Denver Broncos blog, news and rumors


FB

[hype it up!]
[Share with Yardbarker]

Published on 01/01/2011 at Sat Jan 01 15:51.
Tagged: ,,,,,,,,.



Another year has come and gone at Dove Valley. 2010 was a year of change in Denver — it’s something Broncos fans have been hearing for years, but just think and marvel on how very different this team is from the group that started the year 364 days ago. New coach. New quarterback (it is assumed), and more changes from top to bottom on the near horizon. It was a chaotic year filled with controversy, hope, disappointment, and tragedy. Here is the conclusion of our list of the Top 10 Stories that defined the Denver Broncos in 2010. View Part One (10-6) here.

Peyton Hillis breaks for a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2008.  (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Peyton Hillis breaks for a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2008. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

5. Peyton Hillis traded

Was this earth-shattering news at the time? No. It didn’t even get its own headline here (the acquisition of QB Brady Quinn in the trade did). But we covered Hillis’ disillusionment with Josh McDaniels in the weeks prior to his trade, and openly hoped the running back wouldn’t change teams in 2010. He did, and went on to have a phenomenal season for the Cleveland Browns.

Meanwhile, the Broncos ranked in the bottom five teams in the league in rushing offense all year long. Apologists will claim Hillis “didn’t fit McDaniels’ system,” but we’ve always maintained a coach should fit his scheme to maximize the talent of his players, and not make personnel decisions solely based on how players fit into the scheme. McDaniels’ failure to capitalize on Hillis’ talents in 2009 was only expounded by his failure to recognize them in 2010, and it resulted in him sending Hillis, along with two draft picks, to Cleveland in exchange for a backup quarterback who didn’t take a snap in 2010. If trends extend beyond 2010, it will go down in history as one of the worst Broncos trades of all times. The disappointing truth is that if Hillis had stayed, and if McDaniels had learned how to utilize him, one can’t help but dream of the two-back threat he and Knowshon Moreno could have provided for years for the Broncos.

4. The 2010 Broncos, well, stink

A franchise-worst final score, at home, against the team’s most bitter longtime rival really tells you everything you need to know. The Broncos just weren’t that good in 2010, and the 59-14 loss suffered at the hands of the Oakland Raiders will be a painful burden to bear as the rivalry moves forward. Furthermore, the Broncos’ 5-11 or 4-12 record (depending on the result of the season finale against the San Diego Chargers) will be the worst the club has experienced in 20 years and the entire tenures of three head coaches.

3. Kenny McKinley commits suicide

Denver Broncos wide receiver Kenny McKinley (11) gets lifted off the ground by teammate Nate Swift after McKinley scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter during their NFL preseason football game in San Francisco, Calif., Friday, Aug. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Denver Broncos wide receiver Kenny McKinley (11) gets lifted off the ground by teammate Nate Swift after McKinley scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter during their NFL preseason football game in San Francisco, Calif., Friday, Aug. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Putting a number next to this story, any number, feels cold and heartless. The loss of Kenny McKinley to his family, friends, teammates and fans cannot be quantified, and ranking this story any higher or lower won’t make a bit of difference. Discussing this today, on the anniversary of Darrent Williams‘ murder makes it all the more somber. Add the sudden death of Damien Nash in 2007 to the mix, and the Broncos have had a lot of heartbreak to deal with over the years.

His loss on the football field may be felt for years to come, even though McKinley had yet to really contribute at the NFL level. McKinley wasn’t a starter for the Broncos, but he had incredible college success and had real potential as a special teamer and more. At the very least he would have driven competition among his wide receiver teammates during training camp in 2011, and it’s undeniable he had potential for more.

But those are all “if’s” and discussions of “potential.” No one knows what McKinley could have been, and no one ever will. The impact of this story is really felt from his youth and the heart-wrenching manner in which McKinley died.

2. Broncos take a first-round flyer on Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow is introduced by the Denver Broncos at a press conference at the Broncos Headquarters in Dove Valley on April 23, 2010 in Englewood, Colorado. The Broncos picked Tebow in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft.  (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Tim Tebow is introduced by the Denver Broncos at a press conference at the Broncos Headquarters in Dove Valley on April 23, 2010 in Englewood, Colorado. The Broncos picked Tebow in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

I had a lot of trouble ranking this story. It started at #1 and dropped to #4 before I settled here, and maybe that itself is the point. How significant is this move to the Broncos and the future of the franchise? Is it too early to crown him the quarterback of the future? Yes. Is it foolish to write him off as anything less? Yes. Tim Tebow, without a doubt, has the potential to be the next great quarterback in the NFL. While his two starts have been thrilling — particularly his second half comeback win against the Houston Texans (and the must-see inside look from Tebow’s perspective, courtesy NFL Films, that could honestly find itself forever placed in Broncos lore) — there are still plenty of questions surrounding the on-field abilities of Tebow as a quarterback at the professional level. What isn’t in question is his heart, work ethic, and on-field bravado. The question this franchise is left asking is, Will that be enough?

1. Josh McDaniels fired

Josh McDaniels leaves Dove Valley with a car full of boxes after he was fired in December 2010. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Josh McDaniels leaves Dove Valley with a car full of boxes after he was fired in December 2010. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

The End of an Error… not the most original line, but a debatable conclusion to nearly two years of chaos at Dove Valley. Things never settled around Josh McDaniels. From the start with Jay Cutler to the end with Spygate II, the 33-year-old’s tenure as Broncos head coach was filled with controversy.

But McDaniels did well in a lot of areas, too. He traded Cutler, but he received a plethora of compensation, including Kyle Orton, who outplayed Cutler in 2009 and will stay pay dividends to the Broncos in some form or another in the future. For every mistake (Alphonso Smith), there’s a success story (Brandon Marshall), and he very well may have left the Broncos with a franchise-changing farewell gift by drafting Tim Tebow.

Controversies aside, McDaniels’ undoing was ultimately tied to his personnel decisions and inability to put a respectable defensive unit on the field. To put it simply, McDaniels was in over his head, and when the effects began to seep into gameday (particularly his terrible playcalling in the end), it was too much for Pat Bowlen to bear. McDaniels was too inexperienced and perhaps too young to wear all the hats of Mike Shanahan — GM, head coach, and offensive playcaller.

Bowlen and company have learned. With John Elway set to take the reigns as a top executive with the Broncos starting in 2011, the next man in charge will only have to wear one.

How would you rank the top stories of 2010? What did we miss? Dish it out in the comments, and thanks for reading in 2010. We’re excited as hell to see what surprises 2011 has in store.

  • http://twitter.com/dxmanning Joshua Manning

    “The End of an Error”. LOL!!!!! Classic Kyle. I would have called it “The End of a McStupid Era” (If Tebow doesn't pan out).

  • 12508

    Only thing that matters now is who comes in as the GM and Coach. It all starts at the top. We just learned that the hard way. We will have some really high picks and we need talent. Is Tebow the real deal? Is Moreno gonna stay on the field? If the answer is yes we gotta go defense. If the answer is no we gotta go defense. Doom will help next year so the lb's will be better. We can get some big boys up front as free agents. I say we get a shut down DB. 2nd round we go best player on the board. If we go with Tebow we gotta make it easy for him. Defense and run game is the way to go. Shut down the run, get the qb, and play man on the outside. The NFL is wide open. We gotta be somebody. I say lets be the Orange Crush AGAIN!

  • 12508

    Plenty of free agent wr's this year. Pretty good ones too. Could get alot of help at that position. Could spread things out for Tebow. Can run shotgun out of the spread. Sounds good to me.

  • Rcu76

    I know this is off subject but has anybody seen the 2012 pro uniforms on YouTube. If in fact those are the unis the Broncos uniforms are Sick!!! Orange jerseys with the D back on the helmet!!!

  • areferee

    Nothing is set for 2012 until March of 2011. What you saw are “concept” uniforms. There are other videos where the concept Broncos helmet is more like it is now without the “D”. The helmet may not change at all under Nike. However, as of now, it looks as though the standard home uniform will be orange for 2012.

  • Jj

    I've heard Hillis got traded cause he hit on McD's wife dont know if there is any truth in it but there was more than his fumbles last year.

  • TheTroglodyte

    Really, I heard that McD hit on Hillis and was turned down and that's what caused all the problems.

    People should automatically assume stupid sounding rumors are not true unless there is confirmation otherwise.

  • mikebirty

    Nice write up Kyle, in particular the words about Josh. A lot of the good he did for the franchise will be lost amongst the bad but in the end you're right, he could've survived everything but he succumbed for the same reason Shannahan did, he couldn't build a defense.

  • mikebirty

    I'm still pulling for orange and blue vertically striped socks

  • Fan From Spain

    “Denver Broncos and John Elway have reached an agreement for the two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback to join the team's front office this week as an executive vice president, team sources have told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.”

    espn link: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/

  • Fan From Spain

    “Denver Broncos and John Elway have reached an agreement for the two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback to join the team's front office this week as an executive vice president, team sources have told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.”

    espn link: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/

  • LevonZevon

    What if Andrew Luck demands that Jerry Richardson promise to swap picks with Denver (in addition to getting maybe two second-rounders)?

    If Richardson says no, Luck can stay in school and use the potential lock-out as another public excuse. If he stays in school, Carolina won't be able to trade out of the top-spot and won't want to pick Newton or Mallet with it.

    But if Luck comes out– and wants to take up Elway's mantle in a city many stars have wanted to avoid like Melo, Cutler, Marshall and maybe Dez Bryant– Carolina gets the same choice of the other draftees (plus one of our second-rounders and maybe another we could cobble together by trading Champ and Orton).

    That way, Denver gets Luck and still has a second-rounder remaining and Carolina gets the second-overall and two second-rounders (one of which is the second-overall in round #2).

    If Elway is so smitten with Luck as can't-miss and has questions about Tebow's accuracy, delivery and release-time, he's the only Exec. with the chops to make this move (since who would know more about finagling a trade and about the importance of a franchise QB).

    After all, with Jake Locker falling and with Phillip Rivers being selected in early round-two, Carolina could be like San Diego was when Eli Manning demanded a trade as the presumptive #1.

    And that trade worked out for both teams.

    Just food-for-thought. I just wonder what Luck would do if Richardson agrees and then drafts him anyway (daring Luck to go public and go through with sitting out his rookie year.. without the Class A Oneonta Yankees as a face-saving diversion)?

  • Doom92

    Please just say yes to Nick Fairley…

  • coach bags

    Coach purses are very unique in our site,you must choose your own coach handbags coach outlet so that you have not the same every day

  • coach bags

    Coach purses are very unique in our site,you must choose your own coach handbags coach outlet so that you have not the same every day