My attitude is, I'll let someone else deal with it. The payoff isn't as good as it used to be, not even close, and there's no stealing these guys late. I am guessing that Torain's ADP will be around 1.11 in deep dynasty leagues, and I bet he goes before Flacco in a lot of drafts. That's crazy.
I agree that that is crazy. Everyone remembers late Denver pickups doing well and thinks they're a sure thing. They forget that in order to do well, those pickups had to climb to the top of the depth chart. Davis did well because he was an all-world talent, Gary did well because Davis got injured, Anderson did well because Gary AND Davis got injured, Portis did well because he was an all-world talent, Droughns did well because Griffin, Hearst, Anderson, and Bell got injured. Unless you think that Torain is going to be an all-world talent (a la Portis and Davis), or that everyone ahead of him is going to implode (a la Droughns, Gary, and Anderson), counting on any value from him is silly.
And how many picks have they wasted trying to replace him?
And how many playoff wins has Champ brought them?
That's what I thought.
And seeing how they burn FA dollars on bums (Walker, 10+ DEs), they should have invested it into Portis.
To answer your questions in order...
And how many picks have they wasted trying to replace him?
1- Tatum Bell. And that one pick was a pick ACQUIRED IN THE PORTIS TRADE, so it's not like losing Portis cost them a single draft pick in the quest to find his successor. Any other RBs that have been drafted in the interim were just because it was standard operating procedure for Denver to take an RB late, regardless of who was on the roster (see Davis, Gary, and Anderson, for instance).
And how many playoff wins has Champ brought them?
More than Portis brought them. With Portis, Denver never made it out of wildcard weekend. With Bailey, Denver had HFA in the AFC Championship Game. If you want to measure a player's worth based on what his team does in the playoffs (which is LUDICROUS, but you're the one who brought it up), then Bailey must blow Portis out of the water. I mean, has Washington had HFA in the NFCCG since the Portis trade? And this is despite the fact that the NFC is clearly weaker than the AFC, too...
And seeing how they burn FA dollars on bums (Walker, 10+ DEs), they should have invested it into Portis.
Why pay the 3rd or 4th best RB in the league like the best RB in the league when you could instead use that money to pay the best CB in the league like the best CB in the league? Especially considering, you know, CB is a more valuable position than RB. Just look at how mediocre CBs break the bank in free agency, while elite RBs (such as Edge James and Shaun Alexander a couple of years ago) command next to no interest on the trade market. But maybe you just know more about football than every single GM and coach in the NFL.
This to me is the critical point. Bailey's a fine player but the Denver backfield has been a mess since Portis was traded. And I think that's been a key reason why the team hasn't done as well. Even with Bailey, the defense has had its issues (they were one of the worst in the league last season in passing TDs allowed, for example) and the running game hasn't been the same. They've had five different starting RBs the past two seasons alone and could add a sixth to the list this season if Torain gets a shot. If anything, I think the dropoff in talent at RB from Portis to WhoIsGoingToBeTheStarterThisWeek has been just as significant as the talent upgrade the Broncos received at CB with Bailey.
Before Champ Bailey came to town, Lenny Walls was a starting CB. Lenny Walls. Where's Lenny Walls now? At least when Bell left he made an NFL roster. I'd say that the dropoff from an elite RB to a journeyman-caliber RB is far less than the dropoff from one of the best CBs in NFL history to a guy who is clearly not NFL caliber.And yes, the defense has had its issues even with Bailey around. Washington's offense has had its issues with Portis around, too. The first year after the Portis trade, Washington ranked 31st in scoring offense. In the 4 years since the trade, their average rank in scoring offense was 20.5. The year after the Bailey trade, Denver ranked 9th, and in the 4 years since the trade, their average rank has been 12th (including 3 top-10 finishes and a #3 overall finish).
First off, blaming the woes of a unit on a single player is crazy- everyone who watched Denver play knows that their defensive failings last season were the result of the front 7, not the back 4- and second off, it's even crazier in this instance, because as "little" impact as Bailey has had in Denver (and I'd hardly call a DPoY-caliber season and one of the best 2-year stretches any CB has posted in NFL history "little" impact)... Portis has had even LESS impact in Washington.
The funniest thing about people who badmouth Denver letting Portis go is that, if you look at team rushing totals, the three best rushing seasons in Denver history are 1998 (when Davis was running wild), 2003 (when Portis was running wild)... and 2005 (when Anderson and Bell were running wild). And of the three, you could easily argue that 2005 was the most impressive (2539/25 @ 4.7 ypc compared to 2629/20 @ 4.8 and 2468/26 @ 4.7 in 2003 and 1998, respectively). I mean, in the best post-Portis year, they had 90 fewer yards and 5 more TDs than in the best Portis year. And it was done with far worse weapons in the passing game (an old Rod Smith, Ashley Lelie, and Jeb Putzier vs. a less-old Rod Smith, Ashley Lelie, and Shannon Sharpe).
I'm remembering fondly all of the Super Bowl wins the Broncos ripped off WITH Portis.
I'm remembering fondly all of the Super Bowl wins the Broncos ripped off WITH Portis.
I'm remembering fondly all of the Super Bowl wins the Broncos ripped off WITH Portis.It was a great trade for Denver, period.By your logic, Dan Marino must have been a horrible draft choice.
