Denver Broncos
Owner: Pat Bowlen
Founded: 1960
Stadium: Invesco Field at Mile High
2010 record: 4-12 (worst record in franchise history)
Last playoff appearance: 13-3 in 2005 (won AFC West) W27-13 Patriots, L34-17 Steelers
General Manager: Brian Xanders (2009-present)
Head Coach: John Fox (2011, 73-71 in 9 seasons at Carolina)
Offensive Coordinator: Mike McCoy
Defensive Coordinator: Dennis Allen
Defensive alignment: 4-3
2010 NFL Rankings:
OFF: 21.5 PTS (19th) 348.9 YDS (13th) 252.4 PASS (7th) 96.5 RUSH (26th)
DEF: 29.4 PTS (32nd) 390.8 YDS (32nd) 236.2 PASS (25th) 154.6 RUSH (31st)
Pro Bowlers: WR Brandon Lloyd
2011 schedule:
1 Sep 12 vs. Raiders 10:15 PM Tickets
2 Sep 18 vs. Bengals 4:15 PM Tickets
3 Sep 25 at Titans 1:00 PM Tickets
4 Oct 02 at Packers 4:15 PM Tickets
5 Oct 09 vs. Chargers 4:15 PM Tickets
6 Bye
7 Oct 23 at Dolphins 1:00 PM Tickets
8 Oct 30 vs. Lions 4:05 PM Tickets
9 Nov 06 at Raiders 4:05 PM Tickets
10 Nov 13 at Chiefs 1:00 PM Tickets
11 Nov 17 vs. Jets 8:20 PM Tickets
12 Nov 27 at Chargers 4:15 PM Tickets
13 Dec 04 at Vikings 4:05 PM Tickets
14 Dec 11 vs. Bears 4:05 PM Tickets
15 Dec 18 vs. Patriots 4:15 PM Tickets
16 Dec 24 at Bills 1:00 PM Tickets
17 Jan 01 vs. Chiefs 4:15 PM Tickets
TEAM NEEDS: WR, RT, DE, DT
Potential Free Agents:
Laurence Maroney RB
Dan Gronkowski TE
Marcus Thomas DL – re-signed –
Kevin Vickerson DT - re-signed – 2 yrs
Wesley Woodyard LB
Champ Bailey CB – re-signed: 4 yrs, $43 million
Free agent acquisitions:
Willis McGahee RB (Ravens) -
David Anderson WR (Texans) -
Daniel Fells TE (Rams) –
Derrick Harvey DE (Jaguars)
Ty Warren DT (Patriots) – 2 yrs, 10 million, 2.5 million guaranteed
Free agent losses:
Daniel Graham TE – Signed by Titans
Ryan Harris OT – signed with Eagles
Justin Bannan DE – Signed by Rams
Ronald Fields NT – Signed with Dolphins
Kyle Williams NT
Renaldo Hill S -
Picks in 2011 NFL Draft: (overall draft grade: B): Virgil Green and Jeremy Beal I feel were tremendous value at the end of the draft. Overall it was a solid draft. I think with John Elway having final say in his first draft, he did a pretty good job. Von Miller over Marcell Dareus wouldn’t have been my choice, but you can’t go wrong either way. Also, getting Rahim Moore and Quinton Carter (arguably the top two safeties in the draft) was also very good in my opinion. They also get two playmaking tight ends with basketball backgrounds, which could potentially be huge help in the red zone offense. I have a feeling the Tim Tebow jump pass will be happening a few times to his new tight ends this season.
(! Indicates draft pick who was interviewed, had a private workout, etc. prior to the draft according to my compiled list):
Rd 1, Pick 2 (2) Von Miller OLB, Texas A&M! – I liked Dareus better in this spot, but Miller is a pass rush demon.
Grade: A- Rated: 3
Rd 2, Pick 13 (45) Rahim Moore FS, UCLA – Moore had a disappointing junior year compared to his sophomore season. Team captain, great athleticism and ball skills.
Grade: B- Rated: 69
Rd 2, Pick 14 (46) Orlando Franklin OL, Miami (FL) – Franklin didn’t impress me often enough when I watched him during the 2010 season. He doesn’t have the athleticism to stay at tackle and will be moved inside to guard for the Broncos.
Grade: C+ Rated: 80
Rd 3, Pick 3 (67) Nate Irving LB, North Carolina State – GM Brian Xanders said that Irving was the best available middle linebacker on their board. It was a weak year for middle linebackers.
Grade: B- Rated: 129
Rd 4, Pick 11 (108) Quinton Carter FS, Oklahoma! – Brian Dawkins is getting too old. Carter is a good tackler, has some ball skills, and overall is one of the top safeties in this year’s weak class. This is a steal for the Broncos. They drafted the top two safeties this year off my board. Great job Mr. Elway.
Grade: A+ Rated: 59
Rd 4, Pick 32 (129) Julius Thomas TE, Portland State! – another athletic tight end with a basketball background. He’ll need improvement in route running and blocking, as is the case with other former basketball players just starting their football career.
Grade: C+ Rated: 167
Rd 6, Pick 24 (189) Mike Mohamed LB, California – Mike Mohamed LB, California – smart, tough linebacker with good size. Can get pushed around by lineman though, but has height and speed to cover tight ends well enough.
Grade: B- Rated: 216
Rd 7, Pick 1 (204) Virgil Green TE, Nevada – Had been taken off some boards because of medical issues (microfracture surgery). He’s got the basketball tight end thing going on.
Grade: A Rated: 97
Rd 7, Pick 44 (247) Jeremy Beal DE, Oklahoma – has great motor and smarts, but lacks speed. Really disappointed at Senior Bowl.
Grade: A Rated: 143
2010 Broncos’ Draft review:
I went back and watched the post-draft press conferences and found some interesting nuggets of information about the Broncos’ 2010 Draft: Former head coach Josh McDaniels and GM Brian Xanders had 96 guys on their draft board. In an interview on denverbroncos.com, Xanders stated the attributes that he and his staff graded players on were athleticism, football instincts, production, play speed, play strength, and competitive toughness. They split players into “position specifics” for each position (probably meaning technique), and then they took “football and personal character” into consideration, as well. They planned to take Tebow and Thomas with their first two picks. After the first day of the draft, McDaniels said that they did not have something set up with Baltimore to trade up to get Tebow, but at a later press conference, he said they did have the trade set up earlier in the day with Ozzie Newsome in order to trade up. They felt 7th rounders Jammie Kirlew and Syd’Quan Thompson weren’t free agents and had them graded higher than 7th rd (rated as 5ths). Dez Bryant was on their board, but they had Demaryius Thomas rated higher.
Rd 1, Pick 22 (22) Demaryius Thomas WR, Georgia Tech – 2 starts, 22 rec, 283 yds, 2 TDs, still don’t know why they had him rated higher than Dez Bryant.
Rd 1, Pick 25 (25) Tim Tebow QB, Florida – showed some nice plays late in the year. He impressed me, going 41-82, 654 yds, 5 TDs, 3 INTs, 6 rush TDs.
Rd 2, Pick 13 (45) Zane Beadles OG, Utah – 16 games, 14 starts, but there’s not one blocker to blame for the complete lack of a rushing game.
Rd 3, Pick 16 (80) J.D. Walton C, Baylor – started all 16 games, but again, the running game struggled.
Rd 3, Pick 23 (87) Eric Decker WR, Minnesota – 6 rec, 106 yds, 1 TD.
Rd 5, Pick 6 (137) Perrish Cox CB, Oklahoma State – 58 tck, 2 FF, 1 pick, 9 starts, 14 PD. Good value. Also, so much for drafting character guys…McDaniels lied through his teeth.
Rd 6, Pick 14 (183) Eric Olsen OG, Notre Dame – just played in one game.
Rd 7, Pick 18 (225) Syd’Quan Thompson CB, California – played in 13 games, 18 TCK, 4 PD, 2 INTs. More good value for defensive backs.
Rd 7, Pick 25 (232) Jammie Kirlew DE, Indiana – not on final roster.
Looking back at my grades for Denver after the draft: Just because you draft Tim Tebow, it doesn’t mean that you draft “character guys,” especially when you take Perrish Cox, who got into trouble at Oklahoma State. He wasn’t even allowed to perform at their pro day, not to mention that he’s been accused of sexual assault. I’m not saying he did it, but it certainly doesn’t look good. Right, Big Ben? McDaniels stated repeatedly that he was looking for character guys. As for my grades, I’m sticking with my Thomas (B-), Decker (B), Cox (B), Olsen (A), Thompson (A), and Kirlew (B) grades. I’ve got to admit that Tebow played much better than the C- grade I gave the pick, but he’s got a long ways to go before I’d consider him a great pick. Also, Zane Beadles made 14 starts, but I thought he could’ve been taken much later and was a big reach (F). JD Walton should have been a better grade than C+. He started 16 games.
Last 5 First Round Picks: Demaryius Thomas WR, Tim Tebow QB, Knowshon Moreno RB, Robert Ayers OLB, Ryan Clady OT, Jarvis Moss OLB, Jay Cutler QB
2010 Stat Leaders
Kyle Orton: 293-498 58.8% 3653 YDS 7.3 YPA 20 TD 9 INT 87.5 RTG
Knowshon Moreno 182 ATT 779 YDS 4.3 YPA 5 TD
Brandon Lloyd 77 REC 1448 YDS 18.8 YPC 11 TD
Matt Prater 16-18 89% 59 LNG
DJ Williams 119 TCK
DJ Williams 5.5 SCK
Renaldo Hill, Syd’Quan Thompson, Champ Bailey 2 INT
Out of Season Storylines (Because there is no offseason)
John Elway named Vice President of Football Operations
From worst to second worst: John Fox hired as new head coach
Dennis Allen Hired As Defensive Coordinator
Demaryius Thomas Ruptures Achilles in Offseason Workout
Fox Switches Defensive Philosophy Back To 4-3