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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.

NFL announces 2010 Broncos schedule

The 2010 Denver Broncos schedule has been announced, with the Broncos set to open on the road for the sixth consecutive year (a league-high). The Broncos schedule opens against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 12th, and features five divisional games in the season’s final eight weeks.

The schedule is below; press release after the jump.

DENVER BRONCOS 2010 SCHEDULE

(home games in caps; all times local at site of game)

Week	Opp.	Date	Time	Match
1		Sun 09/12	1:00	Denver @ Jacksonville
2		Sun 09/19	2:05	SEATTLE @ DENVER
3		Sun 09/26	2:15	INDIANAPOLIS @ DENVER
4		Sun 10/03	12:00	Denver @ Tennessee
5		Sun 10/10	1:00	Denver @ Baltimore
6		Sun 10/17	2:05	NY JETS @ DENVER
7		Sun 10/24	2:15	OAKLAND @ DENVER
8		Sun 10/31	5:00	Denver @ San Francisco (London)
9		– BYE –
10		Sun 11/14	2:05	KANSAS CITY @ DENVER
11		Mon 11/22	5:30	Denver @ San Diego
12		Sun 11/28	2:15	ST. LOUIS @ DENVER
13		Sun 12/05	12:00	Denver @ Kansas City
14		Sun 12/12	2:15	Denver @ Arizona
15		Sun 12/19	1:15	Denver @ Oakland
16		Sun 12/26	2:05	HOUSTON @ DENVER
17		Sun 01/02	2:15	SAN DIEGO @ DENVER
All times PM local

PRESEASON

Wk.    Day      Date             Opponent                Site                                              Time                                      TV

1         Sun.     Aug. 15         at Cincinnati              Paul Brown Stadium                     7 p.m. EDT                  KCNC-TV

2         Sat.      Aug. 21         DETROIT                  INVESCO Field at Mile High         7 p.m. MDT                 KCNC-TV

3         Sun.     Aug. 29         PITTSBURGH           INVESCO Field at Mile High         6 p.m. MDT               FOX (NTL)

4         Thu.     Sept. 2          at Minnesota             Mall of America Field (Metrodome)       7 p.m. CDT                  KCNC-TV    

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Three days… it’s getting quite grueling now. All I can really think about is the draft, every bad hair piece reminds me of Mel Kiper. I’ve already gone through the first three rounds so now it’s time to move on to the fourth and fifth.

Round 5

In the spirit of tradition, I am going to assume that these players below have been selected by Denver in the first three rounds:

Pick 11: Rolando McClain, ILB, Alabama
Pick 43: Demaryius Thomas, WR, Georgia Tech
Pick 45: Tim Tebow, QB, Florida
Pick 80: Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford

If the draft goes like this then Denver has address some key position skills and now need to turn their attention over to their ailing offensive line. The great thing about offensive linemen is that you can find starters in the late rounds (Jeff Saturday was undrafted and Matt Birk was a 6th round pick). So who does Josh McDaniels and Brian Xanders target come Sunday? Who will Denver acquire with their fourth and fifth round picks? Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Oklahoma State's Dez Bryant runs a pass route during a pro football workout day on Tuesday March 30, 2010, at Abe Martin Stadium in Lufkin, Texas.(AP Photo/Bob Levey)

With Brandon Marshall marshaled off to the Miami Dolphins last week, many draftniks’ immediate reactions fell somewhere between, “The Denver Broncos are definitely drafting Dez Bryant” and “Denver is probably drafting Dez Bryant.”

Of course, draftniks will be draftniks. It’s all speculation and rumor until the Broncos are on the clock Thursday night. But one columnist is disagreeing with the notion that Bryant is Denver-bound. And he’s spoken to several teams to back his opinion.

That writer would be Yahoo! Sports’ Charles Robinson. After hearing Josh McDaniels‘ heap-praising comments on Bryant last week, he agrees with an unnamed AFC personnel man, along with several other teams: It’s a smokescreen. April is “a liar’s month,” and the Broncos aren’t interested in Bryant. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Tony Scheffler celebrates a touchdown with Eddie Royal in 2009. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

You want out of Denver? Just ask…

The Broncos are slowly becoming known for being quite the concierge.

For the second time this offseason the much discussed duo of head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Brian Xanders have granted the precise wishes of an unhappy player.

Brandon Marshall wanted to return to his home state and be amongst the highest paid receivers in the NFL – traded to the Miami Dolphins for a second round draft pick in 2010 and a second round in 2011.

Tony Scheffler wanted to return to his favorite team as a kid – traded to the Detroit Lions in a three way trade that involved the Philadelphia Eagles landing linebacker Ernie Sims from the Lions.

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The draft countdown continues. Bronco fans, we are only four mere days away from the start of the elongated draft format. Continuing with the series, today I’ll look at what Denver might attempt in the third round this year.

Round 3
Just like last time I’ll go about assuming Denver has already selected the following players:

Pick 11: Rolando McClain, ILB, Alabama
Pick 43: Demaryius Thomas, WR, Georgia Tech
Pick 45: Tim Tebow, QB, Florida

Tim Tebow, yeah I said it. Now that the world is focused on the Broncos for picking Tebow you’ll have to look extra hard to just to hear any other news Denver related. Don’t be discouraged however, the third round this year will possibly be the most interesting for the Broncos, especially given the possibility of a looming Tony Scheffler trade. This is the round where teams look for depth. The Broncos are looking to help out their young running back, Knowshown Moreno, in all ways possible. Does this mean they stack the line this draft or give him a solid backup? Does Jarvis Green get a protege? Who gets to be the honor of the 80th overall pick of the draft? Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Due to the departure of Brandon Marshall the Broncos have landed one more pick in the second round for this year’s draft. This extra pick could provide more depth or even wiggle room for trading back into the first round. For the sake of being practical we will proceed as if Denver did not trade away either of these picks.

Round 2

I’m assuming that the Broncos were lucky enough to select Rolando McClain with the 11th overall pick. So where does Denver start from there? The new forum of the draft allows the second round to be essentially another first start. Teams get to go back to their war rooms and think for another day. The second round is full of gold, so hopefully Denver can claim their fair share. Will Josh McDaniels look to solidify the receiving squad, or select a new center? So who is Denver bound in round two? Click here to read the rest of this entry »