A Wave of Shocking Change

It needs to be said and has been said on some levels, but here is the full explanation about the Denver Broncos‘ play to this point. In the offseason there was much criticism of the Broncos‘ front office. It started prior to the Broncos’ last regular season game in San Diego and was solidified with the demoralizing loss to the Chargers. The Denver Broncos were heading in a new direction. 

Mike Shanahan thought he was going to lunch with his friend and owner Pat Bowlen when he was shown the door. To Mr. Bowlen’s credit, he had to make a very hard business decision that involved a good friend with whom he had shared two NFL Championships. 

That is not easy to do, but given some of the recent history that had been built with fruitless results, it seemed as though it was the time to make the move.

The dismissal of Shanahan alone was enough to ignite whatever else happened in the offseason. Little did Broncos Country know the rest of the team roster was about to be set ablaze.   

The new coach was introduced at Dove Valley and almost as quickly as he landed in Denver was his selection being second guessed by all credible writers in the Denver media market. It seemed like there were at least two or three other candidates that were interviewed and at least a few of the older school coaches that could have been or even would have made more sense at the time.

The Broncos’ front office under Pat Bowlen’s guidance became enamored with the kid who just so happened to be Bill Belichick’s protégé. There was blind trust, it seemed, in casting everything to the winds of change.

Gone was the leader of the team in Jay Cutler, a number of coaches, and about half of last year’s team. Of the seven players that played tailback for the Broncos last season, only one of them remains on the team roster, that being Peyton Hillis.

On defense, only Champ Bailey retained his same exact starting position. The only other returning starting defenders from last season’s team were given new marching orders as starters under the Broncos’ new 3-4 scheme. Moving to the middle linebacker position was DJ Williams and to the outside linebacker position was Elvis Dumervil.

 

The Controversial Draft

While the Broncos had a controversial and successful draft, they were criticized for taking Knowshon Moreno and not a solid defensive lineman or linebacker at that position. Then the Broncos traded away one of the first rounders in next year’s draft for a second rounder this season to help bring depth to the defensive backfield this year. 

The Broncos also selected tight end Richard Quinn, who was projected to land in much later rounds, at the end of the second round. It seemed the Broncos were not making the wisest selections at those rounds, especially when considering that the Broncos could have picked up Brian Orakpo (DE), Brian Cushing (OLB), Larry English (DE), and Clay Mathews (OLB) to name a few.

Furthermore, the Broncos selected Alphonso Smith (DB) just one pick in front of the Bengals‘ selection of Rey Maualuga (MLB), who has impressed already in the young season.

For the Broncos, however, at the time, it was more about what their most pressing needs were for this season to become a success. Certainly any of those other talents mentioned could have contributed to this team, but it was about creating depth for the future and the short run while getting by with the talent on the roster at that point in time.

 

A Lackluster Training Camp Coupled with a Disappointing Preseason

Much of Broncos Nation and the press were holding their breath once the preseason arrived. Certainly the Broncos were now going to have a new look and feel about them on both sides of the ball.

Enter Kyle Orton as the Broncos’ new quarterback and the new 3-4 defensive philosophy. Everyone knew for this team to step up, there would have to be significant improvement on defense and signs of life on offense.

A week prior to the first preseason game, Kyle Orton did not look sharp in the team scrimmage at Mile High. There was, however, some strong signs of potential in Orton and on defense. 

Still, there were the off-field issues with Brandon Marshall and his agent seeking out a trade and then an eventual suspension from the team. Marshall was told to take a break from the team for the remainder of the preseason because of his actions being detrimental to the team.

It seemed all was not well with Brandon and the performance in the preseason would lead one to believe that this was a work in progress.

The Broncos played fairly well in the first preseason game at San Francisco, especially on defense. The team, however, lost against a beatable opponent, even for a preseason game. 

Then the Broncos went to Seattle and laid an egg overall. Perhaps they were looking ahead to their next game. 

Enter the departed Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears in a game at Mile High that may have been one of the most anticipated preseason games of all time. The Broncos’ first team defense looked very good overall in the game, but Kyle Orton got a significant injury to his throwing hand index finger and it seemed the Broncos might be off to a rough start after losing that game.

As unimpressive as everything else was to this point in the preseason, the final game of the preseason perhaps was a prelude and it could not have had better timing. With the Broncos losing to Jay Cutler and the Bears in their most important preseason game, this team was in need of an even greater spark. 

To his credit, Pat Bowlen stuck to his guns and never surrendered the expectations of how his teams should be performing. Additionally, the front office was more media friendly in the offseason than they possibly have been in some time.  

Against Arizona, current third string quarterback Tom Brandstater impressed in his first start against the Cardinals and he gave the Broncos fans hope for the future.

 

Tomorrow, part two of this series will focus on breaking down the regular season thus far.

Contact Chaz at sportsmanagement@gmail.com.

 

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