With the Raiders having stolen Charles Woodson from under the Broncos' noses, there are already some great comments today regarding rivalries and hatred. We might as well collect some data to match, right?
So, go ahead and vote, and please explain your choice in the comments.
Good Morning, Broncos fans! According to Mike Klis, the Broncos weren't outbid by very much in the Charles Woodson sweepstakes.
Woodson took a reported $1.8M base (including a $700K signing bonus), plus $2.5M in incentives, for a max value of $4.3M to return to Oakland. Klis says the Broncos offered a contract with a maximum value of $3.7M, and we already know the base value was more than the $940K minimum.
Was it just about the money for Woodson, as Klis suggests? If it was, the difference may have been more than just the $600K gap in max value. We don't know how much Denver was willing to guarantee, or how easily reached the incentives would have been, versus the ones he got from the Raiders.
Continue reading "It probably wasn’t just the money for Woodson Lard"
Charles Woodson may be the matchup safety Denver needs, but he won't be joining them in 2013. Woodson has agreed to a one-year deal with the Raiders that includes a $700K signing bonus, base value of $1.8M, and a maximum of $4.3M.
Originally selected by Oakland fourth overall in the 1998 Draft, Woodson spent his first eight years in silver and black before heading up to the frozen tundra for seven seasons. Green Bay released the 2009 DPOY in February to avoid what would have been $9.4M in compensation for 2013.
Continue reading "Woodson snubs Broncos, returns to Raiders"
Only a few hours ago, we noted the signing bonus given Lerentee McCray by the Broncos, and what it meant.
What it doesn't mean, is that he's good enough for the NFL; the Broncos will presumably figure that out over the next few weeks and/or months.
As an example of how little regard teams can have for undrafted players, consider the case of former Stony Brook running back Miguel Maysonet.
Continue reading "Postscript: UDFAs usually go undrafted for a reason"
Chargers land LT Max Starks
www.utsandiego.com
The Chargers waived Kevin Haslam, a three-game starter at left tackle in 2012. On the same day, free agent Max Starks donned a Chargers avatar on his verified Twitter account and announced he was joining the team.
With Pittsburgh, Starks faced Denver (with Elvis Dumervil) in back-to-back games - the 2011 WC game, and the 2012 opener, and PFF has Starks down for having allowed one sack, three hits, six hurries, and a cumulative grade of minus-6.9. In other words, just the kind of guy the Broncos want to see twice a year.
Meanwhile, the Chargers are reportedly holding out hope that Melvin Ingram can recover quickly enough from his ACL tear to have an impact on the 2013 season.
Nate Irving to get "first crack" at Broncos' spot at middle linebacker
www.denverpost.com
The Broncos defense improved dramatically each of the past two years in large part because strongside linebacker Von Miller performed at a near superstar level.
In next week's DP mailbag, Mike Klis explains which NFL players are superstars, given that Von Miller is apparently not among them.
Patriots, Cowboys and Rams spent the most guaranteed money on undrafted rookie free agents
sports.yahoo.com
The largest signing bonus issued to an undrafted rookie this year belongs to UNLV linebacker John Lotulelei, who received $25,000 to sign with the Seattle Seahawks. Boston College offensive tackle Emmett Cleary received $20,000 to sign with the Indianapolis Colts, while Florida linebacker Lerentee McCray was third on the list with a $17,500 signing bonus from the Denver Broncos.
Granted, that's still peanuts in the NFL, and won't factor into whether Lerentee makes Denver's 53-man roster. If nothing else, it's an indication that the Broncos weren't alone in liking McCray's prospects, and that he heard good enough things from the Denver front office about his chances of making the squad.
Super Bowl L awarded to San Francisco; LI to Houston
www.nfl.com
NFL owners voted Tuesday at the NFL Spring Meeting to award Super Bowl L in 2016 to San Francisco. The game will be played in the 49ers’ new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California…
A vote was then taken by the owners on whether to award Super Bowl LI to Houston or South Florida. Reliant Stadium, which hosted XXXVIII between the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers in 2004, won the bid for the 2017 game.
To be clear, these are the Super Bowls that follow the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Will one of them be the site of an Elway-like ride into the sunset for one Peyton Manning?
Denver, of course, is bidding to host one of the three Super Bowls that follow the one in Houston.
Power Rankings: Loaded Broncos are the favorites, like it or not
www.cbssports.com
The only concern moving forward is the other pass rusher opposite Von Miller. Can Shaun Phillips, Robert Ayers and others replace Elvis Dumervil?
It's nice to see someone describe the task of replacing Elvis as more than just Ayers's responsibility.
Secret Superstar: Rahim Moore
www.profootballfocus.com
A year after spending some Sundays as a healthy scratch, Moore played more snaps in 2012 than any other Broncos defender. Often lining up deep as Denver’s last line of defense, Moore allowed just 0.46 Yards Per Coverage Snap and surrendered a first down or touchdown on only 1.64% of his snaps. At the same time, he frequently showed the speed and instincts to provide support against backfield screens. And when he got to the point of attack, he sealed the deal.
After amassing 11 missed tackles in 43 attempts in 2011 (including the playoffs), Moore had just eight in 96 attempts in 2012. Amazingly, he’d transformed himself from one of the worst-tackling safeties in the league into one of the best. And with a +9.0 grade in the regular season that tied for the 10th-highest of any safety, he was one of the more promising young defenders in the league. This would have been the lasting image of Moore heading into the upcoming season, except for the outcome of one play.
We're obviously not done hearing about that play, and frankly, it will continiue to be a sore spot no matter how many SB titles potentially follow it (Michael Dean Perry, you're still not off the hook). But Rahim Moore is just 23 years old, and there's no reason to think he can't live up to his pre-draft billing, if he hasn't already.
