Congrats to Marshall on a deserved honor, the second of his career. Check the press release below.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall will be named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for games played during the 14th week (Dec. 10-14) of the 2009 season, the National Football League informed the Broncos on Tuesday.

Marshall’s selection as AFC Offensive Player of the Week is the second such award of his four-year NFL career. He also received the honor for his effort in Week 2 of the 2008 season against San Diego.

During Denver’s game at Indianapolis on Sunday, Marshall posted an NFL-record 21 receptions for a career-high 200 yards with two touchdowns. His 21 catches surpassed Terrell Owens’ previous league record of 20 receptions, which he totaled for San Francisco vs. Chicago on Dec. 17, 2000.

Below are a few notes on Marshall’s performance against Indianapolis: Click here to read the rest of this entry »

It’s that time of year again, folks: time to take our weekly look at how the AFC and Denver Broncos playoff picture is shaping up. Here are how the teams rank if the season ended today, with notes on what’s to come.

(Seed, team, record, AFC record)

First Round Bye
1. Indianapolis Colts (13-0, 9-0)
2. San Diego Chargers (10-3, 7-3)

Division Winners
3. Cincinnati Bengals (9-4, 6-3)
4. New England Patriots (8-5, 6-4)

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Denver Broncos running back Knowshon Moren, left, is tackled by Indianapolis Colts cornerback Melvin Bullitt in the third quarter of an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009. The Colts defeated the Broncos 28-16. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Broncos 16, Colts 28. Studs and Duds gentlemen, who ya got?

Dud/s: Coaches
I’m not an NFL coach.  And I’m not a defensive guru… but I could see fairly quickly yesterday that switching our Defense into a 4-2 for this game didn’t confuse or slow Manning in the first quarter of play.  I also was screaming for us to stop running up the middle about two rushes after both Larsen and Bucky were sidelined – it took our coach a bit longer than that to switch tactics and begin throwing the ball first and THEN running an occasional draw play to keep the Colts defense honest.  So, my duds this game are going to the coaches on both sides of the ball.  It was the wrong tactic to have our defense try something new rather than play the way they have been successfully playing most of this season and there was way too much delay in adapting to our lack of a ground game by our offensive play-caller. – Jonathan Douglas

Double-Dud: Josh McDaniels
You DEFER?! DEFER?! I can’t get over it. – Kyle

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

• Mike Klis covers the lack of Peyton Hillis, Brandon Marshall’s contract, and points out that McDaniels deserves credit for this defense as well in his latest mailbag.  [Denver Post]
• It’s not just the fans calling for the power back, Longmont Time’s writer Brian Howell brings it up.  [Longmont Times]
• Three is a crowd.  Dave Kreiger questions the lack of Hillis as well.  [Denver Post]
• Drew Litton questions the play calling, but says the Colts game bodes well for this team.  [DrewLitton.com]
• Brandon Marshall is rising and Elvis Dumervil is falling in the AFC West stock watch.  [ESPN NFL Nation]
• Denver is below the .500 mark against winning quarterbacks this season.  [Denver Post]
• BMarsh’s big day is still gaining a lot of attention two days later.  [CS Gazette]
• The Broncos will have to pay Brandon Marshall big money to keep him in Denver this Spring.  [Denver Post]
• A look at the late addition to the defensive line, Vonnie Holliday.  [Longmont Times]

• Click here to read the rest of this entry »

View all of Brandon Marshall‘s 21 record-setting catches below. Marshall discusses his record day with ESPN in a second video, after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

• Broncos lose Darcel McBath for the year and bring back Vernon Fox as a replacement.  [Broncotalk]
• Brandon Marshall’s record breaking day went all for naught.  [Boulder Daily Camera] [CS Gazette]
• See the softer side of The Beast.  Kiszla gives us a detailed account.  [Denver Post]
• Video of Bmarsh’s 21 catches against the Colts.  [youtubage]
• The kickoff time for the Philly game has been moved from 11:00am to 2:15pm. [Denver Post]
• McDaniel’s “pretzel logic” had us kicking off to start the game.  [Denver Post]
• The defense adjusted to the Colts making it a moral victory for these Broncos.  [Denver Westword]
• The offense had a chance to steal the game away but let the team down.  [Denver Post]
• The depth chart almost had an emergency at safety in the 4th quarter.  [CS Gazette]
• Not being able to convert short yardage is a big problem for this squad.  [Denver Post] Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Quinten Lawrence is tackled by Darcel McBath. (Reuters)

So fresh off the press that it’s only on twitter.

Denver_Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels has announced that the team is placing Darcel McBath on IR and the team has resigned S Vernon Fox.

Frank Schwab of the Colorado Springs Gazette has reported that the injury is a broken forearm.

fs3142 S Darcel McBath (broken forearm) to IR. Team signs vet S Vernon Fox.

It’s sad to see this rookie’s promising year end abruptly. Darcel McBath (@TXSwag_Mac31 on twitter) had a great game picking Peyton Manning off and laying a hit so hard on tight end Dallas Clark that he couldn’t hold on the ball on a 3rd and long. McBath will finish the season playing in 11 games, with 26 tackles (22 solo), three passes defended, and two interceptions.

The Broncos have resigned Vernon Fox, who played for Denver’s defense last year. Fox scored a touchdown against the Jets on a botched gadget play.

Good luck with rehab Darcel and get healthy for next year. Get on twitter and wish him well!

Denver Broncos wide receivers Brandon Marshall (R) and Jabar Gaffney celebrate Marshall's touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts during their NFL game in Indianapolis December 13, 2009. (REUTERS photo/Brent Smith)

Denver Broncos WR Brandon Marshall was having an “off year” statistically as he and the Broncos transitioned into the Josh McDaniels-coached, Kyle Orton-led offense.

Until Sunday, that is.

Marshall set a new NFL record for single-game receptions with 21 in a 16-28 loss to the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, with the fourth-year wideout’s record-setting day including 200 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Marshall is no stranger to these types of numbers; in 2008, he snagged 18 catches in a win against the San Diego Chargers, which tied for second in NFL annals in receptions at that time. Marshall is now first and third in single-game reception performances.

What’s more, Marshall now totals 86 receptions for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns on the season, putting him on pace for a career year.

It’d hard to imagine a scenario where Marshall could make a stronger case for his value in this contract year, and the Broncos showed today they need the Pro Bowler. Here’s hoping they get a contract done shortly into the offseason.

Postgame quotes from players and coaches following the Broncos‘ 16-28 loss to Indianapolis Sunday.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, right, talks with Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton following thier NFL football game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009. The Colts defeated the Broncos 28-16. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

DENVER BRONCOS HEAD COACH JOSH McDANIELS (opening comments) Sunday, December 13, 2009

“Start out with giving credit to the Colts.  They certainly set the bar here in the AFC.  We found out why when you play sixty minutes and make the mistakes we made today it is going to be difficult to beat a winning, top-caliber football team that plays well under pressure.  That team is extremely well coaches, Coach Caldwell and his staff do a great job and I want to give them credit today- they forced us in to making a lot of mistakes in situations that ultimately determined the outcome of the game.”

HEAD COACH JOSH McDANIELS (on whether it was the game plan to throw to WR Brandon Marshall so much) Sunday, December 13, 2009 Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Indianapolis Colts tight end Dallas Clark, left, pulls in a pass in front of Denver Broncos safety Brian Dawkins (20) in the second quarter of an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

If only.

Third and one. Fourth and one. On Sunday against the undefeated Indianapolis Colts, the down and distance didn’t matter. The Denver Broncos fell short.

If only they had converted a few of those short yardage downs, the Broncos could have been the team that knocked off the undefeated Colts. Instead, they were a stepping stone along Indy’s path to NFL history.

The undefeated Colts won their NFL-record 22nd consecutive regular season game and, more importantly, clinched the AFC’s first seed in the playoffs in a 28-16 victory over the Broncos at Lucas Oil Stadium.

And Indy stayed perfect even as the Broncos edged and even dominated the Colts in several key statistical areas. Click here to read the rest of this entry »