To help pass the time, we’re reviewing 31 players in 31 days (in alphabetical order) leading all the way up until Game Day on Monday, September 12th.  Today’s player: offensive lineman Zane Beadles.

A second year offensive guard who played collegiate football at Utah, Beadles measures up and weighs in at 6-4, 305 pounds.  He will retain his starting role on Denver’s offensive line this season.

Quick Facts/Stats (courtesy of the Denver Broncos):

• A second-year offensive guard who played all 16 games (14 starts) in 2010 and was named to The Sporting News’ All-Rookie Team after opening eight contests at left guard and six contests at right tackle.
  

  Beadles is one of the most fan-friendly players on the team.

• Became the first NFL rookie since Andre Gurode (Dal., 2002) to start at least six games at two of the three positions along the offensive line (C, G, T).

• Called for just two penalties (15 yds.) in 2010, ranking second among league rookie offensive linemen who played all 16 games (min. 10 starts).  Click here to read the rest of this entry »

To help pass the time, we’re reviewing 31 players in 31 days (in alphabetical order) leading all the way up until Game Day on Monday, September 12th.  Today’s player: cornerback Champ Bailey.

A 13-year veteran, Bailey was acquired by the Broncos via trade with the Washington Redskins in 2004.  Standing 6’0 and weighing 192 pounds, Bailey played collegiate football at Georgia.

Quick Facts/Stats (courtesy of the Denver Broncos):

• A 13th-year player and eighth-year Bronco whose 10 career Pro Bowl selections are the most by a cornerback in NFL history.
  

  Champ Bailey #24 of the Denver Broncos during warm-ups prior to the start of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs on December 5, 2010 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

• Named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 2000s as chosen by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee.

• Earned Associated Press All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors during each of his first four seasons in Denver from 2004-07 after spending five years with Washington to begin his NFL career.

• Tied for fifth in franchise history in Pro Bowl selections (6) and tied for fifth in club annals with 30 interceptions as a Bronco.

• Leads all NFL cornerbacks (3rd among all players) with 48 interceptions since his rookie year in 1999 while placing sixth in the league with 30 interceptions since joining the Broncos in 2004.

• Began his NFL career starting 99 consecutive regular-season games and has totaled the second-most starts (181) among league cornerbacks since his rookie year in 1999.

• Penalized for pass interference only three times during the last five years in the 360 times he was targeted (0.83%) according to Stats Inc.

• Recorded 18 interceptions with Denver from 2005-06, marking the most by an NFL player in a two-year stretch since Everson Walls had 18 interceptions for Dallas from 1981-82. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

To help pass the time, we’re reviewing 31 players in 31 days (in alphabetical order) leading all the way up until Game Day on Monday, September 12th.  Today’s player: defensive end Robert Ayers.

A third year defensive end who played collegiate football at Tennessee, Ayers was drafted by the Broncos in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft.  Measuring up and weighing in at 6-3, 274 pounds, Ayers will be returning to his natural defensive end position this season after playing outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense the previous two years.

Quick Facts/Stats (courtesy of the Denver Broncos):

• A third-year defensive end who totaled 57 tackles and 1.5 sacks (6.5 yds.) in his first two NFL seasons at the outside linebacker position.
  

  Ayers has gotten to quarterbacks, he just hasn't piled up the sacks. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

• Started 10-of-11 games played in 2010 and tied for the team lead with 10 quarterback hits despite missing five games due to injury.

• Recorded a tackle for a loss in four consecutive games to start the 2010 season.

• Notched the longest scoring fumble return by a Broncos rookie in team history with his 54-yard touchdown on Monday Night Football vs. Pittsburgh (11/9/09).

• Led the University of Tennessee in tackles for a loss during each of his final two years at the school, totaling 27.5 tackles for negative yardage over that stretch.

• Earned second-team All-Southeastern Conference honors as a senior at Tennessee in 2008, starting all 12 games at defensive end and leading the conference with 15.5 tackles for a loss in addition to pacing Tennessee’s defensive line with 49 tackles (34 solo).  Click here to read the rest of this entry »

The Broncos will kickoff the 2011 season in 31 days.  To help pass the time, we’re going to look at 31 players (in alphabetical order) up until Game Day.  Today’s player: wide receiver David Anderson.

A sixth year receiver who played collegiate football at Colorado State, Anderson signed with Denver as a free agent during the offseason.  Coming in at 5-10 and 193 pounds, Anderson is 28 years old.

Quick Facts/Stats (courtesy of the Denver Broncos):

• 

  A sixth-year wide receiver who played 61 games (10 starts) in his first five NFL seasons with Houston and totaled 81 receptions for 886 yards (10.9 avg.) with three touchdowns.

• Made an impact as a slot receiver with the Texans, contributing to a passing attack that ranked third in the NFL with 262.8 passing yards per game from 2007-10.

• Started a career-high eight contests for Houston in 2008 and established personal bests with 38 receptions for 370 yards (9.7 avg.).

• Played 47 games (43 starts) at Colorado State University and left the school as the program’s all-time leader in receptions (200), receiving yards (3,330) and 100-yard receiving games (15).   Click here to read the rest of this entry »

The Broncos kicked off the 2011 preseason last night in Dallas when the team lost in a thrilling 23-24 Thursday night match. Highlights of the game can be viewed below; more plays after the jump.

Tim Tebow #15 of the Denver Broncos is sacked by Jason Hatcher #97 of the Dallas Cowboys during a preseason game at Cowboys Stadium on August 11, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

It wasn’t Tim Tebow Time, and it wasn’t Kyle Orton Hour either. No, the other prominent Broncos QB stole the show Thursday night in Dallas — Brady Quinn, who led the Broncos to their only two touchdowns of Thursday’s thrilling preseason opener.

Orton finished 2 of 6 for 37 yards in one series, leading the first team offense to a field goal. Tebow then engineered four drives for two field goals, finishing 6 of 7 for 91 yards. Quinn played the entire second half of four drives that netted two touchdowns. One score was executed by Quinn himself, a bullet to Eron Riley who made the leaping grab in the back of the end zone before impressively bringing both feet down. Quinn finished 8 of 14 for 120 yards. No Broncos quarterback threw an interception.

Other performance worth noting include RB Jeremiah Johnson, who scored Denver’s only other TD and averaged 7.0 yards per carry on four attempts. The offensive line, led by healthy-again Ryan Clady, controlled the Dallas defense in the running game. Defensively, safety Kyle McCarthy and Jason Hunter made big plays, especially in blitzing and pass rush.

It wasn’t all great today though (as it shouldn’t be, given it’s the first preseason game of the year). On the other end of the spectrum, the Broncos need to sharpen their focus in the penalty department (they surrendered 85 yards on 10 penalties); the backup secondary needs to tighten up against the big play, and CB Nate Jones would best forget this game ever took place.

“Preseason thriller” – is that an oxymoron? Maybe, but it was the most enjoyable preseason game we’ve watched in some time, even with the Cowboys edging out the Broncos 24-23 with a successful two-point conversion (mercifully avoiding a game-tying, overtime-forcing PAT) in the games’ final seconds. Several lead changes and late game big plays made for enjoyable, if ultimately meaningless, sports drama.

We’ll have much more on tonight’s game as we dig into the full game tape but would love to hear your thoughts on the 2011 Broncos in the comments. GO BRONCOS!

Broncos at Cowboys!

Bronco fans, we are only a limited amount of hours away from our precious preseason opener. I’m super stoked for this match up, so I’m doing this article real big. Time to name your starters and those who will also light up the show! Brace yourselves, it’s a long read.

Offense

QB: Kyle Orton, Tim Tebow, Brady Quinn

John Fox is no liar. Kyle Orton will play 12-15 snaps. In those snaps Orton will have a nice couple of throws here and there but will probably lead Denver to a field goal or two. I’m not expecting any touchdowns during game one and on the road.

After Orton’s showing Tim Tebow will come in (if Fox doesn’t want a mutiny from the fans) and most likely play until the mid-way or towards the end of the third quarter. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Invesco Field @ Mile High has been the name of the Broncos home field since 2001.

It looks like we may be saying farewell to Invesco Field at Mile High, the name anyway.  Per Mike Klis of the Denver Post, Sports Authority is in negotiations to assume the naming rights to the Broncos’ stadium.

Sports Authority, the Englewood-based sporting-goods company, is in negotiations with Invesco Ltd., the Broncos and the Metropolitan Football Stadium District to assume naming rights of the venue that has been home to Denver’s NFL franchise since 2001. If the stadium district approves the deal during a public meeting Tuesday, Sports Authority will pay $150 million over the next 25 years for the right to have its name on the Broncos’ stadium.

If the deal goes through, the Broncos will kickoff the 2011 regular season against the Oakland Raiders on Monday, September 12th, at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.  Sports Authority is the third-largest private company in all of Colorado, with more than 30 stores in the state.

What say you, Broncos Country?  It doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but I could live with it.

Tim Tebow throws to Brady Quinn before facing the Pittsburgh Steelers. (REUTERS/Rick Wilking)

Can you even believe it fellow Bronco fans? A football game where players will don the Orange and Blue is almost here.

The Denver Broncos are traveling to Dallas to open up their preseason and there are many new components of this Bronco team that will provide an interesting game (despite that it’s preseason).

1. New faces on the defensive line

The Denver front office didn’t make the biggest splash in free agency, but they still made some frugal buys with former first rounders Brodrick Bunkley, Ty Warren, and Derrick Harvey. It will be interesting to see how many snaps these former free agents take. Harvey has the most to prove so he’ll likely be on the field longer than the other two.

2. Kyle Orton’s 12-15 snaps

Kyle Orton may not care about winning the fans over Click here to read the rest of this entry »