After winning their first 6 games last season under upstart rookie head coach Josh Mcdaniels, the Broncos would up going 2-8 to finish even at 8-8. There have been a few changes to the roster, as Mcdaniels decided to ship star receiver Brandon Marshall off to Miami, draft one of the best college QB's in history (yes, that Tebow guy) and also trade for a another young & former first round QB Brady Quinn. These moves can make or break the Mcdaniels Era in Denver.
Offense
A staple of the Denver Broncos offense has always been to employ a zone blocking scheme, which allows the RB to read one block and hit that whole aggressively. That will still be the case in 2010 with second year back Knowshon Moreno, who has the potential to be a breakout player this season. QB Kyle Orton is steady and reliable in the short passing game. Denver used the twenty-second overall pick in the draft to pick up Demaryius Thomas, a big receiver who may be able to fill Brandon Marchall's shoes as Orton's favorite target. But don't expect much this season. Eddie Royal is a nice route runner with good speed to get down the field and also make plays in the return game while veterans Brandon Lloyd & Jabar Gaffney can fill in the slot. TE Daniel Graham will be primarily used as a blocker, as many of the Broncos offensive plays utilize 3-receiver sets.
Defense
The loss of star pass-rusher LB Elvis Dumervil to a torn pectoral muscle will be a huge hit to a defense that is lacking playmakers. MLB D.J. Williams is solid and makes a lot of tackles and CB Champ Bailey is still one of the best in the business, but there is no replacing Dumervil's pressure on the QB. Simply put, the Broncos will give up a ton of points.
Prediction
6-10
Without Durmervil, I can't see the Broncos being able to keep offenses from lighting up the scoreboard. The offense is young and will have flashes but inconsistency will cause too many mistakes for them to compete in a shootout. Denver should try to get golden boy Tim Tebow on the fast track as he'll probably be starting a couple of games and taking a ton of hits by season's end.
-ALR
They can blame all their problems on Josh McDaniels. He ran off two All-Pro talents, messed off the end of last season by benching Brandon Marshall, and now has pinned the future on Tim Tebow, after trading for another Golden Boy (Brady Quinn) who is already stuck backing up a mediocre fan favorite (Kyle Orton).
ReplyDeleteI see Bill Cowher head coaching them in the not-to-distant future. You heard it here first.
Thing is, if McDaniels somhow makes this all work he looks like a genius. Sadly I think they have the pieces in place to still win for a good decade or so, IF they all pan out.
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