It's hard to imagine that, if the Broncos knew that they would be above .500 and jockeying for a playoff spot, they would have traded Brandon Lloyd to the Rams. After all, he's the kind of reciever who can contort his body to catch balls that are out of reach for average guys, balls that are thrown in the "area code", as Cecil Lammey puts it. Lloyd can flip around in the air like a cat thrown from a roof. Were he still a Bronco there's little doubt that he could single-handedly bring Tim Tebow's completion percentage up over 50%. Lloyd would certainly catch the balls that hit him in the hands; which is more than Eddie Royal and Eric Decker can say. The fact of the matter is, we miss Brandon Lloyd.
There are those who speculate that Lloyd wasn't "buying into the system" and that he was angry about Kyle Orton's benching. He's also suspected of being the un-named player who leaked comments to the press about Tebow's poor performance in training camp. He's saying the right things lately, though. In fact, he's been nothing but kind toward the Broncos and Tebow in the media.
Lloyd gave an interview to Matt Maiocco of Comcast Sportsnet in San Francisco in which he had nothing but love for his former team and it's young QB. When asked about the Broncos' attempts to trade Kyle Orton in the off-season, Lloyd recalled his feelings:
"Hey, trade him now so we can go into the Tebow era. Let's get it over with and see if he's got it."
Obviously, Orton never was traded. When asked how he felt about the changes Denver has made, Lloyd said this:
"They did it. They structured the offense around him and they're having success with it. It's good for them. Hopefully, they get the desired result and they make a push and get into the playoffs and it'll work out."
When asked if he was surprised by the Broncos' success with Tebow, Lloyd said this:
"Not at all. That's what I saying back in the summertime. Just gives us something to believe in. All I wanted in the summertime was some clarity."
Brandon Lloyd isn't making it easy to be a hater. He's been the only real bright spot for the Rams this season, having already made enough big catches to grant the Broncos a 5th round pick rather than a 6th in next years draft. Still, we miss him. As the Broncos battle with the Raiders for a playoff spot it would sure be nice if we still had his hands.
