Broncos turn page on McDaniels era, take first steps forward

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Josh McDaniels and his videographer have been fired, Denver is abuzz with hope that John Elway will gain a greater role with the Broncos as a chief football executive, and interim coach Eric Studesville exudes enthusiasm.

But that dark cloud that hung over the fractured franchise hasn't dissipated just yet, quarterback Kyle Orton insisted.

"The only way you lift anything is to win football games," Orton said Wednesday before Studesville's first practice. "I mean, if you want to feel better as a player, if you want to feel better as an organization, if you want to feel better as fans, you've got to win."

The Broncos haven't done much of that lately, winning just twice since September and five times since McDaniels burst onto the NFL scene by winning his first six games last season.

They travel to Arizona for a matchup of 3-9 teams Sunday.

Studesville said he wouldn't change much on offense, defense or special teams. But one thing he did adjust was the volume on the music that McDaniels liked to blare over the concert-style speakers during practice. They were silenced after stretching Wednesday, replaced by the sounds of hits and hollers.

When Studesville was promoted, the typical reaction -- even among Broncos players -- was "Eric who?"

Studesville had only been with the Broncos for 11 months, hired Jan. 23 to replace longtime running backs coach Bobby Turner after six seasons in Buffalo.

McDaniels didn't like to let his assistants speak with the media too much, and the only interview Studesville had given in Denver was a brief chat with The Associated Press in mid-November.

So the stealthy Studesville gathered his captains Wednesday morning ahead of his first team meeting for a get-to-know-me session one day after standing in front of cameras and recorders for the first time.

"Really, what I wanted to do was just kind of open those lines of communication," Studesville said. "Some of those guys don't know me very well."

The players quickly got a taste of his passion.

"He's lit up like a kid on Christmas Day," defensive lineman Kevin Vickerson said.

Correll Buckhalter said the rest of his teammates finally saw what the running backs have witnessed all year.

"All he knows what to do is work," Buckhalter said. "He wants everybody to come to work happy, just to feel like you want to come here even though it's a rough season. We still have four games to go."

Studesville said offensive coordinator Mike McCoy will call the plays from the sideline, something McDaniels used to do. McCoy was the quarterbacks coach last year, so Orton is accustomed to having him in his ear.

As Studesville tries for a quick fix to the many problems facing the Broncos on the football field, the organization's brain trust is mapping out a long-term plan to resurrect the franchise.

Team owner Pat Bowlen faces a massive rebuilding project to fix the mess that McDaniels left behind when he was fired Monday after going 11-17 and making a series of personnel miscalculations that cost the Broncos talented players and valuable draft picks.

The Broncos' to-do list includes reconfiguring the structure of the football operations, retooling a gutted roster, refurbishing their tarnished image and regaining the trust of their frustrated fans.

McDaniels was fired with the franchise mired in its worst funk in four decades and encumbered by a videotaping scandal that cast the Broncos as cheaters, although the team's front office and the league said they found no evidence the coach had ordered the illicit taping.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wants to meet with fired videographer Steve Scarnecchia, who was busted for wrongfully taping the San Francisco 49ers' walkthrough Oct. 30 in London after he had been caught up in the 2007 videotaping scandal in New England.

Asked if that meeting had been scheduled, league spokesman Greg Aiello said: "At this point, we are going to consider that a confidential matter."

The NFL fined the Broncos and McDaniels $50,000 each for his failure to report the video violation. If the league uncovers evidence of a more widespread breach, the Broncos could be subject to more severe penalties.

In his 23 months on the job, McDaniels seemed intent on imitating his mentor, New England coach Bill Belichick, from his hoodie to his aloofness. But McDaniels never adopted Belichick's personnel acumen, a series of lopsided trades leaving the Broncos with just a half-dozen picks in next year's draft with which to rebuild a roster that has lost the likes of Peyton Hillis, Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall.

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Broncos chief operating officer Joe Ellis said the next coach probably won't have the same amount of power that Shanahan enjoyed or which McDaniels was given when he was hired at age 32 with no head-coaching or NFL executive experience.

It's still an attractive job, Ellis insisted.

"I believe that we can set up a structure that's attractive to the next candidate and move forward," Ellis said.

Elway returned to the team as a consultant this year, and Bowlen dined with him Monday, spawning speculation that the Hall of Famer could have an expanded role in the organization, perhaps by overseeing an organizational chart that includes both a general manager and a coach with separate duties.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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With Lynch traded, Jackson steps in as Bills' starting RB

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Fred Jackson doesn't have time to question the reasoning behind why the Buffalo Bills traded fellow running back Marshawn Lynch to the Seattle Seahawks -- though he was aware a deal had been in the works.

What matters to Jackson is providing the Bills' sputtering offense a sense of identity now that he has reclaimed the starting job he had in taking over for Lynch midway through last season.

"That's the business side of it, that's what they handle upstairs," Jackson said before practice Wednesday, one day after Lynch was traded to the Seahawks in exchange for draft picks. "All we can do is come out here on the field and play with the guys we have. We have to focus on going out and winning football games."

And that has been the problem for the winless Bills, who are going through another round of upheaval while preparing to host the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2) on Sunday.

Last week, Buffalo shuffled quarterbacks after cutting former starter Trent Edwards, who has since signed with Jacksonville and will serve as the team's backup this weekend. This week, its running backs, as the Bills came to the conclusion that three is, in fact, a crowd.

Lynch's departure frees up more carries for Jackson and rookie first-round pick C.J. Spiller, who has yet to provide the spark he showed in scoring three touchdowns this preseason.

In his first opportunity to discuss the trade, Bills coach Chan Gailey wouldn't provide details into the timing of the move even though Lynch had first asked to be dealt well before the Bills drafted Spiller.

"I don't get into sooner or later, there's a lot of things that go into decisions like this," Gailey said. "You're trying to do what's best for your team. And it worked out that a trade was made, and we're fortunate we have two good players that can carry the load for us the rest of the way."

Gailey said he's leaning on Jackson because, as a fourth-year pro, he has more experience. And he intends to have Spiller more involved. Spiller has scored a touchdown receiving and another on a kickoff return, but he has just 49 yards on 14 carries.

Lynch had received the bulk of the work in starting the past three games, and he led the Bills with 37 carries -- three more than Jackson and Spiller had combined -- for 164 yards. That left Jackson and Spiller splitting limited playing time because Buffalo's offense was either having difficulty sustaining drives or forced to play catch-up by going primarily with a passing attack.

Not much has worked on an offense that has failed to generate 230 yards in three of its four games and is averaging 13.5 first downs.

The Bills all but bottomed out in a 38-14 loss to the New York Jets last weekend. It was a game in which quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick led the team with 74 rushing yards, and Buffalo went 0 of 10 in third-down conversions and finished with 19:31 in time of possession.

Enter Jackson, who had a breakout season last year in finishing with a team-leading and career-best 1,062 rushing yards.

Jackson learned of his promotion upon arriving for team meetings Wednesday and shortly after he wished Lynch well with his new team during a phone conversation.

"Now it's my time to stand up here and try to make plays," Jackson said. "It's going to be a challenge. It always is, but it's a challenge I'm looking forward to."

The trade didn't catch Jackson by surprise because he said Lynch had kept him up to date on the progress of talks over the past few weeks.

Spiller, selected ninth overall out of Clemson, was surprised by the move, saying he believe a three-back rotation had a chance to work. However, Spiller acknowledged he's having difficulty finding his niche.

"I'm still unsure what my role is," he said. "It's kind of disappointing that you don't really know. But at the same time, you know what you can bring to this team. I stay encouraged by that. So you just wait your turn and try to help the team any way you can."

Fitzpatrick wasn't surprised by the trade, given how Buffalo's offense has sputtered and the team is winless.

"Well, there's never a dull moment in the NFL, especially when you're losing," Fitzpatrick said. "It's just one of those things we had talked about, crowded backfield and trying to get everybody touches. Hopefully, it works out for Marshawn, and hopefully, it works out well for us."

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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