Broncos' position-by-position breakdown: Tailored to fit
By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published July 23, 2008 at 6:11 p.m.
For Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, the team’s 2007 season was all about the feel.
And Bowlen, who is now in his 25th year at the helm of the franchise, didn’t like the feel of things when he walked through the Broncos locker room last season — “something was missing” is how he has described it — and certainly didn’t like the feel of the team’s 7-9 finish for its second consecutive playoff miss.
“I think when it was all said and done, everybody didn’t like the taste in our mouths,” safety John Lynch said. “That is something this organization isn’t used to, something Mr. Bowlen isn’t used to, and something we don’t want to be used to.”
So with the disappointment came another offseason of change.
Assistant head coach/defense Jim Bates has been replaced by Bob Slowik, offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger moved on to run the offense in Tennessee, and coach Mike Shanahan has said he tried to balance the locker room with “more guys who believe winning is important, who go about doing things the right way.”
Gone are the likes of wide receiver Javon Walker, running back Travis Henry and linebacker Ian Gold.
The Broncos also stayed away from the marquee free agents, choosing players they believed fit what they needed, like wide receivers Keary Colbert and Darrell Jackson to go with linebackers Niko Koutouvides and Boss Bailey.
They also used their first-round pick on Ryan Clady, who was inserted as the team’s starter on the left side just after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell finished reading his name to a national cable TV audience.
But in the end, this team is now about surrounding quarterback Jay Cutler with enough weapons on offense to continue to push his career toward where the Broncos think it can go, and to put a defense on the field that can keep the scoreboard from working against him as they try to get him there. “I know I like where we are,” Cutler said. “People may not be talking about us or whatever, but I like what we have and I like our potential.”
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