Training Camp Preview: Broncos

[Ray Finkle]

from fanball.com.....

Leading up to the start of Training Camps in July, Fanball.com is taking a team-by-team tour with fantasy previews for each NFL squad. We'll detail the key offseason moves, position battles to watch, and other things to keep an eye on as the clubs prepare for the season ahead.

Notable Offseason Moves: In what would have been huge news 10 years ago, the Broncos added ancient free agent Jerry Rice. Actually, this move was more like a mercy killing, as the greatest wide receiver to ever play the game had to stoop so low as to send out a message to all 32 teams offering his services. Broncos' head coach Mike Shanahan worked with Rice previously, but that wasn't enough to earn Jerry any special favors beyond the contract offer, as Rice will be the No. 4 receiver on the depth chart.

In two moves that will earn yawns from fantasy owners, the Broncos signed running back Ron Dayne and tight end Stephen Alexander during the free agency period. Dayne, a first-round pick in the 2000 draft, was a bust throughout his run with the G-Men, and Alexander has suffered more freak injuries than one of Ike Turner's female companions throughout his career.

Reuben Droughns, who led the team in rushing yards last season, was dealt to the Browns in exchange for defensive linemen Ebenezer Ekuban and Michael Myers. Droughns became the second Broncos' back in as many years to be shipped out of town after asking for a pay increase.

In a move that sparked a series of free agent additions, the Broncos hired for Browns' defensive line coach Andre Patterson to serve in the same capacity. One might have thought that Patterson would have been happy to get out of Cleveland and away from the team's slew of high draft pick busts who occupied his line. Instead, Patterson was instrumental in convincing the Broncos' brass to acquire Ekuban and Myers in the Droughns trade, and to sign free agents Courtney Brown and Gerard Warren. Although Brown missed 14 games last year, the other three members of the unit combined for just 13 sacks and were heavily criticized by the Cleveland media.

Position Battles: Let's start with the obvious. Shanahan is clearly insane when it comes to his running backs. Earlier this year, he stated that Quentin Griffin was the man to beat for the starting job. After a few minicamp workouts, Tatum Bell told reporters he was under the impression that former Marine turned running back turned fullback turned running back again Mike Anderson had been promoted to top dog. Adding to this clustermess are the offseason additions of Ron Dayne and Maurice Clarett.

The move to draft Clarett should have been enough to lead Broncos' owner Pat Bowlen to question the sanity of his head coach. After all, most draft followers predicted that Clarett would be picked in the sixth or seventh round of the draft. Some observers went so far as to question whether the former Buckeye would even be selected on draft day due to his slow 40-yard dash time at the scouting combines. So what does Shanahan do? He takes Clarett in the fourth round ahead of some highly regarded prospects such as Marion Barber and Ciatrick Fason.

At this point, I have no clue as to who the starting back will be in Denver. Most of my colleagues are big believers in Bell, who was selected in the second-round of the 2004 draft and immediately fitted with the No. 26 jersey, which previously belonged to Clinton Portis. Bell has breakaway speed and very well could get the starting nod, but I just don't trust Shanahan enough to invest heavily in Tatum this year when the running back pool is deeper than ever.

Keep an Eye On: The Broncos are suddenly thin in the defensive backfield after losing safety Kenoy Kennedy and cornerback Kelly Herdon in free agency. Of course, they still have All-World cornerback Champ Bailey working the left side of the field, while Lenny Walls will attempt to hold down the right side. John Lynch is back for another hard-hitting season at free safety, but the unproven Nick Ferguson is expected to start at strong safety. With the exception of Ferguson, the starting defensive backs are solid, but there isn't much depth behind them.

Speaking of depth issues, the Broncos failed to address their need for a solid backup quarterback. Some might even say that Denver should have replaced starter Jake Plummer, but that's beside the point. If the mustached gun slinger misses playing time, the Broncos would be forced to turn to Danny Kanell or Matt Mauck. Kanell took the majority of the snaps in three games during the 2003 season and failed to lead the team to a single victory.

[KillerBronco#76]

they need to get theyr facts straight before writing somthing

[SoCalBronco]

[QUOTE=Ray Finkle]from fanball.com.....


Position Battles: Let's start with the obvious. Shanahan is clearly insane when it comes to his running backs. Earlier this year, he stated that Quentin Griffin was the man to beat for the starting job. After a few minicamp workouts, Tatum Bell told reporters he was under the impression that former Marine turned running back turned fullback turned running back again Mike Anderson had been promoted to top dog. Adding to this clustermess are the offseason additions of Ron Dayne and Maurice Clarett.

Fanball is blatantly lying. Shanahan NEVER ONCE this offseason, NOT EVEN ONCE said that Q was the "man to beat". Not even once.

The move to draft Clarett should have been enough to lead Broncos' owner Pat Bowlen to question the sanity of his head coach. After all, most draft followers predicted that Clarett would be picked in the sixth or seventh round of the draft.

More weak arguments. These are 2nd grade statements. If most draft observers say he is 6th round= anything you do otherwise is wrong. Kiper, CNNSI, et al. have been terribly wrong before on a host of players. Not even the biggest Shanny hater could say that the draft experts know RBs better than Shanny.
[QUOTE]

[Ray Finkle]

True, I didn't say these guys were bright....but I thought this would be a good thread to start....

[SoCalBronco]

True, I didn't say these guys were bright....but I thought this would be a good thread to start....

Thanks for posting. Always appreciate when people get stuff for us to read, thanks bro. Yep, these guys are duds but it was interesting to read their take.

[Meck77]

What day does camp start anyway?

[ZachKC]

The internet football analysis market is really saturated with crapola.

[sirhcyennek81]

i dont care who starts at runningback for denver. they will still get 1400 yards. putting my money on Bell, with Clarett getting more work later on in the season. Broncos main concern is their special teams. Expecting at least 3 of the brownie transfers to work out, warren, ekuban, and a tossup between brown and meyers.

[Jetmeck]

Another so called expert who should be the Broncs water boy instead of a beat writer.......actually then they MIGHT get something straight about our boys........ Nnyah!

[El Guapo]

This article is FULL of fallacies... what a douche, lets hate email the bastage to death.

[TotallyScrewed]

Facts and Fantasy is oil and water.

Doesn't minicamp begin July 6? Doesn't regular camp begin July 25-28-ish ??

I think the position battles are on the defensive line, and perhaps punter. Everywhere else is more of a depth test. I think that's just crap to dog Jake. He's the starter and a good one.

[Atlas]

That was horrible. He also said that Denver drafted Clarret in the 4th round..... I thought Denver traded their 4th rounder on Warren?? What a moron. At least check your facts first.

[Kaylore]

That was horrible. He also said that Denver drafted Clarret in the 4th round..... I thought Denver traded their 4th rounder on Warren?? What a moron. At least check your facts first.
No kidding SOOOO many holes in this story.


Shanahan is clearly insane when it comes to his running backs. Earlier this year, he stated that Quentin Griffin was the man to beat for the starting job. After a few minicamp workouts, Tatum Bell told reporters he was under the impression that former Marine turned running back turned fullback turned running back again Mike Anderson had been promoted to top dog. Adding to this clustermess are the offseason additions of Ron Dayne and Maurice Clarett. Well this right here shows you how stupid they are. The one thing Shanahan can do well consistantly is run the ball, but apparently he's "clearly insane" when it comes to running backs. The Mike Anderson switching to running back thing is hardly news, and Ron Dayne and Maurice Clarett hardly compromise a "clustermess" - It's called depth and bringing in cheap camp competition. What a tool.
The move to draft Clarett should have been enough to lead Broncos' owner Pat Bowlen to question the sanity of his head coach. After all, most draft followers predicted that Clarett would be picked in the sixth or seventh round of the draft. Some observers went so far as to question whether the former Buckeye would even be selected on draft day due to his slow 40-yard dash time at the scouting combines. So what does Shanahan do?He takes Clarett in the fourth round ahead of some highly regarded prospects such as Marion Barber and Ciatrick Fason.
I still love this. Mike Shanahan and Bobby Turner have put together the most consistant run system in the history of the NFL, yet we should question his ablility to evaluate running back talent because some other guys think Clarett might have been there in round six, even though there have been just as many rumors to the contrary.
but the unproven Nick Ferguson :hitself: Ten starts and he's unproven!?!?! These people call themselves journalists?!?! :hitself:

What pieces of crap. They need to go back to their regular jobs of humping Donovan McNabb and Peyton Manning.

[Atlas]

:hitself: Ten starts and he's unproven!?!?! These people call themselves journalists?!?! :hitself:

What pieces of crap. They need to go back to their regular jobs of humping Donovan McNabb and Peyton Manning.

I agree Fergusen is an 8 year pro. He is proven. He is solid if unspectacular. Denver knows exactly what they are going to get from Nick.

[Tombstone RJ]

from fanball.com.....


The move to draft Clarett should have been enough to lead Broncos' owner Pat Bowlen to question the sanity of his head coach. After all, most draft followers predicted that Clarett would be picked in the sixth or seventh round of the draft. Some observers went so far as to question whether the former Buckeye would even be selected on draft day due to his slow 40-yard dash time at the scouting combines. So what does Shanahan do? He takes Clarett in the fourth round ahead of some highly regarded prospects such as Marion Barber and Ciatrick Fason.

Hmmm, I could have sworn Clarett was the last pick of the third round, but I could be wrong... good thing we have internet crap like the above to clear things up.

[bloodsunday]

[QUOTE=SoCalBronco]
More weak arguments. These are 2nd grade statements. If most draft observers say he is 6th round= anything you do otherwise is wrong. Kiper, CNNSI, et al. have been terribly wrong before on a host of players. Not even the biggest Shanny hater could say that the draft experts know RBs better than Shanny.
[QUOTE]
Before the draft Clarett was projected to be a late pick, if a pick at all. But the part that they don't discuss is that the draft is a moving system. There were apparently enough teams interested that he would likely have gone in the 4th round anyway. Smart of them to leave that part out huh?

[Atlas]

[QUOTE=SoCalBronco]
More weak arguments. These are 2nd grade statements. If most draft observers say he is 6th round= anything you do otherwise is wrong. Kiper, CNNSI, et al. have been terribly wrong before on a host of players. Not even the biggest Shanny hater could say that the draft experts know RBs better than Shanny.
[QUOTE]
Before the draft Clarett was projected to be a late pick, if a pick at all. But the part that they don't discuss is that the draft is a moving system. There were apparently enough teams interested that he would likely have gone in the 4th round anyway. Smart of them to leave that part out huh?

Clarett already said that Parcells told him that Dallas would select him in the 4th round. So all these guys are idiots. Shanny knows what he is doing.

[TotallyScrewed]

What difference is there with where he was picked? That made a huge difference with Terrell Davis, now didn't it?

[Boogerboots]

from fanball.com.....
... and Alexander has suffered more freak injuries than one of Ike Turner's female companions throughout his career.


:spit: The guy should at least get funny cred for that take.

[MT-Tdawg]

What a frickin idiot. Between making things up and just being stupid this guy shouldn't be near a keyboard.

[listopencil]

In keeping with the hard-nosed football take nature of the thread starter, I'll go ahead and pick right now to state that I think Ebenezer Ekuban is going to explode this year because he's got a really cool name. Mark my words.

[listopencil]

E Squared will make believers out of all of you! Anybody know what the ASCII code # is for raising to the power of two?

[listopencil]

E²


Hah! 253.

[BroncoInferno]

In keeping with the hard-nosed football take nature of the thread starter, I'll go ahead and pick right now to state that I think Ebenezer Ekuban is going to explode this year because he's got a really cool name. Mark my words.

I know your sarcasm function was in use here, but I really do think Ekuban could be a dark horse for big success this season. One thing to keep in mind is that Ekuban didn't start playing football till he was 17 years old. Therefore, it could be expected that it would take a little longer to polish him up than most players. He had a career high 8 sacks last season, despite battling through injuries. He may be primed for a late career break out, a la Bert Berry. I'll be keeping my eye on him.

[Florida_Bronco]

I'm also sick of everyone saying that Patterson was the main reason we went after the Browns players, when he and Mike have both said this is not the case. He played a part, no doubt, but I don't think he was begging for them either.

[listopencil]

I know your sarcasm function was in use here, but I really do think Ekuban could be a dark horse for big success this season. One thing to keep in mind is that Ekuban didn't start playing football till he was 17 years old. Therefore, it could be expected that it would take a little longer to polish him up than most players. He had a career high 8 sacks last season, despite battling through injuries. He may be primed for a late career break out, a la Bert Berry. I'll be keeping my eye on him.




Strangely enough, I wanted us to get this guy out of college and was annoyed that it didn't happen. I think he would do very well as a speed guy, maybe on the outside when Pryce goes inside on passing downs.

[Florida_Bronco]

Strangely enough, I wanted us to get this guy out of college and was annoyed that it didn't happen. I think he would do very well as a speed guy, maybe on the outside when Pryce goes inside on passing downs.

I think Ekuban has talent too, and I'm hoping he has a good year. I think 6.5 sacks in backup role for him is very obtainable.

[BroncoInferno]

I think Ekuban has talent too, and I'm hoping he has a good year. I think 6.5 sacks in backup role for him is very obtainable.

If Brown can't stay healthy, he'll probably be starting. If that's the case, I could easily see him getting 10+ sacks this season. If he stays a backup, maybe 7 or 8. Just got a feeling about him. As I said, he didn't even start playing football till he was 17, so we may be getting him at just the right time.

[Rock Chalk]

The internet football analysis market is really saturated with crapola.
Its either blatantly homered up or blatantly watered down.

Most of these guys follow the team they watch closely and only casually watch what other teams are doing. They will go get a list of offseason moves and make **** up on the fly about whether or not it was good based on the player's past performances but if any league is a staple of new horizons, its the NFL where players become either busts or booms if they switch teams.

Take Portis for example, and while he did manage to have a decent running year, would have had 500 or more yards staying in Denver. His decision to move on was really detrimental overall to his perceived skills because he did not have the same success in Washington as he had in Denver.

This applies, sometimes in far greater magnitude, both ways for better or worse, with many players in the NFL so judging offseason acquisitions based on a players performance elsewhere is stupid. Take into account the style they are better suited for, what style they played on their previous team and what style they play on the new team. Further, you have to consider the surrounding talent and training of each team to get a better gauge of how a player is going to play in a different place.

So back to Portis, as this is a notable recent example that we are all familiar with. If you had considered the dismal offensive line in Washington, the style of Gibbs RBs he is used to having and the style Portis was accostomed to in Denver, you could tell he wasnt going to have anywhere near the success he had here in Denver, but at the time the Media was proclaiming Washington to have raped Denver in the deal. Hmm. Our RB had more yards than Portis I believe (though I might be mistaken).

Further, this guy says that Mo was drafted in the 4th round but I thought he was the last pick of the 3rd round? I might be wrong on that, but I was almost certain he was the last of the first day picks.

His comments about Ferguson are inaccurate. While not necessarily seasoned, Fergy is experienced and does know the system and when he did play in 2003 for us, did a pretty damn good job if I remember correctly (and I do).

His comments about Kannell are accurate, though misleading. Kannell did in fact lead us to one victory only to have Deltha O'Neal snatch it from our grasp. Thanks you fantastic colossal prick, rot in hell, or cinci (though I believe that may be the same place).

[Bob's your Information Minister]

If Brown can't stay healthy, he'll probably be starting. If that's the case, I could easily see him getting 10+ sacks this season. If he stays a backup, maybe 7 or 8. Just got a feeling about him. As I said, he didn't even start playing football till he was 17, so we may be getting him at just the right time.

I think you're going to be really disappointed with Ekuban. If you look at his career, he's had two decent years and the rest is ****e.

Watching him in Dallas for several years I was not impressed.

[Florida_Bronco]

I think you're going to be really disappointed with Ekuban. If you look at his career, he's had two decent years and the rest is ****e.

Watching him in Dallas for several years I was not impressed.

Valid point. However what I think he (and the rest of our d-line too) has going for it, is that now we have talent beyond the 4 starters, which will keep everyone fresh and rotated. I think that will allow them to have less injuries and generally improve their play.

[coachmastermind]

[QUOTE=Ray Finkle]from fanball.com.....


Position Battles: Let's start with the obvious. Shanahan is clearly insane when it comes to his running backs. Earlier this year, he stated that Quentin Griffin was the man to beat for the starting job. After a few minicamp workouts, Tatum Bell told reporters he was under the impression that former Marine turned running back turned fullback turned running back again Mike Anderson had been promoted to top dog. Adding to this clustermess are the offseason additions of Ron Dayne and Maurice Clarett.

Fanball is blatantly lying. Shanahan NEVER ONCE this offseason, NOT EVEN ONCE said that Q was the "man to beat". Not even once.


[QUOTE]


I'm don't agree with this moron that wrote the article, so I'm not looking to add any fuel to the fire. But I did hear Shanny on either SportsCenter or Total Access during passing camp make an offhand remark, when asked about how Clarett was looking, say 'that he's a rookie and has a long way to go to unseat Q" -not a direct quote... I took don't know if he was calling Q "The Man" or not, I think he was refering more to the fact that... Clarett has to work his was up the ladder.

[BroncoInferno]

I think you're going to be really disappointed with Ekuban. If you look at his career, he's had two decent years and the rest is ****e.

Watching him in Dallas for several years I was not impressed.

I think you missed my point. Yes, he was a bust in Dallas. My point is that he didn't start playing football till age 17. When he came into the league, he was extremely raw fundamentally. It's logical to conclude that a guy like this would require mouch more seasoning than your typical rookie. He had a career year last season with 8 sacks. There's enough anectdotal evidense to suggest that he is about to hit his peak. He might not. But I'll have my eye on him.

[Husky Jerk]

Those guys are strictly fantasy football writers, based here in Minneapolis. They do a pretty good job overall but have always been perplexed by Shanahan and the Broncos, probably mostly of the constant backfield turnover. They like to know who's starting and who's not, and Shanny isn't the most accomodating person in that regard, so they will routinely question his sanity.