I’ll be watching the young guys and the new additions, won’t put much salt into this game though, it’s the next two that are most meaningful. The Bengals have already played a game, so they may look more sharp out there tonight. We’ll see if any patterns develop though, like not being able to run the football or not getting to the quarterback. The offensive line is the Broncos biggest question mark.

I keep hearing all this nonsense about how the Denver Broncos 2009 season rested on a mistake play with an opportunistic Brandon Stokley making the flub grab for a touchdown in week one.

As if that was the only point of significance that could have gone either way last year… How about 3rd and 25 against the Eagles deep in the fourth quarter with the game on the line? Defense makes a stop on a 3rd and 25 play and there’s a win right there. How about 4th and 10 in the final minutes of the fourth quarter against Jamarcus the Hutt Russell, eh? Make a stop there and there’s two more wins.

I trust McDaniels won’t spoil too much of his gameplan in the preseason, he’s the second coming of Sun Tzu, so he won’t do that. Unlike that Huckdort up in Chicago, I said last year, I said they played their hand when they faced the Broncos, and I was right. Shut down that tight end Olsen and Hucky and Co. got nothing. They played their hand to win a preseason game. For some reason, we couldn’t figure out they were throwing it to the TE over and over again. Probably that Nolan brainfarting.

I hear that Shanahan thought Huckdort, Marshall and the rest of the old crew were Super Bowl caliber. They were on the verge of a Superbowl in Denver, did you hear that one? What a joke that is, a bunch of poor character, me first losers who never won anything. Maybe we should discuss at length Jay Huckdort Cutler’s playoff prowess–oh yeah, that’s right he could never get into the post season. He is a ticking time bomb, a pick waiting to happen, defenses know it and I love it.

Shanahan will be a good coach for the Redskins, but his time in Denver was long over. Year after year just a few players away from a Super Bowl, eh? Maybe that’s why they were practicing without pads, maybe that’s why they were spoiled. Shanahan stayed on too long, his ways got stale and the writing was on the wall. If he has success with Washington it tells you nothing about the Broncos and their decision to give him the axe. Shanahan got comfortable here, too comfortable. That Huckdort ain’t no winner and Shanahan couldn’t field a defense year after year.

I’m sure Timmy Teebs will take the field in the fourth quarter tonight, some people will be hanging on every pass he throws–not me. Remember a guy by the name of Bradlee Van Pelt, eh? Back in 2005? Came in there and lit everybody up, he ran, he threw he looked like the second coming of John Elway. Rookie cards went through the roof. Then comes the regular season and he plays one game–it was deer in the headlights city–and he’s pretty much out of the league. Not to mention a guy by the name of John Elway, who’s first year was a disaster. Steve Young? Dismal his first two years. This Tebow doesn’t even have the throwing pedigree, he doesn’t even have the throwing acumen of an Elway or a Young, so any dream of Tebow the “pocket passer” is gonna take time.

Why did he draft him, eh? Why did he draft Tebow? Was it Tebow’s intelligence, his will to win and study, putting in the extra effort to retain the complex plays? Was it McDaniels thinking he was the coach who could make Teebs an NFL starting quarterback?’

I say none of that. It was his versatility. That’s why we drafted him. That’s the sure thing about him. To anyone who thinks this Tebow’s just gonna hold a clipboard this year, you better think again. We’ll see who the geniuses are come the regular season.

Shanahan already trying to sandbag and pilfer from us eh? What a joke, enjoy that team and that owner. He ain’t no Bowlen thats for damn sure. Only thing I got against Bowlen is the brown suits. Who the hell wears a brown suit?  Good to see McDaniels and Co. won’t play his game. Maybe Shanny will do us a favor and take some of these weak Broncos fans off our hands now that Chicago isn’t such a glowing option.

Updates 4:30pm

Denver Post:

Mike Klis sums up the first official day of Broncos training camp.  Ryan Torain and Brandon Marshall impressed.

DenverBroncos.com:

Day 1 of training camp’s first practice summary and photos.

MileHighReport:

A bevvy of quotes on the first day of camp from Josh McDaniels, Kyle Orton and Brian Dawkins.

Denver Post:

Champ Bailey claims he is losing sleep over not winning a Super Bowl.  Normally a player who leads by example, Champ gets rather vocal in this article and he intends to let players know what it means to him if he senses a lack of effort which he felt at times during last season. If there aren’t improvements this year in Denver, I think the Broncos might do themselves and Champ well by pulling a Ray Bourque type trade after season’s end.

Mark Kiszla picks what he feels is the best Denver Broncos jersey number to invest in, and the winner is…

Knowshon Moreno’s contract as the 12th overall draft pick might give the Broncos fits due to the Raiders signing of seventh pick Darrius Heyward-Bey at an increase of 20 percent guaranteed money over last year’s seventh pick.

Mike Klis analyzes 10 questions as the Broncos open training camp.

CBS4Denver:

Head Coach Josh McDaniels will implement a somewhat tougher training camp schedule than his predecessor Mike Shanahan. Not only will the players practice in pads much more frequently, he is also doing away with letting certain veterans skip the afternoon practices in two-a-days.

Shanahan's Last Stand

I talked to Horvil on the phone and he’s devastated so I’ll chime in on the news. I certainly don’t think Mike Shanahan is a bad coach, but (and I hate to agree somewhat with a certain “PP”) indeed, the team seemed to stop responding to him at times, much like Dan Reeves later in his tenure and Don Shula with the Dolphins. The collapse towards the end of this season was really painful to watch . With all the head coach firings going on, someone is likely going to get a good head coach in Mike Shanahan and I will have somewhat of a secondary rooting interest (unless it’s a division rival). Unfortunately, some other team may now have access to the “magic hoar-farm bag” where Horvil apparently thinks Shanahan scripts the first fifteen plays. It will be so very interesting to see just who ends up as Denver’s new head coach. I would imagine a Broncos team with Jay Cutler at the helm of an up and coming young offense should be an enticing offer to potential head coach candidates. I’m sure I speak for Horvil in saying thanks Mike, for the memories and the wisdoms.

The Broncos released safety Herana-Daze Jones and signed tight end Jeb Putzier. Putzier was a pretty sure handed receiver for Jake Plummer in the Broncos 2004-2005 seasons.

The Rocky Mountain News has a few words with the returning Jeb Putzier, and posts some injury updates:

Champ Bailey is practicing but will not run full speed until Saturday.

Linebacker D.J. Williams has returned to practice after missing 5 games with a sprained knee and will be evaluated under a watchful eye.

Running back Selvin Young has started to practice fully, but Mike Shanahan states Young’s conditioning or “football shape” is a concern after missing so many games.

Safety Marlon McCree is set to return. Receiver Brandon Stokley should play Sunday.

Spencer Larsen didn’t practice yesterday with a groin injury. Linebacker Mario Haggan practiced after a knee injury last Sunday.

RMN also points out Jay Cutler needs only 321 yards to reach 4,000 passing yards.

Yahoo Sports serves up an AP article focusing on the emergence of undrafted Linebacker Wesley Woodyard. Our own Horvil Tiki awarded Woodyard a Tiki Torch award for excellence in execution during last Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.

DenverBroncos.com has the transcripts of Jay Cutler and Mike Shanahan’s Wednesday press conference.

Terrell Davis and Shannon Sharpe are among 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2009 (source Rocky Mountain News). Here’s to hoping at least one of them gets to join Gary Zimmerman and John Elway in the Hall.

The Broncos also waived safety Roderick Rogers (Denver Post) after an unspectacular performance against Oakland on Sunday. In yesterday’s media chat transcript Mike Shanahan states he is still looking for someone to step up at the safety position. The team signed S Josh Barrett off their practice squad to active roster last week.

It looks to be an exciting year for Denver fans as the 2008 Broncos seem like a team on a positive rebound from a 7-9 season that featured key injuries, a sputtering red zone offense and a new but ineffective defensive scheme in which the players did not look comfortable with from the get go.

Its true that winning games in the preseason doesn’t really matter (unless you’re Horvil), but the way the team is playing, the starters in particular, is certainly telling. The Broncos offense has looked impressive in its ability to move the chains and score often with Jay Cutler at the helm. In his third season, Cutler is really beginning to live up to his potential as one of the game’s elite quarterbacks. He is mobile, he can make every throw and is a “student of the game” according to Mike Shanahan.

The offensive line, while not the dominating force of the late 90′s Broncos, looks solid and will improve with rookies Ryan Clady and Ryan Harris who is basically a rookie since he was injured last year. Ben Hamilton seems to be fine after his awful concussion last year and center Tom Nalen… well… while I wish Nalen, being the perennial Pro Bowler he is, I wish he could contribute as much as possible this year, but I feel Casey Wiegman may end up being one of the most necessary free agent pickups in the offseason next to Marlon McCree and Boss Bailey. Going into this preseason, I expected Clady to be where he is, good enough to start but not great, not yet at least so no surprise there but Ryan Harris really caught me by surprise. I remember the Broncos were high on him last year and viewing him in the preaseason, he’s big and athletic and I believe Shanahan’s claim that Clady and Harris will be a very good pair of tackles for years to come.

The Broncos will enter this season with a bevy of receivers for Cutler to utilize. The emergence of rookie wide receiver Eddie Royal is huge, if he stays consistent and improves the Broncos will add to an already strong cast of receiving targets with the likes of Darrell Jackson, Brandon Stokely, Tony Scheffler, sure-handed Nate Jackson, Daniel Graham and of course Brandon Marshall who’s rise to stardom is right on par with Cutler. The Broncos running backs Selvin Young, Michael Pittman even catch well, in addition to rookie fullback Peyton Hillis.

The running back situation is an interesting one since Andre Hall has played so well and run with such fierce determination. If Selvin Young’s offseason conditioning and bulking up doesn’t pay dividends and he falls short of his goal as an every-down-back the rotation is in pretty good hands with Hall and the veteran Pittman. Andre Hall even seems like he could take over Selvin Young’s starting position if Young were to falter. Ryan Torain is a bit of an X factor, I have heard praise from coaches and fans who watched him in college yet have seen nothing of him on the field to form an opinion as of yet. If he comes back from his elbow injury in October and plays really well, thats yet another weapon in a very capable offense.

On the defensive side of the ball the Broncos seem to have shored up against the run but continue to serve up an anemic pass rush. As Horvil points out often, the lack of pass rush provides the opposing quarterback with enough time to read those second, third and fourth receivers or better yet, halt his aim until the cornerbacks -no matter how talented- are beaten. So much falls on the shoulders of Jarvis Moss to be the guy Broncos fans hope he will be, the sack specialist who can be counted on for at least 8 sacks or so. The more the merrier really. As it stands I feel John Engelberger is a great backup, a decent guy to have in the rotation, but not a force to be reckoned with. The Broncos need to upgrade the starting defensive end position opposite Dumervil. Until then, I feel this team will be hard pressed to make any havoc in the playoffs without a lot of luck and creative blitzing.

The defensive line seems to hold its ground and even get some penetration this preseason. Last year’s line seemed to get manhandled and oft beaten at the point of attack. One player in particular I’ve noticed playing well is Dewayne Robertson. He doesn’t seem to get pushed around and I’ve witnessed him on many occasions keeping his position at the line of scrimmage and riding the offensive lineman parallel to the line to get in on the running play. While perhaps unspectacular this is a much better showing than getting blown off the ball or being eaten up completely by the offensive linemen.

The defense seems to be an adequate one with few big names besides Champ Bailey, Dre Bly, Elvis Dumervil and D.J. Williams. Marlon McCree and Marquand Manuel may not be all-world but they do seem to be very consistent and McCree in particular just seems to have that knack for constantly being around the ball. The linebackers are improved with D.J. Williams, Nate Webster (playing at his best with heavy competition) and the quickness and athleticism of Boss Bailey who hopefully can stay on the field. The defense seems adequate in just about every way besides cornerback which is certainly above average. The real exception I feel is the Broncos have shown me nothing thus far that the glaring issue of a terrible pass rush won’t continue on this way. It hasn’t been addressed much besides trumpeting a “waiting period” for Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder to finally emerge.

If the Broncos offense manages to put up 24+ points a game, I don’t think you need an all world defense. However, I think you do need a pass rush to prevent the opposing team from keeping things close with quick strikes through the air and shootouts that often boil down to a “whoever has possession last wins” type scenario.

Special teams looks surprisingly good to me after consistently lousy play last year which amounted to horrible field position more times than not. The loss of Jason Elam doesn’t sting so bad with Matt Prater playing pretty well and the punter battle was… as epic as a punter battle can be to say the least. There are some good young players like Wesley Woodyard and Niko Koutovides to help control the return lanes as well.

I predict the Broncos will reach the playoffs on a 10-6 or 11-5 record, nothing more, nothing less. Barring injuries I think it’s a pretty easy conclusion. They have an excellent and potentially explosive offense, an adequate defense and a somewhat lighter than usual schedule. I feel the Broncos will reach the playoffs but will be eliminated in the first or second game especially due to their Achilles heel: no or little pass rush. It seems like this one piece of the puzzle that eludes the team. The playoffs are the time when a pass rush is critical, and if not much changes and no one emerges, I think the Broncos will be left wanting.

The Broncos top wide receiver Brandon Marshall missed practice yesterday to appeal his suspension before league officials in New York. Coach Mike Shanahan said it could take a couple of days or weeks to learn if Marshall’s appeal is successful. The Denver Post also reports that the NFL may look into changing the leagues future regular season schedule from 16 games to 18 as part of the new collective bargaining agreement for 2011. The idea hinges on doing away with two preseason games, which are often see less ticket sales since starters have limited playing time or do not play at all.

RMN reports running back Andre Hall is feeling confident and can’t wait for the season to start especially after having tough times in Tampa Bay and Chicago where he didn’t make the teams. RMN also has a piece on former Broncos cornerback Tyrone Braxton. Braxton talks about his winning battle with drug addiction and his new volunteer job as an assistant High School football coach.