ESPN: Broncos heading in the wrong direction

[Ugly Duck]

LowLights:

This is a team and a franchise going in the wrong direction.

The Broncos now have their third defensive coordinator in three seasons.

With Shannahan calling the shots, they continue to make mistakes in free agency and there is not a lot of great, young talent on this team.

Key Additions: Denver did not add one proven young player or a veteran who is not clearly on the downside of his career.

It's hard to say Denver added one guy you could call a true quality starter.

Key Losses: Though Denver did not lose a high number of players, the ones who left have not been replaced with upgrades.

Broncos fans won't want to hear this, but they are closer to losing their grip on second place in the AFC West to Oakland than they are to dethroning the San Diego Chargers for the top dog in this division.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3332366

[acesn8s]

At least they can't take last place away from the Chiefs.....oh...wait.:doh!:

[ClevelandBronco]

The defensive line experiment over the past 4-5 years is a proven disaster. They have really good corners in a league that has rules that favor mediocre receivers over really good corners. The LBs are a crazy quilt. Forget safety. Once in a while we get to see Lynch get a good hit, but they can't move up to deal with the tight end in a way that prevents the first down.

On the offensive side, RB is up for grabs, as far as I can tell. The OL is aging, retiring, getting traded, never talented in the first place, whatever. Give it a name. The WRs are either gone (thank you for leaving Mr. Walker), unproven or unreliable (I'm sure we'll be bidding you a fond farewell soon, Mr. Marshall). I'm okay with the TEs and the QB, but just okay.

The Broncos aren't much of a team right now.

[ClevelandBronco]

I forgot that they have no kicking game and they haven't had a dangerous return man or a special teams squad that could make a crucial tackle for years.

So they have that going for them as well.

[acesn8s]

I forgot that they have no kicking game and they haven't had a dangerous return man or a special teams squad that could make a crucial tackle for years.

So they have that going for them as well.
At least the Chiefs have Colquitt.:clap:

[ChiefsCountry]

I bet this is the Rat's last year in Dungver.

[ClevelandBronco]

I bet this is the Rat's last year in Dungver.

I doubt it. He's building an insane freaking mansion that's not scheduled for completion until 2010.

[alanm]

I doubt it. He's building an insane freaking mansion that's not scheduled for completion until 2010.
I think he learned one thing from Al Davis.. How to set up shop in one town and never leave. :evil:

[InChiefsHeaven]

Wow. The AFC West is turning into the the AFC East...one team that's any good the rest look like sheot...WTF happened to our Division?!?

...I blame Gretz...

[BigChiefFan]

The Chiefs are just as shitty.

[Mile High Mania]

Well, it was bound to happen... they've hit their bump in the road.

Lots of concerns, many of the same things I've been concerned with since 2005. Good or bad though, the team is getting very young at some great positions and the future looks good.

Line depth on both sides of the ball concern me... the defense as a whole concerns me... then you have that 2nd WR spot and consistency, oh that goes for the RBs as well... Elam, yeah ... gonna miss him without a doubt.

Overall though... phhhttt... no reason to think 10 wins is unrealistic. :)

Seriously though, the whole division is a mess (outside SD), so there is hope. The entire NFL is an injury or 2 away (with the good teams) from being up for grabs, even in the AFC.

I think this is what the Home and Away looks like (aside from the AFCW):

Home - Bills / Dolphins / Saints / Bucs
Away - Patriots / Jets / Falcons / Panthers

So... 4 games vs the Raiders and Chiefs (bad in 2007 and questionable right now as you look at 2008)... add in the Dolphins, Jets, Falcons and Panthers ... there are 4 other games that are equally as questionable.

So, 8 of the 16 games are against teams that were every bit as bad as Denver in 2007 and none of them look dominating in 2008.

Go 6-2 against the Falcons / Dolphins / Panthers / Jets / Bills / Saints / Bucs / Pats and then split the AFCW and you have 9 wins.

Anything can happen.

[Chief Faithful]

The Chiefs are just as shitty.

The teams are soo different it is hard to share your enthusiasm. I will agree that the Chiefs finally have decided to rebuild with youth instead of continuing to follow the Rats method of reloading with old free agents. What the Rat calls reloading I call guaranteed mediocrity.

[BigChiefFan]

The teams are soo different it is hard to share your enthusiasm. I will agree that the Chiefs finally have decided to rebuild with youth instead of continuing to follow the Rats method of reloading with old free agents. What the Rat calls reloading I call guaranteed mediocrity.Both teams suck ass-I'm not going to stand like some holier-than-thou dipshit that thinks we are better than they are-we aren't.

[Mile High Mania]

The teams are soo different it is hard to share your enthusiasm. I will agree that the Chiefs finally have decided to rebuild with youth instead of continuing to follow the Rats method of reloading with old free agents. What the Rat calls reloading I call guaranteed mediocrity.

Well, with the exception of the last 2 seasons... he's done quite well. The change to Cutler had it's expected learning curve. The Travis Henry issues and Javon's injury last season derailed them a bit and certainly didn't help Jay's maturation in the offense.

I'm very interested to see how things evolve in 2008... Jay has huge upside, esp if they can keep Scheffler healthy, Marshall under 24/7 lockdown and Henry off the pot and neutered. Granted, there are half a dozen other things, but this is all I have time for...

[markk]

the landscape int he NFL has changed. corners are so handcuffed that they may not be worth spending the huge money on anymore. denver dumped a lot of money into two corners, a running back who can't put down the buddha, a tight end that was overrated from the start, etc.

denver might have a qb but what else have they got? there is hardly a team that has more whiffs in free agency and in the draft in recent years. the amazing thing is that they haven't fared worse than they have.