We all need to keep a level head.

Continue reading this post »

Ignore what the mainstream media is going to say. They're going to second guess McDaniel's call to kick the onside kick. It doesn't really matter in the larger picture. This was a game that was doomed from the beginning with the Simm's fumble and then the Moreno fumble. The sky is not going to fall because the Broncos lost. Do not let it ruin your week or the rest of the day. The Broncos will be fine. Remember, they play on Thursday.

Continue reading this post »

The recent pandemonium around here is well documented, and well posted about. However, the average FanShot/FanPost is less than 12 hours. There are too many posts talking about the same thing because posters feel that everyone must hear their point. It is becoming a real drag to read all of this over and over. I usually just lurk and read, but I am sick of it.

With that in mind, what do you guys think of a Jay Cutler thread, like a game thread? There can be updates, like the free agency one, and everything is in one place. As news is slow now, barring this drama, I think it would orgainize things and eliminate the one paragraph posts.

I don't know. I might be the only one thinking that this is getting out of hand despite the words of Guru and Papi. I'll shut up if everything is fine, but I can't handle this constant dragging on about something that has been beaten on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about.

What do you guys think? We need order? Or am I wrong?

Please leave a simple 'yes' or 'no'.(I don't know how to post a pole)

between my father and I. We have agreed to ignore all of the rumors until something happens with Cutler.

For all of those who are going to get very worked up about a possible trade OR signing of Cutler, I am reminding you that we are all Broncos fans and no matter if Vinny Testaverde or Jesus is starting at quarterback, we are all going to be sitting in front of a screen yelling at the tops of our lungs when something happens.

Remember, the Denver Broncos have a plan and that they will execute it. Pat Bowlen and the FO will do what is in the best interest of the team.

For now on, can we please sit back, relax, and wait until something happens? A new fanpost is posted about every 2 hours focusing on this one subject. Lets all relax and realize that these things happen all the time.

Enough speculation. Lets calm down and be thankful we're not the Raiders or Lions!

GO BRONCOS!!!

My edit: I had not seen Guru's post about the new posting standards until a link was posted in another thread. I appologize for this if any of you are offended, but I wanted to offer a change of mood. If any of you with editorial power want to remove it, feel free to do so.

Hey, everyone. Please excuse the look of this post as I do not know how to edit, but I  do know that there are numerous Cutler and Bus Cook threads. As a Bronco fan, it is hard to watch a team go through this, but there is some steam in the engine. Jay Cutler has proven that he now wants very little to do with this team after McDaniels is making it clear no one person is bigger than the team.

Look at who the Denver Broncos have signed so far. Goodman, Peterson, and Dawkins are obviously here to be leaders and play a role. The other guys signed are team players who are going to give it all they have and not be moody.

In reality, we have a will be 4th year quarter back with a bad attitude, an ineptitude at making his own decisions, and a tendency to lock eyes with a free safety as if he were his girlfriend. That is a major set of issues. I understand that Cutler is perceived as a possible franchise quarterback. However, what makes it a guarantee that he will be? Someone with his attitude will not make it 15 years in the NFL. Cutler, who has more career losses than wins, is digging himself a hole he will not be able to get out of.

The Denver Broncos have Jay Cutler signed to a deal that lasts 3 more years. The best quarterback on the market is Jeff Garcia and we already signed our other option in Chris Simms. McDaniels is pulling a Belicheck and sticking to his guns. All traces of Shanny are being blasted away from Dove Valley. The Goodmans are gone. Little is left except, well, Putzier.

With that said, what is the ideal way for this whole debacle to play out? None of us have really said how we think this is going to end up? Is Cutler a Bronco or a Lion or maybe a Buc? Is he disgruntled, setting himself up to leave in 3 years anyway? Either way, both the Denver Broncos and Jay Cutler lose to some extent. Keep in mind money, picks, the offense, the defense, and of course, Bus Cook. What do you think will happen?

I, personally, say don't let the door hit you on the way out, Jay. Trading him would rid the team of a headache and send a message. Detroit could offer things that would leave the Broncos missing only one piece, a quarterback.

Hold on, before you start screaming that qb is the most important position, McDaniels track record must be looked at. He transformed Cassell, who in my opinion is about as good as Kyle Orton, into a very competant qb. He has worked with Brady. Mike Nolan will be working the defense. Do not forget about him.

All in all, I think that Jay Cutler will be sacked 63 times next year. Chris Simms will win the starting job and do a fine job. The newly found studs on d and the one on offense will be a great help. The specials teams will be improved because of the added depth.

Ok, how do you guys think this will end? Trade ideas? Contract options? A giant hugfest between management and Cutler? Who knows?

I know that it is posted in the top right corner of the main MHR page and on other sights, but some may not look there. Around 11p.m. Pacific, 12a.m. Mountain, 1a.m. Central and 2p.m. Eastern Standard Time Zone, there is going to be some pre-planned maintenance.

If this has been made clear to everyone somewhere else, feel free to delete this.

Hope you guys all have a great Sunday watchin the Chargers meet their demise!!!

Okay, I've been rambling lately over the draft/acquasitions/players and have been mistaken in some of my theories. I know there is someone out there who is good with the current salary cap. I was wondering if anyone could give us a salary cap rundown. If I've missed this, please let me know. Any volunteers?

Secondly, with the addition of many posters posting each day, I was wondering if anyone would be interested in a diary where we all tell how we became Bronco fans. It kind of jives with the family mood we have. I was thinking it'd lead to some interesting convo's.

Thoughts?

*Update [2008-4-6 1:38:28 by broncodude793]:*-I need to start paying attention in English class and work on my writing rather than reading the Horse Tracks everyday.

Ok, here, you're not going to find out a major trade the Broncos have just made. Rather, you'll find my logic. I will call for something that will most likely be hated, but I think you guys will be able to see where I'm coming from.

Okay, picture this. Brandon Marshall is out for some reason and Colbert flops like he will. Okay we have Brandon Stokely and Selvin Young as our two biggest offensive threats for the year.(Scheff is a t.e. and I'm not counting those.) Jay Cutler goes into his 3rd year as starting qb with no wr's and a good tight end in Scheff. Nice offense.

Now, I love Marshall, don't get me wrong, but he can't be counted on. He's Chris Henry without the arrests and they could be coming. He can't be counted on to be Cuter's number one.

With the draft coming up, we need to focus on Culter. Cutler. Cutler. Cutler. Cutler. And Cutler. You have to build around him first. You need wide receivers and linemen.

We have a great track record of drafting linemen so that's not a worry, and the whole defense needs to come out of remedial therapy after the disaster that was Jim Bates, so they need a year of evaluating with the new safeties, lbs, and another year under last years draftees.

Keeping this in mind, I suggest the Broncos make a play on Chad Johnson.

Screaming time alloted

.
..
...
....
.....
....
...
..
.

Okay. Think about this. He doesn't get in trouble off the field. He just wants to win. Wow, that's too big checkmarks for our team. Then, he's that big play receiver that we need. It's a lot to chew on and I doubt we'll see it, but he does make sense for us as much as some might hate it.

Trading for Chad and getting back into the third round should be our priorities for the draft.

Thoughts?

With the MileHighreport.com Mock Draft in full swing, it got me to thinking about how almost every guy going off the board could be a large help.  From the corners,(yes, they could. If you're not starting Foxy or Paymah, then they'ed help over Bly) to the O-Lineman, to the D-Lineman, to the Wr's. Not to mention the guys that are still out there like a Kenny Phillips.

In today's Horse Tracks, there was an article on the Broncos vs. Texans.  This was a fair argument, but it raised some big questions.  What are we doing?

Chris Myers was far more valuable than a sixth rounder and better than a 35 year old. What really gets me is Hamz. We've been waiting 2-3 years for this guy to develop. We Bronco fans have been chanting for Hamz, and then he gets lowballed. As a result, we've got John Lynch, McCree, and a guy whose name has slipped me. So, because the team doesn't want to pay Hamz, we had to pay three other guys who we know what they are? Was that Sundquists' or Mike's decision?

So now, we need O-Lineman and Safeties. Okay, not too hard. We have a good amount of draft picks. Yet, you still have to throw in that the defensive line is porous. Doom is a beast, but a pass rushing guy. Moss is on the sideline and Crowder hasn't been given the chance we're thinking he'll get. Really, the line could use somebody, but could this have all been avoided? Daryl Gardner's deal was bad from the beginning. Then there is the Brownie lines. Albeit they were in place for the AFC Champ season and the beginning of '06, those were the years teams were testing Champ and Jake Plummer wasn't heaving up prayers. We were very efficient. It could have been fixed then. Not so much anymore.

With all my negative so far, I'm going to transition to some "eeh" points. Ok, wr, is what bugs me as it's not a "oh crap we have to fix that" area, but it is an "that could become an area that's horrid." Kerry Colbert? Ok, Mike, Ted, whoever, Eddy Mac is retired. There is no one who can replace him. I know we're trying to build a carbon copy team of 1998, but hey, it isn't the same time period. We need a deep guy to counter act the possession guy in Marshall. That's not Colbert who did little with Steve Smith. Steve Smith is one of the most problamatic guys in the leauge and they have a good qb in Delhomme(spelling?). I can believe in late starters and he could be justifiable, but Marshall is getting in trouble and his arm looks like a butcher went to town on it. We need a big play guy. Character is a controversial area here. If you kept Walker, then a different guy is justifiable here. Yea, I want some control. A T.O. or C.J. character type guy is what I'm targeting. It's all really a humbled jumbled mess that needs to be sorted. However, there is some potential with Scheff. Graham will not be used with the O-Line, so he's a literal no factor. It could be worse.

INTERMISSION NOTE... Javon Walker leaving was a spectacular move, but an equally worse contract.

Before I get to some of the things I'm going to call for, I'd like to acknoweldge that those of you who are going to come at me with salary cap issues, I'd like to say look at the current baragaining agreement and those contracts will have to worked around. I'm optimistic to say that those were Ted's fault and that they're the last of those type that we'll see.

RB. I don't see Henry as someone who is needed. He's a luxury if at all possible. Whoever we put back there, he'll be successful. Whoever. The only thing that'd help is if you had an All-Pro back, but we have needs that are too pressing to be worrying about that.

Qb. Jay Cutler. Leader. Beast. Best qb out of Leinart-Young-Culter trio. Just can't let him rot. He needs help.

Kicker-Okay, this is a decision I'm going to say Mike did and it was a good move. Players have to produce and if you're declining, you're team has to be able to mask your decline. We can't do that. Elam really may have hurt us last year. Without he, we'd have a top 5 pick. I'd rather have that and the possibilities that it could produce. He can be replaced.

Special teams-Got to find a return guy. That simple. Coverage is as bad as the guys who're playing it. That's fundamental flaws there folks.

INTERMISSION #2 NOTE... Where is the playcalling? It's been bad.

The Draft. Oh boy. My opening has been lengthy and will be longer than this.  We're sitting at 12. Everyone getting drafted cold help us. However, we're not in a position to hand out a contract to a type of guy who may falter when trading down and stockpiling smart, high motor guys could be a better option.  I can name more late round guys that have produced for us than early round guys. We could stockpile those 2nd and thirdd rounders and target some guys who may have fallen or the high motor guys I've mentioned.

There is another option. we could trade. What we're going to do with this draft is to help one side of the ball more than the other, in my opinion. The problem is which side of the ball that is. Personally, I'd go Offense if we hold onto Hamza and use this season to see what Kwhatshisname and Boss Bailey can do as well to see what last year's draftees do and the safety position. You need another year of evaluating after these last few seasons of mediocrity.

That's what I'm trying to get at folks. This is a crucial draft and you need to build a foundation and I think that is Cutler so build around him. Wr's and Olineman should be a priority.

Now, in reality, no one here knows what the Broncos are going to do because as long as we draft smartly, there is no wrong answer because we have so many needs and some of the top teams are looking to move down and lower round teams up, possibly. Or we could trade for a guy out there. =-) Not naming names. There is a risk, but we have to really seperate the men from the boys with this being Cutler's first you're the man, you're the team leader season.

There are a few guys who are not needed, but they could be trading chips and they could result in an addition by subtraction type of outcome.

This will be one of the most exciting drafts for us in some time. and I know we'll be talking about it some more, but the possibilities are numerous, and our needs numerous as well.

In that respect, I don't think that we can go a wrong way. It's Mike's decision. There are no more excuses. This is the time to start again.

Go Broncos.

Okay, I've got to jet rather quickly here, but I think this deserves some consideration.

With the new post about salary cap up, it got me thinking, which side of the ball is going to be more valuable to lock up and secure now, then risking it then. Do we go with the stud young qb or the shutdown corner?...

Personally, I'm an offensive guy and there are some options in the draft and trade that would leave Cutler in a great position...

Same thing on the defensive side. We have or own guys who may be leaving so what do we do now? There, as well, are some guys out there in the draft and via trade...(JASON TAYLOR!!!)

With that said, which will be more important to stockpile for the Denver Broncos 3 years from now? I hope this will open up some debates that are friendly as to which side is more important to us in this day and age with what we have in place.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

(Keep in mind, guys to "mentor" are always options and Culter needs weapons to succeed, but then again, so does the D.)

Hopefully, we can figure out what we as fans think.

I had said that I was ill earlier, and I'm still recovering, so I have not been around lately, but anyways, I'll still give you some of my opinions.

The news about Walker is great. I said he wouldn't be here and said we should trade him back in week 5. It didn't seem a good idea to trade him then, but now, I think you have to to send a message. Cap could be an issue, but hey, if you would have made sure he was consistent, before the deal, there wouldn't be an issue.

Lepsis is a blow and that's been voiced around already.

Our draft needs to focus on Safety and the lines in my opinion. You just can't fix everything in one year, and Williams needs to go back outside. No excuses if he were to fail. Consistency.

Our possible schedule for next year looks doable if we improve on some certain areas of our team.

I hope everyone had a Happy New Year and I'm looking foward to the offseason.

The year is 1996. The Denver Broncos are favorites to win the Super Bowl. We go into a game against Jacksonville confident that we will advance. But then, the unthinkable happens. We lose. The short future looks bleak for our elderly quarterback who has fought for 14 years to grasp onto the Lombardi trophy only to fail so many times. But then...

The Mastermind strikes.

Over the next two seasons, he performs the best coaching job that he has ever done by guiding the Denver Broncos to two consecutive Super Bowl wins. All of Denver is celebrating as the beloved John Elway has finally won not 1, but 2 rings. Everyone is happy right? Although Elway is going to retire, we still have Davis right? He'll be able to carry us? And the defensive vets who retired like Atwater were slowing anyway and could be replaced, right? Wrong. The real coach of that team was John Elway.

Now granted, Shanny is the one who made the offense, but have you ever watched the tapes of the glory years? Mike was ALWAYS asking John what he thought they should do and they did it. It was literally John's offense. He controlled it. If Shanny was the Mastermind, how could he have not modified this system to fit Griese, Brister, Beuerlein, or Plummer or any of the other guys we have had to where we could win the SB?

I would have to say that our running game going down in the form of TD hurt us, but as you have seen, we can run the ball. But, here is the problem. We have NEVER had a feature back since TD who can control a game. Mike is scared of that because he knew that Elway and TD were the soul of that team and without them, we were toast because they were the ones guiding the team.

As I look back on it, hardly being able to remember the SB's(younger side, not older) one thing remains persistent in my mind. We blatantly violated the salary cap. With that, I can not totally say we won fairly.

Yet, Shanny has done several good things:
     1. We did become respectable again
     2. He gave us Cutler
     3. He gave us Bailey
     4. We have been a contender
     5. We do have a future
     6. Stabilized the franchise

Now we are all aware of the last 5 years or so's happenings so I won't detail that. It's all kind of a wash. If you counter in these last 2 seasons, is he losing "it"? Historically, age 55 is the year a coach will start to decline. (Not the Walsh's or the Lombardi's of the world)

It has been 10 years since the SB's. Guru says TD's check has been cashed. If his has been, then why hasn't Shanny's? It is up to Bowlen, yes, but the real question is:

Should Shanny stay or should he go? I will not provide my insight to this, but as I have said above, there is an argument for sides whether it be with the rings, or if it was the players, or if he's failing. It deserves consideration.

What do you guys think?

I became very ill on the eve of Christmas Eve about an hour or two after I wrote my second Santa leter and wasn't able to post something because of this.

I have not had a chance to read any of the comments because this headache is killing me, but I thought it necessary to let you guys know and that I wasn't deserting after the Chargers game...I was right though. Graham killed us. lol.

My illness nearly sent me to the grave. I was confused and could lift no limbs. It seems I comboed the flu with food posioning and the ever present lack of sleep. I plan to be back and have a preview of something I've got going for you guys by Monday.

Hope everyone had a Merry X-Mas.

With the second letter in a series of 3, I will focus on the defense.

Dear Santa,

Last night, I was thinking about the letter that I sent to you. I thought I did a pretty good job writing out what I wanted for Christmas, but then I thought about how I'm not the only Broncos fan and that most football fans are Broncos fans. =-) I then remembered how they would all remember Hester, so I figured they would all write to you about the ST's. So, I'm sending you an updated letter.

I thunk really hard about what else I could want for Christmas. Then, I remembered that the Bronco defense is atrocious. Sad as it is to say, we depend on our 154 year old safety, and I think he's broken beyond repair now. His partner in crime, Ferguson, was lost on the flight from San Diego weeks back. My dad said Shanny went to your workshop and picked up Hamza. He's great. Only problem is, with football, you need 2 safeties and one of them have to be elite. Well, Hamza is good so, we still need "that" guy. I was wondering if you have some pro-bowl caliber safeties you were going to give out. If you do, I would be tickled if you gave us one.

Then, Santa, we need a whole new troupe of lb's. We have 1 potentially good one in Williams, but if he doesn't get some help, he'll flare out. We have a guy miraging as productive in Webster, and Gold is desperately in need of a new family to love him. It's not that we don't like those guys, there are the less fortunate teams cough Chiefs cough that could use them more than we could. So Santa, I would like to have 2 smart, athletic lb's to go with Williams too.

One thing, I do not want for Christmas, is corners. Santa, you've done quite a nice job supplying us there. Thanks.

Well, that leads me to the last thing that I want for Christmas, and Santa, this one doesn't have to be specific See, this year, rumor has it, you have a horde of defensive linemen that are going to be given out. Well, we have some guys who show promise, but we need some big guys to be in the middle, and as Broncos fans as a whole, we would all be grateful to have 3-5 of these guys.

All in all Saint Nick, I've been a good boy and for Christmas, I'd also like to have a Stud safety, 2 Lb, and more big guys for the trenches. If all of this isn't attainable as it's plenty to ask for, I'd rather you gave us 1 or 2 of the desired areas and some help at other areas or some depth.

I know you can do it Santa. You're the one who can do it.

Love,
A Hopeful Fan

With just Saturday, Sunday, and Monday left until ole Saint Nick makes his decent down your chimney or if you don't have one, through your back door, I'm going to put a twist on my perspectives. In the spirit of the season, each day I'll post a different letter to Santa focusing on a different aspect of the team. I'll go in order in what I feel is weakness to strength. With that, I write.

Dear Santa,

Last year for Christmas, all we Bronco fans got was a lump of coal. We got knocked out of the playoffs because our 154 year old safety wasn't in there and our young stud qb wasn't in either. Well, I guess it turned out for the better, so no hard feelings.

However, although all of us acted like the good little boys and girls that we are, our team did not perform up to par this year. Santa, the first thing I want for Christmas is a good punter.

Now see, there is a specific type that my heart desires. I want the blue and orange one, with a monster leg, good football smarts, and very good accuracy. He also needs to know his limits. It'd be great if I could get one of those.

But Santa, if you think I've been really good this year, I'd like the Broncos to be able to cover kickoffs. It pains my young heart attack stricken heart to see no names and Hester run down our throats with ease. Please Santa? Give us some guys who can cover? I sure wouldn't want Bailey getting hurt. He's my favorite player. If you could get me these two things for Christmas, Santa, I'd be ever greatful.

Santa, my frineds have been good, too. We're all Bronco fans and they wanted me to tell you what they all want for Christmas. They all basically said a return game. They all want a guy who can return kicks and hold onto the ball. If you still have a Hester in your workshop or even a letter guy that is still very good, we'd be mighty greatful.

I know that's a lot to ask for, but I think I been a good boy this year, and since I didn't get anything for Christmas last year, I don't think I'm asking to much. Do you?

Signed,

A Weary Bronco Fan (BroncoDude). . . . Update [2007-12-21 21:48:8 by broncodude793]: I changed the title to better reflect what I was doing. If you guys like this, let me know, if not, I'll discontinue my series.

With our playoff chances gone, it is definately FINALLY time to plan for next year. As most of you know, I have been a large supporter for youth and prepping for next season since about week 3 or 4. Now, the time has come. Lately, there have been several diaries up about position break downs and their value to the team. Some of them I agree with and some of them I don't. I will say a few things first though.

Our main problem is our defense. We must improve to be on a championship level. A defense works as a well oiled machine and the defensive parts work together like a dline with a lb core. However, right now, we have neither a defensive line, nor a strong linebacking core. We have one thing that stands out and that's cornerback depth. I say we should build from our secondary because of this and focus on Safety as our number 1 priority during the offseason. We need to build from our strengths to ensure they stay strong while improving the rest of our team.

I have seen the number's about Bait's system and they are persuasive. Well, now, I'm not going to change my view on a new coaching staff, but realistically I know it will not happen. I'm just voicing what I would like. (Hey, I'm a fan.) With that I'll give him time to develop all the newly imported Dlinemen so lb is our other problem. This is where I have to put my foot down. Gold and Webster must either be exponentially better next year or be replaced. With the system, we need elite backers.

This is just an overview of what I'm going to get at in the next couple of weeks. This is my last week of being busy, so from oh say about this Saturday to January 6, I'll have a ton of new material up.

But, for now, we can use this to pose a major question(s).

If you could focus on one aspect of our team only what would it be and are there any areas that we could get tossed out players that will turn into gold for us? I think there is but, I'll release a name after I have seen all your thoughts. This offseason will truly be a crucial one as Cutler is the real deal and he will need help.

Let us hear everyone's thoughts. Any rash trade ideas? Use this diary as a brainstorming area.

Happy Holidays.

Sidenote: Elam has been the special teams and it will improve with the improving of other players, so it's tied with the offense and D.

As I said I would, I would eventually have a post up. Sorry that this has taken so long. I've been rather busy and do not think I am going to make it tomorrow night for MHR Radio.

I see the poll question up. It interests me a lot more than even you guys could imagine. Now, I know I am going to rile you guys up with this one, so before you read further, if you do not feel like arguing or criticizing my ideas and perspectives, or just can't take trading guys, stop reading now...

.....

Ok. The poll question is about if Henry and or Walker will be Broncos next year. I think it's rather obvious that they will be. What I'm about to say is in no way realistic, but it would be what I would do.

Brandon Marshall is going to be a stud in this league. We also have Brandon Stokely locked into our system for 3 more years at least and then we have Glenn Martinez. We are all very aware and current of Walker's knee. It really became evident that he was not healthy and he probably will not be for some time. Although we perceive him as being an up and coming guy, Walker has been around awhile as it stands. That, coupled with his injuries, really risks the rest of the team. As you all know, I LOVE consistency and injuries are bad and knee injuries linger as this one has and I say it's time to explore our options.

Brandon Marshall will be the number 1 receiver for this team next year. One may bring up the "veteran" factor. That's hoo-ha. It's the coaches(Garret please!) responsibilty to get players ready and to get them to perform. Besides we have Stokely and for the time being Smith. It's time for Walker to go. We could probably get the value we traded for him and with our needs, I say it is time to trade him. Before you light your pitchforks and go to the management thing, look up and re-read what I said from the top. I do not like Walker on this team. He doesn't go with what I would want and obviously, Cutler, Marshall, and Scheffler are growing together and I think Javon will get eeked out of that group. It's time for a younger guy.

Then there is Henry. Not much to say here. He should not be a Denver Bronco. I'd get rid of him. Salary cap ramifications, blah. Once again, re-read what I said above. He needs to go. He broke the rules. "2nd hand" only goes so far with Goodell and we can find a rb in the draft with ease.

Now onto something that's been bothering me. Graham is an albatross. He has done zipidy zilch in the receiving aspect and I don't pay 6 million for a guy to block as a tight end. Put on some pounds. Play guard. Graham was a bad signing and we have several apparent one and as many have said, the draft and these signings will come back and haunt us in the end. Someone else I would try to unload is he. Graham fullfils nothing on this team and in my opinion, was a fill in and cover up for Kerney. Before you give an excuse of he hasn't "woken" up or hasn't "been utilized". I ask you this...How many oppurtunities or balls have to hit him in the hands and fall before you realize he's not a pass catching tight end?

The D should really be focused on because we'll need it in the AFC for the next 6-7 years. Load up, build a powerhouse, kick out the vets.

This building on the run thing does not fly with me. It ends in a one year build up and a failure. You need to start right and get a foundation and right we have a cracked one with our most crucial guy being a 16? year old vet safety. Youth. Youth Youth.

I'm in favor of a DYNASTY, not a 1 year thing.

With that, I will not say my feelings about the game as I'll get some negative feedback on that for sure and my thoughts are not as fresh, but if I do have something I need to post, I will update this diary.

This diary is mainly pointed at the Guru. When I was busy the week before Thanksgiving, I posted my sets of diaries and the Guru said I had the privelage to post on the main page. I've got a post focussing on the future(not the same old rehash) I'd like to type up and put up.

Am I mistaken or should I put it in the diaries and then have HT or Guru promote it?

I'll just get right to the point with this one. I want greater long term gains than minimal short ones. Blah Blah Blah throing the season Blah. Blowing the season is sitting every player who has even the little bit of talent and hoping for that top 5 draft pick. That is not what we'd be doing.

Styg has gotten me hooked on Doom now. He is the one defensive force we have not named Bailey AND HE'S BEHIND ENGLENBERGER????? I don't care about size/position. That's wrong. We need a consistent pass rush and he provides that. It's time for Doom to start.

Then our secondary, though good and cheeky on the outside, is a mess internally. We have VERY little depth back there. We have essentially 2 cb's, a bunch of converted safeties, along with our 3rd best "corner" having to play safety. Lynch will not be the same again. Ferguson can't cover, tackle, jeeze he's just horrible. Get him outta there, but oh wait, we don't have anyone to replace him! What shall we do about this in the next year or two? We better hope Hamza is the real deal, or we'll be feeling the repercussions of having zero safeties for a long time. Play the young guys!!!

LB is shady too. I don't drool at thinking about Warrick Holdman/D.D. Lewis and Webster manning the OLB positions. That needs mass help. I'm not going to get started on this because it'll take too long for me to sort out my thoughts.

Starting D-Line needs to consist of 4 young guys.(? LOL)3 of those 4 need to be Doom, Crowder, and Thomas.

The way some people are talking it sounds like you have little faith in the young guys and that if we lessend the vet's playing time we would tank and be laughed at by the rest of the NFL. That's rediculous.

I like a Super Bowl Dynsasty in 5 years with rebuilding seasons instead of 2 or 3 blowouts in the next couple of years in the playoffs along with a scarcity of replacements.

It's coming folks. We've discussed it on MHR Radio. The bad signings and lack of draft picks will catch up with us and we have to turn that around now.

Ok, first I would like to point out that Walker has some more problems with his knee.

I see that I didn't make myself clear enough in my diary as 2 people didn't take what I was getting at. I'm saying we're not well-rounded enough to be consistent and until we improve on what we're doing wrong, we need to protect our key guys. We also need to let our young guys be the leaders as Cutler has been trying to improve on.

With that, I'm going to counter some of the things that were said.

Ok, first of all, the Pats are no comparison to us because if they lose Moss, they still have good wr's and if they lose Brady, then I'm sure Cassell can though jump balls and if they both get hurt, then that's just bad Karma as wr's and qb's are the least injury prone guys out there. Yet, Cutler has taken some shots with the in and out on the line/backs and you will see it this week against the Bears. There was a diary up about it and our blocking scheme.

We don't have any dominant parts other than kicker(lol) where you can say, I know that we have a good shot to come back(or stay ahead). If you have Brady or Manning, you know you do(though most teams don't, some teams have something). You may say Bailey. Well folks, I hate to break it to you, but he's playing knicked up and they don't challenge him like they used to. I'm not saying he's not elite because he is, but we don't sit there saying Bailey will pick a ball of and bring us to victory. You say that an end or lb will get a sack or fumble or even a safety/corner depending on who is around them.

Yea Selvin is small. Henry has tested positive before and it's clear he was close this time and my have just barely gotten it out of his system. Yes, I agree there is some potential there and I like both guys, but lets not get hung up on a 3 or 4 game thing here as I'm saying with Hamza or the others. (See Phillip Rivers/Marriman) I need to see consistency.

I'm also on the fence if a playoff game with our "divison lead"(technically we're tied and by the tiebreaker, we'd lose) Would it be detrimental to the team's physcy to get dominated if we were to pull the Pats/Colts at some time? Experience is a solid argument, but leadership will overcome that anytime.

I'm interested to hear what you guys all think, especially the Guru and will have another post tomorrow.

As I've told the Guru, I've had a hectic couple of weeks and haven't been on as much but things will settle down on Monday and I'll be back at it but as that's three days from now, I just wanted to get my thoughts out while they're fresh. Please don't take what I say in a wrong or "negative way". I'm playing both sides of the fence even though I'm still vocal about preparing for next year and keeping the young guys in along with protecting Cutler and Bailey.

First off, the Titans game was one I think can be a little misleading as if Roydell Williams could catch a pass, or if Brandon Jones could, that game would have been totally different. Now, I haven't been able to read through the comments but, I'm sure that some of you are bouncing off of the walls in glee that we're tied for the division lead and that we'd be in the playoffs. Let me put some facts into your head for both sides of the fence. First the positive/good guy ones.

Hey, we're in first place. WOOOOOO!!!

Our young qb looks like a very capable quarterback.

Our running game has mad some strides with new players.

We've seen the emergence of 2 wr's behind Walker.

And, we have the best fire drill kicker in the league.

Now for the other side

Look where the TEXANS would be in our division and their's is far superior.

We have been riddled by injuies to the guys who are key components to this team in Bailey and Cutler.

Our number one receiver can't get healthy.

Our top two running backs are ailing.

Bailey is playing hurt and the initial defensive plan has been chucked out the window.

We have struggled and I stress struggled to our record.

Now I'm not counting the playing of guys like Hamz or Thomas or Crowder because they haven't had consistent playing time. Granted, we all get high on the highs and low on the lows, but I'm worried about the future instead. To me, our goal should be to protect our guys and let next year's important guys who are not this year(so far) in Thomas and Hamz and whoever else it may be take on those key situations.

This brings me to something I'm sure you all find touchy and that's the retiring of our older guys. I will put money in the bank on it now. JOHN LYNCH, TOM NALEN, AND ROD SMITH WILL NOT BE DENVER BRONCOS NEXT YEAR If they are, I will be utterly dissapointed with Shanahan. I like players, but loyalty stops when a guy can't get on the field and isn't helping his team. Look at our man Brett Favre. He's chucking and chucking. Now he is stunting they're qb postition growth giving the Pack only a couple years if that for him to take them all the way, but he's performing at a high level still and he takes losing the hardest of anyone in the league. When we lose we hear the some old crap over and over. The guys I mentioned above will not be the best on our team next year and it's time for Shanny to take that into his hands and work that out with them.

I have to address our crackpot rb and the mini me guy who is his back-up. Henry should not be a Denver Bronco next year. It's simple. You broke the rules, we were your 3rd shot. You're done. Young is going to need a compliment. I don't see him having the size to take a pounding. I love him as a Tatum Bell guy with more ability but we need a Mike Anderson to be the goalline and tough yards guy. As some have said, we can not invest these huge contracts in guys that have a troubled past. Look at what the Pats do. The sign a guy to a 1 or 2 year deal, let him explode and get his money but they DON'T resign him because they know he will explode again. I doubt Randy Moss will forever be a Pat because of money, so don't start with that stuff.(16 td's. Are you kidding me?).

What I'm trying to get at here is that although we have positives and I guess you could say we are growing, we have nagging things now that will pose as large problems in the next 2-3 years as the older guys fade out on the lines and secondaries. We will not be able to keep Foxy. It's time to make those tough decisions now about who you do/don't want or we'll falter and Cutler will have a career like a certain Dolphins quarterback.

HT does a great job with the articles he does, but I pose 1 question to you guys. Lets say we keep this trend going and Lynch n crew stay around for 2 more years, where will we be at then? Bailey and Bly are the best tandem out there, but they way some of you are talking, they're going to be playing at this level in 8 or 9 years when we "actually get going". They won't be. You guys want to live and die every year. I don't. It's time to plan now to get a run with an extremely good team in a few years rather than try to be mediocre and get hot.

I do agree that the Bears are going to give us problems, and I'm going to favor the Broncos by only 3 points, but before I end my rant, I am going to pose the questions that I want everyone to answer, but you're answers must be as one and can't contradict.

If Cutler gets hurt, who will carry us?

If Bailey gets hurt, who will carry us?

If Bailey and Cuter get hurt, who will carry us?

Elam is not a possibility. You guys should recognize my point. We have no other dominant forces on this football team right now and we need to work at those areas.

I have come up with an illogical, somewhat stupid way of bettering our chances of scoring a touchdown inside the readzone. I'm taking a few things into consideration.

First of all, we can't score down there. We can never run, nor pass the ball in and we have to usually rely on Elam to run onto the field and just kick the ball immediately. It's a shame.

Second, we have no goal-line back and none of the tight ends have shown this year that they can be valuable down in that area.

Thirdly, Cutler has a problem of drifting back in the pocket and can not stand there and his throws tend to rise when he does this. However, he does have a very strong arm. This will be a large part of my theory.

Then, we have some physically gifted guys out there. Brandon Marshall can win some jump balls, Graham and Sheff have good hands and can muscle some guys around, and Stokely is very quick and smart.

Now, for my solution. I am saying that on every inside the 5 play, Cutler does a 2 step drop. As he does this, all recievers/backs/tight ends head straight towards the middle of the endzone. After Cutler does this, he fires a 105 mile an hour heater right at the middle linebackers helmet. Because Cutler's throws rise as he drifts back, the ball will pop straight up into the air, thus creating a jump ball.

And for the best part...

We pray our team catches it.

I'm not trying to be funny here. I'm just remembering a certain play in a movie and thought it'd be cool to see it happen. That's my solution though it may be stupid. It's better than what we're doing now. Any better ideas?

Thanks To Broncodude793 for the post! -- TSG

People are coming from different perspectives.  Some people on here think that if we can manage the rest of the regular season, then we can be very competitive come playoff time. I, however, am on the bandwagon where we want the young guys to play a ton.  I say this because Lynch isn't getting any younger, now you can't sit him, but you can at least give a few younger guys a few plays in crucial situations and see how he does. This is only if you are positive that we can beat New England or the Colts on any given day. I'm planning for the future and trying to gel this team.

To me, it is evident that Stokely has a good shot at being back next year. On MHR last night I brought up the topic of trading Walker and keeping an eye on Marshall. Having unstable wide receivers isn't going to help Cutler much. I got flamed, but receiver is a larger concern of mine. We are going to need some receivers and it's no good if they're locked up or on the operating table. Look at Brady. He gets some wide receivers and the o-line gets a little more fundamental and they're putting up 40 while laughing at you.

I also do not view this team as a playoff contender, so it makes more sense to leave Jackson alone and play Thomas. This team is making a youth movement. In two years, who is going to be here still? Lynch and Smith will have probably retired along with Nalen. I doubt Henry will be here and if he is, I am one who think his production will diminish. Gold should be replaced by then. It will be a different team and I think we need to gel it now. Heck, we may be better with the young guys.

If you are going to beat Indy or the Pats within the next 3-5 years, you are going to need to be young, fast, quick and explosive.  This is another opinion of mind I'll get flamed for.

Now you know why I'm turned off to old free agents.

Lets see, hmm...a squabble with management. He'll go along really nice with PotHead Henry, DUI Man Marshall, and Crybaby Rice. We need as few altercations with management and the law as we can get.

I'm not throwing in the towel because Bailey/Bly and Cutler will single handedly win us a few games along with us winning some fundamentally. Tell me this though, when we are winning, who is making all of the plays. It's not Sam Adams or John Lynch or 'Berger. It's the young guys like Doom, Crowder, Thomas, Cutler and Selvin Young saved a game for us.

I view this situation as the same thing, albeit on a smaller scale, as what's going on in Green Bay with Rodgers at QB. They are trying to get one last shot for Favre, all the while stunting their future. Now, Favre is a great quarterback, but at some point, they have to do something there and they have to do something here. He's crippling them because everyone knows this league is dependent on having a good quarterback to win. It's time to play the young guys to let them get used to Cutler.

This is what will happen if Jackson signs. He'll come in and then none of the young guys will have consistent playing time with Bates making the line as beefy as possible. Then after we stumble to 9-7 or 10-6, everyone will be crying out to bring back these guys to give it 1 last go with Lynch and Smith, ect. Then once, age finally catches up, we will see the results in a bad way.

Free Agents do not win you championships although they are a part of it. You need to build and develop through the draft and we have not done that at all. If we don't get some prospects turning into studs, eventually all these jumbo contracts and age will catch up with us and we'll be bottom feeders.

You're stunting the future to hope for a beat down in the snow or in the RCA Dome. It's not worth it.

I'm not saying throw in the towel because you will lose. You'll see a revitalized team that will still win some games. I, however, want to see what we have here and plan for the future, not get crushed in the playoffs. If we do win, I'll be the happiest guy out there, but I'll be the saddest too because the same guys will be back the next 2-3 years and the now rookies will age until they'll be way behind and then by that time they will have wasted valuable seasons to mold and become a team and win consistently.

I do not care about potential and "ifs". It's what have you done and how you stack up. Frankly, we don't.

I wanted to post my thoughts about this weeks games before they end so I do not forget about them. Our league is turning out be be a weird one. 2 of the 4-1 teams are in immediate danger to lose, 1 has a good shot to win. Then there is guru. I dont know how someone beat him, but they did. Starting the likes of David Garrard, he wins. I, myself, got lucky with Adrian Peterson putting up 66! points this week.

I was wondering how whoever wins this league is going to show bragging rights. How?

I have not really put much thought into it, but what do you guys think of the guys who need go go so far? Any obvious ones I'm missing?

Glen Martinez
Nick Ferguson
Nate Webster
Ian Gold
John Englanberger
Sam Adams
Atuan Burton
Todd Saurbrun
Gordon
Mike Bell
Patrick Ramsey
Nick Ferguson again
Gold again
Hell, Webster again
Shoate
McKinley
Clark
Stephen Alexander
D.D. Lewis
Warrick Holdman
Curome Cox
Daniel Graham's contract
Travis Henry's contract

Poll. I doubt I'll get much on this, but 1 or 2 votes would be satisfactory.

One-line diaries are prohibited on Mile High Report. Give your diary a bit more thought, then give it another shot. If you have nothing to add to your proposed diary, then it probably belongs as a comment under another appropriate thread.
The minimum is 300 characters.

at everything. Ya, I'm being a little harsh, but we could be 0-4 so we should be thankful we're 2-2. We have the SuperChokers coming up and I'll give my insight to that a ways down.

About today. We had the right idea going except that we need to do the Elway days plays in the redzone. The miscounter bootlegs we even ran with jake the fake.

I know that we had a horrible run D today, but we had over 200 yards rushing. That's Broncos football. We shold have gone deep afterwards but instead it was little 3 yard routes trying to nick and nack down the field. WE SUCK AT THAT.

I'm not going to dive into this too much as it's right after the loss, but here is my starting D for next week : Moss, Elvis, Thomas, and Crowder. I don't care about size. Get to the damn qb. At linebacker, I would put D.J. back where he belongs and try Goldina in the middle. I don't think it's going to matter who plays the otherside. Stick with the corners, but start Foxy in place of Ferguson. Lynch stays. Use Ferguson as the 4th backer. I'm just putting stuff out here.

As for the Chargers game, if we lose, go into rebuilding mode. With our luck, it'll be the week LT goes for 300 and 4 TD's. I'm trying to stay positive but we normally start out good and then fade but now it's fade all year round.

The positives are we ran the ball well and Marshall showed again his skills, but this loss rests on the Backers and Bates and the Special Teams.

We should have won, but we didn't. There is Graham and then the D, and then Hixon, but you can't blame anyone. The problem with this team is special teams.

Special teams determine field position and when they only have to go 12 yards for fg position it hurts. That said, the defense can't get torched like they did, but even so they only gave up 23 points. Then again, that was to the Jags.

I'm expecting this same type of thing next week, except instead of Garrard running around, it'll be little ole Dallas Clark. Wayne and Harrison will get shutdown, but Addai and Clark will kill us.

This game could be the determining factor in this season.

Some of you will say that I'm too harsh and that we still have the divison lead, we'll all I'm going to say is "Do you really think we could be the Chargers or Pats or Colts right now, both teams at full power?" The answer is no. Jim Bates needs to put 8 in the box every play and let Bailey and Bly do their thing.

Prediction after Steelers game: 3-3. We'll get 1 out of the next 3, but only one.

I'm going to get flamed for saying that, but with the instability of this team's physce, it's true.

Now if they win, I'll be the happiest guy on here, but I will not lose any sleep if the get spanked.

Rant Over. Shanny needs to relinquish his play calling duties. It's time. He's not the genius he once was and if it were not for Elam, we'd be sitting at 0 and 3. It's time. Here is a crude idea, once Wice gets capped from ND, Hire him and let him run the offense.

It is August 19 at this writing and I was pondering when we're going to hold the draft. I know some of the possible draft dates are late next week. It'd be cool if I could get some heads up so I can plan for it. Feel free to post anything else in here about it.

I also plan to see everyone active in the league. If it's only 5 of us, it's not worth it.

Disscuss amongst yourselves.

Video Game Review: All-Pro Football 2K8. I just wanted to let everyone know what this game is like.

Obviously, a big point in the game is getting to choose players for your team. You choose 2 out of a Gold category of players, 3 out of a silver, and 7 out of a bronze category. Each player is placed in a category for what attributes they have. Elway has numerous ones including scrambler, comeback qb, and a rocket arm. Broncos players include Elway, Sharpe, and Mecklenburg. All silver or above.

Onto gameplay. Gameplay is, in some ways more realistic than the Madden Franchise. Wide recievers will drop passes and try to avoid a punishing hit if a safety is barreling down on them. You fill in the rest of your roster with average players and can decide what they're good at as a whole. Your lines can be running game/stopping oriented or balanced or pass oriented. 'Backers run/ballanced/pass and so on and so forth.

The running game is awesome. Stiff arms are easier to do and jukes are more realistic. Defenses also take a hint if you're running it down their throats and change formations.

The passing game is more realistic as hinted above. Qb's can't throw 80 bombs running away from the reciever and they take time to load up when throwing.

All in all, I liked the game. It's a good play. I don't know if I'd take it over Madden since there are no current players, but it's fun.