Denver Post sports writer Mike Klis posts his Broncos Mailbag every Tuesday during the 2008 NFL season on DenverPost.com.
To drop a Broncos- or NFL-related question into the Broncos Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
I have Tony Scheffler on my fantasy-football team, but I have not seen him do anything in the preseason. Is he going to be a part of the offense this season or is Nate Jackson taking his spot as the “receiving” tight end?
— Dave S., Bountiful, Utah
Dave – One thing about fantasy players is they’re observant. Jackson does get more snaps at the second tight end position because he’s a better blocker than Scheffler is a better receiver. It has been maddening to see a player with Scheffler’s extraordinary receiving skills not become more involved in the offense, especially early in the season. In his first two seasons, he became a major weapon late, but this appears to be the third consecutive year he is being held back early.
But Jackson is a receiver by trade who has gradually worked his way into a tight end body. He has also figured out that the Broncos’ system wants its tight ends to block first, catch second. Even Shannon Sharpe, arguably the greatest receiving tight end of all time, was allowed to leave for free agency after the 1999 season, in large part because Mike Shanahan preferred the more complete tight ends in Dwayne Carswell and Desmond Clark, who is about to begin his sixth season with the Chicago Bears.
Why haven’t we made a serious effort to get a legit RB? And Travis Henry doesn’t count because he came in with issues. Wouldn’t that take a lot of pressure off Jay Cutler? I believe this is key to our offense’s progress, especially with a deep-threat QB. We have no consistency with that position, which I think is a major reason for many of our struggles.
— Clarence Jeter, Long Beach, Calif.
Clarence – By “legit,” I think you’re referring to Pro Bowl caliber. It seems to me the Broncos frequently make serious attempts at finding a star running back, but if all it took was trying, 32 teams would have a Pro Bowler. The Broncos have had two superstar running backs in the past 14 years: Terrell Davis and Clinton Portis. That’s two more than many teams. They took a third-round flyer on Maurice Clarett in 2005. Even if he was a spectacular bust, it shows the importance the Broncos placed on trying to find a four-down tailback.
You say Henry doesn’t count. Why? They counted to $6.7 million before they finished paying him. This year, the Broncos briefly considered taking Jonathan Stewart with their No. 12 overall pick, but they couldn’t pass up what appears to be a franchise left tackle in Ryan Clady.
Franchise left tackles are harder to find than star running backs.
The Broncos believed they found a superior running back in Ryan Torain in the fifth round, but he got hurt. That’s the thing about running backs — even if they’re great, they typically aren’t great for long. This is why all but Kansas City, Arizona and Washington prefer a two-tailback system.
The Broncos are planning on rotating Selvin Young and Andre Hall at tailback the first seven weeks, then bringing back the fresh legs of Torain for the second half. If Young and Hall stay healthy for seven weeks, the Broncos’ running game should be among the league’s top 10.
Hi, Mike. I’m not sure what happened. Did Javon Walker and Rod Smith take their jersey numbers with them when they left. It seems to me that, other than Chad Mustard, every Broncos receiver is wearing a number in the 10-19 range. Is this a new trend?
— Giri, Gainesville, Fla.
Giri – Receivers get their pick of numbers from the 10-19 range, and 80-89. Three of the Broncos’ five receivers have selected the teens — Brandon Stokley (14), Brandon Marshall (15) and Eddie Royal (19) — while Darren Jackson is wearing the No. 82 he wore during his productive term in Seattle. Keary Colbert had No. 13 during the preseason but has switched to No. 85.
Just about everybody in the world has a favorite number and not many grow up attached to Ocho Cinco. Many NFL players also played basketball and baseball in their youth, where higher numbers aren’t available. It’s why Wayne Gretzky’s No. 99 or Lawrence Taylor’s No. 56 never became as popular as the players who wore them. My favorite was No. 12 because of Joe Namath and, later, Shawon Dunston.
For a guy like me in Canada, we sometimes can’t get a total grasp on how the season might shake out for our favorite American teams. What can we expect from the Broncos this season? 9-7, 10-6, playoffs?
— Dave, Brantford, Ontario
Dave – My official prediction is the Broncos will be 9-6 going into their final regular-season game at San Diego. If the Chargers need the win for playoff implications, it may take the Broncos’ best performance of the season to avoid 9-7. If the Chargers are in position where they can tank it, the Broncos will finish 10-6 and make the playoffs.
How is Spencer Larsen doing? Does he have a chance to make the team as a linebacker?
— Walt Daniell, El Paso, Texas
Walt – It seems like I get a lot of questions about Peyton Hillis and Spencer Larsen. Both are rookies. Hillis is the starting fullback, and it appears Larsen is now going to play more fullback than linebacker. With Cecil Sapp gone, and Michael Pittman a tailback by trade, Larsen is essentially the backup fullback. Which is better than being a No. 3 middle linebacker, I suppose, to Nate Webster and Niko Koutouvides.
I heard Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler went back East for the offseason to work on some things. What exactly did they accomplish?
— Buzz Puschnig, Fort Collins
Buzz – Now that’s a loaded question. All three went to Atlanta to work out with renowned Atlanta-based trainer Chip Smith. For a while, the trip seemed to curse the Broncos’ trio.
Marshall had a disturbance with his girlfriend there and got arrested, an incident that essentially caused his one-game suspension from the season opener. Cutler became so fatigued he couldn’t get out of bed for his workouts. Upon his return, a blood test revealed he had been suffering from Type 1 diabetes. Scheffler came back from Atlanta and on the first day of OTAs, re-injured his left foot and was sidelined the rest of the offseason.
But looking at the way Cutler, Marshall and Scheffler played during training camp and the preseason, they must have got something out of Chip Smith’s training. Cutler is a markedly improved quarterback. Marshall appears much quicker off the line of scrimmage, and is beating cornerbacks on deep routes. Scheffler cannot be covered by a linebacker or safety.
So while the Broncos’ Atlanta threesome all dealt with significant offseason problems, the Chip trip may be about to reap some rewards.
Mike Klis is in his fourth 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 .
