dragondawg
02-09-2008, 09:06 AM
Legends preach patience
Former stars: Better drafts are key
By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News
Elway. Davis. Sharpe.
They are names etched in Broncos lore; players who helped bring Denver two Super Bowl victories.
And last week in Phoenix, all around town, the three former stars were reminded of those glory days with pictures, shows and interviews about their shared past.
But the week in the desert did something else, too.
It helped shine some light on the heat that surrounds their former team coming off a 7-9 season, the franchise's worst since 1999.
Shannon Sharpe, the former Pro Bowl tight end, described the performance as "hard to watch," given that blue and orange remains in his blood.
And having seen the Broncos performances, while also dissecting those of the two Super Bowl combatants, the New York Giants and New England Patriots, all three local legends agreed it's likely going to take some time before they're standing at a championship site with their former team a participant.
"They've got their work cut out," said Terrell Davis, the former running back who was the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXXII.
The trio's advice for making the Broncos Super once again: Hold your horses.
"They've tried the quick fix, and that hasn't worked. It hasn't worked the last couple years," said Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIII. "You have to get the core together. There's been some things they've been missing, and they've missed on a couple free agents. To me, they've got to get it through the draft, and they're talking about that. But it's going to take some time."
Make patience pay off
It's one thing to talk about patience, another to practice it.
Knowing coach Mike Shanahan as they all do, none of the group could say with any certainty that their former sideline boss will be able to put his win- now mentality aside for a rebuilding project.
"I don't know," Elway said with a smile. "We'll see what happens. And there's such a fine line. It doesn't take too much."
The Giants, for one, proved that, rebounding from an 0-2 start to win an unprecedented 11 straight road games for an improbable title.
"Looking at it, I think Mike - and I don't want to say he's becoming impatient - but he's been there before," said Davis, now a studio host for the NFL Network. "And I don't know if he has the time to sit back and try to rebuild the team and be patient and see how things pan out. He wants to win now. . . . He's trying to make his team a competitive team now, not a team four or five years down the road."
Quick fixes have happened with regularity lately.
The Carolina Panthers in 2005, New Orleans Saints in '06 and Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past season are examples of teams that, to varying degrees, forged one-year turnarounds.
"You're not going to do it in the AFC East, with New England," Sharpe said. "But every other division is in play."
Yet in Sharpe's view, the Broncos will need to build around their core extensively before that can happen.
Add to building blocks
There are building blocks on the Broncos roster, the trio said.
Elway said Denver can build around quarterback Jay Cutler, while Sharpe labeled top receiver Brandon Marshall "unbelievable." Tight end Tony Scheffler also emerged as a potential playmaker deep into the future.
"They have some weapons offensively," Elway said. "They had some injuries on the offensive line and they'll get those guys back. It's just a matter of defensively staying with something and getting that continuity, because they weren't bad last year or two years ago, they just struggled."
In Sharpe's opinion, Shanahan's coaching acumen still is top-notch and can bring out the talent offensively, but "I just wish they had better players, because if Mike had the players to match his X's and O's . . . "
Sharpe, now a CBS studio analyst, thinks Denver needs to improve in the trenches on offense and get rid of disgruntled receiver Javon Walker to help reach offensive potential.
But Davis and Sharpe, in particular, believe the main problem lies along the front four on defense, which needs an infusion of talent and, most of all, stability.
"They've got to get the defensive line fixed," Davis said. "I don't know what's going on with that carousel. They've got to get four guys and stick with those guys, maybe six strong, but to have an entirely new defensive line every year, there's no continuity there."
One reason for a lack of sameness up front defensively from year to year is all the strikeouts on free-agent defensive linemen the past several years. Since 1997, Denver has drafted only one first-day defensive tackle, which is a particular position of weakness.
"You look at what the Patriots did, that's the gold standard," Sharpe said. "They stocked up on offensive and defensive linemen. You look at Jarvis Green, Vince Wilfork, Richard Seymour. On the offensive line, there's Matt Light, Dan Koppen, (Logan) Mankins. That's their bread and butter."
Be consistent in draft
Denver has had better overall draft success the past two years after its widely panned efforts from 2001 to '04 and its slight bump in '05.
And even with those uneven results, until their 2007 plummet, the Broncos still were able to remain legitimate contenders in the AFC West. In 2005, they finished 13-3 and went to the AFC Championship Game.
But the accumulation of poor personnel moves sapped depth, and injuries, especially last year, finally caught up to the Broncos.
"They have to go through the draft, and don't get so enamored with a guy who can jump high and run fast," Sharpe said. "What has he done in his two, three, four years in college? Has he been consistent? Believe what your eyes tell you. The stopwatch is a good barometer, but teams get so enamored - not the Patriots. They don't get enamored with the guy running a 4.2 or having a 42-inch vertical. And the one thing, above anything else, they might not be flashy, the Patriots, but they are consistent. And that's what you look for in the draft. You don't look for the flyer or (a player who) 'had one year' - it's consistency."
Denver has taken a wide variety of draft picks.
Before joining Denver, Cutler, Scheffler and Marshall had successful careers for college teams that weren't powerhouses.
Young linemen such as Chris Myers, Marcus Thomas and Tim Crowder, who had a great degree of success for college heavyweights, played significantly. Selvin Young and Hamza Abdullah (acquired off waivers) were low-risk gambles that might prove sound.
All are young and all gained experience in 2007 that should prove valuable.
"I think that's how you've got to look at it, that there's upside to what they've got," Davis said.
But there's also more than logging playing time in getting to the point where the team's ready to win a ring.
"They've got to now find out how to take that talent, be mature with it, how to be professional to play in tight games and really try to take it to the next level," Davis said, adding he believes there's a veteran leadership void at many key positions on the Broncos roster.
An uncertain future
The Broncos will be dealing with much uncertainty during the coming months.
With Bob Slowik next season, they will be operating under their fifth defensive coordinator since 2001. John Lynch's future has to be resolved, as does Walker's. Dre Bly's hefty salary-cap number, and finding the right linebacking spot for D.J. Williams, are other priorities. Jason Elam is a free agent. Discovering whether Ryan Harris is ready to play left tackle is an open question.
Then again, Pittsburgh went from a No. 6 seed and the Giants a No. 5 seed to become improbable champions.
So it's possible for Denver to get some more parts, peak at the right time and, who knows, maybe have Elway, Davis and Sharpe talking about their former team live and in person in a Super Bowl city.
"Eventually, I think they will," Davis said of the prospects of a Broncos turnaround in the near future. "I don't think it will be next year. I think they'll improve. But I don't see them as a team that's going to be in the Super Bowl within the next year or two."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/09/legends-preach-patience/
Former stars: Better drafts are key
By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News
Elway. Davis. Sharpe.
They are names etched in Broncos lore; players who helped bring Denver two Super Bowl victories.
And last week in Phoenix, all around town, the three former stars were reminded of those glory days with pictures, shows and interviews about their shared past.
But the week in the desert did something else, too.
It helped shine some light on the heat that surrounds their former team coming off a 7-9 season, the franchise's worst since 1999.
Shannon Sharpe, the former Pro Bowl tight end, described the performance as "hard to watch," given that blue and orange remains in his blood.
And having seen the Broncos performances, while also dissecting those of the two Super Bowl combatants, the New York Giants and New England Patriots, all three local legends agreed it's likely going to take some time before they're standing at a championship site with their former team a participant.
"They've got their work cut out," said Terrell Davis, the former running back who was the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXXII.
The trio's advice for making the Broncos Super once again: Hold your horses.
"They've tried the quick fix, and that hasn't worked. It hasn't worked the last couple years," said Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIII. "You have to get the core together. There's been some things they've been missing, and they've missed on a couple free agents. To me, they've got to get it through the draft, and they're talking about that. But it's going to take some time."
Make patience pay off
It's one thing to talk about patience, another to practice it.
Knowing coach Mike Shanahan as they all do, none of the group could say with any certainty that their former sideline boss will be able to put his win- now mentality aside for a rebuilding project.
"I don't know," Elway said with a smile. "We'll see what happens. And there's such a fine line. It doesn't take too much."
The Giants, for one, proved that, rebounding from an 0-2 start to win an unprecedented 11 straight road games for an improbable title.
"Looking at it, I think Mike - and I don't want to say he's becoming impatient - but he's been there before," said Davis, now a studio host for the NFL Network. "And I don't know if he has the time to sit back and try to rebuild the team and be patient and see how things pan out. He wants to win now. . . . He's trying to make his team a competitive team now, not a team four or five years down the road."
Quick fixes have happened with regularity lately.
The Carolina Panthers in 2005, New Orleans Saints in '06 and Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past season are examples of teams that, to varying degrees, forged one-year turnarounds.
"You're not going to do it in the AFC East, with New England," Sharpe said. "But every other division is in play."
Yet in Sharpe's view, the Broncos will need to build around their core extensively before that can happen.
Add to building blocks
There are building blocks on the Broncos roster, the trio said.
Elway said Denver can build around quarterback Jay Cutler, while Sharpe labeled top receiver Brandon Marshall "unbelievable." Tight end Tony Scheffler also emerged as a potential playmaker deep into the future.
"They have some weapons offensively," Elway said. "They had some injuries on the offensive line and they'll get those guys back. It's just a matter of defensively staying with something and getting that continuity, because they weren't bad last year or two years ago, they just struggled."
In Sharpe's opinion, Shanahan's coaching acumen still is top-notch and can bring out the talent offensively, but "I just wish they had better players, because if Mike had the players to match his X's and O's . . . "
Sharpe, now a CBS studio analyst, thinks Denver needs to improve in the trenches on offense and get rid of disgruntled receiver Javon Walker to help reach offensive potential.
But Davis and Sharpe, in particular, believe the main problem lies along the front four on defense, which needs an infusion of talent and, most of all, stability.
"They've got to get the defensive line fixed," Davis said. "I don't know what's going on with that carousel. They've got to get four guys and stick with those guys, maybe six strong, but to have an entirely new defensive line every year, there's no continuity there."
One reason for a lack of sameness up front defensively from year to year is all the strikeouts on free-agent defensive linemen the past several years. Since 1997, Denver has drafted only one first-day defensive tackle, which is a particular position of weakness.
"You look at what the Patriots did, that's the gold standard," Sharpe said. "They stocked up on offensive and defensive linemen. You look at Jarvis Green, Vince Wilfork, Richard Seymour. On the offensive line, there's Matt Light, Dan Koppen, (Logan) Mankins. That's their bread and butter."
Be consistent in draft
Denver has had better overall draft success the past two years after its widely panned efforts from 2001 to '04 and its slight bump in '05.
And even with those uneven results, until their 2007 plummet, the Broncos still were able to remain legitimate contenders in the AFC West. In 2005, they finished 13-3 and went to the AFC Championship Game.
But the accumulation of poor personnel moves sapped depth, and injuries, especially last year, finally caught up to the Broncos.
"They have to go through the draft, and don't get so enamored with a guy who can jump high and run fast," Sharpe said. "What has he done in his two, three, four years in college? Has he been consistent? Believe what your eyes tell you. The stopwatch is a good barometer, but teams get so enamored - not the Patriots. They don't get enamored with the guy running a 4.2 or having a 42-inch vertical. And the one thing, above anything else, they might not be flashy, the Patriots, but they are consistent. And that's what you look for in the draft. You don't look for the flyer or (a player who) 'had one year' - it's consistency."
Denver has taken a wide variety of draft picks.
Before joining Denver, Cutler, Scheffler and Marshall had successful careers for college teams that weren't powerhouses.
Young linemen such as Chris Myers, Marcus Thomas and Tim Crowder, who had a great degree of success for college heavyweights, played significantly. Selvin Young and Hamza Abdullah (acquired off waivers) were low-risk gambles that might prove sound.
All are young and all gained experience in 2007 that should prove valuable.
"I think that's how you've got to look at it, that there's upside to what they've got," Davis said.
But there's also more than logging playing time in getting to the point where the team's ready to win a ring.
"They've got to now find out how to take that talent, be mature with it, how to be professional to play in tight games and really try to take it to the next level," Davis said, adding he believes there's a veteran leadership void at many key positions on the Broncos roster.
An uncertain future
The Broncos will be dealing with much uncertainty during the coming months.
With Bob Slowik next season, they will be operating under their fifth defensive coordinator since 2001. John Lynch's future has to be resolved, as does Walker's. Dre Bly's hefty salary-cap number, and finding the right linebacking spot for D.J. Williams, are other priorities. Jason Elam is a free agent. Discovering whether Ryan Harris is ready to play left tackle is an open question.
Then again, Pittsburgh went from a No. 6 seed and the Giants a No. 5 seed to become improbable champions.
So it's possible for Denver to get some more parts, peak at the right time and, who knows, maybe have Elway, Davis and Sharpe talking about their former team live and in person in a Super Bowl city.
"Eventually, I think they will," Davis said of the prospects of a Broncos turnaround in the near future. "I don't think it will be next year. I think they'll improve. But I don't see them as a team that's going to be in the Super Bowl within the next year or two."
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/09/legends-preach-patience/