Why the Denver Broncos’ 2009 Season Is Sure to Disappoint

As a longtime Denver Broncos fan, I tend to look at the team through orange (and blue) tinted glasses.  

 

I like to take a glass half full instead of half empty approach with the team.

For 14 years, it seemed a given the Broncos would win around nine games, and I always figured that they would finish at, or near, the top of the AFC West and in contention to make the playoffs.

 

While they might not be the best team in the NFL, they would provide entertainment and would be competitive.

 

Yet, this year, it grows increasingly harder to look at this team as anything other than a rebuilding project.

 

Based on the preseason, it doesn’t appear that we can truly judge what kind of team this group will be.

Due to all the changes that took place during the offseason, I do not believe they will be in contention for the playoffs, and they might finish at the bottom of the AFC West, possibly near the bottom of the entire AFC.

 

My prediction is that they go 4-12, fail to make the playoffs, and give Seattle a very nice top 10 pick in the draft next year.

 

Don’t get me wrong though; going 4-12 shouldn’t be considered a “bad” thing.

My way of thinking is that they could finish with a worse record but still be a better team, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

 

Now, allow me to run down a couple of reasons why I believe the team will have a less than stellar year.

 

 

Reason One: The Schedule

 

Denver finished second in the AFC West in 2008.

 

After watching the team collapse down the stretch last season, it is unfortunate that they couldn’t have been just a little worse.

They did just enough to get themselves to a record of 8-8 and what can be best described, at least on paper, as a who’s who of murderers’ row opponents in 2009.

 

The first three games look winnable.

 

Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Oakland are sure to have improved over last season, but none are expected to have such marked improvement that they should be considered contenders.

 

Following the week three matchup with Oakland, the going gets tough.

 

Dallas, New England, San Diego, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Washington, San Diego, and New York (Giants) are their next eight opponents, and they still have Indianapolis and Philadelphia on the schedule.

 

At least on paper, that schedule is the definition of brutal.

 

Of course, anything can happen on any given Sunday. But it is going to be tough.

 

Don’t forget that the Broncos struggled in the AFC West last season and lost a game to each of the other teams within their division.

 

This season has the makings of a being very long and difficult to watch, Broncos fans.

 

 

 

Reason Two: Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

 

Everything has been changed for the Broncos this year.

 

The defense moved away from the 4-3 that they typically ran under Mike Shanahan and have adopted a new 3-4 scheme. During the preseason, it appeared to be a stroke of genius as the defense finished the exhibition portion of the year ranked seventh.

I know, nothing in the preseason means anything, but it gives us hope.

 

They might not be a top 10 defensive team during the regular season, but they will certainly be better than they have been in recent years.

 

They got bigger along the defensive front, with all three of the down linemen tipping the scales at over 300 pounds.

 

But the weak link of the defense remains the defensive line.

 

The linebackers are going to be expected to put pressure on opposing offense, and they will likely be up to the task.

Elvis Dumervil is the team’s most accomplished and consistent pass rusher, but he cannot do it all. They need someone else to step up so the opposing offense cannot just game plan away from Dumervil like Chicago did in the second half of their preseason matchup.

 

They have to hope that the front seven can create just enough pressure to buy Denver’s world-class secondary time to make a play.

 

On top of changing things on the defensive side, coach Josh McDaniels has put in an entirely new offensive system, rebuilding the offense from the ground up.

 

First, he changed the blocking scheme, which many people wouldn’t notice. Denver is keeping elements of the zone blocking scheme they ran under Coach Shanahan but are moving towards more of a man blocking scheme.

 

McDaniels seemed to be very conservative during the preseason, running a very basic version of his offense. Because of this, the growing pains are going to be plentiful. The offensive system Coach McDaniels runs is said to be one of the most difficult to master in the entire National Football League.

Maybe that is why the offense seemed stuck in neutral throughout the preseason.

 

Players who played under Shanahan or in another system are going to need some time to grasp all elements and learn what their roles will be in the new schemes.

 

Maybe that is why McDaniels keeps grabbing players off the New England scrap heap. Or maybe he doesn’t trust the players he inherited and doesn’t believe they can play here now. Or possibly, as rumored, he has a divided locker room, and bringing New England players in is the only way McDaniels can have a voice or gain control.

 

I have never seen a more polarizing figure in Broncos Country than McDaniels.

 

It seems that Broncos fans either love him or hate him, like there isn’t a lot of middle ground on the subject. Not all of us have to like him, and no one should question another fan’s loyalty just because he or she doesn’t like McDaniels. He is here, at least temporarily, so get used to it and learn to live with him.

 

 

 

Too many of the elements of the Broncos’ season make the prognosis look very bleak.

 

They have a brutal schedule, a first time head coach, changes throughout the organization, the possibility of a locker room divided, and so much more. Put it all together, and anything more than four wins would be an accomplishment.

Read more Denver Broncos news on BleacherReport.com

My Feelings About Jay Cutler

I am angry and actually feeling kind of foolish. You see, I was one of the few who took the side of former Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler when he and Josh McDaniels battled and escalated to the point where Cutler was shown the door and the team moved on without him.

 

While I blamed both sides, I put more of the blame on McDaniels, after all he is the head of the franchise and it appeared as though he was stabbing Jay in the back.

 

Through all of the jabs back and forth, all of the whining and the crying about who was doing what, I sided more with Jay than McDaniels.

 

I was actually saddened by the trade, seeing a quarterback who I hoped would be more Elway than anyone who came before him.

 

After all, Cutler seemingly had it all, a big arm, just enough arrogance and an attitude that I believed would help make the team a winner.

 

Through his three years in Denver I stood up for Jay, though he made mistakes, though he was temperamental, and though he could never put the team on his back and put them in the playoffs.

 

It was easy to make excuses, I mean the guy played with a terrible defense, he got so angry when the talent around him made mistakes because of his competitive fire.

 

His feud with Philip Rivers was caused by Rivers; after all we saw the evidence on the infamous video of Rivers taunting Cutler.

 

Even after hearing Rivers’ explanation that Jay was taunting the Chargers, it could be explained away and I did just that.

 

I always admitted that he needed to grow up, but didn’t ever see the reason for the hate that Cutler constantly got thrown at him.

 

Even after he was a complete jerk at Fan Fair, texting and acting like he couldn’t care less about the fans in line to see him, it didn’t matter. He was going to help the team, attitude be damned.

 

Now as they say, times (and my opinion) are changing.

 

Maybe Philip Rivers wasn’t that far off with his characterization of Cutler. Maybe the local and national media wasn’t that far off when they talked about Jay as an infant who was constantly behaving like a child.

 

Maybe his new teammate Brian Urlacher calling him a ***sy was accurate and maybe McDaniels was right, Cutler doesn’t have the football intelligence to run his complicated offensive system.

 

So what has made me feel like this?

 

Yesterday, Cutler was on a radio show based out of Chicago, when asked about the fans in Denver compared to fans in Chicago and the differences, Jay answered with the following:

 

“It’s the fans and how passionate they are…Denver’s on like a six, Chicago’s a nine…It’s a quite bit different…”

 

Whoa there, Jay…Time to think before you speak.

 

But what else would we expect? This is another case of Jay opening his mouth and inserting his foot.

 

Memo to Cutler: don’t you dare question the passion that I or any other Broncos fan has for our team. You have no idea what it means to be a Denver Broncos player or a Denver Broncos fan.

 

Wearing the Blue and Orange is something special and requires a certain type of player. We have seen greats like Rod Smith, John Lynch, John Elway, Randy Gradishar, Shannon Sharpe, Steve Atwater and numerous others pass through Dove Valley and Mile High.

 

Frankly, Jay would and will never be in that class of player. While he was talented and has the physical skills, he never had the mental makeup to succeed here. Now I wonder if he has the mental equipment to succeed anywhere.

 

At some point his potential will either be fulfilled or will go unused. Cutler can either become the quarterback many fans believe he is, or he can be the new Jeff George.

 

It is completely up to him on which way his career will go. Talent will only get him so far though and to be a champion and a leader will require him to grow up.

 

No more tantrums, no more screaming at teammates and no more acting like he is God’s gift to the quarterback position. The league is not graced by his presence; he is graced to be in the league.

 

To this point, Cutler has done nothing but make a lot of people angry, and this story certainly will not help him gain any supporters, especially here in Denver.

 

This is Broncos Country and we are some of the most passionate fans in the entire league. The Broncos have sold out every home game since the NFL merger in 1970. Crowds of fans packed Mile High and they continue to pack Invesco Field on Sundays.

 

Every team-sponsored event that is open to the public draws crowds of hundreds and sometimes thousands.  So, he has no grounds to say or insinuate that we are not passionate about our football team.

 

Whatever issues Cutler has with Josh McDaniels or the Broncos franchise should not involve the fans. He can be as angry as he wants at them, but there is no reason to attack the fans. Keep us out of it. Attacking the fans is bush league and unnecessary.

 

Some of us, if not most of us, supported Jay during his time here, even after he went diva and put his attitude above the team. Almost all of us hoped that Cutler would be the quarterback to finally make his own legacy and step out of the large shadow of Elway.

 

It wasn’t to be, so now it is time to move on. The Jay Cutler era in Denver is over, and it is probably the best thing for all parties involved. I am moving on, why talk about Cutler when he is no longer here?

 

Best of luck to him and the Chicago fans who now have to deal with him.

Goodbye to Jarvis Moss?

It is being reported that Denver Broncos defensive end/outside linebacker Jarvis Moss is considering retirement. The story was first broken by Denver news station KDVR Fox31.

 

KDVR sports anchor Josina Anderson reportedly spoke with a source close to the situation and was told “…Jarvis went to (Josh) McDaniels and met one-on-one with the coach and said he does not want to do this anymore. He feels he might be done with football and he’s thinking about retirement”. (KDVR.com)

 

When asked about Jarvis missing from training camp, Coach McDaniels responded that Moss is going through something “very personal” and that he would respect his privacy.

 

Moss is a former first round pick of the Broncos, 17th overall, and is entering his third NFL season. Thus far his professional career has been a mix of injuries, inactivity and failure to live up to expectation.

 

During his rookie season, Moss played in six games before a broken tibia sustained in practice ended his year prematurely. Through those six games, Moss recorded 12 tackles and 1 sack.

 

Last season he was inactive for four games, but ended up appearing in 12 games, recording 12 tackles and 2.5 sacks. So by the numbers, Moss has played in 18 games, starting zero, in two years, recorded 24 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

 

Clearly, Moss has not lived up to expectations of a first round pick, especially a player that the team traded up to get. Considering he was brought in to help bolster a pathetic pass rush, he has done very little pass rushing.

 

In fact, last season he couldn’t get on the field consistently even though the Broncos featured one of the worst defenses in the league. Maybe Coach Shanahan was beginning to see Moss as a bust, just like many of the fans were.

 

Then things changed. Shanahan was fired and Josh McDaniels was hired to run the team. One of the first things McDaniels did was move Jarvis from defensive end to outside linebacker.

 

With his size, 6’6″ and 265 pounds, Moss could excel as a pass rush specialist. He wouldn’t have to be in the trenches and would be able to use his speed and quickness to try and get to the quarterback. This could be the opportunity for a fresh start that Jarvis needed, but it would be an uphill battle.

 

The team boasts a deep linebacking corps already having DJ Williams, Wesley Woodyard, Spencer Larsen, and Mario Haggan playing in the rotation. Then they added Andra Davis and Darrell Reid in free agency, drafted Robert Ayers and converted defensive ends Elvis Dumervil and Tim Crowder to outside linebackers.

 

Counting Moss that would be ten players competing to play four linebacking spots in the newly implemented 3-4 defense. And Jarvis was certainly not high on the depth chart. In fact he was buried behind almost every other player.

 

DJ Williams and Andra Davis are quality starting linebackers, so they should be ahead of him. Elvis Dumervil has earned his NFL paycheck by being one of the best pass rushers in the league.

 

Larsen showed a degree of toughness and a hard hitting mentality last year, establishing himself as one of the better backup linebackers. Woodyard came out of nowhere and showed that he can be a very good play making backup.

 

McDaniels has belief that Reid can be an impact type player in the new defense and Ayers certainly won’t be on the bench for long.

 

What has Moss done on the field? As already shown, he has not done much, and certainly not more than any of the players listed above him on the depth chart. It was likely that his roster spot was already in jeopardy based on his play alone.

 

How many linebackers can one roster keep? With the holes this team has, and the depth they need at other positions, they will not keep everyone who is listed as a linebacker.

 

It was rumored that Moss was being shopped as trade bait during the draft, with the team reportedly seeking a seventh round pick in return. Not exactly a ringing endorsement from the new staff and likely a sign that his future with the Broncos would end quickly.

 

So after all that, Moss has reportedly decided that he doesn’t want to play football anymore and wants to take his ball and go home. Give up, walk away and forever be labeled as a quitter.

 

And that is exactly what will happen to him; he’ll be labeled as a quitter and be torn apart in the media and by fans if he goes through with his retirement. I ask how any of us are in any position to judge him.

 

Moss is a player who has battled injuries during his collegiate and professional careers. Maybe he doesn’t want to be remembered as one of the NFL horror stories and wants to be able to enjoy life without having to have surgeries and joint replacements.

 

Maybe he realized that he has a higher calling and wants to do something more with his life than play a children’s game. Maybe he just realized that he isn’t cut out for the grind of professional football.

 

Whatever his reason for contemplating walking away, I am sure that Jarvis can justify it to himself, and that is all he needs to do. He doesn’t owe the fans a single thing. He doesn’t owe the media an explanation or clarification. He simply has to be able to look in the mirror and know that he made the correct decision. 

 

If he wants to walk away, let him. He likely wouldn’t have made the roster anyways. It disappoints me that Moss would walk away before his potential was realized but I won’t judge him for it. Best of luck to Jarvis Moss in whatever he pursues if his playing days are truly behind him, hopefully he’ll find something that fulfills his life more than football.

 

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