Denver Post sports writer Mike Klis posts his Broncos Mailbag every Tuesday during the 2007 NFL season on DenverPost.com. Due to this week’s game Monday night, however, this installment ran Wednesday, Dec. 26.
To drop a Broncos- or NFL-related question into the Broncos Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
A shout out to the United Airlines pilot on Christmas Day. Despite the snowstorm in Denver, I did not spend Christmas stranded in the San Diego airport. I arrived a mere 5 minutes late. And so, the mailbag arrives on time.
Mike – Seriously. How can Pat Bowlen continue to put up with this? It is quite obvious the coaching staff, including Mike Shanahan, needs to go. This team is ridiculous. Why is Bowlen staying with a coach who has only ONE playoff game in 10 YEARS? What is your insight into this? And I sure hope you don’t bring up two Super Bowl rings; that was a long time ago.
— Todd McLean, Vancouver, Wash.
Well, because you’ve forbidden me from bringing up the two Super Bowl rings, can I say it’s been one playoff win in three years? It was just 2005 that the Broncos got to play the AFC Championship Game at home. Boy, did they miss opportunity there.
I’m writing this on Christmas morning in San Diego, Todd, and my spirit is not filled with sending coaches off to the unemployment line. Let’s stick with the subject of Shanahan. First, doesn’t Bowlen deserve some trust? The Broncos may only have two Super Bowls, but Bowlen has been there five times, three times without Shanahan. He’s not just an owner with a checkbook. He knows football. Bowlen has good reason for sticking by Shanahan.
But I will submit this: The Broncos are 8-14 in their last 22 games. If the Broncos have another losing season in 2008, it wouldn’t surprise me if Shanahan is on the hot seat for the first time since his boss was Al Davis. That doesn’t mean Shanahan is curtains if the Broncos finish 7-9 or worse next year. It just means Bowlen will consider the possibility. Shanahan knows this better than anybody.
I don’t think the Broncos will have a losing season in 2008. I don’t think Bowlen does either. Until then, I think Shanahan deserves a mulligan. He’s had two losing seasons in 13 years. The first came after your taboo subject – the back-to-back Super Bowl years. This losing season comes after a year in which the Broncos failed to make the playoffs. So there will be more pressure in 2008 than there was in 2000.
But Shanahan brought the Broncos back from their 6-10 season of 1999. I would bet on the Broncos winning 10 games next year.
Mike – Do you think our “coach” understands he needs an offensive line? He better – or our quarterback will get a serious injury.
— John, Cheyenne
John – ‘Tis the season of outrage! Considering the Broncos’ offensive line was almost doomed from the start, I think it’s fared pretty well. Think back to training camp. Left tackle Matt Lepsis was coming off a torn ACL. Ben Hamilton suffered a concussion and never recovered. Tom Nalen suffered a season-ending injury in the fifth game. Despite those blows, the O-line helped the Broncos to a ninth-place ranking in rushing and quarterback Jay Cutler complete a pretty good first full season as a starter.
There’s no doubt the offensive line must perform better if the Broncos are again to become a legitimate playoff contender. But mere health would have avoided many of their problems this year. I do think the Broncos will make some changes upfront during the offseason.
Tony Kornheiser called the Broncos a bad team on “Monday Night Football.” Do you agree with Kornheiser?
— T.T., Aurora
T.T. – First, I find myself paying attention to what Kornheiser has to say. You heard it here first. But in this case, it’s not like Tony was making some profound analysis by calling the Broncos a bad team. I think describes the quality of a team more than anyone’s words. As losses go, was a tad more humiliating than others. After the first drive ended in a Cutler fumble, the Broncos gained exactly 0 yards in their next four possessions to close the half. Pretty inept.
And Paul Ernster’s punting caused all Broncos followers to turn a few shades of red. It looked like he was punting a brown rock. The Broncos gave it their best shot on defense, but as we learned weeks ago, its best isn’t quite good enough.
So yeah, the Broncos have evolved into a bad team. They didn’t start out that way, but they are now. Kornheiser deserves credit for not overlooking the obvious.
Mike – I think Jay Cutler has a great future ahead of him, but why do we never see him looking at coverage “pictures” on the sideline. You always see Peyton Manning, whether the game is out of hand or not, looking at the type of coverage that the opposing team is running. Cutler could learn to read some defenses better if he would study as the game goes on. What do you think?
— Steve, St. Paul, Minn.
Steve – You make a great point. The NFL’s two best quarterbacks, without argument, are Manning and Tom Brady. What do they have in common? Both are unquestionably the league’s most cerebral quarterbacks. They are coaches on the field with the way they make coverage adjustments at the line of scrimmage.
It strikes me that Brady and Manning want to make decisions. It also strikes me their coaches allow them freedom to make those decisions. The more a quarterback studies and thinks, the better his feel for the game once the ball is snapped.
For Cutler to grow as a quarterback and team leader, his teammates in the huddle need to see him occasionally make pre-snap decisions, whether it’s quickly taking the initiative to spike the ball during a 2-minute drill, calling the occasional audible or calling out a protection check. There’s only so much authority a quarterback can carry when every offensive thought comes from the sidelines.
Late in the game against the Chargers, it bothered me some that even though the game was out of hand, and the clock was ticking down in the fourth quarter, Cutler was still spending 10 seconds between plays looking at the sidelines, waiting for the play call. Why not let Cutler call a play or two? Give him some experience. Expand his mind.
I’m not saying Mike Shanahan and Mike Heimerdinger should surrender the play calling. Brady doesn’t call New England’s plays. But now that Cutler has 20 games of NFL experience, he should be encouraged to have some influence on the game plan, study the opponents’ coverages between possessions, make a few more play checks at the line of scrimmage.
Physically, Cutler is way more talented than Brady. He has a stronger arm and is considerably more mobile. But Brady is the way better quarterback. Quarterback is about making split-second decisions. It’s the next phase of Cutler’s development, and I’m sure you’ll see him taking a little more command of the offense next year.
I know that Javon Walker is due a roster bonus after the season. What are the chances that the Broncos re-work his deal and bring him back? I know he is coming off of an injury-plagued season, and Brandon Stokley and Brandon Marshall have had good years, but the offense would be so much more explosive to put Javon on the outside and put Stokley back in the slot position. Your thoughts?
— John, Oklahoma
John – If it helps, Shanahan knows Stokley is a slot receiver, and Walker is a No. 1 or No. 2 receiver. The question for Stokley and Walker is health. Stokley is an exceptional talent. He’s so quick, wise and sure-handed. Cutler has clearly missed him the past two games. But Stokley’s slight frame isn’t ideally equipped to absorb the rigors of NFL pounding.
Walker was a difference maker for the Broncos last year and in the first two games this year. After two games, he had 17 catches, 220 yards and two wins. He’s had just seven catches for 51 yards since. The season is 15 games old, and Walker has yet to score a touchdown. There has to be concern if Walker can again become an impact receiver now that he’s had a second surgery on the same knee that was rebuilt two years ago.
Mike – It seems so many are talking about all the holes the Broncos have to fill in personnel. I don’t see it that way. They are loaded at QB, RB, WR, TE, DE and the secondary. D.J. Williams now commands the middle. The O-line is shaping up, IMO. It seems that the experience the young guys are getting plus the addition of a couple DTs and an LB will form a team to be reckoned with. What’s your take? Am I all wet?
— Larry B, Tucson
Larry B. – At last, an outlook fitting of the holidays. The Broncos are fine at quarterback. If Travis Henry comes back healthy, he and Selvin Young would make the Broncos loaded at running back. Daniel Graham and Tony Scheffler are a nice tight end tandem, although the Broncos were hurt by the season-ending injury to Stephen Alexander. I do think in Tim Crowder, Jarvis Moss, Elvis Dumervil and John Engelberger, the Broncos are set at defensive end, although it’s mostly a group of specialists.
I also agree D.J. Williams improved considerably at middle linebacker. It will be interesting to see if the Broncos keep him there during the offseason.
Help is needed at linebacker and the interior front. And the injuries to Walker and Stokley left the Broncos thin at receiver. You’re not all wet, Larry B., but you are a little more optimistic than most.
Hey, Mike. Is Ryan Harris the eventual replacement for Matt Lepsis or Erik Pears?
— Kevin Kliesen, St. Louis
Kevin – Yes, providing his back holds up. How soon he plays, and who he replaces, has not yet been decided. Harris would have been a first-round draft choice last April, but back surgery prior to his senior year at Notre Dame dropped him to the third round – even though he never missed a game in his senior season. Harris has Pro Bowl potential, no doubt. But there is some concern how he’ll hold up after he underwent another back surgery during training camp.
There’s not a finer young man wearing an NFL uniform, by the way. Harris is smart, humble and friendly. The kind of guy you pull for. That said, Lepsis and Pears are smart, humble and friendly, too. It can be a tough racket, competition.
My girlfriend noticed that Jay Cutler’s helmet seems to occlude his vision. I thought she was kidding, but Cutler’s helmet just seems to “fit funny.” We’ve got NFL Sunday Ticket and have been flipping around looking at games. No other QB in the league has a helmet “brow” that comes down over the eyes like Cutler’s does. Who the heck fitted him with that thing?
— Greg, Madison, Wis.
Greg – Occlude? Good word. I like it. And helmet brow is nice imagery. Cutler also tilts his baseball cap so low, it casts a shadow over those Elvis Presley eyes of his. I think it’s the shyness in him. Does your girlfriend see a little Elvis in Cutler? Maybe, my vision has become occluded.
What is this love-hate relationship Mike Shanahan had with Todd Sauerbrun?
— Vikki, Albuquerque
Vikki – Love and hate is a little strong, on both counts. I’m going to guess Shanahan liked Sauerbrun when he was punting well and didn’t like him as well when he wasn’t punting well, then had another off-field incident.
Mike – Do you think Jason Elam will be back next year? I think his current contract is about to expire.
— Jason Peralta, Arlington, Texas
Jason – I do think Elam will be back. He is a free agent after this year, but I’d be surprised if Shanahan didn’t re-sign him. Elam has made 13 consecutive field goals and hasn’t missed from inside the 40 since the 2005 season. Looking ahead to 2008, the Broncos have enough worries without adding another one by trying out a new kicker.
Mike Klis is in his third season of covering the Broncos after previously covering the Colorado Rockies and Major League Baseball for 15 years. To drop a question into his Broncos Mailbag, or visit DenverPost.com’s .
