge disappointment if Jeudy doesn't earn the number two spot easily, but I don't expect much out of Hamler his first year outside of gadget plays and return duty. I need to see that he can catch the ball, and actually survive NFL hits. Given my lack of confidence in his ability/willingness to operate in the middle of the field, I expect Hamilton to be the primary slot guy on third downs, which limits their options with KJ. The ceiling here has gotten vastly higher, but some patience will likely be required.

TE; Hopefully Vannett can be a healthy version of IRmann, but I'm mostly looking at improvement by Fant to increase our production at TE. Albert O has serious upside, but they'll need to get some work ethic out of him, and it's not a position where rookies ever do much. If Fant gets dinged, they're basically back to shit at TE for another year.

RB: Didn't lose anyone (not counting the fullback they weren't going to play anyway), and added a quality veteran. On paper, this should be the most improved group in week one. I'm not positive how much it will translate in an offense that doesn't want to run the ball as much, especially as I anticipate our best pure runner is going to be marginalized in Shurmer's scheme. Still, Gordon's blocking and receiving will be a considerable asset in a pass-heavy offense, and I still believe Freeman can thrive with some talent around him. Arguably their most solid position group from top to bottom. I hope Shurmer takes full advantage of them, rather than asking Lock to be Patrick Mahomes his first full year as a starter.

Nosetackle: Purcell is back, so status quo. Covington has some experience at the nose, but is badly undersized there. That's probably adequate depth at a position of limited importance in Fangio's scheme, but we saw how they got pushed around in run D the first three weeks of last year. Keep your fingers crossed that big Mike stays healthy, because this has the potential to become a problem spot if he doesn't.

Five tech end / three tech tackle: DL, whatever you want to call it. They're in good shape here. Casey can be an upgrade over Wolfe if he regains his form from previous years, and at worst this should be a wash. Harris is back, and Jones should be ready to contribute more. Walker still has upside as well, though I won't count on anything from him until I see it. Covington replaces Gotsis in the rotation. They also added Agim, but he may take a year before he's ready to give them much. Overall, this is definitely the deepest position group on defense. The Broncos will need them to play up to that and make an impact if the defense is going to maximize it's output.

Edge: Like QB, this is a complete boom or bust spot. If the two starters stay healthy and play their best ball, they can be the best pair of outside rushers in the league, and the strength of the team. But the depth is perilously thin for a team that intends to rely heavily on this group, as far as I'm concerned. Attachou has experience, but he's not much more than a warm body if you need him to do more than give the starters a quick breather for a few snaps here and there, and there's zero proven depth behind him. Hollins has some physical skills, but not a single pelt on the wall-- who knows if he can do it or not. Denver is relying heavily on Chubb to come straight out of the gate at full speed, and both he and Von to log major minutes.

ILB: This is another area of concern for me, particularly in a defense that has traditionally relied on its inside guys for playmaking. Davis is an adequate two down run defender, but utterly lost in coverage. Johnson is a bit more dynamic, but also not special in coverage, and IMO the "depth" here doesn't even justify the term. More like a void. Bluntly, if AJ goes down, they might be screwed. To me, this is a key spot where they really needed to do more to optimize this defense. We'll see!

Corner: Looks decent on paper, but I have concerns here as well. A ton is riding on Callahan's availability. I do like the addition of Bouye, but he's not as good as prime CHJ. Younger, bigger, and more physically gifted, but he's never established himself as a true #1 corner. Of course that may not matter quite as much in a zone-heavy scheme, but there's still some projection there. IF Callahan is good, it lessens the pressure on him somewhat-- but if Bausby is the other starter, it would really help to have at least one lockdown guy you don't have to worry about. The depth concerns me here as well. Yiadom is hot garbage, Harris faded badly last year after a hot start, and Ojimude (sp??) has the look of another long-term project. I like the group's overall ceiling quite a bit, but the floor worries me-- if Yiadom or the rookie has to play significant snaps, I can see them running around out there with a big ol' whoppin' bullseye on their backs, and that makes me nervous. Really praying for good health here, because IMO all bets are off if we don't get it.

Safety: This is the one that nobody's talking about that has my attention. The starters are absolutely top shelf, and can be a force for this team if they're healthy. I have concerns about Jackson, though. He's had some durability issues in the past, isn't young or very big, and he uses his body like a missile. It's not like Parks is that tough to replace, but he was an experienced and versatile third safety who has quietly played a lot of sub-package snaps the last few years. Denver likes to use additional safeties in their nickle and dime packages, and I don't see who on the roster is going to fill that role this year, let alone step in if one of the top two guys has to miss time.




Ultimately, injury luck is a huge factor is ANY team's season. But I think it will be even more critical for the Broncos than the average squad. The good thing is that they do have a fantastic set of skill position coaches who can develop and get the most out of all available talent, and coordinators with established schemes who know what they're looking for. Bottom line; we all know the results probably depend on Lock's progress more than any other factor, but I suspect that this roster is still another really strong off-season away from being any sort of contender barring him going full Mahomes this year. I'm afraid that at some point, the lack of quality depth at OT, corner, and both inside and outside LB will come back to bite Denver in the ass, and they're going to regret spending so heavily on the offensive skill positions while neglecting those positions. JMO. Go Broncos!

I’ll just say this:

You can’t have a pro bowler at every position, and you can’t improve every position in every offseason. And I’d argue the improvements made at running back and wide receiver were larger and more significant upgrades than anything the Broncos could have done at tackle.

And most importantly, Lock's mobility makes the hole at LT less of an issue than when we had a statue back there. If we suck this year it won't be because of Bolles.

Originally Posted by MOtorboat

I’ll just say this:

You can’t have a pro bowler at every position, and you can’t improve every position in every offseason. And I’d argue the improvements made at running back and wide receiver were larger and more significant upgrades than anything the Broncos could have done at tackle.

i'm as aware as anyone that you can't have elite talent at every spot, nor am i in any way trying to suggest that i think they should, or could. . . i do think that trying to have at least one good tackle should theoretically trump trying to have two pro bowl WRs, but it's not all about just one spot, or one pick. . . it does gall me a little that they didn't (as far as we know) make a more concerted effort, or any effort, to make a move for trent williams. . . end of the day, that's neither here nor there. . . i do mostly agree that they had a good off-season overall, especially in light of the number of free agents they had. . . of course, they also had a ton of resources to work with, as well. . . i can admit that they did get a lot out of them, while still quibbling a little with where some of 'em were allocated. . .

i just hope the defense stays healthy. . . they can be SO good, and SO fun to watch-- and really make lock's development so much easier if they're at the top of their game. . . the pieces are all there for a top five defense, and damn it, i want to see it. . . but i don't think it happens if they lose more than a guy or two over there for any length of time, at least not any of the important ones. . . and there's still no one on the gawd damn roster who can cover a TE in the middle of the field, and that's gonna irk me every time one of them goes off on us. . .

Originally Posted by BroncoWave

We went 4-1 down the stretch last year. So last time we saw Bolles and Lock, were weren't losing much.

Agreed, thank God for Lock.

Originally Posted by Davii

I wouldn't say that's the LAST we saw, although we certainly saw it. The last we saw was a 4-1 stretch where he allowed, what, one sack?

We shall see if he's even starting this season

He lost his shit and took McManus out of easy FG range on his very last snap of the ‘19 season, that’s who Bolles is ... with Lock or without. He had two holding calls in the Lions “win”. Can’t remember the other 3 games but I’m sure they’re much the same.

Getting Jurell Casey doesn’t make Todd Jewell less JAG-ie, they’re scrubs.

Originally Posted by BroncoWave

I can only assume jaded was blacked out for the last month of the season!

I blacked all the “wins”, my subconscious is protecting me from fairytale fantasy.