Rocky Mountain High

That, admittedly, did not go as plan. I got a bit carried away, and still have eight coaching changes to analyze. These will be shorter. I hope.

-Denver-

This off-season Denver did the unthinkable when they fired Mike Shanahan, who had led the Bronocos to two Super Bowl wins during his tenure with the team. The fact is Denver went 7-9 and 8-8 the last two seasons, and missed the playoffs each year. Mike Shanahan the General Manager didn't do Mike Shanahan the coach any favors in neglecting the defensive side of the ball, which was, ultimately, the source of their downfall.

The Broncos plucked an apple off the Bill Belichick coaching tree when they snagged Josh McDaniels, the patriots offensive coordinator from 2006-2008. This bodes well for Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, and Eddie Royal. In 2007, under McDaniels, the Patriots' offense set records, scoring 589 points on 75 touchdowns (67 offensive, 50 passing and 17 rushing). If his offense can smoothly translate to Denver, it means big things are in store for Cutler, Marshall, and Royal in 2009. Think of Cutler as a top 5 QB, and Marshall as a top 10 WR. Eddie Royal showed that he is a play-maker gaining 980 yards and 5 touchdowns as a rookie last year. Consider him a top 20 WR, and a strong no. 2 for your fantasy team.

Former San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan was hired as the teams defensive coordinator. He will change the Broncos defense into a 3-4, moving DJ Williams into the inside linebacker position. Seeing as how bad the Broncos defense has been these past two years, from a fantasy standpoint, it is best not to rely on this D/st unit.