Mark Sanchez #6 of the New York Jets recovers a fumbled snap in the second quarter against Von Miller #58 of the Denver Broncos at Invesco Field at Mile High on November 17, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Imag

The accolades continue to pour in for Denver Broncos rookie sensation Von Miller — though, in our opinion, this one tops the list to date.

Miller has been named second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press, the Denver Broncos announced.

Miller is the only Bronco on either the first team or second team. Other Broncos to get votes were Chris Kuper (4), Champ Bailey (3), Elvis Dumervil (1), Matt Prater (1) and Britton Colquitt (1). You can see the full All-Pro teams in the link above.

It’s quite a feat for a rookie to make an All-Pro team. Congrats to Miller, who is a top candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year and can be voted as Rookie of the Year now.

Denver Broncos injury report: As expected, safety Brian Dawkins has officially been ruled out of Sunday’s playoff contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Fullback Spencer Larsen is doubtful. Safety David Bruton and cornerback Jonathan Wilhite are questionable, while wide receiver Eddie Royal and linebacker Von Miller are probable.

The loss (and presumed loss) of Dawkins and Larsen are hard to qualify. The Broncos defense played very well last week, but it hasn’t been the same without its leader on the field. And no run-first team is going to be as effective without its lead blocker.

We’ll have the Steelers’ injury report when it becomes available.

Quarterback Tim Tebow #15 of the Denver Broncos warms up prior to facing the Kansas City Chiefs at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on January 1, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Yahoo!‘s Mike Silver wrote one of the most controversial Tim Tebow columns earlier in the season, quoting a “highly knowledgeable” member of the organization as saying Tebow could be fairly evaluated to the be the fourth string quarterback on the team.

The column caused quite a stir; John Fox indirectly responded by saying something about the team chef being a team source, and the Broncos PR staff, in my opinion, threw a number of indirect barbs Silver’s way in social media in the following week.

Simply the fact that Silver continues to be given access in Broncos headquarters tells me two things: his history with John Elway runs deeper than one column’s controversy, and there was certainly truth in his words.

Now Silver is back with a new Tebow column, and, in my opinion, it’s fair, balanced, and pretty much sums up the situation with the Broncos and Tebow perfectly. They want him to be the guy, but they have their doubts. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels calls out to his players during the second half of an NFL preseason football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Jacksonville, Fla.   (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Former Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels may be returning to the AFC West in 2012. McDaniels is currently the offensive coordinator (and receiver Brandon Lloyd’s BFF) in St. Louis and has drawn interest from several teams.

The New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs reportedly have asked the Rams for permission to interview McDaniels, presumably for an offensive coordinator position.  According to Sports Illustrated‘s Peter King, the Rams are willing to let McDaniels sign elsewhere in the offseason.

If McDaniels were to go to the Chiefs, Rams receiver Brandon Lloyd–who is a free agent–would probably follow him there.  Imagine, quarterback Kyle Orton, McDaniels and Lloyd playing against the Broncos twice a year.

If New England is able to land McDaniels, he would face Denver next season, as the Patriots are one of the Broncos’ 2012 opponents.  Either way, there is a good possibility that we haven’t seen the last of McDaniels in these parts.

Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars have asked–and were given permission–to interview Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy sometime next week.  The Jaguars are interested in McCoy as a head coach prospect.

Many Broncos fans probably wouldn’t mind if McCoy moved on and the Broncos brought in a more aggressive play-caller.  It’s defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who is another future head coach prospect, that fans should be concerned about leaving Denver.

We’ll keep you updated on the statuses of the above mentioned coaches.

Broncos rookie linebacker Von Miller is one of five nominees for the Pepsi Rookie of the Year Award on NFL.com.

Miller, a Texas A&M product, started all 15 games he played and tied Denver’s single-season rookie sack record with a team-high 11.5 sacks, placing him second among all rookies in 2011 and tied for third overall in the AFC. He was one of six NFL players to record a half sack in at least 10 games.

He totaled 64 tackles (50 solo) and led the team with 19 tackles for a loss in addition to ranking second on the club with two forced fumbles. He was selected as a starting outside linebacker for the AFC squad for the 2012 Pro Bowl. The second overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Miller was nominated for Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week three times.

The other nominees for the award include quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Cam Newton, cornerback Patrick Peterson and defensive end Aldon Smith.  This award will most likely be given to Newton, but Miller is still a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate.

Fans can vote for Miller at NFL.com.  Voting ends on Monday, January 9th.

The Broncos' secondary has been hit hard by injuries in the second half of the season. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

There is a good chance that Denver will be without veteran safety Brian Dawkins (neck) for the fourth straight week on Sunday, when the Broncos take on the Steelers in the first round of the AFC Wild Card Playoffs.

Dawkins missed every practice this week, as did fullback Spencer Larsen, who suffered a knee sprain last week against Kansas City.  In Dawkins place, safety David Bruton will join rookie Quinton Carter at the back-end of Denver’s secondary.

Rookie fullback Austin Sylvester is expected to see his first NFL action if Larsen is not able to go, possibly starting for the first time in his career.  Sylvester hasn’t played in any games this season.

Wide receiver Eddie Royal (toe) and Bruton (Achilles) were limited during the week, but are expected to play Sunday.  If Bruton is not healthy enough to play, Rahim Moore would replace him.  Rookie linebacker Von Miller (thumb) fully participated in practice on Thursday and is looking to bounce back from his sackless slump.

For Pittsburgh, cornerback Cortez Allen (shoulder), linebacker James Harrison (toe), defensive end Brett Keisel (groin), running back Mewelde Moore (knee), safety Troy Polamalu (calf) and center Maurkice Pouncey (ankle) did not participate in practice on Thursday.  The severity of those players’ injuries however is not yet known.

Quarterback Ben Reothlisberger (ankle) fully participated and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says that Roethisberger will be ready to play.  The full injury report will come out later today (Friday afternoon).

Your wittiest captions in the comments. Previous winner after the jump.

(L-R) Quarterbacks Kyle Orton #8 of the Kansas City Chiefs and Brady Quinn #9 of the Denver Broncos talk after the game as the Chiefs defeated the Broncos 7-3 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on January 1, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Previous winner:

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Running back Isaac Redman #33 of the Pittsburgh Steelers is hit by defensive lineman Jabaal Sheard #97 of the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium on January 1, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

Breaking down the Denver Broncos‘ first playoff opponent in six years from the Football Outsiders‘ perspective: the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Recall that lower (negative) percentages are good on defense, bad on offense and special teams. DVOA Primer

Overall DVOA: 23.7% (2nd)

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the most overall efficient teams in the NFL, second only to the 15-1 Green Bay Packers. There is not a glaring weakness across the board (they rank in the top half of the NFL in all seven categories we’ll break down in this post), and most parts of that board can be considered a strength. They have a strong, mobile quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger; they have perennial Defensive MVP candidate Troy Polamalu, and they have been to the big game the hard way before (playoffs on the road). Winning this game is a tall task for the Broncos. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

The regular season is over — if there were no playoffs, here’s how the Denver Broncos would rank per the experts.

ESPN: 14th (13) Tim Tebow’s limitations and the strengths of the defense he will be facing in the first round could make for an awful day.

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Whether he's hired as head coach or not, Romeo Crennel won't be back as defensive coordinator in Kansas City. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

The Denver Broncos had gone through five defensive coordinators in five seasons heading into the 2011 season.  It’s sweet schadenfreude seeing the rest of the AFC West going through these growing pains for a change.

The San Diego Chargers relieved defensive coordinator Greg Manusky of his duties today, Norv Turner announced. Manusky inherited the NFL’s top-ranked defense in 2010 from Ron Rivera, who was hired as head coach for the Carolina Panthers, but the Chargers defense fell to 16th in league rankings in 2011.

According to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union Tribune, the players “overwhelmingly wanted Manusky gone.”

Meanwhile, the Oakland Raiders are heavily expected to fire defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan any day now, and the situation with Romeo Crennel in Kansas City pretty much makes it impossible for Crennel to be retained in a defensive coordinator capacity.

Manusky and Bresnahan (assuming the reports turn true) lasted a year, Crennel two. Karma’s a five-letter word, ain’t it?

And now we hope the Broncos’ Dennis Allen stays off teams’ head coaching radars this offseason. An extended trip into the playoffs, limiting interview availability, could certainly aid that.