Sobering truth from ESPN and longtime-Denver Broncos insider Adam Schefter: Josh McDaniels isn’t going anywhere.

According to Schefter, the Broncos will stick with (be stuck with?) their head coach through 2011:

Broncos scheduled to pay Josh McDaniels through 2012, Mike Shanahan through 2011. No way Pat Bowlen pays three HCs in 2011. McDaniels safe.

The reasoning is sound, but I actually disagree with Schefter on this one. If Bowlen feels the Broncos don’t have a chance in 2011 with McDaniels, is it worth $3 million more to him (loosely, the cost of hiring another coach) to make the Broncos a winner? I’d guess yes.

The question is whether Bowlen will have reached the point where he believes the Broncos don’t have the best coach possible by season’s end.

(via ESPN AFC West Blog)

• The San Francisco Chronicle has their game review up.  You would’ve thought we lost 59-14 reading this.  – SF Gate
• Compare that to the BT post game, it was close with the Broncos offense squandering too many early opportunities.  – Broncotalk
• My eyes must have deceived me, Bill Williamson states that it was not a close game as well.  – AFC West Blog
• The Broncos failed to force 49er QB Troy Smith into mistakes Sunday – Denver Post
• Josh McDaniels post game interview on KOA can be heard here.  – 850 KOA
• Kyle Orton’s stats have been strong, but his mistakes have been costly for the team.  He was also treated for bruised ribs after the game.  – Denver Post

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Orton is tackled by Ahmad Brooks. Credit: Glyn Kirk - Getty Images

In this season’s annual international game neither team gave the English crowd much to root for or get excited about.  The Broncos and Niners traded possession three times before the “home team”  was able to put together a steady drive ending  up with a field goal by former Bronco Joe Nedney.  The Broncos were unable to sustain drives throughout the entire half, the running game was anemic with Knowshon Moreno receiving the bulk of carries.  While Moreno was able to show some bright spots hitting holes and getting chunks of yardage it was the 49ers Patrick Willis keeping Denver’s 2nd year back from taking anything into “the next level.”  Willis finished the day with 8 tackles and one assist.   Click here to read the rest of this entry »

vs.
49ers (1-6) vs. Broncos (2-5)
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Wembley Stadium
11:00 a.m. MT

Happy Halloween! The Denver Broncos (2-5) are set to face the San Francisco 49ers (1-6) in London, England for the league’s fourth annual international game. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. local time, 11:00 a.m. Denver time.

Live Blog

The Rules: Keep it clean, no insulting other commenters. Join us beginning 15 minutes before the game for the best in-game commentary in Broncos Country! GO BRONCOS!!

Jason Cole is an award-winning writer who covered the Miami Dolphins for 15 years before joining Yahoo! Sports as an NFL columnist. Given that kind of background, it’s surprising to see him completely miss the boat when judging NFL quarterbacks. Below is Cole on the Denver Broncos starting quarterback Kyle Orton:

I have to agree on his point that the Broncos have steadily gone down hill since their 6-0 start last season, but blaming it all on Kyle Orton is very uneducated. Cole has no support for his statements and the facts simply don’t back him up, as I’ve pointed out below:

• Claim: “Kyle Orton has been terrible the last couple weeks.” Fact: Over the past three games, Kyle has thrown for 721 yards and 5 touchdowns, with one interception. While the Broncos whole offense has been shaky over the past few games, Orton has remained pretty consistent.

• Claim: “He’s being regressing to below the league norm [of quarterbacks].” Fact: Orton is currently second in the NFL in passing yards, tied for 7th in touchdown passes, and is behind only Peyton Manning in touchdown-to-interception ratio among quarterbacks that have attempted over 200 passes this season. That’s a far cry from below average.

• Claim: “They just don’t have a lot of talent.” Fact: Every player in the NFL is talented. The Broncos’ Brandon Lloyd, Eddie Royal, Ryan Clady, Champ Bailey, D.J. Williams, Brian Dawkins, and Matt Prater are all in the NFL.

These kinds of unsupported claims made by the media about Orton and the Broncos really frustrate me. What say you, Bronco Nation, do you agree with Cole? Is Kyle Orton really mediocre, or is Cole off his rocker? Dish it out in the comments!

Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno has yet to crack 100 yards rushing in a single game. (Paul Cloud Photography)

Where are you, electrifying, game-changing Knowshon Moreno?

Last April, the Broncos drafted Heisman Trophy candidate Moreno out of Georgia with the 12th overall selection in the draft. Needless to say, the Broncos and fans had high expectations for the 23-year old running back. His rookie year, hampered by injuries, had its ups and downs. Not able to produce a 100-yard game in his nine starts, he finished the season with 947 yards and 7 rushing touchdowns – respectable numbers that were expected to be put to shame by his sophomore campaign.

This season however, it’s been more of the same for Moreno. After sustaining a hamstring injury in Training Camp, Moreno never fully recovered and re-injured it in Week Two against the Seahawks. After missing a few games, he was back in action for the Broncos the last two weeks. He’s looked good, one of the few – strike that – the Only bright spot in last Sunday’s loss. Knowshon rushed for 53 yards on 14 carries and added 37 yards off three receptions that went for two scores.

The Broncos however, didn’t draft him to be a good running back. He was a first round draft pick, and those are always meant to become great running backs. It’s time Knowshon Moreno started playing like one. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Injury Report for the Week 8 NFL game between the Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers at Wembley Stadium in London, England on Sunday, October 31, 2010.

DNP – Did Not Participate; LP – Limited Participation; FP – Full Participation; NL – Not Listed

49ers report after the jump. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 29: Head coach of the Denver Broncos Josh McDaniels jokes around while playing cricket prior to the start of a team training session at The Brit Oval on October 29, 2010 in London, England. The Denver Broncos will play the San Francisco 49ers at Wembley Stadium on October 31. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

The Denver Broncos, minus the players that stayed home due to injuries, arrived safe and sound in London this morning after their overnight flight.

This morning the Broncos went straight from their hotel to Brit Oval cricket grounds for a light, walk-through practice. Before the practice session started however, a few Broncos gave cricket a shot.

Veteran Tight End Daniel Graham, Offensive Guard Chris Kuper and even Head Coach Josh McDaniels took short lessons on how to properly smack a cricket ball from two Brittish cricket players.

According to Linday Jones of the Denver Post, Kuper was quite good at it.

Kuper and Graham seemed to enjoy their post-interview cricket lesson. Kuper was especially adept at smacking the heck out of the ball. Not sure what the rules are, but that can’t be a bad thing.

It’s nice to see the Broncos are having some fun over there. I’m curious as to how the players are holding up after such a long flight and being in a very different environment. With a full two days before their game against San Francisco, the Broncos should all be ready to go.

• I enjoyed Woody Paige‘s Sherlock Holmes piece on the Broncos‘ gameplan, right up til the end.  Keep things simple on offense, but employ more Tim Tebow.  That is a mystery.
• Josh McDaniels‘ London approach: sleep on the plane. Mike Singletary‘s: enjoy the culture.
• Which approach was right? We won’t know until Sunday.
• Some background into how the 49ers and Broncos ended up in Europe this week.
• London always seems to get, albeit unintentionally, duds for games.
• Could an NFL franchise be headed to London in Roger Goodell‘s tenure?
• The Broncos have yet to notch a win against the 3-4. The 49ers employ the 3-4.
• Robert Ayers may be back in “the near future.”
• At one point, McDaniels was bucking the Bill Belichick assistant trend. Now he’s its poster boy.
• Breaking down this week’s slate of games.
• Five minutes with Broncos legend Randy Gradishar.

Running back Knowshon Moreno #27 of the Denver Broncos is stopped by defensive tackle Brandon Mebane #92 of the Seattle Seahawks at INVESCO Field at Mile High on September 19, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Seahawks 31-14. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Knowshon Moreno reportedly came up lame during Wednesday’s practice, clutching his troublesome right hamstring and consulting with head trainer Steve “Greek” Antonopulos.

Fear not, head coach Josh McDaniels told reporters Thursday. “He’ll be fine.”

McDaniels said the sight of players talking to trainers phases him less than it used to.

“I’m kind of immune to it now,” McDaniels said. “If there’s an issue we take care of it and if there’s something bothering somebody we try to make sure we do the smart thing.”

Moreno was not listed on either the Wednesday or Thursday injury report — had his hamstring limited his practice reps at all, he would have had to be have been listed as “limited.” Expect the healthy Broncos’ starter to get a healthy dose of running back reps Sunday.