53 Bronx

The news is a couple days old, but I still need to talk about the Broncos finalizing their 53-man roster.

The good:

So long, college rival. The best name you don’t see on the list is Bradlee van Pelt. Hallelujah. I could have told Mike Shanahan years ago to save his time, but I’m just glad it’s over now. Can you imagine if van Pelt had had to fill in during a playoff run and we had to root for and rely on him? Thank goodness it never came to that. Now we just need to cut Cecil Sapp, even though he never plays. (Hey, this is the one week a year I acknowledge CSU, though I’m not about to talk about Montana State.)

Promising young players. The Broncos were 13-3 and went to the AFC title game last year, but I like that rookie class more and more as we close in on the season. Jay Cutler has everyone in town excited, Mike Bell may start, and while I don’t think I’ve seen him play, I have faith in Elvis Dumervil. Second-year man Cedric Cobbs only played late in games, but piled up yards and ran with passion. Yes, he did it against fourth-stringers, but a lot of Denver’s successful backs get their start that way.

The back seven. Champ, Darrent Williams, Domonique Foxworth, and Karl Paymah at least grant the Broncos the appearance of quality depth at corner. The safeties look solid, though I’m curious if any of the young guys will work their way into the lineup. Linebacker remains a position of strength.

The bad:

Plummer’s backup? I am glad Jay Cutler has looked good in the preseason. I’d love him to make the Hall of Fame. That said, I am a little concerned that we’re one (femur) snap away from starting a rookie. Then again, it’s been a few years since I’ve really liked our backups, so Cutler still represents an improvement at No. 2. And besides, everyone wants to see him play sometime this year. (Speaking of which, why do NFL fans love young quarterbacks so much? No one wants Al Wilson to go down so we can see what his backup can do, you know?)

D-line. Storylines were the saving grace of last year’s defensive line. Each time one of the Cleveland imports made a tackle, announcers and columnists alike praised the front office’s genius. But if the four players couldn’t have been related in some way, none of them would have looked special-basically, four guys got credit for doing the work of one or two good players. And Trevor Pryce is gone.

New ex-Brown Kenard Lang played well in the preseason, but I still wonder where the pass rush will come from. Our speedy and deep linebacker corps assures effective blitzing, but you can’t send the house every time.

Pass catching. Darius Watts didn’t make the team. You’ve heard of Rod Smith and Javon Walker. But do you know who’s No. 3 out of Todd Devoe, Charlie Adams, David Kircus, and Brandon Marshall?

Ed McCaffrey and Smith turned out very well, but the Broncos haven’t really developed a solid contributor at the position since. (Maybe that’s unfair-Ashley Lelie had his moments, despite a work ethic that can only be described as Congressional.) In any event, I’m not particularly confident in any of the third options. And it doesn’t help that none of the tight ends are established receiving threats.

What do you think? Do I need to change that division title prediction?