It’s old news by now but you may have heard reports on Thursday that Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning had acquired partial ownership of the NBA team Memphis Grizzlies.  Those reports were false.

Quotes released by the team indicate that Peyton’s wife, Ashley, has agreed to become a minority owner of the Grizzlies.

“I am very excited to make the commitment to join the potential new ownership group of the Memphis Grizzlies,” Ashley Manning said in a statement released Thursday evening.  “As a native of Memphis, it was important to me that the Grizzlies remain in Tennessee and continue to have a positive impact on the community.”

If our understanding is correct, Peyton has had little involvement in the process, contrary to some reports.

“I am proud of Ashley as she pursues this opportunity with the Memphis Grizzlies,” said Peyton.  “While my focus is on playing quarterback for the Denver Broncos, I look forward to watching her become involved with her hometown team.”

The Grizzles will open the season on October 31st against the Los Angeles Clippers.  Peyton and the Broncos have games on the 28th (vs. NO) and 4th (@ CIN), so he could feasibly attend the Grizzlies’ first game, though as a supporter, not an owner.

The NFL informed the Denver Broncos on Friday that linebacker D.J. Williams will be suspended an additional three games to his current six-game suspension, according to CBSSports.com.  The two suspensions, lasting nine weeks total, were the result of performance enhancing drug and driving while ability-impaired charges.

Williams (6-1, 242 lbs.) is a ninth-year veteran who has been a starter in Denver since he was drafted by the team in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft.  Williams will be cleared again to play in Week 11, when the Broncos are scheduled to take on the San Diego Chargers at home.

In Williams’ absence, Keith Brooking and Wesley Woodyard have been rotating at the “Will” linebacker position.  With middle linebacker Joe Mays coming back from his own suspension this week, Von Miller, Mays, and Brooking will likely be the three starting linebackers in Denver’s 4-3 defense, with Woodyard rotating in on nickel and dime formations.

The Broncos defensive unit as a whole has not suffered greatly from Williams’ absence, but the team’s linebacker depth has been depleted.  When Williams returns from his suspension, expect him to return to the team’s starting lineup.

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning meet on the field for the 13th time Sunday in Foxboro.

We all know this weekend is about Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning, no matter what each quarterback tells you. But for one second, let’s indulge their insistent “it’s Patriots vs. Broncos” remarks and look at how the Patriots vs. Broncos fare in the eyes of Football Outsiders‘ smarter stats. Remember that negative percentages are good on defense, bad on offense and specials.

Offense
Offensive DVOA – 33.2% (1st)
Boom. There it is folks. The stat that doesn’t lie. The Patriots are the NFL’s best offense. Maybe this game is about Peyton Manning having to purely outscore Tom Brady after all, because one thing is certain — the Patriots will score. They have the top-ranked passing attack (52.2% DVOA) and second-best rushing attack (19.1%). Both Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski returned to practice this week, so if they’re full go for Sunday, the Pats will even have their Bronco-killing two tight end formation in play.

The Broncos’ saving grace may be the fact that their defense is decent. They’re ranked 7th in DVOA with -15.3%. Only Arizona ranks higher defensively (6th, -17.2%) among teams the Patriots have faced, and the Cardinals beat them.

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

As the season progresses, BroncoTalk is going to do a handful of giveaways, usually on our Facebook page. To make it easier for fans to enter contests, we’ve put together a few general rules and guidelines that we will be able to make reference to down the road.

• All winners will be randomly selected unless otherwise specified in the contest details.  

• You must live in the continental United States to enter a contest.  (We cannot make any exceptions because shipping becomes too expensive.)

• If you are selected as the winner but we are unable to contact you, we will select another winner.  (We’ll send you a tweet, message, or email, depending on where the contest is held.)

• Only one entry per person.  Do not enter through multiple accounts or you will be removed from the contest.

• If a contest is comment based, stay courteous and mature.  If the contest is not comment based, commenting will not increase your chances of winning.  (For example, if we say, “LIKE for a chance to win,” on Facebook, commenting would not improve your chances of winning.)

Know that your personal information will never be published, sold, or given to third parties (for more information, see our privacy policy). At times we may need to alter these rules, and we reserve the right to do so without notice to contest participants. You can always find the most recent giveaway rules here.

Good luck!

(Jamie Squire, Getty Images)

All fifty-three members of the Denver Broncos’ active roster fully participated in Thursday’s practice, marking the first time that has occurred this season. Among the players that returned to practice was guard Chris Kuper, who broke his forearm during training camp.

Linebacker Nate Irving (concussion) was another notable addition to practice, after being limited on Wednesday.  Both Irving and Kuper could theoretically play this week, but their respective statuses remain uncertain.

“It would be great (if Kuper could play this week),”  Coach John Fox said after practice on Thursday.  “He’s been through a lot with the ankle in the offseason and forearm in the preseason.  At the end of the day, he’d much rather be out here than in the training room, so I’m sure he’s excited about it.”

The Broncos’ full injury report for their Week 5 game against New England will be announced tomorrow.  Meanwhile, ten Patriots were limited in practice on Wednesday and five others were unable to participate.  On Thursday, two of the Patriots’ injured players—tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez—were able to return on a limited basis.

If Denver is going to defeat New England, coming into the game at full strength as a team will certainly be a factor.  Kuper’s role on the offensive line cannot be overemphasized.  The team is undoubtedly excited for his return.

For those who live outside of Colorado and do not have DirecTV, we present this handy-dandy broadcast map, courtesy of the506.com:

Those of you who live in the red areas (including Alaska and Hawaii) will receive the Broncos/Patriots game on your local CBS station this weekend.  Kickoff is scheduled for 2:25 p.m. (MT) and we’ll have complete coverage of the game here on the blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

For those who do not live in the red, you have several options, which we have listed below for your convenience —  Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Denver Broncos News

• The Denver Broncos head back to Gillette Stadium to face the New England Patriots and I just can’t help to feel that we may just have a team that can compete with Tom Brady. [DenverBroncos.com]
• The tale of the tape is all about bowing down to the alter of Brady and the Patriots.  Barely worth the watch, but one must always remain objective. [NFL.com]
• Judging by the injury report, the Broncos are healthy, while the Patriots are not. This could be an excellent time for the Broncos to face the Patriots. [DenverBroncos.com]
• Peyton Manning has a long history with the Patriots, mostly bad. The Broncos also have a long history with them, mostly good. Who knows, if Tim Tebow and the Broncos hadn’t had that disastrous second quarter in their first meeting with the Patriots, things could have ended differently. Either way, the Broncos should at least be competitive throughout this game. [Denver Post]]
•  Both teams had huge blowout wins last week, but the Patriots 45 point second half was just redonkulous. The Broncos defense must get pressure on Brady if they have any chance to keep it close enough for Manning to work his magic. [Yahoo! Sports]

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for more Broncos updates throughout the day.

The Denver Broncos were informed on Wednesday that kicker Matt Prater will be named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.  Prater won the award after going 3-for-3 on field goal attempts in the Broncos’ 37-6 thumping of the Oakland Raiders last week.

Full press release after the jump.   Click here to read the rest of this entry »

As Week 5 of the NFL season approaches, the Denver Broncos (2-2) are preparing to face the New England Patriots (2-2) on the road.  Here are six mid-week thoughts for your consideration going into the game — 

(1) Brady vs. Manning rivalry continues as both QBs prepare for historic showdown. 

Sunday will mark the thirteenth time quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning have faced off (including the postseason).  In their first twelve meetings, as members of the Patriots and Colts, respectively, Brady won eight games, doubling Manning’s win total, 8-4.  Manning has however won four the last six meetings between the two future Hall of Famers.

Per the league’s PR department, the game will mark the first time in NFL history that a pair of quarterbacks with 300 career touchdown passes (Brady: 307, Manning: 407) will duke it out on the gridiron.  Additionally, per the Broncos’ PR department, the game will also mark the second time in NFL history that a pair of quarterbacks with 125 wins have faced off.  The last time such a showdown occurred was back in 1998, when Dan Marino‘s Dolphins defeated John Elway‘s Broncos, 31-21 (Elway then defeated Marino 38-3 in the postseason).   Click here to read the rest of this entry »

The Denver Broncos on Tuesday announced the signings of three players to the team’s practice squad.  Linebacker Mike Mohamed, wide receiver Bert Reed and offensive tackle Darrion Weems have all signed with the team.

Terms of the player’s respective contracts are unknown, but they’ll likely receive $5,700 a week, the league’s minimum salary for practice squad players, per CBA rules.  The team also announced the waiving of guard Adam Grant from the practice squad.

Reed (5-10, 180 lbs., pictured) is a rookie wide receiver from Florida State University who entered the league as a college free agent with the Cleveland Browns.  After spending short stints with the Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Reed is now joining his third pro team, the Broncos, after being in the NFL for just six months. Click here to read the rest of this entry »