• Jeff Legwold says the Broncos haven’t given up on the zone blocking scheme.  Think situational hybrid.  [DPO]
• Mike Shanahan has been inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame along with Joe Sakic.  [KDVR.com]
• Hochstein isn’t the only guard being promoted to first string for the game on Sunday.  [Washington Post]
• Jim Zorn tells the Redskins Insider what he is seeing out of the Broncos defense.  [Washington Post]
• Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins let it be known why the hurry up offense won’t work every week against this defense.  [Boulder Daily Camera]
• In case you had something better to do and missed it, Jay Cutler threw a career high 5 interceptions last night leading an offense that only scored 6 points against the 49ers.  [DPO]
• Audio of Josh McDaniels‘ press conference yesterday in which he discusses the Ben Hamilton move.  [850 KOA]
• Why the offensive line has been the last team component to see change with the new regime.  [DPO]
• Mike Nolan is scheming to keep Jason Campbell in the pocket.  [DPO]
• Bill Williamson has a good comparison of the Broncos and Chargers schedule down the stretch.  [ESPN Hashmarks]
• Jeff Legwold keeps cranking them out.  A look at the retooling of the offensive line.  [DPO]
• Bronco blogger Sayre Bedinger has a very early preview of the Broncos 2010 draft.  [Bleacher Report]
• Why the Champ Bailey for Clinton Portis trade is still relevant.  [CS Gazette]

See more stories after the jump!

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Injury Report for the Week 10 NFL game between the Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins on Sunday, November 15, 2009.

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

Changes from Thursday’s report in bold. Redskins report after the jump. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

This isn’t about statistics.

Peyton Hillis didn’t tabulate very many while the Denver Broncos were 6-0, but that didn’t matter, because the Broncos were winning.

Denver Broncos' Peyton Hillis (22) runs against the San Francisco 49ers during the 2009 preseason. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

This isn’t about favoritism. It’s true that Hillis became extremely popular after he was thrust into the starting lineup in 2008, but winning trumps all. It’s only after the offense has sputtered and the team has lost two straight that it’s time to bring up the diminished role of this fan-favorite.

This isn’t about football politics. Knowshon Moreno may be the team’s first round pick, and Hillis may be a seventh rounder from a year ago, but let’s take draft statuses and paychecks and throw them out the window. Let’s evaluate the Broncos’ bench and see who can be of use to help this offense get on the right track. Let’s take a close, hard look at the facts about this season and the production the running backs have enjoyed in 2009 compared to Hillis in 2008.

This is about producing offense, scoring points, and winning football games, and the Broncos haven’t done much of any since October 19th. And the answer to much of what ails the Broncos offense is sitting, underutilized, on the bench.

The answer is Peyton Hillis. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Record: 2-6
Streak: Lost 4
Series vs. Denver: Broncos, 6-4
Last time: Broncos, 21-19, 2005
The Line: Broncos by 3.5

Who’s hot: OLB Brian Orakpo. While the Redskins’ season has been a disappointment, rookie Brian Orakpo’s has not. The first round pick out of Texas has made an impact from Week One. He starts at left outside linebacker and is second on the team with 5.5 sacks, two coming against the Atlanta Falcons last week. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Thursday Injury Report for the Week 10 NFL game between the Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins on Sunday, November 15, 2009.

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

Changes from Wednesday’s report in bold.  Redskins report after the jump. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

My downward spiral has begun.
(until we regain strength through victory this week against the Redskins, which I will be attending in the flesh, and the Chargers lose to a “backs against the wall” Eagles team, then all will be well again)

There should be steam coming out of your ears

First, I must apologize to my BT Staff brethren: I’m sorry guys.
I went off on a manically infused tirade Monday night in our back and forth staff e-mails, I said some things I didn’t mean, or said some things I really meant, but shouldn’t have said. Either way, my bad, but I was pissed guys!
I was mad as hell.
Plus, sometimes East should be called out for his homerism, I mean truly, friends should help friends with self-recognition. You’re welcome Easty.

That hellacious anger has lasted me through this morning, although, it has morphed into different forms of coping.
mainly-Depression/Insecurity/Laziness/Insanity
I continue to seethe with hatred towards the despicable performance put forth by our Denver Broncos Monday night. Even now as I re-watch the travesty through the modern day black magic known as “DVR”, I wish to transport myself back in time, 3 days, into the television to strangle Mike Tirico as he boldly exclaims “The best match-up of week 9!”.
If he only knew.
Hindsight’s a bitch. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

My power rankings are fittingly named the ‘Tentative Ten’ because every week it’s subject to change, and erratically at that. Also featured is a Rookie, Defensive, and Offensive Player of the Year Watch, and a Coach of the Year Watch, and Movie to watch this week.

1. New Orleans Saints (8-0)

I see a pattern developing. I’m not sure if the Saints just struggle in the first half or that they just make to make it interesting. However I’m not expecting too many struggles against St. Louis.

Glaring Stat: The Saint’s offense has out gained their opponents by 762 yards on the season.

2. Indianapolis Colts (8-0) Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Denver Broncos quarterback Chris Simms talks to the media in April 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Woody Paige‘s latest column opines for a quarterback change, the long-time crutch of any fair weather football fan, and the most popular debate in sports. Unless you have a Peyton Manning on your team, the backup quarterback is always the team’s most popular player.

Until Monday night’s debacle, Kyle Orton was the talk of the town. One bad game later — ONE! — and Denver’s biggest sports columnist is calling for his head.

It makes me wonder if Woody had this article stashed away, waiting for Orton to falter so he could reiterate the opinion he gave in the offseason: Chris Simms should be the starter.

It also makes me wonder if Woody was disappointed it took Kyle this long.

Still, let us enter the madness that is Woody Paige, one of one-sided internal conversations and mudslinging and masterful spin-doctoring. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

A series of events struck me as odd during  Monday night’s game.  An eyebrow raiser, not blatant, but it just didn’t sit right.  Coming back to the event in question, does raise just that, questions.

Lets rewind, the situation I speak of was during Pittsburgh’s last drive with 6:30 left in the 4th quarter.  Yeah, that one.  Where the Bronco defense allowed Rashard Mendenhall and Mewelde Moore to run roughshod over them for 72 yards on the ground eating the clock like a giant gold and black monster.  The Steelers reach 1st and goal at Denver’s 3.  Mendenhall gets the call for a dive play up the middle and is stripped by Mario Haggan on the way down.  The officials say the runner was down.  The play is challenged and upheld.  I thought the ball was coming out before he was down, but it was probably too close to overturn by replay and really could’ve went either way.  Teams regroup and Mendenhall gets the call once again to take it up the middle and is held to a 1 yard gain by Kenny Peterson.

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

A fan holds up a sign thanking U.S. war vetrans during a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos at Invesco Field at Mile High on November 09, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Denver Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels, quarterback Kyle Orton, and safety Brian Dawkins took turns at the mic Wednesday, as they do every week, in preparation for the upcoming week’s opponent. This week: Washington. Enjoy.

HEAD COACH JOSH McDANIELS

On the offense’s performance the past two weeks

“I think we haven’t sustained our ability to stay balanced in both games. We didn’t run the ball very effectively in the Baltimore game (and) didn’t run it very effectively in the Pittsburgh game. That always puts more pressure on your pass protection (and) more pressure on your passing game in general. It is not really an effective formula to win any games in this league. I don’t care what offense you are playing with. We have got to do a better job of being able to run the ball, stay in positive situations (and) stay out of third-and-longs, which we found ourselves in too many times the other night in the second half. If we do that—that is really kind of the formula that we played with for the first six games, and we have got to make sure that we sustain that going forward.”

On why the Broncos have had difficulty running the ball the past two weeks Click here to read the rest of this entry »