I didn't see this mentioned in any off the post over the past few days, so here we go:

When talking of value and whether or not we got a good deal for Cutler, just remember that we went into that 06 draft with the 22nd and 29th pick in and draft and spent both of them to get Cutler.

We also spent 3 years of this billion dollar franchise's time, and their fan's goodwill and support, to develop Cutler and build around him.

I posted a short FanPost called "The price for cutler" well before this whole mess (reflecting on why Shanny lost his job), reminding everyone that with old #16 and two fist round picks, this team might have had a much better record over the past three years ... the whole point was the with Jay we would have been better off over the long haul, and now we take a step back.

So getting two 1st, a 3rd and Orten - a 5th was hardly good business overall; it was just the best we could do given the situation. Don't think we got out this deal ahead, we got our 2 first rounders from 06 back, plus the interest of 3 years and a proven comodity.

BigBlueShoe is well known to us older members of MHR, from the old radio day's. He has a little post about this whole mess on the Sampede Blue front page. It is rather biased, since he only looks at Cutler's view of this whole thing and hates all things Patriots. But he had one good line, which sums up my negative feelings towards the coach, and it has nothing to do with Cutler.

He says: "It is really, really hard to respect someone who thinks Matt Cassel is better than Jay Cutler. It is even harder to respect someone when they would rather stock the team with "their guys" rather than try to work with the talent available."

When Tomlin went to Pittsburg they told him to leave the D along, eventhough he was a Defensive Coach. Why Couldn't McD do the same? Our offense was ok, even though some of the play calling showed inexperiance last year.

Fix the weakness, don't mess with what was working. That just seems so clear to me that it makes everything else irrelevant.

I wouldn't want to play for a coach who didn't seem to make the right decisions either, no matter how much of good guy he was or how much energy he had. Get over yourself before you have to manage others coach.

Breaking News: Jay and McD tried to solve the issue by having a one on one conversation on the phone. I managed to wire-tap (I work in Homeland Security you know).

McD: Hi Jay

Cutler: Hi Josh

McD: That would be Coach McD to you

Cutler: Oh yah, well then you can call me Mr Cutler.

McD: No player is bigger than the team.

Cutler: Well coaches get fired all the time. Even the ones that have lifetime contracts.

McD: But I have a new hoodie.

Cutler: Well, I look like I played with the Beatles.

Continue reading this post »

It's true that a coach can come in and assert his control over a team. And they have a right to make trades. But sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. I'm scared that this whole mess will end up like the Cam Camron tenure in Miami, or Patrino in Atlanta. Reputation (which has to be earned) can go a long way in making guys fall in line (or buy in or whatever). A young guys shaking things up has its risks.

Why couldn't our coach be like Tomlin, who despite being a 4-3 defensive coach left the defensive alone when he took over?

We don't have many clear facts, so i won't form any opinions. But perhaps a confrontation between the new coach and Cutler was inevitable, and bringing it to a head early on could be better than being passive and letting it erupt mid season.

But if we loose our QB and go into full rebuild-mode, I will need to find an asylum.

There has been a lot of talk about Cutler's decision making ability on the field and the "risk" of having a QB with his aggressive mentality (when it comes to making passes). Well here is a quick look:

Brady: his first 3 years in the NFL:

2000: only 1 game

2001: 264 of 413 for 64%, 2843 yards, 18TD to 12INT (3% int/attempt ratio)

2002: 373 of 601 for 62%, 3764 yards, 28TD to 14INT (2.3% int/attempt ratio)

Culter: first 3 years

2006: five games

2007:297 of 467 for 63.6%, 3497 yards. 20TD to 14INT (3% int/attempt)

2008: 384 of 616 for 62.3%, 4526 yards. 25TD to 18INT (3% int/attempt)

Not as different as you might imagine in terms of risk taking; and Jay's overall numbers are better. Really, given a more reliable running game or a little better defense to keep the games close, Cutler wouldn't have been forced to take as many chances as he did.

Pats had an amazing defense, and their wining was as much a product of their D as it was Brady's game. Big Ben didn't win any Super Bowls on his own either.

Winning is a team thing, and Cutler isn't the "gunslinger" people like to label him as. He tried to carry the team on his back, and he paid with some INTs. Would it have been better to punt and loose? I think the fixation on "performance" in any given category is wrong. It depends on your objective. Playing it safe wouldn't have won us any more games. We just would have lost in a different fashion.

I take no sides when there is an argument in the team. I just get annoyed when we repeat media catch words like risk taker or decision making ...

Many of us have been looking at Shanny's last 3 years and saying how we missed the playoffs, and how he was remaking the offense around Cutler. Yet we forget the price.

The broncos were part of a trade that left them with no 1st round picks in in 05 and 2 first round picks in 06. Those 2 first round picks turned into Cutler, a player who didn't help his team in the 06 season and caused Plummer to crumple under pressure (my opinion).

Now imagine what would have happened these past 3 years if Shanny had used those 2 first round picks (#22 and #29) on other players. We could have drafted 2 guys like Santonio Holmes, DeAngelo Williams, Joseph Addai, Mathias Kiwanuka, DeMeco Ryans. These guys could have given our team a huge lift and Plummer would have done his part. We could have drafted a couple of busts ... but we did too good a job that year to bust on anything.

Do you know the guy who was picked with the #12 pick, right after Cutler? Haloti Ngata. Dude is a beast. If we had him in our line, our D would be much better against the run, and the double teams he draws would free up the DEs and alow more presure on the QB.

We would have made the playoffs in 06 if Plummer played the whole way. That was a season invested into the future, because Shanny knew we weren't going to win the Super Bowl. We would have also made it to the playoffs in 07 and this year.

But we would have lost in round 1 or 2.

So thank Shanny for wanting to win it all so much that he sacraficed a few  years of winning to get us a Franchise QB and hope for the future.

We all love the Broncos and football, but we do it in our own way.  If you enjoy the personnel and planning part of the game as much as I do, then you know that it is time to start looking at the upcoming draft.

Scouting never stops, but rankings are far too fluid at this point to start talking about who we want to draft where.  We could start looking at players who have played enough to be individually evaluated at this stage, but it would be in the spirit of scouting.

The other part, which is more pertinent at this time, is figuring out our needs, and that’s what I want to discuss in this post. I really think we have seen enough of this team to have a general idea about our future needs. And while a few things will change before the season ends, pigs aren’t going to grow wings.

I am going to look at the O and D separately, and rank our needs by position. Keep in mind that you should consider a 3 year plan when approaching your roster.

Continue reading this post »

http://sportsonmymind.com/2008/08/10/notes-matt-jones-returns-to-the-field/

Notes: Matt Jones Returns to the Field

August 10, 2008

The Florida Times-Union, newspaper to the Jacksonville Jaguars made no mention of the odd happening on the field during the Jaguars-Atlanta Falcons game. ESPN made no mention of the happening, Additionally, in a feature “Camp Confidential article on ESPN.com, Paul Kuharsky, former Tennessee Titans beat writer for the Tennessean and now ESPN.com writer, never mentioned the name of the man involved in the happening. The NFL Network showed a highlight of the happening.

“The happening” was a 22-yard pass from David Garrard to Matt Jones that led to the Jaguars’ first touchdown of their preseason game against the Falcons. Normally the discussion around a play like that would concern a veteran quarterback in his second season as full-time starter and banal banter using the overused term, “sophomore slump.” Secondarily, there would be talk of the new receivers in the Jags camp and how all the receivers from 2007-08 must watch their backs.

But this play should have spotlighted something entirely different - and would have if the receiver was black.

Matty J. was back. He started the game. Jones played his prescribed starter number of plays and sat down for the remainder of the game.

No biggy, huh?

But this is an NFL player who was busted in an SUV with six grams of coke. This is a first round pick who was busted chopping lines with a credit card while his boys eagerly awaited the result of his “largesse.” This is the guy who was given a HUGE break by a prosecutor by reducing his charge from distribution to possession despite the fact that possessing more than one gram of cocaine carries with it an automatic charge of distribution. This is a player who let his team down mightily late last season and into the playoffs; basically disappeared - and then during the offseason had the nerve to complain that he wanted the ball more.

There was no uproar. No boos when he came onto the field. No sardonic remarks from the local press. No ESPN coverage detailing Jones’ first action since the arrest. No  wondering if Jones needed to bne released. No nothing from the commissioner’s office about the scourge that is drugs.

It sure must be nice to be Matt Jones.

I have been thinking about the OL a lot, and I wanted to share them with you guys and get some feedback.

LT Clady, LG Kuper, C Hamilton, RG Holland, RT ?

* Holland and Kuper were both good guards last year, and continuity will serve this team well.

* Hamilton has been with the team for a long time, and he is going to be the leader on this OL for the next few years. He played center for us before, so we know he has it in him.

* Clady is obvious.

* Which leaves the RT spot. Harris had too many penalties tonight, but he didn't play too bad either. He might still be able to pull it off--note how much he improved  over his first two weeks in camp. Dude is a smart guy and he can adjust. If not, move him to G.

* Our other option is Pears. Pears did really well playing as a rookie LT in 06. He didn't do so well in 07, but I think that was a sophmore slup. San Diego's McNeal went through the same thing after being a pro-bowler in his rookie year. Keeping Pears at RT will also add more continuity to this OL.

I think continuity is very important for an OL. It's about team work and familiarity. With a line consisting of Clady, Kuper, Hamilton, Holland & Pears we will have 3 returning starters at the same spots from last year plus Hamilton. That means Clady will be the only new starter on the OL... it seems like a much better solution to me.

So what do you guys think? Who do you want to see on the OL?

Holland (the starting RG) came into camp overwieght and is being held out of practice until he gets into shape. In his absence, this is our starting lineup.

LT Clady, LG Hamilton, C Nalen, RG Kuper, RT Harris

So ... when short a OG, Shanny moved Kuper back inside and started Harris at RT.  To me, this contradicts all the speculation that the team isn't high on Harris anymore or that he is in danger of being cut. Shanny could have just as easily used Weigmann or Gandy, or he could have even move Harris inside ... but he didn't.

Keep in mind that the battle for the RT possition is much more important than who fills in as RG for a few days until Holland gets back. This is going to set Kuper back (he needs to get used to playing RT) and it gives Harris a chance to secure a spot for himself.

I am much happier with Harris at RT and Kuper at OG. We are going to loose either Nalen or Hamilton in the near future, and having Kuper ready to take over LG is a big plus.

We keep reading how he doesn't really get along with Al and the Faider front office, and how he would be fired if not for the money. He only has one year left on his contract (I think), and the chances of him staying in Oakland are slim.

So, is any one here interested in the guy?

He actually seems like a great coach. He also runs a Broncos type scheme. He installed the ZB scheme and ran it effectively last year. He uses a lot of mis-direction plays.

I want him as our next Offensive Coordinator. By that I mean a real coordinator who can bring something new and fresh to this team, and really help mix things up a bit. That's something we have missed since Kubiac left. Having recent experiance at the college level also means that he will be used to teaching football, which is good for a team with a lot of younger guys.

Personally I would go so far as to say we should let him become the next Head Coach once Shanny's corrent contract runs out in 2011 (Is that when his contract runs out?). I really don't think it is good to keep a head coach for 20 years. But that's just me. 

We got one young coach from Oakland a few years back and worked out alright, why not try the other?

There have been a ton of top 10 DL picks that have turned into busts in the past. There have also been some late round successes. Typical of every position. When I think about it, most of these busts seem to have one thing in common, and that is the quality of their college team. I just wanted to see what you guys think.

An NFL example of what I am trying to say would be the Titan's D-line last year. When fat Albert was playing, they looked like an elite unit. Their DE looked great. But when their top dog got injured, their D-line looked no better than ours.

Extending the analogy, I want to ask, were Dorsey and Ellis really that good? Ellis' fellow DE was taken in the 2nd round this year. His fellow DT is projected as a top 10 pick next year. They were backed by the top LB corp in the nation (Rivers, Maliuga, and Cushing). Would Ellis looked half as good playing on Vandy's D-line? Same goes for Dorsey. There were two other top 10 talent D-linemen playing alongside him. Sims had Groves and Marks on the same line as him.

The only DT who really showed up all on his own was the guy from Notre Dame, Laws.

Perhaps it is important to look at the way these guys play on these all-star teams to really get a better idea about who they are.

* * * * * * *

Something else that has been bothering me for a while is how everyone says Doom is small for a DE. I agree a 100% that at 5'11" he is a good 4" short of the ideal hight, but he is not small. When most people say small, they mean too light and thin to take the pounding in the NFL. Or too light to be effective. But let's take a look around.

Robert Mathis (Colts)--starter-- 6'2" 247

Adewale Ogunleye (Bears)--starter-- 6'4" 260

Strahan (Giants)--star-- 6'5" 255

Osi Umenyiora (giants)--starter-- 6'3" 261

Travis LaBoy (cardinals now)--starter-- 6'3" 260

Gaines Adams (Bucs) --top 10 pick-- 6'5" 258

Our own Elvis Dumervil-------5'11" 260

Just look at the numbers here. Doom is heavier than half these guys and shorter than all of them by a good margin. He has a more solid built than every single guy on this list. How is it that some of you guys think Strahan who 6 inches taller and 5 pounds lighter can be an every down player, but Doom can't?

By the way, I agree 100% with anyone who says that Dumervil would probably be more effective if he only played about half the defensive snaps in a game ... but that is true of every D-lineman. It stops them from getting worn down and gassed.

They had the draft that many of us wanted for Denver:

1. Chris Williams OT ** Some of us wanted him over Clady (risk and all that)

2. Matt Forte RB

3. Earl Bennett WR ** Another guy that many thought was the safest WR pick in this draft; not the best, but the safest. Nelson has more potential--I admit it--but he is also a riskier pick.

3. Marcus Harris DT ** The best DT after the top two guys, but with an injury history. I would have liked Pat Sims better, but Harris was about as NFL ready as a DT can be in the NCAA.

5. Craig Steltz SS ** Not a gifted athlete like Barrett, but he has the brains to play the position.

All guys we wanted. All drafted by the Bears. They also got Marcus Monk in the 7th round. I really wanted that guy. Him and Marshall would have been an awesome pair.

Some other teams got other favorites of the community here, but no one team took as many "MHR" guys as Chicago.

Here are all our O-Line picks from 96 to 06

7th Banks . . D
7th Ratliffe . . D
2nd Neil . . A+
7th Teague . . C
4th Carlisle . . C
4th Hamilton . . A+
1st Foster . . D
6th Meyers . . B
5th Kuper . . B
6th Eslinger . . D

So, as you can see, in the past 10 years our best drafted O-Linemen were between the 2nd and 4th rounds. 5th, 6th and 7th rounds have not been that good to us. (Note: Nalen is from more than 10 years ago).

We have had two College Free Agent O-linemen (un-drafted) who did a good job for us (Pears & Lepsis). We have also had a 100 other ones who failed to make the team. So I won't count it

So basically, the idea that we can draft O-Line left is a myth.

>>> Conclusion?
We want mid-round O-linemen.

It's a bit more than 2 cents (Denver Mock).

I am assuming that we trade down twice (similar to what's going on in the mock Guru is a part of). Go from 12 to late teens for a mid 3rd. Go from there to mid 20's for a late 3rd rounder.

I listed an alternative player just to make it more realistic.

1. FS K Phillis . . . . OR . DT K Balmer
2a DT P Sims  . . . . OR . DT T Laws
2b WR E Bennett . . OR . OT S Baker
3a DT M Harrison  . OR . LB J Goff
3b SS T Zbikowski . OR . WR J Nelson
4a TE J Finley . . . . OR . TE B Cottam
4b DE B Johnston  . OR . RB M Hart
5a OT B Giacomini . OR . OL C Rinehart
5b P D Brooksor . . OR . K T Mehlhaff
6. WR M Monk  . . . OR . WR J Rivers
7a DE/T M Dixon  . OR . DT J Thompson
7b P Dragosavich . OR . K S Longest

More

Continue reading this post »

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3348671

SAN DIEGO -- Chargers inside linebacker Stephen Cooper was suspended for four games by the NFL on Tuesday for testing positive for a banned stimulant.

Cooper, who moved into the starting lineup last season and led the Chargers with 179 tackles, said in a statement released by the team that he took a stimulant that was recently added to the NFL's list of prohibited substances.

"I regret that I mistakenly took a stimulant that I did not realize at the time was banned by the NFL," Cooper said.

Yah right. Like anyone will believe the guy.

I know how all of us have been talking about moving back in the first and getting an extra 2nd or 3rd round pick. But let's slow down and look at our options again.

I think everyone agrees that if we stay at #12 we will wither pick DE Harvey or OT Williams, two phenomenal talents. They can be huge difference makers on any team. So what would we do if we moved back? We all keep talking about how it will give us an extra pick, but we have never considered who we would pick once we trade down.

Continue reading this post »

As the reloading season started we all seemed to agree that Denver had to address needs (in no particular order) at DT, LB, S, OL, and WR.

Looking at our FA moves, it is clear that we have signed our starters for the next couple of years at LB and S. We have also singed a couple of WRs, one of them for a decent chunk of money.

There were also a couple of no-name signings at DE and DT, but I won't count those, since the team didn't invest money into it.

To me, these moves mean that we are looking at OL and DL for the draft... and if we don't move up or down from #12, then it will be a OT that we draft.

A lot of us have been looking at draft and free agency. Addressing our needs has been a big topic, so I decided to take a look at future needs.

That outlook starts with an evaluation of our roster in terms of age. I've made a list of players over 26. That means everyone else has more than 4 seasons before they turn 30. In today's NFL 4 season is about the longest outlook on any roster--given the rate of change anything longer doesn't make sense.

I broke this list into 3 groups: "Important players", "Age don't matter" & "Who cares"

Click to read

Continue reading this post »

The latest "news" going around on many sites and forums is that Oklahoma WR Kelly has been working out with Cutler. I think Mat Mosley at Hashmarks was the original source for many people.

It's utter rubbish of course. Kelly interviewed at the combine yesterday, and when asked if he thought Bills might take him at 11 he said, "[nice] But I was talking to Jay Cutler, he's down [in Atlanta] training where I am. The Denver Broncos didn't interview him the year he got drafted, so you never know."

www.buffalonews.com/sports/story/282865.html

So from working out in the same gym/center to working out together. What else can we expect from ESPN? Pile on.

For those who care.

From Draft Daddy:
"Vanderbilt wide receiver Earl Bennett has been at Chip Smith's joint in Atlanta working out with Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler since Jan 10. Word is, Cutler is telling Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shannahan to draft Bennett, which isn't surprising."

We knew that the trio were there, but I had no clue Bennett had already joined the team!

For those of you who don't know, this kid is the most reliable WR in this draft. Maybe even in the past 5 drafts, but I don't want to exaggerate.

What is it with Denver and unusual stuff? I was reading stuff on ESPN about this CB from Oklahoma St (who happens to be deaf) when I ran into this: "there have been two deaf NFL players: Kenny Walker with the Denver Broncos in the early 1990s ..."

We also had the first Black QB.

I wouldn't be suprised if there were other fun stuff I didn't know. Who has a story to share?

This would never happen, complete none real situation... but it's a thought I had. I wanted to get some feedback on it.

Would you guys trade Marshall for the Cowboys' first 3 picks? That's #22, #28 and #59.

On one hand I love the guy so much I wouldn't trade him for anything... On the other hand, along with our own #12 & #43, that's Five early picks to jump start this team into.

A real diary!

Tonight I decided to Google my own screen name (amirebram) just to see what shows up. As expected, the first thing that shows up is MHR stuff. But then I saw a ton of other web pages that link to MHR content... There were a bunch of sites that had my mock draft from Week 17 posted.

Some of these are fan site, others are just feedsites, some others track everything on the internet about individual players. Even the Washington Post had a link to MHR. Insane.

I find this to be really amusing. I get one mock posted on the MHR front page, and there are 100 sites that link to it. It even gets on MySpace's news page for Dallas, since I said we should make a trade with the Cowboys. What do you know? I am more famous than I knew?

I just wanted to share this with people who have a dry sense of humor like I do.

BTW, some of these websites are actually interesting, and you guys might want to check them out. I have them listed in the 'read more' section.

Continue reading this post »

Here are two player's stats. They are rather odd but similar. Note the huge jump in production.

Year  Rec  Yards  Ave    Long   TD
2004  8     84      10.5   21       0
2005  74   1195   16.1   69       11

Year  Rec  Yards  Ave    Long   TD
2006  6     90      15.0   38       1
2007  79   1260   15.9   80       8

The first set of stats belongs to our own Marshall. The second table is Devin Thomas. I AM NOT saying that Thomas is the next Marshall; not at all. These two guys have nothing in common physically. However, I thought the similarity in the college stats was worth investigating.

Thomas is 6'1" 215 and quarter of a step faster than Marshall. His single productive season is a bit of a risk factor.

Has anyone really seen & studied this guy's game? Can you compare him to guys like Kelly, Hardy and Manningham? I am curious.

Including four-time Pro Bowl tight end Alge Crumpler.

Crumpler is a good player. Atlanta just wants to rebuild and they don't have room for player who are over 30 years old. Crumpler was due $5 Mil next year so they dumped him. He had some injury problems in 07, but still managed 42 catches [from crappy QBs].

He is also a good run blocker, and he played with the ZB system for a number of years (when Atlanta had Alex Gibbs & Jim Mora).

Nice size and speed combo, and he has a few more good years in him.

At a mid range salary, he would be a great pickup for Denver. A 3 year $9 mil deal would be ideal. He would be gone just in time to resign Scheffler when his rookie salary is done.

Magic 3?

So here is a nice Texans blog attempting to explain Zone-Blocking system for the Huston fans that aren't familiar with it. Nice read, but rather long.

He has two posts on it, first post:
http://www.atexansblog.com/2007/11/28/professor-without-knowing-precisely-what-the-danger-is-would-y ou-say-its-time-for-our-viewers-to-crack-each-others-heads-open-and-feast-on-the-goo-inside/

Second post:
http://www.atexansblog.com/2008/01/11/soabout-that-zone-blocking/

And for those who really want to read more, here is Football outsiders take on ZB system:
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/2005/03/31/ramblings/stat-analysis/2484/

Cheers!

Don't know if guys caught this, but:

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=335443

"The Texans have added Alex Gibbs as assistant head coach in charge of the offense, the Houston Chronicle reports.

Gibbs, 66, spent last season retired after serving three seasons as an Atlanta Falcons assistant. He will replace Mike Sherman, who has hired as Texas A&M's head coach.

Texans coach Gary Kubiak and Gibbs spent many years together with the Denver Broncos. Kubiak was a backup quarterback during part of Gibbs' tenure there and later became offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

During his runs with the Broncos and Falcons, Gibbs helped install the zone-blocking scheme for both teams. Gibbs will help Kyle Shanahan, 28, who was promoted from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator Wednesday."

Simply put, ouch. Now, the last thing we need is for Texan's O-line to become as good as their D-line. And believe me, Gibbs is magic.