The Denver Broncos Team That You Won't Beat*

*No, this is not a rogue prediction that the Denver Broncos will go 19-0 in 2009. It is the story of my Madden NFL '08 Denver Broncos franchise on the Xbox 360.

I am a very casual gamer. In fact, I only find time to turn my console on about once every two weeks.

Sometimes, I'll play Madden '08 (which is better than '09). Recently, I finished my first season in the franchise mode, and continued on through the offseason. The 2009 team I put together and played with was one for the Madden ages.

Starting at the top, with the coaches. I figured that I would keep Mike Shanahan at head coach, and get the best of both worlds by hiring Josh McDaniels as the offensive coordinator. Then I added a top special teams coach in John Harbaugh, and installed Rex Ryan as defensive coordinator.

Now that I had the coaching staff, it was time to sign free agents. Starting with defense, I signed James Harrison to play outside linebacker, and traded a first round draft pick to the Colts for Bob Sanders. I also picked up Rodney Harrison to play the other safety position.

My longtime center Tom Nalen had announced retirement, so I traded Javon Walker away to the Chargers for Nick Hardwick, who is rated very highly.

On the offensive line, I replaced Montrae Holland with Chris Kuper at right guard and moved Ryan Harris to starting right tackle. The center was Hardwick, the left guard Ben Hamilton, and the left tackle, old-friend Matt Lepsis, who Madden still rates at 92.

Of course, I kept Jay Cutler at quarterback, and made him a team captain. He had increased his rating from 85 to 91 in one season, and is currently at 94 after the '09 season.

My running backs were Selvin Young, who I had developed in training camp to have a 97 speed rating. Coupled with Travis Henry, I had a pair of 1,200-plus yard rushers in '09.

At receiver, Brandon Marshall moved to first on the depth chart after Javon Walker was traded. I brought in Greg Jennings from Green Bay to supplement Marshall as the starting wideouts. The tight ends are Scheffler and Daniel Graham.

Moving to defense, I switched the scheme to a 3-4 and adopted Rex Ryan's playbook. I kept Al Wilson around to play the middle, and D.J. Williams moved back inside to play the other middle position. James Harrison played the right outside, and old friend Ian Gold played the left.

The defensive line was Elvis Dumervil, Tank Johnson at nose tackle (sharing time with Marcus Thomas), and Adewale Ogunleye at left defensive end.

I was all set for a season of domination with my secondary going from left to right: Champ Bailey, Rodney Harrison, Bob Sanders, and Dre' Bly.

I set the difficulty to All-Pro, so that I wouldn't blow my opponents out too badly.

The season began and my all-star team won all of its regular season games. They finished with the No. 1 offense, and the second ranked defense.

Champ Bailey won defensive player of the year, with 15 interceptions, seven run back for touchdowns. Dre' had 12 of his own. Ogunleye and Dumervil both had 10 sacks, and Al Wilson led the team with 132 tackles.

Cutler was beaten out by Peyton Manning for offensive player of the year. Jay finished with a 100.7 quarterback rating and 38 passing touchdowns.

After winning Super Bowl XLIII 38-17 over the Cowboys, I reflected back over the season. After substituting Eddie Royal for Greg Jennings and Peyton Hillis for Travis Henry, my fantasy Broncos looked extremely similar to the real '09 offense.

Defensively, I may have unlocked the key to improving the Broncos defense. (No, it's not to bring back Al Wilson, although I'd be ecstatic to have him.) It in fact may be switching to the 3-4, bringing in a dominant linebacker and safety, and acquiring a good nose tackle and defensive end.

Then again, the only thing I really did was create one hell of a Madden NFL team. I only wish I could export that roster into my Xbox Live profile; I'd beat everyone!

As the longest winter months without football begin, I am planning to keep myself in the hard-hitting, NFL mindset by occasionally playing Madden and continuing this franchise.

Or I might write more articles that have more purpose than this one. It is fun to get some much-needed comic relief in Broncos Country though, and to see that one man virtually turned them into undefeatable champions!

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