NFL Preview: Denver Broncos

QB: D+ I've said it once and I'll say it again, when you turn Jay Cutler into Kyle Orton & Chris Simms you've got serious font office judgment issues. Orton has proven himself to be average at best and injury prone, Simms has proven himself to be as durable as a dried up leaf and, you guessed it, very average. On their own this might be C, C- group but the fact that they let a 26 yr. old all pro go for this drops it down. Stupidity penalty.

RB: B Knowshon Moreno could be a a solid, everydown back but who can tell with rookies. He does run straight ahead so that should work with the zone blocking scheme. Otherwise you've got Corell Buckhalter with his replaced ACL's, Raiders/Patriots castoff LaMont Jordan, Ryan Torain and his torn ACL, former golden domer Darius Walker and glorified fullback Patrick Hillis. In other words, Moreno better stay healthy. FANTASY TIP! Don't pick any Denver back early but definitely draft Jordan and start him twice against the Raiders. Every former Raider torches them in payback games.

WR: A This grade is conditional on the mind set of physical SuperFreak Brandon Marshall. He says he wants out and he's such a headcase who knows what he might pull. Assuming he plays without another arrest and suspension, he should be awesome with Eddie Royal on the other side and Stokley in the slot. If Marshall goes AWOL, it could get real ugly, unless you see something in Jabar Gaffney & Chad Jackson nobody else sees. Didn't think so.

TE: C Daniel Graham and Tony Scheffler are both average at best. Scheffler the better pass catcher. Good fantasy value.

OL: A Clady and Harris are well above average and the interior is decent enough at pass blocking so they're not a liability. Another zone blocking team so the lack of interior talent matters less. They better give the QB's all the time in the world though, Orton and Simms aren't exactly known for lightning quick decisions.

DL: D Suck, suck, suck, suck, suck. Moving to the 3-4, Kenny Peterson is probably the most well known and he had a whopping 3 sacks. There's a reason Denver's D sucks.

LB: C They moved their best pass rusher Elvis Dumervil to OLB for some reason. maybe they're hoping at LB opposing teams won't notice the fact that he's 5-9. Other OLB's Robert Ayer and Jarvis Moss are fast and capable of making plays but we'll see. ILB D.J. Williams and Andra Davis both give up as many plays as they make. They are also a little undersized so the lack of talent at DL is more noticeable.

DB: Champ Bailey A, Brian Dawkins B-, Everybody else F Hopefully Dawkins can come in and make some tackles or this unit is going to get burned. Bailey is getting older and gives up some monster plays while S Renaldo Hill and CB Andre Hill are both short and unspectacular. If the DL/LB can't get sacks, look for high scoring games in the Mile High City. Good thing they have a gunslinger quarterback. . . . . .

P/K: B+ Prater has been above average and Kern is a punter that I've never heard of which is good for a punter.

Coaching: F Josh McDaniels hasn't coached a snap or graduated high school but has pissed off both Cutler and Marshall. What was the thought process? Lets irritate Cutler so we can bring in Matt Cassell? What's the point? Now you have neither. And why not kiss Marshalls ass a little after ripping his QB away from him? You think a nutjob like him was going to take kindly to the Orton era? Two strikes buddy.

BEST CASE SCENARIO: 10-6, Second in the WEST. They do still play the Raiders and Chiefs twice a year.

WORST CASE SCENARIO: 6-10, Third in the WEST. Hard to see both Oakland and KC jump them but Marshall might decide to go all Steve Smith and just start punching people out in practice. Denver isn't very talented so if he KO's Bailey, Moreno and Clady in a fit of rage after Orton underthrows him by 8 yards on a curl, it could happen.