Originally posted by pinnacle
joe bugel today mentioned a couple of other players they signed and gave decent $$ to that have not worked out..he did not mention jake (obviusly) - but did mention a couple of defensive guys..Joe said something to the effect that Shanahan thinks he can overcome all character issues with free agents and thinks he can turn anyone around...
it is ironic that he gave up on griese...
Bugel implied that there is more that meets the eye with the broncos (i.e. problems)...
Without turning it into a Bronco board, Shanahan's problem by most accounts from bronco fans is he's a good OC, a good coach, a lousy GM, and when he tries to do all 3 he has real problems.
He's done very well in later rounds in the draft but stinks early in the draft(sound familiar?). He's had several major flops in FA(Dale Carter), and several guys like Fatafehi who have panned out. He has an ego that he needs to check, he doesn't like to draft big name players he prefers to take "sleepers" like Foster this year or Lelie last year(not unknown but many questioned his toughness, hands and ability to stay healthy, all of which have been problems in Denver).
I mentioned this to someone the other day and I'm sure it won't be popular with some, but one Bronco fan on their board told me in their opinion the real problem on that team is they were so concerned with Jake learning the system and not killing them with turnovers that Shanahan and Kubiak spent the entire offseason, minicamps, and camp focussing on that. Jake has played terrific, but they now realize other areas that needed attention didn't get it both from coaching, adding personnel, subtracting personnel. A case of him trying to wear so many hats at once he failed. Instead of him letting Kubiak coach Jake while he coached other areas, and letting his GM Sundquist do other things, he coached Jake too and other things slid because he controls the whole deal and if he doesn't have time to do it, it doesn't happen.
That said I still think the guy is an amazing gameplan guy particularly the scripted plays. After 7 games Jake has a first quarter passer rating of 133, and has 8 TD passes, in 7 first quarters. As a Card he had 9, in 84 games. The difference is just staggering.
Most Bronco fans seem to feel if they miss this year, Shanahan will be given a playoffs or out ultimatum next year. They extended him in the offseason so it would seem unlikely he'd go this year.
On Gardener the claim is he violated teh standard in all NFL contracts relating to team loyalty, by knocking Shanahan. No question they both have large egos and that's the real issue.
