NFL to Denver: Still Just Human

It was suggested early last week by me, that, being that the Kansas City Chiefs employed two of the best players in the NFL- maybe they should try getting them the ball. I suggested maybe just passing the ball to Tony Gonzalez and Dewayne Bowe all the time, spell that by handing the ball off to Larry Johnson- couldn't be a worse outcome right? 

Well, slap my ass and call me Herm Edwards.

The problem? The Denver Broncos defense was complacent in their misery, they may have actually gained overall ground in the NFL against the Chiefs; being that the Chiefs only scored 33 points. The Broncos secondary gave up only 160 yards to the Chiefs and only 207 yards to their ground game. By all looks of it, Denver showed vast improvement on defense. As good as the Broncos defense is at being bad, it was ultimately the Broncos offense that lost the game. 

Denver fans were ready to crown Brandon Marshall the messiah and Eddie Royal his second coming. Then they both fumbled, Royal on the Broncos opening drive, deep in Denver territory. Marshall's was even worse though... 

The Messiah's drop cost the Broncos their drive, their forward momentum and their confidence. Quarterback Jay Cutler went on to throw two times as many interceptions to the Chiefs than he has all season, if that wasn't enough, his sack total was doubled as well. 

However, despite it all, Cutler threw for 361 yards, Royal had his second 100-yard game, Selvin Young kept chipping away at his 2,000 yard prediction with 49 yards (only 1,821 to go). So what gives? Brandon Stokley even came out a bit this game, he was worth 80 yards. So improved defense- check. Offensive production- check. Better special teams- check. What's so different this game?

It has become my mantra lately, defense wins championships, but not games- hell, the Philadelphia Eagles just proved it, losing to the Chicago Bears. Offense wins games.

Breaking down my focuses:

• Focus one: Contain Tony Gonzalez.
  
  Throughout all of my scouting on the Chiefs, last week I in advisably said that the Chiefs should just feed Gonzo the ball. Let Johnson and Bowe spell him and just see what happens. The Chiefs did find Gonzalez for a touchdown, but for the most part Boss Bailey kept the man in check. 
  
  
• Focus two: Stop Larry Johnson.
  
  The man went buck wild on that 65-yard run, he shouldn't have, but it happened and he did. He finished with 198 yards. He probably wouldn't have, except Kansas City was leading the whole game, did you expect them to pass? The man has made a career out of teeing off against the Broncos. 
  
  
• Focus three: Cover Dewayne Bowe.
  
  For the life of me I do not know why Bowe caught wild on Denver, but then again, I really do and that brings me to my fourth focus. That was... 
  
  
• Focus four: Incorporate rookie cornerback Jack Williams in as the nickel back. 
  
  Fed up with Karl Paymah getting ran over? Me too, I was the first calling for Jack "Mother F***ing" Williams two weeks ago, he tore it up in preseason and in training camp. However, Jack "Mother F***ing" Williams became Jack "Mother F***er" Williams today. However, what the hell was he doing covering Bowe in the first place? Who the hell was Champ Bailey covering on that play? It got to the point where literally every time Bowe caught a pass, Williams was covering him. What is up with that? Did the Chiefs have two other receivers that I wasn't aware of that warranted Bailey and Dre Bly's attention? 

Let me sum this whole thing up by saying that, I'd rather Denver get humbled in September by the Chiefs then get blown up by the Carolina Panthers in the midst of a playoff hunt. So with that out of the way, I've got plenty of Tampa Bay Buccaneers scouting information to report to you. So keep plugged in, because I'm back. 

Larry Johnson photo courtesy of Reuters.

Brandon Marshall courtesy of A.P./Charles Riedel

Green Bay Packers vs. Denver Broncos: First Quarter

Got started just a bit late, sorry guys.

Broncos D-line looked pathetic on the first series.

Got scored on, where was the covereage?

I don't get why our sweep plays are starting off so deep. It's never worked for us and now we're trying it still in the preseason.

Giant run for the Broncos from Selvin Young, that's what we've been waiting for from Young.

Selvin Young's lining up literally 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage, I don't understand. He runs 13 to gain three yards...

Jay Cutler looks good tucking and scrambling, hasn't been sacked yet ::knock on wood::

Andre Hall gets yet another first and ten, imagine that? Penalties, even with the Packers having 12 men on the field doesn't mean they can stop the inevitable which is Andre Hall. Green Bay's Charles Woodson hurt.

Jay Cutler's 0-3 a very far cry from last weekend. Just complete one man, we'll get back on track.

Cutler to Brandon Marshall! Finally!

Andre Hall was tackled by an unblocked strong safety. Nice!

Brandon Stokley has now missed two passes this series. This one was Cutler's fault.

Selvin Young, got both hands on a pass and can't come up with it. Bring Hall back in!

Here comes Matt Prater, he's missed his first attempt every game so far- He doesn't this time 3-7 Packers.

Let's see how the Denver Broncos defense does on their second series, after adjustments.

Nate Webster just owned someone in the Packer's running system and may have solidified his first-team membership.

DeWayne Robertson with his first major contribution to the defense!

Well, we get to see the Broncos in spread coverage, Marlon McCree proves once again to be useless in man-on-man.

Dre Bly gives Greg Jennings an inch, he takes a mile... Stop them Denver!

Well, Nate Webster and Champ Bailey made sure that the Packers knew they still can't run on us. Now, let's stop the pass.

There was a sack, Kenny Peterson somehow didn't get to him! Either way, Elvis Dumervil got called for off-sides, so it doesn't matter.

Packers are just marching down the field on Denver, this is pathetic. Come on Bob Slowik, figure it out.

Finally a sack! Doom! Elvis Dumervil lining up on the left side to wrap up the first quarter!


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Eddie Royal - The Future...

Today the blogosphere and even some of the papers are running rampant with reports of what Eddie Royal could be or might be. I'd like to focus on what rookie Eddie Royal is:

The Future.

Some fans of the Denver Broncos may not have been lucky enough to catch training camp, if they had they would have seen the number 19 laying out for passes and running with wild abandon. Early reports from Jay Cutler and head coach Mike Shanahan back during team camps were that the rookie wide out was, "Impressive."

While you cannot give much weight to the recently released depth chart, as Mike Lombardi pointed out earlier this week, preseason depth charts are generally more about confusion than clarity. Why would we list a starting day lineup and give a first week competitor five weeks to prepare for your team?

I think that a prime example of this is who is directly listed behind primary wide receiver Brandon Marshall, that would be Eddie Royal. Royal himself said in an interview yesterday that coaches were telling him to hang out with Brandon Stokley and learn the slot position. The looming suspension of Brandon Marshall has been something the Broncos coaching staff has known about since before the preseason began. If they were grooming him to replace Marshall, he wouldn't be studying Stokley. He's being groomed to be a slot receiver. He's a burner and as of right now that's how Denver is planning on using young Eddie Royal.

That tiny gray cloud that has been hovering above Dove Valley is soon to explode though and that's when we'll see Eddie Royal. I anticipate that if Brandon Marshall is suspended Darrell Jackson will move up to one, Brandon Stokley will push out to number two and Eddie Royal will play the slot. Moving Keary Colbert into the fourth position on the depth chart. That's not a terrible lineup, having three receivers who were starters last season and a promising rookie in your top five receiving stable.

One thing that is for sure, Denver fans will get a shot at seeing how Eddie Royal looks on Saturday. Pay close attention to who he is matched up against, pay attention closely to all of Denver's wide receiving match ups. Drops are not something that can be forgiven, as there are no excuses, they are due to lack of concentration or nervousness. What we should be looking for mostly though is how the rookie looks during punt returns and/or kick off returns. Preseason is where you see players who may not have a future desperately trying to prove that they deserve one, even if it is only on special teams.

Calling Out Names: Jarvis Moss, Domonique Foxworth, Andre Hall and Darrell Jackson

I write for the people, the people that want to know what I have to say about the Denver Broncos. I appreciate every single one of you who visit the page every day, seriously, just wish you'd feel the need to comment =)

So here's what I'd like to do, it's been five days and yes, it may be a bit premature, but I feel it's necessary to point out a couple of the Denver Broncos' players who have looked exceptionally well over those five days.

Jarvis Moss - Defensive End

Granted training camp tends to favor the defense, Denver quarterbacks have to favor the fact that they're not allowed to be hit during camp. No matter what the drill it seems that Moss is playing for keeps, a certain Denver paper reported erroneously that Moss was being punished after practice. Moss has stayed late after every practice, the man is on a mission. He's got great competition in Elvis Dumervil, but Moss is excelling in both pass rushing and running situations. Too early to call? No, I don't think so, Denver will not be disappointed in last season's first round pick.

Domonique Foxworth - Corner Back

The Broncos have employed a new defensive scheme in training camp. A 4-3-3-1, if you will, the second three are the corner backs and granted this formation may just be in an effort to stop their own offense... However, in this defense it is Domonique Foxworth, not Dre Bly who shadows the number two wide receiver. It's a contract year for Foxworth and he's making it abundantly clear that he wants an extension in Denver. Rookie Jack Williams can wait and Foxworth is doing his best to make Bly look expendable, Foxworth means business. I only hope that he gets a chance to prove it in the playoffs against Indianapolis.

Andre Hall - Running Back

Andre Hall is the biggest speed bump in Selvin Young's 2,000 yards or bust campaign. Hall may just "accidentally," take the starting spot from Young, once they get in, "Under the lights," as Shanahan says. Hold off on your fantasy drafts my men, I'm not just a member of the Andre Hall Fanclub, I'm the President. He's a triple threat, in that he can run up the middle or off the edge, he can catch and then burn you or he can lay you out in a passing down. It's up to him, I wish I had a clip of him lifting unsuspecting defenders off their feet, but I don't. Even if I did, I'd be scared that I'd get sued for posting it.

Darrell Jackson - Wide Receiver

Proving that there are two constants in life, the sun will rise and Darrell Jackson will prove to be efficient. I've down played the drops that Jackson had in Seattle before, but let this be my thesis, it rains in Seattle, balls get slick- if that's not good enough for you, it might just be that your quarterback sucks (see San Francisco last season). In Jackson there is proof that Denver just may be okay in the event that Brandon Marshall gets suspended and with the consistent Brandon Stokley and the highly likely emergence of rookie Eddie Royal... Denver may not need Marshall at all this season. Take that Denver media, blow his situation out of proportion all you like, but it's not doomsday in Denver until Elvis says so... And even then we'll be okay.

Rod Smith a Tribute.

I started a brief Rod Smith Hall of Fame campaign, just to get the ball rolling, late last season when there became no doubt that he would play again. I'll stand by that now, as I'm sure that anyone else will, it's hard to find a bad word to say about the man. The exact definition of every High School Football Coach's example of never giving up.

As, not even just fans of Denver Broncos know, he was an un-drafted wide receiver out of Missouri Southern. Smith started off on the Denver Broncos practice squad, worked his way into the starting line up in 1995 and recorded a lowly one touchdown on six receptions. 1996 wouldn't be much better for young Smith, when he participated in only ten games, for 16 receptions and two touchdowns.

Then here comes 1997, 70 receptions for 1,180 yards and 12 touchdowns. The rise of Rod Smith was also the rise of the Denver Broncos, Smith would never score 12 touchdowns again in a season. Despite all of those yards and all of those touchdowns, Smith was still not recognized by the NFL, well not enough to be voted by his peers to the Pro Bowl. He would not reach the NFL's Pro Bowl until 2000 when he posted 1,602 yards and eight touchdowns.

2000 was also the first year that I had an opportunity to interview Rod Smith, to meet the man that I had seen easily attain over a thousand-yards receiving the previous three seasons. Despite being a consistent yard gobbler, a constant threat and an on the field leader, it took the NFL this long to vote the man to the Pro Bowl. Never once chosen even as a second team All Pro, it didn't seem to phase him, there were no contract disputes, never a public campaign to be used more in the offense or traded if the Broncos refused to do so.

The man was a throw back, he was Lynn Swann, Steve Largent, he was Jerry Rice to the fans of a new Bronco generation. He was my Paul Warfield- a warrior poet, a leader who took the reigns when John Elway retired and posted his best numbers despite not having a consistent quarterback. Brian Griese can thank Rod Smith for his career, as can most of the 96-98 Broncos for their Super Bowl rings.

A Mile High salute to Rod Smith, we'll see you in five years and if you feel like your family's happy in Denver... I can't think of a better man to be on the sideline, keeping Brandon Marshall focused, letting young Eddie Royal know where he planted wrong and encouraging Keary Colbert to stay strong. I'm sure Brandon Stokley and Darrell Jackson won't mind you screaming from the sideline either.

Wow... "He's not my favorite person right now."

Another day, another Brandon Marshall story this one from The Denver Post revealing that Marshall had been arrested March 6th in Atlanta for battery, stemming from a March 4th altercation with his girlfriend (same one from earlier incidents). That's three times in a year for anyone with the scoreboard and at this point, the NFL may get involved. Jay Cutler's comment put into context makes a lot more sense now.

I mused prior to the draft, when all we knew was that Marshall had potentially ruined his right hand, that we would know how he really was based on who we drafted. Then we picked Eddie Royal with our second pick, this was, I believe, to fill the weak spot we had at Kick Returner and Punt Returner. It's not weird for the Broncos to have so many receivers going into training camp, Keary Colbert was signed March 2nd (two days before the alleged March 4th Marshall incident and four days before his arrest). However, the Darrell Jackson signing may have been a direct attribute to the Marshall incident.

We haven't posted up our break down on Denver's receivers yet, but let's look at worse case scenario. Keep in mind that Marshall's DUI case is still looming as well and has been postponed to September. So things just aren't looking great for him and I can't imagine him not missing at least a little time during the season due to a suspension. It would be almost hypocritical of Coach Shanahan to look past the multiple Marshall incidents while getting rid of people like Travis Henry and Todd Sauerbrun (at least Sauerbrun hits men). So as I said, worst case scenario, what does a Denver wide receiver lineup look like sans Marshall?

My best guess is Darrell Jackson at the X, Keary Colbert/Brandon Stokley at the Y and Samie Parker/Brandon Stokley/Eddie Royal at the Z. Not terrible, Bronco football without Marshall on the field would not be the end of the team, but he'd definitely be missed. Keep in mind, we'd still have Tony Scheffler, Daniel Graham and very good pass catching backs in Selvin Young, Andre Hall and Peyton Hillis.

Argh... Is it Sunday yet?

X, Y, Z: '08 Bronco Receivers

With about a month left before training camp, the Broncos still have eleven WRs and five TEs with a couple of cuts needed in order to be at 80. Mike Shanahan recently commented on the depth at WR as being the best ever.

There seems to be a top group of six including Brandons Marshall and Stokley, Darrell Jackson, Keary Colbert, Samie Parker and Eddie Royal. Except for rookie Royal ('08 2nd round pick), it is a group of established experience and accomplishment in the NFL. If this group becomes the '08 WR corps, I can certainly see what Shanahan is saying ... that's deep.

The other five include Glenn Martinez (who logged plenty of time in '07), Cliff Russell (former 3rd round DC of the Redskins and a pretty speedy guy), Lorne Sam (a CFA from UTEP who is a very intelligent and gifted athlete with size and speed), Marquay McDaniel ('07 Practice Squad) and Edell Shepherd (added in the off season).

One wonders how many WRs the Broncos will keep? That top six would fine by me. Besides the unusual size of Marshall, consumate ability of Stokley ("the slot machine") and interchangeability of Jackson and Colbert, you have major speed demons in Parker and Royal. It's only when you look at all of the players in each position that you really gain appreciation of Shanahan's architecture. Sam would seem a likely candidate for the Practice Squad.

Ian previously commented on the lack of depth at TE. I can't really see the Broncos keeping more than three and they have five now: Tony Scheffler, Daniel Graham, Nate Jackson, Chad Mustard and Brett Pierce. Scheffler and Graham are very good at what they do. Mustard had recent hamstring repair surgery (doesn't really sound very good) and Nate Jackson is coming back from injury in '07. Brett Pierce was added in the offseason and used to be a decent blocker and short to mid-range receiver when he played at Stanford. This position is not able to sustain injury, but would it ever? The Giants lost Shockey in '07 and relied on rookie Kevin Boss in the playoff run. Scheffler's annual injury escapades worry us all and Graham is getting older. Perhaps next year, the Broncos will add a rookie TE. It's a hard position recently because they seem to either be blockers or receivers, but not often both. I hope Mustard is ready by TC.

So, X=Marshall, Jackson and Colbert? Y=Scheffler, Graham, and Brett Jackstard? Z=Stokley, Parker and Royal? I never was any good at algebra. What is that anyway? An undergarment made from plant fibers?

Denver will go 13-3 in 2008

Okay, at worst 12-4. I’m not kidding, allow me to state my case:

Offseason Losses:
Javon Walker – WR
Travis Henry - RB
Ian Gold – OLB
Matt Lepsis - LT
Chris Myers – C/G
Jason Elam – K

Key Pickups:
Dewayne Robertson – DT
Darrell Jackson - WR
Niko Koutouvides – MLB
Boss Bailey – OLB
Marlon McCree – SS
Casey Wiegmann – C/G
Keary Colbert – WR
Samie Parker – WR
Michael Pittman – HB
Dylan Gandy – G/T
Ryan Clady – LT*
Eddie Royal – WR/KR/PR*
Peyton Hillis – FB*
Ryan Torain – RB*
Carlton Powell – DT*
Spencer Larsen – MLB*
*-(Draft Pick)
**- Picks are in order based on what I see as their importance to the team. With the rookies below the free agents.

See that list? Maybe that makes my point, maybe it doesn’t. One thing you will come to learn about me is that I don’t like to make points, I like to over make them. Love leaving someone who felt like they had a point, forgetting what their point was in the first place.

In 2007 Denver played every AFC Playoff team, except for New England, including San Diego twice. They also played a Green Bay Packers team that went 13-3, the Bears, who had lost the Super Bowl the previous season (and barely missed the playoffs in ’07) and teams in Houston and Buffalo who were in the playoff hunt until the very end.

All said, of the 13 teams that Denver played in 2007, six made the playoffs and another two could have easily been there. Granted the Broncos only beat two of those six, but did give Green Bay a run for their money and there were moments of hope at Indianapolis and against Jacksonville. Speaking of Green Bay and I mentioned Chicago earlier, any fans in doubt that had we won those overtime coin tosses Denver would have finished the season 9-7 instead of 7-9?

So what’s in the cards for Denver this season? On paper Denver has the third weakest strength of schedule in the NFL, Oakland has the second and New England (go figure) has the easiest schedule. Despite going 7-9 last season, Denver did finish second in the AFC West. So they are going to play the other second place teams (Jacksonville and Cleveland) in the AFC as well as pulling the AFC East (New England, Miami, Buffalo and New York Jets) and the NFC South (Tampa, New Orleans, Carolina and Atlanta). Of course they’ll have Kansas City, San Diego and Oakland twice.

Not looking so bleak anymore is it?

Or are you still concerned? Many blame last season predominantly on lousy run defense, I focus on an incredibly unfortunate amount of injuries and lack of depth. Over the course of the season Denver lost: their best receiver, their two best offensive linemen, two of their best defensive ends, their starting running back, the backbone to their defense safety and cornerback, their pass catching tight end and their other two starting receivers at different points in the season. Granted some came back during the season, but hardly any were able to return to starting fashion before the end of the season. Brandon Stokley and Tony Scheffler being the exceptions, the best part about that laundry list of injuries is that all (except Javon Walker) will be back, healthy (crossing fingers) for 2008.

Add the list of healthy onto that exciting laundry list of offseason pickups and we’re not built like a 7-9 team. Matter of fact, that’s what I would call a 13-3 team, 12-4 if you want to be an ass. Jay Cutler, whom by now everyone knows, was playing with the worst type of diabetes for all of last season, now has the disease under control. Cutler has thrown for 300 yards in his career only twice. However, he’s coming into his third season in a Mike Shanahan offense: John Elway (twice), Steve Young and Jake Plummer all flourished in their third season in a Shanahan offense.

Selvin Young may not be the answer at running back, but he’s not going to hurt, the exact same thing can be said for Andre Hall, Michael Pittman, Ryan Torain and Anthony Aldridge. Though the thought of any of them running for 2,000 yards may be a little absurd, the idea of them combining for 2,500+ yards is not. Last season Denver ran for a combined 1,957 with a makeshift offensive line. This year, even if there are as many as three injuries to starters on the offensive line, Denver has the depth to replace them with someone equally as talented.

When Javon Walker went down last season, Denver was faced with a second year player in Brandon Marshall and the NFL’s best slot receiver in Brandon Stokley (who played out of his most productive position for the rest of the season). Then Stokley was lost for the last three games of the season. Taking 12 receivers into camp is nothing out of the ordinary for a Shanahan team and due to that practice Denver doesn’t look to topple off talent wise at receiver until they get down near the 5^th or 6^th member of the depth chart.

This couldn’t be said last season, Walker went down and Denver had no depth behind Stokley and Marshall, who combined for 1,960 yards in 2007. Do you not think that with Darrell Jackson, Sammie Parker, Eddie Royal and Keary Colbert the team might be able to do a bit more than that? Not to mention relieve some of the time Stokley spends on the field, possibly allowing for him to stay healthy the entire season?

In fact if I had one concern for the entire Denver Broncos offense, it would be the lack of depth at tight end. Already, before training camp, we can see what Denver would be faced with if they were to start the season. Daniel Graham, Nate Jackson and… Mike Leech (our long snapper) at tight end. Though the late word out of team camp is that Jackson’s looking great.

Now, what am I forgetting about? Fullback, remember Denver’s final pick in the draft? Peyton Hillis, yeah, he was blocking for Darren McFadden and Felix Jones last season. He was also catching passes, both of these abilities will help the Broncos offense punch it in while in the end zone. What a steal, of course still employed at fullback are Cecil Sapp and Mike Bell, though neither were terribly impressive last season, yet who can blame them?

In the NFL it’s a rule, everyone is equal, on paper someone may be better, but on any given Sunday any team can win. Teams that are predicted to do well can have a horrible season losing one player. If a team can stay healthy, the team usually has a season that carries deep into January.

DeSean Jackson, Eddie Royal and decisions

I'll admit it, I was fighting mad, hoping that the Broncos drafted DeSean Jackson. When he was available still in the 2nd Round I thought we were retarded for not taking him. Anyway, shortly after the draft Shanahan commented directly on why we didn't draft DeSean, but did not give details.

I guess this is why...

Only time will tell if we made the right decision with Eddie Royal. As of right now, Royal's looking like he's one of Jay Cutler's favorite targets. I'm going to go ahead and predict that Royal will become the number 3 (receiver) in Denver if Brandon Stokley goes down for whatever reason.

Speaking of predictions, I'm sorry that I've been slow on the updates. I am moving and promise to be better. We've got a lot planned for the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned and I promise that you will not be disappointed.