Denver Broncos: Top 10 Questions Heading to Training Camp

Denver Broncos Tim Tebow is reaching for great heights at this point in his career as a pro.

Is Tebows future in Denver going to be a an action thriller, comedy, drama or a tragedy for quarterback who broke the standing NCAA record for passing efficiency not to mention a couple dozen other SEC and NCAA records?

Well I guess it all depends on whose watching. One mans comedy is another mans tragedy in football. Tebows skeptics have been hard at work trying to close the window of opportunity so as the light of hope can cease to shine through it for all the fans just seething in anticipation to watch him play.

Imagine that the soon to be Los Angeles Jaguars, or was it London Jags have already sold out their stadium in Jacksonville for Tebows pro debut.

It appears that the team which ranked 19th in passing last season, is among the chief critics who do not believe Tebow has what it takes to make it as a star at this level. As if Jaguars are an authority of the quarter back position, or even offense for that matter.

How can a guy who finished his high school career in Jacksonville with 12,999 yards and 157 touchdowns, before transcending his stardom at the next level down the street at Gainesville, not feel betrayed by his own home town team, leaving him hung out to dry in the draft?

How can Tebow not be the No. 1 question heading into training camp? Especially with Tebows new role in the wild Bronco formation, which will allow McDaniels to utilize Tebow phenomenal talents until the quarterback can grasp McDaniels highly complex offensive scheme.

Broncos have not had a winning season since going 9-7 in 2006. So as you can imagine there are plenty of other questions that rise to the top, in regards to what it is going to take for the Broncos to emerge as a winning team again.

Former college star Brady Quinn played for former Patriot offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, while in Notre Dame; so Brady has familiarity with the scheme McDaniels brings to the table in Denver. This gives him a huge advantage over Tim Tebow in regards to the competition for the starting role this season, yet that has not hindered Kyle Oron from stretching the field so much that McDaniels has already declared Orton as his starter this season.

There is absolutely no question who the starting qb will be heading into training camp. This however does not eliminate there being questions as to who will possess the role of the future. Can Tim Tebow emerge as the franchise player, as we head into training camp, fans will be looking for signs be it one way or the other? Inquiring minds want to know if one of the most electrifying player to ever dawn a college uniform, will be able to transcend his dazzling college performance to this level.

But Broncos fan has quiet a few other issues to contend with regarding the current state his team, and that is what we want to find answers in training camp to the ten biggest questions Mcdaniels and company look to answer before heading into week one on the road in sunny Florida.

So what are the top 10 Questions, well that answer is a relative one.

If you ask Gators fan he may revolve that answer around Tim Tebow. If your a die hard Bronco's fan, well that could range to anywhere from the offensive line, to the defensive line, to special teams, to the WR position, now that Brandon Marshall is gone, and some may even question the head coach.

The Broncos look to answer a myriad of questions this season, which are the top ten heading into training camp? Well that is what we aim to explore with this article while touching on some of the most pressing issues this team faces this season.

As you can imagine, there was no way to get all of the questions in this article, so if there is any on your top ten list that where not address in this article, then by all means feel free to chime in.

Josh McDaniels: A Defensive Minded Head Coach?

This may come as a shock, but McDaniels has experience managing the defense as well as offense. McDaniels was a defensive assistant coach before calling the offensive plays for the Patriots.

Josh McDaniels was named Head Coach after the 2008 season, he inherited a bad defense.

McDaniels promoted linebackers coach Don 'Wink' Martindale to replace defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, who left for Miami. 'Wink' becomes the fifth defensive coordinator in as many years.

Broncos had the 30th ranked rushing defense in the league in 2007, the 27th ranked rushing defense in 2008; the 26th last season during the rookie coaches attempt to transition the defense from a 4-3 to a 3-4.

Games, as we all well know are won and lost in the trenches.

Remember the ‘Orange Crush’? Well it was one of the first 3-4 defenses. Nearly half the teams in the league have switched to the 3-4 now. While the 4-3 is a great defense against the rush, with the pass happy offenses of the modern era, the 3-4 has been found to be more effective against the pass.

When you consider how the 4-3 was not effective against the run any way, the switch for McDaniels was a no brainer; especially coming from a Patriots team that ran the 3-4.

While the rushing defense did not improve much during the transition, the scoring defense was night and day from what it was the season before.

Broncos 2007 scoring defense ranked 28th, 2008 they ranked 30th, last season however the scoring defense managed to rank 12th in the league. The scoring defense being twice as good during the switch to the 3-4 while under the rookie head coach, really raises the bar for what we can expect this season.

McDaniels specialty as a defensive assistant for the Patriots was the secondary. Broncos passing defense ranked third in the league last season, a far cry from their 26th ranking the season before McDaniels took over as head coach of the Broncos. Talk about raising the bar of expectations...

McDaniels is bringing a highly aggressive 3-4 scheme to the Denver.

“We want to be disciplined yet attack, attack, attack — that’s what our focus is going to be on,” McDaniels said. “It’s always good to add some things that allow your players to play fast, and we think we’ve done that this offseason with what we’ve tried to add with our scheme.”

The Broncos last seasons defensive terminology will only be enhanced, it won't be changed as a result of changing defensive coordinators. Make no mistake about it, this is McDaniels 3-4 defense.

Even though the 'wiz kid' McDaniels spent most of his career on the offensive side of the ball, one can't ignore the fact that his mentor Bill Belichick is the preeminent defensive mind in football.

Broncos fan need not be dismayed at the notion that their Front Office did not hire a defensive minded coach, because they got a coach who is a master mind when it comes to grasping the fine nuasances of the game, on both sides of the ball. This unique quality, makes the 'wiz kid' McDaniels somewhat of an elite hybrid of sorts.

The question that ought to be reeling in Broncos fans mind heading into training camp, is not whether McDaniels is the coach for me, but rather whether or not the 'wiz kid' possess the genius to take both the Broncos offense as well as the Broncos defensive to the top ten this season.

A Brand New Defensive Line?

Of all the Broncos units, it's the defensive line that raises the most questions.

Nic Clemons, Vonnie Holiday, Kenny Peterson and Carlton Powell, have all been replaced with Jarvis Green, Jamal Williams, Justin Bannan.

These changes are not only huge, no pun intended, but they do however pose as being potentially significant upgrades.

In the 3-4 it all starts up front with the Nose Tackle Jamal Williams, at 6'3 348 pounds he is the Anchor of the entire defense. Williams a player is well into his 30s, 34 to be exact, is coming off a serious injury,.

This will make watching his reps, which will likely be kept down to around 20 reps per game. Whether Williams will emerge in Probowl form or not is one of the biggest questions to be answered heading into training camp, as even his reps then will be closely monitored.

Williams has a lot of miles, the tackle has seen significant starting experience, as a matter of fact he is the only true starter at this point on the defensive line.

Not to take anything away from all the beef that the Broncos added, considering that if most any Defensive tackle in the league played behind Sam Adams and the Ravens very own, Haloti NgatainI they'd probably be back ups to.

6-2 314 Ronald Fields quick player off the ball, he played well last season exclusively as a NT/NG and considering this is the last year of his contract he looks to more than likely pick up where he left off last season. He'll be an excellent back up for Williams.

Jarvis Green 6-3 285 may end up starting at right defensive end, but his reps will too have to be closely monitored, considering he will still have to maintain his career role of being an intregal component of thrid down passing situations for the defense.

Green, a former Patriot, has played in more games over the last eight years than any other DE in the league as a 3rd down specialist. Don't be surprised if he starts.

Ryan McBean at 6'5 297 pounds was picked up from off waivers in 2008 from Pittsburgh Steelers #1 defense.

After 3 years in the league, McBean is still raw, sound technique happens to be something he is still struggling with. He is a high impact special teams player, who is being counted for his athleticism to really step it up this season at the defensive end position.

Marcus Thomas at 6'3 316 pounds is another player looking to make some waves of his own, with his size, athleticism and speed but at the Left defensive end position. He was the 4th round pick of the 2007 draft, he too will be a free agent next season if...

He is a former interior lineman, who has slimmed down in order to take use his abilities such as his quick burst off the line, and bending and collapsing the pocket, this can all act as a tremendous asset to the Broncos at the exterior left defensive end position of the 3-4.

His weight was jacked up to 340 pounds while he was recovering from his shoulder surgery. The question as to whether or not Thomas will be effective in his new exterior role at LDE is another question that will have to be determined as well this training camp.

It really would not hurt the Broncos one bit if they were forced to use Thomas as a back up at NT either, but his presence at LDE could really help spell Justin Bannen who will more than likely be the starter at LDE. Thomas happens to also be a huge asset to the special teams as well; he blocked his first extra point in 2009.

6-3 310 Justin Bannan was a back up for Sam Adams and the Ravens very own, Haloti Ngatain. He possess the versatility and experience to play behind the entire line. When Ravens NT Ngata got hurt, Bannan started the last 15 games.

Now this brings us to another big question and a very fundamental point regarding the rotation strategy the Broncos will employ this season, considering we are looking at an entirely new starting defensive line.

Last season the overwhelming amount of the substitutions where platoon style, rather than an individual position being replaced at the line here and there. Will that be the case this season?

The Broncos certainly have the personnel now, to be as unpredictable as possible, the last thing you want is for Williams to be out there while an opponent decides to go no huddle on you.

One can’t help but wonder, how often will we see the 3-3-5 and 4-2-5 being employed against the pass happy league this season? I expect McDaniels to bring different looks and position switches.

The athleticism size and speed possessed by the diverse personnel on the line allows him so many options that it is mind numbing to even contemplate, and you can bet the 'Wiz Kid' is getting off on it, the question going into Training Camp is will Broncos fan get off on it as well?

Defensive line ought to look something like this once the depth chart is complete, but hey check it out another question.

Green Williams Bannan
McBean Fields Thomas

Players looking to make the roster...

Chris Baker 6'2 329 looks to have the best shot, that is if McDaniels goes with 7 players this season. Jeff Stehle, 6'6 310 and Ben Garland 6'5 275 could wind up being camp fodder.

Le Kevin Smith at 6'3 308 pounds is a former Patriot defensive lineman. He was acquired in a trade last season for a 5th round pick.

The young player is currently struggling with a knee issues, his surgery may force him to be on the pup list so he could possibly contribute later in the season if all goes well with his knee. Smith is yet another question that could be answered in training camp.

All in all the revamped defensive line poses yet another question this training camp, will the weakest unit on the team last season, turn out to be one of the best in 2010?

Two Rookies Starting on the Offensive Line?

Broncos offensive line switched from a zone blocking scheme to a power scheme last season to suit the style of play of rookie head coach Josh McDaniels.

The zone blocking line that only allowed 11 sacks in 2008, gave up 29 last season during the transition phase.

In order to insure some semblance of continuity with the overhaul of the offensive line, Broncos broke out their wallets...

With $13 million guaranteed, Broncos reached a deal with offensive guard Chris Kuper, the 300 pound 27 year old was just signed to a 6 year contract worth 28 Million Dollars.

“The fact that the Broncos are putting this much trust in me is an incredible feeling,” said Kuper “It is a dream come true. I’d like to thank Mr. Bowlen, Coach McDaniels and Brian Xanders for getting this deal done.”

While the need for continuity has been addressed, The offensive line was still overhauled a bit during the offseason personnel wise. The smaller more mobile players such as Veterans Ben Hamilton and Casey Wiegmann who where the weak links on the offensive line were jettisoned for bigger and younger players who fit better in McDaniels power system.

The Interior of the line has two powerful new Rookie additions.

J.D. Walton was one of, if not the best, centers in college last season.

The Broncos 2010 third round pick, J.D. Walton, the 6'3 305 pound center from Baylor, has been taking first team reps in minicamp in his attempt to replace 6'2 285 pound 36 year old veteran center Casey Weigmann.

"[J.D. Walton is] kind of a nasty guy, not personally, but on the football field, which is kind of a good attitude to have for an interior lineman," McDaniels said.

"We're mean guys, so you've just got to take pride in that and just have fun with it," Walton said.

Despite losing some veterans, McDaniels has managed to keep the competitive edge to the grindstone with this offensive line, especially the interior. Nothing is a given and the players know it.

"I've got to earn that position, you know. Ain't nothing given to you. So I've got to come out here and learn this offense as quick as I can and bust my butt," Walton said. "It's a detailed offense and it's going to take time to learn it."

Broncos in the 2009 draft selected 6-5 308 pound Guard Seth Olson in the fourth round, he is not only mean but versatile as well, insuring solid depth for the offensive line.

"When we're on the field it's all business and hard work and we're tough guys and we'll mush a couple faces in the dirt," rookie guard Seth Olsen said. "But when we're off the field we've got to be together. That's just how we have to play, we have to play as a unit."

"I played guard for three years in college, I played center this past year, so I'm pretty comfortable all over in the middle," Olsen said. "If they wanted me to play tackle I'd be comfortable with that too … it's all on Coach McDaniels."

The Broncos managed to land another beast of a man in one Zane Beadles, a vocal leader from Utah with the second round selection.

The left guard spot will likely be manned by Denver's third pick of the 2010 draft. The 6-4, 310 offensive tackle, who started at left tackle in his last three years after moving from the guard position, Beadles has recently been seen taking reps with the first team at left guard.

Beadles is regarded as one of the elite offensive tackles in college football. His experience at tackle ought to give the Broncos more depth at the line, and that’s a bonus with the rookie especially with both tackles recovering from injuries.

Beadles had been working at right tackle before Ryan Harris came back on a limited basis at right tackle during mini camp. This caused Seth Olsen to be relocated to the second-team offense at guard.

Whether Beadles or Walton sticks it out at guard or center is dependent on how the competition between them and 6'4 305 pound C/G veteran Russ Hochstein works out.

Beadles has a knack for clearing throwing lanes for the quarterback by his ability to manhandle defenders. The man is a beast, and McDaniels has not ruled out any notion of playing him at tackle.

"He's shown the ability to handle and process the different information on both sides, one time inside, one time outside," McDaniels said. "At some point we'll make a determination of where he has to stay in training camp."

Beadles had been working at right tackle before Ryan Harris came back on a limited basis at right tackle during mini camp. This caused Seth Olsen to be relocated to the second-team offense at guard.

Whether Beadles or Walton sticks it out at guard or center is dependant on how the competition between them and 6'4 305 pound C/G veteran Russ Hochstein works out.

Hotchstein went on injured reserve late last season to have surgery on his left knee. he had a torn ACL.

"We expect and hope for everybody to be back by August," coach Josh McDaniels said. "Whether or not a guy is ready to participate fully by then, we'll have to wait and see."

Russ Hochstein is back, but in a limited fashion at the moment. This could actually be great news for the rookie to get in on some solid reps with the first team.

Now this brings us to the questions with the exterior of the line.

Broncos right tackle Ryan Harris and left tackle Ryan Clady make up what is considered to be the best bookend tackles tandems in the entire league.

"We expect and hope for everybody to be back by August," coach Josh McDaniels said. "Whether or not a guy is ready to participate fully by then, we'll have to wait and see."

Harris could eventually wind up playing a huge role for the Bronco's in the future, that is if Tebow winds up being the franchise quarterback. Considering Tebow is a lefty, Harris will be the one protecting his blindside.

Definitely good to hear. Harris eventually could be the more important of the Ryans cause if Tebow takes over in the future, Harris will wind up being the blindside protector.

To show just how much the Broncos missed Harris last season, the 6-0 streak ended when he was injured early in game 7 against the Ravens.

Harris went down with a big toe injury. He returned 5 weeks later, but reinjured it, and after exrays it was revealed that he had fractured his right big toe. It required surgery so that was that for the Harris and the Bronco's who wound up finishing 8-8 last season.

Harris returned for the final two weeks of minicamp, so that was great news for the Broncos...

Ryan Clady was 12th pick of the 2008 draft.

Considered the best pass-blocking tackle in the game, Broncos left tackle Ryan Clady had surgery to repair a partially torn patellar tendon in his left knee, he tore it while playing basketball two months ago.

Since he only partially tore his tendon, word is he could be ready to start this season come game one, this is definitely a huge question mark going into week one.

The Denver Broncos select Notre Dame center Eric Olsen in the 6th round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He had the 5th best bench press reps at the combine.

He was a guard from 2007 to 2008. Olsen was the center 2009.

6-foot-4 306 pound Olsen is an intelligent player who is familiar with the system McDaniels plays, having played in Charlie Weis’ offense at Notre Dame.

Charlie Weis called Olsen the line's "heart and soul."

Olsen has a reputation for possessing a nasty mean streak and he is highly underrated at both guard and center positions.

During his junior and senior years combined, he only allowed four quarterbacks sacks. That is one sack in 450 pass attempts!

He has a phenomenal combine numbers, and he is a dark horse to make the team.

Olsen could be competing with C/G Dustin Fry 6'3 326 pounds as well for a roster spot.

Back up tackle Polumbus played over half the season for injured starter Ryan Harris looks to be a lock to make the team. Broncos have devoted a lot of attention to the offensive line the past few seasons, and when they come together as a healthy unit they ought to emerge as one of the best in the league, question remains however when is this going to happen?

Who's Going To Be The No. 1 WR Now That Brandon Marshall is Gone?

Eddie Royal put on a clinic for a sophomore slump with 346 yards and zero touchdowns last season. This after the second round draft pick from Virginia Tech had a sensational rookie season the year before with over 1000 offensive yards and 5 TD's.

Royal seemed to struggled with grasping the offensive scheme that rookie head coach, Josh McDaniels, brought to the table.

“I don’t know, it’s tough to say,” Royal said about his quiet 2009 season. “It was everybody’s first year in the offense everybody was adjusting.”

"I think he's a smart player, a versatile player (and) a guy that we need to do better with," McDaniels said. "We didn't do a good enough job of getting Eddie involved in the offense in certain games and we have to do a better job of that. He is certainly capable."

“I think a lot of the guys are understanding the system and terminology, they have less questions than they had a year ago,” McDaniels said.

Orton said, "I just think a lot of it was I was new to him, he was new to me and we just kind of ... we missed some plays." Orton predicted Royal was "going to have a great year this year."

Well Orton seems to be convinced, maybe Royal can convince the rest of us as to whether or not he can fill the tremendous void left by the absence of Brandon Marshall.

The Broncos did not leave Eddie Royal stranded out in left field to fill the void left by Marshall. With the 22nd pick of the draft, the Broncos traded up to pick up Demaryius Thomas. He had posted career highs in 46 receptions, for 1,154 yards, and eight touchdowns.

Demaryius Thomas, the 6-foot-3 229 pound WR, has a strong stiff arm that makes him hard for a cornerback to bring him down. The unique combination of size, body control, and speed has scouts hopeful of Thomas being able to make a smooth transition to the NFL.

Thomas broke the school and ACC record, and his 25.1 yards per reception was second in the nation.

"He's [Thomas] doing great," said McDaniels. "In terms of trying to get better at the things that he has struggled with or made an error with - he has really worked hard to try to fix those.

"He's had a great attitude and approach. He hasn't made the same error a lot. You know, he's dropped a couple balls - I think that everyone has seen this guy make tremendous catches and then there's been some other ones that he's dropped.

"I think that comes with playing and knocking off some of the rust and you know, it's only his fourth or fifth practice where he's been out there against NFL caliber defensive backs. Like I said, he'll only get better every day and today was better than yesterday."

With Brandon Marshall gone, there is a lot of expectations for the Broncos No. 1 pick in the draft to step up to being the No. 1 receiver, especially considering how bad of a performance Eddie Royal put on last season in his sophomore slump.

"I hope we have a lot of guys that become our No. 1 receiver at different times," McDaniels said. "We're not looking for it to be predictable or throw it to only one or two players."

If Thomas can step up to the No.1 WR position, it would dramatically impact his value at the 22nd selection in the first round.

Eric Decker is Minnesota's all-time leader in receptions.

"I think he's the best wide receiver in college football, period," said Tim Brewster, Minnesota head coach.

Decker's college career came to a premature end with a Lisfranc foot injury last season. This allowed him to be a steal in this year’s draft.

Decker only dropped three balls his whole college career. One can't help but wonder if Decker could wind up being the next Eddie McCaffrey.

“I enjoy (film study) a lot,” Decker said. “I think over the last couple years I’ve had a great relationship with my quarterback. So I went into a lot of meetings with him and our offensive coordinator.

"I got to understand the philosophy of our offense and understand how to read coverage’s and how to make adjustments when you see certain things. I really enjoy it because it gives you an advantage.”

Decker, having played Division I, shared his views with how his skill set in baseball translates over to football.

“The biggest thing for me was the mental aspect. Baseball being kind of that roller coaster, when you fail seven out of 10 times, you’re still a Hall of Famer.

“A lot of it is understanding how to control your emotions and being consistent with that. And also I think the physical attributes, the hand-eye coordination at the plate, centerfield, tracking the ball over the shoulder and tracking the ball in the gaps.”

“I wake up and I love football,” Decker told Buffalobills.com. “I’m fortunate to say that when I wake up I love what I do, and that’s play football, preparing for football. I’ll get my opportunity this fall and I’m excited about it.”

With all the competition brewing in mini camp, what will former Patriots receiver, Jabar Gaffneys role be?

"Obviously [Brandon] Lloyd has done very well in the spring. He hasn't been out here the last couple of days but he's done well." Said McDaniels "[Kenny] McKinley, [Matthew] Willis - they've certainly done a lot of good things. I think everybody saw Matt make a really nice play at the end of practice and that has been coming. I think Eddie, his role, in terms of playing in the slot is now, I would say, significant and he has a smile on his face and he knows what he's doing and he feels great about being in there. I think everybody has a good feeling about that. And then, we have some younger players and they're really trying to integrate in there but those guys have all really performed at a higher level than they did last year. Some at a different position, some not. I think the biggest key for us is how it's going to sort out in training camp because you can't keep eight receivers on your roster - we all know that. Some of them had good springs last year and they've got to take that performance and really show it in training camp and throughout the preseason when they have the opportunities but each one of them has really stood out and we're expecting it to be really competitive in training camp because it's been that way all spring."

Can Special Teams be Really Special This Season?

WR Eddie Royal became only the 11th player in NFL history (second Bronco) to score a touchdown on a kickoff and punt return in the same game at San Diego on Oct. 19.

Royal is the ninth player in team history to post at least 1,000 combined yards in each of his first two pro seasons (team-high 1,302 yards in 2009).

Royal is one of two players in the NFL (Chargers RB Darren Sproles) to total at least 1,400 yards from scrimmage (1,435) and 1,400 kick return yards (1,696) since 2008.

The question remains, will the attempt to replace Eddie Royal on Special teams be successful?

The Broncos, with the 137th selection, made Cox the first defensive selection with the 2010 draft.

With the fifth round pick of the 2010 draft, the Broncos managed to snatch what could indeed wind up being the biggest steal in the draft. Oklahoma State Cowboy Perrish Cox is a cornerback and a return specialist on special teams.

The explosive field speed possessed by Perrish Cox makes him even more dangerous, when rather than going out of bounds, he will attempt to break tackles and get that extra inch. This is what allowed him to finished with the third-most kickoff return yards (2,804) in NCAA history.

The All-America scored six return touchdowns on four kickoffs and two punts.

"That's the main goal," Cox said with a smile. "I'm always looking for that end zone."

Cox as of minicamp has yet to lock down the return specialist position. It appears he may be having a rough time adjusting to the Mile High altitude.

“There are a lot of days left for him to improve in that regard before we would stick him out there and trust him with the football at this point," said McDaniels. "But he really works hard every day after practice catching the ball and really has improved since he got here.”

Since signing punter Mitch Berger on Oct. 26, the Broncos’ net punting average had the fourth-most improvement (+3.4 yds. / 34.5 to 37.9) in the NFL. He is gone...

Britton Colquitt beat out A.J. Trapasso for the starting job.

Denver Broncos kicker Matt Prater, was an exclusive rights free agent during the offseason, he has agreed to a new contract.

Prater booted 7 of 9 field goals and all five of his extra points to earn American Football Conference special-teams player of the month last season.

Broncos kicker Matt Prater had his best season as a pro in 2009, in 2008 prater kicked a 68 yard field goal in training camp. Prater has a strong leg.

Prater ended the season with a field goal in nine consecutive games to set a career high, and made 19 of his final 20 attempts. Prater tied for third in the league for the season, and in Broncos annals with 30 field goals while tying for second in the NFL in touchbacks on kickoffs (28).

Special teams will definitely be something to keep an eye on in Training Camp, as McDaniels looks to polish this unit for a spectacular season. The only question that remains for Broncos fan is how spectacular can it be?