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Denver Broncos (13-3)
Denver did not make many offseason changes, but they might have shot themselves in the foot by letting a few key players go. The Broncos could easily slide back down to the 10-6 or 9-7 range where they were the three seasons prior last year or they could maintain their spot at the top of the AFC West.
It is still hard to trust Jake Plummer to lead an offense, be he defintely earned the No Mistake Jake moniker last year. Plummer might revert to his old form of throwing about as many interceptions as touchdowns. He could maintain his high level of play, but the loss of offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak (Houston), RB Mike Anderson (Baltimore), and TE Jeb Putzier (Houston) could all contribute to some regression in Plummer's progress. QB Jay Cutler (Vanderbilt) was an excellent pick for the future, but he should not make an impact this year. If anything, his presence might get under Plummer's skin and cause him to play worse.
Only Shaun Alexander, Larry Johnson, LaDanian Tomlinson, and Edgerrin James had both more rushing yards and more touchdowns than Mike Anderson last year. Denver made no effort to re-sign him and that might have been a mistake. Putzier is not special, but he was probably the best tight end to switch teams in free agency. The fact that Kubiak brought Putzier with him to Houston tells us something about Putzier's value. Second-round pick TE Tony Scheffler (Western Michigan) could turn into a good player, but he is not a good blocker and comes from a small school.
The offense should get a big boost if WR Javon Walker (Green Bay) gets back to his pro bowl form of 2004. However, Walker is coming off a serious knee injury. Brett Favre has made a lot of average receivers look good over the years, so it remains to be seen if Walker will play well with Plummer tossing him the ball. WR Rod Smith is on the decline and this could be the year his age really catches up with him. It is hard to believe WR Ashley Lelie will open the season in a Broncos uniform and he is killing his chances to make an impact. If Javon Walker is fully-recovered and can play well without Favre, Rod Smith maintains his level of play, and Ashley Lelie comes in and contributes then this could be one of the best receiving corps in the league. With all the question marks, it could end up being one of the worst. Fourth-rounder WR Brandon Marshall (Central Florida) is a playmaker, but he might not be ready to contribute right away.
Good offensive line play has been a staple in Denver with their zone-blocking scheme. Jeff Jagodzinski (now in Green Bay after a brief stint Atlanta) and Gary Kubiak are both gone. The line could take a step back because of it, but that seems unlikely. They should once again easily be a top ten line, led by pro bowler C Tom Nalen and an outstanding player in LT Matt Lepsis. He should make the pro bowl now that Willie Roaf has retired. Only Indianapolis has allowed fewer sacks than this group the past two seasons.
The defense should be about as good as they were last year. They are solid in the secondary led by CB Champ Bailey, who is probably the best corner in the league. CB Darrent Williams, FS John Lynch, and SS Nick Ferguson are all solid players as well. MLB Al Wilson is one of the best in the league at his position and anchors that linebacker group.
The problem with Denver is the defensive line and an anemic pass-rush. Mike Shanahan brought in four guys (DE Courtney Brown, DE Ebenezer Ekuban, DT Michael Myers, DT Gerard Warren) from the Cleveland Browns last offseason. The group played well, but that had a lot to do with the leadership of DE Bryce Fisher (Baltimore). The Broncos made no effort to keep Fisher either, which could also have been a mistake. He is going to start for the Ravens. Shanahan went back to Cleveland to get another defensive linemen in DE Kenard Lang, but he won't make an impact. The team only took one defensive player in the draft and waited until the fourth round to do so, but they got the right guy. DE Elvis Dumervil (Louisville) led the NCAA in sacks last year with 20 and also had 11 forced fumbles. His size and inconsistency make him a candidate to be nothing more than pass-rush specialist on third-down, but that happens to be exactly what Denver needs.
The Broncos could feel some serious ramifications from the loss of Gary Kubiak and the three guys that they made no effort to keep around. They did not lose anyone in free agenc;, they actually cut Anderson, Putzier, and Pryce. Even if the Broncos slip a little, they will still challenge for the division title and either of the wildcard spots. Denver does have some tough games against New England and Indianapolis, which could really hurt their chances at winning the division. Mike Shanahan might have let his ego get the best of him and it looks like this team might have sacrificed the present for the sake of the future on a few too many occasions.
Key Additions: WR Javon Walker (GB), QB Jay Cutler (R), TE Tony Scheffler (R), DE Elvis Dumervil (R), WR Brandon Marshall (R), DE Kenard Lang (CLE)
Key Losses: OC Gary Kubiak, RB Mike Anderson (BAL), DE Trevor Pryce (BAL), TE Jeb Putzier (HOU)
For a view of what an untreated case Raider envy looks like, check out this article by Donco writer Bernie Lincicome. In it, Bernie makes his case that The Induction of John Madden Lowers the Standards for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Let us dissect this view with all the grace of a high school biology student carving up a frog, for the article appears to be written at a high-school level of understanding of the game of football. To do so, we will consider the only football stat that really matters - winning.
Lincicome states, "John Madden has put Mike Shanahan in the Hall of Fame."
The first question is, "Why is this Donco bozo comparing Mike Shanahan to John Madden in the first place?" Madden is eligible for the HOF. Shanarat is not until five years after he retires. This is the equivalent of comparing a ripe apple to a green banana.
The reason Lincicome does not instead compare Madden to any of the Donco coaches actually eligible for HOF induction is none of them actually has a chance in Hades of being considered. While much is made of the Raiders' current three-year losing streak, consider the fact the Doncos had a thirteen-year losing streak overlapping the period Raider HOFers Al Davis and John Madden were head coaches of this team.
From 1960-'72 the Donco record was an abysmal 52- 123. Utter Raider dominance over the Doncos during the time in question explains why Lincicome doesn't mention such stellar Donco Head Coaching Legends as Lou Saban in his biased comparison.
Lincicome goes on to state, "Since Shanahan has already won six more regular-season games and one more Super Bowl than Madden, clearly the Bronco coach is beyond the entrance bar, and Shanahan will not need to wait 27 years and become a TV oddity to verify his credentials, as Madden needed to do."
Well actually, Shanahan's regular season record is 122-74, while Madden's is 103-32. If you do the math, Shanahan actually has won 19 more regular season games than Madden, so it is unclear where Lincicome gets his stats. But the truth is Shanarat has also lost 42 more regular season games than Madden. 19-42 is the difference. Twice as many more losses as victories. I fail to be impressed.
The bottom line is Madden's regular season win percentage is better than ANY head coach's, ever. Lincicome is wacky on the junk to think a regular season win comparison to Shanarat is the way to make his ludicrous case.
The case that Shanarat should get in the HOF because of his two Super Bowl victories does not hold any weight either. See Exhibit A, Raider coach Tom Flores, whose two SB wins have yet to get him enshrined.
And please note, the reason it took Madden 20+ years to get inducted has nothing to do with his merits as a coach. The HOF voters have a prejudice against allowing active coaches in the HOF. John began as the youngest head coach in the NFL and subsequently retired from coaching at the age of 42, an age when most head coaches are just getting their first gig. What really happened is the HOF voters always thought Madden would return to coaching one day, so they put his enshrinement on the back burner.
Madden got in as a coach, not as a contributor. HOF voters follow guidelines to solely discuss a coach's career as a coach; hence, anything Madden did as a broadcaster or video game innovator were not taken into account by the voters. Lincicome's "He needed to become a TV oddity first" statement is patently false.
Madden is a coach and got in as a coach. Were he voted in as a contributor, his broadcasting, books, and other contributions could have been considered. But they weren't. Verily, Madden did not get in because "He became America's goofy uncle," as Lincicome suggests.
The one comparison Lincicome makes that does hold water is comparing Madden to Packer great Vince Lombardi. Lombardi is after all the man the trophy is named after and coached during the same era as Madden. Lombardi's coaching record of 106-36-6 closely mirrors Madden's record of 112-39-7. Neither ever coached a team to a losing record.
If the coach who's career compares most fittingly to John Madden's is that of the man himself, Lombardi, how is it possible Lincicome can make a case Madden doesn't belong? A blind man with Alzheimer on peyote could see if Vince is in, John is too.
The Lombardi legacy is not at all tarnished by his relatively short career by today's standards. Vince Lombardi's coaching career ended after a bout with intestinal cancer and he died on September 3, 1970.
Citing health reasons during the January 4, 1979 press conference announcing his retirement from coaching, the 42-year-old Madden said the years of stress (which lead to an ulcer causing him to chug Maalox by the quart) had given him "the body of a 70-year-old," according to his doctors. Hence, Madden's coaching legacy is not at all tarnished by the fact health concerns forced his retirement.
Though in my opinion winning should be the most important criterion for HOF induction and Madden stacks up like none other in this measure, what about the fact Madden only won one Super Bowl? Shouldn't his teams have won more, as Raider persona non grata, Tim Brown suggests?
Perhaps, but consider Madden's teams played the AFC/AFL Championship Game seven times in his ten year career. Yes, Madden's teams lost six of those games, but didn't Marv Levy lose four consecutive Super Bowls and still get inducted? In seventy percent of the seasons Madden coached, his team was playing for all the marbles.
In contrast, Mike Shanahan's teams have reached the AFC Championship game less than half as many times (three) and it has taken Shanarat three more years than Madden (thirteen total) to do even this. Bottom line: Madden decidedly achieved a more consistent level of greatness than The Rat will ever reach.
But perhaps John Madden's most important legacy (yes, there are even more important things than winning, true believers) is his role in elevating the station of African-Americans in the NFL. John stood by players such as the Soul Patrol (Brown, Tatum, Atkinson, and Thomas) and the Highway (Shell and Upshaw) at a time when having a lot of black players in the NFL simply wasn't cool.
Madden went so far as to cancel away games when hotels in the cities the Raiders were visiting would not accept black players. Madden made a difference in the Civil Rights movement going on at the time, and did so simply because these were the best players on the field.
What leagacy is Shanarat going to leave behind? That he drafted troubled bozo Maurice Clarett in the third round and watched him stick up 7-Elevens and lead police on high speed chases with his flak jacket and arsenal of pistols? Puhlease.
It is clear this Donco hack, Lincicome, is just miserable 'cause the Mules have NO ONE in the HOF themselves...oops...forgot Mr. Ed-way. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while.
Remember, Edway was traded from the Colts to the Raiders before the Doncos sabotaged the deal anyway, so even Mr. Ed was identified by the Raiders as a player of greatness before he ever became a Horse-faced, Orange Push-Up Wearin' buffoon.
Imagine, the Donkey lovers look at this site and see their proud franchise listing the likes of Willie Brown (STILL a Raider coach) and Tony Dorsett (er...ya think he was a KY Cowboy?) as their only HOFers.
Is it any wonder this Mule Tool writer comes up with this fish wrapper?
Envy, pure and simple. He wishes the Doncos had even one third of the thirteen HOFers the Raiders list as enshrinees. It's like seeing your next door neighbor having Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston at the same time, then calling them "ugly" 'cause you never even get a phone number yourself.
In sum, while any orange-furred orangutan banging the keys on his typewriter can get published, Lincicome has lowered the standards for allowing primates to write.
Please feel free to tell 'em so by emailin' 'em at: lincicomebRockyMountainNews
A sticky thanks to Rxtreme for tipping us off to this article.
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