Looming Question Mark Remains Behind Center For Broncos

The Denver Broncos dominated headlines across the country this off season after a personnel overhaul, clearly communicating that 8-8 was not good enough for an organization that has long since fallen since the glory days of John Elway.

The Broncos had many glaring holes facing the team this off season with the biggest being a porous defense that was consistently ranked near the bottom of every major statistical category.

The defense forced a league low 13 turnovers, but give credit to the Broncos front office for addressing these issues in a big way during the off season. The Broncos acquired some key defense pieces and none was bigger than the acquisition of pro bowl safety Brian Dawkins. Dawkins is renowned around the NFL for his knack to make the big play and the hard-hitting free safety has proven that over a stellar 13-year career in which he has registered 34 interceptions.

The NFL veteran’s age (35) was an obvious concern for the team as the Broncos drafted free safety David Bruton out of Notre Dame with the 112th overall pick. Bruton is a rangy defender listed 6’2 and will bring uncanny athleticism to the Denversecondary. Bruton impressed at the NFL combine posting cornerback like numbers with a 4.46 40-yard-dash time and a 41.5-inch vertical leap, tops among safeties at the combine.

The former Irish captain accounted for six takeaways during his senior season and look for him to lock up the number two spot behind Dawkins and contribute immediately on special teams.

The Broncos added solid depth in the secondary and the defensive unit as a whole should improve dramatically. Look for the defense to anchor a struggling Bronco team.

Although the Broncos upgraded the defensive unit considerably in the off season, they shipped the team’s biggest asset in quarterback Jay Cutler to Chicago in return for Kyle Orton and now the most important position on the field is the biggest question mark facing the team heading into training camp.

The position was locked up by Cutler last season who earned his first pro bowl appearance, but now the spot behind center is up for grabs between Orton and Chris Simms. The intriguing position battle should own headlines in camp and don’t be surprised to see Simms push Orton through the pre-season. Orton will ultimately man the position because of most recent experience; Orton appeared in 15 games racking up 465 pass attempts, while Simms appeared in just one game with only two pass attempts in 2008.

The Bronco organization’s search for the heir to Elway will continue past this season as neither Orton nor Simms are the answer to the Broncos offensive woes. If the Broncos expect to compete in the AFC West they much rely on a much-improved defensive group and not on the arm of Orton or Simms.