We interrupt your regularly scheduled doom and gloom injury discussions with something, indeed anything, besides the aforementioned subject. This fanpost is a theory on what McD may have planned for the QB position in the near future. Well theory may be too far, more of a running idea that I've had that finally manifested itself as a comment on this fanpost which was from a Browns fan asking what the f was up with McD trading for Quinn only to draft Tebow (my wording on that recap). 

Well here was my response to said Browns fan (although I agreed with a lot of the previous replies as well). I'm curious to hear all of your thoughts on "the Masterplan'. If anything it will keep us from discussing you know what about you know who (for a bit anyway). 

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McDaniel's recent wheeling and dealing in the 2010 draft that resulted in the Broncos securing two 1st round draft picks and using their 2nd of those picks to select Tim Tebow has brought the Anti-McDaniels crowd out of the woodworks in full force. It shouldn't be surprising I guess, since Tebow was the most polarizing player in the draft. A player who I (like many other Broncos fans) was originally turned off to simply because of the amount of media focus that was placed on him (the Favre effect). No, I shouldn't have been surprised. Yet, I still find myself feeling just that each time I'm unfortunate enough to hear these clowns "analyze" the Broncos.

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You have got to love the red hot start that Carlos Gonzalez has had to open the season. His .533 batting average through the first 3 games has him among the National League leaders, currently sitting 3rd. While his early success definitely isn't a surprise to Rockies fans as we know exactly what type of ballplayer CarGo is, I'm still impressed with such production coming from our leadoff spot. We have had some very talented leadoff hitters before, but none of them brought what Gonzalez brings to the table.

Since Gonzalez has come out of the blocks faster than Usain Bolt, I thought it would be fun to take a quick look at how his 3 game start stacks up to the first 3 games of each of our other opening day leadoff hitters. Of course, 3 games is such a small sample size this exercise is purely for entertainment and not intended to be a statistical comparison. Rather, the intent here is to celebrate Carlos Gonzalez as our new leadoff man while taking a stroll down memory lane regarding our previous 1 hole hitters. 

Join me after the jump to see how our Opening Day leadoff hitters fared throughout their 1st 3 games of each season.

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Let's take a look at how Knowshon Moreno's rookie season stacks up against the rookie seasons of NFL legends past as well as several top RB's in the league today. 

For this statistical comparison we will be using 3 stats from each players rookie season: yards, yards per carry, and touchdowns. The players order on this list was determined by ranking their stats within the group (1-30) for each stat category and then averaging the three rankings to get an overall group score. For example, Clinton Portis' rookie season with the Broncos earns him the top spot on this list because he was 2nd among this group with 1,508 yards, 5th in yards per carry with a 5.5 average, and 2nd with 15 TD's. A 2nd, a 5th, and a 2nd in these 3 categories gives Portis an overall average of 3 which is the best group score of the bunch. 

Now on to where Moreno's rookie season ranks amongst a group of NFL Greats as well as todays superstars. 

Continue reading this post »

The Saturday before the season opening Cincinnati Bengals game will remain in my memory until my final days on this wonderful planet. For that day I had the honor to meet and play softball against several former NFL players. 

A few weeks before my wife had forwarded me an email she received from a co-worker saying there were a couple of spots still open for The NFL Softball Challenge event. This event was organized and sponsored by my wife's company. My immediate reply was, "sign me up". My wife inquired if spouses were allowed to play, which they were, so just like that I was on the roster. I had no idea what former NFL players would be there but just knowing that I would get to play softball against professional athletes made my day, to say the least. 

Growing up I have always been athletic and I was fairly decent at every sport that I participated in. The exception to this being baseball, which was by far my best sport. When I was 5 years old my parents put me in Little Leagues and I haven't stopped playing since. Granted nowadays it is slow pitch softball and not baseball but I have spent 25 consecutive summers on the infield of a diamond, all the while loving every second of it.

From my very first year as a 5 year old kid, who never had played baseball before, I was more talented than most of the other players on the field. It was as if I had played baseball in my last life and those skills carried over to me in this life. While football is my favorite sport to watch, baseball is my favorite sport to play. I loved and miss playing football but baseball is my passion. Now softball fills that passion. Which was why I was so excited that my wife had provided me with the opportunity to play against former NFL players! Real life professional athletes! Sure, they were retired and at that time to me nameless, but just the thought of getting to field ground balls being ripped towards me by former professional athletes made me as excited as my dogs get when I pick up their leash (well maybe not quite that excited, Jack Russell's - enough said). 

About a week later my wife forwards me an email containing the names of the NFL Players. Only one name was recognizable to me: Rick Upchurch. I knew then that I would forever be grateful to my wife for providing me with this experience. There were 11 players in all including one other former Bronco, WR Wade Manning. The NFL players were: Dokie Williams - LA Raiders 1983-'87, Ron Fellows - Cowboys / LA Raiders 1981-'88, Toussaint Tyler - Saints 1981-'82, Randall Morris - Seahawks / Lions 1984-'88, Brad Booth - Eagles 1986-'87, Wade Manning - Cowboys / Broncos 1979-'82, Kenny Blair - Unsure (sorry Kenny), Rod Barksdale - LA Raiders / Cowboys 1986-'87, and Rick Upchurch - Denver Broncos 1975-'83. 

The day of the game began with us attending a parade down main street which some of the pro players were in. I saw Wade Manning in the parade and he gave my daughters some candy. Unfortunately Rick Upchurch was not in the parade. After the parade I drove towards the field and saw Manning sitting alone on a picnic table outside my old high school. I quickly pulled in, parked, and busted out my brand new Broncos football and sharpie I had brought for just such an occasion. Wade was really nice and my 2 1/2 year old daughter immediately sparked a conversation about his kids. The conversation then turned towards my Bronco fandom and we had a great conversation about that. He played WR for the Cowboys and then the Broncos and he had the good fortune of playing with both Roger Staubach and John Elway. I had to ask who he thought was a better QB and to nobody's surprise, Elway was his immediate response. 

Before the game I got to meet Rick and shake his hand. His big smile broadened even further when I told him I was a lifelong Broncos fan. The game itself was amazing. It was such a fun experience. All of the players were very entertaining and enthusiastic. There was plenty of friendly trash talking going on between both sides. I joked with Dokie Williams that our team should just hit it to him every time since he was a former raiders WR so he must not be able to catch. 

Upchurch was very funny as well, in his first at bat he took a strike and jokingly began to argue the call and kicked dirt on the ump's shoes which he then wiped off for him. Rick popped up to me at 3rd in his first at bat. His second at bat he got a base hit to the outfield. In his third at bat he smoked one down the line and I was unable to reach it in time. It was a very nice hit that went right over the 3rd base bag and just past my glove. In his final at bat he pulled a lady wearing a Broncos shirt out of the stands and let her bat for him while he was set to run. She grounded out to 2nd but that gesture showed what a class act he was. He was very friendly to everyone, but you could tell there was a soft spot in his heart for all Broncos fans. 

I went 3-4 at the plate with 2 RBI's. My first hit was a triple that I sent over Kenny Blair's head. I had an okay day in the field, only letting 2 by me; Upchurch's hit down the line and an absolutely crushed ground ball at me by Wade Manning that I should have fielded. Wade got a double on that hit and he bantered to me how he "had to show me what he's got". My wife joked later that I probably let the two Broncos players reach base on purpose. I fielded 2 more ground balls successfully and got the 1 pop-up put out of Upchurch. In the end the Pros prevailed with the final score being 16-10. They played very well as you would expect from such athletes. While it was a fun atmosphere it still was competitive with pride on the line for both sides. There were photographer's from the local paper there and I made the sports section tagging out Randall Morris at 3rd. All in all it was an unbelievable and unforgettable experience. 

After the game all of the players signed autographs in the dugout. I got autographed pictures from all of the players and I had Rich Upchurch sign my football as well. Rick is an awesome person and while all of them were entertaining, I thought Rick was the most humorous. While I was getting his signature Dokie Williams was asking for Rick's signature as well saying he was a big fan. Rick definitely was the most well known player there but he was very nice and humble. It was really amazing getting to meet and play softball with a Broncos Legend.

I will never forget the day I got to take on the big leaguers, on my turf, the softball diamond. 

Broncos Legend Rick Upchurch before the game.

Former Bronco WR Wade Manning warms up before the game. 

Now batting Rick Upchurch!

c_style digging in at the plate. 

Rick Upchurch signing my football. 

Rick joking around while signing autographs. 

In honor of Broncos - raiders week, I'm proud to present the faiders jokes fanpost! We all know what makes a great joke....the truth! Feel free to add your jokes in the comments.

A man walks in to a bar with a Jack Russell Terrier that is wearing a raiders helmet and jersey, festooned with raiders pom-poms. 

The bartender says, "No pets are allowed in here, you have to leave!"

The guy begged him, "Look I'm desperate, we're both big fans and my TV is broken. This is the only place we can watch the game."

After securing a promise that the dog would behave and that he would get kicked out the moment it misbehaved, he allowed them to stay and watch the game. 

The game began with the raiders receiving the kick. They marched down, got stopped at the 30 and kicked a field goal.

The dog promptly jumped up on the bar and began walking up and down giving high-fives to everyone!

The bartender says, "Wow, that's the most amazing thing I've ever seen! What does he do when the raiders score a touchdown?"

The man replies, "I don't know, I've only had him for 4 years."

A teacher walks into class on the first day of school in San Diego. Eager to make a good impression she says “I am a Chargers fan, who else loves the Chargers?”

To which every hand in the class is raised except one. Frowning, the teacher asks the girl with her hand down “Why didn't you raise your hand.”

The little girl answers “Because I’m not a Chargers fan, I root for the Broncos.”

The teacher, in shock, asks “Why would you be a Broncos fan when you live in America's finest city, San Diego?”

The girl answers “Well, my mom is a Broncos fan and my dad is a Broncos fan, so I’m a Broncos fan.”

“Well," said the teacher in an annoyed tone, "that is no reason for you to be a Broncos fan. You don't have to be just like your parents all of the time. What if your mom was a prostitute and your dad was a drug dealer?”

The little girl answered “Well, then I'd be a raiders fan.”

How do you stop a raiders fan from masturbating? Paint his member orange and blue and he wont beat it for years.  

A teacher asked her class to share what their fathers do for a living. As the children were taking turns sharing she noticed that Timmy was being unusually quiet.

She asked him “Timmy what does your dad do for a living?” Timmy replied, “My dad takes off his clothes for other men.” Shocked, she quickly changes the subject and after class pulls Timmy aside.

“Timmy is it true what you said about your father?”, she asks.

“No, my dad plays football for the raiders, I just couldn’t stand letting all the other kids know that.”

Al Davis was on the side of the road with a flat tire and no jack. A good samaritan stopped and offered to lift his car up while Al changed the tire. That being done, the good samaritan let the car back down.

"Wow," Al said, "you are really strong. How would you like to play football for the best franchise in the NFL?"

The samaritan looked at Al a bit puzzled and replied, "That would be great! So, who do you know that works for the Broncos?"

A boy took his parents to court because he did not want to live with them any longer. The judge asked him, "Why don't you want to live with your Dad?"

"Because he beats me." Was his response.

"Why don't you want to live with your Mother then?"

"Because she beats me too."

"Oh, well then who do you want to live with?" Asked the judge.

The boy answered, "I want to live with the oakland raiders because they don't beat anyone."

Two Broncos fans were walking through a cemetery when they came upon a tombstone that read: Here lies Jose Sanchez. A good man and a raiders fan. One of the Broncos fans asks the other, "So when did they start putting two people in one grave?"

Did you hear the one about a raiders fan that died in a pie eating contest? The cow kicked him in the head!

A Look At Future "Analysis" from John Clayton


Week 1 Recap

The Bengals really blew it this week losing to the lowly Broncos. I guess the Bengals aren't as revamped as people expected considering they lost to THE WORST TEAM ever assembled in all time. Yeah, the Broncos offense looked good but newsflash, they don't have Jay Cutler. Orton cannot continue to play winning football because he isn't Jay Cutler. Jay Cutler is so amazingly awesome.

What a horribly embarrassing loss for the Bengals. It's unbelievable really. I mean the Broncos, huh, no one saw this coming and I mean NO ONE. McDaniels better enjoy this win because it will be the only out of conference game they win this year. They are still a 3-13 team this year with their other 2 wins coming from splitting with the Raiders and Chiefs. Enjoy this now Broncos fans because your team sucks. Oh and did you see Jay Cutler this week?

Week 2 recap

Unbelievably, the Browns managed to get beaten down by the Denver Broncos this week. Cleveland is in shambles after this defeat. Mangini is already on the hot seat entering week 3 after not getting his team prepared to play against the lowly Broncos. If he can't get his guys to compete with this Broncos team then they are in for a very long year. Orton's stats do look good but stats are misleading because we all know he's no Jay Cutler. I was surprised by the Broncos defense but I think they just looked good against a bad Browns team that just wasn't ready to play this week. I'm completely floored by the Broncos being 2-0 but come on, we all know they haven't played even a remotely decent team yet and they traded away Jay Cutler. Look for the Broncos to go downhill from here. OMG, look a Jay Cutler highlight!

Week 3 recap

Ok, Ok, I know. The Broncos are undefeated after beating up on the hapless Raiders. Don't be fooled by this however. The Raiders are the worst franchise in the NFL and the Broncos have lucked into wins against the Browns and the Bengals, not exactly quality NFL Teams. They simply have not played anybody. This is not a sleeper team. The dream has ended for McDaniels as the gimme part of the schedule is over. I mean this is the guy who traded Jay Cutler! Expect to see the true Broncos from here on out. I honestly don't expect them to win another game. They don't have the personel for the 3-4 - what? A 5-2? Well...Jay Cutler is really, really good. And they traded him! They still have a huge question mark at QB. Sure Orton's numbers look good after lucking out against 3 bad teams but the true Orton will show now. He's no Jay Cutler.

The Broncos have been helped by an easy schedule not to mention the fact that each team played their worst game ever against the Broncos. Trust me, this is the worst team to start 3-0 ever. They suck. They will be missing Cutler from here on out. Did you see him this week? Sure he lost but damn that guy is hot...I mean is playing hot. He looks real good in tight pants, I mean tight formations, yeah. Cutler is my dream man...er I mean my dream QB. Oh Jay, I don't know what I will do on your bye week. Just stare at your poster above my bed all night I guess, well that happens every week but...

Week 4 recap

Huh. I'm stumped. I cannot believe what I saw on Sunday. The Broncos beat the Cowboys! What! OK, I didn't really see it, just the score since I couldn't keep my eyes off of Jay Cutler but here's my take on the game nonetheless. The Cowboys have really fallen hard as a franchise. They just became a huge joke by losing to the Broncos. The Broncos! I don't know how else to explain it. This was a huge upset. Not because of the Broncos winning their 4th consecutive game, but because of how bad the Cowboys choked. They definitly beat themselves. Yeah, I know I didn't watch it but they had to of. How else could they lose to the Jay Cutler-less Broncos?

Sure the Broncos have already won more games than I thought they would the entire season but trust me when I tell you they suck. I can't believe teams keep laying eggs when they play the Broncos. They have been soooo lucky. Sure they're 4-0 but they haven't won a single game. No, the Bengals, Browns, Raiders, and Cowboys have all beaten themselves. The Broncos are bad that's for sure. I'm certain of it. How am I so certain you ask? They traded away Jay Cutler, remember? Jay_Franchise_Pro Bowl_Super Stud_Cannon Arm_Cutler for christ-sakes! They suck. I don't care about their record, or my predictions. They suck. Trust me. No more wins for them, perhaps ever. Can we talk some more about Cutler? Please?

I find it amusing that some people seem to think that Orton has reached his potential as a QB. Comments along the lines of "well after 4 years in the NFL, you know what you're getting with Orton" or "Orton couldn't even beat out Grossman and Griese" are thrown about with the tone that it is common knowledge that Orton is at best an average QB who will never show more than what he has shown so far. But when it comes to Cutler however, many people assume he will continue to mature as a QB.

Um…Orton has 33 starts in his career (21-12) while Cutler has 37 (17-20).

Orton has only had 2 full season's as a starter, his rookie year and last year. We all know to take rookie QB stats with a grain of salt, especially when a QB is thrown to the wolves right off of the bat as Orton was. Last year, Orton played brilliantly during the first part of the season until he was injured. He was rushed back too early and played through the injury the rest of the year. When we look at Orton's career numbers at this point in time, it helps to put them in this proper context: we are judging Orton based off of stats from his rookie year and a season where he was hampered by an injury.

With such a limited sample size why is it assumed that Orton will not continue to progress as a QB, while Cutler most surely will? Especially when Orton has less experience as a starter. Throw in that Orton now has much more weapons and has a coach with a track record for polishing up QB’s and I think it is ignorant to state (or assume) that Orton has reached his potential as a QB.

The bottom line is I’m excited to see Orton continue to develop and mature under McD and this offense. I’m excited about the improvements on D as well. We aren’t winning a SB this year, but this is the year that the foundation is being laid. A year or two more of smart team building from McD and X and we will be right in the SB mix. And don’t be too shocked if it is Kyle Orton leading those future Broncos to glory.

Sweat drops on face masks and Dawk’s brutal hitting

Chain moving offense the punt team left sitting

Watching Thunder gallop to no end it seems

These are a few of my favorite things

Incomplete echos and Champ for a pick-six

DOOM snapping quarterbacks like they were toothpicks

Shots of Al Davis as we stomp his team

These are a few of my favorite things

Pancakes for Clady and touchdowns for Royal

Hits laid on Rivers so hard he’s left soiled

Orange colored sunsets and back to back rings

These are a few of my favorite things

This is an attempt to combat the belief held by many supposed "journalists" in the MSM that the 2009 Broncos are destined for failure. I propose that the reason many MSM pundits keep repeating this claim is because they believe that without Cutler and with a rookie Head Coach, the Broncos must completely suck now.

That is a fine view to hold, except that the "journalists" that keep repeating this claim offer nothing more to back it up other than "their rookie Head Coach traded Cutler for Orton". The pundits that keep entertaining themselves by bashing the Broncos are too lazy to actually look deeper into the moves the Broncos have made in order to form their own opinion of the 2009 Broncos. They keep regurgitating the same story line and not offering any analysis of the 2009 Broncos. In short, they have not done their homework.

Below is a breakdown of our beloved Broncos from my perspective and how our Broncos will be making a lot of people eat crow this year. Let’s take a look.

Offense:  

Unbeknownst to many MSM pundits, the Offense of the 2009 Broncos is going to make Defensive Coordinators lose many hours of sleep trying to game plan for this group.

O-Line – This unit is easily one of the best in the NFL overall, and arguably the best unit in the league in pass blocking. They have two of THE BEST young Tackles in the game in Clady and Harris. The Guards, Hamilton and Kuper, are also excellent and C Wiegmann made the Pro Bowl last year.

The starting 5 are outstanding and they also have gained depth this year with 2 rookies they picked up in the draft to go along with the highly heralded Lichtensteiger, who looks to be a solid starter in the near future.

The starting 5 started all 16 games for us last year and they gave up an amazingly low 6.5 sacks all year. The remainder of the sacks came from TE’s, backups, or were attributed to coverage sacks. Clady gave up 0.5 sack, Harris – 2.5, Hamilton – 2.5, Wiegmann – 1, and the often overlooked Kuper did not allow a sack the entire year. **Check out broncobear's post here for an excellent read and great chart from which I gathered these stats. 

This group is not as dominant in run blocking as they are in pass protection, but only because they are so great at pass blocking. They can also hold their own in the ground game and if they improve in that area, even just a little bit, this group will easily be the best line in the NFL. Even if they don’t, this is easily a top 5 unit overall.

WR’s – Another very deep and dangerous unit on the squad. Marshall doesn’t look like he will be headed anywhere and he will be looking to prove his worth (on and off the field) as he is looking to get paid. Royal finished his rookie campaign with 91 receptions, good for 3rd on the all-time NFL receptions by a rookie list. Stokely is still one of the most dangerous slot receivers in the game. He is absolute money on 3rd down. Gaffney is excellent for a 4th option and he already knows McD’s system and lingo. We also have a decent looking rookie in McKinley, who looks like he may be a good slot receiver in the future and I’m sure he’s picking up a trick or two from Stokely. There is no doubt that with or without Cutler this is a very talented unit.

TE’s – You might be picking up on the theme here. This is another very deep and very talented group. Graham is one of the best, if not the best, blocking and receiving combination TE in the NFL. He can do it all and he also knows McD’s system and terminology.  Scheffler, when healthy, is a premiere receiving threat and he will provide the Broncos offense with mismatches all season long. As was mentioned by Broncobear in his excellent Breaking down the Roster – Tight Ends column, Scheffler is taller and stronger than Marshall and his combine 40 time was just 0.04 seconds slower than that of Marshall’s. His blocking skills are improving too but his receiving skills and ability to bring mismatches into play are his true value on the field. Many believe that McD reached when he picked Quinn as the last pick of the 2nd round. Quinn however, is an excellent blocker and has shown that he has great hands despite his lack of pass attempts his way in college. Quinn looks to be a good young replacement for Graham whenever Graham decides to hang up the cleats.

This very talented group will help our running game with excellent blocking and will be dangerous down the field. Throw in some 3 TE sets, which I like others think we will employ this year, and this unit is a nightmare to game plan against. You could even motion Hillis out to a TE position on the field and as you can see there are innumerable options and plays you can employ with the various combinations of Graham, Scheff, Quinn, & Hillis.

RB – Despite having an incredible 7 RB’s hit the IR last season the Broncos still finished 12th in the NFL in rushing. That was a testament to excellent O-Line play as well as great coaching by O-Line Coach Rick Dennison and RB’s Coach Bobby Turner. Well good news Broncos fans, both coaches are back this year. Oh yeah, we also drafted some kid named Knowshon Moreno. Knowshon and Hillis will be an excellent RB combo. They both can catch the ball and both are excellent blockers. They are running behind a premier line with two blocking TE’s and they have outstanding coaching. As long as the injury bug doesn’t strike like it did last year (knock on wood), the Broncos will be able to control the game with this group. It should be noted that Buckhalter & Jordan are both quality backups.

QB – Is Cutler more talented physically than Orton? Yes. Does this mean that Orton cannot succeed in Denver? No. Orton is a proven winner that actually has better numbers than Cutler in the red zone, an area that the Broncos desperately need to improve in. Orton shows better decision making in the red zone than Cutler and he will be a perfect fit for the kind of offense McD will employ this year. He’s not going to wow us with his arm but he’s also not going to take unnecessary risks either. He’s coming into a perfect situation for a new QB. He has an excellent line, something he’s never had before. He has excellent receiving threats, something else he’s never had before. And he still has a good running game. He will be a game manager, and will make the right throws at the right time. He’s running an offense much more suited to his skills that he was in Chicago. He also won’t have to deal with the unforgivable weather conditions for a QB throwing in Chicago. He’s now got a proven play caller managing the game (again something he’s never had before) and he will be the biggest surprise story of the season in my opinion. Orton has already proven to be a winning QB in the NFL and he now has a long list of great things he’s never had before (O-Line, WR’s, coaching). Look for Orton to be serving crow all season long.

Defense

This has been and still is the biggest cause for concern for Bronco fans. Fortunately, they seem to be moving in the right direction. Unfortunately, there was no way to completely fix our horrid defense in one offseason. The biggest reason our D sucked so bad last year was coaching & our scheme. Luckily those have both been replaced. I think Nolan is a huge upgrade over Slowik. The switch to the 3-4 will come with growing pains but it will be well worth it in the long run.

Secondary – This unit has improved tremendously from last year. Champ is still Champ and as long as he is healthy, he is still the best in the game. Goodman is an upgrade over Bly (although I do think Bly was put in a position to fail here in Denver). Goodman is a quality player who would probably be a #1 CB on several other lineups. Dawkins and Hill are 100 times better than Marlon and McCree. We now have safeties that can make stops in run support, wreck receivers over the middle, defend the pass, and even sack the QB. Smith looks to be a steal in the draft. The more you research this kid, the more you love this pickup. Thank god he wasn’t an inch taller or we most likely wouldn’t have him. Let’s just say our Nickel Back this year won’t be our weak spot.

To sum it up: Bailey, Goodman, Smith, Hill, Dawkins >>>>>>>>>>>>>Bailey, Bly, Bell, Manual, McCree.

LB’s – This group will be improved over last year’s squad. Davis is a huge upgrade over Webster at ILB. DJ will be the other ILB and he is playing at the LB spot he thinks he is best suited for. He is a solid player who can be truly elite with some stability. Hopefully this is his final position change in his career. Ayers is a great addition at OLB and he will improve this unit against the run. He has his detractors but most scouts had him high on their charts and some believed he was the best defensive player in the entire draft. Dumervil should be able to pressure the QB and hopefully he makes a successful transition to OLB. The biggest question mark will be the other OLB spot. I hope Crowder or Moss can step it up and transition into a successful OLB. It definitely is both of their last chances to show they belong in the NFL. Woodyard (a fan favorite) and Larson provide solid depth.

D Line – This is the biggest weak point of the Broncos D. While they won’t be any worse than last year’s version, whether they will be any better or not is yet to be seen. I do like Fields at NT more than many fans seem to. He looks like he could be a decent NT for us. I think Marcus Thomas will be better than last year and if he’s not playing DE, he will likely be in a rotation at NT with Fields. Powell is also a player I have high hopes for. His injury last year makes him an unknown to all of us though. Several other young prospects are competing to round out the depth. There seems to be an effort by the Broncos to get bigger on the D Line, which hopefully will translate to better play against the run.

Overall, the D improved over last year’s version. How much better they will be will hinge on the play of Fields and Thomas at NT. If they can command the double team, this D will improve to middle of the pack in my opinion. If not, they will improve to the 20-25 ranked D, which is still much better than 29th.

The Broncos D will be better against the pass due to a much improved secondary. They will be better against the run because of upgrades such as Davis, Dawkins, and Ayers. They will be better at getting to and pressuring the QB due to better scheme and being able to disguise the blitz with the 3-4. Blitzes from DJ, Ayers, Dumervil, and even Dawkins will help keep offenses off guard. There are still major question marks here but I believe the 09 Broncos Defense will play better at all 4 aspects of play; against the pass, against the run, creating turnovers, and at pressuring the QB.

Special Teams – The Special Teams will be improved over last year based on the fact that McD will not ignore this area of play like Shanny tended to do. Several draft picks such as Bruton and McBath have great special teams play potential. Our K and P are both young and will benefit from an additional year of experience. I see increased talent and increased play at ST, leading to helping our O and D with field position. This will make our O that much more dangerous and will be a welcome relief to our D.

In recap, a close analysis of the 2009 Broncos does not align with the common story being presented by the media and accepted as truth by many. Even with losing Cutler, the Broncos offense is not only still dangerous, they are improved over last year’s version in my opinion. Sure we took a hit by losing Cutler, but Orton is a solid starting QB who now has talent all around him and we also now have Knowshon in the backfield along with Hillis, Buckhalter, and Jordan. The defense is still a work in progress, but they are still much improved over last year. Add in a better Special Teams unit and the 2009 Broncos look to be a team to contend with this year. Look for this team to make crow eaters out of a whole lot of MSM journalists and fans alike in 2009.

We have all heard the stat thrown around about Cutler being 13-1 when the Broncos allow 21 or fewer points. This stat has been used by the media and by fans alike to bolster the argument of why Cutler is such a great QB and to simultaneously show how awful the Broncos defense has been during JC's tenure here in Denver. This stat never did sit well with me.

I agree Cutler's overall record of 17-20 as a starter is more of an indication of the Bronco's performance over the last 37 games rather than JC's performance over that time span, and I also agree that our defense has been bad since 2006, which is when Cutler made his debut. However, this stat seems to me to be reaching for something to prove Cutler is an elite QB in the league, which I don't agree with. At least he has not reached that level yet, in my mind. I felt this stat was misleading in how it was being thrown around in regards to only 1 player. 

The one thing that this stat made me think of as soon as I heard it was that I'm sure most, if not all, NFL QB's have pretty good Win/Loss records when their teams allow 21 points or less. Well here is that data listed in order of win percentage:

Career Win/Loss record when team holds opponents to 21 points or less

1) Matt Schaub - Texans - 9W 0L  1.00

2) Matt Ryan - Falcons - 8W 0L  1.00

3) Tom Brady - Pats - 70W 5L .933

4) Jay Cutler - Bears - 13W 1L  .928

5) Peyton Manning - Colts - 85W 7L .923

6) Tony Romo - Cowboys - 19W 2L  .904

7) Phillip Rivers - Chargers - 28W 3L  .903

8) Matt Cassel - Chiefs - 9W 1L  .900

9) Ben Roethlisberger - Steelers - 46W 6L  .884

10) Vince Young - Titans - 15W 2L  .882

11) Matt Leinart - Cardinals - 7W 1L  .875

12) Carson Palmer - Bengals - 25W 4L  .862

13) Eli Manning - Giants - 30W 5L  .857

14) Marc Bulger - Rams - 26W 5L  .838

15) Drew Brees - Saints - 44W 9L  .830

16) Matt Hasselbeck - Seahawks - 47W 10L  .824

17) Joe Flacco - Ravens - 9W 2L  .818

18) Jake Delhomme - Panthers - 39W 12L  .764

19) David Garrard - Jaguars - 24W 8L  .750

20) Tavaras Jackson - Vikings - 9W 3L  .750

21) Chad Pennington - Dolphins - 37W 13L  .740

22) Kyle Orton - Broncos - 17W 6L  .739

23) Donovan McNabb - Eagles - 67W 24L  .736

24) Alex Smith - 49ers - 10W 4L  .714

25) Brian Griese - Bucs - 37W 16L  .698

26) Derek Anderson - Browns - 9W 5L  .642

27) Trent Edwards - Bills - 9W 5L  .642

28) Aaron Rodgers - Packers - 5W 3L  .625

29) Jason Campbell - Redskins - 14W 9L  .608

30) JaMarcus Russell - Raiders - 4W 3L  .571

As I suspected, every QB has a winning record and almost all QB's have very impressive records under this criteria. While Cutler is among the top of the list, there are a lot of QB's whose winning percentages are right up there (8 above .900, 17 above .800).

While it is true that Cutler is 13-1 when his team holds the opposition under 21, it is also true that Vince Young is 15-2, Matt Leinart is 7-1, and Matt Schaub and Matt Ryan are undefeated at 9-0 and 8-0 respectively. All this stat proves is that NFL QB's win a lot of games when their teams hold opponents to under 21 points. 

***Notes: Minimum amount of pass attempts per game was 5. I found a couple of games that would have counted one way or the other but the QB's only attempted 1 or 2 passes, so I set the minimum at 5. I did not include Collins, Warner, or Culpepper because I'm lazy and they have played forever (particularly the first 2). I did not include the Jets because Clemens didn't have enough data, and I did not include the Lions because of my previously mentioned laziness (honestly I just ran out of steam).***