Denver Broncos – San Diego Chargers highlights. Bonus video after the jump.

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Good morning, BroncoTalk! It’s always a good day when the Broncos are 6-0. Today I am introducing the Daily Links, because I feel like it, and maybe will continue from hereon out, we’ll see. On deck today we have highlights, Power Rankings, thoughts on Richard Seymour, and, of course, the latest Denver Broncos news and commentary. Here’s today’s links:

• “Intelligence is not a luxury in (McDaniels‘) complicated system; it’s a necessity.” [Denver Post]
• McDaniels is even a thinking-man’s TV viewer. Y’know, CSI. [USA Today]
• Crafting a “defensive masterpiece” in Denver.  [FanHouse]
• Good lookin’, Broncos. Take the rest of the week off. [DPO]
• Kyle Orton isn’t concerned over Jay Cutler‘s new deal.  [DPO]
• Whaddya know, the Broncos have more wins than the rest of the division combined.  [DPO]
• Broncos have an absurdly premature first-round bye.  [Shutdown Corner]

Denver Broncos punter Brett Kern didn’t have a good Monday night. The San Diego Chargers‘ Darren Sproles answered Eddie Royal‘s heroics with a 77-yard punt return touchdown of his own, and the Broncos’ second-year punter only pinned one of three other punts behind the 20 (two touchbacks).

As a result, the Broncos worked out veteran P Mitch Berger Wednesday. The Denver Post notes:

Broncos coach Josh McDaniels called Kern over on the sideline and briefly talked to him after the touchdown return. Kern is currently 28th in the league in net average at 34.5.

As our bold-happy friends at the Colorado Sports Desk point out, Berger is a former Colorado Buffalo who played in the NFL for 15 seasons, most recently for the Pittsburgh Steelers (13 games in 2008, 41.3 avg.). Kern is averaging 46.1 yards per punt.

This isn’t the first time the Broncos have looked at other punters this season, and field position is an emphasized part of Josh McDaniels‘ gameplan. We’ll keep you posted.

Broncos take a look at Berger [Denver Post]
Broncos working out former CU punter [Colorado Sports Desk]

Denver Broncos QB Kyle Orton throws a pass to WR Brandon Stokley in Week 6 Monday Night Football action. (REUTERS/Fred Greaves)

It’s a fact of life — Kyle Orton and Jay Cutler will forever-be linked, examined, scrutinized, and compared to one another for the rest of their NFL careers.  It doesn’t matter that the Broncos received two first-round draft picks along with Orton; Orton and Cutler’s successes and failures will be placed in juxtaposition to one another for as long as they are quarterbacking their current respective teams.

So when the Bears decided to give Cutler a lucrative contract extension Tuesday, Rocky Mountain eyebrows were raised.  Cutler had 10 touchdowns to seven interceptions (three in the red zone), leading the Bears to a 3-2 record with two years left on his contract. Orton has 9 touchdowns to one (fluke) interception (none in the red zone), leading the Broncos to a 6-0 record with no years left on his contract.

In other words, Kyle Orton is out-playing Jay Cutler.

Significantly. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Stokley (R) celebrates his fourth quarter touchdown against the San Diego Chargers with teammate linebacker Mario Haggan in the fourth quarter of their Monday Night NFL football game in San Diego, California October 19, 2009. The Broncos won the game. (REUTERS/Fred Greaves)

The latest weekly goodness from the Broncos. View the full press release here (.pdf).

Following their 34-23 win at San Diego on Monday Night Football, the Denver Broncos (6-0) join five other NFL teams with a bye for Week 7 of the 2009 season. The club resumes play on Nov. 1 when it visits Baltimore to play the Ravens (3-3), who also have a bye this week.

QUICKLY:

• The Broncos enter their bye week without a loss for only the third time since the bye week was introduced by the NFL in 1990. Denver, which is one of four teams with a perfect record this year, also was undefeated at its bye week in 1997 and ‘98 (6-0).
• Head Coach Josh McDaniels is the fourth rookie coach in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to begin his coaching career with a 6-0 record. He joins Red Miller (1977) as one of two Broncos coaches with that distinction.

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• Plain and simple: Kyle Orton looks better than Jay Cutler.  [NFL FanHouse]
• A change of scenery has a lot to do with Orton’s metamorphosis.  [Chicago Sun Times]
• “Orton hears a woo-hoo.”  I like it, Woody Paige.  [Denver Post]
• Cutler got a fat new contract Tuesday night.  [BroncoTalk]
• Where is Orton’s?  [National Football Post]
• To date, Denver has been ripping Las Vegas a new one.  [Colorado Springs Gazette]
• The Chargers could realistically drop another game in the division this Sunday, against the Chiefs, in ever-dangerous Arrowhead.  [Predominantly Orange]

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

Sorry about no post last week, I was stricken with the swine flu and trust me it sucks.

1.  New Orleans Saints (5-0)

Obvious. The Saints are dominating anyone and everyone. I thank the stars the Denver doesn’t have to play them.

Glaring Stat: The Saints have allowed a total of 417 rushing yards all year for 3.8 yards a carry.

2.  Minnesota Vikings (6-0) Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Denver Broncos WR Eddie Royal made history Monday Night. (REUTERS/Fred Greaves)

Dressed in the Denver Broncos‘ classic “seal brown” from head to toe, Eddie Royal returned both a kickoff and punt for a touchdown Monday night.

The last Bronco to do that was Al Frazier on December 3, 1961. Frazier was also wearing those seal brown colors — the second-to-last time Denver would wear them, before 2009.

Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

Former Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler made a big fuss to get himself traded out of Denver.  Some believed his relatively lightweight rookie contract had a lot to do with it.

Those conspiracy theorists have a bit more ammo today.

The NFL Network’s Jason LaCanfora is reporting that Cutler’s new team, the Chicago Bears, have signed the fourth-year QB to a two-year contract extension worth roughly $20 million in guarantees and $30 million in new money.  The contract keeps Cutler in Chicago through 2013.

That is, unless he requests another trade.

Bears, Cutler agree to two-year contract extension [NFL.com]

Not since 1961 had a Denver Bronco returned both a kickoff and punt for a touchdown in the same game (halfback Al Frazier), but that’s exactly what wide receiver Eddie Royal did Monday night. Royal returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter of the Broncos’ 34-23 win over the San Diego Chargers, then added a 71-yard score on a punt return minutes later in the second.

That type of playmaking doesn’t go unnoticed, and the NFL did, informing the Broncos that Royal would be named the Week 6 AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Overall Royal returned five kickoffs for 158 yards (31.6 avg.) and three punts for 77 yards to give the Broncos the edge in a crucial AFC West battle on Monday Night Football.  His 235 total return yards set a franchise record.

Congratulations to Eddie on the first such award of his career.  The nods keep on coming for these 2009 Broncos!