The secret life of Josh McDaniels
Josh McDaniels
But the statement I heard the most?
“We traded our best player for Kyle Orton, Robert Ayers and Alphonso Smith? Josh McDaniels is an idiot.”
It hasn’t been an uncommon sentiment around the area. But I was immediately reminded of another quote:
“I’m not looking for the best players. . . . I’m looking for the right ones.”
While Herb Brooks may not have been a football coach, he did navigate the greatest underdog story in the history of sports when he led the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to a gold medal, and his message transcends the ice rink. It’s a quote that might be worth remembering. After all, the Broncos will find themselves playing the underdog for most of 2009.
Jay Cutler and Dre Bly may be considered some of the best players by guys in a sports bar, but after dropping a three-game lead and missing the playoffs again, they certainly weren’t the right players.
Of course, Ayers and Smith haven’t proved anything yet. Neither has played a down in the NFL, and neither has earned a starting spot in May. Ayers is a tweener who may not find a comfortable fit in the new 3-4 scheme until midseason. Smith is an undersized corner who ran a slower-than-expected time in the all-important, yet completely overrated, 40-yard dash. But before we condemn them for what they are, why not praise them for what they’re not.
Neither scuttled from the NFL combine prematurely without working out or even giving a heads-up to the teams in attendance. So they’re not Andre Smith.
Neither tested positive for marijuana at the most crucial time not to do so. Neither came in with a reputation as a coach’s nightmare who spends more time acquiring an entourage than refining his route-running. So they’re not Percy Harvin.
Neither left school early after only one season as a starter. Both stayed all four years, honing their skills and honoring their commitments. So they’re not Mark Sanchez.
Neither was suspended during their college careers. So they’re not B.J. Raji.
And neither hid behind Bus Cook after being “picked on” by a new coach.
Everyone of those players was rated higher than Smith or Ayers at some point during the offseason. Three of them were drafted before the Broncos made their first selection.
But McDaniels didn’t want those guys. McDaniels was interested in building a stronger team by dropping some strong individuals. It’s a formula that worked well for his last team, a team that won three Super Bowls with a sixth-round quarterback. With linebackers so old that 31 other franchises had no interest. With creaking wide receivers who played both ways when it helped the team, despite what it did to their stat sheets. When was the last time a New England Patriot held a news conference to air his personal complaints?
Football is not now, nor has it ever been, a sport than can be conquered by one person. There are 22 men on the field, and each is as vital as the next. The importance of finding players who believe in each other with more conviction than they believe in the spotlight cannot be overestimated.
That’s what McDaniels has been doing, though to the untrained eye it might come off as amateurish. That’s okay. That’s what makes it work. That’s why only one team wins the Super Bowl — because 31 others were too busy buying talent when they should have been luring character.
Denver needs players like Brian Dawkins, a guy who was considered the greatest leader and teammate in the history of the NFL by his former fellow Eagles. They need Alphonso Smith and his record-setting interception production and team-first attitude on the field. They need his bright, yet intent, outlook off the field, too. The Broncos need Robert Ayers, whose work ethic and high motor were confirmed by top pick Knowshon Moreno just as much as they need his strength and bulk on defense. They need a guy like Richard Quinn, who played an unheralded position in the most unheralded way by becoming the best blocking tight end in the draft.
Denver needs a team.
What they don’t need is anyone else to take notice. They don’t need the constant praise and gold stars from the media because guys like Mel Kiper do nothing but talk. The athletes on the field know that actions speak louder than words. So when you hear another random fan shout that McDaniels is ruining the Broncos, just turn your attention to the team. The actions on the field will be deafening.
See more from Hunter Ansley at DraftZoo.com
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Golly…maybe McD should hire you as his PR guy.
Look, he hasn’t coached game one yet. And if you think that it’s just guys in sports bars that are critical of his decisions then you need to lay off of the crack for a while.
So before you break your hand patting him on the back for a ‘job well done’ let’s wait and see how it goes after a couple of games, huh? Hell, let’s see how training camp goes.
It’s pretty funny that while there are people starting to “believe” all they have to do is look at the 2009 schedule again. If and when the blue and orange titanic starts its descent this season are guys like you still gonna’ be standing by Mcd’s side ?
I doubt it.
In response to SJR, & Civil Sense: GOLLY maybe you should take your foot out of your mouth. Better yet maybe you should share the same binky as Jay Cutler. Forget about the kool aid! Pass me the AFC West Champions punch!! Whose the dummy now?
The Bears thats who
Jay Cutler sucks
I wonder how well he likes his offensive line in Chicago
McDaniels has alienated a lot of very talented players on the Broncos team. Talent wins in the NFL not average players that are easily compliant. It is McDaniel’s job to mentor and guide the players that may have issues. Not sacrifice them in the media and drop them like a hot potato . This guy is clearly in over his head and doesn’t know what he is doing. Josh time to pull your head out of your ass.
Wow, pass the Kool-aid. I’ll have what you’re having.
Seriously, I understand that what you say is the “plan”; however, no Patriots assistant has been able to match Bill Belichick’s success. In addition, the Jay Cutler situation was mishandled from the get-go. I suspect that Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen was out of the loop (as usual) when the notorious trade conversations began. In any event, Kyle Orton is a band-aid (at best), not a permanent solution. At least we didn’t trade for Rex Grossman…
Long story short, if the Broncos win more than they lose, fans will jump aboard the McDaniels train. If Coach McDaniels brings Denver a championship, then he will be a hero. If not, he will be gone. End of story.
Personally, I want the Broncos to win. Realistically, I think a 4-12 record is the best we can expect this year. I predict that the 2010 season will be similarly poor (though perhaps with a better record), and the Josh McDaniels era will be over at the end of 2010.
Thanks, Hunter. Your article was well written, and it really honed into what McDaniels is trying to do. Anytime you try to make sense of it, people are going to jump on you. I don’t know . . . human nature, I guess. But I see what the coach is trying to do, as well as you. Thanks for the insight.
Thanks for the well-reasoned article, Hunter. Funny how those who have never held a job coaching, at any level, anywhere, know more about coaching than McDainels “the idiot”. Far too many “fans” seem to WANT the “orange and blue titanic”. I can only assume this is because they want to be right about McDaniels “the idiot”, more than they want to see “their team” succeed.
But then again, I don’t consider those people real fans anyway.
Will these same folks still be throwing eggs at McDaniels, should the team be much better than they assume?
I doubt it. No, those folks will jump on the bandwagon, shouting “I knew it all the time!!” at the top of their lungs.
Add to your argument Cutler’s statistics, and there is a compelling argument to trade Cutler regardless of his immaturity. He had a ton of yards and a pretty good TD count but with over 20 give aways, the value of both diminished greatly.
Of course stats are never the whole story. No doubt some poster will remind us of his ability to escape pressure and make a play. What people who take this line won’t tell you is that you could equally count on him bypassing the outlet pass to superman a ball into clear triple coverage.
I feel that Jay could have and maybe still will learn to overcome his Achilles heal, but there should be no doubt that while he was the Broncos starting qb, it was the teams weakness. Cutler and his fanbase may want to blame the D, but if one individual has given the ball back to the other team with a short field I’ve twenty times, a share of the responsibility goes to that individual.
To sum up my overly wordy post;
No player who turns the ball over 20 times in a season can be called great.
I saw a story on NFL live about Cutler and how he’s going to adjust to the Bears system, This is off the heels of Coach Tony Dungy being critical of Cutlers maturity.
What I found to be funny was how the NFL live guys said that in order for him to succeed he would have to take care of the ball (turnovers), be efficient on 3rd down, and score in the RED ZONE and correct me if I’m wrong but did’nt McD say that those were the biggest problems our offense had? I’ve heard him state that a few times.Anyone who is still cryin over Cutlers trade move on and get over it this team is built on character and the fact that each individual is a TEAM 1st player!! Which crybaby Jay clearly was’nt.
Has anyone, ever, in the history of man, considered Dre Bly to be one of the best players? Never. Oh, ok, I thought so.
I seem to remember another coach who based his recruiting on character first, then talent. Nick Saban. I think he won several bowl games and a national championship after he got rid of the druggies, rapists, and outlaws on the LSU team. Maybe you’ve got something here.
None of this “kumbaya” nonsense changes the fact that McDaniels has lied, straight-faced, twice. Once regarding the attempt to trade Cutler to Tampa. And again when he said he “met with Marshall” in June after Marshall had met with Bowlen and requested to be traded. McDaniels never met with Marshall. Whoops. So tell me, Hunter, does this new “character” and “team” philosophy we’re so lucky to have here in Denver involve lying repeatedly to your players and fans?