Broncos agree to terms with 2 time Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis

[Malibu]

Broncos agree to terms with two-time Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis 

 

[Malibu]

Good deal for the Broncos.

 

[Mingo]

Tough news for Garcia, but I like it. Is Jake Long next?

 

[Malibu]

CD would know better then I but are the Broncos considering moving Vasquez to tackle again?

 

[SpiritOf77]

I like it

I think OC called this one months ago

I'm wondering if Garcia will get some time at center now ..

Is Shelly Smith still on this team ?

 

[Malibu]

Paradis has to be the center playing very well in preseason.

 

[SpiritOf77]

Paradis has to be the center playing very well in preseason.

I agree ... but in the case of Paradis getting hurt, I think at this point, I'd rather go with Garcia than the guy from the Ravens whose name escapes me at the moment

 

[cdumler7]

I don't think this moves Vasquez to Tackle. Maybe they are thinking that way but I think we saw last year that Vasquez was average at best playing the Tackle position. Now maybe with a few weeks before the season to start he could work on it but I still like the idea of Vasquez playing at his position that he is considered an All-Pro at. To me this was about getting just a bit more Veteran presence on the OL. As great as Garcia has been playing we now go from having no experience on the left side with some decent potential to now maybe the best inside grouping in the league with lots of experience and then some young potential to back those positions up in case of injury. If any of our interior guys went down all of our back ups have shown to be below average so far. This is about depth and quality in front of Manning.

 

[cdumler7]

Also the Contract is very minimal. He pretty much signed a contract for a 1/year $2.5 million deal with some incentives that can drive it up to $4 million. Considering he graded out as I think the 3rd best guard last year only having played half the season that is down right impressive and just continues to show how great of a GM Elway is.

Heck he got him to take about half what another team was offering because Elway convinced him we were his best shot at a Super Bowl this year.

Also just to throw in this little part have to remember that the Eagles also run the ZBS so this shouldn't be a huge transition for him coming to a very similar style of play.

 

[Malibu]

I don't think this moves Vasquez to Tackle. Maybe they are thinking that way but I think we saw last year that Vasquez was average at best playing the Tackle position. Now maybe with a few weeks before the season to start he could work on it but I still like the idea of Vasquez playing at his position that he is considered an All-Pro at. To me this was about getting just a bit more Veteran presence on the OL. As great as Garcia has been playing we now go from having no experience on the left side with some decent potential to now maybe the best inside grouping in the league with lots of experience and then some young potential to back those positions up in case of injury. If any of our interior guys went down all of our back ups have shown to be below average so far. This is about depth and quality in front of Manning.

Agreed. I'd prefer Vasquez at guard any day.

 

[cdumler7]

Agreed. I'd prefer Vasquez at guard any day.

Have to remember with us now having such a solid inside group it makes blocking for the team that much easier to figure out where to give the help. They can focus more on the outside with TE's and RB's chipping knowing Manning should have a good pocket to step up into say our Tackles get beat to the outside.

Anybody remember how the Ravens beat us back in 2012 during the playoffs? Essentially they eliminated our pass rush by forcing Miller and Dumervil to have to beat them to the outside. We had no pass rush up the middle so all Flacco had to do was step up in the pocket and it was wide open for him to by himself a bit more time. This is what this move means to me is the team both getting better for the run game with adding such an experienced player as Mathis but also creating a very nice clean pocket for Manning to step up into.

 

[randymon]

Yeah I wouldn't read to much in this other than insurance. Obviously Mathis hasn't been signed with any team till now because of #1 his asking price and #2, which was the other deterrent to that,was his overall grade last 2 yrs. Porous would be fitting. As a starter replacement I have my doubts. As a insurance signing, I understand.

 

[Draft Crazy]

Love

 

[Malibu]

Like many of said at the worst depth on the o line in which you can never have enough.

 

[cdumler7]

Yeah I wouldn't read to much in this other than insurance. Obviously Mathis hasn't been signed with any team till now because of #1 his asking price and #2, which was the other deterrent to that,was his overall grade last 2 yrs. Porous would be fitting. As a starter replacement I have my doubts. As a insurance signing, I understand.

Are we talking about the same guy? In 2013 Mathis graded out as the best OG in all of football. Last year he missed 7 games due to injury but then came back and graded out as the 3rd best guard in the game. That was without 7 games worth of scores according to PFF. IF he had played in those first 7 games like he did in the others he grades out for a 2nd year in a row as the top guard in all of football. So healthy Mathis is the best guard in football. From what I understand he is healthy.

He had two criteria heading into this time of FA. At first it did look like money was his top priority. He was arguing with the Eagles because he thought he deserved more money for his play. He also wanted to play for a contender and not sure he saw the Eagles as that at the time. It is why he was willing to take less with the Broncos than any other team. He actually just said he had another team offer him $5.5 million today and he turned that down to come play for the Broncos at $2.5 million.

 

[SpringStein]

Really solidifies the OL, but I would have liked to have seen a RT as the priority.

But I may be a little, or a lot, prejudiced.

(brought in from other thread on this topic)

 

[iknowftbll]

Really solidifies the OL, but I would have liked to have seen a RT as the priority.

But I may be a little, or a lot, prejudiced.

(brought in from other thread on this topic)

That other thread was my "thread fail" for the season. Too bad I wasted it during preseason. Didn't see this one before posting.

 

[Malibu]

Broncos sign coveted guard Evan Mathis to bolster line

 

[Malibu]

Sounds like there were a few teams interested.

 

[randymon]

Well I was basing some of this on our own Mark Schlerth when he was first released or short time after. He certainly had a negative opinion on him and his " grade". Heard other comments from others as well about his " asking price " being deserving.