At least until the coach says otherwise....

@nebbrownsfan said:

Fair enough on the Cutler assessment. I think he is a spectacular player, and even like him off field most of the time (he has done some good work with diabetes since being diagnosed), but when it came to the trde negotiations he turned into a whiny two year old. I think McDaniels and Bowlen should have done more to calm the situation, but it is what it is and I am ready to move forward. The head shaking about the season is an understatement though, Bronco nation is in chaos right now and will be until W's go on the board or McDaniels is shown the door.

As a side note for the fantasy fans (draft time will be here before we know it), I think Moreno will be fantastic and get the majority of the carries, but really wouldn't be suprised to see Hillis as the #2 RB and get the short yardage/goal line carries. If you are looking for an RB late and feel like taking a chance you could do worse than Hillis.

Thanks for the input everyone, I will try and stop by more often. Good luck in the coming season.

@nebbrownsfan said:

True. I suppose we can only hold him responsible for his half of the problem but if he received a phone call about Cassel, he could have preempted it by telling Cutler that this was going on and they were just doing due diligence. On the other hand, if he did initiate the trade talk...then he was just asking for trouble.

@earl34 said:

I won't disagree with you on giving McDaniels a chance for the reasons you state. That said, his initial management of his franchise QB has left a lot to be desired. It speaks to his inexperience in managing a team. Kris Jenkins said that being an NFL coach is "tough because you have to spend all this time managing 52 egos". Yes, you'd hope they're professionals but they do need some management.

When Mangini (advertently or inadvertently) upset Shaun Rogers....he made nice. He had some talks with him and things are smoothed out. He didn't wind up having a)a media fiasco and b)to trade his best player on that side of the ball.

I think that McDaniels is an exciting offensive mind but he needs to learn quickly because he's already hurt his team. Orton may be many things but Cutler he is not. He may not even be Trent Dilfer (one of the best "game managers"). He is going to find sledding tough in Denver. Rabid fans, porous defense and potential problem locker room.

People criticize Mangini for clearing house and perhaps he's the "Anti-Bengals" in that regard but the fact remains that in the NFL you cannot motivate players in the same way as in HS or college. They are supposed to be professionals and if they have bad attitudes, there's very little you can do to change that. Further, those locker-room pariahs try to spread their beliefs to others. I think that McDaniels is going to learn this the hard way unless he's smart about it. Just trying to illustrate that this will be his bigger challenge in Denver.

McDaniels is young and it will take some time to learn to be a HC, but when it comes to the Cutler fiasco, I think 50% of the blame lies squarely on Cutler's shoulders also. It took both sides to screw that one up, and they did it quite well.

I won't disagree with you on giving McDaniels a chance for the reasons you state. That said, his initial management of his franchise QB has left a lot to be desired. It speaks to his inexperience in managing a team. Kris Jenkins said that being an NFL coach is "tough because you have to spend all this time managing 52 egos". Yes, you'd hope they're professionals but they do need some management.

When Mangini (advertently or inadvertently) upset Shaun Rogers....he made nice. He had some talks with him and things are smoothed out. He didn't wind up having a)a media fiasco and b)to trade his best player on that side of the ball.

I think that McDaniels is an exciting offensive mind but he needs to learn quickly because he's already hurt his team. Orton may be many things but Cutler he is not. He may not even be Trent Dilfer (one of the best "game managers"). He is going to find sledding tough in Denver. Rabid fans, porous defense and potential problem locker room.

People criticize Mangini for clearing house and perhaps he's the "Anti-Bengals" in that regard but the fact remains that in the NFL you cannot motivate players in the same way as in HS or college. They are supposed to be professionals and if they have bad attitudes, there's very little you can do to change that. Further, those locker-room pariahs try to spread their beliefs to others. I think that McDaniels is going to learn this the hard way unless he's smart about it. Just trying to illustrate that this will be his bigger challenge in Denver.

At first I was really high on the guy, but have come to the conclussion he's a product of the Denver O-line which can make most runners look at least average. He can be an explosive guy, but is much more of the 2 yard, 1 yard, 2 yard, 4 yard, 27 yard type, not someone who can move the chains on a regular basis. With the herniated disc he is out til September, and probably wouldn't be in shape til late season at best, but even then I would pass on him if I were in charge of personel. At this point it doesn't look like you guys will have anything to do with him, but if October rolls around and you take another look those are my two cents.

Any thought/outsider insights on my Broncos from this board? I think we had a pretty miserable off season, but am pumped about Moreno. I would have preffered a smash mouth deffense, or at least moving in that direction, but failing that a good power running game could at least help keep the D off the field a little more. I think Orton as a game manager in McDaniels system should be adequate with our other offensive weapons, but it is obviously a huge downgrade at QB. I am guessing the Broncos sit somewhere around 5-11 or 6-10 in a rebuilding year, but with a much more consistant team.

He's very talented.. he's a two-back system guy IMO. Not really a short yardage guy.

Aloysius said:

Not sure I like Bell as much as you do (probably b/c he vultured a handful of fantasy touchdowns from Pierre Thomas last season), but I agree with the need for a short-yardage back. Hoping James Davis might be able to fill that role initially...

Injury prone guys don't behoove them.

Bell's got size (6'0", 225 lbs.) and runs hard. He had nice production as a rookie (677 yards rushing, 8 TD's) and could help out immediately as a short yardage back.