Denver Coaching In 2009: A Mile High Change

The 2009 Denver Broncos will have a long road ahead of them as they have to deal with a mostly new coaching staff.

After the 2008 season the old era of Mike Shanahan came to an end and Josh McDaniels became a household name in Bronco nation.

McDaniels, has had a successful career before his arrival in Denver, however not as a head coach. McDaniels served as the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots from 2005 to 2008.

During that time the Patriots won a Super Bowl. Then two years later they went undefeated. In the undefeated season of 2007, McDaniels offense had an NFL record 75 touchdowns.

In 2008, when star quarterback of the Patriots, Tom Brady, went down McDaniels helped Matt Cassel come into the league and start games after not starting a single game in previous years or even in college.

The 2008 Patriots missed the playoffs but still had an impressive record of 11-5.

Now McDaniels will make another step up as he moves from offensive coordinator to head coach. The reason why Pat Bowlen promoted McDaniels to a head coach position is probably a big thanks to the success that he had experienced at New England.

The offensive is going to be rebuilt indeed. Not only at the helm with McDaniels, but also offensive coordinator, Mike McCoy.

McCoy comes from a team that knows a little something about the Patriots, or at least what it is like to lose to the Patriots. Carolina was a kick return away from winning the Super Bowl XXXVIII against the Patriots before time ran out.

Passing in Denver has never been a big part of the offense, but in 2009 that could all change as McCoy comes from the Panthers, and together with McDaniels’ history with helping out quarterbacks, McCoy helped a start-up quarter back himself, as he helped Jake Delhomme make a Super Bowl, a pro-bowl selection, and four 3,000-yard passing seasons.

Under McCoy’s guidance the Panthers went on to a 12-4 record last season, and the Panthers were able to receive a first-round bye.

In 2007, McCoy did not have a fun year. He was the passing game coordinator/ quarterbacks coach. The Panthers were torn apart by injuries. In 2007, not a single quarterback would start more than three games in a row for the Panthers.

Despite numerous injuries to the Carolina offense in 2007 the Panthers did not finish last in their division, and finished the season at 7-9. Proving that McCoy can teach the quarterbacks and offense several key things they need to know to continue to win, despite who might be throwing the ball. Which is good news for the Broncos which still have a question mark for quarterback.

McCoy is no stranger to the Broncos, Denver signed him as a free-agent quarterback in 1995, but released him. He went on to play practice squad for the Green Bay Packers.

While the offense is sure to get a big change in coaching and playing in 2009 for the Broncos, the defense is going under a big change as well.

Denver is going to try the 3-4 defense, and to that some key players will have to change position.

Somebody that will be able to help in that transition is new linebackers coach, Don Martindale.

Martindale comes from one of the biggest rivals of Denver: The Oakland Raiders. From 2004 to 2008 Martindale served as the Raiders’ linebacker coach.

In that time Martindale helped make some Oakland linebackers rack up some impressive numbers. Which means that Denver’s new defense might be very tough in 2009.

One player that starred for Martinsdale is Kirk Morrison. Morrison was a third-round pick in 2005 and in four years with Oakland and under Martindale, he was able to gobble up almost 500 tackles. That ranked him first in the AFC and second in the NFL.

Before entering the NFL Martindale was the defensive coordinator at Western Kentucky University. In that time the Western Kentucky defense allowed the sixth fewest yards for division 1-AA.

As linebackers coach for the Broncos, Martindale is going to have to switch players around and turn linebackers into a duo threat, both stopping the run but also helping out on the pass.

So as a new season looms a lot of changes for the Denver Broncos. These changes are going to make the 2009 Denver Broncos a new threat in some ways.

The offensive is being held up with mostly first year coach’s for the Broncos, after racking up big numbers elsewhere while the defense plans to change schemes.

McDaniels brought in a bunch of new faces with him, sometimes change can be good, sometimes all change does is make people look for other changes to fix the changes that happened.

For the Broncos there is going to be a big change and hopefully, if everything works out, then the new change might just be OK.

The members of the new coaching staff have plenty of past successes. Offensive coordinator Mike McCoy received his position after proving in Carolina that he can help out starting quarterbacks.

Linebackers coach, Don Martinsdale, has made a tough line backing core in Oakland and helped several rookies over there record several tackles and interceptions, which fits right into the Broncos new defensive scheme.

And of course, there is Josh McDaniels who proved to be a great offensive leader in New England, and now hopes to lead an entire team of Denver.

It’s going to be a year of change in Denver, and at the end of the season, another change maybe adding another Super Bowl victory.

It may not happen in 2009, but it might happen soon.

Denver Broncos’ Chance In The AFC (Not So Wild) West

Not too long ago, the AFC west was viewed by fans and the media as one of the toughest divisions to play in.

All four teams had tremendous home field advantage. The Chargers had Qualcomm stadium while Oakland had the rowdy fans of the much feared Black hole. The Denver Broncos had the altitude advantage of Mile High Stadium and the Chiefs had the noisy fans of Arrowhead Stadium.

Now, some of the media and fans, appear to be content to let one team run (or perhaps Charge) their way to be the AFC Champion.

So what happened?

The stadiums are still the same, even though Mile High has moved a parking lot to the north and is now known as INVESCO field at Mile High.

And since the 21st century, only one team has been weeded out of the division, and that was the Seattle Seahawks, who now play in the NFC West.

Just seven years ago, the winners of the AFC West were four different teams. For the last three years, the same team has sat atop the standings. As preseason predictions are starting to leak out it appears that a fourth straight AFC West Championship banner will be given to the San Diego Chargers.

Last year, the AFC West came down to the final game of the season to decide who the champion would be. Denver seemed to have the division locked up after Week 14. All they needed to do was win a game to get in the playoffs.

However, matchups in the final three weeks against the Panthers, Bills, and Chargers all resulted in losses, handing the Chargers the AFC West.

Soon after the loss to the Chargers, the Broncos fired their coach for the last 13 years, Mike Shanahan.

Going into the 2009 season, the Broncos have some work to do. As a new coaching staff is coming into the Mile High Stadium with a new quarterback, there will be plenty of challenges for the Broncos.

The offense will also have to rebuild as Josh McDaniels will rebuild some positions that were vacated in the offseason. If that doesn’t work, he will try polishing some of the holes that allowed Denver to miss the playoffs the previous year.

In addition to offensive changes, the defense will be shifted around. Denver looks to change defensive schemes, as they move into the 3-4 defense.

A new defense means new players will need to be brought in and old players will have to change positions. One player who will most likely change positions is linebacker D.J. Williams.

Special teams will look to try and change as well as kicker Matt Prater will look to improve his kicking game. The returning game of special teams will try and gain more consistency in returning punts and kick offs.

Most importantly, the Broncos will need to improve on winning games, especially at the end of the season in order to avoid another late season crumble.

Focusing on the beginning of the season will be important too because if the team does not have a good chemistry with the new coaching staff, the rest of the season would be a tough ride.

The AFC West is full of teams that are in the middle of rebuilding or trying to find the secret success to win a game. It’s not just the Denver Broncos

Kansas City has been plagued with injuries and problems with personnel in coaching since winning the AFC West in 2002.

The Oakland Raiders, since losing the Super Bowl to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, seem to be in the middle of a rebuilding decade, despite drafting several No. 1 picks.

Even the champions of the AFC West in the San Diego Chargers are not without their problems. Star running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who has been affected by injury problems around playoff time, and defenses are slowly matching the lightning speed that LT has.

The AFC West was once very wild and the most unpredictable and competitive divisions in the NFL. Now, it seems that this once wild west has been tamed by the Chargers.

As for Denver’s chances, it seems that unless McDaniels and the Broncos figure each other out, then the Broncos may fit in second or worse in the 2009 AFC not so Wild West.

The 2009 Denver Broncos Envisioning a Change In the Backfield

For the Denver Broncos of 2009 with the coaching change I envision the backfield of both sides off the ball may see most of the play changes.

Of course after the 2008 season, the Denver Broncos released Mike Shanahan who was the head coach of the Broncos from 1995-2008. Shanahan in his tenure in Denver established the team as a running dominant team.

In that era such running backs such as Terrell Davis, Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis, Tatum Bell and others all became great running backs in the National Football League.

Now, however, a wave of change has come with the name of Josh McDaniels. Already McDaniels has started his quest to find a new Quarterback after the trade of Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears.

Next, looking at the draft picks that McDaniel’s and crew made it appears that the running game in Denver may not be what it was in years past. McDaniels in his previous job as offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, has shown that he may be more of a pass coordinated coach than run coordinated.

After all as the offensive coordinator for New England, the Patriots of 2007 had an undefeated season, and a record setting 75 touchdowns.

Then as the 2008 season started, and Tom Brady went down, Matt Cassel, who never started an NFL or even college game before took the starting quarterback position. With McDaniels calling the plays Cassel and the Patriots went on to an 11-5.

During his tenure at New England, McDaniels and the Patriots were not known for their running game, suggesting that the ball may fly high this year in the mile high city. Looking at the draft picks however, the Broncos may not be so eager to abandon the running game that they have been known for in the past.

Off season moves and draft picks have shown that Denver could still run the ball in 2009 as the Broncos picked up running backs, J.J. Arrington, Correll Buckhalter, LaMont Jordon, and drafting running back, Knowshon Moreno.

Developing a quarterback will also be a key point that Denver and McDaniels is going to have to make in the upcoming 2009 season. Luckily for the Denver Broncos McDaniels does have experience in training new quarterbacks, as previously mentioned Matt Cassel was helped along by McDaniels in his transition into a NFL quarterback.

Even though a quarterback for the 2009 Denver Broncos, there are several rookies that have time to grow and may serve that time under McDaniels. In addition to offensive moves the defense of Denver may be on the course for change as well.

Although McDaniels may be known mostly for his offensive past (including playing wide receiver) it may come as a surprise that McDaniels also has a history in defense as well.

From 2002 to 2003 McDaniels was the defensive backs coach for the New England Patriots. And it may be the defensive backs that will change for Denver.

Draft picks indicate that a big change in defensive schemes and it could very well start for the defensive backs. Denver still has corner back Champ Bailey. Notable additions to the Denver Broncos defensive back field include safety Brian Dawkins.

Also in a bold trade for the first round pick of 2010, the Broncos also received CB Alphonso Smith from the Seahawks. Smith might fit right in as he holds the ACC record for most career interceptions, taking the record away from former Broncos corner, Dre Bly.

The Broncos also drafted two more defensive backs a safety and a free safety in the second and fourth round respectively.

As the 2009 season and training camp roll closer, it appears that under the new coach Josh McDaniels that the backfield of both sides of the ball may be where the biggest changes could come from last year to this year.    

Wide Open with Denver Broncos Wide Receiver Brandon Marshall: A Mock Interview

Here are some questions that I would ask Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall.

Q. First, what are some of the expectations that you have coming into the 2009 season?

Q. How do you think that the coaching change will affect your game play?

Q. How will the change of quarter-backs change your style, or will your playing style stay the same?

Q. Do you have to adjust how you catch the ball for the change of quarter backs?

Q. If yes, what are those changes?

Q. You and Jay Cutler seemed to have a great on field connection, how long did it take for you to connect that way?

Q. Besides the coaching change and quarter back change what are the biggest differences for this coming season compared to last year?

Q. Did you pick up any new tricks from starting in the pro bowl last year?

Q. Are you going to try and make the same connection with the new quarter back?

Q. The Broncos, especially in the Shanahan era, were known more for the running game despite having some great receivers like, Shannon Sharpe, Ed McCaffery, and Rod Smith, do you think that the running offense has hurt the passing offense of Denver teams?

Q. What are some of your favorite teams to play against?

Q. Are there any teams that you just hate going up against?

Q. What are some of the games/teams you look forward to playing most this season?

Q. You recently had hip surgery, has the surgery helped, do you feel you can play at 100 percent this season?

Q. What’s been your favorite part about playing with the Broncos?

Q. What is a normal off season routine like for you?

Q. The Broncos made some interesting moves in both the off season and the draft, do you think those moves will hurt or help the team this season?

Q. The AFC west isn’t viewed as tough of a conference as it was 7 years ago; does that help or hurt you as a player?

Q. In baseball, Coors Field in Denver is viewed as a “hitters park” because of the high altitude; does the altitude of Denver make INVESCO Field a “passing field”? Does the altitude play into how the ball moves?

Q. What is a little known hobby that you like to do?

Why The Broncos Are Mile High In My Book

Jan. 25, 1998, Live from Qualcomm stadium the 32^nd Super Bowl is about to kickoff and it is the first Super Bowl I can remember watching.

However, the game is delayed twice because the Denver Broncos could not get the kickoff to be official without a penalty. Finally on the third try, Super Bowl XXXII starts.

The two teams playing in this edition of the Super Bowl are the Denver Broncos representing the AFC and the defending champions Green Bay Packers.

It seemed to be more than a match-up of two teams, but also a match up of two players, the starting quarter backs, John Elway and Brett Favre.

Both quarterbacks had been in the Super Bowl before, however Favre had something over Elway, a Super Bowl win.

I had watched football before and the teams that I liked were not because I liked the players or the team had a good record, but because of the logos on the helmets.

Therefore for the first three years of watching the National Football League my favorite team had been a team that I felt I could relate with, the Buffalo Bills.

Being from Wyoming, Buffaloes are everywhere, they are the main logo on the state flag, there is a statue of one outside the capitol building and right before anyone exits the state on Interstate 25 into the Colorado state border, there is a sign of a Buffalo.

But as Super Bowl XXXII played out I discovered that choosing a team based on logos is not the best idea.

Soon my opinion on football teams would change, because before the next day I would have a new favorite NFL team.

Denver is only 100 miles south of my hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming, so most of the early NFL games that I watched were that of the Denver Broncos.

I had never really made an opinion about the Broncos on if I liked them or not, they had an okay logo and my dad talked about them as if they were the best team I could ever watch.

But before the Super Bowl, before the 1997 season even, the Broncos received a face-lift.

Now the Bronco logo was cooler, no more D surrounding what looked like a knight, chess piece.

The colors were now meaner, Navy Blue and Orange.

And thankfully, the Broncos were no longer wearing pumpkin colored home uniforms.

Super Bowl XXXII was different too. This was the first Super Bowl I watched with the Broncos playing, but my dad had told me that John Elway and the great Broncos had made it to the Super Bowl before.

He did neglect the fact though, that Denver had lost the previous Super Bowls.

The game had been everything I thought a championship game should be, there was lots of scoring, and the Broncos were in a good position to win.

As the fourth quarter wound down, the broncos scored after a play that I would watch replays of over and over again.

John Elway ran for the end zone, but was hit by three Packer players and did a helicopter spin and landed on his back. Now that is what football should look like.    

The Broncos scored, and eventually won Super Bowl XXXII.

I was excited the good guys had won and were Super Bowl champions for the first time.

Wait, for the first time?

I was confused my dad had told me that the Broncos had made it to the Super Bowl before. Now the nice voice on the television was telling me this was their first championship.

My dad then explained to me that the Broncos had lost the other times, but now they had won, I guess I never made the connection before that making it to the Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl were not the same thing.

I guess I should have realized that earlier, when I was a Bills fan, but I never paid attention to but I never really watched football before this night.   

Ever since then I have watched the Broncos win a second championship, watched John Elway give way to Brian Griese, then a number of quarterbacks in the mid 2000’s then Jake Plummer, Jay Cutler and now a player to be named after training camp.

Also I was able to watch the Broncos for a number of years in Greeley Colorado during training camp. Something they had over the Bills.

And now I do think that the Broncos have a better logo than the Buffalo Bills.

BroncosZone Latest

• The Denver Broncos Must Face Their New Reality
• Denver Broncos: The Beginning of a New Era, Or The Beginning of the End?
• Hey Denver, Where’s the Love for Josh McDaniels?
• Josh McDaniels Is the Poster Boy for “Too Much, Too Soon”
• Denver Wide Receiver Brandon Marshall: “I Love Being a Bronco”