Dismantled

My Broncos are now barely recognizable. It started just over a year ago with the firing of Mike Shanahan, and has now spiraled out of control. This morning the Denver Broncos traded one of the league's most productive wide receivers, Brandon Marshall, to the Miami Dolphins for a second round pick this year and a second round pick next year. I knew it was coming, but I was hoping against all odds that the organization and Marshall would work it out. This time last year my Broncos traded away Jay Cutler, our young franchise quarterback. This brings to light the question, What the hell is coach Josh McDaniels doing?

This question may take awhile to answer. After the Broncos drafted Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall in 2006 they added Eddie Royal in 2008. It seemed that the Broncos were headed in the right direction offensively. They had a young nucleus, that given time under Shanahan's tutelage would grow into an offensive powerhouse. That never happened. Just one year later the Broncos fired Mike Shanahan and hired young Patriots' assistant, Josh McDaniels. McDaniels' first move was to try to trade Jay Cutler for Patriot back-up quarterback, Matt Cassell. Cutler caught wind of the trade talks and took it very personally. The drama ballooned and finally culminated in the trade of Cutler to the Bears for Kyle Orton and some draft picks. Bronco fans, including myself were confused. But McDaniels wasn't done ticking people off. The trade of his franchise quarterback made Brandon Marshall very angry. He started causing problems for McDaniels. While Marshall was still productive on the field he was causing trouble in the locker room. Everything seemed to have smoothed itself out however with a 6-0 start. But as the season started to unravel, so did the locker room. Marshall was again unhappy and now he is gone. The most unexplainable move from the off season was the release of defensive coordinator, Mike Nolan. The Bronco defense was one of the few bright spots for a team that couldn't consistently produce on offense. Up until today the Broncos have had a relatively quiet off season. Other than the addition of Brady Quinn via trade, the Broncos really haven't done a whole lot. Now we have just lost our only consistent offensive weapon.

I understand that draft picks are good. Especially when a team needs to build from scratch. But this is something that never had to happen. The Broncos had a young offensive team, before last year defensive development was the problem. Now both sides of the ball need a lot of work. The good news is we still have Knowshon Moreno and Eddie Royal. Live like no one is watching and always wait and see.

Disclaimer: I know that I am supposed to be objective, but somethings never go away. My love for the Broncos is deep and undying. I am not sorry for this love, but I am sometimes ashamed of it!