June 12, 2012; Englewood, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) during Minicamp at the Denver Broncos training facility. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE

No team has changed their style more in the past two seasons than the Denver Broncos. First, let’s look at their 2012 draft picks:

2 36 Derek Wolfe DT Cincinnati
2 57 Brock Osweiler QB Arizona State
3 67 Ronnie Hillman RB San Diego State
4 101 Omar Bolden CB Arizona State
4 108 Philip Blake C Baylor
5 137 Malik Jackson DE Tennessee
6 188 Danny Trevathan LB Kentucky

The team had a horrible run under Josh McDaniels, who gutted the team of their best talent, namely QB Jay Cutler and WR Brandon Marshall, because of his own ego problems. Mercifully, the organization fired him, put John Elway as President, and hired ex-Panthers coach John Fox.

I’ve always felt Fox was one of the better NFL coaches. He’s very good at being flexible and playing to his team’s strengths. He also has former Jaguars Head Coach Jack del Rio as his Defensive Coordinator. Del Rio’s teams always played very solid defense, so he’s a great asset to have.

As a result, the 2011 Broncos resembled almost a Wishbone-style college offense. Tim Tebow was a fullback playing QB and at 245 pounds with arms like a linebacker’s, the style worked. Tebow couldn’t complete half his passes so Fox ran, ran, and ran some more. Along with arguably the best pass-rushing duo in the NFL, 2011 DROY Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil, the Bronco defense punished enemy QBs relentlessly.

However, they still had holes to fill and played in the weakest division in the NFL last season. They won the division with an 8-8 record and amazingly defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime in their first playoff game. That solidified Tebow’s mystery-quarterback status – a runner who can throw the ball a little bit but manages to win games. It sort of reminded me of Jim Plunkett – he played UGLY UGLY, but all he did was win games. Their styles were quite different, but the end results are similar.

Tebow’s now a New York Jet and all we DO know about him is that he’s on the punt-protection team there. Yeah, that’s what I’d use a former first-round QB pick on. *yawn*

That takes us to Peyton Manning. The biggest unrestricted free agent in NFL history (and most publicized) picked the Broncos over 5 or 6 other suitors. Manning and Elway connected on a level no other organization could match since Elway is a Hall of Fame Super Bowl-winning quarterback himself. There’s little question that Peyton will wind up in Canton as well, but his presence will dramatically change the offensive outlook for 2012.

Gone are the days of 60+ rush attempts and student body left, student body right runs. Peyton has a vast array of talents, but running is definitely not one of them. He won’t be pushing Cam Newton’s rushing records. Ever.

What he WILL do is deliver patented pinpoint passes to a group of so far pedestrian WRs that do show some talent but were handcuffed by Tebow’s lack of ability last season.

As for off-season moves, they signed WR Brandon Stokley, who happens to be one of Peyton’s best friends and an ex-teammate, to a one-year contract. He’ll likely work the slot and be a reserve but their history means Stokley should be on the same page as Manning in pretty much any situation.

They also signed TE Jacob Tamme from Indianapolis. Tamme was a backup but played outstanding football when Manning’s favorite target, TE Dallas Clark, went down with an injury. That’s TWO new weapons that have a history with Peyton. Tamme could either start or be the 2nd TE in double-TE sets. They also signed Bengals reserve WR Andre Caldwell to put into the mix.

Manning’s main WR targets are Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas. Thomas has been hampered by injuries in his first two seasons but shows a lot of ability when he’s on the field. Oftentimes, it’s the third NFL season when players break out if they’re going to, and having Peyton throwing him passes will certainly help.

Eric Decker should be the most dangerous WR on the team. In 2011, even with Tim Tebow throwing passes, he had over 600 yards receiving…and 8 TDs. He has a nose for the endzone and could really blossom.

The Bronco running game only has to be good enough to make defenses play more “honestly,” but they’ll know the biggest threat is Peyton’s arm. The Broncos have punishing RB Willis McGahee and underachieving former first-round pick Knowshon Moreno. Moreno’s production has fallen in each of his first three seasons and really needs to step up his play this year. The running game looks good enough with McGahee to give the team a lot of things for defenses to worry about.

In 2011, the Denver pass defense was excellent. Veteran shutdown corner Champ Bailey still has gas in the tank, although his skills are beginning to diminish with age. Their two pass-rushers I mentioned earlier are as good a duo as you’ll find, but they were rather soft up the middle against the run.

2007 All-Pro DT Ty Warren missed the entire 2011 campaign due to injury, and it showed with their difficulties in stopping the run. He should be healthy in 2012, giving the defense an instant boost. For good measure, the Broncos got a great value pick in round two with DT Derek Wolfe. If Warren plays to his old form and Wolfe can step in and be solid while he’s learning the NFL game, this defense WILL be a force to be reckoned with.

As such, the Broncos ranked 20th in overall yds/game defense in 2011 and came on strong in the second half of the season. That’s John Fox’s influence showing as a “defensive guru” showing. He loves the 4-3, and those two DT additions should really shore up a defensive line that was last season’s weakness. It should become a strength now with Brodrick Bunkley providing depth or starting depending on the development of rookie Derek Wolfe in the preseason.

At linebacker, things won’t change much other than players moving up/down the depth chart. They should once again field LBs D.J. Williams, Joe Mays, and Von Miller.

The secondary is probably the biggest concern. Both starting CBs are at least 30 yrs old (Bailey and Andre Goodman) and longtime veteran safety Brian Dawkins retired at age 38. Look for the Broncos to hit the secondary hard post-2012 season and in the 2013 draft. It was Von Miller’s development and the defense gelling in the second half that improved their overall pass defense.

So, where does that put the team? They were 8-8 last season, a division champion, and won a playoff game so the bar is set rather high. As for the draft, it appears they sprinkled in rookie help at most positions, not concentrating on any single one. They even picked up Arizona State QB Brock Osweiler as they know Manning only has 2 to 3 years left in his incredible career, so they are looking to the future as well.

With that in mind, the addition of Peyton Manning means the team took….

…the maximum 3 steps forward. They should be an offensive dynamo with a lot of depth at WR if someone can step up to the plate. Manning’s coach-on-the-field style will help the youngsters learning curve, and the addition of TE Tamme provides some measure of security. Manning himself is worth 2 stars and the forecast is for the rush defense to improve nicely. Every team has holes, but their pass rush roughly negates the “average” secondary – but Champ Bailey is still an anchor.

If Manning can return to 90% of his old self, look for the 2012 incarnation of the Denver Broncos to win 12 games in a weak division and push the Patriots, Steelers, and Ravens for a Super Bowl berth.

Next up….the Detroit Lions.

April 27, 2012; Jacksonville FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars first round draft pick Justin Blackmon (center) is surrounded by his family including (from left) father Warren Blackmon , sister Avamarie Blackmon , brother Warren Blackmon, Jr. and mother Donna Blackmon during a press conference at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-US PRESSWIRE

With first-round WR talent coming out of Stillwater, OK almost in consecutive years, it was inevitable that Justin Blackmon and Dez Bryant would be compared to one another. The best way to sum up the situation was that Blackmon was like Bryant, but without the baggage.

Well, the airlines must’ve sent that baggage to be deterred in North Korea or something for months, because it arrived and was reunited with Blackmon Sunday in the form of a DUI.

He pleaded not guilty in the case yesterday. He has a misdemeanor of possession of alcohol on his record now and could be entering the league on suspension. The District Attorney says no plea bargain will be offered, and Blackmon’s breathalyzer showed not one, not two, but three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system.

Can he change his plea to “not guilty, just sloshed?”

“Blitzed” would be a great descriptor for a football guy if he played on defense. “Bombed” would work, if he were a deep threat, which he’s not. I guess he POSSESSED too much alcohol in a body-catch? Okay, that’s a stretch, and not a good one at that. Maybe he was just in a religious fit and had been “taking a LOT of Communion.”

Poor Jacksonville. They keep completely whiffing first-round choices. They took Blaine “Street Magic/Gridiron Tragic” Gabbert last year. He played like a 9 month old with an erector set would. In 2008, they nabbed Florida DE Derrick Harvey, good for 2 sacks a year. In ’03-05 they had QB Byron Leftwich, WR Reggie Williams, and WR Matt Jones. They simply have not drafted a true impact player in round one in…..ever. Not in the first round, anyway. Sure, they’ve drafted some great talent but not at those positions. Their best first-round pick was probably the first one they ever had and used on Tony Boselli. Take away any position with the word “tackle” in it, and they’ve busted on the pick.

THAT is as much a reason why the Jags have largely been perennial cellar-dwellers as anything. Former Head Coach Jack Del Rio had them playing well on the defensive side despite ever having an elite pass rush OR an offense that could ever do too much in the air. That’s actually an accomplishment, and it will be very interesting to see what the man does in Denver as their defensive coordinator with a proven pass rusher on BOTH sides – Elvis Dumervil on the strong side and Von Miller on the weak.

In short, the Broncos appear to be that team that Del Rio tried to build in Jacksonville but failed. Another Del Rio – Jack’s son, Luke – completes this strange circle by deciding to attend Oklahoma State this fall…as a quarterback.

Prepare yourselves readers, this is going to be a wild ride.

With the possibilities of trades, and all sorts of nonsense dealing with the “New” NFL year, this is going to be a crazy draft.

We have no idea what the Carolina Panthers are going to do.

They have narrowed down their pick to include: Cam Newton, Marcell Dareus, Patrick Peterson, and A.J. Green.

I personally have exhausted all my resources, and yet none have even the slightest idea as to who to lean towards.

Ready yourselves, we have 4 hours and 20 minutes. I’ll be back shortly before the draft to report on any news.

Update: I have been noticing a rise in Von Miller (OLB from Texas A&M), don’t count him out as a possible #1 pick.