Footage of Willis McGahee can be found here.  Video of Elvis Dumervil (who I mistakenly overlooked when he was ranked) after the jump.

Denver Broncos' Von Miller reacts after receiving the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year during the inaugural NFL Honors show Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller, the reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year, was named the 52nd-best player in the NFL by NFL Network (NFLN) on Wednesday.  The Top 100 Players of 2012 has been airing on the network since April, revealing the top 100 players in the league, as voted by the players.

Miller is the third Bronco to make the list, joining defensive end Elvis Dumervil (68th) and running back Willis McGahee (98th).  Cornerback Champ Bailey and possibly quarterback Peyton Manning are also expected to make the cut, which would give Denver five players in the NFL’s Top 100.

This year, Miller is looking to improve on his 64 tackle, 11.5 sack season, who has become just the second Bronco in franchise history to be selected to the Pro Bowl as a rookie.  ”(Von) has been working his butt off this offseason,” Dumervil informed the media after practice on Wednesday.  ”I can’t wait to see the kind of jump he can (make in his second season).”  

“His ability to bend his body, his speed, combined with power — it’s… you just don’t see that,”  Bailey remarked.  ”He’ll probably make the Pro Bowl (every season) for the rest of his career,” added left tackle Ryan Clady.

“It’s just rare — (seeing) that speed from a guy his size (6′-3″, 245 pounds),” concluded Bailey.  His teammates and opponents recognize him as one of the best outside linebackers in the league, but Miller still wants to improve.

“I’m not a rookie anymore. I want to start to play like a vet,” said Miller. “I want to cut down on all the mental errors I had (last season). I just want to be in the spots that my teammates expect me to be in for crunch‐time situations.”

In addition to being ranked among the NFL’s Top 100 Players of 2012, it was also announced on Wednesday that Miller will be recognized at the 37th annual Athlete of the Year awards banquet  by The Denver Athletic Club in June.  Miller will receive top honors as the Denver Athletic Club 2012 Colorado Athlete of the Year. The award recognizes a professional Colorado athlete who has made significant contributions on the field and in the community.

“It just shows the type of teammates and the type of team and the type of season that we had last year,” an honored, yet humble Miller said.  ”I certainly couldn’t have done it by myself. Coach Smith, he had a huge part in helping me come a long as a linebacker and as a football player. Whenever you get individual accolades, there’s always an outside catalyst that made that happen—my teammates and Coach Smith.”

Congrats, Von!  He is definitely deserving of all the accolades he has been awarded.  It will be exciting to watch him improve during his sophomore season.

Refresh your browser accordingly for live updates…

12:00 p.m. (ET):  That’s all for this blog, more information on the Denver Broncos’ new uniform can be found here.

11:56 a.m. (ET):  Here’s an up close shot of Denver’s uniform, with no major changes noticeable

11:52 a.m. (ET):  Finally.  Here’s a shot of all 32 teams’ new uniforms, Denver’s is near the front towards the center.

11:32 a.m. (ET):  Here’s a shot of the Seattle Seahawk‘s new uniform.

11:28 a.m. (ET):  It’s not nice to tell fans you’re going to unveil something at 11:00 a.m. (ET) and then wait until 11:30 to do it.

11:14 (ET):  Bailey:  ”These new uniforms are gonna be nice!”

11:11 a.m. (ET):  They are now saying the uniforms will be released in about 20 minutes, Nike and the NFL are hyping it up trying to be all dramatic.  

11:02 a.m. (ET):  Eagles quarterback Mike Vick: ” The new NFL uniforms thru Nike are going to be crazy… Innovation at its finest!”

11:00 a.m. (ET):  Waiting for pictures from the event to leak…

10:53 a.m. (ET):  For the most part, changes will be made not to the look but to the composition of the jerseys.  The primary opportunity for creativity will come from the alternate uniforms, which teams may wear up to twice per year.

10:50 a.m. (ET):  The team’s new uniform is expected to be very similar to the 2011 orange alternate uniform with possibly a few alterations.

10:48 a.m. (ET):  Cornerback Champ Bailey is the team’s representative at the Nike uniform unveiling today in New York.

10:47 a.m. (ET):  Follow @UniWatch on Twitter for live updates and photos from New York!

10:45 a.m. (ET):  Today at 11:00 a.m. (ET) the Denver Broncos and Nike will unveil the team’s new uniform in New York.  NFL Network will have coverage of the event.

Manning's decision may come tonight. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The waiting game may finally end this evening.

According to NFL Network, free agent quarterback Peyton Manning may sign with a team — whichever team that may be — by this evening, per KMGH‘s Arran Andersen.  The network is also reporting that Manning’s decision is holding up Mario Williams from joining the Broncos, per SFS-S‘s Omar Kelly.

Whether those two reports are true or not remains to be seen, but BT did learn a week ago that the Broncos would pursue both Manning and Williams.  Per reports, Manning is visiting the Titans today and Williams has met with the Bills, so it appears that Denver’s chances of landing both players (if either) are slim.

If Manning does sign with Denver, former Broncos quarterback  Frank Tripucka would be willing to let his #18 jersey come out of retirement.  “It’s been retired for 50 years,” Tripucka told The Denver Post. “That’s long enough.”

Like the rest of the NFL, we’re all waiting on Peyton now.

Broncos' quarterback Tim Tebow and linebacker Von Miller are no strangers to awards and accolades. (Photo courtesy of John Leyba/The Denver Post)

On Saturday night, one day before Super Bowl XLVI, the NFL will salute its best players and plays from the 2011 season with “NFL Honors,” a star-studded football and entertainment event on NBC.  The first show of it’s kind, the  two-hour primetime awards special will air nationally starting at 9 p.m. (ET).

Taking place at the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis, the show will be hosted by Alec Baldwin. Fourteen awards we be announced, including seven Associated Press awards.

Among the awards that will be announced are the League MVP (AP voted), Coach of the Year (AP), Rookie of the Year (AP), Fantasy Player of the Year (NFL.com) and the Comeback Player of the Year (AP) awards.  There will be four Rookie awards given, with Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller a candidate for two of them.

With Miller a likely Defensive Rookie of the Year nominee, second year quarterback Tim Tebow may also be up for several awards.  The NFL’s Fantastic Finish of the Year and Play of the Year awards are expected to feature Tebow’s much-documented season heroics and accomplishments.

Red Carpet coverage of the event starts at 8 p.m. (ET) on NFL Network.  You can read about all fourteen of the awards at NFL.com/Honors.

Click here to watch the NFL Network crew discuss how far the Broncos can go this season (starting at the 5:33 mark).

Denver Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey (24) intercepts a pass intended for Oakland Raiders wide receiver Denarius Moore (17) in the second quarter of an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. The Broncos won 38-24. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.  That has to be the thinking of Oakland Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer.

While in Cincinnati, Palmer played the Denver Broncos and cornerback Champ Bailey three times (2004, 2006 and 2009).  In those three games, Bailey defended three passes (one of which he tipped and was intercepted) and intercepted two more passes himself.

Surely, Palmer has learned his lesson.  Right?

Nope.

Early in the first quarter of Sunday’s game in Oakland, Palmer hit receiver Jacoby Ford on a traditional curl route against Bailey.  Bailey was not able to break on the ball in time and whiffed on the tackle and Ford was able to run for a 34-yard gain before Bailey tracked him down and made the tackle (forcing a fumble in the process).

Later in the second quarter, Palmer hit receiver Denarius Moore for a six yard gain against Bailey.  On the next play, as if he had been toasting Bailey all day and had a favorable match-up in a fifth round draft pick, Palmer targeted Moore again on a fade route — with Bailey in coverage.

The result was Bailey’s first of two interceptions on the day, the other coming later in the game when rookie linebacker Von Miller pressured Palmer into throwing off balance.  Bailey walked away from the game with 50 career interceptions, four courtesy of Palmer.

One thing is certain, Palmer obviously didn’t watch NFL Network while he was locked out and holding out the past few months.

Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers is the consensus best player available, but do NFL teams agree? (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Round One is in the books, so tonight the Denver Broncos lock in to Rounds Two and Three of the 2011 NFL Draft.

The Broncos currently have three selections in these two rounds — 36th overall (4th pick in 2nd round), 46th overall (14th pick in 2nd round), and 67th overall (3rd pick in 3rd round), so it’s possible they could snag two of these players depending on who falls. Which prospects catch your eye?

Notes:

• Clearly Da’Quan Bowers is the consensus top pick, but will teams continue to shy away from the Clemson powerhouse following his knee injury? If he falls to the Broncos at 36 should they jump on him?
• (Not literally, that might hurt his knee.)
• Only two other players appear in all four Top 10 lists: LB Akeem Ayers (who, coincidentally, always appears third) and DT Stephen Paea.
• 29 of the 40 selections are defensive players.

Round Two is set to begin tonight at 4pm MT.

Taking advantage of his versatility, the Chiefs have found a wide variety of ways to get McCluster the ball. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Each week, coaches in the NFL watch film on their upcoming opponent.  They then come up with a game plan based off what they saw on the film.  Similarly, in BT’s Film Room, I’ll watch film on the Broncos upcoming foe week-to-week and give you my thoughts on what to watch for on Sunday. This week: Kansas City Chiefs Edition.

The Chiefs enter week nine with the best rushing attack, and one of the most talented offenses in the NFL.  To prepare for that, the Broncos will have to key several players on Sunday.  Among those players are:

WR/RB Dexter McCluster. A 22-year old rookie out of Mississippi, McCluster has contributed just about everywhere for the Chiefs this season.  Taking full use of his talent, the Chiefs have used McCluster in a variety of ways.  This season, Dexter has caught 15 passes for 147 yards and a score, rushed 11 times for 60 yards and returned 17 kicks for 361 yards, including a 94-yard punt return for a touchdown.

The Broncos can limit his productivity by not letting the Chiefs get him the ball in space.  For example, kicking away from him, containing the outside (where he’ll receive sweeps and reverses), and by not giving him as much of a cushion as Travis LaBoy did on the play seen below:

On the play seen in the video above, the Chiefs did a basic play-action pass play and McCluster snuck out into the flats – LaBoy’s zone.  The Broncos’ Jason Hunter, Mario Haggan and other linebackers could all find themselves in a similar situation this week, covering McCluster in the flats.  The Broncos will have to play tighter on McCluster when he goes out for a pass, and break down and wrap up when he has the ball in space, two things the 49ers’ Laboy failed to do – and he paid for it.

Faster than a linebacker and too shifty for a defensive back to bring him down, McCluster is an explosive offensive weapon. Speaking of explosive, that brings us to the next player Denver will need to key on:

RB Jamaal Charles — a name Bronco fans know all too well. Last season Charles rushed for 315 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Broncos in just two games.  Much to the Broncos chagrin, Charles is just as agile and powerful as he was last season, maybe even more so.

Jamaal does have his weaknesses, he’s fumbled 7 times over the past three years (370 carries), and prefers to not run between the tackles.  He tends to bounce his runs outside, and the Chiefs give most of the inside carries to Thomas Jones.  That said, he’s still often effective running inside plays.

The above play was executed to perfection by the Chiefs, everyone got to their blocks, opening a hole for Charles, who made the safety miss, and the result was a touchdown.

The Broncos will have to contain the outside when Charles is in the game, much like they did against the Titans’ Chris Johnson a few weeks ago.  Charles breaking big runs up the gut seems to happen only on rare occasions, so creating a defensive scheme that would prevent him from getting to the edge should effectively eliminate his productivity.

Joining Charles in the backfield is Thomas Jones, who, even at 32, is having a stellar year.  Having started six games this season, Kansas City’s Jones has rushed 137 times for 570 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Though he is more of a power back than Charles, Jones is also capable of breaking of big runs.

The Chiefs one-two punch of Jones and Charles is one to be feared, yet can be contained – to some extent.  The Broncos can slow down the League’s best rushing attack by stacking the line of scrimmage, bringing up Brian Dawkins to help in run support, and having the outside linebackers play their outside of the tackles responsibilities.  Doing that however, could open things up for the Chiefs passing game. Which brings us to another player the Broncos should key on Sunday.

WR Dawyn Bowe. Standing 6-2, and weighing in at 221 pounds, Bowe is a physical wide receiver that the Chiefs use as a deep threat and run blocking asset.  One of the Chiefs favorite passing plays is in trips WR sets with Bowe in the slot.  The inside receiver runs a out pattern and Bowe slips right underneath that route and continues across the field right under the linebackers’ zones.  The play has worked to perfection in previous games, and opened up other plays as well.  About two minutes into the video seen below,  you can see a few similar plays where Bowe crosses midfield, sliding right under the linebackers.

If you’re a Bronco fan you could really care less about this… actually if you’re in NFL fan you should love this. Nonetheless, the NFLN should have edited this on national television, and now they are hearing waves about this. Love it or hate it, McDaniels is passionate.

UPDATE: The NFL YouTube police took the earlier video down, so we posted a new working (and more, um, enthusiastic) version. Thanks to areferee in the comments.