FanHouse KyleOrton

In the six months leading up to the 2009 season, the Broncos traded franchise quarterback Jay Cutler, refused to do the same for wideout Brandon Marshall (who subsequently sulked, half-assing his way through the offseason and training camp), and then-32-year-old head coach Josh McDaniels seemed so far out of his element that I wasn't sure he'd make it to Thanksgiving.

At the time, I figured a six-win effort would be a moral victory for the organization, and if nothing else, McDaniels would learn a valuable lesson about managing a group of 20-something millionaires.

When Broncos owner Pat Bowlen hired Josh McDaniels, expectations for the organization were about as high as they have been in recent years. It only took a few months for McDaniels to burn through a season's worth of goodwill, and between the Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall soap operas, fans and media were preparing for the worst when Week 1 rolled around.

Yet here we are, five weeks and five wins later. The Broncos are one of the best teams in the league and McDaniels, who looked like an overmatched, overwhelmed junior high schooler earlier this summer, suddenly is the boy genius everybody figured on when he arrived in Denver after spending most of this decade working for Bill Belichick.

Move over, Jaws. There's a new breakdown team in town. YouTube Film Session features the finest in amateur film parsing this side of the internet. Mindful of both X's and O's, and Jimmies and Joes.

Brandon Marshall's 51-yard touchdown grab was filthy. That's why you've seen it a million times between SportsCenter, NFL Live and the 17 blogs in your bookmark bar.

But after the jump, Back Porch goes inside the play that had Chris Berman howling, "Whaaaat? Whaaat?"

It's another session of "Sink or Swim" Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekly look at the underachievers still lurking on many fantasy rosters. You've got the tough choices to make and we help you decide which direction to take. Do you cut the bait or give 'em one more chance to swim?

We are only two weeks into the season, so this is not the time to let your preconceived notions -- or preseason hype -- cloud your train of thought. This is the time to make clear and concise decisions about the future of your team. First and foremost, you never cut your stars. But if somebody that kinda-sorta-marginal-to-decent guy ain't performing up to par, don't think twice before cutting him.

When Jay Cutler was traded to Chicago, there was an instant line drawn in the proverbial sand. Everyone from professional sports writers to the most casual of fans had opinions. Those who wanted to argue it was a bad move for the Bears had several points. Some of them were valid, but one of them in particular always drove me bonkers.

"Who is he going to throw to?" "He's going to hate life without Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal." Etc.

Sunday Evening Wrap checks out players who increased or decreased their value during the Sunday afternoon games.

Top Faller: Greg Jennings had 80 catches for 1,292 yards last season. His worst game in terms of catches was two. His worst game in terms of yardage was 22. In 2009, he caught six balls for 106 yards in his one game before Sunday. Obviously, at home against the Bengals seemed to bode well for the fourth year wideout. The result was a goose-egg of a game from a player who is a WR1 on fantasy rosters in every single league out there. Keep in mind, angry owners, this isn't going to happen again this year. The Packers play the Rams next week, so there's no reason to get down on him now. He'll
be fine.

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It didn't take a miracle this week, but the Broncos won all the same.

The Broncos moved to 2-0 with a 27-6 victory against the hapless Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon, and they did it behind a defense that continues to bear no resemblance to the ones that made Mile High Stadium a fairly innocuous place to visit over the last two seasons. Elvis Dumervil's four sacks of Brady Quinn led the effort, and his strip of Quinn on the first Browns drive of the second half helped a 10-6 game become a rout.

The Browns converted just 3 of 14 third downs, gained only 200 yards overall and, generally, looked like they had no answer to the newly-frisky Broncos 3-4 scheme.

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Week 1 of the NFL season featured some gut-wrenching losses and improbable finishes across the league. Take, for example, the Kyle Orton-to-Brandon Stokley 87-yard pass in the closing seconds of Denver's 12-7 win in Cincinnati. If that play had happened in a playoff game it would already have a fancy nickname and be talked about as one of the great fluke plays in the history of the NFL (which it most certainly is).

If that wasn't enough, Buffalo, yet again, was on the receiving end of a heart-breaking loss when it snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, surrendering an 11-point lead with five minutes to play thanks in large part to Leodis McKelvin's fumble with just over two-minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

(And that doesn't even include Hines Ward fumbling at the two-yard line during the season-opener on Thursday night, only to have the Steelers rebound and win in overtime.)

It was enough to make us look back at a few other mind-blowing finishes in recent sports history. These plays are great ... unless you happen to be a fan of one of the teams that blows it late.

Each Monday morning of the fantasy football season, we'll cut through the fantasy numbers put up by individuals and tell you what they really mean.

You know what Kyle Orton's line should have been? 16 of 28 with 156 yards and no touchdowns. He would have had a few more passing attempts before losing the game, which likely would have made him 16 of 30 or 17 of 31 or so. Instead, he was the beneficiary of the most insane amount of luck we've ever seen on one play in fantasy football. He forces a throw to Brandon Marshall in double-coverage, badly under-throws him and the Bengals tip the ball up in the air. The rest is history. And Kyle Orton had a decent fantasy day.

But don't be fooled.

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Give Josh McDaniels this much: He's willing to make an impression. Before he's even coached so much as one regular season game, he's assured that he will either be remembered as a bold, brilliant leader who won because he had the courage of his convictions, or as an abject failure whose hiring set the franchise back by years because he had the courage of his convictions. Some of that has to do with Jay Cutler's career trajectory, but McDaniels needs to win and he needs to win quickly.