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Published on 04/01/2011 at Fri Apr 01 10:04.
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Elway’s Interview Dissected

Posted Fri Apr 1st by

John Elway arrives for a meeting during the NFL scouting combine. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

John Elway arrives for a meeting during the NFL scouting combine. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

John Elway gave an interview yesterday to Denver’s 104.3 The Fan and in it had more than a few gems.

Elway talked everything from team needs to the draft to why the Denver Broncos may actually take a quarterback in the draft.

Elway began by praising the new head coach of the Denver Broncos John Fox, calling him ‘refreshing for this whole building,’ going on to state that his football wisdom and  energy is tremendous. He went on to mention that it has been great working with Brian Xanders as well.

Now, the good stuff.

The Draft

“Well I think we have to look at that when we get there. I think you always want to get the best player available. But obviously in our situation where we do have some holes, we’ll have to look at that awfully strongly. What we want to do is we want to get a very good base here. Obviously that’s not going to happen in one year, but we’ve got some holes to fill. But we’re not going to get back away and get just an average player if there’s a great player on the board just to fill a need. So we’ll cross that bridge when we get there, but I think that the more great players you can get on the team, the better off you’ll be, and they’re going to make everybody else better. Whether it be talent athletically or leadership-wise.”

Patrick Peterson is the best player available in the draft, he’s not necessarily a need, but undeniably a great player. I do not at this time see Denver passing on Peterson at number two for Marcell Dareus. At least given what we know about Peterson and what we know about Dareus combined with what Elway is saying here. Yes, the Broncos have Champ Bailey, but drafting Peterson puts Denver’s secondary right up there as one of the best in the NFL.
On Ryan Harris (or not on him at all)

“Offensive line wise, we’ve got some good players there — you know, (Ryan) Clady coming off that knee injury and not having the year that he did the year before but still was a great player; and J.D. Walton and (Zane) Beadles who were rookies last year that played every down and played well, and they’re just going to get better; and we got (Chris) Kuper at right guard who’s a dominant guard. So offensively we feel pretty good.“

He didn’t mention Ryan Harris! Why didn’t he mention Ryan Harris!? Is Harris not in the plans for Denver going forward? I highly doubt that and here’s why; Harris is a restricted free agent (under the former CBA rules) and for now his status with the team remains unknown. Denver did feel strongly enough about the young right tackle to tender him in early March. I think Elway’s omission of Harris has more to do with the fact that his status is so unknown right now than it does the fact that the Broncos would not welcome him back with open arms when this whole mess is cleared up.

Random fact about Demaryius Thomas

“Obviously it hurts us to lose Demaryius Thomas to that Achilles injury but we’re hoping to get him back maybe half way through the season. We’ll see how that [injury] responds.“

Oh, so he’s out until when? How thin is the formerly packed wide receiving corps getting in Denver? No Thomas, no Eddie Royal, can Matthew Willis stay healthy into the season? Brandon Lloyd, Eric Decker, Jabar Gaffney, Matthew Willis and Britt Davis that’s it and that’s all folks. Expect Denver to pick up of all things a wide receiver in the 2011 draft and definitely in free agency (when it happens).

So what’s with the Broncos bringing in all of these quarterbacks?

“Well the bottom line is at that position, everybody realizes how important that position is. And anytime you have the draft position we have — second in the draft — you have to look at everybody. And we’re looking at every position, not only the quarterback position, but that seems to get the most attention because of what we have here. But obviously if there’s a guy there that’s a franchise guy there, we definitely have to look at it because we’re not sure we have a franchise guy on our team right now. So obviously we’ve got to visit that, look at it, and do our due diligence on it and then we’ll make our decision from there. But no, it’s not a smokescreen. We realize — and I realize — how important that position is, and if there’s a franchise guy there that we know is a franchise guy, we’d have to look at it.“

Okay, I am not an alarmist, but given what Elway said here and the actions that Denver is taking there must be at least one quarterback that the Broncos feel is worth the number two pick in the draft or else as I have said, why are they bothering? The chance that Denver picks up a quarterback at number two is very much alive.

Plenty to chew on here Broncos Country, much more to discuss. I want to hear everyone’s logic, we’ve been talking ad nauseum about the number two pick in the draft, but is it more in what Denver doesn’t say or what Denver does say?

  • areferee

    WHO CARES!?

    What a terrible story! You just don't know how to write! Who cares about John Elway? He's old…over the hill! A has-been!

    Stop wasting our time with this drivel.

    How about something important for a change.

    Like: “O. J. A Career Retrospective”

    OK?

    Love,

    Kerry

    Oh yeah! APRIL FOOL! (Great job, I-Man!)

  • 5280

    WOW! im kinda taken back about him saying that they're not sure they have a franchize guy at QB. i mean, i understand his logic because Tebow does need some work and who knows if he'll pan oout, but at the same time, i dont think they'll find a QB in this draft much better. newtons got potential and so does gabert, but not any more potential then Tebow. that was interesting. I think he's really hinting towards taking Peterson then he is taking a QB. Not that i agree whole heartedly with that decision, but i also wouldnt be mad AT ALL! peterson is obviously a sure fire superstar and i would be exstatic with him, however, i still maintain that the smarter pick would be dareus because of our need at DL. Im just a need-over-best-player-available kind of guy. i rather see us build a dominant Dline then to keep taking the best guy becasue the best guy in every draft can be so sparatic at by position. this years is a corner, next year it might be a OL, the next it might be a RB and so on. Theres only one corner in the draft that can be considered a FOR SURE starter when, at the same time, there are several DL's that are considered FOR SURE starters. i think it would be best to load up on starters at DL then to just grab the best guy, but then again, if they could trade back down into the 1st, they could pick up peterson AND grab starting DL in the 1st round. IMO this thing seems to be up in the air at this point. they can do many different things in this years draft. we'll just have to see when it all goes down.

  • TheTroglodyte

    No real news here. If it has all been a smokescreen of some kind it's not like at this point he would come out of the closet and be like

    “Oh yeah, we're just trying to increase the likely hood of us trading back a couple of spots and picking up another 2nd round pick as well. Obviously as bad as our defense has been the last decade and with us having two former first round picks and a playable veteran on our QB roster, combined with a short CBA which means drafting a rookie QB probably won't even be given a full year in our NEW system to develop, we have no real intention of drafting a QB at #2 because that would be asinine and royally piss off the entire state of Colorado to the point they may voluntarily chose to defect from the Union.”

  • MrEast

    Ahahahaha! Wow at first I was thinking, “Who hacked areferee's account!?” Good one man.

  • http://www.broncotalk.net Josh Temple

    I disagree to a degree with Ian's first statement. I think the Broncos could pass on Peterson to take Dareus because he has “a high floor”. (Andrew Mason's words) I could see them skipping by someone like Fairley to take a sure bet in Peterson. I just don't think there are any QBs good enough to justify the #2 this year. There might be some 2nd round gems to be had a la Colt McCoy.

  • MrEast

    Everyone just wants Elway to say “April fools!”

  • TheTroglodyte

    lol that is true but no matter what the real reason is, it's not going to happen.

  • Darwin

    Does anyone think the Biff is going to give a straight answer? Who wants to give away their draft strategy? I like the thought of Darius in the middle. Mike Mayock has him as his number one player. Mayock knows his stuff. A top player at the top position of need. Sounds good to me and not a reach at all.

  • MrEast

    “Is Denial a state? Yes, right next to Morgan and Appalachian.”

  • TheTroglodyte

    lol

  • http://nation.theorangepage.com/blog Ian Henson

    If he's not lying about going best player available there are not many places where you will see someone ranked above Patrick Peterson. On CBS' poll (which is where I put a lot of faith in) along with Mike Mayock's list the next person is Von Miller, finally followed by Marcell Dareus.

    Of course the Broncos need defensive lineman, at least that's what we think. If the team is so desperate though, why get rid of the only two proven ones they have in favor of Marcus Thomas and Ryan McBean?

    I think Elway for one believes in Fox's system above everything else. I do too to a large degree, it's similar to McDaniels' system in that a player like Gaffney or Lloyd can have a career year, simple based off the fact that they're a body, not necessarily a talent.

  • TheTroglodyte

    Just saw that D.T. responded on twitter to a fan who asked about Elway's comment and while he didn't deny it as a possibility he did say “nobody knows” and that he'll be back as soon as possible.

    Mid-season still sounds more realistic but I like hearing D.T. seems pretty upbeat about his recovery time. His rehab must be going well.

  • stuckinraiderland

    Once again, I reiterate: just don't draft Jake Locker. I have very few ambitions for the Broncos on draft day anymore.

  • MrEast

    Funny… cause they're working him out today.

  • Pingback: NFL Draft 2011: Broncos to Workout QB Jake Locker – Bleacher Report()

  • http://nation.theorangepage.com/blog Ian Henson

    Ryan Harris retweeted a tweet from a Raider's fan saying that they should grab him in Oakland. To be fair he also retweeted a Broncos fan saying something along the lines of heck no.

    I asked him if he wanted out, he hasn't responded to me.

  • http://nation.theorangepage.com/blog Ian Henson

    Actually, he responded saying that he was happy in Denver. Glad to hear that.

  • Matt DIZ

    Elway is talkin about pickin up a QB as a DECOY!

    DURRRRRRRR it keeps the teams choosing behind the Bronco's unsure of the first 2 picks

  • Matt DIZ

    BTW if im wrong (above) and the Broncos choose a QB in this draft, I will burn Invesco down!

  • The Mascot Army

    Remember when the chargers drafted eli manning 1 and the giants picked rivers at 4 and then the giants gave the chargers a lot of picks and the guy they just drafted for the privilege of having eli? That was funny. Maybe Elway is hoping for some of that dumbass magic.

  • jdkchem

    If you're right can you at least burn the “invesco” portion down?

  • 5280

    Ian i tend to agree more with mayock. the one thing that i think drops peterson to the level of dareus and miller is the fact that they changed the spot of the ball during kick offs from the 30 to the 35 which most experts agree will have a profound impact on drafting players based on their return ability. Now, most kickers will be able to kick the ball out of the endzone making it obsolete to put a great returner back there to return it, but i guess he still has punt return, which really yields more of a chance of a fair catch then a return, save for a few instances, and on top of that, coaches are now instructing their kickers to kick it out of bounds on punts and kick squibs on kick off so that people like devin hester cant do anything with the ball. so kick return ability is really becoming less and less desired. That being said, i would be very pleased with either of those options at number 2: dareus, miller, or peterson. I think they are all “cant miss” players, but because of need, i think dareus is the all around safest pick for denver. Also, getting rid of the DL's they got rid of was simply s matter of taking out the trash. why keep that extra money being spent on the team, when they were only decent players who didnt really prove themselves. freeing up that money could get them dareus and maybe some more effective talent at that postition through free agency(assuming there will be free agency). They are simply trying to upgrade the D line from what they had.

  • mikebirty

    i waited two years hoping to hear McDaniels say 'The Aristocrats!'

  • Matt DIZ

    haha it should've already happened when McDaniels was hired! I hope we fire his brother asap!

  • J_washbu1

    Look at the QBs they are working out; Kapernick, Locker, Newton, Gabbert. What do all these guys have in common? They are all mobile QBs. With Orton + Tebow = 2 offenses. Tebow + mobile backup = 1 offense. If you're a coach, which do you prefer to teach? This is not a smoke screen, like John says. They will draft a QB – for a backup.

  • DnA_27

    Why everyone so high on Dareus?! IMHO I see him as an average player, if the depth is so deep in DLs this year why not wait until the second round to pick up a couple DLs? I am really looking forward for Denver to pick up Patrick peterson (Best Overall Player), Robert Quinn (Looks like an animal) or trade down a couple spots and take Von Miller. Also if EFX aren't sure about the QB position, they can take a look at a couple QB's in the 2nd round such as Jake Locker which had a private workout for them already.

  • DnA_27

    Or even trade down and take Nick Fairley…. but not Dareus!

  • Jasonandrew76

    I think they are working out all of the QBs to see who would be a good bargain in possibly the 2nd round or later. Its possible not all of these QBs are going in the 1st, so maybe one of them slides down and we use one of our 2 2nd round picks. i hope not, but to me it makes more sense than they are actually considering using the #2 overall on one. Like many have said, there really just isnt one who is any better than TT coming out of school. I was a huge Tebow skeptic until watching him this year. They guy will be a player someday. He can play….Flat out. Period. He threw the ball vertically and had great mobility. Id bet anyone TT has a better career than any QB coming out in this draft.

  • http://nation.theorangepage.com/blog Ian Henson

    Don't forget about punt returns… Kick returns are fine and dandy, by now we've all done the math and seen that before 1993 there were on average X returns for touchdowns versus 1994-2010 where there were X returns for touchdowns. However, I think this is a different NFL, the kickoff team will only be allowed to lineup five yards off the spot of the kickoff, so if I am a special teams coach I am instructing my kicker to kick it high and put it inside the ten yard line.

    So that to me is an extra emphasis on kick returners, not a negation of the position. Sure if a team has an incredible kick returner, aim to put the ball out of the back of the end zone, but how many kickers can actually do that? Not every team gets to play in Mile High.

    I take Patrick Peterson for several reasons; I take Peterson because he is a profound corner, I like him that much more for his return ability and I love him because he can tackle. I like what he makes available to my defense by having the ability of going one-on-one with a receiver and we have Champ Bailey one-on-one with another receiver. I like him because he is incredibly quick, so in a zone (which I think Fox will run often) he can disrupt basically anything thrown within 10-15 yards of him. I also love that in the event it became absolutely necessary he can take over as a safety. Which Broncos fans have seen can kill our defense.

  • Jk

    you can take it to the bank Tim will then take Denver to the Super Bowl. but they have to let him start and keep him in the game. Let him do what he does and he will get them there Tim has what it takes to win that is what he does

  • Jk

    you can take it to the bank Tim will then take Denver to the Super Bowl. but they have to let him start and keep him in the game. Let him do what he does and he will get them there Tim has what it takes to win that is what he does