SB Nation User Blog: Broncoman

Midterm Grades are in, what's your grade?

Broncoman — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:11:50 -0000

Well, it is the halfway point in the season, time for some mid-term grades. This is strictly my opinion and obviously I am no teacher, so they carry no weight with any teaching board, but are posted for debate:

Coaching A- I will admit that I had some very serious concerns with McDaniels coming into the season, I still may not agree with a lot of the off-field choices, but I think he has grown through the off season and definitely has changed the attitude at dove valley. Mike Nolan and the defensive staff have been a god-send and have helped transform an awful defense to a very good one with potential to be great very soon. I give them an A- because we have not improved in special teams and we have seen a struggle in the lack of production in the running game, I think mainly due to a change to a trap blocking scheme versus a zone blocking scheme.

Quarterback B+ I am not the fan of Orton as a long term solution to the position, but he has adapted well and I think has generally played up to his abilities. He has been efficient and takes what the defense gives him. He still has issues with staring down WR and leading DB to them, but he generally has been good about ball protection and not forcing too many throws.

Running Back C+ This grade may be a little harsh, but with the investment in RB in the offseason, I think we should be getting better production. While I think Buckhalter has played very well, I don’t think he is built to be a feature back. Moreno I would grade as a C- to a D+, I understand he is a rookie, yet we have had plenty of rookie RBs with much better production, he needs to start stepping up and doing all the little things better (ball security, blocking, not dancing in the hole). You could argue that the RB grade is dependent on the o line, but I think they go hand in hand. Look at a guy like Steven Jackson, I doubt any of us could name anyone on St. Louis O-line, but guys like that make your O-line better.

Tight Ends A This really is an unsung strength of this team. Schefler has remained healthy and been very productive when the plays are designed for him. Graham continues to be the best combo TE in the league. I was at the New England game, and Graham was opened all day and dominated on the blocking. Hopefully we get some more focus of the passing game to these guys as the season wears on, I think that both could have over 500 yards if they were thrown to more.

Wide Receivers B+ This may be somewhat harsh, since the WR production is limited to our QB play. But I think Eddie Royal has struggled with gaining separation along with Stokely. A lot of this offense is based on YAC production, which has been good but not outstanding. Gaffney has been a pleasant surprise, hopefully the production goes up as the season wears on and timing becomes better.

Offensive Line C The lines play has been generally average. We may have thought this line was a lot better based on Cutler having some better scrambling ability and getting rid of the ball earlier and not taking too many sacks. That being said, this line does have talent and should be getting better production, it seems that the interior of the line has struggled the most, especially against physical fronts. This may be due to a change in the blocking scheme or it may be due to Hamilton and Wiegman being undersized. What would be nice to see is some nastiness in the line, as Alfred Williams said today, we need to start putting people on their butts, we have not been doing that.

Defensive Line B Although not spectacular they have done their job for the most part and are demanding double teams and clogging lanes. While we have not seen a dominate D-lineman, they have been able to hold the point of attack for the most part and have helped free up the LB’s. They have played up to or beyond their talent level in addition to learning a new system, this probably is my biggest surprise.

Linebackers B+ Earlier I would of given this unit an A, but the last couple of weeks have shown some chinks in the armor. The pass rush from these guys has been exceptional, either from the edge or up the middle, all of the LB’s have shown they can rush the QB. The coverage has generally been pretty good and we have not seen too many screens or passes to the RB/TE that have really gashed us. Tackling has been pretty good and we had not missed too many tackles, as opposed to last year. That being said, I have noticed that the edge are not holding the force on outside plays and the inside backers of late have been taking some poor angles.

Defensive Backs A- Brian Dawkins has been a godsend in reestablishing some attitude from the safety position and for the defense. In general the coverage has been good to outstanding. Goodman has played very well and Bailey has generally played up to his standards. That being said, the last few games there has been some issues, although I think some of that is more about the pass rush not getting to the QB or the QB making an excellent play. I would like to see some more int from Bailey, especially with more QB challenging his side of the field.

Special Teams D Aside from Eddie Royal’s two TD returns against a horrible coverage unit in SD, the special teams have been nothing special. The kick offs have been mediocre, FG have been OK but nothing to inspire confidence, punting has been poor to atrocious, returns have been poor to bad with stupid mistakes almost costing us several games. With the emphasis that had been placed on special teams, these units should be much better than they are. Hopefully with some time to gel the production will go up.

Overall B+ This grade may be somewhat harsh since the general feeling going into the season is that 6-2 would be above anyone’s expectations. But I live in the land where you don't expect or accept failure from the team, I expect that we are going to be a winning team, and if we are not, then that is a dissappointment. I do not live with the idea that we should be happy that a team performs below average but above the stated expectations, then that is a succes. We are the Broncos 8-8, 7-9 are not a good season, ever, no excuses. But there are obvious areas where this team can improve. That being said, I think the there are five games on the remaining schedule that we should win, a game against NY that we should be able to win, and that would put us at 12-4, and 13-3 is still a real possibility.

Poll

What grade do you give the Broncos at midseason?

Quick Thoughts on tonights game - PS I am sorry I "jinxed" the team with my prediction

Broncoman — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:24:13 -0000

Well I can’t say that I am not a little disappointed in my prognostication not being very accurate, I think Matt Millan, Steve Young, and Chris Berman picking us lead us to our doom. I think this team has not yet played it’s best ball and I expect that we will have a good game next week and next week’s post will be happier. These are some quick observations and they all are not glowing, flame on to your heart’s desire.

1.) Ben Hamilton and Casey Weigman definitely do not look suited for this blocking scheme, Hamilton looked like a turnstile for much of the game and seemed to lack effort or passion on a lot of plays, I am guessing this is his last season in Orange and Blue, don’t be surprised if we use a high draft pick on a guard/tackle or guard/center next season.

2.) Our edges defenders got hammered in the 2nd quarter, this appears to be a fundamental weakness on this defense as that a lot of the big plays this season have been on the edge.

3.) Sorry, but I still don’t see Kyle Orton being the long term solution, tonight was an example of why, he can’t make plays when the play breaks down, he does not have the arm strength and accuracy to make tough throws against a good defense, and in the playoffs he will be playing against good defenses.

4.) One prediction I got right, our big WR had a good day, at least in the 1st half, not sure what happened to them in the second half.

5.) Credit Pittsburgh for adjusting to our blitzes.

6.) Second game in a row where the other team made the better adjustments at halftime.

7.) John Elway

8.) I still think we will win the AFC West.

9.) Berger had a horrible 1st half, that said, he may not be an upgrade over Kern, but I don’t think it is a downgrade either.

10.) Prater finally was booming some kickoffs, too bad we couldn’t have him kicking off more.

11.) What happened to Champ Bailey tonight, he looked very average.

12.) Moreno does not look like a special player to me, big time players come to play in big time games, Moreno looked awful tonight in all facets. I understand the rookie issues, but honestly, playing RB in the pros should be a relatively easy transition, plenty of rookie RB have had great years.

13.) I understand the idea of signing Law, but why didn’t we do it during the bye week, instead of having a guy struggling to know where he was supposed to be, at least he would have had some time to learn the position and defense.

14) I don't know why we didn't use a hurry-up attack like the Steelers and take advantage of our conditioning at altitude and try to gas the Steeler offense

13-3 is still very possible, but the offense definately needs to step up, especially putting points on the board early in the game. I will give a pass on the INT this week, but I worry anout the ability to score on tough defenses in the playoffs. I am hoping we start seeing Hillis used more, especially in the running game, I still think he could be a force. And if Jarvis Moss (sorry Jarvis Moss lovers) doesn't suit up for the rest of the year, I will be fine with that. He looked horrible tonight, unless it was his intention to give the OT a nice hug every down.

Musings of a mad man, who should be the next CU football coach

Broncoman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:08:23 -0000

Well, this is all speculation, but I have seen the names bandied about on who should be the next CU coach, and I started thinking, who could be the hot commodity that no one is thinking of, and one name came to mind….Shanahan. But not who you think…

(more after the jump)

I am talking about Kyle Shanahan. For those who don’t know, Kyle is Mike Shanahan’s son and current offensive coordinator of the Houston Texans. The Houston Texans offense has been very good and many think Kyle will soon be an NFL coach. Well, now would be the time you could get him cheap. Kyle is also the youngest NFL coordinator in the league, so hopefully he can relate to the kids today, he grew up basically observing great coaching and apparently has a knack for it. In addition, Kyle grew up in this area and I am sure coming back home and being close to his family would be a great incentive.

And here is the bonus scenario, who is sitting on his butt getting paid 7 million not to do a damn thing, the mastermind Mike Shanahan. What is to say that Kyle doesn’t call up his dad and ask him to be a OC for the team, pro-bono for the next couple of years. Father and son get to hang out and groom teach football, recruits flock to Boulder to learn a pro-style offense with a two time SB winning coach. Mike comes with Kyle out to Cali or Phoenix or Florida and plays some golf and chat with some kids about CU…ohh the possibilities.

I have to dare to dream else I will be consumed with anger.

Broncoman Calls his shot, Broncos blow out Steelers

Broncoman — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:04:59 -0000

Well, I am not going to sugar coat the loss to the Ravens. I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as a morale victory or a “good” loss in the NFL. We got whipped, but the great thing about the NFL is that there is always next week, and as soon as the gun sounded, it is now next week.

Rather than ponder the what ifs and whys of last week, I think we need to worry about the team in front of us. I called my shot earlier on MHR radio after the game, but will state it again, I think the Broncos will blow out the Steelers. Crazy you say, you Broncoman, questioner of the arm strength and abilities of a QB called Orton, why would you predict a blowout of the Steelers, world champs. Well here is why:

1. The Steeler offensive line is horrible in pass protection and not much better in the run game. Last year’s Steeler team won the SB with arguably one of the worst offensive lines. This year they have given up 20 sacks and Big Ben has been hit and forced into many more bad throws. Look at his TD to INt ratio, which is also middle of the pack. Roethlisberger will struggle against this defense with little time to make his throws. He will make some plays with his feet, but not enough to make it matter.

2. While Pittsburgh has been able to put up a lot of yards (mainly through the air), their points per game are middle of the pack. The reason is their running game is not the same old Steeler running game, their top rusher is averaging just under 60 yards a game, they are not a power football team anymore.

3. You may be worried that the Steelers have had two weeks to prepare, not me, after our loss, I guarantee that the Steelers are thinking this will be a easy win for them and are starting to take a peak ahead and looking at a short week next week and trying to get ready for an in division game with the Bengals.

4. While Pittsburgh’s rush defense is good, it is a bit misleading because the team is below average in pass defense. The Cardinals last year exposed that the Steeler’s defense weakness is against big, physical WR, and we have one of the best in Brandon Marshall and we can line up Schefler wide to create more mismatches against their CB or to force them to move Troy Polamalu to cover Shef and create mismatches on the other side with Royal and Stokely.

5. I expect that we will see a bigger use of Graham, Shef, and Hillis in the passing game to exploit some mismatches with the Steeler LBs.

6. Mile High magic is back, I think that you will see a rowdy crowd Monday night, the energy will be squarely behind the Broncos. That combined with a focused approach from a humbled team will combine for some big plays early for the defense and offense.

7. John Elway

8. Look for the offensive line to be ready for whatever Pittsburgh brings, they faced a Raven team with a better front three across the board that was very motivated, I think they will have their way with Pittsburgh’s DL as the game wear on, look for ball control and keeping the Steeler defense on the field and using the altitude to our advantage, I expect Casey Hampton will be sucking wind and on skates by the end of the game.

9. The Steelers have struggled to beat even very bad teams, this team just doesn’t have the motivation it did last year.

10. If you think Orlando Pace struggled containing Doom because of his leverage advantage, wait until you see Doom against Starks who is a younger version of Pace with less mobility and flexibility than Pace has now, I expect a three to four sack against Starks.

Final prediction Broncos 35 Steelers 9.

What is a fan to do? To hate or not to hate?

Broncoman — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:58:55 -0000

After this game, I thought long and heavy about what good it does to complain. I love TRR and the dedicated staff, and I love that the people on the boards are dedicated buff fans that want a great program for CU. I had thought about putting up a blistering anti-Hawkins letter, but then I thought, am I really hurting the program by the anti-Hawkins rants. I am sure that recruits probably come across this board and other boards in the age of the Twitter, face book, etc., and I ask myself, if I was a good high school player from say California or Texas and didn't know much about the program, and I saw what was being written about Hawkins on the TRR and other boards, why would I come here? I want good kids and players wanting to come here, I want them to know they will have support from the fan base. That the fans are not against the team, we want what is best for the team and for the players. We want success, we want them and the team to succeed. But in the same vein, I know that Hawkins will never be the guy to lead this team to anywhere but the cellar of the Big 12. That guys that come here are going to be in for a lot of toil and turmoil from a staff that won't play to their strengths or help them get prepared to play D-I football. I sit there and think, well what is the only way to get Hawkins dismissed, and reality is that the program almost needs to get their heads kicked in every week to get the administration to force a change. That unless the fan base continues to be vocal and a pain in the ass, the administration will allow for mediocre results to be the norm. I keep asking myself, how do I find a way not to turn off a good recruit and still get rid of Hawkins? Do I silently wait for the next few years the inevitable change and continue to watch the program suffer or do I just accept the fact that limiting the talent base and being vocal will hopefully expedite the removal of Hawkins? What is a fan to do?

Poll

What is the best way to get rid of coach Hawkins?

Super Bowl team is a player away

Broncoman — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:10:27 -0000

Reading the recent trade wind speculation, I saw that the Raiders may be motivated to trade away Richard Seymour. The question is now, what would the Raiders be willing to get to part with him. Obviously, the Raiders traded away a 1st rounder for him so they would presumably be looking for something in that neighborhood, but in reality, they are stuck between a rock an a hard place. They have no chance at resigning him after this season and they aren't going anywhere except back into the top 10 of the draft, right now they may be willing to cut their loses and get a player or two and a lower tier draft pick. Seymour obviously still is a top flight DE and a difference maker, he understands the 3-4 system and with him and Doom lined up on one side, teams are going to be having a hissy fit deciding how to block them. While I agree that Seymour's crap against Clady was stupid and pretty much a sign that Clady is the best OT in the league, the guy would make Denver's defense scary in that they would have difference makers at every level. Davis is ripe for the taking and it's not like they haven't made deals with Denver before, I say make the phone call and see how low you can get him for. Look he traded Moss for a 4th rounder, Davis is not the sharpest tool in the shed anymore. The other reason to get Seymour is so the Raiders don't trade him to another team in the AFC that we may have to play in the playoffs (say Pittsburgh or Indy).

Poll

Should the Broncos trade for Richard Seymour

Hell yes, SB here we come

8 votes

No way, Broncoman your lack of faith is disturbing

55 votes

As long as we make the Raiders suffer (can we trade Travis Henry for Seymour?)

48 votes

111 votes | Poll has closed

What to do with Ayers and Moss?

Broncoman — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 02:24:21 -0000

I brought this up last night on MHR Radio, but it is an interesting point. Will Robert Ayers start this year?

Do you sit Haggen a team captain to start Ayers, do you sit Doom, do you sit DJ or Andre Davis? Yet, if Ayers starts to progress more, you obviously are going to want to get him some more game time. I would guess that Andre Davis sits some and Haggen moves into the middle. Granted it is great to have some quality depth and I am sure there will be a fair amount of rotation, but eventually I have to believe Ayers will have to be a starting OLB. I really don't see him as a full time 3-4 end since he is somewhat undersized in that role to take on double teams. The next question is what happens to Jarvis Moss. I have a hard time thinking he will be on this team after this year at his current pay rate if he isn't seeing much of the field. So what is the MHR thoughts, I really have no good answers but I am interested in hearing the thoughts.

Poll

Will Ayers be a starter this year at OLB?

Of Course, he is a 1st rounder, he makes too much money to sit long.

19 votes

No, sit a year and get some rotational experience.

122 votes

Denver will begin a new 2-5-4 to start the five best LB's

14 votes

Ayers will be a DE instead of LB

6 votes

161 votes | Poll has closed

Some quick thoughts regarding the Broncos win over the Cowboys

Broncoman — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:16:24 -0000

Some quick thoughts regarding the game.

1) Great win, the defense showed they are legit and have a great heart. They never gave up and credit to Coach Nolan again.

2) I hate to say this, but for the 1st half I would say that McDaniels was out coached by Phillips, but I would say that the adjusts made after halftime were the difference and McDaniels adjusted fairly well to what the Cowboys were doing on Defense.

3) I have never been concerned about the O-line until this week, man either Dallas is very good or our O-line is not as good as we thought. They simply got man handled most of the game.

4) We had timely sacks, but again, there were times the Romo had way too much time, credit the DB for playing extremely well.

5) I still think Hillis needs some more touches, not having him running the rock on short yardage and conversely being a passing target baffles me.

6) I found myself asking where the hell was Champ Bailey in the 1st half, that he needs to step up and make some plays, and low and behold he must have had the same thoughts, cause he showed up in the 2nd half.

7) I said it earlier this week, but I am guessing this game turns Phillips back into a DC and makes Mike Shanahan a HC next year, I think that is still going to be the case.

8) Granted Kyle Orton didn’t throw any picks (more by luck than design), I still don’t see him as the long term answer at QB. His best pass plays were more due to the WR making tremendous plays and the DB missing the int.

9) I will find it very surprising if this team does not win the AFC West (which is a surprise to me, but the defense is much better than expected).

10) I think we may have the best two ILB for a 3-4 team in the league. And we may have the best four LBs in the league that nobody knows about.

Talking Heads versus Journalists

Broncoman — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:24:28 -0000

I have been thinking about this topic for some time based on some of the recent posts regarding the quotes and stories from the MSM regarding the Broncos. I think we sometimes get confused by what are journalists versus commentators, in the days of 24 hour news and constant needs for stories; that the problem is that journalists are having a hard time separating themselves as a commentator or a journalist. Many journalists are finding it harder to meet the standards of good journalism and have turned to being glorified commentators wrapped in the idea that their comments, words, or story carries some journalistic integrity due to their background.

Journalists have a duty to report facts, to get statements, verify, and determine what the story is. Now journalists do have some leeway to frame the story, and hopefully they have the integrity to frame the story without personnel bias. These types of journalists are very rare these days, especially in the world of professional football, I think Adam Schefter, Rick Reilly, and a few others fall into this category. The problem is that in today's media demand, being a journalist is hard work, it takes a lot of time, and a lot of effort. You have to find stories, develop relationships, and build a level of trust with many people. Networks want instant stories and don't care about the other issues associated with getting the story and making sure it is accurate and unbiased.

Commentators, by contrast, are not paid to report facts, they are paid to offer an opinion. The opinion hopefully can be well reasoned and researched thoroughly, and there are some in the business that do this. However, many use minimal information or unreliable information to base their opinions and offer knee jerk reactions, rather than carefully reasoned thoughts. But commentators are just that, someone with an opinion and a vehicle to express it.

I see people have anger over guys like Jamie Dukes and others that are commentators regarding their opinions on the Broncos. I really don’t care, they are doing what they are paid to do, provide an opinion to get viewers. If their opinions garner reaction and viewership, they will be employed, if they don’t then they are slowly removed. Guys like Dukes, Sapp, and other former players need to have a presence and garner a reaction in order to keep their gigs. You have seen guys like TD who generally had rather strait forward and logical opinions get moved out of the main segments due to him not getting much reaction. We need not concern ourselves with these guys, they will always be there and there will always be talking heads looking for reactions. You can get rid of Dukes or whoever you can't stand and I will guarentee they will be replaced by an equally or more annoying commentator.

The problem I have is with commentators masquerading as journalists, I speak of guys like John Clayton, Skip Bayless, and Chris Mortenson. They have their roots in newspapers and print media and they should know better. I think that they have bowed to the pressure of TV to have something newsworthy and try to mask their rather uniformed opinions as a legitimate news story or something that carries more weight than an average fan. These guys have done minimal research on the subjects they are giving opinions and provide some expert insight based on what they have heard from colleagues or maybe from one source, which usually is nameless and may have some personnel bias in the story. There is no scrutiny to the formation of their opinion and what it is based on, yet because they carry what is seen as some journalistic credibility they have been given higher pedestal than the typical commentator. What annoys me is that ESPN and some other networks continue to trot these guys out as experts and yet they continually have the story wrong and their opinions are based on a very limited amount of information.

What can we do about these guys? First, I would recommend turning the channel when they pop up, second I would suggest sending a nicely worded email to the network explaining that you are sick and tired of this type of commentary presented as journalism, and that you will refuse to watch networks that employ this tactic. The final step is to send similar emails to some of the bigger sponsors of the network explaining your concerns and that you will stop using products of companies that support this form of reporting. The bottom line is guys like Clayton and Mortenson will keep this up until the networks realize that it is costing them financially.

Quick Reactions on the Raider Game

Broncoman — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:50:36 -0000

Well just some quick thoughts regarding this win.

1) I credit coach McDaniels for pounding the rock relentlessly against the Raiders, establishing an attitude for the offense, and not forcing Orton to challenge the Raiders CB’s. He also realized the weakness in their pass defense is in the safeties and through the middle, not the edges.

2) Any victory is a great victory over the despised Fader nation, doing them in their house again with only giving up 3 points was awesome, now don’t forget to take care of them in Denver, no repeats of last season as we all know how that turned out.

3) Brian Dawkins is playing with a definite chip on his shoulder and I think he wants to show the Eagles that they were foolish to let him go, I hope his body can hold up through the season given the physical style of play he brings.

4) While I am excited about a 3-0 start, I hope that this team stays grounded and does not start looking past anyone. Credit to the coaching staff for getting this team to have that attitude through the first three games.

5) While I credit the offense for a run heavy approach this week, I am curious of why Eddie Royal hasn’t been featured more, I also would hope that we can find a full time punt and KO returner other than Royal.

6) I am amazed that someone with J. Russel physical skills cannot be coached or motivated to play up to his abilities. It is obvious he has the arm, size, and even speed to be an elite QB in this league (watching him run with Doom hanging off him like a cap was pretty funny), but to have absolutely no dedication is what is amazing, I wonder if it is him or if it is the Raiders organization. The fact that the Raiders haven’t developed any decent QB since Marc Wilson (which is a stretch) leads me to believe that it wouldn’t matter who they drafted, they are likely doomed to fail in Oakland.

7) I was concerned with the front seven’s lack of ability to get to J. Russel early in the game, he had way too much time. Granted it was the Raiders and it generally didn’t hurt us, but we will need more consistent pressure like the Cincinnati game. This may be more to teams having some tape on what Nolan likes to do and adjusting to it. But credit to Mike Nolan for being able to adjust the blitzes later in the game and get pressure.

8) Maybe it is me, but I think DJ Williams looked great for that game, I think he is finding his game, I do wonder if we may be better served to switch Williams and Haggen some, to utilize Williams speed on the edge.

9) Moreno definitely seems to be adjusting better to the zone blocking scheme, I do hope that coach Turner gets on him about doing spins in the hole, that may work in college and on occasion in the NFL, but usually trying a spin in the hole results in getting blasted and the ball getting ripped out.

10) Ryan “Iron™” Clady better get an all pro honor this year, seeing Seymour’s frustration at the end of the game is the telling stat for how good he is.

11) I am guessing Mike Shanahan is kicking himself in the ass for hiring Slowvik as a DC and not firing him after last season. Granted it is only three games and two are against some medicore offenses in Oakland and Cleveland, but this defense is showing so much more energy, focus, and attitude, I have to ask myself why couldn't Shanahan see what everyone else saw last year.

12) With Nolan’s success (and hopefully continued success this year), I am guessing he may be getting another HC opportunity in the league, I hope it isn’t for a couple of years at least.