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.
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.
It happens every year at training camp, yet every year seems worse than the ones that preceded it: players get injured, sometimes seriously, and an offseason worth of plans suddenly become meaningless.
And on Sunday, the Ravens' No. 2 wideout, Mark Clayton, strained a hamstring that will keep him out 2-3 preseason games. Compared to Bradley or Douglas, that's good news, but Baltimore also doesn't have much depth at receiver. More than that, quarterback Joe Flacco is just in his second season. Spreading the offensive burden seems like the best strategy to build on the success he had last year, but that becomes problematic if Flacco doesn't have anybody to throw to. Or maybe it doesn't.
WithFantasy Footballseason ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.
Meet the ... Perennial sleepers. It seems like almost every season, people are discussing the fact that the 49ers are ready to break out and surprise people and win the NFC West. And then, almost every season, they suck. They might not be great this year either. Mike Singletary brings a more disciplined approach than even Mike Nolan, but you can't possibly expect Shaun Hill or Alex Smith to lead a team to the playoffs. Or can you? Well, actually, for fantasy purposes, who cares? There's going to be a lot of running and a lot of surprises on defense in San Fran this year, and that's going to be where you pick up the value.
In 2005, the 49ers were stuck with the No. 1 pick in the April draft and no one worthy of the selection. Then-head coach Mike Nolan hitched his wagon to Alex Smith, and three-plus seasons and 18 wins later, Nolan was out of work and Smith's NFL future was in doubt.
Mike Singletary is now running the show. After a strong finish to the 2008 season (5-2 after Week 10), the club could again be in the quarterback business if either Smith or Shaun Hill don't work out in 2009.
The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat's Matt Maiocco writes that the 49ers, who sent a '09 second-rounder to Carolina for the Panthers' 2010 first-round pick, could be perfectly positioned to get their choice of quarterbacks in a QB-heavy 2010 draft, should they decide to do so.
With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.
From Mike Shanahan's firing to the Jay Cutler trade, the Broncos are almost unrecognizable from the team that finished last season. After three playoff-less seasons, that may not be a bad thing.
The upheaval does make it difficult to predict where they'll look on draft day, however. A new coach and general manager running their first draft don't have a track record to use as a guide, which should make the Broncos a team to watch on April 25.
I mention this to reinforce the importance of the No. 1 pick; get it right and the Lions could emerge from Matt Millen's reign of terror faster than anybody imagined; get it wrong and Detroit's future will look a lot like its recent past.
The hardest thing to figure out about the Broncos' decision to trade Jay Cutler was determining fair value for a soon-to-be 26-year-old quarterback who has established himself as a starter in the NFL. Those deals don't happen often enough to provide a gauge for what's a good return. Making matters more difficult was the public nature of the trade talks, which seemed to back the Broncos into a corner.
Four years ago this April, Aaron Rodgers spent nearly six hours inside Radio City Musical Hall waiting to hear Paul Tagliabue call his name. The former Cal star was considered one of the two best quarterbacks of the 2005 draft -- Utah's Alex Smith was the other -- but the pre-draft speculation had him going anywhere from first-overall to the bottom third of the first round.
The latter turned out to be the case -- the 49ers and first-year head coach Mike Nolan, with the top pick, tied their future to Alex Smith (the decision would inevitably cost Nolan his job) -- and history could repeat itself next month.
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.
After the uneventful tenure of head coach Mike Nolan, the San Francisco 49ers decided to promote Mike Singletary to interim head coach during the 2008 season.
After a bizarre debut that saw Singletary address his team without pants, the 49ers finished the season on a 5-4 run under their new coach, ending the year with a 7-9 record. Had it not been for a confusing ending to a Monday night game against Arizona, the 49ers would have finished with a .500 record for the first time since 2002. So close, yet so far.
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. 
It didn't take a miracle this week, but the 
It happens every year at training camp, yet every year seems worse than the ones that preceded it: players get injured, sometimes seriously, and an offseason worth of plans suddenly become meaningless. 
With
In 2005, the 49ers were stuck with the No. 1 pick in the April draft and no one worthy of the selection. Then-head coach 
With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call 
In less than two weeks, the Detroit Lions will have the first overall selection in the NFL Draft. Depending on who's telling the story, 
The hardest thing to figure out about the Broncos' decision to trade 
Four years ago this April, 
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 
