OK, I was reading Jim Armstrong the other day talking about trying to swing a deal for a defensive player right now.

 

Normally, I would not go for this kind of deal in mid-season, it would mean the Broncos would probably have to overpay somewhat. But this got me thinking... (always a dangerous prospect). Before the season, many were thinking if the Broncos could make the playoffs this year, that'd be a good step in the right direction. However, the offense has been playing far above what anyone in their right mind suspected they would. Also, crashing back to earth are the Patriots, the Colts and the Chargers to some degree, and the preseason darlings like Cleveland and Jax. This leaves the Broncos with a huge opportunity that no one could've seen coming before week 1. The obvious, glaring, CRIPPLING weakness of this team is the defense. So, Armstrong raises the question: Should the Broncos swing a deal to get some help on defense and make a real run this year?

My questions are: Is this even possible? Should they pursue it? And who would they go after? Obviously, Tennessee is not going to part with Albert Haynsworth. Is there anyone out there who may be available for the right price? I know Denver is going to have to sacrifice to get someone of impact. Is there a team out there willing to do it?

OK, so there may or may not be a way to access local television stations via the internet. I came across this website:

http://www.sportstvcenter.com/

Has anyone looked into anything like this? It looks too good to be true and I have real questions about how this can even be legal, but I live in MN (obviously) and don't have Sunday Ticket or a big desire to sit in some sports bar with Vikings and Packers fans on most Sunday afternoons. If anyone has any knowledge of something like this (not the same as the addy that's been floating around), let me know. If not, I may just risk it and come back with a review of my own.

Peter King at SI.com has some really interesting stuff about conversations that took place over the weekend. Check it out.

MMQB

 

Shanny must've been absolutely sold on Clady from the get-go because it looks like if he'd wanted to trade down, there were teams looking to move up.

The one that blows me away: how does St. Louis pass on taking Baltimore to the cleaners with their trade offer? B'more's 1st, 2nd, 4th and a 3rd next year. They could've even pushed for the Ravens 1st next year instead of the 3rd and gotten it. I guess that's why I'm sitting here venting on a blog and not calling the shots anywhere. I woulda taken it.

Since Shanahan arrived, the Broncos' offense has thrived on running the ball in a zone-blocking scheme to set up the play action pass. Last year was a tough year for their offense and although there are reasons for hope, maybe it is time for the Broncos to abandon their "old reliable" and build anew. That is the argument made in this article:

 

Sports Illustrated's Mike Lombardi

 

I think there are valid reasons for making this change:

1) The league is "on to" the Broncos' scheme and tendencies and are better able to stop them than in the 90's.

2) Other teams have adopted the same zone-blocking scheme and are therefore competing for the same type of OL that the Broncos look for.

3) Cutler is more of a straight drop-back passer than Elway or Plummer were so he would benefit from a traditional, beefier line.

There may be other reasons to change, too. That said, there are several reasons to stick with it:

1) The fact that other teams are switching to the zone-blocking system shows that many believe it is still a highly effective system.

2) The confusion and additional guesswork it creates on the defensive side of the ball can make up for less talent. The fact that they never run the same play out of the same formation twice in the same game means that the defense has almost nothing to see before the snap of the ball.

3) Changing their preference for OL to larger linemen means they enter into competition with the vast majority of the rest of the league for the same guys. Even though other teams are starting to look for Bronco-type linemen, they are still fewer in number.

4) Most importantly, there is already too much talent and investment in the current system to make a change without spending at least 3 seasons in NFL purgatory. There is absolutely no reason for the Broncos to do this. They are not a team looking back at 2 or 3 4-win seasons in a row. They had one off year with a ROOKIE QB and major injuries at WR and RB!!! The cost-benefit of upgrading the talent in the current system vs. blowing it up and starting over is absolutely in favor of the former.

Overall, while I understand Lombardi's position, my personal opinion is that the Broncos would be crazy to blow this offense up and try to start from scratch.

Poll

Is it time for the Broncos to to change their offensive system from smaller, quicker zone-blocking linemen to larger, more traditional power linemen?

• Yes
• No
• Not this year, but over the next few seasons

  23 votes | Results

OK, after considering Claaaas' excellent work on trade scenarios, the general feel I get is that most here think the Broncos should look to trade down out of the #12 spot to gather more picks and be more effective at filling the needs on the roster. This also makes the most sense to me. Grabbing a couple 2nd tier DT's, the exact WR they're looking for (Bennett?) while parlaying some of their day 2 picks into mid-rounders seems a sound strategy.

So, I am going to attempt to argue the opposite: the Broncos should trade UP in this year's draft. Why would they do that, you ask? Here are a few reasons:

1. If you look around the league at the most effective defenses, it all starts up front. Obviously, fresh in everyones' minds is the Giants haraasing of Brady. But, take an even wider look and you've got Henderson and Stroud in Jax, Wilfork and Seymour in NE, Williams, Olshansky, Cesaire in SD to name a few. Denver looks to be set at the DE position for a few years with DOOM, Crowder and hopefully, Moss, so the DT spot is the question mark. Thomas is a piece of the equation, but they need one more rock-solid DT along with some rotational guys. The Broncos need to get that one rock-solid guy first and the 2 available in this year's draft will be gone by #12. This alone, getting possibly Dorsey, but most likely Ellis in Bronco swooshes should be enough to convince you, but if you need more, consider...
2. They have 9 picks to work with this year, plus their full complement of picks next year. They could easily package a few to move up in the first and have still have ammo to work with. For example, take Claaaas' Baltimore scenario, 12 and the 2 4ths for the #8. That would leave the Broncos with their 2nd, 2 5ths, a 6th and 2 7ths. The day 2 picks could be packaged together, along with 1 from next year if needed, to move back into day 1 a couple times. The result would be a smaller class like the past couple years, but with more impactful(?) players.
3. Getting fewer, more impactful players is better than loading the roster with "bubble" guys. Here, I will use Foxey as an example. The guy is a good nickel back, could start on several other teams. So, what do you do with him? He will not be happy to remain a nickel back until Champ or Bly leave or get injured. And, he's not going to get the kind of contract he wants as a backup. So, in all likelihood, he'll end up leaving the Broncos after this year (or earlier if they can get something for him). So, trade him (the equivalent of 2 4th rds.) to move up and get a guy who will have a cornerstone-type impact and be worth the money for years to come.
4. Finally, since trading up would mean a smaller draft class, it would have a smaller impact on the Broncos' salary cap. Managing the cap more effectively allows them to sign the mid-level free agents they are targeting or the higher priced one they may have an eye on in the future.

That's it. I'm sure with my flawless logic and astounding rhetoric, you are all convinced this is the way we should go, right?

Anyone?

Bueller?

Oh, well, flame on!

Hey, I have a feeling I'm not the only gadget geek on this site, so for any of you who happen to be using Firefox as your browser, I found a cool theme you might be interested in.

Check here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4079

It's a Bronco theme for Firefox. It's got some really cool graphics on the toolbars and even in the menu backgrounds. Check it out.

Boss Bailey is in town as well as safety Marlon McCree. I'd personally like to see them lock up both of these guys before they leave town. Bailey REALLY wants to be in Denver and McCree has said he's narrowed his choices to Denver or Buffalo and would like to make a decision by Friday.

Anyone else have thoughts on this? Again, it looks like the Broncos might spend 8 draft picks on defensive tackles.

Jason Elam is appearing on the Michael Medved show, a national talk show, today. He's promoting his new book and is also heading off to visit our troops in Iraq. What a cool guy, definitely a contrast to all the "me, me, me" so prevalent in pro sports today. Check www.michaelmedved.com to see if he's on in your area.

Just read that Atlanta released starting their DT, 350 lb Grady Jackson. Obviously, he's not going to be a long term solution, but this guy could be a godsend for the Broncos run defense for the rest of this season: a big, veteran run-stopper. This would basically be adding another Sam Adams to the lineup.

Any other thoughts on this?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/bucky_brooks/07/05/tc.preview.afc.west/index.html

This is a pretty good read. I've never heard of Bucky Brooks before, but he shows some promise as far as some of these national writers go. He sounds like he's done his homework if, for no other reason, he actually knows who Brandon Marshall is. All I've read from some of these other jokers is that the Broncos are woefully thin at WR because of Rod Smith's age and all they have is Javon.

As  far as my personal take on the AFC West, I think KC is headed for a slide. Like Guru stated earlier, their expectations are pretty low, hoping to simply make it to the playoffs, so it may not be much of a slide as far as they're concerned. I am a little leary of their defense getting better. They got Donnie Edwards back and I've always thought he was underrated. Glad he's not with the Chargers anyway.

For Oakland, I was glad they picked Russell and not Johnson with their first pick. He reminds me of Dante Culpepper. His stock skyrocketed based on the shelling of a Notre Dame defense that was absolutely horrible against the pass all season long (I'm saying this as a Domer and lifelong fan of the Irish). I just don't see him as being the saviour for that franchise.

And San Diego, well, it all hinges on Norv Turner not interfering too much with the finely tuned machine that is their offense. I think the loss of Wade Phillips will hurt their D a little, but that could just be my own wishful thinking.

Overall, I like our chances this year.