Catch the re-air on NFL Network on Sunday, 11PM MT.

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

It was a scary scene in Houston Saturday evening, but luckily, it appears the Denver Broncos and Louis Green have dodged a bullet. The great, great, great news is that Green, the team’s backup strong side linebacker and special teams ace, was released from the hospital this evening after suffering a concussion and neck injury. His MRI returned negative, and he flew back on the team plane to Denver Saturday night.

(AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

The team’s 16-19 preseason loss to the Houston Texans Saturday evening was also marred by an ankle sprain to starting strong side linebacker Boss Bailey. Bailey’s injury took place on the second play of the Texans first possession. Tests were negative on Bailey’s ankle, but there’s still no word on how long he will be out.

Post-Game Blitz – Jay Cutler looked very good, going 8-of-10 for 59 yards. On his final play, Cutler scrambled and ran past the Texans’ defense for a 15-yard touchdown. … First round pick Ryan Clady had a lot of good moments, and a few bad ones. 2007 third rounder Ryan Harris was penalized 4 times, by my count. … RB Andre Hall was the star of the second team offense, rushing 8 times for 43 yards. … UDFA Anthony Alridge fumbled, but had a solid game with three rushed for 20 yards, including a long break down the right sideline. … Matt Prater converted his 3 remaining field goal attempts after an initial miss from 30 yards.

Not bad… couldn’t care less about the final score. I’ll have a much more thorough review of the game after the NFL Network re-air.

The first defensive series for the Broncos saw their strong side linebackers get carted off the field within moments of one another. First, Boss Bailey was carted out with what is being called a sprained ankle. No word how serious the sprain is, but the early impression is that it’s nothing too serious.

His replacement at strong side, however, Louis Green, is facing a much more serious situation as he was rushed to the hospital via ambulance. The Broncos believe he suffered a concussion when he injured his neck and head area in a mid-air collision with weak side linebacker D.J. Williams. He gave the crowd a “thumbs up,” relieving worried fans who might have been thinking paralysis.

Thoughts and prayers to Green and his family. Let’s hope no one else gets hurt in a meaningless preseason game. SCORE: 7-6 Denver, 11 minutes left in the 2nd quarter.

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First off, I can’t tell you how sweet it is to finally type “DEN vs HOU” in the subject line of a post! Hurrah! The Broncos will finally be on the field playing football TOMORROW!!!

On a personally note, I’ll be traveling tomorrow. That means my happy ass will have to wait for the NFL Network replay on Sunday night (10pm for anyone in a similar situation). And while that’s annoying, I won’t have to wait long before this won’t ever be an issue again. That’s right… I’ve officially broken down and purchased DirectTV. Now, I can get even lazier as I won’t have to get off the sofa and drive to my local sports bar each Sunday! For anyone interested, they’re having a pretty good deal right now. I think the plan we’re on is something like $105 per month (after the discounted introductory offers expire). That’s about what we were paying for cable TV so it’s a win-win at my house! And now that I’ve provided a plug for their service, you’ll have to give them my name as a reference when you sign up! lol

Ok, on to FOOTBALL! Here are the things I’m really looking forward to seeing tomorrow when we face up against Houston (I also have included a prediction or two):

Young headlines Youth at RB –
We all know Selvin Young will get the first crack at RB. And I think we all know he can run the ball. His issue has been durability not talent and that won’t be proven in one game in the preseason. Ryan Torain is out with a broken elbow and Michael Pittman won’t play tomorrow so that leaves plenty of playing time for second year Andre Hall and rookie Anthony Alridge. I’m excited to see both Hall and Alridge in game-speed situations. But I would be dishonest if I didn’t say I was most excited to see Hall out there.

Last preseason I thought Hall was having a better camp than Young until he got hurt. That injury knocked him out of the preseason action and, I think, lost him Young’s spot last year. This preseason Hall has continued to look good and tomorrow he will get a chance to show off his stuff.

Prediction: Look for Alridge to make a HUGE play tomorrow. I think it will be down-played by the media as having been done against 3rd-4th string guys on Houston’s defense, but it will still be fun to watch!

The Man in the Middle –
I kinda like Webster a tiny bit better than Niko. However, I’m really stoked to see BOTH of them play tomorrow. There’s nothing better than seeing two hungry linebackers trying to out hit each other! I’m sorry Houson… this one’s gonna hurt. :)

Prediction: Webster loses his helmet… twice.

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• WR Eddie Royal will start against Houston, and OT Ryan Clady has high expectations due to recent rookie OT success. [BroncoTalk / Rocky Mountain News]
• Don’t blink, but beards are falling off Broncos left and right as the team continues to get younger.  [Denver Post]
• The Denver-to-Houston connection is well documented. For RBs Anthony Alrdige and Selvin Young, the connection is the other way around. [Houston Chronicle]
• Klis offers five quick points to watch during the team’s preseason opener against Houston.  [DPO]
• When it comes to snaps, less is more for Brandon Stokley.  [RMN]
• Dewayne Robertson‘s trade looks awfully similar to the one the Jets just swung for Brett Favre.  [DPO]
• All the preseason airing times (not necessarily the live game time) of the NFL Network.  [The W]
• KC:  No surprise here; the Chiefs are rumored to be interested in Chad Pennington.  [ESPN]

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Yesterday’s winner: mikebirty – “Wow, well done to everyone!!!! I can’t believe you all went an entire press conference without mentioning my Diabetes.”  Honorable mention: AKScott, scotto.

Raiders DB’s Deangelo Hall (left) and Michael Huff (Sara Wolfram/Getty Images)

Your wittiest, most cleverest captions in the comments…

Color me impressed, boys, but the Wideout everyone harassed Shanahan for picking in the 2nd round, will be starting vs Houston as our #2 WR. That’s right, 5’10” 185lb rookie Eddie Royal will start tomorrow across from #1 WR Brandon Marshall!

I know, I know. It’s just the preseason. But this is no small feet. Coming in as a rookie and getting (even a preseason start) over vets like Jackson is a HUGE deal.

“He’s earned the chance to start. He’s practiced at a high level and done all the things you need to do to play with the first team.” — Mike Shanahan

Now, that Eddie has proven he can impress in camp, he will now have to prove his readiness on the field this weekend.

“I’ve been practicing all along like I was capable of playing with the first team. I’m just excited. It’s a great privilege.” — Eddie Royal

On a personal note, I’m just happy that we’ll have a chance to bring back the ole “Ed-eeee! Ed-eee!” chant this weekend! :)

Running late today folks, sorry. Back to back to back meetings at my place of employment – what’s a blogger to do?

• An MRI revealed further damage to his elbow than first thought, requiring surgery, and Ryan Torain is now expected to miss three months.  [CBS 4]
• And in the second post of his new blog, Torain discusses how the injury went down.  Yummy.  [DenverBroncos.com]
• Marlon McCree feels right at home in Denver as the new starter.  [Rocky Mountain News]
• Anthony Alridge had his sights on the Broncos, too.  [Denver Post]
• Jay Cutler will take over the CBS show John Lynch has hosted the past few years.  [BizJournal]
• Can the Broncos trust Brandon Marshall when the time comes to renew his contract?  [DPO]

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Yesterday’s winner: Person – Marshall: “Don’t worry I’ll be your Rod Smith” Royal: “Damn it…” Honorable Mention: GreasyQtip, Danish Denver-fan.

Jay Cutler approves of something.

Your wittiest, most cleverest captions in the comments…

The Denver Broncos didn’t think they were going to get another crack at Brett Favre. The 38-year-old future Hall of Famer torched the Broncos on the first play of overtime of their October 30 Monday Night Football game last year.  At the time, it appeared to be the last word in a trans-conference rivalry that saw its peak during Super Bowl XXXII in 1997.

But in the NFL – Not For Long League – nothing is sacred, including the zip codes of unretiring record-breaking franchise quarterbacks. Brett Favre was traded to the New York Jets on Wednesday, and wouldn’t you know it – the Jets just so happen to be scheduled to face the Broncos exactly thirteen months from Favre’s last Mile High encounter.

By then, the Week 13 November 30th matchup will feature a Favre who has had months of experience in the Jets offense, and combined with a busy Jets offseason could see them pushing for a playoff berth.

It’s just another storyline in an offseason that has been full of them, but for me, it’s elevated the Jets game from “just another week” to “circle that one on the calendar” status. As much as I hate to admit it, there’s something that gets me pumped about seeing a legend at quarterback across from your defense. I’m sure Dre Bly and Champ Bailey are thinking about that, too.

A quick video report of Broncos training camp, courtesy NFL.com. Nice to see some of the action ourselves, if only 40 seconds worth.

Denver Broncos rookie running back will be out 6-8 weeks with a broken bone in his left elbow, Head Coach Mike Shanahan announced. Torain was carted off the field this morning for what was initially reported as a hyperextended elbow by the Broncos training staff.

Torain was listed third on the Denver Broncos initial 2008 depth chart behind Selvin Young and Andre Hall. The fifth round pick out of Arizona State was making strides in camp and was coming on strong in the last few sessions.

Disappointing, to say the least. We have good depth at RB this year, but I was still looking forward to seeing what the rook could do. Assuming the time estimate is accurate, he’ll be ready to return to the field right around Weeks 3 or 4 of the regular season.