Truth hurts Denver

Jay Cutler gone…

Brandon Marshall gone…

Tony Scheffler gone…

Times the Denver Broncos went to the playoffs with the three players on the roster? Zero.

Josh McDaniels leads his depeleted team against the Kansas City Chiefs. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

So what are fans worried about? That Denver won’t make the playoffs? That Josh McDaniels is destroying the team? Was anyone watching in 2008 or 2009? Those players pretty much did that on their own.

For every eleventh rocket Cutler sent to Marshall he sent one to the opposing team.

For every broken tackle Marshall had he dropped a pass.

The same could be said for Scheffler, the guy was amazing at getting extra yards after the catch, but that was after the catch.

It’s tough for me to be critical of Josh McDaniels when he did something in 2009 that the great Mike Shanahan did in 2008 with the prodigal son at the helm.

The bottom line is that the draft picks that McDaniels is accumulating are going to be the ones that lead Denver back to the playoffs, not the draft picks that Shanahan acquired.

“After spending time with Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels yesterday, I’m further convinced he’ll produce an eventual Super Bowl winner for the city of Denver. As I wrote the other day, this decision to trade Marshall was an organizational decision because the Broncos were never going to spend the money needed to keep Marshall, given all his off-the-field problems.” – Michael Lombardi (via National Football Post).

Not that Lombardi is the end all be all of predictors in the NFL, but he was so good that they named the trophy after him…

So let that lay in your heads as we prepare for draft day Broncos faithful. Watch with anticipation and know that you’re not following blindly just because you’re following. Denver fans were down on Wade Phillips at one point too, but he turned out to be a pretty good NFL coach. Shanahan inherited a team from Wade Phillips. The Pat Bowlen pedigree is a rather strong one: Dan Reeves, Phillips, Shanahan and McDaniels. He doesn’t pick losers.