Maybe He Knows What He's Doing

When the Broncos hired a relative unknown in Jason Griffin there was outrage expressed by fans, NFL insiders, coaches, columnists, even some in Griffin's family. Barack Obama mentioned him in a political speech. I chose not to be as reactionary, but to put trust in the instincts of Pat Bowlen, although my knee jerk reaction was to write a scathing column on the demise of the Broncos. After a 5-11 season in his first year, Griffin still had a very low approval rating. The Broncos couldn't run and Jay Cutler looked lost without Mike Shanahan. Dre Bly would have been cut if not for the $12 million cap hit it would have cost the team. He only had a Pro Bowl season & led the league with 9 interceptions. In the offseason Griffin traded Brandon Marshall and there was talk that Champ Bailey, D.J. Williams, Bly & Cutler were all up for grabs. None were moved despite being shopped. Griffin spent a combined $95 million on Nnamdi Asomugha, Chris Gamble, Terrell Suggs & Julius Peppers to try to re-energize the defense. They wrestled away the offseason championship from the Washington Redskins who have been irrelevant for the entire Dan Snyder regime. However, they did something opposite the Redskins. They stockpiled draft picks, not give them away. They counted on rookies, not just aging, overpaid veterans. Now they are 2-0 heading into their bye week having just destroyed the Chiefs 41-17. The outlook of this season looks great, but the future looks even brighter. The Broncos have 3 first round, 3 second round & 4 third round picks in next year's draft. Ozzie Jones looks like the answer at RB. Marshall hasn't been missed and Cutler is well, Cutler. We will learn a lot about Griffin & the Broncos this year. They have a four straight road games & then five straight home games to end the season. How will they fare with a team that isn't used to winning lately. We'll soon see. Bailey, for one, is a believer in his coach. "Jason understands the game & instills confidence in the players. I trust his decisions because I have seen how much work he puts into this," said Bailey. Good enough for me.

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