12 Days Until Broncos Football!

Drum roll please…I’m finally writing about the Broncos draft and the upcoming season.

Hold the applause and read. You’ll probably end up booing me but Hey, I call it the way I see it.

I started a blog the day after the draft but honestly I’ve had a very hard time wanting to write about the Broncos this offseason. I started working full time again in January putting in long hours then on the weekends I’ve spend much of my free time doing work on the house and yard giving some but little thought to the Broncos.

So I’ve had to edit much of this blog because it’s been almost 3 months since draft day and would be irrelevant to most average Broncos Fans so I’ll just post what I wrote about Tim Tebow and Demaryius Thomas. I had written a very extensive blog about each pick but now months afterward most fans will be focusing on what Tebow does or doesn’t do this year and thinking little about what of the other draft picks might contribute. It’s sad because the other picks could be the difference in whether the Broncos go up or down this year.

Training camp is only 12 days away so my excitement level has gone up some but not like in previous seasons. It’s been 10 long years since the last Super Bowl win and since then we’ve all been subjected some very disappointing football, especially over the last 5 years. My expectations this year are not high, despite all the hoopla surrounding Tebow. It’s not so much Tebow as it is about the rest of the team and the coaching staff that concerns me, which I’ll get into.

Tebow pick shocked me

We’ll get to Demaryius Thomas in a minute because you must agree he’s completely overshadowed by the Tim Tebow pick even though he was #1. I don’t know how many of you feel about this but I never show this coming.

Frankly, going into this year’s Draft I didn’t think any of the so called top QB’s in the mix were worthy of 1st round consideration. Sam Bradford had a good college career at Oklahoma but I just don’t see him as being the kind of QB that can save a terrible team like the Rams all by himself. His rehabbed shoulder may have been able to produce a good workout for scouts but what happens once the porous Rams OL lets a 350 pound DL smash his bad shoulder to turf the first time?

I believe that when you talk about the other so called “Top” prospects, Jimmy Clausen, Colt McCoy and even Tim Tebow you have to say the same thing. This wasn’t a good year for QB’s in the draft.

Many of the draft gurus’s said that Tebow could go as late as the 3rd or 4th round and I agreed. I thought after McD made the move to pick up Brady Quinn that he and Tom Brandstater (who was released) would compete with Kyle Orton for the starting job this season.

It didn’t seem to make sense then to trade up to get Tebow. While I understand his lack of confidence in Orton, Quinn and Brandstater the logical decision may have been to see what they could do this year by drafting a LB, C, OG OT or NT with the first 2 picks.

What the Tebow pick says about Pat Bowlen?

Bowlen is probably going to extend McDaniels contract after the 2011 season. The Tebow pick makes that clear because he’s going to be a work in progress and I doubt he’ll make an immediate impact. Thus, Bowlen must believe in McD enough to give him the time to develop him. Bowlen had to know beforehand that McD wanted Tebow so I believe like it not McD will be the Broncos Coach for at least 3 years and probably more.

Don’t get me wrong, anything is possible and Bowlen could fire McD if he tanks this year or next but I doubt it. I’m still not sold on him by a long shot and if he takes the Broncos down the road in a God awful ugly way this year or next year his job shouldn’t be safe just because he drafted a raw Rookie QB who’s a project.

For someone who was touted as an Offensive genius coming in, McD’s “system” last year was far from innovative or intelligent it was boring, predictable and was a dismal failure. If not for a great start in the first half of the season by the D it would have been much, much worse.

Bottom Line on Tebow

Tebow may or may not be a success in the NFL, he doesn’t have the arm and has yet to prove he has the skill to match the tough defensive coverage’s in the NFL he'll have to face but he does have 3 very enduring qualities.

One is he is kid of great character, two he’s a winner and lastly and maybe most importantly he's a certifiable rough and tumble warrior. Are those 3 things enough to translate to success in NFL? Maybe, but Tebow as of today can’t and won’t be able to carry a young, poor offensive team with a banged up OL on his own which the Broncos look to be this year. Besides, all indicators are pointing to Orton starting on opening day so the questions may not be answered for who knows how long.

If Tebow does get his chance I hope he plays with the same passion and fury that he exhibited at Florida. Win or lose I think Tebow will be fun to watch because he’s no quitter and I’d bet he’ll never be one to give up on a game no matter what the score is. I can’t wait until Orton is a distant memory but for now patience will have to be a virtue which isn’t one of my better qualities but given the length between the years of seeing some good football in Denver maybe it shouldn’t be.

What do Demaryius Thomas and Ashley Lelie have in common?

McDaniels drafted WR Demaryius Thomas because it was an obvious need with the departure of Brandon Marshall. I was happy they didn’t take Dez Bryant, he may possess more skills but we didn’t need another 50 cent head case to wreck team unity. We’ve had plenty of players like that, we need team players.

Like so many WR’s coming out of college Thomas is very raw and his background at Georgia Tech wasn’t in a traditional pro set. To many times over the year’s first round WR’s have been busts. Not only that, if you look at most Rookie WR’s it is very rare that they contribute big immediately.

Taking a WR in the first round is a big gamble, remember the great Ashley Lelie? He was the Broncos #1 pick back in 2002 in the first round and never turned into a Super Star WR. That’s why my draft philosophy every year is almost always taking WR’s in the later rounds, most of the time the talent doesn’t match or equal the ego.

Thomas does have a body type like Marshall but that doesn’t automatically translate to performance and production on the field. I do like his size though because too many of the top WR’s out of college are just small and quick. Some small guys make the grade but many once they get to the NFL level find their speed is only ordinary when they face off against the great DB’s who can match them stride for stride.

One thing is for certain Thomas well get the chance to start whether he’s ready or not because the Broncos sorely lack any consistent big play WR’s. Marshall was the biggest offensive weapon the Broncos had whether you liked him or not and without him the Broncos O take a big step backward.

All 3 Rookie Offensive Linemen could start

Most fans want to talk Tebow but once you start breaking down the NFL game winning and losing does come down to the line of scrimmage. With injuries to both starting Tackles Ryan Clady (the best OL on the team) and Ryan Harris, Rookies Zane Beadles, J.D. Walton and even 6th round pick Eric Olsen could all be starting for the Broncos this year.

The Broncos will only goes as far as this offensive line takes them. We all saw how relatively ineffective the line was blocking for Knowshon Moreno. Not all of the blame goes to the line however because Moreno didn’t run with much power or speed and didn’t break off many plays when he did have the chance in the open field. So he and the line must improve, just as it must improve to protect whoever starts at QB. Since Orton is the likely opening day starter, with Marshall gone, the running game must be able to move the ball downfield. If the Broncos don’t run the ball effectively and with some authority this could one of the worse seasons of football ever for the Broncos.

Dumervil, Bailey and Dawkins then what?

Some fans may not like this but not much, even with the free agent signings of DL Jamal Williams, a 12 year veteran, 8 year veteran Jarvis Green and Justin Bannan a 9 year veteran. Too many times over the last 10 years big time free agents have come into Denver and not done squat. Maybe these 3 help but since the Broncos D is going back to the drawing board with Don Martindale who is the new Defensive Coordinator with no NFL experience as DC, I have serious doubts.

On paper they look better, the secondary should be okay but the line play and the LB’s for the Broncos need much improvement. You combine that with a new Coach and a new scheme and you have to wonder just how tough they’ll be.

Sad prediction

After looking at the 2010 schedule my best guess for a win total for the Broncos is 3 to 5 games. I’m not much on preseason power rankings but ESPN ranked the Broncos 23rd, if that holds true I doubt the Broncos win many more games than 5.

I hope to God I’m wrong, I know my expectations may be negative but the hope is we finally do see a turnaround in Denver.

What do you think?