(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Ask any Bronco fan who the best coach in Bronco history was and they will answer with no hesitation, Mike Shanahan. No one casts a bigger shadow.

After the Broncos second Super Bowl, Shanahan became Broncos football. Somehow every year was going to be a Super Bowl year. That was the Shanahan promise.

Every year we started with a bright shiny offense that ran like clockwork and if something went wrong that was okay because next year we would just adjust this or that.

There is little doubt that Shanahan needed Elway as much as Elway needed Shanahan.  Most of Shanahan’s career after Elway was a search for a new Elway. No one ever looked more like Elway than Jay Cutler.

Cutler was going to be Shanahan’s salvation, the second coming. Shanahan was betting everything on the development of the young quarterback and the fans believed in Shanahan.

At the end of Cutler’s second year as a starter people began to doubt, the team was getting worse. Then Shanahan was fired and for some Broncos fans the world had been completely transformed. The certainty that seemed to exist with Shanahan was gone.

Suddenly the star quarterback was questioning the team owner. Demands flew, ultimatums were given.  The owner hired a young prodigy named Josh McDaniels and the star wouldn’t talk to him.

The drama kept on, the star traded, another star complaining. None of this happened with Shanahan so it must be the new guys fault. The witch hunt was on.

Through all of this the team was rebuilt, the preseason played and with the season about to begin few people really know who the Denver Broncos are anymore.

Last years defense, we are told, was terrible, so this year's defense will have to be worse. Every small stumble was pointed to as the fatal flaw.

What has happened to the Broncos? Have they been rebuilt? What kind of season will they have? For the first time in 14 years Bronco fans are asking questions.

OFFENSE

The new offense has a lot of similarity to the old offense with a couple of notable changes. 

Orton is not Cutler

Cutler has a great arm. There was no throw Cutler couldn’t make. With Cutler on the field the Broncos were dangerous regardless of their field position.

Orton is a lot more of a ball control quarterback. He won’t hold the ball for the deep pattern, instead he’ll take the short pass and work down the field.

Orton’s first preseason game was labeled as disastrous because of three interceptions.  Before the first of those interceptions Orton had led an impressive drive. The second game saw Orton lead the same kinds of drives.

All of the evidence suggests Orton will have a strong year this year.  He progressively did better at controlling turnovers and made good throws. Even in the Chicago game, when he constantly had to overcome holding penalties he went 12-16 with no interceptions.

The question that the preseason left about Orton is whether he only threw short passes by design or because that was all that was available. The fact that the second team used more long throws suggests that Orton was throwing shorter by design because his strength is getting the ball out quickly.

Who Will Catch the Ball?

The wide receiver spot has gotten a lot of attention because of the Brandon Marshall hold out. Many pundits assumed that without Marshall the Broncos will struggle in the passing game.

The truly odd thing about Marshall is that he has one of the lowest catch rates among starting wide receivers. Marshall’s catch rate of 57 percent pales in comparison to that of his own teammate Eddie Royal whose catch rate of 71 percent is one of the best in the league.

In fact both Brandon Stokley and Jabar Gaffney have catch rates of 58 percent. The evidence from preseason is that they are more than adequate replacements for Marshall

Add in Tight Ends Tony Scheffler and Daniel Graham at 66 and 64 percent catch rates respectively, along with good pass catching running backs Knowshon Moreno and Peyton Hillis, the Broncos actually have plenty of solid receivers for a variety of situations.

The Offensive Line

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