Bronco's Offseason

[BigBenCan7]

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I hear a lot of people saying how bad the Bronco's offseason was, but I'm not completley sold that their offseason was all that bad. Getting practically the Browns' offensive line for a 4th rounder and Reuben Droughns was not a good move. The Browns couldn't stop Jerome Bettis, Rudi Johnson, or Jamal Lewis. How are they going to stop Lamont Jordan, Priest Holmes, and Ladanian Tomlinson? Other than that, I don't see much wrong with their offseason.

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Jerry Rice - They picked up Jerry Rice on May 25th. Although he isn't the same WR he used to be, but they aren't counting on him to carry that Wide Reciever Corps on his shoulders. They have Ashley Lelie and Rod Smith starting, which means the only time Rice will be in is if Lelie or Smith need a rest. I would love to have Jerry Rice as my 3rd WR.

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Maurice Clarett - He was their 3rd round pick. A lot of people say that because of his attitude and slow 40 time, he was a bad pick. In my opinion, he was a steal. He put up amazing rookie numbers at Ohio State, and I think that had he just played until he was allowed to go into the draft, he would have been a 1st rounder. Again, having him on the team can't hurt, they already have Quentin Griffin who will start, and Mo will just come in if needed. The Broncos also seem to make their running back do well, no matter their talent. Who was the Broncos worst RB since Terrel Davis?

Everyone thinks that because the Broncos had such a "bad" offseason, they will have a bad season. I don't understand what is wrong with taking gambles on your backups? Clarett could become the next LaDanian Tomlinson, and Mike Shanahan would look like a genious. If he doesn't, then Oh Well, he was just a 3rd round pick meant to be a back up, no biggie. The Broncos only lost G Cooper Carlisle, RB Reuben Droughns, DE Reggie Hayward, DB Kelly Herndon, DB Kenoy Kennedy, P Mark Mariscal, OL Dan Neil, and LB Donnie Spragan. Only Neil and Droughns were players that were a huge part the the Broncos, but Reuben can be easily replaced by Griffin. The Broncos still have their key players; Jake Plummer, Champ Bailey, John Lynch, Ashely Lelie, and Rod Smith, so what was so bad with their offseason if all they did was pick up depth?

[whywerule]

The Broncos still have their key players; Jake Plummer, Champ Bailey, John Lynch, Ashely Lelie, and Rod Smith, so what was so bad with their offseason if all they did was pick up depth

I'm not a Broncos fan, but I suspect there are some Broncos fans who will take exception to the "key" players you listed while leaving out their true defensive leader Al Wilson (not to mention Trevor Pryce) and leaving out Tom Nalen of their o-line. Anyways, one major question mark of their off-season includes the picking up of the Browns d-line, which you briefly addressed. In the last two seasons the Broncos have lost two of their three d-linemen that had good pass-rushing skills, and we do not know yet how well Pryce will play after returning from injury. If the Browns d-linemen they picked up continue to be sieves against the run, and unable to pressure the QBs, the Broncos LBs will end up with good tackle numbers for the season again, but unfortunately for the Broncos those tackles will often be made 5, 10, 15 yards downfield as teams pound the ball against them. When teams are not pounding the ball, the opposing QBs may have 5+ seconds to throw the ball; do Broncos fans want Kerry Collins to have 5+ seconds to unload the ball when he has Moss, Porter and Curry running downfield against the Broncos secondary? Everyone knows the Broncos needed to improve their d-line, but no one yet knows if they have done so. If that line has not improved, this season may be Shanahan's last stand.

[BigBenCan7]

I'm not a Broncos fan, but I suspect there are some Broncos fans who will take exception to the "key" players you listed while leaving out their true defensive leader Al Wilson (not to mention Trevor Pryce) and leaving out Tom Nalen of their o-line. Anyways, one major question mark of their off-season includes the picking up of the Browns d-line, which you briefly addressed. In the last two seasons the Broncos have lost two of their three d-linemen that had good pass-rushing skills, and we do not know yet how well Pryce will play after returning from injury. If the Browns d-linemen they picked up continue to be sieves against the run, and unable to pressure the QBs, the Broncos LBs will end up with good tackle numbers for the season again, but unfortunately for the Broncos those tackles will often be made 5, 10, 15 yards downfield as teams pound the ball against them. When teams are not pounding the ball, the opposing QBs may have 5+ seconds to throw the ball; do Broncos fans want Kerry Collins to have 5+ seconds to unload the ball when he has Moss, Porter and Curry running downfield against the Broncos secondary? Everyone knows the Broncos needed to improve their d-line, but no one yet knows if they have done so. If that line has not improved, this season may be Shanahan's last stand.

I didn't want to mention ALL of their leaders, but you are right, Al Wilson and Tom Nalen are key players. You could probably make a case for a few more if you really wanted to.

[BigBenCan7]

:feedback: The only person to reply to an ALL Broncos Article was a Pats fan...

[natickreds4life]

dude you can definitely say that the browns line has some talent, there's a round one, pick one player there in C. Brown, and well, the browns didnt have an offense before so of course their d got ran over cuz they had some much time on the field. i think that the coaching in cleveland was also horrible so you can't expect the line to develop well, i think the d-line pickup was a good one for denver

[natickreds4life]

o and im a pats fans too

[cv290]

I agree with this article. One pickup you didn't mention was Saurbrun, he is an amazing kicker and will help the Broncos most problem area the special teams. The Broncos had a top 4th ranked defense and the 6th ranked offense last year, but had one of the worst special teams units ever. They also picked Darrent Willaims in the draft primarily as a punt returner.

The D-Line isn't going to be all Browns anyway. We got a steal with signing all the Browns players for very little. The Broncos only lost a single starter last year in Hayword and Pryce back more than makes up for that loss. Also Luther Ellis is back from injury and will be battling for a position also. I feel that the Broncos line will be really good, and if its not they can pull three starters from last year off the bench and have them play.

and I AM a Broncos fan

[lawdog93]

If the Broncos' worst problem is having three former first round picks on the D-line...I'll take it.

[BigBenCan7]

If the Broncos' worst problem is having three former first round picks on the D-line...I'll take it.

It really doesn't matter where you were drafted, it matters how you've performed. Those 3 former 1st round picks haven't done much to show that they deserved to be a 1st rounder. Ryan Leaf was a No. 2 pick, how did that end?