Primary Sidebar
BlogsRecent Stories in 2008 Season Preview
Recent Stories in Broncos Greats...By The Numbers
Straight from the Horse's Mouth -- Josh McDaniels Scouting Report
by JohnnyB(TSG)
on Jan 7, 2009 9:17 AM MST
in Broncos Head Coaching Search
Whispers continue to get louder that Patriots' Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels is the front runner for the Broncos head coaching vacancy. As I have done with all the candidates, I reached out to my SBNation brethern to find out their thoughts on each candidate.
For McDaniels, I went over to MaPatsFan who presides over Pats Pulpit to get a few thoughts on what he thinks of McDaniels as a Head Coaching candidate --
Josh McDaniels, currently Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks for the New England Patriots, joined the organization in 2001 and, until 2003, spent a great deal of time breaking down film for the defense, so he has a background on that side of the ball. He moved to quarterbacks coach in 2004 and got the OC nod in 2006. He oversaw a record-breaking 2007 offense, but I think his biggest success came in 2008 when he had to navigate through a myriad of starter injuries and reshape his offense to fit.
Given his rise in the organization, I'm not yet convinced he'd be immediately successful as a head coach. Sure, he's been mentored by one of the best in the business (in my humble opinion), but I'm a believer in the assistant head coach role. That job brings everything together and worked well for Belichick when he was tutored by Bill Parcells. I think McDaniels needs a few more years before he can truly be a successful head coach.
Our thanks to Pats Pulpit for taking the time to give a few thoughts on McDaniels.
117 comments
| 0 recs
|
From what I’m hearing, the Broncos loved New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who seems to be formulating his staff, including Dom Capers as his defensive coordinator. The Broncos will not take much more time and will make a decision in the next week.
An interesting piece of intel that Mike Lombardi is hearing about Dom Capers as DC. That would almost certainly signal a shift to a 30 front scheme.
Straight from the Horse's Mouth -- Bob Stoops Scouting Report
by JohnnyB(TSG)
on Jan 7, 2009 7:13 AM MST
in Broncos Head Coaching Search
Yea, I know, Stoops isn't a candidate for the job. Let's just say I am playing all the angles. Stoops' Sooners plya in the BCS Championship Game tomorrow night against Florida. During the week, when asked, Stoops has denied being contacted by the Broncos and said he had no interest in the job. Yet here we are, 6 candidates interviewed and still no clear-cut leader. So, to help pass the time, I reached out to SBNation's Oklahoma Sooners blog Crimson and Creme Machine to get his take on Stoops and whether or not he would make a good NFL Head Coach --
MHR -- Would Stoops be able to make the transition to the NFL?
CCM -- Obviously I would like to say yes here because I thing the world of Coach Stoops but I just don't know. I'm confident that Stoops is good enough with the X's and O's of football to be successful but the NFL is about a lot more than just schemes and strategy. I don't know how he would do in making personnel decisions, handling player's egos, a salary cap and having an owner who needs to win to better market the team in order to turn a profit. The NFL is just such a different game.
MHR -- Would he be a good fit for the Broncos?
CCM -- In a perfect world I would say yes. Stoops is a guy that players love playing for. He is intense and has a proven track record of winning. He is involved in the community and is fan friendly. He comes across a little brash with the media sometimes but I think it is, like most football coaches, he gets annoyed with pointless questions.
MHR -- What are his philosophies on offense and defense?
CCM -- He's a defense first type of guy. He likes to have a dominant line that causes havoc in the backfield with a linebacking corps and secondary with blazing speed. A Bob Stoops defense will play to stop the run first and then rely on various blitzing schemes and the defensive ends to pressure the quarterback.
On offense it's a little more difficult to understand what his philosophy is. He has basically reinvented the offense at Oklahoma three times in his ten years as head coach. With, current Texas Tech Head Coach, Mike Leach as the offensive coordinator OU threw the ball everywhere with schemes that made you scratch your head and wonder out loud, "what the heck they were doing?" Then came current Kansas Jayhawks Head Coach, Mark Mangino as the offensive coordinator who brought more balance to the offense but continued to run some of the trick plays and craziness that Leach started.
Now, under current offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson Oklahoma has rewritten the record books with a fast-paced spread attack that produced two 1,000 yard running backs and a Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback. So, it really is hard to say what he prefers other than to know that when he has an offensive coordinator that he trusts he gives him control.MHR -- Deep down, How interested in the NFL do you believe Stoops is?
CCM -- I really don't think that he is at all. I stated in this post that all football coaches seek out and thrive under job security and the NFL just doesn't offer the type of security that Stoops has in Norman. Here is a guy who has won six conference championships in his first ten years at Oklahoma and has earned the right to name his price at any institution of franchise that may come calling. In the end Norman has become home for him and I just don't see him uprooting his family at this stage to bolt for the NFL.
Our thanks to the guys over at Crimson and Creme Machine for taking time out to answer a few question for us.
2 comments
| 1 recs
|
Horse Tracks - 1/7/09
by JohnnyB(TSG)
on Jan 7, 2009 5:59 AM MST
in Horse Tracks
DENVER POST
It was the offseason, a carefree summer vacation on the New Jersey shore, yet there was Jason Garrett, still coaching. OK, so Garrett, the Dallas Cowboys' offensive coordinator, wasn't exactly drawing up plays for Tony Romo and Terrell Owens, but the job seemed no less important to Garrett at the time.
There is so much dog-and-pony show involved with NFL coaching searches that in-house candidates often are dismissed as courtesies, a politically correct necessity.
Today, the Broncos will interview their final known candidate, the Vikings' Leslie Frazier, for the head coaching vacancy created eight days ago by the dismissal of Mike Shanahan.
John Elway was the first Bronco inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Gary Zimmerman, even though he played only five of his 14 professional seasons in Denver, counts as two.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
A Princeton graduate, Jason Garrett usually takes quality notes. So in his quest to be the next Broncos coach, Garrett says he already is familiar with Denver's centerpiece player on offense - quarterback Jay Cutler.
OTHER
When I lay awake at night, staring at the ceiling wondering what the Broncos are going to do, I pray that Pat Bowlen will not hire another offensive guru as head coach. Obviously, Bowlen wants to hire the best prospect available regardless of his area of specialization, but the Broncos defensive problems are so acute, that fixing that side of the ball must be Bowlen's first priority.It was the last day for Indigo Joe's Sports Pub in Centennial. It was going out of business. Hard times hung over the crowd as they watched the news conference broadcast from Broncos' headquarters down the road at Dove Valley.1 comment | 0 recs
I'll say it, I was very nervous, I'm excited, kind of like the lottery. You can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket, so this is the last step before the final step. At least I have a one in (17) chance to be one of the guys.
It's a huge accomplishment just to be on the list, a lot of hard work, it's amazing to be at this point, something my family would be excited about if I were to get that call.
I’m certainly glad that Jeremy is there, but I’m not sure he’s going to help me in this process, It would just be a bonus for me if something positive were to happen for me in Denver and I would end up working with Jeremy again. I don’t know if that is going to happen, but I put on my best suit and my best self and went out there and gave it my best effort. I think it went really well. Obviously I have nothing else to compare it with. I’ve never interviewed with a head coaching job anywhere else, but I’m just going off of general knowledge and hearing from different people. I think it went pretty well.
1 day ago
JohnnyB(TSG)
13 comments
0 recs
Sources: Tom Nalen To Retire
by JohnnyB(TSG)
on Jan 6, 2009 8:26 PM MST
in Roster Moves
The final link to the Super Bowl era for the Denver Broncos is reportedly going to hang up his cleats. Tom Nalen, the 218th players selected in the 1994 NFL Draft will reportedly call it quits, with the official announcment due any day.
Nalen, who was originally drafted when Wade Phillips was Head Coach of the Broncos, was the corner-stone of an offensive line that helped the Broncos win two World Championships and lead several offensive categories during his tenure.
With Nalen snapping the ball, the Broncos posted the most rushing yards (29,131) and most individual 100-yard rushing games (93) in the NFL since 1995 while tying for the most individual 1,000-yard rushing seasons (11) in the league during that period. Nalen's 5 Pro Bowls are the most ever for a Broncos lineman.
Nalen's lines also allowed the 3rd fewest sacks since 1995.
Nalen will retire ranked 3rd third all-time among Broncos players with 194 games played. He also ranks second all-time among Broncos players with 188 career games started.
While Nalen has yet to file his paperwork with the League, he has reportedly started the process. Just like Nalen, who rarely spoke in public, no formal annoucement from the future Ring of Famer is expected. Nails wouldn't have it any other way.
24 comments
| 0 recs
|
Important Dates After Super Bowl XLIII
by JohnnyB(TSG)
on Jan 6, 2009 7:08 PM MST
Here are some important upcoming dates that all football fans should know, starting after Super Bowl XLIII -
Feb. 1 -- Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, FL
Feb. 5 -- First day that teams may designate franchise or transition players
Feb. 18-24 -- NFL Combine
Feb. 19 -- Deadline for teams to designate franchise or transition players
Feb. 26 -- Deadline for teams to qualify offers to restricted free agents
Feb. 27 -- Free agency begins
March 16 -- First day that clubs may conduct offseason workouts or minicamps
March 22-25 -- Annual league meeting
April 25-26 -- NFL Draft
Hat tip to Styg for creating the original Fan Shot with these dates....
6 comments
| 0 recs
|
Shannon Sharpe Named a Finalist For Hall of Fame
by JohnnyB(TSG)
on Jan 6, 2009 3:31 PM MST
in Broncos in the Hall of Fame
Four first-year eligible players, John Randle, Shannon Sharpe, Bruce Smith, and Rod Woodson, are among the 17 finalists who will be considered for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame when the Hall's Board of Selectors meets in Tampa, Florida on Saturday, January 31, 2009.
Joining the four first-year eligible players, are nine other modern-era players, two contributors and two players nominated earlier by the Hall of Fame's Senior Committee. The contributor finalists are former National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Buffalo Bills founder/owner Ralph Wilson, Jr. The Senior Committee nominees, announced in August 2008, are former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Bob Hayes and former Atlanta Falcons defensive end Claude Humphrey. The other modern-era player finalists include wide receiver Cris Carter; center Dermontti Dawson; defensive end Richard Dent; guard Russ Grimm; defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy; guard Bob Kuechenberg; guard Randall McDaniel; wide receiver Andre Reed; and linebacker Derrick Thomas.
56 comments
| 1 recs
|
The Usual Suspects--Getting To Know the Coaching Staff Incumbents--Defense
by styg50
on Jan 6, 2009 2:39 PM MST
in 2009 Off-Season
While keeping some stability on the offensive side of the ball may seem likely in certain circumstances, there are few, if any circumstances where we can picture retaining any of the defensive coaching staff. Their crimes include surrendering over 400 points a year over the past two years, and taking a situation in 2007 that could only be described as "rock bottom" and bashing their heads against it until they broke through to defensive hell.
To continue the process of evaluating which coaches are free men, on parole, or sentenced to life, we'll next take a look at a rag-tag lineup of criminal minds and their accomplices, brought before the MHR jury by the crack team of MHR Special Investigators. They were on the run for two years before they got caught, but the "Great Heist of '08" proved to be their undoing, as they attempted to steal the last jewels of self-respect from a tradition that began with the Orange Crush.
Lets meet these Defensive Schemers.
Bob Slowik, Defensive Coordinator
 |
A former defensive back at University of Delaware, Slowik got his start with the Broncos by working with Shanny at Florida. He worked on the opposite side of the ball coaching the secondary, but a friendship would form that would start a common theme throughout Slowik's career: following his friends. He broke into the NFL by joining highschool teammate Dave Wannstedt on the Cowboys defensive coaching staff, acting as an assistant, and then followed the soon to be much maligned Wannstedt to Chicago where he was promoted all the way to defensive coordinator. |
50 comments | 4 recs |
Most Commented
Movies
by robbo650 2 days ago
224 comments | 2 recs
REPORT - Josh McDaniels the 'Front-Runner' to replace Shanahan?
by JohnnyB(TSG) 2 days ago
123 comments | 1 recs
Straight from the Horse's Mouth -- Josh McDaniels Scouting Report
by JohnnyB(TSG) about 13 hours ago
117 comments | 0 recs
Wildcard Weekend - Sunday Games Open Thread
by JohnnyB(TSG) 3 days ago
106 comments | 0 recs
An Early Off Season Wishlist
by ChristianL 3 days ago
87 comments | 7 recs