Bleacher Report - Articles by Ben Hundley

Blunder a "Mile High": Denver Broncos Name Josh McDaniels New Head Coach

Ben Hundley — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:10:44 -0500

As reported by Chris Mortensen early this morning, the Denver Broncos will be holding a press conference later today to announce the hiring of Josh McDaniels as the new head coach of the team.

This hiring was unbeknownst to Leslie Frazier, Defensive Coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, who was considered to be in contention with McDaniels for the job. Frazier was quoted as saying,

"It would mean a lot to have that opportunity," he said. "I'm not going to lose any sleep. It would be a great opportunity..."

Along with the announcement of McDaniels hiring, is that he will be bringing either Patriot’s Defensive Back coach Dom Capers or former 49ers coach Mike Nolan in as the new Defensive Coordinator.

Many Broncos’ fans (including myself) are disappointed to say the least from this hiring, many of whom wished to have a defensive-minded head coach hired.

I, for one, give it up to Pat Bowlen, who kept his franchise safe from the “racism blame game” by keeping Frazier as a candidate until the end...Too bad he failed to mention to Frazier that he was no longer in contention for the job so he woke this morning to 80 messages on his answering machine about how he feels about being out of the only head-coaching job in which he would inherit a team with a chance of winning (he is favored in the St. Louis Rams & Detroit Lions coaching vacancies...)

I know I’d be excited about inheriting an 0-16 franchise, after all there’s no expectations because your team is as bad as it gets. The players went from playoff contention to stealing their grandma’s pension. But hey, let's not play the race card in this hiring, after all, McDaniels is “hip and young.”

Dre Bly is one who is excited about McDaniels coming to town, as he stated earlier,

"That's enthusiasm, man," he said "Coach Shanahan had a lot of respect. Guys looked up to him and had a good relationship. But with a guy like him [McDaniels], it's like with [Broncos assistant] Jeremy Bates -- exciting, enthusiasm. It's like what Mike Tomlin brings to Pittsburgh. He brings excitement to that team. It's good for our team. And I hope we respond to him."

Well Bly for someone who gave less than 100 percent this year and got torched just about every play, I’m glad you like your coach. Hopefully you get released, re-signed to the Lions, and you can go hang out with Frazier who will make you ride the bench for saying that McDaniels was the right one for the Denver job.

But in the end, maybe McDaniels can bring in the influence that Mike Tomlin has brought to the Steelers, relating to the players on a more personal level. We can only hope that no matter who the coach is, our playoff drought comes to an end.

P.S. I was one of the few fans who Wanted Shanahan Fired.

BCS Championship Game: Florida Gators vs. Oklahoma Sooners—First Half Analysis

Ben Hundley — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:34:47 -0500

After a slow start by both of these high powered offense, a few things have stood out during the first 30min.

1. OU Running Game

The Oklahoma Sooners have managed to break multiple long range runs with Chris Brown. For all the criticism of his inability to be a play-making back, he has done a great job of carrying the rock this half.

2. Jacked Up

Secondly is Florida's Defense on the pass. Although Bradford has done well completing 17 of 23, their defensive backs have done a TREMENDOUS job of putting the fear into these OU receivers. Multiple big hits have been delivered by both sides but Florida is letting the Sooner WR's know that this game won't be a hail Mary day.

3. OU Defense

For the supposedly questionable OU Defense, they have shut down Tebow & the Florida run game as a whole. The only long gain came off of a Percy Harvin run from deep inside Florida's own territory. The Defensive line has pressured Tebow a few times and the zone blitz has done a very good job of confusing Tebow, as he has thrown as many TD's in this first half as he did all season (two Ints).

4. What's with the Penalties?

Even though OU has been penalized more then most teams if not all this year, they had quite a few major penalties, as well as Florida.

5. Florida's Red Zone Defense

This first half has been extremely close but had the Florida D not stepped up this game could easily be 21-7 right now with all the momentum of the shoulders of Bradford & the Sooners.

Who Should The Broncos Pursue This Offseason?

Ben Hundley — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:38:08 -0500

This year the Defensive side of the ball has hit a new low compared to recent years and has more holes then almost every team (excluding the Detroit Lions of course.) This year the Free Agent pool on the defensive side of the ball is above average and has multiple promising players. The draft could easily help bolster the D and set up the team for a great defense within a few years. This is a short list I have compiled of players who would benefit and enhance "Enver's Efense" because we all know they had NO "D" this year.

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