James Laurinaitis

According to the Denver Post (this article is mainly about Matt Prater, but ehh… I care about defense more), Ohio State inside linebacker James Laurinaitis and Utah defensive end Paul Kruger recently held workouts with Denver. Both of these defensive players are second round prospects at the 48th overall pick.

It’s strange thinking back a few months ago when Laurinaitis was projected to the Broncos for their first round pick, and now he’s fallen quite far. Laurinaitis could have been a first rounder had he came out last season as a junior. It’s very typical for Ohio State Big Ten linebackers to fall out of the first round, just take a look at Dan Connor and Paul Posluszny. Laurinaitis is categorized as a ‘pure’ 4-3 inside linebacker which shouldn’t pose too much of a problem for Denver’s multi-packaged defense this year. Laurinaitis wouldn’t be a bad selection in the second round.

Kruger is 6’4 and roughly 265 pounds. Unless Kruger plans gaining 40-50 pounds without losing any functionalitly he’ll have to play outside linebacker. Kruger’s production is pretty average with 7.5 sacks, 61 tackles, and 16.5 TFLs. The 16.5 TFLs is impressive though. Just like Laurinaitis, Kruger could be a good fit in the transisitonal defense in Denver. The ability to play with your hand in the dirt as well as standing up will be a big concern this draft at the defensive end position. Mike Nolan, Josh McDaniels, and Wayne Nunnely are all coaches who play out of the 3-4 but they will implement 4-3 packages this season as well.

Bordem at its finest. Source: Static.Flickr.com

Every mid-week several fans of the Bronco Nation find themselves aching for some news. Have you ever opened up your browser and wanted something to surf but you’ve already read every word NFL.com, Bronco Talk, Mile High Report, ESPN, Walter Football, and Pro Football Talk has had to say? And all you want to hear is how awesome Wesley Woodyard is for an undrafted rookie and that Denver deserves to be higher in the power rankings than they currently are. I know this pain, for I feel it too.

So here this article is… a beacon of hope in the midst of the old, stale, used up, non-Denver biased ones. For here you will find praises sung of glorious men such as Brandon Marshall and Ryan Clady. Also you’ll read the criticism of derelicts such as Al Davis. Including Walter Football’s extremely awesome mock draft.

If you’re in the midst of class, work, or just plain bored inside this article is a checklist of things for you to do to pass the time. The feedback you submit won’t go unread or unappreciated like those other websites leave you feeling. Here Bronco fans you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for.

God bless the Internet and God bless the Broncos!

The Checklist Begins

1. Stop! Vote for Ryan Clady! Then Vote for Cutler!

Seriously! Cutler has the chance to win back to back Fed Ex Air Player of the Week awards. Ryan Clady has the chance to be the fourth Bronco andthe second Bronco rookie in a row to win the Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Week award. You can vote over and over again, it’s the beauty and the beast of NFL.com.

Many Denver fans are sick and tired of the media covering the mainstream teams (i.e. Jets, Patriots, Colts, Steelers, Cowboys). If Cutler and Clady win these awards we don’t give them any other chance but to discuss their greatness. They even make a sweet video of the winner and then talk about how awesome they are for about 15-30 seconds before predicting that Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco will be next rookie of the week.

2. Gearing Up for Carolina

Playing Carolina scares me, mainly because we just need this one more game. DeAngelo Williams (Dash) and Jonathon Stewart (Smash) also give me another reason. Both of these Carolina backs rushed for 186 and 115 respectively and with two TDs a piece on Tampa Bay’s monster D. We really need to step up our run game this week because that wasn’t the first time both of those backs went for over 100 a piece in one game.

Dash Williams has rushed for over 100 yards in his last 5 of 6 games, averaging 5.4 yards a carry, and has scored a touchdown in his last six games totaling 11 during that streak.

Smash Stewart is almost equally as impressive with 699 yards averaging 4.9 yards a carry in his ongoing rookie season. This upcoming Sunday Denver needs to be prepared for this deadly tandem. 

Let us not forget though that we also held Michael Turner to under 100 yards and won considerably with Thomas Jones running free totaling 138 yards averaging 8.4 yards on only 16 carries.

If D.J. Williams is able to come back this game the Denver defense is extremely fortunate. Don’t get me wrong I love Wesley Woodyard but I this is one daunting task for a rookie. However, Kyle has proposed an alternative that is quite interesting… putting D.J. in the middle and keeping Woodyard at weakside. I am pretty sick of Nate Webster and would love some change because we’ll need a run stuffer at MIKE and a quick SAM and WILL, especially if we want to contain the Carolina run game.

Champ Bailey’s presence will definitely be needed (but when isn’t it?) to contain the explosive Steve Smith. Smith is coming off a three game streak of 168, 105, and 117 yards against Atlanta, Green Bay, and Tampa Bay respectively and he is averaging 17.6 yards a catch. In case you also forgot Smith was suspended for the first 2 games of the season and still has 1,075 yards in 11 games. We all praise Brandon Marshall for going over 1,000 yards already even though he missed week one, but it’s crazy to think that Smith did more in one fewer game. Josh Bell has been amazing fill in for an undrafted rookie but he’s too young and inexperienced to take on Steve Smith.

3. Laugh at Vic Carucci’s Power Rankings

If you have a strong disdain for the mainstream media then Vic Carucci of NFL.com posted Week 14 power rankings that won’t help you think happy thoughts anytime soon. Even though the Broncos have beaten numbers 5, 6, 10, and11 they still do not crack the top 12. I can understand due to the tipsy-turveyseason. What I cannot understand is why the Dallas Cowboys are ranked at four, the Steelers at two instead of the Titans, and the Cardinals at eight. It helps me sleep better at night if I think the reason why mainstream writers like Carucci make choices like this is because they are afraid of venturing out on risky decisions, so they stay safe with the popular teams they know.

What can you really expect from Mr. Carucci? After all he is the same man who wrote the article Super Bowl prediction: Five reasons why Patriots will win, with my favorite part being:

I expect the Patriots to write the final chapter of this incredible season with a blowout win. Final score: Pats 42, Giants 10.

Man… sometimes I wonder how much these guys actually get paid to spew out junk like that.

4. Visit Walter Football’s Mock Draft

Is it ever too soon to look at a mock draft? Naaahhhh! This one addresses our need in the middle by hypothetically selecting James Laurinaitis from Ohio State. If you have ever seen an Ohio State game you’ll know that this man is a beast, if not click on his name and you’ll see his highlights. This mock draft even contains a second round as well as a third. In those rounds they have us take a defensive tackle and linebacker respectively. Also, for all of you who love to laugh at loony old Al Davis this mock draft does a great job making fun of him. Just take a gander at what he says about him for the Raider picks.

“Meanwhile, we all know that Taylor Mays is going to run a sick 40. One can only imagine Undead Al’s thought process upon seeing this:

“Wow, that large kid just ran a 4.39! He’s going to be the greatest player of all time even though I don’t know his name! I must draft him, but first I must take some virgin blood to extend my lifespan and then forge some documents so I can fire my coach without paying him!”

Hey, don’t question the scouting methods of the Undead. “

5. Jay Culter and Mike Shanahan on LiveWire

It’s no secret that Shanahan has grown quite fond of number six. NFL.com posted a great video that shows the importance Shanahan’s relationship with his quarterback.

6. Bronco Players Dominating the League in Stats

It’s been quite some time since a Bronco fan could go to NFL.com and look at the season leaders and find more than one Bronco dominating their category.

1. Jay Cutler: 3,679 passing yds - 3rd in NFL and 1st in AFC
2. Brandon Marshall: 1,033 receiving yds – 7th in NFL and 2nd in AFC
3. Eddie Royal: 799 receiving yds, 69 receptions, 5 receiving TDs - 1st Rookies
4. Denver Passing: 280.5 yds p/gm – 3rd in NFL and 1st in AFC
5. Denver Total Offense: 393.5 yds p/gm – 2nd in NFL and 1st in AFC

The fight for the AFC is still up in the air regardless of what the mainstream media says. Therefore you can’t count Denver out because they have the number one QB, offense, passing game, rookie WR, and 2nd best WR in the AFC. Denver needs to pull a 2006 Super Bowl winning Colts and hope their defensive steps up at the right time. Hmmm… that sounds like a good idea for another article… stay tuned.

Denver fans, I hope all of this have quenched your thirst of Denver knowledge… stay stuned for a future articles including the 08 Broncos vs. 06 Colts and Weekly Mayhem.