Eddie Royal and reporters post-game. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Your wittiest, most cleverest captions in the comments.

Yesterday’s was by far the hardest to choose in the two months we’ve been doing this. I could have chosen 10-15 winners. Even then, I couldn’t decide between two, so we have a tie. Excellent, excellent job everybody!

Yesterday’s winner I – mikebirty:

“I can’t believe I lost 35 lbs. in the off season just to play on this team. Someone pass me the Ben and Jerrys.”

Yesterday’s winner II – mauibroncofan

“So Javon, how do we give back our bonus and get off this team?”

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

Good morning everyone, still a bit high off of the schelacking the Denver Broncos gave to the Oakland Raiders I will guide you through what’s being said by other media outlets about our beloved Broncos.

As you know, running back Andre Hall lost his mother prior to Monday night’s game– here is more on his family. [DP]
Eddie Royal’s debut was spectacular according to USA Today. [USA]
RMN plays Wednesday morning QB. [RMN]
Royal lived a dream, literally. [DP]

Mike Shanahan does not give a **** about your freakin’ fantasy football team. [AOL FH]
Brandon? Oh, wait, we’ve got another receiver we forgot about… The Broncos are prepping for Marshall’s return. [DP}

AFC West-
San Diego Charger’s Vince Wilfork wanted Kansas City Chiefs’ Bernard Pollard fined for the hit on Tom Brady. [B.C]
Brady’s injury means Las Vegas bumps up the San Diego Chargers odds of winning the Super Bowl. [SoS- ironic? not at all]
PBS wants to know – Chargers loss, a fluke or beginning of the end. [KPBS]

Rest of the NFL-
The Patriots apparently “knee-d” Tom Brady. [BH]
Bill Belichick will not confirm that the New England Patriots are seeking another quarterback. [PFT]
Vince Young has sprained his ACL. [ESPN]
God explains week one. [KSK]
There were a record number of Oakland Raiders fans rushing to watch the Raiders get whooped yesterday as B.A.R.T. (Bay Area Rapid Transport) sets an all-time record for most passangers.

Meh. Bite me. I enjoy La-La Land. Thanks to Jason for the tip.

The absurdly premature playoff picture: Week One [Shutdown Corner]

(Photo JAMIE SCOTT LYTLE, NC Times)

Don’t expect to see San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman on the field against the Denver Broncos on Sunday. In fact, don’t expect to see him on the field for quite awhile.

Merriman will be placed on Injured Reserve and miss the rest of the 2008 season, Jay Glazer of FoxSports.com reports. The three-time Pro Bowler will undergo season-ending knee surgery to repair two torn ligaments in his left knee.

Originally faced with the choice of either undergoing the surgery or playing through the pain (risking a career-threatening setback), Merriman chose the latter. After the Panthers upset the Chargers in week one, a game in which Merriman was invisible, he apparently changed his mind.

A two-game lead on the Chargers in the AFC West would be huge, and this is nothing short of great news to attaining that goal. I’m by no means underestimating the Chargers, but the loss of Merriman is addition by subtraction for the Broncos.

Thanks to T-Money in the comments for the tip!

The Denver Broncos on Tuesday waived guard Dylan Gandy, Head Coach Mike Shanahan announced.

Gandy, a fourth-year player, originally joined the Broncos as a free agent on May 16 after spending his first three seasons with Indianapolis.

Wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who served a one-game suspension for violation of the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy, is expected to be reinstated. The move makes room for Marshall to be counted among the team’s 53-man roster limit.

Gandy was originally released by the Broncos on August 30th. Rejoining the team last week, he was inactive for the Broncos’ season opening 41-14 victory at Oakland on Monday.

The only surprise is that the Turk didn’t visit DT Josh Shaw instead.

Get your voting finger ready. The Denver Broncos are being recognized for a strong offensive performance against the Raiders with two weekly NFL Award nominations.

Rookie wide receiver Eddie Royal, who tore it up last night to the tune of 146 yards receiving, leads the NFL in receiving yards. He’s being recognized with a nomination for Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Week, facing some stiff competition from a few QB’s and RB’s. Click here to vote for Royal!

Quarterback Jay Cutler had a particularly strong performance, finishing with a passer rating of over 130, and is nominated for the FedEx Air Player of the Week. He’s the only AFC quarterback nominated, and faces Eagles QB Donovan McNabb and Saints QB Drew Brees. Click here to vote for Jay!

Last, but certainly not least… A special Mile High Salute to Broncos running back Andre Hall for his strong performance on the ground last night. Hall isn’t nominated for any weekly awards, but he overcame personal tragedy to lead the team in rushing yards. Hall’s mother passed away Monday, and Andre still took the field for his teammates and fans mere hours after learning of the news. You took care of the team and its fans last night, Andre, now go take care of you and yours.

JaMarcus Russell on the bench last night (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Your wittiest, most cleverest captions in the comments.

Yesterday’s winner – our own E. Halsey Miles

“Dammit, and I turned down the cover of Madden, too.”

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

The Broncos first game of 2008 was, in my eyes, one of the best performances I have seen from them in years. That said, we have to be careful not to get too excited. The Raiders looked atrocious, and clearly a real team will put up a better game. Still, a win like this must be enjoyed. Sure, don’t hand the Broncos the playoffs yet, it’s just one game, but we crushed the Raiders. We embarassed them thoroughly. That’s a moment that must be enjoyed.

With all that here are some observations I have about this game and what I think they mean.
Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Hello, NFL, how are you? A little banged up, but doing well overall? Good, good to hear. I’d like to introduce you to someone. He’s kind of a big deal. He’s a rookie wide receiver who wears #19 for the Denver Broncos.

This guy gained nearly 200 all-purpose yards while making veteran Pro Bowlers fall out of their shoes last night. In fact, this kid – this rookie – leads all NFL wideouts in receiving yards (146) through the first week of the season.

His name?. Don’t worry about his name. The name is incidental. How are you going to stop this kid?

You want his name for your fantasy football team? OK, fine. Since you ask… his name is Eddie. Freaking. ROYAL.

Are you ready for this, NFL? DeAngelo Hall sure wasn’t. The Oakland Raiders sure weren’t. Mike Ditka sure wasn’t.

Alert the presses and the San Diego Chargers. Eddie Royal is on the hunt.

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

The Broncos handled the absence of wide receiver Brandon Marshall just fine. Quarterback Jay Cutler threw for 299 yards, nearly half to rookie wide receiver Eddie Royal, and running back Michael Pittman rushed for two touchdowns as the Denver Broncos dominated the Oakland Raiders to a 41-14 victory. The Broncos now sit alone atop the AFC West, with a crucial game ahead of them against the reigning division champion San Diego Chargers (0-1).

The player of the day, without a doubt, is Royal, whose NFL debut couldn’t have been stronger. Royal caught 9 receptions for 146 yards and 1 TD to become the NFL’s leading receiver through Week One. He repeatedly shook loudmouth Raiders CB Deangelo Hall off his routes, burning the former Pro Bowler for repeated catches.

Cutler was nearly flawless, finishing with a 137.3 QB rating after tallying 16 completions in 24 attempts for 299 yards and 2 touchdowns. Give credit to the offensive line where it’s due – and it’s definitely due here. Ryan Clady and the boys gave Cutler all day to throw.

The rush offense was dominant as well, earning 142 yards on the ground and three touchdowns. Last year, the rush offense only tallied ten rushing touchdowns the entire season. The 2008 Broncos are nearly one third of the way there after one game.

The defense and special teams still appear to have gaping questions and weaknesses. The Raiders averaged 4.8 yards per carry against us, and special teams coverage looked suspect. Monday’s game was about the offense dominating, and they did just that, but those other units will need to step up to round out this team.

More than anything, I left Monday’s game thinking about the impact four young players had on this team – Clady and Ryan Harris on the offensive line, Peyton Hillis at fullback, and Royal at receiver. It’s only their first game, and they played crucial roles in the Broncos offense dominating as it did. Just imagine what the future holds.