2009 Record: 8-8
2009 Rankings:
Total Offense – 15
Run Offense – 18
Pass Offense – 13
Scoring Offense – 20
Total Defense – 7
Run Defense – 26
Pass Defense – 3
Scoring Defense – 12
Yesterday we talked about how, shockingly, Oakland actually made good decisions this offseason to improve their team. Breaking from tradition, the “What Were They Thinking?” Award this offseason goes to the Denver Broncos. For starters, they let their best playmaker on offense, Brandon Marshall, go to Miami. Granted, Marshall was disgruntled with his situation, but their offense was left devoid of significant playmakers. With Dez Bryant on the board, they instead decided to draft Demaryius Thomas (WR-Georgia Tech). Then, they traded a slew of picks to move back up into the first round to draft Tim Tebow. We’re still trying to figure out what they were thinking with these moves.
Since taking over, coach Josh McDaniels has made a series of controversial moves, from sending QB Jay Cutler to Chicago to cutting ties with Brandon Marshall and bringing in Thomas and Tebow. Maybe in the long run these will prove to be the right moves. But for now, Denver seems destined to revel in mediocrity. Kyle Orton is a decent quarterback, but he’s not a playmaker. He’s more of the “game manager” type a la Chad Pennington. He won’t make many mistakes with the ball, but he isn’t someone who you can put the game on his shoulders at the end and know he’s going to lead you to victory.
On defense, the loss of last year’s NFL sack leader, Elvis Dumervil, is a clear blow to the unit. The FOX guys made a big deal out of their defensive coordinator during the preseason game, whose name is Winky. Yes, Winky, as in the Crouch family House Elf.
Calm down Hermione.
Besides, we already have a team that we make Harry Potter references for, and that’s Baltimore. It’s really unfair for this guy to use a nickname that’s vaguely related to Harry Potter. I mean, come on dude, how are we supposed to make jokes about Denver now without mixing our references?
Oh right, that.
Ian’s Prediction: 7-9
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