SB Nation User Blog: mikebirty

NFL in the UK - Part 1 - The Fridge was bigger than Lineker

mikebirty — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:03:27 -0000

Since the Broncos are on a bye week, are 6-0 and the NFL is coming to London, I thought I'd take the opportunity to have a look at the Past, Present and Future of the NFL in the UK. While this won't be completely Broncos based, I will try and weave in some of my Broncos memories. This is a three part series. Today I will concentrate on the beginnings of the NFL in the UK and Europe. Thursday I will look at the impact that Satellite TV and the Interweb has had on the game and in the final part on Sunday, I will look at the future possibilities of expansion and possibilities the NFL has.

It all started in November 1982 when the Channel 4 logo morphed from a number 4 into a stick figure man holding a pigskin, donned a helmet and grunted. At that time, televised sport was in the doldrums. The two main networks were lagging well behind. The BBC went for a radio like presentation with lots of talking and very little action and their rival network ITV's main show was Professional Wrestling back when people thought that it was real.

Channel 4 was a brand new network and had been given a charter to be different and to do things that the other networks wouldn't. It feature a lot of TV aimed at people aged between 14-24 and relied heavily on political satire and hard hitting dramas. They picked up American Football and ran with it. Its weekly highlights show was on Sunday around 5:30. It was going up against the Antiques Roadshow and Songs of Praise. It was really no contest.

The show itself was a nice mix between highlights of the previous weeks games and a magazine style reporting on anything from NFL rules or to American Culture. It celebrated the "Americana", the cheerleaders, the fireworks, the hard hitting, the explosiveness. The complete over-the-topness and slick presentation of the sport was completely different from the stats based sheep-skin coat style of the BBC's John Motson.

This was also a dark time for Football. The English game was in between the two biggest defining points of the modern era. The Heysel Stadium Disaster in 1985 led to English clubs being banned from playing in European competitions and the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989, led to complete changes in the way the game was governed, watched, policed and managed. There was a partial blackout of football games on the main UK networks in 1985 because of an argument over rights. These disasters, coupled with rising hooliganism, were ones that it would take football nearly twenty years to recover from.

The NFL was the only way to go. And it had stars. The 1985 Superbowl, with the William Perry leading the Bears, was broadcast live and was probably the first time that the NFL slipped into the national consciousness. ITV’s head of sport John Bromley, said "suddenly The Refrigerator was a bigger name than (England Football Captain) Gary Lineker". The 1986 American Bowl was a massive event. I can remember watching the game and just being enthralled. The match program was sold in newsagents like a magazine, I bought it on my way to school and I had a crowd of friends who read it during our breaks. Lawrence Taylor's hit that broke Theisman's leg was almost celebrated in a sick way. Taylor became another household name.

The important thing in our school was to pick a team. My friend Neil Lomax picked the Cardinals because of Neil Lomax. Andrew picked the Jets because he like green. I was undecided.

From 1986 Channel 4 had bought the rights to the playoffs and were going to show them, edited, immediately after they had finished in the USA - the producers didn't think a UK audience was up to sitting through all those commercials. My Dad and I, like the rest of the nation started tuning in seriously. I remember getting up the morning after the AFC championship game - it finished around midnight, I was 9 - and my Dad just sitting opposite me at the breakfast table and said, "Make sure you watch the highlights program - that game was something special". And that game was of course The Drive (you didn't need a link for that did you!)

That was it. I was hooked. He was my hero. I had an orange NFL football because that was the Broncos colour. I demanded an Elway shirt before I got a Manchester United shirt. In fact I was given my first United shirt, but I saved up for my Elway one. Everyone was talking about American Football. Everyone was buying the UK based NFL magazine First Down - you could read reports and get results a whole two days earlier than by watching the TV. I was turning down invites to parties on a Sunday night so I didn't miss the NFL.

It was huge. There was only one way for it to go. The bubble burst, pretty spectacularly.

(As well as having an amazing personality and being drop dead gorgeous my Canadian Girlfriend said she always remembered when we first met that I was able to translate everything for her from British into 'American'. She'd open her lunch at work and someone would say "Move over Deilia Smith!" and she'd look at me blankly and I'd say "Martha Stewart". We'd talk about kids TV shows and I'd be the only one who'd describe them for her. But I've drawn a blank on translating this one.)

In 1987 for some reason, rather than the intelligent and knowledgeable American presenters like Frank Gifford, Channel 4 decided to have the show presented by "comedians" the Vicious Boys. Their humour was misplaced and cringeworthingly bad. I don't think they understood the game and maybe they were out of their league but all of a sudden people just stopped watching. Personally I'll never forgive the one of them that was 0 and Hundreds making predictions (on pre-recorded games!) when he picked the Broncos in the Superbowl.

I've taken advice and she says the guy from Full House - Bob Saget. Imagine what would happen to Soccer if he presented it.

Not even the first live regular season game in 1988 could stop the slide. The early-90s brought UK born ex-NFL place kicker Mick Luckhurst, Bob Golic and later Gary Imlach. Imlach's enthusiasm was infectious. He hosted a regular magazine program - Blitz! - that began on Saturday morning where the NFL highlights were secondary, he would travel America giving you an insight into culture. The featured game, for example would be Denver vs Kansas City and he would spend a day or two in going round a ski resort and visiting the Grand Canyon etc. And they would weave the highlights around this. Although by this time, the NFL was never going to reach the heights of late 80s, this program certainly helped bring back some casual fans. For most people, Gary Imlach is still the face of American Football. His defining moment - standing on the sidelines of a game at Half Time doing a piece to camera and getting flattened by a New York Giant.

1991 brought the World League of American Football and then NFL Europe. If you've never seen the WLAF uniforms, I recommend checking them out but turning the monitor brightness down. With hindsight, the leagues were never going to be successful. The NFL and Channel 4 had spent years building up the NFL, they had invested time and money giving you a product, building teams and personalities and then all of a sudden they expected everyone to drop everything and start supporting and following teams just because they are local. Also, Britain is not a relatively big country and we're not used to having to travel for our sports. Within 45 minutes drive of my house, I have 8 Premier League football teams and probably three times that if you include all professional football teams. Although traveling a few hours to watch a professional team in the Americas may be common-place, like driving from Toronto to Buffalo, its not in the UK. Finally, naming the only team based in the UK - London - and basing them in a single stadium was a stupid decision which wasn't corrected until NFL Europe was born in the mid 90s.

The America Bowl however, traveled the world and fans would regularly sell out the stadia but watching potential practice squad players playing special teams and making hits on poor 49er returners wasn't enough. In 1997 the pre-season games would stop. The Broncos have traveled to London, losing 28-27 to the L.A. Rams, John Elway even appeared on the UK sports Quiz, A Question of Sport. At the time, my Dad worked at the BBC and tried really hard, but failed, to get my jersey signed. The questions, which were based on Guest's sport, were nice and easy, including one mystery picture of a 49er stood in his helmet with the number 16 jersey on.

During the early 90s Channel 4 was in a bit of a mess sports-wise. They had invested in British Basketball, Horse Racing, Italian Football, International Athletics, Sumo and bizarrely Kabaddi. Apart from Horse Racing and occasionally Italian Football, all failed. They tried to get the rights to Cricket but the governing body were too conservative to move away from the BBC - a decision they would reverse in 2000. They bought live coverage of the Seoul Olympics which ran through the night and played to a tiny audience. Soccer had finally got its act together and was everywhere, it had - ironically - learnt about marketing its "product" from the NFL and it was reaching a fever pitch that hasn't really subsided since 1992. American Football was no longer a priority and was merely part of the channel and the culture because it had always been there. Come the end of the 90s that was about to change. Blitz! and The American Football Big Match ended with the 1998 Superbowl.

Your 2009 Denver Broncos Starting Line Up - v4.0 Final Predictions

mikebirty — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:51:53 -0000

Since the end of April, just after the draft, I have been monitoring the potential 53 man roster that the Broncos will start the season with. Obviously, 5 months of practices and training and injuries has changed the roster quite considerably since the first time I made the predictions. So now I am bringing together all 3 previous rosters with a prediction on how the final roster will look when the last round of cuts are made. (Read left to right form version 1 to 4)

Special Teams

Kern
Prater
Paxton

These three have been every presents on all three of the roster predictions and there is no reason to change that now with the release of Britton Colquitt. From the reviews of his play I have read, I am sure he will find another team somewhere in the NFL and if not, he's a good candidate to keep around - if the Broncos feel they can use a practise squad spot on a punter.

Cornerbacks and Safeties

V1 - April	V2 - June	V3 - July	V4 - August
Champ Bailey	Champ Bailey	Champ Bailey	Champ Bailey
Andre Goodman	Andre Goodman	Andre Goodman	Andre Goodman
Alphonso Smith	Alphonso Smith	Alphonso Smith	Alphonso Smith
Jack Williams	Jack Williams	Jack Williams	Jack Williams
Brian Dawkins	Brian Dawkins	Brian Dawkins	Brian Dawkins
Renaldo Hill	Renaldo Hill	Renaldo Hill	Renaldo Hill
Darcel McBath	Darcel McBath	Darcel McBath	Darcel McBath
David Bruton	David Bruton	David Bruton	David Bruton
Josh Barrett		Josh Barrett	Josh Barrett

I've had Josh Barrett in and out of the roster and I still think he's on the edge of the it. But my argument to keep him comes in three strands.

He's a stand out special teams player and Coach McDaniels has mentioned that he is not adverse to keeping players who excel on Special Teams
His work at LB in Nickel Packages is the versatility he needs to show which will keep him on the roster. Being able to cover Gates and Miller will make him a bonus on passing downs.
He player well in his games in his first season and although he is practice squad eligible, he will probably not clear waivers. And most importantly, there isn't a better player to take his spot.

Inside Linebackers

V1 - April	V2 - June	V3 - July	V4 - August
DJ Williams	DJ Williams	DJ Williams	DJ Williams
Andra Davis	Andra Davis	Andra Davis	Andra Davis
Wesley Woodyard	Wesley Woodyard	Wesley Woodyard	Wesley Woodyard
Boss Bailey	Boss Bailey
Spencer Larsen	Spencer Larsen	Spencer Larsen	Spencer Larsen
	Nick Griesen	Nick Griesen

Only 4 to make the final roster? Yes, I think so. Both Nick Griesen and Boss Bailey have held down spots on this list but injuries have put paid to their spots. My argument for keeping four inside linebackers is simple, I have Josh Barrett and Mario Haggan on the roster and in an emergency either of those can fill an inside linebacker spot in the middle of game. Keeping a 5th, like CFA Lee Robinson wouldn't surprise me but I don't think it would be at the expense of one of these 4. I think to keep a 5th ILB, the Broncos are going to have to release a player from another position.

Outside Linebackers / Defensive Ends

V1 - April	V2 - June	V3 - July	V4 - August
Robert Ayres	Robert Ayres	Robert Ayres	Robert Ayres
Elvis Dumervil	Elvis Dumervil	Elvis Dumervil	Elvis Dumervil
Darrel Reid	Darrel Reid	Darrel Reid	Darrel Reid
Jarvis Moss		Jarvis Moss
			Tim Crowder
			Mario Haggan

Oh Jarvis Moss. I'd like to put you on this list, I really would. But to get on the final roster of 53, I have to ask myself this question, who out of the 53 I have picked who would I leave off? The improved play of Mario Haggan has squeezed Moss out of my roster. Leaving the final OLB position down to a shoot out between Moss and Crowder. I think Crowder certainly has the edge given the comments and articles I have read about coming out of camp. I wouldn't be surprised to see him make the roster, in fact I'd be a happy if Moss was on it but I just can't find a spot in 53 players for him.

Defensive Line

V1 - April	V2 - June	V3 - July	V4 - August
Kenny Peterson	Kenny Peterson	Kenny Peterson	Kenny Peterson
Nic Clemons	Nic Clemons		Nic Clemons
Ronald Fields	Ronald Fields	Ronald Fields	Ronald Fields
J'Vonne Parker		J'Vonne Parker
Carlton Powell	Carlton Powell	Carlton Powell
Marcus Thomas	Marcus Thomas	Marcus Thomas	Marcus Thomas
Chris Baker	Chris Baker	Chris Baker	Chris Baker
	Everette Pedescleaux
		Ryan McBean	Ryan McBean
			Le Kevin Smith

Defensive line has always been difficult to call. Probably only Peterson, Fields, McBean and Smith are sure of their places on the roster. Chris Baker is probably the next in line - he's put in some quality pre-season numbers and I have yet to hear anyone say a bad word about his play on the field. Thomas and Clemons could easily be Askew, Powell or Pedescleaux. I would like Carlton Powell to make the roster, mainly because he seems like a stand up guy - since he lost last year to injury he is eligible for the practice squad and if he does clear waivers and gets picked up on there, I don't think he'll be there for long, there will be teams looking for Tackles and I would imagine he'll be on an NFL roster sooner rather than later - even if its not with the Broncos.

Quarterback

V1 - April	V2 - June	V3 - July	V4 - August
Kyle Orton	Kyle Orton	Kyle Orton	Kyle Orton
Chris Simms	Chris Simms	Chris Simms	Chris Simms
	Tom Brandstater	Tom Brandstater	Tom Brandstater

Barring any injury / PUP moves, all three Quaterbacks make the roster. With injury questions hanging over 2/3rds of the QB roster, I wouldn't be surprised if the Broncos jiggled around with the injury allowances and Ingle Martin got into the squad. However, I'm not really up to speed with what they could do regarding injuries so I will call it straight and predict the three of them to stay on the roster.

Offensive Line

V1 - April	V2 - June	V3 - July	V4 - August
Ryan Clady	Ryan Clady	Ryan Clady	Ryan Clady
Ryan Harris	Ryan Harris	Ryan Harris	Ryan Harris
Tyler Polumbus	Tyler Polumbus		Tyler Polumbus
Brandon Gorin	Brandon Gorin	Brandon Gorin
Chris Kuper	Chris Kuper	Chris Kuper	Chris Kuper
Ben Hamilton	Ben Hamilton	Ben Hamilton	Ben Hamilton
Seth Olsen	Seth Olsen	Seth Olsen	Seth Olsen
Blake Schlueter	Blake Schlueter
Kory Lichtensteiger	Kory Lichtensteiger	Kory Lichtensteiger
Casey Wiegmann	Casey Wiegmann	Casey Wiegmann	Casey Wiegmann
			Russ Hochstein

The release of Blake Schlueter will probably lead to him being re-signed to the practice squad. As for Kory Lichtensteiger, it doesn't look good. Olsen seems to have passed him as first reserve at Guard and Hamilton slides across to Center when Wiegmann has missed time in camp and when a team trades a draft pick for a player who is going to be a reserve but in your position it doesn't really look good. The reserve tackle spot will be interesting to watch. I haven't seen any of the 2nd and 3rd team offense this year, apart from highlights (or should that be lowlights!) so its tough to call between Polumbus and Gorin or any of the others.

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

V1 - April	V2 - June	V3 - July	V4 - August
Daniel Graham	Daniel Graham	Daniel Graham	Daniel Graham
Tony Scheffler	Tony Scheffler	Tony Scheffler	Tony Scheffler
Richard Quinn	Richard Quinn	Richard Quinn	Richard Quinn
Brandon Marshall	Brandon Marshall	Brandon Marshall	Brandon Marshall
Eddie Royal	Eddie Royal	Eddie Royal	Eddie Royal
Jabar Gaffney	Jabar Gaffney	Jabar Gaffney	Jabar Gaffney
Kenny McKinley	Kenny McKinley	Kenny McKinley	Kenny McKinley
Brandon Stokely	Brandon Stokely	Brandon Stokely	Brandon Stokely
		Chad Jackson	Chad Jackson

Probably the most settled spot on the roster. I have Brandon Marshall on here. He's a Bronco at the moment and until he's not a Bronco, he's on my roster. If he were to be traded then obviously the entire make up of the roster could change. But until there's any official word, he stays on the roster.

Running Backs

V1 - April	V2 - June	V3 - July	V4 - August
Knowshon Moreno	Knowshon Moreno	Knowshon Moreno	Knowshon Moreno
Peyton Hillis	Peyton Hillis	Peyton Hillis	Peyton Hillis
JJ Arrington	JJ Arrington
Correll Buckhalter	Correll Buckhalter	Correll Buckhalter	Correll Buckhalter
LaMont Jordan	LaMont Jordan	LaMont Jordan	LaMont Jordan
Ryan Torrain		Ryan Torrain
			Darius Walker

Darius Walker takes the last roster spot because of some excellent pre-season work. I can't see Jordan being cut because there really isn't anyone else to take his spot. Unless the Broncos are keen to keep an extra wide receiver, like Nate Swift, then I predict five running backs. The roster in this spot could also be a bit more fluid and depends on what happens on the defensive side of the ball. If the Broncos feel that they need to keep Lee Robinson that would free up Spencer Larsen to take on a bit more offensive work and that would probably be at the expense of Walker.

Practice Squad Possibles

The practice squad can be made up of 8 players - here's the Wikipedia Entry

Both rookies and young veterans are eligible for the practice squad. However, a player cannot participate on the practice squad for more than three seasons, or if he has accrued a year of NFL experience (six or more games on a club's 53-man active roster or official Injure Reserve list.) If the player was on the active list for fewer that 9 games during their "only Accrued Season(s)", they maintain their eligibility for the practice squad

If I had to pick from the players on the Broncos current roster that may end up on the practice squad, I'd say

Schlueter
Powell
Pedescleaux
Robinson

And they'd be joined by a 4 players released by other clubs in areas of need for the Broncos.

So what do you think? I am planning on coming back and scoring my predictions next week once the final roster is released.

3 Things - that make me think positively

mikebirty — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:25:41 -0000

This time of any sports season is great. Everyone is equal. No one has hit anyone, no one has got injured and if you're lucky enough to support a team in the first part of the alphabet your team sits atop the division. I'm normally a positive chap and I like to think the best of things - you may say I wear orange tinted glasses, I've drunk the Kool Aid and I'm on board the bus. So I thought I'd start what I hope to be the first of a new series called "3 Things" with three things that are making me think positively about the Broncos 09 season. There are more than three things but keeping it to three means I cut out the waffle.

1. Better secondary can make everyone look good.

I know its always said that its the defensive line that makes a team better but why can't a better secondary make a team look good? All non-Champ starting positions have been upgraded significantly including the Nickel Corner. Would you rather have Bly, McCree, Manuel and Paymah or Goodman, Dawkins, Hill and Smith?

Coach McDaniels has spoken on a couple of occasions about improving turn overs and making sure the secondary keeps plays in front of them and doesn't let anything past them. There were too many times in 08 where long runs and long passes got through the Broncos. Would Larry Johnson have twice run over Brian Dawkins the same way he ran over Marlon McCree? This secondary is such an improvement over the 08 team that improved play here will make sure that the rest of the defense looks better - even if they're not much above NFL average.

A better secondary and a slight dip in form last year means more QBs will throw at Champ Bailey. He won't be walking around with a target on his back like DeAngelo Hall or Karl Paymah but he will see some more throws his way, and more throws his way means more interceptions. Last season teams knew they didn't have to take a chance with Champ because they could yards pretty much anywhere else on the field. The New England game was a prime example until Champ left the game him and Randy Moss may as well have pulled up deckchairs and done crosswords but once Champ was out, Moss started to get yards. A better secondary forces teams to take Champ on, which can only be good for the Broncos and make the whole team look good.

2. New Coach Bounce.

Atlanta, Miami and Baltimore. Terrible in 07 and play off teams in 08. They all won 11 games in 08. They only won 10 games between them in 07. They all had new coaches in 08. They also all had new QBs.

I don't claim to be clever enough to analyse the different approaches, skills and abilities of Coaches McDaniels and Nolan but all I can say is that last year these three teams got new coaches and had some pretty significant changes to their playing staff went from being teams that looked below average on paper to playoff teams.

Of course the Broncos are in a division with the Chiefs and Raiders who both appointed new coaches and the Browns and Jets will also be hoping to get the same bounce. But having looked at the off season activity from the other four teams, none of them have made as many significant appointments - both playing and coaching - as the Broncos.

3. The Broncos don't have to be better than the Steelers to get to the playoffs.

The AFC West was the worst division in football in 08. The Broncos are playing 4 games during this season against teams that are ranked below them on the last power rankings chart I saw. And the Broncos weren't even rated that high. If you think that the Broncos are in a poor state at the moment., then you must take heart from the fact that the Raiders and the Chiefs are in a worse state. So using this logic that's 4 wins - Sure Arrowhead and the Coliseum aren't great places to travel to but if you're going to the playoffs you have to win there. And the two opening games come against Cleveland and Cincinnati which are ranked just as low as the Broncos. So if the Broncos are going to be as good as I hope they are, that should amount to 6 wins.

The other AFC divisions are much more competitive than the AFC West. The AFC South is likely to be a 3 team shoot-out with all 3 teams taking games off each other keeping their wins low. Although I can see the Pats strolling through their division, I can also make a case for Miami winning a few early on in the season and the Jets will benefit form the new QB and Coach combo, don't be surprised if both teams split their series with each other along with the Pats. The North should be a Pittsburgh's to lose and the Ravens may continue to improve but still lacking in offensive play-makers and aren't going to be as much of a stand out team as last year and are more likely to be dragged back into the fight for a wild card. With other divisions being more competitive, there's a chance the wild card mark could be at about 9 wins rather than the 11 and 12 last year.

But more importantly. The Broncos only have to be better than the Chargers over 16 games. When you compare what the Chargers have done to get better to what the Broncos have done then there's no comparison. The Chargers played a dangerous game of resting on their laurels during the offseason. They are returning all but two starters - one on offense and one on defense. They finished with the same record as the Broncos. The Chargers management seem to believe that they'll be better this season simply "because". Can you imagine the Broncos returning 10 starters on both sides of the ball? The Chargers have gone from 14 wins to 11 wins to 8 wins and haven't made any drastic changes. The Broncos could be looking at needing only 9 wins to clinch the division or to get into the playoffs.

And then, well, any given sunday.....

Your 2009 Denver Broncos Starting Line Up v3.1 Offense

mikebirty — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:40:24 -0000

Welcome to part 3.1 of my series looking at the potential starters and roster spots available. Part 3.0 was dedicated entirely to Defense and parts 1 and 2 are still available to. They look at the situation on the roster straight after the draft and after OTAs. I'm hoping to have version 4.0 out before the first official depth chart.

The offensive roster is much easier than the defensive one to put together. On the surface, there's much less competition and more areas where the leaders and starters are clear. I'm subtitling this one - The "Can't We Get Centers with Names That Are Easy to Spell" post.

Quarterback

The Safe Picks - All three QBs will be on the final roster. I toyed with the idea of putting Tom Brandstater on the Practise Squad but I don't see him clearing waivers.

Kyle Orton
Chris Simms
Tom Brandstater

The competition - Thankfully the QB competition is over and isn't going to drag on into the first week of camp. Having a front runner and a key guy is important. There can't have been many teams who have posted winning season who have started camp with a QB controversy.

The Surprise - Brandstater could hit the Practise Squad but its unlikely. There seems to be enough roster spots to go around. So the only surprise will come from how well Brandtater plays in the pre-season. It'll be very reassuring to see all three of them completing passes and handing the ball off with no hiccups or problems. A good showing in a couple of games from Brandstater could see him in line for a bigger role next season.

Running Backs

The Safe Picks - I jumped out of my chair, partly with shock and partly with excitement, when Knowshon Moreno was picked. I can't wait to see him carrying the ball. I can't wait to see him catching a pass. I can't remember the last time I was this excited over a first round pick. Knowshon and Peyton Hillis are going to be so popular this year. 0-16, 4-12, 8-8, 12-4, 16-0 it won't matter these guys are going to be great and - depending on your outlook - are going to make a bad football team mediocre, a mediocre football team good or a good football team into a contender.

Knowshon Moreno
Peyton Hillis

The competition - A common theme running through the off-season has been the number of healthy running backs needed for an entire season. While this lessens the competition around spots because it should be easy to get on the roster, there's plenty of competition for what role is available. The main back-up role seems to be up for grabs although Correll Buckhalter has to be favourite at the moment.

Correll Buckhalter
LaMont Jordan
Ryan Torrain

The surprise - Ryan Torrain. Torrain could end up as the back up, the kick returner, the change of pace back OR he could be number 5 on the chart, barely dress for a game, get injuired AGAIN, start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform List or be completely cut. I can't say for any certainty that I know what's going to happen but I think he gets a spot.

Tight Ends

The Safe Picks - All three of them are pretty easy to pick. Daniel Graham, Tony Scheffler and Richard Quinn all make the roster and will all see the field at various points in the season.

Daniel Graham
Tony Scheffler
Richard Quinn

The competition - Tony Scheffler vs The System vs Misconceptions. "Tony Scheffler isn't suited to the New England style of offense" and "Coach McDaniels doesn't use Tight Ends to catch passes" are two of the phrases you're bound to have heard this off-season. I can't wait to find out if they're true or not. (I tend towards them not being true) I can't see how you can have a good pass catching tight end and not use him. I will be happy if, after the pre-season, Tony has hit one long streak down the field and been hit perfectly in stride by Orton.

The Surprise - Let's talk "ifs". IF a team like Philly or New York or one of the ones that thinks its a contender was to lose a tight end and IF they offered a conditional pick that could be a 2nd to a 5th for Scheffler and IF it was at the right time then he could be on his way and IF that happens Jeb Putzier could find a roster spot.

Wide Receivers

The Safe Picks - Brandon Stokley, Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall should strike fear into the hearts of other teams. Couple this with Jabar Gaffney, who seems to be built specifically for this New England style offense and who I think will prove to be the best Free Agent acquisition of the offseason, and you've got 4 recievers who could be productive in any offense with any quaterback. Anyone who's not excited about seeing these four lining up together isn't paying attention.

Brandon Stokely
Eddie Royal
Brandon Marshall
Jabar Gaffney

The competition - Kenny McKinley is the only draft pick that left me scratching my head. I just couldn't see why. I can see why the others made the Broncos better, either now or in the future, but this is one that I just couldn't get my head round. Still, its rare that you see 5th Round picks dropped before camp so he'll find a spot. Which leaves one receiver spot open. Chad Jackson vs Brandon Lloyd for the final spot. I'm tempted to flip a coin. I think it will be Jackson because of his history with New England and because I think he offers more as a potential Kick and Punt Returner.

Kenny McKinley
Chad Jackson

The Surprise - There are a few college free agents who may come out of camp with an outside shot at the roster. I'm particularly interested in hearing anything anyone has seen or knows about David Grimes. He's a product of Notre Dame, who's coach is? who used to coach at? who is responsible for the thinking behind the offense that will be played at where? I would have thought he was a dead cert for the Practice Squad if he doesn't make the Roster.

Tackles and Guards and Centers

The Safe Picks - All five starters return and are a safe picks to not only be on the roster, to not only start the first game but also to carry on from their successful 2008 and hit 2009 running.

Ryan Clady
Ryan Harris
Chris Kuper
Ben Hamilton
Casey Wiegmann

The Competition - There are three spots behind the starting five and versatility is required by all three. Brandon Gorrin looks a favourite to be the back-up tackle although there are a lot of college free agents on the roster, and last year's back-upTyler Polumbus. Which leaves two spots available for Seth Olsen, Kory Lichtensteiger and Blake Schlueter. I am predicting that Schlueter will hit the Practise Squad - Barrett was a 7th round pick last year and cleared waivers, Greg Eslinger cleared waivers a few years back and made the practise squad - both point towards Schlueter being cut and resigned the next day.

Brandon Gorrin
Seth Olsen
Kory Lichtensteiger

The Surprise - The position of back up tackle to the Ryans is going to be one to watch. Gorrin looks favourite but there's a good chance any of the other contenders could win out. I expect Tyler Polumbus to push really hard and who knows, maybe he has enough to beat out Gorrin. Who knows, maybe Lichtensteiger won't even make the roster and Schlueter will be a back up.

The Special Team Players

Brett Kern, Matt Prater, Lonnie Paxton. What else is there to say?

Offensive Roster is complete

One of the things I like about the starting offensive line-up is that you can probably write it in your sleep.

Marshall, Royal, Hillis, Moreno, Orton
Graham, Harris, Kuper, Wiegmann, Hamilton, Clady

Hope you enjoyed this more indepth look at the offensive roster. Like I said, I am planning on having another roster break down after the first week of camp which will take on board all the reports from all the outlets along with any footage I can see and bring everything together into a final roster and depth chart. I'll also look at the trends over the offseason and see who was in and who is now out as well as who has come from nowhere and is now starting!

Your 2009 Denver Broncos Starting Line Up v3.0 Defense

mikebirty — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:06:40 -0000

This is version 3 in my attempt to look at trends and competition across the roster and starting positions of the Broncos. I'm splitting this one into two posts - Offense and Defense - so that I can look a bit more into the competition over roster spots. As well as versions 1 and 2 there will be a fourth version out before the official depth chart appears.

so here goes version 3 Defense, which I've subtitled "The Ryan McBean Post"

Cornerback and Safety

The safe picks - I think Alphonso Smith will win the starting job, the comments on the previous versions suggest that the majority of people don't think he'll start this year. I am softening my position to say that Smith will start a couple of games at some point during the year.

Andre Goodman
Champ Bailey
Alphonso Smith
Brian Dawkins
Renaldo Hill
David Bruton
Darcel McBath

The Competition - Josh Barrett vs Jack Williams. Its entirely possible that they're not both going to make the final roster. Barrett had the slightly better numbers in his rookie season but signing four new safeties in the off season doesn't really bode well. And Jack Williams didn't have a good rookie year although maybe we're expecting too much from a guy who came into the team with stand-out players like Ryan Clady, Eddie Royal and Peyton Hillis. They're both going to make my final roster this time but if I need to find an extra spot for someone then this is being revisited.

Josh Barrett
Jack Williams

The Surprise - I'd be absolutely shocked if the DBs contained anyone of the 9 players listed above.

Inside Linebackers and Nickel Linebackers

Safe Picks -Davis and Williams are about the only players I've heard Coach McDaniels talk about as locked in starters for particular positions. Everything else has been about competition and versatility but these two along with Woodyard seem very safe picks.

Andra Davis
DJ Williams
Wesley Woodyard

Almost Certain - Nick Greisen and Spenser Larsen are pretty certain to be in the final roster but there's just this nagging doubt I have about them. I'm confident they'll be on the roster but they're that one step below being absolute certainties.

Nick Greisen
Spenser Larsen

The surprise - DB.com had a good article on how Lee Robinson seems to be following a similar path to Wesley Woodyard so there's a chance he could sneak in depending on the balance of the roster and a good chance he could make the Practice Squad. But my potential surprise for Training Camp will be Spenser Larsen really pushing hard for a starting place and tearing the field up during the pre-season. Will that be enough to get him a start though? Probably not.

Rush Ends and Outside Linebackers

I'm splitting these players from the other defensive linemen because I can see them as two separate groups.

Safe Picks - Gee this one is tough. Without a recognised SAM linebacker, there will be an awful lot of pressure on this group to be good at covering a TE on passing downs, even if it is in a shallow zone. Cutting Boss Bailey, while unfortunate and predictable, will probably force the Broncos into playing more 3-4 than 4-3. That said, there are probably only 3 Defensive Linemen that are absolutely guaranteed their roster spot and two of them are here.

Robert Ayres
Elvis Dumervil

The competition - There's competition all over this area. Darrell Reid came in as a free agent and from all reports I've read he seems to have settled in well. His potential to play tackle, end and OLB means he's favourite for one of the other spots. But there's going to be a fierce competition between Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder for that final spot. For me this is one of the potential weak spots on the roster. While I like the idea of Ayres and Dumervil as starters, their experience in a 3-4 defense is limited and the depth worries me. Although I am predicting Moss will come out over Crowder but won't rule out the possibility of them both sneaking on to the roster. And its also worth considering special teams ace Mario Haggan as an outside shot although he is probably better suited to MLB.

Darrell Reid
Jarvis Moss

The surprise - This group is prime candidate for someone to step up and completely shock everyone. It may be that the anointed starters prove to be as good as we hope or as bad as we fear. There's also plenty of chance for someone to come out of this with a brand new career as a starter and a potential superstar. Personally, I expect to be pleasantly surprised by Darrell Reid - especially on Special Teams

Defensive Line and Defensive Tackle

Safe Picks - Is there such a thing with this group? Ok, maybe only Ronald Fields. If you're lucky enough to be going to Training Camp, I don't expect you to watch anything else other than the D-Line. This is where the biggest competition in Camp is going to be. There are 11 players I am considering for seven spots but the only absolute certainty is Fields.

Ronald Fields

Almost certain - I said at the top that this was going to be subtitled the Ryan McBean post. I'll admit, I've been completely blind-sided by him. I didn't even think he stood a chance, I don't think I've even considered him in any of the previous versions and yet if you look at the starters in passing camp - there he is. Sure it could change once the pads go on but McBean and Kenny Peterson are the current incumbents and therefore, along with Marcus Thomas, they're on my Almost Certain list. I do wonder about Thomas though - I get this feeling that he holds the highest potential to be this year's Montrae Holland but I'm not worried enough to predict him as a cut.

Kenny Peterson
Marcus Thomas
Ryan McBean

The competition - Everyone vs Everyone Else. Three roster spots and seven players - Rulon Davis, Everette Pedescleaux, J'Vonne Parker, Carlton Powell, Nic Clemons, Matthias Askew and Chris Baker. I have a gut feeling for Powell and Parker but I can't back that up with any reasoning. In the end the reson why there is so much competition is that no one knows what is going to happen with this group. The current "starters" from the last camp were Peterson, Fields and McBean but would anyone be shocked if the season started with Powell, Baker and Thomas? Or even Clemons, Parker and Davis? There's the most competition in this area of the team - more than any other position, so I'm reticent in putting names down and that's not even considering the fact that if the roster shakes down in a different way, we may only be talking about two names here and not three. But here goes:

Carlton Powell
Chris Baker
J'Vonne Parker

Defensive Roster is complete

I'm keeping 9 DBs, 9LBs and 7DLs. The offense should be a lot easier than the defense, it looks a much more settled unit. So as a final parting shot, here's my 3-4 starting line up

Bailey, Hill, Dawkins, Goodman

Dumervil, Williams, Davis, Ayres

Thomas, Fields, Peterson

Your 2009 Denver Bronco Starting Line Up v2.0

mikebirty — Sun, 17 May 2009 06:12:17 -0000

Its been nearly a month since I posted version 1 of this roster and thought it was about time for an update. There have been a couple of little tit-bits coming out of the MSM and I've changed my thinking on a few positions so there are a few changes but not wholesale changes.

The plan is to produce a roster now, after the June 12th Mandatory Mini-Camp and then directly before and during.

So the first change I am making? This roster will have 53 people on it rather than 54. I promise I will count better this time.

No reason to change the special players

K - Matt Prater
P - Brett Kern
LS - Lonnie Paxton

I like Brett Kern. His average punt length is second in the AFC behind Lechler but the pourous special teams coverage drops him to 8th when it comes to looking at Net punt averages. With some better coverage and the thin air, he could be a valuable weapon.

Offensive Roster

Given the feedback I got on version 1 there were two areas I considered changing. Firstly, I needed to find a way to get Brandstater onto the roster and some people also asked about the number of guards and centres. But in the whole the offensive roster doesn't change a lot.

Quaterbacks

Kyle Orton - QB
Chris Simms - QB
Tom Brandstater - QB

I don't see Brandstater dressing for many games this year but he'll be on the sidelines under the 3rd QB rule.

Offensive Line

Ryan Clady - T
Ryan Harris - T
Tyler Polumbus - T
Brandon Gorin - T
Chris Kuper - G
Ben Hamilton - G / C
Seth Olsen - G
Blake Schlueter - C
Kory Lichtensteiger - C
Casey Wiegmann - C

I'm sticking with the same balance when it comes to the line. I am keeping 4 tackles, 3 Guards and 3 Centres but with the understanding that those last 6 are pretty fluid and can play a couple of positions. Out of these 10, I probably expect 6 or 7 to dress on game day. Blake Schlueter could be a practice squad candidate.

Wide receivers and Tight ends

Daniel Graham - TE
Tony Scheffler - TE
Richard Quinn - TE
Brandon Marshall - WR
Eddie Royal - WR / PR
Jabar Gaffney - WR
Kenny McKinley - WR
Brandon Stokely - WR

No changes here. Watching some of the mini-camp highlights I'm more secure in placing Stokely on my roster. Although if a team wanted to make an offer for him, I think Coach McDaniels would probably snap their hands off. Chad Jackson is still cut, although I am going to say that I won't be surprised if he is on the final roster.

Runningbacks

Knowshon Moreno - RB
Peyton Hillis - FB
JJ Arrington - RB / KR
Correll Buckhalter - RB
LaMont Jordan - RB

No Ryan Torrain. But I am not cutting him. He's going on the Physically Unable to Perform list, there was a little tit bit at the bottom of some Post or NFL.com article that suggested this. Here's the thinking behind it - While he may be able to perform during camp, with the way last season went for the Patriots and Broncos, there will be a need for a starting quality running back after about 6 weeks of the season. At that point, we look to the PUP and promote Ryan Torrain. Sure its cheeky, may not work and requires a bit of participation from the player but its possible.

I think running back is one of two positions where there has been a signing between versions 1 and 2 of this roster. Although Darius Walker does not strike me as a someone who will break their way into the five.

Defensive Roster

Some changes here. Nick Greisen has been signed as a FA, some of the linebacker / end discussions have been clarified a bit through the last camp and I know a bit more about the

Safeties and Corners

Champ Bailey - CB

Andre Goodman - CB

Alphonso Smith - CB

Jack Williams - CB

Brian Dawkins - S

Renaldo Hill - S

Darcel McBath - S

David Bruton - S

I am still predicting that Alphonso Smith will be starting as a corner. BroncoBear's Tales..... compared him to Eddie Royal. I think that's about right. The masses won't believe he's starting quality until he lines up for the first snap opposite Champ. I'm sticking to my guns at the moment.

Josh Barrett has been cut. Brutal I know but with his 6 games last year he is still eligible for the practice squad. Would he clear waivers, probably not. Would it be a chance I'd be willing to take? Yes.

Linebackers

DJ Williams - ILB
Andra Davis - ILB
Wesley Woodyard - ILB
Boss Bailey - ILB
Spencer Larsen - ILB
Nick Griesen - ILB

Griesen and Boss both stick around but are probably only going to see special teams action for the majority of the time. This is of course providing that Boss is fit enough to play. If any of the staff have any worries about his short, medium or long term durability for the season then he may be looking at fighting it out for the last spot with Josh Barrett. But when it came down to it, Boss Bailey gives some leverage as the only (?) person on the roster that could play strong side linebacker if the defense is aligned in a 4-3

D-Line

Robert Ayres - LB / DE
Elvis Dumerville - LB / DE
Darrel Reid - LB / DE
Kenny Peterson - DT
Nic Clemons - DT
Ronald Fields - DT
Carlton Powell - DT
Marcus Thomas - DT
Chris Baker - DT
Everette Pedescleaux - DE

When V1.0 came out, there was one possibility for Nose Tackle and that was Fields. Now, with the news that both Thomas and Powell have added some mass and are looking to compete for a starting job then all of a sudden that makes 3 tackles. But since I had both of them as my starting ends, what happens with the DE

There are four of last years CFAs still around - Kern, Woodyard, Erickson and Polumbus. And three of those are probably going to make the roster this year. Meaning I'm looking at two or three of the current pack that will still be around in 12 months. Baker, Davis and Pedescleaux are the most probable. Having read Tales from the Sunnyside, its very difficult not to like all of them and want to keep them all on the roster. But one of them is destined for the Practise Squad. Since the competition at Nose Tackle has got tougher it is tempting to make that Baker but instead I'm going for him and Pedescleaux. I can't give you a reason other than having read the Bios of Pedescleaux and Davis, I got a better feeling for Pedescleaux.

Jarvis Moss has been cut along with Tim Crowder. Once it became obvious that as well as the linebacking corps he'd also be competing with Ayres, Doom and Reid for a rush linebacker spot then all of a sudden it became too much of a log jam to get him on to the 53 man roster. With an exceptional training camp, there's a chance he edges out someone like Nic Clemons.

Starting Line Ups

The offense stays untouched. The only roster change was adding Torrain to IR. Since we're mostly all interested in Defense anyway, I thought I'd put together a few looks at how the Broncos could line up on week one if they played 3-4 or 4-3 and what the Nickel package looks like.

3-4

	Brian Dawkins			Renaldo Hill
	Elvis Dumerville	Andra Davis		DJ Williams	Robert Ayres
Alphonso Smith	Kenny Peterson		Marcus Thomas	Carlton Powell		Champ Bailey

A little of bit of shuffling here. Kenny Peterson gets a start at one of the ends and Marcus Thomas becomes starting NT. I'm now a bit more sure in predicting Robert Ayres as the starter at one of the OLB positions.

4-3

	Brian Dawkins			Renaldo Hill
	DJ Williams	Spencer Larsen		Boss Bailey
Alphonso Smith	Elvis Dummerville	Marcus Thomas	Carlton Powell	Robert Ayres	Champ Bailey

The MSM are saying that this Broncos team are two years away from playing a true 3-4 on every down. So using that hypothesis, the defense must play some 4-3 this year, which I think is expected, especially since Coach McDaniels has mentioned versatility and hybrid enough times to give you that hint.

When it came to the starting lineup I think a good case could be made to change both DEs, both DTs and the MLB. When I was filling in the roster, I barely hesitated at putting Spencer Larsen in as a starter but the more I think about it the less happy I am with it. So feel free to make a case for other players....

Nickel

	Brian Dawkins			Renaldo Hill
Andre Goodman		DJ Williams	Wesley Woodyard
Alphonso Smith	Elvis Dummerville	Darrel Ried	Marcus Thomas	Robert Ayres	Champ Bailey

I've made a change to the line from a 4-3 to the Nickel. Ried comes in at Tackle and offers three players, with Dummerville, Ayres, who give the freedom for some form of Zone blitz while they drop into coverage. Woodyard comes in at Linebacker and Andre Goodman comes in as the Nickel corner.

Summary

It would be really easy to tinker quite a lot with these lineups and slide players from side to side and see how they look but this is my current thinking on how the team will line up. I will aim to update this after the mini-camps in June and then again once or twice during Training Camp to try and get the inside track on the final roster.

Your 2009 Denver Bronco Starting Line Up v1.0

mikebirty — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:25:35 -0000

By my count, the Broncos currently have 80+ players on their "roster", including all the CFA and the 09 Draft Class. Somehow this has to get down to 53 and 47 on game days. I thought it would be interesting to take a stab at putting together the roster and figuring out a basic depth chart.

The plan is to keep this chart up to date over the off season as more information becomes available as to who is on the bubble and who is sliding.

The makeup of my roster

This was absolutely the hardest part of doing this and the one part I'd like feedback on. I took a look around the web and there is not a nice easy template to slide 53 players in. No set numbers of how many players to keep at how many positions. So I mixed some of the numbers on the Madden 08 roster with a similarly ridiculously early 53-man roster posted by Stampede Blue

I don't think I'm going to keep these numbers but this is what I was aiming for.

P, K, LS - 3

Defense

CB & S - 9 DL -10 LB -6

Offense

RB - 4 G&C - 6 T - 4 QB -2 WR & TE -9

The easy ones at the moment

K - Matt Prater

P - Brett Kern

LS - Lonnie Paxton

Three down 50 to go! Its a bit of a surprise that neither has any competition coming into training camp. Although Britton Colquitt has been signed as a CFA, I can't see him pushing Kern and there are some character issues too. The Broncos have already spent too long over the past few years worrying about their Punter and the Police. I personally would hope for a veteran kicker to be present in camp just to keep everyone honest.

There are 15 more players, that are being issued with my golden lock of the day, including the top 5 of this seasons draft class and the entire offensive line.

So there's a need for 35 more players.

The problem areas before I get any further

4 running backs!!! Yikes. May have to review that number.

I think part of the reason why people are so confused around the front 7 at the moment with the Broncos is that no-one quite knows what is going on. There will be 15 or 16 players in the mix but I don't think anyone can say for sure that they know where everyone will line up. Even Coach McDaniels has stated that they have the defense lined up in different ways with different formations. I will endeavour to cover every aspect but there may be some DLs that end up playing OLB. Also I'm not entirely sure I understand the concept of 3-4 OLBs. Back to MHR Uni before the next version comes out.

So here we go

I have tried to temper this roster into something that matches what I would want and what I think will happen. There were a couple of tough calls but hopefully I'll explain them as we go along.

Cornerbacks and Safeties

Champ Bailey - CB

Andre Goodman - CB

Alphonso Smith - CB

Jack Williams - CB

Brian Dawkins - S

Rolando Hill - S

Darcel McBath - S

David Bruton - S

Josh Barrett - S

In the battle of the Joshes, Josh Barrett gets in over Josh Bell. This is a tough call and could go either way. I like Barrett's potential as a Safety and also his ability on Special Teams so he gets the nod. I'm also assuming that Jack Williams will stop playing like a deer caught in the headlights of an on coming truck and make the move to becoming a solid NFL player. A bad camp could see him and Josh Bell fighting it out for the last spot.

I don't want to give away the starting line ups - which are further on but I think there's a chance of a mini-surprise here.

Inside Linebackers

DJ Williams - ILB
Andra Davis - ILB
Wesley Woodyard - ILB
Boss Bailey - ILB
Spencer Larsen - ILB

Spencer Larsen will be a fine back up to both ILB positions with Wesley Woodyard seeing some time on the field in the Nickel package behind the anointed starters Davis and Williams. Where does Boss fit in? I'm not sure but I know that if he can get through camp healthy, he has to be good enough for a spot on the roster, doesn't he?

Defensive Line

Robert Ayres - LB / DE
Elvis Dumerville - LB / DE
Darrel Reid - LB / DE
Jarvis Moss - LB / DE
Kenny Peterson - DT
Nic Clemons - DT
Ronald Fields - DT
J'Vonne Parker - DT
Carlton Powell - DT
Marcus Thomas - DT
Chris Baker - DT

Jarvis Moss. Yep, he's not been cut. But Tim Crowder has. Chris Baker, the Nose Tackle, has made the roster. Having done my research and read the hype, I expect his ability to play anywhere across the line to give him a roster spot. He's probably not even stepped foot in the training facility but he seems to be the new Chosen One.

I had to make a judgement call between Clemons, Parker and Askew, none of which I knew much about but I'm taking Parker and Clemons. I will admit this is a complete stab in the dark - Clemons stays mainly because of his experience.

This whole group is a very grey area at the moment. The hybrid scheme means that versatility is going to save some players just as not being able to adjust will cost others.

Quaterbacks

Kyle Orton - QB
Chris Simms - QB

Yep 2 QBs and lets hope our newly acquired draft pick will clear waivers and can sit on the practice squad.

Tackles

Ryan Clady - T
Ryan Harris - T
Tyler Polumbus - T
Brandon Gorin - T

The tackles not named Ryan are completely unknown to me. I saw some pre-season footage of Ploumbus and heard he was highly rated and since Gorin spent 4 years in New England, we can safely assume he has the inside track to the 4th tackle spot.

Guards and Centres

Chris Kuper - G
Ben Hamilton - G / C
Seth Olsen - G
Blake Schlueter - C
Kory Lichtensteiger - C
Casey Wiegmann - C

Can we sign some centres with easy to spell names?

Tight Ends & Wide Recievers

Daniel Graham - TE
Tony Scheffler - TE
Richard Quinn - TE
Brandon Marshall - WR
Eddie Royal - WR / PR
Jabar Gaffney - WR
Kenny McKinley - WR
Brandon Stokely - WR

Brandon Stokely may have signed a new contract that meant he was a pre-season cap casualty but he could be in danger here. McKinley, Royle, Marshall, Gaffney are safe as are the three tight ends - providing Tony Scheffler turns up for work. Chad Jackson is cut. He was cut by New England in 08 and you have to assume that while the New England connection works for some, this may work against him. Although his ability to stand in and return kicks may keep him floating around.

Runningbacks

Knowshon Moreno - RB
Peyton Hillis - FB
JJ Arrington - RB / KR
Correll Buckhalter - RB
LaMont Jordan - RB
Ryan Torrain - RB

It was tough trying to make a case for Ryan Torrain. In the end the last roster spot was between him and Chad Jackson and I went with my gut that said you can never have enough running backs so keep Torrain. If he could show some skills in camp at returning kicks and punts then that versatility will seal it. And for the love of God, get healthy and stay healthy.

If the season started today

		Brian Dawkins		Rolando Hill
	Elvis Dumerville	Andra Davis		DJ Williams	Darrel Reid
Alphonso Smith	Carlton Powell		Ronald Fields		Marcus Thomas	Champ Bailey

Eddie Royal	Ryan Clady	Ben Hamilton	Casey Wiegmann	Chris Cuper	Ryan Harris	Brandon Marshall
			Kyle Orton		Daniel Graham
		Knowshon Moreno		Peyton Hillis		Brandon Marshall

(I may have my weak and strong sides mixed up - its getting late and I'm tired!)

So there you have it - a look at how I think the Broncos roster will shake down over the next 5 months. I'll try and keep updating this every month or so with feedback and as news comes out as to who is playing well.