OrangeandBlue: Denver Broncos Fan Blog

Heath Shuler, Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch, Akili Smith, Kelly Stauffer, Andre Ware, David Klingler, Rick Mirer. Ouch. Every name on that list is a QB who was drafted higher than Jay Cutler. And that’s about the only notable thing any of them did in the NFL.

I’m seeing Broncos fans placing a lot of hope in Cutler. I am too. I hope he has a great NFL career and lives up to all the potential that Shanahan and the scouts see in him. But he’s not the savior of the franchise. He’s a raw, young QB with great ability — nd the same thing could have been said for every name in that list above. Let’s cool down on Jay for a bit and let him develop. Don’t buy his jersey yet. Don’t make a big deal if he throws an INT in practice. Time will tell if he deserves to be compared to Elway or Maddox.

At this moment, Jake Plummer is still the guy. Sure it’ll be good for him to feel the pressure of Jay Cutler standing on the sidelines, but right now, Jake Plummer is by far the best option at QB if the Broncos want to win football games. Jake, you aren’t forgotten here, and I’m still rooting for you. Jay will hopefully have his time, but this is still yours.

Traning camp starts at the end of this month and I’m eager for football news that is more than just speculation. But since it’s not here yet, I’ll join in the speculation. Here’s what I’m most interested in watching in training camp:

• QBs - Everyone is eager to see Cutler, but it’s a done deal he will make this team as a backup. I’m most interested in how Bradlee Van Pelt is going to do. He’s had a good offseason, but is he going to prove he’s valuable enough to keep three QBs on the roster?
• WRs - The Broncos always seem to have 5-6 young guys fighting for those last three spots. With L*lie (I don’t even want to type his name) not expected in camp, who will emerge as the #3 WR? How healthy is Javon Walker’s knee? Can Rod Smith again prove himself ageless? If Smith starts to show signs of slowing down, and Walker isn’t all the way back from his knee injury, the WR position could be more of a weakness than we expect.
• RBs - This is the weakest that the Broncos RBs have been going into camp in years. I’m a little anxious that Shanahan is overconfident about the Broncos running attack and feels he can throw anyone back there. Tatum Bell still hasn’t proven himself to be an everydown back, and Ron Dayne looked good at times, but didn’t play much last year. Is the committee of these two really going to get it done?
• DBs - The Broncos young DBs played pretty well last year. Now that last year’s rookies have a year of NFL experience playing together, can they surprise people as one of the best defensive backfields in the league?
• TEs - Plenty of questions here, and most of them start with ‘who’.
• K - Has Elam reached the point where bringing young kickers into traning camp is no longer a formality, and is actually competing for his job?
Permalink | [6] Comments |
 

Dear Mike Golic, Sean Salisbury, and Mark Schlereth,

As I anticipate training camp, I’ve enjoyed watching your Ultimate Depth Chart segments on SportsCenter. However, after watching yesterday, I’ve decided that I will watch future segments with my four year old daughter. That would be a much cheaper way for her to see clowns in action than to take her to the circus.

In yesterday’s segment, you discussed what would happen in the wild card round of the playoffs. Your projection was that the visiting Kansas City Chiefs would knock off the Denver Broncos at Invesco Field. Stinky, you did okay, and picked the Broncos to win. You are aware that the Broncos have beat the Chiefs the last five times they’ve played in Denver. Nice job. However, the fact that you allowed the other ‘experts’ to share their mindless reasons for picking the Chiefs means that your title of ‘expert’ is also called into question. You’re guilty by association.

First off, one of the reasons given was that if the Chiefs make the playoffs, then their suspect defense did improve and they will be rolling. So let me get this straight…their defense might be good enough to be a wildcard team, but now they are good enough to beat the winner of their division on the road? Where is the logic in that?

Second of all, you questioned Jake Plummer’s ability to win in the playoffs. I believe the statement was something along the lines of “Until Jake proves he can win in the playoffs…” Does only his last game count? (If so, then Tom Brady is questionable to, since his last playoff game was his first playoff loss — at the hands of Jake Plummer.) Wasn’t he responsible for the Cardinals first playoff win in something like 348 years? Wasn’t his rating over 100 in a playoff loss to the Colts a few years ago? Football is a team sport, and its pretty evident that it was the Broncos, and not Jake Plummer, who got beat by the Steelers last year, and the Colts in the years before that.

I’m really not as cranky as I sound. I’m just tired of listening to talk about football, and far more interested in watching it. What happens on the field is all that really matters anyway, so let’s get on with it already.