It’s been a long time coming for Denver Broncos fullback/inside linebacker/specialist Spencer Larsen, but Mr. Do It All finally returned to the football field Monday for the team’s first practice following the bye.

“He’s a valuable player,” Head Coach Josh McDaniels said Monday. “He contributes on every phase, and that’s unique.”

Larsen had missed every practice and game since suffering a shoulder injury before the team’s season opener in Cincinnati. The second-year player reportedly slipped and fell on the visiting team’s locker room tile minutes before the Broncos took the field.

Safety Brian Dawkins and defensive lineman Le Kevin Smith were the only players missing from Monday’s two-hour practice.

Count me among those who actually think this is huge. Larsen brings a physicality to all three phases, and is dominant in special teams. Let’s hope he’s healthy enough to play Sunday, and that his return marks improvement in the short-yardage running game.

Broncos have to get rough with Ravens, McDaniels says [Denver Post]
Freak pre-game accident knocks Larsen out a few weeks [BroncoTalk]

Good 6-0 morning afternoon, BroncoTalk brethren! (…and sistren?). Sorry for the technical difficulties earlier, we hope they’re straightened out now…. The Saints, Colts and Broncos are all 6-0, marking the first time in NFL history that three teams have been undefeated heading into Week 8. Pretty wild stuff. Let’s see how the rest of the NFL fared during the bye week.

• Does a franchise-best 37-7 beatdown of the Chiefs at Arrowhead mean the Chargers are back? [San Diego Union Tribune]
• Peter King is tired of trying to figure them out. [Sports Illustrated]
• The Raiders will have to play better – a lot, lot, lot better – to be a “playoff” team.  Suffered their worst home loss ever to (what was) a reeling Jets team.  [San Francisco Chronicle]
• JaMarcus Russell is in denial. [USA Today]
• The Steelers looked in Super Bowl form against the previously unbeaten Vikings.  They face the Broncos after their bye this week.  [Vancouver Sun]
• The transformation from the 2008 Broncos to the 2009 version has been a “Mile High miracle.”  [Pro Football Weekly]
• Hence, expectations should be adjusted.  [Denver Post]

Amid speculation after a poor showing a week ago in San Diego, Denver Broncos punter Brett Kern has indeed been waived, the team announced Monday.

Veteran Mitch Berger, who worked out for the Broncos twice this season, was signed to fill the Broncos’ punting duties. Berger (6-foot-4, 228 pounds) is a 16-year NFL veteran and two-time Pro Bowl choice (1999, 2004). He spent last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, ranking fifth in the league in opponent punt return average (6.4 yds.).

Remarkably, this marks the Broncos’ first roster move this season, the last team in the NFL to execute a transaction since kickoff Week One.

Berger is by no means the long-term answer, but the Broncos hope he’ll be more reliable and consistent than the up-and-down Kern. Press release after the jump. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Vonnie Holliday congratulates Eddie Royal after his punt return touchdown against the Chargers. (REUTERS/Fred Greaves)

We knocked on wood about twelve times during the construction of this article, and recommend you do the same while reading it. But it’s worth noting — these 2009, 6-0 Denver Broncos have been remarkably, remarkably healthy.

(Knock on wood).

The team’s health is remarkable particularly in light of the flight of injuries that plagued the 2008 Broncos. Aside from the seven running backs on the team’s Reserve/Injured list by season’s end, the Broncos’ IR was entering double-digits by about this time last year.

The 2009 Broncos have yet to endure a season-ending injury to a single starter or projected starter. No defensive starter has missed a game due to injury, and no offensive starter has missed more than one game.

(Knock on wood). Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Record: 3-3
Streak: Lost 3
Series vs. Denver: 3-3
Last time: Broncos, 13-3, 2006
The Line: Ravens by 3.5 (early, obviously)

Who’s hot: RB Ray Rice. Would you believe it? The Ravens running back actually leads the NFL in combined yards, tallying 766 yards rushing and receiving. He’s averaging 6.0 yards per carry (running the rock just over 12 times per game) and 9.8 yards per reception. Three of his four touchdowns on the season have come in the past two games. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Broncos fans on twitter know Darrell Reid is a must-follow. @Footz95 talks about practice/games, responds to fans, and even follows BroncoTalk! (Do you?)

Reid may not be a starter on defense, but the guy just makes plays. He has three sacks on the season, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Thursday, the unheralded playmaker took the tour of ESPN, appearing on ESPN2, ESPNEWS, and ESPNRadio; here’s a clip from First Take. Enjoy!

Good morning, BT. Apparently Tom Cable isn’t a coach-beater. Disappointing, but Broncos fans can still revel in the silver lining (more on that later). How does it feel to be SIX AND OH?!

• John Elway is The Man.  Of the Year.  Winner of Walter Camp Football Foundation’s prestigious Man of the Year award.  [DenverBroncos.com]
• The bye week is a fan’s opportunity to reconnect with the real world.  [Predominantly Orange]
• Can the Broncos keep relying on second half surges this season?  [Denver Post]
• They’ll need to play a full four quarters to keep up with some of these offenses.  [DPO]
• Josh McDaniels details the areas in which his team can improve.  [Longmont Times Call]
• Did this AP writer just compare Kyle Orton to all-time-BT-fave Foo Fighters front-man Dave Grohl?  Why yes, I believe he did.  [Yahoo! Sports]

How does it feel BroncoTalk Family? How does it feel to be 6 and Ohhh!

"Go Eddie!!!Go Eddie!!!"- Me, in a high pitched shriek.

I realized a few days back…
That the Broncos are possessively good.
I don’t want anyone else to like them now. They’re mine. They are the band you knew about before anyone else, and now that band is selling out concerts, they are number one on iTunes, the teenage girl that lives next door is wearing their shirt. Luckily you’re still the only one that knows any of the lyrics.

That the Broncos quickly morphed from being one of the worst teams to play with on Madden to, with the miracle of updated online rosters, one of the funnest teams to play with.

That Eddie!!! has to be the best name to yell at a TV screen. A name we haven’t been able to yell much this season, but feels as comfortable as ever.

That Shawne Merriman is a hologram of Brian Dawkins. A kid trying to emulate a man. He is the “idea” of a team leader, the “idea” of a get em pumped guy, but an actual leader he is not. He is a faker. He stinks.

That Tony Scheffler’s break out game was planned. We have all hypothesized about the offensive identity, and how our skill players would find their way in that identity. We are showcasing our weapons one by one, only showing glimpses of capability, only allowing opposing teams brief sneak peaks at what’s to come. We are all wondering where Peyton Hillis has been…mark my word, Hillis will a big part of a game plan at some point in the next few weeks.
Our identity is an onion. We are just taking our time peeling back the layers.

A heartwarming tale of dumb Jets fans: Click on it! Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Richard Seymour (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

I’m starting to get a little worried for Oakland Raiders defensive lineman Richard Seymour.

“You can mark it down,” Seymour told a Cincinnati sports radio talk show Wednesday. “The Raiders will be in the playoffs.”

The Raiders — in the playoffs?  Upon hearing this proclamation, even Al Davis reportedly rolled his eyes.

But hold your laughter, readers. BroncoTalk has learned — exclusively — that the radio hosts, mouths agape in stunned bewilderment, cut off Seymour before he could finish his statement! You see, Seymour had more to say; a few words were left off the end of that sentence, and those words are key. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Our weekly perusal around the Interwebz for water cooler fodder.

ESPN: 4th
This is a very well-balanced team that doesn’t beat itself and has maximized its personnel. That is awfully good coaching.

BroncoTalk: 3rd
Glaring Stat: The Denver Broncos defense has allowed a league low third down conversions (26.9%).

Click here to read the rest of this entry »