Are you a Broncos fan with a fantasy football team? (Who reads this blog and isn’t?!) Need a clever Broncos-centric team name for your upcoming fantasy dominance? We’ve got you covered.

Here are a few provided by SBNation we already posted in the Daily Links. We thought we’d add to them then open it up for your favorites in the comments. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Perusing the Interwebz for water cooler fodder. (Number in parenthesis represents previous ranking).

ESPN: 27th (27)
Kyle Orton is better than people think. And the transition to John Fox’s thinking could be too.

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Editor’s Note: You may have noticed the author of pieces on BroncoTalk filed under an author named “Monty.” That’s me, Kyle Montgomery, the same author, owner, and creator of BroncoTalk since 2006. I originally started BT under that moniker and decided to revert. Apologies for any confusion.

• John Elway ranks the importance of positions when building a football team. Note the quote on quarterbacks. [First and Orange]
• Some history on our head coach. [Denver Post]
• Brian Xanders breaks down the reasoning behind whether the team makes a waiver claim. [VIDEO] [DenverBroncos.com]
• After everyone else was cut or injured, Eddie Royal could be returning punts again. [Sporting News]
• Woody Paige sees a Packers–Steelers Super Bowl and a 7-9 Broncos record. [Denver Post]
• The mystery behind Tim Tebow‘s drop in jersey sales is solved. [Deadspin]

The Denver Broncos have signed free agent offensive lineman Tony Hills, the Denver Post reports. To make room, tackle Herb Taylor was waived.

Hills, predominantly a tackle in college, was competing for the starting right guard spot with the Pittsburg Steelers, who drafted him in the fourth round in the 2008 draft. In three years with the team, Hills (6-4, 305) appeared in four games.

The Denver Broncos are no strangers to regime changes.

Owner Pat Bowlen fired “Coach for Life” Mike Shanahan following the 2008 season, opening the door for Josh McDaniels to take over. The plan was for the young McDaniels to inherit Shanahan’s throne. McDaniels, given total control as both personnel manager and coach, would install the New England Patriots‘ culture of winning to the Rocky Mountains and maintain it for years to come.

2011 BRONCOS SEASON PREVIEW – TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Changing of the Guard
2. Kyle Orton – One Last Chance to Take the Next Step
3. Breaking Down the Offense
4. The Defense and Special Teams
5. The Prediction

It was a great plan in theory. The execution, however, was far from it. It came with casualties.

Gone were Jay Cutler. Brandon Marshall. Tony Scheffler. Peyton Hillis. The offensive line was overhauled. A new defensive scheme was installed, full of new personnel. Players changed positions. Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan left after 2009’s half-remarkable season.

In many cases, the Broncos stockpiled draft picks in return for the players they lost, but the talent the Broncos netted with those picks didn’t compensate for the talent lost. The Broncos fell to 4-12 in 2010, the losingest season in franchise history. McDaniels was fired before he could see the season through.

Setting aside the inexperience, the media subterfuge, the gameday behavior, and even Spygate II, the McDaniels Era failed at the most basic, philosophical level. McDaniels’ scheme became more important than McDaniels’ team. If you didn’t fit a role in his playbook, you were gone.

Historically, the best coaches in the NFL maximized the talent on their roster. They scripted plays to hide their personnel weaknesses and utilized the players they did have to their highest potential. They didn’t clean house for the sake of a better-looking power blocking offensive line. They didn’t ignore the talents of a pass-catching tight end or a dynamic running back because they believed in their spread offense. They maximized the pieces they had in place.

Enter John Elway, John Fox, and Brian Xanders. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

• Jim Trotter predicts five wins for Denver, and says, “finding five wins was tough.” [SI]
• Peter King agrees with his colleague’s five-win assessment. [SI]
• Three of five ESPN analysts also pick a fourth place finish for Denver. [ESPN]
• The timing of Darcel McBath‘s injuries really contributed to his failure more than the injuries themselves. [Max Denver]
• Legwold says Brady Quinn is the True No. 2. [Denver Post]
• Then Klis disagrees, saying it’s Tim Tebow. That was fun. [Denver Post]
• The last three Broncos MNF appearances haven’t been pretty. [Denver Post]
• WhatIfSports.com predicts a 24-23 Raiders win with 49.4% confidence. Doesn’t get any closer. [FOX]
• 2011 Fantasy Football Team Names [SBNation Detroit]

It’s here, Denver Broncos fans. The 2011 NFL season is a practice-week away.

That means the coaches, players, fans, reporters, and sports bloggers (ahem) can get into their weekly grind. Each day of each respective week in the NFL season is roughly the same from one seven-day period to the next.

The week-to-week NFL season looks something like this:

Monday – The Day After the Game (usually). Press conferences from the bigwigs about what went right and/or what went wrong. (On BroncoTalk, game recaps and/or Game Balls after a victory).

Tuesday – Day off. No practice, no media availability. Waiver wire and free agent workouts and/or signings typically take place.

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Indeed, there are two No. 2 Quarterbacks in Denver. Or, there is no No. 2 Quarterback in Denver, depending on how you look at it.

Whichever way you prefer, it’s ugly, and a little laughable.

The team’s updated depth chart —

The team’s backup quarterback is named “Brady Quinn or Tim Tebow.” Yes, the Broncos invented a new profile into their player database to handle John Fox‘s depth chart subterfuge.  Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas was thought to be unavailable for most of the 2011 season after he suffered an Achilles tendon injury in February. The initial diagnosis? Between eight and ten months, as is typical for an injury of his type and magnitude.

Then word broke out over the weekend that the Broncos were planning on bringing Thomas back onto the practice field as early as this week, a full two-to-four months ahead of schedule.

Today, the Broncos made good on those plans.

Thomas was back on the practice field Monday as the Broncos prepared for next Monday’s season opener against the Oakland Raiders, running routes and catching passes. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

• Peyton Manning‘s aggravated (or non-aggravated) neck injury was the talk of the NFL weekend. [Sports Illustrated]
• Chiefs QB Matt Cassel could miss his team’s season opener with a rib injury of his own. [NFL.com]
• The release of Darcel McBath completes a coup d’etat of Josh McDaniels draft ineptitude in the second round of the 2009 draft. [Denver Post]
• Speaking of 2009 2nd round draft failures — the Carolina Panthers have waived DE Everette Brown. Wonder if John Fox will come calling (Broncos would have first dibs on the waiver wire). [ESPN]
• One excuse for the Broncos‘ dismal 2010 — injuries. The Broncos had more than their fair share. [Football Outsiders]
• Criticisms of Tim Tebow may be fair, but where are the similar critiques of Cam Newton or Blaine Gabbert? Why the Tebow hate? [The Town Talk]
• Will Tebow have a role in the 2011 offense? [Denver Post]
• The keys to the Broncos season, per Jeff Legwold: depth, tackling, and Von Miller. [Denver Post]
• Mike Klis has a simpler answer: Kyle Orton needs to have a career year. [Denver Post]