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Broncos 2006 Draft Review

I would have to give the Broncos a solid B, maybe a B+. They filled almost every hole except Running Back. The Cutler pick is a high risk/high reward proposition but the Walker trade was a no-brainer and the late round picks all could find spots on this team and possibly significant playing time down the road.

Jay Cutler QB, Vanderbilt- I was down on Cutler on Friday's Mock First Round and text messaged Paul Saturday "Noooooo" when I saw Denver had traded up and Cutler was on the phone here is why. While Vanderbilt is a great school academically and the SEC provided some talented competition, Cutler only won 11 games in four years in college. He never played in a bowl game, never played for the right to play in a bowl game. Vanderbilt games usually provide a giggle on the ESPN Sports Ticker especially against the conference's powerhouse schools so he rarely played in a close pressurized situation. The move to trade up to get him floors me for two reasons 1) Regardless of the opinion of Shanahan and the personnel staff, the team did have immediate needs and didn't address them through Free Agency. Players to address those needs were on the board and they chose to take a Quarterback of the Future. 2) Jake Plummer had his best season as a Bronco, two years ago he threw 21 Interceptions and there was no urgency to trade up to get an Aaron Rodgers or even draft a Charlie Frye. What do the Broncos see in Cutler that made him so special to make him the product of this offseason's clever draft pick manuevering? Wouldn't such a move upset the fragile ego of Plummer? I know that's nothing I should worry about but will the Denver media accept Cutler's presence as a two year apprenticeship or will there be instant quarterback controversy in Denver? We will probably be waiting two years to find out, God willing.

I do like that Cutler shares a name with a Mr. Universe and is from Santa Claus, Indiana though. Saturday was his birthday. Happy Birthday! Now don't be a bust!

Javon Walker WR, Green Bay- As much as the Cutler move baffled me, I am sold on this move. Even though Walker only had one stellar season as a pro and was hurt all of last year. The Broncos don't draft well at Wide Receiver and the talent at that position this year was questionable. They had to get younger at the position though and this was the best way to get there and they only gave up a Second Round pick which they had two of to do it.



Tony Scheffler TE, Western Michigan- Is it me or does Western Michigan provide a First or Second Round prospect every year? Scheffler looks like a bad guy from a John Hughes movie. Which means he looks like the type of bad-ass pass catching Tight End that the Broncos are looking for? Most draft experts considered him a reach. But in the Broncos offense, he could be a handy weapon, if not for Jake then for Jay down the road.



Brandon Marshall WR, UCF- Gotta love a receiver that’s 6’4” he also went just about unrecruited in high school and made himself into UCF’s leading receiver and a 3rd Round Draft Pick. Coaches rave about his work ethic. The Broncos have had so many misses drafting Wide Receivers though. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.



Elvis Dumervil DE, Louisville- I’ve been paying a lot of attention to Dumervil because I instantly spotted him as someone that could fill an obvious need for the Broncos, Defensive Pass Rusher. Unfortunately Dumervil had a horrible pre-draft season. Slipping from sure thing First Rounder to Fourth Round Pick, disappointing at the Senior Bowl and running a subpar 40-yard dash time. Built like Dwight Freeney, Dumervil will be an off the end rusher who hopefully will show better stuff when he’s in pads and lined up against actual opponents. I have a good feeling about this pick.



Chris Kuper G, North Dakota and Greg Eslinger C, Minnesota- You don’t question the Broncos when it comes to late round offensive linemen. I love the idea of finding true centers from college to play center in the NFL now that everyone and their mother is converting to the 3-4. Eslinger specifically should get better under the tutelage of Tom Nalen.

2006 Schedule Announced

5 out of 8 Non-Conference Opponents are Playoff Teams including 4 Division Champions, 2 Conference Champions, and the Super Bowl Champions...

Sep 10 @St. Louis 1:00pm
Sep 17 Kansas City 4:15pm
Sep 24 @New England 8:15pm
Week 4 BYE
Oct 9 Baltimore 8:30pm
Oct 15 Oakland 8:15pm
Oct 22 @Cleveland 4:05pm
Oct 29 Indianapolis 4:15pm
Nov 5 @Pittsburgh 4:15pm
Nov 12 @Oakland 4:05pm
Nov 19 San Diego 4:15pm
Nov 23 @Kansas City 8:00pm
Dec 3 Seattle 4:15pm
Dec 10 @San Diego 4:15pm
Dec 17 @Arizona 4:05pm
Dec 24 Cincinnati 4:15pm
Dec 31 San Francisco 4:15pm

The Horsehead Returns April 1!!!!!

The Broncos have been as active in Free Agency as I've been on The Horsehead the past few months. But on Saturday, April 1st that will all change. We will have extensive draft coverage leading up to our Horsehead Pick Profiles during the NFL Draft which takes place April 29th through the 30th.

Yesterday's insertion of the Broncos in the Jets-Falcons John Abraham trade makes the draft even more interesting as the Broncos will have both the 15th and 22nd picks in the First Round. In the weeks leading up I will assess the Broncos immediate needs and the best players available to address them.

So, sit back and enjoy the rest of this quiet Free Agency season and get ready to enjoy The Horsehead again April 1st!

Horsehead History: Super Bowl XXXIII- Denver 34, Atlanta 19

Super Bowl MVP John Elway threw for 336 yards and a touchdown in what would be his final game as the Broncos easily handled the Atlanta Falcons to repeat as Super Bowl Champions 34-19. Darrien Gordon picked off Falcon QB Chris Chandler twice and Fullback Howard Griffith had two touchdowns as well, but Super Bowl XXXIII was John Elway riding the 1998 Broncos into the sunset.

Horsehead's Memories: Some say the Broncos won this game early in the second quarter when Atlanta went for it on fourth down only down 7-0 and Jamal Anderson was tackled for a two yard loss. Some would say the game was won the night before when Falcons Safety Eugene Robinson was arrested for soliciting sex from an undercover cop covering as a hooker. Either way this Super Bowl was a rewarding easy win to end Elway's Super Bowl run of blowout losses and classic wins. Ironically it was over Dan Reeves, who had upset the Minnesota Vikings which would have been a much tougher matchup. The 1998 Broncos started the season 14-0 and are slighted in the discussion of great NFL teams partly because so much attention is given to Elway's winning his two titles in his final two years. But the late 90's Broncos run, matches up with any in NFL history and they provide Broncos fans with Super Bowl memories that were needless to say rewarding.

SuperBowl.com Recap

Box Score

Horsehead History: Super Bowl XXXII- Denver 31, Green Bay 24

In one of the most entertaining Super Bowls ever played, Terrell Davis ran for 157 yards and a Super Bowl record 3 rushing touchdowns as the Denver Broncos and John Elway won their first Super Bowl over the heavily favored, defending champion Green Bay Packers. The biggest surprise was that what was believed to be Denver's biggest disadvantage going into the game; their small offensive line vs. the much bigger Green Bay defensive line featuring Reggie White and 390 pound Gilbert Brown; turned out to be its biggest advantage as the Packers D-line was worn out by the Broncos O-line especially in the fourth quarter. The win broke more than the Broncos and Elway's winless Super Bowl streak but also a 13 game losing streak of AFC teams to NFC teams in the Super Bowl.

Horsehead's Thoughts: I wore a jersey and a Broncos flag as a cape with bright orange pants for this. I couldn't sleep the night before despite drinking out to take the edge off. The Packers scored first with a Favre touchdown to Antonio Freeman, but a strange thing happened; the Broncos answered with a touchdown of their own. It was that moment that I realized this game was going to be different. The 80's teams would have started falling apart at that point.

I also remember the Broncos were ready to put this game out of reach after picking up an Antonio Freeman fumble on the kickoff return following a Davis touchdown, but Elway threw the next play into the hands of Eugene Robinson, allowing the game to be as close as it was.

The Elway tilt-a-whirl was nice but I will never forget Ed McCafferey's block on Gilbert Brown which sprung Howard Griffith loose on a drive making run in the 4th quarter setting up Davis' walk-in touchdown.

The Packers still had a chance to drive the ball down the field and tie and after Steve Atwater and Tyrone Braxton collided into each other knocking them both out of the game I thought they might be able to do it. After John Mobley knocked down Favre's 4th down pass, the Broncos were FINALLY Super Bowl Champions. I thought about my grandmother taking me to the Bottiglio's (neighbors of ours who had since moved to Florida, they called my parents that night to congratulate me even though they hadn't talked to my parents in three years) and my parents who tolerated my love for the Broncos and I started to well up. I couldn't help it. What I felt at that moment, I wish upon anyone and everyone. To follow a team, get excited for them, get hurt by them, over and over and still stay faithful and see all that faith get rewarded is one of the greatest feelings in the world. I would not have my life as a Broncos fan any other way. I know what it means to see my team come so close, to be rejected by history, then to come back and conquer it.

SuperBowl.com Recap

Box Score

Horsehead History: Super Bowl XXIV- San Francisco 55, Denver 10

Jerry Rice caught 7 passes for 148 yards and 3 touchdowns. Roger Craig had a touchdown. Tom Rathman had 2 touchdowns. Super Bowl MVP Joe Montana threw for 5 touchdowns. That's how it went. San Francisco destroyed Denver 55-10 in the most one-sided Super Bowl ever. John Elway threw for 109 yards with 0TDs and 2 INT's and was mercilously replaced by Gary Kubiak at the end of this nightmare, the Broncos 4th straight Super Bowl loss and John Elway's 3rd straight Super Bowl loss. A night that made everyone who saw it wonder if John Elway and the Broncos would ever win a Super Bowl.

Horsehead's Thoughts: Pat Bowlen complained to the league before the game that in the dressing that the league used to decorate the divider between the first and second sections of the Superdome that detailed Super Bowl scores with helmets, that the Broncos helmet was in the same spot as where the losing helmets were in all the other dressings. That's where it belonged. Everyone knew the Broncos had no shot in this game and the 49ers proved it.

Four Super Bowls four losses to four teams that were superior and should have been favored to win. That made watching them no less excrutiating.

This is the only Super Bowl I have not watched from beginning to end. I turned it off after a John Taylor touchdown reception made the score 41-3. The problem is because the Super Bowl does such monster ratings, no channels put anything worth watching on against the Super Bowl. So I resorting to playing Tecmo Bowl on my Nintendo until I realized I hated football and what it did to me every year. I think the night ended with me making my own course in Excitebike.

SuperBowl.com Recap

Box Score

Horsehead History: Super Bowl XXII- Washington 42, Denver 10

Timmy F'n Smith rushed for a Super Bowl Record (which shockingly, still exists) 204 yards rushing and Game MVP Doug Williams tied the Super Bowl Record for touchdown passes with four. The worst quarter in Broncos history yielded 35 points to turn a game that looked good after one quarter into a blowout. Denver went out to a 10 point lead after a 56 yard Ricky Nattiel (another of the "Three Amigos") touchdown reception and Rich Karlis field goal.



Horsehead’s Thoughts: I have to admit, I cried after this one. I really wondered why God would punish me and my team like this. This game was like a mob hit, up 10-0 after one quarter to be down 35-10 at halftime. The whole Second Quarter is one big blur. While the 1997 loss to Jacksonville is the worst I ever felt after a Broncos loss, this was my second worst feeling. All the expectations were there. Denver was a 3 point favorite going into the game, Washington was without their starting Running Back George Rogers. Elway was a better quarterback than Williams. Denver was still out of the much inferior conference and if Jeremiah Castille goes with his man on his route, Ernest Byner never fumbles and the Broncos aren’t even in this game. This Super Bowl also followed a strike year, which of course now no one remembers, but it would have tempered my immediate excitement had the Broncos won. Still, this is the game of Timmy F’n Smith and is always remembered as a landmark moment in Black History (because Williams was the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl) but it is better-off forgotten in Orange and Blue history.

SuperBowl.com Recap

Box Score

Horsehead History: Super Bowl XXI- New York Giants 39, Denver 20

John Elway's first Super Bowl and the Broncos first in nine years was not pleasant. Phil Simms completed a ridiculous 22 out of 25 passes for 268 yards to lead the Giants who had dominated the NFL all season long to their rightful place as Super Bowl Champions. The Broncos only rushed for 52 yards and were blown out in the second half 39-20. The star of the game for the Broncos was actually Wide Receiver Vance Johnson, who caught five passes for 121 yards and a Touchdown, reminding us that the time has come for another Wide Receiver named "Vance".

This game was played in front over 101,000 people in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, a record at the time and every drenched victorious Head Coach has the 86 Giants to blame for their fate...They invented the "Gatorade Shower".

Horsehead's Memories- Age 9, Ain't I cute?? I think everyone had these Sears bought stitched replica, looks nothing like a uniform jerseys. They were long sleeved said "Broncos" (or whatever team) along the front with a 7 (or whatever number) on the front (not the back). I tied orange and blue balloons to my entire body and went to my neighbors with my Nana to watch the game, knowing the Broncos really had no shot. The Giants were that good that year.

A couple things I don't remember 1) Lawrence Taylor had a terrible game, only 4 tackles I believe. He actually never played a really good Super Bowl in his career but he has two rings 2) Denver was actually ahead 10-9 at Halftime.

I do remember Phil McConkey celebrating his touchdown in a manner that would have made TO blush and three months after Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, realizing that following sports is a pain-staking and possibly thankless lifestyle.

SuperBowl.com Recap

SuperBowl.com Box Score