So I have been hearing a lot lately about Marcell Dareus and him being possible Denver's pick at #2 or possibly the Panther's pick as #1. I guess I look at the guy and ask myself is he really as good as Suh or any other top five Defensive tackle in years past. Now I am not saying that if Denver were to pick him I wouldn't be okay with that but I am wondering why is he ranked so highly? From what I can tell his stats are not really all that impressive with 71 total tackles over 3 years and 33 games (2.15 Tackles a game). He has had 6.5 sacks two years ago and 4.5 sacks this past year which is not that bad but it is nothing to right home about. He is a big bodied versatile DT that seems to be able to help anchor the line but may never be all that fantastic. To me that doesn't seem like it would be worth a top five pick. Also I was reading Wes Bunting's scout report and there was an issue brought up that I have not heard reiterated anywhere else that Dareus might be for a lack over a better phrase 'mentally slow'. I believe Bunting does thinks he may have issues with a complex playbook. During the combine he said the incorrect word when being interviewed by the media. I want to believe in this guy because he very well might end up being as Bronco but could some please sell me on this guy?

Maybe I missed this but has anyone else realised that John Fox and Jim Fassel know each other quite well? Back in 1997 Jim Fassel became the Head Coach of the New York Giants. Guess who Jim Fassel brought in to be his defensive Coordinator? Well if you guessed John Fox you would correct. Other fun facts include their 2000 playoff run in which they ended up losing to the Baltimore Ravens. While I'm not saying that I think Jim Fassel will be the next Head Coach of the Denver Broncos particularly because he is currently not slated to be interview I'm pointing out that there is a connection between these two men as well as current Denver Bronco VP John Elway who was coach by Fassel at both Stanford and Denver. Would it then be possible that John Fox and Jim Fassel Coach together in Denver in the coming season? I think the concept of having either John Fox as the Head Coach with Fassel OC and a individual of Fox's choosing being DC. Or would it be possible that you have a third option as head coach and offer Fassel and Fox Coordinator Positions with Denver. What would your thought be MHR?

I think I might be going against the grain on some of these picks but judge from last years draft I could be as right as anybody as long a the picks make sense. Hopefully it might bring to light some players that we're either missing or the role they played on their college does not fit what they could play in Denver's Scheme and therefore are not on MHR's Radar.

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1. Personally I think that Martindale would be a better choice then Pees

2. Get Zerrick Rollins to replace Martindale as LB Coach

3. Woody Paige is a Clown

4. If they trade Marshall it would be a better idea to get some veteran players than a lot of top picks

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I don`t want to hate on the guy because in the past he has been a great Bronco but last night was pretty embrassing for him.

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For many of us it is going to be a longgg weekend waiting for the Denver Broncos monday game. And I thought that it might be fun to take a look and hear some people opinions about the upcoming Draft. Come on People it only like 8 months away.

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Everyone is going to be down on this guy for throwing so many interceptions in the first half of the game and it is unfortunate because it overshadows some of the good stuff he did. The one thing I notice about professional football above other sports it that is a game of momentum. Sides seem to play off the changes in momentum. A bad/good play here can feed the rest of the team or suck the wind from their sails. Even with Orton's Intereceptions the team seemed to try and keep the momentum up and Hillis on his own is a momentum changer. Give that guy the ball and the whole team perception changes. Now a look at the three interceptions.

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It's 11pm where I live and I'll soon be going to bed. When I wake up tomorrow it will be the start of the Denver Broncos 2009 season and with all the changes that have happened since Chrismas this will be the most anticipated season I have witnessed as a Bronco fan (since 1999). As I was writing this I just realised that I will have been a Bronco fan for a full Decade how crazy. What I would like to know is what will it mean if one of the current rookies hasn't signed their deal as of the start of training camp, Monday morning?

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So I was watching Spencer Larsen Interview on the Denver Bronco website and I realise that we don't really have a true Fullback like most NFL teams would have. We have a lot of players that can play Fullback and switch into this role along with other duties but we have no true West Coast or Smash Mouth Fullback.

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I was reading a couple articles that have recently been posted namely ST&NO and some bear and I got to thinking.

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Was bored at work and scrolling through NYC's daily update thought this was some great information and you can really see where McDaniels gets some of his core idea's from. Comes from the Mike Lombardi part at the bottom of NYC's list. ALWAYS START WITH SPECIAL TEAMS.

My two favourite sayings have always been:

Born to lose; Live to win.

Adapt or Die!

BILL BELICHICK NOTES

• Get people in your program that you can trust.  Have a strong core.

• Coach the team every week.

§  15-30 minutes every day talking about and showing the team what we are going to do to be successful.

• There is no I in Team. There is an I in WIN. It is about individual performance. Everyone do your job.
• Always start with special teams.

§  Ball handling.

§  No penalties.

• Uses plays to show his players – your team, other teams.

§  Discipline and judgment.

§  Need to know right and wrong plays.

• Expect and Demand.
• How to stop players, plays, critical plays. What are we going to do? How are we going to defend it?
• Is everyone trying to do what we ask them to do?
• Emphasizing Fundamentals:
•   WR Coach tells the players two things each week:

                                    1. Get open.

                                    2. Catch the ball.

• The Patriots do not beat themselves.
• Your team has to be adaptable.  Every team you play is different.
• When putting in a play he asks these two questions:

            1. What is the upside on this play?

            2. Why are we running it?

Guess Who? No its not Josh McDaniels, It's JAY CUTLER. I really want to drop this issue and I really hope that everyone who has moved passed this forgives me for bringing it up but Cutler is a two faced liar. The thing that made we want to write this post is this quote from espn article about Josh McDaniels:

"Another Cutler endorsement: He was beyond bummed during the Denver stalemate, Vanderbilt strength and conditioning coach John Sisk says. But he still managed to work out religiously at his alma mater. He was lifting weights on April 2, the day he got the call that he was free from Denver.

"He was smiling and high-fiving all the guys," Sisk says. "He had to go buy a suit because he was going to Chicago the next day. He left during a tornado warning." "

Does this really seem like the guy who earlier was saying: you know I really wasn't expecting them to trade me.'

The Broncos originally received calls from other teams in the League hoping to aquire Cutler in a three way trade for Matt Cassel. The Broncos considered the offer but never moved beyond that point. This is a proven fact in the NFL and a number of teams have verified that they were the ones initiating the calls but they never moved beyond that.

There are rumors that Cutler had already asked for a trade when Jeremy Bates left the team.

According to McDaniels the Broncos informed Cutler and his agent that there were possible trade talks but they weren't moving forward.

Adam Scheffler reports about the possibility of a three way trade. The fall out of this is there is a lot of uphevel and speculation done by both the media and fans.

For the next little bit there is a lot of back and forth between the Broncos and Cutler and the Broncos and the Media.

Cutler changes his story from 1. You tried to trade 2. You never said I was your #1 Qb. 3. You hurt my feelings. I'm not sure what fantasy world most people are living in but welcome to the real world! It is a mean and pretty crappy place where everyone is expendable not matter how terrific you think you are. The only way you are going to get ahead is by fight for it. You might do this as a individual you might do this as a group but each day is a grind.

Fact: The Broncos then extend the Olive branch to Cutler in a television interview. There is a little more communication back and forth but it never moves beyond text messages.

Fact: Culter officially asks to be traded.

Finally the Owner Mr. Pat Bowlen who has done more for the Denver Broncos than any person alive or dead (and people calling him out really ticked me off) tries to call Jay Cutler multiple times. This a fact they wouldn't have annouce to the media if it wasn't true. They have the phone records! You don't say that because you will be found out.

Cutler never responds to Bowlens phone calls, So Bowlen gets the GM to call Cutler's agent so that Cutler will return Bowlen's phone call by the end of the day. I'm don't know about you but if the guy who is signing my multi-million dollar checks calls me, I return his phone call as fast as I can. Obviously this didn't happen and Bowlen talks with Gus Cook Cutler agent. (I've never heard of Bowlen lying and everyone who's ever worked for him as far as I've heard has sung his praise. So if he's said something I would assume it's true.)

Bowlen talks with Cook and is informed that Cutler wants a trade and that he no longers wants to play for the Broncos. What is Bowlen to do but get his Football staff to trade Cutler. He disrespects him and won't even return his phone calls.

Later Cutler is seen at a fight in Tennesesse saying that he really didn't want to be trade and that he was hoping things would work themselves out.

April 2, Cutler is trade and when he finds out is jumping for joy giving high fives all over the place. To bad none of his teamates could share in those high fives.

Cutler has lied and cheated Bronco's Fans and still many fans are still defending him. Mike Mayock the entire draft couldn't understand why we let him go? Cutler should be to the Broncos what Bob Petrino is to Falcons. The only good thing is we actually got something out of the parting.

Scum!

I loved HoosierTeacher's post I think it summed up what the Denver staff was trying to get across when it picked those players. I chose to write a tangent because message board always gets filled up with praise for the writer which is one thing that I really like about MHR but can also drive me crazy cause we lose sight of the post sometimes.

There were a couple comments and questions I had about the draft.

1. First I realized around the 4th round when Vaugh Martin was drafted how desperate 3-4 teams for potential DLinemen and how far they were going to reach to try to take those players. I completely commend the Bronco Staff for not being foolish enough to grab Brace in the second round. What really did surprise me though was that we didn't draft any Linebackers beyond Ayers in the course of the Draft. (I believe that we sign the OLB from Alcorn as a CFA). From what I had been hearing from draft experts the LB position had plenty of potential players and was quite deep this year.

Right now Denver has around around 6 potential players at the JACK LB position. Williams and Woodyard can play the WILL LB position. Davis, Haggan and Larsen at the MIKE. And Finally maybe one of the JACK's having enough coverage ability to play the SAM and compete with Boss Bailey and Green.

I figured that Denver would want more competition at the 3 traditional LB positions and was hoping that at least we would pick up a couple more LBs in CFA.

Also I was thinking about it maybe Ayers could rotate in at the MIKE position. Ayers has a terrific skill set and would be a great asset everywhere on the outside of the front Seven. But think about rotating him in occasionally at the MIKE position. He could charge right up the middle and run over Centers plus would be a great asset shutting down the run. From what I could tell from his interview it was Martindale (LB Coach) that really pushed to get him?

2. I've kind of gotten tired of listening to Broncos Fans call out McDaniel's at the first sign of perceived trouble. Despite what many on you think about him he is not Shanahan and does not have supreme power. I think this draft shows that there are other people in on the decision making in Denver. Xanders and Nolan might take a back seat when it comes to media but this draft smells sweetly of Rich McKay type thinking. For those who don't know who I am talking about McKay is a legend in Football circles. He is the guy behind Tampa Bay's success as well as Atlanta's and his protege Ruskell has been quite successful in Seattle (not including last season). I'm truely convinced that it is a team effort with McDaniel's as the front man.

3. We would have most likely gotten a first round Corner next year and Smith was our top Corner this year. We get to pay him less money and he gets sometime to develop. In terms of an Investment think of all the INT he is going to grab as Dividends.

4. Wayen Nunnely has a proven track record of creating a good Defensive Line. He is going to take what we have and make it better. If there are problem which I'm sure there will be because it will be a progression we will look into upgrades next year. Next year's draft looks full of terriffic DL. NT will be a specific point of interest this college season because from what I can tell Walterfootball had 7 potential Nose Tackles with at least a 4th round grade.

5. I've been noticing how everyone is saying what a great job the Bungles did drafting. There first three picks were all hype. Despite their superior talent level Andre Smith has problems getting motivated and many think he will have problems against elite pass rushers. Michael Johnson is in the same boat, he has problems staying motivated and disappears from games quite often.

No one can figure out why Rey Maualuga's draft stock slipped? first there are his off the feild issues, mainly his really, really poor judgement skills. From what I heard the guy needed to be baby sat by another player just so that he wouldn't get into trouble. The guy went into a circle of reporters tried to dry hump Erin Andrews and walks away pretending to not know what happened. Cause there is no way that a reporter would have a camera right? Next Cushing is doing an interview after they win a game and Rey comes up from behind and starts playing with Cush's hair. If that is not enough he pretty much butts him out of the way and steals the interview. If that is not enough he misses tackle or over purses and could easily get lost in a cut back.

The bungles might be just a bit better drafting then the Faiders. Cause their team has been a cess pool for character issues. 

Denver has been wheeling and dealing more than I've seen in my few years watching the draft it is almost hard to watch because you step out think you have another hour before they are on the clock again and they jump right back in and you might miss the pick. I'm curious though what have we given up to grab these guys?

Alphonso Smith - 2010 Denver's 1st overall

Richard Quinn - Put both threes together for him at a late 4th

Kenny McKinley - Was it our 5th and 6th rounder?

Tom Brandstater - I Know we gave up a 7th but what else?

I think we have a 7th rounder left?

Every pick looks great on paper except that 'paper' already shows some great players at that position. My only question is WHERE'S THE BEEF? I figured they were going to grab front seven help? I know that draft was weak for a 3-4 team at this position but was they no one other than Ayers they liked?

It seems likely to me that Denver would be looking to draft a QB this year so that they can develop him and make him a potential starter. I sure some of the people are of they idea that we should go right out a get replacement for our fabled alcoholic diabetic. I think this season will tell us what we have with Orton and Simms and free up draft picks that would be going to a first day QB and spend them on DEFENSE. We have two guys that have been starting QBs in the NFL and have played reasonably well with inferior talent. Personally I think we go after a late second day QB that can learn and develop in our offense. Both of our QB specialists McDaniels and McCoy have had great success with players that on other teams might be considered camp arms. Here are some of the players that I think Denver might take come Sunday:

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I was reading over some of the stuff about the first mini camp. Everything seemed pretty good and the team seems to be going in the right direction. Some Question I would like to know and probably some other people might too are:

What is going on with Moss? From what I hear Doom, Reid and even Crowder are contributing to the JACK OLB position but I haven't heard anything about Moss and how he is contributing. He's the one I thought would tranistion that best because of his 6'6'' height and lack of strengh to fight through blocks.

What is going on with the OT position. Because Simms is a lefty, are Clady and Harris staying at LT and RT respectively or is Clady transitioning to which ever side is the blindside for the QB?

Which players did they move in practice to the 5 tech? We probably can figure out who they are but it would be interesting to see who the coaches want to try out in different positions.

Final who else is tuning out their friends and family this weekend and possibly looking into a cathader (joking) for this weekends upcoming Draft?

1st Round

1DET Matt Stafford - Not the Biggest Fan of him but they do need a face of the Franchise

2STL Jason Smith - I haven't head anything bad about him other than he went to Baylor and he really impressed at the combine.

3KAN Brian Orakpo - There biggest need is at Rush LB not and as much as I love Curry he is a SAM linebacker who is very versatile. Like the other guy Derrick Johnson

4SEA Aaron Curry - Not another Boz and could provide a spark to turn them around

5CLE Michael Crabtree - Probably the Best player on the board and would make Edwards expendable later in the draft.

6CIN Eugene Monroe - They need some in there to Protect the QBs blindside

7OAK Andre Smith - What do you mean Al Davis cares nothing for character? Plus Darth Cable is a Oline guy.

8JAG Jeremy Maclin - Surprise! Why go with a QB there biggest need is at WR where i`m pretty sure they have no one

9GB Everette Brown - They completely lack a JACK LB I think Brown could be there guy.

10(Trade) NYJ - Sanchez - I think this is the first trade of the draft the Jets move up to grab Sanchez cause San Fran was looking to move back.

11BUF Brian Cushings - They had a lot of problems with there LB unit last year and need someone to play OLB

12DEN B.J. Raji - probably won`t happen but you never know. I don`t think Denver would hesitate to grab him.

13WAS Michael Oher -  They grab a guy who can play start at both T and G from day one and move into OT position later on.

14NO Mike Jenkins - He`s left wondering what took them so long but will play terrific from day one

15HOU Clay Mattews - I was thinking DE Jackson just to see QBs between him and Mario but they need help at the OLB position and the guys uncle works for the organization.

16SD Knowshon Moreno - Doesn`t make all that much sense until you find out about A.J. Smith secret plan was to restructure LT`s deal and then trade him away. Moohahah!

17(Trade)SF Percy Harvin - Not rated that high but will fit well into Singletary`s plan of running the Football

18DEN Tyson Jackson - At this point we have completely rebuilt our front 3 which is what we were all hoping for all along

19TB Darius Heyward-Bey - Tough team to pick for because lots of holes, lots of questions, not a lot of pick to move around so they get some to throw the pigskin to

20DET Vontea Davis - They really need some help with the CB position and a OT came come at 33

21PHI Hakem Nicks - OT can come at 28 but they need a good possesion WR and haven`t had one since TO

22MIN Brandon Pettigrew - Not really a need but probably the best player on their board and might buy the QB an extra second.

23NE Darius Butler - fits into their system perfectly

24ATL Jerry Peria - They need help at the DT position and Peria is thier best bet

25MIA Aaron Maybin - Joey Porter is good at what he does and can teach baby face a thing or two

26BAL James Laurinatis - Ray Lewis is not going to be around forever but while he is give him a partner in crime (no pun)

27IND Evander Hood - The need somone here

28PHI Eben Britton - OT has been a big need all along

29(Trade) CLE - Beanie Wells - Browns give up Edwards for Lewis`s replacement

30TEN Robert Ayers - Jevon Kearse needs and upgrade

31ARI Rey Maualuga - I think he slids for immaturity but Arizona can slot him in at ILB and keep on chugging

32PIT Max Unger - He can play C and G and the Steelers need help there.

Denver 7 Rounds

1a. NT B.J. Raji

1b. DE Tyson Jackson - If we can get to this point I think we have rebuilt our DL

2. OLB Larry English - Can compete for the SAM LB position

3a. RB Rashad Jennings - Trust in Turner to make him an All-Star

3b. ILB Jasper Brinkley - Probably to high for him but he is a sleeper because of his injury which his workouts show he has come back from. With Andre Davis`s help he will be scary to play across from

4. CB Tren Morgan - We need more than just Bell and Williams competeing for the nickle and dime job

5. FS David Burton - We need some back up FS help and player for Dawkins to pass on his knowledge to

6. QB Drew Willy - I think this guy will surprise a lot of people with everything he can do, hey he put Buffalo U on the map

7a. C Jon Cooper - might be draft fodder might be the next Nalen

7b. NT Vaugh Martin - from a school I almost went to, too bad SMU (St. Mary`s is better)

So this is part 2 of the post. I hoped everyone likes reading it.

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So I wanted to see what our current coaches past draft have been like and who they have brought into play for their old teams. If figured that it would be interesting to see the what they have been able to do with their selections and if they actual had a good track record. I looked at the last 5 drafts back to 2003. I looked only players in the first five round because I felt that beyond that it was a crap shoot whether they would stick in the NFL (not trying to slight players that make from lower or CFAs). Note: I was only looking at the players that the coach would be responsible for evaluating with their old team or in the case of Nolan the only the side of ball he is responsible for Denver.

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This draft year seems really weird. Usually there are a couple of players on the board that you could easily be sold on and that Denver would pursue. Two years ago it was MLB Willis, DE/DT Carriker and DE/OLB Moss. Last year was DT Ellis, OT Clady, OT Williams. This year on the other hand I really can't think of a player that Denver should take at the 12th. I'm starting think that maybe we should look into still trading back the 12th round for more picks and players.

The 12th round pick for Denver just doesn't seem to fit. Raji I'm concerned about for smoking dope before the combine. If its true I would take him off my board because we don't need a bust NT we already been through enough scares and realities. The 12th seems really high for both Jackson and Maulaluga. No one at MHR seemed that high on Jackson and Rey (tired of spelling his name) is the first guy I would take out when I moved to a nickle or dime package. I said this before but the DE/OLB potential players drive me crazy cause they are so hit or miss and because we already have three (Doom, Moss, Reid). How is adding a completely untested player to the mix going to help. I kind of like Laurinitis but would you take him at 12?

If worse came to worse Denver could take a DB, RB or QB but those positions depending on who you talk to are not that high on the board. In my mind I would like to see how the QB situation plays out. McDaniels and McCoy have both turned nobodys (Cassel and Delhomme) into superstars. I also think that drafting a DB to start next year at the 12 doesn't help the team win this year. I like Moreno as a back but I think that 12 is a little steep of a price to pay for a player that is going to be shuffled in with the other backs.

The draft seemed to have a lot more top players that fit other systems so why not play into that. You take a team that would be most likely interested in a QB or whatever position and you convert the 12 into some lower picks and maybe a player or two. The Jets have David Harris, and I remember that on MHR radio someone reported the Jets offered him up for Cutler. Everyone was asking who but he is the guy who replaced Vilma for the NYJ and has played terrific for them. Couple him and a couple draft picks and we can grab great players later on. When it comes to Salary Cap we can get lower picks for a cheaper price so trading back helps Denver in that regard.

Maybe I'm just being a pessimist but I think there are more players who are potentialy better on the 1-2 bubble that fit Denver's needs than some of the player at the 12th pick. Connor Barwin for example would be a great pick as a late first rounder.

I think that the safest pick the NFL draft at the #12 position would be LSU’s Tyson Jackson. There a number of candidates for Denver to choose from and I certainly have no better insight into their draft that the next guys but Jackson seems like a good fit. Most of the top 20 picks in the draft have some big question marks when it comes to their playing ability.

The FA and roster moves don’t really warrant taking an Offensive player with the first overall pick. Our offense is pretty solid and we would at most be looking to add depth players.  The same could be said about the Secondary in which Denver acquired a bunch of cost effective veterans that can play today and be replaced in future drafts. Because of this mortgaging strategy the most obvious choices would be to focus on the front defensive seven.

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I was surfing the web and SI.com had this in their hot clicks today:

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/thetoydepartment/2009/03/what_if_we_viewed_every_franch.html

I thought it was pretty funny and wanted to know about what MHR fans thought of the Denver Broncos if they were a late night bar pick up? Personally I figure our franchise would be an old cougar who has seen better days and lately shown a little bit of our crazier side. We've ditched the guy who was a little to old for us for the young stud and we in the process of getting some physical enhancements. We could be set to mount a comeback or we might just fall flat on our faces. Plus we also have the attitude that were were just as hot as the other franchises but never got the credit.

Denver Broncos: Courtney Cox

Works on another level to if you compare Bruce Springsten to John Elway. Remember seeing her dancing on stage with the Boss?

I had an epiphany on the bus this morning. While listening to some tunes and contemplating life and what I was going to do at work today my mind drifted back to the H-back/Magic 3. I really liked this posting but was always wondering if an athletic 46 defence could successfully throw a wrench in Denver’s plans of world domination. Then I started to think about a book I read last summer on Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant who was one of the greatest football coaches that ever lived. Bryant was most famous for being the head coach at several university but specifically Alabama. Another interesting fact for you football history junkies was that while playing for ‘Bama in the 30’s he was the other Flanker (WR) across from Hall of Fame Receiver Don Hutson. While at ‘Bama Bryant brought in the wishbone offense after copying it from the Darrell Royal, Head Coach at Texas and it was a huge success in of the 70’s and 80’s in college. A number of teams who used the offense won national championships with it.

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Jay Cutler was the first draft pick that I ever watched be drafted by the Broncos when I was flipping through the channels right after finding out my great-uncle had passed away. Since that day I have been a hardcore draft fan and a Jay Cutler fan. I, like probably all of you tuned into his first game, try to watch games wherever I could (living in the Maritimes is tough for a Broncos fan) and even read his posting on denverbroncos.com when he went to the pro-bowl. This is the guy that we have lived and died with cheering him on when he was tossing touchdowns and throwing mini tamper tantrums when his defence and running game let him down. But now all this....

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Texans - Dom

Pats - Belichek

Steelers - Cowher

Saints - Ditka??

Chief not sure for how long?

If I could get years and coaches that would be great I have another post in the works. I'm just not really sure what team use the 3-4 system from the time period of 1999 until 2002.

Thanks,  Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, Thanks,