Today at Dove Valley, rookies, injured veterans, and quarterbacks reported for their first day of training camp. The rest of the veterans will report on Thursday, and everyone will participate as a team together on Friday. Here is brief recap of today's events:
1)Brandon Marshall reported to camp. His press conference afterward was a little interesting. He stated that he is under contract, and he is obligated to report to the camp. He mentioned that he just wants to be happy, and right now he is excited to play football. He didn't delve too much into trade talks, but he stated that he is here now with the Broncos. My take on Marshall is that he is a phony, and this has and will be about money. I just don't want to deal with him at this point because training camp just started and the optimism is actually high. The Broncos shouldn't trade Marshall, and assure him that he will get a new deal as long as his legal issues are in check and he continues to produce on the field.
2) Josh McDaniels spoke about how he is happy that Marshall showed up for camp, and he is excited to get trainin camp going. He seems to be handling the Marshall situation pretty good, and I am really starting to like McDaniels. I hope all his enthusiasm and excitement can somehow translate into a winning season and a playoff berth this year.
3) Knowshown Moreno and Robert Ayers, the Broncos twin first round picks, have not signed yet, but McDaniels doesn't seem to worried because a lot of first round picks have not signed either. Once the top picks start to sign, then the Broncos can slot Moreno and Ayers into their particular contract spots.
Monday, July 27, 2009
2009 Sleeper Candidates Continued
4) Cincinnati (4-11-1): The Bengals won their last three games of '08 to give them some momentum heading into the 2009 campaign. The key is Carson Palmer. They get their franchise QB back healthy this season, and that could be the difference for them this year. They are definitely an interesting team to watch, and no one is talking about them as possible wild card contenders. Keep an eye out for the Bengals.
3) Oakland (5-11): It is the same story every preseason for the Raiders. They have talent on both sides of the ball, but will Jamarcus Russell step up this season? Will Tom Cable be able to do a solid job coaching while dealing with Al Davis hovering over his head? Can this team finally turn the corner and have its' first winning season since 2002? I don't know the answers because with the Raiders, you never can tell.
2) Jacksonville (5-11): What a weird team. The Jags go 11-5 in 2007, beat Pittsburgh on the road in round one, and play New England- at that time 16-0- pretty tough in a loss at Foxboro in the second round. The Jags follow up with a dismal 5-11 season in 2008. It was shocking to see how quickly this team fell in one season. We will find out a lot about Jack Del Rio and David Garrard in 2009.
1) Green Bay (6-10): Classic sleeper pick. They lost a bunch of brutal games (Carolina, Houston, at Minnesota), have a bright QB prospect in Aaron Rodgers, revamped their defense, and have a favorable schedule (AFC North and NFC West). Don't forget this team was 13-3 two years ago. The Packers look ready to return to the playoffs in '09.
3) Oakland (5-11): It is the same story every preseason for the Raiders. They have talent on both sides of the ball, but will Jamarcus Russell step up this season? Will Tom Cable be able to do a solid job coaching while dealing with Al Davis hovering over his head? Can this team finally turn the corner and have its' first winning season since 2002? I don't know the answers because with the Raiders, you never can tell.
2) Jacksonville (5-11): What a weird team. The Jags go 11-5 in 2007, beat Pittsburgh on the road in round one, and play New England- at that time 16-0- pretty tough in a loss at Foxboro in the second round. The Jags follow up with a dismal 5-11 season in 2008. It was shocking to see how quickly this team fell in one season. We will find out a lot about Jack Del Rio and David Garrard in 2009.
1) Green Bay (6-10): Classic sleeper pick. They lost a bunch of brutal games (Carolina, Houston, at Minnesota), have a bright QB prospect in Aaron Rodgers, revamped their defense, and have a favorable schedule (AFC North and NFC West). Don't forget this team was 13-3 two years ago. The Packers look ready to return to the playoffs in '09.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
2009 Sleeper Candidates
In my last post I gave you the criteria for an NFL team to be considered a sleeper. Every year a team comes out of leftfield to surprise everyone and make the playoffs. The fun part is trying to pick this year's sleeper team. Also, there can be more than one sleeper team in a year. Last year, we had three: Atlanta, Baltimore, and Miami. Here is my list of possible sleeper teams for 2009. Remember at least one of these teams will make the playoffs in 2009:
(I'll list in them reserve order of record from 2008)
9) Detroit Lions (0-16 in 2008): Obviously, the Lions should improve from their performance in 2008. It is hard to see the Lions win 9 or 10 games with a new Head Coach and a rookie QB. Don't count on the Lions as a 2009 Sleeper.
8) St. Louis Rams (2-14 in 2008): The Rams could be an intriguing sleeper pick because of these factors: Steven Jackson and Marc Bulger. I could see the Rams sneaking up on people because of a weak division, but I wouldn't trust them as a sleeper.
7) Kansas City Chiefs (2-14 in 2008): The Chiefs could become the consensus "Bandwagon Sleeper" by the time the season starts in September. They added Matt Cassell at QB and Todd Haley as their HC, so that should immediately jumpstart their offense. I don't know if they have enough talent to win 10 games, but they will be an interesting team to watch.
6) Cleveland (4-12 in 2008): The Browns look like they are in rebuilding mode as the Eric Mangini era kicks off. The key to their success will be at QB. Can you trust Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn? I don't think I can.
5) Seattle (4-12 in 2008): The Seahawks were dismantled by injuries last season. This team has the classic look of a team ready for a bounce back season. With Matt Hasselback healthy, I think you could look for some good results from this team in 2009.
NEXT POST: The Final Four Sleepers!
(I'll list in them reserve order of record from 2008)
9) Detroit Lions (0-16 in 2008): Obviously, the Lions should improve from their performance in 2008. It is hard to see the Lions win 9 or 10 games with a new Head Coach and a rookie QB. Don't count on the Lions as a 2009 Sleeper.
8) St. Louis Rams (2-14 in 2008): The Rams could be an intriguing sleeper pick because of these factors: Steven Jackson and Marc Bulger. I could see the Rams sneaking up on people because of a weak division, but I wouldn't trust them as a sleeper.
7) Kansas City Chiefs (2-14 in 2008): The Chiefs could become the consensus "Bandwagon Sleeper" by the time the season starts in September. They added Matt Cassell at QB and Todd Haley as their HC, so that should immediately jumpstart their offense. I don't know if they have enough talent to win 10 games, but they will be an interesting team to watch.
6) Cleveland (4-12 in 2008): The Browns look like they are in rebuilding mode as the Eric Mangini era kicks off. The key to their success will be at QB. Can you trust Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn? I don't think I can.
5) Seattle (4-12 in 2008): The Seahawks were dismantled by injuries last season. This team has the classic look of a team ready for a bounce back season. With Matt Hasselback healthy, I think you could look for some good results from this team in 2009.
NEXT POST: The Final Four Sleepers!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
2009 Sleeper Report
The Bronco Blog was started a year ago at this time. My first post talked about some of the sleepers for the upcoming NFL season. I figured this would be a good time to throw out the 2009 "Sleeper Teams" as we are about a month away from the start of training camps. There is a certain formula/criteria to follow when looking at possible sleepers. Here is the criteria:
1) The team must have finished with at least 10 losses the prior season. There can be some exceptions if a team finished at 7-9 or 8-8. For example, the Broncos could be in the sleeper category because they finished 8-8, but fired their legendary Head Coach, hired a first time, 34 year old HC, and traded their franchise, Pro Bowl QB. There's not a lot of hope right now in Denver for '09. Although they finished 8-8, the Texans fall into this category as well. Overall, a true sleeper usually comes from the group of teams that had 10 or more losses.
2) The team had a bad record the year before based on bad luck, injuries and close losses. Sometimes a team just gets decimated by injuries, and the season sprials out of control ('08 Seahawks). Sometimes a team just loses a bunch of heartwrenching games and their season can't be saved ('08 Packers). Sometimes a team's season get derailed by a lingering player controversy or off the field situations, and it hangs over the team like a dark cloud all year long ('07 Falcons). These teams can bounce back rather quickly and put together a successful next season.
3) The team gets a new QB, new Coach, or new Management. A team can become a sleeper if they all of sudden get great QB play, or a new coach that guides them to a few wins or if they make better management decisions in personell. The Falcons, Ravens, and Dolphins are all examples of this in 2008.
4) The team gets no respect from the media, analysts, and general football community. This might be one of the underrated aspects of the possible sleeper. The team that flys under the radar can turn into one of the season's biggest surprises. Nobody saw Miami going from 1-15 in'07 to 11-5 in '08. It happens everyyear, and one team always uses the no respect angle as their war cry throughout the season and it usually pays off for one sleeper team every year.
Next time we will take a look at all the 2009 Sleeper Candidates.
1) The team must have finished with at least 10 losses the prior season. There can be some exceptions if a team finished at 7-9 or 8-8. For example, the Broncos could be in the sleeper category because they finished 8-8, but fired their legendary Head Coach, hired a first time, 34 year old HC, and traded their franchise, Pro Bowl QB. There's not a lot of hope right now in Denver for '09. Although they finished 8-8, the Texans fall into this category as well. Overall, a true sleeper usually comes from the group of teams that had 10 or more losses.
2) The team had a bad record the year before based on bad luck, injuries and close losses. Sometimes a team just gets decimated by injuries, and the season sprials out of control ('08 Seahawks). Sometimes a team just loses a bunch of heartwrenching games and their season can't be saved ('08 Packers). Sometimes a team's season get derailed by a lingering player controversy or off the field situations, and it hangs over the team like a dark cloud all year long ('07 Falcons). These teams can bounce back rather quickly and put together a successful next season.
3) The team gets a new QB, new Coach, or new Management. A team can become a sleeper if they all of sudden get great QB play, or a new coach that guides them to a few wins or if they make better management decisions in personell. The Falcons, Ravens, and Dolphins are all examples of this in 2008.
4) The team gets no respect from the media, analysts, and general football community. This might be one of the underrated aspects of the possible sleeper. The team that flys under the radar can turn into one of the season's biggest surprises. Nobody saw Miami going from 1-15 in'07 to 11-5 in '08. It happens everyyear, and one team always uses the no respect angle as their war cry throughout the season and it usually pays off for one sleeper team every year.
Next time we will take a look at all the 2009 Sleeper Candidates.
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