Ron_Codpiece
Starter
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Mile High Magazine, where we talk all things Broncos in The Deuce. With preseason winding to a close, your Broncos have finished with a 3-1 record. After an embarrassing week one effort, the Broncos finished strong with three straight wins to close out the preseason. Strong defense and efficient passing were the keys to the wins. Those elements will need to continue as Denver has a very tough schedule.
Preseason Roster Moves:
Outside of making owners more money, the preseason is of course where the 32 front offices fine tune their roster and get their 53 man squad set for the regular season. The Broncos said goodbye to a lot of fan favorites, and welcomed some new players they hope can shore up some weaknesses the preseason might have exposed.
QB Logan Thomas
The Broncos quickly realized that 2nd year player Trevor Siemien was not going to work out as the teams backup QB. The plan all along has been to throw rookie Paxton Lynch to the wolves and let him take his rookie lumps, but there needed to be an acceptable backup in case something bad happened. Enter Logan Thomas, the former fourth round pick from Virginia Tech. Regarded as "the next Cam Newton", Thomas has never lived up to that hype. He does, however, possess a rare set of skills at the QB position. He has immense size, good speed,and a powerful arm. He slides right into the #2 QB spot, with Mark "Butt Fumble" Sanchez bringing up the rear, pun fully intended. "To be honest, if the penalties weren't so high, we'd cut Mark" head coach Gary Kubiak said. Ouch.
RG Ryan Wendell
Don't be fooled by the creepy porn stache, Wendell is a capable player. Spoiler alert: The Broncos offensive line is young. Which is a nice way of saying it stinks. It's going to take years of development and roster moves to make it serviceable. Signing him in week three of the preseason was a step in the right direction.
MLB Deion Jones
Denver got a big injury blow in the third preseason game as second year player Shaq Barrett went down with an injury and has been placed on season-ending IR. The Broncos were desperate to fill a spot at LB, and found what they think is an absolute gem off of a practice squad. Enter Deion Jones, the Falcons 2nd round pick from this years draft. They cut him, the Saints signed him and placed him on their practice squad, Denver picked him up. He has top tier speed at the LB position, and even as a rookie already has top notch cover skills. With work on his awareness, play recognition, and block shedding, the coaching staff thinks he can be yet another young freakish good athletic LB for the team.
Projected Week One Depth Chart:
Offense:
QB - Paxton Lynch 74 OVR
RB - CJ Anderson 84 OVR
WR - Demaryius "Optimus Prime" Thomas 88 OVR
WR - "He Man-uel" Sanders 87 OVR
WR - Cody Latimer 68 OVR
TE - Virgil Green 82 OVR
LT - Russell Okung 80 OVR
LG - Max Garcia 73 OVR
C - Matt Paradis 74 OVR
RG - Ryan Wendell 77 OVR
RT - Connor McGovern 69 OVR
Lynch won the starting job with ease in preseason, though it might have had more to do with the other options being Siemien or Butt Fumble than his actual play. Rookie Devontae Booker beat out Ronald Hillman for the #2 HB spot. Cody Latimer will finally get a chance to show whether he was worth a 2nd round pick as he starts the season as the #3 WR. The line is a mess of young, raw players and older veterans. The front office is just hoping they can play decent enough.
Defense:
LE - Von Miller 99 OVR
DT - Derek "Meth" Wolfe 87 OVR
DT - Sylvester Williams 77 OVR
RE - DeMarcus Ware - 87 OVR
LOLB - Deion Jones 76 OVR
MLB - Brandon Marshall 90 OVR
ROLB - Shane Ray 76 OVR
CB - Chris Harris Jr 93 OVR
CB - Aquib Talib 89 OVR
FS - Darian Stewart 87 OVR
SS - TJ Ward 85 OVR
The Broncos will mix in some 4-3 with their usual 3-4 scheme. Lots of players will shuffle in and out of the front seven. The secondary is loaded with Harris, Talib, Roby, Webster, Stewart, and Ward. Two young safeties in Ryan Murphy and Justin Simmons should contribute as well.
Special Teams:
K - Brandon Mcm Anus 79 OVR
P - Riley Dixon 68 OVR
Broncos fans went crazy with celebration this preseason when Denver cut overpaid and long under-performing P Britton Colquitt. They will rely on rookie Riley Dixon. We'll see how it turns out. The team will be punting a lot.
The team opens up welcoming the vaunted Carolina Panthers to town in week one of the season where two highly talented defenses will try to outdo one another. Tune in later in the week for issue two of your Mile High Magazine.