bzane Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, notthatbluestuff said: Jurrell Casey, AJ Bouye and Melvin Gordon could all be good acquisitions. Guy writing on ESPN not impressed by Melvin. Graded his signing a D+: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28871296/2020-nfl-free-agency-trade-grades-bill-barnwell-tracks-every-big-signing-move Friday, March 20 Melvin Gordon, RB, Denver Broncos The deal: Two years, $16 millionGrade: D+ For all of Gordon's versatility as a runner and receiver, though, he just hasn't been consistently healthy or good for very long as a pro. I covered his inconsistency before the 2019 season, noting that we had really seen one above-average season from him in four tries. Last season was a disaster, as Gordon's rate stats fell across the board after his return from the holdout. Simultaneously, the fumble concerns from his rookie season reappeared -- he fumbled four times on 204 touches, including a backbreaking fumble on the goal line to hand a victory to the Titans. The Chargers were better with Austin Ekeler on the field. Melvin Gordon averaged just 3.8 yards per carry last season, but he had nine total touchdowns. Peter Joneleit/EPA If Gordon fixes the fumble problem, stays healthy and runs and catches passes efficiently in the way he has once across his five seasons, the Broncos will get a solid return on their deal here. Instead, in the process of signing Gordon, they're diminishing the role of Phillip Lindsay, who has been more efficient than Gordon over the past two years. The Broncos want to keep Lindsay's workload down and will likely swap Gordon into the lineup for Royce Freeman, but the back half of a running back rotation isn't something the Broncos should be giving $13.5 million guaranteed, especially with their needs elsewhere. It might be generous to suggest Gordon is a league-average back, which is something Denver didn't need to prioritize. Edited March 20, 2020 by bzane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroncoBruin Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 I think the trajectory was positive and we were going to be in the mix for a WC (expansion definitely helps) as long as we didn't have a disastrous offseason. As mentioned, the battle between the Raiders, Chargers and Broncos for #2 in the AFCW will be a really fun race to follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroncoBruin Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Forge said: It's all about lock. Gordon doesn't move the needle for me, and bouye is at best a lateral move from Chris Harris. Casey is a really nice move, but this team is moving on from Wolfe and Harris it looks like. So are these moves legit needle moving improvements? What's the actual net gain from the moves you just mentioned. Don't forget Year 2 under Munchak + adding Glasgow. Year 2 in Fangio's scheme should also help. Edited March 20, 2020 by BroncoBruin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawgX Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 Really just depends on Drew Lock. If he's the real deal, they could be a very solid team this year. The rest of their team isn't good enough to do much if Lock ends up being a bum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaidersAreOne Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 The QB-less Chargers scare me more tbh. Now that's one hell of a roster for a rookie QB to walk into. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroncoBruin Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 1 minute ago, RaidersAreOne said: The QB-less Chargers scare me more tbh. Now that's one hell of a roster for a rookie QB to walk into. That team reminds me of the 2016 Broncos actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leoric Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 2 minutes ago, RaidersAreOne said: The QB-less Chargers scare me more tbh. Now that's one hell of a roster for a rookie QB to walk into. It’s a shame they never gave Rivers that surrounding talent. We’ve had a good offseason on paper. We’ll see how it works out though with Tyrod Taylor as the starter and once the ChargIRs start slipping in McDonald’s bags. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkronsWitness Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 One of the underlying things that seem to be forgotten is they basically have 2 FA periods in 1. They are getting a handful of impactful starters back healthy that they lost/signed last offseason from IR who didnt play last year. They are adding Bradley Chubb, Bryce Callahan, JaWuan James, Graham Glasgow, Melvin Gordon, Jurrell Casey and AJ Bouye all to a team that finished the season 4-1 with Lock. They are losing some players like CHJ and Wolfe but the influx of players coming back into the rotation helps a ton. The other underlying thing is that they now have one of the best/experienced coaching staffs in the league with Fangio/Donatell on Defense and Shurmer/Munchak on Offense. All depends on Lock though regardless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BroncoBruin Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 26 minutes ago, Boltstrikes said: It’s a shame they never gave Rivers that surrounding talent. We’ve had a good offseason on paper. We’ll see how it works out though with Tyrod Taylor as the starter and once the ChargIRs start slipping in McDonald’s bags. Spoiler: the rookie will eventually play. The stop gap always sounds good in theory but it always ends the same. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkronsWitness Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 5 minutes ago, BroncoBruin said: Spoiler: the rookie will eventually play. The stop gap always sounds good in theory but it always ends the same. Stop gap QBs always sound good until its week 10-12 and your team is 3-8. Then you get to have the fun debate of 'Well why didnt we just play the rookie the whole season!' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forge Posted March 20, 2020 Share Posted March 20, 2020 52 minutes ago, Boltstrikes said: It’s a shame they never gave Rivers that surrounding talent. We’ve had a good offseason on paper. We’ll see how it works out though with Tyrod Taylor as the starter and once the ChargIRs start slipping in McDonald’s bags. Surrounding talent wasn't really the problem throughout his career. Now if you were to say that it was a shame that they never surrounded him with competent coaching throughout his career outside of a single year with Marty, that I'd probably agree with. But nobody is going to get me to cry a river at the lack of talent surrounding him throughout his career. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trentwannabe Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 Their home schedule looks tough. Outside of their division which is no easy task they have: New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Buffalo and Miami. Having to travel to Pittsburgh and New England won't be easy either. I currently see them in the 7-9 to 9-7 range still. Which is probably good enough for the new WC spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearerofnews Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 (edited) On 3/20/2020 at 3:12 PM, Forge said: Surrounding talent wasn't really the problem throughout his career. Now if you were to say that it was a shame that they never surrounded him with competent coaching throughout his career outside of a single year with Marty, that I'd probably agree with. But nobody is going to get me to cry a river at the lack of talent surrounding him throughout his career. I think he meant more so at the oline. But they tried. Lamp, Feeny, Pouncy.. at some point, gotta realize they just got a garbage oline coach. But their oline has had alot of injury issues for RIVERS. Edited March 23, 2020 by Bearerofnews Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkippyX Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 They look like they have a shot at 3rd place in their division and maybe the 7 seed if everything goes well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightime Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Chargers are still the 2nd most talented team in the AFC West. Look at the scores. They were the only AFC West team that could even compete with the Chiefs last year. All they need is a QB that doesn’t turn it over. If they had prime Alex Smith they’d go 11-5 minimum. Chiefs 2019 combined scores vs. divisional opponents: DEN: 53-9 OAK: 68-19 LAC: 55-38 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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