Greg Eslinger’s recent award is just another example of good things still to come. Photo Courtesy

For years under the Mike Shanahan sytem, the Denver Broncos have had a real knack for finding talented offensive linemen late in the draft. News broke today that second year center Greg Eslinger has been named to the All-NFL Europa Team as the best center in the league. This a year after the recent Broncos draftee was awarded two collegiate awards as the best interior lineman in the nation.

With Tom Nalen possibly singing his swan song after we win Super Bowl XLII this year (yeah you heard me), the future of the Broncos offensive line will be in the hands of someone new – for the first time in over a decade. I’m rooting for Eslinger to take the reigns, but I’m not counting out Chris Myers, our 3rd-year center, or impressive undrafted rookie Mark Fenton, either.

Looking elsewhere, we head into 2007 with serious questions at the tackle position. First, will Matt Lepsis be healthy? A knee injury is a serious concern, and all of Denver knows what happened to Trevor Pryce the year after his knee injury in 2004. Erik Pears filled in admirably, and another offseason will only improve his potential. Meanwhile, on the right side we see Adam Meadows being the likely predecessor to George Foster, but I see this as a temporary band-aid much more than a permanent solution. Third-round pick Ryan Harris is the most likely future of our right tackle spot.

At guard, we still have should-have-been-elected-to-a-Pro-Bowl-years-ago left guard Ben Hamilton, but our right guard position is also a concern. Montrae Holland is a new Bronco, and beefy at that, and will compete with incumbent Chris Kuper, who seems to be really turning heads. I also expect either or both of Myers or Fenton, the previously mentioned backups centers, to compete for the right guard spot. I could even see Myers moving to guard and Kuper moving to tackle this season as we look to find the right fit with the absences of Foster and Cooper Carlisle.

There is a ton of depth on the Broncos O-Line, full of young, competitive players (especially in the interior positions). I’d like to see us add another tackle or two in next year’s draft to push Harris (I doubt Meadows will stay on the team past this season).

**With the new move to this location, Comments are up and I’m always looking forward to your feedback. If you ever disagree with a pick for an award, top 10, whatever, always feel free to post your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from all of you.**

The BroncoTalk Offseason Awards continue! Today the most improved defense across the NFL is discussed, and again the Broncos are under consideration for the award.

Huh? The Broncos are considered for both the Most AND Least Improved Defense? How is that possible, you ask? Well, consider the loss of Al Wilson as the worst cut of the entire offseason. And the tragic death of Darrent Williams doesn’t help either. That’s how our defense was hurt. But we bounced back with an entire revamp of our defensive line, along with the additions of D.D. Lewis and Warrick Holdman. And don’t forget about Dre Bly, giving us the best cornerback tandem in the league.

The BroncoTalk Offseason Award for Most Improved Defense goes to…
What the hell…. The Denver Broncos for completely revamping their Defensive Line and forming the best secondary in recent NFL history. Oh yeah, and signing Jim Bates.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
2) The Washington Redskins for bringing back Fred Smoot and adding depth all over their defense
3) The Philadelphia Eagles for making defensive moves all offseason
4) The New England Patriots for signing the best defensive free agent Adalius Thomas

Man, I am totally impartial, too, y’know. The Broncos win their third BOA with the Most Improved Defense award, again for all of the moves they’ve made across the defensive line and the blockbuster trade (and signing) of Dre Bly.

It’s hard to tell, ahead of time, whether or not a defense really has improved until they go out and play on the field. Will the Broncos defensive line really have improved that much? Will Dre Bly flourish under the Denver system or be abust? Will one of our linebackers pick up the slack at strong side? Will D.J. Williams excel at middle?

These questions are all a more likely yes, but no one knows until they go out and play the field in 3 months.

The BroncoTalk Offseason Awards continue! Today I award the team with the most awesome sucktitude when it comes to improving their defense. Consider the title of this post – least improved division – to be a fancy way of saying most UNimproved defense. And the nominees were hard to find – I looked at a major cut on the defensive side of the ball as immediate nominees, making the Denver Broncos up for consideration for the award.

But one team stood above the rest in the number of defensive starters cut – and it’s the #1 reason while all of the “experts” don’t anticipate a repeat…

The BroncoTalk Offseason Award for Least Improved Defense goes to…
The Indianapolis Colts for lynching their already suspect unit.
HONORABLE MENTION:
2. Jacksonville Jaguars for cutting Donovan Darius

“Hey! Who the heck is that guy?” Photo Courtesy

The defending Super Bowl champs had one of the worst defenses throughout the entire regular season. When Safety Bob Sanders came back for the playoffs, though, the entire unit seemed to go through a mysterious transformation of hard hitting and not missing tackles. While it’s hard to attribute this to one man, the evidence is there, and it only shows how valuable of a player Sanders truly is.

However, the worst rush defense in the NFL through 16 games did little to improve the unit, and in fact, they lost several key cogs to their machine.
GONE: Nick Harper, CB; Mike Doss, S; Montae Reagor, DT.
ADDED: Rob Morris and Josh Thomas, both backup resignings.

It’s hard to imagine the Colts repeating with a worse defense than last year – I mean, Broncos fans know the bitterness to seeing Reagor wearing Colt blue and excelling after a lackluster showing in Denver. He was a huge part of the Colts defense until he was hurt in the car accident last season.

I don’t want to sleep on the Colts – that can always bite you in the ass, and Heaven knows the Broncos can’t afford to do anything but focus on Peyton Manning and crew. But it’s hard to believe they’ll repeat with less stars on defense than they had a year ago.

The Denver Broncos announced today that individual home games tickets for 2007 will go on sale July 28th.  Ticket availability will vary, but there will be a limited number of tickets for all games.  Available ticket types will include full-price tickets, half-price tickets, ADA tickets and club-seat tickets.

Ticket Sales Schedule for July 28th: 

  At 11:00am MDT on July 28th, Full-Price tickets will go on sale.

  At 1:00pm MDT on July 28th, 2000 Half-Price tickets for each game will go on sale (available through Ticketmaster online or by phone only). 

For additional information, visit the Denver Broncos online ticket office: to.denverbroncos.com.

What a busy offseason for the Broncos – busy enough to rank the Top 10 moves we’ve made and still leave out over half of said moves. Since our season ended on New Years Eve, we’ve seen:

• 7 of our 2006 starters depart
• 3 other players on our roster have left as well
• signings of 12 free agents
• trades for 2 defensive gamechangers
• the drafting of 4 linemen
• numerous coaching changes
• the addition of some potential stars through 7 or so undrafted rookie free agent signings.

That’s a helluva lot of moves for one offseason to say the least, and through it all the Broncos are still in the hunt for the Super Bowl. I rank the moves here.

The Broncos made it clear: The Snake wasn’t in our future plans. Photo Courtesy

10) Trading Away Jake Plummer

I will be a Jake Plummer fan to my grave. I know I’m unique in that facet of Broncos fans, but Plummer won us a ton of games and I’ll never forget that, despite all the interceptions and less-than-stellar playoff performances. Hell, one of my first Top Tens for this blog was Top 10 Reasons You Must Love Jake Plummer. However, we traded up and up in the 2006 draft a year ago to move for Jay Cutler, and after giving him the starting job in Week 13, something had to happen with Plummer and his nearly $8 million contract. Trading him away to the Bucs gave us a bunch of that money back, and now we don’t have any sort of controversy at the quarterback position. It’s now Cutler’s job to lose, giving us a feeling of security we haven’t had since Ole #7 donned the orange and blue.

9) Drafting Jarvis Moss

In the long term I expect this move to potentially be better than any of our other draft picks, but I don’t expect the impact from him this year. While I know Jim Bates can work wonders with a defensive lineman, I’ve always had the impression of Jarvis Moss as an athletically gifted, if not cliche freak of nature with huge potential if molded the right way. In 2007 I’ll be happy to see him register 2 sacks – seriously. But I anticipate him becoming one of the most gifted DEs in the league behind the tutelage of Jim Bates.

8) Trading Away George Foster and Tatum Bell

Cutting the fat in a big way, Mike Shanahan cleaned out his dog house when he traded away Tatum Bell and George Foster, both who found themselves on the bench throughout the course of our disappointing 2006 campaign. Both were high round draft picks for the Broncos in the past 5 years, but they weren’t coming along like Denver had hoped and ultimately found themselves on Shanny’s bad side. The former Pro Bowler whom we received in return just might show up later in this list…

7) Drafting Tim Crowder

Here’s the draftee I feel could most likely start for us this year, say in the second half of the season (when we’re already 8-1 naturally). Texas’ Tim Crowder, or T-Crow as I like to call him, was a productive pass rusher who could also play the run well. While perhaps not as naturally or athletically gifted as first rounder Jarvis Moss, T-Crow will make the bigger impact this year. Seeing as we’re stacked pretty much all around, this is the year to make a run, and the presence of T-Crow in the lineup will likely make a big difference in a positive way.

6) Bringing in Linebacker Depth

The cutting of Al Wilson will not make this list. As far as I’m concerned, it’s the most significant departure in Broncos history since John Elway called it a career after Super Bowl XXXIII. But we addressed the concerns to some degree with the free agent signings of Warrick Holdman and D.D. Lewis a few days before the draft. With D.J. Williams moving to the middle, it opens things up for a 3-way competition at the strong side spot with Nate Webster. Don’t forget that Ian Gold has experience playing both sides – whichever system fits best between all players involved will be what Bates and Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs Bob Slowik decide.

5) Adding Girth to our DTs

In the past two or three weeks, the Broncos have decided they weren’t done adding to the roster and brought in veteran journeyman defensive tackle Sam Adams. Shortly thereafter we traded for young, beefy Jimmy Kennedy with a late round pick. Just like Jim Bates likes it, our defensive tackle weight has gained an overall average of 8 lbs., with only one of our top-tier DTs (incumbent Gerard Warren) falling below the 300 lb. mark. Try getting seven touchdowns on us now, Ladainian Tomlinson.

4) Drafting Marcus Thomas

I’m done sitting on the fence with this once. While I’ve always loved the move, I’ve also always made sure to note the obvious concern with his character issues and the like. Well, *knock on wood*, I’m so much more hyped about the possibilities over what he could become that I’m not even all that concerned anymore. Marcus Thomas is, athletically, a Top 5 overall pick (this 300 lb. beast can do BACK FLIPS) who fell all the way to the 4th round. Much like 4th rounder Elvis Dumervil last year, I expect Thomas to earn his bread and butter on passing downs in sure fire pass rushing situations. The value on day 2 is insane if he can just keep his character issues together and stay away from the weed.

3) Signing Daniel Graham

Our biggest financial commitment went to this Colorado native, who excels at run blocking and has apparently always been the apple of Shanahan’s eye. Daniel Graham is a playmaker at the tight end position in his willingness to to get dirty and his ability to make big plays. Combined with Tony Scheffler, I expect Cutler to have a solid passing option whenever we line up in a two tight end set.

2) Signing Travis Henry

We haven’t had what I would call a star at the runningback position since Clinton Portis a few years ago. While Mike Anderson, personally one of my favorite underrated Broncos, filled in admirably in 2005, Tatum Bell did not, ande it became clear that we again needed a playmaker at the runningback position. Enter Travis Henry and his fat contract, a virtual lock to gain 1,500 yards this coming season. And assuming we break the trend of cutting our lead rusher this year (which I expect we will), our running game should be the best it’s been in several years.

The trade for Dre Bly, and signing him long term after, is one of the most significant moves this offseason leaguewide. Photo Courtesy

1) Trading for Dre Bly

All the other moves were great, but the slam dunk this offseason has to be the blockbuster trade for Dre Bly. On paper, it forms perhaps the greatest cornerback tandem in NFL history. Man, that sounds good. “The greatest cornerback tandem in NFL history.” We’re built, and bound, to beat the Colts this year (FINALLY!), and good luck to just about any quarterback throwing at anyone when they face the Broncos.

Perhaps the busiest offseason in Broncos history is nearing an end, and the moves have involved the draft, free agency, and more than one trade as we prepare for our 2007 campaign. Overall the Broncos are definitely in the running for the “Best Offseason” BroncoTalk Offseason Award, with all the moves hopefully adding up to a third Super Bowl title.

i
Dan “Big Daddy” Wilkinson

Nearly 2 months after Dan “Big Daddy” Wilkinson‘s trade to the Broncos was voided for failing to show up to Denver for his physical, the Dolphins are apparently fed up with the veteran journeyman and have terminated his contract, making him an unrestricted free agent.

The 6’4″ 340-lb. defensive tackle was originally traded on March 2 to the Broncos for a 6th round draft pick. Now that he’s available on the open market, it raises questions whether the Broncos will pursue his services after all.

Of course, Broncos fans know that our defensive line has had the biggest overhaul this offseason. Since the trade for Big Daddy went south, we’ve brought in 4 defensive tackles – Marcus Thomas, Steven Harris, Sam Adams, and Jimmy Kennedy. Not to mention the first two round picks going to defensive ends Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder respectively.

What does this mean for Broncos fans? Hopefully nothing. I mean, we’ve been so busy overhauling our defensive line this offseason, it almost seems that the Dolphins are giving us the proverbial finger by releasing him the week AFTER we sign Adams and trade for Kennedy. Bringing in Wilkinson now would mean that we either designate 6 spots of our 53-man roster for DTs – something I don’t think is possible – or that Alvin McKinley or Kennedy are in trouble to make that roster. Seeing as we gave up a late round pick for Kennedy and a somewhat decent contract to McKinley this offseason, I can’t see that happening either.

And before all of Broncos Country begins calling for Wilkinson’s return, remember this – he had his chance to wear the orange and blue, and HE didn’t show up. If he wanted to be a Bronco, he had every opportunity to simply show up for a physical in Denver for more than a month.

The Bottom Line: The Big Daddy ship has sailed, at least as far as the Broncos are concerned.

Champ Bailey gets ranked as the league’s top defensive player. Photo Courtesy

Most bloggers and beat writers (including myself) use lists as fun ways to kill time in the offseason and give readers something to look over and debate. And usually they don’t cause quite a stir – but Pete Prisco’s List of Top 50 Players in the NFL has stirred things up a bit, particularly in the Broncos fanworld, where only representative was honored. I think Javon Walker should have been on there, and Matt Lepsis and Tom Nalen should have been considered as well. Had Al Wilson not have been cut, I would have been livid if he had not made it… but that’s not what this post is about. I wrote this post because I’m proud to report that Champ Bailey has finally gotten the recognition he deserves – he is THE BEST defensive player in the league, at least according to one significiant person in the media.

Peyton Manning and Tom Brady topped the list, followed by the Chargers’ Ladainian Tomlinson. Fourth overall, and the first defensive player listed, is Denver Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey, whom Prisco compares to Deion Sanders in his dominance over his man. Can’t argue with that, although TheSportsGuru over at Mile High Report has already made it clear that Bailey is a much better all around player than Sanders in run support and tackles.

Think about that – Sanders always knew how to run his mouth off, and he was one of the most popular players in the entire league. He was a superstar with a big game. And Bailey’s game is bigger. And better. A lot like Marvin Harrison of the Colts, Bailey works as a silent assassin – he lets his actions do all the talking. Also like Harrison, when listing the best of the bunch Harrison is always considered near the top – but rarely at the pinnacle.

So I’ve heard the list of best defensive players in the league a hundred times – Ray Lewis. Brian Urlacher. Jason Taylor. Last year, Troy Palumalu was often mentioned, and for good reason – he caused havoc in the AFC Championship game against our Broncos. And somewhere, usually at the 2-4 spot, is listed our beloved Bailey, who “doesn’t make big plays bigger” or some tired excuse like that.

And Broncos fans have known what they’ve had for years – no one is more complete and dominant at their position than Champ. I can only recall one touchdown over Champ all year long in the San Diego game last year – and that one barely slipped through his hands. Whether it’s shutting down the Ravens’ drive in the early Monday Night game last year or returning Alex Smith‘s pick for a touchdown in the season finale, Bailey was full of big plays all year long. I’ve seen Urlacher get run over by The Bus. Hell, I’ve seen Ray Lewis get run over by Tatum Bell. And Jason Taylor, to me, is a consistent, solid player who had a splurge of big plays at the end of the year to win the Defensive MVP title.

This year is Champ’s year. I’m hoping for Champ to win the Defensive MVP and Rod Smith to win the Comeback Player of the Year award, giving us two season player awards. And hell, give Travis Henry the Offensive MVP award while you’re at it.

Props to Prisco for recognizing, at least defensively, where the best talent in the NFL truly resides.

Every year, since the year BEFORE we got married, my wife and I have spent the first week of July in a cabin in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. It’s the most beautiful place in the world, at least that I’ve ever seen, and we love every minute of it. No television, no computers … just nature and peace as we tear each other’s hair out and get on one another’s nerves (just kidding, honey!).

So BroncoTalk readers, I will not be able to post any entries from Monday, July 1 through Sunday, July 7, something you may have seen on the different segments’ schedules as the “BroncoTalk BYE Week.” I can promise you I’ll come back strong on the 8th (assuming all travel plans are kept intact). This is just your two week’s notice of sorts – I’ll be sure to post one last post the night before I leave.

I am dedicated to this blog and plan on NEVER quitting – don’t misconstrue my vacation for lack of passion for the Broncos or this blog. I’ll be ready for those who are waiting once I return.

Pick ‘Em Mondays begins at BroncoTalk, picking the ranks of each division one by one. For the past 4 years running (as far as I felt like researching), there have been at least 4 changes in the division winners across the league, with a few years with 5 changes as well. So it’s very unlikely the Chargers, Ravens, Colts, Patriots, Seahawks, Bears, Saints and Eagles will all repeat. Or even half of those teams, for that matter.

This week’s task is looking at the NFC East, year in and year out one of the most competitive divisions in football. Last year the Eagles took the division, with the Cowboys and Giants both receiving the NFC Wild Card spots, and the Redskins filing in behind. That is nearly a perfect flip from the standings the year before – in 2005, the rankings were the Giants as division winners, then the Redskins with the Wild Card, followed by the Cowboys then the Eagles. It’s a perfect example of how each year things can change dramatically in a single division.

On to the picks!

1) Dallas Cowboys

I expect the Cowboys to make strides under Wade Phillips. Phillips didn’t have a chance to make an impact here in Denver, but he was building the Buffalo Bills back to glory before the Music City Miracle got in the way. He forged the San Diego Chargers into the defensive megahouse we Broncos have the privilege of dealing with twice a year. And he could have a similar effect on DeMarcus Ware as he did with Shawne Merriman. To top it off, I’m a Tony Romo believer – yeah, he didn’t play so well down the stretch, but he was a fumbled snap away from knocking off the reigning NFC champs in Seattle this past year. He re-established his game, and I expect their top ranked defense and offense from last year to be all the more improved with experience as a team.

2) Washington Redskins

The Redskins’ meltdown last year is still seemingly unexplainable to me. I just don’t get it. Gregg Willliams is one of the best defensive coordinators in the league, but the defense last year was pitiful. They were last in sacks and ranked similarly in pass and run defense. And I just don’t get it – it’s the same squad that ranked much higher in 2005, and the offense was more explosive that year as well. Whatever the reason, it just didn’t feel like “the real” Reskins to me – and I expect them to bounce back in 2007. Jason Campbell will have more experience, and they still have a very exploside receiver corps. Look for the Skins to return to form in 07 – this is the same defense, with the same players and coaches, who ranked 3rd and 9th in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

3) Philadelphia Eagles

Yes, I may be crazy, but I don’t see the Eagles returning to dominance with all the controversy currently surrounding the club. If I were to rank quarterbacks in the entire NFL, it would go 1. Peyton Manning, 2. Tom Brady, 3.Donovan McNabb. And I consider the Eagles to be the most talented team in the division, possibly the NFC. But similar to their unimpressive 2005 campaign, trouble is a-brewing in Philly as McNabb continues to nurse his knee injury in the midst of confusing quarterback controversy in the drafting of Kevin Kolb. McNabb hasn’t finished a year healthy in years, and I can’t count on him to do it this year. Their defense may be the best in the division, but with questions at quarterback I can’t rank them higher than either the Skins or Boys.

4) New York Giants

Eli Manning hasn’t shown anything in the form of incosistency, and Tiki Barber and Luke Petigout now off the team won’t help in the least. Now that Plaxico Burress is nursing an ankle procedure, how is this Giants offense supposed to strike fear into anyone? While I’ll always cheer for Reuben Droughns, I don’t see the running game being anything special and I don’t see the passing game improving for the reasons afforementioned. The defense will be better with a healthy Michael Strahan, but his health for an entire season is not guaranteed – I mean, wasn’t it originally supposed to be a 4 week injury that lasted more than half of it? I could be wrong, but I remember hearing that their future Hall of Fame defensive end was only out for 4 weeks; perhaps because of age and wear and tear, he was out for the last 9 gaems. Don’t get me wrong – the Giants aren’t in the bottom 8 teams of the league, but in this division they’re the bottom of the barrel.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see the NFC East send 3 teams to the playoffs for the third year running – the division is that good. I see the Redskins squeezing past the Eagles, with the Giants finishing around 6-10 or 5-11.

The Broncos don’t play the NFC East this year, so unless one of these teams make it to the big game, (and we do too), it won’t matter to us. But if you’re a true football fan it’s fun to watch the entire league. Next week I’ll run through the AFC East, talking Patriots, Jets, Dolphins and Bills. We do play the Bills this year, and a playoff matchup against the Pats is potentially imminent. A little more juicy, it seems, as the Pick ‘Ems goes along.

Got a little bit of a Broncos fix via the NFL Network and NFL Replay today. I recorded the program so I could do a little studying on how the game played out, and after watching it twice (slow motion-powered remote control handy), I didn’t come away from viewing our December loss to the Chargers (the second game, at Qualcomm) feeling very optimistic on beating them this year.

First, it should be noted that the game against the Chargers was probably one of our worst showings of the year. Take away the third quarter and the score is 48-3. Yeah, that’s pretty – no, horribly – bad. Everything seemed to go wrong that game, and if we are to take back the West this year it’s worth pointing out where we need to improve and how our off season has helped.

Special Teams Medoicrity – The first half was especially brutal, seeing us start behind the 20 yard line in virtually every posession. On top of that, the Chargers’ rookie Antonio Cromartie was on fire every return. And it wasn’t Paul Ernster‘s fault, either, that they were cotinually getting awesome field position – our special teamers weren’t making tackles. There was the one forced fumble in the third quarter that allowed us two touchdowns within 48 seconds of one another, but in general there was a huge lack of big plays. In the offseason, we didn’t draft any players that would impact our special teams, but we did address it with a few players in free agency, like fullback Paul Smith. Also, bringing by 3-time Pro Bowler Todd Sauerbrun is sure to improve our punting game as well.

Poor Pass Protection – Jay Cutler never had three seconds behind the line of scrimmage to get a pass going. He fumbled the ball several times, but only one of those I saw could be attributed to the center-quarterback exchange, and the others were all ball strippings and the like. I saw backup left tackle Erik Pears get beaten time after time; the rest of the O-Line seemed to struggle as well. And for the record, I love Pears – he did admirably in Matt Lepsis‘ absence, but his inconsistent play cost us our usual offensive dominance. Lepsis returning is the biggest change, although I’m still very worried about our entire right side. The battle over the starting spot for both right guard and right tackle remains, with Adam Meadows and Chris Kuper leading the way, is a legitimate concern. If we’re to return to our former offensive form, we need these guys to step up in a big way.

Poor Pass Rush – On the other end of the spectrum is our defensive line woes. It wasn’t until deep into the 4th quarter, when the game was all but over, that we finally started pressuring Philip Rivers and actually registered a sack. Rivers executed big play after big play to Antonio Gates, even scoring a rare touchdown through Champ Bailey‘s hand during a jump ball. We simply didn’t get enough pressure on the opposing quarterback. In the offseason, though, we addressed the defensive line over and over again, with our first two draft picks focusing on the pass rush and being complimented by a large amount of focus on the defensive tackle position. Our pass rush should be significantly improved through the moves.

Stopping the Run – A big deal whenever we face Ladainian Tomlinson, who broke numerous records against the Broncos, including the season touchdown record, scoring 7 of his 32 in the 2 games against us. LT worked us up and down the field, and we truly didn’t have an answer to his production all game long. With the releasing of Al Wilson, we’ll have to rely more heavily on the afforementioned revamped defensive line to stop the run before it gets going.

Bottom line – the Chargers worked us up and down that game, and it will take improvements on all fronts and across all positions to return the favor next year. I’ve felt all year that the Chargers were overrated, and I still stand by that assessment – but that day in December, they were the better team no matter which way you sliced it. We’ll have to count on our new players and schemes to really make a difference if we’re going to beat San Diego in 2007. And as you can tell by this post, that will be no small task.