State of the Broncos

It has been very frustrating being a fan of the Denver Broncos lately. Seeing Mike Shanahan go in exchange for an unproven head coach and seeing our best players go in exchange for unproven players has been tough to swallow. I'm all for the Broncos going in a new direction however I am perplexed at the decisions made by the Broncos lately.
The biggest problem with Mike Shanahan was he had too much power as a general manager. He was one of the best head coaches in the NFL but several poor moves did him in as a GM. So the Broncos decide Shanahan had too much power, release him, and bring in Josh McDaniels, an unproven young head coach and give him more authority in personnel decision making. Some people will argue Broncos GM Brian Xanders makes the decisions in the front office. Brian Xanders wasn't the one who dangled Jay Cutler to be traded in exchange for Matt Cassel and draft picks. Early on, I believe McDaniels decided Cutler did not fit in his plan in building a winning team. Believe it or not I am over the fact Jay Cutler is gone. I have burned his jersey and I have accepted it. There are other moves more daunting and disturbing made by McDaniels.
Take the 2009 NFL draft for example: The Broncos passed up on Texas DL/LB Brian Orakpo for Georgia RB Knowshon Moreno in the first round. Brian Orakpo went to the pro bowl his rookie season while Knowshon Moreno was far from it. He had a strong start to the season but wore down and disappeared toward the end. The main argument for bringing in Orakpo was considering the fact that in today's NFL, the career of a full-time RB is about 6-8 years if that, whereas a DL/LB would be 8-10 years. People will argue if a team runs running back by committee this will extend the career of running backs but why would you waste your first round pick on a running back? Use that pick to help improve Denver's 26th ranked rush defense in 2008. Granted Elvis Dumervil stepped up in the 2009 campaign and led the NFL with 17 sacks, but having Orakpo coming from the other side would've given any offense huge headaches facing our defense.
Another perplexing move is the fact we traded our future 2010 first round pick for 2009 second round pick Wake Forest CB Alfonso Smith. That's like trading someone $100 in exchange for $50. I know the move was completely financial because Bowlen did not want to pay three first round draft picks in one year, but we could've done better than that. Alfonso Smith isn't even a starter.
Speaking of non-starters, we also used a first round draft pick on Tennessee DL/LB Robert Ayers. I've heard people say no one player can be labeled a bust without three years of failure. First round draft picks are not meant to be projects. First round draft picks are supposed to be instant contributors. So far, here are three guys that are contributing to keeping the bench warm more than they are helping the Broncos win football games.
How about Fresno State QB Tom Brandstater in the sixth round? He was recently cut and now he's in Indianapolis fighting to be Peyton Manning's backup, but nonetheless a wasted draft pick. Here is a classic knee-jerk reaction by McDaniels looking to draft a project QB late in the draft with nothing materialized while Brandstater was here.
The only quality draft pick that has helped Denver is Notre Dame S David Bruton. He proved in 2009 to be one of our best special teams players and maybe one day he will be a quality starting safety for Denver.
The mid season move that was really disappointing was when McDaniels decided to release Jack Williams to make room for Ty Law. I knew McDaniels was looking for an upgrade at nickel corner but this was not the answer. For one thing Jack is only 25, he was in his second year with Denver under Champ Bailey's tutelage, he was being replaced by a guy who was a former Patriot (big surprise) who was 36 years old, and in his 15th year in the NFL. Ironically the Broncos went 2-6 after we acquired Law- not that Law had a direct effect on our mid-season choke job.
Moving on to the 2009 off-season, February rolls around and Peyton Hills gets traded to the Browns for QB Brady Quinn. New Browns GM Mike Holmgren must not have seen much talent out of Quinn on film or he wouldn't have traded him to the Broncos. I trust Mike Holmgren's judgement of QB talent more than Josh McDaniels. After all, Holmgren coached Joe Montana, Steve Young, Brett Favre, and Matt Hasselbeck, whereas McDaniels has coached Tom Brady and Matt Cassel. The acquisition of Brady Quinn just seemed like another knee-jerk reaction by McDaniels.
When the 2010 draft came around I knew McDaniels would make a big splash. Seeing Denver's run-game wear down late in the 2009 season I wanted to see us get Idaho G Mike Iupati or even Florida C Maurkice Pouncey. Denver obviously had a glaring need at the center position since Casey Wiegmann went back to Kansas City, so Pouncey would've been a great choice. When it was announced that Denver drafted Georgia Tech WR Demaryius Thomas I was relieved that it wasn't Oklahoma State WR Dez Bryant (it wouldn't have made much sense to ship problem child Brandon Marshall out of town and draft another one in Bryant). Then came Tebow. At first I was disappointed with the selection because at the time we drafted Tebow we were still in desperate need of offensive line help and we also gave away 3 picks we traded up in order to get Tebow (a lot of analysts think he would've been available for Denver to pick without trading away 3 picks to Baltimore and Philadelphia). I like Baylor C JD Walton and Utah G Zane Beadles. Both guys are big interior offensive linemen who can help transition us from zone blocking to McDaniels' power blocking scheme. If both of these guys pan out, this solidifies Denver's offensive line for several years. From left to right we have Ryan Clady, Zane Beadles, JD Walton, Chris Kuper, and Ryan Harris all 27 years old or younger. I also like Minnesota's WR Eric Decker who analysts say is a top 5 WR in this year's draft but somehow dropped to the third round. He took Ed McCaffrey's number, so I expect him to throw mean blocks at defenders while pointing in their face as they lay on the ground in disbelief. And hopefully CB Perish Cox out of Oklahoma State and CB Syd'Quan Thompson out of California both provide the youth infusion Denver needs in our aging secondary.
While we observe Josh McDaniels as someone who may have several emotional knee-jerk reactions maybe he is standing by his principals of how to build a super bowl-winning team. It's too early to tell if hitting the reset button last off-season was a good idea since there are so many new players here. It's easy to observe that less than 1/4 of the roster remains from the Shanahan era and it's only been a year since McDaniels took over. It's also clear the only move made by McDaniels that has paid dividends immediately is the acquisition of future hall of famer Brian Dawkins. Every other move made is questionable, and much like many Americans who love and criticize this country I will continue to love and criticize the Broncos- the only difference is McDaniels would not have been voted in office to replace Shanahan!