Look at all the Free Agents making plays for the Broncos

[pbmax]

You're not sure if this team is better? Elway took a pretty good defense and made it an all time great one via the draft and key free agents. Statistically that is indisputable.

He also has no offense left. His O line is decimated and he signed the Corpse of Vernon Davis to be his TE.

This one is directed to an earlier post: The Broncos did not sign Sanders to be an upgrade to Decker. They wanted Decker back. Sanders was the consolation prize.

Their best offense with Peyton had Decker AND Thomas.

[esoxx]

Signing your own players isn't as sexy and exciting as signing other teams' FAs.

Especially when those players are the ilk of Brad Jones & AJ Hawk.

[yetisnowman]

He also has no offense left. His O line is decimated and he signed the Corpse of Vernon Davis to be his TE.

This one is directed to an earlier post: The Broncos did not sign Sanders to be an upgrade to Decker. They wanted Decker back. Sanders was the consolation prize.

Their best offense with Peyton had Decker AND Thomas.

They wanted Decker back? So much so they didn't offer him a contract. And they didn't sign Vernon Davis to be THE tight end. They traded one/two 7th round picks for him, hoping he could contribute along with the 2 other Tes they had.

Don't forget Peyton had HGH on his side in 2013 as well.

Other than facts your post is spot on.

[Zool]

He also has no offense left. His O line is decimated and he signed the Corpse of Vernon Davis to be his TE.

This one is directed to an earlier post: The Broncos did not sign Sanders to be an upgrade to Decker. They wanted Decker back. Sanders was the consolation prize.

Their best offense with Peyton had Decker AND Thomas.

And Thomas

[Zool]

way to ignore the point of my post. common tactic of someone who has lost the argument.

ill say it again: Im not sure how even the most ardent of TT fans can honestly say he has put enough resources into making the ILB and TE positions above average. They don't need to be great, just above average.

I WANNA SHOUT THE LOUD WORDS IN BOLD TEXT! I DON"T LIKE A THING! I HAVE INTERNET ANONYMITY SO I'LL SHOUT IT HERE AND HOPE PEOPLE RESPOND TO MY TROLLING SO I CAN UNZIP WHILE MOM MAKES ME PIZZA ROLLS!

[mraynrand]

[Zool]

^ this guy has the best reviews of Starwars Ep1 through Ep3 that you will ever see.

[Cheesehead Craig]

I WANNA SHOUT THE LOUD WORDS IN BOLD TEXT! I DON"T LIKE A THING! I HAVE INTERNET ANONYMITY SO I'LL SHOUT IT HERE AND HOPE PEOPLE RESPOND TO MY TROLLING SO I CAN UNZIP WHILE MOM MAKES ME PIZZA ROLLS!

[3irty1]

The focus on Elway's FA moves is burying the lead story here. The story where Elway's coaches got him to the big game then he made a regime change anyways. The FA moves are a symptom of that single bold decision to bring in Kubiak and Phillips who in turn brought brought in their respective toys (Daniels, Ware) as usually happens with a regime change.

There is no reason for the Packers to make such moves with the continuity of MM and Capers. They handpicked their pieces over the course of years. The real question we should be asking is would we benefit from a bold regime change like Denver did?

[run pMc]

Just about every team (if not every team) uses FA more than TT does; so if the Packers aren't in the SB this will be a discussion topic until TT retires. I think it would be interesting to consider what the storylines in Denver would be had they lost to Carolina or NE.
I do think TT needs to consider using TT more. I don't doubt they test the waters and ask about players (or talk to agents), but I don't think they are aggressive compared to other teams.

Most on this board agree TT needs to find upgrades at ILB and TE.
M3 also needs to restructure his coaching staff.

Should be an interesting offseason.

[pbmax]

They wanted Decker back? So much so they didn't offer him a contract. And they didn't sign Vernon Davis to be THE tight end. They traded one/two 7th round picks for him, hoping he could contribute along with the 2 other Tes they had.

Don't forget Peyton had HGH on his side in 2013 as well.

Other than facts your post is spot on.

He priced himself out of Denver. His deal was for 5 years/$15milGuaranteed/$36.5milOverall. He said, quote: "There was no official offer from (the Broncos)." The translation of which is, we gave them our demands and they would not agree to meet them. Hence, no official offer.

Sanders was signed for 3 years/$6mil/$18mil. Denver wasn't improving itself with Sanders, it was plugging a hole.

[pbmax]

^ this guy has the best reviews of Starwars Ep1 through Ep3 that you will ever see.

Leave a comment on this web zone if you want a pizza roll.

Pro-to-gon-ist.

[yetisnowman]

He priced himself out of Denver. His deal was for 5 years/$15milGuaranteed/$36.5milOverall. He said, quote: "There was no official offer from (the Broncos)." The translation of which is, we gave them our demands and they would not agree to meet them. Hence, no official offer.

Sanders was signed for 3 years/$6mil/$18mil. Denver wasn't improving itself with Sanders, it was plugging a hole.

Maybe they thought they could get comparable production/a better fit for their football team for less money? Maybe this also is an example of a non complacent, savvy GM? Your initial post is completely misleading....consolation prize implies they went after Decker and he chose NYJ....so Sanders was the backup/stopgap/,bailout move.
Looks pretty smart now doesn't it?
The homerism spin is funny....trying to minimize Elway's influence on the Broncos success. He built a spectacular defense, and his offense is far from decimated. The line needs work, but two pro bowl caliber receivers, solid rb tandem, and flexibility with Peyton likely to retire. Elway has done a great job Pretending he hasn't is beyond silly.

[denverYooper]

Does Elway get double credit for blowing the Elvis Dumerville contract restructuring/waiver? And then needing to sign Ware?

They made sure to get the fax fixed before they negotiated with Ware.

Ware has been OK but they would have been even more effective with Dumervil.

But their defense didn't really take off until Malik Jackson and Derrick Wolfe grew into a pair of very good linemen. Wolfe has really been a force this year. Both of those guys (and Chris Harris) were homegrown.

[pbmax]

Maybe they thought they could get comparable production/a better fit for their football team for less money? Maybe this also is an example of a non complacent, savvy GM? Your initial post is completely misleading....consolation prize implies they went after Decker and he chose NYJ....so Sanders was the backup/stopgap/,bailout move.
Looks pretty smart now doesn't it?
The homerism spin is funny....trying to minimize Elway's influence on the Broncos success. He built a spectacular defense, and his offense is far from decimated. The line needs work, but two pro bowl caliber receivers, solid rb tandem, and flexibility with Peyton likely to retire. Elway has done a great job Pretending he hasn't is beyond silly.

Maybe they thought a Unicorn would make a perfect TE.

However, we do not need to speculate about the plan. They were already cap compressed (that was the genesis of the Dumerville issue) and Decker had such a monster year that the press was talking about how he was playing himself out of Denver during the season unless he took a hometown discount. Everyone knew before the end of the season that they couldn't afford all their FAs and Decker was one of the most expensive by year's end. They didn't need to chase because they knew he was gone.

The contract tells you all you need to know about their relative value.

Now Sanders has been good. And their pro personnel dept and Elway deserve credit for choosing him. But the Broncos offense has not been the same. Its not all Decker, but even terrible basketball teams have a 20 point per game player.

The point is, as Patler has been saying, that not all UFA signings are upgrades. And sometimes street FA signings work out just as well.