Instead of working on my Political Science paper, all I can think about is how badly the Broncos messed up with the hire of both Brian Xanders and Josh McDaniels. After yet another disappointing loss to a better team (that they could have beat) in the New York Jets, all I can think about is the 'what if' scenarios where the Broncos didn't hire McDaniels and give him and GM Brian Xanders free reign to tear apart the organization.
I'll start my rant beginning with the day of January 11, 2009- the day Josh McDaniels was hired. Now lets fast forward to February 12, 2009- the day the Broncos hired Brian Xanders as their General Manager. I might not be the only person who finds it odd that the head coach was hired before the GM, but I personally thought it was the beginning of a spiral that now leaves the Broncos in a hole with not a lot of light shining in from above. Here's some bullet-points of moves that the Broncos have made since January 11, 2009:
1. Trade Jay Cutler- I just can't even start to discuss this. Also he kind of looks like a genius right now but there's no way that this will be a good long term decision. Even McDaniels knows this (see #3/5).
2. 2009 NFL Draft- Take RB Knowshon Moreno with the 12th pick of the draft instead of taking OLB Brian Orakpo (a MAJOR position of need) who was then drafted by the Redskins with the next pick. Then in the second round, they traded their 2010 1st round pick for the 37th overall pick that turned into CB Alphonso Smith.
The aftermath of these two picks: Orakpo went on to be the only starting rookie Pro-Bowler by accumulating 11 sacks in as an OLB in a 3-4 defense (that's what the Broncos run). Now that both Elvis Dumervil AND Robert Ayers have gone down to injury, that leaves a gaping hole on the outside that is currently being filled by underachieving former 1st round pick Jarvis Moss instead of what could have been one of the best future pass rushers in the league. It's okay though because Moreno is the 44th best rusher in the league for the worst rushing attack in the NFL. He also has two touchdowns and two fumbles while averaging 3.1 yards per carry. If that pick wasn't bad enough, at least Moreno is still on the Broncos' roster. Alphonso Smith was almost cut before he was traded to the Detroit Lions for superstar TE Dan Gronkowski, who has three catches for 13 yards so far for the Broncos. What does that say after ONE season a guy (who was technically a first round pick) gets traded for a pickle and some baseball cards?
3. Trade Peyton Hillis for Brady Quinn- I'm not really sure which was worse, the fact that they traded Hillis or traded for Quinn. For a reeling run game, a guy like Hillis (who averaged 5 YPC as the starting RB for the Broncos the year before McDaniels was hired and is now one of the top 20 rushers in the league in only four full starts) is desperately needed while Quinn showed almost no improvement in the offseason and is officially destined to be a career backup quarterback now that the Kyle Orton is apparently Peyton Manning and Tim Tebow is the second coming. Once again, this transaction begs to ask the question: why?
4. Trade Tony Scheffler and Brandon Marshall- After pissing off both players due to on-the-field issues and the failure to give them the money they thought they "deserved", the Broncos were forced to trade both players. Thus far, it hasn't seemed to slow down the surprisingly/shockingly prolific passing offense of the Broncos, but there is still no doubt that both of those guys are excellent weapons to have in a passing offense.
5. Trade 3 draft picks for the One-And-Only Tim Tebow- I usually watch almost 95% of the NFL draft yearly despite how boring and tedious it may be, but this year I watched just the first round and spent the next six in my room breaking things and crying. Possibly the worst part about the 1st round of the draft was not the fact that the Broncos drafted Tebow, rather, the fact that they made a SMART MOVE in moving back from #11 to #22 to take WR Demaryius Thomas, (who has shown that he'll be a solid receiver at worst in the NFL) THEN drafted Tebow. I knew coming into the draft that McDaniels loved Tebow and I thought after the Thomas pick that we were out of the woods. I will be honest, one of the most horrifying moment of my life was when the ESPN noise indicated that the Baltimore Ravens just traded their draft pick because I immediately knew that it was the Broncos and they were going to draft Tebow. Why on God's green Earth would the Broncos go out of their way to trade Cutler, botch both of the 1st round picks received in the trade and then make a move to draft maybe the least prepared QB ever to be drafted in the 1st round?
To cap off this summary, I am NOT saying to blame McDaniel or Xanders for the mistakes they made. Rather, I blame the Broncos organization for giving both of them full reign over a once respected and successful franchise and allowing them to run it into the ground.
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