Posts Tagged ‘Brandon Marshall’
Broncos Draft Situation
Been quiet about the Broncos moves this off-season so far. Draft is coming up and like all Bronco fans, I’ve got opinions that no one else cares about…but I want them heard.
Marshall Trade – win-win situation. He hated Denver for a lot of reasons, not all of them football (Darrent Williams) and now he goes ‘home’ to Miami. He gets what he wants. Denver gets what they want – the equivalent of a 1st round pick (2 Number 2s) and not paying an outrageous contract to a guy one slip away from NFL banishment. I like the trade.
Draft – what I don’t like is the speculation that now Dez Bryant is the number 11 pick. If that happens, guns will go off all over the city of Denver. Be listening next Thursday night. Dez Bryant is Marshall reincarnated — huge WR with massive talents, nutcase off the field.
Instead, pick #25, Rolando McClain. But McClain is a 10-year pick. It’s a Patrick Willis, Al Wilson, kind of pick. It’s a “this makes so much sense it’s stupid” pick. The Crohn’s disease? He’s handled it since high school. Proves he’s a warrior and disciplined to play at that high level with that issue. Will he be there at 11? I think so. I hope so. Almost every mock draft has him sitting there. And with Doom in a 3-4 – the meltdown of 2010 could be a thing of the past.
McClain actually covers AND tackles AND calls plays AND audibles AND hits people coming across the middle. Something a LB for Denver hasn’t done since Wilson’s days. He can play all 3 downs, he’s a gym rat, he’s smart, fast, and basically the other teams in front of Denver will be idiots if they don’t pick him.
How sold am I on McClain instead of Dez? If a WR is such a HUGE need (last time I checked, they don’t tackle or block), then I’d rather Denver sign TO for a year and draft McClain then let McClain go and draft Dez. How’s that?
The Rest of the Draft
I think if McClain is drafted at 11, the rest of the draft is gravy. As deep as the WR position is in this draft, grab one of those other WR with the 2nd rounder. Trade up and get a lineman/center in the first round. Grab a safety or DB in the middle rounds.
Tebow is an interesting pick. I know Denver worked him out and like all teams that meet him, they loved him. and if he is sitting there late in the 2nd round — heck yeah, roll the dice. If it works out, you’re a genius. If it doesn’t, well you tried. After watching Gruden’s film on the QB, I think Tebow will be a better pro than what was first thought and I think the team that gets him won’t ever have to worry about his work ethic or staying out of trouble.
He’ll be smarter with the ball than Clausen, bigger than McCoy to take the hits and with Orton — really, what is there to lose by drafting him? Worse case scenario, he’s a backup that does a great job on special teams.
39-38, 2-0
5 Things I Think About The Broncos, Week 2
1. Jay Cutler is a stud.
Ask the first 10 teams of the 2006 draft if they could have a do-over, would they take it – they would and they would draft Cutler. Except the Raiders. They’d draft a corner again. Because Al Davis is a lot of things that can’t be printed here.
But I digress…Cutler had 2 turnovers that could/should have cost the Broncs the game. He overcame that and instead threw two lasers to Eddie Royal for the win.
2. Marshall, Marshall, Marshall.
The only thing keeping this guy from breaking all kinds of records is his own maturity. He’s the real deal.
3. Shanahan’s moxy has returned.
I remember the days when Shanny would call any play from any place on the field on any down. I remember 4th and 1′s and 2′s being attempted at midfield. I thought it was the wrong call to go for 2. Then I heard his explanation after the game – “I didn’t want to rely on the coin flip.” Which is a not-so-subtle hint to the defensive coordinator to not completely unpack. It meant – if the Chargers got the ball, they score.
4. The special teams will cost the Broncos 2 games this year.
As giddy as I am about the offense, the special teams and defense (I’ll get to them later) causes heartburn. It’s a sad commentary when your starting corner and tight end have to play on kickoff coverage AND they still gave up a TD. Sloppy, sloppy, play.
5. The Broncos defense will cost them at least 3 games. Maybe more.
If Karl Paymah is the answer to a team with as many weapons as the Chargers (see Colts, Patriots), the Broncs are in deep weeds. Chris Chambers completely abused the 3rd and 4th DB’s. Sproiles ran through the gut of this defense like it was practice. Our safeties were NOWHERE to be found on deep plays.
Bailey got beat on a long pass to Chambers today. First time in two years I’ve seen that. Then I saw from a wide angle shot what our team has asked Champ to do – cover half the field. It made things worse for me. How bad are the other 10 guys if Champ is already covering half the field? Most teams would die for that kind of corner. Put Champ on the Titans or Pittsburgh defense and you’ve just created a defense that could compete with the ’85 Bears.
Free advice for the DC – keep the rental, don’t buy.
Overall, 2-0 is awesome. Wins over division opponents are precious. Winning the AFC west, while a long way off, now looks like it is in the realm of possible.
Other random NFL thoughts:
Yes, it was a fumble. Yes, the Chargers should have gotten the ball. They didn’t. Broncos took advantage of it. Chargers didn’t.
Somebody please explain to me how Marvin Lewis still has a job.
The Vikings and Chargers are two franchises I would not want to play next week.
Someone ought to tell Herm Edwards that if he would run the ball more than 12 times a game, he’d probably wouldn’t be 0-2 and playing with his 3rd string quarterback.
How scary is Carolina going to be WITH Steve Smith?
Memo to Bears: you have the same need you’ve had for 3 years and done nothing about. Get a QB.
Lane Kiffin – love the honesty, I even think you’ll one day be a great NFL coach. But none of us feel sorry for you because you accepted the job and Al Davis hasn’t changed in 79 years. None of the drama is surprising.
What’s with all the ex-Raiders being broadcasters? Are networks that desperate?
Not A Great Start By Goodell
NFL season is on (finally) and it has NOT been a great start for its commissioner, Roger Goodell.
Exhibit A: Marshawn Lynch
Lynch was involved in a hit and run accident that left the victim wounded. In the new NFL, everyone thought Lynch was going to miss a game or two. Not so. Goodell said not enough there, not a history of bad decisions. No games missed.
If I’m involved in a hit and run accident, you can bet there will be a little stiffer punishment.
Exhibit B: The Favre Chronicles
He waits to reinstate Brett Favre hoping to avoid a media circus. I’m not sure what exactly he was thinking. So instead of reinstating Favre earlier and allowing the two sides to possibly sit down and work out a deal, he waited. In the meantime, stories came out about tampering, the Packers tried to buy off Farve from unretiring, and lots of verbal barbs were exchanged. Barbs it turns out that either side can’t get over.
Exhibit C: The Favre Chronicles, Part 2
Did Minnesota tamper with Brett Favre? Probably. Does every other team in the NFL do this? Yes. While Goodell made the right decision in not punishing Minnesota, once again he didn’t seem to have the sense urgency to make a decision. Dragging things out always makes them worse.
Exhibit D: Brandon Marshall Suspension
The worst kept secret in the NFL was that Marshall was going to get a 3 game suspension for his off-field actions that could get reduced to 2 if he does counseling. Again, Goodell waits 2 weeks to make an announcement and in the meantime, more drama and attention is drawn to the situation.
I’m not upset that he ruled that Marshall must miss some games. He should. Playing in the NFL is a privilege, not a right. By the same token, he should have sent Lynch home for a game or two as well.
It’s not that Goodell’s decisions (except maybe the Lynch one) were bad decisions. It’s that it takes him forever to announce them and in the meantime, more damage is done. Besides that, the media leaks inside his office are ridiculous.
Let’s hope the games get here soon so we don’t have to deal with a lot more of this.