Eddie Royal chewed up and spit out the Oakland Raiders secondary on a national stage. Now he’s being recognized for his efforts.

NFL and Denver Broncos fans have voted Royal as the Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week for Week One of the 2008 NFL season. Royal had nine catches for 146 yards and one touchdown in the Broncos’ 41-14 win over the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football. He also rushed for nine yards and returned three kicks for 30 yards to help secure the Broncos’ win.

QB Jay Cutler was also nominated for an award – the FedEx Air Player of the Week – but Eagles QB Donovan McNabb took home those honors.

Congrats to Eddie on his first NFL recognition! Leading the NFL in receiving yards for all wide receivers will do that for you. Full press release after the jump.

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INJURY REPORT – San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos – Sunday, September 14, 2008.

vs.
Broncos (1-0) vs. Chargers (0-1)
INVESCO Field at Mile High
Sun, Sep 14, 2008
2:15 PM MDT CBS

Preview | Predictions | Scouting Report
Injury Report | Weather | Tickets

There’s a good chance that SLB Boss Bailey will be making his Denver Broncos debut against the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. Bailey, who missed last week’s season opener to the Raiders with an ankle injury, is listed as Probable on the team’s Injury Report below.

C Tom Nalen, on the other hand, won’t be suiting up just yet.

Meanwhile, the Chargers are beat up and will be missing two of their top offensive linemen, LT Marcus McNeill and C Nick Hardwick. RB Ladainian Tomlinson, who is listed as Questionable, has indicated that he intends to play on Sunday. Check out the full report below.

DENVER BRONCOS

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

One of the best films to come out in the last five years is Man on Fire, directed by Tony Scott and starring Denzel Washington and Christopher Walken. There is a moment in the film when, as to not give any spoilers away, Christopher Walken’s character Rayburn is speaking with the Chief of Police of Mexico City, Manzano, played by Giancarlo Giannini. In reference to Denzel Washington’s character Creasy, Rayburn says this:

         RAYBURN
He'll deliver more justice in a
weekend, than ten years of your
courts and tribunals. So stay
out of his way.

After a few well placed, straight to the jugular questions by Manzano, Rayburn ends with this incredibly short, but poignant monologue:

            RAYBURN
A man can be an artist in anything.
Stone, paint, words. Food. Anything, if
his soul is true to it. Creasy's art is
death. And he's about to paint his
masterpiece.

Truer words have never been spoken in a film.

Men on Fire:

“There’s no such thing as tough. You’re either trained or untrained,” Denzel Washington’s character Creasy says in Man on Fire. Either trained or untrained. That would alleviate the quote/unquote luck factor all together then wouldn’t it? Meaning Monday night wasn’t lucky at all, the Denver Broncos have been training to perform at that level for quite some time.

They executed on offense, very well. The Broncos are currently rated fourth in the NFL in total offense. They are rated 15th in total defense, tenth against the pass and 25th against the run. We did forty one points in Oakland, but last time the San Diego Chargers played at Mile High they did forty one as well.

The bottom line is that, this game will decide everything.

It’s so early in the season, too early to be saying anything like that, but I said it and most of all, it is true. On any given Sunday a team’s entire season can turn for better or for worse. If the Broncos can manage to come out on top Sunday afternoon, they will have won one game that they weren’t expected to. Against a team that many had (and still do) considered a Super Bowl contender.

Putting together the puzzle and the pieces fit perfectly, this season is different. Look at Monday’s game– we’re twenty-one points ahead and still running trick plays, do you feel it? We’ve got that old thing back… It’s as if the world is not enough, as if winning is not enough. There’s fight, ambition and pride at stake all of a sudden. Denver’s been waiting for this game since December 24, 2007, and finally there’s something in the heir… Jay Cutler is here, and Mike Shanahan’s about to paint his masterpiece.

Denver Bronco Talk Blog (us):

• Kyle from this very BroncoTalk, Adam from Arrowhead Addict, Chris from Arrowhead Pride, and Mr. Hercules Rockefeller from Orange Bucksnorts took part in an AFC West round table with Bankmeister over at House of Georges. Don’t know if you’ve had the pleasure of visiting any of these sites, but check them out.  Bang it on the link to the right for the round table. [HoG]

Denver Broncos:

• The Denver Broncos have dropped out of the top 10, for the wealthiest teams in the NFL. [RMN]
• Fox Sports Adam Schein starts his weekly hot seat article and the Broncos’ run defense is on it. [Fox]
• Speaking of hot ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson says that the Denver Broncos vs. San Diego Chargers are the best rivalry in the AFC West. [ESPN]
• Predominantly Orange pleads, “Slide Jay, slide…” [PO]
• Whether you’re for Selvin Young, Andre Hall or the committee, Andre Hall deserves a standing ovation. [DP]
• D.J. Williams isn’t the only one in his family who is an overachiever in football, his younger brother Worrell Willaims had six tackles before half-time on Saturday for Cal-Berkley. [SFGate]

AFC West:

• Damon Huard will start for the Kansas City Chiefs, against the Oakland Raiders. [SportingLife]
• The Raiders must think it’s still summer in Oakland, because it’s getting hot! [AP]
• Three Denver Broncos lead the way as The Best in the West. [ESPN]

NFL:

• Fox Sport’s Jason Whitlock says, that Vince Young’s problems were predictable. [Fox]
• The nicest sentiment ever sent on the internet (safe for work and those old enough for rated PG-13 movies). [KSK] (humor)
• After news of Brian Griese starting this week for the Tampa Bay Buccanneers, Jeff Garcia says that he’s healthy enough to play. [Pewter News]
• This comes just prior to rumors the the Buccanneers are shopping Garcia. [PFT]

Injury/practice report for San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos game on Sunday, September 14, 2008.

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

*Indicates change in previous report.

Thoughts: No stars* were harmed in the making of this practice report.

vs.
Broncos (1-0) vs. Chargers (0-1)
INVESCO Field at Mile High
Sun, Sep 14, 2008
2:15 PM MDT CBS

Preview | Predictions | Scouting Report
Injury Report | Weather | Tickets

The Denver Broncos (1-0) face a divisional team for the second consecutive week when they host the two-time defending AFC West champion San Diego Chargers (0- 1) on Sunday in their home opener. Kickoff at INVESCO Field at Mile High is set for 2:15 p.m. MDT, and the game will be televised by CBS with Dick Enberg and Randy Cross calling the action. Radio coverage will be provided by 850 AM KOA, which will be simulcast on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 91.

Denver began its 2008 season with a 41-14 win in Oakland on Monday Night Football, scoring its second-most points in a divisional road game in franchise history. Broncos wide receiver Eddie Royal registered the sixth-most receiving yards (146) by a player in his NFL debut since 1960 while quarterback Jay Cutler posted a Week 1 AFC-best 299 passing yards, two touchdown passes and a 137.3 passer rating. Royal leads all NFL wide receivers in receiving yards through one week.

Looking to snap their four-game losing streak to the Chargers, Denver faces a San Diego squad that lost its season opener at home to Carolina by a 26-24 margin. The Panthers scored the game-winning touchdown on a 14-yard, fourth-down pass as time expired.

With a potential 2-0 lead on the former AFC West champs on the line, Sunday’s skirmish serves as another rare “must-win” game for the Broncos in September.

Kyle’s Five Keys to the Game

1. Get Philip Rivers’ jersey dirty… really dirty
Quarterback Philip Rivers is rarely touched when he faces the Broncos. The Denver pass rush just hasn’t been able to get to him, and as a result he’s 4-0 against the Broncos. His stats, which are up and down all season long, always peak when he faces the Broncos. With the Chargers’ offensive line reeling from injury, the Broncos are counting on RDE Elvis Dumervil and DTs Marcus Thomas and Dewayne Robertson to disrupt the Chargers’ backups. Give CBs Champ Bailey and Dre Bly a few hurried throws to work with and the Broncos will have turnovers. Give this offense a short field and it’s Lights Out for San Diego.

2. Gap control on defense
The Raiders weren’t the only division opponent to run on the Broncos for over 350 yards in 2007. The Chargers, led by RBs LaDainian Tomlinson and Michael Turner, ran for 364 yards against the Broncos in two games last year. The defensive line needs to eat up blockers and let the linebackers hit their gaps (and then the linebackers must MAKE THE TACKLE), and the Chargers won’t be able to run on us like that again.

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Shawne Merriman slaps his helmet on his first and final game in ’08 (Reuters photo)

Your wittiest, most cleverest captions in the comments.

Yesterday’s winner – SivNiz:

“Mr. President, call in the National Guard! Send as many men as you can spare! Because we are killing the Raiders! They need emergency help!”

Special Bonus Winner – Chedro! Thanks for creating this!

Remember to leave your caption for the top photo. Happy captioning!

Seven-years ago the worst attack on the United States of America took place, the world lost 2,973 men, women and children. Take a moment today, to show some appreciation for those around you and the men and women who are serving both here in the U.S. and especially over seas. No matter what you feel personally about the situation in Iraq or Afghanistahn, understand that they certainly are not over there because they want to be over there. They are serving this country and the people inside of it.

Many of those men and women happen to use the several moments they get on the internet once or twice a week to check-in on the Denver Broncos, right here at our lovely blog. BroncoTalk would like to show our appreciation, so a Mile High Salute to them and be sure to say hi in the comments!

Denver Broncos:

• The New York Times (my local paper) features Champ Bailey and asks “Why are there so few truly great cornerbacks?” [NYT]
• Tom Nalen returned to practice yesterday. [DP]
• ESPN was so impressed by the Denver Broncos, they’ve bumped the Broncos power ranking all the way up to 19 (from 22). [ESPN]
• CBS however gets the message and has Denver at number 12 (up from 21). [Sportsline]
• Careful Jay Cutler… Cutler says that he doesn’t remember what Philip Rivers said to him last Christmas Eve. When asked what he knows about Shawne Merriman’s replacement Jyles Tucker, Jay replies, “Who?” Easy Jay, you may not want to meet him, but you better know who and where he is…. [SignonSanDiego]
• NFL.com gives their quick take on the San Diego Chargers vs. Denver Broncos. Lots of little tidbits. [NFL]
• This week Brandon Marshall is Denver’s number one receiver, last week he was Denver’s #1 fan (debatable, I didn’t catch him on our live blog, that’s where all the real fans are). [SignonSanDiego]
• Kim over at Predominantly Orange posts the Denver Broncos Super Bowl odds… [Predominantly Orange]
• Don’t think that there’s much debate over who Brandon Marshall is voting for in November. [DP]
• Denver fans aren’t the only ones jazzed about Eddie Royal’s coming out party. [IHT]
• A whole lot of Denver Broncos quotes. [ESPN]

AFC West:

• This is actually disgusting, but someone has created a “Bernard Pollard” fan-club. [Believemerch.com]
• Oakland Raiders cornerback DeAngelo Hall sat out yesterday’s practice, no word on injury, but this site suggests second-degree burns (ZING!) [SFGate]
• Speaking of the Raiders, they blitzed just four times on Monday night, Lane Kiffin washes his hands of the loss. [IHT]
• “You always expect it to be hostile and it always is going to (be in) Denver,” Philip Rivers says. “I’m sure it’ll be a little more revved up for this one.” [SFGate]

Rest of the NFL:

• Samie Parker just can’t stay unemployed for long, he’s been signed by the Seattle Seahawks who are anemic at wide receiver after the loss of Nate Burelson. [Seahawks.com]
• If you missed the first link, catch it here, the New York Times has a great article featuring Champ Bailey, titled, Preening Receivers, Hard Hitters and Those Rare Shut-Down Corners. [NYT]

Injury report for San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos game on Sunday, September 14, 2008.

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

Thoughts: That’s a lot of guys listed on the Broncos’ injury report – but all but 3 are designated ‘full practice,’ so no big deal. Most likely Shanny throwing curve balls. We could use Boss on the field, though, so hopefully he gets to full practice status soon… The Chargers, on the other hand, have some legitimate concerns. LaDainian Tomlinson expects to play, but you all know how much weight I put in the health and ability of the offensive line. The Broncos should be licking their chops.

Former Denver Broncos five-time Pro Bowl linebacker Al Wilson announced his retirement Wednesday. Wilson, 31, who played his entire career in Denver, informed the NFL that he is giving up thoughts of coming back to the league.

“I thank all my fans from my high school and college days in Tennessee on into my time in the NFL and Denver for their continued love and support throughout the years. I was truly blessed to play the game I love and I am forever grateful to those that believed and entrusted in me. Playing for my fans and my teammates made the game of football everything to me.”

Wilson suffered a neck injury on December 3, 2006 that ultimately claimed his career. He played in all but one of the Broncos’ remaining games in 2006 as the 9-7 Broncos just missed the playoffs. Shortly into the 2007 offseason, the Broncos tried to trade Wilson, but a failed physical negated the trade with the Giants that would have netted the Broncos DE Justin Tuck.

Wilson tried to make a comeback in the 2008 offseason, visiting with the Lions and Browns but ultimately turning down a veteran minimum contract. Many fans, including myself, hoped the Broncos would look to solve their middle linebacker woes by bringing back Wilson this offseason. However, it was soon revealed that Wilson had filed a grievance against the Broncos involving his injury and playing-time in 2006.

If you read the report involving the grievance, it’s hard to imagine there’s “no hard feelings” between Wilson and the Broncos. Reports indicate the results of the grievance are still pending. The fans, on the other hand, have nothing but love for Wilson, and that love has always been reciprocated by the fan-favorite. His retirement comes as no surprise, and it’s another counter-example of how rare it is for NFL athletes to retire on their own terms. His injury-shortened career likely won’t be honored in Canton, but hopefully one day the Broncos and Wilson can look past the litigation and honor him in the team’s Ring of Fame, as I believe he deserves.

Al Wilson Officially Retired from the NFL [JockLife.com]

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