Broncos sign Von Miller

[cdumler7]

Elway basically bought his way to a good team, starting with Peyton Manning. Live by the sword, die by the sword. It's biting him in the ass right now IMO. He's going to have show some draft magic and it starts with Paxton. We'll have to see how that works out.

I thought everybody had the same Cap number to work with? Did the Broncos get more cap money than other teams?

 

[NWPATSFAN]

Right. Elway bought guys like Derek Wolfe, Von Miller, Chris Harris Jr., Brandon Marshall, C.J. Anderson, Bradley Roby, etc. etc.

Not taking anything away from Elway but he did have 6 picks in the first four rounds his first draft #129 being the worst. So Picking VM # 2 overall was not some stroke of genius.

 

[Wamu]

Right. Elway bought guys like Derek Wolfe, Von Miller, Chris Harris Jr., Brandon Marshall, C.J. Anderson, Bradley Roby, etc. etc.

Which totally proves he has no idea what the hell he's doing!

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Right. Elway bought guys like Derek Wolfe, Von Miller, Chris Harris Jr., Brandon Marshall, C.J. Anderson, Bradley Roby, etc. etc.

Lets face it he out bid everyone for the right to sign one of all time greats as QBs. Without Peyton the whole house of cards falls apart, good god you could still have Tebow as your starting QB with butt fumbles challenging him for starting position and the Broncos would be also ran in the division.

Add Ware, Saunders, Talib, T.J. Ward and a slew of others. FA signings is what made the Broncos, not claiming the Broncos drafted bad, just that the hard positions were bought and paid for.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

I thought everybody had the same Cap number to work with? Did the Broncos get more cap money than other teams?

All teams have the same cap #s, you got me there. Point being Elway was fortunate to be in a position to out spend others on some key players, which have been the heart and soul of the Broncos. Looking forward to seeing how he does going forward.

 

[cdumler7]

Lets face it he out bid everyone for the right to sign one of all time greats as QBs. Without Peyton the whole house of cards falls apart, good god you could still have Tebow as your starting QB with butt fumbles challenging him for starting position and the Broncos would be also ran in the division.

Add Ware, Saunders, Talib, T.J. Ward and a slew of others. FA signings is what made the Broncos, not claiming the Broncos drafted bad, just that the hard positions were bought and paid for.

Couple of things wrong with this...

1) Elway did not outbid everybody. Tennessee offered Manning $25 million a year where the Broncos were just under $20 million a year. Manning just thought Denver offered the better opportunity to win a Super Bowl.

2) Nobody knew what Manning would be coming back. When the Broncos signed him he was barely throwing over 10 yards at that point. So huge risk.

3) Free Agents rarely work out for teams. Usually a reason their team is letting them walk but the Broncos have done a very good job of finding FA's that fit well within their scheme and are selective on what FA's they even bring in.

4) A majority of our team is made up of cheap draft picks and waiver wire players that have been huge contributors such as Chris Harris, CJ Anderson, Wolfe, Jackson, Trevathan, Marshall, Roby, Williams, Paradis, and others. 6 (or 7 depending if you count Roby as a starter) on defense this last year were guys Elway drafted or were UDFA's that he picked up. Offensively it was much of the same.

Yes the Broncos needed their FA's to help out but they won this Super Bowl by mixing both the draft, FA, Waiver Wire, UDFA players and so on. They have been one of the better teams at finding talent many different places that helps them win.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Couple of things wrong with this...

1) Elway did not outbid everybody. Tennessee offered Manning $25 million a year where the Broncos were just under $20 million a year. Manning just thought Denver offered the better opportunity to win a Super Bowl.

2) Nobody knew what Manning would be coming back. When the Broncos signed him he was barely throwing over 10 yards at that point. So huge risk.

3) Free Agents rarely work out for teams. Usually a reason their team is letting them walk but the Broncos have done a very good job of finding FA's that fit well within their scheme and are selective on what FA's they even bring in.

4) A majority of our team is made up of cheap draft picks and waiver wire players that have been huge contributors such as Chris Harris, CJ Anderson, Wolfe, Jackson, Trevathan, Marshall, Roby, Williams, Paradis, and others. 6 (or 7 depending if you count Roby as a starter) on defense this last year were guys Elway drafted or were UDFA's that he picked up. Offensively it was much of the same.

Yes the Broncos needed their FA's to help out but they won this Super Bowl by mixing both the draft, FA, Waiver Wire, UDFA players and so on. They have been one of the better teams at finding talent many different places that helps them win.

I'll give you this, Elways FA signings have paid off in spades. That's unusual. Never the less solving the QB with a free agent signing, solving the shutdown CB problem with a free agent signing, solving the pass running DE with a free agent signing, is amazing. All the hardest positions fixed with FA signing, very close to a miracle IMO. Now Elway is going to have to do the old fashion way, draft these positions. We shall see how this works out. If he succeeds I'll give him his due. Until then....I'll remain a doubter.

 

[Mondo Jay]

Elway basically bought his way to a good team, starting with Peyton Manning. Live by the sword, die by the sword. It's biting him in the ass right now IMO. He's going to have show some draft magic and it starts with Paxton. We'll have to see how that works out.

I am getting the feeling you aren't rooting for Elway and the Broncos to succeed (repeat).

 

[HaroldSeattle]

I am getting the feeling you aren't rooting for Elway and the Broncos to succeed (repeat).

I'm bored and Old school was doing such a poor job of trolling the champs, I figured I'd make it more interesting.
However I don't see the Broncos even making the playoffs this year unless both wild cards come from the AFC west. Base that on having Sanchez/ raw rookie starting for them and losing a couple of starters on Defense, plus Miller not repeating last years effort.

Edit: Add Talib getting shot and Ware career winding down.

 

[Broncos6482]

Lets face it he out bid everyone for the right to sign one of all time greats as QBs. Without Peyton the whole house of cards falls apart, good god you could still have Tebow as your starting QB with butt fumbles challenging him for starting position and the Broncos would be also ran in the division.

Add Ware, Saunders, Talib, T.J. Ward and a slew of others. FA signings is what made the Broncos, not claiming the Broncos drafted bad, just that the hard positions were bought and paid for.

This is just ridiculous. They had a completely broken down Peyton Manning last year and managed to win the Super Bowl. In two seasons, Elway rebuilt the team from an offensive juggernaut to a defensive juggernaut.

It's fine to doubt the Broncos ability to make the playoffs next year, but at this point not to give Elway his due is just downright stupid. Regardless of how he built the team, he built a winner.

Look at it this way: in the 5 seasons prior to Elway, the Broncos went 36-44 with no playoff appearances. In 5 seasons with Elway, they've gone 58-22 with 5 straight division titles.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

Guess we'll have to see all the details. Still think Miller won this contract battle regardless. With a back up quality QB and/or rookie being the starting QB the D. Thomas contract is not looking good either.

Think the myth of Elway being a great GM type is falling to the wayside.

Huh? The myth?

 

[Broncosr0k]

I'll give you this, Elways FA signings have paid off in spades. That's unusual. Never the less solving the QB with a free agent signing, solving the shutdown CB problem with a free agent signing, solving the pass running DE with a free agent signing, is amazing. All the hardest positions fixed with FA signing, very close to a miracle IMO. Now Elway is going to have to do the old fashion way, draft these positions. We shall see how this works out. If he succeeds I'll give him his due. Until then....I'll remain a doubter.

Drafting a great QB is an issue most of the league struggles with...unless you are the colts. Then good QB falls into your lap.

I assume you mean pass rushing DE to be Ware. Shaq Barrett, undrafted FA, showed great flashes last year and we have Shane Ray that got some good experience as a rookie. The jury is still out on replacing Ware (replacing such players are difficult regardless of team/position) but Elway has already taken steps to hashing out that position.

Shutdown corner, Bradley Roby is very good and will likely replace Talib. Already checked that one off the list.

I will agree that we will see a new challenge for Elway in the post-Manning era. These next few years should really tell us if he is a good GM or great. I do know I will not write Elway off if he takes some time to replace talent like Manning and Ware.

As a sidenote, getting good depth from diamond in the rough FAs and draft picks has allowed Elway to buy those names you mention. Don't cheapen the team with a "he bought them all" comment.

 

[Rockinkuwait]

Lets face it he out bid everyone for the right to sign one of all time greats as QBs. Without Peyton the whole house of cards falls apart, good god you could still have Tebow as your starting QB with butt fumbles challenging him for starting position and the Broncos would be also ran in the division.

Add Ware, Saunders, Talib, T.J. Ward and a slew of others. FA signings is what made the Broncos, not claiming the Broncos drafted bad, just that the hard positions were bought and paid for.

Actually you kinda listed the who's who of FA picks there. You could throw in Vasquez who is unemployed now after winning a SB and that's all the major ones I can think of, not a "slew of others". Mathis and Daniels were dumped guys they got cheap, Marshall was a practice squad level player.

They had a mix of FA and drafted players. Hard to argue when his first draft brought them Miller, Moore, Franklin, Julius Thomas and Virgil Green. The 2nd one had Wolfe, Brock, Hillman, Malik and Trevathan.


Even the FA's you are listing, some weren't seeming that great when they got them. Sanders was an oft injured 3rd WR. He showed flashes sure, but it wasn't like he ever put together a 100 yard game in his 4 years in the league before Denver. Wasn't like he was a top 5 FA WR that year (you could easily argue he wasn't a top 10 FA). Ware was coming off a really bad year and looked done, he just disappeared after the first few games that year in Dallas. No different than SD picking up Freeney, except Elway chose the right FA.


And I think you hit the nail on the head with his decision on Tebow. Denver fans were loving him and Elway went against his own word even for Manning. And from what I remember Manning said he had more money on the table from other teams. I think you bring up those names because they all seemed to work out. I'd also put his coaching changes up there, I think hiring Kubiak and Phillips was huge for them as well.


I agree getting Manning was huge, the biggest move they could have made. But isn't that true of all great teams... Where's Seattle if they don't get Wilson? Where's NE if they don't get Brady? Where's Pitt if they don't get Ben? Where's NO if they don't get Brees? You can say that about any great team, that finding the best QB is why they are where they are.

 

[NEhomer]

Don't underestimate this Cam's help in Denver winning the SB.

 

[Rockinkuwait]

Don't underestimate this Cam's help in Denver winning the SB.

View attachment 139654

Because we know all the other Superbowls are won 100% by your own efforts...

 

[NEhomer]

Weak come back.

 

[Rockinkuwait]

Weak come back.

pot meet kettle.

 

[NEhomer]

Apples and oranges. You should have used this.

 

[Rockinkuwait]

Not really. But nice try all the same.

 

[Oldschool739]

I'm bored and Old school was doing such a poor job of trolling the champs, I figured I'd make it more interesting.
However I don't see the Broncos even making the playoffs this year unless both wild cards come from the AFC west. Base that on having Sanchez/ raw rookie starting for them and losing a couple of starters on Defense, plus Miller not repeating last years effort.

Edit: Add Talib getting shot and Ware career winding down.

Heeeeeey !!....I said basically the same as you did in the beginning, then they wanted to fight....
And that's my game, if you want to fight, we're starting a day late for my liking....
But you haven't said anything me and others haven't been saying about the Donkeys, so don't get too high on yourself, you're waaaaay late for the party my friend !!