Vic Fangio is the head coach Authentic Bradley Chubb Jersey , Ed Donatell is coming on as the defensive coordinator, Rich Scangarello will coordinate the offense and Mike Munchak will coach the offensive line. With big parts of the coaching staff in place, I continued my look at Denver’s roster. What players mean the most to the team? Obviously some could move up or down based on how the schemes change. That means this is as much art as science, but to be as transparent as possible I wanted to lay out how I made my list. There are 3 main aspects I considered.1. Their value to this year’s team and past performance.2. Positional value3. Salary compared to both past & expected future performance.All three factors are important, but obviously this isn’t an exact science, so I look forward to seeing how Broncos Country disagrees with me.Check out players 45-35 here.Check out players 25-34 here.Check out players 16-24 here.Check out players 7-15 here.With the final 6 left, and the obvious players remaining, I thought it would make more sense to give you a longer look. That means two probably works better than all six in one post for length/time. Anyways, let’s get started. 6. Emmanuel Sanders - Wide ReceiverFirst let’s get the big “if” out of the way: I’ve been going back and forth on Sanders for 2019 since he tore his Achilles. Back when it happened, it seemed logical to conclude that the Broncos would move on from a 32-year old wide receiver with a $12,937,500 cap hit. Especially once you consider that cutting him would only cost a hair over $2.5 million in dead money.Then I started digging into similar situations and things got murkier. The following piece by Dr. Christopher Geary is a little dated, but offers a lot of room for hope.Achilles Tendon Ruptures in the NFL - Inside The PylonIf you consider the fact that Sanders had his surgery in early December that could give him time to return by training camp in August, if you’re an optimist. Even better if you’re wearing orange shades: A more recent study by Joshua Harris suggests that Sanders should be able to return with gusto. Most football players returned to NFL after Achilles tendon repairObviously that 28% lingers a bit, but there’s good reason to believe that Sanders could return to lead the young receiving corps in 2019. As I dug through the medical reports, I also looked up players who were over 30 and suffered a similar injury. Here are a few names that could encourage you: Benjaman Watson tore his 36-year old Achilles in 2016 and still caught 96 passes for 922 yards and a touchdown over the last two years. Terrell Suggs tore an Achilles twice. Once in 2012 and another in 2015. In the 3 years since his last tear, he’s had 26 sacks and 8 forced fumbles. Robert Mathis tore his Achilles in 2014 and wound up having 10 medical procedures because of it. He still managed to notch 12 more sacks over his last two years in the NFL. None of those players played receiver though, a position very similar to running back when you consider how often it demands the ability to start and stop or cut quickly. A sample size of 95 is just too small to contain meaningful information for every position. Demaryius Thomas does comes to mind as a more direct comparison, as he first tore an Achilles in 2011. His career since turned out okay since (and let’s hope it will continue with him recovering from his own injury at 31). So its impossible to tell for sure if Sanders will be able to return to his old self this far out from camp. If he can though: the 2019 Broncos could feature a savvy route runner who provides the kind of inside/outside versatility that would give new Offensive Coordinator Rich Scangarello play calling flexibility. A look at Sanders’ biggest plays with the Broncos last year really demonstrates his worth. Before going down to injury the 5’10 receiver caught 13 passes for gains of 20 yards or more. He had 4 such catches in the week 2 game with the Oakland Raiders and 3 of them really serve as a perfect example of the big play element he brings to an offense.The Deep Crosser/Scramble AdjustmentThe Deep OutThe Slot ShotThroughout the tape, Sanders demonstrates that he can run a full route tree and beat defensive backs. He’s played long enough to have a feel for what to do when the play breaks down and the quarterback is scrambling. He’s also a scrappy 180 pounder http://www.denverbroncosteamonline.com/jared-veldheer-jersey , willing to make plays over the middle of the field or gain yards after the catch. How the Demaryius Thomas trade impacted SandersI spent a day digging through the numbers this week to try and quantify how much the D.T trade impacted the Sanders and the Broncos offense. It’s a bit confusing at first glance. On an individual basis Sanders numbers were clearly better weeks 1-8, when he caught 50 passes on 65 targets for 660 yards and 3 touchdowns. After Thomas went to the Texans Sanders catch percentage, yards per target and raw numbers all saw a decline. Of the 20+ yard passes Sanders caught, all but 2 came with Thomas on the roster. None of this was really surprising, of course. If you’ve read GIF Horse in the past, you may be familiar with my “Big 3” theory regarding WR corps construction. If you aren’t the short ramble is that essentially you want an elite level receiver #1 (your LeBron James in a perfect world) and an all star 2 and 3 that compliment the studs skillset. The rest of the receiving weapons are role players that fill out the gaps. A perfect example is the 2013 Broncos with Thomas, Eric Decker and Wes Welker, though of course they also had Julius Thomas at his apex. This theory goes a way towards explaining the Thomas’ trades impact on the Broncos passing game last year. When Thomas, Sutton and Sanders were on the field together, things were easier for all of them. From weeks 1-8 Keenum threw 221 passes out of 11 personnel, completing 140 of them for 10 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. After the D.T trade but before Sanders was hurt, the Broncos QB was completing 57% of his passes out of 11 personnel and threw no touchdowns or interceptions. When the big 3 were together, Musgraves often deployed Thomas or Sanders as a coverage sponge to help Sutton or the other get open.Yards and catches came easier for Sanders when he and Thomas were together. So why did the Broncos O look stronger post D.T.?According to Football Outsiders DVOA stats that adjust for opponent, Denver’s 5 best passing games last year were the Rams, Cardinals, Texans, Chargers and Steelers’ games. 3 of those occurred without Thomas, so what gives?One big adjustment that Musgraves will never get proper credit for is how he utilized the 11 personnel package in that three game stretch: Denver often used the 3 receivers as little more than a way to set up the defense to give Phillip Lindsay room to run. Denver averaged 6.9 yards per carry out of the 11 during that 3 game stretch. Additionally, the Broncos found a lot of success when they passed out of 2 receiver sets.The Steelers were clearly aiming to stop the run on this deep shot to Sanders. So what does all of this mean going forward? If Sanders can’t make it back to the point where Elway can justify his $12,937 http://www.denverbroncosteamonline.com/brandon-mcmanus-jersey ,500 cap hit, things get murkier. Someone like John Brown from the Ravens makes a lot of sense as his toolbox slides in as a similar fit to what the Broncos previously had, but he’s one of the exceptions on the free agent market. The NFL Draft there could provide answers that come as a cost efficient alternative, but rookie receivers rarely make a big impact their first year in the league. While Sutton received criticism at times during the 2018 campaign, he outperformed names like Michael Crabtree, Will Fuller, and Brandin Cooks. In a perfect world, Emmanuel Sanders is not the LeBron James of your receiving corps. He’s the Dwyane Wade, a 1B or 2A type that can serve as the fulcrum. That isn’t a slight by any means as I truly believe the Broncos offense would be better served carrying 10 into the 2019 season if his medical questions check out. It just also means that Sutton (and DaeSean Hamilton) needs to make the jump if Keenum (or a rookie quarterback) is to have the kind of receiving corps that the best offenses in the league have. Von Miller seems to think the Broncos’ 23-20 loss yesterday was his fault.“I just can’t get it done. I need to watch the film and figure it out — what I can do to make things happen,” said the linebacker who accounted for 1.5 of the Broncos’ five sacks yesterday but was also part of the unit that allowed Todd Gurley to rush for a career-high 208 yards.“We knew we’d be leaking the run today because the pass was our focus, but 272 yards is just ridiculous. I’ve got to do better,” Miller added. “I was able to get some sacks today, but the game-changing plays, I just still didn’t make them.”Nevermind the taunting from Emmanuel Sanders that possibly prevented a touchdown. Or holding penalties that pushed an already ineffective Case Keenum back to 3rd-and-30. Or an absent running game (17 out of 58 plays) or multiple missed opportunities on third and short.As far as No. 58 is concerned, he alone has to be amazing for this team to win.And sadly, he’s probably not wrong - at least the part about being amazing. Doing it alone, though, is not going to be enough.“We start fast and we’ve just got to be consistent. I’ve got to be consistent. I’ve got to do better and get sacks and forced fumbles and pick it up and score,” Miller said. “Those are the type of plays that I dream about every day, and I’ve got to start making those for us to start winning.”There is definitely reason to think the offense cannot get it done and plenty of blame for falling short the fourth week in a row - ineptitude in the red zone http://www.denverbroncosteamonline.com/darian-stewart-jersey , penalties, play calling - but Miller still sees the loss as something he can - and should - fix in spite of the offense.“I’ve got to get better. I’ve got to get there. I’ve got to make the big plays. Sacks, forced fumbles, the plays that I’m known for. I’m just not making them,” the frustrated veteran said. “I’m falling into sacks like the other guys in the league and that’s just not me. I’ve got to do better and I’ve started. I will do better.”After starting the season with three sacks on the elusive Russell Wilson in Week 1, Miller has only 5.5 through six games.In “Miller’s world,” as he says,that’s not even close to good enough.“Von’s play hasn’t been what it’s supposed to be for my teammates to be successful,” Miller added. “I’ve been saying it for two weeks. I will definitely get it done. I’ve never gotten up here and lied to you guys, not one time, and that’s definitely No. 1 on my list. I will get that finished.”A bright spot in his quest will be his rookie sidekick, Bradley Chubb. The first-round pick had three sacks in yesterday’s game against the NFL’s best offensive line. More of that and Miller will be his sidekick - as Miller seems to understand.“It’s me. Chubb had a great day today,” he said. “I was close on one, but close don’t really do it for you in the National Football League.”Nope. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t good things to build upon from the loss. The defense held the Rams to just 23 points - their lowest score this season - and Chubb’s three-sack bonanza was done within his first six games as an NFL player. It took Miller 23 games for that kind of production. But the rookie isn’t as happy as he might be with that performance since it didn’t end with a W.“It’s good and all that to get to the quarterback three times, but it’s not good enough, you know what I’m saying?” Chubb said. “ We feel like in the Outside Linebackers Room, we put all the pressure on us. If we want to win, we’ve got to make plays. Sometimes we did make those plays, but we’ve just got to do more.”Miller and his teammates insist the issue is not play calling. He “100 percent” believes in the defensive scheme and says the players need to either make it happen or change the play.“We lost, and it’s on us. The coaches called the plays. If we don’t like the plays www.denverbroncosteamonline.com , change the play,” he said. One thing Miller knows for sure is that the loss hurts - and that’s how it should be.“You’ve got to be hurt after losses like this. It’s just not something that you can rub off and say, ‘We’ll be better after this.’ It doesn’t work like that. You’ve got to be hurt when you lose,” he said. “You shouldn’t be laughing. It should wear on you. It should really bother you to lose on this level. Everyone is getting paid, everyone has responsibilities on this team and the No. 1 responsibility for all of us is to win, and we are not doing that. I’m not doing that. It should hurt. It should feel bad, and if we all feel the same way that I’m feeling, we’ll be great.”Miller didn’t take the bait when asked about fans booing and being upset too. But he definitely put out a subtle call to fans to keep the faith - because he’s going to do better.“I’ve never attacked the Denver Bronco fan base. They’ve been through thick and thin with me. Loyal as heck,” he said. “We’ve got real fans here. If fans are losing hope, I just can’t believe that. We’ve still got a long season ahead of us, and Broncos Country has been great for us. We still need them to do the same thing for us to get this turned around.”And what makes that possibly believable?Because Miller hates where the team is right now.“I hate losing more than I love winning, so in the spot where we are at right now, I can’t even put it into words,” he said. “It’s our message to the guys, just keep playing. It’s a championship fight. You lose a couple rounds at the beginning. Just keep playing and find out where we end up.”