Kyle Orton: Denver Broncos starting quarterback (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Kyle Orton. Denver Broncos quarterback. I didn’t think I’d ever say those words in the same sentence.

To be honest, I didn’t know what to think about Orton. I didn’t know a lot about him – at least, beyond what a general NFL fan knew. I knew he won a lot of games for the Chicago Bears as a rookie. I knew he got benched in the playoffs that year. I knew he stayed on the bench as a backup until last season, where he won the starting job from Rex Grossman in training camp and had an up-and-down season. To use a word I’m preemptively trying to prevent Woody Paige from abusing, he was merely Orton-ary.

Like many (but not all) of you, I was upset over losing Jay Cutler. Maybe “upset” doesn’t quite do that justice. I was livid. And because of that, I’ve been festering a predisposition against Orton from Day One. He wasn’t my feisty strong-armed quarterback.

(Not to mention I only buy one jersey a year, and I own two Jay Cutler jerseys. Do the math.)

It’s fair to say I didn’t like Kyle Orton one bit. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Kudos to Frank Schwab of the Colorado Springs Gazette for this statistical revelation. Mr. Schwab wrote:

Few people remember how good Orton was over his first seven starts last season. He was efficient and in games three through seven threw for at least 199 yards every outing. The Bears lost by three points at Carolina (the second best team in the NFC last year), lost in overtime to Tampa Bay (the Buccaneers scored 10 points in the final 3:11, including a touchdown with seven seconds left, to tie) and lost on a last-second field goal at Atlanta after a heinous decision to squib kick after Orton completed what should have been the game-winning touchdown with 11 seconds left. The Bears were 4-3 with three excruciating losses to good teams, and Orton was a big reason for their success. Remember the great start Jay Cutler had last year? Compare Orton and Cutler through seven games. Denver and Chicago had a bye in Week 8:

A lot of people don’t remember Orton performing at that level, including me. One game I recall was his three touchdown game against the Eagles where he duped former safety Brian Dawkins with some clever eye movement. The reason why the first seven games is measured is because Orton injured his ankle after the seventh game. However, Frank Schwab pulled together some interesting statistics that can provide Denver fans hope, hopefully.

Kyle Orton, 2008 through seven games
1,669 yards
10 touchdowns
4 interceptions (5 games without an interception)
143 completions
230 attempts
62.2 completion percentage
7.26 per attempt
4-3 team record Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Video of Peyton Hillis‘ interview with a local Arkansas news network after the jump (the video auto-plays, so heads up). Click here to read the rest of this entry »

The Denver Broncos have announced their 2009 training camp schedule.  Practices begin Friday, July 31 and continue through Thursday, August 20, with two practices being held at INVESCO Field at Mile High! Check out the schedule below:

Please note that this was originally published in July and the Broncos may make schedule changes.

BroncoTalk is excited to announce that we will be covering a significant portion of training camp. We’ll have more details in the weeks to follow. The full press release is after the jump. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Denver Broncos rookie linebacker Robert Ayers (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The question revolving around the new Denver Broncos 3-4 defense isn’t so much a matter of “who” as it is “where.”

There are plenty of players on the to-be-trimmed-roster that will fill one of the holes on the front seven. Where they will make their mark, however, is still very up in the air.

Case in point: Robert Ayers. Denver sources indicate that the team’s first round draft pick has been impressive, and will almost certainly start on the new 3-4 defense from day one. But where? Word is that Ayers has been taking a decent share of snaps at starting outside linebacker, Pro Football Weekly reports, but is still expected to play some at defensive end.

We hear Ayers, the 18th overall pick in the draft, picked things up quickly during offseason activities and received a good deal of reps with the first-team defense. It’s certain he’ll start at one of the front-seven spots on defense from Day One, but exactly where is something the Broncos still have to figure out. He was mostly lining up at outside linebacker in the team’s 3-4 set, according to observers, but he could be moved to defensive end, and most likely will rush with his hand on the ground on passing downs.

Coming from the Patriots system, there’s no doubt Josh McDaniels would love to use Ayers as a hybrid defensive player and confuse opposing offenses. I can’t wait to get a good look at Ayers during training camp.

This comes as little surprise, and confirms most speculation, but the Denver Broncos are taking calls on wide receiver Brandon Marshall after the disgruntled fourth-year player asked to be traded in June, Adam Schefter reports on his Twitter page. Schefter indicates the Broncos aren’t actively making calls, but are willing to listen to offers.

If the right offer comes along (Schefter speculates a first-round draft pick would do it), the Broncos would likely execute a trade.

Schefter’s always spot-on, especially when it comes to the Broncos. Again, little surprise, but it does confirm most people’s speculation about how the Broncos are handling the BMarsh situation. Still, unless someone makes a significant offer, the Broncos plan to sit on Marshall.

photo by Thad Roan

I’m still coming down from my third annual trip to Bonnaroo festival. A four day music extravaganza in Manchester, Tennessee that included Bruce Springsteen, Beastie Boys, Nine Inch Nails, David Byrne, Wilco, Erykah Badu, TV on the Radio, The Mars Volta, Girl Talk, two Phish shows and too many others to name. Coincidentally Phish will be playing a four-show stint at Red Rocks Amphitheatre later this summer. Coincidentally, a group of Broncos traveled to Red Rocks a few weeks back to participate in some alternative conditioning. The concept of the Denver Broncos working out at one of the most heralded concert venues in the United States was too much for me. What a perfect opportunity to write that live music post I’ve been wanting to. The post that Kyle told me was a stretch, but if I could find a way to connect music and the Broncos, to go for it. Thank you strength & conditioning coach Rich Tuten, you have given me inspiration. And an easy in.

I know the Red Rocks work out is a weak link, but these next few weeks are part of the dead zone for football news. I suggest we share stories of the other connections we may have. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

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Remember Back in 2007 Brandon Marshall was pulled over for suspicion of DUI? Well here’s the police report folks. According to the police report Marshall repeatedly asked for his lawyer over and over and the officer let him know each time that he could not have one yet. According the police report this prompted Marshall to say,

“That’s b******t, that’s a lie. Why aren’t you guys out there looking for William’s killer? I hate Denver, I hate this city, I hate f***ing city.”

Marshall was then escorted to the police headquarters where he blew a .116 BAC, which is over the legal limit.

No one can be positive that this actually happened the way it did but never the less another document has shown up unveiling Marshall’s character for yet another offseason. Remember the 911 tapes last year? Sheesh. Either Brandon Marshall makes a ton of mistakes or he is the most unfortunate man ever. If it’s the latter, Brandon Marshall has more unfortunate events then Lemony Snicket himself. Also drinking and driving is no joke, I and many others out there have lost close friends and family members to it.

This all did happen in the past but makes it a little more clear why Marshall wasn’t hesitant to ask for a trade. This doesn’t mean he’s always hated Denver, I’m sure his angry drunk venting was all just that but those are things you just can’t say. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Patriots receiver C.J. Jones surveys the field as he runs back a kickoff during practice at Gillette Stadium. (Boston Herald/Matt Stone)

C.J. Jones, wide receiver most recently of the Kansas City Chiefs, was awarded to the Denver Broncos Wednesday off waivers. The third-year player out of Iowa and the Canadian Football League rejoins Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels after he worked with McD on the New England Patriots practice squad in 2007.

Jones (5-11, 195) was released by the Patriots in 2008 and spent the rest of the season out of football. The Chiefs signed him in March 2009 and released him on June 19.

A special-teamer in the CFL, Jones returned nine kickoffs for 236 yards (26.2 avg.) and six punts 55 yards (9.2 avg.) in 2005 for the Montreal Alouettes. As a senior at Iowa, Jones set an Orange Bowl record when he returned the opening kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown against USC.

Jones must be resilient; he’s been bouncing in and out of the NFL since 2003 and has yet to tally a regular season reception. He definitely has ‘camp body’ written all over him, but for the time being, welcome to the Broncos! Press release after the jump. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Denver Broncos center Casey Wiegmann released the following statement Wednesday following the tragic shooting of his high school football coach:

“I was extremely saddened to hear the news this morning about the passing of Coach Ed Thomas. He was a great Christian man. I learned a lot from him, both as a player and a man. Last year, you could see exactly what the football program means to Aplington-Parkersburg in the way the community pulled together to restore the football field after the tornado. That is a reflection of Coach Thomas. I cannot begin to count the number of lives he affected in this community. I know I carry many of the lessons I learned from him with me every day. My family and I pray for Coach Thomas’ family.”

Read more on the story here. Our thoughts and prayers to the Thomas family.