Why the Denver Broncos Should Take a Chance on Michael Vick

(Author’s note: It has since been reported that Josh McDaniels and the Broncos are not interested in signing Michael Vick)

I know what you’re thinking. You don’t even have to tell me.

Michael Vick?

The same Michael Vick who was just released from prison following his horrific involvement in dog fighting circles?

The same Michael Vick who has been out of football for over two years?

Why oh why, Jesse, would you ever want your beloved Broncos to sign a player like that?

It’s simple my friends. Vick is the most talented quarterback available on the free agent market in a long time.

He has more pure football ability than any quarterback on the Broncos’ roster and he would give the team a huge opportunity with the chance of little risk and big reward.

After the offseason that he’s been through, Josh McDaniels probably wouldn’t even consider this move. He’s likely very happy with the quarterbacks that he already has on his roster and at the moment is focused solely on training camp.

On top of that, Denver already has millions of dollars guaranteed to Kyle Orton and Chris Simms. It’s highly improbable that they would willingly eat either of those contracts to make room for Michael Vick.

Nonetheless, here’s my two cents on how this situation could work out well for the Broncos and for Vick.

When he was the star player of the Atlanta Falcons, Vick had the reputation of a great player who never quite developed into a great quarterback. While he was a dangerous weapon, he struggled at times as a passer.

Despite his shortcomings, Michael Vick twice led the Falcons to the playoffs and made an appearance in the 2004 NFC Championship Game. He is third all-time in rushing yards by a quarterback and is a three-time Pro Bowl selection.

Vick was just conditionally reinstated by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Should Michael sign with a team, he can participate in all training camp activities and the final two preseason games. However, he is not allowed to play in any regular season games until week six.

For argument’s sake, let’s say that the Broncos pick him up within the next couple of weeks. That would give Vick more than half of training camp to become re-acclimated to life in the NFL and to begin learning Denver’s complex playbook.

Were he the No. 1 quarterback going into the season, Vick’s late start would be a cause for concern. Fortunately, he wouldn’t have to be any more than the Broncos’ No. 3 or 4 quarterback. That’s right, a fourth quarterback. More on that in a bit.

After the preseason, Vick could spend the next six weeks continuing his comeback process. With the credentials of both McDaniels and quarterbacks coach Mike McCoy at grooming quarterbacks, this process would go much more smoothly than normal.

Kyle Orton would still be the starter and Chris Simms the backup, leaving Vick and rookie Tom Brandstater to work closely with each other and their coaches throughout the season.

When he is finally allowed to play again, McDaniels could utilize Vick’s unique skill set as a runner into his offense. Whether that means using him in Wildcat formations or other types of plays to throw opposing defenses off balance, it would be Vick’s legs that would help the team the most this season, not his arm.

No matter how the Broncos finish, next year would be a lot different. Vick would receive a full offseason to continue training and trying to prove that he has the chops to be a solid starting quarterback in the NFL. If he makes enough progress, he could then compete in training camp to be Denver’s top quarterback for the 2010 season.

So what are the issues with my proposed plan? Well the biggest one of course is if it would be wise to bring on such a controversial player to a team that has already dealt with more than enough controversy, especially with quarterbacks, in the past few months.

However, other than the initial fan and media backlash, I don’t believe that Michael would at all disrupt the team’s chemistry. With Tony Dungy acting as his mentor and the blessings of Roger Goodell, I think Vick knows that he is receiving a rare opportunity and he would make the most of it. He would be on his best behavior.

Next, of course, would be whether or not Vick even deserves a chance to be reinstated. There is no doubt that what Vick did was reprehensible and that his time in jail was a justifiable consequence for his actions.

Personally, I am adamant in the belief that people who own up to their mistakes should be forgiven. Michael paid his dues while he was in jail, and for that I think he should get a chance to redeem himself and play the game he loves once more.

But what about his physical condition? If he is reinstated, could Vick survive the day-to-day grind of being an NFL player once more after being out of the league for so long?

In my mind, this is where his small role with the Broncos this year would come into play again. Without having to carry the burden of being the team’s starting or backup quarterback, Vick would be able to focus more on shaking off the rust than preparing for games, thus speeding up his training process.

Earlier, I mentioned that Vick could be the fourth quarterback on Denver’s roster, and I realize that carrying four quarterbacks is a little unorthodox. However, this is a special case. Cutting Chris Simms in favor of Vick would be a mistake because he wouldn’t be ready to start should something happen to Orton. Neither would Tom Brandstater.

If he were to return to form though, I don’t think there’s any doubt that Michael Vick is a more talented quarterback than both Orton and Simms.

With all due respect to both of those players, especially Orton, Vick proved that he has the ability to put an average team on his shoulders and make them competitive. It took the Falcons two seasons to recover after they lost him.

For those of you who worry, here’s the safety net to this proposition. The Broncos would likely be able to get Vick for a reasonably affordable price at a one or two-year deal. If it doesn’t work out and he makes another mistake or gets buried on the depth chart, Denver can simply cut their losses and move on with Orton and Co.

But if Vick could recapture his stardom from just three years ago and grow under the tutelage of the coach who brought along Tom Brady and Matt Cassel, then this would be a monumental victory for the Broncos.

It’s never easy to make a move like this. Most teams in the league wouldn’t. Denver probably won’t either. Pat Bowlen has likely heard enough bad press concerning his quarterbacks and doesn’t want to bring on any more.

A lot of you won’t share my opinion. You’ll either think it’s not a good fit for the team or you would die before you see Vick jog onto the field wearing orange and blue. Maybe you’re right and maybe I’m wrong.

I for one cannot resist the temptation of this proposal, no matter how risky the thought may be. If there’s one thing that I love, it’s a sports comeback that goes absolutely right for the Broncos.

There’s only one problem; what number would Vick wear other than No. 7?

Redemption Camp ’09: Five Questions the Denver Broncos Need To Answer

As the Broncos report to training camp for the first time under head coach Josh McDaniels, it’s mind boggling to think how differently the pieces to this puzzle were arranged just six months ago.

After being cremated by San Diego in the season finale, Denver’s foundation—that good ol’ Mike Shannahan spent three seasons building—collapsed like a house of cards.

Suffice to say, Shanny was out. Jay Cutler, and his loyalty to his first NFL franchise, quickly followed “The Mastermind’s” ride out of town.

All this you already know. With those two in the spotlight, everyone knew what to expect from the Broncos. Expectations for this team remain high in the eyes of the fans, but the reasons behind them have been altered forever.

Truthfully, no one is quite sure what the Broncos will deliver this season. That kind of uncertainty has some fans pacing with excitement and others reeling with dread. Personally, I find myself somewhere in between.

Regardless, here are five of the most pressing questions the Broncos will face from now until Week 17.

 

1. What was Josh McDaniels thinking?

No matter what his reasons were, McDaniels’ legacy will be heavily decided by the outcome of the Jay Cutler trade. It may not be fair to tie so much of the man’s career to one spoiled athlete, but when all is said and done it’s what people will remember 10 years from now.

As far as Cutler goes, I say good riddance. Josh has a lot of my respect already for refusing to allow Jay’s ego to become more important than the team. In time, hopefully the entire Broncos’ team and fan base will see it that way too.

Just like in New England, McDaniels has a lot of talent he can incorporate into his offense, but is it the right talent for the job? Whether or not his players can get a good grasp on his system remains to be seen, and that brings us to question No. 2.

 

2. Is Kyle Orton the answer at quarterback?

Perhaps no quarterback has made more strides in the past four years than Kyle Orton. Even now he is far from the smoothest signal caller in the league, but Orton is one of the best at overcoming adversity and finding ways to win games. That is what’s most important these days, right? Winning?

During his time in Chicago, Orton was guaranteed two things: little time to throw in the pocket and a severe lack of any proven offensive weapons around him. Seriously, glaciers run better routes than the receivers Kyle was throwing to last year.

Both of those problems should be remedied here in Denver, where Orton will work with one of the league’s top o-lines and the most promising receiving corps in the game today. Orton is not going to make anyone forget John Elway, but if he can do what Cutler could not and get the Broncos back to the playoffs, I think fans will be more than satisfied.

3. Can Knowshon Moreno live up to the hype?

Before he even steps onto the field, the Broncos’ top draft pick is already facing a major obstacle in his career; his first NFL contract. Once he gets enough nickels and dimes to fill his millionaire sized piggy bank, Knowshon will then have to prove his worth on the field.

His talent has never been in question, nor has his spot with the Broncos. On a team that hasn’t had a franchise running back since Clinton Portis, there is a good measure of excitement and optimism surrounding the possibilities that Moreno brings to McDaniels’ offense.

The challenge that Moreno faces is performing well enough to silence critics who believe that Denver should’ve gone with a defender instead of a tailback. While defense was the priority, Knowshon is the kind of player that can stabilize a team for years to come. He’s also one that can hold it back if he doesn’t develop properly.

Broncos fans are crossing their fingers for the former.

 

4. Does the defense have all the parts to successfully switch to the 3-4?

I’m still getting comments about the article I wrote over my lack of faith in the defensive line. While I still have my doubts about that particular unit, when it comes to the rest of the D, I’m laying off the “Haterade” a little bit.

If there’s one area where the Broncos have unquestionably improved in, it is the secondary.

Brian Dawkins will bring the ferocity and leadership this team has been missing since Al Wilson went down. Champ Bailey remains the elite corner in all football, while Andre Goodman and Renaldo Hill should bring their solid play from the Miami coast to the Rocky Mountains.

The linebacking corps has good depth on the inside with DJ Williams, Andra Davis, and Wesley Woodyard, but the outside backers will face some stiff growing pains. Former D-linemen such as Elvis Dumervil, Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder are adjusting to brand new positions, while the team is hoping that first-round pick Robert Ayers can bring the heat on the outside.

In the end though, Denver’s defensive redemption will rest heavily on the shoulders of the front three, particularly on those of nose tackle Ronnie Fields.

If Fields and company can take care of business up front, the guys behind them should be able to bring some mojo back to the Broncos’ defense. However, that’s an if that could cost Denver dearly.

 

5. Is the schedule too difficult to overcome?

Any success the Broncos have this year could be overshadowed by the strength of the teams on their horizon. Denver will be hosting several unwelcome guests, including New England, Pittsburgh, Dallas, and the New York Giants.

Add road match ups against Indy, Philly, Washington and Baltimore, and you can forget about the Broncos coasting through their schedule like Miami and Atlanta did last year.

Fortunately, therein lies some good news.

If Denver make the playoffs, then they will be considered to be a legitimately good football team. If, on the other hand, they get bounced around like a ping pong ball, then we may not know how bad they actually are until next year.

Denver’s Patchwork Defensive Line Could Kill The Season

Two years ago, Mike Shannahan hired Jim Bates to apply his two-gap 4-3 defense. The Broncos drafted linemen Jarvis Moss, Tim Crowder, and Marcus Thomas and signed free agents Sam Adams and Simeon Rice.

Unfortunately the changes didn’t live up to the hype, as Denver finished 30th in rushing defense and 19th in overall defense.

Last year, Shannahan fired Bates in favor of Bob Slowik and a more conventional 4-3 defense. The Broncos then acquired defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson in a trade with the Jets and placed linemen Kenny Peterson and Nic Clemons on the main roster. Once again the unit fell apart and Denver finished 27th in rushing defense and 29th in overall defense.

See a pattern yet?

If there is one major factor that led to Shanny’s exit from LoDo, it was that he was a very poor talent evaluator of defensive linemen, especially with players from the draft.

His inability to put together a quality front four took all the potential his past two Broncos’ teams had and squashed it before the season could even begin.

One of the general concepts in football is if your team can stop the run, your chances of success go way up. As much of a boring cliche as that may be, there is truth to it; out of the teams that ranked in the top 10 in defending the run last year, 7 of them made the playoffs. So what does all of this mean for the Broncos this year?

Trouble. Truckloads of it.

The new d-line put together by Josh McDaniels is terrifying, in a bad way. None of the players on the roster have much if any starting experience in a 3-4 scheme (the system that will be used this year by defensive coordinator Mike Nolan) and many of them have been career backups.

Last month during team mini-camps, Ronnie Fields, Ryan McBean, and Kenny Peterson were taking snaps with the first team defense. A root canal without painkillers may hurt less than for those three to be the starters come September.

Marcus Thomas, the 2007 4th round pick with “1st round potential” is also still on the roster and has yet to make an impact that is non-marijuana related. Moss and Crowder have been banished to linebacker in the hope that they might actually show up and play some football.

The rookie d-lineman, led by Chris Baker, Rulon Davis, Carlton Powell, and Everette Pedescleaux (say that three times fast), have fans hoping for a gem. The problem with gems is that you have to pull them out of a pile of rocks and look closely before you can decide if you have one or not.

There is no doubt that many of the guys I mentioned have the potential to be good players, but the Broncos can’t keep placing all their hopes on potential. They need solid contributions from players who will be good, not from ones who could be.

To be fair, it was slim pickings this offseason for d-linemen whose abilities fit the 3-4 system. The asking price for high commodities such as Albert Haynesworth and B.J. Raji was far too high and undeserving.

Guys like Igor Olshansky, Grady Jackson, and Chris Canty were available though, and would’ve brought more proven resumes to Denver’s defensive reboot than the ones McDaniels recruited.

I may sound like a pessimist, but I have viewed this subject from each perspective. Sayre’s excellent training camp preview shined a much more positive light on how these players could turn out, and in a perfect world that’s exactly what would happen.

Unfortunately, these days Dove Valley is anything but a perfect world. The dark clouds that formed at the end of the Mike Shannahan era are not to be parted easily. If anything, the Broncos will win less games before they win more, struggle mightily before they succeed. Before that shift to sunnier skies can proceed, the defense must improve.

Someday we may all have a good laugh over how much I underestimated these players, but I don’t believe that will be this season. It won’t be next season or any season after until the talent at Denver’s defensive line finally gets the upgrade it so sorely needs.

However, I would love to be proven wrong.

The Internal Confessions of a Frustrated Broncos Fan

I should be doing anything but writing this column right now.

I have two finals tomorrow that will greatly determine my grades in those respective classes, not to mention a final paper due on Wednesday that I have barely even started. It doesn’t matter, because to this point, the only thing that I feel motivated about is the soap opera that dominated the Denver Broncos’ offseason and the repercussions that have followed.

If you follow this team like I do, you know what I’m talking about. I shouldn’t have to tell you. Hell, you can be a fly on the wall for all I care. You know about the epic tantrum that went down between Josh McDaniels and Jay Cutler, and you also know how much different the Broncos will be this season and every season that follows because of it.

To this day, I don’t understand why Mike Shanahan just had to have Jay Cutler in the draft back 2006. Jake Plummer was the perfect quarterback for Shanahan’s run based offense, and he was coming off the best season of his career. Yet, it was mostly his fault that Denver fell apart in that AFC Championship game against Pittsburgh? The same Pittsburgh team that stifled Peyton Manning in the previous round? Give me a break.

Following that game, everything changed for the Broncos. They traded up to nab Cutler and Jake Plummer officially had 7 starts left in his football career. Trevor Pryce walked away in free agency and Al Wilson played his final game for Denver the same day Cutler played his first. Anyway you look at it, the kid from Santa Clause changed this franchise, sometimes for better but mostly for worse. Maybe Mike Shanahan thought he saw the next John Elway when he watched film of Jay Cutler from Vanderbilt. Apparently Cutler felt the same way when he said that he thought his arm was even stronger than Elway’s. For all that is right in the world, why would a young quarterback who has never even been to the playoffs compare himself to the most iconic sports figure in Colorado history?

Of course, this is all old news. Which brings me back to McJaygate. I still have a hard time picking a side. McDaniels should never have tried to trade his best player for a one-hit wonder in Matt Cassel who no doubt benefited from all the talent around him in New England. I don’t care how familiar you are with a player, you never trade talent for good system players. At the same time, how does Jay figure that it’s ok or professional to throw the kind of fit that he did? Say all you want about Denver’s terrible defense (and it has been beyond terrible) but Cutler has never shown the fire that it takes to be a winning NFL quarterback. Elway had it. Craig Morton had it. Even Plummer showed flashes of it at times. Cutler has never been short on talent, but talent only takes a player so far. Fellow ’06 quarterback draftees Matt Leinart and Vince Young can attest to that.

Here’s the catch though; once Josh exiled Jay out of the AFC by sending him to Chicago, I had moved past this. After seeing the bevy of draft picks that the Bears surrendered for the spineless talent that is Jay Cutler, I was ecstatic. Here, finally, was my team’s chance to regain prominence after suffering through the final years that became the lost visions of Mike Shanahan. Kyle Orton might suck, I thought, but McDaniels’ talents at grooming quarterbacks are supposedly just as good as Shanahan’s talents at grooming running backs. It’s all about the system, so this didn’t bother me that much. Not nearly as much as Cutler’s errant passes at the goal line that turned into interceptions did.

Then came draft day. I wasn’t quite a kid on Christmas morning, but believe me my heart was pumping. School and girls be damned, the draft was the only thing I thought of all week. We had five picks in the first three rounds. We were going to rebuild our team. We were going to be relevant again for the first since Elway left the building and Terrell Davis’ legs went with him. Everything good in Broncos Country would be restored. Right?

Maybe that will still happen, but certainly not the way I or any other person with half a football brain hoped it would. The Broncos effectively passed on Brian Orakpo, Rey Maualuga, James Laurinaitis, Everette Brown, Brian Cushing, and others for Knowshon Moreno, Robert Ayers, and Alphonso Smith. Ayers being the only defensive lineman McDaniels drafted and Smith being one of three defensive backs that he took instead. Am I crazy here? Were the Broncos not one of the worst teams at defending the run last year? Not only did McDaniels pass on all those players, but he traded the team’s first round pick in next year’s draft for a cornerback who likely won’t even start for a year or two.

Don’t get me wrong. Just because I think Denver didn’t need Moreno and shouldn’t have traded up for Smith doesn’t mean I think they are scrubs. These are all good players coming out of college (Smith would’ve been a first rounder if he was taller than 5’9) and they should all contribute to the Broncos this year in some capacity.

Still, by erasing the face of the franchise, McDaniels rattled the Denver fan base and has created more controversy than any other coach in history before coaching in his first game. Don’t be surprised if he gets booed at the first home game at Invesco Field. Bottom line; Josh needs to win right now to regain the full support and trust of the fan base, and I don’t see how he can do that when he didn’t look to solve his team’s biggest weakness through the draft. It’s like getting a new paint job for a broken down Mustang instead of fixing the transmission. It looks better, but the performance won’t improve at all.

To be fair, it’s only May. McDaniels and the Denver “Patriots” have a few more mini-camps, training camp, and the preseason to work out all of the kinks. Regardless, mistakes will still be made, important assignments and plays will be blown, and somewhere between now and next offseason Brandon Marshall will find another girl to get arrested with. You come to expect these things as a Broncos’ fan nowadays.

Ultimately, when looking at the Broncos’ roster and comparing it to that of San Diego, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, New England, and the other teams of the AFC elite, I can’t help but feel that it will be another long season. My only saving grace is the hope that somehow, someway, Chicago will have an equally miserable season to us. At least that way I won’t feel quite as bad about trading that damn first round draft pick.

 

Denver Could Learn a Valuable Lesson from the 1994 Broncos

This hasn’t been an offseason that Broncos fans have become accustomed to.

After 15 years under the control of the “Mastermind,” Mike Shanahan, Denver’s favorite sports team now marches to the tune of a vastly different drummer. A Patriot’s tune, to be exact.

Josh McDaniels has changed nearly everything about Broncos’ football that Shanahan so carefully installed over the years.

Shanny’s teams relied on a strong running game, a quick defense that was tough against the run and a tenacious, game-changing quarterback that could keep a defense honest when everything around him seemed to be falling apart.

While that system experienced its fair share of both success and failure, it was still a system that the Denver fan base had become very accustomed to. Perhaps that’s the biggest reason why Josh McDaniels’ changes have fans all over the Rocky Mountains calling for the new drummer’s head.

By trading Jay Cutler, the face of the franchise, and then turning around and trading the leverage that he received from the Cutler trade for a 5’9 rookie cornerback in Alphonso Smith, McDaniels isn’t exactly taking a conventional path to rebuilding this team.

There are still gaping holes on that defense and Kyle Orton, no matter how valiantly he played in Chicago, is a tremendous downgrade in talent from Cutler.

Add all this up and even some of the most loyal Broncomaniacs believe next season and the ones after it are a lost cause. Maybe those same fans could find some closure if they remembered the 1994 Denver Broncos.

The ’94 Broncos had star players John Elway, Shannon Sharpe, Steve Atwater, and Karl Mecklenburg, and an offense that ranked 10th in points and sixth in total yards.

Unfortunately, it also featured an abysmal defense that ranked 25th in points allowed and 28th in total yards allowed. Denver twice gave up more than 40 points in a single game and finished 7-9, good for fourth place in the AFC West.

Suffice to say, coach Wade Phillips was fired after the season and was replaced with a hot shot offensive guru named Mike Shanahan.

With the addition of a star running back through the draft in Terrell Davis, a few key veterans on defense and a switch to different offensive and defensive schemes, the ’95 Broncos made progress.

While their 8-8 record was only good enough for third place in the AFC West, they showed substantial improvement in their rankings. Denver’s offense finished ninth in points and third in total yards while the defense ended up at 17th in points allowed and 15th in total yards allowed.

The 2008 Denver Broncos featured an offense that gained a lot of yards and couldn’t score that much and a defense that would have given up touchdowns to varsity high school teams. Shanahan is gone, replaced by that hot shot offensive guru named Josh McDaniels.

The team thinks it found a star running back in the draft with Knowshon Moreno. Brian Dawkins, Andra Davis, and Renaldo Hill are a few key defensive veterans looking to give Denver a boost. The Broncos will now pass the ball before they run it and have dropped the 4-3 defense for McDaniels’ 3-4 scheme.

For fans of a football team that haven’t had a lot to cheer about since the ’95 Broncos reached their potential in the Super Bowl, an 8-8 season in McDaniels’ debut as head coach may be better than any Broncos fan could ever hope for.

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