• One day, offensive coordinators will give a crap about stats and running back by committee approaches and your fantasy lineup in general.  That day is not today.  [Colorado Springs Gazette]
• John Elway says Kyle Orton will be just fine.  [CBS4 Denver]
• Alphonso Smith helped the Broncos‘ nickel defense limit the Bengals to two receptions for 29 yards.  [Denver Post]
• Brian Dawkins: the Ray Lewis of the defense (Mike Nolan‘s words, not mine).  [DPO]

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Brandon Stokley single-handedly saved the Broncos in the season opener. (REUTERS/John Sommer II)

Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels is new at this, not at scouting necessarily, but at being a head coach… He need not be worried, we’re here to help! Instead of covering the entire NFL, what we at The Denver Bronco Talk Blog are doing is covering the NFL that you should care about. Every week, we’ll take a peek ahead and break down all of the opponents the Denver Broncos face this season, giving them full weekly coverage from the first Sunday until the Broncos play them. As fans you will be able to focus on which player/team did what from week-to-week. Heck, you might even look better than McDaniels when the Broncos face off against a team that you’ve been scouting for the last eight weeks.

Week 2 Cleveland Browns
The preseason secrecy over who will be starting at quarterback is over and Brady Quinn is in. Remember that the Browns were rumored to be one of the teams that Denver was interested in trading Jay Cutler to this past off-season. One reason apparently was because Josh McDaniels was interested in coaching Quinn, but for whatever reason this rumor never came to fruition. Now, inevitably whenever a quarterback struggles in Denver this season there will be calls for the Broncos to trade for Derek Anderson.

Quinn did not look incredible against the Minnesota Vikings, in fact he at some points was reminiscent of Cutler when Cutler wasn’t at his best (Sunday Night Football anyone?). He played better than the stat line would indicate; there was a debatable Braylon Edwards shoe string catch that could have gone either way. Defensively the Browns gave 180-yards to Adrian Peterson (and three touchdowns), they were tough on Brett Favre though, shutting him down most of the first half.

When you look down the schedule that Denver will face this season there are the obvious and not so obvious things that teams have in common- here’s a non-obvious one… Special teams: in Cleveland, in San Diego and in Philadelphia, they all have an ability to light up the score board and Joshua Cribbs is doing nothing short of running at Devin Hester’s crown. Cribbs is overshadowed by Hester, but Cribbs may still be deserving of a spot on the top ten return men of all time list. Cribbs had a return for a touchdown against the Vikings (his seventh in his career).

The Browns running game was not impressive, Jamal Lewis had eleven carries for 57-yards, though that is a 5.2 avg. While there is indication that Denver has improved on run defense, look for Lewis to have a big game. One because it will be tough for the Browns to pass on the Broncos and two, just because Lewis has lost a step, he’s not out a career just yet. Expect the new found Broncos pass rush to give Quinn a field day, a giant headache and a couple of sacks. Look for Andre Goodman to continue to look like more of an all star than Champ Bailey and for Bailey to quietly work his way towards another pro bowl.

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Fans have been able to vote for the greatest players in Denver Broncos history position-by-position since June 6th, and today, the team announced the results. Scroll below to see the full Denver Broncos 50th Anniversary Team.

As you’ll see, there’s a heavy skew on the 90’s teams that won two Super Bowls, especially on offense. And deservedly so; the 1997 and 1998 teams weren’t just the greatest squad in Broncos history, they were two of the most talented rosters from top to bottom in NFL history.

This list is fairly solid, and closely mirrors my own roster. I would have liked to see Al Wilson at linebacker; he was the heart and soul of the Broncos defense for 8 years, but it’s hard to take any of those names off at the same time. Lionel Taylor makes more sense than Eddie Mac at WR to me.

What do you think Broncos fans? How does this team match your roster? Who was left off? Who doesn’t deserve to be on it? Dish it out in the comments. Press release (including the 2nd teamers) after the jump. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Oakland Raiders linebacker Kirk Morrison, left, gestures after San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, right, was sacked during the first quarter of an NFL football game Monday, Sept. 14, 2009, in Oakland, Calif.(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Good Morning Broncos Country.  How does it feel to be tied for first in the division?

Guess what? The Chargers don’t look that great, AGAIN! After hearing Super Bowl predictions, and landslide AFC West predictions, the Raiduhs gave the Dolts a reality shock! I, on behalf of BT, am taking notice of Oakland – the running attack looks something fierce. They aren’t there yet with their passing game, and may never be with Russell, but they can pound the ball.  Seymour looked great, and Nnamdi Asomugha is the new Champ Bailey.

Chargers, you’re supposed to be the best team in the league, YOU STINK! You know who doesn’t stink though? Darren Sproles, set your hating aside, who here wouldn’t want him on the Denver Broncos? This guy is lightning in a bottle, a perfect back to have in a stable, don’t see A.J. Smith letting him go for anything less than bank. Enough about the rest of the division, Kyle will be joining me this week to call out some Broncos. Oh, I almost forgot…RAIDERS YOU STINK! Click on it. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

• The Oakland Raiders grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory.  [NFL.com]
• The San Diego Chargers looked very vanilla… and very beatable.  [San Diego Union Tribune]
• The Raiders won’t be an easy out.  [Real Football 365]
• I understand the rule, but I still question if that was the right call at the end of the first half.  It sure looked like Louis Murphy had possession all the way to the ground.  [FanHouse]
• The Broncos play Oakland in Weeks 3 and 15, San Diego in Weeks 6 and 11.  [Denver Broncos 2009 Schedule – BT]

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When the Broncos win, we give out game balls! When they lose, we slouch into corners and weep our pitiful lives away…

Broncos 12 – Bengals 7. We will always take a Week One win, no matter how we get it. Alright fellas, time to give out game balls!

Brandon Stokley – Is there anyone else to pick? Stokley, if you heard him dissect the play he was using his head the whole way. – Josh Temple

Was it luck? Yes, yes it was. But what’s that old saying about luck? “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Stokley talked about being in place just in case the ball came to him, or in preparation for a block downfield if Marshall comes down with it. His heads up goal line trot that ate up more time was the icing on the cake. – Kyle

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Denver Broncos WR Jabar Gaffney, QB Kyle Orton and Coach Josh McDainels converse on the sideline of Sunday's 12-7 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. (REUTERS/John Sommers)

The Coach’s first four questions were all related to Brandon Stokley‘s historic, record-breaking play Sunday – The Immaculate Deflection.  A day after it happened, it’s obviously still on everybody’s mind.  Coach also discusses Kyle Orton, Brian Dawkins and Spencer Larsen, among other things. Thanks as always to the Broncos PR dept!

HEAD COACH JOSH McDANIELS

Opening statement

“As I said yesterday after the game, I am proud of the way our guys played and stayed with it for 60 minutes. We certainly didn’t do everything that we wanted to do the way we wanted to do it, but we did do enough things well enough for us to be in it late in the game and give ourselves an opportunity to make a play there at the end, which you don’t want to do many times. I am proud of the way the guys fought. We have got a lot of room to improve and a lot of things to improve on. That is what we will be hard at work at starting today.”

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The Denver Broncos escaped their 12-7 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday relatively unharmed.

That was during the game. Before the game was another story.

Inside linebacker/fullback Spencer Larsen suffered a shoulder injury Sunday in the locker room before the game, Head Coach Josh McDaniels told reporters today. McDaniels called it a “freak accident” and said it occurred after Larsen slipped on a “slick surface” and fell awkwardly.

Larsen is expected to miss a few weeks, McDaniels said.

Freak accident, or Bengals sabotage? You decide.

Just kidding. Sort of.

Brian Leonard, meet Brian Dawkins. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

Perhaps I’m biased (note: yes, I am), but I’ve always felt the Denver Broncos have a beautiful name. It’s lovely to spell and well-balanced and gracefully simple.

Over the past two seasons, it’s been ironic — no, disgraceful — to start writing the team’s name with a ‘D.’ The team hasn’t had one. Why should the name?

Times have changed.

In Sunday’s 12-7 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the enver Broncos:

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• Brandon Stokley‘s insane 87-yard catch-and-run was the longest game-winning play in the last minute of a 4th quarter in NFL history. [ESPN]
• “Luck” doesn’t quite do it justice; that play was a miracle.  [Denver Post]
• Not that there’s anything wrong with that. [Rice Takes]
• An inside peek at the somber Bengals locker room after the game.  [Colorado Springs Gazette]
• Cartoon courtesy Drew Litton. [DrewLitton.com]

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