Look at it this way. Take away the Lombardi Trophy, and what’s the big deal about Detroit?
By not making that 1,272-mile trip toward what the NFL is temporarily calling the Promised Land, the Broncos get to revisit the offseason, where the possibilities are endless.
Let the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks have their two weeks of hype and Super Bowl XL. The Broncos have some dreaming to do.
Imagine beginning their 2006 season with Rod Smith split out one way, Ashley Lelie running out wide the other way while a guy named Terrell Owens lines up in the slot.
Question is, would this be a dream or a nightmare?
After his season-ending news conference with the local media Tuesday, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan acknowledged he read the endorsements veterans Tom Nalen, Gerard Warren and Keith Burns gave to Owens, the megatalented, poorly behaved receiver who was essentially banned from football this season by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Owens and his agent are trying to shop for a trade, but most likely he will be released and will become a free agent.
Shanahan indicated that so long as the veterans who lead his locker room sign off on Owens, the team would explore the possibility of signing the receiver.
“For a guy to come into our locker room, the veterans will let him know what it takes to play for this organization,” Shanahan said. “If a guy doesn’t conform, the other veterans will let him know he’s in trouble.”
Welcome to the Broncos’ offseason, where the goal is to figure out how to improve on a 14-4 season that ended Sunday with a 34-17 loss to the Steelers in the AFC championship game. Owens could be the difference between an unforgettable spring or one of typical roster transition.
There is much for Shanahan to do, beginning with his annual job title shift from head coach to executive vice president of the Broncos’ entire football operation.
“I don’t like the VP aspect of it at all,” Shanahan said. “That’s why so much of my responsibility that I get credit for is done by other guys. I don’t enjoy negotiating contracts or looking at the salary cap. I enjoy coaching. But it’s one of those necessary evils that you have to stay on top of.”
Among the myriad topics Shanahan addressed:
His free agents. The most notable are Nalen, the only starting center Shanahan has had in his 11 years as Broncos head coach; Warren, the Broncos’ top defensive tackle; Burns, captain of the special-teams units; running back Ron Dayne; and possibly left tackle Matt Lepsis, who has the right to void his contract and become a free agent.
Shanahan appeared confident all five would return. However, at this time last season, he didn’t think he would lose strong safety Kenoy Kennedy. The Detroit Lions swiped him with a $14 million contract that included a $4.3 million bonus.
“These guys are grown men that are very smart,” Shanahan said. “They have agents. All I want to do is convey to them that we’d like you on this football team.”
The 2006 draft. The Broncos are sitting on two first-round draft picks: the 22nd and 29th. They could package those picks and attempt to trade for a higher pick. Or, because of salary-cap constraints, they could trade one first-round pick in exchange for, say, one second-round and one third-round pick.
“If you did move up to get the 10th pick, would somebody do it for two No. 1s?” Shanahan said. “Maybe. Maybe you get a No. 8 or 9. Maybe not, depending on who’s there. A lot of juniors have come out this year so it should be a pretty deep draft.”
The 3-4 defense. New England and Pittsburgh use it, and they’ve won four of the past five AFC championships. Would the Broncos consider switching from the 4-3 to the 3-4 next season?
“Not as a base, not with the type of personnel we have right now,” Shanahan said. “We could use more of the 3-4 than we have in the past.”
The problem for the Broncos is the three linemen-four linebacker sets usually have at least two defensive end-sized linebackers, and the Broncos’ current trio of Ian Gold, Al Wilson and D.J. Williams are collectively on the small side.
The quarterbacks. Not only is Jake Plummer going to be the Broncos’ quarterback next year, Bradlee Van Pelt will again be his backup.
The Broncos spent a full year developing Van Pelt, and they’re not about to waste all that teaching time. Unlike last offseason, when they pursued veterans Jeff Garcia and Gus Frerotte, don’t look for the Broncos to seek any name veteran QBs this time.
Plummer also received a strong vote of confidence from his coach.
“I’m glad he’s our quarterback,” Shanahan said.
Running backs. Given his druthers, Shanahan prefers a franchise back who can carry the ball 25 to 30 times a game. Terrell Davis, in other words. Barring that, Shanahan indicated Dayne would get a chance to compete with Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell for more carries next season.
“I liked the way he handled himself,” Shanahan said of Dayne. “I liked the way he worked. Hopefully he will be back. He’s got a lot of talent.”
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440 or mklis@denverpost.com.
