KRIEGER: Bates poised to walk Shanahan's plank
By Dave Krieger, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published January 3, 2008 at 12:45 a.m.
This is not a fun week to be Jim Bates. 'Tis the season for scapegoating in the NFL and Bates is the leading candidate to fall on his sword for the disappointing Broncos.
Already, the two teams that finished behind them in the AFC West are knee-deep in the ceremonial firing of the coordinator, which has the dual advantages of making the head coach look like he's doing something and diverting attention from his own culpability.
In Kansas City, Herm Edwards fired much of his offensive staff, including coordinator Mike Solari, because the Chiefs offense was terrible. Who made Solari, a career offensive line coach, the coordinator? Why, Edwards, of course.
In Oakland, reports suggest Lane Kiffin will fire Rob Ryan as defensive coordinator. The rumor mill has Ryan moving on to the Jets, where Edwards used to be head coach, just in case you don't understand the term "revolving door."
Nor is this quaint tradition limited to the Broncos' unfortunate division. The Lions have reportedly fired offensive coordinator Mike Martz, which is interesting when you consider that their defense was much worse than their offense (except against the Broncos, when both were terrific). Of course, the head man, Rod Marinelli, is a defensive guy.
Apparently, they are firing coordinators in Cincinnati and San Francisco, too. By the time you read this, there may be more.
We have yet to hear from the principals at Dove Valley, aside from Matt Lepsis withdrawing from the process and Javon Walker offering to. Mike Shanahan has scheduled his season-ending meeting with the wretches - always an emotional farewell - for Monday. Which brings us back to Bates. If Shanahan wants to quiet the questions about the stewardship of his team, he'll have a decision on his assistant head coach/defense by then.
The problem, of course, is Shanahan hired Bates only 51 weeks ago. His quote from last summer, in which he pointed out the bright side of missing the '06 playoffs, still echoes:
"There's no way if we had (gone) to the playoffs that those guys would be here because they had so many other opportunities," he said of Bates and defensive line coach Bill Johnson.
After the Broncos finished 30th against the run and 28th in points allowed, it looks like holding on to beat the 49ers in the season finale a year ago, punching their ticket to the playoffs, would have meant more than we knew at the time. It might have saved them from this mess.
Now the problem is principally financial. Bates got a three-year deal. Coordinators make seven figures these days. Al Saunders and Gregg Williams in Washington are up around $2 million per, but the average is closer to $1 million. Owner Pat Bowlen is very understanding of his old pal Shanahan, but I'm guessing he's not that excited about forking over $2 million or so to make Bates go away.
If money is enough of an issue, the Broncos might try to give Bates an incentive to accept a lesser buyout - say, by telling him he can stay if he doesn't mind filling the Gatorade buckets next year.
From the beginning, Bates' seven-in- the-box base scheme didn't work here. In fact, during the preseason, Cleveland Browns broadcaster Bernie Kosar wondered aloud why a team with cornerbacks like Champ Bailey and Dre Bly wouldn't take advantage of their man coverage ability by moving a safety into the box to help against the run.
The answer at the time was that the Broncos weren't showing everything, it being preseason and all. The criticism turned out to be right on the money. By the time they made a midcourse correction at the bye week, they were 2-3. From then on, they ran a hodgepodge of schemes that often left the players confused.
Having abandoned his base defense long ago, it's hard to see any reason other than financial to bring Bates back. At the same time, it's worth remembering that Shanahan was in love with his scheme last summer.
"It's the Dallas scheme when they won the Super Bowl," he said then. "It's Miami, what they've done through the years."
Not so much, as it turned out. But blaming the scheme now does have the convenient byproduct of diverting attention from the personnel, which is Shanahan's department.
Ironically, the coach Shanahan fired to make room for Bates is going to the playoffs. Larry Coyer is assistant head coach/defensive line for the Bucs.
His 2006 Broncos defense finished eighth in the league in points allowed. This year's team gave up an average of a touchdown more per game.
Bates seems like a nice man, but if the Broncos are going to get this season's sour taste out of their mouths, he probably has to go.
Still, don't begrudge him his golden parachute, whatever it turns out to be. Bates didn't trick anybody. Shanahan knew exactly what he was getting.
The mistake was his.
kriegerd@RockyMountainNews.com
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January 2, 2008
7:38 p.m.
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jaybird777 writes:
Am I going crazy or does Mr. Krieger seems to be writing oodles and oodles of wisdom and spot-on insight these days?!?
Joking aside, I've agreed with so much you've written lately. Thanks!
January 2, 2008
7:46 p.m.
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Pigskin writes:
Dead-on, DK.
You're making too much sense - it's likely you'll be barred Monday from entering Shamahan's Sermon on the Mount.
January 2, 2008
8:23 p.m.
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NJBroncoFan writes:
No one can coach this defense. The personal stinks. Champ is the only playmaker on it and even he can't make plays when the WR has 15 secs to run around. the middle of the DL is a joke,the LB's are weak and the Safties are slow and always seem to be out of position. team lacks heart and attitude.
January 3, 2008
1:29 a.m.
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GJrodburner writes:
I won't know if you've burned a bridge at the Dove until you tell us so in some other article down the road. Obviously, with what you've written in this article you have had the same (although suppressed) feelings we in the Bronco Nation have had since the Detroit debacle (maybe even sooner!). I would hope that this team can find a way to draft a bona fide MLB, a safety, and a couple of offensive linemen that can actually utilize their size to drive block and win at the point of attack in the red-zone when this team decides to run rather than pass. I wonder if the team feels differently about letting Dominik Hixon go after what the rest of America saw in the last game of the season between the Giants and Pats? What I really wonder is how much longer Pat Bowlen is going to allow Mike "the dope" to keep running this team down into the dirt? Lousy drafting, even lousier FA's have put this team into a tailspin that finally became critical this year. I'd really like to see you write an article that just comes out and tells the hs that Mike Shanahan has done to this team since the fallout of the Bubby Brister/Brian Griese, Al Wilson, Greg Robinson, and Alex Gibbs fiascos. Please don't let Mike off of the hook DK, keep the heat on this ownership in reviewing the work of "the dope" over the last nine years. Never stop asking the obvious: "when does Mike have to answer for his mistakes".
January 3, 2008
5:49 a.m.
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Broncos4Life writes:
This was a no brainer you could kind of see coming during the preseason when the defense could'nt stop the run against anyone. Jim Bates made career backup running backs into hall of fame contenders. Nice try Jim, but someone has to take one for the team and you're it. Bowlen will never fire Shanahan, even though most of the personel decisions are his.
January 3, 2008
5:52 a.m.
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boydy2669 writes:
Great article.....and could not agree more.
I am a coach, and I employ 11 other coaches under me. If I kept hiring coaches that could not get the job done, the results and skill level of my kids kept decreasing and all I did was look for scapegoats at the end of every season to divert attention from my own wrongdoings, I can tell you what, I would have been asked to walk years ago. Why? I have a smart boss that understands the sport we work in and , secondly, he also understands that by placing the hirng, firing and philospophies of the program in my hands the buck also stops at me. It is the same in every business and sphere of life. All of us with good parents have been brought up to be responsible for our own actions. What WE seem to have here is an owner that, on appearances, does not know the business of building a football team as well as we hoped, does not hold Shanahan accountable for his decisions and performance, and an owner who is acting like a parent that believes their child can do no wrong.
Bowlen is accountable for this mess as much as Shanahan is, and he needs to take steps now to win back the trust of the Denver fan base....not sure if it will happen though as he seems to be "parenting" this organization from a far. Maybe he can take the steps to get a great player personnel guy to handle all the drfting and acquisition of talent and let Shanahan coach, but then we have the problem of whether Shanahan would accept this demotion. It will interesting to see how Bowlen deals with the monster that he in part created.
January 3, 2008
8:33 a.m.
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kahlja writes:
I agree with your assessment of the defense, but what about the offensive line. This has always been the foundation of the Broncos offense (or any), its always been the reason that any RB could come here and run 1000 yards. The line really hasn't been solid since Alex Gibbs left and with Matt Lepsis retiring it only continues to fall apart. At this pace I predict that Jay Cutler will spend most of next season on his back.
January 3, 2008
9:20 a.m.
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coach writes:
Shanahan must""" go""".He is proving Al Davis right he sucks as a coach. he must answer for what he has done. Can anyone convience
the front office to get rid of him. Bolen need to get his head out of his a--.
January 3, 2008
10:25 a.m.
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JohnnyBallgame writes:
Hey coach (guy who made a post not Shanny), Pretty sure Al Davis would Take 2 superbowl rings and 2 losing seasons out of 14 any day of the week! Looks like your the one who needs to pull his head out of his a--.
January 3, 2008
10:43 a.m.
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Jared0709 writes:
Wade is winning in Dallas, Norv is winning in San Diego, and this game is still about talent. Good coaches like Shanahan. I'm as frustrated as the next guy, but we simply aren't good enough. That is the true problem with Shanahan, his schemes give potential to have seasons better than the talent would suggest. But all scheming in the world can't solve the physical battles that take place in the trenches and that is why we lose. When Denver was at our best, we had an incredible offensive line, and a workable defensive line. That is where this season was won and loss, lack of talent, experience and strength in our lines. I think Shanahan might be one of the best minds in football, but with out talent up front, nobody wins in the NFL. He is responsible for this, but all things equal, there aren't many coaches I would take over him when it comes to coaching.
January 3, 2008
11:37 a.m.
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GJrodburner writes:
Amen Jared! Even the part on Shanahan. Good gravy that guy is frustrating to say the least. Still, at the end of the day Pat Bowlen needs to let him go.
When we had Tony Jones, Zimmerman, Stink (hard last name to spell!), Nalen, and Swain, man what a unit. I would think that if we aren't good enough in the right spots (O-line being one of them) then why isn't this being addressed year in and year out? Why did it have to come to critical mass in order for all of the warts to show? Could it be that what was once our strength has been neglected because as a talent evaluator Mike "the dope" just can't do the job? I don't know the answer to that question. He may have hit the jack-pot with Cutler and Marshall. But the state of disrepair that most of the Bronco Nation sees in the O-line leads me to believe what another blogger put down, ...that Cutler will be spending most of next season on his back!
If as you say Jared that Mike is responsible for this mess, and the fact that you don't want him somewhere else, then write and post again as to what you think Mike should have to do in order to rectify this mess. Not looking to embarrass or bite, I'm looking at most of the posts, and it still seems to be almost evenly split on him staying or going. For grins and giggles, what does Mike have to do in order to stay? Two parts to this, answer as you wish.
January 3, 2008
11:50 a.m.
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fmikey writes:
Hey JohnnyBallgame....Al Davis has 3 superbowl rings, not just 2. And they were won over several decades, with different personnel and coaches, not just 2 years in a row with one great player and an acceptable supporting cast.
Let's face it...Shanahan was lucky.....which to some degree is necessary for any team to win the big one....but his subsequent record shows he is an average coach in this league. Looks like Al Davis WAS right.....
January 3, 2008
12:34 p.m.
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El_Mariachi writes:
Here's a solution...This team does needs a few changes for sure...the obvious need is at offensive line. Let me throw a name out...Joe Thomas (rookie) of Cleveland...He was so effective in protecting the passer, that QB Derek Anderson was sacked only 14 times! He was a major reason for Cleveland's turnaround season. Denver needs to overstock their offensive line with some quality young players. Everything runs through (pardon the pun) the offensive line. A team with a good offensive line can dominate the time of pocession, thus keeping their defense off the field. The Broncos of the late 90's had that kind of offense and won two Super Bowls with it. For the draft...select as many offensive lineman as possible and sprinkle in a linebacker or safety and you can't go wrong.
January 3, 2008
12:40 p.m.
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jaybyrd writes:
Denver is living in a time warp. This franchise, thanks to Shanahan's failures over the past nine years, is sinking fast as an NFL contender and will soon resemble the current 49er's as an NFL has-been. Yes, Bowlen will never (never say never?) make any wholesale coaching changes, so the demise will continue. Only until the real NEVERS materialize, such as, the Broncos will NEVER play to less than a sold out stadium, the Broncos will NEVER finish at the bottom of the AFC West, will Dove Valley wake up and live in the present. 1 playoff win in only 5 playoff appearances in nine years? What does that tell us? Next year, 5-11. Check out the schedule.
January 3, 2008
2 p.m.
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hockeydude66 writes:
no that is bull broncos are contenders they just need to live on pass the deaths of darrent williams and damien nash i still loved our 2005/ first part of the 2006 denfense we blitzed and knew how to cover. i like dj williams but was alot better as an outside linebacker. we for sure need to draft a wr,safeties, line backers, and o-line men. we have the pieces but we just need to put it together. we also need a standout running back. like i think we should let travis henry go cause he started off strong and tanked and selvin young could be good if he can hit the hole harder. we had many injuries to our o-line to our d-line and some dinged up players. bates is at flaut i know shanahan hired him but really we had a good defense we just couldnt get them off the field
January 3, 2008
2:51 p.m.
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kslaw23 writes:
Can anyone who suggests that Bates be termination tell me why his system worked in at least two other cities but does not work in Denver? The biggest culprit for the lack of success in 2007 was key player injuries. If I remember correctly, there was not one returning starter on the defensive line and the only returning starter at his position for the linebacking crew was Gold. Then halfway through the season they brought in young defensive line guys because the old guys were not cutting it. The team had a new starting cornerback and by year end a new starting safety.
The system is a proven winner. The players, for the most part, are young and have not had much time together. This team does not need to start from scratch again. I say give Bates another year, pick up a proven run stuffer in free agency and focus on having a great draft. Moss, Crowder and Thomas will be great; they just need another eight games before they begin to show their stuff. Be patient!
January 3, 2008
5:11 p.m.
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Wizard_of_Id writes:
IMO mikey is the problem, he hired everyone one of the under per
formers..
OC
OL coach
DL coach
ST what was so special with that? Let Hixon go, what moron made
that decision?
The only bright spots on this team are Jay, Tony, Graham and the
Brandons. Mix in DJ all world MLB in the making, the 4 potentia
l stars drafted in the past 2 years on the DL, Champ and John Ly
nch. Thats all folks..
The DAFTING of mikey over the past 11 or so years has sucked us
into FA CAP HELL. The only OLINE guys wortha damn are unwanteds
of other teams. Over the past 3-4 years our redzone running gam
e is nonexsistent. We have to resort to trick plays to finese ou
r way in..
I do not blame Bates for this years Defensive melt down I blame
the total neglect of the DLINE by mikey on draft day.. perhaps
4 first day choices since pryce came to town in 1998. Goos teams
do that every 5 years..
Prior to 2006, the only thing mikey has drafted well at are LB's
and we are down to ONE of them now.
I do not know what happened in 2006 with his keepers he took, bu
t it was a total turn around from his previous 10 years in getting solid talent..
WE need a solid GM that knows personnel, not some one that gets
lucky every ten years..
January 3, 2008
6:53 p.m.
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HolierThanThou writes:
Shanahan does the hiring. Shanahan does the firing. Shanahan is the head coach.
In this season, we've seen the talent click in a few games. In the rest of the games they play like they never even met each other. I might be going out on a limb here but I suspect that non-stop personnel changes could have something to do with that. Football is about talent but mostly it is a team sport. Inconsistency is a hallmark of bad coaching.
In spite of having his a55 pounded into the grass a lot, Jay Cutler is a great quarterback, with better stats than Elway at comparable career length. Others have talent even if expensive talent.
Shanahan has proven that you never want to give any coach total power over hiring and firing.
A good coach will do his best with whomever he has. A great coach can turn a failure into a success.
Let your talent scout figure out who gets to be on the team. Give someone else the last word on who gets to be cut.
Now let us all go to church and light a candle for Pat Bowlen, that he may find a pink sheet of paper and write one last letter of admiration for the man that so many of us would like to call the former head coach of the Denver Broncos.
January 3, 2008
8:24 p.m.
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GJrodburner writes:
All of these posts make me believe in only one thing...The Bronco Nation! I don't find a lot of hate for Mike "the dope", just the facts. Will Bowlen cut the pink slip for him? Doubt it. I think the stadium being partially full, or merchandise losing ground, or heaven forbid...a boycott would be the only way to sully Shanahan's rep with Bowlen. Too bad for us and the team. Can Mike coach with less clout? Can he find the means within himself to draft with what he has for position? Is moving up or down really that big of a deal this year? I'm almost to the point where I'd love to say, "Just give it this one more year." But when the buck stops with Mike, for all things football with the Broncos, then a partial of the Bronco Nation: Denver/Grand Junction Chapters have spoken...adios Mike seems to be winning out.
January 4, 2008
5:38 a.m.
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boydy2669 writes:
I also agree with kslaw23 about Bates, and you have to wonder, why was his system an abject failure here?
# He was not given the right personal.
# The system takes a while to institute and needs to be kept as is and not changed (see Green Bay).
Which then makes me wonder this? Why put in a system when it was clear we did not have the right personal? Why change a teams defensive look, give it 5 weeks and then junk it when it was known that it would take time to click? Why tell the masses this was a play off team when it was not?
Unfortunately, all these decisons were Shanahans again. He basically led Jim Bates to the slaughter. It would be like hiring a carpenter and giving him or her the tools that a plumber uses and expecting the carpenter to build a mansion when all that might be hoped for is an outhouse.
Pure and simple, the buck stops at Shanahan but Bowlen will once agin let him find scapegoats to divert the blame too. Bronco Nation is starting to see thru all this BS and is getting restless and some changes need to be made.
Happy New Year everyone!
January 4, 2008
8:54 a.m.
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GJrodburner writes:
It wasn't that the Bronco Nation finally saw through the BS "boydy" it's that as a Nation we now know it has to stop! When DK has written two fairly critical articles about Mike "the dope", has not jumped off his perch to say different, and in all likelihood burnt his bridge out to the Dove...then I think the Nation has said enough is enough to Shanahan. I'll take the chance of being a different team with a different head coach over the course of three to four years before I'd take another chance with Mike "the dope" running the show.
January 4, 2008
2 p.m.
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aqqqq2 writes:
Before calling for Shanny's ouster, you better have some idea of who to replace him with. Schottenheimer? Martz? Bring back Reeves?
If Shanahan wasn't in Denver, his name would be at the top of everybody's list of available coaches.
Sit down and shut up.
January 4, 2008
3:43 p.m.
Suggest removal
Jared0709 writes:
GJrod From the cheap seats, where I sit, I would like to see a few things done, one of them, a probable pipe dream. The first thing would be to address the oline. It has to be bigger and stronger. I wouldn't be surprised if our superbowl olines out weighed our current lines and d lines have gotten bigger and stronger over the past 8 years. This should be our first focus in free agency and the draft. The second is in the area of linebacks. I like DJ, but Ian is smaller than many safeties in the NFL, missed a ton of tackles, and the other backers are NFL journeymen at best. I would like to see Denver take the best rated player available in the first round at either oline or linebacker. Thirdly, I would like to see some consistency. Who cares if we have a different rb with 1000 yards each season, pick one, develop a little chemistry with the oline and lets get a 1400 yard rusher instead. Averaging 62 yards a game for a thousand is nothing. Along with that is the defense. I am hopeful the young blood is good blood given time. Changing coordinators will only put them back at the beginning of class instead of improving on what they have learned. Keep Bates for 1 more year. Lastly the pipe dream, I would like to see Elway and Shanahan re-unite with Elway as offensive coordinator, quaterbacks coach, head of personnel/scouting, or some combination. It seemed they always had more of a peer relationship versus a player coach and I think Elway would bring some of what Shanahan is missing to the table. It would create some buzz in Denver as well. As for Shanahan, give him 2 more years with expectations in each. 2008, improve record by 3 games and be in top 15 in both scoring defense and offense. 2009, host and win a playoff game. Also for whomever brought up the Cutler Elway comparison, who cares about qb rating, Elway had a winning record after his first 20 starts and that is what they get paid for.
January 4, 2008
9:27 p.m.
Suggest removal
GJrodburner writes:
I've got news for you aqqqq2, esad! I don't give a flying tuna as to who the next coach for the Broncos would be. So you put a sock in it and quit slurpin'. I ain't shutting up, sitting down, or being quite for no one. You want to keep drinking the kool-aid out at Dove Valley...chug-a-lug. Mike "the dope" has had nearly an entire freakin' decade to get it in one sock for this team. I don't care how brilliant he is, because I've not seen it. His game plans are crap. He has no imagination in his scripted or designed or fabricated plays. What talent he had in planning lay with Gary Kubiak. And even for him, he was damn lucky that Elway could earn his money spot on by improvising when it all fell apart in the pocket, and even more lucky that Terrell Davis was one hell of a man in the backfield! Most teams are so damn athletic in regards to overall team speed and strength that they will negotiate yardage for distruption against the west coast style offenses employed by Denver, Philly, Tampa, and Seattle. You have to assess a mode of attack year in and year out; but in todays game you are going to have to modify, adapt, and do it from series to series out on the sidelines. You can't tell me that Rick Dennison is capable of doing this, nor is Mike Shanahan. You are going to have remove the running schemes that no longer work because the cut-blocking that this team once employed is no longer allowed. So if you are going to zone block, you'd better have some plow-ponies that drive block at the point of attack. When has this team done a real investment in the O-line, other than by committee when injuries occur? I'd of loved to have seen Larry Coyer's defense with the type of draft just done. Don't know if the results would have been different, but then no one will know because he was a scape-goat for probably standing up in his meeting with Shanahan and telling him to F.O. and die!
So, if your cerebral cortex is still connected to the other few thousand brain cells you might possess, give me something that you can add that would change this team, give it a chance to compete every Sunday next season. That I respect. Telling me shut up, that will not work.
January 4, 2008
9:54 p.m.
Suggest removal
GJrodburner writes:
Jared, I don't know if what you've laid out is a pipe dream; it's just that it would take more than this upcoming draft to fill it all out. But good gravy...you've got to start somewhere. I would love to see the kid coming out from Ohio State at LB, his name escapes me, but you will see him next Monday night against LSU. I'm assuming (yes, dangerous to do) that this young man is of Greek heritage. That kid, along with DJ at weak side, would improve the second tier of our defense immediately, if not sooner! We have to improve on the safeties. In that regards I'm praying that the VP of pro/college scouting has some hitters in mind that can at least cover someone other than their grand-parents. The O-line, I just think this team needs for either Tom Nalen to coach it or (and you talk about a pipe dream!) Alex Gibbs to be invited back. The latter will never happen given Mike's ouster of Alex's son, not only was that messy but it smelled just like the Bubby Brister fiasco too. As for John, I'd go for it. Mike "the dope" may not be up for the challenge. Regardless of the vibe, it would put a fire under Shanahan's rump. That thought alone is intriguing because Mike needs to be put on short notice by Pat Bowlen right now. Running back is going to be an area that will improve as this O-line either gells or can be improved upon. Can the kids put into service be reliable, danged if I know? Some times the technique was perfect and at other times it just fell apart this season, or wasn't even there period. I really feel that they are not being coached by Dennison in a manner that can put their skills and talent to a maximum during game day situations. I think that Rick Dennison is overmatched every Sunday as a line coach for this team. Running effectively in the red-zone and at the end of a half or at the end of a game means more to me than any amount of yardage. Granted, they go hand in hand, but I'd still take winning in the trenches or at the point of contact at the farthest depth of one's zone blocking assignment over a 1,400 yard back. Great read that you posted, and damn good ideas too.
January 4, 2008
11:46 p.m.
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CanadianFan writes:
Undoubtedly Shanahan has to face criticism for the decisions he has made over the past two seasons. Although there are scapegoats, ultimately, you have to make decisions that motivate the players and recruit the right players to improve the team. Bates has a successful record. You are way better off giving him one more year and giving him a fair shake before writing him off contractually. Bates also needs time to develop and recruit personell that fit his system. This is not possible in one year. Some of the loses this year were due to offensive play calling and special teams. There were also losses where Denver just was not competitive as a team. Next year, if there isn't significant improvement on all teams, I would strongly question Shanahan. I think there are a few small changes that could be made to see a very competitive team.
January 5, 2008
5:32 p.m.
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vvsignin writes:
Check out the redskins o-line and how it's being taken apart by Kearney. Did the skins swap out with the broncos? Bye bye dennison...
January 5, 2008
8:12 p.m.
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GJrodburner writes:
Canadian Fan I wished that I had the patience to go through this learning curve with Shanahan that you have with Bates. There could be a silver-lining to all that occurred this past season. I maybe so deep into the forrest that I can't see the trees with my disgust with Shanahan. Yes, if Bates could influence the draft this upcoming April he might end up with what he developed in GB and Miami. Right now, I just don't think he will make it. If I were going to do any coach hacking it would be towards Mike and Rick Dennison. It's when I get to this point that I think, "Man, what if I were in that spot...everyone calling for my head!" Then I realize that Shanahan has had more than one season to correct his own blemishes, yet he really hasn't. Then I realize that he is the guy "buying the groceries for the soup", and then I just get friggin' steamed for even having one iota of compassion for him. It may end up like another blogger has posted either here or on Legwold's side of the paper, "Just take a deep breath, and relax." Frustration impulses are the worst kind of reaction anyone can have at a moment of critical juncture, at least that is what the head-docs say. So I won't be playing a psuedo-analyst, my final vote is to let Mike go. I'd rather make that type of move now. I was possibly asked as to whom I'd like to replace Shanahan with and I would go for Bill Cowher. If Bill was to come here to Denver (if it were to occur!) I wished he'd bring in Bernie Kosar as his offensive coordinator. It is a shame that Cleveland has not used his services as a coach in their offense to some capacity. Not the most gifted physical player to ever work in the N.F.L., but his brain is second to none.
January 7, 2008
12:35 p.m.
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aqqqq2 writes:
GJrodburner. SB GJrod- flamer. No need to take a general comment as a personal attack -- unlike your response which was directed solely at me.
If I had known how easy it is to provoke a stroke in you, I would never have been so disrespectful of your extensive football knowlege. (Cowher is going to sit out another year -- pretty much guaranteed -- and Bernie Kosar seems happy in the broadcast booth in Cleveland.)
Telling me I should eat sh1t and die? and coach shanahan should F*** off and die? Wow. Sound argument. Good comeback. You have changed my entire opinion of the situation.
Thanks for the insight, bro.
January 8, 2008
4:35 p.m.
Suggest removal
GJrodburner writes:
Touche then aqqqq2?
January 9, 2008
10:07 a.m.
Suggest removal
shannahan_is_a_winner writes:
There's far too many fair weather fans in Bronco Country. Shannahan holds himself accountable for every loss and more often then not he gets us a victory. This season that didn't happen to be the case, but let's put that into perspective, shall we. Two seasons ago we played in an AFC championship game. Now we have a team full of rookies and second year guys. Before too long we're going to find out whether or not these young guys have what it takes, but for the time being, let's not be too quick to judge. This was a building year for the Broncos, and one of the building blocks didn't work out as well as we would have hoped (Jim Bates.)
I wish that Bronco fans would abandon the fatalism and give our new guys a chance.
January 9, 2008
11:47 p.m.
Suggest removal
Disgusted_in_Denver writes:
I have to say first off, I am not a huge Bronco fan. Living in Denver my whole life and having my heart ripped in 3 superbowls was enough and I could never get back on. What is concerning to me is the willingness to "overlook" the master Shanny's mistakes. As I read comments by "shannahan_is_a_winner" above, I just cannot understand the constant ability to not have hindsight. Shanny has been at this since 95. The success that the Broncos saw under his direction early was primarily based on a core nucleolus of players that were here before he took the reigns. The 2 superbowls were led by these players including the Hall of Fame John Elway. I will say that yes, Shanny hit gold with Terrell Davis, a huge factor in getting the Broncos over the hump, but really that is all I can credit to him. What disgusts me the most is his treatment of players. Early on it was the way he dealt with Steve Atwater and then Shannon Sharpe that just left me puzzled. Veterans who brought leadership and work ethic to the table were just whisked away for what Shanny foresaw as improving the team. With Elway’s departure we saw further how inept he was at scouting a starting QB. Constant tinkering with RB’s and the DL has been a regular part of the off season, not to mention constant coaching changes. On the defensive side, how many have come and gone since he began? Questionable free agent signings of cancerous players while letting talent like Bertrand Berry and Reggie Hayward are allowed to sign elsewhere. Last I checked the Broncos defense(less) line could have used guys like this not to mention Trevor Pryce or even Gerard Warren for that matter. What is he thinking? Yes injuries played a part but the fact of the matter is he just cannot make good personnel decisions on both sides of the ball and his track record proves it. He has made some good draft decisions, recent picks as Cutler, Marshall and some decent role players but ultimately with poor draft selections and lack of focus at the most important parts of the game, the offensive and defensive lines, we’ll be stuck in mediocrity until Bowlen stop drinking the Shanny kool-aid. Please Pat please take away Shanny’s privileges and get someone in here who can manage the players and let Shanny go back to what he does best, game plan and coaching! My guess is with Shanny’s mile high ego, we’d be looking for a new head coach as well.