Denver Broncos
 |
NFL Team Column By Doug Kurnel 2009 NFL Draft Review |
Denver Broncos Make Some Coaching Changes
The Denver Broncos have announced several coaching changes these past few days. Don Martindale is set to take over as defensive coordinator. Eric Studesville formerly the Buffalo Bills running back coach will replace Bobby Turner. The Broncos also announced a couple more moves in the coaching staff as well.
Don Martindale has served as the Broncos linebacker coach since 2005. Denver will keep the same defensive philosophy, thanks to Martindale’s aggressiveness. Martindale will replace former defensive coordinator Mike Nolan who later signed with the Miami Dolphins.
Eric Studesville served as the Buffalo Bills running back coach/coordinator for six years. Last year the Bills had the 16th best rushing attacked compared to the Broncos 18th spot.
Also the Broncos announced the hiring of Bob Ligashesky who will become the tight ends coach. Which moves Clancy Brown to offensive line coach. Head coach Josh McDaniels son Ben McDaniels was moved to quarterbacks coach as well.
Denver Broncos Impending Free Agents
The Denver Broncos have ten free-agents to address this off-season. So it’s time to consider which players are worth keeping a few more years, and which players should be let go.
Kyle Orton- After a solid year for the Broncos with 21 touchdowns, and a 62.2 completion percentage. It’s likely Denver may re-sign Orton for a couple of years and either try to develop rookie quarterback Tom Brandstater or draft another young quarterback early in the NFL Draft.
Brandon Marshall- It seems very unlikely that Brandon Marshall will return to the Broncos after his recent antics. Marshall has constantly gotten into some off the field issues. Plus Marshal doesn’t fit the ‘Team First’ mentalility that Josh McDaniels wants in his players. It’s likely that McDaniels and the Broncos will be looking for a similar compensation the Lions got for Roy Williams (First and Third round pick).
Tony Scheffler- Tony Scheffler, similar to Brandon Marshall have not see eye to eye with Josh McDaniels. Scheffler has been upset most of the year with his lack of receptions and involvement in the offense. Due to Scheffler’s low numbers this year Denver will not get the compensation they would have wished for. It’s likely they will get a 4th round pick, 3rd round if a team is very interested.
Ben Hamilton- Hamilton really struggled this year and isn’t getting any younger. So I’d be surprised if the Denver Broncos ever really considered re-signing Hamilton.
Russ Hochstein- Hochstein was solid depth this year for the Denver Broncos, he may be brought back another year as depth.
Chris Kuper- It’s really difficult to see Denver deciding not to re-sign a young and talented linemen like Kuper. Kuper is one of few young talented offensive linemen on the Broncos team.
Elvis Dumervil- Elvis Dumervil has absolutely flourished in a 3-4 defense, and now with Brandon Marshall likely not returning to Denver Dumervil will get a well deserved pay raise. In three years with Denver Dumervil has had an impressive 43 sacks. Dumervil also lead the NFL in sacks this year with 17.
Ty Law- Ty Law provided decent depth for the Broncos this year, but he’s too old to keep around any longer.
Josh Barrett- A young player who played decent last year, it wouldn’t hurt to keep him around as solid depth and a developmental player.
Matt Prater- Matt Prater improved this year, so Denver is no longer in need of a kicker. It’s very likely that Prater will be re-signed. Prater had a 12.2 increase in kicking percentage this year.
Broncos Choke Again, Now Time to Make Some Changes
This is a familiar story to all Broncos fans, they start out and hot and slowly crash and burn near the end of the season. This team has show promise but it’s obvious that there must be changes made, and I’ll preview those positions that need to be addressed this off-season during the free agency period and during the NFL Draft.
Quarterback- Kyle Orton is a game manager, and nothing more. Denver needs to find a quarterback with the ability to stretch the field with their arm. A couple of prospects that would be a good fit for Denver’s system are Sam Bradford, Ryan Mallett, Jarrett Brown, and Sean Canfield. All have decent to good arm strength and have the ability to stretch the field, and with Josh McDaniels teaching them I believe they could reach their full potential.
Running Back- Sure this does come as a surprise with Denver already selecting Knowshon Moreno last year in the first round. But Moreno has shown that he can’t handle the load as a every down back, plus with Buckhalter and Jordan in their thirties it wouldn’t hurt if they drafted one late in the draft. Some prospects to look at are Brandon Minor, Charles Scott, Noel Devine, Andre Anderson, and Chris Brown.
Wide Receiver- Brandon Marshall appears to be on his way out of Denver, thanks to his recent antics. So it’s likely Denver may look for a receiver that fits the mold of Marshall (possession, great size, physical) . Some prospects to look at are Dez Bryant, Arrelious Benn, Eric Decker, Riley Cooper, and Jeremy Williams.
Offensive Line- Denver needs to add depth and find some young starters to rebuild their once great offense line. Chris Kuper is the only serviceable guard, so the Broncos may want to add another young guard. The Broncos are old and have no depth at center, so they will need to find a young center in either the 4th or 5th round.
Defensive Line- Denver’s defenses emergence is nothing short of amazing, but late in the season it began to wear down. Kenny Peterson is in his thirties and Ronald Fields in my opinion doesn’t have the size to play nose tackle full time. For defensive line the Broncos will need to add some depth early, look for prospects like Arthur Jones, Alex Carrington, Dan Williams, and Torrell Troup to be looked at by Denver.
Inside Linebacker- Andra Davis was a serviceable linebacker early in the season. However Davis like most of Denver’s defense was worn down as the season went on. Maybe Wesley Woodyard, or Spencer Larsen can step up but it wouldn’t hurt if they look towards adding another young linebacker late in the draft.
Cornerback- Ty Law, Champ Bailey, and Andre’ Goodman are all to old to be starting corner for much longer. The Broncos do have players like Alphonso Smith, and Tony Carter but they may want to find a taller and much more physical corner during the off-season.
Punter- Football is a game of inches, and Mitch Berger has been a major failure for Broncos this year. The Broncos will need to go out and find a punter in either the free-agency, the draft, or during the un-drafted free agency period.
There are several needs the Broncos need to address after another long and disappointing season for the Orange and Blue.
The 2009 NFL Draft Review: The Denver Broncos
By Bryan Dietzler
The Broncos went into the 2009 NFL Draft with a lot of needs and the picks by which to get them. With two first round selections, the Broncos took a running back and a linebacker (defensive end) leaving some to question why they ended up taking a running back when they needed more help on defense. Some of their other picks were questionable as well and there are many critics lining up to take a shot at Denver’s draft.
The following is a look at the players that Denver drafted in the 2009 NFL Draft and my overall grade on their draft.
Knowshon Moreno-RB-Georgia picked 1st (12th)
Some experts raised a few questions as to why the Broncos went ahead and picked a running back after they had signed three during the offseason. Moreno will end up being the starting running back when it’s all said and done but the Broncos could have filled out other needs, especially on defense, with this pick.
Robert Ayers-OLB/DE-Tennessee picked 1st (18th)
The Broncos did do something good by taking Ayers but they may have taken him a little bit too early in the draft. Ayers should help them out in their conversion from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4 and will act as a pass rushing outside linebacker. A good pick, a bit early, but a good and solid pick for this team.
Alphonso Smith-CB-Wake Forest picked 2nd (37th)
This pick might have been a reach for a guy who is so small but in college, Smith was a big time playmaker and should fit in their nickel package well. Most experts just can’t get over the issue with his size however but he should be able to make up for it with his ability.
Darcel McBath-CB-Texas Tech picked 2nd (48th)
The Broncos continued building up their secondary with another pick at cornerback. McBath is bigger than Smith and may see a starting spot ahead of Smith.
Richard Quinn-TE-North Carolina picked 2nd (64th)
The last of the Broncos second round picks was Quinn who was an interesting choice as the team could have went and gotten some other talent at that point in the draft aside for Quinn. However, he will help them out, especially in the running game but isn’t much of a pass catching tight end.
David Bruton-FS-Notre Dame picked 4th (114th)
The Broncos continued to look for help in the secondary by taking Bruton, a free safety who might need some work but could eventually step up and start in a year or two. He will push some of the starters at the position going into training camp but will most likely have to wait his turn.
Seth Olsen-OG-Iowa picked 4th (132nd)
The Broncos went for some depth on the offensive line with this pick and managed to get a pretty solid guard and someone who might be able to start if needed at some point. Olsen is a pretty solid player and a good pick at this point in the draft.
Kenny McKinley-WR-South Carolina picked 5th (141st)
The Broncos went for some depth at the wide receiver position for this pick and could have a guy that could contend for the third or fourth spot on the team at that position. McKinley comes in a lot better groomed than some of the players taken before him in the draft.
Tom Brandstater-QB-Fresno State picked 6th (174th)
The Broncos needed someone who could push both Kyle Orton and Chris Simms for the starting job in Denver and they didn’t quite get one with Brandstater. He could become the number three quarterback there and help at least back up and make a run for the number two spot sometime further down the road.
Blake Schlueter-C-TCU picked 7th (225th)
The Broncos went for some depth on the offensive line again and got a guy who just might be able to step in and start at some point down the road. This may have been the Bronco’s steal of the draft because he has worked out so well during pre-draft workouts.
The Broncos really missed out on upgrading their defense which is something that they had to do thanks to the switch in defensive schemes so they will be hurting this first year out. The thought was that they might make a play for a quarterback in the first round, such as USC’s Mark Sanchez but they failed to do that also leaving many to wonder what their draft strategy was exactly.
Overall Grade: D