What a difference a year makes. In the past year, we’ve switched presidents, twitter has taken over the World Wide Web, Tiger Woods has become the poster boy for cheating husbands, and I’m pretty sure my eyes have become worse.
Pertaining to the Broncos, we got a new coach while our old coach, Mike Shanahan, made the move to the NFC. As the Broncos were dubbed the Patriots of the West, could the Redskins be called the Broncos of the East? If I were a Skins’ fan, I wouldn’t mind that title considering their team hasn’t made the playoffs in 8 out of the last 11 years.
Continuing on with our theme of change, the Broncos have a lot of off season work to do. I consider Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler good as gone. I suspect one of them, most likely Brandon Marshall, will end up a Redskin. Thus, our big sign of the year should go to a big time wide receiver. No calls for T.O., however. Considering the Broncos had Kyle Orton throw short for most of the season despite Marshall’s presence, we need a big target that Orton can form a working relationship with. Not that Marshall and Orton didn’t get a long, but we need the kind of receiver that can boost Orton’s confidence, be a team leader, and attract a lot of defensive attention. My top pick would be the former Northern Colorado star, Vincent Jackson.
Another need we need to address in the offseason is the offensive line. We had too much trouble running the ball considering how much talent we have in the backfield. Also, Kyle Orton is the kind of QB that needs plenty of time in the pocket. He panics when he’s pressured, and who can blame him? He got battered during his time in Chicago.
We also need to make some changes to the defensive line. Being 26th in rush defense and 3rd in pass defense, this is obvious. Other teams pounded us with the run right up the middle. If Jamaal Charles’ career day (25 carries for 259 yards and 2 TDs) didn’t send up red flags then I don’t know what will.
We’ve already got a great linebacker in Elvis Dumervil, and the Broncos should absolutely resign him. However, we need another big linebacker to fill some voids. Dumervil is very small and had trouble against the run, so we need to sign someone with size and experience to help Doom stop the run.
One thing I think we can predict out of this offseason is to expect the unexpected. Josh McDaniels made it clear that he will do whatever it takes to win games, and he’s not attached to any one player, except maybe Eddie Royal and Brian Dawkins. Big things are going to happen, and I only see us getting better.
What changes should the Broncos make? Leave a comment below.